The only thing that I absolutely want to say right now is that Elder Holland's talk today during general conference was absolutely AMAZING! If you didn't hear it... you need to. It was exactly what I needed to hear.

School... Europe Dreams....

This is me and my mom at Girls Camp 2009. Going into sophomore year...

AND... this is us at Girls Camp 2008. Going into Freshman year. Time flies....

Sophomore year has finally started. I'm loving my schedule! Having choir everyday is great! It's one of those classes that you can enter totally depressed, but by the time the bell rings, you can't stop laughing.

Here's my fantastic schedule:
Pre-Zero: Seminary
Zero Hour: Astronomy
Period 1: Algebra 2
Period 2: French 1
Period 3: Concert choir
Period 4: Show Choir a.k.a. the most amazing class eva!
Period 5: English Honors
Period 6: Biology Honors

School this year should be great! Every year for spring break, my French teacher hosts a trip to Europe for students. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to go! But... the trip costs 2,600 dollars. The good news is that people can donate to me! The government has this amazing thing called "tax credit donations". If you don't know what they are, let me tell you.

All it is, is a fabulous form! It takes the money that you pay for taxes, and sends it to whoever you fill out the form to. So, for example, instead of your tax money going towards the car companies that are failing, you can send it to me so that I can use it on my trip! How amazing is that?! And the best part is that you get your money back! Don't ask me how it works... I don't know... but it's AMAZING! Each family can donate up to 400 dollars. You can either fill out the form I give you, or, if you live far away, you can go to their website.

I really need your help! (man, I feel like a commercial...) This trip is the dream of a lifetime. We'll be seeing France, London, Rome, Pisa, and many more areas. PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! If you would like to donate, please let me know so that I can get you a form (or the website). Remember, I need to earn 2,600 dollars!

As you've probably noticed, I haven't blogged in about 3 months. So, here I am! We've been on summer vacation these past few weeks and I think that this is the first year that I'm NOT excited to go back. Maybe it's the homework... yep, that's probably it. We went to Utah to visit family and while we were there we visited Zion National Park. Up top are some pictures that I took (except for the one of myself). I thought that I did a good job! My parents and I are going to Girls Camp tomorrow. I'll be a 4th year this time, so that means that I will be embarking on the 2 night- 3 day/ 12 mile hike. AHH! I'm SO excited... but nervous. I think that it's just the fact that there won't be any bathroom. But, I'll probably get over that real fast. I'm really excited for the end of the hike when all the other girls wait for us at the end of the trail and cheer. I can't wait to get the feeling that I've accomplished something amazing. Well, I should probably get some sleep so I can have enough energy to carry my pack tomorrow!

8 More Weeks!

I only have 8 more weeks of school until FREEDOM! Can I get a "WHOO-HOO"!?! I'm so excited for this summer. No homework and Girls Camp! I went on our 4th year pre-hike/sleepover this weekend. We hiked six miles (3 miles uphill and 3 miles down). It was so much fun. I was great to get to know all of the girls that I'll be going on the hike with. But, I was kinda upset with the number of girls that showed up. There are supposed to be about 25 girls in my year level, but our numbers have drastically decreased to about 12. Why are they all leaving?! WHY?! But, I guess that's the reality of going on a two night hike. We're supposed to be going about 12 miles total with huge backpacks. But we'll have about two and a half days to do it. We should be fine. I'm so excited!

I have two presentations coming up in April. The two are for history and english. I need to get started on those! My problem isn't getting the information piled in the time limit. It's trying to make it entertaining that I have trouble with. I always seem to bore my classmates to death and I feel so bad. History and English is so boring though! AHH!!!

Oh, I still need to find a dress to wear that looks like Jane Austen.... ugh.

so busy

I thought that spring break was going to be relaxing.... WRONG!

Last week the family went on vacation to California and went to Legoland and Knott's Berry Farm. It was so much fun! But now, it's back to reality. I've got loads of work to do. With schoolwork and my YW medallion recognition night coming up here's a list of what I have to have done by Sunday.

1. take a picture of myself
2. create seven displays for each of my value projects
3. write a little "talk" about each of my projects
4. write what the Personal Progress program means to me and how it's changed my life
5. bake brownies
6. come up with a good time to have a Mia Maid presidency meeting
7. get started on making a dress for my English class
8. write two paragraphs for an essay in English
9. do 14 hours of community service by May 1st
10. get my hair cut and colored
11. get started on my presentation on Jane Austen (man, I have a lot of english homework to do!)

And last, but DEFINATELY not least:
12. I was just asked to give a talk on Sunday on "Magnifying Your Calling"

I have to get all this stuff done by.... SUNDAY???!?!?! That's impossible!!! AHHH!!!!!

It's March!

Ahhh.... March. I love this time of year. It's not to hot, but not to cold. But, not only do I like the weather, I like that it's so close to the end of the school year. Once it hits March/ April, everyone at school starts getting summer fever! Instead of paying close attention in class, kids are talking about their summer plans, the seniors are talking about college and their life after graduation, and everyone's just excited to FINALLY GET A BREAK!!! :D
Now, don't get me wrong, school's... okay.... But I wouldn't want to spend everyday there! Maybe it's just the homework that gets me all wound up. I don't know.

