read more.

like last year, i have a goal of reading 20 books this year. last year i did 16, which is more than i read the whole time i was in college, i'm sure. i am fairly confident that i can beat that and even exceed my goal. probably because seven of the books on my list are the entire harry potter series. i think it's about time i reread those adventures.

i am more than welcome to any recommendations. i am terrible at finding new books to read.

life as a college graduate.

you must be wondering what i have been doing with all this wonderful free time i have now that i have no school [or work...please bless]. well, i will tell you. it has not been ill spent. for the most part.

hit up park city with some friends. no celeb sightings though. don't remind me.

brought out the jb calendar . bean museum fun with the kiddos. i had to put on a brave face for a snake sighting

new shoes. thank you santa for my tj maxx gift card . some relaxation inspiration

 a birthday dinner and some bff chats with leslie and sarah.

 date night with the men's volleyball team . best mug ever

relief society meeting... guess which treats are mine . fhe with niki #bestever

 and would you look at that. it's official.

resolute.

how have your new year's resolutions been going? i know i am feeling super great about mine. yes, it has only been a week but i'm doing things i wasn't doing a week ago so i am just going to own that success.

one of my goals is to rediscover my love for reading. i have a lot to catch up on and i do not get to use the lame excuse of school anymore as to why i never read. i have compiled a list from gina's bookshelf and i have already started on it.

i just finished extremely loud and incredibly close by jonathan safran foer. it was really great, i loved the writing style and the honesty. now i am reading black dogs by ian mcewan, one of my favorite authors. i love his use of words and descriptions, i have never been in such awe by the writing instead of the story.

i will post what i am reading on my sidebar as i read each book on my list. if you have any suggestions, let me know. getting a library card is high on my list of 'things i need to do when i get back to provo.'

less is more.

i am quite sure we would be best friends in real life.

via

resources.

my friends gave these to me.

thanks guys.

last first.

oh hey.

so would you like to hear about the last week and a half of my life? ok cool.

- drove back to provo.
- moved into my new apartment.
- reunited with my beautiful friends.
- went to my new ward.
- started my last first day of school.
- started work again [yay for paychecks].

i'm taking seven credits this semester. because that's all i have left to do. craziness. now it's time to decide what i want to do with my life post grad, apply for graduation [it costs $15. what?! yes.], and live it up in p town before i leave for good. it's crazy thinking of a life without byu - i got just a taste of it this summer - but it is inevitable and i'm excited to take it head on. my professor showed this video in class this week and i almost cried because i felt like it was especially for me right now.
dr. suess knows what's up.

words.

i'm not usually a huge game person. but i am addicted to loving scrabble.

especially turbo scrabble. as introduced to me by layton and the checketts family.

so all my friends in provo: buckle up. because we are going to be playing a lot of scrabble.

this picture pretty much describes my break. mockingjay... i don't even want to talk about it.

water for elephants.

i just bought this book.

now i just have to read it before tuesday.

i will not be working for the weekend.

plans until monday:

• finally reuniting my girl megan after months of separation by going to [our traditional] show, benton paul and nik day. for free. cause that's how we roll.
• putting a dent in the hdub [that's short for hw. which is short for homework. yes i did have to explain that. some people don't get it. obviously they don't hang out with me enough.]
• i will own pilates.
• i've been reading water for elephants. very very slowly. so i want to read a lot of that. after hdub. because i have priorities. now.
• bonding time with the momma. aka house season 6 marathon. woot.
• jillian's wedding. "wedding? i love weddings!" i couldn't have said it better myself, jack.
• remember me needs to be watched. and if you haven't seen it yet, you should also watch it. this weekend.
• a totally awesome ward activity that everyone should go to because there is going to be f r e e pizza.
• stake conference. in the marriott center. which means it's a big deal. which means an apostle will probably be there. which is pretty cool in my book.
• i need to shower at some point. boo.

so. that should be exciting.

