COLORADO!
Who would drive a sixteen-hour road trip just to be with her sister for a weekend? I would. Because I am a nice sister and I am just that fun and I love road trips that much. And I needed an excuse to buy this cute blue dress, and what better excuse than a wedding reception?

This is possibly my favorite picture of Poodle, partly because it's a classic Poodle pose and face, and partly because this is what she wore to go BACKPACKING.

Isn't this gorgeous? Seriously, it's something you would see on a postcard. BEAUTIFUL. And Poodle just had to include me putting my hair up.

Another gorgeous picture. My first backpacking trip, and it was fabulous.

10 things I will miss about Ashley

1. Having someone who loves to jump on me and to be jumped on
2. Singing monster ballads, Bon Jovi, and Roger Creager
3. Not being able to find my clothes in the morning (wait, that's a lie!)
4. The notes she writes to me on our etch-a-sketch
5. Tucking her in
6. Telling her about all the awkward/embarrassing moments of my life and thinking they were worth the trouble just because she is so entertained by them
7. Having her scare away boys, friends, and aquaintances because anyone too weak to handle our family isn't worth my time
8. Being asked who is older
9. Being bossed around
10. Salsa dancing

I am so sad!

This blog makeover is dedicated to Mom the Bomb.

The tiles on my blog title are the same ones which I used on the table I built a year ago. When I was showing these tiles to mom, this is what she said about them:

"oh, look, they have a uterus."

Apparently the white designs between the tiles look just like a uterus and the fallopian tubes. You rock, mom.

If I (by some miracle) have to go on a fancy date this summer, I will wear this.





However, the chances of that are about as slim as my chances of spending $438 dollars on those shoes. Still, that's a cute dress. Maybe I should convince one of my friends to get married so I can wear this to their reception.

Sometimes I forget

that there are people in this world who have only my blog to update them on the events in my life. So I apologize that this is a late notice.

I changed my major to Spanish and my minor to International Development. I figured out that the humanities are not for me, because I will never really try at any classes that I can BS that easily. As stated in a quote my Humanities teacher read:

"The key to success in a Humanities class is to say things that no rational person would ever say. Any sane person would say that Moby Dick is a big white wail. Not so for a humanities major- he would say that Moby Dick is fate, masculinity, or the future of America."

Obviously, this was not for me. I rediscovered that I really love Spanish while I was helping someone with a literature paper. I ended up explaining more than needed to be in the essay, inclding the history of the author and the Spanish revolution. And I liked it.

I thought international development would be cool just because I really want to live in a shack for the rest of my life.

I feel like this right now:



I finally have "gumption."

If you haven't seen the Holiday,I don't expect you to get it.

I thought this was funny. Sean is so in love with his legs, he sent me a picture of one.

On Sunday I got the best surprise of the summer-- I found out my soul sister Emily is coming to stay with me for a couple weeks in June. So, in order to officially make this the coolest vacation ever, I am taking suggestions for things to do while she is here. I've started the list, and I'm counting on my blogger buddies to finish it.

go to the Spanish Fork hot springs
take a road trip to either Moab or Yellowstone
go to that place with the mechanical bull; ride it (Poodle, I need your help with this)
go mountain biking
go fishing
go night rafting (I will need my friend to hook us up with that, but I think he'll do it for me)
and basically have a blast.

My Birthday Party

It was actually a blast. I used to fear that I could never be a good partier because nobody would ever come to my parties. Well, that's because nobody is as cool as these people. For example, in the above picture, Wes and I are showing off our birthday bling. (He's wearing the ginormous ring I just bought.)



This was a priceless Sean moment. I saw him with a hot dog in each hand and one on his shirt and I had to take a picture. I think he ate about 5.



And at last, Mary, Chinese Chris, White Chris and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean at midnight. And yes, Mary made us all dress up as pirates. I think I look more like a house cleaning lady.

And best of all, I am writing this blog on my very own laptop. Yeah, kiss it.

Don't let my big blue eyes fool you

Jay Bishoff once told me, "You look like a really nice girl until you open your mouth." This isn't the first time I had been told that, either. I'm pretty sure that if a guy ever knew what he was getting himself into when he asked me out, he would never do it in the first place. The thing is, I really like it that way, and my friends seem to enjoy my eccentricities as well. I happen to be very proud of the fact that I was on the spelling team in high school, that I saw the Lizzie McGuire movie in theaters twice, that I can listen to both 90's grunge and Texas country, and that I have the uncanny ability to make people feel extremely uncomfortable if they haven't grown up around doctors. I am a bundle of surprises, not for the timid-hearted.

Crap or get off the pot.

Easier said than done. I kinda like the pot.
I used to think I was good at making decisions. Wrong. I suck at it. How can I be so sure of something for so long but not even know how I feel about it when the time comes to make a decision? It's a vicious cycle. I try to step back and analyze situations logically but it's impossible to make a good judgement when I am too freaked out to act normal. I am officially clueless.

