Another Year Has Come and Gone

What a year, what a year. 2012 has been a great one. A lot has happened for me. I graduated from High School. Got my first real job. It was my first full year as a legal adult. I started college. I've began to discover who I really am. I've had to deal with dumb things that you never have to when you're younger. Overall I've learned a lot about life.

But I am very anxious for 2013.  A new year, a new start. I've got lots of resolutions. We'll see how many I can actually accomplish let alone remember. But I have a feeling 2013 is going to be a good year for me, and I'm excited to see where I'll be in a year. I'm excited for the things that I already have planned and for any other fun adventures that may show up along the way.

I'm hoping to better myself. In all aspects of my life. When 2014 roles around I'm excited to look back on the year and see how far I've come.

Goodbye 2012. Hello 2013.

It's Time

I love this song.

Time goes by a lot faster the older you get. At least for me. It seems like this semester just started two weeks ago and now there's only a week and a half left before finals! What the heck!? I wish it would have gone slower. I like this point I'm at in life. I feel like it's ending for some reason. It really isn't. I probably just feel this way because instead of taking actual classes next semester I'm doing an internship. So instead of hanging around cool, hip college students I get to hang around old, boring, old people. But it will be good and I'm excited for it non the less.

Today I finished my Final paper for English. It is such a relief to get such a big thing on your to-do list done. Now I just need to play catch up in my online class. (two things I learned this semester: never take an online class because I'm such a bad procrastinator and don't take classes at seven in the morning. It's so not worth it.)

 We set up all of our Christmas decorations. I love it when it gets dark and we turn on all the Christmas lights. It just makes me so happy! I love this time of year because of many reasons. 1. It's the time we celebrate Christ's birth. 2. Christmas decorations. 3. Christmas music. 4. Snow. 5. Baking goodies.

 Do you see that? That is all my finger. I went to bed with a band aide on my finger because a ferocious feline scratched me. And when I took it off in the morning by finger looked like I held it in water all night long. I was afraid it would never get better, but it did. But it looks nasty huh?

 This here is the aforesaid ferocious feline. I am not a cat person, with the exception to this here kitty cat. His name is General Giggles (He is my bro and sis-in-laws cat. They named him) I like to call him GG for short. This is his most favorite position to sit in. Ha. Just joking. He was just doing what cats do and then paused for a moment like that so I took a picture. I just wish I were that flexible. We watched him while Jeff and Ariel were out of town for Thanksgiving. And right now I don't have any nieces or nephews to hold and cuddle so to make up for that I wrapped GG up in a blanket and pretended he was a baby. It's great. He'll make due until Russell and Leighann's baby comes.

My birthday was last week. And do you want to know what I did during the day? I hung out with my mother and father at their place of employment. It was so fun. At first I sat in my Mom's cubicle and watched her work on her computer. Then I upgraded and went to my dad's office and watched him talk to the media. Then my dad and I went around doing parkour around the office. It was a jolly good time. It was great to because, you see my Mom and Dad are both government employees so where they work, everyone there gets paid by through taxes and since it was my birthday I felt that it was only fair that they all give me some money since some of it comes from my taxes (although now that I think about it I haven't actually paid taxes yet, but I will this year so it still counts) anyway I just went around telling them what I just explained and they had no problem giving me their money. 

Yeah. I wish. But I did sing a song about it in the parking lot. My mother was mortified. I was just having a jolly good time. 

So as some of you all know I am probably the most paranoid person who ever walked the earth. You see when I call my mom or dad and they don't answer, after multiple attempts, I assume that they have crashed and are dead or have been abducted or something along those lines. But now we all got his app called Life 360 that tracks where you are through your cell phone GPS. So now I know exactly where they are and I don't have to worry. It's the greatest thing ever. 

Well I think I've rambled enough. Hope you all are having a wonderful day and life. 

Random Ramblings

I've been sitting at home doing absolutely nothing productive and it's giving me one of those lazy day headaches (do you ever get those? I usually get these weird headaches when I have a day that I waste by doing nothing productive or eating too much sugar). Anyways to prevent one of these from coming on I'm blogging. Good remedy.

Today I took a test for my PoliSci class, and for the past to tests I haven't done so hot, but as I was taking this one I knew almost everything. And I actually got a decent score that I can be proud of! Yay! Took me long enough into the semester, but late is better than never right?

So I bought this screen protector for my phone but for some reason I'm terrified to put it on. Weird, I know.

I'm getting pretty stressed seeing as there are roughly two and a half weeks left in the semester! Agh! I'm freaking out because being the great procrastinator that I am, I put off my online class. So over the break next week I'll be reading my Health textbook with all my heart. But I'm glad the semesters almost over. I need a break from getting up at 5 in the a.m. every day.

Wanna hear a good song? Well listen to this. It is great and fills me with thanks for our Savior. I hope all of you out there realize how great of a blessing the Atonement really is and I hope you realize how much Christ has really done for us. If you want to really understand all aspects of the Atonement go here and sign up to take Repentance and Forgiveness with Brother Durfey. You will not regret it, I PROMISE!!

Next week I'll be turning 19. I don't want to ever be older than 19. So for the next year I'll be working on how to freeze my ageing. Then I'll be 19 forever and I won't get old.

I feel such happiness inside me right now and I don't know why. I just feel so thankful for my life. Every aspect of it, good and bad. This past little while I've realized how much I have and how much the Lord's hand is in my life. Heavenly Father knows me better than I know myself and so everyday I am so thankful for his hand and guidance in my life. With it I know my life will work out in a more perfect way than I could have ever imagined.

My youngest sister, Emma has been playing out in the snow a lot with her friends lately. And she doesn't have her own pair of snow boots. So what does she use instead? Jeff's old pair of snow boots that are too big for even my feet. I tried to take a picture today, because she looks like a clown, but she realized I was just trying to take a picture to tease her so she ran and hid. What a smart girl.

Last night I had the nuttiest dream. It was so far from reality.

I'm interning for my Mom come January, and I'm so pumped. I told her that I'm going to do such a great job that they'll fire her and hire me. She argued that she has more experience. I then argued back that she's closer to death than I am. Then Susie countered that I could die any minute. I told her she'd better knock on wood. She didn't. So if I die unexpectedly you know why.

