For Her

This is for my Grandma, who recently passed away. This was one of her favorite poems.
So fitting.


The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
That stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king,
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
Who never had to win his share
Of sun, sky, and light and air,
Never became a manly man,
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow in ease.
The stronger wind, the tougher trees,
The farther sky, the greater length,
The more the storm, the more the strength,
By sun and cold, by rain and snows,
In tree or man, good timber grows.
Where thickest lies the forest growth
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
This is the common law of life.

--Douglas Mallock

Favorite Quote This Week

"You know how when you were a little kid and you believed in fairy tales, that fantasy of what your life would be, white dress, prince charming who would carry you away to a castle on a hill. You would lie in bed at night and close your eyes and you had complete and utter faith. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Prince Charming, they were so close you could taste them, but eventually you grow up, one day you open your eyes and the fairy tale disappears. Most people turn to the things and people they can trust. But the thing is its hard to let go of that fairy tale entirely cause almost everyone has that smallest bit of hope, of faith, that one day they will open their eyes and it will come true. " - Meredith Grey

mY bUcKeT LiSt

“You know, the ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got to the entrance to heaven, the guards asked two questions. Their answers determined whether they were able to enter or not. ‘Have you found joy in your life?’ 'Has your life brought joy to others?’” - Morgan Freeman, The Bucket List.

While I don't know how my list will bring joy to others, I can certainly say it will bring joy to me. This isn't my complete list. But, I thought it would be fun to share (some of the things on my list are completely ridiculous, like # 2, but I still want to do them) and maybe see what other people's look like too. Keep in mind, my list is not in any particular order of importance.

So here it is, My Bucket List:

1. Travel to the British Isles
2. Go to Hogwarts
3. Graduate from College
4. Learn Spanish
5. Learn French
6. Complete my novel
7. Sit in the studio audience of Ellen
8. Get my novel published
9. Travel somewhere by train
10. Learn how to ballroom dance
11. Have my portrait painted
12. Own and wear a ball gown
13. Horseback ride on the beach
14. Build a tree house
15. Host a tea, with crumpets and dresses
16. Have my fortune told
17. Read all the classic novels
18. Make a kite and fly it
19. Travel to Italy
20. Visit a castle

Riddles

Someone introduced me to a blog this week that a girl named Allie Brosh writes. On it, she had posted this riddle:

"When the day after tomorrow becomes yesterday, the day which would then be today will be as far from Sunday as the day which is yesterday when it's two days after that day's tomorrow... What day of the week was this spoken?"

And I thought, You know what?
I can totally figure this out.
I showed my coworker Meg and we tried to see who could come up with the answer. She came up with Wednesday. I came up with this fantastic , completely nonsensical drawing. Don't be jealous.

Now, let me try to explain. Because I really am a smart person. Promise. I was originally trying to mark the days that I occupied with stars on the top. I have no idea what the boxes are, or the box with a person in it. As I was trying to figure it out Meg says "Wednesday, did you get Wednesday?" Ummmmmmmmmmmmm.
"How did you get Wednesday? I got this..." and I showed her my post-it note. Which made her bust up laughing.

Needless to say I withdrew from the riddle contest and I still have no idea what the real answer is because Google didn't know. And if Google doesn't know, how can I??

10 K Run

My sister Kayla cheerfully announced that she was going to participate in a 10K run in July via MSN Messenger today.
Normally I would say something positive like "Oh wow, good for you!" All chipper-like. Instead, it went like this:

Amy says: 10 k's arent all they are cracked up to be. You think "Wow I'm going to run this far" and then you realize that this is not a country stroll, there are HILLS, and obstacles- like old people, or mom's with strollers that ram into the back of your ankles like a kid in the grocery store pushing a cart. So, unless you are the mom with the stroller (which you're not) or enjoy running up hills, (which no one does) 10k's kind of suck.

Kayla says: I know. I still want to do it. I am excited about it. I know I can do it.

Amy says: Well I know I can eat a chocolate pudding snack pack, so I do that -and I will enjoy that. A 10k? Not so much. But good luck, I'll be there next to you in a car, snapping pictures as the air conditioning blows through my hair....

to which she CHEERFULLY replied:

Kayla says: Okay, DEAL!

I think she'll rethink this cheerful enthusiasm for 10K runs once she is out there in the blistering July heat, puffing up the last hill with her lungs rattling like a dying lawn-mower. Then she'll be thinking "I should have listened to Amy, and just ate a snack pack".
And, since I am a LOVING sister, I will insert a positive and inspiring comment for her, here: Good luck Kayla! ;)

Why People Think Mormon's Are A Cult

I've heard people talk about the fact that many people across the world believe "The Mormons" are

1. A cult
2. Mentally unsound
3. Weird
4. A cult

I have always thought, "Wow, that's rude" or "Uh!" or "Why? I don't get it, and NO I don't have horns like Satan".

But then.......... my sister sent me a IM and asked if I had watched a certain YouTube video done by some missionaries similar to the haka done before a BYU game (don't yell at me if my facts are wrong yell at HER).

Now, after watching this video, I honestly get why some people would think we are

1. A cult
2. Mentally unsound
3. Weird
4. A cult

We aren't..... but this makes me get why some people might think that...

Mad Cow

So Kayla did a blog post today about our sisterly paranoia on her blog HERE. It made me think specifically of my sister Dayna. And a phone call I got from her last summer.

Dayna called me in a full-fledged panic. This is NOT unusual. This time though, was the clear winner of PARANOID calls. She called because there was a raging LUNATIC outside her house, not even 10 feet from it.

It was a moaning, bellowing, crazy sounding COW. That's right, a cow.

Mooing- innocently I might add, in her yard. But, to Dayna, mooing obviously equates to a charging bull of epic proportions intent on running her to the ground - which is a problem, because she needs a book out of her car.

I tried to talk her down from her self-imposed 'window ledge' of a front step. She was really out of control, using a hysterical, high-pitched voice with sobs punctuating it every now and again as I tried to calmly and rationally tell her that:

'Dayna, cows do not attack people. Some cows even 'let' you push them over while they sleep. They moo like a cat purrs, it's just a noise they make, really you are fine to get your book. I'm sure the cow is just hungry and that's why it's mooing'

Didn't matter what I said, the cow was apparently psychotic and out to get her. She thought that because it might be hungry the cow might be thinking that SHE looked tasty. Her logic is astounding right? Common sense and Dayna never did make a tidy little package.

So, in the end, what I said was completely irrelevant and she locked the doors to her house (yes, like the cow is going to come and open it if she HADN'T locked it) and waited for her husband to get home 4 hours later to get her book from the car. Wow.

The Best Seat Belt Advocacy Ad Ever

This is an odd blog post to do, but I find the imagery and music in this video somewhat profound. In a seatbelt ad of all things. My favorite part? When the jewels scatter and sparkle in the air....

Favorite Quote of The Week

"If there’s a book you want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it." - Morrison





And so..... I am.