Liebster Award

I have been nominated for a Liebster award! By the one, the only, the prettiest esthetician and yogini, CHELSEA! She's a lov-a-lie newlywed married to Keke's husband's brother. So... we're basically family, right? Right. Go check out her blog HERE.

"Liebster" means dearest in German, and it's awarded, blogger to blogger, to up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers.  The rules for accepting and giving the award are pretty simple.  Once you accept the award, you just have to do the following in a blog entry:

Answer the 11 questions posted by the nominator on her blog

Give 11 facts about yourself

Nominate 5-11 other new, up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers

Make up 11 more questions to pass on to the bloggers you choose to nominate

Thank your nominator by linking back to her blog

Upon your post going live, contact your nominees about your nomination for them

Q: What is your favorite food?
DRIED MANGOS. You know those large packs you buy at Sam's Club? I can easily go through one in less than a day. When I lived in Florida, my Mama would send them to me in her care packages and as much as I would try to savor them... I didn't/couldn't.

Q: What's your favorite clothing item in your closet?
Any and all of my Disney gear. I don't have as much as some people (you know who you are!) but I absolutely adore my Little Mermaid sweatshirt and multiple tee-shirts. They are comfy and remind me of the best time of my life!

Q: What was your favorite class in high school? 
Definitely Dance Company. I had the honor of being on the team for two years, my last year being a co-president and it changed my life. It gave me confidence I never knew I had as well as 26 best friends who I would never have been in the right circles to meet otherwise.

d.co 2009-2010 

d.co 2010-2011

Q: What was your favorite Christmas gift you received? 
A: Christmas 2009. Dano was on her mission and Keke was visiting from New York where she was attending school. My parents gave me my final Christmas gift. I opened it to find a New York calendar. When I opened the calendar to the month of March, I saw a plane ticket. Immediately following, I started crying because I was SO HAPPY. I was going to visit my sister in New York for Spring Break! That was the first time I ever cried tears of joy. I had missed both my sisters so much for those few months, I was so excited I was going to have one on one time with one of them in the coolest city EVER in the near future.

Q: What is one of the oldest memories you have? 
My very first memory is from when I'm 2 or 3. I stole one of my clean, unused diapers from the diaper bag and held it out the window like a parachute. Unfortunately though, I accidentally let it go and so my Mom pulled over and made my big sister pick it up. I can still remember Keke picking it up with absolute disgust because it fell in a muddy puddle! Sorry, Keke.

Q: What is your favorite song right now? 
Right now I la-la-love Wake Me Up by Avicii Feat. Aloe Blacc. Listen to it HERE, it'll get you groovin'!

Q: What is your favorite vacation spot you've been to?
When I was younger my family went to Mendicino, CA. It's near the town where Murder She Wrote was filmed. It's small, quiet, quaint, rainy, and full of deer. We stayed in a cabin called 'Fairy Cabin', I saw Grease for the first time there, and also found my boy doppelganger. What a trip for little girl!

Q: What is your typical daily morning routine? 
Nothing special. Wake up at 5:30am, shower, make-up, hair, outfit, run out the door.

Q: Do you have a life motto you repeat to yourself a lot? What is it?
Sure do. Lots actually! One of them is the following gem: Worry is a misuse of your imagination.

Q: What is your favorite part about yourself? 
Oooh tough. I pretend not to have self-esteem issues but let's be real, who doesn't! One thing I like though is my painted finger nails. I feel nearly impossible with my polished cuticles.

Q: What is your dream job? 
I just had the honor of completing my dream job this past year in Florida... you may or may not know what I'm talking about. I miss it everyday but more than that, I am grateful for it everyday. It was the most incredible experience of my entire life.

Eleven facts about myself: 

1. When I was 16, I attended the end of a friend of a friend's soccer game only to make eye contact with the most handsome young man I had ever seen in MYWHOLEDANGLIFE. Immediately, I was smitten. Through a bizarre series of events (that I'd like to think was fate), 8 months later, we went on our first date and have been inseparable ever since (except for the whole mission thing). FUN FACT: He does not remember meeting me on this toasty September afternoon. Rue!

Our first picture together. Taken June 2010.

2. My absolute favorite TV shows on the history of this PLANET is Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. (Gossip Girl is next though!) I have watched the entire series of those two shows too many times to count. THIS IS A NO JUDGEMENT ZONE.

3. I am so insanely baby hungry IT IS BAD NEWS BEARS. Working with kids this past year, and now in my current job at the learning center makes me want a little muffin of my own so badly. I must resist though, I must resist!

4. My very favorite sport to watch is Baseball. I have lots of fond, fond memories of going to Dodgers baseball games with my Daddy when we lived in So. California.

5. I tend to come up with nicknames for people. Dano, Keke, Curbs, Lala, MP... can't help it. If you get a nickname from me, it's a sign that I'm comfortable around you.

