The Best is Yet to Come

"It takes a long time to grow an old friend." ~ John Leonard

2012-01-24T18:53:00.001-07:00

I meant to do this yesterday, but I figure one day late is okay. So,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIN!

[Aside to Erin: I hope that dedicating a blog post to you will make up for the fact that your present hasn’t arrived yet . . . (I ordered it Jan.7 – it hasn’t shipped yet. Grrr . . . )]

Anyways, I thought I would celebrate Erin’s birthday with a little glimpse of Lia and Erin through the ages . . .

I am positive somewhere I actually have pictures of us every year for the past 25, but I guess this will have to do for now!

I hope you have a great 26th year!

“Poetry is like the dragon, when you see the head, you miss the tail, within the clouds you catch a glimpse of a claw or a scale.” ~ 林昭

2012-01-22T20:46:00.001-07:00

新年快樂！

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has a great year of the dragon!

Descendants of the Dragon

“I hate the day, because it lendeth light To see all things, but not my love to see.” ~Edmund Spenser

2012-01-12T22:21:00.001-07:00

“For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” ~T.S. Eliot

2012-01-01T19:00:00.001-07:00

Goodbye 2011!

Now is the time that people everywhere are making resolutions for the new year. I prefer to make resolutions on my birthdays, so rather than follow that tradition, I’m going to copy Ee Wen and review the past year. This is what stuck out to me:

January- I started my last semester of college ever! (Until I go back for a Ph.d, or another Masters . . . I guess I should say last semester for awhile).

February- I turn in my Capstone!

March- I find out I passed Capstone!

April- Disneyland trip with Duane, Kirsten, and the kids!

May- Graduation Party and trip to London!

June- Reunion with Jamie and Julie in Cincinnati/Florence!

July- Whitney comes to visit Houston! Levi gets married in Idaho!

August- Laura and I go to the SAA conference in Chicago!

September- I start working full-time at Hess!

October- I turn 25!

November- Ray is home from his mission! Thanksgiving in California with the Iversons!

December- Ray comes to visit Houston, I go to Utah for Christmas, and Jamie and I get another reunion (2 in the same year! It’s a miracle!).

All in all, it was a pretty good year! Here’s hoping 2012 gets off to a good start!

“There are only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror.” ~Orson Welles

2011-12-18T20:22:00.001-07:00

The best benefit of my dad’s job is that I can easily make last-minute travel plans. Since Laura and I have not exchanged Christmas presents in person for five years, and I was already giving someone a ride to the airport on Friday, I decided to hop on a plane and head to Carlsbad, NM.

Laura picked me up from Hobbs, and we had an excellent mini-Christmas. Unfortunately, Carlsbad is pretty tiny and we couldn’t get all the usual Christmas festive foods (which are only usual for us), but we did manage to get our hands on some Soy Nog!

Our goal for the weekend was to finally get a good picture of the two of us (11 years and not a single good picture), but as you will soon see, that goal was not accomplished. In part, that was because our only activity for the weekend was to hike into the Carlsbad Caverns. Caves don’t lend themselves well to nice photographs. Photographic failure notwithstanding, we did have a fun time! I actually quite enjoyed the caves, and usually I am not a fan.

Now I’m back in a travelling mood . . . anyone want a visitor?

“Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.” ~ Charles Schulz

2011-12-12T17:52:00.001-07:00

Twelve days until Christmas! Or is it thirteen? I never know how you are supposed to count down. Do you count the actual day? Does anyone know?

This year I am so behind on my Christmas preparations. Generally, by December 12 I have already purchased gifts for everyone who is getting one and I would be spending this weekend writing Christmas cards and standing in line at the post office to mail off my gifts.

Instead, I’m not even half-way through my Christmas list and I will be spending the weekend in New Mexico . . . and I don’t foresee a lot of progress this week.

So this post is serving as an announcement: if you’re expecting a present and/or card from me, it’s going to be late!

“If you're going through hell, keep going.” ~Winston Churchill

2011-12-03T18:41:00.001-07:00

I bet you’re all expecting a lovely little blog post about Ray’s homecoming, right? Instead, I’m going to complain.

In general, this was a bad week. So, Ray came to visit for the weekend (well, I guess that’s not why he came, but he is here). Since Ray was coming I decided I should probably pull myself out of my misery (since I was sick while I was miserable I’ve just kind of been living under the blankets in my bed, not even emerging to eat). Our plans for today fell through so Ray started looking up random things he wanted to do in Houston. He found a flea market that he thought would be fun so we drove there to wander the stalls. It was actually pretty fun. We were the only people there who weren’t speaking Spanish, but it did kind of remind us of Taiwan markets (except the stuff wasn’t as quality). Also everyone just assumed we spoke Spanish which was kind of fun. Ray talked to some missionaries we ran into there and I had to stop him from reprimanding them for the sloppy way they were dressed (they really were sloppy, one of them didn’t even have his nametag on!).

After Ray finished eating his churro, we went back to my car, and my car was gone! Naturally, I started to cry (just kidding, I held it together). Some guy gave us the number of the towing company (the sleazy guy whose job it is to watch for people parking there and call the towing company). Then another guy came to tell us about how this guy just watches for people to park there (if only he had told us that beforehand). I called the towing company and they said it would cost $203 dollars to get my car. I decided not to freak out and called a friend to come give us a ride to go get my car. I figured it wouldn’t take that long and we’d be on our way.

Once we arrived to get my car, we discovered I had no way to get the car. My name is not on the insurance or the registration, and even though my dad signed my car over to me for my birthday I didn’t actually go to the DMV or wherever I’m supposed to go to make that official. So the lady told me to call State Farm and get proof that I’m insured and I could get my car. I called State Farm and I was told that I’m not insured, I’m just listed as a driver (seriously, what is the difference?) and that is not what tow-lady was looking for. After talking to her some more, she said that it was okay if I was just listed as a driver, so I called State Farm back. At this point State Farm told me that they couldn’t even fax the paper saying that I was a driver because I was talking to the 24-hour hotline guys and the information they can access only has my mom and dad’s names on it so I would have to wait until Monday for our actual agent to fax something.

Tow-lady said that it was okay, I just had to go get some form notarized before she left for the day (which was soon, and why didn’t she give me that to begin with when she knew I wasn’t named on any of the paperwork?!). We found a UPS store with a notary and raced over there to get it signed. We got back just before she was leaving (she said she was just about to call me and tell me it was too late). After handing her my form, she said it didn’t work because the notary had only signed it and not stamped it!!

At this point, tow-lady was feeling sorry for me (or sorry that she was an evil tow-lady) and so she called the UPS store (luckily it hadn’t quite closed) and verified that the guy was a notary and that she could accept my form. So, after 3 hours and $203 we finally got my beautiful Matrix back! I’ve never been so happy to see her before!

After writing this out, it doesn’t seem like it was such a bad day. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

“Never give all the heart” ~W.B. Yeats

2011-11-30T09:21:00.001-07:00

Never give all the heart, for love
Will hardly seem worth thinking of
To passionate women if it seem
Certain, and they never dream
That it fades out from kiss to kiss;
For everything that's lovely is
But a brief, dreamy, kind delight.
O never give the heart outright,
For they, for all smooth lips can say,
Have given their hearts up to the play.
And who could play it well enough
If deaf and dumb and blind with love?
He that made this knows all the cost,
For he gave all his heart and lost.

“'Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world.” ~William Shakespeare

2011-10-30T19:29:00.001-06:00

Check out my adorable pumpkin! =)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

“The art of love... is largely the art of persistence.” ~Albert Ellis

2011-10-08T21:43:00.001-06:00

Lily Allen–Who’d Have Known

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.” ~ Mark Twain

2011-09-29T22:08:00.001-06:00

In just a few days, all of China will be celebrating my birthday (or maybe the fireworks are for China’s National Day, who knows?).

As many, many people have pointed out to me this week, I will soon be a quarter of a century old. This is also apparently time for my “quarter life crisis”. I know it will be hard for many of you to believe that I am turning 25, considering my last two blog posts were about Harry Potter. Haha.

My past few birthdays haven’t really made much of an impact (who cares about being 23 or 24?), but I think that 25 is fairly significant since each day will bring me closer to 30 than to 20.

I’ve look up the thoughts of others about turning 25 (while I was looking up a quote for my title), and for the most part it seems people panic at 25 that they haven’t accomplished all they had thought they would by the time they turned 25.

My worries are at the other end of the spectrum. I have accomplished everything I’ve ever wanted to accomplish. I was made fun of a lot in high school/college because I always had a plan going forward for the next 5 years (even if the plans occasionally changed, the end goal was always the same). My plans have always focused around school and getting my Masters and becoming a librarian. Now that I’ve done all that, I have nothing else to plan! I was so focused on that one goal, I never made any other goals!

So, that’s my goal for 25! To find some new goals! Haha.

“Time is making fools of us again.” ~ Albus Dumbledore

2011-09-10T17:56:00.001-06:00

Apparently the Pottermore powers-that-be were just waiting for me to blog before letting me in!

I woke up this morning to the wonderful news that I now have access to Pottermore!!

Since I know everyone is dying to find out what my House and wand are, here goes:

My wand:

Chestnut with Phoenix feather core, 10 inches, hard.

From Pottermore:

This is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike.

Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won.

Wand flexibility or rigidity denotes the degree of adaptability and willingness to change possessed by the wand-and-owner pair.

This [Chestnut] is a most curious, multi-faceted wood, which varies greatly in its character depending on the wand core, and takes a great deal of colour from the personality that possesses it. The wand of chestnut is attracted to witches and wizards who are skilled tamers of magical beasts, those who possess great gifts in Herbology, and those who are natural fliers. However, when paired with dragon heartstring, it may find its best match among those who are overfond of luxury and material things, and less scrupulous than they should be about how they are obtained. Conversely, three successive heads of the Wizengamot have possessed chestnut and unicorn wands, for this combination shows a predilection for those concerned with all manner of justice.

Ya, that’s right, I’ve got the rarest core type! Just like Harry Potter (and Voldemort). I am so cool. . .

But “skilled tamer of magical beasts”? Who knows? Maybe I have an affinity for magical creatures, and that’s why I don’t like normal ones. Haha.

And now. . . the question everyone has been dying to have answered. . .

A little about Ravenclaw:

Without wishing to boast, this is the house where the cleverest witches and wizards live. Our founder, Rowena Ravenclaw, prized learning above all else – and so do we. Unlike the other houses, who all have concealed entrances to their common rooms, we don’t need one. The door to our common room lies at the top of a tall, winding staircase. It has no handle, but an enchanted bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. When you rap on the door, this knocker will ask you a question, and if you can answer it correctly, you are allowed in. This simple barrier has kept out everyone but Ravenclaws for nearly a thousand years.

Another cool thing about Ravenclaw is that our people are the most individual – some might even call them eccentrics. But geniuses are often out of step with ordinary folk, and unlike some other houses we could mention, we think you’ve got the right to wear what you like, believe what you want, and say what you feel. We aren’t put off by people who march to a different tune; on the contrary, we value them!

Ravenclaw house has an illustrious history. Most of the greatest wizarding inventors and innovators were in our house, including Perpetua Fancourt, the inventor of the lunascope, Laverne de Montmorency, a great pioneer of love potions, and Ignatia Wildsmith, the inventor of Floo powder. Famous Ravenclaw Ministers for Magic include Millicent Bagnold, who was in power on the night that Harry Potter survived the Dark Lord’s curse, and defended the wizarding celebrations all over Britain with the words, ‘I assert our inalienable right to party. There was also Minister Lorcan McLaird, who was a quite brilliant wizard, but preferred to communicate by puffing smoke out of the end of his wand. Well, I did say we produce eccentrics. In fact, we are also the house that gave the wizarding world Uric the Oddball, who used a jellyfish for a hat. He’s the punch line of a lot of wizarding jokes.

Well done on becoming a member of the cleverest, quirkiest and most interesting house at Hogwarts.

Hurray! My life is complete. . . Or at least my weekend is. =)

“What's comin' will come, and we'll meet it when it does.” ~ Rubeus Hagrid

2011-09-09T21:57:00.001-06:00

A little over a month ago, I was overcome with joy when I saw this image on my computer screen:

Yes! I was in Pottermore! I’d have early access to amazing Harry Potter information! I would be sorted into a House!

Well . . . here we are more than a month later, and I’m not in yet! I suppose I should consider myself lucky. The first wave of beta testers were met with more bugs, and perhaps by the time I get in everything will be fixed and more amazing than I can imagine. Still . . . the general population gets access on October 1, and that is less than a month away! What is the point of getting early access if it’s only a few extra days?! (Okay, I lie, I would totally consider a few extra days worth it. Still . . .)

All this waiting has given me extra time to consider what House I will be sorted into. For those of you who don’t have the House traits memorized, they are as follows:

Gryffindor values bravery, daring, nerve, and chivalry.

Hufflepuff values hard work, patience, loyalty, and fair play.

Ravenclaw values intelligence, knowledge, and wit.

Slytherin house values ambition, cunning and resourcefulness.

