Yummy New Restaurant

So tonight some of my co-workers and I tried out a new Restaurant in Orem. Pizzeria 712 was awesome! I had the Margarita pizza (mozzarella, basil and tomato) and then my favorite part of the night....homemade S'mores!! I would recommend this place for sure! It had a great atmosphere and was a fun place to eat!

Of Wigwams and Sunshine: Have You Slept in a Wigwam Lately?

So this past weekend Kat and I went on our annual "we must get out of town and feel some sunshine or else we will freeze to death in the tundra that is Utah". This year we went to Mesa, AZ to see Ritz and Leah and stopped in Holbrook, AZ on the way down to stay in a Wigwam Motel!

Let me tell you I loved the wigwams! It was so fun to sleep in a motel that looks like a wigwam and I would recommend it to anyone! Here is the wikipedia site that will tell you some more about the wigwams. The other great part about staying in Holbrook was that it is right on Route 66 and the people in that town are very proud of that fact!

We had a blast visiting with Ritz and Leah and enjoying the sunshine and lack of snow that was in Arizona!!!

Here are some pictures from our trip! You can see more pictures on my facebook page...

You may now call me Aunt!

My nephew Cruz Evan Marchant was born yesterday afternoon! I'm excited to be an aunt!

This video made me laugh!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

All I want for Christmas is You!

So I've been looking on the internet for some gift ideas for various people. I have come across some great suggestions, some interesting/humorous*ones, and some that are just wrong!

I hadn't used either of these two sites before (gifts.com, uncommongoods.com) but they do have some good stuff on them.

What's on your Christmas gift list?

***************************************************************************************
In other news, if you want to see your favorite elf (aka me) in the Provo Christmas parade...get yourself down to Center Street this Saturday (like tomorrow) at 10am! It's always a good time at the Christmas parade!



*okay let's just talk about this one specific gift for a moment. i just think it's hilarious that you can buy a "CSI"-like evidence kit and use it to determine your dating status. i don't know for sure, but i think this could be the wave of the future in dating! :)

Surrogate Nieces and Nephews

These are my cute surrogate nieces and nephews. My brother and sister-in-law are expecting a baby in January so then I will have my first nephew, but I love these kids just the same. It is so fun to see them and watch them grow! I especially love it when Lincoln gets so excited to see me! He's the one that I get to see the most and he just loves to hang out with "Aunt" Ann-Marie!

Before and After: A true story in Ann-Marie's Life

Once upon a time Ann-Marie lived in a house. She like this house and even though her landlords decided to sell the house in the middle of her contract, she decided to live there again the next year.
One day in the middle of October the old landlords decided that it would be a good idea to come get their furniture out of the house. This was a grand plan...EXCEPT they didn't tell Ann-Marie or her roommate or her CURRENT landlord that they were coming. Since Ann-Marie didn't know they old landlords were coming so soon, she had not yet ordered any replacement furniture to go in the house.
So she and her roommate scrambled all that week to find at least beds, and then other furniture to fill the house. They tried hard to stay in their landlords budget (and only went a little bit over!). It was a busy, stressful week. They eventually did find all of the furniture that they wanted and had it all shipped to their house later in the week. The next week Ann-Marie spent hours putting all of the furniture together. She didn't want to build anything for a long, long, long, long time after that. In the end her house did get put back together and looked very pretty. The End!

(But don't take my word for it! Come visit and see my new digs!)










Our empty living room before we got the carpets cleaned! Yuck!









Our kitchen became our temporary storage unit!










Look at our new, pretty entertainment center










New couch and coffee table









I love our new kitchen set!

Thoughts after cruising the Mediterranean

Our Ship the Voyager of the Seas

I have now been back for over a week, but am just now taking the time to write about my travels to the Mediterranean. I had a great time on the cruise seeing the different sites and spending time with my family! I took a ton of pictures and will only put a few up here, but if you want to see all of my pictures just ask!

We left for the cruise on Friday Sept. 28th. I flew with my Grandma and my aunt and uncle that live in Payson.
Here is a picture of Grandma on the way to the airport

We had a lay over in Atlanta and then on to Barcelona. Grandma "lost" her passport twice (I found it in her carry-on both times, but it sure did make me nervous that she couldn't find it for a few minutes. On the flight back home, I held onto her passport and just gave it to her when we needed to show it :) That worked out much better!)
I didn't sleep much on the flight to Spain, but wasn't too tired. I sure did sleep well that first night on the ship though!

