Three.

Hey guys. Remember when I said I was going to do this? Ya, I'm really bad at posting regularly. So sue me. But I figured I'd try and complete this challenge before I left on my mish. Which is in 20 days. Just so you know. Anyway, here's number three.

3) Describe your relationship with your parents.

My parents are the best. Hands down. No contest. They win all the awards. Why? Oh I could go on and on.

My dad is the hardest working man I know. He regularly works 60+ hour weeks. He delivers babies in the middle of the night, and sleeps at the hospital at least once every 6 days to take care of people who need it. He listens to people complain when they don't feel well and he tells them how to get better - even when he knows that sometimes they won't follow it. And he does this all while being caring, sympathetic, and attentive. And that's just his job. He also brings my mom flowers for no reason, watches movies with us on Sunday nights, brings home donuts and fancy kinds of cheese, takes us on horseback rides, plays catch with us, wrestles with my brother, reads us books, teaches us to take care of ourselves, takes us to cool places, takes us camping, fixes our cars, supports us in everything we do, and teaches us that we can do hard things. My dad has taught me the importance of family and to appreciate not only what I have, but where I am as well. He's also taught me how to be strong, independent, honest, loyal, and to always do what is necessary - even when it's hard. Thanks to him I've got a very sarcastic and dry sense of humor, I know how to throw a softball and change my brakes, I love classic rock, I've hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Inca trail, and I can saddle a horse.

Also thanks to my dad, any guy I date has some very, very high standards he's gonna have to meet. Sorry not sorry.

My mom is just as amazing. She takes me shopping, she listens to me vent, she makes me lunch. She makes me clothes when I can't find anything that fits, she fixes my clothes when I don't take good care of them. She cries during commercials, she reads books faster than anyone I know, she makes a mean mac&cheese, and she hates camping, but will go with us anyway. My mom is smart, willing to help anyone at any time, and she keeps me on the straight and narrow. When I lived at home she'd wait up for me to get home at night and she would wake up at 6:30 during the summer and make me a lunch to take to work. She takes me to store after store to find cute missionary clothes because she knows I don't want to look Amish and she always takes me to Zupa's after. She'll make extra of my favorite dinner, just so I can take left overs back to school with me and have a break from my typical spaghetti. She buys my friends and I pizza whenever I have friends over, and will usually make muddy buddies as well. She's my chauffeur, my cheerleader, my therapist, my confidant, my teacher, my guide, my best friend.

I've always had a pretty good relationship with my parents. I've never really had any major arguments, no screaming matches, nothing. I don't think I've ever been grounded, and my curfew is usually pretty reasonable. I think part of that is because I've always had pretty good friends - I never had any real reason or pressure to go against what my parents said. But I think it's also because I always understood the reasoning behind the rules and standards they gave me. I have to say, the older I've gotten the more I've realized how great my parents are. I hear friends talk about how their parents are super strict, how they don't get along at all, how they never listen to what they have to say. My parents listen to me all the time, even when I have no point to my stories that go on and on. My mom doesn't necessarily agree with my style choices - or some of my other choices - but she'll accept it because it's what I want to do. My parents have taught me not to take life too seriously, to laugh about the mistakes I make. They've taught me to give my all, and to never do anything I wouldn't be proud of. They've taught me that I can do anything I put my mind to and that it's totally fine to have some fun along the way.

I could probably keep going, but I'll stop here. This should be enough to prove that my parents really are the best. I have no doubt in my mind - and I've never had a reason to doubt - the love they have for each other, for me, for my siblings, or for the gospel.

Here's to hoping that one day I'll do as good a job as they've done. Because so far, we've all turned out pretty awesome. And some of that has got to be genetic.

Two.

Remember when I said I was going to do this 30 Day Challenge thing? Well I'm not very good at it. As I've only done one of the 30. But I'm working on it, so here's number two.

2) Describe 5 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.

1. Needles. I hate needles. I can't really explain how this became a fear. I've just always hated them. When I was younger I wanted to be a doctor. And I remember thinking that I could handle anything about the job - blood, guts, vomit, etc. - just not the needles. I HATE needles. Whenever I get a shot I have to hold someone's hand or talk to someone to distract me. My dad's nurses know how much I hate needles, so they use two whenever I need a shot - one to draw the fluid from the bottle, and one to give me a shot. I don't think I will ever donate blood, simply because I hate needles so much.

