That Time I Met Carrie Underwood

You should know I'm writing this from heaven, because I met my idol and then promptly died, but I realized this was something I absolutely had to document, 1) You can still blog in heaven apparently, 2) because I've written about all the other Carrie Underwood concerts I've been to and, 3) I MET CARRIE UNDERWOOD AND IT WAS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE. So yeah, you bet I'm going to write about it.

The story to previously accompany this post is here, about the time when my mom and I drove to Reno to see Carrie Underwood in concert because she had announced no Utah dates on her tour. That post ended with me finding out that Carrie Underwood had in fact announced a second leg of her tour, with Salt Lake City, UT being the last date of the Storyteller Tour.

Now let's fast forward seven months to November. SO MUCH has happened in my life since that last concert. I filmed a web series, met my now best friend and roommate (which means I also moved out), went to Guatemala, filmed a Harry Potter short film?!?!? It was already the best year of my life by far, and I just felt like it was my year. As I always did before every concert of hers I went to, because I'm an official Carrie Underwood fan club member, I entered to win a meet and greet with her. I think I had done this like 4 times before and been unsuccessful (they randomly choose 10 winners). So I entered the meet and greet and then basically put it out of my mind as much as I could.

Now let's go to November 18, 2016, that very fateful day. They close the meet and greet entries two weeks before the concert (which was happening on November 28), and I remembered this had happened and figured I'd check my email just to make sure I hadn't gotten anything about it. They always send an email whether you win or not, just to let you know. So I checked my email and there was a little email that I opened and it said this:

And then I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beating for a solid minute (and then started beating again because I realized I couldn't meet Carrie Underwood if I died). I was chatting Amanda at work--bless her for dealing with my insanity--and sent her this (exact wording):

Me: AMANDAAMDANDA;LKFJ A;SLDKJF ;ASLKDJF ;ASLDKFJ A;SLDKFJ A;SLKDFHAI TUPIQ;ORH; GOSIDAGH AKS;LDHGAS;LKDG HAJ'SD
A: yes
Me: OMG
A: plz
Me: IM FREAKING OUT
A: i can tell
Me: I JUST WON A FREAKING CARRIE UNDERWOOD MEET AND GREET

THIS IS WHAT DEATH FEELS LIKE

WHA;LDKSFJ A;SLDKFJ ;ASLDKFJ ;ASLDKFJ AS;LDKJF ASDFAJSD

I CNA'T TYPE

And I WAS freaking out SO SO much. Now remember, this is all happening at work at my desk which is in a pretty open area, and wow I was not dealing haha. I was getting so emotional, so I took my phone and went into an empty conference room and just was BAWLING. I called my mom--bless her too, because I've called her so many times and have sounded the exact same when things have been terribly wrong, so naturally she thought something was terribly wrong.

Me (through all the sobs):  a;ldkf ja;lkd la;f ;aldkf a (translation: I just won a Carrie Underwood meet and greet!)
Mom: Kailee, what's wrong?! I can't understand what you're saying!
Me (taking a deep breath so I can get a few words out): I. just. won. a. Carrie. Underwood. meet. and. greet. (tears ensue again)

There are few times I have ever cried that hard in my life, and they have usually been when I've been at very huge lows. But there I was in a conference room, crying the ugliest tears you ever did see, but feeling like the happiest girl in the world. Possibly finding out I was going to meet Carrie was cooler than actually meeting her. It was just an unbelievable thing and I will never forget that day or those feelings for as long as I live.

Oh, and I totally left work pretty much right after that happened, because finding out you are meeting your idol kind of makes you a non-functioning human for hours days weeks forever.

That sentence is not even a joke either, because I had so much anxiety ensue over those next ten days. My emotions were SO HIGH. I was super nervous that somehow it wasn't going to happen (people with anxiety often think something bad is going to happen, even if they have no logical reasoning to back it up). I had dreams about it not happening or happening, every night (I often have had dreams about meeting Carrie Underwood in the past, but these were now a daily occurrence). My excitement over finding out I was going to meet her was then replaced with a fear of me thinking that I was not going to meet her and that it was all just a big mistake.

