2,299 miles.

There are a lot of things that can happen in 2,299 miles. There is a chance that you might learn about the land you travel, you could sleep through parts of it. You could learn about yourself. You can let you mind wander. You can wish that you had updated your ipod because you went through all 1500 songs. On my 2,299 miles I learned that I do not want to sit in a car for that many miles for a LOOONG time. :) I know, I know it's supposed to be about the adventure ( which it was) but and this is a MAJOR but.

This Trip was supposed to be two days. We were to travel to the ski slopes (3 hours from our house) spend the night and return the following night. I had one set of good clothes for dinner and my ski clothes and toiletries. That was it. I am in no way joking. So at 5am we head for the said ski slopes arrive around 9am after stopping for breakfast. We get our tickets and head up the mountain only to find that the "Amazing" snow the website was claiming was a sham. A total PR stunt. the snow was Ice. I don't mean patches of Ice I mean CHUNKS of ice...



Needless to say we left after the first run. We knew we still had two days to do what we wanted so we thought we would head another 4 hours south to Wellington, The New Zealand Capital. About 12 hours later we are in the South Island of New Zealand courtesy of a 3 hour ferry ride between the cook straight. At midnight we were lucky enough to find someone who would open up and let us have a room. We were in Kaikoura. I have no idea what the place looks like at this point I just wanted to sleep.
We woke up the next morning and had no idea what we were doing. Kaikoura is known for the wildlife in the area such as whales, dolphins, and seals... So seals it was! We headed over to explore the coast line.













So somehow we ended up deciding to travel down the west coast and make our way to Queenstown ( The Snow Capital of NZ) Two days of exploring we saw a lot of just nothing but farm land and sheep... we went a whole day without cell service. We also got to see two amazing glaciers the Franz Josef and the Fox Glacier.






after we made it to Queenstown we had an amazing time snowboarding. That was until I heard about the Death of Farrah and Michael. Very, Very sad. I grew up listening to Michael like everyone else. I loved his music. Everything from the Jackson 5 to his last album Invincible




Rest in Peace to the man who helped me fall in love with music... I will never stop dancing.
"...But you are not alone
For I am here with you
Though we're far apart
You're always in my heart
But you are not alone..."


in 2,299 miles your life can change. There is no doubt about it. I will never be the person I was 2,299 miles ago, might not be a bad thing. The world is beautiful, go explore.


Xox- J

A good book is all you ever need.

I have always been a nerd. I am not afraid to admit that. I have always worked hard for good grades and always try to out do myself. I have always loved school and learning. I took summer school for fun and to get a head start on my year ahead. I know, I know, I was that kid. I would never let anyone see how much I loved school or learning... It wasn't what the "cool" kids did 

( I was never cool anyway) ha ha. 

I have found that even after I left college I still have a passion for reading and learning. In fact I have decided to go back to school. ( Gasp!!) I know who goes back to school when they already did 17 years worth of schooling? Well that would be me! 

In the Fall I will be back in a university classroom taking 19 units of Early Childhood Education classes. Something I am very, very passionate about. I have always had a passion for working with little ones. From the age of 12 I had a family who asked me to babysit and I did babysit for this family for almost 10 years. I had heaps of baby-sitting gigs and I loved it. I have loved watching the little ones grow. Most of them are hitting High-school now and I still have the passion to keep working with little ones. I am very excited to get back into a learning environment. 

Even though I have a BS in Animal Science and Agriculture Education I find that I want something different. I have never been good at settling. I never settle for second best. So this fall I will again hit the books and really do my best to try something new. 

I booked my flights today to go see my family in Washington for Thanksgiving. I can't wait to spend that week with them. This will be my third time to Washington this year. That must be a record for me! 

My cousin Michelle has two beautiful little ones who I adore, Hailee and Henry. My cousin Jimmy is expecting a little girl on December 10th! Our family is in baby mode! Farmer boy and I are waiting to start a family till we have our future a little more planned out. 

