keaton andre'

Keaton Andre' Anderson

was born September 21, 2010 at 5:12 a.m.

I know everyone says this, but I really do have the most darling nephews in the world. And he is just barely 24 hours old here, and he doesn't even look like an alien.

THAT is good baby-making.

I wasn't able to go to bed until 2:00a.m. Monday night

(thanks for nothing Professor Barron, your class is really terrible.)

and then woke up to Holly banging on my bedroom window thirty minutes after I'd gone to bed. We picked up Andre', picked up Wendy's, and headed over to the hospital. After a series of VERY fortunate events (I will spare you the details which my sister did not do here) bebis Keaton arrived safe and sound, breathing on his own, at 5:30.

Later that day, I played single mom to two munchkins, had a sleepover, watched Wall-E, made breakfast, and drove a minivan. and I would do it all over again. maybe.

P.S. I named him. After my high school crush/boyfriend Keeton Little, while we were having lunch at Carl's Jr.

Oh, memories.

(I can't remember if we actually "dated", which is probably not a good sign. but we did kiss. that is all that matters.)

you learn a lot about yourself from roadkill

I'm serious. I think it says a lot about a person when it comes to animals and death.

Recently, my friend ran over a squirrel on the freeway. It wasn't his fault- but he apologized to the little squirrel whose resting place is now the I-80.

When I was 15, my friend Elizabeth and I were at Bucks Lake, CA for girls camp. Girls camp...is a different experience. It probably even deserves a post all by itself. I even had a bear encounter once. But that year was different. We were infested with squirrels. They were everywhere. They were eating our trail mix, nibbling our toes, causing havoc in the camps. You get the idea. These things are nothing short of really obnoxious.

Elizabeth and I woke up one day, and we decided we had had enough. While laying on our bags for sleeping one morning and listening to N'Sync, a little dusty grey squirrel perched himself up on a tree stump, eating some kind of stolen goodness and stared at us. I was protecting my candy bars with my life, and Elizabeth decided to take a different approach. She grabbed a handful of small-to-medium sized rocks, and started chucking them at the squirrel. With her very first rock, she hit the little sucker square in the temple, knocking him to the ground. He never got up.

Now what I mean in learning a lot about yourself is this: we both laughed. Hysterically. The poor little squirrel never even saw it coming, and we took some sort of sick pleasure in ridding ourselves of one squirrel- even though there were thousands of the things left.

But this summer was different. While I was living in San Diego, I lived at my friend Brittany's house, which is across from a park. Every morning on my way to work, I saw bunnies. Not the ugly jack rabbit kind- but the cute little Peter cottontail bunnies with white fluffy tails. One morning, I didn't see the bunny in time. I killed him. Flat on the road.

"NOOOOOOO! What are you doing little bunny? Why? Why did you throw yourself in front of my car?"

But the bunny didn't answer. I felt so bad I had to tell someone, so I called my friend Nick, looking for some sort of comfort. He just told me it was probably somebody's pet. Clearly, these types of incidents cannot be avoided. But why me? Why my tires? All that was left of the little guy was a tuft of fur on Auburn Ridge Way. The only thing I learned from this experience is that at least I know that I'm a better person than I was at 15. I wonder if Elizabeth is too.

Sorry everyone, Easter is cancelled.

back to schoolings

back to school, back to school, to prove to dad I'm not a fool.

Also, I realize this blog has lost some substance over the past few months. I apologize. But not really. Because summer 2010 sucked the life outta me. For reals.

P.S. I am blogging this from school where these two returned missionaries will NOT stop talking about how they picked up their wives in Russia, NOT because they were Russian, but simply because that is whom they happened to fall in love with. Get real. But maybe get real somewhere else. Nobody cares.

Anyways. My friend Fish blogged about something I've been giving a lot of thought to, and it seems everyone else has as well. You may have heard about the proposed and approved mosque and community center near the 9/11 site. Unless you're like me and call Us Weekly the news.

This plan was approved by a city panel, just two blocks from ground zero. As you can imagine, controversy has ensued ever since. Sarah Palin was so upset about the whole thing she even asked for peaceful Muslims to "refudiate" the plan, and called it a stab to the American heart, all via Twitter. Lots of problems with this statement, beginning with the fact that refudiate isn't actually a word to begin with. Anyways.


I understand both sides, but I really think the issue has gotten a little out of hand. So how should something like this even be settled? Precedent? A coin toss? My friend Fish had the idea to "put a New York Yankee on the very top of the freedom tower (that doesn't yet exist.) Now, it needs to be an American citizen. No Mexicans. Probably not even a Puerto Rican. And not just some naturalized player. A real live multi generational citizen. Now, let that Yankee drop hit a baseball as far as he can, from the tip top of the non existent freedom tower(s), and where that ball lands, is the closest that any Mosque may be built". In my opinion this is the best idea yet.


I also remember another religious controversy involving Catholic nuns praying for Auschwitz victims in a chapel near the historical site. Even though they were nuns, just about the least threatening entities on the planet, Pope John Paul II asked them to leave as it still indicated an expropriation of the memory of the Jews killed there. The place was just too sensitive for families still in the area, and they stopped praying there when they realized it was causing them pain. I'd like to think that if the RLDS church ever was involved in some sort of American tragedy they would not build a pray center right next to the site. It's just insensitive. I think that overall the Muslims don't mean any harm, and that it's time, for us as Americans, to MOVE ON.

