Best. Score. Ever.

There's something you should know about me.

I'm a nut when it comes to grades.

I'm always checking Skyward (the online gradebook) because

I'm curious to see if my grades have changed since the last time I checked, 

I want everything to be right,

and I like knowing what scores I have.

Yes, I understand I'm a little weird.

Why am I talking about grades??

Well, simply because I saw something that made me happy. Really happy.

I got 101% on my Stats test :D

Why does this make me happy??

It's an AP class, 

Only 2 kids got a 5 on the AP test last year (it's hard),

My highest score before this was a 93%,

I get an A for this term,

And because I haven't gotten a 100% since elementary school... to list a few reasons :D

Hmm.. 2 other things that made me happy today...

I ate a steak for lunch, that was definitely a highlight. What else, what else?? Umm, I finally paid my tithing today. I've been waiting til I get a sizable amount, and I think I just made myself a record for most paid at one time..

My Pursuit to Happiness

2011-2012 Seminary theme: Seek to Find Him.

Our seminary counsel has given us a few challenges for this upcoming month of November.

Seek Happiness

Seek a Testimony

Seek to Find Him

Seek the Temple

One challenge for each week, simple enough.

The Seek Happiness challenge is to write about 3 things that make me happy each day. 

So. For the next while I'll be adding an extra little piece to all my posts.

1- I'm not stressed about school.

2- I got my check today, um, yesterday I guess.

3- I'm almost caught up in my Old Testament readings... and I'm going to bed, finally

:D

One

"... slightly irreverant Shakespearean abc book..."

I guess working at the library does have a few perks, overhearing conversations being one of the big ones :D

Food for thought.

The power of one, standing up even if you have to stand alone.

A picture book called One gave the following lesson:

It only takes one.

If one person has the courage to stand up, in most cases others will follow. 

It's hard to be the one that stands, but guaranteed there is probably another person who is feeling the same way but is too shy or doesn't want their friends to make fun of them or just wants to be accepted by that group so they stay silent.

A lot of the time, I'm that person.

This is me saying, I want to change.

I want to be able to stand up for myself and others, even if I have to stand alone.

I want to have the courage to stand by what I believe.

What about you??

Dust, dust and what? Oh yeah, more DUST!!!

Have you ever wondered what it's like to chase cows??

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

You be the judge of that

Here, from left to right, we have Brock, the far away, tiny guy is Justin, he's the helping hand on the ranch... Next is Bailey, then Asia on the 4-wheeler. You see Kylee? This was her first time riding a horse, legitly, I mean. And there's Dad, chillin' in the back, avoiding the dust..

 I was hanging around Brock for a lot of the way... Til he started singing that is :D

Do you see that dust?? The spot we were in was particularly bad.

 Kylee said she wanted the 'full experience' so we decided to give it to her :)

In this shot we can see maybe a half of the herd. The rest are hidden by the gritty dust. Oh, and do you see Leppy? She's our cowdog,  Dad named her, so don't ask :D See the 3rd cow on the left? Right below it is our coyote-looking dog doing her job.

Talk about a nice day. Hardly any clouds, super pretty mountains...

Brock, Asia and Kylee and lots of ...Duuust...

What more can I say?? Herding/ chasing cows is slow, boring, and gritty.
Not to mention there's no change in scenery...

This is what I get to look at hours on end... Although, this ride was pretty short, maybe 2 hours.

Did I mention the heat and absence of clouds??

Aahh, here's Leppy.
If I remember correctly, her name means an orphan calf... but that's neither here nor there... Leppy is quite possibly the most entertaining thing while herding, besides Brock that is ;) She runs back and forth, making sure none of the cows fall behind. And every now and then a cow turns around and tries to kill her.. it's pretty entertaining :D

I take it back, Asia got the best dusting out of all of us :D

Brock and Bailey... I'm pretty sure this was the point where Bailey was threatening to pull Brock off his horse unless he quit singing. Personally, I was completely entertained by both of them, the singing and the threats to make it stop.. which it didn't :D

Let me tell you, though you've seen it, you still have no idea what it's like. The experience isn't complete without the pain and soreness you feel afterward... unfortunately, I can't give you that sense.

