Lovely Lynsey

blogging 3 times in one day. This will never happen again.

2012-02-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

Today I bought my ticket to Hawaii.

Best $427.32 cents I've ever spend.

I'm also drooling over this swimsuit but can't justify with it being $61.00.

I've had my eye on it since December. It went down in price once. This suit it too perfect. I have to have it. Maybe I'll start selling plasma to justify it being almost $100.00.

Oldies

2012-02-15T19:44:00.000-08:00

Speaking of my voice being lost...

This is actually the first time in my life I've been without.

I was using my dad's computer tonight, and I found some really old pictures.

Back in 8th grade, I had my tonsils out.

I was that awkward kid that had a strange, strange voice growing up. I'm sure people thought it was a speech impediment. But really, it was because my tonsils were so dang huge. Really, like meatballs living in my mouth all day and night.

It was time I had them removed.

I was ecstatic. I've never had anything wrong with me. I've always wanted a broken, sprained, or bruised something, but never got it. I thought that by having my tonsils out I would definitely lose my voice and everyone would cater to the no-voice girl.

In fact, I even made a scrapbook of the tonsil-removal event.

Here are the ones I found.

I know you don't care. But I do.

So here:

I woke up from the surgery and guess what.

My voice was still very much intact.

I was ticked.

All that hope for nothing.

And I couldn't even take the tonsils home to show people.

The one good thing from that surgery was my voice changed so something a little more normal.

Puberty. For an 8th grade girl.

Like mentioned earlier, being on my dad's computer, I also found some disgusting pictures from 2 years ago when I graduated from BYU-Idaho.

I'm proud to say I'm 30 lbs. lighter.

I now know why I got out of that school single.

Sometimes you want to blame the fat pictures on the camera. But 2 years later, there's no denying it.

I'm still not satisfied with how I look. I mean, I'm 5'2". There's not a lot of room for the extra stuff to go. This is good motivation to get rid of that extra 15 lbs. hanging out. It's good motivation for Hawaii, too.

Valentines

2012-02-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

I love Valentine's Day.

There's nothing like walking into a store and seeing hearts and red and pink everywhere.

It's a good feeling.

It's even more fun being a teacher when it comes to V-day. The kids go crazy exchanging valentines and decorating their boxes to put the valentines in. I love it. I couldn't stop smiling all day yesterday. (OK I lied.. they did get a little crazy where I had to growl a few times.) But we're good.

They brought me flowers, and candy galore. It was like Teacher Appreciation Week all over.

I remember Valentines Day in elementary school. I would get so nervous as to which power ranger or super hero valentine I should give the boy of my dreams. Ben was his name for most of my elementary career. Ben Hopkins. I have never loved someone so much. Until 6th grade when Brandon Barton came along. He was dreamy, too. We never talked. Really I was pretty ugly and awkward in elementary school. I didn't really ever talk in school until I was a senior in high school.

This week I've been pretty sick. My voice is scarce, but I needed to be at school. I love the lessons I have planned this week. I told my kids about my idol, Ashley who is the most perfect woman on this planet. To make a long story short, she got her wisdom teeth out, had a little mishap, and lost her voice in the process. She was worried that without a voice, her 6th graders would be out of control. They weren't. She whispered to them, and they whispered back. I told my class that story and basically it went in one ear and out the other. I have to use a whistle to get all their attention. So today, after waking up to chills and no voice and a sore throat, I threw in the towel. It's probably a good thing since they'll all have a sugar high anyway. I just hope the sub gives the lesson on multiplication they way I want it. I love teaching multiplication. It's a lot better than teaching area of a triangle. I'm still having nightmares about all of that. I hate geometry.

And what did I do to celebrate love? Went to institute of course. Dating and Courtship to be more specific. Yes, pathetic. I know.

Because I can

2012-02-11T07:22:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about being a teacher is that I get a whole week off of school for Spring Break.

I told my class last week that there are 2 types of people that you should know in this world:

1- People who have boats

2- People who have connections.

Knowing people with those two things has made my last 23 and 3/4 years of life really great.

One of my friends from the education program is Hawaiian (so jealous. I wish I was polynesian). Her family has a house in Hawaii. She suggested we go there for our week off.

I thought to myself, "Why in the heck wouldn't I go?"

I deserve a big fat vacation. And I'm going to take this vacation. Because I can.

I've already purchased 2 swimsuits. I plan on buying a few more. I don't plan on ever changing out of my swimsuit. I also don't plan on ever leaving the beach. I'm going to sit on the North Shore beaches (Waimea Bay, preferably with all the meat heads that jump off that huge rock) and just sit and read young adult fiction all day. Because I can.

Teacher Appreciation Week

2012-02-06T21:09:00.000-08:00

My love language is words of affirmation.

I have to be told how wonderful and great I am on a daily basis by multiple people.

Most days though, I'm not told that.

In fact, if you read a few posts ago, you'll see that some of my students think I'm the worst thing to ever walk the planet because I have consequences for their actions.

Is it wrong to be someone who just wants to be liked?

I hate it when someone is upset with me or I have offended them (which I do often). I'm sensitive and just want everyone to be happy. This is probably one of the contributing factors to why I'm almost 24 and not married.

Speaking of 24, I'm just sick thinking of those 2 digits describing my age.

Utah Baby Names part 204

2012-01-30T21:22:00.000-08:00

Newest baby name I found out today...

Axxton.

Yes. 2 x's.

Oh bless his soul.

Really, what were those parents thinking?

Well they weren't. That's the thing. Oh Utah, when will your crazy names and even more crazy spellings come to an end. Ok, Ok we all get it. You want to be super creative and original. But really, you've just created a lifetime of hurt for that baby that's fresh from heaven.

Axxton doesn't even sound real. Ahuman can't be named something like that. It sounds more like the name of a pillow, a type of cologne, or like Demi Moore's ex-husband. Yeah, he was kind of being an Axxton for what he did.

Can you imagine the ridicule that will begin in 3rd grade when his classmates shorten his name?

You know what kids are going to say... I'll give you a hint. It's another name for a donkey.

Dating and Courtship

2012-01-24T20:45:00.000-08:00

My life kind of ends at 4:00 each day, so I've decided it would be a good idea to fill up my nights by taking institute classes at the Orem Institute of Religion.

Make fun all you want.

I thought it would be fun to take a dating and courtship class, because let's face it. We all like to hear about other people's problems with dating. After going to this class, I was reminded of why I'm happy I'm no longer in school.

There's always that one obnoxious person that never stops talking. We all groan every time we hear the teacher call on them. Well, this class definitely has its obnoxious ones- a boy (with an ipad of course) and a girl (with a waterbottle of course).

The boy obviously has been turned down a lot by girls.

I feel for him.

It hurts to not have someone like you.

But, I don't think he realized that his stories actually made him sound pitiful.

Example: "Instead of asking a girl out on a date, I think I'm going to be more specific and say, 'Hey, do you want to go get ice cream with me?'"

Poor kid. He's going to get the same answer no matter how he addresses it.

Also, he kept quoting lines from The Single's Ward movie and trying to pass them off as his own.

I was ticked.

That's my favorite movie of all time. I know it front and back up and down.

His comment: "You know, I think a lot of people just want to, ya know, carpool up to the celestial kingdom. You know, like share the ride."

And the class laughed. Like he was ultra clever.

Even more ticked.

The girl- well she just never shut up and claimed to be the dating expert.

You know, like telling us what girls like and what boys like.

I hate people like that.

No one is a dating expert.

Hence why we're all in the same boat...

She did make one comment though that made me smile, "I know I'm special 'cause God don't make no junk." Bless her.

I made a comment about how people need to have high standards. Just because they're a returned missionary or have been "going" to church their whole life doesn't mean anything. This is both for boys and girls- it matters on if they have high standards and keep those high standards.

Then all of a sudden my comment backfired and everyone thought I meant that you don't have to date a returned missionary... oh boy. That's why I've never talked in school my entire life.

I'm in the class to grow and learn, not to date. But I'm finding more and more that that's not exactly what Institute classes are for. It's a little bit frustrating.

I hate the awkwardness of this whole young single adult life.

I'm no prude. But, I kind of just want it to be the Millennium.

A Great Day

2012-01-24T13:33:00.000-08:00

My entire life, I've always wanted people to like me.

Not love me or think I'm the greatest-- just someone who is a good person.

I hate when I find out that someone doesn't like me in one way or another.

In fact, it makes me sick.

I'm a fairly sensitive person in every aspect of the word, so the following story of course doesn't help my case.

Parent Conferences are coming up at school.

I had each of the students fill out a questionnaire of how this year is going so far.

One student decided to answer the following questions like so:

Some words to describe this year: Stressful, nonhappy, funless, horrible.

My least favorite thing about 5th grade: My teacher

Something else I want you to know about 5th grade: IT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!

A special not for you: I hate my life!!

Ok, Ok I get the point. He hates my guts.

But still, I sobbed over reading this.

I can't please them all, but I thought I was doing a fairly decent job.

I guess not.

My whole life I've wanted to be a teacher. I thought life would be perfect. I teach, the kids love me.

I'm realizing more and more that "Love" isn't what they all are feeling.

It kind of hurts my heart a little.

Just another single's ward gem.

2012-01-10T18:01:00.000-08:00

Poking fun at my single's ward used to be a regular occurrence.

But these days, I feel like the biggest hypocrite making fun of it.

Why?

Well, let's see. I have a full-time real person job, and am pushing on 2 years of living at home and have no plans of moving out anytime soon. Go ahead, stamp a big "L" on my forehead. Maybe I should start saying something to make me sound cool like, "Well, yeah I'm living at home because I'm planning on buying a condo." Or, "I could move out, I just am taking care of my elderly parents."

Either one works.

But really, the real reason behind this all is, I lived outside of the house for 4 1/2 years and had way too many crazy roommates. I'm sick of living with people that I know and don't know. When you live with people you know, you fight and find out that they are a total slob that never do the dishes. And when you live with people you don't know, you think, "Who would ever want to live with you? You're awful." I don't get how people can stand to live in cluttered messes. I don't understand why people don't make their bed every morning. I don't understand why people have to watch television all day long. I don't understand why people can be comfortable with hair in the shower drain. I don't understand why no one ever contributes to buying things to keep the apartment clean: soap, laundry soap, windex, etc.

I just don't understand roommates. And that is why I choose to live with my parents.

Roommates: Been there. Done that.

Really, I could write a book about all my roommates.

But I will blame myself a little bit. I have never had a sister. And after living with roommates, I've decided that me having a sister just wouldn't work out very well.

Last night at FHE, I sat behind a young gent who was working on this little project:

He's just prepping for when we become gods and start creating worlds. NBD.

It's a sketch and description of the planet Kinaval.

Here's some information he wrote about about Kinaval:

This planet is famous for seven moons. Legend says that there was a comet that struck the planets and that's how it emerged from its depths. Before the comet it used to be 30% bigger.

Status: Beaming

Inhabitants: 4.1 billion

Anyone who basks in its rays for 5 minutes for that time gains incredible wisdom. The people formed a cult to protest the power from falling into unworthy hands. The priests go out and find one person worthy to receive the blessings. This choice is made very carefully.

I was dying.

His whole book is full of planets.

So creative. Yet so strange.

This is why I'm never leaving this place.

Resolutions

2012-01-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not one who normally does New Year's Resolutions, because I basically am always "resoluting" to something new almost weekly.

When I first started teaching in August, I was still training for the marathon, so I needed to work out more. I decided that getting up at 4:45 would be what I needed to do. So I did it. For about 2 weeks. Then every morning after that for the next 4 months, I would set my alarm for 4:45, but wouldn't get up until 6:40.

It's the thought that counts, right?

But when January 1 rolled around and I couldn't remember when the last time I went to the gym was, I knew things had to change. Especially if I am running a half marathon in 2 weeks.

So, change it is.

I am proud to announce that I have gotten up at 4:45 the last 3 mornings.

It feels so nice to have that task crossed off my "to-do list" at the beginning of the day.

Also, for New Year's Resolutions, I'm not going to buy new clothes until April.

This is a hard thing for me, because I love clothes, but decided after going to the mall way too many times over Christmas Break that the buying of clothes must stop. I need to give some TLC to the clothes I already have. We'll see if this resolution can even last 1 month.

Here's some things I'm currently dying over:

Christmas Past

2012-01-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

I saw this today on my new favorite site, Iwastesomuchtime.com and had a little LOL moment with myself.

Why is it so funny to me?

Well, when I was 17, the only thing I wanted for Christmas was a cell phone.

My parents kept telling me over and over again, that I would not be getting one.

Well, I opened all my presents on Christmas morning, just hoping that with each present I opened, one of them would turn into the beloved cell phone.

The presents slowly diminished, and I was starting to lose hope.

Then, my dad announced that there was one more present that still needed opening.

"Alas!" I thought to myself. Instantly I thought of Ralphie from A Christmas Story and his Red Rider Gun. I quickly opened the present and found this:

I cried.
I cried even more when my dad said, "We can easily activate it with Verizon."
My brothers were recording me and all of my ridiculousness.
Then finally, after letting me make of fool out of my 17-year-old self, my dad brought out the real phone.
I felt like such a spoiled brat.
I guess my only excuse is, I'm the youngest. And I'm the only girl. I think those two alone give me all the room I want to pout and be a baby when I don't get what I want.
Kidding. Kind of.

Also, this was our family Christmas card photo from this year.
I hate my mom for putting this picture on there.
I think it's symbolic of how I am in the family. The oddball unmarried.

Great minds think alike

2011-12-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

I guess the love of stripes runs in the family.

Actually, the fact that I wear stripes on a daily basis is making me sick.

So sick, that I compromised buying an overpriced shirt from J Crew the other day, just because I liked it and it didn't have any stripes.

Speaking of stripes, I swear they are the only things in stores these days. I hate it. What am I going to do when they are out of style?

Also, since I'm on the subject of shopping... I just have to say, Fashion Place Mall is the only mall in Utah worth shopping at. It's close, and it has everything. I feel so satisfied every time I go there.

When H&M opened in November, I felt like I was the only person in Utah that didn't go to the pre-screening party (or whatever it's called) and the only person that didn't wait in line to go there that weekend. I felt kind of left out.

But really, after visiting the store a couple times now after the craziness has kind of died down, I have to say, It's not all it's hyped up to be. It's actually really disappointing. In fact, I would much rather drive to the one in Las Vegas, than go to that one. There. I said it.

Christmas Break

2011-12-20T15:44:00.000-08:00

Since Christmas Break started last Friday, I really haven't done much of anything besides sleeping.

It feels so nice to sleep until 10. Do something for a few hours, then go back to get for a nice loooooong afternoon nap.

I never want this break to end.

Don't miss it

2011-12-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

From the Fall of 2008, to the Spring of 2010, I lived in Rexburg, Idaho.

I went there because I felt it was my calling in life to attend school there.

3 years later, and I'm still trying to figure out that revelation.

I'll admit. I loved BYU-Idaho for about 3 months. After that, I wanted out of that town.

I still don't know how I survived that place.

And I still don't understand how anyone can go to school there.

It's full of 18-year-old girls and 21-year-old marriage hungry males that only want a ripe young 18-year-old that's fertile mertile. I missed the cut when I went there- I was 20. I think the only dates I went on were pity dates... because I was so bitter being there. The dates never went anywhere because I was in the range of 20-21 and wasn't planning on going on a mission. Returned missionary girls are the newest hottest things. Kind of like feathers extensions in your hair. Or eyelash extensions. Or bedazzled jeans. Or TOMS (is this phase ever going to stop? I hate TOMS and I hate seeing my mom and her friends wearing them. It's too much.)

I'm starting to sound like a spinster that hates every one.

That's not true.

I'm not a spinster.

But I did hate BYU-Idaho and don't recommend it to anyone.

My boyf's sister wants to go there. I try to talk her out of it. But she's really excited. Probably because she's 18 and will be married by December of next year.

But really, it's not only awful because of the dating scene, it's awful because there is nothing to do, it's waaaaay too cold. Like, "I can't believe I'm actually living in a town this cold" cold. The roads don't get plowed. The cost of living is astronomically high for such a small town, it's in the middle of nowhere, the school has you take the craziest classes for generals... and they don't transfer if you plan on going to a different school. That's just the beginning of my list.

Back to the point of this post.

I go to institute on Wednesday nights at UVU. The UVU Institute is the breeding grounds for marriage.

My class isn't a marriage class or anything close to that, but somehow, every lesson has to do with marriage. It's quite obnoxious really. The teacher will just stop in the middle of his lesson- most times a really spiritual part, and say, "Oh Mary... I see you are sitting next to Johnny. Have you two met each other yet? She's a really great gal, Johnny. I think you should ask for her number..." Not joking.