On that note, I'm done for now. I doubt anyone made it all the way through this post, cause it's so long. But if you did props to you. You're the BEST!

Political Rants

I'm getting very frustrated with some of the things that I'm reading on Facebook about the election, because of my bias. And I need to say something about them, but I don't want to add the the ruckus on Facebook. So I'll just blog about it.

First off. Canada may be more socialist than America is right now. But people aren't wanting to flee there because of those kinds of issues, I think it's more because of what the economy is now and what it's going to become. I'm not going to lie. I kinda want to disappear for the next four years, but I know that that's impractical.
I love what JFK said in his inaugural speech. He said "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country". We need to do our best to secure our futures. America is beginning to depend on the government too much. It's part of the reason we're in a financial mess.
We just need to learn to actually do stuff for ourselves. I know it's hard in today's society where we have so many conveniences that will do stuff for us, all we have to do is push a button. Instead we need to go out and do. Make something of ourselves. We can't depend on the government. We have to be the ones to make a difference.

I'm not very thrilled that Obama is President, but I'll support him non the less. I'll continue to pray for him and hope that things don't go horribly wrong for this wonderful country. I'm a little scared for what the next four years holds for me and everyone else. I'm scared for the kind of life I'm going to have because of the economy. But I have faith that everything will work out in the end. It may be a long journey to the end, but we'll get there!

Don't Think

I've been very overwhelmed with life this past week. Things seem to be happening so fast for me, when in reality they really aren't. As a result I've felt overwhelmed and just wanted to sit in my room and think, but I don't want to just think because thinking is what got me into this overwhelmed state I've been in. I over think everything and then assume the worst as a result. Today though I was able to feel some peace about certain things on my mind. Now I'm trying to just not think. My Institute teacher said we need to have firm minds and soft hearts. So when I say I'm going to try to not think I mean I'm not going to let irrational thoughts enter my mind and let them ruin everything. I think I'm really going to enjoy not thinking. We'll see how it goes :)

Life Epiphany

Today was an answer to a prayer that I never knew I had... kinda. It was more of an answer to many prayers in an obscure kind of a way. In institute today we were talking about faith, but before we got into that we got started on fear. The girl in the class who started this conversation was most definitely inspired.
It helped me to realize that I have had certain prayers answered I was just afraid to act on my answers or even to accept the answer. It also made me realize that my second guessing myself is just the fear that Satan uses to try to deter us from what is good and right for each of us.
The whole time I had the "burning in by bosom" kind of feeling and then we read the scripture that says something to the effect of "I will let you know if things are good or right with a burning in your bosom". And it was so awesome because I sat there thinking about things that I'd had fear in lately and felt this "burning in my bosom" and I knew that these things were good and right and that I just need to practice faith and have patience and don't fear. Even right now I feel again that these things are good and right. I love how much God's hand is in my life and I can feel his love for me!

Timing

I sure do love these people!

I wish I was eloquent with words. I have so many thoughts in my mind that I never know how to put to words. And I always want to write them down so I'll remember them but I can never find just the right words. Plus if I was eloquent with words writing papers for school would be a lot easier. Right now I've got to write a paper about of all the classes I'm taking which do I feel is unnecessary. And it's kinda hard to write this paper because I feel like all the classes I'm taking are necessary. 

I really, really, really, really want to see this movie. It looks like a good story line, and plus I've only heard good things about it. 

Squanto (my car) has been filthy lately. He's needed a car wash quite desperately for a while. So the other day I took him through a car was and it did nothing. At all. All the dust and everything was still on there. It was weird and annoying. And then yesterday it poured rain so now he's in even more of a need for a car wash. But I don't care any more. As long as the windows are clean then I'm content. 

So now that I can actually vote I'm realizing that my vote doesn't really count for anything at all. So there's really no reason to vote. Don't get me wrong I'm going to vote just so I can get the sticker that says "I voted" but my vote won't count for anything. My Dad says that everyone needs to vote just to back of what the Electoral College for your state voted but that doesn't even really matter because they can vote however they want whether it goes with or against the common consent of the state. But I don't know that's just my opinion. 

Lately I've been hearing a lot to just trust in the Lord's timing. And I really didn't want to trust in the Lord's timing because I don't really know His timeline for me or if it's what I want. But recently I just decided that I was actually going to trust in His timing and live my life with faith that things will work out in His way and in His time and in the long run I'll be happy no matter what. Once I consciously decided to trust in the Lord's timing it seems like things are finally starting to happen for me. And its wonderful. I just took a leap of faith and right away I'm seeing the wonderful repercussions. And the Lord really does know what's best for me, I may think that I do but in reality I have no idea. So I'm thankful for all the different people and things that lead me to take a leap of faith and trust in the Lord's timing. 

Opportunities

Yesterday my idea of my future began to be questioned. My plan for life was to live it, and if I got married before I was 21, then great. But if not I would go on a mission. My heart wasn't necessarily set on serving a mission nor was it against serving a mission. Then when President Monson announced that young women can serve a mission at age 19 I was overwhelmed with a wave of emotions. First I felt gratitude for the blessing this would be in many peoples lives. My mind went to a girl in my institute class who just this last week asked our teacher how soon girls could turn in their papers. She's only 19 so I felt bad that she would have to wait a couple more years, then I heard the announcement and I was happy for her. I also felt shock. I'm going to be 19 in one and a half months. If I want to go on a mission I can start my papers today! And I also felt some confusion. Should I go on a mission right now, or wait a few more years to see how different things work out. 

My parents were gone at my siblings cross country meet when the announcement was made so when they got back home my Mom came in and said "Rachel! You can go on a mission this year!" But did I want to go on a mission this year? After the first session I went on Facebook and saw a whole bunch of my friends who were already making their decision so easily. I was still confused, and I felt like I had to make a decision that day. So throughout the day I contemplated both of my options and both seemed like they would be right for me. So I prayed about it before I went to bed hoping that by the end of today I would have my answer. 

When I woke up I just decided that I needed to make a decision and then ask the Lord if it was the right one. So I decided I was going to serve a mission, and inquired of the Lord and waited for my answer. 

