It's Me Again!

Because I like talking about myself, and I think I came up with some pretty awesome questions, I'm going to answer the questions I made for the Liebster Award!

#1) If you were given the opportunity to live forever, would you take it?

Absolutely. I've never liked the idea of dying. I know there would be setbacks, and there are reasons that we only live for a certain amount of time, but still. Think of everything you could do!

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#2) What is an everyday object that brings back memories?

Obviously there are lots of objects that bring back memories {good and bad} ... but I'm going to say whipped cream. Ever since we were little kids, my cousin and I have had this thing where at every family gathering, we would each have my uncle {his dad} fill our mouths with whipped cream. He would keep adding it until it collapsed on our face - it was a mess! Then we would have to try to swallow it...good times:)

#3) Would you rather be "dazzlingly clever, angelically good, or divinely beautiful?"

I'd like to be angelically good. I'm okay with just being averagely smart, and plain looking, but it'd be so nice to be good. It can be so hard sometimes!

#4) What is the most trouble you ever got in as a kid?

This is a really hard question...I honestly didn't get in huge trouble. But I was constantly getting in little trouble for trying to be the mom and ordering my little siblings around. 

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#5) Out of all the classes you've ever taken, which was your favorite?

I've taken a few "Celtic Studies" classes that I loved. They focused on Gaelic language, culture, and music, all of which are gorgeous. 

#6) Who's your celebrity look-alike?

When I was younger, people always told me I looked like Dakota Fanning. I can see the similarity between pictures of me in, like, 2nd grade and her in Charlotte's Web, but I don't have any pictures of me from then to show you. I still get it sometimes now, but I really can't see the resemblance.

#7) You know those jokes that make you laugh every time, regardless of how dumb they are? What's your favorite?

This is what comes of taking two years of Latin...

Guy walks into a bar, says “Gimme a martinus.” 

Bartender says, “You mean martini?” 

Guy says, “If I wanted two, I would have ordered two!”

#8) What's your favorite pick-up line? What's the worst?

Best:

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Worst:

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#9) Quick! Two truths and a lie!

1. I've only visited two other states

2. I've never tasted coffee

3. I'm deathly allergic to rabbits

{guess which is the lie in the comments! I'll tell next week}

It it NOT - part two

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So at the beginning of the month I wrote a post bemoaning the fact that it was August

{see here}

which was followed by a post of all the reason why I love August in an attempt to make me actually love it.

{see here}

And now August is over-whaaat???

Overall, it hasn't been bad.

There was a period of almost three weeks straight where we were in the triple-digits, but I was inside most of that time, anyway.

It turns out that I was totally wrong about school being stress-free during August. Totally, entirely, ridiculously wrong. I must have jinxed myself by assuming that. But I've managed to get through it - and I still have pretty good grades so far!

And then last Tuesday I was told that I would be substituting for the ward organist the following Sunday...meaning that I had to learn all the songs in the three hours I would have to practice.

{Cue hysteria....}

But that went fine, too.

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A TANGENT:

I have a couple of questions for you.

#1) Imagine you are the ward organist. You know that you are going to be out of town this coming Sunday, and you need to find a replacement. You choose:

a) the woman who has been playing for about as long as you (roughly 20-30 years) and is your usual substitute

b) the man who has been playing for between 8 and 10 years and has substituted for you twice before

c) The man who has been playing for around 5 years and had been used as a last resort a couple of times

d) that one chick who's been playing for about a year and gets to practice an hour a week every few weeks

#2) You are planning a funeral, and you need a pianist. You call:

a) the ward organist and choir pianist

b) the ward organist and pianist's regular substitute

c) the Relief Society pianist

d) that one chick with less than half of the experience of all the above choices

Who in their right mind chooses D for both?

I don't understand my ward.

END of  TANGENT

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 All in all, I think I successfully managed to make myself enjoy August.

Conquering yourself feels pretty good...even if it's something as simple as this.

Bloggy Goals

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I love to-do lists. It's an obsession, actually. I make them all the time - literally every day this past summer. I was busy...and now I'm busier. 

