Top 100 reasons I want it to be SUMMER

(in no particular order - that would be insane)

1. Warmth.
2. The smell of summer earth.
3. Green grass (well, grass in general)
4. Blue skies with those puffy white clouds
5. No more teaching dance
6. Organ lessons - this may or may not be fun
7. My dance recital is in June - that's summer, right?
8. Seussical! (and the following are Seussical related:)
9. Having lots of people around
10. Being at the theater a lot
11. Learning lines
12. Singing lots
13. Possibly choreographing some ensembles
14. I'll get a Kindle
15. Start reading Classics
16. I'll be beginning my senior year-junior will be OVER!
17. Midnight walks
18. Dancin' in the rain
19. Frog catching
20. Flowers
21. Flip Flops!!!
22. Toenail polish
23. Dresses
24. Open windows
25. Wind
26. I'll be done with the ACT
27. HAMMOCK!!!
28. Thunderstorms
29. I'll try to learn French
30. POP concert! (possibly)
31. Parties :D
32. Campfires...later in the summer
33. Hamburgers. On the Grill :)
34. And fries ;)
35. RHUBARB!!!
36. Rhubarb dessert
37. Rhubarb/blueberry syrup
38. Rhubarb muffins/etc/
39. Fresh strawberries
40. Mulberries
41. Going barefoot.....ahhhh.
42. Mowing the lawn
43. Getting a tan
44. Swimming
45. Driving with the windows open
46. Really loud music :)
47. Maybe Il Divo at top volume...
48. Nephews!!!
49. Writing - because Summer is my inspiration
50. Did I mention that I'll be DONE TEACHING!?!?!
51. Vacation to Duluth in August!
52. ~Train ride
53. ~Small cruise upon the big Lake
54. PIE!!!
55. I'm really looking forward to lemonade
56. Painting is fun in the Summer
57. Planting things - like flowers
58. Weeding things..not so fun, but it smells nice
59. Hair is very nice in the summer...luscious curls, baby!
60. NO COATS!!!
61. Or scarves of hats or gloves or BOOTS!
(although I like scarves..)
62. No flooding. Not that that bothers ME too much.
63. Random games of wiffle ball
64. There will be dramatic moments in the shrubbery -
in costume - with a script - by myself...
65. Maybe Dad will plant my Hydrangea bush!!!
66. Violets!!! (my FAVORITE flower!!!)
67. I love lilacs a lot, too!
(but the wind kills them after a week :( )
68. Maybe I'll have made a college decision!
69. Maybe not, but I'll be closer!
70. Costuming for Seussical!
71. I'm happy in the summer. Sunshine loves me.
72. I'm sick of snow. And grey. And sadness.
73. I'll know more then than I do now!
(that was cryptic...)
74. I'll be free from all things math related!!!
(in textbook form, anyway)
75. The 4th Pirates movie will have come out!
The suspense will be OVER. ;/
76. Wow...all the sequals that are coming out this year - YAY!!!
77. Need I mention that I'm so THRILLED for THE HOBBIT!?!!?
(but that's next winter..never mind)
78. New baby nephew/niece!!!!...we'll see which it is :)
SO EXCITED!!!
79. I can wear my yellow dress!!!
80. And make other dresses because I won't be too busy!!!
81. And long swish-y skirts
82. Oooo...Mom will have re-decorated(painted) the Library!
83. I will practice piano a lot and learn some fun, classical pieces!!!!
(hopefully)
84. Cartwheels on the lawn
85. Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate!!!
(not that I don't have chocolate in the winter...
86. Tank Tops!
87. Seeing summer with my new eyes (contacts).
( I got them in the fall, so Summer will be different!)
88. Cicadas!!!
(I love that sound...gives one a lazy, sweet, and summer-y feeling)
89. Badmitton
90. Swinging...in trees :)
91. Croquet...although that's more of a Spring thing for me
92. WATERMELON!!! AHHHHH!!!
93. Sprinklers. They're fun :)
94. Sweat. It's sweet.
95. Rootbeer floats!
96. Going to sleep to the sound of frogs and crickets
97. Popsicles!
98. More new friends! (it will happen. It will.)
99. Long walks on the prairie!!!!
(can't belIEve I didn't think of that before)
100! Lazy days and accomplishments that are not school-related...
I'm LOVING it!!!

Whew. 100 reasons. And I left out a few.... ;) I.Can.Not.Wait. SO EXCITED FOR SUMMER! (I'm thinking that Summer starts in May, ends in September, by the way.)

