dos mil dolares

Do you ever just have certain phrases go through your head all day? It's like having a song stuck in your head, but instead it's just a phrase. Actually for me it's not even a phrase, just a random collection of words. And today's winner is: "dos mil dolares"

I've been saying that in my head all evening. I have no idea why...it doesn't even really make sense. It's nothing we used in Spanish any time lately (or maybe never, at least not in that combination). Sometimes my phrases are in English and sometimes they're in French and sometimes they're in Spanish. I guess I just find combinations of words that sound nice together or that have a musical quality in my head, so I repeat them over and over. dos mil dolares.

Procrastination

I just want to go to bed...

I don't want to do the rest of my homework; I don't want to take care of my house, or clean Nellie's cage, or anything...I just want to sleep. I got sick last week, and I'm still working on getting over it, and the only thing that sounds good right now is to sleep. I wish I could use that as an excuse to not do my homework, but that's not possible...it has to get done before I get anymore behind than I already am. Actually, it's really only my Art History papers that are a problem. I'm dominating in Math and Spanish!! I'm dominating in Art History too, but I just have trouble wanting to do the papers. We have weekly short papers that are basically just busy work to show our teacher that we're learning something and to give him something besides the quizzes to base our grades on. They're no big deal and he even lets us turn them in late because he wants us to get the points, but I often use that as an excuse to not get them done (I keep telling myself "Oh, I'll just turn it in on Thursday") and then they pile up (sort of like the dishes!!!) So I have two to do tonight instead of just the one, and I don't feel like working on them :(

Right now Stephen and Shadow are taking a nap together on the couch and I really want to join them!

Enough of my whining...I'll just have to buck up and face the work. On a more fun note: I've been drawing floor plans and making up designs for houses. It's all just for fun but I love it!!! I spent hours this week drawing and fixing and figuring how it would all lay out. Floor plans have been a fettish of mine for awhile (I sometimes spend an hour or two looking through various websites), and so I finally decided to pull the ideas I've been holding in my imagination out and actually put them all together into whole houses. I know...I'm a little strange! I think it'd be fun sometime to take some architecture classes...we'll see!

Friends and Weirdness

Last night Stephen and I went over to Jan and Jon's (another married couple we're becoming friends with) house for dinner. It was a good time and Stephen finally had someone to talk "guitar" to; today I found Stevo had gotten his guitar out and started playing again, big surprise! It's good that they both had each other to inspire them to start playing more often. Jan and Jon are older (late 20's or 30ish, I'm not sure) but they don't have kids yet (one on the way), so it was still comfortable and fun to have some friends to hang out with. We went to another couple's house (Ashley and Phil) for dinner a few weeks ago with Jenny and Clay and we all stayed way later than any of us should have!! We need to have Jenny and Clay over again sometime soon for games...it's been way too long. But maybe this time we'll invite some of the other couples over too. There's also my friend Mandy who went to school here until she got married and moved to California; she's living back here with her mom while Josh (her husband) is in Iraq. I've been meaning to contact her to see if she wants to hang out sometime...I'm sure she could use some funtime!

I had another weird dream last night. I dreamed I had a baby (I'm not pregnant though, nobody worry)! It was an absolutely painless delivery that took about five minutes and then I just had this tiny, I think premature, baby that I didn't know what to do with. I was with my mom and siblings (for some reason Stevo wasn't there or my dad), but we were at my old church and no one would help me know what to do, and I didn't have any diapers or blankets or anything (besides what the baby was handed to me with). And I kept trying to find somewhere to be alone with my baby boy but there were people everywhere, including Calvin Winder who was actually helping me the most (by the way for Alyssa and Amy, he's getting married). Weird stuff! I think it was just from being around Jan last night; they were going to get to find out what they're having today, and we were talking about Jenny and Clay finding out what they're having (Jenny and Jan are due one day apart!!). But I've been weirded out about that dream all day!

The Days Roll On...

I just feel kind of blah today. I can usually judge what kind of mood I'm in by what I decide to wear in the morning. Well today I started off with a cute outfit that I look good in and the whole she-bang; I even did my hair and left it down. I change a few times and ended up leaving the house in a t-shirt, jeans, and my comfy/grungy/unattractive gray hoodie--with no intention of ever taking it off, I might add. If I opt to wear my sweatshirt, we know it's not a great day!! Despite my choice of attire, my day hasn't been too bad...but Stephen and I both haven't been feeling very well.

