JFK! FDR!

If you've never been ice blocking before, do it. Just maybe not in the 118deg heat because the blocks melt realllll fast. To be repeated in CT this summer, per request of xandino. Side benefits of me participating in FHE: snow cones, cindy winters, and a Swedish flag. 

This was the last week of institute. Which means I never have to go again. I celebrated with Becca, Hannah, and the boyz(TM) by swimming and hot tubbing for several hours. Worth it. 

This is where I live. 

Now that Hannah is back (and bought a Mountainside pass), I have a workout buddy. Which means we go freaking hard in the paint. And my crab meat is super sore. 

Katie and I had our long-awaited girl's night with Sandra. We had pina coladas, cookies, and I finished up this bad boy while watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. 

Look at it. 

Our Harry Potter-themed indexing competition ended Thursday and SOMEHOW, Gryffindor pulled up from wayyyy behind for the victory. Suspicious. It was a good time to clear my head and enjoy the spirit and collect flags.

Remember that time that I usurped all the authority to plan a regional dance moi-même?  Because it happened Friday and it was l-i-t LIT. My friends pulled together for some simple, yet v classy decorations - white lights strung from the walls and along the floor, a serious of flags hung Olympics-style between some hoops, and coolers filled with lemonade, coke, water, and cookies at the ends. The music was good, SO to Trevor Nally for putting up with a lot of crap. And SO to all the other people that volunteered to help set up/take down because I owe them a lot. We had several hundred kids packed into the gym, get down club style (vs Mormon circle style, which I hate). It was a freaking P-A-R-T-Y. I am so impressed with the turnout. Seriously. Critics are raving.

vAfter getting home super late, my brain was still turning from the logistics of the dance and the upcoming art show, so I ended with a total 2.5h of sleep. I went to a CPR class, which I actually really enjoyed. Ate some Mexican food with a friend. Did some quick shopping so Kenzie could help me with some projects for the art show. Showered and took a 15m nap. Attended a Martha Bale's wedding reception (and drank so much juice). 

And the best part of the day was playing True American (from New Girl). THE FLOOR IS LAVA. This game is a riot and kind of complicated, but so fun. We drank and laughed and watched a thunderstorm for a while. And I slept for a full eight hours, which is the real miracle here.

Conclusion: Yes. Yes he does.

Bach Shiz (literally) Crazy

Some weeks are busy. Then some weeks are busy. Like I have things planned every night, but if my plans fall through I have backups of important activities that I should also be doing. And if those fall through, I have more backups. Tripled. It requires a lot of prioritizing.

I played volleyball (partially because I just felt gross and needed to get out of a rut). It worked, mostly. It was fun.

I got a free burrito at Institute - which was motivation to actually attend. And it was also dang good.

My comic book is now finished (praise the Lord, fr tho). Printed and copied and sent to a few importants, and they gave it to me at the quoted price (which ended up being HALF of the actual).
 
Aonghus and I explored Mesa's country swing dance scene - which to my pleasant surprise, was full of hood rats. Loved it.

Jeff helped me fix the handle on my car door. (And by that I mean watched and mentored). Brandy only watched, but she kept me entertained.

Shennsley rolled in and slept over and failed to tell me all the PT things she needed while I was working that could've been resolved in shop for free. Next time.


We packed and rolled out to Grand Canyon, USA for the bachelorette fest of a lifetime. We met Hannah and Morgan at our campsites (and also several LARGE and HUNGRY ravens). Hannah and I packed the tent while Shennsley and Morgan lit the fire. We had charred burgers and s'mores with Reese's and talked dirty.

The next morning, we packed up shop and rolled into the village for a hike. Down was slow and steady. Apparently we made it about 3 miles before we decided to break and head back up. I was ready for the up, but so was the thunder and lightning and freezing rain (that was sometimes hail). It was an effort to keep everyone moving, but we made it out alive, so all was well.

We headed to our hotel in Valle. Showered. Fed. Did bachelorette things. Played psych, an Ellen group game w/phones. And watched Little Evil on Netflix, which was danggg funny.

