iPod Shuffle Game

You put your iPod on shuffle and use the song titles as answers to the questions. Normally I wouldn't do something like this (it seems so...MySpace), but I am way bored and am avoiding all things productive.

1. If someone says "Is that okay?" you say:
"We Will Rock You," Queen. (Apparently it's not okay.)

2. How would you describe yourself?
"The Middle," Jimmy Eat World.

3. What do you look for in a guy?
"God Blessed the Broken Road," Rascal Flatts.

4. How do you feel today?
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough," Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

5. What is your life's purpose?
"This Is the Future," Owl City. (That gave no information whatsoever! My life's purpose is apparently to live to the future. Cool.)

6. What is your motto?
"Living On a Prayer," Bon Jovi.

7. What do your friends think of you?
"Just Go," Jesse McCartney. (Wow, so rude!)

8. What do your parents think of you?
"Ms. Independent," Ne-Yo. (Baha...considering my mom just bought the majority of my books for next semester, probably not.)

9. What do you think about often?
"I'm Not That Girl," Idina Menzel. (Ouch. Nailed me on that one.)

10. What do you think of your best friend?
"I Can't Wait to Fall in Love," Justin Timberlake. (...Awkward. I most certainly CAN wait to fall in love with you, Bakenzie. No offense.)

11. What do you think of the person you like?
"I'd Rather Be With You," Joshua Radin. (Definitely true.)

12. What is your life's story?
"You've Got a Friend," James Taylor.

13. What do you want to do when you grow up?
"Chim Chim Cheree," Mary Poppins. (A chimney sweep? Awesome! The luckiest of the lucky.)

14. What do you think when you see the person you like?
"I Want to Make It With You," Bread. (Well, that's true, though not in such schmaltzy terms.)

15. What will you dance to at your wedding?
"Weight of the World," Chantal Kreviazuk. (That would be a good one!)

16. What is your hobby/interest?
"I Walk the Line," Johnny Cash

17. What is your biggest fear?
"Cold As You," Taylor Swift.

18. What is your biggest secret?
"Running," Nik Day.

19. What do you think of your friends?
"What Hurts the Most," Rascal Flatts.

20. What song will they play at your funeral?
"I Love Rocky Road," Weird Al. (Haha! This will be fitting when I die of a heart attack at age 25 due to my ice cream addiction!)

ABCs: C

C is for...change.

I'm not talking pocket change. (I am actually really adverse to that after working at a bank--when someone comes in with a jar of pennies, all I want to do is beat them with it.) And I'm not talking change like "Oh, I'm growing up and maturing and my life is changing!" (I'm really adverse to that, too. I like things to stay the same and I want my room to be exactly how I left it and I want my siblings to be the same height in relation to each other and myself and I don't want you to change your hair if I'm not there to see it firsthand because then it'll be this big shock the next time I see you and I'll have to adjust. Just FYI.)

I'm talking changing yourself--not because anyone else wants you to but because you want to. I'm talking finding something about your life you're unhappy about and working on it, making it and yourself as a whole better.

I've been thinking about this a lot because I have a few things I really need to work on. I have said I'm going to work on these areas more than once, but for some reason or another I tend to not do that. Mostly because I'm uncomfortable with these areas (obviously, or they wouldn't be troublesome to me).

But I am really grateful for the ability to change. It all goes back to the Atonement, as most things do--I'm glad I'm not stuck in any one mode for eternity, especially a miserable one. I'm glad that when I'm not sure what to do, I have so many avenues to turn to for direction. And I'm glad that I know I can pray for help in my changes and find it!

Maybe this should've fallen under g for grateful or b for blessings?

ABCs: B

I don't necessarily like whining, but I am feeling the need to do so and what better place to do so than on my own blog?

B is for boys and also boo, because those two things go hand in hand for me lately. Usually, I do not have a problem with boys. I'm quite a fan of them, in fact. But lately, they are sucking. Hardcore. I want them all to die in a fiery plane crash. Okay, that's a little extreme. But seriously...I am tired of them. I know not ALL boys are oblivious and idiotic and go for dumb girls. I have seen some be sweet and go for good girls who are smart and fun and that helps me to not hate them. However, it appears that all the ones who go for good, smart, fun girls already have. There is an unequal distribution of good boys to good girls. Therefore, I have decided to move to the moon. I am starting a girl colony, and no boys are allowed. You'd be surprised at the number of girls who've expressed interest in this idea!

I'm just bitter because a good one I wanted chose someone else. I know, I know--I'm young, I have time, there are other fish in the sea. Blah blah blah. I know all this. It doesn't make me want to throw things and scream and kill someone any less.

