be a Gal not a Pal

the following is taken from THIS article found on It's not you, it's your technique -- Alisa Goodwin Snell.

To identify if you act like a pal instead of a gal, ask yourself the following:

1. Do I occasionally tilt my head and smile at him from across the room, look away, and then look back again?
   
2. Do I ever cross my legs and gently tap my foot in his direction or slowly play with my hair, jewelry, or a pen when he is near?
3. Do I act feminine when I talk with him (i.e., soften and fluctuate my voice, talk with my hands, tilt my hips, cross my legs, or touch him briefly)?
   
4. Do I let him open my door or accept his offers of help?
   
5. Do I make him feel needed, trusted, and appreciated?
   
6. Do I express to him my feelings, needs, or opinions—and in a manner that demonstrates my faith that he cares?
   
7. Do I leave the conversation early, at a high point, rather than waiting for him to say he has to go?

If you answer yes to any of the above--you're probably acting more like a Gal than a Pal.  Good for you!  It's not that easy for some of us... (myself included)

remember this awkwardness?  Jordz is the ginger version of the Buck! They have the same glasses!! {insert nonstop laughter here}... ahem.

My married friends and I were talking about this.  How does one try to skip the friend zone altogether and just date the guy?..

We came up with a few pointers of our own:

1.  Make sure you flirt only with the guys you like!  The boys you flirt with are the ones who ask you on dates, right?  Right.  This will also (hopefully) solve the problem of all the boys you don't like {yet you are comfortable flirting with} asking you out!
2.  Don't treat the guy you like as you would your girl friend.  Allow the confiding in him and telling him personal things to come naturally...don't just blurt out and say something you'd only tell a close friend right away! 
3.  It's important that if he asks you to do something make sure you understand your roles.  Is it a date, or are you just hanging out?  Just ask him!  {when in doubt--spell it out!}

This was interesting to think about!  I know I get nervous around the men I'm interested in because I'm 12 years old at heart...  But if I ever want anything to happen, I'm going to need to step out of my comfort zone and stop caring so much about whether or not he's interested or not.. ...Who cares, really!  It'll happen when it's supposed to, but it couldn't hurt for me to put forth a little effort.  Ha. 

What do you do in your dating pursuits?  I'm interested to know!

***

awkward family fotos

the other day I was laughing out loud looking at the fotos on the awkward family photos website.  My dad walked over to see what was so funny.  I showed him what I was looking at, he laughed along with me, and then we got to this picture:

and dad says


wait... what's wrong with that picture?!... oooh dad.  This is why you don't get wardrobe choice privileges when we get our family pictures taken..



and for your enjoyment, some more of the awkwardness:

post no. 601

ha.  i must think i have a lot to say or something with that kind of number!  i'm actually really glad i have all of my random thoughts down.  i've told friends before that i love blogging more than journaling sometimes because blogging captures my everyday cares and worries along with my personality.  fun times!

anyway, this is not what i wanted to tell you about!

many of you know i've been on about a million dates.  i've joked (mostly being serious) that i could write a book about all my first dates alone.  oh, the awkwardness that occurs!

well, dear Brittany over at Really-He's Just Not That Into You asked me to write about {just} one of the worst dates I've been on.

if you are curious and want to read all about it,

go HERE.

also... plenty more where that came from!   i may share one or so on this blog coming up!

good times! 

i don't know you either.

about a month ago, my dear ecclesiastical leader forwarded me an email

this message:

Hello my friends and Ward Missionaries,

Between the 6 of you, can two of you plan on attending this pizza party?
Sounds like a good chance to associate with some of the home stake YSA's and maybe a few less actives.

the forwarded message was this:

We would like to invite 1 young woman and 1 young man to represent your ward to visit and associate with the youth in our ward on Thursday, Dec 15th at 6 pm - 8pm.
If you would please let me know who would be able to come, we would greatly appreciate it.

Note a few things

1. I am a ward missionary.  Read about my responsibilities here if you so desire. 

2. The forwarded message says associate with the youth

So after reading this I thought.. Okay.  I need to go.  Anna will be gone and I'll have nothing to do.  I also was in the YW Presidency for a bit so this can't be completely horrible and it will be fun to go hang out with some YM/YW again!  Right?

