jennifer

Christmas?

2011-11-12T17:31:00.000-08:00

I know it's not time for Christmas yet....but I got excited. And I wanted stockings. So I made some! woo hoo! they are kind of a funny shape...but I thought they were pretty fun anyway. Well.. I'm in no way a seamstress...so I was proud of myself. Here they are!

I am just super excited for Christmas this year! Since I'm not going home for Thanksgiving it makes me even more excited for Christmas. And Daniel is coming home...and the whole family is going to be together. It's gonna be a partaayy!!!

Bored Blogging...

2011-10-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

So.. I am quite bored/ sick of seeing the same blog post every time I open my blog. Therefore, I am going to do a random update/ catchup of things I haven't blogged about yet.

So... This semester I am only taking 4 credits and do not have a job... Therefore, too much free time. I have been working on some interior design competitions to fill up some time, but still that doesn't even compare to the work load that I am used to. I have been spending way too much time on pinterest... trying lots of new recipes, trying to find cheap ways to jazz up the apartment, cleaning, and trying to learn how to paint (without much luck). Anyway... this was not what I wanted to blog about... So.. let us go back in time a couple months.

In August, before coming back to Idaho, Justin and I went to a Sounders game. I think soccer is probably my favorite kind of sport to watch, and going to a game was absolutely insane! We marched to the stadium with a ton of other fans and were on our feet the whole game! It was beautiful weather, we had great seats, and the game was fantastic (we won). Oh goodness... I love Seattle!

Before the beginning of the semester Justin and I went with our friends, Stephanie and Steven, to Yellowstone! It was SO much fun. Nature is so crazy. Stephanie and Steven live in the same apartment complex as us, therefore, we get to see them ALL the time! It's great! I love friends! Oh yeah.... Yellowstone. We drove lots, camped in the freezing cold weather, made fire, saw bison, and smelled several geysers (they are awesome, but they sure do stink).

We did not see any bears at Yellowstone..... super lame! Right? Luckily, Justin's grandparents came to visit and we went to BEAR WORLD! Aka the best place EVER! Big bears, baby bears, bears everywhere! Plus, I saw Bambi. Yay!

Our new apartment!

2011-09-08T12:52:00.000-07:00

here you go Mom and Linda!

Here is our new apartment, it has two bedrooms, a washer and dryer, and a walk in closet... I'm a fan.

Our family room.... I wanted to add a little more color so I repurposed a little side table

Before... $10 D.I. find

After... a little tiffany blue paint and a new glass knob. It's a little crazy, but I think it's fun.

The rest of the room

The "dining room"/ our new barstools

The laundry is basically in the kitchen... So I decided to put up some curtains, pictures, and a lamp to separate the spaces a bit.

The rest of the kitchen

the office/ Justin's domain/ the den/ the spare room. It's a little bit messy still...but It's an office...it's bound to happen.

Our bedroom... looks the same as last year...except we have a walk in closet now... So that's fun!

There it is! Pretty exciting right?

One Year

2011-07-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

Justin and I just celebrated our first anniversary last Saturday. It is pretty awesome/ amazing in my opinion. Somehow we ended up partying for almost a week...what a perfect way to celebrate. Justin's sister and her husband came to visit, which added even more fun to all the adventures. I was off work for the week...so things worked out. I'll break it down.

Monday
The Fourth of July!!!
Fireworks... barbecue.. a great way to start off the week. We went to Justin's grandparents for a barbecue then to Celebration Park for the firework show. Always tons of fun

Tuesday
Apparently the ports are closed on July 5th every year...and since Justin works at a warehouse that relies on shipments from the port, he ended up not having to go to work. We wanted to spend the day doing something fun and the weather was gorgeous. We thought a hike seemed like a good idea. We ended up hiking Little Si... I almost died. I am so out of shape. I want to hike Mt. Si by the end of the summer...it's about twice the size. Little Si is about 5 miles roundtrip and a 1200 foot elevation change...Mt. Si is about 8 miles roundtrip and you hike up 3,150 feet. We'll see if I can do it ever. Anyway... Little Si was a lot of fun and a beautiful view!

Wednesday

Wednesday was the one day Justin ended up having to work... So not much partying during the day. That night we went bowling with Justin's family. Both of us have our own bowling shoes and bowling balls...so we look pretty legit (not that I play very legit).

Thursday

Thursday we went to Ocean Shores! Jessica's husband, Randall, had never been to the Washington coast before, so we had to take him to see it. It was pretty chilly out, but luckily the rain held out and we stayed nice and dry.

Friday

On Friday we headed out for our weekend trip to Victoria. I have never been so I was excited to finally go. Friday we drove to Port Angeles to take the ferry to Victoria. We got there in the afternoon so we walked around doing some general exploring and sightseeing.

Saturday

On Saturday we started out eating some brunch at a Dutch Bakery. It was fun being surrounded by Delft Blue and Dutch curtains...I even got to eat a croquette..yum! We then headed over to the Royal BC Museum. It's a really big, fun, and impressive museum! We spent several hours there in order to see everything. In the afternoon we walked around more and walked about a million miles to see some castle (I don't know if it was worth it). We also took a tour of the parliment building, which is very beautiful and impressive. That night we ate at a delicious restaurant on the bay called "Milestones"..we thought it was an appropriate place to eat for our anniversary dinner, which I consider a milestone. After that we walked around the bay area, which is just beautiful at night!

Sunday

Sunday we headed back on the ferry to Port Angeles in the morning. Once we got back to Port Angeles to headed to the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim. It was so much fun! You get to ride in your car and feed all sorts of animals bread. They seriously eat right out of your hand..it is so crazy! At one point we got completed surrounded by llamas who were practically attacking the car. Later on we got to the bison which was a little scary. I swear..these things are twice the size of the car and VERY dirty/ smelly. We tried feeding one and it stuck it's head ALL the way into the car. Oh my goodness... I was kind of freaking out. After we thought a HUGE bison was going to sit on/ squish the car we figured we'd better hurry up and get out of that area. there were bears too (don't worry...they were behind a little fence so they don't bite your hand off) they were adorable and funny. One of the bears would shake it's paw when it wanted more bread, another one would just open it's mouth and wait there until you threw it some bread. they were so cool! There were lots of fun animals!

My thoughts at the moment: Las Vegas style

2011-04-27T00:16:00.000-07:00

I think I would be okay with living the life of the rich and "kind of" famous

I just saw the show La Reve at the Wynn hotel. It was amazing. It was kind of like an awesome mixture of acrobatics, synchronized swimming, ballroom dance, magic, and plain old amazing awesomeness! SO SO SO cool!

My work is published in a magazine...I feel really cool!

My feet have about 20,000 blisters...but worth it

There is more than one convention center in Las Vegas, make sure you go to the right one

Cocktail parties are fun...especially when you are with a group of 12 people who don't drink alcohol...and all you know how to order are virgin margaritas

I ate some filet mignon today that is probably more expensive then my life

Did I mention I would be okay being rich and famous?

Party Party Party!

2011-03-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend we headed to Provo for a day of partying and adventures. We left Friday afternoon and came back Saturday evening...so it was a VERY quick and even busier trip. We hitched a ride with Stephanie and Steven since they are SO awesome.

On Friday after we got into Provo we went to eat at Brick Oven, which is a super good pizza restaurant and one of Justin's favorites. He was appalled that I had never eaten there...so we had to change that.

After Brick Oven we headed to the nickel arcade. Stephanie and I had gone last year with my friends Adam and Katie and had tons of fun...so we thought we should go again. At the nickel arcade most of the games cost a nickel or two...so you can have hours of fun for only a couple bucks. It was great. We were able to get enough tickets for two friendship bracelets (Justin lost his...mine broke), one of those little plastic popper things (it doesn't work), and two bouncy balls (awesome). My favorite game is the classic skee ball, I would highly suggest it.

Friday morning we headed to Spanish Fork for Festival of Colors. This is our second year going, it is way exciting. It's a Hari Krishna tradition where you throw colored chalk at each other to bring in the spring.

Before

after

Justin and Keith decided to be more prepared than last year with masks and goggles...looks a little silly...very useful.

The whole gang

partying in the car on the way back

(after awhile the colors just start to look like dirt)

After we got all cleaned up from the festival of colors (at least as clean as you can get...I think it will take a few showers to fully recover) we headed to Ikea. Stephanie and Steven are getting married this summer so they wanted to check out Ikea to plan for their apartment next year (they are going to be our neighbors...it is going to be awesome). I love Ikea...it is alway an adventure

The next stop on our journey was the Real Salt Lake match. It was my very first major league soccer match and it was a ton of fun. Real made a goal in the first two minutes of the game...so I knew it would be a good game. The end score was Real Salt Lake 4 and LA Galaxy 1. We pretty much dominated. Justin and I want to try and go to a Sounder game this summer.

After the game we headed back to Rexburg since Stephanie and Steven had to get back for church for a musical number. The drive was kind of intense...there was a random blizzard and/or rainstorm in the mountain pass before Pocatello. That wasn't much fun. But we did get back to Rexburg late at night/ early in the morning. Justin and I made the mistake of not setting our alarm for our 1:30 church (we didn't think we had to). We slept through it. I am embarrassed. So today we have been bums laying around the apartment. In all honesty it is kind of nice, we got to rest up before our crazy finals week.

I want this.

2011-03-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

Growing up is WAY overrated.

Ants.

2011-02-28T23:08:00.000-08:00

So...over a year ago there were a couple flies in my apartment that were driving me insane....so I wrote a hate poem about them. Now there are ants in our apartment EVERYWHERE and they are only getting worse.... I swear we are clean people...they just won't go away. It's getting out of control and I don't feel like writing another poem, but I feel like my feelings towards the flies conveys the same for the ants. So here is my poem...

Flies

Nasty Buzzy

Annoying fuzzy

I hate you.

You hide…then BAM…

...there you are again..

Zooming past my head!

WHY AREN’T YOU DEAD?

The spatula was my first thought

And yes, it worked just once

But then every time I make pancakes

I’ll think of your sick little stunts

The vacuum….yes…the vacuum

An ingenious idea

But false, you’re much to fast

And when I come close you hear

I see you in the corner of my eye

You even make me jump a little

I really think you need to die

I could kill you and get an acquittal

I’ll get you little buggers

I hate you just that much

You better watch your back

Or you will be in my deadly clutch

Famous.

2011-02-22T22:30:00.000-08:00

So...I was thinking earlier today about the famous and/or noteworthy people I have met and/or seen in my life. Since I am old and forget stuff (I'm pathetic) then I figured I had better write it down so maybe someday I'll remember. I will divide it into some categories that I will make up as a I go.

People I have met and by that I mean been within 5 feet of

Justin Timberlake, Joe Fatone, Lance Bass, JC Chasez, and Chris Kirkpatrick

aka Nsync (saw them get onto their bus after a day of stalking in Seattle as well as two concerts)

Jemaine Clement, from Flight of the Conchords (checked his guitar/bag while working at the airport)

Sanjaya Malakar HAHAHA not sure if he counts as "famous", from American Idol (also saw him while working at the airport, I told him he had to wait in the long line with everyone else...sucker)

L. Tom Perry, member of the quorum of the twelve apostles ( I shook his hand at stake conference, it was glorious)

People I have seen from a distance aka a concert or other even of some sort

Ludacris

Bow Wow

E40

Ray J

T.I.

