Wish list

Well, I'm off the New York in the morning. This is the list of things I didn't get to do last time I lived there that I want to do this time. Anyone is welcome to join me and/or to add any funtivities to my list.




















And yes, I did save this scan to my computer. My poor picture folder has not yet been found. I will take my poor laptop to the Apple store in NYC. Please be able to rescue my pictures Mac Docs, even though I am so bad and I keep saving new things over them.

old job gone

I didn't write on my blog very much about my old job because I hated it so much. I wanted to pretend it didn't really happen. I did like having money though. So anyway, yesterday was my last day. I was debating whether or not I was required to go tell the people who worked upstairs goodbye, because I didn't think they cared a hoot about me, as long as I took all their messages because they never came into work. If I did ever walk into their office, I was usually ignored and just dropped whatever I had off and walked out. Sometimes I would try to talk, but it was a failure. Then when I had about an hour left at work, a girl that was on maternity leave came to the front door with her new baby so I let her in and was saying, hi, whatever, you know, and she mostly just walked by and didn't say anything. So then I sat at my desk and I walked to the door a couple time so get some packages, and I could see everyone that works there congregated, having a party. I thought they must be seeing the girl's new baby and I just wasn't invited. I didn't care too much, I didn't want to go "chill" with them in the bowling area. I just thought it was so weird they were having a party that I could SEE and they didn't invite me. Then the IT guy was looking at what movies we had received and commanded me to look on the internet to see the rating (he was excessively bossy about it) and then asked why I wasn't having cake. Because I didn't know they were eating cake. At 3 when I was leaving I had to walk by and the person in charge was surprised to see me. I guess they were celebrating March birthdays. Apparently they forgot I existed and didn't invite me over. But I had walked out from my desk quite a few times. Everyone knows where I worked: in the desk in the corner all alone. So I did say goodbye to everyone, since they were sitting right there. I'm not sure they remembered it was my last day. But I thought it was a fitting ending to my employment there. They didn't remember I existed. I had felt like they didn't really care if I was there or not for a while, but I am just glad to be moving on. Other people care that I exist.

This one's for you, Brooke.

One day during my freshman year of college I walked out my door to see my next door (Brooke) and downstairs (Jens) neighbors leaning on the railing and wearing sweaters. Brooke's was pink and Jenny's was red and both had front pockets. I asked what they were doing and they said they were getting ready to go "pimping" in their "pimping sweaters." Keep in mind, we were at Rick's College. I wasn't positive as to what sort of activities they engaged in, but whenever they went "pimping" they wore the "pimping sweaters." I used to borrow Brooke's sweater on occasion when I lived with her (nothing too exciting ever happened to me when I wore it) and when I moved she so kindly gave it to me, kind of like passing the baton. That was at LEAST five or six years ago and I've kept it for sentimental reasons and because it is called The Hot Pink Pimping Sweater and because Brooke gave it to me. I haven't worn it very often mostly because I don't like pull-over sweaters. But yesterday, I fixed all that. Yes, I made the Hot Pink Pimping Sweater into a sort of Mr. Rogers cardigan and made the sleeves skinnier. When I sew, it is sometimes an adventure to see what will happen, which was the case with this. The front is kind of wavy because the fabric was so thick (especially over the pockets) but all I have to say is, watch out! The Hot Pink Pimping Sweater is back in action.

Goodbye Rexburg

This is my last day of work at the job I hate. So I am using the work computer to get some pictures from my camera to my blog. Don't worry, I am not ignoring my job. There isn't much for me to do here.

Goodbye Rexburg. These are some things I won't ever do in New York City.

Goodbye rodeo with Angela and Jordan.


































Goodbye feeding crazy baby calfies.

















Goodbye random giant tool magazine I got in the mail.

Deleted.

About a week ago something bad happened. I told the trash on my computer to empty and at the same time I was moving some photos from my desktop into the "Pictures" folder that is always on the left column of my finder windows. Somehow the Pictures folder got deleted too. Along with three years of iphoto, pictures from my phone, scrap, type, etc. So today I've been calling data recovery places to see what I can do. I got the phone numbers from the Apple guy, but all these places were Windows places. The first place I accidentally hung up on. The second place said since it was a Mac all the tags would be gone and it would be impossible to find my files. The third place said I waited so long that all the files would be corrupted. BYU-Idaho said they do some minimal data recovery, so I'm going to take my computer there tomorrow to see what they can do first, then I guess I'll ship it to one of these other places. So this is the lesson of the day: if you loose important files, instead of thinking it might not actually be real and trying to avoid thinking about it, DON'T SAVE ANYTHING ELSE ON YOUR COMPUTER. It will save over the space where your files used to be and make data recovery much harder.