FINALLY, the day before the concert, I got an email about the meet and greet, giving me all the details and taking away so much of that anxiety (thank goodness!). And then...
THE FATEFUL DAY ARRIVED.

I got to the concert venue (the Maverik Center in West Valley City where I've seen Carrie at twice before) pretty early because they said if you were at all late for it, they wouldn't let you in. Obviously my paranoia got the best of me and I was there like an hour early. But! my mom had the tickets (I had given them to her for safekeeping, I was so scared I would lose those tickets) and I needed my ticket to get into the meet and greet. She got stuck in traffic and I was SOSOSOSOSO stressed that she wouldn't make it in time (thankfully I explained my situation to the ticket people and they were very nice and said if my mom didn't make it in time they'd still let me in for the meet and greet). But she made it with like ten minutes to spare, yay! Unfortunately she couldn't come with me to the meet and greet (you both have to win one, unless you're a minor) so then she just had to wait while I had the greatest experience of my life.

There was a group of about 15 of us and they took us downstairs. I talked to a few of the people and one girl had been to a ton of meet and greets, it was like her thing. Surprisingly, I think most of the people in our group were seeing Carrie in concert for the first time (vs. me who was seeing her for the SIXTH time because i'm such a great fan). They took us to the merch table where we could buy our merch sans lines and also buy something for Carrie to sign. This was actually great because I had just brought one of my cd covers for her to sign so I bought an 8x10 poster that she could sign instead. I didn't get a shirt or anything because I had one from the last Storyteller concert that we had gone to just six months ago (and even then, for Carrie Underwood concerts I like to buy my merchandise online beforehand because it's cheaper and then I can go to the venue already wearing it).

They then took us down to the meet and greet venue. And let me just say that for all the nerves I had been feeling for the days up to that point, I was just feeling chill and excited. It was nice. We waited in line and the rules were that we could record or take pictures of anything when we got in there, and Carrie would sign one thing and they'd take a picture for us that they would send to us later. While in line I got to talk to Carrie's assistant Mina (can you say dream job?!) about some of the stuff she does for Carrie. She's worked for her since 2009!

THEN..it was time. It was my turn to go in and I cannot believe how chill I was. I will never understand but always be grateful that I didn't have a heart attack right there. I went in the room and THERE WAS CARRIE. She was very nice and it honestly happened so quickly and is a little bit of a blur but she signed my picture and we joked about the weather and I told her I'd seen her in concert 6 times and always came with my mom, which she thought was very cool. And then they took our picture and we hugged and then it was done! It was crazy quick. But it was awesome. (man, I can't believe I actually met Carrie Underwood.)

After that I met up with my mom, who was so excited for me and then we went down to the concert! We had general admission tickets on the floor (which, I can never see a Carrie Underwood concert not on the floor anymore because it's just too amazing to do it any other way). And the way they did general admission for this was actually great because it wasn't super crowded, and the stage was like an oval in the middle, so you could kind of move around and follow her wherever she went. Like anywhere you were standing was good! It was such an incredible concert, obviously, and it was pretty much exactly the same as the one in Reno, except for some different costumes, which I loved because that concert was literally perfect.

We got a picture with one of the opening acts, but I am the worst and I can't even remember his name. *face covering emoji*

It was one of the best days of my life and I will cherish it as long as I live. If you want to see some video footage from it, you can go HERE. Also, I'm just so glad that I have seen Carrie Underwood with my mom every single time. It's now like really special for me and I'd never want to go with anyone else! Also, nobody else is allowed to see my insane self at a Carrie Underwood concert. They're just the best days of my life. Can't believe how well it all worked out. And also if you read to the end of this, kudos to you because it is SO LONG. Anyway, Carrie Underwood is amazing, and November 28, 2016 was the most incredible day of my life, the end.

