Painting

Today I made a painting for my Grandma who is in the hospital right now. Since she missed home so much, I decided to paint what she'd usually see looking out the kitchen window. Here is a picture of the final product.

It's definitely not the best painting in the world, but I'm sure it'll make her happy.

Something Random

A couple months ago I was looking through my box of writing when I found a poem that I had written, but didn't finish, during my Senior year for my English class. Since I liked what was written, I decided to finish it and share it. We had to write an Ode so here is my Ode to Insanity.

Ode to Insanity
My friend, which cannot be seen with the eye
You give me comfort inside my warped mind
Cackling maniacally when others are nigh
Giving them chills and think you unkind
Only I know you have a sincere heart
To give comfort to those who are in need
The ones who have indeed lost their head
And with that you've done your deed.
Don't be like mom and leave a horse and cart
Otherwise I'd say you haven't done your part
And besides, without you, I'd be better off dead.

You're a blanket of security wrapped up tight
Around those loose headed forms
Which keeps them awake at night
In their enclosed padded dorms.
Running in circles, making a scene
All the others think us as weird
But this is as normal as I can be
It is not something to be feared
Since you are something that cannot be seen
But still, I treat you like a Queen
Because you, my friend, are my Insanity

I only had a few lines into the second stanza when I turned it in. Since I worked so hard on it, I got full credit unlike some other students who wrote a bunch of nonsense, finished it, and received a C. I was very proud of myself. And yes, I know, it's weird, but that's why I like it.

Good News!

Okay, I lied. The pictures didn't come soon, but at least I'm getting them on now.



And Sharon was so proud that I finally got to fifty. I was very hesitant to go too fast. The highest I went was almost 60.
Now, some good news. I took my driving test today and I passed with flying colors. I had no errors! I was so happy. All my worries were for nothing.

Driving

Last Saturday I drove to my Grandparents house. It was a three hour drive, and I made it! I only scared the family once, going to fast around a corner on Scott Mountain. Apparently Jacquie was halfway out the window, screaming, Sharon was flattened against Jacquie, screaming and I think both parents were screaming. I managed not to roll the car though, thank goodness and the rest of the trip was uneventful. Pictures of me driving coming soon.

Update

Wow, it's been a long time since I last put up a post. Well, about three weeks ago my wisdom teeth were taken out. It took about 3-4 days for my left side to feel better and a little over a week for my right side to heal. I'm just glad I can eat normally again.
Something interesting happened to me a few days ago. I unscrewed the light bulbs in my room and placed them on the sewing table. In my sleep. I woke up and saw the light bulbs on the table and realized what I had done. I know I did it in my sleep because for some bizarre reason, in my dream I had removed light bulbs from a fixture. I find it hilarious, it's the first time I've sleepwalked.

Great Way to Start My Summer

I had a Dentist appointment yesterday. While I was there, the hygienist working on my teeth noticed that I haven't had an x-ray on my teeth since 2007. So she gets the x-rays and keeps going back to this one that, to me, didn't look like anything was wrong with it. She then pointed out the very bottom corner of the x-ray to me and said that it looked like my wisdom tooth was growing in sideways. She wasn't sure, so she got the dentist and he looked at it. He needed a better view of it so I had to step into this huge machine and have this thing move around my head. I had to wait for the results and while waiting I was praying that everything was fine. She came out about 10 minutes later and showed me the x-ray. All four of my wisdom teeth are growing in sideways, and are down pretty deep, so I have to go to some other dentist and have him remove them. Everyone has been telling me their "horror stories" about when they had theirs removed. I am so not looking forward to it.

School's Out for Summer!

I had all of my finals today. It was a nightmare, but I survived. I'm so glad that it's over with. My brain is fried right now, I can't think. Chemistry, Psychology and Spanish 2 finals will do that to you. Anyway, I just need to wait for my grades now.

Visit

Jori came up to visit today. He rode the train from San Diego instead of driving because he can't handle the big city driving yet. I was so excited to see him! So was Fletcher.


He kept trying to steal Jori away from me. Thanks Kristie for distracting him. We went to the college to return my books, introduced him to "my Institute Parents", then rode the bus back home. I finally felt like I knew where I was going.
We introduced Jori to Vander today also. He thought he was very cute.
I took a while to get Jori to hold him, but I finally did it! Don't they look so cute together?

