must. stop. eating.

100th post

i feel we should celebrate. just kidding, is it really that big of a deal? yes.

i've seen this on a few other peoples blogs and thought i'd give it a try. you are just supposed to bold the things on the list you have done. feel free to copy and paste this to your blog and do it yourself!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (performing group?? done.)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (tickets were sold out...so we just walked around the bottom :( ...)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (i know someone who picked up a hitch hiker. gross)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon ( i started training for one once...)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen an eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain (dang..)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (NO!! thank goodness...)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (it was new to me, does that count?)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury (it was a mock jury, but it was in a real courtroom! i'm counting it.)
91. Met someone famous (good thing i didn't ask him to throw away my trash...)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

well, i officially have about an hour and a half left at work before i go home and enjoy a lazy weekend with my family. i can already tell it will be really hard to come back to work on monday.

i went running tonight.

booyah.
(disclaimer. i did not want to go running, and tried to talk ali out of making me go. being the good roomate she is, she made me. i think my right hip is broken, but i feel great.)

i've got a lot on my mind.

• it hasn't snowed yet. well, there was that one day in october, but it melted long ago. it tends to storm up when my family comes, so who knows...maybe the slopes will open the day after thanksgiving after all
• my family is driving up on wednesday. fantastic. beb and matthew called last night being silly while doing dishes and listening to christmas music and it got me more than excited for them to get here.
• Ali and I are starting a new running schedule. is the holiday season the best time to start a new diet or exercise routine? why not. (and now that i've posted about it, any of you are allowed to check up on me and my so called running schedule.)
• i am officially listening to christmas music, and i love it.
• have you ever asked a famous person to throw away your trash for you? just wondering how that works, and how it made you feel.
• i am so grateful for dear friends that i can have real conversations with. by real, i mean things that really mean something to me.
• i love my ward. i love my hometeachers. i love my visiting teachers. i love institute. love my bishop. love my rs presidency. and i got my visiting teaching done yesterday. love.
• i am learning to laugh at certain things in life that, maybe before, would have been annoying. you can either be annoyed and get frustrated, or laugh about it. laughing has been good medicine.
• i like to cook, but sometimes just can't think of anything easy to cook. i love chicken and happen to have a bag of frozen little tenders in the freezer. any recipie ideas that are easy, healthy and scrumptious?
• i finally got to talk to cindy yesterday. our conversations these days are quite hilarious because we have to much to catch up on. ridiculouso.
• reminder that i only have to work THREE days this week. count em' bucko. THREE. and then i get to play with my family, which i love...even though i don't get to go home to vegas.
• our vaccum is broken. by broken, i mean a screw is missing so the handle comes off. our management took it about 2 weeks ago to "fix it". when i saw them yesterday, they asked me if i had the screw. really? if i had the parts, i would have just fixed it myself. the fact that we called you means we couldn't fix it. i now realize how much i liked to vaccum my front room, and how excited i will be to get it back.
• weekly challenge. remember our weekly dating challenge? we invited a male to partake in the goodness of the weekly challenge, but he is stumped for dating ideas. i don't know that i'm any better. does anyone have fun dating ideas now that it's cold outside?
• we are having a ward auction, and auctioning off service things. we are supposed to get creative (dinner, editing a paper, cleaning a car...) and ali and i wanted to sign up for something but we can't think of anything cool. any ideas?

i dare you to reply to all my questions. no, i double dog dare you.

grandma, grandma sick in bed...

called the doctor and the doctor said: lets get the rythm of the feet (stomp, stomp)

sorry, another sesame street flashback.

both of my grandmas have had trips to the hospital in the past week, and man alive am i grateful for modern medicine! they are both home and doing great.
i love grandparents, and i've been lucky to have them in my life. alot of people i talk to don't interact with their grandparents much. i'm glad i'm not like that. i consider myself lucky for the time i get to spend with them and sometimes forget how much i can learn from them if i sit back and listen (or watch). they have lived wonderful lives, with the gospel at it's center.

today i'm grateful for my grandparents.

color me blind

i found this on a friends blog and thought it would be easy. i scored a 69, and my eyes feel like they are permanently crosseyed. what's your score??

