A Little Bird Said

http://a-little-bird-said.blogspot.com/

I can't believe it's finally here! For about a year and a half now, my best friend Sam and I have shared a journal. One would write in it and tell the other everything then pass it back and the other would do the same. Well, we recently realized that there were two girls and only one journal, and the question "Who would get to keep it?" was a daunting one. So we decided to make a joint blog were we can talk about anything and everything we want, instantly. And the best part is that, when the time comes, we can get as many copies as our hearts desire, printed.

So check it out :]

Hop Skip Jump Doll!

Today I sewed my first Hop Skip Jump doll. I bought the pattern a few weeks ago and didn't have time and supplies until now. I know it doesn't look exactally like the ones in the shop, but I still think she is cute. I named her Evelyn.

I even made her a little bag to hold all her stuff in. Problem is that she doesn't have anything to put in it.

Anyways, I hope to make more of them and perfect it. Evelyn took me all day to do so we'll see. I want to take her on the trek I'm going on in August. I'll have to make her a jumpsuit that can get dirty. It'll be very hot and dusty up there in Utah in August.

That's all for now.

Heaven on Earth... literally

Right now it is 10:56 pm and I am here, once again, at camp Seabeck. I just finished the newsletter and I have some time and a good song is playing on pandora so I decided to take a second to write how I feel, because I feel good. There is a happy, warm fuzzy, safe, secure feeling I feel in the randomest places. One, for instance, was when I helped Ms.Lloyd and James and Megan with "In the Mood" back in February when my parents were in Europe. We had spent the past 11 hours setting everything up for the show and now were settling in in the "Booth" (the lighting booth/Ms.Lloyds office) to watch the show and work spots (Spotlights.)

It is a long, narrow rectangle. A couch sits on the back wall with pillows. There are stairs down to the lobby to the left and infront of the couch about 4 or 5 feet is the light board and then the sliding glass window that over looks the stage. On either side of the couch is bookshelves filled with plays. Pictures of former students and actors adorn the couch wall with play posters covering the lightboard wall and the stair walkway.

Anyways, I was sitting on the couch with James and Megan working the two spots and an extremely nice lady (I forget her name :() working the light panel and on headset. The show was starting and it was all quiet except the muffled sound of the show. 1940's jazzy music. An overwhelming calm feeling washed over me and I felt so safe and secure right there. It was nice

Now, here at the lodge at Seabeck at 11:00 pm I am feeling that same goodness and like I am safe and at home. That's the amazing thing at Seabeck. We see eachother for a week out of the year, we don't talk or hang out other than these few days, yet great friendships are made among all the people from year after year after year of coming and learning bits and pieces at a time. We leave and come back a year later but it is like the other 360 some odd days are edited out and we come back, friendships still fresh. And no matter how matter I complain, I really do love doing the newsletter. Giving people something to look forward to. I love when people come up to me and tell me that they like it. It makes me happy to be validated. That is why I love Seabeck and the people that come here. They all love eachother and accept eachother even though there differences between people. It doesn't matter, they are still good.

Long time No See

Holy smokes! I have not posted in like... 4 months! I blame it on the play. It took up all my waking hours besides school and even then they are practically one in the same. Then the end of school came and I'm pretty sure that I forgot that I even had a blog. Summer is finally here and I have soooo much to tell you about! Dinners that have been had, Flowers created, A flower Josh made for his sweatheart, learning french, the play itself and so much other wonderful stuff! Can't chat right now but Definitly in the very near future. We are leaving to go to Seabeck tomorrow and there will be tons of empty time just waiting to be filled with happy memories put into words :) Until then, Au revoir!

Sunshine

I finally finished my stich project! In case you can't read it it says "Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves." I used some extra fabric I have from my quilt and then the frame is from St. Vincent de Paul's thrift store in Kent. People have been telling me lately of the wonders they've found at thrift stores and I decided to give it a try = Success :) Now, just to find a place to put it.

Rosemary Dinner Party Invites

Here are the invites I made. I think they turned out pretty good for just left over scraps.

The end is Nigh

Less than 3 hours and I shall be "homeless" no more! My parents come home tonight, their plane lands at around midnight. Because of jetlag and such, I will be going home after school tomorrow after school. They are going to pick me up! Just like the good old days! So in recognition of this special occasion I decided to make a list of all the things I love about my parents and my house:

• I love how I can always talk to my mom about everything and how I can trust her with all my secretes and such (because I have so many, right?:) Yes, I can tell some other people bits and peices of things, but my mom is the only one who knows it all and even when she is tired and just wants to go to sleep, she'll stay up and talk with me when I really need her to.
• My dad and his funny way of showing that he loves me :) like When I cook. I know I did a good job if he, jokingly, says that it's "edible".
• Lots of hugs from both of them
• My mom shopping and keeping the house stocked with fruits and veggies! We love costco ! Thanks mom!
• My dad always helping me with projects even though it was my fault for procrastinating.
• My parents both for picking up the slack when I don't do what I'm supposed to. One time I woke up late for seminary and my dad packed my lunch and made me a waffle so I could make it. I thought that that was really sweet
• Their constructive criticism/ advice when I really need it. Like if my outfit really just doesn't match or if they've noticed my fingers in the cookie dough a little bit to much, they lets me know and even though I don't always take it for what it is (constructive criticism) I really do appreciate it.

Things I miss about my house:

• My own bed
• Scrapbook stuff
• PIANO!!!!!
• Rides whenever I need them. Without feeling guilty that is: )
• X-box 360
• My bathroom (well... the kids bathroom I guess.)
  
• how close I am to certain things like Crestwood and friends
• EXERCISING!!!! ooh, I can't believe I almost forgot that one. I'm pretty sure I gained somewhere around 5 pounds this trip. I really need to get back in gear.
  