Every time I start something new {i.e. school year, activity, blog...} I come up with a list of goals for whatever it is. Well, I call them goals, but I treat them more like a to-do list. I'm more likely to actually reach them that way.  

Anyhoo, I realized earlier that I never made a list of goals/to-dos for this blog. I know, shocking, right? And so, without further ado, I bring you....

These are the things that I want to have accomplished by the time that my blog has its first birthday this coming April:

#1) Make some bloggy BFFS - 

Back before I was busy with my own blog, when I found a blog that I really liked, I would go back through their archives and read every.single.post. they had ever written. 

Creepy, right?

Needless to say, after that, I totally felt like we were bloggy BFFs in this wierd, one-sided, stalker-ish way, but I never made contact with them, so I'm not sure they really count as bloggy BFFs. Hence the goal to make some bloggy friends that do count. 

If you're interested, I'm taking applications. 

Just kidding. 

But seriously, shoot me an e-mail. 

#2) Find a way to keep posting regularly when classes start - 

School is insane.

 I don't know how people in school continue to post on a regular basis. So if you have any suggestions, or know any college student bloggers who make it work, let me know. You'll be my new best friend - that's how much I need help with this! 

#3) Respond to every comment-

Because I think that'd be cool.

#4) Inspire and be inspired - 

I am inspired literally every day by the blogs I follow...that's why I follow them. It may take longer than a year for me to become a source of inspiration, but I'll take it whenever it comes!

There you have it - my bloggy goals. Nothing too crazy to start off with. These goals are just going to make blogging even more fun than it already is - and it's a blast!

Dear Boys,

Dear Duck,

You finally talked to me!
I've decided to assume that you do not have a girlfriend, which makes your behavior entirely acceptable.

Love,
Turtle



Dear D,

Don't be mad! I take the blame! And stop asking stupid questions!

Like,
The BFF




Dear Louis,

I've gotten warnings about you from two people now...but to be honest, I'm willing to take a chance. So ask me on a date?

Love,
Niamh



Dear Wolfie,

You need to be in my classes! Switch! NOW!
Or at least come and talk to me...I love your voice...German accents are very attractive!

Love,
The American



My dearest Spaniard,

I think you need to come visit so that I can keep loving you. Long distance sans communication makes it hard...

Lovelovelove,
La Senorita



My Stripling Warrior,

I'm working and working and working to be good for you! But I know you're doing the same...I'm going to be lucky to have you.

All my love and then some,
Your Virtuous Woman {in training}

The Liebster Award

Now that it's been a week {or something...I'm to lazy to actually check} since Jen gave me the award, here's the post you've been waiting for!
{See here for an explanation of the award}


#1) Who/what inspired you to create your blog?

I was a blog stalker long before I was a blogger. The first blogger that ever made me want to become a blogger was Brittney from A Day in the Life Too.... Her posts always made me laugh, and I loved her style. I was super bummed when she retired from this blog. Something silly about taking care of her newborn baby...pshaw.
{Note: I just found her family blog, A Day in the Life..., which she still blogs at, and will now happily continue stalking her. Took me long enough to find it...I'm such a bad stalker}

#2) How did you come up with your blog name?

Coming up with the blog name was the hardest part. I really wanted to come up with one of those super cute, catchy names, but I was stumped. I decided on Finding the Joys in My Journey because that's what I'm trying to do right now, and I figured that was probably what I'd be blogging about, so it seemed appropriate. To be honest, though, I see a name change some time in the future...

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#3) What is your favorite food and/or drink?
I love anything with shrimp in it.

#4) What's your hidden talent?

I don't think I have any! As much as I'd like some of them to be hidden {ahem, piano and organ},I'm pretty sure all my talents are out in the open. Ummm...I can play "Hot Cross Buns" on the trumpet?

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#5) If you could choose one vacation spot in the entire world, where would you go and why?
IrelandIrelandIRELAND! I'm madly in love with the language, the culture, the geography...take me there? I already know a bit of Irish Gaelic, but it's a dream of mine to live there for a while and just absorb myself in the language.

#6) What's the weirdest or most exotic thing you've ever eaten?

