Split Personality Mosaic

My sisters have posted these fun mosaics on their blogs and I wanted to play, too. However, as usual, I couldn't decide which pictures I liked the best! So, I decided to make two.

Here are the rules:

Type your answer to each of the questions below into a Flickr search. Using only the first page, choose your favorite image (or in my case, favorite two images - I didn't do two searches, I picked my favorite two images from the original search), then copy and paste each of the URLs into the mosaic maker (3 columns, 4 rows.) Leave me a comment if you play so I can check it out!

The questions:

1. What is your first name? (Julie)
2. What is your favorite food? (cheese)
3. What high school did you attend? (Hillcrest)
4. What is your favorite color? (green)
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (Tom Hanks)
6. What is your favorite drink? (juice)
7. What is your dream vacation? (Holland)
8. What is your favorite dessert? (mock-chocolate eclair - nothing showed up so I used "eclair")
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? (Mom)
10. What do you love most in life? (Wow, I just realized I read this wrong. I thought it said "What do you want most in life?" And I responded "joy." I wonder how it would have turned out if I had read that correctly. My response would have been "family.")
11. One word to describe you? (weird)
12. Your Flickr name. (HoboJo3 - nothing showed up so I used "Hobo Jo")
    

1. julie's garden, 2. Day 158/365: Grilled cheese - yummm, 3. Picture Perfect, 4. Green Dreams, 5. Foto&Cinema: Il miglio verde, 6. ripe, 7. into the light, 8. Thunder above Madeira waters, 9. The moon above a lake of digital water, 10. The Earth & the Heaven, 11. Persistence, 12. Hobo Jo




1. SOTTS clone (Julie), 2. Say Cheese, 3. A game of Tetris, 4. Splash in a Drop, 5. Tam Hanks and the piano scene from Big, 6. frog closeup, 7. Mill in motion, 8. Help yourself ....., 9. blush and bashful, 10. I'm singing in the rain...Just singing in the rain...What a glorious feeling!!!I`m happy again!, 11. Yes! It's My Birthday! And It's My Footprint :D, 12. Hobo Jo Drinks Juice

30 Days of Thanksgiving #11

Happy Birthday, AngelFish!

Today I am grateful for my beautiful sister AngelFish! I am grateful that she is in my family and that we are sisters. When AngelFish was born, we were trying to sell our house and build a new one in Farmington. My grandparents were on a mission and we were staying in their house in Farmington. Of course, things never work out the way you plan! My grandparents came home early for health reasons and we never were able to sell our house (we found out later that our dear next door nieghbor, Grandma Dot, prayed that we wouldn't leave - she really has an "in"!) So, when AngelFish was just a few weeks old (and I was 3 1/2 years old) we were moving back in to our house. Mom was unpacking boxes in the kitchen and AngelFish started to cry in the other room. She decided to let AngelFish cry for a few minutes so she could finish the box she was working on and after a minute or two, the crying stopped. When she went in to check on AngelFish, I was sitting on the floor rocking AngelFish and singing to her. I am grateful for that new little sister who awoke my mothering instincts and was patient enough to let a 3 year old practice mothering!

I am grateful for AngelFish's courage to accept a mission call to serve in Russia. She is strong in her testimony of the gospel and is strong in her determination to do what's right. I am grateful for that example.

I really think that our age difference is a very awkward one. It always seemed that I was going through a crabby/difficult phase when AngelFish wanted to be friends and by the time I grew out of it, she was going through a crabby/difficult phase and didn't want to be friends. (Although I'm pretty sure I had much more crabby/difficult phases than she did!). I am grateful that AngelFish was patient with me and never gave up on being friends. I am grateful that I've had the opportunity as an adult to really work on having a good relationship with my sister and that she's forgiven me for all of the rotten things I did when we were younger! I am so grateful for sisters who are also friends. I am grateful for the love and support we offer each other.

Happy Halloween!

These are some of my favorite pictures from past Halloweens. My Dad was the Bishop when these pictures were taken. The top two are my parents dressed up for a Ward Halloween party on a Saturday night. It's hard to tell in the picture, but my Dad has a mohawk. A lot of people don't know that he wears a toupee - a lot of ward members didn't know that. He took one of his old hairpieces and cut it to be a mohawk. Then he showed up at the party with his head shaved on the top with a mohawk. Everyone was shocked! So many people asked him what he was going to do for Church the next day. Of course, he then showed up for Church with a full head of hair! This was Halloween of 1987.

