Bill Nye the Science Guy

One of my favorite television shows of all time is Bill Nye the Science Guy. If you haven't ever seen this TV show, I encourage you to watch it. He has such a great presence AND you're learning about the world as you watch! :) Here is a link to a pretty sweet episode called 'Dinosaurs': LINK. FANTASTIC piece of television history. :)

Life has been pretty laid back lately. I feel like there needs to be a change somewhere in my life, but I haven't quite figured out what I want to change. Thanks for listening. :)

Toradora! and rethinking things...

So, some of you may not know this about me, but I LOVE watching Japanese Anime. :)

My favorite of all time is Naruto, but lately I've been watching an anime called Toradora!. It's about a group of High School kids, and what happens to them as they go through their last year of school together. If you're interested in watching, Click Here. Such a great show.

I guess what is really bringing on this blog is something with the storyline of Toradora! that relates to my life. I want to publicly apologize to Jim. I've mentioned him a couple of times, but I want to set the record straight. I've made him out to be a really jerky guy... but in actuality, I should be grateful to him. He was a great friend to me, and now that I look back, he really did try to spare my feelings. I know that I was just too pig headed and stubborn to really understand. I'm grateful for the experiences that we had, and I'm finally learning to grow from them. I just wish that I could talk to him about it. Unfortunately I can't... but if you happen to come across this, I'm sorry. I want nothing but happiness for you and your wife (and in the future, kids! ;) ) You never deserved any of my bitterness. I know you were trying to be a good friend to me, and I ruined it for the both of us. You will never have to worry about me again, because I FINALLY understand what those years were about. I hope in the future that we can rebuild what we had... a really good friendship. Thank you for being there for me when no one else was. You will never know how much you saved me from, and how you changed my perspective on things. Good luck in the future, and be good to your wife.

I hope one day he can forgive me.

Equip Yourselves!

Hello All!!!

So, I've noticed that a lot of my blogs are sort of "Gloom & Doom" types. Sort of weird because I perceive myself as a positive and optimistic person... Hmm... Sorry about that. I'll continue to try to be funny and witty in my future blogging. :)

This weekend I took a concealed weapons class. I have been thinking a lot about purchasing a firearm for my personal protection and well being, so when my Uncle told me he was teaching a class this weekend, I took him up on the offer. :) It was a pretty cool class. I like my Uncle a lot, and we get along pretty well, so it was cool to chill with him in his element.

I'm still not sure about the whole "I am willing to take another person's life" aspect of guns, but taking the class REALLY taught me a lot about perceptions of weapons AND why it is important to have the ability to not only to purchase a firearm, but to have the RIGHT to bear arms.

Our constitution CLEARLY states that we have the right to bear arms. This means (for all those who are a little slow on the uptake) that we, as American Citizens, have the right to own a gun for personal and familial protection. I am SO happy I live in the United States of America. This really is a great country. It's sad to see corruption and idiocy... BUT Susi eased my mind somewhat when she reminded me that the Priesthood will save the country. I truly believe that.

Anyways, Overall a good weekend. It was EASTER... which I don't really ever celebrate, but it was fun anyway. I went to the Lafaele's and had pork and chicken and slept on their back porch. It was way fun. :)

Also watched Slumdog Millionaire this weekend. It was a pretty good movie. A little disturbing at some parts, but overall well done. I think it's earned it's rating of 'R' but, it's mostly because of the 'theme.' It's set in the slums of India, so you can use your imagination.

Something I stumbled over this morning... for all you peeps who do not know what this is a cartoon of, Google burqua, and you can educate yourself. :) I hope you ENJOY! :)

Arizona

For my birthday, I was lucky enough to be able to go to Arizona twice. :) The first time was to Page, to spend time with my grandma and Uncle Kelly, who's birthday is the day before mine. It was good times! AND I got to have a steak. :)

The second time was a road trip to Phoenix, planned and executed by my friend Susi. I have to admit, that starting out, I was more than a little anxious about the whole thing.

If you haven't noticed, I'm somewhat obsessive compulsive.

Unfortunately, Susi is not, and she tends to like to 'leave me in the dark' on purpose to 'break' me of my OCD-ness. Good luck with that. ;)

SO, I'm sitting at home, worrying about not having enough stuff with me. Do I need a swim suit? Do I need some major allergy medicine? Do they have wi-fi there? You know, the norm. And the anxiety grows and grows all night. Thursday, (the day we left) I ask Susi stupid questions like: Are we hiking? (lol... not likely) Do I need a pillow? Is my bag too big? etc. I'm actually surprised that she was so patient with me. Maybe she took pity on me. :)

We left Thursday night, and took a 6 hour drive to Phoenix... wait. 7. It was a nice drive. I wish it was light... I like long drives where I can admire the scenery. Highlight of the drive down was DEFINITELY the Hoover Dam Suspension Bridge. Amazing piece of architecture. :) Also a highlight-- I got some cool glasses that I've dubbed 'Dorothy Glasses' because they remind me of the glasses that one of our volunteers, Dorothy, wears. :)

Some may ask, why did you take a road trip??? Well, the simple answer is... because we could. Also, it was supposed to be a combined birthday trip. We originally wanted to take our friend Lani with us, because her birthday is in April, BUT unfortunately she couldn't come. :( Any who... back to the story...

Phoenix is home to one of my favorite places to eat... The George and Dragon Pub. :) A pub with British food. Not really anything to blink at, but the food is exceptional, if not VERY good. (even though the service was atrocious. I think the waitress was wanting to serve the drunkards instead of us 'eating folk'...) While in Phoenix, we went to the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, the temple, and the Biltmore Shopping Center.

