The lyric I am listening to at this very second is “feeling yourself disintegrate”. It’s The Flaming Lips. The Soft Bulletin is so damn good in every way. So yeah. That lyric. That’s how I feel. I’m in one of my stupid existential moods again. I think what set it off was the combination of me having some serious California withdrawals and listening to The Suburbs while actually walking through some suburbs. Deadly combo. It’s super effective!

Ya know. I’m not sure why I am writing this post. I guess I just wanted to remember this moment. Damn. The weather got super awesome all of a sudden. The ugly, noisy cars keep going by, but Wayne is covering them up pretty well. Ha. So many different kinds of bugs are on me right now. I can see at least 5 different little guys. And looking on the grass to my sides I see so many different kinds of leaves and flowers and grass. Even in this hideously ugly grid of concrete, life is finding a way to be beautiful. A little bit itchy, but still beautiful. Makes me wanna watch Cosmos again.

As comfortable as I am, I would much rather be at the beach right now. Moving somewhere within scooting distance of the ocean will undoubtably increase my quality of life. There is no feeling like being on the beach. Being right there at the border. Man. I feel like Dr. Ellie Arroway when she was out on her interstellar adventure: “They should have sent a poet”. Or rather… I wish I was a poet. I hate being in a place or feeling a feeling that calls for a beautifully worded description. I just can’t convey what I am feeling nearly accurately enough. Oh well. I’m happy right now. Smile.

So yeah. I missed three days of blogging because I was in California with my family and I was having far too much fun to blog. Don’t believe me? Watch this video and tell me we didn’t have any fun!

Yeah. That’s a truth bomb that just exploded all over your face!

I mean… how am I supposed to blog when I’m this damn happy?!?!

The Color Run. It was awesome. As you can tell. I mean… if you haven’t been to one you should go. It’s one of those things that you will always remember as being one of the best and most joyous events in your life. Personally, I plan on going to every one I can possibly go to!

Also while in California, I experienced my very first earthquake!

Look how close we were:

It was pretty small (3.9), but it still felt like a truck smashed into the building we were in.

Also. I really want to move to California as soon as possible. Every time I go over there I fall more and more in love with it. I know I’ll get over there eventually, but the wait is so damn hard.

First up is a pair of videos from Hello Giggles featuring the lovely Angela Trimbur:

Ugh. I love her too much.

And speaking of Hello Giggles… ZOOEY!!!

Can I just say again how in love with Zooey Deschanel I am? I can? Yay! I am in love with Zooey Deschanel. Look. I had a really lovely dream last night. In it, all I did was hang out with her. Like… just chilling and having a pleasant time. No sexy times. Actually… I can’t even really imagine her naked. She’s too… ugh… I hate this word, but I’m going to use it anyway… adorkable. I know. I hate myself for using it, but the glove fucking fits! So yeah… Zooey. Ever since Almost Famous. Man. And New Girl??? SO good! Arg. I’m getting all worked up. I don’t like getting all worked up over celebrities, but I can’t turn this off. Oh well.

Speaking of Almost Famous! Here’s a list of movies I would like to watch more often:

• Almost Famous: Bam. This is my favorite movie… ever. I just watched the bootleg cut for the first time a few months ago and it just increased my appreciation for it even more. There is absolutely nothing I don’t like about it. It reminds me of my hippie days. Back when I wanted to be just like The Enemy.
• Singing in the Rain: Happiness. So much happiness. Just a great all around movie. Music is fabulous, acting is enchanting, the story is entertaining throughout, and the whole thing just comes together in one big ball of joy.
• All Pixar Movies (but mostly the Toy Story trilogy and Up): Come on now. It’s Pixar. Besides Cars and Cars 2 (which I still haven’t seen), everything out of that studio is absolute gold. Especially Up and all three Toy Story movies.
• Much Ado About Nothing: This one is tricky. I love this movie, but Heather does not. HEATHER. THIS MOVIE IS GOOD AND YOU KNOW IT! Accept the truth and watch this movie with me all the freaking time. You know you want to.

Speaking of awesome movies! The Avengers is coming out soon!

Speaking of The Avengers! Robert Downey, Jr. is in it!