But, aside from all the homework, I have a really strong feeling that next year is going to be so much better and a lot more fun! It's probably because I won't be taking p.e., I'll have two choirs (my favorite class in the world), and all of my eighth grade friends will finally be freshman. Or it could be that I'll be turning sixteen and that means my Sweet Sixteen party and DRIVING, da, da, da!!! It's going to be great.

Wow. That seems to be all that I've been talking about lately... school next year. It's just so exciting for me! There's all these new friends to meet and new adventures to experience. Well, it's that, and the fact that I can't think of anything else to write about. Nothing has really happened in my life that's worth talking about.
My grandparents left about a week ago and while they were here, my Nana cooked so much, that I swear I gained at least 5 pounds. So, over rodeo break (which has been the last four days) I've been trying to watch what I ate. I don't know if I've lost any weight... but I've been feeling a lot better. I have my energy back finally! I've been trying to watch my portion sizes and how often I snack. So, hopefully, I can lose some weight... wish me luck! You all should join me! My mom, dad, Austin, and I have been keeping our own food diaries of all the food we eat each day. Then after a week, we can look back and see what we should change in our diets. Like, eating less junkfood or eating more vegetables.

I think that's about it. Nothing else is really going on other than homework... And I KNOW that you all don't want to hear about that. What a boring topic! Haha!

March 22nd

On March 22nd at 7pm, I am officially receiving my young woman's medallion! I am sooo excited! So, mark you calendars everyone... and come see me. Two other girls are getting recognized also. Courtney (a laurel) has already gotten her medallion but didn't receive a recognition night, so we're recognizing her. Julia (a laurel) is getting her medallion. She finished her personal progress about a week after me. And then, me, a mia maid. Truthfully, I have no clue how this whole thing is going to happen. All I know is that I might have to share my thoughts on Personal Progress and how it has helped me in my life. That sounds easy enough. But, as to everything else, I have no idea. Maybe it'll be a suprise.... hmmm....

I've Been Tagged!

I have been tagged by my Aunt Patty! Apparently, I'm supposed to say six random things about myself... Well, here it goes:

1. My favorite color is RED!
2. I wish people went to dances to meet new people and DANCE, instead of staying in their little groups and dancing with the same two girls over and over!
3. Right now, I'm actually considering being a dental hygienist.
4. My pet-peeve is when people think that choir is a "free elective"! UGH!
5. I try to have perfect handwriting!
6. I wish that I was more outgoing, just so that I could walk up to a random person, introduce myself, and not get embarrassed afterwards.

I'll add one more just for good measure:

7. I really need a new mattress.... hint,hint!

EGO!

I hate a person with a big ego! It just frustrates me so much! Especially when it comes to singers. They all think that they're so amazing. Don't get me wrong, this is a great thing. You should feel confident about yourself. But, when it comes to a point where you're yelling at others because they say that you need to work on certain things... that's where I draw the line. I think you all know what I'm talking about now. Yes, the contestants on American Idol. I can't stand it when they hold up the show by yelling at the judges, begging for another chance, and crying and asking "WHY?!". When things like that happen, I just want to jump through the television and tell that person that they need to suck it up! Obviously, if you're being kicked off of the show, YOU ARE NOT A GOOD ENOUGH SINGER! What part of that don't people understand.... UGH!!! I hate it!

Planning For Sophomore Year

School has gone by really fast this year. First semester flew by, and third quarter is already 3 weeks done. The freshman are starting pre-registration on the 5th for what classes we're going to take sophomore year. I'm really excited for the new school year. I'm still constantly learning about how the school works and where everything is. So, hopefully, next year I'll have a better idea of where to go and who to see about certain situations. I think that I'll be more confident next year about school, studying, teachers, and homework schedules.

There's a lot that will happen next year. I'll be in show choir and concert choir for one (YES! I'm really excited!). I'll be attending pre-zero seminary at 6am in order to take Algebra 2 zero hour. I'm going to be turning sixteen which means driving. Although, I won't be driving myself to school until after Austin graduates, he'll be a senior next year. I'll have to take the bus home on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays because Austin isn't taking a sixth hour class so he gets the car. Wow, I've got this whole thing figured out already and I still have about 55 days of school left!

Only a few more days until pre-registration and then everything will be finalized! YES!

Choir!

Okay... well I just have to say that Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best. I have my favorite class. Choir.... choir.... CHOIR!!!! I L-O-V-E it! Today we took pictures for a calendar that they're going to make. We took one serious, one funny, then a funny one for each section. GO 1ST SOPRANOS!!! Sorry, but I think that we're the best. It takes skills to sing a high C.... haha!

