Gretch-a-sketch (old)

Holy cats, I turn twenty-one today! This means absolutely nothing as far as the most people view this occasion, i.e. I'm not planning on going out and getting plastered. In the Mormon community, all 21 implies is "You mean you're not married yet? You should really get working on that." (Joking! Mostly.)

I love everything about birthdays. I love the food and the tacky decorations and the attention and who are we kidding? I love getting gifts! But looking back on my past birthdays, I can remember more about what I've done to celebrate and who I've spent it with instead. (Look at me, getting all wise in my old age!)

Age 3: My first birthday party! I was the only girl in attendance, as my parent's friends convieniently managed to have all boys. (Seriously good odds. It's really a pity I was too young to care.) We made crime scene-style tracings of our little bodies on butcher paper. Mom and Dad? That was kind of morbid, but AWESOME.

Age 7: We went to a strawberry field and picked strawberries. When we came home, every girl got a jar of homemade freezer jam to take with them. Best. Party idea. Ever.

Age 8: Baptism day! My Grandma Teedie made me a cake with pink marshmallow flowers.

Age 9: The fourth grade class was supposed to go on a field trip to a gem mine. It was too rainy and I was so sad--we had one of those giant Mrs. Fields Cookies with frosting to take with us and everything. My mom was chaperoning and decided to take me out of school. Her, the Lil' Bro, and I went to go mine our own gems, just the three of us. This? This is why I love my mom. I found garnets, moonstones, and lots of other treasures, now tucked away in a box somewhere.

Age 12: This was the first time I was away from home for my birthday (this year being the second), because I was spending the week at Girl's Camp. When I got back, my family took me to Marie Calendar's and I got my first real camera.

Age 14: I had such a tight group of friends in middle school. We went to the zoo for a night concert and ate angel food cupcakes with chocolate whipped cream. Later that summer, I'd find out we were moving to Utah--I was devestated to leave them behind.

Age 18: This was the Senior Dinner Dance--I had a blast, but it was also difficult knowing that high school was really, truly coming to a close. You can just imagine the senior class in one big circle, all hugging to the strains of Vitamin C's "Friends Forever."

Age 20: The night before my official birthday, the family and I went to go see the Pioneer Theatre Company's Broadway-quality Les Miserables. That was as much a spiritual experience for me as just about anything else. Cried my guts out.

Age 21: Internship, Class, Work, Lab. Boring! No huge plans, but I'm still going to enjoy the heck out of the day. Here's to another great year!

I was pondering what I wanted to do with my life Saturday night, because as fun as hanging out with the bff and chowing down on Reduced Fat Wheat Thins and frozen pudding was, I'm pretty sure there's more beyond that. I lamented that I lost the "Things to do before I die" list I made a few years ago when I was hit with an epiphany! I'd make a list, but break it down into manageable decades. I guess I already got a start on it with this Top Three, but it was begging to be expanded. It's probably going to change a lot, so if you have any brilliant suggestions, let me know!

Twenties

Tour Europe
Get my Bachelor's Degree (almost there!) and Master's Degree
Be in a band
Fall madly and hopelessly in love with the man of my dreams
Marry him
Start a family
Become a Mac person
Make money from writing
Be an intern (Check!)
Take a roadtrip ( I'm hoping this will pan out in July with the bff and the new In-N-Out in Southern Utah.)
Participate in NaNoWriMo
Buy a pair of boots from J.Crew
Own Chuck Taylors in a unique color
Make a sizable dent in my To-Read list
Be kissed on top of the Eiffel Tower
Go to the Sundance Film Festival and meet a C-list celebrity
Be taken on a ridiculously expensive date
Take up yoga
Learn to love running
Visit at least five new museums
Watch the full series of Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks, and Battlestar Gallactica
Give up TV for a year six months
Create a classier & snazzier website/blog
Ride on a motorcycle with a dangerously hot guy
See a musical on Broadway
Get a killer (possibly literal) natural tan
Go to a Drive-In movie (I still can't believe I've never done this.)
Throw a memorable party
Adopt a pet
Get an outrageous hair cut and/or color
Learn how to properly use knives for cooking
Go on an honest-to-goodness camping trip
Quit a job that I hate
Finish a project I want to quit
Eat healthier
Try every flavor of Jones Soda
Develop a personal style (in the works) and OWN it
Make friends with people in the indie/alt music scene
Play in the Gateway Water Fountains
Learn how to drive a stick shift

I love being twenty, don't get me wrong. But one of the downsides of this age is the awkward clothes limbo. The Juniors stuff mostly makes me feel like I'm thirteen and I look young enough for my age as is! Also, I swear their stuff keeps shrinking. I am not a large, people, but apparently the designers beg to differ. The Misses items are getting potentially cuter, but I'm not ready to go there yet. And my parents wonder why I shop online... But tonight was a success, which makes me unspeakably happy!
I wish I could share pics, but I left my cable up at school. Blog FAIL.

1. I got this cute royal blue jacket with striped detailing at the bottom and sleeves. It's got these really cute wood toggles at the bottom of the hood strings. All it's missing is a cute boy and a bonfire at the dunes. Anchor Blue, $9.97

2. There's nothing like a flowy, bright blue top to get one in the mood for summer! Sheer flowers and adorable sleeves! Substitute the bonfire for a BBQ at the lake and we have a winner! Anchor Blue, $5.97

3. This last one's the best, coming in at two junior bacon cheeseburgers. It's a grey-blue tank with silver swan outlines over the front. Swans! So cute. Mervyns, $2.00

The best part of all was that I had store credit to Anchor Blue, thanks to my picky lil' bro not liking one of his Christmas gifts from the mom. I left having spent only $6. SIX dollars. I rock at bargain shopping. Did that sound braggy? I didn't mean for it to sound braggy. (Okay, maybe a little.)

Oh my gosh, I hate to subject the blogosphere to the atrocity I saw at Famous Footwear, but I can't keep it to myself.
CROCS WITH METALLIC ACCENTS. Oh, the horror!

1. Live in New York. What young, single adult doesn’t want to spend some time trying to make it in the Big Apple? I just adore a penthouse view! Darling, I love you, but give me Park Avenue. (Other options I'd consider: Chi-town or Seattle)

2. Be in a band. There’s a lot I have to do before this can happen (i.e. get an electric guitar, find people to be in the band, and actually get good at the guitar) but it’s all doable. We don’t have to be great, just good enough to play a few gigs. That’s all I ask.

3. Road trip! Dude, if this isn’t a Stuff White People Like entry yet, it should be. I never got the whole “road trip” experience in high school, so I’m just waiting for it to happen in this era of my life. Preferably SoCal, but at this point I’d take anywhere warm and sunny, like St. George.