2. Being alone. This one I have to explain a bit. I don't mean this in a I-always-need-people-around-me-to-be-happy way. I like spending time by myself. I mean this in like not having anyone there for you. Like no family, no friends. Living somewhere where I knew absolutely no one for an extended period of time would terrify me. A few days - maybe even weeks - is exciting. Anything more than that would kill me. I'm a social person. I need at least a couple people who I can talk to every once in a while in order to stay sane.

3. Losing a sense. I mean like losing my sight or hearing or something. I love music, the sound of the wind in aspen trees, and the clicking of sprinkler lines. I love seeing sunsets, the sight of the tops of mountains disappearing into clouds, and sunshine on a lake. I don't know what I would do if I lost the ability to notice things like that.

4. Not knowing who I am. I've always had a very strong sense of self. I know what I want to be in the future. I might not know how I'll get there, or even specifics, but I've always had a general idea. I've always known who I am, for the most part. There would be nothing worse than realizing that I didn't even understand myself anymore.

5. Not making it into the advertising program. This one is a little less serious. I couldn't think of anything else. And this kind of goes along with number 4. I don't know what I'll do if I don't get accepted into BYU's ad program. I love advertising. I know it's what I want to do with my life. But the whole process of applying is kind of freaking me out. I'm stressing over it. And I don't stress. It's kind of a big deal. I'm completely terrified. It'll all work out though.
I hope.

Surgery is fun.

So I got surgery today. First time I've ever had one. It wasn't major though, just on my nose. No, not a nose job. Deviated septum. Apparently it was extremely messed up. Who woulda thought that was the reason why I've never been able to breathe through my nose?

Anyway, it's been an interesting day. I've watched 5 episodes of M.A.S.H., 3 episodes of Psych, and 12 episodes of The Office. I've got splints and stitches up my nose, have taken 11 pills, eaten 18 otter pops, and drank like 3 gallons of water. Or something close to that.
My nose is all swollen and I've gone though 16 pieces of gauze, as well as half a box of tissues. Gushing blood from your nose is fun. But just as a special treat for you friends and stalkers who read this, here is a lovely picture of me wearing the 'drainage catcher' I was given. Hands free blood rag.

Hot, right?
Luckily, I have some nice friends and a sister who will come hang out with me when I'm looking this attractive. Have I mentioned that since I can't breathe through my nose at all, when I fall asleep (which the Loratab will do to me), I snore. Which then wakes me up. I'm not sure how Allyson and Ben are still my friends after witnessing this. Oh well.
Saddest realization from today though? When I wake up from anesthesia, I'm not funny. I'm completely coherent. Nothing worth posting on The Youtube at all.
Dang it.

One.

30 day challenge kids. Here's post number one.

1) List 30 random things about yourself.

1. I believe in bare feet.
2. I love shoes. (Are these two oxymorons? Yes. But they're true.)
3. I love sunshine.
4. I have a slight concert addiction.
5. I dip my popcorn in chocolate milk. It's sooo good!
6. I love long drives.
7. Indie, country music, and boy bands are my favorites.
8. I love to read.
9. I survive on cheese, bread, and pasta. No cooking skills + living without mom = limited diet.
10. Football is my favorite sport.
11. I love movies.
12. I like watching TV, but I'm really bad at watching regularly. Thus, it's hard for me to get really into a show where you have to watch every episode to understand whats going on. That's why shows like The Office, Psych, and SNL are my favorites.
13. I love to travel. I want to travel all over the world.
14. I love camping.
15. I love horseback riding.
16. I love change. I fully embrace it. I think everyone needs some drastic changes in their life every few years. It keeps life interesting, keeps us invested in what we have, what we're doing.
17. I like vanilla ice cream and white cake more than chocolate.
18. I don't really like chocolate chip cookies.
19. I will eat almost anything that has pomegranate in it.
20. I love the beach, but I love the mountains as well.
21. I love the smell right after it rains.
22. I love being outside early in the morning.
23. I love star gazing.
24. Dogs are my favorite. Not a fan of cats.
25. I will always be a BYU fan.
26. Lilies are my favorite flower.
27. Someday I'll own a boat, and go boating every day.
28. I've got a thing for guys with dark hair and blue eyes.
29. I don't really have a set style clothes-wise. It changes often.
30. I believe that spending a little bit of time alone in the middle of nowhere is good for the soul, and everyone should do it more often.

