Christmas in Harlingen!!

Yayyyy!!! 2 DAYS UNTIL I GO HOME TO CANADA FOR A WHOLE MONTH!! I cannot wait I cannot wait I CANNOT WAIT!! These past few weeks have been jam packed with lots of stuff, and this semester is finally coming to a close! I write a final today, in like, half and hour, and then my last final is on Wednesday morning, and then my flight home is immediately after that:) I waste NO time! This past weekend we really got into the Christmas spirit and and LOVE it!! Ok, so as most of you know, I am Miss TSTC, and lets just say this comes with its ups and downs... but this weekend was probably the best part so far!! I got the opportunity to be the queen in the Harlingen Christmas day Parade!! I was THEE queen!! I got to ride through the parade on top of a 2010 convertible corvette (which most people would go woooooooo sweeeeeeeeet, but I am clueless when it comes to anything car related. All I know was that it was pretty and it color coordinated with my outfit!)

So this happened Friday night! Maryn to the liberty of taking pictures throughout the whole process, starting with literally the second I stepped out of the shower.

 Just doing the hair and the make-up!

It is a pretty big process..

Finding an outfit..

Ready to roll people! Got my sash 'n all!

It's too heavy... :(

This is Mr. TSTC and I

Kind of blurry and dark.. but you get the idea.

So ya! This was a super cool night and experience and I was a lot of fun!! K, funniest story! Well, no, k, wait, First! It was so cool to ride through the packed streets of downtown Harlingen and have all the people see you, and immediately start copying your "queen wave" hahah sooo cute!! All the little girls wide eyed and yelling at you, "Merry Christmas Queen!!" haha "I love your crown queen!" Hahaha gosh, so adorable. My cheeks were so dead by the end of the parade I could not smile anymore! It seemed like a very long night, being at the parade by 5, and it didn't start until 7. We were seated on the car with our crowns on ready to roll at like, 6:45pm and we literally did not move an inch until 8:15, and the parade didn't end till like, 9:30, so needless to say, I had a very huge head ache, and a literal dent in my head from the crown! But, it was all worth it :)

Ok, so the funniest part of the whole night happened near the beginning of the parade! We had just barely begun driving down Jackson Street, and there was this one group of guys clustered on one corner of the block, and I didn't really take too much notice to them. I was just doing my thang, waving and smiling at the kids, when I hear one of the guys from the aforementioned group say, "Hey guys... guys! That's Taylor Swift!" I kind if chuckle to myself, thinking, "Ha! What a looser. You think THEE T-Swift would be on a Christmas parade float in Harlingen, Texas?" So I ignore them, and I keep waving and smiling, when I see out of the corner of my eye a mom who was standing near this group of guys look, over at me, then at the guys, then a me again, and then she shouts, "TAYLOR!! That's Taylor Swift?! Taylor, Taylor!! I NEED A PICTURE! Just ONE picture!!" As she's yelling this at me shes chasing my car down the street snapping her camera.So as this is going on, the group of guys are hearing and seeing this, and start yelling "TAYLOR! TAYLOR! It's Taylor Swift!!" So, just for fun, I turn to them, and give my biggest smile and wave to them. They went NUTS! Like, LOST it!! There leaping in the air and shouting to each other and at me, "TAYLOR!! We love you Taylor!! WE LOVEEEE YOOOOUU!!!" And as they are loosing their minds with excitement, that same mom pop's into my rear view site again and is still yelling.."I just need ONE picture Taylor! Just one!" HAHAHA So outrageous!  Good times :)

Alright! So that was Friday night, and then Saturday afternoon was our Christmas Day Party!! We had some people over for making gingerbread houses, which we made into a competition! We had lots of candy and food and music, and it was just a lovely afternoon!

We made a pretty decent mess :)

Our gingerbread village!!

Mine and Maryn's houses! Santa's cottage and his neighbor the Grinch! Note the skating rink in the backyard with baby gummy bear's skating away! F.Y.I we totally won the competition ;)

We may or may not have had more icing on each other than on the houses.. oops!

I love a good gingerbread house making day! And I can't wait to be home to do all the other Christmas festivities!! xxoo

Day 15: My Dream House!!

THE LAST DAYYY!!!!! This is day 15 of the 15 day challenge!! Holy smokers time sure flies when you have fun!! 

