I'd Rather Not...

So...let's NOT talk about what I did this summer, I'm pretty sure you've heard too much of that.

Let's NOT talk about what I didn't do this summer. There's just too much.

Maybe...let's talk about what I learned this summer. Sounds much more profound.

You gotta live in the moment. Because if you spend 3 months waiting for college to start, come August 21st, you're going to find that summer went away much too soon.

Remember in Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy says "If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with!" Remember that?? Well. You don't have to go anywhere special to have a fabulous time. All that matters are the people that you're with. In fact, a lot of the greatest times DID happen in my backyard. So, just because I didn't go to Disneyland or New York or Paris (although I wouldn't mind traveling to any of those places...) doesn't mean that I didn't have an excellent time this summer.

Let's be real. Shawn Spencer is intensely attractive.

Tim McGraw knows what he's talking about. Living like you're dying is the greatest thing a person could possibly do. I spent this last week living like the summer was dying...because it was...and it was one of the greatest weeks of the entire summer. And I can't figure out why I don't do it every day of my life.

So new commitment. I want to live like I'm dying. I mean, if I happen to get in a car accident on my way to school one day this week or something (please no please no please no), I want to be able to say that my life was fabulous. I want to be able to say that before I die! Mostly I just don't want to die. But I just want to live life to the fullest. Especially in these, my college years (HA!). I really do think this is going to be fun.

PS--college does indeed start tomorrow. In case you weren't aware. And you know what? It's gonna be great! (If you haven't seen Winnie the Pooh, DO IT. Then start singing like Tigger. That's what I'm doing right now. In case you wondered...) Wanna hear (read) my schedule? I know you do.

MWF--English, Economics through History, Intro To Theatre, Institute--Book of Mormon (MW)

TTh--Public Speaking (whassup Grandpa Richardson? We'll party.), Intro to Visual Arts, Institute Choir (TThF)

Sounds like a party, right?? That's what I'm hopin for. Also, that I don't die.

In my spare hours, I can be found at Bowman's. Please come visit me. Help me maintain my sanity. Okay great.

Happy new school year, kids!

Perhaps this is insignificant...

...but today was a big day. I lit a match for the first time. Several matches, actually.

Okay, there's no perhaps. That is definitely insignificant. But, coming from a person who's rather afraid of fire (as well as heights, spiders, bees, and the like), it was a pretty big step.

I look forward to the day when I will be able to light candles on a cake and fireworks in my driveway.

Oh, and good news. As a result of this little event, my paracord will no longer fray.

Yep, today was a good one.

Dear new Subway kid,

We've all been there. The first few days on the job can be rough, trying to get everything figured out. I can understand that it might take a little while, maybe you move a little slower at first, it's fine.

But let's just discuss the construction of my 6-inch Turkey on wheat this evening.

I mean, what happened there? It's not incredibly difficult to make. It wouldn't seem to make much difference, but when one is a Subway connoisseur, like myself (we're talkin at least twice a week here), the structure of the sandwich makes all the difference. Would we want to compromise the integrity of the sandwich by making it incorrectly? I think not.

Bread? Good. Meat? Let's talk. You gotta fold it. Three slices, each folded in half. If you just lay it on there, it crosses over to the other side, which, in folding, disturbs the placement of the toppings.

The toasting went well. The fact that you didn't know where the honey mustard was located disturbed me just a little, but I overlooked it. Only 2 slices of tomato, not three. Distribute the pickles just a little more. Green peppers--well done.

I suppose the spinach was my fault. I never ask for it. While I do enjoy it in a salad, it's just not the best thing on the sammy. But! I wouldn't have asked for it if there had been an adequate amount of lettuce there already. Just saying.

It wasn't a terrible sandwich. It still had the right ingredients (except the spinach, most of which I removed), so the potential was there, but it lacked in a very serious manner. The composure was just all wrong. Mostly, I didn't like the fact that sometimes the only thing I got in a mouthful was turkey and bread. Even distribution is key for the optimum enjoyment.

I appreciate your efforts, new Subway kid. I certainly hope that when we meet again, this will all be remedied and my sandwich will be excellent once again. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Kelsey, who occasionally gets desperate when she's working a long shift at the grocery store across the parking lot and could use a really good meal to get through the rest of the night.

I'm too lazy to title these?

Some days, it feels real good to get up, get ready, then go and do. Today...not really one of those.

I was up by 9 (ish), which is a pretty great accomplishment. (Just a thought--I know most people wait until 9 to make phone calls...I think it should be 10. That's all.) But...I maybe stayed in my room until almost noon? I mean, I went and had breakfast and stuff, but I just had things to do! I blame my mother--she showed me these blogs that she reads. And they're fabulous. And I love to read. I mean, I can hardly finish an entire book to save my life, but what's a few (hundred) blog posts? That's nothing!

