A Whodunit Delight

I've slowly been watching through the old TV show Murder, She Wrote.  I love detective stories, and I like Angela Lansbury, so I thought I'd give it a try.  Can you believe that the show lasted for 12 seasons?!  I'm only on season 2, so the thought of slogging through 10 more is a little daunting, but on the bright side, think of all of the hours of entertainment before me!

Anyway, I found a list of 13 reasons why we should all rewatch Murder, She Wrote.  I thought it was pretty funny and accurate, so I thought I'd relist it, with some editing...

#1:  The delightfully cheerful opening theme song. You can't hear it without wanting to hum along.
#2:  The reliable formula of death, sleuthing, and satisfying discovery.  Someone always dies, and Jessica always figures it out.
#3:  The magical population math.  Cabot Cove's a small town, and after 12 seasons, everyone should be dead, but they aren't.
#4:  J.B. Fletcher's array of alias personas.  She does disguise so well.
#5:  Jessica's bad(edit)self.  Basically, she kicks butt.
#6:  Jessica's moments of genius.  There's an Ah ha moment in every episode.
#7:  The adorable friendship and never-to-be love affair between Jessica and Dr. Hazlitt.  They're just so cute together.
#8:  The delicious near-death moments she always escapes when snooping around for clues.  You think every episode will be her last, yet she survives on.
#9:  Jessica's range of fabulous faces.  AL is a great actress.  People don't act that way anymore.
#10: The parade of before-they-were-famous cameos.  And after-they-were-famous, too!
#11: The fabulous fashion statements.  The 80's.  'Nuff said.
#12: Jessica's fun sidekicks.  And they are all terrible policemen.
#13: 264 episodes of nail biting suspense.  Amen.

You should watch it.

Because it is that good.

Snow Day

I spent the afternoon playing Princess Barbies with a 5-year-old.

Sweet!

A Lonely Sunday

We've lived in Edmonton for almost 3 months, yet I still don't feel like I know anyone.  Normally, you meet people at church, but it just hasn't worked out for us to meet many yet.  Here's how it has gone:

Week 1:  Ended up sitting by someone who was visiting from out of town.
Week 2:  Sat next to a girl who lives down the hall from us.
Week 3:  Had a tri-ward meeting.  Guess what?  They are changing the boundaries!!  And we (but not our neighbors) are in a different ward.
Week 4:  Thought church was at 11, but it was actually at 9.  Went to the wrong ward.
Week 5:  Keith's family was visiting.  Sat by them instead of other ward members.
Week 6:  Finally, a normal Sunday!
Week 7:  Calgary Temple Dedication.  We picked a random session and sat with random people.
Week 8:  Stake Conference.  Again, sitting with random people.

So, you see, we actually haven't had more than 2 typical Sundays since we've moved in and we've been shuffled around a lot.  I really hope that I make friends soon, because, honestly, when Keith isn't around, I'm a little lonely.

A Note to Self:

Eating a hamburger and fries before Zumba is NOT a good idea.

I don't know if I will ever recover...

Abstract Thinking

Do you ever find that your
brain is so full of the
should be's,
could be's,
will be's,
may be's,
that you have a hard time
focusing on the
IS?

Me too.

5 Things

1. I attended a cooking class with Megan the other night.  We learned how to make gnocchi.  Now, not only  am I a gnocchi-making fiend, I can finally cross off the first item on my life list for 2012 ("Take some random and ridiculous class").  Nothing is as random as gnocchi.
2. My dad had the hiccups the other day.  This is significant for 2 reasons.  First, in all my 28 years, I don't think I had ever heard my father hiccup (my mother, who has been married to him for almost 33 years, acknowledge the same fact).  And second, I now know where I inherited my very loud and often uncontrollable hiccuping.
3. Last night I saw the Hunger Games with my friends Jill and Crystal.  I thought the movie very well done and it was so fun to go with my girls!  I did shed a tear or two when Rue died, but it was much better controlled then the buckets I cried when I read the scene in the book.
4. Friday night I attended my mission reunion.  I only went because Sister Yang, my second to last mission companion and my trainee from Taiwan, was going to be there and I haven't seen her for 5 years.  It was great to see her and nice to get a hug from President and Sister Nielson, even though I didn't know anyone else there, couldn't find a parking spot within a block of the church, and was falling asleep during the devotional. 
5. As April is National Poetry Month and as I feel like I should show my blog some love, I've decided to sign up for Nablopomo again.  Do you know what that means?  That means that not only do I get to blog every day for the month, I also get to write some poems.  Lucky you. 

