What Dreams May Come...

Nyquil Dreams

2009-10-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Medications do wonderful things to dreams. At least they do to mine. Everything just becomes either more bizarre or more realistic. I've been sick this past weekend with a doozy of a cold/flu. I had a fever and couldn't seem to get warm. I was congested and sneezing and coughing. I think I've used a whole box of tissues in the past 3 days. I wasn't happy about having this cold either. I had a family wedding this weekend that I had every intention of fully participating in and instead I got sidelined and spent most of the time in bed. At least the dreams were entertaining. :)

When I got sick Thursday night, I knew that there was no way I was going to work on Friday. This was a good call as I was pretty miserable most of the day. However, this didn't stop me from dreaming about work. In this episode my boss came in to my room and announced that since I couldn't come to work, we would just work from my bedroom. "Noooooo!!!!" I screamed. "Get out! Get out! I'm sick!" (I may have actually screamed this aloud...) My boss looked at me funny, but then disappeared. I was appreciating his absence when suddenly there were dinosauars in my room. Little ones. Like green rats. I just knew they were going to bite my ankles off. I started screaming and jumped onto my bed. Just then, my roommate Landl burst into the room.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"There's little green dinosaurs in my room. They're going to eat me!" I screamed back.
Ever so nonchalantly, Landl said, "Oh, these little guys won't hurt you, but I'll get rid of them."
She proceeded to daintly pick up the dinosaurs by their heads and carried them out of the room like one would carry a dirty rag.
Then my other roommate showed up outside my door. "Julie," she said. "Would you like to have breakfast with me?"
"I've love to!" I said.
"Great! How about Fruit Loops?"
"Okay." I said.
"Good." Replied Annie. "But we can only eat the blue ones." She help a big bag full of blue Fruit Loops. "Look! I've been saving up!"

Around this point I woke up and realized that none of this had actually happened. Phew! As much as I'd love to have breakfast with my roomies, I really don't want my boss showing up in my room.

Catching Up

2009-01-29T20:18:00.000-08:00

Hello folks! Yeah, its been a while. Sorry about that. Life has been pretty crazy lately. I figure I better catch you up on a few things before we get back to the wacky nocturnal musings of my brain.

September: I got a new position at work and became the office manager. Yes, I also got a raise. :) I also got a new camera phone. The first pictures I took were of my adorable niece, Tressa. It was her birthday. She gets her chocolate fetish from her favorite aunt...me!

October: Obviously, the best part of October is the end. So we'll skip straight to Halloween. My awesome roommates and I dressed up as characters from the board game Clue. I dare say, old chap, that we look pretty darn good! Janel is a properly prim Ms. Peacock. Andrea is a sassy, sexy Miss Scarlett. I'm a wickedly wonderful Mrs. White.

November: We went to a totally awesome One Republic concert and had a blast!! Thanksgiving was great spending time with family and feasting. Other than that it was a blur. But November needs a picture so how about one of snow in our front yard?

December: Of course Christmas was fantastic! It usually is! But here's the best story: Once upon a time, 4 Cinderellas got all dressed up for the ball. Unfortunately, the ball was a bust and no handsome princes were in attendance. Therefore the four Cinderellas along with 5 other beautiful princesses went bowling in their ball gowns and had a blast! To sum up: Ball:boring bust::bowling:blast!

January: So far its been great! Happy New Year to all of us! I spent New Years Eve at a ward party. We laughed, we sang, we played cards, and murdered people in the dark! Wahoo!

Note of Awesomeness: I'm going on a cruise!!!! Janel, Andrea, Kaija, and I will be off to the Bahamas in May! Lucky us! I'm anxiously awaiting sandy beaches, turquoise waters, and pirate adventures! Can't wait!!

Quirks?

2008-09-15T18:03:00.000-07:00

The Rules:
Link the Person who Tagged you.
Mention rules on your blog.
Tell about 6 quirks of yours.
Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same.
Leave a comment to let them know.

1. I can't eat eggs unless they are mixed into something, i.e. pancakes, cookies. cakes. If I can see the egg or taste it individually, I can't eat it. The reason for this is an extra set of taste buds that I have in the back of my throat that react to the egg and induce a gagging reflex which then causes me to throw up. It sounds like I'm making this up, but I'm really not. My dad also has this as does a lady in my neighborhood.

