Warning: Contents of Post May Be Icky.

On Friday, after I ...relieved myself. The waters went down (along with everything else) and the bowl began to fill, just as it normally does. Only this time. It didn't stop. I stood there watching (as I always do -I have this strange paranoia of making sure that the toilet actually flushes. I don't know where in the world it came from. Zero confidence in the sewer systems.) So yeah, I stood there watching the water fill and I became worried when it didn't stop.

"Oh please, no. Oh please, no," I chanted as I stood there panicked as to what in the world I should do. I looked around for something -anything that would help me. My towel! I grabbed it and shoved it beneath the door so that nothing would spill out. I was sure that the floods would subside soon and all that I would have to do would be to ring out my towel and dry the floor. But you know: Life's not fair.

The water continued. Nice clean water, mind you, but cold and continuous nonetheless. Once the water had risen about two inches off the ground, causing our little rug to float and the entire toilet to be surrounded, I decided it was time to call for help. I shouted the first name that came to mind (which was, in fact, one of my roommates names -don't worry) and begged for help.

"Julia?" I heard one of my roommates ask. I later found out that she was standing just outside of the bathroom doors near the mirror which was placed across the hall. Well, she didn't hear the gushing water, but once she turned to answer my call SPLASH! She stepped right into the puddle! The water didn't get very far, thankfully. I had the sense to lift the lid on the box-thingy behind the toilet itself (which is actually called a 'tank') and shoved the little bouncy thing that lifts whenever you flush the toilet (this, if I'm not mistaken, is called the 'flapper') which stopped the water from flowing into the toilet.

By that time my roommates all knew about the water and did their best to help -after getting over the fact that this was, indeed, toilet water. Clean water though I assured them. I was in the bathroom for a while not saying much, just ringing my towel out in the tub, placing it on the floor, and letting it soak up as much water as possible.

I could hear my roommates outside the door, cleaning and talking about random things that this reminded them of. "Did you drown?" one of my roommates eventually asked after noticing that I wasn't saying anything.

I now had a choice. I could take this very seriously -after all, these past few days have been very stressful on me -or I could choose to see this in a whole different light. But then, I flooded the bathroom.I actually flooded the bathroom -well, might as well say I flooded two bathrooms. They're both connected and water filled that one just as much as it did the other. Two bathrooms used by six different girls. How embarrassing!

Eventually I made up my mind...

For a few moments silence fell outside the bathroom door. Until. "Are you laughing?" The voice of my roommate slide under the door and past the river of toilet water. "Yes," I answered. "This is hilarious!" It was hilarious. I couldn't help but laugh. We all laughed. I think it's safe to say that -so far -nothing has ever happened quite like this before. At least, not to any of us.

Hannah Montana.

Directed by Peter Chelsom (who also directed "Serendipity") starring Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus comes the all-so-popular movie "Hannah Montana." I have a roommate who is a big fan and she took some of my roommates and I to go see it. We watched it in Idaho Falls at the Edwards Grand Teton Stadium 14. The theater was amazing! I'd say it's by far the nicest one I have ever been to. If you ever get a chance I'd highly recommend going there. Anyway, back to the movie. As Hannah Montana's popularity begins to take over her life, Miley Stewart, on the urging from her father takes a trip to her hometown of Crowley Corners, Tennessee to get some perspective on what matters most in life. The movie, in my opinion, was very enjoyable. Once we got past the snobbish teenager that took over the beginning of the movie it was very good.

For the beginning of the movie Miley just bothered me. I kept having to remind myself to look at the situation from her point of view. If I didn't she just looked like a real big stinker. As the movie progressed she came to realize the importance of family and friends and the Stinker just sort of disappeared. I loved the music. I loved how it was filmed: sweeping camera, slow motion effects, and the beautiful country. A majority of the movie was filmed in Columbia, Tennessee. And I must say: It. Was. Beautiful! I couldn't get enough of the scenery; the hills, the trees, all of it. I wished the screen was bigger!

During the movie we got to see and hear Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift who made there "guest appearances." Miley/Hannah featured 12 new songs and I'd have to say that my favorite was "The Climb." It's really good. Anyway, after the movie we went to Cafe Rio for lunch. I didn't eat anything but it sure looked good. One of these days I'll have to go. They sure massive dishes. Well, back to the movie -grade wise I'd probably give it a B-. It was good. I enjoyed it. It's PG and there's nothing wrong in it. Oh and I must say that the main boy, Miley's big country-cowboy-crush, Travis Brody (aka Lucas Till) was, in my opinion, exceptionally good looking. Anyway, I guess that's it.

