Christmas Lights

So I dont know if you know these guys, but this is coldplay. Love them. Normally I have a grudge against original Christmas songs just because...we have the classics and everyone knows they're the best...right? Well... so I thought. But I love Coldplay's new christmas song "Christmas Lights." It's kind of a sad song for christmas time, but I love it.

Christmas night, another fight
Tears, we cried a flood
Got all kinds of poison in
Of poison in my blood

I took my feet to Oxford Street
Trying to right a wrong
Just walk away, those windows say
But I can't believe she's gone

When you're still waiting for the snow to fall
Doesn't really feel like Christmas at all

Up above, candles on air flicker
Oh, they flicker and they float
And I'm up here holdin' on
To all those chandeliers of hope

Like some drunken Elvis singin'
I go singin' out of tune
Sayin' how I always loved you, darlin'
And I always will

Oh, when you're still waiting for the snow to fall
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/c/coldplay-lyrics/christmas-lights-lyrics.html]
It doesn't really feel like Christmas at all
Still waiting for the snow to fall
It doesn't really feel like Christmas at all

Those Christmas lights light up the street
Down where the sea and city meet
May all your troubles soon be gone
Oh, Christmas lights, keep shinin' on

Those Christmas lights light up the street
Maybe they'll bring her back to me
And then all my troubles will be gone
Oh, Christmas lights, keep shinin' on

Oh, Christmas lights, light up the street
Light up the fireworks in me
May all your troubles soon be gone

Those Christmas lights keep shinin' on So Pretty. Check it out.

Mmm Poly Sci

So I don't know how many of you knew this, but I'm kind of a nerd. Not the kind of nerd that has to look good by getting the absolute best grades of anyone in the class, but the kind of nerd who works REALLY hard on assignments. I usually take the whole amount of time allotted to me. Sometimes that means I get a little frustrated trying to come up with better and better improvements for the assignment...

Like this...

It's okay though because I keep working and somehow things usually work out.

and when I'm done with all my hard work, I get all cozy with my favorite blanket with sleeves...

and curl up by my favorite place in the house.

Meet The Wyoming Girls

Since most of y'all who read this are family, you've probably heard me talk about Brooke, Katie, and or Lauren. Allow me to virtually introduce them.

Collectively we'll call them "the Wyoming girls" because their street-name is Wyoming. (And ironically, Lauren is from Wyoming!) These girls are my pseudo-roommates. I am with them enough that we could be roommates, and Lauren and I are together so much people could potentially think some funny things about us....

I am really grateful to these girls for letting me tag along with them even though I'm not really a roommate, nor am I even close to any of them in age. But for some reason we just work.

Now you guys can put some faces to names when I'm telling you about my weekend :)

Sleep Help

Hi friends. It's not super late right now, but as I write this post, I've laid in bed for about an hour and a half or so, just trying to fall asleep. I find myself doing this quite often. Sometimes I fall asleep, but I wake up and can't get back to sleep. Then I'm so tired during the day that sometimes I just crash unintentionally and don't wake up until someone wakes me up. Now, I don't want you to think I'm using my blog as a complaining place, or a venting space! This is not meant to be a post causing y'all to feel bad for me, I'm simply wondering if anyone has any tricks to help them fall asleep. I've tried a few, but they don't work. Anyone have any ideas?

Midterms

Midterms are over...

Praise the Lord!

Learning

I've always known that going to college means learning a lot more than just the subjects you're taught in school. One of the most important things to learn is how you specifically and individually learn. Here are some of my discoveries so far...

first of all, I've learned that drinking water (lots of water) helps keep you alive when you're walking across campus all the time

secondly, I've been running a lot more. Exercising is a good break from studying all the time, and it makes me feel like I've had a more productive day. Also, I started getting sick earlier this week, and I'd heard that running can help clear your sinuses when they're gross. I was skeptical, but IT TOTALLY WORKS! I feel so much better today than I did yesterday, and I ran just like I normally do. I started running hills recently, so that's hard, but it's amazing how good I feel!

Now these next couple of pictures are a tribute to Suzan Lake. These are my political science text books. Yes, highlighted and annotated. This method of studying works wonders for me. Weird how different study habits work for different people. What works for you?

So there ya have it. More updates on Infrared, life, and fun to come!

Bad haircuts and their results

So today I will tell you a story involving much hair trauma.