We slept well that night, each in our own bed. Shan and I left around 8:30 so I could go to church (#righteous). And Hannah Merrell was back from BYU-I and I AM HYPE. ALL THE FREAKING HYPE. (But also profoundly exhausted).

No place like home. 

Hutchslapped

My scamming at the gym is at an end (for now). After nearly 8 weeks of attendance off a 2-week pass, I've run out of ways to extend my stay. Ah well, it was more than I anticipated. And well worth it.

Hashtag my life.

Also, I finished my 2-step TB test this week and had three different nurses tell me it was a positive test. But the doctor cleared me, so here I come NAU.

After two years of struggle (mentally and emotionally), the comic book is finished. Coming soon to a bookshelf near you. Pending the arrival of appropriately sized paper at my neighborhood Staples.

Thursdays are for the girls. And the temple. And boy, was it good. It's my third favorite thing about being LDS.

So cute.

Business Casual Game Night was a success at Kenny/Braeden's place in the depths of Mesa. I love them. I want their life. They had the cutest Pinterest-level snacks and some good drinks. And Jackbox games that were borderline appropriate, just how I like it.

Good views.

And when I got home (after midnight) I packed my car so I could drop some stuff off at Flag le lendemain. After first going on a ridiculous hike about halfway up there. We climbed rocks, got lost, swam out to an island, and barely made it back. I was sore, sunburned, and sliced the bottoms of my feet off climbing over rocks.

Me, in a crevice.

Then, in honor of French Independence Day, we had a movie night with bread, cheese, and grape juice. Vive la France and LESSS GOOO IN THE WORLD CUP! ALLEZ LES BLEUS!

There's the island.

ONE MORE PAAAAGE

(sung to the tune of Les Miserables' "One More Day")

Okay, but seriously, I've been working on this comic book for two years as the culmination of a lot of inside jokes from college round one. AND I ONLY HAVE ONE PAGE LEFT (plus the cover).

This is much higher quality than the rest of the book. 

My other new hobby is baking cookies while I'm at work. Mama Cassens gave me some cookie dough at our waffle night Sunday and I remembered that it's averaging about 110 degrees outside. Which is at least as hot as a tinfoil oven. After two rounds of baking cookies during work, my car smells great.

A little crunchy, but really good.

Another new hobby: creating medleys of church hymns and popular soundtracks on the piano. Autumn asked me to do a musical number and Becca created a bomb arrangement for me, and I'm working on another. It's wayy fun.

An old hobby: getting free food. Fourth of July, I spent BBQ-hopping. (After the gym, of course). It was a fun time with good burgers. AND when you spread the food out like that, you have a little more time to digest and a little less food coma.

Also I found a good Indian place, since I've been having cravings. 

I also convinced our Institute to do a pizza dinner. And then I went hot tubbing with some leftover car-bake cookies and milk à la Courtney. And then I used all my Star Wars temporary tattoos to create this boujee arm band.

Coolest kid you know. 

Another hobby I've had is undermining authority and getting psyched over ridiculous ideas that people agree with. Like the upcoming stake dance that I planned in 15 minutes with Becca, Dallin, and Braden. It's been approved. Now invites need to be sent ASAP and we need a venue. All other details are either taken care of or nonvital.

I went to a drive-in movie this week and my experience was not how I remembered it from my childhood. It was hot. And you couldn't just screen hop wherever all night. But I did meet Antman, so it was a win.

He's not as talkative as he is in the films. 

Another continued hobby is coding and working out with Peter, my friend with children who are within 20 years of my own age. We didn't do much workout out, but we did do some coding. I'm definitely progressing, but Javascript is still the more frustrating of the languages we've discussed to date.

Here's a new hobby: glassblowing. I convinced my friend Dan to take this class with me so we could make things for the art show in August. We were there first, so we got to make our cacti first, and we got to leave first. It was a good time and pretty quick relative to the drive.

These furnaces made the room 1,000x hotter than Phoenix already is.

We also had a much needed girl's night - with drinks and oreos and movies. It was much needed for all of us to have some social time and relax from the various stresses of the week. I was so excited for everyone there - we're all just really living our best lives and getting things done. I love it.

He's boutta add a flower on his cactus. 

