Jules' Way Cool Webpage

Oooooohhhklahoma!!!

2011-12-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

Only an hour and a half left of work, and then I go to the airport! My flight takes off at 1:25 and then I arrive in Oklahoma City at 8:25. woo! I am so excited!! :D I will write more maybe in the airports (I have a layover in Arizona), and i will be writing and hiding secrets notes to Erica who will be following in my footsteps! yay! Write back later~

Hey Guysssss

2011-12-19T03:13:00.000-07:00

3 AM, what's up? I have the day off tomorrow, and what shall I do? I did a bunch of cleaning today, so that's out of the way. I'll probably read, or edit Cole's recording, or hang out at my parents'. It's a toss-up. :)

Book blog

2011-12-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

Wrote a couple update posts on my book blog, if ya wanna check it out :)

jdseibel.blogspot.com

Life has been super busy for me lately. I'm working fulltime, AND helping Cole edit his audio book, and there's a lot left to do on that. EEP!

Let's see, anything else? OH, I'm living by myself now in my rental house, and I'm thinking about getting a dog! An older one that's mellow and already trained so it'll be okay while I'm at work. yay!

First Day!

2011-10-25T22:40:00.000-06:00

Today was my first day at Dunkley Music!! I worked 9-6, and boy, I'm tired! My feet were killing me by the end of the day. So I need to get better shoes. But I had a really good time! I'm learning the computer system for cashiering and all that, and I answered the phone a lot. Janet is a good trainer :)

A few times during the day, I caught myself thinking, "ohmigash, I actually work here??!?! COOL!!!" It was pretty surreal at times. I can't believe I work at Dunkley's!!! I'm excited to learn lots, and get more familiarized with the store, and with music.

WAHOO! :D

JOB!

2011-10-24T17:02:00.001-06:00

OMIGAH I got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D
                                         `O`
**HappyDance**    ~{}~
                                         ,/ \,

And guess where???

At Dunkley Music!!!

And they pretty much gave it to me right on the spot! WOW!

Wow!

2011-10-24T04:20:00.001-06:00

Well, um, it's been awhile....

What have I been up to..?

OH! I came back home to Boise! I love it here. It smells so clean, and there's blue sky, and the weather is gorgeous. :)

I am helping Cole produce an audio book. Look for it hopefully soon! Clovermead: In the Shadow of the Bear. He is amazing at voices!

I haven't started a new job yet, but tutoring should be starting in the next week or so.

Ummmm other than that, I guess that's it. I've been enjoying finally being able to be with my boyfriend~ We'd spent FOUR LONG MONTHS apart. It was horrible! But now we see each other every day and it ROCKS!

Kittens, Last Day, and some other stuff I can't think of right now!

2011-08-12T09:01:00.001-06:00

Okay, so everyone knows that I'm a dog person. But this week I've sighted three little kittens hanging around one of the abandoned shops near my hotel. They're a few weeks old, all different colors, and SO STINKING CUTE. I don't know if there's more, but the three I've seen have been energetic, curious, and adorable~! It made me want a kitten! haha :b Don't worry, I won't get one. Maybe. heh heh... I kind of just want to adopt these strays while I'm here... buuuuuuuuuuuuuut I won't be doing that :b

So today was the last day of Summer Camp!! :( and :) I got kinda down because I'm kind of useless for the rest of my time here in China. I don't know which center they'll put me in, and I'll just be doing demos here and there. I was supposed to do three Summer Camp sessions, and I only got to do one.

But the final presentation today went pretty well, all things considered! I was relieved! We showed off our art projects, did some musical performances, and then performed our play, which didn't go as horribly as I imagined it would. Phew!!

I colored this picture of Tink! I'm proud of myself ^_^

The building in the background reminds me of the Salt Lake Temple!

Taxis and students

2011-08-10T22:48:00.000-06:00

So yesterday I took a taxi to work. I had a bad blister so I couldn't walk well or quickly. My taxi driver actually spoke some English! He was so cute~ (Not in an attractive way, just that he was trying and using his English) :)

One of my students is always so excited when I color pictures. I colored Tinkerbell and drew Cinderella the other day, and my coloring was AWESOME. Color fades and mixes, and shading and all that ^_^ My student was amazed! So I gave them to him. He loved it! And in art class, when he sees me doing something cool for the project, he does his best to copy me. Awwwwwwww~~~~~ :)

I'm kind of sad that tomorrow is the last day. I will miss them! (And we need more time to practice the play....) :/ Wish us luck!!

Puke Worthy

2011-08-08T23:04:00.000-06:00

Eating breakfast, had taken a bite out of my sandwich. I look at it, decide I should look again, and then I opened it. Right where my next bite would be, there was a BUG.

YUCKYUCKYUCK.

It looked like it had once been a big mosquito. And it was still moving. GROSSSSSSS. I almost threw up. But I had to eat SOMETHING or else I would've died of starvation during class. So I just bucked up and asked for another one. :b :b :b :B :b I choked it down, and even now, after lunch, I still feeling like throwing up....

Oh, and speaking of class. That five year old? Not a five year old like everyone told us he was. He is THREE. :O And will turn 4 next month. WHAT?!? How did this happen?!? Well, some of the tantrums make more sense now, but STILL. He does NOT look 3 either. Oh well, now we know.

That's all for now :) I kind of like these mid-day updates. It's easier that trying to do them at the hotel. And I will try to upload pictures too when I get back to the hotel.

Okaybye!!

Guh..

2011-08-07T22:55:00.000-06:00

So the five year old's grandma has been staying downstairs ALL day waiting for him to get out of class. Mind you, class goes from 9-4. She just sits there. And today she wanted to come upstairs and feed him because he hasn't been eating very much. GUH. seriously?!?!? Ridiculous. A five year old does not need to be spoon fed!! I just couldn't believe it... Stupid. Coddling him will NOT make anything better!!

But another one of the kids, a nine year old, said today that Summer Camp wasn't long enough and he wanted to come for more days~ Awwwwwwwww~ :) That made me feel good ^_^ He is a really good kid, and a good student too!

Welp, that's all for a mid-day blog update!

26 more days!!!! WOW!

Italian Style Town

2011-08-07T10:41:00.000-06:00

I have not blogged in it seems like forever!!!!!! It's so hard to want to because blogging = writing, and writing = not holding on to the power cord, and not holding on to the power cord = no power for poor lappy! So I try to write quick and only a few sentences at a time. :b Tough life, huh.

Anywhos, it's Sunday today and i really wanted to get out and do something nice. But the second I step outside, BOOM, torrential rain. :b whatev. I go back in the hotel and order some McDonald's... NOT my idea of nice. guh. Then I eat, take ANOTHER nap, wake up at around 8, and decide to try venturing out again. Problem is, I need money. Which means I need an ATM. And apparently there are NO ATM's ANYWHERE. GUH. Here are videos depicting my struggles:

I had been so hopeful.... I walk around forEVER looking for an ATM, and finally end up at the mall next to my school where I knew there was one. Totally out of the way, but...whatever. An HOUR AND 45 MINUTES LATER..... -->

I was so stinking exhausted and cranky and HUNGRY. But upon watching this video, I busted up laughing.. haha :b

So the guys working at this restaurant had to wear leiterhosein or however it's spelled and they looked SO ridiculous! I felt really bad for them, and they probably felt really stupid. haha

BUT!

This was my dinner!!! SO GOOD. And there was spicy mustard, and the saurkraut...(?) was YUM-O!

A statue at the end of the Italian Style Town main road.

The entrance!

I got some hazelnut and vanilla-ishtype gelato and walked slowly home and it was really nice :) I am glad I FINALLY got food, and it was delicious and then I could relax!

This coming week is the second half and last week of Summer Camp! I am going to be sad, but at the same time glad to not have to deal with crazyboy... :/ There's seriously a VEIN that pops out of this five year old's neck when he gets upset or yells or is mad or cries or whatever. I'm nervous for the play we have to put on for the parents, because not only do the kids have to learn lines for it, but I have to too!.... eep!

I hope they keep me at this center in Tianjin. I do NOT want to go back to Beijing... But I was talking to my LLD (supervisor) and she said Rob might take me to another brand new center in Tianjin to help them set up. Which is fine, but it's an HOUR away by bus. ACK! Whatever they choose to do with me though, as long as I can stay in this city, I'll be okay with it :)

League of Extraordinary Dancers!

2011-07-30T11:31:00.000-06:00

http://youtu.be/KMr_idlN2yc

Watch this. I don't know why blogger won't let me imbed videos... but.. yeah

I feel like I should post something...

2011-07-27T22:50:00.000-06:00

So I will!!! Just some pictures. I don't feel like writing too much.

This is the entrance to the Forbidden City, which I was not able to get into. Just as we got there, they were like, "CLOSED!" so. whatever.

I don't know why the girl who took this didn't get the entire building. Um HELLO, that's what the picture is ABOUT!. guh.

Went to the ancient culture street or something, and there were lots of antique stores and art galery shops. This guy was AWESOME. His work was fairly inexpensive compared to everyone else's, and I liked it the best! It was cool to watch him work.

Since he didn't have exactly what I was looking for, he custom painted this for me!!!! WOW! I wanted a winter landscape, so his assistant showed me some pictures on the internet, and I found one I liked, but I only wanted the bottom righthand corner of it with the top lefthand mountains. And badaBING! TADAH! It was amazing!

Our group. We rocked

Entrance to Tian'anmen Square. The very place were I yelled, "I HATE CHINA!" because some shop worker threw a watermelon rind at my feet to get my attention. I yelled at him too. What the HECK people?!?!?!?

That's all for today! I am leaving for Tianjin TOMORROW~!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to get there! It will be good to finally be where I'm supposed to be.

New post on book blog

2011-07-21T20:27:00.002-06:00

Check it out:

http://www.jdseibel.blogspot.com/

(There's also that pretty picture to the right to click on!)

Summer Palace

2011-07-20T03:18:00.000-06:00

Alrighty, so I went to the Summer Palace yesterday! Started out horrible, but it was pretty nice once I got in. The walkways are all slabs of stone, and the go through the trees on the hill, and it's like a little hike up and around it. So it was nice to be in 'nature.' :) I took a lot of pictures, so I will show them when I get home, but here are some of the highlights:

There were a lot of these temples hidden in the pathways, they were pretty cool.

There was a pond with lots of these flowers, most were closed, but some, like this one, were open. Pretttyyy~

Another temple.. The names of them were kind of funny. For example: Tower of the Fragrance of Buddha..(what??), Garden of Harmonious Interests, Hall of Dispelling Clouds, Hall of Serenity, Hall of Magnanimity... Sheesh!

This is the Marble Boat, not actually made of marble. Well, now it's sitting on cement or whatever, but the queen or whoever decided she wanted a boat that looked like it was made of marble, so it was made of wood, and then painted white. haha weird queen. It's pretty though, there are stained glass windows and the woodwork is very intricate.

One of many paths.

A nice lake I stumbled upon. There was a guy fishing :)

A bridge!! I love bridges!

