Flowers in a vase of SPRITE

So... Here I am. Presenting you with the bi-annual update of my life... Honestly? I wish I was more interesting so that I could tell you about it all the time and not just every 6 months. Wait. Scratch that. I wish I was motivated to do more than watch TV... All. The. Time. It's a problem... For realsies.

So, get ready. The Update:

1. It's 2013! Happy Belated New Year! (that's a thing, right?)

I spent winter break in California with the fam... We had Christmas and presents and a trip to San Fran with our foreign exchange student. We have one of those! Did you know that?!? Her name is Valeryia. She's super sweet and real cute. And she's from Ukraine. Downside: she's an only child living in a house of a 4 sibling family... Imma let you sort that one out on your own. Anyways... This is a picture of me and Phillip semi next to the GGB (Golden Gate Bridge).

And me, just climbing the GGB... Pro status.

Advice: People in San Francisco think it's funny to write "Gift Shop" on doors that DO NOT actually lead to gift shops... Me equals disappointed AND embarrassed... 

(It was the construction workers' break room... Awkward much?)

And, proof that Gillian is taller than me... Not that great of an accomplishment but, I'm over it.

2. Travel back in time...
 I spent Thanksgiving in Cali, too! And, while I don't really remember much of what happened, I HAD to show you this picture of Phillip... Just drinking some punch... Straight from the bowl. P.S. Feel free to like any of these pictures on Facebook. Michael thinks I'm a Facebook addict so I just need to show him how much people appreciate my posts... And, more notifications from "liking" of my pictures would give me a more logical reason to check Facebook as much as I do...

3. I live with Brazilians.
They're probably some of the nicest people I've ever met--even if it did take me a good 6 weeks to learn all of their names...They're super happy all the time and they make me get out of my apartment and do stuff. Pretty good people to have in my life, I'd say!

"Tai" (my room-roommate), Me, Ashlee (NOT Brazilian)

Carol, Tai, The Best Looking, Ashlee, Ellen, Luana

 4. Ugly Sweater Day
...'Nuf said.

 

5. Reasons I'm glad to be moving back to Bako in June:

That's right! I haven't told you about that yet! I met with a counselor back in January. Turns out, I have enough credit hours to graduate after only 3 years! Allow me to pause writing for a moment so that I can relish in the excitement I feel towards not having to spend another winter in the snow (knock on wood)...

Okay. I'm back. So, I'll stay in Utah until June, finish my last class at home, and graduate in August. I'm real excited, guys. Real excited...

As for after that? Eh, who knows... But, I can assure you that whatever I do, it will definitely involve watching the Price is Right every morning. 10 am. Me and Drew. Not Bob. :(

6. Mock Trial

In my media class, one of our activities was reinacting an actual court case regarding the sale of violent video games to minors. We had to dress up and everything! So.. guess who I decided to be...

Oh, just the leader of a gang who went to jail for killing people after he played Grand Theft Auto. Violent? Yes. Tattoo? Awesome. Fake? Pen. Worry? Don't.

7. Statement: Being crafty gives me a good excuse to procrastinate. So, look at what I've made since you last creeped on my blog!

T-Shirts for the Les Mis premiere. Hollah.

Thrifty gift wrap. (Yellow pages? Dual purpose.)

No, I didn't make a child! I made the dress. :) Adorbs!!!

Mustache Mug

 

8.  I call him my "boo"...

So, yeah. Brady is still part of my life. And, it's pretty fantastic. Number one reason why: he gives about the best gifts ever. Second to me, of course! Explanation: Valentine's day. Check the mail? Nada. His mailbox? A box painted with hearts containing about the sappiest objects on this planet... Perfect. He apologizes after opening his gift (I made him open it over the phone so he couldn't not tell me how much he loved it!) and says that my package should be there by Saturday. Honestly? I'm frustrated. But, at least he got me something and not nothing... Saturday comes and my aunt, Julie, asks me to go to lunch with her at noon. So, I hobble out of bed, take a shower, do my hair, put on some makeup, and wait patiently by my phone for her to tell me she's ready to meet up. A little before 12, I get this text saying, "I have one more stop to make before we meet up so don't leave your apartment just yet." So, now I'm just sitting on my bed, doing nothing. Definitely not doing homework!

