one day...

one day. i will own a piano like this...



and it will sit in my great room. and i will play it, as often as possible. and i will let it play itself. and fill my home with wonderful music.

but until that one day comes...

i will continue to use the piano my mom and dad have. that has a leg that is broken. and that is terribly out of tune at the moment. and that has a slight "chink" when you play one of the high keys. and that has a soft petal that is broken. until that one day comes, i will have to be okay with an upright that is beautiful. it is specially beautiful.

a forever sister

I am one lucky girl. I have a sister who I can't stay mad at. Like, seriously. I came into the world first, and I always joke that it was the best 35 minutes of my life. But I really don't think that any more. We've always been so close. The perfect epitome of two peas in a pod, perfect opposites, and of course, partners in crime. I love her dearly.

People always ask, who is your best friend? And the answer is her. She listens to me, she teases me, she understands my interesting moods and is always willing to talk. She is one of the few people who I can take an insulting comment from her, and then two seconds later be able to talk to her like it never happened. Love her!

One day, we were on our way home from school. I was angry at her for not answering her phone (not a huge shocker, she NEVER answers...) and within the eight minute car ride home, I had forgiven her and was laughing at something she had said, without any thought to the anger.

Sure, there are some days that I wish to strangle her. But I won't. Because I can't stay mad at her. There are some days that I need a good tease, or don't wish to tell the world something. But, she always seems to know what I am thinking about (none of that twin telepathy stuff, it's just coincidence and some pretty rocking brains at work), even if I haven't laid a single hint about it. I love her.

I can't wait to room together next year at school. People always say they couldn't live with their sister in a dorm room. I have seriously been doing it my entire life. I probably could count the number of months that I have NOT shared a  room/bed/sleeping area with Rachel on two hands. In almost 18 years. I am seriously not worried about it. We are just that awesome with one another. That we don't fight for extended periods of time. That we don't get on each other's nerves about certain habits (although it kind of bugs me when I can't find my clothes because she hasn't put away her laundry.). That we can complete each other's stories and comments.

We are just that awesome. Love you Rach!

love saying

"I love you more than I did yesterday, but less than I will love you tomorrow."

Twice in the past three days I have heard this saying, and I couldn't not share it. It's so adorable. Love should grow as you pass the days by. Love is hard work. It's not a passive thing. {This} is a really cute video about love and that sort of stuff. It's by a comedian, but the point gets across. Favorite saying the entire video... "If love has anything to do with what YOU can get out it, you are doing it wrong." And is that not correct? Love is something that you should show to other people without the expectation of getting something out of it for yourself. 

A little rant from a hopeless romantic.

a welcome back for me

I got caught up in the Facebook fling. And, I kind of need to break the habit. So, here's to New Year's Resolution #2 for me: get off of Facebook. 

This kind of started with my Governor's School award that I got. The "Like" Award. Because everyone's news feeds were filling with all my page/status/photo likes. So I cut down the pages I follow, and I am now trying to restrain the liking that goes on. 

Second nail in the coffin: when my uncle said that he unfollowed my News Feed updates because there were too many. That kind of hurt.

(For those of you who are wondering, Resolution #1 is to have a "I am willing to try" attitude.

soo i got my license

i got my license! the state of tennessee found me a good enough driver to be allowed on the road! i am soo excited that i can drive over to a friends house to give them a pint of ice cream after they had their wisdom teeth out and pick up a friend to go to a church activity. its soo awesome.

reminiscent day on the job

so yesterday i went to work at a neighborhood in the community. and i love that job; its so much fun! i get to interact with the kids that i lifeguard and its a lot more personable than my other job (that i don't love so much). but i was looking at the schedule that is in the office and it looked like it was going to be my last day working ever that summer. (but i got that fixed and i am working another shift later on in the month). and i thought to myself: what have i learned from this job and what memories will i take from it? and this is kind of the list that came to my head.

1. britt. one of the lifeguards that i probably spent the most time with working-wise. me and him it seems always worked together (either him or greg). and we had a lot of really fun and interesting conversations and experiences while we were working together. one of them being a really bad storm that quite literally ran right through our clean deck. we had completely closed for the night (in fact i got off the stand five minutes early because i could see the clouds rolling in) and britt had just finished washing the deck. all we had to do was close the shack and lock the front gate and we could leave. then the storm ripped through while we were locking up the shack. britt shut the door at the right time and saved us from the winds and rain that came raging through. the storms knocked down a tree, pushed our lost and found bucket into the pool as well as a few chairs and almost two 2-3 ton benches. later we found out that a deck of cards was put into the lost and found and had made it into the pool. all 52 cards split into 2 and greg got to peel the mushy parts out of the drains and off the bottom of the pool. thankfully the power surge that happened right before the storm clicked the pump off or we could have been in serious trouble. another time was when it had rained the night before and it was a little cloudy and not pleasant out still. me and britt were working together again, so we got into the pool and we had a good 30 minute conversation about what he was going to be studying that year in college and world war II and families, etc. we pretty much talked about a bunch of random things that all interconnected through one little tangent. all in all we had a lot of awesome conversations that i will forever remember. he just has a way of making the conversation hilarious even if we are talking about something as boring as like the weather haha britt always jokes around with me too. he jokes that after the evening shifts on fridays and saturdays that i go and take out my fake and go partying and live that party life of the scandalist teenager. haha its always a ball when hes around because he knows how to joke with you without making it inappropriate or going too far.

