two miles on my tank and 3 dollars in the bank.

News Flash: I am NOT an Adult

Hey guys. I realized something very important this morning on my way into work. I am not an adult. I am actually quite far from being an adult. And I thought, 'I should blog about this.' And then I thought, 'I bet I could come up with some examples of just how much I am not an adult.'

YOU'RE IN LUCK! I found some examples!! Let's begin:



You see, here we have a photo I took this morning in my car, of the dashboard. Please note I have TWO MILES left on my gas tank. Irresponsible. Especially in the winter. Also, I need an oil change. Irresponsible! And, if I had made the shot a little wider, you would see that my tire pressure light is on. And has been on allll winter. Majorly irresponsible!

That's like, two pieces of evidence in one photo.

Moving on.



This, my friends, is a screen capture from my bank account! (I've hot-pink'd out my account number.) Please note that it says $3.85. Yeah, that's the total. Do you see a savings account in that list? Yeah. That's because I don't have one. Why? Because the bank closed the account after the balance was $0.00 for like, three years.

I used up the $9 I had in cash at the gas station this morning. That $3.85 has to hold me over until Friday. I haven't been this broke in a while. NOT AN ADULT.


ON THE OTHER HAND:

This is a photo I took of myself today:




Wearing a yellow shirt! AT LEAST I'm following through on my resolutions! :)


IN OTHER NEWS:::

I have some important things to talk about. Well, kinda.

1. SHOUT OUTS!!!!! Remember how sometimes I like to do shout outs to people who read my blog?!?! YEP!

Today's shout out goes to DK!! He told me today at work that he was up until midnight reading THIS VERY BLOG! He got all the way back to the Taylor Swift concert! That's dedication! Thanks for reading, DK. I really appreciate it :) AND, now you get an awesome shout out!


2. My hair! I love experimenting with my hair, be it color or style. Recently, I have found a way to curl your hair with no tools!

Here is the website, and you all should try this. IT REALLY WORKS. Basically you take one of those thin elastic headbands (mine is Goody brand), put it over your head like, "hippy" style, and then twist your hair underneath until it's all up. It doesn't make sense when you read it. You have to go to that website. I even had to watch the video because I was still perplexed.

The first time I did it, it came out awesome. The second time, ehhhh. It came out, ok. Still curly, just not as fancy. Both times I've had to run the straightener through a few times in the morning, also brush it out with my fingers (because I don't own a real brush) because it's like WHOA CURLS. It also adds great volume! Something which I am always looking for! But it takes like five seconds to do, and then you just sleep on it! And it's not bulky or plastic-y like some overnight curling methods. You don't wake up the next morning sleeping in a giant pile of bobby pins.

It's hard being a girl.


3. BLOG READER HAIKU CHALLENGE!!!!!

Remember I challenged you all to write me some haikus after I wrote a circular one a few weeks ago?? WELL - I had four lovely people submit me some damn fine haikus! And now, without their knowledge or permission, I will post them here!!!!

Folks, we've got poets in our company. Let's enjoy the poetic stylings of:


JENN
some branches prefer
the challenges of winter
over boring sun

EMILY
I miss mod sixty
and convincing Julie to
stay downstairs with me

(i miss this too!)

DAVID
I can't do it, you
can do it. Really? My gar-
lic knot is ready.

(Emily said she recorded what David said, and then turned it into a haiku. Love it.)

ANDREW
in the road i see
the promise of adventure
why don't we do it


Can you believe these are my friends?!?! I was/am pretty impressed by their continued awesomeness. PLEASE, let this challenge continue! If you ever feel the need to write a lil' haiku, please send it along my way. I'll post it here! That sounds fun.



I hope you guys are getting excited about the new blog!!! I am! I'm also getting nervous about the video blog. YEESH!!! But, I'm really excited to unveil the awesomeness to your eyes.

