It's a Fine, Fine Life // Link-Up & Camp

Did I mention that I went to camp last weekend?  Because I did, and it was great. I'm sorry - sometimes I forget to communicate really important details like that with the people around me.  It's not that I didn't want you to know that I was going - that couldn't be further from the truth, because all I've wanted to do since arriving home on Sunday is to talk about what a great time I had.   I just forget sometimes.  Allow me to remember and bring you up to speed. 

Making the best time to camp meant rushing straight home from school on Friday, spending a frantic half hour packing as much as I could, and meeting my fellow camp goers in a church parking lot less than an hour later. We all piled into cars and vans and started the four hour drive to northwestish Michigan.  I spent the majority of the time sleeping, and it was wonderful because I needed it so badly.  School is hard.  

Making the best of our time at camp meant spending hours and hours and hours with cold, raw faces, racing down a snowy mountain on tubes made for doing just that. It meant early morning competitions and early morning hot chocolate to warm us, the spectators. 

                         

It looked like new friends and old ones to encourage us in what we're all trying really hard to do.  

It was captured in jumping just because and feeling so happy and so, so at peace. 

Making the best of our time at camp saw relationships built or rebuilt, now friends grown closer or old friends brought back.  

It resulted in tie-dye shirts (and hands - mine are still a gross shade of green) and one step closer to a challenge completed.  

Most importantly, though, a weekend full of time used in the best way focused on the important things.  It focused in so tight that room wasn't left for things that don't matter - a great reminder to me as I'm constantly crowded by things to do and voices to hear.  Less isn't bad: simplicity, unoccupied moments - that leaves time and opportunity for the people and things that need it.  Emptiness creates a space for rest and joy where before there was busy, occupying, life-draining noise.  

Psalm 62:1,5 // It is surely true that I find my rest in God. He is the God who saves me . . . Yes, I must find my rest in God. He is the one who gives me hope. 

Allie

P.S. Keep an eye out for this:

I Promise I'm More Socially Awkward Than You // Sadie Hawkins Throwback

This week is a pretty exciting one.  No, you're not missing a national holiday or any big news, sorry.  Generally, there's not much going on. In my high school version of life, though, things couldn't get much more festive, and I absolutely love it when things are festive.  It's Sadies Week where I go to school, which means that there's a dance on Saturday and that the intervening time is going to be spent dressing up for themed days, competing in school-wide assemblies, and making last-minute plans for Sadie Hawkins.  I can't wait. 

By my fourth time through, I'm counting on Sadie Hawkins being kind of a walk in the park.  I'm planning on hanging out with some of my closest friends before and after and bringing a date that I know I like being around, both of which usually help things to go pretty smoothly.  I'm planning on keeping awkward moments to a minimum and enjoying myself, which you'd think would be a given.  If you were to stalk back through my Facebook timeline (like I may have just done), however, it would tell you a different story.  Apparently, I like to subject myself to unnecessarily difficult / awkward situations, especially when the first weekend in February rolls around every year.  In honor of finally getting Sadie's right, let's take a walk down memory lane and take a look at all the ways I've gotten it wrong.  It's okay to laugh. 

Please enjoy this 8th grade webcam selfie.  #nofilter.

Freshman Year // February, 2012

My first ever Sadie Hawkins started out a little rough - as in, from the moment I asked my date to the dance.  After a lot of thinking and Google searching (to absolutely no avail - thanks, Google) I'd decided to put the poor kid through a rigorous scavenger hunt involving an extensive tour of the school and as many friends and teachers as I could possibly involve.  Everything went well until the last teacher dropped the ball and forgot the tell him to go to the courtyard, where I was waiting to pop the invitation.  End result: I was forced to duck inside, motion for him to come meet me, and go back out to my post to act like nothing had gone wrong.  He said yes with an audience of at least fourteen excited freshman girls watching it all through the huge cafeteria windows.  

The actual dance was mostly uneventful, if you don't bring up a close call involving our waitress and a butter knife when we were out to dinner before hand. So I don't usually bring that up. 

