Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow and I am super excited! I am definitely looking forward to the big feast!! :) haha...But for reals...

The real reason as to why I'm so excited for this day tomorrow, isn't because of the food, but because after this day, I'll be able to jam to Christmas music without being questioned by others! :) I start listening to Christmas music in October because it just feels like Christmas is already here... Or maybe that's just me, but still. Whenever I play Christmas music before Halloween and Thanksgiving, people/friends tend to give me weird looks along with questions like,"Why are you listening to Christmas music already? It's not even December!" haha... It's a little strange, I guess, but I have always been like this. In my opinion, Christmas is the best! haha. Hands down! I love getting done with Thanksgiving and pulling out the decorations for Christmas! haha.

So basically, what I'm saying is... I love Thanksgiving, don't get me wrong, but I just love getting it over with so that I can finally jump into the Christmas season "legally." Hahaha... I don't know if that makes any sense at all, but it's said. :)

I am truly grateful for so many things in my life, it's impossible to name them all in this blog! But a few things I am grateful for would definitely be my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ! I am so thankful for being a part of His true Gospel! I am very humbled to know that He loves me so much to bless me with a family that I wouldn't trade for anything! My parents who have taught and raise me right... I love them so much! I am so grateful for my younger siblings who teach me things everyday! I love my friends and the support they give me. I am so very grateful for the hardships I've faced because I am a much stronger person now.... Gah! There are just so many things to be grateful for!

Overall, I'm just very thankful for everything! I know I've taken things for granted, but I am so blessed for all that I have!! :)

Know Your Worth!

I was just YouTubing ... ha. Is that how you say it? Anyway, I was on YouTube and came across this music video by Keri Hilson. It's the first time I've heard the song and I absolutely love it! It's called "Pretty Girl Rock."

Why I love it? Well, because! The lyrics are positive! I'm not exactly sure how she meant for this song to be defined, but to me, it's saying that you need to be confident with who you are, inside and out! You need to be comfortable in your own skin! Own it! :) You need to believe in yourself and just strut your stuff! There really is nothing more beautiful than a woman (or man) who knows her (his) individual worth! This song is powerful in meaning! I love it. We all are beautiful in our own ways. Some of us haven't recognized our true beauty and others have just forgotten. This is a short little blog, but it was something on my mind and I felt like sharing! Go out there and be yourself! Be someone who believes in themselves. Be the one to follow your dreams and accomplish your goals! Keep your standards held high and never settle for anything less! You know who you are and what you stand for, so go get 'em!

Be beautiful!

GOOD LUCK ELDER WILLIAM LEE PENNINGTON!

I said goodbye to my best friend, William Lee Pennington Sunday night! He left for the MTC Monday morning at about 5am. He will be there for about three weeks, then going to serve his mission in the Texas Lubbock Mission! :) I am proud of him!! I just know he will do great and marvelous things! I just finished writing him a letter! haha. I think I'll send it tomorrow! :) Gah... It's so weird without him here!! But I just know he's doing the right thing and I cannot wait to hear back from him soon! :) There are so many things I'm going to miss! The thing I'll probably miss most is hearing his most annoying phrase he always says,"What's up? What's up? Your mom hot too?" He said that all the time and it annoyed the crap out of me, but I'm going to miss it! Two years... Seems like a long time, but I'm sure he'll be home before I know it! :) Best friend, I wish you the best with everything!! Hahaha... This is my best friend. He's silly, goofy, smart, and has one of the greatest personalities. He's not perfect, but he does his best to do what he can to make people who are important to him, happy. I look up to this guy! He has taught me so much!! We've been through a lot together and I'm definitely going to miss him! Elder Pennington, I can't wait to see you when you get back! :) I love you! Good luck!

I hate saying goodbye!

