Power pony-tails and some goals

Hey there blog! So I have to be honest, this year, 18 is kind of a weird one. I'm only in high school for a few more months, but then I am too young to leave for my mission, so I just have about five months that aren't high school or summer or mission. I know I can't start college, but it's such a weird amount of time to start and then defer. Anyway, although this is a weird year, and basically I'm just ready to be 19 and go serve the Lord, I want to make it a great year, so I'm gunna makes some goals. Usually I do this on a piece of paper and put it in my wallet, but with my 17 goals to do as a 17-year old, I lost my wallet and thus have no idea whatsoever what I planned to do, so we're just gunna shoot my goals out into cyberspace and hopefully they'll still be here when I'm no longer 18. Here we go!

18 goals for my 18th year of life:  

1. Let the Lord be my best friend. 

2. Drink more water.

3. Dress well, modestly and with care.

4. Get ready for a mission!

5. Let people talk about themselves.

6. Get pictures with all the temples in Utah. 

7. Don't ever be ashamed of being sad. 

8. Care more about being kind than funny

9. Seek after virtuous, lovely things.

10. Chase what I love. 

11. Just sit in the sun sometimes. 

12. Learn to cook well and not poison myself!

13. Have more patience and faith in others. 

14. Think fondly of my past, look forward to the future.

15. Invite others to be confident in Christ.

16. Always be gentle with myself.

17. Mourn with those that mourn. 

18. Be happy and help others do the same. 

17 things I learned from being 17

Wow guys. Guess what? I am officially 18! that's insaine! I'm a grown-up I guess is what they call it, I think it's pretty misnamed though because I'm pretty sure as I got older the less mature I got. I also haven't grown up since the 8th grade, so...
Anyway, although I like to joke about living in neverland and never getting older or wiser, I have to admit I have learned some new things this year, I will share.

17 things I learned  from being 17:

1. You are never to young to be in love, or too old to play with mermaids

2. Everyone you meet has their own stories and battles they are dealing with

3. Good writing isn't always the stuff your english teacher has you read

4. Nobody can tell you how much you should or shouldn't care about something or someone

5. Wearing skirts is not only adorable, but also liberating

6. The best thing to be is kind

7. There's a reason to be in every moment. Even if you feel ready to move on to the next stage of life, if you have to wait, then there's more you need to learn

8. If at first your cake comes out really dry, try, try again

9. A good cuddle is sometimes (always) necessary

10. Crying is good for your body and releases pain killers

11. The right people can make any situation wonderful

12. Sunshine is the proper medicine for any ailment (except for sunburns)

13. Kissing is... not hard ;)

14. You should never have to convince someone to treat you the way you should be treated

15. Sometimes it takes a challenge for us to listen to what the important people are saying

16. Sometimes people change us just by being kind and wonderful and ours.

17. If you are having problems, it's probably because you haven't made a blanket fort in a while. Just saying.

Anyway, I hope this post was more than a waste of 30 minutes (I kept getting distracted ok!) and that I may remember the things I learned as a 17 year old. I guess it's time to move on to bigger and better 18 year old things, but don't worry, blog, I promise I won't grow up, I'll just make it seem like I am, and then everyone will be fooled but you and me, then we will have a good laugh and drink our juice boxes. THE END

Count your Blessings

Hey there blog readers I pretend are reading this! (Honestly it's usually just me), today I was sitting with my mom playing "Count your Blessings" on the ukulele, and I thought maybe it would be a nice thing to count my blessings on this here little patch of the internet.
Blessings today:
-My brand new gratitude journal
-The best playlist ever full basically just of musicals
-That one fellow who happens to be one of my best friends
-My momma "jammin'" with me on the couch
-My awesome lovely sister who takes me around Utah valley to look for temples
-The beautiful house of the Lord
-Snail mail to my favorite brother

JULY

Woah. Has a whole month already gone by without me writting on here? I am a terrible blogger. My apologies. July has been a very great month which is why I haven't been blogging. There just seems to be so many other things to do. Let me enlighten you on what's been going on this month:

-I visited Disneyland with my family

-I started my first job

-I traveled to Utah State for EFY

-I floated down the Provo river

-My best friend turned 16

-I said goodbye to my older brother

-He became a missionary

-I took way too many pictures

-I lit a bike on fire

-I went on a mildy awkward date

-I taught the young women a lesson

-I took the freeway for the first time

-I celebrated Harry Potter's birthday

Hopefully I'll manage to post a bit more this month. Maybe I'll even get some pictures. Anyway enjoy your month and don't get too caught up in this silly online thing. 

Happy Dances:
Families
Journals
Crepes
Pancakes
Seminary
Mexican foods
New Pants
Happy Dance.

