Can't Help and not taking things for granted rant

This song has been on repeat ever since the album came out. Actually the whole album has been on repeat. All of the songs are pretty fantastic and by far the best album Parachute has had.
This song though. It just makes me want to dance! And it sure makes love sound great doesn't it? A feeling that you can't help. Something that happens without you meaning for it to and changes your life. I wouldn't mind experiencing what this song is talking about right about now. Then again, who wouldn't want that right?


The last few days have been full of me laying in bed watching Scrubs and Gilmore Girls because I've been sick. It's been lovely. I'm feeling better and it got me thinking to how easily we can take things for granted. It's funny how when you are sick you can't even remember what it feels like to be healthy, even though you've been living that way more often than being sick. It's sad how often we take things like our health for granted. I think people take the small things for granted too often.
Waking up to the sun shining.
A song that fits your mood.
Driving without getting in an accident.
Your health.
Random acts of kindness.
A hot shower.
Warm brownies.
Knowing someone cares.
Lazy days.
Lightning bugs.

Sometimes it's the simple things that maybe we brush off and don't fully take the time to appreciate.
Sometimes it's the simple and little things that have the ability to change our perspective and make us realize just how blessed each of us are.

Just a random thought for your Tuesday.
Open your eyes to the little things all around you and see how your perspective changes.
Don't take things for granted.

Hobo story

I've been meaning to write this post for a while and tell the famous hobo story. I'm pretty sure it is my Mom's favorite story that I have ever told her and no matter how slightly embarrassing it is, it never fails to make any of us laugh.

*The scene is a normal day at work hanging out at the shop when a lady with a bruised black and blue arm comes in. She talks to Max for a while and then leaves.*

Me: What happened to her arm?
Max: She was bit by a hobo...poor lady.
Me: A hobo??
Max: Oh yeah. They are all over Rexburg. One time I was camping and I woke up and there was one on my chest. I just shooed it away.
Me: ....really?
Max: Yeah they live in a lot of basements around here.
Me: That's...weird.
Max: They can't really climb up walls so you are safe.
Me: ....climb walls?
Max: Yeah but they are one of the most poisonous spiders.
Me: Wait...a spider?! I thought you meant a homeless person!

Late night thoughts

It's crazy how easily and often something can remind you of something else. The associations and connections we make are amazing. Places. Songs. Movies. Quotes. Clothes. Food. Anything and everything.  For me it can be triggered by the smallest things.
I went to Utah this past weekend and I had so many different memories with someone and feelings for each room. It's crazy to think about the different circumstance I was in then compared to where I am now. What was so important at the time then seems insignificant now. Someone I cared about so much then I don't even speak to now.
Life is always changing and yet we're surrounded by these associations and memories that constantly remind us of the past and the memories we had.
The brain is a funny thing. Reminds you of a memory or a person. Plays with your emotions. Do the other people in your memories have the same memories and associations as you? How do you change that association and make that song or place or anything remind you of something new?
You can't help but be reminded and have the memory and emotions that come along with it.
It somehow feels almost out of your control.


Just something I've been thinking about. So there's your deep thoughts for Tuesday.
Goodnight y'all!

I'm still alive!

Hello again to everyone! It's been a while, which means, I've actually been out doing things with my life!

Well...kinda. I'm back at school. Which is good and bad. My schedule isn't too bad actually so school is pretty bearable. I've made a few new friends that are great! They really are. I'm so lucky to have met them. 

My roommates are all wonderful and having my own room is kinda fantastic! 

This week has been great! I got a scholarship for school next year and today I won an electric sander from work! I know it's weird to be excited about that...but I never win anything! And it's actually worth quite a bit of money! So I'd say this week is off to a great start :)

I get to go to Utah this weekend to see Jarom and Maddie get married. I can't believe it's already June. I'm so excited for them. They are just too adorable and they make such a beautiful couple. Who wants to bet that I'll cry at the wedding? Surprise. Surprise. Jovanne is coming with me and we are leaving Friday and making a whole weekend of it! I'm so excited! Salt Lake City here we come!