Speaking of Robert Downey, Jr.! Look at how fucking epic he is:

Not fair. I will be happy if I ever look even 1/100th as cool as that in my life.

Speaking of cool people! Cool people have tattoos!

Speaking of tattoos! I’m getting two tattoos! Soon! I have talked about my Oswald tattoo many times before. I am still getting that one. It’s going on my upper outer right bicep. Well. I am also getting one on my upper outer left bicep! Check it out:

It’s Andy Anaheim! If you’re not familiar with who he is, I wrote a blog post about him a few days ago. He and the peace sign exclamation mark he is pointing to are collectively going to be my Team Willis tattoo! The exclamation mark is the official symbol of Team Willis. Also… I like peace signs. I will admit that I’m a bit afraid of the process as I am not really a fan of needles, but I’m sure I’ll be able to power through!

Moving on! Team Willis is going to California tomorrow!!! Why? For the motherfuckin’ SoCal Color Run!!! We couldn’t make it to the one in Arizona, so we’re heading over to the best state in the whole world to have a blasty blast. I will most definitely have some very colorful pictures to share when I get back.

So yeah… that’s it.

Maybe this wasn’t quite as long as four blog posts combined, but it had heart! I mean… I’m still a BEDA failure, but now I don’t feel like exiling myself to Siberia for my blogging sins.

tl;dr I think you are beautiful and I must have you!

I had myself a fantastic weekend in California. But really… what other kind of weekend CAN you have in California??? AMIRIGHT?!?!

Also. I am blogging from a bathroom stall in a Texaco on the Arizona California border. Truth bomb.

I took my favorite Instagram picture so far yesterday.

Not sure what it is that I like about it so much, but here it is:

Yeah… nothing spectacular, but I just really enjoy looking at it.

Thing Two: I will be in Disneyland… TOMORROW.

Well… if you know me… you know that I cry a lot.

Guess what… I FUCKING CRIED. I didn’t just cry… I shook. This video had a profound effect on me. The only time I can remember crying harder (not including the death of a family member) was EVERY TIME I WATCH UP. This little dude. Man… I love him so much. Was a fantastic human being.

Just look at him!

Ugh. Can’t even deal with it.

So yeah… watch this video. Although… you may want to make sure you’re prepared to completely break down in the most beautiful way possible.

After the flashmob, at the end of the day as Caine and his dad drove home, Caine turned to his dad and said, “Dad, this was the best day of my whole life.”

Have you gotten yourself back up off the floor from that fetal position you were in? Great! Now, the filmmaker did set up a website for Caine with more information like when you can go play at his arcade and how you can donate money to his scholarship fund. You should check it out. This kid is an inspiration and I’m so glad his story was shared with the entire world. Internet FTW!

I am talking about actual grass. In fact, I am talking about the best and greatest grass on this big green planet. Mind you… this is a fact.

Don’t believe me? LOOK AT IT!

And check this out:

Why do you think my feet are so damn dirty? BECAUSE I HAD TO WALK BAREFOOT BECAUSE COACHELLA GRASS IS THE GREATEST GRASS IN THE WORLD. Imagine God kissing every single atom on the bottom of your foot and you’ll only begin to have the slightest inkling of the feeling it gives you. It deserves its own religion. It deserves a holiday! It also deserves to be walked on by thousands of festivals goers every year. That is its purpose and it serves that purpose greater than any one person or thing has ever served a purpose.

Watch this video!

Why do you think we’re so damn happy?

Because we got to see one of the The Beatles perform live?

NO.

GRASS.

Damn… really wish we were going this year.

We’ll be back, Coachella… we’ll be back…

Here are three pictures of me when I weighed the most I’ve ever weighed and had an epic middle part that lead to a fantasmagorically greasy ponytail.

Yep… had to beat the ladies off with a stick!

It’s funny how pretty much everything else in my life doesn’t seem to matter (besides Heather, of course!) when I’ve got a Disneyland trip coming up. I mean… Disneyland is pretty much top of mind for me at all times. I don’t mind! I could have worse things invading my head at all times. Hehe.

