Thank you, Tylenol!

I hate headaches with a passion. I really do. They make me grumpy, even if they do make for really interesting blogs....

It feels like my thoughts are running around inside my head banging drums against my skull and eyeballs. I'm at the point where I want to run outside and stick my head in the snow, then the freezer, then then a bucket of water, and run back and forth until my head is frozen (it's the new Water Cycle!). I'll be so numb I can't even feel my thoughts running around. In fact, their feet will be frozen to my skull, so they won't be able to run, anyway. Muahahahaha! My plan is complete!

Or, at least, until my head defrosts....

A Christmas-y Kind of Mood....

In past years, I've felt like the Grinch. It's seemed like I've done all I can to prevent Christmas up until December 1st. But for some reason, this year has been quite the opposite!

It drove me crazy when my older sister would go through the house whistling 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' as loud as she could. But now that she's living up at USU, I've actually missed her whistling! Or when my little sister would play 'Up On The Housetop' on the piano; I would ask her as nicely as I could without exploding to PLEASE play something else. Now I actually sing along. Christmas music is stuck in my head constantly (no thanks to Rhapsody.... "There's a brand new Christmas dance, it's the latest sensation..... JINGLE JINGLE! JINGLE JINGLE!) but it makes me smile! It used to drive me crazy, but now I'm like, "break out the hot chocolate! Put on White Christmas or Frosty the Snowman and let's go play in the snow!" It's been so fun! I've been totally and completely giddy for about 2 weeks now! I can't wait to get out the Christmas decorations! I want to go outside and make snow angels! Or paper snowflakes!

This new fall of snow has me bouncing off walls. When I looked out the window this afternoon and saw that it was snowing, I ran to get my dog's leash and took her on a walk. Without an umbrella. Just my super-puffy burnt-marshmallow coat (that's what my little sister calls it - it's really squishy and it's black. Thus the name Burnt Marshmallow Coat).

That's something else I've been excited about. I LOVE the cold! I don't like being cold, but I like it when the weather's cold. If I have a warm blanket or coat, and my face is cold, I am in pure bliss. Which is why I love jacket weather :) My idea of a perfect day is a rainy or snowy one. I've decided I'm going to move to either Montreal or Seattle, where it's either raining or snowing every day. I don't like the heat, and those two cities only have a week or two of summer :) Now THAT would be fun!

I can't wait for the winter break. I mean, five days off for Thanksgiving is going to be a BLAST, but we get like 2 or 3 weeks off for Christmas! I keep thinking about all the movies I need to watch (LOTR marathon for New Years! Helena, you know you're jealous!), all the candy to make, the jam to deliver to neighbors, the parties with friends and family, all the beautiful lights and decorations, all the concerts...... Christmas is an amazing holiday! :)

Eeeheeheehee :D I feel like Rhino from Bolt (HmmhmmhmmhmmHMM! I'll go get my ball!) I'm so GIDDY! Which also means I'm making no sense! Sorry if you're confused! If you are, don't worry about it! If you're one of my friends and I'm still confusing you, SHAME ON YOU! You should be used to it by now!

(by the way, the new colors on my blog are in honor of Christmas and hopes that it will hurry up!)

HELP!!

Okay, I'm going to need everyone's help on this. This is a super-duper-ally-ooper rough draft of my Mythology Paper, and I need help editing. This was written VERY late, and I most likely made a million typos and the like. I also need help with the title.... I can't quite come up with the right word to describe him....

King Minos: A (Self-Absorbed/Arrogant/Egocentric/Selfish) Father

What would you do if your child had the head of a bull and a body of a human? Throw it in a maze, of course. The story of King Minos and the Minotaur illustrates many common themes in Greek mythology. The gods often interfere with mortal life, whether it is wanted or not. Emotions, like shame and pride, often get in the way of rational thinking. Heroes are always popping up and killing monsters.

