House

So Sean and I are seriously looking into buying a house. No wonder I've been lazy at posting on here in a while, eh? Buying a house is a big deal. It's so grown up. The house has 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths, a huge backyard on a corner lot, a super nice kitchen... I'm pretty excited.

 Of course, it is possible that we don't get it, like it is with houses. I am hoping for it, but I won't be devastated if we can't get it. I've come to the conclusion that everything happens for a reason. Also, I'm super ready to not hear banging and shouting coming from both sides of my apartment or being told to move my car because of whatever reason.

We'd save on gas because Sean would take the train for free, our house payment would only be a little less than double our rent (which we could potentially do if we refinanced Sean's car and used less gas and other things). [I can't tell if that's crying coming from next door, one of the girls in a sheet trying to scare someone, or a real ghost. All I can say for sure is that they continually drop heavy things and are obnoxious.]

I'm really excited for it all, but at the same time, it's nerve-wrecking. Are we going to be able to afford it, can we still live comfortably like we do, will we actually even get it? Any way, we'll find out. I'll keep you updated on it all, like I do.

love, Ellen

Thanksgiving! and other stuff

I know what you're thinking... Where is her Thanksgiving post? She went on and on about how great it would be and then leaves us hanging! I'm sorry... Does this make up for it?

Guys, it went just as I wanted it to. It seriously is the absolute best holiday. The food was delicious, the decorations were top-notch, my family didn't embarrass me (or anyone else)... it was just excellent.

Here are some pictures of my [awesome] decor all put together and Sean's pies that got nothing but praise all day long.

 This is the banner I made.

 A view of the table.

 The set-up.

 A place-setting.

 Sean's pies

 (top: Mixed Berry, underneath: Dutch Apple, left upper: Pickle Pie, right: Pumpkin, lower left: Pecan [aka the best one], center: Chocolate)

A canvas I painted and framed (with twine)

I love my family and I'm so grateful that I could be with so many of them on my favorite holiday. And, now that it's December, Christmas season can begin! (Even though I've been having to listen to Christmas music at work for the past few weeks...) Sean and I bought a real Noble Fir tree yesterday and set it up, complete with fleece blanket tree-skirt (made by just buying some cute fleece and safety pinning it. We set it on a table so the kitty won't have anywhere to pee under it. We don't have our decorations out on it yet because they're still at my parent's house... but at least we have the tree! 

OH! And, we bought a new couch and rug! Our whole apartment is new, it feel like. We went from an old crappy couch that was sagging so much on one cushion that you could use the other cushion as an arm-rest, to a brand new leather couch that is longer and nicer! (Thanks to Ikea) and a new rug that is orange and has spots on it. Even Erma Gerd likes it!

Yay!! Okay, was that a good-enough update for you? It should be...
love, Ellen

Don't tell Edna...

I understand it's been a while since I posted. There's no excuse, I just have been excessively lazy and haven't really had much to talk about besides being tired a lot, working at a donut shop, and watching the World Series with Sean (Go Tigers! (only because I feel like Detroit needs a little love)).

So the laptop I've had all through college is a Toshiba Satellite (who I named Edna) and it's been fairly trusty up until a few months ago. Recently, it has been having screen problems where it splits into three and the two side portions flip places. Also, it randomly shuts down and has a really hard time finding the wifi.

So the solution to my problem? I'm getting a new computer (hopefully tonight). I'm really excited, to be honest. I don't get new gadgets all that often and I tend to get the thing that is already out of date. I don't have a lot of money to spend on this computer, but I still think I can get something pretty nice for my money.

