nineteen candles.

Yesterday I turned nineteen years old.

& I was reminded that I'm the luckiest girl on the entire planet.

Sometimes I forget that, and I really shouldn't.

It started with Momma driving down for a Jamba breakfast, my showing her Desky (the trusty study terminal), and free cotton candy before 11a.m.  Because when it's your birthday you're allowed to have a blue tongue by lunch.  (Nineteen? I'm still a child, let's be honest.)

Lunch/ice cream with one of my favorite fellas :: beautiful spring weather

package from my best friend of 7 years on a mission ::  music box from Mrs. Richie's Mom

Flowers from México  :)

& a freakin awesome roomie present.

(read: signed photo for the shelf over my bed. of her. dry shampoo/scrunchies/blonde bobby pins/detangler for my homeless child hair...hi chews...chocolate milk...special k fruit and yogurt...odwalla..stride gum....she knows the way to my heart way too well!) 

sweet best friends that satisfy my cravings

great waiter that gives us free dessert.

"I always believe in dessert on your birthday," he said.

Incredible roommates that made sure I had an awesome day:

better-than-sex cake, special treatment and all.

Shoutout to my girls of 224!

I am so blessed and so grateful for the wonderful people in my life.  

They are examples to me every day.

What an awesome way to spend a birthday.

Now I'm headed home for a few days.

Let the family celebrations continue!

P.S.   I'll be watching General Conference -- you should too! It's amazing!

Hoping you all have a wonderful weekend! 

Sauna like a rock star.

Last weekend we took a late trip to the hot springs up Spanish Fork Canyon.

[For all you in the Provo/Orem area...I'm going to let you in on a little secret.

YOU SHOULD GO. That settles that.]

One grocery store stop, 3 car loads, several wrong turns, and a hike later,

there we were! 

To the right we have our hippie "white sage"-smoking pal. He was a fun time.

Awkward wall-straddle. It happens. 

Don't let anyone tell you the hike takes less than 30 minutes. Because it doesn't. It's more like twice that. Also, there's some snow. Aka don't wear flip flops.

But, despite my hair refusing to smell like anything but sulfur for 3 days....it was worth it.

happiness is

courtyard naps :: spring colors

Saturday morning spent spinning ::  cashmere argyle socks

leather jackets & rock ::  hunger games premiere

(bought ticket separately from my friends....sitting alone next to the handicapped space)

water polo & beanies :: bright walls

eggs over-easy :: funky tights

thank you notes :: the chocolate

p.s.......I think I wear too much plaid.   There's no such thing as too much plaid.

...

“If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything.” 

                                                                                                              ― Marilyn Monroe

march is birthday month.

one time, around now of last year actually,

I turned 18.

4 days until I'm the big one-nine

(because everyone knows nineteen is THE biggest birthday..)

hurz.

a weed. my hair grows like one.

so you can imagine how great I feel after getting it done 

for the first time in FIVE months. 

yep. I'm that lazy. I've done my hair every two months since eighth grade,

but going off to college I decided I wanted a change.

I was sick of being blonde.

So I let my roots grow in. Dark blonde.

I'm a risk-taker, I know it. 

Heaven knows it needed to be done.

Here's a timeline, for the creepily curious:

Last summer. This is the color I've been since...forever.

And so it grew. and grew and grew. 

even when I lit these candles in December

and they in turn lit my head on fire,

did I cut my burnt ends? no. I just snapped the black ones off. 

what's my problem? does it have a medical term?

My breaking point came when I saw this picture.

(My deepest apologies to everyone involved, mostly myself. 

A no-makeup late-night ice cream run should not turn into a photo shoot.) 

My hair was two different colors in a very non-chic melt sort of way. as emphasized by the 80s side pony.

And so, friends,

the blonde is finally back.

and she feels ready to take on the world.

Am I in the loop yet? Now? How about.....now?

I've never been very good about being in the know.
Must be caused by my struggle with staying trendy.
Especially when it comes to blogosphere things.
I treat this more like a journal than anything.
So in an effort to become a cool cat, at least online,
(that just reminded me of this song)
I've decided to go with this "tagging game" thing,
since one of my roommates, Cassie, tagged me.


.....the fact that I just said cool cat kind of proves my argument in the first two lines.


anyway.
here are the rules:
1. post these rules.
2. post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.
3. answer the questions set for you in the original post.
4. create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.
5. go to their blog and tell them they've been tagged.

a Paige in her natural habitat.

11 things:


*One of my favorite places to study is the locker room. Ok, that sounds way more perverted than it was supposed to.  I just mean that in the mornings after spinning or running, it's nice to take a shower and sit at this nice counter/bench combo with a mirror and study biology while my hair dries.  I mean, not  study real biology....agh. Never mind.


