EverybodyNose

The Sweet Escape: Tussle Edition

2011-01-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

Winter formal this year was a blast!!!! I went with my buddy JC and we had the best time! Since the theme was Sweet Escape, I changed the words to the Gwen Stefani song and sang it during choir:

If I could escape I would but first of all let me say

I must apologize for asking you to formal so late

But I've been searchin and ponderin and prayin and tryin to get off the bed I've been layin but now you are back and here's what I'm sayin

If I could escape

And create an awesome senior year

With stories for my grandkids to hear

We could dance together

Now tell me JC wouldn't that be sweet?

And to answer, he and some friends wrote this original darling song and sang it in choir with me sitting on the stool front and center blushing like crazy.

For our day activity we did graham cracker houses, sugar cookies and paper snowflakes.

That night we did pictures in downtown Mesa then went to Target all fancy-like to get our presents for our gift exchange.
Some smart-alec lady goes "Are ya'll getting married in Target?"

We had dinner on Jessica's back porch and it was all elegant and fabulous!!

Then we took our paper snowflakes and put them in our old choir teachers yard, then off to the temple lights.

For the first time ever, the actual dance was fun and worth going to! JC and I goofed around and sang to each other while we slow danced.

After the dance we went to my house, did our gift exchange and played our usual game of keys. Then we watched The Grinch to get into the Christmas spirit.

I was so glad that this dance was so fun, considering its one of the last I'll go to.

Our Cheap dance is this weekend and guess who asked me?????No really, guess.

I'll let you know who was right in my next post.

Be excited.

I am.

And Lyssa Was Her Name-O

2010-11-17T16:47:00.000-08:00

So at night while I'm trying to fall asleep, I make up stories. Most of which are about my future life with Prince Charming. (Sue me, I'm a 17 year old girl!) So I'm going through this awesome story in my mind but I keep hitting a stumbling block...HE HAS NO NAME!!! So I'm trying to come up with a good name but trip and fall. Few names sound good with Natalie!!! Then I realized it needed to be 3 syllables. So I start brainstorming those...HELLO there are none!!!!

So it's the next day, I'm in Cantori A-Hour and voice my concern. Five hours later...we're in honor choir and Alyssa gives me a list of 3 syllable names and they were just too good to not post.

1. Timothy

2. Atticus

3. Jericho

4. Dakota

5. Jeffery

6. Don Carlos

7. Julian

8. P Diddy (or Puff Daddy)

9. Lucifer

10. Eminem

11. Ludacris

12. Moroni, Gideon, Helamen

13. Elijah, Elisha, Elias, Isaiah, Abraham

14. Nathaniel

15. Francisco

16. Fredrico

17. Placido

18. Montana

19. Gerardo

20. Jeremy

21. Christopher

22. Jonathon

23. Roberto

24. Kanye West

25. Flo Rida

26. Sean Kingston

27. Vanilla Ice

28. Benjamin

29. Joshua

30. Rafael

31. Orlando

32. Cameron

33. Sebastian

34. Samuel

35. Nicholas

36. Severus

37. Percival

38. Gilderoy

39. Mundungus

40. Voldemort

41. Marion

42. Donovon

43. William

44. Jacobo (pronounced Ha-ko-bo)

45. Jim Halpert

and of course

46. Cilantro

So tell me...what's your favorite??????

The Many Adventures of RatalieNose

2010-11-10T17:10:00.000-08:00

Yeah I know...I'm becoming a "once-a-month-poster,"

but it's the best I can do right now!

Okay so time to talk about the latest adventures in the life of RatalieNose.

Over October break I was lucky enough to get to go to Rocky Point Mexico with my pal Aubri! She turned 16 while we were there and it was so fun! We and another family stayed in an RV park RIGHT on the beach! It was my first time traveling in a trailer and DUDE I have been missing out! Getting to sleep on a BED while driving for hours??? YES.PLEASE.

Yes Prince Phillip is code for someone. But I'm not telling! *grins evilly*

Trust me, you don't want to know!

For Aubs birthday we rented quads. It was my first time and I LOVED it! Even though Papa Dub told me that I drive like an old granny. *sad face*

You know what's so great about the beach?? Even when you look"special" in a picture, the fact that you're on the beach makes it cute! YESHHH!

Me and Kennyl

So I got really excited.....

And ran to play in the puddles....

I LOVE Aubs!!!!! (Oh and I loathe Tank the dog.)

As for Adventure #2.....

A few weeks ago, a friend and I were driving home from babysitting for my sisters boss. We came to an intersection and my friend tried to stop but her brakes went out so we went through the intersection and were t-boned. Thankfully we were both safe! I just suffered some whiplash and have had pain in my neck, and my friend was burned by the air bag and is sore, but other than that we were fine! And the other car's passengers were totally fine!

This experience, while terrifying, really strengthened my testimony of the love Heavenly Father has for me. The day of the accident, something amazing happened. My friend Dolly has a step-dad whose not a member of our church but that day he randomly asked her if she'd like to have family prayer and she of course said yes. Step-dad said the prayer and in it he prayed that all of his step-daughters friends would be safe that night and if something were to happen that they'd walk away okay. A few hours later, I was in the accident.

Monday I was in pretty bad pain and in major need of a priesthood blessing. My two guy friends who go to ASU left school and came to help me out. The blessing didn't take away my pain but it completely changed my outlook about it. I felt at peace.

I am so thankful for a loving, listening God who never leaves me and answers prayers.

Remember When I Used to Post on This Blog???

2010-10-03T15:53:00.000-07:00

Forgive me friends for I have sinned.

It is October 3rd. My last post was August 27th.

*sigh*

But it's never too late to start over right?

So here I am being penetant.

Life is a funny thing, is it not?

It comes so fast, but goes by so slow...

At least that's how it feels in high school.

Things haven't changed too much since I last posted.

I'm still keepin' busy, lovin' life for the most part.

But Snoopy fell through, so that's kind of sad.

The school I was doing with is have a hard time with money so they cancelled it.

But no worries, that just means a little less stress for me!! So Homecoming came SUPER early this year. For the last month or so everyone in Stuco has been working like mad-people to pull it off and it didn't turn out too shabby! I was in charge of the Half-Time show which was super stressful but also way fun! Our Homecoming theme was The Happiest Place on Earth so I decided to incorporate the theme into Half-Time so instead of the announcer just announcing all the stuff....it was a FAIRY TALE!!! Complete with "Once Upon a Time." LOVED IT.

Alright, I'll admit. I DID NOT want to go to Homecoming this year. Dances aren't really my thing and I didn't think there was anyone I could tolerate for an entire night of torture....but since when does anyone listen to me??? Well I'm glad they didn't because my good ol' childhood buddy AJ ended up asking me and we had a great time!
One night I'm lying in bed asleep and my mom comes in and is like "Natalie something's here for you!" So I go out there and its a cereal box full of hershey kisses and a DVD that says play me. So I put it in and the Disneyland castle shows up. Then it says "Natalie now that I've showered you with kisses..." And a picture of Prince Phillip riding his steed fighting shows up but AJ's face is covering Phillips! "Will you go to Homecoming with me?" It was SO CUTE. So then a couple days later I get my three darling neices and take them to his house to be the three good fairies and tell AJ that Sleeping Beauty is awake and that she'll go to Homecoming with him.

For our day activity we played 007 the weekend before the dance. (It's where everyone gets dropped off at point a and has to make it to point b without getting spotlighted by the car.) And we had a great time! Wandering around Lehi, having our first real conversation since Jr. High. It was awesome!

The day of the dance we went and took pictures then had dinner at this clubhouse the boys rented out.

The dance was surprisingly bearable. But I give that credit to our Homecoming King Dillon. He's this amazingly sweet wonderful kid with cerebal palsy. He's also the most spirited, supportive kid at Westwood and I am SO GLAD he won! It really brought the student body together and proved that we do have a heart!

This is off topic, but General Conference this weekend was phenomanal. We are so blessed to have prophets and apostles on the earth to give us revelation from God. I feel so full!

Have a fabulous week!

Life is Good Today

2010-08-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

This picture-though taken in the summer, describes my life right now. Interpret it as you will.

Sorry it's been forever and a day.

Life is good.

But tiring.

I got to school at 6:40.

Come home at 5:40.

Shower.

Eat.

Do homework.

Sleep.

It's a pretty good deal....

Oh! There is something exciting to mention.....

I, RatalieNose was lucky enough to be casted in Snoopy! The Musical, in the role of Peppermint Patty!!!

I am SO.STOKED.

My good friend Steven got the role of Charlie

and I just know we're gonna have a great time!

The shows in December so I"ll let ya'll know

the exact dates and such when it gets closer.

First football game of the season tonight.

A big group of us girls are driving out there even though it's away.

It's kinda weird....this'll be my last first high school football game.

Crazy huh?

Anywho, that's the latest and greatest of Ratalie.

Love you all!

High School Happiness Part Two

2010-08-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, oddly enough, going back to school, starting my senior year, falls under "happiness" not "horrors." An interesting twist to my usual school starting attitude.... You might remember my post from a year ago, informing you of all the horrors that Junior year was going to bring me. Well, it didn't disappoint. Last year was one of the hardest my very short life, so I decided to give myself a little break-have a little fun with school.

Here's my schedule:

A-Cantori/Show Choir

1-Seminary

2-English 101/102

3-AP Gov

(with the best teacher known to mankind!)

4-Student Council

(Director of Staff and Student Recognition)

5-Honor Choir

6-Sports

but swim isn't till after school so I actually just sit around for an hour-LOVE it!

Holler at your right-brained girl!!!!!

Just thinking about my schedule makes me smile-no math, no science!

I mean, I'll probably pay dearly for this once I get to college...but for now, for once in my life, I'm living in the moment and trying not to get to far ahead of myself!

Goals for My Senior Year

1. Straight A's

2. Swim my 50 free under 39 seconds

3. Sail past Superman

4. Be a friend to everyone-especially people who are having a rough time

5. Finish the Book of Mormon

My Theme Song for the Year: Dynamite by Taio Cruz

"I throw my hands up in the air sometimes.

Saying ay-oh, gotta let go.

I wanna celebrate and live my life.

Saying ay-oh, baby let's go."

This is my year-and nothings going to hold me back.

Ratalie Reviews: Summer Movies

2010-08-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

This has been a great summer for several reasons.

One of them being there have been so many great movies!

I've seen four in the last week alone, it was great!

So when I do things...I need structure. For these movie reviews, I will have structure, that's when my mind works best.

So I'll give the movie an emotion rating 1-5, depending on how strong of emotions the movie made me feel.

Then I'll say my favorite part or thing about the movie.

Then I'll sings the praises of my favorite actor/actress before I give it an overall rating 1-10 on movie excellence.

*WARNING*CONTAINS*SPOILERS*

Okay here we go:

Okay you all know what I thought about this one...(if you don't know, I LOVED it.)

