Sunday 2 Sunday

so the past week (the 15th-22nd) was the most eventful i have had all summer! i anticipate that the week of Claires wedding will be pretty packed as well, so im glad i got to have a little prep :)

Sunday: Celebrated my friendships with Kelli and Kimber by going to PF Changs for lunch and then shopping around in Gateway. my question-- why does the Banana Republic smell so weird there? my theory-- the waterpark right out the door.



this is a bit blurry cause we thought it was probably illegal to take pictures in Forever 21. but i had to have proof that they were trying to sell dresses from my moms youth. honestly, who is going to purchase those?

We also celebrated Mormon Day, as we went to Weber State to watch the fireworks. Some friends, phase ten, cookies, starbursts, everyone in Ogden, a symphony and fireworks makes for a pretty entertaining evening.



the sea of blankets. yes, you can put them out the morning of, and they will not get moved or stolen. its Ogden folks, not LA.

Monday: I worked and scheduled probably four calls incorrectly because i was so excited to go to California. what can i say, i was having trouble focusing...

Tuesday- Sunday: Went on a plane. ate. hung out with friends. ate. went to a really cool park. ate. went to a bachelorette party. ate. went to a shooting range (so fun!). ate. went to a wedding. ate and danced. said goodbye and got back on a plane.



the future roommates :)















i shot the gun 50 times and i only hit him right in the center 1 time. embarrassing.




robin, kinsley, amy and me at kimmys wedding. we clean up pretty nicely, if i do say so myself.

the alphabet

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyandz.
i love and miss you amy boyd.

living up to my blogger title as "therambler"

one of the main reasons i dont post is because i dont really take pictures when i am home. i love posts with pictures. however, i was reading back on some of my old posts from when i first became a member of the blogging world, and i have been reading other people's blogs, and i miss it. blogging is a skill, and an important one at that. i feel like it makes you better at thinking, writing, expressing yourself, and all in all, i think it improves your ability to notice and appreciate little details in life that are important to remember and share. consequently, blogging not only improves your relationship with your mind and surroundings, but it also helps you get to know more about your friends.

so i will share some of my basically routine life with you, though i warn you, its pretty boring.
i get up at 5:45, am at work by 7:00 and off by 4:00 or 5:00. i typically eat at my desk, as i am a workaholic, and dont really see a point in leaving for 45 minutes when i could get paid instead. i talk to someone from california almost every day. i run or walk alot because utah is beautiful. and i try to go to bed early because sleep is beautiful as well.

as for my pen-pal, he is alive, he was just at camp (though he did not mention that ever in any letters, so i was worried there for about a week).
many of my friends from school have been in different countries serving, and i miss them and pray for them alot.
we are no longer having Bible Study on tuesday nights, so my social life has become even less social, which is saddening.
my friend Claire is beautiful and is getting married this summer, and so i really enjoy the times i get to spend with her and the girls getting everything ready.
i had a visitor, which was sooo fun and i got to take a day off of work!

other than that, my life is basically uneventful. but i think that is healthy for me, as eight months out of my year are highly eventful, expensive and exhausting!

google

so i read an article for my Business Law class about trademarks etc. google is currently dealing with trademark issues because the word is commonly used as a verb, meaning "to research." if someone tells you to "google" something, he/she means look it up on the internet, but that person is more than likely completely indifferent to the actual search engine you use, whether it be google, or msn or yahoo. when words like zipper or xerox are used so commonly that they no longer classify a specific brand, then they can lose their right to a legal trademark. google is one of those words. i understand that is is kind of boring and almost completely unrelated to what i am going to say, but i thought about it as i was starting to post this blog.
here is why.
not only did i google my own name out of boredom (pathetic, i know), but when i did, the first link that came up with the name "JULIE WOUDENBERG" highlighted, was not for me. i was positive that i was the only julie woudenberg in the U.S. so positive, that i would have made a bet that it could be trademarked. however, my name is apparently not as unique as i thought. i was almost offended (even more pathetic) that my name could be on the verge of being as generic as John Smith! o my heavens.
well that is all folks. and dont judge me. i know my pasttimes are lame and that my emotions on this matter are extreme. im ok with that, cause it makes me unique.

