The Seven Wonders of the World

Did I tear up during this video?  Yes.
But maybe it's just because I've been kind of down lately.

This Just Makes Me Happy. :)

My Favorite Family

I wish it could always be Jive Week.

I love the people in Jive.
I love the performances.
I love the thrill and the joy.
I love the adrenaline.

Jive is a family.  My family.

~~~

After a week with them you think I'd get tired or annoyed, but no!  It just got better and better, and we got closer and closer.  And then last night was awful.  It was the end.  Our last show.  Half of us are leaving.  I cried.  For an hour straight.  I cried so hard I threw up.  (That was a first.)  But I wasn't crying for me... because I'm going to be in Jive next year.  I was crying for the 13 of us that won't be returning.  The ones that I love and will miss dearly.

I cried for them.

Next year I'll be crying for me.

It'll probably be even worse.

I'm dreading the end of Jive.

~~~

Jive is my life.  The feeling of being up on stage is just so great.  As you know from a previous post, I'm transferring to Twin Falls High School in order to stay in Jive... I told a few of my CRHS friends that last night.  And they knew that it was the right decision even though they'd miss me.  They watched me perform, and they knew that it was what I loved more than anything else in the world.  I love my friends.

During Jr. Jive a few of the little 2nd grade girls came up to me and said "My mommy says you have a pretty voice."  It was so great. :D  And even though the Jr. Jivers performed at the matinee, I saw one of my little girls at last nights evening show too.  And when I was bawling my eyes out she came up to me and gave me a hug and said "You did so good."  It only made me cry harder.  It was so sweet.  And there was this one 8th grade Jr. Jiver who says I am her inspiration.  It made me feel so great!  I even gave her some advice. :D  I felt almost famous!

And this older lady came up to me and told me that she enjoyed the show, and specifically enjoyed watching me because I looked so joyful, and she could tell I gave it my all.

And then another lady told me to never give up on music.  She said I was very blessed and talented and that I should definitely stick with music and go into a career for it.

~~~

Best night ever.

I just wish I wasn't such a baby.

~~~

And we revealed secret Jive friends.  Which was fun.  But I knew that Emilee had me.  She made it rather obvious.  With Subway cookies and "beer" and such.  Silly Emilee!  I had Kiefer.  I gave him mouse traps one day... and it was not a good idea.  But yeah.  Just something to remember.  Don't give teenage boys mouse traps.

~~~

Then Shari's.  It's Jive tradition.  We were there until 1.  But we almost got kicked out around 11:30 because we were trying to make everyone fit around one booth, and it ended with people sitting on walls and climbing over tables.  But yeah.  We had a little Jive-amony meeting at Shari's, but not everyone was there, and not everyone shared.  So we're going to finish it on Tuesday in class. :)

