Tuesday, December 29, 2009

A new beginning

Well, with the new year, I have decided to start posting blogs again! Joy for everyone! :)

So, here is my commitment: to post regularly this year! Starting in January. (As it's still December, I don't feel obligated to do anything else besides announce upcoming posts!)

Happy New Year!!

Friday, March 6, 2009

WOAH!

WOAH! 
It's been a year and half.

BUT I'm posting! So there...

Life has such an amazing way of going forward! I am about to complete my second year of college with very few battle wounds and some pretty good grades, as well. The only really big fiasco was a very dramatic hair episode where my hair went from blonde to dark brown to orange to very blonde to normal. I suppose things could be worse. 

But the most FANTASTIC news of all? I'm engaged! Yes, it's true. I will tie the knot on May 9th to Mr. David Christofferson in the San Antonio LDS Temple. There's proof in the goofy picture at the top! That photo exudes happiness--the only the kind that comes from engagement. 

Well, my life has just been filled with life, music, and the stress...I mean JOY of wedding planning! Perhaps this will be the start of a new habit of posting....


Tuesday, January 8, 2008

It takes long time....I mean a really loooong time....

Hmm... I haven't done a post in probably about a million years! This is just a short one to say that I still exist! My mom inspired me to begin with the updates again! But my computer is at the doctor's right now, so I have no pictures with me or anything. So just know that school is going great, and I'm so glad it's a new semester! it's going to be exciting! The first went really well, but this one will be way better! Again, pictures are on their way!

Friday, July 27, 2007

It's the latest trend.....

So I've been told that I will be lowered from cool little sister to the level of lame-o "other" sister, unless I make a list of 101 completely random things that you may or may not know about me.....
1. I don't have a middle name
2. I really do love my life, it's not just something I say when I'm happy. I'm really lucky, and I think living life might well be my favorite activity.
3. I absolutely love to read. I get overwhelmed whenever I go to bookstores, b/c I want to read nearly every book that looks slightly interesting
4. I used to play softball, and I was really good. I was on a rec team, tournament team, and all-stars for at least three years straight.
5. I quit softball for cheerleading
6. I also did dance for 12 years
7. Everything I once did got dropped for marching band
8.My entire freshman year, I thought I was going to join color gaurd, or do both marching band and cheerleading
9. I never did try out for either color gaurd or cheerleading. and I'm really glad.
10. I was section leader and then drum major.
11. I'm really private, and would rather keep things bottled up inside, until it goes away
12. but if it's a really good thing/feeling, I probably overshare...I've been known to give my heart away, but I keep forgetting that I do that....so it keeps happening. anyway...
13. I say certain phrases a lot i.e. "anyway" "I don't wanna talk about it." and "oh."
14. Music fabricates my being.
15. I desperately want to learn how to ballroom dance, specifically swing and latin dancing
16. I truly do aspire to become just like a ms. Kimberly Shuttlesworth to a certain extent.
17. When everyone leaves the office during lunch, I turn up the music a tiny bit louder and dance--mostly to keep myself from dying of boredom while I wait for things to download
18. I really do have the best family ever. If asked who my very best friend was, it would be my brother, and my other siblings are right there with him (although I do have to admit that Alex and I are rather closer to each other than the others, but only because of the age gap.)
19. I don't like making decisions, especially when the outcome isn't extremely vital, i.e. where/what to eat
20. I also wish it were possible to major in piano performance, music ed:clarinet, English, History, and conducting all at once
21. I want to learn how to compose better music.
22. I learned to almost enjoy calculus, thanks to Bradford's excellent tutoring ability. I at least scored really well. And understood what I was doing...which was miraculous indeed
23. I don't think I'm as good of a writer as my mom and sister always say I am
24. when I was in fifth grade, I wrote a 13 chapter book called Escape at Sea and gave it to my teacher. Each chapter was 1-2 pages.
25. My sister always thinks she was a bad big sister, but she doesn't realized that she is actually the best one EVER. And I have plenty of good memories to prove it!
26. In my opinion, there are lots of good story-tellers, but very few really good authors.
27. but it doesn't stop me from reading every book I can
28. I went from planning to audition at Curtis on piano, to not majoring in piano at all. And I'm okay with it. Now.
29. I love rain. A lot. A lot a lot.
30. I secretly love to match outfits, and decorating rooms.
31. I think I'm pretty fashionable most the time
32. I secretly believe that, had I chosen that route, I could've been a great artist.
33. I think my stick figures, and other various illustrations I have done, prove my hidden talent
34. I'm super competitive by nature.
35. I'm passionate about teaching. I think it's the most amazing experience, and that's why it's my chosen path
36. I really love chocolate more than anyone should. I don't eat it a lot, but man....I wish I did....
37. I love to take pictures, and have thought about going into photography as a side hobby.
38. I have quite literally jammed out to classical music
39. I'm not very good at keeping in contact with old friends, and am therefore rather grateful that facebook exists, although it doesn't help too much...
40. I'm determined to learn a second language fluently. I'm taking French, but with Alex around all the time, I'm thinking it would be fun to learn Korean....
41. I don't really like other people to see me cry.
42. I also don't like other people knowing how hard something is for me, don't let em see me break a sweat!!
43. Very few people know me extremely well, though they might think they do
44. Nature is my favorite place to be
45. I love old things: books, houses, antiques, etc.
46. I also really love cool contemporary things
47. I love bags and shoes
48. but I'd rather have my shoes off....so I like shoes for looking at but not neccessarily to wear...
49. I've conducted the Austin Symphony Orchestra, and played principal clarinet for one performance
50. Someday, I want to write a book, multiple books, if possible
51. I want to travel
52. I have a weird obsessive interest in Russia, and the entire Russian/Slavic culture
53. One of my favorite feelings in the world is brushing my teeth.
54. Whenever I feel sick, gross, bad, etc, I shower. and then brush my teeth. It feels better
55. It's really important to me to feel petite, or short, when it comes to a relationship. I grew up being slightly bigger and taller for my age, and now that I'm normal, I tend to date people who are taller than me by a good amount, just because I like to feel short.
56. I've jumped into a water fountain fully clothed and gone for a midday swim
57. I've been rock climbing, and white water-ish kayaking
58. I love skirts. When I was about 6, I told my sister who was 16 that I would never wear pants, and that I would always wear dresses or skirts. She made me sign a contract. I promptly forgot, of course, and wore pants the next year. But it has come full circle, and I would probably willingly sign that contract again, with the conditions of allowing exceptions during physical activity...
59. I can be a brat sometimes
60. I think it's interesting how beautiful the world is. Things could probably have been just a functional without being so pretty. I really enjoy God's balance of form and function, and I hope to practice the same balance. I really think my mom does a good job of imitating this balance.
61. My mom and I are extremely similar
62. It means we argue a lot, and laugh even more
63. but there are some things that I am so much like my dad, that my mom can't relate at all
64. Trent knows more about me than any other sibling, and that is what they all get for moving away during my high school years! I credit much of my "turning out" to Trent during high school.
65. My grandpa reminds me of winnie the pooh, and I love that.
66. My best friend and I don't act very much like best friends. We don't get together that often, but when we do it's always a blast. We don't constantly confide, but when we do, it's things we would trust with no one else. I think this sort of best friendship is supreme. We've never argued once, since 6th grade. Plus, everything we do is exactly the same by mere accident. If we were any more bestfriendy, I'd be sick!
67. My brother, Russell, is spiderman. And one of my fondest memories of him is singing to an italian love song in the car before he went on his mission.
68. I always have to have my toes painted, but I hate having my fingernails painted. Go figure.




