Dearest Housewives:

I washed and dried this pair of red wax lips with my clothes. Fail.



Why couldn't it have been the 'stache of wonders?



Roomie swore up and down that her natural stain remover stick would do the trick. Fail.

After three hot cycles and four days, this morning my laundry sat in the washing machine sad, bestained, and sour.

I got to thinking. Recently I participated in a greasy service project. So greasy in fact, that we relied on a mechanic's orange and pumice hand cleaner to do the trick. Grease on hands? Why not greasy/red wax stains on clothing? BINGO. Success. Thank you Fast Orange with pumice for restoring my clothing to its natural state. Housewives? Get on it, you can thank me later.

jet

I'm going on a trip and it's almost all I can think about. Also, I am wicked into classic movies right now.

Me Being Serious.

Every now and again I get the urge to be nice. I am a family home evening coordinator at church, (a job, I never realized until now, that takes a lot of time!) and stumbled upon a webite full of ideas. I haven't dissected the site yet, I actually didn't need to because the first idea it led me to was perfect for Monday's lesson. The topic was service, and I wanted to incorporate a quick and easy project into the lesson. The perfect solution? Make A Child Smile, a nonprofit organization that spotlights several terminally ill kids at a time, providing their bios and contact info. and the opportunity to write them a letter. I love this concept.

Our small group wrote and mailed about 10 letters. These kids are living through horrible circumstances, difficult to think about, but hopefully a couple kids will feel better for a minute or two and smile. Take five minutes and try it out for yourself, it feels kind of good.

All the Apparatus

A few of my friends from the BYU-Hawaii days are in this band, All the Apparatus. It may be a biased mild obesssion, but it's a mild obsession nonethless, I really enjoy their stuff. Love this song and its accompanying music video as much as I do, and if you're in Portland go find them on the streets somewhere downtown and hear it live.




Support the cause and buy their album here

Sundayches

I suffer from the Sunday Headache. Right now I have a headache. It has always been a little bit of a joke and I haven't given it much thought until recently. While visiting my family over the break I confessed to my mom one rainy Sunday afternoon that I had an epic head splitting Sundayche. She shot back, "What! Your dad has a headache every Sunday too." "No!" I shrieked. Total truth. This, along with an allergy to the beach, is my all-time favorite genetic inheritance (disorder).

Today I am in Phoenix defrosting and delaying my homework, and finally Googled "I have a headache every sunday". Though I could not find an official medical response I discovered that the Sundayche is not so uncommon. The answer? Precisely what my dear friend Kimmybot hypothesized, weekly shock to my biological clock. I am busy, not overwhelmingly so, but my plate is considerably full Monday through Saturday and when I finally settle down for a day and sleep later than is probably healthy, my mind and body panic.

I like this answer and I'm sticking with it, but a few gaps remain; why did I have a Sundayche while visiting my family in Oregon and far from busy? Am I crazy? Did I expect the pain and bring it upon myself? Do I have any brain doctor friends who might provide me a logical answer? Preferably one living in Reykjavik who also has connections to national tourism councils? Thanks.

2010

I have a busy year ahead of me. School is set to challenge me even more than it has the last few months, I hope to find a museum internship, and I've decided that I will go to Antarctica.

I am absolutely in love with the beach and I've seen my fair share of them, but my trip to the desert last March gave me a taste of something new. It is well known that Iceland needs me and will eventually come beckoning, but until then I'm taking matters into my own hands and proving that I can handle some cold air.

In other news I have been at my parent's home in Oregon for the last two and a half weeks and weighed in tonight at a staggering 193, exactly 14 pounds heavier than when I arrived. And I can't get my mind off of the seared ahi burger from Bricktops restaurant in Nashville. Salivating at 2:15 in the morning.

Greatest Job in the World II

I'm still waiting for Iceland to contact me...

It's a Sign!

I have been obsessed with visiting Iceland for decades (well half of one, at least) and even more so in the last few months. Today I realized that I got my first hit from Reykjavik(!), a possible coincidence but complete sign. Do you remember a year ago when the Queensland, Australia tourism bureau created such a worldwide frenzy that its "Greatest Job in the World" website and videos went viral and literally shutdown for a while?

Iceland, do you remember? If you don't I'm happy to remind you.

In early 2009 Tourism Queensland, in an effort to promote tourism of the islands in the Great Barrier Reef, had an open call for their the newly created "Island Caretaker" position. Candidates were required to submit 60-second videos about their qualifications and interests. 34,000 videos were submitted but it came down to one fella from England who landed the job that required daily blogging, surfing, diving, snorkeling, "testing" resorts, island hopping, and eating. I can't say I followed his blog regularly, but every now and then over the last year I enviously skimmed through some writings and photos. The result? People around the globe realize that those islands exist; I'd call it a success.

Now, Iceland, I can't imagine your tourism is as bumpin' as it could be or you'd like it to be, despite frequent surprisingly affordable flights from the U.S. You have lots to share with the world, imagine the impact that a "contest" using borrowed ideas from the "Greatest Job in the World" would have. It would excite me, at least. In my humble opinion rigging the gig wouldn't be a terrible idea (I would be honored, thanks!) Also, if you you're not too keen on the contest idea but somewhat interested in increasing visits from the U.S. I am quite willing to negotiate a deal. I would love to spend time in Iceland and blog my heart out about your amazing-ness. Capiche?

Call me.

a farewell

Goodbye cruel world. I find myself, without friends in Flagstaff, much too reliant on Facebook. Not a terrible thing to stay connected, right? Well it is during finals week when I find myself looking at friend's photos every time I'm stumped coming up with the next sentence. For at least the next few days, with the help of Kimmy, I will be locked out of my profile.

Looks like I'm just gonna have to turn to Youtube...

$3

My siblings love being cheap this year for Christmas. Normally we draw names and buy one semi-pricey (my poor mans idea of semi-pricey) gift, and something less expensive for everyone else. Well this year the rules have changed. The sisters have decided that we will each buy a gift for everyone with a $3.00 limit. THREE DOLLARS! I know, right. What can a person get for three measly bucks these days? Am I going to have to go the homemade route? Ugh.

The purpose for my blogging today is more an S.O.S. message than anything. To anyone who might read this, wherever you are: what might I buy for four sisters and a brother in-law at $3.00 each? Any suggestion will be considered.

Maybe I'll just shoot for sibling points and secretly stick with the old Christmas gift model.