I saw it for the fourth time on Saturday, it was just as good as the first!

Emotion:4-I cried, wanted to kill people and makeout with others. Tres magnifico!

Fave Part: I have two. Edward and Bella's bedroom/proposal scene and Jacob and Bella's makeout. Am I a teenage girl or what? Bahaha

Fave Actor: Riley. The dude is, first of all, HAWT, but he also behaved exactly like Book Riley would've! Loved him!

Overall Excellence: 8

SO SO SO CUTE!!! LOVED the first two, was super worried about this one but Pixar, once again did not let me down!

Emotion: 3.86- I was angry at Lotso for the majority of the movie and super sad when they all almost died in the furnace!

Fave Part: Again I have two- all of Ken and Barbie's scenes-HILARIOUS. When she was cutting up his clothes I think I almost peed my pants. Also the ending when Andy plays with his toys with Bonnie for the last time. Love.

Fave Actor: Ken. Hands down. HILARIOUS.

Overall Excellence: 9

Bahahaha I laugh just thinking about it!

Emotion: 3- Mostly I was just sad for the girls the whole time, oh and I was ticked at the old scientist dude.

Favorite Part: Watching Gru turn into a daddy!!! SO SO CUTE!

Fave Character(s): The Minions!! For sure!! SO entertaining!!! Love them!
Overall Excellence: 9

Okay, I'm not gonna lie. This one was built up too much for me. The previews looked AMAZING so I had high expectations, and....well it was just a little weird.....

Emotion: 3- I think I should've felt more than I did, afterall it was mostly about death! When Zac threw his little fit and was throwing things everywhere...I mean, it was HAWT definately...but that's about it.

Fave Part: The sailboat race at the very beginning-SO HAWT, plus you see the precious brotherly bond!!!! Oh and when Charlie saves Tess with his body heat. When he first started taking off her clothes I was like "What the???"

Fave Actor: Uh...Zac...duh...him shirtless on the sailboat made seeing the whole movie worth it.

Overall Excellence: 7

I have one word for you: ADORE.

Emotion: 5- I BAWLED. Yeah I'm a baby. But here's the thing, I've always been the Ramona of my family. I even look like her for crying out loud! Near the end of the movie when she gets yelled at by her dad, who had-till that point- always been on her side, I lost it. I really REALLY identified with Ramona, especially with her sadness and frustration of being left behind. The whole last half hour of the movie really hit home with me.

Fave Part: The whole thing! I doubt I could pick one specifc part. All of Ramona's faces are CLASSIC. SO SO funny! Oh! When she boings Susan's curls-I almost died. That part of the book has always been one of my favorites!

Fave Actress: Okay, so I admit, John Corbett was an awesome Mr. Quimby. But the little girl who played Ramona was PHE.NOM.ENAL. She was sooooooo darling and perfect for the part!! Wow I adore her!

Fave Quotes: "YOU have a LOVE life??"

"Who would love a girl named Beezus?"

*thinks*

"Jesus?"

Overall Excellence: 10

Now for the motherload: the cinematic experience of the century!!! DUDE. I have two words for you: BEYOND EPIC.

BLOODY GENIUS!

Emotion-5-so intense and emotionally draining! I left feeling exhausted! Love it!

Favorite Part: The"Give me a kiss."scene. Priceless. Plus all the cool dreams!
Fave Actors: Oh man I can't just choose one! We'll go top 3.

Leo-LOVE/ADORE/PRAISE him. The man is...indescribably fabulous!!!!!

Joseph Gordon Leavitt- Oh my holy crap. He is sexy and genius and sassy and versatile and I love him. From 500 Days of Summer to this? What the??

And lastly but not leastly- Ellen Freakin' Page. BR.IL.LI.AN.T. She slays me with her talent! The entire cast was downright genius!!!! Okay I lied, one more, the girl who played Mal, dude, she SCARED the CRAP out of me!! She's amazing!!!

Other Fave Thing: Once you get past all the crazy dreams, all the intensity and insanity, you have one of the most beautiful love stories ever written.

For reals.

It's gorgeous!!!!

Overall Excellence: 10!!!!

Go.See.These.Movies.Now.

7 Things You Never Wanted to Know About Ratalie

2010-08-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

So despite my being an MIA Flakey Blogger....the ever-fabulous Chloe has bestowed this lovely award upon me!!!

I am now required to post 7 things about myself. Since this is the Versatile Blogger award, I will try to make the facts as such.

7 Versatile Facts About RatalieNose

1. Last night I threw a Taylor Lautner Lover's Party-yes it was amazing.

2. For the first fifteen years of my life, I was convinced that I was going to be on Broadway.

3. I once made a list of all the boys I've liked....there are over 3o names.

4. My dream life is to travel the world teaching underprivelaged children how to read.

5. I am in my third year of student council. My position is "Director of Staff and Student Recognition"

6. I'm really good at coming up with plans and schemes....not so good, however, at following through with them.

7. I don't believe in having one best friend.

Now for the matter of regifting this.....

Honestly....if you're reading this post, it means you're awesome and versatile.

So take the award!

Post it on your blog and do the 7 things, then pass it on.

Ratalie Loves You!

Cowboy Take Me Away

2010-07-31T14:32:00.000-07:00

So this years girls camp theme was Cowgirl Up.

So each cabin needed to come up with a ranch name and a brand to represent them.

So the YCL2'S (Youth Camp Leaders-17 year olds) decided to be the

Ditsy Chicks-Cowboy Take Me Away

Pictured below is our main cabin decorations:

Just some cowboys from our hood. Here are 6 of the 8 YCL2's on our way into Lomia.

We are so blessed to have this beautiful camp to stay at every year.

I love everything about this place!

It's so gorgeous and you just feel good as you walk around it.

Definately one of my happy places!

So like I said, my camera broke on the first day of camp so I just have a few pics from that day.

Me and Jess were just a little excited!!!
I was so blessed to get to work with one of my BFF's for my camp calling this year.
Jess and I were responsible for planning all the firesides at camp!
(A fireside is a basically a meeting at night where we all gather and have a good time.)
It was a huge job, but Jess and I make a great team and things went really really well!

The first night there's generally an onstage game show. So since this year was all about courage we decided to do Couples Fear Factor. Each of the YCL2's picked a character and teamed up to do 3 stunts. We had:
Barbie and Jessie
John Wayne and Calamity Jane
Sammy and Niesha (The young women always win!)
And....
Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift
Me and Jess LOVED being those two!!!

The first stunt was one that we filmed in Mesa before we left. One partner jumped off the high dive holding a bucket and swam over to the other partner who then had to save 5 birds from the bottom the pool. Whoever did it the fastest won the stunt. And the slowest couple was eliminated.

The second stunt was the infamous food stunt.

The remaining contestants each had to eat a quail egg.

For the third stunt, one partner was suspended in the air (sitting in a hammock hanging from the rafters) and shooting a marshmallow gun into a bucket held by the other partner. The team that had the most mallows in in 45 seconds won.

Oh and also for the first night...a special treat for the estrogen charged girls....a boy video featuring all the hotties from our hood. Giving them advice, telling what they want in their dream cowgirls, and of course...dancing. I think I may have gone a little deaf as they watched it.

The second night was skit night. Every ward performs a 3-4 minute skit that has something to do with their ranch and the camp theme.

But we decided to spice up the night a bit so we did the CMT Awards.

(Camp's Magnificent Talents)

They were hosted by the Taylors, who in turn introduced lots of famous guest stars who presented each ward with a belt buckle for their skit.

Some presenters:

Brad Paisley

Garth Brooks

Carrie Underwood

Miranda Lambert

Lady Antebellum

Rascal Flatts

It was such fun night!

Then for our final night, it was Bishops night. All the Bishops come up to spend time with their girls. So we had a Bishops Rodeo. First we showed a video featuring all the bishops telling us about their secret strengths, why they were going to win. Then they competed in 4 events. Roping their wives, oily pig relay (vaseline watermelon), pin the flower on the pony, and a hokey pokey dance-off.

Then each word performed a song for their bishop written especially for him.

It was a great night!

But it's not just the fun stuff that makes camp so great! Every night after the fun part of the fireside we do something spiritual. The first night we went on a scavenger hunt to find a Cowgirls' Happily Ever After. It was based off of President Ucthdorf's talk from the YW conference and was so great!

Night two- we started the night by singing a song about standing as a witness of Christ.

"Like Esther in her courage, like Joseph in his faith, like Ruth in her devotion, like Nephi in his strength. I will stand for truth and righteousness reflecting heaven's light. And my life will be like a beacon in the night. For I will stand as a witness of Christ."

Then we walked out into the woods where we sat and each of the people from the song came and spoke to us. Telling their stories and admonishing us to stand as a witness of Christ. The last person to speak to us was Nephi who was being portrayed by our stake president, my dad. After he told his story he asked us to make a commitment to stand for truth and righteousness. Anyone who was willing to make the commitment was asked to sign two picture frames which I'm told are going to have a picture of Christ in them and will hang in our Young Womens room.

For the last night we were taken through the life of Christ through beautiful artwork. One at a time a member of the priesthood would come out with a picture of an event from Christ's life and talk about it. The spirit was so strong.

In addition to the firesides, during the day we go to classes and workshops. Their was one workshop that touched me especially. It was called When Life Gives You Lemons and it was all about trials and how to deal with them and why we have them etc. It was just what I needed. So so great.

Yes, my fiancee Taylor Lautner was our cabin's brand. We put a hat on him and took him to flag every morning.

In addition to firesides, I got to teach certification for the second year girls. One of the things they needed to learn to pass onto the next level was fires, so we made EDIBLE CAMPFIRES!!!

Very fun and very yummy!!!

All in all, camp this year was beyond amazing. I'm so blessed to be a Young Woman and have experiences like this!! I can't wait till next year, but sadly it'll be my last one!

Getting older is sometimes not fun!

11 DAYS TILL MY SENIOR YEAR!!!!!

Returned

2010-07-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

Home.

Happy.

Got 12 hours of sleep last night.

Really happy.

Camera broke at camp.

Will post all about the week once I can yoink some pictures from people's Facebook.

Have a great weekend!

Agent Rat Checking in With a Status Report

2010-07-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

I know I've been MIA recently.

So here's the Status Report:

Ears: Happy Because of the song from this scene.

My Love by Sia.

Yes I've listened to it at least 500 times.

Eyes: Very pleased.

Because of this movie: Hilarious, clean and darling.

And of course this one: yes I saw it for the third time this week.

Legs: Scratched up from chopping down corn stalks with swords and machetes in the dark.

Yes it was awesome.

Brain: Full and aching just a bit from all the thinking and planning I've been doing for Girls Camp. Jessica and I were given the calling of planning ALL the fun firesides for camp. It's been a ton of work but also SO MUCH FUN! We go this Tuesday and we're almost all ready! It's gonna be great!

