Happy Birthday Mama!

Today is my lovely mother's birthday.

I hope she knows I love her to the moon.

And that she is my very best friend...and always will be.

I sure am glad she was born.

{I wish I was as stylish as her}

{All my friends think she's hotter than me...it's borderline annoying. I guess the song, "Stacy's mom has got it going on" rings true.}

{She spent hours making this prom dress for me. It was lovely, I adore it and it was my favorite high school dance dress I wore}


{She's practically perfect in every way}


People tell me all the time that we are almost the same person, in looks and personality. Its the greatest compliment anyone could give me.


I hope you had a stellar day in Hilton Head today and that you ate three cupcakes to celebrate your big day. I love your guts.

The Mystery of Moustaches

I'd greatly appreciate it if someone could inform me on what the appeal of a moustache is. I just don't get it. I'm not sure if I've been oblivious to it my whole life or if I'm correct when I say that I've noticed that an unusually high number of male characters have been sporting staches lately. Maybe the month of March is the prime time to grow a moustache? If that's the case, I'm boycotting March. This past week as I've been strolling around campus, visiting the post office in the WILK and interacting with men in general I couldn't help but observe that a moustache plague has hit Provo. I really don't understand the enticement of a little tuft of hair covering the upper lip; lets be honest, it's slightly disgusting. I can see the theory behind a full-grown beard: it gives the appearance of being a manly-man, it adds a little ruggedness and gives the illusion that the man wearing the facial hair is "tough". I can handle a small beard. A moustache, however, just screams 'child molester'. I'm willing to bet any amount of money that if there's a story on the 5 o'clock news about a child molester he's going to be the proud owner of a stache...not a beard. This latest phenomenon has made me question BYU's honor code which states, and I quote, "If worn, moustaches should be neatly trimmed and may not extend beyond or below the corners of the mouth. Men are expected to be clean shaven; beards are not acceptable." Really BYU? You allow moustaches but not a few whiskers on the cheek? I'm not a big fan of facial hair in general, but I can promise you this: I'd rather have a rugged caveman roaming around campus than a potential molester.

{My deepest apologies if this post has offended anyone. I am aware that this is a huge stereotype and I know plenty of good, kind men who sport a stache. However, this does not mean that I support their decision to wear one.}

A Polygamists Wife?

My sister, Andrea, is on a mission in Kirtland, Ohio and has had many humorous experiences throughout the 15 months she has been out. However, this week she had one that tops them all. My dear mother updates her blog and has chosen to share this experience with the blogging community. For a good laugh, please read here. You wont be disappointed. Enjoy!

Aaron's the Man

BYU 12th ward talent show. Aaron Carter: Thats How I Beat Shaq.

We totally should have won. We've got it next year. Although by next year I would hope that I'm not in the BYU 12th ward anymore; as good as it's been, there's probably a time to move out of the dorms.

Days Like These

these are the days that remind me how good life is...

the cute boy that visited my spanish class sat next to me. we were partners for the exercise we had to do. then, because of the slacker i am, he shared his packet with me for the full 50 minutes...i forgot to bring mine to class.

i drove around with my windows rolled down.

the apple i had for lunch was one of the juiciest and most scrumptious ones i've had in quite some time.

i had five tests this week. today i took my last one. three of them didn't turn out nearly as well as i had hoped for. and it's okay. they're over and it's the weekend; right now, that's all that matters to me.

it was the loveliest day. the weather was more perfect than even the most brilliant artist could have painted.

i went to kiwanis park to swing. i put my ipod in, listened to my new favorite band, making april {a special thanks to my brother for introducing them to me}, and flew high into the sky for over an hour. swinging is quite possibly my favorite past time; now that the weather is nice, the chance of you finding me at the park during every second of my free time is close to 100%.

i painted my fingernails jungle red. fresh fingernail polish just does something for me.

i laid on the grass and played frisbee in the quad with some wardies. we were there with about seven thousand other people trying to soak up the sunshine.

it's days like these that i'm reminded how good life is. it's days like today, when everything seems to be going so perfectly that i just want time to stop. today, i didn't have a care in the world.

wouldn't it be nice if everyday could be a day like today?

Happy Green Day!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

A few fun facts about St. Patty's Day:

• St. Patrick himself was born in Wales in 385 AD. His given name was Maewyn (no wonder he changed it to Patrick, I would have too).
• St. Patricks Day is the national holiday of Ireland. Although widely celebrated in the US, Canada, Britain and Austrailia, it is not an offical holiday in these countries.
• The worlds first St. Patricks Day parade was in Boston in 1761.
• The "wearing of green" (originally meaning a shamrock) is seen as a sign of Irish nationalism and loyalty to the Roman Catholic faith.
  

