What about elevensies? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper?

Have you ever had a day when you go to work, get some stuff done, go to IHOP for lunch with your co-workers (sweet!), have an all-you-can-eat pancake eating competition (I love food), go back to work, get some more stuff done, almost fall asleep at your desk (pancake effect), come home, practice the guitar (new Regina Spektor song), clean the fridge, watch 4 episodes of LOST (heaven bless my roommates for putting up with me, or for also getting addicted, I'm not sure which is the case), and write on your blog?

Well, I have.

Kreizy Ates

Hollie, this one's for you :) I know it's been over a month since you tagged me....so at long last, here's my post! Thanks for giving me something to blog about -- I'm bored out of my mind (roommates still out of town), and a by-product of being bored-out-of-one's mind is not having anything interesting to write about.

Without further ado -- My Crazy Eights:

Eight Shows I watch:

1. Cash Cab (it is my dream to perchance hail the Cash Cab in NYC)
2. LOST
3. LOST
4. LOST
5. LOST
6. LOST
7. LOST
8. LOST (I just watched Season 3 of Lost, only to find out I still have to watch Season 4 to be completely caught up. Wow, I'm behind. Your senior year of college will do that to you, I guess.)

Eight things I did in the past 24 hours:

1. Watched Get Smart with my parents and sister
2. Slept (in!)
3. Helped my mom make 24-hour salad (mmmm)
4. Practiced a new song on the guitar
5. Listened to my little sister speak at church (she did great!)
6. Drove back to Arlington listening to a "borrowed" David Archuleta CD (don't know if Mom will get it back :)
7. Made a cuppa tea and curled up with a good book.
8. Blogged!

Eight places I like to eat:

1. Bamian (Afghan food)
2. the taqueria on 14th St.
3. Costco (c'mon, you like eating there too :)
4. Cafe Rio and Chipotle (yes, it is possible to like both)
5. Bangkok 54
6. Cheesecake Factory (oops, that should have been #2)
7. Goodberry's (NC frozen custard)
8. Wilber's BBQ
9. Ben's Chili Bowl (sorry, I keep thinking of more places. I'll stop now.)

Eight things on my wishlist:

Since Christmas is over, I'm going to list eight gifts that I'm grateful for!

1. A brand-spankin' new folk guitar. I'M SO SPOILED!!!!
2. Two new almanacky-trivia-type books (thanks, Mary, they're awesome!)
3. A totally way California-esque t-shirt from my bro.
4. Measuring cups and spoons (aren't little sisters great?)
5. Fuzzy socks (little sister again, gotta love 'em)
6. A William Goldman book (it's even better when you have 3 little sisters!)
7. West Side Story (movie night, anyone?)
8. LDS magazines in el Espanol!

Eight tags:

Um, I'm a complete hypocrite because I love being tagged but I hate tagging other people....so.....if you read my blog (there are probably only eight of you anyway :), please consider yourself voluntarily tagged (if you like). Knock yourself out!

(On a side note, I used 21 sets of parenthesis in this post. Kind of out of control. At least I catch myself when I'm about to do a parenthesis within a parenthesis. That's just uncalled for.)

Wishing You a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!

Shoot, you can't really see the poem. It works better as an actual Christmas card (send me your address if you want one, I have a few extras). And I can't (for the life of me) remember what all it says, but you'll just have to take my word for it that it rhymes. And it lists all the places I've been this year. That I can remember!

New Hampshire
Vermont
Maine
Williamsburg and Jamestown
Charlottesville (Monticello)
NYC
Annapolis
Utah
New Mexico
Kirtland and Xenia, OH
Boston
Jacksonville and Goldsboro, NC
Tunis, Tunisia
Rome, Italy!!!!

It's been a fabulous year, no complaints. I hope all of you are having a lovely Christmas/holiday break, and Happy New Year too!!!

This is your song....

Has God ever played a song just for you? When you're having a bad day? I don't know how He does it, but He always jumps in just in the nick of time with a song for me. I know some of you out there can just hum your favorite song or sing sunshine-y things when you're feeling down, but I can never quite muster it up -- I need divine intervention!

Today it was Shostakovich's "Festive Overture" on the radio. Dang, it was definitely not the best of days today, for way too many reasons, but as soon as that song came on in my car -- I was belting out the clarinet line at the top of my lungs! It made my day!