Kelly Clarkson

Crosby Stills Nash and Young

John Mayer

Sheryl Crow

Thomas S. Monson

Wayne Newton

Joey Lawrence

Drew Lachey

Brittany Spears

Newt Gingrich

Well...I'm sure I missed quite a few actually, I can't really think right now. Or they weren't famous and/or cool enough to make the list.

But it's kind of fun.

Bangs. and Logan.

2011-02-20T15:47:00.000-08:00

So bangs are the most confusing things in the world. I spent months in the awkward growing out my bangs phase. Then I had about two months without bangs. Then I got really sick of not having bangs. So I have bangs again...and they are great. Moral of the story: just don't grow out your bangs EVER. It's not worth it.

Blog part 2:

Logan

Logan Davidson is setting next to me. I told him he was blogging. He said to blog about him. So I've discovered the Davidson's are hilarious...especially Logan. Logan says the darndest things. So Logan came down to Provo with us this weekend. We had some magical moments in the car ride here. We ate at subway, he fell off his skateboard, we saw some baby cows...jumping. It was excellent. Later that night we went ice skating. Logan is PRO at ice skating. He definitely should try out for figure skating at the next Olympic Games. So...yeah. Logan. Quite the character!

Here are the Davidson brothers (aka Logan and Ian)

Bauhaus

2011-02-10T15:38:00.000-08:00

For my contemporary design class we have to make a window display as a group about certain time periods or design movements. This week is my groups turn to make our window. When someone walked by and asked us what we were doing our window on we responded "Bauhaus"... they thought we said "outhouse". I thought it was funny. I'm glad we don't have to make an "outhouse" window display.

Justin

2011-02-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Here is my new favorite picture of Justin. It totally captures his personality

(aka he's just like a little kid in real life)

Compliments of Laura Watts Walsh Photography

She is a total pro!

Day 30

2011-02-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

a photograph of myself today + three good things that have happened in the past

So I think this 30 day blog thing asks for way too many pictures of myself....and since I'm bored with taking plain old pictures on photobooth...I decided comic book style is way more fun.

Now...for three good things in my past

Andrea needing a carpool to get to Highline

Soo...This may sound like a strange thing. But I think it is a great thing. One of my best friends needed a ride to carpool with to Highline Community College winter quarter 2007. She ended up carpooling with Ian and Justin. That semester because of Andrea made a connection with the two boys, Her and I started hanging out with them and a few others everyday at school/ on the adventures after school. We called ourselves the "super six"...others called us the "hexagon of love". Well...that is when I started to get to know Justin super well. about six months later we started dating...and three years after that we got married!

Thanks Andrea.

I decided not to be lazy on a certain Saturday morning a couple months ago

Well... a couple months ago there was this competition called "GE Charette". We had to wake up early on a saturday morning, go to class, design and draft a kitchen, write a design statement, and draw a perspective of said kitchen in the space of three hours. I was tired...I almost didn't go....but then I figured I might as well. Well...because I wasn't lazy and decided to go, I ended up getting 5th place in the nation for the competition (out of about 500 submittals) and winning $2,000.

(some of the interior design junior class in Sun Valley)

I got accepted to go to BYU-Idaho

Honestly I have had SUCH a wonderful experience going to school here. The winters are frigid and I want to die..but honestly it's great. I have had SO many awesome roommates and gained some great friendships that I hope will last for a long time. I got lucky and happened to stumble upon one of the top interior design programs in the nation and I LOVE it. It is SO much work, and sometimes I go without much sleep. But I am gaining a wonderful education and having a great time doing it.

Day 29

2011-02-02T19:19:00.000-08:00

something that I could never get tired of doing

Playing.

Honestly, I don't think there is any one thing that I wouldn't get sick of doing. But I like to have fun... well... always. I sometimes get bored... but I am also extremely easily entertained. So I could do anything and it will be fun...I just get bored if I'm at home all day. I just have to get out and do things. So...I didn't have a very exact answer to this post... sorry?

Getting soaked at La Push with the BFF

Crazy family parties/ fireworks on the fourth of July

Road tripping through the Valley of Fire before Daniel left on his mission (we are petroglyphs)

Crazy day at "Festival of Colors"

Building forts...in college

Mariners Games/ giving Stephanie a tour of Seattle

Last minute day trip to San Francisco with the friends

Playing at the park

Hiking in the beautiful Pacific Northwest

Day 28

2011-02-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

My Favorite Music

I am a fan of most kind of music...it really just depends on my mood. But all in all I would say I'm the biggest fan of chill happy music. It's just some good stuff. I don't really know what else to say.

Day 27

2011-01-31T20:41:00.000-08:00

a picture of me last year and now, and how I have changed since then

One Year ago

Now

The first picture is of my carefree days one year ago. Last Valentines day weekend me and three of my friends decided to take a last minutes trip to Las Vegas for the long weekend. It was fun. We partied for 3.5 straight days and most likely got a total of 3.5 hours of sleep the whole time. I had no responsibility or obligations (except school of course). I haven't really changed a lot in the past year. I am married now, which is definitely a development since one year ago, but I don't think I have really changed much as a person, I am the same "me". I would like to think I have taken on more responsibility since being married, but Justin is the one who makes sure that rent is paid, and that we have insurance, and that we have money for groceries. My job is to make sure my husband doesn't starve to death, and make sure our little home doesn't turn into a pig pen. I guess I still had to do that last year, now I just do it for two. I love it though. It's great.

Day 26

2011-01-30T19:11:00.000-08:00

A photo of somewhere I've been to

The most recent fun place I've been to is Leavenworth for the honeymoon. It's a fun little Bavarian town in the middle of Washington. It was wonderful weather, we walked all around the place, and we ate some delicious legit German food.

I think this picture is funny because it totally looks like a bad photoshop job...but it's real

Then there is the hat shop....hats of everykind. It is pretty sweet.

Then of course delicious food. I was kind of scared when we walked into the restaurant, you first had to go down a shady set of stairs to a dark restaurant. But it turned out being delicious, there was even live accordion music. It was awesome.

Day 25

2011-01-30T18:57:00.000-08:00

What's in my purse?

Well..

random paper/ old receipts

a reusable shopping bag (trying to be "green" but always forget to use it...oops)

my wallet

sunglasses

face wipes

lots of gift cards

an i clicker (why?)

check book

shower cap (also..why?)

3-D glasses

chapstick (nivea a kiss of smoothness)

MY THUMBDRIVE

( I thought I lost it until JUST NOW....I'm ecstatic.. my whole life is on that thing)

fake glasses (the lady at claires said they would make me look smart)

a couple necklaces

several cabinetry samples from Ikea

gum

lotion

prismacolor pencil (yellow)

multi-tool

hair band

body spray (coconut lime)

altoids

lens cap

toe warmers

sound transit ticket stub (new years eve in Seattle)

several pens

nail polish (sugar kisses)

prismacolor pencil (green)

nail clippers

excedrin (and other various drugs...all legal)

earrings

tums

tiny ikea pencil

bobby pin

pennies

gloves

baby socks?

dramamine

bubbles

used hand warmers

WOW...that is slightly ridiculous

I have always been known for large amounts of ridiculous things in my purse. I get bored. All of these things actually...surprisingly.... says a lot about me. And now that I took everything out of my purse to make this post, my purse should be cleaner. Also, I really am pumped about finding my thumb drive, I thought it was a lost cause.

Day 24

2011-01-30T18:40:00.000-08:00

A photo of something that means a lot to me

There are a lot of things that mean a lot to me, but I guess I had better just choose one.

And that is Home.

I think it's important for me that wherever I live, I make it home. It's always been important to me. So here are some pictures of the places I have called home.

#1 My home at home

I lived here for the first 19 years of my life, and I am quite a big fan of it

#2 The various apartments I lived in while in Rexburg
I have had SO many fun memories with roommates, and so many good times

#3 My first apartment with Justin (aka my current home)

I love our little apartment, and I know I'm going to remember it as the place we started our lives together

Day 23

2011-01-27T20:10:00.000-08:00

15 facts about me

1. I love the sun more than most things in life.

2. I decided to spend all day on campus, and now I'm done with homework until tuesday...I think.

3. I love funny. Anything funny. It just makes me happy.

4. I love designing, it makes me happy to create something on my own.

5. I am a fast learner, It is quite helpful.

6. Sometimes it makes me sad that I can't light candles in the apartment. I want my own house.

6. I've been putting together my resume and portfolio, I've learned a lot these past few years.

7. I think graphic design is fun, whenever I get an assignment where I have to do some graphic design I feel like I work on it FOREVER! but just cause I want to.

8. Sometimes I wish I could wear pajamas all day, sometimes I wish I could wear dresses all day.

9. I love fluffy baby animals, they make me giggle.

10. I want ice cream.

11. I've been good at going to the gym. I shouldn't eat ice cream.

12. I love buying makeup

13. I am winning money tomorrow

14. Justin judged me harshly because I wore kids sized shoes today, they hurt my feet.

15. Justin is the best, and I'm married to him

Day 22

2011-01-26T15:39:00.000-08:00

a letter to someone who has hurt me recently

Well...I'm not really one to get offended easily. So I really don't have anything to say here....

Sorry for the lame post...maybe it will be better tomorrow.

Day 21

2011-01-25T17:13:00.000-08:00

A photo of something that makes me happy

You may not be able to tell from this picture...but it has many factors that make me happy

1. Justin

2. Summer ( I miss it)

3. The Sun ( I miss it more)

4. The Beach (We are having a picnic at Alki)

5. Fun Dates (We had just gone canoeing)

Day 20

2011-01-24T12:31:00.000-08:00

The meaning behind my blog name

jenniennifer

Well...This started out when I was about eight years old, and went on a trip to Disneyland with my Aunt Karen and cousins Heather and Jason. I'm not sure exactly how it started out, but on that trip they started calling me jenniennifer. They sometimes still call me that name today...so it stuck pretty well.

Day 19

2011-01-23T20:11:00.000-08:00

Another Photo of myself

I kind of feel like whoever made this 30 day blog thing is cheating.

So...it's Sunday evening...therefore I just feel like being lazy (hence the picture with me laying on the sofa). Since I took a picture for my blog appoximately 19 days ago I pretty much look the same. There is one difference though, I have dyed my hair since the last one (not that you can tell the last pic was in black and white). Anyway, Since my highlights were COMPLETELY grown out I figured I had better color it. You can't really tell from this picture, but it is a bit red. The color said it was "chocolate" (delicious right?) but it had red undertones, and my hair picks up the red a ton. But I like it a lot! It has actually faded a bit since I did it, and you can't really see the color in this picture at all (it's lighter in real life). But it is always an adventure.

Day 18

2011-01-22T13:08:00.000-08:00

Something I crave a lot

Well, just like so many other people in this world, I tend to crave chocolate. I love it. It's delicious and it makes me feel good. mmmm...I want some right now.

Day 17

2011-01-21T15:56:00.000-08:00

A picture of me with my family

Well...there isn't a picture with my whole family....so I had to break it into two pictures.

Here is the family minus Daniel....but with Justin

And here is a picture before Daniel fled to Argentina

I'm a pretty big fan of all these people. They are the best.

Day 16

2011-01-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

My celebrity crush

I actually don't think I REALLY have a celebrity crush...but if I had to choose...

