Patiently waiting...

At least my entries are a monthly thing right? And considering it takes me at least a day to simply text somebody back i'm pretty proud that I remember the simple fact that I have a silly little blog to post random thoughts and feelings on. (Did I mention the fact that I have the memory of a gold fish?)

So what's happened in the last month or so? Quite a lot actually. Halloween feels like a lifetime ago and this year has gone by way too quickly!
School has been tough :/ Although I'm taking one less A-level than last year, it's still a lot more work to juggle. Stress never seems to stop. I might as well make it a welcome mat and tell it to make itself at home even though it seems to already have done so in my life.
I'm way behind on wider reading and making revision notes from my class notes but that's what the two weeks of christmas holiday are for right? Well that and stuffing my face full until I can't see my toes...and then spending the rest of the year complaining about how unfit I am followed by a crazy new year's resolution to work out more that will last about two weeks tops. But maybe I might actually find a regime I can stick to this time round? I sure do hope so so I can actually go through with my 'minus/plus freshmen ten' theory.
Oh dear...I get off topic way too easily!!

Anyways...

WHAT I DID IN NOVEMBER (and December so far):
-Bonfire Night celebrations
-Attended my last official annual stake youth convention weekend (with a Disney themed dance!!) My convention > your convention
-went ice skating with my lovely young women
-attended an amazing Imagine Dragons concert... Check them out!! (awkward company but I was very nearly in the front row and I sang my heart out)
-had mock exams (basically mid-terms...I think)
-finally recieved my converted high school transcript (pretty proud of my 3.8 GPA...I hope BYU approve ,too!)
-saw Catching Fire (I will have to write a post just about The Hunger Games some day soon)
-celebrated Thanksgiving with my adorable group of friends (a very bittersweet evening)
-celebrated Thanksgiving with my family. (McKay even came down from Uni for the day)
-FINALLY finished my application to BYU and successfully sent it off (I got so stressed about the essays)
-Decorated the house for christmas
-Bought AND wrapped all of my christmas gifts, and my family's gifts
-trying to survive the flu season...and starting to be unsuccessful
-trying to be patient regarding waiting for BYU Provo and Idaho's decision
-painfully searching high and low and applying everywhere for a job (without success so babysitting it is for now...which does actually pay better only con is that it's not an easy job just to depend on)
-getting into the Christmas spirit!! :)

Life really can get busy but it's very important to remember the things you have been blessed with. I'm so grateful for having the gospel in my life and the example of those around me such as my wonderful parents and amazing seminary teacher (who sometimes only teaches me when the other two students aren't around but still does an incredible job). Don't forget to also remember the Saviour this season and how much our Heavenly Father loves us all. Merry Christmas.

Yours truly,
Reilly

Life is what you make it :)

Maybe I should just have a goal of posting a monthly entry? At least I would fulfill that!
This past month has been great! I have done so much with so many people and in so many places. Also: my BYU application is nearly done [= less stress in my life = YAY!!!!] I just have to decide what to write my essays about {I do have a few ideas running through my mind don't worry}... and then actually write them of course.
The last week of October was half term which means I had the week off from school. Obviously I tried to make the most out of the week by a) spending as much time as possible with my friends b)not doing too much work and c)relaxing *ahem* being lazy (so overall it was a great week). My mom was gone for the week since she went to visit my grandparents in AZ so I was the mini mom for the week :) Luckily my dad is amazing and fed us pretty well (the only time I had pizza was with friends!).
On Monday I helped tidy the house, attempted to sort out my school work and made some wonderful Halloween themed treats (candy corn cookies anybody??) and carved pumpkins with the family for FHE.

On Tuesday my friends and I went to Screamfest. Basically you pay to go to a local adventure farm and be scared by scary people. It's been our little Halloween tradition for two years now. But this year we decided to sort of dress up by painting our faces. Most of us did little eye make up bats and ghosts and creepy trees whereas I and my friend Chrisi did full face paint. She was a zombie and I was a skeleton. Unfortunately all the good photos were taken by my friends so please excuse this bad one :) It was an awesome night and I really am going to miss all these crazy kids if I end up studying across the pond.

On Wednesday I went to Liverpool with my friend Laura. It was my very first time there! We went with a group of kids from the local youth clubs (some of which I volunteer at). It was superb! Did I mention we saw THE yellow submarine??? Firstly we visited the maritime and black history museums and absorbed as much knowledge as possible. After that we needed a bit of retail therapy and went to a super huge outdoor mall. It was gorgeous! Very metropolitan. Of course we spent a large amount of time in the country's second largest Primark and after debating on what I should buy, I walked out with a new superhero t-shirt and some super cute overalls that I adore.