Just a few things that have happened over the past few weeks/months that i've neglected to tell you:

• I got out of school. First year of highschool-done.
• I bought loads of makeup because I'm an addict and enabler. 
• I went on vacation.
• I wrote to a missionary to the horror of my sister. I refused to read her the letter. 
• I took a friend to breakfast and spilled Kneaders on my pants.
• I got my drivers license. 
• I went on my first date.
• I realized that my brother was going to be leaving for two years. 
• I cried a little about that. 

At times I run from growing up

I got to tell you the truth.
I am possessive over photos.
Green is probably my favorite color.
I am going to wear heels forever now.
I sometimes really want to paint.
I enjoy watching Iron Chef America.
I skip to the ones with Micheal Symon.
My teachers from last year changed my life.
I am a huge nerd.
I forget about buying birthday presents.
I hide Cadbury Eggs from the rest of my family.
I enjoy red nail polish.
I sometimes prefer my sisters to my friends.
In my soul I am a hippie.
I hate missing Seminary.
On Easter I stuff my face with candy.
I hoard the rolls my grandma gives me.
I find posts like this fun to write.
It's easier to explain things in lists.
I didn't really like The Fault In Our Stars.
I sort of hate social media.
Sometimes I am rather narcissistic.
I really like big words.
At times I run from growing up.
I got to tell you the truth.

I Don't Want to make it Stop.

Reasons I am actually six years old:
I eat all the girl scout cookies.

I go on bike rides.

I make paintings.

I watch Hannah Montanna.

I make homemade pretzels.

I Listen to The Teen Beach Movie soundtrack.

I read books about Captain Hook.

I paint faces.

Truth is I am a child. 

Officially not ashamed. 

The Lists

Listening: 

-Iron and Wine

-The White Stripes

-The Lighthouse and the Whaler

-Fitz and the Tantrums

-The Hunts

-The Head and the Heart

-Admiral Fallow

-The Oh Hello's

-Of Monsters and Men

-Beta Radio

Reading:

-The Ear the Eye and the Arm

-The Westing Game

-Flipped

-The Makeover of James Orville Wickenbee

-Austenland

-Capt. Hook

-The Great Gatsby

-Sense and Sensibility

-Life of Pi

-Ender's Game

February 18th

Fifteen things I learned from being fifteen:

1. If you would rather not be around someone, then don't be around them.

2. Never loose your identity because you're trying to be someone else.

3. If you let Him, God will take your burdens and make them light. 

4. There is nobody that is going to do your work for you. You're challenges were made for you to face them. 

5. Sometimes it's ok just to sit down and take in the world as it is. 

6. Change is hard. But so worth it. 

7. Driving is better with good music playing. In fact, everything is better with good music playing.

8. You shouldn't give up on dreams. But you also shouldn't let them become your reality. 

9. Every person you meet has something worth while in them. It's just harder to find with some people than others.

10. You cannot have an adventure unless you go out and make an adventure. 

11. Sometimes you just need to make a decision and jump. 

12. Too much of anything will kill you. Even too much of the good things.

13. You're never too old to climb trees. You're never to little to climb mountains.

14. If things are coming to an end, it's only because other things are coming to a beginning.

15. Life is hard for everyone, but those who do not choose to find joy in the ordinary have it harder than anyone else. 

Some thoughts about the month of love.

Have you ever noticed that when someone has a nice singing voice it makes them that much more attractive? I never understood why, but it's true. 

Have you ever wondered why people who are not actually six years old give other people teddy bears for valentines day? It's like "here, I got you a teddy bear because I don't do a good enough job of cuddling you." Just saying. 

Have you ever thrown up at the cheesiness of valentines day in general? Why does everything have to be bright pink? There has to be a better way to show someone you love them than shoving pictures of cupid and red roses down their throats.

Have you ever thought that the millions of couples in high school is disgusting? Seriously, there's so much love in the air it's giving me mono.

Have you ever noticed that nobody actually likes valentines day? I think that this is because we, as a country, as a community, as a world, celebrate it wrong. All wrong. Love is not made out of teddy bears and cupid arrows and great pink hearts. It's something all together more wonderful. 

So, since it's the month of love I guess I will share with you some things I love and am thankful for and hopefully this will make up for not buying anyone a dozen red roses. 

I love my parents. They watch over me and protect me. They help me grown and want what's best for me. 

I love my sisters. They're my best friends and I can't imagine life without them as constant sources of comfort. 

I love my brother. He's an idiot some of the time, but I look up to and admire him. I know he wants what's best for me. 

I love my friends. The ones who sit and listen to me talk about my meltdowns, or put up with my constant teasing about "Missouri". I love the people who have stood by me when nobody else has. 