what are your plans?

ahlin's special time with a r

weekend highlights:

hearing two beautiful new zealand accents for three days

reading the alchemist to adam ruri while he drove

blasting 'black box' by stan walker [we love those australian idol winners]

steering from the passenger's seat while adam ate

steering from the passenger's seat while adam read the alchemist [lasting about two seconds]

surprising my family by showing up in st george with zero warning

my mom tripping over gina's skateboard when she saw me

watching the last airbender cartoon with my [not so little] brother for two hours ["what happened to appa?!"]

shopping with my mom, buying a pair of shoes and a six pack of hane's boys v-necks

swimming in a sun-heated pool

feeling horrible when adam tripped over mose and scraped up his leg

running ten miles saturday morning

lots of napping

laying out in the 105 degree heat, while learning from posh spice

eating this massive burrito

cleaning the entire kitchen while my mom was gone [cause i'm the fave child. duh.]

just chillin

eating my weight in pizza and ben&jerry's half baked ice cream [not smart, ahlin. thanks a lot r and c]

hanging out with my parents

watching 'taken' with them and my friends

sleeping in my old bed [possibly the most comfortable bed in the entire world]

sleeping in

going to church 

finding out my best friend from high school was playing the piano in sacrament meeting

going to relief society with my mom

getting new music from the home computer

eating my momma's homemade bread before splitting

blasting efy music all the way home

learning adam's deepest darkest secrets... [haha. jk. just kidding.]

being smothered with love by sm and lo

hot tubbing at lauren's to make my sad sore muscles happy [ten miles guys. ten.]

getting seasons 7 and 8 from her [thank you for feeding my addiction lu. youda best]

cleaning my room slash organizing my life.

back in my bed

best weekend ever.

notice i watched zero 'friends' the entire weekend. kind of a big deal.

"this obsession with dignity can ruin your life if you let it."

i just finished this book and i absolutely loved it.
[quote from page 274]

it took me a while to read it but that's just because i'm lazy [a post about that theory to come...]

it's a collection of letters so it takes a bit to get into it and figure out who's who but it really is so great. i highly recommend it.

now i want to start another one. here are my choices:

i'm sorry but i love her. and i've thumbed through this and it looks like so much fun to read 

[plus it's sarahmaines' and i've had it for a while...mah bad]

i got it for my 16th birthday, started it, and then left it in canada. yes. canada.

i've heard so many good things about it and the movie looks really good. love that julia r.

ok so which one should i read?! or do you have any other suggestions?

potential bff's.

so... remember my rob rave a little while back? i mentioned in passing that i had a "woman crush" on kristen stewart... yes. yes i did.

so. since it is her 20th birthday and this is my 200th post, i decided to expound on that exclamation.

i first saw dear kristen in speak (which is a great book too, if you haven't read it) and i think she did so well in it. i think that was like 6 years ago... idk. i don't remember in what order but i also saw her in zathura (with my little bro) and in the land of women (adam brody. beautiful). then she graced our presence with a mini cameo in jumper (hayden christensen. yummm). i also caught her in a glimpse of catch that kid.

and of course. we all know her as our dear frenemy bella swan from twilight slash new moon slash the upcoming eclipse (who's excited? i'm excited. here's the trailer). she's actually exactly who i thought they should cast for bella. yes. that was a proud moment for me, finding out she was going to play her.

i've just always loved her. maybe it's because her total 'b a' attitude. maybe it's her sense of style (i only wish i could pull off a t shirt and jeans everyday and look totally hot). maybe it's her taste in music (she picked the iron & wine song for twilight. i.heart.iron&wine).

actually. i'm pretty sure it's her hair. yes. definitely. i love her hair (remember? i have a hair fetish. maybe i should do a post about hair...). seriously. if i had to choose some other person's hair to have for my own (i love my hair so i wouldn't willingly give it up...vain? maybe. oh well), i would choose hers.
it just does whatever the crap it wants and it always looks awesome.
allllways.