So yeah… been thinking about living in California a lot recently. We’ve been talking about doing an upgrade (sorry, Rufio!) to a better scooter (Kymco Like 200i, if you must know!) and it’s been making me think about how fun it would be to, on a whim, be able to scoot to the beach or Disneyland with Heather right there behind me, giving me a great big hug the whole way. I love scooting around with Heather right now, but it would be nice if we actually had an exciting destination to go to. I know I talk up California and discuss it in very romanticized terms, but I am 100% confident that it will live up to my expectations. I know it’s not going to be as soon as I would like it to be, but it’s worth the wait. I think I am looking forward to my 30s so much because I see myself living in California for all of them. Maybe working at a theater until Disneyland finally hires me. Just having a relaxing life in a place that I love. Heather. Disneyland. Beach. Love. Fun. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Deal with it.

Anyway. I love you!

Ever since October 5, 2011, when I posted the Somebody That I Used to Know video on my blog, I have loved Kimbra. Her voice, her songs, her videos, those weird hand motions she makes while singing…. all amazing in every way.

Well… guess what… she’s given me yet another reason to love her! What is that reason? I’ll tell you! In addition to her voice, her songs, her videos, and those weird hand motions she makes while singing… she’s just a fucking amazing person!

Kimbra released a collaborative song and video with Mark Foster and A-Trak a few days ago called Warrior. I absolutely love it! You can listen to, and download, it at the Journeys website. But that is not what brought about this sudden burst of Kimbra adoration. I already knew she could sing and write and be in super fantastic music videos. No… it was her blog post about the creation of the song that kicked up my respect for her a couple thousand more notches. At the beginning, she discusses the collaborative process, but then… all of a sudden… she says this:

There are people who always want to bring you down, and ‘Warrior’ is about standing up for what you believe and following your convictions even when people want to prove you wrong or explain away the mystical or extraordinary experiences you have. There are people who try to take away our sense of beauty and awe of the world by rationalising it all away with human theories and therefore cheapening our emotions by minimising them to pure math or chemical reactions. Although these views are valid and can be worthwhile and progressive in their own right, this song is a call back to embrace that child-like wonder and strength in ‘feeling’ things, while not always fully understanding them. There’s a war-cry at the heart of this song that I feel strongly about…. Will we raise our men and women to be strong in heart & ‘to cry for the ones they love’? Or just automated to be strong in body and mind, but lacking in empathy? Hold onto your light…. follow it to the end… and fight the man! Preferably with a roundhouse kick to the face in a Luchadore mask and spandex leotard!!! Haha But of course & as always, make of it what you will! That’s just my slice of the pie x

SWOON.

If the luchador and spandex comment confused you, you really need to watch the video. Even if you’ve seen it already… watch it again.

So yeah… I got a serious Walt Disney vibe from her in the paragraph. I won’t lie… I cried. I mean… she’s so right! I am an atheist and I do know and accept that emotions like love and happiness are really just chemicals, but that doesn’t stop me enjoying the shit out of them! Ah!

Anyway…

Thanks, Kimbra. Thimbra.

WATCH THESE VIDEOS!!!

Tomorrow is the second installment of Great Gilbert! Are you excited as I am?!

You: Who the heck is that?
Me: Andy Anaheim!
You: Umm… wut?

So, here’s a quick history on little old Andy from the lovely folks at the Anaheim Historical Society:

With his ant-like antennae and Mickey Mouse-ish nose, Andy Anaheim was a quirky little cartoon character who became Anaheim’s official mascot in the 1950s. Perpetually smiling, Andy embodied the city’s optimism during a period of incredible changes. In fact, his whole body stood for Anaheim, literally, with a capital A!

Andy belongs to the City of Anaheim’s Chamber of Commerce, a generous gift from Walt Disney himself. While Disneyland was in its early planning stages, City officials requested a special mascot – a character with a cheerful face to help ease and endorse Anaheim’s growth from a quiet farming community into a booming vacation destination for the whole world.

That’s right… he was a gift from Walt Disney to the city of Anaheim! Boom!

So… of course… I LOVE HIM!!!

Actually, I am seriously considering getting a tattoo of him after my Oswald tattoo. I’m sure Mr. Anaheim wasn’t actually drawn by Walt (he didn’t do much drawing at that point in his life), but I still think he’s the greatest city mascot ever! He exists because of Disneyland, for Pete’s sake!

