one better day

ejercicio

2009-11-21T20:32:00.003-07:00

we started our new exercise and sleep regimen today.

mose is pretty amazing at aerobics.

deals

2009-11-10T10:55:00.003-07:00

OLFA is the "Best Made Cutting Tools in the World." They invented the rotary cutter. AND their handles have a lifetime guarantee.

value kit from store:

my kit at home:_____________

___________

here are the prices of the individual pieces:

1- 45mm OLFA Rotary Cutter $19.49

2- 6" x 12" OLFA Non-Slip, Frosted Ruler $14.99

3- 12" x 18" OLFA Self-Healing Rotary Mat $17.49

That's a total of $51.97.

My price? $12.99.

yup.

less than the cheapest component in the kit. after taxes etc.

hooray for coupons!

happy birthday (tomorrow)

2009-11-09T13:14:00.002-07:00

scott sent me a happy birthday music.

i think that is nice.

especially since this isn't a particularly BIG birthday. i'm only going to be 7 months.

ohio

2009-11-09T13:07:00.004-07:00

i like the weather in ohio.
two nights ago we were outside without jackets in the dead middle of the night. not cold.

yesterday we took a nap outside. it's november.

i like the trees in ohio.

i like that the weather promotes a proper fall with fall colors and crunchy leaves under foot.

i like aldi in ohio.

i like moses in ohio.

i like the signage in ohio. there's lots of it. i like that they have "500 ft" signs that tell you what street is the upcoming intersection. it decreases slamming on the breaks as you pass the street you were supposed to turn on.
i also like that a lot of times when roads merge together everyone gets to keep their own lanes. at least for a little while.

i like how people talk in ohio.
it's subtle but there's a definite niceness about it.

i like my room in ohio.

i like the houses in ohio.

i like that the lake is so pretty and close.

i like maria crazy for lakewood history in ohio.

i like the west side market in ohio.
especially the pistachio cheesecake.

friend in need

2009-05-19T18:24:00.000-06:00

my nephew can scoot on a tricycle.

what?!! seriously?!!!

2009-03-03T16:52:00.001-07:00

Pretending to clip his toe nails
Originally uploaded by Maria Samuelson

can you be that cute?!

what?! seriously?!!

2009-03-03T16:51:00.001-07:00

Pretending to clip his toe nails
Originally uploaded by Maria Samuelson

can you be that smart?

at last

2009-02-23T18:50:00.003-07:00

Slide, already!
Originally uploaded by Maria Samuelson

kids, i finally made it into the ranks of the documented aunts and uncles.

best 12 days of my life.

Getting very excited about Cincy

2008-11-11T14:28:00.001-07:00

Getting very excited about Cincy
Originally uploaded by Maria Samuelson

people wonder why i want to move to ohio.

Feats of Strength

2008-10-17T14:52:00.002-06:00

Feats of Strength
Originally uploaded by Maria Samuelson

swoon.
swoon.
and swoon again.

nerd alert

2008-07-08T14:59:00.001-06:00

i confess to loving learnoutloud.com

does anyone else feel the desire to pick up where i left off as a child and become an arthurian legends nerd?

2008-06-24T12:22:00.001-06:00

"Having adventures comes natural to some people," said Anne serenely.
"You just have a gift for them or you haven't."

today is an happy day

2008-06-14T20:32:00.003-06:00

first day of the farmers' market. mushroom guy.
$20 of mushrooms: porcini, morel, baby shitake, and the ones i can't remember.
delicious g-harv pastries.
honey for honey whole wheat pizza dough.

caputo's market wraps around!! "00" flour at last. with beets, spinach and above mushrooms for homemade pasta. delicious.
international juice drinks for enjoying

soccer.
joanna can pick winning teams.

first time at hosting. :)

jump!

2008-05-20T13:52:00.005-06:00

closed

1 down 2 to go

2008-04-25T11:56:00.001-06:00

doesn't "experimental mathematics" just sound silly?
i think i like people who experiment with mathematics. those wild and crazy mathematicians, living on the edge.

:)

munificence

2008-04-17T13:08:00.002-06:00

i just donated 2000 grains of rice in 30 minutes. not even that if you consider i had to run some things out to the robots.

freerice.com

my big sister says she heard about it on npr. i don't listen to npr, but sometimes people do when i'm around.
but i didn't hear about it from the radio.
i heard about it from my little sister.

sigh

2008-04-17T12:08:00.001-06:00

birfday

2008-04-16T14:18:00.000-06:00

world class chocolate is so delicious.
especially if it's free.