Right now I'm in Treble Choir. This is pretty much just a beginning choir for all of the girls at the school. The guys are allowed to move on up to an advance choir because there's less of them, I know it's not fair, but that's the reality. I heard that the auditions were coming up for the two advanced choirs (concert choir and show choir). I really want to be in show choir!!! I'll have four electives next year instead of two this year, because sophomores don't take a history class and me and Austin are going to take pre-zero seminary (AT 6AM!) and a zero hour at school. Well, I'm going to audition... and I'm going to see if I can get into both choirs. That would be so cool!

My electives for next year are going to be French 1, Health/Economy (those two classes are only a semester long), and the two choirs (if I can get into both of them). That's kinda what I'm aiming for at this moment. If I get a list of electives that are available, and there's something that's really interesting, I'll switch out one of the choirs for it.

I'm really not so happy about the 6am seminary thing. I'd have to wake up at 4:45! But, I love choir sooo much.... so it's all worth it! Right?

STOLEN!

Okay, just ask yourself... "Would I steal someone's history textbook?" Now, you're probably telling yourself that that's a stupid question. Who would steal a textbook? That's exactly what I've been wondering for the past two days.

On Friday I had some history homework that I had to finish up before school started so I just brought my book to school. Well, I had finished it and I went and sat down in my normal seat in History. I decided that I might as well just use my book instead of the class set 'cause I had it anyways. So, that's what I did.

Our first little assignment at the beginning of class required us to move around the room. So, I left my book open on my desk with my papers and my pencil inside. I thought that this would tell whoever walked by that I was coming back. Apparently this person was blind....

I came back to my desk and my book wasn't there. I told my teacher and she announced to the class that my book had been taken. She told them, of course, that they weren't going to get in trouble; I just needed my book back. Well, no one fessed up to taking it. I told her that it wasn't a big deal, and that I would just wait until everyone turned in their books at the end of class and just take the one that was mine.

Well, at the end of class she had one extra book. The problem was I didn't know which one was mine. They all looked the same! After about 15 minutes of searching through every single book for a familiar writing or a name, we gave up. My teacher just told me to pick the nicest one on the shelf. So now, I have a gross and dirty book that's been thrown on the floor and been touched my who-knows what....

Who would steal a textbook???

Shout Out!

Okay, this is a shout out to one of my BEST FRIENDS Katie! I just had to put this picture up. Allie, thanks for taking it.... I think it's hilarious. We couldn't stop laughing while Allie was trying to take the picture, that's why we have these weird looks on our faces. HAH! I think we were trying to be ninjas or something.

The other two are at Young Women in Excellence. Katie was kind enough to come and support us there. Even though she's not a member of the church, we all LOVE it when she comes to activities with us!

Yeah, go KATIE!!!

Personal Progress

I'm so excited! I've reached the point where I only have a few more goals to do in Personal Progress and then I will be DONE! I only have two goals for faith and my project; and two goals for Divine Nature and my project. I'm working on both projects as we speak. My faith project is reading the entire Book of Mormon cover to cover, something that I have not done before. And my Divine Nature project is planning and participating in the stake roadshow. I'm on the roadshow committee with three other youth from the ward, so we wrote the script, assigned parts, and we're in charge of a certain area in the roadshow (mine's blocking). I'm actually working on all four goals too. I'm hoping to finish before New Beginnings comes up on February 18th... I think that's the date... It's somewhere around there. My goal is to have all of Personal Progress DONE by FEBRUARY 7TH!!! You all can hold me to this goal. Check up on me then and make sure I have it done. Better yet, remind me a week before that I need to finish up.

I'm really excited to get my Young Women's medallion! YAY! I'm totally getting silver!

What should I blog about?!

I'm having writers block. I apologize. But, I'll try and think of things that have happened since I last blogged.

Well, today was our first day back to a new semester. I've been having some trouble with my English teacher and I REALLY wasn't excited to go back to her class. I tried to get out, but no luck. Not to mention that fact that she has us doing two projects at the moment (and one more starting next week). I'm really stressing out over this stuff. Thankfully my other teachers haven't given us that much homework (well, at least right now). But, I guess that's what you get when you're in three honors classes.

Christmas was great! but it just felt different from any other year. I don't know why. The excitement and the "magic" just wasn't there. I kind of wish that we had family with us, but since we don't have family near by, I guess that's not possible without months of planning.

The New Years Eve dance came... and went. Once again, I was disappointed with the lack of dancing that was going on by yours truly. I don't know what the deal was with the guys in our stake. They'd come and walk to you, make eye contact, smile, and just when you think that they're going to ask you...... THEY WALK AWAY! Can you believe it? I danced four times. Twice with a guy named Tyler, once with a guy named Josh (both in my ward, by the way), and once with my dad. I was quite disappointed! I know what you're saying: "Oh, Molly! Just go ask a guy to dance! They'll say yes!" oh, oh, oh. I said that to myself plenty of times at the dance. But, it's really not that easy. I always feel bad for getting mad at the guys for not asking me to dance when I couldn't possibly ask one of them. It's terrifying! I don't know how they do it! But, still, come on guys. Ask the girls to dance!

Today, we went to the Village Inn for Reid's birthday. But, I'm sure that my mom will write about that and I'm really supposed to be doing homework right now. So, I'm going to go! Thanks for reading!