the end.

2009 is ending.

tonight, in fact.

in honor of afore mentioned occasion.

i wanted to take a moment,

to take a look backwards.

as they say,

you must look to the past

and learn from it.

in order to create a better future.

though, i can't lie.

2009 wasn't too shabby. :)

so without further ado--here we go.

in 2009...

i spent lots of time cuddling on the couch with a blanket.

sitting quietly and cozily watching the sun set.

i also spent plenty of hours studying while my puppy slept by my side.

we won't talk about the hours i spent listening to music. that's too much to mention.

lauren celeste and i? yeah, we spent lots of time together this year. literally.

and we had many prized moments..we're forks. and proud of it. :)

she's a treasure. that i'm lucky to have found.

i went to the temple lots. inside and out. with friends of all kinds.

including two dedications. pure beauty.

i love that place.

i did something very spontaneous.

[asking to sweethearts. asking someone being highly fought over. asking over two entire months early.]

and i haven't decided yet whether or not i regret it.

what a night that was. and i love jenny mckay.

that spontaneous ask led to a not nearly as enjoyable evening.

asking is always more fun than the actual dance. guaranteed.

i re-visited some elementary school moments.

journey to the past.

i went to my first [and only] boy's choice dance.

choir tour, of course.

i fell in love with jazz music. which i previously hated.

all thanks to madrigals. i miss that music. i miss performing.

i studied for ap tests. not my favorite.

but i gave them the smack down. heck to the yes.

i went to the park. for the first time in years.

multiple times. with la.

i graduated from seminary.

and high school.

i got very close to a friend. who is now a dear one. a forever one.

a different friend than the rest. in a good way. in an excellent way.

i got in my first car accident. and totaled my first car. all in one.

i hope i never get in an accident ever again. it's absolutely miserable.

i went to my last girl's camp. shame.

i cut off eleven inches of hair. yeah. that's a lot of hair.

i fell in love with aspen grove/sundance canyon. again.

my nerdy brother came home after a 2 year leave of absence.

also known as a mission. i guess i missed him. a little. ;)

i started college. and now live in provo.

i think i'm more immature now than i was in high school-in many moments.

but i also grew up a lot. and learned a lot about life.

and just what the important things are.

we had a family reunion. and i realized just how much i love my family.

they're very special people. i have a great heritage.

i've gotten closer than ever before with some of my cousins.

especially darling deborah ann.

above all, i learned to love. to love those i never thought i could.

and always thought i'd never get along with.

and now i love. unsparingly. with all my heart.

and i've learned my lesson about judging too soon.

---

this has been a bit lengthy...but a full year, indeed.

full of life and love. a great year.

i can only hope 2010 is just as good. :)

SO overrated.

grades are overrated.

especially the first

semester of college.

..right?? :/

note to self.

i have a feeling

my new roommate claira and i

are going to get along great.

seriously.

love music.

love ice cream.

think byu is kind of pretty ridiculous sometimes.

[sometimes meaning almost always.]

she is accepting of show tunes even!

amazing, right?

it's going to be a great semester.

bring it!

"If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together.. there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart.. I’ll always be with you."

-Winnie the Pooh

have yourself...

a merry little christmas...a merry one indeed. :)

this christmas has been a simple one.

simple & lovely.

just the way i like it.

remembering the things that truly matter.

---

"mary, did you know that your baby boy

is lord of all creation?

mary, did you know that your baby boy

will one day rule the nations?

did you know that your baby boy

is heaven's perfect lamb?

this sleeping child you're holding,

is the great i am."

best!

christmas eve.

best day of the year.

no battle.

everything i want, but never knew i needed

remember this special moment?

well, it is now official.

never 3 0f a kind is up and running.

heck to the yes.

bahahahahahahaha.

it's a nice moment for everyone involved.

no lying there.

interested? i know i would be.

we think we're pretty great.

http://never3ofakind.blogspot.com/

dear allie, stephanie, and courtney,

i miss you.

sitting in a church pew just isn't the same without you.

i wish we would be reunited in january.

i wish, i do.

but, some things are not meant to be.

sweet relief

you can never explain to someone

that feeling of relief when finals are over.

when you are completely DONE.

nothing left for you to do.

you can try. oh yes, go ahead and try.

but it will do no good.

it's just one of those things

you only understand when you feel

the pain yourself. and then when it's over?

ohh, sweet relief. take a deep breath, you're free.

no.

study for hours. do horribly.

i like this pattern.

NOT.

two

2 years down..

