The Book of Right-On

Two weeks down

2011-09-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well, Rubie has been to the MTC for two weeks.
And survived!

Here's excepts from her email.

-Rubie's Mom

SO.

Thank you for the packages & letters:

Margaret Penfield, Dottie Parson, Katy Christiansen,

Chad Christenson, Shelly Taylor, Bean,

Kelly Patterson, and I love you all!

We've had some AWESOME speakers come to the mtc lately.

Sister sharon UUbank or however you spell her name came

to relief society and talked about being persistant dilligent

missionaries. She said Be Relentless!! I like that a lot :)

Then a newly returned mission mom came this week and

talked about creative ways to share the gospel, she made

missionary work sound so much fun, It was sweet. Then

there was President Allen, from some missionary something

and he talked all about obedience. :) Loved it. he was

hilarious. And THEN the ultimate was last night.

Elder Holland came and did a freestyle talk. He yelled at us

and praised us and challenged us and then he answered

questions. It was a really special night. The spirit is still

with me today from it. burning in my chest. He talked about

a lot of great things. About how the gospel needs to burn in

the marrows of our bones. About how it's our duty to do this

work, about how it rests on our shoulders, about how we dont

have the right to let down all the people who love us, about

how to invite the spirit, about the best thing we can give christ,

about how we need to wrestle in prayer, and about just how

this needs to be somethings we do, forever. he talked about

how much he loved his mission and said he saw some of him

in our faces and said " I hope you see a little of you in me"

then said because one of us will have to take his place

someday...

Anyways. it was awesome.

Commitment!

2011-08-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

We got Rubie's 1st letter, thru snail-mail yesterday, and it includes her MTC address: Hooray!

So, here it is, for all of you out there who would like to send her a letter.

Sister Rubie (with last name, etc..)

MTC Mailbox #327

RUS-VLA 1031

2005 N. 900 E.

Provo, UT 84604-1793

Her MTC Branch President also wrote a letter to all the missionarie's parents, telling all the rules that we must abide by, when it comes to writing to Rubie.

The main one it listed is that only Parents, Siblings, & Grandparents can email her. She is welcome to recieve snail-mail from everyone else.

Rubie's P-Day is on Wednesday's and that's when she will be able to answer any mail.

I will post her emails that she asks me to do.

Meanwhile, we are so happy and grateful that she is loving the MTC and is as busy as could be.

Hooray, again!

Rubie Hits The MTC

2011-08-18T12:29:00.001-07:00

Rubie's Mom here,

Rubie asked me to keep her friends up on how she's doing on her Mission, thru her blog.

Good grief. I am not that hip on blogging lately, but I will try my best.

So, we had a crazy week trying to get her all ready to take to the MTC.

First, on Tuesday, we had to put our dog, 'Spec' of 12 years to sleep. I was hoping to wait until Rubie was gone, before doing this, but it was not to be. Spec has battled Liver problems the last few years, and was getting steadily worse the last 6 months. The vet said there was nothing we could do. Tuesday he woke up moaning, and in a half comatose state, so we had to take him in, rather than have him suffer.

Rubie, the great optimist pointed out that it was much better to take him in now, because we had to, rather than I taking him in on his own power later, and putting him to sleep, when we weren't sure how much longer he might have gone on.

Anyway, we all handled it much better than I thought we would. It helps a lot, knowing months in advance, what to expect and preparing yourself for it.

So, yesterday off we all went to drop Rubie off to the MTC. It went really well.

I'm not going to say much about it, because I am trying to not get melancholy, but here is the 'jist' of it:

We drove to Provo, pulled up, got out, met the 'Host' elder who was standing there waiting to help her with all of her bags.

Gave last hugs, and 'POOF!" she was gone!

Arghh!

That was fast (thank heavens).

We came home to a much quieter house without Rubie's voice, or the dog's bark.

So begins the next 18 months.

What adventures lie in store? Who knows. But we'll take them one day at a time.

"Come what may, and love it" right?

Dos Svetdanya!

2011-08-17T06:39:00.000-07:00

I will try to get my mom or sister to throw my family emails up here so you guys can follow along on my adventure to the MTC and then Russia.

If that doesn't happen then I'm sorry! But talk to my mom on facebook or something and we can get an email list going, :)

Thanks for all the Love everybody. I'm ready to be out of here. I feel so so so so blessed.

God be with you till we meet again!

Gourmet

2011-08-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had the most delicious of meals, and we didn't even plan for it. My dad decided we needed to go out for dinner since I'm going to be having cafeteria food for 12 weeks starting Tuesday, So we got in the car and started driving, but didn't yet have a destination.

My family likes going out for food, but we often get stuck, as I'm sure most families do, in going to a select few restaurants that we know and love. So I was surprised when my dad suggested two restaurants that I had never been to or even heard of. The choice was between french and italian. I was curious as to how french the french was, so we decided to go with that.

The place itself is called... actually I don't know, there were a couple different names lounging about as if you could pick whichever you wanted and the restaurant wouldn't mind. Ah I found it on the internet. The Paris Bistro and Zinc Bar.

It, is a swanky place. I didn't really realize places like it existed in Salt Lake, I grew up believing the fanciest place in the valley was the Roof Buffet.

I felt uncomfortable at first, The curly lettering on the menu, black vested waiters, the extensive wine list, and the crowd of oxford youth lookalikes in the corner sort of put my back up, along with the just alarming prices of course. At first I thought, "Well, we'll have fun laughing at ourselves, and the whole 'grand piano' aspect of this place".

And then the salads came out. It would probably be a waste to describe the sweet goodness of the two salads we shared. I could list off the ingredients of goat cheese, pecans, pears, bitter lettuce or mozzarella tomatoes and an olive tapenade, but that fails to convey just how delicious. "Why can't I ever make salads at home like this" I thought, And then decided that I'm going to cooking school after my mission.

The main course was amazing as well. A perfect steak, beautiful flavorful mushrooms, a zucchini gratin, I couldn't believe how each bite was so heavenly. And with the food, the whole restaurant seemed to soften.

This post may be silly, but I think the glowing effects of my meal from heaven just hasn't worn off yet. I'm completely content. We all agreed after viewing the check, that it was well worth it.

Opportunity cost, tickets to a jazz game, a new coat, one day at Disneyland.

The Countdown has begun.

2011-07-24T00:25:00.000-07:00

I'm having a really great summer. Probably one of the best summers of my life, definitely in the top 2 of my adolescent adult life (I think my kid life summers were pretty grand, but I dont really remember any one in particular). Point is it's been good.

And I've had plenty of opportunities to blog about it all. I've got lots of videos, and pictures, and stories, and thoughts all waiting to be shared. But they probably never will be.

Wanna know why? Because I have 25 days left before I leave this world to go to The Provo MTC and then on to Russia.

I still have so much to do, and I have so much I could blog about. But I doubt I will. Instead I'm going to finally find a pair of good winter boots, go to the temple (as a newly endowed member) as much as I can, and spend every waking moment I can with my family or other people I love. Thank you if any of you read this. I will try to throw something on here every once in a while and I'll definitely have my mom post my letters when I'm out (and I promise I'll write good letters just for you).

Goodnight.

Double Videos today.

2011-07-12T16:53:00.000-07:00

1 day, 2 videos on my blog, of the same nightly adventure with my cousins.

Stories

2011-07-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

This is Eva (7), Hannah (12), and me (21) telling stories outside, in a tent, in the middle of the night, during our sleepover.

I love how dramatic Hannah is, only showing her face during the intense parts, and her long pauses, which I think are caused more from her thinking than for dramatic effect. Eva is just crazy, and hilarious. And I sound a lot like a dork. But it was a fun night. :)

They didn't know I filmed this, they just thought I was using the flashlight app on chloe's iPhone, I plan to show it to them soon, and again when their old.

love

I love my Family.

2011-07-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

Today was a really good summer Saturday. Chloe, Isabel and I went to the Zoo. It's been a long time coming because I promised Isabel that if she watched five minutes of Fern Gully with me, (one of my favorites from Elementary school) then I'd take her to the Zoo. I was hoping she'd like it and want to keep watching, but she didn't, and neither did I really. Lots of things I like as a kid were dumb.

So we went to the Zoo. The monkeys were a little creepin as always, a little too humanlike and a little tragic and sad. The baby elephant was endearing, we saw 3 tarantula's, which was Isabel's highlight even though they were hidden inside logs in their glass chambers. The most bombin bit was that there were 5 count em FIVE humongous tigers, chillin, laying around, prowlin, standing up and shaking the net, yawning and showin their ginormous teeth. They were definitely the best.

The saddest part were the 2 caged bald eagles...

We spent a total of 2 hours there before we got bored :) And I wondered how I ever spent the whole day there as a kid at cousin camp. But it was fun, Isabel had a couple good one liners.

When we got home in the evening my family was chillin on the lawn outside, we were all hungry and decided to be old school, so we went to Del Taco, got a very large order of food (which you can do at del taco cause it's so dang cheap) and ate it out in the parking lot like good old times.

MY family used to ONLY eat out in the parking lot. Dunno why, probably because we 5 kids were brats. But whenever we went to Eat out, 7 times out of 10, we'd get take out, and eat it in the car.

Then my family became it's true self on the drive home, singing along to old disco tunes, and then jamming out to Deadmau5 and Benny Benassi. We were having so much fun that when we got home, we just sat in the car (except Isabel) and chair danced to some awesome dance songs. It was pure beauty. Hans was flailing his arms, hitting chloe and me in the face. I was being silly with a scarf, my mom was doing some robot hula dance, my dad was searching for the next new song he had just found a week ago, and hitting us with the strobe light app on his iphone (BTW, I think someone smart should make an iphone app that does a strobe light, and video at the same time) It was great.

Inside the party kept going with me, chloe, and dad watchin Soul train with Gladys Knight, and just having fun flipping channels.

I love my family. And just to reward those of you who read (or skimmed) this kind of lame self gratifying description of my day, here is a (i think) hilarious video of my sister Isabel and my Dad, chillin one afternoon after Dad got home from work. This happens just about every day tho between them two.

Enjoy.

My last Dance party.

2011-07-02T23:34:00.000-07:00

This is what happens at our dance parties when all the other dancers leave. We listen to different music that we want to dance to, we do weird things. we try this around others... but it's funner with just the close few. I'm going to miss dancing on my mission.

Also isnt Chloe so beautiful when she dances? She's taught me to have fun when dancing, to let go and to just feel it. Are we human or are we dancers?

Wild Cousin Night

2011-06-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

This post is kind of a long time coming. Father's day weekend me and the neighbor girl cousins, my loves, Hannah and Eva, had a sleepover outside in a tent. It was our beginning of Summer awesome party fit for wild princesses.

We wore facepaint to the grocery store (which is alway always empowering), cooked smores and animal granny cookies around a fire in the backyard, DANCED around the fire in the back yard, Watched My Neighbor Totoro in the tent, then stayed up till 1:30 taking pictures, having pillow fights, telling scary, and silly stories, and basically having a good time. The rest is said in these pictures.