I'll post the invitation soon :)

ALSO, um, did anyone notice that the title of this entry ROCKS?!?!?! 'two miles on my tank and three dollars in the bank!' Yeah, did I mention I'm a rapper?? Cuz it sure sounds like it. I should figure out how to post some of my raps that I recorded with Andrew. Not the Andrew that posted the haiku. But, other Andrew.

So tomorrow at work is FLOORSET!!!! I'm doing more flying displays! I'm excited. I like floorset days because I feel in control of myself and what I'm doing. I feel like I have responsibility, and I really like that. I like being responsible for things.

I liked that about working at Hannah House. It was like, I was in control of the house during the nighttime. All those mother and babies were my responsibility to keep safe. I also think this is one of the reasons I would like to be a lighthouse keeper or a ship captain.

That ship captain that "fell into the lifeboat" on that cruise ship that recently ran aground, MAN, he could have been so great. And instead, he's a douchebag. Like, he had so much he was responsible for. He was the CAPTAIN. Not something to be taken lightly.


Also today at work, I was hanging out with Katie D and she was saying that I was the "vision specialist" at the store. And I was like, "that sounds like I work at LensCrafters." haha. I laughed. And I just laughed about it again. So, there ya go.


MOVIE RECOMMENDATION!

- One Week. Starring Joshua Jackson. Yes, that Joshua Jackson. From Dawson's Creek. What was his name? Percy? Pacey? Something like that, I think. Comment if you remember! Without looking it up! Anyways, this movie was about a guy who finds out he has stage four cancer, so he buys this old Norton motorcycle and heads west. Two things:

1. Norton was the brand of motorcycle that Che Guevara and Alberto Granado rode in The Motorcycle Diaries.
2. I assumed this film was set in the US - but no! It was set in Canada! Turns out it was a Canadian film! Great!

So, he starts in Toronto and ends up in Tofino, which is on Vancouver Island! That's where my dad lives! Not in Tofino, but on the island! One of the spots he went to on the trip was Banff, where my dad, Kara and I went when we went on our big Canadian adventure! I really liked the movie.


Well, ok! I think that might be it. I'd say this was a fun-filled entry, as always.

Be on the lookout for your New Blog Unveiling Ribbon-Cutting Extravaganza Party of the Century invitation! Coming soon!!!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Enjoy this week! It's almost my birthday month! :)


Have a great night!




and so i run now to the things they say can restore me
restore life the way it should be

PUT A BIRD ON IT!

SO HERE IS SOME EXCITING NEWS TO START OFF WITH:::

I have decided on a date for the New Blog Unveiling Ribbon-Cutting Extravaganza Party of the Century!!!!! As it is now being called.

YES - that's right! There is a new blog out there, and it's coming to you SOON. Get the hell ready, cause it's gonna be amazeballs all over your face.

AND - I'm gonna do a video post as the first entry! So ya'll get to see the crazy stuff going on IN REAL LIFE. Except it won't actually be in real life cause it'll be prerecorded. It's probably much more work to do a live-blog chat sesh... although that sounds kinda fun. Maybe I'll look into it for future blog parties. But not the first one, cause I'll be too nervous already. Once I'm down with the video posts, maybe we'll do a live-blog.

SO - I will formally invite each and every one of you to the New Blog Unveiling Ribbon-Cutting Extravaganza Party of the Century via invitation posted IN THIS BLOG. I will most likely also create a Facebook Event for the party, because why the heck not?? Also, I like creating Facebook Events.

But I'm SO EXCITED to share the new blog with you. It's more representative of myself then this blog is. I feel. It's cooler. Sexier. More fun. Smarter. Classier. Braver. All those great things that make a blog (and a person) AWESOME.

Great!

What's happening this week? UM, EVERYTHING.

We did trivia on Monday night again at Fury's. Pretty much the same group as last week, minus Maria, plus Ian, Sam and Tim. It was way fun. Although, we did not come in second place. We came in like..... some place much more closer to last. Whatevs! Still a super fun night.