If I can't get my pictures back, I'll be accepting donations later. Hopefully someone can find them. But yeah. Don't expect any pictures on this blog for a little while.

American made

The next step in my quest for quality and to save American small business is to only buy American made products. I need some new running shoes, and as Flight of the Conchords so aptly put it:
"They're turning kids into slaves just to make cheaper sneakers
But what's the real cost?
Cause the sneakers don't seem that much cheaper
Why are we still paying so much for sneakers when you got them made by little slave kids?
What's your overhead? "

So anyway, the point of this post is to see if anyone in this world knows of any good running shoes made in America. This is what I've found so far:

New Balance has some shoes that are made in the USA. There just isn't a huge selection of styles and colors, and some of the materials are imported. This is what they say about it: "We believe most consumers think "Made in USA" means that real manufacturing jobs were provided to U.S. workers in order to make that product. The shoes produced in our U.S. factories are made by U.S. workers using both U.S. and imported materials. Where the level of domestic value is at least 70%, we have labeled the shoe "Made in USA." Where it falls below that level, we have qualified it as containing both domestic and imported materials. This determination is based in part on a survey of consumers conducted by the FTC." --New Balance Inc.

Chaco Sandals are made in the United States until July 31 when they will be made in China. The new shoes they have now are also made in China. So if you are thinking of buying any new Chacos, buy them soon. I need mine repaired, they have an actual hole in the bottom. All repairs are still done in Colorado...as far as I know. That is what their website said.

I might just end up buying the New Balance "Lace Up for the Cure" shoes, because if I'm going to support a cause, I might as well start supporting every cause, right?

What I would really like are some American made running shoes that look like this:


















Please make these shoes in America. Thank you.

mi hermano at the baile

Happy Easter

I was scanning some things of my Great Grandpa Mackay's today and found this great card. Happy Easter! The ink in the background is metallic.

The only perk of my job besides the $1 movies.

This poster could have arrived on Sarah's doorstep from anyone who happened to work at a movie theater, heard her complaining about being smaller than a size 0 at the Gap, got this giant bus shelter poster in the mail, cut the "Marshall" off the bottom, and was driving through Salt Lake last weekend.

Jeannette's house

The last time I was at my friend Jeannette's house her son Drew (not named after my brother, no matter what he says) was taking pictures on my cell phone and I love what he chose to take pictures of.

I took these of Madeline and Drew.




























Drew did the rest:
Me and Jeannette










































Madeline





























His blanket














The fireplace














Dart gun.














Wuffy














Squishy ball














Me taking the phone back. It was bedtime. I was not being mean.














He also had a picture of Jeannette reading to them but it got lost somewhere. Which is disappointing because that one was really awesome.

So, well, anyway, I posted them because I like them.

Three-year anniversary

I have always liked St. Patrick's Day because I like kitschy things. I do not know why we wear green. I do know I do not like being pinched. I used to like watching "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" in Elementary School. They used to put green footprints down the hallway like a leprechaun had walked by. When I was a kid my dad would always claim his pants had green on them because of cow manure stains so we couldn't pinch him, but that was all a farce.

St. Patrick's Day 2005 was the day I flew home from my mission, so it is also a little anniversary day for me now. Once a year I wear this jacket, which I wore on the plane home:

It is reversible and made of the same thing as a hot pad. The thick, quilted kind. I also make badges. One for me and one for my MTC companion Emily:

She is so lucky to have a friend like me.

Reason #one million why I think I live in the coolest place in the world.

Saturday I really wanted to go skiing. Then the person I was going to go with couldn't go. Then I wanted to go snowshoeing. Then the person I was going to go with wasn't going. So I was at the high school rodeo with my family watching my brother rope and my grandpa said, "I have snowshoes, why don't you just walk across your field?" And so I did. Not only did he have snowshoes, he had 65 year old antique wooden snowshoes that he used to use when he was trapping muskrats for $.75 a pelt. They were really awesome.

Here is Ruger and I, ready for our adventure:




This is when Ruger found a skunk den. We didn't see any skunks, thank goodness.