Then, my roommate calls me from downstairs. She says, "Um, somebody's here for you..." In my mind, I was thinking, "Julie totally didn't have to come pick me up..." So, I rush downstairs and I don't see Julie. Or my home teachers. Or some body builder who works out at the gym next to my apartment asking for my number. Nope. It's Brady. With a dozen roses. :) And then, I basically had a heart attack right then and there, so I died. End of story.

Plot twist: I just lied. I didn't die. But, I did basically have a heart attack! I was COMPLETELY surprised!!! Sneaky man. He plotted with everyone on the entire earth to make sure that I was at my apartment, awake, and dressed at noon so that he could surprise me. And thus began the best weekend of my life. We went to lunch, I made him run errands with me, we watched movies... Let's just get married already! 

Don't get excited. There's no ring. Yet. But, it was about the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me, even if he was only in Provo for 36 hours... Shoutout: infinite thanks to everyone who made it possible for me to get to see my boo! And now, pictures to prove it actually happened:

We're cute. It's fine. :) 


Well, that's about it from this neck of the snow-trodden wonderland. Be safe. Have fun. And here's to talking again in 6 months!

I have a turtle named Chameleon.

Yay! I'm not dead! I'm still alive and, I POSTED!!! Grandpa, you are welcome...

So, yeah... It's Sunday... and I'm fasting... and there's not a whole lot left to do. So, here you go. You get a little update on my life. Congrats.

First off, I'm a senior. What? What? Yeah. I'm officially a Family Sciences major with a minor in Management. I'll be done in December of 2013 and I CANNOT wait. Next semester, I've signed up for bogus classes. Like speed reading. Very beneficial. Completely unnecessary. So, I love it. I mean, I don't love it yet cos I haven't taken it. But I've heard that the homework you have is to do the reading from your other classes. Guess who's actually going to read the text book next semester?

Second off, I'm like, really hot, guys. Like, not temperature-wise, but skinny bod' wise. As of Wednesday, I've lost 21 pounds. I still have 29 more to lose but I've gone down a whole jean size, I had to take in ALL of my shirts, and I can almost do the splits. And, it's fine, but every boy totally stares at me and compliments me on how cute I look. I'm like, "yeah, I know. Thanks." And it's great. Also, I do my nails like all the time and I do arts and crafts projects like it's my job.

Um, side note: I'm taking a sewing class this semester. Love it, first off. Second off, I'm making a man's tailored shirt for Todd. Remember Todd? Please say yes, I don't want to have to explain it again. Anyways, we went to the store to pick out fabric and, the name Todd means fox. So, naturally, he chose fabric with foxes on it. And, literally, it sounds weird, but it's fantastic. I'm making the coolest shirt in the class. Everyone else is making striped shirts and plain shirts, and my plackets have fox eyes. It's the coolest thing ever. (BTW, plackets are the binding around sleeves at the bottom towards the cuff. The little part where there's a hole before the buttons start? That's a placket!)

Third off, caffeine free diet Pepsi is my new favorite drink. Combined with pretzel M&M's and you've found the way to my heart. It's that simple.

Fourth off. Speaking of way to my heart. Brady. Yeah, I know you wanna know so I'll just tell you. Things are fine. A little rocky since we're 700 miles apart, but they're good overall. He may or may not have come up to Provo a few weeks ago... and we may or may not have seen each other multiple times... and his extended family may or may completely love me... and we may or may not have hugged when we said good-bye... and we may or may not have kissed... and I may or may not be heading back to Bakersfield in 2 weeks to see him again... Take your pick. May? Or may not?

Fifth off, Halloween. Okay, so my Halloween this year was kinda lame. I did do the best zombie makeup known to mankind but, after that, I had to study for an Econ test. Boo. (Not like the ghost says, "Boo," but like booing someone off a stage. That's me to Econ.) No scary movie. No costume. No trick or treating. Just me, sitting on the couch. I did have some candy corn, though. It may or may not have been almost a whole bag to myself... You know... It happens... Aw, crap. This must be what it feels like to get old!! Getting ready for the rest of my life.