2016

It was the year I…

-bought a car
-traveled to Reno, NV to see Carrie Underwood in concert
-started working downtown
-crazily agreed to film and edit a 40-ep web series (and had so much fun doing it)
-went to San Diego Comic Con (for said web series)
-took an amazing trip to Guatemala
-moved out
-made a Harry Potter short film (the DREAM)
-sent my other sister off on a mission
-saw Carrie Underwood in concert again in SLC and MET HER (the OTHER DREAM)
-made a Star Wars video
-got to be a part of Apple Juice Productions, which meant filming and editing amazing things with other VERY talented female creators (THE REAL DREAM)

I loved it all so much. And of course along with it it all came loneliness, a lot of tears and many sessions of therapy, and so much insecurity. I’m still scared of most things and I’m still not the greatest at balancing my life. It wasn’t perfect, by any means.

But it was the best year of my life. I learned so much, had a ton of fun doing it, and made many new friends (who I hope will still be around at the end of 2017). I happily look back on it and am excited to see what comes next.

(honorable mentions for the year also include: my hot water bottle, Stranger Things, Snotgirl–and reading other comic books!), slopsicles, DEER, taking more time for illustrating and art, our suffragette sashes, Twim (my instant camera), reading the BSC, meeting three owls!, La La Land, holy cows, and discovering all the treats that Trader Joe’s has to offer)

April 8, 2016: Carrie Underwood Concert Number FIVE

This post is here for my sole purposes only, because it deserves to have a place on the blog forever and ever as the current best day of my life! OBVIOUSLY.

Quick rundown: When Carrie Underwood announced the first leg of her wondrous Storyteller Tour, no Utah dates were announced. I repeat, NO UTAH DATES WERE ANNOUNCED. However, I'd been to four of her concerts, and this was simply a small hiccup in the road. My mom is the greatest and has been to all of her concerts with me. She's now the only one I can go with to a Carrie concert, because I know nobody else would be as much fun or be able to experience it the same way. Anyway, when I told my mom this, she didn't even question the fact that we were going to have to go see her in concert somewhere else. So after much researching and planning, we decided on Reno, NV and many long months of excited anticipation began.

I got the day off of work and we road-tripped the long and pretty boring way to Reno. One cool thing about the trip was that we took it in a BLACK CADILLAC. I took my car in for a repair while we'd be gone and the only rental car they had left was a Black Cadillac. It was very boujee and we had no complaints (only that it was so new we had trouble working some of the controls at one point haha). We stopped at the Salt Flats and took a few photos, and also stopped in Elko and Winnemucca (I would definitely recommend taking trips to these lovely middle-of-nowhere-towns if you ever get the chance NO PLEASE DON'T).

Reno is..put shortly, a place I really have no desire to ever visit again. It is a smaller, dirtier, and less exciting version of Las Vegas. We took a visit to the University of Nevada - Reno campus, saw the Reno arch, and searched for a while before we finally found a place where our food wouldn't smell like smoke. I was verrrry anxious throughout the whole night because I was terrified that something would go wrong and also excited about the concert. I can't help but get like this in high-excitement/stress situations. But once we got into the venue, all my fears went away and everything I felt was pure happy.

Easton Corbin and the Swon Brothers were the opening act, and while they were great, we all know all I wanted to see was Carrie Underwood. And then, she came, and thus began the greatest night of my life. It was THE most amazing concert EVER. We had floor seats and I have never been so close to her. I definitely cried multiple times during the night and just felt so incredibly grateful for the opportunity. All the waiting, driving, and anxiety was worth it. Because I was there and Carrie Underwood was there, and she was singing amazing things and it was all just incredible. (Side note: if you would like to know reasons why I love Carrie Underwood, you can read so here.)

(btw, WE WERE SO CLOSE. These pictures are not zoomed in, they are an actual representation of what we were seeing so it was amazinggggg!!!)

When she sang "Two Black Cadillacs" (because of COURSE it happened during this song, are we even surprised?!) I looked around me and noticed all the people around me with their phones up videoing her, and I thought about how weird it must have been for her to be there singing to a crowd of people with all of them taking pictures/videos of her in response. So in that moment, when she was right by the stage part where I was at, I put my camera down, put my hand up, and waved.

