Everyone Wins!

We are less than three weeks away from WEDDING DAY! at this point and its pure craziness to think about! So I'm going to try and not think about it and Blog instead. Life is still cruising right along (headed to Wedding Day! Oh...sorry...NOT thinking about it.) and stuff has been happening. For example...

First, I took a couple days off work last week and one of those was spent cleaning out and organizing the condo. UNNECESSARY BACK-STORY STRAIGHT AHEAD: When I moved into this little abode last year, I had two rooms to spare. One room (hereafter known as "The Nursery") was decorated in an adorable Winnie the Pooh motif, and the other was painted a sort of elephant brown color. (Really. Come see it. Elephant Brown.) Assuming I'd get a roommate who wouldn't want to live in a baby room, I loaded up The Nursery with all my books, sewing machine, guitar, etc., and left the Elephant Brown room empty. But...no roommate appeared. Which really was fine with me. But THEN Skyler showed up and said he'd be my roommate FOR ETERNITY and the prospect of having children to inhabit The Nursery became a real possibility at some point in the near future and it seemed only right to move all the junk in The Nursery into the Elephant Room which is NOW known as "The Office." So I took some time off last week and moved all of that stuff. I also cleaned out half the dresser and threw/gave away lots of clothes and other things I don't need. {More than ten bags, to be more precise...}

The point of ALL of this is that, 1) We have an Elephant Room, and 2) in cleaning out The Nursery, I found a box of stuff I've been hauling from house to house for nearly 10 years that is just...crazy. What IS this stuff and WHY do I still have it?! Let me prove the crazy to you:

Glass dolphin, red brick from Nauvoo, a Tiki God statuette, a COW, a praying woman statue, and--my favorite--an Indian head carved out of piece of pine. All in one box. I HAVE NO EXPLANATION.

Yesterday I spent a good hour or two updating the JSD Social Studies webpage. Its one of my many duties at the office and luckily we're low-key peeps in the department and we don't update all that often. This time 'round Pam wanted me to add my contact info to the page and, while doing that, I realized that if anybody had a prob with the webpage it would be nice for them to let me know so I could fix it. So...they'd need to know to contact ME. So I added "Webmaster" next to my regular title of TAH Coordinator. And then I had to have a good laugh, because me being a webmaster is fairly RIDICULOUS. (Bahahaha!!!)

I don't look quite so masculine as THIS Webmaster. Nor do I wear a beard as well as he does.

I'm likely switching gyms for the first time in 12 years. This...is...HUGE. Also huge is the savings from $316/year to $320/two years. Let's just hope I like New Gym when I pop in for a trial visit later this week. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe Friday. Who knows? I just know Gym Visits are an integral part of who I am, so I need a gym.

Penny Quote of the Day: "I just run 'til I'm hungry, and then stop for a Bear Claw."


A final VERY exciting and MOST IMPORTANT of events--Little Bro' is HOME!!!! He left Cali on a jet plane and came back to see us after two years--TWO YEARS!!--away. We are superbly super glad he's back and so proud of him in his missionary service. The Roseville, CA Mission will miss him, I'm sure, and he will miss them. But...he's back! And as random and crazy as ever, I assure you. We picked him up this morning and spent the day chillin' at home, shopping for new clothes (he didn't fit...much of anything), and trying to endure the ever-increasing decibel level at home with numerous niece/nephews, movies, and talk talk talk! All in all--GREAT DAY!!

Welcome Home, my BIG little bro!

De-Lovely Things

I love walking to work. Its a 10-15 minute jaunt from the condo to the office, and as long as its not raining or blowing me about in a tornado-esque fashion, its usually a lovely affair. I almost always listen to my NPR podcasts on the journey--my favorite being "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me." SOOO funny. I often wonder what people driving by think when they see my solitary figure, standing at the corner, laughing out loud.

Last night I was reunited with the long lost, j. Okay, maybe not looong lost but it has certainly been a while since we got together. We feasted on cake (Thank you, The Chocolate!) and talked a blue streak about life and funniness and everything that we find awesome. She's a gem. I love cake. And there you go.

Sunday was Harry Potter's 31st Birthday. Did you celebrate? There were Gryffindor-styled cupcakes with personalized birthday flags happening over on my side of the tracks. Funfetti. Delish.