duh

when was the last time i stayed out till 1:30 in the morning just playing with friends on a week night? duh. i didn't get to bed until 2, and now i'm feelin it.
next question: was it worth it? still trying to decide.
ps. i showed up to work today and a whole slew of girls are all wearing purple today. what are the chances?? and how does that even happen? weird.
also...congrats to sara and jacob for having their cute baby elliot. dang cute, and i'm glad baby and mom are doing well. can't wait to babysit!

happy friday

i love the weekends; therefore, i love fridays because they are the beginning of the weekend. i am always insanely tempted to leave early on fridays. this friday, not a problem. i'm allowed to leave early. why you ask?
my office likes to be invovled in the community. did we "adopt a highway"? yes. are they asking for help to clean up university parkway on friday from 11-1? yes. do i get paid for it? yes. do i get to wear a bright orange vest? (safety first) yes. do they feed us lunch when we get back? yes. do i get to leave early? YES.
so many questions. so many yes's.
so....if you are driving down university parkway on friday between state street and university avenue, keep an eye out for me. i'll be the one getting paid to pick up trash to better our community.

i am smrt

my office is a funny place. everyone kind of does their own thing, if that makes sense. the office is either hustle and bustle with a deadline, or can be deadly quiet. the quiet almost kills me sometimes, and i've noticed a number of people with headphones in their cubicles as they work. alot of the people with offices either have a radio going or music off their computer going. i was always jealous.
i have speakers, but for the last little bit, i couldn't get them to work. i finally brought my earphones to work thinking they would save me from the deathly silence that almost put me to sleep. i tried everything! i was unplugging and plugging back in chords and turning knobs. i was convinced the speakers had broken and thought i was doomed to silence.
then it came to me. i checked the volume control on the computer. yes, that little speaker icon in the right hand bottom corner of your computer screen? it was turned all the way down. and now i jam to the tunes of friends blogs all day. a earphone in one ear while i answer phones with the other.
that brings up a whole 'nother thing. i am having to retrain myself to multi-task like this. when i worked at UVSC (now UVU!!) in the registration office, i always had one headphone in, and my phone headset on the other. the music was to keep me from slitting my wrists in the silence of that office, but i got really good at zoning out the music when i got a phonecall. who wants to push pause or take out the earphone everytime a call comes in? i am quite proud of myself that i could do such a thing, and am excited to start it up again. the music really helps the day go faster, so i'm grateful for it.
ps...are they called earphones? i know headphones are the ones that go on your head, but the ones that go in your ears...earphones, right? (after i typed it so many times, it started to sound weird)
long story short. i am jammin' at work. don't worry. i don't dance...AT ALL. i know, several of you are very proud of me. sometimes i do tap my finger if it's a catchy tune. let's just hope i don't forget one day and start singing outloud. goo.

in case you forgot...

i touched them. truth.

are you cool enough?

Probably not.

welcome to bethany and ryan's secret club.

we are cool .
(at least we like to pretend)

backstreets back - alright!

ok, wrong boy band seeing as how i went to the new kids on the block concert this weekend, but that post will come...with pictures. get excited.
i'm back at work. another monday. can you sense the excitement in my voice? great.
i taught my first rs lesson yesterday, and i feel like it went okay. i got participation from the class (eventually) and went over on my time (whoops). but i feel good about it, and i'm excited to teach again. oh yes, and i got to see my sunday crush yesterday. (duh, it was sunday) as if sundays aren't good enough already, my sunday crush was fantastic yesterday. done and done.

