Steimle ♥'s Wright.

the try on.

2012-02-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

B & i went shopping yesterday.

this is everything we tried on.

we ended up getting two things. between the both of us.

end.

this week on the island...

2012-01-28T06:39:00.000-08:00

when the person in front of you's head blocks your direct pulpit view #mormonpeopleproblems

oh, hello crab.

saw it on pinterest.

thank you a. smith

my landlord has a giraffe neck in her house, what does yours have?

2012-01-23T23:59:00.001-08:00

i forgot one.
its self explanatory.

2012-01-23T22:00:00.000-08:00

a few pictures from the internetz that i have enjoyed. and their reasoning.

this is really in cesar's palace. my friend j and i were on the flooring laughing when we saw it. then one day it was on pinterest. win.

where is this and why haven't i been to it?

i will be doing this to my nails. please don't copy me until afterwards so i can get all the credit.

i could not be anymore in love with dan auerbach (left).

end.

2012-01-22T18:19:00.000-08:00

this story is in no means a way of bragging, digging for compliments, or anything of that sort. it's just a random story i hope to remember one.

while i was practicing piano and singing in one of the practice rooms at byuh a girl knocked on the door. i unlocked it and open the door a crack when she says, "hi, um, can i come and listen to you? i heard you from out there and you sound so beautiful i just wanted to listen while im waiting for my friend." in my head i was thinking, "this is so awkward. i don't know you. i get really nervous with people around. this is my relax, stress free, space out time. maha." but my mouth said, "sure, okay." she sat down and i played the rest of my song. then she requested that i play that song again because she loves it and wanted to know if she could sing along to. once again my head was thinking, "i'm terrible at playing while people sing and to be honest it kind of annoys me." but she was nice and seemed young so i said, "sure, just sing whenever you want." i went on playing a few more songs, some she knew, some she didn't. then her friend came and she left. she was very nice and she remembered my name. i have no idea what hers was.

2012-01-19T12:45:00.000-08:00

there are two things i am sure about in hawaii.

1. it's beautiful

2. hitch hiking works

2012-01-13T12:18:00.000-08:00

i live in hawaii now.

the sliding glass doors are my front door. and its awesome.

2012-01-04T00:19:00.000-08:00

i went home (california) last week.

gansta with A. Smith

coconut cheesecake @cheesecake factory

thriftys :)

my brother bought himself magic tricks for the christmas. he's 28.

my best friend's little brother jake. we paid him a collaboration of $8 to wear this shirt that says, "my grandkids are my sugar & spice" for 24 hours.

the closest i wil ever come to feeling like a beatle.

sweet hippy van at the beach.

mission beach

why yes, that is a sail boat in the distance

december 29th.

2011-12-29T13:43:00.000-08:00

i'm moving to hawaii.

just thought you should know.

october 10th.2.

2011-10-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

(day thirty) your favorite song

this is the stupidest (and last) question ever. who could ever choose ONE song?

i just like eric clapton, okay?!

october 10th.

2011-10-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

(day twenty nine) something you have learned in the past month

.that the people you are around, the media you expose yourself to, and the activities you do directly effect who you are and the choices you make which establish your character

.i currently don't want to be anything but single. and that i REALLY don't want to get married anytime in the near future

i think i learn lots of things all the time.

break.

2011-08-01T02:01:00.000-07:00

i can't sleep.

and im homesick.

i miss grass.

and the beach.

chick-fil-a.

cool nights.

pool parties at my house. (girls bring drinks, guys bring chips :] )

veronica.

my alice in wonderland room.

england.

being emo.

the albertons off cal oaks.

my motorcycle.

trees.

los primos.

driving at night through the quiet streets.

balboa park.

rancho endo.

the promenade.

hotel cafe.

the batting cages at mulligans.

the rodriguez.

submarina.

the moisture in the air.

good conversation.

netflix.

not caring what i looked like.

buying my own groceries.

teaching relief society.

the casbah.

padre games.

night school.

walking.

driving to san diego.

yogurt mill.

mustard/ketchup room.

black curtains.

painting.

man hating.

pinkberry.

l.a.

doing laundry.

rockumentaries.

belmont park.

hotel del.

o'doul pong.

wal mart at midnight.

bagel city.

the post office.

anna karinina.

ruby oliver.

barnes & noble.

going green.

ibc rootbeer.

good music.

denny's at midnight.

converse.

red hair.

piano practice after church.

the record store.

old spice body wash.

eric clapton shirts.

my friends. my soul mates. my support system. myself.

july 25th.2.

2011-07-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

(day twenty eight) a picture of you from this time last year and now. how have you changed?

this time last year.

now.

well obviously i've changed physically. i'd say for the better.

but in every other way, probably for the worse. i'm more popular now but i was actually cooler last year. well...in my own opinion.

...im tryin to get back to that.

july 25th.

2011-07-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

(day twenty seven) why you are doing this 30 day challenge

it will be fun to look back in a year, or a couple years and see what i wrote.

.plus i like lists.

july 19th.

2011-07-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

(day twenty six) what do you think about your friends

i wonder about my friend situation a lot.

how different it is than it was this time last year! or even the year before that. how different i was. it's sad to say that i long for the same friends i had a year or two ago, but im glad that i can look back and still appreciate those good times.

vegas is different. in SOO many ways. it's not where i want to stay or be really. it doesn't fit my personality and i don't fit it's. but despite all of that i have found some friends that i enjoy. they are mostly for social convenience. i won't stay close to them after i move. or talk to them in five years, or attend their weddings. but for now, while i am working on being social and going out, they are okay to spend time with.

that's not to say that i haven't met a few kindred spirits. in the most unlikely places i have bonded with a few certain friends who have helped me in tough times, given great advice and lifted me up through their good examples. they know who they are and i WILL keep them in life no matter where it takes us.

my closest friends currently consist of my family. and i love that. i appreciate the time i have to be so close to them while we are all in the same stage of life. i wouldn't give that up for anything, even if it is hard. i love them more than life itself and it's a bond that is unexplainable but ever so noticeable. the security in our closeness helps me as a person and helps my confidence in myself.

but after all that said, i still miss my old friends. there is something so permanent in our friendships that i have no doubt, no worries, no nervousness that we will end up growing apart and loosing touch. in my most unique and personal traits, they are bonded there with me. they know who i am really am and love me without the slightest bit of explanation or judgement. and they will forever. i don't know how i got so lucky have that short was crucial time with them. they were by my side when i was really figuring out who i was as a person which makes me think that is why our friendships run so deep. but i think about them all the time and sigh while reminiscing because they mean so much to me and made an immense impact in my life. im so grateful. they know who they are. they know they have my love. they know my heart misses them.

because they feel the same.

june 26th.

2011-06-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

(day 25) what i would find in your bag

.bacon band aid tin wallet

.51's game ticket

.canes receipt

.ex-work name tag

.card holder

.gum

.famous footwear $10 coupon

.two regal movie tickets

.filled out M.A.S.H. papers

.cash

.member dinner sign-up sheets

.lip gloss

.dayquil

.ear buds (2)

.mini mascara

.mets mints tin {to hold change}

.mini perfume bottle

.hair ties

.mini lotion bottle

.floss

.chapstick

.pop rocks ;)

june 12th.

2011-06-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

(day twenty four) something that bothers you

there are a lot of things that bother me.

but i take a stand against licking envelopes.

june 7th.

2011-06-07T22:10:00.000-07:00

(day 23) something you crave for a lot

*chocolate

*cuddling

*and attention

june 6th.

2011-06-06T01:25:00.000-07:00

(day 22) what makes you different from everyone else

i'm not really sure. i think i'm pretty goofy.

what would you say?

may 30th.

2011-05-30T17:15:00.001-07:00

(day twenty one) a picture of something that makes you happy

music.

laughing. i love the guy on the right belly laughing. its my favorite.

may 21st.

2011-05-21T00:22:00.001-07:00

(day twenty) someone you see yourself marrying or being with in the future

chuck.

{my future st. bernard}

may 18th. 3.

2011-05-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

(day nineteen) nicknames you have and why you have them

1. lor...its the first half of my name
2. lor lor...it rolls off the tongue
3. lo...they had too much difficulty with the "r" from #1
4. lolo...it rolls off the tongue
5. ren...its the last half of my name
6. L...its the first letter
7. hot stuff...

may 18th. 2.

2011-05-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

(day eighteen) plans/dreams/goals you have

plans: to go home for lunch at 1:45

dreams: to be involved in music

goals: to re-take the ACT

may 18th.

2011-05-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

(day seventeen) someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

i'd like to be a boy. i'd like to be actress. i'd like to be a farmer. i'd like to be an african american. i'd like to be a socialite. i'd like to be a train conductor. i'd like to be a beautiful person. i'd like to be johnny depp's wife. i'd like to be a high fashion make up artist. i'd like to be a bartender. i'd like to be a flight attendant. i'd like to be brutally honest. i'd like to be mark zuckerberg's personal assistant. i'd like to be a touring musician. i'd like to be an oxford student. i'd like to be homeless. i'd like to be lazy. i'd like to be sailor. i'd like to be a volunteer. i'd like to be in love. i'd like to be high. i'd like to be an amputee. i'd like to be rich. i'd like to be a doctor. i'd like to be 16 again. i'd like to be talented. i'd like to be your best friend. i'd like to be skinny. i'd like to be on SNL. i'd like to not worry. i'd like to be smart. i'd like to be keith richards. i'd like to be warm.

all for 1 day.

i'd like to be anyone surrounded by inspirational creativity.
i also wouldn't mind spending the day as alison sudol (a fine frenzy) either. {young, beautiful, talented, charming, natural. live in a cottage and sing for a living.}

may 17th.

2011-05-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

(day sixteen) another picture of yourself

may 14th.

