soon it will be cold enough to build fires

october=bonfire season

lately
I've been writing more and more letters, to strangers and friends alike. It revives me after a week of sending hundreds of flat, lifeless business letters. Today I got one in return, waxed seal and all. Thanks, Brit. A reply is forthcoming. Did I just say forthcoming? Yeah...yeah I did.

My favorite band broke up. Maybe if we're lucky Justin V. will retreat to the woods and write another amazeballs album, which will come out in like 10 years. Complete with a free canoe on the side.

I picked up my guitar...and harmonica. And tried to channel my inner Bob Dylan, but it didn't work because #1, I don't have an afro, #2, I don't have one of those super flattering headgear harmonica holder things, and #3, I'm not Bob Dylan. Oh yeah! Hey, if Cate Blanchett can pull it off, why not me? Don't answer that.

=

?!

The radio in my car started to work again one morning, but this is only half good because every time I go over a bump in the road, the station changes itself. There are no numbers on the dial, so I have to guesstimate where all of the good music is. In case you were wondering, 75% of the roads in American Fork are "under construction" and have been for the past 20 years. So you can just imagine the music smorgasbord I experience every day without really wanting to.

My fellow compadres at work gather at the lunch table every day and discuss the weirdest things. I think I'm going to start making flow charts, because the things we get off topic on are ten levels weirder than weird. You would understand if you talked to the people I talk to 8 hours of every day. I'm not kidding about these conversations, though. Everyone else in the room will not-so-subtly stand nearby and eavesdrop, then laugh out loud, totally blowing their cover.

Example of today's conversations: owl pellets, seafood, large creepy fish, the fish farm in Oregon, Costco, Costco hot dogs, PMS, the people at Social Security offices who deserve to have their eyebrows shaved off, etc. I bet you could find a common thread if you really tried.

I started to knit again and oh gash, it is the hardest thing anyone ever invented with two sticks. I'm pretty sure drumming would be easier. But drumming does not produce beanies, an item which someone like me happens to need copious amounts of. Dang, that was a terrible sentence.

Stuff I am currently craving: (and by currently I mean 24/7/365 but now it's legal) 

dead leaves everywhere

pumpkin

scruff. always.

Talks you should read if you want your mind blown: this, this, and this. Sha-bam. 

Songs you should listen to if you want your ears to be happy: 

this video..kill me dead.

hi, I'm mckenzie and I'm addicted to making playlists

in honor of the autumnal equinox, my friends:

the suburbs//arcade fire

i and love and you//the avett brothers

re:stacks//bon iver

le loup//le loup (fear not)

iron and wine//each coming night

grizzly bear//reprise

chairlift//i belong in your arms

james vincent mcmorrow//if i had a boat

justin vernon//sweet, sweet magdalene

janove otteson//forget about me

the beatles//dear prudence

damien rice//one

sean hayes//a thousand tiny pieces

the lumineers//stubborn love

jerry douglas + mumford and sons + paul simon//the boxer

feist//graveyard

fleet foxes//bedouin dress

gregory alan isakov//that moon song

blind pilot//oviedo

jose gonzalez//down the line

the best...

just gonna leave this here.

...when oldschool music like Fleetwood Mac comes on my Bon Iver Pandora station. So random, but amazeballs at the same time.  Also, I would like to know how they came up with those band names.

...when your computer is possessed by the devil after only being alive for 4 years. Honestly, I just need to suck it up and buy a Macintosh. Why is that always the answer?!

...dark mint chocolate. oooh yes. I almost wish I didn't possess any. Then again, I'm McKenzie, and dark chocolate is part of my eternal identity (I think).

...Having a week of studying just my favorite chapters in all of the Book of Mormon. We're talking 2 Nephi 32-33, Helaman 5, Ether 12, Moroni 10, Alma 37. Ahhh yeah.

...not getting any sleep the night before. This is only good because the next night (i.e. tonight), you know for sheeeezy that you are gonna be out like a broken lamp before the sheets are even over your leggies.

...online shopping. I've always been a big fan of that there invention, just because I'm an introvert and I dislike going to malls and being overwhelmed with all the people and all of the clothes and ahhh. Yeah, Forever 21 is no place for people like moi. The only downer is paying for shipping (I'm talking to you, Urban Outfitters).

...the little patches of red on the mountainside by my house. those patches of red are getting even bigger, and it makes my heart grow bigger and bigger, and pretty soon it's going to beat right out of my cheeeeeeeest. Is that a song? No? Well, it should be.

