December is here, school is out, and I am about to turn 25.

I have decided that the older I get the faster time goes. I cannot believe it is already December but I am more excited than ever because I feel like I have long anticipated this month. Why might you ask? Well let me tell you. First of all, Christmas is in December. I love Christmas and all of its magic, good food, family gatherings, and twinkling lights. I love it. This month also marks the official end of my having to take regular college classes. I am technically still in school but I am done with classes which is amazing! This December also means it is my birthday. This is a little bittersweet. I am not ashamed to admit that I love my birthday. However, this year I am turing 25. That is 1/4 of the way to 100! Sometimes I feel like I have been 17 forever and so to realize that I am now in my mid-twenties is just weird. But I will get over it. The final reason for why I am so excited for December is pretty cheesy but I don't care. I am excited because I don't have to long distance date anymore. I get to see Sam everyday if I want. It has been less than a week and it is already amazing. I feel like I have been waiting for that from the day I moved up to Logan and I made it! So yay for me.

In other news I have my student teaching placement! I feel like when I read the e-mail it was like opening a mission call, okay not exactly but that's what I felt like. I am student teaching at North Ridge High School. I am going to be teaching World Civ and U.S. History. I am super nervous but mostly excited. I can't wait to get started!

So I have to describe my wonderful last weekend in Logan. The only unfortunate thing is that I did not take one picture. Oh well. Sam came up on Friday and we just had a relaxing night and went to Torrie and Matt's and watched Harry Potter 7 part 2. On Saturday we drove to Brigham City to eat at Maddox. Sam has never been there and lets just say he was not dissappointed because it was delicious and it made me full for the rest of the day. After a nice little nap we headed up to Maple Grove hot springs with Torrie and Matt and soaked away all our troubles for about two hours, laughed at some crazy drunk people, and just had a good time. After we were so hungry that we decided to go eat at Angie's and of course I got my usual, the double decker combo with tater tots. On Sunday we had a wonderful time at church and again ate some delicious food (this is kind of a theme of the weekend). That night we played Nertz at our friend Katie and Spencer's apartment and we lost, but it was still fun. On Monday I took my very last final and Sam helped me move all my stuff. My wonderful roommate Emily was so nice and gave me this crazy snow hat and this really pretty journal. She is the best. After a very tired drive from Logan I am officially home. It was a pretty magical weekend and I can't wait for this magical Christmas break.

Back to Blogging: An update on the life of Kayla Ruth Youngs

Well I have successfully gone an entire semester without blogging. To my defense I have written in another blog for school. I would give the link but it is very boring and there is not much worth reading. I feel like so much has happened since the summer and life has been a whirlwind of business. Since July I have started my last semester of classes at USU and I have been trying to not get drowned by all the things I have had to do to finish school and get ready for student teaching! Yes that's right, I am just one step away from being a real life teacher. I am super nervous about student teaching but I am so sick of school that I think I am ready. If everything works out I should be student teaching in Clearfield at a junior high. I am going to move home to save some money and I could not be more excited. I always like being close to my family. Well here are a few pictures of the last few months of life.

I went to Boston with Matt to help Bethany drive home. I love having all of our family in Utah again. It was quite the experience to drive accross the country and I would maybe do it again but with more than 3 days to drive. But it was really fun to get to see Boston and Chicago and to do it with my big brother and sister. Thanks to Bethany for letting me have that experience and for matt for driving late into the night!

Also, my very good friend got married to her now husband, Richard. I was able to go to the sealing at the temple and it was beautiful. She looked beautiful and I would just like to say that I helped her pick out her dress.

I also went to Idaho to visit my grandparents and introduce them to the person that has been occupying my time the most lately, Sam. The visit was so much fun. We ate a lot of good food, played a few games of quiddler, Sam fed horses for the first in his life, we went on a romantic country bike ride and got chased by a crazy dog, and showed Sam of the sites of Twin Falls. The trip as a whole was wonderful and I think that my grandparents really liked Sam and he really liked them, but who wouldn't love George and Ruth Haney?

