Surprise!

I love surprises :) so much :)  Criteria for future husband: he will be great at surprising me.  I'm not sure why I like them so much....actually, I'm not sure why some people don't!  Maybe I like them because it means that someone was thinking specifically of me and took time for me, and therefore I am loved, or maybe it's just because it's something fun and new.  I think it's both.  I also love when people spell it right.  Did you know that there's an R after the U?  That makes 2 R's...not just one, like when you say it :) And for anyone keeping track, this post is strategically placed just as my birthday is rapidly approaching.  hint hint wink wink nudge nudge
A few other things I LOVE: hugs, onions, musicals, being clean, getting the mail, babies, and words.
Olivia :)

Quote of the Day

"The more I study history the more I realize how little mankind has changed.  There are no new scripts, just different actors."

Quote/Thought for Today

"We carry around in our heads these pictures of what our lives are supposed to look like, painted by the brush of our intentions.  It's the great, deep secret of humanity that in the end none of our lives look the way we thought they would.  As much as we wish to believe otherwise, most of life is a reaction to circumstances."

LORD OF THE RINGS!

THOSE MOVIES ARE SOOOO GOOD!  I asked some of the lovely people I know to describe it in one word.  I received the following answers:
Epic
Mystical
Second-breakfast
Epic
Beautiful
Ringy
Epic
Boss
Definitely 
Epic
Barbaric
Awesome!!!
We've been having a Lord of the Rings marathon at my house, and I have been enjoying it immensely...(no, not only because Orlando Bloom is in them :) If you haven't seen em, you're missin out and we should fix that!  They are so well made and the music and the dialogue and the cinematography and the scenery and oh!  It's fun :)

Some Stuff Just for Fun :)

     I was walking down the hallway today when some girl behind me started shouting at a chic named Carly...I looked in front of me to see if I knew who she was talking to, and realized that 3 of the girls directly in front of me were named Carly!  I did like a triple take; it was crazy.  I had no idea which one she was yelling at, and neither did they.
     The environment for this next story is a little odd, but I was sitting in a stall in the bathroom, when I heard a girl say to another one, "I actually don't know where my belly button is..." ???????? Is it not always on your belly???
     Me: "You are so alike to me." Neil: "It's cuz I so a-LIKE you." :)
     Fact of the day: If all of the Great Barrier Reef's main chunks were plucked from the sea and laid out to dry, it could cover all of New Jersey, with coral to spare.
Olivia :)

9 inch Earthworms!

Today in Biology we dissected earthworms! WooHoo!  I assumed we would get little ones, maybe they'd be a little fatter than usual, but still normal size.  When I went up to retrieve one from my teacher, she goes, "Yes, our 9 inch earthworms!"  It took me a WHILE to process it...but finally I pictured a ruler in my mind's eye and was like, "Wait that's 12 inches....9 inch earthworms?!?!  Is she for serious?"  Sure enough, a minute later, onto my tray she drops an incredibly long, ghastly smelly earthworm, hardish from being preserved in formaldehyde ever since its unfortunate end.  We proceeded to cut them open, which proved harder than we thought, and found its gooey organs inside.  And all the while, the smell was giving me flashbacks to 3rd grade when we dissected sharks.  Oh, the joys!  Then tonight I saw a long, thin, uninflated balloon on the floor and for a split-second, was sure it was a dead earthworm.

Quote of the Day

"The surest way to minimize your own burdens is to carry someone else's."

Quote/Thought of the Day

"There are times, it seems, that God throws a cosmic switch the moves the tracks beneath us, hurling our lives headlong in a new and uncertain direction.  Of these times just two things are certain: It's best we don't know what's ahead and we can never go back."

Quote of the Day

"Today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope."

Quote of the Day

"There are two ways of exerting one's strength; one is pushing down, the other is pulling up."
-Booker T. Washington

Neilisms

It's time to share with you one of the countless hilarious stories from Neil's past.  I'm copying my cousin Shannon on this one and calling them "Neilisms."  When Tanner and I were little, we learned the word moron.  We thought it was such a crazy bad word and we were such big kids for knowing it.  So we took Neil aside, who was probably about 3 at the time, and told him to go tell Dad that he was a moron. We sent him in to where Dad was and spied secretly from behind the wall to watch him do it.  He marched proudly up and proclaimed, "Daddy, I'm a Mormon!"  Lololololol
JUST now he said: "Dad, so we could cut down on our electric bill, can we burn our poop?"  That's pure Neil.
He is my anti-depressant.
Olivia

Quote of the Day

"No misfoutune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse."
-Jeffery R. Holland

Quote of the Day

"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."
-Harry S. Truman

Quote of the Day

"More than we are each different, we are each alike."