The bottom picture is of my Dad being The Count from Sesame Street. For years he would show up to work - as an accountant - as The Count, complete with the purple face. I guess I really learned to love dress-ups from my Dad! This picture was 1988.

Further Proof that My Family is Insane

This is how we spent our Sunday evening.

We were playing with my Dad's new cellphone. (His old one went through the wash. We discovered that cellphones have absolutely no amphibious tendencies...)

After we tired of checking out the phone's new features...we headed downstairs to watch old home movies. Five years ago we spent the first couple of weeks of October watching old home movies and laughing our heads off while we sat in my Grandpa's hospice room waiting for his body to release him from this mortal life. It was a hard, sad time. But we were together and that's what counts most. It's nice to have some good final memories of spending time with Grandpa.

The highlights of last night included a five-year-old Tergaso receiving a shopping center toy for Christmas. As she rang up AngelFish's purchases, she made this very sage announcement in the toy's microphone: "Attention shoppers. If you don't have any money, please put it back. Thank you." We were also treated to a fantastic fashion show and dance video. Nothing says haute couture like a hot pink and black striped skirt paired with flourescent green and blue t-shirts or three pairs of socks layered - pink, black and yellow! However, the music selection was a timeless classic - "Pop! Goes the World" by Men Without Hats. We should have known then that LSOC was destined for great things - what three-year-old picks up choreography that fast?!

On a slightly more serious note (and in an effort to continue my randomness...) I have to post some pictures of RussianJoy - isn't he adorable?He is chewing on a rubber frog. He has good taste!

jkRibbit Randomness...

Random the First: I like alliteration. I am aware that I'm a nerd and I'm okay with that.

Random the Second: (I need to preface this with a quick explanation. I am trying to be very careful with my words. I have learned through my experience with my continuing health saga, and even more so with BodyTalk, that everything has an energy - and I'm very susceptible to that energy. So, I'm trying to focus on the positive energy. Hence, I have been trying not to use the term "lose weight." A) the word "lose" has negative connotations. And 2) I never want to "find" that weight again. So, my family and I have been referring to that particular phenomenon as "letting go" - as in "I have let go of 30 pounds in the last year." This particular terminology, for me, says: "I no longer have the need to carry that extra weight, so I am releasing it." We will also sometimes use: "I am 30 pounds lighter than I was a year ago." You get the idea...) So, in case you didn't catch those oh-so-subtle hints -

I let go of 30 pounds!!! I am 30 pounds lighter!!!

Random the Third: I am recording a CD. I wrote a post a few weeks ago about being brave. However, I was not brave enough to announce what I was being brave about and that didn't jive with me. So, I decided to be brave all the way. I'm recording a CD. There will be 12 vocal selections mostly taken from my Broadway repertoire. Tuesday evening, I had my second recording session. It didn't go quite as smoothly as the first one - I was only able to complete two songs instead of the planned three (I'm a bit stuck in a health issue cycle - sprained ankle led to tweaked back, led to knee problems with a sinus infection thrown in the middle for good measure...but I'm determined to perservere :). But I am still happy with how the two turned out. I now have 5/12 done.

Random the Fourth: My siblings crack me up! AngelFish had a conference in Vegas this week. Tergaso thought it would be cool to drive up and spend some time together on the strip since she only has class on Monday and Tuesday and is feeling all cool and grown-up now that she's started her Master's program. (Apparently, she's also turned ghetto. Stay. Cool. Yo.) However, Brunhilde (her car) didn't agree with this plan. I guess what goes to Vegas, stays in Vegas and poor Brunhilde was left in the dust of the Greyhound that took Tergaso back to Claremont. Poor Bruni...

Random the Fifth: I was going through pictures to find my favorites of ScienceBoy and found these awesome pics and had to share. They were taken, I believe, eight years ago. The top one is pretty much what we look like whenever we're together (ie: laughing hysterically). The bottom one is of us pulling it together for a split second. I love these pictures.

