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northern idaho.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

when posed with the question, “so, where are you from?” at byu, i am quick to answer “idaho…northern idaho!” –i have to make that clarification. i feel like northern idaho is just its own breed, am i right?
 
i found this list on the ‘idahohomestead.com’ website. why was i browsing that? i don’t even know? i guess i’m just excited to go home?
“you know you live in northern idaho when…”
your kids are safer playing on an idaho highway than on their old suburban street in california.
almost every vehicle is a 4×4 or awd.
your $80,000 house has a detached garage/shop filled with $300,000 worth of “toys”.
you don’t know how to correctly pronounce: “quesadilla” or “chimichanga”.
the local gas station sells live bait.
little smokies are something you serve on special occasions.
your mayor is also your friend’s grandmother.
you know you should listen to the weather forecast before picking out your clothes.
you know cow pies aren’t made of beef.
winter: you wake up when it’s dark and go to bed when it’s dark.
summer: you wake up when it’s light and go to bed when it’s light.
your nearest neighbor is…heck…haven’t heard or seen him for a season.
it takes 30 seconds to reach your destination and it’s clear across town.
you see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings and funerals).
you install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
you design your kid’s halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with ice.
your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.
you were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.
everyone you know has hit a deer more than once.
the really nice and expensive homes are located on dirt roads.
the big government project in your local town is the paving of a few of the dirt streets.
when the sun goes down you start looking for your coat, gloves, and hat.
in march, your vehicle is 83% mud.
you leave your keys in the car and the next morning it’s still there.
the elevation exceeds the population.
you can’t get out of your car and go inside your house until the mountain lion decides to move off your porch.
you don’t have a key for your house. you’ve never really needed it.
you’ve broken down on the highway and three cars stop to help you.
you can not only see the stars at night, but the milky way too.
people drive 100 miles to shop in a real mall.
your great grandmother is older than the courthouse.
you got a set of studded tires for valentines day.
your back yard smells like forest or scat.
a girls’ basketball game fills the gym.
tourists are easily spotted: they don’t have cracked windshields.
you slept through the night unawakened by a siren.
a fishing derby is more popular than a rock concert.
you can fish, golf, and go skiing all in the same day without really trying.
democrats are like salmon, they are on the endangered species list.
you wave to someone on the freeway because you recognize the truck.
in the spring and summer, every third vehicle you pass is a logging truck. every fourth vehicle is a gravel / dump truck.
you can choose plastic bags or paper sacks for your groceries.
you have to wait for a herd of moose to move off the road.
your main drag in town is two blocks long.
the only 14 hippies and commies are fittingly locked away at some bar in moscow. (ha!)
you know how to pronounce pend oreille and coeur d’alene in a decidedly francophobic way.
you’ve received skis for christmas, and used them christmas morning skiing off the roof.
you know what lewiston smells like.
your definition of a condo is “what californians come to purchase.”
you have more than once, while in another state, said “you call this a lake?”
you think suburban sprawl is the latest innovation…what a novel idea!
you can successfully use ‘hagadone’ as a verb.
you live in the only place outside new england where you can go between three states and a canadian province in under 3 hours.
 oh, sweet northern idaho. how i miss you.
can’t wait to go home; only a few more days!

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it's okay.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

it’s okay that today that my dinner was soft-serve ice cream with water mixed into it (SO good, try it! costco frozen yogurt works the best).
it’s okay that the lady at gold n’ glow knew my name (it’s inevitable; i am going to be a leather bag).
it’s okay that my internal organs still hurt from holding in a sneeze yesterday (i opened the bathroom door the same time as another girl and saw her as i was winding up to sneeze. i closed my mouth and held it in…i swear my whole body shook!).
it’s okay that i’m just getting started studying for a fatty final tomorrow because i spent all day online shopping for stuff that i’ll never buy.
it’s okay that last night in my intramural game i said “shiiiiii” then quickly, and really obviously, added “zzzz! i said shiz!” (those games get heated! did i mention it was the championship?! don’t worry, we play again tomorrow. ugh.)
it’s okay that i have now lied to my bossypants about my act score (“perfect score! weird, right?”) and gpa just so he would think i am less flighty.
it’s okay that on monday at the store a girl shot her boyfriend a “remind me to never wear this outfit again” look after i told her she looked cute. mind you, i was wearing baggy grey sweatpants, a baggy grey t-shirt, a huge parka, dirty uggs, a wild high bun, and a sparkly headband?
it’s okay that morgan and i save our mcdonald’s cups sometimes so that we can refill them throughout the week ($1.08 adds up!).
and it’s totally okay that my to-do list today had ‘do nails’ and ‘catch up on tv shows’ in front of studying and doing homework. actually, i don’t even think those were on the list.
right?
p.s. that picture is from my lesson in aperture. i’m glad i have fancy friends.

