Upstairs/Downstairs

real steel?

2012-01-28T03:41:00.000-05:00

don't even think about it.

...really?

Arches

2012-01-17T12:49:00.001-05:00

Who decides to plan a camping trip in Utah in January? We do. That's who.

This weekend I drove down to Moab with some friends to go camping at Arches! So cold. So so so cold.

Hiked, told stories, laughed, did the usual camping activities. Reminded me of camping with the fam when I was little.

My favorite? Waking up Sunday morning, climbing out of the crammed tent and going for a walk while watching the sun rise. Breathtakingly beautiful.

Delicate Arch

It's A Boy!

2012-01-05T17:02:00.001-05:00

Yes, we found out a couple of days ago (after much googling and a small traumatic experience) that our sweet little baby bunny is a boy.

Am I the worst parent ever? Quite possibly. And yes, I'm a little stressed about it. But don't worry. It's not like Stella has had an identity crisis or anything. I doubt bunnies have the same gender role issues we love to give ourselves. He's just as happy as ever...and at least he can wear his new blue argyle sweater!

And yes, we're still calling him Stella.

2012. here's to hoping.

2012-01-04T13:12:00.001-05:00

i was going to review my year, and maybe post a few goals for the next like everyone else in the blogging community. however, i got a few lines in and decided it was far too depressing to publish on the internet for all to see.

so instead, i am making no promises to myself or others for 2012...here's to hoping it'll be better than 2011?

More Mittens!

2011-10-31T01:33:00.001-04:00

This Thing We Do is having a free giveaway and you need to enter! The winner will be picked on Thursday, Nov., 3 at noon! So be sure to enter ASAP!

Visit A Dose of Lovely to enter! And tell your friends!

I'm working on new designs everyday! So stay posted :) Here are a few of my favs!

raspberry hot chocolate

sock monkies

wild wing

teenage mutant ninja turtles

This Thing We Do

2011-10-04T18:47:00.002-04:00

This Thing We Do: Crafts.

We're a mom and three daughters who spend our free time making crafts. Our Grandma taught us to quilt, craft, bake, sew, garden, and how to feed the cows. Now we spend our free time sewing...and we love it.

Please enjoy our etsy store!
Allison, Melissa, Lindsey, and Robin

etsy.com/shop/thisthingwedo

2011-09-05T23:10:00.002-04:00

Visit me on Etsy!

etsy.com/shop/allibidalli

2011-09-01T16:27:00.003-04:00

mistakes i've made today:

not reapplying the 70 spf on my nose.
cheesy beans and rice burrito from taco bell....that was no BRC.
starting the show Misfits.

let's hope i don't make too many more

g'day mate!

2011-07-05T21:26:00.001-04:00

that's right, i'm leaving for australia on thursday! and i'm not ready at all. i still have a huge paper to write and turn in and i haven't begun to pack. what have i been doing all this time? i really have no clue.

CA has been fun. i went to irvine for lindsey and mike's engagement party. so much fun! hung out with great old friends. it was just what i needed. my last few weeks in utah were a little out of control and i-town grounded me a little bit.

i've just been running errands in danville, trying to acquire all the items on my packing list as well as getting things ready for the wedding event in august. got a new computer! (mine broke...womp) got some awesome looking keens sandals (i'm sorry if you are embarrassed to be my friend now...but they are really comfortable) and a bunch of other random things.

i probably won't update my blog again until after i get home. and it may even take longer since i'll be so busy until i get back to provo. so you'll just have to wait for pictures.

australia, new zealand, and fiji or bust!

spring is in the air

2011-05-10T00:50:00.006-04:00

which means a lot of new things are happening!

mittens are on hiatus (mostly because i broke my sewing machine...womp).

i bought a few new swimsuits for tanning, night swimming, day swimming, trips to california, scuba certification, and of course....FIJI!

tried to go to the pool on saturday...it was a flop :/

but that didn't stop me and kerilyn from getting sunburned! we just laid out on the grass and then went to a rugby game wearing tanks and short shorts. the best.

and on our way home...we picked up another free kitten! we named her lucy. she was adorable, and very whiny. we introduced to todd and five minutes later, we were on university ave with a free kitten sign. and then we were by cafe rio, and then we finally found lucy a new home after sitting in front of walmart for fifteen minutes. i know...we're crazy.

AND i went to the tulip festival at thanksgiving point this week! carson came down and we made it a date. we used the free tickets my grandma gave me two years ago...good thing they didn't expire! keri and brandon met us there and it was so beautiful and so much fun!

tulips are Carson's second favorite flower.

cute baby geese. i love anything that is a baby.

best picture ever? alli. keri. carson.

the handsome couple. keri and brando.

carson squeezes every tulip he sees. this is not a joke. walking through the tulip festival with him takes two hours. and that's why i love him.

the art of steal

2011-02-16T23:50:00.005-05:00

looking for a good documentary? watch the art of steal. all about the barnes collection.

barnes was such a progressive thinker. he put art from all over the world, from different times all on an equal plain. i love the way he set up his collection. in the twenties, he was saying that we're all the same--or rather, we all experience life the same. plus, he shared his collection with the working man and didn't want it corrupted by the high society. its a bummer his ideas were not carried through after he died.

"art isn't something that's separate from life. art is life."

i will have lots of art in my house. my house will be a work of art.

Riverdance

2011-02-16T14:41:00.002-05:00

i'm crossing something off my bucket list! ben roeling is the bestest ever and got us tickets to see riverdance on april 3rd! i seriously can't wait. i've been watching youtube videos all morning. this has been a dream of mine ever since i new what riverdance was.

for those of you who don't know, riverdance is irish step dancing. not clogging, not tap, etc. and it is so cool!!! i've posted a video below that i just can't get enough of! so take it in. don't be confused, this has BOTH tap and irish step dancing. i hope you can tell the difference. enjoy :)

aren't they so cute?!

2011-02-14T23:00:00.001-05:00

lindsey and mike

i love...

2011-02-14T21:28:00.000-05:00

bubble baths

wool mittens

iced coffee

diamond earrings

dark chocolate

cozy blankets

clover honey

diet dr pepper

sparkling kitchens

baggy sweatshirts

skinny jeans

new shoes

sleeping kittens

love stories

real people

worn-out tap shoes

lovely music

22 years later...

2011-02-13T21:06:00.003-05:00

Friday was my birthday and it was so much fun! I slept in until 9, sewed a pair of mittens, taught a tap class, made some cupcakes, went to DI and bought sweaters, took a nap with todd, went to a fun new restaurant, and then had a party!

Sophie was so cute and decorated the apartment. she's a really good speller...

We ate here. I recommend it. Keri doesn't.

Lots of people came to the party. It was fun. A little bit of music, a lit christmas tree to create a good ambiance, champaign glasses with martinelli's, award winning chocolate chip cookies, and flaming cupcakes! here's what they should have looked like...

...but its didn't work all that well. which was a bummer because the practice run the night before was a total success. don't worry though, keri saved the day and filled them with hand sanitizer, which apparently burns great!

reasons why birthdays are great:

golden spoon gift cards!

cakebites! (gotta love the sweet tooth fairy)

tickets to riverdance! (dream of mine since i was a little girl)

cutest new juicer ever!

sweaters for mittens!

Todd

2011-02-10T11:38:00.003-05:00

I got a kitten! Sunday morning, Keri and I were just eating popcorn and watching ice age and the next minute we are online calling people about cats. A couple hours later, we were in the car on our way to Smithfield to pick up Todd.

Todd is the cutest little calico kitten in the entire world. I talk to him and about him like he is my little baby boy. Because he is. He like to play with shoe laces, and bite my fingers, and play with the mouse Mommy Keri got him, and play with the string Auntie Caitlin put on the door. He is the cutest. he likes to cuddle and sleep on my bed while I sew mittens. He is so good at using his litter box. I am the proudest mother ever. I love Todd!

When the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

2011-02-09T11:42:00.000-05:00

When i'm walking, I like to look at people and imagine what their parents look like. I'm really good at guessing. comes from lots of practice. Some people are more difficult to do this with, but the challenge makes it more fun! i know...i'm weird.

Anyway...I saw a kid today with really ugly parents.

Todd is lucky his mommies are so cute :)

Mittens!

2011-02-03T13:41:00.003-05:00

I am making mittens now. and I love it! It is so fun to have a hobby again. Thanks mom for my sewing machine!

