The Late Christmas Movie List.... Oops.

'Tis the season right?

Quick review of movies that we all love this season.

There are always the classics, like:




This is good stuff too:




And of course:



Yeah, I know these are only a few, and I couldn't find clips for all of them, just trailers, but I still love them. And seeing as this is already late coming out, I'm not going to take time to list the many more that come to mind.

Happy Belated Christmas!

My List

My LIST of places (see previous post), in a somewhat geographical order, of the places I'd like to see before I die:

(What are some of your destinations? Have you been to any of mine?)

Ta Prohm Temple - Cambodia
I want to see the trees in particular here
Luang Prabang Waterfalls- Thailand

Sigiriya- Sri Lanka
I want to climb up and stand atop this chunk of granite

Yaku-Shima- Japan
Hopefully I can get a glance of Mount Fuji while I'm over there too.

Guilin Hills- China

Wolong Nature Reserve- China

Mount Lushan- China

Singing Sands, Gobi Desert- Mongolia

Mount Bromo & Tengger Highlands- Indonesia

Komodo Island- Indonesia

The Polar Plateau- Antarctica
And also I'd like to see some of the famous Antarctic Sea Ice while I'm chillin' out down there.

White Island- New Zealand
Mostly I'd just like to fly over it, but if I get the chance I will want to climb around on this volcano.

Fiorland- New Zealand

Mount Taranaki- New Zealand

Cape Kidnappers- New Zealand

Rotorua Geothermal Region- New Zealand

Twelve Apostles- Australia

Nullarbor Plain- Australia

Kata Tjuta- Australia

Great Barrier Reef- Australia

Mossman Gorge- Australia

Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Bora Bora- French Polynesia

Palau- Micronesia

Mount Kilauea- Hawaii

Mauna Kea- Hawaii

Ascension Island- Off the cost of Africa
I'd of course only go during baby-seaturtle season

The Maldives- Indian Ocean

Ennedi Gorge- Chad

Blue Nile Falls- Ethiopia

Mount Elgon's Elephant Caves- Kenya/Uganda

Murchision Falls- Uganda

Mount Kilimanjaro- Tanzania

Virunga Mountains- Democratic Republic of Congo

Victoria Falls- Zimbabwe

Mana Pools National Park- Zimbabwe

Darkensberg- South Africa

Cape Point- South Africa

Blyde River Canyon- South Africa


Masada- Israel

Dead Sea- Jordan

Cedars of Lebanon- Lebanon

Pigeon rocks- Lebanon

Meteora- Greece

Mount Olympus- Greece

Mallos De Riglos- Spain

Plitvice Lakes- Croatia


Krimml Falls- Austria

Cevennes Gorge- France

Rhone River- France/Switzerland

Mount Vertoux- France

The Ardeche Gorges- France

Le Puy-De-Dome- France

Cliffs of Moher- Ireland


Giant's Causeway- Northern Ireland

Jurassic Coast- England

The Roaches- England

Lochaber Mountains- Scotland

Great Glen and Lock Ness- Scotland

St. Kilda Archipelago- Scotland

Aurora Borealis- Finland

Geiranger Fjord- Norway

Iguazu Falls- Brazil

Altiplano- Bolivia/Chile/Peru

Machu Picchu- Peru

Galapagos Islands- Ecuador

Aparados Da Serra National Park- Brazil

Autana Tepui- Venezuela

Romantic Cremation?

I've been telling everyone for years that I want to be cremated, and I don't think people believe me.

The idea is this:

I have a list of places I really want to see before I die. Sometimes I add places to the list, and other times I reassemble their priority on the list.

Now, as much as I like to travel, I have a feeling I won't quite make it to all these places. So, when I die, those who love me take my remains, burn them to ashes, put them in an urn, and go to each of the places I didn't get around to. At each place they let some of me go, (preferably in a strikingly beautiful spot.) This way I get to 'see' all the places on my list.

