Episode 51: In Which Jessica Cannot Think of a Title...

So, we've been rebuilding the engine for my 1984 Toyota Celica. We've now taken the entire thing apart and are waiting on parts which are on order.

Currently, it looks something like this:


After working on it for about 4 hours a day, you get tired and need a break so...you go shooting! duh!

Well, Andrew and Jared went shooting. I shot them shooting with my camera. It was a TERRIBLE day for photography and that little "shutter priority" mode that I was so fond of before I started doing full manual, I forgot about it. Could have saved me a lot of pain.

But Andrew and Jared had fun. Jared has quite the collection of guns and Andrew took full advantage of all of them. They used soda cans as targets and by the end of the day, Jared's truck was covered in soda. They shot rifles and handguns...but mostly rifles. They took turns spotting for each other for long distance shooting  and just in general had a lot of fun. I got some good pictures despite the changing light. (the sun went in and out and in and out of the clouds CONSTANTLY)

My favorite part honestly was just riding in the truck. 4 wheel drive! It's like nature's roller coaster :)

Here are some more shots from our adventure.

Now you see it

Now you see it EVERYWHERE =P

After shooting, Andrew and I went over to his Aunt and Uncle's house to see everyone there. His mom was visiting as well as several of his extended family members. It was crazy busy with kids running everywhere and all the adults sitting around the table playing Canasta. All the adults except me. I suck at cards. Like...badly. It's ok though. I'm a good watcher.

We stayed for dinner (hamburgers and hot dogs, yum!) and for a bit after that. It was a lot of fun! Just a small amusing anecdote for you, while Andrew's uncle was trying to secretly make root beer floats, one of Andrew's cousins asked for some root beer. The root beer wasn't chilled and she complained that she didn't like warm soda, however, with all the people in the house, the ice was gone. Andrew's uncle suggested that she could put some ice cream in it, and showed her the tub of vanilla ice cream he had been trying to conceal.

"EW GROSS! NO THANK YOU!" she exclaimed, but after thinking for a moment followed it up with "unless...you made like a root beer float"

...yes, that is what I thought the point of the ice cream was. =P

We went home and went to bed and got up early the next morning. We went to Music and the Spoken Word up on Temple Square. It was gray and rainy (my favorite weather) and a little bit chilly. Luckily, I had my umbrella and we didn't have to wait in line TOO long to get in. It was my first time sitting in the Tabernacle for an extended period of time and I have to say President Hinckley was right, "the seats are just as uncomfortable as they were before [the tablernacle's renovation and restoration]" Not that I know what they were like before, but my back thanked me for standing up after the broadcast was over.

That being said it was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning. It's not my first time hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir live, I've gone to conference before, but it's my first time hearing them in the Tabernacle. Plus, it was the memorial day broadcast so there was a wonderful arrangement of patriotic songs accompanied by video montages that made me want to go camping in a national park.

Oh, yeah. We were suppposed to do that...kind of. One of my mission companions was supposed to come visit around Andrew's birthday. Utah isn't the most exciting place to visit if you're a foreigner, though church members DO find more excitement than most I am sure. All the same, I think its kind of sad to come to America and not really see it...so Andrew and I were planning on driving up to Yellowstone with her. It's only about 7 hours away so we were gonna leave early in the morning and come back late at night. But she didn't end up coming cuz she got sick and couldn't fly :(

Someday.

Andrew and I did, courtesy of his parents, get tickets to Seattle though! We are going in July and I'm so excited! I love Washington. Though I loved Oregon too when I went and I also love California...so I have to just say I love the Pacific Northwest...and California. =P  That picture is neither by the way...its Utah. I just like it. I took it while we were shooting on Saturday. =P

That's about all...because as usual I've taken forever to write this post and now I've forgotten much of it. =P

Episode 50: In Which Jessica Celebrates Her 50th Episode and...Gets...Stuff

HOORAY! 50 Episodes! Not 50 posts...that was like 2 posts ago because I put in a couple half episodes. But since 2 halves make a whole, does that mean my 50th post was actually the LAST post? If so, it was a good 50th post. If not, I'm gonna be hard pressed to measure up here =P

So where can I start? Well, I guess I'll start with last last Saturday. Andrew and I had a great Saturday. Andrew and I slept in and then I kinda wandered about doing...things...yes I don't even recall what I did. Oh yeah, I worked on the budget. And Andrew vacuumed the house and cleaned the living room without being asked. It was great!