Anyway, during the good news part of class, a girl raises her hand and says,

"Well, I thought I didn't get accepted to BYU-Idaho..." Pause. Doesn't EVERYONE get accepted there?

Anyway...

Then she says, "But, it turns out, a week later after I got the denial letter, I got an acceptance letter." I move there in 2 weeks!

She was ecstatic. In a way, I wanted to be happy for her, but I just couldn't do it.

In my ward, there are tons of kids that are either coming or going between BYU-Idaho. I don't know how they do it. I'm still shocked that I went there for 2 years.

If someone were to ask me, "Would you ever do it again?" My answer would be no. Not ever. Not even if my husband's job was there. I wouldn't move there for all the tea in china.

Amen.

P.S. Bre. I hope you're not offended. I like you. Actually, you're the best thing that has come from Rexburg. You're great!

The Babies

2011-11-29T20:25:00.000-08:00

I think I'm going through a pre-midlife crisis this week.

I am sick just thinking about how kids that were born in 1993, are now in college and in my single's ward.

Doesn't it make you sick?

I babysat these kids. Now here they are in my classes (institute is my only class, but you catch my drift), and in my single's ward.

I hate seeing them grow up, driving cars, and adding me as friends on facebook.

In my mind they're still the 8-year-old that worshipped me and my babysitter's bag that I toted around.

Now here they are in my same field as a young single adult.

I hate getting old.

Teacher of the Year

2011-11-22T20:35:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I officially hit my wall as a teacher.

I need rejuvenation and a really long break.

Luckily, I only had to teach Monday and Tuesday this week.

It really hasn't been that difficult of a week, either.

Yesterday we ate candy and watched Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Actually, funny story about the candy. All during the month of November the reward system I've been using is "Turkey Bucks". For every good deed I catch them doing, they get a buck. Then, at the end of the month we have a movie party. Along with the movie, we had a little store in our classroom. They could buy candy, popcorn and drinks with their money, too. Now, being the cheap teacher that I am, I asked for donations of candy. I told the kids that I would pay them in "Turkey Bucks" for the treats they bring. Then they have to buy the treats back from me. Sounds fair, right? Luckily no parents e-mailed me about how dumb my idea was.

Well, to my surprise I had a lot of donations. Good ones, too. Like huge Costco size bags of candy. Of course I had tons a leftovers. So naturally, the kids asked for their candy back. But I kindly replied, "I'm sorry, I have already paid you for the candy, it's now a classroom donation. Thanks." I feel so mean and harsh. Should I have given the candy back? I mean, candy is so expensive. I hate buying it. But now, I won't have to for the whole rest of the school year. My conscience (and mom) is (are) telling me to return the candy back to the kids. What would you do?

Then today in celebration of Thanksgiving, and because we are learning about early colonization in social studies, we did rotations with all the other 5th grade classes and learned about the first thanksgiving. After lunch, the whole 5th grade came to one classroom and watched a movie about the Mayflower. By the time the movie started, I could barely keep my eyes open. So I went and took a little cat nap on my chair. Little did I know, I had 130 sets of eyes watching me sleep. I also had 3 co-workers who thought it would be fun to take pictures and put a pilgrim hat on top of my head.

The kids were dying. They thought it was the funniest thing they've ever seen. I think kids secretly think teachers are robots with no homes, no emotions, no family, etc. Because after I woke up, I had about a million kids ask me, "Miss Leiter, why were you sleeping?" I would kindly reply, "Because I was tired. Why else would I sleep?"

Here's a picture with my outstanding award:

Today I am thankful for Thanksgiving Break. My break will consist of 2 things. Reading and sleeping.

I am currently reading 4 books right now. I'm hoping I can finish them all by the end of the break.

1- Matched

2- Diary of a Wimpy Kid- Cabin Fever (I am obsessed with these books. Hilarious)

3- Is everyone hanging out without me? Written by Kelly from The Office. I love it. Maybe even more than Bossypants.

4- The Help (yes, I just might be the only female on the planet that hasn't finished it yet.)

2nd Chances and other things

2011-11-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

Is it possible for people to be bad at Halloween?

You may be thinking bad as in behavior... but I'm talking about "bad" as in not good.

Well, I would consider myself truly "bad" at Halloween.

Every single year I fail.

It all started back in 1988. Money was tight so mom scrimped and clipped and tried to sew.

It never worked.

In 1996, I was Angelica from the hit show "Rugrats".

Mom sewed up a cute purple jumper. I wore pigtails and called people "dumb babies".

No one knew who I was.

I was miserable.

I guess no one at Shelley had cable?

After hours of consoling me, my mom decided that the next year she would go all out.

I was a BYU Cheerleader. She even bought my costume from the BYU Bookstore.

I think that year would be the only year out of my 23 Halloweens that was actually a success.

I forgot that enjoying Halloween is a requirement of teachers.

I remembered on the day before Halloween.

I hate spending money on costumes.

It's ridiculous.

One girl in my class claimed her mom spend $100 on hers...

Freshmen year, Rachel and I were Paris and Nicole.

We went to Ross. Bought the costumes. Then returned them the day after Halloween.

I don't feel guilty about doing that. I should though.

So this year, on the eve of Hallo, I called up my brother (he's one of those that would be in the category of actually spending money on costumes) and asked him if he had a costume for me.

Sure did.

He had a purple robe and a merlin's hat.

I was a wizard.

The kids loved it.

I did too... for about 20 minutes, then I was ready to take it off.

I was really ready to be done with it after I realized that the school's Halloween costume parade also includes the teachers parading their costumes to all the parents.... yikes. I've never sweat so much in my entire life.

Halloween's over. And I am so thrilled.

I am now making the kids listen to Christmas music whenever we are working.

My personal favorite- N'sync Pandora Station... even though they have no clue who they are.

Also, did you know 5th graders date?

Yeah. I just found that out.

During Friday's "Good News Minute", (thank you Manila 6th ward R.S. for that idea...)

one kid tells me that he got a 2nd chance with his girlfriend.

What the?

What's a 2nd chance IN FIFTH GRADE?

I should of not said anything, but I was really curious.

How do you date someone when you're 10?

So I asked, "Does your mom actually drive you two on dates?"

"Oh no, Miss Leiter, we just hang out at school."

"Do you even talk to your significant other?"

"Yeah. Sometimes. When they aren't hanging out with their friends."

I don't even know what to do about this. I laugh mostly. Apparently one kid just bought his woman a nice "diamond" necklace. I'm sure he found it on the ground or he bought in at the dollar store... but she doesn't need to know that.

They're Real!

2011-10-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

I have a love/hate relationship with Utah County Trends.

Mostly I think they're all ridiculous and I want no part in them. Especially if they have anything to do with crochet flower headbands or any type of obnoxious hair piece in someone's hair. (Like feathers...what the?)

Anyway, the newest trend is eyelash extensions.

I remember last summer, a girl I worked with told me how she had spent $50 to get extensions on her lashes. I thought that was the craziest thing ever.

Then I noticed that everyone around me was getting them. I knew I had to be part of this band wagon.

But how could I ever afford that price?

It's like $50 to get them on. And then another $40 to get them filled every 3 weeks.

I know I live at home, and I don't pay for anything, but how can people afford this?

So I decided to try the next best option.

After doing some heavy internet researching, I found some mascara that could do the trick. For a whole lot less than those ridiculous lashes.

I went to Ulta and got "They're Real" mascara by Benefit.

It's the best $22 dollars I've ever spent.

My lashes are so long and so beautiful. And so real.

I'll admit, paying that much for mascara was something I wasn't very comfortable doing.

I hate spending money on 2 things. Shoes and Makeup.

For shoes, I'll only buy them if they are $15 and under.

And for makeup, I only buy what's on sale at the grocery store.

Unless it's Christmas. Then my mom gets me some Bare Minerals from Nords.

I think I've lived in Utah County for far too long if I'm obsessing over my eyelashes. I'm actually embarrassed by my obsession. Really. I didn't even start wearing makeup until 10th grade. And even then all I wore was mascara. It wasn't until 12th grade that I started wearing eyeliner. Heaven help my poor little eyes. I had liner smeared all over my face. I looked ridiculous back in '06.

Moral of the story. I guess vanity is seeping into my system.

Plastic surgery is probably next on the agenda...

Joking. Joking.

Mom. I'm joking. I promise I'll move out soon.

One of those days

2011-10-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

It always bothers me when you ask someone how they're doing and they reply, "You know, it's just been one of those days..."

What does "one of those days" even mean?

You could take it either way.

It also bothers me when someone says, "Are you sick? You kind of don't look good." On a day that you walked out of the house thinking you were looking good. Hate it.

Every other night I go to Macey's and get some fresh bananas. There's nothing I hate more than a soft banana. It has to be perfectly yellow- without any markings on it.

So tonight, while doing the usual routine after visiting my boyf at school, I headed off to Macey's to get my fresh produce.

The girl checking me out compliments me on my cute wallet, then proceeds to ask me if I want a bag for my bananas. I told her no, because at the very moment she asked me that question, I looked at the lady behind me who was buying a big ol' box of Trojan's and some Edamame. I thought this was quite the peculiar combination of things to buy. So I just replied to the grocer, "No, I don't want a bag."

Then I came to.

"Wait. Yes. I want a bag."

She chuckles and just says to me, "It's just been one of those days, hasn't it?"

Are you kidding me?

Doesn't she know that not being able to complete sentences or make sense of my words has been "one of those days" since August?

But really. I'm a mess. I'm easily sidetracked, I can't focus, and I can't complete sentences because I can't find words.

I hope this premature version of Alzheimer's leaves quickly.

A bad case of stripes.

2011-10-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

I am convinced that most everything in my closet has stripes on it.

Really. It's disgusting. I think I wear a striped shirt every single day.

It's hard to not buy stripes. They just look so dang cute.

How many blue and white striped shirts do I have? 4.

Sweaters? 6

Long sleeve stripes? 5

Just plain ol' striped shirts? 7

Am I the only one in this world obsessed with the stripes?

The Marathon

2011-10-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

2 weeks later, and now I'm blogging about this.

So, two weeks ago I ran the St. George Marathon for the 2nd time with my dad.

I'm going to be honest, last year I trained really hard. Ran my little heart out. Did a few 18 milers and a 20 miler to prepare.

This year?

Well.......

I didn't train at all.

Really. I didn't.

I was in school all summer and I had absolutely no energy to get up and run.

What was my longest training run?

8 miles.

I really thought I would be crawling to the finish line at the 8 hour mark.

However....

Because I go to church and pay my tithes and fast offerings, I survived.

Not only did I survive, but I beat last years time by 35 minutes.

My dad was really nervous that I wouldn't make it. That made me even more nervous. I think my whole family was shocked to see me finish in the time I did because they thought I would walk to whole thing. I showed them. Also, maybe I might have a natural talent? I don't know. I'm not one who has any talents, so this would be nice if i was a natural one.

So what' the moral of my story?

Training is a waste of time.

In other news, of course I was a huge baby the day after.

I couldn't even balance on my 2 feet without almost tipping over.

It was pathetic.

I was carried everywhere.

I'll be running it again next year. I do think I'll train next time around.

Maybe.

I'm running a 1/2 in 2 weeks. I haven't excercised once since the marathon. I'm just going to keep doing what's right in the church and reap the rewards.

Speaking of talents... I just joined Pintrest (the latest craze in every female's life). I really want to be more domestic. I want to make pillows for my house and make cute sayings to put on my walls. I'm just one of those gals that starts a project and once it gets hard, I quit and never go back to it. It's just so much easier to buy something than it is to make.

Career Day and Bishops

2011-10-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

In school the past month, we have been doing a unit on careers.

For this week's assignment, the kids needed to interview someone that had a job they might be interested in when they grow up. Then, after interviewing the person, they need to come to school dressed as that person and tell the class about the job... acting as if they are the ones with the job.

Example: "Hi, I'm Cindy, and I'm a nurse at Primary's."

Most kids were reporting as the typical, "When I grow up careers", like firefighter, nurse, doctor, police officer, etc.

Then one student gets up.

He's dressed in a suit and has a very serious look on his face.

It goes like this...

"Hello, I'm Bishop Miller. What I do for work is, I'm a bishop for my church. Part of what I do for my job is listen to people and help them with their problems. My day normally consists of giving people blessings to heal them. Normally it takes 2-3 days for someone to get healed...."

I was dying.

It was so funny and so innocent.

I know it was breaking the rules of separating church and state, but come on, it's Utah County for crying out loud. We're all Mormon. Although, maybe I'm speaking too soon, Lehi is the one city in Utah County where everyone isn't a Mormon.

I love that this kid wants to be a bishop when he grows up.

As a daughter of a current bishop, I just think to myself, "Who in their right mind would ever want that calling?"

When I texted my dad and told him about this, he reminded me of what I used to want to be when I was a young beehive- General Young Women's President.

Yes. It's true.

I wanted to be that so badly.
Sister Nadauld was my hero.

I saved every handout ever given to me in church and put them all in clear plastic protective sheets and then placed them in binders.

I would also cut out every MormonAd from all the New Era's and put them in binders too.

I was a freak.

A righteous freak.

When I got my Young Womanhood Medallion when I was 15, I wore that thing with pride. I swore I would wear it until I was finally made G.Y.W.P. (My slang for General Young Women's President).

That phase was short lived. The necklace was worn for about 2 months. It was lost and never to be seen again.I guess that's symbolic of my hope for the calling too. Lost and never to be seen again.

Flash Mobs

2011-10-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

Can I please get an "amen" that flash mobs have got.to.go.

I am so sick of them.

They were cool once.

But 2 years later and people are still trying to find an excuse for them.

Example: At the start line before the marathon, when all the runners are just warming their buns around the million fires, with music blaring, all of us sudden that dang "Dynamite" song comes on and half the crowd breaks into a flash. Ok, ok maybe not 1/2, more like 30. But still... I hate them. I'm still trying to decide what I hate more- the flash mob, or that "Dynamite" song. They both make me cringe.

And then tonight, I get a text message from the ol' single's ward informing me that there is a practice on Saturday for a "Thriller Flash Mob".

Thanks but no thanks.

I wouldn't even be surprised if this is performed in Sacrament Meeting on the Sunday before Halloween. No. Not one bit of surprise will come from my face.

We all know my ward....

Also, I'm sorry for neglecting my blog.

I have 2 computers and no excuses.

I am just lazy.

Sorry.

But, a quick update in case you're thinking I am avoiding this subject....

Yes, I did finish the marathon. In good time, too. More on that later.

"Minipulating"

2011-09-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

I know I'm getting annoying always talking about school. But lately, school is my life.

The day goes like this:

Wake up at 4:45.

Gym from 5-6.

Get ready 6-7

School from 7-4.

Complain about how tired I am from 4-7.

Contemplate moving off the couch. 7-8.

Bed. 8:00.

Pathetic. But I like it.

So....

Here's another post about how I love teaching. Really this just cracks me up. Maybe this lady will be the only one that laughs since she's the only one who can relate.

Every Friday, the 5th grade has something called "Arts Friday". Every teacher teaches something "artsy". The last few weeks, I've decided to teach music- singing to be more exact. (I'm putting that big ol' music book I had to carry around for a whole semester to use. My teacher would be proud.)

Now here's the thing about me... I can't sing. No. It's awful. I have no clue what I'm doing. Most of the time the kids are teaching me what to do. Half notes, pauses, beats, etc. I don't know music. In fact, I just mouth the words at church to save myself the embarrassment. So teaching 30 kids every week how to sing different songs is waaaaay out of my comfort zone. It's just a good thing they're as tone deaf as I am. I think?

Anyway, back to Arts Friday....

I also have something in my class for management called a "Smile Chart". Every kid has a little chart on their desk with 5 smiles on it. If they get all 5 smiles crossed off, I have to call home. (Did that a few times this week. The kids still can't look at me in the eye they're so upset.) Anyway, if they get 2 smiles crossed off, they can't go to Arts Friday. So, last week I had a kid that couldn't go because of his smile chart. He was hysterical. Just sobbing and whimpering while doing his work. The whole class kept coming up to me saying, "Nick (**name changed) is crying. Are you going to do something about it?" So I went and approached Nick and told him the same things my dad told me while I was growing up. It went something like this... "Nick, you know, there are consequences for every action we make. Sometimes those consequences are good and sometimes they're bad. Unfortunately for you, it's a bad consequence and you can't participate in Arts Friday." He begged and promised me he'd be better, but I told him he's already made his choice and I can't go back on my promise. (The whole time I was saying all this, I just kept thinking of those lessons we hear about the Atonement in Church. I felt so merciless.)

