More random lists....

• Chauntelle and Jeff go to the MTC tomorrow!
• I wish people would stop whining about their personal lives on facebook. I admit, I used to do this a lot, but I've stopped since then and now it's just annoying. Especially when they try to be all secretive about who they're talking about. Especially when I know they're talking about me.
• Apparently people don't know the meaning of "I want to hang out with my family".
• I've fallen in love with Glee music. I now have a whole play list on my iPod dedicated to them.
• I've pretty much finished my 82 problem Algebra extra credit.
  
• Still have to write a 12 page paper for stupid Chemistry. I'll probably do that tomorrow...
• Also need to make a note card for History!
• I should probably take my "Ridge" picture for Photography soon.
• I don't know why I want that to look so good...I have a freakin' 109% in that class.
• We did most of the planning for Sadies yesterday. It's going to be legen...(Wait for it) dary.
• I still need to get ahold of his (the boy I'm asking) parents.
• I hate that Northwest's Sadie's is the same day as ours.
• Can't decide if I want to go to the stupid New Year's dance on Thursday. Blurg.
• I dyed my hair today. My roots look kinda orange. Oh well.
• My hair smells really good now!
• I've become a Pepsi fan.
• Dr. Pepper is yucky!
  
• We're going shopping for Sadie's stuff tomorrow :)
• I don't know why I like pissing people off so much.
• I guess that's what immaturity is.
• I should go work on my Chemistry paper.

Peace.

Why can't this week be over?

I just want it to be Winter Break already! I want it to AT LEAST be Thursday. Hannah is coming home that day.

Random list I guess...

• My head hurts...I've been in front of the computer too long.
• I need to go to sleep desperately. But I have to shower first.
• No seminary Wednesday!! :)
• The only thing keeping me awake right now is the caffeine in my Pepsi
• Nathan's parents are funny
• Nathan's gift for Kelsey is amazing! (I won't tell anyone though :P)
• And Kelsey's gift for Nathan is amazing too :)
• I just ran out of Pepsi
• I'm suuuuuper full.
• I need to charge my phone.
• What a stressful week...
• I really need to go to sleep.
• Boys are SO confusing
• Sadie's is super duper stressful
• I'm gonna take a shower now.
• Bye!
  

Hey hey hey!!

Wow. I SUCK at blogging. Anyways....update!! :)

Things I've enjoyed recently:

• Mutual!
• Personal Progress
• Just Young Women's in general
• Having my drivers license!!! :)
• Orange Chicken
• Sleeeeep!
• Seeing Aubree and Connor in the school play!
• They were awesome, by the way. Everyone should go see it.

Things I haven't enjoyed recently:

• Mrs. Bouakka
• Mrs. Wulfsberg....A.K.A. Professor Trewlaney...
• PROJECTS
• Mrs. Bouakka
• Chemistry
• Mrs. Bouakka
• The freeeeezing cold walk to school from Seminary

I should be:

• Driving to mutual!!

Peace.

Rebekah

Well, today's a year since Amanda's baby girl, Rebekah passed way. I'll admit, it hasn't been one of the easiest days, but not as sucky as it was last year. And today I've come to a major realization.

I'm not so sad for Rebekah anymore. Don't take that wrong, I really wish she was here, and sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to watch her and Sam every day after school, but I'm not sad that she got to stay up there with Heavenly Father. As I've said on this blog before, I'm honored to be the aunt of someone who was "too pure, too lovely to live upon the earth." And once again, as I've said before on this blog, I can't wait to meet her.

Who I'm more sad for, is Amanda. I know how hard this was on her, and I think it's amazing how well she's come through it. Her example to me has changed my perspective on things this past year, through her faith and obedience in the Lord's will. I'm so impressed with how she's dealt with it. I honestly have never met such a strong woman in my life. So even though I'm sad for her loss, for Andee's, and for Sam's loss, I'm so glad for Amanda's strong, testimony-building example of faith. I don't know if you'll read this anytime soon Amanda, but I hope you know how great of an example you are to me. And I'm really grateful for that.

And Amanda, if you do read this, even if you aren't part of the "Eternal duo", I still consider you to be one of my best friends. And as you wrote on your blog, I'm grateful to have grown up in a family where the words "I love you" are exchanged so often as well.

I love you Amanda.