The most lame joke of all time

Before I tell you the joke, I have to tell you an unrelated story. We're sitting around the table at family dinner tonight and I told Neil and Grant to stop hatin on something (I think it was their vegetables), and Grant immediately follows with: "Hatin' is for Satan!"  True that, brother :)
I have decided that I want to start telling you all about a good friend of mine, whom I love dearly.  Hardly a day goes by that she doesn't make me smile or laugh hysterically.  For all intents and purposes, we'll call her Lisa.  That's not her name, but I will protect her identity from creeper-stalker guys.  Anyway, today I am kneeling down at my locker getting some books when someone comes up behind me, spanks me harder than I've ever been spanked in my life, and before I have time to think, runs away yelling, "I like your yoga pants!"
So everyday I get a "mystery fun" texted to me from ChaCha as just one more way to increase the already-sky-high excitement level of my life.  So everyday I get an inspirational quote or pick-up line or fun fact texted to me at 9:33pm on the dot. (Unless somebody is doing their job wrong and it doesn't come until 9:34.)  Today I was excited when I opened it and saw that it was a joke...and proceeded to read the most lame joke of all time.  Are you ready?? Here we go.  "The way to a man's heart...is to saw his breastplate open." I'll let you judge for yourselves :)
Olivia

Quote of the Day

"Logic will get you from A to B.  

Imagination will take you anywhere."

-Albert Einstein

Memories

I've have been noticing lately that I really have a pretty good memory.  My whole family does, but my brothers are better with numbers, facts, etc. while I remember events and occurrences.  I'm pretty sure it's because I attach emotions to almost everything, and it seems you are way more prone to remember things when you had an emotional reaction to it, when it strikes some string in you.  I remember things from when I was really little,which is kind of neat, and in general I tend not to forget things. Win :)
(Oh, ps- If you haven't ever heard the song "Memory" from the musical Cats, you're missin out and should listen to it...it's one of my favs :)
Also, if you have not yet noticed, I have been suffering from a severe case of writer's block.  AAAHHHHH!  It's a terrible feeling to have.  I sit at the computer and say to myself: "Surely something noteworthy happened in my life today, and even if that's not true, surely there is something noteworthy in this world that I can make interesting enough for you to read about, and I can have fun doing it!" So I'm really trying; hopefully it's uphill from here!
Last exciting bit of news: drum roll, please....I have a loose tooth!  Yes, you heard me right, and yes, I am well into my teenage years :)  It's still kinda fun though; only problem is, there's a bracket on it so it's connected to all my other teeth.  That's where the lovely orthodontist comes in.  When it comes out, I will have 2 bottom molars gone in the exact same spot on opposite sides if my mouth, and eating will be even more of an adventure!
Olivia

Quote of the Day

"A watched pot never boils."

Quote of the Day

"God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other..."
Spencer W. Kimball 

Quote of the Day

"The day you become a Christian is the day you stop choosing who to love."

Quote of the Day

"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you.
Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.
Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.
Give the best you have and it will never be enough.
Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway."
-Mother Teresa

Cigar? Toss it in a can. It is so tragic.

Did anyone get it when they read it?? It's a palindrome!  If you have been sadly deprived of knowledge your whole life, a palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same forward and backwards.  Yes, you can look back to the title now and double check that it is infact a palindrome, if you didn't do that already :)  Another fun one: "Dennis, Nell, Edna, Leon, Nedra, Anita, Rolf, Nora, Alice, Carol, Leo, Jane, Reed, Dena, Dale, Basil, Rae, Penny, Lana, Dave, Denny, Lena, Ida, Bernadette, Ben, Ray, Lila, Nina, Jo, Ira, Mara, Sara, Mario, Jan, Ina, Lily, Arne, Bette, Dan, Reba, Diane, Lynn, Ed, Eva, Dana, Lynne, Pearl, Isabel, Ada, Ned, Dee, Rena, Joel, Lora, Cecil, Aaron, Flora, Tina, Arden, Noel, and Ellen sinned."  How someone came up with that is beyond me.
So, pink and orange go wonderfully together.  Not quite as well as peanut butter and jelly, but they are adorable!  You'll note that my background has pink and orange :) It's such a happy color combination. 
Last little tidbit, it's about friends.  Everyone has them.  If you feel like you don't, post me a comment, and we will change that :)  But anyway, I am so grateful for friends.  I was a little discouraged this morning, just kind of stressed, and I had a friend who went to lengths to make sure I was okay, and to get me to smile.  I love her to death.  The amount of care she showed was touching. "The supreme happiness in life is to know that we are loved."  That would explain it.
Olivia

Quote of the Day

"To love another person is to see the face of God."
-Victor Hugo

Are you my mother?

