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.

the universe is conspiring in your favor.

the other morning i was reading the book of mormon and i came upon this scripture in alma 26:27.

Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go... and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.

getting a job has been my number one concern for quite some time and, needless to say, is definitely the source of severe stress and a few emotional meltdowns. there have been more times than i am proud of when i get myself thinking that i am all alone and howcanthispossiblyworkoutandwhatonearthistobecomeofme. it is only human and natural. which also makes it foolish.

when these thoughts come up, i usually try talking it out with my friends and family. and sometimes strangers. and new acquaintances... what can i say, i get desperate. but nothing is ever quite as comforting as the reassurance i get from daily prayer and scripture study. it is only recently that i have realized the importance of these simple commandments. the lds folk are taught to make this a daily habit before we even learn to speak or read, and it is not all for nothing. there is truly a huge difference in my day to day life because of this simple habit. i find myself happier and more hopeful. i love every day. i have learned that every day can be great and be used for growth, learning, and serving others. i am so grateful to have a book and connection to my heavenly father that makes daily living not only endurable but enjoyable.

i know there are people out there of all ages who truly do not have the hope to face one more day. i am here to tell you that there is hope. someone does have you and your best interests in mind. we are given very limited vision of the future and because of that we just have to trust that as we do our best, as we strive to make each day a part of our growth and progression by helping those around us and improving ourselves in the now, everything will work out in a more beautiful way that we can possibly imagine.

so, with this mindset, i have decided that while i apply for jobs and do everything i can to achieve that goal, i have to let go and not worry about what i cannot control. this means enjoying the fact that i don't have to go to work everyday, i don't have to stress about being somewhere at a certain time. i can focus on doing things i love, like reading, showering at any time of day, and playing with friends without worrying about homework that needed to be done yesterday. i choose to prepare what i can, enjoy now and recognize the good in every day.

relevant.

lately this has been my approach to... pretty much everything.

this and calling my mom every single day.

yay for big life decisions.

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.

an interview.

so you might recall my many raves about my sister's band, elephant shortcut. while it's awesome they're coming out with an ep on itunes and everything, it is more awesome that i agreed to interview them.

fine, maybe not. but it will be super awesome when they are super famous.

georgina. you are answering the questions. mitchell is not. explain.
mitchell has spent the last two weeks diligently working on finishing up our ep in las vegas, while i have been in virginia promoting our music. we be a team. mitchell finally got back to va today, and is now fast asleep dreaming of beautiful lyrics that are going to make you laugh-cry in the near future. so i have taken the responsibility of responding to your questions. no worries though, mitchell said i could do this one without him.

well, welcome. elephant shortcut. that is your name. i need to know. where did it come from and what does it mean?
it’s really deep for us. one time, we were both riding these elephants, and we were lost in the jungle. so we decided we would take a shortcut to get the heck out of there. and who knew?! it led us right back to our friendly group of tourists, deep in the heart of africa.
oh wait. . .that was a dream i had. next question.

your ep album is called paper birds. hence the paper birds on your album art. did you fold those yourselves? if not, who did?
when mitchell came up with the brilliant idea of having paper cranes somewhere on our cover, i was ecstatic. the only problem was we needed 50 cranes to be in st. george that next day, and we were in las vegas, busy recording. so i called up my dear friend kylie and asked her to make us some birds. she said no. but she did note that our childhood friend was expert at making them. so one phone call later, kisha kwan was making 50 birds in under an hour. that’s impressive. all shapes and sizes too.
did you catch the answer in there? kisha kwan. kisha kwan made those paper birds.

go kisha kwan. so what inspires your lyrics?
this is a deep and intense question. answer?
love. every kind.

all you need is love. love is all you need. the beatles said that once.
what’s your favorite song from the ep? you have to choose. have. to.
what an odious question (please note reference to the best movie ever, the fall).
let’s be real for a second. if you go on youtube and watch our “mother’s day concert” series, you will find that before almost every song, mitchell says “this is my favourite song”.
we really love them all. and i don’t have to choose just one. because you are my sister. . . does that make this less legitimate? maybe. i don’t care.

i will let that non-answer slide. just this time though. never again.
if you could collaborate with any artist/band, who would it be?
i would choose my all-time favourite band, tegan & sara. i went through some serious phases with those twins. from my purple hair phase to my ‘i refuse to eat anything but burritos’ phase - they were there, quietly performing the soundtrack of my life.
i can pretty confidently say that mitchell would love to collaborate with the format. he loves them, and for good reason. you can hear a lot of their influence in the songs mitchell writes. truly a great group, lyrically and musically. sadly, the format no longer exists. . i mean they’re alive, but their music is not.

