Classes are finished. Just one Final, one English Portfolio and one Meeting with an art teacher and by the end of next Thursday, I'm done! Yay fun cool!! Then on to two independent study classes I should've (and was totally able to) completed this past summer. Yeeeesh!!!

My mom got me the most beautiful vacuum in the world for our Christmas present. That's right. A DYSON!!!!!Isn't it beautiful? Oh my goodness gracious me. I am so loved!

I've also discovered Freaks and Geeks. About four episodes into it. SO GOOD!

I'm so excited!! I'm so excited!!! I'm so... scared...

Not really. Just REALLY excited. Because Shawn bought me THIS yesterday (after telling me that he only really got me a gift note. Not a gift to go with it. Har de har har):AAAAAAAAACK! I CAN'T HANDLE IT!!! I've been lusting after one of these for YEARS! And my day has finally come! Well in 5-9 days. But whatever.

Is it so wrong?

Is it so wrong that even though I would've voted for McCain, I'm kinda glad Obama won? On the world stage I think it will make other countries happier with America, and even though that shouldn't be the end all priority to such a decision, it is kind of a big deal. And I think it's healthy that the presidency exchanges parties every several years. While I don't agree with the vast majority of Democratic Liberal ideals, I don't think it's healthy to always stay on one side of things. Does that make sense? I think part of checks and balances inherent in the country's government system is the exchange of power and party every 4-8 years. While I don't agree with most of Obama's politics, I did feel a strange emotion when I learned that he had won--hope. I think he might be able to do some good in this country. I guess we'll see!

Is it wrong that even though I'm for Prop 8, I kind of wish it hadn't passed just because I was so disgusted with the reaction of some of my classmates? It's comments like, "Let's ship them off to an island, they'll die out after a generation anyway," that doesn't do our side or religion any favors, my friends. I had friends back at home who are homosexual. I recognize their sincere desire to be happy, and that they are genuinely good people. While I don't agree with their lifestyle, I can't force my views on them (or vice versa!) and measure them up to the same beliefs I hold as far as the morality of homosexuality goes. I believe the institution of marriage is strictly between a man and woman (and I don't think comparing the worse of marriages to the best of homosexual relationships is the way to go, either. I wouldn't want my worst moments to be solely used to represent who I am as a person. It's the intention and purpose of what marriage is, not always the reality that is at stake here). I think intolerance is a lot messier than people would like to believe. It's wrong to call someone intolerant just for having religious beliefs that don't gel with your own. It's also wrong to be hateful towards those who don't share your religious beliefs. That IS intolerant. Prop 8 prevailed by the people's vote. But that didn't come without a price. Let's hope we're willing to pay that price with understanding and love. Not by spewing hateful intolerant epithets. Sometimes it's when we win that our true natures are revealed.

And now for something completely different: Go to www.Failblog.org. It's freaking hilarious.

These are a few of my favorite things!!!!

Okay, so I guess I should be a little more positive for this next blog. And you did give me the idea, Jessica, but all I saw was the rant against V-necks on guys (which I wholeheartedly agree with. *shudders*), nothing else. After having a dream of Shawn dying of cancer and another dream where we were both called again to serve a mission (but in different countries--I think I was called back to England!), I've learned to treasure Shawn that much more. Until I told him about that first dream and he told me he really IS dying of cancer. Har de har de har.

Online coupons!!! I found one that actually worked, and got twenty bucks off my ultimate Kari shoes!!! That's right, ugly cute plain penny loafers: (except I got mine in kind of a dark tan). These shoes will be the third pair of the same exact style I've gone through thus far. The last pair I owned though was in high school, so I've been pining after these shoes for over six years now. Sigh. And now my day has come. They're so comfortable (at least after you break them in a bit) that I feel like I'm in a little bit of heaven every time I slip them on. Who cares if my dad probably has the same pair of shoes. It's just a mark of his good taste :).


ARGYLE!!! If I could wear argyle everyday, I might get sick of it, but I doubt it. My ultimate dream in regarding this semi-nerdy pattern is to have a dark brown knitted sweater vest with a light pink argyle pattern going across it. This picture is the closest I could find to what I'm looking for. Oh, and I don't care what Demitri Martin has to say on the subject. Sweater vests on guys are ridiculously hot. But with a shallow scoop neck and a button up underneath.

Corduroy. I live for corduroy. I can't help it. I also have a dream pair of dark brown corduroy trousers just waiting for me somewhere out there. Like the song. Some day! It's so worth the annoying SWISHing sound they create when you walk. They are THAT cute.

Chocolate chip cookie dough. And raw brownie mix. I don't care what anyone says, In over 20 years of eating this stuff, I have never gotten sick off it. I may or may not make cookies or brownies just so I can eat the dough.

Maxfield Parrish and Norman Rockwell. These guys kick a-word at art. I'd give anything to be that good.

The rain. It's just so sunny here ALL THE TIME. So depressing! We do get some crazy weather here, OCCASIONALLY, but I miss my rain. And it snows too much here. But the point is, rain is great. It also makes it so I don't have to water my garden everyday. Which I do most of the time. Because it never rains.

My garden. It is SO MUCH FUN using my own garden for cooking!

My mom's vacuum. Sigh. If anyone ever feels inclined to buy me a Dyson, I'll give you my address to send it to.

Crappy crime and scifi shows. Poor Shawn. Just when I finished watching a season of 24, I find out about Eureka. When I finish a season of that I discover Murder One. When I finished that I discovered Fringe and Sanctuary and Life and Burn Notice and the Mentalist (which is a total Psych ripoff, but a good enough one that I still like watching it). I don't know why I bother watching Life. I don't like it--I really like Damien Lewis as an actor, but everyone is so contrived and forced in this show, it's just annoying. Except for the dude that lives OVER the garage in his house. He's okay. Hulu--gotta love it! You can even watch old episodes of Dragnet on it! Yay fun cool!

You gotta read the one about the vampires, too!

http://thisistheonlylieiwillevertell.blogspot.com/2008/09/killer-seals.html

I don't care if you don't think this is funny, Shawn! I don't! I promise!

I hate so much... about the things... you choose to be...

Well not exactly. These are just a list of things I hate that I've been thinking about lately. As IF you don't do the same!!!

Pointy shoes. I don't get the appeal. Sorry people. They look like witch shoes that make your feet seem about three inches longer than they really are. I prefer the rounded toe ones, because they make my feet look tiny and sweet, and they're a butt-load more comfortable. I prefer flats, too, although heeled shoes do have a certain allure to them. But not enough to make me wear them more than 10% of the time.



Those Bolero shrug jacket things. I can't explain it. They just wax ugly to me. Even though successful in adding modesty, they just look painfully awkward. They just add yuck.



Cowboy boots-unless they're on my favorite chunky two year old in my nursery class, cowboy boots don't look good, sorry!--the more traditional, the worse it gets. Sick--heels on guys? It just doesn't work. And GOSH, the red boots Ariel wears in Footloose to rebel against her dad? I threw up a little in my mouth. Choose your battles, Ariel! This is not one you can win by, um, winning! One of my old roommates loved to go country-dancing, and would always wear her boots. Every Saturday, I died a little inside.