I just think it is awesome to be able to walk right out your back door and do fun things. The farm is a different place covered in snow. I've gone over it a million times walking, running, moving pipe, or in the tractor, but it was really cool in the snow.

Finally finished THAT project... #2

Some may remember that I had a skirt made out of my Grandpa Mackay's old work shirts that was pretty cool but very poorly crafted. I think I made it when I was in high school. I ripped it beyond repair last year (when I was running in between the half-hour dance party and one of the Suns playoff games that I was watching in the Amanda Knight Hall) and had to make a new one. This one is way better. I'm not sure if it is just because my grandpa is bigger or if I just perfected my shirt to skirt technique. I'm sure I could run anywhere in this one and it wouldn't rip.

I have Harry Potter fever. Still.

Look what Amazon bought:


This is what they say about it:
We're incredibly excited to announce that Amazon has purchased J.K. Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard at an auction held by Sotheby’s in London. The book of five wizarding fairy tales, referenced in the last book of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is one of only seven handmade copies in existence. The purchase price was £1,950,000, and Ms. Rowling is donating the proceeds to The Children's Voice campaign, a charity she co-founded to help improve the lives of institutionalized children across Europe.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is extensively illustrated and handwritten by the bard herself--all 157 pages of it. It's bound in brown Moroccan leather and embellished with five hand-chased hallmarked sterling silver ornaments and mounted moonstones.

Enjoy these first images of the book and reviews of each of the fairy tales (if you want to be sure of a link that will permanently work, use www.amazon.com/beedlebard).

This is what I say:
Hey, I want to see that book! I read the reviews online. Boring. I want to see all the pictures and read it in J.K. Rowling's handwriting. I tried to read the comments at the bottom of the page and it doesn't sound like it is going to be published any time soon, if ever. Please, J.K. Rowling, let someone publish it! Although I do think it is great of her to make something nice and non-commercial. I can see why she wouldn't publish it. I wish Amazon would rent it out like the library. That would be one huge waiting list.

Hey Stop!

Christina said she was sad she didn't make it into any of my New York pictures so I am posting this video I accidentally took while we were waiting in front of Grimaldi's. I know it is sideways and you can't even really see her but I have an important question that arises from watching this video. At the end I say "hey stop" to my camera. Is that really what my voice sounds like? Kind of like a ducky squeak toy?


I don't actually have any good pictures from New York of people. This one is us eating at Grimaldi's. I'm not sure why I didn't try a little harder.

I'm sure part of it is because my camera is so bad.

But don't get distracted. Does my voice really sound like that video?

New temporary plans

I am moving to New York in a month to do freelance in the Martha Stewart Living Magazine design department while my friend Linsey is out on maternity leave. I start April 7. I will be there 3 months for sure, maybe a little longer.

That is just an update on my plans.

In honor of that I will post some unflattering pictures from the last time I lived in New York:

This is when we moved all of Holly and Becca's stuff from one apartment to another. My job was sitting on the curb making sure no one stole the stuff. For a few hours. New York City is hot. Everyone was covered in sweat.

These are my awesome tomato plants that were stolen when I moved and the taxi driver wouldn't let me put them in the car so I left them in a garden area of my apartment building for not very long and someone horked them. That was sad. I am still mourning a little.


A couple examples of how wildly curly my hair gets in New York. I have been growing my hair out since I was there last, on the off-chance that I might go back. I didn't especially like my co-workers singing the "Annie" songs every time I went to work.

The sleepover we had the night before I left. We slept on the roof. That is always awesome. I am most excited about getting to see all my New York friends again.

False advertising.

I was browsing the new Anthropologie catalog, and the item I wanted most of all were these galoshes on the front cover. I like them. But they were not anywhere in the catalog to buy. So, I emailed the customer service email form and asked where I could get them and all they answered back was, "Unfortunately additional information is not available for this item. The item was purchased as a prop for our recent photo shoot. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." I don't think that was an acceptable answer. The stylist who worked on that shoot knows where the boots came from. Ask them. I really have been wanting boots to wear in the rain for a while. I haven't bought any before because when I was younger, moving pipe on our farm, we had what we called "irrigation boots" that we wore to keep our pants dry. I had both knee-high and thigh-high boots, thank you very much, and they look basically just like the boots girls have been wearing around. I've been considering just buying some more knee-high boots from the local Cal Ranch to wear as galoshes. They can't be much different than the boots people are buying these days, except that they only come in black, no little cherry pattern option or anything like that.