oh call my name; you know my name (and in your love everything will change)

Today during church I came up with a new calling just perfect for singles wards. I was surveying some of the gentlemen in my ward who just have trouble dating. I think it was the talks during sacrament meeting that brought the idea to mind, then during Sunday School I wrote it down.

(During combined RS/EQ we had an Institute teacher come give a lesson on marriage, which would've been an awesome coincidence if I hadn't known for a while that would be the topic, since I'm all in-the-know now and everything.)

Here it is.

Suggested Calling:

Relationship Status Coordinator(s)

Responsibilities:

• Keep tabs on ward members and their romances.
• Organize and update lists of single sisters (and brethren?) for the EQ (and RS?) to use in their dating endeavors.
• Suggest girls for each brother to ask out (not setting up or matchmaking, necessarily, just making names available). Again, if girls want to know what brethren are available, their names can also be suggested.
  
• Encourage regular, casual dating

*Note: A Stake Coordinator may be useful in those areas where most YSAs know people outside the ward and want to branch out, or if dating within the ward has lost its luster.


Please let this be a real calling somewhere. If not, maybe I'll bring this up to the bishop in ward council next week. Maybe I can supplement my current calling with this. It's all about loving and caring for the girls, right?

Title text: "Nothing Without You" ~ Vienna Teng

I can trace all my books [April 2011]

I read hardly anything this month. It's not that I was particularly busy (though I might have been), it's that it was a really slow library month. Also there was that book that I spent a couple days reading, but didn't have the heart to finish when, halfway through, I figured out the twist. (Actually that happened more than once this month, but at least one of the times I kept reading to make sure I was right.)

So, 12 books. Here's the rundown:

April
58. Entwined by Heather Dixon
59. Peasant Queen by Cheri Chelsey
60. Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson
61. Treason at Lisson Grove by Anne Perry
62. Red Glove by Holly Black
63. Murder Afloat by Jane Leslie Conley
64. Virals by Kathy Reichs
65. No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko
66. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

67. Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke

68. My Unfair Godmother by Janette Rallison
69. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett


I finally read less! This is the absolute least number of books I've read in over a year. Yay me?

half-smiles as if to say

I'll get to the booklist in a bit, but first I have a joke to tell. I hope the set-up required doesn't make it not funny any more.

So Kyra and Kevin had been at a party where they played the ever-popular game, "In the manner of the Adverb."
Kyra: I'd never seen Kevin wash his hair suavely before.
Leslie: I prefer Equate.*
Everyone else: *silence*
Leslie: Sorry, that was kind of an off-brand joke.
Everyone else: *still silence*
Leslie: Well, I think it's hilarious.

*I didn't actually say that, but it was close. Last night, as I was still considering the joke hilarious, I thought of so many better lines I could say (that don't make much sense, but jokes in our family often don't). "I'd Equate that with shampooing his hair." "Wouldn't you rather he Equate that than Suave it?" Oh goodness. Such fun.

Title text: "Whatever You Want"

marveling at the bounty our days contain

Last night I was lying in bed, moving toward sleep, and thought about how I can better get to know some of my friends. I thought it might help me understand their personalities to ask, "What would your ideal day be?" If it would mostly include reading, or skiing, or catching up on all their TV, that would help me get to know them.

And then I started thinking, "What would my ideal day be?" And as I started thinking about it, I realized that I was imagining what my ideal day would be like tomorrow. (Well, today. And, actually, yesterday, since I'm back-dating this.)

