it's a cold north wind: from the north.

Last night the temperature on every car themometer read the same as we approached our cabin. -7 degrees. Not even zero! Not even two!
We woke up early this morning and went skiing in a slightly warmer climate, as the car themometers climbed steadily until reaching 6 degrees. Not even eight! Not even twenty! It is probable that I looked like this all day long:






Just to add to the frozen festivities, I forgot the necessary face protectors and instead had to wrap my head in a scarf I had in my purse. I have never washed it before, so the combination of my hot breath on a cold piece of cloth not only froze the scarf solid, but also caused the scarf's colors to bleed together. My green and white scarf is now looking horribly grass-stained. And the best part? The dye got all over my face. It is more than likely that I'll look like this for many moons.

before you read this one, read the one i posted about ten minutes. you'll need that preface to fully understand what i'm talking about here and now.



so, after viewing what is probably the funniest thing i've seen in the last two hours, i couldn't resist trying it for myself. here's a link to my own elf-yourself.


booyakasha

we're elves. with attitude.

My friend Dave Brewer sent me a random link the other day which I neglected to open until just moments ago. Big mistake. Huge!


a team thunder christmas

Candidate Match Game

I have some serious studying to do before I can make an educated and informed decision about upcoming elections. This little online quiz asks you 11 different questions dealing with issues ranging from same-sex marriage to health care, and according to your answer they give you the top 3 candidates that have similar ideals. I took the quiz twice and both times ended up with Giulani as my front-runner. I need to read up on his platform.
My extended family will be so sad to hear that I am not a raging Romney supporter.

Quiz

no need for a nosebleed

try

Disposable Parts

I just couldn't pass this one up. Once again, I am spending far too much time watching videos on youtube. However, since this video is now posted I can get back to busy city.

Please take a few minutes out of your busy city to enjoy futbol.

Hey Pockets!

I remember when:
- my favorite CD was the Forrest Gump Soundtrack. I taught dances with difficult choreography to my Barbie dolls. To this day, I remember "The Feather Theme" was an emotional routine, complete with Barbie's dance partner, Ken, walking off stage during the climax of the song. The sunlight was pouring through the backdoor windows at the most opportuned time so that Ken was walking, nay, dancing, into a ray of light. I might have been seven at the time and let me tell you, that was some good stuff.
- I scraped half of my face off on the neighbor's driveway. Riding skateboards on your stomach was cool during these days, and who would've thought that Susie's flat portion of the driveway had a more pronounced curb than the rest of the neighborhood? I hit the bottom of the driveway expecting to advance to the top of the driveway with impressive forward motion and then continue my show by letting the skateboard roll back from whence it came. (Backwards, Mom! Backwards!) This is how I thought it would go. But no! The skateboard had it in for me and stopped with such intensity at the bottom of the driveway that my body was propelled, face first, into the cement. I daresay my nose, lips, and chin have never been the same.
- I performed more stunts like the skateboarding trick thinking that the outcome would just get better with age. One stunt that caused some serious damage: I thought it would be not only fun but incredibly safe to cruise down driveways while riding on the roof of plastic busses. I convinced friends, one at a time, to join me on the roof for a joyride unlike any other. Blasted Susie's driveway was out to get me once more, as the wheels on the bus stopped dead in their tracks at the bottom and my unfortunate passenger and I were catapulted on to the familiarity of Susie's cement once more. Because I never ride in front, I landed on top of my passenger, smashing any limb in my way with approximately sixty pounds of bruiser. Other childhood accidents worth mentioning: sliding down a hillside of a foreign plant on homemade sleds, tying big-wheels to the backs of much-faster bicycles and testing our exciting new product on a hill much too big for kids that all wore Pull-Ups to bed (though we would never admit it), burning the ticks out of our heads after adventures in the Arroyo, and who could forget all the cuts and bruises caused by messy run-ins with the springs of the tramp?


I have noticed:
- having good memories propels people out of potentially unhappy, stressful afternoons. Case-in-point? I got overwhelmed thinking of all the things I needed to get done before the semester was over, and rather than look at my schedule logically and plan out my due-dates and exam times, I instead ventured to youtube.com. I found a gem. Here is the moral of this blog in case you were wondering: Peter Pan can fly because of his good/happy/crazy fun memories. I can avoid categorizing by thinking of funny things I did when I was six. What can you do/avoid when you remember?

scurry scurry little bottom

I don't have much time to write tonight because I'm busy-city with everything right now! But here's some good news... I wasn't too busy tonight to go to Target to pick up some goods to put on our pizzas, and while I was there I wasn't too busy to pick up a little added bonus. I am more than excited to announce that I am a proud owner of my very own flannel nightshirt. Go out and buy one if you want to! I wouldn't even be mad!
I must go now because I'm excited to climb in bed wearing this sexy little number. I'm positive I'll have the best dreams.

