Gratitude List Part III

The next block.....Yes, they are getting progressively bigger, it's not just your imagination. Such are the facts when you live a life as crazy (and fun!) as mine. Here's the gratitude list for the week:
Day 9: I'm grateful for cameras (and consequently photographers) because they catch all of the silly, wonderful, interesting, funny, etc.. moments of life. I'm also grateful for Mike Hilton because he has been instrumental in the bursting of my bubble. Soon there won't be one at all. But not that soon, don't get too excited.
Day 10: I'm grateful for girl's nights because we all get a chance to relax and have fun. And it was super fun for sure! I'm also grateful for Rachel Rae Hepworth because she is just so funny and amazing and happy and a fabulous friend. I wouldn't trade our friendship for the world. Love you girl!
Day 11: I'm really grateful for this wonderful place called H&M. It makes me all happy inside and brings joy to my life. If I could live there.... Well, you get the picture. And I'm also grateful for Spencer Thurman because he totally gets my wacky sense of humor. And he's pretty much just awesome. 'Nuff said.
Day 12: I'm grateful for cookies because they are just a delicious part of life. I'm also grateful for Jacob Hansen. He proved to me that there are still guys out there willing to take a girl out and just have fun. And it was excellent fun.
Day 13: I'm grateful for gloves because they keep my hands toasty warm and... Well, that's pretty much it. They keep my hands warm, which makes me happy. I'm also grateful for Nicole Campbell because she is always so happy and full of life. I'm lucky to have such a wonderful person in my life that reminds me to stay positive and remember the funny things.
Day 14: I'm grateful for lactose free ice cream because it allows me to enjoy something I love without the typical consequences. I'm also grateful for Josh Boren because he is hilarious and a great friend and just super nice to everyone.
Day 15: I'm grateful for teams because they help make everything run smoothly. If it weren't for the crew, my job would be impossible. I'm also suuuuuuper grateful for the best little brother ever! Logan Harris is the most amazing kid I know and he is so funny and full of life and he knows how to make me smile every time! I freaking love him!!
Day 16: I'm grateful for treadmills because they help keep me in shape and they help me move towards my goals. I'm also grateful for Derryk Sivley. He makes/made work more bearable with his sense of humor and I'm really glad I got to know him for the short time he was here. I'm going to miss having him around and I wish him the best of luck on his mission!
Okay, so I need to point something out. I realize that I start these all out the same. "I'm grateful for... I'm also grateful for..." blah blah blah. While there are many ways of expressing gratitude, this particular phrase impacts me the most. Besides, you can never say "I'm grateful" too many times.

My Thankful Things

I know you're supposed to post every day, but being more of a pen and paper girl, I have all of my thankful things written in a notebook. Therefore I will be posting them in blocks on here.... It has absolutely nothing to do with me being lazy... Nothing at all..... *cough..*cough... So here is block two of my thankful things:
Day 4: I'm grateful for apple cider. It is divine! I'm also grateful for my dad Timothy Wayne Harris because he is just awesome! I'm especially thankful that he stopped by my work today and said hello. Totally made my day!
Day 5: I'm grateful for grape jelly packets. When combined with the warming tray at work, they make for excellent hand warmers. They are especially nice while one stands in a window all day. I'm also grateful for Kelsie Bruce because she let me borrow her jacket while we gallivanted around Salt Lake on a particularly frigid night.
Day 6: I'm grateful for wonderful friends. They bring such a wonderful quality and meaning to my life. I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for them. I'm also grateful for Natalie Jones. She is just an amazing person and she has this ability to make every person feel important and loved.
Day 7: I'm grateful for Christmas music. Yes, I did write this before reading the post by my friend Cheree who posted it for her Day 8 of gratitude. Even though it's waaay too early for Christmas music, there's no denying the warm feeling it brings to your heart. I'm thankful for my mom, Jill Harris. She came with me to the store at 10:30 at night even though she really would have preferred to stay home.
Day 8: I'm grateful for a country in which we can vote without fearing for our lives and where we have democracy. I say this because Nicaragua had their elections last week and all the missionaries, including my brother, were told to stay home for their safety on Monday. I'm so glad we don't have to worry about such things. I'm also grateful for my Grandma Matthews who continually reminds me that there is joy in serving others, especially family members.
There is so much to be thankful for!!

Gratitude is the Best Attitude!

As Thanksgiving fast approaches, a feeling of gratitude envelopes the nation. This is made evident by the many posts on Facebook which go something like this:

"This month is Thanksgiving so for the entire month everyday I'm going to post one thing I'm thankful for in my life. :) I challenge everyone to do this as well.... This whole month no matter how bad of a day you have instead of complaining on here write something you're thankful for. :)" (Courtesy of Kelsie Bruce)

Although I am a little slow in starting, I've decided to take this challenge. However, I've decided to add my own spin to it. There are many things in life I am grateful for, but I think the people in my life are the ones that make the biggest difference. Thus, each day I am going to post one thing and one person that I am grateful for. Because I missed days one and two, I'm going to do a little catch-up and put them on here. 

Day 1: I am grateful for cough drops. Disgusting though they may be, they saved my life when the smoke screen at the ballet tickled my throat and caused a coughing attack. I am also grateful for Ann Johnson because she invited me to come with her to said ballet. I hope she knows how much I treasure her friendship. She is awesome!

Day 2: I am grateful for medicine. Thanks to the medicine my doctor prescribed, I was able to function like a normal human being for the first time in a week. I am grateful for Heidee Miller because she encourages me to be my best and she reminds me to stand in holy places (aka institute!). She is always teaching me new things and offering insights.

Day 3: I am grateful for blankets on freezing cold nights. I am also grateful for Travis Harris, my brother. His example in serving a mission has made a difference in my life and in the lives of my family members. Today is his 20 month mark (:

So there you have it, a little taste of what I am grateful for. Of course, there are so many more things and people I could put, but that's what the rest of the month is for! Happy Thanksgiving Month everyone!

Don't you know? Mormons are sexy!

While watching a show today, my interest was peaked by a woman who tried to explain to the world why Mormons are modest. This was her explanation:

The truth of the matter is that Mormons are just sexier than regular people, so we kinda have to cover all this up (said while gesturing to herself). 

What can I say? She nailed it!

How do you say "I love you?"

