Russ' Anatomy (a la Grey's Anatomy)

Our friend Russ' birthday is tomorrow, and when we told him we wanted to throw his birthday party, he decided that he wanted a 'theme party.' After much deliberation, we came up with the Grey's Anatomy theme since he loves the show, and people tell him that because his hair started getting a bit long, he looks like Dr. McDreamy. That's where the idea began, and we ran with it...

With Jenny, my master party planner roommate, and Becky, our hilarious and oh-so-creative friend, the 'Party Planning Committee' (just like on 'The Office' ha ha) was in place, and soon the ideas began to materialize ... invitations that looked like a doctor's prescription, scrubs, surgical caps and masks, tongue depressers, cotton balls, bandaids, gauze, candy to look like medicine, pill containers, real medicine, Operation, etc. Russ loves sandwiches, so we decided that's what we'd serve for dinner - along with some other 'hospital cafeteria' like food ... single-serving chips, jell-o, and canned drinks. Of course everyone had to eat their food off of styrofoam trays. The only dessert he really likes is cheesecake, so that became his birthday cake. Jenny made some cheesecake with raspberry sauce and Christine & I made Lachelle's brownie cheesecake recipe - a big hit!

I came up with a great party playlist (if I do say so myself) on my ipod for the event (with a little help from Christine, Jenny, and iTunes) ... we had the entire first and second season soundtracks from the show on it (most of which I put at the end because they were a bit more mellow), but then added our own fun party songs, including such doctor/hospital/painful/body appropriate songs such as 'Dr. Feelgood,' 'Bad Case Of Lovin You,' 'Toxic,' 'SOS,' 'Smack That,' 'Listen To Your Heart,' 'Your Body Is A Wonderland,' 'You Make Me Sick,' 'Bootylicious,' 'Every Breath You Take,' 'How To Be Dead,' and Weird Al's 'Like a Surgeon...' quite the funny mix!

Christine came down from NYC for the party (since I was talking about when I was up there a few weeks ago), and it was fun to spend the weekend with her, though we weren't really able to do much other than run around a bit & get ready for the party (sorry Christine - at least you did get to go to Hunan Chef though)! The few people that didn't know us well walked in and asked if we were really nurses since we had scrubs on (ha ha) - or maybe they were just trying to make us feel good by saying that! But regardless, we had a great turnout, and it was a fun (and funny) night!

Back to 'My Roots'

Ok well not really, this is much darker than I think my roots have been since I was about 4 years old when my hair started lightening up. Yes, it is spring, but it is not summer yet, so I decided to keep my hair dark for a couple more months. I don't remember the last time it was this dark. That's what I said at Thanksgiving when I dyed it dark for the first time in, well, ever I think! But this time she did it a shade darker so that when it lightens up (and it will), it is still pretty dark. So ... its a little shocking at first to look in the mirror and see myself, but its a fun change. Luckily I trust my hairstylist 100% - and she does things that I would never think of on my own. But hey, there are only so many things I can control in my life, so why not have a little fun with them right?!? You've gotta keep things interesting somehow! :)

Batter Up! Its Spring Training Time Again :)

A few wise words from my good friends at mlb.com ... :)

"The wait is over. A fresh season and a new start begin today, with four Spring Training games.

Time for the beautiful game to move back inside the lines.

Hot Stove, make way for hot smashes. Time to turn away from contract issues, and to turn two. No more getting overly excited about batting practice. Here comes baseball without a cage!

The smell of freshly-mowed grass and of grilled hot dogs, the sounds of bellowing vendors and of cracks of the bat echoing off berms, the sights of managers sitting outside dugouts and pitchers running sprints on the track ... baseball's senses are all about to flood back in.

A fresh prologue to a fresh season gets under way on Wednesday, under the glare of the Grapefruit League sun and under the fronds of the Cactus League.

All but two clubs will be in action on Thursday, when Wednesday's isolated notes will be more like a full-blown fanfare.

Gradually, all of spring's alluring storylines will play out between the lines.

New marquee faces in new places ... Alfonso Soriano with the Cubs, Julio Lugo with the Red Sox, Carlos Lee in Houston, Gary Mathews Jr. in Anaheim, Jason Schmidt in Los Angeles, Bengie Molina and Barry Zito with the Giants, Mike Piazza in Oakland's DH shoes and Braden Looper in St. Louis' rotation.