200th Post.

This is my 200th blog post. My first blog post was written in October, 2007. When I look back at my earlier posting I am amazed at where I have come from and how my thoughts and ideas have changed. Through the comments left over time I’m reminded of people who walked a journey with me through my blog. I have grown in my thinking and engagement with the world around me through this slightly bizarre world online. I thank each one of you who interact with my blog and I thank all of you who have blogs for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences with the rest of us. It has been a good year and a half. Thank you fellow bloggers for making it worth my while!

The Monett Mansion.

I had heard stories of the place. Legends. The Monett Mansion. Some say you can actually see it from the road. The tips of the what seemed to be some kind of an enchanted castle. I vowed that one day, when I had a car and nothing to do and was already in town, I would venture off and see this enchanted place.

Last weekend I had such a chance. I was in town with my friend, Micah, with time on my hands, and a car to myself. I told her of the place and we did, in fact, see it from the road which made the quest a total Have-To! because of how cool it looked. It took us a while to find the entrance. It was pushed back in the trees and behind all of the stores in the city of Monett, Missouri. We found the entrance among the finest of houses in all of Monett. There was a long black gate in front -beautiful and expensive -that marked the beginning of a long black driveway. We could barely see the house from the gate.

The gate was closed, of course, and a small gray monitor sat perched on a tall black pole waiting for someone to speak into it. I'm not much for talking into things, it's hard for me to even order food in the drive-through. I promised Micah that if I pressed the button she would talk into it. So I pressed it. ...and for a while nothing happened. And then: "Dialing." The voice was that of the universal computer lady. We started panicking at that point. What would we say??

"Hello?" It was the voice of a woman. Micah explained to her that we were from out of town and had seen the house from the road and that we desired to have a closer look. There was a slight pause in the conversation and then the woman asked in an almost suspicious voice: "Who is this?"

Micah introduced herself and added that we were sort of "touring" the town. "Okay," the woman said understandingly. "Hold on for a minute." After that the connection dyed.

We waited for a long time. After nearly five minutes, which felt like an eternity, Micah insisted that we just leave. I refused. It was rude to leave when someone told us to wait. (Don't read me wrong, neither of us were being rude or anything in our "insisting" and "refusing".) So we waited. And waited. And waited. More insisting. More refusing. Until we heard those magic words (I don't think I've ever been happier to hear that computer lady speak!): "Access Granted."

The gates opened and, with all the excitement we could muster, I drove in. The first thing I noticed was the land. Green, freshly cut grass, and a yard that stretched on. I noticed at least five ponds spread out across the terf. Micah's attention was drawn toward the road itself. "Oh my gosh it turns!" It was beautiful. And we hadn't even made it to the house yet!

When we drove up we lost every ounce of "calmness". We were yelling. We were hyperventilating. We were gawking. It was THAT beautiful! I was so happy that I had stashed my camera in my purse. I whipped it out and thrust it into Micah's hands. "Take some pictures!"

I won't bother describing what it looked like. I'll let the pictures do that. There were five (or more) ponds, a number of garages, a gazebo, a tree-house, and the castle itself. On our way out we even noticed that the mailbox itself was decked out in a number of designs topped off with an actual walkway for the mail-collector. How cool is that?? Well, anyway. I'll just let you see for yourself. And keep in mind -the pictures really don't do it justice.

The Answer.

I bet you're just DYING to know the answer to my last post. Well here it is: I lied. Only one of them is TRUE (aka true). The rest are all false. (I'll just go through them individually and comment on each)

1. I sent in a request in to be in New Moon and I made it to the third round of call backs! (I just got the email today!) -only half of this is actually true, but no. The answer is false.

2. I went with my roommates and bought my first thong. -Honestly, why in the world would I bother buying myself a "Perma-merf"?? This one is also false.

3. I cheated on my last math exam. -My last math exam was open book, open note, AND I could use my calculator. Really, there's no way I COULD cheat. False.

