Saturday, April 27, 2013

my best friends.

...are beyond awesome.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... the only thing I will miss about Montrose High School will be my best friends.

last night Sam, Kelsey and I had a crazy muddybuddymaking-carstalking-drivingaroundtown-sarahamoviewatching-sleepover. (just kelsey spent the night). I don't think I've laughed that much, or screamed that loud or had that much fun in months. best friends that have crazy dance parties in the middle of my kitchen, who eat a WHOLE batch of muddy buddies in a matter of 6 hours, who can drive in a car in complete silence and not feel awkward, who can tell each other anything.... yeah, those are the kind of friends I have, and I feel so blessed.











I love them so much. seriously, my best friends are the most wonderful people I could possible wish for in my life!

Sincerely,
Erica Michelle

Thursday, April 25, 2013

10 things.

well... here we go. a quick update on what's going on.

1. first and foremost:
I have 23 days until I graduate, 18 days until I'm done with school, and 13 days of school left.
i. cannot. wait.

2. today was my last home tennis match. ever. definitely bittersweet, but I'll worry about that more next week after regionals is over.

3. orchestra is wonderful this semester (:  we are playing the funnest songs! les mis, pirates of the carribean, and mission impossible........ be jealous

4. everyday I realize more and more how much I'm going to miss my best friends. on tuesday kelsey and I... how you sayyyy... took a field trip to starbucks. (;

vanilla bean frappuccino (yepp... no coffee for me)? delicious.



5. I am in love with Granite Flats on BYUTV. yes, it may be corny, but it is sooo dang cute!

 
6. tomorrow night Kelsey, Sam, and Kym are coming for a girls movie night. (kelly is touring her future college!) Just a night with these beautiful ladies...
the only thing I will miss about high school is these girls.

7. still addicted to Two Door Cinema Club.

8. my grades are slowly but surely getting better!! now, all that stands between me and graduation are a few (million) AP history test retakes, some intense stats homework and a huge project, a crapload of english, some useless american government, 4 more scholarships, and graduation practice (yes, MHS practices graduation... true story)

bring it on.

9. I finally sent out my graduation announcements... it's finally feeling real!

10. I don't think I've ever blogged about this... but last summer one of Zach's roomates and I talked quite a bit (a.k.a. every single day) and then last fall he left on his mission to Brazil. Well... he made me promise to write him (which I never really did, so...) and  it turns out that I am a crappy writer. (heck, I forget to write my own brother!). Well... finally, 7 months later, I wrote him a letter and Sam accompanied me to mail it (: oh, and sam blogged about our adventure too. her blog is adorbs too... just in case you need another beautiful mormon teenage girl's life to read about (:
(please ignore what i look like in this picture...)




anywho, that's it. now off to write an essay, study for an apush test, and maybe get some sleep! (the earliest I've gone to bed all week was 12:30, my average was about 2 a.m. however. no surprise, but I'm tired, and I look like it too.)

Sincerely,
Erica Michelle

Monday, April 22, 2013

prom 2013.

Prom was SOOOOOOOO fun, and my date, Jacob, was absolutely wonderful (:

We went with Katie and her date (Nate) and another couple (Davis and Caitlin) that I hadn't met before. but it turned out to be a night to remember!

First, we went to dinner at Nate's, then the Grand March, then the dance, drive in, and back to my house at 3 a.m. for breakfast! Anywho... I am a failure blogger and didn't take ANY pictures! So, I stole some of the one's that Jacob's parents had taken (:






And... that was that. It was absolutely SOOO MUCH FUN!!! And, a great end in the chapter of my life titled "high school dances". Basically, I got to spend ALL DAY getting ready, running to wal-mart, getting our nails and hair done, and just everything with Katie, then I got to spend the evening dancing like crazy with all these dorks that I call my best friends (:
oh, and my date was better than yours. just sayin (:



Sincerely,
Erica Michelle

 p.s. 16 more days of school and 26 days total until graduation!!... I need to go do homework so I don't fail some of my classes...





randomness.

Last week was CRAZY. tennis matches (I actually won one!), team dinners, penny surfing (yes, penny surfing). oh, and the choir competition on Friday. (yep... outstanding 4A mixed choir. love my choir)




well, I have very limited time, and I have an entire prom post to write, so this is all for this post!

Sincerely,
Erica Michelle

Sunday, April 14, 2013

FCCLA state competition.

This was by far the best FCCLA event I've been to (with the one exception of nationals obviously... nothing can beat Orlando, Harry Potter World, and the beach). Obviously there are multiple reasons it was so great... so here they are (:

Four of us went: Me, Sam, Caitlin, and Katie. (Sam left a day early for her sister's baptism though)

Here is Sam's post about FCCLA

The day started out snowing, leaving school on Wednesday at 10:30, and of course sour gummy worms, stupid stories, and some crazy laughing out loud moments the WHOLE way up. We even found the cutest lemonade bottles at a gas station on the way. I'm a blogger... I take pictures of my cute packaging.


Then checking into the hotel... Gosh Katie, bring enough stuff there (;


oooppss... accidentally locked her out. our bad.


Dinner consisted of Panera and of course Katie had to get a kids meal. It even came with gogurt!


Then shopping for breakfast foods and snacks! People do not realize how much food four girls can eat on an FCCLA trip.




Then swimming!! However... I was told to never post the pictures we took at the pool.... soooooooooo have a picture of me eating yogurt and granola. oh, and katie eating a whooosh cookie (inside joke, don't worry.)





Thursday meant Katie and I competing!!!



ya can't take a picture without have a few pre-posed pictures!