Old faces back in familiar places ... Randy Johnson with the Diamondbacks, Sammy Sosa with the Rangers, Andy Pettitte in the Bronx, Mike Hampton with the Braves, Mark Prior on a mound.

Indeed, America's pastime is moving back into the present. Unwrap at will."

Now, THAT'S something I can smile about on this last day of February. Play Ball!!

Sick of being Sick

I didn't get a flu shot this year. And I have been sick 4 times. Do I wish I would have had one? Well, I'm not jumping to that conclusion so fast ... I have a friend who got the so-called wonderful flu shot, and he has also been sick 4 times. I told him last week that I was ahead of him, having only been sick myself 3 times this season. Yup, I spoke too soon - and found myself coming down with it again. So now we're even. And I call a truce. I am not typically one that likes to end things in a tie, but in this case, bring it on. I am sick of being sick. I don't even know why I keep getting sick in the first place. I am getting enough sleep, eating healthy, exercising almost every single day, and not super stressed out over anything in particular ... so I am just not quite sure what is at the root of all of this. It is frustrating, but what can you do? Keep drugging yourself up and enjoy the pj time I guess!

It probably didn't help much that I went ice skating on Saturday night - it was a big Institute activity and we thought we would go to support and well let's be honest - to see who was there. When you're single you still have to play the game every so often! Well, it ended up being one of those times that I dread ... it seemed like everyone else was 19 years old, and we all completely felt like the 'old people' who are still single going to these activities. Kind of depressing! At least I had some good friends there with me to laugh about it with :)

Sunday morning my phone woke me up. I answered only to find out that church had been cancelled. What? Of course I was still in bed and hadn't realized that the rain I'd been hearing all night was actually freezing rain, which now had 3-4 inches of snow on top of it, and it was still snowing. So, the roads were horrible, and the parking lot at the church was a mess (uncleared), and church was cancelled. The first thing that came to my mind was (this is horrible) "great, now I don't have to figure out what to wear to church!" But frankly, it couldn't have come on a better day. I really needed the day to worship from home and RELAX, which is something that I am not really good at doing unless I don't have another choice. Well luckily for me "Gone With The Wind" was on tv yesterday (so now I really hope for Heidi's sake that her little Scarlet isn't the drama queen that the original was) and that's right, its one of those classics that I'd never seen before. 4 hours later ... I feel much more educated. Unfortunately that is what my friend Ben was subjected to when he came over - watching it with me coughing in the background!

So yeah, I am officially ready for spring. Or at least for a new month - March can't come soon enough!!

Snow & Ice Storms

Who knew that a seemingly small amount of snow could be so tricky?? Well ... after living in Virginia for four and a half years, I certainly know that it can be! This winter started out very mild - we had record high days in January and a week of 60's and 70's. But, that was too good to be true ... the last couple weeks haven't been above freezing, and with the windchill, its been in the single digits many mornings. I know, I know, I lived in Utah for ten years, but something about the East coast makes the cold just that much colder. It goes right through you because of the humidity in the air. It sure looks pretty on all the trees when it snows though!

The snow itself isn't the tricky part - but its when we have what they call "wintry mix" storms - freezing rain that turns to ice - it gets bad. Parking lots turn into ice skating rinks and if you don't shovel your steps like we didn't yesterday (when we got home from work it was completely frozen solid), this is what it looks like when you open the front door in the morning ...

Hold on to the railings or you'll slide right down the steps like I almost did last night when I was taking the garbage out! Its a losing battle because even if it starts to melt during the day, the minute the sun goes down and the temperature drops, everything re-freezes again.

Its kind of cool to walk on the snow and realize that you have left no pathway behind you since the snow is completely frozen underneath you. Makes all those days at the gym seem like they are paying off (ha ha) ... but then once you realize just how much weight it would take to smash that snow, it puts it all in perspective ... check out these pictures of my car ... if a car doesn't crush the snow underneath it, then I'd say its pretty frozen!! Its kind of hard to tell and looked better in person, but you'll get the idea. And no, I didn't just tilt my camera to take these :)

These are the days that I seriously reconsider my occupation ... not because I don't love my job, but because teachers here get all kinds of days off! There have only been two days of school this week ... and it didn't even snow last night! I guess it is kind of dangerous for buses to be treading the roads, but come on ... too bad all the kids that are out of school can't even play in it since its completely frozen. But at least now we have some snow on the ground ... if its going to be this cold outside, we might as well have something to show for it!!

