a new layout for fall

Thanks to the help of Lindsay and The Cutest Blog on The Block, we're all fancied up for fall! I love this new design. I promise (and it's not an empty one this time!) that I will update later on tonight with all of our Disneyland adventures!

so

This has nothing to do with Disneyland, which I thought would be my next post. But today I got my awesome boots delivered to me, and I'm so excited! They were featured in InStyle which obviously makes me very trendy. Maybe someday I'll post a picture of me in all my trendiness and subsequent popularity.

They are these ones:

Or, that's what one of them looks like anyway. The right one. Yes, it's suede.
Ok. I promise I'll try not to post anymore about random clothing purchases I make. No promises about Eric though...he'll probably make hundreds of posts about his fashion decisions.

Next time...Disneyland. For real this time.

PS: I think this is hilarious. You all should check it out.

the happiest place on earth!

Like Lindsay mentioned in a similar and very recent post, we are all headed out to California next week for a little break! On Wednesday night, Mark and Lindsay and Eric and I will all pile into the car for a weekend getaway to Disneyland (and Fallbrook, of course). So, here's 20 reasons I'm so excited for this trip:

1. I haven't been home in almost a year and a half and I can't wait to be home! (If even for a little bit)
2. I get to put my feet in the ocean and walk on the pier
3. We're going to Disneyland AND California Adventure, which are both amazing
4. We have dinner reservations at the Blue Bayou inside Pirates of the Caribbean. Yum!
5. I haven't been to In-N-Out in forever and we're stopping in Vegas or St. George for that purpose
6. I get to show Lindsay where I grew up, finally
7. Things are going to get weird in the car ride down, since we'll be driving straight through the night
8. I may have an excuse to get a new weekender bag since Delta employees ripped mine on the way back from Portland...
9. Hospitality provided by my wonderful parents...thank you!!
10. They're also cooking us a barbecue
11. I love Disneyland and always have. I know how to work the Fast Passes and cannot wait for the following rides at Disneyland: Indiana Jones, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise (I've always loved it), Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Autopia, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Basically I just love Disneyland.
12. Also the following rides at California Adventure: Soaring Over California, California Screamin', Hollywood Tower of Terror, Grizzly River Rapids. Yay!
13. Possibly running into a few people from home? That might be fun.
14. Nice hot weather (it'll be a nice transition into what's coming for Utah in a couple of months...)
15. Relaxing time away from Utah
16. Lots of animal life in Fallbrook...Lindsay and I are sure to have a field day
17. Pedro's Tacos...oh I'm going to get around to eating there!
18. Swimming in the pool and sleeping in all day Thursday
19. Did I mention how much I love Disneyland?
20. And yes, the big Disneyland Gift Shop on Main Street. I'm bound to get something there since I didn't last time.

Alright, knowing how unreliable I am at updating this blog, I probably won't post again until well after we're back from California. But I'll be sure to post plenty of pictures!

actually, i don't even know why i'm doing this...

So I wasn't even tagged to do this, but I was reading Emily and Tyler's blog and came across this. Since I'm bored, I decided to do it...and I promise I'll make a real post within the next week.

20 years ago:
- I was a year old!
- Megan and I probably took a lot of cute pictures together
- George H. W. Bush was elected president...
- There was lots of political tumult, according to Wikipedia
- I'm not really aware of anything else that happened in 1988.

10 years ago:

- I was 11. I was finishing 6th grade and about to start 7th grade at Potter...yikes
- I broke my wrist less than a week before school started, and I was really upset about it. (How am I going to open my locker?!? How will I participate in P.E.?!?! I know, important questions)
- I got my ears pierced for my eleventh birthday. Ashley got hers done for her twelfth and I felt really cool.
- I also had a joint sleepover birthday party with Ashely (since her birthday was the day after mine) and there was lots of sixth-grade drama. Oooh boy.
- Also, I loved Beanie Babies.

5 years ago:

- I finished my junior year of high school and was about to start my senior year.
- I somehow managed to become one of the drum majors for Fallbrook High's marching band, and although that sounds really dorky, it was actually really awesome. During a pretty good portion of band camp, Cory and I would just find a shady place and go to sleep. Hah!
- I was a relatively good student and wanted to be done with school so badly. I was starting to itch for college.
- Megan moved to Utah so I finally had my own room. I painted it green, even the ceiling. That may have been a bad idea. I think Maggie and I also got partially high off paint in an enclosed space.
- We also went to Hawaii for 2 weeks during the summer. That was a fun trip, but a really long trip.