:)

happiest of birthdays

2008-04-10T23:59:00.002-06:00

jason even jumped the ropes. such a good turner. with his help, rob made it over tammie and into double dutch.
he stayed the whole time, bought me dinners and nasty ice cream as per becky's orders.
:)!!

viv, becky and angelina performed a dramatization of unicorn of my soul to accompany my beautiful and delicious unicorn cake (courtney the last unicorn currently resides atop my refrigerator.)
leo brought horchata!

jason proposed to viv yet again, they held hands and he gave her my accidental light up ring.

al and al's mom and my mom and my dad and my brother also dropped in for jump rope practice. kristen happened through and jumped.
nancy and emily and the whole team came.

happy happy happy for me.

2008-04-06T16:44:00.005-06:00

i took these while visiting my sister in cincinnati.
i like them.

----------------
Now playing: Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine

here he is, tim.

2008-03-19T12:15:00.001-06:00

http://flickr.com/photos/blobbies/2320229382/

mr. squidgey face

2008-03-14T10:22:00.002-06:00

tim AND emily came to jump rope!!
and emily and i have a... chamber group (not quite a quartet, but we're getting there.)

and jenji and i are going to see the best nephew ever tomorrow morning. i'm so excited you wouldn't EVEN believe.

:) !

don't forget!!!

2008-03-04T10:52:00.003-07:00

my jump rope team is performing this coming monday, march 10 at the institute here in capital city. the festivities begin at 7, i believe, but we might be slated as the last act.

you really don't want to miss it.

if you want in on the action, there're practices tonight and thursday at 9pm at the institute.

come!

hooray

2008-02-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

happy of this birthday!

happy valentine's day

2008-02-14T11:02:00.002-07:00

someone was shoveling the snow off the stairs as i walked to work. lost in thought i passed by unaware and then thought "i should've said thank you."
and then
i heard a voice straight out of a public service announcement
saying, "thank you for working so hard to keep us safe."

and i was glad there was at least one nice person today. too bad it wasn't me.

2.
i had such a nice breakfast and i wasn't EVEN late to class. hooray!

on the other hand

2008-02-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

i think i might even have a date.

silly.

AND two nights of jump rope a week!

speaking of
jason says this is me. (even sillier; i like small cars.):

the best nephew ever

2008-02-08T09:36:00.004-07:00

contentment

2008-02-06T11:41:00.001-07:00

i woke up at 8 and looked outside to see snow falling fast and furious. so i decided to go to work later than usual. because i can.
i woke up at 10 to the sound of lilli singing the little mermaid.
and i had someone to tell it to.
i was up until 3am last night playing with to do lists and chatting about silliness like a.i. (which i promise i'm not geeky enough to like. it was just a conversation i was having. i promise. unabashedly nerdy, but not a geek!)
i talked to my redheaded russian sister and looked at the pictures of my sweet baby nephew (did you even know that i had a nephew? cause i do! and he's the best one ever. see here.) while lilli listened to old school shakira in the shower.
the sun was shining while i walked to school.
and kathryn invited me to lunch.

2008-01-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

jason isn't EVEN moving to north carolina in a month.

hooray!

big wig

2007-12-26T16:09:00.001-07:00

i have loads of happy things.
but the funniest is that i, absolutely and sincerely and because it will make a difference, just told
someone to drop my name.

in order to get a job!
i feel like such a high roller or something. who knew?

i love it when people buy me lunch take two.

2007-12-19T16:00:00.001-07:00

today was my mom. which is even more fun than my boss cause she's nicer.

does anybody need to use the drive-thru window? cause my power windows TOTALLY work.

2007-12-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

this is a picture of my birthday at the doctor's office.

i love when people buy me lunch

2007-12-14T19:49:00.001-07:00

this is a picture of my name on a burrito.

jason saved the night when my car was being a scary monster and we got our matching scarves! i was so happy i bought him two scarves. and he was so happy he bought me two scarves. and now we both have two scarves and we match.

and i found amigo bear at the toys r us.
here's a picture of lydia and amigo bear at the slumber party for angelina.

amigo bear is a friend to everyone, but i bought him to be a special friend for master tedwin tedward iii. whose birthday is still a mystery to us all.

and kathryn bought me the most perfect of perfect fingerless gloves with a mitten hat. and they even match ALL of my coats!

and rennie and i are officially friends.

what a good day, eh?

Sigh....

