My life is random. As demonstrated by this.

Over the course of the last month, I've searched for:

• english translation of the macarena
• how far is a ragnar race
• official definition of "wanderlust"
• "cat tape experiment" YouTube
• "the bodyguard" soundtrack
• unabomber cabin newseum
• 90210 lori loughlin
• 2014 olympics schedule
• homeless man makeover
• ihop birthday
• maria callas
• green kate spade dress
• mckayla not impressed
• pumpkin haupia pie recipe
• how to pronounce sriracha

Part 1 found here.

1. You’ve never had a Lunchable. You think it will be delicious, but fear of weird rubbery cheese, sauce that tastes like candy and cardboard-ish pizza crust is holding you back.
2.  You aren’t totally sure you wanted a Lunchable in the first place.
3.  It’s breakfast time, so you were expecting a Toaster Strudel. Lunchable for breakfast sounds like a weird thing.
4.  You’re just not a Lunchable person. (And that’s okay, too.)
5.  You’re only excited because it’s free, not because it’s a Lunchable, and that in itself isn’t a good enough reason to take it.
6.  It’s poison. And you will die if you eat this.
7. You think there might be a Papa Murphy’s Gourmet Chicken Garlic pizza next week if you pass up this Lunchable now.

I'm currently reading a book called "Freedom From Fear Forever" after a friend lent it to me. Chapter 4 is all about recording life's most successful moments (the author calls them WINS), and Chapter 5 is about reliving and harnessing that success-driven euphoria.

The author's mentor (who's advice the book is basically regurgitating) recommended that he write down his most successful WIN ever, and describe the WIN with as many details as he could. Then to reflect on that good day, good week, good experience, good opportunity, etc. whenever you feel yourself get in a funk or find yourself a little off course.

The mentor called this a talisman.

I had to laugh when I read that, because all I could think about was the movie Inception. Each character in the movie had a talisman or token that only they knew how it worked in the real world. It helped them keep perspective on what was the dream world and what was reality. And *SPOILER ALERT* we'll never really know if they were in the dream world or the real world because the stupid spinning top looked like it started to topple, but never actually stopped spinning before the screen went black because Christopher Nolan is an evil, horrible, terrible man who just likes to toy with my emotions.

But, the same basic principle applies here -- because, really, at the end of the day, there probably aren't words to describe exactly why that made you happy or exactly how you felt during that WIN, so nobody else will truly know how your WIN impacted you.

Now, I'm all about living for now and not letting your past decide your future, but I totally see the value in harnessing that natural high from a great experience.

My mom is wise. My entire life, any time I have a bad day, she'll say something along the lines of, "Guess what. You'll have bad days. You'll also have really great days. If you didn't have bad days, those good days wouldn't be as good. So when you have a good day, really live it, and take advantage of that joy. And when you have a bad day, remember those good days and look forward to your next really great day to counteract the bad day you're having now."

Something like that.

Basically, she's a genius. And the best.

Last night, I wrote this on my chalkboard in my bedroom.


So now I'm working on finding my ultimate WIN / token. Suggestions are welcome.

Who knows. Maybe it's lipgloss.





... It's probably lipgloss.

Buzzfeed posted a video of 24 Things To Do Before You Turn 30.  Here's their list and my thoughts on each of them.

• Spontaneously cut off all your hair.
• Nope. I love my hair too much. Even the girl in the video can tell this was a terrible idea.

• Take up some spiritual practice.
• Done.

• Become friends with your parents again.
• After my hour of FaceTiming my dad on Tuesday night and , I think I can cross this one off, too. Although was I ever not friends with my parents?

• Say hi to a large tortoise.
• We saw a giant turtle on the beach in Hawaii, and swam with a couple. Does that count?

• (Also - learn how to spell tortoise. I was so wrong like three different times, spell check couldn't even figure out what I was trying to say. UGH.)

• Go hard in vegas for 24 hours.
• No thanks. But I have been to Vegas for 24 hours for a bachelorette party, so we'll count that.

• Catch a huge fish (so you can brag about it forever).
• YES.

• Go on a long road trip with people you love.
• Well, I went to Oahu in May with friends, we've got a St. George trip in the works, and Maui trip on the backburner in 2014. I think those count.

