Thursday, December 1, 2011
Meh.
Today's blog is for venting. Don't feel like you have to express sympathies, I'm just at my wit's end.
I've been sick for a couple of days now with the flu, or something like it. I had to cancel yesterday's students and have someone go into work for me today at the high school.
And I'm just SICK of being sick!
Jake was up all Sunday night with the flu, throwing up and having hot and cold flashes. Poor guy. I refrained from kissing him until I thought he wasn't contagious anymore, but I didn't wait long enough it seems. For some reason I am unable to throw up. I haven't thrown up in over 10 years. I really can't remember the last time I did. So I think that's why I'm not getting any better.
I'm only getting really anxious because I have a 3 hour rehearsal tonight. It's the one and only rehearsal for 3 concerts to follow this weekend. If I'm not better by tonight I'll sound awful in rehearsal. I'm just stressed out.
Another contributing factor to my queasiness: The other day I bought one of those glade plugin scents. I've never been a fan of artificial Christmas smells that these companies produce every year, like fresh baked cookies, or apple cinnamon, or pine. Usually it smells like food, and if I smell food, I want food. And it's a vicious cycle; you can't eat a glade plugin. But I tried really hard to find a scent that would work. I found one that smelled like candy canes, and I thought that would work just fine. I brought it home, plugged it in, and the next morning woke up and came in the living room to the most rancid smell imaginable! It did NOT smell like candy cane, more like pure sugar topped with more sugar. And then melted into liquid form. It was SO gross. Naturally, I took the plugin and threw it away.
BAD IDEA.
The way these things make your home smell so "good" is through a straw that sucks up the liquid and becomes saturated in the scent. Well, after a few hours the whole garbage and kitchen started smelling like this awful smell, because it leaked out. And now I'm pretty sure that the smell is here to stay, it must have somehow bled through the garbage bag into the can itself. I need to give it a good rinse out, because I have to hold my breath to walk into the kitchen. Which isn't good because since I've been sick I've been neglecting the dishes. And now I have another reason to stay out of the kitchen.
Even as I type this I can smell it. I even bought a new scent to replace the nasty scent but can only smell the old one.
Moral of the story?
Don't kiss your sick husband, and maybe just stick to candles. Or buy a plug in from Bath and Body Works or something.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
August-October for the Garretts
I'll start off by saying that I am on blogger ALL the time reading everyone's posts, but as you may have noticed, I haven't blogged for over two months! So maybe it's time to contribute.
It's overwhelming to think of and execute a topic to blog about. Maybe that's why I kind of avoid it. Plus I'm terrible at taking pictures, and blog posts without pictures are boring. So I figured I could do a stereotypical, married couple update on the last little while.
AUGUST
Jake and I hadn't taken any type of vacation this past summer at all, so we decided to go out to California to see my family since my mom was directing "Oliver!" for the Oakdale Community Theater. They did a fabulous job! I'm so proud fo the hard work my mom puts into theater. It seems she's always involved now with one play or another. Our anniversary is August 14th and Jake had a mandatory work meeting that day (STILL upset about it), so we decided to celebrate in San Francisco while we were in Cali.
(Jake's doing "smell no evil")
We also wanted to stay at my Granny and Grandad's farm out in there beautiful grove of trees and tent trailer. It was FREEZING and we were totally unprepared, but that place is home and even when it's freezing, it's my favorite place to be.
Willis, Jake's traveling gnome, in front of the tent trailer.
Willis with Granny and Grandad's dog Minnie.
Willis in front of the barn and a very unflattering me first thing in the morning.
I forgot to mention that before we left for California I was applying for a lot of jobs and finally got a call for an interview! She wanted to interview me the day we were leaving for California (and we were planning on leaving very early in the morning). I asked her if I could interview a day earlier and she didn't sound too sure. I felt really strongly that we should postpone the trip a little for this interview, and I'm glad I did because I interviewed well and got the job! I've been working at Mountain Crest High School as a Life Skills Aide since then and I LOVE it. The kids I work with are nothing short of spectacular, entertaining and sweet. My coworkers are super fun and I actually look forward to it everyday. I wish I could post pics of all the kids!
SEPTEMBER
Jake interviewed for a tablet specialist position at Best Buy and got it! He's already been working there as a computer salesman since May 2010 but his new position is a lot more fun. Best Buy corporate wide hired 2 specialists from each store and so they decided to send everyone to training sessions. Jake and his coworker Josh got sent to Phoenix, Arizona the first week of September (and, unfortunately, the second week of USU's fall semester). I thought Jake had taken some pictures here but I guess not. Oh yeah... it's because I broke the camera on accident while we were in California. Oops.
BUT we bought a new one just in time for my trip to Boston with my mom and sisters! Oh man, this trip deserves it's own blog post. Split up. Like into 3 parts. I don't want to do that, so I will just have to try and serve the trip justice here. My mom graduated from Northeastern University in Boston (through an online program, she still lives in California) with her masters degree! I'm trying to remember in what exactly... leadership maybe? I'm not sure. But she worked her butt off for it, and decided that since she'd promised my 3 sisters and I a trip to Boston our whole lives that this was the perfect opportunity to bring us all out there, to see her walk and to enjoy some Boston culture.I've got over 100 pics of Boston so I'll choose some highlights:
I really wanted to go on the Freedom Trail tour, which was overall a cool experience but turned out to be 3 hours long... we saw Paul Revere's grave and learned some cool facts about him, which was the best part. Anyway, this is our tour guide with a squirrel. I just like the picture.
We went to a restaurant called "Cheers!" which was modeled exactly after the bar/restaurant from the show. We met up with my mom's college buddies (haha, weird to say that) that she did online projects with over the past 2 years. It was weird to keep up conversation with total strangers for so long, but got fun after the lady with the short blonde hair drank a bit too much white wine and became more friendly. Funny group!
The three of us are big fans of the tv show "Friends", so as soon as I saw this sign I immediately thought of Joey's pickup line "How YOU doin'?". So every time we got on the subway and saw this sign we'd all say "Bow YOU doin'?!"
Okay, so it's kind of mean to make fun of total strangers' facial expressions but after this guy pulled this face so many times, Maddie and I could NOT handle it anymore, it was too funny! He was leading my mom's graduation ceremony (this is him on the big screen) and always looked SO funny! I'm glad we could capture this moment forever. Bahaha!
This is my beautiful mom all graduated!
FENWAY PARK. A total dream. One tiny step down from the amount of magic I feel at Disneyland (and that's a LOT). It was crazy because as soon as our flights were booked to go to Boston I looked for game tickets while we were there and couldn't find any that we could afford, even on stubhub.com. People told us that if we just went to the park and stood in line we might get tickets. We stood in line, hoping that would happen. I started crying, it was so emotional being outside the park finally and not being sure if we could go in. When we got to the ticket counter (after a long long line) the lady selling tickets said we got 5 of the last 10 tickets they were selling that night! We had to go to the standing area, but it was so worth it. We could see everything from up there. A total dream. Singing "Sweet Caroline" with our fellow Red Sox fans was incomparable to anything I've ever experienced.
LOVE this picture! I've got to frame it. Though it seems like they all have halos over their heads except for me... hmmm.
On our last day in Boston we took a trip to Amherst, where our hero and favorite poet Emily Dickinson was born and raised. They had a great tour of her home, and her brother Austin's home next door. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but sometimes that's better. Having a camera can be distracting from your overall experience and memory of the event. It was so awe-inspiring to be where she once was. Her grave site is just down the road a little way. Amherst is a great place.
I've been home from Boston for a month and a half now and still miss it everyday. I wouldn't mind if Jake got a job there someday.
OCTOBER
This month has, for some reason, felt very long. But in a good way! We had lots of things going on, many of which I don't have pictures for and have already forgotten about, I'm sure. The first weekend in October my sister Carolyn and I went down to Spanish Fork to see my brother, his wife and 2 kids. They recently moved there from Orem and I hadn't seen their house yet. I really love it; it feels like it suits them very well. I love my two nephews, Will and Jack more than most anything in this world, so it was fun to see them.
The next weekend my brother Oliver and his wife Kim came to Logan to visit. I love when they come see us! They always plan it out about a month in advance so that Jake has enough time to get work off. It's a long drive and it's great that they like us enough to come for a whole day. Jake, Oliver, Kim and I went to the temple in the morning together, which was really special.
This is what the Logan LDS temple looks like. Isn't it beautiful?
After that we got together with Carolyn and went to visit Mallory at work (Little Caesar's) for some lunch. After Mal was off work she and her super cool boyfriend Wren joined us to carve pumpkins!
Everyone else's pumpkins turned out really well; I don't have a lot of patience for anything crafty and so I usually speed through and it turns out awful. Maybe next year I'll try again. :)
On Thursday night one of my very BFFs Suebin had a cello recital. I know how stressful and overwhelming recital day can be, especially without a lot of family around it's almost unbearable I'm sure. Suebin is from Korea so her family was unable to come. I wanted to be with her as much as I could that day so she would have calm nerves! So we went to Serendipity hair salon and she got her hair and makeup done. She was so beautiful! I listened to her practice for a while , and then went to her recital. Even though I knew she was prepared I was so nervous for her because I always remember how I feel in recitals. She was flawless! I'm so happy for Suebin, she is extremely talented.
Right after the recital Jake drove me to Kaysville so that I could stay with his brother John and sister Rachel while his parents were at the Las Vegas Ragnar over the weekend. It was fun to stay in a big house, cook meals and kind of play "mom" for a couple of days. John was gone working or with friends most of the time but Rachel and I had a ton of fun! She helped me bake cookies, run errands, do the dishes, plan a baby shower, did my nails, watched movies with me, we stayed up talking a few times... I just love that girl more now than I ever did. She'll be 12 in July, such a fun age.
On Saturday I threw my sister-in-law Maryanne a baby shower for her first girl! She's having her the end of November and I can hardly wait to have a niece! The planning was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and people showed up so I think it went pretty well! Mary was so sweet to let me throw it for her!
Mary with a cake made out of rolled up (unused! haha) diapers!