I know there is no way I would be in Gryffindor (bravery? Ha!), and I think I would cry if I were in Hufflepuff (although it is a fun word to say). I’ve always considered myself a Ravenclaw, but I have a fear that I will turn out to be a Slytherin! (I totally had this conversation with my cousin Kayli, and we both thought we were Ravenclaws but feared we would be Slytherins, and she is already in and a Slytherin!).

Anyways . . . just thought I would share the stress happening my life lately. . . obviously working full-time still leaves me with plenty of free time! Haha.

"I have struck a city - a real city - and they call it Chicago. . . . I urgently desire never to see it again. It is inhabited by savages." ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

2011-08-30T21:08:00.001-06:00

Last week I went to the SAA (Society of American Archivists) annual meeting in Chicago!

If you’re thinking there is no way a meeting of archivists could be as exciting as it seems to be from the above picture . . . you’d be right. If you’re wondering “What the heck is an archivist?” you can find that here.

The conference was actually pretty good. There were some great panels and some incredibly boring ones, but luckily I got to go to them all with my friend Laura! It is super convenient to have one of your best friends in the same field (sort of, we at least needed the same degree) because then you always have a reason to hang out, and if you’re lucky, your employers will pay for you to hang out together! =)

We also had a chance to hang out in Chicago. Part of the conference was an event at the Field Museum. Even though not all the exhibits were open, being at a museum after hours is very cool. I highly recommend it. It was kind of like Night At The Museum. Haha.

We spent quite a few hours wandering around the Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute had a super cool exhibit on Russian propaganda posters, and of course we spent some time with the impressionists (what art museum visit is complete without a little Van Gogh?).

Other than that, we mostly walked around Michigan Avenue. We saw “the bean” at Millenium Park, checked out the Chicago Tribune building (which has bits and pieces from other famous buildings around the world), and went to the Harold Washington Library (the largest public library building in the world).

It was a great trip!

“Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is.” ~ Charles M. Schulz

2011-08-05T23:07:00.001-06:00

Since Ray is getting home from his mission in November, my parents have been trying to finish all the things around the house that they had been planning to do since moving in (6 years ago) so that he’ll be coming home to something a little different.

Primarily, this consists of my dad working on the landscaping. However, while I was home we did a few not-totally-necessary projects as well. One of these was redecorating Ray’s room (unfortunately I didn’t get any before-and-after pictures) and the other was painting the garage stairs.

In case you can’t tell, the look we were going for was book spines. It’s much harder to paint letters than you would think! I tried to put the books in chronological order of when I read them or reading level (sometimes those are different), but a few ended up in their spots based on the color of paint I wanted to use. =)

“A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.” — Henry Ward Beecher

2011-07-19T19:23:00.001-06:00

While on the bus yesterday, I happened to overhear a terrible conversation. A man and a woman sat next to each other, and as we drove past the public library the woman turned and asked “What is that building?” the man then replied “That’s the library.” he continued on, saying, “They should just tear it down to save tax dollars. No one uses libraries, everyone uses the internet.”

Because we then got off the bus, and I had no chance to refute his ridiculous statement, I am writing him this letter in hopes that someday he (or other people equally idiotic) will see it:

Dear Mr. Foolish Bus Man,

The idiocy of your statement that the library should be torn down to save tax dollars is so ludicrous that I almost don’t know where to start. So I shall start with the second half of your statement, which implies that the internet can take the place of a library.

First of all, I would like to mention that internet use costs money. To use the internet, first of all you need a computer. Even the cheapest of these will cost you around 500$. Then you need to have internet access, which let’s say is an extra 20$ a month. I don’t know how you can think every American can afford this. Did you know that 73% of public libraries offer the only free public internet access in their community? Even if the internet could replace libraries, where would people go to use the internet if their library had been torn down?

Now on to whether or not the internet can replace libraries. Let’s look at it first from the information access aspect of it. The internet is mainly used for entertainment. If you’re trying to find real information however, it’s kind of like walking into the Library of Congress if there were no call numbers or any organization of any sort, and randomly pulling books off the shelves. The only parts of the internet that have been organized for ease of access to information are the databases put together by librarians who are doing it for their library.

Now I could get into the importance of libraries in literacy, but I won’t. I’ll just say: would you rather your child was playing games on the internet, or reading a book they got at the library? Even with the advent of E-books, you still can’t get the majority of Children’s books. For older children, many libraries now offer homework help centers where they can actually learn how to find information the right way. Do you want your children to grow up to be the kind of student who thinks copying a Wikipedia article counts as doing research? Oh way, I forgot, you’re the foolish man who thinks that libraries should be torn down. You probably were one of those students.

As for saving tax dollars by closing down the library, did you know that during a recession libraries are actually used more? During the Great Depression when libraries were faced with budget cuts, library patrons who could afford it would purposefully let their books become overdue so that they could pay the fine to help keep the library open. It’s sad to see that there are people like you, Mr. Foolish Bus Man, who think that library budgets should be the first to go (as they so often are).

I’m going to end my rant and I won’t bother getting into all the other important things libraries provide for the community (but I assure you, there are many more). Let me just leave you with this: I feel sorry for you, Mr. Foolish Bus Man. You’re obviously an uneducated, ignorant man, and I hope you never reproduce.

“We did it, we bashed them, wee Potter's the one, And Voldy's gone moldy, so now let's have fun!” ~ Peeves

2011-07-16T23:17:00.001-06:00

As you know (and if you don’t, you should), this weekend marked the opening of the last Harry Potter movie! Naturally, this meant I had to have a party! My friend Whitney flew in from Utah so that we could be obsessed together one last time.

We started out celebrating with a trip to Hedwig Park. It’s named after some German woman who lived in Houston, but we like to think it was built in memory of a snowy white owl.

Unfortunately, even though our party was amazing, I managed to not take a single picture of the party, or all of us in our shirts! However, I did get a few pictures of the decorations and the food.

Luckily Glenn had the idea to go to the teacher supply store, where I was able to find this terrific brick wallpaper! And since I don’t want to waste it . . . I’ll be moving Platform 9 3/4 to my bedroom entrance for the next month or so . . .

In the case of our party, Platform 9 3/4 leads straight into the Great Hall.

I kind of want to leave this ceiling up as well, but I guess I’ll save the extreme nerdiness for when I have a house of my own.

To the right of the Great Hall, you’ll find Aragog hanging out at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest.

The Hall is decorated in red and gold since Gryffindor won the House Cup this year (which is amazing since during our sorting only Whitney was a Gryffindor and the rest of us were all Ravenclaw, so she was really outnumbered).

Since one of the walls is a mirror, we created the Mirror of Erised. If you look closely you’ll see Ron, Harry, and Hermione in the mirror. This is because naturally, the "deepest and most desperate desire of our hearts" would be to be Ron, Harry, or Hermione, right? =)

I actually spent most of the movie worrying that we didn’t blow these candles out.

For food we had treacle tart, “Kreacher’s potatoes”, “Dobby’s roast”, roasted “gillyweed”, licorice wands, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, Fizzing Whizbees, Canary Creams, Chocolate Frogs, Dumbledore’s pensieve (jello), U-no-poo (m&m type things), and Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum. Plus butterbeer and pumpkin juice to drink.

Here we are so excited to see the movie! I look like I’m in Whitney’s lap, but I’m not.

It was most magical. I highly recommend it. In fact, it’s only been out 2 days and we’ve already seen it twice! I’m willing to go with anyone who needs someone to see it with!

If you don’t have a chance to see it right now, I leave you this video for your Harry Potter viewing pleasure:

“Weasley can save anything, He never leaves a single ring, That's why Gryffindors all sing: Weasley is our King.”

2011-07-06T19:17:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago, in preparation for the awesomeness that will be happening on July 15 I went slightly crazy (it was a long weekend) and made Harry Potter T-shirt for everyone coming to my party, and then a few more to be sent in the mail to those who can’t make it due to distance.

I think everyone who is getting one has received them (unless I go through another random bout of shirt painting) so now I can show them off:

The Gryffindor shirt took FOREVER. So I decided to give it to Ray so I can admire my work more often. Haha.

Actually just while posting this I’ve come up with a million more ideas and thought of more people to send them too! I also realized I didn’t actually take a picture of some of the cuter ones before I mailed them off =( So . . . assuming I finish my decorations for the party coming up (which hopefully I do because my plans are getting pretty big) a new round of shirts might be coming up too . . . Who knew you could have so much fun with freezer paper and fabric paint?

I’m so excited!!! I just finished re-reading all 7 books in preparation (to give me decorating ideas). I think this will probably be the best party I’ve ever thrown. Or at least it will look the coolest. Plus, I have a new Harry Potter Cookbook I haven’t had the opportunity to use yet. Maybe I just need to get married and have a baby so I can force him/her to have a Harry Potter party every year!

“It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

2011-06-25T18:44:00.001-06:00

This week I got to go to Ohio/Kentucky to reunite with some of my best friends from BYUH. I found this super old picture of the 3 of us back in our Hale 3 days, hiking Manoa Falls:

Jamie (yellow hat), her husband, and her her two little boys are living in Kentucky, so Julie and I flew in to spend a couple of days with them. This was the first time all 3 of us have been together since 2007!

They live in Florence, Kentucky (where the Cincinnati airport is) and we were greeted by this lovely sight as we drove in:

Our first day we went to Big Bone Lick State Park in Kentucky and had a (short) hike and a picnic. Kentucky is not what I was picturing at all! It’s really pretty and green and hilly.

We also got to check out Jamie’s new house! It is going to be amazing when they are through with it (it already is pretty amazing) and it has the nicest backyard! I know my dad would be super jealous of their huge trees.

It’s also the first house I’ve ever seen with a purple bathtub! I need one.

Jamie’s husband was awesome enough to take a day off of work to stay home with the kids, so our second day us girls went through Cincinnati (Nice place! Also not what I was picturing!) and spent most of the day at a water park called The Beach, and then did some shopping. It was kind of funny because while we were shopping a sales girl asked where we got the sun (somehow both Jamie and Julie ended up sunburnt and I don’t think I even got a tan!) and when we said The Beach she thought we meant a real beach. =)

We ended the day at Skyline Chili. Apparently it is a quite famous chain in the area. Before I left my boss told me if I was going to Ohio I had to eat there. We weren’t that into chili, so we tested it out with some chili cheese fries. Pretty good!

Our last day was spent with a little Harry Potter celebration. We watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and made some butterbeer. It actually tasted almost exactly like the butterbeer from Harry Potter World! I’m glad we decided not to completely follow the recipe we found on Mugglenet, because it called for actual butter, and I don’t think drinking butter is the healthiest thing a person can do. Haha.

We were sad to leave, especially these cute kids! Hopefully now Ian at least will be able to remember who we are. I kind of doubt Jacob is old enough to, but I guess that just means we’ll have to visit again!

As much as I don’t really want to live in Utah, I might have to at least stick around the western United States since it seems most likely if we’re ever going to live near each other again it will be because we’ve moved near family in Utah or Idaho. But, it will be worth it so that we can get together more often!

**Also, Katie, I just know you’re about to make a comment about how I need to visit you in Colorado, so just keep praying I end up with a job there, or at least have to go for a job interview (I just applied for a job in Loveland today!)** =)

“If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats.” ~Lemony Snicket

2011-06-18T00:28:00.001-06:00

Late in my life (I think it was at 19) I discovered that I was allergic to cats. Somehow, I had gone my entire life up to this point never being in the presence as a cat, or even in a home that had one! (Now that I think about it, I avoided this by telling people I was allergic . . . so it’s nice that it turned out to be true). Pretty impressive . . . Although I also didn’t get any seasonal allergies until I hit 22, so maybe my allergies just manifest themselves late in life.

I bring this up, because today I was (sort of) in the presence of three kittens!

As I was at my cousin’s house, I suddenly saw my cousin Jason dash past the window. When I went outside to see why he was running about, he had a kitten in his hands! He then went on the catch all 3 of the kittens in the yard (1 escaped). It was hilarious.

The first kitten he caught, he found a plastic tub to put it in, but then it jumped right back out! So, he got Kayli to hold the lid down as he rounded up the kittens. Kayli had earlier been hissed at by the kittens’ mother (at this point we had no idea where she was) so she was pretty scared that the mom would come attack her. Here is her scared face:

Chase and Audrey really wanted to go outside and play with the kittens, here is Chase looking longingly outside:

In order to keep Chase and Audrey inside, we kept telling them how scary the cats were (and they were! One clawed (or maybe it bit) through Jason’s glove!). In the end, Audrey was so convinced she started to tell me she didn’t want to go outside even when Jason had them caged up because she was scared of cats! This was a big change from earlier in the evening when she told me I shouldn’t be scared of the cats because they were nice cats!

Chase and Audrey did end up outside once Jason had caged two of the cats (one of them escaped) and Chase loved them. Of course, they were still trying to attack, so every time Chase got kind of close to the cage Jason would yell, and Kayli and I would jump because we thought the mother cat was coming to attack! (It might have mostly been me jumping, haha).

Other events of the evening include dyeing Beth’s hair for the first time (it looks almost exactly the same, because she dyed it a dark blonde, and she was already a dark blond), and Chase so tired that he fell asleep at the dinner table.

