Harry Potter in 99 Seconds

Haha this is funny :) Plus these kids remind me of Zach and Cody... Enjoy!!

I found it! I found the will power!! And that first step worked WONDERS!!

Remember this post about how I am no good at practicing piano, writing in my journal, and I always forget to read my scriptures?
Well... I'm here to tell you... I found it!! The will power!! The piano part I sorta just came up with... I LOVE practicing the piano. I practiced for like 1 1/2 (Okay, maybe a little less) hours the other day. :)

Journal?? Okay, I'm still pretty bad at this one, but I guess this is kinda journaling? Right?

Scriptures: This is my favorite one. I think that my problem was that I couldn't really understand very well what I was reading. I decided to switch from reading the BOM to the Docterine and Covenants for a while. Doing this made all the difference. D&C is so easy to read and understand, and it is filled with awesome scriptures. (Seriously, I think my marking pencil is tired.)
Now, about sixty sections into D&C, I love reading my scriptures. I realized that it doesn't matter if you fully understand what is going on in the story. Maybe I just have to try and focuse on what that chapter is telling me. If I can understand and see the big story and picture, then that helps a lot. But sometimes you just have to accept that you don't understand that part right now and move on.
As my seminary teacher says, the scriptures are full of hidden treasures. I think I am starting to understand that.


Yay!!

EFY

   I went to efy last week... and it was AMAZING!! It was so much fun and so spiritual... You seriously feel so amazing and different the whole week! I already miss it!

  Here are just a few of the pictures I took:

This was the first day - right after check-in!

We had to keep taking pics in the mirror because we had a hard time fitting everyone in otherwise!

This was the first dance- it was so hot outside!

Games Night

Pizza Night

One of our counselors, Maddy, after we heart attacked her door the last night

This is us with our session director Brother Laing

This is a bunch of kids in my company making a thank you card for the byu creamery

My Company!! Yay!!

All of the boys in my company

All of the girls in my company

This was at the last dance... and yes, this kid can limbo that low!

Us eating ice cream bars from the vending machine

The End!! Boo Hoo!

Here's how my bucket list is going...

This is my "2011 Bucket List" that I posted a little while ago. Let's see how it's coming...

1. Try something new and don't always put my own wants first
              - Hmmm... Well I suppose that I am in the process of doing this one. I've probably tried something new in the last six months... Not putting my own wants first? Hmmm... I sometimes remember to do this one.


2. Save up my money for something in particular (no more spending just because I can)
              - Haven't done this one. I only have like $13 to my name.

3. Learn 5 new Jon Schmidt songs
               - First off, I have no idea why I put this one. I am probably capable of doing this, but I don't play Jon Schmidt very much. I've learned, like, one.

4. Go to a concert... maybe with luck, somebody good will turn up in SLC.
                - Haven't done this one. And honestly, I probably won't.

5. Earn two more values in Personal Progress
                - One down!!

6. Figure out how to be as crazy in Mia Maids as I was in Beehives
                - Uhh... can I say done, done, done, and DONE!

7. Do my homework right when I get home from school (yea right)
                 - See number 4 :)

8. Get my learner's permit\
                  -six more months!

9. Not crash while I am learning how to drive
                 - N/A

10. Learn to turn my lemons into the perfect lemonade
                  -It depends on what my lemons look like...
11. Befriend someone who is right now a stranger to me
                   - Done. I meet new people every semester.
12. Keep up on American Idol and AGT so I don't have to watch 6 episodes in one night
                    - First, I don't even like American Idol anymore. I love AGT, though, and I have kept up on it so far.
13. See the glass as half full
                    - Again, it definitely depends.
14. go to EFY
                    - Less than one month baby!!
15. Rule the school in 9th grade
                    - Hmmm.. have to wait a couple more months for that.
16. Eat healthier
                   - Nope. My favorite food group is still the skinny yellow one.
17. Do more service. And remain anonymous.
                   - I've probably done this a little bit. Not very much though.

18. Make sure that I am mindful of my friend's needs and wants
                    - I think that I've always been pretty good at this.

19. Turn my siblings into my best friends
                   - Certainly haven't done this yet. I've been getting along with them pretty well though.

20. Keep my annoying-teenager comments to a minimum
                   - Haven't even tried.... darn.

21. Don't talk in Sunday School unless it is relevant to the lesson.
                   - I'm almost 100% sure that this will never happen.

Wow. This is crazy awesome...

This is a vid from America's Got Talent last night. Their act is seriously beautiful... like, I got goosebumps. All I can say is watch, watch, watch!! It is amazing!!





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My New Favorite Toy

I have a new favorite toy... ready?
The Rubik's Cube. I love this thing. And as nerdy as it may sound, I can solve it.
Not fast, mind you, it takes me a couple of minutes, but it still gets solved.
I'm sort of obsessed with doing this, which is kinda funny because I don't actually have one.
So I just steal Zach's Rubik's Cube and solve it a couple of times before he gets mad at me and wants it back.
(And yes, I know that this officially makes me a nerd. My mom even pointed that out haha. I agree.)

