Quick! Say 10 Things You're Thankful For

I blame my hideous mood on wintertime. Yes, I know my last name is Winter. Ha Ha Ha. That doesn't change the fact that I hate it. Today is a terrible day. I fell and then slid down the hill while walking to class (stupid snow), had to clean my car off THREE TIMES (stupid snow), no one will pick up Kaylee so I have to go out and drive again (stupid snow), and I accidentally put too much water in my tomato soup (which if you think about it is technically just melted stupid snow). So I need to write down ten things I'm thankful for because I'm sick of being such a downer.

1- Whole milk and Fruity Pebbles

2- The friendly human beings at the Institute. And the free hot chocolate and banana bread.

3- Kittens. Always.

4- My incredibly wonderful coworkers

5- My family. Parents especially.

6- Texts from my best friend consulting me about fashion advice

7- The fact that I didn't die in the commute to school today

8- Clean laundry

9- My opportunity to go to college

10- Brother Page's awesome lessons

Also, I'm thankful for the hilarious things I find on the Internet

:)

DFTBA

¿Como Se Escribe Bored En Español?

Today I walked across the frozen tundra to get to a class that I'm not even paying attention in.

Don't forget to be awesome!!!

The Internet Knows My Life

I laughed waaaaay too hard at this. Maybe just because this happens to me all the freaking time. 

Absolutely hilarious.

Twins

I've been asked way too many times if Kaylee and I are twins.

We are not twins.

At all.

In fact, I'm five years older than her. 

She loves when people thinks we are the same age. It just makes me feel like a tiny baby. But whatever. Cause despite how different we are, we're kind of exactly the same.

I love my sister. She's so cute. :)

DFTBA!

We're Famous

So remember that New Year's party Elise and I went to?
Yeah well we were out getting a drink and this guy walked up to us and started asking us all these weird questions.
We both kinda just stared at him and were like dude what the heck?
Eventually he told us it was a prank and that they'd be making a YouTube video of it.
Well, here it is.
We're at the very beginning.
And it's not funny.
But we're famous ;)

DFTBA!

Sickly

Basically I had the worst week of my life last week.

Work was awful and school was stressful. And then I got sick.

So pretty much things were just crappy.

But I'm feeling a lot better and I haven't had to work since last Thursday. 

So anyway this has been my life as of late:

I hope you notice how awful I look.

Because I definitely felt awful.

My psychology book has gotten much more interesting and LEAP is my 11th grade English class all over again. But this time instead of BSing my study guides, I actually know what I'm talking about sort of. It's nice to have better reading comprehension and be able to find the metaphors and deeper meanings of a book. I'm so thankful that years and years and years of school has actually paid off. Also, I have to write my memoir for my LEAP final project and I think it's going to take me all semester to say exactly what I want to say, how I want to say it. So I'm probably going to use my blog to plan it out and stuff. Be excited ;)

Also, I learned something about myself. Are you ready for this? Okay.

Things. Always. Work. Out.
Last semester, I didn't think I was gonna make it. I thought I was literally going to die in the piles and piles of homework that I had dumped on me. But I made it.
When I started marching band when I was 15, I never thought I'd be able to do it. By the time I graduated I was band president and the girl a lot of kids looked up to. It worked out, I made it.
When I was called to SemCo and I didn't think I'd be able to complete my assignments or wake up on time for meetings. But I did it. I made it and it all worked out.
Sometimes I underestimate myself. I think I won't be able to do something or I won't do well on a test or an assignment (and sometimes I don't...), but a lot of the time I end up being just fine. I always work hard for things that I care about. I always do as well as I want to. And even though these fourteen credits seem scary as crap, I'm probably going to be just fine. It's going to work out, I'm going to make it, and I'm going to study hard and do well. Because that's just me. I care way too much about everything to let stuff slide. So I thought that was pretty cool. I just need some better self-confidence and a good attitude!

Anyway, I'm glad I realized that I need to quit freaking out about everything all the time and trust myself to do a good job on things. Because I can, and I will.

DFTBA!