So we got in to Barcelona around 11 am on Saturday the 29th and just explored the ship and got settled in our stateroom. Here's a picture of me in my room and a picture of part of the ship.









The next day we went to Nice, France which is along the French Riviera. It was so beautiful there. We rode the city bus up to a little town called Menton where we walked around the city market, played a little in the Mediterranean and just sort of took in the sites.

On October 1st we went to Pisa and Florence. In Pisa I climbed all 294 steps to the top of the tower. It was really fun!
That afternoon we went to Florence. The first picture is one the church in the middle of Florence and then a replica of the "David" statue. The real statue is in a museum that was closed the day we were there. Grandma and I spent hours looking for this statue and that's pretty much all we did in Florence. Florence wasn't my favorite stop since all we did was walk in circles and we were separated from the rest of our group!
On Tuesday we went to Rome. We had the best tour guide that day! She was just awesome!
We saw the Forum, the Colosseum, the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. That day was probably the fullest, we didn't even eat lunch that day. Here's a picture of the Colosseum and a statue with marble eyes inside the Vatican.
The next day we went to Naples. We went on a drive along the Amalfi Coast which was just gorgeous! We ate an authentic Italian meal at a restaurant in the mountains and then went to Pompeii. It was another incredible day!









Thursday October 4th we went to Palermo Sicily. We went to some catacombs there in Palermo (we couldn't take pictures, but click on the link to see what I saw. It was cool and weird at the same time!) and then went up to a town called Monreal. It had the coolest church! The church had all of these cool mosaic's and I was surprised how many Bible stories we could recognize decorating the walls of this church.









Our last day on the ship was at sea as we sailed from Sicily back to Spain. We slept in, ice skated, played mini golf and watched the Ice Show. Each night our stateroom attendant would make us a little towel animal, so here's a picture of my mom with their towel monkey!












Here's Ashley's parents playing mini-golf on the top deck of the ship. It was pretty windy up there, but still fun to play!

This trip was a lot of fun! I'm glad that I got to go and that Grandma invited me and paid for part of the trip. I will always remember my first time to Europe. And it is only the 1st trip, because now that I've been I have to go back again!!

Grad School

So about a month a go I submitted my application to graduate school and on Monday I found out that I was accepted!

It is a Master's in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University. All of the classes are online so I will be able to continue working here in Provo while I obtain my degree. I start in January and am really excited.

After I get back from my Mediterranean Cruise I will need to look into scholarships and financial aid.

Yipee!!

Sheepdog Championships at Soldier Hollow

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It's the little things...

I tend to overlook the small luxuries in my life until they aren't there anymore.

Case in point: my car (on the whole) is awesome. I haven't had to do many major repairs and it is ready and willing to take me most everywhere I want to go. Last week, however, it began fighting with me. It is an automatic, but every time it shifted gears the entire car would jerk.
I was able to get it fixed and back for me to drive yesterday. All day today I have been marveling on how wonderful it is that when the car shifts gears I don't get whiplash! Before this incident I can't really remember every noticing or caring what the car did when it shifted, but now I have definitely been paying attention.

My car currently smells like mechanic, but I'll take that any day over a broken car!

Ann-Marie Needs

According to Google... these are my needs!

Ann Marie needs a family who can provide a great deal of structure and individual attention, and who will not take the fluctuations in her moods personally.

Ann Marie needs more exposure like Survivor needs more rats.

Annmarie’s friend is Jewish and Annmarie needs to pretend that Ellen is a part of her family in order to keep her safe from the Nazi’s.

Ann Marie needs to check it out.

Ann Marie needs some of the following items in her environment:. __ (a) A lot of interaction with people. ...

Ann Marie needs to give us the information for rebates, though she won't be with us for the rest of the week.

Ann-Marie needs to get her J.Lo-booty in gear and post a pic of herself.

Ann Marie needs to find a home with a tender hearted person as she's a little bit shy until she gets used to her surroundings. She's not a demanding cat ...

Ann-Marie needs a testimonial!

Ann-Marie needs to know whether or not she should get rid of her cat.

Ann Marie needs pop rocks

Ann Marie needs a strong role model.

Ann Marie needs to be validated and wants Stephanie to like her.

Ann marie needs to start making efforts.

Ann Marie needs newsletter articles.

Ann-Marie needs backing of our group—no objections ...

Ann Marie needs to take a Self-Defense class in conjunction with her exercise routine.

Ann Marie needs support and doesn't need to be picked on.

Ann Marie needs more comment love.

Crazy Cool!

