Footloose Revival

Last night, I had my recurring nightmare again. I woke up every 1/2 hour all night long covered in sweat, even though our bedroom was chilly. I looked at the clock over and over, hoping my alarm would be going off soon and that morning would come, but it seemend that the night wouldn't end. When I finally got up, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. I was exhausted! And I kept poor Adam up with my tossing all night too. My nightmare that causes this anxiety and sleeplessness is so silly, but I have usually have it a few times a week, and it's driving me nuts! Wanna hear it?

*Background info: My senior year of high school, I played Ariel (the naughty preacher's daughter) in the high school musical, Footloose. That was almost 6 1/2 year ago. I don't know why I'm having dreams about it.*

In my dream, Mr. Saxton, the Dixie High School drama teacher, decides to have a reunion of Footloose because he thinks it was the most wonderful musical he has ever put on in his fifteen-plus years of teaching. Ha ha! He goes to great lengths to gather all of his former students from all over the country and pays for them to travel back to St. George to be in his awesome revival.

Everyone gathers just in time for opening night. I, however, show up not realizing that it is opening night. I show up thinking that we'll have a few weeks of rehearsal. When I learn that the curtains will open to a full house in just a few short hours, and there will be no rehearsals, I panic. We do not go over our lines, the dance steps, the blocking, or even gather our costumes together.

Adrenaline fills me, and I start running around like a crazy person. I try to gather my old costume pieces from dusty bins and closets, find a script so that I can go over my lines, and find some hot rollers or a curling iron so that I can make my hair poofy and 80's-like. While I'm doing all this, I'm singing the songs in my head and and trying to remember the lyrics.

The oddest thing about all of it is that no one around me seems to be panicking like I am. Everyone is calm, standing around laughing and reminiscing about high school. I run from person to person, trying to get someone to agree that this is impossible, that we can't do the show tonight, but no one cares. Everyone acts like it's no big deal and I'm a freak for worrying so much.

I spot my mom in the corner, and am flooded with relief as I run up to her and ask her to help me get ready. But when I approach her with my request, she tells me that she is the personal assistant to another girl in the musical and can't help me. This other girl is her priority. I'm left feeling hurt and confused as to why she won't help me. I'm her daughter after all! But the panic is so great that I brush my feelings aside to think about later because I have too many other things to worry about at the moment.

It's getting closer and closer to showtime, and I still can't even find a script. I know I'm going to make a complete fool out of myself out on stage. I feel so frustrated because I feel like I'm the only one that even knows what's going on. Everyone else is acting so nonchalant about it, and I start crying as I run around, desperately trying to get prepared.

In my dream, I never actually make it onstage. I always wake up right before the curtain opens. The whole night is just filled with the panic and anxiety that I feel as I'm running around crying and trying desperately to figure out what I need to do to be ready.

Does anyone analyze dreams? What does this mean? Is there some way to stop these dreams from occurring?

Vitamin D deficiency = tanning passes for me!

I finally got the results back from last week's horrible blood test. *Which, contrary to popular belief, I did not get done because I am pregnant. I am not pregnant. Sorry to disappoint you!* I got it done because almost daily for the past few months, I've been having horrible Charlie Horses in my feet. My feet cramp up and my toes go in all directions for 5, 10, sometimes even like 15 minutes. They are extremely painful, and I was getting really sick of them and wanted to know why they were happening. My doctor ordered the full she-bang. I swear, they must have taken at least half of the blood that was in my body.

Everything they tested came back normal except my Vitamin D levels. The nurse told me that a healthy range is between 50-100 ng/ml, and mine was only 23! That lovely little thing called sunshine gives you Vitamin D and makes you healthy. Only too bad for me, I never see the sun because I'm inside for 10 hours a day. The entire winter, it was basically dark on my walk to work and dark on my walk home, so I rarely, if ever, saw the sun. It all makes sense now! My poor body has been trying to tell me I need some sunshine by giving me these nasty Charlie Horses all the time.

It didn't even take much to convince Adam that I needed to buy some tanning passes. I told him that it was a matter of health and not because summer is right around the corner and I want to look tan and sexy when I get into by swimsuit for the first time! That was just a convenient coincidence! I asked him if he wanted these Charlie Horses to continue, or even worse, if he wanted me to develop such horrible problems as heart disease, depression, obesity, PMS, cancer, stroke, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, and birth defects. So I bought the local salon's Spring Break Special, and will be hitting up the beds a few times a week! Yippee!

had a bad day.

It was one of those days at work when I felt like screaming and throwing things.

There was so much to get done but I couldn't get through even a fraction of it.

People were mean.

People were stupid.

People didn't do what they said they were going to do.

