Stratford Hall

I need to get the word out. I've have put up with too much. My firm has been trying to get Christmas cards sent out, you know, before Christmas, and Statford Hall, the company we ordered them from has given us nothing but grief. They were slow with our order, so after many emails we discovered they needed confirmation. So we gave them an email confirmation and they sent us one back saying they recieved it and our order would be able to be printed and would get here on Tuesday. Then Monday, we checked the progress, and they hadn't even started printing yet because they hadn't recieved confirmation. So we got the office manager to take care of it for us after sending them everything they had already sent us. She got them to promise that they'd be ready in 48 hours and get to us by Thursday.

We found out yesterday that they were printed and on there way, so yes, they would be here Thursday, today, in the morning. Well, here it is noon and no cards. So we called again and they were received at 9 this morning by someone, but definitely not us. So after all this grief they can't even get our address right. And now we have to track down these cards so we can get them out by Friday. But when they get here it's not like we can just stuff envelopes and send them out, we have to get the attorney's to sign them first. That's 1,000 cards.

So don't ever purchase anything from Startford Hall. And don't let your friends either. Let's boycott, people, please!

Regrets

Have you ever just wanted to do something over? If you're like me, it's all the time. Anyway, we had a work party last night and I just wasn't my usual socially charming self. I don't know why. I was a little nervous, a little lost being there by myself, and overly eager. Isn't it strange how the more you want to impress people the less you do. Well I didn't really relax, and said some stupid stuff. Not really insulting, I hope, but just stupid. I was going for charming and I ended up looking like a goof and a spaz. Which is a shame since I was hoping to be able to hang out with some of the people outside of work. But that might not happen. My husband normally reigns in my subconscious desire to freak people out, but he was gone, and I didn't do so good on my own. Let's redo this one . . . please. Some of these people could fire me and all of them I still have to work with. Why do we even have work parties? At least the food was good.

iPOD ranting

You know how when you were walking down the street a few years ago the only people wearing headphones were people out jogging or exercising, and now everyone wears them . . . yeah that's annoying.

I really don't like iPODs. And those Blue Tooth cell phone head sets either for that matter. What's wrong with using walking time to be able to think. I think we're afraid of reflection. Heaven forbid we should know any more about ourselves. We live in a world were you can live without any human contact--we text message on phones more than actually hearing someone's voice, which is the closest to human contact we get some days, we have instant messagers that let us survive relationships with roommates because we don't actually have to talk to them, and we can do all our shopping online, which cuts out the brief contact with clerks in stores--and yet, with all this time we spend "alone", we are not really alone because will fill that emptiness with so much noise that we can't think. What are we so afraid of?

And we we are at home and not surfing the web, there's always TV because books require too much brain power. We have to imagine scenarios and we might actually relate to a character that could give us insight into ourselves.

Now, lets be honest, though I'm not a hypocrite with the iPODs (I don't own one), I do watch TV, probably more than I should. But I read a novel a week on average, so I don't feel unentitled to my little rant. Thanks for reading.

Mouse Problems

So there's mice in my house. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but they're mostly in the basement. They have come up to the main floor a few times, but when my husband had to scare one away that got too close to us while we were watching tv, that's when I decided that getting a cat might not be a bad idea. True, both of us would prefer to get a dog, but a cat will be good with us not being home like ever. It won't hate us, and will appreciate it's independence and house-ownership.

But it just gets worse . . . the other day, I came home went to get some dinner, opened the silverware drawer to get a fork, and noticed that the chopsticks and toothpicks that I keep in there were shreaded and splintered. Then, I noticed the mouse droppings in my measuring spoons. Gross!! So a mouse with a taste for wood apparently found a way to climb into the top drawer right below the counter and eat and poop! Needless to say, we thoroughly washed everything in the drawer, threw out the wood, and cleaned it. But we are getting a cat before Christmas. An orange cat named Guido.

Gratitude

I have so many things to be grateful for, so I thought I'd start a list in honor of the season, and to make things efficient (which my husband would appreciate, being an engineer), I'll do it alphabetically *not including articles.

A:
Apples I don't know if they keep the doctor away, but I learned to love them in London, where I also developed the skill of eating all of them but the stem.

Atonement because where would we be without forgiveness? which I'm also grateful for, especially being able to forgive myself, which is hard.
B:
Breakfast because nothing builds up an appetite like sleeping 8 hours (if you're lucky). And really yummy breakfast foods are good any time of the day. Breakfast for dinner is the best invention ever.

The color blue since my team won on Saturday. (Go BYU) Why couldn't they have been good when I was actually going to their school?
C:
Chocolate because I wouldn't be a real girl if I wasn't grateful for that. Nothing gets you through a hard day like chocolate.