Once I got home, I was greeted at the door by a toad who wouldn’t move (I tried chasing it away so I could get through without walking past it) so I called Glenn to come open the door so I could hurriedly jump through it. =)

“That which is striking and beautiful is not always good, but that which is good is always beautiful.” ~Ninon de L'Enclos

2011-06-15T17:45:00.001-06:00

Recently I painted my fingernails for the first time since middle school, because I discovered something amazing . . .

Newspaper nails! Please ignore the blurriness of the picture/messiness of my paint job. Obviously it’s been awhile . . . this is why people pay for manicures.

However, even though I didn’t do the best job, it was still amazing! What could be better than having your nails look like newspaper/book pages?!

In case anyone cares to try it out, it’s super easy! First you paint your nails a solid color (a light color works best, you can’t really tell, but my nails are actually lavender). While you are letting them dry (they have to be completely dry) you can cut up a newspaper into pieces slightly bigger than your nail. It’s kind of fun to pick out words. Since I did this shortly after the Royal Wedding my thumb said “Prince”.

After your nails are dry, you take them one by one and dip them into rubbing alcohol and then press the newspaper on. Be careful that you don’t move the newspaper after you press it on or it will smudge. After holding it on for a couple of seconds you can lift it off and move on to the next nail.

Then . . . you have to wait again. Once you feel that your nails are completely dry, give them a clear topcoat so that the newspaper won’t smudge away!

Basically, these are the coolest nails you’ll ever have. =) I usually like to wear an incredibly nerdy shirt on first dates (like my “Reading is Sexy” or “That’s what she read.” shirt) to scare them away (because really if they can be scared away by a shirt, they aren’t worth it) but maybe now I’ll add some geeky nails into the mix . . . haha.

“It was one of those nights. You know the kind. Like day, but darker.”

2011-06-13T23:05:00.001-06:00

Remember when ABC used to have TGIF? We could come home from school and watch wonderful shows like these:

I recently made the terrible mistake of watching a couple episodes of Keeping up with the Kardashians (I don’t know why it took me more than one episode to realize how terrible it was) and I really feel sorry for teenagers these days. I mean, I know that Kardashians isn’t really aimed at teenagers (or is it?) but I bet lots of them watch it!

Also, I totally agree with this statement:

I miss Boy Meets World!!! By now Cory and Topanga probably have like 5 kids!!

“There is still no cure for the common birthday.” ~John Glenn

2011-06-03T11:59:00.001-06:00

HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY JULIE!!!

You know we’re getting old when I can’t find pictures from when we first met because we didn’t have digital pictures yet!!!! And that wasn’t even that long ago!!!!

“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” ~ Henri Bergson quotes

2011-05-27T15:17:00.001-06:00

Right now as I write this I wear no contacts and no glasses.

Yep, that’s right, I got laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis! Otherwise known as LASIK.

Just so you know, it’s amazing! I went to my day-after checkup today and my vision is 20/20! Having perfect vision is awesome! I highly recommend it to everyone!

The only downside is the red bruising around my eyes. Apparently this will go away in either a couple days, or a couple weeks. Hopefully I don’t end up having to go to any job interviews with super red eyes! That would scare a potential employer!

“I'm leaving because the weather is too good. I hate London when it's not raining.” ~ Groucho Marx

2011-05-17T20:55:00.001-06:00

Good news! Grades are out and I passed everything! So I’m officially done with my M.L.S.!

This is a very good thing since I already went on my graduation trip to London! I started out first going home to Saint George for a graduation party (again, celebrating before I was sure of graduation, haha). Once the party was over and we started planning when to leave for London, I realized I had forgotten my passport in Houston! Luckily, we were able to take a flight to Houston where my uncle came to the airport to drop off my passport before our flight to London (thanks Glenn!).

Our trip was great and I hit everything on my list (and then some)! Here is what we saw:

1. The Tower of London – During our tour with the Yeoman (his name was Bob), we heard about our relative, Simon Burley, who was beheaded there!

2. St. Paul’s Cathedral – We went to go find another Burley relative, but there had been a fire since his burial so he was nowhere to be found.

3. Museum of London

4. Tower Bridge

5. Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens – I dipped my feet in the Princess Diana Memorial fountain and it was so refreshing! Plus, of course I needed a picture with the Peter Pan statue put there by J.M.Barrie!

6. Buckingham Palace – We went to watch the changing of the guard, and there was a huge crowd in front of the palace so we were wondering what was going on, until we realized they were also waiting for the changing of the guard! Who knew it was so popular?

7. Westminster Abbey – So fun to see after watching the wedding! Plus they had a special display about the wedding. Also, it turns out that the Westminster Abbey Librarians (and their wives) get memorials in the cathedral when they die! I also saw the door to the library . . . but unfortunately it was locked so I didn’t get to meet the librarian to beg for a job.

8. Chinatown – Because we always go to Chinatown in every city/country we visit!

9. Parliament/Big Ben

10. King’s Cross/Platform 9 3/4 – Unfortunately, there was construction going on (in pretty much the entire city to get ready for the Olympics next year) so the brick wall where Platform 9 3/4 would usually be was blocked off and I had to take a picture with a fake brick wall. =(

11. British Library – My new career goal, the Library of Congress is so lame in comparison.

12. Charles Dickens House

13. Millennium Bridge – Just to take a picture since it was in one of the Harry Potter movies, haha.

14. Covent Garden/Jubilee Market

15. Globe Theatre – Old site, and new reproduction.

16. The Clink (prison)

16. United Grand Lodge of England Masonic Library and Museum

17. Sherlock Holmes Museum

18. British Museum – Saw my first unwrapped mummies . . . disgusting. I will have nightmares for years!

19. Churchill War Rooms – The underground rooms that were used during WWII for planning. In addition to being underground, they also had steel ceilings to protect from any bombs. But they didn’t need to worry because instead the Germans bombed nearby Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Seriously, why did they go for the churches rather than the government buildings?

20. Harrods – Best department store ever!

Plus, in going with the Harry Potter theme of the trip (okay, it wasn’t that big of a theme, but it will always be a theme of any trip I take to the UK) we stayed in a town called Wandsworth!

Amazingly enough, we had an entire week with no rain and plenty of sunshine!

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” ~John Dewey

2011-04-26T21:05:00.001-06:00

Two more assignments and I’m done with formal schooling forever! (or at least until I decide to go back for a 2nd Masters or Ph.d)

After I graduate, I’ll be celebrating by going here:

Where, as I enter the British Library, the Head Librarian will immediately fall upon me and offer me a job . . . haha. I wish. Hopefully though, I’ll be getting some calls soon and will be coming home to something like this:

What an exciting month I have . . . wish me luck on the job front!

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed - or worse, expelled.”

2011-04-16T23:08:00.001-06:00

So apparently there is a whole movement of people who have taken sides in a Harry Potter vs Twilight debate. Just goes to show how silly some people can be . . . like Twilight could ever compare to Harry Potter! Ha!

Anyways, in a show of solidarity with the Harry Potter side of this debate, I thought I would share these comparisons some fans have made between Hermione and Bella (again, why would the Twilight fans even begin to think they could compare? And this is coming from someone who actually enjoyed the Twilight books).

This is hilarious!!

I seriously cringe through all the Twilight movies because Kristen Stewart never shows any emotion!! And yet I keep watching . . .

Well, she does laugh with Jacob! Team Jacob! Seriously, I think she only laughs once in all 4 books and it’s when she’s with Jacob. Why would she marry Edward?

Haha, this is exactly what I thought when I read that part of the book.

I seriously wish both movies being released the same day this year . . . I bet fights would break out in the movie theaters from the people waiting in the two lines . . . haha. Maybe I’ll go to the Breaking Dawn premier wearing my shirt from Harry Potter World and see if anyone says something.

In other related news . . . July 15!!! Less than 3 months until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2!!

They really should have made it a July 31st release day though . . . how perfect would it be to have the last movie released on Harry Potter’s birthday?! I really wish they had done that when the book came out. It came out July 21st! They would only have had to wait 10 more days!!

Oh well . . . I guess the people at Bloomsbury, Scholastic, and Warner Bros just aren’t as obsessed as I am. =)

“Life is really about moving on.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

2011-04-12T23:09:00.001-06:00

I have actually heard teenagers at the mall have this exact conversation. Haha.

Seriously though, I am glad that no one I dated ever unfriended me (maybe this is because facebook didn’t exist while I was dating in high school) because it is hilarious to look up those boys that used to be so cool and discover their only facebook picture updates are of the new shoes they buy . . . haha. What was I thinking?

“What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish I'd realized it sooner.” ~Colette

2011-03-25T16:51:00.001-06:00

So if you Google “happy”, this baby will pop up. Haha. Does he/she look particularly happy to you? Maybe it’s just because that face is so hilarious you can’t help but be happy when you look at it! Haha.

Anyways, the reason I was Googling a happy image is because I have good news!

I PASSED CAPSTONE!

So, I now can tell people that I’ll be getting my M.L.S. in May without the nagging fear in the back of my mind that I might turn out to be lying. =)

“The true meaning of America, you ask? It's in a Texas rodeo...” ~ Audie Murphy

2011-03-16T17:23:00.001-06:00

I’ve been contemplating making this blog private so I can write more freely without worry that someone I might be writing about will see. However, I’ve decided that if anyone I don’t know about is bothering to read my blog they deserve to read it! And, if they find out anything I might not wish them to know, oh well!

Back to the point of this post: last week I went to the Houston Rodeo! A boy (I wonder if I’m old enough that I should start calling boys I know “men”) that I know had tickets that he gave to me. At first I thought he was asking me out so I accidentally turned them down, but then the next time I saw him he just handed them to me! I guess he figured out I wasn’t actually that busy. It was the night that Tim McGraw was performing so we watched part of the rodeo and then part of his performance. I went with my cousin Beth and my uncle Glenn.

The rode part was surprisingly fun. I really want my cousin Chase to practice the mutton busting so he can do it when he’s 5! At least all the kids who were doing it were 5 or 6. It seems like it would be harder for a younger kid to hold on that tightly to a sheep.

Tim McGraw was pretty good too! It makes me really want to see that movie Country Strong after seeing him in concert and watching Gwyneth Paltrow on Glee. Has anyone seen it? Is it good?

“I love acting, but it's much more fun taking the kids to the zoo.” ~ Nicole Kidman

2011-03-09T20:45:00.001-07:00

Since I may be leaving Houston when I graduate in May (depending on if this part-time job turns into a full-time job, or if I get a better offer somewhere else), I have decided that I ought to make sure I experience all of Houston.

According to USA Travel Guide, the Houston Zoo is #6 in the nation, so that was first on my list. Luckily, my aunt Karen let me tag along with her and her two youngest kids and we went to the zoo on a perfect day (it’s nice to have 75 degree weather in March).

When we were walking into the zoo, Audrey kept talking about how she wanted to see the sea horses, so we went into the aquarium but we couldn’t find any so we left and told her they didn’t have any. She was kind of upset and kept saying that she had seen them there before. Then, as we kept walking she got excited that we had found the sea horses; apparently she meant sea lions! Which, I suppose have more in common with a horse than actual sea horses!

I’m hoping that I do end up sticking around because they just got a female tiger at the zoo so they’re hoping that their two tigers will mate, and there’s nothing I like more than baby tigers!

“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” ~Arnold Toynbee

2011-03-07T16:25:00.001-07:00

I started a new job today! I now work in a cubicle on the 14th floor at Hess! My first cubicle . . . haha. So far working at a corporate library is fun! We’ll see how I feel a couple months from now. =)

“Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house.” ~Henry Ward Beecher

2011-03-01T19:55:00.001-07:00

Over the summer when I first moved to Houston I bought a little end table for the living room. I’m not sure why I thought we needed a table in there, because I ended up putting it in my room and piling it with books instead. It was a very ugly little table so I meant to decorate it but since it was covered in books I never got around to it.

Now that 2 other people are moving into the house I’ve once again decided that we need an end table. So, finding a bottle of Mod Podge in my sock drawer (what it was doing there I have no idea) I decided the best thing to do would be to Mod Podge the table with book pages. So, with a little mod podge and some paint, here you are!

I think it turned out pretty cool! Almost as cool as my Scrabble tile table. Luckily, I didn’t even feel that guilty about demolishing a book! It was an old German-English dictionary that I got from Goodwill. I would never have demolished good literature.

So, now I have about 2/3 of an old dictionary under my bed, if you have any ideas of things I could do with it let me know!

“The finest clothing made is a person's skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this.” ~Mark Twain

2011-02-13T20:34:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to take a break from my homework to share a picture of this adorable scarf I got for Chinese New Year!

Last year when I was in Taiwan for New Year’s, and watching my beloved 王力宏 performing (now that I think about it, this is the only New Year I didn’t get to see him in some capacity . . . how depressing), everyone had these scarves on and I was so jealous! But I’m glad I got one this year since it’s the 100th anniversary of the R.O.C. so it’s cooler than last year.

Well, wish me luck this week! On the 21st I turn in my capstone and wait to find out if I am actually going to be able to get this Master’s degree or not! Let’s hope I pass!

