Bad To Good To Great

I fully agree with this quote. Crying is a release of emotion. 

Good thing to, because at my grandma's funeral I blubbered like a baby. 

It was perfect. 

Her casket was beautiful.

The flowers were gorgeous

She looked so pretty.

All and all, it was a bitter sweet moment in life.

It did get better though. 

When I got home my dear friend Nikki kidnapped me, and we went up to Culver's in Lehi!

Jesse and his little brother accompanied us, as well as the rest of Nikki's family. 

Let me just say, they have the best shakes EVER.

Not to mention, Nik thought one of the waiter's was hot so we discreetly gave him her number.

We wrote her number on a napkin, folded it up, and had another waiter send him over to our table. 

When he came over, Jesse gave him the napkin and informed him that on it was one of our five numbers (Nikki's, Jesse's, Calli's, TJ's, or mine).

Let's just say, I don't think that has happened to him, well, ever. 

He responded with, "Wow, thanks guys! That's great, I really appreciate it!" And more awkward things. 

Then, on the drive home, we blasted this:

Pat Benatar. The best. The music video is pretty great too. Gotta love the 80's! 

We hung out at Nikki's for a little, mostly doing yoga and interpret dace to the Lion King music in her front yard. Sometimes, we have those moments. . . 

Then I had a date, so she took my home!

And what did I find on my front porch? A box. Addressed to yours truly. : )

Inside this box

Was another box. Inside that box

Was another box. Inside that box

Was a package wrapped in duck tape. Inside the package

Was another duck tape wrapped package. Inside this

A duck tape wrapped envelope. Inside this

Was my homecoming date's name! Yay! Homecoming is going to be so much fun!

Now it's time for dress shopping. . . : )

Shortly after that, my date picked me up.

We went and picked up our sushi, 

and then climbed to the roof of a six story building to eat it! 

It was so amazing! We had an awesome view and saw the occasional firework! 

Then we went to Sonic. It's kind of becoming a tradition for us. . .

Definitely on my Top 10 Best Nights!

It made my day yesterday. 

My day went from super sad, to good, to great. : )

XOXO,

Halli

WEAR IT FIERCE

Sometimes, a Girl Falls in Love . . .

With a pair of shoes. ; )

Photos, Pranking, Playing, Living

Photo shoots. Oh, how I love them.

I have this friend Milan and lets just say she is an AMAZING photographer! I mean, you'd have to be pretty amazing when you have families asking you to take their family pictures! 

Check out her blog:

saddlesideup.blogspot.com

Also, school started . . .

Yay. . . . . . . .

Guess who forgot to take first day of school pictures.

This girl. 

It's a tradition. And I forgot! 

Like everyone else, I have great classes, and I have boring classes. 

But, it's life.

And life + high school = drama

There really is a 'Mean Girls' quote for everything. 

I did, however, hang out with a fantastic friend yesterday!

We hung out, went to the girls soccer game, and went to Wendy's, where I received a napkin flower from a cute little old man!

Talk about blushing! He did open with, "I looked over here and couldn't help but notice a beautiful girl sitting here with three boys and no flower!"

It pretty much made my day! No one does cute things like that anymore!

Alex, Weston, Truxton and I aren't super creative when it comes to pranks.

We also put straws that spelled out YOLO on one girls truck, but that was the extent it got to.

I finally got to see my close up shot that will be in our cheer case this year!

Not bad. Stupid braces.

Well, that's all for now. 

XOXO,

Halli

WEAR IT FIERCE

P.S. I leave you with this song. : )

Not because it means anything to me at the moment, it's just good!

Enjoy. . .

The Goods and the Bads of Life; We All Have Both

* Prepare yourself for some ups and downs {well, mostly downs} throughout this post. *

While most of you were probably out and about doing the usual Thursday things everyone does, I spent most of my day {10 hours to be exact} at a care center holding the hand of my great grandma. 

If you ever have the opportunity to go see a loved one who only has a few years left, never turn it down. There is nothing like crying because of regret. I had so many opportunities. . .

There is also nothing like sitting at a care center until midnight next to a being that you feel so much love for, knowing you're going to lose them at any second.

It was hard to leave, but I had to come back home on Friday to cheer on my fellow Bruins. We lost to Mountain Crest, but I still believe in them. I mean , it was only a pre season game. 