Closeup of one of the pillars on a bridge.

Aaaaan completely unrelated... The Silk market! This is only one little section of the bottom floor... But the stalls seem to go on forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is just one of many videos I took at the Summer Palace, and not one of the happier ones, but ...yeah.

The shopping street!

2011-07-13T10:31:00.000-06:00

This is the Night Market, I think. I walked up to it, not knowing what it was, and was like, "OH! This is the place where they sell anything and everything that's "meat" on a stick." I didn't venture very far, because I didn't want to throw up, but I did get a video of the first stall..

A hat store. That sells hats. Brilliant!

This McDonald's might not have a drive through, but it DOES have a walk-by! haha, it's a little window to the side where you just order whatever and go on your merry way! I saw one of these in a mall here, and it was just so weird to me!

MAN, what a day

2011-07-13T09:33:00.000-06:00

It started out alright, just going to the center to "plan lessons", but the guy overseeing us pulled me aside and told me that the first session of summer camp for Tianjin was cancelled.. :( So I will now be in Beijing until the first of August, floating around teaching where I'm needed when people are sick, etc. Which is okay. I just want to teach! But then I had nothing to do today... Since I'm not planning for summer camp, and am not leaving for Tianjin, I don't really have anything to do. And it bummed me out. That, and I just felt left out of the group. I hear people talking about what they did the night before, and i'm like, why did no one tell ME about this..? :( It's probably because most of what they do centers around bars and drinking, but I'd still like to be invited, I guess, maybe. Because i haven't done ANYTHING yet. I went to the Temple of Heaven, and that's it...! So I left the center at around 6, went to my hotel, dropped some stuff off, and went back out again, headed for..... dadadaadaaaaaaa THE GAP! haha, someone told me how to get there! And I found it! I was expecting maybe a normal street, and it would be there, but no, the 'street' was just SHOPS!!!!! and shops and shops and stores and more stores!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D Talk about retail therapy. TOTALLY WORKS. I bought five things at Gap and got 15% off (yes, I do get my employee discount!!), so I was soooo happy to find something familiar. Then I walked around a bit with my GINORMOUS Gap back haha, and went into a chinese jewelry/souvenir shop, and might buy some things later before i come home. THen I saw Hermes and Cartier and went in just to say that I've been in those stores :)

But it was SOOO difficult to be in China today. I did not do very well with the whole keeping my mouth shut and looking the other way thing. For example:

I went to the bathroom right outside our center (which is in a building on the 3rd floor of a malltype place), and I hear someone across the hall in the men's room hack up a lung, then spit..somewhere... And then I walk out of the bathroom, and he's standing in the entrance to the stairwell BLATANTLY smoking. SMOKING! In a building that specifically says NO SMOKING. I just stopped in my tracks, throw my hands up and say to him, "REALLY??" and walk away. geez... people..

And then I'm on the subway--ON THE SUBWAY-- and this guy SPITS right near my feet. and i can't help but say "SERIOUSLY??" GUH. I had a few more of those moments today... I just am so fed up with the spitting and smoking!!

That, and the smell here. It's like...rotting food, plus no one wearing deodorant, plus humiditysweat, plus rotten cigarette smoke. yuck. It's the worst on the subway.

OH. And little kids here, like maybe a yearish old or more or less, just POOP. ANYWHERE. The parents cut holes in the backs of their pants, so they run around with their little bumbums poking out, and when they need to take a poop.... Yeah, right there on the street. Or alley. Or MALL. THat was the worst... It was right outside the supermarket in the mall, and this mom was sitting down with her 2 year old kid in her lap, with his legs spread, and he was POOPING onto a towel/rag under him. POOOPING. IN THE MALL. Me and the other girls stopped and were like WHAT? then we walked quickly away... :/

So yeah. Those are the things that happened today.

I did see some interesting things in the shopping street, and will blog in another post about that, and include pictures and video!

A little preview! This is...some guy? the last president of china? not sure, but I had a guy take my picture, and then his friends, who were girls, were like, "can we take a picture with you!?!?!??!" haha, so I got my pic taken with three girls in front of this statue thing, which is in front of the Hermes and Cartier stores. :)

my dayyyy

2011-07-11T10:40:00.001-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZQbdxDHGtE

TIIIIRED

2011-07-11T09:28:00.000-06:00

TIIIIRED

2011-07-11T09:26:00.001-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/v/9ZQbdxDHGtE?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0">name="allowFullScreen" value="true">http://www.youtube.com/v/9ZQbdxDHGtE?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="349" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true">

Sturrf

2011-07-11T08:44:00.000-06:00

Just some pics over the last couple days :)

We mmmmmay have had a little too much fun with the IWB..... or we were tired? or... yeah, I don't know haha

Me, just chillin, making up lesson plans :)

Mmmm, curry! The chicken was a little dry, but the sauce was pretty good! YUM!

Once upon a time, a girl wanted pizza.
And she got it.
Delivered! This was pretty good, and fairly inexpensive :)

Since youtube and blogger just LOVE me..

2011-07-07T06:02:00.000-06:00

I can't embed the videos I took, and they're too big to email, so I am just going to put the links here! These are some more videos I took at Carrefour last week.

Magnum Bars for Mom!

Kinda gross!

Ready for Rain?

Sunday in Beijing

2011-07-03T06:36:00.000-06:00

This is a short walk from my hotel.

Blueberry Pocky!

2011-07-03T06:10:00.000-06:00

That's right folks. blueberry Pocky. SO GOOD! And it was only around 75 cents! They have a bunch of different flavors here. I really like the mango flavored ones. Mmmmm~ now i'm on to the "Mousse" flavored ones, and the chocolate is so thick on the pretzel stick and it's pretty good too!

I'm trying to upload videos to youtube so i can post them here. I took a couple on my way to and at the Carrefour store. (kind of like walmart but differentish).

So on Friday I went to one of the centers to observe a class. Afterwards, I was just sitting at one of the little tables in the lobby, and the kids were starting to come out, and one of them started talking to me and thought I was so cool! I drew him a Mickey, and then he copied mine and made it into a Minnie! He was SOOO cute! HIs name is William and he's five years old. Instant friends! I was impressed by how much English he knew :)

Some weird fruit at the grocery store... Dragonfruit? Iiiii dunno!

Since I can't go on facebook....

2011-06-29T06:39:00.000-06:00

Status:

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm twizzlers~~~

Mmmm, Coke Zero and roast beef Subway sandwich~~

Gross it's hot and muggy and sticky outside :b

Hah, I did absolutely nothing today!

can you see these pictures?

2011-06-28T22:30:00.003-06:00

This is the temple of heaven, which was pretty because of the blue roof, which symbolizes the sky.

This lady was CRAZY. haha, she was just dancin up a storm! I've never seen anything like it though. There was music being played on a big stereo, and all up the walkway people were dancing whatever kind of dance they wanted and having a good time. I never saw that in Japan!

This sushi at the supermarket costed about $4. And that included the Coke! Granted, it wasn't all that spectacular, but still... cheap.

Saturday --> Tuesday

2011-06-28T07:48:00.000-06:00

Okay, trying to blog, even though I REAaaallllly don't feel like it right now...!

Saturday was a sightseeing day! We first saw the Temple of Heaven:

Okay nevermind. blogger and/or china is being dumb and not loading my pictures.

Well, it was alright. Just another temple... Which i feel horrible about saying, but it's kind of true. It gets a little repetitive...

Then we walked around forever, and then forever again. and forever AGAIN. i was dying. hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. but FINALLY we got to the restaurant we were looking for, a dumpling place, and it was pretty good. and cheap.

Sunday I went to church! I spent Saturday night trying to figure out exactly where church was. I was fairly confident when I left my hotel. I got on the subway, switched lines when I needed to, and when I got onto the second line, I saw an american in a white shirt, black pants, and a tie. I thought, "hmmmmm, I bet he's Mormon..." But I didn't say anything because I was chicken. And because maybe he wasn't. but he kind of looked like it... :) Anyways, when he got off at the same stop I did, I was like, OKAY, he's GOTTA be! And I followed him for about 20 feet before asking, "ummm, can i ask you where you're going?" "Church," says he. "LDS?" I implore. "Yeah!" goes the guy. hahahaha, i totally called it! So he led me to where church was! I NEVER would've found it if I hadn't been led to him. And yes, I think this wasn't just happenstance. Because before I left I said a little prayer asking to PPLLLEASE help me find church, because i REALLY wanted to go to church today!! And my prayer was answered! Cool!

Anyways, church was in this building, on the fourth floor, and around a couple corners. It has to be kind of hidden, for good reason. china is weird. But I was surprised at how big the ward was! probably bigger than the northview branch was. the people there were pretty nice, but the guy I met was just...awkward, or in a bad mood, or just wasn't happy to talk to me or something, because I got a weird offputting vibe from him. Whatever, I didn't sit next to him. Just because he led me to church, doesn't mean he's my new bestfriend...! Heh.

So yeah, church was good. I went back to my hotel and just chilled for the rest of the day. I was already tired of sightseeing, and just wanted to rest and not deal with people.

And then Monday!

maybe a video about Monday? :)

Not uploading.. On well, I feel like I look literally retarded in this vlog anyway.... :( My mouth is weird. Do i really look like that and talk like that? guh...

But being there at Disney today rocked! I have pictures, but... blogger hates me. I might just email them. Anyways, every classroom in the Disney English center had a theme! There was Andy's Room, Mulan's Garden, The Pixie Cove, Radiator Springs, and some others. So cool! The fancy velvety blue curtains are fireproof--which is super expensive. The realia closet (props and stuff) is HUGE! :D yay!

Today was a little more difficult. I was really tired, and in a bit of a sour mood. I don't really like team competitions where whoever answers first gets points. And we did that the whole day. That, and my team was, once again, because I'm ALWAYS on this team, the blah team. Seriously, every. time. Is it me...? :t Anyways. yeah. I did have a good lunch. Me and this other girl were adventurous and went to a Shabu Shabu Japanese restaurant. Every person has their own boiling pot of broth, and they give you raw meat and veggies and you stir them in and cook and eat them! YUM! But then near the end one of the trainers mentioned something about going out for drinks afterwards. I thought it was inappropriate. Just made me feel uncomfortable and excluded.. :( I went home alone, needless to say, without the group.

So yeah, that was my day. Not the greatest... I miss Japan. and boise. and...cole. hehe.. And nephews, and roommates, and youtube, and facebook, and gardening, and dry air, and sisters and family, and phone calls, and mail, and netflix, and poopies, and books, and my bed, and my shoes, and running, and snuggling....

Yeah, today was a homesick day. Hopefully not every day is like this. But I was bound to have one sooner or later, and I am bound to have more. Tomorrow is free, so maybe that'll give me time to recooperate.

Love you all!!!!

Sorry!!

2011-06-26T03:45:00.001-06:00

Melissa just emailed me (wait...isn't it 3 am in Boise...??) telling me I need to blog more! I was planning on it today but I was just chillin in my room and totally spaced it! That, and it's hard to write in a blog all that's been going on.

