Tidings from California

We (my parents and I) arrived in California on Friday night (super late), got all settled, then went to bed. It was a very long drive, but I was fortunate that it was the day after Christmas, so I had lots of literature to tie me over :)

Speaking of... Christmas! It was fantastic! I'd say my favorite gifts were my super cute black boots, my awesome and useful knives, which came in a case that doubles as a cutting board, my three "complete works" books, bringing me up to five total (Shakespeare, Douglas Adams, Lewis Carrol, Poe, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). They look so great next to each other. Also my super cute bookends made by my talented sister, and the super cool 3-D cookie cutters that Kristi brought to the Maroney exchange (when I make them, I'll take pics and post them).

Anyway, first day in California was fantastic. We went to the beach, which is always fun. Then for lunch we ate at this mexican food place that puts guacamole on everything, but had really good fries. Then we came back to Nick and Lindsay's for a while, I read, others napped, I napped a bit too. Then in the evening we had potato soup and watched mixed nuts. Today was also great, we went to the Aquarium, then walked along the street that was lined with all kinds of fun shops. We found Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and ate there for lunch. Then we walked for a while again, and then came back and watched Bones (again I napped and read for a good portion of the Bones-watching). And now, we are making dinner, and will probably watch Bones or something else for the rest of the evening.

Other updates - I finally got a picture of me and Justin! So now you can all see what he looks like. Also, just to note, I was wearing my new boots in this picture, which have about a three to four inch heel. And he's still that much taller than I am :)

Other than that, not much to say. It's been a super fun trip thus far, and looks to continue as such. If I knew how to make one of those photo videos, I'd put up my pics from the trip, but it's too much effort to upload them all onto the blogger website. So, use your imagination. Or, if you really want to see them, teach me how to get one of those video things. :)

Thanks for reading!

Guilt...

I felt kind of bad for not posting in such a long time, but then I realized, it hasn't even been a week. But my life has been so full, and so busy, it feels like it's been a month!
All the days kind of blur together, but mostly, it's been shopping in the day with my mother, or working on tutus (still haven't gotten around to wrapping), or taking a nap. And why do I need a nap? After all, I'm off work, I should be able to go to bed early, no homework, wake up later... haha that's not so much happening. I've been staying up until about one every night, and waking up anywhere from seven to eight thirty. Because, my evenings have been so preoccupied, that I feel like I need to wake up fairly early in order to get anything done. And granted, six hours of sleep is adequate. But not for a week. I'm a morning person. I'd much rather get six hours from eleven to five, which was standard during school, than from one to seven.
But, I really cannot complain. Completely worth it.
In case the build up has been driving you crazy, sorry, you're going to be disappointed. Maybe. I've spent every evening the past week with Justin. So, yeah, that's how it's been worth it.
Well, I'm very tired, so I'm going to stop writing now, and go to bed.
Merry Christmas!
Thanks for reading!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

So, this week has been pretty great :)
I've been working, I had my dance "final" to get an A+ (and always get talked into taking a dance class next semester, even though I already have 17 credits. Still debating whether to take one or not...), I found out I got an A in pscyh! Hooray! I thought I'd get a B, but apparently the teacher curved it, so my 87.5 turned into an A! Hey, no complaining here! Still waiting for my english and latin grades to be posted. They should hopefully both be A's.
And, the real reason for this post: I have a boyfriend now :) I'm sure if you read my last post, you can guess who. At lesat, Kristi was able to. Justin. Yep. So, that's pretty exciting :) I won't bore you with all the little things going through my mind right now, because that would make for a long entry! But, he is coming to dinner on Sunday night, for the Maroney side. So that should make most of my siblings happy, they can finally meet him. Sorry Ashley. You should try to drop by for a moment! Or, you know, I'm sure there will be other opportunities to meet him.
Ooh, just have to point this little detail out: he's 6'5". Yes, you read that right. He's four inches taller than I am! I can wear heels with him!
Obviously that's not the reason I'm going out with him, but boy oh boy is it a nice perk :)
Also, I started work on the tutus I'm making for Christmas presents, and they are turning out super cute! I'll take a picture when I'm done with all the different colors so you can see how cute they are. And then also after Christmas, I'll get a picture of the girls wearing them. That will be a better picture :)
Yesterday was a good day. At eleven o'clock, an hour before I was supposed to go into work, I got a call from the Gilbert office manager. Apparently the power was out at the financial building, so he told me not to come in. Um, hmm, okay! No complaints here :) I was able to go over to Ashley's and just chill with her, and then she helped me get started on the tutus. It was a fun afternoon! And then in the evening, I went to see the temple lights with my friend Randi, who's not a member of the church, and has only seen the temple lights once, so that was cool. And so far, I'm doing good on my goal of seeing the lights at least once a week :) I never get tired of going to see them. Really, I never get tired of going to see the temple, lights or no lights.
That's the news with me. Looking forward to Christmas and all the fun giving involved, and very glad I'm done with the shopping I need to do :) Now I just need to finish the tutus, and wrap! Voila!
Thanks for reading!

