Peanut Butter Heaven

Well, it's crunch time at work, what with the latest release less than two weeks away. It got to the point this afternoon where I just needed some peanut butter. You heard me: Peanut Butter, preferably with some chocolate. I try so hard to bring healthy snacks to work to avoid these moods, but sometimes only chocolate and peanut butter will do.

Anyway, I asked Wendi and Beth if they had any, but they were going to Harmons' anyway so Wendi promised to get me some Peanut Butter M&Ms -- my favorite (and yet, they're hard to find. What's that about?). I was thinking she'd come back with a little one-serving pack which I would have been very satisfied with.

I thought wrong.

She and Beth presented me with a 12.7oz bag of the M&M's, a 5.3oz bag of mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, and a box of peanut butter Ritz Bits! They wouldn't even let me pay them back for it -- just said they knew how hard I've been working and recommended I hoard it in my desk for when I need it (which I would have done anyway as they very well know). I don't generally eat a lot of candy (usually Beth and Wendi leave their sweets on my desk because they know I won't eat it, but it's too tempting to leave at their own...) so this will last a LOOOONG time. Won't be bugging them for peanut butter or chocolate in the near future!







I pretty much lucked out in the co-worker department. I love them!

And now I better get back to work.

A New Potter Fan

This weekend there was a Harry Potter movie weekend on the Family Channel, building up to the touted network premier of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Well, Saturday night while my parents baby-sat my active nephew, he caught a glimpse of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. After that, nothing would satisfy him but to watch the end, and then they started in on Prisoner of Azkaban. The commercials were slowing them down, so my mom borrowed my DVD since the G-unit refused to go home before seeing how it ended. By the time I joined them upstairs, it was after 11pm and there was still a good hour left. We convinced G he could wait until the next day to see the ending -- he acquiesced much easier than normal because he was so tired.

The next day, we watched the rest of the movie, minus some of the dementor scenes I worried would freak him out. He was actually doing really well until Professor Lupin transformed. He did think the line "Poor Professor Lupin is having a really tough night" was hilarious; we had to watch it a few times before moving on.

Why am I sharing this story? It thrills me to no end that G has developed a taste for a story and characters I love so much. Harry Potter is just one more thing that G and I can share. How I love my happy little boy! I feel like the luckiest aunt in the whole world!

Hope

Just when I start to think all the good men are either taken or already related to me, I go to Fast and Testimony meeting in my student/singles ward. I love to hear those wonderful young men (and women) bear their testimonies of the gospel and how it affects their everyday lives. I'm not alone in my testimony or my dreams.

There's still hope.

Happy Independence Day!

I love the 4th of July. I love the fireworks, the heat, the parades (which I don't often watch because it would involve my getting up early), the Ward and Stake breakfasts (see my note on parades), and especially the time spent with family. My grandmother was born July 4th, and now that she's living in the Salt Lake valley it's so fun getting to spend at least part of the day with her. In fact, I'm off to her house to swim in her pool and eat pizza once my parents are ready. Makes for a good day.

Earlier this year there was a mini-series about John Adams on HBO starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. I watched it with my dad and we both loved it! I'm a fan of the musical 1776 too. Yes, I know that both of those artistic productions take liberties with historical facts, but it's still fascinating to remember that the people who fought for the United States' freedom were real people. They undertook what no one had before: to overthrow their government and start a brand new one from scratch. It's amazing! I'm about 100 pages into David McCullough's book John Adams and it's fascinating (in spite of there being no dialogue). It really humanizes the men and women involved in starting this new government. I mean, those people worked so hard; they had the skills and training and education necessary -- it all happened at the right time and place, and we as citizens of the United States now are very lucky to benefit from their work.



My respect and gratitude for our founding fathers continues to grow as I learn more about them. I'm excited to finish reading John Adams. I would really like to read about General George Washington next....

I was lucky to get to visit my brother Aaron over Memorial Day weekend. He is living and working in Washington D.C. and was a terrific tour guide. We saw a couple of museums, and monuments, and explored Mount Vernon and Monticello.

Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's estate)


The Washington Memorial with my mom


Aaron and me in front of the Lincoln Memorial


Mom and me at the Jefferson Memorial


Aaron and me at the Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial (not really a founding father, but still a visionary person)


Aaron, Mom, me, and Dad at Mount Vernon (George Washington's home)


Happy Independence Day, friends!

Shuffled Songs

On some random blog I read one day (but do not now remember who the blogger was because she was a friend of a friend but I had never met her), the blogger put her iPod on shuffle and then posted the first 10 songs that popped up. She was somewhat embarrassed to admit to a few of them, but according to her rules she had to post them all.

Ever since, I've had my iPod set to shuffle just 'cause it's fun to see what comes up (I like those sort of non-threatening surprises). I found it interesting that I apparently do not have as many songs from musicals as I thought. Or maybe it's just that I don't have EVERY song from EVERY musical CD on my iPod and there are a LOT of tracks from all those movie scores.

Anyhoo, I started a new shuffle this afternoon, and here are the first 10 songs:

1. "Samwise the Brave", The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie soundtrack

2. "The Fire Within Me", Sutton Foster from the Little Women the Musical soundtrack

3. "The Werewolf Scene", Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban movie soundtrack

4. "Sweet Love", Jenny Jordan Frogley and Alex Boye from the CeranAid benefit CD

5. "Hope Fails", The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie soundtrack

6. "Larger Than Life", the Backstreet Boys from the Best of the Backstreet Boys CD

Okay, here I accidently clicked the wrong button because I was trying to figure out which Lord of the Rings movie "Hope Fails" was from, because it was cut off on my nano screen. (I thought I'd listened to the music enough I could identify which Lord of the Rings movie any of the tracks came from. Guess I was wrong.)

So, I started the shuffle session over:

1. "Stars", Philip Quast Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert CD

2. "Reflection", Lea Salonga from Disney's Mulan soundtrack

3. "The Far Side of the World", Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World movie soundtrack

4. "Another Suitcase in Another Hall", Madonna and Antonio Banderas from the Evita movie soundtrack

5. "Miracles Happen", Myra from The Princess Diaries movie soundtrack

6. "All My Only Dreams", the Wonders from the That Thing You Do! movie soundtrack

7. "Venus", Frankie Avalon. May have been downloaded from Napster. I don't really remember.

8. "La Bamba", Richie Valens. I plead the Fifth on this one, too.

9. "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning", The Mormon Tabernacle Choir from The Sound of Glory CD

10. "Without Love", Zac Efron, Nikki Blonsky, Elijah Kelly, and Amanda Bynes from the Hairspray movie soundtrack

I'd keep going, but my iPod is threatening to die. I better recharge it ASAP.

Tag! I'm "It"

Five goals:
1. Buy a condo or townhouse. My parents have been wonderful and very unselfish to let me live at home these last two years, but it's time to be a grown up again and find a place of my own. I could move in with other roommates, or just get an apartment of my own, but I'd really prefer not to have to pay rent anymore.

2. Start up yoga again and do it consistently least four times a week. The weight that took 6 months to lose and I've been maintaining for 12 months is starting to creep back.

3. Do not miss the Utah Shakespearean Festival again this year! I'm skipping my birthday trip in favor of buying a house this year, which means I have the vacation days. I want to spend a couple of days and see everything!

4. Clean out and organize my stack of mail. It's waaaay overdue.

5. Eat at the Melting Pot. I've wanted to try that restaurant for forever, but since it's so expensive I've been waiting for a special occasion (or someone to invite me). Forget that! I just want to go!

Places I've lived:

1. Bountiful, UT

2. Holliday/Cottonwood, UT

3. Provo, UT

4. Winslow, AZ (mission)

5. Williams, AZ (mission)

6. Grand Canyon (South Rim), AZ (mission)

7. Prescott Valley, AZ (mission)

8. North Phoenix, AZ (mission)

9. Salt Lake City, UT

10. Midvale, UT

11. Murray, UT

Now it's time for me to pick 4 people to tag:

Lindsey, Kate, Karl, and Aaron