ok, onto the important stuff (not that sunday crush isn't important, but still.) James Bond came out last weekend. I've heard it's a winner, and even though i probably wouldn't seek out james bond alone, my dad and brothers are bond fans. it rubs off on me, and i want to see it. dilemna. do you remember what comes out this coming weekend. TWILIGHT goodness. how do you choose between such things? Friday night it work christmas party, so i won't be seeing anything friday. saturday movie marathon madness? it might just happen.
confession: sometimes i do things in my cubicle...that i would only do in my cubicle. okay, that sounds ridiculous, and now i don't know how to explain myself.
example-- i just took a huge bite of granola goodness. like mouth full of a bite bigger than i would EVER take in front of other people. but i'm in my cubicle so no one could see. safe, right? until the phone rings. great. good thing no one can see me, since i had to spit it all out on the wrapper to answer the phone. sick, i know. but welcome to my life. and my cubicle. i would love to say "more cubicle secrets to come"...but some things are just private. and lets be serious, i don't know who reads this blog. (enter: the great goodness of the secret blog, which is not realy THAT secret, but it seems cool to pretend)
okay, okay. back to work. maybe. i feel another post coming on...

love at first sight:

sorry, not talking about a boy. on the public blog anyways. this love is for slippers. alot of people might think these are ugly slippers. that makes me like them even more. they are the warmest little buggers...and i love them.

it's not a busy saturday, which i'm grateful for. i was up in bountiful last night for megan and gregs baby shower, which was fantastic. i'm grateful i get to be included in those sorts of things. and icing on the cake, i got a hot date for my christmas party. done and done. i'm taking an official break from preparing my lesson for rs tomorrow. i'm nervous! that sounds so silly, but i'm used to teaching efy kids...which is a lot less intimidating (even though a large group of girls in my rs probably went to efy last year...oh my.) just kidding, maybe. hopefully the lesson will go well. i'll keep you posted.

remember how i'm going to the new kids on the block concert tonight? a friend got free tickets from work. i don't know any of their music, so i guess i should get on that before tonight. talking to a friend today, i confessed the only nkotb song i knew wasnt even theirs. "new kids on the block had a bunch of hits, chineese food makes me sick...". hmmmm. it will still be fun.

one thing i need to get off my chest. please tell me to stop analyzing life. it's easy to sit here in the silence of my house (which is GLORIOUS by the way) and think about things. way. too. much. i know its good to have a plan, work towards goals, but my goodness. sometimes i just think things through too much, then i have ridiculous expectations, and then i'm disappointed when things didn't go "as i thought they would". silly things that don't even matter! it's hard to go into situations with no expectations, but it seems that is what i need to do. any suggestions?

one more thing. ryan and i are waiting for our package from brooklyn, ny. if it doesn't get here today, i might cry. and if it does...i know what i'm wearing to the concert tonight. :)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

my world has been opened to youtube and the classic sesame street clips they have posted. if this doesn't bring it back, i don't know what will. and yes, i'll be singing this song for the next week. please get the new david archuleta cd in my life so i don't willfully drive myself crazy with this song....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpg4ax_8n5A

it was a dark and stormy night....

and the rain came down in torents. and the old ship captain said, "sit down boys, and i'll tell you a story"...

sorry. childhood flashback.

there was this song on sesame street growing up that goes like this:
it's a rainy day, it's a rainy day.
it's raining outside so i can't go out and play,
why do we need the rain, anyway?
(extra points if you actually KNOW that song...)
it goes on to tell all of the benefits of rain. i wish i could remember that part of the song today. i really do enjoy the rain...when i'm home in my pajamas watching a stellar old school movie that is now back in my life. but when i'm at work, and the whole office feels darker because of the lack of sun and the all encompassing wettness outside...i don't love the rain. it feels like it's 8:00 at night. it probably doesn't help that i worked through lunch today (which means i do get to leave in 30 minutes- major plus) and that i'm also anxiously awaiting a package in the mail from brooklyn, new york. if it is not in my mailbox when i get home, i will be very disappointed.
the partners and managers are going on a retreat this weekend in st. george. do you know what that means? the office will be dead. no one will be here....specifically the people i work for. so i have things i could be doing today, but i figure i better save some stuff for while they are gone or else i'll be tempted to skip out early with nothing to do.

