for smiles

if you feel like smiling, go here
it really just makes me miss my little preschooler back home
gotta love preschoolers
:)

20 things before i turn 20

so its my birthday on saturday. very exciting i know :) i will be turning 19, so i decided to follow my sisters lead and make a list of 20 things i want to accomplish in this next year before i turn 20. here we go.

1.read the bible cover to cover
2.get a job
3.read my whole jane austen collection
4.apply for an internship at falling whistles or toms
5.go geocacheing around provo
6.go to a state i haven't been to before
7.hike the Y again
8.paint my bike light yellow and sea-foam
9.learn to play at least one song on the guitar
10.get a ukulele
11.write at least a few chapters of a book
12.go to a kooks concert
13.make sundays more meaningful
14.buy a Holga!!!
15.go to the temple at least once a week
16.run a half marathon
17.make a fun package to send to each of my missionary friends
18.get a new wardrobe. or at least a lot of new clothes i actually like
19.date an awesome boy ;) haha
20.go to all of the utah and california temples. and take a picture in front of them

"we thank thee this day"

Its that time of the week to read what i am thankful for this week!

1. i am grateful for the amazing teachers, and wonderful lessons that i get hear each Sunday.
2. i am grateful for a dishwasher. without it, i would be very sad and a very bad roommate haha.
3. i am grateful for being able to have a car this year. it really has blessed me so much.
4. i am grateful for having a temple with in minutes. i went on Friday with my friends and i haven't had such a wonderful day in a long time.
5. i am grateful for makeup. oh boy, what would i do if i couldn't cover up all the unsightly imperfections everyday?! or well...mostly every day. unless i'm lazy haha.
6. i am grateful to have running water. i was listening to some stories the other day, you know, the ones everyone hears but it really just made me thankful for the everyday conveniences i take for granted.
7. i am grateful for lotion. when you have such terrible hands as me, you realize how amazing it is the have skin that doesn't hurt, doesn't split a bleed and itch like crazy, and look really ugly. lotion saves my life.
8. i am grateful for the challenges i face. they are very personal, so i'm not going to list them, but they make me more able to understand the pains of others. and they make me realize the good things i have in life. and they make me stronger.
9. i am grateful for computers. such amazing pieces of equipment. life is so easy with them.
10. i am grateful for post-it notes. this may seem like the most random thing in the world to be thankful for, but i love them. they make me happy...strange i know. and allow me to remember things, and put quotes to remind me how i should act. love those things.

like a scene from a movie

don't worry. this isn't a cheesy scene, just an average movie scene.

so i don't have an ipod and i don't usually bring my computer to school. so i never listen to music while walking to school, or in between classes or anything like that. well yesterday i needed to bring my computer to watch this accounting thing, so after i was done, i decided to listen to music. all you people who listen to it all the time throughout the day, doesn't it just feel like you are in a movie?! i was just sitting on a couch, surrounded by tons of people, but i played this song, and i felt like i was in the most interesting movie ever. i don't know how to explain it, but i just felt literally like a character in a movie. strange. i liked it, but i like my time walking to school and between classes. i think to myself, and think about things that have happened, or what i need to do, or what i feel about certain topics. its my quite time, and I'm the kind of person who likes that. so although i would love to be in a movie everyday, i like my own little reality.

but, watch these videos!! im seriously in love with them, and could watch them all day. if only i could be as good as him.


and i hate this song, but love this video :)

