Food Poisioning!!!

So I went to a family dinner on Sunday night with Ash and Tim. We had hamburgers for dinner. And although the hamburgers were quite pink on the inside, I ate the whole thing. Ash and Tim and I joked about how we hoped we wouldn't get food poisioning, but didn't think much more about it.
I went to the Villa on Sunday night to have a sleep over with Ritz, Em, and Nama. After Em and I finished talking around 12:30 my body decided that it was awake again. So for the next 3 hours I just sort of laid in bed thinking about random things and wishing that I could fall asleep!! Around 3 a.m. I started getting sick! I did not feel well at all!! This lasted the rest of the night with me getting up every few hours. I didn't get much sleep and I didn't feel well!
Yesterday I tried to finish packing up my apartment so that I could move, but didn't have the energy to do much of anything. One of the girls that is moving into my old apartment was nice to put some of my stuff in the living room and check on me periodically!
After Buck and Alan came over and gave me a blessing I felt better. Then I called Em to bring some people over to load up my car.
Ritz is AMAZING at packing!! It only took 2 loads for me to move all of my crap! Yipee!! If I would have done it on my own, I know that I would have had to take more than that!
This morning I woke up feeling 100 times better! I checked into my new place and had Nama help me unload the car!!

I am SO thankful for wonderful friends who helped me when I couldn't help myself!

Vacation Fun

I went home for 5 days recently because my brother Eric just left on his mission to Brazil. While spending time with my family I had a good time, had some laughs, and was ready to come back to Provo by the end of the trip!

Here are some highlights from my trip!

*Since my dad didn't want to get stuck in Kansas City traffic after picking me up from the airport we took an alternate route. This led us to drive around in a complete circle that lasted an hour!! We did finally get home though!

*I went on a walking tour of my parents "acreage". My parents bought a farm with 40 acres last August. When I went home for Christmas I didn't walk around the property too much because I was only home for 3 days and basically it was just too cold for me to want to! Anyway, my sister Jenna gave me a tour of the farm, complete with their 2 firepits, a campsite, the horse barn and a wooden swing! It was fun to see my family's new stomping grounds.

*Since my brother was leaving, we had an open house of sorts for him on Sunday night. It was weird for me to hang out with the adults instead of the youth! I mean these were my leaders growing up, but now apparently I am an adult just like them. Weird!!

*After the party we were cleaning up and taking apart a wooden picnic table. My dad couldn't get one of the pieces apart without using a rubber mallet. But the mallet was out in the shop so the table was left "as-is" for the night. The next day I was talking to my mom and saw that the mallet was in the house. I asked her if anyone had tried to take the table apart yet. She said that she and my brother Scott (he's 14) had tried, but couldn't do it. I then turned the pieces upside down (so gravity could do some of the work!) and hit it twice before the pieces came apart. What my mom said next was classic! She looked at me (being completely serious) and said: "You go girl!" I laughed so hard!! I told my family what she had said when we were eating dinner and my siblings thought it was hilarious!!

*While Eric was packing his suitcases (the night before he left!) my 12 year old brother Brian was teasing my sister Jenna (she's 9). They were arguing about something when Jenna started crying and went to my mom saying that "Brian called me a hypocrite!" Then she stopped crying and said "What's a hypocrite?" I laughed that she was so upset and could instantly turn it off because she didn't know what it was that he was calling her!!

*Eric and two of his friends have a band called "Good Report". One of the guys plays the guitar, the other plays the drums and my brother sings. I heard quite a few of their songs because my brother was mixing their CD. He even burned me a copy. They are actually pretty good and their lyrics are funny! One of their songs is entitled "Girls are a waste of Time". This song goes on to say that girls are not only a waste of time, but also a waste of money, and they mess with guy's minds! I thought that was pretty funny! This same song also says something to the effect that love is a waste and you shouldn't try it! Pretty funny stuff!

Well I hope that you enjoyed these reminiscences from the great state of Missouri! Anytime you want to visit my parents-just bring a tent and a sleeping bag, they have a great campsite right on their property! :)

National Humor Month

April is National Humor Month.

I know this because I put up a display Friday at the library honoring this very event! It was a really fun display to put together because I got to pull alot of really interesting books. I put up books that were written by Erma Bombeck, Dave Barry, and Bill Cosby. I put up comic books and books making fun of Martha Stewart!

While compiling this display I ran accross this book: "Wearing of This Garment Does Not Enable You to Fly: 101 Real Dumb Warning Labels" This book is awesome!! I am amazed at what is printed on warning labels, and even more amazed that there had to be a reason for that warning to prompt the label being printed.

So in honor of this month- I want to share a sampling of the best warning labels included in this book!

**ChapStick Lip Moisturizer-"Keep Out of Eyes"

**3M Auto-Pak Aluminum Oxide Automotive Sandpaper-"Safety information: Work smart every time. To change sheets, wait until sander has completely stopped."

** 20-inch Beach Ball-"Caution: Not a life saving device"

**Sharp Carousel Microwave Oven-"At no time should anyone be allowed to lean or swing on the oven door. The oven is for food preparation only. It should not be used to dry clothes or newspapers."

**Sunbeam Simple Press Iron-"Warning: To prevent the risk of burns, keep your hand away from the area being steamed."

**In-sink-Erator Food Waste Disposer 444-"Do not put fingers or hands into a waste disposer."

**Bowl Fresh Toilet Cleaner-"Safe to use around pets and children, although it is not recommended that either be permitted to drink from the toilet."

