Maggie

My dog Maggie passed away this week. She's been in my family for more than half my life, and finding out that she died was like finding out I'd lost a sibling, because in essence, that's what she was. She was the 5th Justesen child. Maggie had been sick for a while, and the vet said it would be easier to put her to sleep rather than wait for her to die because that way she wouldn't have to suffer as much. When my dad called last night to let me know, I cried and cried. And I haven't cried in a while, so I had a lot to let out. But because she's been a part of my family for 13 years, I decided I needed to give her a little photo tribute. Maggie was the best dog in the world. She fit into our family perfectly, and most of my memories of growing up involve her in some way, whether it was being angry at her for chewing up my socks or taking a nap next to her on the floor. Maggie had a knack for knowing when someone in the family was sad and just needed a buddy. I have many memories of her just coming and putting her head on my lap. Every good thing you hear about dogs, Maggie was it. Rest in peace, Maggie. I love you.

"A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his." John Grogan

"Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day. It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them." John Grogan

The poor dog, in life the firmest friend,
"The first to welcome, foremost to defend." Lord Byron

"His ears were often the first thing to catch my tears." Elizabeth Barrett Browning, referring to her cocker spaniel, Flush

"A dog is the only thing on this earth that loves you more than he loves himself." Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw)

"A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things-a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty." John Grogan

Weeks Fly By...

School is taking over my life right now. I've spent this weekend writing a paper about the relationship between the theory of hyperreality and mimetic criticism when taken with a pluralistic viewpoint. Sound boring to you? Maybe. But I love it! My classes are tough, but I really enjoy them. I'm going to miss this BYU experience when it ends. But...I have some fun-filled weekends to look forward to!

This weekend: General Conference. I'm making cinnamon rolls for the Sunday morning session. Come if you want to. Conference weekend is always my favorite. I love sitting in my PJs with family or friends and listening. I love the feeling of being motivated to do better.

Next weekend: My dad comes to town! Hopefully to help tell me what's broken on my car. Because sometimes it seems like a new thing each week. And also BYU football! Hopefully we don't get thrashed again.

And then...drumroll please...the weekend after that I'm going here!

I can't tell you how excited I am! 3 and a half days out of Provo and out of Utah will be fantastic. And I get to play with my four favorite kiddies in the whole world. Our family friends the Trythalls are letting me come invade on their family time, and I'm so excited! So right now that's kind of the next biggest thing I'm looking forward to. I'm sure when I get back there will be a long post with lots of pictures.

Until then here's a quote that I came across that I love. "I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us." Thomas S. Monson

The Boy Who Lived

Even more Harry for you. My friends and I are going to the midnight show, and I'm going to be Professor Trelawney. So excited.

Yes, No, Maybe So

If I had control over everything, I would play matchmaker. Since I don't, here are some pairings that are great, shouldn't exist, and should happen soon.

Good

Monica and Chandler: Yes. Yes yes and yes. Love her, love him, love them together. Love that they were best friends first. Whoever wrote this into the show was a complete genius!

Beatrice and Benedick: Beatrice: "I wonder that you will still be talking, Signior Benedick: nobody marks you." Benedick: "What, my dear Lady Disdain! Are you yet living?" Fantastic. Much Ado About Nothing is my favorite Shakespeare play, mainly because of these two. The couple that mocks each other stays together.

Jim and Pam: Who in their right mind can deny this? Yes I get jealous of Pam because she gets to snuggle up to beautiful Jim Halpert, but she’s one of those girls that, because they’re so nice, you just can’t hate them, no matter how hard you try. And I'll just get my Jim fix in my Journalism class, because my professor looks just like him. But not the snuggling part. Just looking.

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley (book versions only): Ginny is just the best. Who else would do the things she did for Harry? Well maybe I would.

Bad

Ross and Rachel: I love them both. Someday I will be Rachel Green. But Ross and Rachel together? No. The U2 song “With or Without You” fits them too well. Ross, love you, but you’re too whiny. Rachel, LOVE you, but you can’t make up your mind. Good idea in theory though.

Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansen: Ryan, you know I love you. But because I love you I have to tell you this: Your wife is trash. You’re too good for her and can do so much better. Can you tell I’m bitter?

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley (movies only): Awkward train wreck waiting to happen. Horrible acting, horrible chemistry. “Open up, you.”

Allie and Noah from The Notebook: I don’t like them together. Never have. This volatile relationship is a ticking time bomb. The only time they aren’t fighting is when they are old and she can’t remember who he is.

Maple bars with bacon: I had one. Once. Who thought of this?

Should be

Joey and Phoebe: No, they would never work. But can you imagine the hilarious things that would be said to each other in their own NYC apartment? I would love to be a fly on that wall.

Ryan Reynolds and me: Perfect relationship. Our amazingly good looks (well, his at least) and fantastically sarcastic and comedic timing would make this a relationship for the books.

Allie and Lon from The Notebook: I love him. Not only is he much better looking than Noah, but I think he treats Allie better. And he’s wealthy (not that that’s important to me but… :) ). This is a romance that should have happened.

Royal Freak Out

So this morning I had a royal freak out over this stupid little insignificant thing that doesn't even matter in the grand scheme of the whole universe (or at least in the grand scheme of my life, not trying to sound like a drama queen here), and do you know what made it better? Peanut butter M&Ms brought to me by a good friend and the promise made by the same friend of 5 Guys for dinner. Is it pathetic that my freak out ended because candy and the motivation of the best burger ever, fries, and a cherry Coke were put in front of me? I sure don't think so. Food will do that to me. Freak out is now a distant memory.

Can't Be Moved

Yet another song that I love. I just think the idea behind it is cute. Is it pathetic that the video almost made me cry? I feel for you Danny O'Donoghue. Maybe someday I'll meet you on that corner. :)

Life as I Know It

100th post!! To celebrate, I am giving you the next 20 seconds to dance around the room. Ready...Go! 20...19...18...17...16...15...14...13...12...11...10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... Satisfied? I am. Nothing beats a sporadic dance party. And pardon my hyperness. A Coke at 10:30am will do that to me.

But anyway, let's discuss Senior year. I am, and will be for the next 8 months, a college Senior. Crazy? Yes. Do I feel ready for it? No. Do I have a choice? No. Well, I guess I do, but...I made it this far, and I'm making it to the end! Here's a kickback of my life since school started a week and a half ago. First, roommates are wonderful. Ashley and Kelsey, who knows if you read this, but you two are great. I'm looking forward to getting to know you both better! My own room? The best. Washer and dryer in the apartment? Trust me folks, once you get one, you never want to go back. Ward? HUGE! Yes, the ratio of girls to guys isn't exactly in my favor, but it's still great nonetheless. I've met lots of friendly people.

The week has been filled with delicious BBQs, movies, bonfires that ended up not being bonfires, football games, fun dates, old friends, new friends, in-between friends, and ice cream pie. Oh yeah, and school. How could I forget? I can tell that it's going to be a high-stress semester. Hours of my days are filled reading about Plato's theory of mimetic criticism, recognizing the difference between primal auxiliary verbs and modal auxiliary verbs, and giggling over Shakespeare's comedies. But I'm not going to stress. Well, that's a lie, but I'm not going to let myself do it right now. That'll come later when I sink back into the habit of having class every day and not just work.

Which brings me to the best part of the end of summer: this little guy. To my sadness, GoPhone and ancient iPod Nano broke in the same week and neither could be fixed. Coincidence? Who knows. Maybe. But because I needed music and a phone and a planner and a camera, I caved. And I love it. I've been made fun of from time to time because I love my paper planners, which I still do and always will, but I have to admit using iCal on this guy is kind of the best thing ever. I like having my life organized when I have a zillion things going on, and this sure does it for me. Steve Jobs and the guys at Apple are geniuses. But because of this little guy, no more shopping for a while.

So that's life as I know it right now. Kind of fun, kind of hard, but generally good. Isn't it great how, even when you think nothing is ever going to work out in your favor, eventually it starts to?