Eight Things You Probably Didn't Know About Me

1. I have a bad habit of looking at tv show and movie synopses before or while I’m watching them. I hate not knowing what is going to happen. I’m like that in life too, I like to know what is going to happen and when, and if I don’t know it gives me major anxiety.

2. I didn’t go to my first concert until senior year in high school. My friend Lindsay wanted to introduce me to new music so she took me to see the Rocket Summer for my first concert. It was super crowded and sweaty, but it was a ton of fun and since then I’ve been to too many concerts to count. Some of my favorite artists I’ve seen live are Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, Ingrid Michaelson, and Smallpools, but there are a ton more and I can’t remember them all. For me, the best concerts are when I love the artist and know all their music. It just means so much more to me, which is why Carrie Underwood concerts are my absolute favorite. Every time I’m at a concert, I’m always slightly wishing it was Carrie Underwood haha.

3. I don’t like vegetables and I rarely eat them because they make me gag when I do. So if you see me picking at my food when we’re eating, that’s why. I also hate condiments that go with vegetables like ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, and relish.  I like pretty much everything else, the problem is that usually everything else comes with veggies. :P

4. I’m a very high-strung person.

5. I’m not an argumentative person.

6. Everyone thinks I am, but I am NOT opinionated about fashion. People always think I am judging their outfits and clothes, but that is something completely opposite from my personality. Honestly, I have kind of taken a step back from my participation in the fashion world, because it is something I have a hard time standing very strongly behind. I love clothes, but from a generally broad perspective, the fashion industry is very shallow and judgmental, two things I can’t stand.

7. I have a hard time putting things into words when speaking, but when I write, I always write a lot. I can’t help it! (we’ll leave this one short to try and contradict it).

8. I pride myself on my excellent memory. I am always very good at remembering birthdays, dates, memories, etc. I sometimes eerily creep my friends out with my memory when I talk about something totally inconsequential that nobody would remember but me. I don't have a photographic memory, but I think it's the next best thing.

Okay lists always seem come with ten things, but I see no reason for ten to be the only number that gets to be cool, therefore this list has eight things. And if I ever think of anything else I'll give you a part TWO!

Why I Think Carrie is so Incredibly Wonderful

Hello friends. I am freaking out over here. You know why? (You probably do, but I'll tell you anyways) Because today I am....

SEEING CARRIE UNDERWOOD IN CONCERT!!!!!

Sorry for the large capitalization but I'm so so excited! Oh my gosh. I'm just so happy to realize that this day that I've been waiting for for over two years (since the last concert) is here. The thing about Carrie Underwood concerts is that they are amazing and are always the best days of my life. Whenever I go to another concert, I can't help but wish it was Carrie Underwood up there singing because her concerts make me so happy. No matter what, nothing can ruin a concert day for me because they are just the best.

I'm sorry I missed the last few countdown days, but I will probably posting about Carrie for a few days after the concert so don't worry. I figured though, that a lot of people probably wonder why I like Carrie Underwood so much. I mean, yes, I will admit that I am pretty obsessed. And probably one of the reasons I'm obsessed is just the fact that I'm a person that tends to get obsessed with anything I like a lot--Harry Potter, purple, etc. I promise there are a lot of things on that list, I just can't think of them all right now because I'm too obsessed with Carrie Underwood at the moment. Anyways, here are my top 5 reasons for why I like Carrie Underwood so much (and why you should like her too hehe).

5. Carrie Underwood is a girl just like me. Before American Idol happened, she lived in a small town. She had dreams of being a singer, but when she went to college she had to kind of give up on that and be practical. She had normal jobs, like waiting tables at a pizzeria and working at a zoo (well that's not too normal, but you get my drift) and she was going to graduate with a degree in mass communications with an emphasis in journalism. And when she was about 22, probably in the stage of life I'm in right now, getting ready to graduate and get a real job, she decided to try out for American Idol and then her world changed. But through all of that, and seven years later, she's still that small-town girl. She's super down to earth, I can tell when she's at her concerts and through her twitter texts that even though she's absolutely gorgeous and that she's rich and can get glammed up, she's still normal. She's still that girl that loves getting dressed up and has fun doing music videos like "Before He Cheats" or "Good Girl." She's a girl who's had her heart broken a a lot but eventually found her prince charming. And that's one of the reasons it's so easy for me to love Carrie Underwood, because she's a girl just like me, and she's a girl who happened to get lucky enough to really live her dream.