Hannah, Princess of the parking lot

Scary Stories

Beautiful Sisters

This was Eva most of the Night.

I rubbed my facepaint off during the movie. I lost a little power then.

Sideways

Making Red hot Shmo's

Waking up in the Morning. Eva claimed she didn't sleep all night long. I think it's adorable that she slept with her arms over her head.
Goodnight

The Beginning of the end.

2011-06-22T22:43:00.000-07:00

I know the title of this post is dramatic, but it's the only one my brain kept thinking about. Did you know that today was the longest day of the year? The days are now going to get shorter and shorter until the winter solstice.

Isn't it weird that what used to be a cause for gigantic pagan festivals full of partying and celebration, is now just another day when I went to work, at too much white chocolate popcorn, and went to institute?

It was beautiful today tho, a perfect summer day, and a gorgeous summer evening.

Also did the pagans really watch the days that closely that they knew when the longest one was? I mean did they even have sundials? Or did they just, know? I wish I were that in tune with nature.

Well, my head literally just nodded with tiredness. I guess what I was going to write will have to wait again. You don't mind do you? :) Here's a good picture

Dad, not Daddy

2011-06-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

So I've been wanting to post something since Friday. I wanted to post about my awesome slumber party which I will later, but really I just got held up trying to figure out what to write about my Dad.

Seriously how hard is that? I even had some awesome new moments added to my memories this weekend, but I couldn't figure out how to write about him.

So today me and chloé were listening to some of my new records I bought from Awesome Brother Limburg, (because we're hip and cool like that) And I read the back of the album "Holiday Abroad In Paris". Richard Gehman said:

"The first time I saw Paris... The first week I lived a strange life- walking everywhere, exploring, then rushing back to my hotel to put it all down before I forgot it.

Then I did not know that it is not necessary to write about Paris; one simply lives there, and the memories become part of one's personality."

I know that doesn't do it justice, But he's just, my dad.

p.s. Also on the record was this "Important Notice" -This is a "New Orthophonic" High Fidelity recording, designed for the phonograph of today or tomorrow. You can buy today, without fear of obsolescence in the future.

kinda funny.

Home Again Home Jiggity Jig

2011-06-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

Chloé is coming home today from College. I am working till 8 so I wont see the mess that I'm sure my room will be till then. I cleaned it extra nice this morning so that when she walks in, it says to her "Please be nice to me, I look so nice today"

Psych I dunno what I'm pretending to be worried about I'm the messy one.

I don't know how Schlow is doing, but If I were officially finished with college I think I'd be having a bit of a Meltdown. I still have absolutely no idea what to do with my life, I don't know what to do with my major, I still don't even really like my major. If I was done for good, andstill not married, would I live at home? Would I go to the Magna Singles ward? Would I just work for my parents like I have all my life? Or would I get a different job somewhere else?

I'm glad I'm going to Russia and that I have a whole nother year of college when that's done to figure it all out.

In other news, my secret wish right now is to make myself a bright red, high waisted, half-full thick wool skirt for my mission.

The original inspiration came from this awesome quilted number:

I secretely want it this big, but my mom said that's silly, and I guess I'd be happy with a little less. But seriously?? Best skirt for a Russian Sister Missionary Ever? yeah probably.

I would like it to feel more wooly or tweedy tho, something like this green skirts texture.

Also I just bought a peasanty blouse for cheapy cheap that's somewhat like this, but with more structure and weight.

And I just keep imagining myself in it and my Red Skirt in Russia, preachin the good word, spreading cheer to all the grouches.

Chloe says I'm gonna get my bum pinched 24/7 if I try dressing like that. Which scares me off a bit, but also just makes me imagine myself whipping around and the guy, saying "Would Jesus want you to pinch a missionaries bum??? (hand him a pass along card) Read about it!"

Triumph.

So whaddya say? Red wooly skirt of Bum pinching doom?

What Matters Most

2011-06-16T01:38:00.000-07:00

Obviously I've been thinking a lot about time lately, and how I need to spend it.

Sleeping in didn't work as well today as yesterday. It kind of just screwed up my morning. While I was eating "breakfast" around 11 o clock, My sister Isabel wouldn't leave me alone, my mom and Hans were both gone running errands, and she had been walking around the house bored, while I was down chilling in my room, not really doing anything good or important. I was nice to her, but continued to not pay much attention to her for a few minutes, having a silent debate that I was only vaguely aware of, deciding how I wanted my day to go.
I'm happy that after a minute I closed my laptop, got ready for the day, and decided to be extra grateful of Isabel today.

We ended up spending the whole day together, and her happiness was so infectious.

We are so blessed to be able to live together as Families, we're so blessed to have people with whom to interact with. I'm so grateful that I'm not alone on this Earth.

While at a big wharehouse me and Isabel went to to buy some old Records from a Family Friend, Isabel updated me almost by the minute of what time it was. Later at dinner my dad said something about "each minute" or something. And I thought about how I'd been trying not to waste my days, but that I really need to be worrying more about not wasting my minutes. Each minute slips by, it's inevitable, and you can never have it back.

This is a good video. It's cool that the church is thinking about the same stuff I am.

Good Vibrations.

2011-06-14T23:42:00.000-07:00

Today.

I let myself sleep in till 9:30, I was having a cool dream about giants and motorcycles, and forests, and it all felt very Peter Pan-esque, so I stayed in bed longer, and allowed my mind some freedom of making up a story.

I read a bit of Virginia Woolfe outside while letting some sun touch my legs, then I thought about how I don't have anyone to be tan for, and got more comfortable.

I spent the afternoon with my Cousin Alex, who I have loved and been friends with since we were little chidlens, We had a good time, just talking and catching up. Being friends with your family is the greatest. I don't know why more people don't do it, or why I don't hang out with my family more often, but I'm happy I like them all.

I listened to the Beach Boys, The Shins, and Vampire Weekend while driving in the car with the sunroof down.

I went to Temple Prep, my last lesson. I can't believe how close I am to going through the temple, I feel like I've been waiting so long, and it's just so surreal that it's finally almost here.

I ate 2 slices of pizza with the family, who were quiet, and a bit grumpy, then ran off to go to my mission prep class up at the U, but as soon as I left the house, I felt like I was headed for the wrong place. I felt like I needed to turn around. I kept driving, thinking that I needed to go to mission prep, to hopefully learn something, to prove to Heavenly Father that I wanted to be a good missionary, to make the teacher feel loved and important... But then the image of my dad sitting at the table came to my mind, and the thought accompanied it, that he wasn't grumpy, he was lonely.

I turned around, and spent the evening flipping channels with my dad, poking fun at silly things, planning a sleepover with my next door neighbor cousins, and standing outside while my mom Gardened and Hans jumped on the tramp.

Ever since I've gotten my mission call I've felt this need and desire to start running a thousand miles an hour, trying to learn russian, to study Preach My Gospel Harder, to only listen to church talks or music while I'm driving, to use every minute to prepare. But I kind of fail at it a lot, I've yet to keep my missionary schedule I've made myself, I find myself wanting to look at things online, or to read random stuff like german poetry.

It's great to be scheduled, and to work hard, and to try to prepare and make the most of it. But tonight, I think I got a lot more out of relaxing with my dad. I think from now on, instead of having my priority be preparation, I'm just going to have it be Enjoying everything that's happening, or that I'm doing.

Goodnight

The smell of pages fills my memories.

2011-06-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

My little brother Hans who is in 9th grade doesn't like reading.
whenever I think again on this realization, I just ask myself:

How can this be true???

My brother is so smart, and would make the perfect reader, how in the world could he hate it? Or at least have no desire to read whatsoever. So it made me think back, what gave me the desire to read? When did I first start liking to read? And the inevitable, almost shameful truth came out.

Harry Potter.
I'm pretty sure he was one of the first books I got into, because I don't remember ever reading novels until 5th grade, when I would be about 9 or 10, and the only book I remember in 5th grade was Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, which I didn't love...

Anyways. I know I read Harry Potter when I was 10, because I remember dreaming every day before I turned eleven, of an owl letter. After September came and went, I finalized the fact in my head, that it wasn't real and I wasn't a witch. (which curiously also coincided with me becoming a really "mature" 6th grader, "going out" with boys, and wearing jewelry, and lipgloss... I almost feel in a way that the absence of the owl letter was to blame for the end of my childhood... oh well.

So like most of the rest of the world my age, I began reading with Harry Potter. But by that small magical door, I quickly ran amuck in the world of words. Yesterday, I climbed up our little step ladder to look at my jr. high shelf of books. Jr. High was the prime in my reading for fun career. I would read every day. Here are some things I read. Maybe you recognize them from your own 7th grade year... Also, for your convenience, and as an analysis of my as a reader, I categorized them.

Fun and adventures:
Ozma of Oz and the entire Oz series - Frank L. Baum
-these had great pictures, and a good amount of weirdness.
The Three Investigators Series - Robert Arthur.
-it began with one awesome clubhouse in a dumpyard, and a thrilling mystery with The Secret of Terror Castle! I was hooked and read at least 10 of this series.
Holes - Louis Sachar
-the split time narrative, totally hooked me.
Pirates! -Celia Reese
-About as fun and adventurey as you get! Treasure, girl pirates, true love, with just the right amount of brutal violence to make me think, and a dash of feminism, it was one of my all time faves.
The Egypt Game -Zilpha Snyder
-Better than the Gypsy game, or whatever the sequel was...
Tales of Ancient Egypt - Collected by Robert Lancelyn Green
-obviously I liked ancient Egypt.

The Thief Lord - Cornelia Funk

-Peter Pan-esque adventure in Venice. Yep.

The Coral Island - R.M.Ballantine

-the book that made mr. Golding write Lord of the Flies. It's much less spooky, much more adventure, much happier ending.

The Light in the Forest - Conrad Richter

-Scalping. Native americans, Racist guys getting beat up. Good book.

Speaking of egypt...

History and Girls, contained in nice little novels:
Mary Bloody Mary - Carolyn Meyer
-fueled my interest in the tudor house of scandals. Part of the Young Royals Series, also read the ones about Anne and Elizabeth.

The Key is Lost - Ida Vos

-This one was so sad in some parts, Holocaust book about 2 little jewish girls on the underground. I remember this one sparked me to write my own similar short story. Mine turned out way sadder for some reason. I guess I was just dramatic back then.

Year of Impossible Goodbyes - Sook Nyui Choi

-another sad Wartime novel. This one was an autobiography, pretty amazing.

Dear America Series

-My favorites were A Coal Miners Bride, which was sad and romantic with a really strong but plain heroin. I also really liked the Titanic one, and the Underground railroad one, but not the mayflower one, puritans.

The Royal Diaries Series

-Loved these too. Some were better than others. Cleopatra, Jahanara, Mary Queen of Scotts, Anastasia, Marie Antoinette. Basically the works of historical ladies, but since the diaries are of when they were teen agers, you don't really get into the meat of most of their lives... which I guess makes sense because they might not be appropriate for young readers then. Why are so many powerful important Women skanky?

speaking of ladies...

Random Girl Power books, not necessarily about history:

Catharine Called Birdie - Karen Cushman

-really liked this book, medieval chick finding ways to fight back against stupid men, standard.