...

so at 6pm the day of the activity I left my house, not really knowing  A. where I was going  or B. who these people are I was supposed to be associating with!  Nobody was going to look familiar. I knew this going into it.

oh the good times never end.

I pulled up to this house and waited there for what seemed like 9 years (2 minutes) and finally a car pulled up behind mine.  We got out of our cars at the same time as I said to the young lady

hey!  are you here for the pizza party!?!

a less enthusiastic response, yeah.

cool. me too!  I'm Erin.. Nice to meet you! 

(trying to make the best of the situation.)

hi... 

we both get up to the door.  she knocked.  I waited. 

a particularly good looking guy answered the door and I thought,  He is not in YM.  There is no way. 

he hugged the lame girl, soo good to see you! blah blah blah.  Then turns to me and says (complete with confused look)

I don't know you.

..

I don't know you either...

..

uhh.. come in?

Thanks. 

So I walk in, naturally. 

And who do I find?

The parents who had sent the email.

the attractive kid.

4 or so other very attractive kids

and the lame girl. 

all standing around. 

Cue the mother

I don't think I know you!

to the group

Hi! I'm Erin, I'm from the Singles ward.... (classic)

to which the mother said something like 

Oh! Yes, this is Erin, she's over the activities in the Singles ward!  I asked her to come to tell us all about the activities happening in the area! 

Uhh.. no?  I'm actually a ward missionary.  ...and I hardly ever go to any activities... sorry!

long pause followed by a subject change! awesome.

...

meanwhile cute boy and his friends start speaking some crazy language to each other. 

say what?!

As it turns out..

this wasn't a youth party after all.

no no.

this was a homecoming party for cute boy and his old companions!  I don't know how lame girl fits in..

So what did I do?

I stayed.  And mingled.  And left finally feeling so completely awkward.

situations like this are just the story of my life, though, so not to worry. 

what would you have done?!

awkward family photos

i cried laughing looking at this.

enjoy.

oh the awkwardness!

my sister and i get mixed up all the time. 

for example:

Some kid the other day in sunday school shook my hand and said 

hey! congratulations on your mission call!

and rather than correct him i just said 

thanks!

what the creeper?

today was an interesting day.

i woke up waaay later than i was supposed to.  i changed my clothes at least 7 different times before wearing the dress i put on first. (isn't that always the case?) after being late for church but attending sacrament meeting and sunday school, a gal friend and i decided spur of the moment to drive to salt lake to visit our dear friend at her ward(and her ward has some attractive men. not gonna lie).  so we're driving up (my friend was driving, i was riding in the passenger seat) and as i'm riding i like to look around. who doesn't? i was looking at many drivers and passengers of cars that were passing us and we were passing, not thinking much about anything.  we had passed this guy in a truck a few times, and finally i look over again at this truck to see its driver holding up a piece of paper against his driver's side window.  i looked more closely to see that it said "HI ERIN"  bolded and upper-cased.  completely caught off guard, i smiled awkwardly and waved (naturally) and still have no idea who it was.  no idea.  he had on a hat and sunglasses, and was two lanes away from me and we were driving so i couldn't get a good look.  so mystery creeper driver knows who i am, apparently.  who has time to write down a note while driving? whatever. fun times, right?

  there's my weird story for the day. anything awkward happen to you recently?

darn it...

a little bit ago i went to the eye doctor

i walked into the office, and was given a form to fill out, similar to this:

I got to the question

are you nursing/pregnant? yes or no

without realizing what I was doing (I was hurrying to get through the form) i circled YES


i scribbled the heck out of that question. i didn't know what else to do!

...


kinda reminds me of the time when i was trying on bras (awkward already) at v.'s secret and the dressing room attendant says to me

oooohh so when are you due?

and i said

with that glazed-over-smile should-i-punch-you-or myself-in-the-face-look..

soon.



story of my life.


for the record.  no, i am not nursing. or preggo.

my compliments

i have never been great at taking compliments graciously.  i usually get extremely awkward and just brush them off.  awkwardly.

but perhaps it's not the complimentee, it is the complimenter and the compliments coming my way.

I was thinking about it.

