#14

sorry, hotel valley ho.

cheers,

lauren, cayla, & sydney

things that are great

obviously i'm obsessed with making lists, so here's a collection of things that we think are great:

1. ben & jerry's straight from the carton
2. SNL videos on hulu
3. lava lamps
4. pebble sign language
5. blasting a good song
6. starbucks made by andrew boyfriend
7. cloudy days
8. tie dye
9. fleece blankets for watching movies on the couch
10. chai tea
11. pop culture references
12. derby's ears
13. writing with a good pen
14. shopping at target
15. soft t-shirts
16. christmas lights
17. accents
18. top hats
19. awkward family photos
20. sundresses
21. fruit juice
22. windows down
23. perfect tanning weather
24. weird picture frames
25. clothes that hold the smell of perfume/cologne

happy birthday to me :)

cheers,

lauren

(RED)

So we've added a new application that highlights the word red & will take you to the (RED) organization that works to fight against AIDS in Africa. It's a worthy cause that you should look into joining!

cheers,

lauren & cayla

p.s. red. we're still trying to see if this works

happy birthday

Tomorrow is my 19th birthday. Usually the day before my birthday I start to panic and wonder if I have lived enough in the past year or was just wasting time. I'll never be 18 again, did I miss out on opportunities that I'll never encounter again? This year the feeling of panic and regret is the farthest thing from my mind, because I've really lived a lot in my eighteenth year. I've learned that if opportunities don't present themselves you have to make your own. I've grown up a lot since last May, and high school graduation seems like it was decades ago. The months that have filled the time since my last birthday have been full of new experiences, some that have been fun and others that have been really stressful. I don't have a lot of pictures on my new computer, but here are a few from the last year;

Here is where I should say something catchy and maybe even a little lame about hoping that 19 is just as good as 18 or whatever, but to be honest I'm super excited to leave 18 behind and see what kind of adventures and disasters I can create before I hit 20. Not so lame?

cheers,

lauren

reflections on a year

Since I have grown up a lot this year, in respect to the fact that I have read so much classic British Lit (as my teacher calls it) and can now recognize an allusion to almost any Brit poem, I have noticed something. Besides the British Lit I have been reading for the past year, everything I read seems to be so transparent. Like I can just see them pulling out a thesaurus or discovering a new word and using it over and over again. Literally my English teachers have destroyed pleasure reading for me. Do you want to know what I am reading for fun right now? The Complete Sherlock Holmes. That isn't fun. And this summer I was considering buying The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Seriously? I'm 16. I know it is a good thing that I am enjoying fine literature, but I would really just like to go back to my old books that I could finish in 2 hours and not have to contemplate the situational irony or deeper meaning. But now when I open those books, they sound whiny and pretentious and remind me of those trash romance novels that old people read on airplanes. I will read someone's whole deep entry and just think "wow someone in the 1800s has already said that and they put it a whole lot better, so have you ever read the funeral blues by w.h. auden?" No, because they are probably a normal teenager. I mean I feel very luckey to have read so many classics and actually enjoyed a lot of them, but I really just wish that I could still enjoy my old stuff. Or at least not have to snub everyone else's work because I have been spoiled with the finest prose and novellas. Here I am complaining that I have learned too much when I should to studying for all those other classes where I have not been so fortunate.
Speaking of learning too much, but still needing studying: What can I say about World History? That class has probably changed me the most this year. I know so much about so much. I don't even really want to say exactly how much I know about China and Japan, because it pains me. I actually had nightmares about kamikaze pilots the night before my Japan unit test. That's super normal. I have never felt so informed about the world in my life and I feel like if someone asked me anything pertaining to history from Mesopotamia to WWII I would totally have an answer and that feels good. Trust me, you should try knowing more than the people around you, I do it all the time and it feels awesome.
I don't really have anything to say about my other classes other than I AM ALMOST DONE AND THEN I NEVER EVER EVER HAVE TO DO THEM AGAIN! and I can confidently say that because I have A's in all my classes so even if I bomb them I will still pass. HA! Next year at this time I will almost be a senior and then I will be done with high school. Kind of a creepy feeling because I'm not quite ready to be so old, so I'm hoping junior year will go a little slower than this year which completely flew by and I barely had a chance to accomplish anything. I am really planning for junior year to be absolutley amazing, so stay tuned for that!
I started writing this entry because I read someone's post and my reaction to it really bothered me because I have become a literay snob and have hence stripped down my writing to the simplest words I can use to convey my message (and a few ostentatious words that I actually know the meaning of so I don't have to look up so it doesn't make me a noob for using them) which totally means Orwell which was right, which also bothers me because I just made a reference to Orwell, BUT I got wrapped in the thought that school is almost done! So here's to that amazing summer that I have been anticipating since Christmas.
Cheers to only two more days of school!
Cayla

i regarded the world as such a sad sight

until i viewed it in black & white

why yes, boston, i would like to stay forever.

cheers,

lauren

from where I'm swimming

arizona looks pretty good in the spring. it's the only time that anything actually looks alive. the bushes all have their little drought resistant flowers and all our weird colored trees are dropping irritating pollen everywhere. there is about 450,076 birds running around my yard and tweeting at the top of their little bird lungs. A mommy bird is settling into her nest, taking a well deserved rest after raising 2 babies in a matter of weeks. I know this because I was watching them everyday. bird stalker. well anyway I went swimming today, which is when I made all of these observations. through sunglasses of course, because everything seems to look a little bit better tinted. maybe it is because the sun is blinding coming off of the pool decking, so that is the only way you can see, or maybe everyone just feels better/cooler when they are wearing sunglasses. I believe it is the latter.
see, ahwatukee is surronded by big brown mountains, and after about 14 years of staring at the same brown mountain and the same gray bush and the same pale green tree you really start to get sick of it. there are very few spring weeks when everything is in bloom and everyone is having allergy attacks, so you really have to savor them.
While there is always a shortage of green here, there is never a shortage of birds that want to hurt me. It seems like every bird in AZ is somehow plotting my demise, be it those terrifying crows that are getting just a little too close (and too big), those kamikaze pigeons that dive bomb me at lunch, or run-away parakeets that send me on a wild parakeet chase around my dad's neighborhood, they all have it in for me.
let me take this moment to tell you how much I love Pandora radio. I just type in the artist I like- Owl City -and it picks out other bands that I will like - Death Cab for Cutie and Relient K -unfortunatley it does not always follow this path, occasionally it will play some not so great bands- Boys like Girls, All Time Low, JUSTIN BIEBER -I know, I was just as shocked when it happened too, I couldn't get to the thumbs down button fast enough and I actually had to stop listening to Pandora for a while. (AH you though I wouldn't recognize a RUN ON SENTENCE!) but usually I really like it and have discovered a lot of new bands! Always good!
so this has been sufficiently random, probably all that cough medicine I took for my Tb-esque cough. it's awesome. I guess I'll be signing off now, hi to lauren in boston!

cheers,
cayla