Everyone: Night 1

Andrea: Night 2

Tyler: Night 2

All: Night 2

Sixth off, I'm living in a new apartment. This is the first time in a whole year that I haven't had to sleep on the top bunk. Literally, I never realized how nice it is to not be out of breath when I sit on my bed. It is so much effort to try and get up on top of a bunk bed! It's like running a mile after pulling yourself up... I don't know... maybe 2 rungs on the ladder? Kinda pathetic but at least I'm a true American, right?

Seventh off, I'm listening to Christmas music right now. It's fine.

Eighth off... Yeah, I can't think of anything else. Of course, there's like tons of stuff to say but it's all just random blabbering... And, let's be real, there's enough of that on the world wide web. So, I'll spare you guys.

Hope everything is going well and that you all get lots of free stuff this week. That's always a nice thing to wish for someone else, right? :) Love ya!

Oh! P.S. I love this...

a bug just crawled on my computer screen and i killed it.

So, long time, no see... Yes... I have to say that my blogging availability has been limited these past few months (as you probably noticed). But, no matter. I am here now and you are ultimately glad to hear it, I know.

Let me tell you about my life... Since we last "spoke", I finished my second year at BYU (with no C's on my report card. YAY!!!), went home for a month, came back to BYU for summer classes, went back home for a weekend, and am now back at BYU for less than a month until--guess what!--I get to go back home again! Welcome to my life.

Also: I turned 20. Definitely wasn't as traumatic as I thought it would be. Not like turning 18 was. I was literally devastated that my childhood was over now that I was going to officially be an "adult". And then I remembered that my dad is in his 40's and still acts like a kid sometimes. Anxiety=gone. Hence why 20 wasn't so bad. We had some Texas Sheet Cake, a barbeque, and I went on a shopping trip with my mom. It came, and it went. The end to that.

Also: I chaperoned my first field trip. Gillian needed someone to chaperone her trip to the Getty Villa and, since they just so happened to be going the day after I turned 20, I was old enough to qualify! Let me explain... The Getty Villa is an art museum that is stationed in someone's house. Supposedly, it was one of the houses that Greek royals would use during the summer time to entertain guests and what not. It was pretty cool, I have to say. The best part, though, was the 50 million foot swimming pool outside. Gillian is a swimmer and so, of course, she fell in love with it and thought it was the greatest thing ever, which it was...

Also: Michael graduated from high school. Not that I don't love Michael or anything but, seriously... Worst. 2. Hours. Of. My. Life. They actually did a really good job of making things go by really quickly, which we were SUPER grateful for. And once the wind picked up, the heat wasn't so unbearable. But, we wish we would've been those people to hear Michael's name, gone to have gotten a pizza, and then been back in time to congratulate him afterwards. But, no. We decided to be good and stay through the whole thing.

That boy in that back is named Job. No, he's not apart of our family but, he was tall and he fit in the back so we let him take a picture with us.

Also: I now have an iPhone! My family qualified for an upgrade when I was in town last weekend and Phillip and I were talking about all the different phones that we could get. They had a droid that was free and a dinky flip-phone that was a million years old that was also free. Then, we went to the store and they had iPhones for just $50. My dad really wanted one and offered to pay for the rest of us to get one too. And, if he's paying, then it's basically free for me. So, I took the offer and am now the coolest person at work. (Speaking of which, I need to tell you about that too!) Anyways, what makes me the coolest ever is that I, first off, have a Captain America case and, secondly, have a combo of the deathly hallows (Harry Potter) and the mocking jay pin (Hunger Games) as my background. It looks little like this:

Yes, that is what awesome looks like. :)

Also: Work. It's great. Remember Todd? My fake fiance? Hermione? Him:

Yes, Todd. He works with me now. How cool, right? We get to be BFF's ALL THE TIME now, instead of just when we go and see the opening night of Twilight together. Yes, we did that. Kinda regret it but it did make me laugh really hard so I guess it's fine. BTW, if you've seen the latest movie, then you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, then do you want to trade memories? Anyways, work. Let me tell you about it. I work at the Alumni building on campus. I work for BYU Alumni Career Services as an alumni assistant. Basically, I indirectly help alumni find jobs. I post jobs to our online job board, set up appointments with my boss, and am kind of heading this program that we just put in place called the Alumni Mentoring Partnership. It's pretty cool, actually. We're linking up with alumni who work for big companies (like Target and Nestle) and having them act as mentors to current students and alumni. They'll critique their resumes and help them with the job interview process to kind of smooth their way into finding a job with a specific company. It's a really good idea, in my opinion, but it's also a lot of work and a lot of emails/phone calls. But, I am getting paid to do it so I do it with a smile... sometimes.