During Elder Holland's talk this morning I got my answer. Let me preface the answer I got with some background information. When I received my Patriarchal Blessing I was sure that I would someday go on  a mission. I hoped desperately that it meant a couples mission, because to be honest I hope by the time I am 21 to be married. So I didn't really want to have to serve a mission when I was 21. I wasn't anti-mission I was just more pro-marriage (I know I'm so old fashioned.) And now I have the opportunity to serve while I'm 19! 

So do I take the chance and serve now, or wait while and see where I am in life. Then in Elder Holland's talk he talked about judgement day and how he believes Christ will ask "Did you love me?" Well I know that I do love him, but would my life prove that? And then I realized that if I really do love Christ I can sacrifice one and a half years of my life to go and feed his sheep. It's the least I can do, after all He has done for me. So I'm going to seize this opportunity and get my paper's started as soon as possible. I'm eager to get out and share the gospel that has been such a blessing in my life, and to be a part of history. I'm also very excited for the opportunity that this provides to go to the Temple! Never in a million years did I think I'd be going through the Temple at age 19.

I know that the change in age for mission service is inspired. Like President Holland said in the Press Conference yesterday, they made this change because the work is hastening. I'm excited for the great privilege I have to help in the hastening of the Gospel. And I'm ready to get out and serve!

Today!

Ah! Today has been such a good day! For starters I woke up and had to wear slippers to keep my feet warm. I love cold weather! Especially cold, Fall weather. It's the best. I especially love the beautiful colors. The mountains right now are flippen gorgeous! I've been told that I need to go for a drive up the canyon, because apparently up there it's breath taking.

So my English professor finally graded our first of 4 papers. I wish he would have graded them sooner so I could see how I was doing and make the needed adjustments to get where I need to be. Well, like I said, he finally graded the first one and I got 100%! I'm pretty much the smartest person in that class (no lie)! I should have taken an honors English class, but when I was registering I didn't feel that ambitious so I didn't and as a result I am pretty much the most advanced student in the class. This is a very new experience for me.

We had another FABULOUS lesson in Repentance and Forgiveness today. This class never ceases to amaze me. Every day I learn something new about some aspect of the Atonement that I didn't know before. Here's a chart that we're discussing in class. We are just getting into it and yet have spent two days on it.  

It's kind of hard to read, but it's pretty straight forward, when we are finished with all of it I will update so all of you can gain the same, amazing knowledge that I am.

I've got work off today! Yay! I love my job, but some days I just come home and want to get my homework done and then just relax but I can't because of work, so today that's exactly what i'm doing. Just relaxing. It's been too long!

Last night I was super excited for the debate and loved watching every second of it. What am I turning into?

Study Break

My mind needs a study break. In these past three weeks of college I think I've studied more than I did in all my years combined in High School. Hopefully now that I actually study I'll get good grades.

Today in my English class we were peer reviewing our papers we'd just written. And one of the guys who read mine found it totally offensive. I felt bad on the outside, but on the inside I was laughing. I'm mean but the things he took offense over were dumb things. When I wrote my paper I didn't even think it would be possible for anyone to take offense over it. Ha ha. Ah well. Now I know next time I shouldn't try to be humorous in my papers. 

People always seem to take my humor the wrong way. As a result of that I've stopped trying to be funny. That's why people don't think I'm funny anymore. At home I'm funny though. Everyday I manage to scare the  heck out of my Dad when he comes home. And everyday I scare him the same exact way. I just stand behind the garage door and when he comes in and closes the door I scream and he freaks out and says "I'd stop, because next time you're going to get hit" (Not on purpose, He'd hit me because when I scare him its a full body reaction). Well he's said that numerous times and I've yet to be hit. 

Tomorrow is the first official day of fall. I'm stoked. I love fall for many reasons. For one the cool, crisp air. And I absolutely LOVE crunching leaves. People probably think I'm mental because when I walk to class and I'm outside I make sure to step on every single leaf. People can poke fun all they want, but I'm going to continue crunching all the leaves. 

That reminds me. When I was walking, outside, to class today some guy was riding his long board and he totally biffed it. And I felt bad for him, but not because he'd biffed, but because you could tell his ego was deeply wounded. It sounded painful too. Poor guy. But I'm sure he survived. 

Today I was walking down the hall and did one of those the ground was higher than you expected half trips and laughed at myself then two seconds later did it again and I laughed at myself again. One time I was walking down a hallway and this guy did one of those trips and I snickered to myself then did the exact same thing in the exact same spot. It was funny. I learned not to laugh at people when they get hurt after that experience.

Although I still do. I literally can't help it. If someone gets hurt I laugh. Not because I'm mean but because the way they got hurt was hilarious and I guess I like to express laughter more than sympathy so I laugh. So if you get hurt and I laugh at you don't take offense. Just understand that I can't help it. 

This week I had my math teacher tell me I was struggling and needed to get help in the class. I just smiled and said I know. I know. I know. Although really I'm not struggling with understanding everything, I'm just behind because I make my math homework the least of my priorities. So I just need to get caught up. I'm pretty sure the world would be a better place if I didn't have to learn math. Because honestly I'm never going to use anything besides addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in my life. And if I do end up having to used more advanced math than that, then I need to change some things in my life so that I don't have too. 

Well I'm done rambling, I should probably get back to filling my mind with knowledge so I can ace my test tomorrow. Have a great day everyone!

Grateful.

Today I had Repentance and Forgiveness. It's an amazing class, especially today. I felt the spirit so strongly and my testimony grew a ton.

