Two Hundred

I've started a couple posts recently, but haven't uploaded them because my last post was my 199th published post and I wanted 200 to be something special. I finally decided to write something and get it over with. So without further adieu, I give you my

For those of you who've been reading since the beginning, I thank you. We've been through a lot together here on the blog. You were with me when I used to talk about boys and how stupid they were. When I went on my trip to Australia you eagerly anticipated the days when I'd post pictures. Hey, remember when I created my 101 things to do in 1001 days? It's over now and I think I may have gotten like, half of them done...  And oh my gosh! You were there when I went on my first date with Joe (!) back when I called him Johnny.

There are so many memorable moments. I'm just going to put a bunch of labels at the bottom of this blog post and you can feel free to browse through them at your own leisure. 

Thanks for reading everyone! And here's to another

I don't plan on ending this thing any time soon, so I'm sure we'll get to 400 :) Who's with me?

An Official Announcement

It's official. Johnny and I are "a thing", "dating", "in a relationship", whatever you want to call it.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole idea. Just over a week ago I was a young single lady with no attachments to anyone. Now I have a gentleman caller - a boyfriend, for those of you a little less old-fashioned.

Ooh, I think I like the sound of that: "I have a boyfriend". And I'm not just saying that to get some creeper off my back.

I now have someone to open the door for me, someone to pay for my meals at a restaurant, someone to cuddle with when I'm cold, someone to do whatever I ask of them and all I have to do is smile and look as pretty as he thinks I am. . . I could get used to this.

Life is Goooood

Guysguysguysguysguys, guess what!!

I like somebody. And he likes me back. And we're going on a date tonight.

He came over to my house last night and met my whole famajam. My dad says he's gutsy and the bros approve of him because they just want to get rid of me.

I guess I should give this mystery suitor a name. I will call him Johnny; short for Johnny Lingo. For those of you unfamiliar with Mormon culture, Johnny Lingo is a movie made by BYU about a shrewd trader named Johnny Lingo who pays eight cows for his wife, Mahana.

He's being called Johnny because when he came over for dinner on Sunday, he had two pineapples left over from the weekend, so he brought them in for us. My brothers now joke about me being only a 2 pineapple woman.

It has been a long time since I liked somebody this much and the last time was a joke because he totally led me on. So this time around, I know everything's for real - and it rocks.

Awesome on Multiple Levels

I think I just had the amazingest weekend of my life. KTJ has had some major hate-on-boy issues this week and so me, McFLY and PS ended up at her house almost all weekend. Remember PS? I introduced him to you back in March.

If you can remember back to the time when me and PS had our little chat about Plausible (or if you've just read the blog) and you're wondering how things with Plausible have panned out, don't get too excited. Nothing happened. I think it's partly my fault because I just sort of let things die down between us. I texted him to hang out when I got home and he said he'd check his schedule and now, two weeks later I still haven't heard from him. Oh well, life moves on.

PS and I got pretty tight this weekend, but I learned my lesson with Plausible and so rather than keep quiet and make assumptions, I asked PS what exactly was going on between us. We're just friends. We have to be because he goes on his mission in less than three months. And I am fine with it; he's too short for me anyway.

My favorite part of this weekend was the new friendships made and the old ones grown closer. I got to see KTJ and McFLY go from being just two cool girls-who-happen-to-know-each-other to being really good friends. And I like to think that I helped make it happen!

Even though it has caused KTJ a lot of grief and unhappiness, I am so glad that she and the Stupid Boy have stopped hanging out. Otherwise, a weekend like this would not have happened.

I'm Lame

Sometimes it baffles me that I have any friends because I am such a dork.

Last night I dug up my journal from when I was 15 and I must say I am slightly embarrassed for myself back then. All I ever talked about was boys! And I didn't even hang out with any, I just admired from afar. Was I a creeper? Heck yes I was.

I had a crush on my seminary teacher's son back in grade 10, and looking back on the entries I wrote about him, I'm pretty sure he didn't even know I existed - or care for that matter. Yet, I knew almost everything about him, even where he lived. Like I said, I was such a creep! (the key word being was, I have changed since then)

Nowadays, I have lots of guy friends that I actually hang out with and don't fall in love with them because they have nice hair or something lame like that. I would defeinitely say that I have learned to control my emotions. And the novelty of boys has totally worn off.

