One week cleansing info.

So a few people have asked me about the cleanse diet I'm doing this week. My cousin's wife and her sister write an amazing diet blog, so I'll just post the link so you can see it there:

http://adailydoseofdieting.blogspot.com/2011/03/cleanse-little-more-info.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fxpwgu+%28A+Daily+Dose+of+Dieting%29

I'm on day #2, vegetable day. Yesterday I could only eat fruit, and it was kind of rough. I actually sat in complete silence for a couple of minutes at one point and was having daydreams about a Big Mac... but today is much better! The hardest part is just remembering that you can't eat anything else. Give it a try!

Now a quick personal post :)

Day #14: A picture of someone you can't imagine your life without.

My husband, Jake.

I was looking through pictures to pick one of him, and I just had to put this one up. He is so kind, caring, fun, sensitive and just plain silly. I love how he is with kids, like in this picture. He will be a great dad someday.

Today is actually the 2 year anniversary of when he asked me to marry him. I can't believe it's only been two years, I feel like I've known my sweet Jake forever. I know, I'm being super cheesy, but today is kind of special for us. :)

I love you, Jake!

My favorite music.

Day #... I can't remember. 12? 13? Anyway.

A Picture of my favorite band or artist.

I feel like in this day and age, people are trying out new bands all the time to discover the next big thing. Everyone wants to recommend a new artist to their friends so that they can claim they found them before anyone else. The more obscure, the better the music.

THIS is what iTunes has done to music listeners everywhere.

People can download one or two songs for a couple of bucks, so that they can give the band a trial period. Pretty smart idea. But what we get is teenagers and people in their twenty-somethings taking pride in the fact that they have 20 new bands this week that they like. In a month, they will be old news, but will still be cataloged into their brains as something they can bring up at dinner with friends. As a result, people have too many half-hearted allegiances to too many bands.


So who cares? It's just music. Well to me, the music I listen to is deeply personal, and it takes a lot for me to seek out a new band and add them to my listening collection. Most of the music I listen to now is music I listened to in high school. It's kind of embarrassing in a way. Maybe I never grew up. Also, much of the music I listen to is a result of what my brother Oliver liked. I always wanted to like the same things he liked, so I still listen to his old favorite bands. He's moved on, and I'm stuck with 90s alternative bands who are now in their late 30s and early 40s, going through mid-life crises.

The worst part is that even though I am a musician, I have the worst time memorizing lyrics. I have been listening to the same songs for years, and I still don't know the words to many songs. I'm not sure why that is. Nevertheless, I am fiercely loyal to my music.

So there is a preface. I will name some of the bands that have stood the test of time.

Better Than Ezra

No Doubt

Keane (not so much their last 2 albums... I've tried. Maybe someday I'll like them.)

The Beatles

Guster

These are just the favoritest of the favorites. But my most favorite of all time is probably The Swell Season.

Sloths, Scrabble and Pickles.

So it feels like a million years since I've blogged! There's not really a reason I took a few days off. I guess I was focusing on other things. I had a fabulous weekend!

On Friday Jake and I went to lunch at Logan's Heroes; a sub shop which is about as old as time in downtown Logan. The guy who owns it is super funny and always makes conversation. Jake got a gyro and loved it. I like when he enjoys the places that I suggest. Then we went to Books of Yesterday, just a block or two north of the sub shop. It's also extremely old, and HUGE. It has two and a half floors, with books piled up everywhere. Words can't describe how many books. In fact, I took a picture.

Its like stepping back in time when you walk in. Really cool place. We didn't end up buying anything, we mostly just went to look. I felt bad leaving without buying anything, because I honestly don't know how they pay the bills and keep that place open.

 On Saturday Mal and I went down to Orem to our cousin Teresa's baby shower.

This isn't everyone, just the Nash cousins that came. I love all of these girls so much! Teresa and Robin have been trying to have a baby for 10 years, so this was a joyous occasion. I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

After the shower, Mal and I stayed in Orem the rest of the day. I wasn't in a hurry to get home, since Jake was working until 10. We basically just sat around and talked, which is my favorite thing to do with my brothers and their wives.

