Birds and Broomsticks

Disaster struck today. My brother and I arrived home in Arkansas for the summer. My car was cleaned out the day we got home (maybe the day after), but my brother neglected his car until today. So he decided to bring all of his stuff in this morning. Leaving the front door open for convenience, he worked for a little while and then proceeded to take a half hour break trying to convince me to help him clean out his car with him (mind you...leaving the front door open).

He finally convinces me to help him unpack his car. I silently make a pledge to bring in small item after small item to spite him. We walk into the front room to find a bird flying in our family room. I yelp, naturally, and then jump on the couch and hide under a blanket *because obviously the bird is ravenous and will surely dive bomb me and peck out my eyes* Meanwhile, Jordan goes about closing two of the doors to the surrounding rooms and instructs me to close the last one so we (he) can herd the bird out the front door. I'm not about that life, and I stay under the blanket on the couch while thinking about the life I could have lived.

Jordan goes to get a broom from the kitchen to aid in his crusade while the bird stupidly flies in a circle around the ceiling. Jordan comes back, but refuses to step into the room so he just waves the broom around from the confines of the hallway. So bear with me here and try to picture this scene. You have a harmless (or is it?) bird confused and flying in circles in a room. Then there's a 21-year-old blue-haired girl in pajamas cowering under a blanket on the couch while a broom flails aimlessly in the corner of the room--directed by a 24-year-old boy who is standing in the hallway commenting on the idiocy of the bird and the importance that our mother not find out about this *oops*. Then on top of it all there's my little dog who nonchalantly walks outside and sits on the front porch like this type of chaos happens on a regular basis. This continued for the longest 3 minutes of my life before the bird made its way outside, Jordan closed the front door, and I vowed to make the most of my life now that I wasn't going to die.

In other news, my little nephew has a hard time saying my name, so he calls me Lala. It's probably the most adorable thing ever, so I'll be officially changing my name soon. Probably, maybe, not likely, but yes.

Mermaid, Kool-Aid, Or...Fun dip?

Well, team. I did it. 

Here's how it went down. For a couple months I have been tinkering with the idea of dyeing my hair blue. You know, just kind of tossing it around in my mind. Feelin' it out. Maybe two(ish) weeks ago. I decided I REALLY wanted this to happen. I anxiously waited for finals to come so that I could actually go through with it. Friday night my I sat in front of the TV with a towel on the ground and around my shoulders while my roommate bleached my hair and Emperor's New Groove played in front of us. Not going to lie, I was pretty much freaking out as that was going on. The next day I had an orangey ombre thing going on. And I was actually digging it. But I told myself I would go through with the blue. So again, after my test Saturday morning, my roommate sat me down in the same chair with the same towels and the same movie playing in front of us. Now, pretty much in almost full freak out mode, my roommate poured blue dye into my hair. I did my waiting (continuing to become more and more terrified about what I had done to my beautiful hair), and 35 minutes later I rinsed it out. 

Yep. Full freak out mode ensued. My hair was blue. WHAT. DID. I. DO. 

Our end of year block party was that night, so I went and had fun while completely freaking out about my hair. Thankfully I have amazing friends and people in my life who were incredibly complimentary and supportive. It seemed my hair mostly reminds people of mermaids, Disney, Kool-Aid, and fun dip. I mean, those are all good things, so I'm cool with it. But the consensus seemed good. Either 1) they actually think my hair looks dang good, to which I say thank you thank you, or 2) they are all lying to me, to which I also say thank you!

Well, here's the thing. It's blue hair. I was skeptical myself. I see these gorgeous women on Pinterest who pull off these amazing colors, and I think, "I can never pull that off. No way, Jose." So, I completely get that not every one is going to like it. I don't expect them to. Honestly, last night I didn't think I was going to like it. It wasn't until this morning that I decided that I do. 

If there is one thing I learned this year, it's the importance of loving yourself and being confident in you. So for now, that's what I'm going to do. 

I know there is a blurry spot on my forehead. My screen decided to make a crack that goes perfectly over my front camera. It's weird. I mean, it's not like I dropped it or anything....

When The Cup Falls

Well, folks, we've ALMOST reached the end of the semester. Again. I've ALMOST made it, but not quite. Here's the thing. Finals week is going to be a breeze for me. I think I have one, maybe two? finals. But with lack of finals comes an overabundance of projects and assignments. So while finals week will be fine, this week is going to be, for lack of a better or more eloquent word, hell. It reminds me of when my sister was in undergraduate school and loved the country song "If You're Going Through Hell."  Don't mind me, I'm just gonna follow your lead, sis, and blast that song all week.

