Monday

Today it was so sunny and [relatively] warm! So what better thing to do on such a day with no school than go on a hike!? So that's what we did :) We chose to hike up to Poo Poo point and eat lunch at the top. So Brandon, Josh and I packed up some lunches, plenty of water, tied our tennis shoes, hopped in the car and drove down to Issaquah. It was a beautiful day, but after being cooped up in the house studying for finals for so long, that trail kicked our boo-tays! Suffice it to say that we were sucking wind after not too long... However the top was more than worth it. Being the ever prepared and organized young adult that he always is, Brandon had had enough forethought to bring a picnic blanket, so Josh picked us a spot and we all sat down for lunch :) It was good :)

Here's Joshy-moo at the top :) He is too cute. He had ridiculous amounts of energy and ran nearly the entire way up! (With Josh in tow I think we got some weird looks from other hikers though... If you catch my drift ;))Brandon and I, who were SO happy to have made it to the top :) Taken by Mr.Moo above with Brandon's magical iphone 4S; Josh loves taking pictures for people. I think it makes him feel special and important, and he's even getting pretty good at it too :)

After getting our derriers handed to us by a mountain, we went back to my house, watched Tangled and then made pizza for dinner for everybody. All in all, it was a pretty darn good day :)

Magical Tid-bits

Here's some tid-bits of happiness that I have been meaning to post but didn't exactly want to put up five, two-sentance posts:
Numero Uno: I am a Senior this year which means that I followed social suit and found a really awesome photography duo and bribed them to take some pictures of me. And I was surprised at nice they turned out! Here are a few of them:



The really cool part is that out of the Photographer duo, Ashley and Wendel Schultz, Ashley has a blog about [obviously] her life and sometimes she posts about her photography business every once in a while. Recently she did a "Best of 2011," to highlight her favorite pictures of 2011 and I was on that post! Three times!! How spiffy is that?! I don't know about you, but I think that that is just a nice little ego-boost... And because the internet is really awesome, you can see it for yourself! Right here!


Numero Two: I took this picture the other day and I thought it turned out nicely. And there's even a little story to go with it!
Since the summer I have been slimming down and I really like how it looks. And the best part is that it didn't take a diet or over the top exercising to do it. I just decided that I could eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, and that, because of how crazy my school schedule was going to be/ is, I wasn't going to even make it a goal to work-out; it got crossed off of my mental stress list [and that has been a HUGE relief to not expect that of myself!]


Numero Three: In January I participated in a 21-day Vegan Challenge with my best friend and it was SO much fun!

It's an actual supported group and you sign up and it's quite official. Everyday the site sends you meal plans with recipes to help you figure out what to eat. On that email there was also a vegan celebrity or doctor or popular personality or athlete who had been interviewed about their life-style choice. It helped by showing you that you can be successful, healthy and happy on a plant based diet by showing you examples. It was really cool! They're starting another one in April if anyone is interested; I highly recommend it. It was a little extra work to make sure that I was getting a totally rounded diet, but it was well worth it. I felt so much happier and focused and energized the entire time.


Numero Four: Speaking of Veganism: That is what I decided to do for lent back in November, so it was just magic chance that I heard about the kick-start. It was fun and a good foray into being a vegan. I cannot wait to start it back up again on February 22, 2012!


Wow, that turned out a lot longer than I expected... If I think of anything else, I will edit this child.

Almost Sunny Sunday!

That's the name of the day! Today my mamma asked me to make her a goodie, and classic chocolate chip walnut cookies was the recipe that made it. En route to getting all the ingredients out, the urge was too strong to dump out some chocolate chips and start doodling :)

Here's the finished result! [Or almost finished if you consider baking the last step ;)] They were pretty darn divine. And as a bonus: my mamma said she liked 'em.

Spectacular Saturday!

Wow. Just as a quick side-note, I just chose these pictures in a random order and it turns out that they uploaded in chronological order!! So then, obviously, I started my day off with the...

