I'm grateful for lots of things,

although tonight homework is certainly not one of them. And by tonight I mean this morning. Ew. But on the bright side, "Muffins at exactly 3:47 in the morning makes everything better." Even though I was seriously tempted to discard the included streusel and make my own so I could feel like I legitimately made them instead of just plopping a couple of eggs into a mix and calling it good.

Back to being Thankful, I realize it's entirely cliche, but to be frank my dears I just need the break from homework. There's honestly something about being creative and doing something that has no grading rubric that is quite dazzling to me.

I just finished reading my cousin Angie's blog, my roommate Karlee's blog, and my friend Lynae's blog.

Angie, Happy birthday to my beautiful cousin! That husband of yours is a keeper. I giggled at the surprise gifts and you doing whatever it was right to earn them. :p What a creative guy!

Karlee, oh you silly girl you. :D Whatever would I do without you? I giggled profusely at your post. Which is nothing out of the ordinary. I wish I was clever like that girl. Seriously folks, you've gotta read her blog because it's quite inspiring when it comes to quick wit. :)

Lynae, you my dear are what inspired the title of this post. And the soon to be listed things of my gratefulness. I loved your post! You're such a sweetie and I miss talking to you! Just so you know.

Now that I've sufficiently paid tribute to the awesome girls of whom I just spoke of...

I'm so grateful for my roommates. They're each so different and so fun to be around! All of them have something to contribute to our home and I'm glad that we're all friends and examples to each other.
Sami is the one who's literally always smiling. Except for maybe once but that was because she was doing one out of a badrillion hours of homework and was stuck on a problem. She's so dedicated to her studies, but still manages to have fun! And she always laughs, which is so contagious that even if you're having the worst day in your life you can't help but giggle with her.
Tori is one strong girl. She's really good at balancing everything because she gets schoolwork done, has time to do things she wants to do, plays with us roommates, and dates like a madwoman! She's kinda funny to share a bathroom with because she's always got to look nice. :) She fixed her hair and makeup once to go hot tubbing I think. (And even if she didn't, it's so something she'd at least consider. She always looks so cute!) Tor is who she is and for the most part doesn't really worry about what anyone else thinks. She's our FHE mom, and so sometimes she acts like our mom. Which is sort of fun on occasion. Oh. And she's also the poof master. ("It's called Delta." ;) Haha)
Alisha is the athletic, gorgeous, confident one. She's got guys swarming I tell you. Ya know the ice cream rule? She was the first to buy. :p Lish brought us to her home on Sunday for dinner and she's got the sweetest family. Her dad told us all that if we ever needed anything- day or night- we could call him and he'd help us out. (We all got pretty teary over that one missing our own daddys.) On the ride home- which was fast and furious as usual- she told us stories about her dad. She loves her family and her friends but doesn't let anyone tell her who to be. She's got her own opinions and personality and no one sways her.
Jill is the protective spastic one. I absolutely love her to death and her post-it pictures and notes at wee hours of the morning. She's got her own opinions too (I just realized my apartment is full of strong personalities. Haha it's quite exciting.) Jill is fiercely loyal to those she loves and has this quiet side that you can see just below the surface sometimes when she's got something on her mind. Jill is also the most legit car dancer I've ever seen in my life, and she's got a super cute giggle... which is hilarious when she's on one and collapses on the floor in giggles. :D
Karlee is the freakin supermodel tall skinny girl who marches to the beat of her own drum. She's got one of the most unique personalities ever, and her sense of humor keeps things hopping around here. :) She does lots of hand dances when she sings along with the music and she's the one who usually understands best what I'm trying to say. I love our silly chats! Also, she's got an addiction to eyeshadow- sorta like I do. It's just the funnest stuff! Ask her about it, she'll tell ya! :p
That's everyone... oh. Except for me.
I like to think I'm the cute sweet domestic one, but I'm guessing I'm more of the dramatic influence... which has sorta been my niche forever I think. (Right dad? :p)
We actually get along pretty well compared to all the horror stories and other apartment drama I hear about. That's probably something to be seriously grateful for, because living in a six girl apartment is like estrogen overload. It's bound to get ugly every once in a while. But our 'uglies' are more like 'not the best hair days'. :)

