Three is the lucky number.

It was Sunday night (yesterday). I have on my raggedy sweats and my hair is pulled back way tight with some obscure bumps and knots woven in on the surface.

I'll spare you some insignificant details but let's just say I definitely am not looking my best when a few of my guy friends burst into my door for visiting hours.

And as if my looks aren't enough to embarrass me, I'm also sprawled out at my desk, consumed in a copy of Chicken Soup: for the College Soul.

No one admits that they actually read that. (At least no one cool.) Crap.

Third embarrassment: I'm also crying at the story I'm reading about Chucky Mullins from Ole Miss, a football star turned paraplegic. And I mean totally bawling, totally weeping, for all my friends to see.

Just great.

I might as well have wet the bed.

Well.....ya.

And we call it: The Sisterhood.

....the Sisterhood of the Traveling VEST to be exact.

Can I just start by saying I love these girls?

(please don't mind our immodesty--we were in the process of playing dress-up!)

These are my very best friends here up at BYU....they fill the entire spectrum of girl species. 

Really.

Anyways, we used to all get giddy about living with each other once we moved out of the dorms this coming year.

That is until they all decided to transfer schools (except Lauren and me). So sad.

A little rewind: last semester sometime, we had pushed our beds together so that we could (comfortably) all watch a movie together. It was Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Love that movie. We were about half way through it when we had the ultimate epiphany. Oh my goodness, we are so them!

It goes like this:

Mallory: (the only brunette in the world that purposefully dyes her hair red) is Tibby. You know the weird one that puts the sticker on her forehead? Yeah. 

She's a little......different. But that's the reason you love her. You know? Plus, she eventually starts dating the sweet, video-gamer Asian kid. Mal also has that interracial relationship status thing going on too. Tibby.

Emily: (my roommate with the wannabe tattoo) is Carmen with the big booty. Emily has more junk in her trunk than anyone I know. I can almost visibly see the Oreos and Peanut Butter she treats herself to on study breaks go immediately there. Not really. But still. Carmen is the one responsible for the unlikely friendship of the group. Plus she is never afraid to speak her mind. Considering Em is the most assertive AND aggressive in our little group, we thought the characterization was pretty applicable. Carmen.

Lauren: (the blonde that looks like Baby Spice) is Bridget. She is the naturally beautiful, super athletic, always up for a good time, one. Considering most people don't classify cheer as a technical sport (which is such a shame because IT IS), she's also the only one of us that was a high school athlete....she LOVES to run. Frankly, it disgusts me. But whatever. I do have to add this little disclaimer though.  In the movie Bridget chases the most attractive soccer player imaginable, something we all can't quite say for Lauren. We are working on in it though....(kidding Lauren!). Bridget.

Me: (with the roundest face of the entire group) they say I'm Lena. I don't necessarily agree with their reasoning, but apparently I have the whole creativity thing going on like her. (I was so flattered). Plus, she's a more reserved brunette....... I can only hope that I'll someday find some beautiful Greek man as she does. I'll keep you informed. Lena.

Hillary: (wearing the crazy cheetah) she's Bailey, but for reasons I'm not even exactly sure. I think it was just because she always came up with random things to say.....maybe? In any case, we all kind of felt bad that we gave her the dead girl, so we decided she could be Lena's sister Effie who tries to steal Tibby's boyfriend, as well. Hillary has this weird thing where she crushes on older men and little children, which is kind of creepy. Don't you think? She wont hesitate to admit that she has a little something something for Mal's dad. Yeah.......Bailey/Effie/A simply weird girl. We'll just leave it at that.

Before Mal/Tib left us this semester, we held our little sisterhood ritual in the dark hall lounge at 3 am in the morning. We decided on the rules of the Sisterhood, written down in the notebook. Each sister gets the vest for exactly one month until she passes it over. The other rules you might ask? It's a secret.

Guess who's turn it is? 

You guessed it. I got this in the mail yesterday, such a nice surprise.

And guess where i get to send it? Hawaii, for the one and only Carmen in my life.

Isn't life so great and wonderful with good friends?

And we begin...

Em and I couldn't take it anymore.
As I sit here like I have all weekend long preparing for my last midterms, I realize I am beyond burnt out.
I just want to be able to watch the full season of Glee without worrying about pressing deadlines....
Or take a Sunday nap...
Or eat SUMMER fruits..
Perhaps see some friends at home...
Maybe cuddle with my mom..
Most of all, I just want my body to go back to normal.

37 days and counting, my friends.

Almost 36.

What's the word...

You know those days when you just feel.....BLAH...?

That's been today. Actually, it's been the past week.

Why do we sometimes get in these ruts? We don't want to work, we don't want to do laundry, we don't want to go to the gym, we don't care if we eat more evil calories, we don't care if we shower...etc..etc. It's so counterproductive since it only leads to us feeling more fat, more gross, more pathetic, more behind, more BLAH.

I hate BLAH.

Anyways, I was sitting in class today, thinking about BLAH, when my computer screen savor popped up with its picture slide show. Of all pictures, this decided to make an appearance, the first time I've seen it in a long time:

It made BLAH go away long enough to wink a smile, reminiscent of such a simple, happy time. I was a sophomore in high school when I found out that Nick Lachey was making a concert stop at the nearby Pechanga Casino. I called my parents in a frenzy and for whatever reason, they relented to get me tickets. Maybe my dad secretly liked his heartbroken album too....but back to the story. It was the night of the concert, my friends and I were anxiously awaiting the show, and in walks our cheer coach. "Coach Nic? What are you doing here?"

Supposedly, Coach Nic was good friends with dreamy boy's body guard. She claimed they exchanged texts all the time. I didn't believe her until she returned with three passes.

