She's back! For now...

Once again, I'm pretty sure it's the caffeine talking. But I'm at work. And I'm bored. And since Thanksgiving is well over, I wont feel too cliche' making a list of things I'm thankful for. So here is my list. In no particular order. Except for #1. He's there for a reason!

1. JOHN (I could go on and on and on here, but I'll spare you.)
2. My job. Even though I don't always act thankful for it, I truly am.
3. My health.
4. My family.
5. The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
6. The Internet.
7. Good books.
8. Soft blankets on my bed.
9. Education.
10. Knowing who my true friends are.
11. My calling in the Primary. Another one that I don't always act thankful for, but really I am.
12. Health Insurance.
13. The fact that my parents are about to move to Japan which = John and I getting to visit them in Japan!
14. My sister.
15. Makeup and hairspray. And yummy smelling shampoo. And fun body wash. So basically I'm thankful for Bath & Body Works and Victoria's Secret. Don't judge.
16. Warm clothes!
17. Our little apartment.
18. Flowers!
19. Christmas.
20. Things that sparkle.
21. Forgiveness.
22. My blue/silver Christmas Tree!!
23. Having lots and lots of little nephews.
24. Knowing that there is life after death.
25. Pink.
26. Ebay.
27. Being married in the Temple.
28. My car.
29. Candles.
30. The little cat that always comes by my work and sits outside my door.
31. Music.
32. Pictures.
33. Cell phones.
34. My wedding rings.
35. Running water.
36. People who make you think "Ah, there really ARE good people left in this world."
37. Vacations, big or small.
38. The ocean and crabbing!
39. Happy memories.
40. The freedom we are blessed with living in the US.
41. Postum. (I get it from my dad...) On cold nights. Sitting in bed, watching Seinfeld reruns.

That's all for now folks :O) I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and has a special and meaningful Christmas!

I probably shouldn't post this but...

I have not had one single customer today. Not one. single. customer.

I HAVE watched last weeks episode of the office, and 3.5 episodes of "Lie to Me", which is rapidly becoming a new favorite of mine. What I wouldn't give to be able to read people like that??

Thank you, hulu, for today's entertainment.

Hello October!

Can I please just say that I AM SO HAPPY THAT IT'S FINALLY OCTOBER AND A LITTLE CHILLY OUTSIDE?!

Seriously, couldn't be happier about that.

Anyway I just wanted to blog about this odd/neat/interesting experience John and I had on Sunday. I left church after Sacrament Meeting because I was feeling crappy, so I went home and took a lovely 3 hour nap. (Anyone else been plagued with this horrible cold?! It started with a 3 day headache and then turned into a nasty cold and I could barely function for the past 2 days. Yuck.)

Anyway once I finally woke up John and I decided to go for a drive through the mountains since the leaves had started changing. We headed up the canyon with no real destination whatsoever and ended up at the Monastery in Huntsville. We had heard of it before but never had been there. So we pulled into the parking lot and saw a sign that said the church was open, so we decided we would check it out. We went inside and it was just very plain and simple, with a stained glass window and a bunch of seats (heck I'll just share a pic rather than try to explain- See picture here) and one little old Monk was at the alter praying. It was soooo quiet in there, but they have a sign saying visitors welcome so we had a seat. THEN shortly after, 9 other Monks trailed in, took their seats and began their evening chant! Which is like praying in song form I think? Anyway, they did this chanting (singing) for 30 minutes and it was quite the scene, almost surreal in a way. We left after the 30 minutes, and that was it. It was cool.

So then Monday, being the Google Queen that I am, I spent the morning learning about Monks. Needless to say it was a very interesting and informative google search! Apparently they live in almost complete silence other than praying, chanting, and when they have a particular need to speak, they will speak. They wake at 3 am and meet 7 times throughout the day to chant together, and are self sufficient as in they all work together to keep the place running. Cleaning, cooking, working at the little gift shop, etc.

I just thought it was a cool experience worth sharing :O) And I have to say, no matter what your beliefs or religion, there's something to be said for people who devote literally their entire life to prayer, studying scriptures and serving others.

2 disgusting and completely unrelated short stories.

Ever seen one of these things??

I'm putting a link rather than a picture because the last thing I want is a photo of a cockroach on my blog...

Anyway, today I went for a walk during my lunch break and saw not 1.. not 2.. not 3.. not even 4 of these nasty little things, but FIVE OF THEM. Dead on the sidewalk. And only one of them was smashed... the others were just laying there in all their whole-bodied glory, dead. With smaller bugs feasting upon them. Hello gross. And completely weird?? Where did they come from? Well that's story #1.

