shopping

So, this afternoon I went shopping with my galfriend, Ari. Let me tell you, I do not like shopping. In fact, I usually hate it...for several reasons:

1. It takes so freakin' long! I have a somewhat awkward body shape (i.e. long legs, short body, very petite, and flat chested). I swear, everything out there is made for all those curvy gals, not us twigs. So I end up going through the store, looking at shirts and such..."Oh, that looks cute...maybe I'll try that on." I do this over and over. Seventy-five to eighty percent of the time it looks better on hanger, and ninety to ninety-five percent of the time it looks better on the manequin. So frustrating. I try on 30+ articles of clothing, and 2 hours later I walk out of the store with one or two items...sometimes it's no items. Don't even get me started on pants...

2. I reminds me of how much money I don't have. I see a nice sweater and gasp when I look at the price tag. I'm pretty conservative when it comes to spending money, especially when it comes to getting something for myself. And I can't bring myself to spend money I don't have.

3. It also forces me into an environment where I have to look at (or walk past) items I don't need...some of which call out "Buy me! Buy me!" I look at the item...think that it might be useful or good to have. Or a article of clothing that's in "style" and I should get it so I look like I have some sense of fashion. So the increase in the temptation to buy something I don't need.

Ok, now that I've rambled on about how much I do not like shopping, I have to admit that this night's venture was pretty fun. Shopping with a friend helps. We went to Kohl's and I had on my list what I needed: a new wallet and a shirt (or two depending on the price).

I found the cheapest black wallet that perfectly suits my needs (again, conservative). What took so long was the shirts. I found several tops that I thought were cute. And of course, I had to try all of them on. Another reason I'm not so into shopping is because I don't have much of a sense for fashion. I mean, I try...but even in my dress I stay pretty conservative. I don't take many risks. Well, I have a harder time choosing shirts that have a little more flare to them because I don't know if they look good on me at all. That's where I was glad Ari had come with me. She helped me pick out a really cute top that I probably would have put back (even after I had tried it on and liked it). She is a pretty good critic.

At the end of the night we checked out: Ari with two shirts, and me with two shirts and a wallet. It was two hours later...Go figure :) However, it was a pleasant shopping trip...and I had fun hanging with Ari. She's a great buddy!!!

new year...new branch...new calling

As of the new year I started going to a singles branch (something I had been carefully avoiding for the past few years...I had been pretty successful at it, too). Before the end of the year it was announced that a singles branch was going to be created and that all singles between the ages of 18 and 30 would automatically have their records transferred. I decided to go with it. If that is where God wants me to be, then that is where I will go.

So I went the first Sunday in January...and it was so small! There were only about 1/3 of the people present out of all the records that are in the branch. To put it simply, our whole branch can fit in the Relief Society room. The first Sunday was really good though...and I had some feelings of hope about this new branch. That it would be a good experience for me and that it is something that I need in my life right now.

Well, by the second week I had been issued a calling. I was called to be secretary in the Relief Society Presidency of the branch. I was very surprised...I didn't think I would get called to be part of a presidency ever. But, alas, I have been. My first thought was: "Are you sure?" Then is was: "Why?" The answer: "Why not?" Although I am really nervous about this calling, I actually have a strong desire to do my best in it. And I feel that it will help me as well. A good friend said to me last night (referring to my calling), that it may be an opportunity to help my testimony to grow. I think she's right.

Now it's time to go forward in this new year with faith.

favorites of 2010

So here is a list of my "favorites" from 2009.

song: "Firework" by Katy Perry; "Fireflies" by Owl City; "Arise" by Flyleaf; "Sing Me a Love Song" by BarlowGirl

band: BarlowGirl and Flyleaf

color: still blue...I'm kind of liking a midnight blue and a sky blue

time of day: nap time

hobby: photography

car: mine, because it's still running (thank goodness)

nickname: "Brit-bee"

picture: the picture of lightning I took this year

day: Wednesdays and Sundays

movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

animal: butterfly (I know, it's not technically an animal, but I still like it)

TV show: Law & Order: SVU...I also got really into Persons Unknown

class: no class

church calling: Primary teacher

sport: none with a ball, that's for sure

physical activity: walking because I still can't run

game: Crazy Rummy

scripture: John 14:27

2010--year in review

JANUARY
-Decided I was going to work on personal progress again
-Got put on antibiotics that made me sick
-Started my last semester in college

FEBRUARY
-Started suffering from horrible nightmares
-Injured my knee playing basketball
-Began work on my Comm. portfolio
-Went into doctor to deal with an infection and to look at my knee

MARCH
-Dressed up as a zombie and danced to Michael Jackson's Thriller for a community talent show
-Went in for a biopsy...my first ever cancer scare
-Got the results to aforementioned biopsy and happy to announce there was no cancer

APRIL
-Learned that my niece likes to take advantage of her cuteness (especially when she's done something naughty)
-Successfully completed all my final projects and gave my final Comm. presentation...that was a miracle

MAY
-Graduated from college with a Bachelor's in Communication

JUNE
-Graduation party for me and my cousin D (high school) and cousin S (college)
-Had a visit at the eye doctor and got new glasses

JULY
-Went to the zoo with sister, her husband, mom, and Karynne to celebrate Karynne's 2nd birthday
-Got called to teach the sunbeams/CTR 4 in primary

AUGUST
-Started job-hunting...not fun
-Starting working on photoblog...way fun!