SATs!! Doesn't get much more fun than that, eh? [It actually does... sarcasm...] Deciding to retake the SAT I had a specific goal in mind and I feel like I did really well. So the possibility that I met my goal is pretty good :) Then, after a mere four hours of standardized testing I...

Went over to this kids house, no big deal ;) [A brief history: We became friends last year due to the fact that we had two classes and lunch together and had a little theatre experience in common. We grew to be really good friends by the end of last year and I even changef my flight down to UT to spend the summer with my Aunt and Uncle for his surprise birthday party (which ended up getting canceled last minute, so I postponed my flight about a week for nothing... but that's okay.) But then we didn't really talk again until about a week before school started. School started up again along with our friendship and we have three classes and lunch together. Things just kind of moved on from there. He asked me to Homecoming the end of September and we started dating October 7th. :] I think he's a really great guy and I am lucky to have a bestfriend that has high standards and has interests and talents [you should hear him on the piano! Dear goodness... He was the Jazz pianist for our Choir before I was. Wow, I think I'll have to do an entirely separate post about this kid...]

Anyways: We got Schindler's List and got to watch just a little bit of it before it was time for us to go to...

The Bellevue College Jazz Festival. It was an all day competition that high schools around the area could participate. My highschool didn't compete, but a lot of our Jazz group went to the evening concert where the top three High Schools got to show their stuff, Bellevue's Jazz group Celebration sang and then this super amazing professional group called Groove for Thought performed. For those of you who watch The Voice, they competed this past season and made it pretty far. Celebration and Groove for Thought totally blew me away! They were both so talented and their voices all came together and made magic. My favorite song of the entire night was a jazzy rendition of Cyndi Lauper's True Colors by Groove for Thought. I couldn't find it on youtube or anything so I'll just direct you to their site where you can just buy their entire album!

HAPPINESS

I promise it will be one of the best musical investments you have ever made.

[Just click on Happiness. The word is quite apropo.]

Wonerful Wednesday!

Today was such a wonderful day! And these black and white keys made up a good several hours of it :) I love playing the piano so much; it's a stress reliever and playing is something I do when I feel discouraged because it makes me feel accomplished and talented.

This year I am the Pianist for our school's jazz choir and it has been such an adventure to learn another take on piano, it's like another language. My teacher officially assigned us an hour of practicing [at least] per day and after school rhythm sectionals three times a week. Jamming with my friends is so much fun and I always look forward to it!

Along with Jazz piano, my teacher sometimes lets me accompany the Concert Choir too. Even though it's absolutely terrifying, it is really great learning experience and I know that since September I have become a better Pianist :)

I love Piano.

Marvelous Monday!

Monday was [kindly] declared yet another No-School day due to power outages. So the only morally right thing to do was spend at least one day of the 10 day surprise weekend on homework. [one tenth to the homework GODs, right?]

After eight hours, this is what I ended up with. And yes, those are double sided. I just put all the prettier sides facing up ;)
This is one of my favorite pages. Incase you can't read it, it is ALL about different types of solid structure, crystalline cell structures and different crystalline solids.
And this pretty [and evenly spaced] chart is on the gas laws!!
[*QUE: crowd cheering with glee and excitement*]

This page is on the very first part of Ch. 11 of the Zumdahl and Zumdahl 6th edition Chemistry text book: Properties of Solutions.

Finally, this beauty. A Phase Diagram. IT is pretty legit I cannot lie. Even though you must proceed at a snails pace when taking notes like this, it really is fun and a good way of processing knowledge to permanently store. Plus in the end when you have a HUGE stack of adorable doodles that are intelligent at the same time, you can't help but feel a little proud and accomplished ;)

AP Chemistry Test in May, You're going down.

[P.S. Click on the pictures to make them bigger!! It's such a cool addition!]

Splendid Sundae

Over winter break 2011 I commenced sewing this little bunny below, but other "stuff" came up (aka I got distracted,) and it didn't get finished by the time school rolled around again. The white one [or lemon bunny] was sewn about a year ago. I'm talking about the chocolatey, flowery one :)

I got the patterend fabric over the summer at a specialty quilting store near Provo, UT called American Quilters. The name made me kind of weary because let's face it, American Quilters sounds just a tad cheesy. However upon walking in I was pleasantly surprised. And to top it all off, they were having a fabulous fabric sale I just couldn't resist ;)

For this little guy I'm thinking Gregory... He looks so masculine (comparatively speaking,) in his little sweater!

