A new level of OCD (Emily)

I now change the time on all of my posts so they will be on the hour. I need therapy.

Why I Write (Emily)

People write for many different reasons; some good, some bad. I write for three different reasons. Each completely different reason brings a different feeling to me. Writing has a different effect on each person; each person has a different effect on writing.

In English classes throughout my life my teachers have assigned horrendous essays of all different styles, formats, pages lengths, and other ridiculous requirements. My teachers do not physically force me to write, but through years of overachieving, I would rather write than receive an incomplete. I love to write but not necessarily on a specific topic. I used to want to write books, but through years of my teachers forcing me to write and my mom telling me I should write more, I have developed a relatively strong hatred for writing. I love creative writing when I can write on one of my passionate topics. When I write about a subject I care about, the words just pour out.

I write letters to my friends who live in different states, but my most favorite letters to write are birthday cards. I love to fill the cards with writing and the envelopes with confetti so when the card arrives on that person’s special day and they rip it open the confetti will fly. My friend Hillary once told me she had just cleaned her room when she opened my letter, and she still finds confetti months later. It makes me feel good that every time she found a little piece of confetti she thought of me and remembered her happy birthday. The short time it took for me to write that heart-felt card brought months of happiness. These times make writing worthwhile.

Writing in my journal has become one of my most valuable writing experiences. In my journal I write “Note to Posterity” next to important entries. These are certain tips I have for my children so they do not have to read my entire life’s story about the nights I cannot sleep or when I stubbed my toe on the mirror. I may include many otherwise useless things, but I do want to share with them the values I have learned in my life, the curse of procrastination, and the good feeling of hard work.

While I write for many reasons, my least compelling writing results from a requirement to write. Writing communicates facts, love, and advice. It must come from experience and the heart. It cannot come from force or coercion. Emily Dickinson did not have titles on her now world renowned poems, and Shakespeare wrote, “To be or not to be…” so why must I follow some artificial rubric in order to pass a class?

Can you hear me now? (Emily)

I was calling to getasam. :-) Don't ask what I am wearing. I should not be allowed to dress myself.

Eyes are better (Emily)

The sunset looked really cool on Sunday so I tried to take a picture. But this is not really what the sunset looked like. At all. My camera did something funky but I still like it. It's like when a movie is made from a book. They are nothing alike but they are both still good. You can't think that the movie ruined the book. Otherwise you get really angry and start hating on the movie. You just have to accept them both as good and completely separate. Real sunset was good. Picture was a bad representation of the sunset. However, picture still good.

Family Party (Emily)

On Sunday we went to Layton and played with the Merkley family. It was very fun. A little awkward though. I used to be crazy about my birthday. I would announce it to everyone and sing happy birthday really loud. To myself. Now I feel funny when people try to give me presents and tell me "happy birthday." It seems just the same as every other day. Except it costs more.

Another unhappy husband (Emily)

And a very happy wife.

What is that? (Emily)

Sam says the most ridiculous things when he is falling asleep. I have learned to expect to hear things like "Did you kill all the bugs?" during that time. I am going to start writing down the things he says so you can all have a good laugh like I always do.

His incoherent statements have only occurred while he is half asleep/half awake. That is, until today. While completely awake, he called this

a banana strap. Why would that be called a banana strap? Very clearly, the strap is more the shape of spaghetti than it is of a banana.

It's okay, Sam. You can call it a banana strap if you want. I will just tease you about it for as long as I can. muah!

The power of advertising (Emily)

I love Subway. Love. It is my most favorite semi-fast food place. However, I loathe the "$5 footlong" song. Sam knows this. My favorite television show is Law and Order: SVU. Sam hates the theme music that is played during the title sequence on this show. Luckily, I know that. He started singing "Five, five, five dollar footlong..." and I started singing "nah nah nah nahhhh nahhhh nah nah nah nah nah [get the idea?]" and pretty soon we are scream-singing these songs. For about a minute. As loud as we can. Trying to overpower each other. I love having someone who doesn't think I am absolutely insane. Actually, he does think I am insane. But at least he thinks it is cute.

If you would like to hear the real Law and Order theme music, click here. When I was looking for and playing that clip, Sam started screaming "FIVE, FIVE, FIVE DOLLAR FOOTLONG." Told you so.