2. My cousin wrote about organizing her colored candy before eating it. I also do this. Its a minor ADD moment. I have to make them all even in number or create a pattern with them. M&Ms, Skittles, Sweetarts, and Smarties are all subject to this behavior.

3. I make up nicknames for people whose names I don't know so that my friends and I have a way of distinguishing them. For example, one day a guy started talking to us about EBay. It was a very random conversation and we had no idea who he was, so he became EBay-boy. (Very creative, I know.)

4. I used to absolutely, positively, unequivocally hate, despise, and detest gravy. It was the most vile, disgusting thing on the face of the earth. Then one day, a good friend made me try biscuits and gravy. I've been hooked ever since. I think it was the combination of the biscuits, (yum!) sausage, and salt. (I'm a salt addict.) So gravy isn't so bad now.

5. I once got set up on a blind date with the same guy twice. The dates were 2 years apart. Both times he said he'd call and then he never did. Hooser.

6. I just got 2 wisdom teeth pulled this afternoon. Thankfully, it was just a pulling, they weren't impacted or anything. I am, however, in some small manner of pain and eagerly awaiting my hydrocodone prescription. I tried to do just Ibuprofen, but it isn't working. I can't open my mouth all the way, but the numbness has worn off so I don't sound so "thpethal" anymore. With some luck, I'll be ok for work tomorrow. Maybe.

I now tag Andrea, Janel, Tawni, Kristen/Rob, Brooke Snyder, and Lisa!

Love and Sacrifice

2008-07-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

My roommates and I attended a new YSA ward today for the first time. We decided that we really like the ward. We want to check out another ward next week, but we'll probably go to this one.

Anyway we came home and were really tired. It had been a long week. I decided to take a nap and I had this crazy, crazy dream. My friend Annie really, really likes this guy. In my dream she and I lived in this alternate universe where we were being forced into arranged marriages. Now luckily for me, I was being matched with the guy Annie likes, but Annie was matched with a white haired old geezer. I don't know who did the matching, but it was sad.

So in the course of my engagement with the guy Annie loved, I found out that he also loved her, but due to the arranged marriages, he couldn't pursue her. We ended up searching all sorts of old laws trying to find a loophole so that Annie and her guy could marry. It was intense as Annie was due to marry the old geezer the next day and I was supposed to marry her guy later that day.

We found the loophole, but it required that someone take Annie's place. I ended up running through buildings with long corridors bumping into children and knocking over old ladies as I sprinted to stop Annie's wedding...and take her place. So yes, I married an old guy so that my friend can marry the guy she loves. What does this say about me? I don't know, but hopefully not that I like old men. Eeeww.

July 2nd

2008-07-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

Guess what world?!!!

I'm moving out!!! Yes, you heard correctly! Three friends and I found a place, charmed the landlord with brownies, and got approved! We'll move in the middle of July! Wa-freakin-hoo!!!!!!
I've been dreaming of moving out for a couple of years now and I finally feel secure enough (financially) to do it. I'm so glad my friends invited me to find a place with them. That makes it even more fun!

So here are my dreams for living with my friends:
Sunday Dinners. I know people will want to see family and stuff, but I'd like to try one Sunday a month and fix a nice meal for all of us and eat together like a family. Essentially we will be family.

Midnight Munchies. I can see us up late some random Friday night just talking and giggling and eating Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. Yum!

Family Prayer. Call me weird, but I'd love to do a roommate prayer together every night. Even though not all us may be there at the same time, I think it would help create an atmosphere conducive to the Spirit.

Those are just of few of my ideals and dreams. With any luck, they'll come true!

Blogathon!

2008-07-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

I like my friends; I want to be like them. Therefore, I'm want to participate in the blogathon they are doing. Unfortunately for me, I'm already three days behind. So I''ll be playing catch up. This is what I should have written for July 1st.

I dreamed I was engaged to Mr. Darcy last night. This was the first time I've dreamed about it versus day-dreamed about it. Big difference. Many guys wonder what we girls fascination with Darcy is. Some say its just the his good looks, his money, and that he's British. (The 3 B's: Beauty, Bounty and British. Courtesy of Dave) While these are nice and admirable traits fully capable of making any girl swoon, they are not the reason we love him. He's a highly complex character. First he's resilient to the charms, and I use that term loosely, of Caroline Bingley. She only wants him for the 3 B's and does her best to prove that she is whom he should marry. By doing this she becomes catty, clingy, undesirable and a modern day witch. We admire men who can withstand the wiles of women like her.

