Erin's Baptism..

So this was a little while ago but on November 25, 2008 my friend Erin got baptized. She has been investigating the church for a really long time now and she finally was able to be baptized. She has known this was what she wanted for awhile now but it was really important to her to have her parents on board with it. She grew up in a catholic family, went to catholic school so this was a difficult thing for her family to wrap their heads around. After years of investigating and going taking the missionary discussions which a small group of us participated in, naming ourselves the fun group, her parents had one last request. They wanted Erin to visit other churches first so we started going to different churches on Sunday mornings before we went to our ward and finally her parents said she could do it. It was a really special day and I am really so happy for her and so glad that I got to be a part of it.

Erin was baptized by Kyle Fields, who happens to be her boyfriend as well. It was really special for them both. There was a really nice program and Julie, Sylvia and I got to sing Come Thou Fount which is a beautiful song.

Sis Warner came up with this clever idea to make her a "COMFORTER" and we all signed it because the Holy Ghost is our Comforter..

I love Erin and I am so happy that she was able to make this decision.. She has helped me so much to strengthen my testimony and I am so grateful for her..


The Fun Group!!

SCATTERGORIES

SCATTERGORIES
Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following... they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.
What is your name...........................Julie
Vehicle................................................Jaguar
City.................................................... Jackson
Boy Name.......................................... Josh
Girl name.......................................... Jackie
Drink................................................. Juice
Occupation......................................... Judge
Something you Wear........................ Jacket
4 Letter Word.................................... Jail
Celebrity............................................. Janet Jackson(woo woo two points)
Food.................................................... Jello
Something found in a bathroom...... Jacuzzi Tub
Reason for Being Late....................... Jumpstart car
Cartoon Character............................. Jimmy Neutron
Something You Shout....................... Jump!
Animal.................................................Jellyfish
Body part........................................... Joint
Word to describe you .......................Joyous

Baltimore..

We took a trip to Baltimore with my friends Abby and Sylvia.. It was really fun.. we just walked around Inner Harbor and took pictures and watched a street performer.. Shopped a little bit and had lunch.. It was fun..

I had a lot of fun with Melinda here.

Kissing Fish..

So while Melinda was here we went to Alexandria to get Dr. Fish Pedicures. It's the only place in the U.S. that does it so I figured she should do it while she was here.. You stick your feet in a tank full of these little fish. I'm not positive what their actual name is but it is a type of carp known as the kissing fish and they just nibble away at the dead skin on your feet.. It tickled way bad when we first put our feet in there but then you get used to it.

I also had to put my hands in there cause I wanted soft hands too..

VOTE!!

If you haven't done so yet.. GO AND VOTE!! This is a historical election and regardless of you who you decide to vote for you will be making history and you'll be kicking yourself later if you aren't a part of it.. Be a part of what affects the way you live.. Its our lives that are being decided on today so get out and vote.

Coach Steve Hodson..

For the past nine years Coach Hodson has been battling multiple cell Myeloma, a cancer that attacks the blood and bone marrow. He has been one of the strongest people I have ever known. He has put on the toughest fight against Cancer and like many others I was so sure that he was going to beat it.. If anyone could he could and I thought it was going well, but this past little while the cancer started fighting harder against him and last Thursday night his daughter, Annie, told me that there was nothing more the doctors could do for him and that they were giving him a week, maybe less. Well last night, November 3, 2008 Coach Hod passed away. For the past nine years I have become a part of that family and being so far away during a time like this really just hurts. He was such an amazing person. He welcomed me into their family with open arms and has been there for me through everything that I have decided to do with my life. He is such an inspiration to me to fight for what I want and to work hard to accomplish my goals. He will truly be missed by so many. I just wanted to ask you all to keep his family in your prayers. Thank you so much.. I love you Coach Hod!

Halloween!!

So Halloweeen has always been my favorite holiday but this year I just wasn't in the mood for the holiday celebrating.. I got some pretty awful news and I just wasn't in the mood.. Plus I had school that night but it was ok cuz I didn't really want to do much.. I went to school and made chicken fricassee and got an A+ on it so YAY!! Anyway every fast Sunday we have break the fast after church and I had signed up for a dessert so since it was close enough to Halloween this is what we decided to make. My friend Julie and I(and no I'm not referring to myself twice) we made this cake Sunday morning before church.. It was so much fun..

