Valentime.

Valentine's Day is great when it's on a weekend, because you can use the whole weekend to celebrate it.

At least, that's what Craig and I did. Which wasn't totally out of the norm for us because we are excited for every weekend. So, this is what we did this valentime.

Friday was my day to be the giver. I took Craig snowboarding and taught him the best I could. We had a blast of course, as craig practiced steering and staying upright, and I worked on my toe side and turning 360 degrees without tripping over the snow. Both of us mastered getting off a lift. Yay! This was a huge thing for me, because I am not a bad snowboarder, but i have always had a really hard time getting off the lift without crashing or completely falling! Anyway, we had tones of fun, and afterwards, we went back to my house for some hot chocolate. Both of us were exhausted, and we just sat around and talked and joked around for a while with my sisters Kristan and Sarah. Being really tired yet really happy and excited means, of course, that we made up some stupid jokes. The best joke was, of course, making up funny lyrics to the Oompa Loompa song.

Saturday was Craig's turn. He took me to the Planetarium (my favorite!) and we saw the Dinosaurs 3D movie. yay! Then we went back to his house for some yummy homemade italian. He also made me some delicious cupcakes! I have to say, I really loved the cupcakes. They were marble swirl flavored. After that, we headed over to the adult session of stake conference. It's funny, because both of our stakes were having conference. But we decided to go to mine together. After Stake conference, we went to my house (after getting some more cupcakes from Craig's house) and watched The Empire Strikes Back. Which probably doesn't sound like a very romantic Valentine's Day activity. However, if you know me and Craig, it makes sense, because Star Wars just rocks. Plus, we were too tired to do anything else.

Today we went up to my Aunt's house with some of my family. We had some delicious Barbacoa Pork, played rock band, our own version of pictionary, and saw the cute new little puppies . It was, as usual, a relaxing and fun visit! And then on the way home, we played "Corrupt a wish", which is seriously such a great game.

Spending time with Craig is the best. We are always laughing. And we have such great conversations. Thanks Craig, for being such a sweet and amazing boyfriend!

My happy place.

Every time I go to the Planetarium, my mood is completely elevated past the stars and into nerd heaven.  Something about going and escaping into something educational and fun completely changes how I feel.  It's amazing!

Lately, I have been feeling pretty down, probably due to winter depression, but tonight I went to the Planetarium to preview the new movie Under the Sea. By the time the movie was over, I was back to appreciating the fact that i am alive. By the time I was out of the gift shop, I was quite cheerful! I remember my psychology teacher said that everyone should find one thing that seems to cheer them up no matter what. Then, when you are feeling down, you can try that one thing. If it doesn't cheer you up, you know it's time to seek help. I am starting to think that the planetarium is the thing that always cheers me up.

This preview was really cool, because only planetarium members were invited, so everyone there was like me; someone that enjoys learning about biology and the earth and animals. It was really neat because before the movie, an expert came and talked about the biodiversity of the coral triangle (the area around Papua New Guinea and the Philippines) and the bacteria found on Sea Squirts in that area. It turns out that some of the Strains of these bacteria produce substances that can be used in pharmaceutical drugs.  These bacteria can produce new chronic pain relievers, and fight against tuberculosis and maybe even cancer!

As for the new Under the Sea movie, I highly recommend it. It might get a little "propaganda-ish" on the subject of global warming, but it's not overwhelming and the are many amazing sights to see and facts to learn in this movie.  Sea life is sooo beautiful.  I would really love to go scuba diving someday.  

In other news, I helped out at the primary activity today. I was the caller for bingo. hehehe. I love Primary. I feel like I can't say it enough.  There were lots of perks too. Such as a soon-to-be-decorated door hanger? Oh yeah. And a free cookie. 

And last but not least, I wore my Kermanian Monster fur leg warmers AND my colorful heart tights today, which gave me an instant dosage of happiness as soon as I put them on.  I love my monster fur leg warmers. I should make more, in bright colors.

Crushes.