Also: Michael got his eagle. On July 7th, my brother officially got his eagle powers. Watch out Nacho Libre... Anyways, I took that weekend off from school and got to go down and see it all happen. It really was fabulous! The decorations were a little over the top, in my mom's opinion--because we got stuck with tearing everything down... Nightmare!--but it really was so great! Such a great event...

Also: the real reason why I went home. Okay. Dually as equal as Michael's eagle court. But, here he is:

This, my friends, is Brady. And, yeah, he's kinda my... boyfriend? Significant other? Very attractive male friend? Anyways, on with the story...

We started talking on Facebook a while ago. He was in the Music Man at the time (the musical that I ended up doing makeup for) and found out that I was going to be at the rehearsals. So, we started talking and hanging out when I got back home for the "summer". One thing lead to another and we ended up as boyfriend/girlfriend for the six weeks that I was home. Granted, I wasn't planning on any of this happening. But, yeah. He's really is just that great so I made an exception. When I left the first time to come to Utah, we were very set on dating other people and being just friends. But, let me tell you, it was the equivalent to the torture scene in the Princess Bride. Awful. Just awful. So then, when I went home for Michael's Eagle Court, I saw him again. And, let's just say, that we rekindled the spark... AKA, we kissed. And it was awesome. Like, really awesome. Now that I'm back up in Utah, we're kinda doing the long distance thing. It's not official or anything, but it's weird. I'm not interested in anyone else at all. Which is saying something cos I live right next to a gym and guys walk around with no shirts and chiseled chests all the time. But, no attraction to them whatsoever. It's weird but I'm definitely okay with it.

So, a little about Brady. He's 5 years older than me, making him 25. He's a manager at Petco in Bakersfield and he works at the movie theater (hence why I like him... free movies. All the time. Heck. Yes.). He's going to school to be a history teacher; he'll be done with that in about 2 years. He smells super good, all the time. He's funny and really smart. And my family absolutely loves him. And, yeah, I think he's pretty great, too. We like the same things and we have the same goals and let's just say that life is really good right now.

So, yes. That's basically it for my update. I'm working and going to school right now. Counting down the days until I get to go back home but still living in the moment. Hope things are well with you and I do intend to post more. Not saying it'll happen but... :) Love ya!

Get ready for a long one...

First thing is first. Tuesday. I got bangs. I love them. Basically.

As for the weird face I'm making in the picture, here's my theory: every time I try to look "cute" (aka normal) when taking a picture, it always turns out looking no-so-attractive. So, to compensate, I make my face look silly on purpose so that everybody has an agreed upon consensus that, "yeah, your facial expression could be much better in that picture." The thing is that, even when I try, it usually isn't. I would blame it on genetics but the rest of my family always looks fantastic. Just me, I guess. Special me.

Secondly, I have been very crafty lately. This first picture is a sweater that I made of an elephant.

THE TRUNK IS THE SLEEVE!!! Basically, the most awesome thing you've ever seen, right?!? I love it because whenever I show off the trunk, I also get to show off my immaculate arm muscles. Of course, they're underneath a layer of thick, sweater material, making it almost impossible to really see their true brilliance. And, if you haven't seen through the sarcasm, there's not really any muscle to see which is the main reason why you wouldn't be able to see them. :)

My next creation stems to the exciting events coming this weekend. THE HUNGER GAMES!!! Premier T-shirts. Heck. Yes.

Despite its resemblance to a hummingbird, the gold symbol is--in fact--a mocking jay. It's the image of the pin that Katniss wears when she enters the games. And, it's the symbol that I'll be wearing when I enter the games (the movie, of course, not the real Hunger Games). I spent all day yesterday making 5 of them. Yes, I made them. Disregard their utter professionalism and maybe you'd actually believe me. But, it's the truth. Hand made. What's up.
 
