The Wanderer

Thanks to my new job- I read. A lot. More. (I always read a lot, but now I read a lot a lot). And thanks to my new hubby, garage sales have become a weekly part of my life. And thanks to garage sale prices, my library has grown extensively. Woot woot for 25 cent books! Ahem. Anyway.... this is one of my quarter's worth finds. It's called 'The Wanderer' by Sharon Creech. If I find a Newberry book at a garage sale I automatically add it to my pile because chances are its going to be pretty good. When I started this book I was not so sure if I was going to like it. It definitely fits into the kid genre. However, by the end of it, I was in love! It's about a girl who goes sailing across the Atlantic ocean with her three uncles and two cousins (all boys) to see her grandpa who lives in England. During their adventure Sophie, the main character, learns a lot not only about herself, but about her family as well. She comes to find out where she fits in the world, where her place is. She also has to deal with some things in her past that she has been suppressing, but her cousins curiosity brings it all up again. Basically its a story of a girl who leaves the United States not really knowing who she is and lands in England with a better sense of self. I liked it. But you know that. If I didn't then I wouldn't be writing this blog would I? So go find out for yourself.

WHAT??!!!!!!!

One of the reasons I love Pinterest is because it continues to feed my Harry Potter addiction. Here are some fun facts I have learned....

And this was my most favorite discovery....

Maybe some of you are much smarter than I am, and realized that Voldemort, Snape, and Harry were the three deathly hallows, but I had no idea! Rowling is a freaking genius!!! Long live Harry!

The Host

For this book you need to put whatever reservations you have of Stephanie Meyer aside. I just finished it last night for ,I don't know, the fourth time maybe? When I read it I have a really hard time believing that the same author as Twilight wrote it. Not only are there no grammatical errors in this book, there is also a plot. Gasp. I know right? Who would have thought Stephanie Meyer would be able to actually write something decent?! However, I must warn you that the first few chapters you may think to yourself, "What in the sam pete am I reading?!!". So my advice is to just give it to the fourth, maybe fifth chapter (they are short chapters) until you really get into the story. It will all make sense I promise. And this book is sci-fi, so if that's not your cup of tea you may not like it. But it does have some action, adventure, and even a little romance in the mix. It questions humanity and how there are polar opposites on the Earth. How can someone like Hitler and Mother Theresa live on the same planet? What is good and what is evil? Why is motherhood one of the strongest bonds found in the universe? Basically it questions all of humanity but in an intriguing story line. It's definitely one of the books that when I start reading I have a hard time putting it down. And good news! Next year this awesome book is being turned into a movie! Yay! I just hope that the movie version of this Meyer film is a whole heck of a lot better than the last Twilight failures. Hopefully they will get people who can actually act, or at least have more than one facial expression....

Ha see what I mean? Don't you sometimes wish that she would close her mouth? Anyway, the movie trailers aren't that great yet, but here is the one they have made. Check it out. The Host Official Trailer

Picnic

When I got home from work on Friday my husband started packing a cooler and told me that we were going on a picnic to Bear Lake. I of course got very excited. The drive up Logan Canyon was beautiful. I love it this time of year. Everything is turning green but there are still some deep patches of white white snow creating some gorgeous views. For dinner we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, cheese-its, carrots and ranch, and of course- Mt. Dew! Which is obviously the PERFECT Bear Lake food (If you can't have LaBeaus that is). We ate our food, played in the sand, laid on a blanket, and enjoyed the views. It was perfect. The only thing that was missing (besides being able to swim) were the seagulls. I love seagulls. I have no idea why. I just always have. After all, what is Bear Lake without a bunch of seagulls harassing you and trying to steal your food?! SO. I decided to call some over. I started making seagull squawking noises, which needed some work, so I tried many many variations of my invented bird call. Halfway in the middle of it I looked over to see my exasperated husbands face and just burst out laughing. What did this scene remind me of? Dori speaking whale of course! Marlin was just as exasperated with her as Justin was with me. haha he is such a good sport with my insane-ness! After a while I figured that my amateur bird calling was getting me no where. Go figure. So I just randomly started throwing cheese-its in the air hoping I would attract someone's attention. Miracles of all miracles. It actually worked! I am so awesome. Like seriously, I was SOOOO proud of myself! By the time we left we had over twenty seagulls circling around our little area eating up all of my thrown cheese-its. Seagulls are hilarious. I love watching them. I was in pure heaven. As we packed up to go I spread cheese-its all over our site because I knew it had probably been a while since these seagulls had had any junk food. After a long winter I wanted to fatten them up a bit haha. The drive home was just as lovely with the sun setting behind the mountains. A few miles into the canyon I told Justin to watch out for deer because this was the time of night that they were out. I had no idea if that was true or not, I just remember my mom had always told us that, so I was just passing the information along. We started talking about how deer's eyes glow in the dark and that was your warning. About two twisty turns later I saw a glowing eye to the left and just started shouting, "Deer! Deer! Deer!" but as it came closer to our car I quickly switched to, "Moose! Moose! Moose!". Justin slammed on the breaks and we waited as this ginormous moose crossed the road not ten feet in front of us. He didn't seem too concerned with our presence and his pace was very leisurely. After we got over the shock of almost dying it was actually pretty cool to see him. I have never seen a moose in that canyon before and this one was HUGE! We of course talked of little else after that and realized that my warning may have been inspired. If Justin hadn't slowed down after my telling him that this was the perfect time for deer, neither us or the moose may have been so lucky. So all in all it was a very fun date night with a little adventure in the mix. I love that my awesome hubby still loves to surprise me with little date nights. We have a lot of fun together!

