100% Random Thoughts

This post has no structure, theme, or specific purpose.  I am simply sitting here and typing out thoughts as they come to me.  I do enjoy typing. :)  I think I owe my typing skills to the 1990's back when AOL was a big thing and we had chat rooms and chat windows and what not. I would stay up super late and sneak online after my parents went to bed to chat w/ whoever.  Weird teen phase, I know.  I had random chat friends in other states and we basically were all fans of the 1996 gymnastics team-- haha.  That's what our common interest was.  Yep, that's how cool I was back then... but at least I can type fast.

I was super obsessed with the '96 Olympics.  Obsessed with the logo.  I drew it everywhere:  all over my notebooks, letters, journals, etc.  I saved Wheaties boxes (still unopened), newspaper articles, magazines, and every kind of trinket from an airport gift shop because my dad was good about bringning home stuff he knew I'd like.  I've never done gymnastics but I was obsessed with the women's team and really felt like they were all my friends.  I taped all of the meets on VHS, bought the books, had one signed by Amy Chow at the mall, and went to the Gymnastics Tour when they came to San Jose in CA.  My walls were covered in posters and I had USA warm-up jackets that I wore.  That was a weird phase... and I still have all my stuff and will NOT let my mom throw it away.

I'm very sentimental and save a lot of things.  I have a band-aid box at home ('96 Olympics band-aid box) that holds all kinds of special trinkets:  the piece of gum I was chewing during my first kiss-- yes, it's true; toy fire hydrant my friend gave me after I got in a car accident and crashed into a fire hydrant; $6 my softball coach gave me after I hit a grand slam in a game-- I'll post about that another day; toothpick umbrella from a date at Hardrock Cafe in Baltimore, MD... and other random things.  My mom is definitely not allowed to throw that away.

She's also not allowed to throw away my rocks &  minerals collections.  I spent all of my teenage years going crazy in giftshops and random touristy places-- all for shiny, smooth rocks.  I loved agate slices that I could hold up to the light and discover all kinds of colors shining through that you couldn't see otherwise. I loved Tiger Eye (shimmery orange and brown) and the geodes that had crystals in the center.  Most of my baby-sitting money went to rocks and minerals, and now they all sit nicely in little boxes with organizing comparments in my closet.  Or the basement.  Somewhere in PA!

I also collected dream-catchers, tiger posters, arrowheads, shells, monkey stuffed animals, visors, and picture frames.

Speaking of monkey stuffed animals, I had some really cute smaller ones.  Small enough to throw into a ceiling fan without doing too much damage.  Heather and I would lay on my bedroom floor and toss the little monkeys into the fan.  If you timed it just right, they would go flying across the room and land against the wall with a *thud*.  We'd do this over and over again and just laugh and laugh.  I don't know if our parents knew about this game of ours.  If my mom is reading this now, I guess we'll find out.  :)

I've always been obsessed with mail.  I love getting letters.  I love writing and sending letters.  I sometimes joked that this is why I went on a mission-- so I could get lots of mail.  (Not really the reason why I went on a mission, but getting mail was a huge bonus!)  For my Birthday while I was on my mission, my mom must've encouraged every person in Pennsylvania to send me a letter.  The mail came POURING in weeks before my Birthday, and I saved every piece of mail up until my actual Birthday.  It was AMAZING!!!  My poor companion wanted to rip my head off because we'd go check the mailbox each day, and several letters would come spilling out, all with my name on it. One day there were like 10 letters all smashed in there for me. I got at least 7 packages as well.  Needless to say-- that was one of the coolest Birthdays EVER!!!  I still love mail.  :) 

Halloween stresses me out.  The whole costume thing.  It's stressful.  It's like you have to go ALL OUT or it's no use because people will just look at you weird and say, "What are YOU supposed to be?" All snotty like.  And then you just want to punch them and you feel embarrassed for even trying.  Last year was the only year I felt somewhat cool because I constructed a cool Superman/woman outfit from my findings at Savers and it turned out quite well.  I could soar around with my cape and feel cool.  I don't have any great ideas for this year.  I LOVE OCTOBER.  But Halloween stresses me out.

As for Thanksgiving... it's all about the rolls and mashed potatoes.  I could skip everything else.  And I love the football.  Last year I did a 5K Thanksgiving morning and it was the coldest weather I've ever run in.  Absolutely frigid and miserable... but a fun memory!

I'm proud of myself for writing my paper for my Master's program 2 days before it was due!  This is very un-like me.  But it just seemed like I should get it done, and that is great because then I had an extra day to edit and try to finalize all the APA formatting stuff that drives me nuts.  Really, who even cares about that stuff?  Well apparently the APA people care because they got their way all approved and official for college people to use.  Hopefully it will become more natural for me to follow in a couple months, but for now it's a headache.  First official day of school is Wednesday, September 28th!

Speaking of writing my paper 2 days early, it was meant to be, because Heather had her little baby today and I'm spending the night at her house with Cam!  The timing couldn't have been more perfect. :)  So yes, little baby Alexia has finally arrived, complete with reddish blond hair and a cute little face.  We predict she has Jake's chin, and that's all we can see for now.  You can never tell with babies.  Some of the CUTEST kids I know these days (ahem, Cam and Ariana) were kind of funny-looking babies, so I refuse to judge a baby in their infant months. :)  But I'm glad baby "Lexi" has arrived, and hopefully Heather can start to feel a little more normal and comfortable again! 

No boy updates.  It's just that phase in the dating cycle right now.  Absolutely nothing to report. :)

I love watching Football so much.  Obviously I love BYU as far as college goes.  But in NFL football I go for the Eagles (PA pride) and the Chargers (my friend's husband is Eric Weddle, who used to play for the U, and I love the kid).  Anyway,  I also have teams I go against 100%.  This means if I turn on the TV and they're playing, I want them to lose, regardless of who they're playing.  So my top losing teams are the Steelers, Cowboys, and Raiders.  I never want any good to come their way.  And I'm just that mean, so there.  If I ever have a husband, I hope he likes football... because he'll be a very lucky man to have a wife who likes to watch football as much as a man does.

I wear 4 rings.  One ring I got from my friend in 1996 and I've worn it every day of my life since.  Another ring is from a friend in 1999 and I've worn it every day since.  Another ring I got at the beach in NJ and have worn it probably for 6 years.  The 4th ring was a gift from a friend last year and I wear it happily still. :)  I love my rings and I feel naked without them.  P.S.  No, none of these rings are from boys... just best friends at different times in my life. 

The best gift a boy ever gave me was... 1) a McDonald's breakfast sack left on the porch with a white rose, and a note that said, "I wanted to make you breakfast but this is the best I could do"...  2) I'm pretty sure a guy "heart attacked" my room once, only it was with pictures of roses and rose petals, and he wrote some kind of note that had to do with Jack and "Rose" from Titanic, since that movie was big back then... 3) a guy decorated a jar and labeled it "snowboarding fund" to save up my coins because we wanted to go snowboarding together.  Haha, come to think of it, maybe all of these sound lame.  The funny thing is all of these gifts and guys were from over 7 years ago.  Yikes!  I really need to get some new stories and memories.

I'm surprised if you're still reading this.  Good for you.  You're a true follower.

As much as I'd love to continue writing this into the wee hours of the morning... I'll end it now.  Thanks for swimming around in my thoughts tonight!