Social Media Issues

I think my two least favorite feelings in the world are regret and jealousy.  I am pretty good about not regretting things, though, either due to a conscious effort to seize most opportunities presented to me or else because I come up with silly "well even though everyone had fun at the party I might have gotten in a car accident on the way home" excuses that remind me that my life's good.  But the other feeling, jealousy, is one that I am not as adept at avoiding.

I have a great life.  I love my family and friends to pieces, and I like my (Purchasing) job most of the time.  I have done well in school and have had a lot of fun.  I have been on enough wonderful vacations and thrilling adventures to feel like my life has variety and spontaneity.  I have a deep faith in God and I try to focus on what is really important during this short time I have on earth.

But then I look at Facebook and Pinterest, and the insecurities that I didn't know I had spring up like weeds.  On Pinterest I see pictures of clothes that I will never afford, crafts that I will never have time to do, perfect homes for which I don't dare hope, and bodies that won't be mine no matter how many miles I run.  I find myself wishing that I had more money, skinnier legs, or that one perfect outfit.  Facebook is perhaps less of a problem, because it's not just a sensory overload of beautiful images posted by people I will never meet, but I still found myself (when I had an account) envying my friends or the friends of friends who we all manage to stalk without having met.  My life suddenly wasn't as fulfilling as so-and-so's because he goes on more trips, she looks good in every picture, or that other girl must have way more fun than me because she goes to all those parties.  I didn't feel this way every time I was on Facebook, but a lot of the time I got on to innocently look at an upcoming event or peruse some pictures a friend posted from a recent game night, and by the time I logged out of Facebook I felt horrible about myself.  I would snap out of it pretty quickly, but the feeling was yucky while it lasted.

it is beautiful, but I will never own this room

I finally said "good riddance" and got rid of my Facebook account; I also don't plan on signing up for Pinterest.  I know that I miss out on things; there have been parties that I never made it to because I didn't get a "Facebook invite" or people who I didn't know were engaged until weeks after the fact.  And I know that people find a lot of really neat ideas on Pinterest.  These sites really can hold value if used properly.  When people ask me why I don't have an account on either site, I usually mumble something like "Too busy... don't want to waste my time."  But really, that's not totally true.  I have good self control, and I know how to manage my time.  But what I don't know how to fully manage is my envy.  Is this just me?

TUNA

I love winter. Not cold-grey-inversion winter, but wake-up-to-a-white-wonderland-then-go-build-a-snowman-winter. Which is why I am down in the dumps that this winter has been so mild. I would be happy if every day of December, January, and February I stepped outside into two feet of beautiful snow. But this winter I don't think we've had more than six inches on the ground at one time. I am exasperated with Mother Nature at the moment. My winter has been this lame:

Times sledding: zero

Snowmen created: zero

Snow forts built: zero

Snow angels: zero

White Christmas? nope

My saving grace has been to escape the bleak valley of brown yards and muddy streets and head to Park City (or Mountain Dell, on a good week) to coach TUNA. It's such a relief to strap skis on my feet and be on snow and breathing the delectably clean, cold air. On the plus side, too, my students are darling. At ages six, seven, eight, or nine, they are easily bribed with whatever candy morsels are on sale at Top Stop, and their enthusiasm is infectious. I laugh my head off as they throw themselves off the little jumps we make and land in a twisted tangle of skis, poles, arms, and legs. One-ski-soccer and sharks-and-minnows and trip-then-jump-on-gail are weekly favorites during game time. We like to sabotage the other groups with snowball attacks. We chant "vee-one, three-one" to practice the technique, and I love watching them learn.

In summary? Best. Job. In. The. World. I can't believe I get paid to have so much fun.

{Today's the last day, so I am feeling rather sentimental; here's to more snow next year, and no more cancelled practices.}

My new friend

Meet Mr. Porcupine. He's been hanging around the same spot at Alta for successive weeks, and we've grown quite close. Sometimes he tries to jump on our skis to go for a ride or give our ski pants a good sniff and tell us we need to shower. He's really sweet once you get to know him; our family is thinking to adopt. If you're skiing on Supreme in the near future, be sure to say hello!

