Despicable Me 2

I recently saw this movie, and it was absolutely adorable. I was listening to a radio review of it when I was on my way to practice one day before I wound up seeing the movie, and they called it "childish", although they did admit that the kids in the theater with them did thoroughly enjoy the movie. I tended to side with the kids over the radio hosts.

The movie had a legitimate plotline, because the kids try to set Gru up with online dating, which he resists. Also, he is recruited by the Anti Villain League, and meets a very eccentric woman, who is voiced by Kristin Wiig. You can also expect to see a lot more of the minions in this movie, which I had absolutely no objections to because the minions made me laugh so hard.

I think I wound up laughing harder than about half the kids in the theater, it was a silly and cute kids movie that i'd hardly recommend, no matter your age. It gets 4.5 stars on the Sami Scale.

Also, if you haven't seen this trailer for the movie yet, you absolutely had to. I melted.

Blue vs Brown Eyes

As I was religiously watching Grey's Anatomy last week (I'm trying to catch up before the new season airs), I realized that a lot of the attractive people on that show have blue eyes. So the lesson learned for today is have blue eyes, and if you don't, don't go into the entertainment business. But actually there's just something entrancing about blue eyes, something I can't quite put my finger on. Brunettes with blue eyes are puzzling. My eyes are the color of some fresh mud, quite delightful.

Day 30: My Middle Name and How I Feel About It

It looks like I've survived 30 days writing blog posts about myself, and I'm not sure it's possible to feel more self absorbed! I've spent the last 30 days talking only about myself, my thoughts and opinions, and little else. Not much has changed over the last 30 days, even though I was expecting to look at my old posts and feel like I'd matured, it was really only a month.

So as my grand finale, I'm supposed to talk about my middle name and how my parents chose it. My full name is Samantha Marie Peterson. I wasn't named after anyone, all I know about the origin of my name is that my parents knew I would be a "Sam", regardless of if I came out a boy or a girl. They chose Marie because it sounded pretty, that's all there is to it. There isn't really a whole lot to say about my name, other than I think it sounds very English. 

And, like a runner completing a marathon (because typing is like running a marathon, obviously), I have reached the finish line of this race, but that doesn't mean that I'll be done running. 

Until next time,

~Sami

Day 28: My Happy Month and Day 29: A Picture of Me

Day 28- The month I was happiest this year and why

Well, so far this year January rocked, because I had a ski trip that was one of the highlights of my high school experience. We skiied on a really tough course, but outside the race, it was incredible. Our trails were right next to downhill hills, and one night we snagged some lunch trays, hiked up to the top of the hill, and sledded down on lunch trays. It hurt to fall off the tray, but it was beautiful up there. When we got up to the summit, we laid down and looked at the stars, completely silent. It was beautiful, and there was this tangible hanging silence, and those are my favorite types of silences. 

February was no fun because I didn't get put on the Sections team, even though I'm 4th on my team. It was still okay to support my team, but I wish I could've skiied the course. The sweethearts dance was pretty fun because I like getting all dolled up (:

March was my choir tour to Chicago and my trip to Spain, both of which were amazing. I bonded with so many new people on both trips, and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to go on both trips. I learned so much in Spain, because I've never been out of the country, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I also took the ACT in March, and that went better than expected, so March was a pretty good time for me. 

April and May were both remarkably uneventful, full of school and studying and periodic stress related mental breakdowns (you know, the usual). 

June was the end of junior year, my birthday, a lot of thinking about my future, and kind of a stressful month. 

Overall, I'd say March was my happiest month, although January comes in a close second. 

Day 29- A Picture of Me (or a few)

My two main girls and I at Sadie's (our theme dance), I'm the one in the middle 

When I was a young girl, apparently I used to be kind of cute, I'm curious what happened 

Because I can't just post a picture of myself and I'm always in costume. This probably points to a psychological issue about how I'm guarded or something. This is me and my sister a few years ago on Halloween, pre flow chop

And to round out the day, who doesn't have a selfie while rolled in a rug?!