Children especially my nieces and nephew. They are so cute and I can give them back! The little kids in church are pretty cute to, especially the one that reminds me of my little sister at that age . . . So adorable.
D:
Dreams that include my high school friends that I haven't seen since my wedding or earlier. Like the one I had last night . . . Is Erin Wimmer pregnant?

Dish washers I realized how nice my new dish washer is when everything I previously hand washed seems to end up in there. (I also realized my own laziness.)
E:
Electricity despite the fact that my mother and several others think I was born in the wrong century, I really do appreciate electricity. I may be frustrated by the wiring of my house, but the fact that I can plug in a straightener and fifteen minutes later look fabulous is enough to make me rejoice.
F:
Family holidays are great and despite the fact that I spent about 6 hours putting up my mom's Christmas tree on Saturday, I'm still grateful for them. And for my husband's family. They're awesome. And for all my adopted families . . .

Friends especially the fact that I still have some after getting married. Social suicide? not for me.

Furniture we have some good stuff and it makes our old house look nice.
G:
Gifts not gonna lie, I love getting them. And if I do say so myself, I'm a pretty good giver. I put some thought into mine. And it's fun.

Gratitude it makes every situation better, and turns a bad day around in seconds. It's a sure fire way to happiness.
H:
Heat I love coming home to a warm house. And I'm hoping that maintaining the temp is less expensive than turning it up and down . . .

My Hair not only that I have some, but because I woke up one morning this week and it was freakishly long. Am I the only one this happens to?
I:
Ice Cream Always room for Jell-O? I don't think so. But there is always room for ice cream. And Christmas time means Peppermint flavor . . . yum.

Indoor Plumming can you imagine having to go out to the outhouse in the snow?
J:
My Job they make it really hard to decide to go back to school, since that means I would get less than a year working there. Everyone is so nice and I feel needed. That's always good.
K:
Kindness it's good from strangers, from family, from fellow drivers . . . good skill to learn
L:
Light what did people do before electricity? I would have burned down at least three houses with kerosine. Really.
M:
My Mom was really dedicated to us children and made every break fun. And she never yelled at us from when I was four or so on. I hope I'll be good too when the time comes.
N:
Newspapers since I have to look through them everyday at work, I've discovered the joy of being up on my current events. It makes otherwise awkward conversations go much smoother. And if you feel the need to talk to someone you don't have much in common with, you can expand the conversation exponentially (which can still be pretty short).
O:
Orange juice nothing makes a breakfast like orange juice. Mmmm, so tasty.
P:
Pets I spent a lot of time yesterday being amused by my friend's dog running down stairs, and since we are considering a pet for ourselves (a cat by necessity for the mice, a dog by choice) I'm grateful for their loving, amusing natures.

The Past although sometimes it frustrates my husband and I to talk about it sometimes, and although there's no way to go back and view things without hind sight. I realized yesterday watching the girls in my ward flirt with the boys, that I am slightly nostalgic, and I miss that simplicity, and I'm grateful for my past.

Patience hard to get, highly appreciated in others.
Q:
Quilts we got the most beautiful quilt for our wedding that I love. I love cuddling up with blankets and quilts are just special versions of those.
R:
Real life is so much better than movies. And that's what I looked forward to before I got married, and that's what I love now. Sure, it's crazy and I don't ever get to see my husband, and it's still like a stop light at the Indie500, but I love it.

The Radio my morning show gets me to work every day happy. And my car doesn't have excellent reception, but I get what I need.
S:
School though it's true I graduated, I'm never going to stop going to school. I love learning and after I finish law school, there's always another masters, or photography classes, or a pottery class . . . I could go on.

Surprises I love getting them (like when my husband bought a coat rack) and I love giving them. It's just so fun to keep a good secret for awhile.
T:
Teamwork Kindergarten teachers were right sharing is important, and nothing feels better than knowing people have your back and will come through when you need them.
U:
Umbrellas you never know how much you need them until you need them. And being wet all day at work or school is not fun. Plus mine is a Monet and it makes any precipitation more enjoyable.

Underwear I've never understood why going commando was good, or fun. And nothing makes like easier than a good bra.
V:
My Viola true, I haven't taken it out to play it in about a year, but it made a great object lesson for my Relief Society lesson.
W:
Water the best way to lose weight. Even though I just drink it to stay hydrated. But I couldn't live without it.

My Watch I feel naked without it, and I'm lost without the time.

Washing Machines me and washboards don't mix, unless it's in a band.
X?:
Does anyone have anything for x? I'd be grateful for x-rays, but I haven't had or needed one recently, so I'm not exceptionally grateful for them. Though I am grateful for technology in the medical field, and tv shows like House MD.
Y:
Yarn did you kno you can crochet almost anything? It's one of my favorite hobbies. I have a few afghans, but that also goes back to my love/need of blankets.
Z:
The Zoo of course. I still love going there. And I hear they have some fun things planned for the holidays and a brand new big cats exhibit. Nifty.