Most people that know me know that i have a tendency to crush on fictional characters. I have a hard time hiding it! There's just something about them that's so magical. (ha. obviously.) So I am going to try and make a list, in chronological order, of all the fictional crushes I have had.

-Simba (From Lion King)
-TJ Dettweiler (From the TV show Recess)
-The Guy from the game Math Blaster (That might just be the dorkiest one)
-Link (From the video game Zelda)
-Matt (From the TV show Digimon)
-Izzy (From the TV show Digimon)
-Tai (From the TV show Digimon)
-Davis (From the TV show Digimon)
-This one guy from Cardcaptor Sakura (I think..I can't remember his name)
-Eric (From Boy Meets World)
-Matthias (sp?) (From the book Redwall)
-Haku (From the movie Spirited Away)
-George Weasley (You should know where he is from...)
-Prof. Lupin (haha a teacher crush)
-Frodo Baggins (If you don't know what he's from then I am ashamed..)
-Samwise Gamgee (Same story as Frodo)
-Pippin (Same as Samwise)
-Pazu (From the movie Castle in the Sky)
-Sam the Onion Picker (From Holes)
-Lightning McQueen (from Cars)
-Spiderman
-Wolverine
-Kronk (From the movie Emperor's New Groove)
-Prince Philip (From Sleeping Beauty)
-Baron Humpbert Von Gikkingen (from The Cat Returns)
-Peter Pan
-Buzz Lightyear (Fell in love with him at Disneyland)
-Howl (From Howl's Moving Castle)
-Sonic The Hedghog (From the video game duh)
-Shadow the Hedgehog
-Knuckles the Echidna (he has nice shoulders)
-Jim Halpert (From The Office)
-Seiji Amasawa (from Whisper of the Heart)
-Yamada Taro (From the show Yamada Taro)
-And Yamada's hot best friend of course
-The main guy from Pom Poko (What's his name?)
-Cyborg (From the show Teen Titans)
-Robin (From the show Teen Titans)
-Beast Boy (From the show Teen Titans)
-Bolt (from the movie Bolt) (Not as an animal!)
And most recently:
Luke Skywalker (and if you don't know what movie he is from, then you certainly don't deserve the title of nerd! or life.)
I've been watching the old Star Wars movie lately, and I just realized that luke is a great man! He has nice eyes, a good smile, willingness to learn, humble, caring, great sense of adventure...and he has the Force.

Should I explain myself? Well, let's just say I am attracted to males that have nice voices, eyes, like to take action, and have a heroic, caring demeanor.

frosting

Life is full of yummy goodies. Here's a bunch of the goodies my life has collected lately: (in chronological order)

1.Friday, Jenna and I went to the planetarium to watch Space Station 3D. I love the planetarium so much. Also, we had Panda Express. Yummyyyy!
2. Also on friday, I drove home in very thick fog, through and unfamiliar area. And, I didn't get lost! I feel good about that because it's like...wow, I can hold myself together in a tough situation and figure it out!
3. Saturday, I got to see my old A-team. Oh goodness! I love my homeschool buddies. Here's a shout out to all you that came on saturday!
4. While hanging out with aformentioned buddies, I rock out on rock band, and surprised myself. I felt really cool, and dedicated that one linkin park song to my cousin Bryan. :D
5. Cupcakes! Craig and I made the frosting for the cupcakes on saturday, and craig had this brilliant idea for cherry almond flavored frosting. I made it bright blue, and behold, it was swank.
6. On sunday, I taught the sunbeams for the first time. What sweethearts! They are such good examples of compassion and friendship.
7. Also on sunday, i was able to attend a court of honor, to see the rite of passage of a boy becoming an eagle scout. What a great kid! I was able to see some of my wardie friends, which is refreshing. I think one of the best parts was when the brand new eagle scout started a round of applause for his mother.
8. After the Court of Honor, i went home and watched a Hallmark movie, entitled "Loving Leia." Hallmark movies are so cheesy, but the warm fuzzies I get from them are worth it.
9. Monday, I just felt great after my Zumba class. I also had a delicious lunch of a tomato, lettuce, and onion sandwich. hahahahaha there were free hoagies for the institute students, and they had run out of meat by the time I got there. But, I am so poor that i took what food I could get...it wasn't like there was going to be anything else for me.
10. Monday night, Craig and I played my favorite video game, Sonic Adventure 2. To many gamers, this game may seem a little old (it's for gamecube) but it's still my very favorite! We have been taking turns beating stages to get through the story mode. it's been really fun, but after like 3 hours tonight, we are burnt out.
11. On tuesday, I got a couple rather nice compliments from my friends during lunch. They said that they really like my style! :)
12. I found an old dirty CTR ring lying around at home, so I brought it to jewelry making class and shined it up. It looks great now!
13. Tuesday night, i played around on the piano, and learned 2 Regina Spektor songs. She is seriously amazing! I love playing her music.
14. Today and on tuesday, i made some delicious chow mein with eggs for lunch. Yummy!