• My family all together
• my kitchen

I am Very excited to be getting back into my regular routine tomorrow!

Until then.

In the Mood

Yesterday I spent 13 hours at the theatre helping set up for a little musical called "In the Mood." It was a 1940's themed thing. They had a band come and it was all song and dance but 1940's style. It was adorable. I loved every minute of it! A big Penske truck came and we unloaded tons of wheeled crates and then set up everything: lighting, sound, set etc. I learned so so much and I was really grateful for Megan Ingalls and everything she taught me. I never really realized all that goes into a little production like that. Each and every light has to be focused, all the coloring and angles and diffusion and sharpness. Then for the sound: a million cables had to be labeled and hidden and then they had to calibrate all the speakers and make sure everything sounded perfect.

I thought that it was awesome that people came together with their specific talents to make this thing work. It was wonderful to see people all doing their thing and working together and how nice everyone was to each other.

Things are starting to be different soon though. Now people are finding out that I am mormon and I'm not sure that the theatre kids have had such a great experience with mormon kids. It's not that I was trying to hide it nor proclaim it, it's more of that I was trying to stay... neutral? Just be me, be a good example. I'm not sure how to handle this to tell you the truth. There are two sides of the spectrum and there is a very fine line in between. On one side there is the over zealous, crazy mormon child who tries to convert everyone and is a stickler about her beliefs and standards. Then on the other side there is the girl who wants to fit so she throws out her standards and is a mormon only around moron kids, who doesn't CTR and is only a mormon by title. I want to still be a good person and keep my standards, but I also don't want to get the "Preachy little goody-two-shoes" reputation because that doesn't help anybody. So here is the philosophy I came up with and I used swearing because that is the first problem I have encountered. I have been thinking about it a lot:

I don't swear. I don't ever plan on making that a habit. This is high school and other people do swear and there is no way around that. I ignore it the rest of the day, I can ignore it in the theatre. Yes, if it someone has an extremely bad swearing problem then I can ask them to stop but I am not going to go around looking for swear words so I can ask people to cut it out. People swear but I will not and what others say says a lot about who they are as a person and I will always remember that. "Be in the world but not of it" and that is my plan.

Beautiful Bellevue

On monday the wonderful Jacksons were kind enough to take Sabrina and I to Bellevue square to do some shopping. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to get out into the brisk morning air with the sunshine... Oh! It was perfect! Bellevue square is a place I have not had the pleasure of visiting before and it was like a vamped up AMC. It had bunches of stores in an open air mall/strip deal. I loved looking at GAP and Anne Taylor. Looking of course; I can't spend $300 on a pair of shoes... yet :)



I did get to go into a very cool place called The Body Shop. I had never been there before, only heard good things. Well I found a very good thing there.

My Friend Christy has oil blotting tissues and they were miraculous. I soon forgot about their magicalness until I saw these there. Because it was Presidents Day, there was a sale and I got 2 packs for $10 or 4x65 for $10. I am very excited because I used one today and it worked!!! My face gets really oily, especially around lunch time (7 hours of being awake) and so it will be perfect to de-grease my face before going to drama and the lights. Would hate for my face to glare too bad... Anyways. This was the highlight of my day.

We ate at Subway, which is a wonderful place. I got a good sandwich and used my free pass for the blog. It was good though. Thank you Jacksons for taking us out for such a fun day!

Dinner at the Campbells

Tonight Sabrina and I went over to the Campbells again for a girls night. Jocelyn was so sweet to invite us over again and make us feel right at home. She is such a sweet lady and we both love her so much! She reminds us of our mom and she and I have strangly similar tastes in everything! It's like I am a copy of her... Like she is what I am going to grow up to be like.



Anyways, first I decorated the glass jar that I got in Seattle today at Sur la Table. It is an adorable little store with every kitchen gadget you, seriously, could ever dream of!

This is how it turned out. I am planning on making it into a Journal Jar with little journaling prompts in it.

After that I went downstairs and talked until it was time to help make dinner. We had Taco Salad and I chopped the Vegetables. It was red leaf lettuce with romaine tomatoes and yellow bell pepper and green onions. Then there was ground turkey with kidney beans on top. It was super delicious and then, while we waited for the brownies to bake, we played Blokus. It's very fun and stratigic.

The brownies came out and we ate them with Vanilla bean Ice cream and played Rummikub. Yet another very fun game. Annelise and I played that game a Ton while we were in Utah this summer for EFY. Brings back good memories of sleepless nights!

It was a very good night! Someday I'll get pictures :)

Sunny in Seattle Part one

Today Annelise, Nicole and I went to Pike Place market and it was a blast! We had so much fun walking around and seeing all the cute little shops and trying all the samples! Good stuff they have down there. I love the idea of an open market where you can come every morning and buy your bread for the day and some pretty flowers. That kind of freshness is just so wonderous to me. I wish I lived in the city... *sigh*.

Anyways. We started off in the market looking at all the crazy fresh produce. We tried some bread with vinegars and oils and they were delicious in a more sophisticated kind of way. You know, the difference between comfort food and ah-ha food. Then came some apple slices. One of the most flavorful apples I have had in a while. A++ for organics! We then found a cute little Tea place where they had some orange cinnamon herbal tea which we also tried. I have heard that herbal teas are very good but no one has ever explained to me just how to make it just so because the only tea I have tasted was quite bland and unappealing. If you know the secret, please enlighten me!

We browsed around and finally decided it was time for some lunch. Nicole's mom knew of a little soup and sandwich place called the Alaskan Sour Dough Bakery. There Annelise and I shared a yummers Chicken Pesto Panini. The crust of the bread was so hard, but the inside so fluffy. Arugala and Provologn (I think...) It was very good. Then more shopping.

