Congratulations, you've won an award!

BEDA day two! Today's been a good day: the weather was actually really decent, I got to go on a huge shopping spree at Forever 21, I found a prom dress (it's not a long one, though, I'm more of a short dress type of girl), I got Chelsea Handler's book Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, and I've begun spring cleaning my room. Very productive. And expensive. But that's okay, I haven't been shopping in forever. Oh, and speaking of books I just got done reading Water for Elephants upon a recommendation from my friend Morgan. It is so so so good. I absolutely loved it and plan on going to see the movie when it comes out. I highly suggest you read it. Plus I think it's really neat that Sara Gruen wrote it for NaNoWriMo (I think I did that right?).

In other news, Victoria from Victoria's World gave me an award! I love her blog, she's a really good writer and photographer. I just recently started reading her blog and I wish I'd found it a while ago. If you haven't already you should check her out. This is the award:

 

There are four steps that you have to do in order to accept the award. They are:

1. Thank the person who gave them the award and link them back to your post.
2. Tell seven things about yourself.
3. Award to 10 bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and let them know they have received this award.

Here are seven things about me:

1. I get along better with guys. I honestly like them better than girls, girls are too dramatic, catty, take offense to every little thing, etc. Guys are just easy going. The ones I'm friends with are really down to earth and that's such a relief from all the drama of girls. Plus my sense of humor is similar to that of some guys and I think they appreciate that.
2. I'm a huge book nerd. God knows how many books I've read over the years. At all times I have a book to read. It all started back in the 2nd grade when I read Harry Potter for the first time. Harry Potter and Jane Austen books are by far my most favorite.
3. I don't date, well I sort of do. I talk to guys and stuff like that. I'll go out with them places, but I don't let it get too far. I don't know, I think it's because I just don't want to get into all of that. I've got too much drama and things going on in my life to add that into the mix. Of course, the right guy could come along and that's that. I just don't go out of my way to date.
4. I'm too nice. No seriously, I am. Don't get me wrong, I tend to be a bitch sometimes. But for some reason I can't bring myself to be a bitch to people like underclassmen. I really wish I could just do it and make them go away. I've got like 5 underclassmen boys who are basically in love with me because I treat them like people. What freshmen boy wouldn't like a junior girl talking to them and being nice? I really need to stop before this gets out of hand.
5. I find myself fighting depression a lot. Not the overwhelming I really need help depression, it's not that bad. But I have noticed that any little thing can send me into a wave of depression. I often find myself holing up in my room watching TV, reading a book, or listening to music. Sometimes there isn't even a reason, I just wake up and there it is. This big black, ugly thing covering me with it's shadow. That's why I'm grateful for my dad. He's the same way, I think it runs in the family because some of his brothers have it and so did his dad. He understands and if I get too overwhelmed he always helps me to come out of it. Whether it's a blizzard from DQ, a random car trip, or simply a hug.
6. I love getting the crap scared out of me. Haunted houses, scary movies, TV shows about ghosts. Anything, you name it. I don't know what it is. The adrenaline rush? The chills running down your spine? Ever since I was little my dad and I bonded over the supernatural.
7. I have a disease that I'll probably have the rest of my life. Don't freak out, it's nothing bad. I can't remember the full name, but it's hypothyroidism. Basically, my thyroid is naturally slow and doesn't secrete a sufficient amount of hormones to break down fat. I take pills every morning for it. Because of it I've struggled with my weight since the 5th grade. Now that I'm older and work out regularly it's not really a big deal any more.

 I'm aware that I've only listed 6 bloggers, but these are the blogs that I follow religiously. They are all amazing writers and I love their blogs. However, in addition to these lovely people, I'd like to award anyone reading my blog. I believe that anybody who's dedicated themselves and puts effort into a blog deserves an award. :)

• allyson kate 
• Free to Dance 
• Imagine Me Complexly 
• The Anxious Apple Core 
• the lexical gap 
• the wild and wily ways of a brunette bombshell 

And now I'm going to go watch Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Good night all!

Fact: embarassing pictures are my favorite kind.

I think my life is coming in full circle. Last night as I was getting ready to go over to my friend Kristi's house (she's one of my oldest friends, we haven't done anything recently but every time we get together it's like no time's gone by) when two of my old friends (Morgan and Jordin) rang my doorbell. I was absolutely flabbergasted (I love this word). I never expected to see them there. They said they wanted to kidnap me and take me to Krekel's (the best greasy food joint ever). I felt kind of like a jerk, like I was blowing them off, but I really did have plans.

