When The Dog Bites

Unfortunately, this feeling probably won't leave me until Monday... :/ I am feeling kind of done with high school and all of this drama, pressure, and frustrating friends... It's even making me sick! I have a cold and my voice is almost gone! Sigh.....

228 days until I graduate from high school!!! Is it sad that I'm already counting down? :)

Anyways, even though the dogs I know don't bite, whenever I'm sad I think of the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music (side note: this post is not to be confused with this post). This weekend, I need to cheer myself up so I put together a list of things I am going to do this weekend to keep myself busy and happy!

When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad... I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel... so bad :)

Backwards Z

Tonight was my Powder Puff game and I'm kind of pumped up right now!!!

YEAH SENIORS!

Unfortunately I need to learn how to write... My apologies for the backwards z... In my defense, I have to write everything backwards and flipped. So instead of writing SENIORZ I have to write ZROINES and every letter is flipped, as well.

Buuuttt... I promise my Zs will be fixed in the future :)

BTW: Powder Puff game is when the senior girls play (touch) football against the junior girls.

#1 babyy!!!

If you can't read my shirt....

Front:   SENIORS     #1 sign     Powder Puff

Back:   We didn't come here to end your world, we came here to rock it. #seniorzzz

Clever, huh? :)

Anyways, we won, per usual. I played center (if you don't know what that means go here). Basically I yelled hike and tossed the ball to the QB (again, go here if you're confused).

It was a lot of fun and I'm super pumped to be a senior :)

On a completely different note...

I just want to say thank you to all of my followers!!! You guys are AWESOME! Thank you so much for following my blog - it means a lot to me :) I love getting to know you guys so feel welcome to leave your blog address so I can check it out!! Also, I love button swapping... :)

To say thanks, I am doing a giveaway soon!!! I will post it sometime this week, so be sure to check it out and tell all of your blogging friends :)

Have a great rest of the week!

Nerd-o-Rama

HERE!

I am the featured guest blogger on Living in Yellow - the hilarious and down-to-earth blog from Erin! Erin is amazing - she's funny, sweet, and real. Go check out her blog now!!!

And now, onto the post...

 I am a major nerd. Harry Potter all the waaayy!!!

I'm wearing my Gryffindor T-shirt, my Luna Lovegood glasses, and my own special wand :)

 Hehe! Sorry for the mistake!

Do it.

Embrace your inner-nerd.

Everyone has some nerdish quality about them.

Don't be shy. Don't be embarrassed.

EMBRACE YOURSELF :)

I love to read, I love Harry Potter, I love playing Risk, I love to play videogames, and I actually like going to school and learning! (Shhhh.... it's a secret!)

#1  Black coffee for all you nerds??? We need some caffeine to help us through late-night papers, midnight videogaming, and weekend long comic conventions. Double espresso black is the answer.

#2  Top 10 Books Nerds Should and Like to Read...

• Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
• Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkein
• Eats, Shoots, and Leaves - Lynne Truss
• The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
• War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
• Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
• The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
• The Year of Living Biblically - A. J. Jacobs
• Heir Apparent - Vivian Vande Velde
• Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

#3

(Blouse, Jeans, Sweater, Suspenders, Glasses, Earrings, Shoes)

Have a great, nerdy day :)

Pumpkins, Picoult, & Plaid

 Lily is a sleepy puppy :)

Sorry for disappearing for 5 days..... :(

Buuuttt.. here's some autumn inspiration...

#1  Drinking coffee with a cool fall breeze is one of my favorite things about fall. Here are two delicious pumpkin coffee recipes:

PUMPKIN PIE LATTE

16 ounce mug

Double Espresso

2 pumps Monin Pumpkin Syrup

Fill with steam milk

Top with whipped cream

Dust with cinnamon/nutmeg

WHITE PUMPKIN SPICE MOCHA

12 ounce mug

Single Espresso

2 pumps White Monin Chocolate

2 pumps Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Whipped cream

Fill with steamed milk

Top with whipped cream and chocolate sauce

Dust with cinnamon/nutmeg

Enjoy!