We headed to a bakery called Le Panier. It was amazing! It smelled so buttery and delightful! It was a quaint little french bakery that had loads of sweet confections and crusty breads. Annelise, in want of a baguette to peak out of her "grocery" bag, bought a long baguette. Nicole bought some little chocolate cookies. They were square and slightly puffy. Airy sweet and melt in your mouth they were happiness, especially on such a beautiful day. One of those cookies that you don't feel super bad about eating.

Next was Beecher's cheese, where we only stopped in for a quick look. They were actually making their cheese right there for everyone to see. It was very cool. Which reminds me. Back up a little: earlier we had gone to a little shop that had all the different imported foods and stuff there like the little chocolate wafer cookies from australia, lady fingers, and all the special cheeses and meats. Wine was there too. For those of you who don't know me, I have an very clean fettish for glass bottles and jars and containers. If it is clear glass I love it. So the newest thing that has found my fancy is wine bottles. Please don't think ill of me for it. Today I found a beautiful light blue bottle with some Sauvignon Blanc and I thought it was so pretty that I bought it!!! Can you believe me!?! I bought alcohol. I am planning to either cook with it and then keep the bottle, Dump it out and keep the bottle, or just keep everything all sealed up nice and beautimus... We shall see.

Anyways, after all of that we went to the produce again and bought some stuff. Annelise and I split a pomello, a mango and three mini concord pears. They look so delicious and we can't wait to have a fruity breakfast in the morning! It will be so much fun.

Whooo. What an awesome day! I will post pictures tommorrow when I have more time!

Homemaker

While I was at the campbells she packed me lunch for the two days. My parents never really got into that, which is totally fine. This is not, by any means somthing I resent them for or anything. I was just cool that Jocelyn did. She filled it with the most exquisite carrots and sugar snap peas and yogurts and Kashi bars and organic goodness. I do believe I was in heaven. The other thing that was really cool was that the first day she wrote me a note and left it in the fridge on the top of my lunch. I thought that it was the coolest thing ever and decided it was worthy of my memories box. For those of you who don't know what that is, which is probably most, it is an honor to have something go in that box :). Anyways. When I got to lunch that day, I realized that my card was missing! I panicked. That note was supposed to go into my box and I didn't have it. I could have sworn that I had put it with my things but it was no where to be found. When I got "home" to the Campbell's house I asked her about it and it turned out that she had "tucked it into the trash." Needless to say, when she was upstairs for a moment, I sifted through the trash to find it. Am I weird for doing that? Oh well :D.


I do believe that the Campbell's house is the perfect example of how I have always envisioned my house running. They have so many organic goodies and vegetables, it is a veritable garden! And they have a library, no TV in their bedroom, they wash their hands when they come home from school, work or just being out and around, they still act like their dating, their kids are so well behaved, she has a treadmill, she loves cooking and vegetables and her daughter would chose a broccoli floret over a chicken nugget.

Now, that isn't saying that there aren't others that I look up to as well. Trust me, there are many more! I just love getting a peek into adult life. Real adult life. I love getting to see how other people do things, ways that I might not have found otherwise and then using them. Things like creative decorating ideas from Jenni, adding orange peel to my sugar cookies like Jocelyn, washing glass jars and nalgene bottles like Valerie, paper bag books from Ashley. Being a mini adult is what I live for. Learning how to be a homemaker is my joy. I know that sounds super cheesy and stuff. Your probaly thinking "what kind of teenager likes mopping the floor?" Suprise! I do!
I am a very unique one. Peculiar? Yes. I may be 15 on the outside, but not so much on the inside. Oh well, one day my body will catch up :)

Such a Wonderful life!

Dear goodness! There is so much that I want to talk about but I can't remember all of it at the moment so it will just be a rambling blog.

So yesterday we had a rehearsal. All we did was watch the blocking of the first act and it was so funny! Brooke wasn't there to be Dorthy so James stepped in. He was so funny and everyone did great, especially since it has only been a few weeks. I think that everybody should go see the play. It is going to be epic. I also learned yesterday that I will be a poppy. For those of you who don't know what that means, it will be me and a few other girls wearing a body suit of green spandex dancing "seductivly" making Dorothy and her buddies fall asleep. I need to get in some serous shape if I am going to be up there fully exposed. So begining tommorrow, I will be trying harder to keep up with my diet plan. I will also be a beautician in the Emerald City for the Scarecrow who will be played by Saxton. I am so excited for this! What an awesome thing to be involved in.

We had another set building today. We did lots of painting and I have a shirt and pair of sweats that now have a story. I wasn't very careful and got it everywhere. But it was so much fun. I was worried that last saturday would be a one time deal, that maybe next time wouldn't be as fun but I was wrong, It was even better because there were new people to make friends with.

I also brought my dog along with me to set building. Ms.lloyd brings her dogs every saturday and sometimes to school. I told her about my dog. He is a 3 1/2 year old black miniature Schnauzer named rebel. Lloyd has a small white dog his size named Juliet. She told me she would love to have him, so I did. It was a blast for both of us and he was surprisingly well behaved and everyone thought he was just a doll! It became a game to see if Rebel liked you, if he would let you pet him, if he would even follow you. Good times! The only problem was that I forgot to bring him food :'/ but he was such a good sport.

Then, right after I went babysitting. I made a little mistake though. For the first time in my babysitting career I double booked myself. I think it had a lot to do with my mom not being here. You see, she is such an extraordinarily wonderful person. She helps me a great deal with organizing and scheduling; two things I am far from good at. When I get jobs, I immediatly tell her about them and she writes them on her calendar. I always check with her before I accept one and she helps remind me about upcoming ones. Well I had forgotten that I had already accepted one job a while back for tonight, and this week I accepted another one for the exact same time! It was extra hard because it is valetines weekend and all the other babysitters had jobs so I couldn't offer up another one to take on the second job. So I was talking to Stacey about it and she gave me a brilliant idea: just combine the jobs and babysit them all at one house. I called them and they said that it would be okay and so that is exactaly what I did. It worked out great. The kids played with eachother and they all behaved.

