alice in wonderland

hi

2010-11-15T21:27:00.000-08:00

hey guys. new blog. notdeadjustmarried.blogspot.com go there not here. kthanks.

family honor

2010-10-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

A mercer: (occupation) is a merchant or trader, more specifically a merchant who deals in textiles / mercer

It means a great deal to be a Mercer, and I will be sad to give it up. BUT, I am also excited to gain a new last name. ali jarman. weird.

nevertheless, I will miss my last name...

stupid

2010-10-06T14:32:00.001-07:00

thank you rain for coming on the day of my bridals. sooooo not happy with you. something good better happen or i'm going to turn full fledged bridezilla. no one wants to see that.

:( :( :( :( :(

like i even know

2010-10-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

so for some reason fantasy has been on my mind lately. actually i do know why... i have been reading a ton of fantasy and sci-fi stuff in my classes lately. annnnnyway. i watched harry potter last night, and i forced warner to watch the twilight movies for cultural reasons (i seriously think its important to have seen them because thats all people talk about, and you have to be able to get the jokes. haaa), we even had presentations in my classes on J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien on the same day. a girl in my class even made butter beer--for real, it was pretty cool. im just wondering what draws people into these stories and books. i mean, as much as i would like to say i hate twilight and the vampire following cult... i read two of the books, and i love the show Vampire Diaries with a passion. then there is my friend anna who believes she is in fact a wizard and that her parents threw away her letter from Hogwarts. i think i just wanted to talk about this... i don't really have a conclusion. just please tell me i'm not the only person who wonders why people love this stuff, including why i do..?

ps. i made a goblet of fire last night for my class.

b of h

2010-09-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

i wish so much that right now i could be telling tales of how amazing Band of Horses was last night (which im positive they were), but instead i'm telling the story of why i missed them.

you see warner and i were in the third row of the venue last night patiently waiting for b of h to come on... we watched the first band (funniest drummer ever, seriously the epideme of an open mouth, drum playing doofus) so that was fun. then the second band came on, they looked like backstage workers, but thats beside the point. i started to feel a little woozy during this band, and i knew i should sit down but i refused to give up the awesome spot we had, and i was actually enjoying fighting off some idiot girls that tried to steal it. so i toughed it out for a few minutes, then i started to sway around in circles and i knew i had to say something to warner.

"i feel sick... i think im going to pass out"

warner said let's go immediately after. we started walking out and my eyes shut, i couldn't open them if i had to in order to save my life. i was holding on to warners back and then my feet began to shuffle and i was dragging behind him. (i was out of it but apparently he carried me about twenty feet out of the crowd) this is the point where my hearing went weird and all i could hear was echoes. "can i get some help" i heard from a voice that sounded like warners, and then next thing i knew i was on the ground, someone was checking if i was breathing and i was trying to open my eyes with everything i had. finally i got them open and there were people all around me, some girl was asking what i had been drinking, or if i was on drugs. haa. that seriously is laughable. but at least then i would have had a reason to pass out.

the girl got me water, warner was like craddling me, and i was not worried at all about the fact that i was laying on the most disgusting floor there ever was. luckily the only injury i got was from some idiot that stepped on my knee, other than that im perfectly fine, and after about an hour i was in tip top shape all together. weirdest experience. oh and we totally ditched the ambulance that was called for me... is that awful? i didnt want to pay for it! but the saddest part about this whole thing is that we missed band of horses. that is seriously the worst part about it all... i feel so awful for ruining warner's great present too. so i will now leave you with a little taste of what everyone should have been able to experience last night.

bridezilla

2010-09-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

little did i know that it was so natural to become a bridezilla once you are planning a wedding. i have tried to restrain myself, but when it comes to all things wedding i become a different person. i turn a little green, my biceps grow a lot and it even rips the sleeves off my shirt--it's an interesting experience. regardless, i think someone should invent a medication for diagnosed bridezilla's. (don't worry, i have yet to get as bad as those brides on the WETV show "bridezillas" i love so much)

in other news... fall is here! i am totally loving it. as all of you are i am sure. also, today is an extra best day because warner is a sweetheart and got us tickets to see band of horses. i am out of my mind excited, best band.

if i get like this around you i give you full permission to slap me across the face

yay yay yeah!

2010-09-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

we got our engagements the other day! who knew they could be so fun? our photographer is rebekah westover and i couldnt be more excited! my one request with this whole wedding business was that we could have rebekah do our photographs. karla made it happen, thank you, thank you! it was a beautiful day, and hopefully warner and i didn't cast too many fake smiles.

all i do these days besides plan this wedding is read. i guess thats what i get for choosing to be an english major. woooo. im still trying to recover after reading go ask alice in my adolescent lit class. worst.

lastly.. i have a newfound love for blogs. i entered a giveaway (i never enter these cause i have the worst luck ever) and i WON! thank you the cinderella project for the 150 dollar gift card to williams sonoma. now i just have to decide what to get!

things are good and great. here is just a happy photo.

annoying

2010-08-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

dont you guys hate when people brag about how great their lives are? well im gonna do that right now... so if you dont like it then stop reading. k but really i just feel like the luckiest girl--to get the best boy there is. everything pertaining to the wedding is starting to fall into place, and that is the best thing i could ever ask for. (special thanks to karla) we even found a place to live, a very small space, but the rent cannot be beaten. in case you were wondering i still have those bumps on my shin... but im starting to get used to them, like they are a part of me. i might be a little sad to see them go, if they ever decide to.
school started. i debated writing all the things i hate about school and uvu, but i think ill skip that for this time. except i will talk about how annoying english majors are. there cannot be a worse group of "know it alls". seriously. i also wont forget to mention how i avoided all contact with math for 5 years, but i couldnt keep it in the closet forever, and now its very much a part of my life. an hour and a half of math every monday, tuesday and thursday should make for an interesting semester filled with hate and negative feelings. BUT a plus side to school is that warner and i found some notebook paper made from STONE. it is honestly made from stone, no trees were killed for it. the writing experience is spectacular.
has anyone else noticed that wingers is not as good as it used to be? i sure have.

en-gag-ed

2010-08-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

so this probably doesnt come as a surprise to many people but warner and i are engaged!! its very cliche... but i can honestly say it was worth the wait. we have known each other and been friends since 8th grade. we became best friends in high school, and started to date our senior year. its been a roller coaster ever since, and i suppose you could say we have been dating on and off for five years. warner is an incredible boy-i have never met anyone like him, and i know i never will. you guys that read this probably wanna know how he asked me... so here it goes. no he didn't do any of that generic romantic crap like put the ring in a drink, or in my pasta... he didn't spell out "will you marry me" in different kinds of food, and he didnt take me up in some hot air balloon. (if these things happened to you please don't take offense, it just is not my style at all) he took me to the park where we first held hands... where we first said i love you... where we first saw each other after two years of being apart. it was fitting thats for sure. he did an amazing job, told me the nicest things, and he even got on one knee. he asked, and i said yes. he also got me the exact ring i wanted made for me... it couldnt be more perfect. so there you go, i would take this engagement over accidentally swallowing my ring any day. i love you warner, cannot wait until october 22nd.

mystery bumps

2010-08-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

so some of you may know that i have been sick for like a week and a half. weirdest mixture of symptoms ever. throat, chest, back pain, throwing up, fever, headache, congestion... and now i have mystery bumps on my right shin! not only one... or two... but three! i went to the doctor today, and of course he gave me antibiotics. they always give me antibiotics. anyways... the bumps still remain, no one knows what they are... and they are starting to freak me out. like maybe i have west nile.. or that (this would be the worst thing ever) a spider possibly climbed in my bed and bit me three times. i would like die, and probably never sleep in my bed again. k thats all.. if any of you have ever had any weird bumps you can tell me about it and maybe we have the same thing.

other than that things have been good, i spent a good amount of time in bed doing whatever i want. im always ok with that.

watch this

2010-08-13T18:33:00.001-07:00

then this

2010-08-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

today felt like a juicy day

2010-07-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

couture that is. the original scent. it also felt like a t shirt and toms day. so i did it. i am the worst decision maker, i could spend hours in the mall looking for a gift if im alone. i simply cannot decide--then i look insane cause i have come back to the same location like 6 times. the only time i can make a quick decision is when its awkward or uncomfortable not too. im weird about that type of stuff. look at me talk about myself... yuck.