And what do you know SHE WAVED BACK TO ME OMG I DIED. (I'm very sorry this is such a fangirly post, my goodness, but honestly, how can I not?!) I am pretty sure I legitimately died and went to heaven for a split-second. And what do you know, my mom happened to be one of those people taking pictures at that moment (for which I was ever so grateful) and she got a photo of it!

To see the person you love and admire most in the world is already an amazing thing and almost more than my heart can take, but to have that person look at me and know I existed even for just a second? I hope everyone gets that opportunity at least once in their lifetime, because it truly was incredible.

The rest of the concert was amazing. And the rest of the trip, regardless of all my fears, went completely smoothly and we had a great ride back to Utah (albeit a little sad that the concert was over). The even greater silver lining of all of this is that a week before we left for Reno, Carrie Underwood announced a second leg of her tour, and guess which place is the last stop on the tour?

You guessed it...SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH! So Carrie, I'm coming for you again November 28, floor seats and everything. And obviously. I COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED!

Happy Birthday to....

...pretty much my most favorite person EVER,

Carrie Underwood!!!!

this picture was taken last year when we (okay I) celebrated Carrie Underwood's 30th birthday!

I don't care how nerdy you think it makes me, I will always love Carrie and think she is such a great person, therefore I celebrate her birthday. I know she probably won't read this, but I hope Carrie has a great 31st birthday and knows she is awesome and loved by many. Happy birthday Carrie! :)

Carrie Lady

Guess what, it's my half birthday today! I'm 21 and a half! I totally didn't realize it until 10 pm when my coworker asked if it was the 4th. Glad I got to enjoy for two hours at least. ;) Normally I write posts late at night (like 11-midnight ish) and then schedule them to publish the next day, but I'll publish this one now in honor of my half birthday.

Today, I realized something. Something...probably not good haha. I have five Carrie Underwood shirts, several posters of her, have a CU pillowcase (are you really surprised??), and a cardboard cutout of her. Not to mention that I've been to three of her concerts, own all the CDs and every song she has ever sung/recorded, and have all of those songs memorized by heart. I could lose my memory and I would probably still know the words to every Carrie Underwood song.

If I never get married, I won't grow up to be a cat lady. Cats and I do not get along well. No, I will grow up to be a Carrie lady. I will probably have several Carrie Underwood cardboard cutouts and talk to them like they are alive. I'll celebrate her birthday and her half birthday and probably her quarter birthdays, and I'll forget my own birthday (seriously, I remembered Carrie Underwood's birthday but forgot my half birthday...the decline has begun...). Posters of Carrie will cover my walls and I will hum Carrie Underwood songs and have them playing in the background all day. My bed will have CU pillows and a CU bedspread. I will follow her to her every concert and security guards will have my face memorized because I'll be so crazy. Honestly, this is really creepy, and sadly, could you see this happening?

Please, please, please pray that I will marry at some point in my life so that this doesn't have to become my life. Maybe with a husband my obsession will be held back and hidden under the surface (just a bit, the cardboard cutout will always stay).

March Madness

March has been a pretty good month so far, there have been a lot of ward activities and there's been a lot of fun with my roommates, so I've really enjoyed it (I apologize for the low quality of some of these photos, as they were taken from my phone).

March 4th we had an Oscars night with our ward where each FHE group made a video and then we watched them all and had a little awards ceremony. I already posted the video we made the other day, but just in case you didn't see it or want to see it again, here it is:


We got all dressed up for it and brought a celebrity guest (who else but Carrie Underwood?!) along, all of which made for a very fun night. We even got swag bags at the end of it!

We had a great time trying to bring Carrie in the car ;)

I have been crazy busy working (from last Tuesday to Monday I worked 7 days in a row, 7 or 8 hours every day, so I was tired) but I've been trying to go to as many fun things as I can go to. I got to face paint with my aunt on Saturday (March 9th) at a fun little fair a preschool put on. This is the only picture I got but you can see more of what we do here. After that it was my roommate Talya's bridal shower, but I unfortunately had to miss it and go to work. Sad day. :(

Sunday I also had to work, which meant missing church and a fireside (once again, sad day) but it was a pretty awesome day because it was March 10th, Carrie Underwood's 30th birthday!! For years I have been wanting to throw a party for Carrie Underwood and this year, since we actually have the cardboard cutout and it was her 30th, I knew a party had to be thrown. I made cakes and my roommates kindly frosted them for me while I was at work and then a few people from our came over to sing, blow out candles, and eat the cake. Yep, Carrie did indeed blow (or flap) out her own candles. It was awesome.