I hope you all have a lovely St. Patricks Day! Do something to celebrate, even if it's just eating a green, Key Lime yogurt for breakfast, which is what I did.

Oh, and you all better be wearing green today

What a Weekend

This weekend was a very eventful one. Good, but eventful. I'm a list-maker, so here's my list of this weekends happenings:

1. BYU Baseball:

This weekend, the BYU Baseball team played the arched enemy, Utah. We won one, lost one. I was only able to go to the game on Friday, but it was loads of fun. I'm not the biggest sports fan by any means, but I love a good baseball game. I think it's safe to say that baseball games are my favorite sporting events to attend. Some people think they're boring to watch, but I can't get enough of them. This game was especially fun, because first, we played Utah so the stands were 100% filled. Second, three boys in my ward play for the team so I felt pretty legit when they walked on the field and I could point out that I knew them, it's kind of cool knowing famous people. Third, about 3/4 of my ward attended the game and we had far too much fun for our own good, snapping pics, burning our tongues on steaming hot cocoa, and freezing our toes off almost to the point of frostbite. I've become an official fan of BYU Baseball and will probably attend every home game from here on out.

2. Hymas Family Bridal Showers:

About every six months we all gather at Aunt Judy's house for the bridal shower of some happy chick. When I say "we" I mean all sorts of distant relatives: all of my dad's girl cousins, their kids, their kid's kids, everyone that has a drop of Hymas blood. There are the usuals that I know and love: Cousins Stacy, Carrie, and Pat (or is it Pam?) never fail to entertain. However, there are some ladies that frequent the showers that I just don't know how they fit into the family tree. Saturday we had one of our bi-annual bridal showers for Heidi, I think she's probably my third cousin eight times removed or something like that. She was adorable and as she opened waffle iron after crock-pot after toaster I just kept thinking that although Helaman Halls and the Cannon Center have treated me well this past year, I can't wait to move home/into an apartment with a kitchen so I can cook my own food. As she unpacked all sorts of cooking appliances I got I huge urge to be domestic; It will probably subside in a day or two though.

Another one of my distant cousins had her 1 year old baby with her. The baby was darling, as all babies are, but I realized how cruel mothers can be. Have you seen the latest trend of accessorizing the baby with a headband that holds a fake flower the size of the child's head? The poor kids. I don't really know this cousin of mine that tortured her baby girl with this headband, so I didn't think it would be appropriate to snap a photo of the baby, however it wasn't hard to find an identical one online. In fact, I found so many and it was too hard narrowing it down to just one, so I feel compelled to display three. Maybe I'm crazy, but if I had a child, I would refuse to participate in this bizarre trend. Let's hope and pray that it's passed by the time I'm having kids.

3. Job Hunting Stress:

Finding a summer job has turned out to be a bit more stressful than I anticipated. First, we all know how awful the economy is which means employers aren't hiring. Second, I have two vacations planned for this summer that I would need time off for. Most companies aren't willing to work with that kind of schedule. If you have any hook ups, let me know. Oh, and wish me luck in finding some sort of employment for the summer months.

4. So many homecomings:

This past month so many of my big brother, Alex's friends have gotten home from their missions. I was a sophomore in high school when they were seniors and I didn't just have one protective older brother looking out for me. All of his friends helped him fill that role. It was so fun seeing all of them this weekend, it felt just like the good ol' days. I heard two of them, Josh and Spij, give their homecoming talks and they both gave amazing ones. It's been so fun seeing them all again.

5. Lost Phone:

You hear about people who lose their phone almost every other day. I am not one of those people. I don't think I've ever lost my phone for longer than ten minutes. Today, however, I had a phone fiasco. I'm not really sure how it all happened, it was kind of a blur. All I know is that as Alex and I were packing up the car to head back down to Provo, I couldn't find my phone anywhere. I searched the house up and down and finally concluded that my dad must have grabbed it, thinking it was his, and took it with him to the Brookhurst Ward youth fireside. I rushed down to the church, pulled him out of the room, and asked him if he took my phone. He didn't. So I ended up driving down to Provo with out my phone, and took my mom's instead. When we were half way to Provo, I got a phone call on my temporary phone from my dear father telling my that my phone was sitting on the kitchen counter the whole time. Not really sure how I missed it, that's kind of an obvious hiding spot. Thank goodness for a loving mother who is driving down to Provo on Tuesday to return such an important object to its affectionate, yet forgetful, owner.