Living large in LA... or AZ...

But AZ didn't make it an alliteration.
So, I'm "studying" right now... as you can clearly tell. Here, I'll study for real:
(masc, fem, neut)
Sing:
N: is ea id
G: eius eius eius
D: ei ei ei
Ac: eum eam id
Ab: eo ea eo
Plur:
N: ei eae ea
G: eorum earum eorum
D: eis eis eis
Ac: eos eas ea
Ab: eis eis eis
And now I check to see if I got it right... HA! Yes! I did it!
Okay, that was boring for you to read. ANYWAY, that's what I've been doing all week. Studying for my Latin final, which is tomorrow, which I really don't even need to do that well on, but I have a feeling it's going to be a doozy of a test. That class is ridiculous. I actually have to study for it! What's with that?
Tomorrow is also baking day, which I look forward to with great anticipation. I love to bake. And even more than that, I love to eat what other people bake. So, I'm excited for that. Also I love spending time with my family. Aw. And not having work!!!
So, boy situation: I went on a few dates with Ryan, it was fun, but we aren't going to go on anymore dates. Mutual decision. And last night I went out with this guy named Justin, I've been out with him once before last night, he plays the trombone, went to Taiwan on his mission and speaks Mandarin Chinese. He's taller than me, and he's 21. That's pretty much all the important details... oh, he's also in the marching band, plays the trombone. We're going out carolling and to see the temple lights on saturday.
I made a goal to see the temple lights at least once every week this season. Because last year I only ended up seeing them once, and that is simply not enough! So far, I'm on track! I went last week with Ryan, this week I'm going with Justin, next week I'm taking my friend Randi (girl), and then the week after that is Christmas, so I'll go with my family! I'm a winner at achieving goals!
Well, I really ought to get back to studying. I've been procrastinating long enough! I'm so ready for it to be nine o'clock tomorrow so I can be DONE for the semester. And done with Latin FOR EVER! I'm so excited to take French again. It's so much easier!
Thanks for reading!

Becomming Old

I believe my brother-in-law put it best, when he said "you went to bed at 8:30? You're an old fogie!"
Old fogie, is apparently what I am. Because I fell asleep at 7:30 today. I woke at a little after 8 to the sound of Mario (my cell phone's ring tone), and after seeing the caller id, decided it was okay to have been waken. Plus I have to change and take out my contacts and such before I can really go to bed.
Last week was c-r-a-z-y. I went out just about every night, then that weekend went to Sedona with the family, all my siblings and their spouses except Nick and Lindsay (who were missed, sadly. Can't wait to see you guys in a few weeks!), and did not get a lot of sleep this weekend either. So, after eight days in a row of averaging five hours of sleep (one night I did get six, but another night I ended up with closer to four), I am plum tired. Just in time for finals!
Although to be fair, I only have one final left: latin. The final of all finals. The killer of the bees, the meanest of the bullies... can you tell I'm not looking forward to this test? Friday... blah. All my others were either final papers, a dance final (piece of cake!), or a non-cumulative final, which I had on monday. So, one left. And it's the hardest. Oh well, I have a solid A, I'd have to get somewhere in a C/D range to drop down to a B. Still, I'd like to do well on the test. Luckily I have thursday afternoon for studying!
So, I think I'm going to go to bed again after this. I'm so t-t-t-tired (that's the equivalent of a blog-yawn). It's pathetic, but I'm a college student. I sleep all break, so that I can go the entire semester without sleep. I'm like a bear. I hibernate, and then go for weeks without any sleep. Commence hibernation mode... now!
Thanks for reading!

Memories, all alone in the moonlight...

Sounds like fun...
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I have together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. We all have some sort of memory... SO DO IT :)

The End.

I did it! I finished my novel.
Total count: 126 pages
64,684 words
It feels weird. I've never finished a novel before. I've never written those fantastic words: The End. It feels WEIRD!!!!! I'm not sure if it's in a good or bad way, either.
Both, I think. But it is kind of sad, knowing it's over. And now, let the editing process begin.
Actually, let me take a little break first... too much time with this novel! I need a break. A well earned break.
Holy crap! I wrote a novel! I FINISHED a novel. I've never finished anything before! It's weird, having to tie everything together. I'm in a state of... weirdnes... I don't know how to describe it. It's a neat feeling. And it totally applies with how I ended my book too. Because it's officially a book now, I decided. Yep.
Just thought I'd update you. I wrote a novel!