We talked about the fall and sin today. And some of the things that were taught/said made me thing/realize things I'd never thought of/realized before.
-This girl in my class shared a story that one of the Apostles shared recently about how his son was in the hospital because he'd gotten injured or something and the father was trying to get back into the room where her son was but the doctors kept pushing him back and he kept trying again until they finally just locked the doors so he had no chance to get in and comfort his son. Then the Apostle related that when we sin, or are hurting for whatever reason, Heavenly Father can and WANTS to help us. But he can't come to us, like the father couldn't come to his son, we have to go to him. Heavenly Father wants to help us when we're hurting and He will, we just have to get on our knees and pray.
-Another thing that I knew but never really understood was that. Everybody sins. Everyday. Every single person in the World sins. Some big some little. No one is better than the next person because EVERYONE sins. I also understood today that when you don't act on a prompting, you're sinning. I think he called this sins of omission. And it made me think, how often do I do that. It also made me realize that if we're living our lives so that the spirit isn't with us, we are missing out on our opportunities to be prompted and therefore, sinning.
-Today I also realized how much the Savior REALLY does love us all. In class we discussed the story of the woman who committed adultery. And Brother Durfey said something that really struck me. He said something to the effect of, the Savior had a person before him who committed a big sin. A sin that he knew he would have to atone and suffer for. But he didn't chastise her, He forgave her and told her to sin no more. He knew that that sin was going to cause him a lot of pain, but he showed love for her non the less and forgave her. And why would it be any different for me? Christ didn't atone for us for nothing. The Atonement is there for us to use. If we use it, we will be forgiven. No questions asked.
How thankful I am for that. I by no means am perfect. I strive to live righteously everyday but I know I'm not perfect and I do sin. But because of Christ and His Atonement I don't have to live with the burden of my sins. Christ already has, so I don't have to. I just need to get on me knees and pray and repent.

Seriously, if you have a chance, take this class with Brother Durfey. It will change your life.

Bliss

Well, I've officially entered the big, scary, ominous world they call College. And ya know what! I'm actually loving it.

Before I decided to go to UVU I was planning to go to USU. I'd been accepted, I'd registered for classes, I was ready to go. But as time went by I'd lay in bed at night feeling like I shouldn't be going there. But I really wanted to. I didn't want to go to dumb UVU! After all it was my only other option because I refuse to go anywhere down south (why? no particular reason.) and I had no chance of getting into BYU. (And let me tell you. After one day of being on BYU campus during school I am SOOOOO glad I'm not. I'll explain later). So I finally decided that I would just defer from USU for two years and go to UVU.

I was not thrilled. I felt like UVU was the lowest of the lows. But it didn't matter because I was still going to go. Then one week before school started I went to orientation. Still not excited. But then Monday happened. And I realized I am supposed to be at UVU.

In two days I've grown to love the school. It's great! I love that all the buildings are connected (granted it does cause me to get lost everyday. Unless I'm in my classroom or the library I have no idea where I am.) I love that it doesn't feel over populated. Which leads my to why I'm SOOOOO glad I'm not going to BYU.

I get overwhelmed very easily. Extremely easily. The other day I had to meet my brother Jeff at the Wilkinson Center at BYU to return a book I'd bought from the book store there, because I didn't need it any more. So I drove up there and tried to find a parking spot..... For 45 minutes!!!! Are you kidding me? And to top it off all the students think they can cross the street whenever they please! So annoying. Then I finally parked at the Marriott Center, and met up with Jeff. We then proceed to walk into the Wilkinson Center. And goodness gracious there were people EVERYWHERE!

Then we walked into the bookstore and it was like they multiplied. To say the least by the time I left, I was stressed beyond belief. And that is why I am SOOOOO glad I'm not going to BYU. Too crowded. Other than that (and the dumb pedestrians) I love the school.

That's another great thing about UVU. I'm pretty sure they surpassed BYU in enrollment but it never seems over crowded to me. Heck all of my classes are the same size if not smaller than high school classes. It's wonderful and just what I need.

I also love the Institute at UVU. It's the best. My favorite part of the day. I get excited just walking over to the building. I'm taking a Doctrine and Covenant class (which I'm excited for. I love studying the Doctrine and Covenants) and I'm taking Repentance and Forgiveness. That class is amazing. I'm so glad I'm taking it. My brother Jeff suggested that I take it because he loved it when he took it. Today was the first day and I can tell I'm in for a treat. Brother Durfey is the teacher and he's awesome. He's so adamant and sincere about the subject and has such a strong testimony of it. If you ever get the chance to take it, do it. You wont regret it!

Today I was walking down the hall and the Institute had a table set up. And at the table they had Missionaries there! Real Missionaries! How cool is that. You're just walking down the halls and school and all of a sudden you see Missionaries. There are lots of people at UVU who aren't LDS so I just thought that was so awesome that they were there inside the school!

That's another thing that I love about UVU. The fact that there are quite a lot of people there who aren't LDS. Provides for some great missionary opportunities. I had one yesterday, but kind of blew it. There's this kid in my English class from Canada whose on the golf team and UVU and he was talking about how a kid on the team just got back from and LDS Mission and you could tell he was saying that because he wanted to learn more about it. He even asked us all if we were Mormon and we all were except for this one other kid in our group and I wanted to tell him more but I chickened out. But that's A-ok because I've got all semester.

Anywho. I was just excited and wanted to write about how awesome college really is. Especially UVU. (BTW I was a little disappointed to find out that a Wolverine isn't like a wolf or anything, its a relative to the badger and pretty much looks like a badger. It was quite the let down to find that out)

Chopped

This last year my hair had gotten pretty long. And I LOVED it. It was so easy to do anything with it (especially on lazy days). It was easy to make look good, up or down, straightened or just let the natural curls do their thing.
This last year has also been very, VERY hot. The heat with my long, thick hair wasn't a very good combo. Whenever I left my hair down I always felt WAY hot. So I decided that even though I loved my long hair it was about time to cut it. I also had very bad split ends. When I say very bad, I mean very bad. You see I only trust one person to cut my hair. That one person is Schizler, Karen Schizler. She knows what she's doing and always makes my hair look exactly how I picture it, so no one touches my hair but her. And she hadn't cut my hair in over a year.
So this last week we went, she worked her magic, and now my head feels ten pounds lighter, i'm not so hot all the time, and I can run my fingers through my hair with out finding ratty ends. It's wonderful. Now I just need to actually get trims and I can grow my hair back out.
Here's the before:

 That pic is kinda embarrassing but you can see the length. For me that length was quite the accomplishment.

After:

 Kinda fuzzy, but right after I got it cut. 

Susie got a trim. Also, as you can see from the above picture, She is now taller than me. 

My face looks like a different persons face in each picture. Funny.

