the truth about redheads

a human jukebox

2012-01-30T20:37:00.001-08:00

Somebody told me I needed to update my blog. I know all of you (how many of you are there, like five?) are wondering where the heck I've been. I'm not in the social networking part of the internet anymore, which really hasn't affected my life too much. Except for the people-getting-engaged part. They act offended when I don't know...oops. Guess I'm prehistoric now or something. Anywho, that's why you don't know about my life too much anymore. I don't blog, I don't facebook..but I still use pinterest and tumblr! Yay!

Wow, this post is incredibly boring. I always think of funny/clever stuff I could blog about during the day, but then 9 o'clock hits and so does the procrastination monster. He tells me that I need to stop reading 20-page articles and answering endless busy-work questions. So I agree with him and attempt to write a blog post. Which fails... And then I'm more tired than I was before. Oh, the life of a college student. Soon I'll be an ex-college student, and that will be a wonderful day.

In the meantime, here's what I've been eating/listening to/thinking about. Maybe I'll start blogging for real after April 6th...

double chocolate cheesecake=the reason I left Dan a really awful message last night. Sorry, dan-o. I really am. We all know what sugar does to me.
the hush sound. I knew I liked them before, but then they were given to me by a certain individual on a mixed CD and apparently now I cannot stop listening to them. music is so weird that way. p.s. music in portuguese makes me laugh a little bit, just because I can't for the life of me understand it, and then I try to, and it's just...bad. Me trying to understand it...not the music. Ok, goodbye longwinded and pointless postscript.
camping, I just need to go as soon as the snow melts. my desire to be outside is reflected here big time.
mexico, always.
ernest hemingway, why must your paragraphs be so long?
estimate of how many pages of reading i have done in the last month: upwards of 5,000. It ain't pretty. And none of that is recreational reading, btw.
I have probably made at least six loaves of bread this month alone. And the hippie references (toward me) are through the roof lately. That's what I get for growing my own yogurt and stuff.
50,000 recipes (ish) dreamed up in the margins of my notes.
1 lesson done did and taught in relief society.
I haven't slipped on the ice yet, but I almost went down today in a lovely flailing motion.
Songs learned on the guitar: one (that's two halves of a song actually)
Awkward hugs given/received: a jillion. okay three in particular come to mind.
I dusted off my Moleskine full of poems and poetic thoughts again, cuz my right brain needs a place to get away, just like me. It doesn't do well in 3-hour long classes all about how Obama writes his arguments.
more freckles than I've had in awhile. rexburg=mexico? not even close. but in this regard, it is. and I guess the taco bus is a derivative of Mexico. Let's call it Mexico Lite.
sharing my music taste with everybody who wants to know. hence the human jukebox...heheheh. get it? drum roll anybody?? kaitlyn, that was a shout-out to you.

coincidences/serendipitous encounters...you don't even want to know what kind of mind games fate is playing with me right now. And for the record I know that coincidences and fate do not exist...I just like pretending they do so I don't get too frustrated with where they really come from. :)
matching socks, and the lack thereof in my sock drawer. It's getting (slightly) embarrassing to be wearing half purple/half green. But I can dig it.
Justin Vernon and his crazy genius. He seriously is the craziest guy ever. But holy smokes, his music...his MUSIC. Ack! Not fair, I tell you.

The long and short of it: I'm still the same ol' awkward, reddish-brownish headed, freckle-faced, music-obsessed, overthinking, right-brained fool who is trying to get through the last eight weeks of school. That's right, EIGHT WEEKS.

Ahhh, deep breath.

this blog used to be funny.

2012-01-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

(if you don't know who this is...yeah I just don't even know what to say to you.

here's a crash course: this and this)

funny...and updated.

But you know what, my classes have been off the heezy lately. And you don't even wanna know what that means.

While I figure out how to be funny/sane again, here is a brain barf..er...journal entry from just last night. I apologize in advance for talking about my legs again. I just can't seem to get off of that subject on this blog. Or in real life. Ha.

{Something smells like chicken noodle soup and it's making me hungry.}<--that's the title, btw

Also, I haven't shaved my legs in 2 weeks, what?! That's kind of sick. But on the other hand, it's flippin' FREEZING here and walking to the library feels like the climb to Everest with the wind chill and all. Ok, maybe not that dramatic. The point is, my legs are going to stay unshaven for at least a few more days. The End and Amen.

Can you tell that this is a brain barf? I figured the title would be a dead giveaway. Seriously, that soup or whatever is cooking (at 10 o'clock at night...hmm) smells GOOD. I'm going off-topic..which isn't breaking any rules because this is a brain barf, folks! I wore 4...no 5 different coats today. Not at all once, of course, because that would be RE-donkulus. And yet, maybe it would be genius. I wasn't a fan of the wind today--it ruined our "snowstorm" which was supposed to strike this morning. Boo. I choose snow over wind any day. Back to my coats. I'm going to rate their effectiveness in this crazycrazycrazy cold weather.

1-my Mexican "drug rug" (don't hate). A solid 7, and it could be higher but I didn't wear it outside and really test its abilities.

2-BYU sweatshirt, 5. It's losing it's fuzziness. Unlike my legs...haha! Ahem. Anyway.

3-brown old navy coat, 0. It's just for decoration after all.

4-grey AE hoodie. A 4, it's way too small, meaning I have grown since age 16! So I guess my doctor was wrong-o when he told me I was done growing in 6th grade. That's right, 6th grade! Do you know how tall I was in 6th grade? Probably not as tall as you were.

5-my winter coat, a 10 of course. Now I just need sufficient coverage for my leggies, cuz my leg hairs+jeans aren't that much protection.

Dude, I can't believe how much I got done today! When I woke up, I was dreading everything that I was going to have to attempt. But somehow, by focusing on one thing at a time, I did it. What the junk? Maybe it's because I deactivated my facespace until April...yeah, maybe. In between classes, I worked on a huge assignment for English 450 (it's kicking me in the pants, seeeriously) and exercised. And worked at the RC (it's a miracle I still work there...I seriously thought about quitting this week because I was so swamped). And made a legitimate dinner. And had scripture study. And looked at moccasins on the internet because I really want some. And listened to lots of indie music, which only made me want to go to Coachella more and see Justin Vernon in the flesh!!!! Sigh."

I'm telling you...on a crazy scale from 1-10, my journals are a 15.

And so is the whole no-snow-in-Rexburg but snow-in-the-Pacific-Northwest thing. These are the things that keep me up at night, friends. Moccasins, Justin Vernon, and the wind practically blowing this apartment to smithereens.

p.s. you need to watch this right now. right. now. ya hear?!!

wish list

2012-01-09T21:06:00.001-08:00

I know, I know. School is in session and it's my last semester...and it has been a bit difficult. Hence the take-a-nap-every-day rule I have recently implemented. Sometimes rules are awesome, don't you think? Anywho. Here are some things I have been wishing for lately:

Coachella tickets (aka tickets to a modern-day Woodstock...minus the hippies. I think). Oh, what I wouldn't do to get my little hands on these. What. I Wouldn't. Do!

p.s. I don't understand the clothes-less blue guy in this picture. That's all.

this guy, from this show. what, you haven't watched it yet? for shame!

to think that people with faces like that actually exist!

this cabin in the woods, somewhere for me to get away.

hats, hats, more hats! my roommate Caitlyn said I remind her of this character, anybody recognize him? He was always changing into different hats. That's my life.

to sit on this pyramid again, without any Dramamine in my system. And a water bottle. My new motto: no taking naps at ancient historical sites!

1) for it to be summer and 2) to go tubing

this book would be incredibly useful.

homemade pizza, get in my mouth.

I'm sorry, but who wouldn't want to sleep in this? We're going to exclude any children under the age of eight from that question.

everyday when I get home from school/work, my toes are numb (c'mon, just a liiiitle snow?!). So I obviously wish I had a set-up like this in my apartment.

a road trip to someplace that blows my brains out, it's that cool.

a summery bike ride. my bike has been patiently waiting for a ride since October. sigh...

Enjoy your long weekend!

oh no you didn't.

2012-01-05T11:37:00.001-08:00

Is it bad that it's only January 5th and I have things to confess? Deal with it.

confession one: last night I stayed up late having one of the funniest/most awkward conversations of my life with an individual who will remain unnamed. just in case he/she does not want to be associated with said conversation. trust me, it was all about mexico and some downright embarrassing things that happened there.

confession two: in the same conversation, we discussed having a funeral for a mustache. what?

confession three: I may or may not have taken a 2 hour nap yesterday after I got done with classes...at 10am. Better not make this a habit.

confession four: I tripped going up the stairs in the Smith Building on the way to my first class. And that's not the first time, either. I recall a certain incident at the tender age of 18, whilst I was running up the stairs to the 4th floor for Spanish class. All of a sudden I was no longer standing on solid ground, and I had that moment we sometimes get when we're in the air. The one where you're thinking, "Oh crud. I'm about to hit the ground and make a really awful scene, aren't I?" Yeah. Then came impact. And lots of return-missionaries making sure I was okay. But I just laid there, looking pathetic and ridiculous. "Hi....I'm new here." Ugh.

confession five: I have already been to the taco bus, and I've been here for four days. What am I going to do when I move? Wait..I just had a stroke of genius! I'll just sneak into the bus when some big futbol game is on the TV (so the people who work there are distracted), and start the engine, and then drive away with all of the Mexicans inside of it. Then I will have delicious Mexican food at all times. Hooray.

confession six: a couple of nights ago I decided to prank a few of my old roommates and tell them I was engaged (via text message). "It happened so fast!" I said. Or something like that. Ha! Luckily my friend who really is engaged had just sent me a picture of her ring, so I forwarded that to them to make the prank more believable. I guess that 17-year-old prankster still lives in me.

confession seven: I signed up for a free 7-day Hulu Plus trial just so I could watch old episodes of The Office. Man I miss when that show was really good. I mean really.

confession eight: the other day at the bank I stuck my tongue out at a little girl in front of me who was really into making faces. But I'm pretty sure my little game was confusing other people around, who couldn't see the 2-foot girl in front of me. They could only see a college student sticking her tongue out every five seconds. Yikes.

Hmm only eight confessions. That's not too bad. One for every day of the week, plus an extra for the weekend. Ha. Just kidding. Kind of.

and so it begins

2012-01-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

...not much has changed.

The last few days have been kind of surreal. I got to Rexburg, unpacked my shtuff, went to a friend's apartment, made dinner there, then went to a movie. When I woke up the next morning it finally hit me that this was going to be my very last semester in Rexburg. And I was sad. This is my home--it really is! And it's only taken me almost four years to figure it out. But I really do love it here, and all of the people in it. I'm going to miss it when April rolls around. This time, I'm hoping the semester goes by very slowly.

This morning on the way to class I passed two girls with maps, looking around and asking each other where certain buildings were. I recognized the looks on their faces, because I experienced the same thing almost four years ago (back when I started this little blog). I, too, wandered around campus on those first few days with my crumpled-up map. I too, walked into the right classroom at the wrong time, where I was immediately faced with a bunch of very amused upper classmen. I, too, thought that campus was "so big" and I'd never be able to figure out where everything was. I reassured the girls that they'd be able to find their way around in no time. To be honest, I envy them. They have four (probably) amazing years ahead of them. I have four months. Months?! How'd it get to this point? All I know is, I'm going to make them count. It's interesting how your perspective changes when you know something is about to end.

favorite music of 2011. none of which came from the radio.

2011-12-30T15:18:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me, I mean really know me, know that I am pretty puffed up about my taste in music. Yes, I will admit to that. I have met very few people who have the same (awesome) taste in music that I do. Here, I'll prove it to you. I will give you a sampling of my favorite songs which I discovered this year. If you like just one of them, I will arrest my case.

Shadowland-Youth Group

this song came from a mix which a friend of mine made, someone who happens to have near-identical music as I do. p.s. that was a very strangely worded sentence. my bad.

Calgary-Bon Iver

I don't even care that I have already posted this song on every possible social network site. LISTEN TO IT.

Mykonos-Fleet Foxes

Cool name? Check. Bearded men who also wear plaid? Check check.

Hipster music at its finest.

Little Secrets (Passion Pit Cover)-Chamberlin

The original of this song is good, but duuude. DUDE. Just listen to this version.

Wide Eyes-Local Natives

Once you start listening to Local Natives, you literally cannot stop.

The Girl-City and the Colour

Yeah, this song speaks for itself.

Shiny on the Inside-Leona Naess

As soon as I heard this song, I thought to myself, "Where have you been on my life?"

In the Mirror-Nada Surf

Before this song, I always associated Nada Surf with American Eagle because they used to always blare it from their speakers. But it's been awhile since I regularly shopped there. So I can now listen to Nada Surf with a clear conscience. Ha.

Kim and Jessie-M83

This song sounds like it came straight from the 1980's. Oh well, it's still good.

Oh No, I Tried-Right Away, Great Captain!

I can't help it if a lot of these bands have men with really beardy-beards. And kind of weird, kind of awesome band names.

The High Road-Broken Bells

Oh man, I just love this song so much. It's like a mix of The Shins and Sea Wolf. Or something. It's ok if you don't know what I'm talking about.

Helena Beat-Foster the People

Yeah, I know. Everybody knows who FTP are because of "Pumped Up Kicks," but their other songs are pretty good too. P.S this is the weirdest music video I have ever laid eyes on. And I have seen some of MGMT's. That's saying something.

No Sunlight-Death Cab for Cutie

It takes me awhile to get around to some of my favorite bands' newer stuff. It's just because their older albums are so good, I can't break away. Well it's a good thing I did, because I really love this song. And album. Word.

Good Morning-Rogue Wave

I've been listening to this here band since I was in braces. So...awhile. Anyway. I like to air-drum to this song regularly.

Hold On to What You Believe-Mumford and Sons

For some reason I cannot find this song on Amazon or iTunes. Sniffle. I'm not going to go on about how much I love Mumford & Sons. Just do your ears a favor and turn it up.

Angel in the Snow-Elliot Smith

I wouldn't mind if Elliot Smith lullabyed me to sleep every night.

Storm-Jose Gonzalez

If songs could be onomatopoeias, then this song would be one. Ya dig?

Cover of Night-Steve Reynolds

Every time this comes onto my Pandora, I go to "like" it but I've already done so about fifty times.

Cosmic Love-Florence and the Machine

For once, a song that deserves to be on the radio a jillion times a day!

Heart it Races-Dr. Dog

I might love this song just because the name of it sounds like something Yoda would say. Yeah....moving on.

Arms-Seabear

First of all...a band named Seabear? Get on my iPod. Riiiigh now.

Santogold-L.E.S. Artistes

I'm still not sure if her name is Santigold or Santogold.

Rude to Rile-Horse Feathers

After Nickel Creek broke up, I didn't think I'd ever find another guy-guy-girl band that would live up to them. But luckily I was wrong!

Opie's Funeral Song-Sufjan Song

Apparently this song is "rare," meaning hard to find. But to me, it is also rare in that there are few songs as good as this one. Sha-bam.

Train Song-Feist and Benjamin Gibbard

This song makes me want to be snuggled up by a fireplace on a rainy day. But that's just me.

Two Weeks-Grizzly Bear

This music video scares me so bad. Mostly because their eyes are hugemongus. And I thought they were real the first time I saw it. So freaky...and yet I couldn't look away.

Papercuts-Future Primitive

I find myself head-bobbing to this song without even realizing it.

Weight of Lies-The Avett Brothers

I would very much like to learn this song on my new geetar.

Countdown-Phoenix

Because of Phoenix, I got through the last 4 miles of my leg of the Ragnar.

Light Year-Gregory Alan Isakov

There's not one of his songs that I don't love. Plus, this song is how I got the name for my tumblr. Nifty, eh?

Our Swords-Band of Horses

Once again with the bearded individuals. Sorry.

I think I've given you enough music to make yourself a CD.

Happy New Year!

may you find plenty of stupendous music in 2012.

where i'm going, where i've been

2011-12-23T14:00:00.001-08:00

We're coming up on that time of year...the one where I start making long lists of things ter-do. Today I was telling a friend that I may or may not be at a very important event in her life sometime in 2012. But it's hard to tell because my life takes me to very unexpected places. And she said "that's incredibly true." Yeah. See for yourself.

tehuacan, mexico.

an oft-used storage closet (for once the name "sardines" is appropriate for this game)

trees in the jungle. barefoot.

six flags...mexico...rollercoasters. psyche.

very slanted alleyways in taxco, mexico. it's like italy (ish).

on top of very famous, very old pyramids. obviously enthralled.

inside of very scary, very ghetto "hotel rooms," underground, on the outskirts of mexico city.

inside of classrooms, teaching hooligans like this.

the zocalo.

in front of interesting foods, like mole.

this little house for 3 months.

behind the church, playing futbol every thursday.

in a boat, by the beach somewhere in mexico, with some crocodiles nearby.

the rigby idaho tv museum. what? we paid for this?

the very last Harry Potter premiere. sniffle.

the ragnar.

still can't believe i did that.

the taco bus, some five jillion times. (ok, this isn't that surprising)

some lovely summery bike rides.

and other pretty places in Utah which are kind of hidden.

Do you remember how I had a feeling that 2011 was going to be really awesome? Well, it was. And I know the same thing about 2012. I'm already seeing some interesting stuff in my crystal ball...

florence+the machine. I'm late to this party, but I came nonetheless.
graduate school, huh?
EFY counselor, perhaps, perhaps
many weddings, many weddings
south america por la primera vez. ohhh yeah.
graduation-station!
new music! aha! this will never change
a concert. dang right
an adventure to Zion's
missionaries coming home (a.k.a. Chelsea Ann Bedke and Courtney Gopp)
mucho happiness

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR, FRIENDS!

thanks for all who read this blog, stumble upon it by googling very weird things, and those who comment. I love all of you. Except for the creepstaches.

something like exhaustion...

