19

day 19 - a list of some of your goals/plans/dreams.

run a marathon

learn to pluck a song on the banjo

get a 4.0 this semester

backpack europe

bike to st. george

become fluent in russian

learn french (attempt fluency)

live in a foreign country for a year or so

make a blanket out of old music t-shirts

get married & start a family

own a great dane

get a masters

get a doctorate

lose 20lbs

hike mount olympus

backpack king's peak

create a library of my books

serve a couples mission (when i'm old & married)

st. geeeezy

i spent the rest of my weekend with my family in st. george.

i'm in love with the contrasting red rock & blue skies,

as well as the mountains resting against the sky in the distance.

[what a stud.]

[completely unplanned!  it looks like nik is holding jon up in air.]

[this was a lot harder than you'd think.]

[i tried forever to get that hold rachel's right hand has in both of these pictures.  i finally gave up & let her try.  as soon as i turned around, she's had it.  thanks to nik for catching my frustration-- "seriously?! rachel's 5 inches on me has nothing to do with this." --in the moment.]

[despite the awful butt-shot this picture is, i think it's actually a pretty cool photo. kudos to nik.]

[finally got it!  not.  don't worry, i'm only a foot off the ground.]

overall it was a wonderful day at the crack.
i'm glad to have been able to kick it with the family for a day or two.

adventures in slc

people always ask what there is to do in slc.

friday night, leah & i went to eat rumbi's.

afterward, we met up with some pals & decided to look for haunted places.

these places failed to show any kind of paranormal activity, but they made for an adventurous night.

the legal age

day 18 - a picture of somewhere you want to travel.

of all the amazing places i want to go,

switzerland

is near the top of my list.

specifically, the matterhorn mountain (in switzerland)

17 (a day late)

day 17 - a picture of your favorite childhood memory.

my favorite childhood memories involved no one but myself, my imagination, & all my stuffed animals, but because i don't have a photo of that, i'll just post one of my favorite pictures from my childhood.

i loved my pup.  i loved spending time with him even more.

16

day 16 - a picture of someone you do the most crazy things with.

 my beautiful leah.

she is my annaleez partner in crime.

we always find way to just cause mischief amongst ourselves.

we live very exciting lives together hahaha.

15

day 15 - a list of your favorite songs. 

i have been anticipating, & also dreading this blogpost.  i love music!  but how can i pick my favorites?  they are constantly changing.

so here's a list of 20 of my current favorites--in no specific order.

• heart of gold   by: neil young 
• september   by: earth wind & fire
• paper bag   by: fiona apple
• i'm gonna be (500 miles)  by: the proclaimers
• the way i am   by: ingrid michaelson
• love vigilantes   by: iron & wine
• quelqu'un ma dit   by: carla bruni
• everlasting light   by: the black keys
• slow life   by: grizzly bear (with victoria legrand)
• hard headed woman   by: cat stevens
• sometimes the wheels   by: neil halstead
• i won't back down   by: tom petty & the heartbreakers
• troubles will be gone   by: the tallest man on earth
• postcards from italy   by: beirut
• wheel   by: john mayer
• tiny dancer   by: elton john
• i met up with the king   by: first aid kit
• come away with me   by: norah jones
• better together   by: jack johnson feat. paula fuga
• green eyes   by: coldplay

fourteen

day 14 - a picture of someone you miss.

lately i've been missing my dear amy.

we moved to utah during the summer before our junior year of highschool.

she moved to georgia 8 months later.

since then we have only seen each other twice.

it's been almost 2 years since i last saw her, & boy do i miss her.

she was my saving grace in highschool.

i love her.

luckily, she'll be moving back to utah this july!  i'm very excited.

13

day 13 - a picture of someone you commonly go to for advice & why.

one of my best friends, m.e.g.

megan is the friend i most commonly go to for advice.

she & i see eye-to-eye on many things, so it helps to get her advice on something when she is not emotionally attached to the situation, as i might be.

megan is logical, frank, considerate & trustworthy.

it is these very qualities, that i value so highly in her, that make her my choice adviser.

she cares about me & wants the best for me, but at the same time, she doesn't dismiss my thoughts, worries, or hesitations.

love her.

 [clearly she knows what she's doing]

12

day 12 - a picture of something you're afraid of & the reason why you're afraid of it.

drowning.

to be stuck, under water, without air just freaks me out.

instantly, it's life-threatening.

once your brain goes without oxygen for just over a minute, you are rendered completely helpless.

it's not like a cut or a broken limb, which, even if it requires lengthy treatment, is not all together life-threatening.

it is danger at it's most intense moment (in my eyes).

that's why i became certified in life-guarding skills, cpr, first aid & a.e.d. skills.

to help be more prepared.

here comes the bride

my roommate trang (pronounced chong) will be getting married at the end of this semester.  she will be having the ceremony here in rexburg before she moves back to seattle & has the real reception.  & guess what.

she has asked me to make her wedding video & take her engagements!
crazy huh?
she has seen a few of my videos that i just do for fun & she really liked them.
i could hardly believe she wanted me to do them, considering i've never really done a "photoshoot" or anything real serious.  i'm no self-acclaimed photographer.  but she likes my style & i'm just doing it for free.
i'm really excited to do this & see how it turns out!
 ...
also, check it out!  youtube taught me how to do a fish braid.
[something i've been trying to figure out for a long time now.]

elevenses

day 11 - a picture that can always make you laugh.

there are two pictures that can always make me laugh.  the first is:

[megan & lindsay are going to hate me for posting this, & i can't believe i am, but...]

this picture always makes me laugh, without fail.  we took this a week before i left to ukraine, & when taking it i said "make the ugliest face you can" & somehow we all made the exact same ugly face.  it cracks me up.

the second is:

this picture sums up the majority of my junior year of highschool.  driving around in the jeep, eating pizza, blasting rap songs like "jane fonda" by mickey avalon, & just being ridiculous with these girls.

ten

day 10 - a list of your bad habits.

i eat when i'm not hungry-just bored.
i take forever to "get to the point".
i bite my nails (sometimes).
when working in a group, i tend to assume leadership & become a bit of a control freak.

those are just some of the bad habits i have.
there are more good habits i should have, but don't.

to: the people off sugar

last night i had a dream that i went behind the backs of the people i'm "competing" against in our stand against sugar;  i ate a blueberry pop-tart & didn't confess my wrong-doing.

the terrible thing about this dream was that i didn't remember actually eating the pop-tart, & all the joy that doing so would entail.  all i could remember was the guilt eating away at me afterward.*

this morning, the lingering guilt made it difficult to determine if it actually happened or was merely a dream.  don't worry though.  i figured out that it was just a dream.

*i guess the moral of this story is that no matter how tempting a sin might appear, the pain of its consequences & the regret that follows afterward is much more demanding upon our memory.

9er

day 9 - a picture of something you hate.

ignorance

hate is a strong word.  i can't really think of much else that i literally hate.  i mean, i don't like plenty of things.  but hate....not so much.

8 days a week

day 8 - a picture of something you love.

 there are many things i love.

i love my family.  i love my friends.  i love the Lord, books, my mac, my ipod, music, my souvenirs, foreigners, my memories, my chacos, animals, my pictures... the list could go on.

i'm glad this isn't a definitive statement asking for a picture of the thing i love most, because that's nearly impossible for me to decide.

what i've chosen to show you is a picture of traveling.

i love traveling & all the adventures that it entails.