A Subtle Change

I decided to do something wacky, and dyed my hair RED Tuesday night. I LOVE it! I've been wanting to dye it red for a LONG time! Every time I look at myself in the mirror and look down at the curls that sit on my shoulders I feel gleeful! It's only semi-permanent because I'm terrified permanent dye will keep me from ever being a natural blonde again, but it's definitely different!

Apparently I did a really good job, because only one person has noticed the change. Either that, or they aren't actually looking at me, or they don't want to say anything because it's so subtle they just think they're going crazy... Even my brother and sister-in-law didn't comment on it last night! Thank goodness for Emily A. She probably only saw the change because I'd told her earlier in the week that I was thinking about dying it, but I very much appreciated her acknowledgement! While I like that apparently strawberry-blonde hair looks natural on me, half the fun of changing hair is the reaction from other people! Oh well. I did it for me, and I feel pretty!

Here are some photos:

Before:

After:

Oh, man! My hair totally looks the same in both photos! I'll have to take some in the sun. I promise there's a difference!

Note: Sorry that my eyes in photos I take of myself make me look like a satanic deer-in-the-headlights. It's probably the crazy flash. Or maybe that's just what I look like...

Slowest. Week. Ever.

What is today? Wednesday?

Really?

It's not Thursday or Friday yet?

Aren't weeks only supposed to go slowly if you have big plans for the weekend or something? 'Course, I do get to see one of my favorite people on Saturday; it's been a really long time since we hung out last, Laren! (Promise me you won't let me buy myself any shoes while we're out. Unless we find some good black flats.)

It's really only Wednesday? Wednesday morning even?

I swear last weekend was two weeks ago.

That is so weird.

At least I survived Tuesday. That's typically my least favorite day of the week. It would be way worse if today were only Tuesday.

Today is only Wednesday. And it's still morningtime.

Guess I'll get back to work then.

Sigh...

The Picard Rap

My best friend and I were introduced to this video last weekend. In spite of her severe lack of knowledge of anything Star Trek , she laughed as hard as I did, which leads me to believe everyone might enjoy it.

Meanwhile, I can pinpoint the title of episode of about 60-75% of the clips.

Happy Monday!

Love, Miss Megan

p.s. There is a very good chance the rap will get stuck in your head. You have been warned.

Nieces News, a Graduation, Soccer, and the Star Trek Movie

I decided to write one really long post rather than divide it into four posts and risk anyone missing out on something they're interested in ('cause honestly, I have no idea what you all care to know, and what you don't). Feel free to read or skip sections according to your whims!

Baby Update: Summer and Zoe are doing really well! Lindsey was released from the hospital on Thursday, so now she is juggling time with G-unit and time at the hospital. The nurses have a strict schedule for the twins and a bunch of rules. They recommend Lindsey and Adam spend at least an hour a day holding their daughters (not sure if they both need to hold both babies). Both girls lost 10% percent of their body weight pretty quickly -- which meant that Zoe dropped below 3 pounds -- but are thankfully starting to gain again. Summer's lungs are strong enough that she was taken off forced air this morning and is now breathing room air on her own! Both girls are learning to eat from a bottle (their sucking reflex was delayed because they were born so early). I haven't seen the twins since their birth day so I have not been able to confirm Adam's belief that Summer looks like me... but I'm delighted with the idea! No word yet on how soon the twins will be independent enough to come home and flourish under the care of their darling, devoted mother, or when their big brother will get to meet them. Lindsey's mother, Sandy, is in town to help out in any way she can.

Lindsey apologized that she hasn't updated Facebook or sent out announcements yet. The hospital has a Web site where parents of premies still in the hospital can post status updates and photos, and she plans to recruit her brother to get it started in the near future. Meanwhile, I'll continue to make updates, too, and post photos when I get some!

Here is the one photo from last Sunday that I feel comfortable posting -- Adam standing in front of Zoe's isolette and all of the machines she's hooked up to. Summer has her own set of machines watching over her...

Work Schmerk: Thursday one of my co-workers asked for some help updating the page numbers on a file she was working on. This sort of question always makes me nervous. I know I know how to do my job, but I feel like I've said "I don't know" a lot lately. Sometimes if I have no idea I'll say "What if..." hoping to come up with an idea by the time I finish the phrase. It's worked once or twice! This time, I started by asking what the co-worker had been doing. Then I suggested the only other option I know of, which luckily worked! Hooray! Instant professional self-esteem. I needed it, especially as I begin to feel more and more overwhelmed with the upcoming release. More and more, not doing a play has proven to be a smart move...

David's Graduation: Yesterday, my youngest brother, David, graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering. David worked hard not only finished all the Engineering requirements but spent a year taking Art major classes. Total, he completed about 180 credits! I find that amazing -- I am so proud of him! I missed the university-wide ceremony, but attended the college commencement with Dad, Mom, and Peter. It was fun to see David looking so distinguished and gorgeous in his tie, cap and gown; I don't get to see him dressed up very often. Adam, Lindsey, and G-unit joined us for dinner at Mazzo (middle eastern food) and I very much enjoyed my chicken and cauliflower tabseh. It was a good day for my beaming parents. They put five kids through their Bachelors and the rest is up to us. It was nice to celebrate David's accomplishment with so many of my family!

Congratulations, Dave! I am proud of you!