2011-12-14T20:41:00.000-08:00

So I finished my last final today of 2011...I would cry tears of joy, but I think my tear ducts have had about enough this semester.

It's been a good, hard race. Kind of like the Ragnar. Yeah...that's the perfect analogy for this semester. During the race you keep thinking, "Why the heeeeck am I doing this? I would rather pluck all of my arm hairs off." And then it's over and you find yourself thinking, "Yeah, I could do that again. Why not? Here's a hundred bucks!"

I can only imagine what next semester will be like. Probably Ragnar, ultra-team style. Gulp.

This semester, I learned how much God is aware of me. Meaning that I really don't have anything to worry about. Seriously, nothing. And the peaceful feeling that comes with that has been hard to get used to, but very nice. I enjoy it. And it usually ends well!

For instance, yesterday morning I got up before most woodland creatures do to study for my huge-mongo Spanish final. When I walked into class to take said final, most of the boys looked like they were on the verge of pukedom. One of my friends said, "McKenzie...can you give me a blessing? I'm going to puke..." I laughed and said, "Nope...I can't. But it's going to be okay." Seriously, though. Even the redheads looked pale(r). It was going to be an epic final.

I tried to be positive (and yes, unrealistic, but that's not the point!): "Maybe he'll walk in and say, 'Merry Christmas! No final!'" We laughed nervously, and then, Hermano Rock himself walked in. He asked us about our essays that we'd turned in, made playful banter, etc. I kept thinking, "Why doesn't he get it over with and give us the final?!" It's like waiting for the nurse to give you your shot. You know, she says "Ok, here we go!" and you squeeze your eyes and try to take deep breaths and the needle is coming towards your arm but it's hurtling in slow-motion... "Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis wooooooooooon't huuuuuuuuuuuuurt." Anyways. I was pretty sure the Spanish test was going to feel like a peanut butter shot. So I closed my eyes and hoped for the best.

Then. Then. Hermano Rock said, "Well, if you don't have anything else you want to discuss for the next hour and a half, you're excused." He said this in Spanish of course, so I had to check and make sure I wasn't lost in translation. I turned to the boys behind me and said, "Wait...serious?" One of them said, "Hurry, pack your stuff up before he changes his mind!" Hermano Rock will forever go down as the best Spanish professor in my book. Evah. No contest.

After that I had English. Our "final" was just submitting something we'd written onto the school's online blackboard and then the other class would judge, pick winners, etc. There were winners in Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry. Apparently they also won $25 bucks at the bookstore, cha-ching. Well I sat back and relaxed and ate some cucumber slices provided by the school's catering bidnez. Until Brotha B. said, "And our winner for poetry is Ponyboy Curtis..." Yeah, that's my pen name. Deal wit it. Everyone looked around while he said, "Ponyboy?" Yes, I felt foolish at that moment for choosing such a name. But honestly, I couldn't believe nobody else picked that pen name! Some guy in the class had simply used the pound sign as his pen name. Fo'real. Ok, I'm getting off-topic now. Sooo then I had to get up in front of the class and read my poem with a shaky voice because I'm kind of bad at reading poems out loud. The end.

Now all I want to do is eat a frosty (finals week=no grocery shopping=all that's in my fridge is milk and apples and flaxseed and peanut butter). And take a really long nap. I'm talkin 12 hours. And if I could, I would get in my car (that doesn't exist) right now and drive to grandma bonnie's and upon arriving there I would collapse onto any soft surface (that includes her front yard) and then in the morning I would drive to my house while having a dance party to "Man in the Mirror" in the front seat. And I wouldn't think about school. Not one bit.

the brace-face chronicles...

2011-12-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

So you know how I sometimes post little excerpts from my journals? Well, I decided to show you guys a little somethin-somethin special. Call it an early Christmas present, from me to you. But if you are prone to laughter, please use the bathroom first. Thank you.

And now, we go back in time....to the year of Y2K, Xenon Girl of the 21st Century, and braces. That's right. 2000. And some 2001, too. I decided not to edit anything, because, well, it wouldn't be near as funny if I did. However, I did add some commentary in the little brackets. Oh, and sorry for all the exclamation points and big letters. Can't blame a 10-year old girl for being a little enthusiastic about life.

January 1st, 2000

"Happy Birthday to me! Now, I am 10 years old! Mom and Dad keep telling me to STOP growing up. I know they are just joking. Ha ha! But kids can't stay like Peter Pan forever! At least not me! I got a lot of neat stuff. A fairy doll, a doll playset, a book, bracelets, a necklace, a cd headphone player [what the junk was I talking about?!], a doll that looks JUST like me, pants, a dress, WAIT! That's all I can remember. [What, did I just experience sudden head trauma?] Crazy huh? [You're telling me.] But the Chronicles of Narnia is only 1 more I can remember. Bye!"

January 26!

One more day 'til the talent show! [just fyi, almost this entire journal revolves around the talent show. I'm not sure why now.] Sorry, I haven't written for a long time. Today I play my violin concert at 7:00pm tonight! We (my class) are singing two songs in the Talent Show called Dr. King & Lewy Lewy [back then I was a phonetic speller, okay?].

February 13!

Oh man! I haven't written Forever! Oh well. Tomorrow is actually Valentine's Day. We have gotten 3 new kids + the 21 we had before. This means I"ll be full on candy tomorrow! Today we had a substitute teacher at church. Brother Stanley. We had a lesson on the Tree of Life. I call the Tree of Life...Cauliflower! Just kidding. Well, my hand writing might be sloppy tomorrow because I'll be sick from candy.

April 14, 2001

I know. I haven't written forever. Well here is a little time machine! I was taking a writing class with my good friend Amy Mathews. We both agree to NEVER go back again. The teacher was nutty and the kids were...well let's just say scary! Abel, was definitely not able. Every time the teacher asked him to read his work, he'd say "PASS!" [Forgive me for my harshness...little kids can be real meanies.]

April 16, 2001

Nothing really happened today. Ha-Ha. Just kidding. As usual I went to violin class but a new thing: she (my mom) was the first to pick me up. Mom is usually the last to pick up--that's right--ME. Mom was on the RADIO! That is not exciting. Ha Ha again. Eh huh again. Ok I will stop being weird. I got cool writing scores. 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, and 4, 4, 4, 4 [*facepalm*]. You have to at least get a 4. AWESOME! I was listening to Shania Twain on the radio 3 halfs of a second ago. What's 3 halfs of a second? Shania Twain reminds me of my best friend Liz. She listens to Shania. The best thing about journals are: 1)they don't get graded. 2)They are SECRET [not on this blog...]. 3)they are like historical fiction books, which I love. 4) they do or do not tell lies [huh?].

April 17, 2001

Today was really radical! After school I went ot my BF's house [Lizzy]. 1st we went to Subway. On the way to SUB, I had too many choco-eggs and they made my mouth dry. Afterwards we helped her mom Cheryl clean the dental office by Grandma's house. Eww! I helped w/ the trash. It was dark out, so when I dumped the trash, well...DQ is right over the fence. The food pick-up is right over the fence. I swung the trash a little too far right over to where the DQ customers pick up their food. HA HA! Oops!

April 18, 2001

TALENT SHOW AUDITIONS! The auditions were great! I think I'm in. There is a lot happening at the Talent Show. Some stuff kids did was a little, well, INAPPROPRIATE. Not that I care they move their bodies in weird motions. In math, we got assigned seats! I had to sit by Chris Hardisty. YUCK! [yeah, I totally had a crush on him, fyi.]

April 26, 2001

Today we dissected owl pellets! It turns out the owl had 2 3/4 rodent dinner. We STILL haven't gotten all of the bones out of the "rotten cotton candy"!

April 28, 2001

Today Amy and I went to the movie SPY kids. Weird!!!! It has too much...high tech stuff in it [little did I know...] Afterwards off went went to Orange Julius after her MOM picked us up. It was POURING DOWN HAIL AND RAIN. Then we got back to her house and watched PRINCE OF EGYPT and ate popcorn and cookies. Amy is my other BF. Sometimes I bring extra underwear to her house because she makes me laugh SOOO hard! [I am so ashamed of this...but I had to share. I just had to.]

May 2nd, 2001

Spent the night at Amy's. I am writing this in gel pen because my ink ran out. First of all, Nichelle cheated at track again! I was ahead again, and she pushed me on the corner. She brags terribly! All the time. "My brother is the fastest on his team" "I've never gotten any checkmarks" [in 5th grade, checkmarks were akin to demerits, ok?]. OK, so Amy and I had fun. Ate pizza. She's a blast!

May 10, 2001

Leslie's play was great. On the way to WA, I read and finished the LANDRY NEWS. I've been wearing my hat all day [nothing new here] and so it feels like I have lice. Itch, scratch, itch, scratch! After the play we got Domino's & Cinnastix w/ icing. Leslie and I had to pick up pop from Subway. Michael finished 2 of the Cinnastix and opened the frosting while we left him in the car. No wonder some were missing!

finals are for wimps

2011-12-06T17:21:00.000-08:00

Today in the midst of a zombie-eyed stupor, I thought of a brilliant, anti-finals-week post. The idea came from Sunday School...now before you all go running to a different blog, listen up. Our teacher had us raise our hands and tell her talents of others in the room. My roommate Caitlyn spoke up and told everyone that my talent was laughing. Huh? At first I was like, "Hey now, that's not exactly a talent...sometimes it gets me into trouble." Ok, I didn't say that. I didn't say anything, actually. I just laughed. JK, JK. But it got me thinking...yeah...I do laugh a lot. I fact, I probably laugh a little too much. And yet, what exactly is the "quota" of laughter for a 21-year old girl? I think it's limitless. And now, the proof.

that entire night was spent laughing. my abs looked gooood in the mornin'.

exhibit b: someone tried to take a regular photograph and I could not hold in my laughter about something. And, as you can see, when I laugh, Caitlyn laughs.

my face! I mean really.

from my younger years. I haven't changed much.

caitlyn+me=inevitable laughter.

courtney was behind the camera, and I know, I just know she said something to make me laugh. She does that!

Ahh, Sister Bedke. How can you not laugh when you're with her?

"Look, I'm manhandling a gun and I don't know how! I'll just show off all my chins instead! Ha-ha-ha!"

do I really have to explain myself here?

So maybe it's not that I laugh too much...I just surround myself with really funny people.

Yep. That's it.

pssst...all of you lurkers are wimps too for not commenting. yes, I said it.

curveballs can be fun.

2011-12-03T13:47:00.001-08:00

eye candy.

This year has been the year of near-misses, of big fat surprises, of curveballs. My stake president once said that God loves "at-the-buzzer" moments. He loves giving us those curveballs to see what we will do--will we go back and get the plates again, even though we've tried a whole bunch of times before? Will we take that leap of faith because we know "the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth"? That has been my big challenge lately (and when I say "lately," I mean the last few years that I can remember), and man has it been exciting.

We had a devotional on Tuesday which I would highly recommend reading. It was all about patience; how sometimes the Lord asks us to step away from something for awhile because it's not time for that yet--and He will reward us with it later (or something better). She also said that there will be times in our lives when we will feel like nothing is happening--but we have to keep being obedient, anyway. How many times did Nephi have to go back for the plates? Well, more than once. Just because God asked you to do it, that doesn't guarantee it will be easy. In fact, it usually means the opposite.

Remember that post I wrote at the beginning of the semester about surprises? They haven't stopped since day one. Thank goodness! Otherwise my life would be pretty dull, and I wouldn't really have anything to blog about, except for maybe peanut butter and you tube videos. Bo-ring.

Here's an itty-bitty list, to give you an idea of how good I have had to get at playing catch with God:

deciding on a career pretty much at the last minute
deciding on grad school, also at the last minute
deciding on grad school at BYU, say what?! I don't know whose idea that was. Actually, I do. Not mine.
realizing now why a lot of things in the past 3 years happened. this. is. cool. and also why you should keep a journal, yo.

The main point is, God is aware of every little detail in our lives, and whether you want to believe it or not, He's behind ~~a lot~~ all of the awesomeness happening to you right now. Sha-bam. Thus I conclude my slightly longwinded post and return to the land of finals week. I hope I come out of this alive.

not enough room for a gratitude list done the mcfrenzy way

2011-11-25T20:39:00.000-08:00

You know I pretty much write a gratitude list every Monday, right? Even if it doesn't show up on this blog, those things are all over my journal. And yet I never run out of things to list. 'Tis wonderful.

haircuts, because sometimes your hair becomes more like a mane, and then it's just a drag. yay for scissors.
the amazing music I have discovered this year. the trick is to surround yourself with people that don't listen to music on the radio...and sha-bam, you will have excellent taste in music.
Preach My Gospel. It has become my new favorite study compadre with the scribbers.
fuzzy scarves, fuzzy hats, fat puffy vests and coats. i really don't mind the cold because then I get to wear layers.
red nail polish, it makes me feel kind of classy. and then I wear old basketball shorts to bed...
the night sky. all you gotta do is look up and you'll get lost.
autumn, for sticking around long enough for me to relish it. sometimes I wish every month was October.
my parents, for helping me make sense of everything that doesn't make sense in this 21-one-year old mind.
those funny siblings o'mine. they never cease to crack me up.
memories of mexico. it's nice to have good places to back to in your head and live in for awhile, even if it's just for a few minutes.
excitement for the future even though I have no idea what's in it.
everyone who has ever made me laugh, smile, or cry. you make me feel alive, and that is a good thing.

mature or immature?

2011-11-21T16:15:00.001-08:00

I have one more sleep until I am free of this chilly place which has been autumn-less since the end of October. I've been looking at people's pictures who live in Utah and noticing how there are still leaves on the ground. I'm only a little bit peeved about that.

In other news, today I was in the library (how very original) and I started to make this list of my characteristics...because I'm conceited and stuff. Har-har. No, but really I was just trying to discern if I was mature or not. Because a lot of people tell me I'm "mature" for my age, but I don't think they really know me...

I (usually) can't get through church meetings without laughing at some point. Just don't sit by me if you're funny.
I jump on the furniture in our apartment regularly.
I love coloring and doodling. It's not unusual for my class notes to have graffiti all over the margins.
I have dance parties in the kitchen, in my room, in the library. All by myself.
I still get the urge to prank people (it's the 17-year old inside of me, ok?!)
I read Junie B. Jones
I was a bunch of grapes for Halloween, I mean c'mon.
I throw books when I get too into them.
I air-drum when I go running with music.
I bob my head when I'm jamming while studying...in public.
I drink milk straight from the jug.
I laugh during Twilight. Is it supposed to be for real? So I'm supposed to believe that waking up after your wedding night covered in bruises is love? Girl please.
I felt more like one of the children than a person of authority in Mexico. Those kids saw right through me.
I play my harmonica for unsuspecting strangers in public.
If there's a shopping cart nearby, you can bet I'll use it for a quick getaway.
I wore a shower cap to Broulim's....'nuff said.
I make designs with my chocolate chips in my pancakes.
I cross my eyes at people.

So...maybe not so mature after all.

See for yourself.

this was awhile ago, but I've worn worse things on my head recently (*cough* shower cap)

although we were at an ancient historical site, I still somehow found a tree to climb.

I'm a college student. Obviously.

and this is what college students do for fun.

look, I'm climbing another tree!

is this real life?

2011-11-16T11:01:00.001-08:00

this should scare you.

Do you ever stop for a second and look at everything happening in your life? Do you ever want to say, "Did that just happen?" And I mean this in a good way of course. I've had a few of these "whoa" moments in the past few days. One was when the devotional speaker was talking about how his grandparents met because the slave ships sailed to America. Then he said (over the pulpit in the BYU-I Center, mind you), "Long live slavery!" I about died.

Then there was last Sunday. Oh the things I could tell! It was like I had a target on my back and God was shooting blessings at me right and left. I almost wanted to say, "Slow down, slow down, I can't carry them all!" Almost everything I read, everything someone said to me, was an answer to prayer. That's what happens when you spend a lot of your time talking to God. He talks right back.

Those of you who know me know that I like to re-read my journals. It helps me make sense of things...Well recently my journal entries from last year at this time have been creepishly similar to the things happening now. It's cuh-razy. I don't know if that's some kind of coincidence or foreshadowing or what, but yeah...journals are cool. End of discussion.

Things I love about life right now: wearing boots and scarves and hats every day, squash for deener, mixed CDs, pregnancy class, Postmodern Literature, none of my roommates playing Christmas music yet, pumpkin frozen yogurt, ward parties, seeing people I know on campus and saying "hi" to them very rambunctiously (I've been told it makes people feel good, so yeah...watch out), saying "rambunctiously" in a sentence, taking naps with the heater on, buying a puffy vest (yes, yes I did), new blonde streaks in my hair (it must be the glare from the snow...), Ye Olde Testament class, 10-page letters to Hermana Bedke, jumping on the furniture in our apartment like a child, triscuits+peanut butter+honey, text messages from TP on the day we've been waiting for for 2 years (like how I say "we," like we're a couple or something?), getting a friend a job (chyeah!), using way too many parenthetical statements.

DUDE. Ok sooooo yeah, life is awesome.

And then there's that Hunger Games trailer.

Sorry, had to.

inevitably, the sun is going to shine through

2011-11-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

even the sun finds a way.

