When the going gets tough...

This week started out pretty interesting.

The ultimate low of the week was definitely on Tuesday--and yes, I can say that even though the week isn't officially over. Nothing this week could be any worse than Tuesday's mishap. I won't go into detail, but I will say this much--I would be a mess without my family by my side! I am so thankful for my sweet family. My parents are always supporting me and comforting me unceasingly. Whenever something happens and I don't know what to do, the first place I know I can call is home. Tuesday, I found myself in a situation not knowing what to do. I immediately called my parents, and my mom and dad talked me through everything. I love them so much!

My sisters mean the world to me.

When I got home, Kumi was such a sweetheart and had bought me some delicious hot cocoa and donuts to make me feel better (nothin' like some sugary sweets to brighten up my day). That is very like Kumi to think of others first. She is always willing to help out whenever someone needs a friend. For the past 4 to 5 months, life has been a bit of a rollercoaster, and Kumi has been the best friend to me, always willing to listen.



Misa is such a cute girl! She amazes me every day. She is the youngest four sisters, yet she has been the greatest example to us. She never hesitates to show someone she loves them. She loves to talk to people and share stories (sometimes they get pretty long, but they are always great)! I have to admit sometimes we are a bit hard on her sometimes. We tease her a lot, but aren't all of the youngest teased by their older siblings? This is how sweet Misa is:

Our family has this ongoing joke about how Misa always talks and by the end of her stories, nobody is paying attention to her anymore. She knows we're only teasing her out of love. My family will never forget this one night when we went out to dinner. Kumi started telling a story, and she realized nobody was paying attention. So she yells out, "Nobody is listening to me!!" And sweet little Misa says with her cute, caring voice, "I'm listening :) ." (It was kinda a "had-to-be-there" moment.) It was so adorable, yet so very funny! We all couldn't help but laugh.

^^Last but DEFINITELY not least^^, my best friend in the entire world without a doubt, Sachiko. She has always been the most amazing sister. She's such an example to me. She's smart. She's beautiful. She's healthy. She's not afraid of taking risks. She loves the gospel so much. She's one heck of a missionary. Anything I ever had questions about, I could ask her. (But it's a little hard to call her up anytime I want right now, she's kinda busy preaching the gospel...) She's always taking the reins on all our performances and recording our album and such. I don't know how she does everything. I am very proud to call her my big sister.

I have the best family in the whole world--NO BATTLE!

Blogging.

So. Blogging...is that even a real word? Let's investigate, shall we?...well would you look at that--IT IS! According to dictionary.com, blogging is:

To write entries in, add material to, or maintain a weblog.

[(we)blog.]
blog·ger n.

...the "n" means that word is a noun right? So...I guess now that I'm "writing entries in, adding material to, or maintaining a weblog" makes me...a blogger! I am officially a blogger.

What a strange word--blogger/blog. I wonder where it originated...WIKIPEDIA TIME! (See, that is the beauty of technology. Superfluous facts right at our fingertips!)

The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997. The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May of 1999. Shortly thereafter, Evan Williams and Pyra Labs used "blog" as both a noun and verb ("to blog," meaning "to edit one's weblog or to post to one's weblog") and devised the term "blogger" in connection with Pyra Labs' Blogger product, leading to the popularization of the terms.

...Interesting...

...Alright, so let's get blogging! I have to be honest. Technically, this isn't my first blog. I just now discovered that I had created one a while ago when I was most likely delirious--I don't recall ever having one. However, I'm not surprised that I don't remember. I have the memory of a GOLD FISH. Many of my friends can attest to that! So even though this isn't the first time blogging, I still don't understand how to make my posts interesting. So, please, bear with me!

I was talking with Spencer last night about blogging. It really is like keeping a journal, but without hiding the key to the lock. It's a new way of expressing yourself and keeping readers updated on what goes through your mind. I never thought I'd have a public "diary", but it seems like its a pretty popular trend, and not to mention a fun way to keep a journal, which I've been trying to do my entire life. So I think I'm going to take a dive into my brain and run through what's been going on in there, what do you say--Join me!

Yesterday was my 21st birthday. It was a great birthday! This past friday, I had the special opportunity to share my first experience at The Roof with my good friend Celery, you know who you are. Saturday night, I got to see Spencer rock out to some of the greatest funk jams! He is one talented rock star. At 12:00 a.m. on my birthday, I was surrounded by some of my most treasured group of friends--to name a few, Mike Van, Collin, Rich, Nate--I was especially happy to have Tyler in Utah for my birthday. That was the greatest gift I could have asked for. He even sang Happy Birthday to me in Japanese!! Sunday, I got to spend a lot of time with my sisters and my parents. My mom made a very successful pop-up pancake (aka, German pancakes), a delicious sushi dinner, and very scrumptious chocolate covered cake with a hilarious singing candle running low on battery.
I've been alive for 21 years and a day now. 21 YEARS! I thought about it today, and I don't feel like I've lived that many years. I realized, while serving a cute old couple some chips and salsa, that I want to start living it up. And when I thought to "live it up", these ever so true lyrics sung by Marshall Dyllon popped into my head:

Old Man Jones with all he knows
You never see him smile
You know he's sittin' on that big portfolio
It's clear that all that's on his mind
Is the top of the ladder and the bottom line
But he can take it with him when he goes

Poor old Jones he never learned to dance
I bet he'd trade it all for one more chance to

Live it up
There ain't no time to waste no time
And there ain't no better time to celebrate
Hurry up, oh can't you feel the urgency
There ain't nothing we can do when it's too late
And too late's gonna catch us soon enough
So let's live it up...

I have so many things, little and big, that I want to do. I don't want to end up like Old Man Jones. I don't want to regret never grasping an opportunity that is standing right in front of me. I want to be able to go to a dance and have a guy swing me around without hesitating because I don't know the steps. I want to be able to cook a delicious meal for a group of people, and actually have them enjoy it! I want to sing songs without any hesitation, whether it be because I'm shy or because I simply don't know the entire song.
I know these things can't and won't come all in one day. Little by little, I'm going to work at it. I want to be able to look back and be proud of myself for what I've accomplished in my life!
It's kind of like a diet: Tonight for my birthday dinner outting, my dad and I were talking about eating healthier. He said he's going to start tomorrow. Then I thougt for a second and just said..."Why not start TODAY!" Because we all know, tomorrow never comes. Let's all start today!

Sand keeps slipping through the hour glass
Everyday's more precious than the last, so

LET'S LIVE IT UP!

P.S.
Oh. And mister Craven, you're the one that got me on top of this so--This one goes out to you.