Lazy Sunday

A lot has happened in the last few weeks. I attended a "Rock Band Social" at the Institute for a mission farewell. The next day, I went to a dance in Glendale. I didn't know anyone there, but I had a great time. And yes, I did dance. Even though there were only 2 slow dances. I danced both of those too.
Today, a good friend of mine, who goes to the Institute, is getting baptized so I'm going. I'm so excited for her!

Happy Mother's Day

Since I'm not home to give my mom flowers for Mother's Day, I figured I'd show some of the flowers that have been blooming around here.

I know that Lavender is mom's favorite color so when I saw this rose I had to take a picture.






The weather has been absolutely beautiful lately. Hot, but gorgeous. Hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day Mom. I love you!

Hey Mom! Guess What

Go ahead. Guess.

I dyed my hair!

Color Before:

And After:

Do you like it?

Home Sweet Home

Spring Break is coming up soon and I will be returning home for the week.




I really really really really miss the water. That is the one thing I miss the most. Besides my boyfriend and cat. I miss being able to drink it right from the sink and not have to wait for it to filter. The first thing I'm going to do when I get home is drink a large bottle of Weaverville water. I miss the nature too. There is more back home for sure, but the pollen was already out to get me when I got here. So, it seems that I cannot escape my allergies. Although, I'm really liking the weather here! I go swimming almost everyday. If I can stand the temperature without using a jacket, I go swimming. Kristie thinks I'm crazy because it's 60 degrees or so and I'm out swimming in the water that is about the same temp. She just can't keep me out of the water.

Happy Birthday Dad

I hold many fond memories of my dad. Taking walks along Moon Lee Ditch and trips up to the Culvert to go swimming, baking biscuits and pies, wrestling at night before bed, and cooking marshmallows over the barbecue. He taught me to be strong, both physically and spiritually. I am very grateful for his guidance these 18 years of my life. I hope you have a wonderful birthday! I love you.

Update

Here is an update on my life here so far: I held Vander again today. He is the cutest baby I've ever seen. At least, until I have my own of course, but in the meanwhile, he is absolutely adorable!

And on another note. Some of you know that I've been doing the 100 push-up & 200 sit-up challenge. When I began, I could only do 11 modified push-ups (and 1 real push up) and 20 sit ups. I did my 2 week test today and did 31 modified push-ups (I'm able to do at least 16 actual push ups) and 96 sit ups. Yes, 96, and I do not hurt at all right now. I am very happy with myself and have already noticed results. Yesterday I saw that I looked very good in my bathing suit. So I admired myself for a few minutes while the boys waited impatiently to go swimming while I mulled around in my narcissistic ways. Now onto week 3!

New Nephew

I went with the boys to the hospital on Tuesday to see my new nephew Vander. He is so adorable! I got to hold him a few times while we were there. He is so small (to me at least. It's been awhile since I've seen a newborn), yet he's so heavy! My hand became tired fairly quickly, so I had to give him back to Craig.
Kristie is scheduled to come back today. I've been here with the boys for the past few days and they've missed her terribly. I know I can't wait for her to come back. I've missed her too.

Beach

We went to the beach today. It was foggy and a bit chilly, but it definitely was a good day. Mainly because I saw Billy Boyd there. He and his family were sitting next to us at the beach. We didn't notice it was him until we heard him talking. So this is my second celebrity sighting, but the first since I've been here.

Card Making

Kristen and I were going to make cards with a friend of hers last week, but with her trip to the hospital, we had to put it off. So today we went and made them.



This one is my favorite. The embossing was fun!

My Makeover

Here are some of the steps of my makeover:
Before

After


Before

After

And the final product?
Before
After

My Spot

I have officially claimed this corner as mine. This is what I call my cozy spot, since I've made myself completely cozy and at home there.

