And I Helped.

Today my parents made a million freezer meals (okay... 20 something... still a lot) and I helped a little.
Anyway, now my hands smell like garlic and it's really gross.
Good thing I have smelly lotions I can put on so they don't gross me out all night.

Also, I feel like I should put this here because I felt beautiful yesterday (not a first, but not always something I feel) and decided to document it.

I think it's really important for everyone to feel beautiful once in a while. I know I have my days where I show up to work at 6 am and then around 9 I finally look at myself in a mirror and think "I seriously looked like that for 3 hours and didn't do anything about it?" But there are plenty of days where I come home from work and realize that I don't even need that second shower because my hair looked just fine and my makeup was still good and all I need is a change of clothes and I'm good.

I know for a fact that no one sees as many flaws in oneself as they do (sense?). I could tell you plenty of things in this picture that I'm not a hundred percent happy with, but I could also name plenty more that I'm in love with.

Cons:
I have zits
My hair needs a trim
I should smile better
I own too many grey sweaters
etc.

Pros:
I have pretty eyes
I like how my hair curls
I have a cute face
I like my cheeks
I look good in grey sweaters
I can pull off almost any color of lipstick
etc.

See? I know that Even behind all the things I hate, there's a thing I love. I just need to look past the zits and hair problems sometimes and be glad that I have all the things I like.

This ended up being a lot longer than I thought it was going to be. Originally I was just going to post my selfie and tell you about my garlic hands... Hmm. Maybe someone needed to hear this.
love, Ellen

May 4: Quoted

self-explanatory and delightful. 

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I got my hair cut off today. I am so happy with it! It's going to be so nice for summer and it really makes me look sophisticated, i think.

before: 

after:

That's all for today.

love, Ellen

May 3: Discomfort

I don't get uncomfortable very easily. Whenever awkward situations happen, I can shrug it off pretty well but there is one thing that will get my goat every time no matter what. Feet. I can't stand them. They are just ugly and smelly and weird-shaped and toes and... I just don't like them. I hate when guys wear flip flops. Girls' feet aren't as bad, but mens' feet are gross. I hate even more when they wear flip flops and long pants. One or the other, guys. Seriously.

There are a couple other things that unsettle me, too: heights, chalkboards, and hoarders, to name a few. But I think the worst is when someone takes their shoes and socks off and touch me with their feet. Even if they're too near food I get grossed out.

That's enough feet talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GUESS WHAT. I get my hair cut tomorrow morning. I'm so excited! I'm also a little nervous and so is Sean because I haven't had short hair for so long. Good thing he's stuck with me forever! hah. love. 

I made a date night jar. It's going to be fun. Most of the things in there are things we'd do anyway but sometimes Sean pulls out the "It's your day" card and I want to punch a wall. Not really... but this jar will hopefully fix all the things! 

That's all. 

love, Ellen

May 2: Know It All

On Saturday, I'm getting my hair cut off. I'm going from 10 inches to maybe 2 or 3 inches at it's longest. I really can't wait. 

Here is how you cut your hair (for all of you interested in getting it off but still nervous about what it would look like):

1: Find a look that you like and think you could do in 5 minutes in the morning. A good way to go about doing this is pinterest search or google "short hair cuts for women" and then browse through your options. 

2: Set a goal to do it. The last time I cut it all off, I just up and did it. This time, however, it was a little bit harder because I had worked so long and hard to get my hair to be long. A good end date for your goal might be something like a: When school ends, b: When I run out of shampoo, c: Saturday, etc.

3: Make an appointment with your barber. This is crucial because you shouldn't be doing such drastic things to your hair without the help of a professional. Also, make sure it's someone you trust and have been to before. It's a big deal for you and you don't want some beauty school amateur chopping at your scalp with scissors. (No offense intended, beauty school people) Another thing, you want to tell your barber that it might take a while so they can schedule enough time to get it right.

4: Take a copy of the photo you previously found and give it to your barber. This helps solidify your idea and make you look fabulous. 

5: Sit back and relax. For me, getting a haircut is the most relaxing massage ever. And then when your hair cut is finished...

6: Ta da! New hair! A fresh start for your hair and an easy way to cool down in the summer. Enjoy!

love, ellen

Adventure Time

Sorry I've been away so long... It was finals week and stuff. But I haven't gone anywhere, just busy.

So last week was finals. Guys... I'm GRADUATED! My diploma should be coming in the mail any day now. YAY! Now I'm just going to keep working at the library cafe for a few more months and then I'll be finding an adult job. Yeah, baby! Look who's all grown up. It's me.

