seminary. school. scholarship. tennis.

you see that tittle right there? yep. that sums up my entire last few weeks. Get up around 6:45, go to seminary, then school, then tennis, then come home (if I'm lucky... usually I have things to do after tennis), do homework, do scholarships, go to bed between 12-3 a.m. depending on my amount of homework and which scholarships are due. Really, if I get to bed before midnight, I consider it going to bed VERY early. And I've come up with the best time-saving methods. Braiding my hair before bed, waking up and eating breakfast like it was a race, then brushing my teeth then changing. On the way to seminary I take out the braid, put some hair spray when I get out of my car at the church, then after seminary put on mascara. and wall-ah... hello to looking like a hobo!!

So, like I said... I've been doing tons and tons of scholarships. AANNDD yesterday I heard back from the very first scholarship

{drumroll please}

I GOT IT!!

I was sooo excited!

Second, seminary (as always) is so much fun. and once again, my seminary teacher is better than yours. the end.

 we tied our selves together and went on an Easter Egg hunt! (then, the Easter eggs had scripture mastery's we had to look up... be jealous of my awesome seminary teacher, she is better than yours.) Sam blogged about it too.

then yesterday was the assembly. National Honor Society just concluded raising money for Pennies for Patients within our school... and because MHS rasied almost $850 we had teacher willing to do awesome things... dress up like Blanche from Streetcar Named Desire (that was my AP English teacher...), my sophomore Bio teacher who got a pie in the face thrown by his wife, and three coaches who agreed to do an obstacle course... that was hilarious. AANNDD I had to talk in front of the whole school, which was quite nerve-wracking, and is probably the reason I didn't join student council.

(picture from Gerke MHS FB page).


I then had a tennis match... which I lost in a tie breaker 5-7 :(

but, oh well!! the rest of the team won though, so it all worked out! After our match (mine took forever and a day) Kelsey, Me and my parents went to Qdoba, then Kelsey and I and some other friends went to the school play... let me tell ya, that was one of the funniest plays I've ever been to!

And last but not least... today is the first day of spring break!! So... that means that I'm off to clean, do homework, and complete some scholarships! yay for senior year *sarcasm*

Sincerely,
Erica Michelle

no-bake cookies.

sooo... I was thinking during church about Zach, and how I really miss his no-bake cookies (the only food he would make, that is) so I decided to come home and make them! First, let me tell you, I've tasted a lot of no-bake cookies in my day, and nothing beats the ones that Zach would make. Well, enough bragging about my brother's limited baking skills, I'm here to share the best recipe for no-bake cookies ever!

It's from an old (I mean OLD) ward cookbook!

No-Bake Cookies

2 c. sugar

2 T. cocoa

1 cube margarine

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. peanut better

3 c. quick oats

Pretty simple huh?

1. gather all of your ingredients and tools:

On top of the ingredients themselves, you'll also need measuring cups and spoons, stirring utensils, and a large pot.

2. Lay out your wax paper
(do it now, because when the cookies are done, they dry pretty quickly and you don't want to be stuck still trying to get out wax paper)

3. Measure out all your ingredients (but don't add them together)

 4. Add your sugar, cocoa, margarine and milk into the pot. turn the heat of a setting somewhere between medium and high (on my stove it was at 7). bring this to a hard boil for 90 seconds... NO LONGER. I stirred it occasionally.

after the 90 seconds, it should be a very very dark brown liquid. (I forgot to take a picture of this step)

5. Take off heat. Add vanilla. Give it a quick stir. Then add peanut butter and quick oats. Stir until it looks something like this:

6. Using a spoon, drop mixture onto the wax paper... you can do any size you want! you can also use cookie cutters, but remember that you have to wait until the cookies are cool to take off the cutters. Also, don't forget that this mixture will harden pretty quickly... don't leave it sitting on the counter in the pot while you go watch TV!

I used a BYU cookie cutter for one cookie, and a USA cookie cutter for another... other than that, I just used a spoon to drop the cookies on the wax paper!

7. Let cool for a few minutes, then enjoy!

*the whole process took about 20 minutes, and made about 26 cookies (amount of cookies would vary by how big you make them, however!)

These cookies just reminded me of Zach... not to mention that they were delicious!!

Sincerely,

Erica Michelle

tennis team dinner.

so, I know I've mentioned this... but I love my tennis team so so so so so very much. every year I wonder how the next year could be better, but somehow it always is. and last year is pretty hard to beat...

on Friday we had our first tennis team dinner at my house! ahhh, these girls (and manager) are soooo fun! the night was full of Just Dance 3, ping pong, fuse ball, sloppy joes, and harry potter.

ummm... yeahhh, I don't know either.

this is possibly the best picture ever.

this girl graduated last year, but she's back for spring break... so obviously we made her come!

a movie night without harry potter is no movie night at all.

and that was a night full of fun and amazingness! I am soooo blessed to have such a wonderful team to end my senior year with (:

Sincerely,
Erica Michelle

60 days.

 I can't believe it's coming so fast. I already have a million plans for this summer. All I have to do in these next 60 days is...

