The Reagan Library- Giddy with Historical Excitement!

Quote By George Washington

Me: "James Madison!... James Monroe!... John Quincy Adams!..."
My Sister:  (In a bored tone)"I forgot you like to play this game."
Me: "Bahahahahahahaha Andrew Jackson!"

That's what it sounded like inside our car as we drove up the road to the Reagan Presidential Library, passing each lamppost with a picture of each president. I love practicing my game of, "Can I list all the presidents in order?" Even the drive to the parking lot gets me positively giddy with historical excitement. (But, as we've previously established, I'm a bit of a nerd.)

One of My Favorite Ronald Reagan Quotes - At the Reagan Library

The Reagan Library is a high ranking destination on the J.HistoryGirl list of favorite places. The library is a hot spot of interactive presidential and historical exhibits. Visitors can have a Kodak moment while giving the inaugural address, record early Reagan broadcasts, tour the Oval Office and walk through Air Force One. On permanent display are a wide variety of Reagan artifacts ranging from belt buckles, to an x-ray from the assassination attempt to a section of the Berlin Wall.

George Washington Taking the Oath of Office

My sister and I were there last weekend to check out the special exhibit the library is currently featuring on George Washington. On display are three new statues of Washington that were created with painstaking efforts to properly reflect the real George Washington, not just the image we are accustomed to seeing in portraits. Existing sculptures, technology and Washington's life mask were all used to create a more modern, realistic image of the first president. Also on view are a pair of Washington's dentures, artifacts from his days as a surveyor and representations of Martha Washington's clothing.  The collection will remain on display until May 18th. I highly recommend checking it out!

When my sister and I were done looking around, we got ourselves a drink and some jelly beans (a Reagan favorite) at the Reagan Country Cafe and sat outside admiring the peaceful scenic view. Even on a smoggy day like last Saturday the hills are still pretty.

Sitting Outside at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

JHistoryGirl Posing With General George Washington

"A Kind of Death..."

Saalfeld Perfume Vials

"' The one thing I'll remember about Titanic artifacts till the day I die is when the Saalfeld perfume vials came up. When you recover stuff from the Titanic, it's wet, it's rusty and it's rotten. And the smell that comes off it, is perfectly alien, perfectly fetid. You know its a kind of death you have never experienced. And so the lab is kind of unpleasant. And then all of a sudden somebody opens up this satchel, this leather satchel and out comes the fragrance of heaven. It's all these flowers and fruity flavors and it's delicious. It's the most wonderful thing you've ever had. Umm..  It was just a complete overwhelming experience. It was like all of a sudden the fragrance of heaven kinda moves though the room. So instead of being surrounded by all of these dead things- for those few minutes the ship was alive again.'" - Bill Sauder Historian, Director of Research, RMS Titanic, Inc.

Titanic's Grand Staircase

I was so taken by Sauder's words that I had to post them. As I listened to him tell this story, I was immediately struck by his emotion and connection to the historical objects he is charged with keeping safe. Although I haven't yet developed that same deep connection with any one piece or period in history, I completely understood the emotion behind his words. I imagine that not everyone would be so moved or taken with the temporary life that overwhelmed the smell of death that usually encompassed the room. But, as a lover of history I can appreciate the feeling of being apart of something from long ago, feeling as if you're apart of it in real time; especially in a case as this, with such a tragedy and then experiencing the other side of that horror. 




Bill Sauder's quote was taken from "Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron," which aired on the National Geographic Channel

The only surviving deck chair from the ship

The Horrible, Little Man and A New Beginning

I've been on a quest to try and settle myself down (in this format, not in life) - and simply choose one or two subjects on which to focus my blog. .. I can't do that. I like too many things. I want to talk about too many things. I have too many interests. That's just who I am. (Please enjoy my various self-portraits as you continue reading.) :)

As I was thinking about this issue of being non-committal with my blog, I kept thinking about a meeting I had about two years ago. As I was applying for grad school, I met with the program's advisor. He was a horrible, little man and I should have known that this wouldn't be the most encouraging or uplifting moment of my life. (I'll skip over his sharp words and get to the meat of the story.) He asked me what my field of study would be. I hadn't quite figured that out yet. But, I grasped for an answer and told him that I'd like to focus on a favorite subject, the first world war. He asked me to be more specific. ...Umm.... I don't even know how or if I was able to answer that one. Then he asked why I wanted to join the program, in other words, what I planned on doing with my advanced degree. I honestly wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. I had/have so many interests: teaching, television, museums etc. All I knew then was that I wanted to go to school and learn as much as possible. Who knew that wasn't good enough? I was promptly told that the Master's program was not the place to "find myself."  (I told you he was a horrible, little man.)

