Campbell's 'Three Months of My Life' Condensed Soup

Yeah, I know the title is kinda lame but thats the best I've got. I guess it's been a while...I apologize to those who actually read my blog. I hope I can remember what I've done the last few months. The events of October and November don't have much significance. I suppose I made some new friends with others who sit in the orchestra room at lunch- Miken, Maciel, Nick and Stephanie are a few of them. Thanksgiving was a well-needed break and a delicious dinner. Mesa High made it into the playoffs for football. We went to state and lost to Hamilton 35-0. Second place is pretty dang good though. And plus we got to play at Cardinals stadium. My PSAT scores came back really good.
In early December I got to have a date with a nice young man named Chris Udall-we doubled with Dan Coley and his date and went to see the temple lights. This date was quite special because it was the first time that a guy(and a senior at that) has asked ME on a date rather than the other way around. Chris is a very interesting guy...When Dan first introduced me to him, Chris told me that he loves the name Amelia and that we should go on a date sometime. I had no idea he was serious until I talked to him at school a few times and he called me one Saturday night. I had a great time. We talk quite a bit and I enjoy getting to know him.
I did well on all of my final exams. I had a very restful Christmas Break. My 17th birthday was on the 23rd and it was incredible. Two days later I could barely believe it was already Christmas. I spent a lot of time with my family and some time playing our new wii. While my sister Amanda visited family in Florida, we got to take care of her dog Rosie. That was an adventure all in its own. My cell phone went through the washing machine in a pair of my jeans, so I had to get a new one...and I think I like it better than my old one. I went to the 5-stake New Year's Eve dance and had lots of fun.
Last week we got back in school and things are about back to normal. Last week I spent a ton of time preparing for Winter Formal (last saturday-It was moved to January since our football team made it to state). I will post pictures as soon as I have them, with a post on the highlights.
Now I am looking forward to another semester of learning and growing. I am taking intermediate stained glass now, and am working on my first project. I hope to do well in the upcoming science fair-Owen Carroll is my partner and we are experimenting on how temperature affects the solubility of carbon dioxide in soda (for those that don't speak chem we are seeing what goes flat faster-warm or cold soda).
I have set some goals for this year and this semester. I joined the Mesa Milers Running Club at school and hope to participate in a 5k run held by our stake in October. In conjunction with this I hope to lose enough weight to fit into a formal dress in the back of my closet to Prom (assuming that I will get asked-hint hint to all you boys reading this). I have decided to no longer slack off in my Spanish class and so far I've done pretty good and its doing good things for me. I hope to survive AP Chemistry and do my best on the AP test at the end of the year. I have lots to look forward to and am excited for all of it! Hopefully I can find time to record it here every once in a while.

Where has the last month gone?

Schoolwork ate up my time...and evidently so did my break from schoolwork. This week was October Break...and I guess it kept me busy! I've been working on my quilt for Young Women's, keeping Reed and Abram entertained, reading, and NOT doing schoolwork because I didn't have any (a rare occasion). I did, however, have to take the PSAT (Preliminary SAT) this morning-and I'm still recovering. I worried for a long while before the test, but I ultimately made it through, and I'm feeling pretty confident about it. I want my scores now, but I have to wait till December.

Last week was Homecoming- Spirit Week, Bonfire, Assembly, Parade, Carnival, Game, and Dance-in that order. I participated in all but one of them-bet you can guess which one. Spirit Week was great- I paraded around school as a pirate on Tuesday(argh!), a cavewoman on Wednesday (ugh!), a lion on Thursday (rawr!), and a linebacker on Friday (unintentionally of course-my Mesa High jersey plus my broad shoulders equals linebacker). Thursday night was the enormous bonfire. Friday was the Assembly (awesome) and early release (awesomer) that made all of our classes 20 minutes long each (awesomest). The parade was right after school, and the carnival followed the parade. The game was great-needless to say we beat Desert Vista! I really wanted to go to the dance on Saturday, but I never got asked and I didn't really want to go alone. So I got to hang out with Nan. We went to Chili's and laughed at our bald waiter whose name was either Steve or Phil. Then we rented movies and took them back to Nan's.