Driving down to Portland seemed like forever! Today was the longest day I have ever remembered having! It's ridiculous! My cousin, Taylor Ray, was called to serve in the Kingston, Jamaica Mission! Today was his farewell and it was definitely good seeing him making the right decisions with great faith in the Lord! I'm going to miss him so much! :) But I'm so proud of him and glad he has chosen to serve the Lord for two years! Today was also the day we took P.J. back to the airport!! I had the toughest time holding back those tears that I finally just gave up and they came pouring out like crazy! I absolutely HATE saying goodbyes... especially when my brother has been away from home for about three or four months and only came for a weekend! I am so proud of my brother. He's no longer a boy... He's a man! It's so weird! hahaha. I love him so much and even though I only saw him for such a short time, it was better than nothing. We were just waiting and having our last minutes with P.J. Seeing him go through the lines in the airport... and seeing him get closer and closer to the plane... and further from us... Gah! I couldn't take it! I bawled my eyes out! Everyone in the airport kept staring and I just felt totally uncomfortable. hahaha... One guy walked past me with a big smile on his face, saying,"Wow! I love the purple in your hair!! It's my favorite co-" He stopped and looked at me. When he saw that I was crying, he slowly trailed off with his words and continued walking a little slower than before... Hahaha. I felt so bad... :/ But it's funny now that I think of it. :p Well, the family said their goodbyes and of course, us women cried like no other! hahahaha. Billy Joe was like,"Oh, my gosh... You guys are crying?! You guys ALWAYS cry!" haha. That little brother of mine is so ignorant. :p ... The saddest part to me was when P.J. started crying!! :( Awwww... I cried even more! I love my family so much! I will miss them when I leave for college December! Here are a few quick snapshots before departing: (wish they were bigger, but I didn't take them, therefore, I can't really do anything about it). haha. <3

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRO-NIG!

Happy Birthday, PJ! I miss you bro!! I wish we could have celebrated your birthday together! But I hope you had a great one! :) Can't believe you've reached the BIG 1-8! I love you!!! I was looking through some old stuff, trying to find a good picture of you, and stumbled across your auction note from the 'MR. T' thing... Wasn't it where people bid on you and whoever bid the highest got a date with you? Where did the money go? ... Oh! Towards the class you were in, right? haha... Anyway, I found your sale's pitch:

"He has brown, luscious skin. His face is brown, his arms are brown, his legs are brown, and well, he's just brown. He has the booty of Beyonce - BAM! He has the legs of an ox, but not just any ox... a SEXY ox! He has the arms of Zeus, the hair of a goddess, and the touch of a professional massage therapist. He loves long subtle moments in the hot tub. You won't find any deal like this in History. Buy him now and we'll throw in the clothes he has on. Personal warnings: He might bite and he is infected with Brown Syndrome!"

Hahaha... Do you remember that? Oh, the memories...

Here's your birthday video! I hope you enjoy... LOVE YOU!

Scarves!

I absolutely love these things! haha... They're just cute and warm and soft and I love 'em! :) Yesterday, Leticia bought me two of them and I just love them! haha... Anyway, I promised a picture of them, so here you are: Aren't they adorable?! ... I KNOW! haha... I would totally flaunt one right now, but the sun's out and it's warm. :) So... maybe tomorrow. haha. Yesterday, when we went shopping, I wanted to wear one of them, but they didn't really match the shirt I was wearing. The scarf had a tint of green in it... If it had blue, it would be perfect! hahaha... Too bad. :/ ha. Here's a picture that kinda shows the top I was wearing: Oh, and here's me at work this morning! hahaha... I look stoked to be up early and working: Hahaha... I had just woken up and kinda slipped on a sweatshirt and was out the door... I was very tired. :p But it's all good. haha. Maybe I should get to bed a little earlier. haha... Jeez, anyway, I'm gonna wrap this up and make another post. hahaha... Weird, right? I know.

Talk about long day!

Leticia and I went shopping together! :) We had a blast!! We went to the Tacoma Mall and had lunch together and bought a few things. I've been trying to save money, but with Leticia, it's a little hard. haha. She likes to spend -My best friend, and we have major differences, but at the same time, we're so much alike. It's the weirdest thing! I love her though! :) Leticia knows how much I love scarves! haha... Which is why she made us stop at those little booths/shops in the middle of the floor at the mall... You know what I'm talking about? Well, at one of the little booths, there were scarves of all kind! They were really soft, too! haha... Trust me! :) Anyway, I was like,"No... I'm not gonna get anything." Leticia saw me eying this brown plaid scarf and grabbed it saying,"We'll take 'em!" That girl... Jeez. haha. So, she bought me a brought scarf and this adorable cream-colored scarf with checkers of different colors. :) It's cute! Anyway, yeah... I'll see if I can get a picture of those tomorrow. haha. I'm bad about fitting pictures with posts and so on... haha. Okay, well, just wanted to let you know that I had a great, long day filled with fun and laughter, thanks to my best friend, Leticia! :) Love you, girl! And thanks for a great time! :)

Phase 10!

