A Countdown to a Countdown.

Well the countdown timer(which I don't know if I mentioned that I made myself) is a "0 months" which is a very awesome reminder that I've got only a little over a year left to go.


I got Hannah's present all put together and ready to go, I'll probably send it off a week from Monday so it gets there early.  I got a lot of good recommendations from my friends of what to send her, however, most of my friends served missions or wrote to someone who served a mission Stateside, so a lot of their ideas did me no good considering my package will most likely take 3 weeks to get to her, as well as passing through international customs.  I ended up sending candy, a few CDs of "Mission Appropriate" music that I put together, some nerdy missionary stuff, a bunch of pictures, as well as a few "inside joke" things.  I'm pretty happy with my decision considering the very limited options I had.


In the end I think I did a pretty good job, I'm just really glad that she's only out for one birthday, otherwise I'd be all out of present ideas, I'm already stressing over Christmas!  I mean, I can't think of anything else to get her that I didn't already get except for more candy, and really, how much candy do I want to send?  I don't want Hannah coming home all Rolly-Polly because all I could think to send her were Sweets.


As I was talking to Andrew at work this week Hannah came up.  I got the usual sucks-to-be-you snicker, then he asked me whether or not I was waiting.  I told him I was still dating(with little success so far, is that good or bad?) and his snicker turned into a laugh.  He asked me what if I meet "the one" while Hannah is gone.  Good question, hope for polygamy to make a comeback?  As far as I'm concerned, Hannah could be "the one" which creates the real problem, what if I find another 'one'?  Well I think that's doubtful, but I'd definitely wait for Hannah to come home, probably even convince "the one #2" that I needed to spend some time with Hannah("the one #1).  I mean, I have to know, it's the way I am, I can't not know.  I figure, I have to get rid of as many 'what ifs' as possible before I make giant life changing decisions, otherwise I'll always wonder.  Really "the one #2" would just have to try and understand the position I'm in, it's complicated, it's a situation that is unlike any other.  So my answer to what if I meet another 'one' in the next year and 23 days?  I don't know, there's no plan, I'll wait and see.

Birthday Spectacular!

So Hannah's birthday is coming up!  Well actually it's like two months away, but I like to plan ahead.  Anyway, tonight at dinner my sister told me that with her job she gets a HUGE discount shipping things through FedEx.  This got me thinking about what I could send Hannah.  I thought of many fantastic things I could send, and I thought it would be cool that, with my sister's discount, I could send a huge box.  Then I remembered two things, first anything I send has to be "mission appropriate."  In other words, I can only really send things that she can use while in the field.  Second, anything non-consumable that I send will have to be carried around and brought back for a whole year until she comes home.


Now I'm stuck, I don't have a lot of ideas, sure I've only really been thinking about it for a couple of hours at this point, but time is of the essence, as they say.  Now I didn't serve a mission, and being the oldest male in my family, I've never been Super-close with anyone who has, at least not close enough to send gifts.  I know that Hannah specifically wants two things: mission-appropriate music, and pictures of me/the two of us.  Of course I'll send treats.  I guess this is sort of a shout out to anyone who's sent a gift to a missionary for ideas!  What did you send?  If you haven't sent gifts to a missionary, picture yourself on a mission and think of things you'd want to receive from "someone special."  


I want to hear from YOU!

Another One Bites the Dust

Yet another of my friends got engaged over the weekend.  I'm now a member of a dwindling group.  One of my old friends from sports, Brady, texted me and told me he's now engaged.  I haven't met her yet, but by the pictures I've seen she's probably


Of my core group of friends Brady and I probably hung out the least, he's kind of my opposite in terms of personality, but I guess everyone has a friend like that.  It's another reminder that I'm getting on in years by Utah Time.  Which reminds me, I need to write Hannah and remind her she'll be 23 when she gets home, which means she'll be an old-maid, and probably the oldest unmarried girl I'll know by that time.  I like to keep her spirits up in the field with those kind of anecdotes.  


I took a bunch of pictures I got from Hannah home to show the folks.  I was still wary after the last picture I showed my mother.  But this one went well, she loved seeing Hannah out in the field.  My mom is a bit of a feminist, so she really loves when I date those girls that do things.  I've often joked that the best thing my mom will see out of my marriage is getting that new daughter.  Also I'm well aware that my future relationship with my mother depends almost entirely on the type of woman I choose to marry...

It's crazy to think that I'm already older than my sister and brother-in-law were when they got married.  I mean, thinking about myself relative to other people really makes me feel like I'm getting old and missing out.  Luckily the ladies at work keep me grounded every day by reminding me that at 23 I'm still a baby.  Thanks work ladies!

Dire Miscalculation

After receiving Hannah's latest letter I began thinking about the future, as I too often do.  Big mistake.  I've now learned the lesson never to think about what you want to do when your missionary gets home.  Once you do, inevitably you'll realize that she doesn't come home for another 60 weeks, and on top of that all of this time you have been waiting has only been 16 weeks.  You'll also realize that this means you still have to wait three times as long as you already have in order to do any of those things.


Some days those 16 weeks seem like they have flown by, even so, the number 60 is quite imposing.

Top 5

I was trying to narrow my Top 5 Celebrity Crushes down to a solid five, not four, not six.  Here's what I ended up with, not in any particular order:

#5 Carrie Underwood

I HATE country music, but this one is enough motivation to watch bits and pieces of the CMTs.  Too bad she's marrying a Hockey player.

#4 Amanda Bynes

Have I mentioned that I'm a leg man?  She's got some nice stems.  Too bad she's quitting Hollywood.

#3 Emma Watson

 Hermione.  Plus she's actually going to college, regardless of fame.  I never thought I'd be jealous of Rupert Grint...

#2 Maggie Lawson

From my favorite show, PSYCH.  It could just be her resemblance to Hannah.

#1 Maria Sharapova

Ok, this one IS in particular order.  Once again, legs.  Also a skilled athlete.  Too bad she's been losing to Serena lately, but let's face it, you can tell Serena has a little bit too much testosterone pumping, but I won't make accusations... *cough*steroids*cough*

Looks Only Get You So Far...

I've been starting to get to know this girl at work named Melissa.  My job duties required me to walk past her 10-20 times a day, and after a few weeks of passing by I finally started to say "Hi!" and later still actually stopping to chat.  She's a cute girl, but good looks aren't everything in my book.


It can be tough to get to know someone through a series of 3-5 minute conversations, especially if one of the parties seems extremely shy.  Being shy isn't a bad thing, mind you, I'm pretty shy myself, it's just another hurdle to get over.  To keep from sounding like I'm trying to sell myself to new people I meet, I like to ask a lot of questions.  A girl's stock can rise and fall based on her answers regardless of appearance.


The problem with Melissa is that getting a solid answer is difficult.  I have to ask straightforward questions like "What is your favorite color" or "Do you like bowling?" rather than general questions like "What do you like to do?"  Maybe it's the mystery that drives me, maybe I am sincerely interested, it's probably both.