A is for...appreciation, aunts, and ambrosia.

In the past I've always claimed that Thanksgiving was my least favorite holiday. I mean, the idea of Thanksgiving is great, but shouldn't we be thankful all year round? And I've never been a huge fan of the food we eat on Thanksgiving....I mean , why turkey? Why can't we eat burgers or steak or even tacos? And pie? Why not chocolate cake? I guess really the only thing I liked about Thanksgiving was getting to see my family and having a week off of school. But this Thanksgiving, however, I've gained a new appreciation for the holiday. I'll admit, I went into it with kind of a poor attitude, but five hours later, I can say that this year has been the best Thanksgiving yet! I had a great time visiting with all of my family and the food was definitely good enough to be eaten by the gods (ambrosia=nectar of the gods by the way). Maybe my new opinion of the food has been provoked by eating cereal and ramen for the past three months, but still, I couldn't have left my aunt's house feeling any happier or any more full.

In light of the holiday, I have decided to write a brief post of some things I am most thankful for in my life. If I were to list them all out, I would be here typing for an awfully long time and you would probably get bored pretty fast so I'll limit it to just the two things I have felt the most appreciation for lately.

First of all, I am thankful for my friends. During my short holiday-induced reprieve from school, I was able to see my best friends in Idaho, Krista and Kelsey. I wasn't even home an hour before they made the trek out to my house to steal me away for a night full of wonder and mystery. Okay, maybe it was a night full of hot tubbing and Denny's but same thing right? It's funny, I can't even count how many sleepovers I have had with those two over the years, and not once have we stayed up later than maybe 2:00. This time, however, we recognized that it was our one chance to see each other for the next month and we simply did not have time to sleep. So we started off with the traditional hot tubbing, telling all our juicy secrets and crazy stories from college, then we moved it inside to reminisce on the good old days, before heading to Denny's at 2:00 for a nice (post) midnight snack.

Denny's! 2:00 am

The plan was to go home and go to bed after Denny's, but somehow we ended up rampaging Walmart for another hour, and then getting a Redbox movie before heading home. Our intentions were to watch the movie and all eventually doze off, but somehow we all managed to stay awake throughout the movie and then stay up laughing and enjoying each other's company for an hour after it ended. Finally, at 6:00 we dozed off! As much as we would have all loved to sleep in, we just had too much to do and were up and going at 10:00 the next day. Sure, we may have been zombies, but down the road, we can now say "Hey, remember that time we stayed up all night?" and have great memories come flooding back. I mean, how often do you hear someone say "Remember that time we all had a great night's sleep?" Yeah, exactly! So basically, I just have the greatest friends in the world and I wouldn't trade them for anything. They've been there for me through thick and thin and I'm grateful for the great influence they've had in my life.

Secondly, I am thankful for an amazing family. It wasn't until I moved out that I realized just how much they did for me. I've been so blessed to be a part of a family who is so loving and willing to help out whenever help is needed. Spending Thanksgiving with my Siddoway family was such a blessing this year. With several cousins who are married and have their own families, it's rare that we are all together. And while not everyone could be there, I was able to spend time with family I haven't seen for a long time. And we certainly ate, drank (water), and were merry today!

There are a few family members who I am especially thankful to have in my life.
First of all, my mom. She is the most amazing woman on this planet! I literally would not be here today if it wasn't for her. She has been a perfect example to me and has always worked towards providing a bright future for me. I know that whenever I have a question about cooking or laundry (which is basically any time I engage in either of those activities) I can count on my mom to answer the phone and help me out.
Secondly, my dad is one of the most influential people in my life. He is such a hard worker and has the best sense of humor that he has passed on to me. There is never a dull moment when he is around. While he may seem tough and mean on the outside (you're welcome for the compliment Dad), he's really a big softie on the inside and I know he would do anything for me.
Today at Thanksgiving, I discovered that this blog actually has a fan base that consists mainly of my aunts. So I'd like to take a second to say that I have the greatest aunts in the world! My aunt Nichole is one of the spunkiest people out there! She has a great sense of humor and loves to have fun! My aunt Cindy is probably the nicest person I've met (besides my dad of course)! She would seriously do anything for anyone and I aspire to be like her! My aunt Alicia is just the greatest! I don't think it's even possible not to love that woman! She is so supportive and so much fun to be around! And even though I didn't get to spend Thanksgiving with her, I'd like to mention how grateful I am for my aunt Jessica. She is literally my best friend down in Utah and I know I can count on her to take me in whenever I need a weekend away from school! She is a huge influence in my life and I look up to her so much! So there ya go, you lovely ladies! A mention in the good ol' blog! You're basically famous now! You're welcome! ;)

