My 25 Random Things

Below are 25 random things about me. I would like to tag Lani, Elise, Robin, Erin, DS Dixon (hahaha you know who you are)

1. First and foremost I’d like to say that I never thought I could fill out one of these things because I consider myself to be a relatively normal person…but then again, don’t most people consider themselves to be normal?

2. I have my fair share of pet peeves, but when asked about them I can never remember what they are aside from one: When people drive on the freeway and go back and forth from the gas to the break over and over, creating a rather unpleasant trip for the riders…a whiplash effect if you will. And even if it isn’t that forceful of a transition it is still annoying because it’s a waste of gas.

3. I truly do enjoy running, especially now that I do not competitively run…but to get myself started I need an ultimate goal. This time it is the Moab Half Marathon coming up in just two weeks now!! As a side note, I’ll mention I ran a half marathon once before back in my prime of high school XC training. But never have I run more than those 13 miles. Tomorrow I plan to change that with my last long run before the big day: 14 miles…barely, but still more than 13 J

4. I can honestly say that not a week goes by that I do not make some reference to my favorite movie ELF. This generally comes in the form of quotes, but occasionally I will refer to what people are wearing or to a look-alike.

5. I do not enjoy getting my hair cut. This is most likely because I’m too cheap to fork up the money for a good one, so I’m usually left disappointed. I feel like every time I cut my hair, I’ll try to do something to it that it needs to be longer for.

6. I am from a family of eight children; more specifically I am the second to youngest. I couldn’t have had it any other way, I feel sad for those that came from a smaller family because I love my big family.

7. I like to run my own ship, but often ask for advice…I don’t like being told what to do, but in all actuality I do use other’s opinions a lot (Exception to the rule: I always to what D says)

8. I talk to my mom more than I EVER thought I would, sometimes even twice a day! It makes for a great walk to and from school. She basically knows everything about my life.

9. I am currently enrolled in many fluff classes because I don’t need anymore credits. My two favorite are gymnastics and skiing. My ultimate goal for gymnastics is the splits, but by the looks of it now with 7 weeks left it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. I’m getting closer though! Skiing was much more fun than I ever imagined and am seriously contemplating how to find a cheap pair of skis…we’ll see.

10. I do not particularly enjoy being placed in social situations to make new friends. I know it is good to occasionally branch out, but I much prefer to spend time with the good friends I already have.

11. To contradict #10, here is this story about my childhood: When I was about four or five, I was in awe of my big brother Bren. He was riding his bike to the beach and I wanted to go too but my mom said no. After Bren left, I snuck out of the basement sliding door and followed him. I didn’t make it very far (about a third of a mile) before I couldn’t see him anymore. So I stopped at the top of a hill and waited for about an hour. In the meantime, an older couple had left and come back from a shopping trip. They saw me still there and took me to their house. I was apparently very willing to go with these strangers, especially since they gave me an apple juice box. So I guess I used to do well with strangers.

12. I like to make food, mostly desserts but now that I’m living on my own dime I have cut down greatly on that. I don’t like plain rice and chicken all that much since its really plain. My favorite thing to make is taco burritos. They’ve got a lot in them, they’re super quick to make, they’re toasted, and they have a high satiety factor (I just learned that word in my Nutrition class today so don’t be sad if you don’t know what it means, I’ll tell you: it means it leaves you full longer.) They also are topped by what should be known as the world’s most versatile condiment: Greg’s ranch dressing found at Costco.

13. I enjoy watching movies, even by myself…I suppose you could say I’m comfortable enough with my self esteem level that I don’t need someone to watch with me. Not that I don’t enjoy watching movies with other people, because I like that a lot too.

14. On a similar note, TV is very addictive for me. Once I get started it is very hard to stop. But since I’ve been at college I don’t watch hardly any. Over the summer I did find two new favorite shows though: Just for Laughs Gags (Canadian show-yes I have branched out into other countries) and Wipe Out (a hilarious outdoor obstacle course that is basically impossible so you watch people crash and burn).

15. I am known for saying things (whether they be a twist of the truth or a complete lie) to people in order to get them to react a certain way. A select few people have the honor to be treated this way by me: My mom gets it the most, then my siblings and my closest friends. No worries, I almost immediately afterward tell them the truth.

16. I was Annie in the play in “Annie” when I was in sixth grade. Don’t let this simple fact fool you though. I am no actress and needless to say, my voice has changed a bit since then.

17. The one sibling I talk to the most now is the same one that I fought with the most growing up…Love ya Tricia J She really is a great sister!

18. My summer job of choice is Flagging. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term, I stand by/on a road and flip the “stop” “slow” paddle in efforts to prevent collisions. This past summer was my first time doing it I met some definite characters.

19. I once made fun of my 17-year-old sister for folding her boots over and tucking her jeans into them, so that approximately 6 inches of sheepskin are showing…and now I have a pair of those very same boots in a different color and wear them the same way. In my defense, I had no idea how wonderfully comfortable they are and how much more convenient it is to have them folded down.

20. Since I was very little, I always went grocery shopping with my Dad. It was our thing, and Michelle (my little sister) would usually come too. I considered this a great bonding time; however once I got my license, Dad was out of the picture. It was now Michelle and Dana bonding…but as part of my retribution from being ditched by my dad, I would throw a few things into the cart of my choosing. This was especially rewarding since I was on their debit card. Don’t go thinking I’m a bad person now, I didn’t do it too much…. Or how bout this, my mom knew very well that I did this, so it was no secret.

21. I was unbelievably lucky upon coming here to BYU because a found a great bunch of friends I love to be around and who I plan to know and stay in contact with for the rest of my life…yes, this means more than Christmas Card friends.