Sam gave me this cute little pumpkin to celebrate Halloween and wrote this on the back,

This past weekend we went to see one of my favorite artists Rachael Yamagata. I had made Sam listen to her before and he didn't really like her but he is so nice and agreed to come with me. To make it more fun for himself he decided to dress up like a soulful indie boy. In the end he just kind of looked like Where's Waldo. You know what though? He really liked the show. She played a lot of really great songs and is such a good live performer. After we went and got half priced sushi which was delicious. The whole night was wonderful and amazing.

Well blogger world and the two people who actually read this blog, until next time (which will hopefully be sooner than later).

Ready or Not

As usual summer has faded away faster than a three year old's ice cream cone in July. I move up to school on Saturday. Have I done any packing? No. But surprisingly I am pretty ready for school. By ready I mean I have bought my five-star notebook, pens, and even a few books. This summer has been great. It started off a little slow, but turned out to be a real winner. I guess I didn't do too many exciting things, but here are a few things that may be noteworthy. 

I went to Idaho with my family to celebrate my Grandpa's 90th birthday. It was great, a little chaotic, but mostly great. We went on a river trip, ate a ton of food, played some games, and had a big birthday party for Grandpa.

My Grandma found this picture of her and my Grandpa from a Christmas a very long time ago. Don't you just think it is the cutest thing? I love the suspenders! I love that they are just as in love today as they were when this picture was taken.

I also went kayaking with my friend Robbie one weekend at East Canyon. It was great. I felt like it was a perfect summer day up in the mountains with the sun shining on my face. It was so sunny that I got a terrible burn on my shoulders.This is me and my friend Tifanee trying to fit both of us in a one person kayak, we sunk at first, but then we found a way to make it work.

I also got my very fist pedicure with my wonderful Mom. It was amazing.

Today I went to my niece Lucy's first soccer game. It was like 100 degrees outside, so she wasn't that excited about running around, but it was still cute. The cutest thing was before the game when Izzy gave Lucy a big pep talk about scoring goals and playing her best. Izzy is such a good big sister.

Overall summer has been great, and I am excited for school to start because it is my last semester of classes! Then I will student teach in the spring and then become a bona-fide teacher! It is bitter sweet really, as most things in life are. So farewell to summer and all it's summertime magic, you have truly been good to me.

A LIttle Bit of A Let Down

Last weekend I had the pleasure of getting to go to a concert with two of my favorite artists Ray Lamontagne and Brandi Carlile at Library Square in Salt Lake. I was really excited to go to this show and even though the tickets were a little pricey, I thought it would be worth it. I am glad I went, but I'm not going to lie, it was kind of a let down. It had nothing to do with the performance, which was everything I could have hoped for and more. They both played so well and I would see either of them live again. The annoying part was the audience. When Brandi Carlile came out some over zealous ladies stood up, thus making everyone else have to stand up to see. You would think since this was an outdoor lawn concert featuring two mellow folk singers, people would have sat down at one point. Oh, on the contrary, we stood the whole time, which is bizarre right? I could see if it were a rock concert, but this was pretty layed back music. Also it seemed like people were constantly walking around instead of just sitting and enjoying the music. Everyone around us was drinking and Haley (who very kindly came with me) and I were in constant fear of getting beer spilled on us every time they passed us from filling up their drinks. Well, this was kind of a rant, but I guess I just was a little frustrated because I was looking forward to this so much and it was a little disappointing, but at least the music was great. Here are some pictures and a video. The video doesn't have very good sound, but you can see what I mean when all the people kept moving around, and also how we could barely see around these tall men in front of us. Sigh, maybe next concert I go to will be a little more magical.

New Name

So I have decided to rename my blog to something a little more positive. The name Almost But Not Really was my friend Abby's idea, and at the time I loved it because it described my life so perfectly. Even though it still probably describes my life, I think I need a new name. So what should it be? Ideas are encouraged and perhaps I will pick one that is suggested to me.

Time for a Change

I love my long hair, but there comes a time when everybody needs a change.

So I cut my hair today. I really like it. I feel light and free and different. I couldn't believe how much hair was on the floor. A lot. I thought about donating it but I would have had to cut it above my chin. I wanted a change but not that big of a change. So here it is, me with short hair.

 

Frisbee Fever

Do you know why I am excited for summer? Perhaps it is because I will be done with school and homework, or because of the warm weather instead of the ridiculous snow in Logan, or perhaps it is because I will get to live for free at home and hang out with my awesome family. Yes, all those are true, but I am weirdly excited to play frisbee every week! I think about it every day, which is weird. Maybe I should join a league...

