Time is on my Side

Even though I am 29, I am reverting back to being about 29-months old. How do I know this? Because I snack on dry Cheerios. They lower cholesterol and are fiber-ful and delicious. But I feel like I'm back in nursery just a bit.
I realized a couple of things this morning that I'm rather happy about.
1) Even though we're a little manic and overwhelming every once in a while, I love being a Sego. It means getting the job done, whatever that is. As I simultaneously invoiced, worked on payroll and bid a job this morning, I got a phone call from my brother letting me know he picked up some money, but he immediately got another call and had to let me go. It was fine because I had a question for my mom who was out running errands, but got an answer to the question mid-sentence from my dad, so we hung up so she could be effective and so could I. No one was annoyed or put out. We're just a fine-tuned machine. I love it.
2) After I gave up television a few years ago (not completely, of course-- I still catch the news and the Barefoot Contessa at my parents' from time to time), I became so much more accomplished. Well, I've been so busy recently that I've neglected my Netflix for a couple of weeks. If this trend continues, I might just have to give it up as well. Oh, I still love movies and all, but who can honestly prefer sitting down to watch "Il Postino" or "Caramel" when there is a bed to be refinished or swans to glitter or closets to clean out? Now if only I could find something else to give up so I could do some yard work...

Smells Like Teen Spirit

I'm very in touch with my olfactory system. I know I've told this story before, but I remember Grant Farnsworth kissing me on the cheek on New Year's Eve when I was 13. It was pretty magical, back in the day. But I also remember having lathered on plenty of Victoria Secret's Freesia lotion, so until they discontinued it, I'd go in to the shop for years after to smell my first kiss.
Additionally, when I'm seeing multiple boys, I try to assign each one to a different perfume, that way I don't get confused. It gets a little tricky to remember who goes with Hugo Deep Red (which is actually discontinued, but I found a bunch on the cheap in Athens last year), Pleasures Intense, Bronze Goddess and Beyond Paradise Blue. If I'm really prolific, I might have to throw in Lucky, but that's a backup scent for a backup boyfriend.
I bought some "Viva La Juicy" the other day. I'm between boyfriends, and it's nice to just smell nice for me at the moment.

Today I Don't Love

... Being a girl.
Actually, I DO love it. I just don't love that I couldn't go see my favorite local band play because they were at a shady location, and I couldn't find someone to go with me.
If only I'd remembered to pack my pepper spray, this would not have been a problem.

Today I Love

* She and Him Vol. 2 on vinyl
* Bay Scallops
* Main Street Muscle and Fitness + Salina's Hot Spot Tanning & Juice Bar
* My dentist, Dr. Soto
* Ina Garten
* Seth and Natalie Bingham (it's their wedding day!)
* Old flames
* Dry Shampoo
* Car washes
* Dollar Tree

What I Did Last Night, and How You Can Make It Too!

Here's my mantle, based on inspiration from Anthropologie.
There are 154 flowers made out of plastic bottles, and it's mounted on black foam core. I constructed the frame out of one 30"x40" piece, cut into thirds. The sides are about 8" wide and the total piece is about 50" tall. I braced up the back with leftover foam core. The bottles are primarily water bottles (Dasani, Aquafina, and generics) with a few juice bottles and soda bottles mixed in. I started by painting them by hand with acrylics, but found better success just spray painting them in lots of 15 (9 different colors). Spray paint made to adhere to plastic didn't necessarily produce better results, and my least-favorite were the latex paints. If you want to recreate my masterpiece, spray the backs of the bottles (outsides) so the insides will appear shiny. AND keep the lids for the flowers you make out of the tops of bottles-- makes gluing everything together so much easier. The piece is heavy enough that you'll want to nail it in place, but it shouldn't be difficult to take down when the season is over.