That first part about not having gone anywhere isn't totally true. Sean and I decided to take a Saturday to go explore a national park - Bryce Canyon. It was so gorgeous and full of cliffs... I was terrified. However, Sean and I went on 2 hikes about a mile long apiece. The first one went along the edge of the canyon and you could see right down into the vast expanse. On the second hike, we went down into the canyon a ways and went under an arch and through a crevasse. Although it was super tiring, it was way fun!

As you're sure to find out within the next milliseconds, Sean really had fun with the panorama capabilities on my phone (HTC Radar)

 This is down. See? Cliffs. So scary.

 check out this majestic view!

This one was from our hike down in just before we turned around and started to head out.

See! Gorgeous.

One more thing, next Saturday... I'm finally getting my hair cut! perfect for the summertime. I can't wait to get all this weight, I mean hair off my shoulders! It's going to be so cute! I'll post before and after pics (if i can remember to take one just before..).

Okay, I gotta get ready for church!
love, Ellen

I'm back! and some other stuff.

So I tried out the wordpress thing for a while but I don't think I actually like it. I like my format and background stuff here... idk how it's going to work after blogger calls it quits for realzies but I'm just going to see what happens here until then.

I haven't posted generally anywhere in a while. It's been pretty hectic at work and school with it being the end of the semester and with me graduating and all... Anyway, I apologize and stuff.

Recently, I've been thinking so much about cutting my hair off. All of it. Here's my hair as it is now straight:

And here's what I want to do:

Note that I've had it that short before. It's not scary to me to get it cut off, but I just feel so determined to grow it out as long as I can stand it. My last real cut was 2 Decembers ago. Anyway, I'm getting antsy to get it off and I was hoping for some input. Should I keep going or should I wait until May and cut it then?

Some other things that have been on my mind... I don't know why necessarily, but I've been listening to Motion City Soundtrack's Even If It Kills Me album all week. It's really a great album and it's been on repeat on my phone since Monday. I've been especially enamored with this song:

I'll confess to a bathroom dance party to this song while taking the above selfie. I just love it. 

I can't wait until June when Sean and I are going to a family reunion in MN. It's going to be so fun! I can't wait to hang out with his family again and see the Mall of America and go to a Twins Game! I can't wait to get away! I've been itching to just pack up somethings and go somewhere. I love driving for hours and being somewhere different. And I can't wait to move up North this summer! Yay, new places! 

Okay, I think that's enough for today. 

Have a great day!

love, Ellen. 

so today...

i got a haircut! yeah. i'm addicted to haircuts.
I won this one at a charity auction in my ward and it was done by my friend Heather.
it.is.so.cool.
here's a picture.

cute, right!? pretty short but i've had shorter. my mom would like it. (hi, mom!) and she will when i see her on THURSDAY!
now to go to work.
adios amigos!
-ellafella

not going to throw up.

maybe. let's just say i've got news.

Good news: i'm done with my finals! except one online one. that's wednesday-thursday. and it's environment. pukey.
news: i might have some good boy stories coming up. how soon? no one can tell... or maybe they can. i'm sure some can. and then sometimes i'm like "eh.." and others i'm like "aaaaahhh!"
Other news: CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HEEERRREEE! guess how excited i am. 100000%.
i'm still stuck on the boy news. i'm just. ahhhh. and ahahhhhhhhh. and like. ahehhhhhhahhh. you know? aahhhghhhhh
let's see some other things.. christmas...
oh! haircut. i'm getting one. it might look like this:

minus the purple. whadya think?
idk. i'll post a pic sometime. ahghhha.
ok. ok. i'm going to bed now. sleep in tomorrow! hair cut at 2. work at 4. date with Jayme at 9. awesome.
love ellen.

Oh, boy...(s)

"Wanna hear my boy problems?" was another idea for this blog title.. but i went with this so yeah.
And i got my hair cut! it's pretty awesome. once i get a chance, i'll upload a pic and stuff. rad.
now to the boys!

k. I told you bout that guy with the asking for my number? so yeah. basically, after that, i got sick (like ill sick). so cool. and i'm just having trouble convincing myself to go on this one date with him. I will. but i don't want a relationship. at all. because i'm still trying to get the hang of college and stuff - trying to figure myself out as well. I don't wanna break the guy's heart, but i also don't want to break my own life. or something.. pretend that was inspirational or something. k rad.

also.. i have a crush on this guy from my English class. and (i'm not a creep, promise) i found out his last name from our class roster. what a lovely thing! and, basically, it's going no where. but that's okay! like i told my mom, crushes are better than broken hearts.

Luckily, i got to lay out all my boy problems on my mate who went to hair-cut with me. What a nice guy. and i've been able to get a lot of good advice from my boss and my co-workers and my mommy and Erchap. so that'll be good. I'm so lucky to have such nice and understanding people in my life!

