The Secret Gaden

Last week, Marty and I watched The Secret Garden. I was surprised he even agreed to watch it with me, but apparently he didn't think the movie was half bad. In fact, he watched it more often in his youth than I did in mine.

The last time I saw this movie I was five-- a good 15 years ago. I adored the movie, and I bought the little kids version of the book at my kindergarten's book fair. It came with a key necklace. I remember wearing the necklace for some photographs taken of my best friend and I shortly before I moved.

Ever since watching this movie as a little kid, I've always wanted a beautiful garden like the one in the movie.









I've never actually read the book, despite owning the young reader's version. But, I think once I get my Barnes and Noble gift card for my birthday, The Secret Garden will be in my cart to buy! Hopefully it's as delightful as the movie.

Slowing Down

Image by Phillip Chitwood

Posting will be somewhat slow around here for a bit. I'll still be around, but I've got a pretty busy schedule this summer between my job and spending as much time as possible with my family and boyfriend before school starts back up.

I had a good week

There is a lot to celebrate this week!

New Job. Goodbye Roxy Cafe, Hello stable job at PCT International. I'm a little bummed that yet again I'll be working in a factory over summer. But, I cannot say no to a 40 hour work week when my savings account looks the way it does.

New Apartment Situation. Initially, Brooke and I planned to live in the apartment over summer. We assumed finding a job in Kalamazoo would be easier than finding jobs at home. Unfortunately, 20,000+ individuals have left Kalamazoo (I'm assuming), to spend their summer vacations at home. No one is really hiring. SO, we decided to do a storage option, and we'll probably save ourselves close to $500! Maybe a tad bit more since we don't have to buy groceries and whatnot.

My typewriter. My friend, Jenn, gave it to me. So far, I've only used it to type up some old character profiles and letters to friends.


Coyotes. There is a coyote living on my road! I haven't named him/her yet, but when I do I'll let you know. The coyote darted across my dirt road in front of my car and bounded into Elvis's clover patch. I slammed on my brakes. I wasn't close to hitting the coyote, but I wasn't really sure what it was at first; I didn't realize coyotes lived in Michigan. Last night I heard him howling somewhere in my yard. It was pretty neat!

Image from red~star

Studying Japanese. I can't really explain why I'm having so much fun studying Japanese during summer vacation. I just love workbooks. It's kind of sick, really.

Brownies. I baked some. They've been in the house for two days, and there are two squares left. They were so soft and fudge and chocolate-y, and delicious.

Zucchini. I think zucchini has become my favorite vegetable. It's only rival is corn on the cob, a most delicious summer time treat! Seriously, I could eat zucchini with every meal and be satisfied. I especially love it grilled and dipped in soy sauce.

Honorable Mentions. Watching It with Marty. Playing Eternal Sonata on the Xbox360 while Marty slept. Eating a chocolate chip pancake at Roxy's for free. My new red pen. Sending off my loan paper work. Writing letters. The superb thunderstorm last Friday! Warm weather, the scent of freshly cut grass, and walking in the soft grass. Watching movies while eating loads of junk food with my parents. Three day weekends!


What's made your week lovely?

package for moi?

A few weeks ago, I entered a giveaway contest over at Super Cute Kawaii to win some fabulous goodies from Chicki. Short story even shorter, I won =] I was so excited to receive the package in the mail!

Fafi Girls stationary, hair clips, momiji stickers, tissues, key chain, necklace, and cell phone charm.

This piece looked especially realistic (the chain was tucked away into a chocolate tin), and I initially thought it was a delicious real, piece of chocolate. To my surprise, it was a necklace!

All of these goodies (and zounds more) can be found at Chicki. And be sure to catch more giveaways at Super Cute Kawaii. Thank you loads for the goodies and the opportunity to win =]

The Lost Tribes of New York

Things have been a little slow around here. Life has been both busy and mundane, leaving me with little to write about. But, I did find this video at Peapods. It's pretty neat, so I thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy!

Fall into Spring

It's finally Spring in Michigan, and today was a perfect Spring day. A little muggy from the morning rain, but sunny and warm in the afternoon. I couldn't resist playing in my backyard! Here are some photos.

The lilac tree in the side yard is budding!

Hopefully my dad doesn't find out I made wishes on dandelions today. He just sprayed the yard for weeds last weekend!

Last time I climbed a tree was about two years ago. Second semester of my freshman year of college. I couldn't actually get into the tree myself, so a boy named Andy pulled, and my friend, Ian, pushed. Anyway, this tree wasn't particularly climbable. I never actually made it into the tree. But I have seen it done before. When was the last time you climbed a tree?

Hope you had a fabulous Friday!

Job Search

I've kind of been hired by a local diner called Roxy Cafe -- fabulous food, chatty servers, and loyal customers. It was the second restaurant I ate at when I first moved to Michigan, and I always thought it would be neat to work there.

And for the most part it is. I enjoy not being in a factory setting, and working the cash register makes me feel important. The customers are very fun, and the co-workers are very kind and helpful.


But...things are kind of sketchy at this point. I've worked two days, and I've made a decent chunk of change. But, now I don't work for the rest of the week, and when I asked the owner if I got to "come back for sure", he just said, "I don't know".

I'm trying to be positive.
++ This was a weird week for me to start. A few other new people have begun working, and they need training too.
++ The owner will be out of town for a day or two and needs the experienced workers to take charge.
++ Mother's Day is this weekend, and it's their busiest weekend. Needless to say, I'm in no condition to work when it's that busy.

Part of me thinks this is some sort of test to make sure I'm serious about the job. Apparently Roxy hires tons of people each year, but the people only make it through the first two days. Then they never show up again. I hope by continuing to bug the owner about me working at Roxy will show him that I'm serious about working.

I enjoy the work. But, until Roxy proves to be a more stable job, my job search continues (unfortunately)

Things I Love

I've had an awfully nice week. Here's what made it so spectacular.

Pretty Little Things
I've mentioned PLT before, but in case you forgot, it's a website Bianca and I run focusing on feminism. You should check it out =D Pretty Little Things


Job openings
Jackson appears to have loads of job openings! Roxy Cafe. YMCA. Summer Camps. Bank Tellers. Now...if they would just hire me!

Driving my mom's car
My dad is in Florida for business which leaves two cars available. My mom has been driving my dad's, and I've been driving my mom's. It's nice to have the freedom to scoot around Jackson whenever. Well...I suppose not whenever. With my mom's car, I have a curfew of midnight. Boo!

Awesome grades
I got 4 As and 1 B. What a fabulous report card!

Rainy Day
Today it was rainy all day. It was very soothing. But it also made me very tired. And, despite the rain, the temperature was still pretty warm outside.

Image by minkoff

Honorable mentions.
Lunch with Marty at El Compa, a local Mexican food restaurant. Getting ice cream from Dairy Queen twice! Bowling for only $7. Waking up and finding chocolate chip cookies on the counter. Eating said cookies for breakfast. Eating homemade chicken noodle soup for lunch. Falling asleep with my cat, Ed, purring.

How's your week been? What's made it so lovely?