Next week I'm headed to our nation's capital for a Teaching American History Conference. Its sort of part of my job description to stay up on the TAH Universe, so I'm getting paid to be there. And I'm not paying to get there or be there. That's a free airline ticket, free hotel stay, regular salary for the week, and a per diem allotted for food and other such things (i.e COOKIES). And guess what? This will be my first time in Washington D.C.! Its pretty thrilling, not gonna lie. I'm looking forward to staying in a Marriott, walking the Mall, eating at Larry's Cookies, visiting the Newseum and at least one Smithsonian, and somewhere in there I'll probably glean some new info on our TAH grant. I only see one* downside to all of this and it involves one Mr. C who won't be coming along. [Boo... 45 days, y'all. 45 days.]

Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza
Make your pizza dough and spread it on your pan/stone/whatever you use.
Top it with BBQ Sauce (preferably Sweet Baby Ray's cuz that stuff is TheBomb.com), Mozzarella cheese, chopped pre-cooked chicken (Even better if its been cooked in BBQ Sauce), red onion, and cilantro, if you have it. Add a few more sprinklings of shredded cheddar. Bake. Enjoy. And you will enjoy because its AWESOME.

I just heard about Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir. I am entranced and mesmerized. Also, I think he looks like Aaron Eckhart.

Earlier this week I returned to Monopoly after a multi-years absence from the game. Thanks to Skyler for bringing me back to the glory of the Parker Bros. exercise in "making me think again about the possibilities there might be under Socialism." Really if I hadn't landed on that "Free Parking" moneybags when I did...all might have been lost. As it was, I didn't lose, and we'll leave it at that.

Today is National Watermelon Day. The fab Social Committee at work surprised us with a Watermelon Celebration complete with Watermelon salsa, Watermelon Granadas (sp?), Asian spiced watermelon cubes, and lots of good ol' fashioned WATERMELON--STRAIGHT UP. I adore watermelon. This was a tender mercy, no? It certainly made me happy!


*One other downside could be the fairly awful flight itinerary we've been given. We're leaving at 6:00 in the flippin' AM on Sunday, and we won't return until 9:00 PM on Thursday even though our conference ends Wednesday evening. And don't EVEN get me started on layovers in Dallas. DALLAS!

Pictures from Here and Here

"I beg of you not to look at me directly."

I went to Lagoon on Friday as a chaperone to my former students. Its still the best day of the school year and I will continue to go every year they will let me. Skyler came along and I discovered that returning to my old stomping grounds NOT as a teacher (Though still as an adult who wields hardcore discipline power!), meant I became something of a mini-celebrity. The kids were SO happy to see me! I would never have got the excited, waving, "HEY!" reaction I got when the kids saw me in line for Dracula's Castle had I still been the resident US History Teacher. I also don't think they would have given me all the sordid details of life at SHMS quite so candidly.

Skyler is pretty much My Favorite every day. Just thought I'd update you on that front.

Today my boss asked me to cut out a bunch of Civil War Paper Dolls (History. It relates!), so I spent nearly three hours patiently cutting up characters and awesome costumes. I did so while catching up on my shows via Hulu. Thank goodness for online TV. Though watching last week's Bones episode nearly had me in fits. I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY DID THAT TO MY FAVORITE CHARACTER OF THE SEASON!!!!! GRR!!!

I tried a Zero candy bar for the first time tonight. Interesting. Not bad. Sugary. And it reconfirmed my decision that eating an entire candy bar is just...too much. I shared this one and even that was leaning on the side of "too much."

I love taking Fridays off work.

Sometimes you just have to savor the simple things in life. For example, toast and jam. I had some with my dinner this evening (Omelets, in case you were wondering.) and just...mmmmm. Its so good! A classic that never gets old.

One of my faves got engaged this weekend. Yay!! I'm super excited for him, and I really like his fiancee, so there's little to NOT love and support. Year of the Cake Plate!!

Finally, I watched Snoopy, Come Home last night. This is a movie that debuted circa 1972--a feature-length Peanuts cartoon that has NOSTALGIA written all over it, at least in my book. I think we watched the VHS of this movie EVERY time we spent the night at Grandma & Grandpa P.'s. Even if we spent an afternoon there, we'd try to watch it. All I needed was chicken noodle soup and the old child size vinyl table and it would have been 1987 all over again.

Images from here and here

Your MOM loves history!

For the past week I've been working 8 hours a day on resource research. As part of our TAH grant, I am putting together archives of resources to give the teachers in our summer academy. The resources range from maps to photographs to political cartoons to picture books and things in between. When they're actually finished, I think you could argue that these archives alone will be worth the three weeks of summer vacation the teachers will be giving up. If you disagree, you're obviously not a teacher.