..eternity to go. :)

forks forever.

emotional breakdown of apartment 174

a small picture:

allie is at derik's--who knows when she last studied.

stef has been crocheting a scarf all day--was watching the office and glee online, last i knew.

court and i are laying flat on our floor--i fell out of my chair and died. and she thought she'd give a replay for me. and then stayed there.

no. sadly, i am not making this up.

finals do horrifying things to people.

we've lost it. our brains have run away.

we're so pathetic.

and SO aware of it.

if you happen to find our brains, please return them to apartment 174. preferably before monday.

we'd greatly appreciate it.

20.

allie had a birthday!

in honor of her special day today,

here are 20 things i'll always love about allie.

1. her awful hate of the camera. i don't love this. but it's so allie, that it must be included.

2. her beautiful smile, that is incapable of appearing naturally as soon as she sees a camera in sight.

3. her beautiful face. and curls.

4. her ability to always make me giggle and laugh. even when i don't want to. she didn't name me giggles for nothing. ;)

5. her perspective of what really matters-people.

6. her love of yellow to match my love. we quite love that color. a lot.

7. her hate of wearing clothes. this wouldn't be a list about allie if i didn't mention it.

8. her love of wearing my dresses. :)

9. her spontaneity.

10. her trust in me.

11. her fiancé. she made a good choice. it wouldn't be a list of her without mentioning her other half. we think he's pretty great.

12. her grumpy moods. like the old man in up. she's the old man. and i'm russell. [i'll hide under your porch because i love you. ;) ]

13. her ability to quote things. all. the. time. so many. she has a gift.

14. that's what she said. enough said.

15. her face when someone says something, and it can be taken the wrong way. a dirty way. and her hesitant and then outright laugh after this. followed usually by her saying: "that's what she said.", "that's what he said.", or "quote board!"

16. her cooking. delicious.

17. her hopeless romantic self to match mine. we love chick flicks. and cheesy songs. and cheesy everything. and you'll know it. we squeal out loud in movie theaters. [time traveler's wife?]

18. her cry. it's the same as mine. identical. soft crying. deep breaths gasping for air. over and over. [my sister's keeper, anyone?]

19. her hugs. some of the best i've ever had.

20. her individuality. allie is allie. alexandra elizabeth campbell. and if that were it? then it would be enough.

i love you allie!!

always and forever.

high school.

high school?

so great. so horrible. so wonderful. all in one.

music? BEST.

tonight was the christmas concert.

orchestra/choir.

i miss it. so so much. i can't even describe.

watching them.

singing in the alumni numbers.

reliving the memories.

being up on stage.

i miss those moments.

those relationships.

i loved seeing people i love again.

and i've missed it.

more than anything in the world.

really does.

i found this on facebook. on jenny mckay's page. no, i wasn't tagged in it. and no, i have no idea who this person is that wrote this. but i love it, and found it inspiring. and it contains many ideas i've been thinking a lot about lately...ideas i love.

"For those of you who are new to the university this year, you might have noticed something in these last few days. Professors of yours bringing up the Gospel almost every class period are now mentioning it at every turn. As you go into your last classes today and tomorrow, many of them will bear you a last testimony (normally focused on God's love for you and this Creation), and many of you will think they are just doing this so that they can get the student ratings points on Spirituality. Those of you who went to the Devotional yesterday will remember with me how heartfelt and focused it was on this same topic of God's Love. As you listen to your professors, I ask you to think of something else that they might be doing, more than trying to boost their ratings. I mean, the Professors here aren't like TV shows. They're not going to just throw out what they think the audience will like. They sincerely care about you. More than that, they Know how stressful and hectic and lonely Finals are. They Know how stressful and hectic and lonely we feel at Finals. Heck, they even Know how stressful and hectic and lonely Life can be in general. Maybe, just maybe, in the week before life is Hell for all of us, they are trying to drill into our minds that Heaven is watching over us. God really does love us; He wants us to succeed, and He will help us as we turn to Him. He wants to help us. I promise each of you that. And remember, please, that service, prayer, obedience, and sacrifice are keys to opening the powers of Heaven (in my opinion, in that order). Draw near to Him and His children, and He will draw near unto you. Spending an hour at the temple, listening to a friend in need, or even being kind to a stranger will help you more next week than my reviews will. I'd say I'm sorry for that shameless display of apparent religiousity, but I'm not."

--an unknown inspirer

j&j

member this?

well guess what? i saw julie&julia.

1 down. 2 to go.

guess what else?

i absolutely loved it!

it's adorable.

and heart-warming.

and just plain lovely. :)

one of my favorite parts:

you're gonna miss this...

i'm going to miss our late night creamery runs. a lot.

and i'm going to miss allie and stephanie. a lot.

oh golly.

change is good. change is good. change is good.

official

all is well in apartment 174 again.

and guess what?

allie is officially engaged! whoo!

i'm so happy for both of them. :)

the crack has finally broken open.

stephanie and allie are duking it out and arguing.

a lot.

i feel like crying just listening to them.

actually, i am crying.