I've had a lot on my mind lately, and a lot of it hasn't been encouraging. I know I'm one of those people that's black or white--if I'm happy, I'm really happy, and if I'm sad, I'm really sad. Most of the time, I'm on the brighter side of things. Perhaps it's the weather...I really miss October and autumny-ness. It never lasts long enough where I choose to live. And lately I have been in a shlump, if you will. I feel like a good strike of lightning would cure me, or something to that effect. The thing with life is, you can't wait for stupendous things to happen--you have to make them happen yourself.

I've been reading in my old journals to help me make sense of things. I re-read my journal a lot, because the truth is, most of the hard stuff doesn't make a lot of sense until it's in your rear view mirror. I think it's pretty silly of me to think that one day I'm going to be able to "get it"--that I'll get a trial and be able to say, "Okay, I know exactly what I'm supposed to learn from this." It seems that one of the biggest lessons I have been needing to learn from trials is that I can't do it alone. I can't figure life out by myself; and when I try, I do a really bang-up job. The other half of this crazy equation is that I often feel like I can't figure out what the Lord wants me to do. I sometimes think I have it figured out, and then I'm surprised yet again. I'm constantly being turned around. So right now the trick is being in tune and then putting one foot in front of the other, even if it doesn't make any sense. That's basically the story of my life. And probably all of our lives...

One thing I've found to be helpful is to look for patterns in our lives, just to get a "sneak-peek" as to where the Lord is leading us. One pattern I've noticed is friendship...I seem to make really awesome friends who change my life, and then bam, they get taken away from me. Por ejemplo: Liz, Chelsea, Courtney, Tessa. One of them is married, two are on missions, one is four hours away from me. I could do a whole post about boys and my bad timing in that area, but we've already discussed that this week. So maybe Heavenly Father is teaching me to love people as much as I can while I have them because I never know when they'll be gone. Or maybe he's teaching me how to be on my own...to love myself and be comfortable with myself.

So in the meantime, while I wait for that friend who I get to keep for forever, I've got a few things to check off my "to-do list."

make the cookies from this blog and then initiate "random acts of cookies." holy hannah, yes.
learn how to play the guitar, probably during winter semester because I know who to ask to teach me (that means you, dan).
hike Timp. somebody, please, next summer, we must do this. anyone.
run a half-marathon. amen and amen.
read lots and lots of books on that booklist o'mine.
venture down to south america.
cut my hair. goodbye long locks.
have another night of spontaneity with Tessaface. Let's find another random concert to go to, yes??
stop worrying. it's hard, but I can do it.

what are you going to do to make life sweeter? divulge in the comments, yo.

go forth.

If you would like some more cool stuff to look at, go here. It's my tumblr, and it is where my right brain manifests itself. Word.

a not-so-happy list

2011-11-07T16:02:00.000-08:00

So I was going to put a happy list on here, like I usually do on Mondays, but I got home and I just feel like sleeping. That's all I feel like doing these days. And yet, a Spanish test looms on the horizon. As well as some more homework. More and more. It never ends. Then there's registration, which I can't even do yet because my Fast Grad hasn't been approved. It's ok if you don't understand any of this...I don't either.

here's what's been circulating in my brain lately:

boy who is dumb and uses girl for selfish reasons. and then never talks to her again.
boy who doesn't ever talk to the girl unless more people are around.
boy who makes the girl feel awkward even when she says hello. this isn't really the boy's fault....but still. STILL. you bring out the awkwardness in me. is this normal?
boy who makes the girl think he likes her until she sees him with another girl. say wha?? did you just punk me or something?
boy who obviously likes a girl and then takes a million jillion years to ask her out, in the meantime she's over-analyzing everything he does/doesn't do and tries to avoid him in order to avoid more things to analyze, but it does not work.
as you can see, boys are on the brain. what can I say? I've been at BYU-Idaho for too long. oh, and everybody, I mean every.body. is getting engaged. At the same time. Does anyone have a cure for this "all of my friends are getting married" phenomenon? Should I just go for a long run....all the way out of Rexburg? haha

Clearly, I need advice. Or a new stuffed animal.

fridee

2011-11-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

hooray for weekends, hooray for hot chocolate with chocolate chips stirred in, hooray for new mixes, hooray for doorbell ditching, hooray for little notes to people i love, hooray for the chilliness which means I get to wear scarves and boots every day, hooray for preach my gospel, hooray for baseball hats, hooray for babies and classes all about them, hooray for 12-year olds who can't stop talking about star wars, hooray for phone calls to connect me to parents, hooray for old journal entries which help me make sense of everything senseless, hooray for running into secret crushes all the time, hooray for letters from out of the country, hooray for soup, hooray for old friends coming to visit, hooray for the temple on the hill, hooray for everything, everything.

and while i'm at it, here's what else is making me happy this week.

1. passion pit, and this song.

2. hocus pocus, a classic. (yes, I am aware it is a halloween movie, but it's still october in my mind)

3. this post by sydney. baby hunger, get thee hence!

4.autumn bike rides.

5. this video--just too good to be true.

6. postmodernism, for making me want to cry every time i do an assignment. the stories are so stinkin' good. all of you should read this book.

7. newspaper poetry.

8. awesome/amazing/brilliant ideas that strike in the middle of the night (sound familiar? the same thing happened about a year ago....and strangely it had to do the with the exact same subject. see number 8.). this one is just...oh man, i don't even have words.

9. this idea to make popcorn, saved me moolah. and now i eat popcorn a lot more. hrm....

what can i say, it's friday and it's november and nobody is playing Christmas music at the moment, so i'm feeling snaaazzy. how is your weekend looking?

dance, dance, dance the night away.

halloweenie

2011-10-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

it's my favorite holiday for a reason....

and that reason is, I can act like myself and nobody suspects a thing.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

a lil' bidnez

2011-10-27T19:34:00.001-07:00

shout-out to my liz-girl

I updated the sidebar AND the playlist tab, so be proud of me! You wanna know what else I've accomplished this week? Thought so. Otherwise why the junk are you reading this blog?

bought the ugliest orange hat ever from the D.I., which I am now wearing.
finally got all the stuff for my costume...and it is going to be off the chain. or should I say, off the vine...
speed-walked up to the temple because bro. anderson shared this quote on wednesday. I had to get there before satan stopped me. ha
started writing sister bedke a serial letter, meaning it's taken me 3 days already. kinda like I'm sending her a journal entry.
shaved my legs por fin! yeah, i'm being serious. it's amazing how often I talk about that subject on this blog.
exercised every day so far (brownie points for me! ok...maybe not brownie points. celery points?)
started making playlists for future mixes for mis amigos. your ears shall be happy, friends.
gallivanted (whoa, is that even correct grammar?) through more leaves. I still haven't actually jumped in them, but today I noticed the giant piles just sitting in porter park. muahaha
worked, worked, worked some more. my favorite student would probably hafta be the 12-year-old who can't help but talk about star wars, explosions, and legos in between paragraphs.
took a couple of mid-terms. wait...mid-terms?! it's not halfway through the semester already, right?
realized once again how awesome my life is. why should I complain?

it's a day for happiness

2011-10-24T16:01:00.000-07:00

what I learned this weekend

a little autumn-ness for you

nothing like hitchcock to get you primed for hallow's eve

ok...one more!

The past few weeks have been pretty sh-sh-shaky, but I've come out on top, thanks to a lovely Stake Conference and lots of pumpkiny deliciousness. What, doesn't anyone else self-medicate with loads of beta carotene? What? Nobody? Okay then...

1. a homemade batch of salsa verde, served up extra hot. We're talkin' an entire jalapeno in the mix, guys. don't worry, I'm not dating anyone...and if I was this salsa might break us up.

2. this book, a gift from Tessaface not too long ago. Every night after journal time, I write in this thing. 'tis awesome.

3. walking by somebody in the library I don't know and hearing him say, "hey mckenzie," kind of creepishly under his breath. Did that just happen to me?! I pretended I was hearing impaired. Then stifled a laugh for as long as I could until he was out of earshot. I think it's 'bout time to delete that facebook account. Yeesh...

4. yet another glorious station on pandora radio. It's hard to not turn it way up in the mornings and jam...but hey, I am nice to the people downstairs. Except when they decide to have guitar practice at 11:30 at night. Then I just want to do a ninja-jump off of my bed onto the floor. Yeah, that's mature.

5. once again pounding some piano keys in the Snow Building. however, this time I was competing with the Mozart next door who just didn't want to hear my take on Jon Schmidt. Sorry, but I used to play against the voice majors. I will out-play you.

6. those brown boots I wear, which will be clean wore-out by the end of next April. Poor things. That's what I get for living in Rexburg.

7. kicking and jumping through the ever-growing pile of yellow leaves on the sidewalk every day as I walk home from school. don't worry, I'm just a 5-year old living in a 21-year old's body.

8. autumny bike rides almost every day.

9. miraculously finding purple long johns at Wal-Mart (I know, and in Rexburg!) for my costume. Oh yeah...it's going to be so saweet you should already be jealous.

10. sleeping like a log. and if I'm going to use that cliche, I'd better un-cliche it and say that I slept like an entire forest. What? The first one didn't make sense either. Just roll wit it.

this better be hormones

2011-10-19T18:06:00.000-07:00

In the past week I have found myself on the verge of tears just a few times, but I'm not even sure why. Today in Old Testament we were sitting there talking about the 2nd coming and all of sudden and I had to hold back a sob. A sob, people!! I don't sob! Ugh. Well on Monday the same thing happened, in the same class, because something the teacher said made me think of a dream I had a little while ago, which also made me want to cry right then. And I nearly did. I just hafta talk myself out of it...

"Kenz...c'mon...you are NOT gonna cry in front of all these people. Keep it together, man!"

Sometimes the urge will come while I'm walking to class and I see the picnic table I once did a ninja-jump off of my freshman year. Because I remember how young and inexperienced I was then, and I remember how Courtney was with me, and I think about how I'm going to leave this place soon...and...and...I just get kinda melancholy. Hence the tears.

Or other times I'll be sitting in church looking around at all of the people I know and wondering what will happen with their lives after we all leave...and I think about what's going to happen to me, and when I realize I don't know, I want to cry.

Then there's those moments when I am sitting in devotional and the speaker says something that I know, I know, God probably told him to put in his talk just for me, and I want to cry right then but not in front of the whole student body! Honestly....my tear ducts have no pride.

The worst, and by that I mean the most embarrassing, is when I walk by the many construction sites and I see the Mexicans working...and that gets me thinking about Mexico...and by that point I can't even stop. I just have to use my scarf as a mask so no one will see my face, crying.

If this isn't hormones, there's only one explanation: I have Anderson blood running through my veins.

I think I might be a hipster in disguise

2011-10-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you unfamiliar with the hipster movement, let me enlighten you.

So-called "hipsters" like to wear cardigans, "ugly sweaters," big baggy sweatshirts, etc. But they can't be too baggy. We've gotta stay semi-classy, ok?

Then there's the tea. Apparently hipsters drink a lot of it, preferably in vintage teacups. Whatever that means. Which brings me to my next point--the vintage-ness. This is also known as thrifting, but some hipsters don't want you to know they shop at the thrift store. So when you ask, "Hey, I love that dress!" they can say "Thanks, it's vintage." Now you all know that's code for D.I.

Hipsters love to rock the Harold B. Lee's. Or what others would commonly call the nerd glasses. I have this theory, and it's probably completely wrong,but that's why I'm calling it a theory and not a fact. Ever since the 3-D movies started being the norm, those nerd glasses have become the cool thing to wear. 3-D movies=leftover 3-D glasses-their lens=hipster. Wa-la!

As far as footwear goes, they like to keep it real in Vans slip-ons or any kind of slip on tennis shoe (think Keds). Even better if you can wear these shoes with skinny jeans. Even if you're a boy--if you're a hipster, skinny jeans are ok. Also, if you are hipster, slouchy beanies are a must.

Oh, and it doesn't hurt if you have a mustache. Girls, a fake one will do. In fact, fake ones are becoming even more popular.

In their free time, hipsters like to be out in the wild. Sounds kind of transcendentalist, huh? Well, it's true. They like to gallivant in the woods, climb trees, ford streams, and if they are true hipsters, they read poetry while they do it. Then they take polaroid pictures of themselves doing these activities and they end up on weheart.com with their own category (you guessed it..."hipster").

The most important facet of being a hipster is the music. The music is probably what makes hipsters hipsters. They listen to folk and/or alternative rock. What the junk is folk, you ask? Stuff like Bon Iver, Mumford and Sons, Death Cab for Cutie, Fleet Foxes, Elliot Smith, Damien Rice, Iron & Wine, Jose Gonzalez...getting a feel for it yet? And the alternative rock, well that's Explosions in the Sky, The Naked and the Famous, Phoenix, Rogue Wave, Arcade Fire, The Decemberists, etc etc etc.

Here is my dilemma. That, right there, is the kind of music I listen to. At first when I started seeing these tunes put in a category called "hipster music," I was kind of offended. Until I realized...I might be a hipster. But it was a complete accident, I swear. See for yourself:

Today I wore skinny corduroy jeans. I don't wear skinny anything...but today, I did.

My roommate regularly makes fruit tea and when she offers...obviously, I accept. Because it's tasty.

I like to go to the D.I. all the time. A good Saturday would consist of me cooking, riding my bike, and going to the D.I. Which is probably what I'll do tomorrow. Ack.

I own a pair of grey Vans Slip-ons. They're comfy, ok? I also own a pair of square-lens glasses, a pair of nerd glasses, a pair of fake glasses with the lenses still in them (so they aren't completely hipster, but still...), and a slouchy yellow hat which I wear often. Oops.

I like to be outside whenever possible. I went on a bike ride at least three times this week when I couldn't take the library anymore.

And do I have a little writer's notebook to write down poem/story ideas? Maybe... Okay, I do!

The lesson for today is, it's okay to be a hipster...as long as you are still being yourself. The end.

For more about hipsters, read this! No really...it's kind of funny. And I didn't even read it before I wrote this...that just goes to show you how much I already know about hipsters. Ahh I really am becoming one of them!

so chin up, and we'll drown slower

2011-10-10T16:28:00.001-07:00

from here

I knew when I woke up this morning--actually long before I woke up--that this week was going to be one from the place down under. And I'm not talking about Australia. So instead of thinking about that, I decided to make a happy list.

the smell of old books. I smelled not one but three yellow-paged books today. I'm sure everybody on the 2nd floor was confused. They just don't undastan!
buying one of these beauties at last. This Saturday is gonna be like Christmas! No foolin'.
autumny music like this and this and this (p.s. no clue why there's a hockey player picture on that middle video. just listen to the music, kids).
the smattering of new freckles which has recently taken up residence on my forehead. um, helllooo, I haven't been in Mexican sunshine for six (?!) months now. What are you doing up there?
finally getting to wear my boots and sweaters and corduroy skirts. p.s. corduroy is a weird word.
indexing like I usually do on Sundays and putting down the occupation of a 3-year old as "scholar." Back in the olden days, it didn't matter how old you were--if you were in school, you were a scholar. Check. Yes.
the sound of leaves crunching beneath my bike tires. also, that cool autumn breeze on my face doesn't hurt either. basically, the only bad thing about bike rides in the fall is all of the bugs I have to swallow. Ick.
mailing not one but two letters this past week. And one of them was very obese...dear Amy, I hope you have warmed up your eyes for this one.
writing notes on gum wrappers. this used to be a cb scent and mcfrenzy tradition. I try to pretend she's still here sometimes.
letting my roommate cut my hair--it was gratis, guys. and not only was it zero dollah, it was also snazzy. My head feels lighter. Hopefully it's not because my brain is melting from all of this schooling...
finding old quotes from the chilluns in my journals.

Ellie: Why do we have Easter?
Mom: Because Jesus died and then got resurrected.
Ellie: So he got zapped?
Mom: Huh? Zapped?
Ellie: Yeah, zapped! Bippity-boppity-boo!

Gotta love Disney.

I need to confess...

2011-10-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

confession 1: this week I took an old red skirt which was destined for the D.I. pile and instead threw it into the bathtub with a whole bunch of bleach. I smelled like a swimming pool for days. And the skirt did not turn pink like I planned. It's more of a pukey orange color...perfect for fall, no? So much for being domesticated.

confession 2: I have eaten more pb&j's in the past couple of weeks than I have in my whole life. Mostly because of this bread recipe.

confession 3: This song has been on repeat lately. It's a classic, you know.

confession 4: I make up recipes in my head when I can't concentrate in class. Don't worry, today in Spanish Lit when the discussion starting leaning towards the ridiculous (as it often does, remember I'm one of two girls in that class), I started writing down all of the soups I'm going to make this month. Oh yeah, that's my other confession. I plan on eating mostly soup this month. Don't deny you're jealous.

confession 5: Sometimes I look in my Mexico archives and read about the olden days. But then I start to feel a little bit depressed so I have to stop. Time to let go, McKenz. Let. Go.

confession 6: I may or may not have begun to study on a bench right outside the library because 1, it is the best place for people-watching, and 2....um, I can't tell you the other reason. This is a confession-session but it's also the world wide web, folks.

confession 7: I hate, no, loathe, the giant body pillow which Chelsea bequeathed to me for the duration of her mission. You know why? Because it is not in the shape of my body at all, nor does it contour to my shape. Did I just sound like an infomercial or what? Anyway, the point is that her body pillow has been banished to the corner of my room, far, far away from my sleeping space.

confession 8: I get the urge to jump in the leaves a lot. Soon I'm just going to give in to the impulse.

confession 9: I want to bake lots of carbs and then leave them on random people's doorsteps. The look on their faces is priceless! And so the phantom goodie season begins...

confession 10: I enjoy the weather when it's all rainy, because then I get to wear this beauty:

during winter...

or spring...

even summer.