But. Now for the good stuff...

Once we rode back to the truck, a snake was found. It's a baby blow snake - they kill rattlesnakes. What does that say??

Do you see how dusty Bailey's hands are??

This was pretty great. Me and Brock took a pellet gun and shot at soda... Heehee... It's quite fun :D

No worries, I'll have better pictures soon.

You have no idea how hard it is to get a good shot, just thought you should know :)

Have I ever mentioned how I hate pictures?

They're the worst.

End of story

Confidence is the Key

I'm a slacker, I know, I'm sorry!!

It's just that I haven't downloaded any pictures yet, and nothing insane is happening in my life...

Have you ever seen the movie Zombieland?

Yeah, it's completely pointless and kinda on the gory side.

But.

I do like the 2 main actresses:

 Abigail Breslin (in pretty much anything that's good) and Emma Stone (the Help)

I was going through Emma Stone's movie list on imbd trying to remember the name of another movie she played in...

Actually, now that I think of it, the 3 movies I've seen her in I pretty much love.

Easy A, Zombieland, and the Help

Anyway, I read through a bunch of her quotes and found this one at the bottom, 

[on beauty] Confidence is the only key. I know a lot of people who aren't traditionally 'beautiful' - not symmetrical or perfect-bodied or perfect-skinned. But none of that matters because all that shines through is their confidence, humor and comfort with themselves. I can't think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.

I think I love her even more now :D

Wilderness Entertainment

Exploding cans, killer snakes, and a fish or two.

That was the majority of my day...

I have an explanation for the exploding cans, pictures also, but not now. I'm in the desert with no camera cord...

Kylee found us a baby rattlesnake, deadly of all deadlies. It's now her prized rattler, if you see what I mean :D

and.. we did some fishing. 3 fish caught, 2 kept, and 2 cooked up. Mm mm Good :)

... I think I have a bone stuck in my throat...

Ideals

Have you ever really liked to do something, but only end up making a fool of yourself??

Yeah, that's me.

Orderville

Oh my freaking heck, I HURT!!!!

Yesterday I hiked 12 miles in 10 hours and 20 minutes. 

I have never done anything remotely as hard as that before in my entire life.

I feel very accomplished.

I'll give more details when I don't ache all over and when I get some pictures... they're pretty awesome :D

In Walk the Spawn of Satan...

Once upon a time I was in 6th grade.. at Lincoln Academy.

It was the opening year, and 6th grade was considered Jr. High, so, like all other Jr Highs, I had multiple teachers.

One of these teachers was Mrs. Hazlett.

She didn't like me very much, which is weird because everybody, especially teachers, just adore me :)

I remember one time, about halfway through the year, a bunch of friends were carrying around a petition against her grading policy... and her in general. Oh, I was only too eager to sign that innocent piece of paper. Of course, luck was on our side. The next day that incriminating, not so innocent piece of paper was on her desk.

Talk about scary!! 

Not only did we strongly dislike this teacher, but now she knew exactly who we were. Yeeaaahhhh, not quite the start to Lincoln I was hoping for.

I'll just add that she wasn't asked to teach there again...

It's been 6 years. I'm now in 12th grade.

But who shows up as my sub today?? That's right. Dear old Mrs. Hazlett.

At first I wasn't sure, I mean, she said her name was Mrs. Hazlett, but come on, after that year I blocked out anything Hazlett related.

Of course, I was sitting by Tori and we were messing with each other, as usual. Tori said something completely insulting to me [haha, not really, she couldn't insult me if she tried :) ] so, naturally, I punched her. We're both laughing, right? I glance across the room and of course...

There's Mrs. Hazlett, staring daggers at me.

"Turn around, work on your assignment and start acting more lady like." [haha, as if that'll ever happen :D] 

She said a bit more, but I was too shocked to hear it all. I knew I was in trouble and it took me a minute to realize she wanted me to acknowledge whatever it was she was saying to me.