I'm pretty much a history buru, if you will, and I really adore that I'm getting paid to find snarky journal entries from William Clayton, letters to the editor about bobbed hair, and awesome photographs from Ellis Island. However, it can get tiring. Staring at the computer and reading article after article, for hours on end, to try and find just the right resource...can be frustrating.

And that's why I appreciate the lighthearted approach to history one can often find while trawling the Internet in the spare moments.

Exhibit A--brought to you by xkcd.com:

Because that's just funny, ladies and gentlemen. FUNNY.

I ONEDER as I Wander...

"It looks like the Oh-Nee-ders."
"No! Its the ONEders!"
"Got it. Looks like the Oh-Nee-ders."

I wonder if the MANIA class at the gym will always be as amazing as it was today. Have you ever done MANIA? Its fast paced cardio that's awesome and amazing! I was literally shaking by the time we finished today. I'm also 98% sure I won't be able to lift my arms above my head tomorrow. How exciting!

I wonder if I'll get tired of Disney's Tangled. At this point, I'm guessing NO, because I love that show. Also, I really like watching it in my own house while eating tuna sandwiches and popchips with someone I adore. So as long as I can always watch it that way I stick with my NO.

I wonder if everyone else finds this as awesome as me:

(I would have said "anybody else" but come on! I'm SURE there are people who love it. Are you one of those?)

I wonder if Wednesdays will ever be a day I love. Besides that Mania class this morning, there's not a ton to look forward to or really find AWESOME.

I wonder if anybody else has a BFF who threatens the new BF with "death by singing and dancing" should he ever hurt me. How awesome is that?! And hilarious, of course.

I've been wondering for a while about why the earbuds that came with my iPod don't fit in my ears. I see loads of other people sporting the tell-tale white earbud look while walking down the road, running on the treadmill, or ignoring my fascinating lectures in night class. And they seem to have no problem! Why me?

I wonder what's for dinner tonight. My little sister has got me into Meal Planning as of late, but Wednesdays are a wildcard--usually leftovers and/or something quick due to Second Job starting 90 minutes or less after First Job ends. Perhaps tonight will be cold cereal? Or a HOT POCKET maybe!?

I wonder how I forgot for more than a month that I had a BOX--a BOX people!--of M&M's in my file drawer. I'm going to assume here, for the sake of my Internet audience, that its because I'm such an efficient and focused worker that I never had time to stop and consider where I could procure chocolate in the midst of a busy workday. Yep. That's what I'm going to assume...

And now I'm wondering how many packages of M&M's I could justify eating...

A Few Quick Notes

Dear Jonagold Apple-

I'm writing to express my displeasure in your general state of being. An apple should be crisp and break off into big chunks in my mouth when I bite into it. When I bite into your reddish-gold flesh I instead get a less-than-satisfying slushy pull of apple-ness. Boo. Shape up, please. SHAPE UP.

*me*
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Dear Sacramento Cab Company--

The airport is really close to my hotel. Really. It took us all of 15 minutes to get there. So why the $40 fare, cab company? That's ridiculous. I took a no-name white van shuttle service back to the airport for less than $20--in case you wondered why I didn't call for a ride back to the airport on Saturday. Boo on you and your ridiculous fares.

*me*
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Dear Philadelphian--

Your restaurant is gross. There is grease and all sort of nasty all over the place; I fear I'll contract a disease when I'm still 20 feet from the front door. Be that as it may...I will still be darkening your door regularly because you make one dang good sandwich! I applaud you for that and offer my most fervent thanks for an absolutely incredible meal Saturday night. I still might suggest cleaning the place up a bit...but then, it does give y'all some character.

*me*
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Dear SyFy--

I adore your new show Being Human. The combination of ghost, werewolf and vampire is absolutely absurd and I should be embarrassed by this but I seriously LOVE IT. What do I not love about this? Explain the silly block on Hulu, Syfy. Why do I have to wait 30 DAYS for a new episode? 30 DAYS! I thought we were better friends than that. Lame, Syfy. LAAAAAAME.

*me*
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Dear Cream Cheese frosting--

Never change.

*me*
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Dear Disneyland--

I miss you. I miss your churros, Toy Story Mania madness, parades, and overall happy vibe. Its been far too long since we've been friends. I think we both agree this is a tragedy. Do you have any ideas on how to remedy this situation soon?

Keep on with the magic--and see what you can do about having Corn Dog Castle open next time we get together.