Ahhh. Fall is offically here. Time to relish. Oh how I love that word.

domesticated and such

2011-10-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

This week one of my facespace statuses (or is it stati? geesh, all of this English homework is getting to me in a bad way) said the following: "I just ate a pb&j sandwich with homemade bread and jam...does that mean I'm domesticated or poor?"

I'm pretty sure it's both. I love to cook and lately everything (not just food) has been homemade. I make my own bread, my own deodorant, my own sugar scrub, my own hair product, my own smokin' hot dates for the weekend. Oh...wait, forget that last one. That was my psyche projecting. Ha. I really need to quit hanging out with psych majors.

Today I refrained from buying the celestial kingdom in a can, a.k.a. canned pumpkin, because I know I'm just gonna buy a pumpkin and cook it. See? I think my pioneer roots are starting to creep in...or maybe I'm just a poor college student. Yeah, that's probably it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go sew a quilt really quick before bed. It's getting a little bit chilly in here.

that's about as awkward as it can get

2011-09-28T08:50:00.001-07:00

there was this one time I slept on a pyramid. that was awkward. and yes, I'm sleeping while sitting up. even more awkward. were there tourists around? plenty. were we wasted on Dramamine? maybe.

Let's face it, either I'm awkward (mostly true) or I just bring out the awkwardness in other people (also true) or I attract awkward people. Blurgh.

awesome

Dreaming that I wrecked my brother's sweet Laser. This is awesome because it was, in fact, a dream, and not reality. In the dream I kept thinking, "I hope this isn't real and that I wake up. I have no money for new tires." Wish granted.
Bon Iver=a musical poet. Watch this and try to keep your mouth closed. I dare you.
Kaitlyn Kaycee Dwiggins making her way to Rexburg just when I need her. Last night was not a good night for me and my allergies, people. Once again, I sound like a man and my face feels inside out.
Finally getting Sister Gopp's address by way of crazy coincidence!
Idaho autumn-y sunsets. How many days til October?!
It's conference weekend, por fin.
A beautiful thing called pumpkin smash smoothies at Jamba Juice. With the first sip, I died, came back, then died again.
scripture study in the sun (who knows how much longer it will last...sniffle)
Mint Green nail polish, mmm yes. It kinda makes me crave milkshakes, though. Problem.

awkward:

A certain home teacher who came over unannounced (as per usual) at around 10:30 pm, gave me unsolicited advice on my personal life, offered to set me up with one of his friends who "might be gay," and then took my roommate's ice cream out of her hands and ate some.
Saying "Are you following me?" to people I keep running into, because I think they automatically think the opposite: "Oh...is she following me?" Uhhhhhhhhh
Eating red onions--never a good idea, even though they taste good. They ruin your mouth (and thus, your prospects...ya dig?) for days.
Seeing no less than 10 people with the same shirt as me in one day. That's what happens when you buy something from American Eagle. Oy.
Telling a roommate a hilarious story only to have her misunderstand and miss the punchline completely. Don't mind me, I'm just laughing at my own joke over here. Ha. Ha. Ha.........
Trying to chat with someone on facebook, only to have them get offline right as you say "hey!" Well fine....I didn't wanna talk to you anyhow!

snacks + music

2011-09-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I have to do things to keep my brains from melting.

Things like riding my bike up and down the hill by my apartment.

Things like having mini dance-parties by myself, to get the blood flowing. Yes, by myself. I just admitted to that, who knows why?

Or sometimes I get on this blog and write something partly coherent. But mostly not. Make sense? Didn't think so.

This week I've noticed a pattern...when I get distracted and can't go on any longer, I start listening to a certain artist, and snack on a particular snack. For example...

monday imagine dragons+triscuits

tuesday phoenix+almonds

wednesday death cab for cutie+jamba juice

thursday bon iver+carrots/peanut butter

What does this say about these particular artists? Well maybe Imagine Dragons music makes me want to dance, and that makes me really hungry, and that calls for fiber. Hence the Triscuits. Phoenix is a French band...and French people like almonds, right? I'm starting to get in way too deep, here. Death Cab for Cutie is hipster music at its finest, and smoothies, well, I mean...what else can I say? Bon Iver never gets old, and neither does peanut butter. It goes with everything. So does Justin Vernon.

And that, my friends, was a brain meltdown on paper. Er...a blog.

oh, the cleverness of me

2011-09-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

awesomeness:

-avocado+jam+egg sandwich. you know you want one.

-demolition derby (aka redneck jousting). now that's a good place to find a huzzbend.

-um, postmodernism is only, like, the BEST english class ever. And I can't believe I just said it like that, but I've lost all words. We read a story on Wednesday and my mouth was open for all 17 pages.

-secret glances heheheh

-a movie known as Midnight in Paris. It made me proud to be an English major. Oh and whoever played Ernest Hemingway...was attractive. Go ahead and think I'm weird for liking a dead guy. I dare ya.

-the very first open meet of the x-country season. It was surprisingly easy. And then the coaches' pep talk was, "Guys, it's gonna get easier, I promise." I smiled the whole way home.

-autumny rainy days

awkwardness:

-seeing some guy friends from back in the day walking to sammy's...and then rolling down my window to say hi...and then my brain misfired at that exact moment and instead of making the "hi!" noise my mouth made the "ow-ow!" noise. oh the shame. they waved awkwardly as if they didn't know me. and then we sped away. face, meet palm.

-walking past my new classroom about five times, like a freshman with those cute little maps. and having a few upper-classmen (wait..that's me!) eyeball me with concern. Don't worry guys...I found it! It's...right here. In front of my face.

-the computer I'm currently using literally gasps for breath, guys. It kind of scares me when I'm trying to fall asleep and then all of a sudden, "Mehhhuuuuurrrrshhhhhh!" I'm sitting up in my bed faster than a hungry cheetah (huh?). I have no idea how you would pronounce that, by the way.

-being in the middle of a movie night with your roommates (meaning I was in my jammies...meaning that's all I was in. Get my drift?) when guys from the ward decided to pop in. Oh please, do not turn on that li.....oooh, too late. I'll just grab the nearest dishtowel then.

-that awkward thing people do when you are having a conversation with them and they start texting. which happens to me regularly. oy.

-that other awkward thing people do when they eavesdrop on a conversation you're having with someone else and then they add their own little anecdote. "Excuse me, do I know you? You're standing awfully close..."

-did you know that some boys (aka most boys) eat whatever's in their fridge no matter how badly it smells? I didn't. Luckily I wasn't the only one who noticed the strange smell. My friend came out of his room and said, "Who vomited?" Somebody get these kids an eternal compadre, stat!

surprises

2011-09-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

I've only been in Rexburg for four days (only four?!) but already I've been surprised by my Heavenly Father. I think I've mentioned before how much He enjoys "one-upping" me. I think I've got everything figured out..and then He kindly points me in the right direction--which is usually a place I never even thought about looking.

I'm glad He doesn't answer all of my prayers the way I want Him to. Otherwise I would've married Christopher Hardisty from the 3rd grade by now. And I probably would've gone to BYU instead of BYU-Idaho. I might even be living at home.

So here's to the element of surprise when it comes to our life plans. Jones Stephens said "I have learned that the head does not hear anything until the heart has listened, and that what the heart knows today the head will understand tomorrow." I fully believe in this. I also think you could substitute "head" with "natural man" and "heart" with "spirit."

Sometimes it's something as simple as randomly reconnecting with old friends from freshman year 3 years ago. I love reunions!

Or deleting a number from your phone you never thought you would. Sweet release!

Or maybe it's in becoming really good friends with a girl you've known for awhile but never really hung out with until now.

It could be in changing up your class schedule 48 hours before school starts and realizing that even though it was dissappointing to drop soccer at first, the Old Testmament Class was made for you.

Perhaps it's in getting a calling you never thought was coming to you. My mental reaction: "Who, me?!" [more about this latah]

It could be in switching jobs kind of at the last second. I love good impulses. Ha.

Maybe it's in crushing on someone you would have laughed at the thought of liking a few years ago. Laughed. Out. Loud.

It could be in attending that x-country information meeting. X-country, the last time you and I were friends was in 9th grade. Let's reconcile.

Here's to a fantastic fall semester!

I haven't forgotten

2011-09-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

I was tying my shoes when I heard the guy on the radio talking about the World Trade Centers in New York.

I went downstairs and saw everyone gathered around the TV. Mom turned and looked at me, and her face told me something was wrong.

That day, Isaac and I walked home from school looking for planes in the sky. Even though we lived in Oregon, I remember wondering if there would be a terrorist attack somewhere close by. I went home and watched the news. I think that was all I watched that week. Finally, my dad told me it probably wasn't good to watch it so much.

I remember when they pulled a firefighter out of the rubble, still alive. I remember seeing all of the missing posters on TV and hoping that the people would be found. Even though I knew that most of them wouldn't. I remember everybody was praying and putting out their flags.

I remember President Hinckley announcing that we had invaded Iraq. Little did I know that 10 years later, we would still be in this war. I hope that we are always in a war against evil--not necessarily a physical war, but a spiritual one. I hope that there will always be those willing to stand. I hope that we never let wickedness prevail, no matter the cost.

I'm not a gymnast but I can tumblr!

2011-09-08T17:14:00.001-07:00

So, somebody just read this blog from Dublin. Hiii person if you are still here! Or should I say, "Go mbeannaí Dia duit." That means "May God Bless You." I may or may not have just googled "Irish phrases" and unintentionally landed on Irish phrases in the Gaelic language. Google 1, McKenzie 0.

On another note, school is gonna start in T minus 4 days. But am I in Rexburg? Check no! I'm still in my basketball shorts and t-shirt, at home, milking the last of my free time. Because in a few short days, its back to The Idaho. I don't know why, but I just like referring to that particular state with the article in front of it. I must be an English major or something.

This summer has been pretty marvelous. Here's what I mean by marvelous:

Park City not once, but two times
The hike-every-week goal? Fulfilled! Ok, except for one week I missed. But don't worry, I'll make up for it sometime before the frost comes (Dear Rexburg, please don't let that happen until December. Or Thanksgiving. I can handle Thanksgiving.)
Lots of family reunions (three in a row)
garden tomatoes
friend reunions (Kaitlyn Dwiggins gives the best hugs, people)
running in the summery night air (which has become the autumny night air, which I also love)
rooftop concerts. Hello, Imagine Dragons, my new favorite band. But the sweaty guy who spit on me, goodbye. Good. Bye.

I could list a whole lot more, but I don't want to put you to sleep. We'll save that for the post when I'm trapped in the library again. Oh gee willickers, please don't let that happen to me again this semester.

In the meantime, here's some pictures from my tumblr to entertain you. I will put real photos up here once my computer is fixed. The next time I write on this thing, it will be in Rexburg. Slán leat! (that means goodbye for all of you non-Gaelic-fluent people)

I still quote this show despite the fact that I am 21 years old.

I want to frame it.

Autumn is coming at last!

Does anyone else miss cassette tapes?

I have experienced this many a time.

Will always remain one of my favorite movies of all time.

I just like it, and that's all.

He will be at my next concert. Preferably on stage.

Stuff from this movie shows up on my tumblr a lot.

Classic.

How can you not like him?

A lot of my tumblr is foresty pictures, because maybe I wish I lived there.

A lot of people say she's my celebrity look-alike. What say you?

Fav-o-rite.

Art that I like (also comes up on the tumblr)

This made me laugh.

I know that lately this blog has been nothing but another place to put my tumblr pictures. Don't deny you didn't enjoy them! But I promise, soon this will go back to being my blog, and the tumblr will have its own place. In the meantime....have a looksee at all this goodnez!

funny stuff etc.

2011-08-24T20:54:00.001-07:00

(disclaimer: this is longish so I have inserted funny pictures from my tumblr to ensure you keep reading 'til the end. okay then)

Right now I am feeling a little craaazy because maybe I just got back from running and the endorphins are coursing through my vessels. Although it feels more like 7Up at the moment. Many times in my life I have done stupid-ish things after a run because I felt invincible. Then, hours, weeks, months, or years later, I facepalmed my stupidity. Join me!

(I'm pretty sure everyone's heard this story, but I think it's chilarious. I'm not sure which word I just combined with hilarious...I'll get back to you on that.) ANYWHO. Once after a particularly rough x-country practice, me and the Lizard were told by our coach to go home and eat a big plate of pasta with broccoli. You don't understand how much we did not want broccoli. Or pasta. We inhaled pasta most of the time. So what did we do? Just had her mom drive us down the road to Carl's Jr., where we both inhaled 2 burgers...each. One of the proudest moments of my life.
Once I called up a friend to help me with a really embarrassing assignment after I ran 3 miles. It was one of the most embarrassing things I ever had to do for 20 points and an A. But worth it in the end. If you want more of this story, you can ask me.
There was this one time I ran a 10k and accidentally ran an extra mile...so actually the crazy thing happened during my run. But oh well.
Then there was the Ragnar. I'm not even gonna talk about all the locomotive stuff from that race. But let me just say that I ran my first leg, sat in a car, ate too many bananas and larabars, slept on a sleeping bag in an unfinished basement on a cement floor, then ran up a hill in the dark at 12:30am when I really shouldn't have been running. But I did it. Crazysauce.
I remember one run in high school which I did on a summery night. Naturally, I was pretty hot after the run was over, so I simply jumped into the half-full kiddie pool in our backyard. In my running clothes. My dad came outside and gave me the weirdest look, and then went back in. Psh. He didn't know what he was missing!

As you can see, endorphins make me do pretty nutso things. But in the end they end up being really good things...so I guess what I'm trying to say is run instead of doing drugs. It's a natural high, and the consequences are a jillion times better.

So maybe this blog will end up being a good thing later down the road...because right now, as I'm writing it...it just feels like some half-crazed idea spawned by another run. Excuses, excuses.

Another funny thing I'd like to share is the google searches people have done to happen upon this blog. P.S. I love saying "happen upon." It makes me feel British, almost (if that wasn't stereotypical, I don't know what is). Here is a sampling:

redhead nerds
the truth about gingers
(a British person totally did this one, who else says "gingers" instead of "redheads"!!!!)
ugly coveralls (wait, it gets better)
bob dylan can't sing
wearing those overalls (again with the overalls...)
pigtails redhead
fat redhead nerds (watch it)
redheads are my weakness (oh really...)
barf meaning (this one kills me!)
go back to mexico (I will, someday)
Thanks to google my blog is being read by people in Sweden, The Netherlands, India, Brazil, France, Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, and Punjab (that was the barf one...haha). Please make yourself known, lurkers!

And last but definitely not least, I'd like to introduce my dear friend Tessa. She and I have the greatest conversations. Here's a little taste of what I get every day on my phone.

me: "We found a rattlesnake and my uncle shot it three times. Ick."
TP: "I've never seen anything get shot besides the air."

TP: "Once again I think it's a for my own entertainment crush."
me: "Oh you mean like ____ and ____ and ___ were?"
TP: "Yeah....uh..."

Me: "We just went to Macey's and ate ice cream and talked about relationship problems."
TP: "Oh dear. Well a club should be made called dating drags."

TP: "I can't believe I forgot about that! [a funny incident which cannot be shared on the www]
me: how'd you forget a gem like that?!
tp: I don't know but it was funny when I got reminded.
Me: I have a funny bank. I make deposits into it regularly. Then I remember it later and withdraw.

me: Why'd she have to get pregnant?
tp: rude
me: I can't wait until you're pregnant and then when you can't hang out with me as much anymore I'll just say you're rude.
tp: haha and i'll do the same to you.
me: thanks! Glad we could be there for each other.

me: When you kiss someone it should be right after you eat ice cream or something sweet like that.
tp: Mm or chocolate! Not ice cream...it makes your lips cold and then they feel like they're kissing a dead person. Which is super funny when it isn't one of your first kisses with them.
me: maybe I should just say I'm allergic...but that would be a horrible lie because ice cream is my favorite food. boys and ice cream, that is.

tp [while watching sound of music]: The weeeee! scene just happened. So good. Along with the one right after, favorite things. Remind me to say weeee after my next first kiss.

me: hahhaha ok...if i"m there I'll remind you. Which might be awkward.

tp: I just changed another diaper...
me: Oh I remember those days!
tp: oh the joys of poop.
yeah....that happened.

tp: I just swam...swam is a loose term because I don't remember the last time I put my head under water.
me: That's the traditional way...otherwise it's called drowning.
tp: ahha that's quite true. By head up I just meant not in water...ever...
me: true.

on timing

2011-08-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

one thing I know I'll never have to wait for: long hair

I like to write lists. Sometimes my journal entry is just a list of random things going through my head at the time. For example, yesterday's entry was just a list of things I liked about that day, things I wasn't sure I liked, and things I definitely did not like. A lot of people say they don't know what to write about in a journal--all you hafta do is get creative. Nobody said you had to write every detail of what happened to you that day. /end rant

But really, back to that list thing. I think it means I'm a planner. I like to know what's going to happen and I like to be prepared for it. When I decided to go to Mexico, it was a little bit of a whirlwind. I didn't really prepare mentally/emotionally for it. I just went, because I knew I was supposed to. I'm really glad I did. Sometimes the best things in life aren't planned at all. Things like (here we go with the list thang):

becoming friends with TP because we both worked at sandwich land (a bad thing turned into something really good!)
going to Mexico to teach English. Me, teach English? Wha?
going to BYU-Idaho instead of BYU, something I never thought of until 2 months before I left for Rexburg
moving to Utah when I was 15. I wasn't okay with this at first, but eventually I warmed up to the idea. I learned to trust in the Lord. Now I'm 100% sure that was the right choice.

