Thailand = No, GRAD SCHOOL = YES!

Yup, I was going to jet to Thailand for a week. Just a little last minute vacay, half-way around the world. But, the trip is off. All weekend I had an uncomfortable feeling about the trip. When I told my family about going, when I researched things to do on the internet, and when I told my boss that I would need a week off, I didn't feel like things would work out. Every time that I told someone about it I had a really hard time getting excited. It seemed so strange! Who doesn't get excited about a free trip to Thailand?! The plane ticket was purchased on Sunday and upgraded on Monday. How could it not work out? And yet, I still had that uncomfortable feeling. I talked to my sister about it and finally said out loud that I felt like maybe I shouldn't go. Then I knew, that uncomfortable feeling had been the spirit. Oh well, it looks like I will be going to Asia soon anyway because...I got accepted to grad school! They only accepted about a third of the applicants (usually they take half), so I pretty much feel like a rock star! I will start the program with a six week course in China this summer and then I will begin full-time in the fall at BYU. I am a lot excited and a lot scared to death. I am going to quit my job, leave my comfort zone, take out zillions of dollars in student loans, and I am going to conquer grad school. I am going to be the first kid in my family to go and I can't wait! I did it!

Waxing Brilliant

I went for a walk with my roomie today. We like to pretend that Spring is here, and so we walked in the sunshine until our ears froze and we could no longer sustain the fantasy of Spring. We waxed brilliant as we talked about some of life's challenges and how our approach to them can change their nature entirely. We talked mostly about attitude and complaining. Here I will tell you that HRH is pretty much brilliant. Besides being a therapist and roommate-extraordinaire, she is on a quest for self-mastery. (Personally, I prefer to sweep my weaknesses under the carpet and pretend that they don't exist.) HRH however, is facing the world head on and making an honest effort to constantly improve herself. Her two nemeses as of late are sugar and complaining. She is taking them both on valiantly. I don't agree at all with abstinence from sugar. It makes me a horrid and disagreeable person. Hence, said abstinence should never be attempted for long periods of time. Complaining, however, would be a worthy adversary. I am a first rate complainer. I can complain, criticize about anything. The best part is, that I am very good about rationalizing my complaining away, so I never have to feel bad about it. However, the more I talked to Megan, the more I realized just how much of a negative impact my complaining is probably having on me. Seriously. Why do I complain? a. I haven't gotten my way b. someone has something that I want c. to support someone else by taking sides d. to show how much better I am than the stupid people I am complaining about. Ouch. Complaining is a very "me" focused activity. Although I believe I am awfully funny and witty when I complain, it brings a negativity that I would rather not have around. So here I go. I am going to try to curb my complaining. What are you trying to leave behind? How is it going?

Happy New Years!

Feliz Ano Nuevo! It has taken me almost a week to recover from ringing in the New Year! (and from some extensive dental work, but we won't talk about that )
Anyway, New Year's was great. We had a wild 2 1/2 day party unlike any New Year's party I have ever seen. All of the hullabaloo included:

Endless sparkly beverages
60 party guests
30 baggies of confetti (that subsequently ended up on the floor, in the cd player, in people shoes and every where else you might imagine confetti would go)
20 party poppers
16 noise makers
1 midnight breakfast
1 midnight showing of Star Trek
1 lovely morning of sleeping till 11:00am
1 fancy pants dinner with my first successful homemade pots de creme
2 mattresses that ended up in our front room for a giant slumby
2 more VERY classy movies: Tristan and Isolde and (no joke) Crossroads (the 2002 Britney Spears hit movie)
About 6 Food Network show episodes that kept us entertained in our catatonic morning state

Let me just say that if the first two days of 2010 are any indication of the year to come, I am going to have one very stellar year!

More Merry Scary Christmas

Here is a local Christmas tradition that freaks me out. This is the University Mall Santa Claus.



I do not want to defame Santa Clause on the world wide web, but this guy is super creepy. I think it is because he wears a holiday shirt and suspenders instead of a Santa suit. It makes him look lazy, and very unlike Santa. I would not want to take my kids to see an old man who doesn't look like Santa. (Please read any uncomfortable thoughts into that last sentence, because that is how I feel.)

Goo, University Mall. Goo.

The Burberry Theif

I got a call from my credit card company last night. I didn't get the voice mail until 4 hours after they had called. All I heard was, "...account ending in 6***. Validate charges. $65.01. Charge described as, 'shoe store'". Shoes? I hadn't bought any shoes! I called the company and told them that I did not, in fact, recognize these charges. The lady started to read back the last few charges on my card.

Famous Footwear $65.01
Walmart $15.64
Burberry $161.72

Burberry?! Burberry?! I told her that I wished the Burberry charge was mine, but it was not. The Walmart charge was mine. Walmart. I felt ripped off and a great deal like a loser. Why wasn't I shopping at Burberry? Oh, yeah, becuase I can't afford it. This realization brought to mind another thought prokvoking realization. Apparently the person who stole my card didn't think I could afford it either. I think that it must be hard work to find something at Burberry that was only $161.72. So, I guess I appreciate that they didn't go hog wild with my card. A sensible purchase at Burberry and a sensible attempted purchase at Famous Footwear. ( P.S. How you would go from the one to the other is beyond me. If you are going to use my card, please use it with some class!) Anyway, my account is closed. Someone got a fancy present from Burberry and I got a new credit account, all will be well this Christmas. Chase is sending me another card that will get here tomorrow.

And, in the end, I am grateful for Walmart, even though it doesn't look like much when it is standing next to Burberry. It was my white elephant purchases made here at Walmart in Orem, UT, that tipped my credit card company off and we were able to stop the crazy Jennica's-money-shopping-spree in California.

Thanks Chase Bank, thanks Walmart and Merry Christmas to the Burberry Theif!

Happy Birthday Lou!

My baby sister is going to be 17 in just three short days. I decided to help her celebrate a bit early and got us tickets for the Ten Out of Tenn Christmas tour. Emily and I went to their concert in April and we loved them! Em's best friend Madi came along and so did Mom. The concert was at Kilby Court in SLC. We love the venue because it is VERY small and VERY intimate. It feels like a neighborhood garage band concert with your besties. Even though there were some sound problems, we had a great time and got to hear some awesome new music. Emily and I felt like we were seeing old friends. (We have now seen 2 of the artists from the crew 3 different times) On the way home we stopped by Hatch Family Chocolates and got some hot chocolates to share. If you have not had Hatch Family hot chocolate, you need to drop what ever you are doing this very instant and go get some. It tastes like melted candy bars, like the kind of hot chocolate they would serve on the Polar Express. It was a great night, and even though Lou is getting old, I am glad that she is not too old to hang out with her crazy older sister and her mom!

Merry Scary Christmas!

The grinch freaks me out. The old school, well beloved, holiday special. Like, I-can't-watch-the-silly-show-by-myself, freaks me out. I understand that to many people it is an annual tradition, a classic that helps families ring in the holiday with Christmas cheer, but to me, it is sheer terror. It is a frightening, chaotic, vomit-colored catastrophe. Every year, I try to stomach it. Every year, I try to believe that I am stronger and can enjoy this classic cartoon just like everyone else. Every year, I fail.

So, this year, I am just going to own it. I hate the grinch. I will not watch it on tv, I will not watch it, I decree! I do not like it, not the least. I do not like grinch or roast beast!