You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream

For Ice Cream!
The wintertime at Jamba is sloooooowwwwww.
The other night Austin and I were working together and I decided it was time for a little sundae bar.
For some reason, our delivery people gave us this tub of ice cream a while back and they just let us keep it. So at our work Christmas party, we ate a tiny bit of it. Emily told us she'd take it back to Jamba and leave it in the freezer for us to eat when we got bored at work. She also left us hot fudge, caramel, and Cool Whip. And styrofoam bowls.
So, I got out all the stuff and we ate our fill of ice cream for the next month or two. It was spectacular.

DFTBA!

Spring 2013!

So the new semester started on January 7th. It approached much too rapidly. Winter break FLEW by. I felt like I was going to die when my alarm went off and it was already time to get up and throw on my sweats and drive to the TRAX station. Yes, I wore sweats on the first day of school. Do you want to know how much I care? Not even a tiny bit

I was so comfy and so warm and it was the best.

I'm taking fourteen credits, four classes. PSY 1010, LEAP 1100, COMM 1010, and HIST 1700. 

I really really love psychology and leap is whatever. It's nice to be in the same class as last semester with a professor that I'm used to working with and learning from. 

Communications might be a toughy but I think it's gonna be good. And history just plain SUCKS. I have a 1,300 page textbook that I have to read this semester. The tests are in-class essays and it's on the other side of campus in the engineering building? So whatever. 

But, I'm also taking institute! I took the other half of the New Testament with Brother Page because I just love him! 

I actually have a couple of friends in my classes and things are going to be a lot more exciting this semester than last semester but also a lot more work. I'm nervous but I'm excited. It's gonna be good :)

Also, I'm dying of laughter. I think this is one of the best Your E Cards I've seen on iwastesomuchtime.com, ever.

DFTBA! :)

DFTBA

So I have this friend called Rachel. 

I met her via marching band a few years back. She's in colorguard and a very talented girl. And she likes cats so I'm instantly attracted to her.

 Anyway, she ends all of her blog posts in DFTBA. It took me a while to understand what she was saying but eventually I got it! It's an acronym  that stands for Don't Forget To Be Awesome. How great is that!? Awesome is practically my favorite word! And it's a super great message! 

Don't forget to be awesome. 

Life can get hard, and boring, and stressful, and monotonous, but don't you ever never ever forget to be awesome. It's just so simple. 

So, since I've been searching for some sort of closing words for my blog posts for over a year now, and I'm a big fat copycat, I'm gonna use DFTBA.

Thanks Rachel for your inspiration and awesomeness.

:)

DFTBA!

Manager Status

It's official :)

The Life of a Blog Stalker

So I have discovered recently that a lot of the blogs I used to stalk have gone private. Since I don't personally know a lot of the writers, I wasn't invited to continue reading and now my reading list has grown rather short. SO, that means I need new blogs to read. Which also means if anyone happens to follow this one, please leave a comment or something so I can follow back and hopefully get some new blogs to read! I think it's awesome that we have the technology to share our adventurous lives with each other and we def need to keep the alive and exciting. :)
The end!

Ready Or Not Here It Comes

I'm definitely in denial about 2012 being over. I was going to write a post reminiscing on my year and how great it was but then I started writing it and got super depressed. 2012 was by far the best year of my life. I loved it so much! It was extremely difficult and I went through a lot of new challenges, but it really was awesome. I had so much fun and built a lot of really good relationships with people. I had some awesome experiences and learned so much. So if you wanna know what happened in 2012, read my earlier posts. I talk about most of the big stuff that happened and that's good enough for me.

So as I was saying, I had a hard time seeing such a great year end. But, ready or not, here it comes. And here it is. 2013 is a crap number but hopefully it won't be a crap year. I won't let it be a crap year! haha

My New Year's Eve was quite interesting and eventful. I'm a firm believer in "go with the flow". I hate, I repeat, HATE making plans. For anything. Ever. Something always comes up or something more exciting always happens. I just hate knowing I'm locked into something before I know what my real options are. Anyway, since I had no plans, my day turned out awesome! Anna called me and asked if I'd go shopping with her. We went around Jordan Landing and she got some real cute stuff for the coming year :) And I only bought one pair of pants. It was a Christmas miracle. :) 

Elise called me and asked if I wanted to go to the party that UVU throws every year. We discussed a few different options and eventually I decided that I would just drive down there and stay the night with her. She was working so I shoved my Jamba clothes in my backpack and set off for Provo. It started snowing while I was on the freeway but I didn't die. (Another Christmas miracle) I got to the Jamba in Provo and put my uniform on. I helped them close and it was so weird to be working in another store. I felt like I was cheating on JJJL. hahahah. Elise accidentally flooded the place and I had my very first cheddar tomato twist. It was heaven.