anywho. no one i know should ever do donuts in a parking lot. because some kids from springville did it and now one of them might die. so like dont do that. especially you anna. seriously, no more times.

i stole this image from anna's blog, but like i cannot stop laughing about it. so here it is... its like the funniest thing i have ever seen. womens.

oh em gee

2010-07-27T12:55:00.001-07:00

neeeeeeeeed these

dreams

2010-07-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Langston Hughes

what phylum is a flea

2010-07-20T15:21:00.000-07:00

when i was going to type the title of this post, things that had been typed previously popped up--this was the best one. hahaha. im on my work computer. best.

one time this blog place told me that i couldn't put any more pictures on here cause i was over my limit on picasa. what? there is so much room on cyber space. they think they can tell me to pay for it? yeah right. im going to get around it somehow. i haven't eaten meat in like two weeks. im no vegetarian... i love meat. i miss it. but i cant seem to put a hamburger patty in my mouth after being told there are pieces of more than one hundred cows in it. thank you food inc so anyways, until i forget what i heard and saw im not eating meat unless its from a trusted source. preferably whole foods, good earth, etc, etc.

saving money suuuuuuuuuucks. responsibility is not fun at all. ignorance and living in your parents house is happiness, i dont care what anyone says.

you know what is a good show? home alone. netflix is also one of the best things in my life--next to warner. hope everyone is having a happy tuesday. tuesdays are a pretty happy day.

ps. that up there was an exaggeration. i want to move out and be smart.

jb justin bieber

2010-07-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

so for the past four months warner has had his little sister emma on a point system. she would earn points given out by him by doing anything from taking his shoes off to cleaning her room. for a while there was no prize to be awarded, and emma just earned points on pure faith--i think that says a lot about her. BUT when she hit her first fifty she was awarded a poster of the beloved Justin Bieber. boy oh boy did she love that.

the bar had been set high for her next fifty point prize. but good old warner did not disappoint. after weeks of hard work earning points she was awarded with a ticket to the justin bieber concert! warner, emma, louisa and i all went and enjoyed his musical stylings. dont worry, we also made shirts.

best facebook conversation i've ever had

2010-07-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

Natalie

hi!

4:21pmMe

HEY

4:21pmNatalie

HOW R U?!!!!

4:22pmMe

SO GUD!

not rlly tho cuz im @ werk

Natalie

0o0o0o yah! u h8 werk! that suxxxx

@least u r a qt

4:23pmMe

lolz

how r u?

4:24pmNatalie

i g2g to werk 2day 2

itz 2 bad

4:25Ali

fml

4:26 Natalie

wull... i guez i g2g make sum noodlez

ttyl. g2g. ily. uraqt. wb

HAGS

4:27 Ali

lolz. invu4uraqt. gud talkin 2 u. <3

this is my 101th post. coooooooooool. :)

this is summer

2010-07-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

brandi was probably the greatest concert. she is amazing live, so worth it.

668

2010-06-30T14:44:00.000-07:00

"Nature" is what we see—
The Hill—the Afternoon—
Squirrel—Eclipse—the Bumble bee—
Nay—Nature is Heaven—
Nature is what we hear—
The Bobolink—the Sea—
Thunder—the Cricket—
Nay—Nature is Harmony—
Nature is what we know—
Yet have no art to say—
So impotent Our Wisdom is
To her Simplicity.
-Emily Dickinson

that being said, i really would like to have a garden gnome in my garden. like i need one. i seriously think that would complete the essence of growing carrots, pumpkins (white and orange) and beans. a gnome. so cute.

i love....

2010-06-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

this boy. he seriously is the cream of the crop, my very best friend. i am so very thankful for this young mans presence in my life, im not sure what i would do without him. he is the funniest person, seriously though. one of his favorite jokes is, "what if my face looked like this?" (insert misshapen face here) then i laugh and say "i would still love you" or... "oh no, i forgot my wallet you're going to have to pay" he does that one just to see my same worried face over and over again. he puts up with and embraces my crazy tendencies... for example, driving the long way to everywhere, wanting to eat out ALWAYS, my obsession with lost, my need to show him the garden i planted and its progress three times a day. he is so handsome, see above photograph. he reads books. he is a spiritual giant, and is one of the most thoughtful people i know. he makes me happy. i am just very thankful for warner dean, and wanted to do a short "shout out". i love you boy.

dad

2010-06-20T18:47:00.001-07:00

dear dad, i like to call you phil. i have never called you daddy, i feel weird when people do that. you have taught me a lot of things. how to have a love for reading, current events, the importance of watching news, cooking without a recipe and keeping it simple, how tv can be a learning experience, and the real life importance of knowing trivia. i always loved when you would draw pictures of snakes and cats for me in sacrament meeting. my weird nature comes directly from you, i have always been appreciative of it. although sometimes i get impatient when you ask me the same question 16 times... i do love you. i look up to you and your knowledge. you are the most intelligent person i know, and you are not even a college graduate--that will always impress me. thank you for making me watch 60 minutes and the history channel all the time, i now have my own love for these channels, and learning. thank you for always pushing me to live up to my abilities, i have always been supported by you. i even remember when i was a young dancer and you saying that i was always the only one that remembered the dance. it probably wasnt true but the confidence instilled in me by you always stuck with me and helped me to develop my skills further. really i am just very grateful for such a great father and friend. i will always remember the nights we spent watching tv together, and the inside jokes that developed from it. i love you dad. happy day.

read-a-thon

2010-06-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

now that i actually like the way my blog looks i think ill post more things on it. maybe. ya never know.

sometimes people ask me about good books to read. i dont really know why, but here is a little list of some of the ones i have read and am looking to read this summer. so... just in case some of you want to like read or something--or start a book club (pleassse) then you can read some of these if you want. k.

huck finn. mark twain--i already suggested this so now its a double suggestion
everything is illuminated. johnathon safran foer--im going to read this very soon, and im really excited.
extremely loud and incredibly close. johnathon safran foer--my brother corbin told me to read this years ago, i did and it continues to boggle my mind.
perks of being a wallflower. stephan chbosky--all time favorite. im not guaranteeing its conservative, its about real life.
catcher in the rye. j.d. salinger--probably my second favorite. just soo good.
a seperate peace. john knowles--in the middle of this book, i couldnt put it down on a five hour drive until i got sick. recommended by warner.
lock and key. sara dessen--if you are the kind of person who needs a really girly read and a love story then read this. it will hit the spot for sure. any nicholas sparks book will suffice as well.
walden. henry david thoreau-- its a hard read but seriously funny. this man is crazy, and i love it so much.
water for elephants. sara gruen--i havent finished this one yet, im like 2/3 of the way through cause for some reason i took a break from it. but i have been thinking about it a lot lately and want to finish it. probably cause it is about the circus, and i went to a renaissance fair last weekend and i couldnt stop thinking about how crazy circus' and fairs are.
the motel life. willy vlautin--i randomly chose this book for one of my classes two semesters ago and it has turned out to be one of those books that i think back on quite often. thats when you know its a good book.

ok thats enough for now. i hope someone at least reads one of these. cause they are seriously good books, and they should be read.

bears

2010-06-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

favorite picture from a great weekend

best

2010-06-08T09:53:00.000-07:00

last night this kid...

showed up at my door with this...

to be played on this...

i have the best boyfriend in the wooooorld. he bought it for us to share, even though i have been whining about wanting one and being annoying HE STILL GOT IT. luckiest girl. it sounds amazing, it's also a five in one so we can pretty much listen to music in any way possible. im a little obsessed...

cup n cakes

2010-06-02T10:54:00.001-07:00

see i'm already posting again, this is almost embarrassing. i made these cupcakes for my friend kiana's bridal shower a couple of weeks ago. her new last name is McAllister, thus the M inside the cookies. honestly... i do not reccomend this martha recreation--it took me and my friend ashley four hours of non stop cooking to finish these... it was quite the feat. anyways here are some pictures of the cupcakes, the bride and the guests.

king of kong

2010-06-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

so my mom said to me yesterday "you haven't written on your blog in a while." i replied, "i have nothing to write." well that was a total lie... i have one million things to write--i just can't decide which things to write about. my mind has been consumed with nintendo games lately, warner has mario on the wii and we stayed up till 1:30 last night playing together. like i know how that happened. he also got the ooooold super nintendo donkey kong country and it time warped me back in time to my childhood. i got a little bit crazy though when i couldn't beat the stupid mine level, then when i finally did i died right after. that's when i realized i had to stop playing or things were going to get crazy.

