goodbye double ohh seven.

this year really flew by for me. it seems that the time just goes by more and more quickly, huh?
but.
it was a really good year. :]

i thought about attempting a little re-cap of 2007, but then i realized i've had this blog for the whole year... so most everything has already been documented. how cool is that. :] yeah. i'm really thankful that i kept this thing up.


instead, maybe i'll just try look ahead a bit?
resolutions never work for me... so i'll call these goals instead.

1. throw stuff away. i was putting clothes away tonight, and i realized that i haven't worn over half of the clothes in my closet for over two years. plus, i still have boxes from moving out of my apartment that haven't been touched. definitely time for some purging.

2. take a photo everyday. :] hopefully this will help me use my d80, my lomo camera [that's still in the box], and the holga my brother gave me.

3. cook. i got two cookbooks for christmas, so i'm feeling motivated to try some new recipes.

4. make art everyday. or at the very least every week. :]

four seems like a good place to stop. there's always more to add, but this will be a good place to start.


i guess i should probably head to bed. i won't get much sleep, but oh well. i'm just so excited for the trip tomorrow. i'm nearly packed, but i need something from my car. my garage door broke yesterday, so my car is parked out in the driveway, and i'm too scared to walk outside and get it. ha. silly i know. but i've been freaking myself out tonight. sometimes being alone in this house is just no bueno.

oh. that reminds me. someone called my work today and was speaking in very fast spanish. i was so confused. all i said was "umm... no?" ha. i was trying trying trying to remember some spanish, but not having much luck. finally, i figured out that she wanted to talk to my boss. since they are from argentina, they both speak spanish really well... so well that i hardly know what they are saying when they talk to each other. sometimes i wish i would have kept it up a little better. maybe one day.

well. i'm looking forward to the new year. it's going to be unique because the future isn't really set out... i've always had the routine of school, but soon there will be no more school. how weird is that! so i guess the new year is just full of possibilities. more so than usual. and i'm excited. plus soon i'll be an aunt. so cool. :]

i guess one thing i've learned that has really been evident this year is that so much of life is based on your attitude. it's much healthier [and fun] to have a positive attitude than a negative one, and in having a positive attitude the outcome is generally more positive as well. so basically. i'm feeling positive about the new year. <3

well.

i finally got those last two photos to upload. it's pretty frustrating when things don't work and you have no idea why.

anyway. i actually finished up one of my minis tonight. it's a fun little christmas mini. i'll try to get a photo tomorrow to share. i don't want to battle with the flash and the photo uploader thing anymore. ha. i used mostly love elsie stuff with some products from waste not paper. i recently discovered that the paper moon at the summit has some of their products. i'm a happy girl. :]

i have another christmas mini started, but i need to print some photos for it. i got two ideas, so i just made both. ha. i'll probably make the second one using photos from last year, since i haven't really scrapped them.

i've also finally used some of the fabric i've purchased recently. before christmas, i made my own little custom mini album cover using some chipboard and some fabric i've been hoarding forever. i still haven't filled it up, but it might become the new years mini or... ? you never know. ha. and last night, i sewed a little stuffed animal. it's super cute, but i still have to get something to stuff it with to finish it off. it's not too well made because i was stitching by hand, and my fingers were getting sore. [yep. still no sewing machine for me.] but i figure it gives it some character when it's not perfect. :]

it's been super windy and slightly stormy here. when it gets really windy, my house is a bit scary. especially when i am trying to fall asleep... there is a bush outside my window and the wind makes it scrape against the window. the sound is pretty creepy. [eta: my mom just came out because she can't sleep since the wind is making so much noise. it's just amazing how strong the wind is around here.]

and in keeping with the story of my life... i need to do laundry. ha. really though, i've made my packing list for vegas and i have a couple loads to get done in order to be ready. plus, it's always nice to come home and have clean clothes so you don't have to do laundry right away. ha.

ok. well. maybe i should just turn on some music to drown out the wind and get started on the laundry. maybe a little room cleaning too. :]

finally some photos.

