"You Can't Find Heaven Searching Through Hell ..."

It's been ages since I've made a post! D:

I feel slightly terrible. I've just been so busy with life lately ... work at the barn and school and homework and it seems like life is finally picking back up for me ...
Which means less time at home for my blog!
I think I owe you all a quick little update on my life ...

where i've been.

I saw Watchmen last Friday with Danni, my sister, and some other friends. Oh. my. word.
It was great. So great. The film was two hours and forty-five minutes long, and the second it was over, I was more than ready to sit back down and watch it again.
The portrayal of the characters, the introduction of the plot ... sheer brilliance. I'm not going to lie when I saw that the opening credits, with Bob Dylan's The Times, They Are A-Changin' playing in the background, may have been my favorite part of the whole movie. Seeing all the characters introduced for the first time ... getting that first glimpse into the world the film directors had created out of such an already dynamic "reality" created in the comic ... The visual effects were stunning. Simply stunning. I keep playing that scene - the opening credits - over and over in my head and it gives me shivers just thinking about it.
I want to talk more about my opinions on the film, but I'm going to end now for fear of ruining it for anyone else who wants to go see it! And I do recommend, please, for your own sake, go "watch the Watchmen" and make sure to let me know what you think <3

where i am.

School has me a bit swamped right now D:
Particularly, Honors English. While I think Don Quixote is a story as amusing as it is quirky and lovable, I find it hard to appreciate when I'm having to annotate three and four times per page. I just can't enjoy a novel if there's so much work involved, lol x]
Besides the daily overload of homework and the daily nine-to-five (er, seven-thirty to two) of the school day, I've got myself good and busy up at the barn, working with Bob. I'm preparing myself the best I can before my first horse show of the season, which is coming up mighty quick ... first weekend of April!
And if that's not enough to keep a sixteen-year-old busy, throw in extra band practices at the high school - more often than not, at nine in the morning on a Saturday! Why the extra hours, you ask? That leads me up to ...

where i'm headed.

And that, my friends, is Orlando, Florida! =D
My high school band is participating in a nation-wide competition as DisneyWorld over spring break!
I'm very excited, as you can imagine! Five days in "the happiest place on earth", spending time with a bunch of amazing people - whoever tagged us "band geeks" were sorely mistaken. However, we'll carry the title with pride, because, in the words of Gabe Saporta's epic tee shirt, "I'm a band kid and I can do that". x] Besides the competition, we also get the privilege of being taught in a clinic while in Orlando - and, on a more fun note, all-access passes to the entire park throughout our stay! =D This includes a dinner at the House of Blues Orlando, which I am very excited about <3
All in all, I'm sure it's going to be a simply outstanding experience, and, while I'm stoked to have this opportunity ... I'm also seriously excited to just get out! Florida - sunshine!!!! I think getting out of Washington State for a little bit will feel fine!

But, as soon as my little cross-country escapade is over, I have to get my head focused again and throw my boots back on - because I only have one day in between when I get back home from Orlando and when I head north for my first show of the season!
I know I'm going to be jet-lagged and a little out of sorts at least for the drive to the show grounds, but I'm hoping the trip to DisneyWorld and the short break in between that and my show doesn't interfere with my performance in the arena. That's part of why I've been at the barn a little more often than usual - I'm trying to get as much practice in with Bob before I leave for Orlando as possible, because five days may not seem like a long time, but that's five days of extra preparation that I'm not going to have. Also, it's five days in which I won't have had time to pack all my show outfits and all of Bob's tack and equipment. However, if I plan it right, I'll have everything taken care of and ready to be packed before I leave for Orlando ... so then when I get home, I can use my one free day effectively, to simply throw everything in the truck and get ready to haul out!
Regardless of any unorthodox planning that may have to be made, I'm still beyond excited to get back in the arena again! My only hope is that Bob and I have a successful first performance and that we begin paving the way right for our trip to Canadian Nationals in August!
... but that's even farther out on my "where i'm headed" list ;)

As far as events much closer on the calendar ...
Tomorrow night I'm having the privilege of seeing Spiritual Plague and Emsley perform again! They're two local, unsigned bands from my area I've seen once before, and they're both so much fun to see live (: I'm bringing some friends with me this time and it's sure to be a night full of great music, great company, and best of all, great worship!
After the show we're going to head back to Steph's for a sleepover x] Should be epic as always!!


Anyway, that's a quick run-down of my life's current affairs <3
I'm sorry again that I haven't been blogging, but ... as you can see I've had my hands full!
Hopefully I can keep you guys updated a little more frequently, though. I'll do my best!


keep on living
xoxo