Saturday- A Special Day?

Saturday and I have sort of a love-hate relationship. I love Saturday because I (usually) get to sleep in! (now, when I say "sleep in" I mean, I still wake up at 6:30 because my body just does that...but I get to lay there in my bed and attempt to fall asleep again for 2 more hours. Since I usually don't fall asleep again, I'm freaking tired all day long [reason #1 I hate Saturday] because I just CANNOT sleep in. But, at least I don't have to GET UP early. :))
Plus, my family eats breakfast together! I (usually) don't have to blow-dry my hair because I have time to let it air-dry!
I (usually) have letter-day happiness hangover from Friday :) (p.s. my letter this week was so adorable. I cried when I read it. hahaha. He said SO many cute things. I thought I was going to fall over and die! ;) Oh my I just love that boy. :))
And, on Saturday night I usually party with Kolby. :)

Reasons I hate Saturday: Sleepy ALL DAY LONG.
Mom makes me clean :/
There is SO much to do, yet NOTHING to do... (ie, I could do laundry and homework and scholarship stuff and sew and clean and paint my nails and go places and do my hair fun ways and...the list goes on an on) but I'm too lazy to do any of it. So I just sit here and worry about all the crap I should be doing. haha It's a terrible process :P
And last but not least, I always get that depressed "the weekend is over" sort of feeling on Saturday night. When you are a Mormon, Sunday is not the weekend. Sure, it's a great day to spend with family and going to church, but it is not a day of leisure. And there's like...nothing to do.

Anyway, today is a typical nothing-to-do-but-everything-to-do Saturday. So I'm blogging. :)
Although, earlier today I attempted to write my essay for my leadership scholarship application but that failed miserably. Failed miserably as in...I wrote a few lines and then gave up and went to see Elise at Jamba Juice.

She makes some dang good smoothies. :)

Anyway my essay is coming along nicely.

NOT.

Let's just call this a "work in progress"

In my defense, I'm not 100% sure how they want me to format this...

So I have a reason for not starting yet. :)

I seriously don't want to grow up. Ever. If I have to write some crap-pants essay in order for the richest people in the state to give me money to go to their school, I don't want to live in this world anymore. Like, I just want to get an education. But I don't want to be in debt for the rest of my freaking life in order to obtain that education. I PROMISE I know how to be a leader. This paper could never, ever even begin to describe the experiences I've had being a leader and the things I've learned from it. But I have no idea what to say in this stupid paper. I could SHOW you my knowledge better than I can WRITE it. So this paper can die.

Hahahahaha wasn't the most terrible-est attitude ever? No wonder I don't have a scholarship :P

And thank goodness I'm not applying for diversity. I have no idea what I'd say in that one.... "Uh, I'm different because I dress modestly and try to be honest about the things I do. I hate fighting with people and I think the world sucks. That's why I'm different." Yep. That'd really get me somewhere. adlfkjasldfkjs.

On the bright side, I get to see my sister tomorrow! YAY! :D

And my missionary is the best.

BEST.

Loves<3

p.s. I'm thinking of moving to Alaska this summer to work at a travel lodge right by Mt. McKinley. It'd be such a boss thing to do! But I'm nervous to move that far away. And I have no idea what position to even apply for! Also, I'd probably have to sacrifice doing marching band at the U because band camp is 2 weeks before school starts and I wouldn't want to miss even MORE of the time I'm supposed to be working there. ): But Kayla would be my roomie and we'd have such fun times living together in such a rad place. Moving out for 3 months sure would be an eye opening experience...

We'll see what happens. :)

Dear Boys

So I have this friend called Ashley. She's pretty great. I feel like I know her so well because I stalk her on the Internet. :) hahah she's been in my ward for lots of years and I just look up to her a lot! She's a funny girl :) Anyway she introduced me to this blogging thing called "dear boys". I'm pretty sure she got it from one of her friends but since I don't know her, I'll just give the credit to Ashley :)
Dear boys is a way to write about boys you know- family, friends, lovers ;) haha just anyone! She gives them code-name sort of things and then writes them their own little message. I've always wanted to do something like this...so I guess today is the day. So here we go. :)

Dear VP,
You save my life every single day. Thank you for being so willing to help me out with everything. You are my right hand man :) I know you're supppppper busy, but you make your commitments to the band a priority. You are just amazing. :)
Sincerely, You Should Be The President

Dear Locker #86,
Thanks for being so nice. You make me feel a lot better about myself. I'm looking forward to the dance.
Sincerely, Locker #89

Dear Boy,
You make me so mad. Because as much as I'd love to hate you, I can't. I sometimes wish that things had worked out. But then I remember you don't care, so I don't care either. But thanks for all the butterflies.
Sincerely, Girl