Yes, I'm almost positive Carrie had a pretty swell birthday party. People probably think I'm crazy, but I love doing weird, fun things like that. Haha maybe someday I will actually get to meet Carrie Underwood and celebrate her birthday with her! That's the dream. (Also, I'm realizing now that the majority of the pictures on this post have included Carrie Underwood....but I'm not sorry. She's awesome.)

I have no pictures of this, but on Tuesday (March 12th), I watched the Bachelor finale with my roommates, yay! And (SPOILER) we were sooooooo happy he picked Catherine. Honestly, it didn't really look like he had great chemistry with either of the girls, but Lindsay was dang annoying and immature. Catherine was the clear choice all the way (see here--and if you do watch the Bachelor, this is a great blog for recaps. It's seriously hilarious to read.), though we did worry about Sean's judgment. I'm glad he picked her and they seem way cute together. As cheesy as it may be, I'm excited to see their televised wedding (if they make it that far, which I think they might) haha. And I'm so excited for Desiree to be the next Bachelorette! Let's face it, we all saw that coming, and we are now all waiting in anticipation for summer to come so that it can start. Ha. :)

Pi Day was on March 14th (3.14) so my ward had a pie party on the 13th where everyone brought delicious pies and then we all voted to see which ones were the best. I tried a bunch of them, and I have to say that they were all really good. Yay for pi(e) day!

I've been sick with a cold, which totally stinks. I get colds so often that I know the cycle they go through, sad huh? Day 1: sore throat that no amount of water can take away; day 2: achiness, overall sick feeling and just wanting to be in bed; day 3: runny/stuffy nose, and many of the same side effect from day 2, and going from feeling really hot to kind of cold; day 4: a nasty cough that comes with an aching chest and an itchy back (does your back itch when you cough, because mine does--but it itches from the inside so there's no way to get rid of it); day 5 and on: symptoms eventually get better. But seriously, no matter how much I get used to it, being sick will never be fun. :(

And in case you are wondering, I feel really good after sharing my post last Monday. It was one of the best things I ever could have done. I think with things like that, we build them up to be a lot worse than they actually are, and that was definitely the case with me. It feels so good to have it in the open though, like you'd never believe. Now that it's out in the open, I don't have to worry anymore about anyone finding out or me saying something that would give it away. I feel like I can just live life so much more carefree because of it. I think the best part about it all is that when anything about eating disorders or any trial, really, comes up, I can talk about and I can share my experience. I'm so excited about that. It's still fresh on my mind right now, so I may be discussing my feelings about sharing that or a little bit more of my experience, I hope that's okay! I think I'm still trying to get all my emotions out about it or just figure out what I'm feeling.

One more thing...shoutout to my roommate Kelsey today on her 22nd birthday!! (She's feelin' 22..) I can't wait to celebrate tonight. :)

Snapshots

Life recently has been good. All the Cutting Fashion stuff has been a blast and made me very happy, but I think even if all of that hadn't been going on right now, I'd still be happy. Oh, I should tell you that I got a job! I'm working at JCP as a Sales Associate, so nothing too exciting, but I like it. I like working at the cash register, I like the people I work with, and I like the cute clothes that I'll buy with my discount and money (once I start making some). Not being in school has been pretty nice, despite the fact that mentally it's taken some getting used to. It's weird not to be a student but it's perfect right now.

I love my roommates and I've been trying to soak up all the time I can with them before most of them graduate or get married and move on with their lives. We have late night talks about dating and being single, we go out to eat and get pizza, we try to do fun things on the weekends when we're not all busy--like going to Nickelcity, our Tuesday nights consist of watching the Bachelor and getting way more into it than we should ("noooooo!" "Send her home NOW!" "Wait, why did he send her home?! Everything I believe about Sean is shattered!"--dramatic stuff like that), and just hanging out at home as we eat dinner and do homework (or I browse on my laptop).