count your many blessings

my friend Alison is doing a blog with things she is grateful for. so i took her lead and decided to do a weekly post of 10 things I'm grateful for. many will be repeats, because the things i have i am soooo blessed to have. but i will try and think of specific things I'm grateful for, so i realize how wonderful life is and so it wont get boring.
number 1. i am grateful that my sister is coming here soon for my birthday. i feel like she necessary to breath, and when we are together i feel complete. so I'm happy i get to steal her away for a few days from Cali :)
number 2. i am grateful for my bishop. i was talking to him yesterday, and he just gave me so much perspective, and he really helped me realize my true nature.
number 3. i am grateful for my hair. it sounds vain, but I'm not i promise! it is so simple, i just wake up and go, and i love the color, because it reminds me of me. that doesn't really make sense, but it does to me. i love my hair.
number 4. i am grateful for my roommates. they are so nice, and they make me happy to be around. i lucked out for sure.
number 5. i am grateful for my niece and nephew. they may be the cutest people to walk this planet. my life is ten fold better now that they are here.
number 6. i am grateful for rice. i just really love rice.
number 7. i am grateful for the random people in my life that i can always count on to make me smile. maybe that person i sit by in a certain class, or that person who i always walk by at the same time. or my teachers that say the funniest things, or people from my ward who always wave as they walk by. people that i don't know closely, but always put a smile on my face.
number 8. i am oh so very thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. because of him, i am happy. because of him, i can be free from unnecessary heartache.
number 9. i am thankful for the temple. inside and out it is beautiful. the work performed there is one of the most magnificent parts of Heavenly Fathers plan. i am grateful that i am able to go and feel that peace, and feel the love Christ has for me, its wonderful.
number 10. i am grateful for my bike. i love that squeaky pink thing. i sure does make life easier, and a lot more fun.

adventures in mona-land!

so Alison was going to the rope swings in Mona with some people from her home ward. I have heard about these infamous rope swings and have really wanted to try them out. so of course i said i would love to go. so i drove to Alison, we got gas (which was really difficult, something was wrong with my nozzle thing and so she helped me haha) and then went to join the group. it ended up being boys car and girls car. so on the way there we blasted some music and had some girl talk. who doesn't love girl talk?! well once we got into Mona city limits, we ran into some trouble. the boys couldn't exactly find it, so we turned around about 3 times. we down some random dirt roads and finally found the rope swings. only they were super small and over some nasty water. we were so confused. we knew these couldn't be the swings everyone talks about, they just couldn't be. so we walked through a snake infested field for a few minutes and then saw the real ones all the way on the other side of the lake. so we walked back through the field and drove to the right place and we finally arrived! the water was BEAUTIFUL! it was crystal blue, with a tint of green, but not in the nasty algae green, but in a wonderful turquoise green water color. the scenery was to die for and it just looked awesome. so someone decided to feel how cold it was. Freezing. like titanic cold. "yep, exactly like titanic, except jack doesn't die." well it turned out these swings are super scary, but seriously fun! we had an awesome time and wont ever forget our adventure :) so now on to the million pictures we took! (don't worry ill explain each picture)


so this is the short platform...


but trust me, its still super scary! this was me, looking really frightened and graceful as i tried to climb up


and this is what you are supposed to look like as you do it...


and this is what i look like when i do it! hahaha. i let go to early and smashed into the water. i know I'm so graceful.


This was the really high ledge. i would have tried it, but it looked impossible to get up. the nice thing about that one, is the rope was long enough where you could put your feet on a knot. on the short one, it barely reached so you had to hold really high and only with your arms.


but even the short ledge was scary, and kinda hard, so we on the baby rope. haha you didn't go off a ledge or anything, just a swing on the rope. so we did that one a few times.

and these are our "lets pose while we are swinging" pictures.


ALISON!


KIRSTEN!


ME! (haha I'm not dramatic or anything...i get scared really easy. so I'm screaming)


i know so graceful. don't be jealous.

and then just some cute pictures of us :)









the end!

p.s. on the way home, thanks to my great directional skills we took a wrong exit and had to turn around and i tried to do a shortcut thing and it didn't work.

p.p.s. i may not have a sports pass this year, but all i have to do is open my bedroom window and i can hear exactly how the game is going. i probably know just as much as i would if i actually went to it because i only judge of the screams anyway.

world of dance

unfortunately i don't have any pictures to show you guys (besides a picture of the poster of course), but i just have to share my experience. so me and Alison went to this dance show at BYU called world of dance. it was seriously AMAZING! it started out with this contemporary river dance, and from that moment i was in love! seriously all the dances were beautiful, creative, engaging, funny, inspiring...ahhh to many adjectives! there was one dance that wasn't my favorite, but the dancers were still really talented. there was river dancing, contemporary ballet, Indian, folk, ballroom, tap, Russian, and contemporary. i was seriously amazed by all the different styles and talent. it was wonderful and i would see it again in a heartbeat. you go BYU dance teams!!

sisters, squeaky bikes, and sign language.

