yes, yes, and yes.

Today was filled with lovely things,

such as coffee in the morning with father leith,
and then Avatar in the evening with the very same man.

okay, Avatar. THE coolest movie i have ever seen, ever. it was so so good. i am not the biggest fan of the word epic....but epic it was.

i loved the effects that did not seem like effects at all; rather, the real world;
i loved the cool creatures;
i loved how i felt strongly for the characters;
i loved how the world glowed at night;
i loved how it made me hate the humans and love the aliens;
i loved the how much i hated that soldier that kept saying "get some!";
and i loved that my dad loved it too and quoted it to my brothers when they got home.

if you haven't seen it, go. right now. i was skeptical at first, my thoughts were, "avatar? like that cartoon network show? ew." but i don't think they are related at all. so don't fret. go go go! and watch it become your favorite movie of all time.

alright. i'm sorry.

i just went back and re-read all of my old posts from december of last year, just to remind myself what my december of oh eight was like.

and i realized that i miss blogging. i miss being scattered and weird on this little heathdoggy.blogspot.com and posting pictures and telling you all things that i fancy and analyzing my day. i miss it terribly. it was a part of me.

so, i am here to tell you that i am resuming. it has been what, two months? three? so we have a lot to catch up on. but i believe in myself. here's to new beginnings. or something cliche like that.

this feels good. i like this. blogging, i like you. and i'm sorry that i abandoned you for so long.

so it begins.

homeoming 2009!

this year i planned evening, so it was fun to see it all play out nicely.
this was by far the most fun dance thus far in my 5-dance repertoire.

the people, the food, the pictures (taken by shannon!), the dance itself...it was such a blast.

notice the corsage he made for me,
and the boutonniere i made for him with a picture of myself circa 1997 and part of my dress as the border.

my dress itself was a steal- it was a floor-length dress from target, but my mother, seamstress extraordinaire, cut and re-sewed it for me. what a gem.

there more pictures to come, believe me.

after pictures we went to my house and ate dinner catered from rubio's, then played catch phrase and watched my third grade end of the year video which featured 4 of us. we laughed at how weird we all were--

melissa with her orphan haircut,
danya with her britney spears shirt,
joanna with her big forehead,
and me with my overalls and bandanna.

then we all headed to the dance, and i had the privilege of riding in a VW bus to trabuco. so cool.
and then, at the dance, i discovered these little red velvet cake cubes and ate about 11. they were so good.
aaand then i danced my little heart out and got more exercise than i have in the past 6 months. which is pathetic. i'll put up more pictures soon!

remember that one time i blogged?

yeah, me neither.
i guess after three years i am a little tired
but, i have decided to make a considerable effort to keep this little blog going.
so, let's begin with my favorite music video i have made thus far.
party in the usa.
it took eight hours.
well, not really, because we took a few breaks to eat and plan homecoming (which is next week!)
but nonetheless, it was a big production. complete with editing till 1 AM.
and we are all very proud.
random people have been coming up to me and saying, "your video? THE BEST THING EVER."

so, enjoy! and sorry i left you waiting for so long. i am speaking to the three people that have been bugging me to blog (mother, grandmother, and megan.) so here you go!
(i recommend clicking on the video and watching it on youtube, so that the edge isn't cut off. or just make it big-screen by clicking the little box thing at the bottom.)

you know you are in california when...

it's october 1st, and it's blazing hot.
when shorts and a t-shirt are absolutely necessary, and wearing jeans makes you suffer from heat stroke.
when you can't get enough water because the air is so dry.
when it turns 70 degrees for 2 days and the population celebrates, busting out pants and sweatshirts.
when every human on facebook posts statuses on how it rained for three minutes.

it's times like these i am jealous of utah-ians.

if school was a facebook status, i would click "like."

so here's the breakdown-

school is nice. i enjoyed my first day.
it went like this-

melissa and her mother picked me up in the morning.
pictures were taken by our moms. as always.

i think this one could be called,
"the most unflattering angle ever."

when i got my schedule at school, i saw that they did not add in my independent study yearbook class like i asked them to at registration. meaning, i did not have a first period. cool. so i went to guidance and asked them if they could fix it, and they just sassed me and told me to find something to do until second period. because they were too busy to change it. um....
whatever. i sat in the back of drama 1 while sautner talked.
soo after that i went on with my classes,

first chemistry honors with gaines.
that was fun i guess, i like her.

