I Like These Things

1. Smoothies.
I believe smoothies may be my favorite treat ever. They are so yummy and so easy to make!! My mom gave me a little purple smoothie maker last year that I use at least twice a week, usually more. I usually buy some fruit and freeze it (because then you don't need to use ice) add some yogurt (any fruity flavor will do, but I do love Yoplait's "white chocolate strawberry" and "raspberry cheesecake") and add some juice! I was lucky to find some Sunny Delight for $0.75 at Smith's the other day so I bought that and it adds a nice citrus punch to my smoothies. Then I mix it all up and enjoy. They are pretty healthy (Sunny D is packed with sugar though, I know. Probably one of the best things to use would be V-8 Splash to get some vegetables in there) and pretty delicious. The nice thing is that all fruits really taste good together, so you can't go wrong making a smoothie!

2. Painting my nails.
Ever since I stopped biting my nails five and a half weeks ago (what?!?) this has become my new love in life. I paint my nails a new color 1-2 times a week and I keep the color that my nails are on my nightstand so that if they ever chip at any time, I'm ready to paint over it. I've found that my favorite colors to paint my nails have been a mint green (the first color I painted my nails and the very one that got me to stop biting them), a sparkly black, and a dark maroon (current). I think I gravitate towards the darker colors more. My favorite thing to do with painted nails is look in the mirror, hold my hand up and smile at myself. It's still surreal to have long painted nails! Gah! I love it.

3. Nutella.
Need I say more?

4. Homemade granola bars.
Haha most of this list is becoming food...that's funny. But hey, food is good, yes? But homemade granola bars are the BEST. Once you've had these you can't go back to the real thing. I make them with these friends a lot and my personal favorite is peanut butter chocolate chip. My friend Sarah has a recipe here on her fabulous cooking blog if you want to try making them! They are very easy to make and well worth it!

5. Art Markers
Is that even the official name for them? I should probably know that, but oh well. The point is that these things are great! I have been using them for my fashion illustrations and they have helped a lot and make them look ten times better! I like using these markers so much that I've been practicing illustrating every night. Maybe I will post some illustrations soon, but first I just need to get my method down!

6. T-shirts.
My favorite summer outfit was just wearing a t-shirt and shorts. No joke. I wore my Demi Lovato concert tee daily as well as several other shirts. I just got this tee from Stylemint that I am wearing right as I type these words and I love it! Now that school has started I'm actually dressing cute again though and that's been fun too. I can't wear shorts or jeans at work so that's forced me to dress a little nicer than normal. But on Saturdays and Mondays? Shorts and a t-shirt. :)

7. My Harvard pen.
I got this pen at a store in Harvard for $2.99 and it's such a great pen! The ink is dark and it writes super smoothly. I keep it in my purse at all times and I love pulling it out just because it says Harvard. Anything that says Harvard is cool. At least in my book it is. Plus it reminds me of the east coast and that makes me happy.

8. Curly hair.
As many of you know (maybe?), I have stick straight hair. It has no curl to it whatsoever. Some days I can just blow dry my hair or let it hair dry and it looks good enough to go out on the town because it is that straight! I would also like to say that I adore my straight hair. When I was younger, I was vain and would look in the mirror and tell myself that my hair was "my most prized possession." Who says that? Well, I definitely did and maybe still do. But the thing is that I think curly hair is beautiful too, and one of the reasons I'm growing my hair long is so that I can have long, gorgeous, curly locks. When I was 14 and loved going to stake dances, I would spend literally two hours curling my hair with a curling iron only to have it stay in for probably two hours max. Now I curl it with the straightener and it stays in way better, but by the end of the day the curls are mostly dead. This week I was determined to make it through a whole day with curls that were fairly curly, so I curled my hair every day this week (except yesterday)! I used mousse, took longer, and then finally today I started spraying every curl I did with hairspray and they stayed in! I am now happy, and you'd think I'd be sick of curling my hair, but it looks really pretty this way so I'll probably do it more. Straight hair will be making an appearance back into my life though. Ok...goodbye long novel about hair.

9. Friendship bracelets.
I got this one for $1 on Saturday at the Latin American Festival here in Provo and I am loving it! These bracelets tend to go with the t-shirt/shorts vibe. I have my trusty watch that I wear most of the time, but sometimes it's a little too hot to wear it. But then my wrist feels bare so a friendship bracelet does the trick of filling the void.

I suppose that's all for now. Annnnd if I sound tired or blunt, I am. Ta-ta.

Ch-ch-Changes

Quick! I need to blog before the day ends.

I've been busy all day with going to the International Summerfest in Bountiful, looking for a bridesmaid's dress to wear at my friend Alyne's wedding, and then going to Alyne's bridal shower tonight.

And now here I am.

I have been loving this blogging every day thing actually. It's a little consistency in my life that makes me very happy.