i really like her eyes too. some people think they look drugged up all the time but i think it's just catching her in a bad pictures (see my rob rave for more details of this phenomenon). she pulls off the smokey eye look really well. and her eyes are green too!
omg. we have so much in common. we should tots be besties.

i really do like her as an actress as well. the roles she plays are the down to earth, who gives a crap, just trying to live life characters. just because she isn't super dramatic or loud doesn't mean she isn't a good actress. and a lot of people just revert back to the twilight movies as well.
remember: those are not her only films. just sayin.

if could choose an actress to meet and be potential besties with, i would definitely choose kristen. i feel like we would get along really well. and she could teach me her ways of awesomeness.

i know that a lot of people don't like her for various reasons, but this is my opinion and if you're up for open mindedness, i would highly suggest giving her a second chance.

p.s. i really really want to see the runaways. real bad.

it's rated r....

if gina sees it, i'm seeing it too. 

yes. 

no. 

we'll see.

also check out my good friend keaton's blog for his podcast's year anniversary and all his fun vids...

friday vids. because i like 'em.

i have a few videos that i think are pretty fly right now. and since i have a knack for procrastinating (no i do not have a 4 to 6 page humanities paper due at 9 am tomorrow that i have yet to finish... and it's midnight... at least i started right?) i shall share them with you. 

oh you are welcome.

if you haven't heard, andrew lloyd webber (bless his creative soul) wrote a sequel to phantom called love never dies and me being the huge phantom phan (clever.) that i am (wrote gerard butler a letter when i was a freshman. yeah.) i heard about it in october and i will see it sometime in my life. yes. i will.

anyway, this is a song from it sung by the guy who plays the phantom in london. he's rather attractive, no? and his voice... it's like taking a shower in a rich chocolate fountain. yum.

so i'm kind of a huge jobros fan (don't be hatin') and a huge demi fan (seriously. how cute is she?!) so when i found out her and joe were dating... let's just say it is about two years too late (camp rock anyone?). and i don't watch american idol but of course i sought out their duet today! ugh, they are so great. and joe's hair? to die for.

so this is from sarahmaines' blog (which you should totally check out btdub cause she's way cooler than me) and i just think it is the hottest thing ever. am i completely out of the loop for not knowing about this?

so i got this from the lovely fashion blog, cardigan empire. it's an interview with the author of how to be hepburn in a hilton world which i have totally heard of and been wanting to read (after school... whenever that is.) and i just think she is so cute! and i really like a lot of what she has to say. so ch ch check it out.

and finally. my friend keaton jolley (or kj, if you will) has a podcast that he updates every so often. and i think it is somewhat hilarious. this one is my favorite. but here is his most recent podcast, as of monday. maybe you have to know him. maybe not. let him know what you think here.

um... yeah that's pretty much it for now. have a great friday slash weekend! :)

it's a love story

a friend shared this poem with me. and i absolutely love it.

The minute I heard my first love story 

I started looking for you, 

not knowing how blind that was. 

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. 

They're in each other all along.

- rumi

photo found at weheartit

sigh not so

much ado about nothing. 

one of my favorite movies that i've been watching since i was three. even after years of not seeing it i know each inflection of each line given. i highly recommend it. it's pretty much my favorite shakespeare play. if you need a good laugh, some eye candy, and some intellect all at the same time, i highly recommend it. seriously, such a great cast: denzel washington, michael keaton, kate beckinsale, emma thompson, kenneth brannagh, keanu reeves, robert sean leonard. 

love love love.

this is one of my favorite quotes from it. not only because it's easy to understand, but it's also so true...

sigh no more, ladies

sigh no more

men were deceivers ever

one foot in sea, and one on shore

to one thing constant, never

then sigh not so

but let them go

and be you blythe and bonnie

converting all your sounds of woe

into hey nonny nonny!

ah. so great. and yes. i did type that all by memory. what up.

