Exceedingly Grateful

It is after 11:00pm and tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I can't believe it is already here! I am sitting on the counter and waiting for my potatoes to cook. Maybe part of my not believing Thanksgiving is almost here is the reason that I didn't start cooking till now... I don't know, but either way, this seems like the perfect time to post a gratitude blog.

I am grateful for a couple few things - maybe more than usual this year. A lot has happened in the last year. This week last year I was in D.C. with Hali and Lindsay. I had just decided to apply for the full-time MPA program at BYU and I am pretty sure that I thought I was insane. Now I am an unemployed, overworked, full-time grad student. I have quit my job, been to China and almost completed my first semester of grad school - AND I have lived to tell the tale.

That makes me grateful.

Here are some highlights of the things I am grateful for this year:


Running, cause I think I am staring to get the hang of this thing
New music, for giving me new ways to express myself
The BBC, for giving me Austen, Simon Schama, Sherlock, Matt Smith, David Tennant, many happy memories from my childhood, AND A SONIC SCREWDRIVER!
Macaroni and cheese, because after all these years, it still makes me so happy
Aspirations, because I will never achieve half the things I dream - and that's ok
Art, for keeping me in touch with who I really am
School, because it reminds me that I can be more
Team Jacob, for taking on our ridiculous name and taking on everything school throws at us
My laptop, because I never thought we would be so close
Top spots at the Tanner, cause they keep me motivated to get to school on time
Simply Orange and Izze sodas, because they make me feel fancy
The Cocoa Bean, for making absolutely anything into a reason to celebrate
Lou, for being me on a ten year delay
My heater blanket, because it makes going to bed in the winter so delightful
High-top Chuck Taylors, even if I should be more lady-like.
New friends, as I am constantly amazed by the people who come into my life
Old Friends, cause I think they love me so much that I couldn't stop them if I tried. Heaven only knows what that is about, but I am grateful for it.
The gospel of Jesus Christ, because I do know where I would be without it - and I am grateful that I am not there

There are, of course, many more things that I am grateful for, and I don't think I could ever adequately express the gratitude I feel for all of the blessings in my life, but I really am grateful. I am overwhelmed almost everyday by all that I have been given. And all of you have contributed to that. Thank you. I am grateful for you. I hope that you know that.

Thanks.

Eureka!

Last night I pulled out my journal from my trip to Europe. It has been more than 2 years since Erin and I took off to see the world. It's kinda unbelievable. As I flipped through the entries I remembered writing every day about the things that we were doing and wondering if it would ever be interesting.

Here are some excerpts of our boring, everyday happenings:

"Ate fish and chips at a pub in London. The water tastes like it came straight out of the toilet."

"Got lost and stumbled on Bernini's The Ecstasy of St. Theresa."

"Eiffel Tour Sparkle. I'm glad I found out about this before hand. It would have been so easy to miss."

Anything but boring.

Anyway, the point of this is that my journal was a little moleskin notebook, and they all come equipped with handy little pockets in the back. Last night I reached into the pocket and pulled out all of the little papers that I had tucked in there during my trip. This is what I found:



Eureka!

Weak Ankles

Tuesday night my facebook status read as follows:

New playlist. Check. Running shoes. Check. Rockin the beanie? You bet. Rolled ankle in the first song...Really Mitchell? Really?!

It was unfortunate, especially as HRH and I are signed up to run a 5k on Thanksgiving. I put my foot up, iced my ankle and hoped for the best. After about 2 days I was feeling pretty good. One more day of rest and I should be right as rain.

Apparently, the universe found my confidence amusing. Friday afternoon I was walking downstairs at my house and then, suddenly, I wasn't walking anymore. I took the last 7 steps in one fell swoop. As I was falling, I somehow found myself with a lot of time for thinking.

"Wow, this can't be good. Nope, this can't end well. I am going to have to come down again at some point and it can't be good. I wonder if I will break something? I have never broken anything before. I hope my insurance is good. Well, no matter what, I can't land of my left ankle. That would be tragic for sure."

So I landed on my right ankle. Really Mitchell, really?! This is unreal...and more than a little uncomfortable. On the upside, I haven't got a lot to do this weekend and my couch is rather comfortable. So here I sit, with an ankle the size of Africa, watching movies and painting my nails. Maybe this is exactly what I needed after all.