I bet if I went back and read old journals, I would find similar patterns. I love finding the Lord's hand in your life after the fact. It's nice to notice it in the present, too.

Today I read Dieter F. Uchtdorf's April 2010 talk "Continue in Patience." I am pretty sure this talk was written for me. If you know me, you know patience is one of my big time weaknesses. It all goes along with that planning thing. I just want to know what's going to happen, and I want to be prepared for it. I always forget that there is no such thing as bad timing--God's timing is always perfect. Us mortals are the only ones with bad timing (at least, that's how we see it). Pres. Uchtdorf said something which rang true for me at this point in my life:

"The children of Israel waited 40 years in the wilderness before they could enter the promised land. Jacob waited 7 long years for Rachel. The Jews waited 70 years in Babylon before they could return to rebuild the temple. The Nephites waited for a sign of Christ’s birth, even knowing that if the sign did not come, they would perish. Joseph Smith’s trials in Liberty Jail caused even the prophet of God to wonder, “How long?”

In each case, Heavenly Father had a purpose in requiring that His children wait.

Every one of us is called to wait in our own way. We wait for answers to prayers. We wait for things which at the time may appear so right and so good to us that we can’t possibly imagine why Heavenly Father would delay the answer."

I italicized that middle line because it really hit me--God has a reason for everything He does. If we're doing what's right, we don't need to worry. It's that simple. Just keep doing what He asks and don't be afraid. Fear=a rocking chair which gets you nowhere. Faith=a maserati in 5th gear on the freeway. You get me?

p.s. since this was mostly words and hardly any music or pictures, here. you're welcome.

"don't drive me crazy, drive me to casino!"

2011-08-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

picture overload much?

If you weren't at the Anderson Reunion last weekend, then you won't have any idea what that title means. I guess you could say it's privileged information, or somethin like that. Ha. All I can say is thank goodness for D.I. granny sweatshirts. It's time for another confession-session. (P.S. it's fun to say "session" like this: "se-see-ahn" I'm gettin' a French vibe, anyone else?)

confession numero uno: I recently decided to start as a "newbie" on a bunch of things. What does this mean, you ask? It means I'm starting with a clean slate, a clean shiny chalkboard, etc. etc. I decided that I'm an action kind of a girl and I hate waiting. So I'm not gonna do any of that anymore. Sorry if this made no sense. Guess I just had to say it.

confession 2: I may or may not like the smell of lemon fresh PineSol a little too much.

confession 3: I got asked if I liked to swing on vines the other day in a text conversation. I tell you, texting is a funny thing sometimes.

confession 4: I have fallen prey to the "pumped up kicks" phenomenon and I don't know why.

confession 5: I happen to enjoy thunderstorms mixed with a bit of lightning. Last night's was a stunner. Also, I just said "stunner." Call me names at will.

confession 6: All I really want for lunch today is a PB+Banana sandwich (and maybe tomorrow and maybe the next day)

confession 7: I'm actually daydreaming about snow because snow=snowboarding.

confession 8: I had a dream about Mumford & Sons the other night. I think I listen to them a little too much.

confession 9: I have a problem with killing bugs, unless it's a fly or a mosquito. Or a poisonous spider. If it's anything else I will try and preserve its life somehow.

confession 10: If a guy has good grammar, that is a turn-on. Then again, if he has bad hygiene, fuhget about it.

confession 11: I hate sunburned lips, because then you get chapped lips, and then you put Carmex on it, and then you have poky, greasy lips. Not kissable at all. Not like that's what I was leaning towards...but you know...gotta be prepared. Ha.

confession 12: homecomings are often anti-climactic.

confession 13: When people speak in languages I don't understand (anything 'sides English and Spanish), I just like to close my eyes and listen to it. I like other languages, wish I was multi-lingual.

confession 14: this confession session has gone on long enough. I'll tell you how that swinging on vines goes latah.

peace!

-mcfrenzal-

oh p.s. all these pics are from my tumblr, yep, i have one of those. add that to the confession session. I've been thinkin' about sticking some of my favorites from my tumblr on here every once in awhile. That thing is quite entertaining.

I've been calamined

2011-08-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

The first three weeks of summer have been just what I imagine my perfect summers to be. It makes it hard to want to go back to school in September. However, it will be the fall semester, which many of you know is my favorito.

Would you like to know what I've been doing? Okay...well if you want the pictures, go look at my facebook (unless you are stalking me from a foreign country, which many of you are....then I guess you don't get to see any pics right now. And I'm not really sorry about that. I don't even know you....ok, moving on).

Here's what a summer of mcfrenzy consists of:

lots of biking (pretty much every single day)
hiking. I recently decided to do one every week for the rest of the summer. Last week it was Silver Lake/Lake Solitude. This week, I intend on finding one in Twin Falls when we go to the reunion. Who wants to come?!
cooking, lotsa cooking (thai tomato soup, yes?! YES.)
running (maybe I'll write a blog about saturday's run in particular...it was like running on the clouds, baby. And someday I'm really gonna know what that's like.)
walks, walks, mosquito bites (hence the pink paint/calamine lotion all over me right now), and more walks
collecting more songs for future playlists (listen! listen! listen! listen!)
reeeading. So far I've finished 1.5 books. Sue me. I have a habit of starting 5 at once.
letting my hair do itself (aka wavy-crazy, just the way I like it)
more freckles plus a much worse sandal tan than I had in Mexico
watchin' some good cinema (if you're thinking of the smurf movie, I'm kind of offended)
using way too many parenthetical phrases (what do you think this is?)

oh..sidenote, something funny just happened. So Ellie came upstairs with some asian cookie thing and told me to try it, which I did. It was yummy (it had chocolate in the middle, hellloo). Then she came back later and said, "Did you like it?" I said, "Yep." "So, you kissed it?" "Wha?" "Well, if you loved it, you kissed it, right?" RIGHT. I like the way you think, girlfran.

adios for now, amigos and stalkers!

la musica es mi amor verdadero

2011-07-22T22:44:00.000-07:00

It's a well-known fact, I like music way too much.

so I decided to give you guys a few of my faves.

ten zillion points if you can guess them all!

ok, ok, I won't make you guess.

p.s. if you click on their names, you can hear a song from them that i like. but only if you wanna.

angus and julia stone

(it's all bout the hair, am I right?)

whitley

mumford and sons

(let's face it, I like all their songs)

sea wolf

le beatles, of course

kings of leon

the black keys

led zeppelin

(again with the hair)

bon iver

arcade fire

bob dylan

if you didn't know who this was, i'd be disappointed in you.

horse feathers

the city and the colour

joe purdy

fleet foxes

the shins

don't lie, you wish you were them right now.

i'm sensing a pattern here....

promise I didn't forget about you

2011-07-19T19:17:00.001-07:00

(finals week last fall, i barely survived that one)

It's that time of year again!

No, not Christmas, geesh. Don't get ahead of yourselves, folks.

It's finals week! Otherwise known as "must eat all the food I have left in my fridge which consists of milk, carrots, and flaxseed" week. Or "spend all my free time that I really don't have in the library eavesdropping on funny conversations" week. Or "lose all hope of sleep for the next few days because you ain't gettin' any" week. Or "sad because the semester went way too fast even though I kind of wished it upon myself" week. Yeah, that time of year.

I have approximately 2 hours of studying, 1 hour of exam-ing, and 1 hour of potluck-ing to do before Spring Semester 2011 is officially adjourned. Oh sweet relief.

In the meantime, here's a happy list I've accumulated over the past few days. Yes, it is huge. I call it the "the giant happy list of epic proportions and awesomeness." It's been stuck on the wall by my bed for the past week, and every night I pencil in a few things that made me happy. I can afford to waste just one more piece of paper. It's for a good cause, you know. Sanity always is.

6/10

talking to Alyssa MC, she is the bomb.
overnight oats with blueberries
the moon outside my window
singing primary songs @ a ward fireside

6/11

Erin's hugs
watermelon (an insane amount, I tell you)
getting an unexpected A- in piano class, whaaa?
my fan. I'd die without it.
building on The Rock

6/12

poetry readings (mine was about Prefontaine, baby)
the smell of rain on hot pavement
not having to turn in an assignment I lost
re-painting my nails
mango/pineapple/banana smoothies, ohmylanta
not wearing makeup and then rubbing my face
cleaning apartment #5's kitchen and living room, for no reason besides happiness
"Surprise Homecoming" show on TLC. It's a tear-jerker, kids.
Bike fixed at last!!!!!!!!!!!!

6/13

yummy food all day
park + Sisterhood of the T-Pants w/ Amy (yeah, I just said T-pants, I dunno where it came from)
pre-bed showers
summer breezes
talking to Ikey

6/14

napping in the Ricks Gardens
temple w/ Amy
being baptized for Mexicans (one was from Puebla!)
homemade popcorn
patriarchal blessings
Isaiah 17:10

6/15

Harry Potter 7.2 (now what do I do?!)
Reese's Pieces
laughing at certain movie trailers about certain vampires

6/16

Craigo's with Apt. #5, my adopted apartment this semester
Zac Efron and 17 Again, ahhhh
funny girls in my ward

6/17

ward potlucks
my mom
knowing all will be well in the end
naps
Falafel!
Sunday night walks

Next time I see you, it will be in American Fork! Or if you are not a member of my family or a friend from my hometown...keep lurking! I'll be back with more when this is all over.

feeling reminiscent? check out my blogs about finals week last summer here and here or last fall

flashback!

2011-07-10T14:04:00.000-07:00

oldish things on my camera you never saw be' fo.

yep, we took pictures in the rigby idaho tv museum bathroom. phew. what a title!

and what babes, no?!

she'd kill me if she saw this. but guess what, she's in south america, haaaa!!!

in case you were doubting how many freckles i actually get in the summertime,

there's your proof. and also evidence that i am pretty crazy.

she can ride her bike with no handlebars, no handlebars, no handlebars.

nevermind.

word: I miss these people.

more freckles+a double chin, wasssssup!

view from the church offices building. nice place, temple square.

the first trick she wanted to show me when i got home from mexico was this.

maybe we like to go to the toy section at target late at night...and maybe you're jealous.

fun fact: allie likes wedding stuff to the extreme.
more fun fact: tessa likes to sit on her lap while she reads wedding magazines.
aren't they great, though?

this picture is just funny. this is how it went down.
"hey taylor, can I take your picture?"
"wha?"
*SNAP*
too late, deed done.

lori: "aww, why do we always have to get a booty picture?"

look who found his way into my poetry anthology!

a little over a year ago, I was at the oregon coast. sigh.

ellie's never been a very avid hiker. so when we got to the top of the church offices building, what did she do? take a nap of course...what would you have done?

next up: the day we went to Rigby and stuff...

why senioritis is bad for you

2011-07-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

slowly going insane...

Ok, I'll admit it.

I'm a good student. Before you go off and read a different blog cuz you think I'm about to brag, stay tuned for more! What I'm actually about to say may surprise you.

This semester, school has been a little bit difficult for me. Usually it comes pretty easy, even the hard classes, because I just like doing homework (for the most part) and I get it done. Go to class, get there on time, take notes. Simple as that.

But something happened to me this semester....actually, a few things. And I figured out why I have lost all motivation for school-related things this time around:

Exhibit A: Chelsea Bedke left on her mission. This was my first semester without her. Laughing makes a difference, guys.

Exhibit B: Courtney Gopp left on her mission, too. See Exhibit A.

Exhibit C: I missed a few days of school and suddenly I was more behind than ever. Remember how you could miss a day in elementary school and all you missed was Mrs. Sage singing Beach Boys on her guitar and an intense game of tetherball?

Exhibit D: My computer is a P.C. and therefore it picks up a lot of problems. I don't like spending all day using this machine but hey, gotta do my homework. Computers vs. camping. Camping clearly wins!

Exhibit E: My young adult lit class has shown me the magic of the library. Since we are required to read at least one book a week, I'm checking out a lot of stuff from there, and a lot of it turns out to be recreational reading. It's hard to read textbooks when you have other stuff dying to be read. Gah!

Exhibit F: Piano class=45 mins of practice every day=I am starting to go crazy playing the same songs over and over. 1 credit does not 45 minutes/6 days a week homework make.

Exhibit G: Coming back to school one week after Mexico was kind of a crazy idea. I didn't really consider it at the time, because like I said, school is a natural thing for me. But now I'm thinking it may have been smart. I've been experiencing that R.M. funk (without the mission...explain that to me). Oh well, one semester closer to graduation!

Exhibit H: Post-Ragnar "runner's depression." Ok, I'm not depressed, promise, but have you ever heard of "runner's depression"? I guess it happens to some people after they run marathons. They lose all desire to run or something. I'm not saying this happened to me, but it kind of feels like it. I want to run races and stuff, but I am not motivated to run at all. My heart wants to, but my mind does not. Wha? Walking contradiction is my new name.

Exhibit I: My bike broke, and it also happens to be my favorite mode of transportation, my escape hatch. Without it, I feel nekked. The ORC should be done with it soon...I hope.

I'll let you know the cure for this when I find it! For now, encouragement is welcome. I have 2 weeks left! Must be positive!!!

p.s. I'll post some pictures on here next time...something more cheery. Promise!

hooray for independence

2011-07-04T10:49:00.001-07:00

and sunburns and freckles

and blonde streaks in red hair

and homemade chocolate chip cookies

and stargazing in the park

and jumping in puddles

and corn on the cob

and a temple on the hill

and grass between my fingahs

and Mo Tab Choir really loud

and freedom

and sacrifice

and just because cards

and camping smell

and garden tomatoes

and family, far away but still close

and the sea, for teaching me

and 3 Nephi

and modern-day prophets

and funny blogs

and curly hair

and air conditioning

and swimming all day

and clean bedrooms

and good, good books

and pain

and joy

and love, sweet sweet love.

happy 4th everyone.

swallowed by a heat wave

2011-07-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

a few weeks ago when it was still rainbow weather

It's gettin' a little bit toasty up in here, meaning Rexburg, meaning sometimes I sleep in my soccer shorts with the window wide open and the blanket offa my bed. And I even sometimes shave my legs before bed for cooling effect. Don't hate on the Skintimate.

Anywho, it's high time for a happy list, and I know I used to do this on Monday, but I don't think it really matters what day my happy list is on, as long as I have one! This week has been extra-specially hard, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel (4th of July Weekend!). Oh glorious four day weekend, I will write a poem just for thee. After I catch up on sleep.

1. going to Great Harvest con mi amiga mejor Amy Mathews. I can't ever work there because not only would I gain weight but I would probably start disliking Great Harvest after awhile. The thought is depressing. So let's move on now, shall we?

2. Finding out the truth about eggs. Yes, yes, I will admit that for all of my life I have thought that the eggs we eat were baby chicks that hadn't finished growing. You can imagine the look on my roommates' face when they revealed that this wasn't true and I said, "Man, I'm glad I don't have to worry about that anymore!" Ha!!! Facepalm times ten.

3. this devotional-nal-nal. things sound more interesting when you echo them-them-them.

4. playing in recitals and talent shows and stuff, so I will stop being nervous to play piano in front of others, and actually enjoy it, and actually shred the ivory, if you know what I mean.

5. this song right here reminds me of 1, Mexico, 2, when I started liking mangoes in Mexico, and 3, how much I love Angus and Julia Stone. Amen.

6. Preach My Gospel study is the best. I forget how awesome that book is sometimes. Blows my mind.

7. This email from Chelsea was fantastico. I feel like the same things are on my happy list all the time...uh...sorry.

8. I do not have a peg leg. This makes me happy. Yes, it is completely random, but I decided just now to change things up after that last thing I said (#7). You can find the most weird things to be thankful for sometimes....

9. free waffle-bowl Wednesday at TwizlBerry

10. freckles up the heezy (that was for TP)

11. Pictures like dis on my camera:

summer nights...ahh...

hey there, folks, it's nice to meet you, I've been off the grid for awhile because that little thing called school is happening and it is also summertime, therefore I am kind of going mad. But it's okay...it will all be over soon. I have a lot to update you on--like the writer's retreat. And Ragnar. Oh and the weekend we went to Rigby+then some.

So stay tuned. Tuned. Tuned.

my weakness

2011-06-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

they multiply like rabbits.

found here:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

maybe i want roasted brussel sprouts with bacon

maybe i want cold blueberries with yogurt and honey

maybe i want pumpkin waffles with cinnamon

maybe i want salsa verde with homemade corn chips

maybe i want asian noodle salad every day

maybe i want to eat an orange and let it stain the cement while it drips all over me

maybe i want chocolate almond butter on a pink lady apple for dessert

this journaling bidnez is starting to get out of control

2011-06-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

Some people's journals are probably going to be LEGIT as far as the angels are concerned. They will quote those things up and down because they'll be really spiritual and inspirational. And mine, well...I just don't know what they will do with mine. "Hey Kenzie, thanks for your contribution, but we won't be needing your crazy stories for another million years."

At least you guys read them.

March 10th, 2010

Tonight I closed with the lovely Dee. If you want to know how busy we were, just know that Dee fell asleep a grand total of three times during our shift. Quizno's is to me as molasses is to winter.

March 15th, 2010

Sometimes I think Heavenly Father looks down at me from heaven and slaps his hand to his forehad, saying 'Oh Kenz...' He loves me--I have no doubt about that--but I bet there are times when He would just like to let me struggle in my own silly weaknesses, because I got myself in the mess in the first place. But I know it's also because of that love that He eventually pulls me out of the stormy seas which I'm in (because I capsized the boat) and asks, "What did you learn?"