I love my teachers. My church teachers and my school teachers. I love what they have to share with me and how they want me to succeed. 

I love my Savior. I love my Heavenly Father. I love the Holy Ghost. They are the ones who know exactly how I feel and how to help me. 

Thanks for reading my sort of sappy post. I hope the beginning wasn't too cheeky for those of you who believe in the commercial side of Valentines day. Please enjoy the rest of this month of love and don't take love for granted. 

Oh hey.

Hello friend, I'm back from St. George and I already want to go back.

On this trip I bought some lip gloss, 

played mermaids,

missed a great friends birthday party,

watched some pointless Mormon movies,

sang too much Little Women,

walked a 5K,

had a sleepover with the coolest 12 year olds,

ate trillions of cookies,

took some family pictures, 

got my makeup done, 

chilled in a bubble bath, 

creeped on some kids, 

just kept eating Neaders, 

watched the SAG awards, 

ignored all the social media for which I am totally not sorry. 

Thankitude

Warning: Cliche Thanksgiving gratitude post approaching:

I'm thankful for Nancy Drew that downloads to my computer.

I'm thankful for waiters who call me sweetheart and my sisters m'am.

I thankful for car rides and singing Christmas songs with my family.

I'm thankful for girl talk on the couch until midnight.

I'm thankful for sisters with new cameras.

I'm thankful for pie, and pie day. 

I'm thankful for chats about Lord of the Rings in the car.

I'm thankful for stops at Macy's and roast beef sandwiches.

I'm thankful for teachers who make you feel smart and special.
I'm thankful for long books that drive me crazy but are worth it.
I'm thankful for late nights watching Studio C reruns.
I'm thankful for cheeta print shoes that clash with my outfit.
I'm thankful for setting up Christmas trees.
I'm thankful for snuggly dogs.
I'm thankful for relearning hand and foot.
I'm thankful for knowing the secret ingredient in apple pie.
I'm thankful for the weekend after Thanksgiving to do homework.
I'm thankful for addicting apps on my dad's ipad.
I'm thankful for hot showers.
I'm thankful for long prayers.
I'm thankful for jingle bell socks.
I'm thankful for dress coats.
I'm thankful for heartwarming movies that are also funny.
I'm thankful for spicy buffalo wheat thins.
I'm thankful for Orian's belt actually looking like a belt.
I'm thankful for pinterest and online shopping for days.
I'm thankful for blog posts that end up too long.
I'm thankful that you actually made it to the end of this thing.

Tuesday, Wednesday stay in bed

I'm just in a good mood here are a few reasons why:

-It's finally looking like fall in my yard.
-I'm wearing my favorite socks.
-Sometimes I watch read Harry Potter and also color at the same time, it's really a skill.
-Christmas music plays on the radio and my brother sings it out loud.
-The Beach Boys are the background music for my life.
-In Spanish they teach us how to dance the merengue.
-Hogan's Heroes is there for me every night at 8:00
-There's Christmas lights up in my room.
-I have 99 books in my book list.
-Even though it's November, I still have popsicles in my fridge.
-The Teen Beach Movie is now on netflix.

Good days are coming folks.

Everyday

Around here I'm reading everyday.

My reading list?

Sunday: The Liahona Legacies/Tina Monson

Monday: I'd Tell You I Love You but Then I'd Have to Kill You/Ally Carter

Tuesday: The Lightning Thief/Rick Riordan 

Wednesday: Ella Enchanted/Gail Carson Levine

Thursday: Ender's Game/Orson Scott Card

Friday: The Bad Beginning/Lemony Snicket

Saturday: Frindle/Andrew Clements

Happy Reading.

Listin'

:Wishing they were still in Utah

:Eating all the toquitoes

:Buying birthday presents

:Procrastinating 

:Missing my Dad (Taiwan this time) 

:Wearing my pants with a hole and a grass stain

:Not caring 

Lately

Leather journals

Distracted by pine trees

The mountain call

Lions and Tigers

50 markers scattered on the floor

alliteration, alliteration, alliteration

Harry Potter five

Be Still my Soul

Polka dots

Sweaters that remind me of warm bread

High waisted skirts

Strawberry mango yogurt 

Hymn book poetry

Bye bye inversion

Hopeless wanderer

Guilty pleasures

The day of rest

things I wanted at the beginning of the summer:
-new sunglasses
-full piece swim suits
-colored jeans
-a bike
-maxi dresses
-something to do every day
-friends who weren't busy
-sister bonder time
-something to blog about

things I got this summer
-new great friends
-some time to miss my old ones
-a bike
-days that I enjoyed wasting
-a new brother
-some great memories

things I want at the end of this summer
-it to never end