Wonderland

"Imagine a place where you can always escape to

An island off the coast of nowhere

A new destination of your own creation

Just waiting till you choose to go there"

These are the beginning lyrics to the song Welcome to Mystery by the Plain White T's off of their new album, Wonders of the Younger, and I think that it describes perfectly what Wonderland really is, to me anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOA9CBQDCPk

You see, I don't remember my dreams. Sure, every once in a while I'll remember something I "dreamt" about for a minute or so but that's it. I can go for weeks, even months, at a time without remembering a single thing from that so-called "dream-land". That's why I always laugh when people tell me "Sweet dreams" or something of the sort when I go to bed. Their dreams may be sweet, or sometimes not so sweet, but mine? Mine are absent.

As some of you may, or may not, know, Alice in Wonderland is one of my slight obsessions. Why? Because things are not always as they seem in wonderland, such as in real life. People can be fake and lie to you or stab your back just when you trust them the most, however, in Wonderland, just as in a dream, YOU control what happens, or you think you can as Alice does.

You can dream up the unthinkable and do what might be considered impossible, but to you, it's possible and that's what matters.

One of my favorite quotes from this movie is said by Alice Kingsley and I find it to be very true.

"Time can be funny in dreams."

Anything can happen in a short amount of time, or a long amount. Think about it, do you really know where a dream starts, or how long it's been going for? The only real way to know when one ends is when you wake up from it.

As we grow older, we often forget to use that little thing some refer to as imagination, even though, when we were younger we were taught to use it all the time, and we did use it. From imaginary friends to make believe worlds, even a simple game of Cops and Robbers required a bit of imaginary belief. So why did we ever stop using it?

Wonderland is an amazing place full of amazing possibilities. It's just waiting for one to discover it.

Wonderland, is my dream land.

Image, love yours

So, as some of you readers might know, and if you didn't you will, I'm a lifeguard at the Logan Aquatic Center. I see all types of people every day: tall ones, short ones, thin ones, round ones, red ones, tan ones, ink'd ones, white ones. You name it, I see it. But how many of them really love themselves for themselves?
Honestly? Probably not very many. And that is such a shame. Society portray's the "perfect" male and the "perfect" female, but who can really match up? After all, they portray these said people in magazines and on TV where they can use photoshop programs and as much make-up as they want/need to in order to make a particular person look a certain way.
Now granted, there are some simply stunning people out there blessed by genetical make, but not all of us are so fortunate to have that fantastic smile or olive skin 24/7. However, we are all originals. We look the way we do for a reason and we should all learn to embrace that.
Guys, you don't need a six pack set of abs, the right clothes, or the know-all of cars for a girl to notice you for, well, you.
Girls, your hair doesn't need to fall exactly the right way, you don't need the brand name clothes or the perfectly flat tummy that we all wish we had, and you sure as hell don't need to be a skeleton!
Because I am a girl with some of these image issues, even though I do love myself just the way I am (let's face it, we'll always have insecurities), this is my "societal portrayal".....

<--this is sexy

this is not-->

Love yourself for you.

Enough said.

Friends. What are they?

I know that at some point everyone wonders who they're real friends are and who they can trust. I am glad to be able to say that I know who mine are. They aren't the ones that call me when everyone else is busy, or that only talk to me when they see me. 

Nope. 

They are the ones that call me to vent, stay up with me while I'm working on my projects, take road trips at 12:30 in the morning, go shopping for hours and don't buy a single thing, sit on the floor laughing at nothing, and make everything better without saying a word. 

I do have a lot of people I know, but very few are true to the end.

These are my friends. 

Who are yours?

This one's for you Princess

Alexis Nicole Nelson
June 29, 2006 - June 18, 2006

"Mommy's girly girl, Daddy's car chick
She was the best of both worlds!"

Enjoy the small things in life because you don't really know what you've got until it's gone.

A year ago, my family and I learned to appreciate this statement and what it really means more than anyone could ever imagine. The little girl above is my cousin, she left this world last year to go and be with her Heavenly Father. 

She was such an amazing little girl, she had the privilege of doing things most 3 year olds would never even think of. She was able to be flower girl at her parents wedding, take vacations with her family, work on cars, have a best friend before she could talk, and wipe away the tears of those she loved because she didn't want them to be sad. She was a strong heart and a sweet spirit and laughed at everything she could daily. She taught us what it's like to truly love someone, no matter how big or how small you may be.
It's always harder when you don't know why someone left this world and even harder to wonder what they could have accomplished or why they were really here. That still stands true in this case, but with Lexi, some of us know why she was here. She came along at a time when her mommy and daddy really needed her, I guess you could say she "saved" them. I'm thankful to that little girl for coming into our lives when she did, but more so for when she came into their lives.

A year ago today, the cutest and sweetest princess I know left this world to be home in her kingdom. She taught those left on earth how to laugh at the little things, make silly faces, dress up, redo painted nails until you love them, and enjoy what you really have. I hope you're painting that kingdom pink little girl!

We love you and miss you Alexis Nicole, but we'll see you again, someday, in the clouds ♥

This was Lexi's favorite song that her aunt, Anna, my sister, Sarah, and I had the privilege of singing at her funeral together.