I don't need to find myself. I've don't think I've ever been in search of myself. I've always known that I'm slightly scattered and have eclectic interests. Surely, there's something out there that let's me celebrate all of that at once. And lo, here it is. From here on out, we'll be discussing a variety of topics under the broad umbrellas of art, history and travel. And every subject (if not explicitly historical itself) will be accompanied by a brief history on the topic at hand. Think of it as a magazine, specializing in the aforementioned topics and it all being tied together with a ribbon of history. So here we go on this creative, historical journey!

"History is a ribbon, always unfurling. History is a journey. As we continue our journey, we think of those who traveled before us, and we see and hear again the echoes of our past." - Ronald Reagan

"One if By Land, Two if By Sea," is not code for "I'm pregnant with twins."

My mom tries to constantly remind me that not everyone has a degree in history like I do. This usually comes after I yell at someone on Jeopardy for giving such a blatantly wrong answer (Abraham Lincoln did not sign the Declaration of Independence, Queen Victoria didn't sponsor Christopher Columbus on his expedition etc.) I think I'm pretty good at remembering that not everyone studied my favorite subject. I'm the first one to admit that I don't know as much about history as I probably should. But, I do expect people to have some sort of basic familiarity with history. This leads me to my story...

I bought a cute, new shirt a few days ago at Old Navy. It's a red and navy striped shirt that says, "One if By Land, Two if By Sea." A nautical design and a historical theme, how can you go wrong with that? You can't! I had a bunch of errands to run today and I thought it would be the perfect time to debut my new, nautical, nerdy shirt. One of the many stops on my itinerary was Starbucks. (shocker) I reached the front of the line and the barista at the register read my shirt. Then the following conversation took place:

Barista: "What does your shirt say?"
Me: "One if By Land, Two if By Sea."
Barista: "Is that about babies?"
Me: "No ?!?" ( Thinking, "What the fudge?")
        "It's from the Revolutionary War." (Now I'm starting to think that means my shirt makes me look pregnant.)
Barista: "I don't get it."
Barista 2: "It's a war saying."
Me: "It's how the colonists planned to signal to each other. If the British were coming by land they were going to hang one lantern in the church. If they came by sea -" (I was cut off)
Barista: "Oh I thought it was about twins. I have twins. Like a one for two thing... I didn't get it."
Barista 2: "Can you just give her, her coffee? This lady wants to leave."

I walked away from the counter and stood by the bar to wait for my drink. What just happened? Why wasn't anyone else there with me to witness this? Did I really just have to explain that a famous, historical, American phrase was not about babies? Why didn't the phrase sound even remotely familiar to this lady? I didn't expect her to say anything about Paul Revere, Boston, Old North Church, how many lanterns there were, Lexington and Concord, militia ... but a vague understanding would have been good with me. I'm sure if she had asked me if the shirt was about pirates, Jack Sparrow, or even the Loch Ness Monster I probably would have given her a bit of a stink face but golly, that would have been closer than babies! Babies?! Holy Smokes! That barista should have let me finish with my history lesson. She could have used a refresher course with JHistory Girl!

(No babies!)

Christmas in My Home Town + Christmas Carol Remix

I was fortunate enough to fly back to Colorado and visit my dad and stepmom during our school's fall break this year. Smog-free air, crisp temperatures and wild animals roaming about made up the perfect setting for a great week with my family. The trip started out with a surprise limo ride to the airport, complete with Michael Jackson music already playing when I climbed inside. Once in Colorado, there were fires in the fireplace and ATV rides around the property. There was also plenty of shopping, conversation, and relaxation. I couldn't have asked for a better Thanksgiving holiday!

At the start of my trip, I left California in full Thanksgiving mode. When I returned from Colorado on Black Friday it was already beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The smell of freshly baked pumpkin pie-cinnamon rolls greeted me at the door. And once I had recovered from my exhausting travels, the Christmas carols began to hum and the decorations went up.

As they do every year, the Christmas lights around my neighborhood encourage me to go for walks/runs at night. Seeing the houses lit up, helps to take a little sting out of what sometimes feels like the chore of working out. And I need all the work outs I can get, so as to negate some of the calories I take in due to my fierce eggnog habit.