Other than being as red as a lobster from floating the river on Saturday, I'd say life is being pretty good to me. I get to see my family in 43 days (counting today AND the day I leave) and I am just oh so excited about it. I'm at the spot in my life where things are just good. Sure, I have no idea what the heck I'm doing with my life, I'm sunburnt and sore and terrified of skin cancer, I'm exhausted from lack of sleep and every day is a battle with myself about whether or not to skip class but life is just good. I have such great people surrounding me and I'm just happy! Almost every day when I'm walking home from class, I have my headphones in, a good song on and I'm just smiling and being happy. It's a great feeling. (and the weather is finally warm here. I've been enjoying that....although, a little too much since I'm burnt now)

I know I haven't updated at all in the last two months. But, lesbihonest (Pitch Perfect moment! If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch the movie. It's hilarious) not a whole lot happened. So there's your update for now and I'll try to be better about blogging in the future. 

And now I'll leave you with a photo of my first time going to a drive-in movie! We went to see Epic and the new Star Trek! It was so fun! I loved it! I guess you could say it was pretty "epic" *badum tish* (also-I found the coolest website! http://www.badum-tish.com/ so yeah, check that out and then read this last paragraph again) okay bye now.

Thursday thoughts

It's funny how time flies. The older I get the faster it seems to go. As a kid I always wanted to grow up and now I just wish I could go back to being a kid with no worries. I wish I could go back to being carefree and running around the neighborhood with my friends being hooligans together. But we can't go back, all we can do is live in the moment we have now and enjoy it.  Come what may and love it. 
Sometimes it's tough and everything we had planned falls apart leaving us scared and unsure of what we are doing, yet life keeps moving forward and propels us into new opportunities both good and bad. Life can be such a scary thing. Scares me more than I try to show. I guess how we handle that fear is what helps make us who we are. Maybe Taylor Swift said it best, "Fearless is not the absence of fear. It's not being completely unafraid. Fearless is having fears. Fearless is having doubts. Lots of them. To me, Fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you to death.”
I guess I'll still always miss being a kid when time seemed to pass by slowly and I felt fearless.

P.S. I cut my hair! Well, I didn't...Court's Mom did. But I cut off quite a few inches. 

It's nice and healthy now :)

And now I'll leave you with one of my new favorite quotes!

A little birthday post for my Mom

It's my wonderful Mom's birthday today! That's right ladies and gentleman, today is her day! Birthdays are usually a big deal to me, so if I was there I would try to make it special. I kinda hate not being there but oh well. We talked off and on all morning (she was so popular and kept getting other phone calls throughout our conversation) and then the siblings and I all 3 way (but with 5 people so I guess a 5 way?) called her! It worked out much better than any of us expected and it was surprising that we even were able to get in touch with all the siblings considering it was mid-afternoon and they all have lives. But it worked out and we sang happy birthday to her and it was great!
My Mom is the greatest. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her and how much I miss her. I also think every day how grateful I am that she was there to raise me and if I may say so, she did a pretty great job. Really though, she did such a great job of raising me right that sometimes I look at other people and I just feel bad for them that they didn't have my Mom around to help them learn how to act and think.
She has just the perfect amount of humor and seriousness. While knowing how to be clean, organized and ready for anything but still knowing how to have fun, when to be lazy and the knowledge that life doesn't always go as we plan. She is the perfect example to me.
So thank you Mom for everything! And Happy Birthday :)

April Fools!