My sister Carina is in Provo now, which is the greatest. We see each other a few times during the week usually and get to go grocery shopping frequently since she drinks more milk than a baby and always seems to need more. I got to have her as one of my models in the fashion show, which was great because she did awesome and I had so much fun having someone close to me there. We have fun going to the dollar theater and talking about our crazy family and how we really do miss them.

I haven't been at home very much this semester, but I still find time to see my family when they're up in Utah County for one of my brother's gymnastics meets or I go meet them in Salt Lake. I got to go home this past weekend and take a quick trip with them to Colorado for another gymnastics meet and it was the greatest. It's nice to not have school and know that since work is my only commitment, it's really easy to get it off and go spend time with them if I want. The meet was fun too...it was at the Olympic Training Center, which was sweet and we got to meet John Orosco (men's gymnastics Olympian). I've seen a lot of my extended family recently too. I helped my uncles drive a truck to Wyoming where I got to see most of my dad's side of the family and go to my cousin's baptism. I got to see them all again this past weekend when we stopped in Cheyenne on our way to Colorado and on our way back home. We got to see my cousin Jenner open his mission call and find out he's leaving for the Peru Trujillo mission July 3, which is so exciting because my other cousin on that side of the family is also in Peru. A lot of my mom's side is in Utah so we see them frequently. They came to my fashion show which was fun. My aunt is having a baby girl which we're all ecstatic about so we're throwing her a baby shower this Saturday for it.

Also..our ant problem is fixed. We haven't seen any for a week since the maintenance guy (sidenote: did you know he's an artist?! Coolest maintenance guy ever!) put some stuff out to kill the ants (the stuff where they think it's food and then take it back and it kills all of them). Last night though, I did have a dream that there were ants crawling all over my wall and it was awful. Seriously, I will never get over how much I hate ants. A few more alsos....I've finished my 8th journal since I started college; our ward is having an Oscars night where every FHE group makes a video and ours is gonna be hilarious. I will be sure to share it on here when it's done; I am obsessed with the game Flow on my phone; I'm trying to read more--just finished "The Truth About Forever" by Sarah Dessen and would definitely recommend it; I love get togethers with other friends like I always do with my freshman roommates at brick oven; and of course still obsessing over Carrie Underwood and laughed with joy when I saw a vitamin water ad with her on it (didn't care for the message much though); I love g-chatting with friends near and far..I'm surprised we didn't think of doing it sooner, but it's the best way to keep in touch. I have the BEST friends; dating life is going surprisingly well, better than it ever has been before, tho I feel like these things are sometimes are to gauge...we'll see if I have anything to update on that soon... :) Oh and I'm going to bed earlier too because work tires me. No more staying up until 1 or 2 AM I suppose, huh?

Yep. Life is bueno. :)

Current Music I'm Loving Right Now

1. ZZ Ward and her album "'Til the Casket Drops." Holy cow, this girl has an amazing voice. She has a style kind of similar to Adele but a little more upbeat and blues-y. I love this whole album. Some of my favorite songs of hers include: "If I Could Be Her," "Last Love Song," "Put the Gun Down," and "'Til the Casket Drops." Seriously, go listen on spotify and buy on itunes if you really like it. And the chances are high that you will really like it. :)

(Sorry, the "Last Love Song" video has a lot of kissing--I couldn't find any other video with the song!)

2. P!nk's album "The Truth About Love." A lot of the songs on here are explicit, so if you don't like that, I'd recommend listening to the clean versions of the songs, which is what I did. Fav songs: "Beam Me Up," "Try," "True Love," "Just Give Me a Reason," and "The Great Escape."



3. Any of Glee's music from this season. I am a watcher of Glee and while I think the show is great, I love love love the music, and I think this season they've really done a phenomenal job with it. Everyone has amazing voices and I love the emotion that is behind every song. Favorites are: "Give Your Heart a Break," "Don't Dream It's Over," "Mine" (love that one SO much), "The Scientist," "Let's Have a Kiki/Turkey Lurkey Time," "Holding Out for a Hero," "Barely Breathing," "Don't Speak," "You Drive Me Crazy/Crazy" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." That's a ton of songs, but they really are so good. In my opinion, the episode with the best music this season was "The Break-Up." Super sad episode but really good music.