• Learn how to cook at least one fancy dish.
• I can make quiche and creme brulee? Clearly, my idea of a fancy dish means something French.

• Find something you are really good at.
• Still working on this. Suggestions are welcome.

• Move to a new city.
• I moved to DC for a summer, I moved to Sacramento right after graduation, and I moved to Salt Lake for work. Check.

• Pee in every ocean.
• ... Let's just say swim in every ocean.

• Give one great speech at a friend's wedding.
• Start getting married, people. ;)

• Start a collection.
• Meh. Fine. Again, suggestions appreciated, because I don't really care about this one.

• Light fireworks in a baseball field.
• Well, if people would stop asking me how old I am and let me buy fireworks, this could happen.

• Go sailing.
• Who has a boat and wants to take me this weekend (or every weekend for the rest of the summer)?

• Make friends with people at a bar for one night.
• Maybe not a bar, but I'll be friends with strangers at a party for one night. Actually, I've done that!

• Learn a foreign language.
• Deal.

• Stop dressing like you’re still in high school.
• I hope I've conquered this.

• Take a spontaneous trip.
• I definitely think I've conquered this.

• Yell at a sports game.
• Um, only every sports game I go to.

• Get a tattoo about something random.
• I can hear Fat Amy in my head saying, "Mmmmm... Better not."

• Let go of your expectations.
• A work in progress.

• Stop doing things for the pictures and start doing it for the memories.

And here are my other personal pre-30 to-dos:

I shouldn't complain - it's much better than looking like I'm 45, but it makes my life pretty comical sometimes. And I feel like it happens way more frequently than it should.

I am young, yes. I am also petite. And I have no problem with either of these things, most days. I love being young. It's way more fun than being old (Question mark? It's not like I'm speaking from personal experience, I'm just guessing here).

But looking like I'm 15 isn't always ideal when you're not actually 15 and most of your friends are haven't been 15 for like a decade (and then some).

For example:

• When I checked out "He's Just Not That In To You" from the local library, the lady at the front desk asked if I was doing a book report. As in, for school. Like, high school. Seriously, lady?!?
• When I was buying fireworks for 4th of July, the cashier asked how old I was. (Side note: you only have to be 16 to buy fireworks in Utah.) GOSH.
• My friends and I went to Disneyland a few months back and a worker came and asked us to fill out his customer service survey. When he asked our ages, my friend said, "Four guests between ages 25-40.... Oh wait, no, three between 25-40, one in the 18-25 range." SMF.
• When distant cousins at family reunions think I'm actually the youngest sister  (I'm 4 years older than my youngest sister). Luckily, my 15 year old brother wasn't there to throw anyone off even more.

To perpetuate my own problem, a couple weeks ago, I accidentally said something about Young Women's instead of Relief Society. That was embarrassing.

1. Friendships are so fragile.
2. You don't have to be perfect, you just have to be good.
3. I am absolutely the product of my parents. I am the same as them in so many ways.
4. Not only is it okay to be selfish when it comes to your wellbeing, being selfish is vital when it comes to your wellbeing.
5. Everyone is made of strengths and weaknesses. Surround your weaknesses with people who are strong and lift others' weaknesses with your strengths.
6. Love people because of who they are, not who they could become.
7. It's okay to run, just be sure you are running into the light, and that the light is not a freight train.
8. Being alone and being lonely are not the same thing.
9. Living life and living your life are also not the same thing. 
10. Don't settle. Ever. For anything. Just stop it.
11. Singing loudly in your car by yourself makes everything in the world feel good again.
12. Beauty and success are both in the eye of the beholder. 
13. Good spelling and grammar make the world go 'round. Always double check everything.
14. Your life's plan is much less complicated and much more beautiful than you will probably ever understand.
15. Most answers don't come easily. Some never come.
16. Honesty, openness and trust are the first steps toward anything that is worth anything.
17. Growing with people is much more enjoyable than waiting for people to grow up.
18. Mother-ing doesn't help anyone, and they won't love you for it.
19. When all your hair starts falling out (true story), take 17 deep breaths, do some yoga and start cutting things out of your life.
20. Distancing yourself from someone physically and distancing yourself emotionally are also not the same thing.
21. Emotional distance sucks way more than physical distance.
22. Think before you speak or act or send that text message.
23. Chocolate and good music will never ever fail you.