1. a few photos from our one year dinner. i like the third one the best. we made some hearts on the dessert plate. ha. mine is the candy cane one and james' is the chocolate one. :]




















































2. my favorite photo from the nutcracker. it's always interesting to take photos without the flash right? it was nice to see it again. they included local some children in the performance, which was really neat. it's always cute to see tiny little dancers. they are just adorable. but it was a little bit different than the traditional nutcracker. still fun though. [i don't know if james would agree. ha.]













3. some christmas photos. i was having a hard time getting good photos since it was at night. the flash was getting a little crazy. it's just hard to get good photos indoors when there isn't plenty of outside light. ah well. maybe next year i will be a pro at using my d80. ha.





























































4. one last photo of the cutest dog ever. ha. but really... he is pretty cute! [especially when he's asleep in the bean bag chair.]

what in the world.

i just looked at the clock and it's 5am.
how did that happen.
eek.

i hope to have some stuff to share tomorrow. [well. later today i guess. you know what i mean.]
i've been feeling creative finally. [thus not sleeping.]
but. not doing so well on finishing projects before i get an idea and start a new one. ha.
at the very least, i need to post a bunch of photos. :]

goodnight now.
[at least it's still dark.]

merry christmas.

we actually had our family christmas celebration last night so that paul could be with amanda's family today.
the holidays keep getting more and more untraditional for us, but i guess we just have the make the best of it, and be grateful for the opportunities we have... even if they don't follow the traditions of childhood.

i spent most of the day yesterday finishing my shopping. it was a frustrating shopping season for me. but in the end, it worked out. james says i worry and stress too much over choosing gifts. probably true, but i can't help it. i wish i had the time to think of and make handmade gifts for everyone, but it wasn't in the cards this year.

i still have to get a gift for james. i feel bad because he already gave me mine. ack. we went shopping together last week, but didn't buy anything for ourselves. we didn't plan this really, but it worked out because we pointed out things we liked and got great ideas of what each other wanted. the only problem is that yesterday when he went back to get some things for me, he ended up getting a bunch of the things he pointed out to me. ha. i guess he couldn't resist. so now i'm back to not really knowing what to get him.

anyway. after paul arrived, we went to dinner at claim jumper. [yes. very untraditional.] then we opened our presents and had some desserts at home. it turned out to be a pretty good little christmas. :]

i don't have my camera cord, and i have a ton of photos to upload, so once i'm back in reno i'll make a big photo catch up post.

i hope that everyone is having a wonderful christmas day with good food, good people, and good memories. :]

so.

do you like the new look?
i'm thinking about a change for the next year.
we'll see.

random thoughts at 1:43am.

the girl on pimp my ride right now is a scrapbooker.
but.
she does the old school scrapbooking.
but.
the guys are making her trunk into a scrapbooking workspace.
oh. my. goodness.
ha.

i need a new book.
to read for fun. yay.
i finally finished my book from the summer a few weeks ago.
it was so good.
now i'm scared to start another one for fear that it won't be as good as the last one.
ha.

sometimes i think about who my bridesmaids will be.
[no. this does not mean anything about a wedding anytime soon. i've been thinking about this since i was 10 probably.]
i have a list of people in my mind.
i wonder how much that list will change by the time i get married.
i used to think i was going to need like 10 bridesmaids.
but now.
not so much.

i wonder who reads my blog.
the only blog readers that i know of are alyssa and susan.
and of course me. :]
it's fun to look back. especially at posts with photos.
[note to self: add more photos to blog posts.]

i have to be in lab at 9am to set up some real time pcr.
i still have to shower and flat iron my hair.
eek.
it's going to be a night of little sleep.
yes. i *have* to flat iron my hair. i've been having semi-bad days lately, and i think the curly hair has something to do with it.

i also need a haircut.
real soon.
but i'm so nervous.

this afternoon, i was leaving james' apartment and i drove by judson's little green car.
when i used to date dave, i remember seeing judson's little green car at his apartments one night.
weird.
how do i know it's his car?
well.
1. it's pretty unique.
2. USNA sticker on the back.
yeah. it's him. and he never tells me when he visits.
i guess he forgot about me.
and i even used to give him half of my sandwich nearly every time in ap gov.

i'm thinking about getting a book made for my first year of blog posts.
do you think that would be cool or lame?
i can't decide.

well. it's time for the scrapbook trunk reveal.
and. this post is very long and random.
goodnight.
happy friday.