Did I tell you about the time I slammed my finger in my car door, got the donut shop job, went to the zoo, and hosted a dinner party all in the same day? Well, that was way back in August when Sean's mom was visiting. Now, my finger is fine, however the nail has started to grow off. It's really kind of gross actually. Then, on Monday, Sean and I were carving pumpkins. He did this:

Super impressive. And what I did was screw up a cute pumpkin. I tried doing a Twins logo as well but I cut the W too poorly and tried fixing it with a toothpick and ended up stabbing myself in the finger. Same finger as the car door. So, essentially, what I'm saying is that something somewhere has a secret vendetta against my poor right index finger. It's made it a lot harder to do the dishes as well as plenty of other things.

There's a lot of really annoying road construction in front of our house. They're doing things at very inconvenient times (i.e. rush hour) and in a way that makes me feel like the tiny shack of a shop that I work in is going to collapse on top of me. At least I would be crushed in a building with food so while I wait for someone to save me, I can still have nourishment (delicious, delicious nourishment...).

I put on a new fall smell in our wax melter deal we bought from walmart to make our apartment smell less like previous smoker and poorly done wet paint (from a year + ago...). I really love this smell. It's
called Apple Spice & Citrus from Better Homes. Yum.

I feel like this is a lot of rambling but what can you do? Nothing.
love, Ellen

Octobre

YAY! Guys, this month is awesome. I'm so excited for our 1 year anniversary and Halloween and everything! WOO!

I want to make all the cute decorations and put them around, the only problem is that we have no where to store them after holidays are over... rough life. But it's okay, our situation won't be forever. And we can still carve pumpkins and put up a wreath... and stuff.

We redecorated our house again. I really love changing things up ever once in a while because then it helps us get rid of some of our junk and leads to a little better feng shui. All we have to do is put up a few shelves, stop by Deseret Industries, and take a hutch back to my parent's. Ahh... clean house, happy life... or however that goes.

That's probably enough for today.
love, Ellen

Get your rest...

The challenge starts tomorrow! The first prompt is:

If you could only listen to one album the rest of your life, which one would you choose? Share some of your favorite songs from it.

Hooray! If you want me to read your posts and share them in my blog, just post the link to your post in the comments and I'll put them in the next day's blog. 

Today, Sean and I are going to check out an apartment in SLC. I'm excited to move. I don't know why, but I like packing everything up and finding new places to put it in a new place. It's the organizational maniac in my brain, I swear. I don't have a new job yet, but I have a few ideas. 

Have you tried the Neapolitan Oreos? SO yummy! The strawberry is a little strong, but I still like them. That's my treat for the week. 

That's all. 

love, Ellen

Property Brothers

If you know anything about me (or have looked to the right of any post on here and read the "about me" snippet), you should know that I watch HGTV all too often. I love House Hunters and Love It or List It, but my absolute most favorite show on the whole channel is Property Brothers. Sean could tell you that I say the sentence "I wish I had Property Brothers" all too often. 

For those of you unfortunate enough to not have HGTV or uncool enough to not watch it (I forgive you, but you really should), the PB's are Drew - the Real Estate expert, and Jonathan - the Contractor. They take people out of their apartments and into a fixer-upper which they then fix and make look INCREDIBLE. Seriously, I wish I had PB's. 

Of course, the people they're working with never believe they can pull it off at first because it's too crazy but they do! And, even if they run into problems or added costs of other types, they do it at your budget! It's so cool. 

Sean and I have been looking into moving a lot lately. We've been looking at houses and apartments and considering all the options. Of course, it would be a lot harder for us to get into a house than an apartment, but if I get a full time job somewhere, it would be a whole lot easier. 

For now, though, we're thinking about painting a few of the walls in our apartment to brighten it up and personalize it just a little. We haven't passed it by the landlady yet... but she's pretty great and seems to like us a lot, so it's possible. I can't wait to get started! (If we can, of course.)

I'm going to end this here and get back to watching PB's. (Seriously, I recommend watching it.)

love, Ellen

Apologies, News, and MN trip

Sorry for my nearly 2 week hiatus... It seriously has been non-stop for me lately. As soon as we got back from MN, we got surprise tickets to the Barenaked Ladies concert (with Ben Folds Five and Guster) and then on Friday night, we went to a Bees game (Utah's minor league baseball team) with Brady and Katie (Sean's brother and his wife). Now we're just trying to fall back into normalcy. I'm still trying to catch up on sleep and house cleaning.