April 6th, 2010

Today at the pool a chubby kid with a water gun kept squirting kids with it, including Cal. Ellie drove him away every time he came near. Caleb said, "Well he was super rude." Ha!

July 4th, 2010

Tonight when Caleb hugged mom goodnight he held on for a really long time. She said, "Okay, Cal.." to get him to let go. He said, "I just can't stop loving you!!"

August 2nd, 2010

TP, Kristine and I decided to go up to the grassy part where people were playing Frisbee. I got the brilliant idea to roll down the hill...which was fun 'til I stopped rolling, and then I was just nauseated. I used to have hill-rolling skills...when I was five. We went back to observing the Frisbee game after that along with some crazy-shaped clouds. Tessa and I always see the most random objects in the sky, but that's the fun part. We tried to get Grant to join in--he actually wasn't bad--but he thought his manatee cloud wasn't legit enough. I can't believe I'm actually writing in my journal about a manatee cloud.

August 29th, 2010

Today Ellie said, "Kenzie, I want you to get married now!" Me: "Why?" Ellie: "Because I want you to be a mom!"

September 4th, 2010

Mom wanted to go to the Sundance Outlet Store [while we were in Sugar House], and so Chels, myself, Ellie and Cal sat on the sidewalk by the road and played the alphabet game. Caleb helped Chelsea cheat; whenever she needed a letter, he'd just draw it on his Magna-Doodle. Honestly?! Pretty sure Ellie and Cal are the number one fans in Chelsea's Fan Club.

March 30th, 2011

Today Alejandro and Angelica were talking about math. [Remember these are ten-year-olds]

Alejandro: Math is very easy.

Angelica: For you? For me, no is easy.

Alejandro: Well, I am very intelligent.

April 5th, 2011

Is it weird that I just washed my feet with shampoo because my soap ran out and I don't wanna open a new one five days before I leave?

Is it weird that I wrote Chelsea a brain barf today for her letter?

Is it weird that the people I enjoy speaking Spanish with the most are children?

Is it weird that Alejandro answered every question I asked today with "poop"? Nah...he's a 10-year-old boy. Not strange at all.

Is it weird that I am counting down the number of times I have to use our shower? (down to four more!)

Is it weird that I wrote a journal entry composed entirely of rhetorical questions?

May 17th, 2011

I reserve the right...

...to eat smoothies-in-a-bowl for breakfast. And to lick my lips when I do it, because it's ta-sty.

...to run on treadmills even when the weather's nice because everyone needs a little ESPN classic.

...to play the piano as loud as I can to drown out the voice majors doing drills.

...to file for a teacher I don't even know just so I can hear him rant about politics for an hour and a half. Funny.

...to shower at night so I can wake up with wavy hair.

...to wear my brown boots like everyone else at this school wears TOMS--every stinkin' day.

...to listen to a Phoenix album 3x in one day.

...to eat garlic with dinner every night since the semester started. Twilight fans stay away!

...to want to hike, fish, climb, and camp all summer instead of school. Sometimes you don't get everything you want.

February 9th, 2011

I am really white (mom calls it “fair-skinned” to make me feel better). So when I sat out on the beach for 5 hours on Saturday, I got myself a lovely sunburn. That night I was having trouble walking because I was in so much pain. Hold on, is this a sunburn or is it a tumor?! Well, now my left thigh is swelling up pretty big, turning purple, and yeah, it kinda feels like a tumor. Final conclusion: sun poisoning is bad. I prefer being fair-skinned to being burned and super freckly and my face falling off because it is peeling. Gross.

June 20th, 2010

When I arrived at the airport, Chels and Niki were waiting there with a banner! I sure did miss those girls…obviously they missed me too because I was only gone for 2 ½ days. People standing there waiting probably thought I was coming back from a long vacation or something. Nah, it was just a three day thing. No big.

June 23rd, 2010

In Spanish class, we sang “Viva España” for our opening…um…hymn. I think I laughed through most of it because half of the guys were off-key, half of them couldn’t get the right rhythm, and then the rest of them were singing with the “cecea” (Spanish lisp—those darn RM’s from Barth-e-lona!). Levi said it was probably the worst we’ve ever sounded (accurate…). People walking by the classroom were staring at us like we were a pack of half-crazed wolves howling at the moon. That’s probably what it sounded like… ¡Ay caramba!

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

This morning Chelsea and myself woke up at 5:30 so we could do everyone’s clean check for them. All of the credit for the idea should got to Chelsea, because she is awesome and always thinks of such things. Anyway, it definitely started my day off right because 1, selfless service has a way of making everything in your life better, 2, getting up early is always bomb-diggity because I get to have a good scripture study, a slow breakfast, and a DP [dance party] all before I walk out the door!

first day of summer

2011-06-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today I sat outside and read D.H. Lawrence.

I let the grass cram between my toes like furniture in a small apartment.

The sun was hanging very carefully behind some trees, almost like it was about to drop suddenly. I thought about the sunsets in Mexico. Good evening, Rexburg. Good evening, Mexico.

I went inside and ate a mango with honey on it. Then my taste buds composed a thousand Odes to Joy. I always knew my mouth liked classical music.

Only five more weeks 'til long nighttime walks, early morning hikes, and the sound of Catherine Creek in my ears.

I love summer.

NUH-UH

2011-06-20T20:22:00.003-07:00

I do not believe this is real. This cannot be real. No. Way.

I must confess...

2011-06-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

someday soon I'm gonna sleep just like this.

Confession 1: I may or may not have gotten choked up multiple times at the finish line of the Teton Dam Marathon this past Saturday. Seeing the 80 year old finish, or the mom with the child in her arms, or the woman who was obviously in pain…man I’m a baby.
Confession 2: because of aforementioned finish-line-drama, I decided to run a half marathon in September down Spanish Fork Canyon. Cause I’m crazy and all that good stuff.
Confession 3: thanks to Amy M, I’ve been stalking this blog lately. Guess what? I’m gonna travel ‘til I die. Not really groundbreaking news…but I’m putting this in the “confession” category, meaning I am slightly embarrassed about how often I talk about it. When the travel bug bites, it bites hard. And leaves scars.
Confession 4: I love everything pumpkin (you’re thinking “aaand when is this confession-session actually gonna get juicy?!). And I may have made pumpkin oatmeal, a pumpkin pie smoothie, and pumpkin pancakes all in one week. It’s not even October, McKenzie. Geez.
Confession 5: Without a bike I feel nekked. Yeah, you heard me. That means without clothing. Ahh yah, look at me now, I can do a confession session, alright!
Confession 6: I would very much like for my children to have freckles, and if they don’t, well, guess I’ll take them back for a refund...oh I'm just kidding. Sort of.
Confession 7: I plan what I’m gonna put on burned CD’s before I give them to people months in advance. I hear a few songs and then I think, “Hey, ___(name of one of my friends here) would love this!” Bing-bang-boom, playlist created, CD burn-ed. Yeah, I’m efficient.
Confession 8: Justin Timberlake is obnoxious. Why do girls like him still? Yugh. (yugh=yuck+ugh, a word I just made up, and yes, I do that often)
Confession 9: I went to the taco bus not once, but dos veces last week. In a row.
Confession 10: I listen to the “Sigh No More” album about five times a week. Problem? I think so.
Confession 11: I am excited for Harry Potter 7.2! {and can I just say that adding the “point two” makes it sound like an updated software…except it’s Harry Potter…so maybe it’s Harry Potter—the updated version! AKA the last version, AKA the version when **** DIES! Sorry for all of you who haven’t read it yet and don’t know what I’m talking about. You’re sort of behind the times…just sayin’.}
Confession 12: There have been multiple times this semester when I’ve dreamed about dropping out and moving to the woods. It’s a scary thought, huh? Me, in the woods, with my bike, and my Chacos…this is starting to sound like a really bad version of “Into the Wild.” But then again, there wasn’t really a good version of that anyway.
Confession 13: I’m indecisive about my hair. This is an annoying idiosyncrasy of mine which others have noticed (*cough*Chelsea*cough). It may look awesome to you but to me it’s like Mufasa’s mane! I don’t want to be one of those people who hates their hair and everyone else loves it. So I’m trying to change my ways.
Confession 14: I don’t like computers. Let’s just leave it at that.
Confession 15: I introduced my younger siblings to Bob Dylan and The Beatles. And they like it. Oops. Wait…I mean…I’M AWESOME!
Confession 16: I want this confession session to be over before you all realize how much you really don’t want to know all of this information about me. Am I too late? Anyone?? (crickets…)

Ok. Bye…

p.s. "confession" is a weird word.

it's friday, i dig it

2011-06-10T23:13:00.000-07:00

O my lanta. On a scale from 1-10, this week has been a negative five, yes that's not good in case you were wondering. I got hit with some unexpected senioritis+then some and then other mishaps started to occur...my bike got all wonky and un-ride-able just when I ran out of food, I went to see a craazy doctor who told me running was bad for me (that's not all she said either), I forgot where my teacher's office was and missed our conferencing appointment, and I didn't quite get the schedule I wanted for fall, meaning I will not be done with classes until 4 or 5 o'clock at night....BLURGH. So friends, that is why I have been behind on this blog, because I just haven't felt like saying anything, for fear that it would all come gushing out like a dormant volcano. And it was a volcano, trust me. Mt. St. Helens all over again.

But now it's Friday. Time for a "things I am currently digging" list. And a preview of that post about that writer's retreat which you're gonna wanna read....trust me.

1. Whole Foods Market. I like to read other people's blogs who live near these fine establishments so I can vicariously shop there...without spending any money or eating any of the deliciousness. What I wouldn't do for a natural food store in Rexburg!

pictures via

2. This bike...oh man. I don't even know how long I've had the bike I do now..it's been awhile. And since I am also car-less, I figure, why not just save my moolah for a sweet bike? Yeah, "sweet" means expensive. Maybe it will be my graduation present to myself.

3. These shoes. Can they please be on my feet now?

4. Cool braids. I'm gonna learn how to do this, mark my words. via

5. letters from Sis. Bedke

6. this blog

7. packages from amazon...we're going on three this week already (and three more to come...heehee)

8. sleeping in...someday maybe...in 6 weeks.

9. for some reason I really miss the 60's. even though I never lived then. Look at these pictures, you'll see what I mean. Maybe I just miss the music.

10. oh and this song......good times

this week was such a midterm, rain-in-the-middle-of-june, homesick with 6 weeks left, kind of week. Good thing it's over.

writer's retreat sneak-peek:

"I actually have a crimson unicorn that I sleep with at home..."

yeah that's a direct quote from one of these people.

I know. I know.

*facepalm*

get ready....

blurgh times a thousand

2011-06-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

via

Oh, this week.

The things I could say.

But I'll save that for Friday...

Just know that there is another dig list coming up. And something about unicorns (as per my mother's request--and if it was anyone else requesting that particular subject I would make like a snake and attack. And that made no sense.). And funny pictures.

You don't wanna miss this.

For now I'm copying busybeelauren and lynsey with a summer to-do list. We've hit the six week mark now, and I couldn't be more ready for summah.

go to Zion's. Please someone take me...otherwise I'm gonna hitchike. And, well, I could do that, but I might come back a hippie and nobody would recognize me.
play soccer with Caleb and Ellie pretty much every day.
trampoline sleepovers (I copied Lyns)
adventures with Tessa and Allie (including but not limited to Target, Zupa's, the pitcher's mound, random music festivals we are bound to find, and other mischief)
somehow buy a guitar and then find a hipster to teach me how to play it.
initiate pancake saturdays at the Livingston casa.
fix my feet and run every day like I did in the olden days.
hike Timp or the Y. Or BOTH.
go fishing with dad at Tibble Fork Reservoir or Catherine Creek. Basically anyplace where there's fish. Yeah, dad, I'm seeerious.
craft with the madre. can we go to used bookstores too? and the D.I.? okay thanks. not even a question...
sticky shoe theater with ike! I don't even care which movie it is to be honest.
ride my bike to the library every week and get more books for that booklist o' mine.
make new mixed CDs to give away.
photo scavenger hunt.
bake homemade pizza with yummy toppings (aka mozzarella tomato and basil YUM)
i plan on going down mary pulley lane really fast...on a bike...or in a shopping cart. heh.
roll down the hill at "quail cove" or whatever they're calling the park across from the temple nowadays.
temple every thursday just like I do now!
cook dinner for the fam once a week at least. i have recipes to try!
hammock. i need to break it in.
somehow find a way to get to liz.
learn how to longboard.
stargazing.
CAMPING. a MUST.

phew...that list is huge! and let's be honest, it's probably going to get bigger as the weeks go by and I lose half of my hair from school. I don't know why but I am really not quite here this semester! Must. Get. Through.

adios amigos!

headless chicken

2011-05-31T15:55:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry for the horrible images conjured up in your mind by the blog title.

However, it epitomizes what I felt like basically all day.

The days/weeks after a long weekend are always kind of skeewompus. It's a bit hard landing back on my feet, and I just need that extra day off to get over my days off. Make sense? Well I knew it was going to be one of those "recovery-without-the-recovery" days when I woke up at 7:50am, ten minutes before my first class, which happens to be fifteen minutes away.

Guhhhhffff.

When the alarm doesn't go off, even when I set it correctly (AM, not PM, for once!), and somehow I am still twenty minutes late to class...oh I just want to throw that alarm. But I have a bad arm. Never been good at throwing objects.

So instead of being all mopey-dopey, how's about I make a happy list and try to feel bettah? Okay then.

1)Nacho Libre. "Get that corn outta my face!" I know you just laughed a little bit to yourself, am I right?

2) Heavy rains pulling into Rexburg, and then sunshine all day today. Maybe spring really is here. Oh wait, it's June. So what season is this, then? Sprummer? {spring+summer can't make up its mind}

3) 500-page wedding magazines that my roommates buy and leave on the counter for me to read while I eat breakfast. Every girl likes ogling at dresses every now and then. And I ain't afraid to admit it.

4)finding this saweet language-learning program on byui's website that is not only free but has probably been there the whole time I've been in school... and I'm just now finding it?!*Facepalm* Don't worry, I'm gonna use it now. I already learned that you only say "Buenos dias" from 12pm-7pm. The whole time I was in Mexico I always wondered when to switch from "Buenos dias" to "Buenas noches." Was it at sunset? When the first stars came out? When the Mexicans start eyeing you like the white girl you are if you use it incorrectly? Usually we went with that last one. Never failed.

5) filling up all of the weekends of June with activities so that this month will sprint by. And then I will be left at the end saying "Three weeks of school left say what?!"

6) planning my schedule for next semester...and you thought this semester's was good. Well now I only have two left, and I made them fun on purpose. Soccer, spanish, soccer, spanish... you get the picture.

7)cheating on that no-sugar thing over the weekend, realizing it was a bad idea when I felt pukey and headachey all the way home, deciding sugar isn't my best friend anymore, goodbye sugar. I'm not even sad. But G's Dairy Delights might be because they lost a customer....who hasn't even been all semester anyway. Doink.

8) coming up with more funny/random ideas for this blog o'mine. I know that little sidebar says I have 26 followers, but really I think I have ten times more, because I keep finding new readers stumbling upon it each day...usually from Panama, Portugal, Brazil, Ukraine, Mexico (all over, not just where I lived), Africa, Iran, etc. Who are you people?! But hey....keep reading my blog. It's usually better than this. I think. Anonymous blog stalkers welcome! (I do it too)

9) Realizing that in 24 hours, I will be on my way to the mountains, far away from papers and discussion boards and grades. And you can bet I'll wear my yellow hat when I go.

10) this song. the best line: "when you run, make sure you run to something and not away from."

brain barf + road trip

2011-05-27T11:08:00.001-07:00

there's no reason this is here besides the fact that I think it is chilarious.

As they say in Mexico "ya me voy!"

Meaning...I am leaving.

Here's another brain barf from class on Thursday, for your entertainment. Have a faaaaaaaaabulous weekend. Even if it snows where you are. :(

Dear inner child,

Hello there. It’s been far too long since we last spoke, and I’ve been thinking about you lately. Do you still try to ride your bike past the mailbox when nobody’s looking? Do you still take risks? Do you still spend hours drawing one little picture just to give your mom? Do you tell her you love her? Do you purposely leap into deep puddles and get mud on your skirts? You see, I’ve been too closed up in myself lately, sealed there like an unopened envelope. I need to be opened. I need to look at someone, and have their eyes (whatever the color) slice right through me, and let all of this real me out. You were the one who always ate too much cotton candy at the fair. You were the one that climbed trees barefoot when it was dark outside, the one who always thought the next-door neighbor lady was a witch, the one who fetched all of your brother’s wiffle balls that always found themselves on the other side of the fence. You looked fear in the eye without blinking, always winning the staring contest. Now I want to win.

If you think that's weird, you should see the brain barfs in my journal. Ha.

ok, I'm really leaving now, off to hike or picnic or run or play soccer with my broski.

g'bye.

rained on

2011-05-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

Well this is awkward.

This morning I decided to wear a skirt, which is not an unusual decision for me to make on Tuesdays. Tuesdays are devotionals days. Then I went outside, and the wind blew, like it usually does. I held down my skirt frantically, like I always do.

Then the rain started to pour, horizontally I might add. Pretty soon my skirt looked like a waterfall. I was soaking wet--soaking I tell you--when a girl passing by must have noticed I needed a pick-me-up.

