The Longest 7 (or 10) Hours... ::Travel Troubles::

Before I begin, I would like to make two things very clear...
1. I never get airsick.
2. I like little children.

It all started around 3 pm. After a short break for the holidays, it was definitely time to go back to school. Everything seemed fine for a while, but my mother is a crier. Do you know hard it is to remove your shoes and jacket, empty your pockets, present your passport, pass through the metal detector, replace your shoes and jacket, and walk away while your mother is watching you...crying?!? Not simple, my friend. Anyone who can watch their mother cry without shedding a tear is dead inside. Don't worry, though. She called me five minutes later to make sure I'd found my gate. (Have you been to the Tulsa airport?!)

Upon boarding the plane, to my dismay I found that my seat was already occupado by a man who barely spoke english and smelled like a coat closet. With some help from the cute boy behind me (also the boy who was to sit next to me for the next 2.5 hours) things were cleared up and we settled in. Only a few moments later, however, it was realized that the entire row in front of us was empty and the cute boy quickly moved to the seat in front of his. Too quickly. I chose not to take that personally.

Before taking off, the pilot came on to explain to us that we would experience a great deal of turbulance over Colorado. Usually the captain won't talk about turbulance until turbulance has actually been experienced. When the captain predicts turbulance...BUCKLE UP! Let's just say that by the time we got to Salt Lake, I was probably green... not to mention quite happy the cute boy was not sitting two inches from me. Enough about that.

In Salt Lake, I had about a three hour layover. Since nothing interesting happened at this point, we'll move ahead.

During that last leg of my travels, upon boarding the plane I was informed that my seat had been changed for me. This didn't phase me too much, since I was replaced into a window seat. After everyone else had boarded, the three seats in my row were still unoccupied. Following some hustle and bustle at the front of the planes, two small girls and a mother holding a baby walk down the isle to the seats next to me. A charming little lady sat neatly next to me, buckled her safety belt and helped herself to a bag of chips. The cuteness didn't last. It wasn't long before I was being tackled by a monster with Dorito-encrusted fingers and milky breath, insisting that I keep my window shut and turn BOTH overhead lights on. (Neither of those are things I like to do.) That went down for about the next hour. The highlight of the flight was when the young child blurted out loudly, "Hey, why is your nose so big?" While her horrified mother apologized and scolded her, I explained politely that my father has a large nose. I didn't FEEL like being polite...

Upon our 30-minute late arrival into Idaho Falls, I joined the other passengers in waiting another 30 minutes for our luggage. Then I joined the other 6 passengers whose luggage was lost. Yes... that is how my day was yesterday.

Moral of the story: Flying is the safest way to travel.

Abnormal Things that Ami Hates...

Apparently I really like making lists. I can't stand these things...
1. Being on speaker phone.
2. The smell left on your hands after you eat something.
3. Polytonic ringtones.
4. Forwarded emails.
5. Putting away clean silverware.
6. Old snow.
7. Dry skin. (mostly on me)
8. Eating late at night.
9. People who don't smile back at you.
10. Small dogs.
11. Depressing movies. (With the exception of Hope Floats)
12. Anything starring Britney Murphy.
13. Cute shows laced with underlying political messages.
14. Vanilla scents.
15. People who don't use the vent in the bathroom, then leave the door open when they leave.
16. Most surprises.
17. Expensive presents.
18. Wearing socks to bed.
19. Fat jokes.
20. Alfredo sauce.

Family Holiday...

Okay so I've been thinking to myself about my favorite things about this Christmas with my family have been, and decided to try and list them. Here it goes...

1. My 28-year-old brother insisted we all be awake no later than 7 am to open presents. (I'm the youngest one here. I'd just as soon sleep in.)

2. My 4-year-old nephew knows all the words to the Little Drummer Boy - as sung by Chicago.

3. I was chastised by the entire family repeatedly for prematurely opening an awkward package of gifts from an ex-boyfriend.

4. For the first time in years... Santa didn't forget something and bring it to me later that day.

5. My elder sister got bumped ahead in the stocking line because she is no longer tall enough to stand behind me.

6. There was no money in my stocking.

7. I was able to avoid watching "The Muppet Christmas Carol" the entire week before Christmas.

8. Nobody in the family ward asked me why I wasn't married yet.

9. A best friend got engaged and I wasn't resentful...kind of a big deal.

10. During a lovely family game, 3 out of 6 family members chose the movie "Forrest Gump" to describe my personality.

11. I went to three movies within the first 24 hours of being home... two of which I'd already seen. (Pretty good ones, though.)

12. The collection of Christmas lights in the front yard grows immensely each year. This year was no exception.

13. Ham and mashed potatos...that's all I'm gonna say.

14. One game of dominos = One hour...at least.

I could do this all night...

Higher Education...(What I've learned this semester)

These are just a few of the profound truths I've learned these past few precious months:

1. Whenever one door closes, it may take an extremely long time for another to open...and in the meantime, more will slam shut that you didn't even know were there. You can assume however, that there is good enough air circulation. Hopefully you'll be right.

2. If someone gets in trouble, and you never get in trouble... they're probably going to assume it's your fault they got caught. People tend to think that nobody could possibly be onto them without you tipping someone off.

3. Sometimes it really is okay to fail. Even if you've spent a lot of time avoiding it... failure is, in fact, an option. Accept it, and move on.

4. Families are AMAZING. It may surprise you how they can all come through for you when you need them... even the ones you thought were gone.

5. Not all LDS professors will support a life goal of homemaking and motherhood. There's always going to be that short chemist who doesn't respect you for getting a degree you don't intend to use fully in the future.

6. Almost every awkward situation can have a good outcome!
A few awkward encounters with an old friend = a realization that you've both changed and moved on.
One awkward night with that prickly guy = no longer feeling obligated to "give them a chance".
An entire awkward semester = an undoubtably better semester to come.

7. The best time to go to the gym is at 8am. The early birds have come and gone, and everyone else is still in bed.

8. Making gifts will not always save you money. Especially when there's only one craft store in town, and it's severely overpriced. Think that through before you get too far. You may not be able to eat during finals week.

9. You may be surprised to find that the very best roommates probably live in another apartment. Better luck next time!

10. Being single can present many opportunities in which to excell!! Take every chance you can to discover new skill possibilities, e.i. Euro dancing, cold water hot-tubbing, class skipping, Bravo TV memorization, bedroom Nerf basketball, Bop-It Extreme II, "Craft Hour"ing, gift making...etc. The possibilities are endless.

Just a few things I've found.