After we worked through the budget, witnessed another miracle. (the miracle being that we pulled through another month with more money than expected) we went grocery shopping. We were going to wash the car but the clouds rolled in so we scratched that idea. We did buy a grill for 30 dollars though. :) It was probably one of the highlights of my life.

That picture above the TV...I hung it up all by myself! 

I've decided that I'll never be able to live in another apartment again. Not now that we've taken full advantage of having a yard available. There's the grill out back and the garden in the side yard. I'll go stir crazy in an apartment now! Plus...our stuff barely fits in our place NOW =P

Actually, after visiting a few friends apartments recently I'm even at peace with the size of my kitchen (usually) and I am definitely happy where I am.

I mean, seriously...where else is a college student going to have room to fit an 8 foot Christmas tree!? (yes, I am already planning my christmas tree :) )

The week was loooooooooong with not much to do. It seemed to take Friday forever to arrive. We did watch Hercules. I borrowed it from the library.

The weather has been taking its precious time warming up...which is probably good because once we get over 80, we'll be flooded. No joke. See, down a bit further in the valley there is this "lake" they call "Utah Lake". Really, its just a big puddle because its only like 10 feet deep at the deepest. (I could give you a whole history/geography lesson here about Lake Bonneville but won't) Anyhow, we had enough of a snowpack that the Provo River is running high and fast. And the Provo River runs right into Utah Lake so in addition to the river swelling its borders, the lake is flooding the parking lots and stuff too.

It's pretty cool I guess. No one is really freaking out too much about it so I figure there is really no cause for concern. When Utahns freak out, there usually isn't any cause for concern ANYHOW. I mean, what is a flood to a gigantic pending earthquake of doom! *gasp* Excuse me while I don't panic. I have many towels in my house so I should be fine. If I need one, I can grab it and run out the door at a moments notice. :)

And if you have no idea what that whole last couple sentences is all about. Shame on you, you unejamacated person you.

That sunday we grilled chicken on our new grill. It was delicious. Andrew takes his male role very seriously when it comes to the grill. He does all the cooking. =P I don't mind. I just take pictures. I like this picture because it makes me laugh. He looks so sad! Andrew has a very expressive face. It also makes me laugh because we look like we live in a trailer park. =P

And yes, we need to work on getting a real grill table. Yes, we are using a computer chair. We might not REALLY live in a trailer park...but we ARE college students!

Anyhow. We also got a new tent this week! Andrew and I want to start backpacking and he found this tent on steepandcheap.com for only 90 dollars. Despite the fact that I get after him for always checking steep and cheap, he does find good deals on stuff. So now, we have a tent. Now we just need a stove, and a backpack for me. And also a sleeping bag for me and hiking boots. *sigh* doesn't look like we'll be going backpacking THIS summer.

Of course, we can always rent stuff from the BYU outdoors center. The smallest pack they have is 95 liters, which is HUGE; especially given that we won't have time for a week long trek this anytime soon. I was reading on backpacking.com that a weekend pack is usually about 45-50 liters. The pack I want is 75 I believe, so really it qualifies as a week-long pack but its on the smaller size of week-long and feels GREAT on my hips and shoulders. (not that I had anything in it of course because I tried it on at the store. This is the pack I want in case anyone wants to know what I'm looking at. I thought 150 was a bit steep for a bag, but apparently...its not. MAN! Things definitely get more expensive when you get older. Back when I was a kid, my "hobby" was playing outside til my face turned red and my mom thought I was going to pass out from heat exhaustion...that was free.