6. When I would play in the parks while living in FL, one of my favorite things to do was meet characters. I had never met a character until March of this year! (6 months after I started working there... embarrassing). But that's actually not the point. The point is that to this day, I still get nervous meeting the lovely ladies of Disney! I know. It does not make ANY sense.

Mary Poppins especially. She told me not to slouch.

7. My ultimate goal in life is to be apart of the SNL cast. However, I'm not an actress, nor am I funny. I also dread improv and can't impersonate anyone sooooooo there's that.

8. I signed up for Oceanography this semester and was super excited about it because I find the sea fascinating but it turned out just to be a bunch of math. (Insert pouty face here). So I quickly transferred out of that and into Art History (--a general I need to complete). I am SO HAPPY I did because Art History is turning out to be one of my favorite classes and has me thinking about an archaeology major.

9. I have a lot of celebrity crushes but my love for Chuck Bass/Ed Westwick reigns supreme. That. Jawline. Those. Cheekbones. Swoon.

10.  I thoroughly enjoy public speaking. It began when I gave my first talk in sacrament meeting on January 1, 2006. Ever since, whether it be at church, at school, or even just theater, I love speaking in front of people. I love the feeling of my heart pounding right before I open my mouth to share my first word. I love the feeling of every single pair of eyes on me. I love the idea of sharing something worthwhile to my fellow human beings. That adrenalin is one of a kind, I tell ya!

11. Crickets at night, turning book pages, keys of a typewriter, skate blades on ice, a bubbling hot tub, crackling fire, airplane silence... Those are a few of my favorite sounds.   

I tag Dano, Lindsay and Christine. Have fun with the following questions...

Questions for my blogger friends:
1. What is your favorite commercial? (Link please!)
2. Your most awkward date ever was...
3. Who is your favorite Disney princess and why? 
4. Who was your favorite teacher growing up?
5. If you could have any accent in the world, what accent would it be?
6. Have you ever had a re-occurring dream? If so, what was it?
7. What is your favorite color?
8. What is your favorite holiday?
9. Share your favorite joke.
10. What is your favorite movie?
11. What do you want to leave as your legacy on this lovely Earth of ours?

Ali, Anni, and Shelly

 I feel so blessed to have such amazing best friends. 

There's Lindsay (pictured below) who I met in Florida. 

The other day she told me that about the second time she met me, I told someone at church that my name was Piper Jemimah and she knew she was in for quite a crazy ride. 

But I'm so grateful she stuck out that crazy ride with me in Florida because she is my ginga ninja!

FUN FACTS ABOUT THIS BEAUT: 

She's a crazy talented artist and is majoring in Animation at UVU.

Her singing voice sounds like what I think an angel's singing voice sounds like.

Like me she also has two sisters, however she is the oldest (where I am the youngest).

She is the Just Dance Queen.

And then there's Chris. 

I met her my sophomore year in high school but we had different friend groups so we never hung out. All I knew was that she was a pretty blonde and I wished I had her face.

Then, junior year, we both made Dance Company and as the only juniors on it at the time, we stuck together. ("BRICK WALL!")

Senior year: we were co-presidents on d.co but we still never hung out outside of class or rehearsals. It wasn't until the end of senior year where she asked me, "WHY ARE WE NOT BEST FRIENDS?" And to be completely honest, I had no idea why not. 

She makes me laugh SO DANG HARD.

FUN FACTS ABOUT THIS BLONDE BOMBSHELL:

She's rad. And a smartie pants. That's why she goes to BYU.

Her legs are like 4 ft. long and if I could, I would steal them from her.

This Summer, she went to Europe on a study abroad and did pretty much everything on my bucket list.

Her favorite movie is 'She's the Man' and she can quote the entire movie.

 The other day, I introduced them to each other.

I know. I know.

Risky.

Combining two worlds into one?

But guess what. 

Since they're both amaZING (only Linds and Chris will get the emphasis on that), they got along absolutely swimmingly and do you know how happy that makes me?

REALLLLLLLY HAPPYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I made us take a couple photos-- or 40. 

Here are my favorites.

(Thank you, Papa, for being our lovely photographer!)

This is our ode to Gossip Girl.

"Princess Pose"

I love them so much! And truth be told, we have too much fun together. 

Wanna know what happened last night?

No, you don't. 

I will spare you the details, except for the tiniest insignificant detail that we had one or more noise complaints filed against us. 

MY BAD. 

So publicly, I just want to apologize to my red headed stunner but also thank her for a memory that I will not soon forget!

I love these ladies!
And I can assure you that you will be hearing about them a LOT more in the future.
Stay tuned!

Words with Friends

I got to see a few friends while I was visiting my home sweet home last week.

DJ:

Look who signed his new hat!

Melissa Jane (that's Elder BF's sweet, sweet sister. She showed up to lunch with a bouquet (pictured on the right) and said that Curbsy had emailed her that week and asked her to pick up some flowers and give them to me for my birthday. Seriously???? How kind are they!)