NYC

I love New York. The the hustle and bustle, the crazy people, the shopping, the food, the theater, the complete reliance on public transportation, and loud noises. Yes, something traumatic usually happens when I head to the Big Apple, but that's all part of the fun and appeal of it.

The first time that I went I ended up being by myself for a few days (which ended up being great, since I got to do and see everything that I wanted to do, without worrying about anyone else's schedule ... am I selfish?!?) since no one ended up being able to get away for a few days when I could. But hey, I had a free apartment in Brooklyn and I wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to go explore a new city by myself. Of course I wasn't going to let friends bailing on a couple days stop me from going to a sold-out Yankees game, watching a Mets game by myself after a long day at Wall Street and the Met, sitting on the sidewalk on top of a subway map (like it was going to protect me from the dirty sidewalk or something?!?) with a bunch of other crazy kids trying to get student rush tickets for "Aida" (that's how many years ago it was!), and figuring it all out on my own. I did meet up with a girl that I'd met in church that Sunday in my cousin's ward in NJ and her friends - and we toured the Empire State Building and went to see Les Miz like we were old friends. I guess that's where the NYC adventures began and I think it was a sense of empowerment to know that I could tackle it on my own.

One of the classics was going to NYC at Christmas with Heidi and Anne - we left at 4 in the morning and drove, and toured around all day - and I mean ALL day - we went to the Rockette's Christmas show at 11:30pm - and slept for a couple hours before getting up to catch our 5:30 train. Well somehow in the mess, we only had two train tickets rather than the three that we needed - so I ran out to buy another one before the train left. Well, when I came back the lights on the train were blinking, and I was running as fast as I could pounding on the windows of the train cars until finally the combination of my pounding and the train's speed ended up pushing me over on the train platform only to find myself at 5:30 in the morning yelling "STOP!!!" at the top of my lungs as the train whisked off into the tunnel, at which point I realized all I had was a credit card with me - because my cell phone and purse were with my friends on the train heading to New Jersey. It turned out ok, Heidi and I still managed to catch our flights back to UT from DC that night - despite my swollen knee and the arthritis-like limp that I enjoyed for a couple days!

Then there was the time that I met some friends there and Nicole and I were driving another friend's car back to DC - well it was a stick shift car and I don't drive them, so Nicole drove it, which meant that we had to come all the way back to my house rather than dropping her off at the airport in Baltimore to catch her flight - and of course we overslept at my house (even though we only slept for an hour). Maybe not so smart to not get any sleep that weekend (I took the Chinatown bus from DC to NYC at 3:30 in the morning on Saturday morning and met them in NYC that day - and then we didn't leave the City until about midnight) - but that's a lesson I seem to have to learn time and time again.

The Chinatown bus is an experience in and of itself, and after riding it with Ashley and fighting our way to secure seats, being forced to watch a Chinese variety show followed by Rambo, I have decided that I value my life too much to ever embark on that journey again. I discovered the Greyhound bus, which doesn't leave and drop off in sketchy Chinatown, but rather at an actual bus station near Union Station in Washington DC (which isn't as scary as you may think), and drops you off at Port Authority - smack dab in the middle of Times Square in NYC, right at a major subway connection. And for $35 round trip, you just can't beat it. Maybe one day I will suck it up and pay for the luxury of riding Amtrak, but I can't bring myself to spend upwards of $200 for a weekend trip when I know that once I turn on my portable dvd player, I lose track of the fact that I am pretty much the only white female in a cramped space with smelly people surrounding me.

I really didn't intend on this becoming a saga about NYC drama ... but rather an update on my most recent trip to New York. Christine lives in Manhattan and I hadn't seen her in a few months, and Kristin & Kurt were going to be there for the weekend, so I decided to go up. Kristin and I were roommates for 2 years at BYU and I haven't seen them since their wedding 3.5 years ago, so this was the perfect opportunity. Perfect except for the fact that it was FREEZING cold there - but that's besides the point (but explains the puffy red coat that I donned for the weekend)!

I took the lovely Greyhound bus again - which is not so bad once you watch part of a movie and sleep for 2.5 hours only to wake up finding yourself going through the Lincoln Tunnel! Not bad. Of course there is the random lady at the bus stop who talks to you for 20 minutes about the ballet in Brooklyn that she just saw and the guy on the bus who tells you that you look like a movie star, but that's part of the charm of NYC.

