New Neighbors!!

The Garners!!!! That's right, folks. I'm in California living the life. I'm really about an hour from Rachel, but still, compared to before, she's right down the street. Granddad and Betsy (my grandparents) were visiting the area and came by to pick me up on their way to visit Dewain and Rachel. We had a wonderful time, baking cookies, going on walks, and playing with their puppy (Not Rachel's, Granddad's). We also went out to eat and a cute little Italian place where Nathan went crazy on their garlic bread. I might have gone a little crazy too, but it was delicious and they had oil and balsamic vinegar to dip it in. I love that. A highlight of the trip is that I got to eat meat, several times. I've been pretty much vegg since I moved here, only because I'm so poor. Haha!

The nephews were confused as always and called me all three of their aunts' names and were anxious for me to play Mario Cart with them. I told them I would play next time and Daniel looked at me with skepticism. I had to tell him I only live an hour away now, in California. He was pretty excited I think.

Granddad and Betsy and I had a fun little trip home. Right after boasting of the benefits of a GPS, theirs took us through the middle of a town called Pleasanton and added about 20-30 minutes to our car ride! Ha, those tricky little things.

The Best Friends in the World

Yep, that's what I have. I really do. I'm not sure how I got so lucky. So, I thought I'd share it with the world (or the 4 people who follow my blog).

Ok, so, everyone (who has a sense of social standards) knows that there are rules when it comes to being a house guest. You shouldn't stay with someone more than 3 days, especially if you are staying on the couch or some other common area. Next, you should do something in return or to say thanks (such as take them to dinner, buy them a present, etc.). And last, but not least, you should be as convenient as possible (meaning don't expect them to make you a fabulous meal everyday, drive you all over the place, and listen to your problems everyday while you take up all their personal space). Those are some very important rules if you want people to still like you when you've gone. Well, I went and stayed with Lila so I could fine a job and housing. I broke every single one of those rules times 10. Yep, all of them, but somehow she kept chuggin along and making great food, using up her gas for me, and helping me with the decisions I had to make. You really can't find a friend like that everyday, and I think she even still loves me.

And that's not all folks!!

Jency, my forever roommate, threw me my first (and only) farewell party last night. She bought/made bruschetta and cream puffs on my request. Yum. Then, a bunch of my friends got together and bought me a gift. The best, most perfect gift they could have given me... A Tomtom. I can't even believe that they would think to do that, but I have been so nervous about moving to an area so much bigger than Cache Valley and so unfamiliar. They know me so well and even though most of them secretly (or not so secretly sometimes) don't want me to go, they came and supported me and got together to get me my very own GPS!!! Wowee!!

Also, people made sacrifices to come and spend time with me last night. JoAnna put off writing her big paper...even though it was due at midnight last night, I'll miss her. Gid even brought me a wonderful little going away gift that I've been needing for a while. My brother has brought me several boxes and left them in my car and house even when I wasn't around... The point is, it's really great to know that you are loved. And right now, I do. Thanks everyone. You are the best.

But I Love....

Ok, so I guess I got "tagged" by Lila...and I AM bored, so I'll do this.

1. Sunshine. I know, no one is surprised by this one. But it really does, the whole range of emotions I can have goes up a notch or two when it's sunny.

2. The ocean. Yeah, I think my answers are sounding cliche. The ocean seems to be so beautiful no matter what the weather.

3. Reading. I just get so into my book and it's magical. A good movie could do the same thing.

4. Babies and animals...if they like me automatically. For some reason it makes you feel so special to be loved by an unbiased living thing. It shouldn't, but it just does.

5. Good friends. The kind that you can spend time with without having to do something extravagant. No one has to entertain anyone.

6. Food. I just discovered the term "foodie." If you can be as picky as I am and still be considered a foodie, then I am. I just love delicious new food and finding new things I love and learning to cook something new and wonderful.

Well, that's it for now. I don't want to put too much time into this since no one really reads it. (I know, I know, it's my own fault for never posting)

And, I have no idea who to tag...Kathy?

They came too late...

The pictures that is. I took these at the beginning of the summer, which is now long over. I was frustrated because it was supposed to be summer, but it just wouldn't stop raining. It was supposed to be kind of ironic...summer, but I can't do anything summery... So instead, it's going to feel like someone is explaining a joke to you, aka ruining that joke for you. Haha! Oh well.

So, on the left is the laundry, right after I got them out of the dryer and excitedly hung them up to use my clothes line for the first time! On the right, you will see them after one week of being on the clothes line ... and still too wet to take down. (my dryer was not working at the time, so I just had to wait)Ha! Good Times

Break-up Bedroom

Yeah, that's what I decided to call this. It's just terrible and I know the bedroom on the "other end" of this is worse, I saw it. Heh. Anyway, it's weird. I can do laundry, clean the kitchen, mow the lawn and everything, but it took a lot of gumption and mind distractions to finally clean up this mess. But I did. Good'on me!

My Favorite Part

My favorite part of my house is my bedroom. Especially the window seat. I have ALWAYS wanted a window seat. Girls in movies and romantic stories always had them and I wanted my life to be so romantic. Haha! Anyway, I love it. Also, the shape of the room is so unique and has a lot of character. All of that makes up for my least favorite part, my "closet". This closet is one of four strange little doors in my bedroom and probably the least creepy too. One leads to another little room hidden in the walls....way scary! One opens straight to a wall with insulation. I put some shelves in one and it now holds some of my shoes, but couldn't fit anything else. This one I added that lovely shower curtain to so I would have a place to hang a few things, although it hides the shelves behind it. It is the longest/deepest closet ever, I have to duck and walk back a ways to get to my clothes. I added a little touch light above my clothes and my laundry basket sits on the ground. But, I wouldn't trade my room for any of the others. Which is great, because that's how all the roommates feel.

MEWITHOUTYOU

Yippee, we went to a concert! Sure, Cody left our tickets in Logan and the balance wasn't too great at the dumpy venue, but we did it. Turns out, lead singer guy(I rarely know names unless it's the name of the band) decided to learn a billion instruments just for his new songs. Cody says he could already play accordian and he did a little guitar before, but this time he went CRAZY!! He was almost always playing guitar, but also accordian, keyboard, trumpet, and various percussion instruments. It seemed like he wanted us to think he was cool, and I did. They beatle king song was amazing even without the full orchestra from the record. They even handed out a bag of bakery goods of some sort to the crowd. They said they'd tell everyone where they got them after the show. Apparently they are "freegan" and they forgot to say which dumpster they came from. Unfortunately, they ran out before the bag got to us. All in all, it was a fun time. Also of note, we tried 5 Guys burgers for the first time. What a delight, I must say. Everything I wanted and nothing else, plus the fries are fried in peanut oil, so they have a dee-licious flavor. Unfortunately, the fast-food connoiseur himself was very sick from the partying the night before (one day we won't overdo it) and couldn't fully enjoy it. Poor Cody! Anyway, I recommend both activities to everyone.