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So it seems that I'm about due for my annual update to blogspot. My tonsillitis is gone, thanks to some antibiotics, and a new quarter is about to begin at SFCC. Since it's Spring quarter, I'll either have to start saving pennies, or begin looking for a summer job, since Sodexo doesn't run all its staff in the summer months. So wish me luck on that!

Spring break was definitely a welcome sight! It's nice to have ten days away from customers, and be able to step outside of Spokane for a while. I spent my shortest visit to date down with Miya and Roy (only four days) where we were able to do a little shopping, and Roy was kind enough to fix both my laptop, and my xbox. I also got caught up with the Resident Evil series, as I hadn't gotten a chance to watch Afterlife yet. I was pleasantly surprised! There wasn't much plot to go on, but that's pretty typical for a zombie movie, and the action more than made up for it! Not to mention, watching zombies get killed in surround sound is way more intense than in my living room! Plus, Roy makes some mean barbeque, and I have discovered a new-found appreciation for potato salad (although I think the bacon definitely helped!).

I'm hoping to get a new computer with my tax return, so if anyone doesn't know what to get for my birthday, some money to help with the expenses would be greatly appreciated! I'm hoping to get a new mac, but seeing as they're so pricey I'll have to play that one by ear.

Sam and I have gritted our teeth, and finally decided to begin a diet. After researching multiple diet plans, she found the MAYO Clinic diet, which basically teaches you how to reconstruct your meals to contain more fruits and veggies, less meat, and to include more physical activity into your day. During the first two weeks, you go through a kind of detox period where you have to eat specific portions of each food group, and no sugar is allowed. We're on day two, and I'm already having to force myself to withstand the cravings! I'm determined to see this through though, since I've been tossing around the idea of going on a diet for quite some time now, and now that I've finally started, I can't back out so soon!

Fun Day!

Yesterday was pretty entertaining to say the least. A friend from high school, Katie, came over and she, Sam and I paraded around Spokane, being awesome as usual. The mall was our first challenge; walking amongst millions of sales, with no money in our pockets and hardly any in the bank, and somehow finding the self control to not purchase a single thing! (It's a lot harder than it seems!)

Our original plan was to go from there to the Panda Express for delicious orange chicken, and then to the Garland Theater to see "How To Train Your Dragon". Sam and I had already seen it, and we adored the movie, but Katie had yet to experience the immense measures of cute that this movie provided, and since the tickets are only $3.50 we figured it was a good expense. Things changed once we hit the Panda however. One minute we were happily singing along to the soundtrack of Anastasia (yes, we are THAT cool!) on our way to indulge ourselves on scrumptious orange chicken, and the next minute we had our food but discovered that we were now locked out of the car!

Thankfully we had taken Katie's car and she had free roadside service on her insurance so it didn't cost anything to get a locksmith, but we ended up missing the movie. Katie fortunately had two free tickets to see a movie at the Village Center Cinemas however that she needed to use before she left for college, so with an agreement between me and Sam to split the cost of the 3rd ticket we decided to see Toy Story 3 instead since we all hadn't seen it yet.

Toy Story 1 was of course awesome, but #2 had only been adequate in my mind so I hadn't expected much from this one. But I'd heard a lot of good things about it, so I decided that it was at least worth the price of half a ticket. Holy heck was I in for a surprise! It was amazing! Definitely my favorite one out of the trilogy. I nearly cried twice (yes, I almost cried over toys, but if you've seen the movie then you'll understand why!) and once the movie was over I had a desperate urge to speed home, open up my bag of old stuffed animals, and give every one of them a great big hug! If you're a fan of the previous Toy Story movies, and have enough funds in the bank, I would definitely recommend seeing this one, you won't be disappointed!

From there we went home were the rest of the night was filled with insane filming of various things from dancing, to random skits made up on the spot, to simply making strange faces at the camera! I don't think we finally crawled our way to bed till about 3 in the morning!

Cooking Fail

I tried to make ham and mushroom croquettes today. This is what they're supposed to look like:
Mine:
Anyone up for seconds? No?

Utter Fail. And to think that I once contemplated being a chef. XD

Lost phone.

