Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday. And I am twenty. This means I have been alive for two decades now. That is so long! I decided today was a good day to start blogging again. I have been meaning to devote more time to this beautiful web log lately, and just haven't had the motivation/desire to sit down and write about my life until right now.

I decided, since it's my birthday, to dedicate this post to all the birthdays I've had so far in life!

Most memorable party: sweet sixteen! Stayed at the Hilton in Anaheim and went to Disneyland the next day! so much fun!

Most memorable gift: Glade plug-in

....Found this in my drafts. apparently i was a really great writer a year ago :) happy birthday to me again. except now i'm 21, and much cooler.

finals

i should be studying for the final i have to take in a few hours. but i really don't want to. this can be proven by the fact that i'm blogging, which apparently i haven't done since september. i actually have blogged since then, but i saved it as a draft instead of publishing it. so, i guess it doesn't count. i would publish it now, but it seems a little silly since i'm talking about summer and i never finished it. i think it might be a little late to talk about summer since it's snowing outside!
to my chagrin, i woke up to white stuff falling from the sky. this makes sense since i fell asleep to white stuff falling from the sky as well. i love snow, but, wait, i take that back. i do not love snow. this morning was already difficult enough since i had to wake up at 6:30 so i could take an early test (i did really well by the way), but the snow made it really hard to get out of bed and walk to campus. i usually wake up around ten...or later, so waking up is a big obstacle for me. i'm going to have to change my habits since i'm taking earlier classes next semester. not too early mind you, i'm not suicidal!
ok, i've enjoyed these last couple minutes, perhaps i'll start blogging again. i would thank my readers for reading this stream of consciousness, but i'm pretty sure i am the only person who checks this site (i'm not really sure why i check it, since i never update it...and even if i did, there is nothing to check.
notice, i have been doing a lot of reading lately, as seen on my book shelf to the left. i guess that's what i've been doing with my spare time instead of doing blog-worthy things. expect an update soon enough!

trading spaces

my new apartment needs help! it has so much potential, but at the moment, we have nothing but a couple of couches and a tv...anyone have any good/cheap tips to make my apartment look like ones i see in magazines?

templates

i went back to my old template. i think i just like it better. plus, orange seems to suit me! i kinda wish i was smart enough to make my own design...but for now, i'll just have to stick to generic ones other people make for me.

hello again!

i've been slack in blogging since i've been back in utah, and for that, i would like to apologize to my readers. (there have to be at least two out there)...

provo has been good to me these past couple of weeks. the weather has been a bit questionable, but i'm learning to appreciate what life throws me. i moved into my new apartment which i love! with my new roommates which i love even more! i have my own room and a jacuzzi right out my front door. who could complain?

classes are good. i have a professor who could be steve carell's incredibly boring and akward twin (we all know he had to have one). i have another professor that makes me laugh the entire lecture, granted its a recreation management class, so how can you not have fun? my other classes are pretty much average, so i'll stop boring my avid readers with these details.

i'm looking forward to my first football game! go blue!

reuse

i have always loved target's plastic bags. they have a texture that no other bags have. they seem more durable, but still light weight. it's a great combo. but, they have added another feature that makes me love them even more! if you pay close attention, there is a list of 10 ways to reuse your target bag on the side! there are some really good ideas.

1. tiny trash can liner
2. doggy duty
3. water balloon
4. road trip rubbish
5. soggy laundry
6. ice pack
7. toiletry tote
8. kitty litter liner
9. tomorrow's lunchbag
10. care package padding

now that it has given me all these suggestions, i don't think i'll ever throw one away until i've reused it! way to be green target! and watch out for my gigantic water balloons everyone!

half dome

i've been doing some pretty amazing things this summer, but this was definitely the most amazing thing of them all. my mom, dad, melissa and i went backpacking in yosemite. i'll let the pictures tell the story...

me and melissa! this is at the very beginning. we just put our packs on and are headed for the trail head! we're in for a long couple of days...we just don't know it yet.

mel, me, dad and mom at happy isles trail head. and we're off!

one of many water/picture breaks! in this picture you can see nevada falls in the background. isn't melissa a cute little hiker?

nearing the end of day one. we made it to nevada falls. and really mom? real mature...haha

we reached little yosemite valley! or LYV as i like to call it. we'll camp here for the night. looks like dad needs a break...

a sampling of the wildlife we saw while on the hike. this is day two, after a terrible nights sleep. the advil pm was not adequate. but i'm ready for some more hiking! dad and i left mom and mel behind and mad our way to half dome. the animals we saw weren't scared of us at all. the deer was so close i didn't even use the zoom. we saw marmots at the top like the one on the right. this one was a little obnoxious. he was literally eating out of our hands! but so cute! so of course we sacrificed our own stomachs for this fat one.

we paused before getting to the top. part one is over and we are about to embark on the granite steps. can you believe went to the top of this?

granite steps were tough, but i was just about scared stiff on this part! it was so steep! i was basically pulling myself up the whole way!

view from the top! we made it! now we just have to get down...

i had to take one last pictures as we started downhill. look how tiny those people are!

the hikers! we're almost finished! it's downhill the whole way from here. do we look tired yet?