4. Lindsey Stirling and her new album. If you haven't listened to this girl's amazing music, you definitely need to! She's done something revolutionary with her violin music, taking something that is normally very classical and making it super techno and cool. Favorites of hers are "Moon Trance," "Electric Daisy Violin," and "Shadows."



5. Fifth Harmony! Anyone watch the X-Factor? If you do, you know who these five adorable and way talented girls are. They're a group that were formed on the X-Factor and every week would get better and better. The competition's over now and they placed 3rd, which is totally amazing. They don't have any of their own songs yet but favorites of theirs are "Anything Could Happen," "Impossible," and "Anytime You Need a Friend." They are definitely one of my new favorite artists because they are so talented and I love listening to their music.


(btw, the title on this second one calls them a different name because they didn't start out with 5th harmony as their name. Just an fyi :))

6. And let's just add some Carrie Underwood songs because when am I not listening to her? Current CD in my car is Carnival Ride and some of my current favorites of hers are: "Flat on the Floor," "Blown Away," "Fix You" (Coldplay cover), and "Change."



Enjoy! Do you have any music that you've been listening to a lot lately? I would love to find some new artists to listen to if you have any suggestions!! :)

2012: Another Year in Review

2012 was quite the year...Highlights?

Traveled...to St. George, Florida, a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas and Castaway Cay, the Grand Canyon, spending the summer in Boston and going to Virginia, DC, and New York while I was there (the best summer ever, yes.), St. George again, Idaho, and a quick trip to New York and Boston at the beginning of December.

Saw...awesome movies in theaters like The Hunger Games, Brave, the Dark Knight Rises, Pitch Perfect, the Perks of Being a Wallflower, the Hobbit, and Les Miserables (just saw it and it was really good).

Celebrated...a few of my friends' weddings and engagements, many friends and two cousins going on missions (this also made me sad to see them go), the Hunger Games movie and Halloween by throwing huge parties for them, my 21st birthday, the 4th of July in Boston, and the missionary age changes the church made.

Listened...to music like a new album from Carrie Underwood!!!, new music from Taylor Swift, David Archuleta, Kelly Clarkson, and the Killers; fell in love with artists such as ZZ Ward, Lindsey Stirling, Mree, Phillip Phillips, Kacey Musgraves, Fifth Harmony, and Birdy. Continued to love music from Glee.

Went....to concerts for Demi Lovato, Carrie Underwood, and the Killers.

Received and bought...too many new clothes (haha, though I do love them), my second pair of grasshopper shoes, a new steamer and a dress form, a Carrie Underwood cardboard cutout, the cutest Steve Madden shoes ever, and a smart phone.

Made...plenty of movies with my siblings and cousins, more clothes, headbands with my best friends, my Halloween costume, and new friends in new places.

Watched...tv shows such as Pretty Little Liars, Glee, Modern Family, Friends (favorite show EVER), Lost, Go On, Project Runway, the X-Factor, and Revolution.

Survived...a sprained wrist (that never completely healed unfortunately), getting way too many colds throughout the year, and the end of the world.

Accomplished...moving to the east coast and doing an internship with Anthropologie over the summer, another year of school (graduating in August!), getting into and getting ready to do a fashion show in February, participating in the bible videos the church does, and playing piano for the ward choir this past semester. ;)

Became...closer to my family and my friends, a better self and a better person, healthier, more in-tune with who I am and who I want to be, more confident, wiser, more independent, and happier. :)

After writing all that stuff down, I realize how amazing of a year I've had. I'm so so blessed and lucky to be me and to have my life. I always need to appreciate my life and how wonderful everything truly is.

My only goal for 2013 is happiness. Happiness for myself and for others. I know that if I'm working towards being happy and making other people happy, I'll be doing good things in my life. Happiness really is what it's all about. :)