The Only Halloween I Recall Enjoying

I hate Halloween. (Please don't judge me.)

This year, though, was different.

Here's what made today so great: 

dang good food

clean laundry

the fact that people don't judge when you don't dress up in college

lost missionary letters that are now found and delivered

the neph, in his cute costume

saxophone solos on campus

canceled class!

news that we get to sing for the President Monson tomorrow (and the rest of BYU, I suppose)

productivity in my free time

favorite songs on the radio

Sharissa gets to go to Italy...jealous in a good way

completed math homework

success in a place called Mexico for two great missionaries

family time (with good ol' E.T.)

getting all the classes I wanted for registration

answered prayers

Obvi, it was the best day of my life. Enjoy some (few) illustrations:

(Sorry for the blur. His face was too cute to pass up.)

(Sorta excited for letters.)

Oct 24 to Oct 31

This is what an average week looks like:

And this is what this week looks like: 

It just might be the death of me.
Good thing I made time for a Creamery run today. As we all know, ice cream is a crucial part of survival mode.

Happy Birthday to the Best Sister EVER

So...I am definitely the worst sister in the world and I did NOT budget my time well enough today to get dear sister Jenna her birthday blog post (which she informed me she was expecting) on her actual birthday (which was the 24th, but this will be posted on the 25th cuz of a thing called "midnight"). No judgments please; I've learned my lesson for the future.


And Jenna, that includes you, because I gave you the post title you demanded, despite my original intention to avoid doing just that. But happy birthday. :)

Anyway, in keeping with tradition, 10 reasons why Jenna is my favorite next-oldest sister:

1) She gives me the fashion advice I so desperately need, almost every day.

2) We laugh ourselves to tears probably every other day.

3) That's more due to her one-liners than anything. Plus also, her stories from work. 

4) She has an unhealthy fetish for things like this:

5) She insists on showering late at night, which then makes the bathroom warm when I go to brush my teeth. Weird, I know, but seriously I love it.

6) She shares her wealth of common sense with me when I'm running low.

7) She listens to good music. Therefore, I listen to good music.

8) She makes the singles' ward way more fun than I ever expected it to be.

9) She always manages to capture my most attractive moments on film...

10) Essentially, she shows me how to make life fun.

I love you, hermana mejor! And happy belated birthday.

They've got me down to a T

Fun fact:

"Alyssa" means feminine, rational, or fox, depending on what name dictionary you read. (And the greatest of these is definitely fox.)


The most common entry for "Alyssa" is rational, which I learned last night is definitely true for me. Last night was scary movie night with some new friends. We watched 1408. I jumped maybe once but was never genuinely scared. (Side note: you should know that I've seen a total of maybe 5 scary movies in my life, so don't necessarily trust my opinion here.) Some thoughts that I thought included: 




1) This movie would be dumb if he didn't live to tell the story at the end. Therefore, he must live. Therefore, no need to worry.


2) That could definitely have been scarier if they'd done ___________ differently. (Thought this one about 40 times, with a different word in each blank.) Therefore, this movie is not actually as creepy as it could be. Therefore, no need to worry.


3) Of course that man isn't going to kill him. The whole point of the movie is that he has to kill  himself! Wasn't that implied in the beginning? But he has to live (see thought #1). Therefore, no need to worry.




Please note the "therefore"s. That's called logic, or rationale. Essentially, I talked myself through the whole thing and figured out much of the movie before it happened. Isn't that the most boring approach to scary-movie-watching you've ever heard? Yeah, I thought so too. 

Moral of the story: scary movies are not scary if you think. So don't think. 

However, this picture is definitely scary: 

And the moral of that picture is that I really need a new camera so that webcams will stop crying out to my inner child.

This is a (math) joke.

Please answer the following equations: 

Answer: Tree + tree+ tree = 9.

(There was a sandstorm.)


Answer: Dirty tree + dirty tree+ dirty tree = 99.

(I think you can guess what happened.)


Answer: Dirty tree and a turd + dirty tree and a turd + dirty tree and a turd = 100.

I thought it was funny...


(Pictures by yours truly.)

I am not allowed to blog until my math homework is finished.

I am not allowed to blog until my math homework is finished. 

I am not allowed to blog until my math homework is finished. 

I am not allowed to blog until my math homework is finished. 

I am not allowed to blog until my math homework is finished. 

I am not allowed to blog until my math homework is finished. 

I am not allowed to blog until my math homework is finished. 