2007-12-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Five reasons why I am so glad about Wednesday night:
One. I got to go on a date with Fran Fillerup....
Two. My secret dream is to have all my friends come along on my dates....
Three. Sometimes he laughs like my 11-year-old brother...
Four. We gussied up fancy style and everyone was so beautiful.....
Five. There was a delicious onion...
Five point five. I got the pale pink flower....

floribunda

2007-12-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

i got a flower on the date with fran.
:)

"ma'am! ma'am! here's some more!"

2007-12-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

jason and i are the same person!
we even both like cookies!!!!

i have resigned myself in my crazy life to not doing normal fun things.
i fill my weekends to the best of my ability, but it's hard to do normal things in the middle of the night, which is the only time that i have real free time.
but tonight i got to go shopping like a normal person and have loads of good fun at the same time. aren't nice people a wonderful thing?
tomorrow's going to be lovely too!!

also, i should give a shout out to the little boy who thought i was 15 and tried to sell me a little christmas tree so it would fit in my little house. i decided just to take the scrap branches home, but if you're looking for a small tree, i know where you can get a gorgeous one for $20.

$$

2007-12-08T22:36:00.000-07:00

oh do you know i have money in my savings account and not just in checking? money that belongs to me and i have no immediate need of? it's not set aside for anything in particular, just in savings being responsible.

doesn't that make you just sob with joy?

----------------
Listening to: Udit Narayan, Alga Yagnik, Vasundhara Das - O Rey Chhori
via FoxyTunes

Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.

2007-12-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

compliments i have recently received:
labibi said my flyers were "dead clever"
my boss wrote on my evaluation that he could turn over any project to me and i would get it done...right.
my students said i had beautiful spanish. (oh it's so not true, they've just never heard me speak before, but it still made me happy)
the break dancing kids came in and double dutched with us at jump rope practice. when they left they said i had "the happiest smile" and i told them they should come back next thursday.

and i just shipped a package to el segundo.
do you remember that song?
ha ha ha.
oh that was a funny time of my life.

humpty dumpty

2007-12-03T22:58:00.001-07:00

"A Warrior of the Light sometimes thinks: 'If I do not do something, it will not be done.'

It is not quite like that: He must act, but he must allow room for the Universe to act too."

----------------
Listening to: Aimee Mann - Humpty Dumpty
via FoxyTunes

until then we'll have to muddle through somehow

2007-12-01T16:32:00.001-07:00

rob invited me to play in the snow. i should've been busy as a beaver and accomplished real things for projects and working and life, but i was so excited to be invited that i just went anyway. i even sledded down the hill two times. and i never sled. and i made my first snowman ever (out of REAL snow)
did you know you really do just roll it around until it gets bigger and bigger until it's huge?!! it's true. just like in the movies and cartoons! only ours didn't get too big and chase us down the hill and around the park. cause we were at the bottom of the hill.
see below.
(we didn't have a proper camera, but quick thinking liz used her cell phone.)

and then tammie made us all hot chocolates with peppermint candy cane pieces in it.
today is such a happy happy day.

y ahora viene la viv!

an apple and the moon

2007-11-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

thank you, liza, for reminding me.
i knew i would forget to post my pictures.

aqui.
mercedes' daughters come to class with her. the other day joe was running an evaluation so i got to sit out in the hall and color with the girls.
they were using the stapler to make envelopes. this frightened me, but they demonstrated their "safe" techniques.
here's zaira's envelope.
and here's an offering from angie:
(that's an angel) and the inside:
(another angel!)
AND....
made just for me,
"it's an apple and the moon."

oh i adore children.
and the moon.
and children who intuit that i love the moon.
and apples.

i'm not ACTUALLY starving. it's just an expression

2007-11-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

i always try to say thank you to people. it's become kind of like a game. i don't know if i can explain how.
i liked saying "thank you" to the lady sweeping the stairs at di.
i also liked the tone of surprise when she said "you're welcome."

derriere la miroir

2007-11-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

after a lovely fun morning of touring the university, i was working at the library.
my cart was gone so i had to wait for my boss to give me a new project.
he soon did.
it was basically to consolidate some items. specifically the items (item records) for the fine arts locked case copies of derriere la miroir.
i got to work and it was fine and fun and passed the time.
then my boss came around to tell me that he had emailed the lady we needed to get the books back to and told her that he had his "best woman working on the derriere thing." and i thought that was a nice thing to say.

and he also thought it was funny cause even though in french it means "behind," in english it means "behind."

la luna

2007-11-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

so at my parents' house i can sit at the computer and watch the full moon rise.
:)

----------------
Listening to: Carlos Vives - Gallito De Caramelo
via FoxyTunes

techno-fascinated.