I saw Alyssa, who is not pictured unfortunately and then last but not least, I also saw Stiney.
And then I made her hold up the shirt I got her and tie a bow in her hair.
That's why she's the best.


It's weird to think that life goes on for all my besties while we are nearly 3000 miles apart but I am grateful it does because life is wonderful. They are all progressing in ways we couldn't have guessed a year ago.

Thanks for taking the time to see me, my lovelies! I'm sorry to my friends who I didn't get to see, please forgive me. I guess all y'all will just have to come visit me in the sunshine state sometime!

Thanksgiving Part 3

Due to the short amount of time I had at home, I didn't get to see all my friends. In fact, I didn't get to see even close to all my friends. So that's sad. But what was happy was that a few were able to squeeze me into their schedules.

 

First, I visited this sweet girl (Elder Boyfriend's sister):

 

 

Plus, Elder Boyfriend's mama and papa! Driving to his house, seeing the lights at Riverwoods, and listening to Christmas music brought back so many memories. Gosh, I love this season. And Elder Boyfriend. And his family. So catching up with them was absolutely amazing and just what I needed.

 

Next up was my other half, my partner in crime, my co-president, my future roommate, my Miss. Chris:

 

 

Basically Stiney and I knew each other all throughout high school, had amazing times together in d.co and then at the end of senior year we asked each other, 'Why haven't we been best friends these past four years and why aren't we best friends now?' Sooooo uhhh yeah. She's my bestie. I love her to pieces and I am so grateful that we are able to go several months without seeing each other but are able to pick up right where we left off.

Next up was DJ! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. What a great guy. This buddy of mine took me to Senior Ball in high school and has seen me at my best times and also my worst times. But my favorite thing about him is that he doesn't judge. Thanks to him, I can be myself and not worry about what people think of me.

 

 

I didn't get home til 2am which is 4am Florida time which means I was exhausted (so much for resting). Buuuuuuuut it was an amazing night. It doesn't get better than family and friends. I'm sorry to my friends who I didn't get to see but thank you to my friends who I did get to see. Maybe I'll get laryngitis again soon and I'll be able to see more of my peeps! Fingers crossed (just kidding).

 

Next up, Thanksgiving itself!

to be continued...

It's simple days like these that remind me life is good.

What. A. Day.
I believe this is how all Sunday's should be. (No work on Sunday's is divine.)
I was blessed to have the opportunity of seeing some friends I haven't seen for a while, as well as catch up with some family members who are normally pretty dang busy during the week (or who live elsewhere).


The day started with picking Curbs up to go to Stu's mission farewell. (If you didn't see the post about Stu, he's going to Lansing, Michigan for two years. He leaves on Wednesday. Ahh!) In that meeting, Stuart made me CRY. That's right, his way with words is inspiring and his testimony floors me. Good for him.


After the meeting, I visited with some good friends (Chris and DJ), and then took Curbs home. However, before he got out of the car, I made him take a few pictures with me. Why? Because I hadn't seen him in 3 and a half weeks, that's why! I sure missed him so it was good to catch up.


Fast forward to Dano and I at home, eating super healthy lunches (sarcasm, in case you couldn't tell), to spilling our guts out for about 4 hours straight. Can you believe that? We were really just chatting the whole time. From that I learned two things:


1. My sister's awesome. (Well, I already knew that obviously but this pow wow reaffirmed it once again to me.) And...


2. Time truly does fly when you're having fun.


After a scrumptious dinner prepared for by Mama, Dano obliged me in letting me take pictures of her... and isn't she beautiful? My favorite is below:


It just seems so Dano to me! Especially accompanied by the light snowfall. Her smile is refreshing to my SOUL.


Following the shoot, Keke and Dare Bear came over to our home, where we exchanged cutie-patootie Valentine's day cards and candies. (I am officially sugared out as of this moment.)


After that, we sat around the fire and exchanged stories from our childhoods and ladies and gentlemen, I don't think I've laughed that hard in MONTHS! How funny are little kids? And how much funnIER is picturing our loved ones do stupid things as kids?


After Keke and Dare Bear left to go back home, Mama, Paps, and Dano agreed to watch Harper's Island with me, a super scary mini TV series resembling the plot of Agatha Christie's novel, "And Then There Were None/Ten Little Indians". Gee wilickers it's intense! And though my family aren't as big of fans as it as I am, they were sure awesome to give it a try with me!


And that brings us to now, my friends. I am sitting on my bed, typing this blog post and wondering how I got so lucky in this life to be blessed with such wonderful people. If I've mentioned you in this post, I for sure love you. If I haven't... I still for sure love you. Basically, unless I've ever said, "I don't love you," you can pretty much assume you're on my favorites list:)

Thanks to all those who made today special.
It's simple days like these that remind me life is good.