Remembering...

Seven years ago:

• I was working in one of the tallest buildings in Salt Lake City and heard the news while riding the elevator to the 24th floor. Not much work got done that day before they let us go home. We mostly crowded around the few radios and t.v.s in the office.
  
• My sister, AngelFish, was serving a mission in Russia. We waited anxiously to hear from her and to see what would happen world wide.
• My cute little ScienceBoy was about to turn 3. We had him for the weekend and he went out to help The Count put up our flag. He started to say parts of the Pledge of Allegiance that he had heard, including "one nation, under Uncle The Count..." We laughed and thought it was cute. But isn't it nice to have fathers and father figures that you can turn to and recieve comfort and safety. I know that we, as individuals, as a family, and, I'm sure, as a nation also turned to our Heavenly Father during that dark time.
• I was touched by the stories of courage, the outpouring of love, the unifying of our country.

Time to Brag About My Other Amazing Sister...

I am really good at being remiss. It's a special talent of mine. However, it's not the best talent to have. So, I am now attempting to make up for my lack of promptitude and blog about a very important even that took place in my most-favoritest-sister-named-AngelFish, AngelFish's life a few months ago. My sister AngelFish is amazing. She is so smart, hard-working, organized, and talented! I really admire her. In May, AngelFish received her Masters Degree in Finance. She accomplished this while working full-time and completing the requirements to become a certified real estate assessor. I am so proud of her!

Her last week of school was really crazy. In addition to final assignments and regular work projects, she had a major test instead of a masters thesis and final dress rehearsals for a Stake production of Beauty and the Beast.


AngelFish was a "Silly Girl" and she was amazing!! She flirted it up like a pro. It was so fun to go to her graduation in the afternoon and then straight to this production that night and see her transformation. Like I said, AngelFish is amazing and I'm so proud of her!

My Crazy Family

I love hanging out with my family. We are crazy! But we do have a lot of fun. Easter Sunday was no exception. I cooked up a crazy plan with The Easter Bunny (aka: The Countess) that my brother, LSOC, would be given the movie "Enchanted" in his Easter basket. AngelFish, LadyBug, Gorgeous and I had dragged him to see it in December (against very vocal protestations - he was pretty much guilted into it...) and was just as disgusted as he thought he would be. We of course all loved it and have teased him about it mercilessly ever since that it is his favorite movie. So, it's time to open Easter baskets and the Easter Bunny and I insist that we need to get the camera out first. That turns into a big problem. Tergaso has Mom's camera in Provo. She took it on her trip to Claremont last weekend and forgot to bring it back with her. (Apparently her own camera is broken. Keep in mind this is the second camera she's had from her mission - she broke the first one, too.) No problem, we'll use LSOC's camera. Except that Tergaso has his camera in Provo, too. She keeps forgetting to bring that back as well. Well, Tergaso has brought a former mission companion home with her for Easter and all the sudden she pipes up with, "I think you still have my camera, too!" Apparently Tergaso is a camera magnet! Of course, I can't talk much, because the next idea was to use my camera and Tergaso and I spent a good 10 minutes in my room looking for it and trying not to get lost in the bottomless pit that is my bedroom. So, our Easter pictures are from cell-phone cameras!

Anyway. Back to Easter baskets. LSOC opens his present first (youngest to oldest) and when he saw it was "Enchanted" he got extremely disgusted, burst out with "Are you serious?" and threw it at AngelFish. It was awesome. The only problem was that when AngelFish opened her present - it was also "Enchanted." It was finally my turn to open my present and that silly Easter Bunny gave me "I Am Legend" which AngelFish and I both refuse to watch. (LSOC will probably end up talking me into it - but I know there was no way I could stand to watch it in the theaters!) So LSOC and I switched. But his reaction was priceless.