THESE slip-on shoes. On boys or girls. I don't care what designs are on them. If they're plain, striped or polka dotted. I don't like shoes with nothing going on around the toe, and where all the action is more near your ankle. Ugly ugly ugly. when I wear jeans, I like to be able to see more than just a smooth (even if painted!) surface when I look at my feet. I've never liked shoes like these. I guess over the years I have been warming up to them A LITTLE, but not much.


Pseudo-intellectualism--smug patting oneself on the back doesn't win you any favors with me. In my 2D art class, my teacher was going off on an anti-elitist/academic rampage, and while I agreed with most of what he said, I didn't appreciate his smug tone, especially as he coddled everyone who vocally agreed with him in class (classmate: you're totally right! I hate crappy art! I hate art critics that canonize artists one moment and utterly reject them the next! teacher: oh, you think *smug smile*). Yes, craftsmanship and skill in art are downplayed and negated a lot more in the 20th Century than in the past--message/shock value over talent (think crucifix in a cup of urine. Or GOSH, that print of the Mona Lisa with scribbles and graffiti all over her face)--but you're not doing yourself any favors by your holier-than-your coworkers/field attitude. Being a snob against the snobs instantly defeats your purpose.

If you look at the history of art, it basically follows (not starting from the very beginning, sorry!): traditional (renaissance)/objection to the traditional(impressionism)/return to the traditional(realism)/defiance of the traditional(pop-art)/retro-traditional & a variety of everything all at the same time. It's a freaking cycle, people. Many of these "changes" were in response to war and other movements of the time period. Understandable, but not necessarily valid. At least to me!

And it's annoying when people think they're being fresh and new when they're just part of that system, and are actually supporting the system with their so-called rebellion or contempt. This being the case more in the last fifty years than any time period previous.

Yes, I do think most, if not all art is extremely over-priced and over-valued. I think many artists do play the system with contrived messages designed to shock and make money while putting little to no actual talent or time into their work. I love and hate the fact that several decades ago, a man turned a toilet on its side and called it art, and it was shown at a museum as such, while in fact he did this to essentially poke fun at the art establishment for taking itself and even its own irony too seriously. How productive was this exercise, though? It brought more attention to the intellectuals who consciously produced crap over those who tirelessly worked to create beauty and depth in the strokes of their paintbrushes or in the curves of their sculptures. Just because it wasn't new and shocking didn't invalidate it any more than the fact that something that was new and did shock did make it valid.

There seems to be more value over the finished work than the time one took to make it. I love art that demonstrates talent and time. I love art that supports a message rather than conveys a message (think illustrations--like the ones in the HFAC--over a lot of the art in the moa right now. Really? a huge canvas with a bunch of painted diagonals?) I don't appreciate being told to value something that may have a message but obviously took no time to make or that anybody could have made it. And then being told I'm unintelligent or I obviously "don't get it," if I derail or question its intrinsic worth. I refuse to assign worth to something where there is no worth to be found. Often crusades in the art field are destined to go nowhere. Except perhaps back to the beginning where it ultimately attacks itself.

A lot of students whined about our digital tech class where we drew houses on the computer and watched the teacher do a bunch of technical tricks on the big screen. While he might not be teaching us the most effective way possible to use Adobe Photoshop or Illustration, I resented the idea that doing dumb projects to learn these skills is ineffective. Get over yourselves, students! I didn't consider altering a picture of Steve Martin to be busy work, because I was feeling my way through the program with trial and error. Until we finally received the assignment to make a book cover of any book we've read, 2D was my least favorite class because I viewed it ALL as busy work designed to fill up my weekends with nothing but repetitive sludge (I have to make FIVE boxes as an exercise in design and value? And this accomplishes...?). At least THAT much has changed. For now.

I hate how I resent people who share the same tastes/hobbies/interests as me, and resent people who don't. You just can't win with me!!

I hate being judged by my clothes and appearance, and how I judge others by theirs. I don't like it when people in different fields have to look the part. Why does an artist have to LOOK like an artist? Doesn't that kind of do the work for other people? I like making people work to get to know me. None of this instant dismissal based on my dyed hair or black clothes. Besides, black looks TERRIBLE on me. Maybe I wasn't meant to pursue art.

I hate the term "artist." I refuse upon graduation telling people, "I'm an artist." *shudders* I guess this is for the same reason why I hesitate to call anything art right away. It's a bit presumptuous!

I hate it when people buy clothes with the company or designer's name written blatantly across it. No, I will not pay money to solicit a company for them. They should be paying ME. My only exemptions are for the bands I like. Yes, I will support you in your musical endeavors as long as your music pleases me. That's about it.

Not-being-self-conscious (can't think of a better term for it!)--do you REALLY not get how you come across? Are you even LISTENING to yourself? Thankfully most, if not all of my closest friends and family are painfully self-conscious. And that's how I like it.

I hate most knitting patterns--no, I do not, in fact, want to wear a shapeless knitted box.

Glitter--it took getting out of junior high to make me understand why glitter DOES, in fact, make you look like a whore. I nearly corked a gut when I went to EFY at 16 and saw girls in skimpy clothes slather their chests with glitter. Really?! Is this your way of trying to be taken seriously?

Profanity-MOST of the time--exceptions include: my boss--a RELIEF SOCIETY PRESIDENT, cussing up a storm over a student or situation, or the former clinical psych director doing the same over anything and everything. They swear worse than sailors, and it's amazing how much more manageable work becomes when they let off a few. On the other hand, I've seen movies and plays where they sprinkle the f-word like gravy on brussel sprouts (trust me, you need a LOT to make those little guys taste good). If you can't get the idea across sans profanity, it must not be a very decent message to begin with. Even if it is, chances are I won't notice it throughout all the cursings. The F word ruined the play, "Proof" for me. Which would've been awesome without it.

Skinny pants--unless they're on girls, and the bottoms are folded up while they wear sandals. I wish I could pull off that look, but I can't. I also hate super baggy pants on guys (and girls!). Dudes, contrary to popular belief, I do not like crack. Of any kind. So belt it or change!

People who laugh at their own joke. Or expect you wholeheartedly to laugh at theirs. GOSH!

Text-messaging or Instant messaging or even speaking using acronyms/initials. Ever since I read 1984 in junior high, any attempts at shortening words or phrases gives me the creeps and freaks me out. Or just sounds dumb. Lol, imho... it hurts, it hurts! Doubleplusungood, indeed.

I've read books on almost all sides of the political spectrum: Liberal, Independent, Libertarian, Conservative. I do get a kick out of Michael Moore while simultaneously rejecting most of his views or claims. The same with Ann Coulter, although I do agree with a lot of what she has to say, just definitely NOT how she says it. Same with Bill O'Reilly, John Stossel, and Sean Hannity. It's when they stop yelling that you can get a better feel of what they truly think about the issues. Hence me really liking to read their books. Downsize This! is genius, although Moore seems to have major issues drawing the line between propaganda and truth (I'm suspicious over "An Inconvenient Truth" for the same reasons. While the world can do LOADS better to protect the earth, I do think there is some exaggeration over how much influence we've had and have concerning global warming. Infiltrating children's animated movies does more to hurt your cause than help it, at least for me, O liberal hollywoodians. It was the only reason why I was a little resentful of Wall-E. And Ferngully for that matter). ANYWAY, Michael Moore much prefers (mis)representation of ideas over the cold hard facts. Although, admittedly I would watch, "TV Nation" every week when it was on TV. Seeing a chunky sloppily dressed guy approach top CEOs to verbally attack their policies will never get old. The one person I truly categorically trust and admire is Thomas Sowell, an African-American economist (although I DO have a major crush on George F. Will. When I can understand him. Talk about verbose! Plus he wears a bow-tie, and pulls it off. Dang!). Sowell is one of the few people that can argue his ideas nonargumentatively. As in he doesn't rely on insults or the volume of his voice (but see, it goes up to eleven!) to get his ideas across. He uses logic and examples and analogies to explain his ideas. He's one of the few people that doesn't make me go "grrrerrrmmm..." every two seconds. He doesn't even rely on sarcasm! Irony, just a little bit.