恭喜發財紅包拿來!

2011-02-02T22:36:00.001-07:00

新年快樂!!

I hope everyone has a good Chinese New Year! As a present to all of you, here is a video from my BEST Chinese New Year ever!

It may not be the best quality ever, but I was actually there! Although I didn’t take this video because I was way closer (thanks mom for splurging for the more expensive seats!).

Look how cute he is! Remember when I was the only girl whose hand he shook when he walked down my aisle . . . ?

Haha . . . Okay, enough of that, Happy New Year everyone!

“A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.” ~Lois Wyse

2011-01-23T22:25:00.001-07:00

One nice thing about being Mormon is that if you’re in Utah you always have a chance to visit old friends. Everyone ends up here either to live for awhile (or forever) or to visit family (because everyone has family in Utah). Even though there were a lot of people I didn’t have the chance to visit with, luckily I got to get together with two really good friends!

The very worst thing about your parents moving after you’re done with high school is that when you go back to visit them you have no one to hang out with. You also don’t get to see your old high school friends during breaks because they’re still going back to the old high school town.

Luckily, my friend Katie’s parents also moved! And, they happen to live near my grandparents! So, we get together at least once a year and it’s great. This year we went to her parent’s newly opened restaurant (well, newly opened location, everyone in the Provo/Orem area go eat at Wallaby’s!). The new location they let people put handprints on the wall, and I found a handprint where someone put the name of my favorite Chinese singer. So, as you can see above I decided to hold his hand. haha. I hope whoever did that goes back and sees it!

During the summers in high school, whenever I was in town I was at Katie’s house, usually cooking in their kitchen. We also got to relive our high school friendship while I helped Katie make a cake for her grandma’s 100th birthday! I put in 8 hours, but I think Katie put in more like 40!

My other fun reunion was at the Salt Lake City airport. Julie had a layover on her way home so I popped in to hang out for a few hours! (one of the benefits of being able to print free tickets. =) ) Actually, come to think of it I’m pretty lucky to be able to see Julie as much as I do as well! At least once a year and sometimes twice and she literally lives on the other side of the country!

Hopefully next time I’m in Utah I can see all the people I didn’t get a chance to see this time!

“Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.” ~George Bernard Shaw

2011-01-20T00:03:00.001-07:00

This Christmas break was my laziest and my most productive all in one.

The week after Christmas, Whitney came over for a craft night and brought over season one of Chuck. I never thought that would be a show that I liked, but it is really addicting! So, that one craft night quickly became a craft week and three seasons of Chuck!

Luckily, I actually got a lot of things done while watching Chuck! I finished a scrapbook of my trip to Paris (and it’s only been 3 months, so that is a scrapbooking record for me!), I finished a quilt that I meant to give Julie for Christmas 2 years ago (sorry Julie, I was so amazed that I finished it that I decided to keep it, haha) an apron for a friend’s birthday, and some baby clothes/hair bows to give out as gifts. Now, all I have to do is finish crocheting the edge of a baby blanket that I started when I was 15, and all my old projects will be completed!

In the midst of all our crafting, Whitney and I decided to make some crafts to send to Zami (Zane and Cami) since Cami is usually an integral part of the craft nights. So, I made them this little race cars to race with each other, haha.

This will sound weird, but I post these pictures because I kind of think that these little cars look like Cami and Zane! Seriously, my mom and Whitney agree!

Anyways, no more crafting for awhile since school has finally started! It looks to be my busiest semester yet, but luckily it’s also my last!

“Ring out the old, ring in the new”

2011-01-09T19:56:00.001-07:00

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850

Happy New Year everybody! I know it’s been the new year for 9 days already . . . but my last semester of classes doesn’t start until Jan.18, so it doesn’t really feel like the year has started to me yet!

“This boy will be famous. There won't be a child in our world who doesn't know his name.” ~ Professor McGonagall (J.K. Rowling)

2010-12-24T22:48:00.001-07:00

Because Whitney and I are completely obsessed with Harry Potter we’ve started a tradition of making a Hogwarts gingerbread house for Christmas every year (well, every year we can be together). In case you don’t remember, here was our first try:

This year, Whitney and I got to go to Harry Potter World in Orlando, so we saw a real-life Hogwarts up close! We also learned to cut the gingerbread before baking it. It worked a lot better.

We also added Hagrid’s hut, the Forbidden Forest, and in the back (you can’t see it) the Great Lake.

So what do you think? Are we getting better?

“Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.” ~Steve Prefontaine

2010-12-23T00:04:00.001-07:00

For all my crazy friends out there who like to run (of which there is a surprisingly large amount of you), I’ve found you a new sport!

Joggling!

From the International Juggler’s Association:

Joggling combines running and juggling. Joggling requires the competitor to juggle at least 3 balls while running. The rules require that a juggling pattern must be maintained whilst running, and if an object is dropped, the joggler must return to the point where the object fell and continue from there.

Apparently the World Joggling Championships have been going on for 30 years! If you’re interested in participating, more information can be found here:

http://www.juggle.org/festival/joggling/

Go ahead! Become a Joggler! Make your families proud!

“At the end of the day, the goals are simple: safety and security.” ~ Jodi Rell

2010-12-15T21:24:00.001-07:00

This is either the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen or the most genius! Maybe it’s both! haha.

About The Emergency Bra

The Emergency Bra's primary function is that of a conventional bra. In case of emergency, it can be quickly and easily converted into two face masks without removing any clothes. In case of emergency, where no specialized respiratory devices are available, it can decrease the inhalation of harmful airborne particles. Because the Emergency Bra masks can be securely fixed to the head, it frees a survivor’s hands to keep balance while running and removing objects on the way out of danger. In certain situations, by providing the wearer with a sense of security and protection, the Emergency Bra can reduce the chance of panic attack.

If you’re interested you can buy it here.

“O’er the fields we go . . .”

2010-12-08T20:55:00.001-07:00

As a Christmas present to everyone who reads my blog, you get to listen to the two best voices of the century (well, I guess technically last century) sing together!

Also . . . I like to take breaks while working on my final projects and found this during one of them. You wouldn’t believe how many songs there are on youtube that say they are Frank Sinatra and are actually Bing Crosby. Do people not have ears?! Well, you can decide for yourself if you think they sound that similar!

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” ~Charles Dickens

2010-12-07T20:18:00.001-07:00

Presents are bought and wrapped, presents that need to be mailed are mailed, Christmas cards have been written and sent . . . man I am on top of things this year!

Plus, this year is the first year in a long time that I’ll actually be in the USA for Christmas so I actually get to see people open their presents and open my own presents on Christmas day!

“Here lies Dobby, a free elf.”

2010-11-30T21:19:00.001-07:00

It was amazing. I’m not going to say there wasn’t anything wrong with it. It wasn’t exactly like the book (it never is, but in this case with splitting the book in two you would think it could have been) but it was good. Great even. I think it might have replaced my former favorite Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

“If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily.” ~Gerald Good

2010-11-17T20:07:00.001-07:00

It’s almost Thanksgiving! Which means that it’s time to think about what you are thankful for, so I’ve decided to share my list with all of you. I have the feeling that it’s going to be incredibly long . . . so just deal with it! =) They’re not in any sort of order, but I always thought that was weird to do because how can you decide what you are most thankful for?

I’m thankful that we moved to Greeley and the smoking kids at Central scared me so I went to Union Colony Preparatory School and met these great people (Romero, Laura, Joel):

I’m especially grateful that 5,6, and 7 years after we graduated we can all still get together and have a wonderful time together! Especially this last great trip to Boston!

Extra thankfulness for Laura. How great is it to have a friend that is interested in EVERYTHING you are interested in? Same books, same clothes, same career goals . . . It makes it super easy to buy presents as well! She’s also the best roommate I’ve ever had (hurray for DC!) and the best travel partner a girl could have (Philadelphia, Macau, Hong Kong, etc . . .).

I’m grateful that Cami was so poor that she had to live at my parent’s house for a summer and we could scrapbook and watch Gilmore girls for an entire week straight! Also, that she’s comfortable enough with my family that she could stand to stay in a hotel room with all of us for a week in Hawaii!

I can’t even describe how pleased I am to have found to a friend who is as obsessed with Harry Potter as I am! I never thought it was possible, and I don’t know what I would do without Whitney! I don’t think anyone else I know would be willing to stand in line for as long as we did to get into Harry Potter World!

Speaking of which: I am grateful for JK Rowling, for bringing Harry Potter into my life!

I am so thankful that years ago in Hawaii when I told Julie I didn’t like beaches, she didn’t decide I was totally insane and gave me another chance so that she could become one of my closest friends ever! And I’m especially grateful that this picture from her wedding isn’t the last picture of us like it is with so many of my friends who get married!

In fact, let’s just be grateful for all the BYUH friends!

I am thankful for my uncle Glenn for letting me live in this house! And for growing zucchini so I could learn how to make delicious zucchini recipes. Also that NASA hired me giving me a reason to move here, and getting to live by my cousins that I usually would only see once a year if I didn’t live here!

I’m thankful that Ray finally grew out of being a pest! Or at least that I finally got used to his pesty-ness! haha.

And that he’s in Italy and sends me Italian bookmarks for my collection! =)

I’m thankful that years ago the Iverson and Banks grandparents bought houses near each other which made it so that their sons would buy houses next door to each other which made it so their daughters could be best friends!

Wow, I was right, this is getting long! Maybe I’ll add some more next week when we’re closer to Thanksgiving!

Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real? ~Albus Dumbledore

2010-11-07T21:44:00.001-07:00

“Are you a magnet? ‘Cause I’m attracted to you.”

2010-10-18T11:44:00.002-06:00

So anyone who has ever walked down a street in Greeley has been honked at by cars full of high school boys. I’m not sure if this is normal in other cities since after high school I stopped walking down streets (why walk when you can drive?).

Anyways, last week when I was stuck in traffic in Dallas, I had the most extreme version of being honked at by a truck. First, he was on my right, and when he honked I looked up and when I made eye contact I smiled (reflex, my first big mistake). After I looked away he honked a few more times and revved his engine, but since I never looked back he stopped. After passing an exit I looked up and he was gone, so I assumed that he had exited and it was now safe to look around. Mistake number two. I looked to my left and there he was! So he started honking again! (Seriously, do guys think being honked at is flattering?)

This is when it got really crazy. Traffic was barely moving and he kept honking and revving his engine. Then whenever the traffic started to move a little bit he would wait until it stopped and then speed up quickly until he was right next to me again (again, is this supposed to be impressive?).

So while all this was happening, I was trying hard to keep looking straight ahead so as not to encourage the insanity, and I noticed that the two old men in the car in front of me would jump and look around every time they heard a honk (which was quite a bit). It was hilarious.

Anyways, I guess I can’t blame the guy, we do start them honking when they’re young :)

“Good Americans, when they die, go to Paris.” ~ Thomas Gold Appleton

2010-09-28T19:57:00.001-06:00

This past week since my dad had two trips in a row to Paris I joined him on his layovers and spent the 3 days between layovers wandering about Paris on my own.

I could go into detail about each and every site that I visited, but suffice it to say I visited anything that could be considered a “must see” of Paris. I finally visited the Louvre (it just seemed a shame that someone as into museums as I am had never been there) and oddly enough they were the only museum that allowed photography (without a flash of course).

Some stories from the trip:

People do the craziest things on the metro! Instead of waiting outside and performing to get money (like I’m used to) they actually get inside the metro cars and perform! The first performer was this old guy who was singing opera, and then he would sing out the name of each stop. He was the strangest because I’m pretty sure he wasn’t even asking for money, he was just singing for the heck of it! The second performer was an accordion player. He was really good! If I had more money I would have given him some change as he walked around with his cup in the end. He changed cars after one stop though. =( The third performer was so weird! He set up a little sheet between two poles and hid behind it while he did a little puppet show! He also didn’t walk around asking for money, so I don’t understand where these people get the time to ride the metro performing!

The second day that I was on my own, there was a transportation strike in France! I didn’t really know that much about it since my little hotel I was staying at didn’t have a tv in the rooms, but I heard that only 60% of air travel was still working and that they were thinking of extending the strike to last a week, so naturally I was worried about my dad coming back to get me. I found a phone and used the emergency credit card to call him, and my card was rejected! So then I used my debit card to try to call; again, rejected! By this point I was freaking out because neither of my cards were working and I was afraid to use any of the cash I had because my hotel was only paid until my dad came back and I was worried he wouldn’t come back in time and I wouldn’t have money to pay for more nights! Luckily, the next day the strike was over so I just waited for my dad to come back. Of course, I pretty only ate bread because I was still afraid to spend my cash in case I had an emergency and my cards still weren’t working. Meanwhile, back in the USA, my dad was worried because he got an email from the credit card company saying that my card had been stolen! The moral of this story is: always tell your credit card company and bank when you are leaving the country or they will assume your cards were stolen and leave you stranded and moneyless! (The transportation strike also made it so I couldn’t leave town to go to Versailles, but at least that leaves me something to do the next time I’m in Paris!)