So that's the stuff we got. I actually started this post like two or three weeks ago so I've mostly forgotten a lot of things. Sad day. That's lame for a super fantastic 50th post. =P

Episode 49: In which Jessica Continues Her Post About Andrew's Birthday and Remembers Pictures

So I realized that since about...last summer, my posts have had a disturbing lack of visual interest. I used to post a lot of pictures to illustrate certain points of the blog...and if I didn't have a picture, I would take one. Like the picture at the beginning of this post...which conveniently doubled for another post here.

So I'm going to repent of my wayward...erm...ways and put more pictures on my blog. It's not that I've been lazy in the sense of blogging, its that I haven't taken any pictures. I know...like what kind of loser photography major am I?

You may have also noticed that I've discovered the power of hyperlinks. =P

Anyhow, so moving on to the recap of Andrew's birthday. I went to the bookstore and got wrapping paper after work. Wrapping paper at the bookstore is expensive, and mostly girly, but I found a shiny fish one that I decided would do nicely and I also picked up some Jelly Bellies on my way out into the rain.

Yes. It was raining yesterday. Pretty hard too, the bottoms of my pants were soaked when I got home and I discovered more than one hole in my shoes. =P

Anyhow, now that I had everything I needed to make Andrew's birthday perfect, I needed to put it all together. First, I made this spiffy banner for him. I took a "Happy Retirement" template and changed it a little. (obviously) You can guess what it says so I won't explain it. Even though what I just typed was far longer than saying "It says 'Happy Birthday' in Japanese". =P

I wrapped all his gifts, using the clever tricks I learned from my parents over many christmases. The rules are as follows: disguise the gifts in anything you can...even in a roll of TP; If a gift has multiple parts, wrap them individually; place the most useless part of a gift where it will be opened first (I'll explain it later); and make them work for their gifts. If I was as cool as my dad, I would have put together an entire compass course just to lead him to his gift, but I'm not that cool so I just hid it.

After the gifts were wrapped and set out on the table (with his June issue of Popular Science which came yesterday) I set about making the clam chowder.

I didn't know what to make him but I knew he liked seafood, he had mentioned clam chowder before, and it was supposed to be gray and rainy all day (which it was) so it sounded perfect to me. How hard could it be right?

Not at all when you make it with canned clams.  The whole process from start to finish took maybe 45 minutes but more like 1/2 an hour.  The only problem I had was that the soup didn't really thicken, but we solved that easily with instant mashed potatoes. Love those things.

I stuck the bread bowl in the oven to crisp up a little and warm up and then Andrew and I went into the living room and he opened his presents. Everything went according to my plan...meaning he didn't get to the good present until last.

See, I had taken the manual thingy out of his knife box and wrapped it individually and stuck it in a DVD case, along with coupons I made for movies (he wants so many I figured I'd just let him pick, so I made coupons). That was the last gift he opened, though he was thrilled with all the candy I had bought him. What can I say, I know my husband. =P

It was in the case for Avatar and he was pretty confused when he opened it. You could tell he was trying to think of a nice way to tell me he already owned Avatar so I told him to just open it. He found the coupons and the manual and then I told him he had to go find the knife.

Ok so I hid it in what I thought was a pretty easy spot but he took awhile to find it...and I had to give him many hints.

When he finally found it, he unwrapped it and then proceeded to cut everything he could, including his own finger. (ok he just stabbed his finger, but it drew blood) I think its safe to assume he liked it. And I did surprise him with most of the things I did yesterday...even the knife. The only thing I didn't surprise him with was the clam chowder because 1.) there was an unmistakable seafood-y smell when he walked in the house and 2.) he totally found the recipe lying on the bed.

WHY DID I LEAVE IT ON THE BED!?!?

But overall it was a wonderful day for him. It was just us two and he says that he liked it that way. I guess we're the same in that we're not super into birthday parties. =P Of course, now we have a whole cheesecake to eat...we'll have to invite the neighbors over for a game night and cheesecake or something.

And the clam chowder, even though the secret was blown, turned out to be a perfect choice too. He loved it...and he loved the bread bowl. :) I must admit, the 2 spoonfuls of the chowder I was able to get down were delicious...but the fishyness overtook me and I had to resign myself to Andrew's leftover PB and J, and bits and pieces of the bread bowl. Sourdough bread...soooo good. I'm gonna have to make my own one of these days.

