Thanksgiving!

Oh Thanksgiving. How I adore you. A whole day dedicated to food! How much more amazing could it be?

However, on a side note, I do have to say that it really bothers me when people call it Turkey Day. It's not a day about Turkey. It's a day about giving thanks and it seems to me that people just forget that simply because we do get to eat crap loads of food.

But anyway. Thanksgiving. Food and family and friends. This year for Thanksgiving, we had everyone come over to our house. Derek came too, which was kind of a surprise that my parents said okay because they make it clear sometimes that he is not a part of the family. Which really ticks me off because one day he could be and they just need to realize that I'm going to get married eventually and they can't expect me to come over on holidays by myself and leave my husband at home. This is the part of parenting where I think they can't just let go and realize their kids are growing up and that they can't suppress and keep them from boys (or girls) forever.

I think the best thing about our Thanksgiving feasts is... Hmm... It's hard to say. I know Christopher would hands down say it's the orange rolls that Grandma makes, and while those are good, I wouldn't say they are the best thing. I think that it's the mashed potatoes. There's always so much, it's like the cliche volcano with gravy lava and it's so warm and delicious.

Oh, I take it back. The best part of the Thanksgiving feast is leftovers that last a week and a half. Turkey sandwiches are AMAZING!

And now that Thanksgiving is out of the way, we can focus on the more important holiday--Christmas!!! Haha, just kidding. Thanksgiving is a very important and fun holiday. But you have to admit that the thought of Christmas excites you. All the snow and decorations, candy canes and hot chocolate, Christmas trees and Christmas music. The feeling of Christmas (when not clouded by Christmas consumerism and selfish greed) is one of the best feelings ever.

But now that I have ruined my Thanksgiving post by rambling on about Christmas, I will give one last praise to my beautiful holiday and let it know that it will be missed. Until next year!!

My Favoritest Ashley

Lately, I have not seen my bestest friend in the whole wide world as much as I used to. We used to be attached to the hip but sadly, school, boys, work, etc., have gotten in the way. So I want to dedicate a post to my Ashley.

Ashley is the most amazing girl ever. She is kind and caring, sometimes so much that she doesn't take care of herself enough. More time than I can count, she has dropped everything for me if I have been having a bad day or found myself in trouble. I think the people she can actually say she doesn't like or care about can be counted on one hand. She barely ever has something bad to say about someone and is always willing to help.

She is optimistic. I think that she doesn't have a pessimistic bone in her body. Sometimes, when I'm down and she's trying to bring me back up, I try to rip her head off and tell her that she is being too optimistic but I don't think she realizes how much her mind-numbing optimism means to me.

She is adventurous. This makes me feel bad because I am the type that likes to curl up and read a book in my spare time, while she likes to go on hikes, scooter expeditions, and meet strangers. And more often than not, I drag her down to my level and we sit around doing nothing. But when we do go out and do stuff, I'm always glad I do because I wouldn't trade in those memories for the world.

She makes me laugh. Half of the things she says ends up in my quote book. We have so many inside jokes that I can't even remember most of them. I know my brother thinks we're idiots since we're always in my kitchen, laughing over the dumbest things.

She is smart. Only with her have I had philosophical conversations that are about the important things in life, that have shaped the way I look at the world. She always has the answers to my questions about life, and knows so much. She's also very people smart and can read people very well.

This list can go on and on. But in short, Ashley Grace is the most amazing person in the world. She is my best friend and I don't know what I would do without her. I love you, Ashley. Thank you for all you do for me.

Ramblings

Hello again. It's been quite a while since I've posted, not that it really matters to anyone because only a few people read my blog....

So. Life. I am sick of school. I can't even stand it anymore. So I think that instead of wasting my money on something that I am not going to take seriously, I might take a semester off. I know, I know, you'll never go back if you stop but I just am having the hardest time. And I honestly believe that I will go back because I would love to be an english teacher and the only way I can pull that off is if I get a bachelor's degree. So (*cough* mom *cough*) I do plan on going back in the fall.

My friends Brandon and Ceason are getting married. It's really weird how as soon as we're out of high school, everyone starts getting married. Or maybe it just feels that way. I used to criticize people and how they get married at such a young age. But I guess if you've found the person you know you are meant to be with, what's the point of waiting, right?