This week I spent two glorious nights at the Campbells house and while I was there Jocelyn showed me her published blog book and it was ADORABLE! So I decided to check their website out and I just did. It was so cool! I didn't know that you could publish anything like cookbooks and stuff. Now I want to do a cook book where I find new yummy dishes that I find, test out, alter, plate and take pictures of. I already have my first recipe and it will be stuffed bell peppers. I had them at the Campbells and they are DIVINE! When I get the official recipe, I will post it. I
also want to publish my blog as well. This is my way of journaling and so I think that I need a hard copy of it someday. I can't wait!

I really miss my parents. I have so much to tell them about. I do email them, but there are some things that aren't the same over e-mail.
I have begun a countdown. I never thought I would miss my parents this much but I do.
Well, it is late. Goodnight.

Letters to My Parents 5

Hey Mom,

Kaylee is going shopping either tomorrow or in the next few days and I need a new bra and a couple pairs of new jeans. I have 4 pairs right now but one of them is so worn out in the crotch that I am very worried that if I wear them to school, they will rip out on me. So I was wondering if you could put some money in my PayPal account. I tried asking Valerie before about what you left and she won't tell me anything... at all.

Anyways, Things are going very good! I have been so busy lately. Finals were this week along with the monologues, first rehearsal and set building.

So I will start at the beginning

Wednesday was the monologue showcase. I was so nervous you have no idea. I had heart palpitations from 4:00 till 7:00! Thick, squelching beats. I tried exercise to calm it down, but even after a sweaty hour on the elliptical, my heart wouldn't calm down. I wore one of Valerie’s black pencil skirts because we had to dress simple and nice; no jeans solid pants and shirts.
I was almost at the end. There was one other group after Alexa's (which is the one I was in) It was me, then Celina, then Tina, so I didn't get to see theirs, which was a little sad but oh well. I was off stage waiting for Kate, who was before me to go, and my heart started racing and my legs started shaking so I got into character, channeling my nervousness into my awkward twitchy person. I walked out on stage after Alexa announced me and went for it! I spoke loud and clear, annunciating my words. The spotlight was so bright that I couldn't see anything except the couple in the front row who were holding hands. I did all the movements Alexa had told me to do and some that I added myself on the fly. After I was done I stood there with my head down on stage and counted to 10 then walked off. As I was walking back into the audience place Saxton walked out and he told me that I did "SO GOOD!" and he was serious. Then Nate walked out and said "Yeah! You really did :)" How cool is that? So I wasn't convinced at first that I did as good as they said. Things were solidified on

Thursday was the second best day ever! In drama it was the last day of the semester and that meant that this was the last class with all of the people there.
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First Ms.Lloyd told us that she was very pleased with our performances and then she said that she wanted to recognize the people who got 100%. Guess who was one of them? ME!!!!!! She told me that I was amazing and that it was one of the best of the entire night!! :) :) :D She didn't have anything to correct me on, but she did have things for the other 5 people who got 100%
Later we all got in a circle and said what we learned in drama this semester about ourselves and then about drama. I said that I learned that it is okay to be me, not to worry about what others think and about messing up; that I don't have to be a cookie cutter. Then I said that I learned that Acting was a lot easier that I had thought. In the beginning I didn't think I could do it and that I was crazy to even try and it turns out that I can do it if I put my mind to it.
Then the directors got to say things about drama and they all talked about me.
Nate said that when we all first came in that he thought that we weren’t going to be super amazing and stuff. He said, for example, that I was a classic example of shyness and that last night I "Blew me away!" Then Saxton talked about how you never stop learning and that, for example, he will always remember how I said pee (I said it a little too loud on purpose and then looked startled and like Oops... :)?) and that if he ever has to say that that he will say it like I did :)!
Then I don't remember exactly what Alexa said but she motioned me!
Then they went around the circle and said good things about each of us. Alexa said that I was such a great kid, that I was very respectful and that when she gave me a suggestion that I would take it and run with it and Do amazing with it. Saxton commented about how I said "pee" again and then Nate just commented on the kids that needed to improve a little. I wasn't talked to.

Friday was pretty fun too. I had my AP Bio final, which I got a B- on!!! That is SUPER good. Then we had our first rehearsal. It was from 3:15 to 7:00 in the choir room. I didn't want to wait at school by myself so I walked around with Megan to a couple of her classes to get some business done and then we went to the theatre to find out about rehearsal. We ran into James and He is SO amazingly nice. He totally likes Megan and they are so cute because she likes him too! I am so happy for them. Anyways, he told us what time and stuff and then he had to leave. I walked home with Megan to her house and played on her piano for about 15 minutes and then her mom gave us a ride to Kentwood. Her mom is such a wonderful lady and she said that it was no problem that she gave us a ride and anytime. We got there right on time and had lots of fun. I am part of a small girl’s chorus that will be singing special parts. I'm not 100% sure what or when but She kept us after for a little bit and told us that she picked us because she knew that we could sing good! I was part of that group which means that I'm not horrible. Singing. Ms.Lloyd then said who she wanted to come the next day for set building; I was one of them. The other thing was that I spent 9 hours studying for the AP Bio test and only got 3 hours of sleep. I fell asleep in math for 30 minutes exactly! Cool internal alarm.