then english honors with stewart,
that was quite enjoyable, she is really nice and it's a good class.

and then snack.
and then history!! oh history. my love.
i went from crazy intense AP euro, where the first day was like doing notes and the homework was memorizing 70 artists and paintings,

to regular US history, where mrs. thompson does hilarious stand up comedy the whole class and we had share time and said our name and an interesting fact about ourselves.

our homework is to decorate the front of our "learning log" with pictures or things we like.
praise,
the,
Lord.
the class is a joke. a reeeeally good joke.


next! math analysis. with suarez. the best math teacher, ever. except that was the period i was supposed to have independent study yearbook (which is basically i sleep and do homework and do senior ads), so i will have to switch out. but i am loving it while it lasts.

oh and in that class this girl comes and kneels by my desk randomly, and says "hi, i don't know anyone in this class." hahahh it was very bold of her! we talked for the remaining 30 minutes of class. taylor. very nice girl. i like her.

so after going off campus! for lunch, i went back to film, so lovely, i'm excited for it. it will be where a lot of my stress will come from but it will be great nonetheless.

so there you have it! junior year looks promising. for now.

AND, my good day became WONDERFUL when i got home and saw a package on the stairs for me. it was from little otsu. it was my planner. my glorious planner. i almost died from happiness when i opened it. i am so excited to go write things in it.

so, life is good. no, life is great.
optimism at its finest.

gosh I love this song.

Tear down the walls see the world
Is there something we have missed
Turn from ourselves
Look beyond
There is so much more than this

And I don’t need to see it to believe it
I don’t need to see it to believe it
Cause I can’t shake this
Fire deep inside my heart

Look to the skies hope arise
See His majesty revealed
More than this life there is love
There is hope and this is real

Cause I don’t need to see it to believe it
I don’t need to see it to believe it
Cause I can’t shake this fire burning
Deep inside my heart

This life is Yours and hope is rising
As Your glory floods our hearts
Let love tear down these walls
That all creation would
Come back to You
It’s all for You

Your Name is glorious
Glorious
Your love is changing us
Calling us
To worship in spirit and in truth
As all creation returns to You

Oh for all the sons and daughters
Who are walking in the darkness
You are calling us to lead them back to You
We will see Your spirit rising
As the lost come out of hiding
Every heart will see this hope we have in You

Cause I don’t need to see it to believe it
I don’t need to see it to believe it
Cause I can’t shake this fire burning
Deep inside my heart

This life is Yours and hope is rising
As Your glory floods our hearts
Let love tear down these walls
That all creation would
Come back to You
It’s all for You

Your Name is glorious
Glorious
Your love is changing us
Calling us
To worship in spirit and in truth
As all creation returns to You.


thanks Hillsong.

there's a first time for everything.

last night my sister and i ordered bathing suits online from J.Crew!
this is something very new for us.
we both needed new bathing suits, and decided to wait until summer was over to get some...?

first we went to the mall to go to macy's swim store...but we drove all the way there to find that it closed down.
whatever, we just went to BJ's and enjoyed ourselves.
but then shan suggested that we get some from J.Crew online. it was so fun!
this is what i got-

so exciting!
online shopping, i like you.

thoughts.

this is so true.
we [i] get so caught up in our own friend groups,
and forget that there are people all around us,
at school, church, work, etc,
that have absolutely no one to talk to.
this has been on my mind a lot recently as the new school year starts up.
i don't want to have the same year as last year,
where i stayed comfortable all year in my own friend circle
and didn't really reach out to people who don't have friends
or don't know Christ.
God calls us to tell others about Him,
to have deeper conversations,
to love those who no one else will.
this year, i want to be someone who is friendly, kind, inviting, non-judgmental.
i want to be someone who is bold, who takes risks for God.
someone who decides to love those who i hoped God wouldn't ask me to reach out to.
someone who doesn't just exist, keeping my faith inside.
i want to make a difference.
i want to accept whatever God challenges me with to the best of my human ability,
and just truly live life how He tells me to, in all aspects.
i want to pour out God's love, because He loved me first.
i want to live my life as a sacrifice, a giant "thank you" to God for loving me so much.
it's this part of going back to school that i'm excited for.
i refuse to live the same comfortable school life that i lived last year.
it's just been on my mind lately.

letters.

