Giving of Thanks

I heard recently about this thing called "First Class Problems." It's when you complain about something that those less fortunate than you would lovvve to complain about. Here are some examples:

"This dress is way too loose!" Those less fortunate than you - anyone who has put on a few pounds and can't seem to find a scrap of clothing that is even close to loose on them.

"My boyfriend wants to hang out alllll the time and it's so annoying!" Those less fortunate than you - anyone who are neglected by their boyfriend. Maybe he is too busy cheating on them. Maybe he just went to California while you stayed behind. Whatever.

"Ugh! I can't rotate the PDF on my iPad touch!" Those less fortunate than you - anyone who doesn't have an iPad touch.

"My boobs are way too big, they never fit in anything!" Those less fortunate than you - oh, me. Shut up about it.

You understand. Since it is Thanksgiving, not a single First Class Problem will escape my lips this holiday or on this blog! Instead, I will list things I am grateful for. One thing for each letter of the alphabet.

** I'm not including people, since feelings might get hurt. You guys, I'm just too popular! (Kidding.) But please know that I am more grateful for people than any of these things :)

A - Awful Waffle. Best crepes in Provo, I love it!

B - babies. They're so dang cute!

C - Christmas. I cannot wait!

D - Daddies. Kind of a person, but also I'm just grateful for daddies in general. They're so sweet and hardworking and selfless.

E - exercise videos. Thank you, Lena Pareira!

F - Florida. I sometimes think I dreamed my life there. It was a very nice dream.

G - girl friends. I don't know what I would do without my friends! I have been so blessed with the most loyal and fun girl friends and I love them to death.

H - Heavenly Father.

I - ice cream. I work at ColdStone, so obviously it is my passion! Just kidding, but I really am thankful for it.

J - Jesus. I'm so grateful to be a member of his church and grateful that he wants to have a personal relationship with me. I'll never be able to thank him enough for what he's done for me, but putting him on this list is a good start I think!

K - kissing. Mhmm. It's a nice thing.

L - laughter.

M - moms. Mine is obviously the best, but I'm grateful for moms in general. It's so great that in today's society with so many pressures to choose something different, there are still women who think it's important to have and raise children, who are willing to put the needs of their children in front of their own desires.

N - naps.

O - optimistic thoughts. It's never been super-hard for me to be happy and optimistic, and I am grateful that that comes naturally to me. I know it is a struggle for lots of people.

P - pandora.com. This guy gets me through all my homeworks.

Q - questions. I am grateful for the chances I get to ask questions, and for the questions other people ask me about myself. I am grateful that I am not afraid to ask questions.

R - rights. I'm grateful to live in a country where my rights are defended daily. I'm grateful for the concept of rights, the idea that we have inherent worth.

S - sunshine. Anyone surprised?

T - taste. Can you imagine if we couldn't taste? Eating would be a chore, something we just had to fit into our busy schedules. Instead it is a delight, all because of taste. We've just learned how to appreciate it.

U - underwears. Cute underwear can make you feel instantly better, even though no one else would be able to tell the difference if you had on granny panties or a thong. It's nice to have something so simple just for your own enjoyment.

V - Vera Bradley lanyard. I love mine!

W - washer in my apartment. It is so handy and convenient.

X - X. This x represents everything that I forgot. As in, I am grateful for x. :)

Y - yesterday! I am grateful for all the great memories I have, the wonderful opportunities I've enjoyed so far in my life.

Z - zippers. It is nice when they don't get stuck. And when they stay up.

So there you go! What are you thankful for?

I'll be hoooooome for Christmas

Although for a second there, I didn't know if I would be! The East Coast is currently experiencing more snow than it's dealt with in the past several years, and Marylanders trying to drive in snow are a little bit like a barbershop quartet trying to play football. So naturally, at the sight of a snowflake, the state had to go into emergency lockdown mode and all flights coming into Maryland were rescheduled.

Kelly and I were supposed to fly home on Saturday, but when our flight was cancelled, we ended up going to a barbecue for the elder's quorum in Kelly's ward, watching Surrogate at the dollar theater, packing, cleaning, and hitting up The Loft on our real last night in Utah of 2009. So although we ended up going to the airport fourteen hours after we had originally planned (and 3 hours after we got home from The Loft), I think we spent those hours very well.

Our flight was at 7:55 in the morning; boarding time was 7:25, so we left Raintree at 5:00 am. I don't think I have gotten up this early the whole semester (although I have been up at 5 am, it just hasn't been because I was getting up then). Shout-out to Winnie, who was nice enough to pull herself out of bed and take us...what a good friend! In order to bring everything we wanted to and keep the trip as inexpensive as possible, Kelly and I stuffed everything we could in our carryons and brought no checked luggage. I also showed up at the airport wearing two pairs of jeans, two pairs of shoes, two tank tops, one long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, and a coat because that was what didn't fit in my carryon. I think it's also important to note that I had planned very carefully that I would be going home on Saturday. I had been counting so heavily on this fact that I didn't do laundry for a few weeks leading up to this weekend, so I was also wearing my swimsuit bottom because I had run straight out of underwear. Not really ideal, but what can ya do. Especially with snow as impudent as this.

