NC Bingo

To spice up our trip to North Carolina, Matt and I created a Bingo Sheet of things to do while we were there. The "***" are spaces we filled in for the other person to do, and the blank middle space is the free space. 

North Carolina Bingo Sheet

Find a man with great beard	Throw something really really far	***	Stand statue still for 8 seconds	Create fangs using anything
Eat a dessert in one shot	Talk about camping or spelunking with someone else	Jinx the other person	***	Balance something on your nose
Order some food with a real Southern accent	Find someone in the airport with a stuffed toy		Find a word that has more than 13 letters in it	Without asking them, get someone to quote a Christmas song
Find a couple making out	Find any animal from the deer family and take a pic	Find a Utah license plate	Eat something without your hands	Photobomb someone
***	Eat some food like you’re in a cheesy commercial	Take a really angry picture somewhere pretty	***	Take a pic with an inanimate object

Matt's Angry Face at our pretty Open House

Me eating dessert in one shot.

Me with an animal from the deer family

Matt throwing something really, really far.

We both were able to do everything except 'find a couple making out.' Probably one of the only times I've been disappointed for not seeing PDA.

What would you put on a traveling Bingo sheet?

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

P.S. For the record, Matt was the first to get a Bingo.

Christmas in NC

We booked our flights back in August, and the time has finally come. Here's a glimpse of our list of "Things to do in North Carolina:

See the Festival of Lights (bad picture, I know, but the car was in motion). 

Have a fabulous Open House.

Visit Matt's old schools.


Eat authentic Southern BBQ.


Go hiking in the mountains (yes, it was a little chilly).


Eat at Krispy Kreme.


Visit our nieces' graves.


Have a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner.


Spend time with family.



List: Complete.

What was on your to-do list over Christmas break?

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

My Secret Identities

I always wanted to dye my hair when I was younger. I never got the chance until I went to college. *rebel* I dyed my hair 3 colors (Dark Brown, Blonde, Ginger) before returning to my original "honey brown." Every time I dyed my hair, I almost felt like I was wearing a disguise (like a wig). Hence, my secret identities.

The first time I dyed my hair I thought I'd make it a beautiful dark brown, just like my mom. She helped me put in a temporary dye that was supposed to come out after 10 washes or so. You can't tell very well from the picture on the left, but it was pretty dark.

When I served a mission to the Dominican Republic, I decided to go blonde since everyone called me "rubia" (blondie) anyway. I could usually get one of my companions to help me dye it every 6-8 weeks. The middle picture is a professional job when I got back from my mission.

Red was my most daring attempt. I've always thought it would be awesome to be a ginger, but I saved it for last because it would be the most different. My hair has a slight reddish tint to it, and I think I've liked this color the best. On the right is my hair after putting in a tinted conditioner.

It's been interesting to see how people viewed me when my hair was a different color. Often there is a stigma associated with blonde or red hair, for example. I think the difference was mostly internal, how people perceived me, as opposed to how they treated me, so it was hard to measure the difference. I have to say, though, I got the most comments when I went from blonde to red.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Second Date

On our second and third dates, Matt and I composed a "Silly Song with Larry." Since it was Christmas time, we decided to do something festive: Mistletoe!
Since it would take way too long to actually compose a song and write lyrics (we gained new respect for musicians) we used the tune to "Far Far Away on Judea's Plains."
We weren't able to finish the song on the second date *oh darn* we had to get together a day or so later to complete it. Those three dates during finals were totally worth it.


Rhetorically,
Rebekah

To Spiders

When I was younger, I'd cower in the corner while my dad disposed of you.

As I got older, I could catch you with a tissue and flush you down the toilet myself.

When I went on my mission, I developed a higher tolerance for you.

My new motto: "if you can't see the spider from the other side of the room, it may live."

I even let one of you live on the ceiling in my apartment because you would catch so many flies. That is, until we realized there were a bunch of smaller dots surrounding you--aka your dozens of babies.

When I came back from my mission, my tolerance lowered again.

In the past few months, Matt has killed most of you.

And you have been FAT. I mean, disgustingly fat. 

Which makes me wonder: Were you born that way? 

Or are you that fat because you've eaten so many other things that we wouldn't want to see?

