Mesa, AZ

I guess I didn't know what I expected Mesa to be. Kind of deserty. Really hot. Well, it is kind of deserty, but more green than I expected. It is hot, but not as hot as it will be in a few months, I'm sure. I love the palm trees and the orange trees and the stucco houses with the clay roofs. And the fact that everyone has swimming pools. I told Carly that like one person in Mountain Home has a swimming pool. I guess I could get used to it here...

The Higginson's have been great too. I love it when you visit someone's home, and you just feel automatically comfortable. I feel that the Higginsons could be my second family.

Not too many stories this week. I can remember laughing a lot though... like when Mallory called said we were on "the road trip from hell" after missing about 5 turn off's before we actually were headed in the right direction... or this morning when Carly hung her bacon out of her mouth, put her hands up to her head giving herself moose antlers, and turned to Dave. That was great. Dave was so confused. Or when Dave told Carly she had a dusty old uterus. Good times.

That's it. I will think of you as I lay by the pool, sipping lemonade.

My Latin Lover

"What are your plans for this weekend?"

"Let me check." I look at my agenda. "Nothing."

(Aside: For those of you who don't know, I actually have no life right now. As in, I have no job, no actual place to live, and no school. It makes scheduling quite easy and, in reality, nonexistent.)

Fast-forward to Friday night. The scene is a dark dance floor with a disco ball and colored lights. There are about five couples on the dance floor, including one of my home teachers. Small world. Anyway, then there's Liel and me on the sidelines. I've never actually been Latin dancing, so she's teaching me all the steps: bachata, merengue, cumbia, salsa, etc.

As the night progresses, the club slowly starts to fill up. Kira gave each of us a warning to stay away from the old creepy men, so Liel and I did our share of turning guys down. (Which actually made me feel horrible. It got better as the night went on.)

Then it happens. I look across the dance floor and see a tall, dark, handsome young man. Our eyes meet, and I begin to melt. I've never seen such beautiful eyes. We begin walking towards each other, and meet in the middle of the dance floor. He puts his arm firmly around my waist, and we begin to dance like there's no one in the room but us. We hold each other close and I giggle as he whispers sweet-nothings in my ear, in Spanish. The song ends, but we don't notice. We just keep dancing... I just don't want to let him go.

And reality sets in. There was no real Latin lover. I couldn't even write about my fake lover any longer because I was starting to gag a little bit. I haven't found him. Yet. There are still a lot of Fridays left. Who knows what could happen.

Overall, it was a really fun experience. I sweat a lot, moved my hips a lot (they were actually sore afterward)... but I have yet to get used to running into other people whilst dancing. It didn't seem to bother anyone else. Liel told me it bothers me because I'm American. That makes sense.

P.S. Louis, I know you changed my playlist.

I really do want to write something profound, honest.

Haha, I'm just sitting here waiting for an idea to come about which I could write. I've had a few, but they're lame. It's kind of ironic - now that I actually have time to write in my blog, I have nothing to write about.

What I do lately is wake up, read, do some sort of exercise, read, get ready, make dinner, read, attend siblings' extracurricular activities, sleep, repeat. It's not too intellectually stimulating. Maybe it's because I've been reading the book "Body for Life: for Women." I've been thinking lately that I want to start lifting weights at the gym, but I have a fear of becoming this:



So I just usually end up going back to the elliptical, my trusty friend. Thus, this book's purpose is to help me get better workout ideas, without ending up looking like a female Arnold Schwarzenneger. Have I justified my reading of the book yet? If not, oh well. I'll start on Twilight next week (jk).



Lilacs. My mom and I were at Wal-Mart and these guys came up to her asking her where they could find lilacs. She told them they weren't to be found in a store, but that she could get some from my grandma's house for them if they'd like. So they exchanged numbers, in order to successfully coordinate the lilac delivery. Well, it turns out they got the lilacs on their own. I still hold that they were simply hitting on her (I mean, my mom is pretty hot), but she insists they weren't. It's funny, for the record. I'm waiting for her to get a text from one of them (any plans for tonight?).



Allergies. They stink. I have them. That's about it.

Well, sorry I couldn't come up with anything profound. That was just a journey inside the mind of Anna (a little ADD, I know). So that was worth it, eh?