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a lot of motherly instinct.  Gift I've been given.  But it's an interesting one to have when you're only a teenager.  My brother and our good friend used to always mock me about being their mother, I mean they still do, but they were the first ones.  Then the last several days more people have called me mother or made some reference to me being like their mom than I ever would've fathomed.  During Sunday School someone was saying something about us not having a garden at my house or something...I told them we do have one...but he persisted and everyone just thought he was being dumb, until he turns to this other boy and asks, "Can we have a garden at Mom's house?" I'll admit, it was pretty funny :) But if I ever do act like your mother, know that it is out of complete love and care and anything I say is a just suggestion (although probably a wise one :)
We also had one HILARIOUS thing happen today, like one of those things that I'll probably remember forever.  My friend was singing a Beatles song, then she stopped and said, "Nono, that's not a good song...they were on LDS." She totally meant to say LSD of course, and we almost peed our pants laughing.  If you don't get it, it's a Mormon joke :) Our church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and sometimes go by the LDS church.  If only that's what the Beatles were actually on...
Olivia

Quote of the Day

"Love life and life will love you back."

Quote of the Day

"If you love someone, let them go.  If they return, they were always yours, and if they don't, they never were."

Agave and Assassins

So if you haven't ever heard of agave (uh-gah-vay), you get to learn something new today!  Agave is a natural sweetener just like honey only it is extracted from the heart of the agave plant, which is kinda like a cactus.  It doesn't have as pronounced a flavor as honey, so it's perfect for sweetening things, and it's 25% sweeter than sugar. I put it on my cereal and have made cookies with it and it's good in drinks and stuff...so that is your fun fact for the day! You now all know more than you did 30 seconds ago.
Also starting this week my older brother Tanner is playing assassins at school cuz he's a senior...it's some game that has to do with squirting your secret opponent with a water gun.  So he informed us, much to our dismay, that he won't be in public much this week and today he even refused to go in the front yard out of fear that some stalker would come shoot him with a water gun and he'd lose the game.  He's crazy.  Tanner's assassin, if you are reading this, please just come to our house and shoot him in his sleep.  I'll let you in the door.
Everyone keep pluggin through life!  It's really really hard sometimes, but the tough spots are only temporary!  Try doing some service, it's a great mood-improver :)
Olivia 

Quote of the day

"When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life you have a thousand reasons to smile."

The Recipe for Life

I already told you two of life's secrets: that it is all about priorities and to pray.  But also in my deep ponderings and studyings I have also come up with a great list of things that are key and bring happiness.  I owe most of the credit for this list to John Bytheway.

-Know that things will change

-Focus on what you have, not what you lack

-Don’t think about your problems

-DO something! Don’t do nothing

-Don’t worry about things you can’t control

-Don’t complain about your blessings, be grateful for them

-Don’t make things harder than they need to be

-Don’t make things take longer than they have to

-Don’t compare yourself to others

-Think about yourself less

-Assume the best of everyone

-Relive good memories, don’t replay bad ones

-Accept things you’ve done, don’t pass the blame

-Take action

-Know your shortcomings but don’t sell yourself short

-Don’t judge other people’s motives

-Try new things

-Don’t just wait for life to happen

-Set goals and believe you can achieve them

-Don’t hold on to grudges- forgive quickly!

-Know that some things are simply more important than others

-Know that most things really aren’t that important

-Don’t put conditions on your happiness

-Don’t have jealousy or envy

-Make every encounter a positive one

-Learn new things

-Pray early and often

-Be in good company, surround yourself with good people

-Sing

-Smile

-Laugh

-Don’t judge or criticize

-Don’t continue with regret

-Don’t think about what could go wrong

-Choose not to be offended

Olivia :)

Quote of the Day

"True meekness can have no glimmer of self-concern.
True mercy contains no trace of self-interest.
True forgiveness withholds nothing for self-defense.
Real love imposes no conditions for self-benefit."