If the former, I hope we've killed you before you could reproduce.

If the latter, then thank you for disposing of unwanted insects (or other spiders?)

Rhetorically,

Rebekah

To Elle the Dell (My 1st Laptop)

I got you as a Graduation/ Christmas present in December of 2006. And after 6 years, you died on me this past January. You were there for some of the most significant experiences of my life:

1. My Sterling Scholar portfolio
2. Every undergraduate paper I wrote. Ever.
3. My mission call (application)
4. My jobs as a Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, and Paralegal.
5. My first semester of Law School (including Finals--that's probably what did you in).

You were with me through every single all-nighter I pulled in an attempt to finish my papers at the last minute. You helped me Skype, set up my Facebook account, and correspond with dozens of friends and family. 

You stored all of my songs, either uploaded from CDs or downloaded from iTunes, as well as all of my documents, outlines, and notes from High School through my Graduate Degree. Thankfully, my dad was able to save everything you had post-mortem.

It was a sad day when you died, and I have yet to permanently replace you. 

Rhetorically,

Rebekah

First Date

A year ago today, Matt and I went on our 1st date.  He invited me to hike Y-mountain, since I had mentioned earlier in the semester that I liked that particular trail.

Since it was December, and I was out of shape, I told him we'd have to walk slow. We talked the whole way, and when we were finished with the hike, we decided to continue our conversation by driving around in his car. The date lasted four hours, and it was fabulous.

We both agreed we should go on a second date. We later went on a third date, and a fourth, and...well, you know the rest.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

So This Is What It's Like...

To Form a Habit.

I blog basically every day for a month, and then I go two days without blogging and feel guilty--even though I completed my goal of blogging for a month. Huh. I don't think that's ever happened to me before. Usually I make a goal, keep it, and move on when I'm done. Or I eventually rationalize it away (this is how I stopped journaling for a year- but don't worry, I now journal daily again).

Keeping up blogging this past month was really a feat for me. I still can't believe I did it. It was a good reminder how even spending 5 minutes a day can help me accomplish something big. Even though it didn't take up a lot of time, I had to make it a conscious priority every day. Imagine what I could accomplish if I did that with everything! I would get a lot done, and also probably be tired all the time.

However, I will start small.
1. Write Every Day (I already proved to myself that I could do it)
2. Read the Scriptures Every Morning (With 8am classes this semester, it's been hard to get up and read early in the morning when I'm rushing to get ready to leave.)

Another habit I've kept this semester- reading Chronicles of Narnia. I can't express how awesome it is to actually read "fun" books during the semester. Usually I go on a "book fast" because I like to finish books in a single sitting. I don't read a single book the whole semester and then I binge over the breaks. The fact that I've been consistently reading throughout the semester is something that's never happened to me before.

A book I'd like to read that I think I can pace myself on: To Kill A Mockingbird. Maybe next semester.

The world is full of possibilities when you do something little each day.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Frozen Review

So our family has the tradition of going to the movie theater on Thanksgiving morning to watch a new movie. This year, we split up and saw "Frozen" and "Ender's Game."

I saw Frozen, and it was...unexpected. I thought I had figured the whole plot out from the trailers, but there were a few twists thrown in that I wasn't expecting. Props to Disney for that! (I'll refrain from spoilers, because I really want you to see it!)

I especially liked the soundtrack. My favorite songs were: Love is an Open Door, Let it Go, In Summer, and For the First Time. (So basically all of them). All of the voices were exceptional.

We saw the movie in 3D, which was cool, but I think I would have liked it just as well in 2D. The animation was great, and I could really see the influence from the animators of Wreck it Ralph and Tangled. It was one of those movies that reminds you about all the fun things you can do in winter, and the beauty there is in the snow.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Christmas Party Poster

So I spent a good portion of today working on the following poster for the Ward Christmas Party:

Nothing traced, everything handwritten or drawn. As with any project where I painstakingly pay attention to detail, I always have a spelling error. Do you see it? I promise I know how to spell, but I finished the poster around midnight (with the help of Amazing Matt) and was too tired to triple check. Because apparently double checking, which we did, wasn't enough.

Anyway, the mistake is fixed now:

Rhetorically,
Rebekah