Saturday morning, we headed to Tuba City and Cameron. It was a really nice drive. On the way to Flagstaff, there were a lot of places that looked like Kona. It really made me homesick. :S Any ways...

So, we get to Tuba, and visit the Justice family. Super nice family. We actually met up with two of the older Justice kids in Phoenix. Their family is so nice!!! :) They also own all the "Pizza Edge" restaurants in the Tuba area. They totally hooked us up. It was AWESOME!!!

We stayed at the Cameron Trading Post. Really nice rooms and WAY good Navajo Tacos. :) Went to the Grand Canyon as well. SOOO beautiful! I really liked it a lot. We stopped at a gulch on the way back, and it was really cool. There were some really awesome signs along the way that explained flora and fauna. It was SUPER cool.

After the gulch, we stopped on the side of the road and Susi had some mutton and hominy stew. We also got some of the best fry-bread I've ever had.

On the way home, we saw the Vermilion Cliffs. I just really like that word. VERMILION... :)

All in all a great trip. I think on my next road trip, I'll have better musical selections. Also, probably will save up some more money, and look for antique shops. :)

La Officina

Hey everyone!!! I wanted to post pictures of my office... which is where I do a lot of my blogging... and everything else! :)



So yeah. That's about it right now. I'm thinking about moving sometime in a year or so. We'll see how that works out. Oh, and I'm going to our second 'girls night out' tonight. Apparently we (meaning me, my roommate and her sisters, their friends, and my friends) are supposed to do it every month. :) I'm really glad to get out with my roommate. I feel like I am the worst roommate ever. I'm never home, EVER... huh. Laters...

It's your birthday.

Hey everyone!

A few things. I've been watching all the past episodes of The Office that I've missed. I stopped watching, because Michael Scott's character just got to be too tragic to make it fun to watch. However, the two newest episodes are pretty funny. I don't want to ruin it for anyone... so SPOILER ALERT!!!

In the past two episodes, Michael is out of the office on a lecture series, so Jim and Dwight are in charge in Scranton. They forget Kelly's birthday, and have to make up for it, which includes brown and gray balloons, a sign that says:"It's your birthday.", and a birthday cake that has no name on it. I won't go into it anymore, but a lot of times, I've felt like Kelly in those episodes. Not only about birthdays, but you get the idea. ;)

I also watched He's Just Not That Into You. Great movie. Surprisingly. It looked like it wasn't really going to be good, but it was done VERY well, and needless to say, I had a lot of revelations. Like: A guy isn't into you if they aren't 'making things happen.' Well, DUH!!! But, women really do have a HORRIBLE habit of making things more dramatic than they need to be. So what? He's not the one. Get over it and move on. I've always told my friends that if he's the right guy, everything will work out. That doesn't mean that you won't have to work for it, or make things happen, because relationships are work. However, things will be a lot easier. Take it from me. I've had a lot of one-sided relationships, and it works better if BOTH of you know what you want, and how you want to achieve it. Communication is always key to a good relationship. It doesn't ease the heartache when someone really hurts you, but don't make undue drama, just because he's hott. There are plenty of fish in the sea. :)

Valentines Day is tomorrow, and I just wanted to talk a little about how the holidays are treating me in all my single glory. A lot of girls will probably say how much they hate this time of year because of all the 'Love in the Air.' Some of us feel like we have gas masks on-- making us unable to breathe in this so called 'Love.' lol. BUT, holidays aren't really that bad this time around. I've realized that even though I'm not 'taken' being single isn't that bad. I have friends that I can spend time with, and a family that loves me. Why focus on the negative when so much positive is there??? :)

Tonight's agenda includea karaoke at my favorite spot and possibly a dance. :) Good times had by all!!!

I'm SICK!!! :(

So, I'm sick. It's funny how I can go YEARS without getting sick, and then BLAMO! I get hit twice in the past 3 months. :( I hate being sick.

Lately I've been trying to save money by cooking more often at home. Something I've come to LOVE is my brother Josh's recipe for Mabo Tofu. :) It's a Japanese dish with beef, miso, onions and tofu that is TO DIE for!!! I've included a picture of my version, which I have made 2 times already! Delicious!


I'm glad for this time to just kick back and explore the things I've always wanted to do, like cooking, camping, graphic art, budgeting, going house shopping (not that I'm in the market...), and traveling. I'm grateful for the time to get to learn about all these things (and more) and just figure them out. Especially traveling. I'm planning to do a lot more traveling this year. I think it's all due to not only my 'single status' but also just breaking free from my debts. Thanks budgeting!!! You're the best!!!

So, I'm afraid of the dark. Not many people know that about me, but I go out of my way to NOT be alone when the lights go out. I just found out that one of my cousins is also TERRIFIED of the dark. I'm not that bad... I think for me it's the unknown that scares me. Just a note of other things I'm afraid of: clowns, spiders, being alone, heights, commitment, failure... i think that's it. It's a life goal of mine to confront my fears, and overcome them. Or at least try to. I think the hardest one for me will be spiders. I literally FREAK OUT when I see one. Childhood trauma. lol

So, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!! lol. Sorry, I forgot to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year. It's the year of the bull, and supposedly its supposed to be a good year for those born under the Rat sign (like me). I don't usually go for any of that kind of stuff, but it's fun to read. :)

I think I'll start posting recipes that go well on this page. Oh, and if you ever want to know more about the eating situation here in St. George, check out my food critic blog I've made with my trusty side-kick, Susi: www.eatinginstgeorge.blogspot.com. :)