Jim Halpert aka John Krasinski

duh.

Day 15

2011-01-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

A Photo of something I don't leave the house without

I, like so many others, do not leave the house without my cell phone. I feel like I am disconnecting from the world, or like some massive thing will happen and I won't know about it. I can't imagine the world without cell phones, it's crazy since they haven't been around that long. I am especially thankful for cell phones when I am driving between Washington and Idaho...it would be horrible to not be able to contact people during that drive. So...yeah....cell phone...don't leave the house without it.

Day 14

2011-01-18T15:34:00.000-08:00

A TV show I am currently addicted to

During all of the black friday craziness Justin and I bought all three seasons of Arrested Development. I'm pretty sure I have seen all the episodes..but they are new to Justin. I might be SLIGHTLY addicted to it currently. In fact..now I really want to watch it right now.

Day 13

2011-01-18T15:17:00.000-08:00

My favorite musician and why

Probably one of my favorite bands is Death Cab for Cutie. I love their style. They are super chill a lot of the time and the lyrics are great...Ben Gibbard is a genius. Also a lot of their songs remind me of home...they are from Bellingham so a lot of the musical content relates to the good ol' PNW.

Day 12

2011-01-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

A photo of the town I live in

Well...Rexburg is a pretty happenin' place. Or something along those lines. I am not big into the whole "cold" thing....and I'm not always so good with the small town thing either. But I have definitely enjoyed going to school here...even if I could pass on the negative degree weather. So here are a few pictures of the things that remind me of Rexburg (or the areas round about)

One thing that Rexburg does have is amazing sunsets. The sky is always so bright and vivid here... I think it's so beautiful.

Snow....and lots of it. Usually between the months of October to March you have snow to some degree. Right now we easily have several feet of snow on the ground.

Sometimes it's hard to find things to do in Rexburg, but you really just have to get a little more creative...like going to the ice caves for example. A little scary descending into the ground to crawl through pitch black caves filled with ice...but it's pretty fun.

Icicles are just cool. They get VERY large here in Rexburg...these are the icicles growing outside my window last winter....this is when they were just little baby icicles.

These are from the simpler times when it was warm outside...I might even say it was hot. I love walking around main street and seeing all the little shops... enjoying the sun.... eating snow cones... unfortunately I only get to experience this for a couple weeks a year before winter kicks in.

It is so neat to live just down the street for the temple. It is such a beautiful thing to be able to see everyday

This picture seems to explain Rexburg to me....it's a little rustic, just a small town, but it has some fun character to it.

This is fall in Rexburg...it's kind of fun. The leaves are actually crunchy here (in Washington they are usually just soggy). I feel like fall is the time of year when there is so much color around the whole town.

Day 11

2011-01-18T14:41:00.000-08:00

What's in my makeup bag?

Well...my makeup bag consists of a whole lot of...makeup. I love buying makeup...I'm not sure why. It just makes me really happy. So I have a ton of makeup...but this is what I use on a regular basis.

Day 10

2011-01-14T16:12:00.000-08:00

A photo of my favorite place to eat

I honestly love eating at a ton of places....so I don't know if I have just one favorite. But one of my favorites is Olive Garden. It's worth going there just for the salad and breadsticks...mmmmmm. We went there last weekend for our six month "anniversary" and it was delicious. (I'm not sure if you're allowed to call six months an anniversary...but I just did.)

Day 9

2011-01-13T22:02:00.000-08:00

A photo of something I last purchased

Technically, this isn't the last thing I purchased...but I didn't feel like taking a picture of Draino.

For Christmas we got two waffle makers (we had been searching for one all over during Thanksgiving break). Since we had no need for two waffle makers we brought one back, and in return got a gift card for Macy's. Since we are pretty set in the kitchen department and Justin thought it would be boring to spend our money on clothes... we decided to hold onto the card until there was something we needed. Fortunately/ Unfortunately our can opener broke last week (after a whole 5 months of using it MAYBE once a week...lame...we even got a good quality one). Anyway....we decided to get one with the gift card. Also we have been using our salad tongs for every type of cooking...and decided a good pair of cooking tongs was also on the list of things that would be nice. So...that is one of my recent purchases/ not really a purchase since it was a gift card (those are the best kind of purchases). Woo hoo!

Day 8

2011-01-12T17:02:00.000-08:00

A song to match my mood

I am not quite sure if this song matches my mood...but it's fun.

Day 7

2011-01-11T18:13:00.000-08:00

My Dream Wedding

Well...I've already had my dream wedding. It was great! I married Justin AND I got married in the temple so I get to be with him forever AND I had a beautiful reception! I don't think I could ask for anything more.

Day 6

2011-01-10T17:42:00.001-08:00

Photo of an animal I'd love to keep as a pet

I would love this puppy.

Justin thinks it's bad that I want a puppy, but not a dog.

We puppy-sat one night, it actually made me change my mind about wanting a puppy for real. I'm think I'm a better puppy-sitter, as long as it is not at night. I want a puppy, just minus the pooping and peeing everywhere..and the crying at night thing. I just want to hug it, cuddle with it, and watch it frolic around. As long as it stays little and fluffy and cute.

Day 5

2011-01-09T17:42:00.000-08:00

A picture of myself two years ago

I couldn't select just one picture from two years ago...so I have a few of them.

Here is a picture of my family at the Valley of Fire during our family reunion. It was such a fun adventure...and a great break from the bitter cold of Rexburg.

This is Stephanie...she is on of my BFF's. We were in a square dancing class together and then in the interior design program and have hung out all the time since. She even came to visit me in Seattle last summer where we had tons of adventures (she's from South Dakota). Stephanie is the best and will ALWAYS hang out with Justin and I, and never feels like the third wheel..so it's great.

This is a picture with my old roommate Kinsey, she is on a mission in San Diego right now. Roommates were a big part of my life two years ago...and she is one of the best!

Here is Erin and I at latin dancing. We decided it would be fun to buy brightly colored skinny jeans. It was fun. This is the one and only time I ever wore mine.

And here is just me! Just playing with photobooth. I kind of look like a nerd. My hair was dark in those days. I kind of like it. I might want to do it again..hmmm

Day 4

2011-01-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

My favorite photograph of my best friend

I'm not sure if I really have to explain this one... best friend...good day...good photo. I couldn't ask for a better husband, I love being married. Justin is great.

Day 3

2011-01-07T22:01:00.000-08:00

My idea of the perfect first date

Well... The perfect first date would start out with the perfect guy (in this case Justin). I am pretty cliche and nerdy...but I would definitely have to go with a candlelit picnic followed by a long walk on the beach. I know for a first date this seems like it might be kind of awkward...but keep in mind that the perfect date involves the perfect guy, therefore it would not be awkward..but...well...perfect.

Day 2

2011-01-06T19:52:00.000-08:00

A photo of something I ate today

Today for dinner I made quesadillas with the large amount of pulled pork I made yesterday. Pretty tasty! Tonight I made some orange julius...also delicious...but I forgot to take a picture.

Day 1

2011-01-05T14:04:00.000-08:00

A picture of myself, and description of how my day has been

Today has been pretty alright. It was the first day of classes for the semester, only one class on Wednesdays! woo hoo! I am pretty excited for this semesters schedule, I get to sleep in and am done with classes early everyday except Mondays. So...today I had my first business class. It's going to be a change from the typical interior design classes I am used to, but I am actually way excited to learn about the business aspect of the industry...plus it should help me a lot with my internship searching. After class I came home...kind of bummed around ( I've had a headache today and feel like I'm coming down with something...typical). After Justin got home we watched a few episodes of Arrested Development, almost done with season 2. Tonight I'm making pulled pork and baked potato soup for dinner, after coming home from Christmas break I realized I have pork that has been in the freezer too long and a large amount of potatoes that need to be eaten soon....so I guess I'll make a ton of food, which equals a ton of leftovers/ lunch for the next few days. It's only 3:35...so maybe it's a little early to describe my day...but there it is! basically.

p.s. photobooth pictures are usually awkward looking....so please don't judge. thanks.

30 days of blogging

2011-01-05T14:02:00.000-08:00

So I have kind of been failing at the blogging thing lately. So I am going to try the 30 days of blogs that a few others are doing. Maybe if I have an outline I'll be better at actually having something to blog about. Wish me luck!

Day 1 a photo of yourself and a description of how your day was
Day 2 a photo of something you ate today
Day 3 your idea of the perfect first date
Day 4 your favorite photograph of your best friend
Day 5 a photo of yourself two years ago
Day 6 a photo of an animal you'd love to keep as a pet
Day 7 your dream wedding
Day 8 a song to match your mood
Day 9 a photo of something you last purchased
Day 10 a photo of your favorite place to eat
Day 11 what's in your makeup bag?
Day 12 a photograph of the town you live in
Day 13 your favorite musician and why?
Day 14 a TV show you're currently addicted to
Day 15 something you don't leave the house without
Day 16 you celebrity crush
Day 17 a photo of you and your family
Day 18 something you crave a lot
Day 19 another picture of yourself
Day 20 the meaning behind your blog name
Day 21 a phot of something that makes you happy
Day 22 a letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 23 15 facts about you
Day 24 a photo of something that means a lot to you
Day 25 what's in your purse?
Day 26 a photo of somewhere you've been too
Day 27 a picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?
Day 28 your favorite music
Day 29 something that you could never get tired of doing
Day 30 a photograph of yourself today + three good things that have happened in the past

so...

2010-12-12T21:54:00.000-08:00

Justin just rebuked me for not having blogged in five weeks. So here is a blog...it is great.

Finals week is insane...and by finals week I mean the last month or so. But five more days and I am FREE!!!! at least until winter semester starts. I can't wait to go home and not think about school for a couple weeks. It should be great. And christmas! I'm excited for that too. I need to find something freakishly awesome to do for new years I just decided. My printer is out of ink..I planned on getting some stuff done for my ginormous project due on wednesday...maybe I'll sleep instead. the dedication for the new conference center on campus is friday...I'm excited to see it all done since it's been in construction FOREVER! I don't get why they plow everyplace in the city of Rexburg except this apartments parking lot. I almost trip and die on a daily basis. today is Justin's birthday...he is SOOO cool. We made funfetti cake and had people over...it was pretty much a party. Justin is definitely my favorite. And now he's old just like me! woo hoo! I'm not very good at blogging when I'm told to blog....and lazy....and should be doing other things... and don't feel like being grammatically correct.

welll....for Justin's birthday here is a picture of him being awesome...

and putting on chapstick.

I'm sure he will LOVE this post.

Halloweekend!

2010-11-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

wow...apparently my last post was my 100th post. So this makes this number 101.

On a different note, this weekend was halloween. Usually I don't really do much for the holiday, but this year decided It'd be fun to get a little festive. Saturday was "Halloween" according to the state of Idaho, since I guess Sunday isn't a good day for the festivities. Saturday afternoon we decided to participate in the Halloween decoration contest in our apartment complex. This gave us a couple hours to carve a pumpkin, search for some Halloween decor, and decorate the facade of our apartment. I thought it was pretty fun, and it ended up looking pretty good...for the amount of time we spent on it.

