Come ye thankful people come

This shall serve as my last blog before December. Coming at you from Terminal E of Logan International Airport in Boston, typed to Blogger through Gmail. Sorry if the formatting is wonky, nothing I can do.

If today is Friday, 11/21, I'm still in Boston.
If today is Saturday, 11/22, I'm in Barcelona.
If today is Sunday, 11/23, I'm in Nice and Monte Carlo (Monacco).
If today is Monday, 11/24, I'm in Florence and Pisa.
If today is Tuesday, 11/25, I'm in Rome.
If today is Wednesday, 11/26, I'm in Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.
If today is Thursday, 11/27, I'm in Sicily. Happy Thanksgiving!
If today is Friday, 11/28, I'm at sea.
If today is Saturday, 11/29, I'm in Barcelona.
If today is Sunday, 11/30, I'm in Paris.
If today is Monday, 12/1, I'm still in Paris, but on my way home.
If today falls on a day after Tuesday, 12/2, I'm probably dead on my feet, have a repeat of the European bird flu, or am busy washing all the sheets and towels in my house in prep of the family's arrival on Thursday, 12/4.

Wow, that list is long. I'm going to be out of phone and computer touch longer than, well ever. I just bet yall will get along without me. I hope you have the most wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Catch up in December. XOXO.

Who's in your fave 5?

In the comments of my last blog, Kendall said she'd forgive me for ruining Thanksgiving if I kept blogging. That was two days ago, so I hope she'll forgive me. I also hope my "ruining Thanksgiving" is linked to my taking my sister and G-parents abroad for the holiday and not for simply being alive. Guess we'll never know!

In her honor, my Top 5:

Five things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Wondering if our Sophomore English teacher moved furniture on the weekends (holy calves Mrs. George!)
2. Playing Retirement Home Christmas parties with that hit swing band The Hubcats
3. Three weeks from sixteen
4. Having my friends monopolized by my [older] sister
5. Wearing short hair and ill-fitting jeans

Five things on my to do list today:
1. Make poster for Celtics v. Pistons game during work
2. Eat with coworkers before Celtics v. Pistons game
3. Go to the Garden for the Celtics v. Pistons game
4. Clap my heart out at the Celtics v. Pistons game
5. Arrive home without getting murdered after the Celtics v. Pistons game

Five of my favorite snacks:
1. Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke [insert cherry], Diet Pepsi
2. Skittles, Hot Tamales, Good ‘n Plenties
3. Popcorn from our home popper
4. A good chocolate chip cookie or anything with cream cheese frosting
5. Chips and Salsa

Five jobs I have had:
1. Front desk reception at an obstetrician/gynecology office
2. Arts & Crafts counselor at a rich girl camp in Maine
3. Receptionist at the University Advisement Center/Academic Advisement Office @ BYU
4. Management Intern at Target
5. Professional Plate Spinner / Finesser of the Internet

Five things I would do with a million dollars:
1. Invest in dollar store stock. Seriously; 40 percent return last year
2. Buy a townhouse in Boston
3. Buy a househouse in Utah
4. Visit Utah more frequently
5. Buy floor seats for the NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix this year and take my cousin Corey

Five things that made me laugh this week:
1. Some bold behavior on my part
2. The look on my boss’ cat’s face while he’s [the cat] dressed like a scarecrow
3. All of my sisters’ blogs
4. My mom complaining that losing weight is making her too cold
5. An email strand between two old friends from the past and one really embarrassing story

T Minus 2 Sleeps

I feel like blogging, fancy that. Never mind it's 12:37pm and there's a list a hand span long of things to do before I fly off to Barcelona on Friday. Oh well, it's past business hours everywhere, so most "To do's" can't be crossed off anyway. What did I get off my list tonight? Buy a camera (thanks Costco--your pizza was delish as well), clean the toilet, unpack a bin, print travel documents. Phew. What's still to do? Oye, quite a bit.

And now, I shall brain dump enough bullets as fast as I can get them before I give up on this blog and toss it, as so many others have gone that way in the past month...

