Sydney Rose is coming to stay with me! :)

i bet sometimes she forgets that 

"Rose" 

isn't her middle name

Every morning I have to walk up 147 stairs on my way to school.
Quite frankly, it sucks.
This morning I saw baby ducks and turtles swimming in the pond next to the stairs...
These little guys made my morning so I thought to myself,
"Rylie...you should name one thing you are grateful for for every step you climb."
Aight. Let's do this!

1. Baby ducks

2. Turtles

3. White blood cells

4. Country dancing and country music. My newest acquired taste

5. Cute swimsuits 

6. Zumba

7. Sun chips

8. A good nights rest

9. A friend to study with while eating lunch

10. My ability to comprehend the english language

11. My extended family

12. Swimming

13. Cleanliness

14. Kissing. Especially the cute kind.

15. Marriage (I'M NOT GETTING MARRIED! PLEASE, NO CONFUSION THERE.)

16. A pillow that doesn't freeze

17. Good teeth

18. Mirrors

19. AC. Even if it barely works

20. Books

21. Beaches

22. Friends. New, old, mere acquaintances...they are all great

23. Doctors

24. Nail polish

25. My pink toms

26. The fountains at the gateway

27. BYU

28. JIMMER!!!!! <3 Ha. joke...funny right?

29. Stars and star gazing

30. Movies

31. Orange leaf

32. Muffins 

33. The fact that I have a pool 20 feet outside my apartment door

34. Mountains

35. Embarrassing moments

36. The ability to care for others

37. Temples

38. Laying out

39. Lapy Topy

40. "Secret" languages people speak in that I can somehow understand

41. Creeps that spice up your life

42. Babies

43. Missionaries

44. Self defense class

45. That my Survey of World Religions test wasn't terribly hard. Oh thank heaven!

46. Earrings

47. Grape hyacinths

48. Chivalry

49. Modern technology

50. Car washes

51. Golds Gym membership

52. Family vacations

53. Laughter

54. A dad who laughs at himself and thinks he is the funniest thing in the world

55. Toilet paper

56. Texting

57. Toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss

58. Blankets

59. Locks

60. My birth mom

61. Walks

62. Longboarding

63. Disneyland

64. Sales

65. Girls camp...back in the day.

66. Daylight

67. People who have talents and are not afraid to share them

68. Good cooking

69. EFY

70. Blinds to shut out the daylight when you are trying to take a nap

71. Naps

72. Besties

73. Blueberries, Raspberries and home grown peaches

74. Doorbell ditching

75. High school dances

76. Naturally blonde hair

77. The Stair Master

78. People with entertaining blogs

79. Boating

80. Slurpies

81. Harry Potter

82. A car

83. Scriptures

84. Photographs

85. Texting

86. Making eye contact with someone and smiling while you walk

87. YSA

88. Second families

89. Mens volleyball

90. LACROSSE :)

91. Sleepovers

92. Crafternoon...? Doesn't happen until next week but it should be a good time

93. Command hooks

94.  Paint

95. Even Stevens, Lizzie McGuire, That's So Raven, Rocket Power, Recess

96. Vans

97. Tissue

98. A washer and dryer

99. Make up

100. Crying

101. I Love Love

102. Top Hat Video. All movies are 64 cents if you go during the last hour

103. Fireworks

104. Camping at Marshlake

105. Halloween Candy

106. Fake tattoos

107. Graduation

108. The canon center

109. Pranks

110. Bonfires-smore's and cuddling included

111. Winter jackets

112. Driving stick

113. Vietnamese Pork

114. Mission stories

115. Driving for hours with no destination in mind. Just talking and enjoying one another's company

116. Cosmos Kid's Club

117. Water/Amusement parks

118. Q-Tips

119. Hot Actors

120. Back to school shopping 

121. Meeting with important people

122. Past teachers

123. Dreaming

124. Good listeners

125. People with different points of view than me

126. People who are passionate about something

127. Slip-n-slides

128. The Little Mermaid

129. The chance to apologize when necessary

130. Nordstrom, PacSun, Urban Outfitters, Target

131. FaceSpace

132. Memories

133. Pets

134. Baby Blister (Little Sister)...she is sometimes a pain, hence the name

135. Air planes

136. People who are good at math so I don't have to be

137. Water

138. Satchels

139. Birthdays. Birthday presents, birthday cake

140. Teenage stupidity

141. Storage containers

142. Jesus

143. Cleaners of all types

144. iPod

145. Public Libraries

146, Evesdropping

147. Nancy Drew

And there you have it folks. 147 steps worth of thankfulness.   

let's do this right

i don't wanna mess this thing up

i don't wanna push too far

just a shot in the dark that you just might

be the one i've been waiting for my whole life

so baby i'm alright

with just a kiss goodnight. 

go on, i insist.