Today has been oh so stressful. Buying textbooks will be the death of me! And my bank account. I think now that college is actually starting I am never going to have spending money again. Looks like I can't be like those "freshman that walk around in packs of 15 with Aviator glasses and brand new clothes". Haha that's what my brother Jeff said as he explained why he hates freshman. Someday I'll feel the same way, but I can't right now seeing as I am a Freshman. 

Freshman orientation happened and now I can kinda make my way around campus now. Luckily for me all my classes are in two different buildings that are right next to each other, so the chance of me getting lost is slim. 

I'm excited for this next step in life. If you would have asked me a couple of years ago I would of told you that I would have wished that the world would have ended before I would have to go to college, just so I wouldn't have to go. But now I'm way excited. I'm just not so thrilled about all the money involved. (which honestly is so ridiculous to me. I just don't understand why it is so expensive to sit in a class and learn.)

So Monday, this new adventure begins. And I'm ready. I even bought myself some pepper spray! Haha. Lets just hope these next four years go by as quickly, if not quicker, than high school.

WANEGBT

Have you heard this little gem yet? I quite like it. Very catchy. Of course. Taylor Swift wrote it. But I am a little confused. I always thought T-Swizzle was a country singer, but with every new album that comes out her songs sound less and less country! I don't mind. Not one bit. I've grown sick of country over the years so I'm quite enjoying this here new tune of hers. And I'll be willing to bet the WANEGBT is going to become that song that we all get sick of hearing on the radio because it is so over played. But until then I'll keep on enjoying it.

Although there is one problem. I want to buy WANEGBT and a number of other songs on iTunes, but.... I can't. Why? Because growing up sucks. Why does growing up suck? Because you have to go to college and college sucks. But Rachel, why does college suck? You wanna know why college sucks? Because it is so STINKING EXPENSIVE!!!!! I paid all my tuition last night and now I have zero dollars in my checking account. I even had to have my parents loan me a couple hundred so my next pay check will be going to them. So it's going to be a while until I can buy anything. At all. I don't know what I'm going to do about the whole car needing gas situation. Maybe once school starts, for the first little while, I'll be brave and ride my bike to school.

If college weren't so stinking expensive I'd be a whole lot more excited for it. It really puts a damper on things. But I am really excited for my major. I'm going to love learning more and more about it.
What is it that you're majoring, Rachel? Well I'm gonna be majoring in Behavorial Science with an emphasis on Psychology. I'm way pumped. I'm totally intrigued by that kind of stuff. But don't ask me what I plan on making a career in, because I have no idea yet.

When I was still in High School (so long ago, I know) I couldn't wait for college because that would mean that I get to move out. But now, in my wiser older years, I'm more excited to live at home and actually have money. I'm really lucky that my family lives so close to two great Universities. This way I don't have to move far away and be forced to move out and waste even more money. Don't get me wrong, I want to move out someday, but not until I can handle it financially. I want to have a good savings foundation before I start having to pay monthly bills and dumb grown-up stuff like that.

This summer has gone by far to fast. I'm both sad and happy about that. Sad because that means that I have so sit and learn all day again. Happy because fall and winter weather are getting closer and closer. I can't wait until the leaves start to fall and they crunch when you walk on them. I can't wait til I can wear jeans and cardigans and boots. And I can't wait to have soup for dinner all the time (I LOVE soup) and I can't wait to look out the window and night and just watch the snow fall ever so peacefully.

Okidokie, that's enough rambling. Time to get my closet and under my bed organized. Then at eight my shows on. If ya'll haven't seen Trust Us With Your Life I highly recommend it. It's hilarious. It's on Tuesdays at 8 on ABC.

Dream a Little Dream

Tuition is due in 11 days. Boo! I don't want to spend 2,000+ dollars just to learn. I mean come one. Whose idea was that anyways? I really don't understand why college is so stinkin expensive. Maybe one day I'll understand, but I'm not going to bank on it.

With tuition being due so soon that means one thing. School is starting soon. Double Boo! This summer has gone by WAY too fast. I wish I could rewind time. There are a couple days I wish I could relive. Wouldn't that be so great if you could rewind, fast forward or pause time. Oh boy. That would AWESOME!!

My neighbors who have lived across the street, the whole time we have lived here are starting to move today. It's sad. Everyone in this neighborhood seems to be moving lately. Maybe we should jump on the band-wagon. Just kidding. I hope my parents never move out of this house.

The other night I had a dream that I got shot. It was a pretty traumatic dream but the crazy part was that it felt SO real. I woke up and I still felt like I had been shot. I was positive that I had actually, indeed been shot so I just laid there expecting myself to die any minute. Luckily I was not actually shot and I am still alive. But it was a very weird dream/experience and I hope it never occurs again. But after that I did fall back asleep and had one of those dreams you never want to wake up from. Sadly I did wake up and reality hit.

When I was younger I had incredibly crooked teeth. My top two front teeth were all wacko because my grown up teeth grew in before my baby teeth fell out. So because those were messed up all my other teeth were messed up. And people made fun of me all the time for it so I couldn't wait until I could finally get braces.
Then one night I had a dream that I actually had braces. I thought the dream was real, and I was so happy. So that morning I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror to check out my sweet, new braces only to find out I'd only dreamed that I had braces. I was pretty bummed.I get excited to go to sleep at night because I can't wait to see what I will dream about.

I grew up listening to the music my Dad grew up listening to. Because of this I love listening to all the oldie radio stations and all my favorite bands/musical groups are ones that are no longer together or dead or something. One of my favorite oldies are The Mama's and the Papas. I especially love their songs California Dreaming and This song. It's just marvelous.

I've been going to Lowe's Xtreme Air Sports a lot lately. And I am proud to say that I can now do more than a crappy front flip. I can now do a cart wheel with no hands off of the trampoline. I believe, but I could be wrong, that the technical term is an Aerial. I am pretty darn proud of myself. I even made it to the actual tippy-top of the rock wall. This girl is a future Gymnast. I mean I've totally got the right body type and everything for it. I'll be the next Gabby. You just wait and see.