readers digest: part 1

so in the last three weeks, i have technically only gone to classes six days. we had spring break for a week. i came back for three days. i went to new york. i came back for three days. then, i went on Easter break. its been amazing. however, i still had enough homework for three weeks, and thanks to time management and a lack of sleep, i was able to get everything turned in early/ on time and enjoy traveling all over the country.
im going to just give the readers digest version of the last three weeks, though, one week at a time.

For Spring break, Amy, Lauren and I decided to road trip up to Nor Cal for the week. They are amazing girls, so we had a great time listening to music, talking, and laughing. One thing that I really appreciate about both of them is that they are pretty low maintenance and brilliant. perfect for a road trip, if you ask me. not only was i always challenged and entertained by my interaction with them (both through conversation and observation), but i love that we could just relax, sleep on the floor, not get ready for the day, or just not talk and be completely content. we stayed at Erica's house in Walnut Creek for the first two nights and in Pacifica with Tim for the last two nights. Both towns are beautiful and reflect many of the positive aspects of Northern California, which should just be a seperate state all together.
a pic of the girls on the first night that we got to Walnut Creek. We sat at the Bucks for a while to journal and do homework. Good way to end the day of driving.


we relaxed in Walnut Creek on Tuesday and Wednesday we drove to Pacifica to meet up with the boys. We proceeded to take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), also known as "the" BART by southern californians, who put the article "the" in front of everything. thanks to our tour guide, tim, who is also in extremely good shape, we walked thousands of blocks through San Fran to get to the GGP (Golden Gate Park). It was worth the walk... this flower conservatory place was beautiful!



after a little time at the GGP, we went to Fishermans Warf for lunch, Ghirardelli Square for ice cream, then the wrong bus, then the right bus to Union Square for shopping. All in all, we ate, shopped, and walked a ton, but it was beautiful weather, and I was with a bunch of friends. it was a great way to experience San Fran for the first time...



Thursday, we had a lazy day in Pacifica. Amy and I went running on the beach, in shorts and tee shirts no less! tim lives less than a mile from the beach, so everyone met us there and we all walked around and enjoyed the sun for a bit. That night, we played a pick up game of basketball after dinner, and you could see the sun setting over the ocean from tims backyard. AMAZING!
Friday, we drove back home, and im pretty sure we didnt talk for the first three hours of the ride because we were just enjoying the sensational scenery. Northern California is SO green, and much less crowded in comparison to So Cal. on the drive we made a couple of stops in Central California. we took a break near Viselia for a little shopping at the outlets with my roommate Courtney. we then drove to Bakersfield, Amy's home town, and went out to Dowrs for ice cream sundays. yes, that is marshmellow cream drizzled over the top of the glass!



once we got back to school, we just hung out for two more days, and i did lots of homework in preparation to leave for "the" NYC.

more to come...

quote of the day

quick, quick, pictureless update:

i am officially a mouth breather. i cant inhale through either nostril at the moment due to a cold. today i got out of breath trying to eat lunch.

i went to San Fransisco last week and it was sooo much fun. ill post pictures soon.

im leaving for New York tomorrow night. im soooo excited!

i watched the Holiday today with my roommates. it was raining outside and it was romantic. and i love my roommates.

speaking of roommates, my immediate roommate, courtney, is amazing. she is really dynamic and we have such a great time together. we have roommate dress up days, roommate ditch days, we leave notes on the mirror for each other and we always have a quote of the day that we right on the top left of the mirror. Well courney was on a roll today... i told her that her quotes were so good that I would blog at least one of them. this wont make sense to any of you. and im sorry, but im doing it for her.