Heart: Mending. Slowly but surely.

Everyone have a great weekend! After camp I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures and stories for your viewing pleasure! In the meantime...Cowgirl Up!!!!

I'm Grateful

2010-07-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well this week has been...uh....one of a kind.

I guess you could say I've got a lot on my mind.

But its when things are hardest that you remember what's most important.

My family-no matter what happens, they are always there for me. Trying to help in whatever way they can.

My friends- sit and listen to me whine for hours on end...and they still want to hang out with me. These are the girls that I laugh with, I cry with and drool over boys with.

The scriptures- when you have no idea what you're doing- they're the road map that will lead you through your life.

Priesthood blessings- I'm BEYOND blessed to have a father whose a worthy priesthood holder who is willing to give me a blessing whenever I need it. Direct inspiration from the Lord is such a comfort when you don't know what the heck you're doing!

The power of fasting- Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when He gave us this precious gift. A small sacrifice on your part can lead to more blessings than you could ever imagine.

The power of prayer- even when you're at your worst, feeling alone, you're not. Your Father in Heaven is always right there, just waiting for you to come to Him. And prayer is the way you do that. I can't even count the number of times I've muttered a prayer and immediately felt a difference.

I'm grateful for trials.

We given them for a reason.

They are how we grow, progress, and realize what's really important.

I Luffff My Life!!!!

2010-06-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

So I haven't had time to post lately because Julie, my BFF is here from Texas!!! Already, we've had SO.MUCH.FUN. Lunch dates, boy dates, movies, swimming oh and uh having our car break down twice. Awesome. But truly!

So this'll just be a quick post but I HAD to say.....

I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have NEVER left a Twilight movie happy!

I always leave cranky and annoyed.

But last night I left on Cloud 9!

This new director is brilliant!!!!

Things I loved:

*Jacob's Abs

*Jacob's Face

*Jacob

*EDWARD DIDN'T REPULSE ME LIKE HE USUALLY DOES

*Jasper and Rosalie's stories = YES!!!!!!

*More Emmet = YESS!!!!

*The Sex Talk scene = DYING LAUGHING!!!!

*New Victoria actually did a good job!

*Riley was fabulous!!

*Dakota Fanning is a boss!

*Bella gets prettier every movie.

*Ashley Greene (Alice) is fabulous. Flawless. Love her.

*I loved the inclusion of details from the Bree Tanner book. If you haven't read it, hurry and go to breetanner.com before they take it down. Read it. That's an order.

*I HATE Leah!!! Which means the actress did a great job. Bless her.

*Seth is a DOLL!!!

Okay so I liked alot of things. I was SO pleasantly surprised! I'm still overjoyed!

Have a great week!

More adventures later!

High School Happiness

2010-06-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, there is such a thing!!

Thank goodness.

In fact, this year, the happiness has been equal to or MORE than the horrors, which is amazing! I think it's because even if you have less happy than horror, the happy means more, thus creating equilibrium.

Wow big word.

Okay moving on to the point.

Picture this with me. It's Tuesday, the last full day of the school year. Wednesday and Thursday are both final days which means half day. So Tuesday was the last day I would see EVERYONE. So how did I want to be remembered? Just look at the pictures. Bo Lao Shi-the most patient, longsuffering, and otherwise awesome Chinese teacher ever!
Brother Sell-greatest seminary teacher known to mankind.

The 3 Stooges

Now here comes the story:

It's Tuesday circa 6:45 am.

Last day of A-hour seminary.

But we weren't having a lesson, just chillin' signing yearbooks etc.

Me, Ed (Steph), and Hannah are sitting there wondering aloud where in the world Karla is because she PROMISED she'd come.

So I comandeer Hannah's phone so I can give Karla a piece of my mind.

And she claims to be landing her mother ship at seminary in approximately 15 minutes.

So I say, "let's jump on her when she gets here."

And Hannah, being BRILLIANT, says

"I still have those dress-ups in my car from the anti-prom party."

(Another post soon to come.)

"We should get dressed up and jump on her!"

So we got dressed and waited.

Ready to pounce.

And pounce we did!

I think we almost gave poor Karla a heart attack, but it sure was fun!

Anywho, we promptly got Karla into a stupid outfit.

Then we all made a pact to wear the clothes for the.entire.day.

YES!!!!

And we decided to keep our motives a secret.

If someone asked Stephanie why she was wearing her outfit, she said "Ask Karla"

If Karla was asked, she said "Ask Natalie"

If I was asked, I said, "Ask Hannah"

And if Hannah was asked, she said "Ask Stephanie"

It took everyone till about third hour to get that it was all a huge loop.

It was seriously one of the greatest days of the entire year.

Bless dress-ups forever and ever.

Amen.

Ratalie's Reveling Rhetoric

2010-06-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

So this morning I needed some music to listen to so I went onto grooveshark and proceeded to make a small playlist that defines how I'm feeling about life at this point. Here's the list:

Lost by Micheal Buble

I'm Only Me When I'm With You by Taylor Swift

Invisible by Taylor Swift

Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy

Come in With the Rain by Taylor Swift

You've Got a Friend in Me by Randy Newman

Need You Know by Lady Antebellum

Am I in need of some psychoanalysis or what?

In other news, I hung out with Charming today for the first time since our date last summer and umm...he's fabulous.

Just sayin'.

High School Horrors Part 10

2010-06-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

So I know it's summer, but there are some Horrors that I feel are recap worthy.

So here we go:

As we all know, friends are debatably the most important part of a high schooler's existence, so when something happens that jeapordizes them, it becomes your very own living nightmare.

The Three Scariest Experiences of Ratalie's Junior Year

3. My BFF Suz was feeling awful during choir. So we were outside and I was doing my best to help her out. I turned away for one second and the next thing I know, her eyes are rolling back in her head and she's falling backwards and I hear her head hit the pavement with a thud. Terr.I.Fy.Ing.

2. This one got it's one post. The Rusty/Peanut Butter Episode. Go here to read all about it.

1. The number one most terrifying experience of this year...one night I was sitting at home and someone burst through our door. It was Edell, my friend Jake's mom. She was borderlining hysterical as she said "Jake's been in a motorcycle accident, can we leave our car here so Glen and I can drive together?" And with that she was gone. We had no idea how serious it was or what exactly happened. All night I was wreck. I even texted Jake thinking that if he was concious he'd have his phone on him: "Jake are you okay???" Not recieving an answer made it even worse. Finally, around 11 pm Edell came back to pick up the car. Becuase Jake had been wearing his helmet he had made it without any serious injuries and had walked out of the hospital. I don't think I'd ever been that relieved in my entire life. I booked it outside to jump on Jake and see with my own two eyes that he was okay. To this day, I am a HUGE advocate for wearing helmets on motorcycles, it saved my best friends life!

I'm so thankful that in all three of these scenarios, my friends were okay. I know without a doubt that all three of them were being watched over by a loving Heavenly Father. And that, with him on my side, I need never fear.

Tzeitel Don't Forget the Baby!!!!

2010-04-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

You know what stinks???

When something that you used to really love and enjoy...becomes a chore.

It breaks my heart to say this...but that is what has happened with blogging.

So for now I shall say farwell and leave you with a song:

If you find it's me your missing, if you're hoping I'll return.

To your thoughts I'll soon be listening, in the road I'll stop and turn.

Then the wind will set me racing as my journey nears its end.

And the path I'll be retracing, I'll be homeward bound again.

Bind me not to the pasture.

Chain me not to the plow.

Set me free to find my calling.

And I'll return to you somehow.

Letters From the Undeceased

2010-04-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

Dear EverybodyNose,

I am so SORRY that I have been neglecting you. I'm a terrible blogger.

Love,

Lazy Blog Author

Dear Fellow Bloggers,

I apologize from the bottom of my heart for neglecting you all. I'm a terrible blog friend.

Love,

Person Who Needs to Catch Up On Your Lives

Dear Life I've Been Living Lately,

You have ups, downs, and in-betweens. You make me laugh, cry, scream, and cry some more. Thanks for showing me what it's all about.

Love,

Natalie

Adorable

2010-03-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

Chloe is so good to me!

She bestowed this beautiful award upon me!

So now, I get to show you all four things that I think are adorable. #1

#2

Don't even try to tell me that these kids are not to die for!!!!!

Alright now I get to pass on the award.

You can put it on your sidebar then tell your readers about 4 things you think are adorable.

Then pass it on to 4 people.

(Only if you want to, no pressure.)

1. Ann Marie
2. Amy

3. Chloe

4. Shelby Lou

Did Ratalie Drop Off the Face of the Earth???

2010-03-17T00:51:00.000-07:00

No I'm not dead.

I guess the best way to sum up where I've been the last couple weeks is this: And this:

And of course this:
Being in Les Miserables was one of the greatest experiences of my life.
I absoloutely LOVED it!!!!
We had the GREATEST cast that Westwood had to offer!
Last weekend we put on three fantastic shows and had an amazing turnout!
Looking back now I have absoloutely no regrets and am just heartbroken that it's all over.
Thank you for everyone who came to the show!
I hope you had as much fun watching as I did performing!!!

Where Your Treasure Is, There Will Your Heart Be Also

2010-02-23T16:24:00.000-08:00

So Sadies is coming up here in a couple weeks.

I asked my good friend Jacob and he (being a gentleman) answered me just a few days later!

I'm so mad I forgot to take pictures of the asking.

But here's what I did: I put the letters of my name on seven of these and stuck them in peanut butter. (Jacob has an obsession with the stuff.) Gave him a posted that said:

"Don't be a Nugget, come with me to Sadies!"

So he answered with a box of Marshmallow Treausres.

In the cereal were gold coins, papers and a ring pop.

The papers said:
I'd love to go to Sadies with a Jewel like you!!!

Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reason Number 336 Why I Love Steven!!!!!

2010-02-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

So you remember Steven? Yup, that's him.

I love him.

Ready for the latest reason?????

Every year at WW the week before Valentines day is Love Week.

It's a tradition that every student in the school gets a heart with their name written on it hung up in the hallway. Well this morning I saw my heart and this is what it looked like:

Do you see the two little words?

Yeah someone wrote that.

A close up:

If you can't read the words it says;
"You're Ugly"

Yeah, sad huh.

I mean it's obviously not a huge deal, I mean I don't hang my happiness on how people view me!

But still.....

Well I told Steven about this and look at what he made me:

If you can't read the sparkles it says

"Is Hot"

So he made that specially for me and taped it to my back for teh rest of the day!

See why I love him?

It was seriously so sweet!

He's so good to me!!!!

Challenge for the day:

Go tell someone you love them.

It just might make their day.

**********************************

Susannah has a beautiful smile, happy is a very good look for her.

I Almost Killed My Best Friend and Lived to Tell the Tale!!!!! Oh and Then I Saw a Movie.