I haven't seen my Mom or Dad in a couple of months. It's been a tough year for my family again. I have run out of answers. I have gotten used to the fact that I can get lost in a book and no one can bother me there. I can't hide forever, it does feel like that's what I tend to do. I hide from their problems. I think I have been dealing with "their" problems for the last 25 years. It's tough. Im still having a hard time. I know time heals all things. Give me a decade and ask me again. 

Random photos of the day- Enjoy

Inspirational Quote for Your Day 
of June 15th, 2009 
"Optimism: A cheerful frame of mind that enables 
a tea kettle to sing though in hot water up to its nose." 
Author Unknown

4 days 4 books.

So I haven't written for a week due to my attention being primarily pulled in one direction. That direction was a series of books known as Twilight. I know, I know no need for any snickering out there. I swore up and down that I would not be one of those people. Inevitable as it was I gave in. I spent the last four days with out putting the books down. I would stay up to very ungodly hours reading about this amazing love story. After reading all four I have to say I fell in love with the Characters. Stephenie Meyer did an amazing job with the story telling. I cannot wait to actually see "New Moon" in November. 

I spent all day home alone as Farmer boy went off to play with his friends at the North Island Field Days Show. I could not handle looking at another tractor. It was cold and raining so sage and I took the day to unpack. We have technically never unpacked all of our stuff from when we had the house renovated. Today was a great day for that chore. I was quite proud of what I achieved, it defiantly was no easy task. Great to get it out of the way.

I have started back at the gym and the Les Mills classes. Since winter is so slow around here it is nice to get the blood flowing in the evening. Body combat is my choice in classes... Kim and Sam and I experimented with a step class the other day and it really was horrible. :) I am not nearly as coordinated as I once thought.

Farmer Boy and I found out about two of our friends who are pregnant, it just adds to the list of eight or so we already knew about. It's amazing, it really must be in the water. 

I am now ready for some much needed sleep. No more Vampires to think about.

Woah! When did winter arrive???

Ok so living in the Southern Hemisphere will never be easy. It is the start of June and being from Bakersfield i expect this month to be the month of heat and lake trips and bbqs. I am sitting in our Uber Modern  old farm house and it is FREEZING. Not just cold. but bone Chilling cold. Our fire place has smoked it's last fire. We are waiting on the landlords to put in central heating and well it is not happening fast enough. There is only a few good things about winter here in New Zealand. 

1. Amazing Snowboarding when everyone in America is sweltering 
2. There are no cows milking on our farm
3. I have the MOST amazing heat blanket on our bed.

     4. I GET TO SLEEP IN!!!!   No more 5am mornings.    

So as I wait for June 20th to roll around (opening day at Mount Ruapehu)  I read my books and try to stay as warm as possible. I don't think this is something I will ever get used to. I miss December being the cold month. Not June. I do not like having a hot christmas... it makes no sense to this little mind of mine.

I have plans to do some more schooling soon for some Early Childhood Education classes. My Bachelors of  Science in Agriculture Education is really no good here so on to bigger and better things.   

Here is a random email I was sent today... It made my day.

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.

Insanity is my only means of relaxation.

Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst, for they are sticking to their diets.

Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hairstylist you like.

You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.Perhaps you know why women over fifty don't have babies; they would put them down somewhere and forget where they left them.

One of life's mysteries is how a two pound box of candy can make you gain five pounds.

God put me on earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind, I will live forever.

It's frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.

If you can remain calm, you just don't have all the facts. Stress reducer; Put a bag on your head. Mark it "closed for remodeling". *Caution - leave air holes.

I finally got my head together, and my body fell apart.

There cannot be a crisis this week; my schedule is already full.

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend... and For those still back in California... Stay cool.

Somewhere to start

Ok, So  I have been using myspace as a blog site for over 6 years now. I wanted to have a more personal place to write things down. Brendan (My husband) and I have Just returned from our honeymoon in Australia. We just celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary. We spent 11 days in Queensland, Australia. 4 days in Surfer's paradise, 4 days in the great barrier reef, and another 3 days in Brisbane. It was an amazing experience. Both Brendan and I are certified SCUBA divers and we had the opportunity to go diving in one of the worlds most beautiful places. We are both very lucky to have such amazing opportunities. Here are a few pictures from our adventure.