Chalk me up for one more entry in November

Well, it's not easy sending your baby brother off to South Africa, but I managed to do it last Tuesday. It's kind of weird having Dave gone. On Thanksgiving morning we were about to eat breakfast (waffles! Thanks, Dad) and I almost said to my sister, "Go get Dave," but I caught myself. Good thing too, because Mom probably would've started crying.

Aside from shipping Dave off, making Thanksgiving dinner Monday and not burning anything, NOT making Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday (I would like to thank Johnny R's, my Grandpa's favorite restaurant, for being open Thanksgiving day), and general family time, I think my favorite part was taking my nephew on walks. I basically kidnapped him from my sister three times to take him on little walks. I learned that he likes to watch cars whiz by. They don't get that very much in Woodland Hills. He also reacted to the dogs barking, which I attribute to his thinking it was his dog, Maggie. We also took a little walk to the library, and learned how to count. I'm pretty sure he's a genius by now.

Okay, so I saw the saddest thing yesterday. I was driving across an intersection and I saw a hearse driving towards me, but without any kind of a procession following it or anything. Now, keep in mind that I'm sure that this hearse was probably just going to fill up it's gas tank. Incidentally, this is really hard for me to imagine. I mean, have you ever seen a hearse filling up its gas tank? If you did see a hearse filling up it's gas tank, would you think twice about pulling into that station? I think it would just feel weird filling up your gas tank next to a hearse. Even if the hearse was empty. Babbling. The point is, there was no procession following the hearse, and I thought about how sad that would be, to be driven to your grave without anybody following your hearse to bid you farewell. So keep your friends and love your family, because if they outlive you they'll be the ones that will hop into their cars, turn their lights on, and follow that hearse to the very end of the road. And someday you'll see them again, and you'll say "Hey, thanks for following my hearse." Okay, maybe not those exact words. Maybe something more like "Thanks for being the most amazing friend ever, and for always being there for me."

I love you guys!

Things that make me happy

It's late, and I'm incredibly tired. So why am I posting? I don't know. But I am.

Sometimes I like to make lists of things that make me happy. Here's one for your reading enjoyment:

Bubbles, waffles on Saturday morning, the violin, my pillow, finishing a crafty thing for my future (or current) home, finding my stuffed animals that I thought were lost, having door handles for my car, seeing snow out on the mountains, hot chocolate with marshmallows, toe-nail polish, Books (especially including scriptures), seeing someone do something kind for someone else without expecting to be seen, art that I don't necessarily understand, that sea creature that has a glowing nob hanging from its head, grass in my toes, friends who love me despite my ridiculousness, laughing like a 10 year old with any of my siblings, having a haircut turn out the way I wanted it to, journals, seeing babies laugh or cry, rocking chairs, a cozy corner in a library, going through the grocery store and finding all the miniaturized items, cartoons that I used to watch when I was little, the moment when you realize that you finally understand, reading old journal entries, hiding either candy or money from myself and being surprised when I find it, hearing from an old friend that I never expected to hear from, hearing a song on the radio that I know all the words to and singing them (or shouting them, depending on the level of hyperactivity), pearls, hunting for seashells on a warm summer beach, finding a little corner of nature that appears to be all your own for even just a little while, remembering how we used to pretend that we were on a deserted island in our backyard every summer, daisies, watching a romantic comedy and knowing that you deserve to be just as happy as they are, sunsets, ballet shoes, puppies, watching someone else sleep, spending all day cleaning or working hard and falling into a comfy couch afterward, finding the perfect card for someone, the first spoonful of ice cream when you remember how delicious it tastes, riding a horse for the first time, swimming a lap in the pool and thinking the whole way how incredible it really is that humans have learned how to do that, realizing you've created something that no one else could've done, and that first moment when you crawl into bed and you breathe out and completely relax.

And with that, my Loves, goodnight. =]

In Celebration of Daylight Savings...

I am posting once again. And, if you noticed, I took my extra hour and spent it finding a new fancy-shmancy background. I like it.

Did I ever tell you that going on my mission to South America caused me to lose at least two hours of my life? People don't realize that this happens, but it does. Here's how it works. In order to understand the logistics, you need to remember that in the US we spring forward an hour in the spring, and fall back an hour in the fall. Now, realize that in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are backwards from our own. Thus, they spring forward an hour around Octoberish, and fall back an hour around Aprilish.

Just before I left for my mission (in May), we had Daylight Savings here in the US, springing forward an hour. This was normal for me, as I'd been doing it for pretty much my whole life. Then I left for my mission to Chile. October came around, and we sprang forward an hour again. Because now I'm in the southern hemisphere, and it's not coming up on winter, it's coming up on summer. April comes, and we fall back. Normal. Then October comes again, and we spring forward. At this point I return home from my mission (to the lovely San Diego). April comes. But now I'm in the northern hemisphere again. So we spring forward. Again. Did you catch that? I sprang forward four times, and only sprang back once. Guys don't realize this happens, because they are down in their southern hemisphere missions for two years, which means that the time changes equal each other out. When they get back, they double up on either the turning the clocks back, or turning them forward. But for the sisters it's different. We're only down there for 18 months, so our time changes don't get readjusted to being in the right order.

I wonder what I would do with those two hours if I got them back.