Most of the pictures turned out like this, so that's fun.

Sophomore Year // February, 2013

I think I succeeded at being awkward the best this year.  For reasons that I will never understand, I decided to ask a boy who I'd only ever talked to once in my life to go with me.  Bad. No. Ugh, I cringe just writing about it. I mean, physical pain. The things I do for this blog, I tell ya. Since I'd rarely talked to him before, I sought outside intelligence in the form of the school gossip, who told me he'd say yes, which he did.  So far, so good. 

There's a tradition at my high school of matching t-shirts with your date to Sadie Hawkins.  I had plans to go T-shirt shopping with my date after school the Friday before Sadie's, but we ended up having a snow day, which turned into my dad driving me around on really unsafe roads in search of a shirt to wear at almost the last minute.  It was an endless cycle of rocking our minivan back and forth to get it out of the snow, driving to the next store, tearing through every T-shirt rack with reckless intensity, frantically taking pictures of every possible candidate and sending them to a carefully chosen jury of friends, loved ones, and certified fashion experts, and leaving in my wake a store that looked like it had endured war rather than an emotionally unstable teenage girl.  

By the time we'd seen (and wrecked) more than enough boutiques, custom T-shirt stands, and department stores for both of us, my dad and I were both ready to get home and decided that this store would be our last stop, even if they didn't sell T-shirts at all.  (Don't worry; they had T-shirts.  I didn't have to go to Sadie Hawkins shirtless.)  I'd just begun my usual unfolding - and - rejecting number when I found it.  The shirt.  It was black, and said "YOLO" on it, except one of the Os had been replaced with a peanut butter cup.  Why was this shirt perfect, you ask? Well, it just so happened that my date was allergic to peanut butter.  Like, deathly allergic.  Please tell me you see the irony in that?  Sadistic? Maybe.  But funny.  A Reese's cup was definitely a YOLO kind of thing for him, and my deranged, overworked brain found that hilarious.  

I have not other photographic evidence of the YOLO shirt, because it hurts too much.  Special thanks to Photo Grid for helping me to protect my friends' identities.

Also, the shirts only came in girls' cuts, AKA short sleeves, a much slimmer fit, and a lower neckline.  I bought him an extra large, but the feminine-ness was still painfully obvious. He commented at one point that if he hadn't had a shirt on underneath, I'd be able to see cleavage.  He was probably right.  So, there's that. 

To make matters worse, he didn't get the joke. Not even close. 

Did I mention that bowling comes invariably with school dances?  I'd like to think that I've gotten more mature when it comes to bowling, but the truth is that I usually get frustrated after my fifth gutter ball and start pouting, because what competition is fun when you're not winning?

Junior Year // February 2014

Actually, last year may have been my most successful Sadie Hawkins yet.  I actually knew my date and we had a good time and I was wise enough to buy mens t-shirts. The only awkward thing that came into play there was the fact that I volunteered us to go out before the dance with a friend and his date, who he didn't know very well at all, for moral support.  You guys, never, ever, ever let me volunteer myself to help make your social situation less awkward.  If you need someone to stand silently in the kitchen with your date, petting your dog and making the occasional completely irrelevant, off-the-wall comment while you talk to your date's parents and siblings your own parents and siblings all at once,  I'm your girl.  If you need someone to actually make the encounter smoother and less stressful, please pick someone else.  Please. 

Senior Year // February 2015

Who knows.  With Sadie's two days away, I'm planning on bringing a date but have get to ask him, buy t-shirts, or even make plans for how to ask him.  I'd say that there's a lot of potential for good / embarrassing stories in that.  

I'll let you know how it goes!

Allie

Alright, spill it.  Any embarrassing school dance stories?  I'd even be open to made up ones, if you think it would make me feel less alone.  

P.S. Linking up with Nicolefor Treat Yo'self Thursday! 