Check out my mitten blog to see my designs :)

inspiredbymittens.blogspot.com

some words about the bachelor

2011-02-01T21:38:00.003-05:00

he laughed a lot this episode. i liked that. he's always so serious and scared...come on brad! loosen up a little!

michelle...knows how to get her man. brad just melts in her hands. i hope brad figures out how annoying she is soon and gets rid of her.

i waste far too much time watching this show...

they did it again

2011-01-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

anthro, just stop it right now. lindsey sent me an e-mail today...and now i visit this site every five minutes. i love the song, and the pictures are so beautiful. its hasn't even been "unveiled" yet...haha, oh well. alls i can is, you picked the perfect time to get married linds! i might have to turn into one of those girls that starts planning their wedding...

BEHOLDEN

sick as a dog...

2011-01-28T23:55:00.001-05:00

i don't understand the saying, but i'm sure it applies.

give me money!

2011-01-26T22:00:00.002-05:00

so i've been working on this scholarship essay due on friday. i was taking a nap today (which basically lasted all day long...love being sick) and i had a dream that i got an email saying my QAR scores were too low to qualify for this scholarship. the email basically told me not to send my essay in. i did anyway (take that subconscious!)

first of all, talk about my subconscious not wanting me to succeed! i woke up and read every email in my inbox. how could that not have been real? didn't find anything...so i guess i'll assume they have no scoring system (not sure what scores these were) and that i still qualify.

second of all, who has dreams about checking their email? i do. that's who.

things i ate today:

german pancakes (i have no other food in the house so i must make things now...)

some ham and bean soup

birthday list

2011-01-25T14:30:00.000-05:00

my birthday is coming up (feb. 11) and this year i will be 22! For all those who haven't had a math class in a while...11x2=22, so i'm pretty sure this a my golden golden birthday...shall we call it a diamond birthday? not feeling very clever at the moment.

anyway, i have no idea what to do or how to celebrate...any ideas?

i'm thinking of making these cupcakes because it looks like so much fun! we shall see!

i'm not expecting any gifts. for real. but if you were already planning on getting me something...get me something from REI...i'll need it this summer.

things i ate today:

belly buttons--damn you caitlin for leaving them out ;) they were so delish.

glass of water

back to the grind

2011-01-24T15:46:00.003-05:00

fun weekend. it was great. a little bit of salt lake, a little bit of dancing, i have a new aussie boyfriend--jeff, burlesque at the dollar theater, funfetti shake from sammy's, plus a little more. i stayed busy.

i did the warm-up in tap today...epic fail. i hate being put on the spot like that. oh well. it wasn't that bad...just not super smooth, haha.

shout out to my new friend tim, whom i met lounging in the rb. he called me homely and thought i dressed like a farm-girl. (to his credit it didn't sound as harsh in-context, i didn just come from tap, and i am wearing a flannel shirt with cords)

things i ate today:

pack of almonds

dill pickle

half a tuna sandwich

fresca

giant chocolate chip cookie from blue line

cucumber in vinegar

diet pepsi

brownie

(not the best day i guess...)

fun friday!

2011-01-21T16:03:00.006-05:00

i got to talk to nicki today! that was fun, it's been too long.

i only got one clue on my crossword today...lame.

did lots of homework, stuff i've been putting off week no less. don't worry, i still have a whole weekend's worth of stuff to do...great...

i stumbled upon this today. maybe i'll move to new york and be a street performer...

tonight i'm headed up to SLC with brooke to meet natalie and carson for dinner at the spaghetti factory. anyone up for dancing after...?

things i ate today:

new england clam chowder in a bread bowl (thanks blue line!)

greek yogurt with honey

apple sauce

tomato

a string cheese

it's january, and it's 2011

2011-01-20T20:05:00.003-05:00

whoa, last year went by fast. maybe its because i was doing a million things. ok, maybe not a million. spending half the year in CT was truly amazing. getting back into school and moving back to provo was a feat. i got the closest i've ever been to figuring out what i want to do with my life, planning my future, etc.

anyway, its a new year and i have made some changes. they may not be obvious...yes, my room is still a mess and no, i haven't been to the gym once this year...but i still deserve a little credit!

classes this semester: hard and boring. its going to be rough.

however...i just found out i have a study abroad to look forward to! i'll be going with BYU to the south pacific (australia, new zealand, and fiji) in july! here are some of the places and things i will go and do:

canyoning in the blue mountains

scuba diving in the great barrier reef

kayaking to uninhabited islands

staying in an underdeveloped village in fiji

backpacking in new zealand

bungie jumping

and so much more!!!

it is going to be the trip of a life time.

things i need to do before NZ:

get really skinny and tan (to look good in bathing suit)

buy new bathing suit

get scuba certified

what i ate today:

oatmeal with 1/2 a packet of apple cider mix (i learned this from kerilyn...it's pretty tasty)

entire can of homemade chicken noodle soup (thanks grandma!)

Musee d'ORSAY

2010-09-05T14:06:00.000-04:00

ok...so i didn't actually go to paris...

i went to san francisco! The de YOUNG Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco to see the current exhibit, Birth of Impressionism. The Musee d'Orsay in France is under renovation, so this exhibit was brought to SF, once in a lifetime opportunity! Since Impressionism is up there with my favorite styles of art/music/ect. it was fun to see all of these paintings in real life. i had so many favorites, i will have to go to Paris to see them again.

i'm the fifer! i was hoping they would have clothes to dress up in like at the getty...but this was the extent of painting recreation

ashland, or

2010-09-04T11:15:00.000-04:00

this was one of the best things i did this summer (finally telling you about the rest of my summer...now that school is a week in)

melissa, my dad, my mom and i took a little road trip to one of my new favorite places: ashland, or. its a tiny hippie town where the boutiques sell clothing made from hemp and the restaurants serve local organic food. it's also the home of oregon's own shakespeare festival. we saw two shows, twelfth night, so hilarious! and merchant of venice, less funny, but very good. the theater was set up like the globe and the actors were amazing. i thoroughly enjoyed eating some rocky mountain fudge while watching both performances.

during the day, we went to crater lake. it was so beautiful! the bluest water i've ever seen, took my breath away. we walked around, ate some food, had a photoshoot, the usual.

mom, me, melissa, dad on the edge of crater lake

on the way home from oregon, we (my family will tell you I) decided to take the scenic route home. MISTAKE. it was beautiful driving through redwoods, then unlimited amounts of fog, and then finally getting to see the ocean , but if you've driven down the CA coast before, you probably don't ever need to do it again. it took us about 10 hours to get home instead of the 5 it took on the way up. we stopped in some fun places though, Crescent City, Eureka, Santa Rosa, and finally DANVILLE! anyway, loved the trip, can't wait to go next year ;)

the lovely bones

2010-08-15T14:07:00.000-04:00

i liked this book. i read it in a couple days, without doing much else, so i could really get into it. it was a good story. it reminded me a little bit of law and order: svu or 48 hours mystery but with a ghost whisperer touch. right up my alley.

the nanny diaries

2010-08-14T02:06:00.000-04:00

i recently read this book, since i have so much free time on my hands lately. i'm sure i'm the last person on earth to read this, but i never really felt the need, since i lived it. turns out, the book is NOT fiction. although i did not have all of these experiences in my one year of being a nanny, i've heard my share of horror stories. this book was a collection of every problem a nanny could encounter. i enjoyed it, but, i also had a LOT of anxiety while reading it. i felt for Nanny, i felt Grayer, i felt for the mother, and so on. i started having nightmares all over again (something that happened frequently during my stint in CT). waking up mid-night wondering if i had done everything on my list, confirmed that appointment, planned meals for the next day, etc.

the most ironic part of the novel was right in the middle of the climax when Nanny is ranting to a stuffed bear-my phone rang, and when i answered, discovered it was my replacement. the new nanny. just as all my memories had come flooding back, i was telling someone new about the job she was about the undertake. it only took a few minutes to relax, and then i was able to tell her all the wonderful things about living with my pseudo-family in greenwich, ct!

it's friday!

2010-08-13T23:00:00.002-04:00

and it's august thirteenth.

i wanted to celebrate this eerie...holiday? so lindsey and i dragged my mom to the WINCHESTER MYSTERY MANSION! (pronouncing it in an ghost voice is more fun. trust me, linds and i did it all day)

it was very spooky and very interesting. i learned all about sarah winchester who stood at 4'10'' and held nightly seance and had a fascination with the number 13. she lived in a beautiful victorian house that she remodeled until the day she died. we had a tour guide that made our tour seem forever long. lindsey couldn't help busting up laughing mid-tour when he informed us he had only been doing this for three weeks. like we couldn't tell? it was great, you should go.

if you're still not convinced, the house is directly across from santana row and a wonderful mall. bliss.

regarding hair

2010-08-01T16:15:00.000-04:00

there are two people in this entire world that i trust to touch my hair. viet (cdm) and tony (nyc). my only problem now, is that i don't live in either of these places.

if i had a pet...

