Suave Suitors of the Silver Screen

Celeste and I had an interesting discussion the other day. If forced to pick a soulmate from the silver screen (we're talking the classics, now, like, only TCM films), which would ye choose???

Well, Rylee Tallulah Carling would choose Cary Grant. :)



Whew! So dashing. I'd probably pick Jimmy Stewart. He served in WWII and never cheated on his wife. Although, I do have a permanent old-man-image stuck in my head when I think of him. I probably can blame that on Mr. Krueger's Christmas.



Who did Celeste pick? Why, none other than that barrel-chested baritone...


HOWARD KEEL!

Haha okay, okay, here's a picture of him when he's younger. I just thought it was funny that the above image was the first one of Howard Keel to come up.



Danny Kaye was Celeste's close second.



Haha, love you Celeste!

5 MORE Things

Today was quite productive! :) I'm catching up on my couples therapy, which, due to several projects and papers being due at the same time, I have fallen 3+ weeks behind in the reading. No worries, in grad school you don't get graded on your reading completion. I just want to do it anyway. Wish me luck!

Anyways, here are 5 things that have been making me happy lately.

Rosemary mint shampoo. FAVORITE. It's like I'm marinating my head, yet I feel so oddly clean and refreshed after said marinade!

Speaking of refreshing. :) OJ and fresh bread after a run. Well, a walk-run.

This toasty warm yellow Norwegian snow cap. Our house gets COOOOOLD so it's been a dear friend of mine these past few days.

Indie music, like this:

(found her through Katy)

(found them on my own. I like their sound, though admittedly their videos are odd! haha)

And finally, the KING OF ALL FAKE TRAILERS.

(disclaimer: I apologize for the off-color reference regarding black widow. Sorry!) 

Much love to you all on this lovely, windy November evening. :)

5 Things

One of my favorite bloggers does frequent posts listing 5 things that are keeping her happy and inspired. I like that habit, so I've decided to do some posts like that. It's a good exercise to stay grateful! And now that I have an IPHONE, I can actually load pictures! Sweet! Goodbye, google images. Here are some things that have made me happy recently:

Steamy cocoa and cookies after an evening of raking. 

New stuffed animal to sleep with! Now dubbed, "Mr. Tickles." I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I still sleep with childishly-named stuffed animals. I just got used to the crevasse of my right arm being occupied at night!

My new bedset and turquoise curtains to keep out the 6AM sun and cold. I adore my room now. Many thanks to my loving family who gifted the bedset to me. The turquoise curtains were (of course) my doing. 

Donkey sugar cookies made by my roommate, who works for Senator Reid. I'm sorely disappointed about the election (scared about the economy and abortion), but I thought these were pretty cute. If you rub egg whites on the cookies, the sprinkles stick. Huh!

Sunset outside of my house. Ignore the power lines, I'm a terrible photographer. This was a beautiful sunset, the blurry picture doesn't do it justice. It was a tender mercy! 

Sorry about the poor quality photos, I'm trying to figure out how to blog directly from the iPhone.

Thanks to everyone for the fabulous birthday! I love you all!

The Best Quotes

I love these thoughts:

"God doesn’t care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go." ~ Elder Holland

"Some of you may wonder: Is there any future for me? What does a new year or a new semester, a new major or a new romance, a new job or a new home hold for me? Will I be safe? Will life be sound? Can I trust in the Lord and in the future? Or would it be better to look back, to go back, to stay in the past?

To all such of every generation, I call out, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11)." ~ Elder Holland

"The Lord's delays often seem long. Some last a lifetime. But they are always calculated to bless." ~ President Eyring

"Believe in good things to come." ~ Elder Holland

"Cast not away therefore they confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." ~ Hebrews 10: 35-36

The Lord gives us strength equal to our tasks if we ask Him for it. :) Have a great weekend.

I GOT TOWED

From a friend's apartment complex parking lot. Yup. Miserable, right? Well, why am I posting about it then, you may rightfully inquire. Because it, actually, WASN'T. Miserable I mean. Obviously I was bummed at the $150 I had to fork over, and kicking myself for not checking closer at the parking rules, but what was astonishing about this experience was how traumatic it WASN'T. Let me explain why.