I ran across this article tonight and thought I would share. There are some other videos of him and his art on YouTube. You should also check out his sight. philinthecircle.com

Interesting Article

I ran across this article the other day and thought it was pretty interesting. What do you think?

Shopping Expedition

I had my first "IKEA Experience" today with Em, Caroline and Lincoln. We had a great time and the store is really cool. Now I just wish I had the money to buy all of the stuff I liked in there!

(I still don't understand people camping out to be the first ones in the store, but I do think that it's a cool place to shop!)

Harry Potter is taking over my life! (and for the most part I love it!)

So it all began back in March...We decided to have a Harry Potter Party at the Provo Library and I volunteered to represent the Teen and Adult Services Department in planning this library wide event.

It is going to be really cool! (However we have already given out all of the tickets, but if you want to volunteer to help you can come!!!) We are going to show the first 4 movies all throughout the day. They are going to run from 9:30 am until 7 or 8pm. You don't need a ticket to come watch the movies so if any of your are interested you should come.

Then from 6:30-8:30 we are going to have a carnival-style party in the ballroom. We are going to have face painting and a fortune teller, a costume contest and play Harry Potter Scene it. And we are going to have some of the classes as well. Potions, and Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures (the Bean Museum is coming to do a bird and reptile show), and Charms. There will be crafts and such. It has been quite a bit of work to plan, but is going to be a lot of fun.

I have been working on getting together the owl paper bag craft, and the trivia quizzes, word searches and the movie marathon. (This doesn't seem like a lot when I have it written down, but it seems like I spend all my time at work working on the Harry Potter stuff)

I will be running the Charms booth where we will make chopstick wands and then I will give a lesson in Wands. I am just going to make stuff up. You know the old "swish and flick" It makes me feel like Professer Flitwick.
I also recently finished reading "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince".
Tonight I went to see the new Harry Potter party.

Harry and I have been spending quite a bit of time together. I think that things are getting pretty serious!

I'm Proud to be an American

Happy 4th of July!!!

Ann-Marie's a Fatty!

I got fat today.

Well actually just the left side of my face got fat. I went to the dentist to get 3 fillings (which, by the way, if you don't have dental insurance is not cheap!). It feel so weird to have half of my face numb and the other half feel normal. But I think the worst is my nose, I currently have one fat nostril and one skinny one! Weird!

Summer Reading Program

The Summer Reading Program at the Provo City Library begins TODAY! You can sign up all day today (June 1st) in the ballroom and anytime today or until June 30th at the 1st floor reference desk.

Come see Ann-Marie at the library, read books, and win prizes...that sounds pretty good to me!

Professional

So I presented at the Utah Library Association Conference this past Thursday and Friday.
On Thursday 2 other librarians and I presented about Teen Summer Reading Programs. And on Friday 7 of us talked about Reader's Advisory (basically giving book suggestions when someone wants to know a good book to read).

They both went well and it will look good on my resume!

I'm quite the career woman these days, what can I say! :)

Grrrr....

Is anyone else annoyed by the fact that when you leave on comment on Blogger you can't tab between the log-in boxes? It frustrates me EVERY time!!

I'm COLD!!!

What I've been up to lately

• I hiked the Y last night and finally got to see how they light it for graduation and homecoming. I've always wondered....
• I've been working at my 2 jobs just like regular, and also being the temporary supervisor for the position at BYU that I turned down. Yep it's been fabulous...all the work and none of the pay or benefits!
• I helped my sister and cousins get their stuff moved down to my grandma's house for the summer.
  
• My sister and I went to the Living Planet Aquarium, Clark Planetarium, Gateway Mall and the SLC Library the day before she went home. That was a lot of fun!

Yep just like usual my life is a roller coaster of a ride!

And most days I wouldn't have it any other way!!

Easter Egg Hunt

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A few weeks before Easter my students at BYU asked me if they could have an Easter Egg hunt in the library. I told them that they could NOT have an Easter Egg hunt in the library, but that maybe we could have it at my house. So I invited the kids to my house and we had the hunt and pizza. My students had a lot of fun together!

Let me tell you a little bit about how March went for me...

I interviewed for a full-time position at the Provo Library. I didn't get the job, but I was 1 of only 2 that they did 2nd interviews for. They had 40 applicants and interviewed 9 people. I feel really good about getting that far and am happy with the person that they did hire. (She has been working at the Provo library for about 3 years and has her Masters in Library Science)

I interviewed for a full-time position in Interlibrary Loan at the BYU Library. I was offered the position, but I decided not to take it.