Weeks of Excitement: Chapter 2- EFY

So before I knew it, just two short weeks after I got home from Girl's Camp, Mallory and I were on our way to Provo, Utah for the next two weeks. I was really excited to go to EFY, especially since this was my first year, and I'm glad I got to go and room with Mallory. Here is a picture of us in the car, almost in Provo by this point. (We'd been in the car for 5 hours, so give us a break on our hobo looks)

This was one of the most awesome, spiritual weeks of my life! We had so much fun! Our company was pretty awesome, and I'm glad I got to meet so many new people. Our counselor, Tyne was flippin' amazing, and I'm so glad she was our counselor! Ours was her first week as a counselor ever and she did such an awesome job! I'm so glad I went to EFY this year and I really hope I get to go next year! So here's more pictures:

This is my whole company! Our name was "As a Child". I think this picture is freakin' awesome!

Me and Mallory in the little river! That felt so nice!! I love my cousin!

These two girls were so awesome! The one to the left of me was Katelyn, and to the right of me is Chelsea. They were cousins, and we all got along really well! I miss them!

This is Tyler! He and his roommate Austin were from Texas! They were so awesome! (They lived in Tyler, Texas. So I think it was awesome that both their names were cities in Texas!)

Weeks of Excitement: Chapter 1

This summer, I've had some really fun things planned. Now that they're all over, and I'll probably be home for the rest of the month, I'll show them to you.

These "fun things" were all planned in weeks. Four weeks, to be exact. The first week was Girls Camp, followed by a week that I got to spend at home. Then there was EFY, Cross Country Camp, and our family vacation to Colorado. So here is "Chapter one: Girls Camp".

Ok. So this year at Girls Camp, I got to be a YCL. This was probably one of the most fun weeks of Girls Camp, but also one of the most busy. I had the opportunity to work with some really awesome girls, including our three YCL leaders, Sister Covey, Sister Graf, and Sister Rowe. I knew Sister Graf from previous experiences of being in the Beehive Presidency, but I'd never met Sister Covey or Sister Rowe. And let me tell you, they're the coolest leaders I think I've ever had. I really miss them.

So in January, Sister Covey (who I'd never heard of in my life before this point) called me and told me they were having a YCL retreat. (I can't remember when this happened....) So I was kind of iffy on this, because Tiffany wasn't going to go (because she wasn't planning on going to Girls Camp at the time) and I was just unsure of whether or not I wanted to meet all these girls because I wasn't sure if I was going to camp either.

So eventually I decided to go, and I had a lot of fun! I found out that I actually knew a lot of the girls, and I got to know them better in just that one night. We played all sorts of games, and brainstormed for our theme at camp, and it was just really fun. I was itching more and more towards going to camp.

So every Thursday from that point on, we had meetings. At these meetings we did a large variety of things. From making posters for 1st aid clinics and the camp kickoff, to throwing our banner and night tucks together at nearly the last minute. Finally, as I got to know how awesome these girls were, I decided to go to camp, and so did Tiffany!

So finally, the day came when we all had to wake up earlier than normal, grab our pillows, and head to camp. And it was so awesome! In my tent was Tiffany, Katie, Ashley, and KD. I got to know and love these girls so much more than I already did before camp. We had a lot of time with our ward which I really enjoyed, even though I thought I wouldn't because of the recent ward split. I also had a lot of really spiritual experiences throughout the week that helped my testimony grow a lot. So here are just a few of the many pictures I have from this week.

This is our whole group of YCL's on the second day, in our matching shirts!

This is us on the last full day, after we all practiced singing our beautiful song, We Believe.

And this, down below is Kelsey, Ashtynn, Alexa and I on the first day. All the YCL's from Iron Mountain!

Things to be happy about

So I just scrolled down my Facebook home page and saw that there were only about three positive things that people had written! And it's bringing me down! So I'm writing this to remind myself of all the things I have to be happy about today. So here it goes!

Things to be happy about today:

• Hannah got to come home this summer
• I got to spend the night at Kelsey and McKenna's last night with Tiffany
• I went to Snap Fitness with Kelsey and Tiffany last night
• Sam is asleep
• My hair feels really soft today
• "It's your LUKY day!" hahah :)
• I'm excited for school to start
• I look like a hobo and I don't really care
• Justin introduced me to a song that I really like now
• I'm listening to it right now :)
• Me, Kelsey and Tiffany asked boys out on dates yesterday!
• The song "Thunder". It just makes me happy.
• I know the alphabet in sign language!
• I have "I won't say I'm in love" from Hercules stuck in my head
• Jamie is having a boy!
• I slept till 11:00 today
• I might go to Shadow Ridge's mutual tonight?
• Bonnie (my kitten) has stopped sniffing my armpits.
• I watched Winnie the Pooh the other day! It's hilarious!
• Justin and I have made a mutual decision that Hercules is the greatest Disney movie ever.