Hello! It's been...FOREVER since I wrote last. But after receiving an email from my brother today, I couldn't help but share it. I know you may think your brothers/sisters are awesome, but I guarantee mine are WAY cooler. Here's a tidbit from Travis's latest email:
"IM A DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes I am a father finally! And my kid is this cool Guatemalan named Elder Diaz. He also would like to write you and marry you eventually. Just so you know. You are very famous here in la mision Nicaragua Managua Norte. Everyone talks about Elder Harris's sister and how good looking she is! So hey! You are a hot ticket item. And remember it too."
So to clear something up really fast..My brother is NOT a dad. At least not in the traditional sense. Those of you who've been on missions know the term well, but for the less informed, to be a dad means to train a new missionary. After reading that message, I just about died of laughter. My face was all shades of red and my stomach hurt from laughing so much. I wish everyone could have a brother as awesome as mine. If you are ever feeling a little down and lacking in self esteem, just let me know and maybe I can have my brother shoot you a message. 
Luckily for me, I have TWO awesome brothers! On a particularly down day, Logan decided to cheer me up by sharing his new-found love of the guitar with me. 

My brothers are continually teaching me what it means to love one another. They are both amazing and I know you're all crazy jealous after reading this. Hey ladies- Travis gets home in just under 8 months, so mark your calendars because he'll be available! He's the one on the left in the picture. So the message of this little post is to remember to share the love and be grateful for your wonderful families!

Love them granola bars!

What a day! I had the morning off from McDonald's and so I did the usual day-off things: sleep in, watch a little TV, do laundry, lunch with Grandma, Target trip with Lexie. You know, the usual. It was shaping up to be a pretty great day. Of course, we can't have a normal day, now can we? On my way out the door, my little brother begged me to drop him off at his school for the 9th grade dance. Being the ever-so-loving (aka pushover) sister that I am, I said yes. Unbeknownst to me, a happy little white suburban was also in the process of leaving. Not two minutes from my home, I found myself following said happy suburban. Strangely, they didn't seem to be able to hear me begging them to go the speed limit from my car and they continued going ten under all the way into town. What should have been a ten minute drive took almost twenty minutes. Of course, by that point I was flipping out because there was no way I could make it to the school and work and still be on time. Enter solution. The corner. Yes, I am probably the most horrible sister ever, but I did in fact drop my little brother off on a random corner. The poor boy had to walk almost fifteen minutes (maybe more?) to get to the school. On the bright side, I got to work on time. RIGHT on time and not before calling my mom and telling her to call her son ASAP. Thankfully my brother made it to the school and home again safe and sound. What a relief!
Granola bars- gotta love them. My mom just loooves to buy granola bars. On any given day, we probably have a variety pack of granola bars just sitting up in our cupboard. So after going almost twelve hours without eating (thank you work), I was famished! A granola bar was the perfect solution. In fact, it's been the perfect solution for the last week or so. You know how in a variety pack there are one or two kinds that you prefer over the others? Well, that's how chocolate chip is for me when it comes to granola bars. I LOVE the chocolate chip kind. So naturally, I've been pretty excited that all I've pulled out of the magical granola bar box in the last week have been chocolate chip. I was really thinking it was something special and was about to share my good luck with my mom when I realized something. The whole box was chocolate chip! Needless to say, that was my blonde moment of the week. Gotta love them granola bars!

New Adventures Ahead!

In the words of an inspired young artist, "It's Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on Friday!" ...Yeah. Today promises to be a good one. Lots of cleaning, finally taking my final, and applying for lots of jobs. If you know of any jobs, give me a holler. I'm on the hunt! I'm sure you're wondering what happened to California. Don't worry, I'm still planning on it. It just might have to wait a year. As it turns out, I'm actually going to be staying in Utah, albeit in a different area. Sorry, you can't get rid of me just yet. On the other side of the canyon is a plethora of new adventures. Exciting! It's been so crazy trying to think of what to take with me and what to leave behind. I'd never really thought of that before. Thus comes the spring cleaning of my life. Lucky me gets to plunge into the world of sorting, tossing, and donating. It's a dangerous journey into the back of my closet, but I can make it through. I think. Should be interesting at the least. Right now seems to be the time for new adventures. With the semester over and spring/summer just getting started, there is that feeling of promise in the air. Congrats to my many friends who are graduating from college this week. How they survived that place is beyond me. I get to try it again in a year or two, but for now I'm just going to work. College and I didn't get along very well. Another crazy thing is marriage. I can't even begin to count the number of bridal showers and weddings I have gone to in the last month. And there are even more to come! Apparently there were some people listening to Elder Scott's conference address. Like I said, there is something about spring that promises a fresh start. Props go to my cousin who chose to make her fresh start by going on a mission. In less than a week, Summer will officially enter the MTC and start working on her Spanish. Looks like I'm going to have to find a new lunch buddy. New adventures. Aren't they the best?