Last one for the night... I just played Phase 10 for the first time and loved it! If anyone has ever played it, you know how exciting it is! :) If you haven't played it, I highly recommend it!!! Most definitely! I'm sure you'll love it!

I know, I know...

I've already "blogged" today, but I was looking through some of the pictures that I have on my phone and found these! I totally forgot about them! Haha... Here, we have a picture of my BROWN sweatshirt that I got from Seaside! :) Haha. If you don't get where the phrase is from, it's a song. Have you ever been to Taco Bell and ordered their Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes?! They are delicious! Haha... Back in the day, like four months ago, we had a missionary named Elder Cracroft who was playing with the jar of candy after dinner... And he made this wink/smiley face! haha. I wanted to set it as my wallpaper in my phone, so I took a picture! It's been so long and I totally forgot I even had it! Jeez... But here it is: Remember that brown sweatshirt up there? Well, the day I went to Seaside, was also the day I drew this palm tree in the sand! :) Leticia and William and I, all went to the beach to celebrate my best friend's 20th birthday! :) Leticia turned the big 2-0! That's just crazy to me! Anyway, here's a picture of my masterpiece: I turned 19! :) My Uncle Bill and my dad made me this cake! :) Hahaha. I couldn't cut into it because I loved the cake decorations!! But I eventually did:

I'm getting sick and tired...

... of wood! Building deck after deck and then pulling them apart to add even more to it... Jeez. Not my favorite thing to do! haha... Not one bit, but guess what? We finished TODAY! It's finally completed and cleaned out and everything... Here are some pictures: This was the deck when we THOUGHT we were finished: The homeowner came home from work and decided,"Hmm, you know what? I'd like a deck to go all the way around the front of the house. Can you have it done in a week?" My dad told him two full days... Well, I didn't think it would happen, but we pulled it off... Wasn't easy. So here it is, being connected to the other part of the deck we built: Well, we weren't stopping there! No... We now needed to put in a ramp. So, here's a picture of dad laying down the foundation of the ramp: And here's the ramp completed: Haha... I just realized I kinda took quite a few pictures... haha. Here's one of the view from the far right side of the deck: Billy Joe didn't have school today, so we brought him to work with us! haha. He kinda helped... Anyway, here's a picture of the far right side of the deck: Here are the other set of stairs: This was the deck in the back of the house that we did a few days ago... I think the guy is wanting my dad to do some concrete steps with a brick-design... I think it would look better than this wooden deck: Here are pictures of the whole thing, COMPLETED: Oh! In this last picture, the deck is on the right side, and on the left, you can see the foundation my dad laid underneath the house... I watched and helped him do some of it and it's hard work! Jeez... That's seriously some tough work! Anyway, here are those pictures I promised! haha... Gosh, the first picture was just of a double deck... and it turned into a whole wraparound thing with a ramp! Are you kidding me?! haha... Never again! I almost forgot! I made a new friend! :) This is Shadow: She has the coolest eyes! She's a silly dog who loves food! haha... She also loves to run after people... No joke, ask my little brother!

Oh...

