And on Labor Day, she rested from her labors.

And she called it good.

Sigh No More

This song is making me so happy.

By Mumford and Sons.

Imagine snuggling up in this.

I have a friend whose Mom makes quilts. Big, luscious, fluffy, handmade, beautiful quilts. And I love quilts. So. Much. I don't love quilting, but I should start loving it, because I want closets full of quilts.

So, given my love, it's no surprise that I've been begging for a quilt for years. Since before I graduated high school, I'm sure. I always got the answer, "My mom says she'll make you one when you get married." And yet? I persisted. What about for my 20th birthday? What about for college graduation? What about for my 25th birthday? What about for your wedding anniversary? What about a quilt celebrating my first house? None of these were successful.

And then, one day, not too long ago, my friend called out of the blue and said, "Ok. My mom said she'll make you a quilt now." And I died. Right then and there. I sent a few color palettes as inspiration and today, I learned that they're shopping for the fabric. AS I TYPE THIS! It won't be too long before I'm snuggled up in a quilt inspired by this:

(via Inspired Bride, but useful for quilts, too?? In fact, I love her color palettes for pretty much any reason. They're so... well... inspiring.)

Unless you walk...

out into the unknown, the odds of making a profound difference in your life are pretty low.

-Tom Peters

Putting myself in foster care.

For the last few weeks, I've been putting myself up for adoption, or at least out for foster care, during FHE. I've never really done FHE before, and I have to say, it's pretty great.

Week 1: Watched a movie about President Monson with an older couple in the ward. We were singing a closing song when -- right in between verses -- the husband says, "You can come back anytime. You don't look half as old as they said you'd look!"

Week 2: Roasted hot dogs and pineapple over the fire, went on a hike up the canyon, played "Mafia," sang every song that came to mind (including some dramatic acting and interpretations), and made S'Mores with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. TASTY!

Week 3: Talent show. Seen here (and heard here, too, if you listen carefully):

All the sorrow and trouble...

of this world is caused by unhappy people. The search for contentment is, therefore, not merely a self-benefiting act, but also a generous gift to the world.

~Elizabeth Gilbert

Maybe I'm just buying some self-justification with this quote, but I think it's a nice idea. And kind of true??

Above all...

watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."

~Roald Dahl

I'm loving this song for real.

This is a song that is not embarrassing for me to have in my library.

Listen to it.

Immediately.

On repeat.

Also this song makes me happy.

(I guess the media player doesn't show up in Google Reader, so hop on over to the blog. You'll be happy you did.)

Euthanasia is my drug.

At least, it will need to be if I hear this song again.

I detest it. There is absolutely nothing about it I like. I didn't even want to put the video on my blog, especially because STOP RUINING AFRICA WITH YOUR STUPID MUSIC.

Note: I have no idea what's in any of these videos, so don't hold me accountable. I know the Lady Gaga video is weird, because, well, it's Gaga -- so I did find another version for that.

Which I find confusing. Since I LOVE this song:

And this song:

I even pretty much like this song:

And, heck, I even sort of love this one:

Guilty pleasures? Maybe. But let's go on a road trip and blast them out the window, k?

Some days...

when you walk out of your house, you convince yourself that you look better than you do, because you can't do anything to look better.

Such is the case today.

"Self, I know your skin is pale and your eyes are puffy and glazed -- yet simultaneously sunken hollows. I know your lips have a lost all color and you have somewhat of a gray pallor. BUT no one will be able to tell you're sick. Maybe they'll just notice your leopard print shoes, or your colorful earrings. Plus, makeup can totally help."

And then you walk into a room to join a conference call and the only other person in the room announces to the call, "Elizabeth looks like she's going to die."

I ALMOST DIED!

I almost died at work today. A 2 foot x 4 foot slab of 1/2 inch thick plywood smashed to the ground. RIGHT. NEXT. TO. ME.

At first, I was like Chicken Little and ran around yelling, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" And then I looked up to see the hole in the sky.

That's when I realized it was a slab of plywood. A slab of plywood that was right above my head.

Fortunately, for some unknown reason, it fell to the left as it was falling. Because, no joke, I was standing right under it. Basically, I'm lucky to be alive. Whether or not you're lucky that I'm alive is a whole 'nother matter.