(And why does the girl have to be so nice? Why does she have to smile and say hi when I see her on campus? Can't she just be horrible and mean so I don't feel bad when hatred and bitterness radiate off me? At least I can be secure in the knowledge that I am smarter than she is. But that doesn't help too much, because apparently smarts don't matter to him. Cool.)

The song that defines me right now: "I'll Think of a Reason Later" by Lee Ann Womack.

Also I am bitter because my roommate is cooking some unknown, foreign something that smells horrific. I am on the verge of gagging. All in all, not the best day I've ever had.

ABCs: A

Yesterday I was informed that I do not blog often enough. (I apologize for the use of passive voice in that sentence. I found it inescapable.) When I complained that I had nothing to blog about, said informer told me to do the A-Z thing. Sure. Why not. So here we go.

A is for...Alyssa!

As anyone reading this knows, Alyssa is my very special baby sister. And she is stinking adorable, as evidenced by this picture and all the ones to follow. She has her own folder in my pictures because she is basically the only thing I ever take pictures of.





She likes to carry her toys (weird things like screws and buttons and random items like sunscreen) around in this red Lego bucket. I have no idea what happened to the Legos that used to be in it. Most likely they are shoved in a different bucket somewhere after having been strewn about on the floor for a month or more.




Her very favorite thing these days is watching YouTube clips on my computer. The funny thing is, they're usually clips of movies she already has and could watch whenever she wants. But for whatever reason, it is more fun on my computer. Okay, fine. Unfortunately, it becomes very hard for me to do things like my homework when Alyssa runs in and asks to watch every time I'm even within 10 feet of my room. And yet it's virtually impossible for me to say no to her. I think she knows this and exploits it.

I...don't have much explanation for this one. That is, in fact, me in that monkey suit. I'm not embarrassed.







We have no idea why, but one time over the summer while Brian took one of many naps on the couch, Alyssa ran over and jumped on his back. It was strange. It was random. And it was HILARIOUS.














Basically my sister is cute and I love her. :) (I guess A could have been for autism, too, haha. But I don't have pictures of her throwing things during Sacrament meeting and hitting one of the deacons in the face while he's passing the Sacrament or banging her head against the couch or screaming.)

Things I Love

So, I am an angry and bitter person. Although I feel as though this is simply my nature, I've decided to try to be better. Mostly because I'm in love with a boy who is SO NICE I feel bad when I'm mean. Really that's the whole reason I'm trying to be better; it's not because I actually WANT to be better--I just know that to deserve a nice boy I'm going to have to at least pretend to be a nice girl. (And OH do I want him. Yes, yes, I do. So very very much. Think Prince William, but with better teeth, obviously, and also cuter and funny and super sweet and an Idaho hick. And after I made him dinner he did the dishes. And he is dorky and makes me laugh super hard. Okay, end of digression about the new LOVE OF MY STINKING LIFE.)

In the spirit of being more positive, and because I'm avoiding doing the reading I need to do in order to write a 4 page essay, I'm going to make a list of things I love. It may be a short list; I'm winging this. In no particular order (actually, there is an order--the order I think of them in), I love:

1. Swinging
We have an AWESOME park within walking distance, and the boys in our ward live right next to it. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time there, especially in the spring semester when the weather is gorgeous. Sometimes you have to wait for all the little kids to quit hogging the swings, but the wait is worth it.


2. The view from my grandparents' kitchen window.


No words. Just plain gorgeous. Could ANYTHING be better than looking out at open space, grazing horses and cows, and farmland? No. I really don't think so. I will be a very, very sad girl if I do not get a view like this after getting married. Someday? Please?!







3. Fishing with my daddy
(Yes, I know I look like a dirty street urchin in this picture. Doesn't bother me a bit.) Fishing has always been something my dad and I have done together. Gradually, my siblings stopped coming with us, and it became our thing. It was always nice to have some time with my dad to myself, and fishing is fun, anyway, so it worked out very nicely.




4. Being upside down.
Is there anything more fun?! All the blood rushes to your head and your face turns red and it's awesome. Not much more to say.








5. S'mores!

Delectable! Best part of summer by far.








6. Temples
This is the Portland temple, which I am particularly partial to and have a great desire to be married in, but I love all temples. They are so gorgeous. In Spokane, there are a lot of old, beautiful buildings and churches, and once I thought to myself, "I wish our churches were this pretty." Then I remembered temples and felt stupid because honestly, no building EVER is prettier than a temple! Also there is the whole blessing thing that comes from the temple. You know, that's important, too.

