November Jog

I went running today for the first time since the Hamptons Marathon.  It's been a while!  The weather was perfect for a "quick" jog.  I can't decide if I want the weather to stay this nice for the rest of winter or if I want it to snow so I can go skiing!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

One thing I love about October and November is that pumpkins and pumpkin-flavored goods are abundant.  I already shared my favorite pumpkin cookie recipe; one of my next favorite meals is dinner in a pumpkin.

Ingredients:
3-5 cups cooked white rice (enough to almost fill the pumpkin)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pound hamburger, cooked
1 onion, cooked
1 can waterchestnuts
1 can mushrooms
1 medium pumpkin

 Begin by hollowing out the pumpkin.  Mix the rest of the ingredients together and put them inside the pumkin.  Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 90 minutes.  It's that easy!

Tip Top!

Here's a shout out to Alyssa at the Tip Top Shop. She made a banner for my Grandma's Etsy site and was very nice about it. Then my grandma wanted poster for a craft fair she is going to, and Alyssa redesigned the banner into a poster. Thanks Alyssa! I highly recommend working with her!

The Mix-Up of Emails

Have you ever been sent emails that weren't meant for you? Have you ever had people grossly misspell your name after they have typed you an email, which happens to be your email address? Or, they just misspell your name after you've sent an email with your signature. These things happen regularly to me at work.

Today, however, I saw a new one. I sent a guy and email a few days ago and today he responded to "Mr. ..." That's a first!

What's the worst email mistake you've been a part of?

Power's Out

The power was out when I got to work this morning.  This meant I got the morning off!  In honor of getting the morning off and the power being out, here is one of my favorite Arcade Fire songs, aptly titled "Neighborhood #3 (Power's Out)".

100 Things About Me

In honor of my 100th post, here are 100 random facts about me.