So there!

Be happy today!

Update

So, once again, I haven't written in like forever. I'm as bad at this as I am at writing in my journal!

So I'm just doing a little bit of an update for now.

Things I've enjoyed recently:

• Baby Sitting Sam
• Summer
• Sleeping in
• Girls Camp

Things I haven't enjoyed recently:

• Daily chores
• Sunburns
• Texting drama (Dumbest thing EVER)
• Girls Camp

Things I've decided:

• That Take5 is the most delicious candy on the planet
• That I hate digging
• That I love massages
• That I can't wait to be a Mom

Recently I've:

• Gone "treasure hunting" with my family
• Swam constantly
• Realized I never press the shift key to do capital letters. Only the caps lock.
• Gotten kicked in the face by a guy (on accident)
• Fallen in love with the song "Vulnerable"
• Moved my furniture around in my room

Recently I haven't:

• Shaved my legs (Cute, right?)
• Done homework
• Worked out
• Made cookies or any sort of treat

I should probably be:

• Sleeping

Well, that's all!

My birthday and other exciting events

So, this past week was my Birthday! I'm finally sixteen! It feels really weird now that I can date, but the dating situation isn't something I'm going to write about on my blog :) Ha ha.

So I had a pretty amazing birthday, thanks to all my friends. Mallory brought me cupcakes and a t-shirt that said "16" on the front, and Spencer made me a cake! Also, Tiffany gave me a giant card with all our inside jokes in it! They were all awesome! Thanks guys!

After Amanda got off work and my YCL meeting was over, we, meaning Amanda, Hannah, Mom, Dad and Tiffany, went to Red Lobster to celebrate! I absolutely love that place, but I got made fun of by Tiffany when the first thing I said when I walked in was, 

"I feel bad for the Lobsters."

That was a pretty fun night as well. I got Wii Fit, which is totally awesome by the way, and I just overall had a great day.

Another thing I haven't told you guys is that....

I PASSED ALL MY PROFICIENCIES! 

That is such a huge relief, because if you had been around me at all the week before those exams, you would know that I was extremely stressed about them. (So stressed I started getting hives!) Crazy, huh? So now Amanda can continue saying "Mattson's don't fail".

So, that's pretty much it for now!

5 days :)

So yesterday was totally and completely awesome! It was an odd day at school to start things off, and it was all good except for this guy Camryn wasn't in Driver's Ed. He's usually the main guy I talk to in that class, but oh well!

After school, and like 6:20ish, Tiffany picked me up to go to Burger King and then to go to Golden Spoon! There were these funny guys there who were from Arbor who were totally hitting on us. They were pretty dorky. So when we get back in the car, she gets a blindfold out of her purse and tells me to put it on and tells me she has a surprise for me and that I can't look at anything till we get there. 

So I'm totally freaking out, because I usually hate surprises, and once I found out what it was I felt like an idiot! She got me out of the car, and walked me into a house and let me take my blindfold off. We were at Connor's house with Alexa, Connor, Tiffany, Heather, Kylee, McKenna, Mallory, and Kelsey! I was so excited to have a surprise party! I had absolutely no idea! It was awesome! 

I'm off to a dance now, but I'll blog more later!

5 days till my 16th birthday!

Happy Easter!

I really like Easter, maybe it's the candy, maybe it's the reminder of what Christ did for all of us, I'm not sure. But this year has been especially great.

One reason is that I woke up smiling today, and I'm not sure why. It's probably that I'm home from a long weekend in Overton, and that I feel that I've been getting along pretty well with both my parents lately. So that's always good. Also, I got an Easter Basket that I was totally not expecting! Mom and Dad came downstairs and asked "Well, are you gonna look for your basket?!" And I was totally shocked! It was awesome!

Another of the reasons for this is probably my Seminary class this year. My teacher is one of the coolest women I've ever met. Recently, we learned a lot about the Atonement, and broke down each of the last days in the Savior's life. It was really interesting for me, because I learned a lot that I had no idea about before. So today in Young Women's, when Sister Pullan told us briefly about the Atonement, I at least knew what she was referring to. 

So, this has been a pretty good day.

Happy Easter guys!

Yay!

So the past couple of days I've been working on finding a new blog layout, but I was having some serious problems finding one that would match the header I was going to make. Finally I found one, and I put it as my new background, and worked on my header. The header was probably the most annoying thing I've had to do all month, excluding my Drivers Ed. project. Whenever I put it on, it was too big, so I had to keep fixing the dimensions to make it fit. 