Dear Obsessed,
I'm sorry for being a brat. But I really don't want to lead you on and get your hopes up. I wish I could just talk to you without you following me around for a week. I wish you didn't think I am so amazing. Do you even know me? Probably not.
Sincerely, Wish I Felt Bad

Dear Elder,
I miss you, I love you. 2 years is worth forever.
Sincerely, Your "MG" ;)

Dear Hopeful,
I'm sorry for everything. I'd really like this to pass, but I know it won't. I just don't even know how to feel anymore. Maybe I spend too much time with you? Meh.
Sincerely, Dreaming

Dear KB,
You are my favorite. Sometimes you are my only friend...but that's okay cause I like you best. You don't act like a dumb high school kid. Thanks for being being patient with me. I know I complain and cry a lot... haha. I'm glad you are making good decisions in your life. You'll be famous one day. BBFF. <3
Sincerely, KJ

Thanks for reading :)

Since I'm not very tech-savy, I can't figure out how to do what I'm actually supposed to do with this picture. But I did my best. hahaha. Check out the Dear Boys origin here :)

100 Years of Seminary

Last night there was a broadcast featuring President Boyd K. Packer celebrating the 100th year of seminary. How cool is that!? I didn't know it had been around that long...and I guess if I really think about it I can't imagine that it never existed.There was a video at the beginning where President Eyring talked about the very first seminary class. It was held in a tiny room with just a few students and a very faithful teacher. They went there every day to learn about the Gospel and make their lives better. We then found out that President Eyring's mother was in that very class in 1912. So cool! I'm very thankful that she participated in seminary and grew up to raise one of the leaders of our church.
Also in the video there were stories of youth who wake up very early and travel a long way to go to seminary. Their faith and dedication is incredible. I don't know if I could do that myself. I'm so blessed to have  chance to attend seminary DURING my school day. I love being able to spend just one period of my schedule in a seminary class. I wish I could take two classes and have it EVERY day. It's just that awesome.
President Packer talked about a lot of important things that I definitely needed to hear. He is so blunt. He doesn't try to hide behind the words and beat around the bush. I love how he is so confident in the things he says. He talked about the things us youth should and should not be doing. He said that we must be strong in fighting against Satan. Simply just stop doing things that let him control our lives. If you think you cannot repent and change, you are so far from right. You can ALWAYS change. It's never too late. Seminary is what can help us be stronger and fight this battle. Sure, he's an old man. He's been alive for a LONG time. People might think that his age causes him to forget what it's like to be a kid. And that he doesn't understand. But he DOES. His many years of experience in life have taught him what is most important for us to know. He speaks truth. I have so much confidence in his words. I think as I've gotten older I've stopped thinking of the commandments as "rules we have to follow" and started thinking of them as excellent words of advice from a loving Father in Heaven who KNOWS what is best. He doesn't tell us to dress a certain way because he's trying to control our lives. He tells us how to dress so that we can feel good about ourselves and be happy with who we are. That's just one of the many examples I could think of.
Seminary is one of the greatest blessings in my life. Especially serving on Seminary Council. When that calling was extended to me by Brother Parker, I felt so inadequate. "Surely, there has to be someone better. More popular. That knows the scriptures better. Who is more hard working and obedient than I am...." I felt like I wasn't good enough for it. But soon after my doubt I felt peace. Like this is what I was supposed to dedicate my senior year to. And it is. I've never been more thankful for a calling before. I am so humbled by it. Being around those 11 kids who I get to serve with is incredible. Megan is so nice to everyone ALL the time. Derek knows his scriptures like no one else. Kelsey is always on the lookout for people we can help. They're all just great. I sometimes feel like they help me more than I help them... but, I'm so thankful for it. I would be somewhere scary if it weren't for their great example and encouragement to be better. :)
I'm just really glad I have seminary in my life. Somewhere I can go and be myself. Say what I feel. I feel pretty lucky that I got to be a senior for the celebration. :)

Oh- and Copper Hills had the most decorated building in like...the world ;) hahaha


Loves <3

"SHE SAID YES."

-that's probably my FAVORITE part of the movie The RM. It's SO funny. That's the part where Jared had just hung up with the girl he asked on a date and then wanted to call his sister and brother-in-law to tell them the exciting news. As soon as the phone picks up Jared says, "She said yes." in this really funny and confident voice. But! He had accidentally called the girl back and said that to her. So he tries to play it off all cool and it's just hilarious.
Great movie :)

Anyway, there is a point to this I promise :)

So the boy I asked to sweethearts answered me on Friday! We had to do pep band for the basketball game... (who the heck plays a game on a day we don't even have school!? doesn't that kinda defeat the purpose of having a day off?)...so I went to the school at 6 and found an interesting note on my locker. I got all excited while I read it :) haha and the entire band room was full of people. (In fact, I was late to rehearsal so the whole room was full of people standing in an ark playing music. #awkward.) So I opened up my locker and found.......