Originally, we had a direct flight, but with the cancellation, we were switched to a flight that had a layover in Cincinnati. I was pretty certain that we would get delayed in Cincinnati because of the snow and we would end up stuck there in some obscure hotel for days before we could get a flight out. I had visions of a very haggard Kelly and I, hitchhiking our way home, wearily pulling our suitcases behind us through Ohio. I imagined us finally arriving at our cheerfully lit home just in time for December 26th...2010. Thankfully this didn't happen. Our flight out of Ohio wasn't even delayed, and we made it home right on schedule.

While on the flight from Cincinnati to Maryland, Kelly and I discovered something important. The flight attendants came up the aisle with the drink cart and asked us what we wanted. I got my usual cran-apple juice, while Kelly went out on a limb and ordered a virgin bloody Mary. She was pumped to see that it was on the menu of complimentary drinks. We sat in eager anticipation as the stewardess mixed this delectable surprise up for us in the cabin. Kelly took the first bold sip and let me tell you something: that limb she had gone out on, suddenly crashed to the ground. Here are some common misunderstandings about this concoction:

1. A Bloody Mary is some kind of cheerful berry drink.

2. You do not really have to be that drunk to enjoy a Bloody Mary.

3. You will be happy if you try a virgin Bloody Mary.

I would like to dispel all of these right now. Right this minute.

1. A Bloody Mary is, in fact, some kind of gross tomato juice disaster that has had spices added to it. There is nothing berry-y about it. There is also nothing cheerful about it.

2. You would have to be slobberingly drunk to enjoy such an abomination. I don't drink, but if I did, I don't think I ever could get drunk enough to enjoy it.

3. If you try a virgin Bloody Mary, you will not be happy. When I let those few drops trickle across my tongue and down my throat, my whole body rebelled as it never has before. It was the most vile substance I have ever experienced. I tasted it and felt instantly angry that such a thing had ever come into my line of vision.

Of course when we discovered how horrendous this thing was that had come into our hands, we couldn't stand to look at or smell it. We artistically arranged all of our napkins and snack wrappers on top of the cup and waited for a flight attendant to notice and take it away.

Finally we arrived in Maryland. We flew into the Reagan National airport, so only Mom and Dad came to pick us up. Sarah called four times while we were driving home to ask how many minutes or seconds before we would get home. She is so cute! A brief status update on everyone:

Sarah has lost her two front teeth, and her hair has grown about a foot. Jacob is the exact same. Joseph is as tall as me now. WHATTT. No one told Julie about the bench. And Nicole hasn't changed at all, either.

If I had forgotten for a minute that I was home, there were multiple points throughout the evening that would have reminded me that I was. For one thing, my dad tried for ten minutes at dinner to finish the following sentence: "I was thinking today, and I wonder..." You might wonder what he was wondering, but you will find yourself wondering that for a very long time. I am still wondering what he was wondering, because he never quite got to say. Every time he got close, something happened that triggered the onset of an extensive medley of songs.

Last night we had a big huge sleepover in the living room, all the girls. For some reason my house turns into a frozen tundra at night, so we all huddled for warmth on the couch with several blankets from Nicole, Julie, and Sarah's beds, and both couches. When I woke up at 3 am, I was shivering under one solitary blanket, Nicole was on the floor, Sarah was on the other couch with Kelly, and one of my sisters was snoring away under a two-foot tall pile of blankets. At my request she kindly moved over and shared her blankets with me and I slept soundly the rest of the night....or so I thought. Apparently this wasn't the case as Nicole told me this morning that I actually started crying and saying, "Who would make such a sound?" and then backhanded one of my sisters several times when I learned that it was her snoring that was causing me such grief.

This morning while Kelly and I were doing our laundry, we came across some clothes that we had made when we were much younger, about 7 and 8 years old, when we were learning how to sew. I had been making a purple dress, and Kelly was making a floral print skort, complete with a matching hot pink shirt and floral print scrunchie head band. For some reason her shirt was a rectangle....only turned the wrong way. We put on our clothes and recruited Joseph to photograph our awesomeness. I think that Kelly looks like some 80's Malibu Barbie and I look like a purple Polly Pocket. We are way too attractive for our own good, that's all I can say.

Ignore the time stamps on these pictures....I don't know what the problem there is.

Anyway that's all for now. More on my crazy family later :)