SEPTEMBER
-Survived the Herriman Fire on Sept. 19...we were evacuated for over three days
-Went on a trip to Portland, Oregon to visit a friend...had a lot of fun and a much needed break

OCTOBER
-Donned my zombie outfit once again to dance to Thriller for the community Orchestra's show: Something Wicked this Way Comes. Terrorized humans after the show
-Finally finished my witch costume...had all the pieces after over three years of working on it
-Still on the job hunt

NOVEMBER
-Celebrated Thanksgiving...challenged myself to think of something to be thankful for every day of November
-Uploaded my photoblog...Yay!!!

DECEMBER
-Decorated Christmas trees
-Celebrated Christmas and ate way too much food

Here's to another year!!!

christmas 2010

Christmas began with us all waking up at 7 a.m., getting in the car (and out in the cold...did not like that part) to go around and see what my cousins and niece got from Santa.

The first stop was Aunt D's house. They couldn't wait and had already gone out to see their presents before we got there. Then we went to Aunt T's house. They were anxiously waiting when we arrived. And then it was off to my niece's house. Can I say...Santa got a little carried away with my niece...ok, too carried away. At first, Karynne didn't know what to do with all the toys she got...she wouldn't even go up and look at them at first (I think she was still a little sleepy).

She finally got into it when she saw her pink piano (well...after aunt Brittany was kind enough to get it out for her). She started cranking out some tunes on that. Then we got out her absolute favorite gift: Baby-All-Gone. It's a baby that they cleverly set up to make it look like she is eating food. My sister once got something like it when she was really young. It's pretty much the same thing today, only the baby talks, saying things like: "I'm hungry," or "yummy!"

We left my sister's place and went back up to our house to get ready for breakfast. Then all my family came over (aunts, uncles, cousins) and we sat down to breakfast casseroles and cinnamon buns/orange rolls. Yummy!!! I ate way too much for that breakfast.

After breakfast we then had the kids open all their presents. These presents are from the parents and usually consist of clothes, socks, shoes, and underwear. Karynne was into it at first, but about halfway through she was tired of opening presents.

After presents we cleaned up, and then everyone left to get ready for Christmas dinner. We had Christmas dinner at my great grandmother's house. Oh joy! More food and eating. I was still full from breakfast. It is always good to see family and to laugh and eat with each other. I went home that night very full and ready for bed.

Karynne and her daddy before going out to see her presents...she did not like my flash apparently

Checking out the toys



Playing with the pink piano



Feeding her Baby-All-Gone

Opening presents

This picture just makes me laugh. I took this about 2 seconds before she threw those socks at me :)

chritmas eve 2010

Christmas Eve I had to work, so I didn't get home until about 7 pm....and by then my family had already started dinner. We had out traditional Christmas Eve dinner which consists of salad, garlic bread, and my Grandma's spaghetti. Now, this is not ordinary spaghetti...the sauce is just heaven. She starts cooking it the day before...and I have to live with the torture of smelling it all day (makes you very hungry).

Once I got home I ate and then we all got ready for the pinata. We always do a pinata for the kids. This year we had a few rugrats taking their shot at breaking open the pinata. The first one to go was Haley, which is Cousin C's little girl (she's about 1 and a half). She is such a cutie!!! Anyhoo, she just LOVED taking a whack at the pinata. In fact, she did not want to give up her turn. She kept chasing after the stick as it was passed onto the next person.

Haley and her daddy having a blast...check out that smile!

Then it was time for my niece's turn (Karynne). She hesitantly took the stick and then refused to hit the pinata. Her dad then came over and tried to help her...she then got very upset and ran away. We then decided to get a smaller stick for her to use so it wouldn't seem less threatening...and it also became less threatening for us adults. Little kids swinging a stick around as hard and as fast as they can...gets pretty scary. So we gave Karynne one of those wooden spoons...and she still refused.

Then it was time for little Gracie to take her turn (Cousin S's little girl who is less than 6 months old). She had help from her daddy of course. She took a couple whacks and then got very upset. We then passed the stick back to Karynne, hoping she would finally do it. She took a couple swings at it and then threw the stick clear behind her...yikes...that girl has quite the arm.

Karynne just before she threw the wooden spoon across the room

Then it was cousin H's turn. It's a good thing we had the little stick for him...he was going crazy with it. I do think, though, that the pinata beat him more than he beat the pinata.

Cousin H...kind of looks like a ninja here

Then it was cousin K's turn. He also used the wooden spoon. He began hitting it with the spoon end. About halfway through his turn he realized the spoon end was not doing much damage, so he turned it around and proceeded to try to impale the pinata. And he succeeded. He broke upen a hole in the pinata and the candy came out. Now, what we do with the candy is divide it up into ziploc bags so each kid gets an even amount of everything...that way there's not fighting.

Cousin K...sadly I didn't get any picture of his impaling action

Now comes the funny part...after everyone has their candy and it settled, Karynne goes over, picks up the stick and starts beating the pinata that was left mangled on the floor. Go figure. Afterwards we cleaned up and everyone went home.