Why do I love California?

FINALLY I got to go to the beach today!!!! Jeez!!! I thought it would never happen!!!! I was so so excited though because I seriously have not gone in AGES!!! I definitely needed a day just to go somewhere and relax-and that's exactly what I got. Well, except for the sea gulls that kept circling us like hawks....Anyone who knows me knows I have THE WORST LUCK with sea gulls and bird poop. I think I should hold some kind of record. It's a terrible caution/fear now.

Rachel and I planned to go to the beach as SOON as we knew which days we both had off (the both of us have the same love for that beautiful place) and Brooke came along when she heard about it! So we all drove down to Encinitas, CA and laid out on the beach for a couple hours, but then it started to get a little cold. So we left and went down to Brooke's dad's work, a resort hotel & spa (yes, you read that right) and laid out on the lawn chairs instead, after we grabbed some of their frozen yogurt of course. Oooooh baby was that place amazing. I was so sad when we had to leave. Rachel and I got stuck in traffic the ENTIRE way home!!! It was HILARIOUS to watch her freak out like 5 seconds. Hahaha Much needed day. Thank you ladies!!

Chris Medina

I so do not realize how blessed I am!!! I have great friends, family, a healthy body...I have it all!!

I saw this video today and it actually made me teary-eyed!! People can say what they want about society today, and yes it is getting pretty bad. However, this video proves that there are still amazing people out there. What a sweetheart!!



He has my vote! :)

Crooked Teeth

YES!!! Now my teeth will FINALLY go back after moving from lack of retainers!!! Yeah yeah, I lost my other ones. Big deal. ...Actually it is a big deal (it costs an arm & a leg to replace them)....But I got new ones!!! Aren't they pretty!? My mom and dad originally got me these highlighter yellow ones (that did not fit my teeth at ALL) for Christmas and when I went to get them readjusted, Dr. Hoyt told me they weren't even made for my teeth!! He said it's possible they were made with another Ashley Martin's models. Anyway, long story short, I got to pick new ones and since everyone in the office was making fun of the yellow ones (that had heart-shaped confetti on it with these strange blue dots btw), saying at school they could play glow in the dark catch with them, I picked this dark blue color. (Cobalt blue to be exact. Fancy, huh?) I am so excited. Not so much for the pain of having them move back, but to have my straight teeth back! Four years of braces are NOT going down the drain! Sad to leave the sparkly pink ones though. Poor things are soooomewhere around here....

And can I just say how great they are over there at Dr. Hoyt's? I love everyone there. Brought me right back to the days I'd go in aaall the time to get my braces readjusted and I'd sit there trying to pick out a color that would go just perfect with the month (black & orange for Halloween though was not my proudest moment). They are sooo nice and I always had the best time! You can't always say that about going to the dentist! Plus, Kathy always writes my appointments on these cute little apple cards....Secretly I used to keep them. They're so cute! ...So. There's my spiel.
Yeah I know. I get excited about random things. Aaand I take too many pictures. Whatever.

Future career with album covers?

Ok, I saw this and I HAD to do it!

My friend Ryan (old FHE dad. What a guy) did this thing and put the picture on his facebook, and it looked pretty cool. So naturally, I wanted to do it too. Here's my lovely creation...I'm not gonna lie. Maybe it's just my pride and conceit, but if I were a band, I was so use this album cover!! I loove it!!


These are the directions for doing it. So so so fun. I'm bored, so you have to suffer. Haha

1- Go to Wikipedia & in top leftish corner, click "Random Article." The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2- Go to Quotationspage.com and in the column on the left side, click "Random quotes." The last four or five words of the very last quote on that page is the title of your first album.
3. - Go to Flickr.com and click on "Explore" then go to the top where the tool bar is and select "Explore from the last 7 days" from the drop down menu. Third picture, no matter WHAT it is, will be your album cover.
4. - Use photoshop or another way (try picnik.com) to put it all together.
5. - Post it with this text as the caption or as a comment and tag the people you want to share it with!

It was really fun, I won't lie. I did a couple more after this. Haha Here's a couple...

We'll Build Up His Kingdom

So I am thinking more and more about going on a mission lately. But. I really have no idea. I'm all talk. When it comes to making an ACTUAL decison, I suck.

Pros:

Uh, serving the Lord for 18 months, duh.

Growing as a person, both spiritually and....well...adultly?

Going somewhere and getting to be a part of someone's HUGE life changing phase

I've heard it's the BEST thing you could do

I could go on, but those are the Big Guys.

