Day 8: Hair

Most days I'm really lazy with my hair. The amount I care about it and frequency in which I style it correlates with its length, however, and my hair is just about as long as it's ever been, at least since middle school. I kept it fairly short all through high school, and aside from the occasional dying or crimping I didn't do anything beyond a side clip or a pony tail.
Without fail, every single time I go get my hair trimmed (I only trim it unless I'm planning a dramatic cut) whoever cuts it is like "Omg, you have sooooo much hair!!!!1!!"
I fucking know, okay? Jesus, I live with this Amazon forest every day. The last time I had my hair dramatically cut (12 inches off for Locks of Love) the woman had to get these enormous shears that looked like they were for branches just to slice through my pony tail. I get it. But they continue to tell me.

If it's not huge and sturdy, my hair will break it.

So I have a lot to work with. And lately it's this giant curtain that gets in my way when I do anything. Every time I wash it it sheds all over the place. So for the past few months I've been looking for nice looking ways to get it out of the way, because I'm really bored with just putting it up. I like the way it looks when it's crimped (see largest picture) and clipped back, but if it's not the right size it won't hold hardly anything.
So I looked into braiding this summer. I've never really understood french braiding, and I still can't do the against the head tight braids, but I did learn the basic braid (top right). I usually have to do it more than once. How did I learn? YouTube, of course.
Second on the right is the easiest type of braid to learn, in my opinion. The fish braid. This I can do really quickly. Apparently, though, it makes me look like an Indian, because my hair was like this when a not-so-educated wife said I "looked like I was from Arizona."
The last style is my favorite but can be kind of a pain in the ass. It's a sock bun, also a style I learned from YouTube. A quick written tutorial:

1. Find an old sock you don't want anymore. Use the length and thickness of your hair to determine the length and thickness of the sock.
2. Cut off the bottom where the toes go.
3. Roll it into a doughnut shape.
4. Make your hair a little damp; it's much easier this way. Spritz it, comb it with water, whatever.
5. Put your hair into a pony tail; put the doughnut on it and slide it to the end of your hair, leave about two inches.
6. Curl the end of your hair around and into the doughnut sock.
7. Roll it up, distributing your hair around the sock as you go so it doesn't show.

It should make a nice neat bun. My problem with it is it starts to come undone, and as for pinning it I haven't discovered a way that doesn't look a little weird. The fun part about it is though, if you can make it a little damper than usual, put your hair up higher and make it stay, if you sleep on it it gets all curly when you take it out. It would probably be better to do two separate buns on either side, though.

I advise just wandering YouTube when you type in "hair tutorial" or something, it's kind of fun and people have some cool ideas.

Day 7: Working Out

I'm really trying to dedicate myself to some physical activity for at least 15 minutes a day, but my goal is 40 minutes to an hour. I started doing a whole lot more than usual last week and am trying to keep it up, but starting is half the battle. Lately if I don't start by 4pm I close my internet browser, turn on some music and get on the trampoline. Once I'm sweating a little it lets my body know that yes, this is happening. Work out starts now.
As I mentioned in my last entry I don't like working out in public. I also get bored of the same thing fast. At this point, though, I have a lot of things to help me that I just rotate into when I'm feeling bored:

1. Michael's handbook of Army exercises. I've memorized a few but when I find myself standing there wondering what to do I crack into it and find something I'm comfortable with.

2. Wii Fit Plus. Although I don't actually turn it on and play with it as often as I used to, I memorized yoga poses and exercises from this too.

Sideways Leg Lift

Single Leg Twist

I do these two exercises every time I work out, but I hold 2-5lb weights and double the reps. One works your side muscles and the other works your abs. And of course it's a balance challenge, too. The yoga poses I do are the Palm Tree pose and the Sun Salutation, usually at the start and end of working out.

3.Just Dance 3. Ever since the TV burnt out I haven't wanted to play this because I like it on bigger screens. I guess that's kind of spoiled of me. But seriously this is the most active game in the series and one or two songs is enough to get you breathing faster and starting to sweat. However if I've already done a work out this really kicks my ass. I think I also needed a break from it because I was getting a little tired of the songs.

4. The things around the house. Weights, a punching bag, a soccer ball, the trampoline, a stretching rope, and a weighted jump rope are all at my disposal. I don't necessarily utilize them all when I work out (the minimum is trampoline and weights) but it's cool having it all to choose from.