I've also decided that cooking with Andrew is a very fun thing to do and we need to do it more often. He'll get that talk when I get home, but I know he likes to cook too. Why should I hog all the fun, right? Plus, we need more date material than dinner and a movie...or if you're like us "chips and candy and juice and a movie" because we skipped dinner.

 Elder Scott said it was ok to watch movies after you're married...but that doesn't mean its very exciting. =P

We also need more pictures of us together because I know you can't believe this, but that picture to the right there...is the first picture we've taken together since our HONEYMOON. Well, I guess there was Ali's wedding...but I think that's it. And there was that mission reunion picture. But it doesn't matter because I don't physically own those pictures. I'm going to change, I promise!!!

Episode 48: In Which Jessica Realizes Why Mommy Was "never" Sick And Andrew Has a Berfday! (Part 1)

So I've been agonizing for weeks about what the heck to do for Andrew's birthday. I didn't know what to get him, how to surprise him, etc. It was killing me! Not to mention everytime I got him anything...I'd give it to him right then and there. ONCE I think I waited for like 2 weeks. But anyhow, about a week before his birthday, I didn't have anything.

Ok that's a lie. I still had one video game hiding in the closet.

But still. Last year if you recall, I gave him this lego thingy (which for some reason the link isn't working but its a lego model of Kaminarimon ok!?...oh, guess its working now) and he totally loved it. But I obviously wasn't in Japan this year and the only big kid legos in America are really expensive. They have these cools sets now of famous buildings. The Space Needle isn't that expensive...but it doesn't look incredibly challenging either, which is too bad because being from Seattle, that would be perfect for him. And of course that one house by Andrew Lloyd Wright...you know...this one. It's pretty expensive.

By the way, Andrew Lloyd Wright is an architect. Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote "Phantom of the Opera". I get them mixed up ALL the time.

Of course, its not really that expensive really stopped me before. I finally settled on getting Andrew the knife that he wanted. It reminds me of something out of Metal Gear Solid 2 if you ask me but he likes it. (nothing against MGS2). I didn't want to get him that knife originally because he would totally be expecting it, but conveniently, the price went up to 110 dollars and I think I convinced him that he wouldn't be getting it. (I found it on Amazon for MUCH less than that). As I'm writing this, Andrew is at work and so we haven't done presents or anything. By the time I post this, we'll be done celebrating so I'll let you know if I fooled him.

I also decided to give him movies because he always wants them...but not knowing where to start, I plan on just wrapping up DVDs that we already have and enclosing coupons for movies in them.

I don't have a car that can go very far so I've had to be creative...shopping has been hard.

Then there was the matter of the cake. I found these cool candles at a party store on Saturday and knew Andrew would like them...but he was with me and the store was miles out of bike riding distance, so I asked him if he wanted them. He asked "I dunno, am I gonna have a cake?"

Then I realized that he didn't really like cake so I asked "would you rather have a cheesecake?"

Yes.

And then of course since cheesecake takes forever to make there's NO way I can make it and have it be a surprise anyhow, he totally came home yesterday and I wasn't even half done. So Andrew helped make his own birthday cheesecake. No surprise there.

Conveniently, the library called me yesterday to say I had a book in, and it was raining so I couldn't walk. So after dinner I said I was taking the car to the library and I'd be back later. Andrew was playing Metal Gear Solid 3 so he didn't really question anything, not even when I came home and my purse was bulging and I kept going out the back door.

I went to the store while I was out and got all his favorite snacks. I left some in the car, put some under his pillow, and his some in the closet to wrap later today. Plus I got stuff to make clam chowder. I had 2 full grocery bags and no idea how to get them inside without him knowing. I stuffed things in my purse (even accidentally set off the car alarm in the process) and then took the remaining stuff and set it outside the back door.

I walked in the front door, made light conversation, and headed to the kitchen. I bagged the trash (which also conveniently needed to be taken out to the trash can which is situated right outside the back door) and opened the back door. Andrew didn't notice but if he had, I could easily have told him I was taking the trash out, which I was.