So in the end, the big bad mean teacher ended up letting him go because I'm full of empty threats. Except calling parents. I love that.

Nick's mom comes and helps on Wednesdays in my class. I told her about the whole escapade because I thought it was funny.

Today I received a letter on my desk that said the following:

Dear Miss Leiter.

I'm sorry for crying all day and over reacting about arts friday. now I'll take the consaqunses and not got to arts friday. If I have two smiley faces crossed off I will not cry about it and say ok and not go. I'm sorry and I will not go to arts friday and not complain about it. I'm sorry about minipulating you. so in conclusion I will never cry about it again.

from Nick

I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I got it.

I loved every word!

What 5th grader knows the word manipulating?

Anyone want to bet that his mom was over his shoulder telling him what to write?

I love it and I love being a teacher.

Oh and I'm running the St. George Marathon on Saturday.
It's my only hobby.

A lovely thought...

2011-09-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

If I was going through a breakup, I would listen to this song every minute of everyday.

And since I'm not going through a breakup (Thank heavens. Those things are the absolute worst things ever), I still choose to listen to it everyday.

I love Adele... and I have loved her for years. (street cred)

Her voice is so heavenly.

Also, sidenote, I woke up this morning sick to my stomach with the thought that I'm running the St. George Marathon exactly 7 days from today. Yikes.

Also, THANK YOU THANK YOU for the advice on acne medicine. I have a derm. appointment on Tuesday. My face is going to be so happy.

Repeating life as a teenager

2011-09-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

My life of being a 15-year-old is apparently not leaving anytime soon.

In fact, while I'm typing this, I'm currently locked out of my house, sitting on my back porch waiting for my parents to come home from who-knows-where. The keypad for our garage is broken (of course) and I got a ride to school today. Thus leaving me keyless.

Then there's the part that I live with my parents still.

Then there's the part that my face is completely and utterly broken out.

I woke up to a few new zits on my face.

It's so embarrassing. I hate adult acne.

One reader suggested birth control, but we all know my fear with birth control... (see posts when I was engaged...)

I thought maybe Proactive? Any thoughts on that one?

Also, what's a blog post without something that happened today at school?

My whole life I always promised myself that I would be the cute teacher that wears the best clothes and always looks put together. (This gal would be my role model)

But unfortunately, I've turned into a teacher that wears whatever is most "comfortable".

So most days I look frumpy and wrinkled and not put together... basically I'm wearing all the clothes I wore in 2006. I live for the weekends when I can actually wear something hip.

So, today in class, one girl said, "Um, Miss Leiter, your dress is kind of up in back." (Not too high up past the point of immodesty... just kind of up.)

It was really embarrassing and probably something you would have expected to see in a movie.

That's the last time I'm ever wearing a dress again. Cardigans and black pants are what my life has turned into. Oh, and boot cut jeans on Fridays with the school shirt that drowns me.

I can't believe it's only been 5 weeks of school, and I've already turned into the "Josie Grosie" of teachers.

Some updates from keeping the sabbath day holy

2011-09-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

Today in church was one of those days that I thought I was dreaming.

If I was a missionary and I had an investigator with me, I would have been embarrassed and blushing the whole time assuring them that the church is perfect. The people aren't.

Here's a little flavor of what the day was like...

In Relief Society the lesson was on the Law of Chastity.

Dun, dun, dun....

The teacher was scared to death. But good thing she has the ladies of my ward to keep the comments flowing. When asked, "Why is keeping the Law of Chastity important?" These were some of the answers. Really it was like the movie, From the mouth's of babes.

I wish I was fabricating what I'm about to write. But I'm not.

"Keeping the law of chastity is important because it helps keep the population of orphans down. You know, since they don't have parents and most likely their parents made poor choices... also because it prevents serial killers.. since they most likely had parents that made poor choices."

Serial killers and orphans. 2 things I've never heard in church.

And then my personal favorite....

"Well, I don't know about the law of chastity too much, but I was talking to my mom who has 8 kids and she said that those 8 special times she had connecting with my dad in that way were really sacred and wonderful for her."

8 times. Get it?

Also some Sunday funnies, a boy blessed the sacrament with his sunglasses kept on top of his head. Just in case there was a big amount of sunlight coming in through the room?

Also, huge pet peeve, is it really necessary to give a whole dissertation on the song you're about to sing before you're about to sing it over the pulpit?

Then there's this girl. I call her "Laptop Girl". Because, well, she brings a big huge laptop to church with her every week. And it's not like she just brings it in her purse. No she brings it and uses it the whole time during church. And she's not just taking notes frivolously. No, she's playing Mindsweep or Solitaire. It's very distracting and quite absurd. Somehow, every week I manage to sit by her and all I do is stare at her and the games she's playing during Sacrament meeting. Now I know playing games in church is a common occurrence. Especially for those with the smartphones, but at least with a smartphone you can keep your gaming relatively secret instead of broadcasting it to everyone around you with this huge laptop.

Well that's all, folks. A happy sabbath it was indeed.

And for all those who aren't the sabbath-going type. Go. Just do it. Go. You won't regret. Are your Sunday's really better than mine? I highly doubt that. The Church is true.

It's the freakin weekend

2011-09-16T17:41:00.000-07:00

R. Kelly never disappoints.

Especially every Friday when I wake up and I have that song stuck in my head all day long.

This blog is going to be a random assortment of thoughts and questions.

First.

Rubio's Fresh Mexican.

Has anyone ever been there?

I think I've died and gone to heaven.

I've been probably 3 times during its time in Utah. Each time I get something different and each time I wish I had gone to Rio instead.

But not yesterday. I got the fish taco. I'm still tasting it on my lips. It was perfect. I think I may like that place better than Rio and Chipotle. Which is a hard thing for me to admit.

Second.

My face.

It's completely broken out.

We all remember that I went on Accutane circa 2008 and nearly died during the process.

Well, maybe not died, but I hated everyone and everything. My skin was also very similar to a lizard's.

Well, I thought that by going on that horrible medicine, I would never have to deal with zits again. (Except for the ones that come every 28 days or so...) Mine are back. And I am dying.

Suggestions on medicine that doesn't make you flaky?

I hate looking like I'm 15.

Third.

Skinnytaste.com

THE BEST WEBSITE AROUND.

Really

I'm making these this weekend.

and only 3 points if you're into that type of stuff...

4th.

I'm running my school's 5K tomorrow morning.

I told my kids I'd give them a treat if they beat me.

Here's hoping they don't.

Also, I'm running my longest run yet tomorrow. 20 miles. Here's hoping I actually do it.

The world's worst blogger and other things

2011-09-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

I suck at blogging.

There's nothing more to say about it.

I also suck at uploading pictures.

There's nothing more to say about that...

Updates...

I got a car.

The most beautiful car in the world.

It's a Nissan Maxima and it's perfect.

Sunroof, bluetooth calling from your steering wheel (or whatever the name of it is...), Bose sound system, touch start, etc. I love it.

In other news, I can't believe I've been teaching for 4 weeks.

It's going by way too fast.

I love those kids.

In my class I have a compliment can and and concern can.

I love reading the concerns we have every day.

Most of which is tattle-telling. I love tattle-telling, especially from a 10-year-old.

Some of them go like this:

W keeps talking. MAKE HIM STOP!

S took the dodgeball from me. Don't let him use the dodgeball EVER AGAIN.

I came up to L and she looked at me weird.

Kids. So emotional. Yet so fun.

Really, I wake up every day so excited that I have a job that I love.

I remember when I worked at the Gap and I saw my schedule that said 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. I really had to mentally prepare myself to be there for 9 hours. But now, being at school from 7-5 or so doesn't even phase me. I love it! I don't understand how anyone can have any other job besides this. Like an office job? How do they do it every day for 9 hours? I guess it just takes certain people for every job.

Sick

2011-09-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

On Friday afternoon my mom commented on how impressed she is that I haven't gotten sick yet.

I told her that I have a rockstar immune system and that I hardly ever get sick.

Wrong.

2 hours later, I was sicker than a dog.

There I was, just sitting there in the movie theater watching Midnight in Paris (strangest movie ever- yet entertaining.), when I got sick. All of a sudden my nose just started dripping and my throat began to throb.

Ironic.

So my weekend has been pretty pathetic.

I live for the weekends these days. I hate being sick and I think everyone around me hates when I'm sick.

I want everyone to stop their lives and take care of me.

Having a cold, mixed with cramps and PMS, you can only imagine how much fun I am right now.

Looks like I need to start downing Airborne every day.

I really hope I'm better by tomorrow. The thought of getting a substitute kills me. I'm not ready to leave my little babies with someone else and I'm pretty sure they're ready for it yet either.

An Update

2011-09-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

Every morning at school we do a "Good News Minute". Yes, I did in fact get this from Relief Society. Although sadly, my ward doesn't do it anymore. Dang. It used to be the best part of my sabbath. So, I've instigated it in my classroom. The kids love it. Basically, they just love it so they can get an update on my life. They know too much.

Anyway, every day I update them if I have a car. Unfortunately, I am still without a car.

I said goodbye to my little Passat today. It was a sad moment.

That poor little guy has to go get ripped to shreds at the junkyard. I hate that. I wished it still ran. It was so cute and perfect. Plus, it had little purple lights in the interior. I was crazy over those. I miss her so much and cry every time I see a Passat driving down the street.

I stopped car shopping and handed over my car search to someone else. He sells used cars wholesale and is trying to find me a good deal without all the inflation of a new car lot. So, I'm just playing the waiting game and annoying everyone by asking for rides everywhere. Really, I feel like I'm 15 again.

On another note, since I began teaching, I've decided to wake up in the wee hours and exercise.

When I say wee, I mean, wee.

4:45 a.m. in fact.

It's killing me.

I go to bed at 8:00- it's still light outside.

It's just nice to not go to the gym later in the day. Although, sadly I don't think I'm going to have any good stories about the gym because really it's just boring people who have real lives that go in the 4-5 o'clock hours.

Tired of being jerked around

2011-08-31T20:15:00.000-07:00

Car shopping is more painful than engagement ring shopping.

Believe me. I've had experience.

From all the car shopping I've done in the past 3 days, I don't even want a car anymore.

I'm completely fine just asking the 'rents for rides.

They hate it though.

All my life I've always wanted bigger and better. I'm never satisfied with what I have. I've wanted a new car for a really long time, but I held back because secretly I was in love with my Passat. However, when it unexpectedly died, it left me in a world of chaos. I hate every car now, except mine-- which will cost $8,000 to repair. Ouch. That's more than triple the price.

I think I have every car dealership either texting me or calling me on a daily basis wondering when I'm going to come back and buy the car I wanted. But I just can't do it. It's way too big of a commitment. I don't want a car anymore. I think I'm going to just buy a scooter. I don't know what I'll do in the winter. Ask for rides, perhaps?

2 days ago I was sold on a Jetta. But I've been jerked around by 3 different VW dealerships. I'm so sick of them. Plus, everyone and their dog is telling me NOT to buy a V-dub, so I know I'll regret it. I have one V-Dub dealer texting me incessantly throughout the day telling me, "I promise you'll be happy. I will give you a really good deal. You're going to love it." When I ask what the deal is and if he's going to honor the price I want, he just says, "Don't worry I promise you're going to love what I'm going to do. Remember, don't compromise for another car, only a V-dub is a V-dub." Also, instead of using the "..." in texts, he uses, ",,,". It drives me nuts. Car salesmen are the worst. The absolute worst.

Then there was the Hyundai dealership. Back in 2008, my brother got a brand new Sonata for $16,000. So cheap. I went there the other day expecting to get the same deal. Wrong. Those things are starting at like $23,000". Does anyone else besides me think it's morally wrong to pay more than $20,000 on a Hyundai?!

Then I went to Honda. I was planning on just buying the first Civic I saw. I walk up to the forty-something year old dealer who was clearly going through a midlife crisis due to the hi-lights in his hair and the orange skin from the tanning beds. He tells me that they don't have any brand new Civics. In fact, the whole state of Utah only has 3 brand new Civics in all the dealers. WHAT?! That's like going to the grocery store and finding out they're all out of groceries. Unbelievable.

Nissan was boring and basically passed me off to his "assistant" who had only been working there for 3 days and knew nothing, once he found out I didn't want to pay more than 20k.

Really, car shopping is a joke. A complete joke. I just want my little Passat back. I don't want to make a commitment to a new car. This is the worst.

Bad things happen in threes

2011-08-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

I don't think I want to repeat last week ever again.

Actually, I want to pretend like last week never happened at all.

Buuuuut, I will say, my class was PERFECT on Friday.

I love teaching those kids. They're perfect and way crazy.

Now that I have a few minutes to sit down and blog, I'll give you a little bit o' details from last week.

Let's just say, the Leiter's didn't do well with cars last week.

1st- On Wednesday my dad got hit by a car while running.

2nd- On Thursday I get in a car accident. Luckily it wasn't my car, nor was I the driver.

3rd- On Friday, while driving home from Park City, my car decides to freak out and die on I-15. Do you have any idea how scary it is to die on the freeway? Also, I have bad anxiety and can't handle stress, so naturally, I was a mess. Unfortunately, my car is going to its resting place later this week. I've loved it a lot, but it's time for a new car- a car with a warranty.

So, I'm in the market for a new car. Suggestions?

I'm currently in love with the 2012 Jetta. It's beautiful and has a touchscreen radio that I just can't get over. Most likely it will be in my loving arms on Saturday... unless I find another car that's equally as beautiful.

One of my quirks (if you can even call this one) is that I always think I'm going to die at an early age. Last week was just a confirmation that the grim reaper is just knocking on my door.

A really great day.

2011-08-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

Teaching is going really well.

I've wanted to be a teacher my entire life. I just guess I never realized that some days are harder than others.

Today was one of those days.

I felt like the meanest teacher ever. I had to raise my voice and send some kids out into the hall multiple times. I just felt like everything I tried wasn't working.

After lunch I got this letter from a girl:

It reads: "Thank you for being the nicest teacher ever. Some people think you are mean. But you are nice."

I had to laugh. I love letters like that.

But at the same time, I felt a little sad that some people think I'm mean.

Then during later gater recess, a girl comes up to me and says, "Miss Leiter, can I please stay inside and help you during recess. Everyone has been so mean to you. I just feel bad for you."

I love her.

I kind of had my first meltdown during recess- feeling like a failure for not knowing how to discipline my kids well. Then, while driving home I got in a car accident.

Luckily I wasn't the driver.

The car wasn't so lucky.

I think when I tell my kids I was in an accident, they'll feel bad and want to listen more to their teacher :)

First Day

2011-08-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

I survived the first day of school!!

Here's a peek of what the door looks like.

My friend Ashley did the same. Good thing we're not at the same school.

And here's a picture of me...

All read for the first day.

My class is great.

I need to be more strict.

They think I'm way too nice....

Which is a good and a bad thing.

I'm kind of scared they think I'm like their older sister.

So tomorrow the strict Miss Leiter is coming out.

Thank you?

2011-08-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

So I got this lovely wedding invite in the mail today...

They forgot to put, oh ALL the details in the invitation.

I scratched me head for a while trying to figure out who the couple is?

Still trying to solve this mystery.

City League Soccer

2011-08-15T07:25:00.000-07:00

My little nephew just joined the American Fork City soccer team for 3-5 year olds.

Watching his game last week was the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Just a bunch of nose picking kids not having any clue what they're doing.

Of course the team they played against was full of 5 year olds who knew what they were doing.

It was kind of annoying seeing them score all the goals.

Seeing his soccer game brought back so many memories of when I was younger.

I still remember it like yesterday.

I came home from dance one day and my parents told me that they signed me up to play city league soccer.

I cried for days.

Really. I had never kicked a ball in my entire life. I was 10.

They told me I only had to play in 5 games, then I could quit.

I played the 5 games and handed them my jersey (t-shirt) and said "I'm done."

They handed it back and said I have to play for the whole season. "We have to get our money's worth."

I'm still mad at them and still slowly trying to get over it.

Basically all I did was stand there for the entire game. Really. It was pathetic.

At least there was always a Capri Sun at the end of the game to greet me.

Ward Stare

2011-08-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

I'm the worst at blogging. I have no excuse for why I haven't blogged in 7 days.

But, you guys are the worst at commenting. So we're even.

I do love ya though.

I have decided the past 3 weeks to start going to more ward activities.

I call it my "re-enactment"

Not that I was ever inactive, it's just I didn't want to go to social activities.

When I lived in Provo, ward prayer was the highlight of my week.

We'd meet at the pool at 8. Have a quick little devotional. Pray around the pool and then "Linger Longer". I love all the alliterations this church has. "Linger Longer", "Munch and Mingle", etc.

Anyway, it was a quick thing that mostly had to do with mingling.