But it was nothing a chick flick, a bag of potato chips, and a carton of ice cream couldn't fix.

I feel better.

Charlottesville, VA

To celebrate Adam's birthday, we decided to head south to Charlottesville. We've heard from lots of people that the town is charming and that there are some great things to see, so we decided to make a road trip out of it for his birthday. We love road trips!

We left early Saturday morning. Our plan was to head straight to Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, when we got there, but because it was raining really hard, we decided to check into our hotel first and wait it out. We holed up inside for a few hours waiting for the rain to let up a little, but it never did. We figured we'd wait until the next day to see Monticello and went to University of Virginia instead.

University of Virginia, aka "Mr. Jefferson's University" was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819.

The Lawn at UVA is super gorgeous and historical. It is lined with dorm rooms that undergraduate seniors live in. Being chosen to live in one of the Lawn rooms is considered very prestigious. All UVA seniors are eligible to apply. Applications generally include a résumé, personal statement and an interview. To this day, they are still heated by fireplaces and there are, gasp!, no bathrooms. They are located behind the buildings, so the students have to go outside, rain or shine, no matter what time of day, to relieve themselves.


There were stacks of firewood outside each student's door so they could stay warm. I can't imagine having to keep a fire burning to stay warm at school! I'm sure these students have a very distinct smell in class.

That night we had Adam's birthday dinner at a little Himalayan/Tibetan/Indian resaturant in downtown Charlottesville. We'd never eaten food like it before and it was fun to have something different. We ate on big cushions with throw pillows surrounding us. The food was absoutely delicious! My chicken had some mysterious spice on it I'd never heard of before and I was surprised at its neon red color. Adam ordered a dish that the menu warned was "not for the faint of heart." They weren't kidding! It was the spiciest thing he'd ever eaten in his life. I tried a tiny little bite of it and about died.
The next day we went to Monticello. We're actually really glad we waited until that day because it just so happened that it was the 200th anniversary to the day of Thomas Jefferson's return to Monticello after his completion of his term as the 3rd president of the United States. A 6 man band played some sweet colonial tunes for close to a half hour until he showed up.

An actor reenacting his return rode up the hill to the house on horseback, smiling and waving to everyone. He gave the exact same speech that President Jefferson had given when he returned. The Charlottesville mayor was there along with a lot of important people from different historical foundations.

We got to meet him! This guy looked like Thomas Jefferson and acted just how I imagine he would have acted. He had a slight southern drawl. It was a lot of fun (or maybe we're just nerds)!

I told him I loved his Declaration and asked where he got his inspiration. Okay, not really....

Thomas Jefferson's grave. The plot is family owned and they still bury his descendants there today.

It was a fun trip and we hope to do many more before law school is over.

I'm a wuss

I do not like blood. So you can imagine when my doctor told me yesterday that I needed to fast for 12 hours and get my blood drawn in the morning, I was scared. I showed up a little nervous, but kept giving myself little pep talks about how it wasn’t a big deal and how I could do it, no problem.

I was fine as I sat in the chair and watched the phlebotomist work until I started thinking about how much blood she was taking from me. I watched four big vials fill to the brim before she finally pulled the needle out of my arm and announced she was done. I started feeling the panic set in- I broke out in a sweat and the room started spinning. I tried to force thoughts of the deep purple color of my blood, sharp needles, tiny veins, and the tight elastic band wrapped around my arm out of my mind, but it didn’t seem to work. I told her I didn’t feel well and asked for some water. She brought me a cold cup and I sat there for a few minutes before I felt like I was well enough to get up and leave.

As soon as I got in the elevator to go down to the lobby, though, I was a goner. I completely lost all vision and hearing. Panic set in and I started reaching my arms out, feeling around the elevator with my hands. I felt people brush past me and realized the elevator doors must have opened. I remember stumbling around, bumping into the elevator walls, door, and people. I remember feeling my high heels wobble and wishing I was in tennis shoes instead. Then I was out.

I don’t know what happened in the few minutes I was unconscious, but when I woke up, I was holding a cold bottle of orange juice and two very nice people were kneeling down by me on the floor, rubbing my arm and asking if I was okay. One was a woman wearing George Washington University scrubs and the other was a young man dressed in a security guard uniform. They crouched on the floor with me for a good 10 minutes, not leaving my side until I assured them I was fine. They made me drink the juice and I spilled it all over my shirt because I was still so shaken up. The whole time, there was a big crowd of people gawking at me and staring while they were waiting for the elevator. They security guard was so funny. He kept turning around asking people if they knew where they were going or needed any help, hinting to move on and not make me feel more embarrassed than I already was.

