Rule #32: Enjoy the little things

Waking up and remembering my dreams perfectly.
Pulling into my destination right as a song ends.
Dreams that could be movies.
When he smiles and laughs.
Mismatched socks.
Driving into the sunrise.
The smell of crayons and books.
Reading on the trampoline till the sun goes down.
Finding musical soul mates.
Watching how different birds fly.

Laughing at myself, especially when no one else is.
Feeling pretty.

Secretly walking to the beat of the music in my headphones.
Taking pictures of pretty things.
Funny license plates.
Naps.
Getting a letter in the mail.
My fish.
Making my dad laugh.
Unexpected text messages.
Being me and loving who I am.

Rachel 29

Love as much as you can. Why? Because every time you love and every time you fall in love, your capacity to love grows. Fourteen years old mutter words to each other that they hardly understand but they mean it when they say "I love you" to each other. They mean it as much as they can. Then she turns twenty and whispers is again. She still means it but it means so much more this time. She still may not understand it, and the meaning may have been tweaked by time and experience, but she means it. She loves him. And when the eighty year old couple who has seen their five children grow and have children of their own recite these words to each other, they have a whole new definition. It's a connotation though, nothing that can be found in a dictionary. They love each other for the times they hated each other. They love because of every last flaw and every imperfection. And they love because they find one another perfect for those flaws. They love each other bigger than the fourteen and twenty year olds because they have loved and loved and their capacity to love is ginormous. So don't be afraid to fall in love. Yes, it sucks when falling out but it's necessary for growth.

Rachel 28

Sometimes I wonder what life will be like when it's meshed with another person's life. I have a pretty decent idea of what my life, my house, my schedule, and all that stuff would be like if I were to live by myself for the rest of forever. But add a man and it changes. Then once we get comfortable, or even before then, some kids are thrown into the equation. The only thing constant is change. But anyways, will he like how I decorate? Will he care? If he wants a perfect house with couches that match the drapes, he shouldn't even ask me on the first date. That's not how I roll. Eclectic and fantastic is the only way my house will be. We'll have our own art on the walls. The chairs around the table will all be different. Not a single plate will match. Not because we'll be poor (but if we are, I don't care) but because I love it that way. And if a plate breaks, the set isn't incomplete because we'll run over to Salvation Army and get another non-matching plate. Oh love love love. I love my life. And I love the one with whom my life will mold completely and perfectly.

Rachel 27

It's summer and I'm concentrating my desire to do something useful into art. I've never considered myself and artist. I can't even doodle in the margins of my class notes. But here are some pictures of the things I've done.

Before... Just crayons hot glued to the top of canvas. A bunch of the crayons were broken, but don't worry, they'll melt and you can't even tell in the finished thing.
Oh... leave outside and blow dry till they melt and drip as far as you want.

I like it upside down like this. That's probably how I'll hang it.

Puffy paint.

So my white TOMS are lovely but they needed to love so why not embroider them? ♥

Rachel 26

Things I love about summer and being home:
1. Swimming instead of showering
2. I've gotten and received a total of ten text messages today.
3. Going to the beach tomorrow.
4. Going 15 mph over the speed limit and not getting pulled over because everyone else is going just as fast.
5. Waterproof makeup or none at all.
6. Cutting all my holy jeans into shorts.
7. I can tell my mom about my CRAZY dreams and she always gets super interested.
8. Watermelon for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all the meals in between.
9. No room in the closet (thanks Bekah) so I'm living out of my suitcase.
10. Having nothing better to do than 'like' everything on Jason Lucas's page while listening to Mumford and Sons after a fantastic homemade dinner of steak and potatoes. I live a good life.
11. The family watching Phineas and Ferb together.
12. Waking up whenever that dang sun feels like streaming through the one broken blind and shining right across my pillow.
13. Doing math at the dinner table with my family.
14. Planning road trips that won't ever happen.
15. Skype dates with Jason Lucas and T'Jae Thorkelson.
16. Mom talking about pools being the silent killer. Aaron saying ninjas are the silent killer.
17. Throwing carrots at the dinner table.

Rachel 25

I'm doing the Lazyman Ironman. 26 miles running, 112 biking, and 2.7 swimming in 24 days.