3 years ago:

- I met Eric in August and we started dating in October. I was freaked out at the time, but man that turned out to be a really good idea.
- I worked at Legoland over the summer and then started working at Cafe Rio where I got free food everyday and possibly gained around 15 pounds. Not a surprise.
- Lindsay made the big decision for us to live at Glenwood instead of the Colony. I'm glad she put so much thought into that, because I couldn't have cared less where we lived.
- Lindsay and I got even creepier than before, and things got really weird. Haha.
- I went to the hot tub at Glenwood a lot with various people. But mostly I just worked.

So far this year:

- I finished my fourth year of college
- Eric and I went to Portland and ate at one of his favorite restaurants
- I successfully put together a good portion of the kachina exhibit at the museum without killing myself or going insane
- I got SCUBA certified with Shannon! Yeah!
- Um...I've seen Batman twice?
- My life isn't interesting, apparently

Yesterday:

- I went to Cafe Rio for lunch...I will never get enough.
- I went to Macy's with Lindsay so she could spend her wedding money
- I watched at least 3 episodes of CSI
- I got to hang out with Lindsay for a long time and talk for a long time. Love it.
- And then...last night...Eric and I bought a new TV! Ah! It's beautiful. And hard-earned.

Today:

- I went to work
- I had a meeting at work
- I had granola with raisins and almonds for breakfast. Yum.
- I watched another episode of CSI before going to work. I may be addicted.
- I tried to pump up my bike tires a little but apparently I am inept at this because after several pumps my tires were no different

Tomorrow:

- I will go to work again
- So will Eric
- It will be Wednesday
- We will feed the cats some wet food. They are spoiled.
- We'll possibly either go to the temple or have dinner with Lindsay or Mark. Stay tuned.

In the next year:

- I will finally graduate! And then what? I don't know.
- I will get a new pair of boots, yellow pillows, and new slipcovers for the couches.
- We will be out of this apartment and into one of our own!! At least, that's the plan anyway.
- I will win a game show and have more money than I know what to do with. You just wait, I'll be the second million-dollar winner on Deal or No Deal.
- Eric will have his birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas will come, and I will have my birthday. And lots of fun things will happen in between. Like Disneyland in September and Coldplay in November!

Yay! Something of more substance next time. Til then.

panthera pardus orientalis

Wow, it's been a while. Summer's almost over (meaning that I go back to school full-time, as Eric never really had a break) and I'm sort of glad about that. All I've been doing is working and it gets kinda boring not doing anything else. Plus, I'm graduating in December and kind of just want to get this all over with.

We had the chance to go up to Portland last week for Lindsay and Mark's wedding. We had such a good time up there, and the wedding was -in my mind anyway - pretty much perfect (although, there could have been tons of things I wasn't aware of). The reception was beautiful, Lindsay and Mark looked so happy, and the ceremony itself was wonderful. I couldn't see Lindsay's face during the ceremony, but I could see Mark's, and if Lindsay looked anything like that then she probably looked like the happiest girl alive at that point. And she probably was anyway. Haha. We had a really good time up there. Of course, I barely took any pictures of anything, but I'm sure Lindsay will post some so that anyone who cares can look and see how everything was. But it was all beautiful.

On Saturday, the day after the wedding, our flight was scheduled to leave around 4 pm for Salt Lake. So we decided to spend the morning at the Oregon Zoo! I know, typical of me, right? We had a really fun time, and I did manage to take tons of pictures there. Apparently we see where my priorities lie...anyway, we had a really fun time up there and can't wait for another chance to go back to Portland.

one of the three pictures i took at the reception

enjoying the zoo - it was a nice cool day

eric has the wingspan of a bald eagle.

this leopard shared a tie for my favorite animal at the zoo along with the tigers and the ocelot. i love me some big cats with pretty fur coats.

the big read

I think I've come across this list before, but usually I've just looked at it in passing and thought, "hmm...I haven't read as many of those books as I thought. I should read more." But this time, I'm actually going to do what it says! Here goes...

The Big Read says that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read
2) Italicize those you intend to read.