Who is ready for Black Friday?! Not me. Seeing as I work at a mall, saying Black Friday is tabooed the rest of the year. But seeing as it is coming up in two weeks, we obviously have to figure it out. For those of you who don't know, the University Mall is opening an hour earlier (8 am) and closing an hour later (10 pm). Well, Black Friday is the optimal day for getting as many hours as physically possible onto your paycheck. So, this is my schedule for that day. I offered to open, so I will be there at seven. At three, I have to go across the parking lot and get family pictures taken. So from seven to three, that is eight hours. But! That's not all. I am coming back at five and working to close. Another five and half hours. So, ladies and gentlemen, I will be working a grand total of thirteen and a half hours that day. Beautiful, isn't it? But that's still not all. The next day, I will be opening again at seven (the mall opens an hour early this day too) and working until three. Another eight hours. At four, though, it is Brandon and Ceason's wedding, so I will be done at three. No more suicide hours that day. :)

Now that I have sufficiently bored you all, I will be off. I mainly was just posting to get extra credit points for english. I will post a real post later when I have time. Thanks everyone!

Substituting

I had my first substituting gig last Thursday and Friday. It was awesome.
I taught a little second grade class at Rock Canyon Elementary in Provo. There is a little down-syndrome boy in this class and he requires a constant aid. This happens to be my mom, who got the job for me in the first place. So it was actually a pretty easy job because she knew all the kids and the routines and all that and was able to help me out quite a bit.

These were the cutest kids ever. I don't know if they liked me but I had so much fun with them. It's funny how, in just two days, I got to know who were the helpers, who were the trouble makers, and who were the shy ones who stayed back.

Ben and Christian were the trouble makers. No matter how much I said to be quiet, they just couldn't help themselves. Or, when I wasn't looking, they would crawl over to their friends' desks and talk to them while sitting on the floor.

Victoria, Maggie, Emily, and Madelyn were the amazing helpers. Everything I did, they would tell me if I was doing it right or wrong. They would lead me to where we needed to go, even though Rock Canyon was my elementary school and I know it like the back of my hand. They would help me--forcefully--ring the bell when it was time to call in the class from recess. They were the cutest little girls. I also find it funny that the girls were the helpers and the boys were the trouble makers.

Clara and Agnes were two of the shyest kids and two of the cutest. Clara was the cutest, though. She was so shy and quiet but so nice. Agnes was really shy too, and didn't trust most of what I said. I felt really bad for her because Agnes is such an old fashioned name....

We made apple sauce while I was substituting. Homemade applesauce is about five thousand times better than store bought applesauce. We also read the book Matilda and I was informed that I read too fast, but I already knew that.

Well, that was my first experience as a substitute teacher. I know it's not so exciting to the rest of you but it was to me. :) Have a good day!

Answers

I often find myself wondering why certain things happen. I know that people have their theories of fate and destiny, there can't be good without the bad, or that is how God intended it. Some of these things I believe, and there are some I don't. But like I said, all people have is theories.

I don't like believing the idea of fate and destiny, that our lives are already plotted out for us and we are just following along a path and we have no choice, really, to do what we want. If that is the case, then what is the point of being on this planet? We can make choices but to say that it was already determined that we would make that choice... Well, that's kind of deperessing, isn't it?

I also hate the idea of the afterlife and how certain people see it. Don't get me wrong, I believe in life after death and I think it's obviously a good thing. But I hate how people say that it doesn't matter what we do because God has already determined where we'll go. Again, what's the point of living, if that's the case? I believe that God does know if we'll go to Heaven or Hell, not because he just decided, but because he knows everything and he knows the decisions we will make and based on that, he makes a choice. But that is not the same thing as fate.

All that people have are theories, just like myself. I do believe though, that I know because of the religion I belong to. But even then, no one has solid facts and answers and sometimes it's frustrating. Theories and questions, hypotheses and ideas. No one knows for sure. And what if we did? Would that freak people out enough to cause chaos in our world? Would we live our lives better? Or would we simply give up?

So the real question is, is the answer worth knowing?

Lagoon and a Concussion

Alright. I have nothing to talk about. So I am going to tell a story because I find it hilarious.

