hugs and how to use them.

You're saying goodbye to a friend or maybe a date. Someone that you've never hugged because you're just getting to know each other. Well, this time you give them a hug and they just put their arms around you and don't squeeze.

Those 'hugs' are the worst.

Like the dead fish handshake, but the dead fish hug with no shake.

This happened to me recently. Before that, the first time I had ever experienced this to my recollection was this summer on a date. I said, 'Thanks, see ya," and gave him a hug and he just put his arms on my back. I could barely feel them. I immediately thought, "Never see ya," and shuddered at the thought of that one-sided hug.

Don't people know proper hug technique? From a young age I learned how to properly hug, and practiced on my parents and siblings more than daily.

Other than just that horribly awkward lack of squeeze during a hug, something else that needs to be improved by many people is knowing which hug to use.

I found some hugging techniques on some website. It gives instructions for three different types of hugs. I beg to differ on some of the explanations, so here you go.

1. Slow-dance: 
Her arms will go upward to around his neck and his arms will go under hers. He can put his arms around her waist or higher up her back. The lower his hands go on her back, the more suggestive the hug is. This can be a very intimate hug—use it wisely.

In my opinion, this is a good hug with men who are not very tall. Or it's good when you come home and give your dad a big bear hug where he lifts you up off the floor. Intimate, shmintimate. Unless you're into that sort of thing. 

2. Big bear and little bear: 
Her arms will go below his and he will wrap around her back while her arms wrap around his waist. This is a friendlier hug and allows her to be pulled close to him and have her head rest on his chest.

Actually, this is the best hug. It doesn't have to always be 'friendly'.  I think it can be the most romantical of all. The best is when you're hugging a skinny, tall man and your arms go all the way around that skinny waist. You can't go wrong with this hug unless... you're hugging a short guy. But every hug is wrong with a short guy. (i.e. a guy that is an inch or less taller than you.)

3. Criss-cross: 
One arm goes up and the other goes down to create an "x" with his arms and hers. This can lead to the perfect "pull back and kiss" position where both of you still have your arms holding on to each other with enough room to still kiss.

This hug is the worst hug to use, unless you're hugging your aunt. Another name for this hug is the awkward hug. This hug says, "I'm afraid of the opposite gender."

So, moral of this post is...
Hugs and how to use them.

cheers to the new year.

this year is going to be so exciting! i can feel it.

in one month, i will be finished with my dietetic internship.
then i will move back to my dear utah.
after that, i am free to take a horribly difficult test known as the 'RD exam'. oooooo.
if i pass that test, i will officially be titled as a dietitian.
then i can get a job. and become a career woman. and make booko bucks.

i am almost a true adult.

photoshoot.

went on a little photoshoot with aleisha this week to end the year.

sorry i'm not that good... but she still looks fly.

2013, the end.

2013 was a strange year. The hardest I've lived through.

But there were some lovely times. And it has ended really great. This fall has been awesome. It was hard to move away from home but it's been quite the blast, actually.

Though I did plan on getting married, bearing a child, and going on a cruise this year, as 13 is my lucky number, there were some other grand moments instead.

2013's Highlights...

// I threw a ballin MLK party to celebrate Martin himself.
// Lindsay graduated from chemotherapy. That was an exciting time for our family.
// I threw an even ballin-er fiesta with my roommate, Katie, and the boys.
// I did my first triathlon. It was the most horrible, fun time ever!
// I graduated from COLLEGE. How neat is that?
// I got to visit Logan a few times after I moved away.
// I hiked Mt Timp with my daddio
// I visited the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH.
// I moved to WASHINGTON! And had a lovely road trip with my eldest seester to get there.
// One of my very best friends, Aleisha, came to visit me and we road tripped all around Washington.  Cape Flattery was the winner of that trip.
// I went on a road trip to the beach with my Washington besties.
// Good old Elizabeth Carson came to visit and we had tons of fun in Seattle, especially on the Great Wheel! The best part of that trip is when we were waiting in line to use the bathroom. I was next in line, a lady was behind me, then Lizzie. When it was my turn I handed my purse to Lizzie and asked her to hold it. She said, "Um, ma'am, I don't know you..." I burst out laughing and the lady in between us did too.
// I also got to fly home for Thanksgiving and now for Christmas! Utah is great.

What a year it was.

that camera that was mine.

Last night, my friends Alyssa, Steph, Brendan, Coty, Taylor and I went to see the Columbia River Christmas Ship Parade. It was starting west and making its way toward the I-5 bridge. We were a bit early and the parade was a bit late. So we walked across the bridge, from Washington to Oregon. The first time I’ve ever actually walked into a different state! We walked under the bridge to cross to the other side and walk back because that side was the perfect ship viewing area. Brendan spotted a homeless man asleep in a camo sleeping bag 3 feet from us. He blended right in with the grass and shrubs! No kidding! On our way walking back to Washington we could see the ships coming in the distance. We waited for a long while and it was horribly cold. Due to the glacial temperatures, I was jumping up and down to get a little warm, when something jumped out of my pocket, bounced on the ground into a hole in the bridge and plunged into the frigid depths of the Columbia River. Can you guess what that object was?

MY CAMERA.

I didn’t even get to say goodbye. I just felt it jump out of my pocket, heard it bounce on the ground, and by the time I looked, it was gone, gone, gone. 

I was in shock and figured that’s why I wasn’t upset yet. I’m still not upset; I’m just thanking the heavens that it wasn’t my phone. Or my friend.

I stood there wide eyed and I think we all laughed. But I was just in such a good mood that we just kept laughing about it and you know, what can you really do?

We joked that the camera could have landed on some part of the bridge and in 100 years someone will find it and it will be an ancient artifact and then I’ll be famous. So, hopefully that goes well for me… and my posterity will become rich since I’ll be dead by then.

all through the night.

You know the horrible feeling you go to bed at night and suddenly, 10 minutes later, your alarm goes off and it's 6am. It's the worst feeling ever. It's def not in my top ten.

The best thing is when you wake up in the middle of the night and look at your phone hoping you have at least another hour of sleep. And, what do you know! It's only 1am and the night is still young!

So, because I love that so much, I started setting my alarm for 4am and my second alarm for 6:15ish (when I actually have to get up), hoping that I would wake up at 4am and it would make my sleep time go by slower until I actually have to get up. It kind of works... I hear it go off at 4, turn the alarm off in a hasty fashion (I have a very fast reaction to alarms when I'm sleeping), and it's pretty much like I never woke up.

You can try this at home too! All you need is sleep and an alarm clock!

another visitor.

This weekend my friend, Lizzie, came to visit. 

On Friday, the snow hit bad and since it rains so much here, there's a layer of ice and then snow on top. I was supposed to go to work that day, but had a snow day! Hollerrrr. So we got some McSteven's hot chocolate and watched some Christmas movies. That night there were supposed to be Christmas ships sailing the Columbia river, but it was canceled. We found this out after walking up and down a road by the river freezing our butts off when someone told us from their car. 

On Saturday, we drove up to Seattle, but not before stopping in Kalama to see the high school where Twilight was filmed. We also visited the Cullen's house. It's in Portland!

We walked around Pike's Market, of course, and to the gum wall.

We rode the Great Wheel on the pier. We got there at the perfect time because the sun was setting and the city lights were coming on. We could see the whole city, the pier, and the ocean with the sunset! 

 On our way back, we tried to find our friend who's on a mission in Federal Way. We found her house and talked to another companionship who are her housemates, but not her. How disappointing! I think that was God's way of telling us not to break the rules.

It was frigid all weekend, but alas, it is December.