However, even our normalcy is something other than that. Sean and I are still trying to figure our situations out. I'm on the look for a new job, preferably something in the Utah Valley area doing something along the lines of Proofreader, Copy Editor, Reading Tutor, the like. If you know of anything... let me know.

We started looking for a new place to live just North of SLC but then we found out today that our ward needs us to revamp the nursery. It's a problem for our ward that's too big to just fix in a few weeks before leaving, it seems. It seems like there are more things keeping us here than there are opportunities for us to move. It's just something we've been questioning for a while and we finally have a bit of an answer.

Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know what's happening. Also, on a side-note, Sean and I started our Academy Award Best Picture Winners movie challenge. We're still in the middle of the first one which we started yesterday. It's a silent movie from 1927 called Wings about a couple of pilots in the war. It's interesting but pretty long (2 hours).

And remember how I promised that I would tell you about our trip and have pictures.

This is one of the first places I saw in the Mall of America. IT'S A FREAKING AMUSEMENT PARK. ridiculous. Of course, I didn't go on any rides... Roller Coasters are not our thing. We also had lunch there and then  went shopping. I got a new pair of pants at H&M. By the end, my feet were so tired!

 This is some incredibly delicious lemonade from Matt's Bar (Home of the Jucy Lucy) in Minneapolis. It's the best bottle of lemonade I have had, I think. 

 This is the afore mentioned Jucy Lucy burger with grilled onions. Absolutely magnificent. If I talk about it too much longer I'll have to change my shirt from drool. If you're in Minneapolis, GO HERE. 

Go TWINS! This game was seriously SO much fun. We sat so high up, I almost puked. They shot off fireworks during the national anthem (while I was still trying to get used to the height) and I almost collapsed from fright. The Twins won the Phillies that night 4-3. It was a great game and we ate nachos out of a Twins helmet bowl (YUM). And we got to hang out with a couple of Sean's friends from MN. 

Overall, it was a fun trip. After all these things, we went to the family reunion and that was a blast too! I met so many great people and, if you can believe it, I can remember everyone's names. I also learned how to make little creatures out of sewing and felt. I'm thinking about selling them or making them for needy children. 

Anyway, I thought I'd just send you an update. Have a great week!

love, Ellen

My house is a mess...

and I'm here sitting on my couch watching The Talk. Ahh... life. It will get clean before Sean gets home, but right now, I might just take a little nap.

This week, in preparation for our vacation, Sean and I went through a bunch of our old pictures to bring to the reunion. I love having physical pictures to look through. Facebook and other computerized photo albums are fine and all, but having the actual picture in my hand is a lot more of a memory (anyone else catch the irony?)

The problem, however, is that photo albums are almost obsolete. Either everything is on the computer or in some time-consuming scrapbook. I just want to be able to flip through all those photos without having to glue them to expensive paper with cut outs of whatever and cutesy letters. I just want photos with years and descriptions on the back. Easy peasy.

I just barely finished building our driving playlist with only fun music and... 1.9 days. Whoops. that's about a day too much. It's fine. Now we have a fun playlist. I better get to cleaning.

SEE YOU IN SOME TIME!
love, Ellen

May 20: Struggle

So I skipped Sunday and Monday is late... Anyway.

To be honest, I'm not really struggling much with anything particularly right now. Except maybe thinking up something for this post... hah. nevermind.