Day 27: Talk About Your Siblings

Okay, this one's pretty easy for me. I have a sister named Dani who is 5 years younger than me. It's a weird gap in general because we're at such different places in our lives that I can't really talk to her about problems that I'm having with my friends, but she can talk to me, because I've already been through it.

Generally, when we're both in normal moods, we get along pretty well. We aren't the siblings to fight all the time and my sister doesn't wish I would finally move out (I don't think....).

I might razz on her a little bit, but I'm also pretty protective, so the second that someone else starts doing it, it immediately becomes unacceptable, and I turn into a mama bear.

So yeah I have a pretty good relationship with my sister, who is my only sibling.

Day 25: 10 Ways To Win My Heart and Day 26: My Religious Beliefs

Day 25: 10 Ways to Win my Heart

These are mostly just guidelines, or things that I find attractive in guys (:
1. Dress well- Just know how to not look homeless all the time
2. Listen to me when I talk, laugh when appropriate- Especially since sometimes my jokes aren't all that funny, the ones who laugh anyways have got my back
3. Get along with my friends- If you don't get along with my girls, chances are, you're out within the month
4. Be athletic- straightforward enough.
5. Love me through thick and thin, whatever trials may come, blah blah
6. Love your mother- honestly, it's a big reflection to how you will treat a girl, and guys that treat their mothers well are adorable
7. Be romantic- When you tell people your "story", what will it say about your relationship, no matter how it ended up?
8. Like music- Music is a big part of my life, and always a good conversation topic (:
9. Be able to make me laugh and smile, no matter what mood I'm in
10. Be a gentleman- open car doors, pull out the seat. Girls don't have to be treated like queens, but feeling special is spectacular.

Day 26: My Religious Beliefs

This is kind of difficult for me to talk about, mostly because I'm sort of unsure. Since I was young, I went to a Lutheran church. I went to Sunday morning classes for kids, went to Vacation Bible Studies during the summer, and even sang in the choir. As I started to grow older, and church became more of a social event, I wanted less and less to do with it. When I was confirmed in 9th grade, I stopped attending church regularly, but that didn't mean that I stopped believing.

I believe that there is someone up there looking out for everyone, and I would love to be able to believe that, after I die, I will be able to be with everyone that I've lost, because that just makes life worth living. I don't believe that God comes in whenever you ask for his help, but I do believe in miracles.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not quite sure what I believe yet, and am hoping to make some kind of revelation sooner rather than later.

Day 24: Things I Want to Say to 5 Different People

In order to respect the people that I want to say to these people, I'm going to leave them unaddressed.

1. You're my best friend, my twin sister, and I can't imagine what my life would be like without you. Whenever I need to smile or cry, I know you're there for me, and it means so much to me.

2. You're my baby sister, and I know we fight sometimes, but I love you like crazy. I hope we're never those sisters that fight over something stupid and stop talking, but I know that's not us. Love you, crazy.

3. So we dated for a while, and even though it was a long time ago, I still think about it sometimes. There are a lot of things that I wish I could change, but I know it's too late for that now.

4. Mom, I know you're always there to mentor, support, and love me no matter what I do. I'm gonna miss you like crazy when I go off to college.

5. We used to be friends. I felt like I could read your mind, and I think you could read mine too, but we had a falling out and you never tried to be my friend again, and that sucked. A lot.

Day 23: Something You Always Think "What If..." About

Whenever I think about a "what if..." type of scenario, it's usually about where I wound up going to school. I live in Minneapolis, but I open enrolled to Edina when I was in first grade, and have gone to school there ever since.

What I found out recently is that my parents applied for open enrollment in both Edina and Richfield. School-wise, Edina has some of the best academics in the state, and Richfield is falling a bit behind in that regard. If I had gone there, I might be a completely different person.

I wouldn't have met the people that I know today, would have grown up around completely different people, and, I think, would have a different personality.

It's weird to think about, but I'm proud of the decision that my parents made to send me to Edina, and I'm very thankful to have the opportunity to get such a good education.