But on Sunday, I got a hug from the love of my life. I actually think that we might, like, totally get married someday because we are obviously soul mates. I mean, a boy doesn't hug you unless he loves you, right? Right?? o.O

Never Saw That One Coming

I have been having a lot of deja vus lately and I'm beginning to wonder if it means anything.

Am I going to die soon?? D=

Am I going to win the lottery? =D

Is my future husband going to make himself known?? =D (and is he Jarryd Hanye??)

I don't know what to think. But speaking of future husbands, or the possibility of having one...

Something weird/kinda cool happpened to me after church today. I was chatting with my buddy, John, when all of a sudden another friend of mine comes right up behind me and says, "Hey Nani, are you dating anyone?"

I looked at him funny and because I know he's already involved with someone else I said, "No. Why? Are you interested?"

He just laughed and told me he wasn't and walked off. Meanwhile, I was left standing there wondering who the heck wanted to find out about my relationship status. No one's shown any interest in me before (and if they have, I've already shot them down) and there haven't been any move-ins to the ward that I'm aware of. The only conclusion that I could make is that my new tan has brought me some new attention. I mean, it is pretty awesome if I do say so myself. Maybe I should leave the ward for a month more often...

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PS - I just tried to upload my vacation video onto youtube and it was cancelled because it was too long! That's a piss off.

Sing Praises

Sunday, April 4th, 8:34 pm

I went to church today with the Tongans and it was awesome! My favorite part about being in a Tongan ward is the singing. If you ever get the chance to go to a Tongan ward for church, do it! A Tongan ward is the Mormon version of the black Baptist choirs. They sing with such power and soul that you can't help but feel the spirit when you listen.

My family wasn't originally planning on staying for the whole block, but my cousins talked me into staying for Sunday school. Granted, it didn't take much convincing once they told me they had a YSA class. The only reason I went was for the boys; however, I was met by disappointment. They were nice to look at, but had no interest in getting to know me, even after they found out I was from Canada. It wasn't a total loss though, because I later found out that I'm related to half of them (of course!).

Anyway, the rest of my day was lovely as we had a big dinner with the family and then went to the temple in Hamilton to spend the evening. I still haven't been able to upload pictures, but no worries, I've been taking lots!

I Can Bat My Eyes and Get What I Want

The other night, I was talking with a buddy and we somehow got onto the topic of flirts and flirting. After some prodding, he told me that he and a few other guys had talked and said that they thought I was a flirt.

Me? A flirt?? A couple years ago I didn't even know how to flirt! He tried to reassure me by saying, "It's not a bad thing!", but still... A flirt? I was reeling from the fact that I have reached "flirt status" in the opinions of some of the guys of my ward.

Which only makes me shake my head at the inability of men to tell the difference between being friendly and flirting. I hate it when a guy gets all sketchy when I simply acknowledge their presence. The other night I was finally introduced to a guy that I have heard so much about. Apparently, we are practically the same person, except of different genders. After all the hype and excitement, I must say that the introduction was rather a let-down.

Friend: "Leinani! This is him!"
Me: "Oh, hi. You must be Graham."
My boy twin: "Erm, this is awkward. I've already heard so much about you."
Me: "Haha, yeah me too."
My boy twin: turns to my friend, messes up her hair, then runs away.

It was nice to meet you too, pal . . . I don't act like that, do I?

I May Have Been Holding Out On You

My good friend Denise, bless her soul, is such a good storyteller. When she opens her mouth to tell a story, people gather round to listen - literally. Whenever we see each other, she always asks me if I have any good stories to tell and every time, I shake my head sadly and tell her I don't.

Folks, let me share with you a secret about me: I am the kind of person that plays my cards close to the chest. When there is something happening in my life (and when I say "something" it ususally means boys), I usually tell it to a non-objective third party with no personal interest in the matter. That way, I can get the advice I need, but still have peace of mind that my problem will not be advertised to the world (as problems tend to be in any YSA community). So in other words, the more involved you are in my life, the less I tell you about it. Unless I just don't like you.