1. I like to own things. Borrowing books from the library or buying music off iTunes without owning the cd just doesn't do it for me.
2. I am a pizza connoisseur; I only eat the good stuff!
3. I have a freaky memory when it comes to dates and clothes. I can remember what I wore and what the date was for every semi-important date over the last few years.
4. I've played the YMCA's bells in Jerusalem.
5. I have an irrational dislike of the number 5...
6. ...and the color red.
7. I've eaten cow tongue.
8. I can't spell maintenance.
9. I love make-up.
10. I don't like football. I just don't understand the point.
11. I don't like to use mayonnaise for sandwiches or cooking, even though I love potato salad and deviled eggs.
12. Trees make me feel claustrophobic. I like dead stuff like dirt and rocks and when you can see things that are far away.
13. I don't have a very good poker face...
14. Yet somehow, I'm really good at poker.
15. I have to psych myself up to wash my face every night; I never want to get my face wet.
16. I love calculus and all other forms of math.
17. My favorite "board" game is Boggle. You think you're good?  Bring it on.  I love a challenge.
18. A girl named Megan and I won our elementary school Field Day Three-Legged-Race competition in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades.
19. Once, I ran from my apartment in Provo to Bridal Veil Falls and back. I hadn't trained, so I was sore for weeks.
20. I have never broken a bone.
21. I find standardized tests somewhat enjoyable.
22. I had never been to Colorado before I moved there.
23. I can French braid my own hair.
24. I can solve a Rubik's Cube, but not in less than a minute.
25. My left eyebrow is more pointed than my right one, and thus, I like it better.
26. I love to scrub the bathtub but I hate cleaning toilets.
27. I prefer gold to silver.
28. I was once offered all the camels in Luxor if I'd be a guys bride. I might have taken him up on it if I thought he could actually procure them.
29. I have twin conjoined freckles just above my knee. Two freckles right next to each other look like figure eights. It's strange.
30. Despite how much running I do, I really don't like it. I like racing.
31. I love all things about birthdays; the parties, the presents, the cake...I especially like mine :)
32. I love throwing birthday parties, but not mine.
33. I do not like Chipotle. Sorry.
34. I didn't like cantaloupe until I lived in Italy.
35. I didn't like watermelon until I lived in Israel.
36. I speak Klingon. No, that's actually a lie to see if you are still reading.
37. I have had 63 roommates.  Four have been named Rachel, and one was named Rachelle.
38. I never had an imaginary friend when I was little, but I wanted one because everyone else seemed to have them.
39. I have gone on whole vacations to Lake Powell and never gotten in the water. I just don't like to be wet!
40. I can't float, even if I try really hard.
41. Despite not liking water and not being able to float, I did both at the Dead Sea and had an immensely enjoyable time.
42. I love to write missionaries and send them packages. Going on a mission? Send me your info. Really.
43. Blowfish shoes fit my feet perfectly.
44. I love eating rice and beans. I wonder why I wasn't born into a Latin American family.
45. I have extremely short hamstrings. I have to stretch daily just so I can touch my toes.
46. I love free t-shirts.
47. I don't type using my pinkies. I need to retrain myself because I can't type that fast.
48. I don't like plain water. I need to put Crystal Light or some other flavoring in it.
49. I love quizzes that come in magazines.
50. I only like toothpastes that taste minty or have an otherwise clean taste.
51. I do not like to drive.
52. If I drive, I prefer SUVs.
53. When I grow up, I want to live in a house with a wrap-around porch and white walls.
54. I don't like to fly, but it is a necessary evil which facilitates my travelling habit.
55. I tried to like "This American Life" but I can't get into it.
56. I love ice cream cones. They make me feel young and jovial.
57. I love it when people read to me.
58. I prefer Western Family Mac'n'Cheese to both Kraft and homemade versions.
59. I love to read about the weekly grocery specials. Love.
60. I don't like wearing shoes...
61. But when forced to, my shoe of choice is a peep-toe pump.
62. I really like striped clothing.
63. I have never cooked on a grill.
64. I love pebbled ice.
65. Sponges gross me out. I prefer washcloths.
66. I don't like to touch raw meat. Ick.
67. I am scuba certified.
68. I love acronyms and making up acronyms for things.
69. I have a very girly sneeze.
70. I like to sleep on the couch.
71. I enjoy riding donkeys.
72. I am not allergic to anything.
73. I like climbing things, but I don't like jumping, climbing, or rappelling down.
74. I am slightly afraid of heights (hence the not likeing coming down).
75. My favorite colors are kelly green, aqua, and purple, in that order.
76. I don't like it when my ankles are cut off in pictures; it's such an awkward ending place.
77. I adopt other people's habits quite regularly.
78. I struggle to keep my shoes in my closet. I can think of at least five places in my house right now that are not my closet that have shoes in them. Oops.
79. I cry during most movies, sad and happy.
80. I dance in my car to the music, but only by myself.
81. I love foreign films.
82. I think grey should always be spelled grey and never gray.
83. My favorite Disney movie is Mulan.
84. All four of my grandparents are still living.
85. I am a Cancer, but I really don't believe in that stuff.
86. I like to google people I know.  Oops!
87. I love travelling by subway; I really dislike planes.
88. I love knitting, crocheting, sewing, and other domestic things like that.
89. When I put away the dishes, I almost always forget to close the cupboard doors.  Roommates have teased me because they always know when I've done the dishes.
90. I only use white hangers.
91. I want to have a personal ceramics studio in my home some day.
92. In my studio, I will make my own dishes from which my family will eat.
93. I frequently read four or five books at once, and it thus takes me months to finish reading anything.
94. I am very jumpy. People stop by my desk just to say hello and I jump.
95. I think semicolons are underused; they are very useful.
96. I also like ellipses...
97. I don't ever wear turtlenecks because I feel like they are choking me.
98. I will never voluntarily own a pet, although I was rather fond of our dog lucky.
99. I have never had hair longer than my shoulders.  I'm currently growing it out.  We'll see how long that lasts.
100. I am a wanderlust at heart.  I've moved 5 places in the past year.

That's all.

At Least Orange is Festive

I got a new haircut about two weeks ago, and I'm still getting used to it.  My hairstylist was awesome, thought, and she showed me how to style it and she showed me some hair tricks, including how to curl your hair with a flat iron.  (Intrigued?  Don't be... you'll see why!)  So yesterday I decided to try the flat-iron thing on my own, and it ended up working really well, so I decided to try it again, today.  When I was done, there was this one spot that looked funny.  I look closer, and it is Orange!  I must have somehow burnt my hair while trying to curl it, and the piece is right next to my face.  I'm afraid it's going to all fall off when I comb it or wash it!  There will be no flat irons used on my hair for a while.

Can you see it?

So I've photoshoped (clearly, I should work on my photoshop skills) the photo to delineate where it burned.  At least I looked cute!