Yesterday i was talking on the phone to this beautiful lady (look at picture). we had such an important talk, and i realize that i can literally tell my sisters anything. Heavenly Father placed the right people in my life because he knew what i would need and what kind of people i needed in my life. he got it dead on correct. i could not live my life the way i do right now with out my 3 gorgeous sisters. it is so comforting to know they are literally here for me whenever i need them. and i can't wait because Taylor and Natalie are coming up to Utah in only 15 days for my birthday/conference. i am beyond excited. and then i get to see my other lovely sister Lauren during thanksgiving time when she comes here to spend it with me (and Matt's family, but I'm the most important in this equation right?! ahahah) and then i get to see Ally and the rest of my fam all at Christmas time. looks like i have some exciting events to look forward to :) cant wait! well right after i hung up with Taylor i thought "now i need to write a blog about how much i love my sisters and how much they mean to me." but i was too exhausted so i decided to write it in the morning. Well Taylor beat me to it and decided to write one before me. dang her, haha just kidding. i have to say, it is quite a gem of a post :) i love these girls sooo much!

now on to my lovely bike (see picture) i have een riding it lots lately. i really love my bike, and think it feels quite magical to ride it around town. i do miss my favorite biking partner, but it still has its perks by itself. but seriously, right now i want to smash it! the past 2 times I've ridden it, its like its a squeaky dog toy. the metal rim thing covering the tire squeaks and squeaks and squeaks! its awful! people can hear me coming from a mile away. any microscopic bump sounds like thunder to my bike. at least i don't hit anyone coming from behind because they hear me. gotta look on the bright side right?? but the funnest thing about riding my bike to school...riding it home. to school its all uphill and laborious. coming down, it is smooth sailing! there is nothing as invigorating as riding downhill in a empty parking lot (i take a shortcut, so i don't have to worry about people getting in my way) and having your hair fly behind you and scenery rush past. i am an avid downhill biker.


and as for sign language. i just love it. end of story. its the best language ever. me and Alison went to ASL club yesterday, and it was a blast! and then i go to class and I'm just in love with every moment of it. my teacher is hilarious, the subject is so interesting, and the time just flys by. its great. and the picture, i know we look great. don't be jealous.

learning, cleaning, and blogging?

i never thought i was much of a multitask-er, but i really surprised myself. my accounting class is a hybrid class, which means we have some in class days, but then we have to watch lessons by ourselves at home. these lessons are loooooooong. let me tell you that. the one i'm watching right now is over 3.5 hours. ya tell me about it. so as i was watching it, everything seemed pretty simple, so i decided to hang up all my clothes that i had laying on my bed, organize my books, and clean up my desk. then i sat here watching it more, did good on the homework problems in between, so decided to blog about my adventures haha :) i know i'm amazing, hold your applause. and on some news, i got a letter, from an British missionary who was in the MTC with cameron, so i don't know him, so its really fun to write! haha :) so today was a good day. im super tired because i get sucked into the vicious cycle of naptime, but a good day none-the-less.

partying, partying YA!

so last night me and alison decided to go this dance party thing. that kind of thing is NEVER my scene, but i do on occasion get convinced to go. lets just say it was the lamest thing on the planet, so we left after like 10 minutes. well we stayed a little longer than that, but you get the idea. it was just super lame. so instead we went back to alisons house and just talked with her roomies and 2 of their friends. that ended up being fun, but the dance did not even have one ounce of fun. except for being able to watch people dance like idiots, which made us laugh really hard.



before we left though we baked some cookies, look at this little domestic woman :) hahaha

farmers market

the first day i got to provo my family and i saw this cute little farmers market in the stadium parking lot as we were driving by. we didn't stop, but i knew i wanted to go sometime in the future. me and my dad spotted a booth that looked very promising...HONEY! we both love honey, so i knew i had to buy some. well the future arrived yesterday, and since it is only a short walk from my house, i met up with Alison and walked around for a bit. it was a very short bit because the market was verrrrry small! haha but i did get my honey sticks. 3 regular, one lemon, and one root beer. may sound strange, but they were amazing!!! i loveee honey, and flavored honey is just that much more amazing.