As I've stated in earlier posts, I love holidays. This one is on the lower part of that list...but I do still like it. I've had some pretty hilarious memories with it that, while embarrassing, I still wouldn't trade for anything.
I grew up with 2 brothers in the home while I was still pretty young, so they got me plenty of times. The best one that we all still remember was when Kevin tricked me.
We always woke up early to read scriptures together as a family. So it's around 6 AM on April Fools. I'm not prepared for the day at all. I open my door to see a note that says something along the lines of "sorry I've  been teasing you lately," or something like that from Kevin with money attached to it. (in my head I remember it being a 20 dollar bill. In actuality it was probably more like a 1 dollar bill, maybe 5, but I was young so it seemed like a lot) Anyways, I reached down to get the money and letter (all happy and smiling in my half awake state) and the money pulls away from me right as I reach for it. I'm confused and I try again, and again...and shamefully...again. Until I notice my brother laughing in the bathroom across the hall pulling on the string attached to the money.
Embarrassing but hilarious.
And here we are now at the Festival of Colors we went to this weekend. But there will be a post on that later!

So Happy April Fools to everyone! I hope your day is fantastic! :)

One of those college experiences

I feel like college is one of those times where you do stupid things just because it's fun and just because you can. We've all done those things that people ask why and we don't really have an answer other than because we felt like it. Because we were caught up in the moment and made a decision without thinking, just living.

Last night was one of those experiences for me. It was a spur of the moment decision which are the ones that usually turn out to be the most exciting. 

It wasn't anything huge....it was buying a baby duck! 

                                               

Her name is Poppy and she is adorable! She swims around the bathtub and is just the cutest little thing :)

This is one of those times I just know I'll look back on and smile. 

13 things you probably didn't know about me

I've been meaning to do one of these posts to point out how many of you don't know as much as you think you do about me. hah just joking. If you do know these things then congrats! and stop stalking me :)

1. I only ever pop (crack?...whatever you call it) 2 of my fingers. My thumbs and my middle fingers.
2. I cry. All the time. For those of you who have seen the Kristen Bell sloth video...when she says if she's not between a 3 or a 7 on her emotion scale then she is crying, I freaked out! Because that is me. If it's too sad or too happy, I'm crying. It's who I am. I have feelings. Embrace it. (for those of you who haven't seen the sloth video.... click here. It's hilarious)
3. My life is a dance party. I dance everywhere. Cars. Grocery stores. The shower. Shopping. School. Work. By myself in my room. Everywhere. Also, I'm not really a good dancer...
4. I almost always sneeze in twos and I sneeze like a mouse (or as my friend says "that sounded like a mouse fart.")
5. Around 6 years ago I started sleeping with earplugs in and ever since then I haven't been able to sleep without them.
6. I like soda when it is a little flat. Not completely, but about halfway.
7. The Bellagio fountains in Vegas are the most beautiful thing in the world to me. I'm just amazed every time I watch them. I don't care if it's the same song within 15 minutes of each other, I could still watch it for days and never get tired of it. It's somehow relaxing and exciting. It's beautiful and magical.
8. I have a bucket list for the year and a bucket list for my life. I feel incredibly happy when I get to cross something off of it.
9. I like cold Mac & Cheese leftovers. But I also like it warm. So I usually end up eating half of the bowl cold and then warm up the rest before I eat it all cold.
10. I'm a firm believer in the idea that everything happens for a reason. A lot of people laugh at me for it. But I stand by it and it comforts me.
11. I love holidays. All of them. I always make a big deal out of them.
12. As much as I love food, I'm an incredibly picky eater. Especially with green things and vegetables. I absolutely love sweet potato fries though. Those are so delicious.
13. I have a birthmark on my middle finger on my right hand. It's red and takes up about half my finger.I love it. When I was younger I asked my Mom what it was and she said it was because I got kissed by an angel. I loved that. I was so afraid I would wake up one day to find it gone. If it's rubbed it fades and comes back but I still get scared it will just fade away.

Birthday Party!

For those of you who didn't know, my birthday was a few weeks ago! I had a fantastic party including, a blacklight, a strobe light, glowsticks, streamers, loud music, dancing, lots of treats and a pretty darn fun photobooth. 

