The Girl Version of Bob Marley

So this past weekend was basically one of the best weekends this summer. Remember how I made a super awesome girl friend a couple weeks ago? Well, if you don't remember, her name is Linsey and she was the other girl that came on our spontaneous road trip to California. She and I just clicked from hour one and we've been hanging out a bunch ever since. We were at my sister Mel's house last Thursday and Linsey mentioned that she's always wanted dread locks; several of the people living with Mel have dreads and invited us to come back on Sunday so they could help her do them. So that's what we did!! Here are a couple pictures of our dread lock experience:

The beautiful Linsey :)

All the lovely "dreaders." Mel, Jackie, and me! (Mel has a freaking pool!! Hence my super cute swim suit ;) )

It was so fun learning how to do dreads and to bond with each other over Linsey's beautiful head. I didn't realize we didn't have a picture of the finished product, but suffice it to say, she looked like a really hot girl version of Bob Marley. Everyone in the house contributed either time doing a few dreads or a few trinkets to weave into her hair. It's tradition I guess to get beads and rings and other decorations for your dreads as gifts because then they mean something to you. I really liked that idea; Mel and I gave her a couple of cool dangley earrings to weave in, Jackie gave her a big bead, Michael braided in a pretty green string (that's what Linsey is holding out in the second picture) and a lovely rose stud. 

Talk about a wonderful summer Sunday :)

Saying Yes

When I made the decision to go to California a few weeks ago, the driving force behind my choice was the thought: "I need to say yes more." I want to be more open to true spontaneity and adventure and say yes! Sometimes it's too easy to say "I'd rather sit here in my cozy room and read all day than take a crazy road trip" or "I'd rather sleep in than get up early to hike a mountain and watch the sunrise." I need to get up-and-at-'em and say...

Thursday Thoughts

On a lot of the other blogs I've been reading lately I've noticed they do something like "Special Saturday" or "Terrific Tuesday" that they do regularly every week. So I thought I would give "Thursday Thoughts" a try.

This past week I've been thinking about what it means to be the exception to the rule. I've noticed in talking with guys about dating/girls' typical behavior that I don't do hardly any of the "typical" things that other girls do, which never fails to make me frustrated with the things the girls in the world do to give the rest of us (me!) a bad name. I never play 'the game' of trying to be something I'm not. I'm very open and honest, and I say exactly what I think. It's a vulnerable way to be with people, but I find I have much more meaningful conversations and relationships with people that way. I watch my roommates go through life flirting with every single guy they lay eyes on and they're all giggles and big eyes...and I just shake my head with a very puzzled expression on my face, wondering a) how guys can be attracted to that kind of silly behavior and b) if girls like that know what it feels like to have someone know you for just you, not the frilly ditz you put out for them to see. In all honesty, who am I to judge? I know. But I just can't wrap my mind around it. I've come to the realization that I am a very old soul with not very much room to tolerate unnecessary youthful stupidity. Don't get me wrong, I can be silly and fun, but it's in a way that's entirely sincere and me. I guess I need to find a guy who has an older soul like me.

Other thoughts for the week:
1. I need to go out dancing more in what I have left of the summer. I'm just so wiped out after work! But my goal is to get of my lazy bum and get out there.
2. I think I need a more active job. Sitting at a computer 8 hours a day 5 days a week is not conducive to my emotional/mental stimulation and leaves me exhausted. I never thought I'd say this, but I think going back to school will be healthy for me.
3. I need to re-vamp my scripture study habits/read other church works. I need a little more religion in my everyday life.
4 :

New Poetry

This is the first poem I've written in a while, and it took a long time to fine-tune the details. But I'm really pleased with how it turned out. And I think this picture perfectly embodies the feeling of this poem. I'd love to know what you think!

Our Story

Can I read you a story?

A story I wrote,

Of angel wings and

Peacock feathers and

Blood rose petals

Strewn across the bed.

Of tears like

Coffee dregs—too thick and

Suffocating.

Of powder perfume

Floating

Like sun glitter

In the dusty air.

Will you read me a story?

A story you wrote,

Of washed-away

Sandcastles and

Salty sea air

Scattered in the breeze.

Of torn sails like

Punctured lungs—too thin and

Suffocated.

Of desert dunes, blown

Lifeless

Like moon shadows

In the lonely wind.

Can they read us a story?

A story we wrote,

Of butterfly wings and

White dove feathers and

Baby-soft petals

Pressed into our skin.

Of tears like

Honey drips—too sweet and

Intoxicating.

Of elusive incense

Dancing

Like rain shimmer

In the sun-kissed air.

Monday Blues

So...it's Monday. Which means I had to go back to work after a truly fantastic weekend that went by much too quickly.