I gotta have this bag

that is all. for now. better updates later, I promise.

shark week

SHARK WEEK.

this is my favorite week. I would tivo all of the shows if I didn't already know all of the shows are virtually the same and about sharks. and if I had tivo.

don't be fooled--just because my summer has been unbelievably boring and filled with work, this is not why I love shark week.

I LOVED IT BEFORE I BECAME A GROWNUP WORKAHOLIC.

I proudly own this one guys.

friday brain-dump

This week I have had a lot of jumbled thoughts, but nothing really post-worthy by itself.

• Today is payday. I am still working at Pottery Barn, J.Crew and downtown at the PR agency, J.Simms. I have told myself that I was going to put my two-weeks notice in at J.Crew like eight times, but then they just keep scheduling me for four hours a week, which is worth keeping for the discount. I'll be shooting myself in the foot when next week's schedule comes out and I am working 60 hours again.

• I finally replaced my Michael Kors watch that went missing at Christmas. Pretty sure it was lost somewhere in Reno. Since then I had gone back to Provo, and then moved out of my apartment and to San Diego. No sign. It took me a while but I was able to let go, and swallow the fact that I wasn't going to find it. I went in to the Michael Kors store this week, and the guy felt sorry for me after my story and gave me 15% off.

• 

• It has FINALLY started to warm up down here in San Diego. For the past two weeks it has been overcast and chilly, not really getting above 70. Mid-July, and it's finally HOT. Well, considering. High 70's today, and mid-70's the rest of the week. At least warm enough to go to the beach.
  

• Cami is coming down here the end of July, I could not be more thrilled. I haven't seen that girl in way way too long. Considering we used to be pretty much inseparable and she probably still knows me better than anyone, that's not acceptable. Really wish Megan, Benita and Beth would get on that train.

• Really wanting to plan a graduation trip either in December or next summer. I've never been anywhere, and think that'd be the perfect time to go. Any suggestions?

• Fish tacos are just as good now as they were two months ago when I got here. They are never getting old.
  

• I should be at Seven Peaks.
• 
• Went into Verizon to get a new phone, but instead the guy gave me a new battery for free. Problem temporarily solved, and for free. Committing to a new phone is so stressful, I can't do it. But I will probably go with the Droid.

• After WEEKS of playing phone tag with Megan, I finally got a hold of her. Or her of me. Whichever. Immediately after talking to her, I felt better about things. She is seriously amazing. I hope all of you have a friend like her.

• I am still on a Facebook fast. I decided that checking it at night, in the morning, at work and inbetween work was a little excessive. I deactivated for a week, and today marks the seventh day. But I just don't miss it that much. I will be back, I just don't know when. I think I am getting more sleep.
  

• Stephen Jones is hilarious. Love him in BYU's rendition of the OldSpice commercial:

so what? I watch reality TV

Truth is, I like watching reality television. I try really hard not to do it unless I'm with my friends, who appreciate my meaningless comments, and on DVR, where we can rewind the most ridiculous parts to watch them over and over again.

This is my favorite time of year as far as television is concerned, airing my two favorites:

So You Think You Can Dance (or SYTYCD for all you followers out there)

and, the lovely Bachelorette.

I realize, without you having to say anything at all, that the second show is just absurd, and each season reaches a new level of ridiculousness. But that's besides the point. It is FUNNY. It is full of crazy people, cheesy comments, love, hate, evil stepmothers. Really, what more could you ask for?

Unfortunately, I've been watching my shows by myself this summer. But I do have some things to say.

The Bachelorette:

I was really sad the "world-tour" was over, because I loved just looking at all of the places they were able to go. Lisbon was absolutely beautiful. I will go there.

Ali goes to Robert's hometown first. He won the hometown dates for sure--he had it all. Even the baseball uni, which if you are unsure how I feel about those, go here. Playing in the park, the amazingly awesome hispanic family (I'm a little bit biased), and best of all, he appears to be one hundred percent normal. Not to mention, one of the best looking. I don't think he'd really propose though in the end. He's way too smart.

Next Ali goes to the Cape to visit Chris M. He is the second most normal, and the second-best looking. But let's be real, Ali why are you wearing those leather boots to the beach? Darling, but not your best judgment. And I thought her hair was bad before. YOU ARE ON NATIONAL TELEVISION. Where is your hairbrush?



Other than that, another normal trip. I was pretty sad about that part. His sisters seemed normal, and his dad could not have been more cute. And I have his sister-in-law's boots. Ali doesn't seem as interested in him as the others though, I can tell this because she is not constantly interrupting what he's saying with her tongue in his mouth.

Kirk's house is where it starts to get good. So so glad that Kirk is gone. His blonde eyebrows were always throwing me off, and the taxodermy Dad? That would have sealed the deal for me too. At this point I think that Chris and Kirk probably have the most genuine feelings towards Ali, but I don't see her picking Chris in the end either.

Finally, I have never ever liked Frank. Not even at the Hollywood sign on their first date. The glasses, the bad cardigans, his snaggletooth and insecurities, it's just not my thing. Plus he always seems a gust of wind away from a panic attack. Seriously. Calm down Frank. Plus I heard that you have a girlfriend too and break the news in Tahiti. That should be good.

Sidenote: Remember Kiptyn from last year? I do. He is by far the best-looking contestant they have ever had on the show. Too bad Ali didn't have nearly the pool of applicants as Jill did. I heard he's recently off the market and with a Jake cast-off from last season...but seriously.
Kiptyn, if it doesn't work out, I'm 100% available and in San Diego until further notice.




I realize this just very quickly became a Kiptyn shrine, but I don't care.