New Blog

Hey faithful followers (all one of you)! I have started a new blog. I had to for part of my internship. Also, this blog is associated with bad habits, like not writing. The address to my new blog is aredshirtwife.wordpress.com. Hope to see you there! Feel free to leave a comment on that blog every now and then. Adios, amigos!

Working Out - Finally

I don't know what got into us. For months we avoided going to the gym, coming up with every excuse not to. Then, suddenly, we went. Yesterday was the first time since January, and it was great! Then we decided to go today, too. We went an hour later than we did yesterday because I had to finish some homework, and by that time I was tired and irritable. Needless to say, my workout wasn't as good, but I still did it! Three cheers for exercise! Hooray!

Tiki Men and Chocolate Fountains

This has been the craziest, busiest day/week/month for me. I hate the end of the semester every semester, but this semester seems especially bad. I made a feasibility report to "start a business" for one of my classes, with a LOT of help from Arden's brother, who actually runs the business I would be connecting my business to if I really started it. I also had to run and help run a few different events, which is a blast, but it takes a lot of work and I have to exude a lot of energy so that all of the participants have fun. It's great. The next biggest project I have to work on is for my history book. I have to read a certain book and write a report. I've known about it all semester but naturally put it off until now. I checked the book out and have been working on it, but someone put it on reserve, so I have to get the book back by Wednesday night. Tuesday I have class and meetings all day and night, so that's what I'll be doing all Wednesday. Wish me luck!

My sister challenged my whole family to a "sugar fast." No treats or junk food until May 8! Arden and I are trying to be more healthy anyway, so we took her up on it. It's not as easy as I thought it would be. I'm used to snacking and having a couple treats, but now I can't. It's good for me. It's good for me. It's good for me. My roommate had a paradise-themed bridal shower yesterday and had a chocolate fountain (thus the blog's title). The fountain is still on our table with marshmallows and pretzels right next to it. Not fair. I'm holding pretty strong, though. It's good for me. It's good for me. It's good for me. (repeat)

Of Olympics

The Olympics has taken over my nights. There are so many times that I'm tired and could go to bed earlier (okay, before midnight), but there is always a few more competitors or a ceremony or something. They are so much fun to watch! I was watching the paired figure skating and they made it look so easy that I thought, "I could do that!" My Olympic debut will be in 2014.

Almost Scammed

Being engaged means that I get to go to bridal fairs and eat free food and enter lots of contests. It also means that sometimes I win stuff, which is way cool. For example, so far I've won $300 toward a deejay (which I'm not using), free bridals (which I may use), and Arden won a free tux rental (which he'll probably use). Then, a week and a half ago, I got a call saying that I had won a $700 starter photography package. $700?! That was an awesome deal! Almost too good to be true! We got their address and set an appointment to meet with them up in SLC. When we got there we were driving around, and their address was an open lot. I called them, and they described their building (which was falling apart), which was right next to the lot. I confirmed the address they gave me again, but the number on the building was off. They didn't know their own address! We walked in, and the actual office looked nice, but they didn't have any pictures hanging up. We found out later that they had just moved in there, but come on! It was a photography studio! Is it that hard to find something to hang on the wall? We still decided to go in and talk to them.

The photographer was nice and seemed to be helping us a lot. We came up with a good plan that wouldn't cost too much, and their photography looked really good. Arden had to leave the room for a minute, and it was then that the photographer told me that they needed the money right away in order to confirm our date. Not just the deposit - the entire $1100. Yikes! That made me suspicious. Who does that? So when Arden came back we asked for a minute alone, and we decided to leave and think about it. When reading up on them later, Arden found out that the photography company was not dependable and sometimes wouldn't show up to an event, even after someone has paid in entirety. We also found out that their photography may not be as good as they promise, depending on the photographer they send. I'm so glad we listened to our gut feelings! It may come as a surprise, but we're now looking for a new photographer.

Happy New Year! Uh.. I mean Valentines Day!

Hello faithful and patient readers (meaning probably Megan and Lindsy; if there is anyone else, I'm so glad!). It's time for a brief update. Since Arden and I decided that we wanted to get married, I have been beyond busy. Here is a recap: changing my major, Thanksgiving, when he proposed, telling everyone that he proposed, end of the semester, Christmas, vacation with my family, beginning of semester, vacation with his family. Throw in school, work, being in the Relief Society presidency, and planning a wedding, and I barely have enough time to breathe! I want to get in the habit of updating more often, though. It's kind of therapeutic. I'm going to give fair warning, however, that there may be a lot of wedding plannning/sappy/I-need-more-motivation-to-get-everything-done posts, because that's all that I think about right now. Literally! Everything ties back to planning a wedding. It's ridiculous! It's a good thing I have unlimited calling to my mom because I call her two or three times a day to figure out this or that. Consider this my justification. You have now entered Torie's Wedding Blog.