THIS ^ *

It. Was. Adorable.

His note said something like "all the hearts are numbered and if you put them in order you'll find your answer." Anyway the stuff written on the hearts was so funny. Most of them were just random things :) But 17 of them pertained to the answer and Anna and Katie helped me find them all :) We decided that laying them on the floor was the easiest way to go about it.

These are hearts #1-17 :)

They said: Dearest Locker #89, I would be honored to go to sweethearts with you so yes. Sincerely, Garrett.

All the hearts :) So awesome.

Anyway I'm pretty excited for this dance! I got my dress yesterday :) It's pretty awesome and I can't wait to wear it. I'm DETERMINED to have a good time at this dance. I'm quite confident that my choice of a date is a good one... but we'll see ;) hahaha

Only 129 more days until I graduate. Holy. Hannah.

Time is going by so fast. It's insanity.

But that's okay...cause then Scott will be home sooner :)

...I've been missing him a lot lately.

And it's hard because there are certain things I'd talk about with him.

Things I couldn't talk about with anyone else. Mostly because they just don't understand.

He just gives such great advice.

Sometimes he just listens.

Anyway, I'm having what I like to call "Scott problems".

Ya know, those things I can only talk to him about...

Well, he's not here. And sometimes I just can't get it all out on paper.

Plus, I really don't want to make him worry about me right now.
He's got a lot on his plate, being a missionary and all.

Anyway, I just feel like I'm stuck. With no one to talk to about these things.

Because no one GETS it like he does.

It'll be okay though. He's serving the Lord right now. And I wouldn't want him to be anywhere else.

FIVE HUNDRED more days.

:)

I like the dead animals in this picture. So awesome ;)

Loves. <3

*disclaimer: My locker is in a little bit better condition than it was in marching band season, but it's still quite terrible. At least it didn't look like this >>> (my locker right before Christmas Break :P ) Hahaha. Anyway in most non-band kid situations (I say this because most band kids are all such close great friends [not really] who all basically live at their lockers [it's like the band room is a little town and every one's locker is like their own little house!], and locker decorating is a really big "dance" thing that we just do. I'm not quite sure who exactly set this precedent but whatever. That's just how it works.) the answerer would do something similar to this to one's bedroom. Since it's usually nice to give some warning, your mother would go straighten up your room for you to make sure it was presentable and the person wouldn't ditch the date knowing how messy your bedroom is. Well, in this case, my mother knew nothing... and she could not prepare my sanctuary for inspection of a boy. I guess this just taught me a lesson to keep my crap clean and organized :P

Seminary and Sweethearts

I basically suck at the 30 day challenge. I guess that's why they call it a challenge. Haha it just ended up being harder than I thought! So maybe from time to time I'll post about it and eventually finish the dang thing. :)

Anyway, today was my last day of 1st period Brother Johnson Seminary. It was a super quiet class but it was awesome at the same time. Since only like 5 of us ever shared things, I got to say what I was feeling a lot more than usual, which is nice. I like being able to give my insights on things... :) But it's also nice to have a lot of participation. Oh well, maybe it's just cause it's kind of early in the morning :P


At the beginning of the year I set a goal to write SOMETHING in my study journal every day. In the past I haven't been so good at writing things down that I'm learning and I tend to forget a lot of it. Basically the only thoughts I have from freshman/sophomore/junior year is the stuff I wrote in my actual scriptures... haha so this year I decided to be different. I would write down things I was being taught and try to learn something new every day. It was surprisingly easy to do! Every day I'd get to class and automatically just open up my journal and write the date. That way I would be sure to at least write down a scripture or two. :) Today I opened my journal to the last page and wrote about being thankful for this past semester and my class. I wrote down Brother Johnson's greatest advice and then I put it away. I can't believe that I filled an entire journal in just one semester! It's pretty crazy :) I plan to do it again next semester! I learned so much!



After that we had a party :) I brought cookies! (that my awesome mother saved my life by buying for me!) We also had donuts and sun chips. And water from the kitchen! :D

My healthy breakfast :)



This is what Brother Johnson says to us every day when we are leaving :) We totally guessed it without missing any letters!