After talking to them, they told me I was out long enough for them to walk to the pharmacy next door, buy me an orange juice, and bring it back. This was so funny because in my mind, no time had passed at all and I thought they had just conveniently had a cold, unopened bottle of orange juice. Time flies when you’re unconscious!

These two were the nicest people I’ve ever met. They took care of me, a complete stranger, for no reason. They sat with me, rubbed my arm, and joked about what had happened to make it seem less embarrassing. They said it happens to people all the time. And to top it all off, when I offered to pay them back for the juice, they refused. I am so grateful for kind people who go out of their way to serve. I get tears in my eyes when I think about them. I wish I knew who they were so I could repay them in some way, but I don’t. It just makes me want to do something nice for someone, anyone, in return.


I was going to put a photo of someone getting their blood drawn on this post to make it more exciting (everyone likes photos!), but I got queasy just looking at the google images and couldn't bring myself to do it. Sorry!

it's my husband's birthday today. he's turning 27 years old.

Some adorable things him:
-when he’s home, you’ll almost always find him in his bathrobe
-he pronounces the word “feel” “fill”
-he loves animals, especially dogs, and frequently looks at funny pictures of them on the internet. they makes his day.
-he rubs my feet, back, hands, and legs whenever I ask him to (which is almost daily), and often, even when i don't. he's just that kind of guy.
-he is passionate about so many things- books, music, law, building/fixing things, science, history, the gospel…
-he’s a cookie monster. He can down 3 dozen cookies in a few short days
-he always volunteers to do the things at church that no one else wants to
-he has the best laugh I’ve ever heard. it was one of the first things I loved about him when I first met him.
-he loves to cuddle more than anything and is always begging me to

Happy birthday to the best husband I could ever ask for! I cherish you!

Embarrassment at the Metro

So I was standing at the metro platform this morning waiting for the train when I noticed what appeared to be a flowing gown lacing around my leg. I was like, "Who is standing so close to me that her gown is touching my leg?" I turned around and saw nobody, then turned the other way and saw the flowing gown brush my leg again, but no person. Confusion. So I turned my bag around and saw one pair of Andrea's pantyhose stuck to the velcro strap of my shoulder bag. The legs were dangling about and dancing in the metro wind. I had walked all the way to the metro, with people behind me, completely oblivious to the fact that my wife's underpants were stuck to my bag. Nice.

help, people

I need some recommendations for good books. I prefer fiction novels or non-fiction memoirs. I like stories, not just advice/self-help books. Nothing too cheesy or anything with a bunch of swearing or sex. Just a good book that is touching, deep, funny, and is hard to put down.

Playing dress up

I might have mentioned this before, but I love to buy Adam clothes. It is so much more fun than buying clothes for myself. I love, love, love it! It’s like he’s my little doll and I can play dress up with him and make him look as handsome as I want. Whenever I walk into a store, I head straight for the men’s section and start imagining how good he would look in everything and I get so excited. He’ll never try clothes on when we’re actually at a store, but if I buy stuff for him and bring it home, he loves trying it all on. I don’t get it, but hey, whatever works!

If I like to dress Adam this much now, I can’t even imagine how bad it’s going to be when I have babies! Baby clothes are even cuter than grown-up man clothes. I can never justify spending money on them now for the future, but as soon as I get pregnant and find out what sex the baby is, I have a feeling I’m going to go nuts!

haircut coupons aren't worth it!

I found a coupon in the Washington Post Express for $9.00 off a haircut at the Hair Cuttery and decided to use it because my ends were getting a little scraggly. After work last night, I made the trek to the only location that accepted the coupon, put my name on the waiting list, and sat for 45 minutes in the waiting room (which had no magazines, by the way! Boring!). When the stylist came to get me, I about died when I saw her. She had white hair, coke bottle glasses, a big hump on her back, and looked like she was about 75. I already had a bad feeling because I was at the Hair Cuttery, but felt even worse after I saw her. I explained to her that I like having long hair and not to trim more than an inch off the ends. After the first snip, she showed me how much she’d taken off, and I relaxed because it was fine amount. It was right around an inch. But as she squinted through her glasses and cut, I could feel it getting shorter and shorter. She was definitely not sticking to the inch she had originally shown me. She kept muttering things to herself like, “it’s a little shorter on this side, so I’m gonna even it up over here….” and “does that look even to you?”

When she was done, it was a full 4 inches shorter. I cried on the way home. I don’t know why hair is so emotional to girls, especially long hair, but it just is. When Adam got home, he was sympathetic and told me he’d still kiss me, so that was nice. But I want my long hair back!

we didn’t know about daylight savings

and slept through church yesterday! we didn’t hear a single word about it. they really need to put it in the news more or something to warn people like us. we showed up to sacrament meeting just as it was ending. i think we still got credit for going to all 3 hours though because it really was an honest mistake. the funniest part is that we did the exact same thing last year. oops! maybe someday we’ll learn!