After dinner we were sitting around talking and things got, well, crazy. I'm not exactly sure how things got started - I was snoozing on Mom's shoulder - of course, I'm not sure anyone else knew how things got started anyway. But they were listening to Russian disco/tech music. (I told you we are crazy.) I'm pretty sure the Russian disco/tech music got started sometime after they all took a walk around the block wearing crazy hats (they had to have their own "Easter Parade" complete with Easter Bonnets! I didn't go with - remember the whole snoozing on Mom's shoulder - but I wouldn't be surprised if they were belting "Easter Parade" as they went. Anyway, we were listening to Russian disco/tech music and Tergaso started dancing. First it was while she was sitting on the couch but then she stood up and pulled my Grandma, Gorgeous, up and they were dancing together. Gorgeous really got down and boogied! (Which she pronounces boo (as in, "Boo!" not "book") - gie) It was hilarious.



A little bit later, AngelFish had her feet propped up on Gorgeous's lap and Gorgeous decided to do "This Little Piggy." Well, Angelfish only has 4 toes on one foot. All the sudden, Gorgeous stops and says, "I can't wee-wee on this foot!" (She'd run out of toes...) We all almost wee-weed right there in the living room we were laughing so hard.

I love my family!

Picture Post

While I was looking for a picture of SpiderMan to post yesterday, I found these pictures from our Halloween party. I just had to post them. The first two are of AngleFish and Ladybug. We all love the Broadway Musical "Wicked" and AngelFish and Ladybug have so much fun singing "What Is This Feeling?" to each other. So, for Halloween, they decided to dress as Galinda and Elphaba and sing to each other. It was so funny. The top picture is their re-enactment of the cover picture from "Wicked." They are so funny!

Also, please pardon the white streaks across the pictures. Apparently they got stuck to each other at some point and I'm not techno-savvy enough to doctor them! I'm doing good to get these on my blog at all!

The last picture is me as a black cat. I also used this costume for my costume recital for my students. One of my student's little sisters absolutely loved my tail! She followed me around wrapping herself up in it and petting it. It was awesome.

Updates, Reiteration, and Book Reviews

I had an amazing BodyTalk session yesterday. I was pretty immobile when I went (I have been since Friday.) I could walk - but only just and it looked rather amusing (I'm assuming) because there was no movement above my legs. But I was a completely different person when I left. I could twist (gently), bend, walk - it was amazing! The soreness is still there, but I can move! My practitioner has recently had some training in Matrix Energetics and she's been combining that with the BodyTalk with great success. I am just so grateful for being led down this path and having BodyTalk in my life. What a wonderful blessing.

I had my first physical therapy appointment today and was actually a bit disappointed. I'm not sure how to even describe it - whether my therapist was rushed, or not quite sure what I wanted or what my doctor wanted or what he should do - it was just not very satisfying. I don't know. It just didn't seem very thorough. He checked my reflexes, he asked me to bend back and to the sides as far as I could without pain. But that was it. He didn't feel my back - see if there was any swelling or bulging - nothing. And considering the wonderful treatment I've had from TOSH in the past, I was a bit baffled and disappointed. I do have an appointment for some pool therapy on Monday, so hopefully that will go better. And the therapist did get me started on some core strengthening exercises.

Now on to fun and fluff. I finished "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief", by Rick Riordan, a couple of weeks ago. It was fabulous! It was so much fun. It's about a sixth grade boy who struggles with dyslexia, ADHD, and school in general who discovers (after being kicked out of his sixth boarding school in as many years) that his problems can be attributed to the fact that he is the son of Poseidon (of Greek mythology.) He literally attracts trouble because he is a "half-blood." So he goes to Camp Half-Blood for the summer and ends up on a quest to recover Zeus's master lightening bolt. This book is very well written, has a ton of Greek mythology in it, and is very clever and witty. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend it. I can't wait to read more books in the series. I believe that three books have been published and a fourth is due in May.

I'm currently reading "North and South", by Elizabeth Gaskell. I'm tantalizingly close to finishing it. I've seen the BBC movie and loved it (and no, it's not about the civil war - as I mistakenly thought when Angelfish told me I had to see it - it's about the difference between the Southern gentility and Northern manufacturing parts of England during the 1800's.) But I was a bit nervous to read the book. As mentioned previously, I was scared to try out my "new" brain and find it lacking. But, I was brave and was rewarded! I'm glad that I saw the movie first. It's pretty faithful to the book, and I think it helped that I was motivated to get to the good parts and that I can picture these characters so well. Of course, it's helpful to me in my first venture back into the Classics, but is totally unnecessary if you've never lost your brain! The only recommendation I would urge is to make sure you read a copy with a glossary at the back and be aware that there's a glossary at the back. I recently discovered it and had many dialect words explained that I'd been frustrated over. Some of the characters kept talking about "clemming" or not wanting their children to "clem" and I had no idea what that was. Turns out it means "starving" or "starve." There are a few others examples as well. So, the glossary is very beneficial. I'm going to have to add this book to my library (I'm borrowing Angelfish's copy - Thanks!)