It’s true! I really do love Instagram. And in honor of it now being available on Android, I thought I’d share some of my favorite Instagrams with you! Have a look!

There you go!

Tonight. Heather and I are going to possibly be seeing an advanced screening of The Cabin in the Woods! If you’re not familiar with it… FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH IT!

Tomorrow. Liberty Market. As you may know… I kinda like Liberty Market. Anyway… the burger of the week is the Hash Brown Burger. It is described as such: topped w hash browns, bacon, onions, green chiles, cheddar & a side of truffle ketchup. HOW CAN ONE RESIST??? One… cannot. That picture to the right… that’s it. Click on it for a closer look and just TRY not to drool. You cannot! You will drool! FACT.

Wednesday. Freestone Park. Heather and I are gonna go visit one of my favorite childhood hangouts and have a picnic. It’s really just a pretty normal park, but I’ve got lots of great memories there. I also need to take some pictures as it may or may not be the next Great Gilbert! selection. Yippie!

Well… hey… I love you.

Yes, it is that time again… BLOG EVERY DAY in APRIL!!!

Click on the super groovy image above to learn all about it.

Anyway… well… um… I don’t have much to talk about as I wasn’t prepared for this. Actually, I was thinking about doing a VEDA (Vlog Every Day in April), but I don’t think that’s going to work out.

So yeah… we’re going to Disneyland in a two weeks! And then we’re going to do the Color Run with my parents! Fun fun fun! That’s all I’m writing today. Really glad I didn’t forget.

And yes… I know it’s kind of cheat to have one of my blog posts mostly just talking about BEDA. I mean… it’s not really a real blog post. Kinda. Well… it is… but still. It’s just wrong. Oh well… it counts! See you tomorrow!!!

I’ve decided to start a series highlighting my favorite parts of Gilbert, even though, as many people close to me know, I do not particularly like living here. Really not a big fan. I do plan on moving away, but I’d like to be fiscally responsible about it so I’m stuck here for the time being. Anyway! Since I’m going to be here for a while, I figured I’d stop being such a sour-puss and look on the brighter side of life! Hence… Great Gilbert!

When I decided to do this series, the very first place that popped into my head was Liberty Market.

I grew up in Gilbert and actually visited the original Liberty Market many times. My friend Mickey and I frequented it as he lived about a minute’s walk away. We liked going to the convenience store down the street more (because it sold stink bombs), but we did frequent Liberty quite often.

Fast forward to 2009 and Liberty Market was a market no more!

Now, before I get into what I love about this place, here’s a great video of Joe Johnston (one of the owners and creators) getting into the history of it.

Cool, huh?

Here’s the thing, though… this place is amazing even without knowing the history.

Like Joe showed in the video, the restaurant is a mixture of new and old. Modern and vintage. And it works really well! It has a very laid back feel. It’s hip, but not obnoxiously so. The employees are all great and have always been super helpful and just plain good at their jobs! A lot of places that are similar to Liberty tend to have employees that are elitist, pretentious, and rude, but I have never once felt that way about anyone who works here.

And the food! Oh boy, the food! Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served and it’s all great! Here’s a link to all of the menus, but let me tell you about my favorites. First up is breakfast. Of course, the traditional breakfast fare (eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, biscuits and gravy) is available and is exceptional by itself, but the Sicilian and Western Scrambles are my favorite! While the ingredient combinations used in both plates might not be entirely unique, the flavor sure is! Liberty Market also likes to change their menu on a weekly, or even daily, basis. For example, last August, there was a “Burger Daze” promotion in which there was a different burger served every single day! As far as weekly changes go, they’ve been featuring both a different burger and Sicilian slice of pizza each week. In addition to the Sicilian pizza, there are also wood fired pizzas. Actually, my favorite item at Liberty Market is the White Pizza. In fact, it’s my second favorite pizza (number one being the Pesto Pizza from the Pizza Place at the Wynn) in the world! It’s a wood fired pizza with parmesan cream sauce, smoked mozzarella, grilled chicken, chopped bacon, arugula (which I always have them exclude), and pine nuts. Makes me hungry just thinking about it!

As far as the coffee bar goes… I’m sure it’s as amazing as everyone says it is, but I don’t like coffee so I will abstain from making any comment other than this: The E61 Espresso Machine is beautiful!

