BANKSY

Heaven for every Book Lover

This is what I feel like every time I leave school (or anywhere) with books. After all, I get a lot of stares. But what can I say? I LOVE THEM. 

So, my aunt is moving to Boston. NO, this is not heaven. It's really sad. BUT one thing that makes it better, is that I'm getting all her books. *Giggle* I'm insanely excited! I already have nearly 100 books to read this summer, two of which I've already finished, and I'm adding more. But what the heck? I don't care, I'm going to read them! Because I'm just such a nerd like that. :P

There are going to be a lot of books, and I'm so excited for all the new stories I get to uncover, the new tales I get to read, the adventures flying through my  head.

I LOVE TO READ. 

I hope you're all having a lovely Sunday! I'll probably go read. I suggest you do too. ;)

Ah!

--Sadie

Life

Is school really almost over? Am I actually getting sad about this?

Today in art as I was cleaning out my paint tray, washing my extra pigment down the sink, I got a little bit sad. Yes, I did feel like I was wasting precious paint. Yes, I was sad that I wouldn't be using that watercolor again in Mrs. Seal's class. Yes, I was sad that I might not be painting every day this summer. Yes, I was even sad that the end of the year was so close: next week.

Don't get me wrong, I'm overjoyed for summer. But this summer is my last summer as a kid. I'm turning eighteen in September, and I'm going to be a senior next year. I'm growing up. I'm getting my first job ever this summer, I'm taking the ACT again this September, I'm going to be applying for colleges in the fall, I'm going to be graduating from high school and childhood forever next spring.

This is crazy!

I'm really excited for all of this, but at the same time I'm a little bit scared. I don't know what lies ahead for me, and that can be a little frightening at times. But I know it will be an adventure, and I'm going to make my senior year the best year of high school. Nothing will get in my path.

Some high school highlights from this year:

1. Prom. I got to wear a beautiful dress and have one of the funnest nights of my life! (Not to forget the funniest, nicest gentleman that asked me. (: It was a blast!)
2. Asking boys to Sadie Hawkins Dance, and attending said dance as well. :)












3. Irish Dance! It's my life.






4. Getting my Young Woman Medallion (now for my Honor Bee...)
5. Taking the AP Language and Composition Test. Contrary to how attitudes usually are towards tests, this one was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed it.
6. Girls Camp. I love that place. And those girls, they're my best friends.







7. Turning seventeen.

Spelling Bees

Once upon a time... when I was in sixth grade, I won my elementary school's spelling bee. Can I just say that was one of the coolest moments of my life?

Well, this year my brother entered the spelling bee. Of course, I helped him study. And guess who won the same spelling bee today? My fifth grade kid brother.

Who's proud?

I'm proud.

Way to go, Carter.

Mother's Day, Hooray!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful women out there! :)

Today's been pretty swell, and I'm certainly very grateful for my mother. At church the young women handed out flowers to all the women, and my mom got two (because someone had given her a flower before I could...). My mom also got a Michael Lloyd photography family photo session, something she had been wanting for a while I suppose, and she seemed honestly very happy about it. It was a fun thing to see.

My mom's pretty great. Scratch that. She's probably one of the best mom's out there.
She sings in the car (even if it is to eighties rock or country).
She laughs about The Middle and Modern Family, oh and Suburgatory too.
She's a nurse who takes care of babies until all hours of the morning, while still managing to take care of her own kids too.
She's got a beautiful smile.
She has a musical laugh.
She's drop-dead gorgeous for her age (and just plain gorgeous anyway).
She tells me she loves me every day.
She's the coolest mom ever.

Of course, these are only a FEW small things she does for me -- I could go on and on.

I'm really grateful for my mom, and all the other wonderful women out there too. How did everyone get so lucky?

Happy Mother's Day! Go give your mom a hug and a kiss, and tell her you love her.

--Sadie

Paranoia or Precaution

Is the door locked?
Locked.
Double check.
Locked.
Walk across the room.
Check the second door.
Locked.
Both locks secure?
Locked.
A shorter walk this time.
Check both locks.
Locked.
A glance at all three doors.
Make sure nothing was missed.
Still locked.
A short nod.
A deep breath.
Now I can relax.

Every time the doorbell rings,
Every time someone knocks.
There's always that slight panic,
My mind wondering if it's occurring again,
Listening for that doorknob to jiggle back and forth.
Of course, hopefully nothing like that
Will ever happen again,
But the mind still likes to remind you
Of all the possibilities.
It never hurts to be extra safe.
It always takes time to recover
From an incident that occurred almost a year ago.
You don't blame her.
You're glad she's getting help.
But you're still afraid it may happen again.

Are all the windows locked?
Locked.
But wait.
That one night,
When you cracked your window open for a slight breeze...
I check again.
Locked.
A sigh of relief.
Now I can relax.

