boom mics and stiff necks

never again will i crack my neck.

why, you ask?
because yesterday morning, i woke up at 6:30 to go to driver's ed, and i cracked my neck, like i always do. except this time when i cracked it in one direction, it made this disgusting sound, like a tendon snapping in half or something. i was horrified, and it hurt really really bad.

and i couldn't turn my head to the left, cool. so i tried to stand up and go about my regular business, except every time i stood up i was all dizzy and faint. so i went to my mother's room and told her of my predicament, and i cried because my neck and shoulder in such agony.

so all day in driver's ed i tried to massage it out, except it didn't work. i still couldn't turn my head.

so. we decided to go to the chiropractor. my mom looked one up and we went to dr. johnson. and it turns out, he is my dear friend phillip's father! what are the chances?!

he was a miracle worker. dr. johnson is my new favorite person. except this morning the pain all came back and i have a heating pack thing on my neck, and i have to go back.

or should i say i GET to go back. because i get a delightful massage and he like sits on me to crack my back. it's wonderful.

so after the chiropractor last night i went to see valkyrie with melissa and rachel and melissa's stepsister. it was good. and confusing. but good nonetheless.

except for the fact that the boom mic was in the shot FIFTEEN TIMES. i counted, and i was so angered. even the cheapest of cheap budgeted movies don't have the microphone hanging down in even one shot. melissa and i were appalled. you don't do that.

hwrjH#IOr0ee9fjw90i i am so scattered right now. i can't think straight. this has been a horribly formatted post, but i think my pinched neck nerve is affecting my thought process. so will you forgive me? i don't even know how to end.


goodbye.

i never thought i'd say...

that i just saw high school musical on ice...

and liked it.

happy boxing day, world.

i had a lovely Christmas.
i saw carson sing in big church, went to two separate churches, and stuffed my face with tortillas and guacamole at El Torito Grill on Christmas Eve.

the day itself was full of french toast, paperclips, rain, laughter, and livesaver gummies.

here is my beautiful family.
shannon and i accidentally matched.
today, i woke up at 7 in order to go to DRIVER'S ED (the caps signifies my excitement) because it "started at eight," (so my mother said) but when we got there, no one was there.

it started at nine.
thanks mom.
but father and i made the best of it and got bagels while we waited.

driver's ed itself was not as bad as people make it out to be. i knew four people in the class, and we just watched videos and took long breaks to watch Millionaire Matchmaker and listened to Paul the instructor tell stories. dare i say it was entertaining?

OH! rewind back to Christmas night. Jason and my dad and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire. (what are the chances, today and yesterday's media viewing involved the word "millionaire.")

MAN ALIVE. IT WAS AMAZING.
it's set in India, and it's about this boy from the slums who wins the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. except it is unheard of for a boy from the slums to be so smart- so they assume he cheated and torture him to make him confess. except he didn't cheat. flashbacks to his childhood explain how he knew each answer. he just so happened to encounter situations during his life as an orphan that made him know the answers to each question.

it was so so good. it made my heart hurt.
go see it.
it will change you.

being an angel is hard work.

my hands are numb
my feet are frozen
my face is cold
my limbs are sore

but hey,
it's christmas eve eve.
who am i to complain?

a plethora.

here are some pictures.

enjoy them. me and my cousin

me in a shopping cart.
an old /new homecoming picture.

christmas carol!

christmas photoshoot!

and there you have it, folks.

in case anyone wanted to know:

what it is like standing on a barn being an angel in the outdoor nativity at church --

cold
tiring
boring (at times)
interesting (at times)

ahh, finally.

christmas break. thanks for existing.

i am sitting at home, listening to old christmas music, and relishing in the delightful day that just commenced. allow me to let you in on the course of events.

- i wore a christmas sweater. that right there is the perfect start to any day.

- at snack carson and landon played on the rally stage. they were grand, as per usual. this girl in my physics class sprinted up as soon as they finished and asked for their autographs...i laughed.

- everyone was happy all day. this is what i like to call the magic of christmas.

- highlight of the day: a potluck in yearbook. i brought a "sock it to me pudding ring." that was literally what it said on the label. i should talk to vons about that, that's not a normal name for a baked good. but i had a feast of food, and then we had a secret santa thing- and i got a giant bag of swedish fish plus a subway sandwich! which was exactly what i asked for. i was thrilled.

- me and my swedish fish made our way to physics, i took (and failed) my final test of the day, wished mr. hamilton a merry christmas, and then....WOOOO BREAK OH EIGHT!