On Saturday, Christine and I went to the TKTS booth and stood in line to get tickets to a show for the night. Luckily, they had tickets for "Hairspray" available, which was the same show that Kristin & Kurt were going to, so we snatched those right up. We met K&K back at Christine's house and then headed to dinner at Tony's Di Napoli - a fabulous family-style Italian restaurant that Christine chose for us. Yum! Then we went to the Neil Simon theater for our show - which was simply fabulous! "Hairspray" is such a fun show - it just makes you want to get up and dance in your seats (luckily for everyone there, I do not dance). Diana DeGarmo from American Idol was in it, as was Christine's favorite Ashley Parker Angel (from O-Town) and it was just a great entertaining show and a fabulous way to spend a Saturday night!

After the show, we went back to Times Square to go to ESPNZone for dessert. Great friends from college, a million television screens with every possible sporting event on, and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Sunday ... need I say more? Heaven :) We stayed there until they kicked us out because we were having so much fun together and probably subconsciously because we didn't want to go back out in to the cold again! So after bundling up again and heading back onto the streets, we took one last look at Times Square, got our token tourist picture, and parted ways at the Subway station.


So I guess nothing too traumatic happened this time in NYC - I won't go into the drama of the woman at the bus station not accepting my ticket since Amtrak sent it to me in another language and missing the right bus ... I survived and made it home just fine. Thank goodness for Season 2 of The Office on DVD, that's all I have to say!! Maybe I'm starting a new trend of less-traumatic travels - or maybe something big is just bound to happen soon! Only time will tell ... for now, hooray for seeing old friends and renewing friendships across the country :)

Williamsburg & Jamestown

I went to Williamsburg this weekend for a ward weekend getaway. It was a fast trip - we left Friday after work and came back Saturday night - but it is always good to get away!

Friday night we met up with a bunch of people from our ward at Cracker Barrel for dinner (not my choice, but I was just along for the ride). For the record, they had the best biscuits I think I have ever tasted. Then we all went back to the lovely Days Inn (yes we travel in style) ... once we actually made it to the right Days Inn (there were 4 in Williamsburg) we found our room and then made our way to the Conference room for the rest of the night ... where they had all kinds of games. Sometimes I wonder about these single's ward events......goodness!!!

Saturday morning after the "deluxe continental breakfast," most of us went to Jamestown Settlement. Jamestown was the first settlement in the United States to survive. We toured around the historical sites there and saw a few intersting things there ... like this picture. Now I understand that she (yes, it is a she) does this for work ... but when she isn't at work, how does she explain that hair to people?!?

They had some boats there that looked old, but you couldn't tell if they were really authentic or just made to look that way. We found out that one of them had actually sailed from here to England and back though, so they were pretty authentic! They had some women sewing together these straw beds - which were, amazingly enough, pretty comfortable. Kind of like the first rendition of memory foam! We sort of lost track of our tour guide after the boats since we had a little too much fun exploring ... so we kind of wandered around aimlessly through the rest of the village before we left and went to a BBQ joint for lunch with most of our ward.

We spent the afternoon in Colonial Williamsburg. We didn't do the tours, so we just did our own walking tour of the main drag there, which had cute little Colonial homes and shops. Good old Colonial downtown - complete with the bakery shop, the cheese shop, churches, pubs, taverns, pottery shops, the old post office, etc. Of course we had to take our picture with the characters that were dressed in period clothing. It was a gorgeous day - about 60 degrees there - so it was perfect weather to be strolling down the streets.

Oh, and, of course, they had some of the old torture methods out in the open for us to try our hands (and feet) at ...










I can't believe that in the four and a half years that I have lived in Virginia, I have never been to Williamsburg. Its only about two hours away. I guess that's what happens when life gets busy. I'll have to go another time and go to Busch Gardens. And, I hear that it is fabulous at Christmas time! But, this weekend was a good taste of things to come this year - lots of fun travels with friends!

T-A-S-T-E-Y

Well, at least that's how Fergie spells 'tastey' in 'Fergilicious' :)

I'm always on the lookout for new recipes ... so when I got my Wegman's magazine last weekend, I perused through it to figure out what new recipe I wanted to try this week. Since its been freezing here and I'm all about easy meals, I jumped at the chance to try a new crockpot recipe. I really think crockpots are about the best thing invented! Anyway, this sounded interesting to me so I decided to give it a whirl.