I'm also grateful for technology. And by that I mean cell phones. Ever since Alfred's fatal swim I've realized how much I miss calling my mother to visit or talking out on the balcony to my buddy, My dad. Tonight I borrowed Sam's phone to call my sisters for a Human Development assignment, and it was so much fun to visit with all four of them. They've got such individual personalities... I love them so much! I can't wait for our catching up time over Thanksgiving break. :D (P.S, speaking of personalities, this picture sort of captures them perfectly... sorry Er, you're the photographer in this one. I'll look for a personality one of you.)




I'm grateful for my mom and all the sacrifices she's made my whole life to teach me everything that she has. I remember playing with food colored water and a kitchen set blender on the counter while she did other things around the Kitchen. I made more mess than "experiment", but she let me have hands on experiences like that all the time! I remember lots of times cooking with her when I was little, and hours of stories being read to me. I remember her playing with us, and helping us clean our room when we were too little to stay focused long enough to get it done. :p My mom is amazing. And sitting here looking at the muffins in one of her old muffin tins makes me want to just give her a big hug! (So mom, here's your not quite as good as it should be, Internet hug: *HUG!*)

I'm grateful for the example my dad's set for me my whole life. He's always been such a hard worker, and so patient with his girls. We have pictures of this little mushroom haired girl sitting by the old blue truck while dad fixed it. (Yeah. That was me. The mushroom hair was adorable I'm sure.) He let us tag along for pretty much everything. When I went through my phase of, "(GASP!) What if my parents ever got divorced?? Who would I pick??" I usually figured I'd better go with dad and help him out. :p You see? I'm sure us little 'hooligans' were more of a hindrance than anything, but he somehow made us feel like we were his right hand men. Figuratively speaking of course. Seeing how we're not men. :)
I'm grateful for his visible, but not shown off, testimony of everything in the gospel. Being the seminary teacher made that more prominent to us I think, and I'm glad for that. My dad is so good with people, and so good at speaking. He's constantly doing missionary work, just by the way he lives and treats people. He makes everyone feel important, and like a good friend.

I'm so grateful for my extended family too. I never fully realized how blessed I am to have such great families on both sides. I just always assumed that's how it was for everyone, but as I've grown older I've discovered that such is not the case all the time, which is truly sad. I don't know what I'd do without all the examples and prayers and heroes I have in my family. We're so lucky to be as close as we are, in where we live, and relationship wise. I love my family so much!

Also, I'm grateful for the experiences life brings. Not all of them are hunky dory, of course- but that's what makes me so grateful. I've come to know my Savior even more personally than I did before, and I've learned that even when I feel completely alone, Heavenly Father and Christ's love for me is so overwhelming that I can't help but feel at peace. The most incredible part of that is the overwhelming loved feeling usually comes at times when I feel like I should be feeling an absence of love. When I'm slacking in my school work, or when I'm feeling ornery and snap at those I love. When I stumble and make mistakes- they always love me more than I can even comprehend, and that's beautiful to me.

I'm thankful for music. I've always really loved it, but I'm starting to find new tastes and discovering my love for that medium of art even more. I love the power it holds, how it speaks emotions that words can't. Its' the song of my heart, and I love to just revel in it's wonder. There's always music playing at my apartment. Sometimes it's quiet church music, sometimes it's crazy dance party music, and sometimes it's country- which I love that my roommates love! Music is what sets the tone in our home here at Snow College, and I'm grateful that we've got it down pretty good.

And now, at a quarter to five, I'm grateful for eyelids. I'm about to visit the depths and insides of mine. :p Good morning to all... I'm goin to bed.