2010-02-06T00:12:00.000-08:00

So you all know The Rusty. I talk about him all the time.

Just a refresher:

I love the kid.

He's like my brother, one of my best friends ever.

And tonight I was almost the death of him.

Fact: Rusty is DEATHLY allergic to ALL peanuts in ANY, WAY, SHAPE, or FORM.

Like, one bite and he could like drop dead!!!!

So tonight The Jessica's and I made a Dairy Queen run for 4 blizzards.

Reeses for Jessica #1, Reeses for Jessica #2, Cookie Dough for Rusty and Butterfinger for Parker.

Well I'm getting in the car trying to figure out which one is which and thinking I have it right, give each Jessica what I THOUGHT was a Reeses Blizzard.

Then we get back to Kairleigh's and I go inside and give what I THINK is the Cookie Dough and Butterfinger to Parker and Rusty.

Then I go back out to the car, and the Jessica's proceed to tell me that they are currently eating a BUTTERFINGER and COOKIE DOUGH Blizzards.

OH.MY.GOODNESS.

My. Heart. Stopped.

I fumbled to get the car door open but couldn't find the handle, finally I RUN PELL MELL through the yard and into the house, the minute I'm inside I'm screaming:

"RUSTY DON'T EAT IT"

As I get into the room they were in I'm still screaming and freaking out and he goes

"I didn't eat it. We smelt it."

THANK.GOODNESS.

I walked out of the room thinking:

"WHAT IF HE HAD EATEN IT!?!?!?"

And just the thought was too much for me.

I started BALLING my eyes out!!!!

I don't think I'd ever been so relieved or felt so stupid in my entire life!

Of course, Rusty heard me crying and came out to make sure I was okay.

HE was making sure that I was okay!

HE WAS THE ONE WHO COULD HAVE DIED!!!!

AND HERE HE WAS COMFORTING ME!!!!

Just holding me and letting me cry, reassuring me that he was perfectly fine, it wasn't my fault.

Etc. Etc. Etc.

Okay, call me a drama queen, tell me I'm crazy.

Actually don't.

I don't wanna hear it.

Maybe I'm prone to overreact to these kinds of things but you have NO IDEA how scary that was.

*sighs at the recollection*

Lesson Learned:

ASK FOR DQ TO TELL YOU WHICH BLIZZARD IS WHICH!!!!!!!!!

After that dramatic episode....it was time for some Silver Screen Drama!!!!!

I read this book two summers ago and

FELL.IN.LOVE.

When I saw they were making it into a movie I was so happy I almost fainted!

So needless to say, when Sister Emily called me up tonight to go see it I HAD to say yes.

So here's the deal, I know most of you are going to see this and I don't want to ruin anything for you so just let me say this:

They changed ALOT of things!!!!

And I'm not sure how I feel about it all!

Somethings I thought they got spot on.

Others they changed to the point of me wanting to yell:

"WHAT THE HECK???????????????"

But some of the liberties they took, I thought, really helped the story and made it a great movie.

So yeah I guess this is kind of a lame review.

But I'm way interested in hearing what you all have to say about it.

We must discuss!!!

Have a Fabulous weekend!!!!!

Musings of a 16 Year Old Girl With Too Much Time On Her Hands (My Dad Made Up This Title)

2010-02-01T15:18:00.000-08:00

So I have this fetish with naming inanimate objects....

I'd like you all to meet:

This next guy is my lover!!! Oh Pokey! He is slow but he gets the job done!!!!!!

Oh wait...he's not an inanimate object....

that's okay!

We still love him!!!!!

Epic In Every Sense of the Word

2010-01-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

Well this past weekend was epic for two reasons.

We'll start with this:

I saw Titanic for the first time.

Oh my goodness!!!!!!!!

Love. At. First. Sight.

There's something about watching an amazing chickflick in your pajamas with junk food and all your girlfriends!

(Plus Rusty.)

It just made it that much better!!!! Image from Here.

I will marry Jack Dawson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Image from Here.

Can we just feast upon him for a moment?

Image from Here.

Now I'm torn!

Who do I love more...

Peeta Mellark or Jack Dawson????

What say you?

Now for the main event:

The Cocopah Half and Full Marathon

Yuma, Arizona

Saturday, January 23rd

After my grandpa's death in September, some of the family decided to participate in his memory for his birthday which would have been this month.

My sisters Emily and Bekah, and my Aunt Johnelle sprinting in from the Half.

Bekah's biggest fans!

I told Emily to show me what champions look like, this is what she came up with.

Em with her #1 cheerleader! Her hubby Brett!

Barely awake but ready to cheer on the fam!

Sister Sarah and Aunt Pam finishing the Half!

Bekah went back and ran the last mile with them.

Aunt Kathy and Sam ran the last couple yards as well.

Victory!

Can I just say that my dad is a stud????

The man is 53 years old and ran a FULL MARATHON IN 4 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!

My Super Sisters!!!!!!!

All the girls!

I love my family!

This was such a great event to witness!

Between the two races, we had 11 runners and ALOT of cheerleaders all wearing our red Team Reg shirts.

If you click on any of the pictures you can see the shirts better.

Under the Team Reg it says:

"Still Hangin' in There"

One of many Regisms that my grandpa was known for is this:

"I'm still working on my S.H.I.T. program."

Man I miss that guy!

Image from Here.

In other news, I missed EverybodyNose's Birthday!!!!

As of January 15th, this here blog has been alive for one year!!!

It's been a great one!

Here's to many more!!!!!

A Parade, My Decor, Oh and I'm a G

2010-01-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

Yeah I've been MIA this week....life has gotten crazy!!!!

Between school, blood drive, Les Mis rehearsal and being a normal human being....there's not alot of time left over. But heres a little somethin somethin to hold you all over. On Monday, Westwood Stuco was in our towns MLK parade.

Isn't our "banner" awesome?

Love it!

Barely awake.

Me and my Bethany!

Oh Steven! We love him.

So alot of bloggers out there post pictures of your cute houses and your decorating jobs yadda yadda yadda. Well....there is only one room in my house that reflects me.
The Woman Cave.
AKA my bedroom.
So I thought I'd just give you a little taste of my room.
This little lovelie houses all my purses belts and junk.

From left to right:

*The N book was my 12th birthday present from my amazing sister Bekah! It's completely homemade and is 12 year old Natalie in a nut shell!

*The awesome Natalie sign in the background was my Christmas present from Brina, again homemade! Love it!

*The picture of me and Tyler....

Remember my post about Winter Formal and how me and Ty were dancing by ourselves at dinner and my friends were taking pictures of us?...yeah. Kair took that picture, Jessica printed it out, put it in my frame and gave it to me for Christmas. Hahaha!
*The super cute white frame was my birthday present from the awesome Ann! Yes I am such a slacker and haven't put a picture in it yet....but the frame is so cute that it's worth displaying, pictureless and all!! I will get a picture in there soon!!!!!

*In the very front is a little picture of the whole Stuco family at Winter Formal.

*And the Knight in Shining Armor......is a story for another time.

So sometimes I like to pretend I'm a gangsta.

Peace out yo!

Crazy Kids and a Cowch

2010-01-16T23:21:00.001-08:00

So the other day Jessica was driving down Brown and Horne and saw this awesome Cowch.

She told me about it and we KNEW we had to go take pictures.

And here's what we got: Yeah its blurry but at least they're in the air.

And daaang Rusty's got hops!

I'm laughing by the way...

His face made my day.

I thought of the wicked King Noah when I saw this.

B-ritt and Sammy playing patty-cake.

My friends are so cute!

Flexing their triceps brachii, heck yes I've been paying attention in anatomy!

Rusty was naughty.

No comment.

Can I just say that I have the best guy friends ever?

This one made me so happy!!!!

I love how Brittni's the only one making a normal face.

Have a happy MLK Day!!!!!!!

Hollerrrrrr!!!!!!!

2010-01-14T16:45:00.000-08:00

I GOT IT!!!!!!!!!

I RatalieNose, will be playing the part of

Madame Thenardier!!!!

If you haven't seen Les Miserables:

Madame T and her husband Monsieur T are the villians that you love to hate. They're sleazy, crude and funny as heck!!!

The boy who plays my "husband" is HILARIOUS!!!!

He should be really fun to work with!

I'm super excited for this chance I've been given!

Another awesome thing:

My younger sister Annie was casted as Young Eponine!

You know what that means????

I'm her mother!!!!!!

So our family is very excited with how things turned out!!!!

What good news do you have????

If I Were Anymore Irritated, I'd Be Dead

2010-01-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

Image from here.

It's true.
At this moment in time, I am from the land of the
EXTREMELY IRRITATED.
However I will set that aside.
I will set aside the fact that:

My ipod went through the wash yesterday.

That is the exact same way my last ipod saw death.

If my little brother talks me again, I'm going to rip out his voice box.
(Not really, but I'm annoyed.)

I think I left Cammie in Ed's car.

My New Moon poster is all messed up.

I have to go to school tomorrow.

I was woken up early this morning by being told that my house got TP'd last night and I had to wake up and clean it up before the sprinklers came on.

Yes I'm going to set all that aside!
And we shall play a game.
Yes I stole this idea from the one and only Lauren.

So here's how it goes:
In the comment section you leave an anonymous comment giving some hint as to who you are. As they come, I will try to guess!
I've always wanted to do this and see how well I know my readers!
Ready. Set. Go.

Out With the Old, In With the New

2010-01-08T23:37:00.000-08:00

(No, this collage has nothing to do with the post other than the fact that it's goofy and it makes me happy.)

It is a new year.

2010.

What's really trippin' me out is that next year is 2011.

THAT'S THE YEAR I GRADUATE.

MY LIFE STARTS IN A YEAR AND A HALF.

As exciting as that prospect is....right now, I'm going to focus on the present and the near future.

It's a new semester and some things have had to change.

Those things being my study habits.

My grades last semester left something to be desired, so I've made a commitment to put my education junk first which means less blog time.

So if I haven't commented or posted in forever, it's not that I hate you or don't love and miss your face.

It's because I'm trying to pass my classes.

Anywho....

2010 has alot to offer me!!

Auditions for Les Miserables are this coming Monday and Tuesday.I will be auditioning for the parts of

Madame Thernardier and Eponine Thernardier.

The two characters are COMPLETELY different, but I feel confident in my ability to portray both.

But if I'm being completely honest, (which I always am) Eponine is what I really want. Her songs are

OFF.THE.CHAIN.

Not to mention that it'd be fun to be tragic.

I love tragedy.

However, Madame Thernardier would be SUPER FUN as well.

So we'll just have to see!

Also this year is Girls Camp and I am a YCL 2 so I get to be more involved with the planning! I'm STOKED about my responsibility that I was given today but I don't know if I'm allowed to say anything yet...but when I get the ok I'll definately let you know!

I have finally finished my Personal Progress!!!

