My parent's 30th anniversary was yesterday december 30, 2009. this is a picture of them in a chapel in las vegas 30 years ago. and not just in any chapel, the circus circus chapel :).

through my parent's marriage i have learned so very much. they are a very good example to me and teach me many important things that i know will be important to incorporate into my marriage someday.

i'm not saying they have a perfect blissful marriage, but they have a marriage that has survived many ups and downs and several trying times. i am thankful for their example that has taught me not to give up when things are rough, and that working things out is the only option. they have shown me the importance of forgiveness and unconditional love in a marriage. my mother has always been such a solid person and such a hard worker. she does so much for the marriage and for our family it often astounds me that a person can do that much! my father has always put family before anything else. he shows his love by always spending lots of time with us. he was such a great father, always sticking to his guns even when it would be easier just to give in and spoil us, but he knew in the long run that would not make us happy. i am so grateful for my parents and their marriage that has taught me so much. congrats on 30 years mommy and daddy!

where

i long to be in a place where i don't feel stifled to the point of near madness,
where i can run outside without fear of another bout of bronchitis,
where people don't try so hard to look like they rolled out of bed,
where i am not just a number or another blurry face in a crowd,
where i won't get stuck in traffic,
where people build their houses around the existing trees

where people are real
and friends don't lie,
where clocks don't matter,
where roads aren't paved
and dogs aren't on leashes

where i can walk around barefoot
and not step on glass,
where people sit on porches
and wave at the seldom seen passer by

where gardens grow,
where people cook,
where i have time to read a book

where we can all live free
and be whoever it is we want to be

i long for a place like this.

oh nine was mighty fine!

the annual survey:

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? got baptized, lived in provo, went to mexico, had a car, learned how to knit, turned 21, went canyoneering
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions? no.. i always resolve that i will floss every day, but it never sticks
4. Did anyone close to you die? yes, my good friend blake strebel
5. What countries did you visit? MEXICO!
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?better grades, faster legs,a better relationship with my family, a nice mountain bike
7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? May 9, 2009, the day i got baptized
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? turning my life around
9. What was your biggest failure? STATS 2000
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? a painful shin, bronchitis, got sick from the water in mexico, and had swine flu
11. What was the best thing you bought? my rubber boots
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Ron Paul
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Obama's
14. Where did most of your money go? phone bill, my car, rent, and food!
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?floating down the provo river, going to virginia, bonfires, drew danburry shows, lake powell.
16. What songs will always remind you of 2009? mgmt-kids, any bon iver, any lady gaga
17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier?: much, much happier. happier than i have ever been. i have finally figured out how to have eternal happiness.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? reading
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? caring what other people think
20. Who had the biggest influence on your life in 2009? blake, logan, steve, heath, caroline, and ali
21. What was your favorite TV program? the office, america's next top model, jimmy kimmell live
22. Do you know anyone now that you didn't this time last year? many. last year i was a bit antisocial, but i broke out of my shell this year.
23. What was the best book you read? the book of mormon
24. What was your greatest musical discovery? owen
25. What did you want and get? feeling comfortable in my own skin
26. What did you want and not get? a new mountain bike
27. What was your favorite film of this year? 500 days of summer hands down, then where the wild things are at a close second.
28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? oh man. best birthday of my life. i turned 21, was in virginia with blake. he took me ice skating, surprised me with a unicorn to ride :), then ended with him and his friends jamming out on their guitars. loved it.
29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? being able to save my money.
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? a classy hippie
31. What kept you sane? heavenly father
32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?i fancied adrien brody quite a lot
33. What political issue stirred you the most?the global warming hoax
34. Who did you miss?blake strebel, and all my friends on missions that are coming back shortly!!!
35. Who was the best new person you met? this is easy, blake h. thomas
36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009: how important family is. and how stupid grudges are.
37. song lyrics that sum up the year:
i can't really do this one, cause there are so many.
but this is a song i have been obsessed with

I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She's coming in 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way,
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say,
Hurry boy, It's waiting there for you

It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what's deep inside,
frightened of this thing that I've become

Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you
It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa,
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa,
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have

that kiss in your driveway, we were more than just friends

i have become a little bit of an insomniac as of late. it's strange because i was always a nine-hours-a-night-plus-a-two-hour-nap-girl, that is the only way i could function. but now i seem to be fine with 5 hours of sleep a night. my dad says it will catch up to me. i guess we will see.
life has been absolutely wonderful. i feel like i have been extremely blessed. my dad made the comment to me today that someone must be watching out for me. you see, about two weeks ago i had a bit of an.... errrr... accident. i was driving after it had been snowing all day and my car started sliding down a hill and i ran my car into the temple fence. luckily i wasn't hurt, and no serious damage was done to my car (which is a blessing cause i have no money to pay for repairs). today i went to get my tires checked out though and they said one tire had a screw in it and had hardly any air, and another got pinched and was so worn out that it was going to have a blow out very soon. we were lucky to catch it. and i had a warranty on the tires.... so i got them for free. someone is definitely watching out for me.

tonight was my birthday party with just my family since i was in virginia on my real birthday. we went to the tavernacle in downtown slc. the tavernacle is a piano bar, i had heard a lot about it from my friends and just wanted to go somewhere where they would check my i.d., it was a blast. i requested some lady gaga for kicks and they rocked it on the piano. i loved being there with my family. it was so nice to have fun together and relax. it seems like we haven't had moments like that for a very long time. even though everyone around us was completely drunk, my dad and i had a good time making fun of them while we sipped our soda.

so as i mentioned before, i went to virginia for a week. i stayed three days with my friend jessie's family and three days with blake and his mom. it was such a great trip, something that was so needed after a rough week of finals. blake gave me the best birthday in existence and showed me around nelson county. it was so sweet to meet his mom and hang out with her. she is such a sweet lady and so much fun! nelson county was amazing. there was just such a peaceful feeling all the time, maybe it was just because i was on a vacation, but it was so refreshing to look out a window and only see trees, or only have one traffic light in the entire county. life just seems a lot more slower paced and more enjoyable.

so for the break i am going to just try to stay super busy and productive. i got a job in park city at a shop called prospect. i will be working my but off trying to get into shape. hopefully hanging out with loads of people. i just need to stay busy.
sorry this is all over the place. i think will try to go to sleep now.