domo arigato

Not that I'm the most reliable blogger or anything, but I've been lacking on my posting lately - probably because I've been partying it up in J-land.
I've been here for 11 days already, and I don't think my parents realize how difficult it will be to get me back on the plane to Utah. Any good vacation should start out the way ours did - Disneyland.

Sure it was cold, and sure we didn't understand half of it because it was in Japanese, but we had two baby Tiggers that made it all worth it. 

The day after Disneyland we spent walking around our old neighborhood reminiscing about growing up. I won't bother you with those pictures - since no one really cares but us.

The highlight of the trip thus far was our next event. We went up to Tohoku prefecture. Doesn't sound cool? Remember in March when an earthquake and tsunami destroyed part of northern Japan? That's where we were, and we got to do service and play with some of the kids affected by the tsunami. It was devastating and heart wrenching, but my appreciation for those people (and the amazing volunteers of the Helping Hands group) jumped a couple levels up.

This second story floor and roof came from who knows where, and plopped down where a lot of other buildings had been washed away. 

Pretty much we were Santa & family, playing games and passing out toys to the children. 

After 2 exhausting but rewarding days, we went back home to Tokyo and headed out the next morning to the heart of Japan. Kyoto - the only place that the Americans decided not to drop fire on during the war. 

Good choice Uncle Sam. 

Apparently, being the only one without children in my family - I need a little help from Japan's version of Cupid. Yeah, I walked from one love stone to the other with my eyes closed. This means that my wish for love will be granted soon... holler. Yeah right, sorry RM's it's gonna be awhile before I'll consider any rings. 

And we wouldn't be the Welches without creating some ruckus at the temple of peace. 

I'll wrap up since any blog post more than 3 pictures long already seems overwhelming. 

*Disclaimer: TOMS are not all weather shoes. If you wear them in the snow, not only will your toe bones freeze, but snow sticks on the bottom of them - making it feel like you're ice skating with shoes on. The 600 some odd stairs we encountered were a death zone. If it wasn't for my dad, I would've fallen down each and every one of them when my feet slipped out from under me at the top. Thanks pops. Oh yeah - and Japanese shoe/feet warmers take about an hour to warm up so plan ahead. 

all that holly jolly jazz

working retail becomes increasingly unbearable when the holidays roll around.

I've never liked the chipmunks and their songs, but having the chipmunks remake LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem? So not okay.

Santa gives the little kids suckers when they come and see him, so not only do we get to hear the screams of the children that are terrified of santa, but we get to clean the sucker residue off of the floor (not to mention ourselves) at the end of the night.

Stealing from a children's store, and then trying to resell us the merchandise when you "return it"? That's messed up.

It seems that we have the only bathroom for 50 stores or so, which means that people like to clog our toilets up with paper towels so it overflows. Luckily there are managers who know how to deal with that kind of thing, because I sure don't.

and then I come home to my roommates saying things like "when i'm driving a bunch of people, i realize that i could kill all of them."

sometimes my homicidal roommates and minimum wage job start to be a bit of a downer.

but Tokyo in 4 days for Christmas? Saying I'm psyched would be a major understatement.

welcome to boise, folks

Tuesday after classes Danny, Brittney, Madi, and I packed up the car and drove to Boise (with a short stop in Brigham City to get some Idle Isle - in honor of Dad) to spend the holiday with Meagan, Spencer, and Sienna.

We started off with a great trip to the Boise zoo. Guess what? Boise's zoo was actually worth the seven bucks we paid to get in. They had some awesome monkeys, sweet penguins, and HUGE tigers. But the best part was probably these two girls.

Let's be real, I have some of the cutest nieces ever. 

Then that night we had a GNO (minus the babies) and went to see the new twilight movie - it was overrated in my opinion, but had some decent parts. The best part of this? Meagan made us all some breaking dawn movie packages. 

Type A Blood (cherry soda), Blood Straws (twizzlers), Vampire Diet Food (Beef Jerky), Werewolf Cookies (chocolate fudge cookies), Red Hot Werewolf (cinnamon gum), and Vampirice (chapstick). 

How cute is my sister?

Of course we had a delicious Thanksgiving meal, and yeah it was chicken not turkey because we're all poor college students. 

Friday we did a little black friday shopping at Forever 21, and then we had a little bowling party with the babies. Saturday the boys went to the BSU game while we got to do some serious shopping, and go to the farmer's market. 

Oh, and did I get $220 worth of clothes at anthropologie for under $60? You better believe it. 

We finished off our Saturday night by going to the Boise Fry Company where you choose your potato, style of fries, seasoning, and flavored ketchup. It's better than it sounds. If you ever get a chance to go my recommendation is the yam fries, with cinnamon and ginger, and marshmallow sauce. Delicious. 