2007-11-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

am i

----------------
Listening to: The Kings of Convenience - I Don't Know What I Can Save You From
via FoxyTunes

2007-11-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

it's seriously getting almost creepy.
every third car in the state CAN'T have my birthday for the license plate. it's impossible.
unless...
maybe i'm being stalked...
by a group of people...
and they all have my birthday for the license plate as code so they can know they're on the same team...?

2007-11-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

i haven't kept enough of a comprehensive tally for ocd to allow me to give you examples, but i have been seeing my birthday ALL OVER the place lately. and that's always nice.

like you sure could use some rest.

2007-11-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

can i tell you the nicest thing that happened to me today? well, first my boss gave me a $0.50 raise and put a note on my check that said "thanks for taking care of me." (which is only the littlest bit weird. eek.) and that was nice, but then the big sign in the window had fallen down and i wasn't doing anything so i decided to get out the step ladder and fix it. only i'm just not very tall. so there i was in the front window just obviously NOT fixing the sign and these two army guys came in and put it up for me. and it was so nice. and then after they left it fell again and tara and i just decided to leave it until the boys came in to work, but the army guys came back! and laughed and asked for the ladder and fixed it. and then he came back again and gave us his card and said if we ever needed help just to call him cause he's usually nearby. how nice! and once, when i worked at CAIL in ft. douglas my car got majorly stuck in the snow and i was following my mom and she just left me cause she didn't know i was stuck and i didn't know what to do and then suddenly there were four army guys pushing me up the hill.

isn't that nice? and it was sunny today. and i got to eat lunch with kathryn which is always so much gallons of fun and i practiced and it's really funny. and

and my grandma gave me dolls.
and

and two people so far have volunteered to help with my classes. and

i just think people are a nice thing.
oh! when i go out to my parents' next i'm going to post some super awesome pictures. don't let me forget.

grand

2007-11-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

don't you think that's a nice word? so much more... _?_ than "great".
as few of you know, i have lived since august on the edge of the grand canyon.
while this may sound like prime real estate, it's not.
parking is a pain and i just think the life of my tires was being rapidly eaten away. until today. today i didn't drive but walked to work and noticed that the 2 ft. deep pot holes i have been avoiding with mediocre success have finally been filled!
it was happy.

then i was working.
and my sister didn't want to wait for free chipotle so i was all alone. but then rennie was online and she wanted me to come meet her and on the way i found kathryn and there we all were in the middle of real life and it was great...grand even though we chickened out of chipotle. so we went to the london market and got some wonderful goodness and met all of our needs.
and even though i might have wasted some of everyone's time, i was grateful cause i was otherwise sad.

and look! they have special drinks for me in the england:

labibi

2007-11-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

my happy thought for today is people who are AWESOME.
i guess maybe it's my place to introduce labibi. labibi hails from diverse lands and times, speaks multiple languages and is just basically me if i were superhumanly-talented, beautiful, super amazing and goodness incarnate, which i'm not. which is to say that labibi and i share far too many quirks to be coincidental and our brains work very similarly, but she's a lot cooler than me.
labibi is one of one original member of my jump rope team and saves my life on a daily basis.
at the risk of my happy blog becoming a labibi blog, which is basically the same thing anyway, bienvenida a la blog, bib.

know and be known

2007-11-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

Estoy contribuyendo. Mi pensamiento feliz es hombres considerados. ¿Quisiera tener una pregunta porque tengo gusto de los signos de interrogación en español? Gracias.

jump for my love! jump in!

2007-11-08T16:58:00.000-07:00

:)

2007-11-08T16:48:00.001-07:00

2007-11-07T10:41:00.001-07:00

hmmm

there were never such devoted sisters

2007-11-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

it's the jenjilyn's birthday today.
she's finally 21 so we can go clubbing together.
cause we're like that.
a lot.

jenj has 2 blogs. but they're secret and she never writes in them because she likes to make me sad.

happy birthday jen!!!

...probably

2007-11-02T15:43:00.000-06:00

ok.

i love india night.
i love working at the library.
i love working at the library with people who organize india night so i don't have to go to the union for tickets after all.
i love when my mom sends me text messages.
i love getting packages.
i love getting packages full of clothing.
i love not having to pay for clothing because my mom likes sale prices.
i love free lunch even if the creepy guy at the ups bought it.
i love not being tired even though i'm exhausted.
i love jump rope teams.
i love closet jumpers and open jumpers too.
i love chocolate. mmm.
i love long naps and not working.
i love lots of people.
i love book tape.

is that strange? i really do. i really want to buy a roll for my own. but then i would probably use it on everything and then when i really needed it i wouldn't have any. but who "really needs" book tape anyway?

i love play dates.
i love ted and his cute little blue crib that's almost there but won't arrive til monday because tomorrow is saturday and no one should have to work on saturday.
i love books and reading them.
i love spanish and speaking it and reading it. en voz alta.
i love playing music and lunching with ren.
and so on.

