WHY AM I SICK AGAIN?!

I have strep. *Jules cries a little.* I've never had strep before, but I'm not a fan of Strepto and his band of Cocci's, as I've decided to call them. Here they are:



They just decided to move in and make themselves at home in my throat without permission. Normally, I'd try to find a way to put up with them first, and then lovingly kick them out, but right now I'm trying to find a way to plot my revenge--I want to make them suffer!! You see, I'm trying to move out this week while going to school and teaching piano lessons. I don't have time to be sick.

So, I'm hoping Strepto dies a horrible death and decides never to return. The good side to all of this: Now that I have a diagnosis for my illness, I feel justified in staying home from school until I feel better. That will help in the war against strep, for sure.

Quote of the Day: It's no longer a question of staying healthy. It's a question of finding a sickness you like. --Jackie Mason

Back from Burley

I hurt. Ha ha. I just got back from a trip to Idaho, and I injured my neck and back in an unfortunate incident involving Nick Kanno, the park, and jumping. It was actually really funny to watch as I flipped over these bungee cord things and landed on my head. I'm fine, besides being sore and having some cuts on my face from wood chips. You just feel stupid more than anything else: Here I am, 21 years old, and I manage to hurt myself while playing "Lava Monster" in the park. Oh dear. I wonder how I have made it through life without breaking a bone. I am seriously so accident prone!

Oh well, besides one minor accident, our road trip to Idaho was another success. Any road trip with Griff is going to be entertaining, I've decided. Highlights:

--Floating down the Snake River. It is in Beka's back yard, after all.
--Climbing up to Bath Rock at the City of Rocks.
--Playing at Lake Cleveland.
--The rodeo.
--Meeting Ana, the German exchange student living at Beka's house. Ha ha. I asked her what the stereotype of Americans is in Germany and she said, "Short skirts and lots of partying." Whoohoo!!
--Listening to Griff sing "Seasons of Love" from Rent.
--Rock Skipping Championship
--The movie "Stardust." It was awesome!


All in all, it was a fun swan song for the summer. I will miss you, Summer. Take care of yourself until next year.

Red!

I bought some very impractical high-heeled red shoes today, and I love them. :-) I used to always get red shoes when I was a little, and I guess I'm reverting back to my childhood or something. I keep getting more and more girly with time. Anyway, the shoes are ridiculously high and now I look like a monster, but I don't care. *Jules clicks her shoes together and says, "There's no place like home."*

Thoughts

Here are a couple of thoughts for today. First of all, I realized that I never wrote any tribute to my dear friend, Harry Potter. The 7th book is amazing, and if you haven't ever gotten in to the Harry Potter series, I suggest you read them. (And I mean, really read them. Don't just watch the movies because they aren't nearly as fun. ) And, if you really don't like reading, I will come and read them to you. Seriously! I've done it before.... So, if you need someone to read it to you, just give me a call and I'll come be the Story Lady for a little while...relatively free of charge. :-) Just give me some chocolate cake. :-)

Second thought: I am pretty glad to be moving out of my singles' ward. Once again this week I had the feeling that I'm not a part of the "cool" church group because a)I'm not a man and b) I'm not a returned missionary. Maybe this is a problem in every ward, but I hope not. I'm tired of feeling like a second class church citizen just because I happen to be a woman.

Alright, enough ranting.

Dancing in the Rain

Last night there was an amazing rain storm! (Amazing for Utah, anyway.) It had been so long since I just went out and played in the rain, so I was so excited when the clouds opened and it just started pouring outside. Everyone who was at my house last night went outside and danced and laughed and played like little kids.

Maybe I should move to a place where it rains a little more often.... So fun.

Quote of the day: "Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain." --Source Unknown

Kyle!

So, here's my cute nephew. I wish I could see him for real, instead of just looking at pictures, but oh well. He's not too bad looking for a newborn--kind of cute, actually. My mom is in Texas right now and she keeps raving about him:

Mom: "He's one of the cutest newborn babies I've ever seen!"

Me: "And you're not prejudiced or anything, right?"

Mom: "Of course not. I'm serious, though. I thought my own kids were ugly as newborns--I wasn't a big fan of the way you guys looked when you were that age."

Me: "Thanks, Mom."

Ha ha. She's so funny. You have to admit, the little squirt is quite adorable.

Hello?

Ahem. Hello? Is anyone still here? *Jules brushes cobwebs off her dusty Blog page as her voice echoes in the emptiness...* Man, I haven't been here for a while. I was waiting to get pictures of my various summer adventures before I posted anything, but naturally I haven't been able to get pictures from people. And, in Julianna fashion, instead of just posting something without pictures, I decided not to post anything at all.

So, please forgive me for abandoning you. I hope it doesn't cause too much of a strain on our relationship. I never meant to cause you pain. I'll post some flowers as part of my apology....


PHEW. Now that we got that out of the way, here is a quick recap of the summer up to this point:

1. Went to Moab with some friends. I had never been to Moab before, but I loved it.

2. Started working at Los Hermanos, and promptly quit. That place was Hell on Earth! I still need to go pick up my last paycheck, but I've been avoiding it because I don't want to deal with the crazy managers....

3. Went on a road trip with Nicole. I'll post footage of that. Very fun!

4. I'm now officially an aunt! Kyle Stephen Cooper was born on 7/18, and he's not bad looking for a new born. I'll post some pictures when I have them.

Okay. There's a lame recap. I hope we can still be friends.... :-)