Also, this is me sitting at home on a friday night. I'm watching an old fave - "AFV IS OOOONNNNNN" (something we used to say in my house a lot when i was a kid, with it being my fave show and all...) and i have some things to do tomorrow. like a "tranning meeting" (aka a training meeting - my boss doesn't know how to spell very well and we like to kid around) and an RS dinner and broadcast. And I think an old friend from home and I are going to do something. Yay! I think it'll be fun.

okay. that's enough for now.
love, Ellen.

It all happened so fast...

foreal. i know i just posted like yesterday, but i feel this day needs a little more recognition.

So today:

I run late for class. My flatmate was in the shower and i needed to be. then i was sort of an idiot and drove past my turn. then i got to class (like 2 minutes late) and the teacher hadn't come in yet. we took a quiz, i talked to him about the state of my group project (no bueno) and then i went to french. normal. had a laugh. went home for lunch and some studying. back to school for Lit class. almost fell asleep... i've been so tired lately... eh. change, go to work. do some work stuff...
(here's the (first) good part) then get asked if i wanna "grab a bite sometime" from this guy in my lit class who has a goatee and likes punk rock and wears a newsies hat every day. so i give him my number and the rest of work is so... uuuughhh. so long and busy but boring. the norm, i spose.
Then i call mom and talk to the whole fam about it (minus abby. she was in the tub and when i called her back something happened and blah.) did my homework, watched tv, chatted with Erchap and planned a haircut trip with Matt B. and then i change and go to FHE. I chill and chat and watch some crazy exciting marshmallow wars rage. then we go to del taco. turns out my home teachers are hispanic and black and cook a meal for me. sah-wheat! at del taco we chill and bring up too many innuendos (seriously) and my wardie-with-a-beard says he likes Dr. Who. oh, my awesome. chat chat laugh laugh. come home, finish my homework, chat with flatmates, plan my envt group thing (finally.... sheesh) and then my new glasses from Zenni Optical come! wooooooo!

 and i get a cool AP-i'm-awesome certificate deal. rad rad raaaad. and i go to bed, basically. well.. i will. awesommme. seriously rad day.

heartslash ellafella

Milestones... yeah!

so. I've hit this milestone. called 415 page views. and 7 for-real followers (i know those of you who check this puppy out and aren't really following it. it's okay, i forgive you. maybe you can make up for it in comments?)

Also this milestone called less than 4o days till i move out. sob sob sad, yeah. To say i was stoked to move out would be a lie. but so would saying i don't want to. I think i'm at that happy medium which is called i'm okay moving out even though i know it's going to be tough and i won't be able to see my mommy and daddy and abby every day and my roommates probably won't be as entertaining as them even though i'm judging them before i even met them. yeah. i haven't met my roommates.... which is kind of stressin' but whateves. i'm sure they're wise and cool and i won't hate them. either i won't hate them or i'll def be spending a lot of my time online or at the pool or at a cool job i'll get...

i'mma go chill with my landlady's fam tomorrow! (or today. you know me and late-night blogging...) we's gonna eat yummy food (pipikaula, maybe?) and play games, probably. and Kahi will probably beat us up with his new swords (don't worry, my mom and i tested them on each other and they're not painful.) and bubbles and it's gonna be great. i just have to get through church first. blah blah

oh! and a cool thing. I'm dying my hairs on probably monday. I'm going a light light brown (more like a darker blonde...) and i hope it looks good. and gets rid of this pretty ugg-o pink thing happening that used to be purple. yeah... eh. but yeah.

AND AND AND. i kinda wanted to save this for later in the post because it's the best part. and maybe you didn't read all the middle part and just skipped to the part where in big caps letters it says : I GOT A SWEET NEW LAPPY FOR COLLEGE! because it's seriously awesome. like the air vent is on the side so i can set it on my bed without it dying! and it's tons tons tons faster. it's a toshiba and it's new and it's got a 15.6 inch screen and a 10 key and a web-cam and a cool book store thing and google chrome and a fancy track-pad and boatloads of memory... rock on.

it's just black. but i got a snazzy new case for it to keep it safe in my backpack at college when i'll carry it to class because the battery lasts longer than 45 seconds! more like 6 hours!!! oh, i'm so happy with it. so so much. ugh. this makes college seem a lot better. plus parentals are paying the first month's payment to pay me for my laptop for Abby. and it's only $60 a month. for 6 months. so awesome.

All's i gotta do is buy books, pack, check my uvlink thing often to make sure i'm still good to go, and i'm good to go to college! except i just looked at my overall estimated cost for the year and it's waaaay more than i was hoping. but i bet i can do this. it's for the whole year, not just the first month... the first month will probably be the hardest though. lalala great.

this has been another post that probably would be better written down in a journal but i only use my journal to write about my day by the wonderful (narcissistic a little bit) me.

love, elle camino