10 things that made me happy this week . . .

1. e-mails from keri. way to quash the rising panic, ma cousine.

2. purchasing theatre tickets. this wednesday is going to be practically perfect in every way (hint, hint).

3. terminator: salvation night with sharon and mike and sara(h).

4. good friends who run intervention and provide back-up plans.

5. teasing and pestering. there is a good deal of it that goes on in our household. if you can't take it, you're not gonna make it on our family.

6. settlers of catan. hadn't played it for some time. i still enjoy it even though craig wins every time.

7. filing my tax returns.

8. patty griffin's new album downtown church came out this week. oh, how i love her. it's mostly gospel music, and her rendition of all creature of our god and king is breathtaking.

9. agency.

10. stealing a few minutes here and there for extra-curricular reading.

je deteste . . .

*solicitors.

*talking on the phone. i've never been a phone talker. and it doesn't help that i have to answer the phone all day at work. by the time i get home the last thing in the world i want is to have a phone attached to my ear with someone yammering on on the other end. if we need to communicate information, that's fine, call me, spit it out, and let me go. we can have our long drawn out conversations face to face. there are, of course, exceptions. like, if you live far away and we don't get to see each other much. and maybe one or two others, but for the most part . . . really, i hate talking on the phone.

*compulsive huggers. i just don't see the need to hug every time you see someone. of course there are the appropriate hugs in sorrow or celebration or after an extended absence. (note: one week is not an extended absence) but other than that i'm just not a gratuitously affectionate person. but that's just the thing. affection is meant to signify intimacy or partiality or some level of closeness. and i save my affection for those who have earned it. the list is relatively short. if i've never initiated a hug (or such) with you, you're probably not on the list. and if you continue to demand hugs from me, you're never going to make it on the list. it just makes me more and more loath to meet with you.

*when people say "anyways." there is no "s" on the end. and you sound like an idiot.

* when people use "nothing" instead of "anything." eg: "i didn't do nothing." you also sound like an idiot. and if you can't figure out why that's wrong, go back to elementary school.

* people who smoke and chronically complain about health problems. you're poisoning yourself everyday. poison! everyday! of course you have problems. i don't feel sorry for you, and i'm sick of listening to you.

* passive-aggressive people. the thing is, we all get mad. and i can deal with you being mad at me. but just tell me, and we'll deal with it, and we can move on. you being mad but pretending you're not isn't helping anything.

10 things that made me happy this week . . .

1. monday was mlk day and i had the day off work. i never even got out of my pj's. i read and watched movies all day. lovely.

2. star wars episodes 1-3 marathon on mlk day.

3. bachelorette party.

4. finally getting home from a horrific drive to los angeles to pick up flowers for kristens wedding.
5. flowers.

6. sheldon on the big bang theory. he kills me. and my mom. and everyone else in our house.

7. being introduced to the artistry of casey o'connell.

8. i finally got my boden shirt. it was a christmas present that didn't get here in time, and then had to be exchanged. i love love love it.

9. kristen is married. everything was beautiful and unique and so so kristen.

10. masterpiece theater's newest presentation of emma. so funny. my mom and i were in stitches.

10 things that made me happy this week . . .

1. surrogate daddy/daughter night at the movies with david, heidi, sharon and myself. we saw avatar in imax 3d. it was viewing number two for david and i, but sharon and heidi were seeing it for the first time. and they loved it. because it's awesome. (i mean, it got the golden globe for best picture/drama)

2. i spent saturday night in and finished reading two books that i started in the summer (which i reviewed on my reading blog). oh how wonderful it is to read.

3. we have had particularly awesome food at our house all this week. we should have house guests more often.

4. i made creme brulee this week. actually, i made it twice. two different recipes. and it was delicious.

5. sharon and i finally went to see the princess and the frog and it was adorable. but what i loved the most was when that crazy witch doctor woman was singing her song and the entire ceiling was decorated with hanging empty glass bottles in a multitude of colors. my heart filled with glee and i'm currently trying to come up with an excuse to recreate it somewhere.

6. craig v. ashlee dr. mario tournament. we're pretty evenly matched when playing against each other.

7. i went to volunteer orientation. next up, background check. i have to get myself down to the jail for fingerprinting . . . it feels so very dramatic. but i'm excited to get involved.

8. it's been raining like crazy here the last few days. joy!

9. the news that someone quit smoking. you know who you are . . . good job.

10. i spent sunday morning watching sleeping beauty with afton. oh but it is my favorite disney movie. logan walked in and laughed and said "ash, you look so giddy right now." which i was.

on my mind

it rained today.