Colorful Death by Baklava

Post? Yes, I think I shall. The requests are in: color festival, baklava making, and near death. But I think I'll throw in opening day for good measure. You ready for this? Okay, here goes nothing.
The Color Festival
In India they celebrate a holiday called Holi. Spring is welcomed in with a burst of color. Literally. Hundreds of bags of colored chalk/paint are thrown up in the air and, subsequently, a massive game of color tag breaks out. Of course, the holiday is usually celebrate by Indians in India. However, it has become a fun cultural experience for people all over. The diversity department at Weber State organized the one I went to with my friends. It was quite fun! It was also Erin van Komen's birthday and how better to celebrate it than with a giant, colorful party? Exactly. Fun, fun, fun! Note of caution to those planning on attending a Holi festival in the future: keep your mouth closed while the color throwing is going on. That stuff does NOT taste good. Just sayin.
Baklava Making
Mmm..Baklava! Don't know what it is? Know what it is, but never had it? Well, you are missing out my friends! It is..it is.. Well, I don't know how to describe it, but heaven-on-earth might come close. I had a project on the country Turkey and I needed to make a little treat to go with it.  Google informed me that baklava is actually a Turkish treat. I know what you're thinking, "Baklava is from Greece, not Turkey!" Well, friends, they're right by each other on the map. Same region, same treats. Yeup. Anyways..As tasty as baklava is, it is mighty expensive! For one little piece it costs a whole $2. Multiply that by the 50 I needed for my class and that's a whole lot of dough. So while consulting with my dear friend, Erin, I decided to make the baklava. That's right, we made baklava. And dang it is tricky! I couldn't have done it without Erin. She is mega pro. You have to work very fast or you have issues. It's also important to know how to work with phyllo dough. Yeah... Let's just say that it didn't all survive. But after a few mistakes and a whole lot of learning, we managed to pull it off. And it was tasty. VERY tasty.
Near Death
Let's play a game. How many times can Alex almost die in one week? Answer: two too many. Friday, I was on my way up to Weber State for a lil' party shindig when I had an oh-so-fun experience. Imagine going 65 on a highway with your foot on the gas pedal, accelerating to get up a big hill. Then imagine a car coming straight toward you in your lane. Scary? That doesn't even begin to describe it. With less than a second to react, I swerved into the next lane over (thank goodness nobody was in it!) and watched as the oncoming car narrowly avoided hitting the guy who had been riding my bumper. As if one near-death experience wasn't enough for the week, the very next day I had another. With a green arrow, I started to turn left from the highway into my neighborhood. I didn't make it very far before a white van blew through its red stoplight, nearly hitting me. Again I swerved, avoiding a collision. In both instances the speed was such that the impact would have left one or both drivers either dead or critically injured. What did I learn from this? A) Slow down going up the hill to Ogden and B) I'm destined to die by car accident (although hopefully not any time soon).
Opening Day
"There's only one Lagoon!" Aren't amusement parks the greatest? They are. It's especially fun working at one. Lagoon opened yesterday with fairly good weather and a decent crowd. Yours truly got to be one of the first to work the new roller coaster. You've got to love new rides. There are always a bunch of faults you don't recognize and little unexpected problems you don't know how to solve. But it was pretty neat to be one of the first people to work the new ride. Special!
There you have it. My little adventures. I'm sure there are more somewhere in there that I've missed. In fact, I know I've missed some. But general conference is on and I want to watch it. Thanks to the snow, Lagoon was closed. It's a little miracle that I'm extremely grateful for. Yay! Have a great day friends!

Run, Run, Run, As Fast As You Can

Note to Readers: This doesn't reflect my actual viewpoint. I just wrote this because it was fun to write. I actually do like running most of the time. And if you run, you aren't a mindless sheep, so don't worry.


Running and I have a love-hate relationship. It's all fine and dandy when you start out. The blood gets pumping and you feel like you could run forever. A couple blocks in you start to notice that your vision is getting blurry. Did the world just start spinning or is it just me? You push through the fog and keep going because you're picturing that chocolate bar you ate earlier. A mile ought to be enough to burn that off, maybe two. Another couple blocks in, the sweat is pouring off and your legs are beginning to go numb. The feeling is somewhat like that of a wet noodle. You're finally approaching the end of your run and the end of the block seems so far away, even though it's really only about fifteen yards. "I can make it," you tell yourself, "Only a little further." Ten feet from the end, your legs decide to stop working and crawling seems to be the best option. You'd think after a good run that you would feel good, but it isn't long before the nausea kicks in, the stomach cramps, the sports asthma. It feels like your insides have turned into an alien monster and are about to tear right out of your stomach. So why do we put ourselves through all this? Why not just sit at home or go swimming or do something fun? Vanity, my friends. It's all vanity. We want to look good and have others think we look good. Some crack pot somewhere said that running makes you feel better in the long run. Sure I'm all for feeling good, but I don't want to have to be running for ten years before I start "feeling better." So as far as I'm concerned, running is definitely overrated. But I suppose I'll be like the other mindless sheep and keep doing it, because in a moment of insanity a couple months ago, I said I would run a half marathon this year. What was I thinking?

Glorious Sunshine!

Arizona. Land of the sunshine. In other words, it's my favorite place ever. Imagine being able to wake up and jump right into the pool. Yeah, it's pretty much amazing. We began the journey on Friday after the longest day of school I've ever had, or so it seemed. I lucked out because my parents decided to rent a car with a more spacious and comfortable backseat. Granted it was still a car and space was limited, but it was ten times better than the Jetta. So how do you fill eleven hours? As much joy as it would bring me to say we sang show tunes, we're not that cheesy. No, instead we listened to the usual- country music. I'm not opposed to it, but after eleven hours of that and news radio, I think I'll be fine to avoid it until the next road trip. But enough about car trips. Let's get to Arizona! Pure bliss. That's the only was I can describe it. The best way to share my adventures would have to be chronologically. 
Day 1
Good morning sunshine! I woke up to 70 degrees without a cloud in the sky. Breakfast was served outside with a picturesque view of our own personal swimming pool and the canal that runs through the neighborhood. Of course, breakfast in Arizona is never complete without...MUFFINS!!! Yum! For our first day, we decided to adventure to the swap meat. It is amazing what treasures you can find there. We spent a few hours just going through all the little shops and exploring them. It was a blast! As it turned out, the place we were staying was only 15 minutes away from the home of my good friend, Jordan. So, naturally we schemed to hang out. After taking like an hour to decide what to do, we went to the mall nearby and found the Barnes and Noble. If you ever want entertainment, just go to a bookstore sometime. Good times. After a Target trip to retrieve treats, we went to the Marriott. They have this amazing fire pit outside which is just perfect for sitting by and talking. And that is exactly what we did. However, it was by the pool. Note to self: make sure seat cushions are dry BEFORE sitting on them. That was fun...
Day 2
What does one do on a beautiful day while on vacation? The options are endless. For our second day, we decided to go to a little outdoor shopping center. It was fun to see all the children playing in the fountain. Everyone just seemed so happy! The best part of our excursion? The cowboys! There was a rodeo going on nearby, so there were hundreds of people walking around all decked out in their Western attire. 
Day 3
Our last day in Arizona. So what did we do? Swim and tan, my friends. Swim and tan. Day 3 was dedicated solely to relaxation. Naturally sunscreen was forgotten and sunburns were the result. But burns turn to tan and I think I can live with that. We'll call this last part "the epic adventure." Since the family was just chillin, I once again hung out with Jordan. Along with some of his friends, we went on a hike up a mountain by his house. It definitely makes my list of coolest hikes I've been on. The bottom of the mountain was mostly sand and gravel, but gradually the rocks got bigger and bigger until we were climbing boulders at the top. The hike was cool in and of itself, but was made all the cooler by the fact that it was pitch black and we didn't have flashlights. Naturally such a hike came with its slips, trips, and falls. Exhibit A: me slipping in the sand and falling on my butt. Thanks to my phone in my back pocket, that felt oh so nice...Not... Exhibit B: jumping off a rock and twisting my ankle (just a wee bit, not enough to worry about). Exhibit C: tripping over barbed wire and killing my awesome purple shoes. But what are a few mishaps in comparison with the incredible view from the top? Looking out at the city lights at night has always been one of my favorite sights. There's something so captivating in the way they shine. Everything seems so small at that point. I can only imagine how astronauts must feel when looking down at the Earth from way out in space. We finished the night with some flan from a nearby restaurant. Best stuff ever! Haven't tried flan? Hop to it! You are missing out! Well, another too long car trip later and we were back home. So there you have it. My Arizona adventure. 