Rachel 24

I go through my Sundays looking at my watch thinking to myself. Five o'clock? Why can't it be bed time already? But bedtime means waking up to another Monday and then beginning the wait for the weekend all over again. An old lady at a retirement home once told me that I should love life, that I should love everything I do. Advice like this is always so much more meaningful coming from a person who has already experienced it.

Goal for this week:
Embrace every minute. Spend it doing what I want to be doing. Make myself a better person during this time. Don't waste it.

Rachel 23

What if eight colors makes someone content? That’s not the case for me but some people are simple. They enjoy watching One Tree Hill, reading about the latest celebrity and going to dance parties. Maybe they go to class; they go home; they do their homework. They are generally happy with whatever cards they are dealt and they find no reason to argue about it. There is not much more to them and they are okay with themselves and with life. She does her purple thing and she is happy.

Yeah, I’m not this way. I will never be content with my situation. Something can always change and that will never stop. My room will never be clean enough. (But a messy room is the sign of a busy mind. Right?) Color after color will spill from the box and they’ll make a disaster of everything. Chartreuse and cerulean, fuchsia and Fuzzy Wuzzy litter the ground. Those simple and happy eight-color folks will have a simple and happy rainbow of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black and brown. They miss the stages in between.

It’s why I’m constantly changing. Some may notice in me that I am shy around new people. I won’t speak unless spoken to. Others observe that I’m friendly and outgoing with new people. They are two different views on two different occasions. I like to try out new things and I love not being stuck in a form. If I want to be the quiet girl in the back of the classroom, I do it. The same day, perhaps in the very next class, I talk to everyone and I raise my hand often. There is no cookie cutter mold, or 8-color box or crayons that I can or want to fit in to.

Rachel 22

1. It's a terrible day when a social butterfly gets burnt out of socializing. Anyone that was a child with a magnifying glass and a sun at their disposal knows that butterflies and burning do not mesh well together. A child in heaven and his toy burnt me to a crisp.

2. I have so many things in me that can and should be improved. I should never be bored.

Rachel 21

1. The world was never flat.

2. If you hate it, don't do it. Don't be there. Don't be that. Don't say it and don't pretend you like it.

3. If it bothers you once, get over it. If it bothers you twice, punch it in the face.

4. The wind is never a friend, except when you're flying a kite or sailing.

5. The perfect first kiss is one you don't expect. It's one where you don't have time to be nervous. It's not on the doorstep after a mediocre or even an excellent date. It's not during a movie. It's in broad daylight in the middle of a crowd. It's in front on the peanut butter in an isle at Walmart. It's in the park when he grabs you and throws you over his shoulder then swings you around and accidentally finds his lips on yours. It's a kiss of admiration, not of lust. It's a short and simple "I love you" when that love seems to matter most. It leaves the receiver utterly confused and both parties completely satisfied and needing nothing more.

Rachel 20

1. "I want you to sing a song to someone. Any song you want. You can make it up on the spot if you like. Don’t tell them or ask for permission just surprise someone with a serenade, but don’t make a joke out of it. Give it your all. No matter what you think of your voice, just sing anyway."

2. "It's just a mutual swapping of spit and you both go on your merry way."

Rachel 19

1. The worst dreams are the ones that seem real. Why on earth would anyone want to wake up and go to class and then actually wake up and go to class?

2. The sun decided to make a guest appearance today. 'Twas a brilliant occasion. My darling bike also was set free from the closet and was allowed to take a ride around town. That poor thing had to spend all winter in a dark room with cardboard boxes. Thank goodness another bike was in there. I hope they made friends with one another.

Rachel 18

1. Some days Ramen is the only thing within time's reach. Nom nom them up but first try this website. It's the true college kid's home page. Book mark it. Write it on your fridge. Spread the love on Facebook or something. This is Tweet worthy.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/03/ramen-hacks-30-easy-ways-to-upgrade-your-instant-noodles-japanese-what-to-do-with-ramen.html

2. I am happy today. Tomorrow I will be happy. Thursday I will be happy. Isn't agency a great thing?

Rachel 17

1. Happy first day of Spring. Glory hallelujah. Too bad it's going to snow 2-4 inches over the next 36 hours. Curse this place.

2. Clutching pictures of past lovers at his side sat at the table where she sat and removed his hat in respect of her presence presents her with the pictures and says ‘These are just ghosts that broke my heart before I met you. These are just ghosts that broke my heart before I met you’

He opened up his little heart unlocked the lock that kept it dark and read a written warning saying ‘I’m still mourning over ghosts, over ghosts, over ghosts, over ghosts that broke my heart before I met you’

Lover, please do not fall to your knees. It’s not like I believe in everlasting love.

