Summer nights

This has been my night every single night this summer. And oh how I love it.

Girl talk, cool night air, fenced off back yard, waking up with leaves in my blankets, ah the sweet life.

Fortune Cookie

So this is my testimony of fortunate cookies. I have always loved fortune cookies- and I love even more when they come true!! Check out this fortune that I got a few weeks ago:

And then about a week ago, this note appread in our mailbox:

And THEN a few days later this showed up in my mailbox..... from the same person, I'm assuming.

All of my roommates got one as well. And surprisingly none of them care who this "secret admirer" is. So I've been doing some detective work, trying to figure out who could possibly do this. I have a lot of wonderful people in my life that WOULD do this. But the question is who actually did it.... Slowly but surely my roommates have found out who it is, but everyone seems to think it's funny that I don't know! haha. I suppose it is. Either way, I'm pretty sure I know who it is, but I'd like to keep my suspect options open.

And here are the suspects:

John- he's such a sweetheart and does the nicest things all the time for my roommates and I. So obviously a clear option.
Jonathan- also another option. He's the romantic, thoughtful type, so this is definitely something that he would do. And look- he's crafty with the construction paper.
Levi- this really doesn't seem like something he would do, but still a suspect since he spends a lot of time with my roommates and I. And although he likes to come off as a jerk, he's totally not. In fact, maybe he's trying to surprise us all by being the secret admirer.
Evan- He seems the type to write notes to us. He's a huge fan of the written word... and also very thoughtful and sensitive
Tay Tay- he is my leading suspect. Because he is such a sweetie and the most thoughtful guy ever! Let it be known that he is so kind and SUCH a gentleman. His momma raised him right! :D (Taylor will kill me for saying this on a public blog, since he reads it and all....) But that's ok with me... He looks like a rebel on the outside, right?
And James- also a suspect.... very kind, and loves the Manor house girls... need I say more?
So there you have it.... the search goes on for this "secret admirer." I love you secret admirer! It brightened my day. You're the best.

You Will Be Missed

Dear Randy,

You were only in my life for a short 9 months, but I will miss you. It was so hard for you to leave your mom's house and venture out to live on your own for the first time. It was hard for us to know how to help you sometimes, and I wish I could have been better at knowing how to help you. Remember all of the fun things we did with the guys? We went to the zoo, we went to see countless movies, we went on picnics. I will never forget your undying love for Elvis. I wish I could have seen you perform in your costume, singing Blue Suede Shoes. I hear it was incredible when you did it at work. You had a wonderful family that loved you very much. You used to always talk about how much you missed your dad. And you would always ask me if he was coming back. And I always had to remind you that he was in heaven. Then you would ask me when you would be able to see him again- and I told you that when it was your time to go, you would see him again. And I suppose your time has come. I'm glad that you are finally with your dad. You have been wanting to see him for so long. And I'm sure he's been wanting to see you too. I'm sure you're having a great reunion right now. And one day, hopefully a long time from now, I will see you again as well. It really touched me that you asked for me on the day of your surgery before you even asked for you mom. I'm glad you left this life not being mad at me, because I know you often were :) You don't have to have any more bad days- and I'm so happy for you. You don't have to struggle with the things you had to struggle with on earth. I know you are happy now, and that makes me happy. I will miss you, but I know I will see you again. Thank you for being a part of my life.

Love,

Grace

Drama

On pretty much any given occasion you can often find me saying something along the lines of :

"Drama is the spice of life!"

"Everyone loves drama, some people just don't like to admit it"

"The sooner you learn that everyone loves drama, the better"

or as the headline of my blog says- "Drama is life without all the boring parts"

Who's with me?! Seriously though- I totally understand that gossiping is wrong and that having to know everything about everyone is not always the best quality, but you just need to learn to do drama right! I'm not necessarily saying that I've learned how to do it right, but I know there is definitely a way to do it. Let's make life interesting, shall we?

I just love learning about people. I love getting past the small talk and really diving into what makes someone who they are. I guess it's also my way of just showing people that I care- because I honestly do care about what is going on their life. I care about what has happened in their pasts and I care about what is going to happen to them in the future. I suppose some people would call this being dramatic. And that's fine. I fully on admit that I am THE drama queen. And I will gladly wear the title- I just want to say that it's not a bad title to have.

Yes I want to know everything about you. Yes I will ask questions that you probably aren't used to hearing. But the more I ask questions, the more I realize that people are a lot more open than we give them credit for. You just have the ask the right questions! I have also found that in general, people love to talk about themselves- which is fabulous for me because then I can just soak up all the little details and form a stronger bond of friendship. I think it all depends on your motivation behind getting to know people. Are you genuinely interested in them? Or are you just wanting to know everything about everyone for your own status? That's the difference. I'd like to think I'm the former, but I guess you can make your own opinion on that one.