So yep, I pretty much have the best family out there and you should all be jealous...unless of course you are a part of my family, in that case you can sleep well tonight knowing that you are a part of the greatest family in the world. I hope you all had a Thanksgiving as great as mine and now that we are all full of delicious food,  it's time to take a nap and get ready to go out and fight the crowds of Black Friday (that has somehow turned into Black Thursday Night). Best of luck to you in your battles for great deals!

A is for...aging.

Well, as of yesterday I am officially 19! Crazy!! I'm getting so old!! Okay, to be honest, 19 feels an awful lot like 18....the only difference I have been able to determine thus far is that next year, instead of turning 19, I'll be turning 20!! Wow! That sounds so old! I will no longer be a teenager! What do I even do once I'm 20? I mean, I know how to be a teenager! I've had like six years of practice...I'm pretty much pro by now! All I have to do is go to school, make friends, have fun, live carefree, do stupid things, be myself, make jokes, pretend I know everything, have attitude, and eat a lot of junk food! But once I'm 20 I have to grow up and stuff. Like, live in the real world! Honestly, that thought terrifies me! But I guess there's no avoiding it. We all have to grow up eventually, and as much as I would like to be able to stop time and spend eternities living in the moments which I most enjoy, I simply can't. Life goes on. We grow up.

I suppose growing up is something we've been doing our whole lives, and not something that can be determined in a single moment. Growing up is also something that can't be done all at once. It has to be done in stages. We have to be able to experience freedom a little bit at a time and start to experiment with which choices are going to bring us the most happiness. We've all done stupid things a time or two....or three hundred....and each one of those bad decisions has helped shape us into the person we are. They have helped us to grow up. Life is about progressing. We keep moving forward, and with each new taste of freedom and responsibility, we take another step forward, whether it's down the path we want, well that's up to us.

At The Slab for pizza!!

Okay, enough deep, thoughtful stuff, it's time for a fun story from my birthday.So because my roommates are so incredibly awesome, they surprised me by taking me to a pizza place called The Slab for dinner. Working at The Slab was this kid wearing a beanie and for some reason, I was really infatuated with his beanie. It's not like I really loved the beanie itself....it was actually pretty plain and boring...but for some reason, I just really liked the way his beanie looked on his head! Well a normal person at this point would simply tell the employee "I like your beanie!" Unfortunately for me, I am not a normal person. So instead I pulled out a card that my best friend Kelsey and I made over the summer that says "Hello. I just wanted to inform you that I find you to be very attractive. Thank you and have a nice day. Please be environmentally responsible and reuse this card on the next attractive person you see" and then when the guy brought my roommate, Shalee, and I our pizza, I handed him the card. He silently took it and then returned to the kitchen. It only took a few seconds for all of the employees to be laughing and looking over at us. You know what, he may not have been the most drop dead gorgeous guy, but I'd like to think that I did him a service last night. I mean, nobody likes being stuck at work all night, doing the same thing again and again for hours on end. I just spiced up his night a little bit, gave him something to take home. So mister slab pizza guy, you are very welcome for making your night a little more interesting ;)