Talking of politics, these are my opinions thus far. I really like both Obama and McCain as people. Being an elitist-intellectual (counter to my earlier arguments, I KNOW! But political elitism does differ SLIGHTLY from artistic elitism) shouldn't be a bad word in the political arena. Biden seems decent, and I've got very mixed feelings about Palin. I think McCain has the experience, Obama has the drive, Biden the experience, and Palin has... well... besides being female, I'm not getting it. She's not experienced, and in her interviews she doesn't strike me as being incredibly intellectual either. She seems like a cute multi-tasking soccer mom that happens to be interested in politics. She may be motivated, but wanting something really badly won't get my vote alone. It feels like McCain chose her for all the wrong reasons--it seems like a political kneejerk reaction--if Obama is vying to be the first African American President, then we need the first female Veep, too as a counterattack. While it's good that Palin is much more conservative than McCain, it scares me to think that she's one step away from being President if they're voted in. I'm not sure that's a risk I'm willing to take. I definitely do not think she's ready for it, regardless of how cute I think she looks! And how annoying Katie Couric was when she interviewed her. It was sooooo obvious how Couric felt towards Obama versus her feelings towards Palin. Unbiased my left cheek. It's funny, I think of all the candidates, Hillary Clinton was probably the smartest, or at least near the top. She just happened to be a bit smarmy, too. I didn't trust her. Smirking while the President talks doesn't get my vote, either, Hillary!! If it were up to me, posturing would be on its way out. Maybe during the next presidential race... Hey, one could hope!

I hate how these senators/governors/candidates are held responsible for decisions and votes they made sometimes over 20 years ago. If I were expected to hold the same opinions as I did even five years ago, we'd all be in a world of hurt. It should be a LACK of change that should be a concern, not the evidence of maturing. Flip-flopping is one thing, growth is completely different. I don't appreciate pandering, politic stunts or finger-pointing. There should be a greater emphasis on what one could do to help, not what the other person is doing wrong. Humorous in execution or not (I still think it's fantastic that Obama rejected Lindsay's offer to help with his candidacy. Ouch!).

Although a bit of humor never hurt anybody! Did anybody besides Shawn read the Superman article? Wasn't it great! Nobody even cares if Shawn didn't appreciate it.

Disclaimer: I realize my arguments and ideas have been very generalized. This post is aimed to express my feelings, not necessarily to defend and back them up. So I don't care to hear your reasonings behind why the bolero shrug is an acceptable piece of clothing. You will never convince me. No, it's not a challenge, so don't try! STOP!!!!!!!

http://thisistheonlylieiwillevertell.blogspot.com/2008/09/its-bad-day-for-man-of-steel.html

I can't even help it if things like this crack me up!! And I'm not even ashamed to say that I found this website through Wil Wheaton's. Who knew Ensign Wesley Crusher was so cool? And that he did one of the voices on The Secret of NIMH?

In the year 2525...

So I'm 25 now. Spent it not sleeping in because of the baby (that boy's got lungs!), and pretty annoyed with everybody else. I had a hard time getting to sleep the night before because my twin decided to spend the night, too, in the same room on the floor. And played on his little PSP. Click click click click click. And GOSH I couldn't find my regular deodorant so I had to use this back-up stuff and its scent was so strong that it gave me a headache and I couldn't sleep with my arms even remotely up (raised?). And since I normally like to sleep with my hands tucked under my pillow, I was very frustrated. And definitely Unsure. Don't use that Secret Platinum stuff. WOW. But that's just the night before.

I mean it was a pretty good day, I was just in a foul mood for most of it. Some extended family visited, but that just made me more annoyed. Especially when one referred to my little nephew as a "tabernacle." Really? Serious? Normally she just refers to their... um... *cough* as a tabernacle, so this was a new development. I got loads of cash from family and family in law (thanks Shawn's family!), which was also VERY nice and timely since school is starting in a couple of weeks. I also got a few phone calls and text messages and a buttload of posts on my facebook profile. Yay me!

I also didn't take a bath until about 7:00 pm. Which was LUSH. My mom has this jetted bathtub that has a slant on one side so you don't kill your back trying to find a comfortable position. I just read Voyage to Venus (which is actually Perelandra now I guess. By C.S. Lewis. I had found an old copy [before they updated the title] at a used bookstore several years ago) until the water got too cold, and then added some more hot water. And then until Kyle knocked on the door and told me it was time to go. Blech.

I got to talk to Rachel for about a half an hour, which was great. I miss you Rachel!

I only got to talk to Shawn for a few minutes.

I did get to talk to Amber Brueseke (we were best friends since kindergarten, basically), and she's in town! So I get to see her and a couple of other good friends from high school tonight! I haven't seen her since before my mission, I think. Yay fun cool!

The suckiest part of my birthday I guess was the part where he wasn't here for it. And I finally got up the guts to sleep ALONE in the bed, instead of out on the futon, but only because I brought in my laptop and watched old X-Files episodes until I fell asleep (BAD IDEA when there were a lot of kidnapped-from-the-bed-in-the-middle-of-the-night stories in it). So yeah, it took about three or four episodes to get me to go to sleep. The last episode had Krycek! But before he was Krycek. Just a small role. I'm embarrassed that I knew how to spell his name correctly (I may have double checked on IMDB).

Maybe I'll have that great birthday next year. The closest thing to a really good birthday I've had in years was last year when Shawn proposed, although that was actually on the day before. When I was trying really hard not to vomit from food poisoning from the day before THAT. Love and miss you Shawn! I wouldn't be my father's daughter if I didn't make every effort to inadvertently sabotage my own birthday.

Something SICK--this morning I took a shower to get ready for work. There weren't any towels hanging up so I grabbed a slightly used one from the floor just outside the bathroom. I went to wrap it around me when I saw something black. I stopped in time, and spread out the towel to get a closer look. YEAH. There was an enormous black beetle on it, and some other bugs I couldn't readily identify. Luckily, there were fresh towels in the dryer. Even if I had wrapped myself in the towel, at least I wouldn't have died ON my birthday. So there's that.

Ooh, also, Shawn got me the best presents! He got me little tags for the clothes I've made and will make--you know, the little "Made By: {insert name here}." SHUT UP!
Also, he got me the three Threadless shirts I wanted (which I may have accidentally spoiled the surprise because I was looking at our finances and went to his bank account and saw the payment he made to Threadless. Poor Shawn. He even hid the package so I couldn't find it when we got it [I was there when it came in the mail] ). Anyway, here they are:

"Let's Go Parasoling"

"Training" (I think this one is my favorite)

"Refrigerator Running"

Why does it have to hurt?

Now I know...