About two years ago in October, my family and I were at the amusement park that we all know and love as Lagoon and it was Frightmares time. Frightmares sucks, by the way. It's absolutely retarded and pointless. Well anyway, when you walk into Lagoon, there is huge and beautiful fountain that you can run through. It has the holes in the ground that allows the water to shoot up and usually it comes out in different patterns. The kids love it and teenagers are stuid in it.

On this particular trip to Lagoon, my family had allowed my brother and me to bring friends. So naturally, I brought my boyfriend. Since it was October, it was rather chilly and getting almost to the point where, at 5:30 in the evening, it was getting kind of uncomfortable. Because of this, my family decided to leave. As we were walking out, we passed the fountain.

At this time, all the water was coming from the outside and shooting inward, creating almost a solid column of water in the middle. It looked like it was freezing. So I turned to Derek, my boyfriend, and I said, "I'll give you ten bucks if you run through that water."

He looked at me suspiciously and asked, "Seriously?"

So I said, "Sure." So he grinned and faced the freezing cold water. He started counting down, three, two...

Just before he said "one," I noticed something. On the other side, another stupid idiot teenage boy was getting ready to do the exact same thing. But just before I could stop Derek, he took off. The rest happened it slow motion, for which I am grateful for.

The kid on the other side took off at the exact same time. You don't have to be a genius to see where this is going. Derek got to the water at the exact same time the other boy did. It was a head on collision. Derek bounced backward and landed on his back, hitting his head on the concrete. Of course, I didn't see that part because at this point, I was laughing so hard I couldn't see straight. Awful, I know.

Derek comes limping back to me, holding his head and the first thing he says to me is, "Man that water is like a brick wall." That, of course, made me laugh harder, having realized he didn't even know what happened.

Finally I managed to gasp out what happened. He didn't find it as amusing as I did. His head was pounding and he couldn't see out of one eye. That sobered me right up.

On the drive home, he passed out for about a minute. That was all, but I knew something was wrong. We got home and he was shaking super hard and was complaining about how badly his head hurt. My mom and I didn't know what to do so finally, we decided we needed to take him to the ER.

We spent 4 hours in that emergency room. Every few minutes, Derek would ask me what happened and why were there. Half the things he was saying didn't even make sense, so I was really starting to get worried.

Finally we saw a doctor and he got a CT scan. It turns out he had a mild concussion and should be fine as long as his dad (who had shown up about two hours in) woke him up a few times through the night.

To this day, Derek still does not remember anything that happened after his collision until the next morning. I still think that was the best time at Lagoon ever. I mean, who gets a concussion at Lagoon? And what are the odds of two stupid teenagers crashing so hard into each other that one had to go to the ER? I actually found out later from a friend that happend to be there that day, that after we left, there was CAUTION tape around the fountain and an ambulance outside. So the other kid was worse off.

Anyway, that's my story for today. Sorry it was nothing special. Have a good day!

My Weekend Adventure

So, before I tell you my weekend adventure, I just have to say that school sucks. I totally forgot - again - to do my question and send it into Professor Hamilton on Friday. Grr! I have so much to do that it slipped my mind. And, the time I set aside for it was taken up by my weekend adventure. That's a beautiful transition, isn't it? Let's jump into the story now.

It was 7:00 on Friday morning. Yeah I know. Only crazy people are up that early, let alone in their American Civilization class, like I was. My teacher, Professor Griffin, is apparently in charge of payroll and I guess there was some problem with it and he had to get something in by 8:00. So in short, class got out half an hour early. After that, I usually have my amazing english 2010 class. But, since Professor Hamilton rocks, she doesn't have class in class on Fridays so I set this time aside to do my reading and make up my question.

However!!! This did not happen. You see, at about 7:05, my most amazing boyfriend in the world - who lives in Payson - sends me a text and tells me that his old ghetto beater car finally kicked the bucket. On the freeway, about a mile north of Payson. He was with his dad and both of them were headed to work in Provo. He was keeping me up-to-date and he was asking me questions about people who could possibly help him. But it wad 7:00 in the morning so most sane people were sleeping. So he asked if I could bring him a tow rope while his mom came and picked him up, took him home, and he picked up his truck. I said okay because I knew we were getting out of class early and I didn't have english. American Civilization got out and I went to my car, then went to his work to pick up a tow rope then hit the freeway.