We're moving to Utah for the summer!

Adam is going to be working as a summer associate for a law firm called Manning Curtis Bradshaw & Bednar in Salt Lake City. We've found a couple to sublet our apartment here in Washington while we’re gone, I’ve told my firm about the move, and we’re getting excited! We’ll be in Utah from the beginning of May through the middle of August. We’re looking forward to catching up with friends and spending time with our families. Yay!

I'm looking for a job, preferrably in the legal field, so if anyone knows of anything, let me know. Thanks!

More of my trip

I finally figured out how to upload a video! I went with the whole YouTube idea because I've seen it on other people's blogs. Please excuse my hideousness in this video, but I was exhausted. And yes, in case you were wondering, I am wearing pajamas under my peacoat. I have no shame. Next time I go to Europe, I'm not going to work a 50 hour week, get straight on the plane Friday night, take a red eye, travel for 10 days, get home at 10:00 Sunday night, and then go straight into another 50 hour week at 7:30 on Monday morning. Let's just say it's been rough.

Anyway, here's the video. I thoroughly love Jessica's reaction. Enjoy this, dad!


Here are a few more pictures:


Grapes were growing for wine all along the freeways.


We went to something called Carnvial in Nice. It was like Mardi Gras here in the states but not as sleazy. The floats made Disney's look like child's play. In fact, I saw the people in charge of the Disney parades cowering in the corner crying. It was one of the highlights of the trip.


At Carnival, silly string is a huge deal. We thought we'd get through the night without getting blasted with it by complete strangers, but we soon realized there was no chance of that. In fact, we learned that if we tried to keep it off our hair and faces, we made ourselves look more like targets. We just went with it.


Don't Scooter and Jess (or Scootica as I like to call them) make a gorgeous couple?


The car we rented. Because I have the most experience on a stick shift, I was in charge of navigating through the French streets where the signs were all in..... you guessed it! French! You'd think I'd know more French after working for a French family for a year, but alas, I don't know any. So shameful, I know.

England & France

A few months ago, my mom was planning a trip to Europe to visit my sister Jessica and her husband Scooter, who are currently living in Oxford, England. One day we were talking on the phone about it, and she asked me if I would be able and willing to buy a plane ticket and come along. Adam graciously let me buy a ticket, and my law firm let me have a week off so I could tag along. The best part about it was that we decided to not tell Jessica I was coming and surprise her instead. We love surprises in this family!

I was so excited for months, picturing her reaction when she saw me at the airport. It was everything I had imagined it would be. When she saw me, her jaw dropped to the floor and she immediately started bawling. It was so much fun! Unfortunately, my camera that my mom was recording with decided to shut itself off right as this precious moment unfolded, but we did manage to tape a little right after Jessica's initial shock. I really wanted to put it on the blog so my dad could see it, but the file must be too large for Blogger to handle because it won't upload! Dang!

We stayed in Oxford for a few nights, went to London, stayed a night there, and then flew to France. We found $50 round-trip airfare on some crappy budget airline to go to the French Riviera. We rented a car and stayed there for 4 days. We got to see 7 cities along the coast. Then it was back to London for a night, back to Oxford for one more, and then home! We had such a great time. It was so nice to have some girl time and catch up with my mom and sister.


Here's the dining hall that they filmed the Harry Potter movies in. It's at Christchurch College. Oxford University is made up of like 39 colleges, but Christchurch is the most famous. They really do have a headmaster table and the students really do eat every meal of the day in there. It's very formal, and they have butlers that serve the food and wait on them.


Here we are on Millenium Bridge over the river Thames in London.


We shopped and ate for hours on Portobello Road. I absouletely love that place. I could go everyday. You can literally find anything you want at the market.


Monte Carlo. It was gorgeous! One of the coolest cities I've ever been to.


On the beach in Menton, France. It was too cold to swim, but fun to watch the waves and just be there.


France has some killer food, espcially pastries. You find little shops like this on every street corner. We thought it was funny that they have fresh baked, crusty baguettes even at gas stations. When was the last time you had fresh anything at a gas station in the states?



England, on the other hand, had some not so great food. These were little chewy candies that were shrimp flavored. Also popular in England are shrimp flavored potato chips. Yuck!

I haven't had time to go through even a small portion of my pictures from the trip yet, but these are just a small sampling. I'll post more soon!

I apologize to my readers for the lack of posts, but...

I've been too busy parading around England and the French Riviera for the past 10 days to worry about such trivial things as my blog! I got home last night around 10:00 and am back at work this morning, but I'll post pictures and stories when I get a chance!