And this, this I like.

this is it, this is all.

I'm in Las Vegas and boy oh boy am I noticing things!! I noticed this video clip on the internet today and it is so good that I have nothing to say about it.

Watch and enjoy. 

TWO IN THE LAST FIVE MINUTES!!

I am posting again to acknowledge that I have no idea what I'm doing on this thing. I thought all I was providing you was a link to view the video, but there it is!!!! It is right there!!!! I'll consider the both of us quite lucky.
So how did you like it?
I am posting again because I missed a day, and according to my blogging goals (see previous post), I am supposed to be posting daily about all the things I notice. I noticed Souljaboy Tellem SOOOO long ago, but let's pretend I noticed it yesterday and that my previous post from about five minutes ago is actually dated Saturday. It makes things easier this way.
Sunday, Sunday! Here we are on Sunday. Things I noticed today:
- Girls holding teddy bears while on a Sunday afternoon stroll with either a friend or beau (I couldn't quite tell) Do NOT enjoy being parted with their companion. It wasn't our fault that there were three of us walking and we strongly outnumbered the two of them. I even apologized for making them part! Not so much as a smile back in my direction for my apology. Whatever man! Maybe she was mad/pissed that her friend/beau gave her a teddy bear on a Sunday (clearly a Monday afternoon gift). Maybe it was a break-up walk? Who even knows, but at least I said sorry for making her step upon the grass to let the three of us pass.
- I lacked a whole lot of knowledge this afternoon as I struggled to remember what these comparsions are called. Cat:mouse::Dog:bone. And I'm still lacking that knowledge because I can't type that into wikipedia and get conclusive results. I am stuck. Me:stuck::someone in:deep mud.
- I wish I wouldn't have noticed how many times the Sacrament Meeting speaker licked his lips during his talk. But man, was it distracting! I had a hard time distinguishing whether or not the lip-licking was a nervous habit or due to a nasty case of chapped lips. Maybe next Sunday I'll sit next to him and investigate the situation further. Stay tuned.
- I noticed how much I like Sunday walks, or even walks in general. (Except when teddybear-clutching girls shoot you nasty looks. For a brief second, that may affect the walk negatively. But then you can analyze the next blissfully-entwined couple approaching you on the sidewalk and the negativity is gone, because you can totally tell that this girl is positively stoked to be on a walk with such a stud by her side.)
- I wish I didn't notice all of the strange people that lay together on the grass on campus. Yes, the weather has been unseasonably warm and definitely enjoyable. But does this give you license to lay your head on your significant others' tummy while you close your eyes and lose yourselves in thoughts of wedded bliss? I beg you to think that no, you cannot do such things. I wish I didn't notice these couples because it makes me feel slightly awkward. When I wander around campus trying to find someone else to wander with, I cannot help but glance in the direction of the scattered lovebirds, and upon such glances I feel that I have intruded on a very private, intimate moment. I am embarassed for them initially, but then goodness! They should be embarassed too! Go have an intimate moment in the car, or even a private study room of the library. Sneak behind the curtains of the ballroom. If you felt alright about it, you could occupy the Handicapped Bathroom of the library. Camp out under the stairs of any building on campus. Just hide yourselves! Feel free to feel tummies and close your eyes and do all of that basking away from my prying eyes. It just would make everything so much better.





Ah, there's the lady. Hello Lady!

Most sincerely,

Cami Clayton

heavens sakes, is that a spot?

I am completely frustrated because I don't know how to upload a YouTube video on this blog. This frustrates me for many reasons, but the biggest reason is that I really want everyone viewing this thing (Hi La!) to be able to see a video that has impacted me in more ways that I can count. However, due to my lack of the skills necessary to be a successful and impressive blogger, I just couldn't figure it out. We'll have to settle for stone-age blogging and I'll just ask you to please click on the link I painstakingly provided (yes, even this was hard to figure out) when the opportunity to do so presents itself.
Because the Thanksgiving holiday is fastly approaching, I have been thinking of all the cool stuff I've got, all the cool people I know, and all the cool things I get to do. But perhaps the greatest thing about me is the fact that I've seen this video. Over and over. And I can do it. Over and over.
So ladies and gentlemen, without further adieu, I give you: Souljaboy Tellem. I am thankful for his presence in my life.

Please Click Here for Everything You've Ever Wanted and More


Most sincerely,

Mary Camille Clayton

Vince Fontaine

I'm sitting in the Mac Lab of the JFSB and rather than continuing my online search on information on Abbot Suger, I am staring this man in the face.

I noticed that my boss, Doc Parkinson, has the very same eyeglasses.

I wondered if I have ever used a floppy disk of that size. Is that even a floppy disk?


Is his chin airbrushed? I don't remember him having such a strong chin.