Well, there's going to be a lot of transitions in my life soon. This summer alone, Sean and I are going on a trip to MN, we're moving 30 minutes north, I'm quitting my job and finding a new job (hopefully)... it's a lot. I think maybe part of the struggle with all this is money. It's not that we're broke, but moving, losing a job, and a vacation can really soak up a lot of cash. We're eating in more and not going places as much, but it's still rough.

and that's what i'm struggling with.
love, ellen

Good Sunday To All

Hey, Guys! It's kinda been a while since I posted anything... sorry... but I have a good explanation! I've been writing a sitcom, lately, that I think is pretty funny. It's for my creative writing class but I'm also possibly sending it in to a real famous director who is a friend of a friend. I'm trying not to get my hopes up but being a tv writer like my hero, Tina Fey, would be AWESOME. Also, since Sean's a writer, he could do it with me! It would be a dream seriously. I'm not going to give anything away from it just yet besides that it's about my job, essentially, at the coffee shop and it's going to be hilarious.

Another reason is because we changed our whole house around! Our TV is on our bookcase where our crap-table used to be and the mini-fridge is next to it on the other side of the room and the couch is in the middle of the room and the crap-table is where it used to be and the fouton is in the corner where the fridge used to be... it's all flip-floped. I'd show you a before and after pic but all I have is an after pic... i'll still share it with you but you have nothing to compare it to.

this is the view from the front door, including handsome husband
don't mind the shabby couch...

and, for the record, I also changed the bedsheets, put away all the laundry, and hid some of the few thousand cords that were bombarding my side of the bed while Sean did the laundry and cleaned out the fridge yesterday. Also, we bought a vacuum that works. HOORAY! now I can always have clean floors! it even works on cleaning up our spilled cat litter in the kitchen. AND we bought kitty new food dishes because she's growing up and also a new kitchen mat that's weirdly made of rope but i love it.

AND! i'm getting new glasses sometime this week or next! from my favorite, zennioptical.com. Seriously, though, I recommend them to almost everyone who compliments my glasses (which tends to be a lot because I'm very fashion-forward. hah). No, I'm not replacing my old red ones that broke tragically in a walking incident... but I am getting a different pair of red ones and also some blue ones. HOORAY (again)! I can't wait to get them!

Anyway, I'm going to go eat my breakfast rice and enjoy my newly arranged furniture.
love, Ellen.

simple observations.

i have to start out with a rendition of a song:


oh, the weather outside is frightful,
and all i ever wanna do is cuddle.
And cuz Sean's at work all day,
I will wait, i will wait, i will wait.

okay. back to business:

• i'm okay going 20 miles under the speed limit today because of my poor tires and it's slippery all around.
• i love almond hot chocolate. almond anything, really.
• You HAVE to let the dryer finish when you don't have a laundry thing at your house and have to transport it because if you don't and put it in the bottom of the hamper, it WILL wrinkle and you will have a bad time.
• my house is a mess and for the first time in months, kitty is being super sweet and cuddly. She's even letting me pet her without attacking my hands. jerk.
• Today is the perfect day to start re-watching Lord of the Rings in preparation for Friday. Also because of the weather. Good thing the 1st part of Fellowship is still in the bluray player from that time Sean and I fell asleep to it on saturday.
• i want to be an artist. 
• 2 finals down, 2 to go. and then BREAK. awww yeah.
• the creepy heaters in our apartment are actually awesome. 
• I need to go buy some of Sean's stocking gifts today. or tomorrow. probably tomorrow.

okay, that's all for today. now i'm going to take a nap and clean my house. 

love, ellen.

married life.

Seriously, i recommend it. highly. it's great to have someone to come home to at night or to surprise with little things like special desserts or leftover beverages or whatever. And it's great to have someone here at night keeping me safe and warm.
(seriously, though, it gets freezering in this joint sometimes and the fiery furnaces frighten me sometimes.)

Over the past too long of time (if that makes any sense...) i've been working like 6 more hours a week and Sean's been working overtime as well and it's not so fun for either of us, but we're coping and getting excited for all the extra funds coming in. Let's just say Christmas will be good.