Mary's friend (and I love her too!) Amy with my nephew Jack. He obviously wasn't in the mood for a picture, but they're always so cute together I had to try. She's basically an aunt to him :)
Oliver and Kim playing with one of Mary's presents, a bag full of finger puppets! Oliver and Kim are having a boy in January, which I am also excited about and planning a shower for her in December :)
This past Friday night was our church's Halloween party, called a trunk-or-treat. It's where everyone brings their cars and parks them in the parking lot and hands out candy to the kids in our church ward. So much fun! We don't have kids but up until last week we taught sunday school to the cute little toddlers, so we just had to go and see what they dressed up as. As some of you may know, Jake is obsessed with garden gnomes. He has a collection of about 20, his office, he snagged a bunch of Gnomeo and Juliet stuff from Best Buy after they were done advertising for it, he made an antenna ball gnome for the car... it's a lot. So obviously (not so obviously, actually, it was my cousin Hilary's idea) we had to be gnomes!
This is the side view of my costume. The women gnomes are usually plump, so I just had to do it! It's nice that I don't feel the need anymore to wear figure flattering costumes, since I'm married. I wouldn't consider it letting myself go, but Jake got a good laugh out of it so I think I won in the end.
Jake just looks super creepy and angry in this picture, it's kind of funny. We put baby powder in his beard so it would be white.
I guess that pretty much brings us to now! Jake and I have been enjoying this season for many reasons, one of them being all the scary movies that are on TV. We record a lot of them from AMC, which edits out the scariest and goriest parts for tv which I like. I have a weak stomach when it comes to super scary stuff. This year we've watched almost all of the Halloween (Michael Meyers) movies. It has just the right amount (at least on tv) of jumpy parts so that it's scary but I can still sleep at night. Although, as I'm typing this in my living room I can hear what I've been hearing since the beginning of October: the neighbors have the Halloween theme music playing from nightfall til about 11 pm every single night. Very unsettling. I just have to hold off until tomorrow night and hopefully then they'll replace all the creepy decorations and music with Santa and Christmas music!
Thanks for reading!
Friday, August 26, 2011
What you are.
I'm a little worried about myself. For one reason.
I'm beginning to enjoy country music a little bit.
It was hard for me to write that sentence. This is NOT okay! Don't worry, it's not a full blown problem, and I'm hoping to nip it in the bud. I've always been partial to The Dixie Chicks. Just having them as my one guilty pleasure is okay, I feel. And even now it's not too bad.
As I've mentioned before, I am a huge fan of Jewel.
Isn't she beautiful?
I purchased her latest album (released last year) about a month ago, and I can't get enough of it. It has little tastes of country here and there, with the mandolin, the giant predictable song endings, the fiddle licks after a profound line... but the biggest part about country that has always bothered me (and is very present in her album) is the cheesy lyrics! Super cheesy! You know, the old my dog died, my wife left me, my truck broke down stuff? Okay, Jewel doesn't sing about that stuff, but her cheesiest song is actually my favorite. It's been on my mind a lot lately, and I had to share the lyrics.
What You Are lyrics
I'm driving around town
Kinda bored with the windows rolled down
See a girl on the bus stop bench
Dressed to draw attention
Hoping everyone will stare
If she don't stand out she thinks she'll disappear
Wish I could hold her, tell her, show her
What she wants is already there
A star is a star
It doesn't have to try to shine
Water will fall
A bird just knows how to fly
You don't have to tell a flower how to bloom
Or light how to fill up a room
You already are what you are
And what you are is beautiful
Heard a story the other day
Took place at the local VA
A father talking to his dying son
This was his conversation
\"It's not supposed to be like this
You can't go first I can't handle it\"
The boy said \"Dad now don't you cry,
Remember when I was a child what you used to tell me when I'd ask why?\"
(You'd say) Gravity is gravity
It doesn't try to pull you down
[- From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/j/jewel-lyrics/what-you-are-lyrics.html -]
Stone is stone
It can't help but hold its ground
The wind just blows, though you can't see
It's everywhere like I'll always be
You already are what you are
And what you are is strong enough
Look in the mirror
Now that's another story to tell
I give love to others
But I give myself hell
I'd have to tell myself
\"In every scene there's a perfect plan\"
Everything I hoped to be
I already am
A flower is a flower
It doesn't have to try to bloom
And light is light
Just knows how to fill a room
And dark is dark
So the stars have a place to shine
The tide goes out
So it can come back another time
Goodbye makes a love so sweet
And love is love so it can teach us
We already are what we are
And what we are is beautiful
And strong enough
And good enough
And bright enough
Just a good reminder that we are all capable of so many things. We already have within us what we want to bring out, we just have to realize it. When we are kind to others, we need to save a little bit of that confidence for ourselves.
Gah. Listen to me. I could write a country song!
I'm beginning to enjoy country music a little bit.
It was hard for me to write that sentence. This is NOT okay! Don't worry, it's not a full blown problem, and I'm hoping to nip it in the bud. I've always been partial to The Dixie Chicks. Just having them as my one guilty pleasure is okay, I feel. And even now it's not too bad.
As I've mentioned before, I am a huge fan of Jewel.
Isn't she beautiful?
I purchased her latest album (released last year) about a month ago, and I can't get enough of it. It has little tastes of country here and there, with the mandolin, the giant predictable song endings, the fiddle licks after a profound line... but the biggest part about country that has always bothered me (and is very present in her album) is the cheesy lyrics! Super cheesy! You know, the old my dog died, my wife left me, my truck broke down stuff? Okay, Jewel doesn't sing about that stuff, but her cheesiest song is actually my favorite. It's been on my mind a lot lately, and I had to share the lyrics.
What You Are lyrics
I'm driving around town
Kinda bored with the windows rolled down
See a girl on the bus stop bench
Dressed to draw attention
Hoping everyone will stare
If she don't stand out she thinks she'll disappear
Wish I could hold her, tell her, show her
What she wants is already there
A star is a star
It doesn't have to try to shine
Water will fall
A bird just knows how to fly
You don't have to tell a flower how to bloom
Or light how to fill up a room
You already are what you are
And what you are is beautiful
Heard a story the other day
Took place at the local VA
A father talking to his dying son
This was his conversation
\"It's not supposed to be like this
You can't go first I can't handle it\"
The boy said \"Dad now don't you cry,
Remember when I was a child what you used to tell me when I'd ask why?\"
(You'd say) Gravity is gravity
It doesn't try to pull you down
[- From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/j/jewel-lyrics/what-you-are-lyrics.html -]
Stone is stone
It can't help but hold its ground
The wind just blows, though you can't see
It's everywhere like I'll always be
You already are what you are
And what you are is strong enough
Look in the mirror
Now that's another story to tell
I give love to others
But I give myself hell
I'd have to tell myself
\"In every scene there's a perfect plan\"
Everything I hoped to be
I already am
A flower is a flower
It doesn't have to try to bloom
And light is light
Just knows how to fill a room
And dark is dark
So the stars have a place to shine
The tide goes out
So it can come back another time
Goodbye makes a love so sweet
And love is love so it can teach us
We already are what we are
And what we are is beautiful
And strong enough
And good enough
And bright enough
Just a good reminder that we are all capable of so many things. We already have within us what we want to bring out, we just have to realize it. When we are kind to others, we need to save a little bit of that confidence for ourselves.
Gah. Listen to me. I could write a country song!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Gnocchi recipe
Lately I've been trying some new dinner recipes, using more fresh ingredients and less meat. In this day and age, the internet is so helpful! I have about 15 cookbooks, but when I want to try something new and see what it will actually look like, I just use Google and type in what I'm in the mood for.
Last night I made skillet gnocchi with chard and white beans. Halfway through I was losing hope; it was looking very runny and kind of like the goop you see in the movie "Oliver!". But after I let it sit and thicken up, it looked a lot better. Here's what mine looked like:
Doesn't look as good as the picture online, but it tasted good!
Here's the recipe:
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi, (see Tip)
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
6 cups chopped chard leaves, (about 1 small bunch) or spinach (I USED SPINACH)
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings
1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
PREPARATION
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and water. Cover and cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chard (or spinach) and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pepper and bring to a simmer. Stir in the gnocchi and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 3 minutes.
TIPS & NOTES
Tip: Look for shelf-stable gnocchi near other pasta in the Italian section of most supermarkets.
6 Servings, 30 minute prep
Last night I made skillet gnocchi with chard and white beans. Halfway through I was losing hope; it was looking very runny and kind of like the goop you see in the movie "Oliver!". But after I let it sit and thicken up, it looked a lot better. Here's what mine looked like:
Doesn't look as good as the picture online, but it tasted good!
Here's the recipe:
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi, (see Tip)
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
6 cups chopped chard leaves, (about 1 small bunch) or spinach (I USED SPINACH)
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings
1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
PREPARATION
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and water. Cover and cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chard (or spinach) and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pepper and bring to a simmer. Stir in the gnocchi and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 3 minutes.
TIPS & NOTES
Tip: Look for shelf-stable gnocchi near other pasta in the Italian section of most supermarkets.
6 Servings, 30 minute prep
Saturday, August 6, 2011
50 Life Changing Tips
I found this list of 50 ideas on improving your life. I am a big fan of lists of any sort, though I usually skim them. This one is so amazing, I read every word. I'm going to try and adopt one every day; maybe make a 50 day challenge. Some are easier than others to start right away. Here is the link (sorry it's not highlighted, you'll have to enter it in manually)
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/8YZSE0/www.highexistence.com/life-secrets-and-tips/comment-page-1
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/8YZSE0/www.highexistence.com/life-secrets-and-tips/comment-page-1
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Of shoes, of ships, of sealing wax.
For the past several days I have started and deleted a few blogs, unsure of a good topic to blog about. Today I'm just going to share little tidbits instead of pressuring myself with one big idea. :)
This weekend I'm performing Mozart's Mass in C Minor with an orchestra and vocalists. When I picked up the music a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was really easy and didn't need to be practiced too much. But then I looked at the tempo markings and realized I had a small project on my hands. It's been a really long time since I've had to practice with a deadline coming up. Since I graduated, my practicing has been very leisurely. I pick up whatever piece sounds like fun and work on it until I want to try something new. But now I have become reacquainted with the metronome and with slowing things down just to speed them back up again later. It's been very nice and a good challenge for me. My metronome has been out of batteries for a while now, so instead of going to the store and buying a 9 Volt, I found a free metronome online and plugged my headphones into the computer. SO much more helpful than any metronome I've ever used before, I think I'll stick with it! I've also found that my most productive practicing happens in front of Jake. When Jake is in the room I want it to sound good so I work harder and get it done faster. He's been a good sport about it; when he comes home from work he plays his video game but I'm sitting 3 feet away playing in his ear, haha. I think he appreciates that I want to impress him, though.