So I met them at Rock Springs (it's like a mini-national park) and we went hiking and basically talked about what happened all those months ago. They said they were sorry for letting things get so bad and that we hadn't been friends for so long. And honestly, I felt kind of bad. I mean, I know I was right in what I did. I didn't like the things they were doing. But I still love them and all. In the end, we made up. They say they don't party much any more (we'll see). But honestly, if they want to party, whatever. I just won't go with them. I have other friends I can do things with. But they are the people that know me the best and I feel so comfortable with them. I can tell them anything and they won't judge me. So I guess we'll see how this goes. Everything's not back to how it used to be (I haven't talked to the other two yet), but I feel like it could get there. I can't lie, I've had the best times of my life with those girls. Just this time last year was when we became super close, weird that it's happening at the same time again.

Anywho, this little thingie was passed onto me by Free to Dance and I highly suggest you check out her blog, it's one of my favorites. The rules are as follows:

1. List three things that you love about yourself.
2. Post a picture that you love.
3. List five bloggers to whom you are passing this along.

So here it goes!

1. My musical ability. I'm not trying to brag, but I'm a relatively talented musician. I've played piano since I was six years old and flute since I was nine years old. To be honest, I don't think it's too hard to become a good musician. It just takes a lot of practice. So what I mean is my musical expression. Whenever I play I'm really expressive and put emotions and colors into the music. (To be somewhat hippie) I would say I try to feel the music and make others feel it to. Just last year I won top award for my piano playing at the local university. And my friend Haley and I were a half point away from getting a perfect score for our flute duet at the Solo and Ensemble contest.
2. My sense of humor. (I know DB used this one but it really is one of my favorite things about myself.) I have a really dry, kind of mean sense of humor. (Some might say bitchy.) But I always manage to lighten up the tension in the most serious situations. People have told me that my one-liners are the best. Usually I say something awkwardly true and it's as easy as that. I know I'm not funny all the time, but I don't like it when things get super serious so I like to try and lighten things up. Plus it sometimes lets me get away with being bitchy (I try not to be but sometimes I can't help it).
3. My honesty. I think I get it from my dad, he's an extremely honest person. I hate lying and whenever I do lie I get this awful feeling in my stomach. I just think it's so gross to be dishonest. I want people to be able to trust me and know that I would never lie to them. I'll admit it's gotten me into some bad situations. Sometimes I'm too blunt and hurt peoples feelings. I feel bad when I do, but like I said I hate to lie. The bad thing is that sometimes I expect people to be just as honest as me. Which usually results in my feelings getting hurt (i.e. the whole situation with my friends back in November). But when I say something I feel good knowing that people can take my word for it.

 This was hard because I have so many favorite pictures. That is not a flattering picture at all. Of any of us. In fact they would probably hate me if they knew I used this picture. The girl standing up in the sunroof is Morgan and the one driving is Kayla. We all look so ridiculous. I think I took this when we ran to the grocery store to get stuff for s'mores for one of the many bonfires we had last summer. (The air freshener says, "Smile if you're not wearing any panties." Typical Kayla.)

the lexical gap, allyson kate, The Anxious Apple Core, Imagine Me Complexly, and Victoria's World are some of my favorite blogs. I strongly suggest you check them out.

That's all for now! Another blog for the 30 Day Picture Challenge should be up tomorrow or the day after.

Show Me the Money!

(I could really use some right now...)

Top 2 Things You've Learned About Money

1. Impulse shopping is not a good idea. I'll admit this is a pretty obvious one. But it's probably one of my worst habits, I just can't help myself! Nothing's more exciting than finding a random little trinket that you can't live without. It's worse when I go shopping with my dad because we're both impulse shoppers. We practically encourage each other. But I can't even describe how cluttered my room is because of this habit. I've got so much useless crap taking space in my room, it's ridiculous. If you didn't plan on buying it, it most likely won't be of any use. Therefore, you've wasted money that could be spent on more practical things. (However, I do acknowledge the fact that impulse shopping can be fun and okay in some instances. Like if you're on a trip and find something that you probably won't at home.)
2. Being frugal isn't a bad thing. Again, a pretty obvious one, but I think it's super important. Both my parents are accountants, so you can imagine the type of household I grew up in. Well, my dad isn't exactly frugal... He loves to spend just as much as I do, which is a lot. But my mom keeps a type grip on the check book. She's probably the most frugal person I know, if not the most frugal in the world. It use to annoy me so much when she wouldn't buy me things that I really wanted or we had to by the cheaper brand. But now that I'm older I understand a lot more. Because she's so frugal she's able to by us nicer things for holidays or birthdays. Also, we've gone on a family vacation every summer for as long as I can remember. Which isn't cheap. But because she's so frugal we've been able to do this, and I'm grateful for that. I've had some of the best times on those trips and I really do believe those experiences have brought us closer as a family. Things like that are really only possible from saving your money. Oh, and bills. Never forget the bills.