So, here's what my ideal day today would've been:
I awaken early, without an alarm, refreshed and ready to start the day. I check my email and have a message from an old friend, indicating a desire to catch up -- in word, in conversation, and in person. I think it would be fun to go see a movie (I have one in mind), and then get ice cream or something. We make plans. I eat a delicious breakfast, with a brand-new book that I've been wanting to read for a long time, but that I can easily put down so I am motivated to do an excellent job cleaning, perhaps even getting some things done that have been on my to-do list for months, like cleaning out my closet or organizing books. I don't waste an excessive amount of time on the computer. I have an awesome time catching up with my friend. I look really cute and comfortable and fashionable, and my hair falls perfectly without my trying. When I get home, I play with my siblings, who all adore me and don't have an unkind word to say. Dinner is also excellent. When I'm settling in to read that great book, the doorbell rings for me. It's the boy I like, surprising me with flowers! Awww! (I'm so grateful my hair looks nice!) I have an excellent evening, probably with him or maybe with some more friends, and I go to bed -- not too late, and fall gently asleep.

That just seems like a nice day for yesterday to have been. There are some obvious flaws (I'm not looking forward to any books, and the "boy I like" is currently in flux) but other than that, awesome day.

Here's how my day actually went!
+No emails from any friends, but I checked up on them anyway. Thanks, Facebook!
+Breakfast was delicious. So was lunch and dinner. I decided to pick up a book I got for Christmas a few years ago and fought against reading...until now. It's pretty good, except for I figured out the twist and I almost don't want to finish it now.
+I did an awesome job cleaning. I was about to vacuum my room when my mom came in and took away all my dishes, so there was actually room in my closet for me to put the corner of doom! And we cleaned off my desk. And it just looks pretty nice. Yay for deep-cleaning! (Not yay so much for losing my dishes, but I wasn't using them and Kaylie will.)
+I wasted slightly more time on the computer than I'd hoped to. I often vacillate between reading my book and spending time on the computer, so I don't feel like I'm overloading on either of them.
+I did have a chat with an old friend, which was enjoyable. Even if I did let my sarcasm get the best of me (not that anyone can tell, with text).
+I was able to help my sister Jennie get the drawstring out of her dress slip. I tried many things and finally succeeded with an unbent paper clip with tape on the end. I am indeed pleased with my accomplishment.
+The boy I like didn't come to the door and bring me flowers, but the boy Jennie likes (or, the boy that asked Jennie to prom, at least) came to the door and brought her flowers! Then whisked her away in a limo. (Can't win 'em all.)
+I played with Spencer a bit, which was nice. And none of my siblings really had any unkind words for me, which was a really great thing.
+I didn't stay up too late, and was able to fall quite gently asleep (whatever that means).

All in all, not necessarily ideal, but really good. I was impressed with how much difference my attitude made. I woke up saying, "I'll make this day as good as I can," and it ended up being almost close to my ideal! (Which, looking over it, is kind of a low-key ideal, but I'm not into "And then I win the lottery.")

Yay!

"In Another Life"

in sand and thorns I'm walking forth

So there I was, sitting on a rock. Something whooshed over my head. I peered across the canyon; it was a crow. I looked down. A caterpillar!

It didn't take long to decide that this was a secret agent killer caterpillar, making its wiggly way toward me to sink its teeth into my flesh and poison me, laughing maniacally as I writhed and died. When the caterpillar got to my rock I scooted down to another rock and turned away. If I was going to be assassinated, I didn't want to see it coming. After a few seconds, I checked on it. It had lost interest in its assignment and wandered the other direction. Telling myself it was lulling me into a sense of false security, I pretended to ignore the caterpillar until it wriggled out of sight.

Then I got bored, climbed up the rocks, and made myself a sandwich.

Yep, I got to do some quiet thinking by myself while my family did hikes I couldn't do. I found I was usually good to just sit for about half an hour, then I had to move around, take off my shoes, look at caterpillars, drink water...but I was grateful enough that I wasn't trying to do things I can't do. Even though it seemed long to wait in the middle of the desert with no one around.

And I did do some hikes! I was able to squeeze through in Spooky Gulch, and the 6-mile round trip Calf Creek trail was survivable. The main problem with the latter is that I made friends with a cactus. On accident I let one of the big spines get me (it didn't hurt, really) and that caused a bunch of little spines to fall down my sock. Picking spines out of my foot slowed us down a lot, but better out than in!