*me*
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Dear Sydney Carton-

You are the Bomb-Diggety--especially as fictional characters go.

*me*
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Dear Universe--

Life is currently AWESOME (minus a few bad Jonagold apples and things of that sort). Your focus and attention to detail is exemplary--the UFO "coincidence" was BRILLIANT. Keep up the good work!

*me*

The Battle of Bunker Hill? Really?

Its Civil War Test time again!! And this year I got a lot of correct answers. Really! For the most part--the most part--the students were factually correct. YAY! This year's weird answers mainly came in the form of the illogical, not-to-be-understood ramblings of the 8th grade mind.

Remember that old SNL Celebrity Jeopardy episode that goes something like: "Mr. Connery, you answered? Half of your hand. And your bid is...the other half of your hand. We've reached a new low."? Well, take a look at my favorite test this year.

Side one of the test: A tracing of his hand.

Side two: A RAINBOW tracing of his hand!

We have reached a new low.

Here's a sampling of a few other favorites:

“[Lincoln] got assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. This left John Adams as our president.”
(Shazaam! TIME TRAVEL!)

“President Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration was sort of like a treat to the South”
(A treat that makes you decide its time to secede...)

“Announcements by Lincoln made Confederates mad or even happy about war.”
(Just like giving her a zero made me mad...or even happy?)

“The South wasn’t very social cause they couldn’t talk to some cause they lived so far apart.”
(And they didn't have text messaging either!!)

Concerning Reconstruction: “Even though there was a lot of sadness, there was also happiness”
(Glad we cleared that up!)

“Another [disadvantage of the north] is they were the one’s who didn’t always know where the other side was.”
(That does make fighting each other rather difficult)

“The generals and the leaders were all good fighters but they really didn’t want to fight but that was because they were shy or something but they were very good fighters that’s what president Abraham Lincoln said.”
(Huh?)

“Lincoln…got assassinated in the early 1900’s”
(Time Travel AGAIN!)

"The battle that started the war was Battle of Bunker Hill."
(Um...no. That battle didn't start ANY war, actually.)

“Slaves were freed and later became Generals who became more.”
(What?)

“There were also teaching restrictions for them [Black Americans]; if there was one black in a room full of whites, that teacher would be shot.”
(Well, it could be...um...yeah. No idea. Yet again.)

“At the end of the war, General Lee and President Johnson sat down at the Church hall and had a meeting.”
(I'm going to chalk this one up to Civil War fan fiction)

“The final straw was Lincoln’s election because of his veins.”
(I have no response for this. None.)

“The Union were a bunch of pretty boys that didn’t use guns a lot.”
(HA HA HA!!! Sorry. But that's just funny.)

“One major huge event that changed the war was Abraham Lincoln!.…He was the Mickle Jordan of the war, and it made the south scared.”
(He’s an event now? I want to be an event. I want to be a Mickle Jordan of an event!)

My Adjective ABC's

Absurd: The ab move the gym instructor wanted me to do on the Bosu Tuesday morning. You want me to balance on my hip while holding a giant exercise ball between my ankles and then do WHAT? Yeah. Right.

Boring: Sitting through 6 class periods of test-taking. Yes, at least I don't have to be in front of the class teaching, but I also can't put in my earbuds and watch Glee online. *sigh*

Comfortable: Getting in bed early to read a good book before bedtime.

Difficult: Planning out, preparing, and eating healthy meals. I'm really trying but sometimes its just so hard!

Elated: The fact that Thanksgiving break is mere weeks away. Thanksgiving means good food, family, Macy's parade, a "turkey trot" in some form, and time to really RELAX.

Festive: Listening to Christmas tunes in the car & on Pandora while brainstorming brilliant gift ideas and other ways to cultivate the holiday spirit.

Gruesome: The graveyard of cricket corpses lining the walls of my hallway. I smash them with my mighty shoe and honestly have plans to vacuum them up. Right now they act as a grim warning to any other insects who care to wander into my path.

Handy: My new living quarters being located in such a way that I can go to the gym and return home to shower and eat breakfast before going to work. I haven't had that set up in almost 3 years! Cold cereal has never tasted so good...

Irritating: The placement of the alarm button on my key fob. I have inadvertently hit the button--at the most inopportune times (i.e. 5:00 am, after work in front of the school)--on countless occasions.

Joyous: Having a beautiful temple only minutes from my house and being able to attend regularly.

