What the heck is it?

So It's my birthday on Monday and when I went home for thanksgiving my mom gave me a pretty little package, with strict instructions not to open it until my actual birthday. It has been sitting on my desk for about a week now- just sitting there, staring at me, mocking me, and driving me crazy! What is it?! More than anything I am just curious. What are your thoughts? - anyone?

1st of all...

First of all: I just wrote a pretty kick butt paper so... everyone be proud of me. If my teacher doesn't give me a good grade I may or may not kick him in the shins!

Second of all: this last summer my friend Colby Ottley introduced me to a really rad band. They are called Steel Train. They are stuck in my head and I think everyone everywhere should listen to them. Now!

Steel Train-----><---Colby

and C: I get to go home in almost exactly one week. Yeah for seeing Dawn! Yeah for seeing Hayden! (I love being called "Aunt Red" by everyone in the Cooper/LaRance family) Yeah for seeing my family and eating turkey together! Yeah for having nick be mean to me in person rather than on the phone! (He really does love me, he just can't express it correctly) Yeah for overcast Oregon thanksgiving weather- It's so Cozy and makes me want to sip peppermint hot chocolate and snuggle with a cute boy. Also... yeah for my new green fleece blanket that i got at IKEA for $3. It has nothing to do with going home but I just really like it- It's very green!

(This is my photographic evidence that nick is mean)

4: I can't stop watching Top Gear. Why? That's a boy show!? I love it.

And lastly: ...?... I still want an orangutan as stated in my prior blog.

I'm not an animal person but...

I recently saw a documentary about orangutans. I decided I want one.

Friends and Guy Fawkes!

So today started out pretty bad. It's a long story filled with a lot of stupidity, but that's not the point of this story. The point is- Life is GOOOOOOOOD. I feel so blessed and grateful to have such good friends in my life. I feel that I have always been blessed to have good friends, and its great when they reach out to ya just when you need it. For me, its all about the small and simple things- They are the things that mean the most to me and make the biggest impact in my life. Today I really needed to feel cared about and I do. In-spite of the rough start, It turned out to be a pretty fantastic day. And now, as my day is coming to a close I notice that my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. That's a good sign I think.

Oh and ps! HAPPY GUY FAWKES DAY!

Today a few girlfriends met up and celebrated guy Fawkes day. It was fun! -Even though we didn't get to burn anything :(

So we all took the individual shots with each other until someone got the great idea for a group shot. You think after 4 1/2 months of picture taking practice at all those London monuments togwther we would have figured it out by now.

Weekend O Fun!

This last weekend my parents came into town and we had a blast. We mostly just hung out and talked, but there is something about spending time with your fam. that just feels regenerating. I was also pretty excited about going to IKEA for the first time. (I love cheap, aesthetically pleasing crap!)

I got to see some of my cousins too! We met at the gateway malls in salt lake and went out to eat. After that we just talked inside the theater doorway for about an hour and a half. (It was cold outside!)

Me, Kelie and Kaitlyn just being awesome

Mom and Kristie copping a squat in the theater doorway

The whole gang

Oooo! Oooo! So I also got this fantastic book! I recommend it to anyone who loves to laugh! I am pretty excited to read it- especially during work where things can get a bit boring.

My sister in law is pregnant and she is pretty cute. I like her. - wait, nix that LOVE her!

My Nephew Luke is quite possibly the cutest thing that has ever been. It is so fun to watch him thinking- you can see the wheels in his head turning and I love that! He learns new things every day- he is a sponge. He recently learned how to say "boom shaka laka." I could watch this video 1,000 times!

Has Aloton Brown ever even seen a chicken?!

Lately I have made a conscience effort to become more hommakerly (is that a word?!- I elect that it is). Typically my family thinks of me as the girly one (sister that is). I don’t really know what that means or implies but I am told that I am “girly” a lot. I think I like that- (Although, I am not yet sure because I have not asked Dawn how I feel about it—but that is an entirely different blog). Despite my girlyness I would not consider myself very hommakerly, however, I would consider my younger sister Nicole to be so. She is the chef of the family. She inherited this talent naturally from my mother, who has in the past been told to open her own restaurant. I on the other hand have been known to burn water in a pot!

