Remember When....

Remember when we were little and would have dinner together every night?
Remember when Mom or Dad would ask us what we did that day?
Remember when it was my turn to answer?

Well, for all those who miss (and don't miss) the daily log of all of my activities, here is a sample of life lately. I'll use Friday as an example.

7:40 AM: Wake up to alarm going off. Turn it off because the night before had been somewhat of a late night. Fall back asleep.

8:30 AM: Wake up to piano lessons. Still tired. Fall back asleep.

10:15ish AM: Get out of bed.

10:30 AM: Find some breakfast. Muffins. Read some comics and look at the daily newspaper including my horoscope. Clean up the breakfast mess from three shifts of breakfasts.

10:52 AM: Think about watching the last 10 minutes of Gilmore Girls but decide against it. Check my email, facebook, the blogs to see what happened in the 10 hours since I last checked them. Respond to anything that needs a response.

11:15 AM: Finally get ready for the day.

12:07 PM: Do some job stuff. Get really into it because I need something a little more permanent and steady. Talk to a lady and get an interview. Yay!!! While time passed really quickly, at least there was something beneficial from it!

3:12 PM: Get a text from Ben! It was nice to take a break from job stuff. Text a little about what we should do and decide to play some racquetball later.

3:57 PM: Hang out around the house. Graze on some food. Read about Oprah ending her show.

5:23 PM: Dust of the old racquetball racquet (okay, it is one of the Clark's, but it was a little dusty from sitting in their garage). Eat leftover's from dinner at Famous Dave's in the Mall of America with Ben the night before. I actually found Famous Dave's BBQ sauce in the fridge!

6:04 PM: Leave to meet Ben at his place.

6:16 PM: Realize I made a bad choice of ways to get to Ben's. Sit in traffic for a long time.

7:00 PM: Make it through the I-94 tunnel and decide to take some side streets the rest of the way to Ben's.

7:21 PM: Finally make it to Ben's, 21 minutes late! We head off to Hamline.

7:37 PM: Make it to the courts and start the warm up for what would be a great match of racquetball skills.

8:00 PM: Get kicked out of the rec center. Guess they close early on Friday nights. It's okay because someone was losing 9-2.

8:21 PM: Decide to try and see New Moon. Try and tell Ben it will be sold out, but he doesn't believe me that people would be that crazy for the movie.

8:50 PM: Find out New Moon is sold out until 11:30. Guess we'll have to see that one later :) Decide to do something else.

9:01 PM: Stop at Kohl's to see if they have a certain Christmas present. Get a massage from one of those nifty things you put on a desk chair. Look for black shoes size 13, but couldn't find any.

9:45 PM: Decide to watch Star Trek and head to Cub to get some food to eat during the movie.

10:23 PM: Start the movie. Try not to fall asleep during the movie. My eyes were only closed for a little bit and I heard every word they said.

12:59 AM: Walk out of Ben's apartment. Hear a train coming down the tracks so we go look at it. Head back to the car to find that my windows need scraped off. See a second train coming down the tracks that are closer and we go look at it.

1:10 AM: Head home to the Clark's. Also, realize that Jimmy is running on empty. Decide to see how far I can make it in order to find a cheaper gas station.

1:30 AM: Reach the Holiday gas station and fill up.

1:37 AM: Pull into the driveway.

1:40 AM: Get ready for bed.

Mix up those times and amounts of time I spend on each and you have what most of my days are like.

2012

Last night Ben and I went out and saw the new movie, 2012. It was a fine movie if you like movies where the world is about to end, lots of things being destroyed, and John Cusack (which I kept thinking about his role in Serendipity the whole time and couldn't really take his character seriously). None of this was a major draw for me. In fact, I probably would have fallen asleep except my "pillow" had to get up and use the bathroom right as I was ready to close my eyes long enough to let sleep come.

However, during the entire movie I just kept feeling sorry for people who think that the world really is going to end like that. While the exact time and events are still unknown, I'm not too worried about it. It's called the "great and dreadful day"for a reason: great for some, dreadful for others.

Next time Ben and I hit the movie theater, I'll be ready for something a little less exciting and something a little more Joanna-esque. Like New Moon. Or Princess Diaries III (if it ever happens).

Joanna's Christmas List

A better job :)
A plane ticket to Andalusia in late February or early March
A new winter coat
Boots
New clothes (especially jeans)
Printer cartridges
Stamp pad cleaner
Ice scraper/snow brush for Jimmy
Fleece headband for running in the cold weather
Enchanted
Anything else that might amuse me

I'm in love! I'm in love! And, I don't care who knows it!

Yesterday I was invited to go to Rochester for the afternoon. I had a great time in Rochester, especially since I had my own personal tour guide! The afternoon and evening of fun included a stop at Greg's Meat Processing to check out the local grub, a walk along one of the many paths in Rochester at sunset, dinner at a great Indian restaurant, and a drive around Pill Hill, where all the rich doctor's from the Mayo Clinic live. I've always enjoyed taking little excursions like this, but this one was different.

This was different because I fell in love.

I fell in love with this....




While it might appear as a simple Jeep Grand Cherokee, I was smitten from the moment I saw it. A moonroof. Leather seats with seat warmers. Cargo room. Silver. Jeep. Grand Cherokee. I've always wanted one and it was heavenly to sit behind the steering wheel of this car.

I personally want to thank my tour guide who so patiently waited while I enjoyed the wonderfulness of a dream come true and then listened to me as I talked about how great it was. I found my one true love.

Shoes, Glorious Shoes

Shoes really can change your life. Let me tell you about some shoes that have changed mine.

1. The cow shoes. I know you sisters and mom will remember these shoes. They were some of the first heels I owned. They were such a deal at Cato's and helped me see the light about how wonderful high heels are. Emily loving described these shoes as immoral (she'd been home from her mission for a week, I think) and 'the cow shoes'. That name stuck.

2. The moccasin slippers. I bought them during my junior year at BYU because I needed some slippers and didn't want the type without a back. I instantly fell in love and would always hate the time I'd have to go to class or work because I'd have to change into real shoes. Eventually, I decided I'd just wear them all the time. They were one of my two luxury items on my mission and are still holding strong. In fact, I am wearing them as I type this blog.

3. THE flip flops. Brown. Turquoise. Foam. Who wouldn't love them? Not Janet, because she had the exact same pair. Together we have loved these flip-flops. Occasionaly, we have gotten them confused. This summer we looked for replacements for the best flip flops ever, and sadly no flip flop will ever live up to the greatness of these flip flops. I can't wait for warmer weather to start wearing them again.

4. The gray and blue Adidas tennis shoes. I learned to love running in those shoes. They were so great I had them for four years. Eventually, they became my work shoes at veg prep, so everyday I could look forward to comfort of such a wonderful pair of shoes. Sadly, there came a day when I had to throw them and all the dried up food on the bottom of them away.

5. My brown Mudd missionary shoes. I wore them straight through in nine months, but my feet have never been happier. The scriptures mention feet in reference to declaring the 'good news' and these shoes were with me as I had some of the greatest experiences of my mission. While I loved them for being really cute, I will love them forever because of the miracles I saw while I had them.

Cinderella had it right.