But in this single's ward I'm going to now, we do things a little different.

I think I may like it better than testimony meeting. No I do.

We have a really long devotional.

Then we go around and say people that need to be prayed for during the week.

This normally takes a good 30 min.

No, that's not including the devotional, too.

The person who is giving the prayer will write down on a piece of paper all the people that need to be prayed for. You would think we are praying for people in the ward. But no, not one person from the list is ever in our ward.

No we pray for:

Uncle Jim

Aunt Janice

The who-knows-what family

and my favorite from last Sunday....

"The 1000 homeless youth living in Salt Lake County".

Now, I'm not making fun of the fact that there are homeless kids in Salt Lake. That is a real problem. But I'm making fun of the fact that ward prayer really never has nothing to do with our ward... And the only reason people go is to find a date. But that doesn't even work because literally, there's no time to mingle... we're too busy naming off everyone and their dog. It's a miracle that any of us can even stand after the prayer.

Book Suggestions, Please...

2011-08-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

I think my favorite thing about elementary school was when my teacher read a fun book to us right after lunch.

Now fast forward a few years to where I am the teacher.

So weird to even think about that.

Readers. I need book suggestions. Either something you enjoyed in elem. school or a book you have enjoyed recently.

Please and thank you.

Also, let's just talk for a second about how in less than 3 weeks I'm going to be "Miss Leiter".

I'm freaking out!

It's Friday Friday

2011-07-29T17:08:00.000-07:00

Today has been a rather pleasant Friday.

For the past month or so, I have hardly gotten ready for the day.

In fact, since all my classes ended last Friday, I literally haven't worn anything but my swimsuit or my workout clothes for the past 6 days. Sunday is the only day I wear makeup and pull out the old hair straightener. It's quite nice. My mom thinks I'm crazy and thinks I'm going to turn into one of those wives that just stops getting ready once they're married. Her accusations are false. Completely. I'm just extremely burnt out. Going to school all summer was probably the biggest mistake of my life. But, since classes are done, I've been enjoying my time of no commitments quite nicely.

I wake up.

Eat a hearty breakfast.

Go back to bed for 2 hours.

Wake again.

Gym.

Swim.

Nap

Read HP7

I am loving the life of a teacher already.

However, today, instead of taking a mid morning nap, my mom invited me to the Zoo with my sib and his kids. I went, since I had nothing else on the agenda. It was fun. And rather nice to do something somewhat productive with my day.

Here's a picture of me and my nephew just lovin my iPhone camera.

The zoo was hotter than Hades.

Really.

I tend to get grouchy when I am in the sun for a long time and there is no swimming pool in sight. Today was one of those days.

So, on our way home from the zoo, my mom thought it would be a good idea to go to Fashion Place Mall and return a pair of jeans I had purchased last month. I agreed and off we went, under the impression that we would only be going to one store.

Wrong.

My mom remembered that the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale would be ending this week, and we needed to go to it. So off we went.

Apparently there is a dress code at the Fashion Place Nordstrom... and we did not meet the criteria.

Really, we both looked like the cat had dragged us in.

Sweaty. Messes.

Everyone at that Nordstrom is beautiful and so put together.

We however, were sporting our best $2.00 flip flops from Old Navy and our cute knee-length shorts with shirts smeared with stains from the zoo.

We lasted about 5 min. in the store before realizing how much we stuck out.

So, we left.

Luckily, I had hit the Anniversary Sale 2 weeks ago online and got these cuties.

Oh p.s. I have been to the Nordstrom at Fashion Place many times... just normally I'm dressed decently. I actually prefer that Nordstrom over the Orem one because they actually have a selection. The other one feels like I'm in a shoe box.

Moving on.

On the way home, we decided to stop at this new froyo place in Highland.

Orange Peel.

I feel like there's a new froyo place on just about every corner in every town.

But I tried it and fell in love.

Yes, I even liked it better than the ever-so-trendy Yogurtland.

They have the most wonderful flavor: Wedding Cake.

It's so tasty. And so yummy.

I hope heaven has that stuff.

But, my one complaint about Orange Peel is the teenagers that hang out there.

I think since I'm a teacher now, I feel like I have authority over all younger kids.

There were 3 tweens in front of me at the place. 2 girls and 1 boy.

1 girl decides to fill up her yogurt cup and the other girl notices that there is still some left over yogurt coming out of the nozzle, so she gets her pretty little finger and sticks it right up the machine to get the last drippings of the yogurt.

I nearly gagged.

So I said something.

I mean, wouldn't you?

I said, "Um, did you ever think that the person behind you might not want the taste of your finger in their yogurt? That's pretty gross you just did that. Please go get a taster cup if you want to know what this strawberry tastes like."

She just looked at me like... "Are you kidding me? Who is this girl."

But I'm pretty sure we were both thinking the same thing.

She hates me. That's alright.

Clearly she hasn't been taught manners.

It's cool.

I straightened her out. And let's just hope she behaves the next time she's at a yogurt place.

GTU

2011-07-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

I used to be a consistent watcher of Good Things Utah.

This summer, I haven't had the desire to watch it. Mostly because it's a little bit boring. And the Draper moms kind of bother me. But, this morning I decided to watch it.

During the show, this commercial will play at least 3 times each day.

It's been the same commercial for the past 3 years, and each time I watch it, I'm just left with a bunch of questions marks running through my head. Mostly because it's the worst.commercial.ever.

Really.

Watch.

I hope you feel the same way I do.
The daisies and blowing of the kisses at the end really drives me crazy.
Not to mention the girl's shaky voice.

The Quest to be a Domestic Goddess

2011-07-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

P.S. Provo Allstar is not a real person... he's just a stereotype of the washed-up kids that never leave that place. Sorry if you were confused. :)

We fired my mom from cooking Sunday dinner.

It all happened about 4 weeks ago, when my dad and I sat down to what we thought was going to be a big typical Sunday feast, instead we were greeted with just a chicken breast and a bag salad.

When asked where the carbs were for this meal... mom just replied, "I'm tired of cooking. I've done it for so long."

So I stepped in.

I'm actually loving cooking. I look forward to it every Sunday.

I particularly enjoy this website. Gina sure does know how to put together a good low-fat recipe.

Yesterday's meal was,

Spinache lasana rollups (sorry no picture)

The pictures are out of order.

I also made wheat bread. I even ground the wheat myself with the unused wheat grinder that's been sitting on our pantry shelf for the past 3 years.

The bread was good for the 1st hour... but 2 days later, it tastes like I'm eating a brick. It also wasn't that attractive, as you can see from the picture.

We had pineapple strawberry shortcake for dessert.

And wheat rolls.

Maybe I like cooking so much because I'm not living on a budget. In fact, since mom's so tired, I also do all the grocery shopping. It's nice shopping with someone else's debit card.

Provo Allstar

2011-07-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

I'm not a Twitter kid, but after seeing this guy... I may just set up an account.

I've never laughed so hard.

My favorites are the ones that talk about security selling or King Henry.

My Old Town

2011-07-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

I grew up in American Fork, Utah.

I lived there for 17 years. Those were some pretty good years. My neighborhood was picture perfect and the town was too.

During my senior year of high school, my parents built a house "by the temple". My address changed and my phone number. I was now a citizen of Pleasant Grove, Utah. It was a very sad change.

But as of late, I've decided I don't miss American Fork too much anymore.

Why?

Well because EVERY stop sign has something like this on it.

The picture is horrible. Sorry. I took it while my mom and I were on our way to Costco.

It reads, "STOP Running Away". While on our drive to Costco, we saw 3 other signs similar to this one.

One read, "STOP oubt". I think it was meant to say, "STOP doubt" but the people of American Fork forgot how to spell. Or they ran out of letters from all of the other signs.

Some others that I have ran into while driving around American Fork are,

"STOP eating baby squirrels"

"STOP drop and roll"

"Don't STOP Jimmering"

"Don't STOP believing"

And many others.

It's actually really obnoxious that every stop sign has this.

What are kids doing running around defacing important property like this?

Where are their parents in all this?

People often ask me, "Where are you from?" I used to reply "American Fork", but find it very difficult to say that after the whole STOP sign fiasco. I could say Pleasant Grove, but then they'll want to play the name-game with me. And unfortunately (or fortunately), I don't know anyone from Pleasant Grove. So I just claim my town as, "By the temple". It seems to be working out.

Speaking of my town, "By the temple",
Here's a picture from yesterday's festivities.
A nice Sunday walk with no obnoxious stop signs to ruin our day.
Actually, there are no stop signs in "By the temple".
It's a good town.

Also, notice, the dress is my Plato's Closet dress.

One lady complimented me on my dress and I told her I got it at a thrift store. She later found out that it was from Plato's and informed me that Plato's is not a thrift store.

People of Utah- I need your thoughts on this one... I truly believe Plato's Closet is most definitely a thrift store. Used clothes. Cheap prices. What are your thoughts?

The Craziest Thing

2011-07-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

Saw this on ABC today.

Probably the craziest thing I've ever seen on television.

Watch.

Your jaw will drop.

Our world is so messed up.

And this girl... she's even more messed up.

A Little Bit Country

2011-07-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

Since I'm going to be teaching in Lehi this year, I've decided to try to become a redneck.

I've never been one that particularly enjoys cowboyish (or cowgirlish) things.

Never been on a horse.

Only been to 2 rodeos my entire life. (Both of which made me almost cry cause of steer wrestling... and the other thing where they tie up the animal. Is that called steer wrestling, too? But since both were dates, I put on my happy face and tried to think of nice things while watching the poor animals get abused.)

I've never not pronounced my "t's". Example... I always say words like "LayTon" or "ClayTon" or "MounTain".

And I always pronounce my "ings" Example: "BikING", "HikING", and "ShootING" (Been once. Almost died.)

You get the point.

Some people might think I live under a rock because I'm so deprived of almost everything. I hate to say it, but they may be right. This all goes hand in hand with the "I could die" theory that I have.

Moving on.

Since I'm trying to become a redneck, I've now done 2 things you would be proud of.

I wear flip flops with my jeans. Isn't that a total cowgirl thing?

Flip flops are shoes I haven't worn in probably 2 years... but I found a pair of Roxy flip flops in my closet and decided to give them another try.

Also...

I listen to country music.

3 radio stations in fact.

But, with those 3 radio stations, I'm only waiting for 3 songs to come on.

I hate most every other country song except these 3:

1- Dirt Road Anthem

2- Remind Me

3- Honey Bee

Also, while listening to these 3 country stations, waiting for my 3 favorite songs to come on, I've realized that EVERY SINGLE Rascal Flatts songs sounds the same. It's incredible that they have so many number 1 albums. Really all they do is change the picture on the cover of their album.

Speaking of songs that are the same...

Taylor Swift.

If you're a boy reading this blog, let me ask you this...

Would you ever want T. Swift mad at you?

Heck no.

She's always ticked at every guy.

But then in her next song, she loves you and you're so cute and you're so great, etc.

She's a bit bi-polar. And kind of mean.

Speaking of which, I can't stand that song.

Another day of getting snubbed at Plato's Closet

2011-07-12T18:40:00.000-07:00

Every summer I go to Plato's Closet to sell my "gently used" name brand clothing.

And every summer I get the big smack down from the Aeropostale-wearing employees at Plato's.

This time around, I had some really great name brands and they were hardly worn at all. In fact about 5 of the things I tried to sell back to Plato's still had the tags on them.

But, once again, I was snubbed.

I made $32.

I also had a pair of Seven's that I sold back to them.

I thought I would at least get $20 for them.

No. $10.

I spent $10 on tax alone for those jeans when I first got them!

And can I admit something?

I bought a dress from Plato's.

It's a really cute dress from H&M.

I'll post pictures on Sunday.

Really, I debated for a long time whether I should support Plato's- I mean after all, they are always snubbing my good name brands..

But I got it. And it's adorable.

I just won't tell anyone where I got it.

The Leiter Family Vacation

2011-07-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

Well... I'm a little hesitant writing a post, in fear that I may have lost all of my readers after yesterday's fiasco of not being able to identify who is in the Book of Mormon and who is in the Bible. I'm the worst.

Anyway, for those of you who still like me even though I'm not a Bible Scholar....

Last week my family got back from our trip to Wisconsin.

You may have remembered how "excited" I was to go... Read here, if not.

I went a couple days later than everyone else, since I had school. Also because I wasn't too excited about touring a root beer factory. Really... that's just Wisconsin for you.

This is a long and random post. Sorry.

So here we are at Lake Michigan. The water was freezing. But it sure was fun. We were the only family there. Everyone else was college students. We sure did stick out in our modest attire. But we had a good time.

This is my niece Brooklynn. She's basically a doll. Really, babies are so cute when they're at the stage where they can hold themselves up. I love her. I also love that we both have matching swimsuits.

I basically have to tell this baby that Santa will take back all her presents if she doesn't get in a picture with me. It works every time.

One night we went to Summerfest. This is a 2-week long music festival in Milwaukee. My family all thought it would be so much fun to go to. I really didn't want to go. Well, for one, we were seeing Maroon 5 and I'm not really into them. Adam Levine makes me gag every time he opens his mouth, and because concerts aren't my scene. I think they're a waste of money. But, my dad was paying, and I was forced to go.

You know the game that's called, "One of these things is not like the others?" Yeah, basically my family was the oddball out at Summerfest. EVERYONE was drunk. Everyone was under the age of 21 and everyone was disgustingly sweaty. We didn't really fit the criteria of Summerfest. We were the only ones there with both a shirt and shorts on. And with my dad being a bishop, yeah... we just didn't make the cut to be in the "In crowd" at Summerfest.

The picture below looks like my dad is crying. It's because he probably is. We were both like, "GET ME OUT OF HERE." No, it wasn't that terrible, it just wasn't our scene. My dad and I left a little early and sat outside the gates because we were so sick of it. Sometimes I feel like I should allow myself to have more fun. I think living at home has turned me into a 57-year-old woman. Don't even ask me what time I go to bed each night...

Family vacations these days are always interesting. Basically because I'm the odd-man out. Everyone has a spouse except me. So, I texted.

Here's us awake after a sunday nap... basically wanting to kill the photographer.

Love birds

For the past 3 years my parents have refused to pay for professional family pictures. My dad is like EVERY female in Utah. He thinks because he has a dslr camera, that he's a professional... I still love him anyway.

Here's more texting pictures.

Oh hey, let me just join in on your family picture. (See, more proof that I'm the odd-man out.)

More texting. This is getting embarrassing.

Just lovin' America. And his birthday.

She's made this face because I had to threaten Christmas presents....(see above explanation)

The babydoll

Really, it was a fun trip. I love my family a lot. I just can't wait until next year when we can go on our Disney Cruise.

Oops...

2011-07-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

Just learned that Malachi is actually in the Bible- not the BOM.

I'm embarrassed and saddened by how much I don't know about my religion.

It's alright. The Church is true and that's all that matters.

But really. Don't judge me. We all make mistakes.

Shout out to my girl Brittney for helping me out on this.
I'm so glad she's back from her mission and back to keeping me on track.

Baby Names. BOM Edition

2011-07-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I went to the Real Salt Lake soccer game.

After the game, I excused myself to use the little girls room.

While in there, I saw a mom desperately trying to wrangle up all her kids- there was about 7 or so.

While she had 5 next to her, she noticed that 2 were still missing.

Are you ready?

"Malachi! Where are you Malachi?"

Then, once she had found Malachi, she noticed that "Zeke" was missing.

I'm almost positive that Zeke is short for Ezekial.

I wouldn't be surprised if the other 5 kids had names from the Book of Mormon or Bible, too.

Oh Utah, I love you.

P.S. Speaking of crazy names. When I was younger, I used to babysit a boy named Shadrach.

The day I almost died

2011-07-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

A common phrase I use when describing myself is,

"I'm always afraid I'm going to die."

Really, I'm the world's biggest wimp.

With almost everything I do, I always have to take caution because I could die.

Example: Taking left hand turns while driving. Can't do them. Ever. Why? Because a car could come from my blindside. And I would die.

I can't sleep upstairs in my own bedroom while my parents are out of town. I have to sleep in their room on the main floor so I can be close to the exits. Why? Because someone could sneak into our house and kidnap me and I would die.

I can't go on rides unless I have found the emergency exits just in case. Why? Because the ride could break or start on fire and I could die.

I often find myself explaining this to someone while I'm on a first date. This is probably the reason why my first dates hardly turn into second dates...

Anyway...

This past weekend I went to Milwaukee for the Leiter Family Vacation.

On the way home, we had a layover in Denver.

While getting off the plane from Milwaukee, we checked the screen to see where our new gate would be to take us home to the SLC. Gate A69.

We were at Gate A6.