#2- Ever seen one of these? That's a fruit fly. I think it was in here because there is a banana sitting on my desk? Anyway I was getting irritated because it kept flying past my face and tickling my arms so I was swatting at it. And just as I took a nice deep breath, it decided to fly past my slightly opened mouth. And I inhaled it. And It stuck to the very back of my tongue and I made myself gag as I used my fingernail to scratch it off the back of my tongue. And THEN it was stuck under my fingernail!!! And now that I have googled the picture of a fruit fly I feel even more disgusted.

Hmm. Glad I could give out such a positive and uplifting impression today :O)

And for unrelated #3- is anyone else watching Biggest Loser this season?! Oooooh how I love that show!! Biggest Loser premier = Mallory on the elliptical at home (because nothing makes me harbour feelings of extreme guilt quite like sitting on the couch watching morbidly obese people sweat their guts out) bawling her eyes out over the whole "My hubby and 5 year old and 2 week old were all killed in a car accident" story. *sigh* Just for that, I really hope she wins. Anyone else have thoughts on this seasons BL??

Baby Steps

Remember that time I said I was going to run a 5k before the end of the year???

Well I still haven't done it yet. But I'm getting there!!

On Saturday Zac, Hill, John and I all ran the Hess Cancer Foundation 2 mile fun run on Legacy Highway. It was pretty cool! My very first "Here, let me pay you $30 and then I'll run till I feel like I'm going to drop dead!" experience. So now we all have matching long sleeved t-shirts, and we all know we have just a bit more practice to do before daring to sign up for a 5k. For the race they had the highway shut down and we ran right on it so that was pretty cool. Minus all the pancake-like skunks, it's a really great place to jog! I also felt pretty cool that the people who finished before us and the other spectators cheered us across the finish line. I guess now I know how Usain Bolt must have felt last summer :O) So then we hung around and cheered for all the half marathon runners as they started trickling in. I swear some of those guys must have weighed 90 lbs! And here's my question... what the heck do those guys listen to on their ipods that could possibly give them the motivation to run 13 miles?? Because even Queen blasting "Don't Stop Me Now!" in my ears...

I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go go go there's no stopping me
I'm burning through the sky yea
Two hundred degrees that's why they call me Mr. Fahrenheit
I'm travelling at the speed of light

barely gets me through the 5 minute duration of the song and that's the jolliest song I've ever heard in my life.

Anyway, it was no 5k and I wasn't able to run the entire thing without little walking breaks (duh, but I'm getting there!) but it was pretty exciting nonetheless.

Sharing blogs through blogging...

As we all know, I have a tendency to spend (way too much) time sitting here at work surfing the Internet. That's never been a secret. John always likes to ask me "What do you do all day???" My typical response being "I honestly don't know. Sit around? Dust? Read blogs?" And then I will usually tell him about an interesting/funny/stupid/lovely blog I came across that day. There are usually at least 1, if not more from each category every single day. Then I sit for a minute and think about how I hate feeling like I am wasting so much of my life just sitting here and not doing anything and then I get over it and life goes on. So if you have a blog, I've probably seen it. I'm starting to feel like I've seen every blog out there and while a ton of them are a huge waste of my time (no, not yours!) I do occasionally come across a really great blog that makes me so happy and adds mass amounts of goodness to my day.

Anyway I have this *thing* for adoption blogs. Adoption books. Adoption stories. All things adoption, really. I always have. And I assume it's either because my mother was adopted, or maybe it's because at some point in my life I will make the decision to adopt? I really don't know. But once again that's besides the point and I just really love adoption stories and a lot of people use blogging as a way to document their journey of going from childless to parenthood.

Anyway! I just came across this blog that made me cry, and I wanted to share it because I know you could all use a good cry as well. The way the birth mother came to find them is almost unbelievable. Or I should say it's amazing, for a better word.

This post

And this post

Are the ones that gave me tears. Congratulations to Que and Brittney, and to their loving birth mother for making the most selfless of all decisions.

On a friendlier note...

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland ,Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it..

9.. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Phone rings at 4:15-

"*** Credit Union, this is Mallory."

"Hi Mallory, what time do you close?"

"We close at 4:30 every day."

"Oh ok. Shoot. So that's in like 15 minutes?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. Ok well can you wait for me? My car broke down so I can't drive myself, and my ride is on their way so I will be there in 20 minutes, tops."

Feeling irritated "Yeah, I suppose that will be fine."

Sorry but COME ON. I like to go home at the end of the day as much as the next guy. 5 minutes is pushing it, but I'll let it slide this time.

Sitting waiting....waiting....

Phone rings at 4:41 "Hi Mallory, it's me again. My ride just got here so we will be there in 15 minutes, ok?"

I'm thinking to myself... 15 minutes?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME WOMAN?! I DON'T FEEL GOOD AND REALLY DON'T WANT TO SIT HERE WAITING FOR YOU FOR 30 DANG MINUTES AFTER I'M SUPPOSED TO CLOSE.

So I respond "Actually I have to shut down my system within the next 4 minutes so that's not going to work."