And finally… the bathrooms. They are amazing. Seriously. I know… not a typical selling point for most restaurants, but Liberty Market is not a typical restaurant. Watch the video below and I think you’ll see why I get so excited about them.

Cooooool, huh?

Oh wait! I almost forgot!!! Liberty Market has Coke Zero as one of its fountain drink choices! Not a huge deal for most people, but for me… YAY!!!

Anyway. There you go. If you haven’t been to this lovely place… go! If you have… go back!

Here’s some more info about Liberty Market: Home Page. Yelp. Foursquare. Facebook. Twitter.

I took this picture.

Thanks for everything, Walt.

Take a look at this beautiful video:

Buenos Aires – Inception Park from Black Sheep Films on Vimeo.

Blows my mind. And you know what… I think it would blow Walt’s mind as well. Even though he loved his turn of the century, small town ideals, he was very much into the future and progress. Look no further than Tomorrowland or his original plans for EPCOT for proof of this.

True, the internet is used by many people for purposes that are stupid, mean, hurtful, evil, immoral, wasteful, etc., but it also lets people who wouldn’t have had a platform or an outlet for their creativity and imagination a great big canvas with which they can do almost anything.

Check this out:

Click on the image to go visit Jason Heuser’s Etsy page. He draws these ridiculous images of past Presidents doing amazingly badass things. And, because of the internet, his creativity has been made available to millions of people and helped him make some money off it as well.

I love you.

Really?

Bam:

Those bozos don’t stand a fucking chance.

LOOOOVE MEEEEEE… THAT’S ALLLLLL I AAAASK OF… YOUUUUUUUUU!!!

Oh hai, Dani!

Yes… it is time… for… ANOTHER INTERVIEW! This time I interviewed a dear friend of mine… Danielle Wildermuth. I met Dani through Heather who has been friends with her since high school. She’s awesome. Here you go!

Here we go! First question… super easy… who are you?
Danielle Wildermuth aka moose!

You seem to like moose quite a bit… why is this?
My last name Wildermuth was replaced by Wild Moose by my friends in junior high. And it has stuck ever since.

Heather and I are currently living in your childhood home… how did you like growing up there?
I liked being away from everything. Feeling safe to roam the neighborhood. Lots of neighborhood parties.

You’ve recently bought a house of your own… how do you like living there?
I love it! It is so nice to be able to come home to my own couch, my own tv, my own fridge. I am my own boss. I control the A/C and how I choose to allocate my time. It’s nice to sleep in or go to bed late, and know that it is my own decision. Plus, my house to me shows that I have “made” it. This is what I have always wanted, my own house.

I know you’re a big fan of reading. What are some of your favorite books?
The girl who owned a city, Harry Potter, Wheel of Time Series, Sookie Stackhouse, A Discovery of Witches.

Which house would you be sorted into if you went to Hogwarts?
Gryffindor!

How do you think the movies compared to the books?
The movies were worth going to see, but I never saw them out of the theater. But I’ve read each book 4 or 5 times.

Team Jacob or Team Edward?
Team Jacob.

AWESOME. How do you feel about the Twilight series in general?
I loved all four of the books,and have read them all at least 4 times. I didn’t care much for the first movie, the second was ok, I liked the third one, and I have yet to see 4 part 1.

What do you think about the current state of the world?
I think it’s very sad what is going on right now. I am so thankful that I have a job in this economy and I hope that things pick back up soon. People should not be losing their jobs while others get hefty bonuses. But I am proud of the protests. Though some bad comes from them, they are ultimately a sign that people will not stand by and let their lives be destroyed.

What is your favorite kind of weather? Why?
My favorite weather is overcast. It puts a different light on everything and it feels like Christmas no matter the time of year (well as long as slightly cooler weather accompanies the clouds). It also reminds me of Seattle. Also, I feel as if I am in a different world or at least somewhere other than the desert.

You lived in Seattle for a while, how was that?
It was an amazing experience. I am very thankful that my aunt and uncle took me in for the summer so I could intern at Costco’s corporate office. I learned a lot about the corporate world that summer. It was the first time I had a normal Monday to Friday schedule and I spent the weekends wandering downtown Seattle. I miss the northwest a lot and I wouldn’t turn down a chance to live up there again.