I've been listening to a lot of Jewel lately. It stemmed from watching her new show on Bravo, Platinum Hit. It's a really cool show; 12 songwriters come on and participate in ridiculous, never-would-happen-in-real-life challenges to see who will make it to the next week. Basically the same format as Project Runway. Anyway, Jewel is one of the judges, along with Kara Dioguardi, who I CAN'T STAND. I couldn't stand her on American Idol; in fact, that's mainly why I stopped watching. But Jewel is pretty amazing. Her music is on every time I do the dishes, so I kind of look forward to it now. I realized she has released 2 albums since I bought her last ("Goodbye Alice in Wonderland", 2006) so I went on Amazon and ordered both albums for about $3 each. I love how she can and does tackle any genre. She's country, pop, folk, alternative... so amazing. I love me some Jewel.
When I fall asleep at night, my mind tends to become very smart, for some reason. Let me explain. I have very intelligent thoughts that I don't have when fully awake. It reminds me of this anecdote I heard about Sir Isaac Newton. The story is that Newton realized his brain was at its full potential when he was somewhere between awake and asleep. So he would sit in a chair and hold something in the palm of his hand, and allow himself to start to fall asleep. When he fell asleep, the object in his hand would drop, thus waking him up just enough to pick up the object off the ground and do it all over again. So it was a constant state of limbo. I find this to be the case for myself, too. I'm no Isaac Newton, by any means. But I have huge epiphanies while dozing off that could potentially develop into great ideas. The problem is that I usually forget by morning. Sometimes in my dreams I am a stand up comedian or an incredible songwriter, who comes up with hit songs or make people laugh hysterically. I wish we could somehow record our dreams and watch them over and over again. I think I'm pretty awesome in my dreams! I've been thinking a lot about the human brain generally, lately. The last few weeks I have made many trips to and from Logan and Orem, most often alone in my car. I bring my iPod and listen to many different artists. Some of the songs I put on I haven't heard in years. But somehow the lyrics come back to me, like an old familiar friend, and I haven't given these words any thought in all those years. Isn't that amazing, that our brain can store such meaningless information in a little corner, and bring it out when needed? The same goes for old faces that we feel we've seen before, or familiar smells that take us back to our childhood. I am in total awe of our potential, as humans. To me, this is the ultimate proof that there is a greater being who created us. How could random science be so articulate and perfect when it comes to creating the brain? So amazing.
I often think about how I want to raise my children; how we will spend our summers, what interests they will acquire, if they will develop the same annoying characteristics that I have, if they will be born with Jake's cute face... it's like a huge mystery. A few months ago at church, someone gave a lesson on finances and saving money. Many people brought up the point that Americans buy houses that they simply cannot afford, and that is why the country is in so much trouble, blah blah blah. A man raised his hand and said that his parents bought a modest home (not dumpy but not elaborate) and used the money they could have used toward a huge mortgage on family trips and experiences. He said that we only ever live in our house. It does not give us experiences or show us the world. If we use our money to take children to interesting, life changing places, wouldn't that be worth so much more? I love that. I've thought about that a lot. Jake and I are nowhere near buying a home, because we don't know where we want to end up yet. But I think we will keep that in mind. I would love to take the kids to Disneyland every 2 years or something like that.
The end.
This weekend I'm performing Mozart's Mass in C Minor with an orchestra and vocalists. When I picked up the music a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was really easy and didn't need to be practiced too much. But then I looked at the tempo markings and realized I had a small project on my hands. It's been a really long time since I've had to practice with a deadline coming up. Since I graduated, my practicing has been very leisurely. I pick up whatever piece sounds like fun and work on it until I want to try something new. But now I have become reacquainted with the metronome and with slowing things down just to speed them back up again later. It's been very nice and a good challenge for me. My metronome has been out of batteries for a while now, so instead of going to the store and buying a 9 Volt, I found a free metronome online and plugged my headphones into the computer. SO much more helpful than any metronome I've ever used before, I think I'll stick with it! I've also found that my most productive practicing happens in front of Jake. When Jake is in the room I want it to sound good so I work harder and get it done faster. He's been a good sport about it; when he comes home from work he plays his video game but I'm sitting 3 feet away playing in his ear, haha. I think he appreciates that I want to impress him, though.
I've been listening to a lot of Jewel lately. It stemmed from watching her new show on Bravo, Platinum Hit. It's a really cool show; 12 songwriters come on and participate in ridiculous, never-would-happen-in-real-life challenges to see who will make it to the next week. Basically the same format as Project Runway. Anyway, Jewel is one of the judges, along with Kara Dioguardi, who I CAN'T STAND. I couldn't stand her on American Idol; in fact, that's mainly why I stopped watching. But Jewel is pretty amazing. Her music is on every time I do the dishes, so I kind of look forward to it now. I realized she has released 2 albums since I bought her last ("Goodbye Alice in Wonderland", 2006) so I went on Amazon and ordered both albums for about $3 each. I love how she can and does tackle any genre. She's country, pop, folk, alternative... so amazing. I love me some Jewel.
When I fall asleep at night, my mind tends to become very smart, for some reason. Let me explain. I have very intelligent thoughts that I don't have when fully awake. It reminds me of this anecdote I heard about Sir Isaac Newton. The story is that Newton realized his brain was at its full potential when he was somewhere between awake and asleep. So he would sit in a chair and hold something in the palm of his hand, and allow himself to start to fall asleep. When he fell asleep, the object in his hand would drop, thus waking him up just enough to pick up the object off the ground and do it all over again. So it was a constant state of limbo. I find this to be the case for myself, too. I'm no Isaac Newton, by any means. But I have huge epiphanies while dozing off that could potentially develop into great ideas. The problem is that I usually forget by morning. Sometimes in my dreams I am a stand up comedian or an incredible songwriter, who comes up with hit songs or make people laugh hysterically. I wish we could somehow record our dreams and watch them over and over again. I think I'm pretty awesome in my dreams! I've been thinking a lot about the human brain generally, lately. The last few weeks I have made many trips to and from Logan and Orem, most often alone in my car. I bring my iPod and listen to many different artists. Some of the songs I put on I haven't heard in years. But somehow the lyrics come back to me, like an old familiar friend, and I haven't given these words any thought in all those years. Isn't that amazing, that our brain can store such meaningless information in a little corner, and bring it out when needed? The same goes for old faces that we feel we've seen before, or familiar smells that take us back to our childhood. I am in total awe of our potential, as humans. To me, this is the ultimate proof that there is a greater being who created us. How could random science be so articulate and perfect when it comes to creating the brain? So amazing.
I often think about how I want to raise my children; how we will spend our summers, what interests they will acquire, if they will develop the same annoying characteristics that I have, if they will be born with Jake's cute face... it's like a huge mystery. A few months ago at church, someone gave a lesson on finances and saving money. Many people brought up the point that Americans buy houses that they simply cannot afford, and that is why the country is in so much trouble, blah blah blah. A man raised his hand and said that his parents bought a modest home (not dumpy but not elaborate) and used the money they could have used toward a huge mortgage on family trips and experiences. He said that we only ever live in our house. It does not give us experiences or show us the world. If we use our money to take children to interesting, life changing places, wouldn't that be worth so much more? I love that. I've thought about that a lot. Jake and I are nowhere near buying a home, because we don't know where we want to end up yet. But I think we will keep that in mind. I would love to take the kids to Disneyland every 2 years or something like that.
The end.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Saves the day.
Without airing out anyone's dirty laundry, and honestly trying not to receive pity from anyone...
Today was the absolute worst day that I can recall thus far in my life.
Let's just say I've got about 100 emotions running rampant in my poor little brain all at once.
It's important to document this day, because there were a few saving graces that at least distracted me.
FRIENDS. Monica, Phoebe, Rachel, Joey, Ross and Chandler: Thanks, guys. Sometimes you really feel like my friends.
This week's PEOPLE Magazine. I got to read about Emily Maynard and Brad Womack's sad breakup. Made me feel like my life is pretty happy after all.
Jake doing everything he can to make me laugh.
$5 pizza from Little Caesar's.
LDS.org. My favorite search engine for a little inspiration.
Spontaneous trip to the gym for a quick run to purge my emotions.
Followed directly by a cold shower. I'd never taken one before. Very refreshing.
The Real Housewives of New York. Oh man, those women are crazy. Another verification that my life is normal.
Super Smash Brothers with Jake. He hates that game, but he was a sweetheart and let us play for a bit.
Every once in a while, when things get really bad, little good things can add up to make it bearable.
Today was the absolute worst day that I can recall thus far in my life.
Let's just say I've got about 100 emotions running rampant in my poor little brain all at once.
It's important to document this day, because there were a few saving graces that at least distracted me.
FRIENDS. Monica, Phoebe, Rachel, Joey, Ross and Chandler: Thanks, guys. Sometimes you really feel like my friends.
This week's PEOPLE Magazine. I got to read about Emily Maynard and Brad Womack's sad breakup. Made me feel like my life is pretty happy after all.
Jake doing everything he can to make me laugh.
$5 pizza from Little Caesar's.
LDS.org. My favorite search engine for a little inspiration.
Spontaneous trip to the gym for a quick run to purge my emotions.
Followed directly by a cold shower. I'd never taken one before. Very refreshing.
The Real Housewives of New York. Oh man, those women are crazy. Another verification that my life is normal.
Super Smash Brothers with Jake. He hates that game, but he was a sweetheart and let us play for a bit.
Every once in a while, when things get really bad, little good things can add up to make it bearable.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
A plea to all young/future mothers.
The other day I dragged Jake to Bath and Body works because we were all out of hand soap in the bathroom, and my hands have become too spoiled to buy the grocery store brands anymore. Imagine my surprise when most everything in the store was 50-75% off! So I grabbed some body wash too, since I was about out of that. Spent about $5 in total. Cheaper than the grocery store stuff! For all you ladies, go check out your local Bath and Body Works; the sale goes through til sometime in July.
But that's not what this post is about...
While in said store, we were waiting in line to purchase said products, and in front of us was this woman who, from behind, looked to be about 25. She turned around and I realized she had to be at least 10-15 years older. TONS of colorful makeup, especially around the eyes. I have no problem with women wanting to look younger as the grow older. But she was sporting some clothes that should not be worn by anyone over the age of 18. I decided not to judge (as you can see), but then I looked next to her and saw her daughter who couldn't be older than 9 or 10 years old. I'd say 8. She was a cute little blonde haired girl, but something was wrong. Oh yes. She was wearing pitch black mascara. At such a young age! Not only that but she was wearing clothing very similar to her mother's, trying to act around the age of 25 as well. She also had a designer purse that was about the size of half her body.