Island of the Blue Dolphins - Scott O'Dell.

-I remember doing a book report on this in Elementary School. I loved the idea of living alone on an island, taming wolves, and trying to make friends with otters.

Wise Child and Prequel Juniper - Monica Furlong.

-Semi creepin books about "witches" in Scotland. Much cooler and deeper than your average young adult Witch novel... or at least that's how I justify it. My favorite was the description of Juniper making her own cloak from spinning wool, dying it, and looming it into fabric. I wanted really really badly to do that myself.

Shiva's Fire - Suzanne Staples

-Kaloved! (like Kabam!). Intense detail, Indian Magic, Hindu Culture, a Girl Born to Dance. Yep. I was in love with this book

The Books That I felt Made a Difference in my Soul:

A Separate Peace - John Knowles

-This book was just so much MORE than the other stuff I was reading. This was one of the first times that the words in a book, just the way things were described and said, wowed me. I felt kind of like I could understand everything in the world better because I had read those words.

The Giver - Lois Lowry

-Ok who didn't read this book and loved it in 6th grade? The concepts of this book were what hit me, the inability to deny human emotion, the beauty in tragedy and sadness, all told in such a straight forward way, it was good.

Stargirl- Jerry Spinelli

-I remember reading this book in December, sitting in our black and white checkered chair, which wasn't comfortable, but was placed in between the christmas tree and the fire place, which was magic enough for me to let my legs go numb. This book rocked. I decided then that you could be as weird as you wanted to be, and as long as you love people it doesn't matter. It fueled my desire to really see beauty in everything and to share it no matter what.

Touching Spirit Bear - Ben Mikaelsen

-This book was just intense, I loved idea of healing through nature, I loved the change that came over the kid when he was finally humbled, I loved the violent description that made it so you could almost feel it yourself. This book made me want to live in Alaska, and try to understand others.

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

-I think I might have been a little too young when I read this one, just 14 I think, our old manager of the stores let me read it when it was slow in the summer, I snuck it home to read at nights because I loved it so much. I remember my mom finding it and getting mad because of it's weird religious views at the beginning, and we had to have a big talk about it on our front lawn one night. I think she was afraid of me converting to hinduism, or Islam, but I was just converted to Tigers, and good books.

Other Favorites. The Chronicles of Narnia- So classic and wonderful and rereadable, I still read the whole series once a year. Clive is the man. The LOTR's - I remember finishing the first book, after my mom made me read it before the movie came out and being So mad that it just ended without them reaching mordor! I didn't know there were 2 other books. I became pretty obsessed with Norse Mythology after those guys. Then I went to high school and took A.P. Literature classes and read lots of good things, but this post is more about Rubie the Early Reader...

So there ya go. A really long post about the very beginnings of my reading days. I read more books than I listed...but these are the ones I remember the best.

Did you read?

information overload. ?

2011-06-08T01:31:00.000-07:00

I can't trace back to how this happened, but I was writing a blog post about the books I used to read, and I wanted to link to those books, so I started linking. Somehow one link with a nice picture lead me to a blog full of really interesting great things.
And then anyone who surfs the internet at all knows the rest. I opened tons of tabs (because I'm not such a juvenile surfer to not be organized and able to find my way back to the blog I still want to look more closely at). And the minutes rolled by as my mind was filled with videos, articles, pictures, thoughts.

Now it's late. And I need to sleep, but I don't want to stop searching and learning through the internet. What is it that is so gratifying about discovering something that someone else put on the web? I didn't come up with the idea of the thing that I like, but I still post it to facebook, as if I deserve some kind of credit for finding it. It's like "indie" band loving kids, all hopped up on who discovered some band first.

For a second in that last paragraph I was semi depressed that we don't have anything better to discover anymore, but then I decided Human Creations are worth discovery so no big D.

Anyways. Links. Why do I link things that I like to a blog or a facebook or that pinterest.com site I'm obsessed with? I think sometimes, it's to bookmark it, as if I think I'm going to come back to that picture, video, thought, and that I'm going to want to explore it further in the future. Other times I think I link as sort of a diary of what is interesting me at the time, what I'm thinking about, what I'm spending my time on, as if one day looking back through the posts on my facebook wall will reveal my heart at a certain moment in time... now that one does seem a bit more depressing. And other times it's purely for vanity, because I want people to see that I'm cool and find cool things and think cool things.

Wow internet.... Did you really have to side-bust on my entire life so much until you became a main facilitator of it?

6.3.11

2011-06-03T12:58:00.001-07:00

Another Journal post for you guys.

Today I helped my mom out in the garden, happily and of my own free will.
While you (old rubie) wasted away inside surfing the internet, coveting things you cannot have right now, I was outside in the light and with the life. While painting the fence posts blue drips falling on the plants made me think of painting the roses red. Lots of our roses have struggled through the winter and we've had to cut them back quit a bit, my mom tells me she heard many people have to do this, even thanksfiving point gardens. Back to Alice and Wonderland, in true tradition of Mom and Rubie yard working, we told each other poems. She knows a lot more than me. She says when she used to work at nabisco entering numbers into a dumb computer, she would memorize a poem during a break and then recite it to herself while she mindlessly entered 10 key. My mom is pretty great. So we painted the fence posts red, clipped the branches that were dead. and all the while I thought of rhymes in my head.

Why can't lilacs bloom all summer long? And why don't snowballs smell at all?

While my mom clipped away to her hearts content I carried the branches to the large pile of dead yard things waiting for the dumpsters to come and clean them away. At first, I carried them tenderly and away from my body because of thorns and fear of spiders. But after a few rounds the work Rubie showed her face, the one that hides most days but comes out during yardwork, or stake treks, or service. She doesn't mind roses so much and their rhino looking thorns, tho it is true that if a spider touches her skin she backs down pretty quickly.

A tragedy nearly struck on the south side of our house while Mom clipped back the lilac bush that had been pounded by a snowstorm. I was pilind the branches on the load, when my mom called me over to look at a horrible sight. There lying in the grass were four baby birds, scarecly hatched, with only the tiniest patches of feathers, and their little hearts clearly seen pounding fiercly in their little chests. Our cutting had done it. I found the tiniests of nests on a cut branch in the pile, it was so well hidden that we hadn't noticed it.
So what did we do? We took the branch in the nest in it, and ducktaped it back into the bush where it was before. While taping we began to notice two small yellow birds hanging around. As soon as we were finished and had carefully put the birds back in the nest, we ran off to isabel's room to watch. But as sure as stars the birds came back :) I'm still sitting in Isabel's room, which by the way is the best room for sitting in when you want to be half outside and half in. It's south facing windo and pale blue walls are perfect :) Isabel is watching the Jungle book, which has wonderful artwork, and music. Good songs.

The bird is still there, all is well.

I'm a Mormon online!

2011-06-01T23:26:00.000-07:00

My Mormon.org profile is finally online! It takes a little while because they have to confirm the things you write and your picture. But I'm there now!

go check me out!

I'm really excited about this :) I know I'll be leaving in 2 months for the mish, but I'm still excited to have this up online. It's such an amazing idea that the Church is doing! It's all for missionary work for the church. It shoes people that there are all sorts of mormons around the world, and it give you their testimonies in their own words. I love it. Make one!!!

Basically life is awesome!

Tradition!

2011-05-30T23:28:00.000-07:00

Oh Tevya, there are so many opportunities to use you in the real world. Tradition!

We have a tradition of going to visit Family graves on memorial day. we go to at least 4 different cemeteries around the valley and stop at multiple sites inside them. As is tradition, we always run down the hill with the little kids at the Salt Lake cemetery, we always see deer and have fun saying Greek names at Mount Olivet Cemetery. We always (except this time with Isabel) hop the fence at Elysian Gardens. And We always go to Wendy's at the end of it all.

Today we did the order of the hopping differently so we could end at my Grandma's grave, which was very nice and special. My Grandpa said a prayer for all of us, and the spirit was felt.

I usually like taking pictures on Memorial Day, it's one of the first outdoor Huber get togethers of the year so it's a good opportunity. This time I wasn't much in the mood, but luckily little Gracey saw my camera and took off with it. So almost all of the pictures on here are child made, with a few by me. I wonder if you can tell who took which.

Daddy Daughter Date.

2011-05-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

So Isabel turned 16 this week, as you know if you read anything on here. Turning 16 is kind of a big deal here, not only because you can drive (which she can't because she has seizures) but because if your LDS you can start to date.

She's been teased a lot about if she's going to go on any dates or not, and I don't know how I feel about that other than uneasy, but whenever that teasing occurs she scrunches up her nose and disgustedly shakes her head. And then she perks up and says "Even I would like a Daddy Daughter Date" and smiles at my dad.

So we went out tonight, just the girls and Dad. Isabel even let me put a little bit of make up on for the occasion.

Daddy Daughter Date consisted of:
-Red Iguana for Dinner (not an actual iguana, a mexican restaurant of biblical proportions.
-A trip to the Gateway mall to get her a belt (because 16 year olds wear belts)
-Cheetah patterned cupcake lines, gumball machines, wheelies and donuts in the wheelchair.
-Dragging State Street. btw why does is it that all state streets have to be ghetto? Also we passed like 4 topless dancers bars and one full on showgirls strip club! What the Heck?
-Jamming out to Earth Wind and Fire, and the Specials.
-Pulling the car over back in Magna so Dad could break up a fight between two hicks. Some cholos pulled up at the same time and them and Dad took care of it.

Later that night, I helped Izzy take a bath, watched some crappy Utah made cowboy movie called The Crooked Sky or something, and then browsed channels with Chloe.

While looking at free movies On Demand, we found this.

"Wild Women of Wongo"
(1958)
On a tropical island 10,000 years ago a tribe of ugly men and gorgeous women meet a tribe of handsome men and ugly women in this cult classic so amazingly stupid that it's almost profound.

Sounded really promising, but sadly boring, until an awkward kissing scene came on the exact same time Hans and his friend Jo came downstairs...

So now we're in our room and it's a toss up between Adventures in Babysitting, and Fern Gully :)

Goodnight.

Helplessness Blues :)

2011-05-26T23:18:00.000-07:00

So there were some things I just couldn't help today.

Posting more videos and more links about Russia and missionary work to my facebook page. I just counted and I have approx 13 posts about it (why approximate when I just counted? because it's 12:22 silly)

looking up a million wordpress blogs that contain the tag vladivostok, or russia mission. I actually found some good stuff. :)

Here are some examples.
Very excited sister's mission blog to Russia.
I don't know where she is, but her stories of waking up to bugs in her face freaks me out a bit.

Really Legit guys blog that includes some good Russia/LDS articles

Apparently Vladivostok is really foggy.

Decent description of Russians found in Vladivostok

Sights of Vladivostok
Apparently they don't cater to tourists at all tho, so says this blog.

Ah Russia. I'm just too excited for you. :) I also can't help that. Back to things I couldn't help today.

