T.N.T.

I think it's time for another roommate post.  This here post is about my lovely sister Dinahmite.  We are not biological sisters ... more like sistas from another mista'... and another motha'.  Heh heh.  Dinahmite was my saving grace at BYU.  I used to sing AC / DC to her all the time "She's TNT... she's Dinahmite!" and she stayed friends with me... so I knew she was a keeper.  I met Dinahmite as a freshman and lived with her my second semester, my sophomore and part of my junior year as well as part of my senior year.  Our first night as roommates we stayed up talking until the sun came up.  It was like we had been friends our whole lives and were just getting reacquainted.  So here are my top 13 reasons Dinahmite is every bit of TNT...

1.  Dinahmite is super patient.  I gave her plenty of reasons to be mad or annoyed with me but Dinahmite always treated met with loving patience.
2.  Dinahmite is the epitome of poise.  If you looked up the word in the dictionary her picture will be listed.  Seriously.  Go check it out on Wiki.
3.  Dinahmite is every bit a homemaker.  It is from her I learned that people besides my mom ... like girls my age... do things like clean and keep an orderly house.  Or plan meals for dinner.
4.  Speaking of dinner, Dinahmite loved to cook and I to eat so it worked out well for me.  The summer after my sophomore year I spent my time swimming in the pool and taking two classes: English and bowling.  When I got home from class Dinahmite would have dinner on the table.  If I had been a boy I would have married her just for that!
5.  Dinahmite is honest and sincere.  That quality alone makes her one of the most successful salesperson I have ever seen.  You always know you can trust her.
6.  Dinahmite makes me laugh so hard.  I love to laugh.  She is one funny girl.
7.  Dinahmite makes others feel safe.  When  you are with her your emotional safety is not even a question.  Your name is safe.  Your worries are safe.  Dinahmite is not critical or a gossip. 
8.  Dinahmite knows how to diffuse a tense situation.  There was an incident once in our apartment of four girls where emotions were tense and at a critical stage.  Dinahmite called everyone together and before engaging in a discussion of the issues, she asked us to kneel and pray together.  It was the quickest resolution to a problem I have experienced to date.
9.  Dinahmite walks into a room and commands attention... just because she's drop dead gorgeous.  I'm not kidding.  Oh, and everyone knows her even if she doesn't know them.  But she doesn't let that get to her head.  I think the majority of the time she's clueless to the fact. 
10.  Dinahmite is like a vault.  Your secret is safe with her... especially if you talk to her in the middle of the night when she's sleeping... cause she'll talk to you like she's awake but won't remember it in the morning.  ;)
11.  Dinahmite has an amazing testimony.  Amazing.
12.  Dinahmite has great style. 
13.  Dinahmite made me want to be a better person.  She was like a big sister and role model to me as a entered into the adult world.  I still look to her for that example. 
Love you Dinahmite.  Mwah!

Banana.

For a while I've had the thought that I need to do a segment on my roommates, what they've taught me and how my life has been made better by knowing them.  In order to maintain some semblance of privacy on their behalf I am using only the nicknames that I have for them.  Muwahahahaa.  Additionally I will try to keep my favorite qualities/lessons learned about each contained in the "dirty dozen". 

I have decided to start with Banana... for two reasons.  One, she has been on my mind the past couple of days and ... Two, because it is her birthday weekend and I am ALL about celebrating birthdays.  Here are my top 12 reasons for loving Banana's wee little guts:

1.  Banana brought to remembrance how much I love classic works like Pride & Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility; Jane Eyre; etc.
2.  Banana introduced me to all sorts of really cool film adaptions of classic works.  Bleak House anybody?  Jane Eyre with Toby Stephens.  Yowzas!
3.  Banana also introduced me to and instilled in me a love of Masterpiece Classics on Sunday evenings.  I don't know what my life was like before that.  Seriously.  And, they only come on for like 4 months in the year.  The other 8 months are like torture.  I stalk the PBS website frequently to see if just by chance they post a list of next years showings.  It's getting a little out of control.
4.  Banana knows how to pamper herself and shares my love of yummy smelling lotions and crazy colors for nail polish.
5.  Banana inspires me to crochet.  The girl can whip out a scarf like it is nobody's business.
6.  Banana likes to veg.  A girl after my own heart.  She graciously spent whole days doing nothing but watching back to back episodes of movies / tv shows with me.
7.  Banana likes vanilla diet coke as much as I do.
8.  Banana has an amazing capacity to be super animated about the little things.  Always makes me feel so good.
9.  Banana is hilarious... which is good, because I like to laugh.
10.  I covet Banana's hair and wish I could pull off her look.  Simply amazing.
11.  Banana is a P.H.E.N.O.M.E.N.A.L. teacher.  I could listen to her for hours.  Her brain is crazy cool.
12.  Banana is thoughtful and I have watched her as she has quietly sought out the one... the one who is missing or distant or just needs a vote of encouragement.  She has an amazing capacity to identify people who may just need someone to notice them or reach out to them and she does it all on her own.  I love about her.
13.  Ok, if this dirty dozen were a baker's dozen then you would have thirteen, right?  So, Banana knows how to ponder.  I'm not really good at that but Banana has got mad ponder skills.