i guess thats just all i have to say at this moment. i'll update more regularly... for you karla. and maybe i'll add photos next time. k bye.

skeet

2010-05-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

went with warner and his friends skeet shooting. i didn't hit any skeet, but i did get a good solid bruise on my shoulder. waaay fun and funny. here are some pictures and a vid. i couldn't help but scream every time.

daydreaming

2010-05-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

i found my dream hammock today. i have been searching for years for a great hammock and i finally found one! i wont picture it here cause if one of you gets it before i do i might cry or do something crazy. but i will put it on once i purchase it... which i will do... after i get paid. haaa. i found a few other things i want to get too... like the breast cancer kobe V nike shoes, and some of the many duvet covers that Urban Outfitters has, but... im sorta embarrassed by my online shopping problem. hey, i don't have a credit card though so i guess its not that big of a problem right? please tell me it isn't. k anyways, just had to share. summer is the best cause it allows me to get things like hammocks and use them, i sure missed you.

dear mom

2010-05-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

it's mom's day, and i would like to say a few things about my dear mother. mom... you are patient, and i appreciate that greatly. i know i say that our family was raised on television, and though tv did teach me some very valuable life lessons... you taught me respect, diligence, kindness, and to be grateful for what i have been given. i have always felt loved--and i have never been neglected. you sat through the endlessly long dance competitions every single time, even if it was to only see me dance a few times... and watching all the other train wrecks on stage. never once did you complain or regret being there for me. i appreciate all the opportunities i have been given through you and dad, all the trips that were funded by you and fought for by you. thank you for the fundraisers you went to in my place because i was off doing some other lesson or competition. (i know the grease burns from grilling hamburgers at BYU halftimes will be with you forever, so really.. thanks) thank you for always encouraging me to continue my education, it was never a question whether i was going to go to college or not, because i saw my mother strive for an education and a career of her own. thank you for all the glasses of water you have gotten for me, and all of the meals you have cooked. thank you for cleaning my room and folding all my clothes because i dont believe in folding. mostly i am just thankful for you and the example you have always been to me and our entire family. love you mom, go to nordstrom and buy some good jeans.

werk

2010-05-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

7 hours straight, no break, no lunch. i know, i know, people do it all the time. but im not used to it, and i think im going a little insane. i am having to break my days up into segments. every two hours i make myself get up and walk around... bathroom, fax stuff, print stuff, take post-its to the sample request folder. the first few hours really aren't that bad, the worst part is at 3 o clock. 2 hours left, everyone is gone and there are no calls. i have already been on facebook for way longer than i can handle, and twitter is beginning to look more and more appetizing. (worst website) this is the two hour time span when my online shopping addiction comes out with its sharpened claws and tears apart my wallet. anthropologie.....urban.....victorias secret(their swimsuit sale emails are SO convincing)....and the list goes on. this is also the time when i have already eaten the strawberries i brought and thought would be enough for me to get through the day with at 9:45 this morning. they weren't enough. i want real food. chicken fila preferably. oh well, instead i just look up recipes for food i will probably never cook. i guess i'll go pack some stuff now, or read... even though i get interrupted every two sentences cause i am incapable of reading with noise around. i just flicked my headset into my open eye. cooooooool.

there is sunshine in my soul today

2010-04-29T14:33:00.003-07:00

just thought i would post this... because outside is not sunny. and i need a reminder. kthanksbye.

way back when

2010-04-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

i miss the summers of my childhood--when you didn't want to sleep in cause you wanted to play all day, usually starting at 7 am. where you just walked next door and knocked on the door of your neighbors house to begin the summer festivities. where you could just go to 7 peaks for a couple hours everyday because you had a season pass. i miss the summer days when you never put on a pair of shoes and your feet were constantly black on the bottoms. i miss the days when it was acceptable to watch tv all day long, and still have time for night games with the kids around the neighborhood. i miss the days when steal the flag was on your mind constantly, thinking of different strategies to use in order to win. i miss the days when my skin didn't burn because i was in the sun for twenty minutes without sunscreen. i miss the days of sleeping in the backyard on the trampoline.

those days are gone... and this summer i'll be waking up everyday and working, like a normal human. i guess i'll just have to fit in all that summer stuff after 5. im up for the challenge.

happiness

2010-04-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

"Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep."
Willa Cather--My Antonia

reading rainbow

2010-04-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school.

please read a book, this scares me.... a lot. i suggest Huck Finn. I know you have probably already read it, and hated it in high school. But seriously, its so good. Just trust me and do it. kthanksbye.

i wish everyone still sang like this..

2010-04-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

gamer

2010-04-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

this is a little embarrassing for me to admit... who am i kidding i dont really care, i have spent hours on end playing games on my i touch the last few weeks. apparently i have an addiction to strategy games no one told me about. these are my favorites...

sally spa is easily my favorite. you pretty much just daydream that it is you getting all the treatments in the spa when in reality you are playing as the worker that does every single thing and you are barely getting paid enough to keep your spa running. being a small business owner is rough. i highly recommend this game.

then there is diner dash, its a lot like sally spa but the girl isnt as cute. "flo" has some sort of eye issue. anyways, this is what kept me happy after i beat sally spa.

last but not least there is angry birds. you definitely shoot birds into those pig looking green characters. the birds are angry because the green things stole their eggs. the app told me that its really popular in europe. haaa. anyways, it was pretty fun too.
dear friends. you havent seen me in a while cause of these games, so i thought i would introduce you to them. i have it in my mind that i need to stay home so i can do homework... then i end up playing these for 6 hours. yeah i know. sorry.

also, i know i said i wasnt embarrassed but i might be... i havent decided. well. see ya later.

i couldn't resist

2010-04-04T19:36:00.001-07:00

somehow i'm on a blogging rampage... anyways, i am in the midst of writing a research paper for the end of the semester, thus i have been researching for hours. i feel the need to share what i have found with the blogging community.

i will refrain from going into what im writing about exactly, but lets just say i have been more than entertained this evening. hahahahaaaaa.

hippity hop

2010-04-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

ATTN: I GOT TO DYE EASTER EGGS!!
i have been so sad every year since i was 7 that i havent dyed easter eggs. for some reason it seriously is one of my favorite things to do... just... is. good thing i have a really nice boyfriend that was willing to dye them with me, and even drove me to maceys while he was on a heavy dose of benadryl (i made him be by my cat) cute.

nice nice nice, yay yay yay. easter eggs! happy easter you guys.

sin city

2010-04-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

i went to vegas a few weeks ago. it was really fun. they say pictures say a thousand words... so here ya go.

we seriously lived in these things. if it werent for the bellagio crest on the chest i would have taken it home. i would have felt guilty every time i wore it if i saw the that crest... all morality aside, the bellagio was too kind to us to steal from.

ohh yeah. that was just the pool. so awesome.

weirdest show ever. it was worth it to see the cirque part though.

this may have been the very best part. anyways, it was fun--thank you bellagio for your graciousness and nightly chocolates on our pillows with wind down music. the only way to do vegas.

just read...

2010-03-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

"Things You Should Know" by A.M. Homes

There are things I do not know. I was absent the day they passed out the information sheets. I was home in bed with a fever and an earache. I lay with the heating pad pressed to my head, burning my ear. I lay with the heating pad until my mother came in and said, “Don’t keep it on high or you’ll burn yourself.” This was something I knew but chose to forget.

The information sheets had the words “Things You Should Know” typed across the top of the page. They were mimeographed pages, purple ink on white paper. The sheets were written by my fourth grade teacher. They were written when she was young and thought about things. She thought of a language for these things and wrote them down in red Magic Marker.

By the time she was my teacher, she’d been teaching for a very long time but had never gotten past fourth grade. She hadn’t done anything since her Things You Should Know sheets, which didn’t really count, since she’d written them while she was a student.

After my ear got better, the infection cured, the red burn mark faded into a sort of Florida tan, I went back to school. Right away I knew I’d missed something important. “Ask the other students to fill you in on what happened while you were ill,” the principal said when I handed her the note from my mother. But none of the others would talk to me. Immediately I knew this was because they’d gotten the information sheets and we no longer spoke the same language.

I tried asking the teacher, “Is there anything I missed while I was out?” She handed me a stack of maps to color in and some math problems. “You should put a little Vaseline on your ear,” she said. “It’ll keep it from peeling.”

“Is there anything else?” I asked. She shook her head.