4. I actually voted for Obama. -My mother would have killed me. Besides I don't much care for the guy. False.

5. I've engaged in a small session of N.C.M.O. -HA! No. False.

6. I've gone an entire week without eating. -Almost, but no. Also false.

8. I didn't quit my morning job I actually got fired for "consistent tardies." -I don't think my boss would have ever fired me. We got along really well and I worked hard... Also false.

9. I've picked up a homeless guy in my car before, and on top of that, I was alone. -No way! I was taught well never to pick up strangers, ESPECIALLY when I'm alone. False.

10. I got to go snowboarding with my roommate! -I think, were this to be true, I probably would have used the word "tried." There's just no way I could have actually succeeded in snowboarding. False.

Okay, now for those of us who are good at math or are just strange, you will have noticed that I skipped a number. I did this on purpose. The one I skipped is actually the only true one. And that would be number seven (my favorite number). I hate wearing my hair in a ponytail. I have for a VERY long time. I like the way my hair falls around my neck when it's down, giving me some sense of ...I don't know ...comfort? cover? I don't know. I just really like it when its down or something between. I just don't like it up. I put it up, however, because I don't have the patience to straighten my hair EVERY morning and I don't feel like walking around campus with the wild-mane I can never get away from in the morning. I'd rather be known as The-Pony-Tail-Girl rather than Rat-Nest-Head.

Well, there you have it. :)

Please Comment.

The semester is over. It's rainy outside and I feel as if my world is being washed free of my third semester and I am ready for another one. (I can't believe this will be my FOURTH!). Anyway, as I was at work today I had a thought: Why not tell the world (or the blogging world anyway) all of my secrets and start anew as well? So, I constructed a list of nine of my deepest darkest secrets and would like you, my readers, to read it.

Of the following, nine are true and only one is false (aka: NOT true). The question, then, is which is it? (This is where your comment comes in.) And please, don't hold any of these against me I am an adult and I can, I promise, make my own decisions. Let me know what you think the lie is and, in two weeks time (or maybe just until school starts up again), I'll tell you the answer. And just as a side note, if I see you personally between now and then my lips are sealed! -Happy Reading!

1. I sent in a request in to be in New Moon and I made it to the third round of call backs! (I just got the email today!)
2. I went with my roommates and bought my first thong.
3. I cheated on my last math exam.
4. I actually voted for Obama.
5. I've engaged in a small session of N.C.M.O.
6. I've gone an entire week without eating.
7. I hate wearing my hair in a ponytail.
8. I didn't quit my morning job I actually got fired for "consistent tardies."
9. I've picked up a homeless guy in my car before -and on top of that, I was alone.
10. I got to go snowboarding with my roommate!

Happy Pizza!

Okay, so I didn't exactly plan on blogging about my birthday, but I figured that this one was pretty momentous. This happened on Monday the 6th. Totally NOT on my birthday, but oh well. We had pizza (due to all of those clean clean-checks that we passed. Ya, Us!) and it was dedicated to me and then my roommates made me open presents!

Sure this sounds like a typical college birthday (no balloons, no cake -but then it wasn't my birthday yet, so. I had time. Moving on-) but here's the momentous part! I got a purse, a diffuser for my hair-dryer, (Wait! It gets better!) blush (still more!), mascara (!), and eye shadow (!!!!). I have make-up! For the first time! In Nineteen years!

Moving on, today -it being my birthday (and I guess I chose right to blog late at night as you're probably not reading this the same day that I posted, but) I had a really good day! It started when I DIDN'T go to work (I asked a co-worker to cover for me), and then I went to classes (found out that my English has the same birthday!). I pretty much spent the whole day answering my phone and studying for my English Final.

I set aside an hour of my time to take a nap (I hear its better if you nap just before a test) and then I curled up in a ball on the couch and fell asleep. I dreamed. For some reason I always dream when I'm on the couch. And then I woke up without my alarm. When this happens (especially when I dream), I typically think that my body is ready to wake up. So I was like 'oh cool, I'll just get up and start studying' and then I checked my clock and guess what? ...It was fifteen minutes later. Erg. I changed my mind right then -'forget it!' -and tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't because I got a phone call from my sister. But that was okay, I just stayed awake afterward and studied some more.

And then dun Dun DUN! I went and took my test! It was the first time this semester that I actually got an A on an exam -and on a Final no less! And, to top that, it was in the 60s today! 60s! In Rexburg! ...It was a good day today.

