Seriously? It is time to take action. Seriously...

So, it has been a while since I got riled up enough to do another Seriously post, but alas, now I am. There have been some things going on in the news and in the world around me lately that leads me to ask: Seriously?
1. I am very passionate about politics, especially right now when we are in the midst of two very important events in our history: the election of our new President and the Proposition 8 defining families in California. To my fellow Americans: We are very lucky to live in a country where we are able to vote and have a say in who leads our country. We are blessed to live in the land of the free because of our brave soldiers past, present, and future who have volunteered to fight for the freedoms that we enjoy every day. If you think that your vote doesn't count or that an issue does not effect you, it does. If Proposition 8 is defeated in California, mark my words, it will start a wildfire across the other states of this great nation and pretty soon our children will be taught in their schools that it is okay for the Prince to marry the Prince. Seriously. So, my plea to you is this: Educate yourself on the issues and vote what you feel is best for you and your family. Let me repeat. VOTE. It counts. It is a privilege. The future of our country is not decided by the registered voters. It is decided by the registered voters who vote. Seriously.
2. According to Proposition 8 that is on the ballot in California, to vote yes, you are voting yes to define marriage as "between a man and a woman..." and amending the Constitution of California so that the law will never change. You are not voting to have any rights taken away from anyone. If this Proposition is defeated, it will continue to be legal for anyone to marry anyone. It will become legal for any 2 consenting adults to marry anyone or anything. That's right, anything. It will also become mandatory that teachers are required to teach about same sex marriage in the schools. Grade schools. It will become illegal for a church (any church, not just the LDS church) to refuse anyone the right to adopt or get married in their church. This should be a scary thing to anyone who values the definition of a family. Like I said, if this gets defeated in California,I am positive that within the next 5 years it will be on the ballot of many other states with a lot of force behind it. Our Prophet and Priesthood leaders have asked us to take a stand against something that is attacking our morals. There have been many stories on the news that have interviewed "Faithful members of the Church" who state that they do not agree that the church is getting involved in this issue. All I have to say to these members is this: Maybe you should look up the definition of Faithful. Because I am pretty sure you have it wrong. Seriously.

3. On another completely different note: Halloween is coming! I love it. Seriously. I do not love, however, that some people think that Halloween=modesty free day. Just because you are wearing a costume does not mean it is okay to be scantily clad. Enough said. Seriously.

Yikes! The 3rd and Final Tag

Okay, so I have to admit that I have enjoyed the tags of the past week, so here is the last one. Hopefully you now know everything you ever wanted to know and more:

I am...Happy
I know...lots of random facts
I want...world peace. Really.
I have...good friends
I dislike...mean people
I miss...Sammie. Everyday.
I feel...busy
I hear...the humming of my computer and good music
I smell...like American Eagle (the green bottle)
I crave...bread sticks from Olive Garden
I cry...often. At commercials, TV shows, the news, when I am sad, or just because.
I search...for a new phone
I wonder...where I will be when I am done with my degree
I regret...not saying the right thing sometimes
I love...good weather
I care...about other's happiness
I worry...about the future of our country and California after the election
I remember...only the good stuff about people
I believe...the Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us
I sang...to the radio in the shower this morning
I dance...only when no one is looking
I don't...get in bad moods
I argue...about things that are near and dear to me
I write...a lot of papers right now
I win...when I try hard or bet at bowling
I lose...focus around 3:30 in the afternoon
I wish...that curly hair didn't equal frizziness
I listen...whenever anyone needs me to
I can usually be found watching...The Office
I am scared...of being alone
I need...lots of hugs
I forget...to hold a grudge
I am happy to be...a girl!

