f--f-f-f-f-f-r-r-r-r-reeeeezing. seriously.

i've been home in las vegas for a week. now i'm back in utah. and it is frigid. i don't mean chilly. i mean, cold-to-your-bones-can't-control-your-muscle-spasms-when-you-step-outside cold. you heard me.

so i decided that last semester i was anti-social. is that fair for me to say? i mean, i still had friends, and it's not like i sat home by myself and cried all the time, but i didn't find myself making much of an effort. i had a few select friends that i would see all the time...and that's it. stupid, stupid bethany.

i'm turning a new leaf. i am social again (or so i say). can't wait for friends to get back to provo. maybe i feel that way because i feel change coming and want to take advantage of the goodness that surrounds me now? who knows.

i do know that it is cold. right now. at work. space heater....and still cold. ice. cold.

i saw sherlock holmes last night. and i liked it. i also went shopping last night. with a male friend. have i ever told you how much i love shopping with boys? brothers, friends, strangers. okay, maybe not strangers. i love when boys ask me to go shopping with them. i love looking for the perfect pair of jeans or new shoes. oh, new shoes. i love shoe shopping with boys. ok, now i might just be sounding a little weird. oh well.

and just a reminder that this weekend is new years. a new year. to me, new years is like valentines day. there seems to be this pressure to have a big party, or have a date. are you getting a kiss at midnight? then there's always the question, "what did you do for new years??"...and i always feel like i need to have some cool story about how i went to this cool party with cool people and we did cool things and blah blah blah. i've decided that it will not be that kind of new years. i'm not making big plans. i have no expectations. i'm not going to any parties. (great attitude for someone who has committed to be more social, right?)

speaking of new year, it's going to be 2010. two-thousand and ten. how to you abbreviate that?? i've heard people make the mistake and say "Oh-ten"...like Oh-nine....except that doesn't really work, does it. this past weekend, i heard grandpa say "two-ten"...and i like it. i think that is how i will address the new year. 2-10.

not to make this post any more random than it already is, but i have to get this out. i do NOT have a good sense of smell at all. i hate it. it's not like i can't smell a turkey cooking in the oven, but it happens more and more often that people ask me if i smell something...and i don't. it makes me think i should be putting on more deoderant.....just in case. (not implying that people are telling me i stink. i shower on a regular basis, thank you.) example. someone just walked out here and said "it smells like someone's cooking broccoli out here...do you smell that?" nope. sure don't. maybe i should be grateful???

and in case you were wondering, my new favorite game is trying to cast the movie for the book hunger games. i think i've talked about that book on here before. yes, they are making a movie, and it's funny to sit around with friends and try to pick people you would think would be good playing a certain character. i know what you're thinking...."get out much???". i promise. it's fun. maybe i'll do a post about it. and you'll love it. just read the book, okay??

and in conclusion. it's cold. freezing. seriously.

all the stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

it's been a different christmas. different, but good. it's about this time of the vacation that i'm reminded this isn't real life (cooking, cleaning, and crafting), but that i have a real job from 8-5 that's waiting for me. gross, huh??

grandma and grandpa are good to remember all of their grandchildren on christmas. instead of getting silly gifts that are easily forgotten, they are determined to build our church library.
(don't make fun of my outfit. i don't really make much of an effort to match when i'm going to be home all day. sorry charlie. and in case you didn't notice, my hair is dark now. yes, all dark - as in no highlights. yes, my mother gasped one of her famous gasps and told me i had grey hair. i left straight-away for the grocery store and bought a box of color. brother mark colored my hair. i am now highlightless.)
i won't post any pictures from christmas morning. don't you worry...we all looked like a million bucks. we stayed up late watching "it's a wonderful life" and were up at 6 to open presents. (we never were ones to sleep in....we just get too excited!)

we did have a gingerbread house building contest. i lost...all because ryan can make a dang good icicle. dang, those icicles. don't mind my hair. i took a christmas nap with wet hair and woke up with kate goslin hair. you know you love it.

merry christmas to us

here we are....waiting for elder stewart. with ryan, we had statue of liberty hats. what do you do for an elder coming from south america? mustaches. everyone was a good sport and wore one for a little bit. even the baby :)
and here he is!!! skinny mcgee. he of course took his time, and didn't come down the escalator with the rest of his flight. he made quite the entrance...and we loved every second of it.



first time for nathan to meet the new babe. we were all a little excited if you can't tell. it was hard to give nathan some space. we're all just so glad he's home!!!

zzzzzzzzzzzzz......

i am so tired. i have so much i could write about, but my head isn't on straight today. i forgot to put on mascara, so i look like i just woke up. i got to work early....because i'm leaving early.

today i'm driving home. tomorrow we're picking up my brother nathan from the airport. yes - nathan is already coming home from his mission. seems unreal, huh??

but right now, all i can think about is sleep....and how i haven't really gotten any the past few days. so busy. good busy.

ps...if you haven't read "hunger games"....read it. i'm not a reader, so when i have a recommendation, you better listen up. we have started a club for people that read this book. it's full of fun and inside jokes. trust me, you want to be a part. and yes, i am the president.