I will recieve my recognition in Sacrament meeting in a couple weeks because one of my family members won't be available and I need them there.

For those of you who don't know, Personal Progress is a program that all the Young Women (girls ages 12-18) participate in in my church.

There are seven values and for each one we do 6 "value projects" which usually entail reading scriptures, writing in journals etc. Then we're required to do a "ten hour project" for each value.

Basically it teaches you how to set goals and work to achieve them.

It truly is an inspired program!!!

Now that I'm done however, I'm not done done.

I'm going to be a Personal Progress "mom" for one of the girls in my ward who could use a little extra push. I'll just try to keep her motivated and check on her progress and such.

I'm so thankful for this experience and the things I've learned from it!

And the last thing that 2o1o has to offer me....

THE FINAL HUNGER GAMES BOOK COMES OUT IN AUGUST.

OH.MY.GOODNESS.

I AM IN LOOOOOOOOVE.

With the books themselves and with Peeta.

Oh the boy makes my heart sing!!!

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

BUT I LIKE THESES BOOKS MORE THAN TWILIGHT!!!

*GASP*

I KNOW RIGHT???

You all KNOW how much I love Twilight......

So this is huge!!!!

I love the substance that these books have!

It makes my heart happy!

If you haven't read them,

GO.REPENT.NOW.

That is all.

P.S.

Please go vote on the poll on my sidebar.

It is highly imperative.

Houston, We Have a Problem

2010-01-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

Well I'm home!

And I had the BEST time ever!!!!

This trip was just what I needed!!!! The first night I was in Houston, just so stoked to be together again!!!

And we got a little slap happy!!

Okay I lied.... a lot!!!

The next day we all went to Galveston Texas which is perfectly beautiful!!!

It's a little beach town with a bunch of really old mansions!

I thought of my dear friend Ann Marie as we drove past them all!

Unfortuantely I didn't get pictures of any of them.

Sherlock and Watson freezing on the beach!!!

My guy, Gabe the Gorilla!

Julie with her Frog Prince, Ferdinand the Fifth.

Mamma and Pappa Dub with long faced guy.

Then we took a ferry ride across the Gulf which was so cool!!! (Literally!)

Katie Lou! My "sister!"

K, on the ferry if you hold up a piece of bread the seagulls FLOCK to it!!! And they just fly in place until you feed them!

Julie told me to do pilates on the bar to keep warm.

No comment.

I'm not gonna lie, I make a great hobo!!

Julie keeping my legs warm for me!!

The twins feeding the gulls.

This yellow ferry made me happy!

Afterwards we went to Keemah Boardwalk which is like an amusement park right on the water!

Soo fun!!!

Got our tickets for Boardwalk Bullet!

Before

After

No explanation necessary.

I felt way too comfortable behind these bars.

Whoops!

Wednesday night was the big tri-stake New Years dance and it was Sam's first one!!!

New Years in Texas is BEYOND awesome because Fireworks are LEGAL!

So everyone does them and if you stand outside it sounds like downtown Bahgdad!

For the first hour I had to convince myself that no one was gettting shot!

I'm a cheap drunk!

Our first picture in 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Robin's hands were cold, so she stuck them in my armpits?

Then came the dreaded car ride to the airport. :(

Yes it was 4:30 in the morning.

It was a great week!!!!!!

I'm so glad I got the chance to go!!!!!

Alyssa Reidhead

P.S.

Christmas Comment Candy just isn't going to happen this time.

Why not?

Cause I don't feel like it.

But don't worry, CC will come back when I'm in the mood.

Christmas Came a Day Late this Year

2009-12-26T23:02:00.000-08:00

Well friends, Christmas has come and gone and it was fabulous!!!!

I have some pictures because Santa brought me this little lovely: Her name is Cammie and I adore her.

However, an unexpected present that flew into my life a couple hours ago is going to keep me from uploading pictures for a week or so because......

I'm going to Houston tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I get to go see my Julie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am STOKED.

S-T-O-K-E-D

Like you don't even understand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So obviously....life here at EverybodyNose will pick back up when I return home in a weeks time.

So this gives you more time to leave a comment on the below post.

Christmas Comment Candy will be sweeter because you get to wait for it!!!

Love love love you all!!!!!!

Alyssa Willis

Tis the Season and All That Jazz

2009-12-23T00:12:00.000-08:00

Yes friends, it is that time again.

I figured since it is the season of giving, no better time to toss out some

Comment Candy.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go HERE.

While I'm on the subject of Christmas,

I thought I'd toss out a thought I had the other day.

It's about the

Two S's

Substituite and Supplement

Substituite- Replacement

Supplement- Additive

We know that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of our brother Jesus Christ.

As the years come and go, more and more emphasis is put on the commercial side of Christmas.

Presents, trees, lights and the whole nine yards are GREAT,

AS A SUPPLEMENT,

NOT a SUBSTITUITE.

This year as you shop for, give and recieve presents, make sure the things you're doing are adding to your celebration of Christ's birth, not replacing it.

Alright friends, you know what to do.

Comment Comment Comment

and you just might recieve a little Christmas Present from the Ratalie.

Fa-La-La-La-La-La

Alyssa Oliphant

Tag! I'm it.

2009-12-20T13:25:00.000-08:00

So the beyond awesome Natalie Ingram tagged me with this like forever ago but I've been lame and haven't read everyone's blogs for weeks so here I am repenting.

1. Post a picture that makes you cringe. Yeah this is pretty self-explanatory right?

N.A.S.T.Y.

2. Two pictures that you could stare at all day.

I think we both (Sarah and I) look soo cute in this!!

And Sarah's arms are fabulous!

I aspire to have muscles like hers.

Usually when I take pictures with my gorgeous friends I always feel like I pale in comparison (not that I should be comparing) but with this one, I feel like we're equally hottttt!!

So I think technically I'm supposed to use pictures that are mine...but I did make this collage with picasa...so we'll just go with it.

Yeah.

I drool everytime I look at this.

And I stare for minutes at a time.

No joke.

3. Choose one picture that shows your dreams or aspirations.

Call me a cheesy sentimental fool, but I dream about having a boy look at me like this!

I dream of him knowing every single little thing about me, and loving me anyways.

I dream of marrying him, whoever he is, in the temple and being with him forever.

4. Tag and link to four bloggers and say why they inspire you:

1. My sister Emily (Brett and Em's Adventures)
I've always wanted to be like Emily. I want to dress like her, sing like her, be funny like her. She has the most amazing work ethic and will not stop until what needs to be done is done.

2. My sister Bekah (Jennings Story)
Bekah is the best example to me.

For what?

Everything.

For being a wife, a mother, and a person in general.

There is nothing she can't do!!!

3. My "sister" Kim (Kimberly)

Kim is a go-getter.

And she stands by her decisions.

Whether its being an EFY counselor, a new plan to get healthy or a calling in the church.

She never gives up!

4. The freakin' awesome Geneva (Hazardous Undertakings)

She can do ANYTHING!!!!

She's a friggin' triathlete???

If that's not inspiring then I don't know what is.

And don't forget the fact that she teaches JR. HIGH.

Code word for hell!!!!

And anyone else who wants to do this, go for it!!!

Alyssa Rheingans

Operas and Finals and Dresses Oh My!!!

2009-12-17T18:05:00.000-08:00

Recently in English, we've been studying this CreeperMcCreeperFace: Yes, Edgar Allen Poe, was a genius, but he also creeps the heck out of me!!!

Anywho, to end our unit we were assigned to do a Poe Parody.

We could write a story, make a movie or write a song.

Geiser said that if we sing we get extra credit.

So what did Jessica, Sammy, Sarah, Suz and I do?

We turned The Masque of the Red Death

into

The Masque of the Red Death: An Opera in Five Parts

If you've never read the story, basically its during the time of the plague and a selfish bratty prince named Prospero gathers all the courtiers and they all hide out in an abbey until the plague is gone. At least that's the plan. During their Masquerade however, a hooded figure enters and once revealed, it kills the Prince and everyone else present. You can run but you can't hide from the plague.

Well we wanted to spice this up so we turned it into an "opera."

We split it into five parts and wrote a song for each part and each person sang (or rapped) a song.

The first song was

Can You Feel the Death Tonight?

(Can You Feel the Love Tonight? Lion King)
And it was all about the pains and evils of the plague.

Then came

Prince Prospero's Rap.

(Thug Story-Taylor Swift)

Talking about the Prince's selfish plan to hide out.

Seven Rooms

(Seven Things by Miley Cyrus)
Prince Prospero's Suite had seven rooms, one of every color.

Then we took Viva La Vida by Coldplay and turned it into a song about the clock.

During the Masquerade, the people would stop their festivities every time the clock chimed a new hour. It had an ominous tone to it that tripped everyone out.

And for the climax, we rewrote What is This Feeling from Wicked.

Instead of Loathing, it was Deathly, talking about when the plague appears in the form of a person and kills everyone.

This was pretty much the most entertaining project I've ever done!!!

In other news:

*Our Evening of Excellence for YW's was last night and it went fabulously! The theme was Daughters of a King so it was all about princesses!!!! LOVED IT!!! Can you tell that I helped plan it? The best part was that my AMAZING yw's president MADE ME A BELLE DRESS!!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS IT IS AMAZING!!!!!!

It looks JUST like Belle's!!

I'm. In. Love.

*This morning in seminary we had our Christmas conference which was AWESOME!! Students spoke and did musical numbers all centering around Christ and Christmas and the spirit was SO strong!!!

*My two hardest finals (trig and anatomy) are OVER!*

*TOMORROW'S THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR 2009!!!!!!*

SING PRAISES!!!!!!

Alyssa Kellogg

Honesty Shmonesty

2009-12-11T22:46:00.000-08:00

The amazing Molly from Red Rawlin's was kind enough to bestow this fabulous award upon me!

I'm not going to lie, I pride myself on being an honest person, so this award made my day!!!

As part of the deal I now have to tell you

10 True Things About Myself That You May Not Know

Yes I'm going to be VERY honest...so be prepared.

1. For YEARS, I sat in school and thought:

"Wow I will NEVER be a teacher, I could NOT do that!!!!"

And yet, I'd always find myself taking the class I was in and imagining myself as the teacher of it and how things would go. It wasn't until my freshman year that it finally dawned on me...Teaching is your destiny Natskee!!!

2. I don't hate the dentist.

I LOATHE the dentist!!!

I come home every time crying my eyes out!!

3. If I weren't me, I don't think I'd be friends with me.

4. I really love this picture because of the adoring look on his face....

*sighs dreamily*

Even if he was told to do that.....

5. My hatred and disdain for cheerleaders stems from the bitterness I have for not making the cheer team my freshman year. I tried out, didn't make it and have been hatin' on those peppy, skirt wearin' skanks ever since!!!!

(Disclaimer: I dislike the role of cheerleaders, not the people themselves. Some of my favorite people in the entire world also happen to be cheerleaders.)