Tuesday I had to work! Lame! But then - TRIVIA AGAIN. That's right - two nights in a freaking row. This time it was at Shipyard Brew Pub in Eliot, which is a place that I pass on my way to work, and have never been to. Until now. And it's super nice! It was Kara, Kara's boyfriend's sister Leigh, and myself! AND WE CAME IN SECOND PLACE!! AND GOT A 10$ GIFTCARD!!!! It rocked.

And, I'm going to trivia again TOMORROW NIGHT with Matt and Meg and all those fine people. Yessssss.

Today was my sit-on-the-couch-and-so-absolutely-nothing-day. Ruby Tuesday sat with me the whole day. She's still sitting next to me right now.

Although I might go to the gym later. I went to the gym on Monday. I know what you're thinking, 'what a horrible way to start the week!' And you're right!

OK! I think that's all for now. Keep it tuned for the BIG INVITATION!!!! Coming soon. Just you wait. (I can't wait!!!)

Hope you all are having a great day! If it's not great by now, then go MAKE IT GREAT. I mean, what are you waiting for?!?!

Talk to you soon!!!

'Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.'

Today was kind of a melancholy day. You have them sometimes. I have them sometimes. We all have them sometimes.

Didn't leave the house all day. Didn't get dressed all day. Didn't even really eat all day. Well, I had some food. (I had a sandwich.)

Monday was a good day. Leisurely. Spent it with friends. Ended up at Fury's (formerly Biddy Mulligan's) for trivia in the evening. It was a great group of smart hotties: Kara, Maria, Greg, Kendra, Brittany, Jeff and me. We thought we had it "in the bag," because it seemed at first that nobody else was going to show up for trivia. But then, a lot of people ended up showing up. We still came in second to this group of guys who were CLEARLY cheating on their cell phones. LAME. We'd rather lose with dignity than win as cheaters! (although one of the cheater guys was a super hotttiieeeee who looked like Tony from Crash Kings... turns out he's engaged..)

It was pretty fun.

What was the name of the band in the movie, 'O Brother Where Art Thou?'
--- George Clooney and the Holy Waters

What was the name of the Chicago baseball trial where the players threw the World Series game?
--- The World's Serious Trial (..get it?)


Those were both answers that our awesome team came up with.

**Please note - both of those answers are wrong. Do not use them in your trivia answers.**

ANYWAYS. It was a super fun night. Let's hope that everyone can make it for next week. Well, I think we'll be minus Maria.. :(


BUT THE REAL REASON WHY I STARTED THIS ENTRY, was to tell you about the poem I wrote tonight!!

I can't tell you the last time I wrote a poem. It was probably in college. But, my friend Greg is taking a poetry class right now and has been sending me a lot of the stuff they're learning... which is GREAT cause it's like I'm vicariously back in school.... and it has inspired me to write a poem!

He's doing a big project on haikus, so I've been reading a lot about them. And I decided that I am most interested in the 'circular haiku,' which is a form where you aren't supposed to be able to tell the beginning from the end.

I kind of like it since I hate endings. And beginnings are scary. So why not just make everything a big, giant, grey area?!?! My motto for poetry, as well as life.

Here is my circular haiku:


shooting star soaring
like a flare through the black sky
lay down and watch the


Well! What do you think?!

Keep in mind that most widely recognized syllable structure for haikus is 5-7-5. That's, five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third.

I think for my grand entrance back into the world of writing, it's a great start. It actually took a lot of thought. Circular haikus are not easy to write, folks.

BLOG READER CHALLENGE!!!!!!
I would like to challenge each and every one of you reading to write one right now. And post them in the comments! Either here, or on Facebook. (Hi, Facebook readers!!) Haikus are generally supposed to be about nature, but for this assignment: no rules. Go crazy! It doesn't have to be a circular haiku. Just a normal one :) This is fun.


Ok. That's all, really. All I've got for right now. Hope everyone had a great day! Hope it was less-melancholy than mine. I guess mine wasn't too melancholy. Jenn came over from across the street and we had a vent session. That was nice. Also slightly depressing. But... nice.