Here I Lay

I am trying to not throw up. I didn't think I was this sick. I went to class all day and stuck it through, just because I could. Then the moment my last class is over: BAM!! I start feeling more sick. Not too bad, though. I went home and started eating some crackers, come to find out that eating is a bad idea. I do okay as long as I don't eat or move around a lot. Hopefully I'll wake up in the morning and be miraculously healed. I'm glad this is all it is. I was able to go to (and pay attention in) all of my classes today, and my class tomorrow is canceled. I can even do my homework in bed, so it works perfectly.

I have a confession. I love my statistics class. Don't tell anyone! It is going really well. I like being able to plug in numbers and get an answer. It's so easy! Maybe that's what I'll go into. I'm not opposed to doing more math. Hmm. Something to think about.

Life is good, isn't it?

Flight of the Conchords

I do love them. Here is one of my favorite vids:

I'm Not Crying

I know that there's an annoying advertisement on the top, but it's the best one I could find. It doesn't really distract from it.

Miters and Marines

Today On How to be Lovely I read a tip on how to make housework more enjoyable. I think it's fantastic! (Note: a miter is a crown, worn mostly by male authorities in Judaism and various other religions, but it is also something that women wore in ancient Greece.)

My brother Logan is home. Hooray! He got here yesterday, and I might see him tomorrow. If not then, then very soon.

If you're looking for a good laugh, this may be the funniest thing you see all day. I saw it and couldn't stop smileing for a very long time.

Dear Computer World

I would like to write a post, but I think I'm about out of power. I could go get my power cord, but I don't want to. I'll just try to type quickly.

School is intense. All of my classes require a lot of reading, probably assuming that the other classes won't. Thus, most of my homework time is taken by reading. Sadly, I do not learn best in this manner. I have to read everything more than once if I really want it to stick. But despite all that, I am loving my classes.

And now it's going to die.

Logan is Home!

My good friend Logan has been in Iraq with the Marines. Late last night I got a text that he was home! I wasn't expecting him to be back for at least a few more days. He's not really home home, but he's at least in the United States. I'll be able to see him in a couple weeks. He's like a brother to me. I have to admit, however, that we weren't always friends.

My year in fourth grade was a pretty normal one. Classroom, teacher, students. Then on one fateful day, there was a new kid. We didn't get new kids very often. This one's name was Logan Morlock. He seemed pretty normal, but before you knew it, we were having a fight about who had the bigger buckteeth. What a way to start out a relationship! From that point on we pretty much grew up together. We lived in the same little town and rode the same bus for a lot of the time. Being the same age and having the same interests, we saw a lot of each other. I think that buckteeth conversation had a huge effect on how we felt about each other because we didn't become friends until junior high. I think. It was a gradual process.

Logan and I know each other so well. We grew up together! We've seen the best and the worst sides of each other. We've been there for good and bad times. We've had a lot of fun throughout the years. We even look kind of alike, so sometimes when we are together people ask if we are siblings. We've come to the point that we just tell them that we are. It's easier. I love this guy, and I've missed him a ton. Welcome home, big brother.


(I know it's distorted, but I love this picture.)

Of All the Luck, Mine is Good.

I had a good day today.

First of all, I made myself get up at about 7 so I could get stuff done and not be rushed. I got a lot done! It was so nice. Even though I got up early, though, I was running late to class. On my way out to my car I realized that I had never turned off my iPod, so it had been on all night. If I couldn't listen to my music, how would I survive the ten minute drive to school? But lo and behold, my iPod still had battery. I got to drive those ten minutes in musical bliss.

I got to the parking lot - the farthest one away from the buildings besides the parking out by the Marriot. All of the spots were taken! I didn't have time to drive to the other parking lot, let alone walk to my classroom. But, wait. What's that? Two more open spots! I quickly took one and walked to class. Then I realized that I had forgotten my notebook for that class, but guess what! We watched a movie. It all worked out so well. I love it when things work out so well.

Dr. Horrible - More of Why You're So Amazing

I saw this today when following Whedonesque on Twitter. If you like Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, You'll love this.

Good News and All That

Okay. First of all, I'm going to write about dear Lindsey Fantastic. Lately I have been seeing her everywhere, even though she is forever away. There is a girl in one of my classes who kind of has the same personality as Lindsey, and is almost as stylish. I have also been thinking of ways to be creative, which I blame on her. I know there was another reason, but I don't remember what it is.

I was talking to my brother Logan yesterday. (He's not my real brother, but I've known him for longer than I've known most of my siblings, so we pretty much just consider each other family.) He's in Iraq with the Marines, which is awesome, but I found out that he's coming home extremely soon, and I am SO EXCITED! He can't tell me exactly when, but I know that it's a lot sooner that I originally thought. I can hardly wait.

Update: I forgot to write this. When we were talking online he said, "well I gotta go little sis. Love you tons. Be patient." It almost made me cry because I was so happy.