Since moving to Arlington, I often go running to "cool down" after work. Unfortunately, it usually doesn't cool me down -- I just stress more about how I can barely breathe and how my legs are throbbing......until.....I hear the church down the street start chiming out "Lead Kindly Light" from the belfry. Turns my mood around everytime.

Or sometimes it's hearing someone else's i-pod on the metro humming a Josh Groban song. Or some smooth jazz coming from the hotel awning across the street. Every once in a while, I'll even hear a high school marching band practicing as I pass by. A little ABBA while cleaning the kitchen. And yes, I'll admit, a good Death Cab for Cutie song every once in awhile is just what I need to hear.

Anyway, I don't know if God put all those songs there just for me, or if he just helps me to realize how lucky I am to have music around to cheer me up. Either way, I am grateful for the SOUND OF MUSIC!!!!

I caught the travel bug.....

I just got back from Tunisia (work conference), swinging through Rome on the way back. FABULOUS!

The local folks in Tunis were tres gentilles, the cab drivers were hilarious, the weather was perfect, the Mediterranean was very, very blue, and the HISTORY there, you would not believe! Well, you would if you read a history book. To sum up: Tunisia was the place to be if you were an empire in the past 2,900 years. A group of Phoencians from Tyre landed there between 1200 and 900 B.C. and built Carthage. Carthiginians were a dominant force in the area until the Romans, then the Vandals, then the Byzantines, then Arabs, then it was a French protectorate until 1956.

A few of us were able to visit some extensive Roman ruins in Dougga (a few hours west of Tunis) -- they were stunning. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the link to my Picasa album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/shannonmollie/TunisiaAndRome#

Ah, Rome. It was quite the contrast to Dougga -- the ruins were packed into a bustling metropolis rather than spread throughout deserted farmland. I saw quite a bit in 5 hours, then went and checked into......a convent. OK, that's the technical term, but it was really more like a hostel run by nuns. They were very nice! And no, I didn't stay on permanently. But if someone ever says "Get thee to a nunnery," at least now I know where one is :)

Did you know?

...that the National Jousting Chamionship is being held this weekend in Loudon County, VA? According to a t.v. spot on the local FOX channel this morning, jousting no longer consists of knocking the other guy off his horse. Rather, the competitors must get the point of their lance through a ring the size of a life-saver.

Upon hearing this, the reporter declared "Really anyone, if you have a horse and a lance, can do this!"

The jousting trainer looked at her skeptically and continued to explain how the lances are custom-made and "aren't just the kind of thing you can go buy at a local hardware store."

:)

All children but one grow up -- J.M. Barrie, "Peter Pan"

When I was 7, it hit me that some day I would have to grow up. So I ran into the corner of my playroom, sat by the window, and sobbed.

Why couldn't I spend the rest of my life playing with my hamster, rollerskating around the block, imagining I was a giant grizzly bear chasing my brother down the hall? (my sisters still make me re-create that one :) Life was good, and I knew it. My parents had an endless supply of mac'n'cheese and I always got Littlest Pet Shop toys on my birthday.

So I really liked President Monson's Sunday morning talk during this weekend's LDS General Conference. He gently reminded us that change is the only constant in life, and we need to find joy in the journey rather than being preoccupied with the future or dwelling in the past.

Since it is glaringly obvious to me that my life is no longer full of hamsters, rollerskates, and grizzly bear imitations, and since I am the Queen of Nostalgia, I have been having a tough time adjusting to this "being an adult" thing. BUT....in the spirit of President Monson's optimistic words, I would like to list a few of my "grown-up accomplishments" of the past few months. Rather than groaning each time I do something horrendously boring and grownupish, I am trying to smile and pat myself on the back. So hooray for me! :)

1) I now have a Costco card, and have used it approximately thrice.

2) I bought a used car.

3) The used car broke down, but I successfully got it to the shop and paid for the repairs without getting swindled.

4) I took my pressure cooker out of the box (cooking something in it will come later).

5) I have navigated the craziness of health insurance plans, doctors, specialists, and referrals.

6) I researched and signed up for my 401(k) (and 30 minutes later the market dropped below 10,000 -- oh well, buy low, sell high, right?).

7) I have my own cell phone and my own plan with my own bill (though after seeing the bill, I kind of miss the family plan).

Lest you all be afraid that I've lost all my youthful childish immaturity, just let me say this:

I HAVEN'T! Mneah. So there. :) Oh yeah, and isn't that the same shirt you wore the day after yesterday?