I was really hoping for a last-minute date to Homecoming but, it never happened. Oh well, it's long over now. At least I have Winter Formal to look forward to-December 12...and that's girl-ask-guy. Just two more months and it will be: Winter Formal, My 17th Birthday, Christmas, Halfway Through the School Year, the New Year, Results from the PSAT...I could go on forever.
I'm excited for it all...even the schoolwork.

Oops...I kind of went crazy with the ellipses...My English teacher would be proud of me.

Humor to the second power

He he he he. Nerd funnies...Alisha told me to look at these shirts on mentalfloss.com and I about died laughing...

Kudos if you understand these ones. These are my most favorite!

Who can explain the soap one to me?

I've never read Macbeth.

On a Roll

GO RABBITS! We are currently 3-0. Last night's score was 28-6! Take that warriors!

Rabbits Crush Warriors

TOMORROWS HEADLINE! We play our rival Westwood tonight. And we're going to win our game against them for the seventeenth year in a row (knock on wood). I can't wait!

42-6

Last night's game score! We won against Dobson. Go Rabbits! Not much else to update on.

BAM

Last night was the first Mesa High football game of the season! It was incredible-the bleachers were packed, the players were ready, and we won 21-7! In case you don't know, Mesa High is the best, most unique, and most spirited high school in the entire world. We stood cheering the entire time, and would have cheered our team on even if we weren't winning. Our game made the news on three channels, chosen game of the week on one of them, and was featured in today's newspaper. Once again, I love my school because it always has been one to be proud of. Go Jackrabbits!

Back into the Swing of Things

Goodness the last few days of school have been a lot all at once. (and that's why it's been so long since I've updated!) I am thoroughly enjoying every single one of my classes, challenging and easy alike. I love all of my teachers...a first in years...and am ready to learn this year. My AP Chemistry class will certainly keep me on my toes mentally and my aerobics class will do the same physically. US History is a breeze and Trig is just another math class. Spanish four- si, soy muy loca-requires a little work and practice, and Seminary is amazing as always. AA English has been off to a good start-a much better pace than last year. With all of these classes, though, I have to have an A Hour...and it is really really early. But school is going to be amazing. I do not doubt the truth in the saying "Junior year is the hardest", but I firmly believe it is the best. At least I don't have a job to juggle too...

Whack it off!

I got my hair cut today! And I love it. It's shorter than I expected, but it looks fantastic! And it is so much lighter (weight wise- I must have lost ten pounds that way) and it's better for the AZ summer...Wish I'd done it sooner. I know it looks just as long as it was, but it really is shorter. The longest is really the back which is the same length as the shortest used to be.

On My Doorstep Again

Hunter showed up on my doorstep again...and it was kind of awesome. He brought me cookies that he had made himself... :D And he was really nice to me this morning when I was texting him. I told him the cookies he made were fantastic...and he replied "Oh, thanks...And by the way, I wanted to say sorry for all the mean things I've done to u...I was kinda a jerk. I'm really sorry. I'm trying to be nice now...Like seriously I was very immature with the jalepenos and all the prank calls and rude comments. But you were never mean to me so I'm sorry." I replied that I forgave him a long time ago and he said "Oh that's so sweet of you" and I said "It's sweet of you too". And these are direct quotes...no joke. I've been really happy all day now.

Another Guy on My Doorstep

Ha ha yes it's true. But this time it was Hunter Hoopes begging me for a copy of the English Summer Assignment previously mentioned. According to him, he wasn't there when we got it in class last May. And with only 3 weeks left until school starts he's just now worrying about getting a copy of it. Ha ha ha. I admit I've had a slow start on the summer assignment myself, but at least I made sure I had a copy before school got out, and I'm actually working on it. Oh well...I was glad to help him, I'm pretty much glad to help anybody with anything. And he did say he would bring me cookies or something some time. (That's always a plus...)

Yes, I know I'm a nerd

I don't care what you think...Shakespeare is a genius. Yes, his work is hard to read. Yes, his ideas aren't always the best. Yes, he is a little overrated. But he's still a genius and I still love reading his works. The genius comes in the way he uses words. Here's a brief example:

Lysander: How now, my love! Why is your cheek so pale?
How chance the roses there do fade so fast?
Hermia: Belike for want of rain, which I could well
Beteem them from the tempest of my eyes.