2010-07-31T18:23:00.002-04:00

this is a conversation me and the girls i've been babysitting were having the other day. this is how it went:

A: "i don't think i would want a pet lion"

me: "me neither. i don't think that would be very much fun"

A: "i would want a baby elephant. or a baby giraffe. but they would always stay a baby. and eat everything that i ate."

me: nods

A: "or i would want a dog."

palo alto, ca

2010-07-30T19:34:00.003-04:00

me and linds took tuesday off and went to...palo alto!

we drove through shady streets with beautiful houses. we want to move there! we saw the garage where HP was started and drove down professorville. we drove around stanford campus a little bit and then hit the stanford shopping center. it was surprising like fashion island...we definitely felt at home. i bought a lot of things. i think i was trying to make up for not buying anything all summer. don't worry, i took it all back today! don't make fun...especially since i do this ALL THE TIME. buy things, and then take them all back a few days later. whatever works!

we saw this sign and had to stop and take pictures! how often do you come across a street named FIFE?

oops...

2010-07-27T21:44:00.000-04:00

i went shopping today and went crazy...

guess who i saw?!

2010-07-24T17:51:00.002-04:00

i was standing outside miglet's gluten free cupcake shop...weird, i know. we were not aware of the gluten free part until AFTER we got there...but of course, had to try them anyway. so there we are, me, lindsey and my dad, standing in the shade eating our cupcakes and someone walks by with a couple kids. lindsey goes: that looked like kristi yamaguchi. i brush this off, like, wahtever, i hadn't seen her walk by and what are the odds? a couple minutes later lindsey and my dad are still talking about it, so i decide to go check things out. we walk back to where we saw her go, and stop at the polynesian dance place. i finish my cupcake quickly so i can go inside and see her! it was awkward and very difficult to pretend like i belonged there. long story short, IT WAS HER! and she is the tiniest person ever. i quickly turned around and reported back to lindsey and my dad who were waiting outside.

allison fife...hasn't blogged since april?!?!

2010-07-20T23:32:00.002-04:00

fixing this problem now. here's what's new...

1. i moved back home. CT was great, loved my life back east...almost wish i could move back! i think i will once i finish school. (i'll have to blog all about this experience when i have a little more energy.)

2. i'm a nanny again?!? well, sort of. i started babysitting for a family down the street and now i'm there every morning! so i'm calling it a part time nanny job :) two super cute girls. we bake brownies, go swimming, sing and dance really loud while watching youtube, and play barbies.

3. i'm getting ready to go back to p-town. i'm gonna tear that place up with my new NY attitude...so get ready cougars. i'm living at UAC and couldn't be more amped! but don't expect to see a lot of me, unless you want to come hang in the library...

4. i'm addicted to tv again. i go through phases. i was on this no tv kick for a long time, but i'm back. since i have nothing else to do up here in norcal, i pay very close attention to my dvr. mondays are for the bachelorette, tuesdays are devoted to chopped, and wednesdays and thursdays are set aside for so you think you can dance. i fill the time in between with watching masterpiece mystery (guilty pleasure my mother got me hooked on...don't poke fun), dr. oz, barefoot contessa, 48 hours mystery, and say yes to the dress. i am an expert on all of these, so don't mess.

5. nicki and mckay are engaged! this really has little to do with me, but i just wanted to add this to the list because i have been spending extra amounts of time shopping online and need something to blame it on. congrats you two! can't wait until september!

6. i had a phone fiasco. lost my phone the day after i got home. it was on silent and then died...so annoying. after a couple days, i just bought a new one (was going to do this anyway since old phone was ridiculously broken). ended up finding it this week (three weeks later) under a folder...my mom always tells me i have to look under things...

7. my grandma came to visit! it was so much fun! we ate at the cliff house in SF, such a great view! grandma, my mom, and i went and picked peaches and apricots in brentwood. it was so much fun! and they were sooooo delicious. they were all i ate for days.

8. i visited helen in san jose! i hadn't seen her since i left p-town over a year ago! it was so much fun to chat with her again, i missed her so much!

9. i'm not buying any clothes this summer. its a rule i made myself. i bought enough clothes in NY to last me for years. so far, i've done great! it's really hard for me, there are several items i can think of right now that i have almost purchased. if you go shopping with me in the next few weeks, please remind me to leave my wallet at home!

10. i do a lot of yard work. my dad loves his new chain saw (all you have to do is look outside to see evidence of this). it's his new favorite hobby to chop trees up and leave them for me to haul away. so, i've spent many hours doing that, plus mowing the lawn, making wood piles, painting doors, and any and all other manual labor my parents can think up.

that's it. the intention of this post was to put off writing a conclusion, if you will, of my year in greenwich. so there's more to come-prepare.

spring break

2010-04-26T23:11:00.007-04:00

spring break is turning into a distant memory, so i guess its high time i blog about it. my mom and dad came out to visit me! it was so much fun. i picked them up at jfk and we drove right into the city for dinner. we ate at max brenner's at union square. omgosh, so delicious. i could eat a chocolate banana crepe everyday.

saturday, we woke up and hit the road! did a miniature tour of greenwich and then kept driving north. we stopped in providence, rhode island for lunch--such a cute little town. we drove through boston, ma and new hampshire and then finally reached kennebunkport, maine. that's where we stayed for the night. we drove around and saw the mansion the bush family used to vacation at and the cutest little light house ever. i couldn't go to bed without eating some of maine's finest, so we ate a mabel's lobster claw (learned to crack my own lobster and everything!)

left maine in the morning--after eating homemade blueberry pancakes (apparently something else maine is famous for) and taking a little walk to beach. we headed back to new hampshire and ate lunch at dartmouth (another cute little town) and then off to vermont! we visited the birth place of joseph smith in sharon, and bought some maple syrup. after sharon, vermont, we drove to new haven and ate pizza and then headed home.

we drove around connecticut a little more the next day and then went back into the city. we walked a million blocks (i'm not even exaggerating) and finally sat down inside bobby flay's mesa grill. oh so good. we ended the night with promises promises, which was so fun to watch! drove back to jfk in the morning. such a busy busy weekend, but i had so much fun! thanks mom and dad!

mom and dad at nubble light house

lists

2010-04-07T22:44:00.002-04:00

we all know i'm a little obsessed with lists (and checking things off). i have a file in on my computer devoted to these lists. in this folder, i have a to-do list (updated multiple times daily), a list of movies, a list of music, a list of books, a list of states, a list of things to blog about (this one is barely touched), plus a few more that aren't very interesting.

here are some updates:

states-29/50 (but by next week i should have 32/50!)

movies-41/100 (not too shabby...)

books- 10/100 (this one stresses me out. currently looking for a new list of top 100 books)

if you want to visit a state with me, or watch a movie with me, or read a book with me, please tell me! i could use all the help i can get!

the beach

2010-03-23T16:14:00.003-04:00

i went to the beach for the first time this year on saturday! so exciting! the beach itself, not that exciting...the promise that summer will be here soon and there are many more beach days to follow, worth blogging about. east coast beaches are very different than california beaches. i used to think that northern california beaches and southern california beaches were categories of their own...but they are both more fun than the beach i went to on saturday. tod's point in greenwich is very beautiful, don't get me wrong. sand, water, grass, flowers, the cutest houses ever--i kind of felt like i was in a movie or something. but its on the long island sound, no waves, water is shallow, no fire pits, the sun was on the wrong side. it kinda felt a little like my south lake lagoon days.

even though it was a different experience, the sun was shining, i have all new tan lines that will take me forever to get rid of, a few more freckles, and sand in my bag :) summer is coming, i promise! also, i had to stop at taco bell on the way home for old times sake (no del taco within a 60 mile radius)

i might as well be camping...

2010-03-16T17:15:00.004-04:00

connecticut just had an amazing storm. i have NEVER seen anything like this. granted, i grew up in irvine where it rains like 6 days out of the year. anyway...it starting raining on friday, ndb. it was really raining on saturday and then the winds picked up. CRAZY! i drove into the city that night (probs not the best idea in hindsight) and when i returned home, greenwich was in shambles. if mansions can be in shambles that is...

my house hasn't had any electricity, heat, or running water since saturday at noon and we're not expecting to get it back until wednesday, 8 pm. there are trees all over the roads, and they knocked down power chords and houses on their way down. something like 7 people have died in southwest connecticut due to falling trees. these are not orange county, just been planted 10 years ago trees. these are fifty feet tall, three feet wide, been here forever trees.

it finally stopped raining...so that's nice. i'm at the library right now...the only place to plug in my computer and have internet access. it's blue skies and sunny outside. 60 degrees. it is literally warmer outside than inside my house. school was cancelled yesterday and today. just heard word its closed again tomorrow.

hedgehogs

2010-03-12T16:00:00.002-05:00

i finally finished my book, the elegance of the hedgehog. i'm embarrassed to tell you how long it took me. there are a few reasons it took me forever, and some could not be avoided. first of all, i had to wiki EVERYTHING at first. like philosophers, and authors, and all the little things the author added so that only really smart people could understand this book. my next problem was that it was a book we were reading for book club (which has dissolved) and when i'm told what to read and when to read it by, my pace grows ever slower. thirdly, i started reading jonathon foer's extremely loud and incredibly close--it was too good to put down. last of all, my library fines were getting a little out of control...so after renewing it a couple times and still only being a third of the way through...i just returned it and decided i would check it out again in a couple months. and i did check it out again! i'm happy i did so...if for no other reason than to be able to put it on my shelfari :)

time for a new pic?

