tagged with pet peeves

**note: i apologize, before you read this, at the length. i got a little carried away.**

i've been tagged. christie tagged me to list my pet peeves. but truth be told, i'm a little uneasy about it. i have this deeply embedded fear that as soon as people know about them, they go out of their way to do them around me. so here's hoping that doesn't happen.

in no particular order, here are my top 10:

1- recycled air. this may sound ridiculous - isn't all air recycled, shan? no. i mean air directly exhaled out of living things. particularly humans and dogs. you know, when its warm air and is right in your face. i hate that. it makes me want to drowned in a sea of boiling lava. that's how much i hate it.

2- disrespect. particularly to people who deserve it the most. like parents or teachers, church leaders, etc. (i must admit i'm guilty at times, but not very often, and usually not entirely on purpose.) but in the past few years i've noticed it more than ever. people don't show respect and it really, really bothers me. especially to parents and teachers. you parents gave you so much your whole life, and you repay them by showing them no respect? nuh huh. that just doesn't fly with me.

3- swearing. i know a vast majority of the populated world uses some sort of profanity in their daily speech, but really? aren't the other words you could say? i just think it makes people sound unintelligent. if you can think of a better way to describe something or how you feel than with select 4-letter words, you seriously need to expand your vocabulary. seriously. go pick up a dictionary and read it until you have better verbal options.

4- incorrect alignment of things. i hate when things aren't straight. pictures. books. lines on a piece of paper. you get the gist. i'm slightly ocd about it. i have this need to fix it if it isn't straight. its a curse, really. however, this curse seems to leak out into other areas of my life, thus making me a fairly tidy person. (i have my moments of slobbery, but in general i'm pretty neat.) just do me a favor, when you hang pictures on a wall, or draw a map for someone, make sure they're straight. or i just might go insane.

5- when other people think they are more important than other people. for example, at my job, i answer the phones, but frequently find my calls interrupted by my fellow league staffers. they come up to my desk and just start talking loudly. i just look at them, holding up a finger to signal them to wait a minute while i finish my current call. but they just keep on talking, apparently thinking that that finger signal i gave them meant "please talk louder". its so distracting and then the person on the phone wonders whats going on and the remainder of my call consists of my grumbling how stupid and ignorant people are. its really just no good. who's to say they are more important that whoever i'm talking to on the phone? i mean, come on. wait a minute for me to finish and then you can yap in my ears. grr... it irritates me so much. have a little patience and courtesy, seriously.

6- ear touching. ever since i was little, i have hated people touching my ears. there's not a logical reason for it. i just don't like it. it really bugs me. in fact, in 8th or 9th grade, my friend johnny thought it would be a funny idea to sneak up behind me and touch my ears. little did he know, i was an excellent karate chopper. he flicked my ear, and right as he started laughing, i swung around and hit him in the chest and kicked his knee - completely out of reflex! so don't mess with me - "i know karate" (classic line from 'while you were sleeping' - thank you joe jr.)

7- squeaking sounds. like chalkboards or old brakes. hate it. it makes my ears hurt.

8- fake people. although i used to be quite good at it, i hate when people pretend to love you. there is a distinct difference between being polite and being fake. its polite to be courteous and not rude to other people, but that doesn't mean you have to be their best friend. in high school, i was surrounded by a few people like that. they were your best friend when no one else better was around... yuck. just be polite... not fake.

9- snow after february 15th. winter should end on valentines, snow should melt on the 15th and then summer should last from the middle of february until the beginning of july. i hate cold weather at the end of april - its supposed to be warm! its spring, for crying out loud. so no snow after valentines.

10- poor volume. i hate when things are too loud or too quiet. there IS a happy medium for sound. people talking on the phone shouldn't yell, but shouldn't whisper either. music in public places should be loud enough that patrons can hear what song is playing and easily recognize it, but it should be soft enough that said patrons can have a normal-volumed conversation. concerts should not blare noise out of speakers just to prove how loud the speakers can go. if the music is too loud, you can't enjoy it. its painful. and while we on the subject, why at every concert do they want the guitars and everything else louder than the vocals? i know that was a generalization, but i've been to a fair amount of shows and it seems to usually be the story - the bass and guitar have to drowned out everything else, even the drums! now, this isn't an attack on either of those instruments. i just so happen to love the guitar and the bass. i just also love pianos (when present in bands) and vocals. what's the use in writing words and singing them at a show if the audience can't hear them because the guitar is much too loud? dumb.

