So yesterday I taught the class I TA for again. Except I was very sick. Then I came home and slept until  I started feeling better. Also, Ken just found out that he is getting $800 more than we expected in grant money. That's a pretty big deal I think. There is a lot you can do with $800.
Also Ken and I started taking this family finance class that is being offered at church. It's super interesting. Except too bad I had to leave early this week. Next week I should be able to go for the whole time hopefully. But then we might have to miss it the week after that. So we will see. But we are learning a lot of good tips about budgeting and grants and loans and stuff. And then I think in the future we will learn about investing and some other stuff... saving for retirement maybe? I'm not exactly sure. 
Ken's at work now. And I woke up because I went to bed at midnight and it's hard to sleep for more than nine hours. Especially when I took a three hour nap yesterday. Although I kinda wish I could sleep more.
Also today I am going to a bridal shower! Hooray! That will be very fun because I love bridal showers. And then I can see a lot of girls from high school. I like them. Maybe even more than some people I was better friends with in high school because now they don't talk to me. But the whole cheer group is very nice to me whenever I happen to see them. And they are always so enthusiastic about everything that it provides great entertainment.
Anyway, that's about it. We will probably watch the football game tonight and eat the blue chips and salsa that I won last week at the homecoming party Jenn invited me to. I won a whole gift basket! But we already ate some of the stuff last week.
That's all. Except for I wish that other people would write on their blog more. I know I don't really write on mine but I really like reading other people's more than writing on my own.

Quick Thoughts

Here are my thoughts for the day:
Texas is ridiculous.
Some people from Texas are particularly ridiculous.
Evolution is real.
The creation is real.
Christians teach evolution all the time.

Divorce Court

Wow... so Ken and I have been watching episodes of divorce court on youtube tonight... it's a pretty ridiculous show but also very funny. I can't believe how crazy some people are.  But anyway... it was definitely a nice break from school and work. And in other news... two people passed out today at work. We got two new girls doing blood research and apparently neither of them was that crazy about dealing so much with blood... so we will see how that goes since that's mostly all we do in the lab.

Teaching College

Yesterday, I taught a college class. That was pretty crazy. I have a new job as a TA (teaching assistant) for Chemical Engineering 378 aka Materials Science and Engineering. It's pretty fun. But yesterday the teacher had to go to his daughter's school play or something so he had me teach. It was a little scary, and I'm not sure how well I did. But, I tried my best. Hopefully the teacher can cover anything I didn't teach very well again later. Also, I have office hours where kids come and ask me questions about the homework. And yesterday a lot of kids came and asked me for help. I hope I was helpful to them. Also, I worked almost 15 hours this week. That is a lot more than I ever have during school. Usually I work about 5 or less. I still have my job doing blood research, but that will probably only be a couple hours here and there. So I am excited for my new job. Classes are ok, some of them seem pretty hard and boring. But we will see.

Summer

Wow. So it's been forever since I've written on my blog. I think part of the problem is that I feel like I have to write a ton and then it intimidates me and I don't want to go to the effort. So from now on I think I will write quicker, shorter posts. Also it didn't help that this summer I took an English class through independent study, which required a lot of writing and made it so I didn't want to write any more, even for a blog. But anyway, the summer was super great. I loved my internship and Minnesota. I met some pretty cool people at work and church and loved getting to know Ken's family better. Then a couple of weeks ago we left Minnesota and drove back to Utah (stopping in North Platte, NE of course). Then we spent half a day with Ken's brother and family and drove to Las Vegas. That was really fun. I love being with my family and I missed them a lot this summer. Plus we got to take a lot of naps and relax. Then after four days we drove to Long Beach, CA where we boarded our cruise ship! Our cruise was so fun and relaxing. Best vacation ever. The food was great, we explored Catalina Island, went horseback riding on the beaches of Mexico, and bought art at an art auction. And took at least one nap everyday. So it was perfect. Then we drove back through LV and on to Provo to start school again. We moved into our new apartment and encountered a few spiders in our storage unit. But all in all it worked out great and we have already unpacked a lot. Hopefully it won't take that much longer, but who knows with all of the clothes I have. Tomorrow should be an exciting day of school. I still can't believe we are starting school again. Ken thinks the whole summer just feels like a dream. I feel more like the summer was real and right now is a dream, but I'm sure I'll get used to life in Provo quickly enough.

