Proud to be an American

I can't even explain how amazing it feels to live in America and to celebrate the day our country gained independence. The 4th of July is one of the most incredible experiences I go through each and every year. 

Words just cannot describe how I feel right now.

Today was just... awe inspiring. Amazing. Beautiful. Breathtaking.

4th of July is one of those days where you just sit back, and realize just how lucky you really are to have such a wonderful life. It's a time where you spend having fun and appreciating your family and your country.

I spent all day today with my family, and I had a wonderful time. We were outside most of the time because God blessed us with such lovely weather. It was sunny, but partially breezy. Perfect weather for such an occasion.

We barbequed as a family, and I actually got to help a bit! :D I felt so awesome haha I can actually cook 8) There was patriotic music playing in the background the whole time, and it just felt so... inspiring. Afterward when dinner was done with, we watched the fireworks display in Time Square in New York on the television. It was such a beautiful display (: Patriotic music playing in the background while watching fireworks go up into the air and explode. It really made me feel so... proud to be an American. You know? I just wanted to stand up and join in on showing my pride for my country. It really was a great feeling (:

Then around 9:00 pm we left to go see the Air Force Academy set off fireworks. We got a nice parking spot far away from the academy, and the show began at 9:30 pm. It was spectacular! A front row seat to one of the best firework shows in Colorado. The Air Force Academy knows how to celebrate (: Next year I want to actually go into the Air Force Academy and get a nice seat in the stadium, and watch the actual show in person. They have a whole orchestra and everything. It's just amazing.

When we arrived back home, we went outside on the deck, lit a small fire with the firepit on the table, and sat out under the stars as a family and talked for a bit. It was a lovely ending to such a lovely day.

I wish we had more days like this (: It really made me appreciate everything I have in my life. My family, my friends, my freedom.

In the end, it really is the small things that matter the most.

My Friends

Coming Soon! (again, lazy and busy :( Will write later)

Hiking to Success

Coming Soon! (too lazy to write right now...)

Ye Olde Renaissance Festival

Coming Soon!

Dreams

I always find dreams so interesting.

I do believe each dream has a meaning to them, or purpose.

I have a little notebook that I call my "dream book". And every time I wake up from my sleep and actually remember the dream I just  had, I open up the notebook and jot it down. I write down every little detail that I can remember about it, and then once I am done spilling out my memory onto the page, I try to analyze it.

I try to figure out: Why did I have this dream? What does it mean? What is its significance?

You'd be surprised at what you uncover after analyzing a dream for what it is. Maybe it will reveal something about yourself you didn't know before.

I tend to believe that we dream about what is on our mind as we drift off to sleep. Or even about things we are subconsciously thinking about without knowing it. I like to think a dream is our subconscious speaking to us, letting us know what's concerning us at the moment or what is bothering us. It's like a secret hidden message from yourself! :D

Pretty nifty if I do say so myself.

Father's Day

 I would like to take this opportunity to thank my father and praise him for being the bestest daddy I could ever ask for c:

I don't think I give my dad enough recognition, but he truly deserves it.

He never gets angry with me or my brother (Josh) and sister (Amanda). He always lets us do what we want and helps us out if at all possible. He pretty much is our households entire income, and the reason we get to live such a nice life is because of him.

I am truly grateful to have such a wonderful dad as him, and am blessed to have him in my life.

Grace Visit

So today Grace came back to town for a little while. She came back to Colorado because her sister is getting married (: And of course she gets to be a bridesmaid! So lucky. I am absolutely fascinated with weddings, so I really envy her.

Sadly, she was only able to stay in Colorado Springs for about 3 hours, before having to return and run some errands. But we made the most of it and had a great time :D

The Value of a Gift

Coming Soon

Another Semester Over

Coming Soon

Mother's Day

Coming Soon

My Friend, Jordan

Coming Soon

Believe

"I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles."

 - Audrey Hepburn

I Will Always Love You

It's hard. Sitting here like this. Because I know I can do so much more for him, but he won't let me into his life again.

