Christmas Music

That's right kids. I said it.

Right here for the whole world to read.

Day 3

I. Love. Christmas. Music.

I don't care that it's only November 3rd. As soon as Halloween is over 

it's time to break out the Christmas tunes.

Yeah, I used to be one of those people, you know the ones.

the people who gripe about how there's a holiday BETWEEN Halloween and Christmas called

Thanksgiving.

BUT

I've had a recent change of heart.

Like so recent that I can count the amount of hours on my hands.

Here's the story:

Today I had to get a flu shot.

[ew. I hate shots.]

AAAAnyway,

I didn't want to drive all the way home and then turn around and drive all the way back to school.

SO I met up with my homeslice/best friend/seester Tauni and her rockin' Momma T.

We went to this awesome store in downtown Logan that always has the cutest decorations

for the holidays.

Here we are, walking around this indoor

winter wonderland

with these b-e-a-utifully decorated Christmas trees, getting ideas for when we get crafty.

With our brains all full of these plans, we drove to Michaels - trying to find BIG BIG plain ornaments

for us to decorate.

Michaels just happened to have one of those GINORMOUS nativity/old school town scenes

that I was looking at and then bam.

I hear it.

Christmas music.

There's just something about the greats, you know,

Nat King Cole

Frank Sinatra 

Bing Crosby

Burl Ives

Dean Martin

Andy Williams

and maybe some of my new favorites

Michael Buble

Jon McLaughlin

Faith Hill

singing the classics to get me in the Christmas spirit.

Leftovers.

Day 2

Today, I'm grateful for leftover Halloween candy.

Yes. I am serious about this.

I have eaten nothing but leftover candy for the last two days.

My dentist is gonna looooove me.

source
This is the exact mix of candy my mom bought.
gosh I love her sometimes.

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween.

When I was a kid I was.

No joke.

I'd dress up ALL DAY and beg to go trick-or-treating as soon as my parents got home. 

AKA 5:00 pm.

hah nothing like getting started early.

Of course this was back in the day before  they had the trunk or treat thing.

I think that's the stupidest thing ever. and we wonder why America is obese. 

these kids gotta work for their candy!

Mark my words.

My kids will not be participating in the trunk or treat.

I pinky swear.

Month of Thanks

So ya'll remember on my bucket list how I said that I wanted to keep a gratitude journal?

well guess what.

This is it.

That's right kids.

For the next month I'll be posting something every. single. day.

[we'll see how well that goes..]

so here it is.

Day 1

I'm grateful for the opportunities that I have.

I think that I am a habitual quitter. like literally. Let's make a list of everything that I have quit:

When I was a kid I wanted to do dance

I know, cute huh.

Anyway I did dance for three years.

Then I quit.

I quit dance to do cheer. I was a cheerleader for three years

[unfortunately my cheer pictures are lost at the current time]

Then I quit.

I quit cheer to

What: play piano.

How long: for five years.

Why: because one of my

best friends is a-mazing and I wanted to be just. like. her.

So I took lessons from her mom.

Then I quit.

All this time I had been somewhat 'hired' to work on my grandpa's farm.

[More like drafted.]

One day I just decided that I hated it.

I hated the farm.

I hated the cows.

I hated the smell.

I hated the mud.

I even hated my horse.

After practically all of my childhood

[all whoppin' 14 years]

I quit.

Anyway,

I quit piano to play clarinet.

Good old band was my life for four years.

Man, I loved it.

I had some good times. and no, I DID NOT go to band camp.

I wasn't even in marching band. aaanyway. I quit.

Somewhere in the midst of the cheer dropping and piano picking up,

I found my new love.

Softball.

In case you haven't noticed.

I loved softball.

a lot.

An explanation for this quitting will come later,

but yes. I even quit this.

I quit band to pursue my softball career in hopes of playing in the "big leagues," college.

In reality, the only thing that I have stuck with is school and church.

I don't know if this counts or not.

But I love school. I always have.

As much as I complain about it I love learning.

I just hate the homework and the collegiate workload.

I stick with church because it has literally saved my life. more than once.

I'll probably offer an explanation for that later also.

Anyway, yep.

I am "Exhibit A" of what it is to be a quitter.

Thankfully I have a family that is willing to support me through my ridiculous mind-changing throughout the years.

And it doesn't help to have some friends in low places. or maybe high places. who knows.

The moral of the story is:

"I've been lucky.

Opportunities don't often come along.

So, when they do, you have to grab them."