~~~

And I gave him a ride home afterwards. :)  I felt so happy to be alone in a car with him at 1 in the morning.  That sounds bad... but NOTHING HAPPENED.  Though I wish SOMETHING had.  Like... at least a hug!  But I guess I'll just have to accept the "Bye Elizabeth!  Thanks for the ride, love you!"  that I got.  It's better than nothing!  Oh well... I'm 99% sure he doesn't feel the same way about me as I feel about him anyway.  And he's leaving next year.  :(  But I'll hopefully be able to get over it in time.

~~~

♥ JIVE ♥

Farewell 2011

*****The year in review.*****

JANUARY

The first thing that happened in 2011 was my good friend Russell (only 14 at the time) staying at my house until 3 in the morning. It was... interesting. After the youth New Year's Eve dance he came over to my house and we played Mario Kart, then my brother came home with his friend's Brett and Ronnie. When Russell's dad showed up at 1 to take Russell home, he talked to Ronnie in French for like 2 hours. Wow. Russell and I kinda just stood in my kitchen awkwardly while my brother kept telling me they had to leave. I didn't want to interrupt their conversation! But it was 3 in the morning! I wanted to go to sleep! Haha. Like I said, it was an... interesting experience. The picture is of me, Jessica, and Dan on our way to a Quiz Bowl thing. I was always a third wheel around them. They were a couple until just about a month ago. It pretty much destroyed my friendship with them. :( I never even hang out with either them anymore. They don't even invite me to their parties! :( They wouldn't have even met each other if it weren't for me, either. :(

Song: Just a Dream- Nelly

FEBRUARY

In February I turned 16! I went on my first date ON my birthday... Sweetheart's Dance. So fun. I went with Perrin Romney, Russell's brother. This picture is of me and Russell on the bus to a Quiz Bowl thing. Russell is big into taking phone pictures.

Song: Jar of Hearts- Christina Perri

MARCH

In March there was a Quiz Bowl tournament in Boise. Russell and I rocked it. You know, I have a lot of pictures with Russell in them. :P Haha. Love that kid. He's like my brother. In the Quiz Bowl tournament I was the team captain... we didn't beat anyone, but it was still super fun! We got to miss school and hang out with a bunch of nerds! Who'd pass up an opportunity like that?!

Song: Perfect- P!nk

APRIL

This is the only picture that was on my phone from April, so it'll have to do. It was taken when my family went to my cousin Nicole's wedding. Which was fun because I got to see most of my Ashby cousins. It was a vintage wedding; the reception was in an old theater! It was so cute. :) I would totally do the same thing if I was big into vintage. Prom was this month as well. I went with James Adamson... but I have no pictures on my phone. Oh well.

Song: Rolling in the Deep- Adele

MAY

In May I went to Lagoon with the music classes from my school. So fun! and Pa'a was there! --> He was my best friend in 8th grade, but after freshman year he moved to Salt Lake. :( But I saw him! Yay! And I totally love the Lagoon picture on the left. Frickin' love that picture. :)

Song: Party Rock Anthem- LMFAO

JUNE

In June I went to EFY with Tori. It was pretty fun. But for some strange reason, every time I go to EFY, I am stuck in a company that isn't very close. :( I want to be in an EFY company that grows super close like a family! Oh well, maybe next year. I also had Youth Conference in June. Super fun! We had a lot of fun activities planned. :D It was also the month I said bye to Matt. :( I cried. Sad.

Song: Price Tag- Jessie J

JULY

This was a very busy month. Our family went back east and saw a lot of church history sites like Nauvoo, Far West, Carthage, etc. Then

there was Girl's Camp. Hecka fun. I loved being a YCL. And it is so great having crazy hair. :D And then there was the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, for which I dressed up as Harry Potter. :D It was fun. :) But people DID call me names. :( Oh well, it was worth it.

Song: Tonight Tonight- Hot Chelle Rae

AUGUST

In August I met Tim Urban! YES!!! I just randomly heard that

he'd be at the mall, so I went. :D Yay! And after that I worked at the mall handing out flyers. Bleh. And earlier in August, I went to this Sun Valley music camp thing. It was a good experience, but I had NO friends... so I doubt I'll do it again. Yeah.

Song: Moves Like Jagger- Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera

SEPTEMBER

In September was The Standards. And I think that was it. School started. I met some great people. I learned how much fun Jive was. Yup. September wasn't a very highlight-filled month.

Song: Stereo Hearts- Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine

OCTOBER

Not a whole lot of stuff happened in October either. Although I did participate in the school "Haunted Hall", which explains my 'creepiness' in this picture. Yeah. Boo. October was mostly filled with blogging, something I didn't realize until I reviewed my blogs and noticed that a lot of them were in October. Yeah.