- the grandparents took me to meet danielle, grant, lauren, and cory. they were planning a photoshoot. but here's the thing. it is SO cold right now. there is SNOW on saddleback mountain. that is a big deal. people were halted by the side of the road taking pictures of the feeble, barely-snow-capped mountain. needless to say, it's cold. and i was not prepared. and so we froze at altisma park and the morman church, but got some lovely pictures out of the ordeal. stay tuned.

- i have just been instructed to write that i cannot ever become president of the united states due to my birthplace. naaat my problem.

- after our photoshoot we skyrocketed over to jillian's birthday/christmas party. it was jolly fun! (that's a scrooge line. i can't get that darn script out of my head.) it consisted of dancing (vanessa. danielle. nicaragua. melissa. heather. kaiulani. [those were the names of our moves]), eating, playing down by the banks and meeting new friends. success!

@*(^$Q&*%(&%
i'm so excited for vacation!
tomorrow i am going to an eagle scout ceremony.
it's going to be another great day.
praise him.

an exciting day.

i am going to be THE angel in the live nativity at church!


i was thinking for a while about a clever pun for the title and a witty ending, but it's one AM and i am delusional.

so farewell.

i believe in myself.

i just got back from showcasing scrooge - man oh man. it was thrilling. i loved it.

but now i must face the wrath of an english essay, physics notes/questions, studying for history, and math worksheets.

and i need to fit sleep in somewhere.

okay.
i'm going to go take out my contacts, put on some solid music, and crank out all of this.

...wish me luck.

i would like to take this time to make a list of my insanely hectic week.

for the purpose of writing it all down so that i can stay on task,
and also for the purpose of letting you all in on my life.

tuesday
write and film a movie for an english project

wednesday
edit movie
perform scrooge all day for the english classes...therefore missing class and having makeup work
small group christmas party at church

thursday
showcase scrooge at night...have no time to do all other work

friday
AP euro unit exam
AP euro flashcards due
physics unit exam
english essay due
spanish piñata due

all of this, on top of homework from every class.
teachers just LOVE cramming everything in right before break.
fun, right?

fine, anonymous, i'll blog.

okay, so i blogged this whole giant blog, and then cut it so i could put in pictures and then paste it later.
but then i forgot and cut and pasted other things.
and so now it's gone.
#()*$(#)%*()$&)@Q)@IEK!>!?!?!
ugh.

alright, i'll do it again- just for you.
i'd better get a heck of a lot of comments.

i have not blogged since tuesday. i realize that. but the matter of the fact is, i am a busy woman.

wednesday was small group. it was grand.

thursday was comedy sportz dinner/game. i am really really loving being a part of it, woo cheesy.

and friday! friday, friday, friday. an amazing day, for the most part.

we had a performance for drama 2 of scrooge. we all transported by bus to foothill to perform for the 5th and 6th graders. it was sure to be great-- except for the fact that as soon as i got to school, i was faint and dizzy and hot and nauseous. dear little danielle went outside with me and told me to breathe and drink water. so i did. different people came and comforted me and tried to figure out what was wrong with me- we all had absolutely no idea, though. i was fine before i left for school...

so anyway, i went back inside after a while and the aide told me to lay on the couch and take it easy. so i did. but i still was feeling like i was about to die.

so we were boarding the bus, and i asked beid if i could sit in the front so that i wouldn't puke...and then i just started crying. i did not want to feel like crap on what was supposed to be a really really fun day. he asked if i wanted to stay back and get picked up and go home...but in no way was i going to miss this highly anticipated day. so i cried more and said that i wanted to go still, and i sat down and cried more and closed my eyes and breathed and prayed that i would get better.

and i did! i felt faint and nauseous up until we were about to perform- then i was all good. it was a miracle. a magical little christmas miracle.

my dad analyzed the sitch when i got home, and the source of my sickness was taking pills on an empty stomach. it's weird that it can affect you so much!

the performance itself was great- and after, we had a photoshoot back at our school.

get ready for the pictures.

so we found this wig,
and embraced the photo opp.dreamgirls

the beatles

ramona quimby
mary j. bligeTHIS IS A DRAMA FREE ENVIRONMENT

then we all mocked the beidxcore kids.
notice my hair- it took 2 hours.

i was talking to my mother about how i almost passed out.

BEST PICTURE EVER.

on the bus, trying to get better and breathe.

danielle's eyes!

after THAT, melissa, kai, vanessa, and danielle all came over and we embraced the christmas spirit and took fake family pictures and listened to christmas music and made cookies.

the dysfuncional family--
the mom who just wants to get a substantial picture: me.
emo daughter: d sol
duaghter who DGAFs: melissa
the perfect daughter: baby v
the father who just wants to watch football: kai kai

such a successful day! despite almost dying in the morning.
i am listening to janu and the whalesharks- they are MY FAVORITE.
listen to them, it will make your day.

this is h. leith- over and out.

what the eck.

i hate
hate
hate
hate
when people say ECK-specially.

it's especially. there is no C between the e and the s.

just thought i'd vent a little.

this dress is beautiful.

winter formal oh eight anyone?

and these necklaces?!