We had to walk past 63 gates. With the amount of time it took to walk clear down there, we probably could have walked home to SLC like the pioneers. Once we got to A50, with sweat pouring down our faces, we noticed we were at the end of the road? Where was this gate A69? Had dad read the board correctly? Then we saw it.. a small sign that said "All other gates down stairs". We picked up our belongings and continued to trek down in the barracks. Really. Have you ever been in the basement of an airport? It's quite eerie. I imagine if Rexburg or the town of Amityville (like the horror movies) had an airport, it would be as creepy as this one.

Do you know what kind of planes fly out of the basement?

Propeller planes.

It was like I had stepped out of 2011 and walked into the Casablanca movie.

Dad jokingly told me that that was the type of plane would be going on.

I laughed because he likes to tease.

But my laughing got the best of me because that's what we ended up going on.

Walking the long walk outside to the plane was the longest walk I've ever had- even though it was only a few feet. I felt as if I was walking to my death. You know, the types of crashes we read about in the newspaper are from propeller planes. And here I was on one. There was also a storm. That didn't calm my nerves. I texted those most important to me and told them that I most likely wouldn't be returning.

However, 2 hours and 2 minutes later, I made it home.

Deaf from how loud the propellers were.

But I was safe.

And I will NEVER fly Frontier again.

Even if they do give yummy warm chocolate chip cookies to their passengers.

Allergies...

2011-06-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

One of the chores I have to do while living at the Chateau Leiter is mowing the lawn.

It's the one thing I dread every week.

Why?

Well I have allergies that are horrendous this year.

So horrendous I can't even go 30 seconds without sneezing.

I tried to tell my dad that I need to retire from mowing and he just laughed.

So I tried to tell my mom. She brought out some allergy medicine and a bandana.

This is what I look like for an hour every week...

It's quite tragic.

I guess the one good thing from mowing the lawn is I get $30 each week.

Allergies are the worst. The absolute worst.

Especially since I don't have a dainty ladylike sneeze.

No. When I sneeze the whole room shakes.

It's really embarrassing especially in Sacrament Meeting.

The Pass of all Passes

2011-06-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

I think everyone in Utah County, besides me has "The Pass of all Passes".

For those of you who don't know what this is, basically it's a season pass to 7 Peaks Water park, unlimited pass to Trafalga, season pass to the Owlz baseball team, and a few other things.

Price: $40

It's probably the best deal ever.

But what did I do?

I bought a 3 month pass to the American Fork Rec. Center.

Price: $75

Was that the dumbest thing I could have ever done?

Yes.

I'm still trying to justify my purchase.

But $75 for the Rec. Center doesn't seem worth it. At. All.

I've been going to the pool 4x a week.

Most days I read, or I take the neighborhood kids so I don't look too pathetic while all my friends are having a blast at 7 peaks.

I've also been trying to go to the workout classes at the Rec. Center. Those are a bust.

I hate to say it, but going to those classes makes me actually miss Gold's Gym.

Last Friday I went to a cycling class. Music is everything in a workout. Unfortunately, the music this teacher chose was the same type of music I hear while in a gift shop at Zion's National Park, or at the airport. It was the worst hour of my life. Also, at the Rec. Center, wearing a tank top is against the dress code (well, as far as I'm concerned). All the women wear their husband's oversized shirts and huge sweat pants. I feel like they're going to whip out the Strength of Youth Pamphlet on me while in my tank top. I can't stand working out there. So, back to Gold's it is. Never thought I'd say that.

doppelganger

2011-06-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

People often think that just because I have blond hair, I look like a lot of other people with blond hair.

It's completely false.

Just like how I think all Asians look the same.

Lately people have been telling me I look either like a friend of theirs or that I look like a celebrity.

My two favorite celebrity comments are the following:

Tia Leoni

And my favorite...

that "blond" girl from the Disney Channel Original Movie, Cheetah Girls.

I hope you're laughing as much as I am/was.

Just because someone has blond short hair, does not mean they look like everyone else with blond short hair... now where does the whole Cheetah Girl look alike come in? I don't see a resemblance in the least bit. Not even the you-know-what's can be compared.

On a side note, my semester from you know where is now complete.

I've been spending all my free time at the pool.

I love watching the young teenage couples grope each other in the swimming pool.

Actually, I'm lying. It's disgusting. I feel dirty just being in the same pool as those kids.

You know both of their parents dropped them off at the pool... and this is there one chance to be "alone" without parental supervision. Ah young and in love. And you know the girl did not leave her house in a bikini.. her mom would have freaked!

More swimming pool stories later this week.

Cheers!

Just Another Single's Ward Post...

2011-06-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

We've all read my blog posts about my love/hate relationship with my single's ward.

I hate to say this, but... I think I'm going to be pulling the plug on the single's ward at the end of the summer.

It's a fashion show every week. And quite frankly, I'm having a hard time keeping up.

I'm pretty sure my bishop's days are numbered. I love him a lot- basically he's the only reason I stay in that ward.

I actually feel like I'm still in Young Women's when I go to church. Why? Well because most of the girls in the ward just got out of YW's last month. Seriously. Pacifiers is what I'm up against. And the men? Well they're all too preoccupied with their smartphones. Really... it's a fun ward.

There's this one kid in the ward who drives an Audi A8. He also has a '66 Mustang. Or '65 Mustang? I don't know. I've heard the story so many times, I get the dates mixed up. This kid is in the Sunday School presidency and every time he gets up to talk, he'll tell us about his 2 nice cars... and the amount of tickets he's got from them. Did I mention he still lives at home with his parents? There's something wrong with this.

So yesterday, in Sunday School, there wasn't a teacher. So the Audi/Mustang boy gets up, shares his story, then invites us to share spiritual experiences for the hour. So a girl gets up and shares a story about her dad. The story starts like this...

"My dad and I like to snuggle..."

What?!

I looked around the room to make sure I had heard right.
I did.

After hearing just that sentence alone, I may be staying in the ward a little longer.

Oh and remember the ward page from Facebook that I blogged about?

Read here for a refresher.

Well, here's what they posted on a gal's page.

Apparently there's a competition for having "The Most Spiritual Remark At Church".

Who knew?

MK&A

2011-06-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

Today I went downstairs to look at all the old boxes of books I had from when I was younger.

I'm embarrassed by what I found:

30 Mary Kate and Ashley books.

I may have been a little obsessed.

You see, my BFF Taunia and I were crazy about Mary Kate and Ashley.

We even celebrated their birthday every June 13th.

It was pathetic.

I always tell my mom if she could be a mom to me again, I'd want her to be more strict. I wish she wouldn't have allowed me to watch as much Nikelodeon as I did. And I really wish she wouldn't have allowed me to read such an insane amount of non-educational books. 5 or 6 of these books may be fine... but 30? That's a little unhealthy.

Chill

2011-06-15T19:54:00.000-07:00

Maybe I've already blogged about this.

It's hard to keep track.

But it just so happens that I can't stand the word "chill" anymore.

I hear it way too often and I basically feel like clawing my eyeballs out each time I hear it.

The top sentences that drive me crazy:

"So what did you do today?" "Nothing. Just chilled."

"What kind of music do you like?" "Chill music. Like Jack Johnson."

"What are you up to tonight? "Just chilling with my friends."

"How was the party?" "Oh, it was so chillax."

"Is that girl cool?" "Yeah she is. She's like so chill."

Can't stand it. Especially "chillax" What the?!

I really want this word and all derivatives of it to be depleted from everyone's vocabularies.

Bentley

2011-06-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

Bentley is a common name we hear in conversations lately.

I stopped watching the Bachelor/Bachelorette after last summer.

I just don't watch television anymore.

It's probably the most relieving thing I've ever done.

I don't miss any shows-mostly because they all suck now.

But... upon hearing stories about Bentley, I quickly turned on my computer and went to Hulu to watch last week's episode.

The man is hilarious.

I know every girl hates him. But come on, he's an actor. I don't think anyone in their right mind is that big of a jerk. He's great for the show's ratings. But he's definitely not that mean of a person.

I laughed every time he said something. I was listening on the radio the other morning about "Bentley Sightings" in Utah. Girls were calling in the radio station and saying how they saw him at such and such a place and they yelled at him and said, "I hate you, Bentley!" or other mean things... and they would just say he laughed. Which makes my point even more valid. He's not for real. But he definitely made the show a lot less boring. I'm still in shock with how insecure and boring Ashley is. Bentley was the best thing to happen to the show. I wish he would have stayed on longer.
Can we all please remember that it's "Reality" television. Which means, there is nothing "Real" about it.
Plus.. Bentley lives in Alpine. Which is in my stake. Can't wait to see him at Stake Conference! Holla!

3:30 A.M.

2011-06-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

Back in October, while at the St. George Marathon Expo, I decided to sign up once again for the Utah Valley Half Marathon. I did it last year and absolutely hated it. It rained the whole time and it was freezing. The course also sucked because it was 7 miles of just a straightway on University Avenue. I didn't know why I signed up for it, but I assumed my friends that did it with me last year would do it with me again this year.

Well, a few months after I signed up, I found out that my friends were not going to be running it because they hated it as much as I did

Running a half marathon by yourself is completely anti-climatic.

It's even more anti-climatic when you have to be to the buses at 3:30 a.m.

Did I mention the race started at 6:00 a.m.?

Why we had to be there 2.5 hours early is completely insane.

It was pretty lonely sitting at the top for a couple hours warming my buns by the fire by myself.

I was feeling pretty bad for myself.

Especially since I only had 3 hours of sleep.

Do you want to know what 3 hours of sleep looks like?

The bags under my eyes are extremely pathetic.

Also I forgot to bring a hair tie.

Running 13 miles with your hair sticking to your neck was probably the most uncomfortable thing ever.

You're probably thinking that all I'm doing is complaining. Which is true.

I had a bad case of the grumpies this morning.

But...

Once I started running, I quickly realized how much I love this race.

It is probably my favorite races in Utah Valley.

They changed the course, so it's more downhill, the weather was perfect, and they had Creamies at the finish line.

It was a perfect day. And a perfect race.

And since the race was so perfect, I decided to come home and run 5 more miles with my dad.

Running 18 miles probably wasn't the best thing to do to my body.

Especially since I haven't ran more than 6 miles in the past 6 months.

But it's all good. St. George Marathon, here I come!

Continuous Soft Hits

2011-06-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

Let's first address why I'm blogging at 8:00 on a Friday night.

Well, there are many excuses I could come up. But the main reason is because I'm going to an Institute Dance tonight. Would I rather die than go to this? Yes. Do I really want to spend my night with a bunch of nerdy, desperate LDS singles? No. But I am. Do I really want to dance to the Cha Cha Slide and the Chicken Dance? Absolutely not. But I am. Let's just say, I'm a really, really good friend.

Moving on.

While growing up, my mom constantly had FM100 on in the ol' gold Plymouth mini van. I cringed every time I got in the van- not only because it was a really ugly and embarrassing van, but because of the awful music choice of my mom. Upon entering, depending on my age, I would quickly turn it to either Radio Disney (AM 650) or 94.9 ZHT (The cool station). One day, at the Leiter residence, we had a survey from FM 100 asking what we liked about the station, etc. I took the liberty to fill it out and wrote in the suggestion box, "Why can't you play Blackstreet?" (Not to be confused with Backstreet. Look 'em up) I would always would whine to my mom about why she found joy in that station. I always promised myself, "When I'm a mom, I'm not going to listen to this old lady music. I'm going to be a cool mom and listen to what all the kids are listening to." My mom would just laugh and would say, "You'll change, Lynsey. I promise."

Well change I did.

Here I am eating my words at 23, without a husband and without children and I find myself listening to FM100 or Today's 106.5 every time I'm in my car. In fact, the "Cool" radio stations are not longer a top pick. I get so happy when I hear the following songs on my new favorite radio stations:

1- Benny and the Jets- Elton John

2- Wake me up before you go go- Wham!

3- It's all coming back to me now- Celine Dion

4- Anything from the Footloose album

5- Mandy- Barry Manilow

6- Summer Breeze- Seals and Crofts

7- Can't fight this feeling- REO Speedwagon

8- Hello- Lionel Richie (Obsessed with this one)

9- Next time I fall in Love- Pete Cetera

10- Peace Train- Cat Stevens

11- Anything by Fleetwood Mac

My poor children... I'm already planning on getting a Toyota Sienna the second the 1st child is born and I will definitely be blasting this music when I drop them off at school. Seriously, how can you not be in a bad mood after listening to, "Wake me up before you go go"?

I'm Famous. Kind of.

2011-06-09T18:05:00.000-07:00

Hey kids, a few months ago these lovely ladies asked me if I wanted to be a guest contributor on their blog, Pear Shaped Thoughts I had never read their blog before, so before agreeing, I took a gander at what they like to write about. Turns out, they're my future self. No joke. These gals are like my long lost twins. Their blog is really entertaining. Go over and take a look at my post and take a gander at their other posts. They're good. I promise.

xoxo

HB, Rachel

2011-06-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

Today is the birthday of one of my favorite friends.

Rachel.

She and I met when we were in high school. Our brothers were serving in Brazil together. Her family lives in West Jordan and mom found out that my mom was going to Brazil to go pick up my brother. They talked. They met. And the rest is history. Since our moms got off to a great start, they decided we should have dinner with both families, since our brothers were companions. I'm kind of a shy gal at first. Meeting new people isn't one of my favorite things. But, Rachel and I were practically twins. We were both on student council, both on dance company, both loved Depeche Mode, and both loved boys. We just clicked. So, when it came time for me to leave the nest after high school, I knew who I wanted my roommate to be.

Rachel is like the sister I've never had. She's a saint for being my roommate for a whole year. While sharing a room together, each morning, while she was still asleep, I would turn on "The Scientist" by Coldplay while I was getting ready in our room with the light on. She was still in bed, yet she never said anything to me about it. I still feel bad. If I was her, I would have been ticked if my roommate did that while I was still asleep.

I think everyone has a list of shameful things they did while they were 18.

Most of my shameful things were thanks to her.

Like I said, Rachel was like my sister.

With every guy I met, she would always say, "Lynsey, are you going to tap that?"

"Tap" in Mormon terms would be, make out.

I think half of the people I've kissed are thanks to her coercing.

NCMO was a favorite word around our apartment.

In fact, one night, while bored in our apartment, she said, "You know, I think I'm going to go have a NCMO with Klicks, you should go have one with G Pack." I agreed. And off we went.

We both came back a few hours later. Although, her man had been a little better to her, since she got ice cream from the Creamery and all I got was a walk to the totem pole at the Museum of People's and Cultures.

Rachel and I would go to the temple every Wednesday. One of the temple workers was a slightly attractive man (to the 18-year-old eye). He would smile at both of us every Wednesday. Sometimes he would even say, "Welcome to the temple." And on Valentine's Day, he said, "Happy Valentine's Day." We called him "D Wed." Since we saw him every Wednesday and found out his first name was David. Every Wednesday when we would come home from the temple, we would talk about D Wed. I was interested. She wasn't. We tried everything to look him up and find out more about him. Stalker net, Facebook, Myspace, the phone book, and even Google. But we couldn't find anything. Then, finally we found him after a really hard search on Facebook. She told me I should e-mail him because that's what she always does. So I did. I found out that D Wed was not only 33, but also lived in our same apartment complex. After finding all that out, I quickly regretted my decision to e-mail him. Especially since he never called me "Lynsey". He would only call me "Sister Leiter". I still get the creeps.

Rachel always had good luck with the e-mails she would send people. She would say, "Hey I think you're fly..." and the rest was history. Just kidding. Both of us failed horribly in the e-mailing boys department.

You can only be 18 once. I don't ever want to go back... even if I did have fun. 18-year-olds think they're so great and that every boy loves them. We were proof of that stigma. I will now proceed with some pictures from the past.

For Halloween we were Paris and Nicole. Not one person in Provo knew who we were. We thought we were awesome and that our costumes were so original. But really, all we did was look ridiculous.

Getting fake tattoos from Del Taco and then placing them on our shoulder blades, just like in Walk to Remember was a favorite past time.

We went through a knitting phase. We made a fruitloop scarf for one of our favorite friends. He threw it away shortly after this photo was taken.

Ward activities were also something we loved because we were the only 18-year-olds in the whole ward. All the boys loved us and all the girls hated us. Here we are at an ice skating party. (I still have no clue why I'm wearing a Dole Pineapple shirt.)

This was our best friend Shmike. He was our friend for about 1 week out of each month. The other 3 weeks he would get back together with his ex-girlfriend. We loved him. Although, Rachel won the prize when she got a little lip lovin from him the day before he went on his mission.