A paradox

I just totally realized that my life is contradicting itself right now. Just in the past week, I have had many exciting events happen. Amazing stuff! But at the same time, i feel so lazy and unmotivated. I don't get it.
The wierd thing is that everyone around me seems ultra active and excited for life.
It could just be the fact that it's january, and i just don't do well in january. But, it has been rather sunny lately. I thought the reason I don't do well in january was because of the lack of sunlight. In theory, i should be rather excited and happy.

So, here it my fix-it/make it work appraoch to the whole situation:

I have already identified the problem, now what is going on that could be making it worse?

a. Headaches. Why am i having headaches? Tight headbands? Dehydration? Too much sugar?
b. Procrastinating. I could get most of my homework done before I teach, yet i don't. That's just one of many examples.
c. I haven't paid my tithing for months. This is probably contributing to my recent lack of self confidence and independence
d. Senseless spending.
e. Too many interruptions. In conversation, in homework, in everything! It takes me so long just to get one thing done.

Now I will derive solutions for the problem based on what makes it so bad:
1. Drink more water and go to bed earlier. This will probably relive headaches, and if I start my bedtime routine earlier i won't skimp out on the full routine. Also, if I drink more water, I won't crave everything else as much.
2. Get home, sit and play with dogs for 5 minutes, and them do some math homework. It's the only homework I have this semester, since my other classes are all in-class work so i may as well do it!
3. Keep track of paid lessons, pay tithing monthly, and make a spending priority list I can keep in mind when out and about.
4. Do my chores and homework without touching my phone, and listen to the full sentence/story without interrupting. Now, if anyone would please offer advice to keep people from interrupting me, i would appreciate it, because I swear, I am about to explode from the amount of cut-off sentences i say every day. I might just get mean if i have to. And it's the people that do it to me who always say i never listen, I am selfish, whiny, blah blah blah...well maybe if they listened and got to know me, they wouldn't be saying such things.

There. This will keep me on track for a little while. Hope you didn't mind the little angry outburts at the end of the list there. I am going nuts!
This method of dealing with life was inspired by my best friend Miche, who said if you can just get it out of your head and on paper, or in someone's ear, you can pretty much deal with whatever comes your way. She writes essays when she has to figure things out.

In case you were wondering, here's the exciting stuff that's happened lately:
~I got a new snowboard! yay!
~I am now teaching the sunbeams! Best calling ever.
~I am almost ready to transfer up to USU! And I am getting an amazing scholarship while at it!
~I rediscovered my love for Star Wars!
~I get to keep making amazing jewelry! I hope this is something I can keep pursuing throughout my life.

sincerity

When I was younger, as you probably know, my favorite show was digimon. On this show, each character have a trait that was kindof their own power. My least favorite charcters usually had the power of sincerity. "How is sincerity important?" I always thought. I didn't understand how that was a trait; what sincerity really means.
Well, of course I have learned more about sincerity, and now it's one of the most important pieces in my life. I strive for sincerity all the time. I want to be sincere, and I want others to be sincere towards me.
What is sincerity? Basically, sincerity is meaning what you do or say. It's putting your heart into your words and actions. To me, sincerity is also being enthusiastic about life and the activities therein. It's the real deal.