My Family

They are weird. I could stop at that sentence, but perhaps I'll continue to explain. Tonight was my lil bro's birthday party, so my mom decided to put on some music. I can't even remember what it was... something like my dad's jazz/pop music from the early 90's. Death. Anyway, I tried to look for something that wouldn't offend the kids' ears too much, and found some "top hits" CD including Sheryl Crow and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, which was the best I could find. However, my dad has a multiple-disc CD player, and after that CD we got into some 70's party music. Need I say more? Yes, my front room turned into a disco. "Hot Stuff" came on and my dad said "This is mom's theme song," to which I scoffed, but then turned to my mother and saw her nodding her head. Next thing I know they're in the middle of the floor gettin' down. As soon as I figure out how to download the video, it will be posted to the blog. Words alone just simply can't describe the scene that passed before me. And yes, I love them. I plan on doing the same thing to my kids.



My mom begged me not to do this... but I couldn't hep muhsef.

Curve Balls

Lately I've had to come to a conclusion. For the most part, I think I expect my life to turn out as planned, or at least how I think it should go. I mean, I realize that there are some things you can't plan, but I'd like to think there are some things you can generally count on. Death and taxes, right? Is that really all I can count on? I realize that I can make a general plan, but I have to realize that the ball might not come straight down the middle, ya know? It seems to be I get thrown more curve balls than anything. And I feel like they keep hitting me in the stomach and knocking the breath out of me. It's actually an analogy I heard at Women's Conference (I don't usually come up with baseball analogies on my own). If you're not expecting curve balls, they will catch you off guard every time. However, if you're ready, you might actually be able to hit them and not end up with multiple injuries! So, what am I doing with my life? Being patient. It will all work out.

California Dreamin'

Okay, this isn't actually a picture of a beach in California, but it looks really enticing. And I'm sure there are equally as enticing beaches in California too, right? Anyway, ever since planting the idea in my head of going to California, it keeps sounding more and more wonderful. I've been to California twice before, and loved it both times. Plus, I already know I love Kaci. And I know I love the SSUUUUNNNNNNNNNNN!!!! I'm going for sure. Even if I don't have a job. Woohoo! Update on plans to follow...

Those Who Don't Try Never Look Foolish

Yes, I am borrowing my title from the extremely popular musical "Wicked." Could it be because I went and saw it last week and still can't get the words out of my mind... who can say? At any rate, there are a lot of good quotes from that musical. I'm wondering if President Monson will quote it also at the next general conference... I'm sure he enjoyed it, anyway.

SO.......................................... about MEXICO. So, I guess the swine flu decided to become an epidemic and ruin my summer vacation/study abroad. Not that I'm bitter. So now I'm trying to figure out what to do for the next 7 weeks. I contemplated using my plane ticket to go somewhere almost equally as fun like Europe or Hawaii... but the idea of traveling by myself didn't sound that fun... or safe. Then I got the idea of going and living with one of my very very best friends (Miss Kaci Trujillo) in California. This has a lot of perks:
1. Living 5 minutes away from the beach
2. I can still practice my espanol
3. AND eat delicious Mexican food
4. I mean, it's practically Mexico, right?
5. I get to live with Kaci Trujillo (the most funnest amazingest girl ever)
6. I can use incorrect grammar (as demonstrated in #5) and get away with it, as I won't be in school. I don't got nothin' to worry about if I ain't in school, right?
7. I'm going to be 5 minutes away from the beach... did I mention that?
8. Sweet tan
9. California boys
10. California Dreamin'
11. Hotel California
12. Dani California
13. Do you know the way to San Jose?
14. I left my heart in San Francisco
15. Yes, I'm listing random songs about California now. I figure if a state has so many songs written about it, it has to be cool, right? (That's my rationale with Texas also.)

Back to "those who don't try never look foolish." That's my new creed... well, not actually. It's more like an anti-creed. Sometimes I think that I don't want to try new things like writing a book because it might be bad, or people won't like it, or whatever. That's a dumb reason not to try something. As we learned from "Meet the Robinson's," you can celebrate failure as a learning experience (also, don't do drugs... or if you do, go into Disney animation). So my plan is to write something that is just as or more popular than Twilight (I'm starting with small goals, and working my way up). However, I want it to actually have depth and meaning and help people become better... or something equally as idealistic. I don't know if that's possible. I'll try though (and perhaps look foolish).