Is that not so much more beautiful than:
Lysander: What's wrong? Why are you so pale?
Hermia: I think I'm going to cry.

I'm currently in the beginning-middleish part of A Midsummer Night's Dream for my English class. And I love it. I feel bad for Helena though...as those of you who have read or seen it know, the guy that she loves (Demetrius) that used to love her, doesn't love her anymore...He wants Hermia (Helena's best friend) now. It makes me want to cry. This is another passage that I like:

Helena:...O, teach me how you look, and with what art
You sway the motion of Demetrius' heart!
Hermia: I frown upon him, yet he loves me still.
Hel: O that your frowns would teach my smiles such skill!
Her: I give him curses, yet he gives me love.
Hel: O that my prayers could such affection move!
Her: The more I hate, the more he follows me.
Hel: The more I love, the more he hateth me.
Her: His folly, Helena, is no fault of mine.
Hel: None, but your beauty: would that fault were mine!

Read A Midsummer Night's Dream if you haven't already.

Band-Aids and an Extreme Sugar Rush

Lately I've been letting my creative side shine a little (this is why it's been so long since I've blogged.) It all started July 16, 1955 when my mom was born. Then on July 19, 1976 my oldest sister Margie was born, and on July 18,1978 , my second sister Emily was born. Then, two years ago, on July 20, my nephew Reed was born. These events combined created our family's July birthday week. So all last week I was getting ready for our super-duper enormous celebrations last weekend. That's what led to the extreme sugar rush and the need for more than twenty band-aids...

For my mom and sisters for their birthdays, I decided I would make mosaic stained glass covered vases/candleholders. The one in the picture above shows the one for Margie (It's the only one I've finished so far!). It's a fairly simple process, and really fun, but where there's glass there's usually broken skin and a little blood (I'm proud of the cuts all over my fingers though!). I enjoyed choosing the shapes of the vases and glass colors for everyone to match thier personalities. They all seemed to love them, even though they still aren't finished.

As for the sugar, I helped my talented older sister Amanda make a cake for Reedy. His absolute favorite movies are Thomas the Tank Engine...so we made a Thomas cake. It was a two-car train pulled by Thomas, the first car full of candy toys and presents that I made(the Tootsie Roll bears are my favorite!). I also helped to sculpt Sir Topham Hatt, ducks for the pond, and the green Rice Krispie trees. It was so much fun. And we ate so much of the candy and extra cake that we had a great sugar rush. Nan has officially named me her "detail person" for her cakes. I love it- and I have so much fun with it. I don't usually have the chance to be this creative.

Give Me Your Tots

Now, I've never been one to brag about my incredible sense of style, but my outfit this morning was impressive. Anyone that saw me walking down the street to take care of the dogs at seven o'clock this morning saw me wearing:
>a worn out green-striped polo shirt
>midnight blue work out shorts
>bright pink and black squishy flip flops
>my scroungy unbrushed hair thrown into a ponytail
>a look on my smeary yesterday's-makeup face that said "I should be sleeping right now, not scooping poo"
>And to top it off: the pictured hat that says "Give Me Your Tots"
I was the image of well-kept perfection. No wonder everyone ran away screaming. I must have blinded them with my awesomeness.

God Bless America

In all this celebrating the independence of our country, I've had some interesting thoughts. At the park program in Thatcher, we all sang the song "God Bless America". One line of the song goes "Stand beside her, and guide her/Through the night with a light from above". As I sang it, I kind of started to cry, and I thought to myself "that is exactly what our country needs right now". We need that guidance from God to remain the free and righteous land we were created to be. Then, on Sunday, we sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" for our closing hymn in church. We sang the not-often-heard third verse that goes like this:

"Oh! thus be it ever, when free men shall stand,

Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation,

Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n rescued land

Praise the pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,

And this be our motto, "In God is our trust."

I had no idea the third verse had such an important message to it. If our country trusts in God, and we are trying to do what's right, we will conquer, we will not fail, because we will have the Lord's help. It also acknowledges that our Heavenly Father had a great part in the creation and preservation of our country. It was not just luck that we gained our freedom. With a message like that in our country's national anthem, how can some believe that we are "a Godless nation"?