So maybe it's "dramatic" for me to want to know every little detail. Maybe it's dramatic for me to encourage people to get together. Maybe it's dramatic for me to push people to do things- when really I'm just doing it because I care. And maybe it's dramatic for me to react so passionately about things that happen in people's lives, including my own. But if being dramatic like this is wrong, then I don't want to be right! It truly is the spice of life, and it makes for a more intersting and fun time.

Drama you ask?

Yes.

Comedy

So I work a 15 hour shift at work- and 10 of these hours are just straight up down time. So I can do whatever I please- which is actually pretty nice. Aside from the fact that we don't have the internet. But that's also nice as well sometimes. So last night I was going through all of the shows we have on demand at work and I came across a show called "The Last Comic Standing." I'm sure everyone else has heard of this show.... since it's on its 7th season and all.... but this is the first time that I have ever heard of it. For those of you in the same boat as me- it's just another reality elimination show (i.e. American Idol) with 3 judges and all. And it's for comedians- if you haven't picked up on that already. So I sat there and watched a few episodes of all the auditions that the comedians go through. And I am just amazed! Comedians can pick any little aspect of their day and turn it into an incredible joke! It's quite impressive actually. I feel like if I were a comedian I would have to go through my day thinking "is this funny? Can I turn this into a joke? Will people laugh at this?" I just feel like that would be so much pressure!! And hoping that people will laugh at you is so stressful! So these people have got to be pretty confident in their humor! I would say I'm a relatively funny person- or at least I have the ability to be funny. But I can't even imagine having to make people laugh for a job.... it's crazy! So yeah- good for you, all of you comedians. I could never do what you do. I can enjoy laughing at your stories though. I'll leave the joke telling to you guys :)

Ode to the Manor Girls

I know a lot of people think that they have the best roommates ever, but I'm ready to argue that I really do. Where would I be without these girls? (And Obama as well of course) There's such a great spirit about my Utah home that has yet to compare to anywhere else. And it's all because of you girls. I love coming home to your smiling faces and debriefing every detail of our days. I love the smell of Elise's cooking and that she's always willing to share. I love that at any given moment, there is a pile of dough rising somewhere in the kitchen. I love staying up ridiculously late with Emily, even though she has work early in the morning. I love how our entire house has grown to revolve around my work schedule. It really means a lot that you guys enjoy having me around that much. I love coming home to Emma sitting outside on the porch with her computer and that she's willing to sleep outside with me when it's warm. I love that I can be my complete self around you girls and I hope you guys feel the same way about me. I love that Angela is always willing to sacrifice some sleep so we can talk about our days and debrief about all of the boy drama- or lack thereof. I just love the overwhelming feeling of love that radiates from you girls. We all lift each other up, and that's how friendship really should be. I wish we could all be roommates forever and never have to move. I know this is unrealistic, so I just want to enjoy everyone as much as possible this summer before everything has to change. I love you girls and you have definitely changed my life for the better!!

Summer Night's Dream

Last night was such a good night. I got home from a friend's house, which was very enjoyable. Levi, Angela and I then made paninis for a late dinner, which were delicious. Once it got dark, my roommate Emily and I took some lawn chairs and went and sat in the front lawn. The weather was perfect. We just sat there and talked and enjoyed the fresh night air. It did rain for a few minutes, but not bad enough for us to go inside. Our friend James then came and joined us. He also brought some fresh strawberries with dip. Fantastic. As the night progressed more of our dear friends joined us on the lawn. Jonathan pulled up a chair, then Evan brough a blanket and spread his ever so long body across the lawn. Taylor and Trent came and joined in the laughter, which eventually drew Angela and Elise out of the house as well. We all laughed and chatted about this and that. Jonathan then put on some amazing music that just set the mood for an incredible summer night. I eventually laid down next to Evan and James and just looked up at the night sky. I started thinking about how great my life really is. I have such wonderful friends and God has created such a wonderful world for us to live in. The stars are always such awe inspiring for me. I was kind of quiet while everyone else was talking and I was soaking up every moment, thinking about how I never want this time in my life to end. I wanted the night to just keep going and going and going. It was perfect in every single way. And a lot of my days have been feeling that way lately. Yes I still have my hardships, but in general I just feel ever so grateful to be able to have the experiences that I've been having lately. Unfortunately a lot of my dear friends will be moving after the summer ends and everything will change. I hate the thought of it, but I'd just like to soak up every moment this summer that I possibly can. Each moment is precious, as cliche as that might sound. I hope to have many more summer nights like the one I had last night.