Then, I got home and Annelise and Stephanie had talked to me about getting together so I exercised and then went over to Annelise's house and spent the night. We fell asleep at 2 and I got 5 hours of sleep. They took me to the Breakfast activity that morning and I stayed until 9:50. I found out that Loriel was leaving right at the time I needed to go and so I got a ride with her to Kentwood. Set building began at 10 and it was the BEST DAY EVER! It was so much fun. First, Megan and I and Dreya and Christina all traced Mr. Marvels Giant wagon on to a big piece of "lion" (Lye - on)? With sharpie so people can paint it later. Then I helped Drill posts in for Dorothy Gale's front porch and build the roof and all of it with Megan and James. James was really fun to be around and it was pretty much James, Megan and I. James kept telling me how cool he thought I was and how much he liked me. Then later at the end Megan was telling me that right now and where she is at, that she really appreciates me and really likes being my friend! :) I stayed at the theatre until 7. At the end it was just me, Megan and James and Lloyd and an old guy named mike and then Mr. White (I can't remember what his first name is) I helped Mr. White build Dorothy Gale's room. I stayed till the very end with the hardcore junkies and Ms.Lloyd told me that I was a really great and hard worker and she asked if I had ever worked with tools before and I told her that I hadn't. I really think that everybody likes me.

It's super awesome because I have never felt like I fit in perfectly anywhere and here I feel like I do. Since after the first month of school, I have loved drama. Even though there have been hard days and lots of nerves, the people are all so nice and I feel good when I am around them. The real theatre people that is, there were some kids in my drama class that I didn't really like. It's very cool also because I heard so many people talk about how it was like a family and everybody was nice and accepting. I didn't believe them because there have been so many other places where you were supposed to be accepted and lobed and it just wasn't that for me. Judo, Track, clubs, and others. This just feels good and right.

Anyways. When I got home from that, I ate some dinner and Kaylee got home and asked me to go with her to a singles party. It wasn't at a church or anything; it was at some kid's house out in Maple Valley. He was going to get baptized on the 20th and his parents were on a cruise somewhere. It was very... interesting. One cool thing that did happen was that Jeff Watcott was there and he introduced himself and I asked him what his last name was. I said my name was Jessica and that I had been in his ward a while back. He was like "Are you Phil’s daughter?!" And he thought that it was super crazy. He and Brad Sant came over and said to tell "Phillory" hi! So HI! Phillory :) They said that you were super cool.
We came home at around midnight. Good times.

One last thing I wanted to ask you was that if Megan Ingalls could come over on Friday and if we could stay at home.
Here are the reasons why I know that we would be okay and why we should be allowed to:
1. Megan is a really great person. Very respectful and not crazy or a party kid. So we wouldn't trash the house.
2. I have stayed at the Clarke's house alone with their two kids and we were fine. I know what to do to be safe and stuff.
3. Finally, there are neighbors that I know and am friends with that we could go to if anything bad happened.
4. Kaylee was going to eat dinner with us and if I needed a ride or anything, she, Stacy and Loriel have said that if I ever need a ride to just give them a call.
We would be totally safe and have lots of fun. Please think about this and I trust you to make the right decision :)

I got your post card! Hope you have fun in London!

Love, and don't forget to send another postcard!

Jess
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Cute-ified Totes :)

A long time ago I mentioned to Annelise that I had wanted to decorate totes. Well, the other day she found some at walmart and she asked me if I wanted to come over and decorate them with her. On tuesday, Stacy Jackson was kind enough to give me a ride to Joanne's. I got two fabrics, some buttons and ribbon. Here are the pictures :)

I purchased an extra yard of the blue in hopes that I will be able to use it in my next quilt!! Yay Fabric!

Letters to My Parents 4

Yes, I want to stay here the entire time. I also want to get an elliptical machine. I LOVE it and it is a big reason I want to stay here. I am so excited about those postcards!!! Finals are destroying me and I wish you guys were here, but I am still happy for you guys to get this chance

Yesterday after school Stacy came down to check on the wireless router. She saw us sitting on the couch doing our thing and she said that if we ever needed anything or a ride anywhere to just come down the hall and ask. Well on Monday Annelise had commented about wanting me to come over and decorate totes with her. I called her up yesterday and she said that she still wanted to and that in the morning would be good. So I decided to take Stacy up on that offer and I asked her if I could get a ride to Joanne’s. She said sure and we left right then. I told her how cool it was to be able to be so spontaneous. We went to Awl-mart first where she got a new router and I got some ribbon and buttons and a Real Simple magazine. It has tons of recipes and stuff and it was amazing to buy it. Spontaneity! :) I love it! Then we went to Joanne’s and I bought 2 yards of fabric. 1 1/2 of a blue and white and then 1/2 of a brown, white and green kind. The pictures will be on my blog soon. I got the white/ cream-ish tote and I made a blue flower and then had a strip of the brown behind it and then a circle of brown in the middle of the flower and a wood button. It is super cute and simple; I just need to tack the flower down in a few more places. Christy said she loved it, so did a few of the other girls that sit by me in AP Bio.

Today was a pretty good day. I have a ton to do and Drama is going beyond amazing!

I presented my monologue to the class again yesterday and everybody loved it. She had been going up and down the rows and people didn't have theirs memorized so she skipped over them. She got to me and I jumped up as she said my name and I said that I had it memorized and the class started clapping for me :) then I actually performed it. James Gaines was there, a theatre junkie who has been in plays and stuff, and he had seen some of the other ones and they weren't very good. He seemed pretty unimpressed and disinterested. I went and did my best and the class clapped and I went over to Ms.Lloyd to get feedback and she said that it was awesome! She told me that she believed me, that she didn't see Jessica but some other crazy girl!!! The only thing that I messed up on was one word and she just said to "know your lines so well they fall out of your mouth." Then James texted Megan in 6th period and said "Tell Jessica that her monologue was excellent!" That made me feel SUPER AMAZING and finally, when I got home from school today Megan texted me and said "JESSSICA! Ms.Lloyd says you are an amazing actress!"