This week's rant: I hate the word guru.

I think part of it comes from the fact that the word just sounds gross. Goo-roo. Like a gooey rooster? Ugh.

But mostly it stems from the fact that people in my field use the title, Social Media Guru as an actual descriptor. I've seen this exact phrase on LinkedIn more times than I can count.

My official job title at work is Social Community Coordinator. I often refer to myself as a Social Media Associate. In all actually, I am what most young, dumb, inexperienced social media wannabes would call a Social Media Guru. But I am NOT a Social Media Guru.

That is not a thing. You cannot be a guru of something that hasn't even existed for 10 years.

Do you know what a guru actually is?? On the one hand, it is a Hindu spiritual leader and teacher. On the other, it's a management expert, leader or specialist.

Part of what I love about my job is that there really are no experts. That's basically what attracted me to social media in the first place. Sure, there are best practices for now, but a year out, there could be some revolutionary way of using Facebook or some new platform that changes the way we do everything (I'm looking at you, Pinterest and Instagram). Social consumers (aka - everyone on the planet) don't even really know what they want yet, and most of the time they don't know they need or like something until it's put two inches from their face. Like, why on earth would a game about catapulting exploding birds at evil pigs become the most popular thing in technology? Our desires make no sense, so people just keep creating incredibly obscure and odd things, even niche social media platforms and tools, with the hope that they'll catch on. So really, we have no idea what's around the corner or what will explode in popularity. All we can do is stay on top of things as best we can and be flexible enough to change with the tide.

So nobody in social media really knows what they're doing, and we are all learning and growing and truly creating this field together.

So please stop saying you're a guru of things, people. Unless you really are a Hindu spiritual leader, then you get a free pass.

That's all. Thanks, team.

I've seen a few of my girl friends post a link to this video on Facebook today, but I didn't take the time to watch it until a male coworker of mine sent it in an email to everyone in our office. I figure if a man finds this interesting, maybe I should take a peek.

Then I was all tears. I think my coworkers think I'm crazy.



When I was in college, I actually did a case study on the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. The campaign was still relatively new and growing at the time, but to me, this piece is incredibly powerful and hits the nail right on its ugly head.

Our world today makes it so easy to find flaws in our everything – not just our physical appearance, but our voice, our personality, our interests and dreams, you name it.

If I were a participant in this experiment, I know my sketch would come out incredibly skewed. Sure, I like my eyes, but once you add the fact that they are so big and deep set, then throw in my flat and can't-decide-what-color-it-is hair, my pale and splotchy skin, my wide mouth, tiny teeth, dominant chin, etc..., it's not the most glamorous self-portrait.

I don't mean for this to turn in to a pity party. I want no, "oh my heck, you're totally beautiful and none of those terrible things you think about yourself are even remotely true!" texts or comments, got it?? Sure, I don't see myself in the most perfect light, but I don't think anyone else does either.

But just think – the second sketch in this experiment came from a description from a total stranger. Imagine if somebody who actually knew you – somebody who has met and interacted and spent an extended period of time with you – was describing you to the artist. What would they have to say? How much of your kindness or playfulness or sincerity or passion or brillance would come out in their physical description of you?

Now imagine if your Heavenly Father were describing you. He probably wouldn't have much to say about our physical appearance, but He would have some very good insight into our hearts and talents and strengths.  He knows that we aren't perfect, but He also knows that we are stronger and more beautiful than we realize. I am stronger and more beautiful than I realize.

And now I'm emotional again. Sorry coworkers.

None of these ideas are groundbreaking, and this is all much easier said than done. I think I just need to write it so I believe it more.

Most of the flaws I listed above, including the way I see myself in the mirror, however skewed, are not going to change any time soon. For me, I think it comes down to, rather than making a conscious effort not to focus on the physical, start focusing on your personal worth and value. Because what does not thinking about something do? Nothing. You have to replace it with something else. Like replacing negative self-critical thoughts with positivity in any form.

This has been floating around Pinterest for a while, and I love it.



You just never know what people are insecure about, and most people will never know the extent of your insecurities. But everyone has them, and all of our insecurities are very real and scary and personal.