If you read all those - Wow. You are seriously crazy. And probably bored. So now you should go off and do something really...exciting and just a tad bit risky. Live on the edge. Wootwoot. :D

Walking On Sunshine!!!

(Yes, I was just listening to that song. And singing along. Loudly. And I would say off-key, but I don't believe that to be the case ;))

YAY!!!!! I FINALLY got my blog looking decent! I'm still working on a header, because, being me, I want a header. But my pictures aren't loading so I can't edit them yet so I can't fix the header yet...anyway....

I figured out how to get my background to show up!!! That made me extremely happy. ExTREMEly hAPPY!!! :D :D :D

I've been thinking about doing something fun with my blog...like one of these top ten lists or 30-day-challenge things, but I'm just not sure yet...I want to do something original, you know? But we'll see. I must dedicate some moments of thought to this.

I feel like I'm supposed to be doing something else right about now...hmm..never a good feeling.

Ooo hey! Guess what I might do? Top 100 reasons that I want it to be summer. Ha! I bet I can do it!!! Watch me.

What are you looking at?

Oh, you didn't think I would do it RIGHT NOW, did you???

Oh. Oops.

Well, sorry, but I don't have time right now, so you'll just have to wait until AFTER I take my practice ACT test. Because my REAL ACT test is coming up in 11 days!!!!!!!!! *loud scream that lasts a while* Okay. Gotta go!

(But don't worry. I'll be back soon with that list!!!)

You know, this post turned out to be rather pointless. Wow.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness

Those words are SO true. Not to say if something is dirty, then it's not okay, but if it's clean, then that is just a step in the right direction!

I cleaned up my room yesterday morning. Not that it was like a disaster zone or anything, but for me it was a bit messy. And may I just say, that when my room is neat and organized and clean, I feel so much better about myself, about what I do, and it just inspires me to be a better person.


Wow. That's a lot to put on a clean room...

The color co-ordination in my room helps, too.

Here's a couple of pics of how my room is put together - I spent one summer decorating it, and for a while everywhere I went I'd seem to find something else that just matched perfectly!







There you see how my quilt (that my mom and I designed and made) matches the artwork on the wall! This room is SOOO me. Looking back now on the how and why I chose to do the things I did, I can't help but smile. It was so fun to paint and sew and decorate with my mom! We always love rearranging furniture and coming up with new ideas together, so my room ties in with a lot of good memories.




^Here's the corner I sit in a LOT. I read here, I blog from here ;), I sometimes fall asleep here (but that's not very comfortable)...you get the idea. I love this chair! And the rug...well, I eyed that one at Wal Mart for about a year before I finally just bought it because, well, can you imagine a rug that would go better?



Check out this desk that my brother helped me make! (okay, he really made it, but I claim all rights as designer and I did help! I did. I sanded, and who do you think applied the danish oil? Me. Yup. I made this desk. ;) (mostly I watched...but it was very interesting, and I learned a lot.) I love this desk! So happy to have it.



Just a couple more pictures. Above is the top of my dresser - I have two lamps like this. The other one just has a reverse of the colors. (purple shade, green base) I like to hang stuff on my lamps. Hey, it works! You can also see my collection of Fairy Tale novels in the back there...haha.



Here's my little treasure. I've always wanted a big trunk, to put stuff in and just be cool like that. Well, here's is my costume chest. I do not dare to open it, because if I do, I might never get those two tutus on top to go back in. Yes, this is completely stuffed with all the dance costumes I have accumulated over my 7-8 years of dance. :) I wonder if I'll be able to get this years costumes in there....



And what kind of room would it be if I didn't show my American Girl dolls? They hold a prominent place on the shelf above my closet. Yes, Kit and Sally have been my friends for years. They don't get to play much any more, but once in a great great while we still play dress up - usually to celebrate the change of seasons. :)

So..I was not intending to give ya a whole tour of my room when I started this post, but then I thought "Hey! Why not?" And it has made my day that much more interesting. Now I shall go back to my coloring book, possibly watch a movie, and procrastinate about choreographing the last section of the 5th grader's jazz dance. Sounds like a good day to me!

Happiness comes with Shopping

I love shopping! The excitement of walking into a store and knowing that, until you have explored enough to satisfy your curiosity, practically everything holds a sincere possibility of adding to your present state of happiness! I love to take every chance of going shopping, especially with my mom and sister. Sadly, (or fortunately for the checkbook....however you want to look at that ;) ) I don't get to go shopping extremely often...usually Mom and Trudi go shopping while I am at dance, since the town is an hour away, so it's just...practical. *sigh*. Oh well. I get to go enough to keep me satiated.