"silent night, holy night.

Son of God, love's pure light.

radiant beams from Thy holy face,

with the dawn of redeeming grace.

Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

Jesus, Lord, at thy birth."

[this song made me cry during the devotional last night.

this is an incredible gospel we are blessed with.]

joy

"...because joy is what is partly needed,

especially at first,

and joy, I think, is like photosynthesis for plants,

an evidence of God."

--edward hoagland

my sister's keeper

so maybe i did bawl my little eyes out.

and maybe i did enjoy it.

a lot.

this is the single most incredible movie i have ever seen.

i am so blessed.

i just want to change the world. but feel powerless.

my heart hurts.

incredible.

the benefits of blogstalking:

i found this lovely quote. and wanted to save it someplace special.<3

"Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love", which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two."

-Louis de Bernieres

3 is a magic number.

my brothers and i have decided to start a blog.

it's much easier than sending e-mails to family each week,

as my aunt and grandma do on sunday nights.

because, well. let's be honest. that just doesn't happen.

we never get around to it.

except steve, on occasion.

so, in order to remedy this and keep family informed about our lives..

we are starting a blog.

before we do this, of course we need a great creative name.

ohhh the possibilities.

we're having lots of fun trying to think of them.

but no absolute winners.

yet.

i'll have to keep you posted. :)

[favorites so far:

--3 steps to never

--nevermind the 3

--never 3 of a kind]

texts--

emily:

i kind of fail at slash struggle with life. particularly the biological kind.

steven:

you still have to write your paper though. fail or not.

emily:

i know. that's the problem.

.......

thanks for the encouraging texts, brother.

clearly--

you have a scientific mind, and i do not.

clearly.

chat.

tonight.

did i get lots of homework done like i planned?

[aka working on my biology paper..]

did i?

of course not.

why?

my roommates and i all sat on our couch.

chatting on msn.

to each other.

yes that's right.

and to allie's boyfriend [secrets secrets in the future.... ;) ]

i would post a little of a conversation.

but they're not very postable.

so i won't.

but let's just say---there were A LOT of giggles.

and a whole lot of awkward moments.

here's a little sampling:

Emily says: (10:40:35 PM)

allie wants you to lay all your love on her.

Derik says: (10:41:30 PM)

What? How do I do that?

Emily says: (10:43:31 PM)

don't go wasting your emotion. lay all your love on [her].

.... (and then he watched the video from mamma mia) ....

Derik says: (11:04:35 PM)

oh wow that is cheesy!!!

Emily says: (11:04:53 PM)

ahaha. soo funny though!

Derik says: (11:05:02 PM)

I can not believe they got that many men to dance like that. LOL

Emily says: (11:05:08 PM)

bahahahahaha.

yep. i'm being completely serious.

these are directly copied and pasted moments.

we like to keep it classy down here in cougar country.

you can only imagine some other moments in our conversation.

oh, well maybe you can't.

that's probably a good thing.

i love my roommates. and her boyfriend. so much. :)

what a beautiful life this is.

alive.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments

when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.

--Thornton Wilder

i'm oh, so conscious of mine.

i am blessed.

aren't we all?

---

"for the beauty of the earth

for the glory of the skies,

for the love which from our birth

over and around us lies.

lord of all, to thee we raise,

this our hymn of grateful praise.

for the beauty of each hour,

of the day and of the night,

hill and vale, and tree and flower,

sun and moon, and stars of light.

lord of all, to thee we raise,

this our hymn of grateful praise.

for the joy of ear and eye,

for the heart and mind's delight,

for the mystic harmony

linking sense to sound and sight.

lord of all, to thee we raise,

this our hymn of grateful praise.

for the joy of human love,

brother, sister, parent, child,

friends on earth and friends above,

for all gentle thoughts and mild.

lord of all, to thee we raise,

this our hymn of grateful praise.

for each perfect gift of thine,

to our race so freely given,

graces human and divine,

flowers of earth and buds of heaven.

lord of all, to thee we raise,

this our hymn of grateful praise."

julia.

there's a girl in my ward named julia.

and apparently she and i look quite a lot alike.

because i can't count the number of times i've been mistaken for her.

so apparently she's pretty great.

i don't doubt it.

but seriously?

my name is emily janette nevers, thanks.

do i need a name tag stuck to my forehead for you?

because it's really starting to drive me crazy.

emily.

that's my name.

please somebody get it right? someday?

good thing it happens to her too.

that makes me feel a little better.

a little.

i just wanted to be sure of you..

"if you seek some special life

outside of daily activities,

that is like brushing aside

waves to look for water."