Sincerity just makes things so much more pleasant. No deceit, no halfhearted attempts, no cynicism or biting sarcasm(not that sarcasm is always wrong, but there is definately a taste line there), just people being honest and open about their thoughts and feelings.

So, in honor lovely virtue, I have made a list of sincere things:

1. Jack Johnson lyrics. "The doctor gave him 2 weeks, I would give him more if I could." "I remember watching that old tree burn down, I took a picture that I don't like to look at." Just a couple examples. I just love his lyrics.
2. Last week, Craig brought me flowers just because. Not roses though, because he remember that a few months ago i said roses are kind of cliche. So, he asked me what my 3 favorite colors are and brought me daises in those colors!
3. When you dance all crazy and you don't even care that people are laughing at you.
4. My friend Zach has always written me these nice notes, and they are always sincere. Little random notes are the best.
5. Specific, well meant compliments. Usually it's easy to tell when compliments are sincere. And those are the best.
6. My dog Briar Rose. She is probably the most sincere thing on earth. She is always happy to cuddle up, or jump on you, or whine with you if you are sad (or just act sad)
7. Kisses that you wait for. When you are willing to deal with someone for months with little physical affection, it makes the relationship so much more sincere. Rushing into the physical side of the relationship, to me gives a more shallow motivation to spend time together. Then, before you know it, you find yourself not accepting their personality, yet you are stuck to this person because you can't give up that physical affection.
8. Shopping at a thrift store when you can afford new things. I think this says a lot about true frugality, true development of style, and true concern for the amount of potential waste that should be there.
9. And last but not least, crying in movies (or when you see other people cry) is a great act of sincerity. Crying with someone really backs up the fact that you feel for them and are concerned for their feelings. I am not saying that you aren't sincere if you don't cry, because many people are, but not many people would go for the discomfort of crying for kicks.

:D I am going to try and do more sincere things. I think that the greatest gift you can give anyone is the knowledge that they can always rely on you for truth, love, and support.

Adventures in Winter Break.

On monday...I start school again. I love school, but I am sad to go back, because I have loved loved loved this winter break. Here, enjoy this list of happy things I have done in the past few weeks:

1. Rediscovered my love for Jack Johnson, especially the Curious George soundtrack.
2. Had a few wrockin band practices. I think we are getting better!
3. Gone cupcake/vintage shopping with Michelle and Bri. I got a hat! One that actually looks good on me!
4. Got 275 pictures printed, and a bunch of them scrapbooked.
5. Cleaned/organized my room.
6. Finished beating all the team stories on Sonic Heroes. (now for the final story!)
7. Had some good times with the puppets at work.
8. Watched Teen Titans and realized what an awesome show it is.
9. Developed a deeper love for 1920's Fashion
10. Went to a ghetto discount store
11. Discussed Dumpster diving with several people that are surprisingly way into it (still haven't done it though)
12. Ate lots of Asian confections.
13. Had a way fun sleepover with Miche.
14. Met Craig's dad's side of the family and had so much fun!
15. Watched many old home videos.
16. Went on several fun dates with Craig.
17. Hung out with Kim!
18. Saw High School Musical 3 and loved it! It made me way hyper of course. And, bought a cardigan and recieved free ice cream. :)

For New Years Eve I went to the institute dance. I haven't gotten dolled up and went dancing for so long, and it was such a blast. Ah it feels so great to dance! It was amazing. I was able to see some old friends too, which made it all the better. For part of the dance they had a magician come, and I was called up on stage. The magician did a magic trick in which he turned a balloon into a bunny, and because I participated, he gave me a bunny puppet! I named it Duck, because I had told him my favorite animal is a duck. I love bunnies, but I thought that it would make a good name because when I told the Magician that I love ducks, he called the bunny a duck onstage. It was just funny.

Christmas was awesome. I got pop-it beads, a camera, some awesome movies, and of course, a few new things to wear. What can i say? I just love wearing things.

And a marvelous time was had by all. :)