6. Sometimes I turn lights on and off with my tongue.

Who cares about germs???

7. I am a couple watcher.

I LOVE watching a guy and girl that are into each other!!!

(As long as they're not being nasty.)

But I don't really like watching strangers....that's gross.

But my friends...LOVE it!!!

Don't ask me why!!

8. I've always wanted to play the role of a villian in a show, and it looks like I just might get my wish!!! Westwood's musical for this year is Les Miserables, and I am going to audition for the rold of Madame Thenardier!!! She and her husband are terrible people! They steal and rip people off constantly! Madame is crude, obnoxious, and larger than life. I think she'd be SOOO fun to play!!!

9. I once slept with a package of Oreos under my pillow.

10. 90% of the time, I don't put covers on toilets. (See #6)

Well this was fun!

I'm not in the mood to pass it on, but if you want to do the tag, feel free!

Love you all!!

Alyssa Zazueta

Dancing in the Moonlight 09'

2009-12-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

Well friends, Winter Formal has come and gone and it was

F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday night we went to the basketball game.

(Westwood won! Holler!)

Then to Haley's house for s'mores.

On Saturday we played Bigger or Better.

We split into two teams, and each team was given a paper clip. Then we went from house to house asking our neighbors if they had something bigger or better that they would like to trade us. The team with the Biggest or Best thing wins!

The other team won with a rockin horse and as punishment, we had to go back to the house they got it from and dance around the horse singing:

"Ride ride ride that pony.

Get up on that big fat pony.

Ride ride ride that pony,

This is how we do it."

While someone rode the horse.

That was...uh special.

Anywho, we dropped off the boys and went home and got ready.
Then we picked them up again and went to take pictures at the Wright House. My amazing sister Emily, obliged to being our photographer!
Once we finished smiling till our faces hurt we headed into dinner which was also at the Wright House.
(Thank you Skipper, for making it happen, you're the best!)
Everyone brought part of the meal and our main dish was Tortilini made my Kair's parents!
YUMMMMM!!!!
Story:
While we were waiting for our food, there was music playing and our tables didn't take up much space so there was quite a bit of dance floor. I knew there wouldn't be very many slow dances at the actual dance, so Ty and I had our own!
All alone on our own little dance floor...until they started taking pictures of us because we looked
"adorable."

After dinner, we went to the Christmas lights at the temple to kill time.
(We refuse to be on time for dances.)
Since it was so cold we spent the majority of the time inside the visitors center watching videos, talking to missionaries etc.
Finally, around nine, we headed over to the dance and partied like it was 1999.

Afterwards, we went to Mary's and ate snacks and played games.

Basically, it was the best night of my life!!!!

I L-O-V-E gazebos!!!!

All the girls!!!

Skipper, Mary, Jessica, Kairleigh, Haley, Yours Truly

K I promise that I did not put myself in the front of this picture!!

Emily told me to stand there!!!

Our handsome fellas!!!

Kenneth, Ty, Taylor, Sam, Painter, Spencer

While we were watching them get their pictures taken I turned to my friends and said

"You guys, we seriously have the cutest group of guys at Westwood!! Good work!!"

Kair and Taylor

Alyssa and Painter

Haley and Sam

(Yes that is a black eye, he got it from wrestling.)

Jessica and Spencer

Ken and Mary

Emily told us to look at each other and we started laughing.

Here is my ensemble that I was so excited about!!!!

Dress: Free from my sister's boss!!!

Shoes: Borrowed from Emily

Head band: Borrowed from Emily

Tights: $5 from Forever 21

Cardigan: $15 from Forever 21

Hair Flower: Gift from Sarah

Total: $20!!!!

This = My Favorite Picture Ever!!!!

This makes me laugh!!!

So yes, Winter Formal was a TOTAL success!!!!!

I've got two dates lined up for this week so stay tuned!!!

Alyssa Painter

The World is a Stage

2009-12-02T20:37:00.000-08:00

Today we had our annual Curtain Time show. (School talent show.) I was scheduled to sing At Last by Etta James for both shows. (It was a double assembly.) But because we were extremely behind schedule, the last four acts on the program got cut. But everyone who didn't get to perform got moved to the beginning of the second show.

I was kind of worried because I was following a band that did "Don't Stop Believin" and their lead sing is amazing! But I put on a smile and walked out in my favorite dress of all time! The legendary red dress! I always feel hot in it, and between that and the amazing shoes, I was ready to conquer the world. When I walked out and the lights came on, it sounded like someone had turned up the level of the audience! The cheering was amazing! I was put at ease right away. People started clapping with the music and broke out their phones and started swaying them in the air. Every time I hit a hard note, more cheers came, and when the song ended, I heard some of the loudest applause of my life!!!!

Can you say R-U-S-H????

It'd been so long since I've been on the stage, I'd forgotten what an amazing feeling it is!! I used to be heard to say,

"I'm the happiest when I'm on the stage!"

Today, made me remember why!!!

Alyssa Palmer

Prayers Needed Again

2009-12-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

Another dear friend of mine is sick in the hospital.
I'd really appreciate your prayers on her behalf!
Thanks!

High School Horrors: Part Four

2009-11-30T05:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I reallywant to rename this segment:

"High School Whores"

and talk about all the obnoxious girls that I deal with on a daily basis.

That would however, cause lots of drama and speculation and make me seem really really mean and insensitive.

Which, I can be, but that's besides the point at the moment.

Right now, I'm just going to be as real and honest as I can without giving too much away and/or hurting anyones feelings.

I think it sufficeth to say that sometimes, teenage girls are complete and total BRATS!!!!

(And trust me, I'm not excluding myself from this generalization.)

They are selfish, gossipy, prideful, stuck up, nosey, immature, backstabbers and everything else horrible you can think of!!!!

Somedays, I just can't handle it anymore!

The estrogen is just too much!!!!!

It is for that very reason that this story goes as follows:

The other day I was asking Tyler and Jacob who they would take with them on a deserted island if they could only bring four people. After they answered, they asked me. My list was as follows:

1. Tyler

2. Rusty

3. Shirt Boy

4. Jacob

Now I'm not going to act like I'm one of those girls whose always gotten along better with boys than girks and has way more guy friends than girlfriends.

Cause I'm not.

I have a few close gentleman friends who are also some of my favorite people in the whole entire world.

I can talk to them about everything and they keep me sane when I just can't handle females anymore.

But I've got TONS of girls who are like my sisters!!!!!

And I always love em'

No Matter What.

Alyssa Merril

3 is a Magic Number

2009-11-28T10:58:00.000-08:00

3 Weekends

3 Boys

3 Amazing Dates

Starting with last weekend:

My friend Kair won a raffle at a stake activity and the prize was a group date for you and four other couples to go watch a movie of your choice on this HUGE screen!!! Well Kair, being awesome invited me and I invited Shirt Boy and we watched Up!! Yes I cried twice!! It was soo cute!!

(The movie, not my crying.) Afterwards we all went to a park and everyone decided to play frisbee. But frisbee's not really my thing...so Shirt Boy and I played on the playground and eventually ended up in a tree. Yes, it was kind of like this: Except we weren't that close to each other!
We each had our own branch!
Anyways, date #1 was quite a sucess!
After the talk that Shirt Boy had,
I came home wanting to be better.
And if that's not a succesful worthwhile date,
then I don't know what is.

Date #2 was last night with my buddy Jacob!
First we had homeade pizza at Sammy's house, DELCIOUS!!
Then we got hot chocolate from QT and went to the Temple Lights and looked around and ate Krispy Kremes.

Afterwards we went back to Sammy's and played

Baby If You Love Me Smile.

Love that game!

Then, to really get us in the Christmas spirit, we watched Miracle on 34th Street.

Best. Christmas. Movie. Ever.

(Jessica if you say one more ill word against it, I will drop kick you from here to China.)

Classic Natalie and Jacob moment.

Date #3 is a week from today.

Winter Formal!!!

After hours and hours of searching, I have a dress and everything to go with it and I'm not going to lie,

the whole ensemble is

FABULOUS!!!!

So fabulous that you're going to have to wait to see it!!

Everyone have a smashing week!!!

Alyssa Mckay

A Conversation of Sorts

2009-11-24T21:00:00.000-08:00

You: How are you?
Me: I'm Natastic!!

Me: How many kinds of awesome are you?
Carlos: Infinite
Lauryn: One
Mal: Zero

Me: Do you wanna go a date with me?
Him: I'd love to!
Me: Okay, I'll pick you up around six thirty.
Him: I look forward to that.
Me: Okay bye.
Me: (Cue dreamy smile and girlish giggle.)

Jacob Black: Stay with me!
Me: Okay! You don't have to tell me twice!

Me: Tyler, how do you feel about wearing basketball shorts to Winter Formal?
Tyler: I don't care, whatever you want.
Me: Bless you!

Alyssa LeSueur.

A Question, an Answer, and a...Cake to the Face????

2009-11-20T15:34:00.000-08:00

Well, 62% of you were correct:

I asked Tyler to Winter Formal!

I needed a fun way to ask him so Abigail and Avery graciously agreed to help out their Aunt Nat!!!

They sang Jingle Bells and gave him a cake with

Winter Formal???

written on it.

Baked into the cake were the letters of my name.

My handy-cake decorating skills!

This is what happens when obnoxious boys are around!

What a good sport!!!
Thanks Mary for the pictures!!!
I was so sad I had to wait in the car!!!

Well, the story doesn't end there.
A week later, I'm at the church for mutual and a girl from my stake walks in saying
"Natalie, this is for you"
And hands me a container full of ice cream and a paper that says
"I'd love to be the ice cream with your cake, but first you need to thaw me out."
So I put it under hot water and dug through the ice cream till I found a ziploc bag with a paper inside that was blank except for "fire" in little letters.
So I took it home, burnt it and the letters
"Y-E-S"
showed up!!!
(He used lemon juice.)
Happy Day!!!

What else is happy???
I'm going to see New Moon in one hour!!!!
Have a great weekend!!!!

Talk About 180's

2009-11-13T22:12:00.000-08:00

So I was half-way through a really bitter,angry, frustrated blog post when one of the people I was frustrated with started talking to me on facebook.

After a long chat with him, the message of this post has been changed.

Instead of being angry and lost, I feel peaceful and focused.

I'm thankful for:

*Girls nights*

Suz, Lyss and Ed all came over tonight for El Charro and a chick flick and it was FANTASTIC!

*True friends*

No matter what, they're always there for me.

Even when I feel like they're not, they are.

*My amazing family*

They love me unconditionally and are always finding ways to support me and help me out.

Whether it be donating at the blood drive I'm running, or giving me jobs to pay for my social life or taking me to get a treat after a hard day, I always feel the love!

*The power of prayer*

It can never be denied. I've seen it in my life way too many times. No matter what, Heavenly Father always answers my prayers.