Anyways... so if you ever have a scrambled up Rubik's Cube that needs to be solved... call me!
:) And if you want to learn, there are some awesome vids on youtube. The one I used is like 30 minutes long, though, and it takes a lot of memorization!

--

Braces: Pros and Cons

Yes, I know that this is a really lame picture!!

Are braces really super duper painful and the worst thing in the world? No. Absolutely not.
Are they totally painless and no big deal? No, not really that either.

Positive things about having braces in junior high:

- Well first off, it's the perfect time to have them. Almost every picture in my yearbook is of a kid with braces. Yep, there is a TON of kids with braces.

-They really don't hurt too bad. It's true. I mean, my teeth hurt after every appointment to the orthodontist, but that only happens every three weeks, and only lasts for a couple of days. Sometimes less. And most people go to the orthodontist every six or eight weeks.

- And lastly, THEY WORK WONDERS!! I was amazed at how fast my teeth moved. I think that most of the treatment time is just waiting for the roots to move and little tiny things that nobody notices. (For me, at least, because I know that some people have to have more serious work done.)

Negative things about braces:

- Flossing. I hate flossing with a passion. It takes FOREVER. Ugh. Hate flossing.

- You get food stuck in your teeth every time something touches your mouth. I'm pretty lucky, though, that my orthodontist lets me eat anything. Which foods get stuck the most?
     - Bananas
     - Apples
     - Popcorn
     -Anything sticky or that has caramel in it
     - Oreos
     - Pizza
 It's the worst at school, when I have to try really hard to make sure that there isn't food in my braces. I usually just swish water around in my mouth a few times. (Plus, I don't usually eat the above things for lunch at school.)

- Did I mention flossing?

-Pain. Okay, I'll admit it, they don't hurt a lot, but when they hurt, they hurt.

- They cut my cheeks on rollar coasters... Okay, so that rarely happens, (actually almost never,) but when I hit my mouth against anything, my cheeks get little cuts in them.

- Hmmm.... Oh yeah, and flossing. That sucks.

You Thought You'd Lost Me? Think Again.

Wow... when was my last post? Hmmm... January? That is pathetic. PATHETIC I TELL YOU!!!
So here I am. (Yes, still alive.)
SCHOOL'S OVER...
I have to admit, I'm a little sad that school's done. (And I say that loosely BTW!!) I've never been one to totally hate school. It's kinda sad to think that people that you may've talked with a lot this year may not even be in any of your classes next year.
"School is like a lollipop... it sucks until it's gone!"

But in the meantime... IT'S SUMMER! Yay!!
How did I celebrate the last day of school? Went to Subway and Yogotogo with friends, then we came back to my house to swim. Then our plans were ruined when our pool wouldn't open. We proceeded to call my neighbors to see if we could use their pool. She said, "I'd be happy to let you use our pool, except the pump broke the other day and we haven't gotten it fixed yet." SERIOUSLY!!
So we drove to Dollar Tree and bought water balloons instead.
Then we had pizza and popcorn and watched You Again.

Just if you were curious, (and you are probably not,) here are some of my favorites right now:

TV show: MONK!!!! I love this show! It's the most genious show ever to air on television. (No, I'm NOT exaggerating!) It's even inspired me. I'm going to be a police detective when I grow up. Yep, you heard me. (Or read me...if you know what I mean...)

Movie: MAMMA MIA!! Yes, this is still my fav movie. I love, love, love this movie! Everything about it!

Color: Still undecided. I don't show favoritism (did I spell that right?) towards colors. I love them all!

Newest thing I'm obsessed with: Netflix. I am going to nominate whoever created Netflix for a Nobel Prize one day. (And whoever invented the bobby pin... genious :)) Anyways, I looooove Netflix.

Anyways, wishing fun summers to everyone!

-Haley

PS: The above picture is me, Angeleah, and Brenna seeing Oklahoma. (That was our school play. And in case you were wondering, yes, Brenna was in it.)
PPS: Did I mention I love Monk? Oh I did? Nevermind.

Why Can't I Just Have the Will Power to DO IT???

So I've had this list of things that I should be doing better on.

Personal Scripture Study

Journal Writing

Piano Practicing...

I just never get around to actually doing these things.

I forget... sometimes.

I say "it can wait"... sometimes.

I think "I've done enough for today"... sometimes. 

I think "well homework and this and that is more important." ... sometimes.

When will I get the will power to say "Okay, I am going to go do this right now. I don't really want to, but I know that I should be doing it."

It seems like it will never come.

I know that it's my own choice.

Some girls in my ward were saying at mutual the other day, "Ya, I write in my journal every night. I'm kind of OCD about it. I have to write down everything, even what I eat at every meal." and "I try to read at least a page in my scriptures every night, but it doesn't feel like hardly anything."