Our presentation went super well. Like, I've never felt that good about how a project has gone before, not even last year with "Hold a Child's Hand". The judges said they wanted us a children. yeah, no big deal.

Then lunch at Woody Creek. and handing out our "you're attractive, pass it on" cards. they've sorta become a tradition because of Nationals.





THHHEEENNNN A PICTURE WITH MOSES!!!! Remember Yarnmione from Orlando? yep... that was this guy. frienemies, (friend-enemies) last year because Montrose beat him twice in Advocacy (sorry moses, I couldn't leave that part out) but now we're basically BFFs. It's whatevs.


Right around this time we found out that Katie and I were one of the top four teams in our event, and would have to do a runoff presentation on friday!


Then of course came opening sessions Thursday night! Because I was district president, I got to present our district on stage!


The motivational speaker was the best I've ever had. And you know what? I've heard about 11 before this. Scott Backovich. Look him up. Absolutely amazing, hilarious, but motivating. He talked about how we always need to help others, even when everything is going great in our lives. ugghhhh, it's just hard to describe the feeling you get after amazing speakers. Even a blog does not credit.


Then was our spa night! (although, it didn't end up being that exciting because we were all super tired.)

it's hard to smile with masks on ok? don't laugh.


Friday came along which meant wishing Caitlin and Sam good luck on their presentation and getting ready for round two of ours.

they were 2 hours behind.
so we sat there.

and waited.

and waited.

and got starbucks.

and waited.


The second presentation went pretty well... not as good as the first time, but we were still pretty confident any ways.

Then we went back to the room for a few hours. Then the workshop, Rachel's Challenge (that was my last blog post). I can't even tell you how much that meant to me. It sounds corny, but I seriously think it changed my life a little. It definitely changed my perspective on things.

Sam had to leave, but the three of us got ready for the banquet and dance!!



FCCLA dances are the best. Obviously, once again, nothing can compare to the dance at the Gala at nationals, but just FCCLA dances in general are the best. You just dance like an idiot and it doesn't matter because you don't know anyone. ANNDD you are instantly friends with everyone. And it's just fantastic.

Then came Saturday... the awards. Caitlin and Sam got first! and then Katie and I waited and waited to be called. Finally... GOLD FOR MONTROSE. We stood there with like five other teams, waiting to see if we got first and therefore would qualify for nationals.


And there is was.

First Place Gold.

year two.


And then we drove home! Which involved some qdoba and this insanely awesome soda machine.



And then we got home!


Since there really is a posibitity I won't get to go to Nationals because I'll be working three jobs and because my parents paid for the big trip last year, I guess this will be my mini-FCCLA goodbye post (trust me, if I go to Nationals it'll be worse... and if I don't get to go to nationals I'll still probably do an ode-to-fccla post anyways.)

FCCLA was the best choice I made in high school. It really was. Through Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America I held many leadership positions, participated in very wonderful programs (particularly last years "Hold A Child's Hand" and this year's "The Tribe") and met many many wonderful friends. I still want to be involved in FCCLA however possible for the rest of my life. Every teenager should have a chance to learn and experience everything I have through the last four years.
I guess I'll shut up now before I get all depressed and whatnot.

But if you're reading my blog, and you're in high school, and you have the chance to join FCCLA DO IT.

so there we go. Gold again, plus a fantastic overall trip. I could not be more grateful for this experience and for my wonderful Advisor and her husband and for these wonderful girls (:

Sincerely,
Erica Michelle.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

rachel's challenge.

I was going to save this for tomorrow's post all about state, but I honestly think that it deserves it's own post. during the conference there are workshops that you can go to. usually we skip the workshops for shopping, competing, or sleeping... but for whatever reason we decided to go to one workshop this year. the workshop was called Rachel's Challenge.

if you read nothing else of this post, go watch this video.

I have never felt so moved by a speaker or a workshop before. It opened my eyes to the world around me, and in all honesty, made me think about how I'm treating others. If I'm noticing the people that I should, if I'm talking to the people I should. It helped me realize that there is so much beyond myself. I cried through the whole workshop... if I could do anything over, I would go to that workshop again and again.


So yes, I accept Rachel's Challenge.



exciting news // music.

well, I got back from FCCLA state and then immediately went to the Pavilion to play in a quintet (is that the word?) for the CASA benefit. let me tell you people... I am tired.



well... I do have very exciting news however!

WE GOT GOLD!

AND WE QUALIFIED FOR NATIONALS!!

yep... year two(: remember how we went to Orlando, Florida last summer for FCCLA nationals? Yep, this year Nationals is in Nashville! So... yes. All four of us (that's right, both Montrose teams) qualified, and yes, we totally and 100% plan to attend (heck, I'm not going to girls camp or trek this year, so why not?!?).

Maybe I should rephrase that sentence. We plan to attend as soon as we find a way to fundraise for a large majority of the money. So... yeah. But check out the hotel that we'll be staying at!!!

Note: this is the INSIDE of the hotel. holy crimony.





(google images)

So... yeah. I'll write a ton more about our little trip to Denver for State Competition. As soon as I get some pictures uploaded. At this point I feel like wrapping up in a blanket and watching Brave. So that's what I'm going to do.

But before I do that, I have wanted to update ya'lls on my current obsession of music. In reality, I've owned their first CD since the day that one of their songs was free on iTunes like a year ago. And their second CD didn't disappoint either. But for the last couple of months or so, ALL I DO is listen to Two Door Cinema Club.


So, yeah. Anywho. Hope everyone is having a fantastic day, and my State Competition will be up soon! (hopefully tomorrow). I just thought I'd let everyone know about our wonderful GOLD MEDAL!

Sincerely,
Erica Michelle