But here's the catch, not only do my remains experience the beauties of this world, but those who love me enough to cart an urn around the world have the opportunity and excuse to see the marvels of the world as well. So I'm not entirely selfish here.

This has been my plan since jr. high.... Now that I'm married I'm not quite sure what I want. Well that's not true. Ideally my husband and I die within five minutes of each other, we're burned up together and share an urn. (Why does this sound so romantic to me?) Then together we're spread around all these places, only he gets to add some to the list too :)

Because I HAVE begun to check off some spots on my list, another issue has arisen: I want also to return to some of the places I've been. So when I die, look for the stars next to the check marks, because you're going to be heading there too.

These are my current desires for my remains. If you are truly interested in learning more about my list, stay tuned as I'm about to post some locations and pictures. :)

My My, Where Has the Time Gone?

It's time for a new post. A LOT has happened in these last months.

1.) I went to Italy for most of the summer and left my cute fiance all alone at home.

2.) I came home and got married. It was a beautiful and perfect wedding. I hardly feel like anything went wrong. Everyone who came I think had a good time, and that was the goal. I owe that largely to my wonderful bridal party who danced their feet off at both the dinner and the reception. (You know who you are.) Way to go bridal party!

3.) Moved into a new place, which is gorgeous!!! It's so modern and yet classy. I love it. It's perfect and it's cozy.

4.) I got a promotion! I am now the official Children's Marketing Manager for the bookstore. This means I get to plan, operate, and follow up afterward on all children's events. I'm also one of the five in the marketing team, which means I assist in all other events when necessary.

5.) Due to my new job I've met and conversed comfortably with such famous authors as Rick Riordan, James Dashner, Mark and Caralyn Buehner and Treat Williams (yes the actor). We had Jimmy Carter this month too. Not only did he agree to shake my hand after I worked his event, but he hugged me. It was amazing. (He didn't hug anyone else, mind you.)

Pretty much my life is awesome right now. If only I could figure out how to fit school into this complicated equation. Hmm... oh well. I'll post pictures sometime. Maybe I'll post each major event individually, complete with corresponding pictures. Who knows.

I'm happy with my new hubby. And that's all I'm really caring about right now.

Cheers!

Blue Midget Forever!

I'm moving out of my apartment. I'm sad. It's been really a difficult year, and there were times when I just didn't want to drive back to my apartment after my weekend at home with my family and boyfriend, but I also can't overlook how much good I have experienced in this apartment.

I live in a college town which has its advantages and disadvantages. For the most part I've only really focused on the negative aspects while living down here. But seriously, I love my roommates. I have learned SO much from living with them. I wasn't incredibly close to each of them, but we all had good relationships with each other, and we all knew how to have fun together.

We held parliament sessions for a while, where we would vote on certain things, like naming the room in which we met "The Room of Requirement" and the bathroom "The Other Room of Requirement". Inside jokes sprung up and were carried out adequately for what has literally been months later, like the "blue midget" and "the bedroom of the blue midget".

I wanted to move out of my parents house and experience everything I knew would come with moving out. So I did, I transfered schools and moved 40 miles away. I had a boyfriend at home, and risked ending it, but I knew it was important. I really knew I had something to learn out on my own. And I think I did learn it.

When I stop to think about it, I feel gratitude and humility. Gratitude because I have had WONDERFUL experiences out here, and humility because I could have done SO MUCH MORE to have learned and experienced out here.

True I don't like this city at all. I feel like it's a bit junky and everyone in it is self-centered and self-focussed as they are all working to learn and take care of themselves right now, but I honestly have spent this last school year in the greatest apartment I've ever seen with people who were absolutely perfect for me to live with. No I didn't always think they were perfect. I had some quiet but definite frustrations and moments of anger with some of them, but now that it's over, I don't really care about any of that. Right now I'm just remembering the good.