On Sunday Jake and I went to church. The bishop got up and spoke to us about ward goals in missionary work. He also talked about how our spouse should be our main priority in our lives, and that nobody should be more important than your wife or husband. It was a really great talk. I looked over at Jake and just thought about how much I love him. For the third hour of church I got to play with cute little kids, as always. They are all around the ages of 18 months and 2 years old. I just love them! They seem to like us too, especially when we bring out bubbles. :)

Later that night we played Scrabble. We play co-op Scrabble, where we try to combine our scores together. This time we got a whopping 485! We only had 2 tiles left at the end: a "G" and and "L". So we had to take off 3 points. But not bad, I think!

Now on to catching up on my 30 day thingy.

Day #10: A picture of the person you do the most screwed up things with.

Call me boring, but I don't think I do any screwed up things... I'm spontaneous sometimes, and do weird things, but "screwed up" isn't a phrase I would use to describe my daily activities. So... I guess I'll just put up a silly picture of Jake, because we do silly things together.

Day #11: A picture of something you hate.

I HATE PICKLES! In fact, when I went to Google to search for an image of pickles, I got really anxious. They are slimy, they are nasty, they smell and taste bad. I've tried many times to like them, so it's not a lack of participation on my part. There is a funny saying that I like: "Pickles are cucumbers soaked in evil." Amen.

Day #12: A picture of something you love.

Sloths! They are so cute and cuddly looking! I am not partial to either 2 or 3 toed sloths, I think they are both so sweet. I did a report on sloths when I was in elementary school, and read a book about this family that raised sloths and said they were the best pets. I think it would be so cool to have one.


Today's post is supposed to be about my favorite band. But as we saw from my favorite TV show, I can't just pick one. So I'll leave this for tomorrow!

My mom.

Day #9: A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

No doubt about it, this would be my Mother.

My mom is simply just the most wonderful lady I will ever meet. Or that YOU will ever meet, for that matter. She is often known to many people as someone who can do it all. She runs about half of MJC, is going to graduate school, helps out at OHS in the drama department, and still manages to be a great mom and person to anyone and everyone in need. She has an incredible ability to take on any task given her and produce very fine results.

But that's not what makes her so great. She has a kind heart, sees the good in every situation, puts others before herself, offers great advice, and has so much charity in her life. The word that I would use to describe her is

Integrity.


She's worked her whole life to teach me what integrity is. Its taken me 22 years to understand it on the level she does. My mom will be the same no matter who she is with.

My mom has gotten me through so much. The list of things she has done for me is long and personal. I love her so much, and am so blessed to have her not only as my mother, but as my friend.

Embarrassing, funny, silly pictures.

Day #8: A picture that makes you laugh.

Well, you're all in luck. I have scanned 15 hilarious pictures from times throughout my life. One of the reasons I started blogging is because I have hundreds of pictures that I wanted to somehow document. Here we go.

This one is more embarrassing than funny, but 8 years later I can laugh at myself and see the humor in this picture. As a freshman in high school, I was the BIGGEST Avril Lavigne fan. No seriously. The biggest. I went to two of her shows, one of which was in Modesto. It was a really small theater. Mallory got their early in the morning to wait in line and so when we got inside we were right against the stage. A bunch of girls handed her their jewelry and she took it. She got to my side of the stage and decided she didn't want my bracelet. I cried for the rest of the day.

When I was young it was cool to go to the mall to get pictures taken with your friends. You could go there, wait in line, take pictures and have them printed out all within a couple of hours: this ordeal basically sealed your friendship. The top one is in 8th grade with Kindra Brockman, the middle one is Anna Hild and I my sophmore year and the bottom one is with my cousin Katie my 8th grade year. I am embarrassed to admit that Anna and I actually did this more than once, and I also took pictures with my two best high school friends, Maggie and Nichole. Yeah.

Here we go. Some pure comedy. Thanks, Dad. My dad decided to pose as a diver right next to the no diving sign. The funny part that you can't see is that he is facing pavement, not the river.

My sister Mallory, probably about age 13 at Girls Camp. I don't know what else to say except that this is Classic Mal.