Yikes I have been tagged (three times now!)...Part 2

My next tag has come from Jen and I just have to list 6 Unspectacular Quirks about myself. Feel free to do this one too...although I prefer to think of them as "spectacular" quirks-so here goes:
1. I am a symmetrical thinker. What I mean by this is that I have to have everything hanging on the wall centered with the furniture centered and balanced. The pictures also have to be straight. I am always making sure that this happens in my house and in my office and I am sure that I drive people crazy, although I do get calls from friends asking to help them hang things...
2. The toilet seat lid in my bathroom always has to be down. If I walk in and it is up, the first thing I do is make sure that it is down-I think this is mostly because I am afraid of things falling in and I read a study a few years ago that said the water can spray up to 6 feet when flushed. Bleck.
3. I am always thinking of ways to decorate my house. It takes a long time and happens in bits and pieces, but I love to put the personal touch on everything that I have and make sure that it involves my personality. Here is a sample of a shelf in my room:
There is a pic of me when I am little, my Mom when she was little, my Grandma's copy of the book, "Anne's House of Dreams", a snow globe from Florence, a picture of the Savior that has been with me since I moved to Rexburg for my first year of college, an old world globe from my Grandparents, a handmade flower from a trip to Hawaii, and a few more things that speak for themselves. I love it every time I look at it.
4. I dance like a middle class white girl. I do not have the beat. In fact, I only dance when no one is looking because I am afraid that 911 will be called with the report that I am having convulsions.
5. When I go bowling, after I throw the ball, I strike my Wonder Woman pose of standing there with my hands on my hips. It is just a reflex-but come to think about it, I do stand like that a lot (refer to the above pic of me striking the pose). It means a lot of making fun of me when I am bowling, but I am really good at it if anyone needs me to be in a bowling league (or League of Justice).
6. I am entertained very easily. I can do pretty much anything and have a good time. This probably stems from the fact that growing up, if we ever said "I'm Bored" to my Dad, he would tell us to find something to do, or HE would find something for us that would be much less fun than whatever we could find. Thus, my brother Mike and I are both entertained very easily.
So, there are some quirks about me and I am sure that if you have ever lived with me, none of them are a surprise. But, if you are looking for something to do, call me-I am up for anything. Just don't ask me to go dancing...

Yikes! I have been tagged...twice! Part 1

So I have thus far avoided being tagged, which made me a little sad because I always see the tags on other people's blogs and they make me laugh. Never fear, though, I always had faith that someday I would get tagged. That someday happened this week, so here goes:

The "5-Things" tag from Katie:

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Working at a health club running the youth programs and a men's basketball league
2. Living with my favorite friends Cinda, Janae and Casey
3. Celebrating that smoking was banned in all California restaurants
4. Driving a Nissan Sentra-that was a little dented in the back from a run-in with a hit-and-run driver
5. Hanging out with my family that looked like this:

5 Things on my To-Do list:
1. Go grocery shopping
2. Hang up the frames in my living room that I repainted last night
3. Attend a performance of "Thriller" at the Kent Concert Hall
4. Find some cute jeans
5. Cook some good pasta with homemade sauce from the Magic Bullet

5 Snacks I Enjoy:
1. Apples and Peanut Butter
2. Asian Pears (seriously they are sooo good!)
3. Chips and Salsa from Chili's
4. Anything Chocolate-but mostly brownies
5. Pumpkin Egg-Nog Shakes

5 Things I would do if I were a Millionaire (after I contributed to the Humanitarian fund):
1. Buy Property
2. Get a gas-efficient car (although I do love the Jeep-he is kinda expensive at the pumps)
3. Make sure my family has what they need
4. Travel
5. Get my Master's Degree with the luxury of being able to concentrate only on school

5 Places I've lived:
1. Sacramento
2. Pleasanton
3. Rexburg
4. Logan
That's all! I HATE moving-although I have lived numerous places in Logan...

5 People I Tag:
Don't worry, I won't tag any of you, but if you would like to do this one-it is kinda fun, so you should!
I also got tagged by Jen-but I don't have time to finish that one too. So, until next time-dance like no one is looking at least once this weekend:)

Reba and Kelly in Concert? Oh My!

This past Friday, Laura and I went to the event that we have been planning on since August: Reba McIntire and Kelly Clarkson in Concert at the Stadium formerly known as the Delta Center. It was pretty much all we hoped it would be and more! We started the night off by going to Iggy's and then just headed over to check out our 7th row seats. We were a little early...
We had about an hour to wait, so we just people watched, trying to decide if people were Reba or Kelly Fans. Then, we got an unexpected treat:
That's right, it was Barbara Jean from the Reba show! She came out and was hilarious! When she left, we were a little sad, but had a sneaking suspicion that we hadn't seen the last of her. We started getting really excited for the big moment when the girls showed up and we screamed our heads off when they finally started singing! They started with "Sweet Dreams" by Annie Lennox which was an interesting choice, but they could sing the phone book and still sound awesome!
They sang all of my favorite Reba and Kelly songs for two whole hours! We stood up and danced and sang at the top of our lungs...
We even got to see Barbara Jean again when they sang "I'm a Survivor" because don't you worry, she tried to sing it with them...