This is where the mother erred. She was allowing her very young daughter to believe that she could dress and act like a teenager already. Mothers: Please don't do this to your beautiful little girls! They are only children for such a short period of time. Do you really want to blur those lines in her life? Imagine looking at her on her wedding day, and you can't remember her being young and carefree, playing in the park and coming in with grass stains. There is a time and a place for children to grow up. But at the age of 8 or 9? No. Makeup and expensive purses are not a necessity for a girl at such an age.
Society has made such behavior okay. Have you heard of or seen the TV show "Toddlers and Tiaras"?
Little girls wear bikinis, wear fake hair, fake teeth and learn to dance provocatively in order to beat other girls who do the same thing. I don't need to explain how absolutely perverted and disgusting this is. This is an extreme case, but this is what some mothers do to their daughters! And television broadcasts this, not only making them spoiled but spoiled television stars. What lies ahead for these girls? I don't want to know. Though I'm sure MTV will find them for shows such as "My Super Sweet 16" or maybe even "16 And Pregnant".
Life has a natural progression. We are born, and must depend on our parents for survival. We go through our toddler years and early childhood, where we must still learn from our parents and see them as role models (not your friend who will teach you how to apply makeup). Our preteen and teen years are meant to discover who it is we really are. Late teen and early adulthood is still a little bit of that, but it is only then that we must truly discover our own independence. We should never rob our children of discovering life in each era fully. Some of my most treasured memories stem from the first 10 years of my life, when I was free to be a kid.
But that's not what this post is about...
While in said store, we were waiting in line to purchase said products, and in front of us was this woman who, from behind, looked to be about 25. She turned around and I realized she had to be at least 10-15 years older. TONS of colorful makeup, especially around the eyes. I have no problem with women wanting to look younger as the grow older. But she was sporting some clothes that should not be worn by anyone over the age of 18. I decided not to judge (as you can see), but then I looked next to her and saw her daughter who couldn't be older than 9 or 10 years old. I'd say 8. She was a cute little blonde haired girl, but something was wrong. Oh yes. She was wearing pitch black mascara. At such a young age! Not only that but she was wearing clothing very similar to her mother's, trying to act around the age of 25 as well. She also had a designer purse that was about the size of half her body.
This is where the mother erred. She was allowing her very young daughter to believe that she could dress and act like a teenager already. Mothers: Please don't do this to your beautiful little girls! They are only children for such a short period of time. Do you really want to blur those lines in her life? Imagine looking at her on her wedding day, and you can't remember her being young and carefree, playing in the park and coming in with grass stains. There is a time and a place for children to grow up. But at the age of 8 or 9? No. Makeup and expensive purses are not a necessity for a girl at such an age.
Society has made such behavior okay. Have you heard of or seen the TV show "Toddlers and Tiaras"?
Little girls wear bikinis, wear fake hair, fake teeth and learn to dance provocatively in order to beat other girls who do the same thing. I don't need to explain how absolutely perverted and disgusting this is. This is an extreme case, but this is what some mothers do to their daughters! And television broadcasts this, not only making them spoiled but spoiled television stars. What lies ahead for these girls? I don't want to know. Though I'm sure MTV will find them for shows such as "My Super Sweet 16" or maybe even "16 And Pregnant".
Life has a natural progression. We are born, and must depend on our parents for survival. We go through our toddler years and early childhood, where we must still learn from our parents and see them as role models (not your friend who will teach you how to apply makeup). Our preteen and teen years are meant to discover who it is we really are. Late teen and early adulthood is still a little bit of that, but it is only then that we must truly discover our own independence. We should never rob our children of discovering life in each era fully. Some of my most treasured memories stem from the first 10 years of my life, when I was free to be a kid.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Funny Thoughts.
So Jake has this Facebook "friend" that he went to high school with. I say "friend" because he never liked him much, but he keeps him as a friend because he says the most outrageous things on Facebook. So I decided to share these weird things with you. Just so it doesn't all go to waste, you know. I'm pretty sure they aren't all original, but it's okay.
I have a complicated relationship with zombies. They're dangerous but I love their swagger.
Fred from Scooby-Doo doesn't get enough credit for being the pioneer in alternative lifestyle cartoon characters. Oh, I see your man purse Tinky Winky and raise you a flaming orange neckerchief.
Do you think bears ever give each other really soft "people hugs?"
Karma is when you throw a banana peel in Mario Kart and you end up slipping on it.
Deers would be terrible at Frogger.
I want to see an Ancestry.com commercial where a couple finds out they're actually cousins.
The first sign of old age isn't gray hair or wrinkles, it's leaving your turn signal on for 5 miles while driving down the highway.
What exactly would happen if I messed with Texas?
"What a nice picture of you" is a great way to say "you're generally ugly, but it's hard to tell that from this photo".
Stick figures are skinny because they’re usually drawn doing jumping-jacks.
I'm terrified to sneeze while driving. For one brief second my eyes involuntarily close and I can't see the road...never mind the fact that I spend more than one second looking down at the radio to change the station.
France complains everyone makes fun of their language by imitating Maurice Chevalier or a cartoon villain. Try properly pronouncing "croissant." It's just begging for an evil mustache twirl.
"You only live once" is also an equally compelling reason not to do something.
I miss those old keyboards from middle school, they always made me sound like a typing prodigy...
I wonder how many professional ball players, after a long game, look forward to getting home and having a Capri Sun and a Fruit by the Foot.
I would assume that professional soccer players get the freaking best orange slices at halftime. Unless, of course, one of their mothers forgets that it's her game to bring them.
Birthday cakes are a little strange. Put one of your favorite TV characters on there, then watch mommy and daddy cut it up, and then you eat it. Really forces the kid to viciously kill off their childhood, but hey free cake.
I don't remember the name of any character Morgan Freeman ever played - he's just Morgan Freeman in every movie.
Its crazy to think you could smoke inside college lecture halls back in the day. Would it not be awesome to chomp on a pipe in class while wearing a blazer and say things like "Quite", "Mmmnnnyess" and "A rascal Yalie wouldn't understand!"
I wonder if Batman ever loses his balance while putting on his suit in such a hurry. Does he do the one leg hop thing we do when we miss our pant leg?
Whenever I walk into a large, mostly empty space (like a courtyard or a field or something) I immediately regret not bringing my sword or battle axe... because there's a 95% chance that a boss battle is about to occur.
They say there are loads of technological hurdles to overcome before laser weapons become practical, but let's be honest here, the only reason we don't have laser guns is that "pew pew" is not a very intimidating sound.
How is it that hipsters always live in the coolest part of town but don't have paying jobs?
When I attach my flash drive to a computer I still like to pretend I'm a spy downloading secret information and might get caught at any second.
Gruntled sounds ten times worse than disgruntled.
I never feel more idiotic than when I apologise for bumping into a mannequin.
Whenever I'm scrolling down a PDF file, that little grabby hand icon makes me think I'm copping a feel on the document.
As a man, I feel it's my personal mission in life to never have to make two trips while carrying in groceries.
Every time I close my garage door with the button inside of the garage, I like pretending I'm Indiana Jones trying to escape a temple just before the door closes.
Candy canes are by far the best holiday treat. Not only are they suckably delicious, but they can also be used as makeshift spears to ward off unwanted family holiday attacts.
If people winked in real life as much as they wink in text, this world would be a very creepy place.
I'm going to bring littering back, because people on probation need harder things to do for community service.
Hide and Seek was totally created by two friends who wanted to ditch their hated third friend with minimal confrontation.
Cranberry sauce is seriously misnamed. Sauce doesn't retain the shape of the can it comes in. Let's call it what it is. That stuff's cranberry jello.
There's nothing I hate more then when a bakery unevenly slices my bagel to where I have one mutant thick half & one piece of paper thin half.
Macaroni would be crap if it weren't for cheese. Cheese, on the other hand, doesn't need macaroni to stay pimp. I think we all know who wears the pants in the macaroni and cheese relationship.
"Sorry, we're unable to load a message from our sponsor." That's probably the most unnecessary apology I've ever received, but apology accepted, Hulu.
I think my lack of confidence in my decision-making skills stems from those ‘Choose your own adventure’ books I used to read. I can’t decide between one thing or another without worrying that somehow my choice will lead me off a cliff.
I imagine it was a pedophile who started calling his girlfriend "baby". How it caught on is an entirely different and more disturbing mystery.
I open the microwave door with one second left because it makes me feel like a bomb disposal expert.
All the landmarks and millions of beautiful places on Google Earth, and the first place everyone looks at is their own house.
Why do they include the nutritional information for both the unpopped and popped versions of microwave popcorn? Is someone out there snacking on kernels?
Checking Facebook is similar to when I say "um" -- it's filler between things that are actually important.
The guy who invented the "@" symbol needs to admit that he was just trying to write a lower-case "a" and things got a little out of hand.
Am I alone in thinking the Cookie Monster would make an awesome heavy metal singer?
That should be enough. I hope you smiled. :)
I have a complicated relationship with zombies. They're dangerous but I love their swagger.
Fred from Scooby-Doo doesn't get enough credit for being the pioneer in alternative lifestyle cartoon characters. Oh, I see your man purse Tinky Winky and raise you a flaming orange neckerchief.
Do you think bears ever give each other really soft "people hugs?"
Karma is when you throw a banana peel in Mario Kart and you end up slipping on it.
Deers would be terrible at Frogger.
I want to see an Ancestry.com commercial where a couple finds out they're actually cousins.
The first sign of old age isn't gray hair or wrinkles, it's leaving your turn signal on for 5 miles while driving down the highway.
What exactly would happen if I messed with Texas?
"What a nice picture of you" is a great way to say "you're generally ugly, but it's hard to tell that from this photo".
Stick figures are skinny because they’re usually drawn doing jumping-jacks.
I'm terrified to sneeze while driving. For one brief second my eyes involuntarily close and I can't see the road...never mind the fact that I spend more than one second looking down at the radio to change the station.
France complains everyone makes fun of their language by imitating Maurice Chevalier or a cartoon villain. Try properly pronouncing "croissant." It's just begging for an evil mustache twirl.