Okay so I could go on, but so could you I'm sure, so feel free to post some of yours. Happy Holidays!!

Thanksgiving dinner

So, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday--of all the holidays. Not only is it a non-commercialized opportunity to express gratitude and appreciation for the many blessings of life, but you get to eat lots of really good food.

However, sadly, all of my family is scheduled to be at their in-laws for this, my favorite holiday, which sadened me to no end until my husband suggested that we make dinner and celebrate Thanksgiving the Sunday before at our house, which our family wanted to see anyway. So, despite the fact that my experience as a chef goes back about one month (since I got married, basically), I decided to take on the challenge of making a turkey and all the fixings. Well, almost all the fixings. I let my sister bring the yams since she loves them and volunteered. My other sister brought rolls, and my mom brought pomegranite salad, which is her family's staple Thanksgiving dish, and a personal favorite.

And the good news . . .

everything ended up perfectly. The turkey was great, moist and not overdone. The stuffing I made from scratch (with not much of a recipe) was delicious, which is saying something because I don't really like stuffing. And the green bean casserole was good. Amazing gravy, yummy mashed potatoes (is anyone else hungry now?). And the table looked great. We made limeade from scratch the Brazilian way, that was a big hit. And the house was clean, I had time to look good. But best of all . . . it wasn't even that stressful. We did a lot of the prep Saturday night and we had a solid plan for while the turkey was cooking. Everything came out at the right time and was hot at the same time. It was perfect. And then after dinner, we all got to talk and play games and we had some great bonding moments. I got to know my brother-in-law pretty well, which is great since I haven't seen him much and didn't feel like I knew him at all. And he's great.

Ahh . . . this is why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

Remember when . . .

Remember how I like to play this game with people I know that goes "Remember when . . . " and then some shared event, or not. Like, remember when I wrote that poem about mushrooms? . . . that was cool. Something like that.

Well, it's kind of sad when you start playing that game with yourself. The other day I was playing Chuzzle, one of the MSN games and I got a match which started this killer chain reaction that honestly lasted for about 30 secs straight. It's the longest chain reaction I've gotten from any game ever. So once in awhile while I'm playing this game at work, trying to get past level 10 I say to myself mentally, remember when you got that killer chain reaction? . . . yeah, so do I. That was awesome.

Then I start questioning my mental health. I would say it's a sign that I've been single too long, but I'm not single any more. I'm sure my psychatrist would say it's perfectly healthy . . .

http://zone.msn.com/en/chuzzle/default.htm

Happiness is . . .

getting a new dishwasher, washer and dryer, and kitchen island all in one day.

planning a Thanksgiving dinner for the fam.

seeing an old friend.

having a quiet dinner at home.

learning something new about someone you've known forever.

drinking hot chocolate when your nose is cold.

keeping other people safe on the road (even if they don't necessarily appreciate it).

finally getting a project done.

singing!!

watching your favorite movie.

reading a good book.

having sugar around when you need an extra boost.

remembering someone's birthday.

being warm enough.

being around cute children.

petting a dog.

cuddling up with your husband on the couch.

feeling safe.

feeling needed.

having a job to do.

making a goal.

reaching a goal.

being grateful.


I love Thanksgiving!!!

Mushrooms

This is my ode to mushrooms:

I love mushrooms-
Fungi of my heart
How do you taste so pleasant?

Raw and crunchy
Or baked in garlic and oil
You always make a good thing better.

To the soggy mushrooms I pulled up from my lawn:
I don't feel bad
Because you probably would have killed me
If ingested.

But in the store
You tempt me from your
Styrofoam container and plastic wrap.

I add you to food
Whenever I can
Because you are the Fungi of my Heart.


So, if you share my love of mushrooms and have the desire to go out to eat. You should go to the Olive Garden and get their Portabello Raviolli. It is the most amazing thing I've ever eaten there, or in other Italian restaurants. I highly recommend it.

Advice

I just wanted to tell all the girls out there not to date more than one guy at a time. I know it sounds fun and we all wish we could be players, and it may even sound like the best option because you want to keep your options open and you can't decide how you feel about either one. But it's not. It never ever works. And it doesn't feel like you think it will. It's like how you always want to feel beautiful and wanted and you think that having two guys ask you out for the same dance make you feel good. But then it turns out to be the worst feeling of you life, worse then not being asked at all. . .

Well dating two guys is kind of like that. It's insanely difficult to keep everything straight, especially if they don't know about each other. You'll turn into a liar and that won't make you feel any better. And when they find out, you'll lose them both. I promise. No one likes to be played.

So just say no to dating two guys at once. Make a decision. If you're honest with the second guy up front, he might still be interested in you if things don't work out with the first guy.