After the party I went to concert band where I serve as Mr. Simpson's aide...so I'm blogging :) haha But before this I asked one of my friends to sweethearts! Now... I love school dances... but whoever invented the whole "bake a cake and write a note that says 'if the second inch of the cake has a grain of salt in it then my name starts with a vowel and after that you need to go to Wal-Mart and do this scavenger hunt that leads you right back to your house where I've put silly string and confetti all over your bedroom and stuffed chocolate candy in your socks and one of them may or may not have my name on it...but most likely not. THEN you must skydive off of your house and when you get that whole life flashing before your eyes sensation you'll know who is asking you!'" thing should die. Like really. So since I'm a "creative asking" hater I just wrote him a simple letter, put it in an envelope, and put the envelope in his locker. Simple. Lame, but simple. And yet still effective!

Anyway- I'm real nervous so let's hope he says yes! :)

Only 1 1/2 days left of this quarter. Crossing my fingers for a 4.0! I totally deserve it. I've been working my butt off. Who knew all these seemingly easy classes would be so much work!

Have a nice day :)

Also, Kristianna was at the Jazz game last night so Katie and I pep banded alone. We documented the moment. I like her :)



Days 14 & 15

(late again, sorry :/)
DAY 14- Your hobby

I like to do hair :)

This is my sister Kaylee. I did her hair yesterday because I was bored outta my pants and it sounded fun! This is what came of it :)

I just really like to do people's hair. It's definitely something I'd love to do for a career... :)

DAY 15- Someone you couldn't imagine your life without

Mom and Dad :)

They're just the greatest parents in the whole darn world! They seriously give me everything I need for survival. I would probably die if it weren't for them. For reals.

p.s. Happy Birthday Mom :)

Day 13

DAY 13- Someone you'd like to trade places with for a day

hehe... :)

A Kitty :)

Any kitty! I just think it would be super fun and interesting to be an animal for a day. Especially a cute animal! But- if I was a cat, I'd let people pet me. And I wouldn't hide and run away and claw and bite people. Cause cats that do that are dumb cats. And I would DEFINITELY not spend my one day as a cat being a dumb cat. :)

In other news, I finished and emailed my final project for Music Composition. Let's hope and pray MRich likes it and I can have an A in her class(es) :)

I made four awesome posters for our seminary lunch social next week! Well, I think they are awesome :)

I ate dinner three different times tonight. None of which were with my family ):

I cleaned out (some) of my band locker. You can now see the back wall of it! :D

I successfully avoided doing my Spanish assignment today by answering 10 Hispanic culture questions correctly. Whining will get you far people! Plus Cabi is my friend and he understands! haha :)

I survived my last day of aerobics! Hannah, I sure will miss you. To (pretty much) the rest of my class, good riddance.

Oh, and I got Jay to carry my bag and my seminary binder out to my car for me. It's times like those that makes having a non-at-school-boyfriend a little easier.

Also, I got a letter today. WINNING. It's pretty great. He wrote funny things all over the back of the envelope. Plus he managed to make like 24597485 little hearts look like the letter 'P'. Silly missionary ;)

Oh- and Copper Hills lost to Alta. But it was a super fun game. And I screamed my guts out the whole time :) I sure do love basketball season! Pep band FTW!

And now the 3 day weekend has come to save me! Too bad I have to do so much homework. #IhateMusic1010Sometimes :P

Goodnight. :)

Pillow Pets Make the World a Better Place

So it's that time of the month. I have a cold again! I swear I've been getting a cold EVERY month since August. It's driving me nuts. I guess this is proof that high school isn't good for your immune system. #coolstorybro

-sidenote: I recently joined twitter. I'm addicted and now I hashtag everything. #likeaboss-

Anyway since I'm sick AGAIN I decided to wear a sweatshirt and carry around my mini pillow pet with me all day. Needless to say, it made me feel somewhat better. Just having that cute cuddly thing under my arm smiling at me was just nice. Plus, it helped me successfully take a power nap in band while 'reading' our new music. That's winning at its finest my friends.

So basically, it's the end of the quarter/semester. And until today, I had an F in Music Composition. Like, I seriously had an F all quarter long. Maybe that's cause MRich never puts our crap in the computer until like 4 days before final grades are due. I guess when teachers decided they have time for stuff the student's grades improve immensely. Imagine that!

Whatever I understand she's been busy. Being like the choir teacher and all. But still. Do some grades so I can quit biting off my nails every day!

Music Composition- Happy it's almost over :)

Since my F has now magically turned into an A, this means that I have successfully earned myself another 4.0 this year....Almost. ha :) I'm turning in my final project for Music Comp tomorrow and presenting my other final project for Music 1010 on Tuesday after taking my final exam. *cross your fingers I don't fail and can proudly hang my report card on the fridge again. :)


Bunnie's head, Lia's feet :)

^^^This is what Music 1010 usually looks like. When we spend most of the class listening to music, we all lay on the floor with blankets. The boys fall asleep and don't even try to hide it. Bunnie sometimes pretends to be awake- but not this day. Lia is a good girl and actually stays conscious while laying...and I take pictures of people sleeping. :) Best. Class. Ever.