Gratitude

I'm taking a leaf out of the neat Herdman book, and I'm compiling a General Happiness List. Hopefully The Littlest Herdman doesn't mind! It seems like a really nifty idea. :)

What Makes Me Happy:

• seeing missionaries helping their companions back a car out of a parking spot (or anywhere)
• seeing the temple every day as I go to and from school
• that we're getting another temple built here
• Indie/Rock and Alternative music
• Australian bands
• British men
• Men with accents
• Men who wear bowties ('cause they're just so cool)
• A sharp-dressed man
• random acts of kindness
• people who smile at me throughout the day - they always get a smile back
• Irish Dancing
• reading
• writing
• sunshine
• rainy days
• people singing in their cars as they drive
• boys holding doors open for girls
• orchestra
• playing the violin or piano
• my brothers creating new inventions or singing in their room
• getting a compliment from someone
• the beautiful mountains that I live by
• the sunrise
• driving -- who doesn't love it? :)
• seeing a fellow Diabetic out and about
• hugs from good friends
• waving at people on a whim or at random
• libraries
• art
• theaters and stages
• books
• Harry Potter
• English
• swimming
• water, oceans, lakes
• being around family and friends
• helping people accomplish things they really love and care about

The list could go on and on. I should list things I'm grateful for more often.

Have a fabulous day!

Spring Break

Well folks, as comes once a year, it is Spring Break. And as is cliche during this time, most people will be in Disneyland. But breaking the norms, I'm actually going somewhere this spring break! To follow the crowd, I will be in the happiest place on earth. So, fellow readers, in case you don't have anywhere to go to celebrate the lovely weather ahead of us, I'm letting you know that unfortunately you probably won't be reading any updated blog posts from me if you get bored -- because I will be off on orchestra tour in Disneyland.

To tell you the truth, I'm super excited. It's going to be a lot of fun and we're playing some awesome pieces. Plus, we get to spend fourteen hours in Disneyland. I'm not complaining.

I hope you all have a lovely week! Hopefully you hear from me soon.

Au Revoir,

Sadie

Happy Easter!

Today's been a great day!

I got to sleep in, have a great day with the family, and realize that I don't have to go back to school tomorrow because it's Spring Break!

The weather was gorgeous today, so I spent a lot of time outside. I took pictures with my brothers and cousins, having a fun little photo shoot (which was really just a good excuse for me to play around with my aunt's camera). Some of them turned out really cool, but I don't have the camera with me anymore so I'll have to post them later.

We also got to blow bubbles, eat delicious Easter food (like Deviled Eggs, cole-slaw, ham and turkey, funeral potatoes -- don't diss, I love them --, angel food cake, cookies, chocolate, you name it!), take pictures, enjoy the beautiful weather, laugh, have fun...it was a good day.

It made me really grateful for my family (my brothers are stinking good-looking -- I'm going to have to keep the ladies away from them in the future), my adorable little twin cousins, grandparents who love me and throw rocking Easter parties, and a family I could stick with forever. And I've been blessed with all this and everything else I have because of my loving Savior. Easter's a great holiday. I'm glad we get to celebrate Christ's birth and even death, because it has blessed each and every one of our lives so much.

I hope you all have had a wonderful Easter holiday!

--Sadie

Change

Today is the last day in my life that I will choose high school courses for next year. I'm going to be a senior. Growing up is really happening!

I'm a little scared and nervous -- not for choosing classes, that'll be easy -- but for all the changes that will be coming within the next year. I'm not really sure how I feel about change. It all depends on the context or situation. This change will be good, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to get used to living on my own when I got to college, getting a job, going to school, being independent, finally an adult.

I'm turning eighteen this year. Life couldn't be going by more fast! It's made me realize that I need to sit back and enjoy these times while I can, because they certainly won't last forever.

I guess we'll see how life turns out! (I'm super pumped that I get to vote for our next president!)

The Joys of Guernsey

 

{I love this book so much!}

Have you read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society? No? Well you should. Because this book is a treasure.

The plot is fantastic, the writing is crafted from two genuine artists, and the lessons this book teaches are priceless.

The book suggests that “there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers" (Guernsey), but I know this is true. I've seen it with nearly every book I've read.

For example, there was a really funny instance the other day with my kindred spirit and bosom friend that drives a car named Stacy.

I was at her house, sitting on her bed glancing over her bookshelves as is habit every time I'm over, when I noticed a unique copy of the first Nancy Drew book. I owned a copy just like it, and have another quite similar to it. I picked the book up off her shelf, stating that I thought the book was once mine (seeing as how it got donated to D.I. by my mother). She told me that she had bought it from D.I. (as is custom between the two of us -- we both love buying used books for a steal from Deseret Industries), as I flipped open the front cover. Inside was a note my mother had written in the book when she used to own it, before giving it to me, before donating it to D.I., before Kelsey bought it.