// dear screenplay,
i have made a little progress on you. literally, a little. like a page. and i'm still lost as to what to put in between that and the ending. can you make yourself a little easier to write? thanks.
not love,
your slave.

// dear long dresses,
i wish i could pull you off. like in a casual setting. but i simply cannot. which is not fun, because i found a really cute one of you at target. maybe i should take a risk and buy you? just please be long enough for my long legs.
from,
your fan.

// dearest ernest hemingway,
why did you write "a farewell to arms"? it really isn't a good book. war novels are no fun to read, don't you know that?
sincerely, the poor girl that has to read your book for honors english.

// dear farmville,
no one on facebook appreciates you flooding their news feed. please cease to exist, you are a dumb game.
without any love,
a girl who just wants to read her friend's status updates and stuff.

// dear, dear heat wave,
really now? over 100 degrees? where do you think you are, palm springs? this is orange county. go away. no one wants you here. you are going to make my disneyland visit miserable. if you'd be so kind as to back off tomorrow, i'd love it. thanks.
love,
HEATher.

// dear new black tank top,
i like you.
love,
your #1 fan.

// dear new skirt,
i like you more.
love,
your #1 fan.

// dear disney's "send it on,"
i am ashamed to like you, yet i cannot help jamming to your environmentally friendly tune. thank you for existing.
- your secret lover

// dear school,
you can stay away longer if you want...
sincerely,
one of your captives.

an update on roxanne.

warning: her story does not have a happy ending.
melissa and i could not find the receipt for PetSmart, so we decided to set her free in the RSM wilderness.

.....
we are aware that we basically killed her.
but we figured, hey, if we returned her to PetSmart, they would feed her to the snakes anyway. so we thought we'd give her an exciting life and let her explore the wild and learn to be a nature mouse.

we filmed her release. i'll try to get that for you. it's a gem of a video.

well, i guess i should say RIP roxanne. because chances are high that she was eaten or died due to her lack of food-gathering knowledge. poor thing. but that's the circle of life!

this is difficult.

i am writing a screenplay right now for a film class i'm taking...
goodness gracious.
it's so hard.
i would like to hereby commend people who can write fiction.
i am not good at imagining a story and thinking of different plot lines and characters and conflicts.
i have a general concept, and know how i want my movie to end, but beyond that...i have no idea.

i started writing today, and only got through less than half of a page when i got stuck and couldn't think of where to go next. please wish me luck. lots and lots of it. and for some brilliant inspiration to pop into my little head.

@#$@$%$^%$&^**^%*%^#%

a tale of one mouse.

so today melissa and i bought a mouse,
and her name is roxanne.
she is white with black spots.
she was $6.99 at petsmart.
we bought her and her berry yogurt bites on whim.
so we came home and, after reading up on mouse care
on wikipedia, put her in a large plastic bin,
complete with water, 5 cheerios, a cup to burrow in,
and some newspaper and paper towel to shred up
for her entertainment.

/////
the website also said that females should be bought in trios,
or else they'll die from lonliness.
literally.
oops.

she's boring and leaps away when we try to pick her up.
so, seeing as she has a 14 day return policy,
we're probably going to return her so we don't kill her.
our plan was to give her to someone.
we chose larson.
but now that we think about it,
what would he do with her?
she would lead a much happier life back in her little cage
at petsmart.

so long, roxanne. it's been fun.

cabin 4 CD.

here we are, in all our glory on date night.

tessa heather jill steph noelle bre lauren ashley katie rachel!

post number 701

that's so weird to say.

.....

here are some ojai pictures!

my cabin was not a fan of picture taking, so i only have a few.

we were fans, however, of gettin' serious for the rec games.

surf lessons!

date night.

here is my date, cory tomlinson.
please take note of the organic bark-leaf-rubber-band-corsage he made me.

one of my favorite people- alyssaaaaaaa!

maddie and i being lucy and mr. tumnus.
brilliant, we know.
the talent show!
please embrace my costume and my minnie mouse backpack i have had since i was 4,

aaand there you have it!

it started at the bench and it ended at the tree....

i just returned from a week at the lovely camp ojai with saddleback!
it was absolutely phenomenal.
by far, best camp experience ever.
and guess what time it is now?
list time!

my favorite things about camp.

here we go.