oh the format. may they hypothetically rest in peace. in not-so-melancholic news, the killers are alive and well. what is your favorite killers song? this is important.
jenny was a friend of mine. oh wait. i love all these things that i’ve done too. i remember listening to the (illegally) burnt cd of hot fuss in my (your) walkman (phillips) over and over when i was in grade school. but then you became really obsessed with them, and i thought to myself “girl, ahlin deserves them, let it go”. enter tegan & sara.

i am very sure that was your thought process and i appreciate that. the killers ftw.
describe band practice.
haha...ixnay.

again with avoiding the questions. such behavior is not ok.
anything you’d like to say to your super hot awesome fans?
yes.
the only reason mitchell and i are in the position we are in today, is because of the support we’ve had from the people around us. the first time we performed was really just a fluke, but it turned out to be the greatest thing of our lives. our families have backed us every step of the way, and our fans are unbelievable. we feel so much love from them, and have worked hard to make an ep that we feel everyone can enjoy. so even if you’re remotely fond of us, share the love. spread the word. tell everyone how great it is to take an elephant shortcut (i am aware you are all still unclear about what this means..sorry).

sweet. well thanks for answering my super important questions gina, i appreciate it and i know the fans do too. to help spread the love and learn more about elephant shortcut, be sure to

like them on facebook

follow them on twitter

check out their blog

watch them on youtube

good luck elephant shortcut. and fans, thanks for your love and support!

don't forget to check out their ep on itunes, available this week!

calling on you.

so....
i was at the gym last night.
and after my run, i still had time to kill while my roommate finished up her power pump class.
so i just chilled and stretched and such.
and then.
this extremely attractive guy with the hair of an angel and the forearms of a greek god got a drink next to me.
and i was like. oh hey.
in my head duh.
so then i watched him for the next twenty minutes of course.
not in a creepy way. in a super casual cool way. cause i'm super casual. and cool.
and then.
i had to leave.
it was slightly depressing.

so. question.
what is slash is there a super casual cool way to talk to someone at the gym without being awkward and creepy?

breaking news.

one - i am officially a psychology major with a minor in business management.
two - this means being in the tanner building. which means seeing the strapping young business [majors]. in their suits. love love.
three - i can graduate in december of 2011. that's next year.
four - i just need a super cool capstone to do next summer. like an internship. somewhere exotic. like dc or nyc or london or paris.
five - real life is coming.

that's all.

prince charming doesn't mean easy, yo.

via here

“Cinderella walked on broken glass

Sleeping beauty let her whole life pass by

Belle fell in love with a beast

Pocahontas risked her life for a feast 

Jasmine could have had anyone but she chose a poor man

and Ariel, she walked on land.”

via here

"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?

first step: admitting there's a problem.

disclaimer: this is not about my friends obsession... cause that is not a problem. uh uh.

before i go on let's get this cemented into our brains: ahlin is very good with money. got it? good.
so i've realized lately that i do this thing... i think some call it "impulse buying".

but it's not what you're thinking! i never buy something that will make a detrimental dent in my bank account. just enough to be like man i could have gone out to eat a few times instead of buying that [is it weird that i like to buy food more than clothes sometimes/all the time?]. and it doesn't happen all the time. just every once in a while.
ok let's look at real life examples:

1. august 2008. the olympics are almost over and i've been watching religiously, especially my fave michael phelps. i was at home for two weeks after my first term of college. there was an advertisement for the michael phelps dvd that i had seen about twenty billion times and it finally got to me. i was seriously on an olympics high that summer. i got online a bought myself one. then proceeded to get it about six weeks later and not open it for another full year. good bye 20 to 25 dollars.
2. early my senior year. i really liked sidekick phones due to my viewing interest of gilmore girls. so i bought one friday night. and after a weekend of bliss but still realizing it wasnt the smartest purchase, i returned it. phew.
3. cafe rio. this happens in stages. i'll go a couple months without eating it and then i'll have it once and need it about four times a week for the next three weeks. cafe rio salads are not the least expensive thing i could eat.... but at least it only lasts a few weeks right?
4. the other day these boys came by asking if i could donate and get our local newspaper for a month to help the invisible children in africa. i heart kids and i heart africa and i hadnt done my service for the day so of course i gave them the ten bucks. except i dont want to get the news for a month and they wouldnt take cash. meh. at least i'm saving the world.
5. you may have noticed my fascination with cristiano ronaldo and sarahmaines' love for fernando torres so of course we had to buy their jerseys! let's just say the shipping was almost as much as the jerseys themselves and i'm hoping they come soon so i can feel better about my purchase...

so what's the next step after the admitting? is it changing? i'm totally working on it. i'm pretty sure i can do it. is this an issue with any one else or am i an idiot?

bruised and confused.

i donated blood. last monday.

am i still supposed to have a massive bruise?

this has never happened before...

golden.