Honestly though, I was shocked. First off, because I had been caught. Second, because it was her. And lastly, because she got mad at me in front of the class. I'm pretty good at being invisible, so to be called out by the devil's right hand was just a little embarrassing. Luckily for me, my friends were totally supportive. They couldn't believe she'd told me to act like a lady :D

It's been 6 years. I have always been on the teacher's good side. Always. I may have been told off a time or two, but that would've been for reading during class. I'm not disruptive, not normally anyway. In walk Mrs. Lucifer and boom. I'm in trouble.

What is it about her?? She hates me. I don't get it, I seriously don't.

I mean, what did I ever do to her? I signed that petition, yes, but I'm pretty sure just about everybody in the 6th grade did. And it's not like she remembered me. Haha, had she remembered me she probably would've sent me to the principal's office :)

A lot of you are most likely thinking I'm being way harsh and judgmental and mean and everything we're taught not to be. In my defense, let me just say if you knew Mrs. Hazlett, you'd agree wholeheartedly. Guaranteed.

My good friend Moe loves everybody, and everybody loves her. We went to Lincoln together, here's what she said when I told her Mrs. H was my sub.

"WHAT THE???? i totally remember her.... i'd probably leave class, honestly that poor woman.... hahahah"

Needless to say, I'm not the only one who feels this way :D

What's Holding You Back??

If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? ~Stephen Levine

I have no idea who this Stephen Levine is, but boy, he makes a person think.

It's all very thought provoking, but the part that I love is the end, when he says 'Why are you waiting?'

I know for me, life just seems like it will go on forever. Nothing dramatically life changing will ever happen to me or anyone I'm close to. Everything is going to be fine, it will work out the right way.

What does that even mean?!?!!

Plain and simple? It's a complete and total delusion.

I recently had a wake up call. 

Before I thought: I don't need to study, I can wing this ACT, get in the 30's and get a scholarship for school...

Now: Oh my heck!!! I only got a 28, I don't qualify for the Regent's and it's a toss-up if I can get into the college of my choice!! Oh crap, why haven't I prepared myself better?

Maybe not so dramatic as that, but essentially, yes. This is what I'm feeling.

Basically what I'm trying to get at is this:

You don't know what your future holds, what will happen to those close to you. So why do we wait for the right moment to say what we feel? What if that moment never comes and the opportunity has passed? What I mean is, it's important to let the people you care about KNOW they're important to you.

Besides, you can't get anywhere without taking a few risks, right :D

Key Club

Club of keys? Old keys, new keys, shiny keys, dull keys??

Nope, sorry :)

It's service, and guess what?

I'm the... Chief Advisor... Wisdom Giver??

Okay, so I don't have an official title, but I mean, really, who needs one anyway??

See, my friend Josh ran for Pres. He wanted me to run for VP, but I don't like talking to people... yeah, that could be a bit problematic...

Well, after the 2 guys that signed up for VP gave their spiels on why they should hold the power of the President's Vice, I knew I could've beat them. But, I couldn't just jump up and say, oh hey, I forgot to sign up, can I run?

Do you know how unprofessional that would've been???

But, lucky me, I don't need a fancy smancy title.

Why?

Because Josh was voted Key Club President of 2012

We're pretty tight, and we've known each other since 10th grade, so, what.. 2 years-ish. That sounds right.

 But he's not just a random acquaintance, oh no, we've worked together in the past. We've done class projects and under the instigation (that's a word right???) of Josh, raised money for the people of Haiti after the earthquake in 2010-ish.

This kid who was voted at VP, we don't know him. Josh knows me, and he respects my opinion (at least, I think he does, I hope he does...) according to him, I'm higher on his list than his VP.

Which makes me what?

I know I don't need a title, but come on, tell me true, it would be kinda nice :)

Executive Advisor, has a nice ring to it don't ya think? :D

Lion Meets Wizard

Mufasa, king of the lions

Dumbledore, most powerful wizard of all

Who woulda thought.. Albus and Mufasa.. friends.

