Do-u-think-he-saurus Rex

Ok, I know I should be answering number 5 but I have been giving this one a lot of thought, so I am skipping to 15.

15. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

As I drove across the country, there were plenty of animals to see and observe. As we past some cows, grazing on a field in the sun, I said "what a life, wouldn't it be great to be a cow?!"

Dave, my driving partner, did not think that life as a cow would be that great... He also thought I was crazy for saying that. Even crazier when I explained that I have given a lot of thought to what animal I would be if I could be an animal (even before planning for this post!).

I served a mission for my church in Brazil for 18 months. Part of being on a mission in Sao Paulo, meant that you walked everywhere you needed to go. One day when I was walking down a street, I saw this dog through a fence and it was just sprawled on its back with its legs outspread, enjoying life.

When I saw that dog, I stopped dead in my tracks and just watched him. That dog was happy. Life was great. He knew that when he was hungry or thirsty, he could go to his bowl and get some food or water. He knew that if he wanted to play, he could make some noise or claw on the door and someone would play with him. He knew that chasing his tail would give him the exercise he needed for the day. And most of all, he knew that his family loved him unconditionally.

There was also a time when I had my window open a little as I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep and when the sun started coming up, I heard the birds start chirping. You could possibly blame my thoughts on the lack of sleep, but I thought "wow, these birds are so happy to be up right now, I would love to be a bird!"

My bird of choice would be one from Cinderella.

I don't know why, but when I saw that dog I thought "I would love to have the life of a dog"  or heard those birds that I thought I would love to be one. Maybe, it is because animals don't have to make sense out of life. Having a religious background, I have a belief as to why we are here on Earth, where we were before, and where we are going to go. But all of those beliefs are so general and vague. I wish sometimes that I could know why I, personally, am here on the Earth. What am I supposed to do? Who am I supposed to become? How do I make a difference? These are things that wrack my brain on a daily and constant basis. But if I were that dog, I would know that all I needed to do was eat, sleep, be happy, then die.

So, if I were an animal, I would love it. In fact, I almost wish I could be an animal. Which one would I be? Well here is a list of some I don't want to be first:

• Deer- they are just stupid and seem too uptight to be happy and carefree. 
• Fish- Really, any water living creature, I don't want to be. I want to take in the world and the fresh air, not be underwater all day everyday. 
• Insects- I don't want to be gross or hated...
• Horse- I haven't had a lot of experience with horses, but I also have never seen one that looked happy. So, no. 

Top contenders for my vote:

• Dog- So happy, even domesticated and living in confinement, they are always happy. 
• Bird- So free to do what ever they want. 
• Cow- Cows just seem so carefree and relaxed. Imagine just being out in a gorgeous field eating and not having to think about anything... oh what a life.  
• Butterfly- Spend most of your life with the purpose to just eat, yes please! 
• Brachiosaurus- First of all, who wouldn't want to be a dinosaur? Second, as a brachiosaurus, you would just lazily walk around all day, eat from the top of trees, take in the world, soak up the sun, and enjoy every minute of it. 

What do you call a blind dinosaur?
Do-you-think-he-saurus
What do you call a blind dinosaurs dog?
Do-you-think-he-saurus Rex

There you have it, more weird things about Chelsie. And believe me, this post could have been way longer, I really have given a lot of thought to being an animal.

Once upon a time...

There was a girl who asked a boy to go on a road trip with her from Utah to Virginia. 

YAY! Road trip...

(Hey I never claimed to be an artist, but this is a prius.)

Little did he know that he would end up being a chauffeur on this trip...

Dave, do you mind driving a few hours, I need a nap? 

Dave, it's snowing. I've never driven in snow. You mind driving? 

(Needless to say, Dave drove 28 of the 36 hours...)

At least the boy got some good food out of it all. However, he did have to do all the research to find the places to eat at. 

After a discussion/argument about the grossness of smoked salmon, they stopped for lunch in Omaha.

Do you like garlic on meat? Yes, but garlic is a plant. Chelsie, so is a tree. 

PepperJax in Omaha is the best philly cheese steak sandwich I've ever eaten. 

After lunch, the two filled up with gas, of course at QT. And, there were some strange people around. 

What is that woman wearing?!?

After a few more hours of driving, a few podcasts and of course, some broadway musicals, they made it to Chicago for dinner. Yes it made complete sense for them to go hours out of their way to get some deep dish pizza! 

What? We can write on the walls! 

I'm so full and my body is so sick of sitting in a car. We should do lunges back to the car! 