The pattern was purchased from this genius little store: http://www.hopskipjump.bigcartel.com/

Her name is Fiona Dalton, she is a creative sewer and makes awesome patterns for dolls and toys. She actually just came out with a book filled with new, rad patterns and toys. Check it.

Aww! See, they are best friends all ready. [The lemon bunny's name is Cora.]

Hello, Lovely

I can't believe that it's been over two years since I have posted on this thing; this fact is just a tad bit embarassing. However, this is the year, if any, to really kick them goals into gear because everybody knows it will be the last. I think it would be sort of fun to start doing the things that I enjoy doing again, and then taking pictures and putting them up here. So this is my goal.

Life is getting uncomfortably busy and as a sanity reclaimer and stress reliever, some fun-ness is due.

And on that note here is the best song ever to kick that off :)

A Little Bird Said

http://a-little-bird-said.blogspot.com/

I can't believe it's finally here! For about a year and a half now, my best friend Sam and I have shared a journal. One would write in it and tell the other everything then pass it back and the other would do the same. Well, we recently realized that there were two girls and only one journal, and the question "Who would get to keep it?" was a daunting one. So we decided to make a joint blog were we can talk about anything and everything we want, instantly. And the best part is that, when the time comes, we can get as many copies as our hearts desire, printed.

So check it out :]

Hop Skip Jump Doll!

Today I sewed my first Hop Skip Jump doll. I bought the pattern a few weeks ago and didn't have time and supplies until now. I know it doesn't look exactally like the ones in the shop, but I still think she is cute. I named her Evelyn.

I even made her a little bag to hold all her stuff in. Problem is that she doesn't have anything to put in it.

Anyways, I hope to make more of them and perfect it. Evelyn took me all day to do so we'll see. I want to take her on the trek I'm going on in August. I'll have to make her a jumpsuit that can get dirty. It'll be very hot and dusty up there in Utah in August.

That's all for now.

Heaven on Earth... literally

Right now it is 10:56 pm and I am here, once again, at camp Seabeck. I just finished the newsletter and I have some time and a good song is playing on pandora so I decided to take a second to write how I feel, because I feel good. There is a happy, warm fuzzy, safe, secure feeling I feel in the randomest places. One, for instance, was when I helped Ms.Lloyd and James and Megan with "In the Mood" back in February when my parents were in Europe. We had spent the past 11 hours setting everything up for the show and now were settling in in the "Booth" (the lighting booth/Ms.Lloyds office) to watch the show and work spots (Spotlights.)

It is a long, narrow rectangle. A couch sits on the back wall with pillows. There are stairs down to the lobby to the left and infront of the couch about 4 or 5 feet is the light board and then the sliding glass window that over looks the stage. On either side of the couch is bookshelves filled with plays. Pictures of former students and actors adorn the couch wall with play posters covering the lightboard wall and the stair walkway.

Anyways, I was sitting on the couch with James and Megan working the two spots and an extremely nice lady (I forget her name :() working the light panel and on headset. The show was starting and it was all quiet except the muffled sound of the show. 1940's jazzy music. An overwhelming calm feeling washed over me and I felt so safe and secure right there. It was nice

Now, here at the lodge at Seabeck at 11:00 pm I am feeling that same goodness and like I am safe and at home. That's the amazing thing at Seabeck. We see eachother for a week out of the year, we don't talk or hang out other than these few days, yet great friendships are made among all the people from year after year after year of coming and learning bits and pieces at a time. We leave and come back a year later but it is like the other 360 some odd days are edited out and we come back, friendships still fresh. And no matter how matter I complain, I really do love doing the newsletter. Giving people something to look forward to. I love when people come up to me and tell me that they like it. It makes me happy to be validated. That is why I love Seabeck and the people that come here. They all love eachother and accept eachother even though there differences between people. It doesn't matter, they are still good.