I have recieved a bunch of compliments that perhaps they mean well, but just don't come out right.


for instance.

i find you attractive and intriguing 

you would make a good trophy wife 

you are a lot cooler than {insert certain name here}, aren't you? 

your lips are real bright

see what I mean?

smurf

I don't know if any of you have heard of this fun group game.

One person leaves the room while the group comes up with a verb.

It can be anything.

Anything from popping a zit, to brushing your teeth, to running, to opening Christmas presents...

After you've chosen your verb, the person comes back in and asks yes or no questions replacing the verb with the word smurf.

example: How often do you smurf? Do you use anything specific to smurf?.. etc.

Through asking questions the guesser can determine what the verb is. it gets pretty hilarious sometimes. And sometimes you find things out about people that you normally don't ask or tell.

Well, on sunday evening we played this game at my house. The group chose the verb kissing. My little brother was the one to go out of the room.


If any of you know my little brother.. You know how awkward and creative this boy is. He is wonderful.


He comes back in and is asking the usual questions

Have you ever smurfed?
How often do you smurf?
Do you need another person to smurf?


After going around asking people usual questions, things started to get interesting


**side note** You need to know that boyfriend was sitting across the room from me. I was secretly praying the brother would guess the verb before things get awkward.

But you know my luck...


Things had to get awkward.


He kept going around now asking questions such as:

Does your dad help you to smurf?

Do you smurf in the shower?



Then he gets to boyfriend.

Have you ever smurfed in this room?



The room busts up laughing


Brother turns to me.

Have YOU ever smurfed in this room?


By this time Erin is BRIGHT red. (because... if you know me AT ALL I am not the type to share kissing stories. especially in front of strangers. especially in front of family. And I just get really weirded out talking PDA/Kissing/Affection in general.)

Everyone BUSTS up laughing..


My brother knew what the verb was OF COURSE but he had to keep going and ask us that question..

It was VERY embarassing. And it is now the butt of all jokes.

We'll be sitting cuddling in a group of friends...

Hey, you two, have you guys ever smurfed in THIS room?...
etc.

so.
embarassing.

the end.

The Wings Of Love

Dear The Bachelor Producers,

Just because Jake Pavelka is a pilot does not mean you should play On the Wings of Love every romantic moment chance you get. That song is horribly cheesey. Especially for The Bach.

Love Erin.

PS. Bringing Jeffrey Osbourne to the After the Final Rose episode?

Way to take it one step further.

if you haven't got a chance to experience that song

click HERE

I'm telling you

Funny things happen at my place of employment ALL the time. I was in a music phase... Now I'm in a hilarious-things-always-happen-and-are-too-good-not-to-share phase. Phew!

I get to work the other day and see this:

'nuff said.

see the resemblance?

So

at work (everything good always happens at work)

this really old lady comes up to the counter and asks to speak with me

I go up and smile and ask how I can help her

She asked me if I was related to her friend *Sally

I said, No...

She said.. Well you two look so alike with your dark eyes! I can really see the resemblance!

Me: Oh! *awkward forced polite laugh* See you later!

1. Not only do I have blue eyes, but do I really look like an old retired woman?

Thank you, unknown old lady, thank you.

*note* I understand I look hideous and angry in this photo (I was dressed up as Belletrix LeStrange for the HP midnight showing) but this is a good pic to show you how light my eyes really are! It was just funny!

just can't make this stuff up

at work yesterday, this awkward boy comes in asking to talk to one of my fellow coworkers, who is also awkward.

she goes to meet him outside and comes back in with this GIANT valentines day card ( I should have taken a picture. it was THAT good. )

It said something along the lines of:

"You are my lover

You are my friend

A Love like ours

Will never end.

Dear *Mallory,

You are the most beautiful girl I have ever met. I can't wait to spend time with you. Love, *Ron

me: so Mallory, is he your boyfriend?

Mal: I think so.

me: Cute... How long have you guys been dating?

Mal: Oh.... .... .... About three days.

me: ....interesting...

And how long have you known him?...

Mal: About two days.

me: (Completely teasing) oooh. so is he a good kisser? (then regretting asking because I knew she would answer)

Mal: I didn't want to say anything... but he kissed me twelve times.

me: huh.... neat!