Because I Believe in Procrastination // What I've Been Reading

Hi, hello!  I hope you're enjoying your Sunday.  I don't know what it is about Sunday afternoons, but I've come to really love them.  Actually, I think I do know what it is - it probably has something to do with the fact that they're largely spent under piles of blankets, reading a book with a mug of hot water in hand.  You feel me?  I want you to love Sundays, too, but I can't give you free books over the internet. Sorry.  Don't leave, though - what about the next best thing?  Here's my reading list from the past couple of weeks.  I've come across some great words from people who think and write in a way that makes me happy (and humble) to be a blogger.

{ One Thing All Christians Should Stop Saying }

{ How to Stop Procrastination }

{ Lone Star Bohemia }

P.S.  I found out about Marfa via the Skimm.  If you're not signed up, I highly recommend it! 

{ Five Reasons You Should Start A Blog }

{ I am Charlie, I am Ahmed, and I am Millions of Muslim Women }

P.S. Not ready to stop reading yet? Click here, here, and here.

Linking up with Nicole from Treasure Tromp, so if you click here, guess what? That's right, more blog posts!

I Miss You! Can We Talk? // What's On My Mind

Hey, guys!  I feel like it's been a while. I've missed you! Did you do something different with your hair? Your face? No? Okay, I guess it hasn't actually been that long.

In this blog and in real life, I tend to try to stay away from talking about personal stuff.  It's just never been something that's easy for me at all; I think that I either have some kind of weird, deep-seeded trust issues, or I'm genuinely allergic to serious conversations.  (Because, look, here I go making jokes while I'm supposed to be serious.  I'm sorry.)  I mean, I'm not a psychiatrist or anything, but I feel like those are definite possibilities.  (In other news, I like oxymorons and apparently I'm full-blown addicted to parenthesis.)  I've got a couple friends who know quite a bit and my mom knows me inside and out, but other than that, I keep a lot to myself.  I don't mind it, usually; in fact, I prefer it.  I process things internally - usually if I put enough miles on my shoes or ink in my notebook, I can either find a solution for a tough situation or come to peace with it, whichever the case may be.  I know what works for me.

And then, this. I've been following Whitney's blog ever since I decided that I was into that sort of thing, and I've always appreciated how open she is about just about everything.  I mean, I'm sure there's stuff that she keeps to herself and that you don't know her whole entire life from clicking on that time-sucking "previous posts" button over and over again for eternity (not like I would know), but she's a whole heck of a lot more open than I am.  She talks about her relationships and stuff she struggles with, and she does it well.  Her most recent post, (here, in case you missed it the first time) is her heart poured out about her new boyfriend and huge life changes, and I have to admit that it made me a tiny bit jealous.  Maybe I want to tell you all about the stuff that's going on with me, too! 

So, here goes.  Whitney, thanks a lot for this and you should probably go into sales or hypnosis or something because look at you making me do something that I'm not sure I want to without even trying.  Without further ado or, really, my informed consent, what's been on my mind lately. 

// How proud I am of my little sister. I feel like such an old person saying this, but she has grown up so, so much lately.  It makes me cry a little, but in a good way.  Like, tears of "wow, my little sister is growing up and I love the person she is."  She's so mature about staying out of those stupid, dramatic middle school situations that twelve year old girls sometimes find themselves in.  She's found this crazy self-discipline that she probably didn't even know she had in her - she's learning to limit her own TV time and taking care of herself, and it's really cool.  S'proud.

// Maroon 5 concert. I'm headed there in juuuust under two months, and I am beyond excited!  I can't wait to wear a cool concert outfit and belt every single song.  That is all.

// Huge life decisions.  As in, I just got offered a job at the camp that I've loved since I first stayed there in middle school.  I have the chance to work there all summer, getting to know kids and working with other people my age who are really excited about serving God.  Pros? Obviously.  The environment would be incredible, I'll make a little bit of money, and I'll learn how to not be at home before I'm not at home all the time.  Cons?  Being gone almost the entire summer before I leave for college.  It's a tough one, folks.  I think I know what I'll do, but for now, praying.  Thank goodness that I don't have to make big decisions on my own!

