There is no charge for awesomeness

short update

2011-07-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

Hola friends.

Just checking in really fast. Here's what's up:

I am still on my crusade for health and a smaller pants size. So far I've lost a little over 12 pounds. I would still have to lose 12 more before the end of August to reach my "back to school" goal so we'll see how that works out. I still have quite a ways to go even after I reach my back to school goal, but 12 pounds isn't too shabby.
I joined my fitness pal to help me keep track of my calories. If you are wanting to do the same you should join and we will be fitness buddies together :)
My family has a new pet bird. He's a cockatiel and he is an endless source of amusement to us all. We love him and I am happy to have a pet I'm not allergic to.

Anyway, that's all I can think of at the moment.

Adios!

p.s. I am trying to think of suitable "rewards" for reaching my weight loss goals. Anyone have any ideas? I don't really want to get new clothes that will just end up not fitting soon but I usually end up eventually getting myself the things I want anyway so I don't know what would qualify as a reward.

I have returned....Kind of

2011-05-17T19:49:00.000-07:00

Hello, my sad and forlorn little blog. I am aware that I haven't posted anything here since February. Please don't hate me.

While I was away I:

Finished up the semester. Not as well as I would have liked, but not too horribly, considering.

Decided that it was time for me to halt my path to sumodom. To that end I have taken up working out 3ish times a week and watching what I eat a little bit. I've lost 2.2 pounds since May 2nd. On one had I am happy and proud of that progress, but on the other hand I look at how far I have to go to reach my goal weight and I get a little impatient. Just gotta remember to be patient and consistent.

Made many fabric flowers for purposes of hair decoration.

Will hopefully be opening an etsy shop soon for purposes of selling said flowers.

Read many books from The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. I find them well written and quite entertaining, but there is some language and a few risque passages, FYI.

Said goodbye for the summer to our friend Jeff.

Spent lots of time with our friend Matt.

Taken a road trip with my brother to St. George, Mesquite, and Las Vegas.

um...lots and lots of other things that you may or may not hear about later.

Anyway, I didn't forget about you blog. You will be hearing more from me as the summer progresses.

Love,
Amber

I've been mostly dead all day

2011-02-11T11:22:00.000-08:00

Picture from: source

For awhile now I've been worried that I'm coming down with something, but my immune system is usually pretty strong so I figured (see wishful thinking) that if I ignored it then it would go away and I could move on with my life. That hope got a little strained as I saw all but 3 of my siblings falling victim to this whatever it is and all of the couches of my house slowly filling up with infected siblings.

I thought I was almost out of the woods and it would all pass by soon, but then yesterday: bam. I felt terrible. And it's even worse today. Yucky bleh. I hate being sick. Also, it makes me feel totally useless. At least one of the couches has opened up...

Same old story...

2011-01-31T20:00:00.001-08:00

Picture from: © Agócs Írisz

Once upon a time there was an Amber. That Amber was stressed all the time because she was taking many credits and working many hours and had no time for sewing or blogging or even doing her laundry.
This Amber was hopeful that she could fit everything in if she just learned how to better manage her time, but she knew that was easier said than done.
The Amber decided to start working on it tomorrow after she blogged, flipped through her Anthropologie catalog, ate the last two cake bites from The Sweet Tooth Fairy, and got some sleep.
The end.

Strange things heard at my house over Christmas break

2011-01-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

Mom to Aub: We don't put snowmen up our nose.

John: That was an EXPERIMENT!! You're not supposed to DRINK EXPERIMENTS!! What if you EXPLODE?!? And DIE??!!
James: ...I was firsty.

James: We don't have any puppies.
Mom: You're right
James: That makes me sad. *starts crying*
Mom: We have big dogs though
James: Ooo!

Mom to Aub: If you're going to dance with the cinnamon sugar, you're going to have to make sure that the lid is on.

Rachel: Glitter gets everywhere! It's like the Herpes of the craft world.

Christmas comes but once a year

2010-12-25T15:34:00.000-08:00

Here is a funny/creepy Christmas video that we used to have. My sister Amanda looked it up this year because our siblings used to watch it every Christmas until the movie got lost. Merry Christmas!

Final Grades

2010-12-22T11:01:00.000-08:00

Well, it looks like the show was a hit because grades are out now. I got a B in math which I don't necessarily feel is an accurate representation of the amount of time and work I put into that class (approximately 3-5 hours a day, 4 days a week for the last 3 and a half months) but I didn't do as well on the final as I'd hoped (didn't have time to finish...) so there you go. I am glad that 1050 is over.

I got an A in yoga and an A- in my risk management and insurance class. I don't necessarily feel that I should have gotten that good of a grade since insurance is what got ignored while I was devoting my whole life to math but hey, if my teacher thinks I deserve and A- I am not going to argue.

Yay, now I can relax school free for a few weeks until next semester starts!

I dreamed a dream

2010-12-22T10:37:00.000-08:00

Usually I either don't dream or I don't remember what I've dreamt. The times I dream the most and the most vividly are when I am suffering from quite a bit of stress or when I am sick. These last two weeks I've had both, and I have dreamt up some doozies.

The one that was probably the funniest was the one from the night before last. In my dream it was time for grades to come out and was really anxious to see how I'd done in my classes but they wouldn't let me have my grades until I'd participated the final final project.....

Pythagorean Theorem: The Musical.

picture of dancers from: http://www.healthylifeessex.co.uk/pages/wellbeing/Dance_article_eh.html
Poster made by: Amanda

To Stall

2010-12-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

Part of Speech: verb
Definition: delay for own purposes
Synonyms: arrest, avoid the issue, beat around the bush, brake, check, die, drag one's feet, equivocate, fence, filibuster, halt, hamper, hedge, hinder, hold off, interrupt, not move, play for time, postpone, prevaricate, put off, quibble, shut down, slow, slow down, stand, stand off, stand still, stay, still, stonewall, stop, suspend, take one's time, tarry, temporize
Antonyms: advance, allow, further, help

It's finals time ladies and gentlemen. I have a doozy of a project due tomorrow and though I know in my heart I should be working on it, and I know in my head that the sooner I begin the sooner it will end (with less pain and tears) and the sooner I can go to bed, I still catch myself stalling.

I am so sneaky about it you see.
I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror. Gee, looks like it's time to give the old eyebrows a plucky pluck. It only takes a minute, and everyone knows that well groomed eyebrows help you to feel more attractive and good about yourself, and when you feel good about yourself you always do better. I was doing myself a favor, really.

Time to get to work. It would be silly to start a paper on an empty stomach though. Maybe some toast....and ice cream...and wheat thins.

Then I got to the computer but I also got distracted by this blog. A girl who recycles ugly old things into newer looking better looking things. It's awesome.

Then I wanted to sew but I restrained myself. It's never a bad time to blog though, so here we are.

Now it's definitely time to start the project....After I check my e-mail. ;)

definition from dictionary.com

pretties

2010-11-28T16:01:00.000-08:00

I was at J C Penney the other day doing some Christmas shopping and I happened upon this little beauty. It's called Ocean Love Potion. I really want it....

But I already have lots of nail polish and Christmas present buying comes first, so I couldn't justify it. Maybe Santa will bring it to me. (Although I did call my little brother a weirdo the other day and he informed me that I was now on the naughty list, so maybe I shouldn't look for it in my stocking.)

When I was looking for a picture of the other one I found this:

which I also kind of love. Oh dear.

(photos from http://www.vampyvarnish.com/2009/07/29/new-sephora-by-opi-nail-polish-colors/)

Gore and heartache? At least they'll have good curtains.

2010-11-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

So, I don't know much about this movie except that it's about Aron Ralston and that I sold them fabric to use on the sets. We sometimes sell fabric to movie people and I never hear of it again (if they can tell me what the movie is, sometimes they can't) so when they were telling me about the movie I was like "uh huh, uh huh" and didn't pay all that much attention and then I kind of forgot about it, but then today I was browsing around the interwebs and I saw a picture from the premiere and it all came back to me.

It's kind of exciting to see your fabric to go a movie with actual famous people and stuff. I mean James Franco? He was in Spiderman back before Spidey turned emo and got a bad haircut. Clearly this spells A list. Anyway, I thought it was going to be a much smaller more local thing. It's not really my kind of movie but maybe I'll have to see it just to annoy everyone around me* (as I often do at local theater) by being like "Hey, hey see those curtains? I totally sold them that fabric!" ...Yes, I'm kind of a weirdo.

*When I say everyone around me I really mean my sister Amanda, she handles it well.

A few of my favorite things

2010-11-03T15:09:00.000-07:00

(photo from http://brusimm.com/2010/07/18/green-lantern-new-pics-from-cinema-static/)

In June of 2011 a wonderful thing is happening.
The combining of two of my favorite things: Hot men and Superheroes.
Ryan Reynolds + Green Lantern = Awesome? I hope so.

(even though his mask kind of makes him look like he has a beak...)