....reading old emails between Niki and Chelsea and myself. Dang we are hilarious. Honestly, most of the time we spoke in "inside joke" and abreev and all kinds of crazy codes which only we understood. Sigh.

...titling my journal entries. Sometimes this is a drag, and I stink at it on purpose. I'll write something intentionally lame like, "I Am Tired Today, Therefore Deal With It." But today..oh man. Today's title was thus: "I Wanna Be the Gun to Someone's Holster!" I hope you know I didn't just come up with that, but stole it from a cultured hip-hop artiste. Yes indeed.

...pictures of men's style that show up on the internets. I didn't really know that "men's style" existed for awhile, because let's face it, growing up most of the boys I knew dressed in Hollister (get your flashlights everyone!) or wore their pants way too low. But let's not open that can of worms! Anyway, now I see pictures like dis and I am pleased. Very pleased indeed.

somebody get me a human who wears these clothes (and has that scruff) asap. okay? okay. 

confess or don't, but either way you ate a lot of apple pie.

I service society by (not) blogging

1) I just wrote the title of this post as if I was talking to myself. Which I pretty much am doing anyway. Isn't that what a blog is? I'm too tired to get into the metaphorical-ness of that last statement.

2) Ellie made a birthday card for my dad, and in it she wrote a little poem. It said something about a hippopotamus, which I didn't really get, but this is Ellie we're talking about, so it doesn't really matter. But then she wrote, "Make a birthday wish, and make lots of wishes, and wish that you will get locked in a freezer full of ice cream!" Now I know 100% that we are related.

3) We all know that I love pumpkin, and the first boy to make me a pumpkin treat will be my number 1. But I have realized another weakness when it comes to fall dessert...apple pie. Remember last fall when I ate like thirty slices and almost had cardiac arrest 10 minutes later? DO YOU?

4) I go through musical phases and sometimes I really can't stop listening to a certain artist and it gets almost obnoxious how heavily they will rotate. For example: Justin Vernon is all over this page. It never ends, my friends.

5) I used to be really terrible at talking on the phone. For serious, there was a time when I would rather do a backflip into the Grand Canyon wearing nothing but a scrunchie than talk on the phone. Okay...that was unnecessarily graphic. But the point is, I would cry (actual tears, but no mascara yet because I was still a youngun) when my mom handed me the phone. Now I do it all the live long day, and I am a professional. I'm also a professional typist, post-it-noter-maker, alphabetizer, and over-the-phone-accidental-therapist. Awesome.

6) I've been going through this awful phase when every time I look in the mirror I go, "blurgh!" It's like that scene in Breakfast at Tiffany's when Holly G. looks in the mirror and says, "I've got to do something about the way I look!" Although she is Audrey Hepburn in real life, soooo I'm not sure I can totally feel for her in that moment. Back to me. This morning my hair was being my hair, i.e. acting like it didn't care about the fact that I wield the brush and hairdryer! So I showed it up, and parted my hair on the other side.

You guys. Why didn't anyone tell me about this secret sooner? Whenever you are not feeling the hair, just move it over. Whaaaat?! Yeah, it's that simple. Shazam.

Also, can we talk about how one of the great ironies of life is that you can fix your hair while watching TV/knitting a scarf/eating pasta simultaneously, without a mirror, and it looks perfect, and then you go to do the same thing the next day for reals and it looks terrible?! I mean, why? P.S. ignore that run-on sentence that just happened.

7) I went and bought myself two new beanies. In a color besides yellow. ALERT THE PRESSES.

8) At first when my iPod died a few weeks ago, I thought I was gonna die too. My journaling got really bad, because I used my iPod to fuel my pen. But I've gotten used to the silence again. And guess what? I like it.

9) Sometimes I get homesick for the most raaandom places. Like the WinCo in Idaho Falls. Or the 2nd floor of the McKay Library. I never thought I'd get homesick for that place. Ha! Especially after making these super special memories there: number one, number two, and number three.

10) My secret wish is to have a cabin/house thing like the one in Dan in Real Life and go there every autumn so I can relish the whole season without having to think about anything else but the leaves falling and the smell of wood burning and the golden October moon.

are ya kiddin' me?

can we talk about how it's september already?

don't be sad, scarecrow, it's almost October! yess!

GUYS. I completely and utterly remember April..and I remember those two graduation ceremonies which were kind of excruciatingly long, and I remember being starving, and also not wanting my picture taken but not being a great position to avoid that.

My ability to form sentences has greatly diminished since I got that diploma in the mail (classy, right?).

