thanks again, christopher c.

First landing of Columbus on the shores of the New World: at San Salvador by Currier and Ives

Happy Columbus Day all!  I thought I'd make a quick blog post to recognize this holiday for our dear ol' explorer Mr. Christopher Columbus himself. I'm really glad he sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and happened to come across our home sweet home.  Unfortunately he wasn't cool enough to get us a real holiday where we actually get work off (except banks, they get everything off).  Google didn't even do a cool homepage with some sort of clever columbus-inspired design. Sad because last week John Lennon got one for his birthday (it was actually pretty cool, if you clicked on the logo it played "imagine") and yet our own land's founder doesn't even get anything- I guess The Beatles were really that big.  I hear though, that NYC does a Columbus Day parade so it is good to know this day doesn't go completely forgotten.  Even better, my dear friend Cassie throws a Columbus Day party each year complete with DIY newspaper CC hats, sing-a-long songs AND she dresses up in a columbus-inspired outfit. She's an elementary school teacher so she rocks at stuff like this.  Well you better believe I will be attending again this year, her zeal for the holiday has really made me appreciate it, including the inspiration to write this post.  Let us not completely forget about the man who discovered America and take a second (even if work and Google don't) to recognize this guy.  After all, "HE IS THE MAN!!!"*

Some CC facts:

-His real name is Cristoforo Colombo- either way I am sure he prefers to go by Chris.

-In 1906 it became an official state holiday in Colorado- wonder why they were first? 

-1937 it became a federal state holiday- took us long enough, eh..

-And for whatever reason Nevada, South Dakota, and Hawaii don't recognize Columbus Day- sad.

*a lyric from one of the CC songs we sing at the party

well hello there..

found this little guy when walking into my house. for whatever reason I have a strange fascination with snails, so when I came across this infant of a snail I was kind of excited. tiny lil guy isn't it?  I've seen many snails before but never this small.  If you are wondering how I noticed it, well, I tend to have a strong inclination to anything in baby version, particularly baby animals (you should see the movie Earth with me), so naturally I was able to spot it.  Well I showed my brother and he informed me that snails are asexual. so they can all get pregnant and all have more baby snails. must be a lot of snails out there then. weird. not sure about this, but I still like you little tiny guy that greeted me after a long day of work.

ya, so I like snails, so what?

I love movies

When people ask me what hobbies I have, often one of the first thing I think of is, watching movies. Probably sounds like a strange or at least a lazy hobby but I can't help but love a good flick- I even took a film class in college because I was so interested and wanted to understand more. I've never really had the aspiration to be a film director or anything like that but I do however feel that I can immensely appreciate their work.. That's good too, right? Well to help legitimize this hobby of mine I want to try and highlight a movie each week on my blog(and maybe this will help me be a more consistent blogger). And remember people- this is just my opinion, I'm sure sometimes we'll disagree. But let's still be friends, k? cool.

Well the most recent movie I watched was Penelope . An absolutely lovely, feel-good movie that I love watching time and time again. I would say this is more of a girly film, so consider it for the next girls night out or when you need a boost in your spirits. Anywho, Penelope is a film with beautiful, colorful cinematography (I think parts are filmed in London- automatic like by me). The outfits she (Penelope aka Christina Ricci) wears are absolutely precious- including her super fun "feathery" wedding dress. But besides the beautiful things to look at in this film it is a sweet story that leaves anybody (especially girls) feeling really good about themselves after. This film doesn't leave you with unrealistic dating expectations, make you depressed that you don't have a boyfriend, or that you don't look as good as the celebs you are watching- sounds like a hit to me! Overall, the story is about a girl that is cursed with a pig face (and you worried about your nose) from an old family curse. She thinks that the only thing that can break it is dating one of her own kind (blue blood- super wealthy) so off she is to find someone to break the curse- sounds a little cliche and childish, I know, but it's a little different than what you might think. More artistic, less cheesy lines that make you cringe (Que Letters to Juliet), and a deeper message we could all be reminded of every now and again. So get out there, put Penelope in your netflix que or shopping basket and enjoy this sweet little film- and even if you don't particularly like it you can't help but feel good after watching and that is always worth our time, right?

now get watching!

comic relief

So I may or may not be one of the last to see this youtube video but I think it is hilarious. First of all his facial expressions are priceless and second of all this kid is probably like 9 but has the face of a 35 year old man- I think I see a faint mustache. Thanks for the comic relief, manchild.

inspiring

This year's relief society broadcast was amazing and I recommend any of those who weren't able to attend, to watch/read it.  President Monson's talk was particularly moving.  The topic was about not judging each other and having charity - a concept we have all heard before but he teaches it in such a eloquent, moving way.  He mentioned one of my favorite quotes, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." -Mother Teresa and shared some great stories.  A particularly great excerpt from his talk:


"Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down; it is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others."


Watch the broadcast here.

Wendy & the Lost Boys*

My parents are out of town so I fed these starving "lost boys" for Sunday dinner.  Besides the beef strips turned jerky fiasco I say everything went well!  Just being mom/"wendy" for the time being..

satisfied smiles and full bellies 

*Ronnie (head of table, with a ridiculous smile) later told my friend Mandi that I was like Wendy feeding the lost boys- hence the title of this post. Just giving credit where credit is due.

Harold- we (mostly me) missed you!  

hired.

Sorry day club, but as the last remaining survivor of this club I think it is time to put you to rest- I've got more serious things to do.. like work.  For all those who weren't apart of day club (us graduated, jobless, often living at our parents, group of friends that would hang out during the day because we had nothing else going on), it was a real hit and we're sorry you missed out.  We spent many warm summer days by the pool (whichever pool we could sneak into), driving around, eating, afternoon movies, shopping (with all the money we were NOT making), and anything else we felt like.  But as the days grew a little colder and summer drew to an end, most of my fellow day clubbers went back to school or got jobs.  I was left to carry on day club myself, and boy did I.  But day club just isn't the same without any compadres, so I too took to looking for a job and after a few weeks of trying I feel lucky to have found myself working at OrangeSoda.*  So day club, don't consider this a resignation from your club but more of a sabbatical. You know someday I hope to return. 

Until then,

Kellee Marie Cook

Marketing Brand Analyst 

t: 801.610.2626

*No, I do not work for a soft drink company, however, there is plenty of orange soda around and lots of orange in the interior decorating, but I do, rather, work for an online marketing that wants to add some "fizz" to the hum drum of online/internet marketing.

missing school

 Remember when I did this...

Well now that I am graduate I am no longer a school goer.  Today is the first day of school for all the cougars (BYU students) and I find myself not being apart of it.  In fact this is the first time since kindergarten (17 years or so?) that I have not and will not be having a first day of school.  Sad.  I've always loved school and am really jealous of all my friends who are having their first days today. But I am proud of myself to have finished my college degree and move on to the next phase of my life (hopefully I find a job soon..) and hey if I ever get really "school-sick" there is always grad school right Sarah and Mandi?  Anyways, we all know one thing is for sure:
once a coug, always a coug:

proud cougars with their cougar claws