Our first fight happened because of this picture. We had a dance party in our room with Marni and Britney. I posted the pictures from the dance party on Facebook and Rachel got mad. Way mad. Because she was immodest in the pictures. She's always keeping her standards. That's why I love her. (P.S. notice how my collar is popped? Yeah, I did that all. the. time. Oh, and my shirt is from Hollister. Typical behavior of an 18-year-old.)

Here we are at the Miley Cyrus concert. Best night ever. GNO.

Matching shirts we made. And we were not ashamed.

And here we are at the Spiderman 3 midnight premier. Notice that matching shirts again. We loved that type of thing.

In all seriousness though, Rachel and I have been friends for many years. She's someone I look up to a lot. I think she's the most incredible woman on the planet. Even though we've both done some crazy stuff, it's always fun to go back and laugh at it. Last night we video chatted on Gmail and just laughed and laughed at all the stupid stuff we've made each other do. She always makes me feel good about myself and she always calls me at the times I need to talk to someone the most.

Thanks for everything and Happy Birthday, Rachel!!

Oops

2011-06-04T14:41:00.000-07:00

You probably noticed my grammatical error from my last post.

I'm embarrassed.

I was just dying to come home from the pool so that I could fix it.

Is there a blogger iPhone app? I should probably look into that.

Anyway, yes, I am a hypocrite.

And yes, I probably need a few lessons on homophones.

So sorry.

A {Not-So} Saturday Run

2011-06-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

I have to keep reminding myself that next Saturday I'm running a 1/2 marathon.

I signed up for this race thinking that my friends would sign up for it too, unfortunately, they hated it last year and opted out of doing it this year. So that left me stuck. I have to get up at 3:30 just to run the dang thing-- which doesn't even start until 6.

Today seemed like a lovely day to do a long run.

However, about 6.5 miles into my run, I decided I was going to quit.

So I did.

I ran back to my old neighborhood- 150 West.

My second family lives on that street. I figured they could give me a ride home.

However, no one was home.

So I broke into their house, helped myself to some water, then helped myself to all their recently purchased produce from Costco.

I think one of my favorite things about Costco is their produce.

The raspberries and grapes are particularly my favorites. The grapes are so crunchy and the raspberries are so plump. I hope heaven has those things by the bucketful.

I'm kind of a produce snob. I can't ever eat produce from Wal-Mart...especially bananas. They're so gooey and brown. I also can't ever eat an apple that has one bruise on it. Or an apple that isn't cold. Peaches have to have the perfect feel to them, and carrots have to be a perfect size.

So, although my 10 mile run was cut down. Way down. At least I got some good produce from it.

Thank you, Costco for blessing my day.

Should I feel guilty for breaking into their house and befriending their guard dog? Probably. But oh well.

A Lovely Read

2011-06-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

My brother got me this book for my birthday.

Pleasure reading doesn't come too frequently these days.

In fact, I can't remember the last time I read something that wasn't a textbook.

Although my summer has been less than ideal since I'm taking 10 credits right now, I did get the chance to flee town for 5 days. I took the book and plowed through it. Bossypants is probably the funniest book I've ever read... well next to Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. Tina Fey is so witty. I was laughing out loud multiple times during the book.

I think one of my favorite parts in the book is when she talks about her first period.

Her mom bought her a "My First Period Kit". The kit had a little book in it that answered girl's questions about their period. Here is one of the letters in the book that still has me laughing:

Dear Pam,

I'm supposed to go to a pool party this week, but my "Aunt Blood" is still in town. Can I go?

Dear Tabitha,

Of course you can still go! Modess makes great feminine-protection products that are so thick and puffy, you'll be super comfortable sitting on that bench near the pool telling everyone you're sick.

Aunt blood?

Feminine-protection products that are so thick and puffy?

I love it!

I'm not very good at writing reviews. The only thing I can say is go buy it NOW.

You won't regret.

The only bad thing is there are a few curse words... my dad went all bishopy on me and told me I shouldn't read it... when he's the one who is reading that Aaron Ralston books which has curse words left and right. Whatever though. I won't judge.

The Good Life

2011-06-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

I don't prefer One Republic. I never really have. Until today.

This song has been on repeat all day long.

How can you possibly be in a bad mood after listening to this song?

OK, I'll admit, it's a tad bit cliche'. But I love it.

Speaking of a good life....

Mine is going pretty good.

I have about 2 weeks left of the term from h.e. double hockey sticks and I can't wait to get it over with.

I can't wait to start working on my "Summer Bucket List" activities. This includes:

1- Hike Timp Cave every morning.

2- Hike Mt. Timpanogos 1 time.

3- Go to the farmer's market every Saturday.

4- Run 8 miles M-F. Long runs on Saturday.

5- Swimming. Every. Single. Day.

6- Get my classroom ready. Yikes! I still can't believe I'll be teaching 38 kids all by myself!

7- Ride my beach cruiser everywhere.

8- Go to the Mona Lake Rope Swing.

9-Read Harry Potter 7 before the movie comes out.

10- Harry Potter Midnight Premier.

11- Sleepovers on the tramp. (I don't have a tramp. I also don't know anyone who has a tramp. But I'll find someone. I love tramp sleepovers.)

12- Find someone who has a boat and go boating frequently.

etc.

I'm sure I'll find more things to add. But for now, this one will suffice.

The Sale Rack

2011-05-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

I've never been a fan of the sale rack.

Searching and digging for your size in a sale rack doesn't make the sale worth it. Actually, it always makes me nauseous just thinking about searching through the mess. The sale rack always looks like the clothing retailer just threw-up all the odds and ends that no one wanted for the past 3 months no matter what store you go in. (Don't even get me started on Kohl's)

In fact, I just prefer buy the dang thing for full price just to save me from digging for 10 hours to find my size amongst the million other clothes that are on sale.

But, since I no longer work in retail, the sale rack has become a must and a necessity if I want new clothes.

Today I ventured to Old Navy.

Most of the time I hate Old Navy because the clothes are too "cutesy" and a tad bit juvenile for my age.

Oh, and also because every other girl at BYU will most likely be wearing your same cardigan if you got it from there.

But, again, since I'm no longer in retail, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Today was probably the best sale day of my life.

I got a million things from the dreadful sales rack for 50% off their lowest price. (OK maybe not a million, but a lot)

Tanks for $2.00

A cardigan (which I'm sure everyone has) for $6.00

A dress for $6.00

and

Shorts for $12.50

Looks like digging through the sale rack might not be so bad after all.

Well, I guess not so bad at Old Navy. Other stores... like Kohl's... yeah I'll never go through their sales rack, even if someone paid me to do it. It's so overwhelming and so out of date. I swear the things that are on sale there have been sitting on that rack since 1996. At least my mom helps keep the sale population down on those racks. She worships Kohl's and all their sale glory.

A meltdown and other things

2011-05-25T20:07:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to sign into my blog all week. I didn't think much of it for the past 2 days, but tonight I decided I needed to figure out what the problem was. When I created this blog years ago, I created it with a hotmail account. (do people even use that anymore?) Anyway, blogger wasn't letting me sign in. They had sent me an e-mail to troubleshoot my problem to my hotmail account. I haven't checked that account since I was a freshman in college. I tried time and time again to log in, but failed miserably. What the heck is Windows Live? Anyway, I cried. My mom thought I was ridiculous. I've put so much blood and sweat and energy into my blog, there is no possible way I could start from scratch again. For about 5 minutes I decided that if I couldn't log into Lovelylynsey, then my blogging days are over. That would be a really sad day for me. I wouldn't fit in with anyone in Utah County anymore. But... as you can see, I was finally able to log in. I guess all those years of paying tithing payed off.

Last night, I went to bed at the healthy hour of 9:00 p.m. I was feeling pretty good about my would-be 8-9 hours of sleep (depending on how many times I pressed snooze). I sleep upstairs where no one can bother me. I never hear anything and always have uninterrupted sleep. I heard a dog barking outside, but just let it go, thinking to myself, "Oh, he'll probably stop soon." 10 o'clock now roles by and the dog is still barking. With each bark he made, I just hoped and prayed it would be his last and that he would go to bed. But no, 11 o'clock comes along and the dog is barking even more. I contemplated what I could do. Going downstairs to one of the spare bedrooms seemed like the most reasonable answer, but I didn't want to make the long trek downstairs. It's cold down there. I always keep the loft at a comfortable 75 degrees. I love it up here. So, I realized I have a little walk in closet. That's where I would set up camp since no one was stopping the obnoxious dog.

The sleeping situation looked like this:

Yes, that is my pillow in the hamper. It worked pretty good.

Actually, last night was the best night of sleep I've had in a long time.

I think I'm going to take up residency in the closet- even though I have 2 beds in my room.

When I moved out of the house in 2006, I realized just how grouchy of a sleeper I am.

I can NOT be disturbed. Well, try having 5 other roommates for 4 years straight. You can imagine the amount of times my precious sleep was interrupted. I used to sleep with ear plugs and an eye mask. I also had a fan on as white noise to block out any other noise I might hear from loud roommates. Actually, one roommate thought that because I did all those things that she could keep the light on in our bedroom until 3:00 a.m. She also thought that she could talk to her boyfriend (who was clearly cheating on her) all hours of the night... because I had earplugs. You can imagine how upset I got. I'm actually a non-confrontational person, I don't like getting mad at others. But when it comes to my sleep- I go crazy. I need 8 hours or else I can't function.

Glitter Toms

2011-05-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

Fact: Just because your Toms have glitter on them, it still doesn't make them appropriate to wear to church.

Maybe I'm sounding a little judgmental. But there's just something about seeing someone wear Toms to church that makes my stomach churn. Apparently all the hipsters in my ward think it's alright to wear these guys- even the non-hipsters. I think I'm done with the Toms craze... even though I just blogged about them in April. I just can't wear them anymore. Especially after my mom said she's going to get a pair.

Again?

2011-05-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

I just found out about a week ago that there is a new Pirates of the Caribbean coming out this week.

My first thought was... again?

I'm pretty sure the only semi-interesting pirates was the 1st one.

But now they're on their 4th one?

It's like the Land Before Time movies. They'll never stop making them.

How much more can happen in the Caribbean?

How many more people does Jack Sparrow have to save?

I will admit, I attended the midnight screenings of 2, and 3. But I just did that for the experience and for the opportunity to get my out of the house past curfew when I was in high school.

I was asleep by 12:05. I've been to the movies. Just never seen them. And I am not ashamed.

Something to Ponder

2011-05-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

The last 3 months, I've been spending a lot of time in Lehi, Ut.

If you're not familiar with Lehi, it's basically Redneckville, USA.

In fact, Lehi is the only town in Utah County where everyone isn't a Mormon.

It's the strangest thing.

Anyway, during my time there (and future time since I'll be teaching there in the Fall...) I've noticed that everyone there drives a Ford, Chevy, or Dodge pick-up truck.

Have you ever noticed how you'll never see a redneck driving a Nissan truck?

Never.

I promise.

I think Nissan's were specifically made for the business white collar folk. Or for the kids that sell security systems and make billions.

Just another single's ward happening

2011-05-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I have been so bad at blogging.

I have no excuses.

But I do have a bunch of things I'm just dying to blog about.

So don't worry, this pot isn't empty.

Yesterday, in the good ol' single's ward... a certain young man came into Relief Society to make an announcement. I'm guessing he was just called to the Activities Committee. He spoke to us for a good 15 minutes about this new "Adventure Group" he's created. This group, he claims will, "Help you find a date, help you find a celestial mate, and help you stay busy all summer long." He said he created this group on Facebook and already there are "tons" of people that have joined. He also claimed that a movie producer from Brooklyn found his group on Facebook and said, "It's the best idea he's ever seen and that's it's going to go global." I wish I could say this kid was kidding. But no. He was being dead serious about this supposed "movie producer". I just sat there in Relief Society utterly confused at how ridiculous this kid was being. I'm trying to be more loving and kind towards others so I tried my best to accept his claims... but I just wasn't buying his whole 15 minute talk. He also sent around a sign-up sheet in R.S. with a whole 1-page single-spaced typed letter about the "Adventure Group". Grammatical errors were all over the place, as well as claims that he's also creating a "Pirate Group", where all you do is talk pirate and do "pirate things" together. I did take the time to read all about it. But quickly passed the clip-board on, denying to sign up for any of this.

And then...

I get a Facebook Friend invite this morning from him. The boy. Who has not only created "Adventure and Pirate Group", but has also created a profile for "Manila Ward".

I added. For about 20 minutes. Then quickly deleted.

Why?

Well, here's just a profile picture for you...

A little bit sacrilegious, don't you think?

Also, during the 20 minutes of friendship, I was bombarded with e-mails and constant status updates.

E-mails with things that say, "A site you can see the announcements posted weekly , not only that, but you get to see all your ward family members and potential spouses, Thus it being a singles ward and all!"

And also things like... "The Brethren of the church has council-ed us that we must get married and start family's and continue to build up the kingdom of God. thus his work will always go forth boldly nobly and not refrain, for the kingdom of God will not be mocked. something like that ill edit it later."

There are many times when I go to my ward and think... "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Yesterday was one of those times.

But then, once I let it all sink in. I think to myself, you know, the ward has got some really great people in it- both crazy and normal. Life wouldn't be fun if there weren't crazies. I'm so grateful for all the crazies in my life- even if I'm one of them.

Weekend Update

2011-05-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

I went to St. George this weekend for a wedding.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the bride and groom.

I did however, manage to get a million pictures of my 2 nieces.

This is Natalie. We had to pay her to be in this picture with me. She's still bitter towards me when I used to babysit when she was a baby. My brother and sister-in-law were finishing up at BYU and had class really early in the morning. So I would come over and watch the baby. Basically, she would wake up, I would feed her, then we'd both go back to bed. She's still trying to get over it. But really, babies love napping. Even if they just woke up 30 minutes before.

This is Rebbie. I'm pretty sure she drinks straight buttermilk. She's a chunk. And I love her.

As much as I love making fun of St. George and the people that live there, I decided this weekend that I would be completely happy living there. They've got the sun and frozen yogurt shops on every corner.

Yes, my friends, pure happiness.

When I wasn't playing patty-cake with the babies this weekend, I sat by the pool.

In fact, one session was about 8 hours.

There's nothing more relaxing than just sitting (and studying) in the sun.

I hope heaven has swimming pools and 90-degree weather.

Oh, and thanks to the 90-degree weather, I now have freckles all over my face.

Is it bad to say that my freckles are my favorite physical attribute about myself?

Well, they are. Even though they only last for about 4 months. They really make me happy.

Thanks, Mom

2011-05-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

On this day to honor the mothers in our lives, I couldn't help but do the ever-so-common "Reasons Why I Love My Mom" blog post.

I love my mom a lot. I am grateful for both her and my dad in my life. They're the best parents and people. They love everyone and always care about the well-being of those they come in contact with.

Us kids in the family always call my mom a "helicopter mom". She really is one. She loves knowing all of our business. It's great to know how much she really does care about our lives. Even when we're 22, 26, and 29.

Sometimes she thinks she's a failure mom because we all suck at piano and because I can't do math for the life of me. But really, she did her best. There's only so much pushing a mom can do. I'll never blame her for not being able to play the piano... even though I took 9 years of it.

My mom taught us the value of work and the importance of getting an education. She taught us how to balance what's important and what isn't. She taught us to love and accept others for who they are. And most importantly, she taught us to love God.

I love you, Mom.

Thanks for being the best.

Even though I told you today that you're too intrusive, I still do love you. A lot.

Friday

2011-05-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Remember how I am on an egg strike?

I found this little picture today and nearly died.

A hardboiled egg baked in corndog batter.

This just justifies my reasons for never wanting to eat eggs ever again.

In other news, I'm going to St. George for a 24 hour trip tomorrow to play with this baby

and this baby... who actually isn't much of a baby anymore.

Also, today I realized that I hate reading blogs that are just all words and no pictures.

I can't believe you are all still reading my blog.

So... as of now. I'm going to be posting more pictures.

Be ready.

And again, my apologies for being just a word blogger.

A Little Laugh

2011-05-05T05:43:00.000-07:00

Am I the only person that still laughs at this every time I watch it?
I think this may be the best thing on the Internet?
Maybe I'm wrong?
What's your favorite vid?

MAD Tv - Bon Qui Qui at King Burger. Watch more top selected videos about: Burger King

I Love America

2011-05-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

Before I begin this post... I was rereading what I wrote from yesterday. I'm a little concerned y'all might think I'm high maintenance by what I wrote about that car. I'm anything but high maintenance. I really don't care about name brands. We all have guilty pleasures, right? Well mine just so happens to be that car.

As I mentioned last week, the 5th graders I'm with right now are in the Hope of America concert.

