California via Instagram

We're at the Playmill! We rehearse 9 hours a day, so I probably won't be blogging lots for the next few weeks. But before we came here to the Playmill, we went to California. And I'm going to pretend my blog is the same thing as Instagram and post all my pictures from our trip!

I'll even include a few hashtags.

(Okay, what I'm actually doing is just posting my Instagram pictures from the trip with almost the exact same captions. So if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, um...sorry.)

Starting out.

Stopping by Mars on our way to California. #spacetourism

I feel like Katniss coming to the Capitol for the first time. #vivalasvegas

Dust devils in the Mojave.

World's Largest Thermometer!

Phelan area. This is the bumpiest highway ever.

Solo lunch in a diner in Ventura. I like visiting new places.

This neighborhood has the approval of Jacob Chapman and the lead singer of Pearl Jam.

Driving along the coast on the way to LA. #malibu

Luke's Diner! Under construction. #wbtour #gillmoregirls

They film "The Mentalist" here. We improv'd an interrogation in the interrogation room. (During which I almost broke the blinds on the window, in my haste to tell my colleague that our suspect "has the goods at his grandmother's house.") #wbtour

Star's Hollow, Connecticut! #wbtour #gillmoregirls

Shout out to Jon and Ryan! #wbtour #midaswhale

A flying Ford Anglia. #wbtour #harrypotter

Just a few FRIENDS hanging out at The Central Perk! #wbtour

The wand is choosing the wizard. This is Sirius Black's wand, and it was also meant to be mine. #harrypotter #wbtour

"Urban Light" art installation in LA. And some hip urban people. #LAwithAllison

Grauman's Chinese Theatre. #LAwithAllison

Jacob's life is a musical. Especially when he's at Disneyland. #disneyland

This is happiness. #disneyland

Rode the ride I was always afraid of when I was a kid. #hauntedmansion #disneyland

Secret to skipping long lines. Greatest discovery EVER. #disneyland

Just settin' on a porch on Main Street at the end of a magical day. #disneyland

Hanging out in the old familiar "blue room" at Oma and Opa's. #sfbayarea

Reunited with the Pacific. #sfbayarea

Just a sea lion, lounging here in Santa Cruz. I know it looks like he's dead, but he's just sleeping. Also, I almost dropped my phone in the ocean while taking this picture. #sfbayarea

San Francisco sunset. No filter. #sfbayarea

Friends and family at the Exploratorium. #sfbayarea #sarahjagger (Sarah, you get your own hashtag!)

My current roadtrip snack. I ate like, 3 cartons in 2 days. (And then I got home to Rexburg, and they were 5 cartons for $5, so now they've become my every day snack.)

Listening to the Beatles and driving through the southern Utah desert at dusk. No filter.

Traditional family jam session with Grandpa Fraughton before heading back to Rexburg.

How all of us felt by the end of the trip.

Mini dust storm outside of Pocatello. Weird.

Home again! Jacob is really really handsome. This is currently the wallpaper on my phone because Jacob is really handsome.


Good times, Jacob, Dave and Cam. Also Allison, Sarah, various grandparents and parents. It was awesome to see you all. Let's do this again sometime.

Why bad weather is worse in Rexburg than it is in the Pacific Northwest

Because Rexburg sucks. That's why.

It is the beginning of April. Know what the weather is like? Like this:

I feel like this picture doesn't do the rotten weather justice. Believe me, it's rotten-er than this picture looks.



I spent my teenage years in the Pacific Northwest, and occasionally when I complain about the weather in Idaho, people respond with, "But it's ALWAYS rainy and cloudy in the Pacific Northwest and you say you love it there!"

I respond with these three facts:

#1 - There is no constant evil biting wind in the Pacific Northwest like there is in Rexburg. Also, it's not as cold as Rexburg.  

#2 - Even when it's cloudy and rainy, it's still GREEN in the Pacific Northwest. In Rexburg, bad weather days look like this: 

In the Pacific Northwest, even if the sky looks like this:

all you have to do is look down and you'll still see this:

There are occasions when you DON'T see this, but that brings me to the third reason.

#3 - There are things to do and places to go besides the library or a potato farm. 
One of the things I miss most about Oregon is cafes and coffee houses. I can "weather" rain and cloudy skies if I can also have gourmet hot chocolate, baked goods, and a table where I can read and write.

If you're in or near Portland, Seattle, Ashland or any other decently-sized city, there are also museums, indie movie theatres, workshops, etc. And everywhere, there are still little coffee houses. In Rexburg, when the weather's bad, your options include the library or staring at things.

And after 8 years in Idaho, I've exhausted the library.

So I'm going to eat and entire box of Girl Scout cookies while I stare at things.

And nobody tell me that I'm "as happy as I choose to be." I'm too busy wallowing in weather rage and self-pity. 

Six Lists

6 THINGS I'VE ENJOYED THIS WEEKEND SO FAR
6. Finishing the awesome new roman shades for our living room! See, look:

(done with this tutorial)
5. General Conference
4. Waffles
3. Turkey
2. Sleeping
1. Apple juice
(I also just noticed that half of this list have to do with things I've eaten/drank.)

5 THINGS MY SISTER BECKAH AND I HAVE BEEN TEXTING ABOUT
5. Star Trek
4. Farts
3. Jurassic Park
2. Neuroscience
1. Uh...Star Trek

4 THINGS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO
4. Playmill!
3. California
2. New carpet in our apartment
1. Teaching again in the Fall

3 THINGS I'VE NOTICED ABOUT STAR TREK: TNG NOW THAT I'M OLDER
3. Riker's dramatic squinty eye "acting face."
There are lots of scenes that end with a close up of Riker's face. And he has a standard "acting face" that happens...one eye squints very slightly. Like this:

2. Counselor Troi's uniforms are totally cut to accentuate the movement of her breasts.
1. The arboretum is the make out spot of the Enterprise.

2 THINGS I'D LIKE TO SIT DOWN AND CHAT FACE-TO-FACE WITH HEAVENLY FATHER ABOUT
2. Gay marriage
1. Environmentalism

1 THING I'M REALLY GRATEFUL FOR
1. Family