...I can't think of anything else to say. Oh. I lied. My roommates surprised me with a humungo birthday cake with ice cream inside! (to "fill my need for ice cream") I got to blow out candles and all that and we had a few friends over. It was fun! They sang and everything!

...Okay, NOW I don't have anything else to say. I guess I could just blab on like I've been doing all day. For some reason I'm in a very talkative mood. For instance, I could tell you that when I grow up and get a house of my own I HAVE to get little pillows for my couches. I LOVE them! Little fluffy ones. Tan, green, and brown. Or I could tell you that I've seen more murder mystery TV-shows this semester than ever (I have roommate who is a fan of Law and Order and all that). Or I could add that I plan on investing in a bike so that I'll have a way to get to and from work. I might also add that I have no idea what I'd do with the bike after the semester is over...maybe I could just store it with all of my other stuff. Anyway. But I won't bore you with all of my random talkativeness. I guess the point I'm trying to make is, on average a college student will spend more than 30 hours a week on the internet!

Confessions.

I saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic" tonight with one of my roommates. It was great! Hilarious! It was directed by P.J. Hogan, who also directed "Peter Pan" (you know, "I do believe in faeries! I do believe in faeries!") as well as "My Best Friend's Wedding." The movie stars Isla Fisher (who, interestingly enough, plays Dr. Mary Lou Larue on "Horton Hears a Who") and Hugh Dancy (!!!!).

"Confessions of a Shopaholic" is obviously about a shopaholic, who gets herself into a lot of trouble because of it. The movie was great and it teaches a good lesson. Grade wise I'd probably give it either a B+ or an A-. I really liked it! It's rated PG and its about two hours long.

Despite immodest clothing and a few choice words (not that I am by any means, excusing them, but) I really liked the movie. And I must say, the main guy, Luke Brandon, was an incredible character! Where can I get one??

Nothing.

(Warning: Contents of this post may contain the individuals religious views. What can I say? -I'm Mormon!)

School is coming to an end. And I am already starting to feel it. That sense, that wanting for my classes to continue. For my learning experience to keep going. This isn't an usual feeling for me, but it is coming earlier than I expected.

But why must we learn? What is the point in learning about the process of DNA or of how many stars there are in this galaxy or of evolution? Today in my science class we brought up the scripture in D&C 88:80. "That ya may be prepared in all things when I shall send you... to magnify [your] calling." So, the answer? So that we can be prepared.

Despite my stinkishly poor grades, I love my science course! According to my history professor, "In the end it doesn't matter so much what your grades are but of how much you learned." And, unfortunately, in my case, my grades and the knowledge that I obtain are by no means complimentary.

Also in my science class, we discussed the devotional address given by Elder Merrill J. Bateman of the Presidency of the Seventy titled "Nothing Shall be Withheld." The devotional addressed the revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith on the matter that all revelation will be revealed. Elder Bateman spoke of the "burst of secular knowledge" that occurred during the time of the restoration of the Gospel here on Earth.

Elder Bateman spoke on many advancements that have occured over the years: computers, ipods, internet. He stated: "Brothers and sisters, you are living the miracle, the promise made by the Lord to His prophet 170 years ago... The technological inventions and discoveries of the last 170 years are a clear witness that our Father in Heaven and His Son deliver on Their promises. They control the universe. They know the pace and the extent of the discoveries needed for the gospel to reach every nation, kindred, tongue and people."

In his address Elder Bateman quoted from Neal A. Maxwell's description of God's omniscience: "God, who knows the beginning from the end, knows, therefore, all that is in between... Below the scripture that declares that God knows "all things" there is no footnote reading "except that God is a little weak in geophysics"! We do not worship a God who simply forecasts a generally greater frequency of earthquakes in the last days before the second coming of His Son; He knows precisely when and where these will occur. God has ever prophesied that the Mount of Olives will cleave in twain at a precise latter-day time as Israels is besieged. (Zecharaiah 14:4)"

-To put this into Julia-terms: Get an education! An education does not consist of matriculating from place to place or of signing up for specific courses. An education consists of a single person obtaining knowledge. The internet has been around for nearly twenty years. Books have been published since prehistoric times. In 1931, Congress established the talking-book program (aka Audiobooks). There are tons of ways to get smarter! And get this -you don't even need to buy a kit! How cool is that??

Well... I guess I'll get off my soapbox now. I gotta turn in a paper. So, toodles!