We had a nice weekend, though. The first weekend in a long time that Stephen didn't have to work (besides when we've gone on trips and whatnot), so we just relaxed at home. Stevo mowed the lawn for the first time of this season (it was probably close to a foot long in the backyard) and now it looks beautiful!! The bushes are blooming, the trees are blossoming, and we even found a few tulips hiding in the back...including a couple RED ones :) Stephen cut one and brought it in to me as a surprise. Here are some other flowers he brought me:

You can't see how pretty they are here, but I like the lighting in this picture

And this is a view I enjoy when I sit on our front steps--I love looking through our willow tree to see our neighbor's old "classic" car across the street

Computer Issues

Yeah, so the computer has been giving us some trouble. It hadn't been running very well for quite a while, so Stephen reinstalled and fixed and cleaned things up. But then I couldn't get Blogger to work for me, so I haven't been able to post anything for a few weeks. I think we've got it figured out now, so hopefully I can post a little more regularly.

Stephen started his new job last week and seems to enjoy it, and he had his last day at the hotel yesterday!! He was super excited to be done there :) It'll be really different and nice to have him home for the next few weekends, but I think that will make it a little bit harder to get my Saturday cleaning done now.

Today there are auditions for the spring plays (these are student written/directed short plays). I may or may not audition; I'm still not sure. Stephen may or may not be interested too; he's not sure either. He'll be working today so he'll miss auditions, but there's the chance some of the directors could ask him to come to callbacks tomorrow if they're interested in casting him.

Not much else happening here. It's still raining...I'm aching for some sunny days! But at least the tulips are blooming now. I love tulips, especially the red ones...they are one of my favorite types of flowers!! Yesterday was my nephew Benjamin's birthday...4 years old. I called him and it was so fun to talk to him; he's such a little cutie! He wanted me to sing "Happy Birthday" to him, and he was so excited to tell me that he got to have "two birthdays" (a birthday party with his little friends on Saturday, and cake/presents with my family on Sunday).

That's about it...have a great Monday!

Boredom Montage

I always feel like I have nothing to share. Nothing new or interesting going on, just the same old stuff. I wish I had pictures to share or something important to write about, but life just isn't usually that exciting. My house is fairly clean right now (that's what spring break is good for) so that makes me feel good. Stephen is working and I'm bored here at home.

Shadow is in a fiesty and restless mood right now...getting into lots of trouble! He usually gets this way around this time of night. He's been sleeping all afternoon and evening so now he's waking up and getting crazy. I should probably feed him; that might calm him down some..........Ok, I took care of the cat!

I just don't feel like doing anything right now...I just want to sit and play computer games. I'm homesick for Fallon and both my families there. And I'm missing my sisters (that includes my Robin-sister)! Springtime always seems to make me miss home...or maybe it's just the amount of time between visits (we were there in December and I'm already for another visit...I'm so pathetic!). Actually I really just want someone to come visit us here; I enjoy showing my family and friends our beautiful area here.

My daffodils outside still haven't all bloomed. A few have, but most of them haven't gotten enough sun to open up (they've sure had plenty of water!). Last night I went to WalMart and just browsed (I know WalMart isn't the most exciting, but it's the best we have here)!! It was so relaxing and fun. Stephen was at work so I just had some alone time and looked at anything and everything that interested me. I almost brought home a fish for Stephen, but I thought I'd better talk to him first. I love having pets :) I just can't help it! But if we did get a fish, we'd probably have to keep it in the bedroom so Shadow wouldn't eat it.

Well, I suppose I've rambled on a bit too long for a post of random boredom. Maybe I'll play a game. Oh...and a very happy birthday to Janet tomorrow!!!

Things Are Looking Up

Yesterday was a really nice day. It was Stephen's first day off for spring break, after working 6 nights in a row. It was also the first day we've had off together in a really long time...I work and we go to school during the week and then he works on the weekends, so we never have time off together. We enjoyed just relaxing together at home.

We were able to check our grades online yesterday and...we both got 4.0's in ALL our classes!! It was really exciting and a little bit unexpected (I thought we'd do well, but not that well).