Although Darcy is proud, once his fault is pointed out to him, he resolves to change and win the respect of Elizabeth. We want men who are willing to change and be the best that they can. We love men who treat us with respect and value our thoughts and opinions. He becomes humble insomuch that he endures becoming related to his enemy in order to have what he desires most; the love and good opinion of a good woman. He opens up more to society and learns to laugh at himself. I value this trait. We all take ourselves so seriously. Sometimes you just have to laugh at your mistakes and move on without letting little things get you down.

So guys, (I doubt any read this. If you do, leave me a note!) please realize that real women want real men. Men who are respectful, humble, strong enough to bear burdens, and strong enough to need us.

Nature Girl

2008-06-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

It is a well known that fact that when Jewels has an adventure involving nature and the outdoors, at some point she will hit her head. Alas the curses of being tall!

Today I had a wonderful opportunity to go hike Waterfall Canyon with two good friends. The weather appeared to be perfect for the event when I woke up this morning. It was sunny, not too hot, the birds were chirping, and I was no longer dreaming that I was naked at church. (Sorry dear readers, but its true. I dreamed I was naked at church and I was very relieved to wake up and find myself clothed in PJ's and in my bed. Phew!~)

As we reached the trail head, the weather changed and it began to rain. At first it was a soft, gentle, welcome rain. It felt so nice and we laughed as we headed up the mountain. We kept our eyes open for uniquely shaped rocks and laughed and teased each other. As we progressed, the weather got worse. Soon it was hailing...hard. Our faces and hands turned red and we took shelter under a few trees. Little rivulets started to trickle down the trail making it slippery and treacherous. Our pace slackened as our caution mounted.

In such miserable conditions, it seemed hard to believe that we would keep our good humor, but we did! We laughed and talked as we huffed and puffed our way up. Even when my short friends safely passed under a low, thick tree whilst I, in my tallness, smacked my head, we laughed it off and kept going.

At last we made the top and gazed the serene beauty of the waterfall. As we rested the clouds parted, the sun burst through and our cheerfulness increased. We feasted on the goodies brought with us and continued our quest for geometrically shaped rocks. We found a heart-shaped, a square, an oval, and a round rock. The sun quickly dried our damp hoodies and jackets and we started back down.

The views were spectacular and after the rain, the foliage was lush and green. We all picked wild flowers as we came down. We were sore and tired but felt a great sense of accomplishment that we continued in less than desirable conditions and came away smelling like...well, wild flowers. It was fantastic.

So thanks girls for a great day. Next time, I'll try to keep an eye out for low lying branches!

Tears

2008-05-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

Do not be afraid, dear reader, that this post will only serve to depress you. I've had some good things happen to me lately, including a raise from work, 2 calls from (get this!) 2 guys, and I ran a mile and felt good about it. I'm that much closer to my 5K goal.

Bearing in mind that my blog explores the weird things that happen in my head at night, I'd like to tell you about the dream I had last night. I cried a lot. I woke up with tears on my face. There were 3 things that made me cry. The first is the funniest. I went to the movies with my mom, little sister, and little brother. I believe we were seeing the new Indiana Jones movie. We were really excited to go. We found the perfect seats and were waiting for the show to start when I suddenly remembered that I hadn't gotten any popcorn yet. I ran to the concession stand and placed my order. "Two large things of popcorn, please." (No, I wasn't going to eat it all myself...I was going to share...some.) Just then the manager came out and told me in a not nice way that I was never allowed to have popcorn again. I begged and pleaded with her to let me have some, but she refused to give in. I begged so long that I missed the movie and started to sob. I was heartbroken more over the popcorn than missing the movie.

The second thing that made me cry was a guy. Go figure. Same guy as the Coldstone entry. Same reasons. I thought I was doing fine. Apparently my subconscious thought otherwise.

The third thing that made me cry was a friend. This friend has been struggling in many ways and I'm very concerned for him. This isn't the place to list his struggles, but they require more help than what I can give. The most I can do is be supportive and pray for him. I don't know if he will read this or not, but if he does, I hope that he'll recognize how many people love him and care for him.

So that's my dream. Lack of popcorn makes me cry. So do boys. But I'll just keep thinking of the good things in my life and the tears will dry pretty quickly. At least, they won't show on the outside.