My life has been a real roller coaster this past month with lots of stress and decision making. So even though I went through a lot in March I am back where I started at the end of February.

I'm just glad for March to be over and for April to be here!

Whew!

A walk down memory lane...

I saw something online that reminded me of this childhood memory.

You know those cafeteria trays that you would use in school growing up?

Well we had some of those at my house and even though we would use them all week at school...it was fun to sometimes use them at home.

Do you have any random childhood memories like this one?

Lyrics

This song was my "senior song" nearly 7 years ago. It came on my computer tonight and just sort of made me smile. The line about being 25 caught my attention. I don't think that I even knew what I would be doing at 25 when I was still in high school!
Click on the link below to see the fabulous music video courtesy of YouTube!

"Graduation (Friends Forever)"

And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives
Where we're gonna be when we turn 25
I keep thinking times will never change
Keep on thinking things will always be the same
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track
And if you got something that you need to say
You better say it right now cause you don't have another day
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down
These memories are playing like a film without sound
And I keep thinking of that night in June
I didn't know much of love
But it came too soon
And there was me and you
And then we got real blue
Stay at home talking on the telephone
We would get so excited and we'd get so scared
Laughing at ourselves thinking life's not fair
And this is how it feels

[1] - As we go on
We remember
All the times we
Had together
And as our lives change
Come Whatever
We will still be
Friends Forever

So if we get the big jobs
And we make the big money
When we look back now
Will our jokes still be funny?
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?
Still be trying to break every single rule
Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?
Can Heather find a job that won't interfere with her tan?
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly
And this is how it feels

[Repeat 1]

La, la, la, la:
Yeah, yeah, yeah
La, la, la, la:
We will still be friends forever

Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?
Can we survive it out there?
Can we make it somehow?
I guess I thought that this would never end
And suddenly it's like we're women and men
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?
Will these memories fade when I leave this town
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly

[Repeat 1 (3x)]

What's your favorite color?

I scanned through this article this morning and thought it was pretty interesting. What's your favorite color? Do you agree with the author's personality description of you based on that color?

How does he do that?

Do you think Jimmy could do that if he learned how to play the flute? :)

Ch..Ch..Ch..Changes

I re-arranged my blog a little bit today. I tried to get a new template, but the one I wanted wasn't working for me. Maybe in the near future.

I hung out with my friend Sariah and her husband and baby a little bit this weekend. Grace is so cute and she just loves me! She kept checking to make sure I was still there and we had a fun time playing together. I also had a play date with Caroline and Lincoln on Friday. That kid loves me too! I have a fun time with my friends kids! (and the best part...they don't even make me change diapers!)

I worked for a long time at my Provo job on Saturday on a blog we are going to use for the summer reading program this summer. The theme is Get a Clue @ your Library. If you want to see what I have so far (and it's not much-but just getting the template to work just about killed me...) go to www.getacluesrp2007.blogspot.com If any one can tell me how to move the header down a little bit, I would appreciate it. Also...the template wasn't working on Firefox at work, but did work on Internet Explorer. But today it's working fine on Firefox from my house. Let me know if it looks right to you on which ever internet browser you are using. Thanks :)

Well that's all for now...

Cheesy Valentine Messages

What would you get if you crossed a dog with a valentine card?
A card that says, "I love you drool-ly!"

What did the painter say to her boyfriend?
"I love you with all my art!"

What does a man who loves his car do on February 14?
He gives it a valenshine!

What did the man with the broken leg say to his nurse?
"I've got a crutch on you!"

Did you hear about the romance in the tropical fish tank?
It was a case of guppy love.

What do you call two birds in love?
Tweethearts!

What do you call a very small valentine?
A valentiny!

What did Frankenstein say to his girlfriend?
"Be my valenstein!"

What do farmers give their wives on Valentine's Day?
Hogs and kisses!

Why did the pig give his girlfriend a box of candy?
It was Valenswine's Day!

Do skunks celebrate Valentine's Day?
Sure, they're very scent-imental!

What did the paper clip say to the magnet on Valentine's Day?
"I find you very attractive."

What did the French chef give his wife for Valentine's Day?
A hug and a quiche!

What did one pickle say to the other?
"You mean a great dill to me."

What did one light bulb say to the other?
"I love you a whole watt!"

What did the caveman give his wife on Valentine's Day?
Ughs and kisses!

I've got nothing. Sorry.

Funniest YouTube Video EVER!

In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I have a dream....

That one day I will have a full time job.
With a lunch break.
And weekends free.
With benefits.
And regular hours.