There's also a pretty good chance we're getting an eliptical and later on a giant 12' trampoline for the yard. I'm really stoked about the first one; we've been talking about it for a while and we had to hunt around to find a good one with level options. I think it'll really whip me back into shape as long as I can keep at it.

I've been able to lose ten pounds at a time when I really try, but I'm hoping for twice that. It'll probably take some time, which sucks because I'm sure I'm not the only person who wants to see results fast. I've started a personal weight loss blog, just for me, and am taking pictures every time I work out so that gradually I can actually see myself change. I also jot down whatever exercises I do and how long it all takes.

The more I work out the better I feel, and if I skip a day or two I start feeling really terrible. As long as I can start again I'm back on track. Definitely working out later today!

Day 6: Things You Want

I skipped the weekend because we were fairly busy hanging out with our new neighbors and friends who live on base. By the end of the weekend I was socially exhausted and wanted everyone to leave. I ended up hiding in front of the computer making .gifs and watching Sucker Punch.

I'm just not very good at being social sometimes.

Anyway, here are some rational things I want in my life:

1. An animal, preferably a Corgi. I left a household full of cats and Michael left a household full of dogs and cats, and now that we're here the house seems really empty. Whenever we come home we feel like we should be greeted by something happy to see us. Apparently Michael's mom had been trying to track down a puppy for me but couldn't find one, and was also hindered by the fact that we're not necessarily allowed to have pets according to the lease. I wish they just hadn't told me, but when I thought about it taking care of a puppy while trying to move to a new place would've been hell.
We've been looking now and again for puppies in the area. It's kind of torture because I won't know if or when it'll happen. I'm not opposed to rescuing an older dog either, though.
...But I really want it to be a Corgi.
2. An elliptical machine. I know, fancy fancy. I've always had trouble going to any gym because I get really anxious. I don't like sweating in front of people, I don't like feeling watched, and I don't really want to pay to work out. Originally I was thinking of getting a treadmill, but it's pretty terrible on my knees and isn't good for you anyway. I think this want may also be fulfilled fairly soon, probably sooner than the Corgi.

3. A bigger hookah. We have a baby one but we use it all the time for sometimes up to six people. There's not a lot to choose from here, and if we want sheesha I have to go buy it myself because soldiers aren't allowed into certain smoke shops (since they usually sell marijuana related items), so if we do end up getting a bigger hookah it'll probably end up being from the internet. The same goes for the elliptical.
4. Michael wants to get a giant trampoline and some outdoor furniture which I'm definitely for. It gets really hot here, right around Phoenix hot so before it gets uncomfortable we'll probably be spending more time outside, and I guess the more stuff we have to exercise with the better. I always end up thinking, though, that stuff like this is gonna be a bitch to put away and move when Michael gets stationed somewhere else at the end of the year. Ugh.
5. I want a nice long vacation back in Arizona. Unfortunately Michael can't do something like that until he's done with training. That doesn't mean I can't go home by myself, but it makes me a little sad to think about. It's looking like I'll end up staying to go to Supai for a whole week but Michael can only stay for a few days. I'm still thinking about it. Really I just want us to live in Arizona or even California. Just closer. I want to be able to go camping on the weekends with friends and family, take trips and all that stuff.

Some more irrational things:
1. Like every other night I think about having superpowers before I go to sleep. I imagine some powerful being visiting me and giving them to me just to see what I would do. I want to be able to teleport so I can go home, to morph, to create things, to control elements etc. I've seen too many superpower movies.

2. I want to travel around Japan seeing some of the smaller cities. I made an entry about it a long time ago when I did my first blog challenge over a year ago. What's crazy is there's a chance we'd get stationed there. It would be both really exciting and heart wrenching to live in a place I've always wanted to see but be on the other side of the world from what I consider home. It's a great opportunity, though, no doubt about that. I could actually dedicate myself to learning Japanese and really experience the culture. I would buy things to send to people, too.
3. An enormous flat screened HD TV with some crazy ass stereo surround sound system. It sounds really greedy and that's because it is. But I love movies and I love seeing movies on big screens, and every time I walk by one of those really big TVs in a store that cost over a thousand dollars I can't help imagining it in my living room. But there are so many more important things to buy and having an enormous TV is pretty low on the importance/practicality scale.
4. I also always hope to meet someone recognizable in person. JennaMarbles, Angelina Jolie (though I would be too shocked to say anything intelligent), Ellen Page, someone from the cast of Harry Potter...just someone I know, whether from the internet or films. On top of that it would be cool to actually hang out with them as opposed to just seeing them in passing, assuming they'd be up for it.