I am Jennifer Garner... Almost

Wanna know why? Because I kicked some serious butt at the gym this morning. Yes, yes, I know, one good workout does not a Sydney make, but I'm on my way.
Also-- I'm holding out for a Scott Foley or Michael Vartan or even Ben Affleck. I can't believe I put B.A. in the same category, but you know... I've decided to date and marry hot.
And most importantly, I keep thinking about JenGar's role in "13 Going on 30" when the little girl wishes to be "30, Flirty and Thriving." Don't get me wrong, I'm all about enjoying the 2-9, but you know, it won't be long before I'm there, so I started to compile a list of "30 Things to Do Before I Turn 30." It actually needs some work. I'd rather not post every goal, but here are some things I think I ought to tackle in the coming year:

1) Get back on a horse. No, I'll never be a horse-lover, but I haven't been on a real horse since I got thrown as a Brownie. So I'd like to try riding again. I used to really like it when I was a little girl, and so the time has come.
2) Run a race. Any race. Let's be honest-- I hate running. I'm so much happier on the elliptical, but I'm trying to love running. And even if it's just a 5k, I wanna do it.
3) Host a seven-course dinner party for 10 of my closest friends.
4) Use up all the stuff in my craft closet. All of it! I've got too much junk-- it's like Michael's and Hobby Lobby combined, and I want to use it up and move on to other things.
5) Finish a draft of "The Hands Which Hang Down"-- the novel in my head.
6) Sell my creations and refurbished furniture at a consignment shop to supplement my income.

See? I'm definitely a little shy on the life goals. As I said, I've got a few others for the year, but I won't bore you with the really personal ones. But I'd love some suggestions for really cool things to augment my year. Comment away!

Is it just me, Or Am I really getting Better Looking Every Day?

Chums and Chummettes!
Wanna know why I've been missing in action recently? Well, I'll be happy to tell you. It's because I have a great life! Blogging, of course, is part of that, but I've been out and about doing stuff, so here's the run-down. I don't even remember the last thing I posted about... cutting Jake's hair?
Actually, before I can tell you all about my awesome-blossom life, I will vent and say that I'm uber-mad at my cousin Garret, who convinced B.J. to shave his beard (I'm crying, I'm crying!), and he got a real haircut the other day, and now I feel like a pedophile sitting next to him. Older women make beautiful lovers and such, but my boy-bestie looks like my imaginary adorable nephew right now. Bring back the scruff, I say!
Anyway, enough about Jacob's smooth, smooth face (which is actually adorable in any incarnation... I must not complain!). This is what I have been up to for the past few days:
* Attended a rockin' Cinco de Mayo party at Karla's. That girl went all out with delicious Mexican food and even homemade Horchata. We played "gira la botella" and I'm pretty relieved to say JdL is no longer the last boy I've kissed, even though I thought I'd die of embarrassment during the very public osculation.
* Went to Utah for my friend Mike's wedding to my friend Melanie. Fun to be friends with the bride AND the groom, don't ya think? Whilst in the land of Deseret, I saw my favorite former roommates (congrats to Amber for getting her Master's Degree in Social Work!!) and did some fun shopping. If you're in the SLC, do yourself a favor and go to Emily Jane, the world's best consignment shop, and Three French Hens, the prettiest, sparkliest store ever! TFH sells merch by my favorite designer, Zozo the Magic Queen, and I was basically in glitter heaven. I feel inspired. Stayed in a great condo in Park City, ate at the Sensuous Sandwich (Thanks Perfect Spencer!) and Kneaders, and kicked it a bit at the Brigham. I felt pretty great pulling up to the visitor parking area and shouting "Alumnus!" before they could ask me if I was a student. Felt even better when a girl at the Cougareat told me I looked 23. I love you, Utah!
* I celebrated another year of life last week with so many people I loved. Sokphal made her first visit to the Land of Enchantment, and I think we may have won her over-- don't know if it was the turquoise, Bandelier, or just doing crafts with my mom and her crazy friends that she liked the best, but it was AWESOME having her around! Other great highlights of the constant birthday celebration include but are not limited to:

- The best birthday lunch ever, courtesy Claire and Trish
- The coolest looking birthday cake ever, courtesy Aunt Sylvia-- it was shaped like a globe-- how awesome is that?
-Getting a lifetime supply of gum from Katie and Rich (they know how much I like to kiss, and their gift will facilitate that very nicely)
- Great, great sale at Vintage and More, one of my favorite 4th Street Antique Shops
- Dancing like a beast on Friday night
- Spending time with so many of the people I love (Lou, T, Mr. Dawson, Sylvia, Trish, Bev, Pam N., Pam A., Claire, Sister Frances, and of course, my rockin' family)

All in all, it was the best long weekend ever! I'm happy to say I'm ready to get back to work, though. My poor little desk has been neglected for several days, and the work-a-holic in me is itching to do some paperwork. Possibly. Or maybe it's just that I want to bust through that so I can work on my latest projects (water bottle flowers, my friends-- just wait for the pics!-- and plaster ceiling tiles), or just read another one of those Amelia Peabody mysteries. Oh! I'm not sure I can handle one more happy thing!