Being the fighter my great grandma was, she was still there when I went back for 3 hours Saturday night. Although she was there, she hadn't talked all day, and also had a fever of 103.7 when I got there.    A nurse who was close to my grandma would always sing to her when she was the one caring for her. She had come in on Saturday and after she was done singing to her she said, "I'll see you in the morning, Maxine!" That was when my grandma finally said something. "No." That one little word. That's when everyone kind of understood. It was happening that night. Leaving the care center at about midnight, I was SO frustrated. All of the great-grandkids were being hauled off. The nurses gave her something that would get rid of her now 102.9 fever. It is very common that when someone as fragile as my grandma was given this medicine, they would pass away once it wore off. 

None of the adults would let me stay. They were all talking about how 'when you see someone actually die, it all you remember about them' blah blah blah. Little did they know,

It's all I wanted. 

I didn't have many memories as it was. I'm a big girl and I had already come to terms with her passing. And most importantly,

I wasn't them.

Just because that's all they remember, doesn't mean that's all I would.

Maxine Taylor passed away Sunday August 19th, at 2:20 a.m.

Like I said, I've come to terms with her passing. But, I still miss her so much.

We all ate dinner as a family today, in remembrance of her. 

Releasing emotion, leaving memories, sending love. RIP Grandma Taylor. <3

XOXO,

Halli

WEAR IT FIERCE

Cheeeer Pictures!

We took our second round of cheer pictures today! I could definitely be a model when I grow up. I love having pictures taken!

I also love taking pictures, but that's a different story...

Me and one of my best friends, Courtney. 

That's just a sample few.

Obvi, I don't do the whole 'fake laughing' pictures, but what can ya do? They say sit, I sit. They say smile, I smile. They say "Look like you're laughing!", I look like an idiot. Yesss.

My team is such a great group of girls {and boys, though they're not pictured. We didn't think the whole 'photo shoot in an orchard' would appeal to them.}

This year is going to be great!

More pictures to come! But for now...



XOXO,
Halli



WEAR IT FIERCE

Just Because It Zips, Doesn't Mean It Fits

Rule to ALWAYS FOLLOW:

{But, please, use proper English. . .}

One thing I've learned {at a very young age, thank the heavens} is to dress for my body type. To accentuate my great features, and hide my not so great features. We all have both. I promise.

First off, every single body is beautiful. Learn that. Live it. And love yourself. 

'My thighs are beautiful'

'My hair is beautiful'
'I am beautiful' 

That is the humble version of what I tell myself every morning. ;)

It's also written along my mirrors! I encourage everyone to do it. Confidence booster every morning? I think yes.

Bingo.

Okay. Back to the rule.

Just because that pair of size 3 jeans "just barely zips!!" {i know, we've all been there}, doesn't mean that pair of size 7s wouldn't look a lot better on your body.

Size is just a number.

We don't obsess over our phone numbers do we!? "What!? Your number starts with 872!? Mine only starts with a 328..."

Why is that? Because that is the lamest thing you've ever heard of!

Just like sizes.

That model is a size 1? She is starving herself.

Food, or a number that no one but your mom knows about?

At this point you may be feeling a little worried. Hopeless even. But no fear! Halli is here! And I believe you're beautiful. Just because you may not believe you're beautiful, doesn't mean other feel that way. So don't worry, we'll get through this!! There are many tips and tricks to hide those little, unwanted features.

As much as I hate to break this to you, most people are stuck just the way they are. {You can thank good old mom and dad for that one}. It's genetics. It's life. Love yourself because you have at least two other people who think you are the most amazing thing in the world.

Three, unless you're me who is as single as single gets. Thanks for telling me I'm pretty mom and dad! XO

STORY OF MY LIFE RIGHT HERE
Ever need advice? I know my stuff. Ask anyone. They've probably come to me.
But I'm not complaining. I actually like being everyone's therapist.

I'm actually engaged to Zac Efron. Shh!

Nope.

If you are reading this thinking, "Well what body type do I have!? What kind of clothes should I wear that will compliment my features? Why is she so single!?!?"

I'll let you know when I know about that last one!

As for the others, stay tuuuuned and you will find out!

In the mean time, stay confident and WEAR IT FIERCE.

I'll leave this one with a little Bruno Mars.....

XOXO,
Halli


P.S. I LOVE teenager posts, if you can't tell. You'll be seeing many as I progress with my blog. I can guarantee it. #teenagerproblems

Yes I just hash tagged that.

Check out more Teenager Posts HERE!

Where Are All of the Decent People?

BEWARE: This is a ranting blog post. Read at your own risk.