I spent a lot of time in Paris visiting burial sites of various famous people such as Napoleon, Victor Hugo, Chopin, etc . . . One such grave was Jim Morrison’s (lead singer of the Doors). Hanging out near his grave were a bunch of kids smoking with some old guy who seemed to think he was still in the 1970s. I thought it was really weird that someone would come this far to see an old musician’s grave until I realized that I was doing the same thing! =) At least I didn’t hang out there for hours (which I’m sure they had been).

One thing that was funny is that everyone I met thought I was Italian or Spanish! The Spanish was kind of understandable since all the French I was speaking was accidentally littered with Spanish words, but I don’t know where they got the Italian from. . . maybe just having a brother in Italy makes me seem more Italian. haha. I did talk to one British guy who said that American girls don’t really travel alone as much as European girls so that might be part of it. Also, I don’t have dyed hair and I noticed all the French women had their original hair colors and all the American women I saw had tons of highlights, so that might also be part of it.

Anyways, all in all it was a great trip!

“We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, Harry, but battle on.” ~Albus Dumbledore

2010-09-05T11:55:00.001-06:00

Although it’s been a couple of weeks, and I’m sure everyone has seen my facebook photos (if not, go here), I thought I ought to dedicate a post to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Basically, it’s the best thing that Universal Studios has ever come up with (although that’s not saying much since in general Universal greatly pales in comparison to anything Disney).

When I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows it was like my life was ending with the knowledge that there would be no more Harry Potter books to continue the story. Then I remembered there were still movies yet to come (which while not as amazing as the books, at least would allow me to extend the Harry Potter experience). Naturally, I have been dreading the end of the movies.

However, now I need worry no longer! Whenever I am feeling depressed that those 7 books are all I’m ever going to get out of JK Rowling, I can hop on a plane to Orlando and visit Hogwarts/Hogsmeade myself!

“The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning.” ~Ivy Baker Priest

2010-08-27T16:55:00.001-06:00

For some reason it seems like the more free time that I have the less time I have to blog . . . or the less I feel like blogging I guess. So now it’s time to play catch-up.

My internship at NASA is over. It was a great experience and I’m glad that I had that opportunity! The last week was great. Adrienne and I finished up our project early and we pretty much had the whole last week to play. We made sure that we ate at every lunch place we were told we “had to” eat at, and visited the Rocket Park, Space Center, and anything else we needed to visit while we still had NASA badges to get us in free! It was the perfect way to end the summer!

Last time to see the sign I drove past every morning.

The Data Conversion Team ‘aka’ The poor people who have to keep working with this material that we prepped for them.

The JSC History Office and NASA Archivist. My coworkers this summer. Minus Two.

"The preservers of history are as heroic as its makers." ~Pat M. Neff

2010-07-21T18:31:00.001-06:00

So I’ve been having a hard time remembering (or having the time to) update my blog. Which is unfortunate since this summer I am actually doing cool things to update about!

Now for a little backtracking . . . they’ve been telling us since we got here that our building is the building for animals. There is an alligator that lives in the river, skunks, and snakes that get into the building. Luckily, I haven’t seen any of that. Last week I finally saw my first animal (well, first 5)!

Look at what were waiting for me when I got to work! The cute babies were prancing around for quite a while so I was a little late going in that day . . .

In other news, last week we had a little break from our usual routines and went to work at the UHCL Archives. They work in conjunction with Space Center archives, so we got to help out with some projects there. My project for the week was working with photos from the Space New Roundup, which is the center’s official newspaper. It was quite hilarious to see the outfits that the women (and men) were wearing in the 60’s and 70’s.

Here I am showing off the 25 hollinger boxes I got through. Basically I was checking for any preservation problems and looking for original artwork to be removed (from the comics in the paper).

We also got to go take a tour of the photo lab and go into the 0 degree vault where they keep all the film that has been on the moon. In case anyone is wondering about any picture doctoring that might be done at NASA, there isn’t any!They are not allowed to retouch ANYTHING just for fear that people will accuse them of adding things or something like that. Even film that got “moon dust” in it they were not allowed to doctor out the specs of dust that appeared when the film was developed.

Well, that’s it for now! 10 weeks goes by fast! I have only 2 weeks left after this week!

"What do you say? Want to break into a bank?" ~ Neil Caffrey

2010-07-14T19:59:00.003-06:00

I love USA Network. I mean, I loved it before when Monk came around, but I love it even more now. It's very unfortunate that I don't have that channel. Luckily, a genius invented Hulu, so I can watch new episode any time I want.

Which reminds me that I forgot to mention why I love USA.

Have you seen the new show White Collar? Well, not too new since it's in its second season (started yesterday). It's so great. Everyone should watch it.

In other exciting news (well, not in my own life, just in general), 王力宏 released a new single! WHICH, I think means that when his new movie's album comes out there will be new music by him on it! (I assume since he's playing a famous musician in the movie, he must sing some).

“Anyone who sits on top of the largest hydrogen-oxygen fueled system in the world; knowing they're going to light the bottom—and doesn't get a little worried—does not fully understand the situation.” ~ John Young (after being asked if he was worried about making the first space shuttle flight)

2010-06-27T13:07:00.001-06:00

So these first couple of weeks at NASA have mostly been to let us get used to our jobs and everything, but now they are going to start having lectures and activities for us to go to, so I should have some pretty cool stuff to write about.

To kick it off, we did the COOLEST THING EVER! Adrienne (the other girl intern in the archives) is renting a room for the summer from the lady who runs the simulators that the astronauts train on, so we got to go tour them! Basically, this is a hard tour to get, and since they are ending the shuttle runs soon they are closing the whole thing down, so we were some of the last people to ever see it! (Us, and Steven Colbert, who apparently was here a couple weeks ago and they brought him through).

Anyways, there are 3 simulators. One that is of the International Space Station (this one has no motion), one of a shuttle (with motion), and one . . . I don't remember what that one was. They were using it so we didn't get to see it. What we DID get to do was USE the shuttle simulator. We had this pilot who went with us, so we each got a turn to fly and LAND the space shuttle. It was WAY freaky. It is a VERY realistic simulator (obviously, since the astronauts actually train with it) and it was scary. I think that Astronauts are the bravest people in the world.

Anyways, here is a picture of me in the pilot's chair. This is shortly after I landed the shuttle. Take-off you're just sitting straight back and then you shoot up. It's very scary. And out the windows you see everything as if you were really flying up into space. It’s very scary and I did not enjoy the small tiny space that you are locked into.

Because I did not enjoy the flying like everyone else, I didn’t stay for all the flights and I went into the flight control room where the mission control operators do their thing and that was pretty cool. When we were all done flying, we went in there and they printed out our statistics for us of our flights.

They said if I had been landing an actual shuttle, I would have had a pretty good chance of survival. Haha . . .

Oh, by the way, this is what the simulator looks like from the outside:

Okay, you can't actually see any of it . . . but you can see the stairs leading up to it! haha.

Anyways, that was the excitement for this week! Actually, there was more, but I haven’t put the pictures onto my computer yet, so you’ll get all that at a later date.

"There's a snake in my boot!" - Woody

2010-06-21T18:28:00.003-06:00

This weekend I went and saw

And it was so good! Everyone needs to go out and see it immediately! I'm so surprised that Disney/Pixar has managed to keep this up for 3 movies!

I went to see it with my cousins Beth, Jason, and Audrey. Here is Audrey so excited to see the movie:

She said it's her favorite movie ever! Well . . . she did say that before she actually saw the movie, but she said it again afterwards as well!

“Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb, Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum, In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!”

2010-06-13T16:11:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I wish that other people didn’t have private blogs so that I could just link to their blogs and not have to bother to write my own . . . especially since I always forget my camera. At least I will steal some pictures . . .

This weekend I went blueberry picking! I know you must all be in shock because it involved two things I hate: physical labor, and being outside when it’s hot. But actually, picking blueberries doesn’t require that much physical labor, and it wasn’t that hot. . . at least for the first hour. It did end up so hot that my cousin Chase couldn’t stop crying . . . which was lucky for me because then I didn’t have to start complaining. ;)

Here I am, hard at work . . . haha

And the final product!

Blueberries by Robert Frost

"You ought to have seen what I saw on my way
To the village, through Mortenson's pasture to-day:
Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,
Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum
In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!
And all ripe together, not some of them green
And some of them ripe! You ought to have seen!"
"I don't know what part of the pasture you mean."
"You know where they cut off the woods--let me see--
It was two years ago--or no!--can it be
No longer than that?--and the following fall
The fire ran and burned it all up but the wall."
"Why, there hasn't been time for the bushes to grow.
That's always the way with the blueberries, though:
There may not have been the ghost of a sign
Of them anywhere under the shade of the pine,
But get the pine out of the way, you may burn
The pasture all over until not a fern
Or grass-blade is left, not to mention a stick,
And presto, they're up all around you as thick
And hard to explain as a conjuror's trick."
"It must be on charcoal they fatten their fruit.
I taste in them sometimes the flavour of soot.
And after all really they're ebony skinned:
The blue's but a mist from the breath of the wind,
A tarnish that goes at a touch of the hand,
And less than the tan with which pickers are tanned."
"Does Mortenson know what he has, do you think?"
"He may and not care and so leave the chewink
To gather them for him--you know what he is.
He won't make the fact that they're rightfully his
An excuse for keeping us other folk out."
"I wonder you didn't see Loren about."
"The best of it was that I did. Do you know,
I was just getting through what the field had to show
And over the wall and into the road,
When who should come by, with a democrat-load
Of all the young chattering Lorens alive,
But Loren, the fatherly, out for a drive."
"He saw you, then? What did he do? Did he frown?"
"He just kept nodding his head up and down.
You know how politely he always goes by.
But he thought a big thought--I could tell by his eye--
Which being expressed, might be this in effect:
'I have left those there berries, I shrewdly suspect,
To ripen too long. I am greatly to blame.'"
"He's a thriftier person than some I could name."
"He seems to be thrifty; and hasn't he need,
With the mouths of all those young Lorens to feed?
He has brought them all up on wild berries, they say,
Like birds. They store a great many away.
They eat them the year round, and those they don't eat
They sell in the store and buy shoes for their feet."
"Who cares what they say? It's a nice way to live,
Just taking what Nature is willing to give,
Not forcing her hand with harrow and plow."
"I wish you had seen his perpetual bow--
And the air of the youngsters! Not one of them turned,
And they looked so solemn-absurdly concerned."
"I wish I knew half what the flock of them know
Of where all the berries and other things grow,
Cranberries in bogs and raspberries on top
Of the boulder-strewn mountain, and when they will crop.
I met them one day and each had a flower
Stuck into his berries as fresh as a shower;
Some strange kind--they told me it hadn't a name."
"I've told you how once not long after we came,
I almost provoked poor Loren to mirth
By going to him of all people on earth
To ask if he knew any fruit to be had
For the picking. The rascal, he said he'd be glad
To tell if he knew. But the year had been bad.
There had been some berries--but those were all gone.
He didn't say where they had been. He went on:
'I'm sure--I'm sure'--as polite as could be.
He spoke to his wife in the door, 'Let me see,
Mame, we don't know any good berrying place?'
It was all he could do to keep a straight face.
"If he thinks all the fruit that grows wild is for him,
He'll find he's mistaken. See here, for a whim,
We'll pick in the Mortensons' pasture this year.
We'll go in the morning, that is, if it's clear,
And the sun shines out warm: the vines must be wet.
It's so long since I picked I almost forget
How we used to pick berries: we took one look round,
Then sank out of sight like trolls underground,
And saw nothing more of each other, or heard,
Unless when you said I was keeping a bird
Away from its nest, and I said it was you.
'Well, one of us is.' For complaining it flew
Around and around us. And then for a while
We picked, till I feared you had wandered a mile,
And I thought I had lost you. I lifted a shout
Too loud for the distance you were, it turned out,
For when you made answer, your voice was as low
As talking--you stood up beside me, you know."
"We sha'n't have the place to ourselves to enjoy--
Not likely, when all the young Lorens deploy.
They'll be there to-morrow, or even to-night.
They won't be too friendly--they may be polite--
To people they look on as having no right
To pick where they're picking. But we won't complain.
You ought to have seen how it looked in the rain,
The fruit mixed with water in layers of leaves,
Like two kinds of jewels, a vision for thieves."

“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space.”~ Douglas Adams

2010-06-04T17:41:00.001-06:00

I finished my first week of work at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. I’m going to be working in the NASA Archives until August 6. So far, it’s pretty great! Orientation was a little boring . . . there was a LOT about security, and then a lot that didn’t really apply to me, just to the 100 other interns who are all doing science-y things.

However, the actual work I am doing is pretty fun! If a bit repetitive . . . this week we (myself and the two other interns) worked on processing some papers on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Some of it was very boring (old memos) and some of it was cool. There were a lot of old biographies and pictures of astronauts. The reason it was cool was because I had actually heard of them! Neil Armstrong, Alan Shepard, John Glenn . . . and a whole lot more that I have never heard of.

The rest of the summer we’ll be working on a few other things, but a lot of the other Apollo missions, so that’s good since I have actually heard of them! haha . . .