To top it all off...Stephen got a new job! He has been getting really tired of his current job (hasn't been getting many hours, and isn't being offered more hours even though someone is leaving and Stephen is the most senior one there) and wanting to quit and find a better job. Our married-couple-friends, Jenny and Clay, work at one of the video stores here and let us know that the store would be needed to hire quite a few new people. They suggested Stephen apply and they would introduce him to the owner and whatnot. So he did on Monday and when we stopped by yesterday to rent some movies, Jenny was working (she's one of the managers) and had some paperwork for Stephen to fill out...he's gotten the job!! It was so quick and effortless...I guess that's what happens when you have a connection. So we're pretty excited and Stephen is anxious to give work his two-weeks notice. This job should be much better for him: it'll pay about the same, but he'll get to work more hours and better hours (not so much of the weekend).

So yesterday was a very good day for us!! Today we went out to breakfast with Clay and Jenny and then hung around at home watching movies. I love lazy, sunny days!

Feeling Sorry for Myself

I feel so lousy right now...I think I'm getting sick :( I woke up this morning with a sore throat and feeling super achy (I didn't want to move), and now I'm feeling really shaky and dizzy and sick to my stomach. What a bummer way to spend Spring Break! And I don't even have Stephen here to take care of me. He'll be working til 11 tonight and by then he'll probably be too tired to do anything. I know I should probably just lay down, but there's so much I need to do...I really need to clean the house some and I just feel bad about sitting around doing nothing. I already sat and watched a movie; I don't want to waste any more time. Well...we'll see if I can at least finish up the dishes and clean Nellie's cage, then I'll at least feel like I accomplished something today (I haven't even gotten myself to shower today...eewwww).

On a happier note...I got to spend some wonderful time last night talking to Robin. We were on the phone for a really long time, and it was great just to chat and reminisce like in the old days! I went to bed feeling very pleased.

Dreams and Nightmares

One night I dreamed of people from high school--all the kids from the a.p. chem. and honors eng. and math classes. Everyone came back from various colleges for the summer and we were all enrolled in some weird chem or science class with Mr. Johnson. I specifically remember Meghan, Leilani (for some strange reason she was with our age group), Cathy, Genea, and Megan Herrin (but I think her name was Faye in my dream), but I know everyone was there...the class was huge. Don't really know what any of it means!

Then a few nights later I had a nightmare...a real nightmare like in the movies. The dream itself was more weird than scary (it involved a turtle continually biting my guinea pig Nellie's paw), but the effect it had on me was so crazy. I woke up tossing and turning, shaking uncontrollably, and calling/crying out. Stephen had to hold me to calm me down and get me to stop saying weird things about turtles. I don't think I've ever had a nightmare that's done that to me... even when I was little the most I'd do would be to wake up with a gasp and then fall back asleep. Usually I just have scary dreams, but this was really a nightmare. Maybe I ate something I shouldn't have before bed!?! Anyone have any thoughts?

A Few Pics

So here's a picture of me in one of my costumes for the play. It was set in the 1980's and I was supposed to be in my 30's, so that sort of explains my look. I had a ton of different costumes to change into between scenes (nothing more stressful than quick costume changes!!!), and I sort of wish I had pictures of them all. Oh well. I really enjoyed my costumes (everything but the shoulder pads!). It's surprising how beautiful I could feel in funny-looking 80's clothes! There was this one really soft and fuzzy sweater that I loved, but I only got to wear it in one short scene. It reminded me of something that my mom would've worn back in the day!

And this is me at home after our last show. I love getting all dolled up and having people do my hair and makeup. I'm such a girl!

Hair

The before.

The after.

Oh the sacrifices we'll make for our art!! I've been working on growing out my hair for quite awhile, but last week I had to cut it off for the play. The look Matt wanted for my character wasn't going to work with my longish hair, so I agreed to cut it shorter (we lopped off several inches). Stephen cut it for me, so that we'd have time to practice the look during dress rehearsals, so it's sort of just a temporary cut. Sometime soon we'll go to a salon and get it layered and whatnot.

It was kind of a bummer to have to cut my hair. Normally when I try to grow it out I get impatient and chop it off, but this time I was actually content with letting it grow. This was the first time I wasn't ready to cut it! Oh well, the play was more important to me.

The Theatre

Sorry to everyone that I haven't been very good about writing lately. Last week we did our play, so things were just a little bit busy for me. The play, "The Real Thing," went really well and I got a lot of great compliments about the acting. It always makes me feel so good to know that I did well and that people enjoyed my performance or were impressed by it. I'm really starting to realize how much I really love acting! I felt so happy after every performance (which is surprising considering the seriousness and depressive emotions I had to pull out in the play). Stephen and I would come home and talk endlessly about the show. There are few things in life that make me happier than being on the stage. With something I'm so passionate about, how can I not pursue it further in life? It's just such a scary and uncertain road to go down, and it's probably not the most logical choice. But how could I spend my life not acting? So many people don't know what they would enjoy doing or end up in a career that doesn't make them happy, that I feel like I'd be stupid to not take advantage of the fact that I've found something I love--something I would be thrilled to do for years and years. I don't know; I'll have to do a bit more thinking on the subject of theatre as a career choice.