-Get all my grades up to A's.
-Not strangle anyone in my peasant classes. (I don't mean to sound all high and mighty, but people... what document was written on July 4th, 1776 to declare independence? I think 12th graders should know that. AND NOT GET THE ANSWER WRONG WHEN THE TEACHER ASKS THEM, OK??)
-Apply for these stupid scholarships.
-Get BYU Housing!
-Finish tennis season (which is not going super well at the moment.)
-Actually take pictures for advanced photography before I fail that class.
-Take all those annoying AP tests.and study for them.
-Apply for every summer job possible. (yes, I will need two jobs this year... college isn't cheap. The theater isn't a ton of hours.)
-Actually get a prom date (at this point, this is asking for a miracle I think.)

Well, this week I realized something. I think it is seriously the worst thing ever when someone isn't in love with the college that their going to. I mean, c'mon ladies and gentlemen, if you don't love the college, it won't be a great experience. All I know is that Sam and I CAN NOT WAIT FOR IT.

We are freakin' physicked for it! We have it all planned. She'll be in Heritage, I'll be in Helaman. We can cook all sorts of stuff at her apartment! Here we come (:

Sincerely,
Erica Michelle

tennis season.

wow! can't believe it's actually tennis time again... this year is flying by (but yet it seems like it's going so slow). Well, you know how I couldn't decide between tennis and orchestra? yep... I'm doing both. granted, I have no time anymore (I didn't really before, either), but I'm thinkin' it's worth it. these girls mean soo much to me, I can't believe that I've been able to be on a team with some of them for years.

the seniors!

we won our first match 4-3 (I won 6-1 6-0!!... though I won't be that lucky anymore probably) and we head to the first big event of the season tomorrow... western slope open! I'm so excited for an overnight trip with the team(:

this season is going to be the best!

sincerely,
erica michelle

10 things.

1. Last night I had a milkshake-making party (pictures seen above)... it was a success!

2. I officially have a roommate for freshmen year at BYU... her name is Kayla and I couldn't be more excited!!! After I joined the incoming freshmen page on BYU, she messaged me, we got to know more about eachother, and then we decided we would be the best roommates ever!

3. I'm so busy, it's not even funny.

4. I got a pair of yoga pants... ok, actually two pairs, and they are the best invention in the entire world. check that off my to-do list.

5. My best friend got an iphone! (Remember this girl?) #teamapple

6. Monday I was up until 4 a.m. (not exaggerating, ask my mom) working on the Marvin Gill Scholarship. Please? (needless to say, I missed seiminary and photography and choir on Tuesday). If I got that scholarship everything would be perfect. I will absolutely-one-hundred-percent-positively be able to do a full semester study abroad. Please Please Please??

7. It is 66 days until the last minute of high school (forget about counting down till graduation... I just want the last day of school)

8. I really really really want to read "How to Be a Hepburn in a Hilton World" but I'm not letting myself until I have an A in all of my classes. Stupid AP US History. My kind of motivation for school... not letting myself read books. It's killing me.

9. You know my FCCLA project with Caitlin, Sam, and Katie? Yeah... about that... It's going... interestingly.

10. THAT IS RIGHT FOLKS... this girl is #2 Singles on the MHS Tennis Team!!! (Hello getting dominated all season...) Finally... a singles spot! aannnnddd tennis team captain!!

Just my quite little check-in!

Sincerely,
Erica Michelle

best friends.

you know that point when you realize that something is going to change, and you just really really really don't want it to?

i guess i finally realized that. my best friends.

 Sam, Kelly, Kelsey, Kym.

let me tell you about us. kym, kelly, kelsey and i have been BEST FRIENDS since 7th grade. sam moved in 8th grade and joined the group (yes, i wasn't very nice the first couple of months... but since then she's become an amazing friend). and we're all going our separate ways.

maybe i should tell you about us. first of all, WE HARDLY EVER FIGHT. and i swear to you, 100% of our fights end within hours, and with an explanatory letter. (especially kelly and i, we've really only had one fight and it ended in chocolate and super long hand written letters). when we fight, we don't go telling other people stuff about each other, we don't post it all over facebook, we don't start any drama, etc, like most teenage girls. we know everything about each other. in 8th grade we filled up 4 composition books with just our notes to each other. we made a quilt together. but most importantly we've had the best memories.

people say they have the best best friends...

they are wrong. i do.

we were told to make a funny face... and the girls in the back couldn't decide on one, while kelsey and i were... just being our weird selves...

they're amazing. beyond amazing. i love them more than any other non-related people in the entire universe. and, yes i know we're all going somewhere else in a few months, but i know we'll always be friends.

i think if i had to choose one thing that scares me most about college, it's this:

i will never have these kind of amazing friends again. they've set the bar too high.

i love these girls, and i will never have these kind of amazing friends again.




Katie.

Katie is my other best friend. We grew up together... literally.

i'm not sure which one of my birthdays this was, but there's katie at the far right, and me next to her(:

this girl is amazing. i love her sooo much. and we hang out A LOT. and we just get along so well... i don't even know. i just love this girl (:

and there you have it. i have been blessed to have the most wonderful friends anyone could possibly ask for. and i'm going to miss them when i leave for college. so much.

sincerely, 
erica michelle