----------------
Listening to: Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
via FoxyTunes

november? november?!!

2007-11-02T11:28:00.001-06:00

so.
i just want to say that i was pleased to notice this new feature of comment emailing because i always hate when i comment on something and then my newsreader is no longer effective because it won't tell me when other people have commented.
so if you comment, be sure to click the "email follow-up comments to" box so you'll know when i shoot you back a witty reply.

or if someone else says something.

or if i say something not funny but trying to be

which is pathetic.
and i need to stop this train of thought because this is a happy blog.

2007-10-31T12:10:00.000-06:00

and india night is this weekend.

research on chemical intermediates

2007-10-31T10:59:00.000-06:00

i got a new job...uh...task at work today. i now get to do a little check in.
i love new things. it's so energizing. and i need energizing since i'm here all day today to make up for having slacked off yesterday AND friday.
i even get to put the stickers on!

also in the happy vein is hairspray.
now. i'm not huge for movies (though i once was...) especially new movies, but sometimes you really need to watch a film.
i don't have a television, nor do i have much normal social interaction, so i don't normally hear about movies. i had, however, heard of a film called "hairspray". i knew nothing of it save that my receptionist at work mentioned watching it frequently and encouraged me to see it. she never told me what it was about. yesterday she said she had dressed up like the girl from the show for a halloween party. "...you know, like sixties and my hair went whoop..." so now i knew sixties and that it could inspire a halloween costume, of which i am in dire need. i had been feeling a rare desire to watch a movie all day, but i had thought of "riding alone for thousands of miles" (which i still need to see, if you're interested) but now with the promise of costume ideas and knowing that if alyson liked it, it would be slightly silly, i decided i needed to watch "hairspray."
i was happily surprised to discover that this particular silly movie was a musical.
it was just like a dcom! it was great. i thoroughly enjoyed myself. and poor miles was such a good sport to come along (even though i think he immediately regretted his offer to keep me company.) he even felt the need to speak in musical for the whole ride home. it was funny. i was laughing.

still no costume, but that was such fun adventuring i felt it deserved a post.

sisters...

2007-10-25T09:08:00.000-06:00

sisters

2007-10-24T16:27:00.000-06:00

Sisters
Sisters
There were never such devoted sisters

Never had to have a chaperone "No, sir"
I'm there to keep my eye on her

Caring
Sharing
Every little thing that we are wearing

When a certain gentleman arrived from Rome
She wore the dress and I stayed home

what?

brown paper packages tied up with string

2007-10-18T16:41:00.000-06:00

small children who graciously open doors for everyone.
babies who smile and giggle when you say hello.
slow mornings and willing participants.
productive co-workers who like to stay busy.
hot chocolate.

sisters and canceling school.
people who realize not everything should be your responsibility.
not working.

sleep.
food.
eating food.

new tricks.

a post for tr, who may or may not make me banana bread and may or not join my jump rope team of bouncing bakers

2007-10-16T12:17:00.000-06:00

driving with the windows down as radiohead sings the autumn wind blowing autumn leaves in the sparse autumn warmth.

baked goods

2007-10-13T23:59:00.000-06:00

so people tell me i should write and they're not wrong. so i am writing.
i made a peach pie for my half birthday. i love peach pie and sometimes i'm not so humble, so i'll just tell you right now that it got rave reviews.

and requests for seconds.

vivian therese smith

2007-10-12T09:15:00.000-06:00

makes me happy

and organized spontaneity
and ginger tea
and too expensive snickers ice cream bars
and people who let you come over even though they are sleepy because they know you get lonely when your roommate goes to sleep

and british accents. and british people. and and and

the new radiohead album comes out on my birthday

2007-10-01T09:10:00.000-06:00

and even though sam thought i was 19 or 20, i'll be 23.5
so there.

and it's one world cafe style, so that's pretty sweet.

hopefully more good news is on the way.

i am holding half an acre

2007-09-28T16:04:00.000-06:00

two thoughts.

don't mistake this, this IS a happy thought:
i keep forgetting; i actually have 4 jobs. which is to say that i get 4 paychecks. so that's nice.
(i just got one today. NOT just a letter, kathryn, a check!)

and the soap dispensers in the bathroom at the lib say "gojo" on them and i always think that they are cheering for me. sometimes i go in and wash my hands just to get a self-esteem boost. silly.

