Upcoming Travel Plans

I keep promising Katie that I'll write, and I'm just now getting around to it.

I'm planning my next big trip! Nicole Nelsen and I will be going to Bruges, Paris/Versailles, Florence, Cinque Terre, and end with a day in Rome. That's three new pins I get to put in my map!! And I'm super stoked about it. Cinque Terre is freakin' gorgeous in pictures, (see left) so I can't wait to see it in person. Unfortunately, I'm making my mom jealous because I'm going to Europe and she's not. But I keep telling her it's her own fault for not saving the money and taking the time to come with me. I'm pretty sure my mom, dad, and I will eventually plan a trip for Scotland and Ireland, because that's where they are dying to go.

New York City will be calling my name in August. I'm going to meet up with my old roommate Sarah, and I'm excited to see her again! What's with all my friends moving away? I still keep thinking that it would be awesome to move elsewhere for a year or two. But I think I'd have issues being separated from my family. Anyway, NYC should be fun, and hopefully won't drain me of all the money I'll need for Europe.

Happy Earth Day!

Just wanna wish everyone a happy Earth day! I'm gonna go see the Disney Earth movie, take a walk or two outside, and maybe follow Jamilyn's lead and plant myself a little herb garden to take care of. My parents are starting their garden outside, so I think I'll offer a helping hand there, too.

I love knowing that what we do on this Earth makes a difference. Whether it's good or bad is up to us. I'm not the most Earth-conscious person in the world, but I'm doing my best to reuse and recycle. I'm thankful to my dad for giving me important lessons about not littering. And for both my parents for always keeping a garden at our house. And for books like Chasing Redbird and movies like Fern Gully when I was little that helped me pay more attention to the world around me.

I'm thinking I might get a scooter so that I can pollute less and buy less gas this summer. I should just ride bikes more often, but I kinda refuse to ride my bike 11 miles to work every day... Anyway, I hope everyone's Earth day is organic, raw, beautiful, and awe-inspiring, just like our world.

Rock and Roll is Here to Stay

So, my trip to Cleveland was fantastic. Seeing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was seriously one of the highlights of my life. I was like a kid in a candy store the entire time I was in there. Ya'll would have been laughing at me and my reactions, seriously. I got to see Michael Jackson's Thriller red jacket, his sequined glove, the werewolf mask from Thriller; I saw Madonna's pointy-boob costume; I saw Led Zeppelin's guitar, and ZZ Top's car, and Rolling Stones stage costumes. I saw Freddy Mercury's stage costume! And John Lennon's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band outfit. And stuff from Kurt Cobain, Rick James, Smokey Robinson, Joe Perry, Jay-Z, Metallica, Flava Flav... And Steven Tyler's mic scarves!!! And Elvis's purple car! I'm telling you, it was a dream come true. So crazy...

Going to the Rock Hall inspired a 3 hour downloading frenzy in which I downloaded over a hundred songs from the Rock Hall's list of 500 Songs that Influenced Rock and Roll. I now have about 200 of them... Only 300 more to go. And seriously, I'm gaining even more respect for songs I never gave a second thought to. Some songs I've just (re) discovered: The Tracks of My Tears, Sheena is a Punk Rocker, American Girl, California Dreamin, Blue Moon (The Marcels version), Give Peace a Chance, Somebody to Love, A Natural Woman. Lots more, but I don't want to list my entire iPod library at the moment.

Oh, and best news ever, Aerosmith is going on tour!! I finally get to see one of my favorites. I'll be in Vegas on July 25th having the time of my life!

Boring... But Not Bored

I haven't written in my blog lately. That's because I have nothing to write about. My life is rather boring... But I suppose I'm okay with that right now. I'm planning a couple vacations, one to Cleveland in April, and a tentative trip to Orlando in May. Those trips are what is getting me through my day to day drudgery at the moment.

Although, I think I die a little inside each day I don't have a trip to Europe or some other far off foreign place planned. Which means I've been dying a little for the past 5 months... Not to worry, I'm doing just fine! But I will need to get that trip planned asap. Maybe I'll take it in October. Maybe to Copenhagen, Berlin, and Bern. Or maybe to Athens and Cairo. Or maybe to New Zealand and Sydney. I'll take suggestions. Or traveling partners!

I don't have much more to add. Oh, except, I had a friend tell me today that she was switching wards because ours didn't provide any guys that she wanted to date. And she has no other avenues to meet guys. And I sat and wondered... Should I be switching wards too? Because I really love my ward, and I'd hate to give up on it just because I'm not digging on any of the guys there. This is the exact reason I struggle with singles wards.

I leave you with the two songs stuck in my head....
"Your voice is small and fading, and you're hiding here alone..."
"It's interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry..."
500 points to anyone who can name titles and artists! Without cheating!