These two sisters, Stephanie and Courtney, are amazing writers. I learned about Stephanie when my seminary teacher showed us a Mormon message about her after she'd been in a plane crash and her body was covered in burns. Her story is crazy inspirational! You can watch the Mormon Message here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHDvxPjsm8E or read her blog, http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ Her sister Courtney is hilarious! I...may've spent hours reading her posts and watching her vlogs this weekend, laughing the whole time. Read it all here: http://blog.cjanerun.com/

So what if this was my favorite part of the weekend? Okay, that's not true. Just one of my favorites.

Sunday night was excellent. Dinner at Grandpa Curt's isn't always my favorite thing in the world. Sometimes it just gets weird. But last night we had dinner in the backyard; Grandpa made ribs and Aunt Robyn made the best Banana Cream Pie in the whole world. I love my family. I love my grandpa's backyard.

Then bonus! We were invited over to Larmore's for a "fireside"...s'mores and hangin out with Doug and Sarah! The only thing I love more than the smell of a campfire is the smell of sunscreen...something about those two just make me so happy! Must be a summer thing...

Something about Sunday just felt extra summery. I liked that our neighbors were outside. We were outside. It felt real good.

Summer: Weeks 7 and 8 and all the stuff I forget to write about...

I feel like I've spent a lot of the summer just waiting for college to start...that is no way to live. So I've been trying to distract myself from that fact and just keep on truckin...while taking links off my countdown paper chain.

Update on the car sitch: We got the tint off pretty easily...my windshield is still covered in glue, however. It's a little gross. Anyway, I have until Tuesday to go to court, and of course it's closed tomorrow. I hate doing stuff on the last day. The second to last day is fine, but the last day? Whatever. It'll be fine.

Harry Potter. Maybe changed my life? Just a little bit. That show is fabulous. Maybe I've seen it twice. Whatever.

Also, while we're talking movies--Captain America? It was pretty good! I was a little skeptical at first, clinging to my mom's arm a few times there in the middle, and pretty satisfied when it was over. Good show.

I spent a little time with Audrey Hepburn this week. She is definitely one of my heroes. So amazing. Funny Face and Breakfast At Tiffany's, both were fabulous! I don't know why I didn't watch them sooner! They make me happy. Watch them both right now.

I went to orientation up at Weber! It kinda scared me just a little bit, but it wasn't so bad. I almost know where things are, but I'm making my mom go with me tomorrow to try to figure it all out. I also registered for institute so now I'm starting to get a little excited. This is good.

I took a spontaneous road trip! I had just returned from work to find my family putting on their shoes, which only happens when they're going somewhere. And where were they going? Girls Camp! Oh my goodness. I wasn't going to go, I was going to stay far away. But if my family was going...why couldn't I? Five minutes later, we were on our way to Camp Zarahemla! Fabulous night? Definitely. And...maybe we went again the next night? A little less spontaneous, but still a great experience. I love girls camp so much. It was a little strange to be there as a visitor, but so amazing to watch the girls and see how much they'd changed and how much their testimonies had grown that week. I found myself reminiscing about my camp experiences, I'm so grateful for everything I learned during those few days each summer.

I spent two consecutive weekends in Bear Lake--excellent tan? Check! I first went with the fam, then I went with some friends for a little graduation/senior trip adventure! Aunt Robyn and Uncle Rick's cabin is one of my favorite places ever. I wouldn't mind living there for the rest of my life...

While in Bear Lake for the first time, I read another book! Confessions of a Shopaholic--I definitely enjoyed it. It was so funny, but I hate to say that I wouldn't ever recommend it to anyone, thanks to some crude language. I wish it hadn't been in there, the book would've been so much better!

So that new recipe thing? Yeah...hasn't been happening so much. My mom's tried a few, and of course I've had to help eat them...so the losing ten pounds thing hasn't really been happening. I've kind of taken a two-month vacation from that, as well as running. But that ends tonight! Tomorrow is the beginning of a new month, which is a pretty good time to start (or restart...or re-restart...) something. So I'm making Micaille go walking with me, and who knows? Maybe we'll end up running at some point in our lives. We'll just see.

Did I mention that school starts in three weeks? Does that feel really soon to anyone else? Maybe just a little? But I think I'm ready...or hopefully I will be. It's gonna be an adventure, that's for sure.

Well, at least it wasn't my fault!!

I'm sure everyone does this to a certain extent--from the first day you start driving, you wonder what your first accident will be like, what's going to get you pulled over for the first time, stuff like that. Okay, maybe I'm the only one.

