Respect Your Eldahs

Happy May, everybody! (Yes, I do realize it's been 6 months since last I posted... *sheepish grin.*)
Normally, I'd give y'all a big summary of the past 6 months of my life, but tonight I have something much more important to talk about.

Everyone has friends. Right? Some friends are closer than others. Some friends are really more like acquaintances. And then some friends are really more like relatives. You know the kind; the ones with whom your conversations are made up of more inside jokes than "normal" comments, with whom you spend more time giggling than being serious, to whom you can tell anything, and for whom you would do anything.

I've got me one of those friends.

I call him my Bruddah. Cause he's really more of a brother than just a regular friend. He actually goes by many names... Bes' Frien', Raw Burrito, Bruddah... and this week he'll become Eldah. I can't believe it's already time for him to go out and dedicate two years to serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I'm really proud of him, and excited for him to have wonderful experiences serving the people of El Salvador. But yeah, I'm going to miss him.
I feel bad because we haven't spent nearly as much time together as we should have lately - I've been busy with school, he's been busy with work. A word to the wise: Spend as much time as you possibly can with your soon-to-be-Elders. Before you know it, they're gone.

So I'd like to take just a moment to tell my Bruddah a few things I think he should know.
#1: It's 11:11. So make a wish.
#2: The memories we've made together are priceless to me.
#3: Don't make me blush ^^
#4: You give the best hugs <( ^ ^ )>
#5: Baby, eat the applesauce!
#6: I still have that scar on my hand from the stupid filing cabinet. And I still have the picture you drew of my battle with the filing cabinet. And I miss sitting next to you in seminary and having you draw Duke Archibald McFezzon on and around said scar from said filing cabinet.
and #7: Did you not know it was a snake duck??

Thanks for all the memories, and good luck to you! I'ma miss you lotsly. <3
-Your Sistah

(oh, and NEW POST!!!!!)

Dear Me, is it November Already?

First off, I'd like to see how thoroughly my almost-name-buddy is ACTUALLY blog-stalking me.
Because this post is because I remembered you told me I should post so you could stalk me.
You know who you are.

HAPPY NOVEMBER!
Don't you just love the cold weather? The bare trees, school being in full swing, almost-but-not-quite being able to listen to Christmas music without guilt? :D
...yeah, me neither.

At this moment, I would like to quote a poem, as told to me by my brilliant grandfather.

No birds, no bees.
No flowers.
No trees.
November.

That pretty much sums it all up.
BUT HEY! At least we have Thanksgiving (*turkey turkey turkey turkey turkey!*) coming up next week! I guess the Powers that Be decided there needed to be something to get the world through the month. Why not a lot of food? Yes? Yes.

So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I ask you:

WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?

Here's my list (in no particular order):

1. Fuzzy red socks that keep my toes toasty through the night.
2. Zebra-striped Snuggies
3. Moose hats
4. A best friend who's just as excited about a boy as I am
5. The boy mentioned in #4, who just so happens to be the best thing ever :)
6. Things that make you laugh so hard your abs hurt
7. Michael Buble
8. Unlimited texting... *sheepish grin*
9. A clean bedroom
10. Sisters :)
11. Being almost done with college apps
12. This song:

(see: #5 and #7)
13. Fun tights
14. Hot chocolate
15. 11:11 wishes

The list could go on forever.

(SPEAKING of 11:11 wishes, did you make a wish at 11:11 on 11/11/11? I did. Did yours come true? Mine did. :D)

So here's my challenge to you. (Buahahaha! Blogger homework. That's what you get for reading my blog.) Make a list of what you're thankful for. It's good to remember all the things you're blessed with. You don't even have to write it down; just take a moment to be grateful.
Happy Thanksgiving, and have a good November!

:) :)

Chipmunk Cheeks

Sooooooo...
I haven't posted in... like... a month. FAIL.
*cough.*
Anyway.

I got my wisdom teeth out this week. Ick. If you've never done it, I'm sincerely sorry for you when you do. A word of advice: DON'T DO IT AWAKE. Just don't. Also, don't plan on eating any real food for at least three days. Applesauce is your best friend. And ice cream. Yeah.
So I expected my cheeks to swell up. I knew I would look like a chipmunk. I wasn't expecting only ONE cheek to really swell. No normal-looking chipmunk for me! I got to be a LOPSIDED chipmunk. Ohhh yeahhh.
I've ALMOST gotten to the point where I can chew real food. Almost. My biggest problem all week has been the fact that I get hungry every three minutes and I couldn't eat any real food. It took me 30 minutes to eat a string cheese the other day... but I did it!


On another note, I've re-discovered the joys of having a record player in my room. Yes, at this very moment I am (definitely not embarrassingly) dancing around my room to The Beach Boys' glorious tune, "Salt Lake City." (Yes, they did sing a song about my happy hometown. It makes me very happy.)

Girls camp is coming up this next week! A whole week without parents, phones, iPods, Lappy, or actual showers. It's a good thing none of us get to shower, or we might notice how bad we smell. My dad and brother and nephews got to go on a fathers-and-sons campout this weekend at the same campground I'm going to next week... apparently they left me a secret message. I'm very excited to find it. :]


Have I ever mentioned that I love my family? Yeah, they're pretty cool.