Carrie and her husband Mike at Disneyland! (source)

4. Carrie Underwood is such a good person. Like no joke, she's a saint. For one thing, she loves animals. I couldn't find it, but there is a quote of her saying that if she had to give up singing, it would be hard, but she could do it, but she could never ever give up animals. She's been a vegan for a long time and she totally supports animal rights and has supported and started a number of charities on behalf of them. One year she was scheduled to perform at Cheyenne's Frontier Days (which my family usually goes to every year because my dad's side of the fam is all in Cheyenne) but canceled because she heard about the animal cruelty that went on at the rodeos. Last week she saved a chipmunk from her yard because her dog Ace was going to eat it, she took the chipmunk to the vet, and then released it where it would be safe. Who does that?! That's right, Carrie Underwood. Last year she also saved two dogs who were on the side of the freeway and found good homes for them. Not only is Carrie Underwood kind to animals, but she is also very clean in the fact that she never ever swears, and I respect that so much, as I never swear either. She doesn't swear in any of her songs and you can scour the internet and you won't find any quotes or articles of her swearing in them. Carrie is also really really nice to all of her fans and anyone she meets, and is very religious and has a great relationship with God. She credits all her success to God, which I admire so much. I love that I never have to be embarrassed for liking Carrie Underwood because she's always such a good person.

3. Her music and her voice is amazing. Obviously I love her music, but Carrie has beautiful vocals too. Everywhere I hear her sing, she sounds amazing! And the crazy thing is that she is even more amazing live. There isn't much more to explain because you have to hear it to believe it. I was going to share this song on Sunday, but since I didn't, I'll share it now. Get ready, because you will probably cry--that's how amazing this performance is:



2. Carrie Underwood's music is good for any day and any situation. No matter what, I will always be in the mood to listen to Carrie Underwood music. You know how everyone always says, "there's an app for that?" Well I think people should start saying, "there's a Carrie Underwood song for that." :) Feeling down? There's a CU song for that. Try, "So Small," "Jesus Take the Wheel," "Good in Goodbye," or "Wheel of the World." Feeling happy? How about, "Crazy Dreams," "Ever Ever After," or "All American Girl." Hate a boy? Listen to "Before He Cheats," "Undo It," or "Songs Like This." Feeling inspired? Listen to half of her songs because a lot of them are inspiring. But it's totally true. There's a Carrie Underwood song for that. I promise.

1. The number one reason why I like Carrie Underwood? Her music makes me happy. So so so very happy! Maybe it's because I've liked her for so long or maybe it's just because she's a happy person. For whatever reason, when I listen to Carrie Underwood music and it automatically lifts me up. I think about going to her concert and whatever seemed so sad doesn't anymore. I can only imagine what kind of happiness meeting her in person would bring. All I know is that I truthfully have never been happier than when I am at a Carrie Underwood concert. I feel like the happiness inside me is going to explode, and I cannot wait to feel that tonight. So that's it...I love Carrie Underwood because she makes me happy, and there is probably no better reason than that. I. Am. So. Excited!!!!!

And to give you all a song...here is Blown Away, my current favorite song of hers that I can't stop listening to. I can't wait to hear her sing this tonight at the concert because she is going to blow me away. :) I will tell you all about it tomorrow, don't worry!!!

How to Study Like a Boss

As you can see from the above photo, I get SUPER distracted when writing a paper or studying for finals. It's always really hard for me to concentrate. Why? Well, because most of the stuff that I study is on the computer and the computer has the internet, which has facebook, email, pinterest, blogger....see what I mean? I find myself writing a paper and then clicking that little Chrome browser button and 15 minutes later I'm still wasting time. This time when finals came around though, I was prepared! I've come up with some strategies for myself that I'll share with you too! I hope some of these help.

1. Give yourself time limits. I think the biggest thing for me when I'm studying for a big test or writing a paper, is that I get way overwhelmed that I can't even get myself to start. So I finally figured this out, but set time limits! My phone's always right beside me so I set a timer for 15 minutes. I have to write a certain amount (a reasonable amount but still challenging) or study a certain amount by the time the timer is up. And during that time, I can't text (because if I get a text, to read it I have to get out of the timer, which is a no-no) or browse the internet or do anything distracting. And it's only 15 minutes so it's easily doable! Once the timer is up, I can text someone back or go check my email or facebook. But I check it really quick and then do another timer. This works really well because it's manageable time and truly actually get stuff done! It's like a compromise with myself haha. And seriously before you know it, you'll be finished.

2. Listen to music. But isn't music distracting, you say? Well yeah, if you're listening to music that you can jump around and dance to or even music that you can sing along to. I'm not suggesting you listen to classical music, because that's boring for most of us. I've actually been listening to movie scores this whole weekend like from the Hunger Games, Harry Potter (of course), Disney movies, and others. I like movie scores because there are no words to sing along to and distract you, but your imagination is still active because the music puts images into your head and reminds you of different movies you've seen. I have a lot of scores on my iTunes library, but you can also just go to Pandora and make a station. Either write in something like "Harry Potter movie score," or write a famous score-writer. Some of the famous ones are Alan Menken (Disney), John Williams, Hans Zimmer, John Newton Howard (Hunger Games), Alexandre Desplat (HP & Deathly Hallows).

3. Have snacks! This is pretty self-explanatory, but just give yourself something to much on while studying. I looooove eating pretzel M&Ms but that's not the healthiest. Some fruit would be good or chips and salsa or guacamole. I do like having candy with me when I study though, it's my favorite snack for that! And also, make sure not to skip meals or let yourself go without when you're doing homework. It's just as important if not more important during stress times to have three meals a day so that you can concentrate well. If your delirious from having no food, you're not going to be able to study well at all, with these tips or without.