Also, another problem I was having was picking a new blog name. I kinda got tired of the "My time to Shine" thing, so I wanted something new. I decided to put "My grass is greener" because....well, I'm not really sure. Ha.

So, that's it! Finally, my blog looks good!

Strep Throat

So, I started getting sick on Sunday night, about right after the half time show during the Superbowl, and it was really out of nowhere. By the time morning came, I felt totally out of it, and asked Mom if I could stay home, and if we could go to the doctor after school. So Dad and I got an appointment and they tested me for Strep Throat, with a cotton swab. (Those tests hurt a lot, considering they're poking the crap out of your already hurt throat, and I almost threw up on my nurse because she kept poking the uvula.) It came back negative, and my temperature was almost at 103, so the Doctor came in and took another test, so it could be sent to a lab, which irritated me, because I was pretty sure that one near-regurgitation was enough.

After that, she told me she was pretty sure I have Strep Throat, because all my symptoms seem to say that I do, but the test came back negative, so that's why she did another one. Then she told me she was going to give me a shot and a prescription. She also told me that if my temperature got to 104 that night, that I needed to go to the ER in case of brain damage, which honestly, scared the crap out of me. Then she left the room to get the shot ready.

Dad and I sat there and talked for a while, mainly about my annoyances with their double testing on everything. (They also checked my heart beat twice, and the back of my throat with that little light thing twice) I wasn't too terribly excited about getting a shot, either. He said I could probably get it in either my arm or my butt. I said I'd rather it be in my arm, my main reason being that the last shot I had ever gotten was in my butt and it wasn't a good experience. But then the Nurse came in and said "This one's going to have to be in your thigh." Maybe she said "hip", I don't really remember. All I really remember is that I did not here her say "arm". I was kind of frustrated at this point, and a few minutes later, (it took her a really long time to find the right spot or whatever) I was out of the doctor's office. She also told me she wanted to "eyeball" me the next day, so we can schedule an appointment for that.

So we did, and this time Mom brought me. She looked in the back of my throat, this time seeing little white pockets of puss on my tonsils, which is pretty much the main sign of Strep Throat. So, she prescribed more medicine for me that would make my throat feel kind of numb so it'd be easier to eat and swallow things, but she warned it was very foul tasting so I should get it down quickly. So last night, I took it, completely forgetting about her advice, and realized that she was not lying. It was disgusting. The best description I could come up with was "A liquidized version of Vicks Vapo-Rub". That describes it pretty well. So, that's pretty much all that's been going on this week.

Things I've decided

I haven't blogged in a while, so I'm just doing this just so everyone knows what's going on.

I've decided:

• That Valentine's day is overrated.
  
• That Michael Phelps is a creeper.
• That acrylic nails are a pain in the butt.
• That Driver's Ed is the dumbest class ever.
• That I wish the lyrics to Kelly Clarkson's new song would be much better if they were "My life wouldn't suck without you".
• That I love Chick Flicks.

Recently I've:

• Added "Ann" to Tiffany's name.
• Nearly gotten in a fight with a stupid Freshman girl. (Awesome, by the way)
• Made 48 cupcakes.
• Gotten a bruise on my knee from an unknown source.

Recently I haven't:

• Changed Kendra or Sam's diaper.
• Gone shopping.
• Slept on the couch after school.
• Cleaned up one of the dog's poo (or at least I haven't had to)
• Cleaned my room.

Today I:

• Drove to Amanda's house.
• Played with Kendra.
• Spent some time with my family.
• Got a hole in my dress after it got caught on the car door. (Also awesome)
• Watched my nephew get blessed. Or at least heard him get blessed.
• Laughed with my siblings.
  

I probably should be:

• Cleaning my room.
• Doing my homework.
• Reading "The Metamorphosis"

So that's pretty much all that's been happening with me! I should probably go work on that last list....

Laughing

Lately, people have been so dramatic. But instead of letting their drama get into my life and letting it make me angry at someone who did something to them, but not to me, I laugh. It's strange, but ever since I've been thinking about turning 16 in May, I've been becoming less and less excited. It seems like when you're 15, you can easily say "No" to a guy that asks you out because you automatically have the "I can't date till I'm 16" thing. But in a matter of months I'm not going to be 15 anymore! And I'm not all that excited to date anymore. I want to drive really badly, but dating isn't up on my list of priorities anymore. I'm a little afraid of turning 16 because suddenly it seems like you're really growing up. You have so much more freedom, but so much more responsibility. It's a scary thought for me.

