OMG I am practically related to Harry Potter

I have been marginally obsessed with my ancestry lately, ever since Steven introduced me to ancestry.com. And do you know what I discovered today?

I am distantly related to someone named HEDWIG RADEN.

Hedwig! Did you read that? HEDWIG!

I am a local hero.

Some have called me a local hero. Some have called me a "Bellebrity" (get it? Bellingham celebrity?)

Pet safety is no joke, my friend. And no one understands this more than a little dachshund by the name of Lilly. I found her in the middle of Yew street while I was driving to Steven's house the other day.

"Little dog, little dog, why do you linger in this dangerous location? Are you lost? It is well past nightfall and you seem quite alone," I called when I approached the dog.

Those might not be the exact words, but I can't quite remember. It was something quite similar to that, though.

Poor little Lilly was so scared, and when I pulled over, she leapt right into my car and sat on my lap, all shaky and shiver-y. She had a tag, which said she lived on Lopez Island. Since I was not on Lopez Island, or any island, I concluded that Lilly was far from home.

I called the number on her tag, and it reached someone, but it was not Lilly's owner. It was Lilly's owner's mom's renter. So long story short, I eventually tracked down her owner, who was visiting her boyfriend not to far from where we were.

I returned Lilly to her family, and bid them goodnight, reminding them that pet safety is no joke.

So now that I am literally a hero, I was thinking of adding a title to my name. Like, "Madam" or "The Revered."

What's up, Blog Friendles

Dear Blog Friendles,

Currently, I do not have regular internet access, which is why I cannot blog. I tried blogging from my iPhone.... very slow with the 1-finger typing. Although I LOVE MY IPHONE, I do not love blogging on it. Too slow.

I am right now living with my friends, Baron and Cristina Miller. You may remember Cristina as my workout coach in blogs past. This is the same Cristina. Yes. She has made me do more workouts since I moved in with them. They have been torturous. For example, we did a workout that consisted of 100 squat thrusts, 150 squats, and 200 sit-ups. Yep. I did that.

I am scheduled to move into my new place August 1st. It is a waterfront sky condo. At least, that is what I am calling it. It's a studio that some of my friends rent out. It DOES overlook the water. It's not a condo, but "condo" fits with the words "waterfront" and "sky" better than "apartment," so I call it the waterfront sky condo.

Anyway, I will blog more often when I live in the WSC, because I will have internet access.

Some quick updates:

1. Ricky the cat is living with some of my friends, the Warners. I get to see him because I nanny for them three days a week. He is very snuggley.
2. I went to the zoo with my brother Ryan and it was awesome.
3. I washed Snowy.

Question: Nicole, What Have You Been Doing Lately?

Answer: Not much.

That might be why I haven't been the blogger queen you all know me to be. I haven't been having particularly interesting thoughts.

For example, right now, I just sat here looking at the computer, not typing. For like 60 seconds. Have my thoughts deteriorated into boringness? But I am not a boring person. This is unacceptable.

Yes. I humbly accept the challenge. I will fight the oppressive, looming adulthood-boringness-of-thought that seems to be descending on me and making me unable to blog. I am a fighter.

::Christina Aguilera's Fighter plays in the background::

(Just so you know, I have that song playing in the background of most of the scenes in my life.)

My "Job"

So right now, I am employed as a nanny. And I love it. I have so much fun with these kids, it's ridiculous.

This child in the sunglasses is Isla. She is 16 months old and enjoys wandering about, trying to steal my iPhone, and daying "YA? YA?" to everything. She is delightful.

The other day I accidentally locked her in her bedroom somehow. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND how that happened. I didn't even know the door locked. I tried climbing in through the window. It did not work. I eventually picked the lock. And freed her. She didn't really care, she was sleeping.

The child on this playtoy is Simon. He is three years old, and enjoys trains, scooping trucks, and candy. He calls me "Cole" and says hilarious things on a daily basis.

Simon: "Cole, are you berry happy I am here?"