Laura Marling ♥

Rachel 16

1. I'm thinking about getting my AA in general studies, nanny-ing in Germany for a while, transferring, and getting a degree in German. That would be cool. I could work for the FBI. Yeah.

Rachel 15

1. The sun in shining today and I wore a cardigan without another jacket over it. I didn't even where thermals under my corduroys. Yes. That means that today is a good day.

2. I look out my window and guess what I see.

Rachel 14

Don't hate life. Stunt it. Like bike stunts, stunt persons, life stunters. Go for a walk with your headphones in and do some interpretive dancing/walking along with your music. Good advice for life.

Rachel 13

1. Okay. I am okay. The snow has melted with exception of the giant piles but I expect those to be around for while. Once the sun starts shining ever day I will be able to handle myself and I'll be happy. Yes, I know that's a bad attitude to have. I shouldn't let the weather affect me so much but it does and I'm sorry. A kid in my class even told me that I have seasonal depression. He got that from two days. One was sunny and warm. I was singing to myself and I was giddy like a little girl with a crush. Then today was gloomy and cold so naturally I was upset. Two accounts of my behavior on two days. Perhaps completely unaltered by the weather. Maybe it was just a bad day that happened to be dark. Who knows? Well, I suppose I do because it was the weather, with a few other circumstances that drove me up the wall. Or down the wall. Either way, today is not the best ever.

2. I definitely still love you. You still pop up in all my dreams, one way or another. You're still the only one I want to be with but for now friends will have to be good enough. Either it's you or it's someone else, not someone better, just someone else.

3. Today is not a good day to be by myself. I need company. Anyone's company.

Rachel 12

1. Usually my dreams with you are completely platonic. Last night was so different. You loved me again. You wanted me to be yours. You kissed me and held me. You paid attention to me. This set me back a couple days in my forgetting process. I still love you as much as I did three weeks ago. There's nothing more to it. I love you and I will for a long time. Usually these dreams help me and show me that we can just be friends, or spies, or secret agent ninjas. This one told me that I still want to be with you.

2. Well, I registered for classes. Will 18 credits be too much for me to handle? There's a possibility that my head might explode from that so I might drop one of the online classes. Online classes are awful anyways, right? I'll see how it goes. I may just be up for the challenge. Or I may just get burnt out faster than normal.

3. I have to go back to school today. So sad because I love being home. Being away from this pretty place makes me homesick and I don't like being homesick. It makes me want to cry all day long. I don't, of course. Usually. But this weekend probably filled my need for home and I'll be able to make it through the last month of the semester. Then I can come home for a while week and get my fill for all spring semester. And spring isn't nearly as bad as winter semester. In the spring, I can go outside and make lots of friends and get tan again and have fun. Winter is dark and dull.

4. Happy Pi(e) Day!

Rachel 11

1. I've made up my mind. I've always known my dreams were for a reason. They shall become the base of my books. Who needs creativity when they have a mind like this? Hehe. Okay. Be prepared for the best-selling series by best-selling author, Rachel Cope. Get ready to have your mind blown by the dream sequences that blow her mind. Dahn dahn daaaaaahhhn.

2. I actually got a sunburn yesterday. It's a good kind of burn. Yayyayyay.

Rachel 10

1. Finally, I'm home. California sun, grass that is actually green, swimming pools, Slurpee's, a gentle breeze, my adorable brothers, mom's cooking. Who would ever want to leave?

2. "Oh, I don't wanna be a princess. In a constitutional monarchy, parliament has all the real power."

Rachel 9

1. What makes me sad right now will make me very happy in future years.

2. Every day when I want to finish school this minute and go home, I need to remember to just get past today.

3. Think only of today as far as pain goes. Thinking of yesterday brings nothing but regret. Thinking of tomorrow brings stress. What do I need to do right here and right now?

4. All I want to do right now is talk to my family.

Rachel 8

1. The winter snow has captured me into her deathly blues.

Rachel 7

1. Very strong prescription drugs are my best friend.

2. Common misconception- "It's not what you know, it's who you know."
Refutation- "What good is the power without real intelligence and solid knowledge?"  

