Atkins Unite!

So after what some might see as a very vain blog post, I decided to tone it down and talk about real things...let's see...

Yesterday I went down to Salt Lake to see my family and attend a very extended family reunion. It was for the descendants of William and Lula Atkin, my great-great-grandparents (so I knew very few people there). From there my family line goes like this: my great-grandpa Floyd Atkin (93 and still truckin' along! He's one of the s), my grandma Marilyn Atkin Allen, and then my daddy-o, Dain Atkin Craig! It was nice to see some of my Atkin side that I don't see very often and, of course it was awesome to spend the day with my family. I LOVE having them so much closer, although my bank account is taking a hit with all the gas I'm using up. haha

Dad must have been off talking to some random family members while these were taken

After the reunion we went to my parents' place for a bit and then we went to Ruth's Diner in Immigration Canyon for dinner! It was a really fun atmosphere and there was good live music there.

Emi made this for me. I thought it was presumptuous ;)

I can never, ever get my dad to pose seriously for a picture. Ever.

But I did get Emi to look happy! One success! :)

I love my family! They are so great!

In other news, I just purchased my airplane tickets to New York for August! It's going to be so much fun but I'm a little nervous about roaming such a big city. It will be an adventure for sure! I'm so glad my friends Kaili and Heidi are going with me and that Monica will play with us while Garrett's at work. :)

It's a good life, folks. An increasingly poor life, but a good life.

A Hair Post

My friend and coworker Kate pointed out to me one day that I am very much attached to my hair. For all of you smart alecs out there, yes of course I am very literally and physically attached to my hair but of course that is not what she meant. I am a person who is very emotionally attached to my hair. As many times as I want to just go down to Hollywood Clips and have them chop it to a short little style, I just can't bring myself to do it. I love my hair. I love it long and flowing.

This is going to be a bit of a bragging paragraph. I was blessed with awesome hair. It's shiny, soft and is naturally wavy, so I can easily make it go either straight or curly. The only time this doesn't hold true is when the humidity is up, then it refuses to straighten! (one of the worst parts about living in southeastern Texas, for sure) If I'm in a rush, I can easily scrunch it and leave it curly. I wash it every other day and have even gone 3 days without washing it and it wasn't even greasy. I have magic hair! My only complaint? It lies totally flat, no body whatsoever. Ugh. Can't have it all, I suppose.

I often play with my hair, probably out of habit. I am often running my fingers through it or (if it's curly) twisting it around my finger til I reach the end of it. I've been told by one of my best friends that one of the things she remembers about first meeting me was that I was kind of tugging at/holding on to my hair. I guess it's a security thing. I was probably nervous about meeting new people (considering the situation where we met) and it was my nervous habit. It's probably not the best habit to have, but let's be honest, it's not the worst! I found my first grey hair at 16 years old and I am NOT looking forward to the day when I'll have to start dying my hair. My color is completely natural, and while I love it that way, grey at 27 just isn't cute.

Last night I had a dream that I went to a salon I'd never been to and told the girl cutting my hair that I always had the urge to cut it short but didn't really want to. She promised that after she brushed my hair with a special brush (that cut off all the gross, unhealthy hair) that we could decide how to cut my hair. Well by the time she was done brushing, my hair was above my shoulders in length. I freaked out. I kept thinking "oh no! now I really look 12!" and "Mom is going to kill me!". I was very happy to wake up and find that this (and the rest of that awful, hurtful dream) was not true reality.

Someday I may cut it short (aka shoulder length...I could never do truly short hair) but for now, I am leaving it long and I am going to continue to play with it. If I ever do cut it short, you'll know, because I will not be able to stop crying. This may be pathetic, but so be it. We all have our quirks and this is most definitely one of mine. Don't even get me started on my OCD about my bed...

Stolen Countdown

From my friend Kelsey's blog (http://krisp4life.blogspot.com/)...which you should check out by the way. It's super cute!

Ten Things I wish I could say to 10 Different People (but don't say their name):

1. You're a good friend but you drive me crazy sometimes.

2. You're pathetic. I would be totally fine if I never saw you again.

3. You are so wonderful and energetic. I am so glad we're friends!

4. I am completely jealous of your awesome style and ability to pull anything off. I would look like an idiot wearing most of the things you totally rock. I want to be best friends with you!

5. Some of us have talked about how your life seems so perfect. I'm sure you have your trials too, but your perfection is getting a little ridiculous. On a good note, way to reach your dreams! I am genuinely happy for you.

6. We're friends, so why do you treat me like I'm an idiot and you know better. Get over yourself.

7. You have beautiful eyes and a killer smile.

8. I miss you soooo much! You understand me better than almost anyone. Come home faster!

9. I'm so glad we met and, regardless of those connections no longer existing for us, that we can be awesome friends.

10. Thank you for always being blunt. Some people need to hear it, even me sometimes.

Nine Things About Myself:

1. I always have to be wearing rings and earrings or I feel naked. Except for when I'm working out (ok, sometimes not even then) but especially when I'm sleeping, even naps.

