Let's grab some coffee and catch up on all the things we missed, shall we?

Amidst everything that has been going on lately on this blog, suddenly posting again, the New Years posts |x|x|. As well as outside of the blog, homework, and life in general, I forgot to explain the reason why there was a giant break between July and December. And it’s simply because I didn't feel like posting much.

Plus, a lot of things got in my way. Reaching senior year of high school certainly was one of them. With three AP classes, one concurrent enrollment class, a ballroom class, and a few other classes, it required a lot of my attention when it came to homework. Plus there were club meetings that I had to attend during lunch and after school.

And when the beginning of December came two giant projects took up much of my time. The first was the winter dance concert, which required after school dance rehearsals three days before the actual concert. The second was an AP Statistics project, which required a school wide survey and graphs that weren’t easy to make on Microsoft Excel, plus a few other items. And there were college applications to be dealt with. Which got in my way when doing Nanowrimo this year. However I still won with 50,825 words out of 50,000.

Outside of school, there was a bit of family turmoil going on. However, that is now fixed. With a lot of lessons learned along the way. I also found myself occasionally working out, for no particular reason at all. And it was fun, though not enough for me to survive the Hunger Games or a zombie apocalypse. However, in all truth, I don’t think I will ever survive either of those two events.

Also crushes on people who I know will never work out, caught my mind once or twice. But like a match that has been barely lit but quickly blown out by the wind, my crushes on them was gone within the next day or so. That helped me learn a lot about myself though. Like how I might be more asexual than I thought I was. And how I might be a teensy bit interested in girls, making me a bit bi-romantic. As well as a bit more sensual.

Note: I am still trying to figure out what identities fit me, as I change throughout the years. So, don't expect me to stick with one identity just yet. 

When winter break came, and the stress of school dwindled down to nothing more but an ever present candlelight in the distance, I found myself doing last minute Christmas shopping with my siblings in tow. This meant getting distracted by pretty clothes, the deliciousness of Godiva chocolate, a candy store that sold foreign candies including green tea kitkats, and getting stuck in a beauty store with annoying salesmen who failed desperately in trying to sell their fancier products to my older sister.

The last minute Christmas shopping wasn’t the only last minute thing we did this year. We finally set up the Christmas tree on December 23, two days before Christmas. We could have done it earlier, but with the stress of tests and homework that school liked to pile onto us before winter break started, it was hard to find time to actually set up the Christmas tree. So it was easier to do it during the break when there was more free time.

And since there was more free time, I found myself making holiday theme popup cards and giving it too everyone this year. That took a lot of time, because glitter glue took a long time to dry. But, with a blow dryer on hand it was easy to speed up the process.

Christmas was a simpler time this year. Not as many gifts. No pictures were taken. And no fancy dinner. Just movies, good food, and peaceful togetherness that was filled with a lot of talking. In honesty, it was one of my favorite Christmases.

Afterwards my siblings and I went to an indoor children’s playground that was filled with a small rock climbing wall, a grocery store with overpriced groceries, a house with a decent library, a farm with cute hens and fat bees, a pipe system, and other various things that was designed to ignite the fiery imagination that every child has. Once that was all over with, came my always favorite part, the trip to Barnes and Noble. Which as usual took forever because I had to choose the perfect books to bring home with me on the budget of a $25 gift card. However, instead of it ending when I finally got the second books to complete my collection of the The Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo and The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. It ended when my brother received his first ever computer programming book. Which has a very small chance of it actually being read.

A few days after that adventure came the trip to the finally finished, renovated aquarium. It involved going into all the different sections the place had to offer. Developing a very short crush on a kind of cute aquarium worker. Seeing the even cuter penguins that either laid on their stomachs, stood around and pretended to be models, swam, or was fed. Learn how ferocious otters can actually be, but still aww as the three otter brothers swam around in their exhibit. Witness a shark feeding that involved an unfair game about sharks between the adults and the kids. Eating a delicious cookie snack at the aquarium café. Watching my older sister be a little kid again as she played in the indoor playground amongst the other little kids. Getting sprayed by water as I watched a movie about the coral reefs, as part of the 4D experience it offered. And crossing a rope bridge to nowhere in particular. And it was an even better trip to the aquarium because it was now bigger and it offered a lot of things that the previous location couldn’t exactly offer.

That part of winter break eventually faded into more movies, and me trying to finish the book One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. However, I kept on getting distracted by youtube, tumblr, the games dots and two dots, and now blogging. Which means a lot of trouble for me because I am now scrambling to finish the book before tomorrow, as well as finish the rest of my homework. But I will find some miracle to finish on time. Even if it means sacrificing sleep. Which is not unusual for the end of term.

And now the weather:

- Holy Groundby Taylor Swift

~ Stacy N.

