Odds and Ends

Blake deserves an award.


If there is one thing he hates, it's getting his picture taken.  That and cucumbers. (Can you imagine going through life hating cucumbers? That is so sad. He is missing out on one of the most important additions at any salad bar.)


In this past week alone, Blake has endured 3 different "photo shoots," the first one was on Valentine's Day, and I'm pretty sure the reason he agreed was because I promised it would count as my Valentine's present.  My friend from high school turned incredible photographer selflessly sacrificed a huge chunk of her Valentine's Day to take pictures for us.  Check out her website, she's amazing. 


Then today we went up to Salt Lake to take family pictures with my family.  It was so much fun but really sad at the same time because it's our last family picture before Sean leaves on his mission.  This came way too fast.  He is so excited to go, but the poor guy has five older sisters who are really trying hard to act excited for him instead of sad.  His farewell is tomorrow, and he enters the MTC on Wednesday then on to Malaga, Spain.  I am really going to miss him!


After those pictures, all the siblings went to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to take more pictures by my sister Lisa, also an incredibly talented photographer.  Blake thinks we don't have to take any more pictures for three years.  We'll see how long that lasts.


Now on to a really cool announcement.  Blake has been working in a cancer research lab on campus for almost a year now, and the professor he works with asked him and 4 other students to come to D.C. with him to present their research at a pretty big conference.  It's really exciting and will look great on his med school applications.  I think he's mostly excited that it's all-expense paid though. He leaves in March for about 4 days I think? It's kind of sad, we both love to travel, but it seems like a lot of the traveling we do is apart from the other one.  A year ago, Blake went to Mexico to go to a friend's temple sealing, then I went to D.C. for a week for PRSSA National Conference, and now Blake will be in D.C., then right after I'll be in New York for the summer.  We're talking about planning a trip that we'll actually get to take together once I get back, so let's hear it for tax refunds!

Uncle Dunk

Anyone who knew me growing up probably knows about Loa.  Loa is a small, small town in Wayne County, Utah where just about everyone who lives there is one of my relatives. (No, really, every year the Wayne County Fair and Taylor Reunion are lumped together in one big event.) I always get so excited about going to Loa for our family reunions every year. In fact, when I was little, I used to tell my friends I was from Loa; because to me, if my grandma was from there, then I basically was too, right?  I love my Wayne County cousins and great aunts and uncles, and it's always fun we get to see them.

My grandma's older brother, Uncle Dunk, (Duncan) has been pretty sick.  Uncle Dunk was always one of my favorite people to see when we went to Loa.  If you get the chance to meet Uncle Dunk, give him a hug.  He might break one of your ribs.  (He actually did that to a lady once, he told me about it.) Uncle Dunk gives the tightest hugs of anyone you'll ever meet.  He also gives the strongest handshakes.  He's a cowboy through and through.

 A few weeks ago, my sisters called and said they were making the drive to Loa for the day to see Uncle Dunk.  I miraculously got work off and I'm so glad I was able to go with them and be with him.  He was just as funny as ever.  One of the things he said after we walked in and got one of his famous bone-crunching hugs was, "well, you look like you could tie a goat!"

Admittedly, this city girl has no idea what that means, let alone whether or not that's a bad or good thing.  I asked him what that meant and he seemed shocked that I didn't know.  "In the rodeo! The goat tie-ers! Come on now!" He said I looked like I had swift legs so I could catch the goats and tie them really fast.  Later, I asked him if he ever went goat tying.  His response? "Oh no, that's a woman's job!"

We love Uncle Dunk so much.  He and Honey (my grandma) are really close.  In fact, they used to teach a dance class together in Loa, back in the days when Honey was the rodeo queen.  Uncle Dunk said if I could tie a goat in the Wayne County rodeo next year he would give me his belt buckle that has a dancing couple on it.  As cool as that belt buckle was, that might be one dream I'm going to have to let pass me by.

Tiff, Natalie and me.  Steph and Lisa were there too.  He probably wishes he had his cowboy hat on for this picture, so here's a better one.

This was almost 3 years ago when Blake and I first started dating.  Uncle Dunk and I are at the old church building in Fremont where we always have our reunions.  I remember telling Uncle Dunk about Blake and how much I liked him.  (We had only been dating for about a month and a half) I told him Blake grew up hauling hay, working on his family's farms and milking cows.  Uncle Dunk said, "Well, any man that has a little horse**** on his boots is alright with me." Luckily, Blake passed the test..

Uncle Dunk loved Papa like a best friend.  He would take Papa out hunting and horseback riding and all sorts of cool things when he and Honey were dating.  One time I asked Uncle Dunk what he thought of Papa when he and Honey first started to date.  "Oh heck*, right then and there he was like my own brother."

