Tuesday, February 22, 2011

How Do I Feel?

My kitchen is spotless.

I'm in my bed.

Watching Sleepless in Seattle.

Eating a big ol' pb&j with milk.

Want to take a gander on how I'm feeling tonight? 

Monday, February 21, 2011

When We're Old

I hope we're like this.








Because these kind of people are my favorite.

Let us stay happy and smiling and laughing and in love.
Forever. 
23 years ago today (and by today I mean yesterday, when I started this post), two people attended a dance in the Fieldhouse at Utah State.
As they were getting ready that night, they had no idea how much things were about to change.

A few months went by...

And now see what they've become... (now meaning 3 years ago, because apparently we don't take pictures together...)


They are incredible people and I hope I can be half of what they are someday.
They have been through a whole lot, and though it's been hard and scary at times, they've handled it well.
They inspire me and give me hope. 

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Time After Time

It's interesting what time makes you realize.
You grow, learn, and understand so much over time.
Things you didn't get at one point become clear.
You figure out a little bit more of who you are.

A year ago, I was getting ready run for a student government position here at Utah State.
I gave it my all, and I really wanted it.
I spent a ton of time and a ton of money trying to make that happen.
In the end, I didn't win.

At that point, I was devastated.
I had felt so good about running. I had prayed about it, and thought really hard about it.
I knew it was what I needed to do.
If that was the case, why didn't I come out ahead?

Turns out Heavenly Father really does know what he's doing.
Weird, eh?

Here I am, a year later, and I'm as happy as ever.

I honestly think I would have been miserable if I had won the election and had spent this year in office.
I don't do drama well, and there was a lot of that this year.
I stayed involved with ASUSU for awhile, but by October I pretty much lost interest.

It just wasn't ME anymore.

Enter, the Utah Statesman.

Ok, that wasn't when it entered into my life per se,
I've been there since the fall of 2009, but all of a sudden I really found my place.
I changed over to writing for the sports section and that was the greatest thing of my life.
It just fits.

A year ago, I thought I was failing.
Nothing was going the way it needed to.
Scratch that.
The way I thought it needed to.

Crazy how things work out, isn't it?

Monday, February 14, 2011

A Valentine's Letter

Oh hey there hot stuff...

Since you're clearly not in my life yet, this will have to do as far as my V-Day celebrations go...

I've mentioned it before, but really, I don't want to celebrate Valentine's... Just pick another day and surprise me, and we'll celebrate then! I think it's stupid to have an official day of love, when, shouldn't it just be a constant thing? Maybe that's just me...

Thinking about you is a weird thing.
Do I know you already?
Are we friends who just aren't aware of the future we'll have?
Or are you someone I'm yet to meet?
Do you live here in Logan? Or somewhere else in the world?

This is the song on my mind today...


Love, Me

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Terrific Tuesday

Today was all about the alliteration apparently...

Why was today wonderful?



temple
click HERE if you don't know what that is!



tacos




taxes
they're done! and I did them all by myself! 

Friday, February 4, 2011

Challenge Accepted




1922: The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon


1923: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

1924: The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes

1925: Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger

1926: Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman

1927: Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James

1928: Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji

1929: The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly

1930: Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

1931: The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth

1932: Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer

1933: Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis

1934: Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs

1935: Dobry by Monica Shannon

1936: Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

1937: Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer

1938: The White Stag by Kate Seredy

1939: Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

1940: Daniel Boone by James Daugherty

1941: Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

1942: The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds

1943: Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray

1944: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

1945: Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson

1946: Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski

1947: Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey

1948: The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois

1949: King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry

1950: The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli

1951: Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates

1952: Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

1953: Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark



1954: ...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgol





19







55: The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong











1956: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham



1957: Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen



1958: Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith



1959: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare



1960: Onion John by Joseph Krumgol



1961: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell



1962: The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare



1963: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle



1964: It's Like This, Cat by Emily Neville



1965: Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska



1966: I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino



1967: Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt



1968: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg



1969: The High King by Lloyd Alexander



1970: Sounder by William H. Armstrong



1971: Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars



1972: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien



1973: Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George




1974: The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox




1975: M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton



1976: The Grey King by Susan Cooper



1977: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor



1978: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson



1979: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin



1980: A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-1832 by Joan W. Blos



1981: Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson



1982: A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard



1983: Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt



1984: Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary



1985: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley



1986: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan



1987: The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman



1988: Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman



1989: Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman



1990: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry



1991: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli



1992: Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor



1993: Missing May by Cynthia Rylant



1994: The Giver by Lois Lowry



1995: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech



1996: The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman



1997: The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg



1998: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse



1999: Holes by Louis Sachar



2000: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

2001: A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck



2002: A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park



2003: Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi



2004: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo



2005: Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

2006: Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins



2007: The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron



2008: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz



2009: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman



2010: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

2011: Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
2012: Dead End in Norvelt


This is a list.
A list of all the books that have been awarded a Newbery Medal.
I'm going to read them all.
Yep. Sure am.
I figure that since I like reading kids/young adult books more than others, there's a much higher chance of me actually reading all of them rather than some of the other many lists of books out there.
The ones in purple are ones I've already read, many of them multiple times, and I'm not against re-reading them. Because I love them all.
I'll probably hit some of the Newbery Honors as well. Like Turtle in Paradise that won one this year. It's in the mail to be right now as part of today's Barnes & Noble deal on Groupon. 

I'm super excited about this challenge to myself. 
I love reading these kind of books because they're so well-written, but don't require a lot of extra thought, time, and effort.
Wish me luck, and feel free to join me!