I couldn’t just come out and say it. I couldn’t say, you know, those information sheets, the ones you passed out the other day while I was home burning my ear. Do you have an extra copy? I couldn’t ask because I’d already asked everyone. I asked so many people ̶ my parents, their friends, random strangers ̶ that in the end they sent me to a psychiatrist.

“What exactly do you think is written on this ‘Things You Should Know’ paper?” he asked me.

“ ‘Things You Should Know,’ “ I said. “It’s not things to know, not things you will learn, but things you already should know but maybe are a little dumb, so you don’t.”

“Yes,” he said nodding. “And what are those things?”

“You’re asking me,” I shouted. “I don’t know. You’re the one who should know. You tell me. I never saw the list.”

Time passed. I grew up. I grew older. I grew deaf in one ear. In the newspaper I read that the teacher had died. She was eighty-four. In time I began to notice there was less to know. All the same, I kept looking for the list. Once, in an old bookstore, I thought I found page four. It was old, faded, folded into quarters and stuffed into an early volume of Henry Miller’s essays. The top part of the page had been torn off. It began with number six: “Do what you will because you will anyway.” Number twenty-eight was “If you begin and it is not the beginning, begin again.” And so on. At the bottom of the page it said, “Chin San Fortune Company lines 1-32.”

Years later, when I was even older, when those younger than me seemed to know less than I ever had, I wrote a story. And in a room full of people, full of people who knew the list and some I was sure did not, I stood to read. “As a child, I burned my ear into a Florida tan.”

“Stop,” a man yelled, waving his hands at me.

“Why?”

“Don’t you know?” he said. I shook my head. He was a man who knew the list, who probably had his own personal copy. He had based his life on it, on trying to explain it to others.

He spoke, he drew diagrams, splintering poles of chalk as he put pictures on a blackboard. He tried to tell of the things he knew. He tried to talk but did not have the language of the teacher.

I breathed deeply and thought of Chin San number twenty-eight. “If you begin and it is not the beginning, begin again.”

“I will begin again,” I announced. Because I had stated this and not asked for a second change, because I was standing and he was seated, because it was till early in the evening, the man who had stopped me nodded, all right.

“Things You Should Know,” I said.

“Good title, good title,” the man said. “Go on, go on.”

“There is a list,” I said, nearing the end. “It is a list you make yourself. And at the top of the page you write, ‘Things You Should Know.’ ”

This comes from a book titled Flash Fiction Forward, a compilation of 80 really short stories. I suggest it to anyone who likes a short, yet deep read, whenever. So many life lessons..

gosh

2010-03-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

i seriously hate it when people dont post for a long time.. and you keep checking to see if they did--and your heart gets broken a little every time you check it and see its the same title you already read six times. sorry guys.. for those of you that do read this.

things have been too great. thats all i can even say. happy happy happy, and im just wishing i was not at work right now.. and that i was outside flying a kite. preferably one with dora the explorer, or aladdin on it. that would be best. too bad i cant.

so glad to have my best friend back, he is doing well in case you were wondering. and just as funny as ever. picture less blog... not exactly aesthetically pleasing. ok ok ill throw one in.

happy tuesday

because lindey asked

2010-03-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

some of my favorite things?
no one should ever not have this. whether you wear eye shadow or not.. this will keep those creepy creases away--and if you dont wear eye shadow this is a great substitute. get it.
hats. i cannot stop. they consume my mind. this is the summer of hats. this brings me to...
anthropologie. i dont know why anyone ever made me think i could shop there......... maybe one day ill have enough money. for now ill just keep the catalog close by and check whats on sale online daily.
my favorite book i have read this semester. im about to write a paper on it... so i can say that until the paper begins. if you want lush, roll-off-the-tongue literature ... read this book. really.
this gets rid of the (i never want to wake up no matter how many hours of sleep i got last night) bags under my eyes like a DREAM. not even kidding. thanks melissa for working at such a great establishment, and for being an amazing saleswomanmy new satchel. i couldnt have asked for a better replacement.. thank you urban outfitters for making my satchel dreams come true all over again.

ok thats it for now. la la la. ill think about writing that my antonia paper now.

spring... is that you?

2010-03-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

today was beautiful. the weather guy said winter is over, i want to believe him... and pretend that google didnt tell me that its going to snow on wednesday. we will see. spring time just brings so much happiness with it--cannot wait.

i had the opportunity to go to a diabetes expo for my work this last weekend... and it was crazy. haa. really though, i never knew what a hobby expo's and trade shows could be. people were there right as the doors opened at 9 am and swept the floor. we had to start taking our display products off the table cause people were stealing them, legitimately stealing them. so awesome, and so awkward for ashley and i who had to like tell people not to take the huge mouth wash display on the table, and explaining that we actually had smaller samples for them. haha. im going to start going to expos, and getting free stuff. i even got my blood tested there, and its all FREE. why didn't anyone ever tell me about this? well now i know, and i also saw a billboard for the food and candy expo on april 6th. who wants to go?

our table. prior to getting swept by ladies with cat sweatshirts on.

whatever

2010-02-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

whatever i refuse to go outside in this. instead i watched 17 again, almost famous, and im going to spend the rest of my day writing stupid papers and watching ghost town in spanish. so much better than the snow. whoever let that groundhog do this is going to pay. seriously. who thought they could trick us all with this great weather and then slap us in the face with a blizzard. father winter you are no longer wanted here, summer told me its ready to come back.

see how happy summer was?

on a better note. this kid comes home in 24 days. ha. whaaat?

best

2010-02-15T11:56:00.001-08:00

this is the greatest thing ever.

what ever happened to fiona?

bakin'

2010-02-14T16:05:00.001-08:00

made these for valentines. yahooo. devils food cupcake, with dark chocolate ganache frosting.

st valentine

2010-02-13T23:48:00.000-08:00

"there is no use trying," said alice; "one cant believe impossible things." "i dare say you haven't had much practice," said the queen. "when i was your age, i always did it for half an hour a day. why, sometimes i've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." --lewis carroll.

so i got this package today... it came all the way from texas. enclosed was the most incredible hard cover edition of lewis carrolls "alice's adventures in wonderland and other stories". it even has gold rimmed pages. if you know me, you know my love of a good book. those covers that feel really great, there is nothing better. there was a mug with the above quote on it... an i tunes gift card and a personalized deck of cards. no not with my initials on them.. like written on cards. whoever sent me this package knows me oh so well. thank you valentine.

this could be the reason i was less bitter for the valentine holiday this year... or maybe its just that i think the holiday is humorous. if someone seriously gave me one of those bears they have at walgreens i would explode. with this new view of the holiday in mind, i went to see dear john tonight with my friend natalie (although we were tempted to go in pajamas, with smeared mascara and hair insane just for the effect of valentines misery... we didnt. we did sneak in five guys and chocolate though. so... you be the judge of how crazy we are) its actually a really decent movie, i enjoy nicholas sparks books, and i have been tempted on several occasions to read dear john. for some reason or another while standing in the aisle at barnes and noble, i opted for the wedding instead. the sequel to the notebook. im a sucker for that one... probably a good thing i didnt read this one though--way heart wrenching. BUT i definitely recommend dear john in movie form. regardless of the fact that it reminded me way too in depth of the last 23 months of my life... it was good to see a semi happy ending. now that i have shared too much im going to press publish post and someone can read this making it too late for me to delete it. happy valentines day.

so last season

2010-02-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

sometimes i wonder if people think the same things about fashion as i do.. then i walk down the halls of UVU (which i really try and avoid unless i need to go to the bank on campus) and i know this isnt true. why did everyone flock to plaid? really... if its not you.. its not you. how is it that someone can be wearing thick threaded true religion jeans, button up shirts and alligator shoes one semester, and then skinny jeans, v necks and beanies the next? is that reasonable? i think maybe i just put too much emphasis on clothes. not necessarily the brand or expense of them (though i do like a good pair of jeans) but more of how they are worn. how someone wears their scarf can tell a lot about a person. for instance worn as a noose can mean several things, but its definitely more of a relaxed look saying "hey whats up, i have this scarf on.. but its not cause im cold, its cause im comfortable". it can also show that they know how to wear crap. wearing ones scarf in a triangle usually means they are trying to be super trendy-- and dont know how to work things correctly. lots of people wear scarves like this to activities like "neon" at studio 600 with their big frame glasses, neon skinny jeans and bright colored vans. real original. i admit i did this a few times, and i still do on nicer occasions with silk scarves, i think its ok in certain circumstances, you be the judge. but dudes just really shouldnt do that... ever. trust me. wearing a scarf without any knots or loops gives the impression that you just threw it on last minute with a laid back personality and somewhat carefree, which can be a good thing, but make sure its not too long. no ones likes avoiding tripping on your scarf while in a hurry (ahem)

now that i have ranted about scarves i think most of my anxiety is out.. i have very strong opinions about clothing choices and the wearing of such clothing. i dont want anyone thinking i think im the best dresser in the world, cause lets be real... im for sure not. i just think its important for people to be themselves while dressing themselves--if you like mock turtlenecks then wear them. work it for sure, but dont wear a plaid flannel shirt because all your friends are and forever 21 told you to. not everyone has to wear vans and beanies all the time.