Coldstone

2008-04-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

There's a popular saying, "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade." I have something similar. "When love stinks, eat ice cream." I won't post all the details here, but today love stinks. Hopefully, my state of optimism will return shortly, but until then love stinks and, therefore, I shall eat ice cream.

My personal trainer would tell me this probably isn't the wisest course for my physical health goals, but my emotional trainer, (Hey, that's me!) thinks its a great idea. I had a bad night last night. It started off good, but then went downhill. My heart burst into little pieces. Tears were shed and I slept little. I looked awful when it came time to get up for work. It didn't help that the shower was being occupied right when I wanted to use it. So I went to work looking like crap. I felt like crap too. Seriously. Self esteem was hitting pretty low.

Thankfully, a good friend managed to reach me via facebook chat. (Its about time they had a free chat on there!) She decided that ice cream and catching up was called for. So instead of hitting the gym, I hit Coldstone. Did you know that they sing a song when they get a tip? I was tempted to tip repeatedly just for the laughs! I discovered that the company of good friends and cookie dough ice cream is great therapy. I left feeling so much better about myself. The combination of good advice and chocolate perked me right up!

So thanks to all my friends who support me through my tough times. Thanks to Coldstone for the empty calories that fuel the way to recovery, and Love, you stink.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

2008-04-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

Today I turned 24 years old. Guess what? That's not as old as I thought it was when I was 12. Tonight I can't complain about it at all. I have had a fantastic birthday so far. (I have family coming over tomorrow and the festivities will continue.) I got to spend the whole day today doing things that I love to do. I went shopping with my mom and then hurried to get ready for both my performances with the Ogden LDS Institute Spring Show. I was also asked to sing in one of the pre-show devotionals. So, I got to sing/perform all day long in the company of some of my best friends and there was yummy food involved. Who could ask for more?

Ok...I probably could. Speaking of which...I've been begging my parents for a new mattress since the one I've been using I have had since I was 8 years old. So what did my eyes behold when I stepped into my room less than an hour ago? That's right! A new bed!!!!! Wa-freakin'-hoo!!! I am typing this from my new bed and enjoying the experience immensely.

I do need sleep though. Therefore, a continuation of this blog will appear tomorrow. Until then, sweet dreams!

Italian Days and Nights

2008-04-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

Whenever I do something really fun and exciting I am bound to dream about it that night or even throughout the next week. Well, last night was Girls Night Out and consisted of good company, Italian food, and a quest. These elements were also in the dream I had.

My dream started off with me and most of the girls from girls night out, including Annie, at the airport preparing to leave on a choir trip. We were getting ready to board a small jet that was to take us to an undisclosed location. None of us were worried about where we were going. After all, the directors are in charge and wouldn't do anything too strange, right? Ha ha.

Our choir was decked out in our blue and maroon polo shirts with our logos and we were all sitting in the jet anxiously awaiting our departure. We were laughing, talking and speculating where we might be going. Major Bubbles bet it was Boise, Idaho.

We took off and starting flying over Southern Utah. We flew for ages gazing at the mixture of red sandstone and green sage and cacti. We got concerned when we realized we'd been in the air for many hours and still had no clue where we were. The pilot finally landed in this little, Podunk, one-horse town and we unloaded our jet.

To our surprise, we were in Italy! Immediately Italian opera music started playing and we found ourselves sitting in a beautiful, antiquated vineyard and being fed mounds and mounds of pasta and grilled chicken. We drank gelatos and laughed at our good fortune to be in such an amazing foreign country.

The next day we set out to see the sites. We found ourselves in a "Disneyized" version of all things Italiana. Every place we went was a gift shop! One of the gift shop owners suggested that we participate in a scavenger hunt. The winner of the hunt received a fabulous prize. He then gave us a clue to find our first object. I can't remember what objects we were seeking, but each was hidden in a different gift shop and we had to give a password to the owner to get the next clue.

We raced around frantically searching for the right shops and the hidden objects. Along the way we somehow got on a big green bus. To our delight the bus took us to all the famous Italian sites in under half and hour! Yes folks, Rome, the Colosseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and more were all seen in half and hour, from the big green bus. As we passed each site, I kept expressing my awe and pleasure in louder and louder forms. Like joyful screaming. I don't know why, I'm not generally a screamer, but in my dream I was!