3. "'The mind or intelligence which man possesses is co-equal with God himself. All the minds and spirits that God ever sent into the world are susceptible of enlargement. God himself, finding he was in the midst of the spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in  knowledge.'Expansion is the theme, and we cannot expand the boundaries unless we first reach those boundaries, which means exerting ourselves to the absolute limit" (Hugh Nibley).

4. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).

It is the way He thinks that is higher than us, not what He thinks, though that is higher also.

5. Sometimes I wish people would read this. I need an audience to which I can epiphanize.

Rachel 6

1. I tried to put my pants on left leg first. It's true; you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Rachel 5

1. When a certain heater in a certain apartment forget how to work, I freeze my fingers off. Good gracious this should not be allowed. I think I may resort to turning the bath on high and sitting in the steam. Truly. I don't even have a giant cheetah blanket to keep my body warm. So perhaps I'll just layerlayerlayer and cuddle under my covers with some of those heavy narcotics that I previously spoke of so warm and cuddly in my tummy. Yes.

2. Church at 8:10 AM is especially great on fast Sundays because I'm not even hungry until I get home at eleven at which point I can, as previously mentioned, cuddle up in my bed and take a nap. When I wake up it's eaty time.

Rachel 4

1. I awoke to an alarm sounding that did not belong to me. Three hours before I was supposed to be, I was wide awake. I could get up and start my day at the deathly hour of six a.m. Instead, I lay in my bed in the heat of a sauna. No apartment should be this hot, even one in subzero temperatures like today. The stairs seemed extra high today as I climbed down in the dark. Morgan slept on the couch again. It seems like someone is always sleeping on that couch. Maybe they somehow spill a box of nails on their beds each night and are too tired to pick up the mess. Their loss. Beds are much more comfortable. Meanwhile, my eyes were lead by the dim microwave light to the thermostat. Did it say 65? I must have a fever or something. There is no way it’s only 65 in here. No, that’s just my blurry morning eyes. 85?! Yes, that’s a bit closer to reality. Who on earth set the thermostat to 85? Luckily, the little devil of heat only had a chance to raise itself to 77 before I caught it. Devil ran out the door chased by Mr. Frost.

2. Upstairs was still boiling and only opening the window to the other extreme. 0 degrees Fahrenheit. The wind chill drops it down to negative 19. That bloody wind that makes this God forsaken town deadly for any unprotected face. It chips off bit of skin from vulnerable faces of college students walking from sociology building on south campus to the music building as far north as possible. Those poor folks will return home to their loved ones without noses. I hoped they are still loved by their shallow partners, for their sake

3. Now here I sit in my bed at seven in the morning and all I can do it write. The wind honestly would take my head clean off it I dared step out that door. So I won’t. Today is a self declared ditch day.Who would really expect me to go to class when the weather website looks like this?

Rachel 3

1. Sometimes to understand other people you must understand yourself first.

2. Writing is good. But my original idea to write in scripture format has proved, through this experience, to be much harder than I expected. I could just put a number in front of each paragraph but somehow it just isn't the same. Please do realize that some of these "verses," if you will, are not my words but rather those of people famous for reasons I don't care to know. Maybe he/she is was the last to escape from Azkaban and that is why he/she is famous. Respectable reason, I must admit. I'm a tad jealous at that fact. But let's all be honest here, you are too.

3. Anyways. Sunday is today and today is Sunday. That means nap time.

4. It's a weird feeling when the hypothetical is no longer just a dream. It's actually going to happen now.

Rachel 2

1. Thou shalt tell thy secrets and the secrets of thy brother to no man.

2. It is always better to say nothing than to make yourself look stupid by talking.

3. Silence is the music of the easily annoyed.

Rachel 1

1. Eat, sleep, and be merry for tomorrow we die.

2. The early bird catches the worm but leftovers are just as good.

3. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. But why bother if we have heavy narcotics, credit cards, and Google?

4. Of course, I've come to realize that those are false and my parents were and are always correct. Homework before socializing. Homework before eating. Goodness, homework before Facebook. Just early enough that I can go to bed before eleven o'clock. No more headaches, no more need for naps, no more awful assignments sloppily done at two in the morning with assistance from a can of Dr. Pepper and last semester's essay.

5. Oh, and perhaps learning is much easier and more enjoyable when roommates can't be heard downstairs watching the latest and greatest How I Met Your Mother or playing Halo Reach. Invest in some earplugs.  

6. And don't ever forget to pay the gravity bill.