Last night, I found my non-objective third party. I was at a get together at Superpa's house and confided in Pirate Steve(PS). I totally didn't mean to. In fact, I nearly confided in Superpa while we had fort-talk, but he had to cut it off short. I was ready to leave with my coat in hand when PS and I just started chatting. First we chatted about hot girls, then sports and then fighting in sports (seriously, I am such a man). Before I knew it, everyone else was gone except for me. After I'd finished telling him about some rugby story of mine, I looked at the clock and realised I had to go. But then, Superpa comes out to say goodbye and tells me to tell PS all about my boy stories. I was slightly embarassed and assured PS that there were no boy stories to tell because the boys around here just suck that much. But then PS reminded me that he was leaving in the morning to go back to Saskatchewan and wouldn't see anyone until he was off his mission. Realising the opportunity I had to ask him something I'd had on my mind earlier, I took it.

The other night, I was texting a friend trying to make plans to hang out before I left for Australia. This friend is a boy. And I haven't made up my mind as to whether or not I like this boy. I may as well give him an alias since I've given all the other boys in this blog an alias as well. We shall call him... Plausible. Since it is plausible that I may like him - and because I feel like watching Mythbusters right now. Anyway, after a bit of texting back and forth, we came to the sad realization that we both have some busy schedules for the next week, and that we'll have to wait till I'm back to hang out. And you know what Plausible's reply was?

Plausible: "Awe, I would wait forever for you."
Me: "Well isn't that just the sweetest thing :)"
Plausible: "Only for you."

I stopped texting him after that because I wasn't entirely sure if he was joking and I wasn't entirely sure how to respond (And just so it doesn't seem like I'm desperate for him to have meant what he said, this is not the first time he's said stuff like this. It's only natural that I would want to know right?). So last night I asked PS if it would have been lame if I'd asked Plausible if he really meant it. Then PS called me out and said that I must like this boy, becuase otherwise I wouldn't have wondered if he were serious. Anyway, PS said it wouldn't have been lame if I'd asked him then and it wouldn't even be lame if I asked him now. And then - here's the kicker - PS told me that Plausible most likely did mean it because PS has used the same tactic before.

GAH!!! BOYS ARE STUPID! I mean, who says exactly what's on their mind? What kind of game is that? I wonder if they use this tactic in the hopes that maybe the girl will try to clarify if they were being serious and if she does, then he can come out and express his true, undying love for her. But you see, a girl is afraid to clarify because she's afraid that he wasn't being serious and then she would look like she is totally desperate and is not the kind of girl that you can joke around with.

Arghghhh, I don't even know if I am making sense anymore. I'm too tired to think about it. But congrats, my blogging friends, I now consider you to be a non-objective third party with no personal interest in the matter. Isn't that great? Now it means you could get more blog entries from me just as long as this one rambling on about some stupid boy problem. But hopefully they'll be juicy enough to quell your anger.

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I quoted a movie and a TV show. 500 points/quote if you can tell me what the quote was and where it is from.

The Darndest Things

I was babysitting a little girl named Lily last night and she told me the cutest thing!

Lily: You know, boys shouldn't mess with girls.

Me: Oh? Why's that?

Lily: Because we can kill them. We eat our vegetables so we are big and strong.

I think I've eaten a few too many vegetables...

Dang.

Don't you hate when you go to say something, but someone interrupts you and so you wait and by the time you get the chance to speak, you've forgotten what it was you wanted to say?

Try having that happen with a blog.

I kid you not, all day long I've been thinking stuff up and there have been some really awesome brain things going on inside my head, but now - pfft! it's gone.

I came onto my laptop to do one thing and one thing only: blog. And then all of a sudden I found myself on Facebook. And then on someone else's blog. And on some other random site that I have never been to before. Goodness gracious, it's a good thing I don't have some big important date to go on or else I'd probably miss that too. Or -- do I??!

No, I'm good. I nearly forgot that my life has a severe lack of love interests for the time being. There's lots of the we're-just-friends type, but none of the maybe-something-more kind. Le sigh.

Boys are awesome.*

Anyway, let's move on...

As you know, I've been running my buns off lately. It's going really well! I feel really good. Today I took my cousin and my trek sister out to the rugby club to practise some contact drills. It was great. That is my favorite part of rugby. However, I made a worrying discovery: I can't fall properly on my left side.