Thankful Thursday

Spoiler Alert: In the following post, I discuss details from the Anne of Green Gables series including important plot details. If you haven't read these books (especially the last one, Rilla of Ingleside) and plan on doing so, you might want to skip this post. Fair warning...

I just finished the final book in the Anne of Green Gables series. What a wonderful series of books! The final, eighth book, Rilla of Ingleside, takes place during World War I and is also a beautiful romance. It has prompted so many feelings in me. I cried over Walter - his courage, and beauty. I also cried with joy when Jem came home and was met by faithful Dog Monday. I was proud of Rilla, at how well she grew up and raised her "war-baby." It has also prompted me to ask "where is my Kenneth Ford, my Gilbert Blythe, my Mr. Knightly, or Mr. Darcy? Where is my Prince Charming? That one faithful man who loves me with all his heart? Who fights through a war or typhoid to come back to me, who is willing to patiently teach me to be a better person, who overcomes all obstacles just for the thought of loving me and earning my love in return? I must "keep the faith" as Rilla and "trust to Providence" as Susan and believe that he will come and find me someday.

These books have also highlighted so many things that I am grateful for. I am thankful for good books - for great authors who were willing to share their ideas and talents. I'm thankful for an education and parents who instilled in me a love of reading. I am so thankful that the Fibro-fog has cleared and I've got my brain back! I went through my own "Dark Ages" when the Fibro-fog was so thick that I couldn't swim to the top. I couldn't read because I couldn't focus. I am so thankful that I've come out of that period. I'm thankful for all servicemen of all times who were willing to sacrifice and fight for freedom. I'm so thankful for that freedom that I enjoy now. I'm thankful for my faith to rely on during hard times. There is so much good in the world, so much to be thankful for!

I have several new books I'm looking forward to starting now...the hard part is deciding which one! I recently purchased the second book in the Peter series by Dave Barry. I believe it's Peter and the Shadow Thieves. While purchasing it at Borders, the clerk highly recommended The Lightning Thief. I also have Inkspell to read. My BFF sent me a mystery novel for Christmas that looks intriguing. Angelfish let me borrow North and South and she also gave me Bleak House by Charles Dickens last year for Christmas. Do I go for more juvenile fiction/fantasy? Do I try the classics? (I haven't since I got my brain back...I've been a bit nervous to test it!) So many choices! Actually, I'm thankful for choices! How boring would life be without new things to try and without any choices?

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've already done a post on how thankful I am for my family, but they really are so important to me, that I had to mention them again on this biggest of all Thankful Thursdays. I'd like to highlight what I've learned from my family. From my father (The Count), I've learned how to cherish a spouse. The quickest way to get on Dad's bad side is to disrespect Mom. From my mother (The Countess), I've learned how to be a good teacher. You can't teach without love. From my sister (AngelFish), I've learned how to be brave and strong. I admire how much courage it took to get on a plane to Russia to serve a mission. From my other sister (Tergaso), I've learned how to be happy and confident. Life is good, buck up! From my brother (The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra or LSOC), I've learned what unconditional love looks like in real life. I remember once his finger got slammed in the car door. I don't remember who was at fault, but I do remember that he was immediately consoling them and forgiving them for the accident. From my family as a whole, I've learned that you have to pull together and support each other. Life is better with a family of cheerleaders!

I am so very blessed to have been born into this wonderful family!

Happy Birthday AngelFish!

Happy Birthday (yesterday) AngelFish! My sister is awesome! She is beautiful, intelligent, and kind. She is almost done with her Master's Degree, bought her own condo, is fluent in Russian, and spends countless hours helping us all with computer questions. She is an incredible woman. I love you, babe!