tis' the season

remember how it rained this weekend? and then snowed. and then rained? let us not forget how it all turned to ice. i love utah.

yesterday on my way to church i had my first slip of the season. in my skirt and open toed heels. man down. luckily, there was only one witness, and she loves me enough to laugh at me and let me get up on my own. nothing was ripped. nothing even got wet. my knee is skinned up though...battle wound.

when i got to work this morning and saw the thick sheet of ice covering the whole parking lot, i grabbed my heels, threw them in my purse and walked into work wearing my slippers. i've been switching between the two all morning. (when clients are involved, i slip on my real shoes. otherwise, i've been sporting my slippers around the office)

speaking of work....we have secret santa elves at work. i got here this morning and found a target bag on my chair. what was inside you ask?? 4 boxes of nillas. FOUR. tif had 2 cases of diet coke at her desk. we still don't know who left those babies. merry christmas to us.

we got our last email from brother nathan on the mission today. weird? weird. crazy to think that i'm leaving in a few days to go home to get him from the airport...and staying for an additional week for christmas??? where has the time gone?!?!?

i was put in charge of a sub for santa project we did at work. employees donated money, and people were beyond generous. then, i went shopping. it was a big project, but alot of fun. it is a good feeling to be able to help others. i try to imagine what their christmas will be like, both parent and child, having no clue what is under the tree. i hope they aren't disappointed with their gifts.....six year old boys like transformers, right??

this week will be full of laundry, packing, delivering, cleaning, gifting, hot chocolate, goodbyes, hellos, family, driving, christmas music, shopping, and crafting. i have tried to find time to sit down and make a list of everything i need to get done, but there hasn't been time. i'm not stressed out. i figure what has to get done, will get done. and what doesn't...won't matter.

one thing that has to happen is new windshield wipers. sweet mercy, why is it raining in december????

oh yeah...

remember how i made an apple pie?? okay, i know it doesn't look like much. to be honest, i don't like apple pie, so i never even tried it. i heard it was good. that was enough. my nephews made these turkey hats. i don't know how it happened, but beb and i ended up wearing them.... and loving every second of it.
remember how a week from TODAY i will be driving home in preparation to pick up my brother from the airport?!?!?!?
truth.

in case you were wondering....

which is worse : swine flu or 24 hour flu???

answer: 24 hour flu.

maybe i'm only saying that because i had the 24 hour flu yesterday, and swine flu months ago. but i'm probably saying it because i didn't throw up once with the swine flu...and well, that wasn't the case with the 24 hour bug.

don't worry, it didn't just get me. 2 other roommates were sick the same night. it was glorious. we laughed. we cried. we puked. we drank theraflu. we slept. and then cried again.

tonight, we are lysol-ing the house.

from our house to yours,
happy flu season :)

seriously, though.

my friend had this on her blog...part of her letter to santa. i love it.



"can you believe we're losing weight just by talking on the phone???"

"six hours ago, my dress was too tight, and now it fits perfectly!!"

one size fits all?? i wish this was real....

but just in case, supplies are limited...so i better hurry and order.

necessities.

right now there are a few necessities in my life. get me from one day to the next.

#1. these goobies. nathan, please come home in 16 days so i can have a new picture with me and my best friends. i don't know how i got so lucky to have such amazing siblings. we don't always get along, but we're family. i love them. and right now...i can't imagine life without them.

#2. ok. i don't own real ugg boots. they are too expensive for my blood, and always will be. When i was in Memphis, i bought boots identical to this for 13 buckaroos. they suit me just fine, and i wear them non-stop. i was sad when i decided i couldn't wear them to work....and then i didn't care. i've worn them to work 3 times now. for some reason, they make me feel better...and with a skirt, they don't look half bad.
#3. no, that is not a pile of precious gems or rocks. it's ice. alot of ice. i would say i eat at least 2 cups of ice a day. yes, chomp it with my teeth.

#4. i don't know what i would do without my phone. it is my lifeline to my friends. lifeline to my family. i've texted more in past 3 days than i think i have my entire life. if i were to lose my phone now, i would be i a world of hurt and trouble. can't wait to see my bill this month. :)

#5. ring out wild bells. yet another reason why i love the christmas season....candy cane hershey kisses. these babies are seasonal, and when i saw them last night, i bought 3 bags (granted, i gifted one of them away, and hid the other for future) i was literally sad when these were gone last year, and honestly laid in bed last night and thought about stocking up so i could have a supply year round. sick in the head? maybe. will i actually do it? possible.

#6. oops. dinky picture. i wish that was my christmas tree, but it's not. but i did put up my christmas tree last night. it's not spectacular in the light of day, but it has a lot of meaning to me. i would say that a majority of my ornaments have a story to go along with them...collected from travels or gifted to me. i love them, and it brings back alot of fun memories to get them out.

just a reminder that friends are always a necessity. and sleep.

and for the record, i should have an entire blog just to talk about how lucky i am to have wise, loving, caring, understanding, always-going-above-and-beyond-to-make-sure-their-children are-happy parents.