Driving home from work, I couldn't help prolonging the drive and wandering around magna for a bit listening to the new Fleet Foxes album (which is where the title came from)

After I left the ATM at wellsfargo, I decided to go home, which would require turning right. But when I checked if cars were coming to the left, I saw the sun over the Oquirrhs and just started turning left :) I smiled ay my helplessness then quickly checked my right and luckily no one was coming because I was already in the middle of the road haha, not safe.
I drove to the point of the mountain, which is very close in Magna, and then couldn't help driving across the railroad tracks, through the open gate and up Cemetery Hill. I sat for a minute looking at the Valley, and couldn't help thinking of the many times I'd sat there, and chatted with friends, or ate Wendy's by myself, or just sat and looked. Obviously the pictures on my crippity crappy phone camera don't do justice.

When I finally drove home I couldn't help sitting outside on my front lawn for a bit in the fading sunlight. My yard looks beautiful after all the rain we've been having. The Alium's are starting to explode.

I couldn't help but watch Willy Wonka with Isabel, in spanish. And I couldn't help looking at too many blogs before bed, which is why I'm writing this so late.

It's nice.

2011-05-25T09:58:00.001-07:00

When you can go somewhere like Target, get a bunch of birthday presents for your sister, and also 1 half of our future missionary wardrobe for not a lot of money :)
\
Seriously cardigans on the clearance rack are the best thing ever! 5 Bucks!

Also I've been trying to sew things lately. None of my projects are completely finished, I've started 2 without a pattern and one with a pattern. I'll let ya know how it goes.

Also my sister isabel is the greatest. Here's the post I did on her last year. She's just ridiculous. She's recovering right now from her second leg surgery.
Let me preface. Isabel was born with many "problems." One is a mental disability which puts her back a few years on her level of learning and on knowledge of social norms, I thought she was autistic for a while, but apparently this is something different. Then she has a thyroid that does something weird... not sure. Also Seizures, and the latest of the problems we discovered was that she was born with crooked leg bones.

Isabel has always sort of complained about her legs when we would go to Disneyland or any day really when she had to walk a lot. She's always walked kind of strange with her knees together and feet pointed outward, her legs never looked fully connected.. like not like jelly legs, but like they could just pop off at any point. and that's what they did, sort of, twice. After she disclocated her knew 2 times doing very simple things (getting out of bed), we took her to a different doctor than her normal one, and when he looked at her legs he pronounce the crookedness.

And thus her surgeries began (a year later) They went in, broke her legs at the knee and the hip, threw some hardware in there and stitched her back up. Her first surgery was in November and now she's recovering on the other leg.

And it's been a total miracle. She hasn't had hardly any pain after either surgery. She hasn't needed her pain meds, she hasn't complained, it's completely amazing and totally a blessing. In December, she fell pretty hard and actually bent a screw in her newly reconstructed leg, but when we saw the doctor he was amazed that the leg was fine and growing the way it should even with the bent screw. She's been a total trooper. She gets a little bored just sitting in her room, but has always had a good attitude and now that mobility is improving, is just awesome whenever she gets out of the house.

At target for her birthday she got:

1 water mist-er bottle
1 normal water bottle with rainbow stripes on it
1 LARGE packet of tic tacs
1 also LARGE packet of Extra mint chocolate chip icecream Gum.
1 pink basket to put her bath things in (she loves bath things)
2 Scooby Doo movies, and 1 Barbie movie.
1 large pink squishy ball
some underwear (practical buy from Mom)
1 scented bar of soap.

And When she gets home she'll get her ultimate present she wanted in the mail.
A talking electronic glowing globe.

She's so smart :)

Other things Isabel does:
-falls asleep in sunday school sometimes (wish I could sometimes, not when mom teaches of course)
-watches disney movies multiple times, in the different languages, then pauses the movie every few seconds to write down the french or spanish words on a paper. Cuts the words out into little squares and puts them into bags labeled "french words" "spanish words" "Friends names" "Family" "Spiders"
-she reads lots of spiders and monster animal books
-watches the weather channel a lot.
-draws yin yangs and other things
-does the egyptian dance where you move your head side to side.
-sings "I like to move it move it, I like to move it move it, move it!"

You da bomb Isabel.

2011-05-23T10:21:00.001-07:00

Russian is fetching hard.

It's a long one.

2011-05-18T23:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I thought I would just write some watered down thing about my day today later, but I just finished my journal entry for the night, and I figured I would just copy and paste that.

So here you go, journal Rubie with no (almost) editing on the day she got her mission call. It's long, but then you don't HAVE to read it :)

VLADIVOSTOK!!!

YEAH!
I'm going to Russia!!!

Ok so backtrack :)

This morning, I was a bit of a grouch, just super nervous about my call coming. So I decided to go to the temple. As I was leaving my house I saw the Mailman up the street, so I drove up, turned around and then waited in the road for him to put stuff in my mailbox. I went to it, but my mom has a dumb lock on it so I couldn't get the package out (althought I tried, desperately!) All of a sudden my mom was there opening it and I was holding my missionary package! It was raining, so I ran inside the rover to take a picture of it on my phone, then threw it at my mom, told her to invite whoever she wanted, then drove away as fast as I could.

I went to the oquirrh mountain temple, which was gorgeous. I love all the glass there, it all feels so open and clean. :) It was weird seeing how things worked differently there :) All my names were hungarian.
When I got done, I sat in the chapel for a bit, but then decided, since it was only 11, that I could go to the draper temple no sweat (I got done super fast because there was basically no one there) so i went to draper :)

It was beautiful and extra rainy by the time I got there. They did things differently too, and I was Literally the only patron in the batismal area. That temple had a gorgeous font, with beautiful stained glass windows. I wanted to come back when it was busier so I would have an excuse to stay and look at everything longer. I can't wait till I'm endowed and get to see the rest of it! I got done there in 5 minutes too and the names were hungarian again, which put the thought in my head that I might be destined for hungary. I decided, what the heck I might as well go to Jordan River and Salt Lake too! :) As I was leaving the parking lot, I felt like going right up towards the mountains which were clothed in misty clouds and just looked too wild to pass up. I went along this road till I came to a trailhead and thought again 'what the hey!'

So I got out, in my skirt, shirt, cardigan and red church shoes (like a dork I didn't bring a jacket or umbrella), and hiked along the coyote hollow trail. It was raining, but not pouring, so I could see all around me clearly. The water just enhanced all the colors and made everything seem more alive. It was beautiful, maybe a little creepy if I wasn't on a spiritual high, but beautiful. The path was muddy, and a few times my shoe got stuck or I would almost slip, so I mainly walked in the grass. I loved the feeling of my feet and legs getting wet from the long reeds, and the moisture on my face. I wondered why I had always considered Rain as a stay indoors type of weather. Really it wasn't bad getting wet, it was wonderful! I just smiled at how absurd I was walking in the rain in my temple clothes on some quiet path up in richy rich ville draper :) I thought how funny it'd be if someone looked out their kitchen window and saw me across the way on the side of the mountain.

I was happy, and at peace, it was like another temple of sorts. I stopped on my way back by a bend in the path that was surrounded by trees so I couldn't see much. and just stood there and prayed. I thanked God for finding me worthy to go to the temple and to receive a mission call. I asked for help and blessings, and to be able to handle whatever came in that packet. I asked for faith and aid, and thanked him for bringing me to this point in my life.

After that I drove, and took a rather roundabout way to Jordan River. I did family names there, which required 2 suits, but was still finished in a relatively quick time. So off to SL it was :) I took a quick detour for chick-fil-a. Then ran across temple square to avoid the now, very thick rain.

I LOVE the Salt Lake temple Workers. They are almost always more talkative, more personable and more adorable :) I talked to one brother named Carl. :) He asked me what my major was and when I answered laughed and said "manatees???" When I told him I was going on a mission he was all excited. We moved into the confirmation room, and after complimenting the other girls there, and finishing my confirmations, Carl told the other Brethren about my mission call, and they were so cute :) One said Heavenly Father will send me exactly where I want to go, he knows it. another said I don't look 21. :) And another said I'll be blessed for my good life and my service. They were all so sweet and made me feel so good :) In the font room, the baptizer was one talkative guy too, who obviously knew everyone :) They did 10 names at a time, so it took longer, but I was more than thankful to be able to just sit and smile and look around the beautiful font room. I love the work in that room. I love the golden oxen with their heavy eyelids and shining horns. I love the intricate ironwork all in white. I love the mirrors, and I love the veils into the shower rooms. I had hungarian names again. and the Baptizer was really amazing. He would only glance at the persons name at the beginning of the prepared statement for the ordinance, and then he would look at me as he said the statement, memorized, with the difficult hungarian name in place! Also, instead of lowering me and bringing me up quick, using the momentum to get me out the water, he would lower me slowly and then hold me down under the water for a split second longer, as if to say "there now, let's be sure, because this is a big deal" I felt the spirit strongly for how great an ordinace this was then. And just felt a love for this temple worker, who had been in the font for 2 hours, and would be in there longer still, and for his poor arm which was probably tired, but still went gently and reverently.

After Salt Lake I drove home, listening to Sigur Ros as I had all day. They're so bomb :) I feel the spirit in their music :) It's just too epic and beautiful not to.

When I got home, we still had an hour or a half left before dinner, but everyone was kind of just waiting around, all anxious. Everyone has been kind of on edge the past week, and I think it's all been nervousness from this affecting us. There was some anxiousness about who to invite and it ended up being Grandpa Huber, who looked a lot like my brother Eddie sitting in the black and white checkered chair (He just looked young and alive. it made me really happy) My Jeppson Grandparents and my aunt cindy. And then just Ed and Jen with the family. Oh also Emily came down with Chloe.

When I opened it up, my heart was pounding. I had to take a couple deep breaths before reading it. I read the first line, which was basically the first page. Then started reading the second, but my eyes scanned ahead and as soon as I read the location I started to cry and couldn't speak, I looked at my dad who was smiling nervously, with tears in his eyes too, and my mom yelled "well where are you going??" I couldn't say it for a second because I didn't have any breath :) When I finally got it out everyone exploded :) I couldn't believe how happy I was. and how completely overwhelmed! And that's how I spent the rest of the night, and that's how I feel now. It feels so surreal that I'm going to learn Russian, or that I'm going to a place where there are the last of the world's siberian tigers, or that I'm going to really be gone for 18 months.

Most of all, that the Lord found me worthy to go to this amazing place, to go on a mission at all, but especially to go to Russia. I coudln't belive it. It's a place I never thought would be mine, but now seems so perfect.

I'll write more about the actual place tomorrow. It's late and I'm exhausted.

Here's a bit of something my friend sent me in a chat tonight.
so my initial impression of Russia was how hard it's going to be - the weather is going to be grim, the people will be tough, and the Church probably won't be really well-organized. the more I thought about it, though, the more I realized how really it's no different from some latin american mission where you baptize a million people - the Lord is still preparing people for you, the Mission will still have the same rules, and the Church will still function
i also thought about how you THRIVE in adversity and how you're going to be able to handle the adversity of a mission in general and specifically a cold, Russian one :)
i kept thinking about trek, and how you really pushed the hardest when the conditions where the toughest (during the woman's pull though all the tilled up soil)
you pushed the whole way, but you made your biggest contribution then
and your mission is perfect for you in that same respect - the conditions are not perfect, but just for that reason you're going to make a massive contribution
you're going to do great
when there isn't a lot of work going on, it is really easy for missionaries to slack off and not work hard but you are so obedient and stick to your guns on all of the little rules which makes you a perfect fit as well

and here's an excerpt from the paper with my call
"The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place in you our confidence and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary." -signed President Monson.

