Lately, I've Been Having Quite a Bit of This...

New favorite ice cream. It's probably time to head to the gym. :)

10 Things I've Gotten Really Good At In College

I've been reflecting on the skills (valuable and not-so valuable) I've acquired as a result of going to college.

1. Taking naps - I never really could nap before BYU. It always seemed like a waste of the day, or boring, or frustrating when I still wasn't asleep after 20 minutes, or whatever. Now? I relish the idea of curling up with a soft blanket in a quiet, dark room, and taking a BREAK from HW or social drama. I. Love. Naps.

2. Cranking out papers - I'm actually not a terrible procrastinator, I just never seem to have time to write papers until one to two nights before they're due! As a result, I have gotten REALLY good at writing papers under a time crunch. Just give me a few hours and some good snacks.

3. Baking brownies - I have found my perfect fudginess level. I cook brownies in an 8x8 for 75% of the time the box recommends. I take it out when it's barely done, so it's super fudgy and warm. I love to eat them with ice cream - yummy melty goodness!

4. Sleeping in public - Some people are uncomfortable doing this, but I learned to get over that freshman year when I would stay up till 4 and still have 8 o'clock class. My favorite haunt is the memorial hall. I've also slept on the couches in the women's bathroom, or on benches in the HFAC, or on the floor of the library behind a random bookshelf...you get the idea.

5. Sight-reading - I wasn't the best sight-reader in high school, but I got a lot better after I went to college. It must have been because I was absolutely on my own piano-wise...no more teachers writing in the notes for me, haha!

6. Hiding feelings - College is great, but life gives you some hard knocks sometimes! You learn to have a thick skin, smile, and bear it. I'll admit this isn't always the best thing to do, but it comes in handy sometimes. My thought process is that I can always fix my feelings on my own time, so I don't have to burden someone else by being angsty. Right?

7. Saying "no thanks." - I've learned that you don't have to do everything everyone wants you to! Liberating. Although it's still a good idea to be helpful.

8. Understanding sports - I didn't "get" football or basketball until I started going to the games at the Y. That's the power of the wasatch for ya! GO COUGS! :)

9. Being patient - I'm still a pretty impatient person, but I've learned a couple of important lessons during my time here at the Y. Life's more fun if you are okay with waiting, and it's much happier if you can rejoice in other people's successes.

10. LAUGHING - My life is awesome. :) I have hilarious friends, and I've had such a fun college career. I am a lucky girl.

A Mitch Hedberg quote to part: "I want to get a vending machine, with fun sized candy bars, and the glass in front is a magnifying glass. You'll be mad, but it will be too late."

Haha. :)

This Made Me Laugh

Press this in dire circumstances. If you like Star Wars. And have seen Episode III.

Anthropologie = Agony

My outfits are pretty simple. Jeans, typically solid-colored top, a cardigan and vans. Maybe a decorative belt or a couple of bracelets if I'm feeling up to the weight on my wrists. I LOVE accessories, but usually only wear diamond stud earrings! Ironic, no?

However, I absolutely adore putting pieces that I DON'T own together. I think I have better taste than my budget allows. For example, I'm obsessed with this anthropologie dress. Look at the bike pattern! Adorable! I'd pair it with an emerald green cardigan and orange cuff bracelet.

That is, if I had $158 to spare. Cough.

Melinda's Media Musings

Hello family! I'm doing a media blog for a class assignment. I have to post twice a week about media that I have been exposed to, its effect on me, etc. The URL (what does URL mean, anyway?) is www.moviemelinda.blogspot.com.

This week I blogged about my current favorite Mormon message and the cupcake blogs that keep me occupied for at least an hour a week. Check it out!

Also, you might enjoy this video about how media has changed our world. Two minutes long, and some pretty crazy stats.

A Psalm of Life

This is my favorite poem. The first stanza sounds kind of trite, but it weaves itself into significant counsel. I especially love the last four lines - they've been something of a motto to me lately, one I hope to live better by in the future. The past was good, the present is good, the future will still be good! :)



Photograph by Peter Lik - see his amazing pictures here.

A PSALM OF LIFE

WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN SAID TO THE PSALMIST

TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream ! —
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way ;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle !
Be a hero in the strife !

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God o'erhead !

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Happy Monday! :)

I Need a Hero

Christmas break means a few things for me. First, it means sleeping in until 10 daily. Blessed Utah time and catching up on all the sleep forfeited at college. Secondly, PILES of goody plates from generous neighbors that I just can't resist partaking of (I mean, really, what's the point of hurting their feelings? It's Christmas!). This last one leads to half-hearted exercise attempts (such as Yoga or Just Dance). Moving on! Christmas break also means dentist appointments (yick) since I don't have a dentist in Utah. Not looking forward to that one.

Christmas break means board games, late nights, delicious food, fun with family, and everything lovely. But I just want to pay homage to one essential aspect of my Christmas break: Austen movies.

That's right, we Cummings girls are die-hard fans of all things Jane Austen. With 9 of us in the family, are you even surprised? We are not ashamed! It's not like the Austen books are life-changing or significant, but they're entertaining and (at times) very clever. For my part, I enjoy the movie adaptations more than reading the books. And believe me, I've seen a few! I just thought it would be entertaining to post an analysis of what Jane Austen thought made the perfect man (based on her leading male characters), as well as what makes the most vile carrier of a Y-chromosome. Here goes!



Edmund Bertram, "Mansfield Park." Edmund is handsome, serious, honest, and intelligent. He's studying to be a clergyman (about the only clergyman portrayed positively in Jane Austen's books! More on that later). He has a passionate nature but is terribly bent on preserving family honor. He's prone to burying his feelings. "Tenacious willpower!"



George Knightley, "Emma." Okay, he's a favourite (trying to use the British spelling here). Extremely rational, brutally honest, not unhandsome, a defender of justice! A trifle older, but you'd never feel that when in his company. How convenient.



Henry Tilney, "Northanger Abbey." Handsome, playful, loyal to a fault! Gives up his fortune to be with Miss Catherine Morland. Also a clergyman, which makes me think I must be wrong about Jane Austen's disdain for clergymen...we'll get to that. Tilney is always cracking jokes, which makes me think he's the one I'd be most likely to fall for when...I mean if...I were to travel back to that time. Sigh!



Fitzwilliam Darcy, "Pride and Prejudice." Wow, this picture is hilarious! The google search "Darcy" brought up millions of pictures (Duh, he's everyone's favorite) but this one was too good to pass up. Darcy's proud, clever, rich, sarcastic, but passionate. He comes around. :) Who doesn't like knowing they've singlehandedly changed a man's life? Lucky Lizzy.



Severus Snape, "Harry Potter." Whoops, sorry, make that Colonel (Cristopher?) Brandon of "Sense and Sensibility." Older! Well-established. Protective. Future death eater.



Edward Ferrars, "Sense and Sensibility." Aww...who wouldn't love that boyish grin? Edward is shy and awkward but winningly sweet. Gives up his fortune and family to follow true love. A real winner!



Captain No-name Wentworth, "Persuasion." Dashing, obviously. Made his own fortune. Defiant at times, but a true romantic?

So obviously, the perfect man is either grossly rich or gives up his fortune for love of you. He's clever, playful, handsome (duh), affectionate, and loyal. Good luck in your search.

By the way, watch out for these creepers.





(Of course I don't mean Mr. Knightley!)