5 fun facts for August

It's that time again!

1. My little cousin Kate is one of my favorite people in the world. She is my mini-me; she is so smart, inquisitive, creative, and overall a total sweetie. We weren't always tight-knit, as stated in a post here, but she is one of the loves of my life. I can't wait to have a daughter so that they can play together.

2. My newest obsession is The Piano Guys station on Pandora.com. Seriously, I've grown accustomed to listening to it all day at work because it is an excellent motivator but also promotes a calm and peaceful work environment.

3. I'd be lost without my friend Erica. She's been in my life since I was maybe 14 or 15 years old.

4. I ridiculously miss my baby brother right now.

5. My little cousin Max is my favorite boy of all time.

Men's T-shirts

Let me start by saying that shopping for me is NOT fun!

Nothing ever fits right, and I always walk away feeling really crappy about my appearance. This past weekend, I went to Target with a friend in hopes of buying a few new t-shirts for work/school. As I browsed through the Ladies section, I realized that it wasn't worth it. Not only were the shirts almost $20 each, they were paper thin! I believe one of the styles was called 'tissue thin t-shirt.' It also looked like I would need a Large size if I wanted it to fit properly without showing my womb.

No offense fashion industry, but I'm willing to bet that if the material is paper thin, you can probably see right through it. This is NOT a modesty post, this is a comfort post.

I am uncomfortable wearing t-shirts that feel too low-cut, in addition to the sleeves feeling ridiculously high cut. Come on, who is this style meant to flatter? Certainly not me!

I think it is a waste to spend $20 on a t-shirt that you need to wear extra layers to feel comfortable. I think that any material that thin will most likely wear out faster than thicker material. So, explain to me why I must buy a shirt that is low-cut, paper thin, and has high-cut sleeves?

I refused to take part in this charade that promotes "style" and sacrifice my comfort.

So what did I do?

I marched over to the Men's section until I found the kiosks of graphic tees.

What a difference!

First off, the shirts were cool. Who doesn't love Marvel Comics and all their awesome heroes?

Second, the sleeve lengths were not only flattering, but they were slightly baggy too.

The necklines covered me, but they were still stretchy.

Best part? I'm a Small in Men's sizing.

No, wait. Best part is that they were $10 each.

I definitely think that I will be purchasing my t-shirts from the Men's department from now on.

Take that fashion industry!

Adventure in Midway, UT

This weekend, Sam took me on an adventure to Midway, Utah. We went up to his grandparent's cabin (The Wirthlin's cabin) and then went to a concert at the Homestead. I was pretty brain-fried after shopping with Victoria so I wasn't especially energetic, but it was still a nice adventure.

First day of grad school

I don't know if you can say it was my first day of grad school. It was this time last year when I took my first graduate-level class, and boy was I nervous. Don't get me wrong, the days leading up to tonight were nerve-wracked as well, only there are a few key differences.

Last year, both classes I took at the U were with already established cohorts. Fall was spent with the ELP 1st years, and Spring was spent with the 2nd years. This semester I will be in three courses; Exploring Communities will be with my own cohort, while Executive Development and The Nonprofit Organization will be with a mix of my cohort and students from the MBA program.

I'm beyond excited, especially since I know these first two semesters will be the most challenging because I will be a full-time student who is also working full-time. After Spring 2015, I will only need to be in two courses each semester. I'm confident though that if I can make it to October (when Executive Dev ends and The Nonprofit Org begins) the hardest part will be over.

Anyway, as I took my seat in class last night I looked around and noticed that maybe 70% of the students were dudes. Well, it was an MBA class! Moving on, I met some of the MBA guys and a couple of the MACL girls and made a few new friends within the first few minutes. This was a noticeable difference from class last Fall. I'm not saying that last year I didn't make any friends, but it definitely took a few weeks to get there.

Executive Dev (or Leadership Dev, as my prof Dr.W likes to say) was AMAZING! I can already tell it is similar to my leadership class from last spring. At one point during the evening, I actually forgot that it was a 3hr 20min class.

I can't wait for Tuesday when my Exploring Communities course begins (this one is 15 wks, and not 7wks like the other two) mostly because I really want to get my hands on the syllabus and because I want to meet the rest of my cohort.

I gotta say that this class is full of inspiration for my new novel, I had to start a quote list just for them!

Highlights from the evening include:

"I need a whiteboard with spell check."

"Leadership is an art."

"Me and remotes don't get along."


I can;t wait for next week!

Mine and Sheldon's Two-Year Anniversary!

Today marks two years since I bought Sheldon!

He is the best car ever, and he is so good to me. I love him so very much.

Happy Anniversary!

(I know Sam is reading this and rolling his eyes)

When Inspiration Strikes...

...all I can do is run with it.

Honestly, I dealt with writer's block for so long that whenever any kind of idea pops into my head I have to jot it down. When something happens that I need to deal with, I write about it. Not only does it help me work through my issues, it makes for a great story.

Not gonna lie, I've been going through some things for the last little while, and talking about it with my therapist doesn't always make it feel better. I guess my philosophy has evolved into "I can't stop what is happening, so I might as well write it down." It's an amazing way to heal some of the scars of the past.

Anyway, back to lately. I won't go into detail, but out of nowhere I was inspired to start my next novel. The more I seem to get stuck in the issues plaguing me, the better and better the outline gets. I guess my emotional suffering is not all for nothing.

Oh well, from the mud can grow flowers. You just have to run with it.

a rose by any other name

My boyfriend is the sweetest!

Missing Tyler

I don't write a whole lot about my youngest brother, or either of my brothers for that matter! But as of lately, I've spent a decent amount of time thinking about Tyler.

Tyler is 20 years old and the youngest of the Larsen trio. He is quite wonderful, and as much as I would like to take credit for how wonderful he really is, he is wonderful because of his own choices.

Right now, Tyler has been serving an LDS mission in Madrid-Spain for 17 months. He is set to return in March 2015.

He has 7 months to go.

I miss him like crazy, but I didn't think I would at first.

We were never super close, if anything, he and our other brother were closer. Whatever, I guess that comes with the territory of being the only girl.

Anyway, right before he left, he decided that he wanted a closer relationship with me. I'm so grateful he came around! Ever since he left, we email every single week. His p-day has changed once or twice, but for the most part, I email him on Sunday afternoon, usually when I'm sitting in Sacrament, and he responds within 18hrs. He has never missed a week.

We're both thinking the same thing right now, he'll be back in seven months, he is more than 2/3 the way through his total mission.

Our correspondence is brief, but filled with quick little stories, photos, and soundbites. I still can't believe how much time has passed, I moved in with my roommates about a week after he left and I'm dumbfounded when I make the connection.

I think what I miss the most is being able to have a real conversation. Our emails are sweet, but so brief. It is impossible to have a real discussion. I wish I could talk to him, away from the family Skype sessions on Mother's Day and Christmas.

Dear Tyler, I miss you. I love you so much! Love, Linds

Only 33 more weeks!