4. Make a list of stuff you want to do. Whenever I'm studying, I would basically rather be doing anything else and I can always come up with a justification to make that thing more important than school. Usually it's really random stuff too, like "Oh, I need to make cookies right now!" or "I should write my missionary friend a letter," or "I need to fix that dress!" or even, "Oh yeah, I need to find that person on facebook." It's all different, but it's important to remember that those things can be done later, and right now, studying needs to happen. So open up another document on Microsoft Word, and whenever one of those ideas pops into your head, write it down in that document, save it, and go back to your homework. So that when you are done studying and actually have time for real life, you can go back to that list and see what you needed/wanted to do. Plus, chances are that half that list will be erased, because you were only going to do them anyways to not do homework.

5. If you are really tired, sleep. There is nothing to cure sleep, and if you cannot possibly keep your eyes open, go to sleep! Our bodies need it and they don't function properly when they're super tired. If you're trying to stay up really late to finish, just go to sleep and wake up early instead. I've found that works way better for me sometimes. All I know is that I can't fight my body on sleep forever. If I need it, I've got to do it, no questions asked.

6. Find your study place. Where do you study best? Library, at home, in your bed, in a bookstore? For me, it's my bed. I'm comfortable and I can have whatever I need around me. When I'm really tired I'll go downstairs in our apartment because it's colder, but usually my bed works. If I'm getting super distracted at home by roommates and such then I will end up going to the library, but that doesn't happen too often since I have pretty studious roommates. :)

7. Stay Focusd. Nope, no typo. If you have Chrome as your web browser, I would highly recommend getting this app. Basically, it gives you a certain amount of time on the websites that you choose and once the time's up, it blocks that website until the end of the day. Genius right? So say your limit is half an hour for facebook every day, well once you reach that, it blocks facebook and you can't get on anymore. One thing that is also really great is that you can make it so it will block all the internet on your browser for a certain amount of time. Last week I was writing a paper so I had it block everything for two hours so that I could finish. If you have Chrome (which you should because it is pretty much the best) then you should use this. I love it!

8. Budget your time. This is similar to the setting time limits one but different. Sometimes, I have to write a paper by midnight because that's when I go to bed, and I'm done with the day at 3, so I think "Oh wow, I have nine hours to write my paper, that's plenty of time!" How many of us do this? And then we get to about 7-8:00 and wonder where the time went and start freaking out. Well you know how we are always being told to budget our money or we'll just spend it all on unimportant stuff? Time is basically the same thing: we must budget it or we will spend it all on unimportant stuff. So within the hour, decide what you will do. It's 2:00 so what will you do from 2:00-3:00? How much will you get done? Instead of looking at how much time you have total, look at it hour by hour and prioritize it, get your homework done first and eat lunch and dinner and then see what you can do. It will make worlds of difference for how you use your time.

I feel like I should have ten points on this list, but I can't think of anymore so eight it is! Now I've got to get back to my studying so good luck everyone and have a great week! :)

(this is probably how most people are feeling during finals week haha...CRAZY!)

The Best Shoes In the World

Double french braid...easier than it looks! One of my new favorite hairstyle because it looks so pretty :)

You're probably pretty jealous of my heels (and my amazing Harry Potter toenails--close up here). And you have good reason to be. And if you're not jealous of them, then you're either a guy or just plain crazy and I will tell you WHY they are the BEST.

1. They're wedges, so they are actually possible to walk in and not trip.

2. They're comfortable. What? Comfortable heels?! Yes.

3. They are the perfect color for summer and winter and literally go with every.thing.

4. They make me taller, something that is quite desirable for a girl who is only 5'2".

5. They make my skin not look white (I can't say they make my skin look tan..but better than nothing, right?)

6. They're classy

7. They are all MINE

8. Somehow, they add everything to an outfit. Off, the outfit is okay...On, the outfit suddenly turns fabulous! True story..I promise!

9. All of the above.

You're jealous now, huh? Ha, I knew it! Only too bad, you can't have them, because the only drawback to these shoes is that if I take them off, they take a few minutes to put on. Therefore, they are never coming off my feet. Good thing they're the best shoes in the world, right? :)

Things That Will Always ALWAYS Make Me Happy :)

• Dancing
• Piano
• Anything to do with Carrie Underwood
• Clothes/fashion (and blogging about it)
• Laughter
• Reading
• Doing schoolwork (as nerdy as that sounds)
• Blogging
• My wonderful, amazing, loving family (especially my mom)
• Helping others
  
• Scrapbooking and making cards
• Taking pictures and editing them
• Dance parties
• English classes
  
• True friends
• My religion :)
• the color Purple
• Making my delish chocolate chip cookies
• Cheez-its, goldfish, pizza, popcorn, shakes, and smoothies
• BYU
• Music
• Singing

That list could go on and on but those made the top. :) And my new goal for this year is to make one person happy every day. Because that will mean that I'll be happy every day. :)