Last question… it’s very important… what is your favorite Pixar movie?
It’s hard to say because Pixar has so many great films. I will have to say it’s a toss up between Wall-E and Up. They both made me cry and laugh and I believe they are must-see movies.

Aaaaaaand here’s a video she really likes:

Good choice, Dani. Good choice!

Sarah Palin has magic powers. It’s true. She once parted the seas so she could grab fish off the floor because she didn’t want to wait for moses to come and do it again. She also single handedly fought off the last alien invasion attack on the north pole. She tries to trick people into thinking she’s just a cute face that stumbles on her words but that is not the truth!

I can count to 100 billion in 5 seconds. I just can’t do it out loud so you are going to have to trust me.

One time Adam and I were hanging out in a Google+ chat room and and every single god of every religion showed up. They were all arguing that none of the other gods existed. It was pretty boring so we left.

The animated gifs on this site have secret messages hidden in them. If you play them in order from bottom right to top left and take a screen shot every 1/16th of a second and layer those screenshots in photoshop adding transparency every time you see a white pixel it will make egyptian symbols. If you then take those egyptian symbols and order them from rows 1-3-5-7 first then 8 second and 2-4-6 third you see it spells out a secret message. Next you need to use a decoder ring to shift the letters. a=c, b=d and so on. Then you place 4 of the images vertical. Take 2 and place them in the 50% y plane horizontal. Follow that with 4 more images parallel to the first 4. Leave space for the next part and you will do the exact same thing but rotated 90 degrees. Start with 4 images horizontal, place 2 images in the 50% x plane vertical. Follow that with 4 more images parallel to the first 4 and the message should instantly become apparent.

If you need glasses and cant see, you can use a pin to poke a hole in a piece of paper and then cover your eye with that paper. If you look through the hole you will be able to see.

Adam Willis and Heather Willis have 20 toes!

The ultimate answer isn’t actually 42… It’s four tea two… People just misunderstood.

If you type 58008 in a calculator and then hold it upside down it will say BOOBS. Unless it’s a new calculator and then the 5 just looks like it’s upside down…

The definition of Totes is: To your question, my response is yes.

This is the longest blog post ever written in history!

Thanks for listening to this post and I hope you remember everything you have learned. There may be a quiz so make sure you take notes!

Guest post by Ricky Bartleman (Twitter, Google+)

Weekends! Well, I don’t work at CPS anymore. YAY! Let me say that again… YAY!!!!!!!! Basically it sort of feels like weekends all the time for me now. I don’t really ever have to get up on time, though I try to, to support Adam who still has to. It’s pretty awesome. But, weekends are still better than weekdays, because Adam is home, and that’s my favorite thing. We usually aren’t home on the weekends anymore, we sort of… need to get out sometimes.

Memory. Adam’s sucks. Yeah, I’m glad he went to the doctor to make sure there was nothing physically wrong, but… it still sucks even though there isn’t anything wrong. I think we’ve got a pretty good plan though. I don’t love the fact that Adam is constantly looking at his phone, but he has been doing a lot better since its constantly reminding him what I was hoping he’d do. I feel bad sometimes. Adam is always doing chores and things for me… I don’t think he ever really asks me to do stuff. I don’t “forget” things like he does because there is nothing he expects me to do. My life is so damn easy guys, my only problem is feeling guilty about how awesome things are for me. So, all in all, memory isn’t really much of an issue any more. Sometimes I freak out if he forgets something, but I think that’s more related to me being randomly sensitive sometimes. This typically occurs when I’m hungry. Anyone who’s dated or married me seems to figure that out right quick.

Heather. Wait… that’s me… this is all about me…

Adam. Adam said that he was the luckiest guy on Earth. I feel the same. I really do. I don’t really know what else to say about you best friend. Nothing but cliché’s come to mind. Ummm… you accept my flaws… you make me want to be a better person… blah blah… You got it right when you said it’s hard to write about me. I think you know how I feel. I’m right where I want to be because I found you. I still feel like it isn’t real sometimes. I always thought you were the coolest guy at the theater, too cool to even hang out with me in fact. But then… you married me. Damn. What a life.