2011-05-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

(day fifteen) put your ipod on shuffle. first ten songs that play.

adele - lovesong
terry reid - dean
the smiths - there is a light
parlor hawk - home
jakob dylan - they've trapped us boys
chopin by zoltan kocsis - waltz no. 19 in A Minor
the stones - you can't always get what you want
notorious b.i.g. hypnotize
diane birch - rise up
j.j. cale & eric clapton - ride the river

april 25th.

2011-04-25T22:52:00.000-07:00

(day fourteen) a picture of you and your family.

and i can't leave out my "widdle wed famiwy"

i love them all <3

april 21st.

2011-04-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

i decided to forgo the mapped out day thirteen (a letter to someone who has hurt you recently) because although theraputic, that would be dumb. so i stole today's from my friend and one of my favorite bloggers, SJS's 30 day...thingy. or whatever you call what i'm doing. (and it happened to be the best post i could imagine). click on the picture for a link to a lovely track by the artist.

(day thirteen) a picture of your favorite band or musician...or 13 musicians.

{in no particular order}

ray lamontagne

cream

duffy

trevor hall

the white stripes

joshua james

john mayer

alison krauss

the black keys

josh ritter

led zepplin

a fine frenzy

and of course, my number one...eric clapton.

march 31st.

2011-03-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

(day 12) how you found out about blogger and why you have one

meet my sister melanie.

she likes to blog.

march 30th.

2011-03-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

(day eleven) another picture of you and your friends

march 25th.

2011-03-25T18:32:00.000-07:00

(day 10) songs {i'm switching it to artist. because i can.} you listen to when you're bored, happy, sad, mad, hyped*

* i actually listen to these {artist} all the time

bored: this a loaded question. but no matter what mood i'm in van mo(rrison) always seems to fit.

happy: a fine frenzy, the temptations, eric (clapton).

sad: ray lamontange, damien jurado, the national, duffy, j(oshua) james, michelle featherstone.

mad: the bea(tle)s, jet, led (zepplin), b.b. king, the flying lizards, the (rolling) stones, c(reedence) c(learwater) r(evival), j(oshua) james, the white stripes. and lots of muse.

hyped: the kinks, the strokes, the black keys, terry dean, trevor (hall), the wonders, cream, franz ferdinand and miley cyrus.

since we're on the subject.

he's hot.

march 17th.

2011-03-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

(day nine) something you're proud of in the past few days

i finished the book of mormon.

what perfect timing.

2011-03-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

(day eight) short term goals for this month and when you'll accomplish them

i'll keep this short & sweet:

.talk to starbucks boy

.buy a guitar

.make 3 people laugh

.finish jane eyre

.create something

.express my heart (the dove chocolate i ate last month came up with this one)

__________________________________

all by march 31st.

february 17.

2011-02-17T22:26:00.000-08:00

(day seven) a picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you

in this small town between san diego and l.a., my life was changed.

january 31.

2011-01-31T18:23:00.001-08:00

(day six) your favorite superhero and why

uhh...i've never been into super heroes much but i guess batman is kinda a bamf. so ya, i choose him.

oh ya, and because george clooney is hot.

even despite his performance.

january 28.

2011-01-28T21:07:00.000-08:00

(day five) a picture of somewhere you have been.

Mount Aconcagua, Mendoza, Argentina.

january 25.

2011-01-25T00:03:00.000-08:00

(day four) a habit you wished you didn't have

.as previously mentioned i am not as vulnerable as i would like to be.

you can called me debra defensive.

and i hate that i'm always late.

january 20.

2011-01-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

(day three) a photo of you and your friends

january 19.

2011-01-19T19:14:00.000-08:00

(days two) the meaning behind your blog name.

well, you see its really quite simple.

steimle

hearts

wright

january 18.

2011-01-18T21:35:00.000-08:00

(day one) Recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

(j and me with our newly vowed {brother} char.lay)

.i'm not interesting

."you can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."

.somehow i am funnier than even i thought

.although all wise men debate the other side, i believe ignorance can be bliss

.i have a bacon band aid tin for a wallet. thats right, bacon. band-aid. tin. wallet. after 2.5 years, its still my favorite relationship ive been in.

.my confrontation skills have always lacked. my passive aggressiveness skills have not

.on a scale from 1 to the iphone my cellular device is a zack morris phone

.i do not participate in the recent fandom of awkwardness

.in association with the above statement, i find peace and comfort in the unlikeliness of motorcycles, live rock bands in bars, being home alone all night and my grandparents cemetery

.if today were halloween i would dress up as a WWII nurse

.in another life i was a ballerina

.when anything is ever wrong, my stomach hurts

.the "need to pee when nervous" cliche applies to me

.i am not brave enough to be as vunerable as i ought be

.i just found this line description of the book i am reading and it has made me happy

His journey through Russia has an epic, dreamlike, almost surreal feeling.

january 09.

2011-01-09T01:30:00.000-08:00

i'm working on 2010's stuff. until then...

this is a

post by

the black keys newest fan.

the name of

this fan is

l.m. steimle.

after listening to black mud on repeat for about 3 days (and voting it to the top of the sexy time playlist) i realized, heeey...this song doesn't have any words.

hmm.

i find that thought self acknowledging.

i also find that thought entertaining.

december 29th.

2010-12-29T21:48:00.000-08:00

"how many letters you must have occasion to write, mr darcy. letters of business too. how odious i should think them!" - caroline bingley.pride & prejudice.(film 2005)

12.20.10
10:30 pm.

Dear Miss Smith,
My name is Impossible and I am interested in hiring your business management skillzzz. (I am sorry, the "z" 's do not reflect your work. I am just ghetto like that. Again, I apologize. It won't happen again.)
In the upcoming months I have a few events I would like to plan on attending despite their varying cost of attendance and my current...$ less-than-desired/ an hour job. Here is the schedule that I have booked so far:

01.22 - Provo, UT: J. James - $7 at most?
02.19 - Las Vegas, NV: The Black Keys - $38 to $48
02.26 - Hollywood, CA: J. Ritter - $25 to $36 (ticketmaster, i hate you)
03.05 - Las Vegas, NV: E. Clapton $68 to $148

If you are interested in this employment opportunity or would just like to have a good laugh, please contact me at 1-800-You-Are-Kidding-Me-Right? Thank you.

Yours cordially, (<- wikihow said this was a good closing. i prefer mugs and kisses love, lauren but whatever)

Ms. Impossible

november 26th.

2010-11-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

its my birthday and i can _______ if i want to.

a. mismatch my outfit

b. use bumpers

c. almost have a heart attack, fight back sobbing tears & dress up in my moms clothes

d. be late to church & talk through the whole primary program sacrament meeting

f. vote the baby off the island (or out of relief society)

g. have a simple, quiet dinner and evening

h. feel loved

last weekend i aged. my mental theme throughout the whole experience has been the above mentioned statement, stemmed from this classic 60's hit.

it began when i was getting ready to go bowling on saturday night and i could not find an outfit that satisfied me. after much trial/error/effort/surrendering i sent a text to stacy saying, (a.)"its my party and i can mismatch if i want to...right?!" her reply, "yes. i love it. it looks great on you." she is SUCH a good friend.

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ash and me. she took care of this whole night and made it a complete success.

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myra and amber.

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cindy and ashley...dancing of course.

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me and libby, elizabeast, e. cole, eliza, elizabeth.

when they said that man is his own worst enemy, what they meant was lauren is her own worst enemy at bowling. without going too much into it, my mind plays games, tricks and fights with itself and because of this if i don't get bumpers while bowling my ball will go into the gutter and won't knock down one pin. if i do get bumpers the ball will never touch the side and go perfectly straight down the middle hitting a handful of pins (usually).

i frequently attempt to get bumpers put up on my turn but i receive so much hassle about it i buckle under pressure and deal with a whopping score of 38! but no. not this time. why? because (b.) its my birthday and i can use bumpers if i want to. so i did. i started out pretty good but i eventually did get tired towards the end so my score of 100 wasn't all that impressive. i had fun and there were a ton of people surprisingly (i don't think i knew about half of them) so it was a real good time.

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my bowler nickname: J.T. guess why?

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julia, me and laura

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ashley and amber

i could definitely feel myself aging because after bowling that night i was tired enough to go home to bed. my mom had left for the weekend so i was home alone until the next day when she flew back in. before getting into my pajamas i wanted to clean my room. i thought that it would be nice to wake up to everything spick and span on the morning of birthday. i picked up the huge pile of clean clothes on my floor and dumped them on my bed, grabbed a handful of hangers from my closet and went to start to hang them up. when i went back to my pile i noticed something a little different on a white jacket on the top of the pile. it didn't take my brain even a mili-second to know what it was, so my eyes automatically looked away before the figure i made out came into focus. literally. i knew what it was before i realized it. at which this point i should tell you, i am NOT a screamer. or a jumper. i am a eyes widening, mouth covering, RUNNER! ...into the family room to be exact. what, you ask could cause my to widen my eyes? mouth to become covered? run? into the family room of all places?! oh, you know just your basic average everyday angry! baby! scorpion! (i was going to post a huge picture but even that starts the eye widening, this is the most i could do) mmhmm. by this time it was 12:30am so officially...happy birthday self! for the next few hours i despised being twenty-two. after almost having a heart attack, chocking back sobs, texting the cousins and making sure walley and my records would fall into the proper hands if anything happened to me i decided it was time. i loaded myself with the proper equipment and weapons (tupperware and shoe aka trap and kill) i proceeded to raid my mothers closet for protective gear. i ended up entering battle looking like this: (the look i was going for was intimidation)