All in all my life is kind of awesome. Kolby came over just to hug me today. Cause I felt crappy and he's nice. #goodboyfriend :)

OH! Recently I have discovered that actually doing homework makes me feel awesome. I can proudly go to bed at night knowing my day wasn't totally wasted. Plus, it makes me smarter ;) and then I'm more excited to go to school because I'm actually prepared for it! Who knows- maybe this sudden interest to not put things off til the last minute will benefit me someday! Or maybe it'll wear off with my sickness. :P

Fun fact: Middle school kids are terrible, miserable souls who never smile. Or enjoy ANYTHING. Never participate in the Performing Arts Traveling Assembly. It's quite draining.

But seriously. Like when I got home from school (the assembly field trip) on Tuesday I slept from 3 to 6:40. hahahahah. Dumb.

Goodnight :)

Day 12

DAY 12- Your biggest insecurity


I don't really have any insecurities...so here are some pictures of puppies :)

XOXOXO

Day 11

DAY 11- Your favorite band/artist
Now for me this is a haarrrddd choice. I love SO many bands! But most favorite is....

Taylor Swift :)

She's just so cute! I love her music :) It's all about boys. And let me tell you- I sure do love them boys ;) I can relate to her songs so well, as I'm sure millions of other girls can. There's always a cute story behind her songs. I always get excited when a new album comes out! Taylor is someone I just love to jam to! And of course- who doesn't love that curly blonde hair of hers? She's just amazing :)

I also love me some Owl City♥

Adam Young is sort of a babe... :)

Owl City is definitely my "happy dreamy" music. It's the BEST! It always puts me in such a good mood when they play it in the hall! Plus, Owl City always reminds me of Kolby...cause he loves it too :) I guess maybe that's why I like it so much ;) ahaha but really. I never knew I'd like this sort of music but it just kind of touches me in a different way. It makes me think while also making me want to skip down the street. :)

I love lots of other artists too...but these guys are just my favorite :) I can never get sick of them!

Day 10

DAY 10- Your favorite memory

July 10, 2010- Our first date :)

It's not necessarily my most favorite memory...because I've had a pretty awesome and eventful life :) But! This is one of them! And the cool thing is that it happened exactly 18 months ago today! Pretty neat, huh :)

Anyway, on July 9, 2010, the marching band was having a car wash. We were in the parking lot behind Checker Auto and we were washing cars like a boss ;) hahah. Jess and I were pretty much hanging out together cause she's cool :) And since Scott and Kolby were doing summer marching band with us, they were at the car wash too :)
Suddenly it started to rain so we had to quit the washing and take a trip to Mama Tripp's house. (you see what I did there? aahaha :)) Mama Tripp is Kaylien's mom. She was real nice to let all 20 of us kids come party at her house while we waited for the rain to stop....
We ate pizza and watched Benchwarmers while we waited. I was sitting on the floor by Kolby cause he's cute and Scott had told me like a week before then that Kolby liked me... :) So we were just talking a bit and it was quite entertaining!
Eventually we got to go back to the car wash and resumed the fun. :) While I was scrubbing someone's wheels I looked at Scott and I was like... I gotta tell you something. So he smiled and was like, What? So I said...I think I kinda like Kolby :) Then Scott got a really big smile on his face and started screaming and was like CAN I PLEASE TELL HIM?! It would be like a little boy getting Hot Wheels for Christmas! :) So I was like...fine you can tell  him but if it's awkward I'm gonna kill you! hahaha
After that it was my turn to go be a "sign shaker" with Jess, Kolby, and Scott. When I got up the hill Kolby was running like 100 miles an hour and screaming like a little girl. It was probably the best thing of my whole life. Like, for real. He's so adorable :) He kept hugging me and smiling at me and it was just awesome sauce! hahaha. I guess that means Scott told him the news.. :)
Later that day Austin's dad came and asked Scott if he wanted 4 tickets to go to a car show the next day. Scott then thought, "Hey let's go on a date :)" so he asked Jess and gave the other two tickets to Kolby and was like KARA COME HERE! :) When I got over to them Kolby was like wanna go on a date? :) So I was like heck yes! and then we were like yay! and then the car wash was over ): haha. We went back to the school to put the car wash stuff away and then Kolby gave me a ride home. And...he was playing Owl City. Okay. Like. I love Owl City so so much! It totally made my day when I found out he listened to it :) (this was sign #1 that I was totally gonna love him ;))
He texted me like all night and then sat by me on the bus to the parade the next morning. It was rad :)
After we got done with the parade I rushed home to make myself attractive and texted Jessica about how nervous I was. I'd been on ONE date since I had turned sixteen so I was quite shaky and excited :) (sign #2 :)) At like 1:30 he came and picked me up! He came in and said hi to my parents and then we drove to Toolee.
What an epic drive that was :) Kolby is such a hot driver. hahahahahah. :)
When we got to the motor park place we went in and Kolby was like "Do you wanna hold your ticket? :)" and when he handed it to me he grabbed my hand and didn't stop holding it all day long :)we watched the cars go round and round lots of times, looked at cars, walked around, jumped over things, laughed, sweated, talked, and then the boys got to drive fancy cars :)
(that's the picture. :) I took it from the back seat while Kolby was driving the Camero! haha)
When we got done we went to Arcitic Circle and ate food and then went to Scott's house and watched comedians. They were totally hilarious and it was just awesome :)
Oh, and Kolby played the piano for me :) (Sign #3)
And that's all I needed. After one date I was totally sold on the kid and we've been dating ever since. It's fun to look back so far and still be able to remember every minute of that date. It was so fun :)
Plus, I love those kids with all of my heart. Even though Scott is far away and Jessica is practically married now, I still feel like those 3 are my best friends. I'm really glad he asked me on that date :) It's been the best 18 months I could ever ask for :)