Date Nights

Ken and I have the best date nights :) last night we went to rainforest cafe, shopping at the mall of america, and on the log chute ride (like splash mountain). Next week for our early anniversary celebration we signed up for the romance special at the hilton hotel: sparkling cider waiting for us in our room, fancy breakfast delivered to our room or in their restaurant (whatever we prefer), and late checkout. Plus we can go swimming in their pool/hot tub and plus anything else ken decides to plan :)

Anniversaries

As Ken and I are approaching our first year wedding anniversary, I have had some thoughts. A lot of people who are dating like to keep vigilant track of how long they have been dating, which is fine. But sometimes it bugs me when people say it's their anniversary when they aren't even married. Maybe if they said it's the anniversary of when they started dating or something it would be fine, but I just feel like saying it's their anniversary implies that they are married. Oh and people definitely should not say it's their anniversary today if what they really mean is that they have been dating for a month. That is pretty weird to me. I'm sorry if anyone reads this who does these things, but I am just saying my opinion. Also I think wedding anniversaries are a lot more to brag about than how long you've been dating. But the way other people use the word anniversary kind of makes it mean less I think. Like if I say it's my anniversary, I don't want people to think that I have only been dating the same guy for a month or even a year. Anyways, it's not really that big of a deal I guess I was just thinking.

First week in MN

Sorry I know I said I would write on Tuesday and I still haven't. It's just been pretty busy. Basically after I get home from work I just want to relax and play and do as little thinking as possible. But anyways now I will summarize my week. So on Tuesday I met my supervisor. He is really cool. And then I went to a fancy important meeting with him. At the meeting I found out more about what I am doing. Basically we do work on these super thin plastic films which are used in various products. The most recognizable of which are ipads, iphones, and ipods. So basically we make this fancy film that Apple puts on their screens in order to increase the battery life and make it easier to what's on the screen when the sun or a bright light is shining on it. 3M makes $4 for every ipad that is sold. So that's what we work on. But the other side of the building is where they are made. We just study them and try to improve them. What I am working on specifically is kind of a quality engineer thing. So when they make these films, sometimes defects are created and they can't use that portion of the film. I am going to be working this summer to help figure out why the defects are created so that we can minimize the amount of film that needs to be thrown away. Basically. Anyway the meeting was interesting also because they gave out plaques for everyone who had received a new patent in the past two months. And there were five plaques awarded! Crazy. And my supervisor told me that one guy has gotten over 100 patents in his life. These people are insane. And soooo smart. But anyway ya the rest of the week I just met a lot of people and tried to figure out what was going on. I started examining the defects under a microscope and taking pictures of them. And then I am apparently going to be using photoshop to enhance the pictures. We are going to make a manual for the manufacturing people so that when they find a defect, they will be able to look in the book and discover the cause and then try to go fix it so it doesn't happen again. I work with some cool people, although 90% of them are a ton older than me. But that's fine. Let's see... I have two desks :) in my little "cube" as they call it haha... although there really is plenty of space for me. It's nothing like some of the tiny cubicles you see on TV shows and movies. Also today we are going garage sale hunting. They have one huge garage sale weekend here and that's about the only time anyone ever does garage sales I guess. And it's this weekend. I've already seen tons of people setting up stuff. So it should be super exciting. I hope we find some cool stuff!