Me: "Yes, I am very happy."

Simon: "Are you a blub-blub?"

Me: "No, I think you might be a blub-blub."

Simon: "SILLY COLE! You are a blub-blub because the udder day you locked the door when Isla was sleeping in her room."

You accidentally lock a baby in a room ONCE and nobody ever lets you forget it. Come on, Simon. Let's move forward. Forgive and forget.

I think being an Olympic fan should be an Olympic sport

Because I would get the gold medal.

And if I had a gold medal, I would hang it in my living room.

And I would gaze at it all the time and think about the Olympics. Then I would invite other Olympic gold medalists over to my house so we could shine our gold medals together.

Unfortunately, being an Olympic fan is NOT a current Olympic sport. So if I want a gold medal, I'm going to have to find another sport to excel in.

Perhaps bobsled. I could be one of those people that just hunker down and ride in the bobsled. I would be very good at that. Where do I start training? The next Olympics is in Russia. Russia could be cool.

Look for me in the 2014 Games. Bobsled Rider.

Once Upon A Time, I Met Evan Lycasek and the Today Show Hosts at the Olympics

It was the best 48 hours I've continuously been awake.

That is a real, REAL Olympic gold medal around Evan Lycasek's neck. We were really standing that close to him.

This is me and my mom by the Olympic Cauldron.

I loved this polar bear.

I have so many more pictures. You can see a lot of them on Facebook!

The final hours...

before my dreams come to life.

Ryan, my mom, Heidi and Lisa are all sitting in my living room right now. We are watching the Men's Figure Skating finals and it's very exciting. But not as exciting as the fact that we're GOING TO THE TODAY SHOW IN A FEW HOURS.

Yes that's right, I am going to the Today Show. Tonight. For the show tomorrow morning.

You might see me on TV.

I am going to try to kiss Matt Lauer.

We're not sleeping. We're staying up all night. I think we're leaving in about a half hour. I'm so excited I don't know how to express my emotions.

Should I laugh? Should I cry? Should I do some wild clapping, like my friend Rachel Handysnacks would?

Watch the Today Show tomorrow. YOU COULD SEE ME.

Life Goal # 71: Attend the Olympic Games

Folks, tomorrow is the day.

The day I have been waiting for since I was a fetus.

It is the day I am going to go to the Olympic Games.

I might go crazy.

Let's trace the history of this life goal. So, the stars aligned and in 1984, I was born. It's no coincidence that 1984 was an Olympic year, and that the Games were held in Los Angelos. I was the first child of Lulu Jobe, a seasoned Olympic fan. The Olympics and I were meant to be connected.

Fast forward to 1994. These are the first Olympic Games that I remember. It was the Winter Olympics and I remember coming home from ballet and racing to the TV to watch figure skating with my mom. It was the year with the Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan catastrophe.

Oksana Baiul won the gold and Nancy Kerrigan won the silver. My conscious love for the Olympics was growing.

By 1996, I was a fanatic. I was 11 that summer. My grandmother made me an American flag sundress. I would have worn it every day of the 17 days of the Games, but my mom insisted on washing it occasionally. I carried around a small American flag and forced my friends to watch the competition with me.

I saved my babysitting money and bought a Sports Illustrated kids guide to the Olympics for that year. I knew when every event was airing and scheduled my time around the most important events.

I cried when Michael Johnson broke the world record and when Kerri Strug vaulted on her hurt ankle. Good times, good times.

And my love and some might say, obsession, has grown over the years, and when I wrote out my 101 life goals my senior year of college, attending the Olympics was in there.

And tomorrow, I get to check it off the list.

I hope Vancouver is ready for me.

The Olympic Souvenir I Desire

I want these mittens. I love them. I covet them, which is disobeying one of the ten commandments. But I can't help it. Look at the little maple leaf!

And the rings!

And the redness!

I am going to the Olympics in 2 days. TWO DAYS.