(photo from http://hemingwayslounge.blogspot.com/2009/07/ryan-reynolds-green-lantern-fan-art.html)

Math'd

2010-11-03T14:27:00.001-07:00

You know how in Teen Girl Squad someone is always being arrow'd or twelve sided die'd? Well my friends, I've been Math'd! This semester has been rather stressful. I pretty much wake up, go to school, go to work, spend my evening doing math homework, go to bed. repeat. repeat. repeat. This leaves little time for things like blogging. (and laundry, friendship, sanity, etc.). I am hoping that next semester will bring happy things like free time and perchance a functioning vehicle (yes, I am still a carless loser) but for now all I have is math math math. Yay for me...

life is happening. kind of.

2010-09-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick post to say that things have been crazy lately, frantic end of summer fun has been had and school has started so I haven't had time for blogging. This is a post to say that I can't post now, but I will!

two for the price of one

2010-08-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

Sooo, some of you may have noticed how the Hot Man of the Day hasn't changed since I added that feature. You may think that I'm neglecting my blog again, but really it's just that I have this problem where I get crushes on people...

Anyway, the Hot Man of the Day wasn't necessarily meant to be a daily change, just a whenever someone new strikes my fancy change. And no one has struck my fancy lately quite as much as good old Joseph Gordon-Levitt. So I added another Hot Man of the Day for the lesser strikers of my fancy until such a time that I no longer need JG-L on my blog. Just as a warning: it may be awhile.

Spock Bangs. Or: why it is important for your hairdresser not to suck.

2010-08-08T22:04:00.000-07:00

The other day I went to get my hair cut. I took in a picture to show them and we discussed what I wanted my hair to look like. When it was time to cut my bangs we reaffirmed the length I wanted them, and I shut my eyes to shield them from falling hair. When I opened my eyes there was... not what I was expecting. No indeed. My bangs were at least 2 inches above my eyebrows and I looked rather Vulcan. (My friend Gerb mentioned Spock bangs here , and it was so appropriate to my situation that I maybe stole it a little bit...).

"Um, I was thinking a little longer..." I said
"yeah?" the girl asked
"yeah" I said, trying not to sound disgruntled "but it's kind of too late now, it's not like you can put it back."
"Yeah, I guess you're right" She said
Yeah.....

So for the next hour and a half I sat there while another girl tried everything she could think of to fix it, ultimately we ended up cutting more bangs to cover the super short ones, but these are still a little on the short side. I've been trying to disguise them as fun retro bangs, but some people are not falling for it (the guy who made my Bajio salad last night, for example).

Anyway, have some pictures.

<-----The bangs I wanted

<-----The bangs I got

<------Cleverly disguised

<----Okay, you can't really see them that well here. I just like this picture.

Hopefully they'll grow out a bit before school starts, but for now: Live long and Prosper.

Tee Hee

2010-08-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

A little something featuring the Hot Man of the Day (um...or week). Enjoy.

Ch-ch-changes

2010-07-30T01:13:00.000-07:00

As you (yes you, my imaginary readers!) may have noticed, I have given my blog a makeover! With the help of my more technologically tolerant sister Amanda I have added some fun things, changed the name to something that made more sense, and just generally made it more awesome (and attractive). I just want to say: I love it! The part I maybe love the most is the Hot Man of the Day section... Fantastic! Now I just need to remember to blog more, but with such prettiness to greet me at my blog, I think I'll have more trouble staying away than usual!

A public service announcement for all you pantsless hos out there.

2010-06-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

Dear the pantsless hos,

Someday, you will have children of your own. (Based on your state of pantslessness I would guess that day will be sooner rather than later). These children will do stupid things. You will cry. I will laugh.

Just thought you'd appreciate the heads up.

Love,
Amber

Cabin Fever

2010-06-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a really long time since I've blogged. I guess I can chalk it up to having a busy semester and nothing good to say.

Anyway, Now I'm even more of a social leper than before due to being carless and stuck at home all the time. And guess what, being stuck at home all the time can wear on a girl. Especially a girl who is used to being a bit more independent. Especially on a girl whose siblings are out of school for the summer. Loud siblings. It turns out the longer you're stuck at home with them the louder they get. The strange phenomenon is happening all over the place. The longer you're stuck at home, the less funny your parents jokes are. The longer you're stuck at home, the more smelly your brothers smelly Old Spice body wash is. It turns out that prolonged, unrelieved (except for the inevitable school and work) proximity to home and hearth is damaging to affection of same.

Also, I seem to have had a terrible car curse visited upon my head. But that is a story for another day. For now, I have to go rid my bathroom of lingering Old Spice fumes and cuddle up with my friends Ben and Jerry for another scintillating Saturday night.

A little update

2010-02-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

I've started a post many a time over the last month or so, but then I realize that I have nothing interesting to say, really. Here's a little update on what I've been doing.

School. Shocker, right? Yep, this semester I'm taking biology, math, personal finance, and speed reading. Fun times. Lots of homework.

Work. Again, I know that you're stunned.

Realizing that I am doomed to a life of spinsterhood because apparently I do not know how to interact with the male population.

Realizing that people probably think I am a)stuck up or b) mean because sometimes I'm a little shy, and sometimes I'm a little sarcastic.

Reading

Trying to decide whether Psychology is the major for me or if I should switch to something else, and if so, to what?

Experiencing a myriad of car problems

Trying, as always, to fit everything in and not go crazy

So there you go. The exciting life of Amber. Maybe someday I'll remember all the ideas from the posts I meant to write.

Chocolate creates endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.

2009-12-15T23:01:00.000-08:00

Today my happy thing is Dove Chocolates with a caramel center. They're delicious and the wrappers always have words of wisdom and advice. Today mine said "Try something new this weekend".

Hmm. What should I try?

It's the most wonderful time of the year

2009-12-07T17:56:00.000-08:00

Actually, it's finals time.

That means that anything Christmasy or fun (and anything unChristmasy and unfun for that matter) gets shoved aside while I live on stress, adrenaline, and Tylenol for 2 weeks. Final projects, reading days, finals finals finals. Too much stress and too little sleep (and the feeling that I'm missing out on all the fun of the holidays) makes me irritable. And the thought that I still have 5 days until finals are over (yes, I have a final on Saturday at 8 am) makes me crazy.

Anyway, I'm trying to think happy thoughts and focus on happymaking things while finals week drags on, so here's today's happy thing:

I got these for my birthday at Old Navy and I've used them pretty much every day since. Usually I'm not much of a flavored lipgloss kind of girl but I love these babies. They're so glossy and pretty and they smell like Christmas. Well, like candy actually, but that's okay.

clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be happy

2009-11-30T21:56:00.000-08:00

Recently I read a blog where the blogger was giving hygiene tips. One of the tips said that showering or bathing was something that needed to take place daily. It was also mentioned that shaving of the legs and armpits should happen daily also.

I don't know about you, but that sounds painful to me. If I shower every day my hair freaks out and frizzes into a dry and unhealthy mess and my skin dries out, cracks, and falls off. This is no matter how much I moisturize. Other members of my family have it even worse (too much washing = oozing open sores kind of worse), so daily showering isn't really an option for some of us, and actually becomes less hygienic than waiting a day or two.

I realize that not everyone has skin conditions and the like though, so that brings me to the following questions.

1) Is it normal to shower every day and I just don't know it? I always thought it was a do-what's-best-for-you-as-long-as-you-stay-clean sort of thing, but maybe it's like brushing your teeth or wearing deodorant and it's a do-it-everyday-lest-others-shun-and-vomit-on-you sort of thing? Enlighten me.

2) Do you guys think I'm gross now that you know I don't shower every day and I may let several days worth of stubble accumulate on my legs before I decide to shave them? If so, you might want to steer clear because sometimes I also wear things more than once before washing them. I know, right? Crazy!

Please understand, I'm not saying that people shouldn't shower everyday, but nor do I think it is imperative to be squeaky clean all the time. What I'm saying is: Do what you gotta do. I know that sometimes I could do more to be a prettier and more hygienic person but I'm a live and let live sort of girl most of the time, so if you aren't greasy or stinky I'm not gonna think you're gross. And for me I'd rather be comfortably day old than painfully fresh. Besides, oozing sores scare the children.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

My family hasn't ever had a ton of Thanksgiving traditions that I know of. We had a few, nothing too fancy but lots of family fun. When I was younger we used to go over to both grandparents houses and eat Thanksgiving lunch at one and Thanksgiving dinner at the others, then the people who had eaten too much would stretch out on Grandma's long suffering couch while mom and Grandma washed the dishes and the kids ran around and basically got underfoot.

Now that Grandma's gone and the other set of grandparents have moved to a warmer climate we don't really get around much on the holidays, and since our house is already bulging with the 11 of us we don't have much holiday company either. Sometimes it makes me sad because it seems like without having people over or anything it's just like another Sunday dinner, and not special or festive.

Some things I do enjoy about Thanksgiving in our house is that for one thing it's chill. It's one of the few days a year when no one has anywhere to go. We all sit around in our pajamas for awhile, make dinner, go to a newspaper stand to get the newspaper with the Black Friday ads and make our plan of attack for the next day. We eat a lot of good food and relax a lot.