Uuinni's Wedding Updates

I just found out today that Whitney is getting married in Utah. Hooray! I'm so excited! I need to make sure I can be there. I think my family is planning on going on vacation, but I don't know the details. I'm trying to get a hold of my mom so that we can work it all out. I am so excited for her! Her reception is still going to be on the other side of the country, but I'm okay with that. I will take what I can get.

Yay for Whitney!

Whitney is now engaged. I knew that it was going to happen. Matt called me and asked for her ring size (Which I didn't know and couldn't figure out), but I didn't know it was going to happen this soon, but I'm happy it did. Matt and Whitney were going "on a walk," and when they were leaving, Matt kept giving me a look. I knew it was going to happen. Sure enough, when they got back, Whitney had a ring on her finger! Hooray! I'm sad to see my last girl go (all of my girls are either moved or married), but now I have a good reason to make myself more friendly. And I'm looking forward to hopefully helping Whitley plan everything.

Alone in the Dark

For the past two weeks I have been roommate-less because all of my roommates were on vacation. I know that where I live is relatively safe, but it was still a little scary. There was this poster on the living room wall, but it never really stuck very well. One night when I came home, the breeze from the door opening knocked the poster down. It was dark, and I couldn't see what happened, but I heard something move in my living room. Thankfully I hadn't come home alone, so I had the courage to check what it was. For the next night or two I was still so freaked out that when I went to bed I would lock my bedroom and shower door and had an escape plan in mind, just in case. Thankfully two of my roommates came home already today! No one was supposed to be back until tonight. I was so glad when I heard the key in the lock this morning.

I have an idea of what I could be for Halloween this year. A pirate! I have some gaucho pants that would be perfect. That's a start! I also have a bandanna (or a few), but I'm not sure if it will fit right yet. This is also a good excuse to buy/make more gold jewelery! I've never owned -or had the desire to own- giant hoop earrings, but I think this is a good reason. I'm trying to think of what else to go with it, like what to do for shoes (I'm not going barefoot) and a top (I'm thinking red and white long sleeve striped shirt, but I want to put somewhat of a modern twist to it). I would like to thank my uuinnis for instilling me with the Halloween bug. I'm pretty excited about this year. I hope my new roommates like Halloween too! (One thing I have to say is that this year I won't have to subject myself to creepy, scary movies. I'm not going to miss that too much.)

Na Na Na Na, The Jones' Family

Oh, I almost forgot. I went home to the Jones' today, and I found out when Jekka is coming home (even though I'm not supposed to know), and I found out that Mandi is coming then too. Hooray! Sleepover in the making. I also found out that Dave is coming home next week, and he'll be living at the Jones' again. I only hang out with him when we're both with the Jones' or both staying at their house, but when I do, it's a blast. I'm excited. The clan is getting closer to being reunited!

110 Degrees

Over the weekend I went with Arden down to St. George for a wedding. We left right after I was done with work on Friday. We drove (well, he drove and I slept) all the way down until we got to In 'N' Out, and we had to stop since there isn't one around here. So good! The other people we knew weren't going to be there for a while, so we went on a self-guided tour of the city. It's really cool. The last time I was there I was in the canyon for hiking, and the time before that I was too young to remember what's there. It's a pretty place.

The next morning was the wedding. I waited outside the temple with a couple of friends and got to know them a lot better. It was hot, but a beautiful day. The sky was clear and blue and everything was green. I hung out while they took pictures, then we went to the luncheon. So much fun! I love our buddies. The night before no one got very much sleep, so we crashed on the couches that they had there until we were kicked out. Then we got to make the drive to (drum roll please)... Nevada! It was so hot. I was glad that the reception was indoor. We all played games, blew bubbles and watched (or participated in ;) ) a great dance, and then decided it was time to go. There were five of us that had to drive all the way back home, and it was late. Arden and I were in the same car, so we talked the whole way home and we both stayed awake! I was so glad.

I started teaching private lessons again today. One of the lessons is for two boys that I taught three or four weeks ago, and their mom requested me again because I knew what there goals were and how they swim, so it cut out a lot of evaluation time. My next lesson is for two sisters who swim well and just need to work on technique. My next lesson was a no-show, so I don't know how that one will be, but it was nice to have a break today. The last one I teach is for a boy who has mild to moderate hearing loss. I think that's why his mom put him in private lessons, but I think he could benefit from being in a class setting. I'll work with him and do my best, though. I want to have him swimming on his own by the end of the week.

Things I Think Are Funny at the Pool

1) Old women in bikinis
2) Old men in speedos
3) Pregos in bikinis
4) Parents who think they're exempt from having to obey the rules
5) Little kids who hit on the lifeguards
6) Old people who hit on the lifeguards
7) Overzealous lifeguards - no joke. There's one who always looks super stressed out, even if nothing bad is happening. One of these days she's going to be in the middle of a rotation and have a nervous breakdown. I kind of hope I'm there to see it.
8) Kids who wear all white to the pool. Then it gets wet.
9) Ten minute breaks. They always turn into non-breaks. But they do make people leave!
10) ... I'll come up with the rest later.