Well I have some pictures of me from the play that I'll post later today (right now I'm at the school), and I should be getting more from Matt (our director) that are more action shots, so eventually I'll post some of those.

Also, just a quick happy birthday shout-out to my nephew Tyler and niece Serenity!! Both turned 1 year old on the 18th and today (respectively).

Spring is in the Air

I love the spring!! I get so excited and cheerful when I start to see the crocuses blooming. They are always the first to poke their little faces up through the ground. Port Angeles if great when it comes to flowers. The businesses and homes all around town are landscaped with lovely blooms, but my favorite spot is a stretch of the main road right as you're coming into town...along both sides of the ride for a few hundred feet are some flower beds that are just covered with flowers. Right now only the crocuses are bloomed, but I can't wait for the daffodils and tulips to open up! It's the best part of spring here (along with seeing the sun again after months of rain!).

The other day I was walking out on the side of our house and I noticed a bunch of flowers poking up! They haven't bloomed yet, but I can't wait to see them. We also have one tiny crocus all by itself in the front lawn. I smile at it every time I go out to the car (I cheated on the photo; those flowers aren't any of ours). I had no idea any of these flowers were there because we hadn't moved in here yet this time last year (we didn't move in until May). Our yard has given us so many surprises--three beautiful rose bushes, a blackberry bush, lilacs, daisies, a wild raspberry plant, wild sweet peas, along with all the other trees and bushes that weren't hiding. It's nice, but we aren't really able to cultivate the yard like we should.

I just love how happy springtime makes me! I get so motivated to be creative. (My blog had been in reds and yellows, but I changed the colors to be more spring-ish!) Friday was such a nice, sunny day and all I wanted to do was relax and create something or do something artistic. I wanted to do everything--draw, crochet, scrapbook, plant flowers, work at a florist shop, work at a pet store, write in my journal, play the piano, sing, do some pottery, act, and on and on! I wanted to do anything, even things I can't do or don't know how to do.

Unfortunately I have a bunch of homework hanging over my head, so I didn't do any of the things I wanted to. And of course, I still haven't gotten it all done. Just two weeks left until the end of the quarter and then we get two weeks off for spring break! I can't wait!!! I just need to catch up on my papers for Art History (I have five of them) and then I'll pretty much be all set in my classes. I wanted to finish the papers this weekend, but I had trouble feeling motivated. Sometimes all I want to do is sit at the computer or take a nap on the couch. I just have to get it done...no more wasting time.

The First

And so it begins...
I have become a new fan of the blogging idea. I've realized how enjoyable it is to read what someone is doing each day. So if I like it that much, I figure I might as well create one myself.

Today was a Professional Development Day for the faculty, so we didn't have classes. It was a much needed break! Unfortunately, my office stayed open (even though there were no students on campus to be advised) so I had to work a little this morning. It was such a dead day for the office! We had hardly any appointments scheduled, and most of the ones that were scheduled were no-shows. It was nice to not have a million things to do or the phone ringing like mad, but sometimes that can be sort of boring. Luckily I had a little project that Jan needed me to work on.

Today Stephen has been helping to build the set for our next play. He's been doing the electrical wiring on it so that we can have actual built in lights that I can turn on and off like a real house. It's helpful that Stephen had a little electrical experience from when he worked in Fallon. He had to figure all the wiring and everything out on his own. (I'm pretty proud of how smart he is, if you couldn't tell!)

I've spent the afternoon doing our laundry. We were gone to an acting conference all last week, and had a lot of work to catch up on when we got back. I did laundry before we left but we weren't home last Saturday, which is normally laundry day, so I didn't get to wash our clothes from the trip. I had no time during the week and I didn't want to get on a weird washing schedule, so needless to say, there was A LOT of laundry to do today. I don't mind too much though; laundry is one of the chores I like to do (dishes and cooking are another story).

Well, I should go put clothes away and maybe go up to the school to help out Stephen and the others if I can. There's nothing hotter than a girl with a power tool!! Unfortunately, I'm not very talented with that!