I feel so good about all that I am doing! I was looking through my personal progress book and there was one value that said to be part of an exhibit or drama or performance and then record how it increased your feeling of individual worth. This is SO totally making me feel good about myself. So I will use this monologue thing for that. I just need someone to sign off on it. The other thing is that it is in 3 hours and I am so scared! I am going to borrow a black Pencil skirt from Valerie because we have to be simple and stuff. Ms.Lloyd also said that she will be recording this so I will just ask her for a copy and then e-mail it to you or something.

Dear goodness, I don't even know what to say now. That is all that is super big right now... Besides finals which are freaking me out. Big tests all over the place. I can't wait till Monday.
Dad talked about scarves... I like scarves... :)

Love you guys’ lots!
Jess
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Letters to My Parents 3

Yesterday after I emailed you we watched footloose while I exercised. I still LOVE that machine. I was on it for an hour and ten minutes and it said that I burned 1200 calories. I don't think that it was that much but I definitely think that I got to 600 - 800 range. And it’s not like P90X where you have to focus really hard to get a good workout. I have sweat dripping down my face and I don't even realize it; I just have to be watching a good movie. Speaking about footloose by the way: That was an AWESOME movie and Sabrina and I both agreed that Kevin Bacon was pretty cute :) I wish people danced like that nowadays instead of that sleazy crap that is so popular today.

Last night I had another dream about Aaron Thompson. I was in the Kentwood Main gym and we were taking a swim test. It was weird though because the lights were dimmed and there were candles all over the place and there wasn't one big pool, there were lots of little ones; tiered like a cake. I looked over at the door way and there was someone standing in it. There were lights on in the hall way, so I could kind of see, but not the face. The person waved to me and I knew that it was Aaron. Then my name got called for a swim test. I thought to myself that I had to go to the door and see him before he left, but they all told me that I had to take it and then I could go. I wanted him to be there so bad so I decided to hurry. It was hard though - it was like walking underwater and my feel were like lead weights. All the girls sitting around started cheering for me to make it up there because they thought I was scared, but I wasn't. When I got to the pool, it was something like 2x4 feet and it wasn't filled with water, there was like a cloudy pink gel. Somehow I got out of having to get in and take it (although I'm not so sure how I would have taken it anyways) and I ran down the stairs (I was at a top level) and he was still there. He gave me a big hug and told me how much he had missed me. We started walking down the hall and then an alarm went off and I woke up.

I was SO excited. In that dream and when I woke up. I had thought it was real but it wasn't and that was kind of sad, but then I thought about how things in my dreams happen a lot and so now I'm hoping that people will get a hold of him and that he will be able to come up so we can all play soccer square or something. I still really miss that kid and I would trade all of my friends for him to be back up here again and for us to still be friends like we were in 6th grade. I know that it was a long time ago but he was still a really great kid.
Now, that alarm that I talked about was just a weird noise at first. I was in deep deep sleep so I didn't really hear it. It was 3 rings and it sounded like it was from a horror movie. Sabrina woke up and I told her to come with me to find out what it was. Turns out that it was only Craig's Blackberry: daily alarm. We turned it off and went back to sleep.

Church was really good today. Peggy Huerta is a wonderful teacher. She leads us through such great discussions and the spirit is always there in those lessons. We sat with the Jacksons and we got there really early. Josh and Alex were there early with the Pyne's and Josh came over and gave me a hug and a kiss but he would only give Sabrina a hug. Brother Price played the piano and it sounded really good. Then after the meeting Alex came over and gave me a hug. I talked to Eric about how wonderful Paris is and I have an Idea: for Annelise and I's senior trip, we want to go to Paris. Eric thinks it's a good idea and that he would love for us to go to Paris. I also talked to Annelise about staying at the Jackson's longer and she has no problem with it. Neither does Valerie.

When we got home we watched The Singles Ward and it was pretty good. It does make Mormons look like weirdoes though.

We're having fish and chips for dinner tonight. Halibut, chicken, French fries, salad and chocolate chip cookies. I had a really good eating day today and I am proud of that :) The missionaries are coming over for dinner tonight...

I'm sorry if it seems like I am rambling. I'm just thinking of all the things I would normally tell you and also because this is my journaling. I post it to my blog and after about a year I want to get my blog made into a book like Ashley Shultz did. It is such an awesome thing because you can put pictures in it and it is pretty and it is in type so a. its readable and b. it's in ink. I am really excited about all of that.

Anyways, I hope that you guys are having fun and taking pictures!

Love you lots and DON"T FORGET TO SEND ME A POSTCARD!!!
Jess
Xxooxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxooxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo

Letters to My Parents 2

This is for yesterday, I forgot to tell you:

Yesterday in Buckner's he was super angry. We walked in the door and he glared at us and sharply told us the instructions. He didn't explain, he didn't even make fun of anybody. He was dead serious. We got a long list of questions and he told us to "Stop talking and get to work." Then he sat at his computer and continued to glare and stare at us, then harshly reprimand anyone who was a millimeter out of line. People who stopped writing for a second got nearly yelled at. Jesse Dehnert got a detention for nothing. You’re probably thinking that Buckner has finally tipped over the edge and needs to get fired soon. Not the case, surprisingly. As you know we are reading the book 1984 by George Orwell. It is about a man who is living under a Totalitarian Dictatorship. Buckner was giving us a small taste of what it would be like to live under a totalitarian dictatorship. Jesse already knew what was going to happen. It was pretty cool actually. Angela's English teacher had already done that. He had been the first so nobody knew that it was only a simulation. Maebori's class (Angela's teacher) had told everybody what had happened, so when Buckner did this on Friday I automatically thought of that. I knew it wasn't real, but there were other kids who did. Anisha almost starting crying. Then we talked about it and its meaning and stuff. I thought that it was really cool and I forgot to tell you.