Other stupid little things my greedy heart desires:
-a new cell phone
-an XL Nintendo DS
-the new Rune Factory game, a Viva Pinata game and the new Cooking Mama game
-a fancy new car
-a new wardrobe
-to dye my hair blue without employers caring
-more tattoos

When a lot of people get things, they usually get bored with them and want more things, myself included. I've gotten a lot of nice new stuff in the last few months and here I am making a list of more things. It's kind of pathetic. "The things you own end up owning you," right Tyler Durden? At the end of the day I try to ignore all this wanting because I have enough as it is, really. I'm lucky.

Day 5: Opinions

My "I don't know I don't really care" face.

When it comes to those things a lot of people consider important and are passionate about, I tend to just shrug my shoulders. I don't like to watch the news, because then I think the world is ending, and when it comes to being informed I find a lot of things through the internet or close friends.
Even then my attitude is usually "what am I going to do about it?" I'll sign the occasional petition (because internet censorship is wrong, m'kay?) but for the most part I stay in my own little bubble. I realize that's not the greatest way of looking at it, but I do gain a little bit more interest in the world as I get older, so I search out information when I want to know it.
The problem I have when I do that, however, is there are so many opinions and biased information and people arguing that I get overwhelmed and give up. People get so crazy over things that to me seem like common sense but apparently have a lot of possibilities.
The latest thing that's gotten my attention and made me say "woah, I need to pay more attention to the world" was the day I tried to go to my favorite torrenting site, btjunkie.org and discovered that my faithful reliable friends had voluntarily given up because basically they thought they'd be shut down anyway. I was so not okay with this. I noticed a few other sites protesting censorship, and started feeling genuinely upset about something for the first time in a while. But aside from putting my name on some petitions, what else can I do besides mourn the loss of a site that allows me to steal music, movies and games? Is it better this way? I don't think so but I'd like to decide that for myself, please.

The other topic that gets me really upset and passionate is religion. I grew up being really annoyed with church and stopped going when I was twelve. I checked out Wicca for a while but I realized quickly that it was silly. Then I had this very very Christian "friend" (it was complicated, I don't feel like going into it) who convinced me to try Christianity again. So I did, and it stuck for a few months but one day it just hit me how stupid it felt to just believe and accept things like that. And no matter how nice these people seemed, if you did something against their beliefs they said you were going to hell, or that that thing your family member is doing instead of Christianity is a cult and they were going to hell too. It got really really personal and I got angry and never went back.
It's not like I'm an Atheist. I just think it's wrong to so firmly believe that you're right just because you were raised to think so. I don't think anyone is right and I wish everyone was neutral and just said "oh well, I guess we'll never know." But no, they have to take this big telephone game that is The Bible and take it literally and assume it's totally correct and holy despite the fact that it's been filtered down, chopped up and re-written.
Like Twilight, I did some reading and researching so I know what I'm talking about when I completely bash religion. And if you're offended by this, I'm not really that sorry. Just don't try to talk to me about it because it will get ugly or I'll shut down and change the subject. It just makes me really upset when someone tries to convince me that Christianity is right and that I "need God in my life." If God is so forgiving and accepting and "everywhere," he won't mind me living out my life and talking to Him about it later when all is said and done. I won't worry about it till then.

That's just about the only thing I can rant about for a long period of time. Abortion? It's my body, fuck off. Gay Marriage? Yes, I believe they can do marriage better than some of the couples these days. Gender equality? Of course, and I hate the way media continues to brainwash us into thinking we're supposed to look and act a certain way. A lot of people are catching on, but there are still those who go along with it.

As for politics, it's one of those topics that every time I try to get informed I have no idea what to believe and feel stupid sticking to something so I just don't. Obama seems like a nice man but everyone is really mad at him. But Bush kind of fucked things up before him and left him to sort things out. Who am I to judge, it sounds like the hardest job in the world. No matter what you do you're going to piss some people off.

He can't be that bad of a person...

 I don't know who to vote for and I don't really care. I should care a little more, but I don't.

I do get offended by stubborn people who won't just move forward with the rest of us. Just legalize marijuana, let gay people get married and let women make their own decisions, what's so hard about that? Marijuana does more good than harm, gay people are adorable and deserve rights and if you don't have a uterus you shouldn't be telling people what to do with them. Duh. But not everyone thinks so, I guess.