I was a cool kid.

Style came naturally to me.

Alright, dear friends, family, and strangers who read this blog. We're replacing all the carpet in our house, so today I had to take everything out of my closet. Which I haven't seen the floor/back of for probably 10 years or so. It was an enlightening experience, as I tried to decide what to keep and what to throw away. I learned that I hoard empty boxes, I've already got a large collection of tacky piggy banks, and I was meant to be a wizard, proven by my Harry Potter Potions kit I found on the top shelf.
The most exciting things I found however, proved to be old journals. And a time capsule, put together in 2002 when I was in 3rd grade. Along with pictures of puppies, pictures of the Olympics, and several useless trinkets, I found a questionnaire, which I thought I'd share with all of you. Enjoy.

About Me:(Disclaimer: I'm not changing the spelling. Or grammer. So don't be overly disappointed in me.)
[Also, all modern commentary is in brackets. Just so you understand what I meant.]
Age: 9
Grade in School: 3rd
How many people are in your family? 5 (6)
Do you have a pet? What is it? Yes, Buddy. A dog.
What is your favorite color? Blue
Movie? Shrek
Performer? Eddie Murphey
Food? Pizza
What makes you happy? Riding horses.
Sad? When a animal dies.
Mad? Boys (mostly Sky) [This is still true. Although I don't know who Sky is.]
Scared? Kissing [hahahahahahahaha]
What do you do when you come home from school? Watch T.V.
What does your room look like? It is really rosey. [I had pink walls with a rose-garden wallpaper border, a rose bedspread, and a lot of my decorations were roses. I liked flowers as a kid, don't judge.]
What is your favorite season? Why? Winter and Summer. Winter> Skiing Summer> Swimming No School [This is funny. Because I hate winter.]
What is your favorite vacation spot? Why? The Beach. It's always hot.
What smells do you like? Flowers, pizza.
What smells do you dislike? Spinach [Not sure where I got this from. I don't think I was ever fed spinach as a child.]
What makes you laugh? Matt and Jordon [My neighbors maybe? I don't know.]
What kinds of things do you do with your friends? Chase boys [hahahahahahahahahaha]
What do you like to do when you're alone? Read.
What is your favorite subject in school? Reading.
What accidents have you been in? Broken bones? Stiches. No.
What are your favorite talents? Art, piano, skiing. [This is a good one. Because I'm no good at skiing, I've never been good at anything overly artistic, and I quit piano a long time ago.]
If your house was on fire and you could grab one thing, what would it be? My two dolls Abby and Kimberly. [Even as a child I was a rebel. Grabbing two dolls when I was told I could only grab one. Watch out world.]
What has been the most important world even to happen in the last year? The Olmpics.
What is the funnest thing about being a kid? You make people laugh.
What is the hardest thing about being a kid? You have to get good grades.
What does your favorite outfit look like? Bell-botton pants, tank top, and sweter. [I meant flare jeans. I swear, I have never, EVER worn bell-bottoms.]
What would be a perfect day? No boys (Keep relatives)
What do you want to be when you grow up? An athlete. [Ya. Because I'm so good at every sport I've ever done. Obviously.]
If you were invisible, where would you go and what would you do? ~~~~~~ [Unfortunately I didn't answer this question. Just drew a squiggly line. I guess I never wanted to be invisible.]
List all the people who love you for who you really are. Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, relatives, teachers, friends.

Fairy Princess. Obviously.

Isn't that great? I told you, I was one cool kid. Anyways, I also found some journals which had classic entries such as these:
1/13/2000: Last night we went and got mialke-shakes. I got Cholte Mosheloe.
4/6/2000: Today is Seans birthday. Sean almoes got hit by a car!
2/28/2001: I am sorry I haven't writen for a long time. I have been sooooo busy. I made a Diary today. I hope Kelsey doesn't see it. I will try to write more.
3/3/2001: Today Gus (a dog Katie's family is takeing care of) came over. Gus isn't Katie's dog.
6/15/2011: We are giving Katie (our cousin) some old dresses. Sady [Sandy] doesn't fit in them. So that is why we are giving them to Katie.

