A Penny for My Thoughts? Psshh, I'm Upping the Price to $1.25

When I get tired, I can't think straight, and sometimes I can't even see or hear straight. Oddly enough, this is usually when my best and most creative pieces of writing come to life.

Boots and a little bit of make-up are all I need to feel sexy. That and shaved legs.

Sometimes I wish I could be strange and insightful and write things that make people just stop and say, "Whoa." I wish I could change the minds of people all over the world because of a book or poem I wrote. Then I feel insecure, and this tiny, annoying voice in the back of my head says that I will never be more than a Stephenie Meyer wanna-be, which really depresses me.

There are four things that truly bring me out of "the depths of despair": 1) reading one of my favorite books; 2) eating chocolate in any form; 3) having long talks with my mom; 4) playing with a dog.

I've discovered that I really like answering phones. Which means my job=awesome.

Aside from when I'm really tired, I also write my best stuff when I'm really emotional--either super happy, really depressed, or angry.

Many times I wish that I can travel back in time and live in either the 1950s or the late 1800s. I wish I could go back there and truly feel like a lady; I wish I could go back and find the love of my life, kind of like Kate and Leopold, but in reverse. Now, I realize that those time periods aren't all that books and shows like Bewitched make them out to be, but I still carry that secret wish with me at all times.

One day, I'm going to go to Decades (a vintage store in down town Salt Lake) and buy every piece of clothing in there.

Travel is amazing. I love it, and I can't get enough of it. This is why I'm going into the Foreign Services.

I'm afraid that my future fiance will have very little say in our wedding. I have it pretty much all planned out.

I am inordinately excited about the fact that I'm going to Harry Potter World with my family this year for Christmas--I also really, really, REALLY want to participate in a wand ceremony and receive a wand from Olivanders. That would be INCREDIBLE! And yes, I do realize that I am a gigantic nerd.

How is it that I never went through the I-Hate-My-Mother-And-I'm-Going-To-Rebel-In-Any-Way-Possible phase? During my teenage years, my mom became my best friend.

I miss seeing Chelsey, Aaron, Katie, Paul, and Averi. I get to see Heather, Danny, and Brayden pretty much every other day, and that makes me incredibly happy. But I want to see the Jorgenson family too!

My life is awesome. I wouldn't trade it for any other in the entire world.

Must Go Travelling

Travel+Leisure just posted their 2010 "World's Best Hotels" list. I've been flipping through the pictures, and I want to go to all of them! Is anyone up for a trip? Or willing to donate to the "Ashley is poor but wants to see the world" fund?

Here's the link, for anyone interested in browsing through some truly gorgeous hotels.
www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-best-hotels-2010

Warning: Harry Potter is no longer fit for children to see

I just read the saddest news today: in the new Harry Potter movie, coming out next Thursday, there will be two nudity scenes. Neither of these scenes were the book, so the director, David Yates, just added these scenes because he felt like it.

I couldn't believe it when I read it in KSL News. It is so upsetting that David Yates has decided that a movie that is geared toward children should have nude scenes in it. Here's a statement from David Yates about one of the nude scenes: "It's where Hermione and Harry dance together and is not in the book. It's something that we create for the film..." I just don't understand where this is coming from. Later, Yates said that the scene is"tender." What? I'm still trying to figure out how a scene like that could be tender--it feels more like Yates is trying to see how far he can push the envelope in this scene. What messages are they trying to send our children? And what messages are we sending our children if we let them go see this new installment of Harry Potter?

I have been so excited to see this film, but now that I know there are nude scenes, it makes me step back from the movie a little. And I wanted to let everyone know, so that they don't go to the movie theaters as an unsuspecting audience.

Halloween

I promised Chelsey I would take lots of pictures of my adorable 1950s costume that my mom sewed for me for Halloween. I've always loved the clothes from the 1950s and the 1960s, and I've always wanted to own a piece of clothing from those eras. So I thought that Halloween would be the perfect time to get a dress from the 1950s. With Chelsey help, I picked out a pattern and some cute fabric. My mom found a vintage store down in downtown Salt Lake City, and she bought me a couple of really cute hats and a pair of gloves. Hopefully, I get to back to that store one day (Decades) and browse around for some other cute stuff! I thought the dress turned out really well, and the hat and the gloves just made the ensemble. So here it is:

Working Girl 2.0

I officially finished training today! I took my final test and everything, and now I am taking calls completely by myself. It's kind of nerve-wracking, actually. Then again, there's always people who are willing to help me, so it's not so bad.

