To My Baby Friend

Yes, Ynna Padilla, that means you.

Ynna has been my best friend ever since she moved to Pennsylvania in kindergarten. Really, it's more like she's been a part of the family. 

Without her, I would have sat alone in Primary and wouldn't have had near as hard of a time not laughing through almost every single prayer in the meeting (and probably some of our Young Women's meetings too--I know, I'm ashamed). I wouldn't have spent Sacrament Meetings writing notes on my black paper with my milky gel pens (so cool, I know) to give to her even though we were going to hang out for the next two hours in church. I cannot count the number of times that we would ask our moms if we could go to each others' houses after church and cannot describe the joy we felt when they occasionally said yes.  Together, we successfully butchered the words of Nephi's Courage and many other Primary songs and thought ourselves genuinely clever for the parodies.

We've had our moments, like when she didn't sit with me at our concert band party in middle school and I got mad at her or when we had a crush on the same boy in sixth grade and she got to square dance with him in gym class (he was too short for me anyway), but through thick and thin she's always been my best friend. Together, we were definitely weird and awkward (maybe I should speak for myself), but we went through it together nonetheless. 

Moving on to the next stage of our life, I became Ynna's mom in high school, driving her to dance practice, driving her home from school, driving her to school (shhh, don't tell my mom), and I was genuinely proud of my daughter. She is one of the most ambitious people I know, and when she puts her mind to something you better bet she'll do it and do it flawlessly. I have watched her grow into a beautiful young woman with such a wonderful testimony (okay, now I really sound like a mom, but I'm serious).

And did I mention she is one of the most hilarious people I know? Seriously though, I cannot say how many times I have laughed with her until it hurts. AP Euro? Chow chows? Besides, who else could bring such humor to our Jonas Brothers obsession? Oh, and our texting conversations are unparalleled. And our girls' camp skits? Don't even get me started.

More than that, I've always been awed by her fearlessness and confidence. She's never scared to try something new, or if she is she never lets it stop her. When it comes to public speaking, she is so eloquent (really she's eloquent in all she does), and I always loved when she would give a talk in church. She's beautiful and kind and giving, and I truly have been the luckiest to grow up with her over the years and to be able to see her become all that she is. 

This little post doesn't even come close to covering all that our friendship is and everything that it means to me, but it's a start. I love you, Ynna, and I hope that you have had the best birthday in the world because you truly deserve it , best friend.

The Little Things

Upon catching up with a friend the other day, she told me that she read my last blog post when I talked about my life being boring. She said "Your life isn't really boring, is it?" It made me think. No, in fact, my life is not boring. Sure, I'm no longer gallivanting around the world or anything like that, but each day my life is made decidingly not boring the little things. And it's the little things that count, right? Right. So here's a description of some of the little things that have recently made my life wonderful. We'll actually call them little things because that sounds so dear, doesn't it?

Little Thing #1:
Please tell me you remember this. Or perhaps I was the only one who experienced this in childhood. Regardless, I was still delighted when I saw and promptly purchased it at the grocery store. Judge me, but I love the fact that I can hatch tiny dinosaurs in my bowl of brown sugar oats. 

Little Thing #2:
Forgive me if this is old news, but I recently came across this cover, and I am fairly obsessed. I love the sincerity with which Sara Bareilles performs.. guaranteed to give me goosebumps every time.

Little Thing #3:
On Tuesday evening, I got to hang out with my accounting all-star big sister, Rachel. She is the smartest person I know and the sweetest to feed me so much. She also loves Harry Potter like no other. Her husband is nervous to take her to Harry Potter Land because he's nervous she'll think it's real. But for real, she's the coolest.   (more details to come in future posts about how awesome my family is.)

Told ya.

Anyways, Rach and I have always had so much fun together, and this evening was no exception. The evening's festivities consisted of grocery shopping, dancing around her basement apartment and slipping on the floor (very much reminiscent of our childhood), and Oreo truffle making (yummm).

 Little Thing #4: 
Writing my Christmas list. It's that time of year! No, crazies, not the time when we can start decorating our houses and blasting Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. That is not until AFTER Thanksgiving, thank you. But, back to the point. Christmas list writing has to come far before the time that we can actually start celebrating the Christmas season. My most wanted item is a good pair of boots to handle this upcoming Utah weather. I have been looking for a while and was thinking maybe these ones? It's also necessary for me to own some business professional clothing since I am now in the business school.. hopefully I'll find some suits that aren't so stuffy.

Little Thing #5: 
I've recently started taking a different walk to get to school, and I have not been disappointed. I get to soak in the magic of all of these really cute, old  buildings and walk through crunchy, colorful leaves the size of my face. I am pleased with the results of my daring to break free of my daily routine. Though I am nervous about slipping on the sidewalks once winter comes.

Where has the motivation gone?

Now that it is November, it's official. My motivation is gone. Though I tell myself that the days won't go by any faster if I keep track how many there are until Thanksgiving (and even better, CHRISTMAS), I can't help it. So here are the things I am excited for:

Thanksgiving- who isn't counting down the days until we have no school? Less than three weeks. Except I don't have school on Fridays anyway, so really it's not that much of a difference.

Christmas- I get to see my three beautiful best friends who I have missed so dearly, and ALL of my family is going to be together! Does it get any better? No.

Really, that's all I'm excited for right now. Oh, and for the semester to be over. My life is so interesting.