Ok, so today is all about my dream house! I have been thinking about it for a while, and I came up with a few necessities, or desires for my DREAM HOME. It hard though, because I love the look and feel of a big, modern, edgy house, but I ALSO love a cute and cozy feel... sooo I don't know those two can really, mesh well together, ya know?? But if it was a perfect world, where I got everything I wanted, my house would consist of a few keys points. Recently, hearing my mom and dad,planning the house that they're building I know what things like, "back splash" and stuff is now. Who would have thought?? Tiny details that matter.. huh. Lets just say I won't be discussing any of those minute details in the post :)

 I want a beautiful stone fireplace in a large sitting room, with cozy sectional sofas and foot rests. 

A GIGANTIC walk in closet would be so lovely!

I would love a wrap around porch with cute chairs and and a bench swing!!

I would also enjoy a large master bedroom with a king size bed!

I know it's not really realistic, or that practical, especially living in the coldest place on the planet, to have a huge wall of windows!! I think it looks so neat, but not gunna lie it would be freaky at night time, and it would be a pain to clean.I would settle for some huge double windows in each bedroom and kitchen :)

One day I will have my dream house, or something along the lines of a dream house, and I simply cannot wait!! xxoo

Day 14: Pictures that I Love

It is the second last day of my 15 days challenge!! And today is pictures that I love, which is hard to pick because, a) I have a lot of favorite pictures, and b) I only have a limited selection of pictures on my computer here to pick from. I guess that makes it easier, but whatever, here are a few of my favorite pictures!

This picture is pretty self explanatory. My baby sis Avery with her baby mushroom cut. Gosh she is adorable! The whole tongue thing is priceless.

I love this picture of me and my cousin Kels. I just love her shes so cute. I just love this picture because it encompasses our relationship! And out matching hats. Skating at Grandmas. LOVE it!

AAAAHAHAHAHAHAH yessss. Another personal fav. Our family reenactment of the nativity at Christmas time. Our costumes, out characters, our donkey... :)

                                                                I love this family picture. Classic!

                                    This is one of my favorite pictures from grad 09!! I love my girls.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand another favorite from grad. This is the aftermath of me stepping on Hilary's foot with my pointy heels, and then she stepped back onto Jessica's dress which ripped...? All of this happeing while balancing on a stone wall! I think that's what happened. Regardless, I just love that I am grinning for some odd reason as the others are assessing the damages. Another classic.

I am re-living some high school days I guess, but I have always loved this picture. Me and my buddy Jason Lang. Yes, Jason, a boy. Matching hair!! I miss that hair of his :)

This is my roommate Becca, who attempted to spell her name in the sand.. but somehow she SPELLED IT WRONG!! Haha "what the I spelled my name wrong!" ahhhh I love you Becca.

This was during our spring break Texas extravaganza! I just love this picture with the beautiful ocean and sky and roommates! xxoo

I love my hair. It does cool stuff. Like this. This is what my hair does when I blow dry it straight. It's rebellious. I just love this picture.

                           I don't know if this is real, but I LOVE the baby puppy in the hot dog bun.

Our very first torrential down pour in Texas, so we dropped everything and ran out into the parking lot to enjoy it!! SOAKING wet, POURING rain, LOOOOOVE it!

 
I love this picture too because it is our family Christmas caroling tradition! This is on Candy Cane Lane, and its snowing and beautiful and I love my family and I love my grandpa!! Just so jolly on this picture!!

Just a few of my most favorite pictures that I love :) xxoo

Day 13: Goals

I think that goals are a realistic thing to set, but for some reason I am not too good at it!! I think some of my goals include, obviously, graduating from the Dental Hygiene program here in Texas. That in itself encompasses a lot of goals too! Like, I set a goal to pass all of my exams. I set a goal to complete all my patient requirements and competencies. I set a goal to complete all my assignments and papers on time and to the best of my ability!
It is my goal to take violin lessons once I graduate and am settled because I have always wanted to play it!!
It is also my goal to take some ballroom dance classes too. I would love to do it like I did before with competing and stuff, but even if I just take recreational lessons for fun I would be so happy!
Ummm man, this is a tough thing.. I don't really know what other goals I can talk about...?
I guess, it is my goal to pay off all my student loans ASAP when I get home.
It's my goal to try and grow my hair out as long as I can :) haha
 ok, well, this is a boring post, so imma wrap it up!
Keep it real y'all! xxoo

Day 12: What I Believe

Today is Friday November 26th!! Already??! Man, time flies! We don't have school today thanks to American Thanksgiving, so we are just enjoying our 4 day weekend! I am thankful for Thanksgiving :) Oh! Maryn made this great thing this week! On Monday, at our Texas parents house, we had FHE and Maryn took us one at a time into the back room and recorded us saying something we were thankful for. Then she made it into a video like the Mormon Message video, and played it at Thanksgiving dinner :) It was spectacular!

