Tag. You're it.

Half of me is still the 7th Grader who's excited that the awesome girl with the cute clothes "tagged" me in something. That part of me was unable to resist filling this out.

THE RULES:

1. Post these rules
2. Post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions provided by the one who tagged you
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag
5. Tag 11 people

11 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME:

1. I have a phobia of raccoons.
2. I went to my senior prom with Ralph Waldo Emerson III's twin brother Steve.
3. I went through a phase when I was Wiccan instead of Mormon.
4. I'm a documentary JUNKIE.
5. I did ballet off and on for 13 years.
6. I hate touching jars of mayonnaise or ranch dressing.
7. I have eclectic taste in music.
8. I love history, and my “pet time period” is America in the 1960’s.
9. I have published poetry in 3 literary magazines.
10. Reading and being outside are two of my absolute favorite things in the world. When those two things are combined, I’m in heaven. This is why I adore summer.
11. I will almost never decline a smoothie.

11 QUESTIONS JULES ASKED ME

1. What is currently your go-to outfit? Dark, straight-leg jeans + t-shirt (preferably my husband’s Nirvana t-shirt or his Harry Potter horcrux t-shirt) + blue cardigan (which I CAN’T FIND RIGHT NOW!) + sperry’s
2. If you could be a character in a fiction novel, who would you be? Tough one. Probably Anne from Anne of the Island. Grows up while still retaining a sense of adventure and a sense of humor.
3. When did you start blogging, why and is it different from your current blogging style? I started blogging in the fall of 2004, during my first semester at BYU-I, as a way to keep family and friends back home updated and a way to “journal” my experiences here. My readership has grown, so my entries are perhaps a little less candid. I’ve also come to embrace lists, the short entry, and tags.
4. What is your all-time favorite album? Not fair. It’s always changing. See this post for some ideas; most are still pretty accurate. Added to the current list is Tom Waits’ “Rain Dogs”
5. Are you closer to your mother's or father's side of the family? Probably my mother’s. I see them way more often.
6. Which celebrity do friends say you look like? I’ve heard Cate Blanchett and Grace Kelly. Both of which are wonderful compliments.
7. What advice would you give your fresh-out-of-high-school self? It will be okay. Be brave. Follow your own heart, and don’t worry about what society or anyone else “expects” of you. It only matters what God thinks of you and what YOU think of you. Everyone else’s regard will fall into place if you just pay attention to those things.
8. Best and worst reality TV shows, go: Best reality TV show = So You Think You Can Dance, Worst reality TV show = everything else
9. First kiss? Last kiss? First kiss = Jared Doshier, in my car, after we’d been together for a few days, the summer after I graduated high school. Last kiss = my husband, on the sidewalk on College Avenue, as I was going to class.
10. You're offered a job in both New York and L.A. Where do you move? New York. There are pros and cons to both places. But New York has this cultured, exciting, culinary, crowded appeal. And it’s a world of theatre, which I’m much more connected to than film.
11. Cosmetic/luxury item you can't live without: Savex cherry chapstick.

11 QUESTIONS FOR THE PEOPLE I’VE TAGGED (and anyone else who wants to participate):

1. What’s a quirky habit of yours?
2. What was the last song you listened to?
3. If you had a weekend off to go wherever you wanted, where would you go? (Just the weekend!)
4. Describe your ideal self in seven words.
5. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
6. Describe an awkward moment you experienced in college:
7. One of your greatest accomplishments in life so far:
8. If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would you pick and why?
9. What is one event that fundamentally changed you forever?
10. If you could have one superhero power, what would it be and why?
11. You have the chance to spend a month in one major European city. ONLY ONE. Where do you go?

WHO I TAGGED
1. Carrie
2. Val
3. Darcy
4. Jessie
5. Allison
6. Sarah
7. Amber
8. Kathleen
9. Mallory
10. Cam/Ryan
11. James (If you're not too busy writing additional chapters of "The Heart is the Loneliest Dude Ranch" or texting your baby, of course...)

Thoughts during rehearsal for "Enchanted April"

1. Wearing a wreath of flowers in your hair during rehearsal is lovely, even if sometimes, in tender moments, it gets caught in your stage partner's hair, and you have to stop and de-tangle it. Which sort of ruins the moment.
2. If Kelly makes it through this show without breaking character, she should be awarded a large sum of cash. I couldn't do it.
3. The problem with having a cast that all gets along really well is that we start having way too much fun. We can usually make it until roughly 9:30 every night. Then it's over. For example, last night I missed an entrance. My explanation was "I'm sorry. We're licking elbows back here." And we were.
4. Neither Dave nor Nick should be allowed to dance backstage. Especially if I'm looking their direction. Between Dave's knees and Nick's hips, it's too much.
5. Nick doesn't grab his rib-cage in fear as much as he used to. Shame. That was a hysterical habit he developed in his character.
6. Jacob's improvised lines--AKA the things he says in character when he can't remember what he's actually supposed to be saying--are always brilliant.
7. I shall pronounce the word "been" correctly by the end of the production.
8. There are all kinds of Canadians in this cast/crew. I've begun to pronounce things like "sorry" differently.
9. People totally speak Italian in this play. It's awesome. It sounds like they know what they're doing.
10. One of my stage directions says "glowing with thrift." How exactly does one "glow with thrift"?

On the mend

Jacob is feeling better. I mean, he's still coughing and has a runny nose, but he's not suffering from horrid stomach cramps and vomiting. We think that was a phenomenon unrelated to the cold.

Moral of the story: Wash all the dirt from the potatoes you eat.

Also, thanks to the Pooles for helping us out with ginger candies and tums and all that. Jacob wrote a song for you guys. We'll have to play it for you sometime.

On aches

I hope my future children are never sick.

Because my husband has been sick for the past few days, and tonight, he's having a pretty rough night. I've given him water and drugs and cuddled him and helped him into bed. I don't know what else to do for him, and my heart is breaking with every little cough and sigh he makes. =(

Say a little prayer for a speedy recover, okay?

Bad news for farmers, good news for my soul

So winter has been very mild this year. Which I'm a huge huge fan of. The above pictures were taken last month, in January.

Yeah, that's Rexburg. In JANUARY. Know what Rexburg usually looks like in January? Like this:

This is real. It was actually taken in NOVEMBER of 2010.

Let me give you a little breakdown of how much of an anomaly this winter is. (I actually looked this up. Just for you people.)

SNOWFALL RECORDS FOR REXBURG, IDAHO FOR OCTOBER THROUGH JANUARY

2007 - 2008: 23.9 inches
2008 - 2009: 35.2 inches
2009 - 2010: 18.8 inches
2010 - 2011: 23.8 inches
Average: 25.4 inches

This year: 9.4 inches

I can't tell you how much joy this has brought me. I think we might just scrape through with no real winter at all! It's practically spring anyway. And okay, I'm probably being extremely inconsiderate of the many farmers whose living is dependent upon precipitation. Sorry, farmers. But I really love how non-wintery this winter has been.

Hopefully I'm not jinxing it.


PS: The pictures at the top of this entry were taken from our roof, which we can access from our bedroom window. There's even a little balcony porch thing right outside our window. I'm planning on making the it a "reading garden" come summer.

Speaking of feminism...

The best thing about this is that it really happened. Jacob really came home and said that the other day. (Except for the "Hey girl" part. I added that.) I smiled at him for about half an hour, then said, "Do you know how many women would LOVE to have their husbands come home and say that?!"

And, I mean, the whole Ryan Gosling meme has created some gems, but Ryan Gosling ain't no Jacob Chapman.