Dun Nuh Dun Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Nuh Nuh

Olympics. Need I say any more? I don't think so. That's about all my life has consisted of lately. But one thing is ruining all the excitement for me. That one thing is Twitter. I love Twitter. I don't like that every time I log on I figure out who won the blasted event that would be on later on that night. I should just un-follow those who are in the Olympics. That might solve my problem. But then again I like going on after I've seen the event and seeing what the Athlete had to say about it. Or maybe if I didn't spend so much time on the Internet I wouldn't have this problem at all.

Lets talk opening ceremonies. Can you say T-A-C-K-Y? I was dying the whole time, of embarrassment for Great Britain. My Dad says I just didn't appreciate the artistic interpretation of it. That may be the case. But really, I don't think so. 

Lets now talk Squanto. Squanto is my loyal vehicle. He's grand most of the time. Some times though he decides that he doesn't want his blinker to work. And it's always at very critical moments. In those moments I hate him. He also really likes to stink. The previous owner really must have loved to smoke because I can't seem to get the blasted smell out of there. So today I tried a new tactic. I scrubbed the seats and floor with carpet cleaner then I got some air freshener. Sprayed my little heart out, then shut all doors. Now hopefully the next time Squanto and I go on a little adventure he wont smell so bad. 

This and That

I've got lots I gotta do today. And I really don't want to do it. So to procrastinate doing it a little longer i'm blogging.

It has been so stinkin' humid lately and I hate it. The other day I was trying to figure out why this year I hate this hot summer weather so much (I usually love the heat of summer) then I realized its because its been humid this year. I hate humidity. It makes me feel gross and hot all day.

Yesterday at work the air conditioning broke halfway through the day. It was 80 blasted degrees inside! It was miserable!

I finally got my first real sunburn of summer. Took me long enough eh? Its only the end of July. It's gotten to the point where it just itches really bad. But I refuse to scratch it because if I scratch it, it will begin to peel and I will loose my beautiful tan and this burn would have been pointless.

Yesterday at Lowes Xtreme Air Sports, I am proud to announce, I made it all the way across their little tight-rope shindig. It took many tries, but I still made it. I couldn't be prouder of myself.

We've got a whole lotta really ripe bananas, so today I'm making banana bread! I absolutely love banana bread. But I can't decide if I should just make the banana bread into actual bread loaves or bake it like a sheet cake and put a yummy browned butter glaze on top. Suggestions?

Anyone out there want to buy my contract for the Branbury from me? I decided that saving my money is more important than having a social life so for this first year of college I'll be living at home saving some dough. But really if you want my contract tell me! That's one of the things on my to-do list for today is start trying to sell that blasted thing.

I really, really love crepes. Especially from Me Crepes. I went there last night after LXAS with Taylor. It was so yummy! I got the Notorious Nutella one. It was good. I recommend it.

I think it is funny that they made this movie.

I have a number of movies I want to see that are in the theaters, but being the paranoid person that I am, I'm too scared to go.

My right eye just experienced the oddest thing ever. It still is actually. It feels like someone is trying to squish it and it kinda hurts.

Tonight is the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. I'm so excited. I love the Olympics.

I really should get to what I need to be doing. You can only procrastinate for so long.

Toodles!

Happy

This past while, well year actually, has been a crazy one. It definitely was not the easiest. I’ve seen a lot of losses and a lot of loneliness. It would easy for me to just not care about anything anymore and just sit and sulk, all day, every day. But then I realized something. The things that have happened this past year are things that I can’t control. The one thing I can control is my happiness. And in the past little while I’ve found many reasons to be happy. And the number one reason is simply because I deserve it.

I deserve to not constantly worry about what others think about me. People may think I am a tall, ugly duckling. But you know what I realized: If I just don’t care what others think about me all my insecurities disappear. And since I’ve decided that the only person who deserves to care about what I look like is me, I’ve gained so much self-confidence. I’ve never felt so happy and beautiful. And you know what, being beautiful feels great!

I’ve also come to really appreciate kindness from perfect strangers. It makes me SO happy.  I appreciate the stranger who smiles, just because. I appreciate the stranger that you meet one place, and then run into at another place and they recognize you and talk to you like you’ve been friends for a while. I appreciate that stranger who from then on, every time they see you smile and say hey. I really appreciate that stranger and look forward to every time I may run into them again just so we can both share a smile. Running back into this stranger makes me REALLY happy!

You can be excellent in every way. You can be first class. There is no need for you to be a scrub. Respect yourself. Do not feel sorry for yourself. Do not dwell on unkind things others may say about you. Polish and refine whatever talents the Lord has given you. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great and strong purpose in your heart. Love life and look for its opportunities. ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

I love this quote. I now respect myself. I don’t care what other people say to/about me anymore. I’m discovering what talents I’ve been given and I’m trying to share them. My eyes are twinkling and I’ve got a smile from ear to ear and I’ve got a purpose in my heart. I love my life and I’m pursuing it’s opportunities.

Don’t let what other people say to you out of their insecurities effect you. Live your life, be happy and love it J

