happiness is...

...when you take a large risk and it ends up working out perfectly and rewarding.

...when you open your eyes from your bed and see your bedroom is dim with faint streams of 7-in-the-morning sunlight.

...when you learn a new vocabulary word and shortly after get the perfect opportunity to use it!
"it seemed like an auspicious loophole."

...when you wake up and realized there is a bruise on your bum from the night before when you tried sitting the in the front seat of a car with your friends even though there were only two bucket seats and you sat in the middle with the gear stick jabbing for 40 minutes but it was worth it cause you were in the front seat with your friends.

...when you are laying on the floor while your bunny Lou is hopping around and he does a big hop and almost lands on your head.

brought back to life.

Basically, anytime I am sad or stressed or confused or WHAT IS MY LIFE, I tend to disappear. Not just from here, but from everyone like friends and family. So in real life, if you don't see me or hear from me, just know something is going and I like to keep to myself to figure everything out.

I'M BACK.

And here is what has happened in the last month:

-I moved! I went from the Avenues to Cottonwood Heights. I will forever love and miss the Avenues but I like my new area too. And we have a pool. But the gate to get into the complex sounds like a pissed off witch that is getting tickled and wants to laugh but is trying to suppress it. And that wakes me up sometimes.

-I realized how much I hate packing, for a lot of reasons. I will forever wonder where all my stuff comes from. I swear it multiplies every time I move. So I hate being forced to go through it to throw stuff away and in the midst of that I will find an old memory that will make me sad or I will find a toy that will distract me. It just sucks and I can't get anything done. I made a promise that the place I live now, will be place I die just so I don't have to pack and move again.

-I ran out of gas while driving! Are you suprised? I'm not. I am pro at knowing just how low the gas gage can sit BELOW the E before I have to finally stop and get some gas. Except this time, I ran out and it was like 11PM. I sat on the side of road thinking of who I can call...

Not Shandey, she is probably in bed and lives 40 minutes away.
Not Steve...
Not my mom, I don't want her to worry.

Was that really all the people I had to go through to see who could help? Then I remembered...

KRAMER! My longtime BFF Kramer who will always be my BFF but it's kind of hard since he is married. I called him and he didn't even ask questions or hesitate. He said he was on his way (after he laughed because this has been happening to me ever since our friendship had started).

I'm really thankful for Kramer, I hadn't seen him in a long time but he came to help without asking questions or expecting anything in return. That's a real friend. We both went home smelling like gasoline.

That's about it... I'm very happy. I thought I would be sad to leave my apartment with Steve and the life we built there, but this change has been good and I'm really happy.

typing is my favorite way to let my nails dry.

I don't know why but I always blog after I paint my nails. Probably because typing helps them dry and if I try doing anything else (VERY CAREFULLY) I will always smudge my newly painted nails. I suck.

SO GUESS WHAT!

Let it be known......

That this weekend........

I learned how to drive a stick shift! Yup. I can now officially drive a stick shift. I kind of knew how before, but now I have it down and am pro. Steve taught me and was a swell teacher. But if you ask him about the experience, he will tell you that I killed the engine four times in a row in the MIDDLE of an intersection. I almost went in panic mode, but he told me to stay calm.

Lou and I are starting to be buds. When I let him out for his daily play hour(s), he is starting to follow me around and boop me. Getting booped by a bunny is just an experience you can't beat. If only I was lucky enough to have caught it on camera. Here are some of my favorite internet boops:

 

lou.

photo by me:

taken this morning

right before I fed him breakfast

Reader,

There aren't enough words to explain how much I love Lou.

I love how cute he looks when he eats.

I love how cute he looks when he licks his paws and then rubs his cheeks.

I love how cute it sounds when I hear his teeth clinking on his water bottle thingy when he drinks.

I love how he eats Cheerios out of my hand.

I love his feet, tail and ears.

I really just love him.

He is starting to warm up to me. I have been letting him out of his cage and laying on the floor a few times throughout the day and he is starting to lay on my belly and let me pet him more.

WAHOO!

We are making some progress.

Before we know it, I will be the crazy bunny lady who is signing Lou up for bunny ballroom dances. 

I hope that's a thing.

little bunny lou lou.

Here he is.

Lewis.

Oh yeah, we ended up naming him Lewis.

Lou for short.

 

 

 

He was really sweet when we first picked him up.

He let me cuddle him and hold him and pet him.

 

He was a good little bunny the whole drive home.

Then when we got home, he got sassy.

He did a lot of this:

 

 

But I still love him.

It took him a while to get comfortable and eat and drink.

He hid behind the toilet for almost an hour.

We got his cage set up and now he looks like he feels at home.

His favorite snack so far is muli-grain Cheerios.

 

And there is no sweeter sound (or sight) than him trying to run on hardwood floors.

I love him so much I'm afraid I might go Lenny on him.

