Bottom 10

This is a list of things I do not enjoy and/or actively dislike:

10. Maruchan Instant Lunch. Maybe this is because I'm eating it right now.

9. Winter wind. It's cold!

8. People who hurt/abandon animals. I know, it's cheesy, but it really gets me cheesed to see something innocent get hurt.

7. Mealy tomatoes. I'm not the biggest fan of tomatoes to begin with, though I think they accent the flavors of other foods quite nicely. But biting into a burger that's got an old mealy tomato in it is gross.

6. Chocolate desserts. What is with this country's fixation on everything chocolate? I don't really like it, but I am bombarded with it wherever I go. I dislike the fact that females are expected to love chocolate. I also dislike chocolate desserts with dangerous names.

5. Crowded bathrooms. I guess I just prefer to do my business alone. The bathroom at our lab has 4 stalls. If there are three people in the room, that means that the stalls are 75% full. This is a problem. I prefer places that are 25% full or less. This, to me is the optimum capacity of any given restroom.

4. Windows without screens. I like to open the window. I don't like bugs to come in my house. You do the math.

3. Inflexible people. Have you ever had someone refuse point blank to try something? (this is aside from doing that for religious reasons, which I have done several times.....) I like to try new things. I like to share the things I like. I had a friend refuse to listen to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, without ever having heard it. The reason: she doesn't like talk radio.

2. Texans and 4-way stops. They just don't seem to grasp how they work, which results in everyone waiting for someone to go, and then everyone trying to go at once.

1. Repetitive whining. I remember that Jeffery R. Holland once talked in conference about how Nephi probably preferred being beaten by his brothers to listening to them complain. I have totally experienced this. When people complain constantly about the same things, I feel like shooting myself. It reminds me of Vogon poetry.

Another one

5 things Quirky? Is that how it goes? Oh, 5 things unknown, unless you're Glarcy. Interestingly enough, Glarcy is the one who tagged me, and Glarcy is the one who knows all of this already.

1- I'm almost obsessive about research, as long as I'm not required to do it. There's a reason my sister is always asking me what camera, computer, etc. to get. I like to do consumer research. If you want to find the best_____ talk to me. I will research it for you. I have always felt that this comic describes me quite well.

2- I have a hard time killing bugs. I'm not afraid of them (with the exception of very large spiders), I just don't like killing them. I may take that sanctity of life thing too far. The only exception to this is mosquitoes. It still bothers me to kill them, just not as much.

3- I don't wash my hair. (Ok-let me qualify this statement. I don't use shampoo more than once a month, and usually less than that. It just dries out my hair too much. I use conditioner on my hair every time I shower. I don't stink. My hair's not greasy.)

4- I drink more liquid than anyone else I know. I have done this ever since I was a kid. As you may have guessed, this has interesting side effects.

5- I am lucky in weird ways. I really can't elaborate because I'm afraid it will end. All I will say is that my brother ended up getting a job in the same obscure city where I am going to school. No more lonelies for me! Things like this happen to me all the time.

playing fetch with my nephew

That last time I threw the ball pretty far, but Andrew is bringing it back in his mouth.

Now he's tired of the game, probably because crawling hurts the knees....

Now to the meat of the post:

....ok, there is no meat. I'm sorry. Lately I am going through another one of my vegetarian consideration phases. Every once in a while I wonder if I should be a vegetarian. I know there is nothing wrong with eating meat. I like meat. I just usually don't eat it that much, anyway, only when I am eating with people. I would cut shopping costs (only a little since I usually just mooch off my brother and sister-in-law and others), and eating out would be much, much cheaper. I would always order the salad, which is usually cheap. Also, lots of people say that the American beef and poultry consumption is not sustainable for the whole world to adopt, and those up and coming countries love to eat like Americans.

Is being a vegetarian just too popular for me to do? I don't like fitting into a stereotype (unless it's Molly Mormon). Is it too presumptuous? It is just too lame?

Biting off an acceptable amount (hopefully)

A few weeks ago I was invited to join a team for the annual city fitness competition. Basically you get points for exercising and possibly losing weight. Now, so that I don't let my team down, I've got to actually exercise.

Yesterday I was invited to join a co-ed softball team. I decided it would be fun. I hope we practice a maximum of once a week. I hope I can even hit a ball.

I am a grad student and it is a busy time preparing some research equipment to go out to the field.

I was called as the relief society president a couple of months ago and recently decided I needed to step things up if I wanted to do a good job.

I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. I hate that feeling.