It feels like only two weeks ago when I was meeting cute Erin who I was to share a room with. It feels like only yesterday that I started my first week of school down here. I remember soooo clearly that first week, and coming home each day from class and feeling like a piece of my stomach had fallen out on my walk home. I was lonely and homesick and uneasy in my foreign surroundings, but I can't remember any of it lasting longer than a week.

This apartment to me represents my personal place. Here I have invested only myself. Joey has come to visit, but he definitely isn't a part of what this place means to me. This apartment is untainted by my relationships with others. Instead I look around and see purely myself and I can almost feel the change in me as I have learned to be independent in a new way. Not just in supporting myself, but in learning to survive without loved ones always close at hand who will give me a hug when I need one. Yes my roommates were all here with me, but there is an indescribable difference. We were all friends but we were all learning the majority of things individually.

Life changes, but change is good. It can be really hard for me sometimes, but at the same time I NEED it. I'd go crazy without it. Tomorrow I take another final exam, finish packing, go to my last day of work at the chocolate store then drive home. There I will finish some necessary wedding preparations, get ready for Italy, then fly to Europe for eight weeks. I will then come home, wait 50 days, then get married to my adorable and handsome fiance who makes my life that much better. From there I don't really know where I'll go, but like I said, change is good. Just like I knew I had something to learn from living on my own, I know I have a great deal to learn from every other experience that comes my way.

So after having slept here for approximately 210 days, this is my last night, and as it is with everything that comes to an end in my life, I am sad. This place holds a chunk of my life. It wasn't incredibly long, but it was magnificent. I don't measure its importance in time, but rather in what I've learned, and believe me, I've learned a lot.

I'd be surprised if anyone has made it through to the end of this entry. But honestly I didn't write it out for anyone but myself. I was cleaning out the last bits of my closet when I realized I'd been sitting in the closet for over fifteen minutes staring at a wall and thinking about leaving. I wanted to write in my journal, but I took my journals all home last weekend. So here I am, typing.

(PS, too bad I didn't realize how much I liked sitting in the closet until my last night. I probably would have gotten a lot of homework done in there.)

Ok. I'll end this now. I hurried and took some pictures because I realized that I did in fact want them, even if it's lame and cheesy. So I'll probably post some of them. This really was the perfect place to live. It's so beautiful and homey.

So yeah, it's been a rough year. School was hard, work was stressful, especially when my manager hated me, but I don't regret having come down here for even a second. This was so far the greatest thing I've ever done for myself, and I've done a lot. So if you haven't moved out and you're reading this, I would recommend it. Just do it. It's so worth it. Even the things that frustrated you will be meaningless by the end of it. Just as it is in all things, we simply need to look more at the positive.

Toilet Smarts

The toilet wouldn't stop running water after the last person flushed. All by self I took off the lid and watched as I discovered how a toilet works. I thought I knew before, but clearly I didn't because now I understand ALL aspects of how it works.

First of all, may I just say, the person who designed the toilet was brilliant. And second, in accordance to my last blog, posted three hours ago, I just needed to mention that this is just one more thing that I believe qualifies me as an adult.

That's all.

Life oh Life

Life, for serious, is a weird and freaky thing.

Like to sit here and realize, that not only am I an adult because of my age, but I guess I do adult-ish things.

For example, I can pay my own bills. I'm paying off a loan, I pay rent, I pay insurance, I pay for my cell-phone, I buy gas and groceries, I understand a credit score and how to work toward getting a better one, and I'm trying to save for both Italy and a marriage at the same time. These are all very grown-up things.

Apart from finances I know what to do if/when I get into a car accident, I have three years of a collegiate education behind me, I schedule my own doctors appointments and understand how my insurance works, (like I now understand what a 'deductable' is), I can change a tire, (Like for reals, I've done it), I understand how stocks and bonds work... The only thing I haven't really learned yet is how to do my own taxes. My sweet and loving father takes care of that mess for me. And I know how to work and work hard. Money doesn't scare me. Even if I'm struggling for a while, I'm not afraid. So what if I'm poor for a while, I just don't buy so much and work even harder. Piece of cake really. So yeah. I guess I'm an adult.