Two days ago, I went to get my hair trimmed and styled a little differently. I had a picture of what I wanted done, so it shouldn't have been too difficult to get a decent cut, right? HA. I told the lady cutting my hair "I want it the same, I just don't want it quite so stacked in the back, I don't want it to bubble out." So what does she do? She cuts a chunk off of the back of my hair. So now, not only does it bubble, but there's a mullet. to make it even more lovely, she left the sides long. So it looked like I had little wings of hair on the side. Really.....terrible.

To fix my problem, I ran to a neighbor's hair salon and said "FIX THIS PLEASE!" She and all her daughters laughed at me and told me to sit in the chair so they could fix it. Fixing it consisted of cutting the rest of it off. So... now I look like this

I've been told it looks "edgy" and "rocking" multiple times.

THE END.

Humble Beginning

So I'm beginning to feel more and more official. Sometimes you'll find me looking like I do in the picture above.

Sometimes I have very important numbers to check...

With my UofU scrubs and my red shoes, you can tell I love my school...

And one reason people say I'll do well in nursing is because I love my patients and take care of them!

Yep-- it's started!

Well...it's officially here. SCHOOL. But you know what's cool?? East High school starts tomorrow, and I'm not attending!!!!! That is a happy, HAPPY fact. P.s. Did you know there's a notebook setting on microsoft word, so you can take notes in class like you're writing it in a notebook?? Sweet eh?

Another cool thing I've discovered this semester is the awesome lining on the back of my backpack that keeps my back from getting insanely sweaty. Awesome little invention.

The backpack it's self is pretty cool too!

Well, there's my little update, just so all of you know, I am DESTROYING these classes. They don't stand a chance against me.... hahahahaha

CNA glories

So, I thought it'd be fun to start school a week early, and take a CNA class from 5p.m. to 10p.m. starting this last Monday. I had no idea what to expect, and just knew as a CAN I'd have to give people showers, clean up their poop, and other fun fun jobs that no one else wants to do. Last night I learned a few key things.....

1. How to insert a Foley Catheter in males and females (which I've had inserted in me before, and it is not fun)
2. How to tie "the knot" for restraints (which are rarely used anymore)
3. Watched two C-sections and a vaginal birth

I knew at one point I'd have to see an old guy's penis, and I kind of worried about it. I just didn't need that picture in my head. However, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. And to my surprise, I found myself thinking "I can handle this..." during the whole catheter-insertion-technique-video. CNA's don't actually insert catheters unless trained and instructed to do so by their facility, but we still learn how.

Now concerning watching the three births. I totally thought I'd be grossed out, but I wasn't. I just kept thinking about how amazing it was that there was a little human growing inside this woman, and now it's here for the world to see and love. Watching the incisions of the c-sections was a lot less painful that I imagined, and the whole process simply fascinated me. I loved it.

I had concerns going into my class thinking that I wouldn't be able to handle the "gross parts" of being a nurse/nurses assistant (which there are plenty of those...) but for some reason those things don't bother me. The things in class that stand out to me are helping those who are unable to help themselves, and that we all do it out of caring for others. It makes me so excited to spend my life as a person caring for others, and trying to empathize with them. We'll see how I feel on my first day of clinicals (I'm sure I'll be a little more grossed out then) but for now, I', so excited to be getting into this field of work!

Organic Apples

A while ago, I tasted an organic apple for my first time. What's so special about an organic apple you ask? First of all, they're a lot easier to wash, because they're not covered in wax. That's a plus. But the biggest reason is that other apples are infused with pesticides when grown conventionally. (And in my opinion, they taste better, which I claimed before I even knew the apple I was eating was organic.)

I know my sister, and probably my other siblings think my organic apple fascination is silly, but for some reason it's something that's stuck with me. Do you have any silly food stigmas? If so, what?

Vocal Adventure

Once upon a time, I had lovely little vocal chords that looked similar to these. A nice grey color, soft, fleshy, and mobile in their vibrating capabilities.

Then, the turned in to something like the picture below. They developed calluses (called vocal nodules or nodes) that made my singing voice sound like... well. Just not good. Last summer, I remember asking my mom if I'd ever recover, and I told myself I never would. It was scary, singing is a passion that will always stay with me, and thinking about the possibility of never singing again scared me to death.