Song: What Makes You Beautiful- One Direction

NOVEMBER

<--This is a Teddy Graham that Emilee Gomske, Rachael Wilkinson, and I killed at Johnny Carino's during Choir Honor Clinic. Fun. :D In November I also had State. Also fun. Especially since we

won in water polo. And then there was Sadie's. Uber fun.

Song: Set Fire to the Rain- Adele

DECEMBER

Well, I can't really think of much to say regarding December

because for the most part I have been blogging all of it. December is full of concerts and recitals, giving and receiving.

Song: A Thousand Years- Christina Perri

Goodbye 2011. You've been good to me. But then again, we've also had our downs. It has been somewhat of a bipolar year. I made resolutions... but didn't accomplish them. I don't think I accomplished any. Not 1. Actually, I think I did do 1. "Maximize Kindness." I feel like I was able to do that. So yes. 1 of 5: accomplished. Pretty good, but not good enough. Next year I honestly want to accomplish my resolutions. I'll do the best I can, try my hardest.

2012 Resolutions:

1. Stop chewing on fingernails. This has been a habit of mine since I was born pretty much. I have tried to stop multiple times, to no avail. But in 2012 I will. I will finally achieve this feat.

2. Learn to SAVE MONEY. I get an allowance, yet I am pretty much broke. I spend SO much money on stupid little things; I want to be able to save enough money that I would actually be able to buy something valuable if I wanted to.

3. Lose my fat rolls. Yeah, I'm fat. I want this fat gone. And gone for good. This is a big one. Hopefully it will happen, and hopefully it will change people's perspective of me.

4. Have my first kiss. I know that if I want it to mean something then I have next to no control over it, but that doesn't mean I don't want it to happen. This was also my resolution this past year, but it obviously didn't happen. This is probably the one thing I want more than anything else. Please. Let it happen. Let it matter. Let it count. I want to fall in love, a love that is returned.

5. Be sincerely happy. I need to be more optimistic about things. I've been doing a really good job with this around other people; trying to get them to look at the bright side of things and acting all happy and such. But in my head I'm always negative. I need to stop dwelling on the rainy days and look at the sun.

2012

Another New Beginning

2012

A Good Year

2012

The Year My Dreams Come True

I will make it the best I can.

I Can Do Better

As you may have noticed, a few days ago, I changed my blog. I kinda wanted a little change. :) I even changed the name. It is now "The Best Me." Ever since I changed it, however, I have realized that I'm not even being the best me! I can do so much better! I have so much to be thankful for; I have no reason to complain.

-----> I need to try harder.

Try harder to be nicer.

Try harder to be prompter.

Try harder to be a better listener.

Try harder to be more responsible.

Try harder to be healthier.

Try harder to be better.

Because I deserve it.

And so do YOU. ♥

Hope

"Right now, someone you haven't met is thinking about what it would be like to meet someone like you." ~Samra Ramovic

Optimism: The Best Therapy

I'm not really a hateful person... but I have decided what I do hate: negative people. Lately I've been trying my hardest to always be positive. I was talking to my two friends Emily and Rachel the other day, and they said that it bugs them when people are always happy. (They were in bad moods.) They think that it's abnormal to always be happy. I disagreed with them at first, but then I started thinking... everyone goes through trials and feels sorrow, so no one can always be happy. But! Being happy and being positive are completely different things.

Positivity: having an attitude with which you always look for the best in everything, and try to focus on the happiness.

Happiness: actually being joyful and smiling and feeling like everything that actually matters in your life is going great.

I used to think that I'm always happy, but then I realized I'm not. Not really. I'm positive and that's all that matters. There are quite a few things in my life that could cause me to be so very upset and grumpy all the time, but instead I choose to be positive. Something that actually does cause me to become happy is service. I love bringing joy to other people. When Emily and Rachel were all sad and mad that one day, the next day I brought them "bricks of pudding." I totally made their weeks. :D It made me so happy to just see their faces light up when I gave them their bricks. (By the way, bricks of pudding are an inside joke between us, so the fact that I actually made some for them was pretty hilarious.) Service is incredible. Even just the little things. I think that when I serve I am touched more than those I serve.

