monday surprises

as you know, a couple of my dearest friends are serving their missions right now.

i've learned to deal with the fact that they are no longer a phone call away (more like oceans apart now...) to do something when i am bored or there to talk to when no one else quite understands. and as of late, i  have come to the realization that my friday nights just aren't quite the same without these blokes.

thankfully, letters and emails make the distance more bearable.

it's odd to think that there are tiny pieces of my heart scattered in different continents right now.

"it is a long way off, sir"

"from what jane?"

"from england and from thornfield: and ___"

"well?"

"from you, sir."

-charlottle brontë, jane eyre

the postal service

there are few things that bring out the 7th grade, "i'm in love with nick jonas" scream that i have masked within. actually that's a lie... i get excited by almost anything. but every day when i stroll to the mailbox at 11:35 that inner scream begins welling within my chest and i am then soon let down to see the daily savers coupons and mail for the *girls who used to live here. on occasion, those merry happy joyful occasions, that scream can finally come out and this week i had the opportunity to get a letter. not just your average letter. this one was exceptional. so exceptional that i decided i didn't need to do homework for the rest of the day! ..because i have that luxury, right?!?! pushing off my homework until the next day was well worth celebrating my letter all day. 

if you're mormon, a girl and writing close friends on their missions you will echo my declaration that letters are quite possibly the greatest things in the world! i don't get just letters; i get feelings and memories from far away places from some of my favorite people. so i think that my shrieks that ring through liberty square are completely justifiable when i get mail. donthateonme.

*girl from last year who still has a certain elder writing her: please let him know you no longer live here or i will write him and pretend to be you. WAIT! is this your way of "writing him off"??!?! never giving him your new address?? clever, clever girl. 

the white album

you know paul mccartney played 'hey jude' at the olympic's opening ceremony
and despite me focusing intently on the great sir's performance,
i couldn't help but think of you.
mostly how completely excited you would be throughout the performance.
commenting on how paul was always the golden boy,
but george was still such an undercover cassanova.
how you would have thrown your head back,
let out your infamous chuckle of utter contentment,
and clasped your hands together when he invited the entire crowd to sing "na na na na na na naaaaa!"
probably saying something about the lasting effect their music has on people.
how he must have had everyone in that vast shakespeare stadium singing,
even that nostalgic wisher sitting on a comfy and worn couch in southern idaho.


you have that power that paul has whenever he sings, you know?

january 6th

i should have known everything would have changed when we met at that crosswalk.
it was just too picturesque. too fit to be in a romantic comedy.
all of our roommates chatting away, you and i, the lone wanderers falling behind noise.
laughing at the where i'm from. me gasping at where you were serving your mission.
me forgetting to call you.
you surpassing my expectations, somehow getting my number.
i just knew.

call me sentimental. over-emotional. silly. hopeless.
but i miss it all.

stopping by before curfew to drop off a picture of your good-side,
you laughing mercilessly at the fact it was a picture of the back of your head.
sitting by the fire on that first date.
your face when i told you about my color-association disorder.
you then asking me what color you name was. what color my name was. what color everything was.
calling randomly to see that swedish film that we both loved.
watching it,
i looked at you, and the realization dawned upon me that i could get used to this.
that man who said "she's italian, eh? they're feisty, but man they are downright gorgeous."
you, with a nod of affirmation, saying "yes, they sure are." then smiling at me.
me ranting and raving over swedish brownies,
green with envy that you get to eat them for the next two years.
arguing about which country made the better meatballs.
sitting on the couch, drinking, nay, eating, vanilla malts.
having dance parties with my roommates.
showing each other inventive music videos. each one topping the other.
having ping pong tournaments with the gang.
you laughing at me when i would throw the paddle across the room and declare i was done playing.
those starbursts. only writing on my favorite color,
you remembered everything.
watching youtube videos until you had to leave.
trying to teach me to ice skate. then realizing it would be a whole lot easier to just hold my hand.
being my dancing twin,
no one else can seem to match my elongated moves of fury.
sitting in the dark actually listening to music.
seeing late night movies against your will that you ended up enjoying.
being a better bowler than everyone in the group.
sitting over my shoulder as i played temple run on your ipad,
laughing at me when i shrieked with joy.
making your mom's soup for me after devotional.
leaving me notes by the door, teaching me slowly that texting isn't the only thing that matters.

i'll see you soon enough,
maybe we'll meet in chicago?
you know, because you love that city so dearly.
and because that was the song that was playing when you packed everything up from felt hall.
maybe in your next letter you'll send a ray of that scandinavian sun?

happy thursday! {ed.5}

Let's set the record straight here, folks. I am beginning this post 3 minutes until the clock strikes midnight and Thursday flees to the calendar pages until it comes out to play next week...

I would try and finish this post in these 3, fleeting minutes but you know as well as I that my humorous words cannot be condensed in such a time constraint! I'M SORRY BUT I HAVE NEEDS, OKAY?!?!?!

Goodness people! Now I know how J.LO feels when she requests only blue M&M's in her trailer and they accidentally leave in the green. Gosh, let me and my girl J.LO breath! Our talents need to be upheld, not rushed or trodden! (Or in her case, don't expect her to share her talents with you if you screw up her chocolatley goodness order...)

Thankfully I am not J.LO and will not burst out of the door shouting, "WHEN I ASK FOR BLUE M&M'S I WANT BLU M&M'S! NOT GREEN!" rather, I will write this post simply because I do not have an excuse to not write it... I mean I am home for the summer with not much to do; and that's what this edition of Happy Thursday! is for...

YOU. Yes, you with the eyes. 

YOU should do something that causes you to tap into something you didn't know you were capable of doing. Try something new. Read a book on the New York Times' Best Sellers list. Paint a picture. Sit outside and tan. Turn off your phone. Log out of Facebook (don't just put offline people, actually log out! YOU CAN DO IT!) Listen to music that moves you, music that radiates to your soul. Write in your journal. Help someone. 

As for me, this Thursday started out as just another day.

But I decided I didn't want it to be just another day.....

So I made it an excellent Thursday by doing Temple Baptisms with some ward buddies. My mere words cannot even begin to explain how magical it was.

So here is to days where you refuse to settle to label it as "just another day." Every day is a gift... Treat it like one!

Happy Thursday!