Anyway, last night was especially exciting to me - I didn't know it would be, but it turned out to be one of the most fun shopping experiences I've had! Granted, I only had about 45 minutes to shop, but for me that is a lot of time to do some damage. ;) We went to JCPenney's - I can almost always find something of great value for a small amount, so I love this store dearly. Back to the point: We-(my sister and I - Mom watched and approved or dissaproved. Oh, and she found two $200 coats for only $20 each! Wow!)-tried on dresses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So fun. You can see my enthusiasm!!! I found two that I really loved, and guess WHAT! I got them :D :D :D :D!!!! One is BRIGHT YELLOW. Like, really, really, REALLY BRIGHT! And there are yellow polka dots. :D AAAAnd I'm wearing it on Easter. There is no stopping me, so there. :D :D :D
The other dress I got is more subdued, and dressier. It's super cute, though. (I'm trying to think of how to describe it...) Okay, here goes: The top part is a sort of gold-ish color with a black overlay. It has a black color, and the front closes with three glittery buttons. The waistline is higher - not quiet an Austen-y style dress, but close. (yup, thats the best I can do on that. Sorry!) Oh, then the skirt is black...two layers, and a really flow-y fabric..and there's a ribbon tie around the waistline. I think that's it...anyway, it's a really young-person style, that suits me and I'm excited about it! (I think I'm planning to wear it for Country Christmas in December..yep, looking ahead here, but where are you going to find a beautiful dress on sale in November? So look in March, and be happy. :D )

SO,, that's my happiness today. I have the dresses hanging in my room for display for a day or two...it's a habit of mine to display and admire my new clothes for a while before I really let them know the rest of my closet and begin making new friends...though the bright yellow and the dark gold sort of clash...hmmmmm...I guess I won't be wearing both dresses at the same time, then. ;) :D :D :D :D

Humph. It will have to do.

Okay, so I gave up on my blog looking better. Something got pathetically messed up in my process, so I'm just leaving it like this for now. I guess its pretty in a pale way...but I miss having bright colors and a 'me' flavor. *sigh*. I have been avoiding my blog because of this distressing affair, but now I have decided that it really doesn't matter - the point of this blog is to share my craziness! Sooooo...I decided to start posting again. *shrug*. So, lets get back to what I have been doing lately...

This past weekend I went on a weekend trip to the University of St. Thomas - amazing school, by the way. The purpose of the trip was to take kids from my diocese and show them how the Catholic faith can be lived out while in college - and it worked! I now have much higher expectations of what I will expect out of a Catholic school, as well as myself. I don't know for sure if going to St. Thomas is what I am supposed to do or not, but I would be very happy if it was! Their Catholic Studies major is really cool - I got to sit in on a class!!! Yeah!! that was SO fun! There was a real professor who was funny and really smart and a good speaker and didn't know what colors should not be put together and everything! I could really see myself fitting in there - plus, there's the whole 'semester in Rome' thing...*nods emphatically*. Yup. SO happening. Or not. I don't know yet. But it would be AWESOME!!! (said in a really high sing-song voice).

Anyway...Oh, I got to stay in a dorm for 3 nights. That was interesting/fun/a little different. I think I could really get used to dorm life, though. I mean - you got a room, a roommate, lots of stairs, independence, (i liked the community bathroom - weird, I know ;) but then you don't have to clean it yourself!!!) plus there's all the other girls just outside your door (or down the hall a bit...) who become your friends and you can hang out and have fun, or you can shut your door and study like a crazy person and come out only for food with an insane light in your eyes....or not. Whatever. My point is, I think it's fun. :D (It didn't hurt that it was the Catholic womens' floor - there was a Marian shrine..in.the.bathroom.!. Haha! But it was so cool!)

Hmm...what else do I think would be interesting...there's so much to tell about this weekend, but I don't want this post to be too long..besides, I'm supposed to be doing school work. Shhh!! ;)

I like coffee. Yeah. And chocolate. But you knew that, right? ;)

Eating pie at 10:30 at night with the most amazing group of people and having a hilarious discussion about violating the nature of pie is really fun. Trust me. ;D

Ooo we went shopping at Leaflet Missal - so fun! I got two of the tinyest, prettyest, and mynowfavorite prayer books. The fit right in your pocket, they have beautiful pictures, and have so many prayers! I fell in love. I also got a stained-glass coloring book.. :D

And now I must close. Maybe I'll say more about this trip at another time. Maybe not. But I shall cherish the memories for a long time to come.