Day 22: 10 Things About Me

There are a number of highly interesting facts about me as a person, and here are just a few (:

1. I love to sing, and I taught myself how to play the acoustic guitar, but I play mostly for the accompaniment to singing.

2. My favorite food of all time is watermelon

3. I love to read

4. I'm a huge Doctor Who fan. In fact, I have a mug, a lunchbox, 2 adipose, and one of my best friends asked me to Homecoming by popping out of a cardboard TARDIS.

5. I go to a lot of concerts

6. I've played softball since I was 9, and I enjoy it now way more than I did then

7. I have a rabbit, his name is Cosmo. He runs around my room, is litter trained, and loves to push all of his litter around.

8. I'm really bad about keeping my room clean, although it makes me feel a lot better about myself when my room is clean

9. I am subscribed to Seventeen magazine

10. I've cut off 12 inches of hair in the past 3 months. 8 inches 3 months ago, and 4 more 3 weeks ago. I actually wish it was still long sometimes.

Days 14-21

Wow, I've been putting this off because I've been in Colorado for the past week, which has been beautiful, but I've also been very busy. SORRY FOR BEING A SLACKER

Day 14- A date you'd love to go on
My idea of a great date is feeling extremely comfortable around the person that i'm with, not worrying about how I look or the things that I say, and lots of laughter (: Specifically though, a candlelit dinner, stargazing, mini golf, or a concert would all be great nights out, although a night in would also be equally romantic.

Day 15- The best things to happen to you this week
This week, I was in Colorado with my softball team, and a lot of good things happened, but here are a few highlights.
~ I went white water rafting for the second time, and it was awesome to get thrown around on the rapids.
~ My cousins who I only see once a year came to watch me play, and I played very well with them there, which was good. Its always hard to connect with family that you hardly see, but it's awesome to see them there supporting me.
~ Bonding with my team this week was awesome, although it did wind up being a little much after a week of never having a break from them, but it was good overall.
~ I laughed and smiled a lot more than usual this week, which is always good (:

Day 16- 3 things you're proud of about your personality
1. I'm proud of my ability to stay calm when i'm angry and frustrated, and be able to find a solution that actually solves the problem, versus getting mad and making the problem worse.
2. I'm proud of my loyalty to my friends and family. I can make fun of them, but if anyone else goes there, they're dead meat. (Kidding, or am I?)
3. I'm proud of how quickly I learn things. I think its a main part of the reason why school hasn't been quite as bad as some people seem to think that it is, I enjoy learning because I retain information that I find interesting pretty well.

Day 17- Things that make you scared
I'm not scared of many things, but a few things make me cringe.
~ Excessive amounts of blood (I've been known to pass out)
~ Heights
~ Spiders
~ Failure (Because what reasonable person is comfortable with disappointing people who are counting on them)

Day 18- Disrespecting parents
This is actually an interesting topic, because I believe that you can yell and argue with your parents as much as you want to at home, but as soon as you let it carry over into how you treat them around your friends, you've gone too far. I see a lot of kids my age who take their parents for granted, and expect to be waited on hand and foot, and who nearly freak out when things don't go exactly their way. I know how hard my parents work, and I hope someday that I can show them how much it means to me. #softblogmonday

Day 19- Something that never fails to make you feel better
If someone else has to make me feel better, my good friends Ben and Jerry typically do pretty quick work. But if I'm feeling pretty bummed out, I usually take a shower, write about it, and try to let it go. A vent session with a friend is also pretty productive.

Day 20- The last argument you had
The last argument I had was actually pretty dumb. It was on the road trip home, when I was reading a book. My sister, who is going into 7th grade, claimed that she had read the book I was currently reading. Knowing that it was outside of her reading level, I argued that there was no way that she could have, and we "discussed" the book for around 15 minutes. I won.

Day 21- Something you can't seem to get over
I can't seem to get over how Harry Potter is actually over. I sat around for years, waiting for these books and movies to come out, and now there won't be anything else coming out. The books will stand alone, but there will be no more nervous anticipation, no more waiting for a new plotline to come out.