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i felt like a crazy person but its my birthday and (c.) i can almost have a heart attack, fight back sobbing tears & dress up in my moms clothes if i want to! especially when im home alone and i find a baby scorpion in my bed who is very very angry! (p.s. i knew he was angry with me since the tail was in the curled "im ready to inject you with the uncontrollable amount of poison i have since im a baby" position)

once into the hunt i was ready to face that little *enter your favorite swear word here* but guess what? my outfit worked. intimidated he was and scampered off he did. so i tell you from experience that having an ABS (angry baby scorpion) in your bed is definitely not as bad as NOT having an ABS in your bed and missing...

after hours of searching i finally barricaded myself into my mother's room and blocked all possible entries for the lurking ABS. the clock read 2:06 am when i attempted to fall asleep and 3:15 am and 4:26 am and 6:38 am. it was a rough night to say the least. good thing i had my trusty alarm on my cell phone to go off at 8:00 am to remind me to put in the corned beef roast in the crock pot for my own birthday dinner. after b lining slash tip toeing to the kitchen i went straight back to bed until i had to get up to get ready for church.

i may or may not have hesitated a moment too long to get up but it was because i was trying to find the courage to go into my room (aka through the mountain of doom) and get everything that i needed to get ready. unfortunately it was one of those sundays that no matter how much effort you put into yourself, you don't look great or feel like you look great so i trudged along into church with shoulders just a little slumped. once there i found the perfect seat by amber which was just inside the door on a short bench in the back but not in the overflow (hard chairs, ew) that was just the two of us. after the sacrament they announced that today would be our ward's primary program. wait, whaaaat? *enter screeching car breaks here*

small fyi i meet with a singles ward every week which is a church congregation of single adults ages 18-31. and the primary program is where the kids of the (family) congregations get to once a year do a sermon program. but like i said, i go to the singles ward so why were we having one? although this is not my proudest moment, it should also be mentioned that i am not a supreme lover of children. i am not amused, excited or patient with children and i am afraid i can not tolerate them for long bouts of time.

it wasn't helpful that there were only 3 children in the whole primary but i guess it did help that they could all read. and that amber wasn't amused after each one had got up 3 times in the first 15 minutes. so half way through sacrament meeting i thought (d.) hey its my birthday and i can be late to church & talk through the whole primary program sacrament meeting if i want to. and i did. and i didn't feel bad about it one bit. pick another one of the 51 other weeks primary program.

after talking to amber about her mission through sacrament meeting and sunday school draaaaaaaaaagging on and on and on about family history and how we should do it (no more than that we should do it...) relief society finally arrived. last meeting, yay i hadn't had time for breakfast so after this that corned beef roast would be waiting in the crock pot for me! a few minutes into relief society i get a text message from my mom, "im locked out." i ask her if she needs me to come home to open the door. she says no she got in through the office window and i grimace a little but i let her know that no matter what to NOT go in my room or open the door because there is an ABS and to be aware. a few minutes later i get a picture message of the ABS! and it was him! the same one, i am sure of it. not two minutes after i told her the ABS was crawling under the table right by my mom's foot and she killed him. hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ding dong the ABS is finally dead.

i go back to listening to the relief society lesson but not before just a few minutes later i hear the most dreaded sound i could ever imagine. a babies cry. i swear i am not a she-devil. i just have sensitive ears and i am not a kid person. especially on my sleep deprived, ABS, primary program infested birthday. so instead of at least attempting to calm myself down and maintain civility i decide that you know what? (e.) its my birthday and i can vote the baby off the island (or out of relief society). so i put on my witchy face, give the baby dirty looks and put out its tiki torch 10,000 times in my mind. finally after up and down, up and down, in and out, in and out mommy took baby out for good and my wish was granted. baby was voted off the island...i mean out of relief society.

dinner back at home included said corned beef, more food, my mother and the konolds. it was was quiet and really good. i opened many very generous gifts that were not expected or required but especially appreciated because of the thoughtfulness. i got a few text messages and invites to go places and do things later than evening and i kind of felt like i should run off to have an adventure but figured (f.) its my birthday and i can have a simple, quiet dinner and evening if i want to. and that is just what i did.

memorable would ring a bell, eventful would also do it. ironic on the children/church part could fit in there. but after all the crazy things that i feel like happened on my twenty second birthday i would never call it bad. because the one thing i was worried about most being in a new city home alone for my birthday was that it wouldn't have mattered to anyone. thankfully the best thing happened and at the end of the day i thought (h.) its my birthday and i can feel loved if i want to because i am. i got the sweetest cards, gifts, text messages, calls, facebook posts and LIKES! and i felt that the people who i really care about gave and said things that were so personal and thoughtful that it really made all the difference because it came from the heart. in my deepest sincerity it is much appreciated ♥

november 13th.

2010-11-13T00:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary Record Player!

happy anniversary record player

its been a whole year

and although i love my ipod

it's your actual sound waves i love to hear

i* bought you at target

but like to pretend in the 60's you belonged to a teen

because when the record starts to spin

you become my personal time machine

you got me through my 22nd year

and we're on our 4th room

but don't worry, you'll be my favorite possession

even if we move to the moon

you fill my heart, you make me happy

you're always what i need you to be

so happy 1 year anniversary record player

happy anniversary and cheers to you and me

*i physically bought it but my mom was the one that paid for it.

november 7th.

2010-11-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

every year i get more and more excited about halloween. i liked it when i was little but i don't think i was ever that into it. these days it rises and rises on the holiday ladder. and for some reason the parties always seem to be solid.

i went to the church "party" for a few minutes just as reason to get dressed up a week before halloween in costume #1: emo/goth.

michelle (legend of the hidden temple) & me (emo/goth)

not especially memorable but maintaing my emotional instability in all the pictures was fun.

me (emo/goth), myra (princess/fairy), ether (ether), julia (princess/fairy), michelle (legend of the hidden temple), kelli (kelli), nick (nick)

the second party i went to was ACTUALLY memorable and awesome. for this one i used the idea of my best friend brittany hope lee eror halloween circa 2008: juno. and it was a success. it was a grand time.

katy perry, dexter, doug funny, slash, merideth gray, jon gosselin, & juno.

kelli (kelly clarkson), michelle (slash) & me (juno)

"That ain't no Etch-A-Sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, Homeskillet."

so i didn't find my paulie bleeker. i did find a larry king who looked like ari gold but he was into taylor swift. anyways halloween was wicked fun as usual and i am already taking suggestions for next years costumes. i start narrowing down in april.

until next october, halloween. we had a good time. come again soon.

mugs and kisses

love,

lauren.

october 17th.

2010-10-17T23:47:00.000-07:00

a penny for your thoughts?

ok so no one's offering 1 cent for my thoughts but here they are.

sunday night thoughts:

i love the internet. i feel like it gets such a bad rep. i really do realize all the terrible and dangerous things that happen on the internet. the dangers of pornography and online stalking are real. thankfully, they are talked about and publicized often which is important to keep us all safe and aware but there is also such a fantastic side, a great side.

i'm the first generation where for as long as i can remember we've all had computers. sure they have come a long way but even in elementary school i was playing oregon trail on tuesdays at the computer lab. since then we've been addicted to AIM, then myspace and now facebook (i am guilty of spending way too much time of the FB too). so computers have become the poster child for wasting of time.

especially the internet.

especially wikipedia and youtube.

they also get a bad rep. teachers hate wikipedia. and youtube has become a verb. (example: did you youtube our latest naked snowboarding adventure?) but it couldn't make me any happier that i can lean over and get a synopsis of the russian revolution of 1917 when i get confused between the red flags and the white flags while reading Doctor Zhivago. and where else in the world could i watch a 1967 black and white interview of eric clapton before a cream concert for the "famous" dutch teenage tv show HOEPLA? uh, no where. (i mean soul train is one thing but HOEPLA? who knew the dutch even had tv back then, or teenagers?) i literally have the world at my finger tips. i know it and i fully appreciate it.

i've haven't always liked being a student but i really do love to learn. i am curious. and the internet lets me satisfy that curiosity by learning, reading, watching and discovering (almost) all the things i want to know. i want to give my cheer for the good parts of the internet, the part that helps my brain grow and make me a smarter person and the parts that give me the opportunity to reach out and grab all the marvelous and wonderful things it has to offer.

now who's with me?!

october 11th.

2010-10-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

one of my favorite movies is amelie.

a french film about the quirky events in a girl named amelie poulain's life. the script, although translated to subtitles from french is so clever. one of my favorite things (besides the colors) is the way the narrator describes the characters.,namely amelie's parents. watch here between 2:58 - 4:25 to see what i mean (and watch the rest of it, because it is just good)

i love those idiosyncrasies about normal everyday people because the little things tell so much. so i was thinking, if i was a character in amelie, what would my character description be? well, this is what i came up with.

Lauren Steimle dislikes the month of february...

bread crumbs in the butter tub...

and catfish

She likes reading people's personalized license plates...

licking the whipped cream off her starbucks...

and the color green.

what would your amelie character description be?

october 7th.

2010-10-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

i have two things to say. or rather two different thoughts. please comment on either or both.

1. why did paul newman decide from go from this...

to this... not only is it random to me than a fabulous famous hot actor decides to get into the salad dressing business, its random that ANYONE gets into the salad dressing business. and why in the world is he wearing a shakespeare's neck ruffles? i'm just so cornfused.

B. i've been watching a lot of entourage on tv lately (thanks to still being unemployed) and i have this unexplainable, brain puzzling HUGE crush on kevin connolly (i mean, i GUESS he is kinda my type. short, although usually not that short. blonde, but its kinda dirty blonde. and old, ok really he's not THAT old). but im pretty sure im the only one who thinks he is cutest thing to ever come across tv. aren't i supposed to like vince (adrian grenier)?

october 3rd.