You won't get that joke unless you have read Of Mice and Men.

 

We have a lot of training to do and I'm excited to do it.

I just really really really love him.

 

Here he is refusing to eat a carrot while looking adorable:

 

 

He also likes when I sing "Little Bunny Foo Foo" but change it to "Little Bunny Lou Lou"

 

 

 

We read online that in order to get your pet bunny to trust you, you have to lay on your belly on the floor and let it explore the room. Eventually, the bunny will come to you and get familiar with your smell and see you are not a threat. I was doing this last night (and felt like an idiot cause I looked like I was planking in my living room) and it totally worked. Lou came hopping over and started hopping on my head and back. I was in heaven. Then he started sniffing my head and then I felt a BITE. My instinct reaction was to freak out but I didn't want to scare him. So there I laid in the living room, silently screaming because a bunny just bit my head. I let him roam around and get familiar with the place for about an hour and then he hopped back into to Bunnytown (his cage) and he went to bed. So if i keept doing this, I think he will be just fine. 

i'm 23 and this the coolest thing that has happened to me probably.

I just want to let it be known...

That this morning when I checked my Instacrack (Instagram, but it's addicting like crack)...

It said I had a request from someone who wished to follow me.

Will you please guess who it was?

.......

REEL BIG FISH.

The official account for Reel Big Fish.

Reel Big Fish is now following me on the Instagrams.

Oh, and Reel Big Fish just happens to me on my top 10 favorite bands. If you don't know them, Youtube them. (Where Have You Been?, She Has a Girlfriend Now, Beer, Trendy, Sell Out, Your Guts)

At first, I was like... hmm, well maybe they just are freakin' awesome and just follow all their fans back. But nope. I checked and they are only following 60-ish people. They are still awesome though.

I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing that this is easily the coolest thing that has happened to me... besides that one time I got a personal shoutout on the Elvis radio station on SIRIUS Radio.

I saw Reel Big Fish in concert just this summer and they are great live. Here is photo evidence:

photo by: me

 

molly.

I am officially an Aunt of four.

My sister, Shandey, had a baby today!

It is a little baby girl.

Named Molly.

I already love her so much it hurts.

Happy birthday, Molly!

Can't wait to sneak you candy and pop when your mom isn't looking.

Tee hee.

FINALLY.

Thrilled.
Happy.
Relieved.
Excited.

Those are the things I am feeling since it is officially September. Mainly because I don't like summer. I seem to have bad luck in the summer...

-Bee sting.
-Fell off a deep curb and landed on my back while badly hurting my foot. (it's okay to laugh, i'm sure everyone in my apartment building did)!
-Getting locked out.
-Birthday mishaps.
-Just a bunch of little stupid stuff that adds up to be just annoying.

And the summertime is just TOO HOT. Pretty much the only thing I like about the summer are the popsicles and occasionally seeing a big dog running through a sprinkler.

Oh well. That's all in the past and now I can be happy that the best/prettiest time of year is here.

it's officially started.

College football has officially started!

I went to the Utah football game last night and it felt great to be back in the stadium. We won of course, what kind of question was that?

I stood in the student section... called the MUSS. The guy I was standing next to was named Normal. Yes, NORMAL. I didn't believe him but with a quick flash of his ID, he wasn't lying. And don't worry, he goes by MOLE, not Norm.

Anyway, our seats are on SECOND ROW.

Oh and since Steve is an Athletic Trainer at the U, he was on the sidelines for the game. Um, jealous. He loved it. He also got on TV next to Coach Whit.

question.

What would ya doOOooo for a Klondike BAR!?

Well, I would walk or drive to the store and get one. That's what I would do.

I have to get ready for a wedding right now but I just wanted to share really fast....

There is no better noise in the world than hearing your 2 nephews and niece squealing and screaming from pure joy that Aunt Kaleena just knocked on their door to come visit.

photos by me.

The other night it was straight up pink outside. 

It was weird.
But I hurried and went out to take pictures of the pinkness and the sunset before it was too late.

I can't believe I am 23.

I still think I'm 20.

I wish I was still 20.

I liked 20.

Seriously, how am I 23?

saturday.

Sleeping in.

Running errands.

Sprague Library.

Work. (kind of)

Red Robin for lunch.

Driving around listening to Reel Big Fish.

Watch some Youtube Videos.

Nap.

Stand in line for Reel Big Fish concert.

Reel Big Fish concert.

Dees.

F'Real milkshake.

15 days.

Guess what? There are just 15 days until I turn 23!  Can you believe it? I can. And I am actually excited for my birthday this year... considering what awful and truly upsetting event happened two days after my birthday last year.

This is what I want for my birthday this year....

And I also want pretty much everything off of this website:  http://thisiswhyimbroke.com/

Anyway... I have been really happy lately. I have been making a lot of progress in certain parts of my life that I thought would forever be unchangeable. It's amazing how much control you do have over your own happiness.

when you can't sleep at 2AM.