Turning into a girl

I think the past week has made me more of a girly-girl than I ever experienced during Jr. High when these things typically happen. What has caused this change you might ask? Well it all started with a little Aggie coupon book that had a coupon for free Tanning at a salon called. The Rage. I have always been against tanning, but somehow let my roommates talk me into it. Perhaps it is because I have been in the land of eternal winter for the last 7 months and could use a good 10 minutes in a tube of artificial warmth. Plus it was completely free, so I would be foolish not to go right? Well I did, and now I am burnt like a lobster in places that have probably not seen the sun since I was a baby. And oh how it burns. I should have taken heed to the warning signs. Like when we asked about the different beds the words "even more intense lights, UV skin penetration, and deeper tan" were used. Oh well, I think I got rid of 6 summers worth of bad tan lines from working at the city. Will I go again? It is too soon to tell. On the other hand, I had a most positive girl experience that ironically was introduced to me by a boy. On Friday my friend Pete called me up and asked if I wanted to go get a facial with him, so I said why not? We went to the beauty school in Logan so it probably wasn't as supreme or up class as a facial could be, but let me tell you, that was some extreme relaxation. For those who don't know a facial is basically a face massage for about an hour with soothing music in the background. Pete and I both had glowing faces all day. In summary, don't go tanning, there is nothing natural about that bed of blue light. Facials on the other hand, I would highly recommend, just be prepared to be drowsy for the drive home.

50 Book Challenge

I have taken the challenge, the 50 book challenge. My roommate Torrie told me I should do it, and so I said yes. What is this challenge you might ask? Well it is to read 50 books in one year, which means I basically have to read a book a week. So far I have only read 4, so I am not so sure how well I am going to be at succeeding in this challenge, but I think that I can do it if I put my mind to it.. So far this year I have read the last two of the Hunger Games books, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. I liked this series, but I felt that the end did not leave me very satisfied. Overall, I feel like the Hunger Games is a combination of 1984 and the Twilight series; they were entertaining and interesting, but not life changing. The third book I read is called Honey, Baby, Sweetheart. From the title and appearances this book seems like a teenage romance novel, but it is actually about a teenage girl finding herself and discovering what love really is. I thought it was a surprisingly good book; it was predictable, but still a good read. The latest book I read is called Chains. This is by far the best so far this year. It is the story of a young slave girl during the time of the American Revolution. I think it is a great young adult fiction and provides an interesting perspective on the founding of America. I particularly liked this book because it wasn't about romance, vampires, or the complex social problems of present day teens that many young adult books are like these days. It is a wholesome book (if you haven't read a popular young adult fiction book lately you would be surprised how explicit they can be), and it has a strong protagonist, which I think some books that teens read these days are lacking.

I had kind of a depressing moment at the Bountiful. City Public library this week. I was looking for a series that I read when I was in Jr. High and couldn't find it anywhere. The books were old when I was younger, so it isn't too surprising that they were no longer there, but what made me sad was what had replaced these books. Was young adult fiction always so superficial? There was literally an entire shelf for Twilight books alone. It made me sad that the books of my childhood had been replaced by entertainment books about boys and vampires, but who knows, maybe books were always like that and I just didn't notice because I was too young.

Well since I have a lot of catching up to do if I am going to read 50 books, I would love any suggestions of books to read. I am looking for books that have substance but are not super long. So nothing like Crime and Punishment but maybe a little more substantive than say Charlotte's Web. I am open to just about any kind of book. Wish me luck!

A Shoutout

I would like to dedicate this post to my Awesome Family. Basically the past year has been one of the most humbling in that I have had to learn to be more dependent on other people than I have ever before. And I don't mean the kind of dependent that is forced upon you as a child or even a teenager. I mean the kind that you have to willingly submit to, or even worse, ask for. Yes, yes, I admit that as a grown 24 year old, I am still dependent, and I am maybe learning that in a way, I always will be. I can't think of a time when a member of my family did not come through for me when I really needed it. Every single person in my family has helped me in an enormous way. So I just want to say Thank You. Thanks for always looking out for me, as the little sister. Without you I would be very lost, probably cold, and very hungry.