2010-03-09T18:24:00.002-05:00

i just wanted all of you to know about this picture of me in the top right corner of your screen. ever since i first started writing in 2006, this picture has been staring at you as you read. this is what i looked like as a junior in high school. funny, i look exactly the same. it was taken in laguna beach as part of a national charity league photo shoot during my junior year. these pics went in the program at our fashion show, the fashion show where i wore a fur stole around my shoulders and walked up and down a runway. please feel free to stop laughing at any moment. i'm telling you this story, because it has never been told before. now its over. also, i'm in the process of finding a more recent picture that makes me look half way decent, so say your goodbyes to 17 year old alli! she's all grown up now.

sunscreen?! its winter!

2010-03-01T07:44:00.003-05:00

so i may or may not have come home with slightly pink skin due to a little overexposure in a certain tanning bed (darn you, free gym tanning). as some of you may know, my employer is a dermatologist--and she handed my a thing of sunscreen this morning. ha...subtle. also, it doesn't even smell good.

2010-02-19T02:03:00.000-05:00

lindsey sent this to me. i thought, since i'm already filling it out, why not just post it here!

01. High heels, boots or sneakers? high heels. but really, i love all shoes and don't discriminate

02. What time did you get up this morning? 11:30...i have the week off, ok?

03. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds
04. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? it's complicated, by myself this afternoon :)

05. What is your favorite TV show? 30 rock?

06. What do you usually have for breakfast? nothing, or CIB, classic

07. What is your middle name? n/a

08. What food do you dislike? chicken liver pate. don't ask.
09. What is your fav CD at the moment? where the wild things are soundtrack

10. What characteristic do you despise? holier than thou

11. Favorite Clothing? anything from anthro

12. Anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? someplace warm

13. Are you an organized person? yes. just don't judge me based on my room

14. Where would you retire to? the beach

15. What was your most memorable birthday? 21, it was last week

16. What are you going to do when you finish this? finish my netflix movie

17. Furthest place you are sending this? irvine

18. Person you expect to send it back first? honestly, i'll be surprised if anyone does

19. When is your birthday? february 11

20. Are you a morning or a night person? night

21. What is your shoe size? 8

22. Do you own any animals? no way

23. Any news you want to share? i'm going to start going to the gym again, maybe

24. What did you want to be when you were little? a chef

25. What is your favorite flower? the ones that smell pretty

26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? april something? when i have another week off?

27. Do you wish upon stars? nope
29. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? macaroni orange

30. How is the weather right now? freezing

31. Last person you spoke to on the phone? mom

32. Favorite soft drink? diet dr. pepper

33. Favorite restaurant? glory days diner

34. Hair Color? dark brown

35. What was your favorite toy as a child? dress-ups

36. Summer or winter? summer

37. Chocolate or vanilla? ch-ch-ch-chocolate

38. Coffee or tea? tea

39. Boy, do I wish I was still? tan

40. Do you want your friends to email you back? yes please

41. When was the last time you cried? monday

42. What is under your bed? empty boxes

43. What did you do last night? picked up lindsay from airport, diner, watched weeds

44. What are you afraid of? being alone

45. Salty or sweet? sweet

46. Favorite day of the week? saturday
47. How many people will you send this to? don't know yet

48. How many will respond? one?
49. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? of course

this week

2010-02-19T00:19:00.004-05:00

a week ago, i turned 21! fun weekend. a few highlights were picking up natalie from the airport, going to dinner with friends on friday, buying t-shirts on the brooklyn bridge, showing natalie the city, getting e-mail address from astrit (man from kosovo, whom i met on the subway), gave me his e-mail address. oh new york...i love you. you'll have to check out pics on fb...i'm far too lazy to post any here.

the history of love

2010-02-18T00:35:00.000-05:00

notice, a new book has been added to my book shelf to the right. the history of love. i liked the beginning and i loved the end. 'm recommending this book to anyone into sappy love stories like me :)

other books i have read recently and recommend: still alice. couldn't put it down.

extremely loud and incredibly close. similar feel and plot as the history of love. would probably recommend this one first. i'm still thinking about the little boy and its been months.

january

2010-02-03T17:44:00.000-05:00

january was so crazy. i had so many visitors! lindsey and mike came back with me after christmas and we celebrated the new year at times square! so cold! but oh so fun. we spent a couple days in the city and connecticut. we ate at bobby flay's bar americain--i give it five stars--and mamaroneck's limoncello--also very good. we saw in the heights on broadway, so much fun! went ice skating in central park (it was on lindsey's list of things to do before she dies) and did lots of other things, i'm sure you can imagine

the next weekend was jared's bar mitzvah. which we had been planning for months! it was such a fun/crazy/busy weekend. chloe (the kid's nanny last year) came and was my buddy. we went to services at the temple, had lots of family meals, i met all the relatives, and we ended things with a huge party at sammy's (family restaurant on the lower east side). we pulled out all the stops. best bar mitzvah i've ever been to :)

then, michael holt came to play! he came to visit college campuses...grad school. i picked him up at yale after work on friday and we hung out in CT. the next morning we went into the city and won the lottery to see next to normal. i laughed, i cried, i could almost touch alice ripley we were sitting so close. we waited at the stage door and i took pics with all the men of the cast and loved every minute. that night we got student rush tickets to memphis. less impressed, 'nough said. i took the train home and met michael the next morning to have breakfast at the galaxy diner with our new bff's will swenson and audra macdonald. the nicest people ever. thanks to michael's sweet network, will swenson set aside tickets for us to see HAIR. SO GOOD! at the end, we ran up on stage and danced and sang. so...yes, i made it to broadway ;)

melissa came the next week! and we had SO much fun! she flew into Newark...gag, but at least she can say she's been to jersey now? we didn't waste ANY time getting into the city and hitting every site there is. saturday was filled with central park, the met, lincoln center, manhattan temple, times square, billy elliot, nyc public library, top of the rock, and so much more. we were so exhausted and our muscles were so sore, the next morning we had to sleep in a bit to recover. but we were still able to make it to the statue of liberty, staten island, ground zero, brooklyn bridge, little italy, canal street and everything in between. monday we stayed in CT and ate at meli-melo and i took her to the airport. her flight was cancelled and she got to stay with me one more night. we watched the invention of lying and woke up at 5 to take her back to LGA. crazy weekend...and i'm still recovering.

nobody came to visit me the last weekend, but don't worry, i didn't let that stop me from having way too much fun! on saturday, nicki and i took the train in to the city, ate brunch at alice's tea cup, shopped at bloomingdale's, and hit up the hells kitchen flea market. nicki went home, and i went to the guggenheim, back to bloomingdale's, and then met lauren inglish in the east village for some pad see-ew at the holy basil.

such a great month. a wonderful way to start off 2010. now its february and i can start saving money again, and go back on a diet :)

groundhog day

2010-02-02T17:22:00.003-05:00

so even though i didn't pay any attention to whatever Punxsutawney Phil saw or didn't see today, i'm willing to bet anyone one million dollars that there are six more weeks of winter. reasons why include, but are not limited to, the fact that i cannot walk outside without a coat, my lips and skin are so chapped and dry thanks to winter cold and wind, and the promise from CT residents that February is the worst month of winter. toto, we're not in california anymore. but don't you worry, i'm perfectly content staying indoors and continuing to read books and watch netflix like i've become accustomed to doing. so thanks for nothing Punxsutawney Phil!

my life since last december

2010-01-28T17:56:00.002-05:00

so here's the long awaited update. i've been dreading writing this since i feel like there is so much to say. but no worries, i'll keep it short and sweet.

this summer i decided to be a nanny! in august, i moved to connecticut and love it so much. i've been here for five months now. i live in greenwich, so posh. mallory is 14 and jared just turned 13. life is crazy and busy but i wouldn't have it any other way.

my favorite things to do here:

new york city

go out to eat

shop

read books

get music from the library

bake a lot

take naps

watch movies (netflix=my savior)

so pretty much, nothing has changed, ha!

i can't wait to start writing more about my past, present, and future adventures! my life as a nanny is so cliche and pretty much redonkulous (this is a word i never say out loud, but i'm constantly thinking). posts in the future will be funnier, i promise. or how about just don't hate me even if they're not :)

update!