That...

was SOOOOOOOOO hot.



frontline attack.

so i just got back from bountiful

and my apartment

wreaks

it seriously smells like something died

and got put in our air conditioner

to be blown all over the place

febreeze

failed me for the first time

wtf

i attacked this place with 

the smells of brazilian carnaval but had

noooooo luck

heeeeeelp

The devil did not give birth to a genre known as country.

Last week while getting ready I had this conversation with my mom:

MOM: You're listening to country music. 

ME: I am?! I had noooo idea. 

MOM: Why...? You hate the stuff.

ME: I thought I'd give it a try. Syd made me a CD so I could be weened onto it. 

***blah blah blah, irrelevant banter***

My entrance into the world of country had officially begun. 

For those of you who don't understand the gravity of this moment, just know that in the past the sound of a banjo or a sickly sweet drawl would make me want to rip my hair out. I couldn't stand the stuff.  

Last night I took another BIG step in my country gal transformation. 

Granted I was wearing a Pac Sun tank, flip flops and a sweater from Urban

buuuutttt.....

I WENT COUNTRY DANCING!

(Insert neon sign and flashing lights here)

Not only did I go country dancing, but I LOVED every minute of it. 

I went with Brent, and let me tell you, we were tearin it up on the dance floor.

...After we got over the awkwardness of not knowing what to do. 

Let's just say being described as a noob, novice, amateur, or rookie would make us look good.  

We recruited Brent's sister and brother in law to give us some instruction and it was free sailing from there! We may not have been the best dancers out there, but as usual we were the best looking ;)

After a lot of
 dancing
laughing
and sweating
 we hit up the drinking fountain and went outside for some fresh air.

funfact: there is a lot of stuff  (fake trees, chairs, lawn mowers, signs, creepy sheds, etc.) worth rummaging through behind Studio if you're ever in the area!

If someone would have told me that I could the Boot Scootin Boogie and enjoy myself at the same time, I would have laughed in their face. They only memories associated with that song are of Mr. Poff in Jr. High
GAG. ME. PLEASE.

Lesson learned?
Don't hate on something until you give it a whole hearted try!
I may not be wearing boots and a huge A belt buckle
but
I'd say it's only a matter of time before I'm in touch with my Georgian and Tennessee roots.

YeeeHawwww.

thats me, hiding under the bed.

***I want to stay here, frozen in time, for just a bit longer***

When I was little I always looked forward to my birthday; I wanted to grow up. My birthday was the best day of the year and each year on September 9th, I felt that another freedom was granted to me. Being older meant a later bedtime, a later curfew, getting my ears pierced, dating, driving; all the stuff a kid looks forward too. Now that I'm "older" I just want it all to slow down. In exactly 20 days I move back to Provo. I'm really scared. 2 semesters ago when I moved out of my house as a freshman, I was giddy with anticipation. Now I'm nothing but a bundle of nerves. I have a lot to do before I'm ready to go, but I don't feel ready to do it. I don't want to have to cross things off my to-do list, I don't want to pack up my room-yet again, and move into a new place, I don't want to have to cook for myself, I don't want to worry about cleaning a bathroom that strangers use, I don't want to worry about car maintenance and insurance, I don't want to feel obligated to get a job; my parents say I don't need one,  I don't want to leave my job here, I don't want to leave my friends here, I don't want to need new friends there, I don't want to go to a new ward, I don't want a new calling, I don't want to have to pick a major, I don't want to worry about studying and grades, I just don't want to go out of my comfort zone. 

I want to hide under my bed and pretend it's all just a game.

This whirlwind of insecurity is not something I am used to. I'm usually game for change, what's wrong?

***I want to stay here, frozen in time, for just a bit longer.***

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." 

You can bet this will be my motto as I enter the next couple of weeks. 

I don't know why I'm supposed to be back on campus for summer semester, but someone else does.