OR the new schedule could mean that I just go weeks without posting at all. Did I forget to mention that?

Lately, in an attempt to be more organized and maximize my time, I have been putting together some fairly specific daily schedules for during the week. It's a bit of a pain, but I'm kinda lazy and otherwise I would choose to veg my time away and never get anything done.
The other day I read somewhere that, ideally, you should be reading and writing every day (outside of school, if you're a student). I sort of reflected over the past little while and realized that I was doing pretty well on the reading, but that as far as writing went...not so hot. I also realized that I haven't been studying my scriptures nearly as much as I need to.
SO, I have set a New Month's resolution: to stick to this schedule for at least 2 months, and to review and revise as needed at the end of that time.

Monday

 - Read: Shakespeare

 - Write: Journal

 - Study: Conference talk

Tuesday

- Read: Book

- Write: A letter

- Study: Book of Mormon

Wednesday 

- Read: Free Day 

- Write: Story

- Study: Book of Mormon

Thursday

- Read: Learn About Something

- Write: Create a Character

- Study: Scripture Mastery

Friday

- Read: A Federalist Paper

- Write: Blog Post

- Study: Book of Mormon

Saturday

  - Read: Book

- Write: Mini Essay

- Study: Conference talk  

Sunday

- Read: Poetry 

- Write: Five Senses Exercise 

- Study: For the Strength of the Youth

Let me tell ya, this is gonna be pretty tough, at least at first. But I think it's a good idea, so I'm gonna give it a shot (eek!). I'm posting it on this blog so there is written proof that I decided to do this, and I can't back out later. Wish me luck.

-Kelsey

P.S. In case you didn't pick up on it, that schedule also means I'll probably only update on Fridays, unless something SUPER important comes up on a Tuesday or something. But hey, at least that means I'll be more regular in my posting.

Okay, so this is going to sound waaay sappy and girly but  for the past couple of days I have been following the royal wedding (of Prince William and Kate Middleton, for anyone that's been living under a rock for the past few months) more than any person who claims to have a life probably should. At first I thought it was more than a little bit silly, the way every girl around me was getting so into it (frankly, some of it still is silly, but that's another matter). But somehow I suddenly found myself wondering what Kate Middleton's wedding dress looked like. So I googled the wedding. And found videos. And then everything on TV was about the wedding. And all the news stories were about the wedding. So, long story shorter, I've transformed into a giggly, starry-eyed teenage girl. I'm sorry, I can't help it. I'm a sap. A sappy, sappy sap. And I'm a sucker for fairy tales.

Yep, laugh all you want, but that's what it is. A handsome prince met a beautiful girl and they became good friends, and eventually fell in love. Somewhere along the way he started losing his hair and got a just a bit less handsome (sappy AND shallow, apparently), but that's OK, she still loved him. In the end, they got married and she became his princess. Someday they'll be the King and Queen of a magical land (magical to someone who's lived her whole life in the States, watching BBCA and dreaming about someday visiting London, that is) and, hopefully, they'll live happily ever after.


So that's it. The royal grandson of the Queen of a nation that isn't even my own gets married, and I turn piddly puddle of goo. I melted. I feel like the grinch in that one scene. Pathetic.
But maybe (just maybe) it was somehow a good thing. Maybe I needed to be transformed, however temporarily, from my usually aloof, condescending, geeky self back into a normal teenage girl who's just barely willing to admit that she still might believe in fairy tales. Hmm.
Anyways, I'll write more later. Love you all.
 -Kelsey

P.S. The dress? LOVE it. :)

Here's something you may or may not know about me-- for all my complaining about the mainstream music of this generation, I am actually a sucker for sugary happy pop songs from sugary happy TV movies geared towards sugary happy eleven year olds. I don't watch the actual movies, but I'm all for the teeny-bopper soundtrack. It makes me happy.
So, here is a song for you. It's from a new(ish) Disney Channel movie called "Lemonade Mouth". I believe the singer is named Bridgit Mendler. Pretty good, for Disney.

Lemonade Mouth - "Somebody"

So I finally decided to change the design of my blog, but editing the template I had put so much work into became such a pain that I decided it would be easier to just set up an entirely new blog and import my favorite posts. (The one problem with exporting/importing posts is that the format changes. So, sorry but the format on any older posts is gonna be really wonky) If you want to go back and read everything, my old blog is The Incredibly Wonderful Musings of a 100% Dork.