That I will only work one job.
That I will have holidays off and sick leave.

I have a dream...but for now that's all it is...just a dream.

Awkward

sometimes my life is awkward and i don't know what to do about it.

The Highlights of 2006

January

• I turned 24 on the 16th.
• My friend Sariah had her first baby girl Grace on the 24th.

February

• I went on a week long cruise from the 6th-10th on the Baja California Cruise.
• I worked a lot of extra hours at my Provo job because we were down 2 part-timers.

March

• I had my one year Blogaversary on March 7th.
• I went to my first Opera on March 11th. I saw the "The Magic Flute" at the Capital Theater.

April

• I switched positions at my BYU job in the middle of April. I went from Faculty Delivery Services to the Copy Center. I hated it at first, but don't mind so much now.
• Ashley and Tim had their first baby on the 24th and they named her Natalie.
• I moved to a townhouse on 9th east on the 30th.

May

• I got $30.00 back from my $200.00 deposit from Carriage Cove. I was glad to have moved out of that place!
• I played at the Villa pool a lot and loved life!

June

• The Summer Reading Program at the Provo Library began at the beginning of the month. Our theme this year was "Open a Book, Travel Through Time: Celebrating 100 years of Reading at the Provo City Library" I did a lot with the teen program and even created a blog for part of the program.
• I went to Canyonlands/Dead Horse Point National Park over Memorial Day weekend.
• I went to the Strawberry Days Rodeo on the 16th. This is the rodeo that Sariah and I have gone to for the past couple of years and I love it!

July

• I went to my family reunion in Missouri at the beginning of July. After the reunion, I went home with Ash and Tim to Indiana for a few days. It was so much fun to see them and their house!
• I walked a million steps this summer! I began counting my steps with a pedometer in May and had reached a million steps by the end of July.

August

• I paid off my car at the beginning of the month. It's nice to not have any debt!
• I moved into a house in the Tree streets on the 15th. I love living in this house and only live with one roommate!
• I received my endowment in the Nauvoo Temple on the 24th. This was the biggest highlight and blessing on my year!

September

• My sister that is 6 years younger than me started as a freshman at BYU. It's been so fun to have her out here and to build our relationship as "adults"!
• September 11, 2006 marked the 5th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center. I took some time to reflect on what I was doing that day and what lessons I have learned since then.

October

• October 6th brought me to my 100th blog post!
• October was sort of a frustrating month what with the collections letter from my doctors office and realizing that my car registration had been expired since JULY! But I learned some valuable lessons from these experiences and am thankful that I learned them while I am just in charge of myself instead of others. This experience encouraged me to update my list of places to notify when I move!
• Buck and Caroline welcomed Lincoln into their lives on the 16th. He is such a cutie!
• The last weekend in October I was asked out on a date! This is a highlight for me because I hadn't been out since January!

November

• November brought a fun Thanksgiving weekend at my grandma's house. Grandma wasn't there, but I spent the weekend with my sister and two cousins.
• I was able to see my first BYU football game when they were playing their last game of the season. We beat Utah by 2 points and it was an amazing game!

December

• I received my passport in the mail!
• I escaped the blizzard in Denver (barely) while flying home for Christmas!
• I went cross-country skiing for the first time ever and had a blast!
• I had a really fun New Year's Eve-we ate, played games, and burned stuff! What more could you want?

In summary:
I visited 1 country in 2006-Mexico
I visited 9 states in 2006 (5 of them just on my trip home for Christmas!)-California, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arizona, Kansas

I have had a very fulfilling year and I look forward to the adventures to come in 2007...I already know that I will be going on a Mediterranean Cruise in September, but I'm sure lots of little things will make 2007 both challenging and spectacular!

Passport

I got my passport in the mail yesterday. Now I can leave the country whenever I want to!!

Sad Tragedy

The story below was posted on ksl.com. I work with the dad of this family. I can't even begin to imagine what this family is going through. Please tell your loved ones to be careful with their little ones and to take their children out of their car seats when they are no longer in the car! My prayers are with this family!

Baby Dies While Sleeping in Car Seat

December 8th, 2006 @ 9:43pm

Sam Penrod Reporting

A tragedy in Utah tonight as a one-year old baby girl dies while sleeping in a car seat. The baby died this evening, after efforts to revive her failed. The baby's death ironically comes on the same day of a new international study, which says leaving infants in a car seat can be dangerous.

