Jitter Bugs and Tina Turner

Since I got a new haircut I am realizing that I cannot just wake up and get away with however it looks, when it was long it would be a little curlier than normal in the morning, but I had the convenience of always just throwing it into a pony tail. But with short hair, every morning is an adventure to how it will look. Well the other morning I woke up and went out to talk to my parents in the computer room, and my dad lovingly told me that I resemble Tina Turner. I did not know who she was so I Googled Tina Turner images and this is the first one that popped up, thanks dad I get the hint. ;)

 My dad and I also have the same habit, and I would not call it a bad habit, but if you ask my mom then she would if she was sitting between us in sacrament meeting.  But my dad and I both have the need to jitter our  legs-there is no rhyme or reason to it, we don't have to go to the bathroom, we aren't nervous, we aren't anxious.  We just jitter and no one else does in our family here does it.  But I think my dad has finally figured out the reason why we do.  He told me that it is because of our Irish heritage. We, being he and I, constantly have Irish music playing in our heads, while the others do not so we jitter along to the beat of it.  So I don't know which song that is constantly playing through yours dad, but this is mine.

Enjoy dad!!!!

Hair Cut

Well going with the theme of my life right now-change- I decided to get a completely new hair cut. I dont know why I did, but maybe just to add something new and exciting.  New hair cuts are the best because you get to try out all the new hairstyles, and tho it is ALOT shorter than what I asked for its ok because now I get to be patient and let it grow, learning oppurtunities are everywhere! ;) But here are the pictures.  I include just one "BEFORE" and then the others are the "AFTER" shots.

BYU

(This is a tad outdated, seeing as how I got in Feb. 23)
I finally got into BYU! This past fall semester I worked really hard knowing that I wanted to apply to Provo because of my major and now I finally get to go. When I first saw that little word "admitted" I was more excited than words can express, but that lasted briefly as the reality of the situation hit me. Thoughts and mostly worries began to stream through my head such as: I won't be going back to Idaho, I have to find a new place to live, I am going to get lost on campus-it is so big, Where will I work, What classes do I take, How does the website work, ect.  I am a planner so I got right down to business and started making plans and after a few restless nights I wrote a to-do list and I have been tackling each thing one by one.  I will miss BYU-Idaho a lot. I finally became comfortable there and made many friends.  I will miss that little town of Rexburg and the familiarity of it, I will miss the friends I have made, especially Zach and Ayla and I will miss being able to spend time with Peter and Jill, they are so fun.  But after the feelings of sadness went away I have finally arrived at pure excitement. I am still nervous but I am so excited.  I was able to sign up for classes thanks to the help of Jordan walking me through the BYU website.  I have found a job and housing thanks to Drew's patience with telling me about all the different places and advantages to them.  I look forward to a new beginning, I look forward to an adventure and I look forward to spending time with Drew and Jessica, they are so helpful and fun.  Though I will miss BYU-Idaho, I look forward to a little change and a new experience in my life and I am grateful I get to pursue my education in exactly what I want.  So here I come BYU! =)

23 Feb 2012 Lori Anne Barnes 23351 Hwy 144 Richmond Hill, GA 31324 Dear Lori: Congratulations! You have been admitted to Brigham Young University to begin Summer 2012. Through your preparation and personal achievements, you have distinguished yourself from a very strong group of applicants. We believe you will make a positive contribution to the BYU community. It is a great pleasure to welcome you to our campus to pursue your educational goals. To be eligible to continue to future semesters, you must register for and complete this semester or term. To secure your admission slot, it is essential for you to read the Frequently Asked Questions located at the link below and follow the instructions in question no. 1 in order to accept your admission opportunity. This link will also provide you with important information regarding scholarships, housing, financial aid, etc. We encourage you to maintain the standards outlined in the University Honor Code, and we look forward to having you on campus. Warmest regards, R. Kirk Strong Director of Admission Services

And the best Prank award goes to...

At dinner tonight we were all sitting around talking of different memories and one came up of when Grandmother Barnes jumped out of the upstairs room closet where Lisa and I were staying.  It was an on-going game between the three of us.  Earlier that morning Lisa and I had jumped out of her closet scaring her when she was doing laundry or ironing something if my memory serves me correctly and we thought we were clever and had got the best of her.  No way did it occur to us that Grandmother would retaliate.  So the day went on and Lisa and I had forgotten about it...little did we know there was something awaiting us.  Family prayer came and it was time to go to bed so after the prayer Lisa and I gave everyone a goodnight kisses and while we were doing that Grandmother being really sneaky, because we did not even notice it, ran up the other side of the staircase and hid in our closet.  Well Lisa and I got in bed and were just talking when we heard a creepy laugh.  We stopped and asked each other if we had both heard it, well we did and thought it was something else because it stopped.   A few minutes later again we heard the creepy laugh coming from our closet, mind you we were both young and still afraid of things under the bed and in the closet.  We turned on the light and called for Peter to come check it out since he was the brave older brother.  He came into our room and we waited and then the laugh came again.  By that time I was scared out of my wits and I am not sure how the other two were feeling exactly but I am sure they were too. Peter grabbed a pillow and put it in front of him as a shield as he crept toward the closet.  Right when he grabbed the door handle...."BOO!" Grandmother jumped out of the closet causing our brave older brother to run down the stairs, only hitting one as he ran down them.  I screamed and fell down on the floor tripping over the chair and Lisa flipped backwards over her bed railing.  Grandmother could not stop laughing and crying talking about how Peter's eyes were as big as softballs when she came out of the closet toward him.  This is a memory I won't ever forget, because I have never been more scared in my life (the laughing came from a mirror she got as a gift as a practical gift one year) or laughed that much and nor have I ever seen someone go down stairs as fast as Peter did.  So thanks for the memory and the best prank award goes to you, Grandmother Barnes.