2. greg. he was the other guy i worked with like all the time (seriously i think i worked with someone else like 3 times). greg is this super carefree guy who loves to have a good time and a laugh. he probably weighs like 375 and is like 6 3 maybe. but i tell you, that is the burliest yet cuddliest dude you will ever encounter. he is scary when he wants you to listen but the next sentence will be full of laughs and jokes. he and his brothers are like a machine for inside jokes and funny punch lines from movies you have never even heard of. i had this kid come up to me one time and ask me "why does greg always say 'hey buddy' before he yells at me?" haha i just kind of stared at him and said, "i dont know, that is just gregs way of getting your attention if he doesn't know your name." the kid just looked at me and said, "but its sooo annoying! i hate those words now!" haha i just had to laugh at him and tell him to go ask greg if he was so concerned about it, but it made me realize that greg doesn't like to yell at people, he is more of the kid of person to laugh and have a good time even when he is having a bad day or when you are breaking a rule. he makes it fun and he was definitely the life of the party.

3. mrs. b is possibly the nicest manager anyone could ever have. she is like the best definition of a southern belle sometimes. she has few habits that i don't enjoy but she is one of those people that you just dont know unless you have seen it for yourselves. she is always so full of "hey sweetie"s and "how are you pumpkin"s that you never leave a conversation with her feeling like put down.

4. molly is a lot of fun. she is always so ready to laugh and have a fun time. she is super competitive so watch out! she had a really busy schedule with swim team so she couldnt always work, but she was so enthusiastic about it that you never would have known.

5. the kids! o my goodness!! one of my favorite parts was coming to the pool to work and having all of the kids come up to you and say "hi janelle! you havent worked in a while, are you working today?" they want you to get involved in the games that they play and they are really good about listening (most of the time) and doing what they have been asked to do. they are so sweet and just flock to you when you arent on the stand. i know a lot of the kids by name or can at least place them in families. one of the little kids, ethan, is my favorite though. he is a high functioning autistic boy but he sure loves to play in the pool. there isnt much you can do about telling him that he is breaking a rule because he doesnt listen to you. you kind of have to go up to him and talk to him face to face in a calm voice, or he doesn't understand what you are saying. but he sure in a cute kid. his sister, brother, mom and dad are such angels because they kind of hang over him just to make sure that he follows the rules and doesnt harm himself or other kids. he has gotten so much better over the summer its amazing. i guess its just from hanging out around the pool for the better part of the summer. and its really weird though, you watch the little kids grow up before your eyes. its reminiscent really.

but i love all of my coworkers and the staff party that we had a couple of weeks ago was soo much fun. we played volleyball with us and our siblings and then we played sharks and minos, then star (both games we are allowed to play while we are on duty :( ). i found out that during the volleyball game, that a lot of my coworkers are very competitive and have a lot of fun egging each other on.

i love my work and the people that i work with. its saddening to think that me and one other girl are the only ones that are in high school still, so most of the staff are all going away to college with a matter of a month or so. :(

a new member to the club

so yesterday joined a new club: the no wisdom teeth club. and it is the worst experience to date. as everyone who has gone through surgery knows, they ask that you not eat anything 8 hours before your surgery so they dont accidentally hit anything and cause other unwanted problems (gag reflex, spit glands, etc.)  so i didnt eat anything... but i wasnt about to miss band camp because i was getting my wisdom teeth out. so i woke up like super early (5:45 AM!) to have breakfast by my lonesome, and then went back to bed until i could get up again to go to band camp. (UGH......) then i trailed my sorry little dehydrated butt through 3 hours of basic marching before i was allowed to go home and lay on the couch for two hours until i could leave for my appointment. let me just interrupt and say that that is super hard to do: sit outside for 3 hours with no water and little eat that morning in 98 degree weather, with a 105 heat index i think it hit. not exactly ideal situations.

