Yes, the NO NO! Works! And Now you Know

Ok, it's official: after this post, I'm no longer going to talk about how amazed I am by how much time has passed, how long it's been since I've written, blah blah blah, and a couple more blahs for good measure. It's strange, cuz blog writing is so damn cathartic, and yet, I like for mine to have some clever central idea to them that's supplemented by sub-themes, and... we're back to the blah. Anyway, in a blog I used to love to read called "The Mormon Child Bride," the author had something she called 'No Delete Thursdays,' where she would just write stream-of-consciousness style, which allowed her to say whatever she wanted, however she wanted, no censoring. Now THAT'S catharsis. Well, I'm not going to assign a day to it, but I think I might just have random posts where I just talk about whatever comes to mind- a hodgepodge of hindsight, if you will. Or won't. Blah.

So it's still January, which means I can still post my list of resolutions with the hope that they'll still be, well, resolved. However, this year I decided that I didn't want to just blast into the new year- I want to remember how I got this far in the first place. I think too often, it's easy to say that "nothing interesting really even happened." And if we don't write it down, share it, keep it alive, then it sort of didn't. So without further ado...

 Notable Experiences/Accomplishments of 2013:

·      *   I returned from my mission to the D.R.

·        * "Dated" a smart alecky Asian guy that I called the Panda Gangster

·       *  I worked at Home Depot, where I learned more about flowers and plants than I'd ever know before. I worked my first ever graveyard shift

·       *  I passed the CBEST test on the first try

·      *   I moved to another state (Washington)

·      *   I worked at JC Pennys for a grand total of 2 weeks in the shoe dept.

·       *Visited my friend Jessi-crotch in Twin Falls, Idaho, where we went on hikes, explored caves, jumped in a canal, went to a secret swimming hole, oh yeah, and on the way there, my Greyhound bus broke down in the wilderness

·      *  Got a job at Vivint, a call center, and was part of the first group that worked there.

·         *Got a sorta promotion as the first Spokane scheduler at Vivint

·         *Was in a play for the LL Community Theatre called “Well-Written” as the character Christine

·        * Tried the HCG diet for the first time; lost 30 lbs

·       *  Applied for the Teach for America program; was not accepted

·         *Gave 4 talks in church

·        * Got to go to a lake house in the summer with the whole family

·         Went to Silverwood theme park with the aunt, uncle, and cousins

·        * Became involved with the Speaking Partners program and have been speaking almost once-a-week with my partner from Mexico

·       *  Went on a Santa cruise

·      *We got a cat named Willie

·     *    I was called at church to be the teacher of the 4 year old CTR class

·      *   I wore pants to church

         *   Bought my first smartphone

·       Now THAT'S a year! And I was one of the fools who thought not much had happened! That's not even everything; I did some light editing. Some things I needto keep to myself. And, just like me, this list is anachronistic; I didn't even try to make sure the events are in order. And here's how I'm going to make personal waves in good ol' 2014:

Goals for the New Year

·      *   Learn to drive stick shift

·      *   Visit Utah

·      *   Either get accepted into a teaching program or start a credential program

·       *  Finish writing a book and work on getting it published

·       *  Get my CPR certification

·      *   Don’t make a stupid, unattainable weight goal

·     *    Be in a play

·      *   Find someone to speak Spanish with

Now that I think about it, some of these goals, like the stick shift and the CPR, are goals I've had before. Maybe the fact that I'm making my goals more public will force me to actually be accountable to myself for finishing them. Then again... probably not. New year, old sensibilities.

Now for something to do with food. I don't talk about it enough, considering it gives me life and happiness. I made these for my Noni's birthday, and they turned out pretty well (she said, patting herself on the back). Saw these on Facebook (probably re-posted from Pinterest), and I just knew I had to make them. If you can't tell what they are, beyond the fact that they're cupcakes, I ain't gonna tell you.

I darn did myself proud. I really do enjoy a good bake. I think the only thing that ruins it for me is that Hillary Duff, as Lizzy Mcguire, apparently also enjoyed baking- when she was stressed. You know, about important stuff, like being popular and going out with cute boys. I hated Lizzy McGuire. But I still love to bake.

Oh yeah, and Christmas happened, right? Yeah, I'm taking it waaaay back. 1). I already mentioned this is a hodgepodge post and 2). there's only 2 things I feel like mentioning about Christmas. I made some bomb eggnog french toast with homemade caramel sauce and I got this as a present from my Noni (yes, I made her the cupcakes AFTER this gesture. I decided to be the bigger man).

 
He does say some things I wouldn't mind hearing. But he also says a lot of creepy B.S. And let's not pretend that his smile isn't enough to keep me single forever. I think I would have been better off with Tina Fey's chocolate brownie boyfriend.

And yes, the No NO! works. It's true! What is a No No!? Why, it's a hair removal device that uses heat to remove hair. It's supposed to make it grow back slower and thinner. And it does. Well, as far as I can tell. When I tried looking up reviews before I bought one, there were a lot of girls who said, "yeah, so I haven't really used it as often as they say you should (3x a week for 6 weeks, and then as needed), but it seems to sorta work." Very helpful. The kind of certainty people desire when they're about to invest in a product. I'm tempted to go on a rant about the lack of dedication to detail in the digital age, but considering my potential for 100% follow-through in my own goals, it might be safer not to hoist myself onto my own petard.

So there you have it, folks. Sometimes, when I say NoNo! I mean yes. Yes it works! Pretty well. Just try to ignore the burning smell. As said by a morning program on radio station 95.1, straight from the central valley of California, "Not that you care, but now you know."

Hairlessly yours,

Sweeney