Titles, Gifts, and Shooting Guns

This post comes to you in two parts, but first, a quick note about titles:

This blog is in serious need of a title. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to come up with anything that I like enough to use yet. I am now officially taking suggestions.

Ok. Moving on...

Part One: In Which Mom and Dad Award Me For Being Awesome

... ok. They actually awarded me for graduating from college, but the fact that I graduated from college makes me pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. (And I do) It has always been a goal of mine to attend and graduate from BYU, and I've done it! Anyway, I graduated back in December, but since it was so close to Christmas, and the actual commencement ceremony isn't until April, mom and dad decided to hold off on getting me a graduation present... until last night. That's right my friends! Today I am coming to you from my brand new gorgeous, shiny, perfect laptop! Now, before anyone else asks, no... it isn't a Mac (the only mac I know my way around is the kind that comes with powdered cheese. Yummy) It is, however, perfect for my purposes.

Here he is, folks:

-Proof of  Beauty... so shiny-

The best part about it? (May I draw your attention to the lower right corner of the picture above) IT HAS A 10 KEY PAD!!! yeeeeess. Seriously. One of the main reasons why I wasn't ever keen on owning a laptop is because most of them lack this crucial component. Problem: SOLVED.

So, thank you to my amazing parents, not only for this incredibly generous gift, but also for always encouraging me to obtain an education, and supporting me in everything I want to do.

Now... on to

Part Two: In Which I Finally Get To Go Shooting

I'm not talking about THIS kind of shooting...

-my buddies and I 4523413 years ago at the Tooele Fair Grounds for the Keith Urban Concert...

 that's me with a 'hand' gun pointed at Mandy's head. :)- 

or even THIS kind of shooting...

But THIS kind of shooting...

er... kind of. (This picture was taken when I lived at Raintree down in Provo. Some guy came in to steal our food, but he ended up being shot and killed against our refrigerator by a PMSing roommate... or possibly, someone splattered ketchup on the freezer door and it looked too much like blood to leave it alone.)

It was actually more like this: 

BAM! (literally) 

The parentals and I went down to the shooting range a couple of weeks ago to see if I had any shooting skills. I think we were all pretty surprised at my aim. I admit, I was a tad scared to pull the trigger that first time, but after that, it was a blast... (literally) 

Here's the proof of my success:

-feel free to ignore that shot at the bottom and concentrate SOLELY on the shot RIGHT through

the middle of the target-

-NOTE: The bullet holes to the left of the silhouette's head were intentional. Dad drew a face

over there, making the silhouette a hostage being used as a body shield. The point was to shoot the 

bad guy without hurting the hostage. Mission: Accomplished- 

Pretty good for my first time, no? 

Next Up:

-A New Loo

-I Am A Word Doodler

The Best Musical Ever Written + Another Nerdtastic Time Wasting Activity Revealed

(As if late-night anagramming wasn't nerdnificent enough...)

I love musical theater. (That isn't what further proves my nerdiness... I don't believe loving musicals is inherently nerdy, although there are many who would disagree) Not only do I love musical theater, I have seen quite a few stage productions/movie adaptions of quite a few different musicals and I must say that my absolute favorite is this:

I love Les Misérables. I remember listening to the original cast soundtrack on cassette when I was a little girl and falling in love with the music of this show (Mind you... I didn't have much of an idea what it was about back then.) Naturally, I was super excited when I found out that they were releasing a 25th Anniversary Concert DVD in October of 2010. This week when it finally came to redbox, I was able to rent it, watch it, and compare it to the 10th Anniversary Concert that was released in 1995 and featured the original 1985 cast. I have watched, listened to, and loved the 1985 cast since my cassette days, and wanted to see how the new cast held up in relation to the original.

(Ok. Here's where the nerdtacular stuff comes in.) After watching both editions and listening to both casts sing simultaneously via youtube videos, I came to the conclusion that I should do side-by-side comparisons of each character and the actors who portrayed them before making a final decision as to which cast I like best. As well as musical ability, each actor's physicality was taken into account, because let's face it... an amazing voice attached to a dog-like face isn't nearly as appealing as an amazing voice attached to a greek god/goddess.