You have no clue how happy I am that this was one of the questions! I love telling people about this...The weirdest thing I've ever eaten is a  live cricket.

Yes folks, you heard correctly: a live cricket.

Getting it in my mouth was the hardest part - it kept trying to hop away. After that, it was fine...'cause, you know, after you bite down, it's dead. 

There were the really sour guts, but besides that, it wasn't so bad. Except for the fact that back when I did this, I had braces...and I found the remnants of a leg stuck in them later.

Have I grossed you out enough? I swear, I'm not really a disgusting person. I just make strange decisions when I've been camping with a bunch of friends for a week.

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#7) Which is the color that best describes you or stands for your personality?

I really didn't know how to answer this, so I turned to some online quizzes. One said blue, another said light yellow, and the rest wanted me to give them my personal information before they sent me the answers. I'm going to go with blue. Personally, I like yellow better, but blue fits my personality with the way it changes and all of its shades.

#8) Would you rather be blind, deaf, or mute?

Mute. 100%, without a doubt, mute. 

I'd be miserable if I couldn't see the world, especially since I'm awful at visualizing things in my head.

I'd rather die {okay, so that's a bit over-dramatic} than never be able to hear music, or a waterfall, or my family's voices again.

I've discovered that I can literally go hours without talking, and there are other ways of communication anyway, so I'd definitely choose being mute.

#9) What's your current outfit?

Ummmm...this is embarrassing.
It's been a tiring enough week {yes, I do realize that it's only Tuesday} that I'm in my pajamas.
A.K.A. A shirt from elementary school that I still fit in {crazy, right?!} and a pair of pretty trashy basketball shorts. And, for the icing on the cake, my hair is wet. A few seconds ago it was wrapped up in a towel.
Isn't that a lovely picture?

And now, the people that I'm giving the award to:

Meg the Cool Girl

It's Called Art

...And So On: The Ramblings of Kayla Jo

Anne the Adventurer

Our Happily Ever After

My questions:

#1) If you were given the opportunity to live forever, would you take it?

#2) What is an everyday object that brings back memories?

#3) Would you rather be "dazzlingly clever, angelically good, or divinely beautiful?"
{if you got the reference, kudos to you! say it in your answer!}

#4) What is the most trouble you ever got in as a kid?

#5) Out of all the classes you've ever taken, which was your favorite?

#6) Who's your celebrity look-alike?

#7) You know those jokes that make you laugh every time, regardless of how dumb they are? What's your favorite?

#8) What's your favorite pick-up line? What's the worst?
#9) Quick! Two truths and a lie! {I'll guess...but you have to tell me if I'm right}

If the question could be answered by only a 'yes' or 'no', or something simple like that, still elaborate. I want to get to know you!

Get to it, ladies! When you've done it, leave a link to your post in the comments, or shoot me an e-mail. I can't wait to hear your answers!

CHANGE

I promise I'm working on the Liebster Award post - but I'm having trouble coming up with new questions for the bloggers I award it to! I'll have it soon {tomorrow if school isn't too crazy}, but for now...

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So I had this dumb thought the other day:

"I do like change....so long as it doesn't put me out of my comfort zone."

Um, hello - what is change if it's not getting out of your comfort zone?

I've realized that all of the things that I'm not liking about this school year so far are all things that I can change - even if all I can do is change how I feel about them. I need to learn to want to change more than I want to stay in my comfort zone by staying the same.

It's so easy to say that....it's the doing that's going to be a problem. But just watch me!

This Academic Year....

I have only two goals:

#1) Nothing less!

This is officially my personal motto.

This school year, I will give nothing less than my best in my school work, relationships with others, study of the gospel, and becoming the best me I can be. 

I'm not even going to make a goal of maintaining a 4.0+ GPA - just of doing my best.

{Okay, so that's a total lie...I'm never going to not have that goal...}

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#2) Live a little

I'm the type of person that is the opposite of "instant gratification". If I didn't have awesome friends and family to convince me to have fun every once in a while, I'd probably work my life away. This year, I want to make time for me, which should keep off at least some of the crazy panic attacks of last year.

What kinds of goals do/did you make for new school years?