My family in total chaos. I don't know why I'm licking my finger. My parents framed this and put it in our dining room growing up. Not sure why.

My good old friend Matt Palmer and I used to write each other letters in high school (he lived in Utah, I lived in California). Quite often he would also send pictures of his dogs and cats. This is his maniac dog, Charlie. He always seemed to capture Charlie at perfect moments. When I finally had the opportunity to meet Charlie, he was not so funny.

My four sisters and I collected Beanie Babies. We had dozens. One day I had the brilliant idea to take pictures with them. We took different shots with different ideas. I think this one was my idea of the three older girls holding our favorite beanie baby and making mad faces. Genius.

My sister Mallory as a baby. I like this one because I was probably going through a jealous stage not getting enough attention with the new baby, so I had to poke my head into this would-be nice shot of my dad and Mal.

Maggie and I fighting in front of Cold Stone Creamery in Oakdale. I'm pretty sure that's not my swim parka. I wasn't on the swim team. I miss Maggie.

I am the equivalent of Sam the Eagle in "The Great Muppet Caper" when he says: "You are all weirdos". The funniest part is that my mom is still gorgeous even when she makes a funny face.

My dog Maggie, who has since ran away, used to sit outside our back door and mope because we wouldn't let her in. She must have been a very successful dramatic actress in a former life. She would lick the screen door, push her cold nose up against the glass, and most often just look at us all like she does in this picture.

At Girls Camp we did something called the Gory Hike. Girls at the 4th year level would each have something terrible happen to them so that the other girls, who had gone through First Aid training and such could have the opportunity to save them from their doom. My role was pretty mild. I think I just had a black eye and a runny nose. I seem fairly happy.

One of my personal favorites. When I was in junior high I was in love with Haley Joel Osment (boy actor from "The Sixth Sense"). I asked my parents for an autographed picture of him for Christmas. Mallory, who always had to copy me, decided she had a crush on Frankie Muniz (from "Malcolm in the Middle"... eww!) and also asked for a picture. This picture still cracks me up.

Day #7: Most Treasured Item.

Today at the gym, a lady was getting on to the machine next to me and I noticed she had a big black hardcover book with the cover removed. Later on I glanced over and realized from the font of the chapter heading that she was reading TWILIGHT! She couldn't hide it from ME! It's funny that people are ashamed of such funny things.

You're probably thinking: Why in the world does Hannah recognize the font from Twilight? The real loser in this situation must be me. Yes, it's true. But to be fair I only read the first two books, then realized how ridiculous they are.

Also, two people stood around for at least an hour and chatted. They did not touch a single piece of exercise equipment. I'm betting they left after awhile and felt like they had put in a good day's work at the gym, too.

Enough gym bashing.



Day #7: A picture of your most prized possession.

This one is easy.

This is one of my high school senior pictures. My mom bought this violin shortly after I began lessons at the age of 4, in hopes that she would someday give it to me. I worked my way up from a shoe box dressed up as a violin, to this beautiful instrument. The truth is that it isn't worth all that much. I've been told that I should really buy a new one. I'm so attached to this one, though. Plus I can't afford a new one... but that's not the point. I remember when I finally graduated into the full size.

I named my violin Zeke, after my mom's nickname for her back brace in high school. My mom had scoliosis; can you imagine having to wear a back brace in one of the most vulnerable times in your life? But my mom was/is a rock star: she won the title of Homecoming Queen! That's the history behind the name.

I also love my violin because its deep red hue matches my hair color.


My other most prized possession:

My wedding ring. When Jake proposed, he didn't have a ring. He decided he wanted me to pick one out. I've never regretted this. I've often wondered what he would have picked out, but going shopping together was so amazing. I picked this one because it looks so much like my mom's ring. When I was young I used to take my mom's ring off her finger and play with it. This one is just different enough to make it my own.



What's your most prized possession?

Day #6: Colton Burpo.

Day #6: A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with.