When I arrived to where they were, I saw that they had died just after an on-ramp. Derek had gotten his truck and they were waiting for me. I gave him the tow rope and he looked at me and smiled and said, "It's illegal to tow on the freeway. So we get to back up the on-ramp."

Oh. My. Gosh. That was the scariest thing I have ever done. EVER! Have you ever been on the side of the freeway and had to BACK UP down the on-ramp while cars are whizzing by going seventy miles an hour? Plus they can't see you because they ramp has a turn in it. Well anyway, after the most horrific ten minutes of my life, we were at the start of the on-ramp. They were about to hook up the tow rope when Derek realized his truck was almost out of gas. And better yet, so was I.

So. Derek got back in his truck and we hit the freeway and went back to Payson to fill up. But here's where it gets better. His truck runs out of gas on the freaking freeway!!! I know, right? Like that would actually happen. Life sucks. However, he managed to coast down the on-ramp into Payson. Then he started his truck once more and by the grace of God, he made it to the gas station. We both filled up and went back to where his dad was waiting with the car.

Like I said, it's illegal to tow on the freeway. So lucky us, we got to take the back roads from Benjamin - which is a mile north of Payson, which is about thirteen miles south of Provo for those who don't know - all the way to Provo. I had to follow behind them to make sure everything was okay.

By the time we got to American Car Care in Provo, just down the street from Provo High, it was 9:30. I had missed my Ethics and Values class. Sad day. And by the time I would have made it back to UVU, found a place to park, hiked all the way to my Biology class and sat down, I would have been so freaking late. So I missed that class too. Instead, I went with Derek to work.

Several hours later, American Car Care called back and informed us that an engine rod had shot off straight through the oil pan. I mean honestly. Like that happens.

And, to be very anti-climactic, that was my Friday. And, because of that, I completely forgot about my chapter 2 question. Ah well. Life moves on and I'm doing this blog for a reason, right? Anyway, since it's midnight now and I have school at seven, I should probably go to bed. Until next time!

Kill Me Now

Hello again!

So. I caved. I am influenced by money and willing to sell my site to make some. If you notice, to the right, there is an ad. Yes. I put that there using Google AdSense. Every time someone clicks on whatever ad is there, I get paid a little bit. I know. I have no dignity. But who cares. At least I get paid, right? :p

School is killing me. I’ve only been going for two and half weeks or however long we’ve been going and I already want to die. I have the easiest classes in the world, though. I have virtually no homework. What’s killing me is that I chose freaking early classes. I’m currently in my last class of the day and it’s only ten o’clock. I’ve dozed off in two of my three classes before this. Professor Hamilton should feel loved because her class is the one I stayed awake in.

In addition to school, like every full time college student, I have to work in order to pay for this voluntary torture. But of course, now that I need as many hours at my job as possible, we have too many people and therefore no one can get nearly enough hours. So that’s why I have a job interview on Thursday. I’m going to be a substitute teacher. Personally, I think it’ll be sweet and lots of fun, but my family and friends laugh and mock me. I’m just weird and want to be an English teacher after college and think this’ll be a good opportunity. That’s why my major is English education.

Anyway, now that I’m just rambling on now, I think I should probably pay attention to my biology professor. (I hate biology.) Next time I will write a worthwhile blog that says something deep and meaningful, instead of just my moanings about life. See you later.

Hello!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! Seeing as this is my first post, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Corinne. I'm 18. Exciting, eh? Ah, to be 18. I know, we teens think we know everything. But did anyone stop to think that maybe we do?! :p Ha ha. I'm just kidding.

So. I go to Utah Valley University and am in Professor Hamilton's class and for extra credit, we can start a blog. So voila. Here I am, since I am an idiot and forgot to email my homework to her and instead accidentally saved it as a draft. I'm retarded, I know. But I figure that also, starting this blog will get me into the habit of writing as a sort of journal, which would be good.

This post is just a tester, though, before I email my address to my lovely and charming english professor. And just a post to say hi and welcome to my blog! And to say hi to Ashley, who has been nagging me for months to start one. If anyone wants to know who she is, click here to see my bestest friend in the whole wide world. She's an amazing writer, too, though she'll deny it.

Anyway. I just wanted to say hello. Until next time!