Kaput: My favorite white blouse after an unfortunate incident with an obviously too-hot iron.

Lavish: The Chastity party, for sure. As well as most other parties I choose to throw. We all remember the grand Harry Potter Birthday Party of 2007, right?

Motivating: Watching this season of The Biggest Loser and getting great tips for my own gym visits. If they can lose 10 lbs in a week--so can I! Okay, so probably not. But maybe 1 lbs. a week?

Nice: Does not fly as a middle school teacher. You're much safer to strive for "fair" in order to gain a teenager's respect. I go one step further with "cold and aloof," but then I've always been an overachiever.

Outstanding: This first season of Glee. Each episode consistently succeeds in making me laugh and/or warming my heart. The music ain't half bad, either.

Peculiar: Taking over my 6 history classes again after my student teacher has been teaching for the past two months.

Questionable: Allowing myself to eat graham crackers while on a "no treat" diet. I decided I needed to have a few, small concessions. But isn't this form of cracker really more like a cookie?

Ridiculous: The fact that middle school students have iPhones.

Sparse: The amount of space left in my bedroom to store clothes and other life necessities. I think I need to purchase a BIG dresser.

Torpid: My energy level between approximately 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm. All friends/acquaintances/family/random strangers should be made aware of this general situation. Lack of education on this subject could be an ugly thing.

Upcoming: My trip to Disneyland with the parentals and little sis. We're celebrating little sis's birthday and I think she totally deserves this trip.

Vast: The list of treats I would like to eat. The list includes (but is not limited to) red velvet cheesecake, a big bowl from Frogurt, brownies right out of the pan, peanut butter bars, and a luscious Smart Cookie.

Wearisome: The continuous search for good fruit snacks. My last box by Member Mark (Sam's Club) was fabulous. The current box by Member Mark? Not the good kind. Why? WHY?!!

Xenophilic: I know I'm not alone in finding a fun accent--Scottish, Irish, Autralian--quite an attractive feature. For more information see this.

Yummy: Bread. I'll elaborate and point specifically at crusty artisan breads. I could probably eat an entire loaf without batting an eye. According to a survey done in our very own faculty room...bread makes you happy.

Zooming: My approach to the drive home from the gym. At least it would be if that annoying Subaru had not switched into my lane just before the turn and then insisted on driving at EXACTLY the speed limit all the way to my neighborhood. Grr...

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock!

One of the most frustrating aspects of the autumn season in Utah--besides its relatively short stay in our fair state (1? Maybe 2 days?)--is the difficulty I have in acclimating my own body temperature to the constant change of rising and falling temperature. The nights can be quite chilly, but the afternoons can be roasting. Often when I slip under the covers its too warm for the covers...but then I'll awake at 2:00 am just freezing. What to do?! Recently I've taken to just covering my feet. Seems if the bottom appendages are warm, the rest of me follow suit.

Last night I hit up the annual Back to School BBQ Stake FHE event. As usual, its not an actual BBQ because cooking hamburgers or steaks or even 'tube steaks' for several hundred people would be a herculean task. Instead, subs were on the menu last night. Can't complain about free food really, but it was no Quiznos toasted goodness, you know? On top of that, it got dark pretty fast so in order to actually see anyone you had to be inside the pavilion...along with the 200+ other people trying to do the same thing. It was loud. And when my friend, Alisha, challenged me to give my number out to somebody in "the next 15 minutes"...I quickly realized the folly of such an endeavor. You couldn't even hear yourself! For the record, I at least made an effort. I met a couple people and even engaged in an actual conversation with "Tim of the --th Ward"...but I quickly wrapped that convo up after he brought up politics and said he was a "far right Republican." Eegads! So no phone numbers distributed, but I'm sure I'll be blessed for my efforts.

I recently became involved in something of a "Blog argument" via the comments section on an acquaintance's Blog. It doesn't matter the topic, but I was proud of myself for keeping my cool and not getting angrily hateful with any of my comments. I ended my involvement with this particular post saying, "We shall have to agree to disagree." Isn't that what's great about America? We can all have our own opinions and know that not everybody has the same viewpoint. I almost laughed out loud, then, when an earlier arguer responded to my statement with, "No, I don't think we will." What? What does that even mean? He will not agree to disagree with me? But...he obviously does disagree with me. So if he disagrees about agreeing with me...wouldn't logic then suggest he agrees with me? I'm totally confused. And totally amused. And even more convinced that Blog arguments are entirely futile.