1. the girls in my cabin (4 CD, holla back)! stephanie was our leader, and then there was me, r. styff, lauren, katie, jill, ashley, bre, noelle, and tessa. judgements that i had had of some people before completely went away when we all got to know each other. we had so much fun talking until 3 AM and not participating in cabin cleanups and laughing and going ziplining and having looong cabin time. we all became really good friends, which is just wonderful.

2. the speaker. goodness gracious. josh riebock. he looks like tarzan, jesus, jason mraz, and many other people. each of his talks radically changed every single person at camp. he is an engaging, hilarious, and powerful speaker. the things he told us will change the way i live out my faith for the rest of my life.

3. the staff. this was one thing i loved about ojai as opposed to hume- the camp is smaller, so all of the staff actually build relationships with you. they are all so so great!

4. the rec games. nuff said. they were genius.

5. beach day! we all went down to ventura state beach for the day. some of us from my cabin cleverly brought our sleeping bags with the knowledge that the nighttime was freezing. and how wise we were. i was super tired, so i basically slept on the beach in my sleeping bag for the whole free time...no regrets. after that we had dinner and then worship/talk from josh. it was lovely.

6. i learned to surf. i stood up like 3 times. and fell all three times. but now i know what to do!

7. date night/camp's got talent/dance party. i commend you, ojai. this final night of camp was comprised of a bark/leaf/rubber band corsage, the best 80's costume i have ever compiled, failing around as a backup dancer for the hoedown throwdown, getting sentimental while watching the camp video, and dancing until 2 AM, which included watching the speaker take alyssa's and my dance move and utilize it for 10 minutes. success.

this is a short little list but i think you get the picture that ojai was phenom to the max. i will provide pictures for you all when i receive them.

what would you like for dinner? a hot pocket or, a hot pocket?

i got my license in the mail.

it ain't cute.
but whose is?

oh what?!

so i just learned that my family is departing for lake las vegas in an hour?

aaand we're going to a criss angel show?

that's alright with me i guess...

see you on wednesday!

here's to happiness, part 2.

i have already done this, but hey, a lot of things strike my fancy.

my list of 10 (more) things that make me terribly happy:

1. long hair
2. finding a song you can play on repeat and not get tired of
3. coloring with colored pencils
4. when people pleasantly surprise you
5. french music
6. singing in the car by myself
7. avocados
8. seeing dads be cute with their kids
9. white nail polish
10. conquering awkward moments

i am 4 posts away from post #700.

goodness, have i really been rambling on this thing for that long?
well i would just like to share with the 5 of you that still read my blog that having a license is absolutely wonderful.
i have only driven alone twice...but those 2 times were pure bliss. and just knowing that i can drive myself anywhere i want is so great.

the first time i drove by myself was the 1 mile to melissa's house. i got in my mom's car and started driving out of my neighborhood, and i'm not gonna lie...i thought i was really cool. melissa was sitting on her doorstep when i pulled up, and she screamed and we sat in the driveway for a while talking about how great it was that i was a free woman.

then i drove a whole 5 minutes to RSM town hall for a surprise birthday party. and then i drove home. i felt like i was doing something wrong the whole time....like i was not allowed to be on the roads. BUT I WAS.

and then today i drove myself to and from church. gosh this is great. my life begins now, complete with jangly keys.

guess who got their license?

me!

one thing that makes me terribly happy

is wearing my hair in one braid.
i think it is just so fun.

have i ever mentioned that i really like my family?

a quote i enjoy

"share the gospel at all times.
if necessary, use words."
-the irresistible revolution, shane claiborne

why hello there.

i have not posted a good post in a long time.
not saying this will be one...
but i am going to ramble and rant, which i haven't done in forevs.

