Monday, October 12, 2009

I'm leaving on a jetplane. I don't know when I'll be back again. Oh wait, yes I do. 18 months, haha.... ha... ha.... eh

I guess it's appropriate that I write a goodbye blog since this will be my last time posting on "Our Thoughts Exactly" so Lauren, you better change it to "My Thoughts Exactly." You can find my new blog in 18 months under the title "Overweight, Awkward, but Oh So Spiritual."
To name a few, these are the things that I will miss the most, in no special order:
Jeans, in particular skinny jeans, my animals (special shout-out to Wilma and Nannie Boo Boo), my Green Rocketdogs, of course you, my friends who read my lame blog, Tennis, Christmas presents, not wearing nylons, not waking up at 6:30 am, my hot body, facebook, music, namely Angels and Airwaves, Safety Suit, Frou Frou, and Anberlin, BYU, My family (yes even Jens), Desperate Housewives and Glee, Evening Bike rides with Leah, and my longer than one inch earrings.

But even missing all of these wonderful things won't stop me from leaving. I know what you're thinking, crazy right? And maybe I am but if I've learned anything in my life, it's that you do what the Lord tells you to do and have faith in Him and things will be okay. Although Missouri definitely wasn't my first choice of a mission, I'm sort of warming up to the idea of hangin with all the hillbillies and possums. So if you need me, I'll be kickin it in the Independence Visitors' Center, preaching, giving tours, and passing out BofM's like crazy. Pray for me and my unfortunate companions and I'll see you soon.

Love Always,
Rachael Marie Howe

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Some Things I never knew

Okay, so there is only one thing I never knew that I am going to publish in this post and it's called Lindsey/Lydia and her lady of the night ways.

Where is this coming from you ask? What evidence do I have? Behold-the evidence:




Yes, I know-looks can be deceiving. Let me explain. One, Lindsey rolls herself in big yellow tubes wearing next to nothing and tries to seduce men. At Seven Peaks no less. And Two, she comes home in the middle of the night dressed only in her princess comforter. Hmm . . . I wonder where she was? A little sketchy I think. Now I will allow you all to draw your own opinions, but as for me I now believe that Lindsey is just not the sweet, innocent person that I always thought she was.

On a brighter note, or a completely random note (I just want to post this picture) We went to Seven Peaks . . .
Sure it was like two months ago, but I don't care. It was fun and since Rachael is leaving in about two weeks I figured it was time to post this photo.

Here's A Little Snack



..... because i love you

-rach

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

You're My Little Fluffy One


As of yesterday, I have three more things to love. BUNNIES! If you know me then you know how much I adore all things furry so this was a fantastic surprise for me. They haven't been named yet but I'm sure when we do, the caliber of their names will be up in the ranks of "Mimi Foo Foo", "Shining Zshaw Zshaw", "Atinka Glassy", and "Nannie Boo Boo."



Wilma (my wonderful dog) is excited about the whole thing.... a little too excited. Whenever we go out to look at the little babies she glares at them then innocently looks up at me as if to say, "Ummm... can you please give me those fluffy things." I won't, considering she caught a squirrel not two days ago and made it's eyes pop out of its tiny head, the little darling.



Well, that's my latest exciting news.... oh wait, there's one other thing. I had a first on Saturday. I went horseback riding in the rain! The horse riding part wasn't my first but the rain part was. How incredibly romantic right? Except my dad was the only male around. I often get so close to what could potentially be a romantic situation but is lacking in one key element... a strapping, young bachelor. One day *sigh. But until then I have three new friends to keep me company.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Wordle


Sometimes I have trouble sleeping and so what is there to do but explore the vast and unknown territory of the internet. On my most recent venture I found this nifty little site where you can create fun word art.

This first one includes the first couple of lines to a timeless love story and one of my favorite books. Can you guess which one it is?


This Wordle is all about ME.


And this last one is of one of my favorite quotes by Mary Wollstonecraft.


Anyway, You should go to wordle.net and check it out. It's kind of fun.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Cake Wrecks



Recently my friend Caytee Wankier showcased a noteworthy blog on her blog that I just had to pass on to you. It's all about cakes, the good, the bad, and the ugly (but mostly just the bad and the ugly). I've found the website to be an absolute delight. So, for your viewing pleasure, here are some excerpts from cakewrecks.blogspot.com and if you like what you see you should definitely check it out because there's plenty more where that came from.



The message couldn't be more clear: Recycle, or die in a fiery mushroom cloud. Now that's how you teach the younger generations, my friends.


"Okay Super...uh...Sam?...just keep your hands where I can see them!"


Ah, yes: the great clown massacre of '77.


Lastly, though, is a truly "special" Dora. A Dora that stands out in the crowd. A Dora that says, "my baker sees the world a little differently." A "manager's special" Dora, if you will:

What the cake was supposed to look like:

Oooh, preeeetty

How the cake actually turned out:

Oooh, shii...er...NOT pretty.


Who else thinks there's a roll of toilet paper under there?

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

And Don't Come Back for Five to Seven Days!