Day 9

DAY 9- Something you wish you could change

Something that I wish I could change about myself is having empathy for others. Like REAL empathy. I'm a relatively happy person and I have a pretty positive outlook on life. But there are people out there who don't. They are so sad and so depressed all the time. Of course, it's okay to be sad about things every now and then but these people are ALWAYS like this. They never smile and they have horrible attitudes. This frustrates the crap out of me. I wish so badly that I could just know WHY these people feel the way they do so that I could help them feel better. I wish I could know how to make them see the goodness that life here on Earth has to offer. I wish I could be an aide to them. To help them recover from their clinical illnesses and just enjoy their lives.
But I simply cannot. There is only one person that can do that and that is our Savior Jesus Christ. He is the one that knows how every single person feels. He's the one that can help them to feel better and to cure them of their illnesses, not me. I have come to know myself that Jesus can heal anyone, anytime, no matter what. He's the ultimate doctor. Not only does he take away physical pain but emotional pain as well.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I wish I was more like Christ. I know I have potential to become like him, but I'm definitely not there yet. I just want to help people. Do the best I can until one day I can actually help people all on my own. I'll know how they feel. I'll be able to empathize with them. To comfort and be more patient with them. But until then, I can only do my best and hope it's working.
That is definitely what I would change about myself right now if I could.

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee..." -Isaiah 41:10

Day 8

DAY 8- Your favorite book

Way To Be by President Hinckley :)

Apart from The Book of Mormon & The Doctrine and Covenants, this has been the most influential book I've ever read. I read it my sophomore year after I finished my (completely useless) UBSCT test. I had this book in my bedroom for a really long time. I think it was leftover from my brother or even my sister. Anyway it just sat on my bookshelf for years and one day I just decided to read it.

It.

Was.

Awesome!

It really does give the best advice on how to live a happy and successful life. It reminded me a lot of the For Strength of Youth Pamphlet but it gave a lot greater detail on the subjects and personal stories and advice from President Hinckley. It just amazing! After I read this book I've been a lot happier in my life. I learned so much from it and I'm very thankful to have been able to read it.

For entertainment purposes my favorite books in the entire world are the Harry Potter books- of course :) No I cannot pick a favorite. That's like asking someone to pick which child is their favorite. Each is good for their own reasons, but you simply cannot pick a favorite. Anyway JK Rowling is amazing and I just adore her books about the life of Harry Potter :)

Day 7

DAY 7- A picture of you and a letter
Now, this probably means that you are supposed to take a picture of yourself and then write someone a letter as the caption for the picture. BUT. I have a better idea. :)

This is me and a letter from 'my missionary' ;) It's my 13th letter and also my favorite. I got it today :)

Elder Simpson is my favorite missionary. He's MY missionary. (inside joke, ha) He writes me sometimes. And then I write back. And then he writes back. And then I take too long to write back so he writes again. Then I write back and....oh yeah I think you probably get it now. :) He is currently serving in the Independence, Missouri Mission. (but his mail comes from Kansas hahah) He has been out for 7 months and has written me thirteen letters thus far.

He writes funny things.

He writes serious things.

Sometimes he writes on yellow paper. (like today)

He tells me about the people he's teaching and about his companions.

Sometimes he puts stickers all over the paper & envelope.

He asks me lots and lots and lots of questions.