sleeping is giving in

2007-09-27T13:35:00.000-06:00

i went to the lcd soundsystem/arcade fire concert last night.

it was, believe it or not, wonderful fun.

and the moon!
i spent probably half the show facing the "wrong" way so that i could say hi.

up to zero

2007-09-20T23:36:00.001-06:00

i have a jump rope team. it's kind of an amazing thing. it makes me really happy. i feel really spoiled.

be my singing lesson, be my song

2007-09-14T19:24:00.000-06:00

jump rope teams. for reals.
no way! i have cool friends.

free lunch from the new chipotle AND a cookie.

celestial phenomena. clouds are kind of the greatest things.

mirror in the bathroom.

2007-09-09T23:23:00.000-06:00

free haircuts!!!

who knew?
and gardens. oh gardens.
hmm.

I suppose this is how airguns go

2007-08-16T12:36:00.000-06:00

i love talking to jo at work.
it doesn't happen all the time cause she's HEAD of shipping and that's a lot of responsibility, but sometimes on her lunch break or if she's been put on hold she comes and talks to me.
it's great fun.
jo is full of quotable quotes. effortlessly.

happy august 16.
just for no good reason.
unless it's your birthday, and that's a GREAT reason.

i'm listening to a song that i don't like, so catch you later.

allison avery

2007-08-15T23:33:00.000-06:00

first of august

2007-08-05T22:45:00.001-06:00

people who help you move.

good omens abound

2007-07-25T10:42:00.001-06:00

joannimal?

2007-07-23T11:15:00.000-06:00

when the high-pitched whine of a leaf blower sings along to spoon driving with the windows down on a sunny afternoon
when the lovely and talented get together to share their talented loveliness
and the indefinite unexpectedly pulls through

also mint biscuits and free cds.

'liza makes me happy.

2007-06-25T10:26:00.000-06:00

indeed.

and here's why.

liza's the friendly photographer who took pity on my poor camera-less state and drove all the way to the slc to go see my garden with me.

plus, she has awesome sassy-cute hair.

breaking news

2007-06-22T10:36:00.000-06:00

this just in: i just saw my birthday printed on the spine of a book in the library.

i'm totally famous.

(nevermind that it was Langmuir: the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.)

to russia, my homeland

2007-06-11T22:39:00.000-06:00

today was a day for free things.
i walked to work so that didn't cost me any money. when i got there i checked my email and discovered that they were giving away some painting supplies. i said i would be interested, if no one else was, and they said i could have the finishing wax (which is what i really wanted.)
then i ran some errands. then i went to my other work and this guy came in with a box of stuff. it didn't surprise me too much; people are always bringing stuff in to my work. but then j.j. started taking stuff into the office and asking me if i wanted ice cream. of course i wanted ice cream, but was it a joke? what was the catch? what was he driving at? turns out the guy was j.j.'s friend who works at some kind of organic food store. they were getting rid of stuff that was going to expire in 14 days so i got free raspberry sorbet AND free free-range eggs. then i got free dinner, dessert and a concert at my gma's.
and then i came home and my roommate had made cookies. she said i could have one.

nice.

snow day

2007-06-04T10:59:00.000-06:00

they are closing the lib today and tomorrow.

cause it's too hot!!!!

yippee for summer

stripped of all my cares

2007-06-01T17:16:00.000-06:00

so i was in boston.
for a month.
it was lovely lovely lovely.
while i was there i helped my sister make puppet to help the primary kids in church sing louder.

i call him oscar. (with the spanish pronunciation, of course. it just doesn't work if you call him oscar like oscar mayer wiener.)

oscar likes to drive us to the park.
but, oscar, how can you drive when you don't have any eyes?! ...silly oscar.

here's liz and oscar discussing serious primary matters.

oh, liz and oscar are such friends!

and here jordan is trying strangle oscar in the window.
i guess jordan and oscar are not such friends.

more pictures

2007-04-21T17:58:00.000-06:00

kai made the baby peas a playground.
it's very nice.

but it might be just a little big for them right now...

more baby pictures

2007-04-20T17:27:00.000-06:00

they're getting so big!