I mean, school is great. I'm learning a ton. In fact, right before I decided to blog (to avoid homework) I was reading about behaviors found in students. "Students either are trying to get something...or they are trying to avoid something (for example, nagging teacher, school work that is too hard...)." Well, what do you know? That's completely accurate. Pretty much today I'm trying to 'get' something happy like a lemonade and I'm definitely trying to avoid all of the responsibilities and stress that is awaiting me in my theoretical closet. The other day I was getting a cup out of our cupboard. In the process I may have knocked some of our other cups off balance. They started to fall down (headed for me..OUTSIDE of the cupboard). So quickly I slammed the cupboard shut and went on my merry way. This is my life in regards to school right now. I have a cupboard of assignments. I reach in, grab one to do (the smallest one), knock over the more daunting ones, and slam the cupboard closed knowing full well that I am probably making a larger mess for myself when I have to open the cupboard again. But not really caring in the moment. I mean, we all know the feeling. I have SO MUCH to do in the next week that I'm not doing anything. Heaven help me.  At the end of this week I'll either be buying myself a lemonade of congratulations, or a lemonade of condolences.

In other news, I got to see one of my best friends last Friday, who I haven't seen in over a year and a half!! It was so great to see her and catch up. She truly is an amazing person. Here's to you, Brawna!

Oh, also. My roommate introduced me to a little shell named Marcel. I've watched this video twice today, so if you want a laugh click here.

Oh, You Know, Just Disney World.

I guess a week after I get back from my trip is a good enough time to blog about it!

Florida was amazing! Well, I guess I only went to Orlando, and by Orlando I mean that my exploration of Orlando was the house I stayed in, a gas station, and the amusement parks. But boy, did I love it!

Here's a quick run-down of our itinerary while we were there. Sunday: Hollywood Studios, Monday: Magic Kingdom, Tuesday: Epcot, Wednesday: Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure, Thursday: free day (we went mini golfing and I flew back to Utah Thursday evening). 

So yeah, It was a jam-packed week. It was exhausting, but it was absolutely amazing. Highlights of the week

1. Spending time with my family and dear family friends (who I consider family). Seriously, you guys. If you don't know my family, you SHOULD. They are the best people on the planet and we have so much fun together. They are probably the funniest, most down-to-earth, straight up coolest people you'll meet. You're jealous, I know. You should be.
2. Everything Disney. I love Disney. Disney everything. I had never been to Disney World (unless you count a trip when I was 3 and can't remember). I got some Mickey ears and my entire family got matching Mickey shirts and we had a wonderful time exploring our inner child.
3. Harry Potter at Universal/Islands of Adventure. So. Dang. Cool. 
4. Seeing the Barney Show at Universal with my nephew. But here's the thing. It was my sister, my mom, my dad, one of our family friends Sheryl (basically my second mom), me, and my nephew. So 5 adults and a 1 1/2 year old going to see Barney.  Holland enjoyed the leaves that fell from the ceiling, but the rest of us were singing along and dancing. We then enjoyed the play area found beside the gift shop. 
5. The food. We got these food voucher things that basically tell you different restaurants you can eat at the park for free. Don't mind me, Disney, I'll just happily get your bacon burger every day. Can I get a large drink with this? Yes?? Make that a lemonade, please. :)
6. Spending time with family. Okay, I know I already said that, but you have to understand something about me (if you don't already know). I'm really close to my family, and we have a lot of fun together. They are my people. I probably would have had a ton of fun at Disney World if I went by myself, but I know it wouldn't be close to how much fun I had with them. 

So when I left Utah to go to Florida the weather was warming up but it still looked like winter, and finals felt like an eternity away. I come back and spring is everywhere have you seen the flowers on campus? and SURPRISE! school ends in two weeks and I have a ton of projects to do.  I can do this.

My roommates and I were chatting and laughing the other night when we started talking about my sleep habits. As many many people can attest to this, I'm really hard to wake up. In Kindergarten, my teacher and the entire class would have to work together to wake me up from my peaceful nap. In Florida I found out that my mom and dad would sometimes vacuum after they put their babies down for a nap so we would learn to sleep through noise. Thank you, parents. You meant well, but I'm 100% convinced that your vacuuming is the reason I can never hear my alarm. 

Anyway, here are some pictures of my trip! 

 Cute Holland running through the Swiss Family Robinson's treehouse!

 My amazing sister, brother-in-law, and nephew!

 Oh, you know. Just chillin' in England (in Epcot).

 No big deal. 

 Dr. Seuss Carousel! 

Loved. Everything.