Long time No See

Holy smokes! I have not posted in like... 4 months! I blame it on the play. It took up all my waking hours besides school and even then they are practically one in the same. Then the end of school came and I'm pretty sure that I forgot that I even had a blog. Summer is finally here and I have soooo much to tell you about! Dinners that have been had, Flowers created, A flower Josh made for his sweatheart, learning french, the play itself and so much other wonderful stuff! Can't chat right now but Definitly in the very near future. We are leaving to go to Seabeck tomorrow and there will be tons of empty time just waiting to be filled with happy memories put into words :) Until then, Au revoir!

Sunshine

I finally finished my stich project! In case you can't read it it says "Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves." I used some extra fabric I have from my quilt and then the frame is from St. Vincent de Paul's thrift store in Kent. People have been telling me lately of the wonders they've found at thrift stores and I decided to give it a try = Success :) Now, just to find a place to put it.

Rosemary Dinner Party Invites

Here are the invites I made. I think they turned out pretty good for just left over scraps.

The end is Nigh

Less than 3 hours and I shall be "homeless" no more! My parents come home tonight, their plane lands at around midnight. Because of jetlag and such, I will be going home after school tomorrow after school. They are going to pick me up! Just like the good old days! So in recognition of this special occasion I decided to make a list of all the things I love about my parents and my house:

• I love how I can always talk to my mom about everything and how I can trust her with all my secretes and such (because I have so many, right?:) Yes, I can tell some other people bits and peices of things, but my mom is the only one who knows it all and even when she is tired and just wants to go to sleep, she'll stay up and talk with me when I really need her to.
• My dad and his funny way of showing that he loves me :) like When I cook. I know I did a good job if he, jokingly, says that it's "edible".
• Lots of hugs from both of them
• My mom shopping and keeping the house stocked with fruits and veggies! We love costco ! Thanks mom!
• My dad always helping me with projects even though it was my fault for procrastinating.
• My parents both for picking up the slack when I don't do what I'm supposed to. One time I woke up late for seminary and my dad packed my lunch and made me a waffle so I could make it. I thought that that was really sweet
• Their constructive criticism/ advice when I really need it. Like if my outfit really just doesn't match or if they've noticed my fingers in the cookie dough a little bit to much, they lets me know and even though I don't always take it for what it is (constructive criticism) I really do appreciate it.

Things I miss about my house:

• My own bed
• Scrapbook stuff
• PIANO!!!!!
• Rides whenever I need them. Without feeling guilty that is: )
• X-box 360
• My bathroom (well... the kids bathroom I guess.)
  
• how close I am to certain things like Crestwood and friends
• EXERCISING!!!! ooh, I can't believe I almost forgot that one. I'm pretty sure I gained somewhere around 5 pounds this trip. I really need to get back in gear.
  
• My family all together
• my kitchen

I am Very excited to be getting back into my regular routine tomorrow!

Until then.

In the Mood

Yesterday I spent 13 hours at the theatre helping set up for a little musical called "In the Mood." It was a 1940's themed thing. They had a band come and it was all song and dance but 1940's style. It was adorable. I loved every minute of it! A big Penske truck came and we unloaded tons of wheeled crates and then set up everything: lighting, sound, set etc. I learned so so much and I was really grateful for Megan Ingalls and everything she taught me. I never really realized all that goes into a little production like that. Each and every light has to be focused, all the coloring and angles and diffusion and sharpness. Then for the sound: a million cables had to be labeled and hidden and then they had to calibrate all the speakers and make sure everything sounded perfect.

I thought that it was awesome that people came together with their specific talents to make this thing work. It was wonderful to see people all doing their thing and working together and how nice everyone was to each other.