(If you would like to see more funny stuff like this, go to your local library and check out Ann-Marie's display on the first floor!)

Sometimes

Sometimes I read an e-mail from an old friend or talk with them on the phone and smile at how their life has changed since we last spoke. Then I wonder if my life has changed that much. I graduated almost a year ago and don't feel much more settled or secure than I did last April. I don't know if I am simply waiting for something to happen, or if I am too scared to take a step into the darkness and take some risks.

I wonder how I will ever know what I am to do, if I am too stubborn to take a chance. I just have a hard time putting it all on the line, if I don't know what the outcome will be. I like playing it safe. I like having two feet on the ground. But maybe it would be good for me to branch out and just take a leap of faith. I just don't know which direction to go... If I knew maybe I wouldn't be so frightened of what's out there.

I don't really know what I'm trying to say, but these are just thoughts that I have had lately. I love my job, but that's pretty much the only thing keeping me in Provo. Is that enough? Should I be somewhere else?? If you know the answers... Please let me know!!

Smile!

On Tuesday night a man came up to the desk and saw my co-worker and I chatting. He made some small talk with us and then asked for the item that he was looking for.

As he left he said this, "Smile! You know why we should smile? Because we know who we are! We are children of God! We are potential Gods and Goddesses! We KNOW who we are!"

I don't know who that man is or if I will ever see him again, but his words caused me to think! I am so grateful for the knowledge that I know who I am! I am so thankful for the Atonement, especially at this Easter Season!

His comment not only brought a smile to my lips, but a feeling of gratitude to my heart!

Disrespect

A gentleman was using his cell phone up on the 2nd floor this morning. I politely asked him to take it downstairs since we do not allow cell phones up on the second floor. This floor is our quiet floor and we try to keep it as quiet as possible. He looked at me and nodded. Then as soon as I went back to my desk, instead of going downstairs like I had asked, he simply shut the copy room door. It makes me frustrated that grown adults refuse to comply with simple rules. I did not ask him to hang up the phone or even leave the library. I just asked him to go down stairs. When he finished with his call I reminded him again that cell phones were not allowed up here. He didn't seem to care, and left the floor.

Why are people so stubborn and disrespectful? I know that because of my size I probably do not demand the respect that I think I deserve. However I am the one that is employed by the library and I am the one that has to enforce it's rules. I just wish that people didn't make life harder for themselves, by refusing to do relatively easy things!

And then there were Six...

So my roommate Emily R. got engaged this weekend. I came home from Stake Conference to see this MASSIVE bouquet of flowers on the table. There was no doubt about it. She was/or already had gotten engaged!

I knew from just seeing the flowers that a ring was on her finger. I had seen all of the signs before and once again I was right!

Emily makes the SIXTH roommate of mine to get engaged while I was living with them! Six! Many others have gotten married since I have lived with them and a few of them now have children.

I am so happy for Emily and all of the others that have found their eternal companions. I have learned a lot from living with engaged girls and am glad that I am now at the point in my life that I can truly feel excited and no longer jealous.

I wish Emily the best of luck!

(P.S. When talking to my mom on the phone yesterday, she suggested that I post this sign when I move into my new apartment.)

Looking to get married? Just live with Ann-Marie! She has a 78% success rate!

And that is what mom's are for! :)

Crazy People

There were some really crazy people at work today.
One woman wanted to know the burial place of some actress that was once married to a millionaire. I am not sure why that is so critical to her life, but it was very important to her! She then proceeded to print about a million things while our printer was being stupid and then asked me to keep track of her printouts so that she could write a check when she was finished. After printing each job she would, even so "kindly" ask me if I had written it down. Like I was the idiot that couldn't keep track of what was being printed!
Another gentleman came up to the desk twice to ask if he hadn't made any printouts. How was I supposed to know if he didn't print, if there was no evidence either way. I couldn't exactly ask him what he didn't print!
And the craziest of all... a guy was sitting in one of the chairs by the big stained glass window. He was talking to himself and making motions with his hands. Then he got up, looked at his chair and started chuckling to himself. He then asked me to log him onto the computers and told me that if something didn't work I would need to log him onto another computer. "Just to be sure that I can do what I want to do".
Some days these crazy people really try my patience. And today was one of those days!

Rituals

When Caroline and I shared a room we had this "ritualistic" conversation almost every night before we went to bed. After getting ready for bed, we would slip under the covers and have a conversation that went like this...

Caroline: "Ahhh, bed!"
Ann-Marie: "This is the best part of the day!"

We would giggle, say good night and go to sleep.

I don't remember when we first started doing this, but we would have this conversation at least once a week for quite a few months.

I miss those days. And sometimes I still repeat that converstation to myself before going to sleep. In fact I did just the other night. (Lucky for me, my room-roommate was not in the room at the time. She might think that I'm crazy, if I start talking to myself!)

This one's for Leah!

Before Leah left Provo (well and when she was still here...) she kept asking me to write a blog. So here I am. I have joined the masses!

It took me a while to figure out how to do this whole blog thing. And with A LOT of help from Em (she found my typo!) I am now a part of the blogging community!

I hope that I have something interesting to say every now and then!