"Ok well I will be there in 15 minutes so just pull out $300 from my account right now and I'll sign the receipt when I get there."

And because I'm way WAY too nice for my own good, I reply "Ok..." And hang up.

I know... I can be kinda rude huh? But I think asking me to wait for a half hour after closing is pretty darn rude itself, and when I've been sitting here with cramps and a headache all day long, day dreaming about my comfy couch and sweat pants I'm not exactly a woman you want to be messing with!

She just got here: 5:00

Glitter toes!!

Have you heard of this exciting new discovery called glitter toes??

There is really no denying that I am in love with all things that sparkle. If it's pink AND it sparkles... well then I have got to have it! It drives John a little nuts, and I get it from my mom. I also get my feet from my mom, but that's a whole 'nother story ;O) Just kidding mom... I love our feet.


Anyway, I was really excited when my mom invited Tara and I over to get glitter toes, because I had heard pretty good things about them. Never had seen them, but they seem to be all the rave around here. So Wednesday night a lady who does them met us all at my mom's house, and after much debate over what color to chose, and a lot of mind changing (there were like 40 different colors/shades/sparkle factors to chose from, it was not easy! Loved this pink and that pink and the other pink, but the purple was super pretty too. And THEN look how cool the blue is! But mom says the gold looked awesome on that one lady... but this reddish pink one is sooo 'me'! Oh look at that one!) eventually we each ended up with beautiful shiny new glitter toes. We were shocked to see how it's done too. First a layer of 'gel', the dump on then glitter, then another layer of gel to seal the deal, and VWALAH! Glitter toes. No nail polish involved.

I woke up Wednesday morning and honest to goodness, the very first thought in my head before I even got out of bed was "I can't wait to see how my toes sparkle in the sun!" Seeing your toes sparkle in the house doesn't even take a stand next to how they look in real sunlight. They really catch your eye. Like a brand new engagement ring, I would even dare to say.

Anyway, here are the little beauties! They sparkle like there's no tomorrow, and they 100% will not chip because they are coated with gel. You actually have to file the glitter off once it grows out and you don't want them anymore, which will probably be a pain, but I'm thinking totally worth it!

Just ignore my little sausage toes! I'm retaining water this week! Mmmkay?

For the LOVE!

Somebody, anybody... please explain this to me!

I have come to the conclusion that I shouldn't be allowed to watch reality TV shows (mostly the 'find your true love in 3 weeks!' ones) because all they do is turn me into a horribly judgmental person. And it's completely justified because I swear I am not choosing to judge these people... they are 100% asking for it! The Cougar? Hello trashy. Dating in the dark? Sorry but when the lights finally come on, those people are typically just as superficial as the next guy. How about the new More To Love plus-sized Bachelor show? It's like they thought "Hey we've tried everything else in the book, why wouldn't we exploit the heavy girls?!" The real question is, why didn't they have some average and plus sized women on all the previous Bachelor shows? Isn't it more 'realistic' if not every single woman is a size 2? Or how about the not so popular I'm a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here! Now THAT was such a joke of a show that John and I watched almost every episode just because we couldn't believe how stupid it was. Truly. It's just so funny/sad/embarrassing/ridiculous/ to me that entertainment has really come down to this!

The truth is that I only watched the very first episode of "The Bachelorette", and then I watched about 6 minutes of the finale. And all I can really think is... HUH?? Are these people for real?? I'm pretty sure I was more truly in love with my first grade boyfriend than these people are with each other. To each his own, I suppose.

Kenny Chesney, you adorable little cowboy.

Last week John and I went on a hot date with Scott and Heather to the Kenny Chesney concert.

And we had pretty crappy ($25) tickets. But it's not like that really matters because Kenny Chesney rocks no matter where you're sitting.

But during Miranda Lambert we were a little sick of sitting in the smoldering sun and went walking around to find a few minutes of shade. (Heather and I missed the memo that in order to fit in with the crowd you're supposed to wear the shortest jean skirt you can find, with a tiny little tank top and extra push-up bra along with cowgirl boots... pretty classy Utah!) Anyway, we then discovered a row of empty seats in the shade, QUITE close to the stage. A significant amount closer to the stage than our original seats. We figured we would get asked to move before too long, but we sat there anyway to enjoy it while we could. And guess what? Nobody ever came to ask us to move or claim the seats! So we had great seats for the whole concert! Beautiful luck. It was awesome. He even sang every single song I was hoping for and surprised us all with the classic "Me and You", which may or may not have made me a little teary.

She runs. Or jogs. Or sorta walks with little bits of jogging inbetween.

Has there ever been a better way of motivation than to tell people you are going to do something? Because if people know you are planning to do it, you basically have to do it right?

Well... Here I am.

And this is my statement to you, world: This was me last night.

It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't pretty, either. So I'm making the official statement to you myself right now that by the end of 2009, I will run (jog, crawl, whatever) a 5k.