Anyway, the point is, the summer has evaporated along with all of the other moisture in Utah. And it's all gone up in flames now...also like Utah.

Sometimes I get sad about summer ending, but not this year. This summer was a tough one. Plus, it was super-stinking hot. I'm not a fan of heat. I'll take rainyness and even a little snow over a scorching day. Then I can wear Mr. Yellow Hat anytime I don't feel like doing my hair (everyday, btw).

Now it's officially time to wear boots and scarves, and I did my duty and wore both today. Okay, so it wasn't that smart considering the temperature climbs to about 80 degrees by midday. That's how September is. I'm impatient for October 11 months out of the year. Or maybe I'm just impatient to stop shaving my legs...such is life!

Tessa Matthews asked me to give her the haps. So Mrs. Matthews, here ya go:

Ellie came into my room yesterday with one goal in mind: to get money from me. If only my cash flow was as abundant as the number of tweets about Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. Oops, did I say that out loud? So back to Ellie. She came into my room and said, "Hey Kenzie, I really need some money. And if you don't give me some I'm gonna be really mad." This girl knows how to fundraise. There's a reason so many people bought girl scout cookies from her this summer, and it's not because of her cuteness. Ok, well maybe a little bit. Observe:

My job is kind of hilarious. I'm getting pretty good at it now. The first week was stressful up the heeeeezy because I got a huge caseload and oh man it was way overdue and fjskljf;sajf;a but I got it figured out now. Mostly. And people seriously crack me up with the things they demand of me. For example:

"Hi, I was just wondering where my check is?"
"What check? You mean for disability?" Ha..oh man. Then I have to tell them their "check" ain't comin' for at least 18 months. Sorry charlie.

Oh and my favorite one:

"Hey, how come Social Security is sending me paperwork? I thought you were supposed to fill it all out." "Um, no I can't fill it out. Only you know yourself and what you do every day. You have to fill it out."
"What did I even hire you for then? What do you even do all day?" *Facepalm* TIMES A THOUSAND.

And then sometimes, the clients get all TMI up in my grill and I cannot handle it. So I try really hard not to react while I'm on the phone with them, but as soon as I hang up I have to bust a gut. They think that me, being their case manager, must know every single detail of their disability. And I mean every. detail. Sometimes they send me photos. At which point I must poke my mind's eye out.

Today is September 12th. So now it will be less than a month until I see this wonderful person otra vez:

Can I get a holllllllla?! Yes I am pretty excited. I'm even trying to speak gangster. Which comes not-naturally to me. Because I am 100% Caucasian. The End.

and now, I have compiled a photographic list of reasons I miss Rexburg right now:

the building on the hilltop.

the view from my room.

Willie Wednesdays (on Thursdays)

el taco bus

Reesey, my favorite reading center student ever of all time

enough snow to make an actual couch, ahh yeah

friends like this

how can you not love her?

back from a long reprieve

this is how you all feel about me, isn't it? (you don't have to answer that)

Guys, I just used the word "reprieve" in a blog title. I'd like to thank the academy for...okay what? It's been awhile. I hardly know how to do this blog thang anymore. Would you like the juicy deets? Alrighty then. Here goes:

I went hiking last weekend and I fell (not surprising). This fall wasn't that awesome. All I did was have a moment of sheer klutzery and scrape my leg on some gravel (p.s. we were on a trail not meant for humans, so it was kind of the mountain's fault, not mine). But now everybody wants to be my friend so they can find out what the heck happened to my leg. I've decided to start making a tally of how many times a day I get asked, "What happened to your leg?!" followed by the inevitable hairy eyeball. Strangers and friends alike have all gaped at my gash. What's worse is that I can't shave it (ew, just thinking of that makes me want to gag a little), so now it's hairy and scabby.

Now that I've used "hairy and scabby" in the same sentence to describe myself, this blog has reached a new low. Again, I'd like to thank the academy. What academy I'm thanking I'm not so sure. I'll get back to you.