Once upon a time there was a girl who was in some serious need of adventure in her life because Sanpete turkeys and youth conference adolescents just weren’t cutting it. So, with her wonderful family (minus Jens), she traveled to the wonderful land of Midway where her condo and exciting enterprises awaited her.
Yes, I got the heck out of Ephraim for six days, and it would have been seven if I didn’t have to go back to work, lame. But no matter; this little vaca hit the spot, now let me tell you why.

Day 1: Immediately upon arrival at our condo, me and the siblings stripped ourselves of our confining, ordinary clothes and put on more appropriate attire… SWIMMING SUITS, and headed to the nearest body of water. The Howe family practically lives in their swimming suits when they go on vacation. It’s just the way it is.
Later that night mommy and daddy took me and only me (because they love me best) to the Zermot Resort where we enjoyed a fabulous Seafood buffet. The sushi, coconut shrimp, crab legs, and truffles were my favorites.

Day 2: Ahhh, day two was a good day. We went boating and Jet skiing with some of the extended family on my mom’s side. Yes I went tubing, yes I did a back flip off the tube when we hit a thousand foot high wave, yes I almost died, and yes I loved every minute of it… thanks Uncle Steve. My dad thought he was something else riding that skidoo, and me and mom had to persecute him a little.

Day 3: Day three was a Sunday so nothing too thrilling happened on the Sabbath, it being holy and all. However, we did go to Cascade Springs with my mom’s sister and her family. I think Cascade Springs is one of the most beautiful places in Utah and I’m sorry that my pictures don’t do it justice.
After our little nature walk we went to a family bbq with my mom’s side of the family which was an adventure in itself. You think my mom’s crazy, try multiplying that by 50 and you’ll get a little taste of a Christensen family get-together. They’re wild, extreme, and maybe even a little mad, but I heart them.

Day 4: Day four was a magical day because we went to Park City and you know what that means, shopping at the outlet malls! Not only did I take advantage of the many great deals that the Tanger malls have to offer, I also discovered two things: one, a J. Crew outlet mall, and two: a new friend made entirely of legos. I wanted to touch. “I like can I touch?” –ten points to the one who can name that SNL clip.

Day 5: At this point I realized that my vacation was coming to an end so I had to act quick and do something extreme before it was too late. Thus, once again we journeyed to Park City and you know what that means, Utah Olympic Park (after a little morning tennis of course)! First we watched some future Olympians skiing off these sweet jumps into a swimming pool. It reminded me of mine and Lauren’s skiing days. Yeah, we were that good *cough. Before the skiers would hit the water, someone would turn on a machine that would pump a lot off air into the pool, creating a lot of bubbles and foam at the surface, making it a softer land for the children. But soon we had enough of watching others having fun and we were ready to have some fun of our own. First we went up the ski lift so we could go down the alpine slide. I think my car was retarded because I never could get it to go very fast. The slide was amusing but not nearly as exciting as what we were about to do next… Go on the steepest Zip Line in the WORLD! (No joke, it really is). Two words: Pure Ecstasy. As you can see from the picture, I was the winner because Zip Lines are not new to me and I know that to travel the fastest you have to curl in a little ball while going down.
After the first run we knew that we would not be satisfied with just one ride, so we bought more tickets and sailed down the mountain a second time. My fellow riders caught onto my technique, mimicked it, and needless to say I did not win a second time. Usually I would be seriously upset because I hate losing with a passion, especially to my brothers, but it was okay this day. The thrill of the ride fulfilled all my desires. P.S. That tiny box on the very top of the mountain on the horizon is where we started.


Day 6: I ended my vacation with a bang. Mid-afternoon, we strapped on our swimming suits and headed down to Vivian Park, which you and I both know is right on the Provo River. My mom had reserved us tubes to go down the river in. After checking in and grabbing a life jacket, we all boarded a school bus and headed up river to where our ride would begin. One may have thought that it would be a nice, relaxing ride down the river, but no dear reader, it wasn’t. First of all, the water could have housed ice monsters, if they existed, we had to make sure we got out of the water before we went under, in our instructor’s words “the bridge of death,” we had to remember left right right because those are the ways we were to turn when the river forked and if you went the wrong way, you were screwed. Not to mention all the sharp, jagged rocks and pokey trees and bushes on the bank that we had to avoid. Because Leah wasn’t yet thirteen, her tube had to be hooked onto mine which made steering even more difficult. Luckily we made it to the end okay. My mom and brother Jordan weren’t so lucky. They were the last to get in the water and so no one was there to rescue them from the knarly bushes that captured their connected tubes. When they tried to free themselves, Jordan’s tube came out of its casing and my mom’s tube started leaking air. Then Jord’s tube somehow got disconnected from my mom’s and started floating down the river. My mom was able to swim and catch him but she lost some blood doing it. One of her toenails is now in two (I should have got a picture). But there were no fatalities and I had a blast so I’m calling the river run a success.

I love vacations. I love getting away because when I do I am reintroduced to the fun, happy girl that I really am. I find myself again while on vacations like these. I find enough of me to hold me over until my next break from a sometimes mundane life.

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