"You only live once" is also an equally compelling reason not to do something.
I miss those old keyboards from middle school, they always made me sound like a typing prodigy...
I wonder how many professional ball players, after a long game, look forward to getting home and having a Capri Sun and a Fruit by the Foot.
I would assume that professional soccer players get the freaking best orange slices at halftime. Unless, of course, one of their mothers forgets that it's her game to bring them.
Birthday cakes are a little strange. Put one of your favorite TV characters on there, then watch mommy and daddy cut it up, and then you eat it. Really forces the kid to viciously kill off their childhood, but hey free cake.
I don't remember the name of any character Morgan Freeman ever played - he's just Morgan Freeman in every movie.
Its crazy to think you could smoke inside college lecture halls back in the day. Would it not be awesome to chomp on a pipe in class while wearing a blazer and say things like "Quite", "Mmmnnnyess" and "A rascal Yalie wouldn't understand!"
I wonder if Batman ever loses his balance while putting on his suit in such a hurry. Does he do the one leg hop thing we do when we miss our pant leg?
Whenever I walk into a large, mostly empty space (like a courtyard or a field or something) I immediately regret not bringing my sword or battle axe... because there's a 95% chance that a boss battle is about to occur.
They say there are loads of technological hurdles to overcome before laser weapons become practical, but let's be honest here, the only reason we don't have laser guns is that "pew pew" is not a very intimidating sound.
How is it that hipsters always live in the coolest part of town but don't have paying jobs?
When I attach my flash drive to a computer I still like to pretend I'm a spy downloading secret information and might get caught at any second.
Gruntled sounds ten times worse than disgruntled.
I never feel more idiotic than when I apologise for bumping into a mannequin.
Whenever I'm scrolling down a PDF file, that little grabby hand icon makes me think I'm copping a feel on the document.
As a man, I feel it's my personal mission in life to never have to make two trips while carrying in groceries.
Every time I close my garage door with the button inside of the garage, I like pretending I'm Indiana Jones trying to escape a temple just before the door closes.
Candy canes are by far the best holiday treat. Not only are they suckably delicious, but they can also be used as makeshift spears to ward off unwanted family holiday attacts.
If people winked in real life as much as they wink in text, this world would be a very creepy place.
I'm going to bring littering back, because people on probation need harder things to do for community service.
Hide and Seek was totally created by two friends who wanted to ditch their hated third friend with minimal confrontation.
Cranberry sauce is seriously misnamed. Sauce doesn't retain the shape of the can it comes in. Let's call it what it is. That stuff's cranberry jello.
There's nothing I hate more then when a bakery unevenly slices my bagel to where I have one mutant thick half & one piece of paper thin half.
Macaroni would be crap if it weren't for cheese. Cheese, on the other hand, doesn't need macaroni to stay pimp. I think we all know who wears the pants in the macaroni and cheese relationship.
"Sorry, we're unable to load a message from our sponsor." That's probably the most unnecessary apology I've ever received, but apology accepted, Hulu.
I think my lack of confidence in my decision-making skills stems from those ‘Choose your own adventure’ books I used to read. I can’t decide between one thing or another without worrying that somehow my choice will lead me off a cliff.
I imagine it was a pedophile who started calling his girlfriend "baby". How it caught on is an entirely different and more disturbing mystery.
I open the microwave door with one second left because it makes me feel like a bomb disposal expert.
All the landmarks and millions of beautiful places on Google Earth, and the first place everyone looks at is their own house.
Why do they include the nutritional information for both the unpopped and popped versions of microwave popcorn? Is someone out there snacking on kernels?
Checking Facebook is similar to when I say "um" -- it's filler between things that are actually important.
The guy who invented the "@" symbol needs to admit that he was just trying to write a lower-case "a" and things got a little out of hand.
Am I alone in thinking the Cookie Monster would make an awesome heavy metal singer?
That should be enough. I hope you smiled. :)
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
5 Albums.
My brother Kelly just wrote an outstanding list of his 5 favorite albums of all time. I couldn't pass this up. The truth is that I am always trying to put a list together in my head, but I'm always afraid of leaving something out. But I think this is pretty definitive. The only thing that made it difficult is that I grew up in the age of mix CDs and eventually, one song downloads. I don't always attach myself to entire albums, but songs. These 5 are exceptions. I feel like I just took a tour of the last 10 years of my life by making this list. Somehow I feel very emotional. I hope you take the time to read this, and to make a list of your own.
No Doubt, 'Return of Saturn'
I was turned on to No Doubt by my brother Oliver. He was a fan of them in high school and I wanted to like all the same things he did. So when I heard them for the first time, I fell in love instantly because Oliver liked them and the lead singer was a girl. Perfect. I held on to "Tragic Kingdom" for a year or two, trying to understand the complexities of the lyrics. When 'Return of Saturn' came out, Oliver had moved on to other music, so this album was completely mine. My parents bought it for me for my 13 birthday. I played it over and over on my stereo. The thing about this album is that each indivudal song is nothing particularly special. But as a whole, the album is a work of art. The lyrics and music itself are incredibly candid. At the young age of 13, this was the first bit of music that helped me to see into the life of someone in pain. I felt so very adult listening to Gwen's sad lyrics. No Doubt was my first concert, and they have always held a special place in my heart.
Keane, 'Under the Iron Sea'
This album came out the summer after I graduated high school. Some of my friends and I went to their concert in San Francisco the day it came out. The show that night was absolutely incredible. I had never experienced such a musical experience, nor have I experienced one like that since. It was probably a combination of being 18, being fresh out of high school and feeling like I wasn't quite ready to grow up, but the music I heard that night hit me like a ton of bricks. I've tried to explain the music that night, and the only word I can find to describe it is "spritual". THe sound and the words and the overall unity of everyone in the small club was surreal. That summer I listened to only that album. Every week I drove about an hour and a half out to my violin teacher's house. It was just me and Keane on full blast. THe summer was full of me being forced to grow up. I said goodbye to friends, had my heart broken and moved on in my life. Keane's magical melodies got me through.
The Swell Season, 'Once Soundtrack'
When it was finally time to leave California for college in Utah, my mom and I drove out together. We stopped halfway there and found a movie called "Once". The synopsis seemed interesting, so we put it on. The film is basically a 2 hour music video, leading you through the story of a man and a woman in Ireland who are trying to figure themselves out. There is a scene where they go into a piano shop and sit down to play a song together. As they start to play the song (Falling Slowly), I began to cry. It was one of the most beautiful songs I had ever heard. For a week after that, I was in complete awe of the music I heard. Does that ever happen to you? Have you ever experienced a piece of music before that just stays with you wherever you go? That's how all the music was from "Once". I then found out that the music from the film was from an actual band called "The Swell Season". I bought the album shortly after. My sophomore year it became something completely different to me. That year was full of a lot of pain and changes. I spent a lot of time by myself in my room. I put the album on repeat for many days straight. It became my own personal lullaby, linking me to something beautiful that reminded me of home. That year at the Oscars, Marketa and Glen won best original song for that film. In my opinion, the best Oscar moment I have witnessed. And I've never missed a year at the Oscars.
Dashboard Confessional, 'The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most'
Yes, I'm sure the decision to put these guys on the list is making you all cringe. I get it. The very definition of "emo" music. But this was my band for SO many years! Through all of high school I lived and breathed Dashboard Confessional. I sang until I was hoarse with Chris Carraba, I put on concert DVDs and sang along with the pathetic emo crowd. A dear old friend of mine introduced me to this band. At age 14, what is more appealing to a girl than hearing a gorgeous guy sing in poetic metaphors with an old beatup guitar? Somehow, this band has stood the test of time. I still love their stuff. Well, let me clarify: their first three albums, and maybe a little bit of love for "The Shade of Poison Trees". "The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most" was and is a great album. I listen to it now and feel like a a teenager again. There is no heartbreak or pain associated with it, just memories of deep conversations and good friends. The imagery associated with the lyrics to these songs is still so clear.
The Push Stars, 'Paint the Town'
Another thanks due to my brother, Oliver. Oliver got home from his mission when I was 15. He lived at home for the rest of the time I was in high school, which is one of the biggest blessings in my life. I was so lucky to have a great friend and mentor during that time. We spent a lot of time driving around Modesto, going to the mall or to the movies. Just getting out of Knights Ferry, which is pretty alienated from everything else. Oliver has a way of orchestrating a perfect line of songs, each song fitting perfectly after the last and before the next. When he got home, The Push Stars became a big part of his playlists. It was an overwhelming band to pick up on because they have quite a few albums. So I picked "Paint the Town" mainly and listened to it a lot. Each song is so powerful, each with a great climax and ending.
No Doubt, 'Return of Saturn'
I was turned on to No Doubt by my brother Oliver. He was a fan of them in high school and I wanted to like all the same things he did. So when I heard them for the first time, I fell in love instantly because Oliver liked them and the lead singer was a girl. Perfect. I held on to "Tragic Kingdom" for a year or two, trying to understand the complexities of the lyrics. When 'Return of Saturn' came out, Oliver had moved on to other music, so this album was completely mine. My parents bought it for me for my 13 birthday. I played it over and over on my stereo. The thing about this album is that each indivudal song is nothing particularly special. But as a whole, the album is a work of art. The lyrics and music itself are incredibly candid. At the young age of 13, this was the first bit of music that helped me to see into the life of someone in pain. I felt so very adult listening to Gwen's sad lyrics. No Doubt was my first concert, and they have always held a special place in my heart.
Keane, 'Under the Iron Sea'
This album came out the summer after I graduated high school. Some of my friends and I went to their concert in San Francisco the day it came out. The show that night was absolutely incredible. I had never experienced such a musical experience, nor have I experienced one like that since. It was probably a combination of being 18, being fresh out of high school and feeling like I wasn't quite ready to grow up, but the music I heard that night hit me like a ton of bricks. I've tried to explain the music that night, and the only word I can find to describe it is "spritual". THe sound and the words and the overall unity of everyone in the small club was surreal. That summer I listened to only that album. Every week I drove about an hour and a half out to my violin teacher's house. It was just me and Keane on full blast. THe summer was full of me being forced to grow up. I said goodbye to friends, had my heart broken and moved on in my life. Keane's magical melodies got me through.