I am not allowed to blog until my math homework is finished. 

I am not allowed to blog until my math homework is finished. 

I am not allowed to blog until my math homework is finished. 

I am not allowed to blog until my math homework is finished. 

Copy/paste = all the rage in writing lines for punishment these days. 

Para la madre

Today I'd just like to say: happy birthday to the best mom ever!

(Plus, I'm sorry that I only blog about birthdays when they're practically over...it's a character flaw of mine.)

Anyway, here's why she's the greatest: 

1) She still makes my lunch every day. We're going on 18 years running now. 

2) She and I are practically the same brain in two heads. Ya know?

3) She tolerates my constant "your mom" jokes...

4) She makes her own "your mom" jokes. To her children. Do you realize how hilarious that is??

5) She has more will-power on the daily than most of us will probably have in our entire lifetime.

6) She teaches me about life, even when I simply don't want to hear it. 

7) She texts me when I get snail mail so my day can be made 6 hours earlier.

8) She's always in my corner if I encounter opposition.

9) She's taught me everything I know about life (give or take just a tad).

10) She's who I wanna be when I grow up. 

Love you bunches, mother! Thanks for everything you have done, currently do, and will do in the future.

(That should be read sorta like the 9th Article of Faith.)

Happy birthday! :)

Nose Goes!

Side note: We played Nose Goes in American Heritage today. I proudly claim that I started it. 


Anyway, this title relates; I swear. You know how Nose Goes is the replacement for the old standard "Onetwothree NOT IT"? Well, I didn't expect to be "it" in this blogosphere game of tag, and there are lots of bloggers who haven't been tagged yet, so I'm starting nose goes so I don't have to tag anyone else. It's called slacking. 


But I digress. I've been tagged by Shaundra, and I try to never leave an idea for a blog post in the dust, so here we go!

7 Random Things

by Lys

1. 

I once wrote a scholarly English paper relating The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway to the journey of weight loss. It got full credit and an admiring comment from my most difficult teacher. 

2. 

I have never seen LOTR. Or Hitch. Or all those movies that everyone has seen, and "How have you not seen that?!" Except Star Wars...I have seen each of the Star Wars movies once. Claim to fame, right there.

3. 

My real claim to fame doesn't exist. But my mom once sang with the Carpenters on stage, in concert. I think that's coolio.

4. 

I survived the Swine Flu. And I assure you it was survival indeed. I was quarantined. Hear you me: few things will boost your self-esteem like a solid week of quarantine. (Plus, I contracted the virus on my first date. If you want to hear a good story, ask for that one.)

5.

I like to think I'm a leader. 

6.

My all-time favorite song is "Faithfully" by Journey. Nickelback has some close contenders, though (like this one and this one).

7.

My all-time favorite movie is What's Up, Doc? And nothing comes even remotely close.

A picture, to spice up this rapidly-turning-snoozefest blog: 

(Yikes, I know.)

This may be melodramatic...

(Preface: I know this is the epitome of cheap thrills, but I think the hype is hilarious. So sue me.)

Does anyone out there know Comic Sans? It's a font. You've probably met before, even if you don't know it yet. 

(Now you've met.)

Anyway, there are a lot of hatin' people out there who want to get rid of Comic Sans. There's an entire movement against it, and much too much drama to really be taken seriously.

But there are some funny people involved in this movement. Someone created this website with really great visuals and a decent show of hard work, just to help eliminate Comic Sans. 

It reminds me of something those funny people that work at Google would do in their spare time. Visually appealing, genuinely convincing, and utterly hilarious. Anyone with me on this? 

But that's not all.

There's also a game!

Hear you me: there are few things in this world more fun than shooting at fonts. And yes, I tried this out for reals.

This post is probably almost as much of a waste of your time as it was of mine, for which I am very sorry. However, it gave me a break from math and other homework, so...that's a nice bonus...

Picture List!

Things I think are pretty: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Thanks again, Pinterest. Sorry I completely abuse our relationship.

New and improved

I'm not entirely sure about the "improved" bit, actually, but this blog is definitely new! I know that currently the background is dark, and you can't even read the blog title, and none of my pictures are remotely good enough for anything other than "Classic" view, but nevertheless, I think I'll like these dynamic views once I get used to them. 

Here comes my favorite activity! 

Pros: 

More interactive. I would love if everyone's blog was this fun to click around.

It tells you how long ago each post was if you hover over the date. Nifty.