but then i was sitting in the chair waiting for the doctor, and the nurse gives you the low down, (no eating for an hour, take your meds, soft stuff, etc.) and then she took my blood pressure and gave me the laughing gas. so well i guess i should say that i had heard one too many stories about laughing gas, and so i was extremely nervous to be on it for the first time in my life. not exactly top ten things to do before i die, kind of nervous. so i just sat there in the chair trying to relax, and it made me sick! like the room would start to spin (and i DONT do roller coasters) and so i would jolt back up, and the stinkin' blood pressure thingy would start beeping and it was just irritating (oh, we also found out that laughing gas makes me cranky and highly irritable. :) ). so then the doctor walks in and gives me the iv, and gives the the novocaine or whatever it is to numb you and then to knock you out. one of those itches like crazy in the worst spot imaginable.... i will just let you imagine that one...... and then i dont remember anything.

i woke up like 45-60 minutes later three teeth-less and got to ride in my first wheelchair to the car. mom took me through the drive through at walgreens to get the meds to the pharmacy, and then i got to spend the rest of my friday and saturday on the couch... my friend brought me moose track ice cream (THANK YOU SOO MUCH! SOOO AMAZING!) and i couldnt speak because my lips and tongue were still numb and when i did try to eat something, it was difficult because i couldnt feel those muscles, so my dad had to help show me where the stinkin drool was lol ya great times. i got sick friday night but my mom thinks it was the steriod that the doctor gave me for pain (you can split it in half if it makes you sick, and i guess it makes me sick to have a whole one! :)) but i was able to eat a pancake saturday so that is promising. and no swelling yet! yipeeee!!

i walked into band this morning, and everyone had forgotten that i had gotten my teeth out, because honestly i didnt look that bad. hallelujah!


and guys, the iv was the first shot i had had in 11 years.... yaaa you do the math on that one and tell me what i need to get......

passing the third grade

can you place all 48 contiguous states in the right spot? take this test and we will just see! lol i used to be able to do this test with a lot of time left, you i havent done it in a while.

tell me how well you did in a comment. haha i got 43/48

trek

so a couple of weeks ago I guess now, I went on trek. and I LOVED it. I had a great family with an AMAZING ma and pa. they were really good about helping each other get to know each other better. during the first two miles before lunch, we used the first letter of our names to describe ourselves. turns out we had like 5 people with names that started with a’s. I don’t have pictures (SORRY!) but lets see:

#1- awesome adam

#2- amazing alex

#3- ME!

#4- athletic allie

#5- mysterious mariah

#6- ragin’ ross

#7- rockin’ rand

#8- kind kayla

#9- excellent erick

lol and then my magnificent ma and patient pa. lol they are just sooo amazing. I love them so much and we only were together for like three days.  but we had a lot of fun. allie got a massive headache (like crippling bad), so she sat in the cart and friday two of our brothers used a two-man carry to carry her back to base camp (about a 1/4 mile) so that her uncle could take her to the hospital (like an hour away). but we had an awesome time. allie got some medicine and was able to have an awesome time the rest of trek. we played some rather authentic games for the times and we all wore our pioneer clothing without any major complaints.

testimony meeting was amazing. the Spirit was so strong there. and one of our friends that isn’t a member that came along with us, bore her testimony and it was just absolutely beautiful. one of my brothers who I didn’t expect to be emotional at all, totally broke down during his testimony and it was incredibly beautiful.

we had a solo experience and my parents wrote me amazing letters. before I had even opened up the envelope I was crying because all the memories of the last time my parents had done that, came rushing back. it was so amazing. I have a greater appreciation for everything that the pioneers went through just to follow what the Lord had told the prophets to do. it was amazing. they were such a faith-filled people and to live among them would have been amazing. a couple of the families had a true simulation of what the pioneers had bc a ma was pregnant, they had a bruised ankle, and one of their boys got sick the first night so he ended up going home (so we joked that he “died”). but it was a lot of fun. nobody really complained about the amazing amount of bugs (ewww we used soo much bug spray) or like smelling like a cow. not at least until we were in the car on our way home.

overall it was amazing!! lol if you want to see pictures go {here} or the trek’s photobucket page.

preparing for trek

so I was trying to get ready for trek when I realized I really didn’t want to take the case to my scriptures to trek and ruin it. and then I remember that in the movie Legacy, Eliza wrapped her scriptures in a piece of quilted cloth. so I just used a bandana. 


this is what it looks like.



these are rachels scriptures. tilt the scriptures so that its diagonally

and these are mine. i dont like the case.

tuck the first corner up over the front.



then take the top over the middle


















take the left over the middle



take the last remaining corner over the middle.
it should all stay without help.



take the ribbon over the top



do the blanket switch in the back.
then knot it over like you want to.
doesnt matter



this is what the back looks like



if you want to take it in your case, just fold the handles over

haha wow that looks like it would take forever. but it really doesnt