• Weather is still relatively warm here in Boston. Had a bit of an Indian Summer, and are still experiencing mid-50's here and there. Today I tested out my halfer-weight jacket for the cruise--it will work beautifully.
• Speaking of the cruise, only three more sleeps before I get on a plane. Considering I'm about to take care of one of those sleeps (and most likely will before the majority of you read said bullet), it's sooner than any of us think. Friday evening I'll jump on a red eye to Barcelona.
  
• I have a quick layover in Switzerland, which is funny because the Swiss Consulate is on my floor at work and my coworker Heather and I have a running joke about the Swiss Consulate -- so it's funny that I'm flying through Switzerland. It's also not surprising, since I'm flying Swiss Air.
• My nails are two manicures long now. This is a big big deal. I think I blogged about this two blogs ago. Embarrassing? Meh. You have to take pride in the little things right? Getting them manicured and my eyebrows waxed is on the list before Friday. RUNNING OUT OF TIME. Actually, my eyebrows ran out of time about three weeks ago.
  
• I saw High School Musical 3 again tonight. Kind of a funny story.
• The agency I work at has been nominated for two pretty major website awards. The Awards show is Wednesday night -- our agency has two full tables, access to an open bar (holla!), and my +1 is the lovely Katie, who also happens to be one of our clients. Two birds, one stone.
  
• I kind of wish yall could see me bopping along home from work, a little extra bounce in my step as I listen to either HSM, Chris Brown, or Hair Spray. I am in fact, a 13-year-old girl.
• I bought a pretty great green houndstooth BCBG dress at Marshall's last week for a few dollars. Wore it to church with a mustard sweater and mustard shoes. I like kind of mismatchy colors.
  
• Juan, in town from Texas, brought me the first six episodes of Friday Night Lights on DVD. Sigh. I watched them all in one night. Cried on Smash's last episode. What they did with that kid in three seasons was beautiful. And my heart belongs to Matt Saracen--it has since the first season. I'm LOVING what they're doing this year. In a rank order of the seasons, it definitely goes 1, 3, 2.
  
• Not Your Average Joe's continues to be the greatest place in the world to eat. Excited to go there with the fam in a few short weeks.
  
• I'm half tempted to take my Connect Four to Europe. I feel like it's gone on so many trips and been photo-ed in so many places, it might be a fun photo series. Kind of like the jumping photos in the United Kingdom...

Speaking of photo series, now is the time to speak up with ideas on what I should do in Spain, France, Monaco, Italy...

And Happy 608th Blog to me. Is now when I should be getting a life?

Let the holiday cheer begin

I get to see these lovely ladies in 5 and 17 days respectively.

Snore to the bore

Dear cyber world,

My life is boring. Bore-bore-boring. As boring as the still white and undecorated walls in my bedroom more than two months after moving in. Where the greatest accomplishment of the weekend was organizing my shoes and finally watching a movie I've rented on three separate occasions.

Snore.
Bore.

Now. Lest you think I'm saying my life is bad, I squarely throw a penalty flag. Tisk tisk. Boring does not equal bad.

Bask with me in my boringness.

• Sorted through my shoes. Did the summer/winter swap and matched pairs.
• Opened my bills mail.
  
• Piled the bills actually needing paid together. Will over charge Linda tomorrow.
• Spent .43 cents on a stamp returning a sweepstakes ballot to American Express. Openly scoff if you will, but no cash payment for being my reader friend if my sweepstakes number is the predetermined winner. (Tithing on sweepstakes entries? Discuss.)
• Started a pile of clothes/shoes for Kendall and Mallory to sort through when they come out. (21 days and counting.)
• Ate a Target hot dog. Am half considering having my Christmas Card photo taken in the food court there.
• Secured my place in the annals of history as the worst small talk champion for as long as both shall live and then on into the hereafter and eternity foreverness. Sigh.
• Foreverness kind of looks like Governess. Which makes me think of the Sound of Music.
  
• How great is that song "Forever" by Chris Brown? Oye. Gets me moving every time. But back to task:
  
• Watched "The Island" cast reunion. Unless you know what this is or watched it yourself, you have no idea how boring or shameful this is.
• Worried.
  
• Exchanged countless texts and phone calls with Alaina about the cruise wardrobe. Not boring-boring, but she was the one out doing the fun shopping. I was the one in my pajamas at 4pm on a Saturday sorting shoes or eating a Target hot dog answering/asking questions about a cruise whose weather and ports I know slim to nothing about.
• Went to a Relief Society Board Meeting. (Oh snap. Not as boring as it sounds actually, props to the taco salad/burrito reward for staying late!)
• Even the Celtics v. Pistons game was a bore. C's blow-out. Good news, but still boring.
  