Anywhoooo.. today's post is on what I believe in! Well, as previously stated in another post, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints! So I have a strong testimony of the gospel and it encompasses all that I believe in! I not only believe, but I KNOW that if it weren't for the gospel in my life I would be so lost. I know that I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me, and that we are all children of our Father who loves all of us!! I know that my Heavenly Father has a plan for me, and for everyone, and He knows what I need in my life. I have such a strong testimony of prayer, and that when I pray, there is someone listening, and that He cares, and that He will always answer my prayers in His own time.

I know that God has a living prophet on ther earth today, President Thomas S. Monson, and that he receives revelation for the church from Heavenly Father. I know the Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God and restored the church on the earth as we know it, and that he translated the Book of Mormon. I have a strong testimony of The Book of Mormon and I KNOW that it is true and that it is the keystone of our religion. I believe that is is so important for me to read it everyday and to study and ponder its words.

I am so grateful for temples!! I LOVE the temple and I know it is so important to live everyday so I am worthy to enter it always! I love that I know that my family can be together FOREVER and ever because of it :) :) :) I know that my Savior died for all of us so that we can be here today, and so that we can repent and try our best to make good decisions. I love my Savior and am so grateful for Him and His sacrifice for all of us.

"I believe in the Savior Jesus Christ, I'll honor his name! I'll do what is right! I'll follow his light! His truth I will proclaim!!"

Day11: Fav TV Shows

Ok, so today is about my favorite TV shows!! Which, unfortunately, I have quite a few of!! :( You would think due to my class schedule, Miss TSTC duties, clinic and study time, I would have very little time for TV shows. Well, you'd be wrong. I somehow manage to follow a few too many shows these days. Of course I just watch them online, but still, toooooo many. Lets see, I follow...

            Modern Family - SERIOUSLY funniest show ever! I do not feel bad for following this one :)

I also follow Grey's Anatomy and House! Come on, who doesn't follow a hospital show right??

I like to watch Glee, and One Tree Hill. The very first semester down here Maryn introduced me to Season One of OTH, and the rest it history. I couldn't stop. This season of both Glee and OTH are both LAME compared to previous seasons, so I just don't know why I even bother. I'm just waiting for something amazing to happen I guess..!
I like to watch 90210 and How I Met Your Mother, which again, pretty much just a waste of brain space, I'll admit it. Sighh.. this is just embarrassing. Whenever there is a season of Dancing with the Stars , or The Bachelor/Bachelorette... yes. I watch those too. I think that's about it.. Oh! Psych! I watch The Vampire Diaries too. Ooo that's a good one though!

Ok, I'm beyond embarrassed by this extensive list.. But, I thought I'd just be honest and confess my deepest secret love! I will try my best and cut it down... :)

Day 10: What I am Most Scared Of!

Alright, so today is Wednesday November 24 and it is 2 weeks from today that I will be flying home  for a whole month! I really cannot wait any longer! This is day 10 of my blogging which is a miracle I've stayed so on schedule! Ok, todays post is on what scares me the most. Hahah well I guess I will do just that, pick the thing that scares me THE MOST! Because there are many a things that scare the bajeebers outa me!