2. I wish sooo much that I had a good singing voice.

3. Regardless of my lack of vocal ability, I sing often. I even tend to sing to inanimate objects, usually my food.

4. I love to laugh til I cry

5. I'm a little lazy. I could be and do so much more than I allow myself.

6. I love the mountains more than any other type of landscape and I never want to live where there aren't mountains again.

7. Occasionally, I get super strong cravings for chocolate and will tear my house apart until I get some.

8. I love sitting alone and looking out a window or just staring off and thinking. It's a peaceful place for me.

9. I wish I didn't have to work or take care of myself and could just go around helping people all day with their problems. If I could choose what type of angel I'd want to be, it would be a guardian angel.

Eight Ways to Win My Heart:

1. Has to listen to me and genuinely care about what I'm saying but also be willing to talk to me about anything

2. A nice singing voice, or instrumental ability (particularly piano or guitar) always get me

3. Shares the same taste in music with me

4. Good sense of humor - has to make me laugh

5. This might be awful and superficial, but good athletic ability is super attractive to me

6. Uphold their standards, which match mine

7. Get me out of my comfort zone without making me uncomfortable

8. Has to get along with my family and friends

Seven Things That Cross my Mind a Lot:

1. What am I going to do?!?!

2. What an idiot...

3. I can't believe college is over. It flew by so fast. I'm not big enough to be a grown up.

4. Come backs that I can never actually bring myself to say in the moment

5. Those are things that happen to other people, but will never be a reality for me.

6. I should run more...

7. I want to cut my hair short...no! I'll regret it. I love my hair long...but I wonder if I'd like it short...hair grows back...no! I would cry....

Six Things I Do Before I Fall Asleep:

1. Brush my teeth...and contemplate flossing

2. Wash my face

3. Go potty...every night without fail! It's an issue.

4. Pray

5. Tell my roommates goodnight

6. Double check my alarm...sometimes more than once.

Five People Who Mean A Lot:

1. Dain Craig aka Faja

2. Lelani Craig aka Mommy Lou

3. Emi Lou Who aka Bucket aka Gup Gup aka.....I could go on and on

4. Elder Christian Craig aka Brother Bear!

5. Kaili Snow aka Girl!

Four Things I'm Wearing:

1. My rings - "A" and "To Thine Own Self Be True"

2. Grey shirt

3. Denim shorts

4. Black cami

Three Songs I Listen to Often:

1. All About Us -He is We

2. Gravity - Sara Barellis

3. Story of Us - Taylor Swift

Two Things I Want to do Before I Die:

1. Visit every continent. My great grandma did it, so can I!

2. Learn to play the piano

One Confession

Sometimes I wish I could run away and start over somewhere new. I want to just leave and not tell anyone where I'm going or what I'm doing. Go to a place where nobody knows me or expects anything of me. I could be a completely new person, get new goals, new aspirations. But I could never do that. I don't have that kind of guts and I know it wouldn't be the nicest thing to my family to just disappear. Plus it would be super lonely. So I won't be doing this. Sometimes it just seems easier to run away but that's not what this life is about. But that's my confession, so take it as you will.

Well, that was harder than I was thinking it would be. It was also a lot more information than I was planning on sharing. Ever. Hope you enjoyed it.

Still Happy :)

I've been wanting to blog for a while but either haven't had the time or a topic to write about. I still don't have much but let's talk about the summer really quick...

It's almost the end of June. Crazy! and bad! Bad because 1) I haven't really started job hunting yet (I'm taking a couple days of work this week to do so) and 2) I've barely, barely started training for my race in 10 weeks. That would not be a fun thing to do without training! But even with the little bit I've done I've noticed my body remembering how to run and be strong and get just a tiny bit better each time. Very gratifying!

My wonderful friends Kathryn and Kristin married their respective lover boys on June 10. It was so much fun to go see them and then spend the day going to Kristin and Petey's luncheon and then reception. They all looked really happy and it was just a really sweet day overall. Congrats to them!

At the risk of my mom calling me a "Molly" again, I also want to say that I've been able to see the hand of the Lord a lot in my life this summer. Right at the end of the semester I was hurt pretty badly and I've been able to see the Lord helping me heal and to move on. He's also helped me to see the positive changes this person brought into my life that I will forever be grateful for and maybe give me a glimpse at why they were in my life. In my day to day life, I see Him helping me get the things done that I need to and make decisions that will effect my whole life. I'm starting to see a little light of hope in the dark tunnel of uncertainty I'm currently in and I appreciate that so much. I know everything happens for a reason and I know that He will guide me in making the right decisions. I know eventually everything will fall into place and work out.

Lastly, I am going to New York City in August with some of my friends!!! My great friends Monica and Garrett are moving there at the end of this month and when they told us to come visit, that was an offer we couldn't pass up! I am sooo excited! If you have been there, I would LOVE to hear your "must do" activities while we're there.

Even with all the changes going on in my life, I am happy. I have a really good life!