Intern Orientation

So today was my first day of my internship! It was pretty exciting. So I am going to pretty much go through my whole day today. Feel free to skip or skim parts if it's boring. So I woke up in the morning and there was a thunderstorm and it was pouring rain :( that definitely made me not want to get out of bed. But eventually I did and then I got all ready for the day and tried to dress somewhat "business casual." The only really tough part about that was that I didn't have any businesscasualy coats to wear since I left that kind of stuff in Provo for the summer. So I just wore a not so nice coat. Then I drove to work which was sooooo stressful. Because half of the city is trying to get to 3M at 8 o'clock in the morning. Because everyone works there. But eventually I made it. Then all of the interns and new employees went into this conference room and they gave us donuts and juice. My donut was especially delicious but also messy. Then we learned all about how to have good ethics and not sexually harrass each other and stuff like that. Then they gave us a break to socialize amongst ourselves and walk around the room and look at their various displays. They told us that it would be preparation for a trivia quiz which was to come. Then in the trivia quiz I knew the first question, so I answered it. But then the next five questions no one answered. So I felt kind of dumb. I knew the answer to another question later on but I decided not to answer since evidently no one else wanted to participate in the quiz and I didn't want to look like a suck-up. So the lady just told us all of the answers. I don't think that was as much fun for her but oh well. Then we got lots of free 3M products like highlighters, post-it notes, fancy pop-up tape, and adhesive bandages (not band-aids of course, that's Johnson & Johnson and they are our arch rivals). But then after that we got to learn about security and how to let someone know if we see something suspicious going on. Also 3M requires that you notify them if you have a restraining order for anyone. See, very valuable information. Then the interns and the new full-time employees split up. The interns went to take their pictures to get fancy employee badges. I think my picture looks pretty good. And it's on a really fun lanyard that I played with for the rest of the day. Then we got a mini tour of one of the buildings and saw the 3M store that is exclusively for employees where they sell all of their products at the manufacturing cost. They have all sorts of Scotch tape for 25 cents there! Crazy. But anyways then we went downstairs into another conference room. Then we went through some more meeting stuff and they tried to get us really excited to work for 3M. Then they fed us lunch. They had many choices, few of which appealed to me. I ended up going with the turkey caesar wrap. This turned out to be a good choice because it came with a cookie! Everyone else's came with potato salad except for the other guy who chose the turkey caesar wrap. The potato salad people were jealous. During lunch we played a game where we had to try to find similarities and differences between us. Differences were super easy. Similarities were much harder. Oh and here is a run down of the other interns. There were about 12-15 of them. 2 girls besides me. One black guy. One Chinese guy. One guy from Nepal? I think he said that... No other chemical engineers. A couple IT guys, a couple MBAs, a PhD student, a couple computer scientists, one mechanical engineer, one electrical engineer, one supply chain, one materials science. One girl from Georgia. Several from Michigan. A few from Minnesota. One from Iowa, a couple from Ohio. None married except me. Mainly about my age but a few older. Anyway then after lunch this guy from IT came and taught us a bunch of computer stuff. That was the most boring. I kept yawning and was getting super tired and it was hard to stay awake. Then a girl came and taught us about the service projects that 3M does. Then we filled out some paperwork and each got a laptop! That was pretty exciting because I didn't know that I was getting a laptop. And then I went home. My GPS directed me not to go on the freeway because of traffic so I took a side road instead. And that was the end of my day at work. The End.
Then Ken and I watched some 30 rock and made chicken cashew salad for the family. And now we just made brownies. That's all for today. But tomorrow I meet my supervisor so stay tuned to find out how that goes. I really hope he likes me. I'll let you know tomorrow!

Church Today and 3M Tomorrow

Today was my first day of church in Minnesota. It was fun. Except for a lot of people expected me to remember meeting them once at our wedding reception. I can't remember that well. Also Ken and I made a big poster out of construction paper that said Happy Mother's Day for Ken's mom. That was a super fun project. Oh the other thing about church was that a lot of people were asking me about my internship. All I really know is that I am working for 3M and I just figured out that it is in the Display and Graphics division. Well, half of the ward here works for 3M so they were all asking me more about what I would be doing and what building it's in and who I am working for. I really don't know. That's what I will find out tomorrow at Intern Orientation. Which I am excited for but also nervous. I really have no clue how many other interns will be there. I've always pictured in mind that there would be tons... like a few hundred but now I am thinking that there will be a lot less. But I really don't know what to expect. I also wonder if the other interns will be about my age and what the boy:girl ratio will be. Ken is convinced that I will be the only married one there. That could very well be. But I'm excited to see how it goes. I'm more nervous for the next day when I have to actually try to figure out what I will be doing the rest of the summer. Also I wonder if I will get any free Scotch tape or post-it notes. I will definitely post tomorrow about how it goes. Tonight we are having hamburgers and hot dogs. That will be good. Also I got a long nap today so that was super nice. But not much else to report for today because it hasn't really been all that eventful.

We made it!