If Swedish Fish were a man, I would so marry him

It's true. Swedish Fish is probably my favorite candy. There's no down side I can think of. These are the characteristics of Swedish Fish that make them perfect for manhood:

• Tasty. Seriously, excellent flavor.
• Quality does not diminish with age. Sure, they get a little harder to chew, but the flavor and texture remains perfect.
• Attractive. Red is one of my favorite colors.
• Entertaining. If you're bored, having a school of fish to entertain you is great. You can play shark and attack the unsuspecting stragglers. You could pretend one is Nemo. The possibilities are endless.
• Soothing. To me, Swedish Fish are a comfort food. I feel good when I eat them.
• Tidy. This candy doesn't melt in your hands, have crumbs, or turn your fingers colors.
• Versatile. Is there a situation where Swedish Fish are not appropriate? I submit that there is not!

That's all I can think of for the moment. Maybe I need to look for the man that fits this list. Shouldn't be too hard since it's pretty vague.

Don't get too attached

I think my life would be a lot easier if I stopped caring. If I have no friends, I don't miss them when they leave. You don't get invited to things, so you don't feel bad when your friends aren't, either. Most of all, don't have pets, because every time they have an opportunity to get hurt, you have a heart attack. I'm glad Chaco is still alive. The neighbors should be glad that Chaco wears tags, because their dog was found with him.

Refrigerator

According to Ryan's shirt:

Haikus are easy
but sometimes they don't make sense
refrigerator

Here's the real story:

Yesterday my office smelled weird, but I couldn't find the source. Today it smelled worse, and I found the source. The mini-fridge belonging to my office mate. About two weeks ago the power outlet it was plugged into stopped working. He never cleaned it out. Also, for some reason, over the weekend, he turned up the thermostat to like 85 degrees, and now he's gone on a trip. When I opened the fridge, I was blasted with the most horrible smell. It went into the halls, and I had to run far away to avoid the gag reflex. I ended up putting alcohol on a dust mask and wearing rubber gloves. I cleaned out the fridge, but as of a couple of hours ago, it was still super smelly. The smell clung to my clothes, my hair, and my nose. I am frustrated.

Breaking Dawn, or breaking wind?

Seriously. That was just about the worst book I ever read. Talk about drivel. I hope no one reading this is offended, but I am telling you what I believe to be true.

First of all, if anyone thought that the earlier books were a bit suggestive, then check out this one!!!

Second of all--I don't even know where to begin. It was a waste of time that I was determined to read. I'm ashamed of myself.

5 more things

I like listing random things. Mostly for lack of anything better to talk about. So here are 5 things that have happened to me lately, or that I've been thinking about.



1-My brother's family just moved to Lubbock!!! So far I have seen them every day. I hope they don't get sick of me. That would be sad.



2-Evonne is back, which means that I no longer have to take care of her dog. I also miss being responsible for him.



3-I read A Girl Named Zippy and loved it. It is just fun to read. It seems like an autobiography to me, but it's shelved with the place histories. I guess the book's a little bit about her town, talking about the people that were there when she was, but mostly it seems to be about the author and her family. If you want a book that talks about small town life and people, and also passes surprisingly few judgements on them, this one is for you. Somehow the author was able to convey differences between people (usually her family and others) without saying which was better (maybe because most people would say not her family...).



4-This month I am not going to read or watch anything I have already read or watched (mostly read), with a few exceptions: 1) Some girls in my branch are forming a book club. I will read North and South and watch it with them, even though I have already done both of those things. 2) My friend recently acquired Groundhog Day, and I don't own it, so I figure I better watch it. 3) Scriptures (I know everyone was waiting for this one).



5-I need to revitalize my approach to food. Anyone have any cool recipes to recommend? I especially like ones that are simple to buy and make.

Hard work backlash

I don't have much to say. I am bored. I have plenty to do, but yesterday I worked real hard, and this morning I pretty much finished a project. Now I don't feel like working. (I just had a thought. A savvy supervisor-or in this case, advisor-would have found my blog and would be monitoring for signs of misspent time.)

So I thought today I would talk about several things.

First of all, I love the picture my sister put on her blog.

Second of all, here are some other pictures:

Thirdly, I have been listening to NPR and have learned a lot of things. People who pay with cash spend less than people who pay with plastic. This could be the reason why my mom stresses the importance of having a budget where one gets the amount of cash needed for the month on the first, and uses that all the way through. The NPR folk also mention that saving money is good for the economy because it makes money available for people to borrow.