We got off the tour bus and ran into our final shop. Our last object needed was an oval-shaped diamond. We had to get it specifically from the shop owner. Unfortunately, the old lady keeping the shop had heard of my screaming on the bus and had decided that there was no way I was ever getting that diamond. I was not worthy. She, not so nicely, explained this to us and refused to give us the diamond. She only relented when I convinced her that I was screaming to express my joy and after I promised to not disturb the beautiful Italian countryside in such an unrefined manner ever again.

At last we had the final clue and returned to our original shop to claim our much deserved prize. Of course we were the first team back. I don't think the other teams even really existed. Our grand prize was...CHEESECAKE!!!!

Before I could eat one bite, I woke up.

I laughed so hard when I realized what I had been dreaming. Apparently the Italian atmosphere of the Macaroni Grill had affected me more than I thought. Granted hanging out with some of my favorite people in the world also makes for a good time! (This explains the choir trip part. Most of my favorite people I know from choir.) Our quest ended with one thing that I have a strong affinity for: cheesecake. If you ever want to make me happy, cheesecake does it every time. Coincidentally, cheesecake was the free dessert we got from the chef. Sheesh, I'm making myself hungry! Anyone know how to say goodbye in Italian?

Greetings Y'all!

2008-04-05T22:08:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me also knows that I have exceptionally crazy and bizarre dreams. I like to think that they are the result of suppressed imagination that doesn't get used during the day, but I also know that they are just random reflections on my day too. I've had these crazy dreams as long as I can remember. One has even given me an idea for a novel I want to write.

One of the first dreams I can remember as being crazy and bizarre happened when I was about 8 years old. My family was living in Layton at the time, near the railroad tracks. This dream was rather scary when I had it, but now its just funny.

In my dream a huge storm blew into Layton. It was colossal! The sky was so dark and had a green tinge to it. Intense wind kept blowing things over in our yard. The radio announced that tornados had touched down and that we would need to find shelter. Instead of hiding out in our basement, we all ran out to our beatup stationwagon. It was one of those really cool ones with the backwards facing backseat. I loved riding back there!

We started heading down the road in search of shelter when we were suddenly surrounded by 6 huge tornados! They grew evil faces and started chasing us! We drove and drove, speeding recklessly along and swerving through subdivisions and through a field trying to lose them, but they stayed right on our tail. We found ourselves out on a rural dirt road and my dad was able to pick up enough speed to get us a little ahead of the menacing, creepy death-winds.

Just as we were beginning to despair of ever reaching shelter, a church house appeared in front of us, it had clear sky above and almost screamed, "Safety here!" Dad zoomed into the parking lot and we all dashed out. The tornados were getting closer.

As we ran inside, the church changed from a church into a funeral parlour! There were coffins lying around everywhere. This old caretaker materialized and told us to get downstair with everyone else. The basement of this church/funeral home was a gigantic basketball court! It was so full of people that there was hardly room for my family to squeeze in. Just when we thought we were safe, a hundred more people tried to get in. The caretaker decided that some people would have to leave and face the fury of the tornados. Of course no one wanted to leave, so he came up with an ingenious lottery.

Since we had a basketball court and balls, it was decided that anyone who could make a 3-point shot could stay. I like sports, but I suck at them. Especially basketball. I got in line with everyone else and one by one we all had a chance to shoot the basket. (I have no idea how we had time for everyone to do this when the tornados were so close, but we did) I watched as everyone took their turn and made their required baskets. I walked up to the line and the old man handed me the ball. My heart was pounding, my palms were sweaty. I knew that if I didn't make this shot, I would be forced out. I knew that those tornados would kill me.

Slowly I raised the ball into a shooting position, said a prayer, and let it soar. It arched in slow motion across the court and THUNK! It hit the rim and bounced away. I felt immediate despair and my eyes grew dark.

Then I woke up! Thank heavens! I thought for sure I had died. To this day, I can't shoot a 3-point shot. I have no idea why I remember this dream so well from so long ago. Maybe I was supposed to learn the importance of basketball or something.

So that's the first dream I'd like to share with you dear readers. Hope you enjoyed it! More entertaining dreams will be posted soon, but since that was the first dream I can remember really well, it seemed fitting to share it first.

From happenings in the life of Julie:
Tonight I went to Salt Lake with some girlfriends for a much needed Girls Night Out. There was much rejoicing! We opted not to wait the 4.5 hours for the Cheesecake Factory, but instead ate at the Macaroni Grill. Soooo much fun! They brought out appetizers for everyone waiting and we got to meet the chef. He decided we were pretty cool and gave us free dessert. Good times were had by all!