I didn't realize it really until my roommate a while ago came to me asking advice on her credit card...

Weird.

But no, seriously, it's weird. If you know me at all, especially from high school, you'd know that this is not something you would expect from me. I had tea parties and picnics throughout all of my adolescence. I even dressed up with my friends and went out and did crazy things, just because we could. I skipped school a lot, got pretty good grades knowing they could be even better if I care, but I chose not too... like, the responsible adult thing is just so out of character for me. So yeah. It's weird and surprising.

I'm getting married!!! That's a pretty big adult-like thing to do. And knowing myself, I would expect myself to be more scared than I am, but I'm really not. I can take care of myself already, so it's not like I have to learn how to do that at the same time as learning to care for someone else.

But this is a good thing that I'm going into a marriage so prepared. Because now I won't be forced to learn too much at once. I've got all the logistics learned, so I can focus only on the relationship and the marriage. Which, I'm thinking, is a pretty cool thing.

So yeah. I guess I'm an adult. And yeah, it's weird, but not that much has changed. I'm still willing to look like a total fool in front of people and I still know how to have a good time. I've just furthered my education a bit. That's all.

So yay for life. It's always moving somewhere, and if it feels like it's not, then I would venture to say that you're probably doing something wrong...

Beautiful October Plans

I'm usually good at staying pretty chill about things. I don't get too stressed usually, (at least with the things one usually gets stressed out about), and I do get excited but most people don't really see my true excitement. Many just see me being crazy and weird. I think the reason for this is because nothing often gets me REALLY excited.

Except right now I have a pretty valid reasons for crazy out-of-control excitement. I am, as of last weekend, ENGAGED!! That's right. With a shiny ring and a hot fiancè. The works. And I have the prettiest ring. So of COURSE I'm excited. This is like, the best thing to happen in my life.

So It's going to happen in October. And it's going to be a gorgeous fall wedding. I love the autumn. It's my favorite season. And it just feels like the perfect length of engagement time for us. I'll still be going to Italy, which will be hard to be apart for so long, but at the same time, I'm going to be living in Italy, which has been a dream of mine for year and years. So everything seems to be fabulous right now.

Well, remember how I don't get too stressed? Well there are a few things for the wedding I'm going to need to have figured out before I go to Italy in a month, and I also have school. So I'm a little worried that I might actually get a little stressed out. But hopefully I will manage to keep it all under control. :) I'll just need to stop and remember how fabulous my life actually is. Huzaah!

Today's a dumb day... I scratched my eyeball taking out a contact and thus I feel excused.

It's a rainy/snowy day today. One of those days when it's snowing but it's too warm outside to stick, thus the ground looks rained on, but the sky offers snow. I don't like snow too much. Correction: I don't like snow after New Years. All of snow's value is lost when no longer associated with the holidays. Or at leas, that's my opinion.

I love rain though. I LOVE thunderstorms. But mostly I just love puddles and the fact that sometimes the earth wants to get wet. (Totally random thought, but it reminds me of an elephant throwing water with its trunk to stay cool. That what I imagine mother nature is doing when it rains.) I don't understand why so many people have this cat-like fear of getting wet. Embrace it. It's a change of pace. (Unless you live in England I suppose.)

My absolute favorite is walking outside after the rain has chilled out a bit, and while walking you look down and watch the puddles and the reflections of the sky and tree silhouettes on the ground. Tree silhouettes always make me happy, but seeing them when I'm looking down at what usually is an ugly sidewalk... that just gives me another reason to get over myself and try and enjoy the day. And it doesn't just have to be a tree silhouette. People, buildings, whatever. I just love small puddle reflections.

So I think I will. I've got to go to three more classes today, :p, but between each one I'll try and forget about the disgusting cold air, and focus on something worthy of holding my attention.