We're slowly getting closer again... every time we talk, I feel as though we have created a better bond between us, and things are slowly becoming what they used to. When we broke up, he shut me out of his life. He put up a barrier. He ignored me, pushed me away, wouldn't talk to me about anything; and I know it was because of the break up. He was trying to get away from me. But, that didn't stop me.

Beautiful Weather, Beautiful Life

What can I say, beautiful weather outside just puts me in such a good mood (:

I may claim rain is my favorite weather, but days like today are right up there with it.

Sunny, with settle clouds about. It's warm, but cool at the same time. A slight breeze. It's just beautiful. I open my window up and lift up my blinds, letting the sun shine in.

Who needs music, when you have the sounds of nature around you. The slight breeze of the wind rustling the leaves in trees, birds chirping; it's just so soothing.

Sitting out in the backyard on the deck, watching the sunset. Unbelievable.

Days like today, really make me appreciate all the little things in my life. It's impossible for me not to be happy with this weather surrounding me. It really motivates me. It's inspiring.

This is just the first sign of days to come this summer, and I can't wait. I know my summer is going to be very blessed :)

To-Do List

As I said in my previous post, I have really high hopes for this month. It's already the first week, and I feel absolutely amazing. I am planning to make this month the best so far this year (:

I haven't made much progress on bettering my life so far this year... even after what I said way back in January :( So this is my second To-Do list containing stuff I really would like to get done this month, and over the summer and hopefully be able to continue on with:

April Showers Bring May Flowers

I don't think any phrase could have been a more accurate metaphor for how the past month has been.

April was a very "showery" month, I guess you could say. It was a very hard month for me. I was going through a lot in my life, and I guess I was a little depressed for a while :/ But the past week or so, I realized this, and I changed my ways to be happy once more :D

After this past month, I feel as though May should be bringing me a lot of flowers. Now that the rain is over, it's time to bring out the sunshine from behind the clouds (:

Who knows what kind of flowers will be showing up around me. Maybe...

A daffodil, for new beginnings and new adventures.

A carnation, for good luck.

A lily, for friendship.

A tulip, for cheerfulness and fun.

A sunflower, for warmth and happiness.

And maybe...

A rose... for a little romance :)

You never know what life will bring you, and you never know what kind of flowers will sprout up along your path (:

Source: http://www.teleflora.com/about-flowers/flower-meaning.asp

Good-Bye Nick Nick :(

So today, early this morning, my friend Nick (whom I like to call my BFF from Cananda) left on a 3 month trip to Australia. 3 months. That is a loooong time to be gone.

He won't have service on his cell phone, nor will he be on the internet as much. He will most likely barely even be able to get on MSN, which was our main source of communication :/

He said he is going to Australia just to live life a little more. To have new experiences, new adventures, meet new people, have a good time, start over fresh in a new area, etc. I honestly think that is very cool, personally I would love to do that one day. Just go out and live on my own in a new environment, new culture, for a while. But I know my parents would never let me do that. So I am very envious of him.

I am happy for him, trust me. I think this is a very good experience for him. But... I know I will miss him ._. He may not think I will, but life just won't be the same without him. Although we didn't talk as often, and even though he was a complete and total ass to me sometimes (or most of the time) I still really enjoyed his company, and we have become pretty close over the past couple of months. It's going to be weird trying to adjust not being able to communicate with him at all for 3 months...

It just makes me wonder. Will he be thinking about me at all and missing me? Will he forget about me by the time he comes back? I have had a similar experience before with another friend, and not communicating for a couple months pretty much tore our friendship apart... and I don't want that to happen again.

I wish him the best and I hope he gets to experience and find what he was looking for out there.

I guess... you never really realize how much someone means to you, until they're gone... :/

Something About The Rain...

There's just something about the rain... that just makes everything feel so right in the world. It makes all the pain, all the stresses and worries of life, all the negativity just go away. It fills me up with hope, and happiness. I feel so content with everything going on around me, and my life. I am in complete peace. It's just so tranquil... so peaceful... so beautiful.