One of my favorite things to do is

driving around at night. 

When all the streets are empty, everything seems so quiet and peaceful. 

When i'm out driving around at 2AM, it makes me realize how much of a night person I am. I don't really like the day time. 

Even though I like morning time,

I am a night owl at heart.

I know in the bottom picture it looks like I'm about to crash my car, but that is not what happened .I just sometimes like pictures like that.

Good night.

right now....

So... right now I am on Youtube looking up how to the the Hustle. Yes, that dance from the 70's.

Wish me luck.

It's happening.

for this moment, nothing matters. look up into the stars and you're gone.

Tree blossom overload!
Photos by : me

how to have a good thursday. by kaleena.

Being the idiot I am 100% of the time.... when I set my alarm last night, I set it for 6:15PM instead of 6:15AM. So I roll over this morning, look at my clock and see a big, bright, red 8:47am. With this being the start of my day, I thought for sure my day was going to be a wreck. But I have good news to report and that good news is that my day wasn't a wreck. I've been doing this thing where I've been only thinking positive and only worrying about things that I have complete control over. And this method has led me to be happier and my days to go smoother.

So here are some ingredients to a have a good Thursday:

1. Eat some cosmic brownies. Right now they have boxes 10/$10.00 at Smiths. This is a cosmic brownie:

2. Eat a lot of apples. My favorite apples right now are Gala apples.
3. Listen to Dashboard Confessional. Yeah, they are soooo 2004 and I feel like i'm a sophomore in high school again when listening to them, but I love it. 
4. Eat an orange-sicle. A great way to wind down the day.

In conclusion: I am happy today! I love today! Today as in March 22nd will always be special to me! Okay, i'm done with using exclamation points. jk!

IN OTHER NEWS:  I am visiting over here today. April is awesome. 

R.I.P. 2011 (2011 - 2011)

Last night... the Christmas tree got tipped over.

Last night... I had to watch Justin Bieber perform Let it Be by the Beatles on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve. I thought everyone knew that was something you just don't do...

Last night... I counted SIXTEEN cars that were pulled over on the freeway, probably for DUI's, when I soberly drove my friend Brian home.

Last night... I listened to Let's Twist Again by Chubby Checker and decided it's my new freedom song.

Last night... I said a lot of weird words and bizarre sentences right at midnight so I could be the first person of the year to say them!

Last night... was a blast and a half.

Cheers to 2012 and to this being my first post of 2012!

YAY!

so this is christmas.

I am sitting at work drinking a Red Bull I got at the store (2 for 6 bucks, that's something you take advantage of no matter what it is) and I remembered I have a picture of my Christmas tree to show.

The tree that I haven't named yet was put up on Sunday night while the Simpons was on the TV in the background.

It only took one hour to turn the living room into a holiday-less living room into a... living room with a Christmas tree. Ha ha

I think it looks TREE-rific.

TREE-mendous.

I really love decorating trees. So if you need some help or just want a buddy while you decorate yours, I am your gal.

thanksgiving break has officially ended.

If I could insert into this post to let you know how devastated I am to be back at work and no longer enjoying the long holiday weekend, I would insert it here. Thanksgiving break officially ended when my alarm was making that known-around-the-world alarm clock sound at 6:45am. But all long Thanksgiving breaks must come to an end I suppose.

This holiday weekend, I was all mixed up on my days, it was madness. On Wednesday I thought it was Friday. On Thursday I thought it was Saturday. On Friday I thought it was Thursday. On Saturday I thought it was Friday again. And on Sunday I knew it was Sunday, but I was hoping it was Saturday still.

I think everyone who knows me, knows I am thankful for and appreciate the little things, and I express that daily... hourly sometimes, depending on how many emotions I wake up with that day. But here is a list of things I am always thankful for. I'm not sure if this list is going to be long or short, so here it goes...

1. My job. Through my endless complaining, there is a great deal of gratitude for this job.
2. My health.
3. My family, friends, parents, dogs, people in my life.
4. My home.
5. My bed.
6. My shower, toothbrush, toilet paper. People around me are thankful for those too.
7. Music.
8. Books.
9. My hearing and my vision.
10. My ability to be constantly feeling. Even the sadness sometimes, I am thankful for that.
11. Dogs. Dogs. Dogs.
12. Food.
13. The internet.
14. Laughing & sense of humor.
15. Favors.
16. My car.
17. My emotions.
18. My legs.
19. Heaters, blankets, socks, mittens, coats.
20. Grocery stores.
21. My patience.
22. My optimisim.
23. Sugar and candy.
24. Hugs.
25. To still be alive.
26. Cameras and photos.
27. Movies.
28. Nice people.
29. My hair and teeth.
30. My blog/other blogs/blogging people/blogging community.