Happy birthday to me! (Emily)

Yesterday was my 20th birthday. It is crazy to believe that I am no longer a teenager. That's all I've known for the last, well, 7 years. Anyway, it was a great birthday! Below is what my birthday consisted of:

Sleep - 8 hours
Getting ready/Driving to class - 1 hour
Class - 1 hour
Studying for my test - 5 hours
Taking my test - 1 hour
Getting home and being surprised by Sam - 1 hour
Driving to Park City - 1 hour
Looking around the hotel and seeing Park City - 1 hour
Dinner - 1 hour
Watching a movie - 2 hours
Trying to find a place that sold microwave popcorn, getting lost, getting angry with cops, and going the wrong way on one way streets - 30 minutes
Miscellaneous - 1 hour 30 minutes

The surprise by Sam looked like this:


He shaved! I was so happy! (And for those of you who knew that I said I wouldn't shave my legs until he shaved his face, I have since shaved my legs.) I became one year older yesterday and he lost 10 years by shaving.

Dinner was really good. We went to a cute Italian restaurant called Cisero's on Main Street in Park City. Sam ordered swordfish! It was insane. We expected it to look like this




But it looked more like this

It was a really good day. Sam is such a sweetheart. I told him that he shouldn't have spent so much of my money on my birthday (we have this joke where we always say we are spending each other's money... we have joint bank accounts). Well, he said that I only turn twenty once. But I only turn each age once. We will be bankrupt if we do things like this every year. It was a nice break from school though. Twenty-one credit hours and an internship = not fun. A night with Sam without my lists and backpack and textbooks = very fun!

Utah is not all that Bad! (Sam)

In a recent post, Emily stated "Utah is death" and being from Utah myself I feel I should defend my home state. Utah is not death, it does get a little cold during the wintertime, but there are plenty of nice things about it. The beautiful landscapes everywhere, the great skiing, and despite what she has shown about our apartment being cold, it was just that the heater was broken. Having different seasons is great, getting to experience a Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter is the way things should be. Utah is great, and that is all.

PSCIPCO (Emily)

That stands for Pacific States Cast Iron Pipe Company. That is where my sister works. Last week I went and got a tour of the plant and it was insane! It was nothing like I imagined. Nonetheless, it was very interesting. Sparks were flying everywhere! And it was so loud. My sister does not work in the plant. She is an engineer so she has a nice little office next door.

Utah is death (Emily)

We have officially moved home from Colorado. We have gone from this:

to this:

(Yes, that is the temperature INSIDE our apartment - 60 degrees.)

Soon to be... (Emily)

I have applied for April 2009 graduation! I am so proud of myself. This is only 1 1/2 semesters away! Then I can experience what everyone else is experiencing...

Personnel interviewer: Oh. I see you have a degree. We would really prefer if you had used your time getting experience in the "real world" instead of going to school.
Emily: [silent thought: I am pretty sure I am going to stab myself in the leg.] Well, since I am here, do you think you could let me work for free so I can at least get some experience?
Personnel interviewer: Sorry. We don't do that.
Emily: Do you know anyone who needs someone to mow their lawn?

The Tyranny of the Shoulds (Emily)

Personality theorist Karen Horney believed that people carry around beliefs regarding what they should or should not be. She called this the tyranny of the shoulds. The shoulds fall somewhere between perfection and self-hatred. These shoulds "prevent an individual's potential from being actualized." Should-ing is partly due to what we think others should grant us and partially on what we think we should do ourselves. The inability to meet these shoulds leads to depression or anger.

I should do my homework. I should enjoy my homework. I should want to go to school. I should cook meals every night. I should always do my hair. I should make my bed every morning. I should remember to check the mail. I should love work. I should eat healthier. I should take a test before the last day it is available. I should stop being so emotional. I should work out more. I should write more letters. I should stop saying things that make people hate me. I should be a better sister. I should be able to get up for church easier. I should plan ahead. I should buy more fruit. I should eat the fruit I buy before it goes bad. I should never be late. I should always pay attention. I should want to read my scriptures. I should want to pray. I should stop running events over and over in my mind. I should only read meaningful books. I should stop thinking mean things about people. I should be more comfortable with babies. I should stop watching excessive amounts of House. I should vacuum more. I should do my laundry. I should dress warmer. I should know more words. I should stop letting my feelings about people show on my face. I should be a better wife. I should be smarter. I should be happier. I should be more awake. I should call my mom. I should treat people better. I should have five kids. I should hand out Books of Mormon to strangers. I should like everyone. I should never make mistakes. I should think about other's needs first. I should always make the right decisions. I should stop comparing myself to everyone. I should be better than everyone. I should be the same as everyone. I should be different. I should feel confident. I should be humble. I should always be successful. I should do research so I can get a job. I should have a social life. I should stop being uncontrollably obsessed with murder mysteries. I should always feel enthusiastic. I should stop beating myself up. I should be friendly in an unstalkerish way. I should stop making up words. I should stop competing. I should love everyone. I should never give up. I should take a break. I should kiss my husband. I should live with my husband. I should be very organized. I should roll with the punches. I should...

I can't be everything. What matters the most?