*Education*

Yes I complain about school and what a pain it is...but truly I am so blessed!

Do me a favor:

Go tell someone you love them and give them a hug.

It just might make their day.

Just to Prove My Teenager-ness

2009-11-10T23:08:00.000-08:00

I don't know if any of you read the comments left on my posts, but if you do, you'll notice a regular commenter named Brett and Emily.

Emily is my older sister and I love her more than anything in the world.

So I really value her opinion and sometimes I even do what she says!!

So if you've ever read her comments you'll notice that alot of them go something like this:

"You do know that you're sixteen right?"

"You're sixteen sweetie, don't forget that."

Yes I admit, sometimes I get so wrapped up in what I know is going to be a wonderful future, that I forget about my fantastic present!!!

So this post is to show you the girl I am today and just how much of a teenager I am.

I really am as immature of the sterotypes say!

Let me illustrate:

1. I try to throw my little sister in the ocean.

2. I can sleep ANYWHERE, through ANYTHING!

(Here I am sound asleep on a balcony while my little brother takes pictures of me.)

3. I still write "I love so and so"

in the sand and take pictures with it.

I have pictures identical to this one from back when I was in the sixth grade!

4. I'll do anything for my technology!

Here I am doing a dance to get service for my phone so I can finish texting my life away.

5. I like to sit in holes that were dug to get to China.

Which makes sense, since Chinese is the language I'm studying!

6. I make sand angels AND stick out my tongue!

That's a double whammy my friends!

7. I act like I'm driving fake cars since I haven't gotten a permit to drive a real one yet.

8. I wait in hour long lines so I can meet my idols:

Disney Princesses!!!!!

Yes I was the oldest non-parent in that line.

Yes I was the most excited individual.

No I did NOT fake ANY of the enthusiasm exhibited in these pictures.

9. I take pictures of myself making not cute faces.

10. When people try to take pictures of me,

I ruin them by being a goon.

So you see, I'm about as immature as one can get.

And you know what?

I love it!

P.S.

Just to clarify, I do not have a boyfriend.

Ups and Downs

2009-11-09T16:46:00.000-08:00

I've got two hard tests tomorrow, so I'll keep this brief.

Today was a LONG day.

At school by 6:30 for seminary, worked all through lunch and after school then went straight to SIAC making my total hours at school 11.

Why????

Two words:

Blood. Drive.

It's on Thursday, and since we don't have school Wednesday, everything has to be done by tomorrow.

Pray for me.

(Btw, if anyone in Mesa wants to give blood, stop by Westwood on Thursday from 8:30-12:30! Or leave me a comment and I can schedule you an appointment.)

Now for the high point in my day:

I made Cantori!!!!

For years at Westwood, it was a tradition to have an extra choir of 16 called

Cantori de Madrigals.

It consisted of four people from each part. They sing mostly a cappela pieces and get to sing at the concerts and other performances in the community. They stopped the choir as a class several years ago but Mr. Harris decided to bring it back this year!!! Any members of honor choir interested just signed up and he chose four from each part. I was worried because almost ALL the altos signed up, but he posted the list today and my name was on it!!!

I'm super excited!!!

Brings a Whole New Meaning to the Phrase: Trick or Treat

2009-11-05T17:35:00.000-08:00

Picture this: It's late Sunday, circa 11 pm. I need to go to bed so I'm walking past my kitchen to get to my room when I see this:

Mmmm cupcakes! "But the frosting looks a little funny," I think to myself.

"Oh who cares! Just eat!"

So I do, and look at what happened.

THEY WERE TRICK HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES!!!!!!!!!!
Special huh?

Homecoming Happiness

2009-11-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

Homecoming is over!

It was absoloutely fabulous!!!

The assembly went well, our float looked great, the parade was awesome, the half-time show was peachy and the dance was SUPER fun!!!!! For me, the highlight of the entire weekend was having my bff Julie, come down from Texas for the weekend!!!!

(She flies for free.)
I hadn't seen her since August and I was a little worried that things might've changed...but of course they didn't!!
After 10 minutes of being together, it was like she'd never left!!!!
Julie and I have been dreaming about our first dance FOREVER so it was BEYOND FABULOUS to get to go together!!!!
Kim was our hair goddess and Emily did our makeup!!!

I love how awkard we look!

I love us!!

It was so cute, a couple hours before the dance I get a text from Alex that read:

"Glasses or contacts?"

I opted for the glasses, but he's adorable either way!!!

Since it was Halloween, we all got scared!

Then things got solemn.

Macho-Men, Star-Struck Girls!

Our handsome fellas!!

Steven, Alex, Tim and Jack

Cute story:

As Alex walked to my door to pick me up, my mom was in the front yard passing out candy.

He goes up to her and shows her the flower, "Is this okay?"

I LOVED the girls we had in our group!!!!

The boys were jealous of our corsage picture and wanted a flower pic of their own!

Dinner at Steven's Gma's house!!

They ordered in Olive Garden and it was DELISH!!!

Not pictured, is our da activity at Amazing Jakes!!!

Super fun!!!

All you can eat buffet, lazer tag, cosmic bowling, bumper cars, go karts and an arcade!!

But my absoloute favorite part was our three rides on the carousel!!!!!

After the dance we went to QT, Wendy's and Tim's house.

Julie and I got home around 1:15 but didn't go to sleep until 4:30!!!

I just had to take advantage of the time I had with her here!!!

So basically, I had the best first dance anyone could ask for!!!

Next Up??

Winter Formal in less than a month and this time it's Girls Choice!!!

Sammy, I'm a Slacker, Don't Slap Me!!!

2009-11-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

Happy LATE Birthday to one of my most favorite people in the world!!!!

Sammy turned 17 like two weeks ago, so this has been a LONG time coming!!

Since this is so late, I knew I had to make it special.

And so, Sammy, you are not only going to be hearing from me, but from another very good friend!

Sammy!!!!
Hello my Favorite second cousin once removed!!!

Happy 17th birthday! I hope you had a great one. I miss you soooooo much you have no idea! I’d just like to take the time to tell you just how much I love you and why:

1. You are so motherly! I love it! I always know that I can count on you to tell me what to do and when to do it. And you know that I need that in my life!
2. You are ALWAYS there for me. And now that you have a phone, it makes it easier! Don’t you just love technology??
3. “We must be related!!!!!!!!!”
4. I love that I can always be myself around you and even though you think I’m a nut, you know you love it!
5. Lastly, can I just say that you are FLIPPEN AWESOME???? And I miss you to DEATH!

Love ya tons!
Happy Late Birthday!
Julie
(Your favorite second
cousin once removed.)

Okay, my turn!

I love how Sammy is so blunt and honest!

Sammy is so good at planning and organizing!

Her parties are the greatest and having a class with her is the best cause she keeps you on task and on top of things!!!

Sammy and I have always thought that we are clomplete opposites, and in some ways we are:

She's: Tall

I'm: Short

She's: Athletic

I'm: Uncoordinated to the max

She's: Calm, Keeps her cool

I'm: a Total Spazz

She: Likes to stay in the backgroud

I: Crave the spotlight

But the longer we're friends and the closer we get, the more I realize just how similar we are!!!

Sammy is the best listener!!!

I could go on for hours to her and she just listens and gives GREAT reactions!!!

Sammy is so supportive!!!

I tell her about my dreams and she gives me tons of encouragement!!

Sammy is an awesome story teller!!!

Her facial expressions and choice of words are BEYOND HILARIOUS!!!

I can't be around her without smiling!!!

I love how she's not afraid to be herself!!!

I sure do love ya girl!!!

Sorry it took so long!!!!

Happy Birthday Sammy!!!!

*Coming Soon*

Homecoming pictures!!!

When Life Hands You Lemons, Chuck Them at Someone's Face

2009-10-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

This picture illustrates my feelings for this entire week.
Why???

*Homecoming week + Stuco members = ULTIMATE STRESS
*My dear friend, we'll call her Beauty, is back in the hospital.
*I'm trying to pull up some horrible grades and its proving to be alot harder than I thought.

Now some reasons to be positive:
*Come Sunday, Homecoming will ALL be over!!!
*Long lost sister-friend Julie, is coming TOMORROW!!!!!!!!
*I have the best guy friends in the world!
*My girls take care of me!
*I have the power of prayer on my side!
And with the Lord's help, I can do anything!!!

Have a great weekend!!!

Prayers Needed

2009-10-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

Your prayers right now would be greatly appreciated.
A dear friend of mine is in the hospital right now.
Please pray that she'll be alright.
Thanks.

Burdens

2009-10-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

I have a testimony of what this picturing is portraying:

The infinite and supernal love that my brother Jesus Christ has for all of us.

It makes me think of this song:

Who can know the burden, you're carrying inside?

Who can know the heartache, the heartbreak, the times you've cried?

Where is heavens answer, when it seems her gates her closed?

When your heart is broken, who knows?

So many ways are calling, promising, pleading.

And still their is an emptiness, an aching a needing.

He'll help you with your burden and give you peace inside.

He'll take away the heartache, the heartbreak, the times you've cried.

He is heavens answer, when it seems her gates are closed.

When your heart is broken he knows.

He waits with open arms, come and stay.

We're given trials so that we may grow and become stronger.

But we're never alone through our suffering.

Our Savior is there, and he knows what we're going through, because he already has.

He knows pain and heartache like nobody else does.

But he also knows joy and happiness, the likes of which we can't even imagine.

When you're struggling or hurting or feeling alone, go to Him.

Things will always work out when we put our trust in Him.

Have a beautiful week!

*Edited to add*

My amazing sister Rebekah wrote the beautiful song above for a friend of hers.

Her talents never cease to amaze me.

I Feel Like Dr. Jekyll

2009-10-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Whilst driving to California, I started and finished this book:

The Lit Report

By Sarah N. Harvey

Loved it!

It's about these two girls who are best friends and both of their parents are religious nut jobs.

Well one of them (Ruth) gets pregnant and her friend Julia (who's also the narrator) concocts a plan to hide the pregnancy and deliver the baby without anybody even knowing.

I know, unrealistic, but that's not what I want to talk about today.

You see, Julia is a total english nerd.

At the beginning of every chapter there's a quote from a book that she's read.

But not just any quote, its the first line of the entire story.

Only the first line.

Then, Julia goes on to talk about the line and the book and she talks about how the first lines of books can tell you so much about the story, the mood, tone, quality etc.

In her own words:

"My thesis was that the first sentance of a novel whether its written for four-year-olds or fourty-five-year-olds, sets the tone for the whole book and reveals much of what is to come."

After reading this, I got curious about whether that's true, so I've decided to test Julia's hypothesis and you, my faithful readers will be the judges.

I feel like a mad scientist in a Literary Labaratory!!

Here's how we'll roll:

I've taken seven books off of my shelf.

I'm going to tell you the first line of each book and talk a little about it and in the comment section, you will tell me whether or not you thought Julia was correct.