Things are starting to be different soon though. Now people are finding out that I am mormon and I'm not sure that the theatre kids have had such a great experience with mormon kids. It's not that I was trying to hide it nor proclaim it, it's more of that I was trying to stay... neutral? Just be me, be a good example. I'm not sure how to handle this to tell you the truth. There are two sides of the spectrum and there is a very fine line in between. On one side there is the over zealous, crazy mormon child who tries to convert everyone and is a stickler about her beliefs and standards. Then on the other side there is the girl who wants to fit so she throws out her standards and is a mormon only around moron kids, who doesn't CTR and is only a mormon by title. I want to still be a good person and keep my standards, but I also don't want to get the "Preachy little goody-two-shoes" reputation because that doesn't help anybody. So here is the philosophy I came up with and I used swearing because that is the first problem I have encountered. I have been thinking about it a lot:

I don't swear. I don't ever plan on making that a habit. This is high school and other people do swear and there is no way around that. I ignore it the rest of the day, I can ignore it in the theatre. Yes, if it someone has an extremely bad swearing problem then I can ask them to stop but I am not going to go around looking for swear words so I can ask people to cut it out. People swear but I will not and what others say says a lot about who they are as a person and I will always remember that. "Be in the world but not of it" and that is my plan.

Beautiful Bellevue

On monday the wonderful Jacksons were kind enough to take Sabrina and I to Bellevue square to do some shopping. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to get out into the brisk morning air with the sunshine... Oh! It was perfect! Bellevue square is a place I have not had the pleasure of visiting before and it was like a vamped up AMC. It had bunches of stores in an open air mall/strip deal. I loved looking at GAP and Anne Taylor. Looking of course; I can't spend $300 on a pair of shoes... yet :)



I did get to go into a very cool place called The Body Shop. I had never been there before, only heard good things. Well I found a very good thing there.

My Friend Christy has oil blotting tissues and they were miraculous. I soon forgot about their magicalness until I saw these there. Because it was Presidents Day, there was a sale and I got 2 packs for $10 or 4x65 for $10. I am very excited because I used one today and it worked!!! My face gets really oily, especially around lunch time (7 hours of being awake) and so it will be perfect to de-grease my face before going to drama and the lights. Would hate for my face to glare too bad... Anyways. This was the highlight of my day.

We ate at Subway, which is a wonderful place. I got a good sandwich and used my free pass for the blog. It was good though. Thank you Jacksons for taking us out for such a fun day!

Dinner at the Campbells

Tonight Sabrina and I went over to the Campbells again for a girls night. Jocelyn was so sweet to invite us over again and make us feel right at home. She is such a sweet lady and we both love her so much! She reminds us of our mom and she and I have strangly similar tastes in everything! It's like I am a copy of her... Like she is what I am going to grow up to be like.



Anyways, first I decorated the glass jar that I got in Seattle today at Sur la Table. It is an adorable little store with every kitchen gadget you, seriously, could ever dream of!

This is how it turned out. I am planning on making it into a Journal Jar with little journaling prompts in it.

After that I went downstairs and talked until it was time to help make dinner. We had Taco Salad and I chopped the Vegetables. It was red leaf lettuce with romaine tomatoes and yellow bell pepper and green onions. Then there was ground turkey with kidney beans on top. It was super delicious and then, while we waited for the brownies to bake, we played Blokus. It's very fun and stratigic.

The brownies came out and we ate them with Vanilla bean Ice cream and played Rummikub. Yet another very fun game. Annelise and I played that game a Ton while we were in Utah this summer for EFY. Brings back good memories of sleepless nights!

It was a very good night! Someday I'll get pictures :)

Sunny in Seattle Part one

Today Annelise, Nicole and I went to Pike Place market and it was a blast! We had so much fun walking around and seeing all the cute little shops and trying all the samples! Good stuff they have down there. I love the idea of an open market where you can come every morning and buy your bread for the day and some pretty flowers. That kind of freshness is just so wonderous to me. I wish I lived in the city... *sigh*.

Anyways. We started off in the market looking at all the crazy fresh produce. We tried some bread with vinegars and oils and they were delicious in a more sophisticated kind of way. You know, the difference between comfort food and ah-ha food. Then came some apple slices. One of the most flavorful apples I have had in a while. A++ for organics! We then found a cute little Tea place where they had some orange cinnamon herbal tea which we also tried. I have heard that herbal teas are very good but no one has ever explained to me just how to make it just so because the only tea I have tasted was quite bland and unappealing. If you know the secret, please enlighten me!

