sneaky, sneaky...

Now I was a really good kid when I was little. I was the responsible one, didn't cause too much trouble, and was always concerned about not worrying my parents. One day, however, I thought I would switch it up. Not quite sure why.

My mom usually woke me up in the mornings by turning on the light and saying, "Malia, it's time to get up." I would usually get up the first time she called, if not the first, then at least the second. This one particular morning took place during my sleeping bag phase. I was probably in third or fourth grade. We had just purchased sleeping bags and didn't use them nearly enough so I slept in mine on top of my bed. It was silky.

One morning my mom came into my room and did the usual, flipped on the light, "Malia, it's time to get up." I heard her but didn't move. She came in again and did the same thing. I didn't move. She left. Then I started thinking, "it would be really funny to make my parents think that I had run away or was kidnapped." So I sneaked out of my sleeping bag and buried myself in my closet, in the toy chest, underneath all of my stuffed animals.

My mom came into my room, a little more upset this time that I wasn't listening to her and walked up to my bed this time. She moved the blankets and sleeping bag around and found that I wasn't there. She started to look in the other rooms. Didn't find me there. She went back to the bed. Still wasn't there. She went to the closet but didn't look well enough. She started to panic at this point and called to my dad. I figured out that they might look in the closet again so I had better move. I moved into another room just in time to see them both go into my bedroom to look for me yet again. Once more, they came up empty handed. They moved onto another part of the house and I decided that it would be really funny to pretend to have been in my sleeping bag the whole time.

So I ducked back into my room and jumped into my sleeping bag. I started to hear the rising panic in my parents voice so I started to make some noise so that they would find me in my room. Needless to say, they found me. And yeah, I got in trouble...

time waster

I am the biggest time waster! I should be packing for my trip as I have ZERO time tomorrow. BUT for the last 1.5 hours I have been trying on clothes, dancing around in my swimming suit, and trying on sunglasses. Come on! Get it together!

Not to mention the fact that I actually took the time to write this post....seriously, folks.

what's in a name?

You Are Powerful and Determined

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

once upon a time...

new years in the city

Here are a few quick pictures from my New Year's Eve and New Year's celebration. Good friends. Good fun! What more could you ask for? (Ok, fine...my family, but that's it! Actually, I can think of something else that I would have liked....but that's another post.)




Picture break at the dance party. The one in the glasses is Tony. He was the mastermind of this Progressive Party. (friend, eric, malia, tony, jeff)







Dance party!!! (eric, malia)

Waiting for 2009...I know it looks like Eric and I came to the party together, but that's not the case. We just happened to be by each when people took pictures. I actually came with Christian who was visiting from Utah and at the time of this photo, texting his life away. (eric, malia, christian--texting)

Sharing a bottle of my favorite bubbly...Martinellis. I'm in this picutre, I swear. My hands are the ones in the left under Eric's. I'm trying to catch some of the fizziness that was spilling over onto the floor. (malia, eric, jason, tony, sara)

devyn and tami at a diner for brunch. tami flew out from cali. devyn flew out from chicago. they went to times square for new years, the crazies!



christian, malia, eggs benedict

after brunch we had another full day of play which included hot chocolate at godiva, cupcakes at crumbs, "the tale of despereaux", indian food at tandoori, and then hanging out at home.

sarah came out from cali this weekend too. it was fun to have her back. nyc misses her! i miss her!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

snl--lawrence welk

This is probably one of my all time favorite SNL skits. Everytime I watch it, I laugh my head off. It's now a family favorite.

2009 is mine!

I don't know about you, but I am thrilled to be starting a new year. While this 2008 was significantly better for me than the year previous, I feel like I made a lot of STU-PID mistakes and I'm just ready to start over. In November, I started to really reflect on my life and the areas that I wanted to change or focus on. The list became longer and longer as the weeks went by but my enthusiasm remained the same. I feel that in so many ways and in so many areas, I am the one that is holding me back. Sure I am subject to situations and the actions of others, but I am the one that reacts. I am the one who decides.

And so with a week of 2009 behind me, I am proud to report that I am still excited, still motivated, and still ready to see the change. My theme for the year (Sarah Swensen got me thinking about themes) is DISCIPLINE and I am bound and determined to see it through. Yay for goals! Yay for potential! Yay for moving on and letting go!

don't cry over spilt milk...just pray

The other morning I was rushing to get ready and thought that I would eat my breakfast while checking email on my laptop. As I was logging into my account, my hand seemed to flail out in front of me, hit my full glass of milk and I watched in horror as it spilled across the keyboard and began to disappear into the keys. The computer screen quickly faded into a murky black and I sat there, paralyzed. A few precious seconds passed by before my brain connected to my hands, telling them to get that computer out of the milky puddle. I cleared off the desk in a flash, grabbed some towels and flipped the computer upside down. I did my best to dry the thing off but milk continued to seep out of the keys every time I pressed one of them.

If you know me, I never have any luck with technology. Just a few months previous my flash drive, literally containing my life (work, church, personal, thousands of pictures), suddenly was no longer recognized on any computer that I plugged it into. I was lucky enough that I found a company that specialized in recovering data, but you get the point. So here I was with a soaking computer and zero money to replace it. I tipped it on it's side, dismantled as much as I could, and placed a fan in front of it on my way out. I prayed long and hard that day that it would work when I got home.

Later that night as I returned from the evening's activities, I found my computer exactly where I had left it. I flipped it over and tried the power button. Nothing. I pressed all of the keys then tried the power button. Nothing. It was time to take it apart. I got out my screwdriver and started to remove the different panels. I cleaned every piece that I could, removed dust and dirt where I found it, and then put the thing back together again. But before I tried the power button, I bowed my head one last time and begged Heavenly Father to let it work because I didn't have any other option. After I opened my eyes I took a deep breath and pushed that power button once more. To my relief, the familiar hum and power on sound of the computer filled the air. It was music to my ears...but more importantly, a direct answer to prayer and a kind blessing from Heaven.