7. Music
I'm fairly positive this doesn't even need an explanation. No music=no life.











8. BYU-Idaho
So maybe the truth is that I hated this place when I first started. It snows approximately 7 months of the year, the wind never stops blowing, the temperature is frequently in negative double-digits, the dating culture is slightly ridiculous and kind of a joke, and I don't entirely agree with all of the rules. BUT. I now love it. All those things still bother me. But I love the atmosphere. I love starting every class with a prayer; I love talking about how we all play "Spot the Mormon" on vacation; I love debating "fetch" as a swear word; I love knowing that every Sunday I will see the guys I go to class with wearing their white shirts and ties and honoring their Priesthood; I love seeing people reading their scriptures on campus; I love walking to class and having random strangers smile at me and say hi and strike up a conversation (well, that one depends what time of morning it is); I love my on-campus job and the people I work with; I love not opening any doors on campus because if there are any boys within 100 feet of me they will run over and do it; and most of all I love not having to worry about what kind of things my friends are going to want to do and if I'm going to end up not going because whatever they're doing is against my standards. I just love it!

9. Late night shenanigans
(This picture doesn't really tell you much, but we took this while driving half an hour to Idaho Falls at midnight because we needed M&Ms.) Trips to IF or Denny's, running around outside, pranking people after curfew, watching a movie, going to the park in the dark--whatever. Although it's true I value my sleep probably more than most normal humans, I love having fun, and for some reason everything is more fun after curfew. Probably simply because I'm not supposed to be doing it.

10. Hebrew
For real, I LOVE HEBREW. It is SO hard and many times while doing my homework I feel the need to burst into tears/scream/pull my hair out/hit someone, but it is my favorite class that I have ever taken in my entire life. I am bitterly and intensely jealous of anyone who has had/will have the opportunity to go to the Jerusalem Center or just Israel in general, and I have made it my goal to get there someday, somehow. And I will do it!

Back to school, back to school...

Well, I'm back in Rexburg. I got in Monday night. Classes start tomorrow...ugh. I know education is important and all, but I'm not really feeling it. But I'm ready to be back on a schedule and have things to do. And I'm ready to see if there are cute boys in my classes. I'm in the same apartment and the same ward, but all my roommates left me. :( Kay Lynn will be back in the winter. I just keep reminding myself that. The new ones seem okay so far...so we'll see. I'm the oldest in my apartment--such a strange feeling. And I'm not even old!

I have TEN books this semester. Death. I'm taking 17 credits. And I'm working. But I think I'll be okay--I'm retaking Hebrew, so I kind of feel okay about that one. I know what to expect and I already know the alphabet and remember some of the vocab words, so it should be easier this time around. Plus I still have all the assignments saved on my computer, woop woop! But then I'm also taking International Politics, Sociology and Law, an English class, a piano class, and Sign Language. Piano won't be hard--I'll just have to practice, which will just take up time. International Politics is looking a little scary, but I'm sure I'll be fine.

While I was in the bookstore, a boy weaved through the crowd of about 7 million people (all freshmen and their mothers and 18 younger siblings each, of course) and came over to me and asked if I knew who wrote Frankenstein. I told him (Mary Shelley, in case you're wondering) and went on my way, but then I got to thinking...why did he ask me specifically? I was wearing an orange shirt, and some of the employees had orange polos, so maybe he thought I worked there. Or could he tell just by looking at me that I would know something like that? Do I have "NERD" tattooed on my forehead or something? I can't help it if I remember these things. We'll see who's laughing when you fail your stupid English class, boy. I still remember all the major plot points and could even probably still write an essay on it, thanks in large part to the fact that I saw the Frankenstein episode of Wishbone.

And then while I was walking back to my apartment, the cute boy from my ward I dibbsed three semesters ago talked to me, so I stopped caring.

Today I...

Today, I...

-slept in until 10 A.M. It was glorious.

-got my butt kicked on my workout. I don't know what the deal was, but I had to stop TWICE on my run.

-shaved my legs. Trust me, it needed to happen.

-started packing and realized I brought a lot of useless junk home with me. But the problem is, it was only useless this summer and I'll need it in the fall, so I somehow have to cram it all into my bags and cart it back to school with me.

-contemplated writing in my journal. Didn't do it.

-struggled through the third movement of Seitz's second concerto on the violin. Painful...both to my ears and my fingers.

-listened to the song, "Permission to Fly" about 80 times. It's by one of those Disney channel star people. Embarrassing. But it's catchy.

-wrote an email to a missionary. :)

-got super excited when I saw that four episodes I've never seen of my geek show will be on tomorrow and I will be home to watch it. There was definitely a fist pump.

-made salsa. And then realized we didn't have any chips.

-watched Dexter's Laboratory and Johnny Bravo. Dede got flushed down a toilet and Dexter pulled her out with a plunger and the summary for the Johnny Bravo episode included, "Johnny dates an antelope." I tell ya, they just don't make TV like they used to.