// Sadie Hawkins dance, in my khaki pants.  Being a high school girl comes with being forced to either ask a boy to a dance or go it alone, annually.  In our school, it comes in the form of Sadie Hawkins.  That's less than three weeks, and I'm still working on that decision between asking a boy to the dance or going it alone.  To be honest, both sound pretty fun, so there's no wrong answer, right? Tell my brain that, please, and do a better job of convincing it than I currently am. ( Also, if you'd like to provide Google with a few good ideas about how to ask someone to Sadie's, that'd be great.  Because I look for ideas on Google every year and I've yet to find any help on that front.)

// More huge life decisions, as in college.  More accurately, as in next year, because I'm not convinced that college is what I want to do.  I've heard that it's really hard to do school once you've been out for a while, but I'm willing to give it a try.  If anyone hears about any cool missions opportunities anywhere, hit me up - this one's still in progress. Preferrably Africa.

// How can I sleep more?  High school psychology wins the prize for second best salesman. (after Whitney, duh)  A few days of Power Point presentations was enough to convince me that I need to start getting more sleep right now.  Did you know that not sleeping makes you fat, ugly, and more likely to die young?  That even though your body can learn how to function on less sleep, most people need over eight hours every night to function at their best?  That when you get tired in the afternoon or when you're bored, that's because you're sleep deprived, not because of your big lunch or a lack of exciting things happening? I didn't, either, and now I am thoroughly convinced that I have got to start sleeping more.  Starting now. Bye.

// Food.  Because, when is it not?  Food like cheese waffles and white chocolate brownies and chocolate cheesecake Oreo cookies. (There might be a food post idea in that . . . there almost definitely is.  Because I have discovered amazing things and I want you to have them in your life.) Also, healthy foods to balance that out.  Like almond milk, which I don't like but am trying really hard to.  And almond butter, which is definitely a million times tastier.

// I have a secret that I can't tell you about so I'm just going to do this, which is such a jerk move. 

I will tell you that it's a project, and that it's coming to the blog eventually, and that it's really cool. 

I am glad we had that talk.  Like I said, I've missed you!

What's up with you lately? Any major life decisions made, delicious food eaten, or secrets to be really vague about?  

But We Can Still Be Friends, Right? // Job Searching in GIFS

I will never, ever, EVER judge an unemployed person for as long as I live.

Ever.  And before you yell at me for being a terrible person for judging unemployed people, well, just know that I might actually agree with you.

 I'd hear those statistics about all of the unemployed people in our country and think "Well, why don't they just go get one!  Just go walk into some business establishment that has employees and demand a job!"  And then I smugly thought it was that easy, because, duh, almost every business establishment has employees and anyone can handle McDonald's.

Rest assured that I now realize that, no, there is not a perfectly-suited job for everyone who is willing and able to look for one.  Also, I'm not confident that McDonalds would be that easy, because you have to work quickly and be nice to the customers and you're probably not allowed to just stick your head under the McFlurry machine whenever. That's why I did not apply there.

You see, I've been trying to get a job, as in an entry-level, minimum wage paying job.  Apparently, it's a lot harder that you'd think. I know.

 I'm pretty sure that I've applied for every single position that falls under those qualifications within a ten-mile radius of my house, and I've yet to find myself somewhere to work.  I mean, if all of my prospective jobs had panned out, I'd  be simultaneously making sandwiches (at multiple locations of several different sandwich shops) and filing papers with my hands while answering a customer's questions over the phone, restocking shelves, ringing up a purchase at a cash register, and making a face on an ice cream cone with sprinkles.  The people that I've listed as references would be inundated with calls and emails to the point that they'd have to ask me to please, please stop listing them.  But they're not, and I'm not.  I'm actually just sitting at a computer, writing about it.  If only I had some kind of hobby that could turn into a job with enough time and effort . . .

Honestly, it's getting a little frustrating, but I guess I'm probably learning a life lesson or something.  Something along the lines of "getting a job is hard," or, better yet, "don't unnecessarily become unemployed." Also, "check to make sure that a store hires people under age eighteen before filling out an entire application and driving there to drop it off," and "make sure you save your online application before you shut down your computer." That's a good one.  That one's very important.