"I like your skirt!" [as I'm holding it between my legs]

"Oh..thank you!" I must have sounded like a drowning cat or something.

I don't think she could see my grateful face because it was obscured by my curly wet hair (think Mufasa-style, only after a flash flood).

Then I got into the big Family Foundations meeting in the Taylor Chapel. One of the professors at the door handed me the study guide, which promptly turned into soggy, useless mush when my hands touched it. I'm like King Midas, only I'm not a King, my name is McKenzie, and everything I touch becomes the texture of wet toilet paper, not gold. So...maybe not so much like King Midas.

Also, wearing a coat with a giant hood presents its own set of problems. I can't hear people talking to me if they're off to the side...it's sorta muffled. So if anybody called my name when they saw me walking around campus and I ignored you...I either really don't want to go on that second date with you or I couldn't hear you (that first part was a joke....duh).

And let's not forget about peripheral vision. Meaning, friends, that I have none when I wear that bulky red coat. So let's not talk about how many people I grazed shoulders with/completely ran into today because I truly didn't see them walking there. Oy.

I would post a picture of myself, but I am afraid too many of you will shout "Medusa!" as soon as you see it and run away, never to read this blog again. So we'll just save that for another, less Oregon-y day.

if the world really was ending tonight...

2011-05-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

I would pick Oregon blackberries along the bike path until my fingers turned hypothermia blue.

I would go fishing at Catherine Creek with dad.

I would find Liz or she would find me, and we'd go hammocking.

I would heli-drop onto a mountain and board straight down it.

I would run the Ridgeline trail in Eugene in the early morning.

I would jump on the tramp with the Chineseans for hours.

I would go do baptisms in this temple with Ike.

I would camp in the woods by the ocean with Grandma and Grandpa Livingston.

I would garden with Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Ray.

I would sit on the pitcher's mound with Tessa and we'd read letters.

I would eat pumpkin pancakes + taco bus + mom's sunday dinner for my all of last meals.

I would climb Angel's Landing just for the view from the top.

I would shred the ivory in the practice rooms so loudly that you couldn't hear the voice majors practicing drills.

I would break into the MTC and give Chels another bottle-note.

I would read my favorite books while I sat in a tree.

I would go back to Mexico and play soccer with all of my estudiantes y amigos.

I would go on a long drive with mom and we'd talk about brilliant nothingness.

I would walk barefoot along the foamy pathways of Neptune Beach.

I would tell everyone I haven't told yet that I love them.

Yes, that means you.

sueños locos

2011-05-19T20:09:00.000-07:00

sometimes I don't even understand myself.

The other night I dreamt Liz became my new conscience (think Jiminy Cricket), except she was a cockroach. I remember her turning into one of the yucky little buggers right in front of me. Except then she talked. Best friends turning into talking cockroaches? My dream mind is on some kind of drug that I'm not aware of....serious.

My English teacher once said that Samuel Coleridge (famous British poet) took some opium and fell asleep, which produced the famous poem "Kubla Kahn." Have you ever read it? Does it make any sense whatsoever? No manches (Mexico slang for "no flippin' way"). And that, my friends, is the power of drugs. Don't mess wit 'em.

My prof also said that we are probably capable of doing the same thing, only Mormon-Style. Por ejemplo--Benadryl: A Sonnet.

Now that stuff makes me crazy.

Then last night I dreamt that it was the 2nd coming (probably had something to do with what I wrote before I went to bed). But instead of hiding in bomb shelters and looting Broulim's, I was getting ready to perform in a pageant at the upper playing fields. Explain this to me please. #1, I have never been in a pageant and probably never will be in one. #2, people all over my dream were talking about how I had done so well in such-and-such-musical in high school. People, I never was in a musical. Oh and by the way, Isaac was pigging out on fast food (we're talkin' the Big Judd's Special times ten) because hey, the second coming was about to happen. Por que no?

Man oh man how I wish I could understand my dream mind! It's seriously insane. I bet my bottom dollah that psychologists would really get some textbook material out of it if they studied it for long enough. But...sorry...I'm not donating my body to science.

If my dream mind was a river, it would be a class 5.

If my dream mind was a race, it would be an Ironman on steroids.

If my dream mind was a candy, it would be Warheads & Sour Skittles washed down with Sprite.

If my dream mind was a food, it would be the hottest salsa ever invented on top of more salsa.

If my dream mind was a movie scene, it would be that one in Willy Wonka when they are going through the psychedelic tunnel and Gene Wilder has a mental breakdown.

If my dream mind was a song, it would be Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds+I am The Walrus (the craziest Beatles songs ever. And probably drug-induced).

If my dream mind was a natural disaster, it would be a freak lightning storm in the middle of December.

why I don't read the news anymore

2011-05-18T21:15:00.001-07:00

speechless is what I am.

usually we "save the date" for weddings. but...okay...I can work with this.

dude...we can predict earthquakes now. sha-bam.

So I decided to get on CNN and read about the goings-on of the world. I was totally out of the loop while I was in Mexico (not exactly a bad thing considering all of the ho-hum-drum-bums in this world). And then a week after I returned, I was back in school. No time to look at CNN unless I really needed to laugh (it's all about the comments section, I tell you).

Well, I'm here to tell you there's no point. There's nothing worth reading about in the news these days. One article talked about how catching bin Laden was humiliating to Pakistan. I've taken a class on Pakistan so I was interested in it. It was alright, I guess. But the worst part was the comments....oh man...made me ashamed to be American, the things some people were saying. There are lots of close-minded people in this world. I may not know about every culture and understand every religion, but being in Mexico taught me that we don't need to be afraid of people who are different. That's not the way God intended things to be.

Then there's this Schwarzenneger bidnez. How do you even spell that guy's name? Anyway. I am really getting bored of all the politicans/athletes/so-called idols being thrown into the spotlight because they were unfaithful to their wives, or had a psycho breakdown because they just couldn't control their anger, or were caught using drugs. Sigh. I don't want my future children to have these people to look up to. Certain sports aren't the same anymore because they've been so tainted by cheating athletes. I hardly know when any politicians are telling the truth. And when it comes to movie/TV actors (a certain actor whose name rhymes with "mean," "bean" and "clean" comes to mind).....fuhgetaboutit.

From now on, I will stick to the regular ol' Wall Street Journal for news. It may not all be pleasant stuff to read, but at least some of it is interesting. Then of course there's lds.org. I would.

p.s. If you have been keeping up on the news like I have {not}...then you know something BIG is happening on Saturday. I hope you all have your 72-hour kits ready.

p.p.s. I really want to be there when the person who came up with this idea goes to bed that night without judgment day having happened. "Gee, I wonder what's taking Him so long..." BAHA. Dude, just read Matthew 25:13. That's all I gotta say.

/end rant.

happiness, otra vez

2011-05-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

I seem to be drowning in happiness these days. I guess 78 degree weather, sandal tans, frisbee and bike riding can do that to you.

1. Confession: I wouldn't mind living on a farm when I grow up. That's why I kind of really like this blog.

2. twizlberry. the only place in town that has sugar-free frozen yogurt. how many more weeks of this, mom?!

3. amy mathews. not just her blog....even though it is pretty amazing, I like the person better. We go to taco bus together and watch really awful movies (cough-the tourist-cough)

{please ignore my overly tanned face. it's mexico's fault. promise i don't fake bake or wear orange makeup.}

4. THE SUN. is. finally. here. oh how i love it.

5. it's called coconut shampoo, and it makes my hair smell like pina colada. definitely a good thing.

6. an excerpt from "Never Sniff a Gift Fish." I have read and re-read this page a number of times since checking out the book. I don't know why but it makes me laugh out loud every time. Okay, I know why. Just read it:

7. cinnamon. I put it on everything. No, serious, everything. My apples, my cereal, my yogurt, my PB&J, my banana smoothie. Good thing it's only fitty cents at Wally World, cuz I am a pobrecita.

8. When the automatic door at Wal-Mart is out of order and I make a big show of trying to magically open it with wave of my arms. And then I see the Out of Order sign, obscured by tinted glass. Awkward moments abound.

9. jumping off of sand dunes in the middle of nowhere + other mischief. because what else is there to do here on a friday night?

favorite quotes:

erin: "there's a hole in my pants and some sand is leaking out of it...."

me: "you're like a broken hackey-sack!"

anonymous person: "do you think anyone can see me in here with my pants off?"

random guys we didn't know: ooga-booga-ooga-booga!!!!! (think my old high school mascot)

me: did they just do a neanderthal mating call? what was that?

rachel: my comm teacher says it's gonna get all rainy and gross again next week, because that's what always happens when it gets this nice out. people dress immodestly, so God punishes us by bringing back the yucky weather.

HA!! only at BYU-I.

10. playing legitimate quidditch in the park, minus the brooms. I felt like a fool the whole time. Dan, if you're reading this, you're gonna pay. Don't worry, though, cuz I convinced Erin to "fake-injure" me so we could get out of the game. We are sly. And I'm a good actress when it comes to screaming and holding my leg in agony.

11. yummy salads for lunch. um...you're drooling on your keyboard.

12. random thunderstorms in the middle of a springy day. I love it when the sun is shining and rain is pounding the ground at the same time.

13. taking walks with Courtney Gopp like we're freshman again, even though that was three years ago, and I can't believe how much has changed since then. And how much is the same.

14. when sand fills up my tennies and then I have to walk all funny, like a penguin. My life is really good.

15. I'm reading 1st Nephi right now and it has never applied to my life more than it does now. Every day I read something else that makes me go, "Whoa." It's like reading entries from my journal that I haven't written yet.

16. number of trips outside Rexburg I have planned already: two, possibly three. number of people coming to visit me this summer: two, possibly three. number of times I have listened to this song: two, possibly ten.

17. this place. ahh.

timshel

2011-05-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

I know I don't normally do this, guys, but I can't stop listening to this song. So go listen and be amazed.

i was happy, so i wrote it down

2011-05-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

1. only the best pandora station ever ever ever. ever.

2. raw almonds, in my cereal, in my yogurt, in my mouth. mmmm almonds.

3. this yellow beanie. i wear it all the time. chelsea called it the hobo hat. do you concur?

4. checking out one book every day of the week from the library. i think the librarian man is starting to recognize me. he even calls me by name. that sly fox.

5. spring starting to show its face. i know it's rainy, but that's the equivalent of an oregon spring to me, so. it's a start.

6. writing brain barfs for class. brother cameron told us to write one based on a prompt he got from 2 Nephi when Nephi says "I glory in my Jesus." Hence this:

My Jesus is running into that burning building, teetering one way or the other, not knowing if he is coming out again, he is falling asleep wondering about his children, what they will become, if they will remember everything he taught them, he is watching a friend stumble, down and down, only to be there at the bottom, already waiting with arms oustretched, he is watching carefully out the window when the thunderstorms roll in with such precision he made, he is waiting for the moment when the light touches the sky just perfectly and then he knows, he knows, he is pulling me up the hill when my legs give out, they just won’t go because I am so imperfect and so weak, there he is again to tell me of course you can, so I do it, he is walking on trails in the forest, listening for the sound of the sea, thinking of the questions lost there and how he will answer them all, he is playing music alone.

7. shredding the ivory in the practice rooms in the Snow Building. Sometimes the pianists next door to me get really loud, so we have duets. Yeah, it's kinda cool.

8. deciding what to do with that english major, por fin (that means finally). it involves traveling and teaching english. sounds like me, huh?

9. I'm gonna finish the Book of Mormon by the end of June! And that means I will be 1/4 of the way done with that goal of mine! (see #2)

10. naps+crazy dreams in which my parents give me a giant laptop for graduation and it gets washed away in a giant tsunami. huh?

11. first time at big judd's. ahh yeah.

12. people who dare to walk around rexburg like this:

if she wants to wear a cape, more power to her.

{ha...accidental joke. sorry. i know i'm the only one laughing.}

13. ashley and i's to-do list for the semester. it involves lots of camping, hiking, fishing, rafting, and general mischief. hopefully the weather will soon cooperate. if not, well i guess we'd better get some good rainboots.

14. taco bus twice in one week. it's so delicious, i can't stay away. plus, they have novelas on in there. it's not like i can't watch novelas in my own apartment. it's just that in the taco bus, i don't feel as ashamed for doing so. that is all.

15. this devotional. i can't get it out of my head.

16. everyone who reads this blog and does not comment, because you boost my self-esteem just for reading it (that includes you from iran, france, africa, mexico, and brazil. yes, i know you read my blog, and you are cool for doing so).

overheard

2011-05-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

{photo essay by ellie}

I've been hanging out in the library way too much. I made it my goal to not be in there very much this semester. Well, I failed this week, folks. Anywho, whilst I was in the library (dang, using the word "whilst" really ups your I.Q.) I heard some preeety interesting stuff.

guy sitting in front of me at computers: hey, does anyone know how to spell marijuana? (looking at me, so I take out my headphones)

me: say what?

guy: I said, do you know how to spell marijuana?

girl next to me: huh? nope...sorry.

me (laughing): yes. yes I do.

guy (turning back to his computer and looking back expectantly at me): okay...go!

me: M-A-R-I-J-U-A-N-A.

guy: sweet! thanks!

me: nooo problem.

I would just like to say to everyone who was on the 1st floor that day--I have always been a good speller. But I don't do drugs. Alright? Alright.

other conversations I really got a kick out of this week:

girl, to me, as I rode my bike past the Romney building: wow.

me, looking around strangely, wondering if she was talking to me for real: .......

girl: I mean, wow. I bet your legs are, like, SUPER strong. Seriously. I could not go up this hill on a bike. Wow. [FYI there is no hill where I was biking....now picture my confused expression]

me: oh...heheh...yeah. [pedaling away]

Was I supposed to say thanks? Oh awkward moments...they follow me like luck follows the Irish.

Not so lucky for me.

In Family Foundations {pretty appropriate considering the conversation}

guy: are those rhinestone feathers on your earrings?

girl: what? are you making fun of me? [classic girl tactic. she doesn't want to act flattered that the guy noticed her earrings, so she goes for the ol' "flirting by being put off" technique]

guy: No! I'm just curious. [poor guy]

girl: You're always making fun of me. [man, she's good.]

guy: No, I'm not. Do you need a hug to make you feel better? [and this guy is the epitome of smooth. like butter, i tell you]

girl: No.

guy: Are you sure?

girl: Yes.

guy: Well, for the record, I like the earrings. You know rhinestone feathers were popular with Britney Spears a few years back.

girl: I don't think you should know that.

guy: I have five sisters. I know a lot of things I shouldn't.

girl: wow.

tessa and I's text conversations:

me: fasting for 24 hours is awesome except for the fact that I ate 3 helpings of dinner. ahh so good.

tessa: haha you just got major blessings!

me: yeah I drank like 32 oz. of water in 10 minutes too.

tessa: oh my gosh you camel.

me: for reals. also I took an hour long nap today and I'm still tired. fasting takes it out of you!

tessa: yeah it does! At least that's what Jesus told me.

another convo:

me: dude we got osama and he's dead! turn on the news!

tessa: what?!?!? oh my gosh!!!!

me: I read in scribber study today about Nephi cutting off Laban's head. Co-inky-dink!

tessa: Bahaha. Definitely a foreshadowing there.

don't judge us because we talk about religious stuff via text messaging....

more craziness to come, folks. much more.

p.s. does it bother you that I call you "folks"? Because it bothers me. Partly because I don't know who you are, exactly, and "folks" is an old word. Do you know what I mean? Okay nevermind.

draggin' my feet

2011-05-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been off the grid lately. It was kind of intentional, you know, to make you guys miss me.

Did it work?

Don't answer that.

I have some saweet posts coming up, but for now, I just wanted to let you know I'm still alive, still crankin' out 8 hours of homework a day (who has time for eating and sleeping, I mean really, who?!), still wanting to be outside all of the time but sadly I didn't sign up for that class ("that" class being the nonexistent one where we just hang out in the mountains all day long), still living in the dadgum library.

For now I'll leave you with the weirdest ad that has ever come up on my Pandora station:

Obnoxious lady voice: "A bra is a lot like a friend! It's hard to find a good one that supports you just right, but when you find do, it's a great fit for-ev-er."

Is this for real?

simple things

2011-04-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

"And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness." 2 Nephi 5:27

1. Old photographs

2. My kinda shoe closet

3. Traveling

4. Pretty hair

5. Naps

6. Mumford & Sons, in a boat no less

7. Mangoes

8. Just plain awesome

9. Fancy-schmancy shampoo, makes your hair smell like pumpkin pie (?!)

10. Farmers market berries

11. Beach campfires

12. Breakfast+peanut butter

13. Spring

14. Sweet chalk art

15. Pretty sure I could live in South America, no problem

16. Bobby D.

17. Mm soup

18. Manti

19. Longboards

20. Fro yo

21. Bike riding

"I've had like four quesadillas today"

2011-04-26T16:47:00.001-07:00

{from a series known as "mckenzie: bored"}

Today on the way to the library from devotional, I was eavesdropping on a fellow who was walking behind me. I couldn't really help it--he kept saying "cheese" really loudly. I decided to tune in to the rest of the conversation--who can pass up a conversation centered around queso?

...Yeah, me neither.

So anyway, he was bragging to the girl next to him.

cheesehead: I couldn't think of what to eat. But I have lots of cheese.

girl: oh, really?

cheesehead: Yeah, like four blocks. I LOVE cheese! LOVE it!

girl:

cheesehead: I've had, like, four quesadillas today. Why not have another one?

girl:

cheesehead: [awkwardly laughing] Well, I gotta go to class.