In memoriam.

I used to have this planter in my front yard. But it was taken away. By a nameless Homeowners' Association. Seriously. I don't even know who to call about it. I didn't like it, but you can't just take my property! If they'd asked me, I would have happily said, "Sure. Take it away." Or planted some flowers. (I thought the jumped the gun a little, barely even gave me time to plant after the snow stopped falling. Don't most people plant Mother's Day weekend? Seriously.)

BUT.

They didn't take it before someone added this (please ignore the dead plants -- I mentioned it was still early in the year, right? -- and poor iPhone photo focus):

to the collection of lawn ornaments they added last year. Exhibits A and B.

Style for substance.

Watch this video. It's of a woman who wore the same dress every day for a year (but still manages to make it look totally different through accessories and pairing and such) to raise money for kids to go to school. Coolio.

As seen on a bathroom stall just outside Nephi, UT.

Sleep safe!

Sleep with a

SOLDIER

MARINE!

Mathematician

I got new glasses.

I must confess: the change felt more dramatic than it is. Especially when I looked at these pictures side-by-side. (I can't really say that I knew exactly what I looked like in my new glasses, since I was blind and relied completely on two adorable friends to tell me which of the 200 options looked best.)

No wonder no one at the office noticed my lunchtime eyewear change. Note to self: For a major statement, should have gone for the green glasses.

OLD

NEW

I'll consider it a modern update to an old classic. What do you guys think?

From Gold's Gym

I just got a birthday wish email from Gold's Gym -- giving me a coupon for a day of couch-potato-sitting, snack-eating, nap-taking revelry. That's different from every other day ... how? Thanks for the gift, Gold's.

I'm back; but wishing I could get away.

You know what would be incredible? If in 2010, I got to go to my current top 10 list of new places to go. Sometimes I wish I was rich. It would be too much travel, since most these places are really far away -- and a trip to a far away place each month (or more often) would be really tiring. Even if I do have a secret desire to be a nomad.

I clearly stole all these pictures from the Internet, so thank you, Internet, for sharing all your pretty pictures. I know I should have credited people specifically. I'm sorry.

In no particular order:

The Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Kyoto, Japan (In March. Definitely. Cherry Blossoms all the way.)

Jerusalem, Israel

St. Petersburg, Russia (maybe as the final destination of a cruise through the fjords.)

Washington, DC

Antarctica (I clearly chose a picture that looks like heaven for all you people who think I'm crazy.)

Machu Pichu, Peru

The Taj Mahal (I should have just gone in March. But this gives me an excuse to go back to India!! Woot.)

The Grand Canyon

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Honorable mentions (there is not enough time in my life to go all these places!!):

Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina

Patagonia, Chile

Giza/Cairo, Egypt

Edinburgh, Scotland

St. John, Carribean

New Orleans, Louisiana

Chicago, Illinois

Prague, Czech Republic

Nairobi/Mombasa, Kenya

So... many... more... SOMEONE STOP ME BEFORE I HURT MYSELF!

With love.

So, for the last little while, I've been waking up at like 3 in the morning. When I can't get back to sleep, I've discovered that it can be a good time to catch up on a few blogs!

While I was browsing (which is generally a skill in which I find myself lacking), I found this blog about my adorable niece, Annie. And so, reader, since it's the month of February, I'm going to introduce you to my family, and the reasons I love each one of them. I hope it's not too boring for you, but -- well -- you weren't getting anything from this blog for the last several months (years?) anyway.

This is Anne-Marie.

In some ways, she reminds me of how I imagine my younger self -- except more awesome. (Mostly just that she's kind of a little person with a little voice, kind of like I was. BUT she compensates by blowing everybody's mind with her intelligence, perspective, and determination. All. The. Time.)

I love Annie for having her photo face worked out at a young age.

I love Annie for her love of music and how good she is at creating it.

I love Annie for being strong enough to let people know what she wants when other people would be afraid or back down.

I love Annie for having things figured out when sometimes I don't. She inspires me. It's good to know there're people that are going to take the world by storm. Annie's one of them. She already has.

$90,000 per second.

That's what people pay to run an ad during the Super Bowl.

...

...

I think I have more to say about Super Bowl ads, but I can't right now. My mind is a little blown.