The funny thing is that I had been thinking about how my mom had donated several books of mine to D.I. a while ago, and I was wondering what had happened to all of them earlier that day as I was cleaning my room (an ongoing, never-ending process) before heading over to Kelsey's. Of all the people that peruse Deseret Industries' shelves every day, she happened to buy this book (which was donated over two years ago by the way), which found its way back to me.

Guernsey was right-- books DO have secret homing devices. Everyone ends up with the books they were meant to read. It's never by accident.

I love these magical instances in my life, proving the wonders of how the world works and the magical instances that happen every day for us to enjoy. It really helps you gain an appreciation for life and its treasures.

This book truly is for all of us who love reading -- and I mean LOVE it.

Here's a link to fantastic quotes from the book, that can give you a taste of its many wonders:

Guernsey Quotes

Please go out and read this book -- it will change your life (for the better!).

Peace Like A River, and many happy hours of getting lost in a world of wonder whilst curled up in a comfy nook

--Sadie

The Ongoing Sleep Crisis

So . . . for the past two weeks or so (roughly), I have felt such chronic fatigue.

(FYI, while typing this I'm reading it all in an English accent in my head. Just thought I'd let you all know, 'cause I think it's kind of funny.)

Last week I missed every day of early morning seminary due to sleeping in . . . Same case this week. I'm sure they all think I've gone inactive or something. *Sigh.*

I think I am going to blame it all on stress. End of term, homework assignments, dance, movie premieres, hanging out with friends, having to bail on said friends, feeling even more guilty . . . It's been a rough week. 

I feel really tired when I wake up, I get to school, feel fine for a little bit, and then I'm exhausted again. It's never-ending. I just hope it ends soon, because I would like to feel like a normal person again. That would be grand. 

Moral of the story: (um . . .) Don't procrastinate or put things off, and make sure you talk and communicate and don't try to figure problems out on your own. 

My poor aching brain. 

Be nice to your body folks, 'cause it's the only one you get.

Luck O' The Irish

Top o' the mornin' to ya, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

(Okay, so I know it's not morning anymore, but still... I had to say it.)

Anyway, I hope you all have had a fantastic day! And I hope you remembered to wear your green, otherwise you should have gotten a few pinches today! (wink, wink)

Honestly, this is one of my favorite holidays. Yeah, we don't give gifts, but that may be one of the reasons I like it most. I love the Irish culture and tradition, and it might help that I do Irish Step Dancing, so this holiday is always a busy one for me. :)

This year the Shelley Irish Dance Company (SIDC), which I am a proud member of, went to five different elementary schools yesterday and performed during assemblies. It was a lot of fun, and totally worth the sore feet and legs. In fact, it's one of the best feelings in the world. I love Irish Dance, and I always will. I like to joke that I'm going to be a crazy old lady doing jigs in her nineties and embarrassing her grandchildren because they'll have a crazy gramma.

But I'm okay with that!

Do you have any fun St. Pat's traditions? Any fond or funny memories?

--Sadie

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor

So my best friend is visiting from Tennessee, and even though we've been far away from each other, we're still so alike that it's scary. I've loved the Local Natives for a while now, and yesterday I discovered that she's a fan too! Guys, you don't know how awesome this is. It's fantastic!

So, in celebratory awe, I'm writing a post about it because I think more people should know who the Local Natives are. They're a band of the Indie/Rock style, and I definitely recommend that everyone go listen to them. Just give them a try.

Here's the list of songs on their CD Gorilla Manor:

1. Wide Eyes*
2. Airplanes*
3. Sun Hands*
4. World News*
5. Shape Shifter
6. Camera Talk*
7. Cards & Quarters
8. Warning Sign*
9. Who Knows Who Cares
10. Cubism Dream*
11. Stranger Things*
12. Sticky Thread

*my favorites

Create a playlist for them on Pandora. Look them up on YouTube. Go check them out on iTunes, heck, get their songs however you can. Because they're worth listening to, and I promise you won't be disappointed. (Granted, you won't be disappointed if you enjoy this style of music. Otherwise...you might.)

Ah! I can't express to you guys just how excited I am! This is awesome! :D

I hope you all have a fabulous day, and for any best friends you haven't seen in a while...give them a call. Write them a letter. Text them. Facebook them. Make sure they're doing okay. Because best friends are something you don't want to lose, and they'll always be there for you -- even if they don't live anywhere near you.

--Sadie

Invitation

If you are a dreamer, come in, 

If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,

A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...

If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire

For we have some flax-golden tales to spin. 

Come in! 

Come in! 

-Shel Silverstein