The Swell Season, 'Once Soundtrack'
When it was finally time to leave California for college in Utah, my mom and I drove out together. We stopped halfway there and found a movie called "Once". The synopsis seemed interesting, so we put it on. The film is basically a 2 hour music video, leading you through the story of a man and a woman in Ireland who are trying to figure themselves out. There is a scene where they go into a piano shop and sit down to play a song together. As they start to play the song (Falling Slowly), I began to cry. It was one of the most beautiful songs I had ever heard. For a week after that, I was in complete awe of the music I heard. Does that ever happen to you? Have you ever experienced a piece of music before that just stays with you wherever you go? That's how all the music was from "Once". I then found out that the music from the film was from an actual band called "The Swell Season". I bought the album shortly after. My sophomore year it became something completely different to me. That year was full of a lot of pain and changes. I spent a lot of time by myself in my room. I put the album on repeat for many days straight. It became my own personal lullaby, linking me to something beautiful that reminded me of home. That year at the Oscars, Marketa and Glen won best original song for that film. In my opinion, the best Oscar moment I have witnessed. And I've never missed a year at the Oscars.
Dashboard Confessional, 'The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most'
Yes, I'm sure the decision to put these guys on the list is making you all cringe. I get it. The very definition of "emo" music. But this was my band for SO many years! Through all of high school I lived and breathed Dashboard Confessional. I sang until I was hoarse with Chris Carraba, I put on concert DVDs and sang along with the pathetic emo crowd. A dear old friend of mine introduced me to this band. At age 14, what is more appealing to a girl than hearing a gorgeous guy sing in poetic metaphors with an old beatup guitar? Somehow, this band has stood the test of time. I still love their stuff. Well, let me clarify: their first three albums, and maybe a little bit of love for "The Shade of Poison Trees". "The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most" was and is a great album. I listen to it now and feel like a a teenager again. There is no heartbreak or pain associated with it, just memories of deep conversations and good friends. The imagery associated with the lyrics to these songs is still so clear.
The Push Stars, 'Paint the Town'
Another thanks due to my brother, Oliver. Oliver got home from his mission when I was 15. He lived at home for the rest of the time I was in high school, which is one of the biggest blessings in my life. I was so lucky to have a great friend and mentor during that time. We spent a lot of time driving around Modesto, going to the mall or to the movies. Just getting out of Knights Ferry, which is pretty alienated from everything else. Oliver has a way of orchestrating a perfect line of songs, each song fitting perfectly after the last and before the next. When he got home, The Push Stars became a big part of his playlists. It was an overwhelming band to pick up on because they have quite a few albums. So I picked "Paint the Town" mainly and listened to it a lot. Each song is so powerful, each with a great climax and ending.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Garrett family shtuff.
Most married women who blog make it a family blog. Although my blog is technically just "mine", it's basically a family blog. Jake is a fantastic creative writer so he made his own about a year ago. So when I decided to make one a few months ago I just created my own. But lets face it; all you women who have a joint blog with your husband basically write all the blogs themselves! Anyway, my point is that this is a Jake and Hannah Garrett family update on the past little while.
Jake and I bought a car almost 2 weeks ago. It is SO great to have a car we're not embarrassed of anymore! It wasn't just that... the upkeep was becoming too much. So we sold our car to Mallory and now she has a way to travel too. I don't have to pick her up every time we want to hang out! Buying a car is a lot harder than I thought. We spent a long time calculating our monthly payment, how many years we wanted the loan to last, and what we wanted our down payment to be. When it came down to it, we had to put $500 more down and our loan length was shorter than we wanted. BUT our monthly payment is about $20 cheaper than we thought and our loan interest is ridiculously low! So you win some, you lose some. The hardest part is that if you are self-employed, getting a loan is kinda difficult. The bank wanted proof of our employment in the form of a letter from our employers. I told the car accountant that I would have to get 15 different letters, because I have 15 paychecks every month! After a lot of stress we realized that we could bring in our tax information from last year and that would work too. So now we have a blue 2006 Hyundai Elantra!
Around the same time, Jake and I realized that there was a strange $50 charge on his debit card. After looking into it more, we realized that it was a $50 donation to a bunny shelter in California! We never paid that, obviously. What a weird thing. I love bunnies, but if I am going to donate to a charity it would be for humans. So we called our bank, they cancelled his card and sent us a new one. During the time we were waiting for the new card, Jake borrowed my debit card. We just received the new card a couple days ago in the mail, but I forgot to put my debit card back in my wallet. So yesterday I went to Sam's Club to pick up a few groceries and when I got up to the checkout, I realized I didn't have my debit card. I pulled out my credit card and swiped it, but the cashier said: "Oh, we don't take VISA credit cards". All I could think was how DUMB that is! Visa is the most common card company, and a lot of people pay with credit cards. So I pulled out my old debit card (which only has about $15 on it; I don't use that bank account). I paid for the groceries with that (even though the Sam's Club total was about $40). I felt so dumb. Everyone behind me in line probably thought I was so pathetic. After I paid for the groceries, I rushed over to the university to pick Jake up from work, we headed over to our bank and pulled out $30 in cash, then ran to my old bank and put it in my account! Luckily we beat the clock and got the cash into my account in time. STRESSFUL!
As you can see, we've had some funny bad luck lately. These are only 2 examples of many. Jake and I have handled all these situations well though, I have to say. Last summer we had some really stressful stuff happen to us. It's funny how one more year of marriage together has made us closer. This time around we know each other even better, and we just work through it with ease (for the most part :) ). I wouldn't want to go through good and bad times with anyone else.
Yesterday Jake and I got our safety deposit in the mail from our old apartment. We weren't sure how much we would get back. We got the whole thing back except $50, way more than we hoped! So to celebrate, Jake and I went on a date. I know, it seems weird to make a big deal about a date when you're married. But we haven't gone out at all in a long time. So Jake said to me, while we were getting ready: "Oh hey, can I take you on a date tonight? Can I come pick you up around... right now?". I said yes, and so he walked out the front door, knocked on it, and when I opened the door he asked if my father was home so he could check what time to have me home. He is so cute!
On another note, my sister-in-law (and friend for 4 years!) Liz recently graduated. We are both pretty bored a lot of the time; graduating does that to you I guess. We've been talking about getting together so she can teach me how to get started on family history. Today we finally got together and I realized it is SO much fun! My dad's side of the family still has a lot of work to do. I'm glad I know how to kind of look around at death records and birth certificates and such.
Life is good. Exciting things are happening. My birthday is a week from today, we'll be heading down to Kaysville for Joe's graduation and then Jake's cousin is getting married the next day. I hope it will be a great summer.
Jake and I bought a car almost 2 weeks ago. It is SO great to have a car we're not embarrassed of anymore! It wasn't just that... the upkeep was becoming too much. So we sold our car to Mallory and now she has a way to travel too. I don't have to pick her up every time we want to hang out! Buying a car is a lot harder than I thought. We spent a long time calculating our monthly payment, how many years we wanted the loan to last, and what we wanted our down payment to be. When it came down to it, we had to put $500 more down and our loan length was shorter than we wanted. BUT our monthly payment is about $20 cheaper than we thought and our loan interest is ridiculously low! So you win some, you lose some. The hardest part is that if you are self-employed, getting a loan is kinda difficult. The bank wanted proof of our employment in the form of a letter from our employers. I told the car accountant that I would have to get 15 different letters, because I have 15 paychecks every month! After a lot of stress we realized that we could bring in our tax information from last year and that would work too. So now we have a blue 2006 Hyundai Elantra!
Around the same time, Jake and I realized that there was a strange $50 charge on his debit card. After looking into it more, we realized that it was a $50 donation to a bunny shelter in California! We never paid that, obviously. What a weird thing. I love bunnies, but if I am going to donate to a charity it would be for humans. So we called our bank, they cancelled his card and sent us a new one. During the time we were waiting for the new card, Jake borrowed my debit card. We just received the new card a couple days ago in the mail, but I forgot to put my debit card back in my wallet. So yesterday I went to Sam's Club to pick up a few groceries and when I got up to the checkout, I realized I didn't have my debit card. I pulled out my credit card and swiped it, but the cashier said: "Oh, we don't take VISA credit cards". All I could think was how DUMB that is! Visa is the most common card company, and a lot of people pay with credit cards. So I pulled out my old debit card (which only has about $15 on it; I don't use that bank account). I paid for the groceries with that (even though the Sam's Club total was about $40). I felt so dumb. Everyone behind me in line probably thought I was so pathetic. After I paid for the groceries, I rushed over to the university to pick Jake up from work, we headed over to our bank and pulled out $30 in cash, then ran to my old bank and put it in my account! Luckily we beat the clock and got the cash into my account in time. STRESSFUL!
As you can see, we've had some funny bad luck lately. These are only 2 examples of many. Jake and I have handled all these situations well though, I have to say. Last summer we had some really stressful stuff happen to us. It's funny how one more year of marriage together has made us closer. This time around we know each other even better, and we just work through it with ease (for the most part :) ). I wouldn't want to go through good and bad times with anyone else.
Yesterday Jake and I got our safety deposit in the mail from our old apartment. We weren't sure how much we would get back. We got the whole thing back except $50, way more than we hoped! So to celebrate, Jake and I went on a date. I know, it seems weird to make a big deal about a date when you're married. But we haven't gone out at all in a long time. So Jake said to me, while we were getting ready: "Oh hey, can I take you on a date tonight? Can I come pick you up around... right now?". I said yes, and so he walked out the front door, knocked on it, and when I opened the door he asked if my father was home so he could check what time to have me home. He is so cute!
On another note, my sister-in-law (and friend for 4 years!) Liz recently graduated. We are both pretty bored a lot of the time; graduating does that to you I guess. We've been talking about getting together so she can teach me how to get started on family history. Today we finally got together and I realized it is SO much fun! My dad's side of the family still has a lot of work to do. I'm glad I know how to kind of look around at death records and birth certificates and such.
Life is good. Exciting things are happening. My birthday is a week from today, we'll be heading down to Kaysville for Joe's graduation and then Jake's cousin is getting married the next day. I hope it will be a great summer.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
My beautiful Grandma Abbott.
Well it's another night at home alone. Jake is at work. He's been working so hard lately. Thursday and Friday he worked both jobs, being gone about 12 hours.
So naturally, I get on Facebook.
My Uncle Jerry posted some beautiful pictures of my grandma.