Other than work, Houston is pretty good! I do have quite a long commute, but I’ve figured out the roads, so it takes me 40 minutes to get to work and 1 hour to get home. Not bad, considering one of the days it took me 2 1/2 hours because there were 4 accidents on the way home!

"Happiness is a warm puppy." ~Charles M. Schulz

2010-05-18T17:00:00.002-06:00

I totally disagree with that statement above.

However, I do think that everyone who reads this post should to go this link:

http://radiobase1.clearchannel.com/front/image_contest2.asp?s=A6889271C4BCB3A3557BA5BEA5B19D84939EB49BB6B4678DD1CF8B998EAFA6BDBD777CA6CCC6C2BCA1897D675D7F71887FA4BC6F91796F66A6B5AF948C6A618499A7A0737C7D63646F6E946E9791B58DA06271

And vote a "10" for Erin's dog Mindy. Not because I think she's particularly cute (although she's not bad as far as dogs go), but because I want Erin to win so she can come with me to Harry Potter World! Which I'm sure you'll all agree is a worthy cause!

So vote away!

“It`s not the load that breaks you down, it`s the way you carry it.” ~ Lena Horne

2010-05-10T09:44:00.001-06:00

Last night, Lena Horne passed away. To tell the truth, I don’t know much about her. But, I am jealous of her for all the wonderful things she got to do in her career. A duet with Frank Sinatra, shared billing with Gene Kelly, an appearance on the Dean Martin show . . . and those are just the things that I’m jealous of! The list goes on. . .

I couldn’t find a copy of her Sinatra duet, but here is “Stormy Weather”, the song she is/was most famous for.

“There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.” ~Marshall McLuhan, 1964

2010-04-22T00:01:00.001-06:00

Happy Earth Day! Today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. If you want to find out a little more about Earth Day you can read about it here. To celebrate I’m going to go see this Disney movie:

Hopefully it will be good! Here are some other ways I thought of to celebrate Earth Day!

Read The Lorax by Dr. Suess. If you don’t own it, buy it on Amazon where they have their Earth Day reads on sale!

Work in your garden! Or start a garden if you don’t have one yet.

Make your own paper! You’re recycling, and you can add flowers and leaves to make pretty stationary.

Create a re-usable grocery tote out of an old t-shirt. Directions here.

Find some Earth Day sales! Walgreens is having a sale on everything green! Kitchen cleaners, bath items, lightbulbs, etc . . . The Body Shop is giving 20% off if you bring in your own reusable bags! If you search around online I’m sure you’ll be able to find other fun sales!

“If bad decorating was a hanging offense, there'd be bodies hanging from every tree!” ~Sylvester Stallone

2010-04-19T18:49:00.001-06:00

Over the weekend I was bored, so I decided I would do some decorating. Whit sent me some purple and yellow flowers (sorry, I don’t have a picture) so I decided that would be my new color scheme. So I picked the ugliest thing I own to make over. Which was this:

White mirror on a white wall? BORING. And ugly. So ugly. So I pulled out the paints, mod podge, and some brushes and got to work to turn it into this:

A bit bright maybe . . . Although the first picture looks really bright because of the flash. I mod podged those little flowers all around (I don’t know if you can see it in the big picture.

Then . . . since I still had some paint and some purple fabric, I decided to make this:

To match the mirror! I forgot to take a “before” picture, but it’s just a cheap little wall clock. It was ugly too. You can’t tell, but the fabric inside the clock is actually a darker purple than it looks. I have just enough purple fabric left to make a little pillow for my bed to tie everything together.

And luckily, if I decide that the yellow is too bright for me (I’m still getting used to it) I can always just leave it in my parent’s guest room! haha.

“Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they're looking for ideas.” ~Paula Poundstone

2010-04-06T22:57:00.001-06:00

Reasons why I wish I still had a job:

I love spring clothes!

"Grow old with me! The best is yet to be." ~Robert Browning

2010-04-01T13:54:00.001-06:00

“I'd rather sit home and play Scrabble. But that doesn't get you a girl, does it?” ~ Wentworth Miller

2010-03-21T22:45:00.003-06:00

Alright! Craft night was a success. Cami refinished her chair, Whitney got some scrapbooking done, Molly did some homework (I think . . . I don’t know that I ever actually saw her doing any) and I finished my table! I didn't take any "before" pictures, but Cami did, so once she posts her own blog about craft night, I'll add a link! < here is the link! >

It looks pretty awesome (if I do say so myself). The huge Scrabble tiles on the edges are from an old Scrabble game called Turntiles. We got the game from DI years ago, but never really took the time to learn to play it (after all, if we’re going to play Scrabble we just play Scrabble!) so I decided to put the tiles to good use. The smaller tiles were just a collection of old Scrabble games also found at the DI. Don’t worry, we’ve still got at least 10 sets to play with!

Now all I have to do is cover the table with polyurethane or maybe just modge podge and it will be ready for use!

“Children are the most desirable opponents at Scrabble as they are both easy to beat and fun to cheat.” ~ Fran Lebowitz

2010-03-17T21:50:00.001-06:00

This Friday, some friends and I are having a craft night. Being in possession of a rather large collection of extra scrabble tiles, I thought I might put them to good use. To get some ideas, I hit the internet. Here are some crazy things I found:

A Scrabble headstone? Hmm . . .

This looks really cool! Too bad that chair can’t hold seven of those pillows!

Etsy.com has lots of cute Scrabble jewelry! I might have to get some for myself!

Anyways . . . after this weekend you’ll all get to see what I decided to make! (I know you can’t wait for the excitement) ;)

“When I try to sing you say I'm off key; Why can't you see how much this hurts me” ~ Frank Sinatra (Desafinado)

2010-02-20T00:58:00.001-07:00

Recently I cam across Michael Buble’s fan site. . . and was appalled to see numerous discussions on his fan forums from fans who think he is better than Sinatra!

Now, before people freak out, I think Michael Buble is good (well, at least not terrible). His songs that are not covers(though they are few) I quite like, and given the fact that at this point in time I don’t have to option to see Sinatra live in concert, I would probably go see him.

However, Michael Buble does not even begin to compare with Frank Sinatra. The only reason people bother to try and compare them is because he is obviously imitating Sinatra. And really, you fans who think he is better, I’m sure Michael himself would not agree with you. He himself is a huge Sinatra fan, and if it weren’t for Sinatra, he probably wouldn’t even have a career! Here is what he has to say about Sinatra:

Q: How big of a Sinatra fan are you?

A: One of the biggest, with a true understanding as a vocalist of how magnificent he was. . . .Basically, God kissed this man's throat.

Q: What did you learn from him?

A: A lot of technique, to be honest with you -- breath control, singing on vowels. There's some beautiful sounds that he makes, with the way he drops his epiglottis and moves his mouth. (the rest of the interview can be found here)

Of course, the fact that he himself is a fan doesn’t really prove that he is not better, so I’ll give you a few reasons why Sinatra’s nickname was The Voice, and why Michael Buble will never be able to come close.

First of all, like I said, Michael Buble is merely imitating Sinatra. He’s got a decent voice, but it doesn’t have the beautiful smooth quality of Sinatra’s. Also, when he is trying to shake things up, you can tell he is trying. Sinatra naturally belted out all the tricks and phrases that Michael has to practice for. I guess the best thing to do would be to let you see for yourself (because oddly enough, many of these people who make the claims, have never even sat down to actually listen to Sinatra!) Just listen to the voices, don’t let the video distract you. (and, of course Buble’s video sound quality will be a little better since he’s newer, but even so there is no comparison)

Now, if that didn’t convince you (although I can’t really see how it couldn’t) let me give you some quotes from some other people:

“People who understand music hear sounds that no one else makes when Sinatra sings.” ~ Walter Cronkite

“Let’s face it – Sinatra is a king.” ~ Bing Crosby

“Frank Sinatra’s voice expresses more eloquence than I can ever say in mere words.” ~ Billy Joel

"One of Sinatra's favorite toasts to make with glass in hand was, 'May you live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be mine.' The master is gone but his voice will live forever." ~Tony Bennett

"He was the epitome of what singing is all about, beautiful sounds, smooth as silk, effortless, impeccable phrasing, stylish, intelligent and full of heart." ~ Barbara Streisand

However, I think my favorite quote is from this article, which says:

“Every male singer of ballads and swing after Frank Sinatra, including Michael Bublé, will always be in that shadow. There will never be another Sinatra.”

That would probably be a good note to end up on, but there is one last thing I want to mention . . . how can girls think this

is cute when compared to this

Seriously girls, get a clue.

“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” ~ Bill Vaughn

2010-02-15T23:49:00.001-07:00

It’s the year of the Tiger! Hurray! My year! I wonder if anything lucky will happen to me this year? The last time it was my year was in 1998 . . . can’t really remember what we were doing that year. I think that was the year we moved from Taiwan to Orem, Utah. . . I guess in a way that was lucky.

Anyways, to celebrate, we had a little Chinese New Year shindig. A bunch of my friends came over, including some of my cousins. We decided this year to try more traditional foods, which I think freaked out some people! Haha.

Here we are eating our “fire pot” dinner:

The crazy girls:

Everyone at the party born the year of the Tiger:

My friend Sharon got dressed up really nicely in a traditional qipao, and then we realized it looked quite a bit like my mom’s wedding dress, so I put it on and we took some pictures!

All in all, a fun party! Happy New Year!

新年快乐 ! 恭喜发财 !

One fine day in the Emerald City

2010-01-31T00:40:00.006-07:00

Whilst wandering about San Francisco this winter, I came across this billboard:

Since I had been wanting to see the show for years, naturally I gave it a try. With my phone, my mom's phone, and my dad's phone. We got a reply telling us that a winner would be chosen by 8pm that night.

At 7:59pm, I got a text: "Sorry, you are not a winner . . . ", I checked my mom's phone: "Sorry, you are not a winner . . ." Then I checked my dad's phone: "Congratulations!"

So, this past Thursday I flew back to San Francisco with my dad to take advantage of our free tickets!

The Orpheum Theatre, downtown San Francisco.

Inside the theatre! Waiting to be let in to our seats.

The show was AMAZING. To tell the truth, I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was. Of course I was expecting it to be good, becaus e I knew I enjoyed the music. However, I have not enjoyed any of Gregory Maguire's books, and I've never been a huge Wizard of Oz fan, so I figured it would not live up to the expectations I had been given from others.

I was wrong. Everyone should go and see it! Immediately!

"I was nauseous and tingly all over. I was either in love or I had smallpox." - Woody Allen

2010-01-08T08:23:00.003-07:00

I have returned from the winter travels! I posted all my pictures on Facebook, so that should give you an idea of the trip. We started out with 2 days in San Francisco, then 2 days in Hong Kong, and then 2 weeks in Taiwan. Though most of the time in Taiwan was spent at the hospital with grandma, we still managed to have a little time for fun.

Oh, and after talking about nothing but the Kindle on my blog for the past few months? For Christmas/Chinese New Year, my uncle in Taiwan gave me the money to get one! The only problem is . . . now I can't bring myself to actually buy it. I keep hearing all these rumours of a new Apple e-reader, and seriously, so many of them are coming out! I need to wait a few months before making a solid decision. Hopefully by then I haven't already spent the money! haha.

On the last day of our journey home, I somehow got food poisoning and I ended up in the hospital with an iv stuck in me getting lots of tests! It was crazy.

Okay, as I'm typing this, I'm realizing that obviously waking up early with jetlag does not help with my writing skills, so I'll have to continue with the post another day.

Waiting for the New Year's Eve fireworks to begin.

Hanging out on the Star Ferry in Hong Kong.

San Francisco!

"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree." ~Roy L. Smith

2009-12-14T01:39:00.003-07:00

Finals are over! Christmas is here!!

This Christmas, I don't expect to be receiving many gifts because I'm going to be in Taiwan for the whole Christmas season. Since I'm used to making a little Christmas list every year, I decided to make a list of things I would like to buy for myself for Christmas (I would make a list of the fabulous things that I've already bought for other people, but that would ruin the surprise).

1. The Amazon Kindle! My local Barnes and Noble finally got a Nook in, and while I won't deny it's pretty amazing, playing around with it has helped me decide on the Kindle! Now the money-saving starts . . . .

2. Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy. Have you all seen the amazing things that are being done with pop-up books today? They are amazing. Seriously, the next time you're at Barnes and Noble or Borders, go to the children's section and check out the pop-up books. They are amazing works of art. Especially those by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart. I also would kind of like The Pop-Up Book of Phobias, but I'm afraid it would give me nightmares.

3. The Annotated Anne of Green Gables. I think someone I know is actually getting this for me, but I thought I would just mention how amazingly wonderful it is. It seems like no author makes more vague references than L.M. Montgomery. Even the quotes I think I understand I turn out to have never heard of before. I just wish they would publish an annotated edition of each book in the series. This reminds me of what else I dearly would like to buy: Looking for Anne of Green Gables: The Story of L.M. Montgomery and Her Literary Classic. I also discovered that if I owned a Kindle, I could own all of L.M. Montgomery's books for free! Oh the joy!