-Audrey Hepburn

[BUckEt LiSt]

The things I'mma do before I die (or so I hope):

[] sing in front of a crowd. alone.
[] go skydiving
[] white water rafting
[] go to Venice
[X] teach someone something they don't know
[] learn guitar
[] finish quilt (I've been working on it for 2 years now)
[] find myself a man
[X] laugh so hard you cry
[] fly first class
[X] go snowboarding
[] bungee jump
[X] eat sushi
[] run a half marathon
[] learn to speak spanish fluently
[] graduate college
[] have kids
[] get married
[X] graduate high school
[] kiss in the rain
[] visit Europe
[] not procrastinate for one full month
[] see an eclipse
[] watch a meteor shower
[] visit all 50 states
[] go to Canada
[] go horseback riding on the beach
[X] go night sledding
[X] get a 4.0
[X] learn to watercolor
[X] get an award
[X] bat above .300
[X] learn the ASL alphabet
[X] go streaking
[X] go skinny dipping
[] swim in the ocean
[] go to the Opery in Nashville
[] see Miranda Lambert live
[] go on a cruise
[] ride in a hot air balloon
[] go to Russia
[X] milk a cow
[] see Machu Picchu
[] go to Disneyland
[] be in a food fight
[] learn to play poker
[X] get a welt from paintballing
[X] learn origami
[X] learn to play chess
[] watch the sunrise
[X] touch a snake
[] get out of debt
[] own a diamond ring from Tiffany's
[] run/work on a ranch
[X] meet a general authority
[] learn to forgive oneself
[] become a teacher
[X] watch a sunset
[] have a dog named Moose
[] be in a musical
[] see Wicked
[] go to the Kentucky Derby
[] go to a Yankee's game
[X] eat calamari (fried squid)
[X] make home made ice cream
[X] see the lights at Temple Square during Christmas
[] go to Rockefeller Center at Christmas
[X] get thrown into a pool fully clothed
[X] mud wrestling
[] donate hair to Locks of Love
[X] keep a blessings journal
[] make a difference

of course there's a lot more... I'll be adding to this as they come to me.

listen. {and be inspired}

Charlie Chaplin. Yes, the comedian.

Who knew. He was not only

Funny

He's also inspiring.

Maybe this is just appealing to me because I'm studying history and that I'm in a Germany class emphasizing the 1900s.

BUT it's still something worth listening to.

Really.

If I Weren't LDS

The other day I was having a conversation with some of my friends.
We were talking about what we would do if we weren't LDS..

Here's my list:

1)  I'd have a legit tattoo. much like Miranda Lambert's right smack on my forearm.

Honestly, I've considered getting one anyways, but I'm kind of suuuper afraid of needles. and the thought of having to sit there while someone is poking me with one for multiple hours just plain makes me queasy so that's out of the question.





2) I'd probably have a few more piercings. Not like excessively, but probably another set in my ears and maybe a small stud in my nose. but yet again, the whole needle/pain thing doesn't work for me..

3) I'd more than likely have a mouth like a sailor. ha I kind of already do... I'm working on that. I just refrain from the super bad ones (not that all swear words aren't bad, but ya know) like saying God (that REALLY bothers me) and definitely the 'F' word. nooot a fan.

4) Maybe I'd be a hoochy. hah not saying I'd run around sleeping with every guy that I meet, but I'd probably be a little less careful about who I suck face with and what people will think about it.

5) AAnd we all know that I'd probably show more skin. No more of this whole 'modesty' thing. I'm definitely not a fan of walking around with my butt hangin' out of my pants or my boobs falling out of my shirt, but ya know. Maybe it's because I'm LDS and live in Utah.

Wussy, I know. But in all honesty, I don't want to even consider what my life would be like without The Church. Just the fact that I know I belong to the only true church of God on the Earth today keeps me from doing a lot of really stupid things.

sometimes my brain-mouth filter doesn't work [an explanation]

if you remember this post, then you will recall me saying that I would explain a few things.

well kiddies, here it is, the big explanation.

okay, it's really not anything big, but that makes me feel all important and stuff 

when I use exaggerations like that.

Okay, so if you hadn't read that post, then you probably should.

seriously. there's two links now.

click on it. that little link. read it.

if you read it before then read it again.

Softball.

my life for 12. Years.

[yes, I had to make that large to make an impression]

This is the reason that I believe that my parents

[by parents I mean  mother] were [was] fuh-reaking out.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against my mom,

but she has a way of freaking over the little things.

For example,

I like getting dirty - she doesn't.

I like a ball coming at me at 50 mph - she doesn't.

I like history - she doesn't [and that's an understatement]

I like [love] the farm - she doesn't.

I have 100% trust in my horse - she doesn't have any.

I could eat a hamburger a day and not have a problem with it - she would die without her benefiber.

I am okay with people having imperfections - she [and my grandma] have a way of picking you apart.

anyway, moving along before I get even higher on my soap box...

Like I said, my mom [and grandma] hated that I played softball.

It wasn't bad until I started playing competitively until I realized that I could really  go somewhere with this

that it could get me into college, that it could be a way of making money until I graduated.

That's when it started getting bad.

That's when I started getting scars from sliding, when I started coming home caked in dirt,

and sometimes blood, from practice and games.

My grandma complained that softball wasn't a "lady-like sport"

she also told me that "no man likes a girl covered in scars"

[so far I haven't met any guy that hasn't liked the fact that I have battle wounds]

My dad always supported me playing ball he came to every game, made sure that I practiced frequently,

he was even my catcher for a while when I got serious about pitching.

*hello conflict!*

mom = hater

dad = supporter

me = stuck somewhere in the middle trying to make everyone happy.

sad but true.

I know, I shouldn't blame myself. and in a way, I don't.

It just all adds up when I look at it.

You probably don't see it, I know.

Okay, I'm rambling, I'm done.

There you have it folks,

explanation #1.

[I give it a number because I'm sure there will be more]