We've probably all done it -- you come home from a trip and the baby is still sleeping, so rather than risk waking the baby up, you leave it in a car seat like this while it sleeps in your house. Sadly tonight, a Utah baby may have died from exactly that.

Fifteen-month old Devin Justine Greer was being cared for by a neighbor this afternoon and was left sleeping in her car seat.

Sgt. Spencer Cannon, Utah County Sheriff's Office: "She had apparently fallen asleep in the car seat in the car, but was taken into the home."

The baby girl was sleeping in a bedroom, but when the caregiver went to check on her she was not breathing.

Sgt. Spencer Cannon, Utah County Sheriff's Office: "When family here at the home went into that room a short time later, they found her unresponsive and not breathing, and that's when they called 911."

Paramedics attempted CPR for more than an hour, but it was not successful.

Sgt. Spencer Cannon, Utah County Sheriff's Office: "We have detectives who are continuing to investigate to rule out any foul play, but at this point it appears to be an accident."

This baby's death could be related to what New Zealand researchers today warned is a danger for infants. A new study of nine infants who suffered "life threatening breathing problems " while strapped into a car seat where they were left asleep outside the car. The babies had their heads bent forward while they slept and that restricted their airways.

Janet Brooks with Primary Children's Hospital says the warning about letting babies sleep for long periods of time in car seats is not new, but an important reminder.

Janet Brooks, Child Advocacy Manager, Primary Children's Hospital: "Leaving kids in a car seat too long. If you take them out of the car, take them into the house. They sleep in it, they nap in it. These are all issues, not only for airways but for curvature of the spine, flatness on the back of the head , these are all issues we look at."

While it's not safe to let babies sleep for a long time in the car seat out of the car, we want to make it clear, while in a car it's a different story. There is no question that infant car seats save lives and researchers say may reduce car accident injuries by as much as 90%.

Ann-Marie's Life in Pictures-Here's what I've been up to lately:

Baking Pies with my sister Shelly for Thanksgiving!














Hanging out with cousins! Clockwise from the top: Charisse, Shelly, Me and Melanie!















Making funny faces on Thanksgiving Day!















Sleep over at G-ma's! Charisse is looking hot in a bathrobe while she does her laundry!















Being an elf for the 2nd year in a row for the Provo Christmas Parade!














Getting a new toy that I am loving!

Awesome Game

Did you see the game today! It was so good!!! So intense, but so totally fun!!! Yeah for BYU beating the U!!!

Blast from the Past

Remember this?

I will be an elf in the Christmas Parade on Dec. 2nd on Center Street.

Come support your friendly elf/librarian!

What would your city be like?

The other day I was crusin' the internet and came across this little story...

Here's a fun little game I made up that's really easy to play. We played it while we were sitting around eating lunch but you could easily play it in the car to ease the time it takes you to get wherever you may be going. It's really simple and even my 14 year old played along.

Yesterday at lunch, my 4 year old son, Shorty, and I were talking about the United States and their capitals. (Shorty knows more US geography than a lot of adults I know, It's just a thing he likes. Some guys like trucks or dinosaurs. Shorty likes geography. I know - it's a little freaky to me too.) So out of the blue I just asked him what Shorty-ville would look like? For starters, he re-named it Shorty City. We started with things like what colors the houses would be and went on to discuss what types of stores and restaurants would be in "his" city. And how they would be placed - the playground would be right next to the church. Then we asked his older brother, #1 Son (He's 9 and is not a geography whiz.) what his city would be like. He jumped right in and had lots of ideas. Sweetanlo (14) helped by making suggestions of things or places that they hadn't thought of including. For the record, he'd place Shorty City in the great state of Texas. (His favorite state since his best friend moved there last winter.) Shorty had so much fun with this that he was still talking about it tonight at bedtime. Tonight he said that tomorrow we'd have to talk about our dog's city, which he cleverly named, Lucy Land, all on his own.

It was easy. It encouraged creativity and imagination. No small pieces to lose. Nothing to clean up or put away. It's portable and expandable. It didn't end in bickering or tears. This kind of game works-for-me!

What would your city look like? What would it be named? It sounds like a fun game that kids would really get in to!

Bad Day

I had a really bad day today.

I don't want to talk about it.

Weird

This is one of the strangest movies I have ever watched! I think my mom got this DVD in a cereal box. I brought it home a few Christmas's ago, but haven't watched it until tonight!

It was very much an 80's movie! If anyone want to borrow it...feel free to talk to me!

Librarian Exercise Video

Check out this funny video!