For the first time since she passed away, I got emotional. I'm not sure where it came from. Truthfully, I wasn't close to my dad's parents. They lived in Las Vegas, and we generally made it out there almost every summer, but probably more like every summer, just for a few days or a week. My grandparents got divorced a long time ago. I'm not sure exactly when. They decided to get married again a short time after, but then got divorced once more. They had a close relationship the rest of their lives, though. When we went out to Las Vegas we didn't have to worry about the two of them being in the same room together. They were still best friends.
My Grandpa died in December 2005. My dad made a trip out to Las Vegas to take care of his mom and see how his sibling were. A few days later we got a phone call and heard that my grandma died too. It was completely unexpected. I like to think that she died of a broken heart. Even though they were not married at the time they died, they were still great friends. It's such a sad thing, to lose both of your grandparents at the same time. I immediately began to regret not knowing them better.
My Grandma was a beautiful but fierce woman. She was always so happy to see us, especially when she came to visit us and stay at our house for a few days. She would visit with us and always wanted to hear me play the violin. Then there were other times when she would get mad at us for not maintaining our rose bushes (she loved roses) or for not having coffee in the house every morning (though we kept some for her there). She was an outstanding artist. She painted beautiful pictures that I grew up looking at. Strangely enough, we ended up with 7 paintings at the time of her death, and there are 7 Abbott children in my family. I already know which one will end up in my home someday.
My Dad's family is the most fun group of people. I owe so much of who I am to my Dad, and he is who he is because of his parents and siblings. He has 2 brothers (Joe and Jerry) and one sister (ToniAnn). I have never had the opportunity to get to know Joe, though I'm sure he's a nice man. My Uncle Jerry is one of the funniest men I have ever met. I loved when my family would come to Las Vegas and get together with him, because he is so much like my dad and brothers. Seeing them together in the same room is amazing. Such a great, genuine man. My Aunt ToniAnn is possibly the biggest sweetheart I know. A huge heart. She always gave me such great compliments growing up, always made me feel good about myself.
I'm sad that I haven't seen any of them in many years. In fact, Jake has never met a single person from my Dad's family. Some day we'll make a trip out to Las Vegas and see them.
The main reason i wanted to write this post is so that I could share some pictures of my Grandma. I want to keep a record of these, for my own kids.
Sorry the pictures are so small! I don't know how to make them bigger!
So naturally, I get on Facebook.
My Uncle Jerry posted some beautiful pictures of my grandma.
For the first time since she passed away, I got emotional. I'm not sure where it came from. Truthfully, I wasn't close to my dad's parents. They lived in Las Vegas, and we generally made it out there almost every summer, but probably more like every summer, just for a few days or a week. My grandparents got divorced a long time ago. I'm not sure exactly when. They decided to get married again a short time after, but then got divorced once more. They had a close relationship the rest of their lives, though. When we went out to Las Vegas we didn't have to worry about the two of them being in the same room together. They were still best friends.
My Grandpa died in December 2005. My dad made a trip out to Las Vegas to take care of his mom and see how his sibling were. A few days later we got a phone call and heard that my grandma died too. It was completely unexpected. I like to think that she died of a broken heart. Even though they were not married at the time they died, they were still great friends. It's such a sad thing, to lose both of your grandparents at the same time. I immediately began to regret not knowing them better.
My Grandma was a beautiful but fierce woman. She was always so happy to see us, especially when she came to visit us and stay at our house for a few days. She would visit with us and always wanted to hear me play the violin. Then there were other times when she would get mad at us for not maintaining our rose bushes (she loved roses) or for not having coffee in the house every morning (though we kept some for her there). She was an outstanding artist. She painted beautiful pictures that I grew up looking at. Strangely enough, we ended up with 7 paintings at the time of her death, and there are 7 Abbott children in my family. I already know which one will end up in my home someday.
My Dad's family is the most fun group of people. I owe so much of who I am to my Dad, and he is who he is because of his parents and siblings. He has 2 brothers (Joe and Jerry) and one sister (ToniAnn). I have never had the opportunity to get to know Joe, though I'm sure he's a nice man. My Uncle Jerry is one of the funniest men I have ever met. I loved when my family would come to Las Vegas and get together with him, because he is so much like my dad and brothers. Seeing them together in the same room is amazing. Such a great, genuine man. My Aunt ToniAnn is possibly the biggest sweetheart I know. A huge heart. She always gave me such great compliments growing up, always made me feel good about myself.
I'm sad that I haven't seen any of them in many years. In fact, Jake has never met a single person from my Dad's family. Some day we'll make a trip out to Las Vegas and see them.
The main reason i wanted to write this post is so that I could share some pictures of my Grandma. I want to keep a record of these, for my own kids.
Sorry the pictures are so small! I don't know how to make them bigger!
My Grandma in her element. Painting.
My Grandma the way I remember her.
More painting.
She was a big fan of kissing the grandkids... something completely foreign to me. I always got anxiety when i had to kiss Grandpa on the lips too.
I think I have her smile!
My Grandma and Grandpa are on the left. Don't they look so posh?
Apparently my Grandma was a bowler? I had no idea!
So beautiful.
Love seeing pictures of them together.
That's my Dad on my Grandpa's lap!
My Grandpa was a lucky man!
My Mom with my grandparents.
Woweee! What a hottie!
This picture is just funny!
My Grandpa looks SO much like my Dad in this picture, it's crazy.
Love and miss you, Grandma.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Our New Home
Hi Everyone!
I have been neglecting the blog the last couple of weeks... Jake and I just moved this past weekend so I was busy packing, unpacking and setting up in our new place! This is the 3rd place we have lived in our marriage... and we'll only have been married 2 years this upcoming August. I guess you could say I'm restless. I can never find the perfect place to live. Jake always teases me and says I can't be this restless when we buy our first house, because that's much more permanent!
I loved our first, newlywed home. It was a home split into 4 apartments. We lived on the ground level and had a lovely, wide porch. I loved having my students over there to teach. The living room had beautiful large windows and a fireplace.
I have been neglecting the blog the last couple of weeks... Jake and I just moved this past weekend so I was busy packing, unpacking and setting up in our new place! This is the 3rd place we have lived in our marriage... and we'll only have been married 2 years this upcoming August. I guess you could say I'm restless. I can never find the perfect place to live. Jake always teases me and says I can't be this restless when we buy our first house, because that's much more permanent!
I loved our first, newlywed home. It was a home split into 4 apartments. We lived on the ground level and had a lovely, wide porch. I loved having my students over there to teach. The living room had beautiful large windows and a fireplace.
As much as we both loved that place, we decided to move because our teeny tiny bathroom was only accessible through our bedroom. I know that seems silly, but it always got a little weird when one of my students had to use the restroom and they had to walk through and see Jake sitting on the bed. A bit personal. So we left that place and moved.
The next place we moved had so much more room. It had two bedrooms, a bathroom big enough for us to both walk around in a little, a huge kitchen, covered parking and a bigger living room. I felt so lucky to have a bigger place, and Jake got his own office in the second room. I'm a big believer in letting men have their own space. Sometimes as wives we decorate the home with our own pretty things and forget that it is our home with our husband, not just a place that should look nice with our own things. So Jake had this whole big room to put his gnomes, his Star Wars poster, his Spongebob stuff and anything else he came across.
Once again, I became restless. I would have been happy staying here. In fact, when we moved here I was sure that we would be there long enough to convert Jake's office into a baby room someday. But we decided to move once again. There were many reasons this time. Jake had a hard time sleeping at night because it was so bright in our room at night. The street lights were always on right outside our windows. We were in a very high traffic location so it was also very loud at all hours. I often woke up from neighbors getting up at odd hours or motorcycles speeding by. Jake didn't want to make a move again unless we found something cheaper or allowed pets, and we found the place we just moved into for much cheaper.
I always like to save money where I can. Jake and I were doing fine paying for the other place, but last summer we had a real financial scare because Jake didn't start his new job for a whole month and the job I had didn't pay me until I had been working there for almost 2 months. We also want to buy a new car. We were all set to buy one until I decided not to take the job I was planning on (see about that in an earlier post). So now we are just saving a lot of money living here, it's wonderful! It is the cheapest place that we have lived, and maybe the smallest, but it feels more like home than anything else.
I really love this place.
I grew up in the country most of my life, and was used to the quiet. This place is out of the way, and so so quiet. We have a cute little backyard with a barbecue, swing bench and some steps that lead up to a scenic trail. I feel so at home. It still has two bedrooms so Jake can keep his office. I feel like we have our own home. In the other two places I felt like we were one of a million people living in the same space. Here, we are much cozier. I'm so thankful to be here.
I was feeling a little anxious about teaching here, however. I knew some of my students would wonder why we moved into a place that was a little smaller, and I didn't want to have to explain everything I just wrote here! Some of my younger students were very tactless.
"Why is your table in the living room?"
"Why is your kitchen so small?"
"Your ceiling is lower here than your other place!"
"Why would you move here?"
"Is this place bigger than your other place?"
Kids will be kids. We love them because they are honest, so we have to take the good with the bad, right? I tried to not let it get to me. This place is better in so many ways to Jake and I.
I think we'll stay here as long as we are in Logan.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Feeling blessed.
It's been a rough couple of days. I was so excited to come back home to Logan because I missed Jake so much, but he's been so busy that I've hardly seen him! It's no fun coming home to an empty apartment after I just spent a week surrounded with people I love. But it's absolutely worth it to be here when Jake gets home and we can finally talk.
Despite not finding another job yet and feeling kind of lonely at home sometimes, I am feeling greatly blessed.
I realized today that I just needed to spend some time outside, doing something. So I ran a few errands, took Mal to lunch, visited Jake at work and it totally did the trick. I'm back home now but I did something with my morning.
I have many things to look forward to. We're heading down to Orem (AGAIN!) this weekend for my cousin's wedding. Couldn't be happier for Taylor and Lance. We'll get to see my family which is always a pleasure.
Mallory has decided to stay in Logan this summer. I have to admit that I'm excited about this, because last summer she left me for California and I hated it! I just need her around. The day that we move to different towns will be a sad day.
It's officially less than two weeks until we move! So that's kind of exciting and daunting at the same time.
Sometimes it helps to count your blessings. :)
Despite not finding another job yet and feeling kind of lonely at home sometimes, I am feeling greatly blessed.
I realized today that I just needed to spend some time outside, doing something. So I ran a few errands, took Mal to lunch, visited Jake at work and it totally did the trick. I'm back home now but I did something with my morning.
I have many things to look forward to. We're heading down to Orem (AGAIN!) this weekend for my cousin's wedding. Couldn't be happier for Taylor and Lance. We'll get to see my family which is always a pleasure.