20 on the 20th.

happy birthday to me.

when are you golden?

pic from 4th of july last year. notice how lonnng my hair was.

cool guy tips

any advice on how to spend my last days as a teenager?

image via i am the crime

late nights are usually up to no good.

it's almost one. i should be asleep. i want to get up and study and run and clean. before i go to work. at one.

so i should go to sleep.

oh well.

i just had a few things crash down on my brain in the past few hours.

one. i've had four of some of my closest friends get engaged in the past three weeks. that's a lot. to me at least. i'm losing friends by the hand full. and i'm happy for them. i really am. no sarcasm here. i promise. you girls are beautiful and i approve [not that you need it] of your choices. i saw them all through remember?

two. was i wrong to delete facebook? that decision has been stabbing me in the back as of late.

three. my ipod [which isn't actually mine, it's my mom's that she let me borrow to take to college since my mini {yes. mini. not nano} wouldn't play without being plugged in] died today. as in it will not turn on. at all. i've tried every trick i know of. nothing. sad.

four. the song in my head right now is my love by sia. it's on the new eclipse soundtrack [which is good btdub, kinda like the new moon soundtrack but not quite as depressing]. except this song makes me sad for some reason. i don't know why. but it's on repeat. on my computer. since my ipod isn't working. how am i supposed to fall asleep to it?

five. i think i need to be more like this list.

six. "ahlin, just go pray until you feel better." sound advice from stuart dong [the gray haired asian].

seven. seriously. go find and watch this movie. right now. i promise you'll love it. i think i'll watch it tomorrow [today].

eight. i'm turning twenty on sunday. my golden birthday. which is also father's day. and a sunday. and all my friends are leaving for home. cool.

nine. i like this picture.

thanks for my thinking slash pity party.

you know you want to know.

remember how i'm a psychology major? remember how i'm taking psychology of gender right now? remember how we always have some type of research project to do in all of my psychology classes?

ok cool.

well, i don't know how much i can disclose about my group's research project but let's just say it has something to do with flirtatious touching.

interesting, no?

so, if you could all help a sister out and take this teeny tiny survey (seriously, 5 minutes tops), it would be greatly appreciated. and tell your friends too. the more the merrier.

thanks so much!

image via weheartit

don't ever let me go

i am loving timbaland and katy perry's new song if we ever meet again. timbaland is seriously so great. and hilarious.

here are some more timbaland faves:
 - the way i are with keri hilson
 - apologize with onerepublic
 - promiscuous with nelly furtado
 - wait a minute with the pussycat dolls

what are your favorite timbaland tunes?

my heart is yours to fill or burst

ok. poll time.

jess?

favorite episodes: eight o'clock at the oasis, they shoot gilmores don't they?

or logan?

favorite episodes: you jump i jump jack, partings

ugh this is so hard. i love them both. and their hair. their hair is to die for.

oh, i'm sorry, dean who?

because they care.

so i've always been an avid fan of reading yahoo's advice and articles. particularly on dating slash relationships. and i may or may not have been mocked when i have quoted them.  i decided to give you guys a taste of the awesomeness that is called brilliant i have found from them. i think a lot of this stuff is really true! let me know what you think.


here you go men (cause i know for a fact i have at least 5 guy readers):
- seven traits of irresistible men
- nine simple things women want (actually i'm pretty sure some of these could be what guys want too)
- twelve things you don't know about women
- ten tips for approaching single women


hey girls, i gotchyo back too:
- five risky moves to keep him interested
- fourteen relationship mistakes we wish we'd stop making (you gotta have a relationship in the first place to make a mistake if you know what i mean... no? cool. it's just me then.)
- six dating behaviors that scare single men away
- how to impress even before the first date

finally, the worst dating mistakes made by men and women.
oh you are welcome.

my thought of the day.

what's great about this life

is that

i can make all the plans i want,

have all the dreams i want

but 

what's even better

is all those plans

and all those dreams

can change

whenever i want them to

just because i said so.

photo via limousines and attitudes

i just can't quit now

i am just loving slash feeling this song right now. slash always.

i don't like you but i love you 

seems i'm always thinking of you

you treat me badly

i love you madly 

you've really got a hold on me

baby, i don't want you but i need you

don't want to kiss you but i need to

you do me wrong now

my love is strong now

you've really got a hold on me

baby, i love you and all i want you to do

is just hold me 

tighter 

tighter

you really got a hold on me by she & him slash smokey robinson slash the beatles

photo via weheartit.