5 years

5 years ago, today, my big brother came home from his mission. This morning (at like 6:20 am), while on the bus to work, I saw the date on my phone, and texted him right away.

He tried to act surprised that I remembered the date--- and honestly, I doubt that he remembered. 

But I counted down the days until November 16, 2006 like a mad woman. I told him, this morning, that this day, 5 years ago, was one of the best days of my life. It really was. I missed by big brother more than I can say. It was one of those painful things that you are obligated to be happy about-- he was doing the right thing, but I just wanted him to come home!

I remember one night while he was one his mission-- about 3 months before he came home-- he called. It was midnight. I answered the phone and FREAKED OUT. He was calling because he had really bad asthma. And he was scared because he couldn't breathe. So he called to talk to my mom. She told him what to do. 

I missed my brother so much that night. 

And  frankly, I missed him a lot all the time. I wrote him more than anyone else did. And that is the truth. Every week. Sometimes twice. Or three times. I just always had so much to say. Unfortunately, (yes, I've already shed tears about this) I used my dixiehigh.org email account to email him so that I could do it at school (during graphics class). And then when I graduated.... my account disappeared. And so did the emails. Oh that just makes me so mad. SO MAD. But I do still have quite a few of them from my hotmail account. I'm just going to paste a small sample below. These emails were a constant confirmation that Andrew was the still crazy, random banana brain that is my brother. But I could see a change for the better, too. You'll see what I mean. :)

May 23, 2005

"im so proud of you for throwin water on innocent bystanders.  i hope you ran away really fast.  did you know my friends and i used to pull up to red lights and throw water balloons in peoples cars?  but that was the apostate andrew.  now i'm saint andrew.  the hurricanes are coming next month. oodillaly how exciting."

And that would be the whole email.  The WHOLE thing. But I loved it. It's SO Andrew.

And then, 

April 17, 2006

"...thats why knowing of something greater and more constant is so important.  thats why missions are awesome.  i would love to write you a quote about that so you could use it in your graduation speech but it would be too religious and not politically correct.  how are you coming with ideas about that anyway.  im so excited for you.  dont let yourself get nervous.  get up their knowing that you as an individual are so much greater than the situation you are in.  and for the rest of your life you will be able to look back and smile on the memory know matter what is said.  give a speech of hope on a topic that your whole class can relate to.  unity, hope, and memories are the keys.  if you can relay a message that brings a feeling of unity into the gymnasium then youve done an excellent thing.  gotta run"

This is why I love my brother. Anyway, for some reason, I just wanted to share. I try to tell people how great Andrew is, but nobody really gets it, because they are not his sister. Every girl needs a big brother to take care of her, and I'm just so glad that God gave me Andrew.  And I'm just so glad, that exactly 5 years ago, he came home to his family, safe and sound, having served the Lord so well. 

So I have this roommate

Her name is Lorina Lee Binning. And she is cool. And she just bought a fantastic camera that I have taken advantage of several times since she spent her savings on it.

A couple of weeks ago we did a photo shoot in Provo Canyon. Lorina already posted her favorites of these on her blog, but these are MY favorites.

I have adorable roommates, you guys. I just love them. But don't worry Rachelle, Lene, Dani, Andrea, Kaitlin, Ashley, Genevieve, Sarie, Ann, and Lynne, I still love you guys too. A lot.

hehe Meghan. We are sharing a funny joke without you.

Halloween is more fun all the time.

When you are a young adult/college student, Halloween is the best day of the school year (except for maybe reading days and the DAY AFTER finals are over. And except the first day of school. Because I love that day. And probably big athletic events. And other days. But anyway.)

Since I graduated from high school I have had a BLAST at Halloween. Freshman year me, Moe, and Jen made my favorite costumes of all time. We even went trick or treating. That may or may not have been a good idea for 18 year olds. Junior year my roommates and I were Greek goddesses, and is a blast and a half. Last year we threw a bomb party, that I think it might be my favorite party of all time.

AND THEN THIS YEAR. We threw another party. And it rocked. It was even bigger and better than last year (except I think I actually had more fun last year... but whatever).