 So... without further ado... the comparisons:

 -Jean Valjean- 

An excellent Jean Valjean is essential to a successful production of Les Mis, and so I must begin by saying that both Colm Wilkinson and Alfie Boe were amazing as far as their musical performances. In fact, they are both so wonderful that I didn't think I was going to be able to choose a favorite, and that I'd have to call this one a tie. Where Alfie gets extra points for having a name like Alfie (I am aware that his name doesn't influence his singing voice but these are MY comparisons and we play by MY rules), Colm Wilkinson's Sean Connery-esque voice quality holds a special place in my heart, giving him a slightly greater advantage. Physicality was nearly a toss up too, to be honest. They are both quite attractive, but if Colm won out in vocal talent, I figured Alfie deserved to win as far as appearance. 

Musicality: 1985

Physicality: 2010

-Enjolras-

 Although he may seem to be a slightly less important person in the play, Enjolras is by far my favorite character of all. His songs are epic. I listened to both Michael Maguire and Ramin Karimloo sing over and over again until I finally decided that it was impossible to choose a winner as far as musicality. I would listen to either man sing. As far as appearance, they are both serious eye candy, but Ramin's stellar dimples sealed the deal. 

Musicality: Tie

Physicality: 2010

-Eponine-

I love Eponine. If I had the talent to perform in this play, I would for sure want to be cast as Eponine. Not only is she an alto, she also gets to sing my favorite song ("A Little Fall of Rain") with Marius. Musically, I prefer Lea Salonga in this role. (She played Fantine in the 2010 cast.) Her duet with Michael Ball makes me cry every single time I listen to it. Physically, Samantha Barks dimples win out. (Seriously. I'm a sucker for dimples.)

Musicality:1985

Physicality: 2010

-Javert-

 Javert has a couple of pretty epic songs, himself. I love "Stars" but even more than that, I love "Confrontation". Musically, I definitely have to go with Philip Quast. Both men do a fabulous job, though. As far as physicality, neither of them are particularly attractive to me (Norm looks like Bill Cosby) so the winner here is the kid who played Javert in the school edition I saw at Bonneville High School a couple of years ago. Seriously. He was beautiful... jailbait... but beautiful.

Musicality: 1985

Physicality: Bonneville High School Boy

-Marius-

 We've already established that Enjolras is my young man of choice, but his fate is quite a bit more unfortunate than Marius, so I guess Marius is pretty ok too. I must say, I was impressed with Nick Jonas in this role. He's super young and as far as I know he doesn't have much experience in musical theater, so I wasn't really expecting much, but I think he did an excellent job under the circumstances. Although I admire his boldness and confidence in taking on such a difficult role, Nick's Marius didn't compare to Michael Ball. His beautiful face, however, wins him the physicality award.

Musicality: 1985

Physicality: 2010

-Thenardiers-

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Jenny Galloway plays Madame Thénardier in both versions, so no comparison is necessary. She's great. In both. 

Even though he and his wife are so awful... Thénardier brings just the right amount of comic relief to such a depressing story. Musically, Alun Armstrong is outstanding and wins my vote. Matt Lucas does pretty well, but to me the acting seemed a little over the top. Physically, they are both incredibly revolting, so it is impossible to choose a winner there.

Musicality: 1985

Physicality: N/A

Now, before I go any further, I realize that Cosette and Fantine are not included in this list. Fantine is omitted because I don't think her role is big enough to sway my opinion. Cosette is omitted because... well... I just don't like her. As a little girl, she's wonderful, but as a woman, she's obnoxious. The actors who portrayed her did a pretty ok job, but because I don't like the character, I didn't really care which one was better. 

So... the results are in. Honestly... I've spent a ridiculous amount of time making this decision. Total. Nerd. However, The 1985 Cast clearly remains my favorite, as far as musicality is concerned. (They weren't called the 'Dream Cast' for nothing) But physically, the 2010 Cast is more appealing on account of the plethora of noteworthy dimples.

