timpanogos

Timpanogos was beautiful. The leaves were just barely beginning to turn, we only saw a small cluster of yellow and orange surrounding the most perfectly made spiderweb I've ever seen. The only reason I saw it was because the morning sunlight shone directly through the pearly strands; it was completely invisible otherwise. We got up to the campsite around 7 or so (we got a late start because I was at the lab until 5:30) and couldn't find the place to pay nor someone to ask for help, so we chose a campsite (strategically located near the bathroom) and immediately started to set up camp. It took a couple of tries to start the fire but eventually we got it and started roasting our mini potatoes while we drank a mixture of vodka and raspberry lemonade. Once that was gone we started in on our beer. Roasted bananas are God's gift to this green Earth. They are the single most delicious thing I've ever tasted. By the end of the night I was very full and very drunk. We attempted to keep the fire going and play guitar until darkness fell. The moon was nearly full and illuminated the entire forest. I actually slept for once (I have trouble sleeping when camping). The next morning we remade our fire and toasted PBJs (also delicious) and more bananas, packed up, and finally found where we were supposed to pay the night before. We discovered we could have gotten away with not paying, but we will hopefully be gaining major Karma points for choosing to pay.

Now to go when fall colors are at their peak.

stop

I read a blog post today about how to live a beautiful life.

http://galadarling.com/article/how-to-live-a-beautiful-life

And it really made me think. Basically, she says to STOP LIVING VICARIOUSLY THROUGH OTHERS!!! I myself take inspiration from things like pictures on tumblr and reading other people's blogs, but it's good to remember not to just pine for those things. Make them happen! It was amazing because I read this blog post after I was done making my regular rounds on the internet, and (as anyone who knows me has seen) I have been rather depressed for the past week and a half. I realized that this is exactly what I've been doing: I've been declining all of the awesome stuff people have invited me to do in order to mope in my room, watching Netflix and wishing I could live the lives of other people who seem like they're having way more fun than I am. I could have gone to Brewvies, I could have gone to Piper Down for a birthday party, I could have gone up to the canyons to look at the stars, I could have gone dancing. But instead I watched Roseanne and cried.

BUT NOW IS THE TIME TO STOP.

Yeah, I always say this. Yeah, I always have these ridiculous "pep myself up" talks where I resolve to be more positive, etc. But this isn't just about that. It's about what I'm going to DO to make this happen. I started today by closing my laptop after I read this blog post, picking up my guitar (which I haven't played in months), and retreating outside into the sun with it to relearn how to play. First I learned (via youtube...hey, I didn't say not to use the internet EVER) how to tune my guitar without the convenience of an electronic tuner (I have no clue where mine is), which I always thought was an absolute impossibility when I was a sophomore in high school and I first started playing. Then I went outside, sat down in the grass with my dusty binder full of sheet music for The Beatles, Jack Johnson, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkle, Iron and Wine, Coldplay, and The Shins, and started to reacquaint myself with chords and finger picking. It took a few minutes to make my brain fit the patterns of strumming with the notes of the song and my singing, but soon I was playing like I used to. I spent two hours out in the backyard with the dogs laying around me in the shade while I played songs and serenaded them. It was amazing and now my fingers hurt like a bitch



Later we spent the day with family, where we went swimming. The last swimming of the season, as the pool closes after labor day. It's always my last ode to summer. We all played "dump the people on the floating swim mattress" game where everyone beat the crap out of each other (I kicked some people in the face, pulled some hair, got bit, got pinched, also got kicked in the face, etc.) and dove, somersaulted, and splashed until the sun started to set and the crickets came out. I love evening and night swimming.



Now it's time to make a list of everything I want to do now that fall is on its way. I have only had this blog since spring, so the people out there who may or may not read this new blog probably have no idea that I ADORE AUTUMN. I love everything about fall. The best part about fall though, is HALLOWEEN. It's still too early to be pining for October and to be so excited about it, but it is my favorite month with my FAVORITE FUCKING HOLIDAY IN THE WORLD, and everyone is starting to bring out their Halloween merchandise and decorations so it's got me excited. Here are some things I plan on doing/am going to do in the next few months (non-Halloween/October edition).

-Start swimming for exercise, because when I did that I was the healthiest I've ever been. I want to feel good about myself, so I need to start exercising and eating better. I think now is the perfect time to start working on me and making myself feel awesome.



