Christmas

This is my favorite picture of Christmas so far. Charleah, my sister, loves big books so we told Adison, my brother, that he should get her a big book for Christmas. He thought it was a stupid idea, but we finally convinced him to get it. At first it was just going to be a random big book, but then we saw an anatomy big book. Did she like it? I think the picture says it all.

Last Paper

I just turned in the last paper of my college career.
It feels good.

Every Thursday

I work at 8am every weekday. I wake up at 7:20am. Never earlier, and usually later. (Never more than 5 minutes late for work). I hate being woken up earlier than I want to be woken up. I am not happy in the morning. I especially hate waking up 5-10 minutes before I have to get up. Of course I don't just think, "I should get up now." I think "I have 5 minutes left and I will get 5 more minutes of sleep."

However, every Thursday morning at 7:10am, the garbage truck empties our neighbors dumpster, which is very close to my bedroom window. I guess they don't know that someone in the apartment complex next to them has 10 more minutes of sleep left. Being quiet is not an option for them.

I guess I should be grateful that there are people who have "downright nasty occupations that make civilized life possible for the rest of us." (Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs) But why can't they sleep in an extra ten minutes and let me sleep.

My New Camera

I got a Nikon D60 about a month ago. It is a digital SLR camera and I love it so far. I don't think I am very good yet, but as soon as I graduate I want to start practicing more. I will definitely do this as a hobby and maybe I'll be good enough some day to take professional photos. I love looking at photography blogs and I think I have to get a lot better, but I am willing to try. I am also supposed to get another lens for my birthday (in 6 days) if Chris remembers what I want.

Here are some pictures I have taken so far. They are okay.

Thanksgiving

I said I wasn't going to post until after I graduated, but I did FOUR independent study lessons today and decided I needed a break. So I started planning my Thanksgiving dinner. I am so excited! I am going all out, everything from scratch. Unless I change my mind. But for now it is from scratch.
Here is my menu:

• The Turkey: I am going to brine it. It is supposed to make it juicier and more tender.
• Mashed Potatoes: Will be so creamy and buttery
• Stuffing: I might use the gizzards, but I cannot decide.
• Turkey Gravy: From the actual juice in the turkey.
• Sweet Potatoes: I won't be making these. I don't like them so my sister Charleah will do it. But I might make her do it from scratch.
• Green Bean Casserole: Not from scratch, but the way my mom makes it. So wonderful.
• Rolls: I haven't found the perfect recipe yet, but they will be homemade

Dessert:

• Apple Pie- From real apples. And a homemade crust.
  
• Pumpkin Pie- From real pumpkins. Not from a can and another homemade crust.
  
• Two other pies I haven't decided on yet.
  

As far as I know, we will only have 5 people here eating dinner, so of course I will have tons of leftovers for Turkey Salad Sandwiches. Yum!

So Long

I know I haven't written in forever. I am planning on graduating in December and all my free time is spent doing my homework and procrastinating my homework. When I write a blog post, I want it to be good.

So, December 19 I will be done with school. Expect something great.

It's Not That Hard

I have decided that I won't complain about work on my blog. But I am going to make an exception.

I am responsible for checking all of the emails that come into my department and answering them or passing them out to be answered. I cannot tell you how often people just hit "reply" and the email comes back to me, instead of the customer that it should have gone to. This is just as bad as hitting "reply to all" and sending something to everyone! Not only is is annoying, but I have to email the person back and say something to the effect of "the email that you just sent came to me and not the person it was intended for. You will want to send it to the correct person."

What if there was personal information in there? Now you have given it to me unwillingly. Plus, you wasted my time.

I just had to get that off my chest.

100 Things I Love about Chris

I have seen lists of 100 things lately and I want to do one. So here are 100 things I love about Chris.

