now and forever let us sing with all our might...

I have just realized: it is my last year in the hallowed halls of Timpview High School. There are many things I am going to miss about my current home. The above picture illustrating, a state champion football team that's been undefeated for 2 years running. Hopefully that will continue this year!

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the demise of o'shea

Today, I had an eventful art class.

We were all standing around watching a demonstration of sketching, when suddenly O'shea, a girl I know well, did this strange trancelike slide to the ground. She was laying down before anyone knew what was going on, and then we noticed the vacant look in her eyes and the odd, slow but jerky movement of her arms and legs. Her breathing became odd and irregular, and her face went blue before she caught her breath sufficiently. It was scary, her eyes were bulging and she was looking around but didn't respond to anyone. 

It was interesting to see the reactions of my friends in this critical situation. O'Shea's closest friends, understandably, were freaking out and in tears. The Devster was going, "We need to get someone, a teacher or something!" Marge nearly started crying. Trout said, "Does she have a pulse?! You guys, check her pulse!" I surprised myself by being almost totally calm and thinking only of her situation. My brain instantly started running through everything I knew trying to figure out what was wrong with her in order to help her. Some of these frenzied thoughts included an epileptic seizure, something blocking her airway, hypoglycemia, diabetes...the list goes on. When something in my subconscious determined that I had no knowledge as to what had had happened to her, I moved on to CPR. I didn't want to have to give her CPR because she's my friend but not a close one, so I know she would be totally embarrassed and uncomfortable when she woke up, but I was watching carefully to make sure she was breathing. 

It made me think maybe I could become something in the medical profession, after all...everyone is always telling me that I should because of my cool head, inability to get grossed out, and natural talent in the area. I don't think I will, but it was still interesting to learn about myself in such a stressful situation.

The physiology teacher and registered nurse was called, and O'Shea recovered just fine. It was most likely a very mild form of epilepsy, and we believe she was aware of the condition.

evaluation: day two

Today I went to the first day of my four even-numbered classes of this semester. Here is the promised play-by-play.

Period 2: Art Foundations

This is not half as fun as Drawing & Painting, but there is no homework and it will teach me the things I want to learn. I am sure I will enjoy it and get a lot out of it. The teacher is the same as Drawing & Painting. Unfortunately, there is no one I know in that class expect for Pen Corridors, who freaks out if you use a tissue. He is the founder and, as far as we know, only member of the Campaign Against Kimberly-Clark for the Preservation of Rainforests. Not as such the sort of person that's a laugh to have around.

Period 4: Dance II

Sarah Card is absolutely fantastic. She's the teacher and I couldn't be happier. I am very much looking forward to the class, although again, there is no one I know. Still, I am not worried and think I will quickly make friends or at least the sort of loose "truce" that serves to make classes more entertaining but does not ensure a lasting friendship. I love dance, and so in this class, almost nothing can go wrong.

Period 6: AP World History

At first I was worried about this class, because its ANOTHER first-year AP teacher. But she's actually really good. She student taught in last year's Apworld class (sorry, we learn abbreviations for long names alarming quickly. AP Physics, for example, is apphys [pronounced app-fizz], AP psychology is pysch, AP world history is apworld. Mysteriously, AP English is just called "Old Jim's Class". Not so much shorter than AP English if you ask me.) so she's not exactly new. She's hilarious, very young, and very fun. There are lots of friends in that class, including the infamous Sexy Rexy, also know as Blake Barebanger, who always serves to lighten up a dull classroom. I'm very excited for this subject as well. 

Period 8: Journalism

This was a very hastily thrown-in class just this morning. The teacher is my old English teacher, and very very dearly beloved, so that is just great. Also, Perfect Patty and my best friend is editor-in-chief, so it'll be fun, and all the editors are good friends of mine. On a sad note, Ego Witch and her giggly sidekick are in the class, but they are not editors, so live and let die, as I always say.

Woot. School and life are good.

evaluation: day one

Today was the first day of school.

Da. Duh. Duhhhh.

And it was...