~~~

Change of topic. Okay, so after Jive the other night the scariest thing happened. (Not to me, thankfully. I would have cried.) It was a living nightmare. There was a person in Kiefer's car. A random person. Hiding in his backseat. Thankfully he saw them, and was driving near a friend so he called them and they looked in his car and saw the person. Then Kiefer pulled over and was about to run out of his car when the person hopped out and ran down the street. CREEPY. I honestly have nightmares ALL THE TIME about people hiding in my car. I've always been so paranoid about it. But I always thought it was an irrational fear. I mean really. I always lock my car, and I live in Twin Falls, ID, where very little crime ever happens. Ever. And that guy could have very easily been in my car instead. Kiefer said his car had been locked (so honestly, how the heck'd that guy get in?), and my car had been parked in the exact same parking lot. If that guy had broken into my car I could have been killed. Because the way I drive home is mostly in the dark out in the middle of nowhere between a bunch of farming fields. Easy place for someone to hide a body. Hearing about what happened to Kiefer makes me so thankful for being safe that night. I am even more careful to check my car now than I was before. Eep.

Random:::

So... today is 11-1-11. And I just noticed that on Pinterest I have 11 boards, 111 pins, and 11 followers. I think I'm gonna not pin any more today. :D

11-1-11:11,111,11= pure luck. Today must be special.

P.S. Make a WISH.

I can & I will.

This past week I realized something. Well, a few things, actually...

but they can all be schmooshed together into

.one.

.big.

.thing.

and that thing is...

I have POTENTIAL.

We all do.

~~~

In the words of Hannah Montana, "It's easy to feel like you're all alone, to feel like nobody knows. The great that you are, the good that's inside you, is trying so hard to break through. Maybe it's your time to lift off and fly. You won't know if you never try. I will be there with you all of the way; you'll be fine. Don't let anyone tell you that you're not strong enough. Don't give up! There's nothing wrong with just being yourself; that's more than enough! So come on and raise your voice. Speak your mind and make some noise." I love how this song states that you can do anything; you just need to try. Everyone has potential.

This past week I came to realize that I am a "jack of all trades, master of none." I play the piano and cello, sing, swim, play water polo, play percussion, and more... but nothing am I incredible at. Sometimes I look back and think where I would be in my life if I had just chosen to develop one or two of these talents instead of trying to do them all. People always say there is no way at this point that I can become great at one of these; it's too late. But it's not. Like I have already said... I have potential. My piano teacher says so, my voice teacher says so, my cello teacher says so, even my swimming coach. What brought on this post on potential was that last Friday I had one on one swim practice with my coach. I worked on butterfly the whole time. Coach said that because I am built to butterfly and have such good form I could possibly make State next year in butterfly if I get enough pool time in for practice. Me, chubby little Elizabeth who has been swimming for seven whole years but continually gets beaten by rookies at the sport, get a State time? Never! Especially not in butterfly, the most difficult/tiring/drudgerious (---by the way, drudgerious is a word I made up a few years ago for an Honors English application; it'a pretty much just an adjective form of the noun drudgery) stroke! But no, not "never." It's obviously possible if my coach says it is. I just need to believe and practice. And that is the same with everyone and everything, It kinda goes with the whole "faith without works is dead" bit, but with faith anything is possible if you put forth effort for it to be so.

Practice+Belief=Anything you want to accomplish.

Many people think that saying "I can" is a great way to motivate yourself; I disagree. Saying "I can" just states a fact. "I can do my homework." "I can go on a diet." "I can get to bed early." Yeah, so what? I already knew that stuff. Why does printing it out make any difference? I already knew it was true. I find that when you change "can" to "will" the fact becomes a goal. A goal that will hopefully be accomplished.

I will get at least a high B in my Calculus class.**

I will strive my hardest to become valedictorian.**

I will exercise regularly (even when swim season is over).**

I will finish all my homework on time.**

I will be kind to everyone I come in contact with.**

Make State in the 100 Fly senior year.**

Now those are goals. Goals that I hope to achieve. Goals that I know I can achieve.