Jillian's Random Thoughts in No Particular Order

They all seem to follow three themes:

Christmas and Canada

• I leave for Canada in less than 22 hours.  I'm pretty darn excited. 
• The fact that I'm spending Christmas in Canada has stressed me out a bit.  I've never spent Christmas with anyone else's family before.  How do they Christmas?  What are their traditions?  Do they open gifts early early, or just when everyone wakes up?  And are they still in their pajamas or do they get dressed first?  See?  It's stressful.
• I get the impression that Keith got me something really nice for Christmas (NOT engagement ring nice, so don't go thinking that), but I got him far lesser nice things.  In order to make up this discrepancy, I've decided to go with quantity versus quality.  I just hope it all fits in my suitcase...

School

• At the end of the semester, I find that I am about 27 hours off of where I should be for my internship hours.  This stresses me out too.
• I keep having dreams that I all semester long I've forgotten to go to math class, never did my homework, and now it is time for the final.  In real life, I haven't taken a math class since high school (almost 10 years ago--ahh!).  What does this dream mean???
• Graduation is only 5 months away!!!  I'm just afraid of surviving until then.  Do you think I will make it?

Food

• I think I am slowly forming an aversion to mashed potatoes.  I don't know, they just don't taste good to me anymore.  This is not a good development, as mashed potatoes are usually delicious.
• I am slowly discovering a love for Pinterest...or should I say, a love for the food and food blogs that are pinned on Pinterest.
• Sometimes I wish I didn't love food quite so much. 

Journey to Passion

Do you have a passion?  Something that you crave and can't get enough of?  Some cause that you fight for and revel in?  What is it? 

Over the past year or so, I've thought a lot about passions, and I have been saddened to discover that I don't think I have one.  Sure, there are lots of things that I take an interest in, and lot of pieces and tidbits of talents and skills that I have.  But no passion.  I do things because I need something to do, not because I NEED to do something.  I pick subjects of study because I enjoy learning about them, not because I am hoping to send a message or spread awareness.  And sometimes I feel a little like I am missing something.   Although I have done many things in my life and have accomplished much, I am lacking that thing that I really love that I didn't know existed. 

So how does one go about finding a passion?  How does one discover that small part of them that will grow into something greater?  Is it something that will happen naturally, or do I go out and seek it?  And how do I recognize it when I find it?

My New Diet in 5 Easy Steps

1. Go to Zumba.  Shake your booty, shimmy your stuff, scrunch your abs, and sweat your guts out.
2. Drink at least 12 ounces of water as soon as you get home.
3. Cut yourself a gigantic chocolate brownie.  Smell it; stare at it; savor it by sight for at least 10 minutes.
4. Admit defeat.  You simply cannot eat the brownie because your tummy's all wound up from the work out and the water.
5. Place the untouched and uneaten brownie back in the pan and walk away.

This new diet is going to do wonders for my waistline...until I eat that brownie for breakfast tomorrow.

A Letter to My Friends--and to Their Friends, too

Dear Friends,

I'm a little bit of a blog stalker; meaning, that sometimes I read your blog, and then read your friends' blogs, and then read their friends' blogs, and so on.  It's like an addiction: I can't get enough, and then I come back and do it again.  I stalk people that I don't know, people I have never met, people whose lives I am not a part of, yet, completely involved in.  And I love it.

Therefore, I have a request.  Friends, please don't let your friends make their blogs private.  It totally messes up my stalking schedule. 

Thanks,

Secretly Reading

Random and Exactly on Topic

Sometimes it is hard to think of things to blog about.  Normally, I would just tell you about my day, but my day was rather boring.  Seriously, the most notable thing that happened was that today I went to a meeting, and for lunch they fed us pizza, sourdough bread, and pitas.  Does anyone else think that is weird?  To have all three in one meal?  I am still suffering from carb overload.

So, if I don't tell you about my day, I may just complain about school.  However, I feel that I kind of did that yesterday.  And frankly, I just don't want to think about it.  It just stresses me out because 1) I have 2 major projects due before class next week and I just don't want to do them so I am procrastinating as long as possible, and 2) 55 hour weeks are NOT going to be fun.  Just the thought makes me want to start hyperventilating.

I could discuss work.  Work is going well, but it is stressing me out, too.  1) As I've stated before, work + internship = not good, and 2) there are some other funky vibes going on lately.  Nothing bad, just funky.  It's hard to describe, so I won't.

I could mention Keith.  However, he didn't call me tonight.  I"m a little sore about it.  So, I'm moving on (with blog subjects, not boyfriends).

