Monday, June 30, 2008
I Have Landed
I'm in DC...finally! I don't have a ton of time right now but I will soon be posting about my super awesome adventure in getting here. I started work today and I think it will suit me well. More on that later...
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
My Dad
I realize that this comes a few days after Fathers Day, but oh well. I want to pay tribute to my amazing dad, Gary Irvin Johnson. (Irvin was his father's name, yikes). I love my dad more than I can truly express. He and I have a very special bond, sometimes I think it's because I was the first kid in my family to express interest in playing a sport. In 3rd grade I told my mom I wanted to play softball, not because I thought it would be fun, but because my best friend, Nicki Peters played. We normally only got to see each other on Sundays at church (go 11th ward!) so I thought we would end up on the same team. Wrong. We didn't, I was sad, but I was hooked on softball. I remember how excited my dad was and how we would play catch in the front yard. He taught me to throw, slide, bat, everything. I owe the amazing gun, also known as my right arm to my dad.
He was in the Navy when I was growing up and wasn't able to make it to many of my games, but if he was in town and off work, he would be there. I missed him so much when he was gone, but he did his best to make up for it when he came back.
My dad is fascinating to me, I love going home and talking to him. We're not big phone talkers, but kitchen or backyard, it's guaranteed to be a long, good talk. He is so knowledgeable about the gospel, sports and all sorts or weird stuff. I feel like every time we talk, I learn something new.
My dad and I have a handshake that none of the other kids have. I don't remember how or when we came up with it, but I treasure it. He calls me "Sally", "Sally Sue", "Peg" and "Peggy Sue". I love it! (those nicknames will be explained in another blog post, I'm sure). When I go home to visit we always watch crazy stuff on the History Channel and Discovery. His recent addiction is "Gangland" on the History Channel.
My dad is amazing, I am the luckiest girl alive. I owe my success, my morals, my intelligence and my independence to him. Thank you dada, I love you!
He was in the Navy when I was growing up and wasn't able to make it to many of my games, but if he was in town and off work, he would be there. I missed him so much when he was gone, but he did his best to make up for it when he came back.
My dad is fascinating to me, I love going home and talking to him. We're not big phone talkers, but kitchen or backyard, it's guaranteed to be a long, good talk. He is so knowledgeable about the gospel, sports and all sorts or weird stuff. I feel like every time we talk, I learn something new.
My dad and I have a handshake that none of the other kids have. I don't remember how or when we came up with it, but I treasure it. He calls me "Sally", "Sally Sue", "Peg" and "Peggy Sue". I love it! (those nicknames will be explained in another blog post, I'm sure). When I go home to visit we always watch crazy stuff on the History Channel and Discovery. His recent addiction is "Gangland" on the History Channel.
My dad is amazing, I am the luckiest girl alive. I owe my success, my morals, my intelligence and my independence to him. Thank you dada, I love you!
Monday, June 16, 2008
The Funnest Weekend EVER
I just had the best weekend ever! I was invited to go to a cabin with my friend from school. It was just going to be pretty laid back, like eating, playing games, watching a movie under the stars, etc. On the way up there my friend let it slip that this was no ordinary cabin, it is valued at $7 million. Um yeah, isn't that a mansion? Yeah. Anywho, it was so much fun! We played ping pong, air hockey, we watched I, Robot under the beautiful night sky (actually, he and I didn't watch, we don't like that movie. He taught me about the constellations). Then we all decided we were freezing so we went inside and watched Hitch in the home theater. Amazing! Then we all went to bed and woke up VERY late. I had such a hard time leaving the cabin, I could really get used to that sort of life!
Saturday night I went to the Manti Pageant. It's official name is "The Mormon Miracle Pageant" and it's about Joseph Smith, the Restoration and some of the Book of Mormon stories. My friends Eliza and Sariah's ward rented a bus and I was able to tag along. My friend Jordan (the cabin boy) came with and it was a great time! First of all, I will never, ever live in Manti. It is roughly 45 minutes off the freeway....ew. Secondly, I think the only thing that ever happens in Manti is the pageant. Back to the pageant, we got there around 7pm to be able to save a big section of rows for our group. We were then dropped off at a park to have dinner and play around before the pageant began at 9:30. We played on the swings, threw a ball around and I almost broke my ring finger. I currently have a black and blue sausage in between my pinkie and middle finger on my left hand. (thanks Jordan and Sariah...jerks). The pageant itself was kinda cheesy but it was good too. The ride home was long, bumpy and not good for sleeping.
Sunday morning I took Jordan to the Deaf ward Sacrament Meeting so he could see what I do. It is a really cool experience, I love going to the Deaf ward! There were two babies blessed and the way they do it is all the men start in the circle and then the person administering the blessing goes to the pulpit and signs the blessing. After he has finished he returns to the circle, lays his hands on the baby once more and the it is done. Yay for babies and Deaf people!