Thanks for being such a great roommie Banana.  Happy Birthday!!  Love your guts.
-Mee

post game highlights.

I'm back from my trip out west.  Here are some post game highlights.  Details and pics to follow later.

Thurs:
1.  I got to meet up with my sister for my mini vacay.
2.  I got off plane, walked across the aisle, and waited 10 minutes to greet Bo Peep as she deplaned.
3.  We ate at J Dawgs for lunch.  Yum.
4.  Toured the new BYU alumni building and the roof top of the building formerly known as the SFLC (pronounced syphilis.. hence the name change.. to what I can't remember... following the buildings demolition and rebirth.. but it's still the SFLC as far as I'm concerned only waaaaay cooler).
5.  Jaunt through the WILK and bookstore in search of Jimmer.  I mean Jimmer.  I mean Jimmer paraphenalia.  And Jimmer.  Sadly no sightings although I did get to touch his jersey.  Well, not his his.. but replicas that they had for sale.  It's just a teensy weensy crush that's all.  I would maybe definitely break my age rule for him.
6.  Purchased BYU chocolate milk at the bookstore.  Which, is the single most divine chocolate milk to grace this earth.  I'm not kidding.  I think it is celestial quality.  Seriously.
7.  Saw Bo Peeps BFF Tierra as Motormouth Maybell in Hairspray at the Hale Theater and she ROCKED IT!  No joke that girl has one amazing set of chops.  I wish she lived here so I could see all of her performances. 
8.  Crashed at 11:30pm from sheer exhaustion.

Friday:
1.  Slept in.
2.  Met up with my cute sister Dinah and her precious little ones for lunch at Cafe Rio... aka Mana From Heaven.  I got to be in UT last year for the birth of her youngest and he is so cute!  He even let me snuggle and love all over him.
3.  Ran some errands and met up with Griffs my old mission comp and BYU roomie.
4.  Rode to SLC with Griffs for my mission reunion and it was AMAZING.  One of the biggest highlights of my trip.  Truly.  I got to see some friends that I haven't seen since the mission.  I even got to see the daughter of the bishop in my last area.  My mission president and his wife gave us a mission conference.  It was truly a wonderful evening.
5.  Dinner at Cafe Rio.  Twice in one day?  No complaints here.  :)

Saturday:
1.  Conference - morning session at the hotel with my sis.
2.  Conference - afternoon session at the conference center in SLC.  We had two extra tickets that we gave away to a Stephanie and a Loraine.  Funny story to share.  Later.
3.  Rode to WY to my cousins ranch aka my home away from home.  I wish I could transplant the ranch closer to me.  There was snow and lots of it.
4.  Dinner with the peeps.  Steak and baked potatoes.  Homemade ice cream.  Delish.
5.  Games and chatting.

Sunday:
1.  Breakfast.  Pancakes, eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls.  Goodness on a plate.
2.  Conference - morning session.
3.  Lunch and family conversation.
4.  Conference - afternoon session.
5.  Dinner with the peeps.  Beef stew, cornbread, strawberry shortcake on top of thick sugar cookies.
6.  Conversation with the peeps.
**Talking, eating, and relaxing are my three favorite reasons to go to the ranch.  Also, it snowed like foot Saturday night so everything was gorgeous Sunday with a fresh layer of snow.

Monday:
1.  Breakfast at the ranch and then headed to the airport.
2.  Lunch at the airport with my sis and she got to stay with me at the gate til I boarded.
3.  Home at 11:30pm.  UCONN won.  Boo. 

Thank you to all those who made this vacation happen.  Truly one of the best I've ever had.

confessions.

The following will be a list of true confessions.  Don't judge.

1.  This will not be complete by the end of the post.
2.  I laugh at inappropriate times. 
3.  I laugh when I'm nervous.
4.  I laugh when people fall.  I'm not proud of that but these are my confessions.
5.  Lets be honest... I laugh a lot... mostly because I find lots of things really funny.
6.  I used to draw elaborate floor plans for a dream house on the margins of my paper when I was bored in school.  Those floor plans usually involved a three story bedroom with a slide from top to bottom, a ginormous closet, and a pool.
7.  I hate making my bed every day.  I think it's stupid because I just crawl into it again every night.  But... I do it anyway because I'm trying to implement order in my life.
8.  I have an unhealthy appreciation for diet cola drinks.
9.  I think the colors of plants are the richest on a rainy overcast day.
10.  I compare my weaknesses to other people's strengths.  It is totally unintentional and I don't recommend but it happens.  I can't lie.
11.  I like lipstick and fun eye shadow colors.
12.  Oh, and I like crazy nail polish colors.  Dark blue... BYU blue is currently my favorite.
13.  I may or may not have a teensy crush on Jimmer.  Okay... true confession.. I do.
14.  I really really like to watch birds in flight.  Especially when there are tons of them migrating.  So neat.
15.  Reading is the best because I get to be another person for a while on a really fun adventure.
16.  I'm a blog stalker.

More to come.  Stay tuned.