2010-10-03T00:11:00.000-07:00

as i was listening to otis redding's these arms of mine in the car i was singing the last verse that goes like this:

"And if you would let them hold you
Oh, how grateful I will be
Come on, come on baby
Just be my little woman, just be my lover, oh
I need me somebody, somebody to treat me right, oh
I need your woman's loving arms to hold me tight
And I...I...I need...I need your...I need your tender lips"

at the end i noticed and thought, "after a whole song about arms he just throws in that lip action in there. what a little trickster that otis redding is! he didn't think anyone else was gonna notice but i did. i know where he is heading with this." and than i laughed to myself for a few minutes.

does anyone else think about things like this? no. that makes me laugh

september 29th

2010-09-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

disclaimer: this IS a rant. and a hate post. don't read if you are feeling especially peaceful today.

dear country/pop* music (or whatever you call yourself),

1. you suck b. i hate you. 3. yes i do realize that i just went from number to letter to number. i just don't understand how people just think you are the GREATEST thing that ever happened to them. and i don't understand how people are so adament about how you are "SO GOOD!" the truth is you are nothing but cheesy lyrics and predictable melodies with an "accent" tagged on. as a music genre you are a JOKE! we've heard about your small town too many times and that country kid persona has been over used. like i said your lyrics are cheesy. they are also naive, plain, and stupid. and as soon as one of your songs starts i can guess where the next 5 notes are going before i even hear them. the pop melodies are catchy and fun just like pop but become dull when added to the stupid lyrics.

now im not saying there is no talent from these artist. usually the singers really do have talent and great voices, but the songs are crap and the facade of being just an everyday person is lame. we know you are an alcoholic diva behind closed doors and your jean and t shirt look is valued at over $500. your talent is being wasted on fame, commercialism and bad music. there is nothing original, inventive, and great in your tracks and seriously you are all clones of each other. and the fact that the music executives who are only involved for the dough are the ones creating this should be a red flag to the listeners. have an original thought fans. when miley cyrus and taylor swift are the ones selling out stadiums there is proof that they are products not artists.

i do not feel bad for bluntly saying any of this. do i come off rude and arrogant? yes. do i think that i have a better ear than most people? yes. is it because millions of people are under the spell of country-pop music? yes. i might be ego-centric about music reviews but i whole heartedly believe it and i don't have a problem telling anyone. as much as anyone wants to argue music is all opinion based i laugh say there is such thing as proving one song better than the other theoretically. so take THAT country-pop music. you suck. and i hate you.

mugs and kisses

love,

lauren

p.s. should i tell you how i really feel now?

*there is a dramatic difference between the three genres of country, pop and country-pop. i am to referring to country-pop only.

september 17th.

2010-09-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

okay, my momentary lapse of self-blog-worth has ended. thank you to all who validated me. it is truly appreciated :)

but while we are on this little hiatus i am going to continue with a non-england related post. it is a good one though, i promise (and quite long, so have some time).

if you are not aware, i am very vocal about how i want a st. bernard to name chuck. i am a dog person, i love them, i love REALLY big ones. ex: chuck. they are so sweet and cuddly and my heart just melts when i see them. you see, what most people feel about kids/children/babies i feel about dogs. so i guess you could say it is odd that i think if i was an animal i would be a cat. but it is true, i am not like any dog. i am a cat (which is especially ironic because i am very allergic, i wonder if i was a cat if i would be allergic to myself? ok enough psycho-analysis). anyways, i am quite independent, i can be but i'm not particularly friendly (anymore), i love to lounge and sleep, i need lots of freedom just to roam around and do my own thing, and once n awhile i just love to cuddle. not everyone loves cats, it takes a "cat person". not everyone loves lauren, it takes a "lauren person". i can be witchy and snotty and feisty and if needed i can fend for myself. i'd like to be a cat, i'd make a pretty good one.

the thing i would love the most is the 9 lives. and this gets me to my point. while on my drive to las vegas (my new place of residency) i was thinking about how i wish i could have more than one life. there are SO many things i want to spend my time doing and since i am not a brilliant genius, nor fabulously wealthy i sadly will not be able to live all of my ideas out to their fullest. but if i was a cat, i could spend each life focusing on one thing and not try to fit everything into one life. then again, i would be a cat so that might makes things difficult but you get the point, 9 lives. so here are my 9 lives and what i would do with each of them. (and of coarse i would be able to keep my knowledge and memories from each one, hey this is my idea!)

Life #1: this would probably be the most unhappy, but most successful life. it would include lots of overtime, skirt suits, collared shirts and high heels. i would be professional, a go-getter with confidence and a bit of feistiness. i would work hard and my way to the top as a strong woman. i would live in the city, in a nice apartment in a very tall building and be able to catch a cab with a snap of my fingers. my social life would involve very posh restaurants and clubs with very capable but competitive people all dressed in designer clothes. my education would be from some semi-elite and expensive school and college would be where i worked my butt off to rise to the top for what i wanted. love life would probably be a string of bad relationships and end up marrying my career. which could be anything from a magazine editor to advertising to psychiatrist. i would enjoy seeing the living proof of the success of my hard work through my material possessions, pay check and high position. the busy city life, the world at my fingertips and opportunity to my advantage. i would be an empowered woman but in the end probably regret being so self centered and eventually get tired of doing everything myself. which is why it would be my first life.

Life #2: this life would be drastically different. polar opposite actually. it would be the most boring life but i am sure i would find ways to amuse myself. it would consist of a small town, in a rural area where everyone knows everyone. the town might or might not have a wal-mart and my family would have been there for years. i would wear sundresses on sundays and jeans and t shirts every other day with tennis shoes from "the city" (aka the next town over with the target). i would be carefree and laid back, not rushing anywhere or having anxiety about being 2 minutes late. i would either go into the family business or work the same job since high school. i would have an old car that may or may not go past 55 mph but fit 9 1/2 people if people squeeze to go to the drive in. my social life would consist of my dogs, the same friends from high school i might or might not actually like and 1 kindred spirit of a best friends who moved away after graduation. friday nights would be going out to the football game and saturday nights would be staying home to watch the newest episode of cheers. okay, not cheers, i hate cheers, and its old, but something like that though. my love life would consist of the nice, average guy who i love just for my own reasons but probably not that special to anyone else. we would marry and have kids, problems and struggles with finances but be able to laugh it off. eventually we would buy some old house i always loved and slowly clean up the old thing. i would spend sunday afternoons hand sewing things like quilts and reading on the porch in my rocking chair. my education would probably not go past high school but i would love to read and think. i'd get tired of the small town, swear to leave but know that i really wouldn't fit anywhere else. this life is probably the least likely for me. small towns seems fun after watching it in movies but since when have i stayed the same, or in the same place for a length of time? never. this life would be happy but i probably wouldn't feel fulfilled or successful and have a handful of regrets of what i should have done.

Life #3: ahhh, this life would be an exciting one. this would be my life of experiences, traveling and never settling in once place. this life would start with dreams to travel the world in high school and then accelerate from a backpacking across europe after high school. i would be have lots of curiosity and a love for excitement. i would feel most comfortable with new situations and change. my education would probably stop after my 3rd year of college due to a tremendous offer to travel and do some kind of work that would enable me to keep going around the world. i would eat the best pasta in italy, wear fur hats in russia, sleep under the stars at yosemite and hang out with monkeys in the amazon. i would do things and try things just for the experience. get involved in the culture, learn just enough of the language to get by, and be REALLY good at reading maps. i would live in hostels, hotels and even rent my own flat in the places a stayed for awhile. i would live in the country, in the city and the suburbs and explore the culture of every situation. my social life would involve meeting lots of amazing people around the world and hanging out for awhile. i would have a few key best friends that i have had forever and call to check in with my family to them all about my travels and catch up. i would never worry about my clothes, my hair, or putting on make up unless i wanted to for the experience i was about to engage in. my love life would be having fun with a few guys, falling in love once or twice but probably ending up alone due to the nomadic nature of myself. i would never look in a book and say, "i want to go there" i would look and say, "i've been there and i remember this and this and this." i would be learning from the real world and always finding out about new things about myself and surroundings. i would be pretty happy but most likely regret not spending enough time with my family.

Life #4: this is the life most would probably expect from me. and to be honest its extremely embarrassing and a vulnerable spot for me, but it is a life i would love to have. this would be the life all about music. this life would include taking huge risks and working very hard. i would start off by being a little hesitant but my parents would be the type who always said, "you can do ANYTHING!" (fyi, NOT my parents). i would spend hours and hours and every cent i had on buying albums and listening and learning them. my education would be countless rounds of lessons. voice lessons, guitar lessons, piano lessons, every instrument lessons. i would live in or near l.a. in a house that is covered in concert posters with music always on and the most superb bose sound system anyone could imagine. i would put all necessary efforts into living a life of music. being in some sort of way, anyway involved in music but not the business part of it, the creative part. i would be the back up singer to a popular artist(s) and eventually i would achieve mild success of my own career. enough to live off, tour around the country, be on stage, connect with people and be able to express every emotion through a high note at the bridge of a song or the final strum of a totally intense guitar solo. i'd fully commit everything to the music. the social scene would be those who i was currently working with or those with good and/or similar taste in music. we'd go out and see each others or just some good shows. sit back, eat, drink enjoy hanging out with good music. i would wear plenty of band t shirts and jean with converse or bare feet. and once n awhile get some fun ideas for costumes or silly things i just felt like wearing and had the excuse of being a "musician" to pull it off. i would definitely be nocturnal when possible and be able to be completely satisfied in every creative way i could. my love life might or might not be hectic. i'd probably end up with some sort of producer/engineer who was stable but totally immersed in music and could not just totally understand but share my obsession with music. i'd make plenty of mistakes, regrets lots of things but not the knowlege i gained from them. i KNOW i would satisfied at the end of the day.