PRIME.
(all from Urban. Mom and Dad, if you're reading this- CHRISTMAS IS COMING SOON!)

the latest disneyland picture instillment

first of all, what you've all been waiting for:
aly&aj
(aj on the left, with the bizarre hair, looking back, and aly on the right with the skull backpack and sk8r shoes.)

oh, you know, just being emo at 8 AM on the way there.

honey i shrunk the kids.

friend pic!

the intention of this picture was to weird out the man who took it.

get a load of these superheros.

well, there you have it folks.
SINCE THIRD GRADE OH EIGHT!

we are putting up the christmas decorations right now!

oh, winter. it's truly the most wonderful time of the year.
if only it was cold on christmas day instead of 80 degrees...

around this time last year,

i was in the little alley next to my house in canada freezing my butt off and having a photoshoot.
i didn't even know this one existed.
i love it though.

the day i almost met aly & aj

alright, it goes a little something like this:

so melissa, rachel, and i were at disneyland, right? right.
and we had just gotten hot dogs at award weiners in the hollywood part of california adventure, right? right.
so we're walking towards tower of terror, and rachel squeezes me arm REALLY hard.
so i look two feet in front of me, and oh, there is aly & aj, tween pop superstars who we jam out to on car rides, right in front of me.
oh, you know, whatever.
they're just a really big deal.
sidenote: although they are embarrassing and we do not listen to them seriously, it was so thrilling. like, i'd get excited to see miley cyrus, even though she is a joke. right? just making sure we're on the same page.
back to the story.
we,
are,
starstruck.
aly and aj are walking in front of us with their friends.
and for the record, they look really odd in person.
aly was carrying a skull backpack and they were wearing sk8r boi shoes.
but whatever, they do what they want.
"that's aly and aj. THAT IS ALY AND AJ," rachel urgently whispers into my ear.
"oh my gosh. OH my gosh." i reply.
"what? what's going on?" prys clueless melissa.
"THAT IS ALY AND AJ," says heather.
what do we do? they are now behind us and getting away.
two girls ask them for a picture.
"sure!" they reply. they seemed like very kind girls.

"GET YOUR CAMERA OUT!" i yell to melissa.
"HOLD MY DRINK!" she screams.
i throw it on the ground, and we all continue to freak out while melissa flings everything out of her bag to find her camera.
rachel and i stare at aly and aj. they have finished taking their picture and thank the girls and walk away.
alas, melissa has found her camera. she frantically turns it on. "GO ASK THEM FOR A PICTURE." she demands.
but they're already walking away, and i don't want to a) disturb them, or b) get attacked by security guards.
so i don't.
and plus, they are already on their way.
i frantically take a picture of them walking away...at least we could see aj's face? (she was turning around)
i will get you the picture as soon as melissa gives it to me.
we regretted not asking them for a picture, but whatever, we were THIS close to them.

AND! we also saw danny strong at disneyland, who was in sidney white, gilmore girls, seinfeld, buffy the vampire slayer, hey arnold, saved by the bell...could it get any better, people?

i would just like to reinforce

how much i love my family.
having everyone home again is so heartwarming.
like carson said at dinner- it became so normal to have just five in the house. but when shan and jason AND grandma and grandpa alf all came, we realized that this is just how it's supposed to be. when we are all home, the atmosphere is so vibrant and warm and fun.

i am so grateful that God put us all in the same family. i could not imagine my life without a big, hilarious, talented, loving, God-centered family. they are the absolute best.

my love for disneyland increases more and more with each visit.

as does my love for my family.
those are my number one and two thanksgiving thankful-nesses - my family and disneyland.

we filled an entire indiana jones car, plus ryan, who had to ride alone...
here are my attempts to document our leith-and-yamashita-filled car:

it never really worked out.

heather: space mountain is my favorite ride.
shannon: me too!
heather: this is why we're sisters.

i love love love this one vv

we also filled an entire small world boat.
and again, i failed at taking a picture of it.

oh, another failed photo attempt!
this was supposed to be a picture of the snow in our hair,

oh well, they can just be regular pictures.

this was directly after we waited for 50 minutes in front of the castle for the fireworks.
there was great fear that they would be canceled- but in the end, they happened.
thank the lord.
my favorite thing is joking around with strangers as if you have known them for years- i love bonding over the situation you both find yourselves in,
like waiting for an hour only to find the fireworks almost canceled.
it was a great great day.

i would like to thank walt disney for creating the happiest place on earth.