As I belted my heart out to songs from musicals on the way from Provo tonight, I also got some thinking done in my head...

an hour can feel like such a long drive sometimes.

I say fireworks going off in Pleasant Grove and I was reminded of my friend Amy's post as I thought, "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is."

I'm really really happy with my life right now.

I have changed so much in the past few months, past summer, past year. 

But it's a good change. Because I'm just becoming a more enhanced version of myself. A better version.

I find my style evolving from super girly and always trying to look perfect to a more casual, relaxed, and more me look of t-shirts and shorts, my grasshopper shoes worn daily, and everything more simpler.

I sing louder in church and I sing along more in the car--when I'm with people and when I'm alone. I'm trying not to be afraid of my voice.

I'm also trying not to be afraid of what I want to do, which really can be quite scary. More and more I have the words coming out of my mouth telling people I want to design clothes, and instead of the disturbed looks or the "you'll never be able to make it," I expect, I get admiration or a "that's really cool."

It's really amazing when you start to realize that people don't think negatively of you or even think of you as much as you train yourself to imagine.

Oh and of course I've stopped biting my nails, which, in short, means I am not relying on one of my coping mechanisms anymore.

These changes seem so small and minute, but they are steps, and every step up gets me closer to the top, which is where I think we're all trying to reach. And together, they do create big changes. I feel like a more different person every day, although it's really just me becoming more me and accepting myself a little more every day.

Who knows, maybe someday I will make huge changes, like sharing my deepest and darkest secrets here on this blog (I know, I know, you definitely want to read about those, right? Kidding.) because I don't want to care about what people think of me.
We'll see. :)
Either way, I'm content right now. I have an awesome family and amazing friends. There isn't much more a girl can ask for, right?? (Well, maybe a boyfriend....okay okay kidding! Sort of.)
Night :)

nail update

So guess what?! I haven't bitten my nails for TWO WEEKS!

They don't look super long in the picture, but I promise you, they are longer than they have ever been. I had to take off my nail polish because I went to Goshen two days ago and my nails looked beautiful and long. I've only seen my nails when they've had jagged edges and just looked really gross.

This is a habit I've had pretty much since I was born, and to be honest, it was something I never ever in a million years thought I'd overcome. But somehow it's happening and it is wonderful. I realized after I took this picture that it looked like I might be engaged or something, but right now this is an even bigger accomplishment (although with my luck in dating, getting engaged will probably even beat this on the accomplishment scale when [if????] it happens haha).

So basically, habits can be broken! Sometimes you just have to wait for the right time and work at it, and eventually you find the miracle.

{Pssst...don't forget to enter my awesome giveaway! Go here to enter.}

Goal Crazy

So I've made it a new personal goal of mine to blog every single day, even if it's something small, because I think it's really important for me to write down my daily thoughts and share them with others. So if you read this thing at all...then expect some more posting!

I feel like I have been going crazy making goals for the past few days, and it actually feels great, because they are doable goals and things that I think I can really do.

Like....I haven't bitten my nails for a whole ten days now. If you know me, that's a ton! I'm the girl who's sitting in class or church or anywhere and she's biting her nails to the core. And it just looks so gross. At least, I'm pretty sure it does, as I've never actually watched myself do it. It's funny how this whole thing started out, because I wanted to paint my toenails this cute mint green color, but I couldn't find it! So I settled for my usual purple and then was so annoyed when I was done and I found the green one. I go through quite an ordeal painting my nails sometimes because I mess up a lot and there is a lot of nail polish remover involved, so when I'm done, I'm just that...DONE. But I wanted to wear the mint green polish so bad, so I decided, what the heck, I'll paint my fingernails, even though they have maybe been painted once or twice before in my life. So I painted them, and they looked soooo cute! I tell you that it was one of the most special days of my life and I had such a happy feeling. I kept looking in the mirror, holding up my hand with my nails showing and just having a big smile on my face because I loved my painted nails so much. Right then and there I decided I would never go without painted nails again. Which meant I could never go with bitten nails again if I actually wanted them to look super cute. And that was that. No nail biting for ten days and I'm going to keep going! I have a system worked where I give myself a reward on a weekly and monthly basis and so far it's going well. This is honestly such an exciting thing, because I have bitten my nails hard core my whole life and just never planned on quitting because I didn't think it was possible, but I guess it just might be. :)

I've also just been making goals with the blogging every day and really trying hard to read a chapter of my scriptures every night. Many times I'm tired and I'll just get away with a verse or something, but it really hit me when I heard someone talking in church about how if we don't make the time to actually study our scriptures, we won't get much out of them. I can't open them up and expect to always read the exact verse I needed to read and that's all. I have to go through the whole chapter and then I will find that verse plus more. This is what I think about whenever my eyes start to droop and I'm tempted to just read a verse and go to bed.