(hence, the picture above.)

i love rainy days.

i think it stems from a desire to make out in the rain,

which probably stems from seeing breakfast at tiffany's at an impressionable age.

further intensified by watching the notebook.

also, it's good for the drought that has plagued our valley ever since time began.

the farmers here need all the help they can get, especially since massive amounts of water have been held back so as to not disturb the smelt.

did you hear about all of that, in the national news awhile back?

absolutely ridiculous.

bollocks to the fish.

i had the intention of reading like a maniac over this christmas break.
but here i am,
a week and a half from the start of the next semester
and i haven't finished a single book.
failure.

i'm finally nailing down my resolution list:

- live healthier (which includes drinking less soda, exercising 4x per week, making better decisions in food choices, which will all lead to losing some weight, right?)

- read the bible, cover to cover. i found this nifty schedule that i will have to follow to accomplish this task. it's pretty intense. apparently the bible is really long.

- 50+ hours of community service. i'm going to try and do it at the local battered woman's shelter. i go for orientation this saturday.

- read one non-school book per month.

- travel somewhere outside the country.

- attend the temple once a month.

michael and i are in an ongoing battle for the highest score and level on dr. mario.

i'm currently winning.

can i express how amazing it feels to best a boy at any video game?

are there words?

and have you played dr. mario?

it's a game from original nintendo.

we are talking super old school.

it's like tetris, only better.

you'll have to come over and try it.

over the weekend i helped my mom lift a bunch of heavy things.

and then that night i went bowling and i had to use a ball that was too heavy because all the appropriately weighted balls were taken.

and now my back is punishing me.

this just so happens to be my 100th post.
isn't that something?

10 things that made me happy this week . . .

1. two of my friends acquired fiance's this week.

2. home made soup in bread bowls.

3. pigtails.

4. dr. mario. i currently have the highest score in the house. (what, what!)

5. avatar. i actually saw it a few weeks ago, but last week's special edition top ten didn't allow for me to talk about it. faaan-tastic! i'm going to see it again this week. and to all those people who are knocking it . . . get a brain, and then get a soul. and if you still don't like it, well, i just can't help you . . . probably no one can.

6. i finally got me and the family signed up for disney's "give a day, get a day" program. we're making blankets which are donated to several programs around the valley. then we're going to disneyland. for free. (and if mindy is reading this, ummm, perhaps you should scrap your february disneyland plans and sign up and take your free disney vacation later in the year, like, october-ish when we're planning on going, and then you could still come to the beach with your mom! see how clever i am?)

7. i've been immersing myself in my national geographic issues these past few weeks. craig got me a subscription for my birthday. (ahhh, some people just get me.) in my secret heart i am a photographer/journalist for national geographic and i spend months and months in weird and semi-dangerous locations throughout the world exploring newly discovered indigenous people and becoming an honorary member of their tribe. (in my real heart i'm waaaay too chicken and homesick to accomplish such things. alas!) anyway, they're great. and informative. and inside they're advertising that you can get every issue from the last, like, 100 years on dvd/cd/whatever for about $70.00 and i'm thinking, seriously? that's it? i know something that's going on my next wish list.

p.s. national geographic loves avatar too. they told me.

8. it is january, ergo, it is now masterpiece theater classic's season. currently playing is return to cranford, which is so funny i can barely stand it and imelda staunton is a genius.

9. game nights with friends.

10. a clean bedroom. my room has been a federally declared disaster area since about october, and it just got worse and worse as the semester finished and the holidays happened. after i got back from disneyland i finally paused long enough to clean the entire room, including dusting. it's such a relief to walk in and not see chaos reigning supreme.

10 things that made me happy . . . last week . . .

this special edition of the weekly top ten is brought to you from the happiest place on earth . . .

1. first time ever on this ride and it was so much fun we went back for a second go-round. it's in 3d (obviously) and you get to shoot stuff . . . what's not to like?

2. just trying to grab my part of a fairytale . . .

3. it's a small world totally redeemed itself in all it's holiday garb. brilliant!

4. at the haunted mansion we saw this ghost shaped bush with weird drapey stuff protruding out at an awkward level. we were all amused and it was decided on the spot that mr. spooky here would be put in the top ten.

5. my favorite villain from my favorite disney movie. 10 points if you know her name without looking it up. (the points don't really count for anything, but you can be smug about having them just the same.)

6. catching billy hill and the hillbillies. so funny.

7. um, the teacups are amazing. the people depicted here are the sissy-la-la's who opted to ride in the slow cup. not depicted are the three non-la-la's who went in the fast cup and laughed super hard and maybe, just maybe, staggered away from the ride like a couple of drunk people.

8. main street during christmas time. so gorgeous. i could honestly sit there for an hour just soaking up the ambiance.

9. there are few things on this earth that will get me more giddy than fireworks. i don't know why. i don't need a reason. i just love them. and disneyland does two firework shows on new years eve. it's like they see into my soul!

10. seeing sleeping beauty's castle all decked out for christmas is like being transplanted into a disney movie. glorious! i just wanted to stare at it all night. and maybe break in and claim a room. do you think anyone would notice?