Life #5: this life would be similar to Life #4 but not so pro-active about 1 certain thing, hahaha. this would be my totally irresponsible bohemian life. i would never have more things than i could stuff in my car. i would never think about what my parents would think or what i should do. i would live in mexico on the beach with a few random friends i met for a year. then i'd live in london for awhile, sharing a small flat with 4 ever changing roommates. i would eat cereal for most meals, sleep on floors and meet plenty of interesting people. haha, this is probably the life where i would make all my mistakes. i would do something creative but not anything to tie me down. i would work at a small venue for awhile, paint trippy pictures or be 1/4th of a band. i would dedicate time to reading, writing, drawing, painting, composing, thinking. contemplate the meaning of life, looking for the deepest love, find eternal truths and live as free as a bird. education wouldn't be anything structured but learned from life. i would wear funky hats, ugly boots, loose over sized shirts and jeans that were at least 7 years old with plenty of paint stains and/or rips. my social life would be those around, wherever that would be. those with similar bohemian styles. we would go out to clubs, enjoy music, talk about life, love, freedom and fall in out of love with each other. my love life would be a continuous string of guys who i had completely (and quickly) fallen in (and out) love with. getting my heartbroken too many times to count but always searching for the deepest love. i would eventually settle down with someone who lived the same bohemian life who would be my life partner. we'd probably never fully commit but always know that we wouldn't ever be with anyone else or leave. i would end up being happy and satisfied, not worrying about material possessions but more on relationships. i would not worry about what is next to come and long term consequences but probably end up not being totally happy due to just being so irresponsible.

Life #6: oh how different this life would be! this would be my tree-hugging, protesting life. this life would be full of service. it would be spent always trying to better things and making a difference. it could be anything from going green to feeding the hungry. this would be a passionate life hand in hand with hard work and perseverance. i would be willing to inform anyone at anytime and help anyone who needed something. i would go to college and major in some sort of environmental studies/women studies/social work-esk program. i would use my life as a voice and always maintain a positive attitude. i would wear un-dyed fabrics and things made in america by approved factories. i would be completely natural (ok, i would definitely shave and brush my teeth and shower, so i'd hygienic) but wear earthy tones let my hair air dry in the wind. my social life would be listening to good friends and protesting on weekends in the front lines. my love life would entail meeting someone who was just as service oriented and raising children who were aware of how much good they could do in the world. we would live in a semi-suburban area and make sure the house is completely energy efficient. i would be proud of my life but probably regret missing out on the experience of creative things i could have selfishly done to enhance my own life.

Life #7: this is my secret dream life. it doesn't have too many specifics. it would include living virtually anywhere, in any type of house and probably in multiple places including the city and the country, traveling, using my voice and having a hint of musical/bohemianism in it. this would be my writer life. my education would consist of college where my apartment would be a carpet of crumpled papers. i would always have my laptop and a cola nearby. i would able to express my opinions and passions and communicate with others through writing. i would learn how to transform ideas into stories and feelings into characters. i would start off writing for some tiny newspaper in the commitments and obituary sections but eventually be the key reviewer to music and movies in a mid sized city. i would be 100% nocturnal and a bit neurotic. i would never really worry about what im wearing but whatever is comfortable and semi-stylish. my social life would consist of mostly being non-existent for long periods of time (instead spent watching a wide array of movies, reading everything in sight, and listening and playing music for hours, possibly days on end) and then hanging out with friends for a good little while when i feel like it. love life might or might not be rocky but i would eventually end up marrying someone who i was madly and completely in love with and who totally accepts me as a crazy person. we probably wouldn't have children but help out niece or nephew whenever needed. i would love this life, i would be creatively fulfilled in this life and happy but i might regret not having children at the end of the day. now, before i go on please, please, please don't judge me. i know this blog is probably the worst written blog of all time. but when totally dedicated i actually can write something that isn't half bad. (so say my english teacher's). so before saying to yourself, "ya that one is never going to happen to her" just know that this is something i fully intend on actually incorporating into my life, so support is nice.

Life #8: im getting a little smarter with each life hopefully but if not this life would do it. this life would be completely devoted to learning. i would love school from the get go. i would go to a prestigious school and take lots of non-required classes. i would end up having numerous degrees just because i want to know about everything! i would take classes at night when im working or earn enough money (which would be very easy from all the skills and knowledge i have) to take time off to get another degree. i would be always thirsting for knowledge and willing to learn from anyone. i would learn in every aspect of life, not just structured school. i would learn how to fix my car from the guy next door who is always in his garage. i would learn how to play the harmonica from the bum on the corner of main who knows how to play the crap outta that thing. i would ask lots of questions, be excited for the answers and always have an open mind. i would wear sweater vests and argyle and glasses that may or may not be real. i would live in a big (but not huge) brick house in new england that has a massive library modeled after beauty and the beat library full with giant ladders. the social scene would be with those who love to learn and talk about interesting things. love life would be good with someone who is open minded and not opposed to trying new things and having plenty of intelligent conversations. in the end i would be happy having the knowledge of so many things but probably regret not experiencing enough or putting effort into relationships.

Life #9: oh the reality of life. this life would be one where i had to fit everything in. the one where i tried to balance all my passions and dreams and desires. this life i am living now. it would consist of doing things my own way, freedom as much as possible. i would be an empowered woman in whatever i do, take time to enjoy the simple little things, save up to travel the places i dreamed of, experience the world that is right in my own backyard, listen and completely enjoy with EVERY bone in my body the melody coming from my ipod, write and compose my own little melodies at home and record on the computer, make a cd just for myself and to maybe give to friends and family, occasionally just throw away a huge trash can of STUFF because i really don't need it all, paint, draw, sing, create random art projects because i decided to stop at michaels, make a difference is someone's life by sharing the gospel and sticking up for what i believe in, write/review something and have it published, always keep a journal and write lots of love notes to friends and family, learn anything anyone has to offer, take random classes for fun and keep reading to strengthen the brain. sometimes i would wear band t shirts and rocker boots, pencil shirts and blouses, collared shirts under my cardigans, ugly hiking shoes and shorts, old plain t shirt and jeans, jeans with plenty of rips and a shirt 3x too big, brown hemp pants with a moss green organic shirt and toms shoes or sweats and pajama shirt. my social life would be full of miraculous angles disguised as friends, dinners with old roommates and friends, weekend trips just far enough away, plenty of small venue music shows where i KNOW the artist can see me dancing with my friends and the music is more honest and out rightly better than 99% of anything on the radio or played in a sold out stadium, girls night in's full with mani-pedi's and chick flicks, and lots of phone calls that last for hours with my best friend since i was 4. i would live in a handful of states and possibly internationally for awhile. my love life would consist of troubles and issues, getting excited, getting let down and eventually just being able to completely love myself and know that my love of God and the Lord will get me through anything he has in his plans for me. i would eventually sort through enough of my craziness to realize that getting married is not the worst thing that could happen to someone and if i don't have kids i might regret it later. i would be heartbroken by this life, excited by this life, satisfied of this life, stressed out by this life, passionate in this life, frustrated by this life, regretful of this life, eventually learn to love this life. because this is my life. because i'm not a cat. because i want a dog to name chuck. and i better do it in this life, cause it is the only one i got.

what lives would you have?

september 13th.

2010-09-13T01:47:00.000-07:00

pardon the interruption, but...

does anyone read this thing? (besides my mother)

blog stalkers, please reveal yourselves now, because i feel like i am writing/sharing to an empty auditorium and i want to delete this waste of space in the world wide web.

England 6

2010-09-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

Part 6: Royal Albert Hall, St. Patrick's Day Festival & The Town

the night of hampton court palace we went to lechester square and saw a movie. i can't remember how much it was, but an average price. the theatre was interesting, possibly because it was downtown. we saw the last station which stars james mcavoy (mmm) in a drama about leo tolstoy which i was reading at the time (anna karinina). the theatre was small and you had an assigned seat, so when you bought your ticket it was like a concert and you had to find them together. we split up 2 & 2 which was fine. unfortantley it gave away the end of anna which i did not know, but it was worth seeing, especially in london. it gave me good insight into tolstoy and i had been wanting to see it.

i can't remember if it was the first or second sunday but one of the sunday's we went to the royal albert hall after church because it was right down the street (that was nice). this is one of the places i was a stickler for because it is where Cream had their reunion concert and many many wonderful british bands have performed. around the circumfrance of the hall there are photos and album covers of great artist who have performed on the stage. i obviously took photos of the photos of Cream :) inside the hall they have an amazing ceiling which looks like tops of jelly fish. each one of the circles is placed in a very specific spot for the perfect acoustics. they adjusted for i think at least a couple years before achieving success.

the royal albert hall was built by queen victoria (my favorite) for her late husband prince albert as a memorial. another reason i love victoria and albert were because they were so enthusiastic about the arts. they are known for that and they even have the (free) victoria and albert museum which unfortantely we couldn't fit into our schedule.

while traveling around the town megan kept seeing these st. patrick's day festival posters in trafalga square on sunday, which was actually the 14th. so after the royal albert hall be headed to trafalga square and joined a huge crowd of irish in england. we had some authentic irish food and was surrounded by irish music and of coarse...beer! it really wasn't that bad and i actually had a LOT LOT LOT of fun. we even saw some old (italian looking) lady juggling! it was random but i am so glad megan made us all go.

we walked around the river a couple days and just hung out with the crazies around the town. it was a lot of fun to see but sooooooooooo COLD! and i just don't do cold so i wasn't always happy. but we took a river cruise which was warm and had cushy seats which made for a pleasant trip for me.