...how Sandra Bullock's character felt in The Net. Or Ben Affleck's character in... shoot. Paycheck? Some crap movie. Bless his heart, he can't even swear convincingly in his movies. But anyway, the past three years of my life have been erased. Ish. My folks discontinued their comcast account, from which my itrysohard email came. So yeah. Everything is gone. Including my missionary emails (about half of them. The rest were deleted long ago--including all the hilarious ones from Shawn on his mission and the weird stalker ones from William's old missionary companion--because I didn't forward them from my mission email account in time and the church discontinued it *fist shakeage*). No more reminiscing for yours truly. I still have all the WRITTEN letters, but it's just not the same. I emailed comcast to see if there is any recovery possible and I've yet to hear back from them, but I'm not holding my breath.

Also, anybody who's anybody is going to be MIA for my birthday. Shawn leaves the morning of, my dad leaves either the day before or the morning of, and Jessica is going to be gone. Rachel's probably going to be gone, TOO, JUST to spite me! Janay's been long gone now. So no BFF's forever for yours truly. The only thing that can REMOTELY make up for this complete and utter lack of support is this:

(make sure you have your volume on)

The Saturday before, my mom is taking my sister and I out for facials and lunch, but methinks that's more for her benefit ;-) but that's why we love my mom. Any excuse to get her face rubbed.

My BAAABY!!!

Just a few more days...

Sincerity is the New Irony

Or: Why I should never be allowed to leave the house (and how I would welcome such a policy)

The other day I was filing stuff into the clinic psych student folders (very top secret! so of course I'm privy to all of it. Bwa hah ah aaa just kidding?) and my boss came in to ask if I would watch the printer for her since she was printing stuff out from her computer and wouldn't be able to make it in time to the printer to watch it. Confused, I just nodded at her. Sensing said confusion, she paused and repeated herself two more times. I kept nodding and so she went back to her office computer and printed out the stuff. THEY WERE LABELS. SHE WAS PRINTING ONTO A LABEL SHEET. She just wasn't sure she was doing it right, hence the need for me to watch the printer. I didn't know this, so I just stood there dumbly filing away top secret confidential juicy papers as the labels across the room printed incorrectly, and continued to just stand there filing as she jetted past me to find out for herself that they were done wrong. As she pulled out the badly printed labels, suddenly I had taken on a refreshing mint flavor... I mean I suddenly felt like a complete idiot. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh IIIIII GEEEEETTTTT ITTT. *slaps self*

I don't just need things spelled out for me, I need them demonstrated as well. This one time in my seventh grade math class, I needed to get into a file cabinet. But it wouldn't just pull open. I thought it was locked and told my teacher, who told me I needed to squeeze one of the notches in order to open the drawer. I squeezed and squeezed and it didn't work. Frustrated and embarrassed I asked her again. She ultimately had to show me--you push the notch to the SIDE! THE SIDE! That familiar feeling of being a complete idiot manifested itself once again.

So imagine someone like me being unleashed upon the unsuspecting innocents of England. *shudders* But that's another story for another day.

Anyone who purports to know me would KNOW why I would welcome not having to leave the house, at least not very often. I KNOW how to work the drawers at home.

Garfield Minus Garfield

www.garfieldminusgarfield.net

So much funnier, and so much more true it cuts me to the core. This one is probably my favorite.

AWESOME!!!

So.... yeeeeeahhh....

I got into the Drawing/Painting program! The Visual Arts Department sent me an e-mail stating they're accepting a few extra students and would like me to be one of them. Um... what?!?! But I spent so much money already on English Independent Study classes, and on Italian books! I'm thinking of minoring in English so it doesn't go to waste (and I do really like English!), but we'll see. I'm done with generals, so that's good, too. AAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!! I feel so disoriented and bewildered! And beFUDDLED! Not too much that last one, but you get the idea.

I'd like to thank the academy, my darling husband, my family and friends that believed in me...


I mostly want to know if they didn't initially accept me because my GRADES weren't up to par, or my artwork.

Either way, I guess it doesn't matter because I'M IN THE DRAWING/PAINTING MAJOR!!!! And get to take classes like OIL PAINTING and BOOK BINDING! Can you GET any cooler than that?! Gosh, it's going to be hard, but this is something I'm excited to, you know, try at.

Why don't you take a picture--it'll last longer!

So I love photographs, but lately I find myself being hypercritical/cynical of them. As I walk through museums, etc. and look at a vast array of them, they just scream CONTRIVED! POSED!! TRITE!! PRETENTIOUS! But mostly contrived. I get the Seattle Times online--just the local news, and then movies on the weekends, and came across this--a selection of photos taken by just normal locals in Seattle. I just thought I'd scan over it really quickly and lose interest after a couple of pictures. BUT WOW! The vast majority of these just seem so serendipitous--the photographer was just in the right place at the right time, and captured the beauty of an instant. I ended up taking my time looking through each of them, tickled at the descriptions of how gleeful these people were. They were so excited! And so was I to see their work. The images were so natural and genuine. Nothing was posed or arranged. Now that's what I CALL a composition.

And best of all, they're all pictures taken in Washington. CAN YOU SEE why I pang for it everyday?!

I am...the blood thinner BWA HAH AH AH A

Actually quite the opposite. I tested positive for it, so my blood apparently coagulates a little TOO much, so I'm at a 5-13% increase compared to the normal population of having a blood clot. Good times! This means I'm off my b.c. which I have mixed feelings about. Work 8-5 everyday now, except for Thursdays when I get off at noon. Yay for Thursdays! Boooooo for every other day. Kyle and I have started running every other dayish together. We'll see how that goes. I'm knitting a cute navy blue sweater. The link of the pattern can be found HERE (but I had to make some alterations to the pattern--I swear their math is wrong. Or maybe I just undid my sweater several times just for fun.). Anyway, if you want to make it, ask me about it, and I'll tell you what you need to do differently. I'm making it longer (curse my parents for me being long-waisted!), with tighter sleeves. I'm also in the middle of reading Walker Percy's "Love in the Ruins: The adventures of a bad catholic at a time near the end of the world." The writing style/story reminds me vaguely of Kurt Vonnegut, one of my favorite writers. I've read this book before in high school and wanted to read it again to see if I still liked it. I honestly didn't remember there being such an abundance of derogatory terms! Ignoring that (can't tell if Percy is a racist, if it's just an indication of his time period, or if it's to serve a direct purpose in the story. If you know, fill me in!) I'm really enjoying it. Wouldn't mind a spin on the lapsometer, although I'd like to get happy through the normal avenues, not through being read by a machine and given a sodium solution. Unless I get desperate.

Some pictures from the garden (except the pizza)

Our pizza from scratch that we made together for our anniversary



Most of our herbs are here (with aloe vera, a squash and tomato thrown in) AND YES, that IS chocolate mint in the middle!


Our zucchini is taking over the garden!!



the two front ones in the middle are cilantro and spinach that we grew from seed. Aren't they cute?! I can't handle this garden!



The zucchini squash up close. Isn't it cute!!!!

I got things to do, but I'm kinda lazy...

