Shanwow.

This thing went around on Instagram, like, a month ago, where if you got tagged you had to post a picture of yourself along with five facts that your followers might not know about you. So I thought I would expand this to my blog and let you guys learn a little more about me! I'll even include five bonus facts just for you. You should feel so special.

Pic of yours truly!

1. I lived in South Carolina for 5 years. I always tell people I'm from there but really I just lived there in elementary school and one year of middle school. It was a great time and I miss it!
2. My favorite movie is Star Trek (the new one). You probably already knew that because I'm literally obsessed with it. I can't even tell you how pumped I am for the new one coming out in May!
3. I speak French! Kind of! You know this from all my whining about my French classes.
4. If I could afford to eat sushi for every meal I probably would. I love sushi. But I'm also a little picky about what sushi. Like tempura sushi is a no-go.
5. I don't grow hair in my armpits. (Laser hair removal is heaven!) TMI? Maybe. But for real, if you have the chance to get it, do it.
6. I'm obsessed with zombies. It started with The Walking Dead and has since progressed to Zombieland, Warm Bodies, Left 4 Dead, zombie 5Ks, zombie themed haunted houses, and this game called Zombies, Run! that simulates zombies chasing you when you go running. I think I might have a problem. Don't underestimate me when the apocalypse actually happens though cause I know everything.
7. Things that I do to de-stress include: running, painting, writing in this blog, running, playing guitar, going for a drive, and more running. Nothing helps you work out frustration more than running.
8. The first song I ever learned to play on guitar was "Teardrops on my Guitar" by the lyrical genius herself, Taylor Swift. The second was "Hey There Delilah." Ninth grade me had some real quality music taste (not).
9. I have a reputation for being able to eat a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean like a "whole pizza by myself, plus an appetizer and dessert" lot. Super attractive I know.
10. Probably the best day of my life thus far was the day I got to swim with dolphins. It will remain this way until the day I get to play with and/or ride an elephant.

Shout out to Insta for giving me yet another blogging idea for when my life is boring! Lates.

Things I miss.

Warm nights. Drive-in movies. Baguette tuna sandwiches. Watching Lost on the floor in a blanket fort. Caving for the first time. The Lion King in 3D. Playing guitar at the park. Improv shows. Lighthouses. Poison ivy. Screened-in porches. VCRs. Lockers. Swim team. Sledding on cookie sheets. American Girl dolls. Sunday nights in the dorms. Catching tadpoles. Neighborhood-wide yard sale day. Volleyball class. Field trips.

The tree of life. Making videos. Choreographing dances. Service projects. Special needs mutual. Babysitting. Sneaking out to the lake at camp. Dashboard Confessional. Stargazing on golf courses. Playing Uno on road trips. Computer games. Fantasy novels. Ice skating. The neighbors' trampolines. Wallpaper. Power outages. Blonde hair and tan skin. Playing the clarinet. Friendly competition. Innocence. Imagination.

Hair constantly in a ponytail. Co-ed soccer games. Prank wars. Hide-and-seek and sardines. Riding bikes all summer. The bridge made out of padlocks. Country music. Trunk or treat. Pool parties. The Nook. Saturday mornings spent playing tennis. Sleepovers. Making pajama pants. That's So Raven. Running alongside the Mediterranean. Simple friendships. Yearbooks. Roadtrips to Las Vegas. Snorkeling. Family parties. Late night phone calls. This one boy.

Halcyon.

Halcyon (adj.): calm, peaceful, tranquil; prosperous; carefree.

Also known as the title of Ellie Goulding's most recent album. And a pretty good word to describe my weekend and life in general. I'll tell you why:

Friday:
There was a leadership weekend this week, and since I'm an ambassador I signed up to be a Personal Development Group leader. This meant that I got my own group of nine kids to party with for 24 hours and teach them about being leaders. I started at noon on Friday and was basically with them nonstop until midnight, and then from 8 am to noon the next day. We played games, watched gymnastics, built contraptions, had dance parties, tried to win candy, and talked a lot (mostly about how to not get bucked off a wild bareback horse, because I was very interested). It was sweet.

My PD group!

My best PC friends were here as well!

Saturday: 
Finished up with the leadership weekend and then hopped in the car with Tommy to make the drive to Salt Lake. By the time we got there, it was t-minus 4 hours until the concert I have been looking forward to for, um, my entire life: Ellie Goulding. Then, suddenly we were there and it was t-minus 30 minutes. And then this awesome opening act was playing, St. Lucia (check them out here, they're way good!) and then they were gone and we were all screaming "ELLIE!" and then oh my gosh she was there and she was singing and it sounded just like on her album and I think I was crying on the inside because I was so happy. Seriously, if you are not an Ellie Goulding fan, go listen to her music now. Not only is she incredibly talented and unique as an artist, she is equally as charming and down to earth as a person. I'm obsessed with her and could go on forever but I'll stop now.

Sunday:
Unfortunately the concert of a lifetime was over all too soon, so we woke up early and drove back to Cedar in time for church. Then, of course, was the Superbowl, where I think I ate my weight in ribs, peanut butter rice krispie treats, and chips and dip, while simultaneously fangirling over Beyonce with Marissa, Tommy, and Shaun and making some really hilarious jokes about power outages and babies that probably should never be repeated. I don't have pictures of this portion... sorry.

So, all in all, a pretty halcyon weekend. I don't know if that's how you use that word in a sentence but it sounds cool to me! In the words of Ellie, "This is a really beautiful place, so thumbs up to that!"