IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS...

...only on April 30th I'm just really not in the mood:

THE ROYAL WEDDING

I am an absolute sucker for a good wedding so of course I was well prepared to watch this one--or at least well prepared to watch a replay of this one (4 AM is just a wee bit too early for me). And I must say it did not disappoint in the least.

Kate was beautiful:

Pippa nearly stole the show (in a very classy understated way). I imagine we will be seeing wedding trends mirroring both Kate's and Pippa's dresses:

 

Beatrice (on the right) somehow NEARLY made this work:

Sadly Eugenie (on the left) was also a bit off.

Of course there were a few more rather sad mistakes such as this tent from Victoria Beckham who apparently thought she was attending a funeral in October rather than a Royal Wedding in the Spring (I'm told it was actually navy blue but it sure didn't come across like that on TV):

And Harry's on-again (?) girlfriend Chelsy Davy who somehow just looks a bit trampy (and with all the amazing hats in the world to choose from, why on earth did she pick that one):

All in all, I'd call it lots of fun and a smashing success.

DON'T CALL

So you thought last week's Real Salt Lake Soccer game was big? Well tonight's is even bigger.

And just so that you don't feel that I have entirely wasted your time by writing this post, check out this really cool looking exhibit coming soon to the BYU Museum of Art:

Yep, that sculpture is made out of books! The exhibit is call "Matter of Words" and is opening at the Museum next month.

And just in case I haven't had a chance to tell you in person, last Saturday's Doctor Who was brilliant in every possible way.

picture: here

more info: here

A NEW ADDITION TO THE FAMILY

I've got a new 9-pound nephew:



It is amazing to me how one day he is just some unknown floating around in my sister's belly and the next day, without even seeing him, I am filled with so much love for him it would hurt if it were possible for this kind of love to hurt.

AN EASTER MESSAGE

A BRITISH COUNTDOWN: 2 DAYS

It has been on my calendar for a month now. People are stopping me at church to share in my enthusiasm. And I've just found out there are recipes. RECIPES! No, I haven't confused my dates. I am fully aware that Wills and Kate are not getting married in two days. What I am talking about here is Doctor Who. He's back and I can hardly wait.

Those fantastic scenes were shot in my very own state of Utah. And I didn't even head out to the shoot to do some stalking. It is called restraint, my friends, an immense amount of restraint.

REALLY, REALLY BIG GAME

See, even our worstest enemies (I refrained from booing during a few particular bits) think so and are wishing us luck:

And please don't even think of trying to contact me tonight during the game.

IDEAS IN THE SHOWER

Okay, so I don't usually get ideas in the shower (I tried to pay attention today to what it is I do think about in the shower and it could mostly be summed by a list of what I'm doing and need to do next--as in what body part I'm cleaning and what body part I'm cleaning next--I do love a list) however I'm strongly considering having some (perhaps if I increased my shower time) so I could write them down here:

found here
spotted here

Dreaming of Moving

You know how life sometimes kind of gets in a bit of a rut? And people ask you what is going on and you literally can't think of a single thing to tell them--much less a single interesting thing? Well, of late, that has been me. Sure, I could have told you about how I am drinking 10 cups of water a day (well up from my 2 or so of 2 months ago). Or I could tell you how I've finally figured out how to get 2 fruits and 3 veggies into my diet on a regular basis--really shouldn't have been as hard as it was. Rather than dwell on these less than interesting things, though, I thought I would share a bit of a crush I have on this address stamp:

I am absolutely smitten. All I really need before I get one is a great address!

Found here.

Spotted here.

Remains of a Snowman

Could this possibly mean the actual arrival of Spring?

Reporting Day: March

I really don't feel like reporting in which is probably a really good indication of my need to report in--not that I wasn't reasonably good.

Year-long Goals:

1. Read 12 Nonfiction books: Read "How We Fight" by Dominic Tierney--a really interesting look at how we (Americans) fight different types of wars--why we accept thousands of casualties in a war against a state but relatively few against insurgents, etc. This puts me at 3 for the year. Right on track!

2. Read 2008-2010 to-read list: When I last reported I had finished the 2008 to-read list and was moving through the 2009 to-read list (I believe I had 2 books left on this list). Since then I started and stopped a nearly unreadable book and have checked out the final book on my 2009 list--all 900 pages of that book are still sitting on my bookshelf. (This was, of course, in addition to reading all the books not on my 2009 list) Will be quite happy if I get 2009 completed by the end of this month.

3. Read the New Testament: I'm into John now and right on track.

4. Attend the Temple twice a month: I absolutely didn't think I was going to get this one finished this month due to some very poor planning but then on the very last day of the month my afternoon completely opened up and I was able to make that second trip to the temple!

5. Go someplace new: Still haven't thought about this one much.

6. Write 12 thank you cards: Oh, I am bad!

Monthly Goals:

1. Drink 6 cups of water daily: I think I missed 2 days this month.

2. Eat 2 fruits daily: I think I missed 3 days this month--but I was feeling ill so eating wasn't a priority.

3. Eat 3 veggies daily: Same as the fruits. Also I would just like it noted here how, despite the missed days, hard I worked on this particular goal--as in there were a number of days that I was eating spinach as a bedtime snack. For the most part, though, I'm getting pretty good about getting my veggies in during normal working hours.

4. Exercise 30 minutes 3 times a week: I rocked this one!

And the end result: better looking skin, glossier hair, and I'm down 5 pounds. Not only that, four days into the new month and healthy eating is still a habit (I know, it is only 4 days but still...).

Goals for April:

May was going to be my clean/declutter/organize month but I've been bitten by the Spring cleaning bug so I thought I'd move this one up a month:

1. Go though entire wardrobe and try everything on and then get rid of everything that doesn't fit, make me happy, or perhaps has holes.

2. Organize closet and dresser.

3. Organize bookshelves--including catch-all boxes on bookshelves.

4. Clean walls, doors, baseboards, windows, blinds, and carpet of bedroom.

5. Organize pantry.

6. Flip mattress and wash pillows.

It Was So Sweet While It Lasted

I didn't blog last week because I was caught up in the build up of BYU basketball and figured you didn't want to be reading about this particular obsession and then I didn't blog because they lost and I was practically in mourning--although, with the exception of that horrible statement, "if only..." that continues to run through my mind, I really was pretty much recovered by Saturday night. Then this week I just haven't had/haven't made the time to sit and blog--very sad for me because I also haven't had the chance to read my favorite blogs.

I'm back now and, while you still may not want to read about my BYU obsession, I just can't completely move on without at least one more Jimmer post to say this season was just so much fun and to apologize for the few times I did cringe when you shot it from way out there--lesson learned, you can shoot it from there. So thanks Jimmer and best of luck to you (and Emery too).

And to all the haters that are jumping all over themselves of late, have you nothing better to do than to make personal attacks against a fine young man, with a great work ethic, who has been a whole lot of fun to watch, and never made any personal statements of grandeur? Here's hoping that some day in the near future you find yourselves Jimmered.

And now on to baseball (Yankees) and soccer (Real Salt Lake).