2009-11-06T11:26:00.002-05:00

its november of 2009. almost 11 months since my last post. will fix this soon.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-02-11T21:08:00.002-05:00

Today is my birthday. And I am twenty. This means I have been alive for two decades now. That is so long! I decided today was a good day to start blogging again. I have been meaning to devote more time to this beautiful web log lately, and just haven't had the motivation/desire to sit down and write about my life until right now.

I decided, since it's my birthday, to dedicate this post to all the birthdays I've had so far in life!

Most memorable party: sweet sixteen! Stayed at the Hilton in Anaheim and went to Disneyland the next day! so much fun!

Most memorable gift: Glade plug-in

....Found this in my drafts. apparently i was a really great writer a year ago :) happy birthday to me again. except now i'm 21, and much cooler.

finals

2008-12-16T13:04:00.002-05:00

i should be studying for the final i have to take in a few hours. but i really don't want to. this can be proven by the fact that i'm blogging, which apparently i haven't done since september. i actually have blogged since then, but i saved it as a draft instead of publishing it. so, i guess it doesn't count. i would publish it now, but it seems a little silly since i'm talking about summer and i never finished it. i think it might be a little late to talk about summer since it's snowing outside!
to my chagrin, i woke up to white stuff falling from the sky. this makes sense since i fell asleep to white stuff falling from the sky as well. i love snow, but, wait, i take that back. i do not love snow. this morning was already difficult enough since i had to wake up at 6:30 so i could take an early test (i did really well by the way), but the snow made it really hard to get out of bed and walk to campus. i usually wake up around ten...or later, so waking up is a big obstacle for me. i'm going to have to change my habits since i'm taking earlier classes next semester. not too early mind you, i'm not suicidal!
ok, i've enjoyed these last couple minutes, perhaps i'll start blogging again. i would thank my readers for reading this stream of consciousness, but i'm pretty sure i am the only person who checks this site (i'm not really sure why i check it, since i never update it...and even if i did, there is nothing to check.
notice, i have been doing a lot of reading lately, as seen on my book shelf to the left. i guess that's what i've been doing with my spare time instead of doing blog-worthy things. expect an update soon enough!

trading spaces

2008-09-11T04:06:00.001-04:00

my new apartment needs help! it has so much potential, but at the moment, we have nothing but a couple of couches and a tv...anyone have any good/cheap tips to make my apartment look like ones i see in magazines?

templates

2008-09-11T01:54:00.002-04:00

i went back to my old template. i think i just like it better. plus, orange seems to suit me! i kinda wish i was smart enough to make my own design...but for now, i'll just have to stick to generic ones other people make for me.

hello again!

2008-09-10T01:05:00.000-04:00

i've been slack in blogging since i've been back in utah, and for that, i would like to apologize to my readers. (there have to be at least two out there)...

provo has been good to me these past couple of weeks. the weather has been a bit questionable, but i'm learning to appreciate what life throws me. i moved into my new apartment which i love! with my new roommates which i love even more! i have my own room and a jacuzzi right out my front door. who could complain?

classes are good. i have a professor who could be steve carell's incredibly boring and akward twin (we all know he had to have one). i have another professor that makes me laugh the entire lecture, granted its a recreation management class, so how can you not have fun? my other classes are pretty much average, so i'll stop boring my avid readers with these details.

i'm looking forward to my first football game! go blue!

reuse

2008-08-19T12:32:00.002-04:00

i have always loved target's plastic bags. they have a texture that no other bags have. they seem more durable, but still light weight. it's a great combo. but, they have added another feature that makes me love them even more! if you pay close attention, there is a list of 10 ways to reuse your target bag on the side! there are some really good ideas.

1. tiny trash can liner
2. doggy duty
3. water balloon
4. road trip rubbish
5. soggy laundry
6. ice pack
7. toiletry tote
8. kitty litter liner
9. tomorrow's lunchbag
10. care package padding

now that it has given me all these suggestions, i don't think i'll ever throw one away until i've reused it! way to be green target! and watch out for my gigantic water balloons everyone!

half dome

2008-08-08T01:44:00.015-04:00

i've been doing some pretty amazing things this summer, but this was definitely the most amazing thing of them all. my mom, dad, melissa and i went backpacking in yosemite. i'll let the pictures tell the story...

me and melissa! this is at the very beginning. we just put our packs on and are headed for the trail head! we're in for a long couple of days...we just don't know it yet.

mel, me, dad and mom at happy isles trail head. and we're off!

one of many water/picture breaks! in this picture you can see nevada falls in the background. isn't melissa a cute little hiker?

nearing the end of day one. we made it to nevada falls. and really mom? real mature...haha

we reached little yosemite valley! or LYV as i like to call it. we'll camp here for the night. looks like dad needs a break...

a sampling of the wildlife we saw while on the hike. this is day two, after a terrible nights sleep. the advil pm was not adequate. but i'm ready for some more hiking! dad and i left mom and mel behind and mad our way to half dome. the animals we saw weren't scared of us at all. the deer was so close i didn't even use the zoom. we saw marmots at the top like the one on the right. this one was a little obnoxious. he was literally eating out of our hands! but so cute! so of course we sacrificed our own stomachs for this fat one.

we paused before getting to the top. part one is over and we are about to embark on the granite steps. can you believe went to the top of this?

granite steps were tough, but i was just about scared stiff on this part! it was so steep! i was basically pulling myself up the whole way!

view from the top! we made it! now we just have to get down...

i had to take one last pictures as we started downhill. look how tiny those people are!

the hikers! we're almost finished! it's downhill the whole way from here. do we look tired yet?

bucket list

2008-08-07T02:24:00.001-04:00

i was looking through some of my old stuff and came across my fifth grade "life list." it's the bucket list i made myself back in 2000. some of them i've already done (probably the only ones i ever will do) like;

become nocturnal (college really helped me with this one)
type over fifty words a minute (i don't know many people who can't...)
do the splits
go on point
do not do drugs (yes that was on my life list...)

some of the things i will never do! i'm not really sure why they made the list...

be a well known pianist (i don't even know how to play)
grow my hair until it reaches my feet (did i know myself?)
be the richest woman in the world (i wish...)
be the first woman president (i was hoping hillary would beat me to it)
be neat and organized (HA!)
climb the five tallest mountains in the world (not remotely interested...)
visit all the countries in the world (i might still do this if i become the richest woman in the world)
and photograph wild animals (listed were field mice and ants)

the most interesting part of reading this list was realizing how little i knew myself and what i thought i would be like in the future. i was totally wrong, maybe naive, or maybe just stupid.

there are still some things on the list that i would still like to accomplish, but overall, i think i've outgrown this life list. i guess i should start working on a new one...

DANVILLE!

2008-08-03T02:01:00.001-04:00

Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville! Danville!

HI CHRISTINE!

band of brothers

2008-08-03T01:43:00.003-04:00

i just finished watching the band of brothers series. it was so good! today alone i watched four episodes. i just couldn't stop! i don't know what i'm going to do now that i'm done though. it made me laugh and it made me cry. i loved that each episode was totally different because they each had different writers and directors. i really got to know and love the men of easy company. this series comes highly recommended by me.

recreation

2008-07-31T01:55:00.000-04:00

i've finally decided what i want to be when i grow up! well, not exactly...but i know what i want to major in at least! after this summer, i have decided that i want to be a recreation major. i want to be an event coordinator of some sort! whether i'm doing it for a company, managing youth programs, or having my own business, i would love it! so, i'm going to do something i'm good at and love! now i just have to work on signing up for classes...

santa cruz!

2008-07-27T01:48:00.001-04:00

last week i went camping in santa cruz for work! i had been there once before, but i had a lot of fun! we went to the mystery spot which was really weird/cool. i don't know if i completely buy it, but after being there, it's pretty hard to say that weird stuff isn't going on there. we also went to the boardwalk and had a blast on some rides and to this amazing ice cream shop! we saw the amazing chinese acrobats perform at the boardwalk, and i had falafel for the first time too! on the last day, we all had a surfing lesson. i love surfing now! it's hard work! but really fun. maybe i should have done more of that when i actually lived close to the beach...

at the boardwalk

anthropologie

2008-07-26T01:52:00.000-04:00

this has got to be my all time favorite store. the new one just opened in blackhawk and i almost died when i walked in. they have so much cute stuff! it was melissa's first time in the store and she wanted to buy everything. i think she touched every item in the store at least once, many things twice. i got an anthro card, and it came in the cutest little pouch. if you haven't experienced the magic that is anthropolgie yet, you are serisouly missing out and need to get to the nearest one asap!

frisco!

