Announcement*

I've reached page 100 on my story!!

Can you believe that?

I can. It's been exactly three YEARS yesterday in the making.

If I keep this pace up, it won't be done til like, 2020.

Nevertheless, I am quite proud of it.

Home*

On August 25th, 2010, I became a free woman. That was the day I moved away from home to experience life on my own. And boy did I experience life. I had so much fun and I couldn't believe that anyone would intentionally opt out and decide to stay home from college, for any reason.

But then I moved back. School was out, it was summer, all my other plans had fallen through, and everyone else was doing it--so I just kind of went with the flow. But I decided that I was justified in doing so, because there were things that needed to get done and things that I wanted to get done, to get done. So, I packed up my borrowed SUV with all of my belongings and took my life back to my little old house in my (not so) little old town.

And at first I was miserable; because people, life at home with the fam is just soooo boring compared with life abroad (yes, I considered myself abroad, okay?) with the roomies.

But I cheered myself up by saying to myself, "self, look on the bright side! You are going to get to completely revamp your room!"

And I did.
Isn't it so cute? I LOVE it.


And I said to myself, "self, you are going to get to babysit these adorable kids all summer long!"

And I did.


Aren't they so cute? I LOVE them.


And I said to myself, "self, you're going to go to California for two weeks for a wedding and various other adventures!"

And I did.

Aren't we so cute? I LOVE us.

I said I would paint pictures, and write to page 100 on my story, and get out the old bow and arrow and brush up on my archery, and learn new songs on the guitar, and read dozens of books, and see Harry Potter, and go to Costco, and lay out on my deck and get tan, and learn how to drive a stick shift, and take my sister running, and snuggle up and watch movies by myself in my awesome new room, and enjoy the sunsets from the view on my deck every evening...

And I did. I did, I did, I did, I did.


And I learned that sometimes, a summer back home is exactly what you need.

Changing the world, clearly*

What I've been eating lately:

{They're back!}

What I've been reading lately:

What I've been watching lately:

{Yum}

And of course...

Yep, lots of important things happening in my life right now.

36 Things I Learned: California Edition*

1. If Nor Cal=Northern California, then So Cal=Southern California. Duh.
2. Climbing to the top of a waterfall in flip-flops is doable, but only just.
3. Hollywood Boulevard is a tacky tourist trap.
4. Rodeo Drive is where it's at. Except our attempt at trying to pretend we weren't tourists was kind of a failure. You need designer shades and a Gucci hand bag to pull that off.
5. The little trees on top of the yellow hills in Northern Cali are so cute.
6. Some relatives of mine aren't who I thought they were, in a good way.
7. Some relatives of mine aren't who I thought they were, in a bad way.
8. If you want a sample of every language on the planet, visit Yosemite.
9. Sometimes, the good times are in the car rides.
10. I'm not a fan of excessive, successive, roller-coaster riding.
11. My wedding is going to be small.
12. Nobody really cares that you're in a bikini, but you. (Yep, I just said that)
13. It's okay to think your cousin's bf is attractive.
14. Running on the beach at 1 foot above sea level is waaay easier than running in Utah at 6 cajillion feet above sea level.
15. Demolition derbies are a lot more exciting than I would have guessed.
16. Elephants are a lot smaller than I thought.
17. Touring the little towns is just as good, if not better, than touring the big cities.
18. There is a little place in California called Twain Harte. Isn't that cute?
19. Sometimes it's not worth it to get your hair styled by a professional.
20. It doesn't matter if your bridesmaids toenails are bright blue.
21. It's really unfortunate we don't have an H & M in Utah.
22. So You Think You Can Dance is occasionally worth watching.
23. Slumdog Millionaire is an excellent movie.
24. Celebrities actually have body guards, even when they're just chillin' with their bf by a lamp post.
25. Beverly Hills homes are ridiculous.
26. Beverly Hills cars are ridiculous.
27. Every person in those BH cars is either a catty blonde woman primping in the rearview mirror or a movie producer in a suit. It's ridiculous.
28. My hair is untamable in the humidity.
29. Going sans-computer for a couple weeks does excellent things for one's character.
30. I do get sunburned, afterall.
31. It's a small world.
32. The HOLLYWOOD sign isn't really even visible in the LA smog. Lame.
33. I don't want a photographer at my wedding.
34. My late cat's daughter hates me. WTF?
35. I'm prone to eye infections due to contact lenses.
36. Tyra Banks likes the White Chocolate Raspberry flavor at Bennett's Icecream Shop.

Dear Jenna,

Long time no hear/read from you. Donde estas? Living? Working? Eating? Getting ready for the day?

Well, in honor of your last post and the fact that you don't like animals anymore, here's a pic of a dog on a roof:

And here's a pic of the love of my life, just in case you still like cowboys:

Peace out.