now that i've gotten my top 10 irritations (as of late) out, here are my top 10 things that bring my joy:

in a very particular order:

1- my family: daddy, mom, austin, tay, brysey, tanman, braden, brin, and pie face. they have always been my favorites and will be forever. i have the greatest family ever! we have our quirks and weird family idiosyncrasies, but we have so much fun together. always. my favorite memories are either around our dinner table laughing together, or trying to read scriptures or have family prayer but get so caught up in laughter we all end up crying on the floor because we laugh so hard. i love it.

1- (yes i know there are two #1's, but due to recent events in my life, i couldn't put branson and #2, now could i?) you guessed it, branson. he is my utmost favorite. i love him so much. and i'm so excited for these next 48 days to pass so he can be mine for eternity. he is so great to me and i can't think of anything i'd rather do than be with him. just the other day, he came to my house with a cup-full of tulips he had picked out of his yard for me. how sweet is that? it made my whole day.

sidenote: branson's family is also included in #1. they have quickly risen to my favorites as well. i know i haven't known them long, but i'm so grateful they are also mine for eternity and i'm looking forward to spending more and more time with them as their new daughter and sister in law. and i'm super excited to be an aunt! i'm sure wesley will warm up to me sooner or later... ha ha

3- the temple. i love the temple. nothing compares to the feeling inside the temple. it can't be duplicated anywhere else. and can't fully be described in words. but i love it. and can't wait to go again. i need to go soon! (this one also includes my love for the gospel, and the church of jesus christ of latter day saints... thanks to which, we have temples. so its all inclusive.)

4- playing the piano. although lately i've been frustrated at my level of skills. i have seriously lost part of my talent, but i'm slowly getting it back. practice makes perfect, right? right. but i love being able to sit down and play. i love reading a piece of music for the first time and knowing that i can read it and play it right then and there. pianos are such great instruments. they're so versatile - from classical to jazz to pop to rap songs that include piano. great. i love it.

5- cooking. i love making food for other people. i love the satisfaction of making something, having other people eat it, and knowing how good it is. i love it. i mentioned this a week or two ago when branson and i had chad over for dinner and he basically licked the creme brulee pan clean. that made me so happy. it bring joy into my life to make other people happy with food.

6- extended family. our family is quite unique in how close we are. my best friends are my cousins. that's how its always been. we all get along quite well and have so much fun together. ping-pong tournaments with 20 people crammed in one room, running around yelling, "paddle head! paddle head!" ha ha or just gathering together for some good food and good chats. my family is great.

7-good friends. i have great friends. i've made a lot of friends throughout the years, and most have moved away or i've left behind. we probably don't keep in great contact, but when big life events happen, the lines of communication are always open and people are notified and allowed to catch up a bit. these are the people who have helped me grow - i've had a lot of great examples in my life to look up to.

8- perfect fitting jeans. in this day and age, everyday it seems to get harder and harder to find jeans that a) fit well and b) are modest. its so hard! i'm so short that i have a hard time finding jeans that are the right length. they can't be too short - they have to cover my shoes. but they can't be too long, or i trip. so you can imagine the complexity of my jean shopping excursions. along with the length, i'm picky about color. i hate blue blue jeans. i prefer really dark washes or really really light ones. none of this medium blue-ness. so you can imagine my joy when i found the perfect pair of jeans yesterday. they are zana di jeans and are a dark stonewash. they're fantastic.

9- good music. lately, a lot of minimalistic jazz - madeleine peyroux and melody gardot are my current favorites. can't get enough. but also noteworthy (ha ha i made a joke): big bandish jazz - i.e. michael buble, harry connick jr, ella, frank, the classics. acoustic jams. chill pop - i.e. jack johnson, colbie caillat, donovan frankenreiter, missy higgins, paulo nutini. i love it all.

10- sports. i really love watching a good sports match. baseball particularly, but also basketball, football and soccer. lacrosse and rugby also make the list. i love a good competition between two good teams. like say the angels and the red sox. (angels beat the red sox today 7-5, bytheway. yay!) a good baseball game, a bag of peanuts or seeds, a tall glass of water, and i'm set. take me out to the ball game. i'm ready.