And...?

Just a quick precursor- the Arizona post is coming soon! Buuut...For now you just get this. Moving on.
Three days. It's been three days since I got home from Arizona. And I have been ohh so productive...(insert the rolling of eyes and sarcastic tone here). Spring break. It's the most glorious, yet terrible thing ever. Glorious because school gets put on the back burner for a week. Terrible because having nothing to do means having nothing..to..do... List of things I've done this week (apart from going to Arizona): watched TV, went to the dentist, watched TV, went to a wedding reception, watched TV, went to work, watched TV, went to a meeting, watched some more TV... Are we getting the idea? Basically, I had absolutely nothing to do, the TV was available, and I was bored. Hmm... I need a hobby. But speaking of things I did, what's the deal with the dentist? For some bizarre reason, going to the dentist at 7:30 AM during Spring Break isn't my idea of fun. I don't even wake up that early for school. Needless to say, I went straight to sleep when I got home. Good news though- I'm cavity free! Do they still have that "Smile" club? You know what I'm talking about. When you don't have any cavities so they take your picture and put it on a little paper tooth cutout. Yeah, that club. Well if they don't have it, then they should make it again. It's quite the motivation for quality dental hygiene. Yepp... Well, that's pretty much the event of the week. Check back later for the Arizona post.  It should be coming.. Eventually.. Maybe.. Yeah.

Lists

I love it when it's 3:00 AM and I'm wide awake just doing nothing. It's usually around that time that I start thinking, "I should be asleep. Why am I still awake?" Then I start listing off a whole bunch of reasons for why I'm still awake. The number one reason being that instead of sleeping, I'm trying to make a list of reasons I'm awake. Brilliant.
Speaking of lists, have you ever thought about all the people you'd like to meet? I'm talking about anyone from the dawn of time clear up to today. Well, I came up with my top ten. They aren't in any specific order.
1. President Hinckley
2. President Monson
3. Joseph Smith
4. Victor Davis (Canadian Olympic Swimmer)
5. Eleanor Roosevelt
6. Hellen Keller
7. Jack Weyland
8. Jane Austin
9. Alma the Younger
10. Abraham Lincoln
I realize that at least four of these people are directly linked to my religion, but what can I say? I think they are pretty much awesome. Oh and for kudos, let's add President Boyd K. Packer to that list, too. He's one cool dude. So that's my list. It'll probably change every now and again, but you get the idea.

Halfway There!

It has officially been a year since my brother left on a mission. I know people usually reserve reflecting on the past year for New Year's, but I think now is as good a time as ever. It's so crazy to think how much has happened just in this last year. Since Travis left, I have graduated high school, started college, had my first relationship (...insert awkward laugh here), had my first non-Lagoon job (shocker), started attending the singles' ward (go team!), and started a blog! Other crazies from this year: Mom lost and found a job, my cousin is going on a mission (yay Sums!), and as of today, my little brother can drive. So if I were you, I'd stay off the roads for a while. A very long while. Yikes.. And there we have it. One year down, one (and three weeks) to go. Looking at how far I've come in a year, it is crazy to imagine how far I'm going to go in the one to come. With any luck I'll be in Disneyland. Cross my fingers! Knock on wood. Any other cliches you want to add to that... Moral of the story: my brother is the best missionary ever. Seriously. Sorry, you're just going to have to tell your missionary buddies that while yes, they are great, mine is the best. If you've ever met him, you already know this.
What a glorious morning it was today! I woke up to the sound of rain and I was delighted! Honestly, I love, love, love warm weather. If I could live in 95 degrees year round, I would be the happiest person on Earth. But there is something about rain (instead of snow) that makes everything seem new and fresh. Props to my friends who ran almost 5 miles in the rain and hail. Speaking of running, I kind of slacked off. I was so excited a few weeks ago when I ran 1.5 miles (don't judge), but I kind of stopped for a while. Anyways, I went to the gym last night and was sad to see 0.75 miles. While it totally sucks to see that number, it is a great reminder to me that I can't just take a break from my goals. If I want to accomplish something, then dang-it I better work on it! So here is my renewed promise to you that I will run a half marathon sometime this year. Or at least a 5 or 10k.
I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to this summer. Sunshine, glorious sunshine. How amazing would it be if we just had a week of sunshine right now? Sure, we can go right back to rain, but give us a week of warmth please. Why am I talking about this? Prepare to be jealous. Yours truly is going to Arizona in a week and a day. Jealous? Thought so. I am so so so excited! The only thing I'm not so excited about is the car trip. We're driving down in a little Jetta. I swear the seats in there are made of stone. Four people, one small car. It doesn't help that my little brother is six feet tall. It makes for an interesting trip. In other words, no sleep. Eh. Not excited about that. But on the bright side, I get to go swimming every morning and sit out and soak up the sun (: I can't even begin to say how excited I am for that. Oh, and the best part? Muffins!!! We get muffins for breakfast. The big kind, like from Sams Club. Double chocolate chip. Eaten with a spoon. You know you're jealous. You should be. Mmm... Guess you're just going to have to go get one now.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

It is amazing what chocolate, sleep, and good friends can do to lift the spirits. The situation hasn't changed, but I know now that I'm not in this fight alone. There are still a few real people in this world and I'm so grateful for them (you know who you are). Now onto better days and new adventures. Speaking of new adventures, I finally decided what I'm going to do with my life. Drum roll please... I'm going to be a flight attendant! I know you all must think I'm crazy, but airplanes have been a huge part of my life, plus can you think of anyone better prepared for the job than an amusement park employee? Exactly. Plus I get to travel. Yay! Now I just have to work on my Spanish. The goal is to be working or at least in training by my 20th birthday. As for school, I'm thinking either night school or online classes. I'm not really cut out for school. Those of you who know me well are nodding your heads right now. So what's the plan? Work and save. And someday I hope to make it to California. I know that seems cliche, but we all have to dream about something. Here's to better times and bigger dreams.
So I watched this movie the other day. It's called "Unstoppable." It's about a train that is unmanned and going full power into oncoming traffic. I don't have much to say about it besides that Denzel Washington is my hero. That's all.
How often does your car stop working? Well, I'm guessing whatever that number is, my car can beat it. This week my car didn't start about 3 times, its brakes malfunctioned, it ran out of oil AND it ran out of engine coolant (at least according to the flashing red light on my dash). The last two would seem to be my fault except that I checked the oil just last week (it was fine) and the engine coolant was full. Hmm... I'm thinking maybe a car should be on my list of things to save for. 