Do you hear yourself when you talk? 

Finally, they made it to Virginia just in time to eat again. 

What's the plan? We could go to DC. Ok, where should we go? You didn't figure that out too? 

Oohh's & Aahs Soul Food. I got some good chicken, collard greens, and mac & cheese. 

When the girl did drive, she got them lost. Even though the GPS said it'd take 33 minutes to get to lunch, it took like 2 hours.

If we leave an hour early to meet up with your friend in DC, we should be good...

Founding Farmers, DC. Great meal. Simple yet so good. I have to go back though
because I am still jealous I didn't get the chicken and waffles. 

It wouldn't be a road trip if there weren't a few fights. 

What are you doing? STOP YELLING AT ME! I'm just trying to find out where to go. 

National museum of the American Indian.
Our bodies hated that we were trying to walk around a museum. 

The girl sometimes has weird ideas that she says out loud, like about liking old buildings. 

I've never said that out loud before. I don't believe you, you say everything out loud.  

Day 4 was finally ending as the boy and girl had an amazing dinner with

 the boy's friends Nick and Heidi.  

I am not the biggest meat eater, but I ate all my steak.
That's saying a lot because they give you seconds. 

THE END 

Thanks Dave! 

If I knew then, What I know now...I'd still screw things up!

On to question number 4...

4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.

This is a hard one, but I'll try

1. Take a money management class and learn to keep a budget. 
2. Tell your Winter Formal date to not run a red light.
3. Look into more scholarships.
4. Don't speed down Alma School Road, you'll get a ticket someday on the way home from school.
5. MLA doesn't matter for your future, stick with APA.
6. Buy stock in Apple.
7. Don't spend so much time worrying and go have fun. 
8. Shilo and that chicken are not just having fun, help them! 
9. Start flossing daily so you don't have to get a crown in 10 years.
10. Family makes the best friends, focus more on them! 

Jean & Lyndel best parents in the world!

Between writing three 20 page papers, going to Arizona, and trying desperately to find new roommates, I have not kept up on my goal to write every week...so, I am writing another post just three days later!

I am going to answer number three from the list of questions to get to know me.

3. Describe your relationship with your parents 


Just a quick background on my parents:



Mom

• My mother's name is Jean Renee Grover
• She, along with her twin brother, were adopted as babies
• She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and later moved to Mesa, Arizona
• She worked at her dad/brothers business (Grovers) during college
• She got her teaching degree at Arizona State University
• She got her Masters through Northern Arizona University
• She has taught High School English for the past 25 years
• She takes on a million and a half things and works really hard
• She has raised 4 kids and sort of adopted one more

Dad

• My father's name is Lyndel Lawrence Akers
• He moved a lot growing up. He was born in Oklahoma and lived in Washington
• He served a mission in Cleveland Ohio in '77
• He worked at Grovers after the mission where he met my mom
• He then started his own lawn business: Green Akers
• He went back to school and got a teaching degree with Ottawa University
• Then promptly started and finished his masters with NAU 
• He is a 2nd grade teacher and really makes a difference in their lives 
• He is also a bishop in our ward

In between all their schooling and working they had us kids and have been the best parents I could ask for. 

My dad and I have a good relationship. For a little prospective, when I was home for Christmas my sister accused me of being my dads favorite and he didn't deny it... My dad and I are a lot alike: the way we think, act, and even our jokes are similar. I think the best way to describe our relationship is through some examples.

I remember when my dad was going back to school and he would be gone at nights, I would take his text books and highlight them. I just wanted to be like him and be smart and go to college. Then, once he was done and started teaching, I loved to go to school with him and help him in his room. I didn't realize it till now, but I am a daddy's girl. I always liked to be around him. His presence has always brought a sense of peace to my life.

One of my favorite memories with my dad is when I went to get my patriarchal blessing. (A blessing delivered through a priesthood holder that contains personal guidance from the Lord.) My parents and I went to the guys house, talked with him for a little bit and then he gave the blessing. When we left the mans house, my dad put his arm around me and said "I'm so proud of you." This meant the world to me. Our family isn't very affectionate and this is one of the few moments I can look back on and know he loves me.

My favorite thing about my dad, is that  he has supported me in everything I have ever done. I never have to question if he will stand behind me and guide me when needed. When I wanted to take a year off college and work for the airlines to travel all over, he loved the idea so much that he even went on trips with me: we went to Chicago and saw a baseball game at Wrigley Field and to Hobbiton in New Zealand, just for the heck of it.  When I decided to serve a mission, he was super excited. When I wanted to drive to Virginia to sell pest control with a company I knew nothing about, he hopped in the car a took the 36 hour car drive with me.

My mom...I don't even know where to start with her. She is amazing and someday I hope to be as good as she is. I don't have a lot of early memories with her because she did work a lot and her job was an hour and half away. I do remember her reading me Winnie the Pooh while dabbing calamine lotion on my chicken pocks. However, once she started working closer to home our relationship began to blossom.

There were countless evening that I would sit and watch my mom cook dinner and we would talk. Looking back, I guess I could have helped my mom cook instead of just sitting there, but heck we can't all be perfect. Good for me bad for my mom, this ritual continued for many years. We talk about everything. It was hard to be away from her while I lived in Brazil and I looked up to getting an email from her every Wednesday.

I am now living in Utah on a different time than Arizona and we still talk just about every day. In fact, I just got a voicemail from her saying she misses me and to give her a call. And, she called me Chels in this message, which she doesn't do very often.

If there was a way for me to lighten her load and make life a little easier for her, I would. My mom has worked so hard her whole life and deserves a break!

That is it in a nut shell... I love my mom and dad so much and couldn't imagine life without them. And, I am sure that the only way they would love me more is if I gave them grandchildren. Don't hold your breath...

Dear Secret Crush...

Spoiler Alert*** I am going to mention the hunger games so if you don't want to hear it, move on...

So for those who know me or have read previous posts, I am not the biggest believer in the "L" word. What's the L word you ask? Well it is only the nastiest of all 4 letter words...LOVE.

I don't believe in love at first sight or that everyone has "one true love." Those are the topics for fictional books or movies with the purpose of entertaining an audience and making money.

As a member of the LDS church I have grown up seeing people go from meeting a person to married to them in 6 months... then another 9 months later (while both are still in school and don't have a career) they have a child. You would think that having grown up with this as my only exposure to what love and marriage is, that I would accept it... Well, think again.

For me love is something that takes a long time to cultivate. Especially the fact that I believe a marriage can carry on to the next life. So, how in the world can a person know they love someone after only a few months? I was an adult before I really told my family members that I loved them and you think I can tell a stranger I met 3 months ago that I love them? Get real.


I have had endless arguments with a friend of mine about having a true love. I don't believe, for one second, that we each have a person that is perfect for us. Or for that matter, that we have a given number of them, like a dozen, and we have to spend our life making sure we cross paths with at least one of them to find true happiness. I think that if I can find a person that I get along with and work cohesively with, why can't we be happy together? (After getting to know each other for a few years...)

That was just a little background on how I see love.

The purpose of this post is to point out that hollywood has it all wrong.

There are countless movies which include a leading character (generally female) who has given up on love, doesn't believe in it, or just simply doesn't care about it. Following are a few examples:

• Eat, Pray Love 
• Liz Gilbert goes celibate after a bad divorce 
• The Proposal
• Margaret Tate is too busy with her career to have time for love
• The Christmas Carol
• Scrooge's best friend and business partner dies leaving him depressed and lonely
• The Grinch
• He was hated and mistreated as a child which made his heart shrink
• The Hunger Games
• Katniss lives through her fathers death, mothers depression and witnesses the death of neighborhood children every year. This leaves her bitter toward the idea of love and children. 

Yes, such sad stories that have lead so many characters to shun love. Well don't worry, all of them end up with love in the end. 

As I watched The Hunger Games today I thought about how much I love Katniss' character. I see so many similarities between our personalities that I just know we would be friends. While reading the books, others complained about her attitude, reactions and blatant apathy. However, I understood her completely. Don't get me wrong, if there were mutant creatures with the eyeballs of humans running after me, I would be the first to be eaten not the first to get to safety. And, if I had to shoot a bow and arrow in order to save my life, I would probably end up shooting myself in the foot or something. I also, do not think that I am as beautiful or have as good a voice as her, but I get her. That is all I am saying. I get her. 

One thing that we have in common is that we both have reservations about love and children. (She having more reason than I.) This attitude of hers results in two guys in love with her. For years on end the son of the town baker has had a crush on her and pronounces his love for her on live TV. Another has to keep feelings held in. 

Seeing as we are so similar, where is the guy that has had a crush on me since our childhood? 

You see, to these fictional characters, this attitude is seen as a desirable, sexy or even intriguing. Instead, in the real world or rather, my world, these traits are intimidating. At least in my experience. But, if you are out there, guy with the secret crush on me, its ok, you can tell me.