Well, I thought a lot about this, and there's a lot of people that would be interesting to trade places with. Oprah Winfrey, for one. I have a strong dislike for Oprah, but I still think it would be kind of fun. But I decided on this:

This boy's name is Colton Burpo. When he was four years old his appendix burst, but his parents didn't realize it until 4 days later. They took him to the hospital immediately, but with all the toxins in his body, he didn't make it. In fact, he died and went to heaven for a brief period, and then came back. This is an interesting story, with a lot of important background information. Colton's father is a pastor of a church in their town, which means Colton's upbringing has always been very religious. This has made some people doubt whether or not Colton's story is true or if it is a way for the father to make believers out of non-believers.

The thing that makes it interesting is that Colton's mother miscarried a short time after Colton was born, and they never told him about it. But when Colton came back to life, he said he had met his baby sister up in heaven, and had also met his grandpa ("Pop"). Once again, this could all be made up, but I believe it may be true.

For me personally, the hardest part to believe is this: Colton said that all the angels had wings. My religious belief is that angels do not have wings. I know that many people do, and probably in this case Colton and his family believe this. I'm not saying that Colton made up the whole thing, but now I am curious as to why he would say this.

That is why I would trade places for a day with Colton. I want to see what really happened and understand this boy's beautiful depiction of heaven. He also said that there are lots of colors, many animals, and that nobody is old, but in a younger state.

Colton Burpo is not the first person to experience going to heaven and coming  back. There are many other people who have made this claim. I can't imagine what that would be like.

Day #5: Favorite Memories

Day #5: A picture of one of your favorite memories.


My first instinct was to put a picture of our wedding day, but I wanted to see what else I could come up with.

When I brought Jake home for the first time, I took him on a tour of Knights Ferry. My family doesn't live there anymore, but it will always be home. We went down to the covered bridge and the river, and sat on the broken log for a while. I took him up the hill to Knights Ferry School, and then to my old house. 




I don't have much to blog about today, I'll have more time tomorrow.

Day #4: my night

Day #4: A picture of your night. 

I love Sundays. It's the one day a week that we are generally together all day. Sometimes Jake has to work but usually he has Sundays off. We get out of church at 12:30 and then have the afternoon, evening and night to sit around and talk and laugh. If only every day could be like today.

I'm a big fan of Sunday naps. I can take 4 or 5 hour naps without a problem, but I have to work early in the morning on Mondays so I usually keep my Sunday naps to a 2 hour maximum. Jake usually wakes up before me and lets me sleep.

My picture is of Jake with a present I bought him this week. Borders is going out of business. I'm still coping with this fact; I live right behind Borders and have spent many quality hours there, I'm not sure what I'll do with myself when it's gone. Anyway, Jake has been eying the complete Mr. Bean collection for quite some time. It's originally $70, but I waited out all the small sales, and finally bought it as a surprise for him this last week at a really good deal. He's been working so hard, and I just like to make him happy. :)

My favorite part about buying this present is that I knew that watching Mr. Bean would bring out Jake's outrageous laugh, reserved only for things that he finds completely hysterical. In a way, it was a present to myself.

Day #3 - BEST television characters.

Today at the gym was very strange. I started out on the treadmill, watching something really lame on tv, and then my headphones started shocking me! Apparently my ears were conducting a little too much electricity? I'm not sure what it was. So I ran in silence for a while.

One of my goals for 2011 is to love running. I've been trying to love it, and you know what?

I STILL hate it.

I was pondering this today on my silent run, and realized that maybe it's partly because I have terrible shoes. I don't own a pair of running shoes. I looked around me, and everyone had some pretty nice running shoes on.

I wear my worn out $15 Payless shoes. I'm a little embarrassed. Does anyone have any suggestions for good running shoes that aren't terribly expensive?



Now on to Day #3: A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

This is a tough one for me. My favorite show is probably The Office, but there are so many other good shows out there too. I'm going to change the question a little bit, and make it into my favorite tv characters.


First and foremost, the best television ensemble would have to be the good folks from Freaks and Geeks.

This show is very close to my heart. Lindsay's character reminds me so much of myself my freshman year of high school. Every character is incredibly real. I will never understand why this show didn't last longer. But maybe it's like James Dean and John Lennon: only the good die young.