Go to my sister Emily's blog for her thoughts that are very similar to mine. What she wrote in her post titled "How's that thread holding?" is incredible. It's the top one on my blog list.

A Fabulous Fourth

I spent the Fourth of July at my grandpa's house. We had so much fun! The small town of Thatcher, AZ certainly holds a huge celebration every year. At 5:30 am the fire department woke everyone up by running the fire trucks with the sirens going all over town. Then they had a patriotic people parade leading to a program at the park(and if that's not alliteration, I don't know what is!). They had music and speeches there, followed by a watermelon and cantelope breakfast, and a hose-off by the fire department. Then, that night, they had a huge fireworks show at the fairgrounds. We had the best seats ever, we were right underneath the fireworks. We could see them setting them off a hundred yards away! There was a ton of ash and debris that kept falling on us!

These aren't the best pictures, but they were taken from my phone, what do you expect?

First-Rate Second Date

I appologize for not updating earlier, but the last few days have been busy. As I mentioned before, I had a date with Jaron on Friday. It was incredible. We doubled with his older sister Becca, the sweetest person in the world, and her date Josh, a guy from my seminary class. We went to the park played around. Jaron and Becca made dinner for us-spaghetti-but they didn't bring plates (intentionally). So they spread out a plastic tablecloth on the picnic table and we ate straight off of it! It was so funny! Then we did ice blocking down the hills and just played around, enjoying the stormy weather. When it got dark and started to rain, we went to Jaron's house and played Phase 10. That's two dates in a row that we've played it. I love that game though. Anyway, it was just so fun. And Jaron was such a gentleman- he opened the car door for me, it was so sweet. I hope I can have more fun dates like that.

Blessed

I honestly feel so blessed right now...in several areas of my life. And I do know from Whom it all comes.

1. A Source of Income
I don't have a job (yet). I did however run into an opportunity to earn some money last week. A neighbor asked me to take care of her pets while she was away for a week. It was kind of hard work but I earned enough to "hold me over for a while" as my mom put it. I won't say the exact amount, but this is the most I've ever paid in tithing.

2. A Chance to Visit My Grandpa
It's Fourth of July weekend and we're going up to visit my grandpa in Thatcher. They always have a huge Fourth celebration in their small town, everything begining at 6 am. So we thought it would be a good idea to visit my grandpa for a few days and enjoy the festivities on Saturday. I love my grandpa so much and am really excited to see him.

3. A Date
Yes, I am so glad for it. It's been so long since my first date, I was worried I would never have a second. A very nice young man from my Spanish class called me up today. I was so excited. We've tried several times before now to set up a date, but every time one of us has been busy. A date (especially with him) will be an incredible boost to my self esteem.

4. A Way to Go on the Date and to My Grandpa's
The date previously mentioned almost couldn't happen. The plan was to leave for my grandpa's house around 6:00 pm tomorrow (Friday). The date was scheduled for 6:30 pm tomorrow. My parents can't wait for me to be done with my date, and my date couldn't change the time. I was worried I would have to choose, when I really wanted both. But my loving Heavenly Father has blessed me with a chance to have both (even though I don't deserve to get everything I want). My older sister and her family aren't leaving for my grandpa's house until early (2 am) Saturday morning, and they are willing to let me ride with them. They were having trouble deciding when they would leave, and because of other circumstances they chose the time that works out for me.

I do believe thanks are in order.

What's black and white and read all over?

Me in a newspaper ballgown...that's what! It was the funnest mutual activity I've done in a long time. I went to mutual with my older sister who is a young women leader in her ward. The point was to create a modest ball gown for each of the models-I was one of them-out of newspaper and ribbon. It was fantastic. I love the dress...I'm so glad I got pictures of it. It was modeled after Disney's Cinderella dress. Notice the beautiful matching diamond necklace and headband. The newspapers were all from this week, so there were all kinds of pictures of Michael Jackson in it, one of which they taped to my butt. The best was the roasted chicken on my tummy that said "belly up". I loved this activity and would love to do it again.

Funny Picture of the Day

(at Jason's request) Someone's a little dislexic