I am often surprised at how different Nicole and I are from each other. She feels a bit uncomfortable embracing her inner girly-ness, something that comes pretty naturally to me. Outwardly she is way more casual than me- inwardly I know she is just as much of “a girl” but feels awkward expressing it. Anyways, although she is afraid of outwardly embracing her inner girl, she is still an excellent homemaker type. She is probably one of the best cooks I can think of. I love it when I come home after months or years of being away and she makes me food. It’s nice when I come home to be taken care of!

Here is how it usually works when I am at home: It may be anytime between 12 and 5 and the cereal that I had at 8am has worn off and my tummy is growling. It’s usually the kind of hungry where you really want real food that is healthy and yummy and your so sick of cereal or crackers or pb&j that you just can’t take it anymore. This is when I find Nicole.

I say in my nice voice “oh hey, what are you up to?” Then we make polite chit chat for anywhere from 10min to an 1hour. (I know 1 hour may seem like a lot of time for suck-up style chit-chat; but sometimes I get to talking with my sister and I forget that I ever wanted anything from her in the first place.) Then, finally I just tell her “Nicole, make me food!” I make sure to use my playful/ whinny/slightly bossy voice, as I do not want to offend.

I think that secretly she loves it when I do this. She knows she is a good cook! She likes to cook! And I think she likes me… so. All in all, all I am really doing is asking her to do something she loves, for someone she loves. Hey, what can I say- I like to create opportunities for service. Anyways this little routine typically turns out triumphant. Coley usually comes up with some new fantastic concoction and I am a happy girl because I get to be fed and taken care of.

The reason I have even thought of this is because it is defiantly one of those days. I don’t really have anything that is much of edible in my apartment- I think I have pasta noodles and peanut butter. I’m no chef but I really don’t think that would be a good combo. (I would have to call and ask dawn though). Furthermore, despite my best efforts I am not feeling hommakerlyish today. I spent all day yesterday after school cleaning my apartment and today I just refuse to do anything but homework and the Arrested Development marathon that was on earlier this morning. (Mike! I finally saw this show- very funny!) Anyways, this means that not only am I hungry, but I am feeling that my latest efforts to become a better cook and homemaker have somehow been counteracted and erased by my unwillingness today. Perhaps in a pitiful effort to hold on to my homemaker-ness I have put the food network on whilst I study my never ending spanish assignments.

Oh how I love Alton Brown, he is part cook, part bill Nye the science guy and part supper hero! He was just hosting a show where chefs compete with strange ingredients like tripe and squid and catfish. It seems that each of these cooks were able to take their ridiculous ingredients and make something edible and delicious with it. Perhaps after I finish my Spanish homework I will venture into my kitchen and try to artistically combine my noodles and peanut butter and make something edible… then again… maybe not. (I wish Nicole were here!)

4 Eyes

So... I recently got glasses. This is what they look like. Also, I may have gotten a little carried away with the whole photo fashion shoot and photo shop thing. Perhaps it's the fact that my roommates constantly watch Americas Next Top Model marathons and I have been subjected to subliminal modeling messages.(Grrrl! You be look'n FIERCE!) Yeah, that or I'm simply just a narcissist. Either way it's pretty great to see things again.

In the summer time and the weather is nice...

I suppose I should stop living in the past but... THAT'S WHEN ALL THE GOOD STUFF HAPPENED! Well, at least this summer anyways. This past summer I went home for the first time in a long time and I loved it. I got to spend time with my fam. and friends who mean the world to me. There were a few major (and minor) events that occurred, and I believe they are worth mentioning.

On Aug 24th Katie got married. Wow! She's married! How wonderful. It was so fun to be a part of her wedding and to spend some quality time together before the big day. The week before her wedding me, Katie, Erin and Joy went to the beach and spent a few days being lazy, reading, chit-chatting, and playing games. (Katie is very proud of me because I learned at least 4 new games that week- something I don't do often.) Katie and Robbie are great together and it was so fun to be there for their wedding! Congrats Kimmels!!!