As for the movie, I'll be seeing it at 6:00 on the 22nd. And, in case you aren't completely up to date as to the official showing time for the movie, it comes out 12:00 am on the 23rd. Seeing it 6 hours beforehand? Don't mind if I do. :)

But, seriously. I am SO excited for it. Not only do I get chills every time I watch the trailer, but I'm such a nerd that I watched the live feed of the stars of the movie when they were walking down the red carpet, getting to see the movie for the first time. Who does that?!? Obviously, I'm now one of those people who is completely obsessed with things like that. Granted, I don't have a Pinterest (a social networking website that allows you to "pin" pictures of things you like to "boards" that all of your friends can see. It's kind of like the bulletin board of the Internet.) so I can't be COMPLETELY obsessed. I've restrained myself for the most part. But, come summer, I'm holding nothing back!!!

Speaking of summer, here are my plans. Not that you really care. But, here it goes, anyways. In order to keep my job, I HAVE to come back to Provo. I'll be going home for the Spring semester (mid April to mid June) to hang out with the fam and enjoy free rent and food. Then, in June, I will trek back up to Zion in order to spend the summer taking classes (one for my minor in Management and one for my major in Family Life) and working my little tail off. I've found an apartment already. It's called Sparks. It's right next to Gold's Gym. But, it's also right next to Little Caesar's. Guess where I'll be spending more of my time. :) And, news! I only have 17 classes left before I graduate!!! So, not including summer, that's 3 semesters left!!! And then, I have to figure out what I'm going to do with my life. The plan as of now: Finish 1, maybe 2 more semesters at BYU, take a year off to go to Beauty School and learn how to cut hair and basically be the most talented person ever, and then come back to BYU, finish what I have left, and graduate. It's just a rough sketch that is trying to incorporate a few more options. But, all in all, that's the plan.

Anyways, on Friday this week, my Grandma is moving to Salt Lake. And, guess who gets to drive the moving truck?!? If you're thinking me, that would be an incorrect guess. Yesterday made me very aware that large cars and I do not mix. Imagine me trying to drive Liz's SUV around the itsy bitsy Krispy Kreme parking lot. I think we spent more time in the parking lot trying to back the car out of the space than we did on the 10 minute drive pack to her house. Anyways, my dad gets to drive the moving van!!! He's helping her move up here and then I'll get to go up to Salt Lake to meet him and hang out with him all weekend! I'm basically super excited. A little mini Spring Break for me is just what I need right now. Perfect timing. And, guess what we're going to do... Go see the Hunger Games! My second time in 24 hours: once before the rest of the world, and the second time with my dad. How can life get any better? Answer: a boyfriend. A boyfriend might make life better. But, sorry to report, that area in my life is still empty. Which is okay. That's what I keep telling myself, anyways.

And, the last thing that is really worth telling: Utah is FINALLY getting warm. Although looking outside right now at the snow and rain, you wouldn't be able to tell. But, it is getting warmer. I'm breaking out the capris and the short sleeves. In preparation for this joyous occasion, I have been using tanning lotion. Every day. For like 3 weeks. And, dang. I am tan. Not as tan as I was when I did Swimming everyday my Freshman year in High School. But, tan enough for staying inside all day, working a desk job and only really having time to do homework and sleep. I'm pretty impressed. And, I only intend to keep using it for the rest of my life, continually darkening the pigmentation of my skin.

And with that ends the true excitement in my life. I'm doing really well. There's only 4 more weeks left of school and then I will be headed home to California sunshine. 2 years of college. Done. Holy. Heck. Where did the time go...

In lieu of homework...

While being single can have it's up-sides, one of the major downsides is Valentine's Day. Known to those of us without a significant other as "Single Awareness Day". Honestly? If there were ever a day to make you feel like a complete idiot for not being capable of "righteously seducing a man to go on a date with you" (quote, compliments of Josh Barton), this would be the day. Believe it or not, I will get over it one day. Give me a Valentine, and I'll stop being such a sissy. But, until then: Yay for the public display of affection that you get to enjoy, and I don't; yay for the girly romantic comedies that I get to enjoy and you don't; yay for ice cream!