We went to Elise's apartment and got ready for the partay. We drove over to the school and after another trip back home and several minutes of stupid wifi we got in. It was basically a region dance on steroids. We danced and ran around and hug out with Ashley and Liz. (Elise's boss and my future boss :P) They left before midnight so we hung out with Emery and her roommate Hannah for the rest of the time. We spent much of the night trying to get people to dance with us and trying to find some cute strangers that would kiss us at midnight. Finally the countdown came. It was 2013 and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. My year was over and another one had began, just like that. I sat there in awe thinking about what this year would bring.

Suddenly Elise went into panic mode and she was like I MUST KISS SOMEONE AT THIS PARTY. So, she walked up to some innocent guy who was walking around by himself, grabbed his face, and kissed him. Lots. Emery, Hannah, and I stood there in total shock and laughed forever. I couldn't believe Elise was just making out with some random guy. Then they hugged and said happy new year to each other and went their own ways. It was absolutely hilarious and I thought I was gonna die. Hannah found some stud muffin and Emery had a guy ask her if she needed someone to kiss. Then all eyes were on me and I was like um hello? No way. 

Being the brave girl she is, Hannah walked over to some cute fellows and was like, "hey do you wanna kiss my friend?" to one of them. Then he smiled and walked over to me and kissed me. I smiled back and was like hey thanks happy new year! and then he hugged me and walked away. OH MY. hahahahah it was the weirdest thing I've ever done in my life. None of us even know their names. But whatever cause YOLO. And not only that but, you're only young once. And you have to do stupid stuff sometimes simply because you are young. And it might make a great story one day. Who knows. 

About 1:00 I was about ready to crash so Elise and I left and went to Walmart to get some pasta and alfredo. We went home, made dinner, watched Friends, and chatted about how incredibly fun and crazy our night was. We finally went to bed at 3 and woke up at 10. I showered and we went to Village Inn and ate a delish breakfast. Then it was time for me to go home cause I had to work. I told Megan and Rachel about my weird as crap night and they laughed with me. We had sisterly chat in the office for 45 minutes and it was great. I love those girls :) It was just a really great way to start a really great year!

GOALS FOR 2013:

• Get good grades
• Meet new friends
• Spend time with the boys coming home
• Be even more awesome at my job
• Read a book every month
• Eat breakfast every day
• Read scriptures more often
• Save money! Open a savings account!
• Participate more in Institute
• Quit freaking procrastinating
• Write more, shorter blog posts
• Work a shift at the Draper store
• Be more friendly. Enough of this sleeping on the train business.
• Don't gossip 
• Memorize all of the secret menu recipes
• Not worry so much

And more to come. It's gonna be great. :)

And after all these years, we're still best friends. 

Still.

I love her.

Mexico 2012

So this one time my parents took Kaylee and I to Mexico for Christmas. My grandparents went with us and that was awesome!

We started out the trip with a snowy ride to the airport. Eventually we made it on the plane and while they de-iced we chatted and took pictures. Eventually we took off and got our snacks. They had cute polar bear napkins that Kaylee and I adored. Thankfully it was a short ride. I hate airplanes.

Long Beach was... interesting. Kinda ghettoish. We stayed at the fancy Hilton where the workers dress nice and open the doors for you. They have a fountain or two in the lobby and a grand piano. It was all decorated for Christmas and there was a huge tree. And no free wifi. So basically it was lame.
We took a stroll down the street to find some food. We ended up eating at a brewery that was totally delish. We took the bus to the Queen Mary and explored the flea market thing by the pier. Eventually we got to the actual Queen Mary and took pictures by the telephone booths. Then we went to Wal-Mart and Subway. Ultra ghetto. We went to bed, woke up, repacked, and headed off for the ship terminal. Security and check in was boring as ever. Finally we got on the pretty pink ship. :)

Because we are secretly four years old

If this doesn't make me look fourteen I don't know what does

Fun fact: I love telephone booths

The Queen Mary!

These cranes are for moving containers from ships on to land.