On a brighter note, I finally ordered my Chacos- and I'm getting them for $54 instead of their original $95. Not that it matters, since mom and dad are paying for them, but I feel good whenever I save money. Now I can sport hiking sandals and nail polish on the same feet.

My summer (the beginnings)

Here I am with Ashley at her graduation. Four (or more) years of tests and lectures and all people want to do is take pictures and sit through a boring ceremony. Seriously, who invented graduations?

After a tiring day of shopping, Emily, mom, and I went to the Cheesecake Factory. I bought 2 shirts from Anthropoligie, one of which I'm wearing in this picture. Poodle would be proud. I have to say, I'm much more willing to buy there when it's on mom's bill.

Caroline thought my cowboy hat was way too much fun.

You might think that I'd wear cowboy boots in Texas. Wrong! These are none other than my dewberry-picking boots. Sexy knee-high rubber ones. This way I can stomp all though the thorns and not get hurt.

Here's Caroline.

I don't know how I feel about it but tell me if you like it, Bex.

Masques feel so weird. They also make you look like a freak.
But what makes you look like a freak even more is going to Smith's in one. Yes, this is what I did this week on a dare. But my friend in the top picture did it with me so I wouldn't feel too awkward. It was probably the first time I was dared to do something since about 5th grade.

Okay, Mom, this is my shady lamp before

And this is my shady lamp after. And don't worry, the skirts are still wearable, just a little mutilated.

Correction on the last post

As you all may know, internet personality tests suck, so I took the real color personality test and got completely different results. Here is my profile:

I am a white. That surprised me more than anything. Apparently, I am flexible, but more stubborn than people think, because I won't be bossed around. I work well with other people but I shut down if they are too demanading. I am willing and eager to talk about myself, but I don't give information out unless someone asks for it, so I'm usually very quiet. My major weakness is lack of motivation, and I will probably never be a very carreer-oriented person.

I also have some strong blue traits, which make me a high-maintenance girlfriend. I seek to be very close to people in relationships, and I always want to do everything together. If a friend doesn't want to spend every waking moment with me, I can easily feel neglected.

In decision making, some red shows through. I am always sure of myself and I am very independent. I'm also more logical than most blue-whites.

Congratulate me,

Because I finally have friends up here. And the best part is that I'm going to be living with them this fall. I was with them last night and we watched Swiss Family Robinson, Mr. Smith goes to Washington, and did some weird quizzes online, from which I found out that:

I was most likely a skunk in a previous life (there might be some validity to that statement)
If I were a mythological creature, I would be a centaur
And finally, in the color personality test, I am a yellow. Possibly the only one in my red-dominated family.

When your mom calls you "Shady," you know you're socially awkward

I recently found out that some people think I'm rude, shallow, and even slightly unintelligent because I'm quiet.

I guess they didn't get the memo about my nickname being "Shady," my unnatural fear of talking to people, or the fact that I never left my room for the majority of my teenage years. Or heard the story about how I worked 3 hours with a 102 degree fever because I was too shy to ask my boss if if I could go home. As far as I'm concerned, I've come a long way.

My apologies. Next time I see you, I'll make sure to give you a big fat hug and ask your how your day went, and if you would like some homemade cookies. That'll prove I'm smart.

Wow, I have so many choices.

I think the one thing keeping me from having fun lately is the stupid ideas that people have put into my head about being responsible and what I can and can't do. I've caught myself hesitating on certain things because everyone teaches you that you can't do that.

Like this weekend, when I wondered wether or not I should go to a friend's barbecue up in Sandy, because it's a long drive and I might waste gas.
Or Monday, when I was having a bad day but it didn't occur to me that I could go anywhere because it was a school night.

And this is coming from the same girl that Ashley used to have to wrestle to bed every night (literally). I'm acting like an old person.

So last night I had fun thinking of all the little things that I can do, even though people might think it's weird.
I can wear my pajamas to campus. There's no rule against it. In fact, if it's ugly and unflattering, BYU's all for it.
I can eat ice cream with, or even for, breakfast. Mom does it all the time. I don't know why I didn't think of this before.
I can go get a fish taco at 2 AM if I want to. I don't have a bedtime. It's no use pretending I'm not going to more than make up for any lack of sleep with naps the next day.
I can grow a jalapeno plant in my room. That way, if there is some kind of disaster and Utah runs out of food, I can live off of those.
I can even put a George Foreman grill on the floor by my bed so I can wake up to the smell of bacon every morning. Too bad I'm not Michael Scott, so I'm not going to do that.

I have finally come to terms with all the possibilities of being on my own, and I am really excited about it.

I got a job for the summer!

And I'm not excited about it because I do anything fun. Actually, all I do is take phone calls. But we are allowed to do homework and surf the internet when it's slow. Getting paid to do nothing and mess around-- that's pretty much my dream job.

Which reminded me of a Seinfeld episode, and I realized my attitude is alot like George's. Anyone remember the one where he applies for a job at an industrial smoothing company?

George: It's the perfect job for me!
Jerry: Sure, but what does it have to do with the Yankees?
George: That doesn't matter! The place is a mess-- there is no organization. I could go crazy there!

And that is exactly how I feel.