Lately, it's been kind of a pile-up of stress and trials. I'm not gonna whine, it happens to all of us, and I'm learning to weather the storms like the amazing people that have gone before me. So you would think this would be the drop that made the cup overflow, the straw that breaks the camel's back, that last squirt of perfume that you kind of knew would be too much but sprayed on anyways and now it's too late to take back and you're overwhelming everyone around you...you get my drift. But in fact, I felt utterly amused by the whole thing. It was perfect comedic timing. I may just be in denial, who knows, I may wake up tomorrow totally ticked that it happened, but right now, I feel like shrugging, laughing, throwing back my head and mispronouncing "se la vi" are my honest reactions! This confused me.

But I'm grateful. :) Because I wouldn't want to deal with the stress of caring about being towed right now. So what, I got towed once, I know better for next time. And I even learned a lesson.

I was taking the offensive with the tow guy, using Dad's United Airlines voice, ya know? But then I realized, this guy has an all-night tow job, probably low-wage, and the only calls he ever gets are people who are furious at him/blaming him. I softened and tried to be more courteous. I had a dozen or so flashbacks of people being rude/impatient in DC and realized, I don't want to be that person. I want to be polite! (Not that Dad isn't - he's my hero, honestly, and I've learned some good lessons from him). But it really wasn't this tow guy's fault. Once I softened, we had a pretty good conversation. Soooooo it was a good day. :)

How Do You Gain Your Energy?

image via

In undergrad, part of my program involved studying personality types. I liked this unit. There were a few different definitions of extravert versus introvert (welcome to the world of social science - every term has like 5 varying definitions), but the one I found most intriguing had to do with how we gain our energy.

Do you gain energy from being at home, having time to read a good book, taking a solitary walk? According to social scientists, you would be labeled generally introverted. 

Or...

Do you gain energy from being around people, from exchanging conversation, making connections in a crowd? (Extroverted). 

In reality, no one is exclusively one category or the other. We all like conversation, just like we all at times enjoy curling up with a good book for some personal and quiet time. But, in general, how would you say you gain the most energy?

I am extroverted. Period. I get so, so, SO sluggish if I'm just sitting around by myself all day. If I don't have human interaction, I mean the kind where I can make people laugh and vice versa, it's hard for me to maintain motivation in other areas of my life. It's good to know this at this point in my life. It's been tough lately, so when I get really down I know I need to work harder to be around other people.

So, I've (hopefully tactfully) been asking if I could come to other people's parties. :) And you know what, as soon as I'm around those other people, I feel better, lighter, more energized. It's amazing. I NEED people. This is as much a bad thing as a good thing, of course. Some days require you to be at home alone all day, whether that be illness or a term paper, etc. And our worth shouldn't depend on the attention we get in a crowd, right? But I just can't help liking groups more than solitude. 

Blessings of today that go along with that: My sweet visiting teacher invited me last night to a "Family Storm Evening" which was a blast. In addition, I had a great conversation with my roommate, watched Titanic with Celeste (hysterical - don't worry, we skipped the bad sketchy sketches), and ran into some people from the ward. Heavenly Father is looking out for us! I believe He gives us what we need. :) May your day be joyful!

Back To The Basics...

It's time to start documenting the happy things that happen to me again. :) Mostly for my benefit, though if you read this hopefully it'll bouy you up to, maybe by reminding you of similar things you've been blessed with today!

Celeste and I played for a musical fireside tonight. It was such a great experience. Celeste had learned the piece by ear like two days earlier, and she played it flawlessly. I felt a strength and connection pulsing through us, I know it was the Spirit. We've never played better together! Definitely a wonderful, warm feeling. Funny note: An investigator also performed, playing an amazing song that he wrote! More John Legend than Mormon, but we needed that pick-me-up!!!

My parents gave me a flashlight. With the approach of FRANKENSTORM, I feel very grateful for that.

I have amazing Visiting Teachers who laugh with me about everything!

I have delicious candies to eat during the storm. Hmm, I may need to buy some real food and non-perishables.

I've gotten mixed messages on whether MY school is canceled or not, buuuuuut...the nice thing is everybody else's is, so, no school traffic!

I learned a lot of things in church today, especially about asking for understanding from the Lord "with an honest heart." (D&C 8). So the Lord really does want to hear how we're TRULY feeling, not just what we should be feeling. And if we ask in faith, He will give us understanding about our circumstances. The Lord gives us what we need to be happy now, if we will but recognize it.

I'm learning lots! Love you all family! Hope you have a safe day tomorrow.