I'm going!

So there's the Journal Entry and there's my day :)

Russia. RUSSIA!!!

VLADIVOSTOK

2011-05-18T22:50:00.000-07:00

Here I Come!!!!!!

more tomorrow :)

gifs

2011-05-13T23:57:00.000-07:00

Gifs.

This one is pretty good :)

Better

Beautiful

Super cool

Somewhat eerie but awesome.

These From Me To You Gifs are so great. But looking at the tumblr blog of them kind of weirds my eyes out. You have to stop and check each photo to see if it'll start moving or not, and when it doesn't you feel like it would start as soon as you looked away. It's kind of creepy, like the haunted mansion, or Harry Potter.

But beautiful all the same.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia

2011-05-13T23:26:00.000-07:00

No I do not have a morbid irrational fear of Friday the 13th, but today was definitely an off day. I was just... grumpy,

On another note, here are some things I've been obsessed with lately:

-Kung Fu,
I just finished watching Jet Li's Fearless, which has some pretty bad acting sometimes, but some pretty Beautiful Wushu (yes this video is a bit long and not that great quality, but it was basically the only one without sucky music.)
I just really love the idea of controling your body so well, I've never been a very physical person and I kind of regret it. It's amazing the energy that they can build up in just a series of movements. Reading up a bit on the different styles and techniques is amazing. It makes you realize how much of a science it is.

-Do it yourself Projects,
Especially Sewing. I got a bunch of fabric at the DI for only 4 bucks, and I'm messing around with skirt and shirt ideas. Who know's why but Shirts are fetchin difficult to do. ok not who knows why, I guess it makes sense. :)

-Pinterest.com
Ok, This is my new favorite. I like to surf the web a lot, especially for things that are pretty looking, so this site is amazing! It's basically like a website for your bookmarks, except it lays them out in a really visually pleasing manner, and you can look at other peoples and find ideas through them. I'm OBSESSED. You can check out my boards Here if you'd like to see other mini obsessions of mine, like home decor, short hairstyles, pretty clothes, DIY projects, and lots of recipes.

Hmm let's see, what else is on my mind? Well I guess the fact that in about 5 days I'll be finding out Where I'll be living and preaching the sweet word of God for 18 months... yeah I've only been thinking about that a little bit.

Holy. Hannah.

Any guesses? :)

Mommasita

2011-05-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

Things my Sister Isabel Hates.

2011-05-02T15:33:00.001-07:00

I asked her what she hates today. These are her answers.

-Cleaning Dog Poo
-Sweats (like sweat pants)
-when people make noise at night when I'm sleeping
-when Hans makes fun of me that I'm in love with Roberto.
-and I hate when Hans is being crazy, and callin me names
-I hate seafood
-umm....sexy clothes.
-belts
-uhhh.... I hate reading
-I don't like A-days (like at school, a days, and b days)
-I hate when mom gets me mad
-well I hate getting messy
-and I hate itchy skin
-I hate being home and doing the same stuff (she just got surgery on her leg last week and is stuck at home)
-I hate when Dad gets mad, cause it creeps me out.
-I hate knots in my hair.
-and I hate eyelashes keep getting in my eyes
-well I hate pain
-rashes
-(nervously) i hate going number 2
-and I hate thunderstorms cause I cannot play basketball
-and I hate mean friends
-I hate black and white movies
-and grown-up shows
-I hate when spec (our dog) Gets in my garbage
-and I hate when spec stares at me when i, when he thinks I'm gonna give him food.
-I don't like torturing.
-I hate when flies gets in my face
-I hate mean boys gets on my nerves.
-mom this knee's startin to itch again, like on the top.
mom: good grief
-and I hate cuts
-I hate when my hair sheds
-I hate these tapes on my legs
-I hate showers
-and the stitches haven't dissolve yet
-I hate to wear socks, cause they kinda bugs my ankle. yeah sometimes they kinda make my ankles itch.... but i wore them anyway
-well I don't like the sun is in my eyes
-well I don't like flies buzz in my ears
-I hate when people tug on my hair... cause that hurts
-well I kinda don't like to meet new people cause it kinda makes me act like I'm shy, when I'm bashful. bashful means shy.
-I dont like that hospital bed, cause it's not comfortable,
-and I don't like waiting.
-I dont like when my mouth has toothpaste on it
-I hate when people don't listen to me, ya I hate that.
-well I hate when spec barks, cause his barking noise is loud
-and I hate when spec pulls me when I go walking.
me:what do you think is the worst that people do?
-swear, and say God's names
-well I don't like Karla in my class cause she's bossy
-I hate when my teachers upset, but I never got in trouble before, at school, i only got in trouble once and Pleasant Green, for stealing my friend Roberto's eraser because I didn't know that was wrong
-I hate when people take my stuff, without asking
-I hate my seizures
-I don't like strangers
-well I'm done.

meh.

2011-05-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

Obviously I'm not really into this whole blogging thing lately. I've been home from school and enjoying my freedom, and just haven't really thought of much to write...

So here are some thoughts.

The Ten Commandments kicks total trash. What a great movie. It may be overly dramatic and very long, man alive is it good. The costumes and sets in themselves are just so legit! I wish I could dress like the pharoh, or Nefertiri.

Als Chuck Heston is just Legit. That man is a MAN.

Did you know that he originally wanted the part for Chief in Jaws? Yeah that would have been a whole different movie. He would have like just punch the animatronic shark into oblivion.

I also watched The Prince of Egypt last night. Which is such a good show! It's just so beautiful! And the relationship between Raamses and Moses is so touching and real. Plus the music Rocks.

I'm now obsessed with old testament stories.

I used to dream that I could go back in time and see ancient Egypt in all it's glory. It fascinated me and I would memorize stories about their gods and Pharaohs. I wanted so badly to be an egyptian princess or soemthing, living in alabaster halls and golden couches and wearing gold and lapiz lazul and awesome chains in my hair.

Now I feel like seeing that would sort of be like seeing the Royal wedding that happened Friday, only worse. A lot of pomp and beauty, but most of it just based on wealth and emptyness, and you can't help but think of all the other things that 70 million dollars could do, or in egypt, who those slaves are, and how far their knowledge was from the truth. It'd be beautiful and fascinating, but so sad.

Wow this is a dumb post. This is why I'm not into writing on this thing much anymore. just not feelin it. Anyways. Chuck Heston, yeah.

Gradumacation.

2011-04-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

Today was shloe's graduation. Congratchumacations her! Here is some pics :)

The last. Again.

2011-04-12T14:11:00.001-07:00

So I finished 2 of my last classes this year. Brit Lit Greatest Hits and American Humanities. Humanities won for all time best class period ever.
We had to present projects that we had done that either paid tribute to, or parodied some art piece we had studied that semester. And I was SO IMPRESSED. There were people singing, playing the piano, tap dancing, painting, doing photo projects! IT was nuts!

What did I do? well yesterday when I remembered that this was due I combined my need to do this project with my recently stronger than usual urge to bake and made a cake!!!

It was way more delicious than it looked. It was chocolate banana with a strawberry whipped cream filling. I cut out stencils and used edible food spray along with black drawing gel to do the design on top.

This is my parody to Warhol's Monroe prints, but with this you can literally have a piece of the celebrity. Eat it, enjoy it, digest it. done!

The picture was just taken with photobooth on my laptop so it's not great or anything. and the spray got a little through the paper here and there. But overall I'm really satisfied. It's the most fun I've had with a project in College. who knew!

Temple

2011-04-09T23:24:00.001-07:00

Whenever things get tough, home is always a source of comfort. whether it's playing chess with Hans, or watching tv with my dad, or reading in the green room on our comfy carpet with the dog and the fireplace going. My home really is a temple. You can feel the spirit, and feel peace and reassurance, and you can lounge :)

I was contemplating staying for a spring semester this summer. But I just want to come home too badly. I want to get as much of this goodness in as I can before big changes happen.

Here's one of my favorite rooms at one of my favorite times. The front room in the late afternoon. With out full west windows everything is warm and hazy, with floaties in the air creating a calming magic that wraps you up and lulls you into the most perfect of naps.

Classy

2011-03-25T12:34:00.001-07:00

Yeah. I love this.

First Day!

2011-03-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

A new season has begun!! Yesterday was the first day of spring.

So of course we threw a party. It was threatened by cold weather, but the sun came out just in time!

We had Watermelon cupcakes with frosting roses on top (my new skill... that I'm not quite good at yet), Green Herbed garlic bread. Veggies and dip, and italian sodas with homemade syrup.

It was pretty great. Yay Spring!!!

love those stompin feet and outdoor lamps

2011-03-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Homework and 60 degree weather...

2011-03-15T16:35:00.000-07:00

They don't really go hand in hand. Us matching the flag kind of rocks tho.

I believe in the power of weekends.

2011-03-13T22:47:00.000-07:00

I had the greatest weekend.

Friday I was productive, I went to school, cleaned out the fridge, made a zucchini mint salad, made zucchini bread muffins, then I had some of this:

And then was productive some more,

And then we went on a drive and a picnic over at Lincoln Beach. It was super gorgeous and just perfect.

We took pictures.

Then back to the house for the most giant plate of nachos any 2 ppl have ever eaten and Star Wars Podracing on N64. (with some more of that first picture)

Saturday I worked during the day. Which was great. Then was picked up and we went shopping.

Which was a first for me, shopping with a guy for a present for me. Weird. We got some sweet presents with outlet prices plus gift cards plus discount card. Bam! free pants!

AND THEN. Can you say favorite restaurant/food ever?? Really I think Heavenly Father made sushi just go give mankind a little taste of heaven.

Then here for dessert.

AND. Today I got to sleep in, and go home, and eat corned beef and cabbage, and have good talks, and visit my Grandma's gravesite. Annnddddd..... Yeah. It was the best weekend ever

Garden in my mouth

2011-03-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

So I made this goal yesterday to start eating salads every day for lunch. Partially because I'm tired of brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts, partially because I feel like it's time to shed my winter "skin", and partially because I found this cool website with a whole bunch of tasty looking things that only need 5 ingredients.

So I made one today. Lentils, beets, parsley, goat cheese, and balsamic vinegar. Sounds ok right?

I can't eat it. I keep gagging. and I'm REALLY hungry. And whoever said if your hungry enough you'll eat it. Well. They're mean.

luckily I also brought a piece of toast with honey. let's see how long I last before I just start chugging the honey :)

Revitalized

2011-03-05T00:13:00.000-08:00

So I'm in California right now, in an apartment in Santa Monica LA, on an air mattress, with a snuggie on.

And i feel SOOO Good! Like my life has been revitalized today! Everything today just felt so full and so rich.