69. One of my favorite things to do is walk outside, and my two favorite sounds of nature are birds and waterfalls/water in general




70. I've recently discovered how theraputic and fun it is to regularly write in my journal




71. I like the way cool journals look, and planners




72. I'm having a hard time coming up witn 101 things about myself




72. Someday I want to live in a really cool house--either cool old or cool contemporary, with a lot of land, or at least near a big park or something, where I can walk every morning or night




73. I'm addicted to chapstick and lotion, and it's mostly because I actually need them all time, not because it's a chosen addiction. I have my dad's lovely dry skin...




74. I'm possibly the biggest band nerd you'll ever meet




75. And I'm okay with that




76. When I set goals, I almost always succeed them.




77. I prefer order and organization, and all my school stuff is always organized etc. but when it comes to clothes...if I get too busy for laundry....well I have a hard time keeping my room clean, if I'm really busy....




78. I have a really high tolerance level for a whole lot of things




79. I won't tolerate when myself or people I'm working with don't allow themselves to fulfill their potential and don't try their best




80. It also really annoys me when people discredit something they've never tried...how do they know they don't like it, if they've never done it themselves?




81. I really like going to the grocery store. I don't know why. But I kind of love it. Especially the HEB on Slaughter Ln. or Central Market....




82. I really like scarves, and other accessories




83. I won't go into a gas station alone unless I absolutely have no choice




84. I truly do like Mr. Dinkins, though there is still an underlying fear, I actually like the man.




85. I've never done anything to my hair, no dye, high lights, perms, etc. And I like it that way.




86. Barber is one of my favorite composers for orchestra




87. Beethoven is my favorite composer for piano. I can't imagine having his mind. It probably would feel something similar to having Lewis' brain.




88. I need to do my laundry right now, and yes I was busy, and yes my room needs to be cleaned as well. But generally, as soon as I do my laundry, my room is automatically cleaner.




89. Before I was 14, my hair was very straight, and before I was 10, it was white-blonde.





90. I've always had a little bit of a bossy side to me. I try to supress it, but it doesn't always work...



91. One of my greatest fears is that people will talk behind my back and be really mean.



92. I stress out about a lot of things. I'm a worrier.





93. I own a ton of jewelry, but almost all of it I didn't buy. It was either a gift, or passed down. (More is always welcome). I think I've bought a total of maybe 5 pieces of jewelry.





94. I'm really competitive. And I also don't remember if I've already listed that one...





95. One of my life-long goals is to train myself to enjoy running. I love the results, and the feeling of achievement after running really far...but can never get myself to want to do it before hand, or during....