Mallory has decided to stay in Logan this summer. I have to admit that I'm excited about this, because last summer she left me for California and I hated it! I just need her around. The day that we move to different towns will be a sad day.
It's officially less than two weeks until we move! So that's kind of exciting and daunting at the same time.
Sometimes it helps to count your blessings. :)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Why job searching is no fun at all.
Hi All. It's been over a week since I last posted. And let me tell you what, today is not a good day.
So as I said before, I accepted this job a couple weeks ago that I was supposed to start this week. The job was taking care of a lady who is paralyzed and in a wheelchair, helping her go to bed and cooking meals from 7pm-9pm every single night. Sounds awful, right? Just the hours, mainly. I accepted it because she gave it to me right no the spot at our interview and I really need a job. So that was good news. Well I started to not feel so good about it. At the interview she told me that with the job she wouldn't want me to get pregnant. Umm, I'd like that option open for myself and my husband please! Then yesterday she called. It went something like this (paraphrased, of course).
woman: Hi Hannah, can you come in for training on Wednesday?
me: yes, sounds great!
woman: Which shift did we decide on, the morning or night shift?
me: night.
woman: oh okay, because I still need someone for morning.
me: oh I would much rather take morning if that's available!
woman: (sounding defensive) why would you rather take morning?
me: I can do both but morning is preferred because I'd like the nights to do things with my husband.
woman: do you have another job?
me: I teach violin lessons in the afternoon
woman: oh. I guess that's okay.
me: so would you like me to work mornings then?
woman: oh, I already have someone working mornings.
me: ... okay...?
woman: so you can come in for training on Wednesday?
me: yep, I'll be there.
Now before you get mad, this woman is not mentally handicapped in anyway, at least that is apparent to me. We had a very normal conversation at my interview. But first of all, she should not have to approve if I have other jobs or not! The description is for 2 hours very early in the morning or very late at night! And then she totally contradicted herself, saying she needs someone to work mornings and then that she already has someone.
It gets worse.
After hanging up the phone, I went out into the living room totally confused. Jake was there, along with my mom, Mallory, Mallory's boyfriend and Mallory's friend. I said I just felt like something was off about this woman. It felt that as soon as I would take this job my life as I knew it would be over. I would be on call at all times.
SO.
I then decided this job wasn't for me. Better no job and suffer a while than this job and suffer permanently. I haven't told her yet I will not take the job. But this morning I get online on a job listing website (the same that I found hers on) and she posted my job for someone else! BOTH morning and night positions! I was shocked and embarrassed. I have no idea what I would have been in for if I actually decided to go to training tomorrow. In our 2 or 3 conversations it was very clear I had the job already. I'm kind of upset, as you can see.
But then there was some silver lining.
I applied to work at my gym. I got an email last night asking me if I would like an interview. I responded right away and said yes, of course. So then this morning I woke up early with Jake and my mom to drive her to the airport. The whole way there and back I was checking my email to see if there was a response. No response. I figured it would take them a while to get back to me. Well, because I have been getting inconsistent sleep the last few days I came home after the airport and just crashed in bed. I was asleep until 11:15 when I had a phone call. I looked over and didn't recognize the number so I didn't pick it up. After I missed it I realized it could be the gym. SO I check my email really quick, and my message says this:
"Could you come in at 11:15 this morning to interview?"
Obviously, I didn't get the email. I called back and the woman sounded rather annoyed that I didn't respond to her email. A PHONE CALL WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE! I asked if there were other times. One was for noon, and I could have showered really quick and made it except that Jake parked the car at the transit center. The other time was 3:00, which is when I am teaching. So just like that, no interview. This job is no longer a possibility.
Because apparently in the year 2011, if you want a job you need to check your email every half hour.
A bit unprofessional, if you ask me.
So those are the job opportunities in Logan, UT, my friends. Crazy people who can't make up their minds. I really hope something comes along soon.
Sorry to be so depressing. Hopefully in 6 months I will come back and read this and just laugh, because the job I landed was way better than either of these.
So as I said before, I accepted this job a couple weeks ago that I was supposed to start this week. The job was taking care of a lady who is paralyzed and in a wheelchair, helping her go to bed and cooking meals from 7pm-9pm every single night. Sounds awful, right? Just the hours, mainly. I accepted it because she gave it to me right no the spot at our interview and I really need a job. So that was good news. Well I started to not feel so good about it. At the interview she told me that with the job she wouldn't want me to get pregnant. Umm, I'd like that option open for myself and my husband please! Then yesterday she called. It went something like this (paraphrased, of course).
woman: Hi Hannah, can you come in for training on Wednesday?
me: yes, sounds great!
woman: Which shift did we decide on, the morning or night shift?
me: night.
woman: oh okay, because I still need someone for morning.
me: oh I would much rather take morning if that's available!
woman: (sounding defensive) why would you rather take morning?
me: I can do both but morning is preferred because I'd like the nights to do things with my husband.
woman: do you have another job?
me: I teach violin lessons in the afternoon
woman: oh. I guess that's okay.
me: so would you like me to work mornings then?
woman: oh, I already have someone working mornings.
me: ... okay...?
woman: so you can come in for training on Wednesday?
me: yep, I'll be there.
Now before you get mad, this woman is not mentally handicapped in anyway, at least that is apparent to me. We had a very normal conversation at my interview. But first of all, she should not have to approve if I have other jobs or not! The description is for 2 hours very early in the morning or very late at night! And then she totally contradicted herself, saying she needs someone to work mornings and then that she already has someone.
It gets worse.
After hanging up the phone, I went out into the living room totally confused. Jake was there, along with my mom, Mallory, Mallory's boyfriend and Mallory's friend. I said I just felt like something was off about this woman. It felt that as soon as I would take this job my life as I knew it would be over. I would be on call at all times.
SO.
I then decided this job wasn't for me. Better no job and suffer a while than this job and suffer permanently. I haven't told her yet I will not take the job. But this morning I get online on a job listing website (the same that I found hers on) and she posted my job for someone else! BOTH morning and night positions! I was shocked and embarrassed. I have no idea what I would have been in for if I actually decided to go to training tomorrow. In our 2 or 3 conversations it was very clear I had the job already. I'm kind of upset, as you can see.
But then there was some silver lining.
I applied to work at my gym. I got an email last night asking me if I would like an interview. I responded right away and said yes, of course. So then this morning I woke up early with Jake and my mom to drive her to the airport. The whole way there and back I was checking my email to see if there was a response. No response. I figured it would take them a while to get back to me. Well, because I have been getting inconsistent sleep the last few days I came home after the airport and just crashed in bed. I was asleep until 11:15 when I had a phone call. I looked over and didn't recognize the number so I didn't pick it up. After I missed it I realized it could be the gym. SO I check my email really quick, and my message says this:
"Could you come in at 11:15 this morning to interview?"
Obviously, I didn't get the email. I called back and the woman sounded rather annoyed that I didn't respond to her email. A PHONE CALL WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE! I asked if there were other times. One was for noon, and I could have showered really quick and made it except that Jake parked the car at the transit center. The other time was 3:00, which is when I am teaching. So just like that, no interview. This job is no longer a possibility.
Because apparently in the year 2011, if you want a job you need to check your email every half hour.
A bit unprofessional, if you ask me.
So those are the job opportunities in Logan, UT, my friends. Crazy people who can't make up their minds. I really hope something comes along soon.
Sorry to be so depressing. Hopefully in 6 months I will come back and read this and just laugh, because the job I landed was way better than either of these.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Tribute to my best friend on her birthday.
Today is my best friend's birthday.
My best friend is the beautiful, multi-talented Rebecca Fisher.
Becca and I met in high school. We knew each other all four years but only became best friends during our senior year of high school. Before that we had a weird relationship. I called her "Reb" because I wanted to be different from everyone else, who called her the latter part of her name, "Becca". She must of thought I was a total crazy.
We were so close senior year. After that we had a fantastic summer and I moved away to Logan, Utah. It's always hard to sustain a friendship from 800 miles away, but we called each other a lot and when I came home in the summers we would spend most of our time together.
Then I got engaged. It was hard on our friendship a little because Becca hadn't met Jake and it all happened very fast. It also meant I couldn't come home again in the summer and I would spend most of my holidays in Logan. She was so supportive through all of it, was a beautiful bridesmaid at our wedding and continues to be one of my best friends, even from far away.
I owe Becca so much. My sophomore year of college was one of the worst years of my entire life. Take that back, maybe the very worst. I had some hard months of heartbreak, betrayal and overall sadness. Becca dropped everything and came to stay with me in Logan for about a week during this time. I can honestly say that if it wasn't for her, I may have never recovered. I can never thank her enough.
I love Becca, and miss her all the time! Today is hard because I wish I could help her celebrate her 23rd birthday, but I can only give her a blog tribute.
I was looking through some pictures of us, and we have a TON! I am going to post some, but it's only about half of the pictures that I found of us. Crazy!
Happy birthday, Becca!
My best friend is the beautiful, multi-talented Rebecca Fisher.
Becca and I met in high school. We knew each other all four years but only became best friends during our senior year of high school. Before that we had a weird relationship. I called her "Reb" because I wanted to be different from everyone else, who called her the latter part of her name, "Becca". She must of thought I was a total crazy.
We were so close senior year. After that we had a fantastic summer and I moved away to Logan, Utah. It's always hard to sustain a friendship from 800 miles away, but we called each other a lot and when I came home in the summers we would spend most of our time together.
Then I got engaged. It was hard on our friendship a little because Becca hadn't met Jake and it all happened very fast. It also meant I couldn't come home again in the summer and I would spend most of my holidays in Logan. She was so supportive through all of it, was a beautiful bridesmaid at our wedding and continues to be one of my best friends, even from far away.
I owe Becca so much. My sophomore year of college was one of the worst years of my entire life. Take that back, maybe the very worst. I had some hard months of heartbreak, betrayal and overall sadness. Becca dropped everything and came to stay with me in Logan for about a week during this time. I can honestly say that if it wasn't for her, I may have never recovered. I can never thank her enough.
I love Becca, and miss her all the time! Today is hard because I wish I could help her celebrate her 23rd birthday, but I can only give her a blog tribute.
I was looking through some pictures of us, and we have a TON! I am going to post some, but it's only about half of the pictures that I found of us. Crazy!
Happy birthday, Becca!
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