And for any guys reading this, I hope you know by now that if you play around with girls' hearts, we black list you. And the Network is a powerful thing that you don't want to mess with. So don't you do it either.

Good times

Can I just tell everyone I love my husband. He's the best.

Yesterday, after I brought him dinner at work (I know, I'm pretty good too), I came home and cleaned the kitchen floor, finally (I swear, the renters before either left in a big hurry, or didn't understand the word 'clean' like I do. I've had to do a lot of work. That was the nice thing about renting apartments in Provo, you HAD to clean before you left, so when you move into a new place, that's one less thing to have to do. Lucky me, I get to do it all. Which reminds me, we need glass cleaner.) I've needed to clean it for awhile now so that we can put stuff in the bottom of our pantry. Anyway, too many gorey details I'm sure. So I finish and I'm just chillin' for awhile until my hubby gets home from work, debating about whether I should try to start arranging my books on the bookshelf, when I hear a car door and then someone opening the screen door. I double checked my watch as my husband wasn't supposed to be home for at least another hour. Sure enough it was him!! Not only did he surprise me by getting off work early so we could spend time together, but he brought me home flowers . . . for no reason. (eat your hearts out girls and good luck finding another good one.) So now I have fresh flowers on my table and a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart. *Sigh*

stressed?

Okay, so maybe I am stressing out a little bit about my job. This morning, right before I got up, I had a dream that the nicest guy in the firm fired me because I had messed up too many phone calls as a receptionist. I couldn't even be a runner. I haven't even been doing this for two weeks yet and they fired me. It was really sad and I felt so lost. I had no idea what I was going to do. And the dream was really detailed because when I got into work, it felt eerie. Then, when the guy who had fired me in my dream came in, it was really weird.

But don't worry, I still have my job. And I don't really mess up phone calls. I just forget people's names and info.

Hooray!

We have heat!!! And the pilot light wasn't even out or anything!! Yeah! You know what this means? This means that when I walk in my house I can take my coat off. I can make dinner faster because I can feel my fingers! I can fall asleep on time because my feet won't be made of ice. I can wake up in the morning and get to work on time because it won't be frigid outside the covers. Hooray!

Now, to just get the heat fixed at work . . .

PS. I feel pretty bad posting so long without pictures. I'm going to have to fix that soon . . .

waiting

So, in responce to Morgan's comment, I will just let everyone know that I haven't gotten the results from the LSAT back yet. It'll be another week at least. But I felt really calm and un-nervous going into the test. I felt really good (but exhausted) after the test, so chances are good that I did well. I'm a pretty good standardized test taker. Too bad you can't really put that on a resume. Anyway, I will let those who care know what my test is, although I probably won't post it here for anyone to see. That's embarassing.

She works hard for the money

Well, I'm working full time now. I like it a lot. I have a great job. Not too stressful, and no homework on weekends. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to leave work and not have to think about it. That's the greatest thing about graduation. And as soon as I get my house in some sort of working order, I'll be able to read whatever I want to, and take as long as I want doing it. I would be able to read now, but let's face it, whenever I pick up a good book, I can't really do anything hugely productive until I finish it, so I'm exhibiting self control and waiting until everything's livable first. But it is good not worrying about midterms . . . or finals . . . or deadlines. Yeah, life is pretty good right now.

Rules of Life

So, to start out my married life, I will give those women out there the rules of life that they should live by. These rules should be in place regardless of marital status, though most of them apply more directly to those who are single.

1- Never date a project.
2- No nuddie shots (they will only haunt you later).
3- Never get involved with a married man.
4- Never be the rebound girl.
5- No hunting (of men). *
6- People are more important than things.
7- Individuals should get attention over groups.
8- Never kiss someone because you feel obligated.
9- No love triangles.
10- You can't make someone fall in love with you (and visa versa, upside down, inside out, backwards).
11- Don't divulge your personal life to strangers (otherwise known as: don't cast your pearls before swine, especially on a first date).
12- Never eat anything in a bathroom.*

5* There are many addendums and exceptions to this rule. And it would be difficult and tedious for me to list them all here. The Rule of Thumb with this rule: we all know girls who are hunters, and no other girl likes them. So take a step back from your situation and ask yourself if you are being annoying, or get a good friend to tell you. If you have questions about your own particular case, feel free to comment and we can start a email dialogue. I always like to hear personal stories. (Wow! I kind of feel like a radio talk show)

12* I've considered adding something to this rule, or making it a rule unto itself: never talk in a bathroom, especially on your cell phone. Gross! We'd all be better off if you don't. Personal conversations can be awkward too, that is, if you're in the bathroom to take care of business. I have to clarify because this is the girl's rules of life, and bathrooms are great places to carry on conversations without worrying about men overhearing.