I lost my phone today. Wish me luck in the discovery of where the little bugger ran off to. Until then, sorry if any of you call me and don't get an answer. It's not cuz I don't wanna talk to you; I swear!

Random Updates

Just waiting for the parents to arrive so we can leave for Port Townsend and Briana's wedding. Surprisingly I'm actually looking forward to this! I usually don't like social situations, but I'm excited to see Briana, Scott, and Aunt Chris and Uncle Jeff again (that was definitely a pleasant surprise to find out they'd be coming too!). I'm really looking forward to visiting La Push (I'll be sure to keep an eye out for Jasper, Shawna) on my b-day as well, as I've never really been to the ocean before. Hopefully the weather will be nice for a walk on the beach! :)

In other news, the Broadway productions of "Wicked" and "Stomp" are coming to Spokane!! I can't wait to see them, as Sam and I definitely enjoyed seeing "The Lion King". I showed Sam the video Stomp Out Loud last night, that way she'd know what she was getting into, and she certainly seemed to enjoy it, which is a good thing because now I won't have to see it by myself (not that it would keep me from going anyway!).

And now it's time for me to be a typical female sibling in this family, and spam you all with pictures of my kitties! (These creatures are seriously the most exciting thing in my life, which is why they're in my blog posts so much!)
Pip tried to stow away in my backpack a few weeks back! I didn't notice until my bag started moving by itself, and it was just too cute not to take a picture!


Sophisticated cat is sophisticated! I love how she always crosses her paws when she lounges.
Belle always meows like she's jealous when I take pictures of Pip, so I decided to get a snap of her in a sunbeam, that way she wouldn't feel left out. She's such a diva!
And this is Pip's way of telling me that I'm spending too much time on the internet, and not enough time rubbing her tummy, so I'll end this post here. Have a great weekend everyone! Wish us a safe trip!

Phone charger

Found my phone charger! Yay!

Our cat is plotting to kill us.

I'm going to have to invest in some more sticky-tack soon, as we're no longer able to use thumb-tacks to hold up the posters in our apartment anymore. Pippa, or "Pip" as we call her is the newest member of our family, and she is the most adorable, most loving little terrorist you'll ever meet. She somehow finds a way to climb up to the posters, pulls out the tacks and prompty leaves them out on the floor for us to step on. I once found one inside my shoe! She constantly keeps us on our toes with surprise attacks, and has made us more conscientious about food placement on the counters. Meals are no longer left out for extended periods of time unattended, otherwise you'll find it nibbled on. After countless failed attempts to teach her that counters are "off limits", including yelling, spray bottles, and spanking, we've pretty much come to the realization that no counter is safe in this house. She's also a very reliable alarm clock, what with all the running around/meowing/sniffing your face/loud purring she does every night.

Why would we keep such a troublesome thing around you ask? Well, just take a look at her.
How can you not fall in love with something as adorable as that? She does have her sweet moments, and she absolutely adores attention, but she's still a kitten, and full of never ending energy, so sometimes it's a bit annoying putting up with the things she does.
Pip and Belle's favorite way to pass the time, birdwatching! If you look closely you'll see 4 of the little guys through the window. I haven't filled the feeder in a while, so we haven't had many visitors, but the minute it gets filled, those guys flock to our landing, and the kitties love it!
Here's a pic, just to see the size comparison between the two. This was taken a few months ago, so Pip's grown a bit, but she's still pretty dwarfed by Belle! That certainly doesn't keep her from picking fights (they're only play fights of course!) with Belle every chance she gets though. I don't know how it's happening, since she's constantly running around, but Pip's already got a mini potbelly, so once she grows up we'll have two fat fluffy things living with us!
This is the last picture I'll spam you with. I just couldn't help snapping a photo of her on the couch the other night! She lays in the strangest positions!
I lied, here's one more picture. I came home from work one day and Sam left this surprise on my computer as the desktop background! Kinda looks like something from a horror movie huh?

What's Been Happening...

So I know it's been ages since my last post. Some of you probably think I've died, or perhaps I've broken all my fingers and am unable to type, but the truth of the matter is, I've just been too lazy to wrote a post! I have a bad tendency of procrastinating my blogging until I eventually forget what's even happened that should be blogged about. I think I should be able to scrounge up a few things to entertain you guys though.