UGGGHH!!!

I know that it's true. They actually do those things. And yes, I know that the average person does not keep a journal that way. I just wish that I could get into good habits.

Well, Maybe tonight, I will get ready for bed just a little earlier so that I can write in my journal and read my scriptures. I will practice piano just a little longer. I know that it will pay off.

Maybe all I need is a start. It has to get easier, right??

New Semester and LoNg WeEkEnD-

One sememster down. I think that the first day of the second semester is the only time during the school year that I actually wake up and say "yay I want to go to school today."

 New classes.

 A few new teachers.

New people.

Of course there will be a few missed classes. Namely gym. I think that I'm the only person in my gym class that actually openly admits that I love it. Especially soccer. And volleyball.

Plus, I am (hopefully) going to have my hands full being in a play in the next couple months. I love doing plays. I really do. And I wish that I was doing musical theatre, but I'm not.

This is a community play. Annie. Tryouts aren't till the 5th of February, so I'm still crossing my fingers that I'll make it in. I don't even care if I'm just an extra.

So, here's to a new semester. Hopefully it will be just as good as the last one.

New Toys

So we got some fun new toys at my house.
First, a friend of ours who also happens to work with my dad switched phone providers, and DITCHED (only because he had to I'm sure) his way cool phone from t-mobile. Guess who got it? Yep, ME! It's way cool, and actually the same one that my mom has. I've been jealous of her since she got that phone. :) I was so excited about it and have pretty much been playing on it nonstop for three days.

Second, T-mobile has this thing called the tab, which is their competitor to the ipad. It has a few differences, the biggest being that it's smaller. Well while we were at the phone store getting my info transfered to my new phone, this little gadget caught my dad's eye. My dad kept asking about it and these other new phones (and seriously took forever doing it). I guess that the guy was pretty pursuasive because a couple days later I come home from school to find both the tab and a new mytouch phone sitting on our counter. My mom still has a cooler phone than me now. :)

I was playing with this new tab thinking about how lazy human beings are for inventing things like this. I mean it really is just a little computer... with gps... and a lot of other stuff... but still. We really don't need something like that to survive. It reminds me of how on 27 Dresses she keeps all of her info in her bulging planner and has no problem with it. Then her lover boy gives her a blackberry as their parting gift when they were mad at each other. I guess some people just can't be simple.
I learned the other day that technology only takes about three (something like that) years to double itself. That's big.

Side note: New favorite song? Chances by Five for Fighting. (Love this one. )

2011 Bucket List

So here's my bucket list for 2011. (Which I know doesn't really qualify as a bucket list, but it's more interesting than calling them goals.)

1. Try something new and don't always put my own wants first

2. Save up my money for something in particular (no more spending just because I can)

3. Learn 5 new Jon Schmidt songs

4. Go to a concert... maybe with luck, somebody good will turn up in SLC.

5. Earn two more values in Personal Progress

6. Figure out how to be as crazy in Mia Maids as I was in Beehives

7. Do my homework right when I get home from school (yea right)

8. Get my learner's permit

9. Not crash while I am learning how to drive

10. Learn to turn my lemons into the perfect lemonade

11. Befriend someone who is right now a stranger to me

12. Keep up on American Idol and AGT so I don't have to watch 6 episodes in one night

13. See the glass as half full

14. go to EFY

15. Rule the school in 9th grade

16. Eat healthier

17. Do more service. And remain anonymous.

18. Make sure that I am mindful of my friend's needs and wants

19. Turn my siblings into my best friends

20. Keep my annoying-teenager comments to a minimum

Oh and I almost forgot. 21. Don't talk in Sunday School unless it is relevant to the lesson.

Maybe I can revisit this list at the end of this year and see how many I've accomplished. Maybe a few will even end up on my "2011 in Review" list. 

Cheers to 2011!

So basically, other than Isaac being born, my 2010 stunk. Like, truly stunk. In some ways, I feel like New Years is a weird holiday. What difference does it make to change one number on the calendar? I guess that people like New Years because they see it as a chance to start over. To make new goals and try a little bit harder to keep them... to push 2010 in the past and look forward to what 2011 will bring- all new surprises.

We celebrated like we always do, with my dad's side of the family. I couldn't take many pictures becuase we were running out of memory in the camera, but I got a few.

 We played "Just Dance" most of the night. I like Amy's tongue sticking out.

This is the classic New Years puzzle. It's a 1000 piecer of Times Sqare in New York. It will probably never ever be finished.

Even Isaac managed to stay entertained for the first part of the night.

So that was our New Year's Eve celebration. Complete with confetti at midnight. (Which snuck up on me. I was busy with a card game and everyone was like ''The ball is dropping, come over here!")

Anyways, I definitely am glad to be starting a new year, and I do sincerely hope that it is better than last.