G's Soccer Game: The G-unit is playing soccer this spring and I finally made it to a game this morning! G's team is called The Dark Knights, and they wear all black. Those little kids are awesome running around that field! Adam seems to be doing a great job as the coach. The team members don't really get the nuances of the game, but they all like to crowd around and kick the ball. G stood as a goalie for a minute or two, but it seemed his favorite part was being offsides. He had a lot of enthusiasm playing that first half, but he droopped during the second... at least, he droopped until he got to come hang out with his Grammy, and uncles Russell and Peter who ran drills with him with an extra soccer ball. It was pretty entertaining. The G-unit had quite the cheering section, including my dad, Lindsey, Lindsey's mom Sandy, and Peter's girlfriend Jordyn. I was glad I made it. It was a nice morning to sit in the sun and I love the company!


The Star Trek Movie: I've seen it twice! Last night I went with some friends from my ward, and today I saw it with Adam, Lindsey, Sandy, Russell, and Angela. I think the actors were brilliantly cast, did their homework, and were fantastic in each of the roles. I love the costumes, the special effects were awesome, and I thought the nods to fans were appropriate and tasteful, though I can see why non-Trekkies would be confused when Trekkies would laugh at seemingly random moments. All that said... I didn't love it. I'm not sure why. I liked it a lot. I'll probably see it again next weekend and maybe even buy it when the movie comes to DVD. It was a good movie. But I felt a little unsatisfied with something, perhaps because it conflicted with my limited knowledge of the science behind some of the fiction. My favorite Trek films remain First Contact and The Undiscovered Country. Still, it was genuinely funny and well-thought out, and I got emotional at a couple of moments. It was a lovely prequel, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good, fun, action flick!

My IMDB Profile: Last week I was up something like 536 percent. This week, I'm down 45%. My fans are fickle! What I really want to know is whether I'm 45% down from 0, or if I'm 45% down from 536%, because that's still 119% popularity. And if it’s the latter, how in the world do I ever know – forget it. My brain is starting to hurt. (Don't worry, I'm not deluded into thinking being on IMDB means I'm famous. I just find the popularity percentage interesting!)


C'est tout!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girls!

My nieces were born today -- 10 weeks early!

That's right, ten weeks early. How scary is that? The water broke for one of the babies this morning, so Adam and Lindsey went to the hospital and Gunner spent the afternoon with his unckie Pete and grandparents. We waited on pins and needles until Adam called to tell us around that the c-section was successful, and we had two beautiful baby girls to welcome to the family!

Adam came to my mom's house and told us about the delivery and gave us the stats on the girls: Summer Elizabeth and Zoe Cassandra (pronounced ZOH-ee; I hope they forgive me if I've spelled her name wrong). They are both smaller than 4 pounds and so tiny, though they looked bigger than I had expected.

Even though Visiting Hours were technically over, we were allowed to see Lindsey and the twins at the hospital about 8pm. Lindsey was doing well and looked great, if a little tired. We were allowed to see the babies in their incubators. They are hooked up to all kinds of machines and we had to scrub our hands and arms to the elbows for three minutes before we could go in. They seem pretty strong! They both had breathing tubes in their noses, so we couldn't get a great sense of what they look like, but we can tell Summer seems to have lighter hair than Zoe does. Summer was born first and is a little bigger, too. They are perfect, though! Ten fingers, ten toes, one head each. Gunner was really upset when Adam told him he was too young to be allowed in the infant ICU. When he started to cry, Lindsey cried too, and said he could stay with her. She hadn't seen the babies yet, either. I hope she gets to later tonight; the doctors seemed to want her to recover a little before making the trek two flights.

I had received a text message earlier this afternoon telling me another friend had her baby this morning! I didn't know if she was at the same hospital, but while I was there I checked at the front desk anyway -- she was! I surprised her and her husband at nearly 9pm, but they were very gracious and proud to show off their own baby girl. They even let me hold her! Yaaaaay! She is such a beautiful baby. I am very excited for their happy little family!

The world has truely been blessed today. I can't wait until Summer and Zoe are big enough and healthy enough for me to hold them. Of course, their being born so early kind of kills the baby shower I'd had planned for this Saturday, but even if I have to reschedule, maybe we can throw a party for them anyway. What better reason to celebrate?

Fun with Words

Today's post is brought to you by the letter "Q".

Words I like the sound of:
delicious
low
evil
blissfully
precisely
pecan (pronounced pee-CAN)
weather
fancy
necessary
ginormous (a hybrid of "gigantic" and "enormous")
variable
freakishly
cheeky
affectation
superfluous


Words I think are weird in pretty much every way:
fiancé (not to be confused with finance)
lotion
queue
victuals (pronounced "vittles" -- what's up with that?)

A word I just don't like but say anyway 'cause I can't think of an alternative: appropriate

Words I know how to spell but somehow manage to spell incorrectly almost every time I type them:
receive ("i" before "e" words get me every time after "c")
use/using (ends up as "user/usering"; old habits die hard)
from (comes out "form")
thorough (too many variations)
two ("tow")
privilege ("priveledge")

Words and phrases I've used a lot recently:
Seriously?! (mostly while driving)
What the what?
Holy bananas!
Holy granola!
Done and done!
Absomalutely! (thank you, Ned Flanders)
That's hilarious!

I just think words are interesting. I am fascinated to see how people use language to express themselves, and to notice how my choice of words differs based on my method of communication. For example, my journal is a lot more formal than my blog, and none of my writing sounds the way I speak with my friends, which is also different than the words I choose when talking with strangers. Sometimes I go out of my way to use big or unfamiliar words in casual settings, just for fun. However, I try not to do that in situations where it might make people uncomfortable. I just like words.

What are words you like and don't like? How do you use them? Don't make me turn this into a tag -- just respond!