So, I take suggests to the Rules, most people have them. But I will give out a warning. The Rules of Life are meant to apply generally. If I had known them in high school, my life would be better today. And they're my list, so I may or may not use any suggestions. I'll still enjoy any that I get, though. This list is fluid, however, so there could be additions at any time. I'll post them separately, so you won't have to keep reviewing old stuff. I'm nice like that.

married woman

So, despite the week's worth of pre-wedding stress. I got one perfect day. It really was. The weather cooperated and even though we had to move the open house inside, it was much warmer and there was plenty of light. It was so much fun. So just to dispell any horrible thoughts anyone who wasn't there might be having, let me show you what I actually wore. Much better than the DI alternative. I will post some wedding pictures, you know, with me actually in the dress, in a week or so when I get those back. I missed everyone who didn't make it. It was such a relaxed day that I really did notice who was there and who wasn't. But it was a Thursday, so you are all forgiven. Besides, I'm really happy right now.

Actually, you can see a pic of me in my dress with my friend on her blog. http://morganmallory.blogspot.com There's a pic of my cake there too, since she made it.

Wedding Dress Shopping

I went wedding dress shopping on Saturday. It was really wierd. Fun . . . but wierd. Fun because I love dressing up and let's face it, wedding dresses are pretty much the ultimate. Weird because, well it was me in a wedding dress. And who ever thought that I, Queen Independence herself, would be getting married, and so soon. But despite the strangeness of it all, I think I've found the dress for me. It's beautiful, I know. And fairly cheap, DI has some great deals.

Pics

Here are the pics. Please don't send me any more hate mail. And please still come to my open house.

Details

Okay, so when I wrote my email to everyone making my announcement, it was really late at night, and because it’s check out time, work has been crazy, so I’m sorry for not getting this up sooner. Please don’t hate me and not come to my open house. Anyway, here are the details on how he asked me. First, a little necessary back ground. For my birthday, I had my roommate do a photo shoot with me. Later she printed off some of the pictures. She had two 8x10s of the same picture that the printers messed up the color on, so I decided to give one of the pictures to Johnny. On Thursday, I met Johnny after my class in Salt Lake and we hung out in the city. My car was still by the Salt Lake Center, so that’s where we parted company. I told him I had a present for him and gave him the picture. We had a conversation that when I told me roommate about made her check for a ring. I thought she was crazy since I didn’t intent to get married any time soon. However, that night I did decide that I did want to marry Johnny. Coincidentally, that was the day Johnny decided to propose. On Saturday when I was going to see him next, we were planning on going to breakfast. On the way to his car, he told me he had a present for me. I thought that was sweet but unnecessary, since I had just given him a picture with no strings attached. He told me it was a poem, I asked if it was a limerick. (I had just written one for my biology class that I read to him, I’m not insane) He said it was more like a Shel Silverstein poem and that he had been trying to write me one for awhile. I told him about how I lost my VL over a poem. (He didn’t really appreciate that right before he proposed, but I was clueless) He drove past the turn off to go to breakfast, and when I asked about it, he said that I had to read the poem under a tree. So we drove up by the Provo temple, in the field below it is a big pine tree that he had picked on his way to my apartment. When I got out of the car, he gave me the poem and a red rose (first time he’s ever given me a red one), which I thought was cute. I read the poem underneath the tree. He was right, it was like a Shel Silverstein poem, but it was romantic too. After I finished, I said thank you (still clueless, although when he stood up to help me up, I was grateful that he didn’t stop on his knees) he gave me a hug and said something cute like that he wanted to be with my forever, then he got on his knee and asked me to marry him. I said “yes, of course” and he said “really?” I ended up saying yes about four times. I guess Johnny’s parents had asked him if they thought I would say yes, which was the wrong thing to say. The poor boy was so nervous he was shaking. After I said yes, he told me he had another present for me. He gave me a dozen red roses. Then we went out to breakfast and picked a date. Then we went ring shopping and I picked out my ring myself. I think it’s pretty.