My question of choice recently; What happened to people???

There used to be a time when people really were, just, decent. 

de·cent

 [dee-suhnt]

adjective

1.

acting upon the recognized standard of propriety, goodtaste, modesty, etc., as in behavior or speech.

2.

respectable; worthy: a decent family.

3.

adequate; fair; passable: a decent wage.

4.

kind; obliging; generous: It was very decent of him to lend me hiswatch.

5.

suitable; appropriate

It's really not asking too much. I'm not asking for perfection or anything. Just decency. With maybe a little respect thrown in there as well. That means committing to plans, giving a solid "yes" or "no," NOT flaking out at the last second, "forgetting," or using the 'but you never texted me' excuse. It is just RUDE. Ask me how my last week or so has been... I'm really not a loser. Unless that happened in the past week? Whatever. I think I'm awesome so it doesn't matter.

Anyway....

I'm done ranting now. Phew.

Now on to the olympics. 

Holy hot men!

Tom Daley. How could you not want to just kiss that face?? I can't tell if I want to pinch his cheeks and kiss his forehead, or just plant one on his lips. Either way, I'm pretty smitten. And his voice!? OH MY. 

That body... Mmm. Helllllllooooo....

My other favorite: 

This man, is Matthew Mitcham. Now I'm not going to rave about how hot he is (although how cute is that face?) because he is gay. But I applaud him. And his mother. They inspire me. I won't go off ranting about my opinion on homosexuality right now, but that is only because I already ranted once. Ask me about it anytime and I'll gladly tell you about my amazing uncles and good friend, all of which I absolutely love and support, and how they are fantastic people. Don't judge if you don't know. <3 

Don't approve? Bite me. 

Okay I'm really done ranting now. Where'd all of the love go? 

Long post short; Just be decent and respectful to people. And how about those Olympic divers? Dang.

Well that's enough of my rants for now. Good night.

XOXO,

Halli

WEAR IT FIERCE

A Week In the Teenage Life

You know you're addicted to blogging when you feel like you need to apologize for not blogging for 6 days. When you're off doing great things, and you have the thought, "I'm going to blog about this!"

Anyway..

What awesome 6 days I have had! 

I had cheer camp, then I went to my mom's house, then my little brother's birthday (he's finally a teenager!), then cheer pictures, then I took popsicles to the football players to soothe them of their 2-a-days, my brother's birthday party, then ANOTHER birthday party for him. All in six days. 

Starting at the top of that list

Cheer Camp

Cheer camp this year was SO MUCH FUN! 

I feel like my team this year is so much more bonded and everyone is friends with everyone. 

We played on the playground when we weren't busy

Courtney and Madie tried spidering... 

We fit 12 girls in a very small elevator! 

This was our "nice dinner" at Red Rock 

We always made time for the olympics. Women's all around gymnastics!

These. Boys. Are. The. Coolest. They like to fly during lunch!

This is the order I put in at dinner the last night. :)
3 attractive men
a credit card with no limit
and 3 closets
mine is overflowing as it is
A girl can dream right?

My first public bus ride. Ever. In my life.

On the last day when we presented out "secret siblings" with their gifts,  the boys presented our coach with some tampons. They figured since he had spent so much time with us girls... Well... 

I just have to point out that I have the best friend EVER.
He broke into my house to borrow a movie (with my permission of course)
And he left me a note.
He is the sweetest thing ever.
I'm so lucky!
We're married for those of you who don't know

On the bus ride home I had an awesome conversation with a new friend! About an hour after I got home I went to about 6 different stores for my brother's birthday, then down to my mom's house. 

The next day was spent getting ready for (one of) my brother's birthday parties! We made a nice dinner and a homemade lemon poppyseed cake. It was so yummy! I then went and had a fantastic conversation with my cousin. She is so amazing. I don't know how I would have survived some of my life events without her.

Yes, I put his present in a Victoria's Secret bag. 

Today I am back at my dad's. My day consisted of cheer pictures in the morning, seeing my best friend whom I haven't seen in weeks, blogging, taking popsicles to the football team, watching the movie Juno (which was fantastic!), and finishing off with another birthday party for my brother.

My Dad wrote the wrong date for the cake, so instead of having birthday cake, we had birthday pie.

The fact that school starts in two weeks is really just blowing my mind. 2 weeks. 14 days. Holy crap. I'm so not ready.

For now...

XOXO,

Halli

WEAR IT FIERCE