The weekend started a little early with the Harry Potter 7 premier, which was the first midnight showing I've ever been to! It was really fun to people watch at the theatre; my favorite dressed up person was a Gilderoy Lockheart who had printed out small pictures of himself, autographed them, and was handing them out to his "adoring fans" while carrying a homemade copy of Magical Me. Now that was effort! It was a pain to sit around for 3 hours in line (which we found out later we really didn't have to do) but I was with a fun friend and, like I said, the people watching was worth it. I wasn't overly impressed with the movie, but it was definitely better than any of the other movies. It was cool to see how grown up everyone was compared to the first movies, and I thought the production of the film was beautiful. I did cry (and laughed a little listening to all the other people in the theatre sniffle and sob. For real.) Most of the emotion came from remembering how I felt reading certain parts of the book, but the Snape scene made me cry all on its own merit. Overall, well done Harry Potter!

The other highlight of my weekend was seeing one of my very best friends in the whole world who happened to be in town seeing another friend and we got to spend some lovely time together. He's someone who knows me inside and out, can see things so clearly, and really understands who I am very deep down. He tells me often that I know and see him just as well. It's so unbelievably nice to be so comfortable and close with someone, to never have to worry that they're judging you or that you might say something wrong or too personal. I love being so well understood.

It's late now at the end of an entirely uninteresting day, and it's back to the grindstone in the morning. But for now, good night and pleasant dreams :)

Don't Cry For Me San Francisco

Ok, I know that's not how the real song goes, but it works. As of this weekend, San Francisco is my new favorite city in the whole world!! (the very small corner of it that I've seen anyway.) Walking around the city with my cold hands wrapped around a blessedly warm cup of the the best hot chocolate I've ever had, laughing with new friends and marveling at each beautifully designed building and all the hole-in-the-wall shops along the street was the best way I could imagine to spend every morning this weekend. I'd love to be doing that for the rest of my life, and am now seriously considering moving to San Francisco to be a full time poet (let's be honest, it would be amazing :)

Why was I in California, you ask? My good friend Noah was asked to be the best man at his best friend's wedding in San Jose, but didn't want to drive alone, so he got 3 awesome people to come with him: Kimber the lady, Linsey the hippie, and Kyle the cowboy (Noah's descriptions, not mine haha). We drove to San Fran on Thursday and stayed with Noah's brother Dustin in his artsy little apartment downtown that he shares with 5 other people. It was so my style: to live with a very diverse group of people in this eclectic apartment with its 60s yellow kitchen complete with deep sink and window looking into the dining/living room. Just perfect. We played Catch Phrase Jenga with his roommates that first night, which is a game they invented to combine Catch Phrase and Jenga, and holy crap was it hilariously fun!

Friday morning we got breakfast at a little bagel place (where aforementioned amazing cup of hot chocolate came from) and went to the beach right next to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was cloudy and the water was FREEZING!!  But the sand was warm and the waves were beautiful. I couldn't believe how green it was!

Then we went to Ghirardelli Square (also very good hot chocolate to be had at this chocolate factory) and the fisherman's wharf. We enjoyed the antics of "the bush man," a homeless guy who hides behind some branches and scares people coming down the sidewalk--probably one of the highlights of the day. My other favorite thing was the Musee Mecanique, a museum of mechanical toys and machines from the early 1900s; things like the big Laughing Lady and player pianos and fortune telling dolls. (visit their site here, be warned it has loud music on it, so turn down/off your speakers) The whole thing is in a kind of ware house and you run the machines with quarters. Linsey and I took pictures in a photo booth, which was something neither of us had ever done, and the pictures were super cute! I could have spent another couple of hours in that place. That night we went out for one of Dustin's roommate's birthday at the best pizza place ever and thoroughly stuffed ourselves full of goodness. It was quite a day.

Saturday was the wedding for Noah, so he was gone all morning and Linsey had signed up for a raw food cooking class at a restaurant she really likes there, so she was gone too. That left Kyle and I to our own devices so we took an electric bus to China town and explored (we'd been there for a second before dinner the night before and wanted to spend some more time there.) I got a lovely red scarf and he got a good knife to use for his landscaping business. Overall a fun morning. We all went to the reception for Noah's friend that night, at which Linsey caught the bouquet and Noah caught the garter, so our little group stole the show! The reception itself was beautiful and soft and even though we didn't know anyone it was really fun. We decided to drive through the night straight from the reception so we wouldn't have to go all the way back to San Fran and so that we wouldn't get in so super late on Sunday, since we all had to get up early for work on Monday. So we piled back into our Lumina and high-tailed it back to Utah! (We were very safe and traded drivers often so people wouldn't get too sleepy and someone was always awake with the driver, for anyone who was concerned ;) ) We made it to American Fork, where the other 3 are from, in time to go to their church, so we literally rolled out of the car and into the church. We were all still in our Sunday clothes from the reception, though we were decidedly disheveled and unshowered, but we were pretty determined to get to church. I got home to Provo to broken air conditioning and a sweltering apartment, but it was good to be home.

I'll put up all the pictures as soon as the others put them up on Facebook and you'll be able to enjoy the full visual awesomeness of our trip :) Hope you made it through this incredibly long post haha.