England 5

2010-09-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

Part 5: Hampton Court Palace

are you ready for this? because i am! i am here to share about my favorite place/day in england with a plethera of photos. i believe it was at the end of the first week of the trip we took the train out to surrey (which is the county where eric clapton is from, so that add's to the awesomness). we got off and it was only a short walk to the palace. another miracle that made this day great was we saw blue sky!!! a little sun shone down and it wasn't THAT freezing for almost 3 minutes.

a little history on the palace: it was originally built by king henry viii for a friend, but then they stopped being friends and king henry viii took the palace back. william iii eventually took over and started to expand on the palace. as you go through you can see two very different and distinct styles of archeticture where william iii added on. the crown and the government give no financial contributions to the palace and has housed 50 grace and favour residents.

the front of hampton court palace. there are a lot of people here but i remember it being very empty and quiet around the palace.

the clock tower

the center fountain. i love the green green grass.

i liked this shot with the arch, my photography was on that day.

brittini is in the bottom left corner which shows how huge this the murals are

now THAT is a ceiling!

beautiful hall, to the left is the south garden

everything about hampton court palace was so beautiful it was a feast for the eyes. thank you henry viii for wasting all of englands money to give me something nice to look at. even more than the palace itself, my most favorite of all places we got to see were the gardens. i could have spent weeks there just lounging, reading, sitting, writing, walking around. the east garden combines the picturesque jane austen vision with a life like alice in wonderland escape. my favorite pictures i took are here.

me and alyssa, you can see the size of the trees, wow!

see? alice in wonderland

the birds were running around and there was even a swan that chased and almost attacked megan

the trees are like giant hershey kisses!

i wanted to run around all the grasses but it was not allowed

the swan that almost attacked megan

i love this photo

probably my favorite picture i took in england, there is a beautiful view of a picturesque town and you can't see it but i remember looking at a small church and steeple while looking out

in the north gardens there is a maze! yes, full on garden maze. thankfully (unlike robbie patty aka cedric digory in harry potter) i survived. and found the centre. the rest of the north garden is very natural, wild and a little darker but oh so pretty.

PROOF!

the south garden was also beautiful but in a different way. there were more statues and toparies and not as grand but more intamint and fun. there was a beautiful long arbor to the left which was not covered but still nice to look at.

this is a picture from inside the hall

picture from the 2nd story where the bedrooms are. imagine waking up to this?

i love the photos of the arbor

locking arms = sisterly love

after finishing up at at hampton court palace we got something to eat at this really cute place (i can't remember the name of). it was at the end of a cute little tourist street full of shops. the interior was just so cute i couldn't help but take a few pictures (and i wanted to steal the art on the walls). sadly we had to get back to our train so we waited for our mozerella cheese and tomato sandwichs and ran to eat them on our way back. they were supremely delicious though and i think i remember a few cute old men saying some witty things to me while drinking tea on my in. gosh, i love the english.

outside, how cute!

they even wave and say hi, how sweet

give me those paintings!

so you can see from the photos why this was my favorite day. the palace was almost empty and we got to find the centre maze in the sun. everything about it was perfect and i had so much fun. i loved taking the train in and being able to run around the gardens and take tons of pictures while feeling like i was in the 1800's. we had never heard of hampton court palace, and im still not sure why we went but i am SO glad we did. i highly recommend going to see this little gem if you ever visit england.

and this ends the 5th part of the tour...until next time, cheers!

England 4

2010-08-30T23:40:00.000-07:00

Part 4: Ace Cafe, Kensington & Old Globe Theatre

one of the first nights we were in england went to the ace cafe. this is a restaurant my dad begged me to go to so i could get him a pin. (you know you're getting old when your parents asks for things like...pins) anways it a restaurant where english motorcycles would hang out a lot. you see back in the 60's and 70's in england you were either a mod or a rocker. a mod was a prep, the beatle hair cut, sweater vests and most importantly a vespa (scooter). a rocker was...a rocker. leather, electric guitar and...a motorcycle. the rockers would hang out and eat at the ace cafe and was made famous throughout england. so we went, ate dinner and i got my dad a pin. i loved, loved, LOVED seeing the amazing british bikes (they are my favorite) but the food was 100% disgusting. it was a little out of the city so i'm betting that was the most traditional restaurant food we had. and the word on the street is true, they aren't known for their food for a reason.

the stage and fun motorcycles in the ace cafe

i ♥ triumphs

one very important part of the trip was shakespear. brittini loves him and one of my favorite movies is the 1997 (leo di caprio and claire danes) version of romeo and juliet. we didn't get to see a play but we took the tour of the replica of the old globe theater. we had a fantastic old lady of a tour guide with a dry sense of humor and we found lovely things in the gift shop including the "verona enquirer."

inside the old globe

me right outside. the theater is right on the water, the thames runs where the photographer is standing.

construction for the trap door was going on, tricky tricky tricky!

there is still no heat, and all the wood is what they would have used back in the day

before i went to england i saw the movie the young victoria. if you haven't seen it...do. it is one of best movies i have seen this year. it is about queen victoria before and during the beginning of her reign. within her first few years as queen she moved into the brand new palace being built for the crown, kensington. so i was looking forward to tour the palace where the young victoria had first taken rule. unfortantely like a lot england it was being renovated so we were not able to go inside but here are some photos of the outside grounds and park.

kensington palace

the park right opposite of the palace

the orangery (resturant) right next to the palace

after kensington palace we walked around kensington and the shops where i found this gem:

you see in england they don't have t.J. maxx, they have t.K. maxx, and alyssa purchased some stellar orange pumps there.

kensington district

and of coarse how could i not include the staple of english transportation, the red double decker bus, i waited until the one with matt damon's face to take the picture. ya, im a thinker.

your welcome melanie.

England 3

2010-08-03T20:52:00.001-07:00

Part 3: Lechester Square, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London & Tower Bridge

Main square of Lechester. Capital aka "Watford" Radio London from Love Actually

there were 4 movie theaters just in the central square. alice had just come out.

most nights were the same. we occasionally did other things, but a main night even was lechester square (they pronounce it lester). it is pretty much the "downtown" scene of the eve'n and pretty cool. all of the theater's are here and also many movie theaters. we saw two different movies while in london. it was different so i glad we did it. we saw the last Station about leo tolstoy, who wrote war and peace and also anna karinina which i was reading at the time (and JUST finished, go me!). we also saw the scouting book for boys which i wasn't really wanting to see but went along with and it was terrible. i don't mean terrible in a bad acting, cheesy way. it was terrible in a disturbing way. the fact that the four of us were the only ones freaking about it was probably more disturbing. basically, don't see it.

lechester square was really fun and exciting at night but sometimes i just went back to the hostel early because after waking up at 7 and walking around in the freezing cold all day, i didn't really feel like walking around in the freezing cold all night.

queen's theater where we saw les mis (yay sister d!)

i had never been to a "real" play or musical before i went to england and there i saw two! the first week we were there we went and saw les mis which was excellent. i have to say we were quite high up, which doesn't bother me (we only paid 20 pounds) but the stage went straight down it tapped into my fear of open heights. but after 30 minutes i forgot about that and it was excellent. queens theater was very fun and i am so glad it is something i can say i have seen.

st. paul's straight on, walking on the millenium bridge

i don't remember the days exactly but i know the next day we saw st. paul's cathedral. st. paul's is well...MASSIVE! it is the main cathedral in london and wow, its big.

view from the other side of the thames. thats the millenium bridge. my favorite of all the london bridges, and there are a lot.

front of st. pauls

i don't know much about the history or anything, they didn't tell us much and we weren't allowed to take pictures inside. the first time we tried to go into st. paul's, as we are walking up the steps...the fire alarm goes off. so we decided to have a photo shoot while waiting. we end up just coming back later but it was fun to play on the steps.

the front doors. ya, i kept everyone out from the "fire"

coming around from the underground station

we saw the tower of london within the first week i think too. the "tower" portion of the tower of london is the white building inside the other walls. the other walls are just to protect the tower, which was a fortress back in the 11th century. beefeaters are the guys who do they tours. they are retired military and have to be chosen for the job for their good personality besides years in the military. they get to live in the little houses that are inside the walls of the tower and give tours as their work. they are called beefeaters because back in the day beef was special and when the queen thought you were good enough she fed you beef. okay...her servants did. p.s. i know, i'd be a really good history teacher.

tower of london. just like most things in london, the real "tower" is the one with scaffolding on it. everything is getting freshened up for the 2012 summer olympics in london.

up the hill from the tower is where they used to be-head people. our beefeater told us all about it. traitors would be towed up to the hill where in front of a large audience of families (it was a special activity for families to go, think FHE) would cheer to have their heads cut off. and then when it was cut off the guy would hold the head up by the hair and everyone would clap and hoot and holler. true story. and ufc is for wussies.

this is where the crown jewels are kept. and lots of other expensive things.

tower bridge (not to be confused with the london bridge that is in AZ) is right next to the tower of london. you can hike up lots of stairs and go up to the top and walk across the tower bridge and see up and down the thames and read about different advances with the bridge. it was a nice view of london and these pictures give you the true look of london. its not very pretty, gray and industrious mostly, but i couldn't have loved it anymore.

where the cars go by :)

tower bridge

me, alyssa, megan and brittini on the street portion of the tower bridge

view from the top of the bridge

in closing for this post, i will leave you this story and picture:

one times, this bus jumped the bridge. once again. another true story.

until next time mates,

Cheers!