I like the relaxation aspect of Thanksgiving, and I like the family time, but I think I'd like to try to make it a little more special somehow. I'd like to have some traditions that my family can enjoy now, and that I can pass on to my children someday. Does anyone have any great ideas?

What a CRAZY week

2009-11-20T00:46:00.000-08:00

They say that bad things come in threes. I hope that's true, because that will mean that our share is over for a little while. It has been such a crazy week.

On Saturday my wallet got stolen FROM MY CHURCH while I was at an activity. And since I didn't need to use my wallet for the next 24 hours, the thiefs had plenty of time to spend over $1,500 before they got caught. (And by caught I mean I found my wallet was missing and the fraud alert people called me simultaneously and we blocked the cards. Unfortunately the nasty wallet stealers have not been caught caught.) Where did they go, you ask? From here to Wyoming, hitting every Wal-mart along the way. They also had some fun at Walgreen's, an Office Max, and when they got hungry Golden Corral and Arby's. Obviously classy people.

Then, on Wednesday, my lovely sister Amanda had a seizure at school. Since she's never had one before and her temperature, blood sugar levels, iron levels, etc. were all normal we are kind of wondering what's going on. Not the doctor though, he decided that she just fainted and sent her home. Never mind the fact that she was seizing hard enough to sprain her ankle. Definitely just a faint. Nope, sure wouldn't want to take some blood for lab work or order a CAT Scan or, like, do anything.
P.S. Doctor Incompetence, she's NEVER fainted before, so maybe even if it is "just a faint" you might want to do a little investigating? Am I right?
She's also felt funny and required supervision for the last 48 hours. Seizures = not normal. Do I sound mad? I am. I am also worried about my sister.

Anyway, coming to our last (well, most recent, but hopefully also last) "bad thing": tonight someone broke the windows out of the car of a friend who was visiting us. Big, expensive windows that I don't even want to think how much they'll cost to fix. It was sitting outside our house for awhile, and when he went out to leave two of the windows were broken. Nothing was taken, however, which is good. It is also puzzling though, since he had some rather expensive tools in there. I'm relieved that it wasn't one of our cars, but at the same time I feel so bad for him.

I can kind of maybe understand the impulse that would lead someone to steal. We all like money, right? But wanton destruction? Randomly deciding to go and hurt someone that has never done anything to you, that you don't even know, when you won't gain anything? I'm afraid I don't understand criminals at all. It's like a separate reality to me. Like things you see in the movies. Cool parties where more than 10 people show up, Girls who live in Seattle and yet have glossy, frizz free hair, people who go on random trips and end up finding True Love, petty crime. It's not too difficult to believe that these things could happen in real life, even that they do happen and happen around here, to people I might see occasionally or even know. But they aren't things that happen in my personal reality.

Anyway, I'm sure by now I'm rambling. This has all been sort of a shock. The worst thing, I think it the total lack of closure. Who stole my wallet? Do I know them? What made them do it? How could they look at my face on my picture Visa and gleefully ring up the charges? Why doesn't Wal-mart check ID? What the heck did they buy at Walgreens? I'll never know. We'll never know who broke the windows in the car. It creates a sense of unrest in my life this week, and such a feeling of violation. Someone knows me. Held my green wallet in their hand. Probably rummaged around my old receipts to make sure there wasn't any more cash. Took my $5 bill, maybe to tip the waitress at Golden Corral. They know part of my story, but I'll never know theirs. And maybe what's even more violating is that they did know part of my story, no matter how small, and they were still okay with taking that part away from me. Nothing irreplaceable, but still...

What I have learned this week: watch your wallets, your loved ones, and your vehicles. Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.

Personal Progress...

2009-11-08T23:37:00.000-08:00

I am doing it!

Finally, at the ripe old age of...not in Young Women's anymore, I've decided to go for my Young Women's medallion.

For those of you who have no idea what that means; it basically entails completing 48 value "experiences" (which usually consist of working on a gospel principle (prayer, for example), reading some scriptures, and writing in your journal), and 8 projects on which you spend 10 hours or more each, all in the hopes of emerging from your teenage years a well rounded and spiritually sound young woman.

Why didn't I do it while I was in the Young Women's program, you ask? A variety of reasons I think. For one thing, some of the experiences require you to follow through by doing something for several weeks and then reporting back. In the way of most teenagers I was sort of disorganized and forgetful, so most of the value experiences I got done were the ones where you read two scriptures and write something in your journal. Another reason is that I've always found my peers somewhat intimidating, so I didn't always make it to mutual which is where much personal progressing took place.

Why now? I like finishing things. I think it will be good for me. Also, my sister is working on hers, so I thought we could do it together. It turns out that there are several other girls who are working on theirs too (go figure), so I'm kinda hoping we can join forces and work on it together, maybe keep each other motivated...kind of like a study group for spirituality.

It's going well so far (in the 12 hours since I started). Amanda and I have a year, two months, and three days until she's 18 (which a. is really weird, because she shouldn't be that old, and b. is our goal for finishing). Hopefully I can keep momentum this time. Wish me luck!

Fun with Sewing

2009-11-03T23:37:00.000-08:00

I made a skirt.

It's fun.

It's quirky.

Yes, it has bowling balls on it,

and yes, I am totally wearing it to school tomorrow.

A Quote

2009-10-01T00:03:00.000-07:00

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true friends;
succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
be happy anyway.
Give the world your best anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
it was never between you and them anyway.

Mother Teresa

The glossies

2009-09-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

The time has come for me to tell you about the glossies.

The glossies are girls who -watch out for this creativity- are glossy.

Their hair is glossy.

Their fingernails are glossy.

Their lips are glossy.

Often their purses and cars are glossy also.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing bad about wanting these things to be glossy. For most of us it's quite desirable. I loves me some good glossiness. I wish my hair were glossy instead of a 24/7 frizzapalooza. It's sad for the glossies though, because they're all the same.

They all wear the same shoes.

They all have the same hair.

They all look at you with the "Why are you talking to me, Frizitron?" look on their faces.

Their personalities leave you with the impression you were talking to someone with maybe 10 programmed responses. (OMG! featuring prominently)

The problem with the glossies is that it's one thing to be fashionable. It's another to look (and act) like you just came off the Mattel production line.

we were always meant to say goodbye

2009-09-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

Would we have had a different relationship if I were thinner?

If I dressed differently?

Maybe it would have worked out if you hadn't always been throwing me off balance.

Maybe it wouldn't have taken me this long to admit to myself that something was wrong if I hadn't been so enamored with the way we looked together.

You were so fun at first, before you started trying to mold me into your Barbie-like ideal.

Before I realized that you were all about appearances.

Maybe we could have worked something out if I hadn't have had to tiptoe around with you so much.

If you hadn't hurt me every time we were together.

We tried to make it work, but it was never meant to be.

I need a more solid foundation. And you? You need someone who's willing to make concessions for you.

Once I let you go maybe you'll find someone who knows how to love you.

Good luck.

Good bye.

Amber the procrastinator

2009-09-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

Even though I know that procrastinating is bad and only causes tears, I always end up doing it. Sometimes not by choice, I guess, because I am really busy. But I think I do have more time that just isn't being used too well.

On the other hand though, I need time to relax, and have fun, and things like that. How am I to use my time better without being over scheduled and overworked? What a dilemma. Suggestions? I suppose things wouldn't be this problematic if I hadn't come into all my classes a week late. Now I'm behind from the beginning, and apparently it's fun for professors to have big things due in every single class on the third week of school.

Anyway, I'm sure it will all work out but it sure is stressful for now.

Things that cause me no small measure of disgust

2009-09-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

dead rubber bands

old dried out tape

dead balloons

warm toilet seats

man fingernails with any white showing

pee on the toilet seat

clogged drains

the glossies (more to follow on them...)

So there we have it, a few things that are grody. What grosses you out?

Making lists is fun

2009-08-20T01:52:00.000-07:00

Things I like:

Reduced fat Cheez-It's

The way my room smells on summer nights

Attractive men

Spearmint toothpaste

A fresh pile of library books, just for me

When I've just shaved my legs and they're so soft and smooth

A fun filled summer with friends and family :)

My windowsills full of plants in their happy colorful pots

Things I dislike

Not being able to sleep

Permanent dark circles under my eyes from not being able to sleep. (Though the radio tells me that those unsightly dark circles are from broken capillaries and surgery is the only way to fix...? Eww.)

Radio commercials about cosmetic surgery

The song "More than Words"

Hairdo malfunctions

My own wretched indecisiveness (which only crops up occasionally, but makes me crazy)

Being a horrible blogger

Cottage cheese

Amber is boring. And tired of rain.