Anyways, where I'm going with this rant is that honestly, 10 years from now, will it matter who you dated in High School? I know with some people it does matter, because there sometimes are such things as "High School Sweethearts" but that seems kind of weird to me. I want to marry someone who's already been on their mission. And I am definitely not waiting for anyone to get off their mission. I know from seeing it happen myself that sometimes waiting for two years doesn't work out, and I don't want to put myself in that position. 

Again, where I'm going with this rant is the question:

Will it matter in 10 years? Will it matter who you liked? Will it matter what that cute boy said to you with that charming smile of his that made you think "I love him"? But then of course you immediately shook that thought out of your mind because you're 15 years old, come on. Will it matter in 10 years which ridiculous pants that girl you were gossiping about was wearing? 

Sure, during my Freshman year when I was 14 and still a little on the immature side, I thought "I really love him. I do. And I could wait for him to get off his mission and we'll go to the same college and we'll get married." I thought stupid things like that. But I've learned that things just do not work like that. I even asked my oldest sister, Amanda, if she ever thought she was in love when she was my age. She did. So I'm not the only one. Now that I think of it, I'm glad I've gotten past that phase. I know I'm not in love with anyone...and I never was. I'm glad I've stopped thinking about dating boys for a while. It's kind of refreshing, to look back and realize how idiotic they all are. 

So, instead of reincarnating my stupid 14-year-old Freshman self and saying I'm in love with that guy with the "beautiful brown eyes that light up when he sees me" or the guy with the "smile that can always make me smile back", I laugh. I laugh at the people who were just like me. I don't laugh at them in a mean way, but more in a way that I laughed at myself and they'll laugh at themselves when they get a reality check.

Ha ha.

Not sure of anything

These past few weeks I've been thinking a lot, mainly because I haven't had anything else to entertain myself. I was in the car when I heard "100 Years" by Five For Fighting. That used to be one of my favorite songs...but that's one of the songs Mallory and I used for the slideshow that was used at Grandma Mattson's funeral. Ever since then, the song has been kind of ruined for me and I try to avoid listening to it at all costs. I've been thinking a lot about her ever since then, and I really miss her.

Another person I've been thinking a lot about lately, is Rebekah. I don't really know why, but just being around Sam sometimes makes me think about her, and wonder how different it'd be if she were here. I know I didn't really know her, but for some reason Bekah had a huge impact on my life, and I can't wait to meet her.

Being home alone so much lately has been taking it's toll on me. Sometimes I just get really sad when I think about Hannah. It's so different being the only kid left at home. I know I should be used to being alone after school by now, because I used to do it all the time, even when Hannah was here. But it's just the fact that she's not coming home with Dad anymore. This week--being finals week--has been particularly hard, because it's really different not to have Hannah here to help me study, or just to talk to when I'm worried about how I'll do on a final. It's kind of been a depressing few weeks, what with all this thinking, but I'm sure I'll be fine eventually.

Not so great

I haven't been feeling too great lately...just with friends and drama and all the stress that comes with being a "socialite" in high school. I'm really nervous about all my exams, and believe it or not, I'm studying like crazy. Some of my friends are being really dramatic about all this stupid stuff that won't matter when we're in college. And I woke up this morning not feeling good, physically. I'm afraid I'm going to get super sick for exams, but I'm guessing it's probably just nerves. So I just hope I'll make it through this week with good grades, because I really need them. It's weeks like these that make me wish I was already in college.

A game to make you think...

Today in health, we played a game. It doesn't really have a name, but it wasn't exactly fun. It was really hard. First, he had us split our paper into 8 pieces, and on each slip, we had to write one thing that was important to us. Now at least one thing had to be an object, one had to be a person, and one had to be an idea. He gave money as an example of an idea. So then he had us take the thing that was least important to us, look at it, and think about it. Then we had to rip it up, and put it in the corner of the desk. This continued to happen until we only had one left. And that last one was the one thing we got to keep. This was a really hard game for me to play, and it really made me think. This was my list of things (not in order of when I ripped them, that I'm keeping to myself):

• My Cell phone
• Shannon
  
• Money (I didn't know what else to do, so I just used this for my idea)
• Mom
• Dad
• Trevor
• Amanda
• Hannah

This game was really sucky because I had at least 4 more I wanted to add including Jamie, Kendra, Sam and Andee. It was really not fun to do this. I don't suggest playing this game unless you can expect the unexpected. If you kept someone as your last card, you can never expect them to keep you. My teacher said that he knew right when he started that his wife would be his last card, but the dilemma for him was which order to get rid of his daughters.

To say the least, this game wasn't awesome.