All-in-all, it was a fantastic night and made me an even bigger fan of these ladies. Although I am pretty sure that I can't be a much bigger fan of Kelly...I own her movie, "From Justin to Kelly", the American Idol first season highlights DVD, and all of her CDs and now I have seen her in concert 3 times! And, I am pretty sure that my sister Laura and Kelly were separated at birth, so that seals the deal. She is even worth my ears still ringing after 3 days and my hair getting huge by the end of the concert (humid stadium + my hair = me not wondering why I don't have a boyfriend)

So, thanks ladies for a great concert, and believe me, if either one of you are anywhere near us in the future, we will for sure be coming to your concert!

USU vs BYU Part 2: Dear Aggies

Dear Aggies:
While I will always be a true-blooded Aggie who loves the spot where the sagebrush grows, I have to say that I have a hard time being happy with the state of our football team. Now, I grew up in a football house so I appreciate a good program like the one run by Notre Dame great Lou Holtz. What I have a hard time appreciating is that I attend a school that has now been touted to be, as ESPN so delicately put it, "the worst football program in the nation." SO, as I watched my beloved Aggies play last Friday night against BYU, I thought of a couple of things that you might want to think about for your next game:
1. Although you play in a refurbished stadium, it does not mean that your reputation for being really bad has changed. It just means that now we get to watch you with more beautiful surroundings. With better refreshments.
2. We, as your fans, will always be there to support you, although it makes others question our intelligence. For instance, you are really good at getting the "Aggie First Down", but as far as the other 3 downs that it takes to score, you kind of struggle. Maybe we could start with little goals, like concentrating on getting the ever-elusive Second Down. Maybe we need to have some bright lights in the end zone so that you know which way to run and how much effort it will take to get there. Until then, we, your fans, will continue to show our undying support by wearing things like this:
3. True, I have never been on a football field in full pads waiting for the quarterback to throw me a pass so I don't understand what kind of pressure that you must be under. I do know, however, that if I was the one catching the ball, I would want to have the opportunity to be wide open, standing there waiting for the ball to be thrown so that I could catch it and gain some yards. I am pretty sure that when the opportunity came and the quarterback threw the ball right at me that I would a) keep my eye on the ball and b) wait until I caught the ball to start running down the field. Because this happened a few times during the game, I am pretty sure that this may be something that the coach needs to go over in practice: catch ball then run.
4. Last but not least, I think that maybe we need to go over our colors. When on the field, look around at what color jersey you are wearing and then make sure that you only throw the ball to people that are wearing the same color that you are. And here is another tip to the quarterback: the reason that they always know where you are throwing the ball is that you need to be quick quick quick to throw because the other team can see where you are looking.
Ah, how I love you Aggies, but sometimes you make it tough to love you. I have faith that one day you will be a program that everyone will be proud of but until then, I will go to your games at least once a year and look cute with Shayna and Laura wearing our game shirts.

BYU vs USU Part 1

This is just a quick post to share that whilst we were at the game on Friday night, we were privileged to sit behind some BYU fans and their kids. To our surprise, we looked down and there was a woman in front of us who was breast feeding not one, but two of her kids and no they weren't twins. She fed them 6 times in one hour, so apparently she should contact Ben and Jerry's because she has plenty of milk. And, being a warm night, she didn't feel the need to cover up, so I took a picture (not as disturbing as it sounds). This is what we saw:

So, as a concerned citizen of Logan my plea is this: Although it may be okay to just flash body parts and feed your children in public in Provo, we here in Logan would prefer you cover up. Especially at a football game. Where people can see you.
And this is from the school that will not play our basketball team in the Spectrum because the fans are too rowdy...seriously.

The Magic Bullet...It truly is Magic!

I have been totally obsessed with a little kitchen gadget called The Magic Bullet. It truly is magic like they say. I got hooked on their infomercial and now my kitchen turns into it's very own infomercial every time we pull it out to use it-which is at least 3-4 times a week, usually more. I make fruit smoothies on a regular basis: One big bag of frozen fruit in the freezer + fat free yogurt + some juice or Crystal Light = a yummy cup of 2 or more servings of fruit! I have also made some other concoctions: Dip = fat free sour cream + fat free ranch dressing flavoring + frozen spinach. Tomato sauce for pasta, pesto sauce, alfredo sauce, bean dips,the greatest chocolate banana peanut butter concoction ever and many more possibilities! We have also had Magic Bullet parties where everyone can make their own smoothie to enjoy. Really, if you are on the fence about buying one of these, you can come to my house and we will show you how fantastic they are! If you are looking for a new kitchen gadget, the Magic Bullet should be on the top of your list. Seriously:)