thats all for now.. maybe one day ill talk about hollister, abercrombie and fitch, buckle, and ed hardy. but those will have to wait until the next time i walk down the hall of flags at uvu. im hoping its not till next semester.

perfect example. nobody is perfect. dont hate.
"if i contradict myself, then i contradict myself" -ralph waldo emerson

you are the strobe light to my lightshow

2010-02-07T17:37:00.000-08:00

one of my very best friends birthdays was recently, and i would like to say a few words about this human. she is one of the most thoughtful people i have ever met, and had the blessing to be so close to. her obsessive personality could be a major fault for some people, but she embraces it and makes it everything it should be--it has ended up being one of her greatest strengths. whether it be donuts, caramel apples, the chicken fil a or fiona apple, life isnt lived till its fullest unless you have joined her in these obsessions.
she is so in tune with those close to her--she doesnt forget anything, and i mean anything. she remembers what you were wearing two months and three days ago that one time you went to the movies and got mcdonalds fries. seriously. its amazing. she also remembers everything you have going on, and never neglects to ask you how it went, and wish you luck beforehand. what an incredible attribute.

i have never met someone that is so creative and original. sometimes i wonder how her brain works, but then mine explodes just thinking about it. she is never scared to be who she is, and who she is, is one of the coolest people i have ever met. freakin ridiculous. and she is hilarious, seriously. i never cease to be entertained while speaking with her.

i just want to share my gratitude for having such a person in my life, she has been a saving grace way more than twice. i love you, and thank you for all you do. happy birthday.

awesome

2010-02-02T14:09:00.000-08:00

i base my activities for the day on this. http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/4rHYpJ/showoffbook.com/
try it.

but wait

2010-01-30T12:08:00.001-08:00

i havent really blogged in a while, like REALLY blogged. so lets get to it. school is hard. never thought i would say that at UVU.. but really, it is. i think the professors are trying to prove something these days, especially in upper level classes. who said i could have three tests and two papers just this week, its not even mid term. now that i have complained about that.. ha.

my grandpa mercer turned 90 on friday... meaning he was born in 1920, for those of you that haven't been in math for a while like me. WHAT. i cant even think about all the things he has experienced in his life.. love you grandpa.

mother earth really is amazing. lately i have been taking the time to appreciate it a little bit more intimately (thank you henry david thoreau) and it brings me into an awesome state. just to think of all the small things that make everything work has brought my testimony to a whole new level. i am so grateful to live on this planet. i think i should start recycling.

so urban decay has a new eye shadow palette called alice in wonderland. im pretty sure it was made for me... im not even kidding. if anyone wants to get me anything ever--you should get this. but it better be for something really good, like me saving your life or something, its pretty pricey.

k seriously i dont like valentines at all. like AT ALL. but this year i have been feeling so lovey--like totally being into all these valentines decorations, and having a desire to buy the jonas brothers valentines box. i dont know what has gotten into me, i might even see that valentines day movie.... what. i wouldnt be surprised if cupid had somehow shot me this year. freaked.out.

well i suppose thats all. love you.
see, really i dont knowwhats going on...

my guilty pleasure

2010-01-29T12:28:00.001-08:00

watch it. love it. embrace it.

i promise you its way better than twilight

doin my part

2010-01-20T15:21:00.001-08:00

if you are like me... you have been wondering how you might be able to help with the haiti earthquake relief efforts ever since you saw Brian Williams broadcast live from there. oh and since it happened, blah, blah, blah. (Brain Williams is very convincing) but you have also been wanting to purchase some new accessories to go with the loot santa brought you. thats where ban-do comes in. http://www.shopbando.com/Home.aspx if you order something from them between now and the 22 of this month they are giving 25% of the order to the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. just thought i would pass this along and thank ban-do for giving me the opportunity to at least help out a little, and still get my bling on. next step is the red cross--but i dont think they will give me anything stylish in return

lind lind

2010-01-19T10:57:00.000-08:00

today is this lovely girls birthday.

my sister in law lindey. she is reaching the ripe age of 23 today, and i just wanted to say a few things about her on this monumental day. lindey married my brother corbin three years ago this month, some might say that was a great feat.. corbin is not only the coolest person i know, but he is also the craziest. that can be a lethal mix, but lindey was and is his perfect match and they are so very happily married. i feel so blessed to have lindey in my family, and my only sister as of yet. it can be hard to be a mercer--but she has done a tremendous job of it, and represents the name well. ha. lindey is not only always thinking of others, but she is one of the most loyal people i know. i think its safe to say that with every bind i have been in she has always had my back, and would give as many mean looks as needed in the correct direction for my honor. i will always be grateful that she is not only my sister in law, but a friend, and a great one at that.

ignore my almost unsettling pleasant faces in these pictures. haa.

i love you lindey, hope you have a great birthday! these are now pictures of my latest martha experiment in celebration of lindeys birthday on sunday. once again, all the cred goes to martha.

coco cabana

2010-01-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

round two. so for my second try i made coconut cupcakes. they have a pretty basic batter with coconut milk and ground coconut in it. the frosting was an egg white concoction with coconut extract and i threw a little almond extract in there with it. this is how they turned out.

i classed it up a little this time and got real liners. ha. but i'd say things are improving. thank you martha for bringing joy to my taste buds.

1455

2010-01-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

"Opinion is a flitting thing,
But Truth, outlasts the Sun-
If then we cannot own them both-
Possess the oldest one-"

Emily Dickinson

word play

2010-01-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

these make me so happy.

-Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
-Acupuncture: a jab well done.
-Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
-A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, 'No change yet.'
-I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
-Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here, I'll go on a head.'
-When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
-He had a photographic memory which was never developed.
-A boiled egg is hard to beat.
-With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.
-In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.
-A will is a dead giveaway.
-A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.

just cause

baby cakes

2010-01-09T18:50:00.000-08:00

so for christmas my dear mother got me this book

greatest gift. this is the first chance i have had to bust it open and see what it contains. martha is a freakin genius. seriously. so as i was looking through the recipes i found that i dont really have many of these ingredients handy... so the only one i was really able to make was the brown sugar pound cake ones. since i didnt have paper liners i had to make some of my own... and i only had one stick of non salted butter, so i had to use one stick of salted... and just... a couple of other things i had to substitute, blah blah blah. this is how they turned out.
nothing special, but they are way good. im gonna keep on following in martha's footsteps and make some more of her amazing cupcakes. i have confidence that once i get the right ingredients awesome things are going to happen. stay tuned.

winter song

2009-12-21T14:17:00.001-08:00

for some reason i haven't really had much to say on here lately... which is unusual i guess. i finished school and now my mind is like exploding because there is so much free space in there. i often find myself wandering around not knowing what to do... and im still working full time. it's a really very strange feeling.

christmas is the best, cannot wait for it. i decided my favorite christmas treat are those homemade caramels that all my parents neighbors have brought around for gifts. those are seriously so good, someone teach me how to make them.

i dont know why i ever get white tip gel nails, i always end up regretting it because i cant do anything. texting is impossible, my typing is error filled, and i cannot open anything with packaging. also i like freak out after two weeks and just rip them off, last time i bit one in half...

this post is pretty boring. crap. here is this nice picture.

soooo funny

2009-12-18T11:14:00.001-08:00

the best.