SO to Xandino this week, who is crushing it on summer sales. He hasn't even graduated HS yet, but this kid's boutta have some money in the bank.

Not a pic of Xandino, but much cuter.

As A City Girl

I adulted hard this week. I went to the dentist AND the doctor (twice) to get Tb tested (part I). The nurse was funny and complained to me about how she left her burrito at home and was super salty about it. I level.

The better engagement pics.

I also youthed hard this week. I went to FHE (only because they roped me into participating as the Sorting Hat for an HP-themed family history competition). Becca and I made guac and chips at the hot tub, then crashed a game night we weren't invited to and used the pool and massage chair. I went hot tubbing a lot, actually. It's getting too hot for hot tubbing.

Only medium fat. 

I religioned hard this week too. I went to institute. AND the temple. The Chin, Special K, Shiboi, Shennsley, Markies, and HanNip-Nip Cheerio met up in San Diego for Hannah's endowment. Everything is a competition or a joke.

The Chin and his city girl.

With the Chin in town (and his wallet), we had delicious strawberry lemon pancakes, PB chocolate gorilla protein shakes, and (of course) tacos for dinner. The betrothed, the parentals, and I went yaking for a couple hours off La Jolla beach and Markies and I got to test out our chemistry. It didn't go well, but we also didn't flip over, so there's hope for us yet.

Castle or temple?

I've also been doing some of the BYU-I personal trainer workouts that are notoriously challenging. The chest workout is a killer. I could barely do a single pushup halfway through. D-E-D dead.

Me in the massage chair.

AND while I was in San Diego, my friend Matt happened to be home. So I hung out with him for a few hours just telling ridiculous stories. I love how easily he laughs at stuff - makes me feel really funny.

Wait, what? - Markies

I'm moving to Flagstaff soon and had to pay my first month's rent already. Which means I can move in. So I started packing some stuff, so when I go hiking in the area for July 4, I can drop half my crap off.

Literal goddess.

Religious tangent of the week:

Miracles. They're real. And the more we recognize them, the more we get.

#thechins #bloodnugs

As a preface to this story, it's important to note that I am a firm believer in actively avoiding trials. Often in the scriptures, the people are righteous and blessed with food and money and they forget how good their lives are. So God sends them "reminder trials". Which are totally avoidable.

Boi be lookin fly.

All you have to do is regularly thank God for your health, and he won't need to send you a sickness to remind you how nice your normal life is. I really think this makes life a lot easier.

A la Will Smith. 

Another example is that as I'm driving, whether it be 5 miles or 500, I like to shoot up regular prayers saying "Hey, thanks that I have NOT been pulled over, really appreciate it, if you could keep it going, that would be awesome." And I've been pulled over much LESS frequently since I started doing this.

However. I shot one of these prayers up about 10mi from the CA-AZ state border yesterday and got pulled over not 5min later. Awkward.

To be fair, I definitely deserved it. Like '50 over in a construction zone' deserved it.

And as a woman who knows that they deserve a ticket, there's four schools of thought that run through your head on how to get out of it.

1. You hope that you're going so fast that the cop just gives up. Unfortunately, I had already slowed down to a chasable speed in the hopes that the cop had not seen me. He had.

2. You hope that you're so devastatingly attractive that the cop drops all charges and buys you a drink. On the best of days, this would be a long shot. It was not the best of days.

3. I hear that inconsolable crying works wonders. And if I were a cop, it would work for me. However, I was born without tear ducts or emotions. Which left me with one option.

4. Be such an honest and reasonable human being that the cop has mercy. Let me tell you, option 4 has not worked well for me in the past.

But this is a miracle story and for the first time EVER, option 4 came in clutch. The cop reduced it to 5 over, no construction zone and all I have to do is online traffic school - no fine, no points. Bless.

I definitely didn't think this would be a miracle as I was getting chased by the blue and reds. And often, I think we don't recognize miracles. If we're expecting manna to fall from heaven when we're hungry, we're going to be disappointed a lot. BUT don't discount those leftover tacos in the fridge.

God knows us. He knows the trials and blessings we need. Which are different than the ones we want, but more effective for growth.