I took a nap out on a balcony and renewed my relationship with the sun. We became reaquainted as her rays warmed my face and the insides of my eyelids turned red orange.

We walked on the beach and I felt the humidity seep into my skin and moisturize my hair.

We went on a drive on Mulholland in the evening and the sweet scents of Gardenias and Night Blooming Jasmine made me regret that I had to exhale to live. Every inhale was life and beauty and every exhale was a sigh.

I feel so rejuvenated, like someone balled up everything that's needed for happiness and then coated it with beautiful tastes and smells (not chocolate) and shoved it down my throat. (like on Princess bride) It now rests in my chest and I can feel it at the base of my throat whenever I breath in.

I love Warmth, and life, and California, and friends.

(more pictures on facebook)

what I really wish i was doing right now.

2011-03-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

walk around the southwest in 75 degree weather wearing dusty colors.
with my man... and that indian blanket.

photos courtesy Roots new lookbook.

FDR approved.

2011-02-22T10:17:00.001-08:00

Ah Presidents Day...
The last official break I'll have this semester. (BYU doesn't get any of this because of this apparently)

We went up to Good old Salty and splashed around.

Family+Fire+Salt Water+Camera=Joy.

Filming of Doom

2011-02-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

Chloe's Movie is FINISHED!
Ok that's not true. But the Filming is!
wow. I really can't believe that my job in this is over (well I'll always have the supportive sister job, but the Production Designer job is finito).
Our last two days were our best ever . We did double the shots as the first four days, and everyone was gung ho and kicking butt!

Plus it was muchos fun. here are pictures to prove it!

To top it all off...

2011-02-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

a little (not that little) boy just asked me if I was a boy or a girl.

Holy Crap.

ok I'm done letting this bug me. I don't really kn0w how, but I'm gonna figure out this new hair!

Get ready to be vanquished low self esteem!

Meltdown

2011-02-17T16:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the original plan with cutting all of my hair off was... wait did I plan that?
nope.

Ok but the after plan, was to put on a showof absolute love for it even if I didn't just to save face and hopefully make me eventually believe myself and love it.

I'm not saying I hate it. But I have had 3 meltdowns in the last 5 days.

Once because I felt like this:

Once because I felt like this (not a good thing in my opinion)

And once because I felt like this: (8 year old Rubie)

I've felt better about itthe other 2 days... but man alive this is hard getting used to.

I need some styling tips. I just dont know how to work with short hair!

Also while looking through my old phone pics, I found this forgotten gem of the day I used a nice spray can of blonde. Whaddya think? Should I convert?

Lanterns of Love

2011-02-16T22:50:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post these from Chloe's Birthday.

thanks to my personal photographer :)

You cant stop spring

2011-02-16T14:43:00.001-08:00

My Yellow dress will always prevail!

Also picnics with french toast, homemade buttermilk syrup and homemade blackberry whipped cream put up a good fight.

Winter you will be conquered!

that'll be the day

2011-02-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

When I was in elementary school, I had a super short bob hair cut, with bangs, mainly because it was easy for my mom to maintain, and because my dad liked short hair on girls.

In 5th grade I begged and begged my parents to let me grow it out a little. and ever since then it's been long, with a side swept bang.

My hair has always been a source of power for me, I prided myself on it's length and the fact that I've never dyed it. When I cut 4 inches off of it at the end of my senior year the only comment I remember was "Oh! why did you cut it?? I mean... it looks good! but it was soo long! oh!!!" (thanks Mary Hatch)

The weirdest part was taking a shower this morning, and the veeerrrrry short amount of time it took me to run my fingers through my chopped locks. But it felt very free, I feel like I can do anything now :) There's nothing I can't change.

I think I might change some more.

The Lion the Witch and the Weather

2011-02-08T16:42:00.000-08:00

Can you feel it? It's like the white witch is losing grip on the world and warmth is creeping in.

Oh spring time. I love Winter semesters at school, they're jut so hopeful! You can feel changes each day, and even if it randomly gets cold and snows, you just know that it can't keep pumpin it out much longer.

If i wasn't still in love with sweaters and pants and not having to shave my legs I would be wishing it would get warm tomorrow. But I'm fine with waiting. You gotta live in the moment after all right?

bike ride in 35 Degree weather

2011-02-07T23:28:00.000-08:00

Loved every minute of it. Even when I crashed.

weather is so relative. If it was 40 degrees back in september or october, I would probably be hiding inside, or at least wanting to really badly.

But after December and January, 40 Degrees seems, almost balmy. I want to be outside more and more.

Come on Spring, move my way.

Hipstamatic

2011-02-04T14:33:00.001-08:00

I wish I had an iphone so I could get this hipstamatic app and take silly hipster pictures.

Oh Well I'll just keep borrowing :) That's fun too.

Here is my day hipstamatic style.

Don't be so sure of misery.

2011-02-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

Today. I sat outside in 12 degree weather for 2 hours. Then I shivered uncontrollably for 5 minutes as soon as I got inside.

It's weird how much can happen in a day. How many different emotions you can feel, and how intense they can seem.

This video made me feel good.

Bulldozer from The Panic Room Videos on Vimeo.

Fiction

2011-01-31T13:28:00.000-08:00

You know what I love? Writing essays. Give me a question, prompt, topic, whatever you call it. Add it to a little bit of knowledge or some text I can pull quotes/ideas from and away I go! Figuring out a thesis, outlining the supporting paragraphs, picking little bits of evidence I want to highlight. I always write a really quick crappy introduction, then head straight for the body, the main course. I type away and rearrange until I have about the right length. Then I snip and clip and maybe have someone review it (not usually). Then I go back to the intro and dig deep for an awesome conclusion.

I LOVE IT. There's something so straightforward and beautiful about essays, they are the perfect way for me to say exactly what I want. I can write a decent 2 pager in an hour and a really good 5 pager in 3.

So I was actually semi excited today when I realized that my first paper for my American Humanities class was due today. I pictured myself finding a nice spot in the jfsb (which I did) Sitting down to read the prompt (which I did) and then running away with my happy essay ritual.

But lets go back to the prompt.

"Write an updated, abridged version of James' Daisy Miller. (A three to four page,
single spaced, short story, in other words.) Create a protagonist who is the "New
American Woman" of our time and a male pursuing her who might be today's equivalent
of Winterbourne. (You could even place the story within a Mormon cultural context, as
long as it reflects larger cultural currents as well.) Feel free to switch the genders too, if
you like. What would be the social pressures faced by this new woman? How might the
story end differently?"

FICTION?!?!?!

ok. I've calmed down from 2 lines back. But really??? I HATE writing fiction. :( I find absolutely no joy in making up characters that I can't back up, and putting them in ridiculous halfhearted situations that always end up being cliché or silly.

hmph.

welp...

2011-01-30T23:25:00.000-08:00

We finished the official shooting days of my sisters capstone film project yesterday. Basically that last few weeks of my life have revolved solely around this project, so..... now what am I supposed to do?

Welp... Emily signed us up for dessert night this week. So there's something.

Thoughts We Think.

2011-01-27T23:50:00.000-08:00

Sometimes thoughts are so hard to organize. I've sat at this empty white box every day since the events of last saturday, trying to put into words what I'm thinking and feeling. But it's difficult.

Today I felt such an outpouring of love and gratitude in my life. It was my Grandma Huber's funeral services, and they were absolutely beautiful. So many people came to pay their respects, and i recognized and loved a large number of them. It was wonderful to see how many my Grandma has impacted, and to hear their stories and their feelings about her.

Closing the casket was an experience I wont forget any time soon. I was the most emotional then, it just felt so final... I can't even begin to imagine how awful it would feel if I didn't know that I would see her again and if I didn't know that she was watching over me and looking out for me at this very moment.

Wonderful things were said at the services. I realized once again that the most important thing you can do in your lifetime is demonstrate love to your brothers and sisters of the world. When all is said and done, that's what matters most, that is what people hold in the highest esteem, that is what is praised above all. There was a lot to praise my Grandma of in that department.

I'm so proud to come from her. I'm so indescribably grateful, not only for the lessons that she taught me, but also for her blood that runs through my veins.

The goodness, strength, charity, fire, and testimony that characterized my Grandmother are kept alive in her 8 amazing children. We grankids have learned to honor it as well, and our children will be taught to cherish it, and mingle it with other traits.

I feel so full right now. Full of life, ability, opportunity, hope, and full of responsibility.

I love you Grandma, and I'm gonna make you proud.

when your life becomes the cliché.

2011-01-23T23:12:00.000-08:00

In those really intense life moments, the ones that everyone has do deal with at some point, all the clichés that you hear about in movies, and make fun of in your head suddenly become real.

I want to express myself... but I kind of feel like saying the things I feel on this blog would be... weird.

anyways.

timing right? That a couple hours after I found out my grandma Huber passed on, I had to spend my time wrangling parakeets.

I guess I'll live though

I've been well trained.

2011-01-20T01:45:00.001-08:00

Thanks Mom,

Also I bought this today, and listened to it all night long. I'm in love. and as my friend said officially a hipster now. And I don't even care.

Location Scouting.

2011-01-18T11:56:00.001-08:00

places to go, things to do, people to see, food to make.

2011-01-11T23:48:00.000-08:00

So this semester is Bizz-ay! (gangsta)
I'm officially taking 18 credit hours. Ayayay! And helping my sister Chloe out with her SUPER AWESOME MOVIE OF AMAZINGNESS!!! Which we are filming in 2 weeks.

Needless to say. Lots going on.

All this busy-ness has made me somewhat lose my desire to cook... Which is the lousiest thing that could ever happen BECAUSE I got one of these for Christmas!!!

So I need to remedy that.

The plan.
#1- I found an old madeleine tray at DI so MAKE MADELEINES, Perhaps These, minus the barnacles
#2- I have a 9" cake pan frozen full of chocolate ganache, so I gotta either make truffles out of that, or some other delicious thing. (when I say delicious I mean you'll probably like it, not me so much tho because chocolate is chocolate and meh)
#3-Now that I have a standing mixer with the ability to add things without ceasing and just have more control over situations in the kitchen, I'm going to make... Macaroons! Which is super ridiculously exciting :) What flavor?

My sister and my Roommate have personal vendettas to not spend any money that isn't necesary for food... so all we have right now is a lot of tomato soup and rice. I want to be more careful with my moolah, my cupcake creations kind of emptied my wallet frequently last semester. But I gotta start baking again... at least to just keep me happy and normal.

welp. I kind of feel like this post was only a so-so post...

so. as a bonus. Here is someone I would definitely be friends with:

See more funny videos and TBT at Todays Big Thing.

fun fun fun in the cold cold sun.

2011-01-10T21:04:00.000-08:00

I wore red lipstick today. I've been reading a lovely blog lately about a lovely girl who goes to BYU-ID and she wears red lipstick sometimes. And I decided, why can't I?

I've decided I'm going to have a lot more fun with the way I look. I've been so concerned for the past year about my "style" or just looking a certain way. When really who cares? I can do whatever I want. Even if I do get weird looks from every person I walk by on campus. :) come on man, your mom wears red lipstick, you've seen it before so give me a break.