BUGS!! Creepy-crawlies, big bugs, little bugs, (mostly big ones) they are just so WRONG! They are so .. so creepy! I don't even have any good descriptive words to describe my feelings towards them. When there is a bug in our house, I can't even squish it with a Kleenex... or smash it with a shoe or capture it at save it or whatever... it's a problem. Living in south Texas means a lot of different creepy crawlies, including my best friend the cockroach. I little while ago I had an incident with a bug. I was soundly sleepy in my bed, thinking I was safe and snug as a bug! (no pun intended ;) psych, I intended the pun ) Anyways, I was just sleeping away, when I was awoken by a slight tickle on my arm, and a light "hiss hissssssssss" sound. I instinctively just reach up to brush it off, thinking it was a stray hair tickling me or something, and just figured it was Maryn making weird noises in her sleep. But alas, my hand did NOT find a loose hair, and Maryn was in fact quietly sleeping next to me. My hand unknowingly brushed across a hissing cockroach, and my groggy brain quickly leaped into action. I literally closed my hand down on the roach, and flailed it across the room, where I heard it "smack" into the wall and land who knows where! So picture this: there I am, stunned with fright in my bed, in the dark, heart racing and me not knowing where this creature landed, and if it was alive, dead, or just mildly wounded due to my crushing attempt! After about 20 seconds in this state, I pulled off my blanket and in about 3 large bounding leaps hopped from my bed into the bathroom to quickly flick on the light. I couldn't see very good, due to my contact-less eyeballs, and swiftly scanned the floor. Just a few inches in front of the bathroom door way where I was standing crawled this hissing mad cockroach. At this point I'm so frightened that I can barely think straight, and I panicked. I needed something to kill it or trap it, and I came up with a blank! I grabbed the first thing I saw under the bathroom sink, which was a bottle of Clorox bleach! So I mustered up the courage to make the move, and I stepped forward to.. to... do something I guess! I didn't really know at the time what I was going to do, because I didn't know if cockroaches could fly, or jump high, or whatever, so if I attacked it, who KNOWS what it could have done to me!! Anyways, so here I am, standing in the doorway, one hand holding the bleach bottle, the other hand covering my mouth, literally, to hold back my screams, and adrenalin rushing. I eventually stepped forward and slammed the bottle down on the little guy, and then twisted that bottle and crushed that bug so hard and so far into the carpet that it was not going to be recognizable. After that I just left the bottle on top of the bug and didn't look back. He was way dead. Poor guy. What a traumatic death. Anyway! So now the task of getting back into my bed. For all I know the rest of the cockroach family was nesting in my sheets, and I was so freaked out. So I grab my sheets and blankets and fling them about to shake out anything left in there. In hind-site, that was silly because I would be flinging the roaches onto Maryn's bed... woops! Sorry Mar! Anyhoo.. so, lets just say, crawling into my bed was a real nightmare, and falling back asleep following this attack.. well.. not easy. All in all, bugs are nasty, inappropriate and they just... violate people! Seriously, I felt so vulnerable and violated by these and theres not much we can do about it!!

Oh! haha funniest part of the whole story probably was the next morning, Maryn says to me, "oh man I had the weirdest dream last night! I dreamed that you were standing with a bleach bottle in the bathroom..? It was the weirdest thing!" HAHAHA no no, Maryn, that was not a dream. IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED! AND YOU SLEPT RIGHT THRU IT!!

 Ya. Huge. Hahah I SWEAR it was bigger before I smushed out its guts!

Bugs scare me.They tick me off. It's dumb to be so frightened of such a small baby creature...

Day 9: Ipod on shuffle... first 10 songs

1. La Camisa Negra - by Juanes? HAHA I'm really happy this is on my ipod.
2. Picture to Burn - Taylor Swift
3. Since You've Been Gone- Kelly Clarkson
4. I Want it That Way- Backsreet Boys
5. Somewhere Over the Rainbow- ?
6. Mary Did You Know- Clay Aiken
7. Diva- Beyonce
8. Falling for You- Colbie Caillat
9. Cowboy Casanova- Carrie Underwood
10. Did You Know- Kelly Clarkson

Well that is an embarrassing, random list of song..

Day 8: A Place I've Traveled To

February 2009 I got to travel to Mexico on a cruise!! It was the first time I've been outside of Canada and first time on a plane so it was way exciting! I went with my friend from high school Hilary so it was obviously a blast! I went the day after my 18th birthday, and this was literally one of the BEST WEEKS of my life! We started the cruise in L.A. and stopped in 3 different ports. Mazatland, Puerta Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. These were neat places. I loved being on the cruise ship probably more than getting off on the ports! There was pools, hot tubs, 24/7 buffet (yikes!), performances, karaoke and lots of cool stuff. Everyone needs to experience a cruise at some point in their lives, unforgettable.