"Sitting, Waiting, Wishing"

I am officially a lame blogger. But don't blame me, blame Robot Unicorn Attack. It's an extremely addicting game. Other reasons for not posting? Crazy busy life. But no worries, that's going to change soon. I decided to deactivate my Facebook account. I'm refusing to use it. Also, don't be surprised if I don't text you back. Here's where you're wondering what the heck is going on. I'd like to say the answer is simple, but it's not. All I know is that recently my life has been spinning out of control. It finally came to a crashing halt today (which I won't get into). We'll just say my life has more or less gone to hell and I need to take a minute to put it right. We all live in this world surrounded by technology and social media. To put it simply, everyone is fake these days. Fake smiles, fake friends, etc. I'm not saying I'm not guilty. I am. That's my problem. We create this image of what we want people to think we are and we lose sight of who we really are. Example: I'm not a germ-a-phobe. So what? Well, most of my friends think I am. It's because that's what I choose to let them believe. Yeah, I think little kids are germy (which is gross, but I'm pretty sure most people would agree with me) and I don't share food (backwash, saliva= nasty), but that's not that unusual. The point is, this isn't who I am. And something needs to change. Thus, no Facebook for a while. But for my Facebook friends reading this, I do have one suggestion: play "Robot Unicorn Attack." It's only the best game ever. SO addicting. Well, this week did have some adventures. Most of them took place at my friend's house where we played games and made treats. Other adventures include Denny's, a mailbox, and speed dating. That's right. My singles ward combined with a couple other wards and we did speed dating. Holy weird. I'm thinking I won't do that again. Ever. Let's just say people are weird. That about sums it up. We went to Denny's the other evening after taking two hours to decide where to eat and discovering that everywhere else was closed by that point. The best part was definitely the chocolate chip pancakes. Yes, I'm mildly obsessed with them. Can I help it that they're amazing? Anyways... Wednesday there was a crazy snow storm that came out of nowhere. My friend/neighbor was turning onto my street and lost traction, sliding right into my mailbox. Goodbye mailbox! It was pretty much exciting and kind of funny. Good times. Do you ever hear a song and think that's exactly how you're feeling at that moment? Let's just say that Jack Johnson is mega pro like that. His songs always, always correspond to my life. Gotta love it. Happy Singles Awareness week friends.

Hellos and Goodbyes

First off, I apologize for disappearing. Turns out I actually did have strep. My thanks go out to the popcorn-eating doctor from last week. But hey, at least that $25 was worth it! So I decided to take a break and chill. It turned out to be a good thing because my room got cleaned! I redecorated and it just looks all sorts of pretty now. The best part? I finally packed up those creepy glass dolls. You know what I’m talking about? They’ve got those eyes that just stare at you ALL the time! Creepy… Another benefit of being sick was having my good friend, Timmy, bring me cookies. Thanks sooo much!!! He is officially on the top of my favorites list. There was a sad part to this week, though (besides being sick). Kelsie (mentioned multiple times in previous posts because she’s awesome!!) bid us farewell and relocated herself to Texas. We had a little going away shindig at a sushi place on Tuesday. Definitely one of the coolest restaurants I’ve been to. Naturally it’s Asian, which is cool in and of itself. But the coolest part is definitely the seating arrangement. At first glance, it looks like you are sitting on the floor right next to your food. In actuality, the table is in kind of a hole in the ground. So you are sitting on the floor, but you still have a place to put your feet! Isn’t it neat?! You can’t truly understand how supremely awesome it is until you experience it. Oh! Also important to note: yours truly tried octopus. Surprisingly (or not), it was delicious! I approve. I’m not a big fish fan, but it worked for me.

On Wednesday I received a buddy that’s going to be with me for a while. Confused? It’s called a commitment bracelet. Here’s how it works: You make a goal and then you melt the ends of a rope together so it fits around your wrist without sliding off. The only way to take it off is to cut it, so you can’t cut it until you complete your goal. It’s actually a way neat idea (thanks Kyle Johnson). So what’s my goal? Drum roll please…. I’m going to run a half marathon! Lofty goal, I know. But totally achievable (hopefully). The best part? I’m up to a whole mile and a half! Only 12-ish to go. Um… Yeah. I’m thinking it might be a year or so before that happens. Baby steps, baby steps.

Have you ever seen someone after several years and suddenly found yourself thinking, “What the heck?! This person is WEIRD!!” Well, that happened to me. I went to lunch with my parents’ friends this weekend. They are old enough to be my grandparents, potentially even greats. I’m talking ancient. The last time I saw these people, I was just a kidling. Literally all I remember is that the old man gave me candy every Sunday at church. Well, what a surprise it was to see a funky old man with more jewelry on than I even own. This guy is like 80 something! I guess there’s nothing wrong with being an individual. Unless you’re in China. But they were actually a really cute old couple. John (the old guy) was clearly in love with Florence (his wife). The affection was apparent in his little flirtations throughout the luncheon. Weird to think these people have lived less than five minutes away for the past six years and I never knew. Huh.

Which brings us to today. Glorious, glorious day. It was SO warm today! For those of you in Utah, you know what I mean. Be-au-tiful! Can we please just skip to summer now? Or late spring? Please? Mmm sunshine! LOVE it! Today is also glorious because it’s Lissi Jo’s birthday!!! Happy birthday!!! She is officially legal. The big two one. Aka 21. If you didn’t figure that out. And what birthday is complete without funfetti cake? Birthday wishes also go out to my cousin, Tangerine. Also legal, but in a voting way. She turned 18 on Friday. Happy Birthday Chandra Lou!! Well that completes it. I hope you are satisfied. 