"i always leave my shoes on"

sneak a peak

so last week i got the flu, and while it was extremely inconvenient and uncomfortable, i was so lucky to have friends that pamper me, a weekend to recover and do nothing but watch movies and sleep, and a roommate that got sick with me (while i apologized to courtney, i was in much less misery having her home the entire time).
part of the misery was the fact that i had lots of homework last week, which included a painful Accounting test. i was feverish and sweaty almost the entire hour that i had to sit in the room and peck away at my calculator, but i somehow pulled an A on the test! seriously unexpected! i was thrilled when i found out this morning, to say the least.
brief and random update, i know, but the real reason i wanted to blog was to tell all of you Utah friends to check out my friend Trevor's blog. he has some engagement pics of Tom and Shannon up. adorable if you ask me. sneak a little peak if you have a minute... http://treverhoehne.blogspot.com/

Annie Gabriel

im in the AG Library in an uncomfortable, wooden chair at a boxy, wooden desk. and i hate doing research.

photo shoot

on thursday nights i have to leave my apartment becasue FCA meets there, so this week i went to my friend Jeremy's. i had no desire to do homework so i decided to take pictures on his camera. Ryan and Jeremy were trying to assess their options for the photo shoot and i caught the moment.
ironically, i ended up liking this picture alot. i understand that to the naked eye, it looks like they are a couple, but really they are just planning to flip off the camera in the next picture. and that is what they did.

in the last 24 hours

last night i had my three hour class, which i loathe. but it got hour early (cause i booked it through the project), so i caught the end of the Phil Wickam & Shane and Shane concert that was in the gym. AMAZING! i had goosebumps, wide-eyes, and the frequent need to take deep breaths of air.
the concert was all part of Seek Week, which is a week where the school puts on lots of events and gets a special speaker in attempt to make the students active in their faith. i know, i sould like a cynic... eh, i am. however, the events and speaker are pretty outstanding this week, so this time im actually excited.
and today, my friend erica was running at the same time as me, so we got to enjoy the beautiful morning weather while getting a little exercise. I got to wear a tee shirt and capris and was perfect, the chapel speaker was legit. to top things off, work went by really quickly (which is rare) and my roommate Courtney came to my office bearing coffee and candy. what more could you want from a Wednesday?
well, i havent taken many pics lately, but this is one from when Courtney and I went to the Crystal Cathedral a could of weeks ago for church. beautiful church, great choir, and a sermon that is televised (to say the least).

Crossroads Church

Saturday night i volunteered at a Chris Tomlin concert and was not originally thrilled about going. I was a bit tired and didnt really anticipate what would be going on. All i knew was that i would be pushing flyers and sign-up sheets down people's throats.
Once I was there, though, I really loved being surrouned by people and blaring music. Chris Tomlin is pretty great, and Matt Redman played as well. On top of that, Louie Giglio gave a message that was really humbling.
I was in a church in the dark and couldnt even hear myself singing. And i couldnt hear the person next to me, and I didnt know the person next to me. Sometimes I am so easily distracted by my surroundings or judgements. But it was really nice to see people, some older, some younger, that were genuinely excited about praising God. All-in-all, I got to see a fabulous concert at the cost being a pushy flyer girl for an hour or two.

hip hip

HORRAY!
its snowing. im at Got Coffee right now sitting in a little corner with a mug and and my laptop. it will probably stop by the time i post this, but either way, the ground is white and i love it.
and this means that the mountains are getting real snow. more snow. and that means i can go boarding tomorrow!

i hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. im missing lots of you but i am getting back into the "home" routine, and this time the routine does not include work, so i am starting to really enjoy the rest and relaxation.