Hello readers of my blog. Ken and I made it to Minnesota today. And we were welcomed. Also to Iowa. There were no welcome signs entering Wyoming or Nebraska but both Iowa and Minnesota had welcome signs so I felt much more welcome in those states. Also I forgot to say that on our drive yesterday, we saw an interesting statue of Abraham Lincoln. Except it's really only his head on top of some rocky stuff. We had some more super fun dance parties today and I also slept a lot on the road. But luckily Ken didn't so we made it safely. Then when we got to Ken's house we made a cheese pizza for dinner and then Ken's sister and nieces came over. They are very fun. One is especially talkative and tends to dominate conversations. But then the other girls just cut her off whenever they have anything to say so it works for them. We are staying in Ken's room, which is green. Ken loves green so much. I don't really mind it, it's kind of fun. Also I've been thinking a lot about our future. Ken's dad gave us updates on Ken's siblings and so it made me kind of wonder what we would be doing at their age. I'm pretty nervous to start my internship. I try not to worry about it too much but sometimes it's hard. Although I am super excited. I really hope people will be nice to me. I wonder if I will ever find any friends in Minnesota. I kind of feel like everyone will be a lot different than me, but I guess I don't know. I mean I feel like Ken and I are very similar so maybe there are more people kind of like Ken. So far Ken's family doesn't remind me all that much of him. Maybe his dad a little bit. His mom is mainly like Kari. Like very very similar to Kari. And I really like Kari so that's good. I miss Kari. She is so much fun. Also Kari is Ken's sister for people who don't know. She is on a mission. It would be fun if she was here, although it would definitely limit alone time for me and Ken. Also I decided I am not that big on grammar sometimes. Especially with "me and..." I live for that kind of grammar mistake. Ok not really but I like it. Also I decided I am super stubborn. Like with that for example. I like it and if anyone tells me to change that it will probably just make me want to do it more. That's probably not the best trait. I'm kind of worried about it. What if anytime anyone wants me to do something a certain way I purposely want to go against it? That wouldn't be ideal for anyone else. Luckily Ken mellows me out quite a bit. He is just so nice and caring and agrees with me but then helps me realize when I'm overreacting. But also he knows when I don't want to be told that I'm overreacting and then he just understands. I don't know how he does that when I'm being so ridiculous but he does. I am really glad that I will always have Ken to talk to about all of my thoughts, feelings, and worries. Also I have this blog. I will post a lot of my thoughts on this blog this summer I think. So keep reading. But that's it for tonight. Come back soon!

Adventures

Sorry to anyone who actually noticed I haven't written on my blog in forever. Basically, I've just been finishing an entire term in a week and a half... nbd. But anyway now I am in North Platte, Nebraska just hanging out and having dance parties. Tomorrow we get to drive across the rest of Nebraska and Iowa. That should be exciting. So far I've only seen Nebraska in the dark. But I have definitely been able to smell Nebraska. It's not the best smelling state I've ever been to. Actually, it's probably the worst. But we will see how Iowa turns out to be. Wyoming was fun, although everything was super dead so that was pretty boring. We stopped in Cheyenne at Arby's. That was... pretty much like every other Arby's I've ever been to. I guess that's the idea of a franchise. Oh but earlier we stopped at a place called Little America and I got an ice cream cone for 50 cents.That was good. Also my throat has been hurting a lot. It started hurting last night and this morning it got much worse. It probably doesn't help that I sing at the top of my lungs across the entire state of Wyoming. Maybe tomorrow I will focus more on the dancing than the singing. Anyway, I should probably go to bed so that I will be ready for ten more hours of driving tomorrow. Also I am soooo excited to start my internship on Monday! Also pretty nervous though. I hope people will like me and that I won't do or say anything dumb. I'll write about how it goes. Also we will be living with Ken's parents. I'm super excited about it. I will let everyone know how that is also.

Hooray!

The semester is almost over! I have two finals I still have to take today, but I feel like I've just about studied as much as I can for one and the other is just a take home essay assignment. So, I feel pretty done. Also, please note that I am not trying to be like the people I wrote about who are constantly looking forward to getting things done. I am just enjoying my life right now and excited for new and upcoming adventures. After my two finals I plan to sleep in tomorrow morning while Ken takes his last final and then we are going to Las Vegas! Woo hoo! And then we will party all day and all night long! With a little stop at the DMV so I can get a replacement driver's license. And hopefully a haircut at some point. Then we will come back here and it will be hard core study time for me, unfortunately. I'm probably crazy but I am going to try to take Accounting 200 in about a week and a half. All of the tests are in the testing center starting the first day of class and all of the assignments are just up on blackboard. What is the reason why I am doing this you may ask? Because I am also taking English 316 over independent study over the summer and if I take one on-campus class during spring I will save/make $2000 from government grant money. But anyways, then we will be moving out and going on the best road trip ever all the way to Minnesota! It will be such a fun adventure of a trip. Then I will start my internship! And we will continue to party. Then after the internship we will come back and hopefully have an apartment somewhere to move into. Then... the best of all... our cruise! Our cruise will be soooo great. And then back to school again. Anyway that is a summary of what my life will be looking like for the next few months. Doesn't it sound fun? It does to me. I think it will be so great. I have such a great life. The End.