Things Forgotten

It was pointed out to me that I somehow forgot to mention some key events from Saturday's adventure. So here they are, the rest of them. Saturday, we had dinner at the Pizza Factory. If any of you have been there, then you know exactly how delicious it is. Of course, you can't go without ordering the bread twists. So good!! Although, there was one item that was absolutely disgusting. Along with my friends and for the first time in my life, I tried some nasty, tastes-like-dirt beets. Never again. Yuck, I can't even think about them.
The next thing I forgot to mention is something from our Ross adventure. I don't think I mentioned Ross earlier, but that was also part of Saturday. We went to Ross and I found this fantastic, vibrant, lime green pillow. It was so cool! I wanted to buy it, but not having a job can have an impact on spending. But just remember that it was awesome and I wish to death that I had bought it.
And we can't forget to talk about my mad awesome Wii skills. We played Mario Kart on the Wii and I kinda, sorta might have gotten 12th place. Was it 12th? If it wasn't, then it was pretty close to it. I think I need to practice.
As far as family goes, my little brother, the BMX kid, was (surprise!) riding his bike and he somehow managed to break his wrist. The best part is that he has it all on video. But it's not gruesome in the least. He was attempting a 360 off a four-step and the force of the landing broke his wrist. I couldn't even tell when I watched it the first time. And this is why we create battle wound stories.
Last, but certainly not least, are the YouTube videos. After the yummy pancake breakfast, we watch video after video after video on YouTube. Most memorable were Baby Monkey (going backwards on a pig), Banana Phone, and Evil Strawberry. My personal favorite is the last one. Just watch it and you'll understand.
Well, that's it. The things I forgot. There's probably some other ones in there, but those are the ones I was specifically told that I neglected to mention. Have a great morning everyone!

Epic Weekend

Wow. What a weekend for the books (in this case, blog). Between fights, food, and friends, there was almost always something going on. Not to mention the Super Bowl! But.. We won’t talk about that. Let’s just say that my team didn’t do so well. How to proceed with this? So much information, such short attention spans.

Friday- “Fans Gone Wild” We went to Jordan’s hockey game on Friday to watch the rival game. If I remember right, we were ahead the whole time and not too much happened. Sigh, boredom. Until the last 2.5 seconds. I was just chillin, thinking everything was pretty much done when BAM! Fight breaks out on the ice. Our guy punched their guy (he totally deserved it, just FYI) and broke his nose. It could have been just another fight, but naturally the audience had to get involved. I was kind of just laughing because what’s a hockey game without a fight, right? Well, this guy looks over and catches my eye and starts freaking out at me. To sum up his lengthy rant, basically he said, “You’re all losers. How can you cheer on a team like that? Your team plays dirty!” Of course, these were much more animated and extremely repetitive. You could probably break a record if you counted how many times the word “loser” was said during his little spiel. I really wanted to ask him for a picture for my blog, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask. I would have died of laughter. Mine is only one of a few different encounters which ensued as a result of the fight. The would-be epic fight would definitely have to be Kyle’s. I’m pretty sure most of you know him, but for the few who don’t, Kyle recently had an experience and, for the purposes of this blog, we’ll just say that we need to be more careful around his head than most. Anyways, one of the hockey players from the other team was being a mega jerk to some girls in the stands and it incensed Kyle. Words were exchanged, followed by gestures. Tempers flared and the player wanted to settle it physically. Of course, none of us would let Kyle put his head in swinging range, so the player went on his way and we all went to meet Jordan out in the lobby. We did actually see the player (who had some serious issues if you ask me), but his boyish taunts had nothing to back them up. It was kind of funny to entertain the idea of Kyle getting in a fight, though. I can only imagine the headlines the next day: Friends of Brain-Injured Man Jailed for Coming to His Defense. Good times.

Saturday- “Breakfast of Champions” What a better way to spend the weekend than eating chocolate chip pancakes with friends? And they were quite delicious, if I do say so myself. They were a perfect start to a fantastic day. Afternoon found us exploring a nearby hiking trail and snapping some scenic shots. Of course, the best part would probably have to be when a cute dog jumped up on me with his muddy/horse-poop covered paws. Yummy! Just what I was missing in my life. More adventures were found on Antelope Island amidst an appetizing rotten-egg scent. Even Tim decided to be rebellious and rode the buffalo. Yes, a real buffalo. He lasted 3 whole minutes! …Just kidding guys. Don’t go all animal rights advocate on me. The buffalo I’m referring to is one of those ceramic (?) ones they have all over Utah. The sign says “Do Not Touch,” so naturally Tim wanted to ride it. The little shoulder devil won that conversation and presto! Tim has a picture on the forbidden buffalo. Later on, we watched “The Prestige.” Question: How many of you figured it out before the end? I won’t spoil it, but I’ll just say that the first time I watched that, my head hurt from trying to figure it out. The second time just solidified the fact that it’s an amazing movie. Haven’t seen it? Take a trip to Redbox and watch it. Then watch it again, because you probably missed something.

So that was an interesting week. I can only imagine how I’m going to top it this week!

Bucket List

Oh my heck. I walked outside this morning and almost went back inside. It was SO COLD! Can I just say I hate winter? A lot. With passion. It’s right up there with the color pink. Now that that’s out of the way…

Funny statement of the day comes from my little brother. We were talking about how “I love juice” sounds like “I love Jews.” Don’t take this wrong or racist or whatever. I love all people, ask anyone. But my little brother’s response to the latter statement was “No, I don’t.” So naturally I asked, “Why’s that?” His response, “They killed that guy.” Me, “…Jesus?” Logan, “Yeah, him.” What are they teaching kids these days??