Luckiest

I went to go renew my parking sticker at BYU this week (since it expires tomorrow!) I knew that I need to bring in my registration. So I went to take it out of my glove box and noticed that the date was expired on the piece of paper. I thought, maybe this is the wrong paper...but after checking the tags on my car, I realized that my registration was indeed expired. It expired in JULY!!!

I went that afternoon to re-register my car and wasn't charged a fine for letting it expire so that made me happy. Because I was sure that they were going to charge me something.

I am just so lucky that I haven't been pulled over in the past 3 months! I guess I didn't get the renewal letter in the mail, since I moved since it would have been sent to me.

I am so thankful that I was able to get it fixed and that I was blessed to not have been pulled over and fined. I much rather learn the lesson by panicking after finding out that it was expired rather than paying a huge fine!

100 Things about Ann-Marie on her 100th Post!

1. I went on my first plane ride at age 12 and I flew alone.
2. My parents named me Ann-Marie with a hyphen because they thought it sounded so Hollywood (my mom just recently told me this).
3. Because of the craziness of my work schedule, I can eat a full meal at any time of the day or night.
4. I have had 28 roommates since leaving home for college.
5. I lived with 5 of them for multiple semesters.
6. 7 of those got engaged while I lived with them.
7. I hate the colors red and pink and never wear them! (Except for when my sister-in-law chose pink for her bridesmaid dresses and I had no choice).
8. I am starting to get over my hate for red and now have red curtains in my house.
9. I guess that I just don't like to wear red or pink. I see other redheads wearing pink and I don't think that they look bad, I just think that I look weird wearing pink.
10. Often when I say my name over the phone people think that my name is Emory. They also think that is a pretty name.
11. I don't ever correct them when they think this, because it is usually someone that doesn't really need to know my name at all...let alone what my name really is.
12. I am the president of the VL club and probably will be for eternity!
13. I have incredible friends. (oh wait, you already knew that!)
14. I supervise 4 students at my BYU job.
15. One of my students calls me Ms. Marchant after we talked about nicknames and I told him that I didn't go by Ann.
16. I love the fall season.
17. I hate being cold!!!!
18. 2 of the most lifesaving purchases last winter were a space heater and an electric mattress pad.
19. Sadly now that I have a full size bed, I can't use my twin size electric mattress pad this winter.
20. I am going on a Mediterranean Cruise next Sept. with all of my aunts and uncles and my Grandma on my mom's side of the family.
21. Most of my cousins don't know that I am going yet.
22. The ones that do are jealous.
23. The ones that don't know yet will be jealous.
24. That's what you get for being the oldest non-married girl cousin.
25. There have to be some advantages.
26. I almost never have cash on me.
27. Whenever I do have cash it seems to disappear very quickly.
28. I am currently addicted to Gilmore Girls.
29. I love pumpkin pie.
30. "Elf" is my favorite movie! I could watch it all year round. And I do!
31. As a librarian, my list of books to read never shrinks. It only grows.
32. I am currently reading 4 books at a time.
33. I often read multiple books at a time.
34. No, I don't get them confused with each other.
35. My favorite trilogy of the summer is written my Scott Westerfeld.
36. The books are "Uglies" "Pretties" and "Specials".
37. Read them today! (Ask me if you want to know more about them).
38. I don't like seafood.
39. I will have my car paid off this month!!
40. Quite a few of my best friends either have kids or will soon.
41. I love the TV show "Boy Meets World"
42. My roommate and I currently don't get any TV channels because we don't want to pay for cable and for some reason our rabbit ears don't' even pick up basic.
43. As a kid I took gymnastics lessons and ballet lessons; in college I took a swimming class. I am still not a very good or confident swimmer.
44. I looked like a princess when I went to my junior prom. (My mom just told me this the other day. Apparently someone said that about me and my mom overheard)
45. The first car that I drove was called "The Death Trap" by my mom. It was an old AMC Spirit that my brother bought before his mission.
46. My best friend Sariah named the same car the "Shortcake Mobile".
47. I learned some basic car repairs that were specific to that cars' problems and could get the car running in less than 30 seconds in the dark, when it decided not to start.
48. The repair had something to do with the butterfly valve and shoving a screwdriver into that valve before turning the car on.
49. I have never broken 100 when bowling, but think it's a fun game anyway.
50. I would like to like running, but I just can't. I hate running.
51. My mom tried to teach me to play the piano when I was younger. I didn't want to and so I never really learned.
52. I played the flute in junior high and high school, but was never great at it and didn't really care to be good at it.
53. Often during parades and football half time shows, I would pretend like I was playing my flute, but really just be looking to see what was going on around me.
54. I loved building the sets for the highschool musicals.
55. I enjoyed being in the musicals, but going to build the sets on Saturday morning are some of my favorite highschool memories.
56. I don't like pets. I don't plan on having pets, but if I ever do they will have to be outside pets.
57. I can't stand pet hair being all over a persons house. It just grosses me out.
58. I have never taken out a student loan.
59. I broke my arm in 1st grade. My brother and I were playing circus. I was the human cannon ball. I flew into the air, and then hit the wall. I wrote left handed for a while until my other arm healed.
60. I have a scar on my forehead from when I cracked my head open. I was probably 3 or 4 because we were living in Provo. Someone rang the doorbell to our apartment. I was running around the corner to see who it was an misjudged where the wall was. I had several stitches.
61. I have one freckle on my bottom lip.
62. I don't like roller coasters. I just don't like feeling out of control.
63. I am a Capricorn.
64. My favorite shape is a star.
65. I still haven't had my wisdom teeth removed.
66. I wear a size 2 shoe.
67. I get the majority of my clothing in the children's section.
68. My favorite Disney movie is "Little Mermaid"
69. I have never been to Disneyland or Disney World.
70. I don't know what my blood type is.
71. I have never snow skied. But love to waterski and wakeboard.
72. I don't remember the last time that I went to the doctor for a check up.
73. I love looking at city lights!
74. I think that I look funny in hats, even though I have been told otherwise.
75. I have 5 brothers and 2 sisters.
76. Both of my grandpas have passed away.
77. I can't whistle.
78. I have visited 18 of the 50 states.
79. I have been to Mexico once and Canada twice.
80. I will be getting my passport in a few months! (After I apply and do all of that stuff)
81. Then I will be able to escape to another country when ever I want to!!
82. I like stargazing, even though I don't know very many of the constellations.
83. I think shooting stars are the coolest and it is fun to see a meteor shower.
84. I went to my junior prom, but not my senior prom.
85. I have worked in a library for the past 7 years.
86. I have decided that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love to eat the delicious foods!
87. I like going to Rodeos in the summertime.
88. I've never donated blood. I'm not big enough.
89. I didn't like country music until my junior year in highschool.
90. Now I listen to country most of the time when I am on my own.
91. Although I like all different types of music.
92. I have lived in various housing situations throughout college and after college.
93. I have lived in an apartment, condo, townhouse, and house.
94. I think that living in a house is the best!
95. I have lived with 1, 3, and 5 roommates.
96. Living with 5 roommates was way too much for me! Too many girls and too much drama!
97. I have been white water rafting and kayaking on the ocean!
98. In my family I am the second oldest.
99. I will probably be the shortest.
100. I love the smell of fresh baked bread! And cookies!