Fantastic!! No, I am not even kidding, I have not had that much fun in ages. Well, since I went to Cabella's and Thanksgiving Point and Mamma Mia with my mom. It was seriously so great. Okay, okay, I will give you the play-by-play, because I know you are SOO extravagantly interested and such. Just a heads-up, I promise that I really can count, but we are on a rolling block schedule, meaning we have periods 1-3-5-7 today, 2-4-6-8 tomorrow, 1-3-5-7 the day after...etc etc. So hence the wackjob numbering.

Period One: Seminary

My teacher is Brother Heward. He's great, young and cute (but married, of course) and funny. I like the class, very very much...I know quite a few of the people in there and so that's fun, and I also just love to learn about Christ, so that's incredible. Yes, I do so love seminary. I have sorely missed it this summer.

Period Three: Drawing and Painting

Mrs. Seal (previously Ms. Smith) is not a teacher I know very well, but she seems to think she's known me forever, and so that's cool. Anyways, she's old and hilarious and tells us about her cats and that sort of thing. She actually encourages doodling, and so she immediately won me over. I think the class should be really fun. I think I am crap at sketching but I hardly mind; I really think it'll be pretty fun no matter what. Plus, I sit at a table with the Devster, Beautiful Bo, and Sheniqua (those are not their real names, rest assured, but they are excellent friends of mine, and quite fun) and that is marvy.

Period Five: AP Psychology

This class's purpose so far seems to be to drive out anyone who is unable to handle the workload, because on the first day we had to take a practice AP Test that will be graded (though hopefully on completion!). And they are not short. Plus, we already have been assigned a paper that is due on Monday. And it is not short either. But I am very interested in the subject matter, and I don't mind writing papers, as long as they are interesting. So I like it. Plus, Lala, Trout, and many other friends of mine are in it. So, fun. Our teacher is in Korea so so far we've just had the track coach subbing, so I'm not sure what Mr. Stephenson is like yet.

Period Seven: AP English Literature

I was a bit nervous about old Jim Davis teaching the class, because dear Jimmy has never taught an AP class before, and our english class has been the same people together with very little variation for the past four years, so we are not an easy bunch to corral. He gave us an iffy summer assignment, too, which did not give me great confidence in him.  But my fears were assuaged when I saw his desk, because it was covered in skateboarding and band stickers. That makes him a-ok in my book. No, but seriously, he was okay with Tartar suddenly whipping out an enormous blue feather boa, putting it on, and doing comedy seductiveness in front of the class. He even turned out the lights, no one was sure why actually, but the point being he did not attempt to stop her and laughed along. So we accepted him into our exclusive circle. No, but seriously, he seems to be a competent teacher and I am excited for the class. Even though he gave us a stack of about eighty five books. And told us that we had to print our own disclosure document off the internet to "save trees". Anyways, the entire class and I are basically best friends. We have a pretty fantastic time together every day. So it is really, really fun.

So, to summarize, my first day was FAB, not drab (thank you, beautiful bo). I forgot how much I love Timpview!!

Incandescently Happy,

Lizzy!

a beginning, never an ending

Well, here it is. The end of summer. And, unfortunately, the beginning of my senior year.

I am...looking forward to it. I am not excited, I wouldn't say, but I expect once I am actually in school I will be perfectly all right with it. This is my last day of summer, and most of it will be spent working. Which is good, because I need money and all. But also a little bit sad.

Still, it is only 10:28 A.M., which is amazing because I guess I got up earlier than I have all summer long. There are so many more hours in the day when you get up early! Yet I still hate it.

Haha.

Okay, I have plenty to do to make that first day of school as painless as possible, so I've got to run. But farewell! I will let you all know what I make of my classes. :-)

Sadly,

Lizzy ;-)

PS-I know that poster doesn't have the right date, but I thought it was so clever, that I posted it anyways. So, if you were suddenly very confused and thought it was September 23rd, 2007, I assure you it is in fact August 18th, 2008. 

But if you were really that confused, I must say I am somewhat concerned for your sanity.