 Our ship! The Sapphire Princess :)

 MY FIRST TIME TO THE OCEAN!!

This was a wonderful trip! Now that I live in Texas so close to the Mexican border, (Texico, as we call it), I probably wouldn't go on a Mexico cruise again, but would be so interested in any other cruise, including an Alaskan cruise and a Disney cruise. Those are on my to-do list!

Day 7: Favorite Movies!!

Yikes this one is going to be tricky to narrow down to a few favorites. I seriously love ALL movies so much. I love watching movies at any time, and I love everything from romantic comedies, to scare-your-pants off scary movies!

1. Ghost Town! Hil-ARIOUS movie, I could watch it over and over again and not want to turn it off. The main guy in it is unreal funny. So so great. Everybody watch it. 
2. Baby Mamma! YESSS classic. Classic. 
3. Harry Potter 7!! Just saw it twice this weekend, and I'm ready for round 3!! I like all Harry Potter movies :)
4. I love Mulan. Ever since I was little I always said it was my favorite movie, and I still love it. I love all Disney movies of course too.
5. Just Friends!! I LOVE Ryan Reynolds, sooooo ya. Pretty self explanatory. So hilarious.
6. Elf!! Elf Elf Elf! I love all Christmas Movies. Like The Holiday, Four Christmas, THE GRINCH! Yay!!
7. Anne of Green Gables series.
8. I love all musical movies. Mulan Rouge, Harispray.. etc etc.
9. Gosh this is like, hard!! I seriously love all movies, and I can't think very good right now! Maybe should have written a list of movies I don't like.. a little easier. I love any movie with Denzel Washington.
10. The Proposal, The Blind Side, Avatar, all the Barbie Movies. Gosh they are good! Thank goodness for little sisters. It's a good excuse :)

Ok, I understand I'm not very good at the whole "list" thing. But you get it! There are very few movies I dislike, and to be honest I probably waste a lot of precious time watching movies, rather than being productive. I'll admit it! 

Day 6: Songs that make me cry and why..!

Well today's post is asking me for ONE song that makes me cry.. which is a toughy. A LOT of songs make me cry! Most any church song makes me emotional, Christmas songs tug on my lil heart strings too. Any song that talks about people dyeing, or leaving, or even love songs! Obviously.I'm a sap.

Crying in a song is really dependent on what kind of mood I am in. If I feel sad, or mad, or homesick, or really happy, then certain songs will make me cry. I really feel that music can speak to us in ways nothing else can! And that's just why I love it so much!

Well, when I saw what this post was about, I thought of a couple songs, including "We're in Heaven (911 Remix)" by DJ Sammy, and "Here Come's Goodbye" by Rascal Flatts, or "You Can Let Go Now Daddy" by Crystal Shawanda, or "Don't Take the Girl" by Tim McGraw. A lot of songs are tainted by memories or feelings, and hearing certain songs bring back those feelings. So one song that I really love, and can make me cry if the time is right (haha which is always) would be "Broken" by Lifehouse. To be honest, I don't know why it does, but it does! I could listen to it over and over again and not get sick of it!

I love all songs. :) Ok, so it is 8am on a Saturday morning. I could not sleep in for some reason, so now I'm UP and ready for the day. We have a bridal shower to go to at 11, and then I have to present at a new student orientation at 1:30, can't wait. Then perhaps a relaxing afternoon doing who knows what??

18 days :) xxoo

Day 5: Pictures of things I like..

I LOVE a winter day, with the frost covered everything! This picture pretty much captures it :)

I love ballroom dancing and miss it every single day! This makes me happy to just look at it!

Yup.

  I do not play the guitar, but I think it is one of my favorite instruments to listen to someone play and sing!

I like ice skating A LOT a lot!

KING SIZE BED! I feel everyone should experience sleeping on one of these. You can sleep in any direction or at any angle and STILL fit!! It's spectacular. 

I enjoy lotions, especially this particular type. As well as Vaseline for my lips. Nothing beats it!

I REALLY like toe rings and beautifully painted toes! I love colorful nail polish too!

The last thing I'll share, but certainly not the least, is the very best flavor of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.. half baked! A perfect combination of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, cookie dough and brownie pieces! 

"...These are a few of my fav-or-ite thiiiiingssss!"