Saturday, November 29, 2008

Rise & Shout



Even after BYU's humiliating defeat by Utah last week, I'm still proud to be a Cougar. Even more so now because I'll be working for BYU as of Dec. 1. :) That's right — I was hired as the executive secretary to the academic vice president on campus.

That means working 8–5, Monday–Friday. No more weekends or nights or weird, wonky sleep schedules. In short, it's a great day for the Leavitts. :)

Sunday, November 16, 2008

On this day a quarter of a century ago...

...I was born! That's right, folks, today is my 25th birthday, and to celebrate, I'm going to share 25 random facts about myself with you. Aren't you excited?!

Ahem...

1. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people don’t use their turn signals.

2. The only bone I’ve ever broken was my fifth metacarpal. This happened at a prison. When I went to the emergency room to get it looked at, there was a kid there with a toy car wheel stuck up his nose. We became friends.

3. I shake my foot constantly. It drives Josh and my dad crazy.

4. My number one craving is French fries. Preferably Burger King French fries with Ranch to dip them in.

5. I could quote homestarrunner.com all day long. So could Josh, which only exacerbates the problem.

6. I never get tired of using “your mom” or “your face.” As in, Josh will say “That spaghetti sauce smells kind of funny,” and I will say, “Your mom smells kind of funny!” Hilarious, I know.

7. I’ve had to wear a strait jacket before. It’s not what you think.

8. I love shirts that have sleeves that go past my wrist and cover part of my palm. I will buy a shirt for this sole reason.

9. In high school, I used to sing drinking songs with my friends while chugging orange soda.

10. I don’t write drafts of essays or papers; I feel like I should do it right the first time or not at all. That’s why it really used to annoy me when teachers or professors would have me submit several drafts before the final paper. I would just write it as I wanted it initially, and then go back and put in a couple of “errors” so they could I see I had made “changes/improvements” for the “final draft.” Sorry for the gratuitous use of quotes.

11. My earliest memory is going sledding with my brother, Buzz.

12. I hate filing my nails. And I hate listening to anyone else file their nails.

13. I once put peanut butter in my armpit in front of all the students at my high school to help a friend become the Harvest Ball Queen.

14. I love learning languages. My favorite so far is Hebrew (though I am definitely not fluent in it or any of the other languages I’ve dabbled in).

15. I am a really bad dancer. But I know how to laugh at myself, so that’s okay.

16. When I’m bored, I like to make lists, often to no real end. For example, I will sit down and just list all of my family members, and put them in different orders according to age, first letter of their name, etc.

17. Collective Soul has been my favorite band since I was about twelve, although I do not like their newer stuff as much.

18. I used to hang out at a funeral home all the time. I even played cards in the same room with a corpse once. No, I’m not macabre, I just had a friend who lived there. You get used to it after a while.

19. Josh is the only person I’ve ever kissed.

20. I’ve always loved the smell of pine trees. But I can’t stand pine-scented things. The fake stuff just doesn’t do it for me.

21. My mom always used to make Jell-o cheesecake, and I thought that’s what real cheesecake was until I was fourteen. I kid you not.

22. I like to sketch, but I’m self-conscious about it and rarely show anyone what I’ve done. My favorite things to draw are human faces and figures, though most of the time they end up much more cartoon-y than realistic.

23. Autumn is my favorite season. I detest spring. Like, really detest spring.

24. I don’t like the foods on my plate to touch. And rather than eating all of one item at a time, I have to cycle through and make them all come out even.

25. I always have to know what time it is, but I can’t stand wearing a watch.

Happy birthday to me, all 25 weird, quirky years of me! :)

Friday, November 07, 2008

Don't Let This Happen to Your Child!

I don't know if you've heard, but there's an infectious disease going around and the worst cases have been those involving children under the age of two. Unfortunately, our sweet little boy has caught it. The disease starts as a bright red rash on the hands, and quickly moves to the face and chest. Soon blisters resembling small bits of onion and parsley will begin to pop up as well. The disease does not seem to affect a child's temperament negatively; in fact, ours seemed quite cheerful during the worst of it. But don't be fooled! It needs to be treated quickly or it will soon spread to mom, dad, and any object within the child's reach.


This terrible disease is called Spaghetti Consumption, and it could happen to your baby. If your child is showing symptoms, please seek treatment right away. We recommend a warm bath with lots of soap. Please, let's all be vigilant. The battle against Spaghetti Consumption starts with you!