I'm really grateful for my roots.  I'm grateful for the examples of lifetimes of hard work and service that have been set before me by my relatives and ancestors.  Honey has so many inspiring, incredible stories on her side of the family, but for now I'll leave you with some parting wisdom from Uncle Dunk.

"Don't take any wooden nickels."

*ok, he didn't really say heck.

JimmerMania

Blake and I at the UNLV game.  Jimmer time.


I know most of you have probably already heard about this, but it is hilarious!


A girl at BYU wrote a letter to the editor in the Daily Universe complaining about how BYU students are worshipping Jimmer like a false idol.  Poor thing.  She made the mistake of not making her facebook page private... well you don't say bad things about Jimmer to a BYU fan, let alone an entire university of them. 


Within about two hours she probably had 200 comments on her facebook status, which read "Just wrote another irritated letter to the editor of the BYU newspaper.  I hope this doesn't turn into a habit"


Please, PLEASE if you do nothing else today, click on these links and read some of the comments people wrote to her.  You will personally send me a hand-written thank you note for adding so much hilarity into your life.  (I would copy and paste, but it is about 39 times as long as my never-ending picture thread I posted a few days ago.)


I saw this thread this morning at work when one of my managers emailed it to me, from there, one of the other interns and I watched as ESPN.com and Yahoo news picked up the story.  I figure since I'm learning how to do media monitoring, this was an effective use of my time.  


Without further ado, enjoy.    
Here's what ESPN.com had to say, this is too funny.


As a manager put it today, "it just restores my faith in humanity, that so many people out there are still so witty."


I have to say, I feel a little bad for that poor, unsuspecting girl who only sought to complain about something that she had no reason to complain about in a very public forum for all to see and respond to, and this is what she got? Seriously though, she was trending on twitter earlier today, maybe a bit much?


At least now the word is out, you don't diss The Jimmer.  Especially not at BYU.

Lindsey Lohan and Gary Coleman

You know what's pretty time consuming? School and work.  Who knew?

Things are good here at the Steele residence.  Blake takes the MCAT in April, which is so exciting.  I'm looking forward to being able to actually see my husband again.  Hopefully I'll recognize him.  

Once he takes it, he'll start the med school application process. So to walk you through that, he pays a lot of money to take the MCAT, then pays to fill out first-round applications to a million medical schools. (You heard right, a million.) Then if they like it, he pays even more to fill out secondary applications and send them in.  Then, whoever likes him the best invites him to pay a ton of money for a last-minute flight out there to interview.  We're so excited!!!

Really though, we are.  It's pretty weird but also kind of cool to just have no idea where we'll be.  It's a little hard for me because I am such a planner.  I always need to know exactly where we'll be and what we'll be doing.  I love to make lists and charts and things of future plans (wow, I've been in school too long.... ) and I'm trying to look at this situation of everything being so up-in-the-air positively.  

I leave for New York in two short months.  I know these months are going to fly by but the two months I spend in New York away from Blake are probably going to be the slowest of my life; but I'm really excited about my internship, and about getting a taste of real agency or corporate PR experience.

Work is good, I love my internship at University Communications, I feel so official working in the Administration Building.  Bonus: Cecil sightings.  I walked by President Samuelson yesterday.  I was starstruck.

Nordstrom is still really fun.  I love getting to dress up to go into work.  I have to quit soon for New York, which is so weird.  I started working there almost four years ago.  FOUR! That is crazy.  I quit once before when I moved to Boston for a different internship (Go Mitt!) and then, inevitably found my way back.  Honestly though, I will probably miss the discount most of all.  (Moment of silence for the Michael Kors watch with the silver face and gold accents that now I really won't be able to afford.)  Oh Nordstrom, you were so good to me.  How else could I have seen and interacted with such legendary stars as Gary Coleman, Marie Osmond, Shawn King (wife of suspender-sporting Larry) and the one and only, always classy Lindsey Lohan?  

Yes friends, I helped Lindsey Lohan buy a Marc by Marc Jacobs electric blue handbag a few years ago when she was here for rehab.  Not that she really needed my help that much, she basically bought the entire first floor in about twenty minutes. 

Flashback:  

Me: Can I help you find something?

Customer: *turning around*

Me: Lindsay Lohan??? What the??

One of my finer moments.  Anyway, she was actually really, really nice.  (sidenote: she was photographed in People the next day walking out of Nord's with the handbag that I helped her buy.  Claim to fame people.)

Since I've already frightened away my hordes of readers by committing a blogging cardinal sin in my last post: overloading on picture-postage, I'll stop before my rambling leaves me alone and reader-less.  

So what's the moral of the story?  Lindsey Lohan is even skinnier in real life, and Gary Coleman (RIP) wore the heck out of that black felt cowboy hat he loved to sport around town.