So, I’ve been thinking. What’s the deal with this whole growing up business? People expect us to decide what career to go into right off the bat. It all sounds great and all, but I have no idea what I want to do with my life! As I was thinking about all this, I started thinking about other ambitions I have in life. That’s when I realized. I have no idea what I want to do with my life! I know, I know. I already said that. But it’s true! I’ve never really sat down and wrote out a list of goals to accomplish during my lifetime. I don’t have a bucket list. Lame!! So, I’ve decided to change that. Starting today, I’m creating a bucket list. Here it is:

• Run a 1/2 marathon
• Go in a hot air balloon
• See Niagara Falls
• Learn how to drive stick shift
• Sit in a Ferrari 
• Sleep on the roof of a house (a flat roof..angled might not turn out so well..)
• Write a book (with pictures!)
• Be quoted by someone
• Pet a shark
• Swim with a manatee
• Work at Disneyland
• Build a tree house
• Attend a Super Bowl
• Watch the 6 hour version of "Pride and Prejudice"
• Drive from coast to coast 
• Go to at least one concert
• Go on a safari! 
• Complete everything on this Bucket List!

Oh yes. Those are some high aspirations. I had to think about that for a whole ten minutes! Speaking of thinking and deciding, have you ever noticed that it takes people forever to decide on something? Example: My friends and I were trying to decide where to go for a bite of food before a hockey game. After 33 posts on facebook, we still didn't have a place set. That's waaay too many for a simple "where should we eat?" Here's one more goal for my life (in general, not just for the bucket list): Make an executive decision! All it takes is one person to say "I'm doing this and that's all there is to it" and suddenly you have a plan. No mess, no fuss, just a decision. This coming from me, the queen of indecisiveness, I know. But that's why we call them goals. They are something to aspire to. 

A Journey to TC

Today is February 3. There really isn’t much significance to that fact, except that some happy person somewhere is one year older and wiser today. Why am I mentioning this? No reason. I just like how it sounds. February 3^rd. It just kind of rolls off the tongue. You’re saying it aloud right now, aren’t you? Thought so.

In other much more exciting news, I went on an adventure today. It’s called “A Journey to TC.” TC is the cool person’s way of saying Tanner Clinic. It allows you to be vague and hip at the same time. Oh wait, hip isn’t the word anymore. How about this- it allows you to be legit. Yep, that’s what kids are saying these days. Now that we’re all “in the now,” let’s move on. So I drove to the TC for my very first independent doctor’s appointment. That’s right. Mom wasn’t there. In the words of my friend, “Ooh hot..” (If that doesn’t make sense to you, well, too bad.) So I go to the TC and they point me to where I need to go. When I got there, I had to sign some papers. Ooh no. Oh no. This is the beginning. If I fill out paperwork now, I will have to keep doing it for the rest of my life! Am I ready for that kind of pressure? That responsibility??? Ok, so here’s a question for you: Why in the heck are they having us fill out this paperwork anyways? I go to the doctor because I don’t feel good. I don’t want to think. That’s what I’m paying them to do. And here they are handing me a pile of things to read and sign. The print isn’t even big! Gosh. How rude. ;) Moving on. I went to the little exam room and was chillin, doing the whole temperature, throat culture thing. I had a bitty fever, whatever.  The nurse left and told me the doctor would be around in five minutes. Have you ever wondered what in the heck takes them that long? I have to be on time to my appointment, but then I have to wait for them?? Lame. Well, I have my own theory about the infamous waiting period. You see, there’s actually a hidden camera that’s streamed to a TV in the break room. The doctor and nurses like to hang back there and watch all the weird things people do when left alone in a doctor’s office. I bet they even have popcorn. Of course, they like to sell the best tapes on the DBM (Doctor’s Black Market.) But it’s just a theory.. Maybe…

Long story short, strep test came back negative, so it’s all good. It’s “legit.” Happiest news of my life. My first thought was, “I’m alive!” The prognosis is good, I’m going to live. Hallelujah! I just can’t kiss anyone in the next little bit (doctor’s advice). Oh dang. I had SO many plans. [Insert the rolling of eyes and sarcastic tone here]. So there it is. My little bit of a trip. For some reason I am now inexplicably happy. Something about finding out that I won’t be banned from public for a week just brings joy to my life.  
Oh! And to make things even better, it's sunny outside today! I can actually see a glimmer of hope that we'll experience spring in Utah... Haha! Oh man, good one. 
One last thing. Happy Birthday (yesterday) Kelsie!! Legal at last (: OH! And her picture is finally up on that blog as previously mentioned. Sorry bout that. 

Girls' Night Out!

Have you ever done something and immediately regretted it? And instead of fixing it, you let it nag at you for days, weeks, years even. You think that if you do something about it, then life as you know it will be turned upside down. But really, when you finally confront the problem, the relief is overwhelming. I am continually amazed by the power of forgiveness. In just the past 6 months, I've met with both sides of this seemingly impenetrable wall multiple times- and conquered it. I've forgiven people when before I couldn't stand being in the same room as them. On the other side, I've been forgiven for things which were utterly inexcusable. I am amazed by the number of times we can forgive and be forgiven, even in the most impossible of situations. Seventy times seven. I am truly in awe. 
On a lighter note, how would you like to hear about an adventure? We'll start with our arrival in Logan. My amiga, Heidee, and I arrived in Logan on Saturday, totally stoked to spend the weekend with our friend Kim. Picture the cliche of girls' night out (Mormon style) and you've got it. We went to the mall to....should I tell you? Oh, okay. If you insist... We went to try on prom dresses. Now I know what you're thinking. "Why in the heck are college girls trying on prom dresses???" Honestly, I really couldn't answer that question. I think a part of you never wants to grow up, so every now and again you just have to throw perceptions out the window and do something crazy. HOWEVER. If you are going to do this, DON'T have your friend pick out what you try on (this goes for all shopping excursions). Let's just say that yours truly ended up in a pink (shudder), sparkly (barf), fluffy (...just died a little inside) prom dress. Kim, love you dearly, but that was torture.. Haha! One thing you need to know about me is this: I hate pink. Passionately. Okay, now we can move on. Here comes the cliche-->
For the remainder of the evening, we...
1. Ate pizza (waaay too much)
2. Watched chick flicks ("You've Got Mail" and "A Walk to Remember")
3. Ate ice cream
And we had a grand ol' time! The following morning brought about some spiritual refreshers and new adventures. We went out to a little town in the middle of nowhere to hear my friend, Kyle, talk to some youth.   The drive took seemingly forever as we continued into the fog (which was still around, by the way). Totally out of the blue, this little town just appears. It was actually kind of crazy. One second, blah, boring fields. The next, BAM! Cute lil' town. Long story short, we found the church after second-guessing our directions like 50 times. We weren't really sure what we were in for. All we knew was that Kyle was speaking at a church and we were there to watch/support. What a surprise it was to find a bunch of youth where we thought there'd be adults. It was a major throw-back (even though that wasn't that long ago for me). I'd almost forgotten the unique dynamic present in youth groups. The obvious jr. high crushes sitting by each other and the sudden courage to be sarcastic and outspoken was apparent in the quick-witted comments. Probably the funniest thing I saw while there was the case of brother vs sister. This kid is up doing announcements and stuff, probably the quorum leader, and realized afterward that he didn't have a place to sit. As it so happened, there was one seat left. Kyle pointed it out and was just like "why don't you sit there?" The look on that kid's face was totally priceless. Turns out that the last seat was right next to his sister. This I totally understand. They looked about as far apart in age as my older brother and me. Classic. Well, you're probably sick of reading this by now. Enjoy life and don't forget to look for the little happy things along the way.

