And you can tell everybody, this is your blog post...*

*cue Elton John classic preferably redone by Ewan McGregor.

It's Mother's Day and just for my mom, I'm writing her a lovely blog post because she loves everything I do :)

Things I have learned from my mom:
1. Take your time picking the right person--there is no rush to get married at 20.
2. How to make world-class cookies. (I have yet to meet a contender.)
3. How to cook in general.
4. How to be more assertive.
5. What's most important in life (i.e. God, Jesus Christ, and family)
6. Don't go to bed angry.
7. The importance of education and making the most of your talents.
8. How to be more of a people person.
9. How to budget and be frugal.
10. How to drive aggressively and multitask.
11. The importance of giving 100% in every responsibility you have.
12. The usefulness of speaking a second language.
13. Don't date chauvenists.
14. The entertainment that comes from quality films with people like Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Doris Day, etc., etc., etc.,
15. A love of music.
16. How to be a better leader.
17. You have to fight for what you want.
18. The happiness that comes from following Jesus Christ.
19. The importance of being home.
20. Pure, maternal love.

This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but it hopefully gives everyone a very general sense of who my mother is. She is smart, assertive, loving, and down-to-earth. She can strike up a conversation anywhere, anytime. She has so many life experiences from traveling or going on a mission or going to college that has embellished who she is. I have a mother who loves God and loves our family with all that she has. I have been so blessed to be raised by such a strong woman in my life.

One time in second grade, my mom was volunteering and came out to recess with me. We saw the girls spinning on the bars, and my mom said, "I used to do that when I was a little girl." So we all said, "Show us! Show us!" So my mom got on the bars and spun around and around. Everyone gathered around, and thought it was so cool that an adult was spinning on the bars. I remember feeling so proud and thinking, "wow, what a great mom I have."

Luckily my mom and I never had that typical strained teenager-parent relationship during high school. It's such a cliche, but my mom has really been one of my best friends. She has more faith in me than sometimes I even have in myself. Her constant love and support has sometimes baffled me in my darkest times. Why would someone believe in me that much? As I have let more light and clarity come into my life, I realize that I couldn't have done it with out someone as loving and dedicated as my mom always backing me up. Since that day in second grade, I still think everyday, "wow, what a great mom I have."

what is this newfound feeling?

Oh yeah, it's not the typical Sunday night anxiety that hits when I review the weekend and all the homework that I didn't do. It's the freedom from the regretful early morning dread that I know is awaiting me.

I just love three-day weekends.

I would rather have Mondays off than Fridays. I like the this feeling on a Sunday night knowing that I can postpone the world for one more day.

Thank you Martin Luther King Jr.

P.S. Is it really called Human Rights Day now?

Generic Thanksgiving Post

Okay, I hate being cliche, but I'll make an exception this one time. *Disclaimer: this is not the only day I feel grateful for things.

Things I am grateful for:

The Big Stuff:
--a loving Heavenly Father
--a merciful Savior
--the atonement of Jesus Christ
--a family that understands my weirdness
--true friends

Patriotic Stuff:
--a country where I can say what I want, worship how I please, vote for my leaders, etc.
--men and women who are willing to fight for my freedoms
--a president who hasn't followed through on a lot of the socialist things he said he would do
--public education
--affirmative action...when it's on my side :)

Stuff taken for granted:
--the custom of this country to brush teeth and shower often
--insulated walls
--a grocery store within a mile
--always having something to eat
--always having somewhere to sleep
--a university that is significantly cheaper in price but not in education

Completely random stuff:
--that I don't have leprosy
--that I have a friend who owns Rock Band
--the versatility of soy
--that my leg hair does not grow as fast as a man's
--that I don't have to shave my face
--that my thrombocytes function properly--as do the p53 proteins in my cells
--that my overies and uterus correctly respond to the hormones sent out from my pituitary gland, and provide enough negative feedback to keep the system in check.
--my sympathetic nervous system! (and parasympathetic for that matter...)
--people who donate their bodies to science
--OB/GYNs that boldly go where not a lot of other people want to go
--that Dr. Porter magically knows the days when to make Monday quizzes a group quiz
--the rr in espanol
--the color teal
--that women stopped wearing corsets
--that my toes aren't webbed
--the development of ballroom dance
--yulia zagorychenko in all her perfection
--car fresheners
--the view of Mt. Rainier at the top of 410 that I rarely see anymore
--that my mom never tried to live vicariously through me
--that potatoes are so cheap

I could go on...

But in all, I'm grateful for my life. It's not perfect, but it's all I've got, and I'm going to make the best of it.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

catching up

I haven't blogged in awhile. I'm pretty bad at the whole blogging thing. I do this with my journal too. I write about once a month, but I remember back in elementary when I wrote EVERYday and it's kind of fun to look back and remember what I was doing a year ago. It's sometimes hard to remember the weekend sometimes. I fear Alzheimer's is settling in too soon.

So I'm at the grandparent's house for Christmas. My grandma gives me taco soup with huge chunks of beef and says, "you can eat that right?" Um, no...I am, um, pretty sure that's, um, meat in there....yeah, so I, uh, don't eat that. Every five minutes she always asks me if I'm finding anything to eat. Yes, Grandma, I'm eating. She means well. I just hate the look on her face when I refuse her cooking. It's the disappointment that she can't help. But I just love that she's around. I don't even bring up the vegan thing. When I come home, I downgrade to vegetarian when there are no other options. I miss soy milk :(

Here's the intinerary: Christmas Eve feast. Christmas morning breakfast feast. Christmas night feast. Day after Christmas feast. That's a lot of food. I guess we're going out of this year with a bang. The cool thing is that A LOT of my family is going to be together. The most we've had in a long time. My family is crazy and loud and talkative and gossipy and obnoxious and quirky and I love them. This should be fun.

Merry Christmas Eve.