Now the Cons:

I would get even more behind in school

Zero money

It keeps getting hinted to me that I should stay by people I trust

Would I be going to escape, for myself, or for the people?

So I really just have no idea now. I'm definitely the type of person that thinks things out over and over and really just obsesses over all the possible outcomes, scenarios, etc. It's a terrible thing, but at the same time, when I finally do make a decision, I stick with it. And no one really can convince me otherwise without some MAJOR evidence and excessive argumentation. Haha It'll just take some more thinking, praying, and talking I suppose. Dang Errand of Angels movie. You knew what you were doing.

I. Wish.

My blog is pretty dang boring. SO! I have for your entertainment today, some select videos that will make your soul giggle. All of them include inSANE tricks that I am determined to acquire very very soon...

Our first little number is an AWESOME reader. I'm not just talking she reads with passion or great annunciation or something. No no. Far better...I won't give away the treat, but here you go. Enjoy...and you're welcome.
[I saw this video on my Yahoo homepage today, and it made my day. Gosh, what moxy. I bet I could learn if I tried REALLY hard. I mean, I bet she's great at Mad Gab too...right?!]



The other SUPER amazing video is this one. I am DETERMINED to learn this before the end of the year. DETERMINED, you hear me!? Hey, if I can't dance on a table in the library, I guess my hands will get to have all the fun.



Also, tip for the day: Check things out. Just...FYI.

Pappy's Half A Century Old!!

HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY
to the best dad in the whole wide world

I know, I know. Everyone says that about their fathers. But seriously though. I have such an amazing dad. He doesn't obviously look very happy in this picture (don't let him fool you though) but it's the most recent one I have of just the two of us. He's been SUCH a blessing to have in my life and I would never want anyone else to be my "pa." I cannot believe he is 50 years old! He's still such a little kid! He's hilarious. I think it's so funny that he is so calm & cool in front of other people, but getting to be his family, we get to see his crazy side. Wrestling with his girls (yes, including mom), pretending to take us down like a cop, poking fun by making little jokes, his dancing, making everyone crack up when we get him to break into a smile or a laugh...He's just so awesome. He's very old school and I've always admired that about him. He was raised to work hard and be just a good person & he's installed that same thing into us kids. I love that he still watches White Christmas and It's A Wonderful Life around the holidays instead of jumping right to Home Alone or Elf or something. I think it's so cool that he & I can listen to the same music and have the same love for ol Frank Sinatra. In fact, on trips, he even lets me control the radio!! Not many parents give their kids that kind of freedom! And he is such a great listener. As I've grown older, I've learned not just to appreciate the fact that he works his butt off for me all day long, but that after a long day, he would still be willing to sit and listen to me talk & talk. And he's not the kind that interrupts all the time-he just sits and listens until I take a breather and then offers a tiny piece of his thoughts. I definitely appreciate the fact that he takes time to see both sides. If I ever have an arguement with my mom, he'll take me aside and ask me to explain my side. It's definitely helped. He has also always been a spiritual rock in my life (although he may not know it) and has always gotten his family up & ready for church-exactly what I want my future husband to be like. It's nice to know that he actually cares and wants all of us to turn out right. My dad worries & cares enough to wait up for us aaall night on the couch if he has to. If I call him from school, the first thing he always asks is "Do you need anything? Do you have groceries? How are your grades?" Haha But I love that he loves to just be with his family. We don't even have to be doing anything, maybe just watching a movie together in the bonus room. But we always have such a fun time and we always miss dad when he's not around. He's the hardest worker I know. Seriously. If he's not actually at work, he's here helping my mom by doing things around the house. I obviously won't write everything here, because one, he probably will only read it when someone shows it to him, and two-there is no way I could write it all here. But he is just the greatest guy I know and I love how our relationship has turned out. My dad is my hero and a best friend, a great grandpa (yes, he's a spoiler to Erin's kids) and just a stud muffin. I'm so so beyond blessed to have him in my life and I hope I've been able to give him even a little something back. That little guy means the world to me. Haha

I love you very very much Fajah!!!! Have the best birthday ever!!......"Man, that's so random."

Growing Up

Sundays are usually a day of resting. But lately I have had a lot time to think, especially today when there's not much going on. Not about anything in particular, but just everything. I've realized a couple new philosophies while mulling over my life and I figure I should write it here so I actually have it where I can read it again. And hopefully adopt these ideas.