Where I've been..

visited 29 states (58%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or determine the next president

6 Quirks!!

Here's how this works..
List 6 quirks about you..
Tag 6 people..
Tell who tagged you.. HODUH(amy)

1. I absolutely hate it when people leave the toilet seat and lid up.. It drives me crazy because honestly its just gross plus it looks quite trashy when you can see in the toilet. It has a lid so close it when you are done. It's quite a simple thing to do, I just don't get it why people leave it up.

2. I refuse to have my text messages make any sound when I receive one because I think it is annoying, however, I'm crazy about texting so I am constantly looking at my phone all the time to see if I have a new message since it is just silent when I receive one.

3. I have to sleep on the left side of the bed and I only sleep on top of the covers never in my actual bed. I'm not sure why but I just have always slept on top with a little blanket over me. Maybe its because I get really hot when I sleep and its just easier to get out of a little blanket rather than try to get out of all the other stuff on a bed plus the sheets are all tucked in and it just not really comfortable to me.

4. I love the summer because I can wear flip flops(and that's basically all I wear) because I hate wearing shoes and socks. My feet are kind of crazy. I start to get claustrophobia of the feet and my toes start to freak out.. Not all the time but occasionally and well I just prefer not to wear shoes so I only wear them when it is absolutely necessary.

5. I hate watching commercials so bad. If something is on that I want to watch and it has commercials, I'll pause it(thank heavens for DVR) and go find something else to do until its been long enough that I'll be able to fast forward through the commercials.

6. I hate when toilet paper and paper towels are put on the roll the wrong way. They are suppose to come over the top of the roll not from the bottom. I have to change them wherever I am if they are going the wrong way.

I tag Rachel, Marva, Kelli, Shelise, Whitney, Nikki

Picture Tag!!

So I have seen this on a few of my family's blogs and it looked like fun so I did it also..
I am 22 years old..













I live in Warrenton, Virginia.. You can look it up there's not much here.. It's basically farm country and I love it. It's about 40 miles south of D.C. and really, really small. I'm talking smaller than Cedar City.. Yep that's right!!












I would like to travel to Rome.. It has always been my dream and now I can finally have my dream wedding there.. Well in however many years it takes to finish the temple there.. But I was talking to a few of my friends and I think we are going to plan a vacation there sometime next year.. So here's to hoping it actually works out because that would be a dream come true.












I like about anything Italian.. This is my favorite dish when I go to Olive Garden.. It is the five chees ziti.. just ask my friends I rarely order anything different.. If ever at all..


















I grew up in Cedar City, Utah.. it is such a beautiful place, not that I ever want to live there again but it is really beautiful.. Plus my mom and Tom are there so I'll at least show up every now and then to visit..
















My favorite color is Pink.. Its just so fun and bright and it just makes me smile..

My favorite animal is the Chocolate Lab and I want one so bad, but we can't have a dog right now so when I move I am getting a little girl, chocolate lab and I am going to name her Godiva..

I used to love troll dolls so much I think I had like 30 of them.. they were such fun little things and now that I look at them they are kind of freaky but I loved them way back when.. I had a little house and everything.. they were such awesome toys.

My name is Julie.. yep pretty self explanitory there..

My middle name is Ann.. and I love the Today show so this worked out nicely..

Shelley.. Shelley, Idaho what a cool place..

4th picture tag..

Here's how this works.. Take the 4th picture from your 4th album of your pictures and post it.. Pretty simple..

This is at our prom night birthday dinner.. We were at Cheesecake Factory and well their burgers are huge so I was trying to see if I could even take a bite and well no worries I did it.. That's me eating like a champ=)

THE ART INSTITUTE OF WASHINGTON!!