*Oh and to help you out along the way, I'm going to give each line a rating one to ten. It will be rated on the effectiveness of the line. *

1-Not effective at all

5- It's aight

10- Brilliant

Got it?

Great!

Let's go!
1. The Report Card

By Andrew Clements

"There were only about fifteen kids on the late bus becuase it was Friday afternoon."

Short sweet and to the point.

But if someone read this line only, like you just did, they'd probably feel jipped, left hanging.

I think, however, that that is what makes it brilliant.

You know that the line is there for a reason and you're itching to find out why!

Ratalie's Rating: 7

Play to the Angel

By Maurine F. Dahlberg

"'Greta, stop that noise."'

Interesting, making the first line a quote.

This line is filled with information!

It tells you about a character: Greta

It tells you something she does: Makes noise

And it kind of throws you off because after you read the title of the book and see the picture you know that a piano is involved and generally piano music isn't referred to as "noise."

Rat's Rating: 7.5

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

"What does it mean to truly love another?"

YES YES YES!!!

I love it!!!

It gives nothing away, and yet spells it out!

Asks and answers!

Oh I love this one!!!

Makes my heart go pitter patter!

RR: 9

Breaking Dawn

By Stephenie Meyer

(the most loved book on my shelf, seriously, the cover has been ripped off!)

"I'd had more than my fair share of near-death experiences: it wasn't something you ever really got used to."

Uh can you say FORESHADOWING!?!?!?!

Something wicked this way comes!!

RR: 8

The Host

By Stephenie Meyer

"The Healer's name was Fords Deep Waters."

This one leaves you guessing even more than the report card did!

Probably because it gives more away, but not.

1. Who is Ford's Deep Waters?

2. What's he doing?

3. Why does he matter?

4. Is a Healer a Doctor?

RR: 8

Today I Feel Silly

By Jamie Lee Curtis

"Today I feel silly."

No?

Really!?

Perfect for it's genre, doesn't tell me anything I didnt' already know though...

RR: 5

Okay readers, it's up to you now!

Does the first line of a story
"...set the tone for the whole book and reveals much of what is to come?"

Talk to me!

P.S.

Yes I know, I'm just as big of an english nerd as Julia.

Classic Questions From the Silver Screen

2009-10-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

Movies ask some great questions!

They're humorous, introspective and everything in between!
Today we shall be examining some classic movie questions and answers, and I'll throw in my two cents as well!

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerors's Stone

Harry: What do you see when you look in the mirror?

Dumbledore: I see myself holding a new pair of socks.

Of course, we find out in book seven that his true desire is to see his mother and sister alive.

Ratalie's Answer: If I looked into the Mirror of Erised, I would see myself holding hands with my Prince Charming. On my hip would be a baby and on Charming's shoulders would be another child, with kids running around at our feet!

2. A Walk to Remember

Landon: What's your number one?

Jamie: To marry in the church where my mother grew up.

Ratalie: To marry in the temple.

3. The Notebook

Noah: You wanna dance with me?

Allie: No.
Noah: Why not?

Allie: Cause I don't want to.

(One week later)

Noah: You wanna dance with me?

Allie: Sure

Ratalie: YES!!!!

Yes, I would dance with Noah Calhoun in a heartbeat!

But honestly, I don't think I could ever say no to a boy who asked me to dance.

Three reasons:

1. That's just the what I was taught, a boy asks, you say yes.

2. He had the guts to come ask me, I'd be a jerk if I shot him down and busted his confidence!

3. I LOVE to slow dance!!!

4. You've Got Mail

Frank: How do you sleep at night?

Patricia: I take this great pill, Ultradorm.

Don't take the whole, just a half and you'll wake up without the least bit of hangover!

Ratalie: Melatonin!!!

A gift from heaven above!

It's a natural supplement,

but it's strong enough that I don't lie awake for hours like I used to!

And my personal favorite!!!
5. What a Girl Wants
Ian: Why do you try so hard to fit in, when you were born to stand out?
Daphne: *speechless, let's make out instead!*
Ratalie: I don't!
Conformity is, in my humble opinion, the last legal form of slavery.
Too many of us are slaves to fashion, popularity and desire.
You need to find happiness inside yourself.
If you're you, then nothing else matters.

Casa Sweet Casa

2009-10-17T00:09:00.000-07:00

Yes yes I'm back.

Refueled and replenished!

California = Just what Ratalie needed!!!!

We stayed in a house RIGHT on the beach.

Like seriously you step out of the back door and you're walking on sand.

This castle was there when we first got to the beach.

Bless the children who built it, it gave me a great picture!

Annie looks like a Gazelle.

I love it!

I swear, the guy should be in GQ.
My fat feet.
I love sand!!

Yes we were freezing!!!!!!

I have so many more pictures, but unfortunately I think I may've left my USB cord in Cali and I'm extremely disgruntled, so we'll just have to wait and see I guess....

In other news, tonight was fabulous!

Jess and I went to a quincenara (SO FUN, I wish I was hispanic!)

Then we picked up Rusty and went to Dairy Queen.

Then I had to pee so we went to QT and I got a Mt. Dew.

Then we went and laid on Jessica's trampoline until Ciara

(who we haven't seen in forever)

called so we went and saw her and it was simply peachy!!!!!!

I love my life!

Haunted Homecomings-Courtesy of Canada

2009-10-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers!

Today is your lucky day!

I figured that since I'm off enjoying myself immensely on the beach and in Disneyland that I should give you all a little treat.

And what a treat it is!

The famous Camille from

Archives of Our Lives,

has graciously agreed to grace us with her presence!

So without further ado...Camille!

Hi, I'm Camille from Archives of Our Lives.

I'm delighted to write this guest post for Natalie---it seems especially fitting, since she just got asked to her first Homecoming dance, and the topic I'll be discussing today is MY first Homecoming dance. Which just so happened to be the first in a long, looooong line of really awful dates I was subjected to during my lifetime.

But Natalie has better prospects than I ever did.

See, I, like Natalie, got asked to my first Homecoming dance during my Junior year. Luckily for Natalie, though, she got asked by someone she not only likes, but actually KNOWS...

...I, on the other hand, was not so fortunate. In fact, the guy who asked me to Homecoming when I was a junior in high school had GRADUATED the year before. From high school. We'd never spoken to each other, never really even seen each other's faces---in short, and to the best of my sleuthing to get to the bottom of it, he was suckered into asking me by some of his friends who were going who wanted another couple in the date. They probably just wanted one more person to split the cost of gas, and they'd heard that I hadn't been asked yet, so they were all like, "Hey, Charles*, you should ask that poor pathetic awkward girl who lives on Elm Street. What's her name again? Oh, yeah, Camille." And he was all, "Well, she's not very pretty, and I've never actually met her, but surely she will be so desperate to go to the dance that she won't turn ME down. You know, because I'm so cool that even though I already graduated from high school, I'm still hanging around with high school kids and taking them to their first Homecoming dances."

Bitter much?

Anyway, not only was this my first DANCE date, but it was my first DATE date, period. See, again, Natalie is luckier than me---she turned 16 during the summer and has had months to work her way into the dating scene. Me, I turned 16 on September 25th, and Homecoming was a month away. I really had no idea what to expect. I was a dating virgin, if you will.

So there I was, barely 16---the age I was legally allowed to date in my family---hoping, wishing, waiting to get asked to Homecoming, and...nothing. For weeks I was left disappointed, until finally, the very day I had come to terms with not going to the dance [because, you see, it was only ONE WEEK before Homecoming, and surely no guy could be DAFT enough to ask a girl to a dance just ONE WEEK before---surely he would know that all the good dresses would be gone by then], and that day? That very day I decided to be HAPPY about my dateless fate, and made plans with friends to drown myself in chick flicks and Papa John's and buckets full of Halloween candy, and I was actually LOOKING FORWARD to the evening?

That day, I got asked to Homecoming. By Charles, a guy I had never seen or met, who was two years older than me and had already graduated from high school.
Here is a picture of my face, courtesy of my ever-loving sister, at the VERY moment I put the letters of his name together and made my mom explain what was happening (because, as usual, she was in on the scheme and knew exactly what was going on, while I never knew anything) and finally, at long last, realised what was to become of me:

Does that look like the face of a giddy 16 year-old girl, tickled pink to go to her first high school dance? No. It does not. It looks like someone who wishes she could just have her Papa John's pizza back with extra garlic butter for dipping, and forget all about the dating scene altogether, for the rest of her life. It also looks like someone who could use a good eyebrow waxing, but that's a different post for a different day.
And you know what? My facial expressions only got worse during the course of the following week...

...but you'll have to visit my blog next week for the rest of the sordid tale!
*Names changed because you just never know...

Comment Candy in a Nutshell

2009-10-13T00:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick rundown of the awesomeness that is

Comment Candy:

When I, RatalieNose, am in the mood, I will randomly say

"you're going to want to comment on this post."

Everyone who does, gets a little surprise.

When I'm a millionaire, those surprises will be cars and flat screen tvs.

But for now, I just write a little somethin' somethin' about each commenter.

What I write exactly, changes everytime.

For example:

Ratalie Nose's Dictionary. One post Here.

The Name Poems. Here.

The latest CC involved me picking my favorite post from each commenters blog. One of the posts Here.

These are just a couple examples.

This is just something fun I like to do.

It makes me happy to write happy things about fantastic people, and, as far as I know, it makes other people happy to read them!!!

Happy Commenting!!!

Reasons that Ratalie is Real Happy!!!

2009-10-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

1. Who could wear these and not be happy????

Oh my gosh they are so comfortable, I'm IN LOVE!!!!

I may never take them off! 2. Yellow + Dress + $8 = Ratalie Love!
3. I love my friends, they are so fun!
I am seriously so blessed to have such good influences all around me!!!

4. This hat is AMAZING.
My shades that don't belong to me but are now mine make me smile.
And I love doing "the lips!"

5. Track number 16 on my playlist, its called Thug Story, go listen to it RIGHT NOW! Funniest thing I've ever heard!

Stay tuned!
Since I'm currently in Cali partying like it's 1999, we're going to have the pleasure of welcoming a VERY special guest poster!!! You're not going to want to miss this!
Have a Marvelous Monday!!!!

Two Million Dollar Answers

2009-10-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Thursday was the night that we put those poor boys minds to rest.

First, we answered Mary's boy.... Then we headed to Alex's house.

Yes those are almost all of my shoes, plus some of my sisters.

Those are all left shoes except for one.

All the left ones had post-it notes with random words on them.

The one right shoe had a post-it note on it that read:

Yes!!!!!

P.S.

I need my shoes back!

The paper reads:

Alex,

You're just like Prince Charming,

I know that it's true.

To discover my answer,

find the RIGHT shoe.

Now all that's left to do is wait until Homecoming!

October 31st!!!!

Everyone have a fabulous week!!!