Rain has to be my all time favorite weather. I don't know how quite to explain it. But I just feel as though I am in complete solitude during it. As I described to this one girl, it is my zen zone. It doesn't matter how bad of a mood I am in, or how terrible of a day I am having, because once it starts to rain... I just shed a smile. It can't be helped. Rain just has that effect on me.

This is also true for cloudy days. It's just so calming. This is just one reason I love the spring weather here. I love to just stare out the window, and watch it pour. Rainy weather is the perfect time for me to take a nap. To just lie on my bed, listening to the rain tap along my window. Being inside during a rainy day is the best, but being out in it is even better. I love the smell of rain, probably around the top of my list for smells that I enjoy. It's great to just go for a walk in. Rain for some reason, just helps me think clearer. I can gather my thoughts better, and say how I really feel. It just taps into my senses. It makes me feel like a little kid again. When I can go running across a field while it's pouring. Getting soaked while splashing in puddles. It just takes all my worries away. I feel so care-free.

I've always wanted to be out in the rain with someone else. It's on my list of romantic things to do. To go for a nice stroll in the rain, holding someones hand under an umbrella., keeping each other warm, watching it together, both in peace. And to, of course, kiss in it. It's pretty much a dream of mine to kiss in the rain. I know that's such a girly thing to imagine, but hey what can I say, I am a hopeless romantic ;)

Never Gonna Leave This Bed

Spring Break

Unlike most people on Spring Break, mine was pretty laid back. I didn't go on any vacations, nor really go out at all, but some things did happen so I thought I should re-cap (:

My Spring Break was mostly spent sleeping... and yet, I still didn't catch up on my sleep :[ I was very lazy most of it, probably because school just made me so exhausted!! However, it was really boring. So my plan for next year's Spring Break is to actually plan a nice vacation, maybe to the beach or something, just so I can relax and enjoy myself (: -makes a mental note-

Technology... even Finer?

Yes, here I am, once again thanking Technology for being awesome and improving my lifestyle. Though, this update will be pretty short (:

I recently got a 3DS! In fact, I got it on Sunday. It looks just as beautiful as the one in the picture to the right. It's AMAZING ohmygosh. It definitely exceeded all of my expectations I had about it. I thought it was going to be a joke (no offense Nintendo) because I didn't think it was possible to be 3-D without glasses. It made no sense to me. But boy was I wrong.

The Root of all Hatred...

Some of you guys may disagree with me on this, but after a long time of thinking, I have come to this conclusion, and I believe with 100% confidence that it is completely true. I believe that the root of all hatred... lies in jealousy.

Laugh all you want or think I am silly, but I have noticed that every single act of hatred can all be tied back to jealousy. Just think about it. Think about any hate or dislike you have toward some person or some thing, and I am sure you can consider it a form of jealousy in some shape or form.

I can use myself as an example for this. Nowadays I am a very happy person, and I don't have hate toward anyone (unless they are a criminal or terrorist or something of that sort). I truly believe everyone is beautiful and deserves to be loved and appreciated, despite their status quo or position in life. I made the mistake before of judging people, and yeah, I did make fun of some people. I was immature. But that's nothing compared to how people act today. I know kids, especially teenagers, tease or make fun of people almost on a daily basis. And it is all out of jealousy for the other person.

Technology at its Finest

Please don't think of me as a very tech savvy girl, nor a materialistic person. Because I am very far from either of those. However, I will say I deeply appreciate the technology we have today :)

A couple days ago, I ended up getting a new phone. My old phone was way beyond outdated, and I've had it for over a year now. And because I charged it so much, its battery life was just plain awful! It would go from full 4 bars of life, down to 0 and die only after 10 texts or so. Which made it very hard to try and text my parents or Amanda when I needed to at school :/

So I ended up investing in a new phone, and I also began a new project which I am very excited about :)!

Perfect To Me

Rest In Peaches

This post is a tad bit late, I have just been really busy with school lately and have not had the time to update! :( But this post is dedicated to our family's cat, Peaches, who recently passed away.

A Hopeless Romantic

The title pretty much sums it up! That is what I like to classify myself as. I love "love". The idea of love, being in love, everything about love. I just think it is just the most amazing thing in the world :) Just the idea of being able to share your life with someone, is amazing in itself.