sometimes i crack myself up.

the other day i was reading a book (the history of love. so good.) while i was going down the elevator at work, ready to go home. when the doors opened, there was a guy right there who was about to walk in as i was about to walk out. luckily i looked up from my book and stopped.

sorry i said. 

you're fine he replied. 

yeah i am i thought.

what?!

i have never thought that before when someone said that to me! i just started busting up laughing once i got outside. i am a huge advocate of loving yourself and realizing your worth but that was just too funny. what do you think? too egotistical? i promise i'm not stuck up.

the history of love

read it. it's kind of brilliant.

"once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."

"and if the man who once upon a time had been a boy who promised he'd never fall in love with another girl as long as he lived kept his promise, it wasn't because he was stubborn or even loyal. he just couldn't help it."

"part of me is made of glass, and also, i love you."

 

photo found here

february, what took you so long?

i have waited for what seems like an eternity for you to get here. i think it's safe to say that you are one of my favorite months of the year. it may because you possess one of my favorite holidays. or because you are shorter than the previous dreary january. or because you contain the day of my father's birth. or because you give me a three day weekend so i can go home. whatever it is, i love you.

seeing how it is a month focusing on one of my favorite things in the entire world, i want to share some quotes and such portraying it.
so buckle up. this is going to be a lovely ride.

songs

turning to you is like falling in love when you're ten.

- living in your letters, dashboard confessional

i'll be the platform shoes and undo what heredity's done to you, you won't have to strain to look into my eyes.

- brand new colony, postal service

the smell of you in every single dream i dream, i knew when we collided, you're the one i have decided who's one of my kind.

-hey, soul sister, train

movies

honestly, if you're not willing to sound stupid, you don't deserve to be in love.

-a lot like love

love is actually all around.

-love actually

i say find someone you can love like crazy and who'll love you the same way back. and how do you find him? forget your head and listen to your heart. i'm not hearing any heart. run the risk, if you get hurt, you'll come back. because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. to make the journey and not fall deeply in love - well, you haven't lived a life at all. you have to try. because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived.

- meet joe black

books

once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.
- the history of love, nicole krauss
it might hurt, it was horribly inconvenient, no good might come of it, but he had found out for himself what it was to be in love, and it thrilled him.
- atonement, ian mcewan
just to be in love seemed the most blissful luxury i had ever known. the thought came to me that perhaps it is the loving that counts, not the being loved in return -- that perhaps true loving can never know anything but happiness.
- i capture the castle, dodie smith


i love love.

vvvvvvvvvvv day!!!!!!!!!

valentine's day. one of the most loved and loathed days of the year. i personally love it, even though i've never had a 'special someone' on that day. but, i dont think that's what it is totally about. i think it is good to contemplate the magic and mysteries of love.

LOVE has always boggled my mind. most people who know me know that i love love more than almost anything else. i love watching it, hearing about it, witnessing it, pretty much anything to do with it. that may be why i love to watch movies so much. whether it's high school musical and sleepover or p.s. i love you and a walk to remember, the love in them always makes me so happy and curious. i've never been in love but i figure that if there are so many movies and songs and books and pieces of literature about love, then there has to be something good about it...

here are some quotes that make me love love even more:

~ what value will there be in life if we are not together? ~ becoming jane

~ I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on. ~ pride & prejudice

~ Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around. ~ love actually

~ But for now, let me say - Without hope or agenda - Just because it's Christmas - And at Christmas you tell the truth - To me, you are perfect - And my wasted heart will love you - Until you look like this. ~ love actually

~ When love is for the highest bidder, there can be no trust. Without trust, there can be no love. ~ moulin rouge

~ Love is like oxygen! Love is a many splendored thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love! ~ moulin rouge

~ Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars—points of light and reason… And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn’t see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason for anything. ~ new moon

~So it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be really hard. We're gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, for ever, you and me, every day. ~ the notebook