The only not so fun parts are chores. i love cleaning the house, but i'm not a huge fan of taking out the trash or doing the dishes... Luckily Sean takes out the trash mostly, but i still do the dishes, usually.. it's fine, i'm getting better at not gagging at the really gross wet leftover foods (which is a thing that happens.) working at a food place has helped in that aspect but it's still not so fun.

School is whatever. I just can't wait for THANKSGIVING! a nice break from school and work and just getting to spend time eating and cuddling with my husband. i have to be honest here, cuddling is the 100% best thing ever in the world.

Speaking of stuff, i have to go do the dishes and then get a package from the post office and then French class and then more work. Yay! or something.

okay. love, ellen

~ Eight Days ~

Guys. 1 day and 1 week until i marry the absolute love of my life. 1 week from right now, we'll be waking up in MN and getting ready for the big day. So we leave in like 5 days for a lotta lotta driving. Hooray and excitement!!! I've been making a ton a ton of yarn pompoms and making kitten sitter arrangements and starting to pack and get ready. IT'S COMING!

In other news, our apartment is a MESS. There's CD's everywhere and kitten toys and stuff going to the wedding and knickknacks and boxes and mail and yarn stuff and trash that kitten has been playing with and i need to do the dishes and take out the left-overs and put away random crap we have everywhere but instead i'm blogging and then i'm gonna make more pom poms.

Kitten is cute but she really gets annoying sometimes. like when she pounces on your hands while you're typing or when she can't leave your yarn projects alone or when she crawls all over you with her sharp claws digging in your skin or pooping on the floor and chewing on computer and phone cords and  getting in your face when you're eating. at least she would follow that laser pointer to the end of the earth and she has her cute moments. like kittens do. and then she disappears and is quiet and i get nervous and i look behind me and she's taking a nap on the back of the couch. aw. true story

and i'm listening to Brittany Spears. true story. (i just said that.) I put Sean in charge of 2 things for the wedding: the honeymoon and the music playlists. So now, on my dancing playlists i have Vitamin C, Enrique Iglesias, Brittany Spears, and Mandy Moore. but i still love him.

8 days.

I have an open book/notes French test today. which (as much as i don't need to) i should probably study for. and shower. and make pompoms.

8. days.

okay. byeee
~Ellen

Weekend update.

So, as you MUST know by now, i'm getting married (in 26 days but who's counting). A lot of things come with marriage, i'm slowly becoming aware of. There are things i'm sure i haven't thought of that my wonderful mom or sister or future family-in-laws or my old neighbor, Anna, has. It's hard enough to look at the next 24 hours than the next 26 days. in those days, i will be doing these things

• school (4 classes - 12 credit hours)
• work (upgrading inventory and changing stock as well as management)
• driving to MN and back 2 times (total of approximately 76* hours of driving. seriously.(*some of that will be after the wedding)
• going Sean's best friend's wedding (nervous but excited)
• sending invites
• getting a new phone
• putting away things from bridal showers
• sleeping
• eating
• (hopefully) relaxing

so that's gonna be fun.

This week, Sean's friend from his old work-place came and stayed with us for a bunch of days. Unfortunately, i was sick. but at the same time it was nice because i got to be home and hang out with her and become friends with her instead of having a 'fantastic' time at work. and by fantastic i mean crappy. Anyway, we became friends and now she lives in LA and we're gonna visit her eventually.

Alright, so yesterday. Started off great, because i forgot my makeup bag at home so my mom and dad and i went to get bagels and wedding make-up (hooray), then we went to my parent's ward's bridal shower for me. TONS of cool stuff. to name a few things: 6 or 7 cookie sheets and a couple muffin tins, 4 movies, a quesadilla maker, a gorgeous blue glass plate and a stylish white plate with red print spoon on it, tons of glass dishes and bowls and casserole pans, popcorn things, a minichopper, a game, and probably other things that have slipped my mind. 