2009-06-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Howdy y'all. I don't have anything super exciting to say. After all, my days lately have consisted mostly of working and then coming home and reading/looking out the window at the soggy soggy mess that is constituting my summer vacation and weeping. Yeah, apparently I spoke way too soon with my "Yay Summer" post. Don't get me wrong, I love me a good storm, but overcast and drizzly EVERY SINGLE DAY?! Give me lightening and thunder, give me wind, give me rain, but give me some sunshine too for Heaven's sake.

I suppose I should have been using this soggy time of my life to do productive things like cleaning or working on some projects, but I haven't. Part of my excuse for that is that our washer was broken for a little while, and I always start cleaning by doing laundry. We just got a new washer though, so hallelujah for that! I can wear clean socks to work and get some fabric washed. (once we get caught up on laundry that is..., not having a washer running 24/7 around here really gets us behind)

So there you have it. Soooo exciting...

Hooray for Summer!

2009-06-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

It's finally summertime! (well, technically not until June 21st, but the kiddies are out of school and the temperature's in the 80's so that's good enough for me)

I love summer sooo much. I spend most of my winter wishing that it were summer.

I love the smells of summer.
Freshly mown lawn. Warm breezes. Flowers.

I love hearing birds singing outside my room.

I love being woken up by the sunshine coming in my east facing window.

I love spending time with my family.
and time with friends.
and time outside.

I love the family's summer traditions like the summer reading program at the library and the llama festival at the Krishna Temple.

I love having time to read and that summer is the time to watch old movie musicals with my sister.
(Bye Bye Birdie anyone? Or Guys and Dolls?)

I love outdoor movies and outdoor musicals at the Scera Shell Theater.

I love wearing my cut off shorts and my flip flops and not caring what people have to say about it.

I love canoeing and longboarding and taking long walks and bike rides.

I love eating popsicles and hamburgers and macaroni salad.

I love all the festivals and celebrations and farmer's markets and community fun.

I love having some time for all the projects that my brain is constantly thinking up.

I love the freshness and brightness of everything.

It's the season of constant leg shaving, mosquito bites, and farmer's tans, but I don't even care. It's all worth it because summer is also the season of awesome!

A little bit confused.

2009-06-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

Real conversation I had at work today:

Customer: (holding up the price tags from two fabrics) "Can you tell me if there's a difference in price between these two fabrics?

Me: (reading the tags) "$3.50 and $3.50?"

Customer: nods

Me: "Um no, they're pretty much the same price."

Customer: "Oh, okay. Thanks."

Being Sick

2009-05-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

I got sick over Memorial Day weekend. I got sick on Sunday and then it got even worse on Monday, two days when no doctors were open, of course. Today when I finally staggered into the Doctors office it was so bad that even the doctor was disgusted at the state of my poor throat.

Also, when I called to make an appointment (okay, my mom called. I could barely speak.) they apparently decided that some of my symptoms were congruent with swine flu so they were going to call me and give me "special instructions" to get into the doctors office so I didn't contaminate the other patients. I found this very humorous and was excited for the call, but they must have decided that I wasn't such a risk after all because they never called me and I had to go in the main entrance just like everyone else.

Some other delightful parts of being ill: According to my sister I snore like Darth Vader when I'm sick. Charming. I also apparently was slightly delirious at some point and started singing "If you take the high road and I take the low road then I'll be in Scotland before ye" and then went on to say that me and my true love would never meet again on the bonny bonny banks of Loch Lomond because whoever was taking the low road had probably been eaten by the Loch Ness Monster. I couldn't imagine why no one had ever made this connection before, it was all so clear to me.

Anyway, I wrote a crappy haiku about having strep (because I've had a lot of time on my hands...). Here it is:
Amber has Strep Throat.
What an awful way to go.
Sad day for Ambers.

An Amber Update

2009-05-20T22:43:00.001-07:00

I don't have anything to say really, except that I didn't even realize how long it had been since I'd blogged last. Wow, what a slacker I am. I don't really have any great excuses either, I just haven't had much to say I guess. Which is kind of odd, me being me and all. Here's what I've been up to lately.

I'm out of school for the summer, so no homework for a couple of months!

I joined Curves for a 3o day fitness study, so I've been working out. I like Curves, but they have kind of retarded hours...

I've been trying to date a little (not very successfully...)

I've been reading lots and lots because I have time now!

I've been watching musicals

I've been taking nice moonlit walks. I love the smell of spring/summer nights!

I've been ignoring the disaster that is my bedroom. I'll have to clean it someday though. Sigh.

I've been trying to work on some of my sewing projects.

So there you have it. Some of the various ways in which I've passed almost an entire month of my summer vacation without even realizing it. Hopefully I'll be a little more productive with the rest of my summer, but still have lots of fun. If anyone wants to do fun summery things then definitely let me know!

Hello friends

2009-04-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

I don't know if anyone is even still reading this, but I just wanted to tell you that I miss you and my blog. In two weeks finals will be over for better or worse and I can have time again! Yay!

In the meanwhile my sister made this really sweet post about me on her blog if you want to check it out.

Love,

Amber

P.S. Happy Easter! What a beautiful day.

honestly people

2009-03-31T00:24:00.000-07:00

Dear the lady who let her child climb onto the cutting counter and walk up and down it while I was trying to cut fabric even though I had already asked him to get down, and all the while was berating her infant daughter if she made so much as a peep,

Effective parenting fail.

Sincerely,
Amber

small town reading

2009-03-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago I read this book called "She Got Up Off the Couch, And Other Heroic Acts From Mooreland, Indiana" By Haven Kimmel. It's the sequel to her autobiography "A Girl Named Zippy" which I read several months ago for book club.

Like its predecessor, it's basically a collection of essays about growing up in a small town, and just growing up in general. It's the story of Haven's childhood years.

I really like these books. I didn't know how I would feel about someone's random autobiography when I first started reading it for book club, but both of the books were a good read. Haven feels like a neighbor or a friend after you read her books, and a lot of her stories remind me a little of my life. It was when I read these that I first realized what a tomboy I was (am?), and if you've read the first one and remember the chapter about getting ready to go camping? My mom and I were both laughing our faces off at that, because my dad is almost exactly the same.

Anyway, they're entertaining and fun. Has anyone else read them? What did you think?

Slacker

2009-02-26T19:11:00.001-08:00

I know I've been a blog slacker lately. I've actually been a slacker in several areas of my life, just in case you were curious.

Anyway, I just wanted to make a little post to tell you that as soon as I catch up on homework and find my floor beneath the mountain of laundry I will (hopefully) be back to blogging.

For now, a stupid joke that I found on a Laffy Taffy wrapper:

What did one casket say to the other casket?

That you, coffin?

Happy B-day, Mom!

2009-02-17T10:47:00.000-08:00

Today is my mom's birthday. Over half of her life has been spent as a mother. Mostly to me, since I'm the oldest, but also to 8 other crazy kids. So I've been thinking. About my mom mostly, but also about moms in general.

Moms are the kind of people who will go shoe shopping with you to help you pick out shoes on their birthday. Even when they have a headache and hate the loud obnoxious music they play at the mall.

Moms are the kind of people who figure out how to get by with 4 hours sleep because the babies were up in the night and the elder children had an early morning fireside to be driven to.

Some moms think they aren't creative, yet they manage to make delicious dinners out of nowhere when they haven't had time for grocery shopping, make cool book reports out of pipe cleaner and construction paper, and create 9 adorable children using only some DNA and their uterus.

So there you have it. Moms are clearly awesome, and my mom is one of the awesomest. Thanks mom! Happy birthday! I love you!

*this was supposed to go up yesterday, but between the vagaries of wireless internet and a surprise attack from some nasty cold/flu virus I didn't get it done. Sorry about the lateness of your birthday coolness, mom.

Just some stuff

2009-02-15T11:43:00.000-08:00

So, I didn't get to do all the love posts that I was planning on before Valentine's Day. My sister suggested that I just post the rest of them randomly throughout the year, perhaps every Sunday or something. I thought that was a good idea because I love a lot of stuff and it gives me a topic to write about so there you go. I'll probably start next week or whenever I feel like it.

Also, thanks to everyone for your comments/compliments about my family post. I'm glad you liked it. If you want to see who I'm talking about in it, my sister put all of our pictures on her blog here.

Did everyone have a good Valentine's? I had lots of fun shopping and dancing and laughing. I still need to give out my valentines though... Alas, I'm a slacker sometimes.

Anyway, hopefully more cool posts are to come soon, but for now, have a good long weekend!

What time is it? It's Valentimes!

2009-02-14T09:22:00.000-08:00

Because it's Valentine's Day, and because I love you, I found you this little video about the origins and history of The Holiday of Love.

So that's why we give each other flowers and spend hours assembling little bags of candy hearts and laboriously writing the name of each classmate on generic Valentine cards for our children to take to school. Crazy, right? I never knew.

Have a happy Valentine's Day with the one you love.

If you, like me, are single and don't have One You Love then we can at least celebrate the fact that we aren't young women back in the pagan days, right?

more love

2009-02-05T20:59:00.000-08:00

I love books. I love them more than I love food, I love them more than I love a nice warm shower, and considering the amount of nights I spend reading until 3am when I have to get up at 6:30 for school, it's safe to say that I love them more than sleep. So for your consideration, a few of the books that I like.