I have reached the end of my list and hope that you have learned some new things about me!

Going to Work makes me TIRED!!!

Science Fiction

I have to read 2 Science Ficton books before the middle of November for my Provo job. I am not much of a sci-fi reader... Iin fact I don't know if I've ever read anything that is truly Sci-Fi.

So I am asking for suggestions for good science fiction books.

Does anyone have favorites or suggestions for me?

Nunya

So my roommate needed to take a picture of her pet and her for a contest they are doing at work. The only problem being that she doesn't have a pet!

So yesterday after church we got together to make her a pet. We found a nice rock in our yard and got crafty!

We used cotton balls for the eyes and nail polish to paint the face and spots on Nunya. Leaves made great hair and gills for the pet rock.

Then we took him outside for a photo shoot. Katie took some pictures with her camera of him by the tree and smelling some random roses in our front yard.

Here is a picture of that I took of Nunya at his family reunion.
(click to enlarge)















What is Nunya's full name you ask?

Nunya Bizness

So this week was my sisters first week of college. Since she is 6 years younger than me, it is sort of weird to believe that she is even old enough to be in college! But it is fun to have her out here and to build a relationship with her as an adult!

I remember what it was like to start college...It was fun and exciting and overwhelming, but some of the best years of my life.

People say that if they could they would go back in time and be in highschool again. I would never want that! Highschool was okay, but college was by far better!!! If I could go back I would do college all over again. And I would do it exactly the same way that I did it this time around!

I have made some of my best friends in college and I wouldn't trade my experiences in college for anything!

Google Fun

Check out this book that you can download. You just go to this website and you can download the entire book. www.55fun.com

My cousins and I played the first 2 games last night and they were hilarious!!