So, my roommates just thought this was the greatest thing ever, but I had just given beanie boy the last card I had on my person, so being the creative beings they are, my roommates grabbed some napkins and a sharpie and wrote "Hi, you're extremely attractive. Thank you for blessing the world with your face." And then they each wrote their respective numbers on their napkins, making a pact to give them away by the end of the night. After leaving dinner, we had to make a quick stop to get gas, and as luck would have it, the only other person at the gas station happened to be an incredibly attractive guy. So as Michaela is filling up her car with gas, Chandler opens her door to get a better look at this guy who couldn't be more than ten feet away from us. The four of us in the car are shamelessly staring at this guy and he keeps glancing over at us, obviously aware of our fascination with him. Meanwhile, in the car the conversation is going something like this: "He's attractive!" "Go give him your napkin!" "But it's too early! What if there's someone cuter later?!" "Just do it!" "Well, should I?" etc, etc. Keep in mind, the door is wide open and the guy is undoubtedly within hearing range. Before anyone could muster the courage to get out of the car and surrender their napkin to this guy, Michaela comes around the car, having finished filling up her car and asks why it is the door is open. To our chagrin, it's the cute guy at the next pump over who answers her question. "They were staring at me..." he asserts. This statement causes us all to erupt into a fit of embarrassed giggling within the car, which evidently fueled our drive. With a tremendous leap of courage, Tanisha brazenly hops out of shotgun and runs over to him, forcing her napkin into his hand, saying ever so suavely "TAKE THIS!" Then she runs back to the car and demands that Michaela step on the gas! As if we didn't impress this guy enough with our devilish charm and impeccable flirting, Michaela exits the gas station by driving off the curb! Cherry on top of the cake! Haha so that's basically how my birthday night went! And you know what, I wouldn't change it for anything! It was so much fun and I am so grateful for my incredible roommates! Love those girls with all my heart! And there's certainly never a dull moment when they're around!

Shalee, Michaela, Kelsi, Tanisha, ME, and Chandler after Catching Fire!

A is for....afternoon snack.

By this point in the semester, things have calmed down. I've settled into a routine and know what to expect in each of my classes. While this is in one way nice and relaxing, it can also be incredibly boring. Every week it's the same old thing. Go to lecture, take notes, go to class, take notes, stay up late writing the paper I've known about for weeks but have left for the last minute, skim through the week's reading on my way to lab where a quiz will be waiting, cram for five tests that have somehow all been scheduled for the same two days, etc, etc. Yeah...boring, I know. That's why it's always nice when something unexpected happens. Like free tacos. Yes, free tacos are always nice. Yeah I know that seems silly but as a college student, free food is something to get excited about. Especially when it comes at the most unexpected time.

So this is what happened. In my intro to PR class, we have this rule where we can't use electronics--including computers. I know, seems crazy to have a class in this day and age where you can't use laptops, but hey, what do ya do? Well, because of this rule, there is an accompanying policy that mandates that if any electronic disrupts class, the owner of the "disruption" has to bring treats the next class period. This makes for quite the behavior shift from high school. Back in those days, when someone's phone unexpectedly went off, there was a joint effort from the entire class to cover it up. Fake coughs and sneezes erupted, and the decibel level of talking jumped up exponentially. I mean, after all, we have to stick together cause ain't nobody that wants their phone taken away. (I know that high schools are getting more lax about phones in class, but I grew up with a strict no cell phone policy). Well in this class, because of the treat rule, when a phone, laptop, tablet, etc. makes a noise, the whole class goes silent and an investigation immediately opens up to determine who it is who has to make a Krispy Kreme stop on their way to class the next time. Thus far in the semester, we have only received donuts twice because of this rule, but hey, that's better than nothing. Today in class, we were discussing the lawsuit brought up against Taco Bell about two years ago, claiming that they only used 35% real beef. (If you haven't heard about this previously, you obviously do not eat enough Taco Bell). Well we were just delving into this, when my professor's laptop, which was wired into the surround sound of the classroom, decided to make a "distracting" notification. The class grew silent for a few moments and then we all erupted claiming that he owed us all donuts. He laughed about it and then jokingly said, in light of our discussion, "maybe I'll get you all tacos." We had a good laugh about this and then continued on with the case, forgetting about the interruption to class. About half an hour later, lo and behold, in walks the TA with about six Taco Bell bags full of tacos! Haha I wonder what the people at Taco Bell thought when she ordered 60 tacos!! But umm yeah, talk about the best class ever! That will forever go down as my favorite class period ever, and definitely my favorite professor. 