*I have a comfort fabric. And it is fleece.  After something upsetting, you should bet money that you will find me in some combination of a boy's clothes & fleece.


*I will go to my grave swearing that I'm 5' 3". 


*I'm obsessive about carrying a water bottle every.where.  best ever = contigo. trust me on this.  I should probably also confess that I'm just as obsessive about losing them, it seems.


*My favorite part about college is that the professors are so passionate. My really not favorite part is the freshman 10.  


*Once I was a vegetarian for three months, just to see how long I could go.  It was hard, but rather fun. I have so much respect for those who make that life choice. 


*I'm a lefty at eating and writing, but a righty at everything else.

*If there is a boy in a sweater vest in the near vicinity, I will find him. and I will jump on him and kiss him.  Hide your argyled men. I can't control my urges.  

*Secretly, I'm a movie crier. I say secretly because if I'm with my family or I'm alone, I'm crying on the outside, but if I'm in a theater or surrounded by people, I manage to suppress it most of the time.  But I'm always crying on the inside. 


*(see above) Even at things like the Justin Bieber movie. I was hysterical.  It's the truth and I'm not ashamed. Stop judging me.


*I think White Collar is the most underrated show on TV.  Art + crime + wit + charm = fantastic.

Questions

1. Describe your perfect day.
workout. spa. sushi. book in park. museum. ethnic food. broadway show. all with someone I love.

2. What is your favorite down town?
New York, easily.

3. What are some of your favorite names?
I like strong, classic names. I'm also rather fond of naming girls after boy names, though I'm not sure my future daughters are going to love this tendency. 

4. What's your favorite word and why?
I'm pulling out the "considering my major I'm deeming this question too difficult and am skipping it" card.

5. What is your favorite food? 
Indian, Thai, Ethiopian, sushi....you name a travel destination & I'm probably a fan of their food.

6. Biggest pet peeve.
Lack of respect. This encompasses everything from women to authority to the Earth to religion to the homeless.  ALL Heavenly Father's creations deserve to be respected. So basically that means if you do anything from litter to insult the bag boy, I'll hunt you down.

7. Guilty pleasure.
food & crime shows.

8. Who was your first crush?
Oh, none other than the legendary Alex M.  It was a six year obsession. I like to use this example to shove in the faces of those who say I'm fickle.

9. Summer or winter?
summer. summer summer summer.

10. If you had a crystal ball that could tell you anything, what would it be?
Well, I'd probably ask it the winning numbers for the million dollar lottery.  Goodbye, stress over scholarships.

11. Night in or night out?
I'm sure you all know by now what an extreme partier I am.  I'm a hardcore pj-er.


I'm neglecting to follow the rest of the rules
because I'm BA like that.
and because I have a research paper to pound out.

GUYS AM I TRENDY YET? AM I COOL NOW??

summer is

a sleepover with your baby brother 
in a cardboard box.

missing this.

summer come quicker.

Am I the only one that's obsessed with the campus at night?

because I totally am.

 several floors of the Harold B. Lee Library (acronym: the HBLL -- affectionate nickname: the HELL) actually run underground. yeah, it's NBD.  See that greenhouse looking structure? Now see the building behind that with lots of windows? Yeah, that's still the library. Nicknames aside, I'm a fan.

living for the weekends.

family sushi time.

discussions with baby boy about Surrealism and the interests of Africa in the UN.

(excuse me? are you eleven or forty?)

cuddle time.

puppy time.

prom time!

 yeah Dad, that's how we all feel.

naturally, she snagged the senior soccer captain.

I always feel like the awkward stepchild next to this dime.

catch-up-with-long-distance-best-friend time.

I never thought I'd say this, but...

I'm so excited to move home again!

If only for the summer.

things I will never say:

[thanks to ms. courtney & her inspiration from this post]


"I'm not really into well-dressed men."
"Enough chocolate milk for today."
"Using semicolons while texting is bizarre."
"I really need a boy with lots of swag, you know?"
"Kissing isn't even fun."
"Actually, I love it when you substitute adjectives for adverbs."
"Instagram is lame."
"Dope."
"Recycling is soooo overrated."
"More parking lots. Fewer parks."
"Hold on the whipped cream."
"Let me show you my new favorite song. It's rap. You know, like, black people music?"
"Not really a fan of animals."
"Spin class? Like, weaving cloth?"
"Just got an A in chemistry!!!!!!"
"I have a big camera.  Therefore I am a photographer. Therefore, please designate me to take pictures everywhere we go."
"I'm going to confront her about this."
"I need to go to the bathroom. Please come please come please come!"
"So...........who's Renoir?"
"Is the Oxford comma really necessary?"
"Your quoting of The Hangover is such a turn-on."
"I'm not a dessert person."
"Chivalry: so passé."
"I just don't understand the whole Belieber thing."
"Ew, you read? Like, who even does that anymore?"
"I'm going to a dance party this weekend."
"Boys wearing running shoes around campus: so. hot."
"You're 22?! WHY AREN'T YOU MARRIED."