Really, the photobooth was the best part. Shout out to the lovely Laura for using her magic Cricut (not to be mistaken with a cricket...like Jiminy. As cool as that would be, and magical for sure, she does not have one of those) paper cutter to cut out the props for the photobooth. And from there, it was perfect, because who wouldn't want to hold up funny props and make funny faces with your friends to capture how hilarious you really are? 

After the party (and definitely after looking at the pictures you will see below) I was just amazed at how blessed I am with the people around me. A lot of people came to my party and it meant the world to me. They are all such wonderful people and friends. It's not always the easiest to find people who are good friends, hilarious, crazy and will act weird with me, but are also sweet, down to earth and so caring. I've been very blessed to have all these qualities in the friends that came to my party and supported me and most importantly-laughed, acted goofy and danced with me! (It's also really hard to find girls that are not petty or competitive. So a huge shout out to the girls here and the ones that partied with me because y'all passed that stupid girl test! And I love you for it!) 

So my birthday was fantastic! It was so much fun, with really great friends. The next morning we woke up and went to VEGAS! So a blog about that will be coming soon (and it's a good one! so keep an eye out!)

 And now enjoy these pictures of how hilarious the wonderful people in my life are :)

Stylin with my friend

My beautiful friend Courtney and I had a little photoshoot today! 

So here's another outfit post for y'all!

Shirt: Vanity, Pants: DI, Boots: Payless, Earrings: Forever 21

P.S. I just bought this shirt yesterday and I'm absolutely in love with it!

Jacket: Rue 21, Shirt: Rue 21, Pants: JC Penny, Earrings: Splurges

Happy Friday :)

Brotherly love

Warning: this post may be a little sappy (or as my brother would say...tender)

And since my brother doesn't read this I could tell all his little secrets and embarrassing moments. But that is not quite why I typing this. In fact, it's quite the opposite. 

I love my family a lot as I've stated a billion times in previous posts. So this might just seem like another random family post. But since I've been in the same city as my brother for the last month I've been overwhelmed with gratitude for Kevin. He's always been someone I look up to. He's one of the good ones. 

He's started a couple businesses in the last little while and it amazes me to watch how he does it. I love being a part of the business because I love watching the way he organizes and does what he needs to for the business. I'm constantly in awe of what and how he does it. He amazes me with his business knowledge and his creativity. If you want to read more about his latest business you can go here or here.

He is also the kind of person that is really good at reading people. With that and the fact that he knows me so well, he almost always knows what I'm thinking/feeling. And when I'm sad, he knows how to make me feel better. He has always been there for me. Whether it's in person or through a phone call or text, he's there for me and knows how to make me feel better. He always knows how to make me laugh. He's one of the funniest people I know and crazy...well not crazy, maybe fun is a better word? If you know him, you know what I mean. 

When I first got here I was worried I wouldn't be able to see him much because he's busy with his own life and friends. But he proved me wrong and invites me to hang out with him. Whether it's making pie, watching tv, working, having a dance party, Sunday karaoke or anything else...it's always a good time. (hahah get it?? It's always a good time...it's a song, for those who didn't get it.)  He'll never really understand how much that means to me. But I love it. I love the time I get to spend with him and what I learn from him. He's an amazing brother and friend. 

We are always told that we either look a lot alike or that it seems like we are dating since we are so close and it's become a big joke between us. I have noticed how alike we are lately and there's no one else I'd rather be like :)

Oh and Kevin, if you do read this. I love you! And I know...it's tender. 

