Cars n stuff

This weekend was strictly business.

For the past month, every time we push on the brakes when we're going slow, the car sounds like we're dragging half of the bottom of the car on the ground. (and when I say "we," I mean "Jason," because I basically never drive except twice a month when we pretty much pretend I have my drivers permit again and let me drive to refresh my memory so that someday when we have two cars, I don't kill myself or somebody else with my lack of driving practice. I like it.)

Anyhow, we took the car in and it was going to be a lotta money for them to replace the brake pads and the rotors. Yayyyy for broken cars!

And yayyyy for Jason, because he studied up on YouTube and googled a lot of stuff and decided he was going to buy some brake pads and rotors and do it himself!

And he did!!

My job was basically the tool girl/sit-on-the-soccer-ball-er/water-getter/cheerer-onner/chocolate-milkshake-drinker. So that was nice. I was so proud of him for figuring it out all on his own and saving us a bunch of money!! 

It kinda feels like this week is going to be really long. It feels that way because it's 11:00 and I've been at work for only two hours in real time, but I feel like I have been at work for about twelve hours. Hooray.

the good, the bad, and the ugly

thanksgiving weekend, it would appear, is officially over. i almost had an anxiety attack yesterday when i was told the last day of classes is next week. say whaaaa?!!

anyhow, thanksgiving was fantastic. i wish i had pictures to show for it, but surprise! i don't. all i have is this picture i took at church of four old men who were best friends. so cute.

so not cute enough to be the only picture from the weekend.

bri and i spent the weekend at cristina's, watching some shows, playing with bentley, eating d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s. cristina-food (i swear she is the best), and sleeping in til ten. (TEN?! can't even remember the last time i've slept that late. it felt so good..) oh, and bringing bentley on walks which turn into carries when he sits his little bum down and absolutely refuses to move, oh, about three houses down.

we ended the weekend with a four hour game of phase 10. not an exaggeration. eight to midnight, one round, 700 rounds. i broke 1000 points. dan won with 450. the most ridiculous game of phase 10 in my life.

anyhow, i'm about done with thankfulness lists in the blog world.. so much so that i realized on thanksgiving that i was so thanksgiving-ed out from blogs and pinterest that i hadn't even thought about what i am grateful for. so here's a brief list:
- my parents - living close to my sisters - Heavenly Father - a job that i love - a sharp decrease in stomachaches - a boyfriend who treats me so well - good grades - general conference talks - christmas -

this is going to be one of those posts that is nothing and everything all at once.

it's been an interesting week, a week with a lot of changes and a lot of emotions. i think i expected our new apartment to change my life, and although i really love it, i'm still just the same amy, with the same challenges and the same weaknesses. that's been embarrassingly surprising. i've been feeling like i'm being pulled a lot of different directions, and i've had a hard time not stretching myself too thin. it's led to a lot of frustration and anger and impatience and unhappiness.

brianna moved into her dorm this week, so mom spent the night at my apartment on wednesday. we talked for three hours and it was exactly what i needed. moms are the absolute greatest, and they only get better when they stop being just a mom and start also being a friend. i think my mother is most incredible woman and i am so grateful that she's mine.

last night before chelschels came over, i pulled out my paints and brushes and my new easel and i set to work to the soundtrack of my painting music. my painting music depends on why i'm painting, but last night's was perfect. poison's every rose has its thorns, elton john's your song, journey's don't stop believing, pixie's here comes your man. perfection. with my brushes in a mason jar and my phone turned off, i felt happy. i felt right.

and i painted this, which i really like.

i think painting is the most wonderful thing, and i'm really excited for this semester's art & drawing class. it's going to be a challenge, because drawing is not my strong point, tracing is. but i'm looking forward to the challenge.

i wish i had something profound to end this post with, but i don't. i'm just okay. :)

sometimes

sometimes when nothing is going quite like i imagined it would,
i just try to be thankful.
yes, i'm still in primary.

i am thankful for:
-class in the summertime
-seven peaks
-my mom, dad, and sisters
-whatever-those-red-velvet-things-cristina-made-last-week-are
-new canvas and paints for a craft
-boys who are worthy to hold the priesthood and can give blessings
-a friend who has made me want so badly to be the best i can be
-mac haute and naughty mascara
-the coolest office
-prayer
-the fact that my room gets messy enough i can reclean it almost every day
-my friends
-beautiful summer days
-institute, even when it goes 35 minutes over
-lions

show and tell

there are three things that i am particularly thrilled about right now.

