Big Steps

This is my excited face. 

I had my last counseling appointment! 

At least I think I did. I'll schedule another one this semester if I need one. 

I've come a long way since September. Here's to many, many years staying on this good track. 

beep beep beep beep YEAH

Oh hi there! I haven't seen you here in a while! I've been busy. And not with very many things that were too exciting. So I'll be making smaller posts about what I have been doing, but first let me get an important one out of the way: I bought a car!

My cousin and her family recently moved out of the country, so they were kind enough to give me a generous deal on their 1995 Taurus. I'm going to pick it up in Utah on my way to school in September. I'm really excited about being a bit more independent!

So...

This is my fourth set of roommates in four semesters, and so far, it's SO GOOD.  I'm lucky enough to live with the cousins of a former roommate. They're sweet and funny and talented and we've got some great plans and there's a good spirit in our apartment. Huzzah!

Also: I've got announcement on my Rexburg blog.

NaNoWriMo. Bring it.

Today (or yesterday, if we're going to be technical), on a whim, I decided to take part in National Novel Writing Month. I went to the official website and signed up to be an official participant. By the end of the month, I hope to have 50,000 words written. I'm finally going to play with a story idea I had my senior year in high school. I remember it coming to me in AP French, along with an important character's name. It might end up being a little dumb, but I'm excited for the ride.

Also, don't forget to vote!

More Lists

Mistakes I've Made So Far Today

• Sleeping in.

• Trying to uninstall/reinstall Chrome, hoping it would solve all the problems I've been having with it.

•  Not wearing gloves.

• Going to the Crossroads at 12:30.

Things I'd Rather Be Doing (As opposed to what I am doing)

• Reading. I've got Green Lantern comics, Jesus the Christ, Mansfield Park waiting for me at home. (I have reading to do for American Foundations and International Relations.)

• Sitting on the couch with a blanket and hot herb tea, watching the lovely gray day. (I'm doing homework in the library.)
• Family history research--I think I've finally found the elusive Barkowskis. (I'm "actively listening" and writing down what I hear on the radio for a mini-project.)
• Going to California. (It's supposed to snow tomorrow.)

Things I Should Be Doing (And Why)

• Not complaining. (I go to an awesome school, I have good teachers, I have friends and roommates that love me, I have a family who supports me, the temple's a ten minute walk away, and I live in the United States of America. Oh, and there's brownie batter waiting for me at home.)
• Getting back to work (I have a bit to do today.)

five and twenty

My friend Nikki tagged me in a Facebook thing, saying to post 25 random things about you and tag 25 more people. I can't bring myself to do that kind of post there, so I'll do it here!

1. I've known Nikki since 5th grade. She's incredible and I'm glad we're still friends!

2. Last semester I told my parents and grandmother that I was engaged to pull a prank. My mom flipped out, my grandma just laughed (she knows me too well), and my dad was totally excited. That scared me. "Dad, I'm too young to get married!" "No you're not." "But you're supposed to the one most opposed to me getting married before I'm 25!" (Seriously, someone get that man's head checked.)

3. My most favorite guy names ever are Seth, Thomas, Sam, Andy, Dan, Scott and Dean. (Dean was recently added to the list and Sam's moved up to the "most favorite" list from the "really like that name" list--see #4.)

4. I'm addicted to Supernatural. (Thanks Chelsea!) Attractive young men fighting evil? How can I resist? I like Sam best--six feet, four inches of oh-my-goodness! And his teeth are so white and he's such a good guy! (As of the end of season 2, anyway.) But Dean (six feet, one inch of oh-my-goodness--and that jaw!)--I totally get the overprotective older brother moments. I do the same thing for my brothers...on a much less life-or-death scale, of course. They take their turns as my desktop picture.

5. I totally want to learn the dance from the Bad Romance music video.

6. I've been reading the same novel since March and I'm not done with it yet.

7. (I'm pretty sure I overuse parentheses.)

8. Helena from A Midsummer Night's Dream is my favorite Shakespeare character. I can relate. At one point I had her first monologue memorized. "Call you me fair? That fair again unsay, Demetrius loves your fair!" And so on.

9. I think I may be a tad more of a feminist than I'm comfortable with.

10. I'm trying really hard to come up with positive things for this.

11. My brother Dallin is my very best friend.

12. I'm going to have a hard time picking bridesmaids because most of my best friends are guys.

13. However much I deny it, I know I'm gonna get married someday.

14. I finshed writing a song on Thursday that I started when I was sixteen.

15. I have a love/hate relationship with film photography.

16. Today, my dream job is Supreme Court Justice.

17. My favorite conference are the ones that mention history between 100 AD and 1800, and the ones that talk about democracy. (Like Elder Cook's today!)

18. I would have a really hard time dating a guy with the same name as my dad or brothers. (Chris, Dallin, John, Jared, Noah. Especially Dallin.) It would be weird.

19. I love playing matchmaker.

20. My favorite part of Vogue is the perfume samples.

21. I have a soft spot for cute asian boys in skinny jeans.

22. Quelque fois je pense en francais.

23. I'm writing a memoir about my summer. I can't do more than a page at a time because it makes me cry to think about it for too long.

24. I can't believe I have family I've never met in person, or have only met once. (I'm lookin' at you, Texas Taylors!)

25. I just found out that I have a ride home for Thanksgiving!

I know you're all just terribly excited to see what I've done with my hair. Because I am just so awesome and everything I do is important. I have no good pictures of it yet. But I will tell you that I completely disregarded the overwhelming majority of you and went blonde. And I like it. I was blonde as a child and it still works.

The sad thing is that I put that before the news of my birthday! I turned 19 last Thursday. I didn't too anything too big--worked all day, then had dinner and cupcakes with my family after.

Uhhh, that's all. Bye.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

The other day, the family watched a movie on Netflix on Demand about an evil genius.

It has clever and catchy music. It has Neil Patrick Harris. It has Nathan Fillion. What more could you want? I squealed aloud when I found it in the Bosses' DVD collection. I bought the soundtrack and listen to it ALL the time. I'm not the kind of gal who will watch a movie or listen to a song or read a book and start it over when it's finished. At all. But I can watch this movie over and over again. (I actually got through it 3 1/2 times on Friday.) It actually was an internet miniseries by Joss Whedon. There's the first part of it below.

watch it.

Baby, I Can Drive Your Car!

At nearly nineteen years old, I can finally function normally in adult society. Not because I registered to vote two weeks ago, but because I can legally operate a car by myself. Took me long enough, but I got it done. Huzzah.

The Best Literature is Often Found in the Public Domain.

I stayed up until 4 this morning, then slept until 2 this afternoon. I will never stay up ridiculously late like that without good reason again.

In other news, reading George Eliot's Middlemarch falls under the category of "good reason." I may never sleep again.

Just So You Know,

This is my fourth post in a row tonight. This one is to tell you to read the other three. Each covers a distinct topic, and I felt it unfair to put them together in a super-post. Read on!