2008-07-21T23:20:00.000-04:00

i've had a few days off from work and have been having some fun! the fam drove across the bay bridge to show me the house my grandma lived in when she was a little girl! after that, we went to china town and ate at a japanese restaurant called the floating sushi boat restaurant. whoever thought of that name must be really creative. it was really good though. i def recommend it! we also went to a fortune cookie factory :)

the boats

the next week, me and my mom went to fisherman's wharf. we went to pier 39, and then ate at boudin. we got off bart at embarcadero and walked all the way! we kept trying to get on muni, but there was absolutely no room on any trams! by the time we were half way there, we gave up waiting for it. there was a guy making bread animals in the window at boudin! i wanted to get one, but didn't. we walked down the ghirardelli sqaure and back too, after seeing the sea lions we got on muni and headed home. there was a guy at the bart entrance handing out those new jamba juice juicies. they are really good in case you anyone was wondering.

at boudin. we had clam chowder in a bread bowl and diet black cherry soda. so good! we had to sit by the fire because it was so cold, and it was the middle of july!

let's run away...

2008-07-18T23:57:00.003-04:00

...and join the circus!

with my summer camp this week we did some of the funnest things! i went to great america and six flags discovery kingdom for the first time ever! i rode a bunch of rides and got kinda dizzy--totally worth it! plus, i got paid! woohoo!

but, i also did something nowhere near anything i've ever done before! we went to this place called trapeze arts! i learned all these skills that circus people have! i jumped on a trampoline, climbed up a silk rope, spun in a swing thing, learned how to juggle, walked a tight rope and did the flying trapeze! the trapeze was so cool! my arms were so sore the next day. i would swing and then flip up and grab on with my knees and then let go with my hands and hang upside down! after doing that a few times, they said i was good enough to do a catch. i was kinda scared, but it was so much fun! i hanging from my knees and swinging and then grabbed onto someone else doing the same thing! i felt like a pro!

right before the catch!

everyday i write the book!

2008-07-17T01:25:00.000-04:00

taylor, my mom, my dad and i all went to see Elvis Costello and The Police in concert! it was really fun, and i'm pretty sure i was the youngest person there (the the exception of the tiny baby whose parents put headphones on her head to block the noise). so, i was the youngest one who was still able to hear the concert. Elvis Costello opened and i loved him as usual! he sang all the songs i love including the one named after me! the fact that i was born after the song came out is irrelevant. sting came out to sing the chorus of before said, "alison," with elvis. i felt like they were singing to me!

dad, me, taylor

sting and elvis serenading me

then the police came out. overall, it was just a really good show. a few of the stand out songs were message in a bottle (which was very recognizable because of g-hero II), wrapped around your finger (loved the percussion!), roxanne (which reminded me of the episode of friends where phoebe sings, ross-can!), every breath you take (part of second encore), and fall out (dad and taylor's favorite).

sting!

angels in the outfield!

2008-07-15T02:41:00.001-04:00

melissa and i went to the oakland a's play the anaheim angels at macafee stadium on saturday! it was quite the adventure. we drove to walnut creek and got on bart and then took it straight to the game. we bought the cheapest tickets we could, and then tried to sit in the best seats possible. we got kicked out of them and ended up going to sit in the outfield where our tickets told us to go. we ate hot dogs and cheered our angels on! there was a huge group in front of us and they were really entertainging to watch throughout the game. they were all wearing a's hats, because apparently that was the free giveaway. (we were late and didn't get any) but, one of the guys had turned his inside out (obviously an angel's fan!) about halfway through the game, he started flapping his arms like wings! after every good play the angels would do, he would do the classic angel's in the outfield movement! don't worry, we took pictures.

sporting our angels paraphernalia in the midst of a's fans!

his friends started to join in! melissa and i might have done it too...

summer of service

2008-07-13T02:10:00.000-04:00

i worked at a different camp last week, and i had so much fun! it's called summer of service, and we did exactly that! we spent the whole week doing service! it was such a great week too! there were only seven kids at the camp. it was a small group, but we had a ton of fun! the first day, we stayed at the teen center and made blankets for the homeless. it was going to be a disaster because we only had two pairs of scissors (of course, i don't know if you can call them scissors if they don't actually cut anything) but then, we found two more and made a million blankets! over the next couple of days we went to the food bank of contra costa and sorted food, books for the barrios and packed boxes of books to send the the phillipines, and then finally to the don edwards wildlife refuge to pick up trash.

at books for the barrios! we packed so many boxes!

rico and conrad picking up trash!

the gang!

a portrait

2008-06-15T13:18:00.000-04:00

I began a new book on the airplane ride home from Chicago. It is James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I've barely read any of it yet, but I must say, I LOVE HIS WRITING STYLE! So far, i've just been getting to know Stephen Dedalus. And I say it like that because I really do feel like I have been getting to know him. The way the book is written, I really feel like I can get inside his head. I know how he thinks and how he feels, not just what he thinks and feels. I love it! These are my favorite kind of books. I love the language James Joyce uses. He isn't trying to make his sentence structure or flow perfect or even make sense. In fact, for the first couple pages I was just really confused. But after I got through those, it all totally made sense. It's just a constant stream of thought. It reminded me of when I had to do journal entries in middle school everyday. Some days we would answer a question and other days we would just have to write whatever was on our mind for the full five minutes or whatever. It's a good book so far...I'll let you know what I think when I'm done.

Job #3

2008-06-14T13:14:00.000-04:00

So I’ve blogged about my summer jobs before, but I have a new one! Since I’m done with my stint as an official nanny, I am starting a new job with the Town of Danville. I am a summer camp site leader or something like that. I’m not a counselor, but kind of like it. I do more of the organizational and logistical work rather than the grunt work. But, I work with the teen camps, formally known as the DesTEENation Camp! Haha…funny name. I am going to be a doing a lot of fun stuff with them this summer! We will go somewhere new every day, including places like the Great Mall, Great America, Aquarium of the Bay, Trapeze Arts, Oakland Zoo, Alcatraz, Pier 39 and other Bay Area sites! I’m really excited! I haven’t been to basically any of these places since I haven’t lived here long, so I’m really excited to get paid to do all of these fun things! When I’m not going to all these cool places, I’ll be working with other camps with littler kids and the summer of service camps. I’m really excited about this job! It’s going to be so much fun!

Friday the 13th!

2008-06-14T01:05:00.002-04:00

On this glorious day in June, I had the strangest assignment ever. Today was the last day I was Alex Wick’s nanny. Sad day, but it’s been fun so I’m happy. This morning I drove to the Oakland airport and met Debbie and Alex. Then Alex and I got on a flight to Chicago! So exciting! We both slept for most of the flight with a little word search and Sudoku mixed in. There was a baby crying just about the entire flight and I wanted to die…it was so annoying! And the turbulence was a little ridiculous too. We arrived at Midway Airport right on time. We met Alex’s dad’s assistant and then he was off! Bye Alex!

I wandered around the airport for a couple hours. I bought stuff I didn’t really need. I bought a bag of popcorn to deliver to Lapondza at Ann Taylor. When I told her I was going to Chicago she told me I better not come back without a bag of popcorn from “Nuts on Clark.” I bought Bowfinger on DVD to watch on the flight home (just finished it and it was just as hilarious as ever). This is where the bad luck started…

My flight was an hour delayed. It was coming from Boston through a storm so it took longer than usual. I waited at the terminal and finally got on. When I got settled and we were in the air, my headphones broke. I’m really mad about it actually. They are really new! They still work, but the outside covering fell off. Ugh! Then, the woman next to me spilled her drink…on me and my stuff. My laptop case now has a coat of ginger ale and so do the jeans I was wearing…it’s kind of uncomfortable.

I’m usually not a superstitious person at all, but when the drink flew from the tray and onto me, I knew it had to be because it’s the 13^th. I guess I can’t complain too much though. I got paid to sit on an airplane all day! Happy Friday the 13^th!

Crepes de Paris

2008-06-13T01:12:00.001-04:00

There are these really funny French guys who come to the Danville farmer’s market every Saturday morning. They make and sell crepes! And they are so good! They come from Brittany, a region in France and their crepes are strictly Brittany inspired. I’ve only tried one, which Melissa and I recreated at home the other night, but it was so good! It had bananas and chocolate with a little Chantilly on top. I think I will go every Saturday for the rest of the summer.

