Love Hate Love

I was thinking the other day about things that I used to hate, but that I now love. Allow me to present a list of such things.

• Root beer (thank you, Derek, for training me)
  
• Driving alone
• Chemistry
• Pilot G2 pens
• Playing the piano
• Weight training
• Spanish
• Taylor Swift
  
• Wearing sweaters
• Hugs
  
• Curling my hair
• Squash (the veggie type)
  
• Singing
• Mowing the lawn

There are a lot of things that I currently dislike, but hope to someday love. Examples:

• Running
• Snow
• Drinking water
• Talking to strangers
• Kissing
• Riding a bike
• Studying at the library
• Doing the dishes

Things that I dislike and will probably always dislike:

• Cheesecake
• Lima beans
• Money

So, readers (if there are any of you). . . what things in your life have transitioned from the hate list to the love list?

Miracles happen

So, about five minutes ago I was looking through a shoebox of cards/notes/sentimental items that people have given to me. I found a birthday card from my grandma. It was a very sweet card. She always customizes our birthday cards by writing a personalized, original poem in them, and then printing a photo of us. She's a great card-maker. THIS card, from my most recent birthday, was an especially cool find at this moment because. . . . it had 20 bucks in it!!!!!!!!! Wooooo!!!! Yes, that $20 has been sitting in there since early March, unbeknownst to me.

Why am I rejoicing so much over this $20? Well, mostly because I am completely broke right now. Let me diagram the situation for you.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's me: (me), here's poverty: (poverty).

Poverty and me, we're like this:

(pomeverty)

Yup, we're sharing parentheses. That's how close we are.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, I'd just like to take this moment to thank my grandma for allowing me to eat this week. Thanks, Grandma!

(And thanks, Sentimental Shoebox, for acting as an interest-less savings account for the past five months!)

Peace

Please, watch this video. It will change the way you think of yourself, of the world, of the possibilities that peace can bring to humanity. I'm not a hippie. Peace is not just an idea--it is action. Similarly, Peace Day, which you will learn about in the following video, is not just a day of symbolism. It is a day of action, a day of real change. When fighting stops, healing can begin.

If you'd like to participate in a Peace Day celebration and you live near Provo, UT, come to the BYU campus on September 24th, between 7 and 10 PM to help change lives for the better. You can also look up PEACE DAY @ BYU on Facebook, or email peacedaybyu (at) gmail.com for more information.

Gamer confessions

So lately (as in within the past half hour or so), I've been reminiscing about all of the awesome computer games I used to play as a kid. I've never been a fan of console games, but I do like computer games. Does anyone else remember these awesome games from the 1990s and early 2000s? (* = favorites)

Myst*
Oregon Trail 5*
DinoPark Tycoon
SimAnt
Odell Down Under (I ALWAYS forget what this game is called.)
Sid Meier's Civilization II* (I still play this all the time.)
SimCity
Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
Zoombinis*
MathBlaster
The ClueFinders games
Zoo Tycoon*
Jazz Jackrabbit
Monkey Island games*

There's another game I used to love, but I can't remember for the life of me what it was called. It was an old DOS game involving a kid in a cloak that ran through a castle. You could shoot little fiery bullets, and you had to collect goblets of potion to regain your health. . . . There was lava. And moonlight. . . . Argh. I can't remember what it was called. Perhaps my siblings can help me out with this one.

Wow. I sound like a nerd now. Oh well! Keep in mind, all of these games were played in moderation, with the possible exception of that one time when my brother and I played Civilization II for over two hours straight. But that was just once. And then I ironed 10 shirts to make up for my laziness. I'm not a gamer. No, no, no.

What games--computer, video, board, or whatever else--did you enjoy as a kid?

Vaycay pt 3 - Disney is da best

Disneyland is a great place. Obviously. This year they've added a great new show at California Adventure. It's called World of Color, and it's freaking awesome.

Picture the fountain show at the Bellagio in Vegas.

Now make the water change colors.
Now add synchronized music and a lit-up ferris wheel.
Now add fire exploding from the water pool.
Now add lasers.
Now add clips from Disney movies being projected onto the water.

Cool, eh?

Seriously, this show was awesome. The music, lights, water, and other elements all meshed together perfectly. I was in awe at the amount of imagination and engineering (Imagineering, as they call it in Disneyland) that went into the show. It was oddly emotional to watch. At one point, the music was "So Close" from the movie Enchanted, and the water screens were showing all of the best Disney kisses. It was very tender. Awwww! Cheesiness aside, it was well worth the 2 hour wait to see the show.

When I grow up, I will create giant colorful water shows with fire and lasers and music.

Vaycay part dos

Let's talk about trees. I love trees. I draw them all the time. I did a project on references to trees in the book of Isaiah. My brother and I named the willow trees that used to line our street. I sometimes read about trees when I have nothing to do. On my trip to California, I saw some trees.

They were big.


Woaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.

The giant sequoias were absolutely amazing to behold. I luff them.


Guys, nature is awesome. I kind of love it. This trip was a cool reminder of how amazing God's creations are, from the really big stuff
to the very small stuff.


The stuff in between isn't so bad, either.

I'm baack!

Best. Vacation. Ever.

I'll have to describe this vaycay (read: "vacation," shortened and cutesified) in a few shortish blog posts instead of one giant post. I feel like the latter option would be the equivalent of making you all watch a long and boring slideshow of vacation photos.

First: the Salt Flats at sunrise. I realized, as we started our drive to California, that I have never seen the Salt Flats. I've lived in UT my whole life, and I've never been there. Nuts. Luckily, we took the scenic route and I got to be there just as the sun was coming up. Gorgeous.

(Please forgive the occasional cell phone pics....)

Around noon on the first day of driving, we came across a "town" called Tonopah, Nevada. This place is scary. One of the biggest features of the town was a clown motel. It was not cool. Me no likey. Glimpse into the evil freakishness thereof:
Freaky. I have other pictures, but they're too frightening to post.

After narrowly escaping the zombie-like grasp of Tonopah, we made our way to Tioga Pass near Yosemite. This place was beautiful. Observe:

Unforgettably gorgeous. Aaaahhh. Well, that's enough for now. Coming soon: gigantic, red, fuzzy trees and other nature-ish stuff.