And then in church today, I was really hit hard by what a girl commented in Relief Society (which is an hour set aside in our meeting where women 18 and older go to have a lesson and learn about stuff to help us in the gospel. The lessons are usually more geared to women, obviously) about weaknesses becoming strong. I've heard that so many times but I guess the way she worded it really stuck out to me. I mean as humans, we have a lot of weaknesses, man do I have a ton! I bite my nails, I struggle opening up to people and really sharing or speaking in large groups, my room gets messy way too easily, I procrastinate, etc. The list goes on and on, seriously! A lot of times, we think that these weaknesses will always be weaknesses. And yeah, they might improve a little, but we're always going to struggle with them no matter what. But not so! Every single one of those things I struggle with, can become strengths if we really work hard and believe that they can become so. My nails can become really beautiful one day, and people might not even ever know how ugly and deformed they used to be. Or I could become the person who is early and on-time with assignments and tasks, rather than the procrastinator. It was just really cool to realize that if I work at this stuff, it doesn't always have to be a weak thing in my life, it can be a total strength.

Basically, I know that habit breaking is so incredibly hard. I've struggled and overcome some really difficult things in my life that I never really thought I could do. I hope I keep this happy attitude of goal-making while I'm doing all this stuff, because I do want to improve on these things so much. The happiness when you truly hurdle a challenge is indescribable. You feel strong and you feel like you can do anything and you do feel so happy.

And that's my post and thoughts for the day. It feels good to get it out. And if you managed to get through this whole post...thanks for reading. :)

Last Weeks in Utah (May 1-15)

My last weeks in Utah were kind of busy, and mostly just really fun. I love that I was able to spend those two weeks all with my family, and a lot with Gracie, since she and I were the only ones not in school or work. I had been planning on leaving for Boston May 7th, but because I was flying standby, none of the flights looked good and I had to end up going a whole week later. At the time, it was a little frustrating but I'm actually really glad it worked out that way because it meant I had more time at home and I also got to be there for Mother's Day, which was wonderful.

May 5th was a busy day for everyone. For the past 3 years, my mom has gone to class for four hours every Wednesday night and done a lot of homework to get her Master's degree in school counseling. Well, she totally did it! She graduated with a 4.0 and passed the licensing test so she's officially licensed to work as a school counselor. We all went to her graduation to support her aweseome-ness. :)

 I love my mom and am so proud of her! And seriously, after having been through a lot of college myself, I really have a new found respect for anyone that graduates with their degree, especially a Masters. College is hard! I was also really excited going to her graduation because it reminded me that I'll be graduating from BYU in a year, which is so exciting!

After the graduation, my aunt Zildy was planning a surprise birthday for my uncle (her husband) Jonas. He just turned 40 so she wanted to do something extra special for him. One of our friends (though she is practically family) lives in a complex that has a playhouse so Zildy reserved that and we went there to decorate. The party was Avengers themed so I bought cool shirt for it...I got it from Walmart in the boys section, but it is really cool because it changes color in the sun and glows in the dark! I did all the streamers and helped put out food and control the kids when they came, as it was a family party.

Haha since we get really cheap color printing at school, I printed out a bunch of masks for people to cover their faces with to surprise Jonas with as he came in. I printed the Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, and Jonas! It was really funny. Below is Sidney, Carina, and I donning the masks. Zildy also had Thor hats that we all wore.

Jonas was completely shocked when he came in! But he definitely loved it! I love Tayevion in the picture below.

Someone made a huge oreo cake for the party and I made cupcakes that had an oreo in the middle (mmm!). We had chili and cornbread for dinner and then the cake for dessert. It was a huge cake and the middle oreo stuff tasted especially yummy.

Man were we tired when that party was done! After everyone left, we took down decorations and went home. That night I think we watched Mission Impossible. Which was SWEET btw. :)

Every year, this school called Cameo in Murray does a skin care event where they have a ton of free services like pedis and manis, eyebrow waxing, and other beauty stuff that I really don't even know what it does. Anyways, I've gone most of the years, and this year I got to go again, since I hadn't made it on the flight to Boston yet. It happens during the day so the girls in school usually don't get to go. They give you a ticket when you go in and then you get to pick a service done with that ticket. Then they also have other free services (mani and eyebrow waxing) that you don't need a ticket for.

We did pedicures, which is what we usually do and also did the other non-ticket services. I didn't get a manicure because I bite my nails and even with nail polish it doesn't stop me. I know, it's a really bad habit that I'm trying to stop, but it's hard! Below is the eyebrow waxing.

My grandpa had been watching the kids while we were at the event, but then we figured Gracie and Jasmine might like getting manicures. So they came over and got to do it too. As you can see, Gracie adored getting her nails painted. She chose a shiny blue and just was so happy. The lady painting her nails was really sweet too.