Alright! So where did I leave off.....

On Friday we went to get cell phone plans all set up. It costed 10 yuan to get a SIM card. 10. That's like $1.50. Crazy!!! And then phone calls are like .02 yuan per minute. YEAH. crazy cheap!! I could've gotten an international plan that's also really cheap, but I figured scype will work just fine. WHICH WE HAVEN'T DONE YET....! bah! So we are all at China Mobile, seeing if our SIM cards will work in our US/Japanese/Egyptian phones, and nope..they don't. Except for the Egyptian one. So we're all sitting around wondering what to do, and this random guy (dont' know if he's from Disney, or just looking to make money) comes up and has a bag of cheapish phones for us to buy. Mia (our guide for the day) (who is Chinese), seemed to think it was alright, so we all got one. And they're cheapy and nokia, but they work.

Then we decide to go to CarrePour, which is the French equivalent of WalMart! It's huge! The second floor is devoted to housing stuff and electronics and just about anything you want, and the first floor just has FOOD. We didn't spend a whole lot of time there, so I need to go back (to return one of the adaptors I got because my straightener doesn't fit into it...), and also to explore more and maybe buy a scale. I don't want to gain weight!

Hmmmm what did we do after that...? Wow. honestly can't remember. .....OH! There's a little shopping strip close to the hotel and four of us went to check it out. There's a Subway, which is pretty similar to American ones. One girl got the meatball sub though, and she said it was nasty... I got a warm beef and cheese one, and it was delicious! They have a sweet onion sauce that was heavenly~ And I hadn't eaten since breakfast so I was starving..

So we stayed there and chatted for a bit and enjoyed the free WiFi, and then went across the strip to a gym. It was REALLY nice and had everything, even a pool, but it was super expensive... I think if a big group of us sign up, we could get it cheaper, but still... :b

There's also a little mostly-foreign food shop there. I got a couple drinks to try, and they were yummy. One was a milky yogurty thing, the other was a slightly carbonated milky thing. :) The other girls were SO EXCITED to find peanut butter! :)

Alright, I want to take these one day at a time, so I will be writing another blog for yesterday! woot!

Our hotel! :)

The Disney English van! This is what we were picked up in at the airport.

My hotel room!

2011-06-23T19:41:00.000-06:00

This is where I will be staying until July 11th! Pretty nice! But the bed is ROCK hard. Oh well, I slept really well on it last night. I went to sleep at about 8:30, slept til about 6. Perfect! Last night I flipped on the TV just to see what was on. There are about 40 stations, and maybe 2 or 3 English news channels. And then I found a movie channel that was playing Titanic! haha, i watched the last five minutes of it. Avatar was on next, but I was wayyy to tired to get into that one!

Breakfast was yummy! No, I didn't end up eating dinner last night... oh well. There was a wide assortment of stuff, and I got fresh fruit, a sticky rice dish with egg in it, juice, meat rolls (YUM!), toast with jam, a tasteless ricey soup or something, a hardboiled egg, and some biscuity cookies. I think it was a fairly healthy meal. I hope I lose weight here!! Another girl and I really were looking forward to the tiny gym here, but she asked the front desk about it, and they said they didn't have one.. Which is weird because Glen, who stayed here last night, told us there was..! HMmmmmmm

Today we are meeting a lady who is taking us to get cell phones. I hope I can use my Japanese cell. But that's all on the list today. Wonder what we will end up doing for the rest of the day!

Here!

2011-06-23T04:28:00.000-06:00

I made it!!! Holy crow! I'm not sure everything has completely sunk in yet. I am in my hotel room, and it's so cute! I'll send pictures and video later. I hope I can, anyway. China is funny about things :)

I am realllyyy tired. I need to eat dinner, but don't know where to go... Hmmmm.. Hopefully I can meet up with some of the other peoples here and we can find something to order in or something. Because it is POURING outside!

Packing

2011-06-22T01:23:00.006-06:00

Welp, I think I'm pretty much done packing!!!!! Thanks to Becky, for being cutthroat about what I should take vs what I want to take. :) I've got my largest suitcase (that will HOPEFULLY be just under 50 lbs), and my smaller carry-on. As well as a slightly larger purse. :) BAH! I can't believe I leave in 6.5 hours!!!!

hahahahahaha

I'm going to China!

2011-06-21T11:23:00.000-06:00

Yep, that's right. Julie is going to China for two and a half months! I hope to update this blog regularly with tales of my adventures and mishaps. :) And hopefully I will find a new background to match my location!

So I am almost finished packing--really, I just need to add my bathroom stuff, which I can't quite pack until I finish getting ready tomorrow morning. I leave for the airport at 6 am!!! BAH! My flight to San Fran is two hours long, then I have a two hour layover, and then I fly to Beijing on a TWELVE. HOUR.FLIGHT. Geez! That'll be FUN! I don't have a problem flying for that long, really, but I just don't want to be BOARED, ya know? I don't want to get sick of the one book I'm gonna bring (maybe I will take two), and my iPod will at some point run out of juice, and then I will have nothing to do but sleep and/or watch the inflight movies, which I HOPE are good!!

Welp, I think that's all for now! WOO!!!!!!

What's new

2011-05-11T02:11:00.000-06:00

Welp, here I am, 2 in the morning... same old story: can't sleep, watching tv on my computer, surfs the internet for blah blah blah facebook blah blah blah email blah blah blah facebook--again.

I have a job interview tomorrow, so I hope that goes alright. Not that I'm too hopeful. Because that's never healthy.

Gearing up for China! I'm finished with Module 12 of 20 in my TEFL-C certification, and am starting to learn Chinese. Well, kinda. I learned a couple words that I will never use, like "dong wu" for animal, and "mao" for cat. Other than some more animals, I forgot everything else I learned--days of the week and seasons. My brain is crap!

At least I have a boyfriend who is so completely awesome and encouraging. :) *is happy* ^_^

Been Awhile

2011-04-28T12:31:00.000-06:00

Here I am again! Back from the blogging graveyard. haha :) I seem to just post everything on Facebook so it's hard to want to write about everything again on here, but I guess it's good for me.

But really, I don't have all that much to say right now, so yeah. At least i posted.. right.?

For Fwwweeeeee~!

2011-01-12T11:43:00.001-07:00

I sure do like it when my receipt for all this:

(one of my favorite gap shirts, beanie, gloves, body spray)
Looks like this:

BOOM baby!!! :D Zero dollars! An extra half off all markdowns, plus 10% Tuesday for GapCard holders, plus I had a $10 reward card. And I could've gotten another beanie for like 10 cents! darnit!!

The trees are turning rainbows~!

2010-11-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

Easton says the cutest things! He saw the fall colors on the trees and said they were turning rainbows. Awwww

Yes, I went to Utah last week! I had so much fun staying with Emily and Nathan, and playing with my nephews rocked! Easton had his 4-year-old moments...but he also can be verrryyy sweet and very polite~ He snuggled with me when we watched How To Train Your Dragon, held my hand during it, and asked so many questions! Adorable!

We did a LOT of coloring while I was there, and I asked Easton what he thought of the movie:

silly kid... :) he liked the scary parts the best..!

And Lincoln is learning so many new words now! He can ...SORT of say my name, haha :

Easton also loves to make traintracks! He was really excited about this because "it has LOTS of junctions!!!!!"

While there, we saw THOUSANDS of birds flowing south in V's. It was crazy!! Linky saw them first and then all of us just stared at the sky like "whooooa..." They just kept coming and coming! out of the smog like ghosts!

Easton had this idea from one of his friends to make new crayons out of old crayons! Emily looked up how to do it, and you just put the crayons in foil-lined muffin tins and melt them til they're ..melted..and then voila!

At first, Emily and I were more excited about it than the boys were, lol

But then Linky got in on the fun and loved watching them melt.

And then finally Easton joined in

Lincoln is excited about how they're all melty! And they turned out awesome! We mostly put like colors together, but I did one with lots of different colors and Easton liked it because it was a rainbow crayon! :)

So on Friday we thought we'd go to the zoo. The boys were SSOOOO excited, but when we got there, the zoo was going to close in 5 minutes... whoops.. Lincoln was literally pushing my legs so we could still go inside, but sadly we couldn't. :( The kids handled it pretty well though. I was expecting tantrums, but they were just kinda bummed. But the "This is the Place" monument/park was really close, so we just went to that and walked and ran around and they had a good time.

So yeah! I freakin love my nephews! And it was good to see Em and Nathan. Thanks for trying to do P90X with me! haha :b Can't wait to see you all at Christmas. YAY

AND GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Erica comes home in EXACTLY ONE MONTH. KYA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

The Only Exception

2010-11-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

The first time I heard this song, I liked it, but wasn't sure I really liked it, ya know? But now, I really REALLY like it.

I want to learn the guitar chords to it! How 'bout it, Dad?

Fashion

2010-10-28T20:14:00.001-06:00

So I don't know if you know this about me, particularly because I might not show it, but I really like fashion. Specifically and recently (over the last couple years), I have loved Leighton Meester's (Blaire Waldorf of Gossip Girl's) wardrobe! She is always classy, elegant, and poised. A lot of skirts and dresses, which I wish I wore more of. And a lot of what she wears is modest, maybe a little short sometimes, but I like so much of what she wears. (Jemms posted about this awhile back, and since then I've wanted to do my own about it!)

Blaire wears a lot of Marc Jacobs. Hehe. Maybe someday I will be able to afford it!

I wish this one had sleeves, but I love the way the white drapes over the black.

Pretty red dress~

She always has the cutest coats and jackets! *Envy*

And my lastest favorite from this last week's episode:

The top was so shimmery sparkly! LOVED IT. Marc Jacobs, please give this to me for free!

I have not posted in TWO MONTHS

2010-10-17T13:55:00.000-06:00

Holy crow. That's a long time with no posts. But there's a reason.

Anyways, time to do a MEME to get the ball rolling again! (That ball might fall off a cliff and blow up, but I at least have to have SOMETHING on here.)

Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Note that the wording is "will always stick with you" which I'm going to say does not mean favorite, which we've done before. It could, in theory, be something horrible that you hated, but can't shake off.

1. Twilight series, Stephanie Meyer
2. Hunger Games series, Suzanne Collins
3. Paper Towns, John Green
4. Suite Scarlett, Maureen Johnson
5. Persuasion, Jane Austen
6. Book of Mormon (is it sad that this isn't first...?)
7. Harry Potter series (namely 3, 1, 6, and 7), JK Rowling
8. Hex in the City, byyyyy someone.... :s
9. The Summoning series, Kelley Armstrong
10. Count of Monte Cristo, by whoever. YUCK, hated it, but can't ever forget it...
11. Wings series, Aprilynne Pike
12. Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson
13. The Giver, Lois Lowry
14. Animorphs series, KA Applegate
15. Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes

I think that's pretty correct. There's a lot of books that I can't remember I've read.

Anywho, if there's anyone who still reads this blog, copy and paste the MEME rules and make your own list of 15 books! (or if you don't have a blog, email them out!)