Instead of posting a million pictures... you should just check out the album on facebook. It's open to the public... because there are so many millions of people in the album that I don't know. I had to make it available for everyone. So anyway... here's the link.

But how about a tasty preview?

Juliet, Gypsy Woman, Sandy, Marilyn

This, again, was one of those parties that stressed me out to the max. I should have started preparing DAYS before I actually did, and I really did kind of have a panic attack the night before. At that point I was ready to get the party all set up and then just come home and go to bed, purposely missing the whole party. Thankfully, I didn't resort to that dramatic refusal of fun. But really. I was anxious about everything. I always am. But then it's always worth it. And so much fun. And really, the only reason everything even worked out was because of the amazing friends that I have. Joey, Meg, Lorina, Edward, Ben, Drake, Mike, Rachel, Sara, Dawna, etc. helped so much. So amazing. I love them. :)

Peace and blessings. Peace and blessings.

A Media Update. Because that's what I'm good for.

1. I realized, today, that you all are probably just DYING to know what I have to say about "Under the Mistletoe." haha. Well, the diagnosis is good. I think that the album is just perfectly everything that I wanted it to be. It's Bieber at his finest. Some of my favorites are "Only Thing I Ever Get This Christmas" (I'm just going to say that the Bieber is growing up...), "Christmas Eve" (sweet sweet R&B), and "Christmas Love." They are some of the many original songs on the album. The standout cover on the album is "Santa Claus is Coming To Town," and it's stand-out quality is due largely to its reminiscence of the Jackson 5 ("shake it shake it baby...") ALSO, I think that every track EXCEPT ONE says the word, "mistletoe" at least once, which is hot, and frankly, it's what Justin Bieber is all about. My comments on the recent paternity accusations? I'm ignoring the whole thing... until after he takes the test next week. THEN, if he's guilty, there will be some more ignoring. If he's innocent (which I'm betting my copy of "Under the Mistletoe" he is), then I will not shut up about that horrible woman who accused sweet Bieber of such an atrocious thing. And I'll write some nasty letters or something. Or else just tweet a bunch of condolences to JB until I get a retweet. The end.

2. I've been watching The Cosby Show like crazy for about the last two weeks-- since I realized that seasons 1 through 8 are available instantly on Netflix. Holy. That is amazing, right? So in this one episode, Theo goes to the store and picks up a very expensive designer shirt for his upcoming date. Cliff freaks out a little and exclaims, "No 14-year-old boy should have a 95 dollar shirt unless he is on stage with his 4 brothers!" I love that Heathcliff Huxtable.

3. I currently love The Script. They are an Irish band. And they are hot. and did I say Irish? And I melt away into a puddle of nothing every time I hear their current single, aptly named, "Nothing."

4. HOLY CRAP. I'm excited about this movie. And I hesitate posting the trailer here because I'm kind of a weirdy, and this book (and many other books) are such private, emotional, and personal experiences for me that I have a hard time sharing it with the world. Like, I kind of want to see the movie by myself so that whoever I am with can't taint the experience. I think I'll like the movie, though. I have a very poor track record with "books into movies," but this one appears to be everything I hoped it would be. And if not, I'll silently cry myself to sleep and never speak the words "Hunger Games" again in my lifetime. I'll just secretly maintain my devotion to those wonderful books, and write editorials in my head about why it's so good and what it could all mean. I think I should clarify, though, that on Audrey's Scale of Book Loveability, Harry Potter is like 1,000,000 lbs of importance and Hunger Games is like 1,000. They are very uneven--which is why I am even going to attempt seeing this movie (well, and because of this bomb trailer). So... after all the disclaimer and description.... enjoy.


5. I realized today that there is very nearly only one certainty in life. No matter how much EVERYONE hates them, Nickelback WILL ALWAYS manage to have a new song on the radio. Or an old song. Or any song. But you cannot escape them ever. And no matter how much I loathe that man's voice, I still find myself singing along at times (I'm telling you- inescapable), and somehow, it's comforting.

I think that's all.

Oh wait. RIHANNA-- you may have finally fell off the deep of the "too creepy for Audrey" scale with the video for "We Found Love." Buttttttt.......I'm still excited for your new album. Which comes out next week.