Beauty by Robin McKinley

I got this book in 4th grade as a gift from my teacher and I've read it so much since then that it's falling apart. I've always liked the Beauty and the Beast story, and this is a great retelling.

The Amelia Peabody books by Elizabeth Peters

I love Amelia and her family and all of the crazy hijinks they get up to. It's nice to see a heroine that is feisty and spunky without also being tasteless and vulgar. The books are about Amelia Peabody who goes to Egypt for the first time in 1884 after the death of her father. She falls in love with Egypt and with a hot-tempered archaeologist. She spends the rest of her days solving mysteries and digging up moldy old pharoahs with her husband, her son, and all of the friends and family they collect along the way. The first one is called Crocodile on the Sandbank. There are 15 and in my opinion they get better as they go on, but the first one is good too. I find that they get really entertaining around the 2nd or 3rd book.

The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel

I haven't decided how I feel about this one yet, I just finished reading it. It's set in Colorado during World War 2. It's about a girl who becomes impregnated by a soldier who she never hears from again. As soon as her father finds out he arranges a marriage for her to a beet farmer in another town. The book is how she comes to terms with her new life, and how she learns to love her simple husband who only wants to make her happy. Olivia's behavior (and everyones in this book) puzzles me at times, but overall I think I liked the book.

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury is so fascinating to me. His books are strange and fantastic. This one is one of my favorites. It's about a 12 year old boy named Douglas Spaulding, and a summer in his life growing up in a small town. I don't know what else to say about it really, but it's a great book. I like to read it in the summer time.

Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.
~Anonymous

We are family

2009-02-04T20:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, so all of the posts before Valentines Day are going to be about love in one way or another. Why, you ask? Because I said so. Also, I'm having a hard time remembering the other things I wanted to write, so love sounds good. The challenge? I'm not in love. Also, sometimes love is cheesy and it makes me want to vomit. Or is that PDA? Perhaps admitting that made me sound like a 12 year old boy? Oh well. Onward.

Today's love topic: my family.

In my family we are many. 11 to be exact. 9 children, 2 parents. I'm the oldest of the children. There are 20 years between me and the baby, which 2 more years than there are between me and my mom. Weird? Probably.

Anyway, living in an 11 people household is lots of chaos and craziness, and we go through truly amazing amounts of milk, bread, and toilet paper every month. There's always someone who needs to be picked up, a child that needs to be changed or fed, or something like that. And since we're not a nice, organized large family like some people, there are a lot of lost library books, missed appointments, and way too much lateness.

But when it comes down to it, it doesn't matter that a child has somehow hidden my shoes in the vegetable crisper or eaten one of my favorite earrings, and it doesn't matter that some nights we do 7th grade science projects instead of college algebra.

What matters is that we're there for each other no matter what happens. That we are all willing to look beyond ourselves to help each other out, no matter how weird that is to everyone else in the world. I know I don't say this enough (or ever?) but I do love you guys.

JT: I love your quirky confidence, and your willingness to give anything a try. I love that you make friends so easily and that you're always full of life. I love the times we spend rowing around Provo River in your canoe and singing pirate songs. I love the summer drives that we took, listening to the radio and talking about stuff. I love that we are totally building a tribute to our viking ancestors to put in the back yard.

AE: I love your wacky sense of humor (so in touch with mine) and that you aren't afraid to be yourself. I love the love that you show for your family and for the Lord. I love that we share a love of hamburgers and pineapple. I love our trips shopping and to the library. I love your willingness to go along with my crazy plots, and I love all the good times we have with them.

JW: I love your curly fro. I love that you are helpful and considerate (when you remember). I love how you are secretly a crocheting master and that you made me that awesome scarf to match my hat. I love the love of music that we share and how I don't need a radio because I have you and your computer.

AL: I love how sweet you are, and that you're always willing to help me out whether I'm scrubbing the bathroom floors or reorganizing my bedroom. I love your budding interest in fashion and how smart you are. I love how you always ask me to trim your bangs instead of mom or dad and I love how you like to pick out my earrings for the day.

JA & JF: I love how close you two are. I love your crazy imaginations and creativity and I love how absolutely literally you take everything. I love your blunt childish honesty and your total disability to comprehend sarcasm.

RJ: I love how sweet and smart you are. I love how much you're learning and that you're showing us how much there is to you beyond your autism. I love your personality and how nice you are to your baby sister, even when she takes your beloved trains. I love your smile and the fact that some days you just need to stay in your PJ's. I love it when you get so excited to see me and you give me a big hug when I come home from work.

AR: I love how sweet and beautiful you are. I love how you bring so much joy to our family. It breaks my heart to see how happy you are even when you're in pain. I love what a girly little girl you are and that you love to have your hair done. I love that you love your wretched ugly doll so much, and that you named her DeeDee. I love your laugh, and the crazy faces you make at me in the rearview mirror when you're riding in the back of my car. I love snuggling you and I love your little 2 year old snores when you fall asleep.

Mom: I love that you come to me for clothing advice, and to put product in your hair. I love how easy going you are and how much joy you get from driving your big ugly poop colored van (The rolling turd, complete with theme song) all over creation to collect and distribute various children (not always belonging to our family) from one location to the next. I love that you love being a mom, and not only that, but a mom of 9. I love that we get to have some classes together this semester, and how weirdly people look at me when I tell them they can't sit there because I'm saving that seat for my mom. I love how supportive you always are of me and how you think I'm really smart.

Dad: I love how knowledgeable I feel when you ask me about things and that you know I'm only kidding when I call you a crazy old coot. I love the hours that you're willing to spend working on my cars to make sure that I have something to drive to school and work every day. I love the hours that you spend at work every day to provide for your family. I love how you love to learn about whatever strikes your fancy. I think I get my mad research skills from you. I love how you get mom flowers sometimes, just because. I love how cool you think my homemade cards and sewing projects are. I love that I can make you laugh.

"Other things may change us, but we start and end with family."
~Anthony Brandt

Just so you know

2009-01-29T22:45:00.000-08:00

I really felt like making a post today, but none of my ideas were working out well in reality (though they're great in my head) and it's getting late, so I guess I'll just say hello and thanks for reading. I'll also leave you with a few random things I've been thinking lately. Let's give them bullet points, because that's more fun.

"Our Song" by Taylor Swift is kind of a cute song. I find myself unexpectedly liking it. I watched the music video expecting something equally charming but it was just sort of random and basically consisted a lot of Taylor Swift wearing fancy dresses and looking pleased with herself. Disappointing...

Taylor Swift has oddly arched eyebrows.

Exponents are kind of useless to normal human beings. Does anyone care what 8 cubed is? I'm waiting for real life situation where I find myself in need of exponents. Will report back if this ever occurs.

Fresh pineapple is fantastic. I wish it would keep better so I didn't have to eat my pineapples all at once.

Freddy Mercury was also fantastic. When I stop and think about it I still get sad that he's dead now and that Queen is off touring without him. Queen is dead to me.

There's this guy in my math class who totally reminds me of a shark. Even better, his name is Mark. And I just know that one day I'm going to slip up and call him "Mark the Shark" to his face by accident.

I would be much more interesting if I had a cool accent of some kind. Even if I were a jerk. Apparently jerk lameness does not outweigh accent coolness.

Vikings were the original pirates. Which makes my viking ancestry that much cooler.

That's all for now. Enjoy.

better late than never

2009-01-25T00:48:00.000-08:00

I know it's a little late for the New Year's resolution post, but alas, I've been thinking about them for a long time so here they are.

1. Learn to manage my time and resources wisely. I feel like I probably have the time I need and the money I need, etc. but I don't know how to use them well. Maybe if I were a bit more clever and a bit less lazy then things would work out better and I could actually get things done.

2. Form a healthier relationship with my body. I should try to be nicer to it, not chastise it because it can't process sugar and fried foods or because it has thunder thighs or because it can't pull all nighters anymore without vomiting. I should stop trying to feed it fried foods and not make it stay awake all night. It's trying its best and I must admit that I haven't been kind to it in the past so perhaps it's time to try a little tenderness, or however the song goes.

3. Put more time and effort into my education. I've been given such a gift and an opportunity to be able to go to school and I think sometimes that I take it for granted. Sometimes I get lazy and just do what I need to do to get by instead of really giving it 100%. Did you know that on average people remember 5% of what they learn in college? I don't want to just get by and remember my 5%. I want to know. I want my degree to stand for something more than BS.

4. I want to be a more active participant in my own life. This last year has gone by so fast, and I feel like I missed a lot of it. I want my life to be more than school, work, homework, repeat. I keep putting things off and before I know it another week has gone by and then another month and it's sort of surreal to me because life is going on all around me while I'm cutting people's fabric or writing papers. I'm sort of wasting the years of my life when I'm supposed to be young and carefree. This is a problem.