1. He sings in the shower.
2. He supports me and all my goals.
3. He loves watching movies with me.
4. He is the smartest person I know.
5. He tells me I am beautiful.
6. He will go with me to a craft store.
7. He is a perfectionist when he cooks.
8. He doesn't make me drive often.
9. He is good at everything he does.
10. He doesn't watch sports all the time.
11. He will play with my hair.
12. He will be an awesome dad.
13. He has a strong testimony.
14. He is accepting of people.
15. He will go with me to midnight releases of books I want to read.
16. He likes the same TV shows as me.
17. He loves musicals.
18. He likes to cuddle.
19. He says he can't sleep without me next to him. I also can't sleep well without him next to me.
20. He lets me cry.
21. He loves his family.
22. He gets along really well with my family.
23. He pays attention to current events.
24. He obsesses about his hair sometimes. (Which is okay as long as we are not late.)
25. He loves Mexican and Italian food, just like me.
26. He tells me the truth, always.
27. He has a palate that is refined to specific tastes.
28. I LOVE his laugh.
29. We get along with the same people, for the most part.
30. He can respectfully disagree with someone, unlike me.
31. He knows his scriptures.
32. He wasn't afraid to read Twilight. (But he won't read Harry Potter.)
33. He doesn't make me feel like I am second to him.
34. He sounds like he knows what he is talking about, even if he doesn't.
35. He realizes that not everyone is perfect.
36. He understands I will never be Martha Stewart.
37. He is better than Edward- it is true!
38. He is my best friend.
39. He gets me.
40. It's cute when he gets embarrassed, but it doesn't happen very often.
41. He likes family history.
42. He laughs at my jokes, even if they aren't very funny.
43. Not only does he sing in the shower, he is pretty good at it.
44. He respects me.
45. He knows that we will be together forever.
46. And he is happy about that.
47. He understand how scared I am of dentist and doctors, and is there when I need him.
48. He tells me he loves me all the time.
49. He understands I am a private person.
50. He will give me a back massage.
51. Everybody who meets him loves being around him.
52. He makes people (and me) laugh.
53. He doesn't mind staying at home and doing nothing sometimes.
54. He'll argue with me to help make my arguments stronger.
55. He smells really good.
56. He doesn't make me iron his shirts.
57. I love it when he says, "Randi."
58. He can't stay mad at me.
59. He will listen to me complain. (Mostly about work.)
60. Even before he was a member, I never had to worry about him peer pressuring me to do anything I wouldn't do.
61. Holding hands with him.
62. I have never had to pretend to be someone else around him.
63. He always looks so handsome. ;)
64. He is so much better at being my husband than Michael Phelps will ever be.
65. He hates being fake, or people being fake.
66. He loves going to the movies.
67. We always kiss goodbye.
68. My day is so much better when I see him.
69. He wants to travel.
70. He will spoil our future little girl.
71. He is ticklish on his elbow pit.
72. He makes me feel safe.
73. He's promised that we can have kids when he graduates.
74. He's not afraid to stand up for people.
75. He is okay that I don't wear make-up all the time.
76. Our little inside jokes.
77. He has very good handwriting.
78. It's cute when he has to admit he is wrong.
79. He knows what he wants, and goes for it.
80. I love his hugs.
81. He won't let our kids be disrespectful.
82. He brings me lunch at work.
83. He will be silly with me.
84. He'll spend hours at Barnes and Noble with me.
85. He texts me all day long.
86. When I ask a question, he always tells me more than I want to know.
87. He brushes his teeth in the shower.
88. He will watch scary movies with me.
89. He tips well.
90. He gets an southern accent when he talks to his family.
91. He worries about his sisters.
92. Sometimes he gets obsessed with random things.
93. He'll spend money on me.
94. He likes dogs more than cats.
95. He's the grammar police.
96. He will support whatever career I choose.
97. He will exercise with me, sometimes.
98. I love it when he kisses my cheek.
99. His chubby cheeks.
100. He's Chris!

I love the Olympics.

I have been a fan of Michael Phelps since I first heard about him in 2004 at Athens. He is amazing. I used to carry pictures of him around in my purse. I got married to another guy, so I had to throw them out. But I am still a fan.

He won 8 gold medals this Olympics making him the greatest Olympian of all time. The best moment of his 17 races can be summed up in this picture.

Funniest. Picture. Ever.

I just found this blog and was browsing through it when I saw the best picture.

See it here.

There is only one Randi Stowe: Me!

HowManyOfMe.com

There is 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

How Not To Impress a Date

Last week, I drove up to Squaw Peak for the first time. I was with Chris and Megan and we wanted to see the view. For those who don't know, Squaw Peak is the make-out point in Provo. There were a few couples up there eating, one guy meditating, and some other people who had biked up there.

One interesting conversation I overheard was between a couple. They were eating, sitting on the back of his truck when I heard:

"I was in a movie once...It was a church movie. Churchball? (Long Pause) I have never even seen it."

True Story. The best part is that the opening sequence of that movie was filmed at a BYU Basketball game which I attended. So technically, I guess I could be in the movie since I was at that game. But I really haven't seen the movie, so I wouldn't know. I wasn't impressed, and I don't think his date was either.

First Day of School

I sadly realized the other day that I may never have a first day of school again. I was so disappointed. I only have 3 classes left to take until I graduate. The way it looks, one will be online and one for each of the Fall and Winter semesters. I need to work full-time, so I am spreading it out like that. But I am not going to wake up one day looking forward to a full day of class. Yes, I said looking forward to. I have always loved the first day of school , the only exception was 6th grade. I love the smell, the sound and the feeling. Some of you may not know what the first day of school smells like. I can't really explain it, but I did get a whiff of it as I was thinking about this the other day.

