Lost for words?

Have you ever been talking to a friend and said a word that you totally thought was a word? I have, and I just kept on talking while everyone was looking at each other confused. This happens to me on a regular basis. There have been many times where I have been frustrated and lost for words, so my brain feels it completely necessary to make up its own. For example, I was playing a good game of phase 10 with my cousin and her boyfriend and we were talking about our beloved team the Utes. I casually and comfortably said, Oh well aren't they undefeatable? Everyone laughed at me, but doesn't it totally fit!? And squoze or squozen! Seriously, shouldn't it be I just squoze some orange juice? I mean, I just squeezed some orange juice just sounds too weird. Am I right? My good cousin Amy will understand. Anyway, feel free to leave a comment of words that you think should be words. I say we just go ahead and publish our own dictionary!

Something Different Please!

I know that I'm not the only one that notices that virtually everyone my age that has a blog is currently and constantly blogging about how cute their kids are. Keep in mind that I really do like kids and hope to have some someday, but seriously, there are so many other subjects to talk about that are much more interesting and much less exhausting than your kids' halloween costumes or their first word. And last of all, did every single person I know go to a pumpkin patch together to take pictures of their babies this Halloween? Seriously! My father in law put it perfectly when he said something to the effect of, "Just because you love your (kids) doesn't mean that everyone else will!"


So unless your kid is as hard core as this, or unless he has 2 heads like this guy:


...then give the rest of us a break and talk about something more stimulating! (If this is pissing you off then take a chill pill 'cause I'm JK dudes!)

Take for instance Proposition 8. I love that this passed in California! Perhaps there is hope for Babylon! I love how the gay community and its supporters immediately singled out the LDS church and how they are currently protesting in front of temples across the nation. I'm no political scientist, but I'm pretty sure that California is not a theocracy, and if it was, the LDS church surely would not be the one making laws. Nope, sorry people the government of CA, paired with the majority of voters there passed the law, not the LDS church.

The Savior said, "Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."(Matt 5:10). So, all y'all protesters can just threaten and persecute away, but I will never forsake that which I know to be true and correct principles.

That aside, the James family is doing well. We have recently moved and are still getting settled. The ward is sweet though (Pres Monson comes sometimes) and it sure is nice living so close to the U!

I've recently decided that I want to be a large animal Vet and specialize in orthopedics. This means that when I'm not shoulder deep in a cows business, I'll be busy repairing ACLs on horses. Maybe I can be like the guy on my vet school blog (which you should read!)

Goo Goo Dolls!

This last weekend we had the most amazing time at the Goo Goo Dolls concert. We're now regulars, since we went last year too. Nu Skin was holding a concert for their employees and since my dad has sweet hook ups because he's an audio visual guy, he was able to get 8 tickets! I cant lie, when I was about ten years old I had a major crush on the main singer. He of course still has is sexy voice going for him, but I have to admit he is getting kind of crusty. It was fun though to hear them perform a lot of their new stuff like the song from transformers, but I especially like their old stuff like Iris and black balloon. Please enjoy these fuzzy but very lovely pictures I tried to take.

Matt and I having a blast!

Oh and don't worry...there were confetti cannons at the end!

And even though this is not that great of a witness, we were back stage to see the band and here is the back of the nasty base players head.

THE END

I am sooooo Tired!

I thought I'd take a quick second before I go to bed and let everyone know that I'm still alive and well (for the most part). It is now 2 am and I just finished a big Political Science assignment. So if anyone wants to learn about the differences and similarities between Liberal and Realistic political theories, let me know and I'll send you an essay....ugh! I guess my biggest obstacle this semester has been finding time to study. I love how college professors think that theirs is the only class in the world and that they can assign 200 pages a week of reading to do.... So, I have that plus chemistry and math (my favorite) to look forward every day. But it's all for a good cause. I'll be a veterinarian some day and that rocks! I'm tired so I gotta bounce! Best wishes and love to everyone!

Summer of 2008

Well since I'm so behind on my blogging I decided to just blog about our summer as a whole. Since there was so much we did this summer I'll just do a little about each. Our summer consisted mostly of me being in the pool all day teaching swimming lessons and Matt going to school and washing windows. When we could we would always try to get out and enjoy the great out doors. One of our first trips was going down to Moab for a night and going hiking and four wheeling with our dogs.

