Quinterelis

Making up stories has been one of my favorite pasttimes... When I used to babysit, I'd tell kids any story with any character. I've missed making them up, so I decided to write all of you one tonight! Enjoy the story about the purple mouse I like to call-Quinterelis.

Once upon a time there was a purple mouse named Quinterelis. Quinterelis lived in a teeny tiny hole located in the peach colored kitchen of the little old grandma of Little Red Riding Hood. One day, after a Big Bad Wolf had been thrown out, Quinterelis was scouting the tile floor for cookie crums or a little wedge of cheese. He rounded the corner of the antique wooden table and came to a stop at the table leg. There she was. A beautiful, soft pink mouse named Twindy-Loo. Twindy-Loo and Quinterelis had once gone to "How to Avoid Deadly Mousetraps" school together. She had sat in front of him, and he had almost failed the final exam when she had twitched her tail at him as he was trying to deny the cheese on the trap. He'd almost been snapped in two that day... literally from the mousetrap and then again as his his heart broke right down the middle as she left school with Rudolphus Rat. Quinterelis had thought he would never see her again! And now there she was, right in front of him once again, nibbling on a piece of two day old swiss cheese. With a strong determination, Quinterelis lifted his chin and marched towards Twindy-Loo. Unfotunately, he didn't see the smidgen of slippery jello on the floor and manged to step square on top of it. He flailed his arms and tried to catch his balance, but to his horror, the jello stuck to his foot and he slid right into the lady mouse of his dreams. Twindy-Loo gasped in fright and skittered off to the other side of the kitchen. Quinterelis sat in a heap of tangled tail and 4 legs pointing every which way. Twindy-Loo turned and instead of screaming, she started giggling, then burst out laughing, rolling on her stomach trying to stop the fit of glee she had begun. Quinterelis started to blush, turning his purple fur to a deep magenta. He untangled himself and stalked off to the corner of the kitchen where his hole was located. Twindy-Loo finally got ahold of herself and ran to Quinterelis just as he reached the opening of his hole. She squeaked her "I'm sorries" and Quinterelis quickly forgave her. They went into Quinterelis' teeny tiny little hole and lived happily ever after.

A Late Moonlight Ride

My family always finds random things to do in the mountains... this time, my sister found out that they have moonlight ski tram rides at Sundance when there is a full moon. So we went. Enjoy the ride...

I couldn't help but love this old red station wagon. It had everything from kayaks to rubber tubes to helmets and frisbees loaded and stacked on top of it. They even squeezed in a few ice chests and the oars in the back.

*Note the wild sunflowers off to the right, they're also my favorite flower*

Taiwan!

(Watch out Taiwan... this is what you're about to get)

Congrats to the soon to be "Elder"! Chris got his call and he's going to... the Taiwan, Taichung mission! How insanely cool is that? The only bad thing about it is postage just went up. 94 cents to send one letter across seas. That's almost equal to one entire DOLLAR. Small price to pay to write to the missionaries serving in the field though. Shout out to Chris and Taiwan!

Black and White

Black and white pictures are so classy. Without the color, it seems like you can make up your own story and use your imagination more easily than with a picture filled with color. Simple. Beautiful. Perfect.

Bacon

Yes, that's right. Bacon. This is a shout out to all of you who have ever saved my "bacon" before. Sometimes I wonder how I'm still alive, but here I am. From almost losing a couple of fingers when I was five to wrecking the family dirt bike as an early teen to the not so graceful tumble I took down the stairs last week. What can I say? I'm accident prone, but never broken a bone! So here's to you. To my Grandmother who saved my finger and any other cut I had. To a mother who hopefully has enough patience to last eternity as she waits for her tomboy of a daughter to grow up graceful and poised (Ha! Like that'll ever happen). To sisters who I will always call my best friends. To a friend who taught me math while we ate gummy bears and another who taught me the value of laughter. To a young man who played me "Beloved" on the piano and another who has guided me through the last year of my life. To the ones who go running when I need a partner and to the one who lived in Tooele, but literally came in rain or snow if I needed a date for the weekend. To the one who calls me, "Angel" and the one who's told me her deepest, darkest secrets. To the secret admirers who sent balloons or flowers and the ROTC supplier at BYU for free t-shirts. To all of the cashier tellers who gave me a penny when I needed it and the person in the car who stopped for me so I could cross the street. Thanks to those who I will never know your name. It is you who helps me be a better person, and keep my "bacon" of course.

A Smile A Day Keeps The Frowns Away

I am a definite people watcher. I love watching people and making up stories about what their lives could be like. A man dressed up in a corduroy suit with an uncoordinated red tie could be a retired rodeo clown now going for his Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering . The woman who buys a tray full of dollar menu frosties at Wendy's becomes a soccer Mom who forgot the treat for after the big game. The elderly couple holding hands as they walk down the street will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and stuff cake in each other's mouths that night, renewing their love and keeping it strong.

As I was watching people today, I decided that there are 3 types of people when it comes to walking past strangers and saying "Hi." There are the ones who give a friendly nod and a quick smile with just their lips as they hurry off to class. There are the ones who I like to call "out-of-the-zone-in-between-classes" people. They are either too busy talking on their cell phones, looking at the ground while they walk, or look away as you pass by. And then there is my favorite type of people. The ones who catch your eye as you walk past, give you a full grin and give a resounding "Hello!" Today, I decided I wanted to be the latter. So I was. Every person I walked by today got a full out smile and a hello from Jamie. Guess what happened? I, of course, received a few blank stares and weird looks, but I also got a big toothy grin from a guy I'd never seen before in my life, high-pitched "Hello's" from a couple of freshman boys, some tentative "Hi's" from some girls, and a 5 minute conversation with an attractive man by the name of Sterling on his way to a Physical Science lab. The best part of it, everytime I said hello with a smile, there was always someone behind the stranger I had just said hello to, with a smile on THEIR face. You could tell on their faces that they expected their hello from me as well as I walked past them. I like to think it makes a difference in someones life. Who doesn't like to get a smile? So next time you're walking past someone, give away a smile. It doesn't cost much, doesn't take much effort, and is the first step to making a stranger into a friend. Happy Smiling!

Goodbye Fantasy...Here Comes Reality

Isn't it interesting how just two days of college classes can change your life in minutes? I go from a fun-loving girl working in a mail room to a full-time sophmore who no longer has time to have a random social life. My fantasy summer of noncommital relationships and fun has ended. I'm once again stuck in reality where I will be carving my future with a pen and textbook in hand. Sounds like such a beautiful life, doesn't it? My future is in the Lord's hands. While I try to carve my life with a pen, He will be shaping and molding me in ways unbeknownst to me. Who knows where I'll be in a year? A month? A week? What an adventure. What a thrill. So here I go, into the unexpected and crazy world called Earth. Watch out, giant blueberry (Rocketman), here I come.

Gobbledygook

Research Paper. We've all heard those dreaded two words in a college English class, or any class for that matter. My topic-How Sesame Street can affect young, preschool age children. Through the grueling process and putting in long hours of researching for a 15 page paper, I came upon the incredible word that Big Bird once shouted out when he was frustrated, "Gobbledygook." Please take note of the fact that it was 2 o'clock the morning before the paper was to be turned in. I, of course, looked up its meaning and found that it meant "nonsense." Coincidence? I think not. I found this to be God's humor finally finding a place in my life. Here I was, early in the morning, writing a paper that was full of exactly that-Nonsense. I went on to finish the rest of my paper, but couldn't help to chuckle at my own personal joke about the so called "nonsense" I was writing about. So thus begins the blog all about the nonsense in my life... Gobbledygook!