(this one's flandro jr.)

easter

2007-04-08T11:26:00.000-06:00

decoupage eggs
fancy food
mini skip-bo express
'happy easter' thunderstorms in the middle of the night
2 days til my birthday

2007-04-07T21:35:00.001-06:00

i got my first sunburn of the year.

and the garden is close to planted.

and i got a post-dated birthday card.
but i can't open the gift til the big day.
more on this later.

it's hard for me, but i'm trying

2007-04-06T16:31:00.000-06:00

so. apparently i'm on this midlake kick and so i've been listening, (um, that's the definition...)
anyway. so just the other day i was thinking that sometimes the music goes all 70s folksy. and then i had that song in my head so i put it on the blog then i saw that the link wasn't working so i went to fix it and i couldn't remember if it was the .net or the myspace so i went to both to choose and on the myspace he was all like "...The sound is something more related to 70’s folk rock but not in a gimmicky way, hopefully."
so that made me feel good.

cause you know when people ask what kind of music you like and you say "i don't know" and they think you don't listen to music?
or like you talk about a band and they don't know it so they ask what kind of music it is or what it sounds like and you have to say "i don't know"?

and then in survey of jazz you just were crap at quotes, but then in the middle of the night, years later, you're listening to christian mcbride at your friends' house and suddenly you're like "oh wait. that was a quote." and it totally was and your life is complete?

not quite that good, but a similar feel.

and then...

2007-04-04T15:30:00.000-06:00

i was talking to my professor cause my other cancelled class and i got to go to work late. and i came out and there under the bridge were all the wishes just waiting and i took some.
outside the library there was someone playing guitar and christina offered to put her change in his case.
i walked out and it was warmer outside than inside .
and there was someone playing air guitar on his ipod. (the ipod was the neck.)

baby pictures

2007-04-03T15:38:00.000-06:00

they're a little shy.

i feel a little guilty

2007-03-29T22:30:00.000-06:00

they give me money to talk about things i love.
they give me money to make friends.
they give me money to eat their food and fresh fruit.
they give me money to sit comfortably and bask in the je ne sais quoi of a home, the one thing my hostel lacks.
they give me money to energize and cheer my day.

i'm starting a garden fund.

for liza

2007-03-29T16:34:00.000-06:00

i am happy today because i have a new favorite song.
i am happy today because while i was working i saw my birthday. it was a colloquium for medieval studies.
i am happy today because several books i inventoried were published at duke university, where i was born.
i am happy today because it is thursday and i don't have to teach at the college.
i am happy today because i am happy.

pretty good year

2007-03-23T13:55:00.000-06:00

today is a great day.
it's been a great week.
it's been a crazy week.
i'm not at all ready for school to come back and real life to go on as if this week had never happened.
beloved? fences? days of awe? have i read these books? no. (well, i read beloved, but i'm not ready for my presentation on monday, now am i? no.)

so. what started this week of greatness? i think i need to go back to last week, friday, the 16th of march. friday is as friday does and began this friday, as all fridays, at work. then i went to class, but then i went home. my sister picked me up and drove me to provo. we bought too expensive, but delicious, alfredo pizza and met my parents.
then my mom and sister and i went to div com.
then i went with jo and bells and todd and kev to the malt shoppe for shakes.
then i got to talk to carly and to jo and i slept over in the prov. then carly made breakfast and lexie took me to paul mitchell the school and i got my hairs cut and then i took the old familiar walk to the bus and i rode home.
once at home i changed my clothes and took myself to the slac to have another go at being inspired by andy warhol. i confess, i did not succeed. but bill viola (what very little i saw) was strangely too much for me.

sunday julia spoke in church so i got to see her and really everyone, which was so wonderful.
then monday i worked and learned a little about web design. and was offered a garden.

it was an offer i couldn't refuse.
and all this week i have been reveling in my good fortune and the unexpected goodness that comes with it.

tonight my good week continues as i'm heading to the prov once again to see jo and kev and esther dance.
and tomorrow is holi!

one of those days

2007-03-08T17:17:00.000-07:00

today i really did hear the sunshine beating down in time with the rhythm of my shoes.
of course i was walking around when i should've been working, but it couldn't be helped.

my paper is done. i turned it in. it's not great. but it's ok.

i wasn't tired today. it was odd. but it was nice.

for tomorrow i have to read "young goodman brown" and "a rose for emily".
luckily, i already read "young goodman brown" so i can actually eat dinner tonight. i'm so excited. i think i'm going to make alfredo pizza with artichoke hearts. (oh! remember the pizza from jo's birthday? i could really go for some of that right now...) and also i'm going to make regular pizza cause some people don't like alfredo pizza (but i do. i love it.) and also i'm going to make soup cause i bought leeks for st. david's day and i better eat them or won't you feel silly?