Today was dress rehearsal at BYU. I forgot how annoying small children are when you are on a bus with them. I feel so bad for all of my past teachers.

The performance was good. I have all of the songs forever ingrained in my head.

While driving around BYU, the kids were freaking out as we passed the LaVell Edwards Stadium. It's almost like their parents have never taken them anywhere in their entire life.

After the practice, we got to take a tour of the BYU sports museum. (I think that's what it's called?)

The kids were just praying that every corner we turned, they'd run into The Jimmer.

Then with every athlete they saw walking around, they just had to go give them a hi-five. Even though they had no clue who they were.

For part of the tour, we went into the athlete weight room. One of my good friends is Alex Payne. She's married to Mitch Payne, you know, the kicker for BYU. I think that's like my one claim-to-fame in life.

Anyway, I saw him working out, so I decided to go over and talk to him.

When I came back, the kids went crazy.

"Was that an athlete?"

"Who was that?"

"Why didn't you let us get his autograph?"

And my personal favorite after I had told them he was my friend's husband...

"Wait. You mean, he's married and he goes to college? Holy crap."

The naivety of these babies kills me.

I love them so much and I can't wait to get my own class of them next year.

In other news...

I got asked out on a date last night.

He called at 9:00 p.m. and wanted to leave at 9:30 p.m.
What ever happened to chivalry?

I think I am forever doomed to life as a cat lady.

Bigger and Better

2011-05-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

My little Passat is at the end of its rope.

And when I say end, I really mean it.

I've loved everything about that little lady.

It's the most perfect car I've ever had.

Leather seats, sunroof, heated seats, and my personal favorite, purple interior lights.

Unfortunately though, I don't think she's going to make it through the summer.

Poor gal, I've always liked her.

So... I'm on the hunt for a new car.

The bad thing is, since my current car is really nice (on the inside), I've decided I need another car just equally as nice.

I went test driving cars a few weekends ago just for fun with Nate, I didn't think anything of it, but once we went to the Lexus dearlership, I fell in love.

L.O.V.E.

Ladies and gents, I introduce you to the IS 250.

Isn't it perfect?

I've never been one that really cares about cars.

Of course I know them all and I've always known who drives which car, but I'm not obsessed.

But after taking a seat in this little thing... I was hooked.

Of course I wouldn't get a new one. Just a used.

Now let's get into the logistics.

You can just imagine what my parents said when I came home and announced that I'm getting one.

They just laughed.

My brother told me that only pretend rich people drive a Lexus... hence why everyone in Utah County drives one. He suggested I get an Infiniti. But it's just not the same.

Then there's the whole fiasco with me living at home with my parents driving a nice car.

Sounds retarded, right?

I can afford one.

I can afford to move out, too.

But I don't want to move out. I like home (most days).

I just don't want to be one of those washed up kids that never moves out of the house with the parents and spends their money on really nice things.

Man, this is pretty sad that I am stressing out about something this worldly.

I promise I'm not vain.

I've always been a sale rack type of girl.

I hate debt. I think it's awful and I never want to go into it.

See, aren't I a good person?

Maybe I'm going through a mid-mid life crisis.

The 99%

2011-04-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

If you're a Gold's Gym member, you'll relate to what I'm about to say...

There are only 2 types of people that go to that gym.

Those who workout hard

and

Those that hardly workout.

If we want to talk numbers and percentages, I would say, about 99% of the members are in the category of "hardly working out". The 1% are those who "workout hard".

For the 99%, Gold's is their dating service.

They pay a monthly fee, get all dolled up, wear their shortest booty shorts (if they're a lady) and don their tightest form-fitting shirt (both genders). Their goal, is to find someone.

Now, their searching for a mate depends on 2 things.

1- If they're trying to find a mate, but just want a bootycall, they'll go to the gym in the evening.

2- If they're going to find a mate because they want a new life, they'll go in the morning. I like to call these people the "homewreckers".

The 99% are most often found walking on the treadmill or climbing the stairmaster.

They don't break a sweat. Ever.

I hate running next to them because I sweat profusely (yes, I'm in the 1% category).

When choosing my treadmill, I always try to stay away from the 99%ers, yet, I always somehow end up being next to them. I hate how perfect they always smell and how the clothes on their body are so neat and fresh. I think Gold's needs to start segregating.

I think the women 99%ers bug me more than the men 99%ers.

The women are so obnoxious.

They all know each other.

They all have fake hoots.

They all prance around Gold's like they own the place.

There are 2 that I like to call "pigtails" and "the other one".

These 2 ladies are at the gym EVERY morning from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m.

You would think that's a really good thing.

"Wow, good for them for working out for that long."

But the thing is, these gals don't break a sweat once during their 6 hour stay.

Their routine goes like this:

1- walk on treadmill for 5 minutes.

2- make the rounds and talk to every guy on the weight machines (1 hour depending)

repeat for 6 hours until they get a bootycall (or affair) whichever.

I'm sick of the 99%.

I wish there was more of my kind at Gold's.

I've considered quitting Gold's.

But then my only other option is the American Fork Rec. Center.

If you're from America Fork, you'll know that place is a joke if you want to work out.

It's filled with women and men just about on their deathbed.

It's also filled with moms who wear over-sized shirts and sweatpants while listening to their walkmen.

I don't fit in at that place.

I wear tank tops and listen to a thing called an iPod.

I don't want to be judged by the moms and deathbed people.

So Gold's it is.

I need it to be warm so I can run outside.

I'm ready for a 4 month break from that place.

Happy Birthday to Me

2011-04-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

Just got this dandy little e-mail today.

The White iPhone 4?

Yes, please.

Whenever I buy some sort of cool and hip technology thing, the newer version always comes out within 2 weeks of my recent purchase. But this time, I'm a winner.

May 15th can't come any sooner.

America Rocks and other things from the 5th Grade

2011-04-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

So, as you know, I'll be teaching 5th grade next school year.
For the next 4 weeks, I'm going to be teaching in another 5th grade teacher's classroom to get a feel of what I'm going into. I just completed day 2, and let's just say, 5th graders are definitely not 1st graders.
First of all, the kids are HUGE!
My heavens I think 80% of them are taller than me.
They're like adults, trapped in an elementary school.
I like them.
Today I did an impromptu math review for their state core testing.
5th grade was the year I really started struggling in math.
I still shutter every time someone talks about long division.
So, when my mentor teacher asked me today to do the review with them, I hesitantly agreed.
I can't go into detail, but... let's just say the television show, "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" kept coming into my head while I was reviewing with them... more like them reviewing with me. But whatever. I'll get the hang of it.

Then, while I was walking the kids to lunch, one of them asks, "How old is Neil Armstrong?" I felt so wise and quickly replied, "He's about 40 or so." Then one girl, the one who isn't even from America says, "Really? Didn't he walk on the moon like in the 60's or something? He can't possibly be 40." My face quickly flushed. Lance Armstrong and Neil Armstrong are not the same person. But they do have the same last name.

When you're in 5th grade, and you live in Utah County, often times the school you're in will have you participate in Hope of America. It's like some big patriotic festival at BYU. Today they practiced for it. I have the song "America Rocks!" stuck in my head and I can't get it out no matter how hard I try. Just watch this video to get a little flavor of what it's like.
Here are just some of the lyrics that make me laugh:

"When you see a great big smile, right across my face. It's because I know I live in a downright wonderful place.When I see red, white, and blue, my heart turns inside out. It makes me want to shout AMERICA ROCKS! It's totally cool. It's totally hot. I mean it's like right there at the top."

Did I mention there is choreography included, too?

Although 5th grade is completely different from 1st grade, I do like it.

The children are a lot more independent. It's nice not to babysit or deal with tattle-telling, no matter how much I adored the tattle-telling. I'm really excited to see what next year brings.

Prenatal Woes

2011-04-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

Remember how I'm always talking about how I really want long hair and how I am taking prenatal vitamins to get that long hair?

Well....

Today I decided to amp my dosage or prenatals. I just can't be patient waiting for this:

Just look at those long locks of gold. I would give anything to have them back.

Yes, I would even take a few more prenatals than I'm supposed to.

Well, today I'm really paying for it.

I have been so nauseous. I feel like I've been on a swing all day long. I hate swings.

Now I kind of know what it must feel like for people that are pregnant.

Speaking of pregnant. If this is what future-mommies feel like for the first 3 months, I don't want to ever be pregnant. I'm a baby when I'm sick. I make sure to let everyone know that I'm not feeling well and I let everyone know that they should drop all their commitments and take care of me.

Back to the prenatals...

I don't care if I ever see another prenatal vitamin again.

I'll keep this short hair. I'll grow it out the old fashioned way. Even if it takes me 2 years.

Oh and please don't suggest I get extensions. I feel like the girls that get extensions are also the girls that go to the tanning salon daily, have acrylic nails, and also only wear Ed Hardy apparel or anything from Buckle.

I can't possibly be associated with that group.

The Family Vacation

2011-04-19T22:53:00.000-07:00

We all remember the family vacation from last summer.

Here's just a little flavor of what you missed:

Read here, or here for those who are new to LL.

The family went to Disneyland. It was truly a perfect vacation and there were hardly any fights between the 5 original Leiters, the 2 imports and the 3 babies.

So since last year was a success, M&D decided that we must go on another vacation.

At first I was on-board and encouraged them to plan one.

My initial thoughts were that we would probably rent a beach house somewhere in Southern California or take a trip to Florida. But unfortunately, Brother #2 is in medical school and can't take any time off, blah, blah, blah...So... M&D have decided we will bring the family vacation TO him and his family.

Insert cheers and applause.

But the unfortunate thing is, Brother #2 lives here:

Wisconsin.

What's in Wisconsin you may ask.

Don't worry, I ask the same thing everyday.

WHAT IS IN WISCONSIN? (besides 2 really cute nieces of mine)

I'm trying everything to get out of this vacation.

I may be the worst Leiter out of the whole bunch, but really. Couldn't he have gone to medical school in a more fun place. Anywhere but Wisconsin.

You see, I've been to Wisconsin twice since he's been out there and besides playing with the babies, there's really not much to the state.

Oh sure, there's a mall, a children's museum and a zoo, also Oprah's mom lives just down the road, but other than that. Nothing.

"But Lynsey," my mom protests, "We can go to the outlet mall while we're there."

And to think, all we had to do was hop a plane and we could go OUTLET SHOPPING!

Maybe I'm a bit bias, you see Wisconsin was where I nearly got caught in a violent shooting at the local Blockbuster. I still wake up with night sweats of what could have happened to me.

So my mom tried to persuade me even more.

"Lynsey, why don't you bring Nate?"

The sad thing is, not even Nate wants to go to Wisconsin.

I then remembered that I'm in school Spring and Summer Terms and I can't possibly miss any of my classes. My mom said she'll change my ticket so that I can come out later in the week.

I'm running low on excuses.

M then told me that I have to go because we're having family photos.

Well... we all remember the family photo from a few years ago, don't we?

Let's just say, it wasn't the best day for anyone.

And how is dad MIA in this?

Who knows.

All I know is, family photos don't go over too well in my household and I would be perfectly fine missing out on 2011's.

I know by me typing this, I'm going to get a million texts from my immediate family telling me I'm rude for not liking Wisconsin. But really, it's one of those states that you just check off your list after visiting once. Kind of like Wyoming, Nebraska, or The Dakotas.

The Half Marathon Saga

2011-04-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

Back in 2008, (Weird, 2 stories from 2008 in the same week). Anyway, in 2008, I made it my summer goal to run a half marathon. I loved telling people that I was training for one. I loved the respect I got from others when I told them about how far I had ran that morning. It seemed like a half marathon was a pretty gruesome thing and something that would get you at least 10 or so comments on your Facebook status.

But now, 3 years later, the half marathon is a thing of the past.

It seems like everyone runs one these days. It's no longer an event for the novice.

In fact, it seems to me that it's just turned into a "housewife" event.

It's particularly annoying that every weekend, there is some kind of half marathon going on.

I see signs for new half marathons in Utah County almost daily.

Timp Half

Halloween Half

Thanksgiving Point Half

Provo River Half

Utah Valley Half

Provo Half

Hobble Creek Half

Elite Half

SLC Half

Deseret News Half

4th of July Half

... the list goes on and on. I'm sick of them being so dang common.

I fear the day when a full marathon becomes a thing for just anyone.

Then what's going to be unique about me?

I shutter to think about what I'm going to say when I have to introduce myself to a new group of people and share one cool thing about me...

I'm running out of unique talents and hobbies.

But, since running a marathon is still kind of a cool thing... and still gets me a million comments on my Facebook status, I will share with you this lovely picture that is my only proof from finishing the most painful thing of my life. Notice how I'm way too cheap to ever buy the stupid photo so just ignore the watermark.

Thank You, Mr. Clean

2011-04-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

In August 2008, I fell into the hipster crowd and bought myself (alright my parents bought) me a MacBook. I was in love. I felt on top of the world. I loved my life, even though I had no clue how to use the dang thing. I would even had impromptu photo shoots with the dang thing.

See here for proof:

(Notice how long my hair is. These pictures make me want to down the whole bottle of prenatals)

Getting the ever-so-coveted white MacBook might be one of my biggest regrets in life.

It is impossible to keep clean.

For almost 3 years I've tried my very hardest to keep the thing clean, and for 3 years I have failed miserably.

I'm always so embarrassed when people ask to see something on my computer or ask to use my computer.

It's so gross.

I've heard of cleaning agents for the computer, but I've been too lazy to actually try them.

But today it really hit me. While I should have been studying for finals, I put "Clean computer" at the top of my to-do list. I went to Wal-Mart, picked up a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and hurried to my house to try it.

I really didn't think it would work. Especially in the areas where my hands rest while I'm typing.

It was a christmas miracle (or a computer miracle) the dirt practically jumped off my computer and onto the Magic Eraser with hardly any effort at all.

I'm now back to having a love affair with my trendy mac.

But really. I am.

Here's a gruesome photo of the crap that was on my computer.

Viewer discretion is advised.

The end of a breakfast era

2011-04-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

For the past 2 years I have had egg whites for breakfast every single morning (except fast sunday of course).

The routine went a little like this:

-Wake up to alarm and think to myself, I've really got to change that ringtone it's driving me crazy.

- Check my e-mail on my phone

-Roll out of bed

-Walk down the stairs

-Enter kitchen and neatly place 3 eggs in a pot to boil.

-Go back upstairs

-Do hair/get dressed

-Come back downstairs 15 minutes later and peel the egg whites.

-Make a cup of hot chocolate (sugar free, of course)

-Place a sandwich thin in the toaster

-Place egg whites on the sandwich thin.

-Stir hot chocolate

-Peel banana

-Sit and read the paper (ok maybe I fibbed a little on that one)

But something tragic happened to this 2 year tradition.

I woke up one morning and nearly threw-up at the idea of eating another egg white.

In fact, just thinking about eggs makes me gag while I'm typing this.

The smell of them is so horrible. My family has been begging me for months to stop eating them, but I just couldn't.

Today I went to Subway for lunch. The kid in front of me ordered a bacon egg and cheese sandwich. I nearly died seeing them microwave the "eggs" or whatever those things were. My knees buckled when he asked them to put mayonnaise on his sandwich, my stomach turned when he asked them to put lettuce and tomatoes and olives on top of the mayonnaise. How can people do that with eggs? I've always believed that eggs should be eaten plain. But with mayonnaise and lettuce on top? Where is the decency in that?

So back to breakfast

Now I'm in this huge fiasco... I don't know what to eat for breakfast anymore.

It's an awful thing.

Really, it is.

Milk makes me gag. Especially cereal with milk. The milk gets warm and the cereal gets soggy. Yuck.

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I've always agreed with that. Those egg whites really got me going in the morning. But now, I find myself waking up every morning dreading going down to the kitchen because I don't know what to have.

Some days it's just a banana, others it's fruitsnacks. I'm a mess. I can't even drink hot chocolate anymore.

When people ask me what heaven will be like, I often reply, that it better have egg whites and black beans. I used to think that I could eat those things every day for the rest of my life and be completely happy. But now, I'm thinking, if heaven really does have egg whites, I don't know if I can go there.

So here I am, begging you readers for some input on what some of your favorite breakfasts are.

Pleaseandthankyou.

Venus vs. Mars

2011-04-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I did a post about the good ol' single's ward.

Tonight's FHE was just begging to be blogged about.

It was called, "Venus vs. Mars".

Basically, it was a dating Q&A.

Ok Ok maybe I liked dating Q&A's when I was 16, but really... in a single's ward?

Shouldn't we already be seasoned daters and shouldn't we know what to do?

Here's how the setup went... the girls sat on one side and the boys sat on the other.

The girls would then ask the boys questions about dating and vis versa.