In the spirit of the season, I've decided to remix a classic Christmas melody- J.History Girl Style! I present to you J. History Girl's "The 12 Days of Christmas," enjoy! :

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
12 Dirty Diana tees
11 Pretty Paintbrushes
10 Lights a Glowing
9 Seasonal Lattes Brewing
8 Mugs of Eggnog
7 Sweet Sweaters!
6 Great Artifacts
5 Bedazzled Rings!
4 Candy Canes
3 French Christmas Carols
2 History Books
 and a Sparkley Christmas Tree

Dean Cain Might Be The Solution!

I recently rented one of my favorite childhood shows, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. The other day I came across a Christmas episode from the final season. The villain in the story wanted to rule the world, and in order to seize power he needed to eliminate hope. This villain from another dimension set the world in a time loop of only a few hours. Every time the loop started over, the world became more and more hopeless. With each loop the Christmas tree got smaller, the evening news grew more depressing, and the characters became increasingly apathetic.

 I've been thinking about that episode a lot. Its always funny to me how certain songs, books or television shows find you at the right time. They mirror what you've been experiencing and provide a little bit of comfort, demonstrating that you aren't the only one to have ever thought or felt a certain way. There's also a bit of comfort in the divine way that the piece finds you at the right time.

So lately at work I've been recalling that Christmas episode (and not just because I love Dean Cain so much.) This feeling of apathy, hopelessness, and frustration may even stretch outside the walls of work.  The office just seems to almost be a petri dish of this moody aura. Perhaps I'm simply projecting my own low morale and frustration. As much as I try, my approach to a task is never "right." As much as I want to voice my opinion, I know it will only go unheard by the same person(s) who won't even look me in the eye. I follow the rules and the rules aren't even respected by those who are supposed to enforce them.
And just from doing my job, I get assigned some nasty nicknames.

I'm hopeful the tide will change toward a brighter outlook. I just hope that I don't have to wait for Dean Cain to swoop in and save my version of the Daily Planet. Don't get me wrong, that would definitely do the trick!!! But, I'm sure I'd be waiting for awhile.... I mean the odds of that happening are pretty low, I know.... but stranger things have happened, right?.... I mean you never know when he might have car trouble outside of my office...... ya, have car trouble and then start a Christmas sing along, like in that episode I was describing?..... No, that probably won't happen.... Whatever, it's cool. :) Things will likely shift back to the positive on their own .................. (My fingers are still secretly crossed for the Dean Cain method of solving this situation though. Most situations can be improved with a little Dean Cain!)

There once was a J.History Girl who loved autumn...

There once was a J.History Girl who loved autumn........ The leaves on the ground, the spooky decorations and the cozy drinks are just a small portion of what makes the season so special.

My fall adventures started with a trip to Disneyland at Halloween Time with my sister. Main Street was decorated with orange and red foliage as well as a giant Mickey Mouse Jack-O-Lantern. The Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain were in the festive spirit too. Earthly spirits (from "when two holidays collide") had taken over in the mansion and galactic ghosts were in full force in outer space. Carved pumpkins with Disney characters were on display in Big Thunder Ranch, leaving me in awe and anxious to get to work on some pumpkins myself. A trip to Disneyland always works its magic and sparks some artistic inspiration in me. Holidays at the park are no different and seem to excite me even more.


Following our trip to Disneyland, we had plans to visit the local pumpkin patch. Its one of my favorite places to go. I've been visiting this patch since I was little. It helps bring me back to the days when everything was seemingly perfect. On this year's trip, we picked up a handful of large carve-worthy pumpkins and a number of tiny ones too.


My purpose in snatching up an armful of mini pumpkins was to make small decorations/presents for my coworkers in the front office at school. A couple of years ago, my friend Cassidy, hosted a Twilight viewing party. She gave her guests favors: mini pumpkins with ribbon tied around the stalk, and individualized with names written on the front. Because I loved the favor so much, I stole the idea and recreated them for my friends at work. I've received many compliments on them! (Thanks, Cassidy!!!!)They really add an extra special touch to the room!

I'm working on a creative project but, I'm looking forward to starting new sketches and paintings. Because I haven't worked on fresh projects in awhile, I felt I needed to get my hand (and eyes) back into practice. Last week after work, I brought my sketchbook to the pumpkin patch, plopped down on a bale of hay and sketched in the cool, crisp air. My artistic work from that day wasn't so hot but, I had a great time nonetheless.

At home, the decorations have been strategically placed. The Halloween costumes have been selected; (I have two.) And I'm loving this new drink that I stole from a magazine. It is ridiculously simple and equally delicious: Baileys in a chilled martini glass, sprinkled with pumpkin pie spice. Yummy! So as the rest of the Halloween season marches forward, I'm going to sip my new drink, enjoy my favorite three months of the year and search for the perfect design for my jack-o-lantern!