Job. So, I have a new job now. Well, not exactly new, I’ve had it for a while now, but now it’s the only one I have. It’s boring, but I still get really into it when I’m talking about it, just like every other job I guess. I work for Adam’s dad, and that’s pretty much the sweetest thing ever. Again, the only part that doesn’t rock is that I feel guilty for being home in my jammies all the time. I try to help out at home by doing the laundry and stuff, but Adam never holds me to that… so I do a lot of napping and drinking tea. Adam works really hard. He always talks about how he doesn’t want a real job or career or anything, but now he’s the one that works two jobs and brings in all the dough. I’ll repay him sometime. I’m not sure how yet… but it’ll come.

Pets. So ummm… 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 rats and a snake. I like saying that when people ask. So really only the rats, one dog, and the snake are ours. Paisley is the best dog. She’s super aggressive, and sort of wants to bite us sometimes… but I love her so much. Bringing her home didn’t really feel like a decision. It just sort of happened, thanks to Sharon and Ann… and many others at the CPS office. She has actually gotten a little bigger than when we brought her home. I didn’t really want to accept that before, but I’ll admit it now. She’s still a forever puppy though. I really hope we stick to the plan and train her better. I don’t want her to end up unruly and unlikeable like her sister Bailey. Now Bailey, she isn’t ours… but I think we may end up adopting her. We’ll see on that one. The cats… hmmm… I don’t see them much. Again… not ours. I decided they deserved to have names though, since they haven’t for so long. So I named them Freckles and Norma. I haven’t spent enough time with them to really be able to tell you much about them. We’ll see if we end up adopting them too. Now, the rats… I really feel like we need to do something about Sara. Her tumor is so big. I was thinking that it wasn’t cruel that we aren’t putting her down because that’s not what you would do if a human had a tumor… but then Adam reminded me we shouldn’t be putting human traits on animals… that’s what Inside of a Dog has been saying too… I really like that book by the way. It’s by Alexandra Horowitz and its awesome. I haven’t finished it yet, but I hopefully will soon. I want to read more… but I do actually have to work like half a day every day so I haven’t quite been reading as much as I wanted. Maybe I’ll come with a better plan for that. I’m sort of addicted to plans if you didn’t already know that. It helps with the OCD… or is a result of the OCD… one of the two.

Team Willis. I’m a real live member of this team, and it’s the best. I don’t know where I would be without Adam’s family. They’ve been the biggest support to me. I never really felt the need to get a tattoo, but if Team Willis gets one, I’ll be down. Something tells me we’ll just keep talking about that though… and maybe never do it. I guess we’ll see.

Health. Right now, Adam is writing a workout program for me. I’m really hoping to get into better shape. I’m also trying to keep my cholesterol down. I really would like to live forever, and so I have to take care of my body and I really haven’t been doing the best job of that. I don’t think I’ve been doing the worst job, but I’m certainly not nearly as healthy as I should be. I can’t really be physically active very long without getting completely out of breath. I hate exercise for this reason. So, Adam is writing this program for me. It’s called The Zombie Apocalypse Workout. I’m kind of a weirdo depressed geek… I really like imagining what some kind of chaotic event would be like and I always think it would be fun. Adam doesn’t like to play this game with me. He’s too realistic. I tried to teach him how to play a while ago, but I don’t think he really enjoyed it. He always thinks about how things would really be and how we would probably die and everything… My imaginary versions are usually way better. They typically involve me and Adam and our close family and friends building some kind of elaborate fort and defending it and foraging for food and things. Everyone always has a job… its good times. Anyway, so Adam is incorporating that fun fantasy I like to think about into a workout program to make it seem fun. He’s also going really super slow… so that I don’t give up. He doesn’t even make me feel bad about how pathetically small he had to start. He’s the best. So today my workout consisted of walking to the end of the block maybe like half a mile total, maybe a little more, I don’t know. Then, I had to do ski jumps… which were silly, and as a grand finale: one real push up, not on my knees. He increases my workout a little every day and hopefully he’ll have me fit enough to jog in the marathons he wants to do this year. I really want to do the color run and the Disneyland fun run with him, but it’s going to take a lot more than one push up to get me there. Hopefully I can stick to it. I sort of gave up on my bodybugg. Once I get frustrated with something and erase it from my calendar… its pretty much done with. By the way, anyone want to buy a slightly chewed on by Paisley bodybugg with a small strap?