Reader's Digest

This is for all of you that didn’t even know I was dating anyone. I’ll tell you the Reader’s Digest version of how we met. I’ve known Johnny since I was 9 and my family moved onto his street. From almost the beginning, I picked him out as the cutest boy in the ward. So I had a crush on him for years. We were born the same year, so we’ve always been in the same Sunday school class, and I would sit by him and make him talk to me because he was pretty shy. Right before high school, the language departments in my middle school went on a trip to Europe and Johnny and I both went. I got to know him pretty well and still liked him, but I learned that he wasn’t going to my high school, so shortly after the trip I decided that I should get over him since I wouldn’t see much of him. When I heard through the grapevine that he was dating someone during our sophomore year, that sealed the deal, and I got over him. Half way through my junior year, Johnny transferred to my school. We were in theater together and auditioned for the winter play. We both made it in, which meant going to a theater conference. At the theater conference, my best friend and I decided to make Johnny our project, bringing him out of his shy bubble by flirting shamelessly with him. This was kind of our thing during our junior year. However, during this process, in the three days of the conference, Johnny and my best friend hooked up. I wasn’t upset about this, since I had in reality ended my crush on Johnny, but I was disturbed that in 6 years of crushing on him, I had gotten nothing and in three days, my best friend became his girlfriend. The day after the conference, Johnny’s family moved to Florida for six months. Right before he got home, his relationship with my best friend ended. So the summer before our senior year I became his “shoulder to cry on”. We became best friends, which was nice because for the first time in any friendship with a guy, there was no romantic tension—I knew I didn’t like him, and I wasn’t worried about him liking me. However, around Christmas of that year, things started to change. I always knew that when I fell in love, it would develop from a friendship, and that’s what started happening. Sadly, however, I didn’t really act on that, and Johnny got a girlfriend. That was tough, but the thought that got me through was that she would get married and he would realize what had been in front of him all the time. And that’s exactly what happened . . . except that I wasn’t interested when he came around. I’ll admit it, I played hard to get when he got home. That only lasted until our first date. I decided a relationship was worth pursuing. However, I left to London on my study abroad after our third date, and while I was there, I realized that I owed another guy an opportunity before I invested too much into my relationship with Johnny. When I got back, I learned that the other guy, a missionary, had gotten engaged in the month since he’d been home, which broke my heart, so I told Johnny that I’d need time. So I moved down to school, and started my job and we still hung out every few weeks. Around the end of September we started dating again, and you already know the end of that story.

A call for more firesides

I think we need to have more firesides on Sundays. Because when we don't, nice innocent girls like me and my roommates start getting crazy ideas that boredom and free time bring into fruition. After Ward Prayer a few weeks ago, I thought that my apartment should do another photo shoot, but this time I would give my roommates makeovers. I don't know who came up with the punk idea, but these are the results:























I'm happy to say I'm responsible for all of this. I even made my roommate skip work. I was a real devil's advocate that night. (She wasn't feeling good in the first place, so it wasn't that hard, and not as bad as it sounds.)



We decided we kind of looked like a punk band, so we gave ourselved a punk band name Tree of Life (in honor of the Tree of Knowledge statue where we took the group shot) and we put together a CD for each other. It's pretty much the best CD ever. So please, don't let this happen to your friends, nice girls, lobby for more firesides on your Sundays.

Ceramics Projects

Okay, so I know it's been like 20 years since I've written and you all think I'm a huge slacker and not good for a single promise, but it's not my fault. Well, maybe it is a little. I needed to get some pics from my roommate before I could show you all the joy that is my ceramics projects. And who wants to move on to this term's news before finishing off last term? That's what I thought. Anyway, you can know bask in my new awe-inspiring talents. (PS: I'm definitely going to take up ceramics as a hobby, especially the wheel because I need a lot of practice on it.)

First project: The Game Cube

This is a view of all four sides. The top comes off and the inside is all black and therefore too boring to show (plus it doesn't look that great. Luckily black is very forgiving). The bottom does still look like a die and the whole thing sits on the six dots. I was planning on putting card decks or pieces of games that always get lost like dice or timers so when you need one you can just open up the lid and get one. By the way, I should be a hand model. Wow! Anyway. . .

2- Tribal Mask


We needed to have tribal reference in this project, so I looked up a lot of pictures online to see what I liked. This is a combination of two different African mask designs. But even though I took liberally from their ideas, all it basically gave me was the basic shape, the nose and forehead, and the mouth. The rest I came up with using my knowledge from my African-American lit class and my imagination.

I was really happy about the snakes. I didn't think I'd be able to make them look like snakes, and I know the picture isn't the best to view, but they look super cool. Snakes are very significant in African religions. The colors also have significance, but I don't want to sound like a pseudo-intellectual explaining it all right here, so just admire and know that there is a reason for the shapes and colors.

I was a lot happier with this project than I thought I would be. I think I'll hang it on the wall of my future library by my ethnic literature section.

3- The llama box

My favorite animal is the llama, so when we had to have an animal reference for our boxes, the choice was obvious. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to shape the head the way I would have liked, so it looks less realistic than I wanted. But I am planning on attaching fake eyelashes to it to make it even cuter.

Piece of trivia about this piece: the glaze is called Bleeding Armadillo as in the movie Steel Magnolias.





4- The bowls


The glaze on these is just horrible. They were supposed to be lavender. Luckily the pictures are forgiving. And they are very small and mostly off center. Oh well, it took forever to get these substandard peices, so I didn't have time to be a perfectionist. I was just happy to get anything I could use off the wheel. It's a lot harder than it looks on the movie Ghost.