Apartments

So... we have no idea where we will be living this fall. I know it's a bit away but it still sometimes worries me just because once we leave we will have no way of going and looking at apartments to see what we like. We would be fine with moving back into the apartments we live in now, but we have heard from friends that it can be pretty tough trying to get an apartment here for August since that's when everyone wants to move in. And, unfortunately, that's probably the case with anywhere we go. So, who knows, maybe we will just be homeless. Or we will just find whatever. If anyone knows of any good places, you should let me know. Although I don't really think many people even read my blog, so I should probably post on facebook. That would be more likely to have success I'm sure.

People are Interesting

I think people are really interesting to watch and observe. Lately I've been feeling that a lot of people aren't very much like me. But that also makes me really excited when I find someone that is and that I relate to really well. But most people have very different philosophies about life than me. A lot of it I can't explain, it's just that they act differently than I expect them to. Everyone's priorities are very different. Also I've found that it's really hard to keep my priorities the way I want them to be when everyone around me has different priorities. I definitely have to be actively trying to remember what's important to me. And not everyone around me has different priorities... just I feel like a lot of people do. But anyway sorry this is all so vague... basically I just think people are interesting to see and interact with.

Oh brother Ken...

Today I told Ken that tickling my feet was not acceptable or allowed in our household. He proceeded to try to convince me that it was, in fact, my foot that was tickling his hands. He said, and I quote, "your foot is viciously attacking the ticklish parts of my fingers!"

More About Ken

Ken is the greatest. For reals. Like no one else can fully comprehend how great he is. Last night his basketball team lost and got out of the tournament but instead of being upset about it he was only thinking of me. Before the game we went to the temple and ate in their cafeteria for dinner. I got some kind of chicken parmigian type dish but after I got it I discovered that it had mushrooms on it, which I am allergic to. However, usually I am fine if I just avoid the actual mushrooms, so I did that. But I guess the sauce had too much mushroom in it for my body because I started feeling super sick at the basketball game. But after the game Ken could tell I wasn't feeling well so he was super nice and took me home and took really good care of me. He pulled the bed out into the living room so that I could watch a movie while laying down. He was just so thoughtful the whole night. Also, I am always amazed at how well we get along and how well we understand each other and how well our personalities complement each other. Everytime I hang out with other people and then hang out with Ken I notice that. Like I get along great with a lot of other people, but no one nearly so well as Ken. He always understands my thoughts and perspective even when everyone else thinks I'm wrong or doesn't understand me. Also he is the most fun of all people in the world. I love how crazy and weird he is sometimes. I'm sorry if this post is so cliche or cheesy but oh well. I love Ken so much and he is the best friend I could ever ask for.

About Ken

This post is about Ken. He doesn't think I'll do it. But I warned him... if he didn't stop I was going to write about him on my blog. So now I am. He says I'm in trouble. And he wants everyone to know that he doesn't want anything. What does that even mean? I really don't know. He threatened that if I posted that he was running around the apartment screaming that I was gonna get it. So I'm not gonna say whether he is doing that or not. Because he also said I would get it if I said he wasn't doing that. So I'm neutral on the subject. Ken thinks I only blog about nonsense. He also threatened to get a blog and write all about me on it. But he won't. He's all talk. I asked Ken if he has anything else to share with the people. He says no and that he's mad that I'm making fun of him on my blog. I ask if he's really mad and he says no because no one he knows will read it anyway. I'm offended. He qualifies his statement with "except for Maren." The End.

I dont really think I'm a good blogger

I'm not exactly sure why I ever thought I would be. I don't really think of myself as being creative and I don't really like writing. And sometimes I just feel like I shouldn't write unless I have something funny or moving to say. So... that's why I haven't written in a few days. But... I still have nothing funny or moving to say. But good news :) my electrical engineering lab which I hate so much is finally over!!!!! That class was not very much fun. And today it was really bad because my lab partner insisted on doing twice as much work as was actually required. And she kept talking about what grade she needed on the final to get an A in the class. PS I need a 99.5% to get a B+ in the class so I am just hoping for maybe a B if I'm lucky. Sometimes she is a little too overachieving for me. But... hey. Oh well. She is nice though and I really like her, I just don't like talking about grades with her. You know who I think makes a lot better friends than people in my major? (in general, there are a few people in my major that I love so don't be offended) But anyways I just love people in my ward. They have a better perspective on life I think. Also I really loved the talk in general conference about to do vs to be. Haha his beginning definitely caught people's attention, "To be or not to be... is actually a very good question." I've never really heard anyone start like that. But I mainly liked it because I feel like a lot of times we become so focused on our to do lists that we forget about becoming who we want to be. I see that a lot, in myself and other people. Instead of really working towards our goals of becoming good people or being good friends or whatever we focus on finishing our homework and making dinner and doing laundry, or whatever it is. I want to be better at that. From now on I want to be a better person, regardless of whether or not I get everything on my list crossed off.