After that, me and Abby and my mom went to Bridal Image and got my dress. lemme tell you, it's PERFECT. i wasn't sure about it at first because i bought it when it wasn't what i wanted (long with a train and short sleeves) and then i went and got it from being altered and it's PERFECT. i don't think i can say that enough. it's exactly my style and comfortable and elegant and i'm so so excited. I put it on to show my dad and Sean and sean was dazzled. he had the most adorable face. 

then we passed out some wedding invites, and went over to my Aunt Sharla's for a family shower. We played some games and chatted and ate dinner that Uncle Scott prepared. Then we opened gifts (which i'm finding to be loads of fun)! We got a huge tub full of awesome food, a griddle, a Twister Duvet cover, laundry detergent, post-it's, stickers, the Game of Life, Pyrex things, floor lamps, gift cards, and perhaps other things i have forgotten. 

But seriously, we have things! We still need a can opener and pots and pans (probably coming from my parents) but we can finally cook things in our house! hooray! Thank you to all who came and gave us things! We're SO grateful and hopefully will be sending Thank You notes soon. 

Now we're going to go get ready for our trip to MN! lots of driving. we're gonna eat a lot of snacks. and there's gonna be music up the wazoo. Woo! 

okay. i'm going to go do the sunday things like eating and naps. 

love, ellen

The Week of Extreme Change is Almost OVER.

Hip hip! HOORAY. seriously, guys. It's been quite the week. Since i last posted, Sean and I found an apartment in PG (not that one we saw that i was hoping for) and it's a 1 bedroom with a teeny kitchen, a huge closet, plenty of parking, and new carpet. it's great. cozy, quaint... great.

It's taken a couple days to feel like home, but it's getting there. I moved in on monday and that day was heck-tick (hectic. but heck also.) It was Sean's first day at his new job, i moved house, and i just had to calm myself down. Abby stayed the night on Monday and then Tuesday, Sean installed an air conditioner on his lunch break (THANK YOU, SEAN!) and then we went home and I had an eye-doc appointment. All good. I'm getting new glasses sometime soonish. Wednesday morn brought the dentist and then a physical and then a hair-cut in the afternoon. Not anything big, just a trim. but now i can handle growing it out some more. phew.

Oh, and i'm getting a KITTY!!! they were born a couple days ago at our new neighbors house and they're black and white. So we're going to wait a couple weeks til they can eat without their mom's help (*wink*) and then we're taking one of 'em home and loving it. and cuddling and all cuz kitties are adorable. I'll post pics and name choice when we get it. Abby wants to name it Barbara if it's a girl. that's funny. but idk yet.

And to make everything happier and give you a laugh, here's a hilarious pic of a cat.

anyway. Wedding planning is going swimmingly as well. normal. I just finished making 5 centerpieces. now we have like 30. We're not having 30 tables, just fyi. but it's gonna be awesome. awesome. seriously.

okay, love you. i guess...
kbye.
Ellen

Some pretty big things.

So i haven't updated in a while. It's because i've been crazy overwhelmed with a bunch o' stuff lately that i just couldn't sit and type. also, my apartment doesn't have internet currently so i have to wait til i'm at work or Sean's to do anything.

Anywho, speaking of apartment, I have to be out of mine in a matter of days. 5 to be honest. Sean and I have been frantically searching for a new apartment i would move into soon and then he'd move in when we get married. So we went and viewed a place today and we'll know for sure on Saturday whether yes or no. Please bless yes. please, please bless. It is a 1 bedroom basement apartment not too far away from my school/work and fairly easy to get to Sean's current work. I'm just praying everything works out. if not... just pray. and all that.

Another neat-o thing is we got the rough draft of our wedding invites today. Lemme tell ya, they are the coolest things you ever saw. I'm not going to give anything away, but they are seriously awesome. See, not giving anything away. just wait. If you haven't given me your address and would like an invite, leave your name and address in the comments. I'll be honest, if Sean or I don't know you, i probably won't be sending you an invite.