General Conference weekend is almost upon us again and I'm just so pleased! I love listening to the words of the prophets and the counsel from our leaders. I love that it means I have a Sunday without any meetings. I love that it means hanging out with the family. And this year I really love that it means chocolate chip cookies and rootbeer floats. I haven't had a treat since August 26th, (see explanation here) and this Saturday will be my first "cheat" day in the way of our biannual Conference treats. YES! I am SO excited. I love cookies.

The Stake Musical Revue is opening (can we use regular theater lingo for a glorified roadshow?) in less than a month and I'm trying not to freak out. Its been a really fun experience and even the giant dance number I somehow got roped in to is proving to be a good time. Let me know if you're interested in coming to see the show and I'll get you the info. As an admitted theater snob, I cannot encourage attendance at a community theater production such as this in good conscience. However, I do guarantee you will laugh. Even if that's you laughing at us rather than because of us, we'll take what we can get.

Sheldon Quote of the Day: "You know, I've given the matter some thought, and I think I'd be willing to be a house pet to a race of super-intelligent aliens."

16 Things

I got tagged in a "note" on Facebook the other day. I'm still deciding if I'll post this on Facebook, but it seemed like an interesting idea anyway. The tag indicated I write 16 random things, facts, habits or goals about myself. And then I pick 16 people to be tagged. I don't even know if 16 people read this Blog, so...we'll see.

1. I have a Red personality and as such, often find myself bulldozing right over other people's feelings and desires. At the same time I'm not entirely Red because I'm incredibly indecisive and don't want to bug people with my own thoughts/desires. My thoughts/desires are always RIGHT of course...

2. I enjoy playing games only up to a point. I usually get bored before the game comes to an end and then I go all ADD on the party.

3. My personal happiness really depends on my gym attendance. I can be happy without the gym, but its so much easier when I have those endorphins running through my body. If I don't work out, any food I intake during the day will cause real feelings of guilt.

4. I prefer my room be cold when I'm trying to sleep. Not like subzero temperatures, but a bit chilly so I can burrow under my blankets.

5. Even as an adult, I sort of fear authority. Example? I lost my school ID badge last month and I still haven't told anyone because I don't want to face the chastisement I am sure to receive before being able to get a new one.

6. I adore almost anything chocolate, but dark chocolate is my favorite. Dark chocolate peanut M&M's? Divine. Dark Dove Chocolates? Sinfully good. But I don't fall for the whole scheme that its good for me so I should eat more of it. Its still chocolate people, and still full of calories.

7. I'd like to meet the President of the United States someday. I don't think I'll even care who it is or what party s/he belongs to. Shaking hands with the leader of the free world? Total awesomeness to the max.

8. I decided to become a history teacher after my own high school history teacher (the great Mr. Westerman!) shared his "life story." So much of it--his fascination with documentaries, history books, etc.--reminded me of myself, I started giving real thought to this career path. I think it's worked out okay. I'm merely AMAZING at what I do, after all.

9. I don't drink, but I think if I did I'd be more inclined to drink a cold beer at the bar than a cocktail at a club.

10. I would hate to be the goalie. Sure you're not the only one at fault if the ball/puck got through. But you were the last line of defense and you FAILED. We lost. And its your fault.

11. I think a lot of things I don't do, and I do a lot of things that suggest I didn't think.

12. I'm not big on pets. I wasn't raised with pets beyond a few fish and I think it rubbed off pretty well. I'd be happy to go throughout the rest of my mortal life without any--especially cats.

13. I have a fascination for things dealing with the law. I've served on a jury twice and briefly considered going back to school to be a paralegal. I just read an awesome book about the Supreme Court and couldn't put it down. I love Law & Order. Why don't I just suck it up, take the LSAT and go to law school? No idea. You tell me.

14. One time I ate 13 bowls of cereal in one sitting, out-eating all of the other Priests and Laurels in my ward. I wanted to puke afterward, but didn't.

15. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli is one of my favorite books of all time. I have to say "one of" because I don't think I could ever settle on just one favorite.

16. My usual mode of dress is uber-casual: jeans and tshirts (or hoodies). But I really enjoy putting together hot outfits that I can wear out on the town for special occasions (i.e. Nights of Hotness)

There you go. Sixteen bits o' the random all about me. I think I'll just divide by two and tag 8 people: Greg, Mer, John Stamos, Jamie/Derek, Elisa, Raschell, Erin, and Becky.

If I didn't tag you, consider yourself one of the 8 "Unnamed" and go for it.