First off, last month Sam and I saw the Broadway production of The Lion King while it toured in Spokane, and it was amazing! I have wanted to see this show since I was 9 years old, and finally 10 years later, I was able to live my dream! Our seats were spectacular, considering they were the cheaper seats. We were right in the middle, nearer to the back, but still close enough that we never missed any of the action. The whole evening was perfect, we arrived a few hours early in order to be able to eat and ensure the fact that we would be able to get to our seats before the opening number. We ate at The Olive Garden, and I tried my first ever sample of their soups, and I'm glad I did! They had a Chicken Gnocchi stew that tasted just like a pot pie filling. It was delicious, and I would love to try making it myself one day. Supposedly Sam found a dumpling in her bowl, but mine was devoid of such delicacies. Next came the main course which consisted of Mushroom Ravioli for Sam and a Grilled Chicken Alfredo dish for me. Both were superb, but I barely had room for any of my alfredo (especially after a bowl of soup and 3 helpings of breadsticks between us!) so I ended up bagging most of my meal. Our server was really sweet as well, and I think he was giving us both the eye, which was understandable since we were both pretty dressed up.

After dinner it was time to head for the show. It was pretty cold outside, but the theatre wasn't too far away, and Downtown Spokane really is beautiful at night, especially walking past the carousel, and seeing the clock tower lit up. Reaching the theatre, posters teased us of the show to come. Nala, Rafiki, and people in gazelle costumes greeted us on the glass doors as we waited for the lobby to open. My dinner ended up leaking out of the box a bit, and soaking one corner of our bag, but not even that could ruin the anticipation of what lay ahead. (Don't worry, I still had plenty of leftovers to eat later!) Once the lobby opened we still had about 15 minutes before they would let people take their seats, so we decided to check out the shop in the meantime. There wasn't much there. The ornaments were tacky, the shirts were ugly, and the mugs weren't appealing either, but I did end up purchasing a program to the show which I don't regret for a minute. It was full of pictures from the show, and background information, and came with a separate sheet describing the actors who were to be in the show that night. They did have miniature ornaments of the African masks that Simba and Scar wore, which were pretty dang cool, but I didn't end up getting one, as they were $20 a piece.

Finally after about 10 more minutes they let us get seated. A large curtain hung across the stage, with African symbols marking it, and lit softly in warm yellows and oranges. The orchestra was tuning, and every now and then soft drumming could be heard. Tension was in the air as everyone waited for the show to begin. Finally, after what felt like an hour the lights fell, and the curtain rose. The silhouette of the woman playing Rafiki could be seen entering the stage. All at once a beautiful representation of an African sunrise lit the stage as Rafiki belted out "Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba!"
It was incredible. Sam and I sat stunned in our seats as Rafiki's beautiful voice permeated the air, and soon the animals began to enter down the isles. Actors operated the puppets with incredible ease. Giraffes (men on four stilts), cheetas, leaping gazelles, birds with wings that flapped as the actors raised and lowered their arms, rhinos, and an elephant with four operators (one in each leg) were among the crowd gathering for the Circle of Life.
The only way I can think of to describe how amazing this show was, is to show pictures. Rafiki and Zazu completely stole the show, and were without a doubt my favorite characters (which is odd, considering I didn't really like those characters in the movie).
It was over before I was ready. I'd love to see it again, but I'm afraid it'd have to wait until I travel to New York someday, as the tickets will be cheaper there. My favorite scenes include the moment right after Mufasa's death, as the lionesses are mourning, when Rafiki and young Nala perform a duet. That song was so beautiful. Another favorite would be the scene when Simba sees his father in the clouds. The imagery during that scene was so beautiful! Unfortunately I couldn't find a picture of that scene online.

After the show I got to ride my first cab home! The fare wasn't too bad, although much more expensive than the bus. After getting home, I decided to look on ebay for a copy of the soundtrack, since the ones at the show were $20. I found one for $10 and upon getting it, I got a rather pleasant surprise. There was a ticket inside the jacket from the original owner's show back in 1998, so now I have two ticket souvenirs. I liked the singers at our show better than the ones on the cd, but that's usually how it goes isn't it? Anyway, ever since then I've had songs from the show stuck in my head, which isn't such a bad thing as long as I don't try to repeat any of the African words!