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

mission accomplished

2009-12-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

so i finally finished the ten page paper that has been haunting my nightmares for the last three months. a critical approach to a novel chosen from a list my professor gave us... yeah, doing no research i just chose the title that looked most interesting. boy did i luck out, the book i read was The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin--strongly suggest it. anyways, im more than fairly proud of my paper that i wrote in one sitting within 5-6 hours. yeah. im a good student. one more week of finals, pray that i make it through.

over and out.

all about melissa

2009-12-03T07:41:00.000-08:00

ok yeah, so the title is a spin off of that awful sandra bullock movie that made me hate her until i saw blind side... BUT this is going to be a good post, because it is about my bff melis.

today is that dear girls birthday, the big 22. (melissa don't stress, it's really not that big) so mel and i have only been close friendz for about a year, but i feel like i have known her for a lifetime. she is such a sweet spirited person, who only wants what is good for the people around her. she is pretty much zero percent confrontational, and is always trying to make things ok between everyone. she is one of the hardest workers i know, and it always blows my mind that she is almost done with all her school, and has worked full time the entire way; still with the motivation she started with. i am also often amazing with her ability to not hold grudges, she is really upset/mad for like an hour or two, then she is able to let it go without holding anything against anyone. i am very envious of that quality that comes to her so naturally. melissa is funny, like way funny. our breaks together at school are always the best because we end up coming up with some ridiculous story that makes no sense at all but we will both be stumbling around the hallways laughing so hard we can't even see straight. all you need is someone to laugh at your jokes, i laugh at hers, she laughs at mine. she is also GORGEOUS, like seriously, lets get real. she gets dudez. i am so blessed to have a friend like melissa, who i know would stand by me through whatever.

happy birthday mel-is, twenty two is a great number... its a double! looooove you.

long live ma'am.

perfumania

2009-11-27T18:03:00.000-08:00

i want, i want. i need, i neeeeeed.i have become a little frag-sessed lately... i think you would be too if you smelled this. seriously. do it.

november 22

2009-11-22T19:32:00.000-08:00

just wanted to wish elder jarman a happy 21st birthday today.

dear warner,

if you were here i would have made you a horse cake, a new version of a horse cake. maybe... a unicorn cake. if you were here i would make you put on the new tie i got you and ask you like 7 times if you liked it, then... if you really liked it. if you were here i would let you chose the restaurant you would want to go to... even though i know you would rather just have me cook you a steak. if you were here i would give you a carton of half baked, and a bag of peanut butter m&ms. if you were here i would joke about going to vegas and gambling, like four times, because i would be semi serious. it would probably get old, but you would still laugh. if you were here i would sing you happy birthday, but halfway through i would be laughing too hard to finish then we would both laugh, and you would call me a punk. if you were here you would say thank you for what i did, and you would look really handsome in your new t shirt, and i would say i hope you had a great birthday.

don't worry, ill save all of this and more for birthday #22.
happy birthday boy.

i love you.
alice

things

2009-11-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

things i dont care for:

people that attend dance parties and don't dance. i promise you that standing on the side of the dance floor with your hands in your pockets just watching is not gonna get you anything... besides future jail time.

crowded halls or areas. i tend to be a fast walker... i like to get where i'm going. therefore, crowded halls make for a lot of dodging and squeezing past, do not like.

being late. i really cannot stand being late, i always think i am going to miss something important that i will never be able to recover from missing... i also hate when other people are late.

people who dont drive the speed limit. if you're not even going to go 25 in a 25 then dont get mad if im tailing you, just dont.

watching addicting tv shows week to week, i seriously cannot handle the anticipation. i have to watch them all at once.

static hair. why does that happen? why are there consecutive days where my hair is so static filled i cannot even touch it, such a frustration.

when people send text messages that say "guess what?" or "do you know what?" obviously im going to say "what?" so why not save both of us the typing time and say it in one text message.

leftovers. really... they just gross me out. i try so hard to like them too, i often get boxes and take home my leftovers from restaraunts, but honestly.. it sickens me to eat re-heated foods.

those tank tops with the lace sewn on across the bottom. i am just pretty baffled when i still see people wearing those, they werent that cute in 2005, and they really aren't cute now. it really doesn't class up your t-shirt to have a little bit of lace at the bottom of your maroon tank top.

snow. just... snow.

lol, rofl, brb, g2g. i admit i use them from time to time, but i promise you it is because i think they are so awful that they are funny. does it really take that much time out of your life to type out the fact that you are laughing? or that you will "be right back?"

things i appreciate:

a really good dancer. now im not talking about a technically trained dancer, im talking about someone who has just got moves, and they aren't scared to do whatever they want. definitely appreciate them.

people who don't have to think about their jokes; well actually people who dont tell jokes, they are just funny all the time.

passion pit. way good music, listen to them sometime if you have not. they have saved me from a number of bad days.

movies in the middle of the day. there isn't anything that can beat a good matinee, especially alone.

my family. they are funny, and sunday dinner is never a bore.

a good jacket/coat. seriously im obsessed with those things, not only do they save me in the winter, but they are always so good looking.

Nordstrom half yearly, and semi annual sales. such a joyous time in my life, karla was especially excited this year as well.

words. i really do appreciate words, reading words, writing words, saying words. they are just real nice, we should all appreciate them.

my cat. she is just always around, and always sleeps at the foot of my bed, even when i accidentally kick her in the night. she always hangs out with me.

themes on gmail. if you dont have one, try the beach or the mountains, they are really just way too cool.

my friends. for being great all the time, you know who you are.

poetical

2009-11-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

So I will admit that I have never really been a fan of poems/poetry/poets. Yeah none. BUT I am taking an American Lit class, and we are doing poetry right now. To be honest it's really not that awful... It's not what I have always thought it was. Like a bunch of crazies sitting around a coffee shop, being emotional and out of their minds. Here is one of the poems we have read that really caught my attention, so because of my new love of poetry, I thought maybe I could change other peoples minds as well. Enjoi.

THEME FOR ENGLISH B

By Langston Hughes

The instructor said,

Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you---
Then, it will be true.

I wonder if it's that simple?
I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.
I went to school there, then Durham, then here
to this college on the hill above Harlem.
I am the only colored student in my class.
The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem
through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,
Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,
the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator
up to my room, sit down, and write this page:

It's not easy to know what is true for you or me
at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I'm what
I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you:
hear you, hear me---we two---you, me, talk on this page.
(I hear New York too.) Me---who?
Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.
I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.
I like a pipe for a Christmas present,
or records---Bessie, bop, or Bach.
I guess being colored doesn't make me NOT like
the same things other folks like who are other races.
So will my page be colored that I write?
Being me, it will not be white.
But it will be
a part of you, instructor.
You are white---
yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.
That's American.
Sometimes perhaps you don't want to be a part of me.
Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
But we are, that's true!
As I learn from you,
I guess you learn from me---
although you're older---and white---
and somewhat more free.

This is my page for English B.

halloween

2009-11-01T22:27:00.000-08:00

i am not usually a fan of emoticon smileys... but. :) love you halloween

monster mash

2009-10-20T20:23:00.001-07:00

i was serious when i said i love halloween. so fall break was a bust, im not even going to sugar coat it. everyone seemed to have the swine flu... well i guess i haven't known anyone that has technically had it, but i swear everyone has it. aaaaaaaanyways. although nothing worked out on friday like it was supposed to, shopping, lunch, frightmares. ashley and i wouldnt let it ruin a fun filled saturday of spooktacular fun. this was just the beginning of the many halloween festivities to come, dont you worry.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah ha.
on that sky ride junk.these tombstones were waaaaay funny. like too funny.
wellll thats about it on the photo-age, just trying to get you in the halloweening mood. it's fantastic isnt it? anna, dont discriminate.

veeeeeegas

2009-10-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

we went, we conquered. vegas was fuuuun!

sooo melissa and i were left alone for a little while when corbin and lindey went to the BYU game. dont worry, we spent the whole five hours wandering the strip, and mostly staying in the miracle mile shopping center. see for yourself...

Self timer works GR8
thanks corb and lind for inviting us on this venture. loooove you.

oh hey

2009-10-09T17:57:00.000-07:00

i am supposed to be doing my take home mid term for my lit class right now. it's just not happening, my mind will NOT work like that right now. therefore, im doing the next best thing, blogging.

you know what i hate? smelling like food. i hate when my clothes smell like bacon. also when my towels somehow smell like the hamburger that was cooked the night before because the laundry room is near the kitchen. it is really not pleasant to smell that kind of thing in the morning post shower. actually its awful.

shopping makes me happy, like really it does. i know that people say its fake happiness to replace other feelings or whatever, blah, blah, blah. i looooove it. i know you all do too. there is something about the way a new cardigan smells, and the look of a perfectly clean shoe. nothing can replace it.

i am growing a bamboo plant in my room, and i am really proud of it. it is still living, after about a year. congratulations to me. the next step is a real plant that actually needs attention.

wellllll im going to vegas tonight, wish me luck. dont miss me too much while im gone, if you do just watch that video of me jerkin and remember that you dont really miss me doing that constantly, and you will be fine.

i can't stop

2009-10-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

polaroids make everything better.

didn't i tell you?