the grass is always greener

well ive been back in Utah for a full week now. i love being in my house that has been transformed by Christmas decor, sleeping on my fabulous matress, seeing friends and family and eating my mom's wonderful cooking.
but during my time at home, ive had those occasional moments where i forget to focus on the christmas lights and familiar faces, and instead, am taken off guard by mr. irony.
for example, i dont like that it does not snow in Riverside. however, the grass is not greener in Utah, instead it is whitish brown, as we have yet to wake up to blankets of snow covering our world. its too cold for all of the snow to melt completely away, too cold to snow more, and too cold for me to jog outside and not have a cough for the remainder of the day when finished.
also, i hate getting up early and and going to work, especially when its cold and i am in Utah. i would rather put on sweats and drink tea or something. but i currently do not have a steady job, so instead i am doing little more than reading and cooking and eating. what a life huh? but no, i have never wanted to work more than right now.
and i really had to laugh today when my mom threatened to hide my books if i did not get off the couch. most parents would love for their kids to read instead of watch t.v. or sleep the day away. who threatens to make their child stop reading, i asked?

well, other than those momentary lapses, where i forget how lucky i am no matter if i am in Riverside with a job or in Utah with a book, i have really enjoyed the rest and time to enjoy the Christmas spirit.
and at the request of my dear friend, amy, i will leave you with a picture. would you believe our luck that THE Cinderella was in California Adventure Land last thursday evening and there was hardly even a line to take a picture with her?

Wonka's Wonderland

While this semester has not been the worst in regards to finals, ive still spent alot of time with my couch and the books in the past couple of days. Luckily, i have gotten on top of my studying early, so hopefully this week will not be too horrible. Nonetheless, by this evening i was definately getting tired of studying.
So in the spirit of Christmas, and of study breaks, lauren (tot), ryan, tim and i spent some quality time building a gingerbread house. Stater Bros had a kit! It came with the gingerbread, the frosting, the candy and directions. We put our teamwork and tender loving care into the project, and two hours later, we had this...



















horray for team specific :)

Yule

This past weekend was yule, which like a highschool dance, but without the dancing. its a banquet... Every girl plans to get ready in time, but always runs a bit late. everyone takes too many pictures standing right next to their date, and at the end of the night you wonder why it took you so long to get ready and why you were in your dress and heels for such a short time.
Luckily, it was kind of worth it this year because i didnt go all out and i actually had a really good time. I went with a friend named Aaron, and while we have hung out with a group of people many times, we have never hung out one-on-one really. This could have made for an extremely awkward situation or it could have made for a great time for conversation. Fear not, it was the latter of the two.
After dinner at the disneyland hotel, we all went into the park for a ride on space mountain and the buzz lightyear ride.
and christmas time at d-land is like double the magic!
me and aaron enjoying desert












me and my other half

half dome and hockey

As most of you know, i didnt go home for thanksgiving this year.
Instead im in Visalia, CA with some friends from school. Courtney lives here, so four of us came to spend the break with her. Thanksgiving was wonderful since i got to sleep in, go for a run in weather that was not 90 degrees (which is what is has been in Riverside for the last week), eat lots of good food, watch some football, and go see a movie.
But the best part was going to Yosemite on Friday. Barrett, Garrett, Brady, Courtney and I drove up there yesterday morning. None of us had ever been there, so we were all pretty excited. Its only two hours away, and the second hour was spent traveling through the mountains, so i was thrilled with the ride. The weather was chilly, but we got to walk around and see some huge trees, huge waterfalls, and huge rock formations. The scenery was breathtaking! i could go into detail, but ill just show you some of the pics...

me and courtney hugging a giant tree















this is what we saw as soon as we got out of a tunnel... El Capitan is on the left and Half Dome is in the distance...



after our day at Yosemite, we went to see the Fresno Falcons play hockey. It was also my first time going to a hockey game. Someone proposed to his girlfriend, two players got in a fist fight, and most importantly, the chicken was there! If you didnt know, the chicken was the mascott for San Diego, but he was so good that he started traveling. Anyway, we had a great time cheering with our jerseys on and with our obnoxious noise makers. Overall, it has been a very relaxing trip. Tomorrow we will drive back to the side by the river and prepare for our last three weeks...
ps, going to the mountains made me even more excited to come back to utah!

me and court at the game

the illness

the stuffy nose, sore throat, achy body illness is going door to door, and i unfortunately answered. i knew i was going to get sick last week and i knew it was kind of unavoidable. so here i am, breathing out of my mouth and sneezing every half and hour or so.
but, im taking vitamins, sudafed and airborne, so i should be back to normal shortly. and i thankfully only have one more week until the break, so im counting down the days....
but i do want to let you all know, ill be in Central Cali for the holiday instead of home with everyone... im trying to not get bummed out.