Later on that night we dressed up as Mario and Luigi (I was girl Mario...so I didn't have a mustache). We went to campus to the Halloween Carnival and Dance. It was pretty much a party. We raced remote control cars, climbed rock walls, played giant jenga, and crossed the River Styx. This all felt way more exciting because it was like we were in a video game (seeing as we were dressed as Mario and Luigi). The dance was fun mostly for the people watching. We saw a giraffe (it was hard to miss), teen girl squad, zombies, and even ran into Bowser! It was pretty exciting.

On Sunday (aka real Halloween) We made Halloween graham cracker houses. I stole the idea from Heather and Jacki, and I'm glad I did. It was a lot of fun, and delicious. My house ended up being..well... somewhat hideous. I got a little excited with the candy. Mine was a house with a trick or treater dressed as a ghost. The house is guarded by bears and surrounded by a moat. High class....trust me. Justin's house consisted of several bear zombies...at least that's what I think they were. The others got a little more creative. Stephanie made a hospital with a helicopter pad, an ambulance and everything. Sara made the shrieking shack. And Natalie had a hobo shack with a fire in front, lean to, and garbage pile.

Pretty much the whole weekend was a CONSTANT party and I was exhausted by the end. Now I can't wait for Thanksgiving and then Christmas/ the end of the semester! Wooo! Here are all the pictures in no particular order

Mario, Luigi, and Rosie the Riveter

Justin using his jack o' lantern as a mask before destroying it for the sake of a pumpkin pie

Jack o' Lanterns are sometimes scary

Our "beautiful" houses

Stephanie and Natalies hospital/bum shack

Ahh...Bowser! Good thing we know how to deal with him

Giant Jenga! I want it

Look at me! I'm Mario!

Our Door Decor

ew. pumpkin guts.

Bucket List

2010-09-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

For my photography class I am doing a "bucket list" assignment. I need to find something I want to do before I die and take a photograph representing that goal. It's a little tricky finding subject matter in Rexburg...especially when I have no idea what's on my list. Any ideas?

Family History

2010-09-20T18:58:00.001-07:00

So...Justin and I are doing family history for FHE..just like we're supposed to. Maybe not the best idea, turns out there is some VanderHoeven in Justin's line in the 1800's. Great. Good thing is that means he's got some good Dutch blood...bad news is he's not supposed to have THIS Dutch blood. haha. oh goodness.

Thankful

2010-09-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

I am thankful for teriyaki. I know it's such a simple thing, but I'm really grateful for it. Yesterday we went to lunch at panda express, the line was HUGE! We realized it's because that's the only asian food option for the residents of Idaho Falls. How sad is that? They need some good ol' teriyaki restaurants. Panda Express is good, but they're missing out on so much. The service, the delicious teriyaki, the tiny bowl of hot egg drop soup. Mmm mmm.

Just saying.

Don't take advantage of teriyaki. got it!

Barcelona Chair

2010-09-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

So... tonight I asked Justin if someday I could have a Barcelona Chair. He said, "sure". Then I searched online to try and find one. After I showed him the price tag of just under $7,000 he seemed to think I was crazy.

The Barcelona chair was created by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for the German pavilion in Barcelona, Spain. I think the German Pavilion is a beautiful piece of architecture and design. The pavilion, inside and out, really showcases the International Style, which I have learned to love and appreciate. Some people may look at Mies van der Rohe's work and just see square buildings or minimalist sky scrapers, but he was a pioneer of modern architecture. he's neat.

The point is...Chairs are cool.

I want them all.

back to school, back to school

2010-09-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

Today is our first day of school (Justin hasn't been in almost 3 years now, and it's his first time at BYUI). My sister requested I take a picture of my first day of school, wearing an Animaniacs dress (the outfit I wore on my first day of kindergarten). Unfortunately I no longer own and/or fit in that dress. So these will have to do.

and since Linda thought she'd make fun of MY first day of school pictures, I just felt like I should post her first day of first grade...I think she should be jealous of my animaniacs dress.

Go Huskies!

2010-09-09T21:07:00.000-07:00

Apparently when I got married, not only did I marry Justin, but I also married his sports teams. This means that I am now a University of Washington Huskies fan. Last weekend we went down to Provo to go to the UW vs. BYU football game. We, along with a group of a few other friends, were repping the purple. It was interesting being the minority and being surrounded by thousands of BYU fans, but it was a lot of fun having our Washington pride. We were in the UW section at the game, which I was pretty excited about (I was a little worried about getting beat up...but all was well). Anyway, it turned out that BYU won, but it was still a ton of fun. It was my very first college football game, and honestly I had no idea what was going on, but I figured if I just clapped when the people around me did I'd be OK.

The rest of the weekend was a lot of fun hanging out with all our buddies from home, and getting to see Justin's family. We stayed at his aunts house, and his sister and her husband drove over from Duchesne so we could all go out to lunch. It was a great mini vacation for our last weekend before school started.

Going for a walk...

2010-09-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

The other day Justin and I decided to pack up a picnic and walk to Smith Park. Since there isn't much time before summers over, we wanted to enjoy the outdoors before we're confined to the inside for a long winter (fall doesn't happen here...just skips straight to winter). The weather was beautiful, and the parks in Rexburg are really great and well maintained. After having our simple dinner we had to pretend we were little kids again and enjoy the park.

I was a little sad because I didn't want to eat my crust.

yes, Justin is five years old.

waiting for him at the bottom of the slide.

The Curse of Being a Designer

2010-09-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

This morning when Justin woke me up, my response was something like this... "Good morning darling, why isn't our overhead light centered in the room". He laughed at me. This is all part of being a designer. I live in a very nice apartment, but as a designer there are some things I just don't understand. The light placement in our bedroom is one of them. It is about a foot and a half from where it should be. To me if you have one overhead light having it centered in the room is common sense...right? Apparently not.

The second thing that makes no sense to me is the bathroom door. I believe our apartment was made to be an ADA accessible apartment. In my classes I've learned all about barrier free, ADA, and universal design. I think it's great, but I don't understand what the "designers" were thinking when making plans for this apartment. There are three foot doors...good choice. The bathroom door swings out rather than in...bad choice. I'm not sure if that is one of the accessibility standards, but in this case it makes no sense. The room is small, and there is really only one place for the bed to go. this means that it is impossible to open the bathroom door without hitting the bed, and the door cannot even open fully (which makes the 3 foot door completely pointless). No good. Sometimes it makes me angry looking at it... WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!

Problem #3. The first thing you see when you walk into the bedroom is the electrical box. Why oh why would the electrician do this. I'm pretty sure he's just playing a cruel joke on whoever moves in. There is a perfect place BEHIND the door where it would be nice and inconspicuous. But nope, it's taking up perfectly good, perfectly visible wall space.

I just don't get it.

You may not be able to tell from this picture...but trust me..this light is awkward.

Trust me..it'd drive you crazy too.

The view when you first walk into the bedroom, and a lame attempt at trying to cover the electrical panel.

Our New Home

2010-08-29T23:08:00.001-07:00

After a suburban full of stuff, a couple days of hard work, and several trips to Target, Justin and I are finally all moved into our apartment. I'm pretty fond of it. I'm so excited to be able to have a little home of our own. Here are a few pictures of our new place.

Our table and TV stand

The kitchen/hallway?

The Bedroom

The bookshelf is still a bit of a mess, and we do plan on putting pictures in the frame...don't worry.

and we do have a bathroom (surprise right?) but apparently I have no pictures of it yet, but it's swell.

HOORAY

2010-08-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

WE'RE MARRIED!

...as of a month ago. and it is FANTASTIC! I finally decided I had better blog about it!

There's really not much to say except that the day was absolutely perfect. The wedding was wonderful and the reception was beautiful. I have such a great family for pulling it all together. Being married is great! I am so happy that I get to be with my prince charming forever and ever...I mean...how cool is that? very.

Mrs. McKell

2010-07-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

So... I'm married now... and I have a different name now...it's weird...but great.

I'm sure I'll blog more about this later.

International Pirate Day

2010-06-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Justin decided it would be fun for us to go on an adventure. We rented a canoe from UW and paddled around Lake Washington for a bit. It was a perfect day, with beautiful weather. Lake Washington is a lot of fun because there is lots to see, we were able to see a ton of boats, an argosy cruise, a blue heron, and a float plane taking off. After canoeing we went down to Alki for a picnic on the beach. We ate from a restaurant called spuds which is famous for their fish and chips....I got chicken. It made me feel a little guilty eating my greasy chicken and fries while watching a bunch of marathon runners around the area..oh well. Alki is such a great place on a sunny day and an ideal place for people watching, which I always enjoy. After we got back to the FW we of course had to make a cake to celebrate IPD. It was altogether an awesome day.

DIY

2010-06-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

Since I have an apartment to furnish and about zero money, I've been looking around at thrift stores and garage sales for furniture that I can repurpose. Here is my first project! I got this sweet corner table at a thrift store for $8, paid $8 for a quart of paint (and probably used about 50 cents worth of the paint), and a glass knob for $4. So I was able to make this not so cute table, super cute for under $20.

BEFORE

AFTER

so...

2010-05-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have this teensy problem entitled "I'm getting married in 53 days and still have no job"

it is not fun.

Blogggggging

2010-04-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

I have lots and lots to blog about. Here are all my crazy adventures in no particular order.

I went to conference...twice...it was excellent

Stephanie came from South Dakota to visit me and I get to show her all the fun adventures in the pacific northwest...including...

The Vancouver temple open house...Canada is great.

Portland and eating Voodoo Donuts (apparently it's an awesome portland thing)

and of course...Seattle

and last but not least...

...I'M ENGAGED. And I'm pretty dang excited about it. We're getting married on July 9 and it's going to be the party of the century...I'm 99% sure.

Festival of Colors

2010-03-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend Stephanie and I, once again, went on a weekend roadtrip. That seems to be the theme of this semester. This weeks destination was Spanish Fork, Utah for the Holi Festival, or Festival of Colors. We met up with Justin, Keith, our friend David from Las Vegas and his friend Andrew. This is pretty much an Indian celebration where you throw colors at each other to welcome the spring...or something like that. At the festival they were explaining the origins...something about burning babies..I'm not really sure. Anyway, you buy bags of colored powder and throw them at eachother..it's a lot of fun. You are supposed to wait for a countdown and then you start throwing colors at each other. At the end of the countdown everything literally went black from all the powder in the air..you could hardly see the person next to you. by the end we were covered from head to toe with powder and my throat was full of incense scented chalk (yuck). Afterwards we all headed to Denny's in Provo. We were afraid they wouldn't let us in..but they did. The whole festival was a ton of fun and SO crazy... once again...another excellent weekend.

BEFORE(ISH)

AFTER

Justin's Homecoming

2010-03-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend was fantastic! I was able to go home for a few days for Justin's mission homecoming. He has been serving in the Mexico, Monterrey East mission and returned home last Wednesday. I hadn't told him that I was coming home, and he was definitely surprised. It was so fun to be able to spend the weekend with him and go to some of our favorite places like dash point and...seatac mall? On Sunday he gave a fantastic talk, and I'm still amazed at the fact that he currently seems to know spanish better than English. Justin has been such a great influence on me these past two years while he has been serving the Lord. It was great to see him again!

partying it up in Utah...