Long story short, I really like that video. And now I get to start listening to my own advice.

Link to all the portraits and interviews found here: http://realbeautysketches.dove.us/

Disclaimer - This post is a little rant-ish. Agree to disagree with this post if you need to, but know that I still love you.

This article is funny, but very true. (Beware of a few colorful words)
http://thoughtcatalog.com/2013/this-is-how-you-win-your-20s/

The author gives an example of "controlling the world" when his 9-year-old self realized that money works anywhere, and he could buy an entire box of Dunkaroos with his birthday money, take them to school and be the master of his own life.

This rant is not about money.

This is about controlling your life and your future and your happiness.

Here are a few quote gems from the article.

"Do you want to work at a company that needs programmers while you are naught but a lowly-English major still talking about how much you wish you’d learn to code instead? Well learn to code right now, dude. Use the time wisely and improve yourself.

"Attracted to a girl or guy with a great body while you yourself do not have a great body? Well, first of all, I think you look fine, but if it’s bothering you, go to the gym and get ripped or svelte or whatever.

"You hear me? You feel this? If you need a skill, acquire it. If you need a contact, make it. Email exists. Welcome to the 21st Century, in which pretty much everyone alive is accessible to you.

You do not have to trade for Dunkaroos. You can buy your own Dunkaroos."

Or in my case, Lunchables.**

I'm kind of excellent at this when it comes to my employment. As someone who has had 4 jobs in less than a year (because she wanted to, not because she was ever fired), I don't settle for jobs where I'm overqualified or don't truly love what I'm doing.

Sometimes we settle in different ways -- in employment, in friendships, in dating, in life expectations (and I'm totally guilty of this, too), because we feel we are lacking in something. Seriously? What excuse do we have to be lacking in anything?

Why would you pack a tuna fish sandwich or a stupid pickle (my mom would be sad at me for calling pickles stupid) when you have glorious Lunchables/Dunkaroos right there in your fridge??

Take control of life and be that rockstar or superfox you want to be. We shouldn't worry about being considered "too intimidating," "too power-hungry" or "too ambitious." Because when you think of that in a parallel context, as being "too beautiful" or "too awesome", you just sound ridiculous and stupid (so many adjectives, sorry!).

I've heard it said before (and I keep hearing this in my head in my mom's voice, so it's probably something I should be listening to) that we should be the kind of person we want to marry. Don't worry -- this is not turning in to a dating rant. But really, the same thing is applicable to the kind of person we want to work with or the kind of person we want to be friends with.

Who wants to work with a Negative Nancy or Debbie Downer? Who wants to be friends with someone so self-absorbed that they never ask about your life or even your day? Who wants to be with someone who doesn't care (or doesn't act like they care) about your opinion or problems or goals or feelings or heart or life? Definitely not me. Because those people are zero fun, end up friendless, and go nowhere fast.

I've met some amazing single women in the past few months. Two of my friends in particular are really incredible. I love them to pieces and hope that I'm half as awesome as they are when I'm their age. These are gorgeous women with amazing power and poise. Sure, I know they want to get married and have a family, but right now, they have totally taken their lives by the bull horns and they're totally rocking and (seemingly) loving every second of life.

They eat Lunchables all the time (figuratively).

I've been in this funk lately where I don't love my life. I've been making really stupid, vicious cycle choices that are keeping me from being happy. I've been eating so many (figurative) pickles. How is that helping me? How is that helping anyone?

Newsflash: It's not.

And it's not helping you either. If you 1) hate what you're doing, 2) are living a mediocre life, 3) are unhappy with anything remotely within your control, or 4) are doing anything WAY below your potential –– seriously, knock if off, put some real pants on, and go be awesome! Because that's what I'm going to try to do. Except I'll probably be wearing a skirt.

So this was my epiphany today. I've always basically known this, but maybe it just made more sense when applied to retro lunch treats.


** But in a very real life example, I had a Lunchable for lunch at work today. At my very grown up work with very grown up responsibilities and in a very grown up office. Go Team Lunchables.

sometimes I don't love living in Utah.


if somebody wants to convince me / find an adorable boy to teach me how to ski or snowboard, maybe I'd enjoy this awful season a little more. for now, I think I'll just stay inside until May.