no luck.

i had a very long and frustrating day in the lab today.

partly because i was thinking about the fact that i was supposed to be on my way to san francisco. but. the roads. grr.
don't get me wrong. i really do like the snow. and i don't mind driving in it. but there were delays, and chain requirements, and closures, and that's definitely not fun to drive in. :/

afterwards, i tried to find some presents. i went to so many stores. and nothing. nada. no luck.
i did not come home with a single thing.

and really. how easy would shopping be if only i was in the city!

grr.
my family just needs to tell me what they want!

so tomorrow... i guess i get to try again.

ut oh.

i can't believe there's less than a week until christmas.
eek.
i still have to do basically all of my shopping.
i made an attempt yesterday, but all i found were a few cute things for the baby on the way. [it's hard for me to find gender neutral baby things... i was looking around and everything that was supposed to be neutral still seemed to lean one way or the other to me. anyone else feel like that?]
tomorrow i'm going to try to go to the summit to see if i'll have better luck. [crossing my fingers.]

i also need [ok. want.] to find a cute dress to wear to the nutcracker. i'm justifying the purchase by telling myself i will wear it for new years as well. ha. :]

oh. my final on monday was ridiculous. some of my friends were taking it late, so they called me to ask what to study... i had no idea. i told them that even if i could take the final again, with another chance to study, i still wouldn't know what to study. today i asked them how it went, and they all agreed. we basically still have no clue what that test was. nice.

tonight was our dinner for mentoring. somehow, people decided that we should go to the pho place. i really don't like pho. in fact, i would probably go so far as to say that i hate it. so i ate fried rice. nice. afterwards, james, radhika, and i went to see enchanted. [i'm still amazed that we convinced james to go with us. ha.] it was ok... not as good as radhika and i thought it would be though.

i can't believe that school is over. it feels way more weird this time for some reason. maybe because i'm realizing that this is my last winter break from school. [unless i become a teacher i suppose.] it's just a little crazy to think about how close i'm getting to graduation. yikes.

oh yeah. tonight i ran out to get the mail. [yes. literally ran. it was cold. and i did not have my jacket on.] as i approached the street, i noticed it was all glittery and pretty. but i just kept on running. then BAM. as soon as my feet hit the street, the slipped out from under me. my wrist and ankle are still sore. :/ but i managed to laugh when i called james to tell him.
it's good to laugh at yourself right?

too excited to study.

because honestly, either way school will be over tomorrow.
and that is just plain *exciting* to me.

so yeah.
i'm just having a hard time finding the last little bit of motivation to sit down and read. and go over pathways. and memorize all of it. again. because i didn't manage to put it into my long term memory the first time around. because i never study long enough. ever.

anyway.
after tomorrow i'm one step closer to graduation right?
eek.
so exciting.
so so so exciting.

i'm thinking more and more about what to do when i graduate. i'm leaning toward going to vegas for the summer to help paul and amanda with the baby. [another thing i am so so so excited for.] we'll see. i guess there is still time. :]

ok. somehow i have to make myself go study. ack.

:/

well. i found out today that my dad was in the hospital again last night.
he's home today, so hopefully everything is fine now.

unfortunately, they had to cardiovert him twice, and he woke up the first time. it's very painful to experience... i can't really even imagine.

i'm just glad that he's home now. i can't wait to see him tomorrow.


i had my ch final this morning, and i think it went pretty well. it took me over two hours to complete. we had to write 7 one paragraph responses, 1 four page essay, plus two pages of t/f, two pages of multiple choice, and two pages of quote identifications. i was exhausted when by the time i finished. not to mention out of words!

my friend shared this funny video with me tonight. it's called "one semester of spanish-spanish love song." [alyssa, i think you will appreciate it, especially if your spanish has become as bad as mine by now. i'd love to see mr. waite make one of these. ha.]

deep breath & put it in perspective.

yep. sometimes i just have to remind myself to breathe.

it's getting to the final stretch though. :]

i had a met reg exam on monday, and i did pretty well, especially considering how much i studied [or didn't study in this case.] i had my final paper for ch due monday as well, and i had to work on sunday, so it was very stressful trying to fit everything in. i think i managed to study only around 5 or 6 hours for met reg, but i ended up with an 89.5%. i'm happy with that score. i think it might even curve up to an A. [i have to give major kudos to james for helping me prepare. he pretty much taught me everything i needed to know about the isoprenoid pathway, which turned out to be heavily emphasized on the exam. so yeah. he's pretty much amazing.]