I don't know, when it comes down to it all I can really say is whatever. We'll see what happens.

Day 4: Tattoos

I got my first tattoo at 17. My mom decided we would both go for our birthdays, since they're three days apart.
In hindsight I probably should've waited, but I don't think I would've been able to afford some of the tattoos I got Senior year.
I was set on the idea for this wrist tattoo. I had been playing the cello for a few years and really loved it, and the bass clef represents the key the music was in. It kind of says "music is the key to my heart," as gay as that is.
To be honest I had another motive for getting this tattoo. A "friend" at the time (one of those friends I used to have that's kind of mean and not a good friend) scoffed when I told her the idea because I couldn't possibly have the pain tolerance for it.
So. I fucking showed her. It's a good thing it wasn't the only reason and I did design it myself, but I think of that just about every time I look at it. It did hurt but I didn't pussy out or cry.
Damn right.

The next tattoo I got had a similar theme, and at the time I thought I wanted to keep that theme going. I drew it myself, down to every dot. It's kind of cool having my own handwriting on myself. But it's sad that I don't really play music anymore, which is why I've been thinking about taking up a new instrument.
Music has always been more of a place to me, somewhere I go when I'm alone. Creating it is sometimes frustrating but rewarding when I find myself improving. I recently realized I'd sort of stopped listening to music as much, too. I'm trying hard to fix it, because that won't do. It may be one of the reasons I feel unmotivated and end up sitting in the same spot for hours in silence.
I got another tattoo the day I got this one done on my back, and another confession is I didn't really give any thought to it. I forget about it all the time, except when I'm scratching my neck and I feel the raised lines because the artist was really rough and anything he did healed terribly.

As I said in my favorites entry, I love keys. They mean a lot to me. At first it was sort of a fascination, then I thought more into and realized they were also a symbol. When I made this idea up on the spot (I'm not proud of it) I decided that two keys crossed would represent the importance of communication and family. It's still true.
Eventually I want to get a four leaf clover around them to remind me of my heritage. I don't want it too big though. The whole thing is supposed to remind me to value my family, stay in touch, and talk things out.
It's just funny because although I've pounded the message into my head, I forget about the tattoo entirely sometimes and am often surprised to see it in pictures.

These are my big pieces that I hope to continue down each of my arms. On one side I've got a traditional Japanese style and on the other I've got a newer colorful style. People always look at them and say "Never forget what?" or "is that from Naruto?" It's hard not to tell them to fuck off sometimes because people ask dumb questions.
The key with wings is based on a key chain someone gave me, and I was a little bothered by it when we weren't friends anymore, but then I saw several more people with the same key chain and finally dissociated it with one person. But another secret about this tattoo is I hated it when it was done. I hated the color. I wasn't sure why but I let the artist talk me out of grey and lavender like I originally wanted. Eventually I got red in the ribbon covered up with black to tone it down and I decided I liked it better after that.
But once some time went by and I wanted another tattoo, I switched artists. I discovered that the first guy I went to tattooed really hard and kind of overcharged. Everyone at the next place I went to was so nice and I started going there even if I wasn't getting anything just to hang out with them. So my next tattoo was the Ninetales, which my artist was super excited to do because it's a Pokemon. He mixed custom colors and made it look really pretty, no stencil involved. I researched this one a lot before I got it. Of course, Ninetales is one of my favorite Pokemon, but there's legit folklore behind it. Kitsune means fox in Japanese, and refers to the god that sometimes caused trouble and sometimes protected people, depending on whether you're in China or Japan.

After that I had a really cool idea for a tattoo. I saw a few pictures on the internet of people with tattoos that only showed up under a blacklight. It was right around the time the Harry Potter movies were starting to come to a close and being a huge part of my childhood I wanted to get something representing the series, but something unique.
The third book was my favorite. It was when the books started getting a little darker as the kids hit their teens. It was also when Sirius Black was introduced as well as a nifty tool called the Marauders Map.

