Life Lessons

(picture from 2005ish)

Meet Erin. Erin Carter (not to be confused with Aaron Carter, teen pop star). Erin and I met in our sophomore ward at BYU Idaho back in 2003. We pretty much did everything together--this pic is from when we worked for BYUI Event Staff and I think we were working on our "soccer pose."

Anyway, back to the point. I was just digging through my hard drive from school and found a file named "Life Lessons for Spencer" from November 2006 and had to open it. Just a few gems from the document:

Life Lessons, As Prepared by Autumn Winds Apartment #308


Lesson #5: Never swear girls off and say they are dumb.


Lesson #6: Ask out lots of different girls, but ask out girls that could potentially be compatible. Be sure to taste all the flavors of ice cream.


Lesson #7: Never call a girl "home-ly" and A) make sure that she dresses cute, but not too high maintenance and B) date girls who look cute in ALL situations.


Lesson #9: Ask out girls who have goals and aspirations, and who are motivated by things she is passionate about. Make sure she is confident in her potential.


Lesson #11: Don't ask out needy girls. It is good to have down time by yourself.


Lesson #12. Don't date girls that are dumb as dirt. 


Lesson #19: Date girls who have motherly qualities ie. cooking, cleaning, compassionate, first aid skills, etc.


Lesson #21: Never date drama queens.


Pretty profound life lessons, huh? Lesson #12 might be my fave. Oh, and the motherly qualities part. Erin and Spencer ended up getting married that next year. I like to think that Spencer did pretty well at following the outlined lessons :) Good times, sweet memories!

Lots going on these days...headed to Houston next week to spend some time at home. Lots to do between now and then! And our Cards just made it to the World Series! What-what! 

Did you know...

• that members of the mafia have summer homes in New Jersey and drive black Hummers with tinted windows?

• that when gas stations have their lights out, that it means they're being robbed and you should just keep on driving?

• that when you see a good deal at an antique shop, you should just buy it right then? (If you vocalize that it's a good deal, someone *without fail* will have heard you and swipe the said item out from under you.)

• that shopping without a fanny pack isn't essential? (I survived--and spent plenty of money--without using a a fanny pack!)

• that my mom hasn't changed in 35 years (according to her junior high school friend)?

• that sitting in the back seat (where you can't see what's going on up ahead) is the best place to be?

• that eating ice cream (especially from McDonald's) every day is essential to a well-balanced diet? And that when you pour hot fudge on ice cream, it'll melt a little?

• that change (according to some people) is NOT a good thing?

• that "keep it on the double-nickels" means keep your speed under 55 -OR- keep at least two wheels of the car on the ground at all times?

• that I love my Aunt Sharon and Uncle (Leo!) Cliff and have loved spending the last week and a half with them?

Strawberry Jam Goodness

This is the best way to make strawberry jam. I'm *slightly* picky when it comes to jam-slash-jelly...I'll only eat mom's strawberry jam. No chunks of fruit--that's the way I like it! I assisted Katie the other day in her strawberry jam making and I was lucky enough to be the recipient of two jars of jam! I've been known to eat upwards of six or seven pieces of toast over the last couple of weeks...I can't get enough of it!
Thanks mom for teaching me the right way to make jam! :) (Sorry to all the chunky fruit lovers out there!)

ooxxooXoXXx

I spent the afternoon over at Katie and Joe and Claire's...nice, quiet, lazy afternoon. Claire's saying "I love you!" in this picture! Ha!

Things I've learned in the last week or so:
• Me + medicine = not good a good combination! I haven't really been myself the last week or so, and I don't really like it! I can't even remember the last time I went to see a doctor, but I went last week because I wasn't getting over my cold. I was feeling pretty anxious about going, but knew I needed to go. The doctor that I saw recently retired and used to live in my parent's stake, so he knew my parents and younger siblings. Crazy, small world connection! I felt better about going to the doctor after making that little connection with the doctor! Turns out I had the flu...a pretty intense case of the flu! I was down-and-out for the count for several days. Still not feeling 100%, but so much better than I was feeling a week ago!
• Those Puffs Plus with Vicks are lifesavers when you're blowing your nose every 2.9 seconds. I highly recommend them.
• I'm so, so ready for spring! It was near 70 towards the beginning of the week, and yesterday we had snow. Boo. I bought myself a beautiful boquet of tulips today to help me get through these last few weeks of winter.
• I ♥ ebay! My camera cord went MIA (surprise...it's always missing!) so I went to to the store to buy a card reader and a battery charger. Card reader = $20. Battery charger = $50. Total = $70. Found the cord I needed that would do both things for...$1 on ebay! I saved myself $69!
• Driving down State Street or University Parkway in Orem/Provo with all green lights is pure happiness. Doesn't happen very often, but when it does, life is good.
• See that little video on the right-hand side? Baby Claire is in it! Katie's neighbor has been involved with making several videos for the Church, and asked if Katie and Claire could help out. Pres. Uchtdorf gave this talk at last October's General Relief Society meeting. It was such an amazing talk and is worth re-reading! There are several other videos on youtube by MormonMessages that are worth watching!
• What about Jason? I think he's a loser. I know he's been on his 'apology tour' for the last week, but still...what he did was so not cool.
• And what about American Idol? I don't know if I have any favorites just yet...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this season shapes up to something worth following. I am glad Tatiana didn't make it to the top 12 13. (I totally missed that they are having a top 13 until the next day!)