I thought they looked like dinosaurs/giraffes.

Kaylee and I switched beds for a sec.

This is part of our cabin :)

Dinner is my absolute favorite part of going on a cruise. I always spend way too much time getting ready and usually wear nicer stuff than necessary. But whatever cause I love getting cute to eat a meal. Plus Kaylee and I always take mirror pics before dinner. It's another one of our traditions. They had really yummy food and had a dance party every night. Our waitress would have Kaylee and I get up and do fun little dances with her. Everyone stared at us but whatevs. It was great.

First night by the tree in the atrium

Waiting for the show to start.

And then I had to go up on stage and do the YMCA.

I got a medal.

Wassup.

First formal night :)

Dresses we bought in Cabo

All hail the red sweater dress

By the tree in the dining room :)

Second formal night!

Sorry the colors are so bad ):

The shirt I got in Cabo.

Lollll @ Kaylee and I

The last night is always the saddest.

But we tried to act happy anyway.

My milk addiction was as bad as ever on this trip.

Every night I got a cup of milk with dessert.

Eventually they just started bringing it to me without me asking.

I loved our waitress and her helpers.

The shows every night with the singers and dancers were cute but the movie under the stars was the bessssssst. Out on the lido deck they have a huge screen by the pool. All day they show movies and such but it's most fun to go at nighttime. You can just chill in the pool or lay out on the deck chairs with blankets and watch movies under the stars. They night they showed Elf we went up early and saved some prime time seats. It got kinda cold so they shut the roof but it was still cool to look up and see starts. And those blankets were top notch.

Such a great movie. Seriously.

Since my parents totally rock we did some awesome shore excursions. We went whale watching one day and then had lunch at Cabo Wabo. Best fajitas of all time. The boat we went out on was little and fast. Kaylee and I held on for dear life as we sped out to a bunch of boats watching a pod of whales. We got so close to them! We didn't just SEE them breathing but we heard it too. There were six of them and we followed them around for a couple of hours. They come up to the surface about every 15 minutes and spend 4 or so minutes there. Seeing them come up out of the water and then dive back down is so cool. They were massive humpbacks and it was incredible to watch them just swimming around. And being about 40 yards from them makes it all that more awesome.

Beaches :)

Cabo San Lucas

I have no pictures of the whales so I get an F-. But my parents took a lot so maybe one day you will see them. :)

The next day we went on a semi-sub with my grandparents. We shopped a bit before we left and I was so thankful for that poncho thing I bought. It was freaking cold down in the bottom of the boat! We saw so many different kinds of fish. They attract them with tortillas hahahaha. I saw a sting ray and a million starfish. It's sometimes hard to believe that there are so many fish living in the ocean. Cabo is beautiful and it was fun to see different parts of it! 

Leaving the harbor!

This is at the very end of the Baja Peninsula. Kinda cool :)

Our ship with some peeps on wave runners

It was such a nice day!

In Puerto Vallarta we did a dolphin encounter and HOLY HANNAH it was incredible. We all got to take turns petting and doing tricks with the dolphin. Then you got to take a ride around the pool. I honestly don't remember a time in my life that I have had more fun than I was having in that moment. I seriously couldn't believe what was happening. Swimming with a dolphin is no longer part of my bucket list. :) It was the best Christmas present I think I've ever had. Or ever will have.

We got to make it sing and dance, feed it fish, pet it, hug it, and ride it.

Seriously so cool.

 Fun fact: they can swim upside down and backwards!

 Laughing, of course

Then we got to make it do tricks.

It was like Sea World on steroids.

One time I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep. So I got my camera and my iPod and went out to take pictures of the ship when no people were around. The place was pretty dead. And I still didn't take that many pictures. :P

The atrium of the dining room

Where you eat dinner. Yum.

Glass elevators in the main lobby thing. I think it was 10 decks...

Of course I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing even though I was laying on the floor :P

I loved the Christmas decorations everywhere!

And it was most definitely 3:30 in the morning.

:)

It was a reallllllly awesome trip and I'm so thankful that my parents took me on it. I always love to see new places and meet new people. I love exploring different cultures and experiencing once in a lifetime things. I can't even begin to tell you how many incredible things I've seen and done on vacations that my parents have taken me on, but I am still so thankful for them. :)