This past week I started Culinary school at the Art Institute of Washington and I absolutely love it so much. I am going to this school to get my degree in Baking and Pastry so I can eventually open up my own bakery. I never realized school could be so great. I have only gone for three days so far but it has been the greatest experience yet.. My classes are so much fun and my teachers are great. I am currently taking concepts and theories, which is a basic cookin class, it will teach me all the basic, well concepts and theories of cooking. So far we have learned different knife cuts. Ya there are quite a few different ones.. Small, Medium and Large dice, Julienne, Brunoise, and Tourne is what we have been working on so far. My teacher is a trip and there is this woman in my class that just cracks us all up everyday. I am also taking Marketing this semester as well as Management. My cooking classes, however, will more than likely outshine those classes because they are hands on and so much fun.. We have uniforms we have to wear to class and they are your average chef outfit and they are so much fun. So I should be done with school in about a year and then well we'll have to see where I go from there but for now I am enjoying my life. Because I have been thinking about it a lot lately.. Life that is and well President Monson pretty much reassured my thoughts I've been having. We need to enjoy our lives. I have been thinking a lot about yesterday and making sure that I did everything I could to enjoy yesterday cause I will never be able to get it back. I spend a lot of time with the Warner's and if you don't know who they are, that would be weird cause I talk about them a lot but they are a couple in my ward and they have basically adopted me but they have a wall hanging in their house that says Happiness is a way of travel, not a destination! That has stuck with me ever since I first saw it. Life only happens once and we should utilize our time and enjoy every minute of it. So I hope that for all of you that are reading this, that you are doing everything you want in your life. Never let anything or anyone hold you back from your dreams.. Culinary is one of my dreams and I'm finally doing it and I couldn't be happier. Live your dreams, open your eyes and enjoy yourself while you live. Because there is no point to living if you go through it with your eyes closed, so open your eyes and REALLY experience it.

My Hair!!

So everytime I do anything to my hair it usually makes me really sad, so you may ask why I keep doing stuff do it?? Well that's a very valid question and I just don't have an answer.. maybe because I get bored or just want a change but the simple fact is I'm a very plain jane girl when it comes to my hair. I like it long and I usually put it in a ponytail.. That's how it's always been with me. Well a couple months ago I had my friend chop my hair off because I saw this cute picture of a haircut that I thought would look great well it would if I #1 knew how to do hair and #2 ever liked to take the time to do hair so needless to say I hated the haircut and I cried(also something that happens once I do anything to my hair) So I wanted my long hair back so Sunday, while watching conference, we put extension in my hair.


Here's what it looked like all finished.. Sylvia did a pretty good job at putting them in. It was her first time ever doing them. She weaved them in. Now here's the thing though weaving means there were braids across my head in three spots and well sleeping on them kind of hurt my head and showering and washing my hair it was just kind of awkward. After a couple days the braids started to loosen and it just was really heavy on my head and the hair was pulling and it was just really uncomfortable plus even though we used human hair it just was kind of dull. My natural hair is so fine and bright and shiny and it just didn't do my hair justice so long story short Cameron cut them out last night and I am back to my natural hair and I will have to wait for it to grow out to be that long on its own.. Oh I didn't tell you the biggest reason why they didn't work.. I COULDN'T PUT MY HAIR IN A PONYTAIL.. The braids underneath would show through so it just looked kind of whitetrash and like I said before I'm a ponytail girl..

Martina McBride

So Sylvia and I went to a Martina McBride concert on Saturday and it was so much fun.. We had lawn seats at the beginning and well it started to rain and then it started to pour and even with umbrellas we got soaking wet so then we were sneaking in to the pavillon part and this lady just told us we could go in so we were like sweet.. Jason Michael Carroll and Jack Ingram opened the show for her and they were both really good. I didn't know who either of them were but I enjoyed them both and then Martina came out.. She is amazing in concert we had such a blast even though we got trenched in the beginning it was ok cuz we were under the pavillon for all of Martina..
It was wet and rainy so I didn't take to many pictures.. but there are a few mainly of Sylvia and me playing in the rain or just messing around.. I wore my super sweet cowboy boots..

Martina McBride

Prom Birthday Dinner..

This month was Abby and Erin's birthday and well we like to have combined parties.. it started in May with Matty and my party then in June was Julie and Marva and well this month it was Erin and Abby and they chose to have a formal dinner so we all dressed up and went to eat at the Cheesecake Factory.. it was so much fun.. We got a lot of stares and well basically everyone thought we were in high school and going to Homecoming or whatever but it was so much fun.