I took the grocery bag in on my way back in and quietly unpacked everything, grateful that Andrew never really looks anywhere except the snack cupboard and the drink shelf in the fridge.

So now I just have to wrap all the gifts and make dinner.

Andrew didn't tell me what he wanted for dinner...well, he told me "something in these" as he held up my ramekins that I've yet to use despite buying them 2 months ago. Not that I don't want to oblige him, but we already have cheesecake...I don't think creme brulee or molten chocolate lava cakes are gonna go well with that. So I settled on clam chowder. He doesn't get seafood often and he mentioned clam chowder a couple weeks ago. The weather is supposed to be gray and rainy all week so it sounded perfect. Had I thought of it a week ago, I would have made sourdough bread bowls...but I thought of it last night so...I bought the bread bowls.

I only like clam chowder on occasion so we'll see how I take to it today. I'm halving the recipe just in case. I wanted to make it with "fresh" clams (we're in Utah, hence the quotation marks) but I couldn't find them. Luckily I found the brand of canned clams that America's Test Kitchen recommended as being the best of not fresh. This will be an adventure for sure.

In other news, I've been sick all week. Sore throat, achy, stuffed sinuses. Andrew was sick last week and after some rest and relaxation is doing much better. I've managed to recover without the rest. Now I know why mom was never sick...cuz she had too many things to do there was no time to even MENTION being sick. Boys have all the luck.

To be continued...

Episode 47: In Which Jessica Tries To Get Her Head Around...A Lot Of Things and also Listens To the Rain

One of the things I am trying miserably to get my head around is title capitalization. Obviously, I fail at all the rules governing it. But oh well.

Another thing is why I am not eating food right now when I was STARVING earlier. Something about home makes me un-hungry.

But mostly what I'm trying to get my head around is my new old calling. Many of you PROBABLY know that I was once again called as the relief society pianist. Gross. And its my new old calling cuz I was RS pianist before my mission.

I already complained about it on facebook but I'm rehashing it now, though I'm mostly past the complaining stage because I learned a few things.

1. When you post your terrible horrible misfortunes on facebook, HOPING someone will laugh at you and call you a poor sucker, it never happens. All that happens is you get a lot of advice and offers for help that you inadvertently solicited, but didn't really want.
2. There really is no number 2. I just wanted to mix things up with formatting because I can and because I don't have any pictures to spice this blog up with.

See, when I get called as something terrible like RS Pianist (by the way I DON'T play the piano...like...at all. ok, maybe a little. But I'm pretty much basically hopeless. I only took lessons for a year before deciding that) I'm absolutely devastated. To the point that I cry all through sacrament meeting. (another side note, I love Fast and Testimony meeting on days like that, everyone thinks you're just feeling the spirit and leaves you alone.)

But after I've had my cry, people telling me it will be alright and trying to offer to hopelessly teach me piano just make me angry. I felt much better when I went to work and my boss laughed at me. After you laugh and tell me it sucks to be me, THEN you can politely offer to help in whatever way....while all the while never intending to actually help. You know, just those polite "let me know if there is anything I can do" offers that you know no one is actually going to take you up on.

Anyhow, Sunday went alright. I made the executive decision after practicing all week to completely cut the left hand out of the song and only play the melody with 2 fingers. Then I ducked out of relief society before anyone could tell me "what a great job I did". Cynical? Maybe, but I know that my piano skills are akin to a poor american greenie in Japan who gets told his Japanese is "so good". Yeah, he probably believes it, but somewhere around transfer 5 when he actually DOES know Japanese, he realizes no one is complimenting him anymore and THAT is the true compliment.

Enough about piano though. Its actually kind of nice to have a reason to go play piano everyday...even if I do end up with piano key shaped dents on my forehead after a while.

I'm also trying to plan out my week next week. It's Andrew's birthday and I'm trying to figure out what to get him...while at the same time getting him what he OBVIOUSLY wants without him knowing. So far, its not happening.

