baby j

His response, after I tease him about not knowing how to make (boil) pasta.
"What?!?! Are we pasta making people? Do we live in Italy?"

He's 23.

Grand Opening

Grand opening! Saturday, Oct 29. We're teched up, dolled up, stuffed up, decked out, spaced out, and rollin' out. All I'm gonna say is, it's a beaut and I'm lovin' it.

comical2

*comics written and created by Hooligan A. Thayn

comical1

update

I live in a really fantastic house, owned by a pretty legit LDS author, with a really loving dog and great roommates who tell me things like, "Oh, I knew you'd be normal because you're from Indiana."

And I'm too busy to blog even silly pictures of myself and the madre as youths. Yeah, that last photo down below is Hopey. It's the only photo I have where we resemble each other and it's her worst photo ever. Aces.

studying for the gre

Which of these is not like the other?

heart a'flutter

New favorite movie.

ondemand

What I learn from watching House: If anything is kept hidden from a loved one, no matter how "noble" the reason is, the loved one immediately focuses on how they've been lied too. And that hurts more than the secret would have if it'd been told.

grace

I had the most spectacular fall this morning.

The floor of my room is a minefield of boxes, bags, and furniture. After waking up from a hysterical dream, I was chuckling, with my glasses in hand instead of on my face, as I tried to navigate my way to the bathroom. My foot caught on a suitcase. Hands flailed in a frantic YMCA. Glasses hit closet door. Body landed sideways across a suitcase, legs of a table, and a plastic tub.

Ha.

wuv

Once upon a time, a young girl traveled to Seattle with four other beautiful girls. They had many wild adventures.

One such adventure was seeking (and finding) their RTBFs. Yes, their road-trip boyfriends.

This young girl was the luckiest of all.

mmm bacon

(via Wise Idea)

can't purge. won't purge.

I'm beginning to think that my greatest flaw is my nostalgia.

I'm really not much for swearing and I used to reprimand individuals who swore too much. But occasionally, that word has all the feeling that you need to express and it's bursting through your brain until you say it somewhere.

Damn. I miss you.

countdown

You know you've been working too much when you have a minor lazy-freakout which includes watching multiple episodes of How I Met Your Mother and then making a dance playlist late into the night. Yes, midnight is late.


I won't share the whole mix because it's a weird blend of old, new, pop, hiphop, dubstep, jazz?, and other styles. The majority are not fine quality. But here are the
First
and
Middle
and
Last
and
Sidedish
songs.
Last = I may have grown up in rural Indiana but this was my favorite song back in the day.  Vamos. I may not be the most excitable individual, prone to scheduling and focusing on details, but bareboned, if I could go, I would.
....And ...apparently I wanted to be a chic rapper as a youth? Bizarre. Got to sleep. Early meeting at the library tomorrow. Yeah. Rap. Library. You read both of those in this paragraph.

happiest

My best friend is getting married in two months. When I heard of her engagement a month ago, the wedding plan included just the two of them, her parents, and a pastor in the woods. Thankfully, that's changed.

Guys. In two months, I'm gonna stand next to my bestest bestest's man while she walks down the aisle. If I'm dying with happiness now, I dunno how I'm going to survive that day.

overnighter

I may not have escaped to another country but I've done my fair share of traveling this summer. Vegas, Seattle, Indiana, Boise.... And LA, Cedar City and Philadelphia yet to come.

This weekend was the Twilight Criterium in downtown Boise. I'm going to post my photos (taken with my awesome ghetto phone) in order of the races....slowest to fastest. The pros were incredible. 107 started the race and, as you can imagine on a 3-block course, it was packed in. There were laps where bikers came within 6 inches of my body. Wowza.

VK

Can I tell you that my weekend was magical? Because it was sure lovely. I've got a bundle of stories and pictures to tell you but instead of gushing everything at once, I'll tell you about the two hours that held the most beauty.

I packed a suitcase of age appropriate clothing. Blouses, dark jeans, dressy flats. I brought 80% of these home clean. The rest of my clothes (the running shorts and t-shirts), I had to put in a plastic bag because they were so filthy. One layer of dirt came Saturday morning. K-Ju arrived on her motorcycle, just as Grace's parents were leaving. I looked like quite the teenage rebel, donning a helmet, swinging my leg over the back and zooming off. Adios.

K-Ju's grey and pink helmet said "Hellion" on the back. That's what we were. Two hellions dining on Village Kitchen specials, then zooming down 100 N and onto Flint Road. Two hellions that stopped at the top of a hill and threw our arms open wide to the green embrace that is a midwestern summer. Sweet corn stands. Rolling fields. Lines of trees that hide running creeks. Hit the throttle one more time and don't slow down on the curve. From zero to silo in 60 seconds.

For the first time in five years, I didn't want to get on the plane coming back to Utah. I want more green, more humidity, more lightning bugs, more wide open spaces. I want to stay in a place that still has dirt roads. Where my heritage isn't just names on a paper, but barns and fields and the sweat of hard work.

home

In eight hours, I will be boarding a plane to go home. Home. I can't remember the last time I was home in the summer. It may have been 3-4 years ago. My brain really cannot recall.

I'm excited beyond belief. Not only will I see my nephews (haven't seen them in 1.5 years! They are getting so big) and other family&friends, but I definitely plan on sneaking out at 3 AM and finding a field to watch the stars in. Maybe if I'm lucky, there will be heat lightning. I may rag on the Midwest but it sure does have a lot to offer if you want to ponder in nature. The mountains are majestic and awe-inspiring but a hay bale in a field is pure serenity.

Plus, I get to see the mysterious well. Rad.

good karma

Evening. Ellen gives the last few dollars in her wallet away to a good cause.

2:30 AM. Tired. Driving. Hungry? "Ellen can has cheezburger?" Pulls into Mikey D's. "Welcome to McDonalds, we are currently only accepting cash."


I appreciate the universe's concern for my caloric well-being.

love writes a letter

This morning was my fourth morning waking up in a tent. Sure, that tent is just set up in my living room, but it's still exciting to me. While my friends are off travelling the world and having adventures, I'm making my own adventure in my living room.

Tent. Check.
Mini flamingo lantern. Check.
5 layers of blankets. Check.
Children's books to be read by flashlight. Check.

I think if I had one wish/super power, it would be to be able to live someone else's life for just a short time. I love my own life (mucho!) but wouldn't be completely fascinating to step into Carolyn's shoes as she strolls through the streets of Bulgaria? Or even just be in Sarah's brain for an hour. ... That'd be nuts.

Let's face it, that's why I love reading. All I want in life is to see the world through his eyes, her eyes, your eyes.

to all