Slow-Cooked Pineapple Chili

1 lb Extra Lean Ground Beef
16 oz frozen Diced Green Peppers & Onions (or you can use fresh)
1 1/2 cups Matchstix Carrots (about 5 oz)
1 pkg (8 oz) sliced mushrooms (ewww - I left these out!!)
1 can (28 oz) Italian Classics Crushed Tomatoes with Herbs
2 cans (15.5 oz each) dark kidney beans, drained
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
2 Tbsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef in skillet on MEDIUM, breaking up meat with spoon as it cooks. Drain off excess drippings. Add beef, peppers and onions, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, pineapple, and chili powder to slow cooker. Stir and cover. Cook 4 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on LOW. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Nutrition Info: Each serving (1 cup) contains 220 calories, 25g carbohydrate (3g fiber), 15g protein, 6g fat (3g saturated fat), 30mg cholesterol and 420mg sodium.

So I threw it all together before work yesterday morning, and let the crock pot do the work. Oh how I love coming home from a day at work and dinner is already ready for me!! Quite honestly, I couldn't really taste the pineapple, but in those few bites that I did, it was a great pop of flavor. I think next time I will actually use twice the amount of pineapple (and maybe actually buy the right kind this time, rather than crushing up my ownslices of pineapple)! The only thing I'm not so sure about were the carrots - but they were sliced up so small (like slivered carrots) that after cooking all day, you really couldn't taste them. It looked a little weird to me at first, but carrots are good for you right?!? :) Anyway, this is just a fun (and healthy - until you add chips, sour cream, and cheese to it!) variation on a chili that you can whip up in about 10 minutes (plus the cooking time of course).

A few other of my favorite healthy 'tastey treats' lately include ...

• Jello sugar-free pudding snacks (the new chocolate mint fudge is awesome - it totally solves my chocolate cravings)
• celery with natural peanut butter
• hummus (roasted red pepper is my favorite) with celery or whole-wheat pita bread
• Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop - Kettle Corn flavor
• whole wheat tortilla spread w/1 tsp light cream cheese, a slice of smoked turkey breast sandwich meat, and fresh spinach leaves rolled up into a wrap
• Dannon Light 'n Fit Yogurt mixed with a little bit of Nature's Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola (that's a mouthful! buy it at Costco), 1/2 banana, and some berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, or strawberries)
• cottage cheese mixed with a little bit of ranch dressing dip (the powdered stuff) - it makes a fabulous dip, without the extra calories and fat of sour cream and/or mayo ... eat it with carrots, celery, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, baked pita chips, etc.
• edamame (in the shells - totally hits the spot when you're craving something salty!)

Here's a link to a newsletter that my mom just sent me - "10 things you should add to your grocery list NOW" ...

http://www.hungry-girl.com/fridaypreview.php?newsletterid=1012

Some of my thoughts on this list ...

1. Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges. It is REALLY good!! They sell it at Costco. Sometimes they have the original kind and sometimes they have an herb one - I have tried both and they are great. I've also had it with with wheat thins - the baked kind that come in a bag (thanks Courtney & Kirk!), and it was really good. Its good with crackers (maybe those Wasa crackers) but I also really like it with celery. It stays good forever since its cheese, so you don't really have to worry about it going bad or whatever.

2. Nature Valley Fruit Crisps, Cinnamon Apple. Looks good to me! I'll have to try them. They have good granola bars - my boss' favorite thing is to eat a cinnamon granola bar with an apple - he says it tastes like apple pie.

3. Egg Beaters. Lillywhites don't buy egg beaters...

4. 94% Fat-free popcorn. YES I love popcorn :)

5. FiberOne. hmmm - FiberOne. I have a recipe for bran muffins awhile ago that used that in it - I need to try it sometime.

6. Light Vanilla Soymilk. 8th Continent is my favorite brand of soy milk. I used to drink it but I haven't for a couple years. I don't like it plain, and I don't really eat cereal anymore, but...it is good with Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal though.

7. JELL-O Sugar-Free Pudding Snacks. My favorite treat - JELL-O Pudding Snacks! YUM.

8. Smucker's Sugar-Free Preserves. Haven't tried Smucker's - but I just bought some at Trader Joe's the other day - I don't eat a ton of jelly, but it is good on a whole wheat pita with natural peanut butter...

9. Gerber Fruit Puffs & Veggie Puffs. Gerber fruit & veggie puffs?? Hmm - that's an interesting one that I'll have to try...never would have though about that! Maybe some of you with kids can shed some light on this one!