Beaumont Weekend 2006

This weekend was the first time in weeks that hours passed, and i never felt the urge to look at a clock. I did not have anywhere to be, and i did not have tons of homework that had to be finished by monday morning. A bunch of friends and i went to Oak Glen in the mountains, played a little flag football, frisbee, and volleyball. We tasted apple cider and bought carameled apples, and pretty much just relaxed for two days straight.
And now im back at school, doing accouting homework every time im not practicing football. I do have apple butter in the refrigerator though, so a snack break might be in order later this evening...

here's to you

i was catching up on the blogs today, and i read one of Claire's. she requested that people update, and she stressed that the blog did not have to be fancy but that people should at least post something informative. afterall, many of the people who read this do not live in the same state, so any information is good information.
i think i tend to read other people's blogs instead of blogging myself because i feel like i
a) need to be chronological, and catch people up before i fill them in on the present (but that takes effort, and there is the risk of boring my audience)
b) need pictures, because i just love blogs with pictures
or
c) do not have anything that exciting to blog about.

but here is what is new with me. i took a macroeconomics test about an hour ago, and an accounting test on wednesday. im not sure i did great on either one, since they both had lots of formulas, tables and word problems. however, im doing pretty well thus far in both classes, so i am over being stressed.
last weekend my mom came to visit, which was amazing. she watched the Fortuna Bowl (flag football) on Friday. my team lost, which was a bummer, but my roomates were on the team that beat us, so i had to move on pretty quickly. since my mom was here she slept in my bed and i actually shared a bed with hillary, the quarterback for the Fortuna Champions. My mom and i did alot of shopping, eating and talking. lovely to say the least.
im going to arizona next friday to play in a flag football tournament at ASU, so i have practice all the time, and im really really tired.
and this evening, im going to Beaumont with a ton of friends from school. a couple of friends are from Beaumont, so we are going to stay at all of their houses and go to Oak Glen tomorrow to pick apples and play some ultimate frisbee. hopefully the leaves will still be on all the trees there, as that is the closest thing i will get to fall weather.
and lastly, i completely agree with Claire, i dont like all of the reprocussions of day light savings!

bella

bella is my beautiful, baby-blue beach cruiser. normally, my pets or cars have masculine names, but my friend Drew said there is nothing "boy" about my bike. i never blogged about her cause i wanted to do her justice and post a picture the first time i introduced her. i would say she has been a friend now for nearly four weeks, since we go everywhere together and i tend to talk to her sometimes when we ride. since i have given up on my computer situation this will be a pictureless post...

she has a white basket on the front, and if i keep stuff in the basket, and petal very carefully, i can even wear a skirt when i ride. now, you would think that having a bike would be super exciting for the first few days, and then it would lose its flare. however, that has not been the case... i still get excited in the morning when i turn the numbers to get her unlocked. my roomate hillary has a blue bike too (she was part of the inspiration to finally go through with the purchase) and we have a secret club. its secret because no one knows the name or the secret move. my favorite, though, is when i wear my hair down cause the wind blows through it. and more practically, she gets me places much more quickly than before, and i have even mastered riding in heels!

last night she and i raced my friend ethan to the gym. he was on foot and i was riding. if you dont know about beach-cruisers, they do not have gears and your upper body is in a very upright, stable postition. also they dont squeeze through parked cars as well as people. therefore, racing is still a challenge for you if youre on the bike. yes, those were disclaimers, because i technically lost by three seconds. but i didnt really care because i felt so much like a little kid, speeding across the parking lots, past the palm trees and over the grass. those surreal moments where you forget that you have homework and a job and dishes are fantastic and necessary. if you havent had one of those moments for a while, i highly recommend making friends with a beach-cruiser...