Just looks like a blank scroll nowadays, you can't even see purple lines like you can in the picture when it was fresher. Under the light it reads "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." There's also a little paw print in the bottom left corner as an homage to Padfoot, or Sirius Black. He was my favorite :(
People always always ask me "what are you going to put in the scroll?" AHA, motherfuckers, there IS something there! And they're always really surprised. So, it's just a fun tattoo to have.
This entry is getting so long and I'm not even done! I have two more tattoos to speak of; another scroll on the opposite hip of my HP scroll that's more ribbon than scroll and says "Those who matter don't mind." Read about it here. The last tattoo I have is in Michael's handwriting and is on my feet. It says "every little thing/ gonna be alright" (split on my right and left). He was singing Three Little Birds to me before he left for basic, which pretty much reduced me to a puddle of tears because I was so scared. I told him the idea and he wrote the lyrics down for me the last day I saw him till he graduated, so it meant a lot to me. On those days I missed him terribly I just looked at my feet and took a deep breath. Out of all of my tattoos it was the one I was most excited about when it was finished.
I have big plans for future tattoos, and I'm kinda sad I didn't get the chance to get another one before I moved. I'm hesitant to find a new artist here because pretty much all of the tattoo parlors here look sketchy as fuck. I plan on getting things from my favorite Miyazaki movies, a pin up of Tank Girl, and my favorite flower.
Damn this turned out to be an incredibly long entry. But there it is!

Day 3: Guilty Pleasure Things

In middle school, sixth grade to be exact, I got really sick. I hardly ever got sick as a kid and still don't, so when I do it's either something I can get over quick or I'm vomiting everywhere and can't walk.
So this time I got sick my mom rented some movies for me since she had to go out. One of these was Sweet Home Alabama, a romantic comedy about a girl getting in touch with her twangy hoedown dancin' roots. It starred Reese Witherspoon, and since then for whatever reason every time I'm really sick or having a terrible day I put on a movie with her in it. Legally Blond (even the second one), Just Like Heaven, whatever.

Naturally Michael makes fun of me all the time for it. I don't care; I don't know what it is but this lady just comforts me. How can I feel completely 100% horrible when she's so perky and adorable? Sure she has kind of a funny face but she's good at what she does: making me feel less lonely and diseased. She's in a new movie called This Means War and there's a very high chance I'm adding it to my collection when I can.

 My other guilty pleasure at the moment is Neopets. I used to play it aaaall the time when I was like, ten years old, and even still played a little a few years later.
I don't know why, but I guess I was just really bored one day and got curious if it had changed much. It's too bad I couldn't get into my old account.
There's a few new Neopets and worlds and games, but it still pretty much functions the same way, and the things that were there before have hardly changed at all. Mostly I just like saving up money. I'll go and do all the silly daily stuff you can do, and in the two or three months I've been playing I just hit 200,000np in my bank.
Yeah it's pretty sad. But that's what this is about, guilty pleasures, so, thought I'd share.

I also eat way too much candy on a semi regular basis but that's pretty much a known fact.

And that's all folks!

Day 2: Favorite Things

I think it'll be interesting doing some of these days that I've sort of done before, because things change and therefore so do the answers to these kinds of questions. Although when it comes to favorites I have a few that will probably always be the same.

If you talk to me for an hour or so you'll immediately notice I love:

Bacon, Corgis, Keys and Blue Hair and Candy.

Those things haven't changed since I don't know when. They're practically personality traits at this point.

Other things I love and talk about with gusto:
♥The smell of rain.
♥Sunflowers and stargazer lilies. Tiger lilies are also pretty.
♥Ramune and other strange usually asian drinks. And mm, Thai tea.
♥Thai food, as well as Indian.
♥Candy. All kinds of candy. It's really hard to walk by a candy store and not go in. Michael had to push me away from the last one I saw.
♥The pillow I sleep with. Not the one I lay on.
♥Walking around my hometown at night in the summer.
♥Smoking hookah with my friends at home.
♥Sushi.
♥The movies Hook, Beetlejuice, Superbad, Mean Girls, and Jennifer's Body are some movies I can watch over and over again and never get tired of. I also love most Disney/Pixar films. Don't forget Miyazaki!
♥Music I love includes Protest The Hero, Clutch, Mindless Self Indulgence, Static X, Billy Talent, Lamb of God, Rammstein, and System of a Down.
♥Cute Japanese things.
♥Hello Kitty
♥Back stratches.
♥The Rune Factory game series is my absolute favorite.
♥Green tea ice cream.
♥Arizona sunsets.
♥Death Note marathons with the best friend.
♥Snack runs to Walmart in Prescott.
♥Chai tea and chai flavored things.
♥Cloves. I used to smoke clove cigarettes but now I just really love the smell. Also clove gum.
♥Tabby cats, and videos of cats doing silly things.
♥When Michael does something ridiculous to make me laugh.