Now Grandmother is really hard to find picturesof , so this will be the place holder until I can find a better one, but don't let the sweet smile she has on fool you for one moment ;)

Sister and Soccer

On our way to church this morning our conversation veered toward the topic of soccer and we spent a few minutes reminiscing of Lisa and I playing together on the same soccer team-Comets. Some moments were happy, some were frustrating and some were sad, but overall I think that we both enjoyed having each other around. Once I moved out of my forward position to center mid Lisa and I connected much more. She is fast and I was accurate so I knew that she could get to my through ball and she knew that I could get a good pass to her so she could run on to it.

Lisa makes a really good shot off a breakaway and I run up to her to congratulate her.  One of the many pros to being on the same team as your sister is you always have someone who is right there to give you a big hug after you do something great.

Heres us again just supporting one another again.

This video I really like because this team we played was the number one team the previous year and we ended up tying in the end, but it was the toughest game we had played at the Aiken tournament. But when I go after this one girl who has the ball I cannot get it from her so I call for help and no later than a few seconds the first person to show up (and notice how she comes in) is Lisa.  She comes in with all gusto to help and get the ball and we end up together in the end stopping the ball from advancing forward.

Soccer has held my heart for many years.  I have loved playing it since I was little and it was a dream of mine to play in college.  After I had injured myself the first time I took it really hard.  When I got infection I got even worst and thought my life was over. 

This ended up being the season ending play where I tore my ACL and meniscus the first time.

The second time I tore my Acl and meniscus I put on a brave face but was not really happy.  It actually was not until this fourth surgery that I actually accepted it and I am actually not that sad.  Will I miss playing soccer....well of course. I love it and it made me 100% happy, but something that has become a new love and focus of mine is sharing my knowledge of the game with others.  I get to coach at the high school again this year and I find this as rewarding as playing.  Another thing that I love to do now is watch others do well, I used to get jealous of others who got to play, but I really look forward to watching Lisa and Katie, both well deserving captains of thier teams do well in their own soccer careers.  I am grateful for the 13 years and few months here and there I got to play but now I get to enjoy the rest of my life cheering on my siblings and eventually, if they want, my own kids. 

But since I played mostly with Lisa I would like to say thanks for the great memories.  I ended my career great because you made it so.  When others did not care to welcome me back to the game you always were the one to run over in a few seconds and help me.

Vegetarian

To start this year off I decided to be a vegetarian.  It is actually not as bad as I would have thought, I thought that I would never get full but vegetables feel me up pretty quick and I am learning a lot about the health benefits from a book Jessica's Mom lent me on being Vegan, which I am not, but it still provides ample information on being just a vegetarian.  It is kinda fun to see the things I can eat and the new recipes I can make, so even though I am sure I will go back to eating meat in a year or two I will enjoy the experience.  My mom went grocery shopping for me and since she loves me so much she bought me a lot of things I can eat, which I have yet to try, but I will soon, because I want to see what kale and pearl multi grain hot cereal taste like.

Surgery Undies

I finally did it! Something I had been saying I would do for the last three years.  When I had my first surgery four years ago I bought a new pair of pink undies that I wore for that first surgery.  After that I never wore them and I wasnt really quite sure until a couple of months later when I finally decided to put them on again thinking that it was silly not to wear them just because I had worn them through one unpleasant experience so I put them on and wouldnt you know it that night I ended up in a surprise surgery treating the infection resulting in the screw popping out of my knee cap.  So after that recovery I decided that those undies were just bad luck and I never wore them again, but always kept them for some reason still.  So when I tore my acl again, and prepped for surgery I put on those undies and then after surgery i shoved them back into my drawer vowing to burn them the first chance I had still thinking they brought bad luck.  Well it slipped my mind that the undies were looming in the dark corner of my top drawer so they lay waiting untill finally this last surgery I had two weeks ago, I found them and put them on once again blaming there bad luck for my misfortune and fourth surgery and promised I would burn them as soon as I could.  Well yesterday the fire was calling my name so I took my unlucky undies and threw them in and looked up at the sky with relief knowing that since I no longer have my surgery undies that surgery is out of my future. =)