He puts smiley faces all over the place.

Sometimes he writes things in Spanish. That's the language he's teaching in :) I'm learning Spanish from the one and the only Mr. Cabanillas at Copper Hills High School. Needless to say- Elder Simpson's Spanish is much better than mine :P

And he ALWAYS bears his testimony to me and tells me how important the Gospel is and how I need to share it with others. He gives me a scripture or two to read and they've always helped me out.

His letters are just great.

I always get a really big smile on my face when I get a letter from him cause I know it will be chock-full of great advice and wisdom. HAHAHAHA just kidding but I know that it'll make me happy and feel better about everything.

Elder Simpson is one of my best friends. He always has been. I've looked up to him so much my whole life. I'm very thankful to know him and I'm very thankful that he takes time out of his super busy life to write me letters. I can't wait to have him back home. Seriously. Only 514 more days. :)

Day 6

Late, sorry :/
I promise it's a good reason!

DAY 6- Something you love

MUSIC. :)



Now, when I say music I don't mean the crap everyone THINKS is music. Don't get me wrong- my ipod is full of the latest pop music. I love to jam to it! But when I say I love music I mean straight up instrumental music. The stuff that isn't all electronically produced. It shows signs of talent and great technique. Some of my favorite composers are: Joseph Haydn, Frank Ticheli, Percy A. Granger, Bach, Gustav Holst, Tchaikovsky, Alfred Reed, Leroy Anderson,  Beethoven, John Williams (to name a few). People who have spent years studying theory and composing music that just makes my heart rejoice! As much as I love to complain about my Music 1010 class, I absolutely adore it. I've really learned to appreciate music even MORE than I ever have before! I've learned so much about these composers and why they do the things they do. I've learned about the time periods they lived in and the social impact their music had.

My favorite thing in the world is going to wind ensemble concerts. I just love hearing this beautiful stuff! I love even more to play it myself! There is nothing better than sitting down with my clarinet and my symphonic band and to just play this music. I'm very thankful for music in my life. It has such an emotional impact on me. So this is what I love :)

"Imagine the world without football. Now imagine the world without music."

Day 5

DAY 5- A picture of you and the person you've done the craziest things with

Lately it's been AnnaBomb (:

Example- today in pep band we played like...five notes. The rest of the time we took pictures and laughed while pretending to play. She's a super funny girl :) I'm glad she is weird like me! haha we've been good friends for a while! I'm thankful that she plays the clarinet like me so we could get to know each other ;) hahahahah I just love that girl!

(:

Day 4

DAY 4- A picture of your night
Here's two :)

The first is my bed :)

Background story on the picture- This is the ONLY picture I had on my phone and it's the one I took the morning of my first day of my senior year. I didn't sleep all that great that night for some reason and I ended up doing this to my poor bed ): haha anyway I thought it was kind of funny that I was still nervous to start school even though this is like the 15th year I've done this. Anyway- back to what I was talking about...

I like my bed :) I sleep here every night. It's my favorite! I like to share it with lots of stuffed animals. They serve as a barrier from all the terrible things that could eat me in the middle of the night. It's awesome :)

The second is my Charlie :)

Charlie is a giant teddy bear that is super soft and cuddly and just plain adorable :) Kolby gave me Charlie for Christmas last year and he's just a really great sleeping companion :) Sometimes he falls off my bed in the middle of the night...I feel bad...but he always has that cute smile on his face even when I'm not very nice to him.

Background story on his name- When I first got him I didn't know what to name him. After sleeping with him for a while I would sometimes wake up in the morning and he was on the floor, I always felt super bad and would say "sorry charlie" to him cause that's just a funny saying :) I still hadn't given him a name so I just decided to call him Charlie :)

Anyway I like my bear! He really helps me not be so afraid of the dark cause he's just giant! There's nothing that can get past him to kill me! hahahahah :)

Well goodnight(:

p.s. this 30 day challenge is harder than I thought. I want to give up but it's only day 4! How lame would that be :P

Day 3

DAY 3- The cast from your favorite show
 

Teen Mom 2 :)

 I love a lot of tv shows but this is one of my favorites :) I think it's super interesting and quite funny.

******

I'm so over being at school already.
:P

Day 2

DAY 2- Something that you are afraid of

THE DARK.

Now, I'm afraid of almost everything. Like- everything. But my worst worst worst fear of all is the dark. I hate being in it by myself. I have feelings of sheer terror every time I have to turn off my light to go to bed. Some may say, get over it! Or, get a night light! Yes, a night light would be lovely but the SHADOWS it would make would probably scare me even more than the dark itself. Anyway, I think my fear of darkness is worsened by the fact that I'm afraid of so many things. Because if I wasn't so afraid of everything I'd have no worries of what could be hiding in said darkness.
Weird, I know.
But I'm just being honest.


