Need A Good Book?

Speaking of good books... One of my roommates recommended a book to me and I just finished reading it last night. The roommate who recommended it isn't a big reader and so whenever she does recommend a book I make a point to read it asap. I'm not sure why, I just do. And so this one was no different.

I was in Salt Lake City this weekend and, of course, I had to go to Deseret Book (I mean, how can you NOT go to Deseret Book when in Salt Lake?). Anyways, while I was there I bought two books and a movie and one of those books was the recommended book, The Secret Journal of Brett Colton by Kay Lynn Mangum

I spent the whole weekend reading it every chance that I got. I read it in Salt Lake, in the car, at the airport, at the airport, at the airport, on the plane, before I went to bed, while watching TV, etc. And I must say, the book was amazing! I think everyone should read it! It's easy to get into and I totally give it an A+. Oh and P.S. when reading this book you will probably need a few tissues. At least, I did...

The Secret Journal of Brett Colton is about a girl named Kathy. On her sixteenth birthday Kathy discovers her brother's hidden journal -a journal written especially for her before he passed away. At the same time Kathy is struggling with the assignment to tutor the popular high school quarterback, a football jock who, even worse, is a Mormon.

So yeah. You should read it!

Apartment Pictures Spring 2010.

I'd Like to Take a Moment...

I believe that we are all born with certain rights and sometimes along our long road of life, we are also given certain rights. Well, as a student at BYU-Idaho I feel as if I have obtained specific rights that I'd like to tell you all about. Those rights, yes, you guessed it, are bragging rights. The semester is coming to a close and I'd like to take a moment to brag.

I was reviewing my grades online just now and I was very pleased with the results. Of course, I haven't yet taken any of my finals so there is a slight chance that these won't remain but I think they will. Or at least, I certainly hope they remain!

For my Marriage class.... A.
For my Prep. for Marriage class.... A.
For my Marriage Skills class.... A.
For my Parenting Skills class.... A.
For my American Literature class.... A.
For my Children's Literature class.... A.
And for my New Testament class.... A.

Yes. I am very, VERY pleased with how this semester is turning out. And I am very, VERY excited that it is FINALLY coming to an end! I am SO ready to go home!

Because of My Grandma.

Lately I've been doing a lot of self-evaluation on myself and I've come to find that, naturally, a lot of the things I do come because one person or another has touched my life. So, I have compiled a list of things that one of these persons has done for me.

Today, that person is my Grandma.

Because of my Grandma I iron my skirt every week for Sunday.
Because of my Grandma I wash my sheets every Saturday.
Because of my Grandma I know how to tie my shoes.
Because of my Grandma I know how to use the crock-pot.
Because of my Grandma I know how to clean house.
Because of my Grandma I know how to make bread.
Because of my Grandma I understand boys a little better.
Because of my Grandma I want to plant my own garden.
Because of my Grandma I have set very high standards for my future husband.
Because of my Grandma I have a goal of building up my food storage.
Because of my Grandma I have a strong testimony of doing genealogy and temple work.

My Grandma has helped me become the person I am today and I will be forever grateful! (And trust me, the list goes on and on!)

Review for Bree Tanner.

Note: If you haven't read the book, this will give a few things away, but not much. Just so you know.

"No two writers go about things in exactly the same way. We all are inspired are motivated in different ways; we have our own reasons why some characters stay with us while others disappear into a backlog of neglected files. Personally, I've never figured out why some of my characters take on strong lives of their own, but I'm always happy when they do. Those characters are the most effortless to write, and so their stories are usually the ones that get finished. Bree was one of those characters..." -Stephenie Meyer

Well, I finished my book. And, despite what others may think, I really enjoyed it. Of course I kept having to tell myself that there was no way that this book could end well, but I enjoyed it all the same. I had to constantly tell myself not to get attached. She's dies in the end. She dies in the end. Don't get attached. She dies in the end. She dies in the end. Think happy thoughts!

Things I liked:
1. The relationship between Bree and her BFF.
2. Seeing the story or world through the eyes of a "real" vampire. It was very interesting.
3. The fact that my favorite character (apart from the Cullens and such) survives.
4. The brief mention of Shannon Hale in the text made me happy.

Things I didn't like:
1. She dies.
2. The whole violence thing was a little much in this book. No concern toward the humans whatsoever.
3. The swearing.
4. And there was no good stopping points. It was like reading a chapter that was one hundred sixty plus pages long. It was kind of annoying.

Well, anyway. Good book. Be warned. Enjoy!

Dear Homework,

You are just going to have to wait.

Love, Julia

Roast.

Little bit of water
Beef
Onion seasoning
Carrots
Onions
Potatoes
Leave on low, practically all day.
If anything goes wrong -call Grandma!

I made roast for the first time by myself! Well...okay, so I may or may not have called my Grandma at least half a dozen times. But anyway. I'm not at all sure if it's going to turn out right. I'm scared it won't. ...But, how bad can it be? ...I'll let you know after we try it.