So, I've been obsessed with knitting for the past few months. It's a real problem. As in I don't get much else done because of it. Everyday that I DON'T work in the mornings (instead I work 12-5), I wrap a blanket around me, curl up on my tacky lumpy futon in the front room, put on Bones or Criminal Minds, and just knit. I even measure time in how many episodes of these shows I can watch. Isn't that pathetic? I mean, I knit the entire time, so I'm not exactly wasting it, but I'm not using that time exactly productively, either. But it's so hard. I make all of these amazing plans to completely scrub down the house, but when I wake up in the mornings I'm exhausted, and when I get home from a *grueling* day at work I'm worn out. Yes, sitting at a desk for nine hours can be tiring!!! My back certainly suffers. But it's been suffering since I was eighteen, so that's nothing new.

On the plus side I've been bleeding profusely, so my doctor put me on a stronger birth control. Hopefully that'll... dry me up.

Speaking of blood, apparently my family has a genetic condition called, "prothrombin gene mutation." It has something to do with coagulation (my uncle and mom both tested positive for it. I'm not sure if any of the other relatives have been tested for it. I'm the first of the kids to get tested for it), and I read somewhere that it can affect fertility. But more research is needed, as well as my results! I just got like seven vials of blood drained from me today. Hopefully I'll hear back soon.

Here's a link to the wikipedia page about it. I'm not TOO worried about the pregnancy thing since my mom had four kids, and even though it took five years, my sister has a child now, too. But we'll see.

Kyle, Shawn and I saw the Incredible Hulk last night. There were a few cheesy parts, but what can you do with a cranky oversized green guy? Hulk... SMASH!! A little silly. But overall I enjoyed it. It made me want to watch the original just to see how bad it really was to initiate a remake just a few years later.

We saw Kung Fu Panda this past weekend--the three of us, with Gabe. It was pretty hilarious. It was also interesting to see the different levels of jokes--there were parts where we were busting up laughing that the little kids barely acknowledged, and other parts where THEY couldn't stop laughing, and we just rolled our eyes.

My family is officially moving to Springville in early August. They're nuts! I saw the house last week, and it's BEAUTIFUL, it's just HUGE. But that's what they wanted. The garden is great, too. Shawn and I called dibs on it until my dad moves here.

Yeah. My dad is staying behind in Seattle until he can quit his job. Which will probably be about two years. Isn't that sad? Poor dad tries to move closer to his family, only to be the one left behind. He gets paid butt loads for staying on longer like that though, which is the only reason he is remaining in Seattle. I hope he does okay.

Anyway, the only things these days getting me out of the house is work (for which I'm chronically five-ten minutes late) and my garden in the backyard. I LOVE IT! A bunch of our seeds just sprouted, so we have plants at different levels--the herbs we use intermittently, the tomatoes are flowering, the zucchini squash is taking over the entire garden (my fault) and the carrots and spinach, etc. just started sprouting. And they're just growing up so fast *tear*. We harvested one of our heads of lettuce before it was officially a HEAD, but it still tasted great with tacos :). Here's a picture of the STYLE we're doing it in, but not of the actual garden. That's another thing on the list of things I need to do, but probably won't any time soon--take a picture of the little sprouts. Well, wish me luck in getting more motivated. Hopefully my impending blood death won't get in the way too much. I like excuses a lot more than I should to get out of stuff. It's a real problem.

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion:

• You have low extroversion.
• You are quiet and reserved in most social situations.
• A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you.
• You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people.

Conscientiousness:

• You have medium conscientiousness.
• You're generally good at balancing work and play.
• When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done.
• But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it.

Agreeableness:

• You have high agreeableness.
• You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly.
• Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone.
• You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance.

Neuroticism:

• You have medium neuroticism.
• You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic.
• Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy.
• Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of.

Openness to experience:

• Your openness to new experiences is medium.
• You are generally broad minded when it come to new things.
• But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it.
• You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

oooooooooooooooooh!

So I'm basically the same as when I took this the last time--at a bishop's fireside when I was about sixteen. Here are my results for my color code personality profile test:
White, blue secondary. Although it looked like I had a lot of red as well, but no yellow. Oops!

WHITES (Motive: PEACE)

WHITES are motivated by PEACE. They seek independence and require kindness. They resist confrontation at all costs. To them, feeling good is more important than being good. They are typically quiet by nature, process things very deeply and objectively with great clarity. Of all the colors, WHITES are the best listeners. They respect people who are direct but recoil from perceived hostility or verbal battle.

WHITES need their "alone time" and refuse to be controlled by others. WHITES want to do things their own way and in their own time. They ask little of others and resent others demanding much of them. WHITES are much stronger than people think, but are not often seen for their strength because they don't easily reveal their feelings. WHITES are even-tempered, diplomatic, and the voice of reason; but can also be indecisive, unexpressive, and silently stubborn. When you deal with a WHITE, be kind, accept and support their individuality, and look for non-verbal clues to understand their feelings.

your personality profile indicates that you have significant portions of other colors in your overall makeup that help shape your unique personality style.

I had a sword?

Soooo... I haven't really been up to much lately. Just working a lot, which takes up the better part of my day, which sucks. I have the most energy in the morning and early afternoon, and by the time work gets over I'm a zombie dragging myself home. Even though I'm a secretary and I spend 5-9 hours a day just staring at my computer screen. It's exhausting contriving different ways each day to look busy! I did sign up for a couple of independent study classes so I had something to work on during work, but GOSH I DON'T FEEL LIKE IT MOST OF THE TIME! Even though I woke up just fine this morning, the idea of coming into work for a full nine hour work day may have been so unappealing that I MAY have called in to be a couple of hours late. When not at work, I usually find myself yet again in the front of the TV, knitting like crazy while watching dumb shows borrowed from Kyle's vast collection of dumb shows. I did start a garden last week! It's really cute, utilizing Mel Bartholomew's square foot gardening technique, although not followed to the T--I started it BEFORE his book came in the mail, so my dirt isn't Mel's mix--it's actually what he recommended NOT doing--using the dirt already there, although I did add a bunch of top soil to it, on my dad's recommendation. We'll see if my little plant guys makes it.
Speaking of dumb Kyle shows, Shawn and I started watching Heroes from Season One. It's TERRIBLE! The characters are pretty one dimensional/boring/too serious minus a few. The writing is bad, the acting is hammy, and yet I can't stop watching it. Curse the last couple of minutes leading to a cliffhanger! The only characters I REALLY care about is Hiro, his friend, and that diner girl he tried to save--WHY THE CRAP did they get rid of HER?! She was adorable! And wasn't too serious which made her a breath of fresh air! I do like Sylar's character just being he's so innocent and nice looking. You wouldn't think he would cut people's heads open with just the point of his finger. I do like the cheerleader, Claire, more than I thought I would--her relationship with Zack is way cute. Peter Petrelli is way too hammy, along with that girl he's in love with. The artist is growing on me, especially since he's clean now. I like D.L.'s character more and more, but Nikki's is kinda getting old. And I want to smack their kid. He knows better! Anyway, so yeah. That's my life these days. Shawn has been leaving on Monday and returning Friday for the past week or two, so that's dumb. Hopefully he'll be able to return on Thursday this week, and this'll be the last week where he's gone for more than a day. I hope I hope! Anyway, besides that life has just been good/boring. Good times.

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel, found him, resting on the seventh day.

He inquired, 'Where have you been?'

God smiled deeply and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, 'Look, Michael. Look what I've made.'

Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, 'What is it?' 'It's a planet,' replied God, 'and I've put Life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a place to test Balance.' 'Balance?' inquired Michael, 'I'm still confused.'