At noon I went to Catholic mass in Spanish!!! For one of my classes I had to go have a cultural experience where I would be the linguistic minority. Eliza and Sariah planned to go to Mass and invited me along...it was awesome! We were pulling into the parking lot and started noticing that everyone walking up to the church was wearing jeans. We were all still in our clothes from church (we looked mighty fine if you ask me) and other than the fact that we were 3 white girls, we stuck out BAD. The outside of the church was the place to be, they were holding a car was with donations going to the church and there were vendors selling food! Love it. So we get into the church and it was packed! We had to stand in the back (I was in 3 inch stilettos) and people kept looking at us funny. I love awkward situations! The service was about 45 minutes and started with singing (accompanied by guitars) and then 2 women took turns saying a short sermon each. After the ladies spoke, the Father took over and delivered the bulk of the sermon. He ended with, "Feliz dia de los padres!" Happy Fathers Day! Then they started passing around collection baskets and a women approached the 3 of us and asked if we knew Spanish. We all said we didn't and she then invited 2 of us to take the wine and wafers to the front of the congregation for the sacrament. Eliza and Sariah did it, I didn't want to! I have a jacked finger and super tall shoes, I was imagining very embarrassing things happening to me. The altar boy came to the back so they could walk behind him. As they were waiting to go, the collection baskets started to come in and some of the money fell on the ground. The altar boy helped to pick it up and as he bent down he came VERY close to hitting Eliza in the head with the crucifix he was carrying. I wish! That would have been the greatest story!
What a good weekend, I don't think I'll top that one for a while. Have an amazing week!
Saturday night I went to the Manti Pageant. It's official name is "The Mormon Miracle Pageant" and it's about Joseph Smith, the Restoration and some of the Book of Mormon stories. My friends Eliza and Sariah's ward rented a bus and I was able to tag along. My friend Jordan (the cabin boy) came with and it was a great time! First of all, I will never, ever live in Manti. It is roughly 45 minutes off the freeway....ew. Secondly, I think the only thing that ever happens in Manti is the pageant. Back to the pageant, we got there around 7pm to be able to save a big section of rows for our group. We were then dropped off at a park to have dinner and play around before the pageant began at 9:30. We played on the swings, threw a ball around and I almost broke my ring finger. I currently have a black and blue sausage in between my pinkie and middle finger on my left hand. (thanks Jordan and Sariah...jerks). The pageant itself was kinda cheesy but it was good too. The ride home was long, bumpy and not good for sleeping.
Sunday morning I took Jordan to the Deaf ward Sacrament Meeting so he could see what I do. It is a really cool experience, I love going to the Deaf ward! There were two babies blessed and the way they do it is all the men start in the circle and then the person administering the blessing goes to the pulpit and signs the blessing. After he has finished he returns to the circle, lays his hands on the baby once more and the it is done. Yay for babies and Deaf people!
At noon I went to Catholic mass in Spanish!!! For one of my classes I had to go have a cultural experience where I would be the linguistic minority. Eliza and Sariah planned to go to Mass and invited me along...it was awesome! We were pulling into the parking lot and started noticing that everyone walking up to the church was wearing jeans. We were all still in our clothes from church (we looked mighty fine if you ask me) and other than the fact that we were 3 white girls, we stuck out BAD. The outside of the church was the place to be, they were holding a car was with donations going to the church and there were vendors selling food! Love it. So we get into the church and it was packed! We had to stand in the back (I was in 3 inch stilettos) and people kept looking at us funny. I love awkward situations! The service was about 45 minutes and started with singing (accompanied by guitars) and then 2 women took turns saying a short sermon each. After the ladies spoke, the Father took over and delivered the bulk of the sermon. He ended with, "Feliz dia de los padres!" Happy Fathers Day! Then they started passing around collection baskets and a women approached the 3 of us and asked if we knew Spanish. We all said we didn't and she then invited 2 of us to take the wine and wafers to the front of the congregation for the sacrament. Eliza and Sariah did it, I didn't want to! I have a jacked finger and super tall shoes, I was imagining very embarrassing things happening to me. The altar boy came to the back so they could walk behind him. As they were waiting to go, the collection baskets started to come in and some of the money fell on the ground. The altar boy helped to pick it up and as he bent down he came VERY close to hitting Eliza in the head with the crucifix he was carrying. I wish! That would have been the greatest story!
What a good weekend, I don't think I'll top that one for a while. Have an amazing week!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Babies, babies, babies
My amazing friend Kristy is pregnant with a boy! Hooray for Kristy! It got me thinking, have you ever wished there were more genders than just boy or girl? Wouldn't it be cool if there were 6 genders?!? Because a 50 - 50 shot really isn't all that exciting, but if it was 1 of 6....you see where I'm going right? That would be TRULY suspenseful (not to discount the excitement of finding out if you are having a boy or girl) but really, can you imagine? If we had 6 options, that would be the coolest. But I guess it would also alter everything on Earth, but it would still be cool. CONGRATULATIONS KRISTY!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
I Do?