Take out the old and bring in the new! Mom and dad finally decided to get a new kids car. This decision was actually sort of made for them as the blue box finally died for good. Please, a moment of silence in memory of our devoted friend and companion for so many years. We will miss the blue box but we know that she has gone on to a better place.... like U-pull it. There she can be scrapped and torn apart for various parts. Anyways, in true Freeman fashion the "new" car purchased is something to be admired. The Freeman's are now the proud owners of a 1984 Toyota celica. She is a bit old (as old as me actually) but we lover her. I enjoyed taking her out on the town while I was still at home.

Life's a Beach! (Oh man! I AM my fathers daughter!-- sorry about the bad pun). So this summer I pretty much lived at the beach. I love spending time at the ocean. There is nothing that reminds me I am home more than trips to the beach.

Beach trip #1 was with Dawn and Hayden. Hayden ate a lot of sand, we had a good time, and then we went to eat at Moe's.

Here is a pic of Hayden and "Aunt Red" catching up on the latest gossip.

Here is Dawn just being such a cute mom. Look at her! She is such a mom! She even has the mom holding a kids hand while posing for a picture and overall just looking gorgeous thing going on. I love watching her take care of Hayden because she is so good at it. (Love burst!)

I also went to the beach with the fam for a week or so. Ryan, Kristee and Luke were there and it was a blast. I loved hiking up the dune and taking some pretty sweet pics. I spent a lot of time with my siblings this summer and had a really good time. I miss them! Austin thinks he's taller then me. I think he is not. .... I may or may not be in denial. Anyways, in this pic he was most assuredly trying to be taller than me.

Hey Look! It's Peter Pan... or just Austin.

We...um... "went fishing"? Ok so we bought the fish, but it was still so fresh and good. " Hey there big tuna" -Andy, The Office.

Luke turned 2 while we were at the beach. I love him! As far as birthday cake goes I think the motto "go big or go home" is appropriate. Dig in Luke!

Some sweet beach pics that I took. -- I love my new camera!

~Not that you would be able to tell from this picture but Dawn, Me and Nikki went to a Josh Gracin concert. We had a great time rock'n out on the front row. Dawn had to fight off some obnoxious "stupid prom date" look-alike to make sure he didn't steal the drum stick that was so clearly thrown in her direction (and which she caught with great ease by-the-way). After the concert we enjoyed our drive home, especially when we made a quick stop at a hotel for directions. We took some fun pictures in the hotel but.... we were practicing our ugly faces so... I wont post them.

What?! That's not Josh Gracin, that's Kieth Urban!!! Why is Kieth Urban at our Josh Gracin concert? They must be close friends I think.

Also, at the concert I got thrown in jail. .... or just an ATM with bars that reminded me of a jail.





Colby and I went to a GREAT concert! The Format was headlining the tour. Steel Train played as well as Limbeck, Reubens Accomplice and a few others. I love this picture because everyone is making a face but me, including that stranger in the background. Usually it's the other way around!All in all, this summer was great. I loved being home, seeing my fam, and going on adventures with friends. What a bunch of great memories and can't wait to make some more!

Well hey there pretty lady

Recently my sister and I became obsessed with all things Amanda Bynes, especially her brilliant movie "She's the Man." I am not ashamed to say that we probably watched it at least 2-3 times a week this summer. (ok ok that may or may-not have been an exaggeration). Anyways, this movie is unrealistic, it's cheesy, it's pointless and it's completely random. I love it! My sister and I love it so much that this summer we made our brother watch it too. In the past Ryan has told me that I am a bit of a mystery to him. After watching "She's the Man" he told me that he thinks he understands me a little better now. I'm not exactly sure what that means, or what that says about me, but I'm pretty happy about it non-the less. Basically, I think all people everywhere should be exposed to this timeless masterpiece in film. Hey! remember..."debutants chew like they have a secret."