Today's Meeting

Today I met one of the leaders of the local seventh-day adventist church. It was very interesting. It was for a group project in one of my classes. I really liked her and thought she had a lot of really good things to say. The only thing that seemed really weird to me was at the end. Another girl in my group is a mother of three and coming back to school after several years. As we were about to leave she said she needed to get back to her three kids or something like that. The lady seemed to think she was kind of crazy for having three children. She then said, "Birth control is a wonderful thing. Use it now, use it later, use it always." Apparently, as I then found out, she has only one adopted son. Anyways, this perspective was pretty unique for me to hear in Utah. And really at all actually. I feel like most people I've come in contact with would like to have children at one point or another. But I've also been thinking... I really think that too many people at BYU try to judge when a couple should start having kids. It's always too early according to some people or too late according to others. I really try not to judge people about that sort of thing, and hope that I am successful at it. To quote a contrasting perspective of my old mission prep teacher, "Have as many kids as you can in your twenties because you never know what will happen in your thirties." Not saying this is a bad idea, I just think it fails to consider the fact that everyone is in different situations and that not all families need to be the same. I think the best philosophy to live by is to leave those decisions up to the couple and God to figure out. So, that is my advice to everyone.

Being Brownieless: A new and unique experience

Today I had an experience unlike any I've ever had before. Basically, I felt stupid and awkward because I did not have a brownie. I found myself in a room surrounded by people holding mint brownies on little white napkins. And I alone did not have one. I felt so out of place. And then, my boss/professor came in and he didn't have a brownie either. So I felt a little relieved. Until I remembered that he has health problems that make it so he can't have very much sugar. But I had no good excuse for not having a brownie in my possession. Everyone else had one. And I felt people staring at me thinking, "Where's your brownie?" Now I've wanted brownies before, that aspect was definitely not uncommon. And yes, it would have been nice to have a brownie just because I think they are delicious and I never turn down the chance to eat a brownie. But I had never wanted one in this way before. I wanted one so that I wouldn't feel awkward and out of place in a room surrounded by people with brownies. But I didn't know where they got them. I didn't know if I could get one. I couldn't possibly ask anyone for the risk of looking foolish. Clearly everyone else knew about the brownies, why didn't I? And I didn't really know anyone well enough to ask them. So, I sat there, without a brownie, feeling awkward and being sad that I couldn't enjoy what everyone else had. And then I left because I couldn't take it anymore.

Present vs Future

A piece of advice: live in the present. I keep hearing everyone saying "I can't wait until the semester is over" or "after this test is over my life will be much better" or "I can't wait until I'm graduated and done with school" or "only x amount of days/weeks/months until y" but the real problem is that that is constantly happening... people are looking forward to things and trying to get past things so much that they don't really enjoy living. And I'll admit, I am guilty of this too sometimes. But I just think there is a big problem when you are always wishing and hoping for a new situation in the future. My goal is to be happy and grateful for what I have now, enjoy every day, and make the best of my current situation. I just think people are a lot happier when they say to themselves, "look how great my life is now" instead of "imagine how great my life will be when..."

Pickle Similes

So my sister and I decided today that pickle similes should be the new thing. So what you do is you take something you were already going to say, and compare whatever you are talking about to a pickle. And the best part is that it doesn't actually have to relate to pickles whatsoever. In fact it's much better if it doesnt. The simile can be used to describe something good, bad, neutral, it doesn't matter. Here are some examples:
"Man, it's windy like a pickle outside today."
"Wow, you type as fast as a pickle."
"This computer is as frustrating as a pickle."
"That music is loud like a pickle."
So as you can see, neither the thing you are describing nor the adjective you use to describe it need to have anything at all to do with pickles. But you throw it in just for fun. And trust me, it's fun. Just try it and you will see for yourself. Also I have to give credit to a facebook post of random kids from Centennial High School for the idea. It was not mine, but I am supporting the effort to pass it on. Also, the first example came from a facebook status and the second from a text from my sister. And as my sister said earlier: Let's spread the pickle love!

Quotes of the day from Ken

"Look it's a spaceship! Oh wait... that's a tree..."
"In a battle between a car and a goldfish, I would usually think the car would win. But this was an exception..."