On Thursday I went ice skating with the wonderful church friends from around Birmingham. They are the most wonderful young men and young women I have in my life and I am so grateful I have gotten to know them. They make me laugh and cry and are great listeners.

After that, I went to a Halloween sleepover at Laura's house. We watched about 5 different movies including The Woman in Black and The Uninvited as well as some classic Disney movies (we thought monsters inc. was a suitable Halloween movie).

On Friday after my dad picked me up, we went to a small world war 2 museum in Lichfield since Haydn (the 9 year old brother) loves anything to do with army. It was so nice to see him enjoy what he loves most!

On Saturday my momma came home!! It was so nice to see her again. It had definitely been a long week without her but I'm glad she was able to see her parents for a while (She hadn't seen them for about 2 years!). I went to the Barton Bonfire Night with Annie, Holly, Hannah and Laura. It was Doctor Who themed and Dick and Dom were there to host it! I loved the fireworks show and it was by far the best one they have had yet! I made sure to wrap up warm and bring my camera along.

 (the famous duo from the British side of my influence)

Well you can see that it was a great week!!

Since then I've been busy with school work and university applications (cross your fingers that BYU wants me!). Oh and my friends and I got McBusted tickets!! Pretty exciting stuff! The gig is just a few days before my birthday in May so I can't wait!! {166 days to go!}

Besides that, I attended yet again another youth multi-stake dance but this time it was Disney themed! :O 

Of course I dressed up as a Disney Princess (Cinderella obviously) and here are some pictures from last night:

Hope my attempt of making this more exciting worked!

By the way: I'm seeing the one and only Imagine Dragons on Friday... yes i'm super excited!!! Enjoy life and enjoy your week!

Lots of love, 

Reilly Michele

A month later...

Aaaaanndd....... I haven't been on here in a while (well a month isn't that long seeing as time flies by these days). I guess life got in the way. I can't say it's been crazy (because it hasn't) but it's not been a breeze either.
Senior year is weird! I don't hate it but I don't love it.
It's weird being the oldest and having to share the common room with younger students (which by the way is nothing like it is in the Harry Potter movies) in stead of being afraid of ruining the day of someone who is older and scary (Yes, that is how i used to define Senior High School students).
Because now i'm the scary, older, wiser student (well I thought the older students were wiser.. I probably am not), the responsible one that seems to have their life mapped out. Neither of which are true.
Although I have an idea of what I want to do with my life, it's just a matter of seeing if that is what Heavenly Father has planned for me. (I just reeeeaaallly hope that i'm on the right path... because I think I am. Which is a good thing right?).
I had a mock interview the other day (a school thing...I wonder if they have those in the states??) and luckily they didn't ask me where I would see myself in five years because i really doubt that I will be where I hope to be. (Remind me to look back at this in five years... and hopefully laugh about this).
Anywhooooo....
I really need to organise my thoughts and add pictures so I do not bore anybody (just myself at this point.. I'm not surprised that NOBODY is reading this randomness). That's right.. nobody. I'm not just a random loner in reality but also on the internet (yay me!).

Hello world!

So I finally did it. I joined the world of blogging! I have no idea what I should really say though. Considering I am blogging on the day I created this blog is quite an accomplishment considering the fact that I've had Twitter for nearly three years and I still haven't tweeted once (I have no idea what I could say in 140 characters that would be interesting or inspirational!). So what should I say? Maybe I could start with a simple introduction? Well I'm a High School senior in the middle of England (so that's sixth form for any Brits out there) and I'm applying to BYU in a months time. I've lived in the states, Germany and most recently the UK. I'm the only girl in my family alongside four very individual brothers that can really drive me crazy sometimes (I won't dare mention what brother number two did today). I do love them to bits though because they make me who I am. They teach me a lot as well! My parents aren't just the people who have helped me grow up but they're also the people that I can rely on the most. They're my best friends and they make me laugh like nobody else can. My Dad is an amazing person and I couldn't imagine having any other Father in the entire Universe. He keeps me sane and never fails to make me smile. He understands me better than I do sometimes. And my mother. There are too many words that describe how wonderful she is. She's the best teacher someone could ask for. She's so kind and caring and non judgmental and I probably don't give her enough credit. I just hope that one day I'll end up being somewhat like her. And even if it isn't much, I know that my kids will still have an awesome mom. You probably all think that I'm some weirdo that doesn't spend a lot of time socializing with people her own age but surprisingly I do. I just know that I'll know my family the longest and the best ,so I make the most out of it :) I hope we all do and if we don't then I hope that we all learn to.