So there's a few for now. If anyone has any suggestions on how to accomplish them I'd be glad for any words of advice, especially on resource management or on the last one.

Shocking Revelation

2009-01-17T11:52:00.000-08:00

I found this helpful warning on the cord of my new curling iron.

Thanks, curling iron people. You're my new heroes.

Children are adorable, no?

2009-01-15T21:22:00.000-08:00

A conversation that recently transpired between my mom and my 8 year old brother:

Mom: You can't go to the sleepover unless you clean your room first. That was the deal.

Brother: I don't want to clean my room. I wish that we had machines to clean them...yeah, like robots that would clean your room while you watched a movie or something!

Mom: Then you would get all fat like the people in Walle and you wouldn't be able to walk or play or do anything.

Brother: .....Is that what happened to you, mom?

Clearly tact is something we should be working on here.

The Evils of Migraines

2009-01-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

I woke up the other morning at 4 to find myself disoriented, strewn across my bed half dressed, and missing an earring. When I sat up and looked around things got even worse. My phone was on the floor with my purse and text books and several articles of clothing. My water bottle was in bed with me, and I had seriously bad hair.

"What is going on?", you may be wondering. "Has our mild mannered Amber finally snapped under the pressure of being so fantastic and turned to a life of drink?" Answer: no (though I must admit I wondered the same thing for a few seconds when I saw my hair).

The truth of the matter can be told in one evil little word: migraine.

I've had an up close and personal experience with this evil for the last 3 days, and just let me tell you, if Hell is anything like this then it's totally worth being nice to the inconsiderate parents and other crazies at work to avoid such a wretched eternal fate.

Now that I've gotten forever taken care of it's off to Wal-Mart for a jumbo bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol. Migraine hair frightens the children.

An important question

2009-01-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

This time of year when my pre Christmas tolerance of winter is starting to wear thin and the urge to hibernate and eat warm cheesy foods threatens to turn me into Sumo Sally my attention turns to things like clothes and accessories. Lately I've been thinking along the lines of purses. This purse to be precise:What do you think? I know, a lot of people have them and they probably won't be stylish for much longer. But it's kind of fresh and fun and I've kind of been wanting one for awhile. Leave a comment to let me know what you think.

first day of school

2009-01-07T17:28:00.000-08:00

I'd like to tell you all about my first day of school this semester. It started off a bit late, but innocently enough. I did my 6:30 exercising and got ready for school, got a child dressed, tied my mom's shoes, scraped off my car, etc. I got to my first class without incident.

After that things started to go downhill.

Before I get on with my description of the day I should explain something. UVU has a shuttle to take you from the free parking lot (which is out in the middle of nowhere) to the school. At least that's what it used to do. It had two stops: the parking lot and the student center. Now it has several more stops. This is a good thing, because one of my classes is far enough away that it's as close to my work as it is to my first class.

So I left my class and went to the student center (where the shuttle has always stopped) in the hopes of getting to my far away class* in the 10 minute window I had. Sometimes on the first days of school the shuttle takes awhile to get where it's going, so I waited. And I waited. Then, I waited some more. I figured it was taking longer because of the new stops it was making. So I waited some more. It would have taken longer to walk.

Eventually I found out that the shuttle doesn't stop there, in the place where it's always stopped before. In the place where everyone was waiting because UVU didn't put a sign up to inform us that the shuttle no longer stopped there.

So off we trudged en masse to the next shuttle stop. Apparently in addition to not believing in signs, UVU doesn't believe in proper snow removal (this is a common theme I'm facing this winter...) so the entire way there I was ankle deep in slush.

Anyway, I got on the shuttle and finally made it to the building my class was in. I walked in 20 minutes late only to find, to my dismay, that it's a televised class. What this means is that not only did my class see me walking in late, bedraggled and covered in slush, but high school campuses across Utah did too, as well as whoever is taking the class by tv at the other UVU campuses. And instead of just giving me the syllabus and letting me sit down and wallow in my annoyance the professor decided it was a good time for a conversation.

So there we were chatting over the microphone about how my day was going and what we were talking about in class until he finally took mercy on me and pointed me towards the last available seat.

The last available seat just happened to be in the very front of the classroom, right in front of the camera.

So there you go, my adventures in the first day of the semester. It can only get better from here, right?

*Note on the annoying far away class: This is even more annoying because I planned my schedule so that I could get everywhere in the amount of time I had. Then a week ago, they changed the building it was in.

Icy parking lot of doom

2009-01-05T12:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, as we were walking across the sheet of ice called the church parking lot, trying to make it in time to get a seat in the chapel so the 10 of us didn't have to try to cram ourselves onto the couch in the foyer (again), my mom fell and broke her arm.

She was holding the baby in her left arm and grabbed a car door with her right hand as she started to go down. Her arm twisted and she ended up fracturing her humerus and breaking a piece of it off which I guess is just floating around in her arm? Eww.

So she broke her right arm.

She is right-handed.

She has 9 children to take care of. 2 that are still in diapers.

She starts school on Wednesday. School. Like she wasn't nervous enough, and now she can't write to take notes or do homework.

I think everyone will agree with me when I say: that sucks.

Also, Why was the church parking lot so icy in the first place? They know that people are going to be there at 9:00 on Sunday morning trying to park. People wearing heels. People carrying babies and bags and centerpieces or whatever else churchgoers need to take to church with them. No one thought "hey, maybe it would be a good idea to salt the parking lot so some poor lady with 9 kids doesn't fall and break her right arm"? Apparently not. What if it was an old lady who fell and broke her pelvis? Who is in charge of that kind of thing anyway? Is someone in charge of it? If not, there should be.

And why don't feminine shoes have traction? Even flat church shoes are slippery. Do shoemakers think women don't go outside in the winter? Judging from the majority of the "winter" boot selection I would say that is what they think. Jerks.

Anyway, now you know my feelings about icy parking lots, girl shoes and my poor mom's one armed status. What do you think? Feel free to comment and let me know.

Run, run as fast as you can

2009-01-02T10:39:00.000-08:00

I was going to make a post before Christmas about weird Christmas decorations but I never had time to go and take pictures before they were taken down, so that will have to wait for next year. But I just wanted to show you this:

A 3 foot tall gingerbread man doll. Am I alone in thinking it's kind of weird and creepy? It could just be me.

the great blog off 2009

2009-01-01T00:52:00.000-08:00

So one of my goals for 2009 is to keep blogging even though the class I started it for is over. Fortuitously there is a handy thing called the great blog off to keep me motivated. As I understand it the great blog off is this: Tracy tells you about it and then you blog away. Whoever makes the most blog posts in 2009 wins.

Should be fun, if I can actually get some posted... I start plenty but post few. Hopefully this will help motivate me to find time to finish and post more often.

So here's to 2009 and the new and exciting blog posts it will bring! For now I'm going to sleep.

A Haiku for your consideration

2008-12-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

Nasty, stupid stress,
bringer of tears and acne
I hate you so much.

Jingle Bell Rock

2008-12-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

This is something I've kind of been wanting to write for awhile and Tracy's blog reminded me. So for your consideration, Some Christmas songs I can't stand:

Last Christmas. Honestly, this song makes me crazy and I have to leave the room while it's being played. "Last Christmas I gave you my heart but the very next day you gave it away so this year to save me from tears I'll give it to someone special"?!? Why were you giving your heart away to someone that wasn't special in the first place? Seems to me like you brought that one on yourself, Wham!
Anything by the Carpenters, but especially I'll be Home for Christmas. Karen's voice sounds like depression. It oozes sadness like Greek pastries ooze honey. Am I the only one that can hear this? It hurts me, and I can't listen to it.
Wonderful Christmas Time. The song has like 6 words and no point. Plus it has the whole '80's techno thing going on in the background, and while I'm generally a fan of '80's music I have to change the station when this song comes on the radio.
I've got my love to keep me warm. I'm okay with one of the versions of it, but there are a couple of horrible versions (usually the ones they play in stores) and they make me insane! One Christmas when I was working at Robert's they had a particularly wretched version of it that they played several times a day. By the end of the Christmas season my eye started to twitch every time I'd hear the beginning notes and it was starting to make me a bit violent...

There are also some Christmas songs that I like, though some of them are exploding with cheesiness.

White Christmas by Bing Crosby. I can't resist a crooner.
Oh Holy Night by Josh Groban.
Jingle Bell Rock. This one is kind of cheesy, but it's really fun to sing.
All I want for Christmas is you by Mariah Carey. Usually Mariah freaks me out a little, but I must admit that I kind of love this song, and I think that if you look deep down in your heart you'll find that you do too.
I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. This one is cute and fun, it makes me smile. It's also fun to sing.
Baby, it's cold outside. It never sounds that great on the radio, but again, it's fun to sing. Too bad it's hard to find men that want to sing Christmasy duets.
Santa Baby. Apparently I like to sing jazzy songs.

Okay, it seems like the songs I like are mostly based on how fun they are to sing instead of how good they actually are, but that's okay.

Do you have favorite Christmas songs? Songs that make you want to smash the radio with a baseball bat? Feel free to comment.