I was in love once, so I know the feeling. And trust me, it is the most amazing emotion you could ever feel :) Nothing tops being in love with someone, and having them love you back just as much. Not all things work out though, but I do have my beliefs. Since I am a hopeless romantic, I believe all those cheesy lines. Love at first sight, knowing when someone is your soul mate, etc. I do believe I have a soul mate waiting for me in this world, maybe I have already met him, and maybe not. But I do believe this will be the year to change that. I have my hopes :)

Superbowl Sunday

So, as you all know, yesterday was the Superbowl :) I am not a huge sports fan at all, I mean hello, I'm a girl. We don't like sports D< However, the only time I do watch football is during the Superbowl!! But to be honest, it's not because I care about the teams. The only reason I watch it, is for the funny commercials that always play during the Superbowl :)

This time there were a bunch of funny ad's! Bud Light and Doritos never disappoint. Even Pepsi had some good ones. However, I think my favorite commercial would have to be this one car commercial. It was about a little kid who dressed up as Darth Vader trying to use the "force". You can see for yourself below ;) I already told myself that if I have a kid, he will be able to use the force fer sure.

Sleepless in Seattle

Oh, if only my life could end up as romantic as that movie! But no, no. This post has nothing to do with the movie. But it does have to do with Seattle!

I talked to my friend Clayton again the other day, and we got on the subject about my trip to Washington once more. So we talked about it, and he began to try and plan out some of it, so this is just a quick update on it! :)

Start Again

Survived Week One!

So this marks the end of my first week of school! :) I will admit, it seemed like it lasted FOREVER, but I am glad it is finally over. Now I can share my experiences with each of my classes. Ahem!

Smile (:

My two biggest philosophies in life are:

1. If you don't like something about your life, it is up to you to change it. No one else can do it for you, and just sitting there complaining about it or thinking about it won't solve anything. If you don't like it, stand up and change it for yourself. It is your life, and you have the ability to make it turn out any way you want it to.

2. Everything happens for a reason. Yes, I know this line is cliche, but I believe it is true. Whatever the outcome may be, even if it isn't in your favor, you have to know that it happened for a reason. It was meant to be, and you shouldn't let it bring you down. There is so much more meant for you in this life, and there are plans for you. Being partially religious, I believe God does have plan's for each and every one of us, and things will work themselves out. And even if you aren't religious, you still have to believe that things will be alright in the end. Don't reminisce or think back on the past all the time, because what happened, happened. And you can't change that. All you can do is sit back, and let life take its course, and see what it has in store for you. Just know that your time will come, and everything will work out in the end :)

The Sound of Summer

Who wouldn't recognize this iconic image? Well... not this image exactly, but the image it portrays! Which is, of course, Mickey Mouse :) That's right, this is where I will be this upcoming summer!! And I am SO excited, I just can't wait :D

Disneyland is by far, my most favorite place on Earth. I turn into a complete little kid every time I visit there (which probably isn't saying much... since I already act a bit childish now). My family used to go there every year, back when I lived in California. Since our move, we barely find time to go. And it has been a couple of years since our last visit. My dad is always so busy with work and what not, we barely have time for family vacations or family time :( But thankfully, my dad has decided to take two weeks off from work, in order for us to all hang out together and go on a road trip :D

A New Year. A New Life.

So it's a new year, and I would like to make this the greatest year of my life yet :) It's time for me to start over, move on, and embrace all the opportunities ahead of me.

My first step in starting fresh, is by starting a blog about my life! I have always wanted to keep a diary of my life, but at the moment, I do not have a journal to keep one in. And I think an online blog is a great way to post about the going-on's in my life. I already have a blog, but it ended up being more of a place I would go to, in order to rant about the happenings of my life. Which is not what I want at all!! :(

I am hoping to use this blog to post updates and write about the amazing events that unfold in my life :) I really want a place I can go to, and look back on all the things I have been through. So I can recall all the happenings I have gone through, that create this life of mine. And just a place I can spill a few thoughts.