In rugby, it is very important for one to know how to land properly when one is tackled so as not to bring injury upon oneself. If one can't land on one's left side, that means one can't get tackled there. And if one really hates getting tackled on one's left side, then that throws one off because one would be more worried about one's knee than the ball and essentially, the game.

So. Why does this matter to you, dear reader? It probably doesn't. But, be grateful for your knees. If you have two fully functional knees that you don't worry about everyday, be grateful! Knees are more important than you think. And if you don't have fully functional knees and are bound to a wheelchair, I apologize for my whining. I am still grateful for the one good knee I have left and I am especially grateful for the wonderful progress my bad knee has made. (I can sit cross-legged again!)

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I didn't get everything that I thought of today, but whatevs, maybe it'll come to me later. As long as the awesome brain things going on inside my head aren't interrupted again.

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*- In case you didn't catch any of the sarcasm** dripping off of that comment, here is an alternate phrase that can be used in the context without any sarcasm: Boys are lame.

**- They should invent a font specifically for sarcastic comments. And if that actually does happen, let it be known that I blogged about it first. Maybe. Well, I dibs it, how about that?

You Drive Me Crazy!

I am going to make a list of the top 10 things that annoy me. Just for the heck of it.

10. Excessive chivalry. Guys, if you're reading this, just know that a girl appreciates having a door opened for her every once in a while. But if we have to wait around for you to get there for us, it'll become annoying.

9. Boys that wink at everybody. I've known a few of the excessive winking type, and at first I think they're really into me because they're always winking at me. But then when I see that they just wink all the time, I kind of feel sorry for them. Maybe you should get that checked out...

8. Boys who can't take a hint. Guys, if I'm just not that into you, I will try to let you know! Generally I usually try to stick in as many "buddy"s and "pal"s whenever I'm talking to you. And if I've ever punched you (playfully or not), you can bet I only see you as a friend.

7. Hair. I hate seeing it on my clothes and I hate seeing it on other people.

6. People that chew their gum loudly. You sound like a cow!

5. People who drive too slow.

4. People who overstay their welcome. I try to drop subtle hints to suggest that they leave but they just don't get it. So I eventually have to kick them out. Does that make me a bad hostess?

3. Poor grammar/spelling. Learn the difference between your and you're; there, their and they're; and hear and here. GAH!

2. Picky children. You're going to eat whatever I make for you and you're going to like it!

1. Whiny children. I can't fix all of your problems. You stubbed your toe? What am I supposed to do for it?

Maybe for 1, I should have put "loud children" instead. Today I was babysitting The Kids, and Adam had two of his frends over to play. They were upstairs playing video games and I was downstairs watching the Olympics when all of a sudden I hear the loudest, girliest squeal I have ever heard. I knew it was Adam because I recognized the squeal, so I made my way upstairs just to make sure the boys hadn't broken anything in the ruckus. Everyone was fine, but my eardrums were protesting the squeals coming from Adam. That boy is sooo annoying! I have two brothers at home who are constantly rough-housing and always causing trouble. But at least when they're wrestling, they don't scream like little girls. Maybe Adam should take some notes from them so he can learn to buck up, rub some dirt in it and walk it off.

Children and Weddings and Balls, Oh My!

Good news: I worked yesterday! Let me fill you in on the exciting job that is mine - I babysit children. But to make it sound good, I call myself a nanny because the first thing I think of when I hear the word nanny is Mary Poppins. And who doesn't love Mary Poppins?

I nanny three children: an 11 year old boy (Adam)and twin 10 year old girls (Natalia and Lauren). They're not bad because they're fairly independent, but I worry about the mind-numbing amount of video games and TV they watch. Which is why I've decided to make them more involved around the house. Yesterday I presented them with some new rules: 1. They have to help me make dinner, 2. We have to eat dinner together at the table with no TV, and 3. They have to wash their own dishes when they're done eating. The girls were excited about the rules, but the boy whined about the no TV at dinner part. If I can stick to these rules and the punishments that go along with them, I think it'll be really good for the kids. And good practice for when I have a family of my own (which, at the rate I'm going, won't be for a while!). Yesterday night went well, I found out that the boy has never washed a dish in his life! I'm sure he'll thank me when he's older.