Tomorrow is back to school from the Christmas break.
I'm not ready. :/


Too bad!
Goodnight (:

Day 1

I thought just for fun I'd do a 30 day picture challenge on my blog :)
Many people were doing this on Facebook a few months ago and I really wanted to participate but I felt lame :P So I'm doing it here! I think it's a good way to let my followers (Chantel) get to know me better :) Plus it will force me to blog EVERY day ;)

So without further adieu let us begin :)

DAY 1- A picture of yourself with 10 facts

1- I love my full name :)
2- My favorite color is red
3- I'm addicted to the food network
4- I'm totally in love with my clarinet, Jimmy. Music is my heart and soul
5- I don't know what I would do without my family
6- I'm afraid of almost everything
7- I dig my bronco. It is THE BEST car in the world
8- I love getting mail :)
9- I have a testimony of Jesus Christ, ask me about it :)
10- I'm a Boston Red Sox fan :)

This should be fun :)


p.s. I PROMISE I'll blog about Christmas/the break tomorrow. I just have lots to write about! :P

11:57 p.m.

So last night was the ever famous New Years Eve. Such night is when people participate in many a tradition and celebrate the coming of a new year. Most often people have a "new years kiss" from their...whoever is standing next to them. Anyway, I being myself, wanted to be with Kolby when the clock struck twelve like I was last year. He lives like literally 2 minutes away from me and neither of us have anyone else we'd rather be with on New Year so we were going to hang out last night. We were going to watch movies and party and just have a good time! :) Seems easy enough, right?

WRONG.

Kolby is in the University of Utah Marching Band, specifically the drumline. (drumline=hot) ;)

Exhibit A- Block U from pregame show. I heart this band :)

Because is part of said band he got the chance to go to the bowl game in El Paso, Texas yesterday. Yay free band trip! The game was at like 12:30 which meant they would be able to fly home that night and be able to go party with people for the new year. Well, they didn't fly on time. They were just chillin on the plane while sitting on the ground for HOURS. (not really but that's what he told me it felt like) Anyway long story short they landed in Salt Lake at about 10:20 p.m.
I was sitting in my little house freaking out all night that I wouldn't be able to see him. When he texted me when they landed I had a slight glimmer of hope inside of me. He then asked me if I would like to go with his mom up to the U to pick him up. This would accomplish 1 of 2 things. 1- I could for sure be with Kolby at midnight like we both wanted and 2- His mom would have someone to keep her company driving up there. It's a double win so off we went :)
Kolby's mom is such a nice lady :) She's so funny too! She basically talked to me the whole way up there. Thank goodness it wasn't awkward or I probably would have died. :P
We got to the Rice-Eccles Stadium parking lot at like 11ish and waited for the buses to bring the band home from the airport. We watched some fireworks and looked at the trees up in the big glass thing :) Haha it was quite fun!
Finally the giant tour buses brought lots and lots of tired looking kids all wearing the SAME outfit to us. Kolby's mom and I just looked at them all and were trying our hardest to find him...But it was super dark and seriously. Everyone had the same outfit on haha.
Anyway he texted me and told me he had to go put some stuff away and then he'd be out to the truck. BEFORE midnight. Well it was 11:45....46....47....48....49.... and still no sign of the dang boy. His mom and I were just freaking out and hoping he'd get there soon. Finally at 11:57 p.m. we saw him walking to the truck. I was so excited that I got out and ran to him and hugged him :) He was so cute and looked like a G with his hat all sideways backwards and whatnot ;) hahaha he's great :)
At 11:59 we were sitting in the truck waiting for midnight :) Kolby and I were looking at my phone and when it said 12:00 January 1, 2012 we cheered and he kissed me :) YAY! After all the stress and worry and waiting, it finally happened :) We watched people lighting fireworks all over the valley and it was quite the sight! :)
When we tried to leave his mom's truck wouldn't start so that kind of sucked. I thought- oh crap we're going to die! (not really but I was a tad worried) She said it just needed a minute and so we waited. At 12:12 she decided to try again and we all hoped for a miracle....annnd...the truck started! Miracle accomplished.


Exhibit B- "HURRY AND TAKE A PICTURE SO WE CAN REMEMBER THIS!"

Eventually we got back to their house and Kolby unpacked his bag and told me about the trip :) I'm so jealous of him. I can't wait to (crossing my fingers) be in the Utah band next year. It's so legit. hahahaha and I'm so lame so I need it :P

It was such a fun and adventurous New Year's Eve! I'll never ever forget it. :)

p.s. "Have you been this pretty all day?" -KB :)