Recently, I got kind of desperate and called a family friend of ours who runs a Coldstone Creamery to ask how I was supposed to get hired. (Note to self: next time, ask advice from an older, wiser person long before desperation happens.)  According to her, I have to a) not be crazy and not have crazy parents b) come to work when I say I'm going to, and c) not steal their money.  Which should have been reassuring, because I feel like I meet those of those requirements as long as my mom doesn't ruin it for me.  Just kidding, Mom! Great, I just lost a reader.  But hearing that list also created a little, tiiiiny bit of self-doubt for me.  That's why I'm not getting a job, isn't it? I've been coming off as a crazy teenager who likes to steal money and skip work to spend time with her crazy parents.  How did this happen?  That's not what I was going for.  I've been trying really hard not to exude "crazy money stealer" or anything slightly related. 

I mean, I don't know.  It's possible. 


The bottom line is that I've learned a lot about being an adult these last couple weeks, most of which boils down to the fact that it's a lot harder than it looks.  So, good job, adults.  I'm more impressed with you now.  You all deserve presents.

I'll buy you all something nice once I get a job. Until then . . .

Let the job search continue!

Currently // The Best of Pinterest

The first Monday of Christmas break is kind of like those first few hours with the family members that you only see once every 5 years.  At the initial meeting, I'm never really sure how to act or what to do.  We haven't seen each other in a while. You mean, I don't have to get ready yet? Or ever?!? Isn't there something I should be studying for or items I should be desperately throwing in my backpack?   As we spend more time with each other, it all starts to come back. Ohhh, this is what a day off is like.  I get to choose my own activities and have snacks whenever I want.  And finally, I decide that I actually really like this weird new experience.  You mean I can make breakfast and read for as long as I want WITHOUT PUTTING ON REAL CLOTHES and stay out later than ten (but, let's be honest, that will happen on like two nights because I am elderly.) Yes, it's true, and all that free time is fantastic!  I generally find myself baking a looooot of pastry items, reading an average of a book every two days, going into DIY overdrive, and spending a little extra time trying new outfits and make up tricks.  Basically, I get to remember what I really like to do and Pinterest throws up on my life.  (No, Pre-Calc, that doesn't include you.  I know we spend a lot of time together, but I can't actually stand you.)  We're almost done with Christmas break, and I've still got long, long list of things that I can't wait to do.

| Arm knit everything!  I've made a scarf, but according to Pinterest you can also arm knit sweater blankets (YES PLEASE) and headbands and anything else that can be made out of yarn, and I'm going to knit them all.  Yes, you can come hang out and knit with me.  It's going to be so cool.

(It took me quite a few tutorials to find one that really clearly explained arm knitting - this one was the best!)

| These DIY bows and gift wrap stamping tutorials made wrapping Christmas a much more fun (yes, that's possible) and much longer process.  I love, love, love wrapping Christmas presents - I've always spent hours making them as beautiful (or, in my little brother's case, difficult to unwrap) as possible.  I got high tech this year and used Pinterest to up my game, and I am so glad that I did: DIY gift bows and the coolest way to wrap presents. 

| Thank you, Pinterest, for helping me look put together.  All I had to do was type the words "duck boots outift" into the search bar, and you made sure that I'd have enough options to be able to wear my new boots ever day, forever.  I appreciate that.  I wore this to see Wicked the other night - who knew I could dress those boots up? Not me! Thank goodness for Pinterest.

Image via Classy Girls Wear Pearls

| Obviously, holidays = delicious food, and plenty of it.  Food to eat at home, food to take to a party, food to give as gifts, food to feed your dog because sometimes kitchen experiments go horribly, horribly wrong.  I used this brownie guide to make the perfect brownies for my friends' Christmas presents, and I know I'll be using it a lot in the future. Maybe daily.  There are a lot of brownie variations there.