Quote of the Day

"The supreme happiness in life is to know that we are loved."
-Victor Hugo

A few random tidbits

Just now as my little brother was going to bed he made the statement: "Robins are to pigs as llamas are to buzzards."  Now try to figure that one out.
Also today in German my teacher told us to not work in the same groups we usually do but me and my two friends were already working together and ones of them justified it with, "We're baby freshman; we need each other!"  It was hilarious in the moment.
I also think that I might be slightly addicted to shopping...I tend to want to do it often :) I know I'm in a really bad mood when even shopping doesn't sound fun.  Finding and bringing home cute new things is just rather thrilling...maybe it has to do with that I love surprises.  So anyway, for my birthday I'm going shopping and just fyi, the countdown has begun! 25 days :)
One more thing: skinny capris.  Skinny jeans, only rolled up into carips.  I think they are adorable and comfy and perfect for the lovely spring weather.  Everyone better be enjoying the daffodils!
-Olivia

Quote of the Day

"What should I be
but just what I am?"

Fridays and Scooby-Doo

I am so indescribably happy that tomorrow is Friday!!!!!!  Fridays are almost worth waiting in pain all week for...they just have that special Friday feel, ya know??  Everyone's got a reason to be happy and hopefully fun plans for that night :)  Plus treat at seminary is always worth looking forward to!
So I was chatting with my friend today and I learned something I never knew...she is a Scooby-Doo fiend!  There is only one way to say it: that is an awesome show.  I mean like the oldish animated ones...the characters and how it's always spooky but in the end they unmask the bad guy and win!  I totally need to borrow them and have a marathon. 
-Olivia

Quote of the Day

"Life is a ticket to the greatest show on earth."

A funny and a serious

I know I didn't post yesterday, so sorry.  I guess my imperfections are catching up with me :)
So a phrase that makes me smile every time: "Haters gonna hate!"  My older brother tells me this whenever I say something sassy or comment on something I don't like.  It's got some manner of truth to it...sorta.  But the other day I was getting frustrated at my brother's phone that wasn't working with me and I started to get a little angry at the phone and my mom chimes in, "Well, haters are gonna hate!" I have the coolest mom ever.  Even my friends say so. 
Also you have to know that some people are just going to confuse you.  Maybe they frustrate you because they seem hypocritical or contradictory.  Maybe you just flat you do not understand what they do or what's going through their mind, but you have to love them.  Truth is, they've gone through things you can't imagine and had feelings that you just don't understand.  They don't say patience is a virtue for nothing, cuz it's really really hard sometimes.  So is Christlike love, but think of the Golden Rule.  You would want to be loved purely and perfectly, so do it to others.  Don't take it lightly, everyone is a child of God.
Olivia :)

Quote of the Day

"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."
-John Lennon

Quote of the Day

"Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds."
-Albert Einstein

School.....fabulous? what??

Yeah, you heard me right.  I had a FABULOUS day at school today!!!! That happens once in a blue moon, or once in a month of Sundays.  LOTS of really little tiny things just made my day.  LOTS of great friends just made me smile :)  Most of them, if not all, probably have no idea that their little bit of humor or friendly optimism or act of kindness made me smile for hours and is continuing to.  A guy I know held the door for me.  In Bio I laughed so hard I almost wet my pants.  I came in to first period and got about 7 hugs.  I talked on the phone with a good friend.  I checked in a book at the library that was 108 days overdue.  I got several different texts that just made me laugh.  My friends and brother and I had a little party in the hallway.  Someone told me they liked my shirt.  And the list goes on and on.....Not to mention that I prayed that I could have a great day at school today.  Oh, miracles :)
I'm feelin the vibes that tomorrow is gonna be just as great!!!  Let's make sure it turns out that way :)
Olivia

Quote of the Day

"The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time."
-Abraham Lincoln

Quote (scripture) of the Day

"And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or would I say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness."
Alma 41:11

Movies!!

Before I start in I have to say, I missed writing on my blog yesterday, in case you didn't notice.  Now my secret is out and you all know that I'm not actually perfect.  Sorry if i crushed you :)
Okay so I love movies.  Well not actually love, cuz that's for important things, but I really really enjoy them, especially chic flicks :)  Just a few random great movies if you need some:
The Pacifier (I'm watching right now)
School of Rock (Pretty much the most hilarious movie of all time)
The Emperor's New Groove (Could Disney have made a better movie??)
When in Rome (Kristen Bell is the best and gorgeous to boot)
So if you're in the mood for a movie (like I always am) sit down with your popcorn and a blankie and enjoy some not-so-real life stories.
Olivia :)

Quote of the Day

"Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted, counts."