In other words, I've made a new friend! Jesse is the fry/grill cook at SFCC and we'd seen each other multiple times, but one day a similar taste in music brought us into a conversation, and ever since that day our friendship has bloomed. He's a great guy, and it's nice to have made a new friend. We saw Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day a week ago and it was amazing! It was incredibly funny, and even though the brothers both got 10 years older and a little fatter, they're both still hot! I missed seeing Willem Dafoe, as he was one of my favorite characters, but the woman they brought in to replace his role was fantastic. Her one-liners were part of what made the movie so memorable! I honestly can't decide whether I liked the 1st one or the 2nd one better. I'm looking forward to maybe seeing it again, since Sam hasn't yet seen it.

Thanksgiving was fun. Miya and Roy's new tv is awesome and huge! Watching Star Trek and Up was so incredible, everything was so sharp and defined! After playing video games on that large of a screen, no other tv will do! Miya made a delicious meal and seeing Roy's parents is always entertaining to say the least.

I just arrived in Chewelah yesterday, and am looking forward to Christmas, and dinner! I was hoping for a ham, but mom informed me that we would be having turkey. This will be the 3rd time in two months I've had turkey. It's a good thing I like turkey, ha ha! Oh well, I'm sure Sam will bring home leftovers from her ham Christmas dinner. I hope everyone else has a great Christmas, and gets where they're going safely. Merry Christmas everyone!

Fish!

This is so beautiful to watch. http://vimeo.com/channels/hd#5606758
I've never personally been to an aquarium before, but I'd love to go someday.

Memories of summer.

I always complain about my insomnia. I talk about how stressful it is to not be able to drift off. Lying in bed for hours, unable to stop the array of thoughts bombarding my head, but the truth is, I secretly love it. When I'm lying in bed, waiting for sleep to come, my brain is working at its best. These are the moments when I am most inspired, whether it's for a story, or a picture, or some personal aspect which affects me in my day to day life. Sometimes the things I see are frightening, other times they make me feel like crying for hours on end. But sometimes, I am able to recall the most wonderful memories, and these are the moments worth staying awake for a few extra hours. Tonight was one of those nights.

I've hardly spoken to anyone about the events of this last summer. I've kept most of my feelings to myself about what transpired, and so far I've been able to function just fine that way. This will be one of the first times I have ever divulged my experience.

As you all know, (at least, you should know) I've started working again. Since both of my jobs consist mainly in customer service, it's inevitable to find myself in the middle of a conversation with one of the customers. And what's the best conversation starter during this time of year? "How was your summer?" I cannot count the times I've been asked this, and each time I am filled with sadness as I remember the events which transipred. I simply tell them that my summer was alright, but don't give any more information than that. 9 times out of 10 the customer doesn't really care about your summer anyway, they just feel compelled to ask.

So, the point of this blog is, I've discovered that I've been focusing so much on how terrible my summer was, that I'd almost completely forgotten all of the wonderful things that happened. As I was laying in bed tonight I recalled the moment when Yancy, Leah, Jason, Shawna and I were all driving together, and we each took a turn picking a different song to sing along to. Despite our current situation, we were enjoying each other's company, and even though I didn't know some of the songs that were picked, it was still one the the best moments I can remember. I also recalled driving with dad, while he told me old stories about mom, and how she changed him into the man he is today. I didn't know about half of the things he'd said, and learning all of these new things about a woman I loved was something I'll never forget. I could recall sitting with Jason after everyone else was asleep while he told me about his childhood. I remember him teaching me new recipes which I still carry on making by the way. I remember playing War with Leah, and loving the fact that I had this chance to get to know her better. I remember mom demanding potato salad. I remember Miya introducing me to a new video game which consequently has started a whole new fandom for me. I remember sending those balloon messages off into the sky, and all of us standing there, waiting as a family until they disappeared from view. I remember watching Harry Potter with not only Miya and Roy, but also mom as well, and thoroughly enjoying it both times. So many wonderful things happened during that short period of time, and I've not even begun to list them all. If I tried, then this blog would be ridiculously long.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, this may have been one of the worst summers I've ever had; but in a way, it was also the best, because it brought us together as a family. I will never forget any of those moments, and I'm thankful for the chance I got to experience them. To my family, I love each and every one of you so much, and I'm forever grateful that I was lucky enough to be added to this particular family. I wouldn't trade you guys for anything.

