Addicted!

Hi, my name is Lindsay and I am addicted to the Twilight Series. (All together now..."Hello Lindsay") I know, I know you love the books too, but I mean I have a problem. I went on a road trip up to Provo last weekend and I wanted to get a book on CD for the drive. I looked all over and the one I kept coming back to is Twilight. (Yes, I already read all four books last summer in like a week). But I don't care! I just wanted to experience the world of Edward again...maybe because it is so much more exciting than my own life, who knows! So, I bought Twilight on CD and listened to it all the way up to Provo and all the way back. But the book is longer than that drive so for the past week I've had it in my car on the way to anywhere I go! And I have found myself actually driving slower because I want to listen to even just one extra minute. Or I get excited when I miss a light and have to wait for it to turn green again. I am a sick, sick person!

But now, I have come to the end of Twilight, yet again, and of course I am left wanting MORE! UGH!!! So, I have quite the predicament...do I buy New Moon on CD too and keep the spirit of Twilight alive within the confines of my car? or do I bite (no pun intended) the bullet and buy the books? (The first time I read them, I just borrowed them) But I have a feeling that this time, still won't be the last time I dive into the world of Edward. I guess if this is one of the most difficult decisions I have to make today, I am doing pretty good.

R.O.U.S.'s

Ok, so as I've mentioned before, we have a Chinese foreign exchange student living with us and the other day we were talking about all the classic movies we used to watch repeatedly as kids and the two that came up with the most vigor were Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Princess Bride. Well, it also surfaced that even though we, as kids, watched those two movies more times than any one person could count, my dad had NEVER seen them! Blasphemy! I know! And obviously Sylvia (FES) hadn't ever seen them either, so we decided to watch the Princess Bride first. Well, it gets to the part about the Fire Swamp and the R.O.U.S.'s attack and Sylvia is hiding under a blanket scared (she's 16...I don't get it.) Anyway, it made me start thinking about how odd it was that she was afraid...not because she is 16 and afraid of fake rodents of unusual size, but because when I lived in China there really were R.O.U.S.'s!!! Ok, they weren't the size of large dogs, but the were the size of large cats.

Well, then, that week I wrote Kelli, (my sister on a mission) and told her how we watched Princess Bride. And she responded with a story about how there are R.O.U.S.'s in Louisiana called neutra-rats. And I thought, "how many places could these creatures possibly inhabit?" Well, I really didn't spend much time past that thinking about it....until today!! I have an old roommate, Jenny, who I keep in contact with through blogs (imagine that!) And I read the FUNNIEST post on her blog today about how they had a mutant squirrel living in their attic. (If you have time, you should read it...the link is further down on the right under Scot and Jenny...funny stuff) Anyway, so I was wondering if the concept of R.O.U.S.'s is more common than I thought. So, please, if you have had an experience with a R.O.U.S of any kind, share your tale here! (that is assuming anyone actually reads this...)

Laugh for the Day!

You are on the bus when you suddenly realize ... you need to fart.

The music is really loud, so you time your gas passing with the beat. After a couple of songs, you start to feel better as you approach your stop. As you are leaving the bus, people are really staring you down, and that's when you realize, you have been listening to your ipod.

What can you say to that?!?!

Today has been a very interesting day. Well, I guess that would be one way you could put it. Over the past few months there have been some murky areas as far as job security goes with my company. When I started working here in September there were 21 full-time salary or hourly employees. Since then, 12 people have been laid off, one person has quit and there have been two pay cuts, I was only included in one of those pay cuts (the one that happened today when they laid off three more people and EVERYONE took a pay cut). Fortunately, mine was the lowest of everyone, which I guess makes sense because I am one of the people making the very least. So, on one hand there is a lot of irritation and anxiety going around in the office today, but I guess there is also a lot for me to be grateful for. I mean, I still have a job, and a large reason for that is because I'm on the bottom of the pay totem poll, plus, I took a very small pay cut, compared to many others who are being cut thousands of dollars.

I guess my main frustration comes from feeling like I wasn't being paid what I'm worth in the first place and then when the CEO came to talk to me to tell me I need to take "x" amount of a pay cut, he then asked me, "is that ok?".... What can you say to that? "Oh, gee, I'm super duper excited to take it for the team!" So, I just looked at him like that was the dumbest question of all time. And he just waited there for me to respond. I guess he didn't get that no answer was an answer. So finally, I said, "Does it matter? I mean, I'm getting the cut either way, right?" And that's basically what it came down to. And he was just trying to be the "I care about you" boss, but didn't realize that I would answer honestly. But that is a whole different story. So for now, I am bummed that there was any pay cut at all, but I am even more grateful that I had a very minimal cut and that I have a job at all right now.

Looking Up!

Ok, so most of the time (especially lately) my life has been a bit of the "day in, day out" routine. I mean the most that would distinguish one day from the next would be which tv show was on that night. But recently I made a friend who is very motivational. Have you ever met someone and thought, "I can't wait to really get to know this person!" And you know there is something more to them? (ok, that sounds really corny, but hopefully you know what I mean.) Anyway, that's how this person has turned out to be. And it is a breath of fresh air. I started to feel like most of the people in St. George were walking clones, but it's nice to know there is still diversity out there (even in St. George). So, even if it is just something small, like meeting a new friend, it is good to have something that makes life a little more exciting and I must say that things are looking up!

New Year's Resolution Rant and Rave...

Ok, so I've never understood the point of a New Year's Resolution. I don't mean to offend anyone who lives by them, but honestly I don't know why someone needs to wait for the beginning of a new year to set a goal. Seriously, what happens that makes January 1st so much more motivating than a day like July 18th or October 2nd, or any other day for that matter? At least in my experience, there isn't anything that changes with a new year except my age; I still go to work, school, church, etc. the same as before.... And I guess I just think they are kind of pointless because everyone sets them and then does it for a little bit and then it fizzles out, but it's almost like if you make a New Year's Resolution and then quit, it's ok because "everyone" does it and it's become a joke almost. Ok, I know this is totally pointless, and very ramblish, but it was just something I was thinking about. I guess I need to just talk to someone who really believes in them to try to see their view. But really, I think it would be cool if there were days about every 6-8 weeks that were more motivational than any other day by some freak act of nature. Maybe that's why people invented holidays. Ok, I need to shut up....rambling queen, that's me.

The Host

Ok, so this last weekend I had a couple days off of work and so I finally got to snuggle up with the book I've been dying to read, "The Host" by Stephanie Meyer. (Yes, the same author of the Twilight Series.) And I have to be honest, it took me a long time to really get into the book. I mean, it was interesting enough, but kind of like, "Ok, when are you going to give me the good juicy stuff?!?!" Well, I'm so glad I didn't quit reading because I LOVED the end! Seriously, the last 3 or 4 chapters make the whole rest of the book worth it, plus they make the rest of the book fit into place better. So, I would recommend it to others and I would tell you to just hang in there and keep reading. It's worth it...promise.