A better, but still not great day

Well, I found all my classes today. The only class that I have on the ground, is my chemistry lecture class. The lab is on the third floor, and my Psych and Spanish classes are both on the second floor of their building. So I will definitely have uber legs once this semester is over. I already made several friends. One in my Chemistry class, and the others at the Institute of Religion. There's only one girl among these, and she's in my Chem class. So, I had a bunch of Mormon guys flirting with me. One asked me out...subtly, so I acted like I didn't realize what was going on. (Jori, you don't have to worry so don't come raging down here with the intention to kill). At the end of the day, I couldn't find where the bus would be picking people up and ended up missing it. So, I went back to the institute and stayed there until I could be picked up. I am so grateful to the couple running the place. They've been so patient with me. I am so grateful that I can go there for help. I seem to need it a lot.

Not so great first day

My first day at Santa Monica College is definitely one I won't forget. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. 1) It was pouring rain when I arrived at the college. 2) I forgot to bring my schedule with me because I was so frazzled last night when putting my school items in my backpack. 3) My one and only class at the college on Tuesday, wasn't in the room I thought it was. 4) I was soaking wet while I wandered around the campus trying to figure out where to go to find the correct room. (The admissions office was closed) So I went over to the Institute to wait for my sister to help me out and calm my nerves. The couple who run the Institute were very nice and let me cry my eyes out. Yeah, very very very stressful day for me. I've never lived in a big city so when something like this happens, I freak. Or stress out. Anyway, I found the correct room to attend, and I'm totally fine now. I'm in "my spot" in the apartment, sitting all cozy and warm on the bean bags. Yep, I'm all better.

School's Almost Here!!

Well, in two days I will be attending Santa Monica College. I'm a bit stressed out, but we went down and toured the campus yesterday so I know where my classes are (sort of). The buildings were closed so I couldn't go right up to the classroom. Except for the Science building. My actual class is on the ground floor. The picture below is actually taken from the second floor of the building, looking down to the courtyard. My classroom is somewhere along the right side. My lab class though...well, it's on the THIRD FLOOR!!! And the class starts before eight in the morning. So that's how I get to start my first day of school. Running up stairs. The campus is very nice, there is a fountain in the middle courtyard, and there are palm trees lining the walkways. It's fairly small in size, but the height of the buildings make up for the lack of area. So all my classes are nearby, the furthest is a 5-10 min walk and I have nearly a half hour to get there and grab a snack. My days are going to be sooo busy. I already know someone who is going there though! She's in the ward I'm attending so I might see her around. We don't have any classes together, but I may see her when wandering around. Well, wish me luck! Chem and Psychology are going to be killer.

Day 3

It's my third day in L.A. Still haven't gotten settled in, I need to get on that if I want the room to stay semi-clean. Last night Kristie straightened my hair and boy was it different. Pictures will either be posted sometime on my blog or hers. This is only makeover #1 so there will be many more for me to survive for your entertainment.

L.A. Trip

I am now in L.A. The flight went very well. There was little turbulence and I had a window seat so I was happy. No one was seated next to me the entire flight so I was able to have leg room. My first night at Kristie's was different, I only got a few hours of sleep last night, but I woke up at 4:30 this morning, wide awake. I stayed in bed until 6:30 when the boys woke up. It was a good thing I was already awake because they are LOUD. I still need to get settled in. I'll probably end up doing that today when I don't have to keep an eye on the boys. They're having me play Mario Kart right now so I have to go entertain them since Kristie is going to her Doctor's appointment.

Baptism

We just got back from my boyfriend's baptism in Redding. Well, Sharon and I at least. Mom and Dad are doing their shopping and Jacquie went home with a friend to spend the night.



My Dad baptized Jori, joking around that he just may hold him under the water. Jori had to be dunked twice because Dad forgot to say something the first time. Afterward I gave my testimony and ended up crying and making a few others cry. Then Jori made me cry again when he bore his. Then we all went to Hometown Buffet for lunch. Overall, it was a really great day. I've never seen Jori so happy. My heart is full from all the emotions I've felt today. All good emotions though.

Kitty's First Kill

A few weeks back, I'm brushing my hair when I hear my sister scream. Not quite a blood curdling scream, but a surprised scream. This is why:


My baby girl caught her first mouse. At least I wasn't asleep when she got it, or else I would've woken up with a dead mouse on my bed. So, we documented her first kill. It's a good thing we have a mouser in the house. We have too many mice.