As usual, it wasn't a real family road trip until I tossed my cookies (Chips Deluxe Soft 'n' Chewy), but at least I waited until we got to the hotel. Also we saw the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. Talk about exciting!

I'm sure I'll be able to get the sand out of my shoes someday.

"Augustine"

I can trace all my books [March 2011]

Here is the list of books I read this month. As we are now a quarter through the year (hooray!) it is also stats time! See below.

March
40. Cast in Silence by Michelle Sagara

41. Courting Miss Lancaster by Eden Smith

42. Cast in Chaos by Michelle Sagara

43. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

44. Key Lime Pie by Josi S. Kilpack

45. I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison

46. The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal

47. Close to Famous by Joan Bauer

48. All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot
49. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Book 1: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
50. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Book 2: The Hidden Gallery by MaryRose Wood
51. Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
52. Around the World in 100 Days by Gary Blackwood
53. A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
54. Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell

55. A Time to Die by Jeffrey S. Savage

56. The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley

57. Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs

For the first quarter of the year (Jan-Mar), the results:

Total number of books: 57
Number of First-time Reads: 55
Number of Rereads: 2
Average number of books per month: 19
Number of nonfiction books: 2
Number of fiction books: 55

Something most impressive about these numbers is the small number of rereads. In fact, it's only been in the last week that I have reread any books at all, and they were books that I have only read once in the past. I picked up A Conspiracy of Kings on my birthday, because I got it last year for my birthday and hadn't read it since. Then my mom got Outlaws of Sherwood from the library, and I don't remember reading that since like eighth grade (or maybe sixth) so I picked it up again too! I really enjoyed my trend of only reading new books all the way through. Enjoyed it thoroughly indeed.

Also, with having read 2 nonfiction books already this year, I've smashed last year's record of 1. Go me!

title text: "Nothing Without You"

she carries the act so convincingly

A few weeks ago I got a text from my friend, saying that he had a friend in my Institute class. "He says you're really outspoken," he said.

"What??!" I thought. "I've never even made a comment in that class!"

But then I figured it out. I sit next to a girl with short hair, who is tall and slim, and she's always saying stuff. I couldn't believe I was mistaken for her, but I suppose that is the impression this guy was under.

I really like this girl; I'd say we're seat friends. But I'm still embarrassed when she opens her mouth, not because her comments are inappropriate (usually she has good insights) but that this mysterious person in my class might think that was me. I don't have that much to say, and if I did, I would raise my hand first.

All in all, my reaction is strange. What does it matter if someone I've never met, and probably won't, thinks that I'm outspoken and have that kind of good fashion sense? If anything, I should be mildly pleased at this case of mistaken identity. I'm not. I suppose I'd rather make my own impression, even though in that class the impression wouldn't really be there, considering how quietly I sit.

Today the other girl was asked to give the closing prayer. I hope that guy took note of her name and figures it out soon, so I don't have to feel embarrassed anymore.

"The Tower"

(Oh, guys. I've tried all month to write a new post, but I always forgot what I wanted to say, or it didn't come out right, or I never had time. So this is what you get.)

I can trace all my books [February 2011]

I forgot to post yesterday. My sincere apologies. I even changed my calendar yesterday (which, if you were aware of my calendar-using habits, would be impressive) and forgot that the first of a month meant I make a post. But give me a break. It's only the thirteenth time I've done this.