6. Welcome Back Surprise:

I got back to Provo about two hours ago, walked into my room and saw a lovely surprise sitting on my desk. One of my best friends, Anna, was so kind as to burn me two c.d.'s that I have been asking about. The first one being Juno (I just saw the movie for the first time a couple weeks ago with her and my other besties and loved it. I loved the music in it even more, though) The second c.d. was from an old, childhood movie, Now and Then, a classic movie that has some of the best music from the 90's. Love it. Thanks Anna, you're a gem.

All in all, a superb weekend. The perfect weekend to precede a hectic week full of four very intense tests.

Inspirational and Delicious

I've come to the conclusion that Life is my favorite breakfast cereal.

I've realized that when I start my day out with a bowl of life filled to the brim, the day seems to run a bit more smoothly than normal.

It's sweet {but not too sweet for 7 in the a.m.}, full of nutrients, and the texture is to die for.

On top of the delectable taste of Life, my friends over at the Quaker Factory have chosen to make it an inspiring cereal as well. Every morning as I haphazardly shovel spoonfuls of pure goodness into my mouth, I read the back panel of a simple cardboard cereal box, it reads:

Look at life in a new way

Make the most of rainy days

Reach new heights

Embrace Life

Embrace each day with the just-right sweetness and trusted nutrition of QUAKER Life. With whole grain QUAKER Oats and an excellent source of B-vitamins to help convert food into energy, you're ready to make the most of every day.

So true, Quaker. After eating your cereal and reading your motivating words, I am "ready to make the most of every day."

Now, everyone go and pour yourself a nice, big bowl of Life Cereal.

Mikey likes it, I bet you will too.

Home Alone

This weekend my roommate left me to go judge a debate tournament, which means...I'm home alone. I've got the place to myself. Isn't it interesting that the use of the word "place" makes my living quarters seem more desirable than the 19' x 8' bedchamber that it is? Never the less, it's sometimes nice to have the shoebox to myself; I'm one of those people that cherish alone time. I think it's healthy to have some every now and then.
This morning as I was doing my laundry and a little cleaning I decided to pop a movie into my laptop to make the tedious chores seem a little more enjoyable. I thought it would be fitting to watch the classic film, appropriately titled for the situation: Home Alone. What can I say, it's one of my favorites. I spent a good five minutes analyzing different aspects of Home Alone 1 and Home Alone 2 trying to decide which one I liked better. Home Alone 1 is a classic, humorous, and you really can't go wrong with it. Home Alone 2 has almost the exact same plot line as the first, just a little more unrealistic, which if you're in the right mood, makes it that much more enjoyable. Plus, it has two of the best movie lines of all times: "I'm afraid you're mistaken" and "It's a lie!" Over Christmas break I think those two lines were quoted among my family a minimum of 17 times a day. It's not so much the text that make them funny, but more the context and accent that they are said in. So, if you ever run into my little brothers, ask them to say these lines for you and you're bound to wet your pants because of laughter. They've got it down to an art. Or even better, just watch it. I think it's towards the beginning of the movie. Well, unfortunately, my plan of watching one of these two brilliant movies fell through, due to the fact that they are sitting in a cupboard in Centerville. And we only own them on VHS, which means we're doomed if our 10-year old VCR breaks; I don't think they sell VCR's anymore, so to avoid a catastrophe, we should think about upgrading them to DVD, mom.
So, I had to go with another movie. I ended up choosing one that could also be categorized as a classic: Newsies. Also one of my favorites. It's interesting that even at such a young age Christian Bale was able make me swoon. All he needs to do is break out in dance in a deserted alleyway in New York City, start singing 'Santa Fe' and he's got me. It would only be years later when he was sweeping through Gotham City that my knees would truly weaken for him. However, as enticing as Jack Kelly is, he comes in a close second place. It's his partner in crime, Spot Conlon, that holds the key to my heart. The way he can aim a sling-shot is captivating. Plus, he has the two best lines in the movie: "No need to fear, Brooklyn is here" and "I think, that what you think, is what I think." I was curious to find out what happened to Spot in his later years, so I did a little research. If it interests you, read on. If not, well, you've made it this far, you may as well continue reading. Turns out Spot's real name is Gabriel Damon. Besides his role as Spot, he played the voice of Littlefoot in Land Before Time, so we know he was in at least 14 movies. Other than that, he hasn't been in anything too noteworthy. Too bad, because he was brilliant in Newsies. Is it weird that I'm blogging about my obsession with 16-year old actors in a movie that was produced 17 years ago? Perhaps. Just don't judge me for it.
Well, it was an outstanding Saturday morning and I highly recommend watching Newsies or either of the Home Alone's the next chance you get. They won't disappoint you.