I'm seriously ready for October 14th to happen. on that day, i will have nothing to worry about except school stuff. it's coming. only some days. well... month and days.

Seriously, guys, i'm like... baaaaaaaaaaah. and stuff. so it's great. i want a puppy. there. i said it. also, i'm getting married. AH. this is all great. everything is great. i'm eating meat right now and hoping for a positive response on any of the apartments i just contacted. we're going driving around to look at them tonight. i'm praying. okay.
i'm gonna finish this meat and stuff. also, we have potatoes in the oven.
love, ellen.

p.s. our invites will not be a post-card with pictures of us and something saying 'We've decided on forever and forever begins when we {names of couple} are sealed for time and all enternity on {date} at {place & time all written out}' - serious invite Sean and I recieved. serious. guys, spell check. and let someone edit it for you.

68 days.

I have 68 days to get all my wedding planned and ready and also pack and move out. That doesn't seem like a lot of days. but it sometimes seems like forever away at almost the same time. I'm really excited for almost everything, but i think i'm trying to only have myself be over excited for one thing at a time. Not because not everything is interesting, exciting, or important, but because i am easily over excited and then i don't get anything done.

So right now, I'm excited to move. I can't wait to have my own apartment where i can cook and clean without worrying about roommates or stuff. I'm actually really excited to pack up my stuff and test out a new place. We're looking at a place nearer to UVU, which would be nice so i can get to my 8 o' clock sculpting class on time easier. Woo hoo!

Anyway, everything is great. I honestly couldn't ask for anything better. I'm runnin' late for work so i'll end this short update there. I'll probably post some pictures of progress and funny things next time. maybe like tomorrow.

Love, Ellen

The only thing I hate about...

is a thing i say too often. i don't know if that cancels things out or something, but i say it a lot.

it usually comes before things like

[The only thing i hate about]

-cinder blocks holding my bed up is that it kills when i stub my toe.

-living in Orem is the construction and driving.

-Dr. Who is that it's so dang addicting.

-singles ward is how singles-y everyone is.

-my dishwasher is that it's so cussin' loud.

-my cable is how slow channel-changing is.

-my job is how slow it's been all week.

-eating food is having to pay for it.

-shopping is not having any money for things i like.

but it's alright. i think these things and then i remember that i'd much rather it be like this. it could always be worse.

oh, i get to go home next weekend. it'll be nice to see my house again. and hang out with abby.

AND school starts tomorrow! I'm so so so nervous. i can't believe it's already here! i have to be to classes on time and i have to plan each day individually rather than just going through the motions. whatever those would be... I thought i should give you a little peek around

my flat. the pics aren't the best, but you get the gist.

This is a thouroughly blurry view of my living room. that bright light in the back is my patio. and my sofa and love seat and my roomie's bike and our nice tv.

This is my kitchen, fully equipped. that cupboard that's open is mine.

and this is a close-up of my cupboard. nice and full of goods and edibles, like it should be.

this is my desk and dresser, minus my laptop. but there's my printer and my lamp and my movies and lotions and chair. the norm, i spose.

this is my bed and my posters and that orange thing in the corner is my bean bag chair. and yes, i brought my pillowpet to college. don't judge.

and that's all, she wrote. or something. now i'm watching the regeneration of david tennant into matt smith!! sorry. i know. doctor who is addicting, like i said. and once i catch all the way up, it'll slow down, i promise.

maybe.

love, ellen.

"I'm the Doctor, this is [Ellen]"

haaaah. i love Doctor Whoooooo!!!! It's really all i've had to do lately aside from shopping and waiting at stoplights. seriously, there's a million stoplights and SO many people. and, by the end of the week, there's going to be a billion more peeps and the traffic will be gnarly.

Oh! And i start real work tomorrow! yay! And i might start hanging out with real people! this is getting a lot better.