God explained, pointing to different parts of earth. 'For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while southern Europe is going to be poor. Over here I've placed a continent of white people, and over there is a continent of black people. Balance in all things.'

God continued pointing to different countries. 'This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be very cold and covered in ice.' The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land area and said, 'What's that one?'

'That's Washington State , the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful mountains, rivers and streams, lakes, forests, hills, and plains. The people from Washington State are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent, and humorous, and they are going to travel the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, high achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as diplomats, carriers of peace, and producers of software.'

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then asked, 'But what about

balance, God? You said there would be balance.'

God smiled as he said, 'There is another Washington . Wait till you see the idiots I

put there.'

Oh my TYPO! Someone who finally understands...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2004367117_danny23.html

Totally Harshing the Office Mellow, or: Not For the Faint of Heart

So.... I didn't make it into the program. But even though the visual arts department apparently doesn't love me, I was amazed by the demonstration of love by God and everyone else that followed. Here goes:
Two text messages used the word "B*stards" to unkindly describe those that rejected me. One of those utilized "sh*t" as well. Funny how angry my situation made others! Rachel apparently yelled out loud in her French class when she received my text, and told her teacher, he "wouldn't understand."
One text message asked if I needed a moping session.
My dad and twin brother who were sort of in the area stopped by, said a few awkward words, hugged me, and then took Gabe with them.
Shawn just held me for the longest time, and then provided some good words of comfort. Awww.
But the really best part? Besides Rachel dropping off a king size thing of reeses peanut butter cups and a live tahiti FISH with Anna in the middle of the night? My whole entire family was in town. We went to Target and got sushi (still craving more. I hope Shawn realized how hard it was for me to share) AND a record/CD/radio/tape player so I can play all my records that were just returned to me. I have a little record player, but you have to play with the cord for an hour every time just to get it to decently work. It was sunny and rainy on the way there, which is my favorite weather and has been my entire life. Stacey is really good at knowing when to stop comforting and focusing on the loss and when to start distracting with her cheeky wit. Anyway, I had a feeling that I wouldn't make it into the program. The morning before I found out, I registered for English classes, and later that day started crying when I saw the envelope in the mailbox. Oh well. At least I got to hold Cohen more as a result of my disappointment!

Once my head stops splitting

I have got a SPLITTING headache, and it's been prevalent ALL DAY TODAY! Causes? So many to choose from:

• lack of sleep? For various reasons I won't address, I wake up a few times every night.
• Shawn's alarm clock set for five hours before he eventually wakes up. You know those ERGH ERGH ERGH ERGH ERGH clocks? Yeah. One of those. And I thought my cell phone alarm was bad. Dah dah diddle diddle Dah da diddle diddle. Much better, and I can hold it under the pillow so it's not as loud.
• staring at a computer screen for four hours at work. Maybe getting my own lap top WASN'T such a good idea (yes it was Shawn, thank you so much for buying it for me!!! ILOVEYOU!!!!)
• (I think it's really this one) the smell of my Betty Crocker book, which I pulled out at work and in most of my classes. I've had it out as I've cooked about 20 recipes, ranging from sweets to meats, so you can imagine all the delicious smells it has soaked up. I'm freakishly sensitive to weird smells, so yeah. I'm glad this class is almost over. Two more recipes!!!
• that time of the month *ahem*
• (or this one) my stupid contact prescription. My eyes refuse to focus, and they bother me every few weeks. You know George Michael in Arrested Development when he's getting his eye examination, and he's like "B, no C, is it C? Is A out of the question?" I know how he feels. I swear I make my prescription worse rather than better with those stupid exams.
  
• tension--I sometimes bite down really hard, or kind of lock my jaw when my head is slightly pointed down or I'm focused or thinking hard about something. Or just stressed. That's been known to cause headaches for me too. OH MY LIFE!!!!!
• the homemade fudge and homemade buttermilk biscuit mix I may have eaten for breakfast. WHAT?! YOU DON'T KNOW ME!
  

How does that make you FEEL?!?!!?

119 words

Speed test

It's a Slippery Slope, My Friend!

So Shawn and I bought beer yesterday. We just thought to ourselves, oh to H-word with it, you only live once.

Well we did buy it, but it was for cooking (as in ALL the alcohol will burn off during the frying process). It's for coconut shrimp, pretty much one of the best foods we've ever made and had.

We bought a six-pack, it being cheaper in the long run then getting a huge can of beer that we would only use a third of and would end up throwing the rest away.

So because of this purchase, the guy at the checkout I guess assumed we weren't Mormon, and proceeded to go off on how he wasn't Mormon, that he was from North Carolina, how kids younger than him would come in with fake I.D.'s all the time and beer beer beer beer beer beer beer. WOW! I had NEVER felt so uncomfortable! I wanted to yell at him, "DON'T YOU DARE ASSOCIATE ME WITH YOUR BEER-GUZZLING FRIENDS! WE DON'T DRINK BEER! WE'VE NEVER CONSUMED AN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE! WE GET HIGH ON LIFE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" I don't want anyone to ever talk that at ease with me about beer again, as if I could relate. YEEEEEEEEEEEEESH! Talk about learning your lesson concerning avoiding the appearance of evil. ITOLDYOUSHAWN! Just kidding, it's not your fault. I'm the one that has been gunning to make it again ever since last time. (If you want the recipe, let me know!) The fun part about that was back when we were still single, we had this big can of beer we had bought for the shrimp coating, and we had kept in his apartment refridgerator :-). Good times. That's where the appearance of evil is fun, folks!

Things went great with my old roommate and me. Apparently she had never sensed any resentment or tension between us--she had even mentioned a desire to look me up to catch up a few months ago. (Kinda glad she didn't). Anyway, we caught up like old times. It was fun to have someone from that stage in my life, because I don't really here. There's Jessica and Janay, but they weren't in my ward or in my apartment or anything, so that pales to what Amanda and I were able to talk about. Like old ward crushes and friends, etc. AND HOW SHE WAS ROBBED! I knew that (this was the following year, not when we were roommates), but I didn't know that the meth head that stole it was caught, and she ultimately got all her stuff back.

She wants to go on a double date. We'll see :-)