Anyways, to celebrate "Valentine's Day", our ward Relief Society had a door decorating contest. The rules were that we had to decorate the door as festively as we could in our best rendition of the day known for love. And, what better way to portray that than with hearts and pink, right? Incorrect, my friend. Sydney and I took the liberty of decorating our door with what speaks to us as love. AKA, attractive celebrity males.

Step #1: Wrap the door in newspaper.
Step #2: Cover the door with pictures and pick-up lines.
Step #3: Admire.

Really, the only problem is that it's on the outside of our door, so we have to creepily walk into the hallways to look at it. :)
Lo, and behold, the close-ups...

Brooke, even though you're engaged, I must be a snowflake 'cos I have fallen for you!- Taylor Lautner 

 

Jenny, do you have a sunburn, or are you always this hot? -Josh Hutcherson

Sydney, I'm glad I brought my library card 'cos I am totally checking you out! -Darren Criss

Jessica, loving you is like breathing... How can I stop?!? -Bradley Cooper

So, no matter where you are or who you are with tomorrow, just remember that you are always loved. Even if the love is from a picture of a celebrity. If it's real to you, then it's real to you. :)

Make an Exception

The Ten Commandments state that you shouldn't covet the possessions of others. While that attitude may get you salvation, I don't feel like it would be applicable in this situation. In fact, I think even jealousy would be an appropriate emotion. It all started when Sydney and I went roaming on Amazon. Of course: super dirt cheap stuff + a young girl who has just come into some money = wreckless spending. Now, don't get too excited. I didn't go out and buy a yacht or anything. Just, the next best thing.

Whilst witnessing the many treasured items that America has to offer, I found this. A sticker for my car. The Deathly Hallows. Welcome to the coolest car ride ever. For the naive few, the deathly hallows comes from Harry Potter and (can you guess???) the Deathly Hallows. The symbols represent the three things that enable the user to conquer death. So, basically, you have all three and you're immortal. While I may not be completely immortal, (YET) this little decal on my car basically lets all of the evil forces at work against me know that they should step off. It's pretty much the greatest thing to ever happen to my life. When I was putting it on, though, I kinda felt like I was defiling my car. Like, giving it a tattoo or something. Completely immoral until I stepped back and looked at it. And then, it all was wiped away from the sheer awesomeness of it all.

So, wanting to feel like you can conquer death, too? Then, this website is for you. Congratulations. You're on your way to being awesome, too. :)
http://www.amazon.com/Deathly-Hallows--Harry-Potter--Sticker/dp/B004GTF8JO/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1327293261&sr=1-1

Welcome to the Ghetto

Senior year in high school. Birthday/Graduation present: a camera. A very appropriate gift for a girl of a young age, wanting to document the new and upcoming events in her life. What was absent from that lovely gift: a case for said camera. At this tragedy, I thought, "A naked camera! Definitely not acceptable in society as we know it." So, I found the next best thing... A sock from my sock drawer.

Complete with a little hole forming at the heel of my foot to be a slot for the wrist strap to be pulled through. Honestly? The cheap man's dream. On occasion, when the opportunity would permit for a picture, I would dig the sock out of my purse, posed, ready for camera action. However, upon this putrid reveal, my mother would cringe at the sight of her offspring resorting to such a primal action: keeping a camera in a sock. Personally, I loved it and thought it gave me more character than I could ever ask for. So, I kept it and never thought about it again.

The other day, however, my "problems" were solved. Liz recruited my organizing abilities to help her sort out all the lovely treasures taking home in her basement. As the sorting commenced, hundreds of unknown delicacies spilled from the piles. One said treasure being a camera case. Liz, without giving it a second thought, pushed the camera case into my hands with a look on her face of, "Here. You need this more than I do." What I have learned from this experience: people take pity on the resourceful. So, in an effort to seem completely pleasant about the whole thing and to not spite the fact that I have now been forced to become a sophisticated human being, I would like to say "Thank you, Liz" and "You're welcome, Mom".  :)