Lex

Yesterday started out like any other Sunday. Our Sunday morning routine was no different than any other day. When we got home from church though, we noticed Lex's paws were a yellow green. We couldn't figure out why, but we just assumed it was from the grass. As the day went on we tried different ways to get Lex to eat his food, because he hadn't eaten in days. We had no luck.
At dinner we tried feeding Lex some of our left over steak. He actually ate it! We couldn't believe it. He might actually start eating and get some weight back on him. About an hour later Lex started vomiting up everything. That's why his paws were the yellow green color. He would lay down and need to vomit and would be too weak to move so he would just let it out on his paws. As yesterday progressed Lex just seemed to get worse and worse.
That after we discovered he'd been throwing up he continued to dry-heave. When he'd do this it was loud and if you saw him you would just feel so awful because he just looked like he was in so much pain, and there was nothing we could do.
Eventually we just let him outside and left him out there so we wouldn't have anymore vomit to clean up. I kept walking out every couple of minutes to check on him and he was just sitting along the side of the house. At this point his breathing was horrible. I just wanted to cry for him when I heard him breath because it was so pained.
After much checking on him I went out one more time and couldn't find him. I asked my Dad if he'd let him back in the house and he'd informed me that he was in the corner by the front fence. I went over there to check on him and I knew he wouldn't be with us much longer. His breathing had gotten way worse and he just seemed like he wasn't there.
I tried to get him to look at me or at least acknowledge me but he just stared straight ahead and wouldn't move. I then just said my goodbyes. I knew when I woke up that he wouldn't be here then I went inside and hid away in my room and bawled. A couple minutes later I got called downstairs for scripture study. I tried to hide any evidence that I was crying and went downstairs.
Before we starting reading my Mom and Niles went out to look at Lex and they came in crying. Susie asked my Mom why she was crying and she told us all that she didn't think Lex would make it through the night either. Then the hysterics started. Emma started bawling and ran outside along with everyone but myself.
A couple minutes later they all came in crying and Susie was carrying him into his room. He was so limp when she carrying him. He was alive but very weak. My Dad then called the vet to see if it would be possible to bring him in. It was so we carried Lex out to the car and my Dad, Susie and Emma hurried off to the vet, while my Mom, Niles and I waited to hear the news.
A while later my dad called to inform us that he might have possible liver problems. If that were the case there was nothing we could do. But it wasn't definite yet. My Dad called again a couple minutes later and told us that Lex had severe diabetes and all of his organs were slowly failing. He was going to die and we could take him home and let him just suffer till he died or put him to sleep. We put him to sleep to put him out of his misery.
While we waited for everyone to come home my Mom, Niles and I began to dig a hole in the back yard at 10:45 pm. It took about an hour for my Dad and Jeff to finally finish the hole. When it was finished those who wanted to see Lex one more time could. The vet had wrapped him in a blanket and put him in a box. I don't usually like seeing dead bodies. I hate viewings because 1. They're extremely sad and I hate crying in front of people and 2. Dead bodies creep me out. But I wanted to see Lex one more time. My Dad opened the box and uncovered Lex's face. He looked so peaceful. They positioned him in the box the exact way that he slept. To my surprise I even pet him one last time. If I didn't know any better I would have thought he was  just sleeping. I'm glad I got to see him one last time though because he hasn't looked that peaceful in a long time.
It took us all a while to finally fall asleep last night because we couldn't stop crying. I sure are going to miss that fat, hairy, loud, fun, silly dog. I'll miss the way he'd bark relentlessly every time we said a prayer and how he'd wine very loudly if we tried to hold him still during the prayer. I'll miss how he'd bark and scare every person who came to the door. I'll miss coming home and finding him asleep on my bed. I'll miss having to go look for our shoes in Susie's room because he'd always take them in there. I'll miss playing hide-and-go-seek with him. I'll miss having to lint-roll myself before I went anywhere because I was covered in his dog hair. I'll miss him coming and whining at us because he wanted to be loved on. I'll miss everything about this Lex.

 I sure loved this fatty.

 He's trying to kill Susie's fish. He was so protective of Susie.

He was our families first ever dog. He was all of our friends. And I'll never forget him. I'm just happy he's not in pain anymore. And sorry if you think this post was morbid or annoying. Everyone's probably thinking "It's just a dog". But I just wanted to post this for me so that I'd remember. Anyways, have a nice day.

Conspiracy Theory

You know I have a theory about all of these fires that have popped up in the last day or two. They're saying that a lot of the fires that have occurred so far in the state are because of people doing target practice. That's practical. But you wanna know what I think? I think that it's all a conspiracy. This is my theory. They're just saying the fires are being started by target practice to cover up the truth. Why would they want to cover up that truth you ask. Well I haven't figured that out yet, but I'm sure of my theory. 

On another note today I actually did something with another human being today. It was way fun. My Pal Rachel and I were planning on going to see The Avengers but the blasted show was sold out. So instead we got Jamba Juice and cupcakes from the Cocoa Bean. It was fun to actually hang out with someone outside of my family.

Also you need to watch this video. It's so sweet. I love Phillip Phillips. He's the best. And I think that movie is that cutest, sweetest thing ever. Also I love that song. 

Well ya'll enjoy your lives. I'm off to go watch the smoke fill the skies. 

What a Dump

Today all my wildest dreams came true. After much anticipation I finally saw The Avengers. Since I saw the trailer for it I could not wait to see it, only I hadn't seen any of the movies that lead up to it. I wanted to see all of those wonderful movies before I watched The Avengers.

So every time I was at a Redbox I would look to see if they had one of the movies. Captain America was the first one they actually had. We watched that and then I went out on the hunt for Thor. Now that is quite the story.

You see I had to do some shopping at Macey's so I planned on checking the Redbox there. I did. They didn't have it. I had to stay in that general area though because I would have to pick up Susie soon, so I swung by the 7-11 on University and checked that Redbox. No luck. I still had time to blow until I had to pick up Susie and I had things that would go bad in a hot car so I called Jeff and asked if I could hang out at his place for awhile since it was just down the street.

So I went over there put my things in his fridge then walked into the living room and what was there sitting on  the couch? Thor! I couldn't believe it. So I returned it for them then got it for myself. Then the Redbox NEVER seemed to have Iron Man (1 or 2) and when they did it was always Blue-Ray and we don't have a Blue-Ray player.

Eventually we got those and watched it. The Hulk we just had to buy cause nowhere seemed to have it. Now after all my determination I have seen all of those movies and The Avengers. Oh that glorious movie! Today has just been the most marvelous day. On top of all my wildest dreams coming true I had the day off! The one thing better than making money is having the day off. Don't get me wrong, I love my job it's just nice to have a lazy day.

Today I have been overly friendly and it has been very embarrassing. Let me explain. Well to start off let me say that riding in the back of a police car gets you tons of attention. Everyone stares. Why? Probably cause they think you are some felon being arrested or something. One time these people would not stop staring at Susie and I when we were in the back of my Dad's car so we milked it and we milked it good. We started acted like what we assumed someone being arrested would act like. It was fun.

Anyways today I was stuck in the back of my Dad's car again. We were turning onto Geneva and I thought I saw my Uncle Jim in a car. So I started to wave. Only it wasn't him. It was some old man. And he probably thought I was some psycho person who was being brought to the mental hospital. And then my Mom and I were driving down 820 and we thought we saw Jeff driving the other way. So we waved. It wasn't him. Moral of the story, I need to not wave at people anymore.