Potty Humor

All my in-school chums are getting ready for finals right now. No, I do not miss those days! I do, however, miss my friends! Just a week and a half to go pals-- you can do it!
Last night while Ashley cut my hair, Big Jake went to FHE for a mental break. He's writing a paper that's due at 4 this afternoon. When I talked to him about 9 last night, he'd gotten the outline done. Did I mention that it's 10 pages? Yikes!
Well, being the outstanding bestie that I am, I'd packed up some of my famous roasted vegetables for my favorite former-vegan. It would have been nice to get them to B.J. pre-haircut so he could have them for dinner, but they ended up as a 1 a.m. study snack, assuming his text message to me in the middle of the night was timely.
Regardless, Beej was in a foul humor when I dropped the vegetable goodness off last night a little before 10. Not in a bad mood, but he kept saying sketchy things. I think the fact that we can talk about pooping really speaks to the depth of our friendship and emotional intimacy.
We discussed his roommates and former mission companions' toilet paper issues. Specifically, that they never purchased any, and it was up to Jakey-kins to do it. And what did he have to say about it?
"It really rubs me the wrong way."
I burst out laughing, but I think it took him half a beat to realize why that was funny. He went on.
"But..."
Then I laughed again. He meant "however," while I chose to interpret it as the homophone "b-u-t-t." He tried again.
"However, I just think it's total crap that..."
This time he laughed. We both did. And we realized this conversation was in the toilet (ba-dum-bum-ba!), and so I left to visit some other friends and he went back to his paper. Sort of.
By the way, Pam doesn't think I should refer to Big Jake as "B.J." I probably still will, for simplicity's sake, but how I wish today for the sake of the story his name were Michael so he could be "B.M."

What a Dizzy Dance

I feel like one of those annoying women on the Yoplait commercials, but my life is so good! Perhaps it's the Lite Cherry Cobbler yogurt I had this morning? Probably not.
Recapping, last week I

* was on the world's worst photo-scavenger-hunt team, but Alex and I loved making fun of the way Kyle kept saying "de-lay."
* went to the best Relief Society dinner ever-- major shout-out to Arlinda and her helpers-- excellent activity, wonderful food, kickin' turn out. That's a touch of RS Bliss, my friends.
* had the nieces three separate days, and they were really good!
* read the most excellent book, "The Forgotten Garden," by Kate Morton. Read it! It's amazing and fresh!
* celebrated the cosmic event of my friend Katie's birth, and was so happy to realize we've hung out for her last four birthdays in a row.
* expected Nathan for a visit, but he had to cancel at the last minute. I took advantage of my time alone to watch some sub-par movies, but it was fun anyway.
* cut Jake's hair a bit. I was shocked when he just told me, "I need you to do this." I didn't bother telling him I'd never used a trimmer before until after I started. It was just in the back, and even though I think I might have messed up ever-so-slightly, I maintain it was his fault because he was wearing his lab coat and looked really cute. I hope when he's a full-fledged doctor he doesn't wear scrubs. It would be such a shame. Afterwards, he made me watch a creepy vegan movie (I made him turn it off when they started throwing live baby chicks away and slaughtering a diseased turkey), a Nigerian movie called "Baby Police," and part of some Bollywood film. Big Jake has the coldest apartment on the planet.
* saw some relatives at a baby shower, including one of my aunts who has taken to wearing a wig. She looked AMAZING. Best I've ever seen, maybe. It makes me want to cut my hair in the same shape, but I think I'll grow it out again for Locks of Love, so it's Rapunzel style for me for another couple of years.
* bought a mattress for my cute little antique bed that's replacing the spot where the loveseat used to reside in my room. James needed a couch, and I wanted to display my great find. Also great-- the guys at the Paseo & Ventura Mattress Firm, who appeared to appreciate me singing their jingle to them. They say no one else ever does, but how could one not?

All in all, nothing earth-shattering, but there were many pleasant surprises. I did have a very sad dream where I was engaged to my friend Dallin (yes, T, your former DY). As I explained it to B.J., he told me I have a lot going on upstairs, even when I'm asleep. I told him that's the burden of genius. ;)