2010-03-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

So...this is a week late, but I'm over it. But last weekend I went to Utah. It was great and grand. My friend Stephanie had to go down for a Zumba certification class, and didn't want to drive by herself, therefore...ROADTRIP! So Stephanie, my old roommate Sara and I hopped in the car and headed to Sandy to stay with my other old roommate Callie. It was so much fun seeing her and so nice of her to let us stay over. While Steph was at Zumba, Sara and I went to The Gateway to do some shopping, then headed over to Ikea after Callie was done with work. They were having dollar meatball meal weekend..it was glorious. Later on that night Stephanie and I went to Provo to visit Adam Lee and Katie, two of my good friends from home. It was SO much fun. They decided to show us what people do at BYU on the weekends. So we started out at the Nickelcade. Ok..this place is AWESOME! It's an arcade but everything is in nickels. We got a little addicted to gambling (Vegas was a bad influence) with some of the games...we just really wanted to get lots of tickets. Also we played Deal or No Deal..we ended up with the suitcases holding 2 tickets and 200 tickets...we were offered 101 tickets...and we chose NO DEAL. Worst decision ever...we ended up with 2 tickets. So after the nickelcade ended with disappointment, we went over to the bell tower where apparently you are supposed to be able to roast marshmallows on the giant lamps. Unfortunately, the rumors are wrong and the marshmallows only got slightly warm...but it was a ton of fun...we celebrated by drinking martinellis and eating popsicles in the freezing cold outside. After that we wanted to go dumpster diving for donuts. They throw out the donuts (in the box) at Krispy Kreme after the store closes, people sometimes go dumpster diving for them. I was a little hesitant but we went anyway. Once we got there the store still had employees..we parked...they looked at us weird...we then decided to spy from a neighboring parking lot. Evenutally we ended up leaving before we got any donuts...but it was hilarious...guess you had to be there...

Utah = great weekend trip...good times.

Staying at Callie's

The bling rings we bought with our tickets from the arcade

at the belltower...the light burned my retinas...it was great.

These guys are fantastic

ERNESTA DAY!

2010-03-05T16:23:00.000-08:00

HEY EVERYONE!

so..my roommate is writing a paper about ERNESTA DAY!! She needs some memories to write about...anyone have any??

Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

2010-03-01T10:22:00.001-08:00

On saturday Stephanie, her friend Hannah and I decided it would be great fun to go to Mesa Falls since it was a beautiful Rexburg day. After driving almost all the way there we realized that they don't plow the road all the wall to the falls...so it would involve either a snowmobile (which we did not have) or our feet (which we did not want to use).I swear I've been there this time of year before...but apparently not. So instead we just decided to make it a nice drive. We ended up driving out to Island park, which was super pretty...but not much there. And then we drove back through Ashton and ate at a sweet rootbeer drive-in place. We chatted it up with the waitresses while drinking our floats. We felt pretty legit. Then we headed back to Rexburg.

I love exploring Idaho, it's fun going that direction because I get to see trees. I love trees. So moral of the story...don't go chasing waterfalls (we also rocked out to that song...the cherry on top to the perfect day).

forest= trees, Jennifer= super excited

hooray for car pictures/ double chin
jumping picture after failed attempt to Mesa Falls

Stephanie thought it would just be easier to lay down on the highway and give up the ghost

What Happens in Vegas...

2010-03-01T09:58:00.000-08:00

...Obviously doesn't stay in Vegas..because I'm posting it to my blog...right now.

For the three day Presidents Day/ Valentines Day/ Chinese New Year weekend I went with three of my friends, Stephanie, Courtney, ,and Erin, to Vegas. A lot happened...so instead of writing it out, I'll just narrate the events in no apparent order through photos.

Chinese food picnic breakfast at St. George temple

Valley of Fire, one of my favorite places

getting bored/crazy/ crazy bored in the car...resulting in an unheard of amount of temporary tattooos

tattoo parlor with our sweet new tattoos

Classic sign picture

getting excited with memories of Rafferty and the Seattle Sculpture Park

Throwing pennies into EVERY fountain we saw

Meeting our new friend David (Courtney's from Vegas so we got to meet some of her friends...good times)

Having car problems/ receiving anitfreeze as a valentines day present from stephanie (she said she got me coolant since I'm so cool)

Walking the strip

Las Vegas Temple/ seeing SO many palm trees

Top Ten...

2010-02-28T23:02:00.000-08:00

...Reasons I am not ready to grow up.

1. I will only eat gummy vitamins

2. I don't think it's inappropriate to have a coloring book in college

3. I threw a temper tantrum when my nerf gun broke...last week

4. My shoes have velcro

5. My chicken nuggets are in the shapes of dinosaurs

6. I sleep with a teddy bear...or two

7. my favorite game is "Don't Break the Ice"

8. I love the park

9. my nails are all ridiculous colors

10. I keep temporary tattoos in my glove compartment

I'm 99% sure...

2010-02-11T09:26:00.000-08:00

That there is something wrong with me. The past few days I have been hungry. Like...always. It's not the kind of hungry where you eat something and think "hmmm...maybe I'll eat some more...I think I might be hungry" . No...it's the kind of hungry where you eat something and then 45 minutes later you're hungry again. The kind of hungry where your stomach feels like it is going to eat itself if it doesn't get food right away. For example, I just ate a bowl of cereal like 15 minutes ago and I can already feel my hunger pangs coming. Is there no solution?

This just doesn't seem right.

on another note...I kind of want to go to Las Vegas this weekend. My friend Stephanie has never been and we have a 3 day weekend. Just trying to outweigh the pros and cons. Currently we're at a 60% chance of going...that just doesn't seem high enough.

life.

2010-02-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

So I have nothing in particular to blog about....but..I haven't blogged in quite some time AND I have an hour before church. So I'm just going to blog about life.

Life is good.

the end.

ok...so maybe there's more to it than that...but that's a good summary. This semester has been just really great. School hasn't been quite as stressful as it has been in the past couple of semesters (still crazy busy...but somehow not as stressful). I love the major that I chose and I'm starting to get close to all my classmates and professors..the fact that I see them everyday is a lot of fun, and it's pretty much a constant party.

Another thing I've been doing a lot since last semester is going to swing dance every wednesday night. When I started going last semester it was mostly because my roommates would always go, and I honestly wasn't a huge fan of swing dancing. But now I go almost every week and I love it. It's such a good break right in the middle of the week and I get to see all my friends. it's great! Dancing is such a good break and stress relief for me so I try to do as much of it as possible. Unfortunately I can't do quite as much as I would like because I'm busy with my classes. But I'm at least taking a bronze international latin class ( I basically took the same class with PBD...but I still love it). I also went to ballroom this friday night and it was great fun. It was actually the first time going this semester but I think I'm going to have to start going more often because it's great....but my latin heels are almost dying...so that's not great.

hmmm...There really isn't much else exciting with my life...just

school and playing. so here's an assortment of fantastic pictures of my life.

Erin, myself, and Sara partying at swing...Erin's eyes are red and I look sweaty...but that's ok.

Last weekend I went with a group to Chiles in Idaho Falls. it was fantastic and delicious. I've only been there once before, and if I've learned anything from The Office I've learned that Chiles is the place to be. Afterwards we went to see "When in Rome" which was pretty cute, I was just excited because it had the pie maker in it.

Another thing I've been doing a lot of..making crafts! Sara, Stephanie, and my roommate Lindsey spent practically all day making cards and watching pushing daisies last Saturday. I also made a wicked sweet frame.

Last night Sara invited me over for a pizza party. Lindsey and I made some delicious mississippi mud pie! I finally got to use my awesome cook book I got for Christmas. It was sweet...we even youtubed how to make chocolate curls! Glen loves pie and he also loves jumping into pictures.

After pizza (which was AMAZING) we played catch phrase. My friends are silly.

I like them.

Super Saturday!

2010-01-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

So when I woke up last saturday I had a strange urge to do...um...everything. And by everything I mean I had a strange urge to be super domestic...so I made a pie. homemade. pear with gruyere baked in the crust (ok..the truth is I actually used emmental..but still). On Pushing Daisies...one of my favorite shows of all time..then it's about a pie maker who can touch dead things and bring them back to life..so he solves murders...ANYWAY...in the show then Chuck (Ned's childhood sweetheart who he brings back to life) bakes pear pie with gruyere in the crust (and homeopathic mood enhancer) for her aunts. So...long story short..I wanted to try it...see if it tasted good. it did...it tasted quite good in fact. hooray!

So after spending all morning making a pie I was ready for a little craft party. Stephanie and I went down to ace hardware/ walmart...bought some wood, paint, and clothespins and made some super cute picture hangers (we got the idea from the link on Cat's blog post...thanks!). So we were able to spend the night watching pushing daisies, eating pie, and making picture hangers...I felt so martha stewart-esque...minus the whole prison thing. But still..lots of fun!

2010-01-16T09:48:00.001-08:00

I like the fact that I can see almost all of Rexburg out my bedroom window (minus the big chunk covered by a building). It looks very quiet and calm on a saturday morning.

I always like it when the sky outside is blue.

Also a pretty big fan of three day weekends.

Excursion.

2010-01-09T23:46:00.000-08:00

So today when I woke up I planned on doing homework...it didn't work out. Instead I decided to devote my day to trying to understand my camera better. Technically Brother Parson gave us a lecture the other day about how important photography is and if we can't take good photographs of our work then it will look like crap whether it's good or not...well maybe that's not word for word...but that's what I got out of it. Anyway, I spent the morning reading through my user manual for my camera (which I probably should have done like 6 months ago). Wow...it's amazing how much more sense everything makes...I might not be able to actually use what I've learned very well yet..but it did help.

Since Rexburg was nice and toasty today (aka in the 20's and/or 30's) I decided to go on a picture taking excursion with my friend Stephanie. We pretty much just got in the car and started driving. Eventually we ended up in St. Anthony where we found an old abandoned drive-in. It had some neat colors so we took a few shots there..but it was cold..so didn't get too many. In fact, most of the pictures were taken from the car window by Stephanie while I drove...but it was still a ton of fun getting to explore Idaho a little more.

Here are just a few/kind of a lot of pictures of my day...some are kind of weird with me trying to figure out settings...but oh well..I guess it's the best way to learn.

These are my pet cacti Harry and Ronald

I call this one "bracelets on desk"

St. Anthony, Idaho

We are awesome.

Taking pictures while it's getting dark out of a moving car is ALWAYS fun.

Trying to defrost

What better way to end the day then at The Cocoa Bean for some

cupcakes and hot cocoa.

new semester.

2010-01-05T10:57:00.000-08:00

So..I thought that starting this semester would be easy..come to Rexburg...chill for a day..then go to class. Well that didn't work out so well. On Saturday my roommate, Sara, called me to inform me that I had no housing contract. That was Saturday, I planned on leaving sunday. I got to spend my last day of the break frantically trying to find a place to live. GOOD NEWS! I'm not homeless. I'm living at The Ridge, and I like it. I get my own room for the first time EVER! Luckily I had lots of people to help me bring all of my crap from Kensington to The Ridge, and Erin helped me set up my room and organize my life all day. I only have pictures of my room so far but here they are!

BEFORE (I have no idea how I have SO much stuff)

AFTER

2009-12-02T07:23:00.000-08:00

it's -2 degrees outside today....

...the inside of my nose froze on the way to class...

...I'm not sure I'm ready for winter yet.

oh just some stuff...