Anyway, back to the Doctor. I LOVE David Tennant! and i can't wait to see Matt Smith as the next Doc. (hah. i know. But seriously, the next Doctor is played Matt Smith.) But first, i've gotta watch like 6 seasons worth, maybe? i'm just finishing up the last bit of Season 2. Poor Rose is Dead. well.. in the real world she's dead but she's living with her once-dead father and once-dead mother or something in a parallel universe. Anyway, i'm not sure if i want her gone yet or not, but i definitely love David Tennant.

uhm this apartment is awesome, though. i've got a pool and everything (haaaaaaaah i accidentally just typed poop and everythinging. hah. i hope you chuckled. if not, eh.) and my own room and it's great. and i eat food and yeah.

I dunno... there's not a billion to say, really. Oh, I hung out with a good old friend yesterday. It was cool. we did mall-y things and walmart things and sitting and it was fun.

He just saved this chick, Donna, who was on her way to her wedding and he gave her this ring to save her from the peeps or robots, rather, who were chasing her and he said "With this ring, I thee bio-dap." and i laughed and laughed. it's so great.

Anyway, cool. And that's my update.

love, Ellen.

So... What's New?

oh, yeah. EVERYTHING. I'm in a new city with new people in a new ward and i start a new job tomorrow and a new school the week after that and i have to make new friends and yeah.

That's about all... jk. that's never all.

When i first moved in, i was terribly nervous. i was basically shoved off a cliff into the canyon called "the real world" by adults. and i only broke down 3 times. But it was alright. Even after the first night i began sleeping better. i called my mom twice yesterday and i'm gonna talk to her soon.

Well. so far, i've been shopping, watching loads of Dr. Who, exploring slash getting lost, and today i went to church. omy. I love church but a singles ward is a whole heaping helping of different. I'm already giving my first talk in church next week on service. basically, it'll go like this "Hey everyone, I'm incredibly young and i have no point of reference aside from high school." so that's good. At least people are nice and they talk to me and aren't put off by my youth.

So here's my adventures of today, minus the boring stuff hoping. I went to church. I went in and sat by a girl who was alone and it was cool. then these other chicks came and sat by us. After sacrament, i follow the girl to Sunday School. Turns out, she's engaged and she introduces me to some other girls. We go in, sit down, say a prayer and they kick all the noobs out to "get their picture taken" which translates to filling out a noob paper, pictures, and a meeting with one of the bishopric and get a calling to speak in church next week. wow. they waste no time here....

Then, after all that hullabaloo, comes Relief Society. And guess what the topic is on in my singles ward. Marriage. so cool. It was a good lesson, though. And Hayley, who was the teacher, gave everyone "object lessons" aka ring pops. which was delicious. anyway, after RS, there was a "munch n' mingle" which was delicious spaghetti and meatballs and drinks. i chatted a bit and then came home and watched Dr. Who, texted Erin, fb'd Morgan Stewart, called Mom, and ate some food.

Then i went to a fireside in which the Gov'na was speaking and his wife. it was so interesting, i almost fell asleep. the guy next to me did, i think. It was good, i promise, i've just been not sleeping well yet. After that, i drove around a bit and found a park and a trail i think liz was telling me about.

I came back and then went over to the ward prayer. which was interesting. I talked to some people, found my place on a well-drawn map, and almost choking to death on a cookie (that really was delicious but i'm just terrible at stupid things like eating without looking like a fool).

then i came home, called my mom and then now i'm on the couch typing this sucker and watching the telly.

and that's all. i have some cool things to do this week, aka starting work and i've got some plans with Morgan, i think. so that's cool. Oh, and i have a pool so i can swim whenever. hoowah.

Oh, and i Love this guy:

hoo wah dr. whoooo. awesome. watch it sometime. that's all i've been doing.

okay,

Love, Ellen-not-Degeneres