The perfect combo

Every now and then, I get a craving for something crunchy late at night. I usually resort to carrots and sometimes I eat the carrots with mustard. This was actually introduced to me by my sister, Emily. She, in turn, was introduced to this by her anorexic roommate her freshman year at The University of Arizona. Don't worry, I'm definitely not anorexic! I thought it was a weird thing when I first saw Emily eating it, but now I quite enjoy it. So, I want to know what strange foods or food combos that you all like to eat. It is mandatory to comment! Not really, but I thought it would be fun to share. Oh, and here's another condiment for carrots . . . whipping cream! Just kidding. The picture below was just a joke. And if you're wondering where I am in this picture, it's the Grand Canyon.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Because I hate getting up early (I hardly ever get out of bed before 7), I usually take a bath before I go to bed. Yes, a bath. I take baths a lot more often than I take showers. You may think this is strange. My brother thinks it's gross because he says I'm bathing in my own filth. I, however, find nothing more therapeutic than taking a hot bath at the end of the day. It's a place I can just close my eyes and think while I listen to the sound of the running water, which I love. It's the perfect end to a not so perfect day. Plus I like getting into bed knowing that I'm clean. I'm not the only one who thinks baths are wonderful. Authors Sylvia Plath and Dodie Smith thinks baths are so great, they've even written about them. Take a look.

"There may be quite a few things a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them. Whenever I'm sad I'm going to die, or so nervous I can't sleep, or in love with somebody I won't be seeing for a week, I slump down just so far and then I say: "I'll go take a hot bath." I meditate in the bath. The water needs to be very hot, so hot you can barely stand putting your foot in it. Then you lower yourself, inch by inch, till the water's up to your neck. I never feel so much myself as when I'm in a hot bath."

–Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

"I believe it is customary to get one's washing over first in baths and bask afterwards; personally, I bask first. I have discovered that the first few minutes are the best and not to be wasted—my brain always seethes with ideas and life suddenly looks much better than it did. Father says hot water can be as stimulating as an alcoholic drink and though I never come by one, I can well believe it. So I bask first, wash second and then read as long as the hot water holds out. The last stage of a bath, when the water is cooling and there is nothing to look forward to, can be pretty disillusioning. I expect alcohol works much the same way."

–Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

I actually read this last passage while I was in the bath which I thought was pretty coincidental. Like Dodie Smith's character, I bask first and wash later. The only difference is that I read and bask simultaneously and I usually don't linger very long.

Now I have a funny bath-related story that has to do with the picture below. When I take baths, my dogs, Lucy and Jerry, are usually in the bathroom with me. Most the time they just fall asleep on the rug. One time, however, they started fighting over a toy. They got up on their hind legs and Lucy backed Jerry into the edge of the tub. He lost his balance and came tumbling into the bath with me. I was pretty upset at the time, but I had to laugh afterward. It was just too funny.

3 Favorites

Yep, you've guessed it, another tag . . .

3 Favorite Last Purchases

1. Bliss' "The Youth As We Know It" skincare line (amazing!)
2. MacBook Pro
3. Books from Amazon.com

3 Favorite Places to Shop

1. Sephora.com (we really need to get one of these in Utah!)
2. Anthropologie
3. Barnes & Noble

3 Favorite Movies

1. About a Boy
2. Stardust
3. Atonement

3 Favorite TV Shows

1. Project Runway
2. Dexter
3. The Soup

3 Favorite Books

1. My Name is Asher Lev
2. Wives and Daughters
3. Jane Eyre (like every other girl)

3 Favorite Things That I Couldn't Possibly Live Without

1. My family and dogs
2. My car
3. My computer

3 Favorite Dishes

1. Steamed artichokes with melted butter
2. Haystacks
3. Greek chicken caesar salad (my mouth is watering now)

3 Favorite Desserts

1. Squash pie
2. Homemade raspberry-banana ice cream
3. Apple crisp

3 Favorite Foreign Places I've Visited

1. London, England
2. Paris, France
3. Lisbon, Portugal

3 Favorite Places in America I've Visited

1. New York City
2. Lake Powell
3. San Diego

Sore

Because I did this:
(minus the gold pants)
I'm walking like this:

Cloudy Days in Tomorrowland

My mom recently gave me a CD of a talk that S. Michael Wilcox gave at a fireside. He opens his talk by reading part of an article he read in Newsweek from back in 1997. I thought it was pretty interesting, so I found the article and would like to share it with you. Enjoy.


Cloudy Days in Tomorrowland
Visions of our century without airplanes, without television or home computers, even without (gasp!) the Beatles

We'd like to think all our predictions will prove right. But the highways of history are littered with wrong calls, false insights and bad guesses. Here's a sampler of 20th century futurology that flopped:

I confess that in 1901, I said to my brother Orville that man would not fly for fifty years. Ever since I have distrusted myself and avoided all predictions.
WILBUR WRIGHT
US aviation pioneer, 1908

I must confess that my imagination refuses to see any sort of submarine doing anything but suffocating it's crew and floundering at sea.
H.G WELLS
British novelist, 1901

Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.
Marshal FERDINAND FOCH
French military strategist and future World War I commander, 1911

The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty - a fad.
A president of the Michigan Savings Bank advising HORACE RACKHAM (Henry Ford's lawyer) not to invest in the Ford Motor Co. 1903

Believe me. Germany is unable to wage war.
Former British prime minister DAVID LLOYD GEORGE, Aug 1, 1934

Everything that can be invented has been invented.
CHARLES H. DUELLS
U.S. commissioner of patents, 1899

Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?
HARRY M. WARNER
Warner Brothers, 1927

There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.
KENNETH OLSEN
president and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

Nobody now fears that a Japanese fleet could deal an unexpected blow in our Pacific possessions ... Radio makes surprise impossible.
JOSEPHUS DANIELS
former U.S. secretary of the navy, Oct 16, 1922

What use could this company make of an electrical toy?
Western Union president WILLIAM ORTON, rejecting Alexander Graham Bell's offer to sell his struggling telephone company to Western Union dor $100,000

Computers in the future may perhaps weigh 1.5 tons.
POPULAR MECHANICS forecasting the development of computer technology, 1949

We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out.
DECCA RECORDS rejecting the Beatles, 1962

The election of Hoover ... should result in continued prosperity for 1929.
ROGER W. BABSON
American financial statistician and founder of the Babson Institute. Sep 17, 1928

Radio has no future.
LORD KELVIN, Scottish mathematician and physicist, former president of the Royal Society, 1897

I have no political ambitions for myself or my children.
JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, 1936

Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.
IRVING FISHER professor of economics, Yale University, Oct 17, 1929

[Television] won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.
DARRYL F. ZANUCK head of 20th Century Fox, 1946

For the majority of the people tobacco has a beneficial effect.
Dr. IAN G. MACDONALD
Los Angeles surgeon, quoted in Newsweek, Nov 18, 1963

Man will never reach the moon regardless of all scientific advances.
Dr. LEE DE FOREST inventor of the Audiontube and father of radio. Feb 26, 1967


The other night, I was telling my dad some of these predictions and we laughed about it. I told him that when I was in 2nd grade, we would read these weekly Scholastic newsletters. These newsletters would include articles about current events, scientific developments, etc. I remember one article that said when I was old enough (I was 8 at the time) to drive, cars would have electronic maps in them that would show me how to get places. I remember feeling relieved because I was worried I wouldn't know how to get anywhere when I was old enough to drive. My dad told me that he had this same worry. It's funny, the things we worry about when we're kids.

a quick post . . .

Today is Melissa's birthday and I wanted make a quick post to wish her a happy birthday. I first met Melissa when I was in 9th grade and then she married my brother in the year 2000. She's been in my life for about 10 years now and I really love her like a sister. She is so fun to be around because she likes playing games and she's always laughing. She is the best (and only . . . so far) sister-in-law I could ask for. I love you Melissa and I hope you have a great birthday!

Looking back on the year 2002

This is kind of a random post but I thought it might be a fun one. I'm always telling my mom that the year 2002 was one of the best years in my life. Here's why:

In February, the Winter Olympics were in Salt Lake City. I was lucky enough to be able to go to ice skating, women's hockey and two medal ceremonies. It was such a fun thing to just walk around downtown a see all the interesting things that were going on. I also turned 18 this same month. Unfortunately, we didn't have much of a celebration because my parents, Briton, Melissa and Danny were all volunteering.

At the beginning of May, right after I took my AP tests, we all went to Nauvoo and went through the new temple before it was dedicated. My uncle Dallis' family was there as well.

It was beautiful there and it was also my very first time in the Midwest. It's so flat. I think this hill we're sitting on was the steepest incline!

On this trip, we visited a number of historical sites. This is my family and my uncle's family in front of Carthage Jail. This is right below the window that Joseph Smith fell out of after he was shot.

We made it to Independence and visited the LDS visitors center. Across the street is the Community of Christ's (aka RLSD) temple/tabernacle, or whatever they call it. We also visited Liberty Jail and Adam-ondi-Ahman.

At the end of May, I competed in the State Championships for water polo with the Skyline team. In February, we defeated Brighton in swimming and took state, ending Brighton's 20 year reign. That event took place down at BYU and I placed 8th in the state for the 100 meter Butterfly. We wanted to top that off with winning 1st in water polo. Unfortunately, we got second and I was late to Prom! By the way, that's me in the #8 white cap.

I rushed home from that water polo game and Emily hurried and curled my hair. She did my makeup in the car on the way to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building where my group ( and my date) were having dinner at The Roof restaurant.

Briton, Melissa and Emily drove me downtown. Can you tell how agitated I am? I was also really sunburned. It got worse as the night went on. My eyes also got sunburned from the reflection on the water and they were watering all night. But it was still fun.

In June, I graduated from Skyline High School and was looking forward to a fun summer before I went off to BYU. I also graduated from Seminary and Young Women's.

I went up to my friend, Natalie's cabin with a couple of other friends. I just remember horseback riding a lot and playing in the nearby reservoir. We also spotted a couple of moose.

This was my horse while we were at Natalie's cabin, but I can't remember his name.

That summer, I went to my final Youth Conference. These were some of my friends from the ward. I still have contact with all of them. I guess that isn't much of a feat. It's only been 6 years. The real test will be to see if I'm still in contact with them in 20 years. I'll let you know.

We went up to Montana for the 4th of July. We don't go up there anymore but when we did, we had so much fun. We went horseback riding, river rafting, played games, read and just relaxed.

In the fall, I headed down to BYU to begin college. I lived in the dorms and had a lot of fun with the girls on my floor. It was really fun because I roomed with my friend, Natalie, and my other friend, Paige, was right next door.

That December, we went to temple square with my entire ward, which, of course, included all my friends from the dorm.

This basically sums up the best year of my life. I think one of the reasons it was so fun for me, is that I didn't have much responsibility yet. I wouldn't really want to go back to this time because I've grown up and learned a lot since then. I'm just really glad I have these happy memories. I also know that I'll have many more.