Blogging takes forever

2008-12-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

I've been wondering lately why it takes me so long to make a single blog post. It really shouldn't be that painful of a process. It seems like other people can whip them out in mere minutes. Why does it take so long?!? Why?? Here are the possible reasons.

Sometimes I'm a perfectionist. I reword things and think forever about what I want to say so it can sound the way I want it to.
I'm a multi-tasker. When I'm blogging I am also chatting with pals, doing homework, possibly cleaning or doing my hair, maybe watching a movie. It makes for some slow blog writing.
I'm mom 2. No, that doesn't mean I'm the upgraded version of mom. That means that I'm the adult in charge when mom's gone or busy. Therefore my blogging is often interrupted by things like "Amber! He hit me!", "Amber! She took my thing!", "Amber, can you make me food before I run off to ____", "Amber, can you drive me to ____? ...Please!"
I usually don't have tons of time to do things all in one block so I start a post and then I have to leave and I don't get back to it for a long time.

Yeah. I started this post at like 7:30...It's 11:33 now. Maybe someday I'll be a quick blogger...

Some funny phone calls I got at work the other day

2008-12-14T15:52:00.000-08:00

Me: "Amber's workplace, this is Amber. How can I help you?"
Person calling: "Hi, do you know what time you close?"
Me: "Um...yes..."

And my favorite:
Me: "Name of fabric store where I work*, this is Amber. How can I help you?"
Person calling: "Hi. Do you have fabrics?"

I was thinking that maybe he hadn't heard me clearly or something until I realized that anywhere he could have gotten the phone number from would have also had the name of the store...

*The name of the fabric store where I work has the word "fabric" in it...

Also, I made a Christmas bag

2008-11-30T01:46:00.001-08:00

The outside:

The inside:It's delightfully Christmasy and fun. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

Thanksgiving, my birthday, and the post Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Amber's b-day all girl 9 hour shopstravaganza! (also known as the psycho sales)

2008-11-29T22:16:00.000-08:00

November is almost over. How do I know you ask? Well, only because several recent events have brought this to my attention. Things that only happen at the end of November. The first of these things is Thanksgiving.

In my youth Thanksgiving was a time when we went over to both sets of grandparents houses, ate lots of turkey and potatoes, and played with my cousins.
First we would go over to my mothers parents house and my dad would say to my mother "You know, if everyone would park this way instead of this way we could fit twice as many cars and people wouldn't have to park down the street." and then my mom would say something placating and in we'd go. The house would be crammed so full of people that we had to leave the front doors open so we wouldn't melt or get claustrophobic. Everywhere you went there were cousins and aunts and uncles and friends of the family and random people that nobody knew but that my grandpa had collected here and there. Homeless people, people he met at grocery stores, just whoever he felt compelled to invite that year.

We'd go in and greet the grandparents, and then play with the cousins and meet the new hobos while my mom went to help in the kitchen and my dad was getting people to rearrange the parking to his specifications. Eventually we'd have a prayer, load up our plates and settle down for eating and chatting. Then later we'd head off to my other grandmas house for more Thanksgiving fun.

At this grandma's there were no hobos, heck, compared to my other grandparents house there were almost no people. At this grandmas my mom would mash the potatoes and stir the gravy, my dad would sit on the couch and do dad things, and I would be underfoot. My grandma was my best friend so she always had the joyful task of helping me color and of changing the clothing of my barbies. I'm certain that for this alone she will be sainted in Heaven, but I digress.

Anyway, things have changed over the years. My moms family doesn't live close anymore and my dads family have become unsocial (sorry guys, but it's true). So we spend Thanksgiving alone. I should point out that there are 11 of us so it's not like we're wanting for people, but it's difficult to make Thanksgiving seem like a holiday instead of a normal Sunday dinner and I miss the reuniting aspect of holidays. I see the same people I always see. I like them, but it would be nice to shake it up a bit and I miss cousins.

Anyway, I don't know why I went into all that. The point is Thanksgivings past and present have always seemed like my own special holiday because I was born on Thanksgiving. Or, if you believe my mother, the day after Thanksgiving. My birthday also often falls on Thanksgiving. Though not this year. It makes my feelings hurt when people rush from Halloween to Christmas with nary a thought for poor Thanksgiving. What about pilgrims? Squanto? Thankfulness? Amber?

Speaking of Amber, it was my birthday yesterday (the day after Thanksgiving this year). I remembered once more how much I like birthdays. It was awesome. I woke up at 4 am and shopped with my best friends and my mom and brother (which is the exception to the all girl part of the shopstravaganza. What I meant is that there were no husbands) for 9 hours. It was fun and silly and productive. Then later we had an awesome party. Dear people who were not able to attend or who were only there for part of the time, we missed you and you missed out. Remember how funny Amber is on sugar? Remember how funny the Amber/Serena combination always is? Remember how much fun we all have together?!?

The points I wanted to make with this blog but might not have (It's late, okay. My brain works in special ways when it's tired. Also, my spelling, punctuation, and grammar probably suck today, alas.):

Don't forget Thanksgiving!

Birthdays are awesome because I get to shop, eat sugar for one day of the year, and spend a lot of time with people that I love, and they all feel compelled to be cheerful. It rocks!

I'm thankful for my family and friends. I love you guys, you're basically the best.

I enjoy presents. Giving or receiving. I also enjoy attention (under certain circumstances) and making people laugh.

The psycho sales are always worth it. Even if there's nothing particularly cool that I want to buy.

Dear smelly people

2008-11-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

Dear:the people that find it necessary to bathe themselves in cologne/perfume,

I'm sorry to be the one with this sad news, but you don't smell like sexiness. You smell like chemicals. Also, you make the people on buses or in elevators with you wish for a speedy demise. Sad, but true.

Dear:the people who wear perfumes that smell like cookies or candy,

Aren't you afraid that people will lick you? Then you won't smell like deliciousness, you'll smell like saliva. I personally would find this problematic. Also, isn't that a bit harsh for the diabetic people? They can't have sugar cookies, or cinnamon rolls, and as long as you're around they have a constant reminder of that.

Anyway, just a few things for you fragrant people to consider. Enjoy.
Sincerely,
Amber

fall fun

2008-10-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

My sister had an assignment to make sculptures out of nature and take pictures of them for her photo class and I had an assignment to play, so we combined assignments and here's what we came up with.

This is Harvest Man

This is his girlfriend, Rock Head

homework avoidance

2008-10-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

I've realized lately that I spend much of my homework time in homework avoidance tactics. I'll sit and stare at my computer for a few minutes, decide that I can't think of anything, and suddenly realize that it's the perfect time to pluck my eyebrows. Or I'll come home from work and plan on doing homework right after I eat dinner, but for some reason dinner takes twice as long as usual. So here I am with extremely well groomed eyebrows, a clean house, and at least 5 pounds heavier than I was at the beginning of the month. I don't even know why I do that. I don't mind homework, and I'd much rather do it when I'm supposed to and not have to worry about it anymore than stay up all night and turn in something substandard because I was rushed. I think it must be left over homework avoidance from when I was a kid.

A haiku for your consideration

2008-10-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

The Acne Haiku:

Dirt gets in my pores
like sand annoys an oyster
same pain, but no pearl.

The people you meet at work

2008-10-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

Some humorous and/or infuriating people I have come across at work lately:

Infuriating:

Whoever left a huge nasty wad of Trident spearmint gum on the carpet in the textures. Thanks for that. It took me forever to clean up and now,somehow,there's gum on my phone. Eww.

Lady who decided to bring her own scissors and cut huge chunks out of the $20 a yard chenilles. I don't understand how that works out as okay in your brain.

Amusing:

The lady who bought the cat tapestry fabric, was wearing a cat sweatshirt, used to have a cat purse until it got all worn out, and told me that her house was decorated in "early American cat". That is an amazing devotion to cats.

The lady who asked us to turn off the radio while she was shopping because "this station teaches terrible values". FM100, the home of soft hits and less talk? Yes, it's for all those morally bankrupt elderly.

There you have it. The crazy people I've met (or found traces of) at work lately.

snake

2008-10-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

Look what we found in the back yard today. He was sunning himself on a rock outside. When we had a big field and orchard there used to be a lot of them that lived out there, now we find one every so often and we take them to a neighbor's house to live in his garden.

Show and Tell

2008-10-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

Look what I made: The fall bag that I've been planning to make for forever! It turned out a bit floppier than I expected, but I like it. It's reversible, here's the other side.
That fabric looks kind of like orange carpet, but it's fun.

Secondly, look at my pumpkins! I don't know why I needed 3, but I love them so. They remind me that it's fall (for now) and that I should enjoy it while I can. I love their fat orangeness and the twisty stem of the tall one!