There is an amazing show on TLC called "Say Yes to the Dress" about a wedding dress shop in NYC. I believe I have to stop there this summer and pay my respects. This show is hilarious! It a reality show about this shop called Kleinfelds, all the people that work there and ALL the awesome drama that goes down. Some girls pick the UGLIEST dresses and pay a ton for them. In an episode the other day the assistant manager said that they carry 1700 styles of dresses that range from $1,100 to $30,000. Yikes! I love weddings but come on! Oh and ew... some of these girls are just heinous, but even worse is their moms! I strongly suggest watching this show and letting me know your thoughts on it. I claim to not be a girly-girl but I love this show and if you watch it and love it too, we are obviously destined to be friends. Probably not destined for much else but who cares, friendship rocks!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Glamorous!
My favorite magazine of all time, Glamour, does a page every month called "Hey, It's OK..." that basically validates little things that women can tend to feel badly about. As women, we feel bad about A LOT of things. I love this page, it's my favorite out of the whole magazine, so here's this months offerings:
Hey, It's OK...
...to take all the credit.
...to consider yourself the most sophisticated woman since Audrey Hepburn, but still sleep with stuffed animals.
...to ignore any email with a subject line beginning, "FWD: FWD: FWD."
...to use the zoom lens on your friend's camera to keep an eye on your ex-boyfriend at the wedding you're both attending.
...to wonder whether Indiana Jones is a little too old to be traipsing around like that.
...to say, "Oh, it's vintage" when someone compliments you on the Wet Seal sundress you've been wearing since high school.
...to get it with fries.
...to have never quite mastered that public-toilet hovering move.
....to skip the whole "I hope we can still be friends" charade. You HAVE friends.
Love it! Can't wait for next month's issue!
Hey, It's OK...
...to take all the credit.
...to consider yourself the most sophisticated woman since Audrey Hepburn, but still sleep with stuffed animals.
...to ignore any email with a subject line beginning, "FWD: FWD: FWD."
...to use the zoom lens on your friend's camera to keep an eye on your ex-boyfriend at the wedding you're both attending.
...to wonder whether Indiana Jones is a little too old to be traipsing around like that.
...to say, "Oh, it's vintage" when someone compliments you on the Wet Seal sundress you've been wearing since high school.
...to get it with fries.
...to have never quite mastered that public-toilet hovering move.
....to skip the whole "I hope we can still be friends" charade. You HAVE friends.
Love it! Can't wait for next month's issue!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Tag...I'm it!
I've never been tagged before! I think this will be a giant let down for some of you :) I hope this lives up to your expectations Nicki!
3 Joys: my amazing nieces; being outside in the warm sun and being lazy on the grass; having good, deep conversations with intelligent people
3 Fears: someone in my family dying; that I'm not good enough in any facet of my life; that I'll never get married (I can't believe I just admitted that on my freaking blog)
3 Goals: to own a super cute house (that me and a super cute husband can live in); to be an incredible interpreter; to really, truly follow a budget and a workout schedule
3 Current Obsessions/Collections: I will be moving into a new place in the Fall and will be TOTALLY redoing my room and I am already collecting stuff for it (lame, it's like 3 months away); blogging; "Arrested Development", other than "The Office" I think this is the funniest, most intelligent TV series ever made
3 Random Facts: I think I make too many comments in most of my classes (I tell myself to shut up all the time); I have eaten a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's in one sitting too many times to count; I'm pretty sure I can pop almost every joint in my body
I tag Susan, Kristi Lamb and J Dub!!!!
3 Joys: my amazing nieces; being outside in the warm sun and being lazy on the grass; having good, deep conversations with intelligent people
3 Fears: someone in my family dying; that I'm not good enough in any facet of my life; that I'll never get married (I can't believe I just admitted that on my freaking blog)
3 Goals: to own a super cute house (that me and a super cute husband can live in); to be an incredible interpreter; to really, truly follow a budget and a workout schedule
3 Current Obsessions/Collections: I will be moving into a new place in the Fall and will be TOTALLY redoing my room and I am already collecting stuff for it (lame, it's like 3 months away); blogging; "Arrested Development", other than "The Office" I think this is the funniest, most intelligent TV series ever made
3 Random Facts: I think I make too many comments in most of my classes (I tell myself to shut up all the time); I have eaten a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's in one sitting too many times to count; I'm pretty sure I can pop almost every joint in my body
I tag Susan, Kristi Lamb and J Dub!!!!
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