You, Me, and Sara B.

Last night Camilla and I took a little trip up to the Salt Lake to see the one and only Sara Barielles! We bought our tickets about a month ago and have been eagerly awaiting this day. Little did I know that I would have a test that would be moved to the 17th and a project that would also be moved to be due on that very same day. Yikes. The result was a lovely morning of skipping class to sit on my bed and take my 3 hour Econ test. (You think I just when I say lovely? I do not.) The less lovely was trying to cram my project into the remaining daylight hours. (Which are few, thanks to daylight savings). Well, I ended up taking my laptop along for the ride and working on my project whilst Camilla drove us in the Subaru(room)-of-requirement.

Have you ever worked on a laptop in a car before? I have watched movies on my lappy in the car, but this was a new expeirence. The sense of multi-tasking was exhilarating. I can, indeed, create excel spreadsheets while moving at 75 mph! Wow.

Well, we got to the concert in time to catch the last several songs of the opening act - Cary Brothers. Now, lest you think that this is a band of brothers, I will tell you that it is not. It is merely an unfortunate man with an even more unfortunate name. I will just say that, although marginally talented, as a whole he was rather disappointing.

Maybe I think back on it with such distaste was because when he finished up his set - nothing happened. Nothing. For more than 30 minutes.

The audience started chanting, "Sara, Sara, Sara" two different times. And she did not heed the call. Really?

Here is a picture of how we felt after waiting all. night. long. for Sara to come sing us some songs:















Here are all the people. Just standing around. Forced to listen to lame music. (I have never understood why music venues can't play something decent between sets)














After MUCH waiting...the show finally started!

Sara B. is phenomenal live. That girl can SING. I have nothing but inestimable respect for artists who sound better live than on their records. The show was high energy and the audience was great. We had some crazies around us that made the night that much better.

The end of the show came all too soon, but it certainly ended with a bang. During her last song, Sara got up ON THE PIANO and sang her heart out. Someday Sara B., someday. Camilla and I both now have a life goal to find a situation where we can get up on a piano and sing our hearts too, without getting in trouble. It will happen. No doubt.















Overall, the show was a wild success. And the icing on the cake was that they were selling the song book for Sara's new album. We have been looking for it for a bit now and it is nowhere to be found. Nowhere but here.

One the way home we cranked up the Sara B. and I worked away on my laptop. When I got home I was so full up of good music and tired that I promptly fell asleep (almost on my computer) and slept right through my alarm. So much for getting my project in on time - but totally worth it.

Black Dub: Tiny Desk Concert

I do love me some NPR Tiny Desk Concerts. I would REALLY (Hear that? REALLY) love to work somewhere that crazy-mad talented people just dropped by and played a set AT MY DESK. Anyway, what I am getting at is that I feel like I struck gold recently with one of their concerts.

Do yourself a favor and take a listen - and prepare to be blown away. This girl has soul like you wouldn't believe. I think that if I ever meet a genie, one of my wishes is going to be to have a voice like Trixie Whitley. I would quit everything I am doing and just sing. all. day. long. Man, I just love this.

Black Dub: Tiny Desk Concert

It Doesn't Get Better Than This

I am the luckiest Auntie in all the world. The other day I came home and found 4 voicemails waiting for me on my phone. This is what they said:

Message #1
Aliea:
Hi Jennica
Uh, you're the cutest auntie I ever met
You are gorgeous and beautiful and how lovely I love you
Please call Aliea
I love you bye
Jaxon:
I want to talk to her
Aliea:
She's already gone

So they called back...

Message #2
Jaxon:
Hello Jennica
Im just wondering
I love you in the best one and you're the little
you're the little
And you're the little tootsie roll in the entire world
she's a tootsie roll

Then they called again...

Message #3
Aliea:
Hi Jennica
You're the rock and roll star
Please call me again

One last time...

Message #4
Jaxon:
Hello sweet potato
You're a sweet potato and I love you sweet potato
and you're the best sweet potato
I love you sweet...and.. yeah!

Why I Do What I Do...

I have been saying this for a long time - just not so eloquently:

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. - Barack Obama

Halloween 2010 Photo Journal