Grouchiness and Happiness

2008-10-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

Not very often, but occasionally, I wake up hating everything. On these days I hate every sentence that I've ever written and every word that I've ever spoken. On these days my clothes never lay right, and no matter what I do my hair always looks messy and stupid. On these days I can't do homework because I shoot down every idea in my head so aggressively that they all go into hiding. I can't talk to friends because I'll say the wrong thing, and I can't speak to my mother because she'll say the wrong thing. Basically on these days, it's better if I stay in bed until I make an attitude adjustment and become myself again. However, life has to go on whether I'm cranky or not.

So off I go to school, running late of course and becoming more annoyed with every driver going a single mile per hour under the speed limit and every radio station that isn't playing a song I like.

Usually if I'm feeling a bit out of sorts all it takes to bring me out of it is going to school or work and interacting with people, seeing something pretty, singing along to a good song. My default emotion seems to be happiness so it usually doesn't take much to cheer me up. On these days, though, sometimes the normal things don't work, sometimes I have to call out the big guns.

This is how I came to be at Bridal Veil Falls yesterday at 7:30 in the evening. I parked my car at Nunn's park and made the short walk up to the falls, found a comfy rock to sit on and settled in for some staring. After only a minute or two I felt peace settling into my heart where there had previously been turmoil and unrest. As my eyes took in the mountains and the sunset and all the beautiful things my mind took in the fact that everything is ok. There's no reason for me to be moody, and then there was the gentle reminder that the universe doesn't revolve around me and that even though I kept my crankiness to myself I was still being kind of self centered and obnoxious. Oh. Thanks, Heavenly Father. I forget sometimes.

That's the way it always goes. Nature gives me perspective, makes me realize things about myself, brings me closer to the Lord. It's humbling and empowering at the same time. It's when I'm out there that I get little glimpses of my potential and of the person that I'm meant to be, and that I'm hopefully becoming. I can see things a little more clearly.

Quote

2008-10-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

I found the quote that we were talking about in English the other day. Here it is:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?"
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glofy of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
-Marianne Williamson

Addicted to blogging

2008-09-29T08:20:00.001-07:00

It would seem that I have grown addicted to blogging. At first I didn't even know if I would like having a blog, but here I am only two weeks later showing you pictures of spiders and mice and telling you all sorts of random things. Most of these posts don't even meet the requirements for extra points, but for some reason I feel compelled to tell everyone (all 4 of you) about the strange goings on in my life.

baby mouse

2008-09-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

As I was sitting on the front porch enjoying the weather and trying to do my homework I saw this little fellow scurrying up the sidewalk.

He was cute, but he had to go. So we caught him and took him to live in a field. He was so tiny, his whole body was the size of a quarter! The things that happen when I'm trying to do homework...

Just me venting

2008-09-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

Dear: the lady who always buys all of the fabric that I have on hold for myself, the lady who buys 2 inches of fabric less than she needs and tells us to "be generous" to make up for those 2 inches, and the people that let their children play on the rugs, twist themselves up in the drapes, and jump on the counters,

Sometimes it's really hard for me to be nice to you. Just so you know.

Sincerely,
Amber

Aw Crap

2008-09-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

I got my laptop yesterday after a few weeks of waiting. It's green and shiny and it makes me happy inside. There is, however, one drawback. The wireless internet doesn't work in my room. The walls are made of some wireless blocking material that they used to use whenever this house was built. Lucky me.

A large part of the reason I got a laptop in the first place was to be able to go into my room, shut the door on the noise and chaos in the rest of the house, and get some homework done. So I tried the other bedrooms, thinking that I could borrow someone's desk for awhile. Well, internet doesn't work in any of those either.

Guess where the internet does work... Give up? It works in the bathroom. So that is where this blog post is coming to you from. And for those of you who have never tried using a toilet as a desk before; you're missing out.

**Wacky internet update: It doesn't work in the bathroom today, it works on the front porch. Much better view, but a bit chilly. **

Writer's block

2008-09-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here I am, blogging once more. I know that it's normal not to write on your blog for a few days but the problem with me is that I wanted to, I was just experiencing a nasty case of writer's block. It started with not being able to write a paper, then I couldn't think of anything to say on my blog, then I couldn't even write e-mails. It was pretty pathetic.

I learned yesterday that writer's block happens when you are simultaneously thinking of ideas and rejecting them before the poor things even have a chance. That makes a lot of sense for me because apparently I'm extremely self critical (or so I've been told) so I'm sure that being an idea rejecter is, to some extent, related to that whole mess.

Hopefully now that I know what's going on I can be conscious of that and let some ideas through. However knowing what a problem is doesn't always make you able to fix it, so we'll see. It will probably be more helpful than my usual strategy, which is to type the words to Yellow Submarine over and over again until my brain surrenders and spits out some ideas.

On another note, I was finally able to pick a paper topic thanks to my English Professor, Shaun. Thanks Shaun! It is an interesting topic. I'm kind of excited about it actually, as nerdy as that probably sounds. It's about positive psychology, and self actualization, and positive feedback loops and all kinds of good things like that. So I'm sure you'll be hearing more about that in the future.

Random Question

2008-09-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

Do elevators make anyone else slightly dizzy?

A fear and a resolution

2008-09-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

"You cannot run away from weakness; you must some time fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?"
Robert Louis Stevenson

For as long as I can remember I've been afraid of water. I'm fine with it as long as my feet touch the ground and my head is above it, but once I can't reach the bottom anymore I have a problem. I'm thinking this stems from the fact that I can't swim. It's true. I can't swim, and I can't even float. I am aquatically retarded.

You'd think that someone who was aquatically retarded would just stay away from water and not worry about it, but no. I love canoeing and boating and things that which usually make large bodies of water unavoidable.

I've thought about learning to swim before, and tried a few times, but it never ends well. The people that teach classes seem to expect you to have prior knowledge of swimming, or at least be able to float, and I usually end up frustrating myself and whoever is trying to teach me how to swim all because I'm afraid of the water. After awhile I figured it would never work out, so I gave up and resigned myself to fear tinged enjoyment of water activities and to always being left behind when we weigh anchor and everybody jumps in the lake to enjoy the water. Lake water is smelly anyway...right?

Well, a few things have happened since then that have made me reconsider. At the end of last summer I went canoeing with my brother Josh and some friends on the river. Josh's canoe ended up capsizing. He had two girls with him who weren't very strong swimmers and an autistic 3 year old who was floating away in his life jacket. Everything turned out fine, but it made me think. If something happened I couldn't even help myself, let alone take care of anyone else. Also, I had gotten a false sense of security after so many times canoeing and boating with no problems, and so even though a canoe tipping over isn't that big of a deal, it shattered my happy illusion of safety. I stayed away from water for over a year and I had a hard time going back to canoeing last weekend when I went camping with my family.

So I decided that this was ridiculous. I can't just go through life being aquatically retarded and relying on other people to not let me drown. So here is my resolution: I'm going to learn how to swim. I'm thinking floating will probably be the most difficult because it's pretty much impossible for me to relax when I'm in the water. Once I get over that the rest should be easier, right? I'm going to learn how to float, and then I'm going to learn how to swim, and then I'm going to learn how to swim well enough that I can save other people.

Now the question is; how? I got some information on classes at the rec center but aside from the class for infants they all look like they expect you to at least have the ability to float, and I don't think they would take me in the infant class.
Suggestions?

Spiders

2008-09-17T15:19:00.001-07:00

I guess today was just a spidery day, because I found this

in my bathroom this morning. He was big and speedy. He doesn't look too bad in the picture, but he looked really scary in the dark bathroom...

Then an hour later at the chiropractor I found this little guy

You can barely barely see him there, he's the dark spot in the middle of the picture.
He was a color changing spider of weirdness. He was the same color as the carpet and then we put him on the tile and he changed to brownish red (the same color as the tile). Then the doctor came out and wondered why I was taking a picture of his carpet. I always leave such an ...interesting impression.

Flower Power

2008-09-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

This is my resilient little flower buddy. He is the sole survivor of all the seeds I planted this summer.
He survived the chomping of the stupid bugs that ate all my other flowers, the friendly attentions of well meaning children, the trampling from dogs and various other animals, and a little flood in his flower bed from all the rain we got at the beginning of September.
Every time one of those happened I thought for sure that he was a goner, but he lived through it all, and he's perfect!

He brings joy to my heart and he brightens up my view every time I look out the window.

I love you, my little flower buddy. I'll try to get some friends for you next year.

funny coincidence

2008-09-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

I guess great minds do think alike because I just saw my best friend Serena's blog for the first time and it's the same polka dotty goodness as mine :). I didn't even know she had a blog...

Hello everyone

2008-09-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! Just thought I'd make a quick post to try out the whole blogging experience. I'm not so sure that I'm a blogging kind of girl. I'm making this mostly for extra points in English (though I'm not sure that I'll ever write anything that is extra points worthy), and also because I do like to write (though I can never decide whether or not I'm any good at it). Anyway, it would seem that I was behind the times without a blog. I was informed the other day that everyone on earth has one except for me.
So here is my blog. I hope it brings joy to your heart, a smile to your face, and a higher grade to my GPA ;)

Random question: What kind of a word is blog anyway? Blog. Hmm.