The title of this new blog, "I Have a Voice", was inspired by a scene in my new favorite movie - The King's Speech (The PG-13 version, of course).  Honestly, if you have a chance to go see that movie, you really should. There is one scene in the middle with a bit of cussing, but didn't feel that it was gratuitous because it had a place in the story. But if it would bother you a lot to hear the s-word repeated several times then just kidding, don't go. 

Anyways, not going to explain the scene (you'll have to watch it if you really want to know) but it was probably my favorite part. A heavily condensed version of it is here in this trailer, not nearly as powerful as the real thing, but it'll have to do...

Okay, enough about that. I need to go now and do my homework anyways. I'll try and update soon.

-Kelsey

For the past two weeks I have been trapped in my home, forced to wallow in the knee-deep piles of cough drop wrappers and Germ-X bottles that litter my bedroom floor, shut off from the world to the point that even school seemed a welcome reprieve from the germy boredom that has overtaken my life (unfortunately, the whole "school seems like a good idea" thing died as soon as math class started this morning). Who or what do I blame for this sad, sad fate? BRONCHITIS. 
This accursed inflammation of the main air passages to the lungs not only gives you a heinous cough that interferes with even the most basic, necessary things like, oh I dunno, SLEEPING, it also is contagious enough that you can't spend any time with your friends for the 3-6 weeks that it lasts, and your physician father forces you to wear a medical mask (like the one pictured above) any time you leave your room.
So what, you might ask, does one do to stay sane when held in the clutches of such an abominable illness? The answer is this: nothing. There is nothing you can do to stay sane -- it's just impossible. There are, however, a few things you can do to postpone the total mental/emotional breakdown that must eventually hit.


These are my personal favorites:

1. Sleep. Really, I think that one is pretty self-explanatory. When the coughing keeps you awake, medicate yourself. Look for the cough syrups that say "may cause drowsiness" and then take as much as you can without killing yourself. (Even though death might seem preferable to your current state, is OD-ing on cold medication really the way you want to go?) Once you finally emerge from your sweet, medically-induced slumber, move on to things 2, 3, 4 and 5.
2. Watch *insert TV show title of choice here* reruns until your eyes fall out. My *TV show title(s) of choice* are Pushing Daisies and Chuck. Anything silly, fun and slightly weird that doesn't involve too much thought on your part. If you're particularly medicated, though, you might be able to throw in a little Primeval or Heroes, just to shake things up.
3. Eat anything and everything in sight. Make 16 servings of your comfort food and then label the container "Poison" so no one else touches it. 
4. Listen to music. Once your favorite radio stations start repeating themselves, admit defeat and go to your dad for music suggestions. No matter how strange the 80's may have been, the music was pretty good. And really, anything's better than listening to nothing but the not-so-dulcet din caused by your own hacking (up a lung, that is). Or, if you're really lucky, you'll discover that a fake boy band you sort of like did a cover of an old song you sort of like -- and the result is a sound that caresses your ears and sooths you like a shoulder rub to your soul. Yep, I'm talking about this one:

5. And five, if you ever start to sink into a deep despair because you are feeling sorry for yourself and your admittedly pitiable condition, ask your friends for a pep talk. Because if your friends are half the friends that my friends are, you will get wonderful, comforting, heartfelt messages like this:
  "Oh, you have a cold? You can GET OVER IT."
Yep. My best friend actually gave me that note. Feelin' the  love, Not Cosmo -- reeeaaally feelin' it.


I hope, but don't expect, that you have found this blog post helpful, that you will take it to heart, and that it will come to your relief the next time you suffer from acute bronchitis.


Love,
ME

Here it is, as promised: the post full of non-girly things. We'll start with a list of non-girly things that are on my mind right now.

1. I have decided that I want to join the Peace Corps after I get my bachelor's degree
2. I have re-discovered my love for One Republic, especially "Stop and Stare"
3. I adore the casting for The Hobbit film
4. I have made a slightly late New Year's resolution to start reading comic books (mostly so my dad will take me to Comic-Con). Methinks I'll start with DC...Justice League, here I come
5. Today I made my best horchata so far

Now, a couple of non-girly pictures:

And to finish it all off, a video about Spock from the 2009 Star Trek movie. Set to a non-girly song, no less.


Love,
A very geeky me