Just thought I'd share that with you all. Happy Tuesday.

oh..and I guess this is my 200th post. All of you who lurk on my blog are welcome to leave a comment. I prefer funny stories, anecdotes, or song lyrics please. Anything else and you are banned from this blog.

{just kidding}

a little more than 20 questions

2011-04-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

I stole this idea from Tessa the other day and I decided to post it for no good reason.

{written on sunday, april 24th}

1. Do you paint your nails?
Yup. Right now they are pink.

2. How many times a day do you think about your ex?
Haha well if I had one, I probably wouldn't think of them much.

3. Are you feeling sick?
At the moment I feel stupendous. Yesterday, different story.

4. How many concerts have you been to?
Uhhh...do BYU-I concerts count? If we're talkin legit concerts, only like three. I know, I need to get out there and live a little. I really wanna go see Yo-Yo Ma in concert...seriously.

5. What are you going to be doing three hours from now?
Dreaming I hope.

6. Do you shower daily?
Yes, I love showering. Sometimes I do it before bed just so I can sleep with that squeaky clean feeling, you know?

7. Have you ever heard of Led Zeppelin?
Who hasn't? Robert Plant's hair...ahh yeah.

8. Do you know anybody's who blind?
Hmm well if you count old people blindness, then yes.

9. Do you have nice feet?
Well I don't have webbed feet if that's what you're asking.

10. How many times do you pee in one day?
Uh, depends on how much agua I consume. I don't keep track. I know, how strange of me.

11. What comes to mind when I say GREEN?
Ireland! Oregon! Springtime!

12. Do you believe in magic in a young girl's heart?
pshhhhh

13. Can you spell well?
why yes! I always got 100% on the spelling tests in elementary school. Everyone hated me for ruining the curve. Suckers.

14. Do you like skittles?
not mucho. i like chocolate. :)

15. How many times a day are you on myspace?
never

16. What does the last text message you received say?
"Ahhh thanks for making me cry!" it was pretty funny actually

17. What do you think of Germany?
I want to go there, obviously. I always think of Indiana Jones movies when I think of that place. Weird but true.

18. Do you have any siblings? Do you hate them?
Yes, but I definitely don't hate them. What kind of twisted question is this?!

19. What is your favorite kind of shoe?
the barefooted kind. I don't mean the $100 ones that make you feel barefoot. I mean wearing no shoes at all. heheh. But if I had to choose, definitely comfy slip-on tennies or sandals.

20. What was the last gift you received?
do letters in the mail count as gifts? because I got 3 of those this week. That's right, THREE. I am a lucky woman.

21. Do you have all of your limbs?
bahaha. I feel bad for anyone who answers this question...not in the affirmative.

22. How many REAL CDs do you own?
Lots! They are all packed away in a box at my parents house, sadly.

23. What's one thing that you collect?
If I was still 8 years old I would have to answer this question with Wizard of Oz books/dolls. But thankfully, those days are over. Now I just collect pictures of places I want to visit. And books. Lots of books. Better throw in music, too. Oh, how I love me some Pandora.

24. What jewelry are you wearing at the moment?
I was wearing a necklace, earrings, and my CTR ring today, but I took them all off when I got into my jammies. So...no jewelry at the moment.

25. Do you have any aspirations in life?
I want to be happy, get married in the temple, have a family, raise my kids in the gospel, serve a mission sometime, meet the Savior. Those are pretty good aspirations, I think.

26. What makes you really angry?
Reading about all of the creepstaches in this world on CNN.com.

27. Who makes you feel better when you are?
"The Big Man Upstairs" as Tessa likes to call Him.

28. Have you ever set anything other than logs on fire?
Oh these questions...really kill me. Um, one time when me and Liz were about 8 or 9 we killed a fly and then we wanted to cremate it. But her mom said no. Sooo...that was the one time I came close to lighting something other than a log on fire. Oh wait, do candles count? Cuz I've definitely lit those! And of course our water heater in Mexico so we could shower comfortably. This answer is turning out to be way longer than I expected.

29. What's one object really special to you?
My scriptures, my journals, my patriarchal blessing, my notes from friends and family members. That's 4 objects, guess I cheated.

30. Do you like chalk?
Heck to the yes. Me and my Mexican kiddos would always sidewalk-chalk.

31. Do you still have stuffed animals?
Nope, but I used to have 200. You can ask my mom.

32. What's one thing that truly frightens you?
Car accidents. Yikes.

33. Do you like the smell of flowers?
Yeash! It depends on the flower, though. If it's too overpowering/smells like baby powder (I don't like that smell...I know, right?) then no. But usually, I could take a walk through a flower patch any day.

34. Have you ever seen Bambi?
Traumatizing for a 5-year old!

35. What's your favorite book?

Followed by El Libro de Mormon, I would have to say any of the classics. I can't decide.

36. Do you go to movies often?
Uhh, often as in once or twice every 3 months.

37. What's the last movie you saw in theaters?
"Desconocido," or "Unknown." I saw it in Mexico. It wasn't very good, just fyi. But the Subway sandwich with guacamole which I ateduring the movie? Now that was good.

38. Are you scared of something really odd?
I don't like windstorms. They kinda freak me out. Or being home alone.

39. Do you like vanilla M&M's or chocolate?
I didn't know vanilla M&Ms existed, but I will always, always, always pick chocolate.

40. Have you ever painted a picture?
Sure have! I think my mom has a bunch of them stowed away.

41. Ever watched Spongebob on your own accord?
Of course! "F is for friends who do stuff together, U is for you and me, N is for anywhere anytime at all, under the deep blue sea!" Proof. Right there.

42. What's one big thing that you've accomplished in your life?
I took a nap on top of the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico! Oh, and going to Mexico was a pretty neat accomplishment too, which I owe to my parents and many others.

43. What's the dumbest thing you watch on TV?
Sometimes I'm channel surfing and I stop to watch novelas for a bit. Yes, it is true.

44. Do you think dead baby jokes are funny?
Um.

45. What are 3 words you think describe you?
freckly, funny, happy

46. What is your middle name?
Cerise (it means Cherry in French. uh-huh)

47. What's the last thing you spent money on?
frozen yogurt, and dang was it delicious or what.

48. If a stranger asked you to take a picture with them, would you?
Heck to the yes! This had never happened to me before I went to Mexico, but when you are white in a sea of brown--instant celebrity, I tell you.

49. Do you think you're materialistic?
Maybe to a certain degree...?

50. What's the best commercial you've ever seen?
this one.

"leave the ram!" hahahahha

(funny that me and TP both thought Stride had good commercials)

51. Are you wasteful?
Actually, I don't think I'm too wasteful. My mother trained me well in this regard. I can't waste food, I just can't.

52. Do you think your nose is shaped funny?
It does have kind of a funny shape, but I don't hate it.

53. What's one thing that honestly makes you happy?
Just one? Reading my scriptures, being outside, listening to/playing music, running, talking to family/friends, laughing, hammocking

54. What do you do with stickers?
Give them to my sister because nothing brings her more joy (besides candy or princessy things)

55. Do posters of people frighten you at night?
Say what now?

56. What color are your sheets?
Turquoise

57. What is one of your nicknames?
I have a zillion nicknames. A sampling: McNancy, MK, Rudy, Rack-Jack, Josephina, McKenzie Fox (from the Mexicanos), McFrenzy, Tiny Red

58. Do you think Canada exists?
claro que si!

59. What's your favorite lyrics of all time?
ohhh man I can't possibly decide. Right now I really love these from Mumford:

And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

60. What's a movie you like but wish that you didn't?
Oh gosh. Please don't judge me. But parts of Clueless really makes me laugh. I'm terrible, I know.

I Believe

2011-04-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

This morning when I woke up I noticed the sun shining through my window...the sun! At last! But all day today I felt a special spirit which didn't have too much to do with the weather. It was more to do with my testimony of the gospel. After a day like today, I feel like shouting it from the rooftops, or writing it in a letter to a friend, or even just singing a hymn about it. Jesus Christ did die for us, He did suffer for us, and He did perform the greatest miracle of them all when He was resurrected from the grave. I know it! I know it more than I know anything else, and I also know that He loves us. He loves us so perfectly that we can't even comprehend it--we can only feel it and act upon it.

In the past year, especially in these few years I've been up at school, I have felt myself grow closer to Him. Last semester I learned that early morning scripture study is the best way to build our foundations on Christ. I also learned that morning prayers are an important key to having the Spirit with us all day. I learned that making time for the temple each week is another special way we can become closer to the Lord and show our love for Him. This semester, my goal is to serve people more--to really get to know them and find out what their needs are. I'm not saying I'm going to know all of their troubles and sorrows, because I'm not like Christ in that I know everyone perfectly. But I can lead others to Him by treating them as He would. I can be His hands.

I hope you all had a lovely Easter!

I wanted to share this video with you as soon as I watched it (thanks dad). It really exemplified Christlike love for me and I thought it was appropriate for this day. Love to you all!

back in blue (not black)

2011-04-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

I think I'm finally back. It only took me two weeks...how long does it take for RMs to adjust to coming home? Do they ever adjust all the way? I've never been on a mission but I kinda felt like I had just gotten back from one for the past few weeks. Especially this first week in Rexburg.

I lost my appetite. Nothing sounded good. For 5 days I didn't eat hardly anything (a strange feat if you know me), except for the occasional pb & j. I would see people pull into the drive-in at Ramirez's and have the urge to stop them from ruining their taste buds.

I kept finding notes from Chelsea written to me last semester and I would get a little bit sad.

I went on a 4-mile run (it was also an "angry run" which I can explain later, but lemme tell you, they are pretty effective. ha.) against the 25-MPH winds native to Idaho. I came back to the apartment with a mane for a hairdo and a desire to let the wind blow me right back to Mexico.

I kept spurting out things in Spanish and nobody would understand. I was beginning to count down the days until Spanish Lit started and I could be stuck in a room with funny RMs again.

But then on Tuesday a few things happened:

1) I received 2 letters from Chelsea written to me now, in the present, and she is happy. So I can be happy, too.

2) School started. Turns out what I have been dreading since I landed back in this country is going to be a really good thing. My classes are incredible, as are my professors, and the homework isn't "punch a wall passive-aggressively" worthy.

3) We had our first devotional, and it was my first in the BYU-I Center since its dedication. I love that building--it still smells like new carpet, you know. Plus, I went there with my old friend Amy Mathews, who I learned is still funny as ever (fun fact you probably do not want to know: back in elementary school, when I would go over to Amy's house, I would sometimes bring extra chonies with me because she made me laugh that hard. I thought ahead).

4) I wore spandex for six hours straight. That always adds to the happiness of my day.

5) I ate a huge salad for dinner AND a mango, proof that not only was my appetite back, but I was craving healthy food... Oh and the mango, it was incredibly delicious. I was worried I would hate mangoes when I came back to America, but I don't. You can alert the presses now.

6) I decided not to study in the library so much this semester. Remember how I kinda lived there last year? Well it's too nice outside to be studying in a cubicle....er...it will be soon. In the meantime I'll just have to keep running in spandex and jackets and ignoring the snow.

would you guys like to see what else has been going on in the world of kenzie? thought so. {that wasn't a question}.

i took a 3-hour nap on tuesday. in the words of mr. "hide yo wife hide yo kids," that was so dumb, so dumb, so dumb.

i got an email from my dad which said the following:

"Rudy - we just put some $$ into your account. Now get a razor and shave your legs. Love, dad and mother"

My parents sure are funny. At least my legs will never be wanting in this chilly weather (now for all of you who haven't been reading this blog for very long, that was a joke. I really do shave my legs. And I can't believe I just said that on this blog.)

Rexburg experienced a thunderstorm and I inhaled that lovely rainy smell while I stood in the Spori Quad (yes...I stood outside). Why is it that whenever a huge rainstorm happens I'm the only one left standing in it?

I picked up that early-early morning scripture study again (in Mexico it wasn't as early). Gosh, I love it. And I love Mosiah.

My allergies decided to come back in full-force and now I kinda sound like a man when I don't guzzle enough water to clean my throat out. Doink.

Awkard moment #1 of the semester: I saw someone in the Smith Building (my second home besides the library...you thought I lived at the apartment? Ha!) who, from behind, looked exactly like a girl I know. Spitting back image I tell you! Now, I'm not an expert at identifying people from their back images (yes, I just made up that terminology), but she seriously fooled me. I kinda smacked her backpack like I normally do to get my friends' attention when they aren't facing me. Lucky for her I didn't kick her backpack, which is another attention-getting tactic I use. Well, she turned and I saw her face and all of a sudden I was walking the other way, uttering "sorry" and "fool" to myself. Oh, McKenzie.

The spring semester is now in session. And Kenzie is back to tell you all about it. Get ready...

p.s. it is Easter Weekend! I left you something better than a chocolate bunny:

smile like you mean it

2011-04-20T16:00:00.001-07:00

from the archives...finals week last semester (can't wait)

gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

fdsakljfkdsl;ajfdlkas;jdfsa;jf;adfjada

phew.

just had to get it out in the open.

i have, count 'em,

pages

reading

due tomorrow.

not to mention a 2-page paper.

I'm already planning this weekend.

Anybody want to hike R Mountain with me?

I'll come back to the blog world, fo real, later.

I got stories to tell.

Wouldn't you like to know....

frozen in place

2011-04-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

when you think your heart can't take anymore...and then another curveball comes.

when you are running against the wind...and you wish it could just blow you away.

when you come back home...and you're not sure what you're doing there.

when you remember where you were a week ago...and you feel a melancholy poem comin' on.

when you find notes from your best friend...and miss her so bad it actually hurts.

when you are half-asleep in a dream...and a loud noise wakes you up.

when you come home to your own room...and you wish for a roommate, a pet, anything.

when you find the mexican aisle in the grocery store...and a pack of cookies makes the memories flood.

when you see freshmen walking around on campus...and it hits you that you're a senior.

when you read journal entries from semesters before...and you wonder what the next will be like.

when you find an old friend...and everything is going to be okay.

when your brother lives up the road...and he will always be there, no matter what.

when you talk to someone who really knows...and it's easy to cry, easy to talk.

when you have a load of strong emotions inside...and you don't know how to get them out except through a pen and paper.

when it is april 18th...and it is raining.

It's just one of those days. I know tomorrow will be better.

i'm not sure about this feeling, but i can embrace it

2011-04-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

Phew. Folks, I did it. I wrote a post every day for a week. Except I maybe sorta cheated and wrote 3 posts at once and then posted them on their corresponding days. Oh well.

Right now I'm sitting in the San Fransisco Airport. I'm exhausted, emotionally and physically. The sun just set quite nicely outside the window. I tried the water from the water fountain and it tasted funny. Nobody is staring at my sandaled-feet. Nobody is speaking Spanish. Why aren't they speaking Spanish to me? I would speak it to them. But they wouldn't understand...I don't even understand.

Oh, and I'm freezing. Kinda shivering, actually.

Did I mention I was in California?

I hope I bring some spring-ish weather back with me in 2 hours....

I don't know if I'll ever be able to write everything I feel about Mexico. Maybe that's what makes it so special...I can't write it out. I can try my best, but I'll never capture it just quite right.

I'll never be able to explain how eerily wonderful it was to walk to the bus station this morning with 3 of my best friends, the sidewalks empty, my luggage rumbling across the cobblestones, the church bells echoing through the dark streets, thinking about my first night...

I'll never be able to explain what it felt like to watch my kids perform their spectacle on Friday and to have them hug me afterwards and tell me they loved me. I can't explain what it was like for my kids at the other school to bake me a cake, and they didn't even shove my face in it (Mexican tradition...).

I'll never be able to explain the bond we had as teachers. I felt like I knew them all for much longer than 3 months. Clearly it was meant to be. It's true that there are no coincidences....so God must have brought us all here at the same time for a reason. I don't know if I can tell you in words what the reason was. But maybe you can feel it when you read what I've written.

“Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be...Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before.”
-Erich Fromm

notice how the sun sets...

2011-04-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

it starts to dip its hand in

a little anxious,

then the hues explode

each night when i go home

i turn around

start walking backwards

look down the street to see it

the same different patterns

over and again

this day, the kids shined

like the sun,

timid at first,

then their smiles came

they were proud of themselves

i was proud of themselves, too

now i know what it's like

to be a parent, holding the camcorder

waiting for the kid to mess up

but hoping with all you have

that they won't

now i know what it's like

to love someone else so much

you forget about all of your imperfections

and i watch

because

the sun keeps setting.

thursday poem

2011-04-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

swimming in a stream

it feels like an ocean

but i surface

and then,

camp alpine

i was a child then

too young to know

everything

but i thought i did

the smell of pine

woke me up

if i could rewind

to any time

it'd be then

so i could tell

my 12-year-old self

to walk slower,

breathe deeper,

love longer

what i still don't know

2011-04-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

How many licks it takes

How many looks it takes

Why the moon turns yellow in autumn

Or why autumn feels so melancholy

How death comes in without knocking

How death leaves without crying

Why the sound of her voice

Is never the same to me,

Sometimes I could swear it was

Just a ghost, just the sound of my

Childhood

How many years before the smell of

Your first classroom goes away

How many friends will die before me

How many will have children that look

Just like them

Why evergreens smell like perfect love

And why I know what perfect love smells like

Why cement hurts so much

And why it is always what I fall onto

Why the scars on my sides don’t fade

Won’t fade

And they serve as reminders of my mistakes

Why we have to be reminded

How the smell of rain brings along

Unwanted visitors

Right into my mind, right into my words

Soaks right through my clothes

Why music drifts in and out of sleep

In my bed

Of all the beds, why mine