For Today:

Last night I had a dream that I was in young women’s. I was holding a can and the can had a little powder on the top. I wanted to get it off so I turned it upside down and shook it. Well you know how things in dreams are never as they seem so when I shook, it was like a salt shaker and the powder just kept coming out. ****** and ****** were there and they freaked out told me that I had ruined the lesson and stormed out. There weren’t very many girls there, but everyone who was there left too. I didn't understand why it was such a big deal. I knew that there was a little vacuum under the counter. I put the vacuum together and vacuumed the pinkish powder up and it wasn't a big deal. I went out to the hall and told ****** and ****** that it was all cleaned up and that it wasn't a big deal. I can't remember what exactly they said to me; the gist was that I was stupid and inconsiderate. I hadn't known that the pink powder was going to come out, that there would be so much. ******* was there and she was disappointed in me as well.

I woke up at about 9:45 and didn't remember that I had to go babysitting. Lolly knocked on the door after I had chi'd my hair and put my make-up on. Valerie called down to me and told me that she was here. I had to rush. I went upstairs to get some clothes and I got dressed, ate breakfast and then just waited. I finally left at around 10:20ish. The kids were mostly good. I had a fun time and Lolly told me about a hundred times how grateful she was that I was doing this. I told her that she was just helping me get my Bee and that these were the first hours I had gotten. I'm going to count it as three hours even though it was a little more than that.

When I got home I had some lunch and then helped Valerie clean the kitchen. I went downstairs and Sabrina was watching Sanctuary. Valerie came down and told me that she had all of this crafting/ scrapbooking stuff that I could use to make cards with. There were tons of stamps and pads. The pads were pretty dried out, but I still made a lot of cute cards. They had some Martha Stewart paper that was SUPER DUPER cute! I love it. The Pictures are on my blog:
http://jessicamaloy.blogspot.com/2010/01/cards.html

So I made all of these cards and that is pretty much it. We started Amadeus when I started making cards and am watching it now.

I really like it here and want to stay for more than one week.

Oh! And when I talked to Buckner about not ruining my book yesterday he was nice about it and stuff.

I miss not being able to play the piano... and singing like a crazy person. Well, I think that that is all I can think of right now... I'll send another e-mail if I think of anything else... or maybe I will just include it in tomorrow's email.

Love you guys! DON’T FORGET TO SEND A POSTCARD!!

Jess
xoxoxooxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooooo

Cards

Here are the cards I made today at the Jackson's.

Explication

For the next three weeks my posts will just be copies of e-mails I've sent to my parents that day. For those of you who don't know, they are in Paris right now, and next week will be in London, and then finally the week after that Germany. I talk to my parents about what is going on in my life so I will just pretend I am talking to them while I type. Then post it to my blog. Enjoy! :)

Letters to My Parents

Hey guys! I hope your flights were good and you guys didn't get too bored.

Today was an awesome day! I have been looking forward to Friday and the weekend the entire week! This was a super long week. I brought my outside reading project to school and everybody in AP biology thought it was the coolest, cutest thing ever. Christy, though, kept telling me that she wanted to punch me in the face. I don't really like it when people are rude about it and jealous instead of being happy for you. That is something I think I will try to work on harder; to be happy for people when they do good at something. Everybody has talents. Christy can dance and I can't, but when I see pictures of her dancing and hear about it I don't tell her I want to punch her in the face...

Anyways. I ate a sub for lunch today and while I was waiting in line with Megan and Angela we were talking and Megan told me that Lloyd was talking to her the other day at rehearsal and she said good things about me!! I was SUPER excited. Megan said that Lloyd said I was doing an excellent job with my monologue, that I was extremely funny and that I was improving alot :D Megan was happy that I was happy. She also was happy that I did a good job on my outside reading. She told Christy that it was good that I didn't procrastinate and that it wasn't my fault that she did. (Christy glued her ABC book together in Bio) It was cool to have Megan be happy for me. Angela was happy for me as well.

Talking about AP Bio, we had a quiz today on Genetics and inheritance. I think I did good, but I'm not 100 percent sure.

Celina was here today. She hadn't been for the past two days because she was sick: fainting and dizziness. I missed talking to her at lunch. She is such a funny kid and we have great times together in Drama. I am so happy that she is taking Drama II next semester because there are a ton of people who aren't. She is the one who will be Galinda in the play. She is really excited because Ms.Lloyd likes her and that she got such a big part in the play. She is a blonde freshman who sings very beautifully and is great at acting. She asked her crush, Brandon Fisher, to Tolo and she is way excited. I was texting her today at the Jackson's and I learned that she is Buddhist.

I went to Mattson to meet Sabrina after school like I said I would. I was a little late though because I had to type up that "Creating a Character" thing I needed help with the other day. It was due in class today but I hadn't done it. Well she said that she would take it until 3:00 pm. I went straight to the Library and typed my little heart out. I e-mailed it to her at 2:57 pm. Right on time :)

So it was wonderful to go home to the Jackson's house today. Valerie was by Sam's house to pick us up. That was really great because after walking from Kentwood to Mattson with about 35 lbs of junk, my back and calves were on fire and it was hard to breath because an overloaded backpack tends to do that. (speaking of walking, I forgot my running shoes, so next time I go home I need to remember to get them) Anyways. When we got home, Valerie went to go clean her car and Craig was playing the Drums. It was SO loud that you could feel it all over the house and even though he was down stairs with the door closed, you could still hear it upstairs as if it was right behind you. I took a much needed nap for two hours. I woke up to the dogs all barking. Kaylee had brought home two boys from the singles ward in Maple Valley. They played Rock Band for four hours and then stayed for another hour eating and talking. They left at like 9:30 pm. while they were here I didn't get off the couch. I watched four or five episodes of The Office and one Hero's. Then I just sat there.