England 2

2010-07-28T00:50:00.001-07:00

Part 2: Trafalga Square, Parlament, Big Ben, London Eye, and Windsor Castle

we landed. we stood in customs line. we waited for our baggage. and then...WE WERE IN ENGLAND! it was so exciting, i had been waiting for this for 6 months but lets not lie, i was tired. we hopped on the underground for the first time and so extremely easily we thought it was a joke, found our hostel. after checking in and climbing the 4 flights of stairs with all of our bags the other girls wanted to check our the sites.

the first picture i took in england.

off to the central of london we stopped at trafalgar square which has a fountain, lion statues and a huge tall pole. right behind trafalgar square in the same open area is the national gallery. from trafalgar square you can see big ben straight down the street. it was startling to just have it all there, so close together. but of coarse amazing.

the national gallery with alyssa, brittini (in yellow beanie) and megan.

trafalgar square (its actually kind of round). you can see big ben in the lower left, so cool.

big ben is actually the bell inside the top of the tower so you never really SEE big ben you just HEAR him but politics, whatever, its big ben. i don't know why it was so surprising to all of us but it was so much more beautiful in person. it really is gorgeous, i wanted to be wendy for a minute.

after crossing the bridge (one of the many) across the thames (pronounced like tim but with an e, tems) river and you get a nice view of parliament. that night it had green neon lights around it (weird).

the london eye is this HUGE ferris wheel that has these bubble looking buckets that are fully enclosed. from the top you can see all of london. we didn't go on it, none of us had interest especially due to the 25 pound ticket price. but it is a tourist attraction and very famous. the london eye is at about the same point on the thames river just across from parliament. this picture of the london eye is taken from next to parliament and parliament is taken close to the london eye.

we ended up walking around from 5 to about 11 after the 10.5 hour flight so i wasn't really a happy camper due to the fatigue, hunger and FREEZING cold that we have walked around for 4 hours so i was soooo happy to finally hit the hay that night.

the next morning we woke up and took a train to windsor to see windsor castle. windsor castle is the queen's "weekend" home. she usually leaves on friday afternoon to make the 30 minute commute and stays still noon on monday (that is my kind of weekend). the circular tower was build in the 11th century by william the conquer and it now holds lots of old important stuff. yes, i just said old important stuff. you know, pictures, documents. the stuff.

Windsor Castle tower.

there were lots of groups of english school boys which combined were with accents were definitely not annoying as american children. plus the teachers kept them in check, thats what im talking about england!

I will leave you with the iconic and 100% necessary red telephone booth picture in Windsor. and as the english say when parting,

Cheers!

England 1

2010-07-20T23:54:00.000-07:00

i am going to preface this all by placing a caution sign here. as much as i love to write i am not good at it. my grammar and punctuation are sloppy. i don't capitalize, only when i feel like it i break for paragraphs and am pretty much all over the place. sure i could take all the time to change my error's but when my mind is racing a mile a minute i think it is better to just get it down how i see it, or just get it down it all. so here is my report on the trip through me.

Part 1: The Trip There

i guess i should start with deciding to go to england. in recent years i have come to establish a love for all things british. most prominently the british invasion era of rock and roll but also with random things like british motorcycles, british humor and tea. after my friend megan came home and told me all about her recent trip to london i was extremely jealous. she said she wanted to live there for a short amount of time and my ears perked up. I wanted to live there for a short amount of time! so about september/october of 2009 we started researching everything. it turned out that living there wasn't an option at the time for either of us so we decided on a lengthy trip in early spring that would make up for the disappointment of not being able to live there.*

months passed and we planned and saved. and saved. saved. saved. part of my stubbornness comes in handy when i reeeeeally want something. i made the goal to save enough and i did. it makes me really proud to know that i can have a huge goal like going to england and accomplish it. i don't make a lot of money but i made it happen. and i know it was all with the Lord's help because i couldn't have done it all on my own.

Christmas passed and we got down to the grind stone. we picked up a few friends (alyssa, megan's sister and brittini) and bought our plane tickets for a fabulous price thanks to the student travel website. leading up the trip, a few weeks before i got really anxious that not everything was planned. until then i didn't really know that i was such a planner. but i learned that i like to have things layed out, just for the mental preparation. finally after all my worrying and our last minute arrangements, my 3 girlfriends and i were off to the united kingdom for a solid 2 weeks.

me and alyssa in the car on the way to the airport.

in real life we don't look as much like sister's.

we left on march 7th a very foggy and damp day in southern california. after a ten and a half hour flight we arrived on march 8th at the london heathrow airport (hello, love actually!) to a cold but partially sunday day. we flew virgin atlantic and it was a great airline. i got cabin fever after a little while and was VERY anxious to stretch my legs and actually sleep the next night, so it wasn't the happiest i had ever been but they were very accommodating and most importantly there were no children OR babies sitting around me :) (this made me very happy)

our plane. ironically named "lady bird" which is our code name for the time of the

month which we were all nervous about getting over seas.

side note: i would just like to take a moment to express my excitement about the virgin atlatntic flight attendants outfits. their colors are red and white so they were all red and had red finger nail polish and red lipstick. you can tell the dress code is very strict. their hair is always up and tightly back and they wear nylons with black dress shoes. and it is TOTALLY 60's! It was so cute and I added to my bucket list, "being a virgin atlantic flight attendant" mostly due to the outfits. they even wear scarves!

*just not at that time. because ideally i would still like to live in london for a short amount of time...in the summer.

july 18th.

2010-07-18T20:10:00.001-07:00

i've been very busy all summer. and i've decided that i am going to stop being busy for everyone else and start being a little selfish because this is my summer.

this means that i will have time to blog if i feel like it. and as of now i feel like i want to begin blogging on my march excursion to the united kingdom. so for now, i will leave you with my plan and probably my favorite picture i took from the trip.

hampton court palace "backyard", england

july 16th.

2010-07-16T00:31:00.000-07:00

this song came on a couple times on the radio, and despite knowing a bit of coldplay i never really listened to it. it was a sign. because now im in love with it.

june 14th.

2010-06-14T23:14:00.001-07:00

i NEED this in my family!!!

http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4047765

june 8th.

2010-06-08T18:11:00.000-07:00

a little less conversation a little more...singing please?

oh wait...thats not right, is it?

oddly enough i've been crazy busy these last couple weeks (and it doesn't look like its going to stop for the next month). it all started when i left on a thursday night after work to go to vegas. (because i like to get crunk?...oh wait, thats not right, is it?) no i went to go visit my family. my cousins, their group of friends, and yours truly went to see phantom of the opera at the Venetian for thirty bones. HOLLA! especially since the seats were quite fine. dinner was entertaining. mostly in part to the old mexican guy playing DJ with the speakers next to our ears at a mexican restaurant instead of actually playing the multiple guitar and mariachi's in the restaurant.

my review: its funny how went i started out 2010 i had never seen a stage musical. now i've seen probably the top 3 ever. phantom was excellent. it had lots of over-the-top vegas style additions to the music. the phantom was running all over the theater, the classic chandelier fall, and fireworks that LITERALLY burned your retinas. it was such a good show, i could have definitely cried but i held back. personally i thought the phantoms voice could have raspier and rougher but that is probably due to my preference for gerald butler almost over any other man. seeing it onstage with the live singing and action helps you to understand and feel the characters more. its quite a complex relationship between the phantom and christine but you kinda get why she has that emotional pull after watching it in the theater. i really liked it and would definitely recommend it to anyone.

laura, ashley, amber, me after phantom in the theater halls i ♥ these girls!

me and ashley before phantom at the konolds.

saturday i muched at brunch with my mom and we went to every home furnishing store in the strip mall we were at. plus kohls. i swear my mom is turning into my sister melanie...anyway ash and i did some fun random things on saturday including painting a house (inside), tanning and watching disturbia (which i've never seen). we went swimming that night and what weekend would be complete without ridiculous photobooth sessions?

the sabbath day is a spesha (special) day?

wait no...that isn't right, is it?

church on sunday was so good! it was weird to see so many people at singles ward but cool. the bishop in that ward is awesome. he and his first counselor taught 5th sunday and although it was about my least favorite subject they tackled it extremely well. i was impressed. cousins and i went to their friends house for dinner and then i drove home that night. that drive is literally one of my favorite things ever. i wish i could do it every weekend. which is why i basically do.

and this completes thursday-sunday of my crazy busy week.

may 26th.

2010-05-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

we've been having some problemos. but one of them is NOT ike davis, our newly called up first baseman.

not only has he been amazing, he replaced daniel murphy (my LEAST favorite met so far). in his first 33 games so far in his rookie season, davis has a .282 average, 4 home runs, and 12 RBI's along with some great defense. he has been producing, and producing consistently which hasn't been a strength in our line up this season. so its safe to say...

i like ike.

may 22nd.

2010-05-22T17:58:00.000-07:00

say hello to robert johnson.

johnson is one of the "king of the delta blues" and i believe eric's favorite musician of all time. he invented the blues, well at least a style of it and has influenced some of the greatest musicians of all time including but not limited to eric (obviously), keith richards, jimi hendrix and robert plant.

there is little known about robert johnson and most of his life is almost a myth, the only thing that is concrete are his recordings. his birth date is questionable, as are his death date and musical education. the primary story to robert johnson's genius work is that he sold his soul to the devil. "cross road blues" is said to be a literal interpretation of that and there are many mentions of religious themes in his music. "devil" or some form of the supernatural is mentioned in six songs. better said, the story goes like this,

According to legend, as a young black man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi, Robert Johnson was branded with a burning desire to become a great blues musician. He was "instructed" to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight. There he was met by a large black man (the Devil) who took the guitar and tuned it. The "Devil" played a few songs and then returned the guitar to Johnson, giving him mastery of the instrument. This was, in effect, a deal with the Devil mirroring the legend of Faust. In exchange for his soul, Robert Johnson was able to create the blues for which he became famous.

His influence is easy to appreciate but recently i purchased the complete recordings of robert johnson and i can't tell you how inspiring i found it. it quite different than anything played on the radio and i don't think i would ever play it for my friends but its something than i definitely enjoy. robert johnson might not be for you, he isn't for everyone but his importance in the history and influence of music should be appreciated and respected by all.

Time Worthy and Mentionable Covers: Cream - Crossroads & John Mayer - Crossroads

Quote and info from Wikipedia

may 19th.