However, there is hope. One day I want to be a teacher. I don't know if the smell, sound, and feeling will be the same, but it can't be bad.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII

I am currently reading this book. I have always been fascinated with Henry the VIII and his family. My ninth grade English teacher recommended this book, and I have just now gotten around to reading it. There has been a lot of Tudor related literature pop up in the past year. The movie "The Other Boleyn Girl," the series on TV "The Tudors," it is all so interesting. I am not usually good at reading non-fiction. I read to get lost in something, and it is hard for me to fall into non-fiction. But the author of this book also writes fiction books, I have read two of them: The Lady Elizabeth (about Henry and Anne's daughter) and Innocent Traitor (about Lady Jane Grey). Both were very good, so I thought I would give this one a try. I love it, it reads like a novel and I am captivated by it. Since I haven't finished it, here are some little-known facts or some that I found interesting.

• Anne Boleyn was probably not the harlot most people expect her to be. Only one of the men she was accused with sleeping with confessed. Most of the times she was accused of being with the men, she was pregnant or had just had a miscarriage, making it unlikely she was actually with them.
  
• Jane Seymour was courted by Henry VII while Anne Boleyn was still alive. She and Henry were married the day after Anne lost her head.
  
• Katherine of Aragon (Henry's first wife) was first married to his brother Arthur who was destined to become King of England. About six months after they were married he died. It was decided then that Katherine would marry Henry, who was younger, but eventually Henry VII tried to get out of the arrangement to make a more attractive marriage. Queen Isabella of Spain (Katherine's mother and the same Isabella in the story of Columbus) had died, and her husband no longer had full control of Spain.
  
• Katherine claimed until she died that the marriage between her and Arthur was never consummated. At this time it was believe that if a man were to marry his brother's wife, they would be cursed. Because it turns out that the marriage would not be recognized based on a statement from the Pope, Henry and Katherine were allowed to get married. However, when Henry wished to divorce Katherine, he used her previous marriage to try and say the marriage was never valid.
• In Henry's eyes, he would have only had two valid marriages, Jane Seymour (who died in childbirth) and Katherine of Parr (who outlived Henry).
• Katherine Howard was Anne Boleyn's cousin. Sadly, she was also beheaded.
  
• Katherine Howard was also Henry's youngest wife, she was 15. The others were at least in their twenties which is unusual in a time when most girls were married by 14.
  

I do recommend this book to anyone who finds the Tudors interesting. It is a good read.

The Secret Life of Bees- Sue Monk Kid

I just finished reading The Secret Life of Bees. It was different from the books I have reading lately and I enjoyed it. It takes place in the 1960s and follows a girl, Lily, as she discovers her mother's past (who died when she was four years old). It is a classic coming of age story thrown in the time of the civil rights movement. She runs away with her self-imposed mother and goes to a town in South Carolina which she is certain her mother has been. She ends up leaving with three black sisters who are beekeepers.

Lily ends up learning about her mother and in turn coming to terms with who she is. A few things impressed me about this book. Lily ends up falling for a boy named Zach. Because they have different skin colors, they both realize they cannot be together. Lily finds herself wishing that they had different colors of skins. However, Zach says there is no use wishing for that. "You gotta imagine what's never been" is what Zach replies.

We learn early in the book that Lily's father, T.Ray, will not be winning father of the year. The way he treats her is loveless. I cannot imagine how anyone could treat his daughter the way T.Ray treats Lily. Hopefully nobody I know will become so bitter about their life that they treat the people who love them and depend on them with no respect of love.

I recommend this book to anybody who loves to read. It is also a movie starting Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah that is coming out next year.

Texting and Driving Vent

Hardly anything annoys me more than looking over while in the car and seeing someone looking down at their cell phone...while in the driver's seat. For some reason I feel very strongly about this issue. Please do not put my life and other's people life around you at risk by not paying attention to the road. It takes everything in me to not honk at someone or hold up a sing telling them to get off the road.

This story shows the dangers to driving while texting. My husband can tell you that now he is no longer allowed to even look at his phone while driving.

So please do not text while you drive, don't allow anyone you are in the car with text while driving. People should not have the power to take away life, and they are taking the lives of other people in their hands by texting.

The Beginning

There are a variety of things that interest me. The only thing that is off limits is my diary. One could expect to read about current events, international relations, scrapbooking, books, cooking, sewing, family, religion, history, movies, television. That is just for now, all the time I find things that someday I would love to try. I don't really intend to have a huge amount of people reading this. I am not a writer. I want to be better, hence the blog.

I am a student in my last full semester at BYU, so I might not post as much as I would like. Summer is almost here and then I will have time to devote to everything I want. Stay tuned and hopefully I will cover something that you want to read about.