Image via Handle The Heat

| I'm getting a poncho.  It's decided.  When I was little, I thought ponchos were the coolest things ever (because hello, they were.) There was a poncho for my American girl doll that came with a matching one for me, and to own that set was my best and brightest dream.  I'm not sure if I ever told anyone with money about that, but for one reason or another, I never had a poncho. My doll never had a poncho. I'd say that it's about time. 

Image via: 

| My English teacher is a saint because she provides hot drinks and cookies for us every single class period during the winter.  I've been looking forward to this part of the year and scouring the interned for the perfect mug since I saw last year's AP English class walking into her room with their own mugs and happy, expectant faces.  I think I've finally found it - it's simple and so fun!  Half of the mug becomes a chalkboard ready to be redecorated for whatever the day calls for.  I can't wait. 

Image via: Pretty Handy Girl

| All I eat is soup when it's cold outside.  That's not true.  I eat a lot of soup when it's cold outside.  I'll make a big pot at the beginning of the week and store it in the fridge with a threatening note on top so that I can take to school for my lunch every day without having to worry about someone else eating it.  I think 30 soup recipes is enough to get me through the winter, right? (That's a hint, Michigan.  By the time I've gone through my 30 soups, I'd like it to be at least a balmy 45 degrees.  Please?) In the meantime, here's this.

Image via Joyful Healthy Eats

I have some extra chalkboard paint left over from my mug, so I'm off to find anything else that I can justify turning into a mini chalkboard.  Notebooks?  Pencil cups? The refrigerator?  My phone? Stay tuned; things are getting interesting!

Allie

What do you do when you have time off?  Have you tried any of these yet? Do any of them catch your eye?

25 Things // Week in Review

Friday is for lists: I present to you 25 things that made this week a lot cooler than it would have been if they never would have happened.

1.  Starting "The Office" on Netflix.  I'm mostly watching it for Jim and Pam, because clearly I'm a hopeless romantic.

2.  Spitting out my tomato soup because I can't control myself when mildly funny things happen.  Even more, the fact that I definitely did not regain control after the fact and ended up a teary, tomato soup-y mess.

3.  It snowed today!

4.  And now I am up to my neck in Christmas spirit and I don't hate it.

5.  The fact that school ended 45 minutes early today.

6.  This quote: "Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention."

7.  The purchase of a Mountain Lodge scented candle from Bath and Body Works.  It's gone now, but it was fun while it lasted.

8.  Running.  I haven't run in, like, 35 years, and I'm enjoying it a lot more than I should be, which is always a pleasant surprise.

9. Chocolate chip nutella pudding cookies happened, and also banana nutella upside down cake.  That's a good, good week.

10.  Frozen yogurt got gotten, baby gummi bears included.  All about the baby gummi bears.

11.  My nail polish isn't even that chipped.

12.  The school week had once less day than it normally does, so Friday is one day earlier and I am all over that.

13. I've worn pants (as opposed to skirts, not as opposed to going pantsless) every single day, and I have been so much more comfy and warm than I thought I could ever be. 

14.  Receiving a surprise valentine.  Valentines are so much more exciting when they're given on not Valentine's day!

15.  Long, lazy weekend, complete with late sleeping mornings and pajamas all day. 

16.  Learning how to lead my small group at school devotions better by listening.

17.  On that note, the chapel that spoke right to my heart yesterday.

18.  And the crazy story of Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14 that keeps on showing up in my life.  "Perhaps the Lord will work in our favor." Yes!

19.  The Insagram hashtag #doginablanket, courtesy of The Daily Tay. 

20.  Little to no homework, erreday.  Hellloooo, senior year.

21.  On that note, time to laugh with friends and to work out after school and to write in this place.

22.  I don't know about you, but we've had some mighty fine sunsets where I live (ahem at like 5:30 which I'm not okay with.) Premature, yes, but they've been beautiful!

23.  Hearing two of my teachers talking about a song being "their jam."  I love it. 

24.  Getting enough sleep.

25.  Filling out job applications.  It's not that fun, but it's helping me get a job and I can get behind that.

Have a great weekend!