Things I Can Now Cook For You If You Are Nice To Me

Steven has been teaching me to cook. Here are some meals I can now prepare. Probably. I can probably prepare.

1. Chicken and dumplings
2. Fajitas
3. Mashed Potatoes that are not from potato flakes

We've also cooked other things but I don't think I could probably prepare them on my own.

The Opening Ceremonies

were awesome.

My favorite part was when the magical giant polar bear emerged from no where. I think he is a relative of Snowy.

Other parts I enjoyed included the part with the trees and the dancers, the tap dancing, when the floor became an ocean and there were whales, the part when there was a giant mountain and sky dancers pretended to ski down it, and some of the singing.

But my favorite part was the polar bear.

I only choked up like twice.

The Olympics: DAY ONE

THE OLYMPICS START TODAY.

The Olympics are my favorite thing. I am inappropriately excited about the Olympics.

I know many of you are wondering where I've been, and the answer is no where. I just haven't been blogging. Don't really have a reason.

But now I do have a reason. A reason to blog. A reason to live.

THE OLYMPICS.

Here's what has happened in the past month:

I lost my favorite water bottle for 2 weeks. But then I found it in a bag in my living room.

Plus some other stuff happened also.

This might be what I want to do. For real.

Jodi nudged me in this direction and I had thought of it before, but had never fully considered how much I would probably LOVE IT.

I'm talking about Head Start. Becoming a Head Start teacher.

Here's the logic: It's with the age group I love, the population I am passionate about serving, and I really love to teach. One, two, three, just like that. I think it would be SO MUCH FUN.

Hm. Hmmmm, hmmmm, hmmmmm. I like this possibility.

Oh Dear. Another Christmas Empire Catastrophe

Adam is dying.

He needs to make it til Christmas, but will he?

I am giving him the attention and care that I thought he needed, but will it be enough? WHY IS HE DYING SO QUICKLY?

Dang

I was sleeping peacefully last night and then semi-woke up because my face itched. When I went to scratch it, I didn't realize that my entire arm was asleep.

I hit myself in the face so hard I woke myself up completely. And there was a red mark on my cheek. Because I hit myself. In the face.

Redonk.

Creating the Christmas Empire Phase 5: Present Wrapping

I have many presents to wrap. Here is a sampling of the wrapping I have done:

Ricky thinks that it is his duty as my cat to help me wrap presents by trying to bite/claw at the wrapping paper and ribbon as I wrap. It is exceptionally annoying.

There are more funny stories about that but I can't blog about them because they are about presents and some of the present receivers are blog-readers. So you'll have to wait for those stories.

Phase 4B Window Update: I am avoiding the window.

Christmas Empire Issues

Okay, so Phase 4A really ruffled my feathers. I have had a hard time recovering from the Window Decorating Disaster. I kept trying to start Phase 4B, but I think I was so discouraged by the outcome of 4A that I was too depressed to try again.

So the window stands. It looks stupid.

And to make matters worse, my apartment neighbors on either side of me have BOTH put up their OWN Christmas windows. And of course, they are beautiful. Stupid beautiful window decorators.

I need to just move on to Phase 5. I have been stuck with this 4B problem for too long! It's time to overcome the obstacles! Spread my wings and fly!

Another option instead of trying to get a job

There was a poster outside for a lost dog and it was sad. But only for a second, because then I was like

MAYBE I could find that lost animal and get the reward! It was like for $250!

And WHAT if I just started finding lost animals and collecting rewards and lived off that? People are always losing their pets.

Good idea, Nicole, good idea.

New Career: Toy Shopper

I am very excited about the Community Toy Store.

I requested this year to be the official shopper when money donations came in. I was granted my request. I wish that I was a Toy Shopper ALL YEAR LONG.

Here are some toys I like:

• Cabbage Patch Dolls
• Fisher Price Little People
• Brio Trains
• Playmobil people
• My Little Pony
• All toys in the world

(except Bratz dolls)

If you've never clicked on anything on your life, CLICK ON THIS.