Fog

I don’t have a lot of very profound moments in life, but today was an exception. My good friend, Heidee, and I had been planning on going up to Utah State to visit our other BFF, Kim Possible (long story). Life, being what it is, caught up to us and a chance of snow and some foggy conditions became detrimental to our travel plans. With guidance and advice from parents and the family milk man (my uncle), we decided to go ahead with our travel plans anyways. All was well and the fog wasn’t as bad as we were expecting. That is, until we hit Sardine Canyon. The fog became very dense and we couldn’t see too far ahead. I thought it was pretty cool and Heidee brought up the comment that it was much like life. We all have a road or path of life which we follow, but we don’t know where it’s going. We can choose to stay on the strait and narrow or we can choose to take the nearest exit and embark on a different adventure. The difference is, we are given tools to reach our destination if we stay on the path. If we go astray, we don’t know where we will end up and therefore have no tools to help us when we are lost. I’ve been thinking about those different tools we have. First to come to mind are church, scriptures, and prophets. But we also have our families. Personally, I think I have the best family ever. But I’m a little biased. I could probably go on about the little things in life that my parents or brothers have taught me, but you have your own pool of experiences to draw from at your leisure. However, I still hold out that my little brother is the coolest kid ever. He just turned 15 and is into the whole BMX scene. He’s actually pretty good. As much as it kills me to think about this, he can even do a back flip! So you’re picturing this kind of awkward, lanky, but pretty chill dude, right? This up-and-coming BMX pro is also my number one fashion consultant. Say what you want about your mom and your friends, but I still think my little brother has the best taste of them all. I’m not really sure how that ties into the whole tools of life analogy, but it just goes to show that help can be found in the most random places. But seriously, if you want advice on what looks good before your date with that “special someone,” just ask him. To sum it up, we reached our destination in one piece, although we did have to do a couple U-turns. But such is life. If I had any advice from our trip, it would be this: put on some good tunes, enjoy the road of life, and ALWAYS have a GPS handy.

Well, I’ve never done a blog or anything of the sort before, so this is my experiment. I figure I have things to say and dang-it, why not share them with the world? Talk to any one of my friends and they will tell you that I LOVE sharing the random stories and adventures of my life. With everyone. It’s exciting! Latest adventure? Park City! A couple of my awesome friends and I went to Park City’s Sundance Film Festival to see if we could “spot the stars.” Did we see any? That’d be a negative. BUT we did have some epic fun exploring stores and people watching. Top experiences of the day: 1. Bramble 2. Kelsie the fashionista 3. “Are you that actress?”

1. Bramble. Upon exploring Main Street, we discovered this totally fantastic band named Bramble. To give you an example of their pure awesomeness, they used banjos, ukuleles, and trash cans for instruments. And then they switched! They are incredibly talented and our dear Kelsie got one of their CDs. Visit bramblemusic.com for your listening pleasure. Although as a forewarning, be careful if you decide to view their pictures. One does include some cheek action and I’m not talking about faces here.

2. Just as we were preparing for departure, Kelsie was approached by a woman with a camera. That’s right. Kelsie is now in a fashion blog. We all knew it would happen someday. Except apparently her. Kels, you are a fashionista. It’s true. Check out her moment in the spotlight at dawnstag.blogspot.com

3. The last is my funny moment of the day. While Kels was having her photo op, a happy, although somewhat creepy, old man came up to me and inquired if I was “that actress.” My only response, “I wish!” Pretty sure he was joking. If he were serious, well, that’d just be weird. But funny none-the-less.

When I arrived at my house, I embarked on my final adventure of the day: I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala. A few weeks ago, my anthropology teacher gave us the assignment which will be my doom. We were to read a book (a biography of epically boring proportions) and write a three page paper on it. Hmm… If you know me, you know that I didn’t get the book until two weeks later and I didn’t start reading it until…well…last night. The paper is due today. Was due. Um, yeah. I didn’t finish it. Grade? Down the toilet. Again. When will I ever learn?

Procrastination is the story of my life. Here’s a little taste: 12^th grade English class. Thanks to the new English program in our district, I was able to take both semesters of English in one semester. I thought that was just the bees’ knees, if you know what I mean. So I signed up for both classes my second semester and put them one right after the other with the same teacher. Can I just issue this warning? DON’T DO THIS. Worst decision of my life! The way my teacher had her classes structured, there was one big writing assignment at the beginning of the semester and if you didn’t do it, then you wouldn’t pass the class. What did I do? As you can imagine, my inner procrastinator took over and I didn’t do the papers for either class. That meant I was going to fail BOTH my English classes. Not my best moment. Seeing as this was senior year, without these classes I wouldn’t be graduating. The ironic part? One of the papers I didn’t do was a graduation speech. Funny, right? So I talked to my teacher and she said she’d be willing to work with me. She would give me a “pass” grade instead of a letter grade, so the classes would go on as electives. BUT I had to still do all of the work for her class and not miss a single assignment the rest of the year. This also meant that I had to do packets to make up the English credits. Long story short, if I ever see one of those packets again, I will probably have a mental breakdown and be institutionalized. Hate them with passion. Moral of the story: don’t procrastinate. Making it up is so much worse than just doing the assignment in the first place. So you’d think I learned my lesson right? Yep, sure did…not. Obviously.

So here it is. The first post in my blog. If you like it, that’s great! Recommend it to others. Or don’t. Whatever floats your boat. I’ll just promise you this. I’ll try to make it interesting (my life usually is semi-entertaining). As for now, I have to work on some homework. Ahead of time. It’s a miracle!

(-<) peace