If you haven't seen this show... rent it. Either version. But probably both. Soon. That is all.


Wait. That isn't all. I have one more picture... 

1985 Valjean and 2010 Enjolras. LOVE. THEM. BOTH.

Also, an epic video of Jason Segel (love) and Neil Patrick Harris (triple love) paying tribute to my second favorite Les Mis song:

NOW that is all.

-Ok... it's not quite all. Les Mis is coming to Capitol Theater at the end of May. Tickets are in super high demand and are too expensive for me... which is why I am officially accepting donations because I am DYING to go. If I am not able to raise enough money, I will be getting a copy of both the 10th and 25th Anniversary Concerts and inviting you all to an I-couldn't-get-tickets-to-see-this-show-live-so-I'm-going-to-watch-it-at-home-instead pity slash viewing party. Something to look forward to-


Seriously. THAT is all. 

Reluctant Recommendations, St. Patrick's Day, and pea plants

-Rocking some St. Patty's Day sunglasses-

Ok, Kiddos. First things first, Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all. I must admit, I haven't really been a fan of this 'holiday' since I graduated from elementary school and leprechauns stopped leaving chocolate gold coins on my desk. However, I thought I might do a little research on the significance of this day in order to better understand, and therefore obtain a greater appreciation for it. Naturally, I turned to wikipedia (where the search for all great knowledge begins--and often ends) but soon found that I'd rather just buy a bag of chocolate gold coins and save myself the trouble. I did discover something that I found to be somewhat enlightening in regards to St. Patrick's Day customs in the United States. Apparently, In the Northeastern United States, peas are traditionally planted on Saint Patrick's Day. Who would have ever guessed that March 17th would mark the birth of many a pea plant over the years! That's WAY more exciting than wearing green and drinking beer.


Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about. On to my real post topic for today... Ahem:


Reluctant Recommendations


First, a confession:


Hello. My name is Stephanie. I am 22 years old and I am proud to admit that I read books written for and marketed  to teenagers. Apparently I didn't get enough angst of my own in high school, so I delight in reading about it now. It wasn't until I was nearly finished with college that I took a Young Adult Literature class and finally realized that I wasn't the only 'adult' out there still devouring stories about teenagers with no intention of ever moving on to books for grown ups. Needless to say, it became the best class I ever had. I suppose these days, it is far more socially acceptable for adults to read tween and teen fiction, since many of the good ones have been or are currently being made into movies. Anyway, that's not really what I wanted to talk about either. (Scatterbrained AND long-winded = me)


I have found that when I tell people that I majored in English, they often react with a series of predictable questions (which I will talk about more in a later post) and then eventually get around to asking: "What are you reading? What are some good books you can recommend for me/my daughter/my son who hates reading/my dog/my pet lizard/etc.?" I LOVE this question. There is nothing I love more than to introduce new readers to my favorite books. However, in the past I have felt I had to approach this question with caution. A while back I was reading a blog post by a soon-to-be-published writer in which she outlines why she doesn't like to recommend books on her blog. She says she usually gets one of three reactions: (Blue text = stolen... ahem... quoted text)


1. I loved it too. Thanks.


2. I didn't love it. And I want my $17.95 back. And I want you to give it to me. 


This reaction is usually accompanied by pitchforks and torches. Probably because of the tough economic times out there.


3. I gave it to my teenage daughter, based on your approval of it, and it has this word in it, and we don't talk about this word ever, and we don't say this word ever, and I don't appreciate you paving my daughter's pathway to hell.


(to read the post in its entirety, including an excellent review of an exceptional book that I will be recommending later, click here. But don't forget to come back!)


I'm definitely not afraid of running into reaction number 1, and I don't even really mind getting reaction number 2, but reaction number 3 scares me a little. And also makes me laugh. a lot. 


So... at the risk of becoming a construction worker on the road to hell, I've decided to share a select few of my favorite books that I have been reluctant to recommend in the past, explain why I may have been reluctant to recommend each one, and finally, to officially recommend them. 


Official Book Recommendations 


(NOTE: Instead of ordering them from 'most favorite' to 'less most favorite' I've decided to simply list them in the order that they were published because I love them all at nearly equal levels most days, and some days I love one more than another so it is impossible to make an accurate most favorite to less most favorite list that remains accurate in general)

1. Looking For Alaska by John Green 


This book is about a boy who goes off to study at a private school and meets a girl named Alaska. 


Reasons for reluctance: language, and a couple of scenes involving this word (It starts with an 's' and makes tweenagers giggle... actually, in my experience, it still makes quite a few English students at BYU giggle, which is more than a little ridiculous.) 


All I can say is that I love this book, and that any scene that could be considered inappropriate is included and portrayed the way it is for a reason. (Here is an excellent video in which John Green himself effectively explains the content of his book that some consider inappropriate for teenagers.)

2. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green


I mentioned reading this book in an earlier post. It's about a kid named Colin who is obsessed with anagramming and only dates girls named Katherine, among other things. It is also excellent.


Reasons for reluctance: language, excessive use of math equations that threaten to make your head explode if you think about them too much, danger of spending late night hours anagramming instead of sleeping. 


Seriously, though. Don't let the graphs and math junk in the footnotes scare you away. Throughout the book, Colin is trying to come up with an equation that will predict the outcome of all relationships but believe me when I say that you don't have to understand any of the math to enjoy the book. Beware of anagramming obsessions, though. 

3. Paper Towns by John Green


I would hope that you see a pattern here. This book is about a girl who runs away, and a guy who tries to find her. Most of the time, this is my favorite of the three John Green books I have listed here. 


Reasons for Reluctance: language, I guess. Although, foul language doesn't much bother me when I'm reading. I find it pretty easy to ignore, but I know that it is something that will often turn people away from a book. Still, I definitely recommend this one.

4. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

This is a book about a girl named Anna who gets shipped off to Paris to attend an American private school. You'll notice that it was not written by John Green, but it was through a recommendation BY John Green that I discovered this book.

Reason for Reluctance: language, drinking, a little bit of this word. However, if you clicked on the link to Brodi Ashton's blog up there and read her post on this book, you've probably already stopped reading this and are on your way to the book store to pick it up... at least you SHOULD be. It could be argued that THIS is my favorite book most days. Read it. Seriously. 

So there it is. My top four reluctant recommendations. I realize that my incredibly brief descriptions don't do any of them justice and merely scratch the surface of the plots. Read them all. And then tell me what you think. If you can't buy a copy, get one at the library. If you can't get to a library, I own a copy of each and would maybe possibly consider loaning them to you, although you might have to leave a spleen on deposit (name that movie...) 

Just so y'all are aware, I don't ONLY read books with foul language, teenage drinking and sex scenes. I always enjoy a good, wholesome, cheesy Mormon romance novel. (Nope. Not afraid to admit that either) I'm always looking for a good book, so if anyone has any recommendations for me, I'd love to hear em! 

Don't forget to wear green and birth a pea plant! 

-all book cover photos were taken from amazon-

Vegas: Bringing Home What Happened + FAQs

-DISCLAIMER- I seriously worked on this post for 143214 hours (not that many hours, but too many) and I'm still not super satisfied with it. I guess sometimes the creativity is flowing and sometimes it isn't. In fact, probably the best part of the whole thing is this picture that I took and edited with picnik.com. That being said, read at your own risk. 

Ah, Las Vegas. City of Sin. What happens there often stays there - or so they say. Well, I guess I did it wrong because I brought home photographic evidence of almost everything we did, and in order to prove that there's more to having fun on the strip than... well... whatever it is people do that has to stay there, I thought I'd post about what we did that was allowed to come home with me.

But before I do, here's a list of FAQs that y'all have asked repeatedly (<--redundant) regarding my trip:

- this is less because these questions have been frequently asked and more because I often enjoy 

clicking on and reading the content of a FAQ link when visiting a website. Not only does it 

conveniently answer questions I may have, I think 'FAQ' is quite a remarkable acronym. Answers

to FAQs most often contain 'facts' which, translated into gangsta speak becomes 'faqs'. (Quick! 

Use 'faqs' in a sentence: Yo, G. The faq is mah gat be fly!) But I digress... -

Why Vegas?

           

Pft. Why NOT Vegas? Actually, it was because dad had to work at a psychiatric conference and I wanted a vacation. That, and the city was going to be full of psychiatrists, and I figured It'd be a chance to try my hand at 'Spot the Shrink on the Strip'. 

Who did you go with?

          These guys...

-the parentals outside the Bellagio-

You are 22 years old. Aren't you a little old to be vacationing in Vegas with your parents?

Maybe. But think about it this way: Would YOU turn down a free vacation? Plus... the faq is mah parents be pretty fly homies... yo.


If you didn't drink, gamble or -insertcommonVegasrelatedinappropriatebehaviorhere- than what the bleep did you DO?


           Why, I thought you'd never ask...

Here's what we bleeping did:

We got to our hotel on Wednesday night, had something to eat and went to bed. Thursday morning, dad had to work the conference, so mom and I walked down to the MGM Grand for breakfast, enjoying the empty smokeless strip. After breakfast, we visited M&M World, spending nearly 2 hours exploring all four floors of the store. They have an insane amount of M&M merchandise (most of which will neither melt in your hand OR in your mouth). They also have a short 3D movie that is... get this... FREE! 

                         -making friends with Blue-

-Waiting outside the theater, rockin' our 3D glasses-

After the movie, we spent some time in the CocaCola store, buying souvenirs, drinking Diet Coke... basically enjoying a little heaven. Dad picked us up after that on his way home from the conference, but not before we bought some show tickets for later that night (we teased dad that we were going to make him take us to Thunder from Down Under. He didn't know what that was, so he didn't really get why we thought it was so funny until we explained it to him) and stopped for a quick photo-op:

-Ironman and Me-

We stopped back at the hotel for dad to change his clothes and then visited the Wildlife Habitat in the lobby complete with these little beauties...

Flamingos! (I bet you can't guess where we stayed). While walking through the habitat, we found a couple other things to do... 

                        Like drink Flamingo spittle...                                                   and pose by a waterfall... 

Next, we drove over to Circus Circus and had lunch before walking the midway (or, the children's casino as I like to call it) and pausing to watch a few Circus acts, like these Amazing African Acrobats:

(they moved the bar even lower than that, but I failed to get video evidence. Hella. Awesome)

and also some trapeze artists (of which I don't have any photos or video because watching them swinging from the ceiling made me super nervous and I couldn't peel my eyes away long enough to get my camera out)

Leaving the children's casino, we stopped at the adult casino because this was my first trip to Vegas since becoming old enough to try my hand at a slot machine and figured I better take advantage of that. 

I'm not gonna lie... I was super upset to find that slot machines no longer take coins, and they no longer give coins, but felt a little better when I doubled my money and then some! (Granted... it was a penny slot and I only put in a dollar, but hey! Winning is winning!)

       <---   I started with this...        and left with this --->                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

That night, we saw Donny and Marie. It was FANTASTIC. I had originally wanted to see The Lion King or Phantom of the Opera, but I've seen Phantom twice, and tickets to The Lion King were more expensive, but I'm really glad we ended up where we did. Not only was it clean, both Donny and Marie are excellent performers. Seriously... If you end up in Vegas any time soon, this show is a must-see. After the show, we ordered a movie and went to sleep.

Friday morning after breakfast, dad went to work ... and mom and I went to Venice. 

-Here we are standing on a bridge overlooking the beautiful Venetian canals where we watched 

an awkward couple enjoying a Gondola ride-

After also wandering through the shops at Caesar's Palace, we were exhausted and went back to the hotel for a nap. That night, we went to Margaritaville for dinner.

-First flamingo spittle and now THIS?! Maybe mom had some things that should have stayed in Vegas- 

Now, some would argue that going to Margaritaville for the exceptional food is like claiming to choose Hooters for their exceptional hot wings... but seriously. They do make an unforgettable Cheeseburger in Paradise. They also have a pretty great patio that overlooks the strip and is perfect for watching intoxicated individuals nearly stumbling into things.  

Full of cheeseburgery goodness, we decided to spend the rest of the evening walking up and down the strip and through all of the hotels along the way: New York New York, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, and finally over to the MGM Grand where we caught the monorail back to the Flamingo. 

-Jelly Bean Statue of Liberty-

The next morning we packed up and headed home. Unfortunately for me (but probably fortunately for the parentals) I completely lost my voice and wasn't able to sing all the way home like I did the entire way there, AND we hit a killer snow storm coming into Cedar City, but overall... it was a great trip. 

So there it is. Fun in Vegas that no one has to be ashamed of (aside from the flamingo spittle)  

Oh... and one more thing... 

-another thing that probably should have stayed in Vegas-

Sorry, dad. I couldn't help myself. :) Despite my less-than-stellar presentation, I'm pretty sure none of you are ever going to look at a FAQ link the same way again... so my work here is done. I'm out, homies. And that's a faq.

The Best Date Ever

Last night I went on the best date ever. There was no uncomfortable conversation, no awkward silences, no nervousness and DEFINITELY no awful doorstep scene. In fact, I enjoyed a little hand holding, a little snuggling, and ended the night with a hug, a kiss, and an 'I love you'. Not to mention the fact that I got to spend time with one of the most handsome guys I know. Sounds perfect, right? That's because it was. 

And all because of this place...

And this guy... 

Meet Kyle. The sweetest three-year-old nephew there ever was.

We made plans at the end of last week to go to the movies on a double (turned triple) date. Kyle's parents told me that he was so excited, he woke up on Sunday morning asking if it was the day for his "bate" with Nennie. And who WOULDN'T be excited to spend an evening with me?! I am, as Kyle likes to say, the BEST. (Ok... more often than not, he is prompted to say so, but that doesn't make it any less true) 

Last night, the time for our bate had come at last. We met at the dollar theater (Kyle's mom and dad came, and I brought Megan because we didn't want little Lucas to feel like a 5th wheel) which was PACKED, despite the crappy weather, and discovered that the movie we wanted to see (Tangled) was sold out. The next showing wasn't for an hour, PLUS it was in 3D and we would have to pay and extra $2 a ticket which is ridiculous when you're only paying $0.75 each in the first place.

We had almost opted to go home and watch a movie when Kyle heard the words 'Harry Potter' and instantly decided that he wanted to see that instead. We were a little worried that Harry Potter was going to be too scary for a three-year-old, but didn't want to break the poor little guy's heart by telling him we couldn't go to the movies at all since he'd been looking forward to it for days, so we bought tickets and hoped for the best.

Kyle was so good through the whole movie, and only had to cover his eyes at a few scary parts. As each preview started, he would ask me "What movie is that?!" and glue his eyes to the screen while perching on the edge of his seat (Megan and I soon realized that he was mostly only sitting on the edge of his chair because we forgot to get him a booster seat and if he sat all the way back, the chair tried to swallow him. haha. oops) All during the movie he kept asking "What is Harry Potter doing?!","What is the bad guy doing?!", "What's that?!" and was super excited about the snake, the owl, and the dragon. He sat still mostly, except for one quick trip to the potty, or to climb on my lap or Megan's lap or to get more snacks. He even put his arm around me at one point, smiling at me and patting my back. So funny. 

Lucas was really good too, only crying a little bit, until his parents gave him some licorice that he chomped on until he looked like he'd killed and eaten a small animal by the time we left.

You can't see his blood red hands, and his face doesn't look nearly as messy in the picture as it did in reality, but how cute is he?!

Even though Kyle ate nearly half of my popcorn and helped himself to my Diet Coke, I'd definitely say it was a successful night. Here's to hoping he didn't have Harry Potter nightmares all night or too much of a sugar high from all the crap I let him eat. :) 

--SIDENOTE-- I still plan on blogging about my February Vegas trip... eventually. What with the awesome dating agenda and time-consuming bathroom remodel project going on, I just... well... haven't yet. :) 

What to do when sleep has deliberately removed itself from your list of acceptable and desirable activities to engage in during the midnight hour (and the hours that follow...)

I was going to post about my Las Vegas vacation today, but instead I’ve decided to push the schedule back a little (check that schedule-pushing power!) Anyway, I couldn’t sleep last night and discovered a couple of surprising things about myself—and my name. Here is my list of activities when sleep is not an option:

1. Play Solitaire. I downloaded the BEST solitaire app ever and have since been a little bit obsessed with the game. That being said, whenever I have trouble sleeping, I often play a few (hundred) games while winding down from the day. Ok. Maybe not THAT many, but the point is, instead of helping my brain shut down for the night, this has begun to have the complete opposite effect and when I finally DO get to sleep, I dream of flying face cards against a felt green background. Needless to say, solitaire before bed is now a no no.


2. Solve your Rubik’s Cube. Since solitaire is officially out, I figured maybe I ought to exhaust my brain power by working on my Rubik’s cube skills. Yes... I have Rubik’s cube skills. My little brother taught me to solve one a while back and we used to have solving races before he left on his mission. By the time he gets home, I hope to be able to actually WIN one of those races. :) It’s been a while, so I’m ashamed to say that my best solving time is consistently over three minutes which is unacceptable. By the time my arms were too sore to solve, it was nearly 1 am and I’d only shaved 30 seconds or so off of my solving time.


3. Read a book. I’ve been re-reading An Abundance of Katherines over the past few weeks, so after I became frustrated enough to toss the cube across the room (partly because I wasn’t solving any faster and mostly because I SITLL wasn’t a bit tired) I picked up the book and read. By the time I was finished and—you guessed it—not sleeping, it was on to my next activity.


4. Anagram. So, Colin Singleton (the main character in the book mentioned above) is this child prodigy that worries about not achieving his genius potential, but more importantly, he loves to anagram. (Seriously, this book is awesome, and I’d tell you all to go out and read it, but that’s another can of worms for my post on reluctant recommendations.) Anyway, I’ve never been all that great at scrabble, but I love word play and since I was—yes—still awake, I thought I’d see what I could do with my own name. Not only did I FINALLY find the activity that could exhaust my brain enough to sleep, I also now understand Colin’s fascination with it. Turns out ‘stephanie kenner’ is a bit of an anagramming gold mine. Who knew?! Here are some of my favorites. With commentary, of course.


- Ten keep hare inns.
           First of all, lodging for rabbits? Awesome and worthwhile profession... and probably not easy. I mean, those guys multiply pretty quickly from what I understand. But to be one of TEN? That’s just a dream come true.


- He ran in keen step.
          I’ve always said that if you’re going to run, it oughta be keenly.


- I earn the pens, Ken!
          Yeah... jeez, Ken! You better think twice if you’re going to accuse Barbie of not earning her living! I mean not only does she work as a medical doctor, animal doctor, beauty queen, rock star, princess, athlete, lifeguard, lawyer, and chef (among other things), she EARNS THE PENS!!!


- Rake pennies then!
          Seriously, next time I complain about anything, I’m gonna stop and think about how it could be worse. You don’t want to exercise, Stephanie? You don’t want to do the dishes or your laundry? Well why don’t you rake pennies then?!?!


- Kneepants! In here!
          Britches, I’ve been looking for you all day. Are you telling me you’ve been in here the whole time?!


- In the sneaker pen.
          Hey, fellas. Has anybody seen my new pair of chucks?
         I’m pretty sure they’re in the sneaker pen where you left them.


- Spank teen in here.
          ... I better stop before things get out of hand.








... in other news, my phone keeps turning on Bluetooth without my permission today and I can’t figure out how to make it stop. Blasted technology.