While we are on the subject of my intro to PR class, I find it relative to inform you of the power I have over you. In that class, we discuss the influence of bloggers all the time. In 2010 there were 135 million blogs (a number that has only increased), and there were about 500,000 Americans who used blogging for their primary source of income. So yeah...if any of you enjoy reading this so much that you'd like to pay me and help get me through school, donations are always welcomed and encouraged :) So basically, blogs are so useful to PR practitioners because if I write here on this blog that Taco Bell's tacos are the most incredible tacos I have ever eaten (they do actually rate pretty high with me), you are more likely to consume Taco Bell. That's right! I have so much power of you and you don't even know it! Well, I guess you know it now, because, you know, I just told you. But you probably don't believe it! So won't it come to a shock to you when I have you completely converted to Taco Bell, Justin Bieber, zebra print, and the color purple:) That's right! I will soon have an army of purple zebra-striped taco eating beliebers! And you will be one of them! ;) Haha k so that's probably never going to happen, but blogs are an incredibly interesting medium! Haha you probably aren't nearly as interested about this kind of stuff as I am, so I will quit droning on about it.

Anyway, thanks for reading! As a prize for having stuck to it all the way to the end, you have won a free Taco Bell taco!!! Congratulations!!! Seem too good to be true? Yeah, that's because it is! Sorry! But hey, I'm in college, what makes you think I have money to buy you a taco? I thrive off of free food, in case you missed that part, in which case you don't deserve a free taco anyway cause you didn't fully read this post! But hey, you should go to Taco Bell and get yourself something nice! You won't regret it! (Just stay off the scale for awhile) ;) Oh, and in case you're wondering, Taco Bell's meat is 88% beef, over twice as much as is federally required to be in a meat product! The rest is like 4% water, 3% special seasonings and blah blah blah....but it's 100% goodness! So log off this blog right now and get yourself a taco!

A is for...average.

Well hello there! And welcome to my blog! If you're wondering why it is that I am starting a blog to begin with, the answer is simple. Peer pressure. Yep. That pesky little thing they try so hard to teach you to avoid in elementary school. Apparently I didn't do so well learning that. Oops! You see, my fantastically feisty roommate, Tanisha started a blog a few weeks ago and it is fabulous! I die laughing every time I read it! Then, just this week, my amazingly adorable roommate, Shalee, started a blog of her own! It is just so darn cute! With these blogs up and running, I couldn't help but formulate every single situation I found myself in, no matter how trivial, into a blog post in my mind! Rather than just keep rewriting the perfect blog post over and over again in my head, I figured I may as well start a blog of my own! After all, everyone else is doing it! ;)

Now let's get one thing straight. I am incredibly average person. You know, the kind of person Disney Channel would love to make a show out of! If you grew up in the same era as me, perhaps you'll remember my all time favorite show, Lizzie McGuire! Basically, the show is just about an "average" teenage girl trying to get through high school, and somehow people love watching it! Sure reeled me in at least! Anyway, that's kind of how I view myself....except I'm done with high school (alleluia!) so now I'm just trying to survive college (ahh!). But nevertheless, my life is average. I'm not an overachiever or an underachiever. I was never really popular but I wasn't a "loser" either. I don't excel at sports by any means, nor do I play any instruments. I don't have an overly exciting life, but I don't think it's terribly boring either. Well, I think you get the picture. Average. That's me. So because of my completely average life, this blog most likely won't be the most exciting of things you'll ever read. I've accepted that. And that's okay. If you want to read a hilarious blog about college life, take a gander at my roommate, Tanisha's blog. And if you want to read a blog about the cutest girl and the cutest family in the entire world, take a look at my roommate, Shalee's blog! (Her blog is private, however, so if you really want to read it, you'll have to take it up with her). But if you're just trying to avoid homework, chores, or the screaming kids in the other room, you are in the right place! I honestly don't know what my blog posts are going to be about, but I'll try to make it worth the four minutes you'll invest in reading them! And as far as procrastinating goes, this blog will be great in assisting with that!

So with as many mental blog posts as I've composed in the past couple of weeks, I have absolutely nothing profound to write about at this moment. So I suppose I'll just leave you with this introduction! But keep an eye out whenever you have a spare minute or just really don't want to write that paper that's due at midnight!


[Special thanks to Tanisha for not hating me for copying her idea to start a blog, and to my best friend Kelsey, who promised to read my blog, therefore encouraging me to start it! (So if you absolutely hate it, blame her! She lives in Rexburg, Idaho if you want to egg her or cut her with a piece of glass or something) Love you guys!]