undercover brother

after watching that movie 37.4 times, i was reminded of the goodness that was that semester. Ryan had just gotten home from his mission, Mark had just gotten married, Nathan was getting ready to leave on his mission. and we were all in Provo. i'm lucky to have such good, cute, nice, normal brothers. girls want to be my friends because of my cute brothers, and boys want to be my friends because my brothers are so cool. any way you look at it, my brothers are a good thing to have around. even though cute matthew isn't up here in provo (yet...give him a couple more years) i'm still lucky enough that he wants to play with me when i go home.
i love family traditions, especially things i do with my siblings. it sounds silly to say tradition. it's more like second nature now. every time i go home, i make matthew tweety pancakes (crepes). he doesn't have to ask me to make them, and i don't have to ask if he wants them. it's just a given. bethany's home. i will have tweeties in the morning. i love that.
ok, i wasn't planning on devoting this blog to brotherly love, but thats what it's turned into...and i'm okay with that. and if you think getting along with my brothers isn't on my mental list of things i look for in a future spouse, you're insane. not that that will be hard. the poor boy will probably marry me for my brothers. and i wouldn't blame him.

sometimes i feel guilty not sharing these things with other people...

they are that good.

if this doesn't make you love ryan and miss nathan, you are a crazy person

(even if you don't know them...)

I'd like you to meet:

nancy.

i never named my new car, but i did name this little flasher. if i dont have my seatbelt on, nancy flashes and beeps at me every thirty seconds. sometimes i talk to nancy, and tell her we're almost there, and once i was bad and just turned up my music to ignore her.

cause we rock! we rock - we rock on!!

oh. my . goodness. is that one of the jonas brothers?

no silly. it's cute ryan getting ready to head out the door for BYU's preference dance. i love that he called to let me know they were going to be late so i could come over and see his outfit. we are the same person on so many different levels, it's almost ridiculous. of course i wanted to see his outfit, so i headed over to give my stamp of approval. i know my parents will say he looks homeless or something, but ryan and i actually had a talk about our styles lately...and how we don't really have one. i don't even know if my outfit matches in that picture, but oh well. i wore it out in public. true story.
here's a shocker. ali and i both had dates last night. truth. (okay, not to say "date". i dont want to start a ruckus. i don't want to assume. but when there are four people, 2 boys and 2 girls, eating dinner together and watching a movie, i call that a date. even if you don't call me when you get here and never mention the word "date" 3 years before or after the actual event) doesn't ali look hot?? we still havent had a chance to talk about the evening with eachother, but i did blog about it on the secret blog (where secret blog members dreams come true).

and now it's sunday. another weekend gone. the weekends never seem to be quite long enough, but i guess thats how the cookie crumbles. now onto the next task. finding a date to the work christmas party. gross. and what do you do when you ask someone...and they turn you down. ouch. slightly painful, and i know he would come if he could, but still. dang. no other options, and i've already rsvp'd for 2. and i don't dare bring a girl...because i don't go on dates with girls (yes on 8) i'd take my brother, but he has a mustache. life is so hard.

disclaimer: dont be offended or have hurt feelings if you are not part of the secret blog. trust me, reading it might just provide you with "too much information" if you know what i mean. i want you to still be my friend. good? good.

and lets be serious. i would still take my brother, mustache and all, but he is involved in the same event as the other fellow i asked already, so figured if #1 can't go, brother can't go. maybe i can bribe them to ditch, and bring 2 boys. now we're talking...

I LOVE GETTING MAIL!!!

today was a good day. lunch with a dear friend. dance party with the brother. dinner with the bff. shoe shopping. and then....ali checked the mail. it was full of goodies!! and now i can go to sleep a happy girl. :)

i have to laugh...

i went back and read some old emails and stuff from this time last year. (cindy, please remember that saturday my computer was broken and you were checking messages for me and reading the replies over the phone. HAHA!! young love...) mama mia. what a different world. i've changed so much since then, but have to laugh at the excitement and anticipation of last november. i was getting ready to work a summer as coordinator for efy and was so anxious and nervous! i had my very first boyfriend....weird. but good. i was living in a great house with great friends. i was registering for my last 2 classes EVER for school, and i was getting ready to send my brother off on a mission.
and look how much can change in a year! i won't go down the list, but it's funny to think about. i just laugh at myself a year ago, and then get a little depressed that i'll probably laugh at my current self a year from now. dang. i guess thats good and means i'm progressing, right? right.