2010-08-17T14:04:00.002-06:00

GUH. I feel like I'm going insane. Note to self: DO NOT TAKE JOBS THAT CONSIST OF CALLING PEOPLE ALL DAY FOR INFORMATION. I did it last year, and I'm back again. And I hate it. LIke it actually makes me shudder to hear hold music and the beep of the buttons as I call the number and a fake operator voice.

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2010-08-07T23:16:00.000-06:00

People seem to think that the way I'm feeling right now is a choice.

They have NO. IDEA.
NONE.

Cheap as Free!

2010-08-05T19:06:00.000-06:00

Man, I lurve getting stuff for free! Like, an umbrella originally $19.50, on sale for $9.99, then 35% off that, and then part of my $10 discount coupon applied to that, and voila! Free!

Ever since Emily accidentally left my good umbrella on a bus in Kyoto (we had to get off real fast because we didn't know it was the last stop...), I've wanted another good quality umbrella. This one is alllllmost as good. :)

The other cheap as free item? A belt! Originally $19.50, marked down to $5.99, and then $3.97, and then the rest of that $10 discount coupon applied --> FWWEEEEE~!

I like it cuz it's coppery and shimmery. And I don't have a skinny belt, or a brown belt for that matter, and it's just cool! and free! ^_^

I also got some baby flipflops for $0.90 (marked down from $9) and other baby shoes for like $2.80 (like $14 or something).

Am I awesome or what??! :D

Gravity

2010-08-02T22:39:00.000-06:00

This dance, the choreography, is about addiction--whether it be to a person, or substance. It/he is always there, helping, but also hurting you at the same time.

"Something always brings me back to you. And it never takes too long. I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity."

Utah

2010-07-25T22:34:00.000-06:00

I've spent the week in Utah with my sister, and I've had a nice time. (except for the day my body CLEANED itself out... that sucked.) At the same time, it's been rough. Well, the last 4.5 months have been rough. So that's not new. But this last week was just... well, I didn't want to drive home because I was afraid I'd purposely run my car off the road--that's how mad/angry/upset I was. So.

Instead I hung out with my nephews, and they are great~ (My sis and bro in law are awesome too!)

I should post pictures, but I feel blah right now, so that'll have to wait.

I hung out with Brittany, and it'll probably be the last time I see her before she leaves for her mission in Washington. :( Sad. But we made Japanese food and talked and watched The Prestige and had a good time. Well, good? I dunno. Good is a strong word... A lot of the things we had to talk about weren't the greatest. But it was just nice to see her. :)

Also spent some time with Jek, and we went to sushi and the next day went to a community theatre production of "the Music Man." It wasn't the greatest, but Marian was good at least :).

Song of the Week:

"Coin-Operated Boy"

(I won't post all lyrics, or the song or video, because I'm waiting until I can do my own version--I have the music and I'll change a few words and phrases--, but here are some of the lyrics. It starts out just kinda funny, the girl just wants a guy, but in the end it's just heartbreaking. Look up the video on YouTube if you want.)

coin operated boy

he may not be real..or experienced with girls..

but i know he feels like a boy should feel.

isnt that the point? that is why i want a

coin operated boy

with a pretty coin operated voice

saying that he loves me, that hes thinking of me

straight and to the point

that is why i want

a coin operated boy.

[Nerd] Epic Rap Battle!

2010-07-15T21:18:00.001-06:00

This is hilarious~ I think the guy in the glasses (Link) won :) What do you think?

(Maybe click on the video to watch it on YouTube. Blogger cuts off the right side...)

Although, I love the line: "I ROLL MY OWN SUSHI!" bwahahhaa ^^ That, and "I can change your computer wallpaper to a tropical beach scene~~~" .... "EGG SLICER."

hahahahaha

Pep Talk

2010-06-24T16:23:00.002-06:00

Lol, I need to do this every morning too :)

(thanks to Christine for posting this on facebook!)

Haha, i like how she claps at :35 She'll be a great motivational speaker one day :)

A Very "Spiteful" Fathers Day

2010-06-21T23:43:00.002-06:00

Wow, so my last week basically consisted of two, maybe three things:
1. Write
2. Try to sleep (this is the 'maybe' thing i mentioned. sleep is a very elusive concept for me a lot of the time...)
3. Make a disaster diorama!!!!!!! :D

haha, so a friend referred me to this website, Spitefuls.com (thanks Jek!), and upon looking at all of the awesome dioramas available, I was like, "I have to make the Apollo 13 for Father's Day!!" Apollo 13 is one of my dad's favorite movies. But, um, little did I know that the Apollo is actually the most difficult diorama ON that site. HEH!

So! I had TONS of fun working on that! (that comment is meant to be both sarcastic and true!) So, I got my supplies:

-printed on 60lb color paper from kinkos (i thought that heavier paper would be better. i guess it worked out just fine, but maybe any paper will work?)
-gluestick (crappy quality from walmart, but...it served its purpose)
-one of those blade cutter things
-scissors
-double sided sticky squares that I use for scrapbooking
-magnet (um, yeah, this was for the part that I had to make the legs. it actually proved quite useful!)
-ruler
-regular tape
-hard surface/cardboard surface

And yeah! haha, i wanted to be prepared, and all of those things came in handy.

It was about the point that I cut the first page out that I started to get worried, lol. Didn't know how to put the stand together.. But I emailed the creator, and she helped me out with that. ^_^

Then on the third page I started to REALLY freak out. What was I supposed to do with all these little pieces?!? gah! It looked a lot bigger in the picture, and I'm a visual learner sort of, i guess, and I needed MORE help with all the little bits and pieces. I have to admit, the only thing keeping me going was the thought of being able to use those explosion flames, lol :)

I remember being so proud that I got the antenna put together... and then I found out later that I had put it together inside-out. whoopsie! that was easily fixed though. no need for a reprint!
See? wrong way.. lol, but i was so happy about it!

Things were coming along just swimmingly~ I got the whole Command & Service Module finished! Explosion flames and everything! Frackin awesome :D (minus the reverse antenna... :b haha)

Then I took a look at what was next... If I thought the CSM was difficult.... eep!

First, the Lunar Module Legs. I didn't know how I was supposed to get them rolled so tightly! I guess the fact that I used heavier paper didn't make it easier, but that's where the magnet came in. I just rolled them around the magnet and they turned out the perfect size! Voila!

I thought that the Forward Hatch Section was going to be insane, so I put it off for a day and a half... Just needed more pictures. But I had guessed right about what I needed to do (for the most part), and hadn't trusted that instinct!

The last bit kind of just made my jaw drop. How were all these pieces supposed to fit together nicely and snugly? :/ hrrmmm But after receiving more close-up pics, I sort of just was like, "whatever! just do something!" aaaand so I did, and it turned out just fine! Tape and glue were my best friends.

I am quite proud of the finished product~ :D And my dad really likes it! And even though at times I wanted to pull my hair out, and I had to quit and take breathers every once in awhile, it really wasn't actually all that bad, lol. Looking back, I could totally do it again. I think the hardest part is cutting things out.. And being able to read and follow directions, which I apparently have a hard time with. :) And having fingers small enough to work with it all. Luckily, my fingers are sort of big, but not TOO big, and I managed. :)

See? TuhDUH!!!!!!

*does happydance*

Deathly Hallows Preview!!!

2010-06-17T22:22:00.002-06:00

Ikebana and song

2010-06-12T12:46:00.003-06:00

My latest and greatest flower arrangement!

And the song for today?

Pocketful of Sunshine, Natasha Bedingfield.

The music video is a little weird, but I like the song.

Lyrics:

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine
I got a love and I know that it's all mine, oh, oh oh oh
Do what you want but you're never gonna break me
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me, oh, oh oh oh

Take me away, a secret place
A sweet escape, take me away
Take me away to better days
Take me away, a hiding place

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine
I got a love and I know that it's all mine, oh, oh oh oh
Do what you want but you're never gonna break me
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me, oh, oh oh oh

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine
I got a love and I know that it's all mine, oh, oh oh oh
Wish that you could but you ain't gonna own me
Do anything you can to control me, oh, oh no

Take me away, a secret place
A sweet escape, take me away
Take me away to better days
Take me away, a hiding place

There's a place that I go that nobody knows
Where the rivers flow and I call it home
And there's no more lies in the darkness there's light
And nobody cries, there's only butterflies

Take me away, a secret place
A sweet escape, take me away
Take me away to better days
Take me away, a hiding place

Take me away, a secret place
A sweet escape, take me away
Take me away to better days
Take me away, a hiding place

Take me away
(I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine)
A secret place
(I got a love and I know that it's all mine)
To better days take me away
Take me away
(I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine)
A secret place
(I got a love and I know that it's all mine)
Take me away, a hiding place

The sun is on my side and takes me for a ride
I smile up to the sky, I know I'll be alright
The sun is on my side and takes me for a ride
I smile up to the sky, I know I'll be alright

Cheesecake Factory's Dark Bread

2010-06-04T19:54:00.003-06:00

So I've wanted to see if there was a copy recipe out there for the Cheesecake Factory's oh so delicious dark brown bread. And, well, I found one that is pretty good, and sort of close!

Sorry the picture isn't pretty or artistic... :) I just snapped it real quick.

It doesn't taste exactly the same, but it's sweet and actually reallllllyyyy yummy~ And fairly easy to make! I got the recipe online, but I'm going to re-write it here in a more awesome and better way for people who don't use bread machines. like me!

2 T butter, softened

1 1/2 C warm water

2 1/4 t yeast (1 pkg)

1 T granulated sugar

1/2 C honey

(+ a little bit of molasses if you want, this isn't in the original recipe, but it was in others, and I put in maybe less than a teaspoon, but whatever you want)

1 2/3 C wheat flour

1 T cocoa

1 t salt

2 C bread flour (but I added maybe 1/4 or 1/3 cup more to make it not so sticky)

Soften butter and put it in your awesome Bosch mixer (I probably didn't spell that right)

Put yeast in the measuring cup with the warm water in it and add sugar to that, and let it sit and all that.

Dump it over the butter, then add the honey and molasses, and mix.

Add the wheat flour, mix some more.

Add cocoa and salt, mix again.

Add the regular/bread flour and mix, adding more flour if needed.

Then put the mixer on Speed 1 and have it "knead" for about 10 minutes.

When it's done, let it rise for about an hour.

When the dough is twice its original size, punch it down and split it into rolls. When I did it, it made 7, but try getting it up to 8. They were a little big .The dough is sticky, so use plenty of flour on your hands and on the counter, and also on the cookie sheet.

Place rolls on cookie sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal (optional), then let them rise again. (I did this for maybe 20 minutes.)

Bake for 20-24 minutes at 350. I baked them for 20 and they turned out PERFECT.

And enjoy! :D

Just a song

2010-05-31T23:52:00.006-06:00

The lyrics are pretty powerful, I think..