We went to Moab in about May. This is one of our favorite camp spots by this arch. It's called prostitute butte, don't ask me why.

Matt is obsessed with 4 wheeling so that is what we spent most of our time doing.

Really the best part was hiking Nigro Bill Canyon (and yes that is what it is really called). This canyon had a river running down it the whole hike and so it was really pretty and refreshing for both us and the dogs.

You can't see it very well but at the end of the two miles there is a beautiful natural bridge. The only bad thing was there was poison ivy everywhere at the bottom! And we had to turn around and walk back another two miles. It was a blast though.

We also went to Strawberry with Tim and Nikki. It was so much fun! We spent most of our time fishing and trying to get Dixie to stop swimming out and biting our fishing bobbers.

Dixie the little devil!

Hiking Provo Falls with the fam.

Matt swimming in the snow water.

CALIFORNIA! We helped Matt's friend move to California to go to USC for dental school. So we took advantage and went to Universal Studios..

Hell Boy where we got these awesome free T-shirts..

And the beach of course! It was the best vacation all year! Except we really miss our best friends!

This summer I was finally made an aunt!

I'm the proudest aunt ever! Look how stinkin cute!

Camping at Wolf Creek. It was an awesome camping spot minus the sheep baaaing (if that's what you would call it) all night and the dogs walking all over us in our tent while we were sleeping.

Our awesome camping dogs. Dixie ate so much sheep poo that she threw up. It was pretty nasty.

Backpacking in Tony Grove! Yes we drove two hours up to Logan to go backpacking. But look at the view! It rained all night long but the next morning was breath taking!

There is a beautiful lake there that we went fishing in. We didn't catch anything because we were too busy trying to keep our dog Meg from rolling in the dead fish on the ground. We were too late so it was a very stinky ride home!

My 21st birthday! Finally, now I can gamble! Just kidding..

And then camping in the west desert with Matt's parents.

There is nothing for miles! So it's a great place for shooting and even blowing things up.

Oh and we can't forget the antelope on the way home. I felt like I was in Africa!

So I think that is pretty much our summer in a nutshell. It looks like we did a good job at keeping ourselves pretty busy! We're sad the summer is over and that we're back in school and back to work, but bring it on winter!

IT'S ME!!

Moab Trip

So, I've never really been into this whole blog thing or even email for that matter. I guess I just prefer people to call me. But when I really think about it, it's a great idea because then you can stay in touch with people that you don't normally talk to. I guess I'll just start with an update since this is my first time writing on my own blog. There has been a lot of change going on here at the James house. Matt has decided to go back to school and get his degree in biology and then go to Vet school. I just got promoted I guess you could say. I was offered a full time position at my work, which is at the Carmen B. Pingree Center for children with Autism. That means I get a raise and benefits! BOO YA BABY! I also get the pleasure to be the primary therapist of half the children in our class, which includes working with parents, creating treatment plans, and thinking up my own reinforcement plans. It's really exciting. I also am in school, although I took the summer off. I am currently in the special education program and am working hard to help children with disabilities reach their goals and live a more meaningful life and also help their families. We have two dogs that are practically our children. Dixie is about a year old and then we have our puppy Meg, but I like to call her rollie pollie because she is so fat. They are half border collie and half australian shepard.