22. I enjoy playing basketball but I have never been very good at it. I sometimes like to just go down to a gym or an outdoor court to shoot around. Putting me in a pick-up game is often a mistake though because I do much better with set plays.

23. My favorite car is and has been for the past few years a Mini Cooper, even though I have yet to drive one, let alone ride in one L

24. I have the biggest sweet tooth out of everyone in my family, by far. In fact my dad told Kim (one of my roommates) that when I left home for college the number of sweets in the house went down significantly. It was not unusual for me to make a large batch of cookies on Sunday and have them be gone on Wednesday. I cannot take full responsibility for their disappearance, but I think they make a great snack.

25. Lastly, something very few people know about me: I am about to be a college dropout. Well, not really. I just found out that I have been accepted into the Utah College of Dental Hygiene in Orem, UT. I’m excited to finally get started in classes that will truly pertain to what I will be doing for a career. The great thing about it is that I still get to live with my friends J Even though I am about to go into more debt than I ever thought I would go into for school, I am so happy!!

A New Beginning

So much for trying to catch up from the past three months...it is too daunting a task for me so I will just start fresh with a little story. A few days ago was a very eventful day. Due to this story's long length, I will break it up with some unrelated pictures.

As part of my road trip to San Diego, we walked down the pier downtown and found this bird guy and he started putting these birds all over me...he kept telling me to stay calm, ya right!

It was a Wednesday, which has always meant skiing day every other week this semester. But the first block is over, and so is my ski class. I had lots of fun and still have a season pass up to Sundance so I"m not too sad about the class being over. I wasn't exactly attached to the people in my class, not because they were annoying. I just don't like skiing in a big group. I think it is best to ski with one or two other people. Anyways, that is all beside the point for this story (I suppose I should just go off on tangents like that...my way of catching up I guess).

Whoops #1: Christine's little sister was over and made this out of the Jenga blocks and I lightly brushed by it, knocking it down.

So my itinerary for this particular Wednesday consisted of my New Testament class from 10:00 to 10:50. Then I was going to walk straight to the temple, go on my run, take a quick quiz online, and sell my plasma. It was a great day I had planned out. After class, I decided to grab the car because Logan had parked it near my apartment for my use since he is gone for the rest of the week. I drove up to the temple in the warm sun and gentle breeze, got a great parking spot, and thought of what I needed to grab. All I needed was my temple recommend, right? So I got out, hit the automatic locks, and shut the door. NOOOO. I was wrong. I did need more that my recomment, I needed my keys. BUt what was done was done. My keys could be seen in the car, along with my cell phone and I was stranded at the temple.

Whoops #2: I was using that spoon you see to scrape the excess melted white chocolate out of a bowl and spoon it into my mouth when there was a knock at the door. In my excitement, I ran into those shelfs and they all cam tumbling down.

Amazingly, I was not too stressed out about it and I decided to go along into the temple. It was very relaxing in there, I'm glad I decided to go still. I then checked for a hide-a-key under the front, but had no such luck so I walked the mile or so home. I had no phone, so I wrote my mom an email asking what to do and then went on my run...looked like selling my plasma was not going to be on my agenda for the day after all.

Friends from freshman year celebrating Valentine's Day :) It is now officially a tradition since we've done it two years in a row now

My running route for the day ended up going up and around the temple, second visit of the day. After my run, I made some taco burritos for Kim and I and proceeded to call my mom and dad. Surprise! Mom and Dad are both on flights to watch Tricia play in her last National tournament. After chatting with Erin, I called AAA to see if I had an account. Nope. Then Erin had gotten a hold of my Dad who said we had a Chevron accound. I called them and guess what? Our account had been cancelled Oct 2008. Great. Final Free Option: metal hanger. Apparently it has been done.

Friends from freshman year at a surprise party for Sara Michael!

Erin picked me and Ryan up on her way home from work and I unraveled my sole metal hanger. This was four for four seeing Ryan and Erin (Sunday: dinner at her place with Logan too, Monday: Doing my laundry at her place, Tuesday: dinner at my place with Logan and Dad too, Wednesday: had to do something to see them again), definitely set a record for consecutive days. Hopefully I have not worn our my welcome. Another record set for the day: three times to the temple in just one day! Amazing.

We went skiing up at Deer Valley since we were able to get really cheap life tickets. I got to go of a bunch of little jumps with Diana while Alison and Kayla learned from their friend.

Remember by prime parking spot at the temple? Perfect for the public to view me trying to use a hanger to unlock a car. Yes, my car. But they didn't know that. It didn't end up mattering all that much because we were quick to learn that the rubber seals on the Malibu are very good, too good. I was on my way walking to the front desk of the temple to ask about the possibility of a Security person helping me, when Erin and Ryan called after me to come back.

On our way back from our ski trip we saw this frozen lake and decided to walk on it

Ryan found the long lost hide-a-key which was placed there when my family first got this car. Since this is the internet I probably shouldn't release its whereabouts, but I would have never thought to check there. It took a couple of minutes to open up since no one of its existence and it had not been touched since it was put there. Ryan saved me a call and a bill to the Locksmith; I really owe him and Erin. I started repaying this debt with one little fun size Butterfinger crisp bar a piece. They were on sale a couple of weeks ago so with my sweet tooth, naturally I bought them.

All the sisters, except missing Elise

I think the best part of the night was when I got home and talked to kim. After telling her the story she said, "At least you didn't have to call the Goldsmith." Gread day, a blessing in disguise I suppose. I now know where the hide-a-key is...not htat I intend on ocking my keys in again.

The whole family minus Bren and his family