-Go camping! I'm planning on going camping this weekend at Timpanogos, hopefully it's cool enough up there that the colors have started to turn. If not, I just need to go camping again! I failed at camping in any capacity during the summer (except for Arizona, which was still in the spring as far as I'm concerned), so fall camping is going to be the bomb. Campfires, drinking (legal) beers, telling ghost stories, watching the stars, going on hikes, playing in streams...I'm so excited! Maybe I'll even bring my guitar and force people to have a singalong.





I want to reenact this picture

-Go hiking. Spend more time outside. I want to force myself to do stuff in the great outdoors, considering I spent a lot of the summer inside watching X-Files. TIME WELL SPENT, but I still want to spend more time in the mountains since they're right there. Right there. And I take them for granted so often. No more!





-Learn more on my guitar, get better, rebuild my calluses and finger strength so I can play the opening bridge to Stairway to Heaven again.

-Make crafts, paint with watercolors, take pictures with my polaroid and digital camera, make more charms and put them up on Etsy again, write short stories based on pictures, BE AN ARTSY FARTSY PERSON.



Kitty and I see eye to eye on a lot of things.

This is my list for now. I'm going to stop living vicariously through other people and instead make my own experiences again. This is fairly dramatic, seeing as I've only been depressed for the past couple of days and only super lame this weekend, but it's true. I'm especially excited for camping this weekend. I'm going to try and go as often as possible until it snows.

weekend weekend

I had a really great weekend. It was warm and springy with a nice mixture of sunshine and a little bit of rain. I wish I had taken more pictures, I need to get in the habit of carrying my camera around more. I'm one of those obnoxious people who tries to document everything. But how else am I going to convey how amazing everything is with just words? I feel like I'm too jumbled with my words, I should work more on that.

I spent Friday night hanging out with Natalya, where we took Luigi (her roommate's cute dog) for a long walk through the neighborhood and then watched Tangled. We decided that she and I would be Rapunzel and Flynn, Malcolm would be Pascal, and Maeby and Manny would be the Stabington brothers. She also made me a healthy dinner chock full of vegetables and chicken. Then I hung out with Maddie, where we watched the original The Hills Have Eyes (I am a little obsessed with horror films) and then The Gods Must Be Crazy II (that honey badger part killed me, loved it). It was a nice stay-in, comfy cozy Friday night. Saturday was spent hanging out with my mom, who took me shopping for new summer clothes and shoes. I got my very first pair of heels! Pictures will come soon. I also got a pair of black flats, lots of pairs of cute shorts (finally the kinds of shorts I like are back in style), three cute tank tops, and a plethora of lacey underwear. Day well spent, if I do say so myself.

That night we went to Benihana since my cousin had never been there before, which was super fun. My mom and I watched another horror movie called Premonition which was HILARIOUS. I hung out with Maddie again that night and we ended up going to Village Inn for coffee and a delicious grilled cheese sandwich (in my case). Our friend Grace invited us to come to an event being held up at campus called Relay for Life. It's a fundraiser for cancer where teams are sponsored to walk around campus all night long, so we went and joined in. Tents and fire pits were set up all along the front lawn in front of the union (our school's cafeteria), and the smell of the campfire smoke was orgasmic. It made me so excited for camping season, which is just around the corner. Three weeks from now I'll be in Arizona, sitting around a campfire, drinking beer, battling spiders the size of my face, and listening to coyotes in the distance from the coziness of my tent.







WHY AREN'T YOU HERE YET SUMMER?!

Campus at night is really peaceful, Maddie even said, "I like campus a lot better at night. It's probably because, you know, there aren't any PEOPLE!" We took America's Next Top Model shots in front of the giant spotlights around the library and sat down and talked until about four in the morning, which is when I told them I had to work the next morning so I needed to go home and go to bed.

Today was spent trying to figure out a phylogenetic tree of passerines for my independent project, working, doing load after load of laundry, and organizing my documents folder. I'm sad to see this weekend go, especially since tomorrow I have a full day with work and class and then a test in my night class, but I found out that Dirty Dancing is on Instant Play and so I'm happy. Maddie also let me borrow Misery, so I'll end my night of laundry, very little homework, and 80s movies with some Stephen King.

I LOVE YOU PATRICK SUAZE



This has been a really boring post.

Also I just realized I should probably study for the test tomorrow, so probably no reading for me tonight. Ah well.