Harry Potter. So, I never really got super into this like a lot of people. I was really sad when it was over though, at first. It kind of felt like I was being forced to grow up a little. I realized how long that had been around. We were so young when it started, and now its over. Anyway, I felt that way for like a month after the last movie. I’m over it now though. Adam keeps getting into other young adult things… like the Hunger Games and stuff… I’m just not programmed to let myself want to get into that I guess.

Soda. Adam does drink too much soda. He keeps telling me that the artificial sweeteners don’t cause cancer or anything, something still tells me it would be better if he drank less though. I’m not anti-development or anything. I think its super awesome that we have zero calorie sweeteners and I really don’t think that everything that is older is better or anything like that… I just think plain water somehow has to be better for you. I drink a lot of tea instead. There’s a lot more variety with that, and its closer to being natural, though probably only in thought. I bet some of the teas I have are pretty far from natural too… and for the kicker… I usually put artificial sweetener in mine too. Not always though! Just… most of the time… like… almost every time. Whatever. Tea is awesome. Shout out to Handmade teas for keeping me in constant supply of new kinds and awesome spices and things. Do people still do shout outs? Did I officially prove how uncool I am?

The Netherlands. So, our trip was AWESOME. For realsies. Most importantly though, I think its just nice to know that I have more family out there… especially as far away as they are. Sometimes I get to feeling so detached from the world and society in general. Knowing that I have people that are technically related to me, and know my address and send me cards and things makes me feel a lot more connected. Also, they are totally rad people. I hope to someday know somebody and somehow feel connected to so many more people. Like, maybe one from every country. I would really like to go to every country just once. That’s a dream I’ll probably never realize, but I would sure love it. Anyway, Jennifer and Eddy had a baby… Isabella. She’s cute. They and the rest of the family might be coming in a couple of years. I can’t wait. Hopefully we’ll still be in this house so they’ll have lots of room, also, I really like this house, even though it isn’t ours. Maybe someday we’ll have a real place of our own. I don’t care so much about ownership… but you can’t really do certain things without owning a place. That goal is a long way off though. We’ll come back to that when some of this other stuff gets sorted out.

Disneyland. So. we have annual passes. I’m really happy that Adam gets to go more. He really doesn’t seem to be getting bored of it at all. I hope someday he can work there. Even if its not forever, I’d like to see him get to do that at least for a while. Something tells me I won’t want to stay in one place forever though. I really like travelling, even if I don’t do it much. I also like Disneyland a lot, not as much as Adam, but a lot. I was really surprised at myself the first time we went during “Christmastime”. I just started crying. It was strange. I think I do that in general sometimes though… just cry for no reason. I predicted that would happen after I left CPS. I didn’t feel anything when I worked there. Well, I felt a little, but not nearly as much as you’d think, so now it’s coming out in inappropriate ways. It’s ok though. I don’t mind a random cry every now and then. Especially if it is at Disneyland.

Politics. Umm… I don’t really talk about politics a lot. I don’t feel smart enough. I feel like I don’t really like a lot about the way things are, but I’m far from having a solution… and I enjoy spending my time thinking about other things. I don’t mind hearing Adam talk about them. I enjoy participating in those conversations a little, but I still don’t feel I have much to contribute. At the same time though… sometimes I think about running for some kind of public office… I probably won’t ever though. I don’t think really its something I’d like or would be good at. I just think about it…

So… I guess that’s it for now. I guess we do these once a year huh? I can manage that.

I’ll let Adam pick a picture for me… he has access to all of those.

My video should be this one though:

Guest post by Heather Willis (@msheatherface)

Watch this:

That’s right… Disneyland is staying open for 24 hours straight! From 6am on February 29th to 6am on March 1st. And guess what… we’re going! I’m taking three vacation days (it’s on a Wednesday) and we’re gonna do it! Well… we’ll probably go back to the room a couple times, but we’re gonna try and be there as much as we can. What I’m most excited about is being at Disneyland from midnight to 6am. It’s going to be so wonderful.

Those are my shoe prints. Fuck yeah.