I wonder what he can tell me about Abbot Suger?


He could afford to buy me a Wendy's gift card with a substantial amount of money on it.

Rickety Tickety Tin

Today I noticed:
- I really, really, and when I say really I really mean really, like Wendy's cheeseburgers with ketchup only. I would be lying to myself if I said I felt only mediocre about them. First of all, they are only 95 cents. Second of all, they are delicious. I considered buying a Wendy's gift card today-- and just for the hell of it since I would be giving it to myself anyhow. I refrained this afternoon, but so help me, I just might do it tomorrow.
Today I noticed
- I am exactly where I want to be. Laugh at me if you will, but planning the Magleby's Employee Appreciation Party alleviated any doubts I may have had about attempting to become a wedding planner. While parties hosted by Classic Skating may not necessarily run parallel to weddings, I still felt right at home. And I'll ace my Camping Skills class because of it.
Today I wish people would notice:
- The three strapping young men pictured in today's blog. The Kingston Trio is responsible for numerous campfire sing-a-longs and for reasons I think only a few people know. I pondered for a few seconds today about their lyrics. "Tom Dooley" for instance, tells the sordid tale of a man readying himself to be hung in the morning for stabbing a woman he met on a mountain. As we gleefully whistle along, "The Merry Minuet" details the relationships between each country--"The Poles hate the Germans, the Germans hate the Dutch, and I don't like anybody very much." It seems that these songs, along with Tom Lehrer's "Irish Ballad", are the most accurate detailings of my memories of Jackson Hole.
Today I wish I would've noticed:
- The "No Parking" sign "prominently" placed near my parking spot. That would've helped my bank account out a little bit.

Chris Brown

In the words of my baby-boy, Mase, "welcome back, welcome back, harlem's back." I am officially welcoming myself back into the fond folds of blogging. I've never quite liked that word, blogging.
Anyhow, I have felt it necessary to return to this form of communication with self because a) I admire many of the people that keep up blogs to not only communicate with their own self, but also to stay in touch with people miles away; b) I find myself gaining a high level of satisfaction from reading the aforementioned blogs; and c) I'm starting new routines that I think will prove to be beneficial in the long run.
That being said, here am I. And might I also mention, here am I, but not in a diary kind of way. I have decided that from here on out, I will blog daily, and daily will I blog. I will blog about things I happen to notice, things I'd like to refrain from noticing, and things I'd like other people to notice. Sometimes the material will be personal, but as for the majority, it will be quite matter-of-fact.
I'd love for people to notice the incredible potential that lies dormant in music. When I find a new song that I just can't get enough of, it truly amazes me. Perhaps the most interesting thing about music is its uncanny ability to gain an emotional response from its listener. Take a top-40 hit for instance--you hear it at a hip dance party and the crowd goes wild. One reason for the reaction may simply be that the crowd recognizes the song as a fun song to shake to, while another reason may be the song simply arouses a reaction in each dancer that makes them feel just a little bit better than they did the minute before.
The short of it goes something like this: I appreciate music, in all its forms, because of just how much it is. I can't help but applaude the artists of today for making music that appeals to the masses. While it doesn't necessarily appeal to my senses and I don't choose to add their songs to my playlists, I can still acknowledge their craft, the writers' craft, the producers' craft.... If for some reason I can't get that catchy chorus out of my head, then they must've done the job real good like.

enlightened, and in more ways than one.

I won't say I'm confused, because I don't necessarily feel like I am, but something isn't feeling balanced. I find myself in a limbo of direction if that makes any sense. I'm too comfortable and too used to the daily goings-on and I think it's high time for me to do something new and different. I need a project to focus my attention. While I understand that it is probably more beneficial to me, in a scholastic sense at least, to pour all of this direction-less expression into homework, I can't seem to do so. It's funny that I'm talking of needing to release what seems like a sudden burst of self-expression. It's also laughable that when I first started thinking about this my first reaction was to look at artistic outlets. I can't draw to save my life. I think I need to stop thinking.
My I-Tunes isn't working and I really wish I had my iPod.
I don't feel like I'm passionate about anything I'm doing right now. I always watch movies and wish that life, as everyone knows it, modeled itself as such. Everyone is profound, love is the most intense experience ever, and gross conflicts are resolved with blank screens and a change of scene.
I don't think I have any conflicts. The most interesting thing about me is that I'm painfully normal. Run-of-the-mill, if you will. My upbringing channelled a lifestyle most upper-middle-class families enjoyed--I was straightlaced. I wore cardigan sets. I took piano lessons and sang in the choir. In the race to set ourselves apart, I probably stood on the sidelines with a stopwatch and analyzed the average time spent racing towards the finish.
Although a grand generalization, I think it's fair to say that what sets most people apart are their passions. However, I'd say that music, my passion, doesn't necessarily set me apart because my tastes blend well with oh-so-many others. But, on the other hand I'd also say that "passion" requires time spent. And my time spent on music may be the defining factor, my "set apart" status.
I suddenly forgot where I'm going with this. I think I now understand the dual nature of man, as taught by Homer. One part of me was on a self-actualizing kick, and now the other side takes over and I just want to be quiet.