2009-11-09T10:47:00.001-08:00

My mom informed me that I was in serious need of some blogging...So I'm going to try out another one of these combo blogs that are an accumulation of everything I've been up to the past couple of weeks. Well..technically I've mostly been up to homework the past couple of weeks. but typically I don't blog about that...but here's some of my homework anyway! These are just a few of the projects that I have worked on...still need some work on my lighting and shadows...but I still like them.

Southwest Apartment- Finishes

Southwest Apartment...at night! - Lighting

Arts and Crafts office- custom cabinetry design

Halloween..that was a good day. For lunch Sara, Chelsea and I went to Idaho Falls to the Olive Garden for soups salads and breadsticks! It was delicious! I dressed up as chuck from pushing daisies..I think I want to dress like her everyday! then on the way home I bought some pretty sassy red heels from kohls...they were 10 dollars...it was great...but they gave me blisters. That night all my roommates dressed up and went over to our friend Glen's house for some serious Rock Band! I kind of suck at rock band...but it was great! Then we went to Tim's house and watched Beetle Juice. It was creepy and may or may not have given me nightmares. p.s. I was a pirate....sweet right?

Fake Chuck

Real Chuck

Chelsea- groupie, Natalie- nurse, Callie- Natalie, Jennifer- Pirate, Sara- rocker

Rock Band...out of all the different instruments, I could handle singing best..the sad part is I STINK at singing..haha

Last Friday I went on an adventure with my friend Stephanie and my roommate Natalie to IF. We really had no idea what we wanted to do...so we ended up going to Red Robins. It was great fun! I'm pretty sure I could eat there fries everyday for the rest of my life. After dinner we went to the mall because really there's nothing else to do in IF if you really think about it. I went to Claires and the lady there said that if I bought fake glasses I would have a higher IQ...apparently she convinced me because now I have a sweet pair of glasses. If I wear them when I do homework I think I'll get better grades...or something like that.

mmm...whiskey river barbecue burger...can life get much better? I submit that it cannot.

High IQ?

On Saturday then I got to hang out with Adrian and Laura while Laura took pictures of me for one of her classes. I feel like I am a very awkward model but I'm always willing to help! Even though they live next door I don't get to see them much, so it was fun getting to see them. p.s. to see one of the pictures you can go to Laura's blog... she pretty much rocks!

Typically on Saturday nights when I have nothing else to do with my life I will make flash decisions...like dying my hair. Sometimes I threaten to go platinum blonde..luckily we're pretty safe from that EVER happening..but I did have my roommate Callie put some highlights in my hair. Pretty sure I haven't had highlights since high school...but it's kind of fun. I bought a box of brown dye at the same time just in case.

hair!

ew.

2009-10-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

So we have this weird thing where my apartment decided to suddenly be infested by flies. We have no idea why they decided to be here...but it makes me want to hurl. I wrote a poem about it because sometimes that's what I do when I'm feeling a very strong emotion...and I would consider my feelings towards the flies quite intense. The poem not so legit...but it did help me to narrate my current situation...and you flies better be listening to it!!!!!

Flies

Nasty Buzzy

Annoying fuzzy

I hate you.

You hide…then BAM…

...there you are again..

Zooming past my head!

WHY AREN’T YOU DEAD?

The spatula was my first thought

And yes, it worked just once

But then every time I make pancakes

I’ll think of your sick little stunts

The vacuum….yes…the vacuum

An ingenious idea

But false, you’re much to fast

And when I come close you hear

I see you in the corner of my eye

You even make me jump a little

I really think you need to die

I could kill you and get an acquittal

I’ll get you little buggers

I hate you just that much

You better watch your back

Or you will be in my deadly clutch

Sun Valley!

2009-10-11T13:14:00.001-07:00

This weekend a lot of us from the interior design program went to an ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) meeting/ conference/ weekend of partying! and by weekend...I actually just mean really long saturday.It started out at 6am when we left on the bus for Sun Valley. I'm pretty sure the heater didn't work for the whole 3 hour bus drive...in fact..I'm 99% sure they had the A/C on when it was 20 degrees outside...none the less...eventually we made it to the hotel (which was really really nice) where the conference was held, with only mild hypothermia.

After we checked in and got our name tags we were told to sit at a table about half students and half design professionals. Kariann, Ty, and I selected a table..and it wasn't until later that we realized we had made a horrible error. Turns out the professionals we were sitting with were not very professional at all. The whole time they made super inappropriate jokes and I'm pretty sure they were just there to party...so during two, two hour long presentations we were pretty distracted by them..but I still did learn a lot! Like..how important it is to be professional.

The presenters were both very good. I really enjoyed one of them about learning to read body language, and how to sell through the way you move and interact with people. I am definitely going to experiment with some of those techniques.

After the presenters we had a bit of a break. During that break we went to a catholic church that was absolutely gorgeous. The main feature of the church, and the main reason we went, was to see an amazing fiberglass chandelier that they had. It was really interesting talking to the churches representative and hearing her tell us about all the symbolism in all of the design aspects of the church. I honestly don't know very much about the catholic church so it was neat getting to hear about it.

After we went to the church we had a short 45 minutes to go shopping at all the little shops. For some reason, even though it was 5:00 on a saturday afternoon, the majority of the shops were closed. Also they were all super expensive and chic. I found very few things that were under $100. But it gives me even more motive to become rich and famous because most of the clothes were beautiful. Throughout the town they had lots of little statues...it was a lot of fun. We found a giant chair and took a picture in it...pretty much the only picture I remembered to take the whole day.

After shopping there was a student design competition/ cocktail hour...which of course I didn't participate in. We had 10 people from our school competing. We were able to walk around the room and select our favorite project. The winner of the competition was actually one of the students from BYUI... His project was amazing! After the competition we had dinner. Everyone at my table (which by the way...we had changed tables from earlier that day...it was safer that way) was afraid to eat the salad...it tasted interesting...I figured they couldn't screw up fettucini alfredo...but once they brought out my plate I had a single raisin in it..weird right? I guess I'm just not quite fit for the world of fancy food quite yet. During dinner we had the keynote speaker talk to us about the current trends in kitchen design this year.

After this was all over we got back on the bus, watched The Sound of Music, studied for my mat and sources test...and eventually made it home at 1 am...Basically...an amazing...and very long day!

This is at..."the table of doom" haha...well..maybe that was a bit dramatic

Going shopping

Then we found a giant chair

"Silly pictures" are always necessary

and then I found a warthog

Here's all the S.W.A.G I got...haha

there was LOTS of it!

GUESS WHAT...

2009-10-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

It snowed.

And I am not happy about it.

When I woke up and looked out my bedroom window, this is what I saw...

quotes

2009-09-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

So I was randomly looking at my myspace that I haven't looked at in forever...and on it was my quote list from long long ago...which I found hilarious..and wanted to blog about it. So even though you might not get it, it's hilarious....trust me.

Everybody want J-WO, J-WO want Twink-E
It'd be so fun to be a pinball
speaker="you are what you eat"(me=some intense thinking) "j-wo IS twinkie" I ATE THEM!!!
whoever wrote this song is probably the same person who invented peanut butter on cheese crackers
cheese crackers on peanut butter...hahaha...adam
If we were any cooler they'd have to THAW US OUT!!!
"daniel is delicious"..."what?"..."because i tasted him..."- sha-cha cha- BAM
J-WO want cake AND brownie
just because Pierre is inanimate does not mean he is unimportant
"(erin/jennifer" "is" "really/extremely/amazingly" "hot/ugly"...."sike"
Slow and steady wins the race. / This is your battle Jennifer!

you owe me a hustle
caution shana caution
how is this even possible? (btw...i figured out it's possible because of hydrogen bonds...fyi)
J-WO says that aint tight
J-WU?
Do I entice you?
"Get your sexy on"=some random lady yelled at us from another car...akward
what is the 3-dimensional word for oval?...(i still don't know the answer to this one....anyone?)
do you have any Strauss, or possibly Bach
"VIOLATED!"
the pool table hurt me
Bucket likes Squash, Squash likes Remote, Remote likes Squash...
it's a love triangle, but no one loves bucket.
mooooo, RRRAAWWRRR, RIBET, ARGGGKKK ARGGGKKK, MOOOO....
those are really easy to choke on
"ahhh....i got dirt in my eye"..."oh I'll get that for you honey"...we have a mother daughter relationship...
fruitloop lips...captain crunchy
"I call everybody honey...Adam is sugar lips..."lol...andrea
What would Donny and Marie do?
I just don't get it...who seriously needs a 20 foot headphone extender?
"is that supposed to sound like a german lady?"..."no...it was supposed to sound like a mexican man"
your ankle should be pointed...like so you could have a pie on it
I like the warmth
"You dont find dumb blondes at the beach.."..."oh wait, I guess I go to the beach sometimes"
LET'S GET READY TO RHUMBA!!!! (in a cool monster truck-esque voice)
WHOA...too much rubberband...
Nat Nat Nat Nat Nat ALIE ALIE
oh j-wo...you silly goose...i call everyone silly goose...except adam...
INALB...IMHO
"So pick her up!like Harry Potter!and spin her like a basketball!"
"There's a chipmunk!and there's a dear!and there's another dear!and there's a hippo!I don't know!Why is he here?"
It's tizzight...with a capital T...and Z...and ITE
the samba originates in IS THAT CAKE
j-wo said "don't talk like a hippo"..what she meant to say was "don't talk like a camel" yet i would still laugh at the camel one too...hmmm
what does quintessential mean?
"Are you Drag" "No, I'm a flamingo"
Juno?
thank goodness for satan's panties
if you tilt the cup you can get much more water
why does P-Dawg get the guest apartment?...I don't even get a toilet!
What the MEOW
are those birds or just very large nuts
"we can't build a relationship on a web of lies"..."we could be spiders"
I saw a purple festiva
anything that’s vanilla is a waste of something that could be chocolate
NOODLE DUTY NOODLE DUTY....Daniel you stink at noodle duty (never again will daniel get noodle duty)
what the schist!
I bet you 100 bucks that theres garnet in this rock (btw...brittany owes me $100)
wanna hear me talk like a mermaid? ah ah ahh ah ah ah ah ahhhh ah ah ah ahh ah ah ah ah ahh ah ah AHHHH!!! (singing like Ariel)
"weird-o"...."queer-o"
ahh man....i wish i came up with the "you still wear diapers" comeback quicker
i'll tell you when your second partner gets here
this ketchup tastes how beer smells...allright....who spiked the ketchup (andrea thought it tasted pretty good)
hey jennifer...what if i kidnapped that kid
what's your name again?...brittany right?
whoa...this place has good ketchup too
How is she supposed to read it if she's blind?
You're an Aquitard!!!
veer left veer left straight straight straight TURN RIGHT HERE NOW!
"have kids with her"..."it's his mother"...this is the Dr. Laura game gone wrong
NOT IT!
the Vator of doom/destruction/desolation/death/danger/...
Literally...loetterally
do you think she is always dressed up like a clown?
I thought you were a G!
Sogged-out IS a word..it's what you say when something is completely sogged
"look a bus to paradise"..."well ya better hurry because pretty soon this is going to be a bus to Longmire"
I was going to throw a snowball at the ranger...but NOOOOO....i'd get arrrestted...
Look..it's ranger granger the danger ranger
I'M THE KING OF THE GLACIAL ERRATIC

Ice caves and sand dunes

2009-09-20T22:23:00.000-07:00

So this Saturday was pretty much a party...it was the day before my friend Kate's birthday, so we decided to all party it up by going to the ice caves and then having a bonfire at the sand dunes. It was my first time going to the ice caves...and there was lots of ice...way more than expected.. there are about a million pictures so..yeah...

once we got there we needed to drive out a couple miles to get to the caves...you NEEDED a four wheel drive, therefore we stuck 10 people into Stephanie's little Ford SUV

After hiking down into the depths of the earth we got to the front of the cave and were pretty dang excited

yes...you did have to crawl on your stomach..on the ice...to get through parts of the caves

p.s. it was pitch black

This is the part where you had to hold onto a rope...while leaning on a giant underground iceberg..and pushing off rocks on the other side...to avoid falling into a giant cave

almost there!!! and that huge hill on the right is all ice...sorry...still amazed at how much ice there was..haha...I'm a nerd

Kate trying to get to the sparkle cave (basically all the walls are super sparkly when you

put light on them..it's awesome) and me trying not to die in the pitch black

This was a really long hallway of ice..stephanie and I were trying to be ice skaters.

probably my favorite..trying to launch Tory across the ice..it didn't work as well as planned.