Be careful what you wish for...

Yesterday I wrote that I contemplated calling in sick to work so that I could stay home and watch Downton Abbey all day. Well... I started feeing ill last night, and woke up this morning feeling like I had two golf balls in my throat and dealt with random spurts of serious stomach pain. So weird. I think I got it from Meg, who has a cold, and Emily isn't feeling well now either. Hopefully it will only last a day; lying in bed all day doing nothing always sounds much more glamorous when one is well, but being sick definitely makes me appreciate being healthy again.

Well... at least I did have Downton Abbey to entertain me, although that really wasn't my reason for staying home from work. I have finished season two now. It was amazing. I bawled and laughed alternately throughout. It's one of those well-done programs that makes you really care about the characters, and I almost have a hard time accepting that it is fiction, which is silly. I love how multi-dimensional they all are, though. Like how we all know Mary can be rude, but we still love her, or how I really have begun to like Edith. I could go on and on, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched the series yet. I don't know how I can wait until 2013 to watch episode three... maybe I will have to move to the U.K. so that I can see watch it this fall? We'll see.

I guess I have to go do something boring now, like read Shakespeare (since I got a C- on my Shakespeare quiz yesterday). Or, I could just get into Hunger Games again... hmm... tempting.

My William

I can't begin a blog about my life without introducing my love and better half, William Henry. He is my best friend in every way. I feel so lucky that I can use my weird voice around him that my family hates but he loves. He makes me feel beautiful no matter my zit count or if I am sweaty and stinky after a long run. He makes me laugh and is always encouraging me to be better. He dances with me whether we are at the U2 concert or jumping around his kitchen to Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros or slow dancing to silence in the street before I get in my car. He knows exactly what to say after I have been having a bad day, like yesterday when I called him sobbing after showing up at the wrong time for a graduate school interview, but he made me feel so much better and then brought me food from Paradise Bakery. He is always ready for the silliest adventures. He is strong in the gospel and hard working and I love reading our scriptures together or going to the temple at least every month with him. I love that he is working so hard to become a better skier because he knows that skiing is a huge part of my life, and this season has been the best ever skiing with him every weekend and watching him kick trash. I love that we named his car "the audi" just for bragging rights (I say "ok, Will, I'll just grab my purse out of the audi" really loud in public places). I love him even more than Downton Abbey. And that's saying something.

1) Horseback riding at Linda's cabin. 2) Homemade pizza on Suz's roof. 3) Venice beach. 4) After biking all 62 miles of the Rivalry Roll from Rice Eccles to Lavel Edwards Stadium {and then we kicked BYU's trash that night, great game.} 5) Before the Fall Football Social, we love our Utes. 6) Hiking up Bell's Canyon. 7) We love ice skating! 8) We also love eating at the counter of Lamb's Grill. 9) Relaxing in Spring City.

(Sorry for the iPhone photos, but we never remember a camera.)

Downton Abbey

I only just jumped on the Downton Abbey bandwagon a week ago, but I have already watched the first season, and may-or-may-not have stayed up until one in the morning last night finishing the first episode of season two. I'm obsessed! I seriously considered calling in to work sick today so that I could just slouch on my couch and watch it for eight straight hours. I did not, however, and now I am sitting at work just dreaming about how sweet Bates and Anna are and how Matthew is my favorite and how I can't decide if I despise or feel sorry for Edith. I never thought anything could replace Jane Austen and Harry Potter in my heart, but this series is coming dangerously close.

Numero Cuatro

Is it sad that, despite having studied Spanish for five years and studied abroad it Spain, I just had to look up "cuatro" to make sure I spelled it correctly? The answer is yes.

Well, that's what this is. Blog attempt number four. My friend Suzanne and I started one in high school that I think I contributed to a total of three times, then there was the mandatory one in Spain full of very poor Spanish, and another sad attempt at one last summer. Hopefully this one will stick, though. I may have thus far avoided pinterest, facebook, and twitter, but maybe a blog will be a nice dip in the pool of social media. Wish me luck!