4. A lovely full spice rack. Lately I've been really into cooking, but it turns out that spices are expensive.

Okay, you know what? While making a fun little Christmas list seemed like a good idea in theory . . . now all I can do is think about the Kindle. So, this list is coming to an end so that I can spend some quality time on the Amazon website lusting after the Kindle.

"All I need is a healthy ovum and I can grow my own Leonard Nimoy!"

2009-12-07T18:07:00.002-07:00

The Big Bang Theory is seriously the best show on T.V. right now. It is so funny. What could be better than a show based off the 4 of the nerdiest men ever to exist? It reminds me of the boys we hung out with in high school. Haha. The only incredibly annoying thing is that there are no full episodes online! Why not? It's a popular show! When this past season premiered it was the highest rated show that night on CBS. And yet . . . they put other shows online instead . . . it makes me sad. The one show I always want to watch is the only one I can't get on Hulu!

Maybe this is just a sign that I should be doing my homework instead . . .

Quotes from the Big Bang Theory:

Leonard: Sheldon, you can't train my girlfriend like a lab rat!
Sheldon: Actually, it turns out I can.

Leonard: You are not Isaac Newton.
Sheldon: No, no, that's true. Gravity would have been apparent to me without the apple.

Sheldon: What if she ends up with a toddler who doesn't know if he should use an integral or a differential to solve for the area under a curve?
Leonard: I'm sure she'll still love him.
Sheldon: I wouldn't.

Raj: I don't like bugs, okay? They freak me out.
Sheldon: Interesting. You're afraid of insects and women. Ladybugs must render you catatonic.

Sheldon: Ah, gravity - thou art a heartless bitch.

Penny: I give up. He's impossible!
Sheldon: I can't be impossible; I exist! I think what you meant to say is, 'I give up; he's improbable'.

Sheldon: Howard, you know me to be a very smart man. Don't you think that if I were wrong, I'd know it?

"What is it like being single?"

2009-12-05T01:17:00.000-07:00

"What is it like being single? I like it! I like starting each day with a sense of possibility. And I'm optimistic, because everyday I get a little more desperate. And desperate situations yield the quickest results." ~Michael Scott

"Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day." ~Robert Caspar Lintner

2009-11-30T01:19:00.002-07:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Iverson Family. We usually stay at least a night or two at their house in Temecula every year at this time, but spend actual Thanksgiving at my aunt Brynna's, so this was a change. The John Iverson family spent the night as well, so we had a huge party. Which, ended up being rather well documented because of Mom and Dad's desire to have millions of pictures to send to Ray on the mission.

John, Nathan, Dad, and Bob being crazy.

Getting the food ready!

Yummy pomegranate fake wine.

Erin and Rocky went to Texas, so we took the traditional picture of the two girls with Michelle instead!

Usually our Black Friday shopping starts at 3 or 4am, but this year we went out with Nathan (who is quite the shopper!) and started at midnight instead!

Hanging out after our HUGE meal (seriously, we started snacking at 11am, and didn't stop eating until about midnight . . .)

Altogether, a fun trip. Weird that Ray and Erin weren't around, but I guess we'll have to get used to that!

My New Ride

2009-11-19T14:23:00.001-07:00

Yes, the rental company gave me the HUGEST car they had. Hopefully tomorrow they'll be able to get me into something smaller!! Haha.

"Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain." ~J.K. Rowling

2009-11-18T01:07:00.002-07:00

For the past couple of years I have lusted after Amazon's Kindle.

After all, what could be better than a handy dandy library of books that you can carry around in your purse. And now the latest addition to the Kindle family comes with GLOBAL wireless. If I get bored waiting for a plane in Taiwan, I can download a new book straight to my Kindle!

What could be better?

Well, I'm glad you asked, because Barnes and Noble has just come out with the Nook. They're marketing it as "The World's Most Advanced e-Book Reader", and they're probably right. Unlike the Kindle's black and white screen, they have a color screen, a touch screen, it's Wi-Fi enabled, and seems pretty much a MILLION times better than the Kindle in every way.

Just one problem . . . the Nook hasn't gone global. If I'm stuck in Japan for hours and all I want is something new to read . . . there will be no way for me to get it. And really, what is the point of an e-Reader if I can't get instant access to any book I want?

Did I mention they're exactly the same price?

How's a girl to choose? Good thing I can't afford that price, so I won't have to choose quite yet.

"A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water." ~Carl Reiner

2009-11-14T12:34:00.003-07:00

Winter is here! The snow is falling and I am drinking hot chocolate out of my lovely "moving away" mug that Whit gave me whilst procrastinating to avoid homework.

Today I didn't want to go outside. Unfortunately, I had things to do and places to go so I did. And now my poor Matrix is ruined. An evil Chevy rear-ended her and the bumper is falling off. Luckily, I am okay, but I feel like my Matrix has been ruined for me; I don't even feel like driving her anymore. I guess we'll see how I feel after she gets back from the shop, maybe she will be like new and I won't even notice the difference. Or maybe she will continue forever defiled.

"The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket." ~Frank Hubbard

2009-11-09T02:07:00.004-07:00

You know that wonderful feeling when you open up an old purse, or put your hands into the pocket of a jacket you haven't worn in awhile, and you find

And you're just so happy because you can now use that $5 to buy yourself an ice cream, or a new pair of shoes (okay that might be stretching the $5) or some other such frivolous thing because that $5 isn't part of your budget for the month so it doesn't have to go towards anything practical like groceries or rent.

Well, today I was realizing that I haven't written in my journal in awhile. It seems like over the past 10 years or so, my journal is only written in at these times:

When I have a huge crush on a guy and want to gush about him.
The beginning of a relationships when I want to gush about a guy.
The end of a relationship when I want to vent about a guy.

Which is why I never write about guys on this blog. But, I'm wandering . . . the point is, I decided that it would be a good time to open up the ol' journal.

So I opened my dresser drawer, pulled out

this adorable little journal Julie got me awhile back, and out fell

Yep, that's right, $50 fell out of my journal! 10 times more than I've ever found in a coat pocket! 10 times more than I've ever found in an old purse! I knew it was a good idea to write in my journal today!

"The time you think you're missing, misses you too." ~Ymber Delecto

2009-11-04T20:21:00.003-07:00

We still don't have internet . . . which is why I am not updating any of my blogs. Maybe no one has noticed, but it is annoying to me! At least I am keeping up with Ray's blog! If you haven't checked it out, check it out at twoyearsinitaly.blogspot.com. I figure more people read that blog, so it's probably more important to update.

Anyways, as for myself, not a whole lot has been going on except for trying to get our internet up. Pretty much every day is filled with calls to the internet people/our landlord. It's so annoying!

Right now I sit at Starbucks again . . . thank goodness for their internet. I try to go to all the different Starbucks around my house so that the workers at any one store don't get annoying with the girl who gets the cheapest thing on the menu and then just hangs out for two hours . . .

THIS SUCKS!

"The Internet is just a world passing around notes in a classroom." ~Jon Stewart

2009-10-21T14:05:00.002-06:00

Ahhh!!! No internet in my apartment, for the THIRD week. It is driving me CrAzY!!! Seriously. I hate it when people type like I just did, but I was forced to to stress the craziness of it all!

Here I sit at Starbucks. . . luckily Erin told me that if you register your Starbucks card (which I got one for my birthday) you get 2 free hours of internet a day. You just have to use the card at least once a month. But, if my internet isn't working by a month from now . . . well, let's just say it won't be pretty. At least our landlord is super nice and apologetic. Unfortunately, he lives in San Jose and has to try to take care of everything for us from there.

Well, thank you Starbucks for being near my house and having a comfy orange chair for me to sit and do my homework in. I appreciate it greatly.

I never saw a purple cow . . .

2009-10-17T01:45:00.002-06:00

So I may at some point in the past have posted this song, but I love it, so I'll post it again anyways!

Natalie introduced it to me about a year ago, and it's the greatest thing ever!

"Had the price of looking been blindness, I would have looked." ~Ralph Ellison

2009-10-17T01:33:00.002-06:00

I know that Chels has already dedicated a blog post to him . . . but Ryan Reynolds is just so delicious I couldn't help but mention it myself. I've now watched The Proposal . . . well I don't know quite how many times, but already twice this week!

He is so yummy . . . I want to watch that movie every day of my life.

It's funny because I used to always think he was Zack Morris. Or at least that guy who plays Zack Morris. I still think they look kind of alike though, right?

"Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told me in my childhood than in any truth that is taught in life."

2009-10-14T01:34:00.002-06:00

Some of my favorite things to read are rehashings of fairy tales. I think it's because you know for sure that the story is going to be good, so it's fun to experience it in a new way. Sometimes it's a disappointment, but sometimes you discover your favorite story in a new way, and you get to discover a new author too!

Although he may be (currently) the most famous, I am not a fan of Gregory Maguire. I never did read Wicked, but started out with Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Mirror, Mirror, since I like the basis for those stories better, I thought I would like those novels the best. Instead, I was so disappointed that I never did pick up Wicked, although I've heard from a lot of people that it is great.

Some wonderful authors that I have been able to discover whilst rediscovering fairy tales are: Shannon Hale, Robin McKinley, and Gail Carson Levine. Also, one of my very favorite authors, Orson Scott Card, does a wonderful retelling of Sleeping Beauty, titled: Enchanted.

Mostly I'm writing this post to tell you what I have discovered most recently: a host of books under the title: Once Upon a Time. . . there are enough books in that collection to last me at least a couple of months! And the wonderful thing about it is, if an author can write a good fairy tale, you can be fairly certain they can write any good novel. So now I have a whole new list of wonderful authors (or at least I'll soon find out if they are wonderful) to follow!

"Everything's up to date in Kansas City . . . " ~ Oklahoma

2009-10-12T00:07:00.001-06:00

Check out how cool this library is! Okay . . . it's the outside of their parking garage . . . but still! So cool!

If only there was any other reason to ever visit Kansas City. haha.

"New York, New York"

2009-10-01T02:04:00.002-06:00

How cute are they?

"You are only young once, but you can be immature for a lifetime." - John P. Grier

2009-10-01T01:27:00.005-06:00

It's finally happened . . . I am 23. Actually, I think this might be one of the most boring ages to be. When you're 21, it's awesome because you're 21. When you're 22, it's exciting because "hey! I'm not 21 anymore!" But 23 . . . really it's got nothing going for it.

Oh well, we'll try to make it a good year anyways! Sis. McFadden said that 23 was her best year, so maybe it will be mine too.

I had a fun little party at home this last weekend, so there are no big plans for today. Just some school stuff, work . . . maybe go out to dinner? We'll see I guess.

I do think that everyone who reads this post should leave me a present (i.e., a comment). I've always wanted to see how many people bother to read my little blog, and that seems like the best way to do it (once I had a little counter, but it counted every time I read it too, so that wasn't accurate).

October 1 is: (in addition to being my birthday)

The National Day of the People's Republic of China (est.1949), all of China is celebrating with me!

International Day for Older Persons (of which I am now one . . . maybe not yet).

The day that Walt Disney World opened in Orlando in 1971.

The day Johnny Carson took over the Tonight Show in 1962.

And the day Julie Andrews was born in 1935.

Really, it's quite an excellent day. Hope it's great for everyone! And, remember to comment!

“Cleanliness becomes more important when godliness is unlikely.”~ P.J. O'Rourke

2009-09-28T18:04:00.001-06:00

I love my new vacuum! Being able to vacuum up my room is AMAZING. Seriously, so good.

"Strict punctuality is perhaps the cheapest virtue which can give force to an otherwise utterly insignificant character." ~ John F. Boyes

2009-09-26T01:43:00.004-06:00

You know what important value has been forgotten in our world today? Punctuality.

People these days are late for everything. What is with that? Since when did it become acceptable to

Events you should never be late to:

1. A date. I don't care how many girls have kept you waiting in the past, that doesn't mean that this girl is going to keep you waiting, or wait around for you.

2. A movie/play/anything that has a set starting time. If they weren't planning to start at 7pm, they would have told you otherwise.

3. A dinner party. If someone has spent all day cooking for you, and timing it so that dinner is going to be hot on the table when you get there and you're late . . . how do you think that makes them feel?

You know what? I was going to make a list of things you should never be late to, and a list of things that it *might* be okay to be late to. Then I realized something: IT'S NEVER OKAY TO BE LATE. If someone doesn't care what time you get there, they will tell you they don't care. "Oh, anytime between 4 and 6" means between 4 and 6. Which means that "7" means 7. So just don't be late. There is a reason that you are given a time to be there.

The most annoying thing ever that sparked this blog post? Being almost two hours late to meet to drive together from Salt Lake City to Saint George. Yes, I do want to get home as soon as possible. No, I don't want to sit around with absolutely nothing to do because I didn't everything I needed to so that we could leave at that specific time. I generally try not to complain about people on my blog (because you never know if they're reading this) but that is just ridiculous.

"I stood still, vision blurring, and in that moment, I heard my heart break. It was a small, clean sound, like the snapping of a flower's stem."