Here are just some of the questions the guys were asking the girls...

"Um... so like how are we supposed to ask you out when you're talking to someone else?"

"I've often been called a creep or a stalker or a creeper when approaching a girl..."

(Please roll your eyes at that one...)

"So do you like it when I open the door for you?"

"Uh how do I ask you out in a cool way when we're just standing there talking to each other?"

It goes on and on.

The whole time I was sitting there just thinking, "Wait. Didn't we learn the answers to these questions when we were Priests and Laurels?" Apparently all the men in my ward missed that activity while they were growing up.

One boy gave this wise piece of advice to the other boys in the ward... It went like this.

"Guys, if you're going to ask a girl out, you should start by asking her a question like, 'So if you were to have all the money in the world, what would you do with it?' Then she'll answer, then you'll proceed to ask her out."

What?!!!

Then there was the brave boy that said, "I just appreciate it when a girl does go out with me period."

That one actually made me sad. You know, the kind of sad you get when you go to the pet shelter and see all the sad pets just looking at you begging for a home. Yeah, that's how I felt.

The night then continued to a round of speed dating.

Never done that before.

Never doing it again.

Oh, and remember how I talked about President Monson's talk last Monday... OK, I'm eating my words. I hate to say it, but the only people that are still talking about that are the spinsters. Really, at BYU it seems like that's all I hear coming out of girl's mouths. Come on, folks. This is old news to the brethren. They've been hearing it for ages that they need to buck up and get married. It's not new. So please ladies, stop waiting by your phones for him to call.

The Best Worst Movie

2011-04-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night I had the wonderful opportunity to watch this great movie:

Troll 2

This is hands-down the best worst movie ever made.

It's supposed to be a horror. But unfortunately, it's not.

I'm guessing it took the creators $20 and about 24 hours to make the movie.

Netflix this. You will not be disappointed.

Remember all the infamous one-liners from "Spiderman 3"? Yeah, well this movie has even better one-liners. I promise.

Also, strangely enough, the movie is called "Troll 2", yet there are no trolls in the whole movie.

It's about Goblins. Which makes it even better.

Plussssssss..... if you're into the whole LDS actor scene like I am, you'll notice one of the main characters...

Cami Giles ringing any bells?

My birthday is just right around the corner. I'm adding this movie to my wish list.

Speaking of birthday, I still haven't come to grips with the fact that I'm turning 23.

Yikes.

I still remember the day I turned 16.

How did 16 turn into 23?

I don't even know what I'm going to do when I turn 24.

Is it too early to start counting backwards?

I thought 21 was the perfect age. That's when everyone started respecting me and valuing my opinion. Unlike ages 18-20.

22 wasn't so bad either.

But 23?

That's like an abomination to society.

Well for a gal who hasn't been on a mission or isn't married yet.

Disney Channel Acting School

2011-04-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

Someone suggested I watch this little SNL clip. I can't stop watching it.

The "Pause then Dis" is incredible. And so right.

I may have been a little obsessed with Disney Channel back in my day.
Actually, I was still watching it up until 6 months ago, when I stopped watching television all together.
It's actually weird to think that I haven't watched any of my old favorite shows in almost half a year.
I feel so out of the loop in Modern Family and Glee. It's kind of sad. Who is Rachel even dating these days?

But speaking of Disney Channel... was anyone else completely obsessed with the monthly Disney Channel Original Movies? I loved them all, but I think my favorite will always be Smart House. I recorded that movie at least 3 times on my old "Disney Favorites" VHS. I wanted to live in that house so bad. I also really wanted a house party that had that had a kick-butt video screen playing the hit group, 5ive. The 3 boys dancing still kills me. Watch this video for some great Disney Channel Memories.

Oh Tom...

2011-04-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

Today is TOMS shoes "One Day Without Shoes" day. (confusing sentence. sorry)

So both my mom and I have been bombarded with e-mails from TOMS saying, free shipping blah, blah, blah.

My mom has been asking me what I would think if she got a pair of TOMS. Truth is, I don't want her to get them. They're for us young kids. Not moms. She then persists and says all her friends have them, too. I then try to tell her in the nicest way possible that she won't make them look good. She'll wear them with her flare jeans and they'll just look awful. She promises that she'll only wear them with shorts. She then says this...

"But Lynsey, TODAY ONLY, for every pair of TOMS you buy, they're going to give a pair to a child in Africa."

And that's why my mom cannot get a pair of TOMS.

For those readers that don't know TOMS, the whole purpose of this shoe company is for every pair you buy, they're going to give a pair to a child in Africa. Every day. Not just on certain days like my mom believes.

Watch this video to get educated.

On the bright side, I did manage to convince my mom to get me a pair because mine look like they've been through the World War. I took them to Disneyland last summer and they've never been the same.

The Tanner Building

2011-04-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

So the location of my math class got changed to The Tanner Building.

For those of you that don't know what that building is, it's where all the perfect people go.

It hosts all the business students, accounting students, and everyone else with a super competitive major.

I was a little apprehensive about going into this building.

Not only is the architecture amazing and beautiful, but so are the people.

I was so nervous that they would notice me and realize I was just an outsider- not really one of "them". Them- meaning someone who was accepted into the "Prestigious Marriot School", that was recently welcomed into "The Top Ten".

But I went.

I'm a changed woman.

I think I'm going to study there from now on.

That place will change you.

I'm sure the Celestial Kingdom is going to have a lot of the same qualities that the Tanner Building has.

(ok, ok... maybe that was a little too much. But really.)

Updates about me:

I could easily say the soundtracks of my life are Sara Bareilles's new album and John Mayer's new album. It's probably not healthy to listen to them on repeat all day long. But it's helping a little bit. Also, I don't think I can hear one more person say to me, "It will all work out." That's probably the last thing I want to hear. I may be a little sad on my blog for the next 3 weeks. You'll have to forgive me. You see, I was supposed to be married in 24 days. Every time my phone rings, I just hope it's him. It seems like everyone around BYU is getting engaged right now. That makes me sad. It makes me even more sad when I still have people asking me about my fiance. Like today- a girl was like, "So where did your fiance go on his mission?" And then I had to tell her the sad news. No one really knows how to react- truth is, I wouldn't know how to react either. I went to a bridal shower on Saturday and I think my heart shrunk about 4 sizes. I know everything will all work out. It always does. But for now, I've just got to listen to my pal, John Mayer and be perfectly lonely.

Conference Weekend

2011-04-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

Conference Weekend sure has been a lovely weekend.

My spiritual-self has been recharged.

I started off the weekend by going to a mission reunion on Friday night. That was probably one of the best things I've ever been to in my 22 years of life. They're really fun. I don't know why so many people complain about them.

I then went to a huge dance party for polynesians in Kearns.

Yes, I know what you're thinking, "But Lynsey, you could get shot in Kearns."

Hello. Don't you think I already thought of that before I went? Kearns, West Valley, and Midvale are the 3 towns you NEVER want to go to after dark. You're basically asking for a death wish when you visit them. But just for Friday night, I decided to put all my guards down and just go. It was so fun! I love the polynesian people so much. I'm re-evaluating my life plans and thinking of moving to Hawaii. The polynesian people are so nice and so loving! I wish I was born brown, really I do. Most people might be a little nervous going to an event where there were only about 10 other white people out of 1,000 polynesians, but not me. I've never felt more welcomed. Really, I'm ticked I'm not brown. White is so boring.

In other news, don't you love how on Facebook every girl is talking about the talks that talked about marriage? I'm loving it. All the jaded girls are coming out of the works saying things like, "Yeah brethren, did ya hear what they said in conference about marrying us?" or "I hope y'all listened to President Monson at Priesthood Session." I can't complain though, because secretly I'm hoping those brethren listened, too. But it's just funny seeing these girls post the things on Facebook. Desperate couldn't even begin to describe their pleadings.

That One Word...

2011-04-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

There is one word that I can never spell no matter how many times I write it.

Supposed.

I hate that word. And I hate that I can never remember how to spell it. I also hate that I type it multiple times a day and I still spell it wrong every single time.

Worst word ever.

Only at BYU...

2011-03-31T18:43:00.000-07:00

Only BYU would have a 5K called, "Commit to Virtue".

I nearly died when I saw the sign.

You better believe I'll be running it. I hope they pass out virtue t-shirts, too.

Can you just see it? A bunch of virgins running this "Commit to Virtue" 5K. It's horrible. But also really funny.

Do you think Elaine Dalton will make a special guest appearance?

Farewell

2011-03-30T16:33:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day with the babies. I was actually pretty sad about it.

They all wrote me and the other BYU student letters. They were hilarious and also really cute.

Here are some of my favorites:

I love this one mainly because of the you-know-whats. Should I be concerned that the little girl drew this as a picture of me and her? I hope a 1st grader doesn't have a chest like that.

This one was just really silly. He drew a picture of a cigarette lighter and then an arrow pointing to me. So clever.

Then there were the written notes. These ones were way crazy. I love the way 1st graders spell things.

Some of my favorites were:

-Mrs. Leiter, thank you for evrething you thech us thank you for making us smaretere.

Thank you for making us smartetere? I don't think I did well in that department. But I sure do love the way he spelled that whole sentence.

This next one was just flattering:

-Your sweet and kind your as small as a dime!

...and then he drew a picture of a dime with my face on it.

One time I taught the kids all about homophones. This letter says it all:

-Teeching us homeafphoane and word work and sit words thank you for effthing.

Then there was this kid in the class that was a total punk. I loved him. But he was a punk. He hated singing or reading or doing anything that a 1st grader likes to do. He especially hated when I tried to give him a high-five. Basically he was a 13-year-old trapped in a 6-year-old's body. Poor kid.

His note just describes his whole personality. It goes like this:

-Thank you for tenching us. Hllping us lern now suf. And all sors of suf.

-Suf is short for "stuff".

I'm going to miss those little kids. Today, a girl named Bella came crying to me because one of the other kids in the class always calls her "Belly Button". I couldn't stop laughing. Don't you think that's an extremely clever nickname? I love it. She didn't.

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention...I got a job teaching 5th grade next year! I can't wait.

You're Not Invited

2011-03-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

My 1-month stint with the first graders is coming to a close tomorrow. I'm going to miss them a lot.

I think my most favorite thing about these little kids is how much they cry. I love that they cry over everything! It just shows how innocent they are.

Today I had a number of kids come crying to me for a few reasons-- the first goes like this....

2 girls come crying to me after recess. We'll call them Rachel and Rebecca. Rachel was crying because Rebecca wouldn't let her play "Littlest Pet Shop". Whatever the heck that is... Anyway, so Rachel got upset at Rebecca for being selfish and said, "Well you can't come to my birthday party!" The party is in July and both girls just went hysterical-over a birthday party that isn't happening for 4 more months. Do you really think this 6-year-old is going to stick to her word of not letting the other one come to her party? Probably not, but Rachel and Rebecca both like to think so- hence their hysterical sobbing.

Second tale.

A boy comes up to me crying because another boy in the class only calls him by his last name.

I know what you're thinking. Believe me, I thought the same thing.

What?????

Boys are crying because other boys are calling them by their last name?

I always thought that boys just beat each other up for things like this, but I guess I was wrong- they come crying to the teacher instead.

I love how non-harmful 1st grade bullying is. I'm really going to miss being around this.

Free Loader

2011-03-27T17:27:00.000-07:00

Some people may call me spoiled. Others may call me a mooch. Whatever they call me, I really don't mind it. Being a "boomerang child" (meaning: left the house for 4 years, now I'm back) has really been an awesome opportunity. Free food, free rent, free phone, free gas? (only sometimes), free laundry, etc.

The free gets even better when you go shopping and forget your wallet.

This week, I scored:

1- a pair of flats

2- a pair of Keds

3- Capris

4- Sunglasses

5- A new skirt

6- Perfume

7- a new shirt

Living at this house is the best. I'm never leaving.

They always know

2011-03-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

While I was assessing a student this morning, I noticed bright-eyed Alli running quickly towards me with a paper in her hand. She had a huge smile on her face and simply said, "Here you go, Miss Leiter." I looked down and immediately started crying. Little kids always know when you're sad or when your heart is breaking. I love this picture for so many reasons.

The words- so simple and so cliche' but they really made me smile. This letter was exactly what I needed to start my day off.
(You may have to click on the picture since it cut off a little)

I think my most favorite thing about this is how she cited her source. What first grader even knows how to do that?

Every time I heard that Bruno Mars song on the radio, I would quickly change it. But I think it's going to be my new favorite song from now on.

Sometimes.

2011-03-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you're single.

Then sometimes you're engaged.

Then sometimes you're not engaged anymore.

Then sometimes you're trying to work things out.

Then sometimes you're back to being single again.

That's the case with this lady.

My schedule just opened up.

Call me and let's hang out, please.

I'm sure you would all love details, and I'm sure you might all think I'm slightly crazy since I'm always blogging about my life and my current situation.

First, let's make things clear-- he did NOT break off the engagement with me because of my self-proclaimed "bridezillaness". This was Not the case at all.

Second, He's a really good person and I love him a lot. Please don't comment and say anything mean about him. I mean, for crying out loud, I was going to marry him, so of course he's a catch.

Third, well... there is not third. That's all.

Weekend Update

2011-03-21T17:55:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, I went to St. George and Vegas this weekend. I think I've also mentioned oh about a million times that I'm in the Runner's Series for the St. George Marathon, therefore, we have to go to St. George and run 2 races during year in order to get an automatic entrance into the marathon. So, we ran a 10K. I feel like the biggest baby on the planet when I say, "I AM SO SORE!" But really, I am.

Speaking of the marathon... I'm dreading getting up every morning at 5:30 during the summer to train for it again. I've been getting up at 6:30 for the past 3 weeks and I'm nearly dying. I can't imagine waking one hour earlier.

Here's what the weekend went like:

1st- I ate at In-n-Out- for the second time in my life. Both times happened within the past month. For those of you who know me, I really hate hamburgers and meat. Especially hamburgers and meat from fast food joints. But In-n-Out is different. Maybe because it's hip? Who knows. But I really do love that place. The neapolitan shake speaks right to my soul.

2nd- Went to Vegas and spent way, way, way too much time at H&M. Reader Allison was right. That place is HUGE! I've never been more overwhelmed or stressed in my entire life. I hate huge stores. Kohl's nearly makes me pass out, there's so many clothes being thrown in my face. But H&M makes me happy, so I didn't freak out too much- even if the music was making the blood pressure raise. 2 hours later, I came out of there alive with some great clothes. They have a crazy fitting room rule that only lets you bring 6 items into the fitting room at one time. I don't understand that at all. There is no way someone can find just 6 things to try on in that place. So, it's a huge hassel having to go in and out of the room exchanging clothes with the gal at the desk so you don't "reach your limit" or whatever. One of the sweaters I bought, I chose not to try on. Well, late last night when I actually did try it on, I nearly died. It's so horrible. It's ruffly and makes me look like a lion with a mane. So.... if any of you readers are going to Vegas within the next 60 days.... I'd really love it if you would do the Christlike thing and take it back for me, pretty please.

3- I Decided to take a chance. While walking through the Paris hotel, Nate and I were approached by some lady telling us if we watched some new pilot television show, we could both get $15. Normally I say no to these types of things, especially when they told us we would have to go into the basement to watch it. But, I'm trying hard to not be neurotic about everything, so we said yes. Biggest mistake of our lives. There is a new TV show coming out this year that is called "Catch" it's basically a cheap knock-off version of "Wipeout" (not like I watch that show... I'm just saying). So we had to watch it and say when we did or didn't like it during the whole hour program. I still cringe just thinking about it. I just wanted the money and to get the heck out of there asap.

4- Last but not least, don't ever get off 3 exits before you have to when in Vegas. We had to drive many miles through the scariest parts of Vegas. One of my biggest fears in my life is that I'll get shot. You can laugh, but I had a very dramatic experience at a Blockbuster in Milwaukee a couple summers ago. I'll never be the same again. I really thought my worst nightmare was going to be fulfilled while driving through those streets. There were bail bond places EVERYWHERE. 4 on one corner, even. The names were even more shady... "I didn't do it" bail bonds, "Bad Boyz" bail bonds, "Get outta jail now" bail bonds, etc. I'm just glad to say we made it to the strip alive and unharmed. Even though there were a few close ones. (Not really)

Overall, it was a really, really great trip! Everyone needs a vacation. Even if it's just for a few days.

And just a reminder, really if you're going to Vegas soon... PLEASE take my sweater back for me.

Thanksloveyoulots.

Oh, and also, I'm sure your minds are all swimming with about a million questions pertaining to my life. I don't know how to answer them... so I'll just say "yes" is the answer to whatever you're wondering.