Still here!

World champs baby! GO PACK GO!

I feel like a super huge jerk. I promised I'd be all regular on posting and not go a long time without one. Sigh. I'm sorry! But last Monday (my birthday) I left school sick and was out the whole week. There is possibly nothing more that I hate than missing school. I hate make up work. I hate making up tests. And I hate making up lessons. I hate to make up five days. ihatemylifeihatemylifeihatemylife. But as of today I am all caught up. Praise God, Hallelujah! It was just the flu (with a mine bladder infection) but it sucked nonetheless.

The up side? I got to watch my favorite daytime shows! On TNT: Supernatural and Las Vegas. On ABC Family: Boy Meets World, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Full House, Still Standing, and Gilmore Girls. Well now I feel like a huge bum. Oh well, I was sick that makes it all acceptable.

Has anyone seen the commercials for I am Number Four and Beastly? I want to see both so so badly! I don't know if it has so much to do with the actual plot as it does with Alex Pettyfer. I know, I know, he's kind of the typical hot guy. But he's so attractive! And it looks like he might actually be a good actor. Seventeen did a little write up on him. I ate it up, of course. What can I say? There's just parts of me that will always be the typical teenage girl. And I am 100% okay with that.

A couple of months ago I went through this whole ordeal (for want of a better word). It was around homecoming and I was just becoming so stressed. School was turning out to be harder than I thought it was going to be, I was trying to decide if it was really worth it to be friends with the girls I was friends with, all my extra-curriculars were really demanding, and basically all my energy was just spent. (Talk about a run-on. My English teacher would be furious.) In the end school got manageable,  I decided my friends were not worth it and found new ones, and I cut back on my extra stuff. One was yearbook, which I think had more to do with my friends. I signed up with two of them, and I wasn't really that enthused by it anyways. But the other was piano.

You see, I've been taking piano lessons since I was six. I'll do the math for you, that means I've been playing for about eleven years. Piano used to be my life. I took with several different teachers before I found my last one. She's kind of like a local celebrity for piano. I think she might have been on the Tonight Show or something like that. She's amazing. Like, seriously, amazing. She specializes in ragtime and it's just so mind-blowing to hear her play. She started teaching  at the local university in the preparatory department and that's where I took. I actually went through a period in my life where I thought piano could my occupation. I love it.

Well, as a result of the whole ordeal I ended stopping lessons. Which was huge. Major. I'm not trying to brag, but I'm really good. I was Mrs M's star pupil. Last year I won first overall at the preparatory honor's concert. So naturally everyone thought I was absolutely crazy. Which I think is totally wrong. I think I just lost my passion for it. My heart wasn't in it. I felt stressed, panicked, and lost it. I just kept getting this overwhelming feeling that I sucked and I would choke at the next recital. But I've been thinking a lot about it and I believe I need to start my lessons again. If God gave me that talent I need to use it. I just feel so guilty for giving up on something that once was so important to me. And I kind of feel like I let down Mrs M. That's why I keep procrastinating calling her. I dread facing her, I just don't know how I can do it. But I have to. I have to suck it up and just do it.

Okay. Now that I've given myself a mini-pep talk here's one last thing. I stole this meme from DB. I love it! It's a handwriting thing and all you have to do is write down these things on a piece of paper, take a picture, and post.
1. What's your name/your Blogger name?
2. What's your blog's name/URL?
3. Write "the quick fox jumps over the lazy dog"
4. Favorite quote?
5. Your favorite song?
6. Your favorite band/singers?
7. Anything else you want to say?
8. Tag 3-5 other people

Whoops! I cut off my name

 'Tis all! I swear on my dead hamster Hammy's grave to post again soon.