Water Balloons

2008-06-12T01:11:00.000-04:00

I took Melissa to Blockbuster tonight and on the way home, the car in front of us was throwing water balloons out their window! We saw the first victim, a runner on the side of the road. Sad… but we sped up to see who they were, we didn’t know them. We were almost home and I had forgotten about the car completely, until I heard a splash directly to the left of me. HA! They missed! And then, SPLASH! Right on! They hit the passenger side! Melissa totally got wet too! I forgot that the back window was open…sorry about that Mel…

i've fallen part 2

2008-06-10T09:28:00.000-04:00

bike crash

bump on the head :(

his arm is completely straight, i swear.

poor guy...

perks

2008-06-09T10:56:00.000-04:00

i just finished the book i wrote about starting in my last blog. it is called, "the perks of being a wallflower." i really enjoyed it. it was a quick, fun read. it only took me two afternoons, which is the perfect kind of book for my attention span right now. it was about a boy getting through his freshman year of high school. it was kind of sad sometimes, and disturbing at other times, but overall had a really good message. it changed the way i think about a lot of things.

santa cruz

2008-06-08T22:41:00.002-04:00

i went to santa cruz today! first time i've been to the beach in about 10 months! it was a pretty good day. solely for the fact the it was spent at the beach. i left danville at about 10 and picked my brother up in berkeley. we drove to santa cruz and ate lunch at the santa cruz diner. i had a cobb salad and taylor had some sort of sandwich on french toast. the best part of the restaurant was that they had trivial pursuit cards on the table. taylor is basically the smartest person i know. when we were finished, we drove to the beach. i made a few circle to find parking and then we walked to the boardwalk. we layed on the beach for five hours. it got really hot, and then it got really cold. we took a few breaks for bathroom and drinks, but overall got some really good tanning time in. i started a new book that you'll be reading about soon.
when it got too cold to stay at the beach, we packed up and drove to ucsc. we parked and walked around. they have a really pretty view of the bay. after we were bored of ucsc, we went to caffe pergalesi. taylor's friends' band from berkeley was playing there. we had some vegetarian dinner and then tempo no tempo's set started. they were pretty good. i left taylor in santa cruz and started the long journey home. it took me and hour and 30 minutes to get home. i am not used to a drive like that for the beach. i hope it was worth it...do i look tanner?

at the ball game

2008-06-07T22:01:00.000-04:00

the angels played the a's this weekend! it's been so long since i've been to an angels game! it was nice to see them again. on friday night, my mother and father and i were on our way to oakland. taylor called us and said he was taking bart and would meet us there. we sat behind the first base line on row 26 and tried to cheer over the obnoxious a's fan sitting right behind me. the hot dogs were good and hot chocolate was especially good. there were a few angels fans to be found, which was a good thing.
the a's have a new rally movement. they call it "trumpet time." sound familiar? if not yet, it will. they played a movie clip on the jumbo-tron, and then the chompers, the elephant comes on the screen (i was half expecting a monkey). then the words, "if you make noise, he will come" come onto the screen. i just shook my head in awe. then the elephant is shown moving around on the screen and "trumpet time" flashes all around. the a's totally ripped of rally time! i couldn't believe it. but of course, it didn't work, because it was a copy and the angels won. go angels!

no more future blogging!

2008-06-06T23:01:00.000-04:00

wow! i just tried posting a future blog, and the coolest thing happened! i set the time i wanted it to say it posted, and it told me it owuld automatically post it at that time! crazy! now, nobody will be confused anymore about why there is a blog that says i posted it on monday when it's only sunday. i think i'll 'past blog' this and see what happens...

summer!

2008-05-29T23:23:00.002-04:00

yes, it is summer. this means that i'm living in danville, enjoying some time off from school, and having oh so many adventures. right now, most of my time is spent working though. while it is fun at times, and nothing can beat the money, sometimes it feels a little something like work...

i am a nanny. this sounded completely normal to me until i was picking up "my kid" from school and somebody asked him who i was. he replied, "my nanny." it sounded so weird! but i love it! i wake up every morning at 6:30 and leave by 6:45 to get to alex's house at 7:00 (which really means i get up at 6:45 to leave my house at 6:50 to barely make it to alex's house by a little after 7:00). i make alex breakfast and a sack lunch and drive him to sixth grade. while he's at school i fill my time with job #2. i come back at 2:30 and pick him up. our afternoons are filled with after school snacks, little league games, baseball practice, and video games. it's a wonderful life.

job #2 is at ann taylor in blackhawk plaza. you should all call me while i'm at work...it gets really boring. hardly anybody ever comes in and i love it that way. i work with some really funny ladies. my favorite part of work is when crazy people come in and need you to help them find outfits. it's really not that hard to pick out an outfit for yourself...is it? i really don't have any extra skills in doing that. just because i work at ann taylor doesn't give me good taste! (although i do consider myself an excellent personal shopper). like i said before, hardly anyone ever comes into the store....but when they do, they SPEND! people who shop at blackhawk plaza are rich. they don't really care if anything is on sale. when they find a shirt they like, they have to get the shorts and the jacket to match, and after they try on the shoerts, they need those in every color. oh! we sell jewelry too? yes, and shoes. i've sold more commplete outfits in my time there than separates.

happy summer!

i've fallen and i can't get up!

2008-05-28T23:34:00.000-04:00

when people reach a certain age, their bodies start behaving differently. they can no longer read without their glasses, they start buying shoes for comfort and not cuteness (this will never happen to me), and their balance seems to leave them. this, unfortunately, has started to happen to my dear old dad. since the time we have moved to danville, my dad seems to fall a lot. the first time i remember, was when he was stepping in from the back porch and slid on the wood floor and fell flat on his back. i was in the next room and heard a loud crash. when i looked around the corner my dad was just laying there. he couldn't get up. he was fine, just a little startled i think.

although this was kind of funny looking back, it is not the funniest by a long shot. the other night, i was sitting on the couch and it happened. i look back after hearing my dad make a strange noise to see him letting himself slide to the floor slowly and quite gracefully. the chair he was sitting on had completely split in half, right down the middle. he sat sprawled on the ground while i laughed hysterically! he decided it was a good time to start his diet.

durian

2008-04-22T03:03:00.000-04:00

i tried something really disgusting today. this happens more often than it used to. my roommate is from china and often brings home random foods from the asian market down the street. i usually just say no, but i thought, why not? i'll tell you why not. i just tried the most disgusting "cake" ever made by human hands. it was a cream roll cake type thing made from the nastiest fruit that ever did grow on a tree. this fruit is commonly known as the durian. it smells SO bad. in fact, i looked on wikipedia and in every paragraph it talked about how badly it smells. in case you were wondering, i do not recommend this fruit or any byproduct (such as the cake i sampled) to anyone. not even my worst enemy. the taste is still in my mouth. it's been forty minutes, i've brushed my teeth, scraped my tongue and have gone through three pieces of gum. the recovery time just isn't worth it. but, i think i just got an idea for my next prank...

I...

2008-04-21T15:32:00.000-04:00

...looked out the window and what did i see?

POPCORN POPPING ON THE APRICOT TREE!

ok, so it's not popcorn. in fact, it's not even an apricot tree. but still, you can finally tell it's spring! the trees are blossoming and it's so beautiful! not incredible for allergies...but beautiful nonetheless. i wish it could look like this all the time!

stat counter...