10. Hellman's Dijonnaise. I will definitely get that - and try mixing it in with white albacore tuna fish for pita sandwiches or tuna and fresh spinach salads- I bet that would be really good - and way fewer calories than low-fat mayo. I bet its also good in wraps.

Thank goodness there are lots of healthy options out there that still taste good!

Swimming ... it looks so much easier on tv!

Swimming. Kids love it. Me? I love the pool, don't get me wrong, but I don't remember the last time that I used it for a workout. Last week I had two swimming lessons. Ok, not actual I am taking a swimming class or anything (though that's not a bad idea...) but I did feel like I was five years old again having to ask a couple great friends to give me some pointers in the pool. Disclaimer: I do know how to swim, but the Cherry Hills Swim Team in St. Louis was a LONG time ago ... and little did I remember that swimming is a dang hard workout! I thought I was in good shape, I mean I go to the gym 5 or 6 times a week, I run, I bike, I lift weights, but put me in a pool and a couple laps later I am out of breath! Give me a kickboard and I have this amazing talent of almost staying stagnant in the pool. I suddenly have a much greater awe (if that is possible) for the summer Olympic swimmers that I have always loved. Ok, let's be honest - really anyone who swims on a regular basis is someone that I respect and admire greatly!

Why the sudden interest in swimming? No, I'm not just looking for ways to spice up my workouts, though it is a nice bonus (except for the unfortunate fact that my gym doesn't have a pool). A few friends and I decided to train for a triathlon in June and I figure if I have to swim a half mile, there isn't any time to waste. As my trainer at the gym said to me last week ... 'have you ever done that before?' Um, nope. 'have you done other races like a half-marathon or something?' Again, nope, but I did do a 10k once (like 10 years ago). 'do you have a bike?' Yet another nope, but I do spinning classes at the gym. 'Wow you're off to a great start aren't you?' ha ha ha ... 'you don't mess around, do you, you're just going for it all at once? I like it!' That's the answer that I wanted ...

So, I'm really hoping that I can figure it all out. This is a whole new world for me but I really enjoy it. Its fun to learn new things, especially ones that involve physical activity. There is something just innately fulfilling in it. I know it'll take many hours of hard work - but it will all be worth it in the end when I can cross that finish line (even if I'm last)! Now I just have to figure out a schedule for myself so I can swim a couple times a week along with everything else I've got going on. Then I'll have to think about getting a bike when the weather gets a little nicer outside. For now, I'll stick with spinning classes at the gym. And, running on a treadmill works for these winter months as well. I'll just have to add some new songs to my ipod so I don't get bored! Any suggestions for some catchy running/workout tunes? I'll need some with all the time I'm planning on spending at the gym in the next few months :)

100 Random Things About Me

I've seen this on so many other blogs that I decided to do it myself. So, without further ado, I give you my 100 Random things.

1. One of my very favorite things in the world is going to the Monuments in DC at night.
2. I can sing "I Am a Child of God" in Japanese.
3. I didn't have a passport until I was 25 years old.
4. I am the oldest of 4 kids - and the only girl.
5. I have never broken a bone.
6. I never had braces.
7. The only time I shared a room was when I was at BYU.
8. I have never mowed a lawn in my life.
9. I have 75 first cousins.
10. I cannot drive a stick shift.
11. I always make wishes at 11:11.
12. I played the violin in 4th and 5th grade.
13. I played the flute in Jr. High, then thought I was too cool for band in high school, so I joined the choir.
14. I was in a community show choir in high school.
15. I love Fall.
16. I was born in Oklahoma.
17. I have lived in 6 states (OK, TX, GA, MO, UT, & VA).
18. I learned to talk while we lived in Texas - and had quite the Texan accent!

19. I went to 2 Keith Urban concerts in one week (yes, the same concert - first in VA and then in Atlantic City).

20. I can (and do) send text messages without ever looking down at my phone.

21. I love to talk. I use anywhere from 2500 - 3500 cell phone minutes a month.

22. I don't have a middle name.
23. I have been to baseball games at 21 Major League ballparks (14 more to go - until they build more).