I had this dream last night that I (actually I think I had kind of this bird's-eye view, like I was watching a movie. The girl that had enlisted was either Christina Ricci or Rose McGowan. I'm leaning towards the latter, but I was too far away to really see who it was) had enlisted in the army or the peace corps or something, and was living in this huge building, and how it SUCKED and was wondering how she got pulled into doing this, not having recalled ever signing up for anything in the first place, and wondering if there was any way to get out of it. GROSS! Think these things through, people! Anyway, something happened--like some of the troops had stolen something, and there was all this hubbub. Since she was having a difficult time anyway, I think she went AWOL, or just stayed with her folks for a day or two. She finally decided to go back to see if she could help, and when she did, the mansion was COMPLETELY RUN DOWN! As if no one had even stepped inside for years! There were all these cobwebs, and things were broken and scattered all over everything. I just freaked out! In the back there was this huge run-down shed full practically to the top of just STUFF, and there was this alternative-looking kid (as in not gothic, but not mainstream), in his mid to late teens, going through it, and she finally caught up to him (he saw her and kept trying to get away--not out of fear, just being obnoxious), and asked him what the crap had happened. I don't think he knew, but he finally had her come in, where there was a bunch of his other friends, all trying to be cool like him. YEEESH! Did I ever tell you how I dislike most teenagers? I think it was my mission that really drove that ick-factor home. Not to mention life in general. Anyway, she ended up going through a bunch of stuff, and came across some cute jewelry boxes and stuff. This kind of turned into my next dream. All of a sudden Lyndy, Jessie Spalding, Rachel Gillmore, Carma and Amber Longhurst and I were all trying to pile into the back of a car. Don't ask me how we did it, but we did. I think it was Lyndy, then Jessie, then me (all though the three of us kept changing places according to who we were talking to), then Carma, Amber and Rachel. That was the order. Anyway, we all just talked like old times (we all knew each other back in junior high/ high school--some of us even before that), and it was great! And then we stopped at this field with a building on the side of it. Some of us decided to cut each other's hair. I think I ended up having Amber (or maybe my old roommate Meridith? She was there at the building) cut my hair, and it turned out AWFUL and I was DEVASTATED! I told them not to cut it short, but they did anyway, telling me to LIVE A LITTLE! It was a lot longer in the front, but mostly on one side. When I dried it, it just poofed up like a bad 80's do. Whoever's hair I cut turned out great, by the way. I got so upset that I started throwing all this hairstuff and makeup in the toilet, and I was going to flush it, but then I realized there was NO WAY the toilet was going to be able to flush all of that, so I took most of it out, and just flushed what I could! In any case, it was fun catching up with old friends.

Sorry no pictures, but I am, in fact, that lazy.

Why can't life be replete WITHOUT ironies?

So my visiting teachers called. I'm going to see them at 5:30 today. If that wasn't bad enough--guess who called? Yeah. My old roommate from sophomore year I didn't get along with too much. She's my visiting teacher. And my home is a little messy (mostly the kitchen), and she was a neat freak, so I'm feeling a bit insecure about that. And I only get a half an hour to tackle my home before she comes over because I agreed to work an extra two hours today since my other coworker isn't able to make it for some reason. Maybe if I start puking I can get out of this... Hmmm.... I wonder...

I finished my portfolio!

My portfolio is done! And so are my anxiety attacks for now (too much information?)... Never mind. You don't KNOW ME! Anyway, it was nice to have a three day weekend right after, replete with reruns of 30 Rock, an art and craft night, a heated game of Phase 10 where in spite of everyone's best efforts, I still won (who's in graduate school nowwwww?), and a wasted day. No one ever told me Candide was REALLY good. Although I'm only about 20 pages into it. We have to read it for Humanities. Oh crap. I have an exam for Humanities this week. BLECH. I'm so sick of school. I went to church yesterday! My new ward! That was... fun... why is it so hard for me to introduce myself and talk to other people? I'm a returned missionary, I should know how to do this, and I should know how IMPORTANT it is to do this. Which I do, which is why I think it makes it THAT MUCH harder for me to actually do it. I'm a BAD person! Does that make sense? The first posting on postsecret.com is Haras's!!! She's a celebrity now! She sent it in months ago, so it's a nice surprise to see it on there now! Yay fun cool! Shawn once did the math and said that the dude is only able to post like 2% of the secrets he gets. Doesn't that make you feel special, Haras? Because it SHOULD!! Anyway, here is a highlight from my portfolio:Just kidding. Shawn drew that. If you really want to see my insecurities, I posted them on facebook.

I also highly recommend any Agatha Christie games on yahoo games. you can download them for about 60 minutes of free play! So I've gone through a lot of those games and games like unto them. So addicting! But now my eyes look for weird clues everywhere and I keep thinking I'm finding ones! What was great was Agatha Christie's Peril at End House--for some reason it let me play the entire game!!!! Yay fun cool! That's all for now! Stay tuned til next time when we figure out who left the toilet seat up last night! (Actually I've never once had a problem with that, it's just the only thing I could think up on the spot. Sorry. Itrysohard.)

what a weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SHAWN BOUGHT ME A LAPTOP! AND SO I BOUGHT HIM XBOX GUNS SO WE CAN PLAY DUCK HUNT!!!!!!!! NOW WE'RE EVEN!!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!! And I'm almost done with my stupid portfolio! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Life is good! I even did my hair today! How's THAT for applying yourself! Even though that meant I didn't eat breakfast today and now I'm really hungry. Sigh.

I know the feeling!

Ape and art drawn together at Woodland Park Zoo

By Susan Gilmore

Seattle Times staff reporter

Towan the orangutan held the blue-colored chalk in his mouth to draw, giving his lips and face a bluish tinge Wednesday.

Where to bid To view and bid on Towan's art, visit eBay.com and search for "Woodland Park Zoo."

Orangutans at the Woodland Park Zoo are going ape over art.

Zoo officials hope that two paintings by resident orangutan Towan will fetch a fine price on eBay.

Towan, who will celebrate his 40th birthday later this month and is one of five orangutans at the zoo, is an accomplished artist, say zookeepers, who encourage the creatures to express themselves on canvas.

Already, bidding on the two Towan paintings has eclipsed $800. The works will remain for sale
on the site until early afternoon on Friday.

MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES

A close up of one of Towan's paintings that is being auctioned on eBay.

"All the orangs like to paint," said orangutan keeper Felicity Oram. "It's an enrichment activity.
They are very visual creatures and are higher apes and like to express themselves."

She said each ape has his own style and that painting is one of Towan's favorite activities. He uses a paint-filled pen, unlike other orangutans, who paint with their tongues, Oram said. That's why the zoo uses only nontoxic paint.

She said Towan "definitely takes time composing."

The only problem, Oram said, is getting the paintings when the apes are finished with them.

Towan, however, slides his under the doorway when he's done, unlike some of the other orangutans who tend to tear up their work.

Carolyn Austin, another orangutan zookeeper, said Towan will work for two hours on one piece; she offers him colored chalk and paint-filled pens and he'll choose the colors he wants. Towan likes primary colors, Austin said.

Towan and his twin sister, Chinta, were born at the zoo with much notoriety as the first twin orangutans born in captivity.

Austin said the apes are so intelligent they can understand certain words and gestures of the zookeepers. If she says the word "trade," Towan knows to trade his finished canvas for a blank one.

By far, she said, Towan is the most-accomplished artist in the zoo's orangutan family. But he doesn't seem to mind parting with his paintings. "It's like 'I did it and it's done,' " said Austin, adding that the paintings have previously been sold at local events. One of them fetched $1,000 at a zoo auction.

Towan's paintings are on 12-by-16-inch canvases, matted and framed, with a certificate of authenticity.

The money raised will go to support the International Conference of Zookeepers, which will be held at the Woodland Park Zoo in September 2009. It will be the first time the conference has been held in the U.S., said Austin, the organizer.

This is the second time the zoo has sold animal art on eBay. When the Seattle Seahawks were in the Super Bowl two years ago, elephants at the zoo created paintings in Seahawk colors that fetched nearly $1,300 in the online auction.

*I don't know if it's cuter that Towan slides his paintings under the door when he's done, or that I can totally identify with those orangs that tear up their work when they've completed their painting. Either way, I thought this was a great article from the Seattle Times.

We're getting a new sink! And a working faucet! No more drenching myself through the overpowerful stream of the side sprayer. Yay! This also means we can use our dishwasher again. So no more washing dishes or doing all the cleaning except the dishes in hopes that Shawn will feel the need to contribute his part by doing them. Don't tell him I said that. Dishes were my job growing up (both at a couple of my real jobs, and it was also my family chore), so yeah. I'm a little dished out at the moment.
My illustration application is a due a week from Thursday. Good times. Wish me luck!

why does it have to hurt?