2008-04-20T03:58:00.003-04:00

today is a sad day. my stat counter is no longer working...the last entry i got was on march 28, from paris, france...
i don't know how big of a secret this as been, but for those of you who don't know, i've been tracking you for years. i had a tracker on my blog so i could tell how many viewers i had. it was quite a handy little thing. it could tell me so much information! when you checked my blog, how long you were on it, any referring links, your ip address, the location of your internet connection, what type of browser you had, etc. it has been amazing! if i knew you, i could probably tell who you were and labeled your ip address for future reference. but now that my stat counter is broken, i can no longer be creepy and stalker-ish...bummer. so, feel free to roam my blog with reckless abandon! i'll have no idea who were on. now you can be the creepy stalker, and i'll just provide you with endless entertainment, as always.

guilty pleasure

2008-04-19T13:55:00.000-04:00

i saw the movie penelope (see below) for the third time tonight. i'm a little embarrassed to be admitting this, but what can i say? i'm a sucker for happy endings. plus, it's playing at the dollar theater...so why not, right?

cookbooks

2008-04-16T12:44:00.002-04:00

probably the biggest undertaking since i took math 119. my ward relief society decided to make a cookbook so we could all remember each other next year and have something to feed ourselves with. my idea actually, so i did it. i'm kind of a perfectionists so it took me a little longer than others to put it together probably, but hey, it better that way! i dropped it off at the copy center yesterday afternoon and they called me this morning at eight o'clock no less, and told me it was ready to picked up at my earliest convenience! so it's done! i don't have to deal with it anymore! you can't understand the happiness i feel right now. except now i have to focus on finals...yuck.

penelope

2008-04-16T01:55:00.000-04:00

i saw the movie penelope tonight. it was playing at the dollar theater in provo. i was so surprised! i really liked it! i wasn't really expecting much...and it turned out to be good! that doesn't always happen you know...
you should go see it!
i'm going to have to admit...i was a little confused at times. for instance, i never did figure out where the movie was supposed to take place. everyone spoke with a different accent...kind of surprising at times. and also, main character played by james mcavoy, above, spoke with an american accent. he's scottish...so this surprised me a bit. it would have been expected except half of the cast had accents from all over the place, ireland, england, etc. so why couldn't mcavoy keep his? we may never know...it did slip through a few times. nobody's perfect.

best books of all time

2008-04-10T17:10:00.002-04:00

possibly my favorite books of all time, confessions of a shopaholic (and series), are being made into a movie. and i'm not happy about it. these books made me laugh, made me cry, made me hate and love, and so many other things. i just couldn't get enough of becky bloomwood! and there's never enough luke brandon to go around. while reading these books, i felt myself become the becky we all know and love. (this is a dangerous thing at times) but nonetheless, i love her! i am her!
from the talk on the street, the movie isn't going to be like the book at all! first of all, it's set in New York, and Becky is an american. really? this is not ok with me at all. becky lives in london! she is british! and she does not look like isla fisher! i really want to boycott the movie...but i don't think i'll be able to. i think i'm going to go re-read the books now. maybe that will make me feel a little better. comments?

school's out for summer!

2008-04-07T17:43:00.002-04:00

i only have six more class days! you cannot know how excited i am! no more snow! (which i thought i was finished with weeks ago, today proved me wrong)
byu doesn't have a spring break, and i have been needing one badly! it's a good thing i get out in april or i might just have a mental breakdown!

mom's visit!

2008-04-05T17:30:00.002-04:00

my mom came to utah for my folk dance show and it was so much fun! we went to pudding on the rice, we hiked the to the top of the y, we got our nails done, we went to pudding on the rice, we drove around, we went out to eat, and slept in a hotel! it was way fun.

hiking to the top of the Y was really fun, until we started coming down. it had snowed a few days before and there was frost on the ground from the night before. we didn't think it was going to be a problem but i was practically skiing down the trail. it was no good. every step we took, a new layer of mud clung to the bottom of our shoes. it was impossible.

at the bottom of the Y, thought we could get a better picture there.

this wasn't even the worst of it...

folk dance!

2008-04-04T17:20:00.000-04:00

i had my folk dance show this week! it was a ton of fun! my favorite part, by far, was my costume. it was legit. my team did a dance from poland. i would tell you what it was called, but i have no idea how to spell it. it comes from krakow if you want to wikipedia it.

the flowers on top of my head are the best. my mom had to fly over special to help me put my hair in a french braid!

foot poetry

2008-03-19T18:42:00.002-04:00

i'm in a tap group here in utah! it's really fun! everyone should come to our show! it's pretty legit. we even have a website!
footpoetry.com
check it out, my picture is on it and everything!

happy st. patty's day!

2008-03-17T18:41:00.000-04:00

did you wear green today? i did! and i also got a polish dog at j-dawg's today. my bun was green! i felt really special.

dixie cups?

2008-03-16T18:35:00.000-04:00

so last weekend i had one of the best night's ever! me and brittney discovered pita pit! (why has it taken so long?!?!?!) and then we headed over to hannah's ama-za-zing st. patty's day party. the night couldn't have been better, because after that, we went to the jacuzzi! oh it's been too long...
later, carson picked me and brittney up and then we decided to dixie cup hannah's house! it was hilarious! we didn't have coolers, so we took the recycling bins from my lobby and filled them up in the showers and longboarded them over to carson's car. amazing. we kinda got caught by claire, hannah's cousin because she opened the door to cool off after her shower...perfect timing...
we weren't aware of this and thought she had heard us or something. so, we ran away and killed some time at wendy's. when we came back, she opened the door again! we decided to go talk to her since she kept catching us! apparently, carssn had left his jacket when we ran the first time and claire was just putting a ransom note on the door...perfect timing yet again, huh?
so...i guess we were a little rusty with the dixie cupping, but we can only get better, right? so watch out provo! the dixie cups are back in full swing! and we don't plan on getting caught next time!

fresh looks

2008-03-06T17:15:00.000-05:00

(named after brand of contacts)

part of spring cleaning undertaking: change look of blog

NECC

2008-03-05T17:05:00.002-05:00

(i think this counts as a type of spring cleaning)

NECC is an exclusive group - the No Easter Candy Club! The rules are simple:
1. Don't eat ANY Easter candy before or after Easter,
2. You can eat Easter candy on Easter Sunday, but only for a 5 minute period.

you can join the group on facebook!

spring cleaning

2008-03-04T16:52:00.000-05:00

i have the urge to clean! i'm not sure if it's because i'm ready to move out of my dorm and getting rid of things and cleaning is a sign of moving out. or, it could also be that i feel like if i start my spring cleaning now, the weather will get more spring-y. but, most likely, its probably just because i am procrastinating doing thing that are more important. regardless the reason, i still have the urge! i just finished all my laundry (there was a lot...there always is...) and now i feel like giving half of it away! the only problem, is that i don't have a million dollars so i can't replace it all. so, i guess i won't get rid of it. but i also feel like getting rid. like really random stuff! if you knew me in high school, you might remember some of this...
i can't stand having this many pens. and they aren't even all the same! so, now i'm just using one pen at a time until it runs out! this is a form of spring cleaning. it makes me feel like i'm getting rid of stuff but only after it's been put to good use and not wasted. (in reality, it is getting a little wasted because i'm just writing/drawing all the time just to use up all the ink, but don't point this out to me, i'll just get annoyed.)
also, i hate having a million notebooks. i prefer to have one notebook and one calendar at a time. this is a problem because somehow i have accumulated three new notebooks and an extra calendar just this year! so naturally, i must use up these extra notebooks! i find myself writing all sorts of random things down. such as conversations i happen to be having at the time, or multiple to-do lists all outlining the same day. this practice also helps in the pen issue above.
another spring cleaning practice of mine is cleaning out my contacts in my phone. i hate having people i never talk to in there! it wasn't so much a problem before when i had about 200 contacts. i could get a hold of virtually anyone i wanted! but since my phone broke, i only have a select few numbers....and if i'm only going to have a few, i better talk to you on a regular basis! hopefully i'll be able to handle this mess of a contact list until i have enough numbers to not care who is in and who is out.
i'm carrying the previous compulsion over to facebook. this week, i am going to attempt to clean out my friends on facebook. i get really annoyed when i get an application from a "friend" only to realize when i open it, i've never talked to this person in my life! just because we went to the same high school and you were trying to get as many friends as possible on your facebook list when you first joined, doesn't mean we're friends!
i realize that this is getting really long which kind of bothers me and makes me want to "spring clean" it, but i'm going to stop soon so i can resist. if i think of any other ways to spring clean, i'll let you know.

do twinkies last forever?

2008-03-01T01:17:00.003-05:00

while watching a re-run of law and order: SVU (what else would i be doing on a friday night?) i came across this question. in the episode, a playground in nyc was being redone and the workers found some teeth and the lower jaw bone. they called in the police and after doing somemore digging, a battle star galactica lunch box was found. fin opened it up, this is how it went down:
fin, "ok, i always wanted to know this"
munch, "what?"
fin, do twinkies last forever...give you twenty bucks, take a bite."
so, now i'm really curious! i'm buying twinkies tomorrow...let's see how long they last.

chris williams

2008-02-20T16:39:00.006-05:00

our dear friend chris williams went into the mtc today!
so, here are ten reasons why i love chris.
(they are incredibly random, don't judge.)

1. he loves kanye west
2. he has chubby cheeks!
3. he says "get off my back" a lot and it makes me laugh
4. he's going to new zealand!
5. he gave me a goodbye hand shake
6. he was employee of the month at the canc!
7. he touches his nose all the time
8. refers to me and brittney as "you guys" forever and always
9. he dropped me swing dancing the first time we met
10. why not?

feel free to comment and add your own reasons!

brittney, andrew, chris, alli (w/blue jacket), natalie

definitely maybe

2008-02-18T16:32:00.000-05:00

i saw this movie the other day! it was cute. and she's wearing my jacket!