nasty knocker update

ok. so i have a tendency to over react sometimes. the nasty knocker ended up being this girl in our ward...and her friends....coming to show us their costumes. still a little sketchy, but MYSTERY SOLVED. now i feel a little silly for thinking they were attackers. whoopsies.

and to keep me from getting depressed...

i know no one else will see these beauties now that there is SNOW on the ground, but i know my toenails are done. and it will help me survive this thing so many of you know and love called winter. blah.

can you see the bruise on my big toe? another wound from cleaning checks. after the shower curtain fell on me (again) while cleaning the bathtub, a huge bottle of shampoo fell right on my toe. ouchie. if you cant see the bruise. lie to me. it hurt, okay?

I've decided:

• i'm going to listen to christmas music on the way home from work today. (sorry, mom)
• i need to drink more water
• i'm glad the elections are over
• my room will never stay clean
• i love scarves and i need to buy more
• one weekend with cindy just won't be enough
• i like the one week challenge, even when ali laughs at me during my phone call :)
• i still don't like snow
• its a darn good thing i have underground parking
• it might be time for another haircut
• i need to go to the dentist

ps...mom. what in the world are our plans for thanksgiving? i always forget to talk to you about that when i'm talking to you. and always remember at random times...like now.

do'd er' newt.

and no lines :)

you say it best when you say nothing at all...

i love when i can talk to people and i don't have to finish my sentence. i love when i can give people that look, and i dont have to say anything at all...they know exactly what i'm thinking. i love when i say something, and people know that i don't really mean that but actually mean the complete opposite (i.e. "i'm over it")
people may be a little broad, cause let's be honest...there aren't many of you that can do this. (not that i'm questioning your ability) i was talking to cindy at lunch. she asked me a question. i tried to give her an answer. she stopped me halfway through. "beth. i know what you mean. i know what you're trying to say. i understand." it was perfect! i took a deep sigh of relief. it was so nice to not have to explain myself or what was going on. she knew. she always knows...in a very uncreepy kind of way.
so here's to you! the few. the proud. the poor people who know me so well they can finish my sentences. (you know who you are....)

mission impossible

turned out to be quite possible. here's my little project. ali and i worked hard today to get it done. 7 trips to home depot later...we present you:

we are family

ok. sorry, i can't get that picture to flip so you'll just have to twist your head. on our way home from our lake powell trip we stopped in kanab for dinner. i did make a stop by levi stewarts monument to take a peek at the statue and our family brick. oh levi, what a pose. don't ask what he's doing....i have no clue.

if you are ever in kanab, stop by and take a peek. it's basically fantasic. fountains, waterfalls. beautiful Levi.

nasty knockers

among the cute little trick or treaters last night, there were some stupid teenagers running around my apartment complex. doing flips off of my porch and jumping off the balconies...really? and to top it off they had nasty masks on. we had seen them and talked to them a couple times before, but that is no reason for them to do this. i was cleaning the blinds (again) and looked through the window to see 4 nasty masks. i screamed, they thought it was funny, and i told them if they didn't leave i'd call the cops. (don't think i wouldn't hold to that threat either...stinkers) they left and i was reminded of why i hate halloween.
we went out to dinner and came home to a clean, quiet house. we actually sat and watched a movie as roommates (we are never all home together!!). no. it was not a scary movie. we watched wedding planner. truth. we were enjoying ourselves. no nasty. until there was a knock on the door. we all looked at eachother with that "were you expecting someone?" look, and ali went to look to see who it was. good thing we didn't answer the door!!! she peeked through the blinds to see a group of nasty maskers. i thought it was those stupid teenagers again, but ali said they were older guys. we didn't answer the door. but riddle me this. WHAT NASTY BOYS WOULD COME TO AN ALL GIRLS COMPLEX AT 11:50 AT NIGHT AND KNOCK ON RANDOM GIRLS DOORS TO SCARE THEM?!?!?!?! now that it is morning and i am coherent, it makes me nervous that they were not just here to scare. i am now hoping that other girls in the complex did not answer the door!! i am glad that halloween is over. stupid nasty knockers....