Last night I finally found the wedding invitation for D&K's wedding, so I texted Suitman the details. It's on the same night as the Sweetheart's Ball, but I wasn't worried because I hadn't been asked. I figured Suitman and I would go to the wedding and maybe if he was interested, we could swing by the ball afterward just to see what's up (Suitman isn't mormon, so he doesn't know about the ball). However, I encountered a hitch in my plan when the doorbell rang. My brother answered the door only to find that someone had left a toy boat on our step with a note for me attached. It read: "We could party like we're on a boat if you came to the sweethearts dance with me!!!". I knew exactly who was asking me and when he had brought up the subject of Sweethearts in an earlier conversation, I told him that I wasn't planning on going, but wouldn't say no if someone asked. ME AND MY BIG MOUTH!

So now I have two dates for next Friday night. I don't know what to do! After Suitman and I go to the wedding, should I have him drop me off at the Sweethearts Ball so I can go off and meet Boatboy? Or should I have Suitman take me home after the wedding just in time for Boatboy to pick me up? If I go with the first idea, I have to be honest with both of the guys and tell them that I have another date planned for the night. With the second idea, I lie to them both and hope that I have really good timing with Suitman so that he and Boatboy don't cross paths at my house. One results in a potentially awkward conversation with both guys and the other has the potential to end up in neither of them knowing about the other if things go according to plan. This is where comments would be appreciated, folks!

Oh... Hello, Again.

This week I've started going to my new insititute classes, hooray! Taking a semester off has left me spending more time at home than I would like, so the new reason to go out is quite welcome. I've also got my cousin coming out to institute; Bishop would be proud. Today, we were on the southside and I made the awkward discovery that the last guy I had a major crush on is in my institute class. Joy...... I'm just grateful that the encounter wasn't made more awkward with the presence of his wife.

Allow me to elaborate: I really liked this boy. A lot. We met in October of 2008. I took him to Preference in November and by December, I'd say we were pretty tight. I thought that he was into me too when he came to my house after my knee surgery to keep me company. I realized I was wrong when I walked in to a party to see him on the couch cuddling with his new girlfriend. I was livid. Both of his closest friends knew that I really liked him, so I would imgaine that they had passed the message along. I guess it doesn't mean a guy likes you when he constantly flirts with you and does anything you ask of him. Whatever. I talked to him about us on Facebook a few days after the party, and he said, "I thought we were just friends". BULL!! Like I said before, two of his closest friends knew that I liked him because I told them. I'm pretty sure that he knew as well. Needless to say, Just Friends and I were not as close as before in the months to follow. When he got engaged in March I was just glad that it meant he would be out of my ward come July. And I haven't seen him since that summer. That is, until today.

At Least I Look Good

I am so jealous of boys. They don't realise how easy they have life. When a guy has to get ready for a formal evening, all he has to do is shave, run a comb through his hair and throw on a suit. The longest I can see this taking is an hour. Whereas, for me, an hour is the smallest amount of time it will take me. I may not speak for all girls, but when I get ready for a formal event, it can take a whole afternoon if I have the time - and I consider myself pretty low maintenance! There are a million things to do to get ready: I shower, I shave, I do my hair, I moisturize, I pick a dress, I do my makeup, and I accessorize.

On Saturday I went to a formal dinner with my buddy, Suitman. Suitman owns a suit; therefore, he is eligible to accompany me to any function that requires formal wear (namely weddings). This weekend was different though, because he invited me when it is usually the other way around. It took me a good 2 and a half hours to get ready, which is pretty good considering the dress I'd chosen to wear:

Sure, it may look nice and make me look pretty good, but that thing is a huge pain-in-the-rump to get into! In the back it's got corset ties to do up and there is no way that I could ever do it myself. My mother was at a basketball game while I was getting ready, so I had to call a friend from down the street to do up my dress! Luckily, suitman was a little late in picking me up, so I had the chance to do some last minute adjustments to my look. I asked him how long it took him to get ready and he said half an hour! That's 20% of the time it took for me to get ready!

Oh, the joys of being a girl.