I didn’t take any pictures of dinner, because hello, you’ve all seen a turkey. And no pictures of people eating, because you’ve seen that before too. But you’ve never seen these pictures before, and I wish they were better quality – in the first I was laughing too hard to hold my phone still, and in the second, the lighting just wasn’t great. The third is an obligatory skyline, you know me. But no real apologies, people, because it was all fantastic.
Mood: I woke up wrong. But I’d like to say – as an edit, that Carlyn is such a fantastic roommate, and that within literally 20 minutes of getting home I had a better handle on things.
First words out of my mouth this morning: “So mean!”
Considering: Taking a nap – the sleep deficit is catching up to me.
Coming up this weekend: Uh, so it’s Thanksgiving. I’ve been planning a trip to California for Thanksgiving for a few months now, and everything was on schedule, on track and good to go. Then I changed my mind – there was no reason behind it except that I felt really strongly that I should stay in Provo. I had no premonition of car wrecks or bad weather, no family drama (besides the usual), and I was looking forward to maybe a day at the beach. Anyway, in a flurry of text messages, I broke the news to everyone, and let the trip go. I figured that the holiday would be quiet – roommates were going to be gone, friends all with family, and blissfully, no work. It sounded fine – a nice break. A chance to catch up on sleep and maybe finally get some laundry done. But then everyone else decided to stay in town, and it evolved into a full house, which I’m always thrilled about. The food will be good, and the day will be nice. But I have something to say:
It’s not going to be fancy. I want people in jeans and sweatshirts. I want a no fuss traditional dinner, people being nice to each other, maybe some good music, and a slice of pumpkin pie. For the love. Don’t give me no drama.
Self Improvement: I’m having one of those “endure to the end” weeks. It’s not often that I can say that I’m doing my best – but right now, I am trying SO hard. Maybe I’ve gone overboard on a few things – I need to relax just a little. I’m fun when I’m not tired or anxious. I promise.
Of course, if you have to tell people you’re fun – are you really? Don’t answer that.
Materialism: I’m good, really.
I dreamed: Blarg – so I dreamed all night that someone was being mean to me, and I woke up with my feelings all hurt. Which, I know – is ludicrous.
Last thing I ate: Cesar side salad from Wendy’s.
Last thing I cooked: Sunday after church I made a crispy Asian salad and bok choy.
What I want to cook next: I don’t really. I think after Thanksgiving (which doesn’t require a lot of brain power because I have all my notes and recipes from years past) I’m going to take a break. There’s more to me, you know, than cooking. I need a little replenishing.
Listening to: After six months of being on this list, I finally overdosed on Radiohead last week. Believe it. I’m sick of Ray LaMontagne too (don’t worry, they’ll both be back), and with the exception of a few days of Lauryn Hill and Nina Simone last week, I’ve given up on by-the-album listening for a bit. Instead I’ve just put iTunes on shuffle mode, and I’ve been rediscovering music that I haven’t listened to in years. I’m an emotional buyer when it comes to music – and it’s weird, because just about every song I love comes with a story. None of the stories are really interesting to anyone else, but they remind me of times and places past. It’s cool to see what comes up when you’ve got a few thousand songs on shuffle. Highlights – Beck: Lost Cause, Amos Lee: Arms of A Woman, Jamie Cullum: All At Sea, Imogen Heap: Wait It Out, Joni Mitchell: A Case of You, Jeff Buckley: Hallelujah, Aretha Franklin: I Say A Little Prayer, Brendan James: The Sun Will Rise, and finally Jimi Hendrix: Wind Cries Mary – which I’ve actually written about before.
Reading: I’ve decided that I’m not a very well-read Mormon, particularly considering I taught Sunday School for six years. I know my scriptures and I know my doctrine, but it’s time to beef up a little bit on the heavy books. So, Jesus The Christ, by James E. Talmage is now in rotation.
Design Blogs: I’ve got a heavy workload at the moment, and things have been a little hectic. As a result, no browsing blogs, no Facebook time, no blogging (until now, when I really should be cooking for tomorrow) and nothing interesting to write in this spot. Why don’t I leave this space empty? Why don’t I ever give the short answer?
What I’m wearing: Black. All black.
Song of the Day: Brendan James: The Sun Will Rise. I’ve got to stop posting crummy videos – but the song is great.
Picture of the Day: What’s a blog if I can’t put a picture of me up once in a while? My sister says I look like a ghost looking out of a hole. Thanks, Chere.
The brilliant thing about taking photos off your camera is that it’s always surprising. For example, just because you saw a nice sunset out at Utah Lake today, doesn’t mean you realized it was really that amazing (and no, this photo hasn’t been edited):
Elaine is the drummer for Neon Trees (and my ROOMMATE), and their album comes out in December, and I’ve rewritten this four times just trying to express how incredible I think this is. But the words are totally failing me, so all I can say is, hello, WATCH THIS:
