A HOME!!!

WE HAVE A HOME!!!!!!!

After weeks of searching and feeling lost and confused, we have FOUND A HOME!

YAY CARL!

Our new residence is right on Center and Main in Springville. It's a great and spacious 3-bedroom, with free heat and water and parking, and holy cow. We are so blessed. It's going to be fantastic. And hey, we'll have two extra bedrooms. Awesome opossums.

In other news, I took my 4 finals today (one left for tomorrow, which I'm mostly determined to not bother with). It was super stressful, and I'm SO glad they're over. I took Land Use Planning/Urban Design, then Beginning Soils/Soil Chemistry, then Ecology, and then Grammar of the English Language. And then we went house shopping and I started applying for the TESOL program here at BYU.

Oh boy.

So anyway, funtimes.

LOVE!

interesting...

Taken from The "Silent Majority No More."

Which party is more corrupt? Maybe you’ve seen lists. The National Taxpayer’s Union has a pretty good list http://www.ntu.org/main/press.php?PressID=343.

The NTU’s gripe, though, is not which party is more corrupt, but that Congressmen who are convicted felons continue to collect their very generous congressional pensions.
The NTU’s list is of “Members of Congress Who Were Convicted of or Pled Guilty to Major Offenses, 1992-1999.” NTU staffers had to compile the list from Washington Post archives and Congressional Quarterly Yearly Almanacs. (It takes real work to compile an apples-to-apples, fair list.) Here is that list:

* Nick Mavroules (D-MA). Tax evasion, accepting illegal gratuity, 1992.
* Albert Bustamante (D-TX). Racketeering, 1993.
* Carroll Hubbard (D-KY). Fraud and corruption, 1994.
* Carl Perkins (D-KY). Fraud, 1994.
* Charlie Rose (D-NC). Agreed to pay fine for financial disclosure irregularities, 1994.
* Larry Smith (D-FL). Tax evasion, 1994.
* Dave Durenberger (R-MN). Financial disclosure misdemeanor, 1995.
* Walter Fauntroy (D-DC Delegate). Financial disclosure misdemeanor, 1995.
* Gerald Kleczka (D-WI). Convicted of DWI, 1987. Arrested for DWI, 1990 and 1995.
* Mel Reynolds (D-IL). Sexual misconduct, 1995.
* Walter Tucker (D-CA). Extortion, 1995.
* Charles Wilson (D-TX). Agreed to pay fine to Federal Election Commission, 1995.
* Joe Kolter (D-PA). Fraud and conspiracy, 1996.
* Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL). Mail fraud, 1996.
* Wes Cooley (R-OR). Lying about war record in official voter pamphlet, 1997.
* Jay Kim (R-CA). Campaign finance violations, 1998.
* Mary Rose Oakar (D-OH). Financial disclosure irregularities, 1998.
* Austin J. Murphy (D-PA). Voter fraud, 1999.

By my count: 15 Democrats, 3 Republicans. Since then, we can add James Traficant (D-OH) and Randall Cunningham (R-CA). Call the score 16 to 4, Democrats leading.

That would make Democrats 4 times (or 300%) more corrupt than Republicans.

If you have a better list, contact (randall.hoven@gmail.com). But please, make sure the list is apples-to-apples.The NTU’s list, for example, is only among US Congressmen and only for convictions of or guilty pleas to major offenses.

how BYU are you?

I stole it from Chilleh.

How BYU are you?

77 questions.

[X] You have been kissed at lease once
[_] Your first kiss was on campus
[X] You've had a boyfriend/girlfriend
[x] You lived in the dorms your freshman year
[x] You went to Homecoming or Preference
[x] You hiked the Y
[_] You've taken a social dance class
[x] You regularly attended FHE for at least a semester (I was the FHE mom, I had to)
[x] You've participated in Choose to Give
[_] You've been to Liberty Square for a party at least once
[x] You've driven around south of campus for at least 20 minutes trying to find a parking spot
[_] You know the cougar fight song
[x] You've crossed the crosswalk without using the flags or biked through a red light
[x] You've been to Friday Night Live
[_] You've performed or witnessed an act that made it onto Police Beat
[_] You've been on a "date" to the bell tower or duck pond
[x] You've been to the Bean Museum for FHE
[X] You've been to Divine Comedy
[x] You've been to International Cinema
[x] You are engaged
[_] You are married
[_] ...in the temple
[_] You were previously engaged/married
[_] You have kids or are expecting kids
[X] Your birth parents are still married (trick question there, I'm counting it)
[X] ...in the temple
[x] You have at least three siblings
[_] You've taken a marriage prep or relations class
[x] You've taken at least one religion class that is not based on the scriptures
[X] You have slept on a couch in a restroom
[X] You have been to the BYU Creamery
[_] You have been in one of the BYU choirs
[_] You've been on a date to Fat Cats
[X] You have read Twilight
[X] ...book 2
[x] ...book 3
[x] ...book 4
[x] ...seen the movie
[x] ...more than once
[_] You've waited in line at the Bookstore for the Harry Potter or Twilight book premiere
[X] You have seen The Singles Ward or Sons of Provo
[_] You have walked out of a movie you found morally reprehensible
[X] You know where the "chastity line" is
[X] You can finish the phrase "Nothing good happens after ______"
[_] You read the Daily Universe at least 3x a week
[_] ...and it's the only newspaper you read
[x] You've personally known someone who was reported to the Honor Code Office
[_] You've participated in or watched a Mr. BYU contest
[X] You've received personal revelation that he/she is "the one" (or been told this)
[X] ...and told him/her about your revelation (or been told this)
[_] ...and then they rejected you (or rejected them)
[_] You've been to the Nickelcade
[_] You've been to Classic Skating
[X] You've ignored your parents' phone calls for at least 3 days
[_] ...and then they called the University Police
[X] You've been pulled over by the University Police
[x] You watch The Office religiously
[x] You mostly wear jeans and t-shirts or plain fitted shirts
[_] You own at least 3 things from American Eagle or Hollister
[_] Your sacrament meeting is a fashion show/scam session
[_] You've been on a date to the Provo River

You've kissed in a...
[X] ...campus parking lot
[_] ...Provo Canyon or Squaw Peak
[_] ...on temple grounds
[X] ...on a couch as soon as your roommates left the room
[X] You think UVU is not a real university
[_] You hate U of U with a passion

FOR GIRLS (don't answer if you're a guy)
[_] You own knee-length shorts
[X] You regularly wear camisoles/undershirts for modesty reasons
[_] You are a MFHD, RMYL, Elementary Education, or Exercise Science Major
[_] Your major crush ended up dating a MFHD, RMYL, Elementary Education, or Exercise Science major
[x] You have had at least one roommate who is in hair or dental school
[_] You own The Italian Job or The Princess Bride
[X] You wear makeup at least 3x a week
[x] You do something with your hair (other than brush it/ponytail) at least 3x a week
[_] You went or plan on going on a mission
[_] ...because you couldn't get married


FOR GUYS (don't answer if you're a girl)
[_] You shave every (or almost every) morning
[_] You know when your hair is "too long"
[_] You know what the "divide by 2 and add 7" dating rule is
[_] ...and you follow it
[_] You've dated freshmen girls as a RM
[_] ...when you already knew better
[_] You've used the phrase "On my mission..." to a girl
[_] At least 3 girls have baked cookies or meals for you
[_] You went or plan on going on a mission
[_] ...because you wanted to get married

TOTAL:

A: 68-77
B: 60-67
C: 53-66
D: 45-52
F: 44 or below

Just barely got a 44. Oh well.

bridal shower! woo!!1

So, just finished my bridal shower. It went from 7:30 to about 11:30, mostly because of gabbing. You know.

We played a game where I had to guess the answers to a whole bunch of questions about Carl, which Carl had answered. Some of them I thought were a little lame, such as the one that asked for 3 things that made him happy, and The Blazers didn't count. Lame-o. Because obviously besides me and writing, the Blazers... yeah. Oh well. I ended up mostly winning. Ones I got wrong: his favorite poem, his favorite author, and who he wants to be like in his career, or whatever.

A good one was when they asked if he wanted a pet, and if so, what kind. My answer was that he didn't really want a pet but that he would let me have a cat. They let me have it even though the answer didn't say he would let me have a cat.

So, we opened presents. My aunt L gave me a toaster oven and honey, inspired by how much toast I eat. It's hard because her daughter is Celiac, and so I'm afraid to eat anything lest it is made with some obscure kind of flour or whatever. So I just eat toast with honey, all the time. So that was nice.

My uncle Bob sent me all the tumblers we registered for, and my aunt A gave me almost every bamboo thing I asked for (no cutting boards). My friends L2 and B gave me a gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond; N gave me some fun massage oils (!!! I have always wanted these!). M gave me handmade ceramic cereal bowls, and C gave me a bunch of cookie cutters (YAY!!! sweet cookie action!!!). My grandma got this giant wok, which looks super fantastic. And then, some of my married friends gave me... other things. :^P

Can I just say, pulling out progressively smaller lingerie from an "It's a Girl!" baby gift bag with your grandmother watching is an experience no true woman should go without.

So, yeah. Funtimes. I mostly had to write this down just so I could remember. It was a good time.

new job, w00t w00t

So, my life at the EPA has gotten me somewhere! I was just accepted to help run the Utah Recycling Coalition, along with one of my best friends. I'm really excited to do everything I can to help the cause.

I guess I should explain some stuff, because I'm kind of an anomaly and I know it. Yes, I have been the chairman of the BYU College Republicans, yes, I have started conservative newspapers and written conservative articles for political reviews, and yes, I am an Environmental Science major. I'm also one of the few in my major who bothers to wear shoes. :^D

You know, I've read the studies and I've thought about it a lot. I don't believe in global warming, I believe it is a hype created by fascists who realize that war is no longer enough of a motivator to hold the American people together. I believe environmental scares are being used intentionally to take away American rights.

At the same time, I know that for a fact, a whole lot of things we do are not sustainable. For example, a personal issue is landfills. I hate them. Hence the strange recycling obsession. But it's not about global warming for me: it's about that paper in landfills compresses, and buildings on top of them collapse and kill everyone inside. It's about the methane gas that's released from landfills which hurts the innocent people around. It's about the fact that newspapers from a hundred years ago put in a landfill can still be read today if you dig them up. This is what we need to do: recycle our papers, plastics, metals, and glass, and for the rest, we should be introducing microbes to the landfill sites to break down the OM and returning it to the soil.

Amen.

Also, I firmly believe that there are way not enough conservatives out there who understand the mechanisms of the natural world--and there are certainly almost no politicians who understand the earth. In my ideal world, I would be one to set people straight as far as environmental policy. It's hard, because even at the most conservative university in the US, the eSci program is 98% flaming lib, but I know it's worth it, because I know I care. And the world needs more informed people who care.

So, that's my deal. I am head over heels excited to be up with the Utah Recycling Coalition. Maybe I'm crazy, but there we go.

insomnia moments

Last night, I was up tossing and turning from 11 pm to basically 4, and then I woke up at 5, 6, 6:20, 6:40, 7, 7:20, and 7:40. Yeah, lame.

Tonight I was asleep by 10 pm, but now it's just barely 1 am and I feel like it's impossible to go back to sleep. I don't even know what to do with myself. Gah. Anyone got an Ambien lying around????

stress

Hey everyone, happy Stress Week!

Things have been intense lately, hence the lack of bloggage. Suffice it to say, school + finals + projects + presentations + work + wedding prep = not a recipe for chillin.

But aw, I came out to my car yesterday to find that Carl had left me roses in the front seat from when he'd borrowed my car earlier. What a sweetheart. And even though this week is set to be a little torturous, well, hey: it's just a week. Then ten days at home, then Carl comes to MD for a few days, and then we're married. Happy day.

Anyway...

slowly and surely....

getting there...


SOILS 282:
-answer all remaining hw questions
-study for final!

LAND USE PLANNING:
-study for final!

ECOLOGY:
-finish paper, turn in
-learn everything from the past 2 months from the ppt presentations because I only do crosswords in there
-Study for final!

GRAMMAR:
-learn everything I have no idea about yet
-practice sentences like a fiend

SOIL CONSERVATION:
-study madly for the final

WEDDING STUFF:
-order marriage license
-get temple recommend signed by stake president
-bridal shower

future long post!

Hey guys! At some point, a post has to happen in like 12 million parts. I have about 12 million things to say, including items about my bridals, a weird dream I had about Michelle Obama, Thanksgiving, and some other things. But today I don't have the time.

Here is what I need to do before finals:

SOILS 282:
-answer all remaining hw questions
-evaluate the course
-turn in hw
-study for final!

LAND USE PLANNING:
-study for final!

ECOLOGY:
-finish paper, turn in
-learn everything from the past 2 months from the ppt presentations because I only do crosswords in there
-Study for final!

GRAMMAR:
-learn everything I have no idea about yet
-practice sentences like a fiend
-turn in hw sheet
-turn in Like sheet
-present on Harry Potter v. Twilight. Funtimes

SEMINAR:
-Done! Hooray!!

SOIL CONSERVATION:
-argue that I shouldn't be graded on homework... cuz I haven't done any
-study madly for the final
-finish up our soil key

WEDDING STUFF:
-order marriage license
-get temple recommend signed by stake president
-bridal shower

Oh boy.

If I can just make it until the 17th. Then I will fly away to Maryland and be fine. 17th. That's like 2 more weeks. I can do it. Seriously.