2009-09-24T00:51:00.004-06:00

It finally happened! An Echo in the Bone came out yesterday, and you know what? It was totally worth the 3 year wait. Of course, I have my complaints, but as a whole it was great. And, it gave me something to look forward to after the end of Harry Potter. Now I have another 3-4 years and then . . . ? I don't know if I can go on after all the series I am following end! Seriously, after the last Harry Potter book came out, it was like my life had ended. What more was there? What could I look forward to? And then I remembered: Outlander. There was still a little more to life. But after this . . . rumor has it this is the second to last book. Rumor being Diana's website. But, maybe she'll start writing number 8 and realize that it's not really the end. Let's hope so. For my sake.

"Darling, I don't know how to tell you this, but there's a Chinese family in our bathroom."

2009-09-17T00:49:00.001-06:00

I just saw my favorite movie. Well, I suppose I shouldn't go as far as to say that. But, I highly recommend watching (500) Days of Summer. Even though it cautions you in the beginning that it is not a love story, it's one of the best love stories I've ever seen. Seriously, go see it.

“It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis” ~ Margaret Bonnano

2009-09-16T02:15:00.002-06:00

I am so tired of love stories that don't end with "happily ever after". I know that everyone says that's something made up by Disney, it never happens, blah, blah, blah . . . but if we all know it's not realistic and it's not going to happen to us, what's the harm in reading about it?

This summer I finally read Gone With the Wind. I know, it's so weird that I had never read it before. In fact, maybe I have and I just forget? No matter. The point is, I LOVED it. It was a wonderful book. It pulled me in and I couldn't put it down. I haven't had that sort of relationship with a new book in a very long time. It was wonderful. I tried to read as slow as I could so that the feeling could last.

***don't read further if you plan to read this book***

Although Scarlett's life was full of disappointed love and fruitless marriages, I remained convinced that in the end all would work out and she would live happily ever after. After all, Gone with the Wind is known for being a wonderful epic romance. But in the end, Scarlett is left ALONE. She finally realizes she's in love Rhett, after he no longer gives "a damn". I know it's supposed to end upliftingly with the last lines "After all, tomorrow is another day." but that's not the point! It's supposed to be a romance. No one cares that Scarlett is going to be able to live her life alone, we want her to get together with Rhett! The only thing that kept me reading was the hope that one day she would realize she loved Rhett and they would like happily ever after!

After this disappointment with Margaret Mitchell, I finished up my summer reading with a string of sci-fi/fantasy novels. If the author throws any romance into those, you always know it's going to work out.

After a few months, I decided to give romance another try with Forever Amber. Published 8 years after Gone With the Wind, it was not quite as gripping, but still highly entertaining and followed a similar pattern. Girl is young and falls in love with man. Convinces herself she's in love with him, and spend rest of book trying to be with him. Not remembering my past disappointment, I read on, concluding that in the end, Amber would end up with Bruce. But it never happened. Not only did the book not bring Amber and Bruce into the realm of happily ever after, I got the feeling that the book never actually ended! It's as if Kathleen Winsor simply got tired of writing so she stopped.

Well, enough ranting and raving. I actually would recommend both those novels highly. Just not to anyone looking for romance in their lives.

“From the moment I was six I felt sexy. And let me tell you it was hell, sheer hell, waiting to do something about it.” ~ Bette Davis

2009-09-15T17:03:00.002-06:00

"We forget that what matters begins with the imagination." ~ Terry Brooks

2009-09-12T11:22:00.003-06:00

So guess what I did last night? I met Terry Brooks!

And yes, I have read ALL of his books. It was so lucky that I got to see him! I happened to go to the bookstore, and saw a sign that said "Meet the Author: Terry Brooks, Sept.11 6:30 pm" then suddenly I realized that it was Sept.11! Of course, this doesn't quite make up for the fact that Diana Gabaldon is touring pretty much every city except Salt Lake City (scratch that, she's also not going to Vegas, since I would have been willing to drive there for her too). But still!!! It was quite exciting, and he even wrote happy birthday to Ray in a book! And of course he signed a book for me too! "Wishing you magical journeys", yep, that's right! Terry Brooks wishes me magical journeys! I wonder how many years of book signings it took him to come up with that phrase . . .?

"I am what the librarians have made me." ~Bernard Keble Sandwell

2009-09-11T13:18:00.002-06:00

I feel like a lot of things have happened, yet I can't figure out what to write about!

I've started school! Yay! Here are the classes I'm taking:

Introduction to Information Access and Retrieval

Management of Information Agencies

Introduction to the Information

So, it should be a fun semester! Actually, these intro classes seem like they lean a little more towards the boring, but it will lead up to fun classes! I made a 2 year plan and everything. So I'm all set to graduate August of 2011! That is going to come up fast.

I would go into more detail about my classes, but it would just bore, and plus I've got to spend time working on my homework instead of my blog!

"If you're too skinny, it looks like you're near death". ~Kirstie Alley

2009-09-02T01:27:00.002-06:00

So . . . Fall is coming! With that comes exciting things . . .

Such as these:

And these:

And all of these:

It would seem that this will be a wonderful Fall. I finally live in a place cold enough that I could wear the aforementioned boots without looking crazy, and there are adorable boots to be bought in every store!

Unfortunately . . . I have disproportionate legs!!! I've tried on boot after boot after boot, and they fit perfectly until they reach my calves . . . and then they just fall into floppy ugliness . . . Not a boot will stay up. . . I knew I should have played more sports as a child. Then maybe I would have wonderful large calf muscles that can hold up a boot. . . .

"The one charm of the past is that it is the past." ~Oscar Wilde

2009-08-25T22:27:00.002-06:00

SOME PEOPLE have been complaining that I never update my blog . . . So be prepared for the longest update ever! Well . . . if I feel like it. =)

First things first, I have been wanting to write about this FOREVER. So about a month ago or so (maybe longer, who knows?) I went to Logan for the first time (I know, right? Logan, woohoo! NOT . . . jk) and did you know there is a cemetary on-campus? Seriously, it is SO cool. If you have a thing for cemetaries . . . which oddly enough I do. Whilst wandering through the cemetary, we came upon Kay's grave. You may be wondering, who is Kay? Only the creator of "Kay's Fudge", the best fudge in the world! (maybe . . . if we had made it right . . .)

In case anyone would like to try to recreate Kay's fudge, a fudge so great she had it inscribed on her headstone, here it is:

Kay's Fudge

2 squares chocolate

2 tablespoons butter

*melt on low heat

Stir in 1 cup milk

*bring to boil

Add 3 cups sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

a pinch of salt

*cook to softball stage

Pour on a marble slab

Cool and beat and eat

Maybe ours would have worked out better if we had a marble slab? Or knew what the softball stage was?

Let's see . . . what else has happened since the historic day we discovered Kay's fudge??

My friend Erin got "married". Well, she was already married, but they had a reception since they weren't able to last year, and it was beautiful. I would post pictures but they were all on my mom's camera. It was at the Mission Inn in Riverside, Ca.

I also had the opportunity to see my good friend Julie this summer! Again! Usually we only see each other once a year, but this year it was twice! She came to Utah to go to Education Week at BYU with her mother-in-law, and I was able to go to classes a couple of the days.

Hmm . . maybe this post isn't as terribly long as I thought it would be . . . am I forgetting something . . .?

OH YA!!!

I moved!!

Salt Lake City . . . we'll have another update on that later! Ciao!

"Say as you think and speak it from your souls." ~William Shakespeare

2009-07-22T19:13:00.002-06:00

It seems like I've forgotten how to write about my life and I've just been posting random things.

It's funny how all the free time in the summer somehow makes me busier . . .

Happenings in my life lately:

Utah Shakespeare Festival~ As You Like It, and in fact, I did like it!

Hiking the Narrows in Zion~ my old friend Sunny drove down from Provo and it was great!

End of Summer School~ summer class at Dixie ends tomorrow, and then my time at Dixie is really over . . .

Lots of movies~ Harry Potter! The Proposal, Up!, lots of fun movies this summer!

Lots of books~ too bad school is starting and I won't have time to read anymore . . .

Looking for a job~ much harder than you would think! I've only been called to 2 interviews out of at least 25 jobs, and I was totally qualified for all of them!

Looking for an apartment~ there are some crazy people out there, but hopefully I end up with someone nice!

Hopefully things will all fall into place and then I'll have something wonderful to post. I'm going up north for an interview next week, so wish me luck!

"It’s difficult on both sides — the blood-lust on the one hand, the awful pain on the other."~ Alice Cullen

2009-07-01T00:30:00.001-06:00

This is pretty much the funniest thing ever! Well, if you like Buffy . . .

"Woe is the one who, languishing, waits for a lover."

2009-06-09T19:57:00.002-06:00

I'm taking an early British Lit class this summer, and we just read "The Wife's Lament". I really like this translation of it, so I'm going to copy it here:

The Wife's Lament

Full of grief, I make this poem about myself, my own fate. I have the right to say what miseries I have endured since I grew up, new or old -- never greater than now. Endlessly I have suffered the wretchedness of exile.

First my lord went away from his people here across the storm-tossed sea. At daybreak I worried in what land my lord might be. Then I set out -- a friendless exile -- to seek a household to shelter me against wretched need. Hiding their thoughts, the man's kinfolk hatched a plot to separate us so that we two should live most unhappy and farthest from one another in this wide world. And I felt longing.

My lord commanded me to stay in this place. I had few dear ones, faithful friends, in this country; that is why I am sad. Then I found my husband like-minded -- luckless, gloomy, hiding murderous thoughts in his heart. With glad countenance, how often we vowed that death alone -- nothing else -- would drive us apart. That vow has been overthrown. Our friendship is as if it had never been. Far and near, I must suffer the feud of my much-beloved.

I was told to live in an earth-cave beneath an oak tree amid the forest. This earthen hall is old. I am overcome with longing. These dales are dark, and hills high, bitter bulwarks overgrown with briers, a joyless dwelling. Here very often my lord's going away has wrenched me. There are couples on earth, lovers lying together in bed, while at dawn I come out of this cave to sit under the oak tree the summerlong day along. there I weep my exile, the many burdens. Therefore I can never set my cares at rest, nor still all this life's longing, which is my lot.

Should a young person ever be sad, harsh care at heart, he must then at one and the same time have heartache and a glad countenance, although he suffers endless surging sorrows. Whether my friend has all the world's joy at his bidding or whether, outlawed from his homeland, he sits covered with storm-frost beneath a rocky cliff -- my weary-minded friend, drenched in some dreary hall -- he suffers great anguish. Too often he remembers a happier place. Woe is the one who, languishing, waits for a lover.

Apparently there are three possibilities as to the subject of this poem.

1. There is a love triangle between the woman, her lover, and her lord (husband).

2. The woman is the "bride of christ" (the church) waiting for her lord's return (2nd coming).

3. The woman is dead and her voice is coming from the grave.

Personally, I'd rather think of it straightforwardly as a woman who is madly in love with her lord/husband who has had to leave her. Much more romantic that way.

"I would like more sisters" ~Emily Dickinson

2009-05-20T21:36:00.002-06:00

Meet my new "sister"! Camille Erin Jensen-Banks! Okay, I added the Banks. . . My good friend Cami is living with us for 6 weeks while she takes summer school classes. So far it's been fun! Then again, so far we've been leaving every weekend. So . . . after this first long weekend together I'll let you all know how it's really going. ;) We have wonderful plans for a weekend of scrapbooking, so feel free to be jealous (Chelsea- I know you're reading this, come down and scrapbook with us!).

"If it's not fun, you're not doing it right." ~ Bob Basso

2009-05-10T01:10:00.005-06:00

Wow . . . it's been awhile since I have really written anything. Much has happened . . .

Let's see . . . first off, May 1st, Ray and I both graduated. Me with my bachelor's degree in English, and Ray with an associate's degree. It was a good time. The graduation was a little long, but I had a lot of good friends there and my family was able to come, so all in all it was nice.

The day after graduation, Ray and I flew to Orlando! My good friend Julie and her husband, Dusty, are living in Gainesville, Florida while they are going to school, so we went to visit them. We met them in Orlando, along with my friend Dennis, and spent the night there on Saturday night. Then on Sunday, we were off to Disney World! Dennis works for ESPN, so we got into Disney World for free! We went to Animal Kingdom (which is so cool, I highly recommend it) and Magic Kingdom (which is pretty much just like Disneyland, but still cool!). Then we drove to Gainesville.

On Monday, we went to St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. It was really fun. There was a fort, a lighthouse, and an old main street that were all a lot of fun.

Tuesday we went to Rainbow Springs, and kayaked down the Crystal River. There was a turtle sunbathing on the side of the river, and an ALLIGATOR swam across the river right in front of us!!! We also went to Old Micanopy, which is a little town near Gainesville. They filmed Doc Hollywood there in '91, and apparently that's the biggest thing to ever happen in the city since they're still talking about it.

Wednesday was a fun day. We started out at Dunkin Donuts (why do we not have those in Utah?!) and then we drove to Orlando, just stopping at whatever billboard we thought looked cool. So we ended up going to a chocolate outlet store (SO cool!), an antique mall, an outlet mall, and the biggest McDonalds in the world! Which, was surprisingly fun.

All in all, it's been a great week!!

2009-05-01T09:36:00.000-06:00

Graduation Day!