new style

thanks to my dear friend annie, i was finally able to figure out how to change the background of my blog to something cute and not just the boring blogger template. for me blogging is like scrapbooking, i'm just not that good at it. i've made two scrapbooks in my life--the first was only pictures with marker designs all over, and the second i made from a kit (everything was there, i just had to stick it on a page). let's just say, it's not my cup of tea, but i'm trying.

in a year of having this blog, i've made 23 posts; some bloggers make that in an hour. i guess i'll be leaving off "seasoned blogger" on my resume. this next year, i'll go for 50 posts and maybe next year i'll have another skill for that resume (p.s. if you hear of any job opportunities let me know, i'm definitely in the market).

finally, since it is thanksgiving and annie's post inspired me, here are some things i'm thankful for
1. my family: mom, dad, annie(1) i couldn't do it without you, i know i wouldn't have made it through college without you 10 minutes away
2. the gospel: it keeps me sane, it keeps me stable
3. my friends: i have been blessed with lots of them, and they always seem to know when i need their love and support
4. annie (2): my best friend, i look up to her and admire her so much, (the selfish part of me still wishes she hadn't found a boy and fallen in love because i miss her)
5. my neighbors: i have the best neighborhood around, my neighbors are just like my extended family
6. nature: great peace can be found in being outside and enjoying God's creations
7. trials: while i hate them in the moment, i know they make be better
8. an education: i love learning and i have loved going to school at byu
9. on a lighter note: my closet, well more so, the contents within my closet

proof that boys never grow up

girls just wouldn't try this, no matter what age. it is definitely not smart, and probably can't be very comfortable

honestly?

Ok, who honestly falls for these emails? I get them at work all the time and they are hilarious. obviously people are falling for them if they're still being sent, but really, you think some random rich man found your name and wants to make you his heir and give his millions to you? yeah right, he's lying to you.

Mi querido amigo

I am Mr. Hooper Lee, at present I am suffering from throat cancer and have a hole in the heart. My attending medical practitioner has just informed me that my days are counted because of my degraded health. My matrimonial situation is such as I do not have a wife and even less children to whom I could bequeath my heritage.

It is because of this I would like gracious and with the aim of help stripped to give you this known as heritage rising to a value of $9.5 million US dollars for you to use it to help the orphans, victims of war, HIV/Aids, and expand the work of God in your country. As you can see this is a very hard decision to take but I have no option than to will out this deposit before my major operation in few days from now therefore I would like you to think about it very well and forward to me your complete data, full name, address, age, occupation and telephone number, etc.

I count on your goodwill and especially the good use of these funds for your endeavours. God bless you and your family.

oh and what is the etc.? maybe your social, bank account info, what you eat for breakfast. just feel free to give whatever information would make the transaction of stealing your identity a little easier.

being bold

do you ever find that you've been a little bolder than you thought you could be? you say things that you wish you would have said a hundred times before? that happened for me just the other night and it was so refreshing.

i was on a first date and it got to the point where he asks if i would like to go out again. pause. (the date was fine, we had a nice dinner and conversation, but i didn't see anything coming from future dates so do i say sure and not answer or just tell him.) "i think it would be a waste of your time to take me out again," i say, not quite sure i'm the one saying it. wow, i actually told a guy no, i've never done that before. i'm the girl that says yes and doesn't answer the phone or all the sudden gets really busy, not a "no" girl. but i did it, and it wasn't too bad. now i know he felt a shot to his ego at first, but i imagine that he feels much better about that than me getting his hopes up and then dropping him.

it felt nice ya know, to just say no. it was bold for me, but very refreshing. try it sometime.

discontinued

the word discontinued is one of my least favorites. it means something that you once loved is no longer there and back to square one you go. (i guess it can also be a good thing, but in this case, it was a very bad thing)

i went to buy my favorite (and my only) perfume today and it was gone, discontinued, the girl didn't even know which one i was talking about it was so gone. no more MAC greenify for kristen. i'm lost. i don't get into perfumes, but i liked this one, a lot.

hopefully, i can find another good one soon, but i don't even know where to start. (good thing i found two cute new cardigans to offset my losses :))

beautiful girl

Well this week was the first week of classes for me which generally entails several introductions. usually, it's just name and hometown but one professor got creative and wanted to know what our very first career choice was (like when you're 4 and want to be a treasure diver). Well, I started thinking really hard and all I could remember was thinking that I had the most beautiful voice and that when I grew up I would use that beautiful voice to be a singer, or use it as my talent in the Miss America competition. I also remembered that if I wanted to be a beauty queen I would obviously have to be beautiful. what more could a 4-year-old want than being absolutely ravishing? In my time crunch (when your last name starts with "B" you never have much time to think about your answers) I couldn't think of the words "princess" or "Miss America" so all I could muster was that I thought I wanted to be a singer, but mainly I wanted to be a beautiful girl. As soon as the words left my mouth I knew that I had made a pretty dumb comment and there was no return. I was now the girl that had no aspirations in life except being a beautiful girl. It may not sound too bad, but it was awkward; my professor had no words to respond except to wish me luck with the singing career. (Little does he know, I don't sing.)

making faces

will making faces ever stop being enjoyable? i think not. it keeps us young at heart. here are some of our best from dinner the other night.

growing up

the other night i went to dinner with some of my best college friends and realized that we are all growing up. graduation, marriage, buying houses, real jobs, and moving away have all come our way much faster than i wanted. we're all starting to go our separate ways and it's a little bittersweet. i'm happy for all my friends that are moving on to bigger and better but sad that we've been spending less and less time together as we approach the new phases of our lives. it has made me realize that growing up isn't always fun, but it's necessary and it always brings new adventures. if i could give any advice about growing up, i would say take your time. being a student is easy and a lot of fun, there is no reason to rush graduation as i'm starting to find out (only one semester left for me!). after graduation, life starts getting a little more serious and i don't know if i'm quite ready for it. however, i do know that there will always be some time to be a little crazy.