50 Questions

So, I've been tagged in a hundred notes on facebook. Instead of doing them all on there, I'm gonna do one here. I won't tag anyone, but if someone wants to do it, please be my guest!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yes, my middle name is after my mom's maiden name, Linton

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Hmm... Don't recall. Haha, it might have been watching American Idol. Shut up.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sure. It has it's moments of good and bad.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Chicken. Prosciutto is quite delicious, too.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Nope. Thank goodness!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Lame question. If I was another person, how am I supposed to know what my personality is like and who I'd want to be friends with?

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? Constantly.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yup

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Sure. I've already gone sky diving, so bungee jumping is small bananas now...

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Mmm... Cracklin' Oat Bran. I could live off the stuff.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope, sure don't.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Vanilla, cause you can mix it with everything! Like pralines and caramel or oreos. Oh, but Pumpkin Pie ice cream is freakin' delightful!

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? The whole package. I guess their face.

15. RED OR PINK? Red

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My ability to be so contradictory to myself.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Jamilyn and Lynsie! And Katie, since I don't see you nearly often enough. And Lina and Sarah.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST? I'm not tagging anyone, so I don't have to answer this question!

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Dark blue jeans and no shoes.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Angel of Mine by Monica

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? I'd be those clickable crayons that are loaded with like 10 different colors.

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Rain, Black Chamomile, Vanilla and musky smells, grass, mountain air, cookies

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO? My dad, informing me that I should have been invited to the leadership retreat.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yup. Steph is an awesome person!

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Basketball and Football. And I still really enjoy watching cheerleading... something I'll never get over probably.

27. HAIR COLOR? Blonde

28. EYE COLOR? Blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yup, sure do.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Oh, way too many to list. Mexican and curry would probably be among the top.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Both at the appropriate time. They're both so fun!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Lars and the Real Girl. So great!!!

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? a black and gray argyle sweater

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Both! That's why I love Utah!

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Both! Well, come on, we know everyone likes kisses from their special someone more than hugs any day...

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Chocolate lava cake and vanilla ice cream.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Probably no one.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? See above...

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? No mouse pad!

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? American Idol and Lost. Lost freakin' rocked my world. It always does, though.

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S)? Laughing, great music, August's Rhapsody, my phone ringing (it means someone wants to talk to me!), the silence in the mountains

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Stones!! Love Beast of Burden.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Rome, Italy.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Not really. What constitutes special?

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Cottonwood, UT

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Anyone who wants to respond

48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER? I don't have one. Thanks for bringing that up... :)

49. IS THE CUP HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY? Both. It exists either way. The glass contains the liquid that it does. I work with it as it is.

50. IF YOU COULD SIT DOWN TO DINNER WITH FIVE PEOPLE WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE? Joe Elliot, Steven Tyler, Emile Hirsch, Jane Austen, Joseph Smith. Haha, I'm not sure how well this group of people would get along, but I'd have a good time!

Resolutions...

I have put a ton of thought into my New Years Resolutions, and yet, I still don't have any specific goals in mind. For my logical, analytical mind, that's driving me crazy... Here's what's flowing through my brain right now.

I need to eat less and exercise more. Lose weight, yes, please! Feel healthier, yes, please! Eat more salads... uh, no thanks.

My sweet brother wants to volunteer more, and he's making me want to do the same. So that will hopefully get done this year.

I need to open a long term savings account. I have savings now... But my traveling depletes it pretty regularly. So, retirement, here I come!

I want to be happy. Which I already am. But there's always room for more, right?!

I need to reach out to people. Be less selfish, more compassionate, more friendly, more courageous.

I miss Europe. So much. So I've got to get there again this year. At least once. Preferably twice. Germany is already on the possibilities board for May. So we'll see.

Yeah, I have plenty of resolution ideas. I just need to figure out which ones need the most work and figure out the steps to achieve them. And if any of you, my dear friends, think I especially need to work on anything in my life, I'm open for suggestions! And a happy new year to everyone! I hope this year will become your favorite and most full in your life so far!

Snow and Service

I love Christmas. And I love snow. It's amazing--they say that if it's not snowy in Utah, the shopping revenue goes way down. No one buys Christmas gifts because no one feels Christmas-y. I love that. And as the snow falls down outside, and as I keep peeking out my office and down the hall to the outside door so that I can see it, I can see why. There is just something so soft and comforting and beautiful about the snow and the way it makes you feel like sitting by a cold window, wrapped in a fleece blanket wearing slippers and a cup of hot chocolate in your hand, and just staring for hours. The way it makes you feel like sharing that feeling with another person... even if through shopping for gifts. It needs to snow many more times before Christmas comes in 17 days. Please!

Oh, and service... In testimony meeting yesterday, someone mentioned that Christmas makes us all feel connected on a deeper level, and it's so true. A Christmas doesn't go by when I don't think of the many people out there who aren't so blessed as me. The people who are going without. But I hope they are still surrounded by family and friends. I pray that even if money is too thin, they still will feel the hope of this season. And I hope that my small efforts to donate a little money and supplies this year can make a difference in someone's life. That they will feel loved. That they will feel a little of Christ's love, for he is the true spirit and light that connects us all, that we feel especially strong this and every Christmas.

I wish you all happy snow days, happy serving, and a light-filled, merry Christmas!