Man vs Woman

Just a fair warning, some of you may not find this as funny as I did.... So last night I was FREEEEEEEZING! When I was getting ready for bed I quickly undressed and literally jumped into bed as fast as I could, pulled FOUR blankets tightly around me and made myself a cocoon to try to trap some body heat and warm myself up. I felt Justin get into bed but I was shivering too hard to actually turn around. A little while later I look over and just start laughing. Justin doesn't have one single blanket on and starts complaining about how hot it is. I don't know why I found my teeth chattering at the same time he was sweating so funny. But I really do. It just caused me to have flash backs of when my own parents would go through something similar. My dad loved to keep the window open, even in the middle of winter, but my mom is ALWAYS cold and sleeps with a heated blanket even in the summer months. I wonder if every married couple experiences this?

And yes. I DID stick my freezing cold toes and hands on Justin's bare skin. Mwwhahahaha. (Evil Laugh)

True Love Stories...

"True Love Stories Don't Have Endings"... was the theme of my 'book themed' shower for my former roommate Leisha. Not gonna lie, I was kind of nervous to throw her a shower because I am highly inexperienced, aka I have never done it before. I had set a date with Leisha quite a few weeks in advance, so I had A LOT of time to think about it. I pulled in and threw out quite a few ideas (THANK YOU Pinterest!), and this is what I came up with....

Quotes about love stories placed as book covers for decorations

How many Ringpops guessing game

Mad Libs story of the Bride and Groom

A-Z wedding scategories

Scrambled Wedding Words

Candy Bar Poster Game about the Wedding Night
(I think this was the funniest one)

And this is what I served:
chicken salad croissants
pink goop
grape salad
pasta salad
veggie tray (Thanks Em)
chips (Thanks Morgan)
cheesecake stuffed strawberries
and lemon water

It was a ton of fun. So get married. (or have a baby). I'll throw ya a shower ;)

...And Congratulations Leisha on the beginning of your happily ever after!!

Just Another Reason Why College is Awesome!

Ode to Justin

I know many of you may get sick of my cheesy “I love marriage!” posts, so if that's how you are feeling than you better not read this. ;)

I love love love my husband!

On Thursday I had a pretty crappy day at work. Everything that could go wrong, did. And it was one of my ten hour shift days so by the end of it I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I was throwing a bridal shower for my old roommate on Friday so I knew that I would not be able to come home and relax after this stressful day. I had a lot of cleaning and shopping to do still and resting was a long way off yet. I came home expecting to find a quiet apartment with a sleeping husband after a long nights work but instead I walked into blaring music, a clean apartment, and a husband folding laundry. When I came up to him he turned around, threw his arms around me, and shouted, “Welcome home!”. And being in the emotional state that I was, I pretty much just burst into tears. And this my friends is why I love marriage. The world can just really tear and beat me down sometimes. But I get to come home to someone wonderful who loves me and takes care of me and always tries to make my days better and my mood happier. And not only did he clean the apartment for me, but he also helped me for hours upon hours cutting fruit, making salads, decorating the apartment, and he even went to Walmart and bought me some more ribbon. And if you can picture a big man like Justin buying a spool of lacey ribbon, well... then you can picture how much he loves me haha. He is so good to me. I just love him so much and am so so lucky to have him.

(And in case you were wonering, the shower was a huge success! But that blog will have to wait for another day).

Versatile Blogger Award

Thanks Kenzi for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award! Here's how it works...

Each Nominee Should:
Nominate 15 fellow bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award
Add an image of the Versatile Blogger Award
Thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link to their site
Share seven completely random facts about yourself
Include this set of rules
Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination
I nominate:

Kelsey @ Warren and Kelsey

Amanda @ Live...Laugh...Love

Meghan @ Me&Mine

Leisha @ For Lack of a Better Name

Cami @ Berry Feliz

Maddie @ Happily Forever After

Hailey @ My Flutterbyes

Ali @ A+B=C

Betsy @ The Screwy Life of a Grewe

Tyler @ The Low Down

Shilah @ The Good Shepherds

Lauren @ French Kissing Life

Tyler @ It's like I wrote every note with my own finger

Kate @ JonAaron, Kate, and AJ Paulsen

Kaitlin @ Like the Woman I Am


Seven Random Facts About Me:
1. The only man I have ever kissed, and plan on kissing, is my husband Justin.
2. I have arachnophobia to the severest degree. (No Exaggeration)
3. I have been bucked off of a horse four times.
4. I cut 26 inches off of my hair at once.
5. I was not supposed to live through the night the day I was born. I'm a miracle baby.
6. I collect books and movies.
7. The first item on my bucket list is to ride an elephant.

