Library, I Love You

I love the local library always. Oh wait, I don't like them when they don't have the book I want. Like today, I wanted The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis and they didn't have it! I was disappointed. They also didn't have the book by Mark Zusak that I wanted. Dear Library, today you failed me. However, I came away with a few good reads none the less.

• The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Leverage Point by Gerald N. Lund

My sister has been reading the classics and I decided that that would be a good direction to take since I haven't any other books I'm dying to read except The Color Purple. I just started The Scarlet Letter and so far, I'm enjoying it. It makes me feel smart when I understand the words because it is so different from how we talk now. I just have to keep an open mind and the words flow like a fast paced river into my mind. (Cool metaphor, eh?) I was not surprised to find that we had all the classic books in my on home library, but there is something magical about pulling the book off the shelf and putting it in your stack, then getting it scanned. I love that sound that says, "These books are all yours for a whole month!" I am offically guilty of having a stack of books sitting on my floor by my bed. At least every week or so, there is a different stack instead of the same ones for months, right?

My Bucket List

This is my list of things I want to do before I die.
- Go to China
- Live in a big city (only for a short time)
- Go sky diving.
- Travel all over Europe (France, Germany, England, Italy, Greece etc.)
- Go somewhere no one else goes. IE Laos, Djibuti etc.
- Ride the tallest rollercoaster as well as the fastest one.
- Go to all 50 states in the U.S.
- Shake the Prophets hand.
- Go scuba diving in Austrailia.
- Win something from a radio contest.
- Climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty
- Visit the pyramids in Eygpt.
- Star in a musical.
- Sleep under the stars on a beach.
- Be an anonymous benefactor for some charity.
- Do humanitarian aid in Africa.
- Go to the Olympics (out of country)
- Have a song written about me.
- Study abroad in England.
- Learn a second language.
- Learn to play the guitar.
- Get married and have lots of children.
- See a platypus and a beaver. (Don't ask about the beaver.)
- Go on a cruise.
- See a show on Broadway.
- See the 7 world wonders.
- Leave $20 in a pair of jeans at the store.
- See the Northern Lights
- Read every book that's won the Pulitzer Prize in the fiction section.
- Add more to my bucket list.

Things I've Decided

- Driving by yourself on the freeway for a long time and singing along to music is really awesome.
- First dates can be really fun.
- I love my new purple sunglasses.
- I have really awesome friends, they are the best!
- Bowling is only fun if you do it incorrectly. (i.e. Granny style, on one foot, backwards, eyes closed, dizzy, etc.)Also, you must use a fake name. I like Gertrude.
- There are a lot of good songs on the radio, you just have to find them midst all the horrible commercials and bad songs.
- Pasta on dates is a big no no. You might end up with sauce on your eyebrow, and that is really embarrassing. :)
- My sister is awesome because she has friends in Dubai, Taiwan, China, and England. Note: they are all native to that country except Dubai, and she's chinese.
- I want to go on a road trip to Cali.
- I want to drive across the country from coast to coast.
- I'm SO excited that purple is big this year.
- Waking up at 5:30 in the morning to work really stinks.
- Going to bed right after work is the best.
- I have a really long list of wants. (i.e. Car, iPod, camera, job, clothes.)
- I need to clean my room so I can redecorate!
- This list is long...

Turkey Day

Things I love about my family... (and Thanksgiving)

• Talking wooden Amish people
• Memories
• My little cousin trying to create a marching line with everyone
• Playing Don't Break The Ice
• Pulling out the Christmas decor after cleaning up the Thanksgiving dinner
• Realizing how many things we have to be grateful for
• Driving to Wal-Mart for the last minute spray cheese
• "Blackmailing" with crazy pictures
• Cousins singing at the top of their lungs
• Seeing people that you haven't seen in a while
• The Manichean in the basement
• Feeling warm and fuzzy
• Hugging the Grandparents
• Talking about liver and sheep fetuses.... *coughashleycough*
• Staying at Grandma's for over 6 hours and not wanting to leave ever
• Catching up with my twin cousin
• Knowing you are loved no matter what
• Mecham Style Happy Birthday (You haven't lived until you've heard it)
• Realizing that you must prep outsiders before they hear the Mecham's sing so they don't get scared
• The food is never gross
• Never getting bored
• Knowing we are a forever family
• Fishing worms
• Praying together
• Hide and seek
• Dress ups
• Laughing together
• We are not just a family, we are friends