I use the two smaller ones for condiments. They work great for dipping, not too big. They're great for glazing/marinating too. The top one has a crack in it, so it holds my rings and stuff on my desk.

5- The yarn basket

It took forever to make this look like a basket. Seriously, like many hours figuring out how the weaved pattern could work on clay. I didn't make it shiny so that it would look even more basket-like. But I'm very happy with it. The purpose of this basket is to store my projects and let me work on them without the cats attacking the yarn ball. The places where the basket makes points I can string yarn through and it will unravel as I pull it to make crocheting easier. It has a lid so no one has to see the projects and for cat purposes. The lid broke twice in the kiln so I had to glue it back together and it's pretty sad. And the glazes turned out horribly, so I'll just paint over those.

But there's a secret compartment in the yarn so I can put my hooks and needles and scissors and not lose them. Plus I'll be able to get to them without taking the lid off. Pretty nifty design, huh? Yeah . . . That was all me. I like it.


Well, ceramics was lots of fun, and like I say, I'm going to keep it up as a hobby. Very stress relieving.

celebrity status

Having my job is really strange. Especially for someone like me with a fairly severe and long lasting inferiority complex. People that I've only met once or twice briefly call me by name whenever they see me because they have to remember my name, I'm an important person for them to know. It's so strange to have people say your name where ever you are and not to necessarily be able to return the favor. But let's be honest, that's partially why I took this job. I thought it'd be good for me to be in this position, where I know what's going on, where it's normal for people to know me. It's strange, but not quite in a bad way.

pranks

My roommate likes to play pranks on people. Last semester, she taped newspaper to my door frame, then stuffed the space between it and my door full of packing peanuts. I caught her that time, she's never been caught before. She wasn't my roommate then, so catching her was a pretty big deal.
This semester she stole my keys, as you can see here. Picked them right out of my pocket, no less. You see, I don't like to stuff them all the way into my pocket because it gets too bulky. So I leave the lanyard sticking out and it's all knotted up and stuff. And at the time I was wearing my kakis which have side pockets instead of front ones, so they fall out all the time when I'm on the couch.
Anyway, she came back to my room and did the following:










She put my poor little Serta sheep in prison. Doesn't he look so sad. The prison is her Fencing mask, in case you were curious.


I, of course thought this was hilarious.



Just like when a few weeks later, Helen brought home a chef's hat from work, and then the next day I found this:

I think he's adorable. Probably the best he's looked.

Yes, it's fun to have a pranking roommate. The other night I had stayed up rather late finishing a book that had me bawling at the end (which I haven't done in quite awhile, it was refreshing), so I was pretty drained in the morning when I had to wake up to open the doors. Little did I know that during the night (she works from 7pm-4am most nights) she had decorated my door yet again.


So when I opened my door in the morning, all the toilet paper fell into my room. I stood there for probably two minutes just figuring out how to get out of there. You can't see it really well, but she taped seran wrap to the frame and wrote on it backwards, so I had all these messages to read from the inside of my door standing in toilet paper up to my ankles. I felt loved in a tired sort of way.

So when I finally got out, I got her back. I knew she had only been sleeping for a few hours, so I figured she wouldn't wake up when I went into her room. If I hadn't dropped her camera charger right by her head, she wouldn't have woken up and things would have been perfect. She would've had just as nice of a surprise when she woke up as I did. As it was, she still didn't know what was going on. So I guess the pay back was successful.

I like college!

bad movies

So I stayed up way too late the other night watching one of the worst movies ever made that have stolen time from me. Yes, I wasted at least two and a half hours that I'll never be able to get back, and even more sad, I could have been sleeping. So sad. So, in honor of this pathetic occasion, I have decided to compose a Top Ten Worst Movies I've Ever Seen list, in order one being the very worst of all time. Not that I'll be able to complete it now, but here's just a taste:

1- Just A Walk in the Park
This one is an ABC Family original production . . . enough said. Not Jane Krakowski's best work (I saw her in London). But it did create some fabulous bonding between me and one of my first roommates.

2- I Love Trouble
This was the movie in question from the other night. Why would any smart journalist, like Julia Roberts is supposed to play, sleep with a guy after accidentally getting married after he abandons her barely clad self to be gawked at by a boy scout troup . . . with cameras!

3-Star Wars II: Revenge of the Sith
It's a shame when men become so rich that people are afraid to tell them that they can't write. Lucas's scripts are awful. And I'm an English major, I can tell bad writing. This one was the worst yet. Luckily for me I haven't seen the third one yet. Is everyone in that movie blind to Anikan's humongously dark aura. And poor Natalie Portman, she delivered all of her lines as if she was ashamed to have to speak such horrible dialogue. And did anyone really belive her reaction to Anikan's news that he had just killed an entire villiage, not just the men, but the women and children too. Hello! don't comfort the boy, run! That's a giant red flag!

4- Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
Again, the script is horrible, but the acting is even worse. Who was in charge of hiring that little boy to play Anikan. And Jar Jar . . . don't get me started. It's a good thing the other ones are classics.

5-Autumn in New York
First of all, I don't like Richard Gere. I'm sorry but he is not attractive. He acts like he is, and his attitude has fooled millions, but he cannot fool me. Secondly, there was far too much tongue shown in this movie, and he was in love with Winona Rider's mother before he started on her. Does no one else see so much wrong with this senerio?

6-Election
I really am a Matthew Broaderick fan. He's done some great stuff, but this movie isn't on that list. And with Reese Witherspoon this movie appears to have a lot going for it. But don't be fooled, the lying, cheating and stealing and the cover ups that go with them that normally make a good movie combine horribly in this film, which just ends up crude. It definitely left me with a dirty taste in my mouth.

7-The Remake of The Music Man
Here's another Matthew Broaderick flop. Not even Victor Garber could save this movie. I just didn't think any of the filming looked original. They tried to copy the first one, which is classic and brilliant, but ended up with a sad second. Word to the wise, if you're going to remake, actually remake something, rethink the point and make it relivant. Plus, the singing in this wasn't that refreshing. I was disappointed.

8-The Home Teachers
I'm not a huge fan of any so called "church films", but this one was particularly horrendous. So here's a tribute to all those film makers who just don't know when to stop.

9-Fear Dot Com
I don't like scary movies, but this one was just stupid. I'm a little ashamed to say I've seen it. But it was a remarkably unscary scary movie. And I scare easily. It was predictable not original, with no really scary ghost or presence, and no good plot. A good scary movie should have at least one of these things.

10-America's Sweethearts
An all time low on the romantic comedy front, despite its all-star cast. Billy Crystal is just crude as a writer. This was just a headache movie, if you know what I mean. The only thing worth watching it for is for a glimpse behind the scenes of hollywood. And what you hope behind-the-scenes is never like (but secretly think maybe it is).

As with all my lists, this one is still fluid and is subject to change upon further contemplation.

Interview

I got interviewed the other day by a friend of a girl in my hall. She is in a newspaper class and needed to interview a stranger and I volunteered. Mostly we talked about my job and what impact it had on me and the girls in my hall. She asked me what I would wish for the school, and I said that I wish the students here would be more open-minded. I think in this culture we tend to be superficial and try to hide our flaws because we think that if we aren't perfect, other's won't think the gospel is perfect. So we try to conform to the hive mentality around us. But we are such a supportive and friendly culture that if we just opened our eyes and our hearts to those around us struggling with issues like homosexuality or eating disorders or things like that, then we could be help to those around us. But some many people choose to close their eyes. . .

Anyway, I was really glad that I got to do this interview because it's been a tough week at work. I hate cleaning checks. I have to be the inforcer, the police man, and I hate that role. Plus they're time consuming and annoying. It was nice to remember why I'm doing this job, why I decided to keep doing this job until August. It's hard, but I am making a difference. I've met some of the most incredible people though this job as well. This is a picture of the other people I worked with last year. They were all amazing people. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have made it. Honestly. (Also notice my beautiful Diva tree in the background. I had a lot of fun making the decorations for that.) Okay, so I'll post the pics later, when my blogger is cooperating.

changing

I must say I think it's ridiculous to change your clothes more than four times in one day. Especially when you don't really look decent in any of the outfits. Nevertheless, I did just that on Monday. It was sad to me. But I guess when you get up at 6am, you have time to do things like that.

Still in School

I'm still down at school this Spring/Summer. This picture was taken in the good old student center. I like this pic cause I pretty much always have a book with me. My latest thing is reading while I walk, which doesn't take as much talent as you might think. In fact, the only hard part is adjusting to artifical light when I walk into a building. It's like the sun reflecting off snow in the winter.

Anyway, I'm still here in school this term because of Bio 100. Yes, the GE got me in the end. So I'll graduate in August. Right now I'm taking an English class and Ceramics. I'll have to post some pics of my amazing projects. They've been a lot of fun.

So I'm still working on campus in the dorms. I've been working here since last August and I'll be until I graduate. It's a hard job, but I've enjoyed it . . . most of the time. It's hard to explain what I do for those who have never done it themselves. Basically, it's a 24/7 job. I live in the hall and take care of things there, so I never get to leave work and work, cause work is my home. More on work later, I'm sure.

Welcome

So, this blog is a response to all the comments from my friends that I never speak to them. And in truth, I am horrible at keeping up with my correspondence. So now, instead of sending out lots of emails, I'll just post here and theoritically those of you who care can catch up with my life this way. Now (assuming I post regularly) those of you with complaints will have no one to blame but yourselves.