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Hello 2015

Text reads: hello 2015
Picture by So-ghislaine

Happy New Year, even though it’s one day late. I tried to get this posted on January 1, but I ended up sleeping all day, and then when I woke up I cleaned the kitchen floor. After that, I went ice skating with my sisters, getting a bite to eat afterwards. So by the time I came home it was around ten. However, I had to deal with a dead mouse, which somehow ended up under my desk. Once that was dealt with, came the attempt to multitasking. So right now, I’m reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez for my English class, catching up on unread blog posts, writing this blog post, and coming up with New Year’s Resolutions for this year.

Generally every year for New Years, I stay up and watch the ball drop on TV. However, a few minutes before midnight strikes I look over my resolutions and see what went wrong, what went right, and what I should improve on next year so I can actually do it. And then a few minutes after midnight I work on my New Year's resolutions.

However, I sometimes end up at other New Years events, like the downtown Salt Lake celebration. Or I just end up watching random videos with my older sister. So I would generally write my resolutions afterwards. However, I didn't do it this year.

Instead of writing down my New Year’s resolutions sometime in the early morning hours, when it’s still dark, I ended up writing it an hour before the new day ends. The main reason is because I have been procrastinating more often, lately. Maybe because I finally contracted the senioritis virus that hits almost every high school senior. But, I eventually do what it is that I’m supposed to do.

So without further ado, here is an unabridged version of my 2015 New Year's Resolutions.

Work out once a week for 15 minutes.

It’s a typical exercise resolution that almost everybody makes once in their lifetime. And there are a variety of reasons of why a person would make it in the first place. For me, it’s because I want to be in shape, especially if there are any zombie apocalypses in my lifetime. It also helps during the skiing season, because I won’t feel so sore the next day. Plus I feel happier when I exercise. Though that doesn’t mean that I’m still any less awkward.

Read at least 24 books this year.

Ever since I moved, the number of books that I have read has gone down. Because I have been getting more and more distracted, mainly because of harder schoolwork. So it would take me a little while to read a book. It also doesn’t help much that I’m not within walking distance of a library and that my school library has a small (but ever growing) variety of books. So, I’m going to try to read more ebooks this year. Even though I’m not a giant fan of them, but I will tolerate them.

Love myself a teensy bit more.

This will be a slightly hard one. I never really hated my body but I’ve tolerated with it all these years. But there are still a few flaws that I’m just not happy with. So this year I’m going to try to find some good about them.

Take more selfies.

They’re fun to take. Plus it’s something to do when I get bored. And it’s a simple reminder that I love myself and that I think I’m pretty.

Sleep before midnight, especially on breaks.

Lately, I’ve had a bad habit of staying up way too late on non-school nights. To the point where I now get up past eleven o’clock in the morning. Which kind of disappoints me because I’m missing the quietness that morning offers. As well as Saturday morning cartoons. Plus it’s scary knowing that I’m spending half the day in sleep. So this year, I want to sleep before midnight, with only one exception and that is New Year’s Eve. And I want to try getting up around nine in the morning on weekends and on breaks. So in order to do this, it means setting up an alarm on the weekends and during the break. Though there is a small chance that this will not work at all, because I adore sleep too much.

Procrastinate less often

There is a highly small chance that I will actually stop procrastinating. So I’m going to try to make myself procrastinate less often this year. To do this I’m going to be stricter on myself and not be so lenient when using the chrome extension stayfocused. As in, I’ll use it more often. Because it really does help. But for the phone, I’ll be using focus lock, an android app that locks certain apps for a bit of time, and then you get a break. However, I’m not sure if I can resist the temptation of stories and television this year. 

Be more organized

My desk and bookshelf and school binder has become a mess once more. And the problem is, I don’t clean my desk or bookshelf often. So this year, I plan to spend at least one day of the week to organize my desk. As well as take a few pictures of it, so I can inspire myself to continue making my desk clean. I also plan to create a rough study schedule. This will hopefully help me procrastinate less often. As well as organize my time, and help me not freak out and worry so much about what I need to study next.

Write once a week for at least fifteen minutes.

I love writing. It’s the reason why I do NaNoWriMo every year, why I continue blogging (even after long breaks), do writing challenges that aren’t Nanowrimo and fail at it, and lead me to choose an English major when I reach college. However, I don’t write often. Or at least write more often for fun. Which affects my writing. And in my opinion, making it worse. Even though, I know every writer goes through a period that they cringe at later because they were pretty bad. So, for once a week for at least fifteen minutes, I’ll write a story of some sorts. This is easier than writing a full blown novel, because I never finish those. Plus, I like writing short stories because it’s easier for me to finish. And it gives me a chance to use some aus that I have been saving.