Allie

Campaigning #OrNaw // Homecoming Queen

Mid-September means that homecoming season is in full swing, and as a high school student, I am completely geeking out about it.  I mean, come on DRESSES AND FOOTBALL AND DECORATING HALLWAYS AND SPECIAL ACTIVITIES?  Yes, please.  I might die of excitement, but it'll be worth it.

Homecoming week officially starts next Monday, but the school's already buzzing with rumors about the themes of the dress up days and who's going with who and what the girls' dresses look like. Student council is hammering out all the details, and today, the vote that determines the eight nominees for Homecoming court was held.  I did my civic duty and selected the eight guys and eight girls who I thought, in my expert opinion, deserved a shot at being a part of Homecoming court.  At the time, I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to make it and also that I didn't really care.  Um, you guys?  I MADE IT and I definitely did care.  Ask my heart (it tried to escape my rib cage while the names were being announced) and the sweat glands on my palms (they did some work.)  

Unfortunately, there were no paper bags available, but I definitely really really needed one!

So, I was nominated for possible Homecoming royalty along with a few of my closest friends, and that was really cool.  The funny thing is that when you get nominated for Homecoming court, your mind starts to do things to you.  Okay, maybe not you as in you.  You as in me.  I started to be really proud of myself, like to a point that was not at all good. It was all, "I can't believe I made it and she didn't.  I MUST BE THE BEST FREAKING PERSON ON THIS WHOLE ENTIRE PLANET!"  

Which I'm not, so that was not cool. 

Then, I started to plan out what I would say in the campaign video that the Homecoming court gets to make very year.  Each court member is interviewed, and one of the questions is something about why you think you should be homecoming king or queen.  I've got a couple ideas, so I thought that as long as I'm being an arrogant jerk I could run them by you.  Cool? 

1.  Humble:  "Oh, I don't really even care!  It's just been such an honor to be a part of this and I wish the very very veerrrrrry best to the rest of these girls, who are the three best human beings in the world, along with being beautiful, smart, pretty, funny, adventurous, industrious, and stylish.  I don't know what I would do without them." 

2.  I could try referencing a popular movie, "If I'm elected Homecoming queen, I'll do that Mean Girls thing where Cady breaks the crown into pieces and gives it to everyone" should work.

3.  Or, there's straight up honesty, "Well, the Homecoming king last year was really hot, and the Homecoming king from the previous year always crowns the new queen.  So, I was thinking that if I was queen and Mike crowned me, that could be a really great bonding moment for us and then we could fall in love and live happily ever after."  Except that might be taking it a liiiittle too far, maybe?

4.  Funny.  #OrNaw, because I am not a comedian.  Let's be honest. 

5.  Pull the my-mom-was-homecoming-queen-in-college card.  "It would just be so cool to continue the family legacy."  That has a nice ring to it.  

6.  If all else fails, I can just take a page straight out of the stereotypical beauty pageant book. "I just think that we need to end world hunger.  For the children!" 

In all seriousness though, I really did spend a lot of my shower time thinking about that and other Homecoming court related stuff.  I'm suddenly really interested in something that I thought I didn't care about twelve hours ago!  I've heard really awful stuff about girls fighting over Homecoming Queen stuff and torn apart friendships and feelings hurt, and I know that's not going to come from this group.  I'm also determined not to let the fact that I'm up for the highly prestigious role as Homecoming court member affect what I do.  I want to be able to just enjoy the whole thing without being fake or having any more arrogant, jerk-like thoughts.  

And then, if I do make it onto Homecoming court, I will refer back to this list for ideas.  Because, you know.  I have to say something.  

Allie

Friday Photos // Things to Love About Rainy Days

It was rainy and gray on Wednesday, and I headed out for a walk because 1) RAINBOOTS!!!! and 2) pictures.  I mean, there was a small part of me that actually wanted to go for a walk, but I can honestly say that the boots were the deciding factor and that I really just wanted some cool pictures of my yellow boots splashing in puddles.  (Note to self: jumping-in-puddles pictures are not a one person job.  Force brother to come and take pictures  Hire assistant next time.) //