now i just have my ch final tomorrow morning. [i still need to study quite a bit.] then i have my met reg final on monday morning. [i need to review all the pathways, so i have a good deal of studying to do for that one.] i also have work on sunday, so i have to keep that block of time crossed off. plus, i have to finish up grading some papers for the freshmen class that i taught this semester.

once those things are completed, i can finally start to prepare for christmas. i have no idea what i'm getting anyone, but i'm hoping some ideas will magically pop into my head. ha.

i think james, liz and i are going to the city on wednesday, so perhaps i can do some shopping there. maybe not though... i might just go to the ocean and unwind. :]

& & some other exciting news... james isn't going to take his winter class, so he can go to vegas with us for new years. i'm so happy about that. i was stressing about whether or not to go, but now i don't have to decide. my sister is going to be there along with two of my uncles and their wives, so it will be a lot of family time. plus i probably won't get to see paul and amanda for too long on christmas, so it will be nice to see them again. thinking about the fun things that are coming up is definitely helping me get through this last little bit of school.

ok. back to my books now. i hope everyone is getting excited for the holidays and not stressed out.

"amy. you're barely alive."

yes.
i know.

the acrobat.

and old friend of mine once covered this song, and i thought it was one of the most beautiful songs.
i hope you enjoy it too.
[this is the original version, not my friend's.]

romney.

you know, i have to admit that haven't had tons of time to look into the candidates for the upcoming election.
i did take a little quiz that my mom sent me to see who my top candidates were a while ago... mitt romney and rudy giuliani were at the top of my alignment list. i'm pretty sure what separated them from the rest is that they offer more support for science than the other republican candidates.

anyway. i just have to say that i was really impressed with mitt romeny's speech today. i didn't catch the whole thing, but i think he did a fabulous job! i don't think there's any way some of the other candidates could have given such an eloquent speech on the topic. [especially from the other party!]

i hope that the republicans will narrow things down pretty soon. i just feel like it would give more strength to the party to have a few top candidates instead of so many, but who knows.


p.s. thanks for the kind words alyssa. i really appreciate what you said. :]

grr.

i'm at a loss for words here.
but i'm crying, and i just need to get this off my chest.
[it's times like these that make me wish i was a better writer, but oh well.]

i don't understand racism.
seriously. what's the point?

when i was in grade school, no one cared what race anyone was. i was completely unaware that people might think differently about someone just because of the color of their skin. everyone was friends with everyone and no one made rude and unnecessary comments about people because they were a different race. what happened to that time?

anyway. tonight garrett made some very mean comments to me. you can probably guess the nature of them. the thing is, i've tried really hard to maintain a friendship with him because he was such a big part of my life, and vice versa, but maybe he's just not the person i think he is. it's so frustrating when you try to be there for someone and help them be the best person they can be, and in return, they make comments to you knowing they will hurt you.

maybe one day he can find acceptance and happiness in his heart. [and i don't mean acceptance or happiness for me... i mean for himself.]

happy birthday.

helix is one year old today!
it's a little hard for me to believe.

he's been pretty hyper, but i don't think he really knows it's his big day. some people get pet birthday cakes to celebrate, but i don't know about that idea. james decided that the thing he would want most was just to spend time with us today. ha. :]

super busy this weekend with school stuff. i don't have much time, but here's a quick update:

i was supposed to go to california today, but i was too stressed out and had to cancel. :[ i did console myself with a stop at the fabric store after i dropped my mom off at the airport this morning. [she and my dad are in vegas for the weekend.] i got some really cute fabrics that i *plan* to make some christmas ornaments with. we'll see if i have time to make these plans come to fruition.

genea came in last night to take the lsat, and stayed with me. it was so nice to see her, even if it was a super short trip. we managed to have dinner last night with james and that was about it as far as hanging out time.

i'll post some photos from our anniversary once i upload them onto the computer. it was a good dinner, but i think we both agreed that it didn't quite live up to the hype.