Here are some of my favorite characters from other shows:

Jimmy Fallon, from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Okay, so he's not an actual character, he plays himself. And I mean that quite literally. Jimmy Fallon is exactly himself on his own show. He's kind, gracious, and every time he pokes fun he somehow manages to keep the person's character in tact. I can't stand to watch any other late night hosts after seeing Jimmy; they're all so mean in comparison. Conan? Such a jerk. Jimmy is hilarious, a breath of fresh air. Rolling Stone Magazine wrote a great article about Jimmy a couple of months ago about how he is as kind in person as he is on his show. Love that guy.



Seth Cohen, from The O.C.

The quintessential lame emo kid, who is stuck in a town with beach bunnies and tough guys. The most pathetic character, yet when you add Ryan Atwood into the mix he becomes a saint. He's what made "The O.C" different from all the other ridiculous teen shows such as "One Tree Hill" and "Gossip Girl" (which was, coincidentally, made by the same guy). And his chemistry with Summer? Classic.


Sydney Bristow, from Alias

I truly believe that J.J. Abrams did his best work on Alias. Alias was the first show I watched that wasn't a kids show. Every week I would watch it with my mom and our brand new Tivo, and I felt very grown up. I dressed up as Sydney once for Halloween (the blue hair episode, but with more modest clothing :D). Sydney has a heart of gold, but still knows how to kick some serious butt.


Joan Harris  from Mad Men

I think maybe what I love about Joan is actually more just the actress, Christina Hendricks. She is breathtakingly gorgeous, but is obviously not a size 2. She carries herself so gracefully on the show, and her character is, for the most part, unaffected by all the drama that occurs in the office. I love seeing what she wears, too.

Phil Dunphy from Modern Family

Phil is lovable in the way that Seth Cohen is: they both do ridiculous things, offend people along the way, but redeem themselves in the end because it is all in complete innocence. Phil and Claire have such a sweet relationship that reminds me a lot of Jake and I. I say this to Jake sometimes and he thinks that I'm calling him dumb, but it's actually just Jake's silliness that gets me every time. Phil is the main reason I watch the show.


Andy Bernard from The Office

Andy is yet another clueless male character who seems to always get it wrong. The thing about Andy that makes him so great is his persistence. Nothing good has ever happened to Andy. He had to switch branches. went through anger management, was cheated on by his fiancee, he's not a very good salesman and he lost Erin to Gabe. Despite it all, he upholds his precious Ivy League stature and Easter-colored wardrobe week after week. Oh, and his incredible musical talent (more Ed Helms seeping through than anything) is so endearing!


Bret and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords

Hilarious duo. I'm sensing a pattern in my taste. Here we have two totally naive, street-stupid characters who always seem to mess things up. I always get so frustrated when these two can't find fame, because New York is always SO turned on to weird music like theirs! Two of the most original characters ever to come on TV.


Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons

Hands down: television's greatest villain. His countless failed attempts to kill Bart Simpson get me every time. He has more depth than we know: a great Shakespearian acting background and a true love for soliloquies.

Doug Funny from Doug

Such a real character. His paranoia reminds me of my young, awkward preteen years. My favorite part of Doug is his vivid daydreams of something awful happening to him in daily situations. He always expects the worst, but generally does okay in the end. Who could forget Jack Bandit and Quail Man?

Gob Bluth from Arrested Development

Gob Bluth. Magic tricks. Terrible intuition. Need I say more?

Matt and Harriet from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

I love the complexity of their breakup. I won't say much more because Jake and I are watching it right now on Netflix. I can't recall a character like Harriet's anywhere else: an outrageously funny comedian who also has strong Christian beliefs and is constantly working to balance out the two. So maybe it's actually Harriet's character I love most.

Lucy Ricardo from I Love Lucy

I had this picture hanging in my room growing up. Lucy was a pioneer in comedy for women, yet look how beautiful she is! Lucy was a huge part of my growing up and bonding with my sisters.



I've spent way too long on here. I've got things to do so I'll wrap it up. I have not mentioned two great shows, Friends and Seinfeld, because I couldn't pick just one character from each. As we learned from the spin-off show Joey, all the characters rely on each other to be who they are. Two great ensembles.