1. this backpack.

it's bri's old backpack. i have wanted it for about a billion years. but it was lost.. presumably given away. i was devastated. but brianna surprised me by bringing it out to utah this week. cause she found it. yayy :)))

2. this cheese grater.

i know you want to laugh. but don't. just try it. and let me know what you think. then just try to laugh.

3. best for last.

as a teenager, i read time magazine front to back every single week. loved that thing. and one week, there was about a six page article about this new thing that was coming out. it was called the iPhone.

i was obsessed with iPhones. i loved them. i was more passionately interested in them than you can imagine. probably more than was healthy.

but, i could not get one. not only because i was a poor 15-year old, but also because at&t service where i'm from sucks. so that was rough.

this is the phone i have had for the past two years.

it's wonderful if you're into the 100-decibel-vibrate, loud-clicking-keys kinda thing. which, as it turns out, i'm not.

luckily i have the coolest mom and dad in the world and as soon as verizon came out with an iPhone, i was allowed to put that baby in my hand and call it mine. greatest moment of my life.

i am on top of the world.

and yes that is a lion. i love lions. what can i say?!

today i love..

i was a little bit early this morning while walking to class

which gave me a few minutes while campus was empty

just to think,

which i don't do nearly enough of these days.

i just had such a feeling of gratitude, for everything about my life

and especially about this school.

i love byu-i.

i love

crisp winter mornings

warm wool mittens

a dad who will take time to talk to me

only having nine days til i go home

christmas lights

the scriptures, general conference talks, and the power of prayer

homemade mac and cheese

sisters who really want me to be happy

my incredible friends

starting class with a prayer, and letting the gospel be a part of class discussions

having a car that works

lindt truffles

a mother who always knows when i need her

that there are only exactly four months until i get married to my best friend

happy.

i like snow.

i like skyping with my family.

i like pumpkin cookies.

i like finishing big projects.

i like kylie.

i like sitting in the temple parking lot and just thinking.

i like when the internet at my apartment works.

i like fritadas. (a lot)

i like anticipation.

i like uggs.

i like finishing weekend to-do lists.. on saturday. :)

i like sweatpants.

and i like life.

(but i don't like squooshy grapes.

that's something i have a pretty big problem with right now.)

:)

things i love about my life:

rice lunchboxes from japan

doing art projects in class almost every day

wearing uggs because its finally getting cool enough

grilled pizza

roommates who make cheesecake

kylie

haircuts

finding a fantastic parking spot.. right away

budget binders

a boyfriend who will come unlock my car.. twice in ten minutes.. when i lock the keys in the car

tights!

home teachers

carmel apples

ann and jonny getting married in five days

the fact that someday i will get a new phone

my sisters

sunday postsecrets

the candy corn bowl at work (love those things)

general conference talks

leaves changing colors

science quizzes

oops just kidding about that last one..

wish me luck.

so hot we'll melt your popsiccccle

i sincerely believe that there is nothing more beautiful than a minnesota lake. we went to lake washington today, which is our usual lake. the water isn't crystal clear and every once in a while there are too many boats per square foot. but the trees are such an incredible, vibrant green, and the sky is blue and the clouds are nothing short of picturesque and i love that lake. no waterskiing, but we read and went tubing (for a very short period of time) and ate rainbow twizzlers (which i think it is safe to say absolutely nobody recommends) and it was a good time even though it was hotter than hades. probably literally.

bee and i went running after the lake. it was a fantastic run. the kind that is effortless. the kind where my legs could just keep going and going. the kind that i breathe in and out and in and out and it's not a chore, it's just breathing. the kind that makes me remember exactly why i run. it was great fun.

today i'm just thankful. is that okay, even if it's not thanksgiving? i'm thankful for brianna. i'm thankful for my mom and dad, who sometimes fall asleep holding hands on the back of the boat. i'm thankful for cristina, who is one of my very best friends. i'm thankful for ann and paige and kylie and abel. i'm thankful for zack, who didn't even say anyways the last time i said anyhow. i'm thankful for mint cow tracks ice cream and hot summer days and new cameras and the book of mormon especially mosiah. i'm thankful for driving with the windows down and tithing and air conditioning and sleeping in my own bed for six weeks. i'm just thankful for everything, for the big things and especially for the little things.