also, i'm going to start writing a novel.
i'm not sure about if this is a good plan, but it sounds like fun.
i decided we should drink tea over at the new london market bakery and tea shop, but my inside sources say it won't be open until easter.
do you go on walking tours? i do. i don't mean to, but i seem to do a lot of them. in spain we had all these assignments where we had to walk around madrid and take pictures of places like cafe gijon (that was the most expensive and least worthwhile orange juice of my trip, i tell you what)
and in salamanca we got to walk around in unamuno's house (i have a secret crush on unamuno, who knows why)
and i decided as i talked at scott who wasn't responding that i would like to have a walking tour dedicated to me. even if i was only co-author of our book. we will have to be sure to take lots of pictures of our deep discussions and our familiarity with the tea shop. maybe we'll get a discount. afterall, since we are ensuring a long and prosperous future for their business by writing our book in their shop, they kind of owe us.

there are crocuses blooming in my parents' yard and tulips blooming in their not-dirt on the counter. my sister sent me pictures.

i don't have plants. it makes me cry.

i'm so glad it's thursday. can you tell?

how i adore life... i cannot ask for more

2007-03-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

i always know things aren't good when i haven't posted here in a while. it means i'm being ungrateful. so.
what makes me happy?
today i was happy because of birthdays.
i think birthdays are so much fun. just always. fun for all. at all times.

friday i went to a karaoke birthday party for the awesomest ever becky jean.
i wasn't excited at first because i don't karaoke. but it was tons and gallons of fun as it always is over at the lovely ladies' on the left.

then i spent the saturday at my parents'.
then today was march 4, 2007.

do you know fran in my ward? i do. he's very nice.
fran's birthday was today.
he says it's easy to remember because if you say it out loud ("march fourth") it sounds like "march forth (...and conquer the world)"
i say it's easy to remember because it's my little sister's 4 month birthday. (along with my unusual skill at remembering birthdates.) that means today was my sister's golden month birthday (4 months old on the 4th)
so that's fun.

in honor of fran's birthday i kept myself awake in sacrament by making a fortune teller. then, while filling out my tithing slip, i realized the very best thing EVER about today:

it's a math problem!!!
(03.04.07: 03+04=07)
i think we should all start paying attention to this phenomenon. i'm just glad i haven't missed my chance (like my real golden birthday. i was only 10 so i didn't properly appreciate the coolness of it.) just you wait, kids. 04.10.2014 is going to be one rockin birthday party for me.

so the moon is full and i thought the weather was relatively comfortable today.
also, i had some success in the darkroom tonight, so i feel better about life there too.

i straightened my hair and i may be able to put off my haircut for another week or so, so that's excellent.
my credit card cycled so i can finally put some plans into action and get working on my summer of fun.
anything else?
i got to spend friday afternoon with the lovely and enchanting kathryn. we were stopped by a charming indian woman who asked to use kathryn's phone and then walked off with it. luckily she wasn't going very fast and we were able to keep up.

happy march, children. it's a month of kites. let's work on that too.

my kind's your kind

2007-02-19T20:13:00.000-07:00

i have such great friends.
i have been locked in my house ALL DAY today trying to catch up on reading.
i'm feeling psychotic and ill and cut off from the world when, suddenly, jana b. calls me just to make sure that i took enough of a break to see the moon make his glorious 9% of full debut.
it was, as she said, a beautiful moment that must be shared.

i love love love life!

oh.
and i hate raisins and i don't really like raisin bran, but whoever you are that left raisin bran at my house after the party-- thanks. i'm eating it as catharsis and also proof of my frenzied brain.

2007-02-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

i was so happy today.
it was a lovely sunny day. it wasn't super warm, but just enough to give you hope.
when i drove to work the sun was still high enough to not be in my line of sight. i was ecstatic.

someone tried to take that away from me today. and i let them.
why?

but rock that taylor joAnn candy shoppe and i got it back.

countdown to awesomeness

2007-02-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

funny face:

if you don't come to my party.

if you do.

1day left!!!

a midnight snack buffet.
february 9, 2007
show up at 11pm. not (too much) before, and, seriously folks, not after.
you must come dressed to the nines . (we'll have a bouncer at the door)
you must bring your favorite midnight snack to share. (and be willing to share. no hogging the graham crackers and milk.)

come. come dressed up. come bearing food.
all are welcome. (provided they come dressed up, with food.)

2007-02-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

jer:

BAD Jer on Vimeo
if you don't come to my party.

GOOD Jer on Vimeo
if you do.

2 more days.

2007-02-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

book:

if you don't come to my party.

if you do.

3 more days.

2007-02-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

dessert:
if you don't come to my party.

if you do.

4 more days.

2007-02-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

kite:
if you don't come to my party.

if you do.

5 more days.