My awesome brother (Emily)

My brother has officially made the BYU Baseball team! His name is on the roster and he has his own profile on the BYU Baseball website. Congratulations, Matthew! You are amazing!

Edible Arrangements (Emily)

I made my own version of Edible Arrangements!

Things I would change if I made this again:
1. Not push the toothpicks completely through the grapes.
2. Find a vase that gets wider at the top so the fruit can be more spread out.
3. Maybe try putting the pineapple flowers on standing up. It would leave more room for the rest of the fruit.
4. Drop the oranges and add kiwi.
5. Dip some of the strawberries in chocolate.
6. Use different lengths of sticks. The perfect vase is necessary to make this work though.

Things I advise you to do:
1. It takes forever to cut out the pineapple with a paring knife and some of them do not look very uniform. Maybe get a cookie cutter.
2. Plan before you begin. Decide how much of each fruit you need and how much you want to use of each different fruit. Start with the fruit that won't dry out.
3. Use fruit that tastes good and also looks good.
4. Put the pointy ends of the sticks at the bottom of the vase. It's hard to tell how far the fruit it going through the strawberries and you don't want anyone to die (or maybe you do).
5. Look at the pictures at the link above. They are definitely amazing. I was so proud of myself for doing it on my own though. Good luck!

Icon Security's Technician Banquet

Sam has installed security systems for Icon Security for four years. Tonight was the tech banquet and he did really well for himself! Last year he got a 32" flat screen HDtv, a backpack, and an iPod nano. This year he was the top lead tech and overall top technician in the company (he has installed 313 security systems in the past 5 1/2 months) and he received a 17" HP laptop, another backpack, and an iPod. They appreciated the wives by giving us lotion! Woo hoo!

A tech said to me as we were leaving, "Emily, did the lotion make it worth not seeing your husband for five months?" Nope, but the laptop did. Apparently I am shallow. We almost bought a laptop about two months ago and we (mostly me) decided against it because they are expensive! Sam also received an extremely scary t-shirt and a large amount of candy which was left on the table and we (me) decided it should be stuffed into the backpack. I am a shallow thief.

Last year's backpack (left) vs. this year's backpack (right).

Artistic Showcase (Emily)

We are kids. And we colored during General Conference. It was great.

Are you still talking? (Emily)

Kids say the darndest things. And adults say the dumbest.

Today in one of my psychology classes, a guy said, "Some people never get immunized. They are idiots!" Thank you for telling me that I am an idiot. I have only been to the doctor twice in my entire life and have never been to a hospital for myself. I am an utterly foolish person in most aspects of my life, but not getting immunized?! Please stop forcing your morals on me.

Also related to people talking before thinking, I have come up with a few examples of things that people say that make me cringe. I think it is okay to say these things sometimes! However, it is absolutely not necessary to excessively repeat these phrases.

Beginning a statement in any of the following ways causes me to believe that you are lame:

1. "I'm not gonna lie..." Wait, so are you saying that every other time you say something that does not begin with this phrase, I can assume that you are lying? For some reason this sentence is used as a prelude to what the person believes is an epiphany. Get to the point already. I don't need this phrase to "get me interested." If anything, it will do the opposite.

2. "I have a question" [while raising hand]. What else does raising your hand mean? I have also heard people say, "I have a comment." So say it! We do not need an explanation of what you are about to do! I am betting the whole class could gather from your first few words if you had a question or a comment. Examples: "I think..." or "What is..." So just spit it out already.

3. "To tell you the truth..." (see number one).

4. "Don't take this the wrong way..." Oh great, now you are going to say something really offensive. Thanks for warning me.

5. "Not to be rude..." but you are the ugliest person I have ever seen in my life. Wow! That would have been really rude but because you were considerate enough to state that you were not trying to be rude, I am okay with what you said. Thanks for looking out for my feelings! So kind.

6. "Realistically..." After someone says this word, I know that they are about to extremely exaggerate something. During this summer, I noticed that this is a sales rep favorite. By the end of the summer I could not hold in my laughter. Every time someone said "realistically" I would just laugh. I think this is their way of optimistically lying to themselves and others.

So there is my rant of the day. Other than that, life is great.

Ready. Go. (Emily)

Dear Sam and Emily,
Welcome to our ward, now will you please do everything...
Love,
Your Ward Bishopric

Sam and I are in a new ward. No more substitute Sunday School teaching for me.

This will be me now...(Sacrament Meeting chorister)

Sam does not have a calling yet because he is still traveling back and forth between Colorado and Utah.

This will be Sam and me this Saturday and Sunday...

(trying to stay awake during General Conference)

And this will be Sam and me the following Sunday...

(speaking in Sacrament Meeting).

They wasted no time. We sure do feel... welcomed. I am actually excited for all of these things (just very nervous).