2010-05-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

i watch a lot movies.

i almost forgot about this one until tonight. its always a goodie...especially on VHS.

Turk Malloy: I'm gonna get out of the car and drop you like third period French.

may 10th.

2010-05-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

someone once asked what makes me cry.

answer:

may 4th.

2010-05-04T17:18:00.001-07:00

mets shirt? check.

mets hat? check.

mets sweatshirt? check.

mets bracelet? check.

mets mandles? check.

mets lunch pail? check.

david wright jersey? check.

david wright coin? check.

david wright blanket? check.

blue and orange nail polish? check.

"slugger" pillow? check.

baseball tonight on series record? check.

summer* lovin? check.

petco park. padres home stadium where i see the mets play.

citi field. the mets home stadium. where one day i will see them play.

* its basically summer in southern california already.

april 28th.

2010-04-28T19:12:00.000-07:00

i lied. i did make a diet/exercise blog. but its a joint one, so it doesn't really count as me lying cause i had help. anyway,

CHECK IT OUT!

http://fat2daygonetomorrow.blogspot.com/

encouraging words only please :)

april 19th. 2.

2010-04-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

jimmy page has got to be one of the cutest old men, ever (and best guitar players, duh). and i don't think i could survive in a world where robert plants voice didn't exsist.

...which translates to: i love led zepplin.

and one of favorites from led zepplin is the ever classic, kashmir. it might only have like 3 riffs (chord progressions) but it is of the best. if you ever think you can't do something (finish a workout, write a paper, get through the day) kashmir can give you the courage and motivation to get it done. (kinda like eye of the tiger but BETTER!) and i know its long, but just enjoy as long as you want :)

there is only one word to describe really. epic.

april 8th. 2.

2010-04-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

p.s. i just got back from my 76 MINUTE walk!!! yay, go me! now im hot, sweaty and HUNGRY!!!

april 8th.

2010-04-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

well, i was planning on writing/reviewing things every couple of days, but obviously that hasn't happened. we moved. i had to go back to work, (yikes!) and my mother was visiting. but the good news is i have things to report!

Overall:

Eating: ehhhhh, its okay. i am good when i am at home. pork chops. whole wheat spagetti. madrin oranges. but when i go out, its kind of a disaster. pizza for lunch yesterday, ugh. california burrito last week (it was SERIOUSLY delicious though). wings and things (aka wing n out. ok really, why do they try to change their name? people still call it wings and things. and they have signs up everywhere that say wings and things. i mean if you are going to all that trouble to change the outside sign why not take down the ones inside? ok...im done ranting). but on the good notes, breakfast is always good. yogurt and granola bars with orange juice. and water is getting a lot better. two bottles at work a day. then more at home. im going to try to add another one soon. those little on-the-go crystal light packets help. i usually do one bottle with it and one with out. i'd say i am doing better, but i can do even better. i've had skinny cow chocolate ice cream bars for dessert and those are awesome. oh but i did have a bean and cheese burrito from los primos on tuesday night...it was free! how could i resist? but plan is to be better...yes, even better.

Excersise: last week=5 stars. this week=i suck. last week i only didn't walk on sunday (easters) and friday (i was out running errands till 9pm). this week i have only gone once :( and the worst part is i should be out doing it right now and im nooooooooooooooot. hopefully by writing this i can get the motavation to get out there. my face is fat. its ugly. i need to loose weight. get your kicks on chick. ok, im going after this...but FIRST my triumph...when i DO walk its usually and HOUR or MORE!!! this coming from someone who HATES working out if its not sports is a really big deal. running around at work for 8 hours and then an hour of walking is doing totally great things in my mind. i just need to be more consistant, this week: monday=60+ minutes tuesday=hockey game wednesday=i didn't get home till 2am from the hockey game and worked all day, i could barely keep my eyes open till 9pm let alone DO anything... thursday=i WILL go walking tonight.

its working well though, i really don't mind walking that much. i just put on my ipod and cruise. i LOVE the being outside and hills make me feel like im really accomplishing something. every time i get tired and annoyed and just don't want to be walking i forget about walking and sing a long to my music or concentrate on the song. most people have like really pumped up music but i get a headache after all that for an hour or i get bored of it. so i have found i just put on a certain album or artist and it doesn't matter if its slow, i just go. so im happy i realized that. alright i gotta go get a snack (string cheese) and then head out to work for an hour. signing off! 10-4 mates.

march 26th.

2010-03-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

yes i went to england.

yes im home safe.

yes i had a wonderful time.

yes im going to post pictures and give a review of my trip.

no im not going to do that right now.

lets face it, most people aren't healthy because they just can't get enough of it. if the world turned upside down and being fat, unfit, unhealthy, and ugly was the popular and best way to live your life most people would not have a problem doing that. junk food is cheap. exercise takes a good chunk of time out of your day. and dress sizes are a nuisance. yes there are the people who base there whole life around being fit but a majority of people have plenty of other things to worry about in there day and it is not hard to fall into the "yucky" lifestyle. so just like most people i don't want to be fit, healthy, and thin because i can, i want to be fit, healthy, and thin due to vanity.

that being said once again, i am going to try. i've tried a million times. i've told myself im doing it because i love being healthy (lie). i've told myself i'm doing it because i really love the energy i get from it (lie). and i've told myself i don't need to do any of it because i already love myself and i'm okay being me (true). but this time i am doing it because i don't have to, but want to look good. i want to do it so i can fit into smaller sizes. straight up, im doing it because i want to be hot. and im okay with that. even if it is vain. im okay with that.

so as i talking to my best friend about how im gonna try (again) i thought how it would be good to have someone to do it with. someone to tell my triumphs and failures to. and one of the best things about my best friend is that even when i do mess up she doesn't lecture and tell me all the horrible things about what i did wrong. she tells me about her failures and how its okay and how to jump back in tomorrow. i've never really done things like that when it comes to physical fitness and it seemed like having someone there would be a good way to do things. and so even though were going to do it together this summer i came up with posting about it on my blog. this blog.

i thought about starting a new one but lets face it...im not going to manage both. so here it is. when i get excited about how i did something good im going to write about it. when i so upset i just want to eat a half gallon of double chocolate fudge carmel whipped cream ice cream with little mini peanut butter moose in it im going to write about it. and maybe this just might give me the motivation to keep up with it, to have a report back. i get more things done that way. im not looking for lessons of the subject. im not looking for education or correction. im just looking for somewhere to put it all down and if people want to chime in support or their triumphs or failures while im in mine, well that could be cool.

so here i go, its march 26th and im looking to start a healthier, exercise-ier lifestyle all because simply i want a hot bod and this time im not turning the pressure dial to "die if you do not accomplish." no, more like down to, "this could be a really cool crazy adventure if you want it." not "this is life or death for your health" perspective. but "even though its not on my most important things in life, i'd like to have a good body" perspective.

wish me luck!!!

Today -

Eating: 2 nutella/strawberry crepes for breakfast. 2 nutella/strawberry crepes for lunch. 1/2 greek salad from CPK for dinner. and chocolate to follow...

so alright, eating was pretty horrible today but it wasn't until about 4pm until i decided to do all of this. but to be fair i did have strawberries which is fruit, which is something i barely ever eat. so plus on that! and salad for dinner, even though it was probably high calories and fat it had tomatoes, onions, lettuce, olives and cucumbers which is a lot vegetables for me. so all in all even if it was a lot of calories i had some good fruits and vegetables which is great for me.

Exercise: 30 minute walk up and down my hill-y neighborhood.

i had planned on going for an hour but a friend told me she was coming over so i had to head back. but i got my heart rate up and was sweaty and hot and breathing hard which was great.

Tomorrow -

Eating: my mom is coming into down so probably some eating out but im going to try and keep down the "junk" food and even if it has high fat, right now im just going to try to get in fruits and vegetables to start with. chicken if i have meat. and lots of water and no soda or high calorie juice.

Exercise: walk at least 60 minutes and possibly get mom to buy me weights :)

march 3rd. 03.

2010-03-03T21:39:00.001-08:00

i want this bed.

i REALLY want this bed.

march 3rd. 02.

2010-03-03T21:20:00.001-08:00

i LOVE cream!

love love love love love love love love love love love love love love

i watched the cream reunion in london 05 at the royal albert hall, discs 1 AND 2. they were fantastic. the thing i love about cream is that they are such purist of musicians. the music is what speaks for itself. and it really is speaking. when they each play their instrument, especially eric, i just look and see that no words spoken can express what they are saying right now. i LOVE cream. jack, ginger and eric are some of my favorite musicians of all time. i hope they do another reunion concert and hopefully next time, i can afford to go.

One of their last, but such a great song - Badge by Cream.

you can thank me later for establishing (or REestablishing) your love for Cream.

march 3rd.

2010-03-03T21:17:00.001-08:00

im starting to get excited for London...

...3 days till we leave :)

february 25th.

2010-02-25T22:30:00.001-08:00

this is all i can think about.

february 15th.

2010-02-15T19:12:00.001-08:00

i have this friend named ashley. she is amazing. she introduced me to the world of "bothered." i will always be indebted to her for this. just watch and you will understand.

as if that wasn't enough, she gave me this for v-day:

i pee my pants everytime.

february 7th.

2010-02-07T02:27:00.000-08:00

the two most important things to me.

1. God

2. music

in that order.

february 5th.

2010-02-06T01:37:00.001-08:00

so. i have this theory that if you say any inanimate object three times at the end of a sentence, its funny.

ex: i don't wanna go down the slide slide slide!

if you are with me, provide you're example.

february 4th.

2010-02-04T23:22:00.000-08:00

i am going to see...

jude,

james,

paul,

eric,

and THE QUEEN!!!

that's right people, im going to london.

...that's in england.