Jasmine didn't show quite as much excitement as Gracie over the nail-painting...

 When we were done with that, we went to Saver's for some thrift shopping and plus we could get 30% off. And let me tell you, the Saver's in Murray is the best! I found a lot of cute name brand clothing that was in great quality. Score! After our shopping adventure, we ate at Taco Bell for dinner. It was a great girls day!

I'm so glad I was able to stay for Mothers Day as well. We got chocolates in church (for anyone 18 and older) and all the extended family came over to celebrate. Jonas made gumbo for dinner and we had some yummy cake for dessert. I gave my mom a cute little sign with a quote about faith on it to put on the wall, and also Sidney and I spent the whole day working on making cds and cd cases to give to all the moms. Starting about 6 years ago, I made "Mom's Mix" and then I just kept doing it. But last year I kind of got tired of it, and I wasn't going to make it this year, but I ended up recruiting Sidney and we had each of the kids pick a song that reminded them of their mom and say why. It was really cute and the moms loved it. I also announced it would be the last Mom's Mix year so I'm free from it now! Ha :)

The dress I'm wearing below is also another happy reason that I stayed longer. I found it at Marshalls for only $20. A steal if you ask me. It's absolutely gorgeous! I tried taking outfit pictures but it was kind of late so they didn't turn out very good. I'll get some better pictures of it later.

Stay tuned to hear all about Massachusetts!!!

About Time Huh?

Hi bloggy friends. I'm back! Miss me? Let me explain my absence. I just stopped blogging for a few days...then I needed to read the whole Harry Potter book series before the movie came out, which was kind of hard because I had work, things to do, and people to see, so I was crunched for time. And then I went to Wyoming (and saw the HP movie in Wyoming and thought it was AH-mazing..anyone else agree? I MUST see it again!) for a week for a family reunion and to celebrate my grandparents' 50th anniversary. And then I got back and have been face painting with my aunt a lot and by that time I decided that I might as well wait until the month mark to blog again. Ha. Silly, I know. But it's July 27, and the last time I blogged was June 27, so I figured it sounds right. :) Anyways. I'm back in blogging business. Here's a few photos that don't even make up for the past month I've been gone...

Provo Rooftop Concert for Abbey Road with Jessica and Lauren

Going to see the hot air balloons with Jessica and Lauren

Face painting with my aunt and family on the 4th of July

Fireworks with our friends the Foutzes (Kyrie and I are almost the exact same age and have been friends since age 3 :))

Seeing a cool rainbow with Olivia and Katie and Heidi

Blogger lunch meet-up with Katri and Kelli at Chilis...soo fun! Lots of smiles and laughter involved :)

Hogwarts toenails

Watching a Harry Potter movie a night up until the midnight showing with roommates and people in my ward

Cute roommate pictures...love them :)

making harry potter t-shirts with my siblings

HP midnight showing :D

Fun with cousins in Wyoming

Lots of family pictures...this isn't the best one but its hilarious because of how awkward my littlest sister acts!

A trolley ride through Cheyenne where my grandparents told us all about where they lived, went to school, worked, etc.

I face painted all the little cousins a lot...I might be the favorite cousin now ;)

My adorable grandparents with their 50th anniversary cake

I tried on my grandma's wedding dress and my sister tried on my aunt's

A bridesmaid dress that my grandma wore in the 1960s that she let me keep! Such a cute dress and the picture doesn't do it justice!

Watching photos of my grandparents when they were dating and newlyweds

more face painting...

Enjoying the Wyoming air :D

My aunt and her kids came to visit because she's getting married on Saturday (!!!) and we got ice cream after face painting at a festival earlier and also to celebrate my cousin Jasmine's birthday

I hiked Bridal Veil Falls yesterday with some friends :)

My roommates and I all brushing our teeth at the same time

Life has been crazy. And oh so very fun :D

There is something else I should discuss. I think lately why I've had a lot of periods where I just don't blog is because I've really been trying to please other people with this blog and get lots of followers and stuff. The blogging world can be SO competitive and sometimes it really gets to you when someone else has more comments or followers than you and you don't understand why. It sounds kind of silly but its true. But I need to make this blog for me. That's how it began and that's how I want it to continue.
So thank you thank you THANK YOU to all who entered the contest but I'm unfortunately calling it off just because it was really stressing me out and its not what I need to do for myself right now. I really am SO sorry! And you have no idea how grateful I am to the people that entered. I think I might do it again soon, because its a fun idea, but maybe when I'm a little more stable with myself.

Either way though, I'm so happy to be back! I want this blog to stay a part of my life because its fun and I like it. It makes me happy. And that's all that matters. :D

P.S. Last night I watched my first ever scary movie, What Lies Beneath...all I can say is that scary movies are NOT for me. It might have been my first and last!