As you can tell, I had a wonderful childhood.

Home Sweet(?) Home

These girls. 

I miss them. Sure, I've already seen Julie and Paige multiple times since we moved out. And we only moved out like a week ago (not even that long).

But I miss them. I miss living with them.

So I moved home for the summer. And I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

I like home. I like Heber, I like my house. I love my family, and I love having an amazing mother who will do my dishes and cook me food.

But still. It's so different than what I've been used to the last 8 months.

I loved living on my own. I loved being able to have the ability to leave whenever I wanted, go where ever I wanted, and return whenever I wanted. I was the only one who had to deal with the consequences (mostly no sleep).

Don't get me wrong. My parents are great. Ya, it sucks having a curfew again, but it's not unreasonable. I know and understand why I have to be home at a certain time.

I just miss it. I miss Ben, Taylor, Conner, Jay, Jesse, and all those other Orem boys showing up at my apartment with no warning.

I miss Stacie and Brooklyn and Christina living upstairs, with Suzanne and Cassie just a couple minutes away in Heritage.

I miss staying up late, talking to Paige, Julie, and Rachel about stupid things. I miss finding new music in the middle of the night. I miss looking at the clock and wondering why we're up so late, then staying up for another two hours. I miss fighting for space, so that I can take a nap on the couch. I miss talking about who is dating whom in the ward, obsessing over the latest RM who has caught our eye, and wondering why we're still single over bowls of honey popcorn and cups of herbal tea.

I miss it all. And it's only been a week.

I just feel like I'm going to miss so much. Being a half hour away. And soon I start work. 10 hours a day. 4 days a week.

Everyone else is in new apartment complexes. New wards. Meeting new people. Making new friends.

I'm at home. With the same people who I've known since I was 6. And all my friends are in Provo.

I loved college. I didn't want to leave. I didn't think it'd be this bad though.

I wasn't homesick for Heber during school. But now that I'm back in Heber, I'm homesick for Provo. I even go down everyday for work, and I still miss it.

Oh BYU. Oh freedom. I miss you.

Baby come back.

You're it.

Yes, I'm in college. And yes, I'm still doing this. I like questions. I think it's a good way to get to know someone. So since Julia tagged me in this blog thing, I decided I'd do it.

Heck, it's one more way to put off my homework!

1. Post the rules.

2. Post a photo and 11 random facts about yourself.

3. Answer questions from the tagger.

4. Ask questions for those you wish to tag.

5. Tag people.

Facts:

1) I have very few pictures of just me. I prefer to take pictures with people. Thus, I tend to resort to using my senior pictures whenever I need a picture of myself (like above). Plus, I like them. Which I can't say too often about pictures of myself.

2) I love going on long drives. I love driving. So whenever I'm stressed (which isn't often), or just not in a good mood, I'll go for a drive. I tend to spend a lot of money on gas.

3) I don't like sweat pants. I would always rather wear jeans than sweats. Athletic shorts however, are a completely different matter.

4) I love music. I believe there is a song for every life event, no matter what it is.

5) I want to go to New Zealand/Australia one day. So. Freaking. Bad.

6) I worry that I'm more interesting in writing than in person. I think texting and facebook has destroyed my personality. And I'm trying to quit.

7) I don't have a style when it comes to clothes. However, the brighter the colors, the more I usually like it.

8) I have a slightly twisted sense of humor. And am very sarcastic. I blame my father.

9) I bite my nails. I've tried to stop, but I can't. So I never paint my nails.

10) I love boating. I don't go very often, but my dream is to own a boat sometime, and take my family all the time.

11) I tend to get bored of places and people quickly. I adjust to change easily, and have never been homesick. So I like to keep some variety in my life, and keep moving around, meeting new people.

Julia's Questions:

1) Dream vacation spot: Although I've always wanted to go to New Zealand or Australia, I've recently seen places of another place I'd love to go. The Maldives. White beaches, blue water, and no one around. Definitely my idea of a dream vacation.

2) What are your wedding colors? Obviously I have these picked out, since I'm a single girl at BYU and all. But probably a lightish/turquoiseish blue, yellow, and a spring green.