Fourth: my sunburn is beginning to peel. It makes me feel very scaly.

Fifthly, which do you prefer, dogs or cats?

Evonne's Birthday Day 2-Internet Problems and Admitting Defeat

We will not admit defeat. We will not. Even though the plate was completely empty yesterday when I went to take a picture. I don't know what took it, but even the beans are gone. I couldn't do this post yesterday because the neighbor's internet connection I was "borrowing" stopped working. Lame.

This does not mean we will give up. Allison and I are tougher than that. What do people think about the trampoline as a viable location for the plate? I think it will have ground pork, chicken, and beef on the plate. That is all for now. I think we will place the new plate later today.

Evonne's Birthday Present (Day 1)

Allison and I wanted to do something special for Evonne's Birthday. Several nights ago we were surfing the web looking at funny things with our friends when Ashley, the queen of cool web knowledge, told us about the site, www.stinkymeat.net. It is great. Absolutely brilliant. So, in the spirit of science and awesome, Allison and I will be posting daily pictures and descriptions of our plate of meat (and/or meat substitute).

Day 1~

2 shrimp
6 pieces of bacon
A blob of refried beans that's been in the fridge for a week















This lovely plate of protein (There could be more than 6 pieces of bacon) was then placed in a location that is both stinky and trashy, our back alley.

I feel the need to blog, but I don't know what about.

I was thinking that I could get a theme, like some blogs I've seen. My problem is that I don't know what my theme would be. I decided to expand my memory by memorizing a scripture a day, so I could post the scripture of the day. But that's a bit boring. Not that the scriptures are boring, but if someone wants a scripture a day, he or she can go look in the scriptures. I could take pictures of what I eat for dinner and talk about how tasty it was. Actually, I like that idea....Maybe it's because I'm hungry.

Instead, I'll tell about something that means much to me.

My lawn.

It's a mess. It's too long. Especially the weeds, which pretty much make up my lawn. There is crabgrass, dandelions, poking sticker things, etc, not to mention dog mess. I need a lawn mower. I could get a gas powered one used for $40, or a old-fashioned one (no motor) new for $75. What should I do?

Oh. Right. I could borrow one. For free.

Five Earth Day Faux Pas

I am a big fan of Earth Day. I just didn't spend it in such a way as would show I actually care. There are some things that are good that I do every day. I always drive a fuel efficient car. I always try to consume less. Here are my five not-so Earth Day-y things I did.

1. Ran computers all day. Every time I was sitting down, it seems, I was running a computer. They are quite the power hogs!

2. Ate at a restaurant where styrofoam reigns supreme. Also, I don't know where these ingredients came from. If they came from very far, then they are very environmentally unfriendly.

3. Ate Dominoes pizza. Once again. Who knows where the ingredients came from?

4. Drove everywhere. I mean, everywhere. No car pooling, no bike riding, no nothing. This is closely related to

5. Went for a drive. I never go for a drive, but yesterday the wanderlust seized me. I drove as far as possible until I got too scared my car would blow up.

"Concern for the One"

I missed Elder Wirthlin's talk in conference a couple of weeks ago, I forget why. I have always loved Elder Wirthlin because even though he seems to have a hard time actually talking, he is so powerful and his talks are filled with love. This talk is no different. It was so beautiful it made me want to cry. (I think I did shed a tear or two...)

For all those who read this blog (I think there are three of you, no exaggeration), read this talk! Even if you already saw it live, it is one that can be read over and over. Share it with people, I know that no one can help feeling the love.

Sometimes as I'm eating a quesadilla, I think I'm eating a balanced meal. I think to myself, "I have cheese for protein (and calcium), tortillas for grain, and hey! Salsa's like all vegetables!" Now that's healthy.

Be careful what you wish for!!!!

The other day I wrote on facebook that I needed adventure in my life. If anyone reads this, please remind me it's a bad idea to ever wish for that again. A mouse infestation was not what I had in mind. ugh, argh, and all those other onomatopoeias!

I wish for a man. Will that go south on me as well? I hope not. Although, now that I think of it, it has every other time I've wished for one. Oh well. I guess that's all I have to say for one day.

One more thing. A pest control man just came to my apartment (I told management about the mice) and set some traps. It's amazing how a skinny, scrawny, nerdy looking guy is suddenly very attractive as he talks fearlessly about his daring exploits with small rodents!

Puppy!

My friend just got a puppy. He is a stray and super cute. Since my friend is also going to be my roommate, it will be like having my own dog. Can you guess the breed?