This week was interesting. I made one girl so happy that she wanted to hug me, and then I made another girl cry. I requested finals and certified a proctor. I helped recruit at least two people to Independent Study, which was awesome. I also got a ton of homework done because the phones were so slow. I'm not a slacker, I promise!

Hopefully, things will continue to go up from here. I get paid today, so for me, this job is the best job ever!

Survey

I totally stole this from Chelsey. It seemed like a fun survey/questionnaire.

1. I have been looking for some simple but interesting Halloween crafts/decorations, what is your favourite one to do with your children? please include a link if you have one.
Sadly, I don't do Halloween decorations. And I don't have kids. But I love carving pumpkins! When I put up pictures of my Halloween costume, I will definitely post some pictures of my pumpkin this year as well.

2. What is your favorite way to spend a rainy day with your children?
Again, I don't have kids, but I do love watching movies with my family. Rainy days are always best spent curled up beneath a blanket--whether that be with a book or on the couch watching a movie.

3. What is your favourite fall food?
I do love soups, especially creamy soups. Clam chowder and cream of chicken are my favorites. Sometimes I'll even have cream of mushroom--but it HAS to be my dad's cream of mushroom; I refuse to eat canned cream of mushroom. I'm also a big pasta fan. Turkey also always reminds of fall because my dad always smokes a turkey injected with apple juice Thanksgiving. The apple juice makes the turkey extra moist and delicious.

4. What is your current favourite read aloud book?
I love reading pretty much anything out loud. Right now I'm reading The Goose Girl to my mom, and it's been so fun. That is honestly my favorite Shannon Hale book; it's just written so beautifully. I love reading out loud (especially to my mom) because I get to use different voices and accents for each character. While I'm reading The Goose Girl, I'm currently using English and Irish accents. It's pretty awesome.

5. What is your favourite novel?
Oh my goodness, there are so many to choose from! Pride & Prejudice has always been at the top of my favorites list, but I also always include The Wheel of Time series, by Robert Jordan, Anne of Green Gables (the whole series), by L.M. Montgomery, and The Crown Duel, by Sherwood Smith. These are the books that I can read again and again and again and again, and I'll never get tired of the story. The Goose Girl may make it's way onto that list one day.

6. What book from your childhood do you remember the most, and why?
I'll never forget reading Wateship Down, by Richard Adams. I think this story is amazing. It's like taking Aesop's Fables to the next level, and I love that about the story. It's written really well, and even though it's written as a book for younger children, adults can really enjoy it as well. Also, I once read that Adams didn't really mean for the book, or it's characters, to have special messages (other than the obvious ones in the book) or hidden meanings . It was just a story that he told his kids on long car rides. At the time I hated how my English dissected and broke apart every tiny word in the books we read in class, and it was really refreshing to have an author say that that wasn't warranted.

7. What type of music do you enjoy the most? Please include examples!
Really chill music is what I love best. My favorites right now are A Fine Frenzy and Priscilla Ahn. They're both softer music, but they have fun beats and the lyrics are kind of funky and awesome. They give off the vintage, offbeat vibe that I love.

8. What subject do you find most challenging (to teach or to learn)?
Math. I hate math. And Chemistry. And Physics. I cannot understand chemistry or physics for the life of me. Funny, I never really had a problem with Biology.

9. What is your favorite hot drink? Bonus points for including the recipe!
Stephen's Hot Chocolate by far. I love anything with that label on it. I guess my favorite, though, is the mint chocolate hot chocolate mix that they have. It's pretty much one of the highlights of the winter season.

Working Girl

I started my new job today! It was very exciting, and also very frightening because it was snowing when Mom and I started up to Provo, and we were late by the way, and as we were driving up to the Point of the Mountain, my gas gauge just dropped like a ten pound rock in water. I had just filled up the tank Saturday night, so it shouldn't have done that, but my gas gauge is all whacked out, so we weren't sure. Mom and I were scared we were going to be stuck in the middle of the freeway, in the cold, driving sleet, at 6:30 in the morning--and I had to be at work by 7. Yeah, not a pleasant situation. Luckily, we got to a gas station, filled up my car (it was basically full, by the way), and it to Provo. I was only three minutes late. Way to go, Mom!

So today was just training, but they packed in so much information, that I'm worried I won't be able to remember it all. There's still a whole week left of training, though, so hopefully I'll master the system by next week. They kept asking me if I had any questions. I HATE it when people ask me that because I can never think of any questions to ask. What do you do in that situation? I just kept saying, "I can't think of anything now, but I'll probably have questions later." I hope I didn't sound like an idiot or anything.

I'll probably have some interesting stories for later. At least I'll have something more to write about here!