School: Well my schooling choice has changed again! I'm planning to attend a culinary school and then start a catering business with my best friend. The idea is that every single item on the menu will have a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian option. I'm thinking it will be amazing. :) The biggest decision is where we'll be located. Not sure what demand will be in Bakersfield.

Work: Unemployed. I REALLY need a job. Well...I kind of have a job. I babysit for a lady from church. Three kids: angry, recently diagnosed diabetic 13 year old, diabetic five year old, and a two year old with no words. It can be difficult at times. I'm confident when it comes to caring for the kids, but I still feel kind of weird in the house. I always feel weird in other people's houses though, so it's to be expected. I'd prefer to have an actual job. There are several aspects of the babysitting gig that I find frustrating. Mainly the fact that I very rarely know what's going on. I typically have to plan to be staying two to four hours past what she tells me.

Love Life: Still single. Not really dating. Still pretty much waiting for Jesse to come back so we can see where that goes. He'll be back in May. I keep half jokingly referring to him as my future husband. There's really no guarantee of that. I honestly have no idea what will happen when he's back. I know what I hope will happen though. :) If what I hope happens, I'll be going to the culinary program at UVU instead of one up in Seattle.

Friends: Kimmy, who I've been spending most of my time with, just moved to Virginia to marry her girlfriend and become a navy wife. So now 4 of my 5 best friends have moved out of state. I still have Lisa. I've also got various male friends. There's Ben. He's about to start schooling to be a pastor. We talk a lot of Bible. He has a similar history to me, so we talk about the effects of said history as well. I'm also trying to work out a friendship with Cameron. He and I have a lot of history, so it's a little odd. He's got a girlfriend now. I feel weird about that. I also feel weird the Lisa has a guy that she goes out with on a regular basis. I feel weird being so completely single while all my friends are settling into relationships.

That's pretty much it. I've been watching Dr Who and lots of Star Trek. 9 is still m favorite. DS9 is becoming my favorite, but Picard will always be my favorite captain. That's about the extent of my life. Yep.

Sending Off a Missionary

I just spent a few days with one of my best friends. She leaves for the MTC in 9 days. When I was saying goodbye, I realized that I was going to see her next year. Thanksgiving of next year is the next time I'll see her. It's not that long at all, especially since we usually go a year in between visits anyway. The thing was...I was still SO upset about saying goodbye. It took be a while to figure out why, but I finally did.

I just said goodbye to my Childhood Emily. When she comes back, she will be a different person. Emily as I know her is gone. The next time I see her, she'll be Adult Emily. It's just another door shutting. My childhood is slowly but surely becoming my past. It's another sign that I' growing up. :/ This growing up nonsense is annoying.

Now I'm 20

I am 20. I'm the youngest of my siblings, and I'm no longer a teen. It's weird to consider. I am getting old. I've completed two full decades her on Earth. Although, I suppose it's not weird as the fact that my parents are almost 50 and my oldest sister is almost 30. Ok, those are weirder thoughts. I can understand me getting older, but not them. To me, my siblings will always be in their 20s and my parents will always be in their 40s. Until I get a bit older at least.

So, what did I do for my birthday? I went to Venice Beach and Hollywood. I went to dinner. I went to the movies. I spent time with people I love who love me back. That's how I want to spend the rest of my birthdays. It's my favorite part of having a birthday. Also, the attention (which is why I wore a tiara on my birthday).

Birthdays always get me thinking of how I'll celebrate my children's birthdays (won't have any anytime soon. I don't even have a possible father at the moment, so none of you need worry (Daddy)). I think I want to not just celebrate their birthDAY but their full birthday week. I want them to have a full week of attention and an overdone outpouring of love. Birthdays are special. I've never understood people who don't agree. I think birthdays are right up there with religious holidays. So in my house, birthdays will be just as big a deal. In fact, I'll probably celebrate Christmas as Christ's birthday week. I want it to be a big deal. No chores, dates with mom and dad, favorite meals all week, desserts all week. Now the dates and meals may be limited at times due to finances, but that's what I would love to do.

So...basically...I love birthdays. I think they're incredibly special. Everyone deserves and amazing birthday every single year.

So, what else is going on in my life? Well, I'm job hunting. Ok, I'm about to start job hunting. Soon. I'm single and wanting to stay that way. I'm almost done with this semester at school. I'm spending a ton of time with my friends. I'm really focusing on getting to know myself right now. I'm a very interesting person, you know. I'm doing a lot of writing.

I love writing! Fiction and poems. Occasionally, I'll write an opinion essay. I adore short stories. I love telling a story where the reader has to understand something I didn't say straight out. I think that's what really makes a great story writer. Getting the reader to understand something about a character through their thought process instead of saying it straight out. That's what I like to write.

I have a full length play in the works. The whole plot is worked out in my head (which is highly unusual for me). I have two scenes down on paper. I just need to get the rest of it down. I think it's going to me amazing, mainly because I am amazing.   : )

Another thing I've been doing lately is cooking. I've been making soups, which is pretty normal for me, but I recently graduated to making some pastas. I did this super simple one where I browned some hamburger with a couple cubes of beef bouillon and a tidge of water, added some cooked pasta, frozen veggies, and butter, then just heated it through. It was pretty amazing actually.

So, that's me. That's my life. I love you all (I'm assuming that only my family reads this, lol.)