My new job has become another new job as I got promoted, and went through training yet again. Our trainer described the new job thus: "You guys are basically fancy babysitters." Right you are! What she means to say is, I call people and make sure they're going to their doctor's appointment so they don't get denied, I call social security offices around the country to make sure they're getting our paperwork, and in the meantime I hear some preeettty hilarious stuff. For example:

• "Dear Mr. So-and-so, we are denying you for disability benefits because we found you are in prison for murdering someone. Also, you missed your appointment on such-and-such day." Well duh. Of course he did. But what was that about murdering someone?
• "Dear Mrs. So-and-so, we are denying you for disability benefits because we found your assets exceed the limit social security has established. We found that your husband has $1,000,000 in his bank account." Yeah, she was pretty mad about the government finding that one out. I"m sorry to say that when that happens, some people actually say, "Well if I get a divorce from my spouse will their assets affect me?" For reals. Free money is not worth it. 
• And then sometimes the state social security offices are busy (and by sometimes I mean always), and I get to call the national Social Security office. Which is the ultimate experience in facepalming. I've decided to make a collage in my cubicle of awesome art I have created while being on hold with social security. By the way, these are no mediocre doodles. They can take all dang day! And ya, that means it can take all dang day to get in touch with someone at that number. And then when you finally tell them you're so-and-so's attorney, they go, "Um, your name isn't on the 1696 is it?" (1696=the form that says we represent the client). "Well, no, but Brad Myler's name is on it" (he's the head honcho). "Ok, well if your name isn't on it then I can't give you any information." "But-but-but I was on hold for fifteen--" BAM. Facepalm. Guys, the club cannot handle me right now. I want to wring the club's metaphorical neck sometimes. Ugh.

Alright, now if that last paragraph wasn't passive-aggressive enough for you, I suggest going to CNN and reading in the comments section below any article.

I promise I'll be better about this blogging thing. It's just that the end of summer is kind of whacked up. We run around like crazy headless chickens for three months, and sweat out everything we thought we had to sweat, and watch Utah burn to a crisp, and then bam! It's all over and we're making pancakes on the first morning of school and taking pictures of zombie-eyed children in their classy new clothes. I'll admit, I am jealous of everyone starting school again. I miss it so. Especially in the fall.

Speaking of fall, it's almost that time again. That "mellow, leaf-kicking pause." The mysterious months when the ground crunches everywhere you go and the wind bites your cheek as it brushes past. I basically lurve it and I wish it was fall time all the time. In my heaven, that's what it will be. So if you're planning on coming to visit me up there (and I know you are), just be sure to wear your cords/boots/knee socks/beanies/scarves/peacoats. Or whatever the heavenly equivalent to those things are...maybe like a wool  robe or something? 

Geesh, that sounds itchy and awful. Forget that idea. Whatever you wear, just make sure it's kosher for some pumpkin-picking, leaf-pile-jumping, soup-consuming celestialness. Aight? 

(it's okay, I don't know what I just said either)

maybe in my heaven I'll let cats come if they look as cool as this one does.

or maybe it's just the dead leaves that make him look cool.

let's not get too hasty, now, shall we?

in my bed, eating saltines

Has a sadder blog title ever been penned? I feel like a slug, therefore, I am. Some people think spending all day in your jammies is fun. But I dislike it. I feel all grodie and un-put-together and...well, sluggish. I think something's wrong with my gall bladder. TMI? Welp, you came to this blog knowing what I titled this post, so, sha-bam.

Here's that huge-mongo post I've been thinking about forever. And now, in the order I "previewed" each item....(drumroll please)

I'm skipping #1 for now because it needs a blog post all its own. NEXT!

#2: I haven't puked today. Yet.

#3: Recently I have discovered the beauty of Amazon MP3's. For real, why did I ever buy anything from iTunes? Did you know that some of the best albums ever made are 3 dollars on Amazon.com? DID YOU?! Okay, well, I just want you guys to know that I now have The Black Keys, Passion Pit, 2 Shins albums, Death Cab for Cutie, and a Bon Iver EP--and I spent 12 bucks on all that music. That's six albums, btw. Run along to amazon.com now.

Oh, and here's some music you should listen to right now. Kaitlyn and Scotty, this is for youuu!

Feist//The Circle Married the Line

Cake//Love You Madly

Grouplove//Tongue Tied

Bloc Party//Plans

Gotye//Eyes Wide Open

Dove//Sky Starts Falling

Radiohead//Gagging Order

oops..I got carried away again. Always happens with music. Doink!

#4: So here's the lowdown on my life. I got a jobbity-job. What? Anywho, I work in a sort-of call center. I say "sort of" because I'm on the phone but it's not a sales job or anything. People call me and I help them qualify for disability because they got rejected. And usually they give me their life story, and 110% of the time it's really sad and it makes me ten times more grateful. I feel like I have nothing to complain about now. Also, now I have moolah. Which means I can go to South America next year (CAN I GET AN AMEN). And I can actually buy some of that stuff on my stylin' pinboard. However, I shant forget Michael Scott's wise words on the subject:

Oh yeah...and after much thought, I decided not to move to Provorem this fall. I'll save some money (South America/Europe/grad school). And I won't hafta move! Moving is to me as Satan is to God. Was that sacrilege? Welp, I hate it.