Anyways I think I've rambled enough. I want to go look at the pretty blue sky. Oh wait, that's not possible. Stupid Dump Fire.

A friendless Bum.

I'm a friendless bum. 

I have no people my age that have a desire to be my friend. But that is A-ok! Why? Because I just go hang out with my parents at their work and hang out with all the old rich people. That's right I hang out with State Legislatures and my Dad's fellow Troopers. In the past week I have "hung out" with them twice. 

Yesterday there was some shindig and the EVO (Emergency Vehicle Operations I think) Track. This place is the greatest thing since sliced bread. What do they have here? They have a life size video game and a track where they wreck old police cars. That my peeps, is your tax dollars hard at work. 

Ok. So they don't really crash cars all day and there isn't really one big video game. This place is where they practice how to respond to emergencies safely in their cars and how to do sweet things like Pit-Maneuvers. They have a driving simulator where you can practice speeding through traffic to respond to a crash or chase somebody or anything like that. 

It's really cool and fun. When I did it I was pretty good. Especially when you just had to go down a straight road with all green lights. The guys in there kept telling me I was good at it but I think they were just being nice. I especially sucked it up when they made me do a pit-maneuver. I did it three times on the simulator and out of those three times I crashed twice. It's harder than it looks. Especially when it's just on a computer and your break is as still as I'll get out. At least I wasn't like the Legislator next to me who just drove up onto the sidewalk and was running over pedestrians. 

The really fun part of yesterday was when we got to sit in on a real pit-maneuver. I was terrified. I'd been watching people doing it all day, just waiting for one of the cars to roll. They never did so I finally braved it. There were two cars and three siblings that would be doing this so this meant one of us would have to be in a  car alone. 

I was not going to let this be me. For those of you who really truly know me you know when I am THE MOST paranoid person alive. I did not want to have to brave this terrifying thing alone. But I had to. And to make matters even worse this was my conversation with the guy driving. "So are you Johnson kin?" "Yep. Are you going to kill me. I'm so scared. With my luck this is going to be the time someone dies from this" "Only ten people have been injured from rolling." "WHAT?!" You can roll?"

Why on earth would you tell an already terrified person that? And to make things even better, in the front seat there is absolutely nothing to hold on to except for that little handle on the door that you pull on, to shut the door. Any ways so we did the pit maneuver and I didn't die. It was actually a ton of fun. 

When we got home that night I found out the guy that was driving the car I was in was making fun of me while he was talking to my mom. How rude. But lets be real I probably would have made fun of me if I was him. 

So moral of this blog post. Friendless bum? Just go to work with your Mom and Dad and you'll make tons of new friends. 

A Beginning and an End

Well the day I thought would never come has indeed come and gone. Graduation was yesterday! Growing up I always looked forward to graduation but always thought it was too far away and that I would never live to see the day (yes I had weird logic). Yesterday just seemed so surreal to me. I was beyond excited but I didn't want to believe that it was really happening. I didn't feel I was ready to say goodbye to the life of being a teenager in High School. I was and still am beyond excited that I am done with High School but I feel like last night I said goodbye to my childhood. The ceremony was so fun. It was fabulous to go to a graduation and actually be the one graduating. I am way glad I am done with High School but I'm also a little sad. It's all definitely bitter sweet. After graduation I went to the all night party. I am so glad I went. It was a blast. We went up to the Boondocks and just partied the night away. While there I also drove some go karts. It was so much fun. I loved being able to speed around a track as recklessly as I wanted. There was also a Hipnotist at the party and watching all that was a real hoot! It was all in all a fun, fun day and night. I didn't want it to end. I wish I could have just stayed in that day for forever. But that is not possible, so I'll move on to bigger and greater things. Yesterday was an end to childhood and a beginning to adulthood.

Oh, really? Is that so?

It's been awhile. Why? Because I swear my brain is is good for nothing as of late and I can never remember anything! It's really quite annoying! But don't worry I've found some brain exercises on Pinterest that claims you'll have a stronger brain in 10 days! Haha I wish. But I'm sure if I looked on Pinterest I could find something to that effect.

Pinterest is so great! I love it. It is whats going to keep me alive in college. I've designated my "Delish" board to be my recipe book that never got made for me for college. It's brilliant I know!

Speaking of college, if you would have mentioned college to me 6 months ago I would look at you in despair for bringing up such a horrible subject. I used to say that I hoped the Second Coming would happen before I came of college age so I wouldn't have to go. If you mention college to me today I get all giddy and start jumping off the walls.

I've got senioritis big time and I cannot wait to go to college. Next fall I will be going up to Utah State! I'm pretty excited. It's going to be big for me though. Logan is pretty far for me. You see I'm the kind of person where if I was invited to a party on a Friday night but I knew my family was going to watch a movie together that night I'd rather stay home with my fam!

If I ever plan on having a social life or ever getting married I should probably change that. Anyways back to Utah State... So I'm excited to go up there but I'm kind of forcing myself to go because if I don't I don't think I'll ever fully grow up.

So now I'm just prepin for the big league! I still need to apply for housing but there's a stinking $150 application fee and as of right now I am not made of money. That's also why I've been applying for scholarships like there's no tomorrow.

The other day I went with my Mom to work and right now the legislative session is going on so she is up at the capital all day. When I was there I told her I was going to ask all those rich politicians if they wanted to give me a scholarship. I had no success. After they all told me no I told them I would never vote for them. (I can vote now, well not officially. I just have to actually mail in my registration then I am an official voter)

That's just one of the many joys of being 18! 18 is the greatest age I have ever experienced. I love that I am now able to play the "I'm an adult you can't make me do that" card on my Mom and Dad. I'm sure they love that too! (Even though most of the time I'm joking but it still usually works). Also let me just say the most satisfying feeling as of late is being able to sign your own things like permission slips and such! The only thing I've yet to do is bye dry ice. I need to get on that.

Well I just sat here at my computer trying to think of something else to write about but nothings coming so I will conclude this post now.

This post is now concluded.