And now enjoy some Clutch:

Day 1: Names and such

Old picture from Supai '09

Alrighty, best get past the usual stuff with this blog challenge.
Chloé (just like that, with the accent) is a name of Greek origin, not French, despite the accent on the E. The direct meaning is "green shoot," or I guess grass, which is lame, but it's also one of the names of Demeter. It's apparently a popular name in Australia and has definitely gained popularity since I was born.
I don't spell it differently and get really annoyed when other people can't spell it right. I do leave off the accent sometimes and don't worry about when other people do because it's just too small a thing to get angry about, especially if they can spell it right.
My middle name is Meagan-Rose but I try not to tell people because I kind of like it being a secret. It's hyphenated but apparently when I was born it was one of the nurses ideas because having two middle names was "too weird." I pretend I have two because my mom and grandmother don't have one at all.
I was Curry before I got married, my dad's last name, not my mom's, and am now Cook, one of many in Michael's enormous family and in the world. Curry was actually an Irish name but I've had people ask me if I'm Indian. No. Just no.
I have nicknames like Chlo, Chlobo, Chloboat, which are my favorites, and some that specific people use like Claudia and Coco. I tend to make usernames with my middle name and those first three nicknames involved.

And blah blah blah frequent readers know this stuff.
This other picture is today, right now, before I'm even finished with this entry. I just so happen to be wearing the same sports bra because I just worked out.
I'd really like to lose about 20 pounds and look more like I did in that first picture. I'm certainly not obese but I'm not in great shape either. Michael and I keep accumulating more athletic stuff and he's really encouraging so I'm hoping to get back on track and be at a good weight by June.

A Movie Review: The Secret World of Arrietty

I was naturally really excited when I heard about the new Miyazaki movie last year, and disappointed when I found out it wouldn't be released for another year in America. I forgot about it for a while, till a few weeks ago when I suddenly remembered and Michael had downloaded the Japanese version. We also went and saw it in English yesterday in theatres.

Miyazaki movies have always been really magical for me. They contain this epic adventure and always have a character or two I relate with. The last big movie, Ponyo, certainly didn't disappoint, and I used to watch My Neighbor Totoro as a child at the cabin my grandparents used to have. There are several Miyazaki movies that weren't as big that I haven't seen yet, but I vow I will.

The Secret World of Arrietty, if you haven't looked into it or seen it yet, is based on a classic tale called The Borrowers. Borrowers are very tiny people who mooch off of us giant people in a hardly noticable way. This is a story that's been done before; it was a book first and has since been made into at least one other film in 1997 and several TV movies. (Fun fact, in this 1997 adaptation Tom Felton played the youngest borrower.)

Although Miyazaki's adaptation definitely had his own flair thrown into this story, I was actually a little disappointed. I knew the story, and so I guess I was expecting Miyazaki to twist it somehow. There are differences for sure, like less borrowers and a not as sinister "villain," but overall it was missing something. I think it was that epic flair that's usually in my favorite Miyazaki movies. It was honestly a little bit boring at times, and you didn't get to see nearly enough of the Borrowing world with such a small family and only one outside Borrower. Maybe I was expecting too much, but with Miyazaki's reputation I really didn't think so.

As usual, there are annoying difference between the Japanese and English translations. The English voices were weird and they added unnecessary dialogue and even changed a few lines that personally I thought were important. Amy Poehler did the mothers voice and I think that bothered me the most. She's a comedian, and they tried to make her funny, but in the Japanese version she's a bit more worn down and humble. It just really bothers me when they do that sort of thing with foreign movies.

Don't get me wrong, it was a darling film and I did enjoy it, but not quite as much as I thought I would. I'm sure it's great for young children who don't know the story yet. I guess I was just too old for this one :( I look forward to Miyazaki's next project!

Something New: A 30 Day Challenge By Yours Truly.

I feel like this blog has lost a lot of structure and gotten fairly uninteresting. The only "exciting" things that happen now are when we get a new household item, which makes me feel really silly if I talk about it like it's the most awesome thing that's happened lately. So I wanted to do a new blog challenge, since I haven't done one in a long time. However, I can't really find any new unique ones, so....

I'm going to make one up. It might take me all day and I might do a few things I've done before in different ways, but I'm going to come up with something a little more unique to me. Feel free to follow it, that would be cool. I'm going to try to include at least one or two pictures or videos with each post.