Also, my friend and former companion, Yuasa shimai, is coming to America next monday. I offered to pick her up and let her stay at our place...but then I'm responsible for entertaining her. I'm trying to figure out how to best do that while not taking TOO much time off work, and with only one car when Andrew gets off at 4 in  the afternoon. So far, doesn't seem to be working to well. Not to mention I need the 18th to prepare for Andrew's birthday...but I can't just tell her "Too bad, I can't leave the house today" cuz its not like she comes to America that often.

Another issue I'm trying to get my head around is taking a trip to Yellowstone National Park.

When someone comes all the way from a foreign country, do you REALLY want them to see Provo, UT? Yes, there is a certain culture here that fascinates Japanese church members. I think is just the sheer number of church members, they can't believe it. Anyhow, the correct answer is no.

Well my mom said Yellowstone was only 5 hours away, and much more interesting than Bryce Canyon or Arches. (though those are fascinating even to people from the east coast who didn't know rocks could be red. Trust me, I've seen it happen. =P) so Andrew and I thought, lets take her to Yellowstone. We'll leave at like 3am on Saturday and spend the day in Yellowstone, coming home in the evening.

Well, problems:

1. It's actually 7 hours. 7 and a half really.
2. Yellowstone is north. North is cold. Much colder than Utah. It CAN get up to 55 (like it will later this week)...but its snowing right now and 40 degrees. Pray for good weather.
3. once again, I was just mixing up the formatting. no real number 3 here. =P

So I'm trying to figure all this out. It's hurting my brain.

In other news, its raining here. I should go out to my garden (which I've YET to plant) and chuck all the sucking snails out of it. They're probably out seeing as the ground is wet. I found one crawling around my herbs last night. I was mad.

My herbs are doing well. The mint is thriving. I think it grew 3 inches last night I swear. I'm having trouble figuring out how the Thyme is doing. I'm told its hardy so I won't worry too much, but I think I over watered. Basil is doing great, I'm gonna have to thin it soon which makes me sad...I grew all those little shoots, now I has to kill them. :( and the oregano sprouted. Funny story, my herb hit only came with 2 soil starters so I filled the other container with potting soil. it wasn't perfectly even and I guess the initial watering sent all the seeds to the middle of the container because that is where all the shoots are coming up. =P

Cilantro...yeah...hasn't germinated. I'm just gonna buy a starter plant for that one I guess.

Anything else fun and amusing? You probably haven't even read this far cuz I wrote a long blog again. Oh well. Time for formatting again. :)

• there was a bumblebee in sacrament meeting yesterday. It was funny to watch people sitting calmly and then suddenly ducking. =P
• I made french silk pie last monday. It was super good but super rich. I wonder if I make it with milk chocolate next time...
• Vodka makes THE best pie crust. You wouldn't even believe it. 
• with all the drink mixing stuff Andrew has, and my new bottle of vodka, I am very glad ours is not the kind of kitchen people normally frequent when they visit, and I hope the bishop NEVER finds his way in there =P I just imagine when I'm sick and the relief society brings me dinners. "Sister Powell isn't sick, she's DRUNK!" =P
• It was beautiful weather this past week and weekend. Almost 80 degrees on Saturday! Andrew and I had a picnic on the front lawn and ate strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar. It was awesome and I was very grateful that I live in a house and not an apartment.
• I am a total excel nerd and so I made a spreadsheet with everything in my kitchen cupboard and its expiration date. Now I can sort the sheet by expiration date, type of food, what its used for etc so I never have to search through the kitchen cupboard again. (and no past expiration date exploding can surprises either...plus, leavening agents that work!)
•  I also have a category for things that I'm almost out of, when they reach a certain level they automatically get added to my grocery list. I know, I'm awesome and you are jealous. But seriously, if you had no pantry and had to always bend down and dig through everything to find out what you had, you'd do it too. And I didn't have to pay to buy cupboard organizers. :)
• KAYLYNNE IS COMING HOME THIS WEEK!!!
• I like a little spring rain, and its been a steady drizzle since last night...but it knocked all the magnolias off the trees...and they smelled so good :(

Episode 46.5: In Which Jessica Writes a Post Just to Appease Kaylynne. And Also, Goes to Work Without a Jacket On

Well, I'm just writing this to appease Kaylynne, but you already knew that. I also walked to work this morning without my jacket on. But you knew that too?