Life is going alright ya know? :)

another post that's indirectly about fascism

2011-01-07T10:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I found out that I'm basically a Nazi.

In my American Humanities class, we talked about eugenics and phrenology and the one I'm semi guilty of: Physiognomy.

Ok so I'm not super natzi-ish. But I have always really loved studying peoples faces. I feel like you can actually learn things about the person by their face. I'd like to think that personalities matching faces happens too much to be coincidence, but maybe I'm actually just seeing what I want to see because I think it's fun.

Sometimes You see someone with a certain face that completely matches their style or interests. Many girls faces seem to be made for their dramatic wardrobe, or their artistic style, their conservative clothes or their apparent apathy. It makes me wonder if the clothes make their face appear that way more, or if having that face drove them to start liking those things.

interesting I think.

in other news. I want I want I want I want.

Me and Beyonce think about the same things

2011-01-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

if I was a boy.

many things.

But I'm a girl so I just wore my hair in the top bun I slept in with a norwegian sweater, and am content.

here is me showing it off.

How auspicious is that?!?!

2011-01-05T19:06:00.000-08:00

auspicious?!

Obviously I've been having a hard time getting up the... energy? ideas? motivation, that's it, to blog.

I've had ideas. Sparked by some great little sister quotes, the lunar eclipse that I didn't get to see but felt cool about anyway, Christmas, cheese, friends, chocolate (and how I don't like it). Then of course the end of one year and the start of another are old stand-byes for good posts, as are the start of school, new mantras, and devotionals.

oh my I'm doing a recap post aren't I? Well lets put a stop to that. Here's part of my favorite of all the New Years blog posts I read.

"BTW it is twenty-eleven NOT two thousand and eleven. There is a reason for this. The vibration of the words is different. Twenty-eleven is a stronger vibration, it is more grounded and has the anchoring energy needed over the coming year."

hear that? anchoring energy.

wilkommen

Problem Solved.

2010-12-26T23:33:00.000-08:00

I found this notepad in the pile of neighbor presents in our kitchen. It was hidden under some homemade jams and gross brownies.

I think it's the greatest thing ever. And obviously I need something to help me out with these things.

Also here are pictures from my last night in Provo before winter break. Remember this? Well using duct tape on the ceiling wasn't very smart, so we had to do some patch paint work, so now our ceiling looks like a bad shave that's covered by little bits of toilet paper. Of course, with paint in our hands, it quickly got on our faces. Happy last night.

and then they had a party.

2010-12-23T11:27:00.000-08:00

This is great. Especially the sheep and star costumes. And everything.

So Sad.

2010-12-18T10:07:00.001-08:00

I had only gone in this place once. But it's just so sad when beautiful old buildings meet sad ends like that.
Just turn the sound off on the video if you want to avoid the super intense music. Good shots though.

In other news. let's have an interview
Interviewer: "So Rubie, you do lots of driving right?"
Rubie: "why yes I do stan. I drive about an hour up to work and back, and I drive in between provo and magna which is an hour as well"
I: "my name isn't stan"
R.: "your name is whatever I want it to be."
I: "Moving on. So what is your favorite part about driving?"
R: "well I just really love the opportunity to be alone and think. Sometimes I just day dream (in a totally safe, non-distracting way) or sometimes I contemplate the big stuff."
I: "so..."
R: "Oh! Also I love having an hour to listen to music. My favorite is doing random shuffle on my entire ipod library, I hear so many things I forgot about."
I: "Ok, so what is your least favorite thing about driving?"
R: "well there's a lot of answers to that. My least favorite condition to drive in isn't when it's raining or snowing, it's AFTER it's been raining and snowing, and the roads are wet, so whenever you drive behind another car you get hit with the weird snow water that dries awfully on your windshield. Hate it. My least favorite time to drive is between 3 and 4 because I always get sleepy and almost die."

end.

20 thousand times better.

2010-12-16T10:39:00.000-08:00

Best part of my Thursdays is reading my Brother Eddie's emails from the mtc. They are so classically Eddie it's ridiculouso.

here are some excerpts:

"I know you dont want to take advice from your son but ive been reading a ton about christ."

"I feel like i entered the mtc with a weak sauce testimony haha. But as i study and pray it gets so much better."

Also in his letter, one racial slur, a couple other classic eddie insults. And then some great advice and thoughts on how he wants to get closer to Christ.

If anyone reads this, I hope they don't misinterpret it. Eddie is a man! He was amazing before he left and we already see such a difference in him. He's so solid and is doing so good.

love.

scone sandwiches.

2010-12-16T10:26:00.000-08:00

good idea in my head. You think they're just buttery biscuits so they'd taste good with some ham and cheese, like a croissant right? not so. I haven't had such a hard time swallowing in a while. gross gross gross.

Good thing I have stuffed mushrooms in the fridge from someone nice to banish the grossness from my mouth. :)

who knows...

2010-12-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I'm taking the time to blog right now. I slept 2 1/2 hours last night so I could turn in a big project this morning.
I took my french 102 test today. I smiled once while doing it. I wish I took more tests of things I actually did learn. It feels good.
I was 3 days old on showering until 4:30-ish.
I dreamed about flowers that glowed in the dark. Hydrangeas, hyacinths, columbines, azaleas.
I had a fancy lunch where hipsters go to eat. I saw some cool people there, and felt self conscious about the greasiness of my hair. rhymish.
I had a classy night. There were polaroid pictures. There was a red tie with dogs embroidered on it, and patches on jacket elbows. There were lights, and trees. There was 3 courses, and dessert. There was beets, and cheese, and paper thin crusts. I saw more hipsters.
I really like Christmas music.
I feel like I didn't type the right "was"s and "were"s. I am a zombie so it doesn't matter.

cake number 3.

2010-12-12T23:07:00.000-08:00

I've made a lot of cupcakes. but not many cakes. This is number 3. Just chocolate an vanilla, for my aunt carol's birthday. Frosting it was way easier than cake number 2.

Last Class.

2010-12-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

Your last class of the semester can go a few different ways. some of mine in the past have ended in applause, some in testimonies, some in awkward meant to be funny "get out, oh wait that was rude please get out" phrases

This is how it went this year.

D&C We turned in our end of semester assignments and took care of some business before hearing a nice if long testimony about our professors journey into seminary teaching and an nice bit about how special we all are as a chosen generation and how we're gonna be great.
That was nice. The fact that there weren't any chairs so I was sitting on the floor behind the back row was a little weird.

Residential Landscape Design; well we didn't really have a last class. It was kind of ignored since tuesday was our second midterm with no talking at all, and today we didn't have class. We didn't get any speech or any goodbye. A little anti-climatic but nice.

New Testament-That ended today. as a quick side story. I've always wanted to pray in either my New Testament or Doctrine and Covenants class, but especially New Testament. I semi-detested that class, mainly because there was a lot of what I call "kolob-y" talk that I felt like was looking beyond the mark. And between a know it all, a dumb question asker, a controversial question asker, a ufo lover, and a newly wed extreme pda couple, we had a lot of annoying things going on. Anyways. I always felt like. If I could be the one to pray in the beginning of that class, then I would be able to feel the spirit more and would be able to do better at ignoring the annoying. Plus I just like praying out loud and in groups.
And today I sat down, decided to have a good attitude, looked at my professor, and then saw him looking back at me, then down at the role with the pictures. And I knew God was about to answer my desire. And he did. And Class wasn't too bad today. :) ALSO, my New Testament teacher usually ends each class with a semi sort of testimony about what we've been talking about but he NEVER ended it in the name of the savior and that's always bugged me too. But today he did! whoo!

French:Which as been one of my favorite classes I have ever taken. We reviewed for the test and then my super awesome teacher miss Irene Kim fulfilled one of our classes longstanding desires by going out to shut the door and coming back with a guitar! We all sang her own original song she made up for our 102 class. It was awesome :) Like yearbook day in high school.

Geology: Well we just did a review for the final and I could count 15 people asleep and I'm just looking up recipes online. Oh well. We did have one interesting period on dinosaurs when a sub came in.

But we're officially done now! It feels pretty good.

needs vs wants

2010-12-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

I am now officially out of the essentials
shampoo, soap, deodorant mousse, moisturizer, base, mascara, any make-up at all, lotion, and my razor head is shot. The only food I have on hand is a bag of cereal (like half a cup of milk to go with that) corn meal, chili, mushrooms and some cheese.

But still the only thoughts that come to me when I think about the grocery store are the ingredients for burnt butter pecan cupcakes with pretzel icing.

Inspiration

2010-12-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

I got a package today! Here are the great things about it.

#1- I ordered it last Friday and it's already here! They are quick like cats over there.

#2- Hand written address,and I like the writing, it reminded me of the penmanship of so many people I love.

#3- Bubble Wrap! Always a great thing.

#4- Hand written note!! From from a girl named Kiran. She called me a dudette, and referred to creativity as "the mission" And man alive. I felt so special.

#5- Stickers! plus a card and a clothespin

#6- THE BOOK. So When I first saw the internet trailer for this book, the title nearly started to offend me. But I've decided it doesn't. Creativity=the closest thing we have to divinity, so I was semi proud of these guys for making the connection. Inside is a whole bunch of inspiring ideas, and people doing creative things. I'm hoping it will give me the inspiration and gusto to start doing some of the many random ideas I think of every day.

Also, I'm sitting here in the Library reading it and I look over t this ornament on the tree in the periodicals. I wonder if this is an actual possibility and if it's any good. I'm determined to try it as soon as it snows again. Whoo inspiration!

A party to Celebrate Gold.

2010-12-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures of the party we threw for Emily's Birthday. We tried to incorporate all of her favorite things. From pianos on the cake to rainbow inside, to sparkling cider, cheese, bread, a bulgarian dish called banitsa, and delicious fruit. We tried to get as many people as she loved in one room as we could, and then we had the best dance party we've ever had.

Special Shout out to everyone who helped make it possible, from the lovely Eve German who distracted Emily, to Emily's sister Katie, to all those who helped put up decorations or brought things, to Tucker who took most of the pictures, and to everyone for loving Emily and for helping to give her the best birthday possible. tanks.

Carnage.

2010-12-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the best party I've ever thrown. It was for one of my best friends in the whole wide world who is also one of the greatest people I've ever know.
Her name is Emily and she is pure gold.

This is what my apartment looks like this morning. The tape is having a hard time sticking and every once in a while we just hear something fall to the ground. But I sort of love having my living room be a jungle of lights and streamers.

I'll post photos of the actual event when my cameraman gives them up.

oui.

2010-12-06T00:23:00.001-08:00

I can't decide if this video is inspirational or just cheesy

The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun from Michael Bungay Stanier on Vimeo.

But this is definitely awesome

stop light interests

2010-12-04T10:06:00.000-08:00

So I was stopped at a stoplight. I look across the street at two people sittin gat the bus stop, wildly flailing their arms. I realized after a few minutes that they were signing to each other. I've never seen such an intense argument. They're movements were completely violent and outrageous. At one point the man just turned his back to the woman and refused to look at her. She moved around trying to get her fingers in front of his face but he refused to look. It was like a little kid with his fingers in his ears going na-na-na-na-na.

