I wonder to myself— could life ever be sane again?

Today is the end of an era--my beloved morning show pal, Katie Couric, is moving on to another gig. It's a little hard on me, seeing "America's First Family" breaking up this way. It kind of reminds me of high school when this lady I knew checked out of her marriage to move across the country for a dude she met in a chatroom. Only not. Because I wish Katie all the best at CBS, and if I'm ever home for the national evening news, you can bet I'll check in with her, at least occasionally. And as a devoted "60 Minutes" fan I know this is metamorphosis, not death. (Side note: Katie AND Anderson Cooper?!?! Could "60 Minutes" get any better? Oh yeah-- if we could keep Mike Wallace a little longer.)

Still, when I think about what was happening in my life a year ago, it's not something I can say I expected. No, I think this time last year I was still elated that Mister West from the Chunga and Mister Morning Show had dedicated his top news stories and Hollywood Headlines to me (thanks to Ryan Little for setting that up--completely unforgettable). Despite the rumors of talks with CBS that would soon ring in my ears, Katie's departure hardly entered my mind. Now I'm supposed to start my day with Meredith Vieira? It's all very surreal.
Lest you think I've just jumped on the "Goodbye Katie" bandwagon today, I want you to know I've given this quite a bit of thought. Last night, for example, I was on a little stroll, and probably considered the implications for at least a mile--which I think says a lot, especially because I have so many other things on my mind these days. But then I decided to take the philosophical route and consider Katie's departure a metaphor for change in my own life. Thats what it is. Change. Just because I'm trying new things, hanging out with new people, etc., doesn't mean things aren't good or that I'm not still me. Just because we'll see Katie on CBS instead of NBC doesn't mean she won't still be the awesome journalist, colon-health promoting, trailblazing woman we've all come to know and love. I just hope people will give her a chance to be her best self as the evening news anchor she's capable of being, and I hope folks will be ok with the changes that happen with me.

Here are a few things that merit mentioning:

First, today the President waved to me. Not W, but Vincente Fox, president of Mexico. I think he waved to me because he knew I was from New Mexico, and he loves it there. Or because he knows that I'm really interested in the immigration debate, and I'm not narrow-minded like the typical Utahn (further evidence I'm from NM).

On a completely unrelated note, one of my best friends is getting married this weekend, and it only seems appropriate to give him a shout out and a wish for his every happiness. Last night I went to his bachelor party (because I guess I'm one of his dudes, though I'm pretty feminine) and it was a good reunion. Of course, this makes me one of the last single folks in the group but I pointed out to the group of marrieds that even though they may have found their eternal companions, none of them can say they've gone out with quite the uh, assortment I have. The question now--should I take someone with me to the reception? Ah, weddings. Feel free to weigh in on the subject.
Finally, my friends and I were just having a laugh at Mr. Euro Chic's expense. Remember him? Remember how I took him out of my phone after the incident a few months back but how I still miss him a bit? Ok, a lot? The good news is, the pals and I were just laughing about an old EC story--the time he told me about modeling nearly nude. The guy was handsome, sure, but somehow the story was more of a freak-out one than a hot one. Poor little guy. Still, I think he'll always hold a special place in my heart.

London Calling

Great weekend, if you were wondering. After all the sinus yuckiness and general illness, I think Im back to my old self. Or even better, if you can imagine.

Traviss mom has offered to make me more bread. Either she likes me, or shes planning on slipping a syringe in this time. No, Im kidding. I dont know if I know a nicer woman, and I really appreciate her.

I saw the DaVinci Code on Saturday morning, and I really liked it. Do I think its doctrinally sound? Nope. But I generally dont expect that from movies I go to for entertainment purposes, so I dont feel at all bad about it. Actually, I really mostly appreciated all the messaging about the so-called sacred feminine and the idea that man and woman together make something divine. I can get behind that.

Another highlight of the weekend was a message from one of my BFFs, Sokphal. Talk about the coolest girl ever, and what a nice surprise. The girl inspires me. Talking to her makes me really want to get into the foreign service so she can come visit me all over the world. Yeah, thats a good idea.

Yep, life is good. I hope it is for all yall as well.

PS. Chevron has really soft lips.

Honey Pie, You're Not Safe Here

OK, friends, I had a near-death experience yesterday, and I think it ought to give you some good insight as to why I'm not married. Here's the story.

On Monday night, I was over at a friend's house. For the sake of the story, well call him Travis (also, because that's his name, and I'm over protecting people's identities). His family hosted Family Home Evening, and all the kids from church went over for a good time. At the end of the evening, Travis's adorable mother came downstairs and mentioned she'd made me some 14-grain bread (she appreciates my deeply-rooted belief that fiber is the answer to the world's problems). I was thrilled! What a lovely gesture!

Unfortunately, I got sick Monday night, and didn't have much of an appetite until Thursday, so the bread sat in the fridge until yesterday morning. Thinking some toast would do my body good, I sliced into the gorgeous loaf and inhaled the comforting scent. The first slice went into the Mickey Mouse toaster (which burns Mickey's face into the bread and plays the Mickey Mouse March when it's ready), and I cut another piece. But there was a surprise waiting for me--a jagged piece of clear plastic, over an inch long and approximately half a centimeter wide-- in the bread! Fortunately, I found it before it could get lodged in my throat, puncture my intestines, or cause some kind of internal bleeding.
Now, many of you are probably thinking, "Oh, this was an accident!" Could be. But isn't it also just as likely this was a message from Travis's mother, meant to be interpreted, "Stay away from my son, you hussy!"? Im just saying it's a dangerous world out there.

I doubt anyone noticed...

But I thought you might like to know that I haven't completely fallen off the face of the earth. Things have been surprisingly busy and hectic, but that's the way I like my life.
Anyway, it just seems appropriate to take a moment to reflect on this, the last day of being 24. Yikes! I'll admit I've been wiggin' out for the past couple weeks about the whole 25 thing... chalk it up to the stereotypical reflection the post-college set encounters sooner or later: that whole feeling of knowing you've been out of school for two years, and wondering if you've accomplished one darned thing. It makes me laugh, actually. I've spent my days trying to lead an extraordinary life, but it's still just like everyone else's. I first had that realization when I went to Prague with my friend Andrew. Here I was riding the rails in Eastern Europe, marching back and forth across the Charles Bridge and thinking I was oh-so grown up when I took a look around me at all the other kids pouring out of their hostels, writing in their journals, taking pictures with the "best friends" they'd met drinking Absinthe (don't worry-- I'm a good, nice Mormon girl and didn't participate in the last ritual) and saw that I was just like everyone else. But it was ok, and I didn't mind being part of a crowd for a change.
That said, it'll be interesting to see how 25 pans out. The day itself I have covered-- I'm going to a matinee of "Hairspray" (on my own, thank you very much-- if there's one thing I've learned from my time in the blogosphere, it's that finding someone to go to a play is murder), and I'm going out with some friends to dinner. But after that, it's anyone's guess how this whole year will go. I have every reason to believe it's going to be great, though.