What I think "Several Ways to Die Trying" says:
The Pacific sun should've warned me about Japan. heh, it wasn't always so great as everyone said it would be.
The roads that people built to lead us to the light are being burned. We were hopeful, but now... We had ambition, were intrigued by it all, and were let down.
We just want someone to take interest. But more often than not, people just don't care. They only care about themselves. Most of the time, what we do just goes forgotten. Life sometimes just feels like a trick. We were only led, just to end up in a coffin they built for us. We only wanted the best for ourselves, to believe we could achieve something, but we were lied to, betrayed. But we are, WE ARE intriguing. We ARE worth something. We know it, why doesn't anyone else?

I'm not saying I believe this, well, not all the time, but I have felt like this on many occasions.

Lyrics:
Pacific Sun, you should have warned us, it gets so cold here.
And the night can freeze, before you set it on fire.

And our flares go unnoticed.
Diminished, faded just as soon as they are fired.

We are, we are, intrigued. We are, we are, invisible.

Oh, how we've shouted, how we've screamed, take notice, take interest, take me with you.

But all our fears fall on deaf ears.

Tonight, they're burning the roads they built to lead us to the light.
And blinding our hearts with their shining lies,
while closing our caskets cold and tight. But I'm dying to live.

Pacific sun, you should have warned us, these heights are dizzying,
and the climb can kill you long before the fall.

And our trails go unmarked and unmapped and covered
just as soon as they are crossed.

We are, we are, intriguing. We are, we are, desirable.

Oh how we've shouted, how we've screamed,
take notice, take interest, take me with you.

But all our fears fall on deaf ears.

Tonight, they're burning the roads they built to lead us to the light.
And blinding our hearts with their shining lies,
while closing our caskets cold and tight. But I'm dying to live.

Birthday #25

2010-05-27T00:11:00.006-06:00

Alright, sooo... birthday recap!

It started out spectacularly. I'll start at the earliest time: 4 o'clock am. Yeah, I couldn't get to sleep (no big surprise there), but at least I ended up having a fun dream (haha, call for details, if ya want). and then I woke up at 11.

My first act out of bed: I hadn't even taken one step, and I stub my toe on a binder. Yeah. A binder. I took it as a sign that this was going to be the BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER. *rolls eyes*

What happened next: I sit at my desk to check my email, just like normal, with one leg curled under me. Mel calls, and I stand up as she starts to sing happy birthday, but..I hardly hear it because i'm freaking out that there's blood on my chair. Yup, that's right, my toe was bleeding freely, and it was gross. I didn't even know! It hurt, but I didn't think I had stubbed it enough to make it bleed. :/ dumb.

And after that: shower, get ready, bla bla bla (at least there wasn't a spider in my shower, and at least i didn't burn myself with my straight-iron. heh..) I dress up more for a week day than I have in about 3 months..

Some 'guh' news: the little cottage I wanted to rent was snatched up. :( :( double frown. I really wanted that place. Stupid no job that won't give me stupid money to pay any stupid rent...

And after that: Then I go to work. (I do realize that I just said "stupid no job", but keep in mind that the job i do have barely pays the bills. :/ )

At work: It's the last day of tutoring, and I had four students show up that didn't even need to be there, but were, just because they wanted to. Aww~ Two students were testing. As class is ending, my four visiters rush around trying to find a CD player. hmmm, :) They all give me awesome cards, and this one, from Addy, a first grader, is probably one of the best cards I've ever gotten, lol (no offense, mel :) I loved your card too~)

So, the CD player? They put in a CD and it starts---And it's "party in the usa" (miley cyrus), the karaoke version! LOL, they put on a mini show for me and we dance and sing and partay~ It was so sweet of them, cuz over the months we've bonded over the song, haha, and we've talked about having a karaoke party just so we could all sing that. We have brownies and I pass out end of the year prizes and stuff and yay! Tutoring is over! Now I have no job! Well, except at the Gap, but ..yeah.

Comin' home: Yup, I came home! :b

The phonecall: And then I get a phonecall from Emily, but I didn't answer it in time, and so I call back right away and Easton answers!! :D Aww he's so sweet, he wished me a happy birthday and was so excited for me. *heartsmile* Then we decide to call each other over Scype, and so that happened, and Lincoln is CUTE, and Emily is awesome, and Nathan's legs made an appearance, haha, and then Easton says: "HooRAY for your BIRTHday JOOLIE!" wahahaha, what was so funny was how grown up and articulated it was! hilarious~

Walkin around: After the Scype conversation, I realize that I have a voicemail, and i know that it must be from Emily. But I was WRONG! :) It was from Easton~~!! And he said, "Happy birthday julieee, I love you~" Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww~~!

And then we got hungry: and then my parents took me to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. YUM. The food was of course delicious and the portions were HUGE (and seriously, if you have not tried their avocado eggrolls, YOU ARE MISSING OUT. WHOA), and then mom let it "slip" that I needed a candle for my cheesecake. THANKS, Mom... >.> *glares* So I get embarrassed by all the lovely staff. But at least my slice of Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake looked visually pleasing~

Oh, the calories~~ So good!

Random event of the year: After a few minutes, this old couple from the booth next to us comes up and was like, "we couldn't help overhearing it was your birthday! and we just thought we'd show you how it's done!" haha, and they sang their OWN short little birthday ditty, and it was hilarious just how out of the blue it was. :) I got my picture with them, that's how awesome they were. (They look kinda freaky in the picture, but they were really nice and cool.) They are clowns for a company called "toy box", and the man is "from a foreign country called New Jersey," and then the lady says she's "from a foreign country called Israel!" haha, they were cool. :)

Return to my hole: We get home, stuffed, and Cole drops off my b-day present, and an entire case of Dr. Pepper (from Aspen, his St. Bernard "puppy" haha), and as I open the door for him, I see that Camille has dropped off some Peanut Butter M&Ms! lol, Camille, how did you KNOW that those are my favorite?? :)

In my dungeon: Sadly I do not have a moat, but it was 15 minutes to midnight, and as soon as a friend pointed that out to me that i only have 15 minutes left of my birthday, I immediately feel like doing something stupid and reckless. And so here's what I did!

My stupid and reckless act: Sitting and staring at my screen wishing I knew of something stupid and reckless to do. haha. Guh, I felt so... BOARing. But oh well. The day has passed and gone.

It wasn't as terribly bad as I thought it would be. :)

Thank you, everyone, for your birthday wishes~

Return to Ikebana

2010-05-16T00:54:00.002-06:00

A couple months ago I went to a Japanese festival. One of their presentations (among kendo and taiko drums) was Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arrangement. Three ladies did a flower arrangement at the same time while one commented on what they were doing and what Ikebana was. Well! I thought it was awesome because I really wanted to get into that again, so afterwards I went up to the lady in charge of the Ikebana thing and was like, "Do you teach a class?? Can I sign up?!?" :) She, among all the Japanese ladies surrounding her, was so surprised and happy about that! haha :)

So because I got sick and then was out of town, I hadn't been able to go to her lessons, which are once a month, but this last Friday, I WENT! It was a lot of fun, even though I was nervous because I was really really rusty. It was just me, two other younger ladies, and the woman teaching. It was held in her house and it was really relaxed and nice. I made this!

And afterwards we had tea and cookies~ They are all super nice, and have invited me to do other stuff with them like potlucks and stuff. I'm excited for next month!

New Post on Book Blog

2010-05-13T18:18:00.002-06:00

Well, you heard what the title of this post says! --> go to my Book Blog!

Let's see, anything to blog about...? Ummm, not really.

I got my seasonal job back at the Gap, so that's happy. :) I need something full-time, but it'll be good to have that in the meantime.

It's nice outside, so I'm going to venture out from the confines of my room, and lay in the sun!!

Ciao~

Trip to Utah

2010-05-07T22:11:00.004-06:00

So even though only basically my family reads this (and maybe the occasional friend or stranger), I might as well post pics from my trip down to Utah!

First, may I say, Picasa is my best friend! Yay for photoshopping out zits and ugly spots!! :)

Lincoln is my best bud~ Always has been <3 We had so much fun playing and laughing!

And it snowed so we got to make a snowman! yay! Well, I didn't really help make it, because I didn't have gloves or boots, but I took the pictures :) Well, except this one, that is.

Lovelovelove Lincoln! I got a lot of good pictures of him! Easton was way too hyper to get a good clean shot of him :) But I loves them both!

My first night in Emily and Nathan's beautiful home, I slept on an air mattress, and the boys loved playing on it with me! (Emily, I promise we didn't jump. ...most of the time. ;) )

First morning I think there, I took this cute pic of Linky and him mom~ Awwwwwwww~!

And more pics later! Love you all~ I can't wait to visit again

song of the does-anyone-really-care?

2010-05-04T22:36:00.002-06:00

So I know that no one actually watches these, but I will continue to post just in case someone cares to know what music I'm listening to these days.

:b

Mushaboom, by Feist.

Lyrics:

Helping the kids out of their coats
But wait the babies haven't been born oh
Unpacking the bags and setting up
And planting lilacs and buttercups oh

But in the meantime we've got it hard
Second floor living without a yard
It may be years until the day
My dreams will match up with my pay

Old dirt road,
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
knee deep snow
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
o-o-o-o-old

I got a man to stick it out
And make a home from a rented house oh
And we'll collect the moments one by one
I guess that's how the future's done oh

How many acres, how much light
Tucked in the woods and out of sight
Talk to the neighbours and tip my cap
On a little road barely on the map

Old dirt road,
mushaboom, mushaboom)
knee deep snow
mushaboom, mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow,
mushaboom, mushaboom)
o-o-o-o-old
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Old dirt road rambling rose
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Well I'm Soldddddddddddddddd

Jane Austen meets Shakespeare?

2010-04-23T16:54:00.004-06:00

So I've been reading a lot lately, because I have nothing else to do. I've read the Hunger Games books, Wings, Scarlett Fever, Julie and Julia, and much more. But, while re-reading Jane Austen's "Persuasion," one of my favorite books, I turned the page to chapter 11 and found this:

Huh? Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Now, why in the WORLD would I have these quotes stuck inside my copy of Jane Austen's complete works..?? I didn't even know where I got the quotes until I looked them up just now. (The names in blue ink are what I wrote this morning.) I haven't even *read* Julius Ceasar, OR anything by Tolstoy. What the heck!? Where did I even hear these quotes?!? haha..weird.. I don't even know WHEN I put the stickynote in there. It was so stuck to the page that when I took it off, it took some ink with it. hmm.. Ah, tis a mystery that shall forever remain unknown. ....

This is why I love Glee!!

2010-04-22T17:05:00.007-06:00

Don't Rain on My Parade!!! Dang, her VOICE! I wish I could sing like that. And the last note: *laaa~~!!!!* SO GOOD. :D

Sakana Widget

2010-04-08T00:19:00.003-06:00

I added a new widget to the sidebar :)

If you're bored, it's kinda fun to just move your mouse around it and watch the fishies follow it~ hehe. Oh! and if you click on it, you can "feed" them! cool~

(um, sakana means 'fish', if you were wondering)

Song of the whenever

2010-04-05T23:19:00.001-06:00

Why do I like this song...? I'm not really sure. But I do. A lot.