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice. One of my favorite reads of all time. Jane Austen is a genius, really. Her ability to write about serious social travesties in a light humored way is unmatched. Her writing is so witty. I have read some of her other novels, but this one is by far my favorite. The characters and their relationships with one another are just so funny to me. Poor Mrs. Bennett with all of those girls to marry off! Poor Mr. Bennett for having to deal with the whims of his wife. And as for Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy? Well its funny how love can so easily be mistaken for hatred. I have many, many favorite books, but I am pretty sure this one would have to make my top five.

The Best of Times

Charles Dickens is honestly one of my very favorite authors. A while ago I read this gem of his and let me tell you folks, it is amazing. What talent that Mr. Dickens has! This book just tugs at my heart strings. It is definitely an amazing story with amazing characters and invokes every single emotion out there. Goodness. It's just so good. Read it and fall in love.

A New Fav

I'm pretty much in love with this song. It's kind of adorable and kind of how I feel about marriage. Yes. I have given up some things for Justin. But I wouldn't trade what I have with him in a million years! You honestly get so much more out of marriage than anything you think you are losing. I loved being single. I had a lot of fun. But marriage is such a better way of life. And that is what this song is about. And I love it.

Back on the Soap Box Again...

There is something that has always slightly bothered me but I find it irritating me more and more these days. I blame the gym. I think that's where my irritation began to grow. The irritation that I am referring to is modesty. Something I will never understand is why girls are such scanks at the gym. Another thing I will never understand is why girls are such skanks at the beach/pool. I guess in all honesty, not all the girls bug me. I think it's the 'Sunday Mormon' syndrome. In case you don't know what 'Sunday Mormon' is, it's when people are good little Mormons on Sunday and then do whatever the heck they want the other days of the week, not caring what commandments they are breaking, or who they are hurting in the process. I think some girls modesty can kind of be related to 'Sunday Mormons'. They are modest all of the time. Oh wait. Unless you put some water or a treadmill next to them and then it becomes sluttyville, USA. I had a relative/friend (won't say which so no one can figure out who), who served an LDS mission and after a week of being home was back in a bikini. Um. What?? How on Earth do you go from missionary dress to bikini? It's the same thing with other girls who have gone through the temple. Why do they not have the same standards 24/7? I have heard so many excuses: "It's hard to work out in modest clothes." "I can't find any cute tankinis or one peices." My response- BULL! I may not be the world's best exerciser, but basketball shorts and a t-shirt work just fine. REALLY! And in case you haven't been on pinterest lately, modest swimsuits are coming back and are ADORABLE!! I'll let you in on my little secret and share with you my favorite place to get swimsuits: Hapari Swimwear.

Your excuse is invalid.

Now I really am not talking about ALL the girls in the world. I know many girls who just do not have the same standards of modesty, and will probably never go through the temple. I am not talking about those girls. I am strictly speaking of the girls who have gone through the temple, know what is appropriate and what is not, and still lower their standards because... well quite frankly, because they just plain want to. Come on guys. Really?! Once you go through the temple you are an example to the world. Plain and simple. HAVE HIGHER STANDARDS!!

The end. (Dismounting the soap box)

Here Comes the Sun

Why did I upload this song to my blog you may ask? Well my dear friends, it is because my life is looking a little brighter today. Why is that Kristi? Well, I'll tell you. It is because I GOT A JOB today! Yay! I am pretty much freaking excited about this. The job hit the USU job board on Monday so I hurried over and applied, got called for an interview on Tuesday, and got the awesome news on Wednesday. I am now an employee at the Comfort Inn working at the front desk. I will be working 3-5 days a week and I get full benefits! My manager (ah! I have a manager!) said that he tries to rotate weekend days so I will have to work some Saturday and Sunday shifts but luckily not all fo them. Today I filled out all of the paperwork and I start TOMORROW! Boo-Frickin-Yeah baby!

May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor

Saw it. Loved it.

However I guess not everyone feels the same way. A friend of mine opened up a can of worms when he said that he felt ashamed of himself for going to see this movie because that made him just like the capitol people. To him the only message he could see was kids killing kids. My advice is to read the dang book cause you dont know what the heck you are talking about!! Sheesh. The narrow mindedness of some people!!!!

I seriously just need to stop there so I dont get on my soap box and try to educate the world about what The Hunger Games is really about. Plus I get angry at people for dissing on this amazing story. So if you're a hater, keep your opinions to yourself you narrow minded, uneducated, wants to live in a bubble and be completely unaware of this worlds devastating violence and hunger issues, stupid stupid person!

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