24. My favorite baseball team is the Atlanta Braves (I travel to watch them play sometimes).

25. I procrastinate just about everything that I possibly can.
26. I know every word to "Ice Ice Baby."
27. I could eat at Cafe Rio every day for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy.
28. I have had 24 roommates since I graduated from high school.
29. I haven't 'had a tv show' in years until last summer when I became addicted to LOST and The Office.
30. I sleep with an electric blanket every night.
31. When I was a little girl I wanted to be a BYU cheerleader 'when I grew up.'
32. I am definitely a night owl.
33. I love living so close to Washington DC and being able to do all the cool things that I can (this pic was at Pres. Bush's Inauguration).

34. I eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast.

35. My gmail inbox is 81% full ... so much for never having to delete anything!

36. I have crazy dreams - and remember them - almost every night. Just ask anyone who's ever lived with me!

37. I do not move when I sleep.

38. I make my bed every morning.

39. I am a control freak.

40. I can't stay mad at someone for more than a day.

41. I was there when Apolo Ohno win the gold medal in short track speed skating at the SLC 2002 Olympics.

42. I have only seen one of the Star Wars movies.
43. I can't whistle.
44. The only cavity I've ever had was in a baby tooth.
45. If I would have been a boy, my name would have been Spencer.
46. I love having friends come to visit - and making them get up early so we can cram in all the good sights (this is the Shenendoah valley when the leaves were changing).

47. I will only write on my calendar with a fine point Sharpie pen.

48. I graduated from BYU with a degree in Business Management, Financial Services emphasis.
49. My grandma's chicken ranch is in the movie "Napoleon Dynamite."

50. I rarely drink anything other than water.

51. I won 2nd place in the Utah State Fair Organ Competition when I was a junior in high school (the competition was at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square - very cool to play that organ).

52. Two years ago I spent Thanksgiving in Ireland.
53. I was rear-ended twice in 4 days.
54. I hate mushrooms.
55. I love jewelry!
56. I LOVE having my hair done (every 7 weeks)!
57. I am not an animal person at all.
58. I hate mice.
59. I have the first 100 Babysitters Club Books, 7 Super Specials, and many Mystery specials.
60. I only have one living grandparent.

61. I have only been pulled over once in my life (and didn't get a ticket).

62. I can't stand to have a dirty kitchen (and have been known to do my roommates dishes just to get them out of my sight).

63. I love chocolate milk from the BYU Creamery.

64. I love to see the temple (and to go there).

65. I bought my first car after I graduated from BYU - a 1998 Honda Accord.

66. My Easter shoes when I was in 4th grade were a size 4 ... and in 5th grade they were a size 7. My feet have pretty much stayed the same size ever since.

67. Because my feet are the same size, my roller skates - which are white with hot pink laces and wheels - still fit me :)

68. I love General Conference.

69. I hate pumpkin pie.

70. I love pumpkin chip muffins.

71. Peanut M&M's are my favorite treat in the world. I

once ate an entire Costco size bag by myself (not in one sitting of course).
72. My favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor is Everything But The...

73. People used to tell me I look like Candace Cameron aka DJ on 'Full House.' (once a security checkpoint person at the Orlando airport checked my driver's license again to make sure I wasn't her ... ok I don't think its THAT close of a resemblance!!)

74. I saw the Beach Boys perform at BYU's Stadium of Fire and John Stamos aka Uncle Jesse was the drummer.

75. I made fake credit cards when I was little (with my mom's help) and put the name 'Lori Laughlin' on them (aka Aunt Becky).

76. I can be obsessive about things.

77. I don't really have a favorite color.

78. I like filling out forms. Maybe its because I like to be organized. Or because I'm just weird.

79. I am 5'3" and my whole family is short (my dad is the tallest at 5'8").

80. I love spending time with my family.

81. I didn't own anything green in my wardrobe until a year ago. Now its everywhere.

82. I named my first Cabbage Patch doll (the one that my mom made for me) "Patchy." How creative am I?!?

83. I love to laugh.

84. Last year I spent Easter in Rome.

85. I was dubbed the 'vestil virgin' by our crazy tour guide Roberto on our Colosseum tour in Italy.

86. I love throwing parties and entertaining.

87. I love decorating my house.

88. It is considered a failure to have fewer than 35 pies at grandma's house for Thanksgiving - each year has to outdo the previous year. Last year's grand total: 42.
89. I am really good at spending money!