I could say something about my family.  I did get some sweet kisses from Clive tonight, and it is Miss Vera's big day, but it is only blog worth if I have pictures.  And I don't.

And finally, I could tell you a story.  But stories take time and I find that tonight I don't want to give any.

So, there you have it.  All and nothing, at the same time.

I Feel...

Happy.  I've decided that I really, really, really like my boyfriend (okay, more than like).  He's cute.  He's funny.  He makes me feel good, even when it's been a hard day.  Even when he is 1000 miles away.

And tired.  It is late.  I should have been asleep a long time ago. But I've been too busy talking to and thinking about my boyfriend.  And that makes me happy.

Bracing Myself

I went to Zumba for the first time in a long time tonight.  It was awesome. 

It is weird because within the first 20 minutes of class, you look at the clock and think, "I am going to die!". 

At 40 minutes in you think, "Good, it's almost over!" 

But when cool down starts, you think, "What??  Over already??" 

And it feels SOOOO good...

...Until the next day.

I'll be hurting tomorrow.

Spiders on a Sunday

Our garage is pretty dirty.  Leaves and dirt blow in, dust settles, and bugs make their homes.  I assume it is pretty much like other people's garages; they are hard to keep clean.

It was raining pretty hard outside as I was leaving for church this afternoon.  I stopped to admire the rain out of the open garage door for a second (I love me a good rainstorm), and then walked around my car to get in the driver's side door.  As I park in Garage Spot #2, the drivers side is near the outside wall of the garage, and as we always have a lot of junk in our garage, I normally have to step over something that has been placed between the wall and my car to get to my door.  So, today, just like any day, I stepped over the mess in my high heels, opened my door, tucked my skirt beneath me, and climbed inside my car. 

I went to insert my key into the ignition, when something caught my eye.  I looked down at my skirt and just about freaked out.  There, right above my knee and brightly juxtaposed against my black skirt, was a lovely white wad of spider web, and a lovely dead spider to go with it.

Yuck!

I jumped out of my car, used a closed umbrella to swat at the dead spider and to GET IT OFF!, and then ran back inside to clean myself up.  A little spider and web shouldn't bother me, but it was gross.  And I was in a dress.  And there was a spider.  On me. 

I'm not quite sure how my dead 8-legged friend got stuck on my skirt.  My guess is that I brushed up against something (the wall?) as I was getting to my car. Maybe it was hanging off my car door?  Perhaps I snagged it as I was climbing over junk?  I just don't know.

One thing, though, is for certain:  It is time to clean the garage.

Homework and Hockey

I was going to blog--really blog--but I had to do my homework and I ran out of time.

However, I did talk to my boyfriend and I did watch Game 6 of the Stanley Cup (as I studied, of course).

And even though Vancouver lost, I decided that I like really like Canadians...

...and that I really dislike homework...

...and that I really like one particular Canadian in particular...

But then, you already knew that.  :)

Go Canucks!!!

Postponed

I had all these thoughts about what to blog tonight.  I thought about how today is the 4th anniversary of me coming home from my mission.  How the poppies outside are popping and bright and beautiful.  How we had a great birthday party for Clive and Colette with family and food.  How I slide down our giant slide in a skirt and then literally skied across the grass on my bare feet because I was going so fast.  And I thought about how life takes some unexpected turns and things happen and we never know where the road is going to leave us.

Yet, despite the multitude of thoughts, I find that I can't seem to write about any of them tonight.  They are too many and varied and I can't seem to sort through or organize them enough to write them down.

And so, they will have to wait.  Until I can figure it out or have a moment or find some time or think some more.

They will wait...at least until tomorrow.

Vote Now!

So, I really am serious about changing the name of my blog.  I appreciated those who made suggestions a few weeks ago.  But let's try it again.  If you look to the right, you will notice that I have added a poll.  Please vote for the one or more new names that you like best.  If you don't like any of them, suggest something different in the comments.  If no one votes, I'm going to have to choose for myself, and we all know how indecisive I can be.  Thanks!

Sunday Activity

I guess the nice thing about having church at 1:00 is that I can not get out of bed until 11, wash my hair, shave my legs, make me breakfast/lunch, watch the rain storm, make a salad for dinner, clean up the kitchen, and still have time to blog about it before I get dressed and have to leave.  :)

I Need a Hero--or Just the Man in Black

The best part of today?

The Princess Bride reference on Chuck.

It was awesome.

Now, back to the homework.

Famous People

Check out this news story about Keith's little brother.



His mom and dad also make an appearance.

And if you look closely, you can see Keith's chin.

Pretty darn cool.