Haha, my bad! I totally forgot to get those pictures, but it's all good 'cause I'm going back tomorrow to finalize everything and I'll definitely remember to get those pictures! Sorry... Haha.. My bad. Anyway, we finished the ramp today and finished putting up the railing of the long part of the deck. Jeez, talk about hard work! My big toe hurts! My brother didn't have school today because the pipe broke or something... Well, he came to work with my dad and I to help, but guess what? He was moaning and groaning about every little thing my dad, or I, asked him! Can you believe that? Jeez... Okay, so he was helping me space each little two-by-two pieces of wood on the railing - basically, make sure things were even-spaced and whatnot. Well, his job was to hold the four-by-four in between each two-by-two, while I nailed them to the top of the railing... WELL, Mr. "Throw-A-Fit-About-Everything" was too busy throwing a fit, that he didn't even bother to catch the four-by-four as it came crashing onto my big toe with its corner! Now, I don't know if that made any sense, but it was painful, k? Haha. Not pleasant at all... Ha... Well, pictures tomorrow. What is tomorrow? Thursday? Well, Thursday, there's Institute, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna go. We'll see... Maybe I'll just get off work early and help my mom with dinner! :) Friday, I'm not sure what I've got planned... I'm thinking my family should do a bowling night or something fun like that! :) haha. Yeah... Sounds good to me... Let's see... Saturday? I have a wedding to go to - My friend, Lara, is getting married! :) Awww! haha. I'll see if I can get a picture or two or that! :) And... I have Turkey Bowl later that day also... How weird, huh? TURKEY BOWL IN OCTOBER? hahaha. Yeah, that's right! Winlock's weird like that... haha. Well, the main reason is because William is leaving for the MTC on November 17, which means we won't be able to have a Turkey Bowl with him here, so we've moved it up a whole month. haha. Awesome! :) Okay, well... Sorry it's all over the place with thoughts and whatever else. haha. I'm just really tired and kinda wanting ice cream. I love eating Mint N' Chip ice cream in a normal cone because by the time you get to the bottom, the ice cream is all settled in and it's just delicious! :) My favorite part of the cone is the very bottom where it's like checkered..? Haha. You know what I'm talking 'bout! :) Oh! And speaking of ice cream... Has anyone ever been to a Rite Aid? Does your Rite Aid have ice cream in it?! If so, lucky! haha. My Rite Aids here in Washington, suck, mainly because they don't have awesome ice cream! hahaha... That's one of my greatest memories of California childhood. :) My family and I would always go grab some Thrifty Ice Cream from Rite Aid! ... Delicious! haha...

I love...

DAVID ARCHULETA! Gah, that guy is beautiful in my eyes! I just wish I could sing a duet with him! That's all I want! haha... Well, I have another "want," but it's a secret! Basically, if I could sing with David Archuleta, I would definitely be content! hahaha... Jeez! I got his new album TODAY! :) I am super stoked... I'm half way through the CD and I absolutely love it! His voice has definitely improved and the sounds are more bolder! I can hear his voice clearer and ... it's nice. :) hahaha. So far, my favorite song is the last one... "My Kind of Perfect." I haven't listened to it, but I can just tell by the title! haha... I'm going to listen to it now... *3 minutes and 37 seconds later* OMGosh... I love the song! :) I really do! Wow... Here are the lyrics:

I was thinking about ya I drew a little picture But some things you can't put on paper Like ya like shooting stars Or write songs on guitar Got more things to do than stare at a mirror And I know, I know She's gotta be out there, out there I know, I know, she's gotta be Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm right Maybe I just let you walk by What can I say Maybe I've known you all my life Is she the one, is it today Will I turn the corner, see my future In a beautiful face Maybe She's anything, but typical A sweet surprise No matter what, she's looking at the bright side It's gonna be worth it Cos that's what love is I'll keep searching for my kind of perfect And I know, I know, She's gotta be out there, out there I know, I know, she's gotta be Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm right Maybe I just let you walk by What can I say Maybe I've known you all my life Is she the one, is it today Will I turn the corner, see my future In a beautiful face Maybe They say, give it time, Give it time and it will fall in line But I, keep wondering how and when and why I haven't met you But maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm right Is she the one, is it today Will I turn the corner, see my future in a beautiful face Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm right Maybe I just let you walk by What can I say, maybe I've known you all my life Is she the one, is it today Will I turn the corner, see my future In a beautiful face Maybe Ohhhh, maybe, yeah. I'll keep searching for my kind of perfect.

I love, love, love it! haha. It's simple, but cute. :) Anyway, I've been working with my dad for three weeks now and it's seriously super hard! I've been building deck after deck... I thought I was done, but then the homeowner came outside and said he wanted a wraparound porch/deck thing... So I had to tear out my amazing deck and re-build. It was so not cool! haha... But it's okay. :) New experiences... It's still teaching me to be strong and keeping my mind fit. It's hard, but it'll pay off. I'll try getting pictures and putting them up... Oh! That reminds me... I still haven't put up any pictures of the new hair, huh? haha... Wow... Oops, my bad! I'm kinda bad at taking pictures... :/ Besides, I just get up and go to work. I don't dress to impress anyway, so... hahaha. Jeez, I'll try to get better though! :) Well, I better get to bed. Work is early in the morning!

Another day of...