I'm happy to announce, that a year later, after vocal therapy sessions, speech therapy sessions, and weeks of complete vocal rest, my voice is back! Some say it's in better shape than it's ever been! As I've finally overcome my fear of never singing again, I'm starting to become more involved in performing around town, and with school groups.

Yay for healthy vocal chords!

First real update in a while

So I finally made it out of high school. Many of you know, the day I left the leopard cage could never come soon enough in my eyes. So now, I embark on my adventure at the University of Utah. I can't wait til my studying actually works towards something, instead of being something I just "have to do"."

First on my list of things to do before classes start is get one of these babies. I have a laptop right now, but it doesn't function completely properly, it's heavy, and it has hardly any battery life. I dunno about you, but I don't want to be carrying something like that around campus all the time. The problem with Macs is they're SO expensive. I've been saving all summer, and hopefully I'll be able to salvage one. I hear they're worth the dough though.

My next piece of equipment before school starts is a uniform that looks something like this. I hope to complete my CNA before classes start, and in order to do so, we need to look professional in our...professional uniforms.

I'll also need one of these...

...And one of these.

Needless to say, my real adventure is just beginning. I'm SO glad to be done with high school. We'll see though, how glad I am when I'm in the middle of Biorganic chemistry.

DONE

Guess who's outta the leopard cage??

The end is near

Today I found a big, huge, full-paper-sized envelope addressed to me. I wondered what the heck was inside, and when I looked closer, I spotted the words "health insurance" somewhere on the side. What?? I am NOT getting mail about health insurance. Backtrack a few days-- dad hands me an envelope with my name on it. I look for clues on it to see what's inside. Before I can tell what the mystery package is, dad already starts telling me why I should get a credit card (for credit history) but that if I do fill out the application, I have to make my payments on time (ya know.. the normal parent-to-18-year-old credit card talk) Excuse me? Credit cards? Health insurance? Taxes? (I've been dealing with those at work) I'm not even out of high school. I'm too young for this.

Which reminds me... 10 days until I'm officially a high school graduate. The end is NEAR. But then again... I guess the end is really just the beginning

Hiking

You may or may not know that I love hiking. Well if you didn't, now you do. I love it. So much! And I am so excited for summer so I can go enjoy my hiking obsession!

oxxo

More pictures to come...

I love Mexico!

...and Javier

So... all the sudden I need a planner...

This year, with AP classes, religious leadership responsibilities, musical development and leadership responsibilities, and now WORK, I have become somewhat of a planner. I tend to overbook myself, and forget about things that I've committed to in advance. So I decided to start looking for a planner...

...I've been using my East High planner, which works most of the time for week days, but there's not enough space on weekends, or even on week days sometimes.
I found this one on etsy, and am seriously considering buying it. I'm just a little torn because it's already halfway through the year, so I'd only get to use half of it. Thoughts? Anyone know where I could get a cute, cheap planner?

please allow me to introduce...

The newest employee of White House Black Market

Welcome to my room

This is actually my sister Missy's room, but when she decided to get married I though I'd give it a try. Let's admire, shall we?

Full, unorganized closet. The scarfs and bags take up TONS of space.I'm sporting a lovely striped blanket probably from around 1970 on my messy, unkept bed, and I currently use my hope chest and dirty clothes hamper as a means of storage.I love this bed--it's incredibly cozy. Especially when it has flannel sheets and tons of blankets on in the winter. This is probably my favorite! The green and purple walls! While they are artsy and fun, they're a little.. out of date shall we say?

So...What is the point of this post? I'm repainting/revamping my room! I'm hoping to find some cool coat stand things to hang my bags and scarves on to open up some more room in the closet, and I'm excited to start this project and do it myself! I'm sure mom and dad will put in their share of help, but I actually came up with the idea of doing this as an outlet for when I get stressed with school. That way, I can go in and sand, paint, or whatever needs to be done. I have one dream for this room: I want to make it homemade. I have a lot of ideas for some of the things I want to put in to make it fun, but a lot of the things I want are home-makable, and a lot cheaper that way. One item on my list?

This lovely collection, sold at Anthropologie for 600-something dollars, is something I could make. Buy some cool frames, distress them, glue them together. I actually thought of making them into picture frames instead of mirrors. Thoughts? I am very excited to get started and to try to keep costs LOW by making decorations myself, and doing the sanding, painting, and all that fun on my own! Let me know if you have fun ideas!

Grandma and Grandpa would be proud...

of their newest college student grand child...