I was positive that my first car accident would be my fault. I'd be trying to turn left onto Main Street from Burton Lane, I wouldn't see the car turning onto Burton Lane, and we'd collide. It's definitely stupid to plan on that happening, but I was positive that's how it would happen. I guess I'm pretty glad I was wrong. While it did cost me a dear friend (RIP Rhonda), it didn't kill anyone (well, except Rhonda), and at least it wasn't my fault!

I was even more sure that I'd get pulled over for speeding before anything else. I do generally try to go five within the speed limit, but occasionally I'm late for work or just dying to get out and drive with my windows down and music blaring, and I don't know! Maybe I drive a little (really) fast.

Well, today, I found out that I was wrong yet again. I was running some errands when I was pulled over by a highway patrolman. I knew I hadn't done anything wrong: I'd been at a complete stop and had my signal on when he saw me. I was even stopped behind the stop line, which doesn't always happen! I was so confused...and a little terrified. I did always know that I wouldn't cry when I got pulled over, I'm glad I was right about that.

So it turns out that Officer C. Jones pulled me over because the tint on my windows is too dark. What?? Okay, yeah. It's really, really, really dark. But the dang guy that sold it to me said it had passed inspection! Liar. Officer Jones said there's no way it could've passed and I believe him. Lola (Sadie's stage name (Sadie's my car, in case you haven't met her)) is from Vegas and she's a pretty shady lady. She's a babe, but she's shady. Anyway, Officer J gave me ticket and some tips for removing the tint then sent me on my way. He was nice, but he's definitely not my best friend.

I'd just like to say-- at least it wasn't my fault!! Sometimes I'm glad that I'm wrong. (But curse the dang car salesman! He'll be hearing from us. And probably C. Jones.)

So...that kinda ruined my day. 'Kinda' as in 'pretty much did'. But after a pedicure, a peach and talking with some of my favorite people in the world, I conquered Tuesday. It had me down for a few hours, but I got it in the end.

Should anyone find themselves needing something to do, I'll be having several tint-removing parties over the next few days...it's gonna be fun!! We'll listen to fun music and I'll take you out for ice cream once it's all done...so come on over!

iSlack

Oh goodness! I guess I've been so busy leading my crazy, demanding life that I just haven't had time to even think about updating my blog!......

.....or I'm just super lazy. Either way...

So this thing called summer. The weather finally matches the calendar (well, today anyway...)! Epic tan?...still working on that. Hopefully 6 days in Bear Lake will solve that problem.

All I really do is work, sleep, and occasionally party real hard. Bowmans...that's where you'll find me. 30 hours is barely more than an entire day, but it feels like eternity when you're scanning groceries or standing on some purple line. But...sometimes I kinda like it. I have some pretty fabulous coworkers who have great relationship stories, tap-dancing skills, and the patience to read Laffy Taffy jokes with me. I even have managers who share the theatrical passions that I do! As much as I'd hate to say that I like my job, I like the fact that I'm friends with the people that I work with. We actually have fun. I like that part.

As far as movies go...I can't remember what I've watched or when I watched them... I did just finish my Harry Potter marathon in preparation for tonight's midnight premiere! 6 movies down, 2 to go (tonight's a double feature of part 1 and part 2!). My friend Alison (yeah, she was my young women leader, but we're friends and that's just how it is) scored some free tickets to the new theater in Farmington...along with free popcorn and drinks...unlimited Diet Coke? I think I might be more excited for that than the actual movie. And last night I made a t-shirt with the mark of the Deathly Hallows...I'm goin in style :)

I did finish Gilmore Girls, in case you would care to know. I've been going through withdrawals for two and a half weeks now. I really love that show. It just makes me happy! On Sunday...I had a dream that my grandma was Emily Gilmore. And it was reeeeeally excellent. That's all.

I read another book! The Book of Awesome. It's about all of the small things that make your day. Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row, the smell of crayons, when you hear someone's smile over the phone...it's so happy! It's so easy to look right over those things, it's funny to see that other people love these small things just as much as I do!

Ooh 4th of July!! Eh...let me try again.

Ooh fireworks!! I love them so much! So maybe I'm terribly afraid of fire...I've never been able to hold a sparkler...but I love fireworks! They are so gorgeous. I'm really liking these new aerials, it's like Davis High fireworks in your driveway! I don't know why, I just really love them. Don't love them quite as much when there are a bunch of chatty teenage girls sitting behind me or when my dad's asking me about the music that's playing...I need it to be quiet. It makes the popping even better.

FUTURE HUSBAND: Proposal idea? Fireworks. Without chatty teenage girls. Just a thought.

Happy Bastille Day, everybody.