something like m&m's and ice water

for as long as i have known myself, i have understood that i have crushes on everyone i meet. before quick judgments and assumptions are made, let us take a quick look at the pro's of living such a life. by having a crush on everyone i meet, i enable myself to feel an ounce of love for everyone i meet, thus meaning that i am a nice person. by having a crush on everyone i meet, life is just that much more exciting. stomache flops and butterflies are omnipresent, getting lost in thoughts of long and happy lives spent with 'object A' are daily occurrences (and not to mention always changing since 'object A' is quickly replaced with objects 'B', 'C', and 'D'), and probably most importantly, i try harder to be a better version of myself to attract said objects. i find this to be most beneficial, as the harder i try to form habits of good decisions and righteous, productive living, the easier it becomes for those habits to become routine, and voila! you have a better version of cami. and that, ladies and gentlemen, is so righteous, in a gnarly sort of way.
that being said, can i now just complain how busy i am? so many crushes! so many potential lifemates! a girl can only handle so much! everyone is breaking up with everyone, providing me ample opportunity to fashion the perfect version of each object in my head. old objects are moving out, new objects are waiting to be found...it's just stressful! but alas, i cannot lie. it is fun.
i'm hoping my next relationship, whether it be in daily thoughts or reality, will be something like m&m's and ice water. to me there is nothing better than sipping ice cold water from a quaint goblet, popping a few candy-coated chocolates in your mouth, and enjoying a feeling nothing short of celestial for a few short moments. if that isn't love, then i don't know what is.

a special event here, a wedding party there.

work today has been irregularly appealing. i have spent most of the afternoon perusing all the internet has to offer. it offers so very, very much. i stumbled upon a event planning search engine, that finds venues, planners, photographers, florists, and anything else that you could possibly need. there are dozens of results for anything you could think of searching, complete with contact information, vendor websites, and all the like. i may sound ancient, but that kind of technology absolutely amazes me. it also might make me feel unnecessary, as my chosen future profession as a wedding planner looks remarkably easy via the internet and may make potential clients shy away from paying me the big bucks. we will see.

peach

this is probably the most accurate way to demonstrate how pleased i am with everything at the moment.

perty lady, perty mama

life has suddenly made me apprehensive. a good apprehensive though, an exciting apprehensive. something about recent events makes me want to sing willie nelson's "blue skies" at the top of my lungs, driving on the highway doin' over 80.
there's a strange excitement that can only arise from the uncertainty of life. for me, i am strangely excited, even nervous, about knowing that i am finally where i need to be. it has taken me what feels like ages to decide upon a major (or two) that will take me where i really want to go. and even in a non-scholastic sense, i feel resolved. i feel settled. i know i am on track and that confidence allows me to face uncertainty with excitement rather than dread.
it isn't uncommon for me to be outside. i have noticed that my mood is significantly happier when there is a slight breeze, a 75 degree temperature, and the itunes shuffle is playing just what i want to hear. if my future doesn't involve a large porch, ample free time, and lovely temperatures by nightfall, then i haven't lived. it seems appropriate to mention at this time that i have been having the best summer of my existence thusfar, second only to the summer sadie bennett and i spent running wildly about. it was in between our sophomore and junior year in high school and our only concern was doing something every night. we had new mixes every week that we thought perfectly summarized our summer. we sang loudly as we drove from place to place and laughed about how trustworthy "white lightning", despite its age, proved to be. i will never look at 1986 white volvos in the same way. it was perfect.
this summer though? marvelous is a word that comes to mind. i didn't think such a harmonious balance could exist between work and play, but alas, it has. only a handful of times have i felt overworked-- namely when rumored vacations become reality and i am forced to sit out because of scheduling conflicts. that aside, i can honestly say i found the summer homeostasis.
i feel it appropriate to mention that the past four days of my lovely summer have been invaded by lyrics of a song which i cannot, for the life of me, remember the last time i heard it or why it has suddenly become my favorite thing to sing. "show me what you got there perty lady, perty mama". the extent to which i know the lyrics of that song are just that. i have no idea who sings it. i have no idea why but for the moment i appear to be obsessed with those simple lines. who knew that radio-worthy hip hop songs could have such a lasting affect upon my memory.
but for now, i put aside what my brain incessantly repeats, and let the toe-tapping drawl of willie take me away.

all her friends call her little wing

reminiscing- swimming in a sea of memories that are the greatest. looking at photos, listening to the best of songs, peace.
i wish you would come pick me up.