I was on the stage, inches away from Nick Lachey, and he sang to me. I could have grabbed his backside if I wanted to....(that thought did come to mind in my fifteen seconds of fame). It was probably one of the greatest nights of my life.

In fact, it was a lot like this:



I love moments like those; moments that are vivacious and unexpected. Now why can't we ever get into THAT kind of funk?

I've heard patience is a virtue.

 .....and that good things come to those who wait. Well goodness knows, I've been waiting.

I have been pining so long for my parents to fly my little sister Mackenzie out to P-town to spend a weekend with me.....and for her to fit me into her busy dizzy schedule (she's on two cheer teams, juggles two boyfriends, was just elected senior class president, yady-yada-ya). The time has finally come. It's like the curtain is about to be drawn.....and I am so giddy with excitement.

Kenzie, Kenzoli, Pookums, or if you'd prefer to call her Miss Booty, is one of my very best friends. Even though we are on complete different sides of the spectrum (I don't have the talent to commend ONE boys attention, much less TWO...), we balance each other out, with flavor. You know what I mean?

So I've come up with a few reasons as to why should she go to school up here:
1. I'm here. Need I explain more?
2. There are tons of cute boys. Can you imagine the damage she could do?
3. The Brutsch's & Barker's reside in the area. It's been such a blessing being able to be around my sisters and their families. Being able to watch my nephew and nieces grow up has been a priceless treasure.
4. I'm here. I missed her too much this year! We were not meant to be so far away from each other for so long.
5. We could cuddle ALL the time. We love that. It's probably one of our favorite hobbies.
6. She could give me tips....Ya, I know I'm supposed to be the wise, older sister. Don't rub it in, okay?
7. We could share clothes, again. It's been rough having to be creative with my own wardrobe!
8. She could drink BYU's chocolate milk ALL the time. She doesn't know it yet, but she's addicted. Just like me. Just like you would be, too.

And oh ya, did I mention I'm here?

Provo, we only got one shot at this Utah conversion. I'm ready to give this trip my all, my everything. Are you?

CAUTION: can be scary.

I was given this teddy bear by a dear high school friend of mine for graduation....a real treasure, right?

Wrong. I mean yes, he is a treasure in relevance to the friend who gave it to me, but out of that context, he makes me want to hide in the closet. You see, he was constructed at Build-A-Bear and therefore, has a voice. Cute, right?

Wrong. When I go to sleep at night in my little dorm bed, I tend to roll around. Sometimes I get caught in sheets, sometimes I have a full bladder, sometimes the room is a little too stuffy, but worst of all, sometimes I accidentally roll onto said bear and his deep, male voice projects itself to the room. "Hey Haley"....and blah blah blah with the recording. This all happens while I'm sleeping, in the dark. It's just about the creepiest thing imaginable at 3 am. A soft scream is justifiable, right?

Right. I love this bear--in the daylight. He's cute and cuddly, like the friend who gave it to me. But he's another being when the sun goes down--like a Chuckie doll, or a Furby, or a Peeping Tom.

Build-A-Bear should include a new amendment on their birth certificates. "Warning: Is evil from the hours of 7pm-6am." Or maybe an age-appropriate rating like they use on the movies?

Hope I make it through another night alive..

Law school or NASA?

I'm currently enrolled in a Biology class, you know.....trying to get rid of some generals so I can concentrate on my major classes involving political science. I watched my roommates last year go through the course; I saw them making drawings of mitosis and spewing the details of the structure of dna. It didn't look that bad so I thought, "Hey, I can do that." I was excited to get my left brain on.

Fast forward a few weeks. I found a seat on the first day of class, next to a girl with glasses. She was the stereotypical science nerd, and to be honest, I found it kind of refreshing. I began pulling out my notebook, my pens, my computer in case I got bored, when I began sobering up from first day semester jitters to listen to what the professor was dragging on elaborately about.  A compiled bird list? Required binoculars? A field trip to see the birthing of bears? A unit on bats and cats? Confused, I turned to the girl with the glasses. "Excuse me, is this room 355? In the Marb?.....and it is Bio 100?" It turns out the professor is a bit of a nut and takes a twist to biology. I didn't know then, but his class is referred to as the "bird watching class."

That's right.....


My homework is to go outside and watch birds...



And I'm not kidding. Really...that's what we do.

Another twist of his? Our Friday lectures are allotted for our required group presentations on quarters. STATE quarters. Do you find this guy as bizarre as I do? Please, say yes.

Anyways, I had to give my presentation a few weeks ago. My group picked Ohio. Ohio is home to the history-making astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn, as was Orville Wright, co-inventor of the airplane. I concluded that this is probably the state's only claim to fame, as it is the most random thing that could ever possibly be picked to be depicted on their quarter....I'm just saying.

You want to know my claim to fame? Starring in our presentation video as THE astronaut who demonstrated "the biology of a space suit." I've been considering space ever since. Thank you Professor.


P.S. Yes, that is a Star Wars Clone Trooper mask....a little walk on the dark side never hurt anyone, right? Kidding!

I did it...

....I quit the atrocious habit of biting my nails. And let me tell you, it feels good. It all started out about five years ago, I was watching some tween movie that had Mandy Moore in it. (I'm thinking Chasing Liberty...) She kept biting her nails in a flirty, biting-the-corner-of-my-lip sort of way that I wanted to mimic. So I did. Or at least tried. It eventually developed into something completely obnoxious. Rather than sultry yet cutesy, it was loud and annoying, I admit. I'll spare you the details.....but just know I'm cured.

I've never seen my nails this long. They elongate my rather thick fingers, or at least somewhat, I hope? Ah, the femininity....