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë (although I only vaguely remember this...I should read again)
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson (I know I've read part of it for school, but I doubt it was the whole thing)
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams (I've always wanted to read this...the evil bunnies!)
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell (I think I've read this. Maybe it was just a children's adaptation...maybe not!)
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden (maybe)
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

23/100...not bad I guess. Plus I intend to read several more. I was surprised at how much Roald Dahl they have on this list...I don't think he's that great, but he's ok. I feel pretty good that I've read 7 of their top 10 and that I intend to read the other 3. Maybe I'll get one of these (or more...?) read by the end of the summer. Right now I'm reading The Devil Wears Prada...haha. I think I need more enlightening reading material, and now I've got a list. What are your thoughts on this list?

fluffamuffagus

So here we are, sitting watching TV. Law and Order SVU is on, but it's not that interesting this time. We've pretty much just been going through the daily grind of work and school (especially for Eric), and we try to find interesting things to spice up our lives a little bit. The other day I went to Good Earth and bought wheat bran and flax seed and made some delicious Cranberry Bran Muffins. They are super. I'll put the recipe at the end of the entry in case anyone is interested.

We went to the Fourth of July parade and it was actually pretty enjoyable. We got to sit in a shady spot, in chairs on the grass; it was kind of cloudy outside, so not too hot; and we didn't get squirted with water by any obnoxious firefighters or politicians or their little friends. And! There were llamas! Of course I took a picture because I love them.

We're going camping somewhere this weekend with Eric's parents. I'm not really sure where it is though. Somewhere by Manti maybe? All I know is I'm getting a one-day fishing permit and they're going to make me fish! Hopefully I'll actually catch something this time, instead of the pathetic fishing performances I have given in the past. I'm kind of excited to use our tent a second time this summer (we really should use it more often...) since we didn't get to use it at all last summer.

Oh! I went to Tammy's going away/birthday party last weekend and won a little George Foreman grill! And it totally wasn't even rigged...maybe...

This is the most schizophrenic entry I've written in a while. Here's the muffin recipe:

Cranberry Bran Muffins:
1 1/2 c. wheat bran
1 c. buttermilk (lowfat)
1/3 c. applesauce
1 egg
1/2 c. brown sugar
2+ Tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. white all-purpose flour
1/2 c. wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
dash nutmeg
2 dashes cinnamon
1/2 c.+ Craisins (or whatever else you want)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. Mix together wheat bran and buttermilk; let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Beat together applesauce, egg, brown sugar, honey, and vanilla and add to buttermilk/bran mixture. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture, until just blended. Fold in cranberries and spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

finally, a new post.

It takes a couple of weeks before enough interesting things happen that I can blog about them. At least in the summer, anyway. Last week Shannon and I started our summer classes, which included Geology 102 and Beginning Scuba Diving. We hiked up Rock Canyon for our first geology class, but then decided we didn't want to write reports all the time, we didn't want to suffer in the hot sun hiking at someone else's pace, we didn't want to ride in 12-passenger vans (bleh), we didn't want to be exhausted after 6 hours of hiking for our 4-hour scuba class right afterwards, and I would be able to go to work on Tuesdays. So we dropped it. I don't feel bad about it. Oh, plus we'd both already taken geology so it was sort of a waste of time...

We had our first actual swimming part of scuba last night, since the first night we just sat in the classroom and they talked at us and we got out early (fortunately). Last night our class actually went over, til about 10:30 pm. But it was a lot of fun. We learned mask clears and regulator retrievals, and I felt cool wearing the whole scuba getup. My tank was really heavy and I almost fell over backwards. That's fun. Oh, and I float like crazy. Yay. I think I'm going to enjoy this class.

Last Thursday morning, we (Eric and I and Shannon and Zach and Kelly - Zach and Kelly in their own car...) left to drive to the family reunion in Oregon. It ended up taking us about 12 hours to get there, even though it's only about a 10-hour drive. We stopped in Boise (read: meandered around lost for an hour looking for the elusive Albertson's) so Shannon could see Kaitlin at work and we stopped just enough times for gas and food that it tacked on about another hour. The reunion was good though. We were a little sad the tram was closed, so we sort of brought our bikes for nothing (tried to make up for it by riding around the campground - not quite the same as riding down a mountain), but we still rode horses on Friday morning and rented a paddleboat for a while on Saturday evening. Fun. I got sunburned during the softball game standing out in left field, and for once I didn't do anything for the talent show. That's ok. We left on Sunday morning after breakfast but before the testimony meeting, hoping we'd get back at a reasonable time. We still got back at about 12:30 because there was all kinds of construction traffic in Ogden. Boo. It tooks us an hour to go maybe 3 miles. Maybe. Lame.

I'm sick for some reason. Also lame.

Our pictures from the reunion: http://picasaweb.google.com/adrien.mooney/FamilyReunion