Other Random Thoughts

Minnesota will be so fun! I am getting so excited! Although it will probably be a lot harder to make friends there. But oh well. And we will get to go boating on the weekends. And mainly I'm excited because it is going to be quite the new adventure. Also we want to go on a cruise for a late anniversary celebration. We are thinking to Mexico. That would be super fun. I hope we buy tickets soon. Also one day I am going to ride in a hot air balloon. Ken promised. And so that's why there are hot air balloons on my blog. Also because I love them!!! A lot. I've always wanted to go on one. Also Ken thinks it's ridiculous that I randomly search google images and youtube for hot air balloons just so I can look at them and get excited. Ok so it's probably ridiculous, but I don't care.

I love our ward!

Surprising? Perhaps. Considering that we meet at 8:30 am. That part is not so good. But now I feel like we are making more friends than ever before for some reason. I'm not really sure why. But it's great! And tonight we are cleaning the church. I'm not sure how that will go. But there is one couple that's going that we really like so that will definitely make it more fun :) And now we are trying to decide if we want to move back into the same ward after the summer. We aren't really sure yet. Or we might get a 2-bedroom. But now that we are kind of making friends we might not want to have to start over... so we will see.

Dang it...

No one read my blog today :( tragic... I guess everyone is so much busier than I am. Also I'm exhausted and need to go to bed. Also I'm sick of school so I think I will probably just never go back. The End.

I'm in the mood to talk to someone

on facebook chat. But no one is really on. I was hoping for one of my sisters or a friend that I haven't talked to in awhile. But unfortunately no. So I just make comments on their pictures and statuses instead. And now I talk to myself. Thats pretty much what blogging is right? because its not really directed to anyone... I really never know who I am really talking to. Blogging is like talking to yourself plus an unknown audience. I don't even really know if anyone reads my blog. Except for my sisters when I tell them to. But I like to think a couple people randomly like to hear about my life. Heck, I stalk other peoples blogs, sometimes even if I'm not friends with them. Also, if that is your case just know I support it. As long as you at least know me. Like if we talked in high school a little bit or you were in my ward once upon a time. If I had any stalkers that completely didn't know me that probably wouldn't be the best... so I will discourage that one. Also Kevin needs to get a facebook. Then I could talk to him. Also I really wish Kevin had a blog... that would probably be the sweetest blog ever. Kristen's is good but I just feel like Kevin would write on his a lot more, no offense. And I love it when he calls me to tell me random stories of his day. And then as soon as he finishes he says ok thanks for listening bye. I love it. It makes my day every time. Thats what I picture his blog being like. He could complain about the weird kids in orchestra or talk about Steve's new dog. And I would read it all. Maybe multiple times :) Also I hope Kevin reads this haha

My facebook comment about Rebecca Black's "Friday"

 Julieann Ray Selden

this song is obviously not meant to be deep. that is clear. the popular genre of music right now has a purpose of relieving stress and being relaxing and fun. i believe that this song accomplishes that purpose at least as well as other songs on the radio. ie:
I gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night
That tonight’s gonna be a good night
That tonight’s gonna be a good good night (x3)
Tonight’s the night night
Let’s live it up
I got my money
Let’s spend it up
Now how is that any better? yet how many people have criticized this song the same way? not nearly as many. yet rebecca black is only 13 and would be expected to have less profound lyrics. Except it really doesn't even matter how profound her lyrics are. Because that is so far from the purpose of her song. the trend is to create songs that dont make you think at all, usually because you are so sick and tired of thinking all day. At least that is how I make use of songs like this. After studying for hours and hours on campus the last thing I want to do is come home and listen to a song that makes me think even more. The first thing I want to do is listen to a song that is fun and that I can dance to or just relax while listening. You don't have to agree, I am just trying to explain why the song would get so many views on youtube. Of course it was not for its intellectually challenging and articulate lyrics, but again, that was obvious.

Julieann Ray Selden ps. i am actually a black eyed peas fan as well. this music has its place, and so does music that makes you think. they are just very different.

Bridal Shower

Today I went to my friend's bridal shower and it was so fun :) they had really good food and we played a game and learned all about my friend and her fiance and their beautiful little relationship. And I bought lingerie for her. It was fun. She got mainly kitchen stuff and one other little outfit. What I bought her was pretty revealing haha and I'm pretty sure it made some people feel awkward. Even some married people surprisingly. But she loved it I am sure. She said she was grateful because hardly anyone else got her that kind of stuff and she didn't want to have to buy it herself :) One girl did give her a present that was labeled: to wear on your wedding night... and there was nothing in the bag. That was funny too. Also there were some interesting people at the bridal shower. Quite the diverse group of personalities I thought. Which also made it fun. I love bridal showers! I hope I will get to go to a lot more. My other friend has one coming up :) in two weeks I think. I need to be thinking of what outfit to buy for her...