And then I drove away

I'm the one who gets to press the buttons.

2010-12-02T23:03:00.000-08:00

Today a friend hit my nail on the head. They said my biggest pet peeve is feeling like I'm controlled. Total Truth. And lately, I've been feelin a bit controlled... out of control, and controlled by outside forces. I've been making myself do things I don't want to do, and I've been wanting to do lots of things that I've forced myself not to do. I've let people affect me, and "make me feel" certain ways.

But I'm in control here. I'm not a robot or a puppet, I'm not just a friend, or a daughter, sister, roommate, love interest, student, employee, kid, adult. I'm Rubie.

And I'm in control.

These videos are really great. :) Even if they're commissioned by Gap to sell their jeans. Doing what you love is a good idea.

Do What You Love- Anna from The Panic Room Videos on Vimeo.

Do What You Love - Ashley from The Panic Room Videos on Vimeo.

Do What You Love - Afton from The Panic Room Videos on Vimeo.

I think this, doing what I love, (and what I want to do, being decided and controlled by myself and no one else) is going to be the new theme for the blog.

Today I did something I love, I participated in a Birthday party (which I love) and I made a dessert in cupcake form (also a major love)
This is called Cafloutis (ka-floo-ti) It's french, and dense, usually they use cherries, I used peaches and raspberries. The recipe is here.

Whoo!

This is gonna happen

2010-12-02T15:42:00.000-08:00

Today Tucker came up with the best themed party idea ever. I know this is really far away. But come spring. I'm gonna be putting this party on. I'm planning it already.

Word up.

2010-12-01T19:04:00.000-08:00

Words. connotations, definitions, meanings, synonyms, antonyms, sentences, phrases, alliterations, similes, metaphors, oxymorons, verbs, nouns, prepositions, articles, possessive articles, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions.

I may hate learning about the subjunctive word form in French, but I'm pretty much in love with words.

save the words

Pogo

2010-11-30T20:39:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for these songs.

I'm thankful that doing the right thing makes things better. I'm grateful that the semesters almost over, and that I care about school. I'm thankful for my friends, past and present, I'm grateful for people that I admire from a far because I can imagine them as perfect and that gives me hope, I'm thankful that I can walk.

Today I had a random desire to run full speed, I was picking my way across across an ice covered sidewalk on the way up to monty python class, and when my foot finally hit dry concrete I had the strongest urge to break out into a run. Maybe it was because I had just spent the afternoon lazing around, maybe it's because of the ice and the cold, maybe it was because I wasn't wearing a heavy backpack, maybe it was because of this song. I took the stairs two at a time and then remembered how much it hurts your nose to quickly breath in cold cold air, but it was still really good.

This thankful for thing has been nice, it's given me a direction for my blog. But I'm ready to go back to random thoughts.

thanks.

Cat Saves the World again!

2010-11-30T13:37:00.000-08:00

Don't be shy just let your feelings roll on by
Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there
Just lift your head, and let your feelings out instead
And don't be shy, just let your feeling roll on by
On by

You know love is better than a song
Love is where all of us belong
So don't be shy just let your feelings roll on by
Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there
You're there

Don't be shy just let your feelings roll on by
Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there
Just lift your head, and let your feelings out instead
And don't be shy, just let your feeling roll on by
On by, on by, on by, on by, etc.

"Don't Be Shy" -Cat Stevens

2nd to last day.

2010-11-29T23:06:00.000-08:00

I'm almost done with my "thankful for posts" november challenge...

And Today was kind of hard.

I'm grateful for reminiscing. And... I'm grateful for wendy's... even if I didn't have it today. Chloe said "your grateful for us ya fool write that."

I'm grateful that it snowed 18+ inches of snow at my house, but also that it didn't snow that much in provo so moving around campus wasn't too bad.

I'm grateful for this video.

ok. I'm grateful again.

With a fire in the place.

2010-11-28T21:34:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful to be home on Sundays. No offense Provo... well I don't know how this isn't offensive, but I HATE being in you on Sundays. Every week after church as me and my sister are making our way out of "happy" valley through construction filled freeways, I just feel a grouchiness and stress slip away. Then I arrive home, and I relax for a while in the living room, maybe read the ensign, then eat a delicious meal with the family, take a nap, watch a movie with Hans, do some laundry, hang out with my dad, and then make the long trip back again.

I've gotten kind of a bad rap through the years for going home every weekend. People may think I'm being a baby, or that I can't handle living on my own. But really, I don't have a lot of time left to go home, and to laze around on my favorite couch, and to get advice from my parents. And Sunday is supposed to be a family day. I feel more mature running home every week than staying in Provo and pretending to be an adult while really just turning Sunday into a social day where I can play and flirt, and do all my calling stuff.

Home is where I feel the spirit, and Family is the most important thing in the world.

And who cares if I am a baby and that sometimes I just need home. :)

wow. seriously? Wow.

2010-11-27T21:17:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for hidden blessings inside things that suck.

Like loosing your project that is due monday morning, but then starting over and having it be better than the first.

Or driving all the way down to provo to look for it, not find it, but then go to Rubios and get fish tacos that make you feel better.

Or being forced to work for a long time on it in all one night, but having it end up being really relaxing and kind of nice.

well. Back to work!

on another random note. I'm grateful for sounding boards.

party on

2010-11-26T23:16:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful that I'm not in high school anymore.

But I'm more grateful for really really deep snow, and for sugar, and canyon drives at night.

The ultimates...

2010-11-25T18:30:00.000-08:00

The ultimate.

why do I always get sick right around holidays?

2010-11-24T23:39:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for parent's great big king sized beds that you can lay on with your little brother and watch speed racer while you slip in and out of consciousness.

I'm grateful that it's not 3 degrees inside even though it's three degrees outside.

so many things!

2010-11-23T20:38:00.001-08:00

I'm grateful for lots tonight.

I'm grateful for distractions, and for recipes that start out lame but end up lovely.

I'm grateful for the dramatic snowstorm here in Utah which has everyone all a fuss. All the hype and the tension in the air reminded me of Gandalf and the calm before the storm. But me and Chloe made it home 15 minutes before the flurries started.

I'm grateful for family dinners.
Songs isabel randomly started singing at dinner tonight:
The haunted mansion theme
scooby doo theme
it's a small world theme
some hymn I can't remember
the "wah eeh ah oh oh oh oh oh" from finding nemo.

I'm grateful for movies that remind me of how good things are.

I'm grateful for long talks that are silly, and serious, and enlightening.

I'm grateful for my bed. Which I am going to now.

mo money mo problems

2010-11-22T23:44:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for 12:48 am jokes. And for the grand piano, and that I know what the scarlet letter is about, and for pregnant fighting dreams "just don't hit my stomach", and... I'm just ready for thanksgiving break to get here already.

missing anything?

2010-11-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for longing. Sometimes I feel like it's a blessing to miss something. You hardly ever think bad things about the thing your missing, you usually just have visions of how good it is. Lots of times I think missing something is more effective than having it.
It sucks in the moment ya. But really it's all good.

3 hours

2010-11-20T21:21:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful that I didn't die tonight driving home from Park City. The usual 45 minute drive took 3 long hours with lots of nerves.

But it's sure beautiful.

I've been sittin in the dark.

2010-11-19T23:36:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for eye openers. For when you aren't really thinking about things you need to think about, or when you just forget... how good things are, how bad some things are, how intense some things are.

My sister Isabel had surgery on Wednesday. I went and saw her today. She's doing really well.

eye openers, they're pretty cool things.

Whoo!

2010-11-18T18:39:00.000-08:00

Walking home down the ramp from campus me and chloe were talking to each other in Watto voices when we came up to the stair intersection and were stopped dead in our tracks by a guy running down the stairs and across the ramp with a great black velvet cape billowing out behind him. He then without hesitation proceeded to slide down the railing of the stairs below.

I'm thankful for that.

Also, I have tickets to see HP tonight... but I'm not even really feelin it. Number one. I hate the harry potter movies. I like the books, but the harry potter fanatics bug me lately. In some ways I feel like they've changed from being LOTR/Star Wars fans and leaning more towards twilight fans.

Number 2. what's with the nudey scene I'm hearing about?

I'm going to offend someone with this post.

apologies. :)

I'm making apple crisp and wassail today

2010-11-17T16:01:00.001-08:00

And it's not even helping.

Even though I do get to spear apple slices with whole cloves. and I got to buy real sticks of cinnamon.

my moral needs boosting. I probably should stop listening to such emotional music.

ok... Gratitude.
I'm grateful for my bedroom window. I don't know why but I think the back of those apartment buildings are beautiful and moving. And the sunsets are just great back there. Plus the screen is really easy to take out so I can climb up onto the roof. which of course is awesome.

I guess what I'm really grateful for today is solitude. If your going to be feeling lonely you might as well do it alone, so you don't have to pretend or feel out of place. You can just enjoy the solitude, watch a movie, or listen to sad music. You can ponder or cry or do whatever you want to really.

Draw strength from it.

leve le main.

2010-11-16T22:27:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for my hands.
sometimes my fingers twitch involuntarily,
my nails are often dirty and sometimes when they're too long I trim them with my teeth.
I have a weird callus on my middle finger left hand, from years of writing.
I have a couple scars on my knuckles.
I write left handed and throw left handed but bat right handed.
I don't put my fingers where they're supposed to go when I type.
I always get gray smudges on the side of my hand when I write with a pencil.

I love how my bones and veins are visible in my hands. I love how I can see my body working when I move my fingers. I love how the pads on my fingertips can feel things so keenly. I love what my hands have done for me.

They've kept me from getting lost from my parents in Disneyland when I was young.
They've daintily tied bows and painted lines.
They've not so daintily put food into my mouth.
They've dropped a lot of things but I forgive them.
They've made music, they've drawn, they've written countless words.
They've danced, they've expressed my feelings.
They've connected me to people I've loved, they've held hands and faces, and tried to comfort and reassure, and explain. They've wiped away tears and hid my face from hard things.

They'll deteriorate someday, my habit of cracking my knuckles will probably break down my tissues and bones and make it hard for them to move, my skin will sag and age. But hands are hands.

And mine have had some good experiences.

I know this is generic BUT

2010-11-15T20:47:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for my family. We are awesome.

Like my Great Grandpa Stewart Bingham (that's him below), who started the D.I. And here is proof.

Like my Grandma (that's here above) who doesn't take crap from anyone and when she yells at someone she says that she "laces them up one side and down the other."

Like my Dad who can twist anyone's arm into doing anything, in a good way.

And My sister Chloe, If you want any proof of our love just look at our facebook relationship with that new tool. or just go here and look at our wall posts to each other.

Like my little sister Isabel who's probably closer to the spirit and God than we can even tell.

counsel.

2010-11-14T23:46:00.000-08:00

Talking things out is so great. And my parents just kick butt at it.

Even better is having a really good long parental chat, and then going to watch Hawaii five-o with my dad in his room with nachos.

Best ever.