I don't know what I am going to do tomorrow. I have no jobs and nothing/nowhere to go. I talked to Valerie about it. I wasn't asky or anything to go anywhere. I just asked her if she was working tomorrow (yes, 4:00pm - 9:00pm) and then if she needed any help with jobs because my day is very "open." We are going to go on a walk tomorrow morning and tonight she let me use her elliptical machine. I did it for an hour and five minutes. I am really sweaty right now and I need to take a shower. Anyways. It was a really good day. Right now Sabrina and I are watching Quest for Camelot. It feels a lot like being at Bunny's house. I like it and am thinking about staying here longer... we'll have to see how things go, but so far so good. Plus I had a good eating day. I did everything I was supposed to, even resisted the offers for food after 8:00pm.

I told people that you guys left today. I miss you guys and DON'T FORGET TO SEND A POSTCARD!! :) Hope you guys are having fun and enjoying every second of this trip!!

Love you lots!
Jess
xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxooooo

Auditions

Today was one of the Funnest days of my life! Typo? no. Today was my first play audition :D It all started with choosing to take Drama this year, a choice that at first I whole heartedly regreted, but by the second month, loved. The first play of the year came and went. My friend Megan Ingalls is a theatre triple threat ;) and talked about everthing: from tryouts and getting one of the lead roles, to rehearsal to performace night. All the details were facinating. I have loved theatre for a long time, my parents always took us to the community theatres till we were old enough to appreciate real theatre. Things like Little Women at the Village theatre to Phantom of the Opera at the paramount were nights I would look forward to for weeks, the performance would be amazing, but then I would... forget about it. I never really thought about all the work that goes into a production like these. I don't think that these are just people pretending to be someone else, that they don't start off knowing their lines and blocking and movement and beats. They practice and practice and practice... and then they practice a little more. Taking Drama and my friend, showed me a little glimpse into what really happens.

So, learning about all of this made me want to try it. For those of you who don't know me, I Love trying new things and expanding my 'horizons.' So this was just another thing I wanted to add to my list.

Auditions began at 3:30. I got there a couple minutes late (mormon standard time, right?) and got number 60; the second to last for the girls. The boys and girls were split up. Boys starting with dance and the girls starting with singing. I had practiced in the key of e, the song turned out to be in the key of b... I think. Either way, it was not what I, or anyone else trying out for that matter, had expected. It was a very low song and difficult to sing and because of that, very few people did outstanding, including me. But that was okay, it was all fun and I let it all roll off. Then came the dance. It was to Ding Dong the Witch is Dead. It was fast paced and also fun and difficult. I got up to dance infront of Ms.Lloyd and I forgot some of the moves, but I let that roll off as well. Usually I have a hard time letting things go and getting over my mistakes, but this time I just did my best and forgot the rest. It was a blast and I hope I get in! and even if I don't, that just means I have to work on my skills and then try again for the next one :)

Thank you SUPER much to Amy Jackson for helping me sing and being patient with me! I can't wait to learn more and do even better!

Bloom Where you are Planted

So if you have seen my facebook posts or read my blog before today, you know that I have been working on a quilt. It all began at YW in excelence. Jenni Warner brought her Super cute quilt and I loved it and asked her if she could show me how to make it. This morning, at 5am, I finally finished! It took me 7 hours to hand sew the binding on the back but I did it and took it to church today and used it for personal progress. Everybody loved it and It felt really good to have accomplished this on my own. I wanted to ask somebody else to quilt it for me but I decided to do it and it all worked out. Anyways, I forgot to take pictures during the process, but I just took some after shots so here they are :]




Some people name their quilts. Some think that that is weird, but I think it's cool. I named this one Bloom because of a quote that really worked with what was going on in my life. "Bloom where you are planted" means that even if it's in garbage rocks, you still need to do your best.

So this is my first quilt, but I want to do More! Here's the one that i'm thinking of trying next! Does anyone know of any good fabric stores? Let me know :]

Quick Catch-up

Dear goodness! I have slacked so bad. Not one post in a whole month! so: Things have been going very good lately and I hope they stay that way :) Play auditions are 9 days and I am very excited to try out! Last week I started taking voice lessons to get ready and just because (good) singing is absolutely gorgeous. This time the play will be The Wizard of Oz but Ms.Lloyd is going to change it up a little. We'll all be taught a song (Somewhere Over the Rainbow) and a dance and it is an open audition which means we will be singing/dancing in front of all who come to audition and those who come to watch... a little scary, no?
But it will be lots of fun! There are tons of parts so it's almost guaranteed a part in the play, however small it may be.

Meanwhile, the quilt I have been working on is coming along and almost done! I can't believe how it all got done, I don't really remember working on it that much. I can't wait till it is finished and get to see it in all it's crooked glory :)

For a while there I started biting my nails. Things got a little stressful at school and I didn't even think about it until one day I looked down at my hands and they were even uglier than before. I was so dissappointed in myself. After all, I had made it so far. Anyways, all of the sudden about 3 weeks ago I just stopped, once again, without even thinking about it. I looked down and lo and behold: there was about a millimeter of white growing. And I just didn't bite again!

Last but not least. I know that pretty much everybody has heard of Jenni Warner's Fitness Blog, but I just wanted to say real quick how much I am looking forward to this! Hopefully being accountable for every moresel I put in my mouth and every minute I spend sweating will help me get my derrier back into shape. Wish me luck and I wish all you guys luck in you 'New Years Resolutions.'