Heh heh..

2010-03-31T17:24:00.004-06:00

Well, okay.

New Playlist

2010-03-31T15:39:00.001-06:00

I've added a playlist for all the songs of the week I've been posting. It's at the very bottom of the blog. *shrug*, ya know, if you're interested.

Bang Bang

2010-03-15T00:44:00.001-06:00

It would be cool to perform this song in a talent show or something... *shrug*..

Cupcakes

2010-03-13T20:12:00.001-07:00

Pink,Black n Silver
Originally uploaded by ShamsD

these look awesome. hey emily, next project? : )

Jeffery R. Holland

2010-03-09T23:29:00.002-07:00

With any major decision there are cautions and considerations to make, but once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. “Cast not away therefore your confidence.” Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you.

Click here for his entire talk. This quote, namely the last few sentences, has been my motto for the past few years.

The Climb

2010-03-09T21:11:00.001-07:00

Song of the Week!

2010-03-03T19:50:00.002-07:00

Can't believe it's been a week already!

This week, I'll introduce you to Kelly Sweet. I love her voice, it's so clear and smooth. :) A song I like is called "how bout you."

So if you all don't know already, I sort of got officially promoted at work! Not really much difference in what I was doing, except for the fact that I have the "cube of power" (the hugeish tote box with everything in it) ^^ , and no pay increase, but it's nice to have a title: Site Coordinator! yay~

Two Suns

2010-02-26T00:37:00.003-07:00

And yet another breathtaking sunset on my way out to Caldwell! I don't know how it happened, but it looks like there are two suns. WOW! :) Kinda amazing that I take most of the sunset pictures while I'm driving... heh!

Song of the Week!

2010-02-24T13:40:00.002-07:00

These seem to come by really fast--the weeks are flying by!

So, let's see... song of the week... Hmm.

I think, yes, I think I'll choose:

Pony (It's Okay), by Erin McCarley. Most people might know her song "love save the empty" which is on the movie "He's Just Not That Into You," but I've got a few more of her songs, and I really like them! Hello/Goodbye is also good, but this week, it's gonna be "pony"! :)

Winning Silver and Naan!

2010-02-24T12:55:00.004-07:00

Now that's an interesting title...! :D

FHE on Monday was a dessert tasting and game playing activity! There were TONS of desserts that everyone brought, and guess what!!! My chocolate filled meringue cups with strawberry sauce were the BEST!

Best? you ask, doesn't that mean you won Gold? Well... the voting system was rigged, I tell ya! I really should have won, but... the gold medal went to some No-Bakes. WHAT?? yeah. :b

I also won a $2 gift certificate to Baskin Robbins! yaay~ But here's a picture of me proudly showing off my silver medal~ ^_^ I look dumpy... but it would've been better if I hadn't had to take the picture myself... (I tried like 6 times to take a good picture, and this was the best one.. ew.)

And wait, what is that..?? Pancakes?..... NO! It's Naan!!!! :D

And so, last night for dinner we were having Chicken Tikka Masala (the kind from where the sauce is in the jar, from Cost Plus), and I was like, "want me to make naan..?" And mom was like, "YES!!!" So I did! And it got done barely in time, cuz dad had to go to this church thing. And i had had to put the dough in the warmed up oven so it would rise faster, hehe. But it was SO. GOOD. I mean like, I could charge people money for it! And with the Tikka Masala, it was HHEeeaaven~!! :D

Song of the Week

2010-02-17T13:57:00.004-07:00

So I should probably post more about my life, but there's simply not that much going on right now...!

So! On to another song of the week! This week, I'd like to introduce/re-introduce people to Jordin Sparks and her song, "One Step at a Time."

It's pretty relevant for my life, in the last couple years at least.

Hurry up and wait
So close, but so far away
Everything that you've always dreamed of
Close enough for you to taste
But you just can't touch

[Bridge]
You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet
Wonder when and where and how you're gonna make it
You know you can if you get the chance
In your face and the door keeps slamming
Now you're feeling more and more frustrated
And you're getting all kind of impatient, waiting

[Chorus]
We live and we learn to take
One step at a time
There's no need to rush
It's like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It's gonna happen and it's
Supposed to happen that we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

[Verse 2]
You believe and you doubt
You're confused, you got it all figured out
Everything that you always wished for
Could be yours, should be yours, would be yours
If they only knew

[Bridge]
You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet
Wonder when and where and how you're gonna make it
You know you can if you get the chance
In your face and the door keeps slamming
Now you're feeling more and more frustrated
And you're getting all kind of impatient waiting

[Chorus]
We live and we learn to take
One step at a time
There's no need to rush
It's like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It's gonna happen and it's
Supposed to happen that we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

[Verse 3]
When you can't wait any longer
But there's no end in sight
When you need to find the strength
It's the faith that makes you stronger
The only way we get there
Is one step at a time

[Chorus]

Sore Throat Remedy (or at least soother)

2010-02-11T10:20:00.003-07:00

Whoa that's a big picture!!

So a while ago, Travis and I were both really sick, and I found this drink online that you make and it really feels and tastes good! My mom is sick now too and she LOVES it!

Here's the recipe:

3 T lime juice
1/4 to 1/2 t salt (whatever you want)
1 T honey (haha you can be VERY liberal with the honey!)
And then fill the rest of the mug with hot water

SOOOoooo yummy~~~

:D

Song of the Week

2010-02-10T20:47:00.002-07:00

Has it really been another week? wow!

Ok, this song is "Pollen and Salt" by Daphne Loves Derby. I just love it~ Not that it's the happiest song, but I don't know, I just really like it.

You've left me with such a silent world,
Where evenings are calm, but I'm restless
And my breath has become as thin as the wind.

Not even the mighty sky could fill the space you left behind
Not even when it rains.
No, nothing takes your place
Your emptiness too great to fill.

I have been holding my breath,
For too many nights in a row,
And somewhere on coastlines unknown to me
You paint your dreams,
With reds and blues and greens.
Yea you're painting daffodils by the sea,
Without me.

Today in a breeze I sensed your perfume
But you were nowhere near.
And in reverie,
I felt you holding me.
And even in my dreams I shake from the fear
That you've been swept away.
By the rhythm of the waves I whisper in your ears.

I have been holding my breath,
For too many nights in a row,
And somewhere on coastlines unknown to me
You paint your dreams,
With reds and blues and greens.
Yea you're painting daffodils by the sea,
Without me.

I would give away
My sweetest memories,
If I could just be with you again.
Be with you again.

I have been holding my breath,
For too many nights in a row,
And somewhere on coastlines unknown to me
You paint your dreams,
With reds and blues and greens.
Yea you're painting daffodils growing by the sea,
Without me.

Last night I dreamt you were with me,
Finally I could breathe.

Song of the Week!

2010-02-04T21:18:00.005-07:00

I've decided to do a Song of the Week! Just because it's fun and I like sharing music! This week's is "Wordplay" by Jason Mraz, just because I seem to always forget about it, and then hear again and ALWAyS love it!

Lyrics:

I've been all around the world
I've been a new sensation
But it doesn't really matter
In this de-generation
The sophomore slump is an uphill battle
And someone said that ain't my scene
'Cause they need a new song
Like a new religion
Music for the television
I can't do the long division
Someone do the math
For the record label puts me on the shelf up in the freezer
Gotta find another way to live the life of leisure
So I drop my top,
Mix and I mingle
Is everybody ready for the single and it goes...

Ha La La La La
L-listen closer to the verse I lay
Ha La La La La
It's all about the wordplay
Ha La La La love
The wonderful thing it does
Because, because
I am the wizard of ooh's and ah's and fa-la-la's
Yeah The Mr. A to Z
They say I'm all about the wordplay

When it's time to get ill I got your remedy
For those who don't remember me
Well let me introduce you to my style
I try to keep a jumble And the lyrics never mumble
When the music's makin' people tongue-tied
You want a new song
Like a new religion
Music for the television
I can't do the long division
Someone do the math
For the people write me off like I'm a one-hit wonder
Gotta find another way to keep from goin' under
Pull out the stops,
Got your attention
I guess it's time again for me to mention
The wordplay

Ha La La La La
L-listen closer to the verse I lay
Ha La La La La
It's all about the wordplay
Ha La La La love
The wonderful thing it does
Because, because
I am the wizard of ooh's and ah's and fa-la-la's
Yeah The Mr. A to Z
They say I'm all about the wordplay

Well I built a bridge across the stream of consciousness
That always seems to be a flowin'
But I don't know which way my brain is goin'
Oh the rhymin' and the timin'
Keeps the melodies inside me
And they're climbin'
'Till I'm running out of air
Are you prepared to take a dive into the deep end of my head
Are you listening to a single word I've said?

Ha La La La La
Listen closer to the words I say
Ha La La La La
I'm Stickin' with the wordplay
Ha La La La Love
The wonderful thing it does
Because, because
I am the wizard of ooh's and ah's and fa-la-la's
Yeah The Mr. A to Z
They say I'm all about the wordplay

Ha La La La Love
I'm all about the wordplay
Ha La La La Love
I'm stickin' with the wordplay
Ha La La La Love
I love the wonderful thing it does
Because, because of
The ooh's and ah's and fa-la-la's fall back in love
For the Mr. A to Z they say
is all about the wordplay

It's February!!

2010-02-01T10:58:00.003-07:00

Wow, has it really been an entire month almost since I last blogged?? I am such a lameface! Let's seeee, what did I do in January..?

I saw Avatar again!!! :D SO GOOD. I want to be Na'Vi!

I tutored a LOT at Horizon and Whitney, and got made a site coordinator at Horizon. It's more work than I thought, and I was/am getting stressed out a lot. But it's good, I like it, for the most part.

Oh! I bought DDR! Well, just a game and a mat, because Travis has the XBox 360, but yay! It's not the same without Jemma, but it'll be fun to do that again, especially when we have room to play on two mats. :)

I housesat for some people with 5 little dogs, so that was fun..ish. :) I was glad to be sleeping in my own bed again last night, that's for sure!

I was sick with tonsilities for the entire month. YUCK. I mean, I didn't FEEL sick for the last half of the month, but my throat is still giving me problems sometimes and hurts when I yawn, and I can't sing as well as I used to. It's probably time to get my tonsils out. *resists* NOooooO!

And I took some pictures of a sunset!! It was amazing~! I mean, look at it!! *choir sings in glory* LAAAA~~!!!

So, that's what I can think of right now, but go on over to the book blog, if ya feel like it, and I've posted some photos from Flickr that I really think capture the feel of my books. :) yay!

Avatar

2010-01-05T14:22:00.003-07:00

Eywa has accepted me. This is the new Julie

Happy New Year!!!!

2009-12-31T15:12:00.003-07:00

Welcome, 2010! I think this year will be awesome. :) I mean, it looks cool: 2010!! And it sounds cool--which way will *you* say it? Twenty-ten? or Two thousand ten? I think I'm of the second way.

