Reasons to Smile

• Fat guys riding scooters (eg - Vespas)
• Being given two kinds of cookies by two different people on the same day
• Ridiculously funny texts from friends
• Meeting new guys who {gasp!} appear normal
• Joke after joke about tiny horses from apparently-normal new guys
• The thought of tiny horses
• Refresher piano lessons {my 10 year old self may disagree}
• Babies {really, aren't they the best?}
• British people who make great TV shows {they will always have a special place in my heart}
• Life being so, so good.

And yours?

The Festival

I spent some time with Bill "The Thrill" Shakespeare this weekend in Cedar City.  The festival was lovely, the plays were enjoyable, the tarts were delectable and the overall atmosphere was splendid, even if Bill was a bit . . . wooden?  Standoffish?  Stiff?  I'm not really sure, but he definitely was not quite himself.

Some Relationship Guidance

Spot on.  A bit unrefined but spot on.

A Motley Crew

While Youngest Sister was in town last week, we attempted to take some family pictures.  The photographer was great.  The subject matter on the other hand . . .

{Click to enlarge}

Now imagine adding 5 more adults and about 20 kids.  It's amazing that we accomplished anything at all.

I sure love these people.  And yet, I have no idea why.

MASHed

According to the very prophetic {and very dependable} outcome of a round of MASH that my sister did for me last night, I shall:

• Get married!
• To James Franco!
• And have 3 of his kids!
• Then become a professor!
• And live in Belgrade! 

Hmm.  Maybe it should be more like:

• Live in Belgrade . . . huh.

I Wonder . . .

Will Eric Bana think it's weird if I send him a homemade birthday card stating that I'd give up my left lung just be able to tie his shoelaces for him?

Probably, huh?

Oh well.  Guess I'll just tell him happy birthday from here.

What's Next?!

I love to read.  No, really.  I LOVE to read.  That's part of why I studied English - it gave me an excuse to read more books and to be told what to read.  But I've always loved it.  When I was really little, my mom would read bedtime stories to my two older sisters and me (we all shared a room at the time).  I still remember looking forward to that each night.  As I got older, I devoured whatever I could get my hands on.  Some of my favorites as a kid were the Ramona Quimby series (or anything by Beverly Cleary), the Great Brain series, the Babysitters Club series and Judy Blume books (although technically I wasn't supposed to read those - sorry, Mom).  As an preteen/teen I loved Jack Weyland.  But at the time, I wasn't living in Mormonland, so those books seemed so unique.  And there was always a new one coming out.

Now, I read just about anything, but it's not always easy to find something new to read that's good.  In fact one of the things I fear and dread the most is finishing a book and not having another one ready to start.  Bah!  What am I going to read now?  I'm in a book club with sweet Nichole and some other lovely ladies, so that helps, but we only meet once a month, so what do I do the other three weeks of the month?  Most recently, the most interesting thing I've read is a brief history of the British monarchs, from Henry VIII to Elizabeth II, which was good, but now what? 

I need suggestions all the time, but I'll take whatever you can give me now.  Really.  What have you read that you've loved?  Even just liked a bit?  And if you read a great book sometime in the future, will you leave a comment on my blog about it?  I will be eternally grateful.

I just wish it was still as simple as reading the newest Charlie Brown book about Valentines Day.  Oh well.