• Fretted about the fact I haven't bought a camera to replace my stolen one from Halloween. Better get on that. Flight to Barcelona is in twelve days and counting.
  
• Looked at my nails a million times. They're getting long. For a 25-year nail-biting veteran, a major feat.
  
• Looked at my hair a million times. It's not as brown or as gray as I thought it was two days ago. Phew.
• Tried to think up more boring bullets to write. Lame huh?
• Now I'm just waiting to talk on the phone. Mom's finishing a movie. Julie's learning finance. Sheesh. These people with their stuff to do.
  

Don't worry people. Work starts up tomorrow and I'm aiming to get a pep in my step and hopefully some joy to my heart. But I've gotta get going now, Mom won't talk to me unless I can start the call with five nice things. Better grab a pen and find some creativity...

Monkeys trump Darwin

OH. MY. GOSH. Oh my gosh. Oh my GOSH.

I just ate the poisonous part of my banana.

I MIGHT DIE. Right? That's what they tell you growing up. Not to eat that gray bottom. But I DID. ON ACCIDENT. This is NOT A CRY FOR HELP.

I'M GOING TO DIE. 15 days before my European cruise. Booooooo.

Life is so unfair.

Exercising My Right

Today, a historic day. I exercised a right granted to me based on the freedom of the land in which I live. Granted to me as a citizen of the United States, I did what many fought for years without success to be able to do.

I canceled my gym membership.

Oh yeah, and I voted too.

System Reboot

And now, a bad* poem:

Five hours
At a dinner with 2 friends, twin 7-year olds, and 2 soups
And the Bishop and his Tammy
Are more than enough
To reboot the system for the coming week.

It's not every day you get to have a tithing settlement/dating discussion in between dinner and dessert.

Or see the Bishop in his pajamas.

*bad constitutes poor construction, not inappropriate content. regardless. if you read the poem first without reading this disclaimer, you were probably hoping to read some edgy poem? for shame. disclaimers are given for a reason.

Saturday is a Special Day

I lost my phone. For real this time. (I think.) For some reason, I think I can exist without a phone. This means texts, email, and the constant contact to friends, family, and the rest of the world. I'm feeling pretty good about my decision after the first 24 hours. I'm wondering if I can make it to my cruise three weeks from today. Chances are slim to none, right? I tried to get Julie to bet me $100 as a little incentive (and the jumpstart on a down payment for another phone). She doesn't think I'll make it six hours into Monday. Guess we'll both see. Anyone want to put up any kind of bet?

Saw High School Musical 3 tonight. I requested we attend a late showing to mitigate the number of potential children in the audience. Then, we chose a theater a bit off the beaten track. Outcome? Five other people in the theater. Score. The movie itself? Sigh. Why do I love HSM so much? It's cheesy and ridiculous, and a two-hour display of shiny shiny hair and a parade of impossible, improbable and idiotic. Who cares. Came home and bought a few songs to update my HSM playlist. That's right, this is how awesome I am.

Also missing with my phone? My camera, a skull ring, and a pack of green Now-n-Laters. I'm still wont to think they're hiding somewhere together.

Hey! It was Halloween this weekend. Guess what I was? A combo of two of my favorite loves -- goth, and High School Musical. What was my costume? Ummmm. A High School Musical Goth. Let's just assume that not every student at East High wanted to sing and dance.

So friends, I don't have a cell phone. Or a house phone. I have access to the internet and a work phone during the standard 8-5 10-7. I have to check my email like a normal person. I have no text messages for the unforeseeable future. It could be 15 days, it could be 2. Que ser a, ser a.

So, uh, who wants to put up some kind of incentive to go sans phone? Am I missing any grand "this isn't going to work Nat! moments" in not having a phone? And how many days do you think I'll actually make it? Lastly, how awesome/atrocious is it that I set the stage to see a kids' movie where the probability of kids actually attending would be slim to none? Don't worry kids, I'm not having a baby any time soon.

P.S. -- JULIE IS HERE!