To ring in the new year, I decided to get sick. Tonsilitis, I'm pretty sure. So last night at midnight Travis and I were just barely conscious and awake enough to whisper "...happy new year I love you~" hehe.. We're going to see Avatar in 3D today though! Woot! Hopefully I can stay awake. I've been in bed ALL day, and I want to get better NOW! I've been drinking lots of juice too. That helped me the last time I got sick.

So, out with 2009 and in with 2010! And to celebrate the end of a year, I'll post some things I did in 2009. :) (These are not in any sort of chronological order)

1. Fell in love

2. I went to Forks with Travis, and we had a fantastic time!

3. Got called as the 1st counselor in Relief Society.

4. Went to Park City to see if I should be a nanny for a family that lives in New York City. No, that definitely did NOT work out. I am SOOO glad I didn't get that job!!!

5. Our family hosted Italian Special Olympics athletes in February! That was cool. :)

6. Went to California in March! It's so fun playing with Easton and Linky! And I love hangin out with Em and Nathan.

7. Drove to Disneyland with Jek! That was such a fun trip! :D

8. Sent in two query letters to agents for my book. Heard back from both. They aren't interested, but at least I did it!

9. Kicked some guys to the curb (finally, after YEARS of hoping for something, I am done with them!) and now I am with someone who loves me SOOooo much. :) <3>

10. Got a job at HMS, and I am convinced that the only reason I did get that job, was to meet Travis. *kyun~*

11. The Judds came to Boise for my birthday!! And Jek too!

12. I did a lot of temp jobs. A LOT.

13. Went to Utah in July to go see HP6 with Jek!

14. Came back from Utah, went camping with the branch, then came back and fours hours later was my first date with Travis, on July 18th.

15. We had our first kiss on July 20th. awww~

16. I got really good at Guitar Hero! :D

17. Unloaded hay from a semi-truck, lol :)

18. Got a job at the Gap! :D Awesome. I love working there! And I get really good discounts!!!

19. Finally got the BananaRepublic jacket I've been wanting forever. heehee!

20. Got another job tutoring for the school district

21. Read a lot of books!

22. Rode on a motorcycle and LIKED it!!!

23. Am in the process of mastering the art of French cooking! YUM.

24. Got caught up to scrapbooking up until Sept 07. This is BIG, people!!! hehe

That's all I can really think of right now. :) I went through my journal and everything! But I really did do a lot this year, even though it didn't feel like it.

Foggy Day in BoiseTown

2009-12-17T17:44:00.003-07:00

It was so pretty and foggy today! I went outside, and then promptly went back in to get my camera. I went out near Ms. Karen's farm and this is what came of that!

There was an entire flock of geese in this field, and I happened to catch some on their way in to land! cool~

Recipe of the [WhoKnows?]!

2009-12-13T23:59:00.005-07:00

Oh. My. GOSH. This could be like the recipe of the YEAR. Heck, maybe even my LIFE!

Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons
(Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Cream)

It's from Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking":

4 supremes (boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Big pinch white pepper
5 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced shallot or green onion
1/4 pound diced or sliced fresh mushrooms
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the sauce:
1/4 cup white or brown stock or canned beef bouillon
1/4 cup port, Madeira or dry white vermouth
1 cup whipping cream
Salt and pepper, lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rub the chicken breasts with drops of lemon juice and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a heavy, oven-proof casserole, about 10 inches in diameter until it is foaming. Stir in the minced shallots or green onion and saute a moment without browning. Then stir in the mushrooms and saute lightly for a minute or two without browning. Sprinkle with salt.

Quickly roll the chicken in the butter mixture and lay a piece of buttered wax paper over them, cover casserole and place in hot oven. After 6 minutes, press top of chicken with your finger. If still soft, return to oven for a moment or two. When the meat is springy to the touch it is done. Remove the chicken to a warm platter (leave mushrooms in the pot) and cover while making the sauce (2 to 3 minutes).

To make sauce, pour the stock and wine in the casserole with the cooking butter and mushrooms. Boil down quickly over high heat until liquid is syrupy. Stir in the cream and boil down again over high heat until cream has thickened slightly. Off heat, taste for seasoning, and add drops of lemon juice to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.
________

Ok, it sounds like a lot of work, but well, with two people it was just fine! And fun! :) The recipe is supposed to serve 4, but we used only 2 chicken breasts and we had the perfect amount of sauce for both of us. Yes, we used Vermouth, but the alcohol boils out and you are left with the taste. AND WHOA. This dish is so creamy and buttery and savory and the chicken was PERFECT and our taste buds were dancing and singing! heheee! We ate it with toasted and buttered French bread. MMmm~

Travis and I love cooking together, and since we found Julia Child's book in an antique store in Wenatchee (where he's from, we went there on the way back from Forks), we now love making French food! (Oh, and the movie 'Julie and Julia' helped too~) The French Onion Soup is also to DIE for. I am so excited to try more recipes from that awesome book!!!!

Lyrics to post below

2009-11-20T12:51:00.002-07:00

"Aha" by Imogen Heap

Eat, Sleep, breathe it,
you're full of the stuff
Go bag it, tie it up tight
Wheat-meat-dairy-free, teetotal, happy clappy
High on life, you should try it, try it, you know
Go on while no one's looking.

A-ha! Gotcha now!
Caught red handed in the biscuit tin!
Cost you to keep me quiet!

Golden boy boots, Pocket pedal stool
Picking sharp smart moves
Plastic, tin can, paper separator
Busy bee wave, wave save the planet flag
But sneaky in suburbia

A-ha! Candid Camera
Hook, line and sinker
For the four-wheel drive
Cost you to keep me quiet!
Keep me quiet!
(Keep me quiet!)

Nicest, sweetest,
upmost in everything
So charming, very charming
Well read, can play the fool, no one's ill at ease
and put their deepest swiss bank trust in you
No one saw it coming

Aaaha! Aaaaaaha! Aaaaaaaaaha!
You killed a man
Cost you to keep me quiet!

So, what do you think this song is about? I say it's about hypocrites: health nut eating fatty foods; tree hugger driving a gas guzzler, Mr. Perfect kills someone. They know she knows, but it'll cost them to keep her quiet.

2009-11-20T01:52:00.001-07:00

So awesome

Chinese Food in Forks!

2009-10-21T19:49:00.002-06:00

Okay, so in Forks there is this Chinese restaurant that Travis went to the first time he went to Forks. While there, his fortune read: "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."

:)

Three months later, he and I were in Forks together at the same restaurant, one booth in front of where he was sitting that last time. We had the place to ourselves (except at first), and got the most eXCELLENT Chinese food!!! I have the fortunes we got in my car, but I don't feel like going outside in the cold to get them right now. :)

The menus had been updated since Travis had first gone. THey look awesome~

And WHOA, just looking at this makes me HUNGRY. It was so good. SO GOOD. I can't wait until next year when we go back!!

On the way back home, we stopped for a day at his parents' house. There were new kitties, and...well.. Travis caught me playing with them (i DON"T like cats!) and he took a picture! :) haha~ The black one was the cutest, but also the most insane. He freaked out whenever he was picked up... But the other kitties were good for the most part. :)

Yay for Port Angeles! It was smaller than I expected, and we didn't get out and walk around, but... we'll do that next time. :) YAY!

I'd Rather Be in Forks

2009-10-19T23:14:00.002-06:00

I am actually blogging two times in two days! what?! I know! inconceivable! :D

OK! So! We arrived in Forks, and went in this awesome store called Dazzled by Twilight! It's got EVERYTHING Twilight, right down to the jacket that Bella wears in the movie. And t-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, chapstick, and yeah! It was awesome to look through everything, and Travis spoiled the crap outta me... *guilty smile* :) But i love my "and so the lion fell in love with the lamb" necklace!!! :D

On the side of the store there's this door for Carlisle's office! It doesn't open (sad, i know), but I thought it was funny~

This tree was inside the store! Awww~ how sweet~!

Took this driving out of Forks. I think the shutter was on a slower speed or something, so it turned out like this completely by accident! It's like vampire vision!!

The first beach we went to had this awesome rock that the waves would crash though and around. Travis was brave enough to go stand by it, but this one of him running away is hilarious~ :)

Alrighty! And there are more pics and stories to come! yay!

FORKS!!!!

2009-10-17T12:23:00.003-06:00

OMGawsh, I don't even know where to start! This trip was so fun and I can't believe that Travis took me to Forks. :D I mean, he's read/listened to all the Twilight series WAY more than I have (and I thought *I* was obsessed!) and he had already been there once before!

This first picture is of the back seat of my car. haha, so messy! There's a Wicked bag, my CDs, backpack, jacket... :)

Driving through the Olympic Peninsula was so amazing! So beautiful, and green, and the weather was PERFECT! Well, until we passed Port Angeles and came to Forks, that is. :) We saw the clouds in the distance, and right when we got to Forks it was cloudy. AWESOME. Perfect vampire weather! :D

Awesome forest picture!

Us~ awwwwwwwwwwwww~ (teheh! ^^)

And we made it to Forks!!!!! YAY! The sign is huge! A lot bigger than I thought it would be.

I think I'm going to blog about Forks in installments, cuz if I add more pictures now, it'll put them at the top of the blog, and it's annoying to move them to the bottom... So! yeah! :D

Yay for roadtrips! :D

Slacker

2009-10-17T11:33:00.004-06:00

Oh my word, I haven't blogged in AGES. Two months??!? I've never been that bad! sheessh!

So! What have I done in two months? :) Lots of stuff!

Travis and I made sushi!! It was delicious! Tuna and halibut, with avocado. (and sushi rice, which has vinegar and sugar in it) YUM. It's really not that hard, and it goes fast when there are two people working at it. And no, we didn't get sick. The fish was superfresh. :) I really wanted to buy pickled ginger (cuz that's what you have on the side with sushi) and was looking all over for it, and then I asked the peoples at the FredMeyer fish place if they had any for sale, and they were like, "ummmm, here just take some" !!

And we also took a motorcycle ride to Oregon! :D It only takes half an hour from Travis's house! (Travis's? Travis'? Travisssss/'ss7s? buh..) The picture here is at a park just inside the Oregon border, by the river. I was tired, and didn't want my picture taken!

And we bought "Mastering The Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child (cuz we saw 'the movie julie and julia' and loved it so we wanted to cook French food!), and we made French Onion soup. WHOA, it was SO YUMMY! The bread on top had cheese on it and was toasted in the toaster oven, then put in the soup so it got all soft. MmmmM~MMmmm :D

And we decorated my car!! FINALLY! The Nerdfighters sticker is on there (thank you again jek!) and a bumper sticker from Forks (I will blog about that separately ^^)!!!! I loved my car before, but now it's actually made of awesome!! WOO!

I'm wearing my "defy gravity" shirt, so basically, with Nerdfighting, Twilight, Forks, and Wicked, I am one AwESOME girl! :D

REAL work

2009-08-31T00:53:00.002-06:00

Sooooo this is what I did this weekend:

I helped Travis and his roommate unload hay, and WHOA it's hard work--and I didn't even do that much..! I just pushed 93 lb hay bales off the top of the truck for an hour or something, and Travis actually picked them up and stacked them in another semi trailer for storage.

