And now you understand why...

A few people have asked me why I'm not wearing my mother's wedding dress.

Behold the answer....

All in a day's work...

One of my good friends at work left our company today to go back to teaching [gasp!] I am so sad about her leaving that I have decided to compose a post in her honor. It's kind of like a Eulogy, if you will... only not as depressing.

["I'm a you-goo-guh-lizer."— Name that movie! ]

Nat, remember that time we made french toast in our office for French Toast Friday?

And how we teased Charlene for cutting her french toast up

like a mother does for their toddler?

What about the many naps we took at our desks?

Or the few times we actually sat on our "fitness orbs?"

Like this time you made me sit on yours because it matched my cardigan so well?

Oh, and our monthly-themed whiteboard?

(Our drawing skills were really starting to come along...)

How about the time we made everyone in our office create a

Valentine's Day box and pass out Valentine's cards to each other? . . .

.... And I accidentally forgot to make one and improvised with a gift bag?

Or the time we had comfy-clothes day...

... combined with banana pancake day...

... and I kind of forgot to wear my pjs.

And you griddled up the best banana pancakes I've ever had

(also the only banana pancakes I've ever had)?

Yeah, I remember, too. Those were the days....

We will miss you! Good luck with the kidlets!

I think I'm in love.

I have recently been reunited with an old fling... AND I think I'm in love.

... thought you should be the first to know.

[Note: That is not a boy in the picture. That is me with helmet hair.]

Nephews make the best dates

I wish everyone had a nephew. Nothing beats spending an evening with darling, intelligent, fun children that you get to drop off to someone else at the end of the night.

The boys chose to go to Maddox Drive-In, in Perry. They were so busy talking about worm holes, black holes, evolution, and dogs that we eventually had to leave ... and finish our food on the go. Yes, I took the next two pictures while I was driving on the freeway, in case you were wondering.

If you'd ever care to see the red cocktail sauce pictured here, you can see it embedded in the carpet of my car anytime. 

Then I had the bright idea of the Farr ice cream parlor in Ogden on the way home. But they had been there before. I don't know why I thought I would have been the first person to think to take kids there. (Sometimes I live in a dream world.) We accidentally ordered some HUGE portions of ice cream and ended up in sugar comas just trying to make it to the bottom.

[Aren't their smiles the cutest?!]

[Yes, I'm actually posting this super flattering photo. The boys said I needed a picture of myself, but I wouldn't let them hold my camera with their sticky hands (I know), and this is the awesome photography we ended up with.]

In other news:

In the past 8 days I have been called a brat/snob three times.

I was told by a boy that I don't feel and that there is a cold, dark cavity where my heart should go. 

I had an Emma moment last week. Not the kind to be proud of.

I celebrated Taco Tuesday on Wednesday at work, for which I made homemade guacamole dip (thank you, Erika!)

I went on my first bike ride of the summer, on the Legacy Trail with a great friend and my bottom only hurts just slightly today. I never knew I could be so excited about an un-sore bottom.

My cankles have subsided. I'm considering throwing a Welcome Home party for my real ankles. 

And a good friend encouraged me to not be so indecisive in life.

"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."

Thus, I have started making decisions. And we'll see where those go.

Turning 26 Never Tasted so Good

I actually turned 26 while I was in Heidelberd, Germany. But I held off on birthday celebrations until I returned home for obvious reasons... It's got to be hard to find my Betty Crocker Rainbow Chip birthday cake mix in Germany! Also, there are so many more people here to celebrate me. 

And because I only turn 26 once...

I went with some of my good friends to eat at Taggart's Grill.

I ate, and shared (some) delicious chocolate cake.

I posed for really awkward photos... because I can.

And now I'm just trying to adjust to remembering my new age, 26. It seems like ever since I turned 23, I can't seem to remember how old I am. Just a few months ago, in fact, I told someone I met that I was 23. And I really thought that I was. You can imagine my shock when my friend called me the following day to tell me that I hadn't been 23 for over 2 years. 

They say that you lose your mind as you grow older. I just might be living proof.

Keane Observations

Tuesday I went

[here]

To see

[these guys]

with

[this girl].

And it looked a little something like

[THAT!]

It's surprisingly difficult to get a decent picture of the band when there are a million strobe lights. This was my best effort.

Concert Review: Hands down, my favorite concert I've been to. I loved both opening acts (Mat Kearney is one of my top ten favorites) and knew and loved all the Keane songs. Plus the absence of alcohol made for a much less obnoxious crowd. And I haven't been to a Coldplay concert, so this one remains the best until I do.

Music Suggestion: Keane- all of their albums, but especially the latest. Mat Kearney- pick and choose his songs on his albums (see me for specifics). Helio Sequence- not bad at all, but much better live.

Word.

The Year in Pictures. So Far, Anyway.

It's only March ... or maybe April by the time I post this. But so far this year has proven itself to be a good one. It could possibly be up for the title of one of the best years of my life thus far. Here are some of the things that have kept my busy:

Okay, there's really no reason for this photo... other than I think it's funny. :)

The Special Olympic Utah Winter Games

Quite possibly my favorite event of each year.

I look forward to spending the weekend at the games with these 3 brothers every year... for 7 years now. Nothing like being teased relentlessly for 2-3 days by 3 brothers.

The athlete below has asked me to marry him for nearly 7 years in a row now. 

Gotta admire that determination.

Yes, they light a real torch at the Opening Ceremonies.

The band that played for the dance after the ceremonies let the athletes "perform" on their instruments. This was the cutest thing I've seen in a long time!

My cute friend Natalie and I convinced our office to hold a Valentine's exchange. We were a little homesick for our teacher days. Some of them really got into it. Check out our Valentine boxes!

I got a lot of grief for co-planning this and then using a bag from the store as my Valentine Box. Oops.

I got to play Cinderella for a local elementary school's Literacy Night.  I took one of my nephews with me to play Prince Charming. He was a great sport!

 (And he's going to kill me when he's a teenager!)

His little sister was so excited to see us when I took him home that she ran upstairs to put on her "Cinderella-la" dress. 

I sang "karaoke" to Rock Band. I always refuse to sing- always! But my cute friend offered to sing a duet... and I actually enjoyed it. But don't tell my friends— my fake guitar skills are much more developed.

I have begun to notice a pattern of falling asleep at social events... prior to 10 p.m. This phenomenon may or may not be related to the patch of grey hair developing near the part in my hair.

I learned the Cha Cha and that chivalry might not be dead, all in the same evening!

I discovered that just because you show up to the Holi Festival of Colors after the throwing of colors, doesn't necessarily mean that some wild, strange 18-year-old girl won't randomly throw a fistful of pink chalk right into your eyes while running by at an incredibly fast rate. 

(Sometimes nothing gets your point across like a good run-on sentence.)

I figure if the first quarter of the year was already THAT good, there's bound to be even more to be had in the last three quarters.