The Return of the Looney

Whoah.

Word on the street: Ryan Looney is back in Provo for the week.

I would like you to meet some of human race's finest.

THE LOONEYS

Megan: My other half. (No, but seriously). We are both leaving to serve missions this summer and I am painfully concerned about my life without this beautiful girl. The master of pizookie (another addition to an excellent wife resume) and the most loyal friend I've ever had.

Ryan: A smoldering, handsome beast. All that is man. Die-hard Lakers fan (barf), but we get past that. The looks of a warrior, the heart of a gentleman.

One of my most prized possessions is the Party With Looney t-shirt Megan gave me on my 21st birthday.

I collapsed on the ground and shed some tears when I opened it. I tried to get my paws on one of those shirts for MONTHS.

8 lessons I've learned from the Looney fam:

1. If you eat healthy, you live happy.

2. If you want to do something, do it. And do it right.

3. Do something new/outside of your comfort zone every day.

4. Crunch time is game time baby.

5. Don't stress the small stuff.

6. Sometimes food tastes better if you pick it apart, piece by piece.

7. You would be surprised how little you actually need to sleep in order to get by.

8. Play hard.

For a blissful moment yesterday afternoon I was in a Looney sandwich and I realized life doesn't get much better.

The greatest honor of life:

A stranger asking if I'm related to a Looney.

Yeah. Everybody wants to be a Looney.

Mein Deutsch

Where I'm heading in the fall:

The Alpine German-speaking mission

All of Austria, the Eastern half of Switzerland, and Southeastern Germany.

Also Lichtenstein... which I didn't know existed until about a month ago. Apparently it's a tiny little country with a total population of about 35,000. It lies right between Austria and Switzerland.

HEYYO! You learned something new today.

I would like to share with you the litte bits of German that I have learned so far:

1. Danke Schön, which means "Thank you very much."

So, thank you Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (the parade scene- if you haven’t seen this movie you need to get your priorities straight, my friend. See below).

A friend recently informed me that Dankeschön is not pronounced “Danka-shane.”

(The dancing, glasses and hair styles at the end of this scene are superb.)

2.My Nana taught me “Ich liebe dich,” which means, “I love you.”

3. Nick Purse taught me:

"Das ist mein Koffer"

Translation: "That is my luggage."

4. Courtesy of Maddie Gallagher:

“I come from America”

“Ich komme aus Amerika”

5. Sarah Gerard taught me:

"Der Hund ist grün"

Translation: "That dog is green."

6.And last, but certainly not least, Garrett Tenney taught me

"Claire ist unter den Tisch," which means, "Claire is under the table."

Once in Germany I will calmly claim my luggage, point out any green dogs I see, let everyone know that I come from America, crawl under a table to let people know that I am, in fact, under a table and whisper “I love you” to passing strangers.

Something like this.

And some final infinite wisdom from Ferris Bueller:

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Tchüss!!

Salute the Sun

Watch this. I promise it will put you in a good mood, or at least leave you aching for a vacation. Video cred: Lindsay Pike

(Please disregard the fact that it's a Corona sponsored music vid haha)

Ahhh, yes.

The long haul of ghostly white skin and extra puffiness from the holidays carries on. But alas, the sun comes out again and I realize that I can finally rid myself of the pastiness that has cursed my body for so long.

Yes, there is hope for the world.

Quest to be a Real Lady

This past Christmas my dear Mother gave me a book entitled

How to be a Lady.

Ladies and gentleman, if this gift isn't screaming Lou Ann Pingree, then I don't know what is.

Apparently she thinks I need some help in that area. After first opening the book to read,

"A lady never dickers over the bill,"

I thought:

1. What does that even mean?

2. Who writes this stuff?!

I turned to the next page with hope that more of this book would be more applicable, only to read,

"A lady knows when it is acceptable to drink through a straw."

Wait, seriously?

Today's tip on How to be a Lady:

"A Lady is always ready before her first guest arrives. She does not answer the door in her robe or half made-up."

(Judging that I answered the door last night all ready for bed in a tall-tee and a freshly washed face... I figured this was appropriate to work on for now)

Grace Kelly, help a sister out.

"A lady's courtesies, the high esteem in which she holds herself and others, and her sincere words of praise and thoughtfulness will reflect her strong values and place her ahead in the minds and hearts of those who know her. Being thought of as a 'lady' may be one of the highest compliments a woman can receive in life."

Thank you Brooks Brothers and Mama Pingree.

Bucket List

The Summer Bucket List

1. Hike the Y (True confession of a BYU Student... I've never been before)

2. Ride tandem bikes

3. Have a lovely picnic

4. Make homemade ice cream

5. Go to the rope swing

6. Denver roadtrip

7. Go to as many concerts as possible

8. Camping/star gazing

9. Slip-n-slide

10. Have a mud football game

11. Sleep outside (even if that means sleeping on our front dinky little lawn... or better yet... the Avenues' roof [suggestion by my wonderful roommate Maddykins])

12. Go to lunch with each of my grandmothers in Salt Lake

13. Krispy Kreme dumpster diving (they throw out their extras by the boxfull)

14. Sidewalk chalk

15. Spend the day as a kid (wear kid inspired clothing, eat kid food, do kid

activities, watch childhood movies)

15. BBQ

16. Spend some quality time on a rooftop

17. Visit the Provo farmer’s market on a saturday morning

18. Baseball games

19. Travel to the island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake (Jake claims they have antelope or some strange animal on this baby island... I don’t believe it)

20. Rodeo

21. Visit the Salt Lake Temple during the day

22. Eat popsicles on our stoop

23. Visit an antique store

Other goals:

1. Do my hair, wear shoes, do homework and be indoors as LITTLE as possible.
2. Eat as much Yogurtland, go to the pool and bike instead of a driving as MUCH as possible.
3. Go to the temple at least once a week.
4. Finish the Book of Mormon again.

In conclusion,

I’m just a little Niña ready to get her American wiggles out

before heading off to Europe for 18 months.

Back to the blog

Well, here it goes.

I have been resisting the blog world for some time now, justifying my absence with the excuse of a mission call. I will be leaving to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 18 months, so why start a blog now?

I finally caved in this Sunday on a rainy day in Provo that reminded me of cozy, foggy days in London town. I hopped online to read the blog that Staley, Looney and I kept of our life in England. I realized that the blog was a much better journal than any of the pathetically short entries I wrote in my own journal.

So, in my efforts to do as many summery activities as possible before I leave, I will be documenting through this blog.

Tschüss!