The Desperate Measures Band


Two of their alternate names they were considering were "The Fat Middle-aged Balding Guys" and "Midlife Crisis."

Isn't that so cute? These are just two of the band mates. My dad, on the right, ALWAYS makes that face when he's playing guitar. He's fantastic!!!

Just *hic* kill me alrea-*hic*-dy

So YESTERDAY I got the hiccups for the last hour of work. During D&C they disappeared. My next class was Humanities, where they magically reappeared again. Then they vanished during my last class, Home and Family Life. Then they appeared again on the way home! FOR A WHOLE HOUR! Then they went away again for about an hour. THEN THEY CAME BACK! Jessica came over for a little while and the three of us (by three I mean including Shawn, not my hiccups), ate dinner. So yeah. I nearly threw up a few times the hiccups made me feel so nauseous. But mostly I just wanted to die. After Jessica left, I read for a little while and then went to sleep. Shawn woke me up a little while later and led me by the hand to bed (gosh whenever I try to do that to him he loses it!) so I could get some proper sleep. This was maybe around sevenish. I didn't get up until seven the next morning. I did wake up a few times but I was always able to go back to sleep. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?! The day before that I took TWO NAPS during the day, and still went to sleep fine that night. Mind you that day I was slightly medicated, but STILL.
So it's Kari's dream corner again. WEEEEEEEEEEEIRD. Last night I dreamed first of all that we were in this huge cultural hall type thing having a mission reunion and Shawn was with me. I think we were in England. And I'll tell you why! We said something under our breaths cheekily about the Queen, and next thing you know the two of us were seized and whisked off to prison, being told that because of our crimes (of being traitors?), we were sentenced to death, the sentence being executed in just a few hours. HOLY CRAP! We were panicking like crazy, and angry as H word--we didn't know--why should we be held accountable for something we were ignorant to?! And plus what a LAME reason to be put to death! (It reminds me of an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where they visit a planet where there seems to be perfect peace and harmony, only to find out that the penalty for ANY breaking of rules is DEATH. INCLUDING WALKING ON THE GRASS. I mean... NO, it doesn't remind me of SUCH a LAME show. Oh, who am I kidding?!) So anyway, like ten minutes before we were going to die, we find out that we've been pardoned, and that they whole thing is kind of a demonstration/tradition anyway. No one has ever been put to death for making fun of the queen--just loads of people ALMOST have been. So there's that.
Suddenly a group of us are in this kinda Zelda game where we have to keep sailing to different locations ridiculously close to each other, but there's this bad guy that we both have to fight and also evade (some famous guy that I guess is supposed to represent Ganondorf? He looked like Doogie Howser, but it wasn't him). Which was freaky as crap. And each island was kinda like a stage (not a level--like a movie stage) slash house with all these different rooms. Then I woke up. Isn't that weird? WHAT DOES IT EVEN MEAN?

Gosh you're such a BABY!

So it's noises upstairs that work as a great incentive for birth control.
But it's pictures like this one that make me can't wait:
















That's right. That's my little nephew Cohen. Could you GET any cuter? I get to see him in April!!

(He's my brother)

Gosh I had the weirdest dream last night that made me wake up at seventeen minutes before I was expected at work. I was only five minutes late! The main part of the dream I remember was that a bunch of us had returned to our elementary school (even though it really wasn't Crystal Springs. But it was. If that makes sense :) ) Anyway, the Longhurst clan was there, as well Wills and some other kids I attended some sort of public school with. All of a sudden I was backstage, being told it was MY turn to go on, and there's Gabe (and there was a third person on stage with us, but I can't remember who) next to me waiting to go on with me. So we march to the stage, and as the curtains open to reveal us, "He Ain't Heavy (He's my Brother)" by the Hollies come on. Yeah. I'm a little confused. So we kinda dance slowly (not really together) around the stage, and I keep waiting for the "he ain't heavy--he's my brother" part to come on the song so I can try to pick Gabe up to prove the point of the song, but either I miss it or it never does, so I never get a chance. Then that ends and the song after that was "You Can't Hurry Love" but we were all wearing kimonos and were expected to do some sort of Mulan-inspired performance, which I hadn't practiced for AT ALL. And I kept wearing glasses or sunglasses--even though I'd throw them off, or struggle to take them off, they kept appearing back on. GRR!!! Anyway, that went terribly as did the first, but people seemed to like it anyway.

I feel kind of nauseous this morning. Good times.

No, I'm not pregnant. So don't ask.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEESH!

Life is good! I just wish it were less noisy at home! This noise originates from upstairs--as in the neighbors. Not us. Which makes it a lot less fun and inviting. Sigh. But at least it's done after 7:30 every night. Until then though it sounds like a continual marching band upstairs. Are you sure these are only two kids ages 2 and 4? Shawn's been so sweet! I woke up yesterday (or the day before?) to find out that he had done a load of laundry, the dishes and the trash, and then yesterday I came home from class to find out that he had swept the kitchen, vacuumed, and made the bed! How's that for a babe?

Gosh, sleeping has been a nightmare this past week (ba-dum ching!)! Even when I'm exhausted, I'll get a crap song stuck in my head which prevents my ability to sleep for up to hours on end. Last night when I was finally able to get to sleep I had the craziest dream. We were over at presumably my in-laws' house, but it wasn't their house really. If that makes sense. Anyway, there were both a vampire AND a werewolf outside, trying to get in. As any self-respecting person who has caught at least one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer knows, a vampire can't enter a person's home unless invited--even under false pretenses. So I was TERRIFIED that someone would ignorantly let the vampire come inside and suck us all dry. The werewolf was a bit more tricky. I think myself and someone else actually went outside (AT NIGHT!!!!) to try to destroy it, but it kept coming back. YEEEESH! The next thing I know, it's Sunday and we're all at Fast and Testimony Meeting. Brady and Annalisa (My brother in law and his wife) both get up and bear their testimony (not at the same time), which was slightly painful since Annalisa kept trying to make herself cry and Brady ultimately went up TWICE. One guy whom I didn't recognize went up NEARLY to the front--he went down on his knees in the aisleway and started singing Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten." With A LOT of pizzazz. Um, what? So yeah, Shawn and I were exchanging major glances throughout the whole thing. And guess what song I had stuck in my head when I woke up this morning?

My 101th Post!!!!

Here's to my hundred and first post! A stunning representation of how much free time I have at work, and how much of it I choose to indulge in personal activities. Sigh. I've worked here for nearly a year and a half now, so it's not THAT bad, right? So, I had a pretty good winter break!
I...

• got married
• became Kari Wiggins
• had a great honeymoon but still exhausted from it
• don't have roommates any more! Just a cute husband. SO much better!!!
• we have our own cute little place!!! REALLY close to campus and work.
• we got a car!!! YAY!!!! TRANSPORTATION! OTHER THAN JANAY'S AND RACHEL'S!!! (bless your hearts, I don't know how you put up with us!!!)
• got loads of great wedding gifts. we have a deep fat fryer! and a kitchenaid!! and a toaster! yay!!!

Kay that's it for now. Life is good. Being married is good! Love you Shawn!