The long ride home was totally worth the trip up there. I'm officially counting down for Christmas in Tokyo with the same crowd. 

where's my mother?

Despite the fact that I spent the majority of yesterday starting and finishing a 300+ page book for English, so I could honestly tell my teacher I read the entire book...

I'm sick. 

and surprisingly enough, too sick to go to school. I would be angry about it, other than the fact that I probably got sick from babysitting my adorable niece. And who can be mad about that?

So now, other than the fact I had to go get new tires today, my day gets to consist of bundling up in my snowman blanket, finishing my stats assignment, trying to understand my sociology paper, catching up on my religion packet, and lots of Michael Buble christmas music. 

My only question is, where's my mother? Oh yeah. she's 5545.7 miles away.

So forget about ghost whisperer, cold medicine, and hot soup. 

I'll be living off airbornes and downing throat lozenges.

the senselessness of strangers

Today after driving home from the grocery store I was stopped at a red light and saw a man in his late twenties or so standing on the corner. He was holding a sign that said lost my job, rent is due. Now usually these people make me feel uncomfortable and I try to ignore them. And even if I do by chance see them, I won't even think about giving them money. Why? Because first, I believe people should work for what they're given, and second because I naturally think that they'll spend it on boos. Nonetheless, I really felt like I should give him something. So as the light turned green I drove forward slowly, unrolled my window, and handed him a dollar bill. Was this stupid? Absolutely. What person in their right mind unrolls their window with their wallet open and someone they don't know standing outside? Well, I guess I do. Sorry Mom and Dad, guess your lesson on stranger danger never stuck.

But despite the fact that I probably just did something stupid, AND that I'm a poor college student and need to save all my money, at least I can feel like I did something good for someone today. Hopefully.

College 101

Things I’ve been lucky enough, and unfortunate enough, to learn the last two months:

Gas is way too expensive.

Meet someone new? Check their ring finger first.

If you make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, you will probably eat them all.

Costco is also too expensive.

Dishes pile up really fast.

If you leave your homemade granola in a ziploc bag sitting by your dryer sheets, the homemade granola tastes like dryer sheets.

The taste of dryer sheets burns your mouth.

Skype is a necessary commodity.

You do actually miss your family.

People think its funny to doorbell ditch cooked peas on your doorstep.

People also think it’s funny to fill the stairwell with crumpled up newspaper the day before it rains, making it stink the entire weekend.

Falling asleep in class is embarrassing.

Singles wards are awkward.

Toilets are never as nice as they were back home, they will probably break somehow.

When your toilet does break, and its 2:45 in the morning you have to call campus police.

Jillian Michaels and Sean T are lifesavers.

Missing the bus sucks.

Going on a date with a returned missionary isn’t as scary as it seems. (Don’t worry Dad I’m not getting married.)

Taking a class at 8 in the morning is a bad idea.

You can put peanut butter in any jamba juice.

But probably the most important of all of these, is that it's really hard to make yourself go to class sometimes. GO ANYWAY. 

well hi, i'm liz :)

and instead of writing some amazingly clever post about how “I never planned on starting a blog but unfortunately, after some serious blog stalking, here I am” I’m starting out this blog with seven things that you probably didn’t need to know about me or something like that - because I got tagged by this cute girl. So here goes …

#1 - I have a weird thing for shoes. This doesn’t mean that I own a million pair, although someday I hopefully will. This means that the first thing I judge you on is what is on your feet. I honestly think that someone’s shoes can say a lot about their personality.

#2 - I went vegetarian for one year, exactly. This was something I did just to prove to myself I could do it. I guess it was kind of a self-discipline thing. Don’t get me wrong I love animals and all, but I love my steak too much to go vegetarian for the rest of my life.

#3 - My feel good movie – Peter Pan. And although I absolutely adore Disney movies, and their version is great, sadly I’m talking about the 2003 Jeremy Sumpter version of Peter Pan. If I’m upset or feeling blue, this is what I turn to.

#4 - I like to back into my parking spot. This is partially because I'm terrified of hitting a person or biker when trying to back out, but also because it kind of runs in the family.

#5 - I have a large birthmark that I used to hate. I would try everything possible to get out of swimming or any other activity where it might be visible. Also, I may or may not have believed my hilarious family when they told me it was from a bear bite. Now I’ve actually come to like my birthmark, just because no one else has one like it.

#6 - I’m a huge nerd. I read for fun, I like learning new things, and I love knowing random facts that no one else knows.

#7 - Insanity workouts have become a must-have in my life. My sister-in-law got me hooked on them at the beginning of the summer and I just can’t seem to stop. I still hate the sweating, the shaking muscles, and the soreness the day after, but Sean T is my idol and one day I will look like the stupid Asian girl that does the entire workout and never gets tired.

Since I’m relatively new to this whole blogging thing I don’t have seven people to tag, so Sierra and Kyler it's your turn.