Here's the list:

February
25. Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
26. Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier
27. The Rise of Renegade X by C.M. Campbell
28. Threads and Flames by Esther Friesner
29. The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman
30. Once by Morris Gleitzman
31. Alcatraz versus the Shattered Lens by Brandon Sanderson
32. The Running Dream by Wendelin van Draanen
33. Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry
34. Drive by Daniel H. Pink
35. Cast in Courtlight by Michelle Sagara
36. Cast in Secret by Michelle Sagara
37. Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree by Nancy Atherton
38. Cast in Fury by Michelle Sagara
39. Death of a Chimney Sweep by M.C. Beaton


It got kind of hard near the end of the month to figure out where I was on book-reading. I ended up picking up a couple of old favorites for a comfort re-read, but didn't read them all the way through, but since I did that for a couple days it was all confusing. Still, 15 books ain't too shabby! Not as many as last month, but I did have other things to do this month. (And by "this month" I mean February.)

"Nothing Without You"

in the wild, wild wailing of wind

Yesterday I had the opportunity to drive down to Layton for a Sterling Scholar thing. As I left the wind was just picking up and driving along the highway my little car was quite buffeted.*

When I wasn't busy thinking about how careful I needed to be, or checking to see if my knuckles were white (they were, even though I make a point to never ~grip the steering wheel), I was reminded of the last time I drove through high winds.

It was on the freeway, heading north from Provo. I'm fairly certain the date was March 30, 2009. I remember what I was wearing -- my red shirt from the Gap** and my new red hat -- and the sun so bright on the white roads and the snow that was blowing everywhere. It was my first day of radiation, and the first day I drove to the hospital by myself. It took a lot less time than I thought it would, even with the wind freaking me out. My perception of how long it took to get to the hospital was skewed, because either I'd always come from the north or because my grandparents had driven me previously, and they were slow and took circuitous routes.

They were really nice at the radiation place (I seem to remember they complimented me on how cute I was, something they did every day [unless I was in the middle of chemo]).

I also seem to remember that the trip back down to my apartment took even less time than the trip up; the wind had lessened, and I knew exactly where I was going.

So you see, I do have some memories of that time. And especially as it was my first day, there's nothing unpleasant about it!

This morning as I was driving to work I was reminded of another time I drove in high winds, down to Bountiful for my friend Sarah's reception. I had planned to stay at my friend Marie's house for the night and head down to BYU the next morning, but my parents wanted to take me or something, so I drove back up. Then we were snowed in for the next day and a half. Kind of like the high winds heralded a snowstorm last night.***

I'm just glad I always drove safely.

"Blue Caravan" ~ Vienna Teng

*That means it browsed a lot of tables laden with food.

**This is the shirt that I was so fond of that when I picked it up the next year I'd left half my hair on it because I wore it so often/on the days when I was losing a lot of hair.

***It took me so long to scrape my car this morning I had to take off my gloves! (Because my hands were that cold.)

I can trace all my books [January 2011]

[I've decided that instead of using increasingly convoluted adaptations of lyrics, I'll just use brackets. It works.]

I resolved this year to read a little less. 200 books is impressive, but it also points to a lot of time I could be spending doing something else.

Well, in the month of January I read an unprecedented number of books -- quite beyond my high last year. Impressively, they were all first-time reads. Here's the list:

January
1. The Snow Queen by Mercedes Lackey
2. Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
3. Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
4. Intrigues by Mercedes Lackey
5. Palace Beautiful by Sarah Deford Williams
6. The Healing Spell by Kimberley Griffiths Little
7. Schooled by Gordan Korman
8. The Coming of the Dragon by Rebecca Barnhouse

9. Lemon Tart by Josi S. Kilpack

10. Clockwork 3 by Matthew J. Kirby

11. Star of the Morning by Lynn Kurland

12. Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

13. The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry
14. Forbidden Sea by Sheila A. Neilson

15. Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier

16. The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball

17. English Trifle by Josi S. Kilpack

18. The Mage's Daughter by Lynn Kurland
19. Princess of the Sword by Lynn Kurland
20. Coronets and Steel by Sherwood Smith

21. The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

22. Pillage by Obert Skye

23. Matched by Ally Condie
24. Choke by Obert Skye

So maybe next month I'll read less. ;)