1. Your name, nicknames, changes to your name (if any), favorite usernames and meanings behind them. Insert your favorite picture(s) of yourself.
2. Some of your favorite things. Smells, songs, food, movies etc. Why are they your favorite?
3. Guilty pleasure things/secrets. That thing you like that people might make fun of you for.
4. Tattoos you have, their meanings, and/or tattoos you want to get.
5. Opinions on those things everyone argues about, brief or not so brief, and any one or more topics. (Politics, religions, rights etc) i.e. Things you feel strongly about.
6. Things you want, rational and irrational. Places you want to go, famous people you want to meet and more.
7. Working out: things that work for you; things you should do vs. what you are doing etc. Get motivated!
8. Style your hair in at least four or more ways and take pictures. Do you ever do these styles on regular days or for occasions? 
9. Comfort things; what do you do when you're sick to feel better? What do you eat/watch/do when you're having a bad day?
10. Childhood things; traditions and things that take you back. Did you have a favorite stuffed animal? What kind of books did you read? What were your favorite movies?
11. The best day; describe a good memory or the elements of a good day. 
12. Your best traits and your worst habits. Personal struggles as well as accomplishments. Balance it out. 
13. Things you're addicted to. Foods, sites, shows, whatever. 
14. Your favorite meal of the day and the elements that make it perfect. Obviously, post lots of delicious pictures. 
15. Things that make you jealous, whether it's possessions or people. 
16. Things you can't let go of. 
17. Something (or things) you haven't done in a while that you would really like to. 
18. Your hobbies or hobbies you would like to pick up. 
19. Your significant other. How you got together, your favorite things about them and maybe even things that bother you at times. 
20. Things you don't like that other people do. It's ranting time. Be specific.
21. Things that make you laugh really hard. Include some youtube videos. 
22. Your favorite video games and/or board games/card games/party games. Also include your least favorite.
23. Songs from your childhood/teenage years. Post some 90's/ early 2000's songs that take you back/make you laugh etc. Talk about the memories attached to them. 
24. VLOG DAY: take a video of yourself for this! Pronounce the following words: Aluminium, salmon, talk, caramel, lieutenant, mirror, scone, nearly, bath, grass, near, bacon, beer can, again, been, garage, process, hot, coffee, thought, not, tomato, potato, cheese, cake, Barbie, fond, duck, dog, cat, fish, chips, milk, friend, fried, disenchanted, sleep, dream, state, cinema, last ,lost, Raxocoricopalavitorious, antidisestablishmentarianism, dance, aunt, copper, win, one, on, herbs, rotten. Where were you born?
25. Three completely unselfish wishes for other people, and three selfish just-for-you wishes.
26. Some things you always think about. Where does your brain go when you try to fall asleep? 
27. Things you wish you could do. Skills, traveling etc. Include a video or pictures.
28. If you absolutely had to go back and relive a part of your life (say, a few months), what would it be? Would you change something, knowing it would most certainly have an effect on your future? 
29. If you could see a day of your future somehow, would you take the chance? How far forward would you go? What do you hope you see? What do you dread to see?
30. Admit or confess something. 

Extra: If you got this from me and completed it, did you enjoy it? What were your favorite days? Least favorite? What did you have difficulty with and what was easy?

So that's that. I'll probably make a different post after this before I start.

Feeling More Adjusted

I haven't had much to write about as life here isn't all that exciting. Some of the small things that've happened lately include:
1. Our brand new TV burning out. Thankfully since it's so new it has a warranty, and the company is ordering a part for us. It's taking forever though, so it's been sitting in a corner for over a week now :( Thank goodness we have a backup TV.

2.  I got back into playing The Sims 2, and Michael decided to try out Warhammer. On top of that, we got a few new video games this weekend, including Beautiful Katamari. Not gonna lie, I'm sort of excited to sit and play it while Michael's at work.
3. We've gotten into the habit of having people over on the weekend. Our house was pretty crowded last night and we all played You Don't Know Jack and drank, and for the first time I felt the most at home since I was in AZ.