#5: So during lunch I go outside and lay in the grass and eat and read a book. And I'm trying to squeeze in some more freckles before the summer ends, but I'm also technically not allowed in the sun for very long. Boo. I need someone to invent spray-on freckles.

#6: Some pictures for your enjoyment. Okay, let's face it, they're for me to stare at (because I'm the only one who read this blog anymore). And for Tori. :)

I dunno who this is and I don't even care. 

Hiddles

For Tessa. An early wedding present. 

#7: A couple of weeks ago I was meandering over on this blog (everyone meanders on this blog, so I'm not being original here). And she was having an AWESOME giveaway, which I did not win, but now I can probably most likely save money for one of these babies:

eeeeeeeeeek. If you see me cruising on this thang on one of my midnight bike rides, again, do not hit me, because I'll cry if you mess up my bike. Mess up my head, whatever. But not the bike!

#8: Ikey gets home from college this week, and he'll bring his car with him. The first adventure I will take this car on....this concert festival right hurrr. Come play with me if you want. Oh yeah, and the reason I get his car is because he's getting married. To Anna!

They're pretty cool together. August 4th, 2012, kiddos.

#9: Left to do on this summah to-do list: hike Timp, learn those songs on the geetar (slackerface), climb a tree, scera shell outdoor movie, finish the Book of Mormon (almost done!), and read a huge book. I kinda wanna scratch that last one because Anna Karenina is super hard to follow. In the meantime, I've read like 10 not-huge books. 

#10: And with that list being done-did, summer is ending. Usually this makes me kind of sad, but when I say "usually," I mean "not really," because  fall time is the best time. You all know it's true. First of all, pumpkin. Second of all, scarves/boots/orange sunsets/Halloween. Third of all, pumpkin. 

Yay for Fall! (also, CB Scent is getting home in October. Best timing ever.)

not enough room for a gratitude list done the mcfrenzy way

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.

1. haircuts, because sometimes your hair becomes more like a mane, and then it's just a drag. yay for scissors.
2. 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.
3. Preach My Gospel. It has become my new favorite study compadre with the scribbers.
4. fuzzy scarves, fuzzy hats, fat puffy vests and coats. i really don't mind the cold because then I get to wear layers.
5. red nail polish, it makes me feel kind of classy. and then I wear old basketball shorts to bed...
6. the night sky. all you gotta do is look up and you'll get lost.
7. autumn, for sticking around long enough for me to relish it. sometimes I wish every month was October.
8. my parents, for helping me make sense of everything that doesn't make sense in this 21-one-year old mind.
9. those funny siblings o'mine. they never cease to crack me up.
10. 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.
11. excitement for the future even though I have no idea what's in it.
12. everyone who has ever made me laugh, smile, or cry. you make me feel alive, and that is a good thing.

is this real life?

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.

halloweenie

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

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?

1. bought the ugliest orange hat ever from the D.I., which I am now wearing.
2. finally got all the stuff for my costume...and it is going to be off the chain. or should I say, off the vine...
3. speed-walked up to the temple because bro. anderson shared this quote on wednesday. I had to get there before satan stopped me. ha
4. started writing sister bedke a serial letter, meaning it's taken me 3 days already. kinda like I'm sending her a journal entry.
5. shaved my legs por fin! yeah, i'm being serious. it's amazing how often I talk about that subject on this blog.
6. exercised every day so far (brownie points for me! ok...maybe not brownie points. celery points?)
7. started making playlists for future mixes for mis amigos. your ears shall be happy, friends.
8. 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
9. 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.
10. took a couple of mid-terms. wait...mid-terms?! it's not halfway through the semester already, right?
11. realized once again how awesome my life is. why should I complain?

it's a day for happiness

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.

so chin up, and we'll drown slower

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.

1. 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!
2. buying one of these beauties at last. This Saturday is gonna be like Christmas! No foolin'.
3. 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).
4. 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?
5. finally getting to wear my boots and sweaters and corduroy skirts. p.s. corduroy is a weird word.
   
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. writing notes on gum wrappers. this used to be a cb scent and mcfrenzy tradition. I try to pretend she's still here sometimes.
10. 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...
11. 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...

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.

I'm not a gymnast but I can tumblr!

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!