i have a new blog header. i was getting bored with the glow polaroid. the little catchphrase on it has no significance, really...other than i like it. i think that's significant enough. i also think i am a little too into the font Helvetica Neue UltraLight. i am currently listening to You and I by Ingrid Michaelson on repeat...it's getting me in such a lovely mood. it's making me forget about my nasty nast sunburn on the whole front of my body. i literally gasped when i saw it to it's fullest extent. it's reeally bad...oooops. so much for those 2 cute dresses i just bought yesterday...

speaking of which, yesterday was a LONG day. i went to the beach in the morning/afternoon with pierce, jessie, jordan, and this boy trent who i had never met before. that's where my sunburn came from. then we went to BJ's and got a free pizookie (it was my birthday?). and theeeen i went to jessie's for a little and we talked about boizz. then mama leith picked me up and we went to kohl's and target. i really, really hate kohl's. it has no purpose in this world. none at all. after that i laid on the couch and read Ladie's Home Journal (i will read any magazine, whether it's for new mothers or middle aged women or 10 year old girls or successful CEO's. this is why i feel i am destined to work for a magazine). after that i think i read harry potter for a little while (i saw the movie in singapore...be jealous. well, maybe not that jealous, seeing as there were malaysian subtitles.) and then i fell asleep for about 5 hours. the jet lag is killing me. the day before yesterday i woke up at 6 PM. not normal. i would have kept sleeping, except jason woke me up to inform me that him and my mom were eating pasta salad if i wanted to join in. i did. after that i think i ended up going to bed at like 12. i feel like it was 2 days, not 1. i really hope my jet lag goes away.

today i had my final behind the wheel! it went well, except we had to pull over halfway through and the instructor gave me a motivational talk about my lack of focus. after that, though, he said i was wonderful. i take my test in less than a week...ahh! so begins my life.


i am currently on a mission to find the perfect cut-off jean shorts. if anyone has tips, let me know.

i am somewhat excited/somewhat dreading my junior year. it will be fun i guess to be an upperclassman and go off campus legally and be in film and stuff...but on the other hand i will have honors/AP classes and saddleback classes and comedy sportz and church band and a job. which equals no time. woo!

maybe i should have made this 2 posts...or maybe 5. i had a lot on my mind. and this is my blog and i do what a want. but i tried to sprinkle in some random sri lanka pics to keep you entertained.

i'm back!

sri lanka was absolutely amazing.

i don't even know how to begin summarizing the trip.
i learned, taught, played, loved, danced, talked, listened, ministered, and prayed,
and i came back a new person.
visit to our blog if you're interested in reading more and seeing lots of pictures!

ahh it's finally here!

i leave for sri lanka on monday.
that is so crazy
and so exciting!

i will be blogging away at srilanka09.blogspot.com.
read and comment!
thank you so much to anyone who contributed in any way...even for just reading this. i appreciate you.

i don't know how often i will blog on here for the next month.
it will most likely all be on our trip blog.
so check that!

(:

boom boom pow

so this one time...my dad was in the airport and saw the black eyed peas. all of them.

and he snapped this pic and sent it to me.
no big deal, right?

bonfire!

jesse turned seventeen -- so we all went to the beach!

who actually takes these pictures? VV

cute!

one of my best.

prom oh nine !

prepare yourself for a lot of pictures.the date: frank howley.

he's prom king, whatever.

the massive group

the best friends

we thought this pose represented our relationship.

embaby and vcast!

beidxcore to the end.

we decided to re-enact all of the plays we have done in drama 2:

house on mango street
(melissa and i were trees, vanessa was esperanza)

cinderella
(melissa and i were mice, vanessa was the color blue. literally.)

christmas carol
(i was scrooge's kind niece, melissa was the ghost of marley, vanessa was a cratchit)

king arthur
(i was a lady of the court, melissa was marilyn monroe, vanessa was a dancing fool)

gotta love drama 2.

caro and matthew

this is a re-enactment of our winter formal picture...
which was a re-enactment of another picture.

cory!

rachel patla, photographer and hair stylist extraordinaire.

jason vanessa melissa me rachel joe!

mel b. and mel c.

melissa sandwich!

cole!

sometimes my mother forgets how tall i am.

oh dear.

and finally, the entire group...
there you have it!
the dance was real fun.
goooood times.
!!!!