Blog at least once a month

Despite that long break and not really missing blogging, I still like it. I like having the chance to put my thoughts out there, in the hopes that at least one person will listen. And I like finding other people who has the same interests as me. Blogging has helped me open my mind and grow as a person. And I want to continue blogging as well as be more involved in the blogging community, by commenting more often on other blogs. So at least once a month, I’ll post something on here. Whether it’s a video that I like, something that I’ve written, a topic that I want to share to the world, etc. And hopefully, I can post more than once a month if schoolwork isn’t that heavy.

Review this list once a week

How can I do the things on my 2015 New Year's Resolutions list if I don't remember them? 

Also, I hope that this year will be a better year than last year. I hope that you guys feel happy about yourselves, if not that at least okay. I also hope that you don't forget to be awesome (DFTBA).

And now the weather:

- Cool Kids by Echosmith

Meaning behind the song:

“Cool Kids,” …  tells the story of a boy and girl who just want to be noticed, hinging on the lines: “I wish that I could be like the cool kids/’Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in.”
Jamie says the message of the song is simple: the coolest thing you can be is yourself. But more often than not, fans tell the band that they relate to the kids they’re singing about. That they feel like the outsider looking in.
“This cry to be like the cool kids… it’s something that everyone kind of goes through whether you want to act like it or not,” Jamie said. “There’s always somebody out there that you kind of wish, ‘If only I could do this, or do that.’ I think that’s why it connects with people so well.”
From radio.com

- Stacy N.
Note: This was written around midnight. So by the time I was finished, I was too tired to edit it, so I went to bed and edited the next day. 

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Goodbye 2014

Text reads: goodbye 2014
picture source by So-ghislain

2014 seems like forever ago. But now it’s the very last day of the year and I’m surprised to feel this kind of sadness in my heart. Despite all the turmoil that’s been going on in my life as well as around the world, I kind of liked it. I was happy. But that seems kind of incomparable to all the sadness, stress, worry, tiredness, procrastination, anger, and bad mistakes that I made this year. But like any human being, I learned from them, to a certain extent.

I learned to never date guys who aren’t feminists. I learned that it is definitely better to keep the mean stuff to yourself instead of saying it to another person (because that can cause a lot of trouble). I learned that putting on makeup is a very hard thing to do, except for lipstick. I learned that I like ballroom dancing and analyzing what I’m reading and the book Crime and Punishment. I learned that I still like writing romantic stuff. I learned that saying thank you can go a long way. I learned that I really like skiing. I also learned that selfies are quite fun. I also learned that it’s sometimes better to go with the flow, to avoid conflict. I also learned to like myself a bit more. And despite everything, I shouldn’t be too hard on myself because I’m growing up and still learning about everything around me. (Yet, that will probably not stop me from being too hard on myself). There are of course other things that I learned, but I’m not willing to indulge in those.

2014 has also been a year of wants. Wanting to change my look. Wanting to cuddle with someone. Wanting justice to be served. Wanting to stop being sad. Wanting to be empty. Wanting something, anything.

And in general 2014 has just been a bad year, a progressive year, a year full of new music, a year about learning more about myself, and a kind of good year.  

And despite a few bad bumps along the way, this year was worth it. Though, I don’t think I did well on my New Year’s Resolutions for this year. But from looking at the list, I think I did pretty okay.

• For three or four times a week, write for at least 15 minutes.
• Save money.
• Find a job.
• Volunteer.
• Turn in at least one scholarship application.
• Study for the ACTs.
• Read at least twenty-four books this year.
• Work harder in school
• Get my driver’s license.
• Once a week, write a random sentence in French.
• Write a blog post on my little talks, at least once per month.
• For once a week, do something nice for someone else. Even if it is pretty small.
• Take better care of myself.
• Help out around the house more often.

Note: bold means that I kind of did it. And strikethrough means that I actually did it.

And now the weather:

Dreaming by Smallpools

Style by Taylor Swift (Slightly nsfw-ish because it's the one from the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show)

Story of My Life by One Direction

Bars & Mixed Drinks by Emma Shepard

Be Okay by Ingrid Michaelson

Begin Again by Taylor Swift

Blank Space by Taylor Swift

Pretty Little Head by Eliza Rickman

Glory Days by Betty Who

Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men

So What by P!nk

- Stacy N.

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Three little confessions

1. I like wearing lipstick. 
2. I have been through too many all nighters this year, for non-school related purposes. 
3. I did not miss blogging but I did try to publish something. However, the posts ended up as drafts, with some chance of seeing the public one day. 

Bonus:

I kind of like taking selfies.

And now the weather:

You & I by One Direction

Blank Space by Taylor Swift

Riptide by Vance Joy

- Stacy N.

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my perfect summer mix (not made by me)

it's my car i can sing if i want to from ehalch on 8tracks Radio.

- Stacy N.

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