Who woulda thought that it would be ME to help out with farm work...! I think we all figured that Emily would be the one to do that, lol :) , or Mel. But never me.. hmm :)

On Thursday we went back to the fair (well, Travis just ran in while I drove around the parking lot for 10 minutes), and got two more elephant ears and some churros! :D

YUM-O. It had been awhile since I had churros! Annnnnd yeah, I'm glad the fair is over so now I can get back to ..*trying* to eat healthier.. heh heh..

There was an AMAZING storm on Saturday that lasted for the entire night! I mean, it passed over us, but we went to the drive-in theater and had the storm and the lightning as a backdrop the entire time. COOL. And the lightning was striking at least once a minute, probably more. I wasn't really keeping track, but it struck over and over and OVER again! I drove home at 2 am and I could STILL see the storm at work. :D

KYA!!!

2009-08-27T11:52:00.001-06:00

Find more videos like this on The Twilight Saga

Words! And other stuff!

2009-08-25T11:37:00.002-06:00

One of my friends did this on her blogjournal thinger, and I decided to do it too! :)

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.

My words are from Lauren :)

Japanese: um YES! but man, japanese is a BEAST. All those classes at BYU and I STILL don't really know the language! I rebelled against it when I actually *went* to Japan for a year, and now I feel like I hardly know it at all. :b But I made a lot of good friends in all my classes and I'm so glad I decided to study this insane language!

Dance: haha, So You Think You Can Dance! I really wish I could actually dance, and this show makes me feel like I know something about dancing. :) I LOVED going to the tour show with Lauren!! I want to do that again, but maybe not this year, because this last season was good, but not my favoritebestest. I want to take Jazz dancing lessons!

The Office: awwww, this show totally made Thursdays worth it and SO MUCH BETTER! I love all the little stories and running jokes that go throughout all the seasons. :) where would I be without JAM???!?! :D

Jewelry: woo!! I love jewelry! It was one of the few things I could buy in Japan, cuz I didn't need to be a certain height, weight or size for it to fit and look nice. :) I like pretty!

Writing: There's nothing like the feeling that comes to me when I write. I don't know what it is... but it's exciting and it makes me SO HAPPY when I realize that I've written something worth reading. I'm still working on getting a really good draft of my first book written (draft 4 here i come!!), and the next three in the series have quite a bit written for them! I LOVE WRITING! But I haven't found the time lately, and I haven't really known what to write. It's all in my head, but it's so hard to actually get it down in actual words. But I'm working on it! YEAH!

And that's my words!

And for those of you wondering what's goin on in my life lately, ummmmm LIFE IS AWESOME!! I mean, I don't have a job yet, but I'm just so happy! :D

Whoa, it's been over a month!

2009-08-13T14:36:00.003-06:00

Yeah, more than a month since my last blog!?!?! holy crow I am ...REALLY behind!

So! To give you an idea of what I'm up to.... pictures!!!! :D (Um, when I say "you", i mean...um.. who even checks this anymore... anyone? haha..)

This is my boyfriend!!!!! :D His name is Travis (and he is totally and completely made of awesome!), and we went out to "slightly shotgun" some computer monitors. :) Superfun!

Well, before that we went to the Canyon County Fair. We went for the sole purpose of getting Elephant Ears, but they didn't have them!!!! *gasp*!!!! So, we're gonna just have to go to the Idaho State Fair. :)

Melissa and I took some pretty cute pictures of Lady~ Haha, these are probably the best pictures we've ever taken! The key thing is to hold up Good Times fries! Then you'll get a CUTE lady pic! ^_^

Mel and I being weird at the Canyon County Fair... They had the weirdest sunglasses!! :D

And before alll that, I went to Utah to go to the Harry Potter premier with Jek! We went at the 7:00 showing! yay~! I felt like we were cheating, cuz it really came out at midnight, but....yeah!

So yeah! That's what's been goin on! I don't know why I haven't blogged... I guess there's just better things to do... :) Like watch the meteor shower out at Travis's place in Caldwell (so beautiful!), and sing Disney Karaoke songs! And watch movies, and email, and..haha.. play FarmTown! :D

Rexburg!

2009-07-08T21:37:00.002-06:00

So I drove to Rexburg yesterday to see Melissa perform in her percussion ensemble! And WHOA, she is GOOD. I had never seen her perform before, and she is incredible! I love my sisters! They are all so AWESOME!

I'm really glad I didn't move to Rexburg, lol... I really don't like it here!! The roads are all 25 mph, and there are stupid pedestrians everywhere....

BUT I do LOVE the temple, and the grounds are really nice. I went up there today and just laid out (got a little sunburn..) and read some Ensign talks. It was really peaceful, and I just felt a lot of hope. :)

So yeah! I don't know how long I'm gonna stay here... Just wingin' it for now, til I run out of clothes, which will be really soon haha

yay!

Freedom!

2009-06-29T16:46:00.002-06:00

So, just having quit my job on Friday, what do I decide to do with my first day of weekday freedom? Stay in bed sick/not feeling well... yeah, this stinks! I couldn't give Erica a proper goodbye.. :( So I'm thinking that if I feel good enough tomorrow, then I'll drive to Utah to do that! Maybe. I don't know why I just felt nervous about that... Hm...

I'm going to miss Erica so much. But I know that she needs to be in Ohio, teaching the people there. She'll be a lovely missionary~ Her spirit is so sweet, and I know she'll touch a lot of hearts.

Oh, gosh, now I'm crying. :`(

I want pie. From Marie Calendars. Double cream lemon.. Hmm, if I didn't look like butt right now, I'd totally go and get some. :/

Think Happy Thoughts

2009-06-18T22:34:00.003-06:00

Happy moments of the day:

1. Talking to Easton on the phone about what he did and saw at the beach~ Aww I will never get tired of that kid!

2. Eating Ted's awesomely delicious chocolate cake!!!

That's all the good stuff, and now time for the semi-good news: I quit my job today. Yay for me.... :/ (No details here.)

Um..

2009-06-17T23:50:00.001-06:00

Uh, yeah I can't find anything good about today...

One of the worst days, I'll give you that. I'm about ready to break.

Not even my nap will make the 'highlight' list, cuz I slept too late, dreamed about work, and got rudely awakened by Erica pounding on my door.

Guh.

Really..? It just keeps gettin' better... :/

2009-06-16T22:53:00.002-06:00

Life suck levels increased today, but here are some things that made it better:

1. Having a half day off work (course, it was for a doctor's appointment that I had to pay $200 for out of pocket, but... yeah)

2. It was sunny, so I laid outside and soaked up some rays, whilst reading~

3. Going to bed, just having shaved my legs. :D Oh man, the little things make me happy~!

4. Jessica bought a wicker basket (hahahhaa, oh jek, i love you!)

5. Brittany likes my book!

6. Remembering things that Easton does

So I'm not going to say what happened today to make it so bad, but let's just say I need to look for a new job ASAP. Stupid work.

Trying to blog

2009-06-15T23:21:00.003-06:00

Lately, things haven't been the best for me, I guess. So I think I ought to try and remember the good things. I'm going to [try to] write something on here every day that made me happy, and starting with today:

Highlight of the day:

Talking to Easton on the phone~ :)

It was almost an actual conversation! He was telling me about his books and what he saw at Seaworld, and how the seals go "ooooooo!!!" Haha, I love that kid! And we even had a "chat" about being quiet in church for mommy. Don't know how much he got out of that when there's TRACTORS to talk about, but, lol, I tried, right?

the MOMENT john green became a writer.

2009-05-07T23:17:00.000-06:00

Skip to about one minute in :)

How about it, Erica? :) This is beautiful~

2009-05-02T22:29:00.000-06:00

With Sound!

2009-04-29T18:07:00.000-06:00

Don't be jealous!

2009-04-25T15:57:00.004-06:00

Too bad you weren't at the Grove today at 11:00 am! For five minutes, time stopped for (about) forty people.

Confused?

Good.

Ok, so this weekend I am the 'caretaker' for the three youngest Soelberg kids. Their mum told me about how this company asked people to help them with an advertising campaign and had gone to people helping with the Music Week play to ask if they would participate. Well! Because I am watching the 'kids,' I also got to know about it and participate!!

Here's what went down:

Saturday at 10:15 am we met downtown on the corner of 9th and Washinton. The people in charge tell us what's up, which is: at 11 by the fountain at the Grove, we will all FREEZE in whatever position we happen to be in, and we will hold that pose for FIVE minutes. YEAH!

You can see me!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuAMgVO1mIM

(Have you seen the video of this at Grand Central Station? If not, GO and watch! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo)

So we walk down, get there 15 minutes early, and it's at the Farmer's Market so it's CROWDED. Everyone spreads out, does whatever, and waits for the signal--the person in charge would cough really loud.

It was SO COOL!!! I've never done anything like it! I froze, and I had my bag open and I was looking at my phone, about to call someone. About three minutes in, my leg started to hurt really bad! It's hard to stay still for five minutes! But I did it, and I didn't laugh or break at all! Other people were IN the fountain, frozen in place while dancing to the live band's music, taking a picture, bending to tie a shoe, proposing to their fiancee... :D And the company was filming it all! There were two professional video cameras that I noticed and they were in everyone's face, including mine, and they will send us the video possibly as soon as tonight!

I heard people around me saying, "what is this...? Oh they're everywhere! Everyone's frozen! Are they mimes? WHat's going on??" It was AWESOME. People took pictures of us, tried to poke us (not me though, someone did pass really close, did a double take, so confused as to what was happening, LOL!), stopped and stared at us. SUPERFUN!

The five minutes timed out, the fountain went off as the signal, and everyone unfroze and went about their business! THe best part was how we got applause!! :D SO COOL.

I want to do it again! :D

And again, because I feel like putting this in here twice~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuAMgVO1mIM

Couponing!

2009-04-22T23:27:00.004-06:00

Here comes my first blog about the wonderful world of couponing...!

Emily called me today and told me about this deal at Target, so I print off the two $4 off coupons, buy the two candles, then get a $5 gift card at Target! Which makes my out of pocket expenses.... -$1.03!! I got paid $1 to buy two expensive Glade Soy candles! Which is funny, because what the heck is a soy candle anyway...? lol... :)

Oh, Emily, how awesome you are~ Thank you for calling me today! :D

Took some pictures of the bleeding heart on Monday. Here's my best shot:

And also one of one of the roses Erica got at her recital:

And a ladybug that was on my car!

Haha, can you tell I've been working on my close-ups? :) Mom came home with these cards this lady had made out of pictures she's taken from around the world. The lady is selling them at local boutiques or whatever, and the first thing I thought was: "well, my pictures are better than that..." SO! What if I made postcards/cards out of my pictures! I have some really good shots, especially from Japan, and that would be a lot of fun. I have no idea how to go about doing that, but... yeah~