Creating the Christmas Empire Phase 4A: The Window

I decided to decorate our front window.

It was much harder than I had anticipated.

First of all, my window cling "Believe" is much smaller compared to my window than it looked in the store. So it couldn't go across the middle because the window pane is all thick and it would look chopped in half. So I had to put it on one side. But then it looks lopsided.

And if THAT wasn't stressful enough, when I put up the lights I made them droopy - thinking that it'd be Christmas Empire-y - and it just made it look DUMB-O.

I don't like it so far.

More work needs to be done on this window. That is why this is just Phase 4A.

I don't know why...

but I've been having super bizarre dreams lately.

For example, I dreamed the other day that I was a teenage mouse living in a WW2 internment camp. We were trying to steal food by switching nametags. I don't know how that worked, but it made sense in the dream.

And last night, I dreamed that I had accidentally brushed my teeth with Chuck Diesel's toothbrush and I was SO GROSSED OUT. I almost lost my mind.

Creating the Christmas Empire Phase 3: The Tree

Rachel and I decided to get our tree today. This is the first time I have purchased a live tree on my own. THE FIRST TIME!

It's like this tree is my first born. I'm going to name him Adam.

So we went to purchase Adam tonight at a special farm where it is rumored that they pass out full-size candy canes (instead of the puny ones that you normally get at tree farms.) But this special farm was closed.

So we went to another special farm called Haggen and we found Adam.

Then we decorated Adam and made him beautiful. Here he is beautiful:

To finish off the evening of Christmas Empire Enjoyment, we put Ricky in a Santa hat.

Creating the Christmas Empire Phase 2: Advent Calendars

Today, with a gift card I got from Baron and Cristina to Trader Joe's, I bought Rachel and I both 99 cent advent calendars.

Phase 2: Advent Calendars COMPLETE

We hung them on the wall on either sides of my grandmother's wall hanging. This is Rachel's first Advent Calendar.

Excellent.

Creating the Christmas Empire: Phase 1

So I got out my Christmas decorations bin last night to see what I had to work with in converting my home into a Christmas Empire.

I started with the piano. Threw on some fake piney rope things and put Santa Bird right in the middle. Lookin good. That piano is ready for me to play some Christmas tunes on it.

Next, I hung up several wall decorations. One is photoed below:

This is a quilted wall-hanging that my Grandma made for me. THANK YOU GRANDMA. It is the highest quality of all the Christmas decorations I own. I hung it right above our couch. It is currently the centerpiece of the Christmas Empire.

Rachel and I were going to go get a tree today, but it is rainy and windy and disgusting outside so we decided not to. Instead, we are sitting in our Snuggies in our budding Christmas Empire.

I think I will head to the Christmas piano and play some songs for Rachel.

I like Ricky well enough, but why couldn't I have gotten this kitten?

My New Purpose

Instead of looking for a job, I have decided to devote myself completely to the task of turning my and Rachel's home into a Christmas Empire.

I will need to gather decorations, do some deep cleaning, and maybe paint the walls green and red. And put up Christmas lights. Bake Christmas things. Watch Christmas movies. Sing Rachel Christmas songs every night before she goes to bed.

Ricky will have to be dressed up, obviously. Should he be an elf or a reindeer?

I should've taken some Christmas decorations from my mom's house, she has like 2 million. Dang, why did I just think of this now?

I guess I could get some of my own. Yes, that's what I will do. I will purchase some quality Christmas decorations. Not that I don't own any already. I do own some. We had a Tacky Christmas party 3 years ago and I have all the decorations from that. So those will go up on the walls.

But I'll need more...

Mickey Snow Globe

My mama and I are shopping. We are early birds today. We got up at 4.

We are like the only people at the mall with cheerful faces and no die-hard agenda. We just think it's fun to come every year. Oh, and sometimes they hand out free things to the earliest shoppers and today I got a free snow globe! So excited!