Meet Mufasa and Dumbledore in Cry the Beloved Country..

It's funny because when you watch the movie, it's hard not to think of Lion King and Harry Potter :D

And honestly, I never thought I'd see Professor D. without his beard, or Mufasa without his mane..

Actually, I never thought of these guys playing in other movies...

It's Official... #2

It's official... again.

I just sent in my application for SUU.

I'm on my way to growing up and going to university.

I'm completely blown away.

There's no possible way I'm this old, and ready for college. How could time pass by so quickly.

It's uncanny.

I'll get my answer back in a month or less...

I'll let ya know if I got in :)

It's Official

It's official. My dad is now a published writer.

I'm so proud :D

Now if only he'd send me a copy...

Life Is No Game

Obstacles of Life.

That was the game we played for mutual, but you know what?

It was more than a game, way, way more. It was a life lesson. An important one.

Blindfolded, we were supposed to make our way through 'life' (the obstacles) holding to 'the iron rod' (a piece of string). The Holy Ghost (our guide) would help only if asked, there were also the tempters, talking your ear off, trying to get you to let go of the rod... If you let go, you lost and were taken to the 'terestial kingdom' (downstairs room, no chairs or food. But if you held tight, asked your guide for help and made it all the way, it was to the 'celestial kingdom' you went. Soft chairs, food, lights... a happy place.

I'm happy to report I was the 2nd person to go and the 2nd person to make it all the way without letting go of the rod. I asked my guide for help a lot and, even though I made conversation with my tempter, refused to listen to anything she said.. She threatened to pour water on me and I may have told her to do her worst... but I held on :D

Once I got to the 'celestial room' I got to talk with Sis Hall.
{Just so everybody knows, I LOVE this lady.. and no, I'm not saying this just because I know she reads the happenings of my life :)}
She helped me put the entire activity into perspective.
See, while I was watching the people being guided down the stairs, I was laughing. I know, not so saintly :D In truth I was surprised at how many people didn't make it to our little happy room..
Here's where the putting it into perspective thing comes in. Sis. Hall had 2 daughters, both of which let go of the rod, due to the tempt-happy young men of course.

It's a game, right?
Perhaps.
But let me tell you, I could tell it wasn't the same for dear Sis. Hall. She wanted her kids with her, in the same place she was.
I, on the other hand, had no family present at this stupendous activity and all my friends were the tempters and guides. I was happy enough to sit and talk with the people that had successfully accomplished the obstacle course, but I still missed them.

This made me realize that pure happiness cannot me found if the people you love the most aren't there by your side.


Not to break this thoughtful mood I've created, but I must share a quote with you.
"If math was a puppy, I'd drown it." - random guy walking down the hall at school.
High school, what can I say :D

Perfect with a Side of Fries

Totally Non-related Side Note: A question on my math said 'blah blah blah blah will do less well blah blah blah.' The blahs aren't important, but can you do 'less well' or is that just called worse? Haha, made me laugh while I was doing my homework... buuut that could've been the coke talking :D

Anyway.

You remember that one time I kinda bashed on Sammy's?? 

Yeah, I take it all back. Every word.

Come lunch time I was craving popcorn.. I don't know why, I just was... I was prepared to stop at Water Gardens and buy a $1, extra buttery popcorn. 

But no.

  Annika wanted a real lunch, whatever that is, and voted Sammy's. And because I'm a pushover for my best friend, I agreed. 

Kylee came and all together we ordered 2 sandwiches and 2 shakes. A little pricey, yes, but totally worth it.

 Their food is top notch, like, right up with Purple Turtle. Not to mention we had our food in less than ten minutes... although I guess that coulda been because we beat the crowd.. either way though, it was good, it was fast, and I'm sorry. Clearly I'm not cut out as a restaurant critic.

But I do know what I am cut out for... you ready for this??

I've been selected as a premiere applicant for SUU...

I think it means they want me :D