25 Random Things about Me:

1. I'm a lefty. Well, I write, eat, play billiards and ping pong with my left hand. Everything else like tennis, baseball, throwing, cutting, etc., I do right-handed.

2. I like scalding hot showers. We have a mini-water heater in this apartment and it only heats enough for one shower, so rather than turn the water slightly cooler, I take a super-fast two minute shower so it can still be really hot and Amos still can have some hot water left when it's his turn.

3. I have an extreme distaste for Blockbuster, Dell, and BestBuy. I think they all got too big too fast and it got to their heads. Netflix and HP are where it's at, and I was sad to see Circuit City go.

4. I can write my name updside-down and backwards (in cursive!) I saw a waitress at a restaurant do this one time and thought it was cool, so I went home and practiced until I could too.

5. I eat yogurt, oatmeal, and pudding with a fork. Their textures bother me, and the fork helps to alleviate the gushy-ness. Jell-O, however, I have no problems with.

6. I LOVE free stuff from insurance agencies, banks, career fairs, and anywhere else. For example, the Wells Fargo in Orem has fresh cookies every Friday. And the one in Provo has soda and popcorn on Fridays. See what I'm saying....I know these things.

7. I love summertime rainstorms and thunderstorms. I actually love anything water-related: waterfalls, sailing, swimming, boating, jetskiing... and when we go to Australia I'm going to go scuba diving!

8. I have a strong addiction to the TV show "Friends." It makes me laugh.

9. I know all the words to the Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy. It is the only one I have watched more than five times.

10. I own and run my own business. My website is PoshBabyCribs.com. I also write ad-copy for people.

11. My two favorite desserts in the world are Red Velvet Cake and dark chocolate candies filled with marzipan.

12. I'm the opposite of claustrophobic - I actually really enjoy small spaces

13. I am not the least bit scared of heights, in fact, I love climbing up on really high ledges and looking down over. The Angel's Landing hike in Zion's and the Bridal Veil falls hike at Yosemite are awesome for this.

14. I love dogs and can't wait to own one again.

15. Nuts are ok, but I do not like them in my brownies, sweet breads, ice creams, etc.

16. I'm allergic to bee stings. Not deathly allergic, but I still get a reaction that's twice as bad as what others get. Once I was up in the chair lifeguarding and got stung. Not a pretty sight.

17. Chores I Love: Vacuuming, Laundry, and Baking (especially cakes and cookies)

18. Chores I Hate: Cleaning, Dusting, and Dishes

19. My nicknames are Julie bean, Jellybean, and Jules. Sometimes my parents call me the cookie monster (for obvious reasons) :)

20. I became a member of the LDS Church when I was 18.

21. Shows I am watching this season: 24, House, and Lost.

22. I share a birthday with my Grandpa.

23. I was born in Maryland, yet I hate eating crabs, lobster, fish, and anything else that comes from the sea.

24. I love photography and photo editing. However, I will not go buy Photoshop. There are plenty of better options that are cheaper and much easier to use.

25. I have the best family, and the best husband in the world. They are great examples to me and they take great care of me. I'm a very lucky girl!

bye BYU... hello DealerSocket!

Amos graduated and found a wonderful job with a California-based company, called DealerSocket.

He began his first week of work last week just as we returned from England. He flew out to their corporate office in CA to get some training, as well as to receive his new blackberry and computer. It was a short week for him, because it just so happens that the week he started was the week of their corporate retreat in Park City! Lucky...

After a few meetings, he got to spend the weekend snowboarding and getting to know a lot of the people in his new company, who are spread out across the whole US. He is really fortunate to work for a company that is so well-run, down-to-earth, hardworking, and honest. We're looking forward to finding out which territory he is assigned!

Lovely Christmas Break

After our Rome visit we finally made it back to England. I won't go into detail, but I can be pretty sure that if you want to see smoke come out of Amos' ears, mention the Al Italia airline.


We spent some nice time with family relaxing, watching movies, reading, and filling ourselves with all kinds of homemade and chocolate goodies, and not shaving (if you name is Amos). We planned outings to a Reading footy game and to see the Sound of Music at the Palladium which were both tons of fun. And as if that's not enough, we had many other fun times going bowling, shopping, buffet-ing, and seeing Jim Carey's new film, Yes Man.
Amos spent a lot of time playing a new game called Acquire with everyone. Between bowling, Acquire, Monopoly, and Euroracy, he managed to not lose AT ALL* the whole time we were in England. What a heck of a winning streak! We also got to catch up with Tim and Mace, as well as had a fun night of game-playing with Paul, Janelle, Kid, and Zara.

Thanks, friends and fam, for all the great fun!!!

*doesn't include wii games

All Roads Lead to Rome

Well, we are back from all the traveling. It was a well-needed break and we had a fantastic time. Rome was amazing. We got a hotel right at the top of the Spanish steps, and it was fun going down (and up) them every day. Our hotel had a full-length window we could open to see out to the street and watch all the crazy smart cars and scooters try to beat each other around corners, etc. Let me tell you, there are CRAZY drivers in Rome.

Our hotel was really fancy, and our bathroom came equipped with a bidet. I've never seen one of those before. We had great breakfast every morning and I had about 2 pieces of coconut coffee cake each day - yum! I also got to try a whole bunch of cheeses. We had fun learning some Italian so we could speak to the concierge and to our servers at the restaurants. There is a restaurant or 2 along every single block. I know Italians supposedly eat pretty late, but each time we went out to eat we were the only ones in the restaurant. It was quite nice, actually. They all bring you bread - and no butter, so we quickly learned the word for butter so we could ask for some with our bread basket.

We got to see the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Vatican Square, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and my favorite, the Trevi fountain. It's so relaxing just to sit and stare up at it - it's huge.


We did a lot of walking around the cobblestone streets. They are very narrow (about as narrow as an alleyway), and the buildings are very tall, so you don't get too much sun. Also, cars share the streets with you so when they turn down the street you have to move out of the way.

There are also lots of street performers in Rome. They dress up in funny costumes like egyptian mummies or the statue of liberty, and when you put some euros in their cup they bow, or wave, or move in some way. It's really neat.

Another funny thing - since there are churches everywhere they also have shops for priests to get their fancy clothing.
We also had a wonderful time meeting up with some family from Australia. One night we met at the Pantheon and all 12 of us managed to practically fill a little cafe. I ended up ordering a marinara pizza, and it came out with all sauce and no cheese! I had no idea they made pizzas with no cheese, so if you are headed to Italy, be warned. :) The whole family was extremely fun and it was nice to meet all of them. Hopefully we'll all catch up again when we head to Australia in the future. (Unfortunately I don't have any pics of everyone!)

And finally, here are some other cool photographs I took.