I Love a Good Birthday Party

I love a good birthday party. Luckily this week two of my BFF's, Michal and Brita, celebrated their 19th birthdays. Colorful paper chains, tp-ing and crepe paper bring me more joy that just about anything. Cupcakes, surprise parties, and helium balloons give me such a thrill. I'm anxiously awaiting the next birthday celebration that I get to participate in.

After the Final Rose

OH MY!! Was The Bachelor season finale/After the Final Rose ceremony dramatic or what? I think that I officially hate Jason Mesnick. I can't believe what he did; I have so many thoughts about last nights 3 hour showing that I just want to spit out, here they are:
*Warning* there are no guarantees that any of this will make sense or be connected in any way. If that bothers you, discontinue reading right now.

First of all, all season I've liked Molly better as a person. She seemed more mature, down to earth and was just adorable in general. However, I thought that Melissa and Jason were a cuter couple and I still really liked Melissa despite her 8th grade cheerleader voice. Going into last nights episode I thought that he would probably choose Melissa and I was happy about that. Either girl would be a good choice. For some reason, last night I started to like Melissa a little bit more than Molly and was thrilled when he dropped to one knee and popped the question to her. Of course I was devastated for Molly and for a second had that lump in my throat, you know the one you get just before you're about to cry. No need to worry, the lump was as far as my emotions progressed, there were no tears shed over a reality television show. Anyways, I was overjoyed when Jason, Melissa and Ty were being portrayed as a happy little family, jumping into the swimming pool fully clothed and having a grand ol' time. Unfortunately, after the cameras stop rolling and they have to leave New Zealand and face the real world, the magic disappears. And that's where "After the Final Rose" brings us.

As soon as Jason walked on to the set, I knew something was wrong. Whether Melissa had died or he had just fallen out of love I didn't know and I was so anxious to find out. He then explained to Chris that they had lost the chemistry as soon as the show ended and he realized he had made a mistake and was still in love with Molly. He is an idiot; If he would have picked Molly he would have said the exact same thing about Melissa. Then, the most heartbreaking moment on the show: Melissa walked in and Jason was brutal. He dumped her on her butt and told her straight up that he was still in love with Molly. I applaud Melissa; she was very composed and classy, but she was ticked and she let Jason have it, as well she should have. When she was talking in the limo afterwards I fell in love with her (in a very non-homosexual way; more like I wanted to be her best friend) She was adorable and I hope she realizes that Jason is a skeaz and finds someone much better than him; it shouldn't be too hard to do that and she deserves someone better than him. He better have been getting paid big bucks to dump her on national television, because if he did that just because he loves living his dramatic life in front of the cameras, he's more heartless than I thought he was.

Then came Molly. Also very classy and composed. She had great questions for him and I loved watching him look like an idiot and say "um" four times because he couldn't think of a good answer; luckily Chris (annoyingly) came to the rescue and changed the subject. I was so happy that when Jason asked her for a second chance she was a little hesitant and asked about Melissa before jumping on the opportunity. However, she did say yes and supposedly they are happily dating away now. I secretly hope that they don't work out; I think Molly deserves better than Jason too. I mean, the guy dumped his fiance in front of the cameras and ten minutes later was making out with another girl on the same couch in front of the same cameras. That's not okay. I just don't understand who he thinks he is for kicking multiple girls off the show because he didn't feel they were "committed to him for the rest of their lives" when the unexpected twist was that he isn't the one that was committed for life. Crazy Jason Mesnick.

*Tangent about Chris* Wow, he is so annoying. I want to kick him off the show. I don't think I've ever watched a more obnoxious host in my life. The best was when Jason was in the middle of dumping Melissa, Chris just jumps in and says, "So just to clarify, Jason is breaking up with Melissa" Thank you Chris, I'm sure we all needed that. I'm sure he has a good heart though. Bless it.

Well, I'm slightly embarrassed about this post. I just had to get all of my emotions down on paper. I'm curious to see what happens with Molly and Jason, I hope they know I'm going to be following their lives until the day I die. Or probably just until they break up, which is bound to be any day now. I hope you've all enjoyed The Bachelor Season 13 as much as I have. It will be nice to get my own life back now that it's over. I now have Monday nights open!