New Job

Well, my first day was pretty boring. mainly consisted of filling out paperwork, and going through an online orientation. I'm guessing Saturday will be a bit funner since we'll actually be out on the floor. I was training with two other new boys, and they were pretty nice. The great thing about this job though is that we can wear normal clothes. We also get benefits too, although I'm not completely certain as to what that entails. We also get to check out 2 books each week to take home and read if we want, as long as there's multiple copies in the store. All in all, I think it's going to be an awesome place to work, and I'm glad I landed it.

First Day, and a Birthday!

Leaving for my first day of training in a half hour. Pretty nervous, but not too worried, after all it is just the first day. Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday Shawna! Have a wonderful day!

Welcome to Borders!

Just got the call today, and I got the job! My training begins on Tuesday. Thank you everyone for the support and the prayers!

Things are turning around

Life seems to have taken a turn for the better. Our apartment complex is under new management again, and the new maintenance man came this morning to check up on all the things that need fixed in our apartment. It's too bad he had to see it in such disorder, but he was friendly enough regardless, and is coming back on Monday to fix some things.

On top of that, I've decided to work two jobs over Fall quarter, since I don't have enough money to attend classes. I've filled out a couple applications, and this morning I got a call from Borders Bookstore, and have an interview scheduled for Monday. Wish me luck guys!

Meet Tyler Durden

I've been having a bad week, and on top of everything else that's happened this summer, well let's just say I haven't been in the best of moods as of late. Anyway, as a present to myself I bought a new betta yesterday, since I still had leftover food from my last one. He's a nice addition to the home, cuz he's angsty too, so we all fit together! Sam and I decided to name him Tyler Durden, from Fight Club because he's so vicious! Actually he's only vicious when he eats, otherwise he's pretty nice, and likes to swim around a lot which is a nice improvement from my last betta who spent most of the time in one spot. He's been blowing bubbles all along the top of the water though, not quite sure what that means.

This is the clearest photo of him I could get.


This one is fuzzy, but it gives you a better view of how pretty his coloration is.

Creepy, you can see the reflection from my hands and camera in both these pics!

I want to kick financial aid in the face

SFCC is really stretching my last nerve. Not only do they continuously lose my financial aid paperwork, but when I give them more, they miraculously find something else I'm "missing". Of course they're kind enough to tell me about the "missing paperwork" AFTER the deadline, which means I once again won't be getting financial aid this quarter. At least my boss is still offering me a job, whether I have work study or not.

Klutz

So, I procrastinated all day on cleaning, and now I cut myself on the grater while doing the dishes. Karma much? Yes, I'd say so...

Wierd Videos for Bored People

The title says it all... Basically the first one is a guy impersonating a bunch of people which is pretty funny. The second one is "The Mean Kitty Song" which always gets stuck in my head. The last one is of a crazy bird which copies the sounds of practically everything it hears, including chainsaws and camera shutters! Enjoy!

Please send a prayer Sam's way

Sammy's had a really rough time. She's been feeling pretty nauseous lately, and last night it got really bad. She ended up going into the emergency room this morning, and they think she might have problems with her intestines, possibly even a disease. It'd mean a whole lot to both of us if you could all spare a moment in your prayers for her. We're both hoping that this will just turn out to be nothing, but we won't know until she has a few more tests done. Thanks everybody!

The troubles with having large breasts...

So this morning was going brilliantly. The sun was shining, the birds were singing (at least, the angry little fluffball inside my room was squeaking pretty loud!). I took a nice shower, and decided to wear one of my favorite shirts from Threadless. After I'd put it on however, I came to a rather unhappy realization.

The seams along the sides have holes in them because apparently my boobs have become to massive for my poor shirt to hold them in. I didn't even know a shirt could get holes in it because of that, I just figured you wouldn't be able to pull it down all the way! My poor shirt!

Anyway, I'm rather upset now. Even if I do sew the holes back up, I'd be afraid to wear this shirt anymore because it'd probably just happen again. Why must the girls in our family be cursed with big boobs!?