#2  Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. Her writing is contemporary and easy to read, but filled with deep insight and research. I love that Jodi truly researches each book she writes in depth. I saw her live for an author event, and for her book Plain Truth about an Amish girl, she spent 3 nights with an Amish family.

Nearly all of her books make it on the New York Times Bestseller List and are always widely recognized. Her novels deal with intense issues, but she writes them with heartfelt compassion. How can you recognize a Jodi Picoult book? The ending. Every book has a dramatic plot twist at the end of the novel that affects everything and everyone.

Here are my favorites of Picoult's...

Plain Truth - an Amish teenage girl gives birth to a baby in secret and denies knowing its existence when the baby's body is found, so defense attorney Ellie Hathaway defends her in court

Second Glance - Ross, a suicidal widower, is a ghost hunter whose never seen a ghost until he meets the mysterious Lia who gives him a reason to live

Vanishing Acts - Delia has a young daughter, a fiance, and a bloodhoud used to search for missing people, and her whole world is turned upside down when she has flashbacks of a life she doesn't remember

My Sister's Keeper (my all-time favorite!) - Anna was conceived by her parents in a preimplantation genetic diagnosis for the purpose of helping her sister survive leukemia, until Anna wonders who she is and does the unthinkable, tearing her family apart

Nineteen Minutes (check out the book trailer) - Peter has gone through years of physical and verbal abuse, until one day he can't take it anymore and his one act of violence turns the town upside down in a trial involving his best friend from middle school

Jodi has written 18 novels in total and they are all amazing (those are just my favorites). But you should also check out Songs of a Humpback Whale, Harvesting the Heart, Picture Perfect, Mercy, The Pact, Keeping Faith, Salem Falls, Perfect Match, The Tenth Circle, Change of Heart, Handle With Care, House Rules, and Sing You Home.

#3  PLAID MANIA

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Nostalgia

Every year, right when the leaves start to change, I start to get this little pit in the bottom of my stomach and a little lump in the back of my throat. Nostalgia is the technical term for it. Basically, I realize that I'm getting older and the things that I once loved to do are now a thing of the past.

This year nostalgia is hitting me with 1000 bricks at once... This is my last year. Next year I will be off at college, not at home carving pumpkins with the family, raking leaves with my dog, or sipping coffee on the deck with my mom. I still will be home for major holidays, but it won't be the same. I won't be there for the weeks before and I won't be there for the weeks after.

Though I am so so so excited to get started on my own, I'm now understanding why not every high school kid doesn't jump on a five hour plane ride away from mom and dad. I'm starting to get a little nostalgic...

Things I Will Miss

 This is my best friend from kindergarten. We are still best friends today. I will miss seeing her everyday and laughing with her and receiving the perfect BFF advice. Next year will bring hours on this little invention called Skype (whoever invented it deserves a medal!)

 I will miss going to Vikings games to cheer my favorite team on!!! GOOO #28 ADRIAN PETERSON!!! :)

 Every year my dad and I (and sometimes Lily) run the Turkey Trot 5K race on Thanksgiving morning. I'm not sure if I will be able to do this next year, and I will definitely miss it and the training my dad and I do before it.

 I will miss being able to watch my goddaughter grow up. She is about 6 months now and I will miss seeing her beautiful face and seeing her all the time. She brightens my life.

 This is me :) I hopefully will still be able to open presents, but I will miss the weeks in preparation looking for the perfect gifts for my family.

Wasn't I a little fashionista as a kid? :) I will miss playing in the snow with my family and enjoying the cold Minnesota weather (well... actually...)

The person that I still can't accept I won't see everyday: my dog. Lily makes my day one million times better my just being near me. She is the best dog someone could ask for and I will miss her infinitely.

The ying to my yang, peanut butter to my jelly, the Tia to my Tamera... my baby sister. Though we fight a whole lot, I seriously will miss her like crazy. Just thinking about it gets my teary eyed, and once again the person who invented Skype is higher up than Mark Zuckerberg in my eyes.

Okay, onto the happy part. Since it is technically my last fall at home, I put together a bucket list of things I want to do...

Life According to a 17-Year-Old Girl