2009-10-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

i went to logan last weekend.

i also finally kind of learned how to jerk.

i am so excited for halloween its ridiculous.

thats all.

hold, step, now do the reject

2009-09-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

iiiiiiiiiii had a good weekend

so did my friends.

sunday morning

2009-09-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

gwen knows my life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtS597290G0

i wish i knew how to actually post the video here, but no has taught me. teach me? thanks

1.5

2009-09-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

my best friend Warner hit 18 months in the mission field today, so i thought it appropriate to celebrate via blog.

as far as pictures go, it looks like he is doing great.
he has friends....spiders
he is nice, and does service...
he still works out
and has time left over to play with dogs! Ha ha, but really. Warner is a fantastic missionary. Happy year and a half boy, see you in six months.

it's like im perched on the handlebars of a blind mans bike

2009-09-09T16:29:00.000-07:00

today was 9/9/9 that was awesome... just to start the post off right

secondly, i went to the blink 182/taking back sunday concert on monday. that was also one of the greater times i have had this month.

i want to go organic... i think now is the time to do that. so... im going to, most likely, if i can handle it.

6 am is still not treating me right.

a lady i talked to at work the other day told me there is a cure for cancer in austria, all natural mind you, so that's good. she also said that because the authors of the book about the cure was written by individuals with the last names of Church, Dwight, and Princeton, it was a divine message from God telling her it was right. in her words "well Church, i mean obviously CHURCH, then Dwight, that sounds like LIGHT, and Princeton... PRINCE" I think she is really on to something......

i got told from another lady at work on the same day said i sound just like i should at the ripe age of twenty. perfect.

boots. i need a pair of boots, its getting to be that time.

karla made cake, why does she do this to me? like i am really going to make myself a healthy breakfast when i could easily just take a slice of cake? today... i chose the cake.

do people really read the newspaper besides my father? i wish i read the newspaper. who wants to be in a newspaper reading club with me? it will be like a book club, but with current events. sounds fascinating, to me.

i hope you have enjoyed my nonessential slurs today. more to come, some...time.

pour some sugar on me

2009-08-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

yes i did indeed attend the Def Leppard/Poison concert, dont worry about it. IT WAS AMAZING. i'll be honest with you here, i havent really known much about those two bands through my life, but of what i did know, i liked, and of what i do know now i LOVE. i work at a pretty cool place that gives me pretty cool tickets sometimes so i went with coworkers. it was a fantastic time, just look.

true rockers
disclaimer: that beer on the table is NOT mine mom

skewl

2009-08-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

I will admit, i was a tiny bit excited for school to begin this year, i was totally ready to get my learning on. Then the 26th came, and i remembered why i was excited for it to be over.

-30 minutes and a quarter of a tank of gas just to park at UVU.

-Walking up a very unnecessary amount of stairs just to get to a classroom that has no cellular service.

-English Lit professors that chose to teach just because they enjoy hearing themselves talk, and spouting useless information at unsuspecting college students.

-Extremely crowded hallways filled with people I really dont want to get to know, despite what my professors keep telling me about getting to know my neighbors.

-Being so bored listening to professors talk about the syllabus that you start thinking about things such as "What are eyebrows even for?" "How long has that mole been on my hand?" and "I wonder what Karla will make for dinner tonight, tacos or hamburgers..."

-Wolverine Green

-That weird wall over by the WB building with the Wolverine that has its body 2D and in the wall, and the head is suddenly 3D and coming out at you. I... can't really handle that.

-Waking up. Six o clock is not my hour.

-The poor choices of food in the food court, I hate that fake Costa Vida, it tricks me every time!

-And finally, the hall of flags.. just.. the entire hall.

Don't get me wrong, I love UVU, and learning... But it was a little much at once. I'm still coping.

GO WOLVERINES

time is making fools of us again

2009-08-25T11:53:00.001-07:00

this....

http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf

its completely ridiculous

what i did in st george

2009-08-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

and watched obsessed, and swam, and went to in and out, and tai pan.

greatest

nine days

2009-08-17T13:20:00.001-07:00

i have approximately nine days until school starts and my life goes into a spiraling mess of tired eyes and brain death. i will be going to school full time, and working as well. i have to be at work at 8 am now, EIGHT am. I dont think i can wake up in the 6 o clock hour again, can i? i dont think i can, it's gonna be a rough semester.

So what will i do with these last nine days of summer you ask? Well i just returned from St. George with some friends, and that definitely helped me get my fill of summer fun and heat. But what to do to officially end my summer?

This will include moving back to my parents house, ohh the joy. Watch a full season of something, i haven't decided which season yet, but i am determined to fully watch one before my life no longer has the pleasures of tv. Go to every thrift store in Salt Lake. Hike to the top of a mountain. Paint... something. Stay up all night. Get a frozen hot chocolate. Help someone else end their summer with a bang. Then lastly... Get a coconut flavored snowcone with sweetened condensed milk on top. I have had several this summer, but snow shacks always seem to close at the most obscure times without any warning, so im going to be on top of it this time and take care of it this week.

It'll be a busy nine days, so if i dont answer when you call just know im working on sending summer off right.

this is what came up when i typed "goodbye summer" into google images. google never disappoints..

remember when..

2009-08-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

remember when tying sweatshirts around your waist was cool, and possibly looked good?

remember when corbin and i used to gather up all the fireworks after the fourth of july and he would replicate the noises of the fireworks perfectly?

remember when going to vegas was exciting?

remember when eating ten candy bars a day was ok?

remember when i had blonde hair? i dont.

remember when you had to be dropped off by your parents everywhere you went? then had to call to be picked up when you were ready?

remember when the internet didnt exist, and kids actually played outside?

remember when times tables were hard to learn?

remember when cops was an awesome show? also x-files.

remember when eating was a chore?

remember when you actually didnt cross the street because your parents said not to?

remember when razor scooters were all the craze?

remember when full house taught all of lifes important lessons?

now im all grown up? probably not... all those things still apply to my life.

who doesn't like it

2009-08-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

best week of tv there is. i can legitimately say my hand is covering my mouth in shock the entire time.

back from paradise

2009-07-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

well i have indeed returned. nothing can really explain this amazing trip besides some good photo-age, so here it is. at the top of the diamondhead hike, Waikiki in the backgroundYeah.... Welcome to the best place EVER

on the way UP

on the way dooooooown

finally at the top, in the clouds

hiking the stairway to heaven

At the Polynesian Cultural Center

the Laie temple

everyone was doing it

Henna tats

yeah, best trip ever. who wa nts to go to Ha waii?

So....

2009-07-09T10:09:00.001-07:00

When did it become socially acceptable to stare? Then continue staring once you have been caught?

...just a question.

all about the jonas

2009-07-06T09:34:00.001-07:00

Alright, alright, so i was a pre-teen again for a night, but can you blame me? The jonas brothers are awesome!

Also... Melissa and i made shirts. Why do it if youre not gonna go all out right? They included hand sewn pockets as well, pretty classy.

Waaaay to happy to be there. Overall the Jonas did a fantastic job, the four of us couldn't of had a better night if we asked for one. GO GO STADIUM OF FIRE!

the countdown begins

2009-06-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

and so it begins... four days until the fourth of July, fireworks, BBQs, swimming, fireworks, american flags, patriotism and the JONAS BROTHERS.

I couldnt be happier about the fact that i am going to the stadium of fire, and seeing the Jonas Brothers as up close and as personal as possible. It'll be a good day. AND only ten days until i am in paradise.

Look at that. I will be one of those specks on the beach in just ten short days. I am going to Hawaii with my friend Ashley that i work with. Pictured below is on of the paper chains we made to countdown the trip.