March Madness

I am doing pretty good on my bracket for the bball tournament. I am pretty proud of myself. I just picked whoever I felt like really. Only I picked Pittsburgh to win and I don't think they will... but hopefully. I'm doing just as well as all the guys in the ward competition and beating a lot of them :) but anyways... just hope for Pittsburgh for me :)

I really hate Electrical Engineering labs

They are the absolute worst part of my week. I dread them so much. It ruins every Wednesday for me. Last night I had a breakdown realizing that I would have to go today. But now it is over. So that's good. My lab partner is interesting. She likes to do everything 3 times when we really only need to do it once. It's a little frustrating. But mainly because circuits make zero sense and the teacher and TAs are all terrible. But anyway, at least it's over. Ken and I are going to rent Megamind tonight. That should cheer me up. And also the fact that I don't have to go to that stupid lab for another whole week at least.

Airplanes

Julieann: Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right nooow.
Ken: Ok I'll grant you one wish.
Julieann: Ok. What is it?
Ken: I will allow you to stop singing.

A Poem of You Think You're Cooler Than Me

by Ken Selden
You think I smell like a grapefruit
And you smell like flowers
You think I taste like spaghetti O's
And you taste like ice cream
You think I look like a pig
And you look like a mermaid
You think you're cooler than me.

My friend is a jerk.

I decided my blog is probably a good place for venting. Just a little while ago, I was looking up what classes I should take next semester and I discovered that one of the classes I am signing up for has three possible options for what teacher you can have. Since I don't know much about any of the teachers, I decide to text two of my friends who have taken more classes in my major than I have. One of my friends is a girl and the other is not. The girl texts me back first. She says something to the effect of oh I have this teacher now and I really like him, but I've heard this other teacher is good, and the third teacher is really old but that's all I know. This was helpful because it was more than what I knew. Next, the other "friend" texts me back saying that now that he is married (because he got married a couple of weeks ago) that he will never be texting or calling any girls besides his wife. Furthermore, he said that he meant to tell me that today when I talked to him for probably 15 minutes, but that he didn't know how to. Furthermore, he lied to me. Because last week I texted him asking what he was doing because Ken and I were bored and wanted to see if he AND HIS WIFE wanted to hang out. But he never responded. When I mentioned it to him at school today he said that he "meant to text me back, but got distracted and forgot." Furthermore, the only time I have ever seen him outside of school was when he invited Ken and I to play games with him and his fiance at the time. So the point is, his wife is paranoid and he is rude. I am very much offended. I responded to his text by saying that since I have so few friends already, what's one less.

Hooray! It worked!

so thats a success. This weekend I read a book called Home Waters. It was great fun. Lots of stories about people getting lost in the mountains when they go on hikes. I just wrote a book report about it. Also I now know more about fly fishing than I ever thought I would. Today I meet the author. He is coming to our class to answer our questions about the book. That should be fun. And then I will have to write another paper. Or partial paper at least. For Humanities. So much paper writing this semester... pretty crazy for a chemical engineer I think. But it's good because sometimes I get sick of all of the complicated problems to solve. Although chemical engineering wasn't too bad today. I paid some attention, which is more than usual. And it made some amount of sense which is much more than usual. I wonder who will read my blog... I feel like I am writing to no one. Maybe one person will read my blog. That would be an accomplishment for me. My experience with blogs has been interesting... some are really sappy engagement blogs, some are kind of dumb, a lot are really emotional, and then I sometimes read Mr. Huston's blog which is usually really profound and intelligent. Mine will probably be like none of those. Oh also there is Kristen's which I love but she never even writes on it :( but anyways... mine will probably turn out to be boring. Maybe. We will see. It probably won't be all that creative because I try to use what little creativity I have on papers I have to write for classes. But one last thing.... "I don't know. I have to wait until I'm done finishing my blog. Happiness is very happy." :) youtube search 3 year old lyrics and click the first link... I love that video. Although I haven't found anyone else who likes it nearly as much as me.

This is a test

to see if my new blog works... I've never done it before. I wonder if anyone will actually read my blog. Probably not. Maybe if they are ever really really really bored. Like I am right now. Sitting in the stats lab while Ken does homework... fun fun. Also I get lots of headaches lately. So that stinks. But this blog is not supposed to be about complaining, just so you know. It is supposed to be about... well I'm not really sure. Maybe for posting all of Ken and my new videos we are going to make. Grenade is somewhat in the making... It is going to be epic.