And I walked away.

priceless. and hilarious.

blog stalking.

Alright.

Confession.

Sometimes I'm a blog stalker.. No not in a creepy stalker way but I like to find blogs I've never read before. I read these blogs and I become attatched to these people like we're bffs. Natalie, Nie and Jalene are my favorites to read if any of all y'all are interested.

I've never met these ladies but I feel like I've known them for ages because I read their blogs! I know, totally nerdy and stalkerish!

But please watch this video. Found on Jalene's blog. I thought it was so adorable I had to share. I want this someday, please and thank you.

that is all.

Want to watch another vid that will melt your heart? Click HERE. :)

.embarrassing moment.

Once upon a time I made friends with this boy named *Ryan. And once upon a time I had a 7 peaks pass and went every day of the summer. Well, while texting new friend Ryan one day we decided it would be fun to go to 7 peaks after we both got off work. He worked down in p-town so I was going to pick up his swimming gear from his sister and then head down there and meet at the water park.

I get to his house... no answer when I rang the doorbell. So I called Ryan and told him we would just go another day, no big deal...

Then he gives me his garage code, and tells me I needed to go get his stuff... When I refused he sternly replied, "stop being a pansy and just do it." (or something to that effect) So.. feeling really awkward I did it anyway.. Mind you, I'd never been in his house before. Awkward.

So while on the phone with Ryan he walked me through it all..

sandals. check.

swimsuit. check

towel. check

boxer-briefs. (I'm sorry. what?!..) check.

So after being really embarrassed getting his stuff, we met up at 7peaks and had a great time.. I ended up grabbing the wrong swimsuit so he didnt end up needing the b-b's.

fast forward a day or two...

I was giving a ride to a few of Ryan's friends to walmart. Ryan's friend *Mike just randomly yells ERIN... what are these?!... Pointing to

you guessed it.

boxer briefs.

I was mortified and could not stop laughing

After catching my breath I explained what had happened, then the friends could not stop laughing either.

It was one of my most embarrassing moments. I turned bright red. Called Ryan and told him to take his crap out of my car. He wasn't allowed to bring things in the car after that :)

Rest Stops

I really wish I would have looked up this website before the roadtrip to California.

3 bathrooms where we stopped were dee-sgust-ing.

1. Some Maverick gas station bathroom in Winnemucca. Stunk. And had cleaning supplies strewn all over which obviously were not used.

2. Some random side street rest area gas station bathroom somewhere in between Sacramento and Reno. SICK. Not only did it stink, but there was graffiti everywhere!

3. On the way home we didn't want to stop at that same Maverick so we kept going to the rest stop (never a good idea) Those bathrooms were just weird! The toilet was so low to the ground there was no need for a stall door, and the little things were metal!


I'm sorry but bathrooms need to meet a certain criteria.



1. They must have working/operating toilets, sinks, etc. And must be well stocked!

2. The floor must look like it's been mopped/cleaned in the last 24 hours. If I feel gross walking on the tiled floor, it is not okay

3. Must be well lit.

4. It must smell nice! If not smelling nice at least have no odor.

5. It wouldn't hurt to have a sitting room like at the Conference center or Nordstrom! Goodness.


All those nasty bathrooms I had to experience did help me draw out a floorplan of "the perfect bathroom", however. So that did take up a good half hour of the 12 hour drive.. But still.

attractive and intriguing.

once upon a time there was a boy from the ward who found out where I worked. He would come visit ALL the time [which wasn't a big deal to me at the time-- we have a lot of "regulars"]. One day he was just standing around and I asked him if he needed anything

"I find you very attractive and intriguing and I would like to take you out sometime"

I did not know what to say. But I didn't give him my cell phone number. And I didn't give him any specifics about when I could possibly be available TO go out. Thanks, but No Thanks.
It was creepy! Needless to say, we never went out and he doesn't come visit me much anymore. goo.

Spying Etiquette

Apparently I'm a good candidate for being spied upon.

I got home from watching the cowboys and found some pictures of ME from across the stadium.

Thanks Rico.

Pictures to come.

*note*

the previous story is true, but maybe a tad over exaggerated. story was shared all in good humor and to remember this awkward dating stage in life.. Blind dates are fun. :)