not so abstract now

so you know how you always hear about "challenges" and "obstacles" and how they make you stronger and are really just stepping stones, and i know you are all thinking "yes. its not like i haven't had 100.6 lessons about this, duhh everyone knows challenges come, and everyone knows they suck while they last, but looking back only made you better." well i always learned that too dear friends, don't think i'm stupid and don't listen to people. but let me tell you, when hard times actually come, it doesn't just feel like a lesson anymore. its real life. now obviously my challenges don't compare to some peoples hardships, but still, these last few weeks have been not so fun at all.


ill just give you all the short story, but my loans weren't coming through, meaning if i didn't pay tuition soon all my classes would be dropped, i had about $20 in the bank to pay for my living expenses, and then to top it all off...my car got towed!! yayyy for stupid parking spots, who doesn't want to pay $225 and get lost just to get your car back?! so last night i just felt a little defeated. i just said to Heavenly Father "please, i really just cant do this anymore. please please please let things work out and have my financial stuff come through." so i woke up this morning, and i had an email from the financial place, and guess what, everything worked out. and lets just say today was a FANTASTIC day!! my classes were stimulating and exciting, my few hours of sleep felt like 12, and my hair just worked great haha. i'm so glad i have someone watching over me, because i would be a mess without God in my life. and i love school. that is all.

p.s. if i look sad in my picture, its because i was. and if i look like i just got run over and thrown to the side of the road (aka really unattractive) its because that's how i felt.

3 year olds are just too adorable

from this... to this.
oh goodness my baby is growing up :)

so i was sitting waiting for class and i get a text from my sister. ill show you all what it said, "Matti: mom can i have your phone so i can tell Jonni about my first day at school?!" i immediately started laughing because i told her about 100 times before i left, "now Matti, make sure you call me after your first day of school so that i can know how it goes! and make sure to send lots of pictures!" so of course she kept her promise and called me. Lauren said she doesn't like to talk on the phone with anyone, so it made me special, but you couldn't tell by the way she was talking! hahaha, she was so excited and squealing and laughing and just trying to make up random stories about her imaginary friend Casey so that she could keep talking. i could not help but smile the entire time, i love that girl with my whole heart! after 20 minutes of talking, Lauren told me to say i had to go to class so they could go about the rest of their day. i don't know what i would do if i didn't have an adorable hilarious, crazy, loving 3 year old in my life.

the joys of 9 o'clock church

this year, my ward meets at 9 o'clock in the morning. i'm not a person who enjoys waking up early, especially when you stay up late at night on saturday, so i wasn't exactly thrilled by the idea of early morning sundays. but let me tell you, it leads to glorious naps!! i came home and was able to take a 3 hour nap! to some that might seem excessive, but once i get sleeping i just cant stop hahaha. also i had 2 nights in a row of little sleep, so it was worth it. and ill be honest, 9 is 100 percent better than the 1:30 i had last year, so i cant complain! today was a great Sabbath day, made much better by the fact that i have to read a lot for my new testament class, so i read about 40 pages today, it really kept my mind focused on Christ, and made me remember why we were given a Sabbath day. I love the Savior so very much, and this past week i have had to rely so much on Him and pray daily for strength and i am so grateful for that. Without His atonement i could not be forgiven of my wrongdoings and i would be a truly miserable person. His gospel gives me strength and happiness and a purpose for this life. i love Him.



This painting is so beautiful to me. it is my favorite story in the new testament, and it really gives me a strong desire to build my faith in Christ. This woman had amazing faith, she knew so strongly that he was the Son of God that all she had to do was touch his robe and she would be cured of her blood disease. i hope that if i were in her position, and i was blessed enough to be that close to Christ, that i would have the faith to reach out and touch his robe and be healed.

me, scary movies?!

so for those of you who know me, or possibly have just heard my screams, you know i get scared super easy. pop around a corner, hide in my closet, under my bed, grab my shoulders and say "rarrr!!!" and that's it, i scream like a little baby and i cant control myself. whether its in a quite spot or a super embarrassing crowd, i will be guaranteed to scream. bloody murder. while i am trying to work on this, i get super scared in scary movies and can barely close my eyes at night. so why is it that i watched 2 scary movies 2 days in a row? i really have no idea. but i'm proud to say, i survived and i slept fantastic last night.



i must be crazy. and if i stay up all night i know who to blame...scary movie producers. of course it had nothing to do with my choice to watch those said scary movies ;)