Things that make me smile

-lazy days
-crossing things off my bucket list
-an unexpected sweet text
-my friends and family
-sunflowers
-dance parties (with people, alone, really just any dance party)
-food
-chocolate (it really deserves it's own mention)
-new clothes
-hugs
-my birthday! (10 days!)
-pictures
-people who love me for my dorkiness
-cuddling
-handwritten letters

Valentines Day, awkward stories and other random tidbits

Hello all! I've been a little busy...okay that's a lie, unless you call watching Alias being busy. Okay so I also helped my brother with his business, celebrated Valentine's day with some wonderful people, went to Salt Lake and then watched Alias.
Let's start with Valentine's Day which was seriously one of my favorite ones yet. I helped my brother with his business and then was able to hang out with the lovely Laura and Jeff. They took me out to lunch, I helped Laura get her surprise ready for Jeff and then they even went to the basketball game with me where we almost lost our voices and it was awesome. It was a much better day than I was expecting considering everyone I know here had plans with their significant others. But they were so sweet to hang out with me and they never fail to make me laugh. Really. They are hilarious. And the most selfless people I know. They were even nice enough to offer to let me stay at their place since one of the people I stay with had bronchitis. So another big thank you shout out to them. (if reading this...hi guys!)
Then...there's the awkward stories. I had to survey some people on campus yesterday. There were plenty of uncomfortable experiences but there were 2 that really stood out. The first-I went up to an Asian girl to ask her the questions. I did my usual question and looked to see her just staring back at me. "No?" I asked and she continued to just stare at me with a blank face... apparently she didn't speak English. (the whole time I was thinking of the part in Pitch Perfect when Anna Kendrick says "just let me know where you are with English.") The second- I almost asked a blind guy if he had seen anyone wearing the tshirts. I almost asked a blind person if he had seen. Oh geez...
In the same day I also got recruited to work for a con business? They told me they sold bonds for cancer but really just used the money for school. I thought he was asking me out...but then it was actually a recruiting dinner? I still don't really understand what happened. I just won't be answering phone calls from any random numbers.

Other than that, life has been normal.
Oh I'm also learning this song on the guitar. It's currently one of my favorite songs. But my fingers are killing me.
And now I'll leave you with one of my favorite photos from Valentine's Day.

Happy Friday y'all!

Outfit of the day

Due to some requests from some lovely people, I've decided to start posting some of my daily outfits.
Although...not all the time otherwise you guys will see a lot of pajamas, sweats and baggy t-shirts.

 Jacket: a gift, Sweater Rue 21, Leggings:Rugged Wearhouse, Boots: Shoe Carnival

On a different note. I saw someone unexpected from my past today. Someone I didn't necessarily want to see. I cried and sought comfort from my brother. He told me something I thought I should share. He told me that it was in the past and to leave it there. Easier said than done, I know. But he said it's my choice. And he's right. I can't really control my emotions towards the situation but I can control what I do and think about it and in the end, that will help.

So there's your deep thought for Wednesday!

Mardi Gras

So this happened. I held a snake! It was weird. Almost felt fake. 

It was definitely real though considering it's head kept looking at us and flicking it's tongue out. 

That's right ladies and gentleman, this weekend was *drumroll*

MARDI GRAS! 

The night started out by holding this snake and a touching a huge yellow boa. Then it was full of playing cards and gambling (and by that I mean watching Kevin and Jarom play. We were the girls that stood behind their chairs supporting them.) Jarom actually won a lot of chips but sadly, neither him nor Kevin won anything from the raffle. 

Sarah and I left them to their gambling and hit up the tattoo parlor (aka the airbrush tattoo booth) where I was going to get the Batman symbol and she would get Superman. But...our wrists were too small. Imagine that. So I got a shamrock and she got a dollar sign. Hard core huh? 

Then...the long awaited dance. It was wonderful! 

Balloons and confetti fell from the ceiling. I mean really...can you ask for anything better??

Oh wait. You can. You can ask to take a picture with a 7 foot man that is standing behind you while you dance. He may or may not be on the basketball team. We are unsure...but he's so tall. 

Downside to the dance was this sweaty, little man that seemed to appear no matter where we went. A little creepy. 

But other than Mr. Creepy. It was so, so fun!

Happy Mardi Gras!