Have a great Wednesday! Talk to you soon.


love,
Julie

i will convince myself i'm fine and then i'll hate what i've become

This is one of those times when I wish I had a compass tattoo. So that when I'm feeling super lost and confused and upset about my life, I could look down at my arm and not feel so alone. I need that compass. Why don't they make navigation systems for your life??

I actually had a break down in work yesterday. Apparently, it's very easy to tell when I'm in a bad mood. I suppose I'm usually pretty chipper. I was hiding out way in the back corner of the store folding sweaters that didn't really need to be refolded, and one of the managers whom I absolutely love, came over and asked,

MANAGER: Julie... what's wrong?

And then I pretty much burst into tears. LUCKILY, she had a project for me to do. Which was distracting AND fun. And I got to use the tall ladder. It was like those breakdown scenes in moves where you think, "that sucks." And it did. It sucked. I had also had a breakdown on the car ride into work! So, yesterday was overall a fail day.

Although, apparently, I led the whole team at work because I got 4 friends, 3 PWP's and 2 credits. That means nothing to you. And I hope in a few years it will mean nothing to me, either.

Hey!! So, this entry will be filled with lots of random stuff!! Pictures and stories.

Let's go!


Live music! At The Brickhouse in Dover! Kara had heard that this guy, Dave Gutter, was pretty good, so we decided to go. He's the lead singer of the bands Paranoid Social Club and Rustic Overtones. Although, those actually might be the same band. I'm not too sure what the deal is.

Anyways, it was a really fun night. Kara and I got there early and got food. DELISH. Like, the food was awesome. Really, really good. Who knew?! And they had totally changed the set up around. I had only been there twice before (both on dates), but it was like, totally renovated. Nice. Kara thought her friend Matt might show up, but he was a no show. Greg ended up coming! And hanging with us. Which was fun.




For the second half, Dave was really drunk and apparently also really high. It was pretty interesting. At one point he called his girlfriend and put her on speakerphone right next to the mic. Funny stuff. Also, he invited those two guys up on stage. I don't know who they were.

GREAT NIGHT.


At some other point this holiday season, I took artsy pictures of Kara in front of the Christmas tree. This is my favorite:



So pretty.

NOW:

Julie and Jenn Have An Adventure!

The Sunday before Christmas, my friend Jenn and I had a super fun day together.

We got an early start (around 11am) and went to The Barley Pub, in Dover, because they were having a craft fair! Seems like craft fairs and bars don't go hand in hand - but apparently they do! It was a great time. Lots of artsy, hipster people selling lovely handmade things. I ended up buying/custom ordering a paper lantern for Maria! I got to pick out the paper for the lantern as well as the cut outs on all four sides. It was awesome!

The woman who makes them, Carrie, is going to start selling them at Lucy's Art Emporium, also in Dover, NH. I highly recommend you getting one. They make great personalized gifts. So pretty :)

After the craft fair, we drove to Kittery, ME with the intention of going straight to the candy store, Yummies. We took a spontaneous detour when we saw the sign, "$10 palm readings!"

Unfortunately, the lady was cash only, and Jenn didn't have any cash on her. But I did! So, I got my palm read. Just one. It went pretty well. Some things kinda seemed universal, but the main parts seemed relevant. That was only the second time I've had my palm read, and it's always fun. I love it.

After that, we went over to Yummies and bought candy and delicious things. Then had lunch at Friday's - also delicious. Then we went to the movies!! We saw The Descendants. While we were there, Jenn pointed out that the last movie that we saw together was also a George Clooney movie. Funny. But great movie. It was probably the most depressing movie we could have chosen to see... but it was great.

Then we went to Starbucks to get a coffee! Ended up staying there for like, 3 hours until they kicked us out.

It was such a great day. Lots of fun. :)



PICTURE:: Ruby Tuesday on Christmas Morning!



That's the stocking I made her!! It's pink. She's the best.



NOW! Pictures of Ruby Sleeping Under Things!



She was like that when I found her.





Peeking out from under the tree skirt.


