And the prize for Christmas goes to.....

Ann Taylor. I'll get to that in a minute.

Is it just me or did Christmas come really fast this year? Most of my neighbors have their lights up. Most stores have had all their Christmas decor out and up since way before Halloween. And the radio started playing Christmas music on November 1. (Yes, I have been listening faithfully.) Everyone is more hopeful right now, what with gas prices being so low and pretty lights everywhere, you can't help but be happy. This Christmas season, my sisters and I did something crazy. We participated in Black Friday. We got up at the crack of dawn and went to the mall. And it wasn't too crazy. Crazy yes. Too, not so much. And talk about sales! Phenomenal. I wasn't planning on purchasing anything for me, but I couldn't resist...because...I walked into Ann Taylor and they were having incredible sales. The cutest clothes normally priced at $50ish became $5 on Black Friday. Yes. It's true. So, we had a mini Christmas just for us. And we're still celebrating in style. Literally. So, grand prize for Christmas goes to Ann Taylor for giving the gift that keeps on giving: Inexpensive, cute clothes.

I am thankful for purgatory

Coming home from a mission is, to say the very least, a difficult thing to do. Much harder then leaving on one. Everything is different, yet everything is the same. You don't really fit in. You don't really belong. No RM has an identical coming home experience, yet we all share similar feelings of strangeness, awkwardness and weirdness. For the past (almost) eight months, I have been attempting to define my experience. Putting it into words has been impossible, even to other RMs. Tonight, I had an epiphany. The word that summarizes my past (almost) eight months is: Purgatory. I won't tell the whole story that led me to this epiphany, but needless to say, it was a combination of a conversation with my friend Gretch, an episode of How I Met Your Mother, and (almost) eight months of lots of thinking.

But, tomorrow being Thanksgiving Day, I wanted to use my past eight months of purgatory experience to list a few things that I am thankful for. 

1. Graduating before my mission. Life was so weird post-mission. I had left my home sweet home of BYU-Idaho only three weeks before I went into the MTC. Though there have been many times during the past (almost) eight months when I have wondered if I cursed myself for eternity, I am thankful for this because I have a great PR job in Chicago, with wonderful clients, a bi-weekly pay check, full benefits and an office 10 minutes from one of the world's largest malls. 

2. Living at home with my family. This needs no further elaboration. I am thankful for this because I can save money. And there really is no place like home. Really, there isn't. 

3. The endless round of dates and set-ups that seem to lead to nowhere. I am thankful for this because I like boys. And for 18 months I couldn't be alone in a car with a boy. And dates can be a lot of fun because you get to go somewhere nice and you get to learn about someone else and you get to dress all pretty and you get to be alone with a boy and that's fun.  

4. Attending a singles ward. I truly feel that singles wards are the purgatory of the church. It's where they send you when they don't know what to do with you, because you didn't do what you were supposed to do at BYU-I or BYU-P or BYU-H. Find your eternal companion. So they just stick you in a room with a lot of other single members of the opposite sex and pray really hard that you'll find someone. But, I am thankful for this because....because...because...hmmm....

because what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This one's for you, Mel

8 shows I watch

1. Can I use this line to preface that TV shows on DVD rock my world.

2. How I Met Your Mother

3. The Office

4. Friends

5. American Idol

6. E! True Hollywood Story

7. Full Hosue

8. Saved by the Bell

9. ?

10. ? 

8 restaurants I like to eat at:

1. Fuego's (it's the most amazing Mexican restaurant on planet earth. Ate there last night for the first time.)

2. Noodles & Company

3. McDonald's (nothing beats hot fudge sundaes and fries. nothing.)

4. Japonika (sushi)

5. Sonic (but there's not one in Chicago)

6. Any Thai food place in the world.

7. Coldstone

8. Outback Steakhouse. 

8 things I did today:

1. Practiced guitar (uh-huh. i just started.)

2. Work, work, work. 

3. Spent some time in heaven with my Fuego's leftovers.

4. Googled apartments in Chicago. And  found the perfect one.

5. Mastered getting ready in the car. Finally. (make-up and hair. the guy behind me thought I was nuts.)

6. Went to the gym

7. Read the entire June issue of Glamour at the gym. 

8. Attended institute.

8 things I am looking forward to:

1. Christmas. 

2. Surprisingly, running the Chicago Turkey Run with my sister.

3. Twilight. 

4. Moving into my new apartment with Amanda on Jan. 1.

5. Decorating our new apartment.

6. My hair appointment in two weeks.

7. Getting good at the guitar.

8. Going to sleep tonight.

8 things on my wish list:

1. Health and happiness for all my family and friends (sorry I plagiarized, Mel, it's a good one.)

2. World peace (seriously, I do.)

3. Brittany Spear's lyrics say it all. 

4. A big fat Christmas bonus.

5. A nice New Year's pay raise.

6. A good hair cut in two weeks (my hair deserves this.)

7. To stop eating so much sugar.

8. A week on the beach in Hawaii.

8 people I am tagging (but of course I will not be offended if you don't):

1. Brittany

2. Alyssa

3. Marta

4. Aubery

5. Becky

6. Nicole

7. Lizzy

8. Holley

decisions, experiments, attempts

i am indecisive. i cannot decide a template for my blog. i think i like this one. we'll see. 

i'm almost off the political high, but not quite. i read this really good article the other day about a girl who conducted a tolerance experiment in Obamaland. One day she wore a John McCain T-shirt to school and was ridiculed within an inch of her life and told she was stupid. The next day she wore an Obama T-shirt and all of a sudden she was smart again. Well, now she's in the news and the school is upset that she didn't run this experiment by them for approval purposes before conducting it. some people are stupid. and i think politics are annoying. a necessary evil i suppose. 

mel, i tried to do your tag. i tried really hard. i completed the whole tag and then something happened not sure what and when i went to post...bam...all the info was lost. and that's the honest truth. i will try again tomorrow. just for you. 

Obama's home

i promise i'm not obsessed (i realize this is the second post on the president elect in a row. but it's all happening right here where i'm at. and nothing ever exciting happens where i'm at.) i went to church in Hyde Park today and the church building was only a block from the Obama family home so after church we took a walk to see it. it's completely swarmed with SWAT, police and secret service. we were told to just keep walking and not stop. so i just whipped out my trusty, dusty phone and snapped some pics. love technology. secret service never knew. can you see it? i tried to get a good angle as quickly as i could. stupid security.

A night to remember: November 4th

I had the unique opportunity, incredible luck and a fantastic friend (I heard tickets were going for $1500, one man even offered to sell his soul on Craig's List) who invited me to attend the Obama rally with him on November 4, in downtown Chicago at Grant Park. It is definitely a night to always remember. The atmosphere was unlike anything I have ever experienced. Thousands of people were gathered together in Grant Park to witness such a historical occasion. No matter which candidate you supported (if any) the fact that a camaraderie and understanding existed between all people at the park on November 4 cannot be denied. I don't think I will ever be able to adequately describe the energy and excitement that was in that city that evening. I tried to capture as much as I could through my poor picture taking and movie making abilities. And as soon as I learn how to upload videos maybe I'll be able to share a little bit more.

The beautiful city of Chicago all lit up for election night. If you look closely, you can see the building in the center has USA written across it.

We had to pass through four different security checkpoints. This one was our first, I believe. At our second checkpoint, some kid whizzed passed us and got tackled by a guard for trying to sneak in a bunch of fourties. It was actually pretty funny.

Obama everything was being sold on the streets, naturally.

Check out the American flag lit across the skyscraper. They did that by turning on certain office lights on and others off. Superb coordination, that's what. The building, the CNA building, is my very favorite in the city. (And I believe it's supposed to be Wayne towers in the Batman movie.)

There was such an amazing spirit of energy and excitement like I have never experienced before. No rock concert or Cubs game will ever equal it.

When Obama was announced as president (I have this on video) everyone was just cheering, some people were crying (Oprah was crying on some strangers arm, but no I wasn't near her...the crowd was huge....but I did see her on the jumbotran.)

My friend Logan and I.

I was officially interviewed by the press. And by the press I mean the official Polish (might be Swedish even) official blog, Wydarzenia. This man asked me (while the camera was in my face, talk about intimidation) how I felt and if I thought the world be a different place when I woke up in the morning. My answers were "very excited" and "no, change takes time. but we will see change."

BTW, if you missed our president elects speech...read it...it's amazing. Also, I really liked Michelle Obama's dress, the critics didn't though. I guess it's right off the runway and supposed to skanky and Michelle made it modest, heaven forbid. Also, CNN's will.i.am's hologram thing wasn't really a hologram. Was anyone else a little weirded out by that? Okay good.

Happy Election Day

In honor of Election Day I would like to resurrect an old post from back in June 17 circa 2008. The post came about due to an epiphany I had while on my parents couch watching American Idol. As soon as I finished watching the David's battle it out I went to my computer and wrote out my thoughts. Much has happened since then, much has not. 

For this reason I bring you: I believe in change, do you?