3) Weird obsession? I can't think of one specific obsession I have, unless you count BYU football and basketball. Or my Jimmer obsession. But that's died down a little. I tend to get obsessed with different things for a few weeks/months at a time, then my interest will fade. Right now, I'm a little obsessed with kind of more indie music. Like Imagine Dragons, The Wombats, and Of Monsters and Men. And Fun.

4) Most life changing event? I can't think of one particular event that was very life-changing for me. Moving out was probably a big one. Traveling to Africa was another. Every event I've experienced has left some impact on me.

5) Most awkward moment? A moment is only awkward if you make it awkward. And I'm pretty good at laughing things off. So I can't think of anything for this question. Sorry.

6) Favorite icing flavor? I don't like icing all that much. But cream cheese icing is pretty good.

7) When you are frustrated or upset what do you do to calm down? I kind of answered this one already. I usually go for a drive, listen to music, get lost. I know so many of the back roads of Heber because of this habit. I don't know very many good places in Provo. I'll have to work on that.

8) Celine Dion or Shania Twain? Even though I love them both, I've gotta go with Celine on this one. Although it is hard to beat this.

9) What was your worst date? Details! So I haven't been on any really bad dates. I haven't been on tons, and the ones I have been on have been with pretty nice guys. There was one though, that was kind of bad. It was with the older brother of one of my little sister's friends. I had never met him before, and so the date started off a little awkward, since it was just me and him. Plus, he had only been home from his mission for a couple months, and he had always been a pretty shy person. Great. We went to dinner, which was fun, then we decided we'd watch a movie at his house. So we watched Inception. Luckily, I had never seen it before, so I was really into the movie. Then, when he was driving me home after the movie it was snowing, and he wasn't used to driving in the snow. So we crashed into a snow bank. Luckily, there was a guy plowing his driveway just a few houses away, and he helped us get out. And nothing too bad happened to my date's car. But I still felt bad.

10) What is your most prized possession and why? I have both a ring and a necklace from Africa that I love with all my heart and soul. My necklace actually broke a few weeks ago, and I about burst into tears. I have all the beads together in a box, so I can put it back together.

11) If you could pick a name for yourself, what would it be? Honestly, I don't know. I like my name. I don't know if I'd want to change it.

My questions for you (the lucky people I tag):

1) Favorite commercial?

2) Earliest memory?

3) What song would you think fits your life best so far?

4) What is your life motto?

5) Most irrational fear?

6) Favorite movie quote?

7) Half full or half empty?

8) What is your guilty pleasure?

9) What's something new you learned today?

10) What do you get excited about?

11) Where do you want to be 5 years from now?

I tag... Paige, Julie, and Alexis. That's pretty much everyone who I can think of, who hasn't already been tagged in one of these (as far as I know).

Things I will never say.

Every one who knows me is aware of the fact that I almost never struggle for words. I tend to be a talkative person. Occasionally.
That's why this post intrigued me. So I thought I'd do my own.
Please, if I ever say any of these things, and I'm serious about it, slap me back to my senses.

"Is this Lady Gaga? Turn it up!"
"I don't really like Italian food."
"Environmental Biology is my favorite class."
"Politics is just so interesting!"
"I'd much rather watch golf than football."
"Today, I will stop drinking Dr. Pepper."
"British accents really aren't that attractive."
"I'd rather wear sweats than jeans."
"9:00 church and it's Fast Sunday tomorrow? Happy day!"
"I love watching other people's PDA. Please, continue making out during the movie."
"The University of Utah is so much better than BYU."
"OMG, I'm supes totes jelly."
"Cats are way better than dogs."
"Oh no, it's totally ok to wear pigtails after age 6."
"All this sunshine is getting old. I wish it would snow."
"Mustaches and mullets are such a turn-on."
"I think you should bedazzle that."
"Rap is so much better than country."
"Robert Pattinson and Kristin Stewart are such great actors. I don't know why they didn't win Oscars."
"I wish I had taken American Heritage."
"Your continual use of the f-word makes you sound so educated."
"You don't know the difference between your/you're or there/their/they're? That doesn't reflect on your intelligence at all."
"No more brownies. Pass the broccoli, please."
"Louie L'Amour books really aren't that good."
"I'd love to do your dishes!"
"Sure, you can borrow my car."
"You've been dating for 2 weeks? You must be in love!"
"All I want to do with my life is clean my house, cook dinner, and have babies."