Also! I don't know if you realize this, but I'm on the visual display team at work. It's a fun team to be on. So, I get to do a lot of the visual displays that are up in the store. Or, on the mannequins. I think I'm pretty good at it.

Here are some displays that I've photographed, because I'm just so proud of them :)



Pajama bottom and sock display!! The picture I was going by did not have the bows all perfect. It just showed the strings like, hanging down. And I thought, 'yeah, that's not gonna work." So, I tied them all in perfect bows!!! Doesn't it look great with the bows tied on the socks?!?! YES IT DOES. I love this. It's super cute.


The next one is probably my claim to fame. The Flying Sweater display. I had no idea how I was going to pull this off.

It took A LONG TIME. But, it was actually a lot like jewelry making. I had to use wire, crimping beads (giant super sturdy ones), pliers and fishing line to get the whole thing to work.

It was A LOT of trial and error. And my finger tips were literally numb by the end of it.






But, it pretty much rocks. Every time I walk into the store I look over and check to make sure it hasn't fallen. I think it came out awesome.


NOW! For a segment I would like to call,

"Our Cats Are Business Ladies."





*End Segment!*

Another exciting thing! Kara and I were hosts to a New Girl party last weekend!!!! Of course, we are all familiar with the show, New Girl, starring everyone's girlfriend, Zooey Deschanel.

We just thought there needed to be a night where we just invited all the girls over and watched every episode of New Girl. And that night was last weekend.

This was the table spread:



YUM - right?! I made bruschetta and the punch (pink lemonade concentrate, ginger ale, and white cranberry juice), Kara made spinach artichoke dip and lemonade cupcakes with raspberry frosting. We also had sweet potato waffle fries! And then everyone brought delicious things including wine, champagne and chips!!!

It was a great group of hotties: Kara, Maria, Jenn D, Meg, Danielle, Jen S, Renee, Brittany, and me! We had so much fun. Lots of laughs. That show rocks. Like, so hard. It's like you can relate to some aspect of her life at some point during the show. Hilarious. Everyone should watch.

And the next day! Was SISTER DAY. :) Instead of me and Kara getting each other gifts for Christmas, we decided to have a sister day. Always a good decision.

We slept in a little bit. Had to run to Targs for some quick errands. AND THEN, the day started.

We got coffee and food at Dunkin Donuts. Then headed down to Old Navy and did some light shopping. I got this really pretty blue cardigan and a orange striped tank. The tank was only $3. YEP.

Then! We headed over to the movies to see New Year's Eve! It was great. Made you laugh, made you cry. I didn't think it was as good as Valentine's Day, but it was definitely fun. Definitely good. :)

Then! We drove home and packed because earlier in the day we had called and reserved an OCEAN FRONT ROOM in Wells, ME at Lafeyette's Oceanfront Resort. Cheap winter rates!!

We checked in, got a redbox, got some Chinese food and Woodchuck cider and crashed for the night. IT. WAS. AWESOME.

And we took pictures!

This was the view from our room when we first got there:





Yeah - right on the beach.

We had a great night. And this was the view when we woke up the next morning:




AHHHH! Birds! Wild birds! Too close for me.









:) Nice, nice day at the beach. It was such a great Sister Day. I ♡ Kara.


OTHER THAN THAT... there has actually been a lot more going on. But I think that's all I'll share with you now. Mayybe another time.

Sorry I haven't updated in forever. I'll try and be better. I'll make it a resolution. So far my resolutions for 2012 are:

- wear more yellow
- have no parking violations
- blog more!

I think those are pretty good.

2011 was a strange year. Overall, I think I liked it. I miss some parts of it. I did a lot of new things. Met new people. Kissed a lot of boys. Smiled a lot. Cried a lot. Drove to Brooklyn. Drove to Canada. My grandmother died. I got strep throat. Twice. Went to two weddings. Paid $85 worth in parking violations. Saw River City Extension twice. Had some articles published online.

Hm. I guess it sounds okay. I guess it was a good year.

And now, it's Golden Globes night!! My favorite season :)


Hope you all are having a great night! We'll talk again soon.


love,
Julie