So what don't you know?

That I made a french silk pie on monday. That I bought strawberries on sale for 97 cents a pound. That my second pie plate disappeared before I got married so I will not be making fresh strawberry pie cuz my pie plate is occupied. And also, that when making strawberry pie, use the PINK box of pectin NOT the yellow one, or your glaze won't set and your pie will be soupy. But if you use vodka in the making of your pie crust, it won't matter much past aesthetics because your pie crust won't get soggy.

Hard liquor. Its magic.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR KAYLYNNE TO COME BACK!!!

Episode 46: In which Jessica Goes Screen Free...And It DOESN'T Help Her Pass Her Finals

Hi all. You know who you are because you are reading this. So that means...me?

Anyhow. This week was "screen free week". It was supposed to be a week to take time away from things like facebook and video games and stuff like that and enjoy life the good ol' fashioned way. I thought it would be great since it was spring and the sun was shining and school was almost done.

Yeah...when you're an adult, there isn't much in the way of "life the old fashioned way" cuz something gets in the way. What was it again? Oh yeah...LIFE.

I didn't notice any difference in my life while I was "screen free" because for one, I did all my studying on the computer and for another, I spent so much time preparing for finals that its not like I had time to read that book that I THOUGHT  I was going to finally have time to read once I got off the computer.

No...it doesn't work.

Today was my first official day off of school, finals having ended yesterday. Last night I went to a friend's concert and took pictures, so I thought it was a wonderful idea to upload all those and spend the afternoon editing them. Hmmm...well since I can't afford a darkroom...and my camera is digital...where exactly did I edit them? Oh yeah...the computer.

Do I feel guilty about breaking my "screen free" pledge? No.

See, its not like I was wasting time....and there isn't anyone around to interact with right now anyhow. I was doing something I enjoyed too. So I decided to rescind my "screen free" pledge and just practice good ol' moderation in all things.

The weather is getting nice and its officially summer. Andrew and I like hiking so I think we'll easily be able to cut down on the movies...and we did a puzzle the other day. I'm starting a garden soon here so that will keep me in the outdoors and busy too.

The reason I've never had time for that infamous book is NOT because I waste all my time in front of a computer screen. It's actually because I'm busy doing things like homework, cleaning the house, organizing the house, unpacking moving boxes (yes, we still have some), working on my photography, grocery shopping, etc.

So I guess I got out of screen free week what I needed. I guess these days, the only ones who can actually plausibly go screen free are the little couch potatoes that we're raising as the next generation. When I have a little couch potato, maybe then screen free week will be more screen free...then again, wouldn't it be far better if it comes and goes as a normal week just like this one?

In other news, I failed all my finals. All except one...which I did the worst on out of all the tests this semester. I got an 81 on my Book of Mormon test. Not really sure how that worked...but whatever, it was enough to maintain a B in the class...I was only looking at a high B anyhow I think...

As for finance...I got a 65 on the final, but I managed to put 1200 dollars into savings this month AND pay down my student loan...so you tell me if I failed or not.

And accounting, lets just say its a good thing I'm NOT going into accounting anymore. I spent 2 hours on that test and did my absolute best. I must say in my defense the JSB auditorium is the WORST place to take a test ever...I'd take the testing center over that anyday. There's very little room in there, you always have people pushing past you to get in and out, people kicking your chair and there is NO air in there with as many people as are crammed in there. There are people in the AISLES taking their tests. And then, for this test, I was blessed enough to sit next to the guy who was nervously clicking is pen and shaking his foot while he took his chemistry exam. Lucky me.

But who's counting? At any rate...I got a 61 on my test. GRR.

But its over, and next year I'm taking art classes. So now its just a waiting game...am I going to be on Academic Warning next semester or no? *holds breath*

That's about it.