No word verification for comments!

The pictures fade in. So suave.

Titles aren't so blatantly obvious, and now I feel more comfortable posting without one. (I call this "stress relief.")

I'm thinking it'll be easier for me to someday get an "About Me" page up in here. 

Pictures open in new tabs. Probably nobody knows the trouble that saves me.

Cons:

Links and captions are not the font I want them to be, and I haven't found a way to change that.

No preview option before posting? This needs fixed pronto.

There are simply less options as far as formatting goes. I can choose the background. And that's it.

I still can't comment in response to individual comments, which is my life goal as a blogger.

Copyright? Where'd it go? Not that I really bother with it, but what if I was a real blogger?

So. If nothing else, dynamic views = fun. They're not incredibly functional yet on my end, but certainly workable. I'll probably keep tweaking in the next few days. Don't judge me if it's different every hour or so...

Now tell me: what do you think?? I'd love to hear anything you have to say, as always :) And if you change your blog to dynamic, let me know so I can go check it out!




PS: I just tried to view this in my Reader and it failed. Sorry if that ruins your whole system! Hopefully it's not a permanent issue...

POTD #3

Because:

a) I now know how to get pictures from phone to computer. Wahoo!

b) A certain missionary has been slightly under-represented on here lately, and I'd hate to be tattled on.

and

c) This picture is totally hardcore. 

Note: not taken while on the mission. This was forever ago.

And now there's nothing left but to apologize for poor quality. Blame the ancient phone.

Well, Byron...

Matt's cure for a bad day: a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, and this video:

Today was fine, actually. But thanks for any concern you might have had.
This is just a quick post because I'm short on time.


This is my favorite line from the movie: "Because.... I know that."
Or maybe his motto.
Gets me every time!


That is all. Over and out.

For Will

Because:

1) He's my favorite brother-in-law.

2) He challenges the way I think, and it's good for me, blast it all.

3) He's really positive, and I admire that.

4) He's taught us all the rules of sports, and we'd be lost causes if he hadn't entered our family's life.

5) He wheezes sometimes while laughing, and it's hilarious.

6) He works hard. Like really hard.

7) He's a strong member of the church with a strong testimony.

8) He will forever stand up for what he believes.

9) I really do love him like I would a real brother.

And:

10) Today was his birthday.

This is our "friendship picture" on FB. I promise we're not dating.

The keys to my heart (sorta)

Confession: 

Lately, I've found myself totally in love with my keys. I enjoy every keychain individually, and I really enjoy the overall combination. It's the perfect mix of colors and weight distribution. What more could one ask for in a set of keys? 

Aren't they adorbs??

(Note: before we begin, I'd like to apologize for the prevalence of the effect called "Soft Focus" throughout this post. It's too great to pass up, but I can never find valid reasons for using it, so I'm using it now!)

Meet the cast: 

Exhibit A.

This is my highlighter. It has come in very handy at times; you never know when you'll need one! But it's more significant because we each got one in an important Young Women lesson which I really enjoyed. It was on "letting your light so shine," and I've kept it on my keys ever since that Sunday. 

Exhibit B.

This is another gem from my six years in Young Women. At girl's camp one year, we each got one of these little keychains from Guatemala if we memorized the hymn and scripture theme for the year. It's been broken about 4 times, but I still love it. I mean, check out that schnozz! How could you not love it?

Exhibit C.

This thing is not as cool as everybody seems to think it is. It's not a laser, or a whistle, or really anything other than a chunk of colored metal. It's here because I was so excited for my scholarship to BYU, and they gave these out to anyone who had a scholarship, so I definitely claimed one. 

Exhibit D.

This came from our family vacation to Jackson Hole, WY this summer. It's a good reminder to stay positive. Plus, it's completely stylish and stuff. 

Exhibit E.

This was also from a family vacation to Oregon a couple years ago. I was so fascinated by our tour of the Tillamook cheese factory that I needed a souvenir. Naturally, I chose the cliche zipper pull with my name. (Also, I chose ice cream, but that obviously isn't a keychain.)

Exhibit F. 

This is my most recent addition, and probably the crowning glory of my keys. This lets me get a free frosty every time I buy anything from Wendy's through the end of December. It cost a buck, and I've already paid it off twice without going more than once a week. Totally a steal. Totally the bomb.com.

And altogether now:

Seriously, this little set never fails to make my day. It's a strange source of happiness, but I'll take it :)