Meg and Dixie

Patria Amada

I'm sure that all of you have heard me rave about what a great place Brasil is. I just want to take a moment and do more of the same. Can you picture a perfect place? I mean seriously, what would it be like? let me tell you about mine.
It's January and the sun shines almost constantly overhead and, except for the weekly rain of 6 or 10 inches, the sky is a perfect shade of blue. It is around 95 degrees and the humidity is just as high (think about how great your skin would be). Everywhere you go, people stop what they are doing and say hello to you. As you enter the morning farmers market, which is in a different neighborhood every day, you hear the shouts of men and women selling and negotiating prices for every type of fruit imaginable. Now, when I say every fruit, I mean it. From several types of oranges and dozens of species of bananas to the jack fruit, or jaca, which looks like a huge, spiny, watermelon, to mangoes the size of basketballs. Unless you have been there, there is no way to describe the excitement with which the farmer's market, or feira, buzzes.
As you leave the market, having sampled each of the exotic fruits and veggies, you might stop by the man on the street corner selling bb-q and churros. Now, they say that the barbeque meat is beef, but to be on the safe (and correct) side, we'll refer to it a just meat. The churros, unlike the overcooked and bland crap you can get at Molcasalsa, are made fresh right in front of you as you wait. Then, as if rolling the deep fried treat in sugar wouldn't be sweet enough, each churro is then filled with your choice of caramel, chocolate, bavarian cream, or guava. If you're nice, the man may give you a mixture of 2 fillings. The best combination is called Romeo e Julieta, which is cream and guava.
Once your belly is full with this healthy "breakfast", then it's off to the beach. You can see miles and miles of white sand, kissed by saphire waves of the warm tropical Atlantic ocean. Bee on the lookout, though, for nekkid people! Brasilian men, especially the ones that most resemble a fat Chewbaca, love their speedos! Try to be polite and save your looks of horror and your dry heaving for when the man has passed. If you'd like, you can try your hand at the art of the apostles and cast a net into the surf and see if you can catch anything. I was never able to do this because you had to wade into the surf, and, well, duh I was a missionary.
I did, though get to fish in one of the smaller sea ports in a town called Peruibe. The man we went with bought several pounds of shrimp to use as bait and was not leaving until we had used all of it. We got to the point that we were so bored and wanted to go so bad that when he wasn't looking, we threw handfulls of shrimp into the water. We still sat on the rocks for hours and hours.....
After you bust a gut eating almoco (lunch) which consists of black bean stew, rice, kale, bananas, and sugar cane juice, you can go back to the house for a cochila (nap) in the hammock. Nothing beats that. Period.
Night life is cool in Brasil. You will hear the sounds of samba being played loudly in every street corner bar until about 5am. Evening walks in the more inland parts of town are wonderful. Smell the sweet, but mysterious aroma of the noght-blooming Dama Da Noite and watch the neon green fireflies dance in the grass ahead of you.
The people of Brasil are amazing. As a missionary, I really got to know all types of people in Brasil. I met posh-living businessmen, and the poorest people that eeked out a living in a house that stood on stilts to keep the rising tide in the marsh from washing their home away. I met the drug runner who, when we went to his house to meet for the first time, sent his girlfriend to the door to see if it wats the cops. I'm positive that he had killed someone, if not many. I also got to know the zealots of other religions. But despite the huge differences between myself and these Brasilians, they welcomed me into their homes with a warm smile and offered anything they had as a token of our new and everlasting friendship.
I want to tell you about one of the zealots. In my first area, we were teaching a mand named Denis. He was very receptive until one night when we came over to teach. His house had a gate and fence about 500 feet from his front door (as do most homes in Brasil) so we had to clap loudly for him to hear us from inside. His wife appeared at the windo and asked, rather gruffly, who it was and we answered that it was the missionaries. She freaked out! She told us how she didn't believe in what we had to say and that Denis was done listening to us. She demanded that we leave and even went so far as to threaten violence. All of a sudden, amidst a sentence of profanity annd threats, she says, in the most pleasant voice,"we do have some soup left over from dinner. Do you want some soup?" We declined and she immediately reverted to screaming.
This experience served to show how willing the Brasilian people are to give of themselves, even if they have to put off killing you for a few minutes.
When you go to this great place, allow the people to feed you. YOu'll be glad you did. Also, be patient with them, as they love to tease and make fun of those they love, including you.
Finally, pay attention to how the government and police work. Listen to the complaints of the people about the poverty and violence that is abundant in Brasil. Listen to them talk of how hard it is to get a job, how they don't own a car, how they eat beans and rice every day. Listen to your own heart tell you about how wonderful our own country is and how many freedoms and privileges we enjoy just by virtue of being born here. It was in Brasil that I learned how much I appreciate and love our country, despite its occasional political shortcomings. But I will never ever stop loving and thinking of Brasil as my second country. I lived like, talked like, thought like, and ate like a Brasilian. I am Brasilian in my heart and will be forever.