"you're pretty"

So today, I went to go to dance, as I always do on Thursday evenings. Our teacher is often late, and I was early, so I sat down outside the dance studio to wait. I was sitting there, playing poker on my phone (not with real money), and a polynesian man walked out of the gym next door. This is not at all unusual; the gym next door is called "Throwdown", and that should tell you the sort of person that hangs around there. What was unusual was that he appeared to be trying to communicate with me. "Excuse me, miss?" he said politely. I ignored him the first time, but then realized he really was speaking to me, and looked at him expectantly. I thought he needed directions, or perhaps "his girlfriend wanted to take dance classes and could i tell him about our studio", a common ploy those guys use to talk to the dancers. But then he said, "My friend asked me to tell you something." I just stared at him blankly, and he said, "The message is look up." I kept staring. He probably thought I didn't speak english or something. He repeated "the message" a few times, and my brain, who was off in some strange land, finally understood, and I looked up.

Taped to the second-story window of the gym next door was the sign featured at the beginning of this post, declaring in hastily written black marker, "You're Pretty". 

At this point, my brain went into a tizzy. I was going to do thank you in sign language, but then I stopped halfway through, and was going to yell thanks, but decided against it, and then ended up smiling and waving, but it probably looked as though I was doing a tribal dance with my jaw hanging open.

Still, though, it made my day.

Pretty,

Lizzy ;-)

stores you should hit

So yesterday, along with being ridiculously fun, was a shopping day. My mom and I went up to the Tanger outlet center in Park City, Utah. It is THE place to shop. Stores you MUST visit:

• Polo Ralph Lauren. They had cotton v-neck shirts with the little pony in contrasting thread for $9.99. That's how much you'd pay for a t-shirt at Walmart! And these are Ralph Lauren!! 
• Harry and David Chocolates. We ate about 4 free truffles, plus free chips and salsa. They have really really good sweets, salsa, and random cute food things. But really, just go for the free food.
• Old Navy. Its even cheaper than the regular one. I got jeans for $25. And REALLY cute shoes.
• Ann Taylor. Their stuff is adorable, and, thanks to the outlet, affordable.
• Adidas. Amazingly cute shoes at an incredible discount. Don't bother with any of the clothes, though, except for the Stella McCartney line.
• BCBG Maxazria. You can get absolutely beautiful dresses at really great prices.
• American Eagle. They do some really good shirts and hoodies, and if you buy from the outlet, you can really get a good deal.
• Keds. I got a pair of Keds for $15. I don't really know how you can beat that.

There are many, many more stores, all of them amazingly great. Go and see, really, it is worth it. There are some screamin' deals!!

Directions from Provo, Utah: Take Highway 189 to Heber City. From Heber City, take Highway 40 to I-80. Take I-80 West to Exit 145, State Road 224, Kimball Junction. Turn right at the first light onto Landmark Drive. Tanger Outlet Center is on the left.

cool water

That is what I have spent today doing. Painting my previously dark, dreary, mismatched basement family room in the luscious shade of "cool water". It is a combination of the blue sky at noon with the shallow end of the pool. It is probably the most genius color choice I've ever made. I'm extremely proud. Plus, I painted almost the entire room, myself, today! I even went to wal mart to buy the paint. It looks...magnificent. That is just all there is to it. 

The room isn't quite finished; we still need to put in pale maple wood laminate flooring and get new and rearrange some furniture. When its done, though, you must all come and see it, because I have really done a shockingly good job with this one!

Painted,

Lizzy

book review: breaking dawn

Here I post the long-awaited book review of...


Book Title: Breaking Dawn

Author: Stephenie Meyer

*** (3 stars out of 5)

Okay, I know many of you haven't read it but will, so I'm going to have a non-spoiler review and then at the end I'm going to do some spoiling. But don't worry, the spoiling will be well-marked, so if you don't want to know, you definitely won't accidentally find out anything because of me!

Basically, I had no choice in this. I was going to read the book, and I was going to finish it, no matter how much I hated it, because I'd committed to the series. And so in my view, it doesn't matter how good or bad it was, I had to read it. 