The gods often interfere with mortal life, whether it helps the situations or makes things worse. Poseidon sent the bull for Minos to prove he was king. Poseidon turns the next child into Minotaur because Minos did not sacrifice his bull. This is similar to when Hera interfered with Hercules’ tasks because she was mad at his existence. Often the ways that the gods interfere are irrational because they are acting on their emotions and impulse.

It’s human nature to act without thinking, and that has caused many problems both now and during mythological times. The gods, even though they are immortal beings, often act in very human ways. For example, Athena was jealous of Arachne because she was a better weaver, so she caused her to become guilty and depressed which ended in her suicide. Luckily, Athena felt bad about what she had done, and she brought Arachne back to life in the form of a spider. Minos was greedy and kept the bull given to him by Poseidon for himself instead of sacrificing it. He thought he could trick Poseidon and give him a different bull instead. Poseidon’s anger caused him to punish Minos by targeting his wife, Pasiphaë. There are many instances of these irrational actions causing problems that only a hero can solve.

The need for heroes is a very common theme in mythology. Problems caused by the interactions between humans and gods are as numerous as the sands of the sea. A prime example of this is when Theseus set out to kill the Minotaur after Minos had put it in the Labyrinth. Bellerophon killed the Chimera after Iobates had thought it impossible and had set up the trick to kill Bellerophon. Perseus had to save his mother by slaying Medusa. Each of these heroes completed very difficult tasks that were results of the gods and their actions.

The story of King Minos contains many common themes of mythology. Gods can’t resist meddling in human affairs. Gods and humans alike often give in to irrational thinking based on their emotions. Everyone looks to the heroes to solve the problems caused by everyone else’s actions. A hero a day keeps the monsters at bay! It’s these common elements that make mythology so fun to read!

Fortune Cookie Writer

"Try a new hairstyle tomorrow."

Come on! Is that the best you can do? That's EASY. I should be a fortune cookie writer. I could give people great advice:

"Never do that again."

"Turn that frown upside down!"

"Dream your life or live your dream." (Credit goes to Destrie on that one)

Actually, just tonight I was eating a fortune cookie from last night's take-out (Gourmet Garden! Woot!) while I was trying to come up with blog ideas (this blog is the result): "Work on ideas that are creative and can bring fine results." I could not stop laughing! I had just been telling my mom how I could not for the life of me think of anything to blog about! (In fact, that's what got me on my Murphy's Law blog, too. It's so weird when these coincidences come up!)

Anyway, I just thought I would share with you my FORTUNE COOKIE MISFORTUNE.

Sorry.

I was just thinking about how awesome of a mystery title that would make.

(I called it! It is now [not] copy writed!)

"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

Of all the laws in the world, I think Murphy's is the most accurate. Thomas Moore once said (that sounds cheesy, I know):

I never had a slice of bread,

Particularly large and wide,

That did not fall upon the floor,

And always on the buttered side.

It's surprisingly true. It's almost like watching something in slow motion. You watch something like your bread falling and think 'Just watch, I'll bet it falls on the buttered side....' and then it does. Thank you, Mister Murphy!

But I'm not here to talk about bread and butter!

Let's talk about turtles instead!

Yes, I said turtles.

Picture a turtle stuck on its back, with its legs floundering in the air, trying to right itself. That's how I often feel during awkward situations. I'm stuck on my back, trying to figure out what to say in order to get myself back on track and on my feet.

Have you ever been at a party where after a lot of talking, there is a really looooong, awkward silence? It lasts forever. No one knows what to say, and everyone fears that they will make fools of themselves if they open their mouths. After about five minutes of this, everyone decides to say something at the same time. It's really weird! And very awkward!

That very thing happened to me when I was about nine years old. My siblings and I were eating our lunch and it was DEAD. SILENT. None of us said a word (which was really weird because, if you know me, I talk all the time). Then, my brother and I said simultaneously, “Well, this is awkward."

And it certainly was.

But it was a good conversation starter! We all started laughing and that got us talking.

I want to hear about awkward situations that have to do with Murphy’s Law. Have any good ones? Please comment! :)