We finally made it to the end!!! the whole group!

and the rear view...things got a little wet.

Once we were completely frozen we decided to go the sand dunes and have a bonfire

Stephanie and I tried sliding down the dunes on an inflatable mattress...it worked out way better in our heads. Stephanie ended up somersaulting all the way down the hill.

By the end of the night I looked slightly more than slightly disheveled and had a shoe full of sand...aka it was the best night ever...this week...except for maybe friday night....!!!

Mi Casa...but....in Rexburg

2009-09-14T12:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my apartment this semester...My mom brought me to school and helped me set everything up. It's pretty dang cute in my opinion!

Here's the front room...

And my bedroom!

rexburg is STILL a constant party!

2009-09-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

On my first day of classes all my interior design teachers informed us that we would not be sleeping this semester...at all...so I decided to take advantage of my minimal homework this weekend and party like mad!

It all started with a trip to Idaho Falls with my friend stephanie. We pretty much just went shopping to find some yoga pants for my jazz dance class, but I came back with WAY more. They had a sale at old navy for 47 cent shorts...you just can't say no to such a deal. After Idaho Falls we wanted to do something amazing..so what better thing to do in the little bit of summer we have left than go swimming! Well...we got a big group of about 8 people, put an address in the GPS, and headed out to "St. Anthony". Stephanie's car was the party car and it was a ton of fun...but after probably about 15 miles on a gravel rode we wondered where the heck we were going. The party car was still a ton of fun...but the other car...well..not quite so much. Apparently the driver was a little frustrated after driving that far in his shiny little car. You see..Stephanie has a nice big four wheel drive..so the rocks were nothing to us..we even went off rode a bit over some sweet hills. Eventually we found a nice couple towing a tractor and asked them where the heck we were. The guy said that the lake was "over by dem sand hulls"...well...just imagine farmer talk. So we turned around and eventually find Egin lake..it probably didn't get deeper than 2 feet throughout the whole lake..but it reminded me of dash point in a strange way so all was well. There was no fires allowed so we decided to start off on our next adventure... a fire at the guys apartment...but it turned out all the wood was wet...so...the next stop was applebees! that turned out pretty well. Then it was off to Kate's apartment for a movie and a sweet game of phase 10...I still need to dish out some payback for certain people using the skip card on me!

So...basically it doesn't sound like it was too exciting...but it was SOOO much fun...I never really leave my apartment..I think I need to get out more. haha.

The Party Car!

We were afraid that Andrew would get mad at us once we stopped...he did

But it was a party anyways!!!

aww...precious.

lots to blog!

2009-07-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

So I haven't blogged in a long long time...so nothing to blog about in particular..so I'll just give an update of summer!

Playing at the beach

...with ice cream

Going to Medford

...and playing with my cute nephews

the 4th of July

white trash wars

Pie eating contest...BEFORE

...and AFTER

And more fireworks then should ever be legal!

um...yeah....

and of course...picking cherries!

new camera!

2009-06-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

For about the past six months I have REALLY wanted to buy myself a camera...and now that I have a job I decided finally to get one. It's a Nikon d40....and I really like it...here are some pictures I took. I honestly have NO idea what I'm doing....so I have a LOT to learn.

Adrian..this is your cacti that died.

IT'S GONE!

2009-06-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

And by that I mean my hair! Today I cut probably about a foot off of my hair and got a short A-line cut. It was a bit nerve wrecking but in the end I liked it a lot! It is the shortest I have ever had my hair so I'm sure this is going to be a fun adventure. This is kind of a crappy picture...but here it is!!!

Silly Silly Squirrel

2009-05-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

In our backyard there are a couple of squirrels that I am determined to teach how to waterski (I know it sounds silly but they ALWAYS do it on America's funniest home videos). Even though I know that we will never be able to teach them to waterski (mostly because we have no skis that small), we are still teaching them to become very comfortable around. We even named one Daniel, even though my brother daniel doesn't like that. The squirrels will come up to our back door and just stare at us until we feed them. There favorite food is graham crackers and they will eat them right out of our hands. They are really funny to watch, and so we decided to take a couple pictures of them today.

Mrs. Mac

2009-05-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

Mrs. McDonald, or as we always called her, Mrs. Mac, was my fifth grade teacher. She is basically the best teacher of all time and has taught me so much! The year that I was in her class was actually the year that she retired after teaching for 30 years. Ever since fifth grade then me and a few of my friends have kept in good contact with her, and still go see her two or three times a year. Usually we will at least see her for a christmas get together and once during the summer. We will go out to lunch or go to someones house and just chat and catch up with eachother about life. She loves seeing how much we've grown and changed over the years (now it's been about 9 years since we were in her class). Typically the group consists of my friends Jessica, Hannah, and Katherine. Yesterday we decided we needed to have another get together so Jessica and Mrs. Mac came over to my house for lunch. Unfortunately Hannah and Katherine weren't able to come, but we were still able to have an awesome time! Hopefully we can get the whole group together again pretty soon.

It's tulip time!

2009-05-01T00:36:00.001-07:00

Today then Daniel and I decided to drive up to Skagit Valley to see the tulip fields. We came up at the perfect time because the fields were beautiful and in full bloom. It was the perfect weather outside for walking around and enjoying the flowers. Afterwards we went up to visit Daniel's friend, Colton, who is going to school at Western...he happened to be in Lynden so we met him up there. We really wanted to go to some of the dutch shops...but apparently every store closed at 4...so we just walked down the street and enjoyed looking at all the dutch stuff. Afterwards we went to Colton's, ate some food, then headed back home. The whole day was a lot of fun!

HOME!

2009-04-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

I've been home for over a week now. I thought I would have so much time to do things...like blog...but it turns out I just want to play right now. So I will blog really soon....promise.

Happy April!

2009-04-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining, it's a toasty 33 degrees outside with a nice layer of melting ice! Two more weeks of constant homework and then I get to go home....where apparently it's 35 degres with a nice mixture of snow and rain....hmmm...what happened to Washington? Today they handed out a finals week care package in class...there are tissues, band-aids, cough drops, and chocolate...should I be concerned?

The wacky adventures of Frederick McDoogle the third.

2009-03-25T21:22:00.001-07:00

Hello....This is Mr. Frederick McDoogle the third...

He lives in my apartment...technically there are no boys allowed in the apartment (which would include Frederick)...but there are also no fish allowed...so...double negative= it's OK!

Mr. McDoogle has already been through many adventures, and we've had him probably less than a month.

His first adventure started at Walmart where we bought him. When we walked into the store then we found the manager standing there in the main aisle as Marie and I are loudly talking about how we're getting a fish (apparently the manager doesn't know about the double negative standard) none the less...we had to shut our mouths and sneak casually into the pet aisle to find a fish. The sales guy isn't much help and isn't nearly as excited about us buying a fish as we are...but eventually we decide to pick out a beautiful blue beta, and some nice accessories to go in his home. I checked to see if the coast was clear....it was...so we quickly hurried to the check out...the checker wanted to put the fish in a bag...we thought that was darn-right crazy...so we denied the bag..until we saw our manager 3 registers down..at which time we slightly freaked out/ decided to take a bag. We made it to the car...and all was well!

Deciding a name was not easy....luckily the day before we happened to brainstorm/ compile a list of potential fish names during relief society...we were also listening of course. The list was pretty long...sometimes we decide to call frederick by a different name. Kinsey prefers to call him "Alex"...as in Alex Trebek...I sometimes like calling him frederick poncho tortilla McDoogle...etc. etc.

Mr. McDoogle really likes his fish food....sometimes when Nephi comes over he will try and sneak Freddy some banana bread, or peanut butter M&Ms, or oregano, or bubble gum. Sometimes Alex will even swim really quick and eat the things that he is given. Mr. McDoogle mostly does this just to entertain Nephi...he really doesn't like anything except fish food..and as far as I am concerned there is no oregano in fish food...yes..I confirmed it..no oregano..or banana bread..

Just yesterday the manager decided to come into our apartment to show a potential resident around the apartment...she came because she said our apartment is usually the cleanest...it just so happens that yesterday looked slightly like death....but anyways....The fish was just sitting there...right there on the bookshelf....as the manager comes waltzing through...Lisa and I were kind of freaking out. The manager didn't say anything..but that doesn't mean she didn't see it...so now we're staying on the lookout. We already have to hide it for clean checks...

I only get to spend 2.5 more weeks with Mr. McDoogle...then what? Will he go to live with Marie working in Alaska..that just doesn't seem proper seeing as her whole job is cutting up fish...I would personally be very offended if I was him...Or will he go to live with Marie's family in Blackfoot...maybe just continue to live at the apartment..fending for himself...I just don't know...All I can say is...Good Luck Frederick McDoogle the third...you're the best fish a girl could have!

The Sun!

2009-03-21T08:40:00.000-07:00

I know I still need to blog about my trip to Provo for nationals and all sorts of fun adventures...but....I don't have any pictures...and I feel like it won't be complete without pictures...so I need to wait to steal some from my mom....anyways

It's time for another thankful list ( I know these aren't the most interesting blogs...but it helps me put life into perspective so deal with it..haha)

First of all...THE SUN!!!! it has actually been sunny here for several days...and not the kind of sunny where the sun reflects off all the ice crystals in the air, which IS still beautiful, but not the kind of sun we are referring to...I'm talking about the wear flip flops and a T-shirt and threaten to walk down to sonics for Happy Hour type of sunny...oh it is glorious!

SATURDAYS...sometimes I feel super lazy...but today all my roommates are gone and I plan on getting the apartment all cleaned up...not the most exciting saturday...but I know that I'll feel accomplished when it's over..ALSO I will probably get some homework done...which will make me feel good.

FRISBEE... The summer after my senior year I'm pretty sure frisbee was one of those every day/ nothing else to do activities...but I love it! it means being outside usually in the places that I love most (beaches, parks, and the cul-de-sac). Justin got me one for my birthday before going to college...I've hardly used it since then, but with this weather it might be time to play with it again (Rexburg also is a bit windy for frisbee...but oh well)

MARIE....She's my roommate...she's funny and says things that make me laugh....also sometimes we do really fun things together on the weekends...one week it was watching extreme logging and bass fishing...on our saturday night...good times. Also she'll watch the stupid movies that everyone else finds unbearable with me...like Dumb and Dumber, and Billy Madison.