ALSO, I discovered that Dollar Tree has an INCREDIBLY INCREDIBLE selection of coloring books. Best. Discovery. Ever.

Speaking of discoveries, I recently got a volunteering opportunity at the local childrens' museum. I basically get to check off my school-required service hours for playing around all day. I spend a lot of time re-stocking tiny grocery shelves with fake bread, fake peanut butter, fake laundry soap... you get the idea.

School starts in 3 weeks. I'm going to die. Senior year, here I come! (I hope.)

This was really long and kind of random. Sorry.

Au revoir! :]

Happy 4th!

I always feel slightly guilty on the days I don't post, so I figured a holiday was as good as any day to say hello.
HELLO!
Happy Fourth of July, Independence Day, or whatever you want to call it. May we always cherish our beloved country and honor our freedom with patriotism (and illegal fireworks)! After all, "what better way to celebrate the independence of your country than by blowing up a small piece of it?"
On such patriotic days as this, I like to sit back, relax, and watch 17 hours of movies such as 1776, The Music Man, Independence Day, and both National Treasures. When that's done, I'll listen to John Philip Sousa marches and Stan Freberg's The United States of America (if you haven't heard of it, look it up. Seriously. You'll be glad you did.) And of course, there's the traditional poppers and sparklers to finish off the day with a BANG (forgive my pun). Between big breakfasts, barbecues, and popsicles, picnics, fireworks, and watermelon out the wazoo, the Fourth is a truly familial holiday.
So even though there's only 65 minutes left to it, HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Take Me Back to the Black Hills...

One thing you should know about me:
I LOVE SOUTH DAKOTA.
Call me crazy, but I do have my reasons. #1: Mount Rushmore. Coolest thing EVER. Seriously. #2: Crazy Horse Monument. Akin to Mt. Rushmore in its coolness. BUT BIGGER. #3: The Black Hills are gorgeous, guys. Seriously.
The only thing I would change about the Black Hills is that there are not quite enough meese (plural of "moose") (a flock of moosen!) there.
The point of this story is that I want to go back there. I was there... oh, 2 summers ago with my parents and my sister, and I miss it. Mostly when my sister starts singing "Take me back to the Black Hills, the Black Hills of Dakota!" from Calamity Jane (WHICH I ALSO LOVE.)

**TANGENT**
I'm going to marry Howard Keel.
...along with a lot of other people. I have a list.

ANYWAY. Speaking of Calamity Jane, I've been putting a lot of thought into which musical I think my school should do this coming year, seeing as it's my senior year and I want to go out with a bang. Calamity Jane is on the list, as well as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (like I said, Howard Keel!) and Singin' in the Rain.

11:11 make a wish!

**ANOTHER TANGENT**
I was utterly shocked to find out that my bes' frien', my Bruddah, has never seen I Love Lucy. This is sad, people. Reach out to those in your life who have been deprived of old, classic TV shows and movies and help them see the light. If you or someone you know is black-and-white deprived, call the hot-free number at the bottom of the screen now. Remember: One movie can make a difference.

Where was I? I don't know. I s'pose I'll end my post of randomness now.

INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
6 months from yesterday is Christmas!
:)

A Week of Excellence

So I really meant to post all this week... but the only problem was I didn't have access to the internet. Because I was at the GRAND CANYON!

Sha-BAM.

But I had all these really great ideas for posts, and I never had time to write them down (because I was adventuring so much), so I forgot a lot of them. I'll try and recreate as many as I can though.

Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? If you haven't, go. Seriously. It's incredible. All those millions of years of Momma Nature working away at that rock... Someday I'd really like to be at the bottom of it looking up (but there is no way I'm jumping off, so don't worry about that).
Here is my Grand Canyon Bucket List:
1) Ride a mule to the bottom.
2) Hike to the bottom.
3) Construct and ride a zipline to the bottom.
4) Make it back up alive.

I've been writing this post for 3 hours and I've only gotten this far. :P I'll continue later.

INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT:
...Write things down. That way you'll remember them later. :)

Bittersweet

Happy summer, everyone! It is officially summer, because today was Yearbook Day. (Fail, by the dubs. The way my school handles fines is INCREDIBLY awful and I severely dislike it. $1.70 for a lunch account I've NEVER USED. And they wouldn't let me have a yearbook until I paid it. FAIL.) Anyway. After today, I am officially a senior. I feel old. And very immature at the same time...
The main point of this post is to talk about endings and beginnings and everything in between. I'm sad that so many of my close friends are graduating tomorrow, because I won't see them next year, but I'm also proud of all of them and wish them all the best of luck. As one of them quoted in the yearbook, "Every story has its end, but in life every end is just a new beginning." Wherever life takes you after this adventure called high school, new adventures will occur. Friends change, high school fades, but you are who you are and that can never change. Again, good luck to all of you, and please please please keep in touch. I'll miss you!