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remix'd.

Monday, December 5, 2011

once upon a saturday, my friends lindsay, josh, landon and i had run out of fun things to do. we were in salt lake city earlier that day watching the cougars play the ducks ($4.00 for a large pop!) and had just gotten back from the riverwoods where we walked in and out of stores and shared a chocolate bar four ways (…whilst reenacting charlie and the chocolate factory; i was the bedridden grandma georgina).
like most attractive young adults, lindsay had a date scheduled for later that night and was leaving us. she let us stay in her apartment where we ate all of her cheese and debated reasons for our dateless friday.
that got boring quickly (the answer was too obvious) and we three were all in the mood to dance and sing. well, i was.
five hours later, a music video was born.
it was one of those things that started out really spontaneous but ended up being a full-blown choreographed production. all done in lindsay’s apartment. while she was out on a date.
behold: book of mormon stories remix’d.
p.s. please ignore the entire part where my face is in the camera. i ran out of facial expressions and was trying to hold in my giggle snorts.

we’re definitely going viral.

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dad humor.

my dad sent me this e-card today and i just had to share it and his note:
 Just because I believe making fun of a family whose only discernible talent is an ample backside is required.
–Dad
…my family has never been one to send gushy ‘i love you and miss you so much’ emails. yet somehow this conveys the same sort of message, right?
also, for the record, the best kardashian sister is a toss-up between khloe, lamar, and kourtney.

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oh christmas tree, oh christmas tree...

Sunday, December 4, 2011

after writing class today, i lollygagged around and tried to put off going to work. i walked around, ate a vegetable tree, mingled with people, mingled with myself, and then…ran out of things to do.
don’t you hate that? when you just flat run out of things to burn time. sometimes when i am in a real snacky mood i run out of things to snack on. like, i can’t humanly think of anything else to eat.
(speaking of: today while in the library–it’s my second day in the row there…who am i?!–i was putting off writing yet another essay and googled ‘secret menus’ at restaurants. DID YOU KNOW that you can get grilled cheeses at mcdonalds? or chicken quesadillas at chick fil a? or a smoothie that tastes like a peanut butter at jelly at jamba?! boy howdy!)
so, anyways, i walked to work and right when i walked in my bossman told me that i was assigned to make one studio more “christmas-like.”
merry first day of december for me! lucky for him i had been listening to mariah carey’s christmas station all morning long and was filled with holiday spirit.
…okay, i realize i did an entirely mediocre job BUT i had limited resources. and limited time. and limited holiday spirit (truth: mariah carey’s station got annoying quickly).
but i did it! so, on the rare chance that you tune into byu weekly tomorrow, look at the christmas tree and think of me…or just order a grilled cheese at mcdonald’s. that works too.
happy first day of december!

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social media christmas.

in the spirit of christmas and december and sunday, here’s a sweet little video that shows the christmas story a la facebook: 

people are so creative these days.
merry sunday!

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more sundayness.

 
today in a lovely moment of pure luck, my friend landon scored an extra ticket to the first presidency’s christmas message at the salt lake conference center and i was the recipient! yippity pippity!  the perks of knowing an iranian (irrelevant…but he is iranian!)! i was planning on watching it on the computer in dorm while eating a full jar of peanut butter, but seeing  it live was extra special (and saved me about 1,393 calories…double yes!).
president uchtdorf, eyring, and presidnet monson all spoke about the true meaning of christmas and what we should try and focus on this holiday season. president monson talked about how christmas is such a time of happiness and cheer and remembering all things that are good and important in life and how we should not simply spend christmas once a year, but we should keep christmas in our lives and in our souls all year long.
afterwards, we walked around temple square (accidently…we were actually lost and looking for our other friends) and ate graham cracker ice cream (…and string cheese with sugary bbq sauce, oddly delicious?) at josh’s house. the whole night was well worth the crammed car ride and potential speeding tickets.
hope your sundays were swell.
p.s. i took that picture with my new camera that i’m sort of in love with.
 

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