I can't think of anything besides these two things, what am i going to do when they have come and gone? Eh, i'm not too worried about it. aloha.

obsession

2009-06-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

All Melissa and I ever do these days is watch 48 Hours, Dateline, and Snapped. When I say thats all we do, i'm not kidding. Our DVR is filled to the brim with them, and we stay up till 3 in the morning watching. There is something about a good murder mystery that just keeps us on our toes.. our favorite part is the discussion we have with each other about who is guilty and not guilty during commercial breaks. Dont worry about it, i have attached a link to a little snipit of a way good 48 hours here. You're welcome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NciLxsuvzI

on my mind

2009-06-22T10:18:00.001-07:00

So lately ALL i have been able to think about it going to Disneyland. Why? Don't ask me... I haven't the slightest. Maybe its cause i haven't been for two summers and i am missing it. Who knows... But the thought of Space Mountain has been keeping me up at night. I long for the stagnant smell of water in Pirates of the Caribbean. I am in NEED of a photo of me and my loved ones on Splash Mountain... When will i get to go to Disneyland?!

Alllllllllso, some of you may or may not know. But for the last little while i have wanted a perm, with my short hair, so i can have a fro. I have told dearest Melissa this several times, and she thinks i am crazy. Therefore, instead of me permantly fro-ing my hair, she said she would do a reinactment on me. Friday, june 19 this occured...

Me--very happy to have a fro.

Me and Mel (creator of the fro)

Overall I think it was a success... Although i might wait a little while till i make it permanent. I'm not sure if i could handle constant judgement like i recieved last friday night. I swear i have NEVER had that many dirty looks, and pretend-back-cracking to "check out that girls fro" scenarios in one night. It was pretty discouraging, I just had to tell myself they were doing that cause it looked ridiculously good, curled bangs and all. Instead i decided to go with a steep a-line. I'm boring.

grateful

2009-06-17T12:56:00.001-07:00

I am grateful to the blogging world for giving me something to read at work.
http://welcometothewolfpack.blogspot.com/
I am grateful to youtube for allowing me to see little kids do hoodrat stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLeVlBca5lg
I am grateful to Facebook for allowing me hours of nonsense while at work
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=660704988&ref=profile
I am grateful to Twitter for allowing me to see what celebrities do all day
http://twitter.com/mileycyrus
I am grateful to Blue Lily Photography for letting me look at awesome pictures all day.
http://bluelily.squarespace.com/

I am just really grateful...

horse cake

2009-06-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

"do you have horse stuff?"

This is number two of the horse cake saga, unfortunately i did not take a snap shot of number one. If anyone ever needs horse cake, or cake in the shape of a horse rather... you know who to call. They are getting better and better with every try.

(golden vanilla cake, with homemade chocolate frosting)

things i have learned since moving out..

2009-06-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

toilet paper is NOT never ending... it actually goes by quite fast.

budgeting is a real thing.

grocery shopping takes serious time and planning, and i should not go while starving, or right after eating del taco

dishes really aren't that bad... but i still hate doing them

DVR is amazing

spending a whole pay check on a plane ticket to Hawaii means no eating for 3 weeks.

karla's homemade dinner is really, really good.

smart ones are only two dollars at target.

i dont drink enough water, and apparently i love V8 juice.

garbage fills up fast, and i should not wait till im gagging every time i walk in my house to take it out.

soy milk lasts longer than normal milk. (its better too)

bracelet making parties till 3 am, are my best day.

i need to become a proffesional "coupon clipper"

dont put the wrong lightbulb in an IKEA lamp...............

More to come im sure, if i'm still alive next month.

g to the second power

2009-06-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

Gossip Girl is currently my favorite show, i can't seem to follow any shows these days... but somehow i manage to keep up with this one. Even if it means purchasing it on itunes, I need my fill of drama. Anyways, the season finale was pretty remarkable... mostly just because i have been waiting for Chuck and Blair to get it together like all year. If you haven't watched... do it.

Just a little snapshot of Chuck for your pleasure.

memorial day

2009-05-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

This year i spent Memorial day in Lake Powell, and it was... interesting to say the least. Melis and i picked up and went with about fifty people... that we had not met prior to the trip. Basically we were told... Powell trip Memorial day, how much it would be, and we were in. Who passes up Powelladise? Anyways, it was an overall successful trip, even though the weather wasnt fantastic the first few days, it really was a fun time. We got a good tan, and Mel and i discovered our amazing talent at tubing. Who knew? Oh yeah, and we stayed on two ridiculously huge house boats, and a helicopter was just on top of one of them...
Um.. which i got to ride in and jump out of into the lake later on in the trip... yeah.
So yeah I'd say we had a pretty good time. Although both of us almost died after jumping out of the helicopter because of the mix of shock, freezing water, no life jacket, helicopter blades blowing extreme winds everywhere, and weakness in the swimming department. Overall pretty good weekend.

sun and fun

2009-05-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

I believe that laughter is the most genuine of all human expression...

This past weekend I went on a little trip to St George with my family, and boy was there a lot of laughter. Why is it that when you're with the same people for an extended period of time everything is funny--to you and them both?

One of the highlights of the trip was when my brother Corbin reminisced on a little gem from our childhood.. Ali age 4, Corbin age 8 and Glade age 12. Our family got a trampoline for our backyard, and it was a huge hit... unfortunately for me i was too small to do awesome stuff on there; therefore hindering my older, more adventurous brothers. Because i couldn't do anything that was significantly fun--i was kicked off. Corbin tells the story best from here, but apparently I went inside raging only returning a few minutes later in a teary rage, waving my fists in the air and blurting out all the swears i knew and had ever heard..

and i quote my four year old self in saying..

"son-of-a-bitch, bastard, shit"

oh the good old days.

um

2009-05-10T19:46:00.001-07:00

i held a duck today.

movin on out

2009-05-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

So i finally officially moved, yes i am in fact capable of it. Who knew? I am in a condo with my friends Melissa and Susanna, its a great place, and we totally got hooked up--thank you Tyler. We are having so much fun thus far... even though moving was the BIGGEST pain. No one told me that i would have to sleep for 6 days just to catch up from it. Four flights of stairs... that was rough on my not-in-shape body. Anywho... for our first order of business we threw a FIESTA for Cinco De Mayo. It was beyond words. Pinata, Del Taco (taco tuesdays=amazing), confetti, spanish music only, margaritas (complete with those awesome umbrella things), homemade salsa and many of our amigos of course! here are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

creepin and crawlin

2009-04-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

i hate spiders. i hate hate them. last night as i was just getting ready for bed i spotted a black spot on my wall... i always get terrified when that happens. i got close enough to see it was living and i jumped about ten feet in the air to get away from it and my first reaction was to grab my can of hairspray. (i didnt even know i had hairspray) I am pretty sure i sprayed that spider so it would have enough tight, volumizing, lift for three years... but apparently it wasnt enough. as i went to wipe up the creature it was STILL ALIVE! it crawled on the tissue and ALMOST ON MY HAND. yeah i screamed, screamed like i never have before and just chucked it in the direction of the toilet. lucklily i made it in. i guess it was all those years in jr. jazz coming into good use. apart from my blood pressure being high the rest of the day.. i was fine after it was finally flushed.

ps. im moving friday. who wants to help?

im in love...

2009-04-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

with SPRINGTIME! tricked you. k maybe not. just pretend though. i havent been this joyful and happy since September of last year, yes its true, the temperature has risen! finally, everything has started to look up. im pretty sure that yesterday i found any and every excuse to be outside. i walked home from church (not too unsucessfully, even though i havent walked that far in heels since prom 07), i then proceeded to force my cat outside after many scratches and a few swear words i made it happen. the poor thing has been terrified to go outside cause of the bully cats next door, we played--well, i played in the grass for about two hours, and i observed my family bbq. corbin that salmon wasnt too bad, even though im not the biggest fan... also i cannot wait for the ribs. i was forced inside for dinner, but i quickly rushed back outside like a youngster running to night games around the neighborhood, and hopped on my new, amazing, purple, Mercier bicycle and rode to my grandmothers house with my sister in law lindey, whom has a pretty sweet beach cruise if i may say so myself, i may or may not have had something to do with picking it out. summer of cream--more to come on that subject. anyways, after that visit i went on a little longboarding venture on the provo river trail which was just fantastic. i forgot how magnificant it feels to have the wind blowing in your hair as your cruising through the KOA trailer park. SIDE NOTE: i would love to know why it is that everyone magically becomes way way friendly once you set foot on a trail. it doesnt matter what trail it is, all a sudden everyone is happy to see everyone and willing to talk to any stranger. Anyways, that was my fabulous sunday, as you an see i am more than happy to see that spring/summer is coming back into my life. here are some outdated BUT fairly revelent photos.