90. I also save money.

91. I can't do accents or impersonations.

92. I have kissed the Blarney Stone.

93. I remember every detail about everything - for better or for worse!

94. I love going to BYU Football games.
95. I love cooking and baking and trying new recipes.
96. I love shopping of all kinds.
97. I got two of those red light photo tickets within a week of each other!
98. I love keeping in touch with old friends.
99. I love CHOCOLATE in any way, shape, form, or size!
100. I like to think that I am creative but coming up with this list was mighty tricky!

THE END. :)

'What Not To Wear' - the rest of the story...

Ok - since people keep asking me, I might as well tell what happened with the whole 'What Not to Wear' bit ...

I love the show, tune in when I can, and one night I heard an advertisement for their upcoming 'mall tour.' So, I checked out their website and found out where they were going to be, and discovered that they'd be at the Montgomery Mall in Maryland in just a few weeks. Well, I had no idea what would be going on there but thought it would be a good chance to get some fashion tips from the stylists that surely they'd have there, etc. So when the day arrived, I stopped there on my way home from the temple to check it out. I was talking on my cell phone and therefore not paying attention to what was going on, and went to the center court of the mall, where they had a stage set up, and a fashion stylist was doing a mini show where they'd chosen someone at the mall and given them $100 to go find a new outfit with another stylist. I went straight to the long line that I saw, competely oblivious to what it really was...

It still didn't strike me as odd when the guy in charge of the whole thing had me fill out a form with my contact information, references, and signing a waiver form ... I just figured it was all part of the deal. So and it was almost an hour later that I realized that I wasn't just in the lame find out what clothes are good for your body (which, by the way, was short skirts and halter tops!) but in the 'self nomination' line. At that point I figured I'd already invested the time into it so I may as well go through with it ... I guess I should have clued in when I noticed that everyone around me was wearing hideous clothes and looked like they should have been on the show. All my roommates asked me if I hadn't noticed that I was the only cute one there, wearing normal clothes?!? They also laughed when I told them that the fashion stylist they had running the show on stage came up to me and told me he loved my shoes. Anyway, when it was my turn, I went into the 360 degree mirror, held up the sign with my number on it, and said "hi my name is Shanna Lillywhite and I am nominating myself to be on 'What Not To Wear' because ..." I honestly can't remember what I said but something about being short and wanting to learn how to play that up or something really lame like that - and then I just kind of stood there looking around like an idiot until they opened the door and told me that they were finished taping me.

Well that was all fun and good and we had a few good laughs about it. Until about two or three months later, my roommate Jenny called me and said "guess who I just got a phone call from?" Someone from TLC in New York who was asking questions about you. Then a couple weeks later I got a phone call from them as well and asked if I could come to a 'special taping of a segment within the show' in DC that week. Well of course I wasn't going to pass up that opportunity - a chance to do who knows what and actually meet Stacey & Clinton! So, I went downtown to the Josephine Butler Parks Center mansion (http://www.washingtonparks.net/parkscenter.html) with about 50 other women who didn't know what was going on either. Unfortunately, it was a bunch of hype over what ended up being the beginning of an on-location shoot ... basically they had us there as extras before they announced which one of the women they'd been 'secretly taping for a week' and was chosen for the show - and she happened to be practially right in front of me so I had a couple good face shots on the camera during the first few minutes. The whole thing was incredibly CHEESY but kind of fun to see it all 'live' and in action. Stacey & Clinton were hilarious, just like they are on the show. After the taping was done, we had a 'meet & greet' with Stacey & Clinton (that's where the picture in my earlier post is from).

The taping was last November (2005) and I think the first time the episode aired was in March. I'd kind of forgotten about it until I received a voicemail informing me that I was on tv. That was followed by a few other phone calls with people seeing me, as well as comments at church and work, for months to follow about people seeing the episode and recognizing me - all of them asking me how in the world I ended up on that show. I just have to laugh about the whole thing because it is funny though still embarrassing that just because of my ignorance I ended up there!! So ... all of that to say that if you see someone that you think looks like me on TLC, well, it probably is! Its just too bad that I don't have the new $5,000 wardrobe to prove it :)

Is it really 2007?!?

Hard to believe another year has gone by and I am amazingly not any older! ;)

New Year's Eve was pretty low-key this year since it was Sunday, but we all crashed at Katie's parent's house and rang in the new year with a bunch of friends.

So on the vein of new year's resolutions ... I guess I should say that I am going to update this new blog thing that I've got going on here "regularly" (whatever that means)! As for now though, a few pictures will have to suffice since one of my other goals is to go to bed "early" - which means right now!!