The next day we went to breakfast with two guys that stayed over and one of them bought a harmonica and started doing this in the backseat.
4. One of Michael's buddies is going to be our neighbor as of tomorrow morning. He has a wife and a daughter and one more on the way. I just met his wife and daughter and I think I'll like them.
5. We finally got chairs for our dining table. Woo! Mediocre housewife things!
6. We visited a Korean and Asian market, and although we found a few neat things it was a little disappointing. This town just doesn't have the things Prescott and Phoenix do, even though they try.
7. We decided we're going to have a big St. Patrick's Day party, so I'll probably end up blogging about that. I'd really like to make some green jello shots and get some decorations.

But see? Not that exciting. This weekend is a three day weekend for Michael, which is definitely nice, but some people are going home and I'm jealous. I'm really jonesing for Arizona. I just don't think I'm going to fall in love with Oklahoma in any way.
I'm also having this problem where I really really want a Corgi puppy more than anything, even though according to our lease we're not allowed to have animals. Being here has put me in yet another slump and I need motivation to do something. A job of any kind. A puppy would give me a reason to go outside and be cheerful when Michael's at work. That's my excuse anyway. I really just need to work somewhere or get an exciting hobby.

Mostly I'm Just Bored

I've been putting off another entry lately because I had another bout of homesickness and didn't want to spill it all over my blog and make an angsty little mess I'd probably end up deleting. It'll get better, I have time, and I can do things on my own time. I just need to remember those things.
Right now I'm in that phase I was when I first got to Phoenix; that up and down boredness that always leads to watching tv shows in long marathon stretches alone. Although this time it's not so bad because I do get to see Michael, and I'm hearing some word of a friend from home visiting very soon and this years Supai trip is already being planned, something which I definitely plan to go home for. So it's going to be okay.
Just for fun here are some weird things about living here:
►Michael getting up at 5am, and thus waking me up. I go back to sleep till he comes back at 7am, and back to sleep once he leaves till around 9am.
►We're so close to base I can hear faraway booms of artillery exercises, which sometimes sound like someone banging on the walls of another room. It was very unsettling for the first week.
►Since over half the town is populated by military families, everyone populates the same areas on paydays and weekends: Walmart, IHop, and the grocery stores on base. There's also a lunch time rush, so places like Chik-Fil-A have drive through lines that wrap around the building.
►The town ends abruptly if you go too far and turns into something resembling Chino or Wilhoit in Arizona.
►No soldiers are allowed into smoke shops and a few other places. That leaves me to buy tobacco for our mini hookah and Michael to buy any alcohol. (Neither of which we do that often.)
►The employees at the grocery store on base (known as the Commissary) will cart your bags to your car for you without question, which would be nice if you weren't obligated to tip them. It just makes it a bit awkward. We can do it ourselves, y'know?

Anyway I've gotten back into exercising at least fifteen minutes a day, and hope to continue doing more hardcore workouts on the weekends with Michael like we did last weekend. He showed me some exercises from the army and has a little handbook of them that I can use as a guide when he's not here, so I've been taking advantage of that.
When Michael's not home I watch The Big Bang Theory, Cardcaptor Sakura, and play Rune Factory Frontier or whatever other game I'm focused on.
The other day though, we started watching Misfits. I'd seen some .gifs from it but other than that I had absolutely no idea what the plot entailed, nor did I know it was from the UK, since any quotes I saw were pasted on someone silently mouthing them. Imagine my surprise when they all get struck by an ominous storm in the very first episode and it turns into the British Injustice League.
I'm pretty hooked, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I've already heard about most of the cast being replaced and the style changing and I'm worried I won't like it as much after that. We'll see! I have to wait for Michael to be home till I watch any of it, which is taking a lot of willpower. I may or may not have kept him up too late watching it last night.

I've tentatively started the job search, but like Prescott it's hard to find a place that isn't a fast food joint/restaurant or a place you need real qualifications for. I'm not quite sure what'll happen and I may have to settle for something unpleasant, but I'd really like to make some of my own money. Despite all the "we"ness of being married I can't fully accept that the money he's making with his job belongs to both of us. I should really get off my ass and do something about it.
I'm also seriously considering picking up a new instrument. I haven't consistently played something since high school, which makes me sad, and there are a few little music stores here that offer some unique instruments as well as lessons. The instrument I'm considering? The mandolin. Because I don't know anyone who plays the mandolin and since I have experience with string instruments already I wanted to pick up a more interesting one. It was between that or the banjo, which was a difficult choice to make. It's just something I've always wanted to do, yes, pick up a folksy instrument. I really hope I can get the chance to do it this year.

That's about all I can slap down right now. I've stretched it on long enough. 'Till next time!