96. I value the idea of finding joy in the journey, not just the destination.



97. I really like laughing, and I think I can be pretty witty sometimes.



98. I don't like my handwriting, and I am always trying new things to improve it...though it rarely works...



99. I'm really weird, and enjoy making crazy faces and noises....especially around Alex...



100. I really like to think about deep and unfathomable topics such as different aspects of cosmology, the vastness of the ocean, and other sciency things like that...



101. I'll have everyone know that after much struggle and fight, and terrible grades in PreCal, I ended my year in Calculus with a 92 avg, three test grades btw 96-100 and a 100 on the final. : ) Also thanks to a great tutor!



101b. I'm also not sure why I went from having no spaces between lines, to big spaces between each number.....This took several days to complete, so it's not very consistent, I guess...

Ready..? Set...?


I'm crouched at the starting line, waiting to burst with full energy exerted into a new chapter of my life! It's exhilerating, scary, and inevitable. My first big leap was to hold a senior recital, combined with Lewis Chang. It was incredible to see how many came to support, and it was quite an experience to let go of time and simply practice for hours upon hours a day--32 page sonatas don't come easily when you have two weeks to prepare!! I'm glad I succeeded my goal of holding a recital. I had been wanting to do for at least a year, but time never could really allow. I thought it would never happen! I feels so good when you make things happen...

I'm learning to be more independent, which is paradoxically the easiest and hardest thing I've ever had to learn. I'm already pretty self-sufficient, mentally at least. But can I really make sure I have food to eat? I have to motivate myself to get things done? Get myself to go to bed on time?? Keep a clean room??? It could be pretty rough. Luckily, though, I've embedded in myself a sense that if I want something done, I need to do it myself. Now, this isn't always a positive thing, I understand, but as far as getting into the programs I need for my major, looking for internships, and getting my studying done properly, I'm confident that I'll be able to take the initiative. I hope. But, there are so many other things that I am a bit freaked out with. It's a good thing Alex will be with me at BYU, b/c there are so many things that I don't like doing alone... i.e: going inside gas stations & going to the bank. I'm thrilled to begin conducting my own life, though.

Another big step for me is to go to Hawaii for a week, with siblings only, and for the soul purpose of going to have fun (no one to visit, no business things to attend). Essentially, it is the first time I've gone somewhere, and not had a detailed itinerary. It's going to be fantastic!! I'm really excited!!

Life is coming at me fast, and I'm ready to take it! There's a lot I still need to learn about myself, but I'm a good teacher, so I think I'll be able to learn pretty fast from myself and from those around me. Oh! There's the gunshot.....GO!!

Friday, July 6, 2007

I want to go kayaking again!!


I learned how to kayak on Tuesday. And I don't mean just silly old yellow plastic $10 per hour boy scout pool toy kayaking, either. I mean intense, learning from the fastest polo-kayaker in the nation, wearing a skirt thing that connects you to the boat, really difficult just to go straight kayaking. My camera is out of batteries, so my phenomenal artistic abilities are going to have to be satisfactory as far as documentation of this memorial occasion goes. So anyhow, it was extremely fun!! I had a hard time going straight. And then I had a hard time turning. And then I had a hard time in general. But it was great, anyway! It started pouring, so we got cut off in our training session, since Joseph was apprehensive of the lightning, which is a good thing, I suppose....Anyway, everyone needs to go kayaking. I'll definitely be going again!!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Isn't life fantastic!?


So, I'm terrible at posting blog things. But, at least I have one, yes? The past month or two has been absolutely filled with events and adventures! I prefer pictures to long, elaborate paragraphs about my life and feelings, etc. Especially b/c I know that not a whole lot of people can be too concerned with my life affairs. At any rate, I have to be verbose this time, simply because I don't have enough room to put all the pictures of so many wonderful events!




I will try to include a picture from every important event, and do a good summary...



So here we are at the Who's Who reception. It was wonderful, inspiring, and honoring. The best part was seeing who else got the award, and discovering that most of them were my really close friends! Keeping good company makes life far more enjoyable! So it was great to hear the incredible goals and plans that my fellow who's who recipients have.






Um...So choir banquet was a blast. I got best hair. And an honor award for
good participation (I think?)...even though I don't do anything
for choir except go to class and the occasional concert....



For those of you who like water...here are pics from our family outing to Pedernales. It was astonishingly pretty, to say the least! Luckily, no flash flooding occurred while we were there.



Isn't it beautiful? I love sunsets, and this one was reflected perfectly in the water!!



Shadows....neat...



A blog would never be complete without a lovely picture of my twin and I! This is probably a celebratory "Last Day of Band" picture.




Grandma and Grandpa visited in order to see my last concert, as well as witness the awarding of the John Philip Sousa award to me! I had no idea it was coming, thanks to my family's good secret-keeping skills. It was pretty darned awesome.


And then, we went on a spectacular trip to San Diego!! I suppose to sum it all up, life is fantastic! The world is so beautiful (especially in San Diego...and Texas) ! Now, go and enjoy something.