Oh, P.S. So my apartment always eats dinner together and I still have five dinners to make this semester. ...Does anyone have any ideas? There are two things I know how to make, enchiladas and funeral potatoes, and I think we need a change! ;)

Touching; Good or Bad?

What do you think?

For me, I'm the type of person who gets startled every time someone touches me. Unfortunately, my roommates are very aware of this fact and frequently take advantage of it. Today, for instance, during the weekly devotional on campus one of my roommates jokingly put her hand on my leg. Of course, I immediately pushed it off and scooted to the other side of my chair.

As some further examples, during Memorial weekend my roommates and I watched a movie at my old roommate's house. During the movie this roommate moved right up next to me and hugged me, with both of her arms around me and one of her legs thrown over both of mine. Having no way to escape, I simply shut my eyes and waited for her to move away. A few weekends ago my roommates and I all slept out in the living-room. Almost all of us took the liberty of dragging our mattresses out for a slumber party. I, being very lazy, decided I'd just sleep on the couch. There was one point during the evening, however, that I decided to lay down on one of my roommates unoccupied beds, just because it was there. Seeing this moment as opportune, two of my roommates rolled up next to me on either side. Again, I just had to endure it until they moved.

I guess one of your thoughts might go a little something like this: Well, yeah that would be weird, but that's just because they're a bunch of girls. It wouldn't be weird if it was a guy. ...Well, maybe your thoughts aren't exactly like that, but I'll address that one anyway.

To be honest, I think it would be doubly weird to have a boy act in such a way. Actually, I'm sure it would be super weird to have any guy touch me period. That's just weird. As an example (I don't need one, but might as well give one) a few weeks ago my roommates and I, along with a ton of other people, decided we'd go to Mesa Falls in Idaho near Yellowstone. As we were walking back to our cars a boy tried to hold my hand and I pulled it away as quickly as I could. I stuffed them in my pockets after that and left them there.

So, I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I don't like being touched. It's just weird. I could live the rest of my life without being touched and I wouldn't have a problem.

Or, so I thought...

These five months is the longest I've ever been away from my family. Five months. Over one hundred thirty days. Do you know what that means? Well, because my roommates are aware that I don't like being touched (at least when they're not teasing me) they don't touch me. Do you know what that means? That means that I haven't had a hug, a sincere meaningful hug in over five months.

In order to understand exactly how devastating this is to me there's something else you have to know. While I was living at home I gave my parents a hug every morning, every night, and every time they came home from work. I hugged my family ALL the time! It became as common and special to me as dessert. Or something less fattening. And so, as I told my mom yesterday, I've been having some serious hug withdrawls. And I don't know what to do about it.

Anyway, I guess this is ending more like a pity-me post instead of an update on my life. Oh well. I'll post something else later. If you have any thoughts or suggestions on my current problem, please comment!

Shrek Forever After.

I thought this movie was awesome! I laughed so hard and I think it's my favorite of all the Shrek movies and perhaps my favorite of all the Dreamworks movies too!

The story is that Shrek feels like he's going soft or "less ogre-ie" and so he signs this deed that takes one day out of his life so that he can have a sort of vacation. The only problem is that the day that Shrek signs away is the day he was born and the only way to change it is to kiss his true love. So, through the entire movie Shrek is trying to kiss Fiona, who has no idea who he is. So, from Fiano's point of view, you can just imagine a complete stranger trying to kiss you ever chance he got! It's really funny! And sweet.

The movie is rated PG and it's directed by Mike Mitchell. He didn't direct the first ones, but he did direct "Sky High" and "Monsters vs. Aliens." Which I happen to like. Anyway, it was very funny and I thought it was well worth the seven dollars. I'd have to give it an A.

Emma 2009

Yesterday I finished watching the newest version of Jane Austen's "Emma". And I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I admit I didn't much care of Romola Garai (the girl who plays Emma) at first, but it didn't take long for her to grow on me (though I still think I'm still a bigger fan of Paltrow). Johny Lee Miller, who played Mr. Knightley also played Edmund Bertram in the 1999 version of "Mansfield Park". And Christina Cole, who plays Mrs. Elton also played Caroline Bingley in "Lost in Austen". And, of course, those Harry Potter actors must always make their appearance in one of the Austen films and so we had Michael Gambon, aka Dumbeldore, to play Mr. Woodhouse.

"Emma" is unrated (in the good way) and is presented in four episodes. For me, I watched it in a set of four days and I think I enjoyed it more than if I had simply watched them all in one day. It stays with me longer I suppose. Anyway, I loved that this longer version had a whole lot more detail and I think many of Emma's actions (which bothered me to know end crammed in a two hour movie) seemed a little more ...reasonable.

All in all, if you haven't already seen it I think you should! I, personally (and don't hold it against me) watched it all on youtube, and it's actually very good quality. Anyway, I guess I'd better be off. Toodles!