First, there are things I can change, and there are things I can't. And not just events that happened to me or what grade I get or anything like that, but in myself. The things I can change are the things I need to focus on. Thomas Edison used to have a list of things he thought he needed to improve on. Traits he wanted to have, habits he thought he ought to develop. And every single week, he'd spend those entire seven days improving himself one bullet point at a time. I have my own mental list and through trial and error, I realize no one can change everything over night. It was a process that can be broken down. That's my goal. I know I have things I need to change, but I need to also learn to be patient with myself. The most important things in my life tend to stay that way-constantly in my life. Those less important things just seem to fade away. In growing up, you realize that you can't control your universe forever. Eventually things are going to change. It's scary of course, but it's also exciting! New chapters keep opening up for me and I don't want to keep shutting them out for fear of change. And I am blessed to have the Atonement for things that I can change, and am just scared to. But, since there are also things I can't change, I don't really see the point in dwelling on them, rolling over and over in my bed picking myself and my life apart, wincing, getting frustrated when they didn't go according to my plan. Hello! Nothing in life ever goes according to plan! It's The Greenie Theory.

My teacher used to tell us that this whole life was about the Greenie Theory. When you are a new missionary out on a mission, you are dropped into a pretty uncomfortable situation-you're the "new guy" and have a lot to figure out. But you learn a ton going through this process. Then, just when you feel cozy, relaxed, and complacent in your current position (you know everyone, they know you, you no longer get lost, etc), you get yanked out of it and thrown into a new area where it starts all over again. He used to say that it's not just the mission where this happens. That's our whole life. That's how we keep progressing. The things you can't change are the things you just need to learn how to deal with. I believe that there is a clear line between people who are accepting of those things and will love you anyway, and those who don't really wish to cope with them so they distance themselves. Both are fine, but I've been really trying to make sure I don't let the people that are accepting get away very easily.

I also have a problem with wanting things back that I know I can't have. High school hang outs, childhood play dates, playing with my sister for hours and hours using nothing but our imaginations (and lately I've realized how much I've really really missed being with my sisters), reliving my first semester of college over & over. That one has been the one most recently. It was the one time in my life I really felt able to take on anything. I was on my own, I knew one person up at school, and I had everything to learn. Then I got too comfy and became lazy. I love being out of my element! I really do! I only know what I know based on what I've experienced. So maybe the key is to get out and experience more and stop being so afraid of...well, everything.

I don't really know if any of this has flow, if it makes sense, but I'm starting to like the stuff my brain just cooks up on its own. I do love being who I am. I still watch home videos every single time I'm sick, I still get beyond excited every time I get to see fireworks, and I still love to bury my feet in wet sand when I go to the beach and wiggle them out. I still love to hug my legs when I get into a movie, I still sing out loud to country music (complete with a hairbrush microphone and dancing around my room) and I still get fascinated listening to people talk about their lives. These are all things I don't think I could ever give up, things that some may find endearing, and others find immature and stupid. But I don't want to! Growing up doesn't have to be completely changing yourself and giving up the things you love. It just means adding things to the list. I just need to find a perfect balance, just like the Savior was able to. And someday I hope I get close. But until then, I just have to remember to see things as they really are and be fearless.

2011 babyyyy!!

So New Years Eve was a BLAST!!! Hooray for Alex and I getting out of our norms and just watching the ball drop and then watching a movie. Haha We were going to go clubbin (since we're fiiiinally 21 and can do those sorts of things) but Alex's mom said that it would be super dangerous since we'd be driving to San Diego on the road with everyone who was wasted. Probably not a good combination. But. We decided to check out some local places and they turned out not lookin so good. So we pulled over, about to go with our default plan, but I remembered this thing in Old Town Temecula called "the Grape Drop" where they were going to drop 7 ft grapes at midnight. I figured we could check that out, so we did. What we didn't consider was the fact that it was like 3o something degrees outside!!!!!! We had dressed to get all hot in a club and so you better believe we were frozen. But! It was so so much fun!!!! They had live music and they were hilarious, not to mention talented! So we mostly watched the other couples around us dance (they were SO cute! All the husbands trying to keep up with their wives) and then....the BIG MOMENT came!!!....

So now for the obvious.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS!!!!

1. Be MUCH better at communication (with my phone)

2. Keep my workouts just as good at home as they were at school.

3. Try to make myself happy versus trying to put eeeeveryone else first.

4. Show more gratitude for everyone and everything I have.

5. Go Thomas Edison this year.

I figured I should keep the list somewhat short so that I could actually keep them all. Haha Happy New Years everyone!!! Bring it on 2011!! It's sure to be a year to remember!!