DRAFTING....sometimes it gives me a headache.....but I love knowing how things work and go together, and being able to create things that will actually work (or should work at least). I basically could build a house from the ground up....you MIGHT want to be jealous.

SOFAS...I just would not enjoy being from the old days when there wasn't sofas ...it's just so comfortable to sit on...and I hardly choose the floor over the sofa...so I think it's just a good thing...yes...it is...a good thing.

MUSIC...I love music...I could listen to it all day every day. It has such control over how I feel sometimes... When I listen to a song I'll feel like I'm going to explode and just want to break out in dancing or skipping or something. Also I love song lyrics...I'm not the best writer in the world so listening to lyrics amazes me. The way the lyrics can be so deep and mean so much...makes me tear up a bit..haha.

TREES....I love trees...I've grown up around trees my whole life, it's weird to me how few trees there are here. In Utah we saw a cell tower trying to be a tree, it was really ugly. I'm glad real trees aren't like that...they are so beautiful and cast such amazing shadows throughout the day....which I'm also thankful for...SHADOWS...They are just cool

PAINT...so I am definitely not a painter, but lately in my color theory class we have been using a lot of paint. I think painting is the most relaxing thing in the world. Right now we're doing an experimental color project....aka some abstract art. I suck at abstract art...but I think it is a whole lot of fun! I want to practice more so I might be able to create something that is actually acceptable.

BROTHER PARSON...he is a pro artist and is teaching me how to be a pro artist...I never thought you could actually LEARN to draw and paing...but you can! Once you learn all the rules of perspective, shadow, reflections, etc. It just takes a lot of practice...But Brother Parson is hilarious and a ton of fun and a great teacher. Sometimes we'll listen to Abba, and yesterday he was talking about conspiracy theories (don't worry this is all while we're working at the same time) but I have a good time learning from Brother Parson!

That is my thankful list for the day! Now I need to enjoy some of this sun!!!

Evolution of Kensington 203

2009-03-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

I have lived in the same apartment since I came to college, the last two years I have been at kensington manor apartment 203. Even though I am in the same apartment every semester..the dynamics of the apartment change so much every semester. I have always gotten along with my roommates, thank goodness, but that doesn't mean every semester isn't drastically different. Let's just compare this semester and last semester. My "last" semester roommates Emmilie and Mary were replaced by my "this" semester roommates Megan and Lisa. Kensington 203 used to be a place full of love and happiness and butterflies.....and then...there is this semester.

Yes! that is my hand... with a loaded/ technically not loaded nerf gun aimed at Kinsey's face...we used to be nice...but things change.

So this was while playing a round of my favorite game rummikub. This game used to be a stress free, go to the park and play rummikub sort of game, but ever since Lisa and Megan came along there has been an abundance of violence. Typically Shawn will come over and wrestle with Megan and Lisa, usually Kinsey and I will get away with mostly just sitting on the couch laughing, occasionally getting sat on...But last night we decided to join in with the fighting. Megan and I had pulled out our mattresses out to the family room for our sunday naps, so it was the perfect wrestling mat. Kinsey and I fought eachother for the next half hour or so. I did all sorts of professional wrestling moves on her like the "Cobra Clutch" and "Straight Jacket". I pretty much beat her down. Today I have all sorts of invisble bruises...I feel them..but don't see them, it's weird. But I had to do my angry dance yesterday to get out all my wrestling rage. well..here are some more pictures of playing last night.

The longest game of Rummikub known to man...Megan hates rummikub

Lisa and Shawn having a "who can jump higher" contest...I think it was a tie.

Thursday

2009-03-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

I love Thursdays! For some reason I wake up in the morning and think "hooray it's Thursday....I love Thursdays". I don't even understand what it is that I love about them so much. Usually it is the day for a new episode of the office, there hasn't been a new one for several weeks....but those Thursdays have still been awesome. I think it's because Thursday means that it's almost Friday...which means that it's almost the weekend...so you would think Friday would be my awesome day...not saying I don't love Fridays...but I just like Thursdays.

After pondering about my feelings for Thursdays, I had another thought... I like Thursdays because they mean it's almost the weekend....well...why can't I just like the weekdays for there own characteristics rather than being characterized by it's distance to the weekend. If you think about it there are 5 weekdays and only 2 weekends....why waste those 5 days waiting for the weekend? why not just enjoy all 7 days? You never hear people sitting there on saturday saying "I can't wait until it's monday!"....that just doesn't happen...but I think I'm going to try and make it happen...I'm going to try and be so excited for everyday that I just can't wait for it to be Monday...or Tuesday...or Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday...They are all good days....so.....

Happy Thursday!

good day.

2009-03-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

Today is a good day...I don't know...it's just good.

Today my class started at 8:15 instead of 7:45, so I got to sleep in an extra half hour.

For breakfast I ate yogurt, blueberries, and granola...I'm trying to work on eating healthy...sometimes sucks but it makes me feel good.

Walking to class it was almost WARM...and it was sunny....I really wanted to dance all the way to class...but I just had to hold back....and it was really hard to hold back.

Class got over like an hour early, so I was able to work on homework and chat with people in the studio..I just like it.

When I walked back from class it was STILL warm. I know...crazy.

I got home and checked my email and there was a message from Alaska Airlines saying that I should be able to come back and work this summer..I am so Excited!

I learned that from now on I am a Washington Nationals fan...this season...I didn't know this team existed until last year at a Mariner's game and I was trying to figure who the crap the other team was....but...I'm pretty sue they are winning the world series.

Today is just good! actually...it's awesome...I like awesome days. and it's only noon! so hopefully the rest of the day is awesome too! I get to paint in my color theory class...I like painting...mixing colors is fun. good day.

let's try this again

2009-02-24T20:25:00.001-08:00

So....I was pretty negative in my last post....so I decided to try again and be more positive. Right now I'm taking a world religions class and I'm learning a lot about the eastern religions. One of the main things my professor wants us to focus on is meditation. To take some time out and just be still. So I decided to do that, and I realized there is so much in life to be thankful for. In Buddhism there is the term dukkha which basically means suffering (sorry Jamie...don't worry it's spelled different), and the main thing with dukkha is that life is full of suffering, but if you step back and separate yourself from suffering then you will be able to overcome it. I know that all I did was hurt my toe and got a little dizzy, but I think it's important to not let those little things in life get you down. So I'm trying to focus more on all the things that I'm thankful for...so yes..here it is...another thankful list!

The 9 toenails that don't even hurt, and my one screwed up toenail...because suffering makes you stronger

The fact that the high for today was 42 degrees...yes...that is quite warm for these here parts

rain....it practically rained yesterday...it rocked!

meditation/zenifying.... it's good to not overanalyze life

lotion....sounds silly...but I'm fond of the stuff

flowers...there's not many outside...but our apartment was full of them last week...I miss the flowers...I like them.

The Gospel...kind of obvious...it rocks!

speaking of rocks....geology....it makes me and kinsey feel really cool to talk about rocks

Frederick McDoogle the Third...aka the sweet Beta we bought yesterday

rebellion...I know...it's a bad one...but we technically aren't supposed to have fish...we saw the manager at walmart when we were fish shopping..it was an adventure

BYU-Idaho..it's cold and in the middle of Idaho...but I'm pretty fond of it

etc. etc.

Ew.

2009-02-24T16:09:00.000-08:00

so yesterday during my social dance class then right before taking my test for cha cha some kid asked me to dance. Somehow he managed to kick my toe, thus half my toenail is half way off....this has happened before and usually I just get over it, keep dancing, and find a band-aid later on. I figured I would do the same thing. So I went to the partner I was dancing with and looked down and my whole toe was covered with blood...it was nasty..so I rushed off to the bathroom to clean it up ( I personally was more concerned about getting blood on my dance shoe than about my toe...p.s. my shoe got really gross....I was not happy). But anyways...I wrapped up my toe with some toilet paper, took my cha cha test and by the end it was all nasty and red...so I found a band-aid... all I can say is it's starting to hurt a lot more now. Daniel thinks it's my own fault for taking a 280 social dance class (which is sort of beginner-ish) instead of taking the techiniques classes that he's taking...all I know is my toenail keeps catching on things and it makes me want to puke...Anyway...today I feel really nauseated, dizzy, and kind of claustrophobic...I'm pretty sure it's toe related...haha...But I felt like this for a few days this past summer and basically passed out at work, don't know what made me feel like that...but I hope it doesn't decide to last a few days again. I don't really feel that sick...just like if I stand up I'm gonna pass out.

But I'm gonna look on the brightside..right now it is 39 degrees! yes...you heard that correct...39 degrees! it hasn't been this "hot" all semester...so despite the toe/ dizziness....I'm pretty dang happy! I think I prefer feeling a little off rather than having it be gross outside! AND I'm also happy because I get to see my mom and sister in like....2.5 weeks! hooray!

Jennifer is...

2009-02-19T22:40:00.000-08:00

So facebook is a pretty big deal in modern day America...one of the features of facebook is the status feature where you say what you are doing...I was just looking at my profile at the last few statuses I have had. I always seem to have the brilliant idea of changing my facebook status when I am not exactly having my brightest moment in life. So this is what the facebook world will know about me if they quickly look at my status.

Jennifer is playing the Hanukah song on the guitar, while waiting for her hair to finish dying, and wearing a grocery bag cape.

Jennifer impaled her lip with a fork in an attempt to eat rice...how cool is that? not very

Jennifer accidently took a nap instead of doing homework...and now she just wants to sleep some more...instead of doing homework

Jennifer is wondering what size stairs are supposed to be

Jennifer had a fun day in class today, but also has a big glue gun blister on her finger

Jennifer is wondering why she's forcing herself to relive the saddest day of her life..aka the kingdome implosion

Jennifer is trying to teach herself to like yogurt

Jennifer thinks snow would be pretty if it weren't for the fact that it's ugly, and is wondering what happened to her limbo skills

so....what do you think this says about me?

New Hair

2009-02-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

So...I have this addiction to dyeing my hair sometimes.....and I was doing so well (I hadn't dyed my hair since the beginning of the summer...aka FOREVER)....until yesterday. I decided it would be fun to go a little darker with my hair. My friend Ashley dyed it, and I think she did a swell job. I like it too...It's always fun to have a little change.

Before

After

Giving Thanks

2009-02-15T23:57:00.000-08:00

I know it's not Thanksgiving or anything, but I just feel really grateful for lots of things right now. Ever since I've been away from home I come to appreciate all the things that I have at home, but also the new experiences that I gain at school. It's almost the end of my second year at school (and by almost I mean not almost at all) and the longer I'm here the more I become thankful for everything in life. So here are some of the things that I am thankful for:

Roommates

Family

The Water and everything associated with it...

...including the beach

Random Adventures

Friends

Food that I didn't buy

The Big City (apparently Seattle fits in that category)

Twister and other amazing games

My Dutch Heritage and Poffertjes

Being Myself and hanging with the cool kids

acting like I'm 5

Homecooked meals

the fact that I am not easily offended

Roadtrips where I don't almost die

There are SO many more things to be thankful for...but I think I'll leave those for another day...all I can say is life is good!