This is the 4th installment of the Twilight series, a dark romance about Bella, an unusually clumsy girl, and Edward, a shockingly beautiful vampire. Of course, lots of bad things happen along the way and such. In this final book, Breaking Dawn, Bella has to choose between Edward and his complete opposite (and her devoted lover) Jacob. That goes well. I'm not going to tell you about much of the plot, because I don't want to spoil the rest of the series for those who haven't read them all yet but are planning on it, but I will say this: There is some blood and gore, which I really did not like. There is some suggestiveness, but its not dirty, just probably not for children. Halfway through the book, the series is totally wrapped up and concluded, and could easily have been finished then...but then another crisis is hastily tacked on. 

All in all, I didn't like the book because I didn't appreciate the bloodiness or the plot twists. I liked it because I love Edward, and because I had to know how it ended.

Definitely not for less than the avid vampire-fiction readers, because at over 700 pages its not a bit of light reading. Also, its almost solely a teenage girl book (although many young moms love it too)...not for boys or for pre-teens, at all. 

Buy it on Amazon here for $12.64.

**SPOILER WARNING!**

Okay, here's my uncensored review of the book. DON'T read on if you haven't read the book unless you want it to be ruined for you!! 

First of all, I always knew Bella would end up with Edward. There was just no way she would've thrown Edward away for Jacob. That got blown up into a big debate because some people got bored. But I was still really glad she did. I was also really glad she married Edward before she became a vampire. Basically this whole series I have been on the edge of my seat, hoping she'll just get married already and become a vampire. So I was glad about that. I really hated the whole "honeymoon" part. I mean, what WAS that? Not only was it boring, it was pointless and dumb. The foreign servants getting all creepy just came out of nowhere and had no actual bearing on the book. I think we could just remove that whole chapter or however long it is and it would make the book significantly better. 

Secondly, I hated the kid. Renesmee. I hate her. She creeps me out like nothing else. Never in the series have I been creeped out by the idea of vampires or anything like that, but I draw the line at the weird halfling. I hated Bella's pregnancy. I hated the Leah tangent...who cares about her? I hated Jacob and Edward's "friendship" when Edward was "the burning man". I hated the whole Volturi nonsense...that was unnecessary, and it didn't even get fully resolved. I HATED that Jacob "imprinted" on Renesmee.

Basically, I hated everything in the book that seemed to be shoved in there to take up space. Which is most of the book. I honestly really didn't like it, and yet I did, because I got what I wanted (Edward and Bella together, forever), and I got my solid conclusion.

Happy reading!

Lizzy

the list is compiled

So. I have finished. 

THE LIST.

The seven colleges that will make or break my future.

In other words, the seven colleges that I am applying to. And the list is!

1. REACH: Yale. Clearly, my top choice. I will be applying Early Action.
2. REACH: Amherst. My second choice. If I do not get into Yale and get into Amherst, I will be happy, and also consider myself lucky.
3. TARGET: BYU-Hawaii. A clear third option. Beautiful island, LDS background, equal academic credentials to BYU-Utah.
4. TARGET: BYU-Utah. It would be boring to go to BYU because I basically already go to BYU. But it would be fun because lots of my friends go there, and I could be near family.
5. TARGET: California State University-Long Beach. Wouldn't Long Beach be a sweet place to go to college? And it has all the majors I want and then some. And its inexpensive.
6. SAFETY: Washington State. It has some great majors and its a pretty good school. I could see myself there.
7. SAFETY: Ohio State. I know, there is nothing in Ohio. But its a good school as well, and would supply me with an education. And I'm pretty sure I'll get in. 

To decode for those of you not obsessed with college applications, a "reach" is a dream school that is exceptionally difficult to get into, "target" schools are great schools you're pretty sure you'll get into, and "safety" schools are basically shoe-ins should you not get into your target schools that will still provide you with a good education, and that you can be happy about going into.

It is not easy to compile such a list. But I've done it, and it is finished. Now I just have to apply...and wait.

Phew!

Lizzy