Take your shot

This song is the perfect description of my life.
I have a dream for myself, I know where I want to be. But sometimes, not everything works out as I plan it to, or at least not the way I want it to work out even if it still works somehow. There are trials and tribulations that I have to overcome and I know that they make me strong.
This song says "weighing down on me, but I'm a fighter" and that's what I am. Life can throw whatever it wants my way and I'll take it and deal with it as best I know how to get where I'm going. Nothing's holding me back. I've still got a shot, even if it's only a shot in the dark.

Places, things, and people

This life is short, make the most of it.

Here is my “bucket list” I made my senior year of high school as a Sociology assignment. Then I figured, what the heck, I made the list, might as well do it.

The highlight tells what I have accomplished already.

Enjoy.

1. Go to London
2. Climb to the top of the Eifel Tower
3. Swim in a flooded field
4. .Learn to snowboard
5. Go surfing in Hawaii
6. Try out for American Idol
7. Graduate design school
8. Design and build my own home
9. Meet someone famous (Dawn Wells-aka Maryanne from Gilligan’s Island)
10. Meet at least 5 famous music artists/bands (Katy Perry, One Republic, The Maine, Plain White T’s, HelloGoodbye, plus many more)
11. Go to Japan
12. Graduate College
13.  Get a 4.0 GPA two years straight
14. Learn to waterski
15. Learn to wakeboard
16. Backpack through Europe
17. Go to a World Cup game
18. Go to the Olympics (2002 Winter Olympics SLC, UT)
19. Finish the Pharmacy Technician program at the DATC
20. Adopt a child
21. Live in London at least a year
22. Ride on top of a double decker bus
23.  Drive a car in England
24. Ride the world’s tallest roller coaster (at the time: Top Thrill Dragster, Cedar Point, OH)
25. Go to Waldo, FL
26. Go to Gettysburg, PA
27. Own a 1965 blue Mustang
28. Own 20 pairs of Converse
29.  Design my own wedding dress
30. Visit 15 castles
31. Go to Disneyland
32. Swim with dolphins
33. Go scuba diving
34. Go to Disney World
35. Go to Hell and back (Hell, Michigan)
36. Go skydiving
37. Take a hot air balloon ride
38. Get a tattoo
39. Learn German
40. Go to Costa Rica
41. See the Northern Lights
42. Go to Stratford-Upon-Avon
43. See a famous person’s grave (Brian Jones)
44. Visit Bath, England
45. See Jane Austen’s house
46.  Visit Stonehenge
47. Discover the truth about JFK’s death (records to be released in 2017)
48. Go river rafting
49. Go to the shoe museum in Toronto, Canada
50. See a bear outside of the zoo
51. Visit the Tower of London
52. Go shopping in London
53. Go shopping in Paris
54. Go shopping in NYC
55. Go horseback riding
56. See Old Faithful
57.  Learn to fly an airplane
58. Fly across the ocean (England trip = 12hr flight)
59. Get a motorists license
60. Ride an elephant
61. Go to Angel Falls
62. Ride the world’s longest roller coaster
63. Ride the world’s fastest roller coaster (at the time: Top Thrill Dragster)
64. Go drag racing
65.  Spend an entire day at the beach
66. Eat a Big Judd (1lb hamburger with everything on it-Rexburg, ID)
67. Ride the New York, New York roller coaster
68. Go bungee jumping
69. Ride the Stratosphere roller coasters
70. Go cliff jumping
71. Run a marathon
72. Pass Chemistry (Junior year)
73. Have an all-day Disney Movie Marathon
74. Stay awake for 72 hours with no assistance (i.e. caffeine, sugar, etc.)
75. Break my left arm
76. Get in a bad car accident
77. Talk in a British accent for a day
78. Draw a mural in sidewalk chalk (Austin’s driveway)
79. Dye my hair pink
80. Dye my hair blue
81. Go sledding on something other than a sled (pizza pans, cookie sheets, a mattress)
82. Road trip coast to coast
83. Go to Fiji
84. Get in a fist fight
85. Go ice blocking
86. Learn to play guitar
87. Sing for a band
88. Be a little kid for a day
89. Spend a day in the life of a stranger
90. Career as an Interior Designer
91. Go swimming in a pond
92. Go fishing
93. Go mountain climbing
94. Go repelling
95. Pay for a pizza in pennies
96. Get a pet chinchilla
97. Design a room around gum wrappers
98. Own a vintage dress (1920’s swing dress)
99. Go to Rome
100. Pass the National Pharmacy Technician test
101. Accomplish this list before I die

45 down, 56 to go.

Wish me luck.

7

Absentee

They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, and in some cases this may be true. But sometimes, I think it makes the heart grow absent. Then you think you've got it all, only to later realize you lost a big part of something you had or someone you were and, in many of the cases, you can't get it back. In those cases you have to make the best of what you have, remember what you had, and keep moving forward to what you will hold.
I am moving forward.

Here I am

Sometimes you just need to say things. A lot of us think the same things, but many of us are to afraid that everyone will judge us for what we have to say or what our opinions may be. That is not my case. I realize that not everyone has the same opinions and views. That's okay with me. But, I have a mouth, and I'm not afraid to use it.