Making excuses.

I feel that I should be embarrassed at the number of excuses I’ve given in the past while.  Opting out of late nights with what may be a valid (or not-so-valid) reason. I enjoy being with people, I really do.

So. 
The thing is.

I used to be assured, though rarely overt and never brazen. But I knew who I was. I even liked who I was, and what a blessing that is. I was the girl who, though never lacking lunch-mate options, chose to read in the library instead of the roaring cafeteria..  To me, it was a simple matter of wanting to sneak a chat with Robin Hood over my wrap. To others it was bizarre and mystifying. I didn’t mind.

But passing months bring changes.

Now I fill out my jeans differently.  I've grown to almost like tomatoes.  Apparently I’m obsessive about the manner in which the dishwasher is loaded.  And I've somehow become terribly fond of morning workouts. (morning. As in the a.m.)  

So truthfully, I don’t care to be interested in anybody but myself right now. Because I think I'm going to like the new me. I like to think that I have a great mind, or at least an interesting mind.

And I’m so excited to get to know myself again.

little delights of the week.

 

sauteed veggies.

[on a less pleasant note, DIE FRESHMAN TEN. DIE DIE DIE. ]

 

piggies
 

 

some serious whiteboard skillz. love me an art history reference wherever possible.

enjoying my chef of a roommate 

this morning I woke up,
threw on my only pair of clean jeans (white)  <-- [yes I acknowledge this is unorthodox, it being March and all.  But a college kid's gotta do what a college kid's gotta do.]
tossed on the shirt draped over my chair  (blue)
& snagged a blazer, just in case the sunny morning turned into a fake-out  (red).


Took me all the way to 2 o'clock to realize I look like the freakin' fourth of July.
SPARKLERS ALL AROUND!!

online obsessions:

spring flats

why am I so in love with this?

discovered fossil makes more than just watches. and darling "more" at that.

I feel so left out of the loop!

I'm soooo coveting this watch...and I've never worn a watch.

this satchel. or this one. I'm dying!

you can never have too many cardigans.

overall, this week rates a

a picnic with crepes & Wilde's wit. few things are better.

I have a crazy case of spring fever.

rabid, really.

it would be quite irresponsible for me to go to lecture.

can't have an infection disease skipping about, can we now?

bragging rights.

Plug your ears.

I'm about to get all "prideful twit" on you guys.

Probably going to h-e-double-hockey-sticks for this one.

Thanks to my lucky T & walnut,  hours of studying,  quite a few prayers,

 and more nail-biting than I care to admit,

I've set the high for the curve on a test* for the first time!

(& more than likely the last time.)
who saiyz blondes kant dew skool?

Let's break out the snap cup, shall we?!

Wait....is it tacky to toot your own horn?

Right. My mistake.

* 97% on a Linguistics midterm, if you absolutely MUST know, you intrusive people.

BYU doesn't believe in spring break. So sometimes I make one of my own.

...by going to St. George for a weekend.

Southern Utah has its charms.

(disclaimer: occasionally I'm creepy and take pictures of cowboys.  But it's worth the label to convey the atmosphere of this corner of the world.)

family.

sunshine.

pedicures.

a) After nearly 19 years on this earth, I have yet to encounter another human whose third toes are longer than their second toes.  If you know someone, please contact me so I can reunite with my toe twin immediately and we can enter in a freak contest & take the prize. [Naturally, it will be a dance routine where every toe will wear its own tutu.]   Gotta pay for college somehow. 

b) going to dinner with the fam in paper shoes and not getting one wayward glance...one of the many benefits of visiting your grandparents in a town with a demographic trending significantly in the "older" direction.

a cousin's wedding.

one of the greatest things about being a Webster-Anderson is the sense of entitlement that one is trained to have from birth.  like....when Mum surveys the receiving line. It is deemed far too long and is immediately bypassed (she IS the cousin of the mother of the bride, after all. let all those unrelated people wait their turn outside).  The Unrelateds were brushed aside as we made our excuses. "Pardon us, we're just here to drop off a gift." Unfortunately, once we were inside, she realized that we would soon be seen by all the Urelateds as the line steady moved forward.  At this point we were forced to grab our cheesecake and dart out the nearest back exit, eating on the way to the car.  The way that woman makes me laugh..