We browsed around and finally decided it was time for some lunch. Nicole's mom knew of a little soup and sandwich place called the Alaskan Sour Dough Bakery. There Annelise and I shared a yummers Chicken Pesto Panini. The crust of the bread was so hard, but the inside so fluffy. Arugala and Provologn (I think...) It was very good. Then more shopping.

We headed to a bakery called Le Panier. It was amazing! It smelled so buttery and delightful! It was a quaint little french bakery that had loads of sweet confections and crusty breads. Annelise, in want of a baguette to peak out of her "grocery" bag, bought a long baguette. Nicole bought some little chocolate cookies. They were square and slightly puffy. Airy sweet and melt in your mouth they were happiness, especially on such a beautiful day. One of those cookies that you don't feel super bad about eating.

Next was Beecher's cheese, where we only stopped in for a quick look. They were actually making their cheese right there for everyone to see. It was very cool. Which reminds me. Back up a little: earlier we had gone to a little shop that had all the different imported foods and stuff there like the little chocolate wafer cookies from australia, lady fingers, and all the special cheeses and meats. Wine was there too. For those of you who don't know me, I have an very clean fettish for glass bottles and jars and containers. If it is clear glass I love it. So the newest thing that has found my fancy is wine bottles. Please don't think ill of me for it. Today I found a beautiful light blue bottle with some Sauvignon Blanc and I thought it was so pretty that I bought it!!! Can you believe me!?! I bought alcohol. I am planning to either cook with it and then keep the bottle, Dump it out and keep the bottle, or just keep everything all sealed up nice and beautimus... We shall see.

Anyways, after all of that we went to the produce again and bought some stuff. Annelise and I split a pomello, a mango and three mini concord pears. They look so delicious and we can't wait to have a fruity breakfast in the morning! It will be so much fun.

Whooo. What an awesome day! I will post pictures tommorrow when I have more time!

Homemaker

While I was at the campbells she packed me lunch for the two days. My parents never really got into that, which is totally fine. This is not, by any means somthing I resent them for or anything. I was just cool that Jocelyn did. She filled it with the most exquisite carrots and sugar snap peas and yogurts and Kashi bars and organic goodness. I do believe I was in heaven. The other thing that was really cool was that the first day she wrote me a note and left it in the fridge on the top of my lunch. I thought that it was the coolest thing ever and decided it was worthy of my memories box. For those of you who don't know what that is, which is probably most, it is an honor to have something go in that box :). Anyways. When I got to lunch that day, I realized that my card was missing! I panicked. That note was supposed to go into my box and I didn't have it. I could have sworn that I had put it with my things but it was no where to be found. When I got "home" to the Campbell's house I asked her about it and it turned out that she had "tucked it into the trash." Needless to say, when she was upstairs for a moment, I sifted through the trash to find it. Am I weird for doing that? Oh well :D.


I do believe that the Campbell's house is the perfect example of how I have always envisioned my house running. They have so many organic goodies and vegetables, it is a veritable garden! And they have a library, no TV in their bedroom, they wash their hands when they come home from school, work or just being out and around, they still act like their dating, their kids are so well behaved, she has a treadmill, she loves cooking and vegetables and her daughter would chose a broccoli floret over a chicken nugget.

Now, that isn't saying that there aren't others that I look up to as well. Trust me, there are many more! I just love getting a peek into adult life. Real adult life. I love getting to see how other people do things, ways that I might not have found otherwise and then using them. Things like creative decorating ideas from Jenni, adding orange peel to my sugar cookies like Jocelyn, washing glass jars and nalgene bottles like Valerie, paper bag books from Ashley. Being a mini adult is what I live for. Learning how to be a homemaker is my joy. I know that sounds super cheesy and stuff. Your probaly thinking "what kind of teenager likes mopping the floor?" Suprise! I do!
I am a very unique one. Peculiar? Yes. I may be 15 on the outside, but not so much on the inside. Oh well, one day my body will catch up :)