... WORK! Oh, my gosh! Okay, so let me break it down for you! I woke up at 6:45am. Laid in bed for about 15 minutes. Got up and ate a bowl of cereal, and that took up 5-10 minutes. Brushed my teeth and washed my face... That took about 10 minutes. Got dressed for work and I was ready to go! So... By 7:30, I was out of the house and ready to sweat and show off my muscles! hahaha... Yeah, I was ready. Well, got to the work site and really just didn't wanna do anything. But I sucked it up and helped my dad build two decks. Hahaha. It was a lot of fun actually. :) I learned out to use the miter saw and I cut the wood and measured everything just right... I even used the staple gun to nail everything together. It was so fun! :) I felt powerful... The only thing I disliked about the saw was the fact that the wind kept blowing all the sawdust into my face, hair, and eyes! I hated it. haha. But other than that, I was amazing! :) Here's a picture of the beast: Basically, today was a good day! :) I worked hard and it paid off! But my poor dad! Oh, my goodness! He was putting the deck railing together and there was a knot in the wood... He wasn't thinking, or something and ended up shooting a nail through a piece of wood that connected to the wood with the knot. His thumb was resting on the knot... Guess what happened? The nail bent and went up through his thumb and hit his thumb nail! :/ It was sad and disgusting at the same time! :( Poor dad... He's fine now though. haha. He was fine five minutes after it happened... He just kept working and everything. If it were me, I'd be crying like, hardcore! Haha... Well, Victoria's making dinner: burritos! haha... I'm just wanting to crash into my bed and have good dreams. :) haha. Oh! Last night, I dyed my hair from red, back to my natural black/brown hair color. :) I don't have any pictures... yet, but I will get some up tomorrow maybe. Haha... Okay, dinner time! :) *stretch* Ow, my arms... :/ haha.

I am terrible...

with this blogging thing. I honestly haven't made time for it. :/ Jeez, I'm going to try to get better though. I actually was just talking with a friend yesterday or two days ago about vlogging. It's kinda like blogging, but with video. I think I'm much better with that because it's a lot quicker. haha... Lately, I've been working with my dad. What he does is a bunch of different types of construction. Brick work, tile work, anything to do with houses. He raises and builds and puts foundation underneath houses, especially in the flooded areas. It's hard work, takes time, and I'm so sore because of it... It kinda sounds like I'm complaining, but truthfully, I enjoy it! :) Sure, it's hard work, but it's teaching my mind to stay strong and it's teaching my body to stay strong... It's weird, but that's how I feel about it. It does take a lot of time! Oh, my gosh! But the feeling you get after accomplishing and overcoming the hard and time-consuming work, is amazing! :) It really is rewarding. And of course, while doing all this tough work, you become physically fit. :) Haha. It's nice... Hard work, but nice. I've only been working with my dad for two weeks now and I've learned quite a bit from working with him. My mind has become more aware and stronger. My body has also become harder and stronger. The way I think and go about things is smarter and wiser. It's really paying off... And speaking of "pay," I get paid. haha. It's nice... I only decided a few weeks ago to work with my dad, mainly because I'm going to college in December and I'm kinda needing MULAH! Hahaha... I'm planning on leaving December 12th! I can't believe it's before Christmas, but you gotta do what you gotta do. This will be my first Christmas away from home. :( But that's okay. :) Haha. Thank goodness for Skype! Skype is pretty amazing! You can chat, talk (like on phone), and video chat (face-to-face through computer screen) with whoever. It's pretty awesome! :) I'm gonna try to get my parents a Skype account so it won't feel like I'm too far from home. :) It should be fine... My first Christmas alone won't be LONELY, I'll have my best friend there with me! :) Leticia and I are rooming together. :) And we're definitely excited! haha. We've only known each other for a year, but it seems like we've always known each other. We just "click!" So... Leticia and I are driving down to Utah in December and I'm not sure how the weather is going to be, but I'm sure things will work out. :) Snow College, here we come! haha. I'm going to try my hardest to keep up with this blogging thing... And hopefully I stick with it. I might slack off when December comes because I think I'll switch to vlogging instead. Or... maybe I can just do both! :) Vlog, post to YouTube, embed it onto here and you know, blog also... Hmmm... Sounds like a plan to me! :) Haha. I just have to get into the hang of putting pictures up of events and whatnot... We'll see how things go. haha. GAH! I'm starving... I haven't had breakfast yet. haha... Well, I hope whoever is reading this, is having a fabulous day! :) Washington's weather is looking pretty nice for Washington. haha. :)