the divine e

the "rill" world doesn't say crap like this, do they?

2012-02-07T17:59:00.001-07:00

lately, the things i've been hearing on campus/around campus are really bugging me. guess that's what happens when the end is in sight and there are hopes of someday leaving the promised land.

1. "my HUSBAND this. my HUSBAND that. my husband my husband my husband." i get it. you're married. use his name. if i don't know who you're talking about, i'll ask.

2. "you should make friends with someone who has a tattoo." this was actually said in one of my classes. they were trying to make a point that once we are in the "real world", people out there aren't like people at byu (ie. sober, nice, etc.) it legitimately scares me that there are kids at byu that don't have non-lds friends or have never been exposed to diversity.

3. byu wards. there really are some wards that epitomize the stereotypes. my ward, not so much. nathan's ward, very much.
-last sunday, a girl bragged about how awesome/coincidental it was running into another mormon at a jazz game. (um, we're in utah. doesn't sound too unlikely to me)
-another girl got up and started talking...i leaned into Nathan and said "i bet she's from Orem" her next sentence started with "i'm from orumm aunndd..." Nathan was shocked/impressed. Just call me an accent analyst.
-one kid started talking with "so i was getting my haircut at the aveda institute this week"

only. in. provo.

hopefully i haven't offended many of you. byu is a special place and i am happy to be getting my education here. i've met my best friends here. gained great mentors here. but i really am so happy about the idea of leaving campus to pursue dreams and experience the "rill" world.

i thought i was dead

2012-02-02T17:28:00.001-07:00

hope that title was intriguing enough to make you read this story. feel free to leave comments like "omg, i am soooo sorry", "omg feel better", "omg i'm so glad i'm not you" after i finish.

once upon a time last summer i started realizing i was having some pain/tenderness/sensitivity from one of my teeth. it was here and there and i really didn't think anything of it. between whitening my teeth several times and such, i've had pretty sensitive teeth.

last fall, i noticed the sensitivity in that area of my mouth increased and i could pinpoint a certain tooth. By December, I was super sensitive to hot/cold foods and tried to avoid it at all costs. i mentioned it to my dentist when i saw him on 12/22 and he showed me that my tooth was a bit loose. he suggested that might be the reason why i was having some sensitivity.
me: "sooo...what do i do about it?" i asked
dentist: "i'm not sure....maybe wait until it gets worse?"

well, it got worse! this weekend, when Nathan and I had stuff we needed to get done. but on Saturday i had a HORRIBLE headache. i hadn't had one that bad in YEARS. i realized, the headache was an extension of my jaw ache/tooth ache. i decided it was time to go to the dentist.

i'm a busy person. especially on sunday, monday and tuesdays so i made an appointment for wednesday.
by the time wednesday came, my jaw was aching soooo bad and i couldn't bite. i was taking tylenol around the clock only to have one hour of relief.

i went to a dentist and he did some tests like having me bite down on different things. which, by the way, hurt so bad i was begging him to stop by the end. he concluded i had a cracked tooth, which happens when you have a filling in your tooth and then the tooth splits/cracks from the cavity over time. there are varying degrees of severity/pain depending on the stage. he thought i was probably in stage 3 of 4 because of the pain. he knew for sure i had "pulpitis" which is when the nerve is infected. hence, the pain. he referred me to an endodontist (someone who specializes in root canals).

you may remember the last time i had a root canal. if not, you can read the post here.

you may remember the last time i was high when i got my wisdom teeth out. if not, view below:

to make a long story short, i picked up taylor on my way to the endodontist thinking: if they drug me, i won't be able to drive. we get there, the (very attractive) dentist takes tons of xrays and shows me that the nerve is very infected and he needs to get in there asap to either put medicine in, kill the nerve, or pull the tooth (if it was cracked really bad). i warned him that i metabolize medicine FAST. usually when i get a cavity filled or when i get tooth work done i need twice as much stuff. during my last root canal, i wasn't completely numb. so by the time he got down to the nerve, he hit the nerve, I FELT EVERYTHING and i was sobbing hysterically. really traumatizing.
he told me he'd give me double and make sure i was super numb and asked if i wanted laughing gas.
of course i said yes.
i told him let's do this, i have a designated driver and I WAS IN SO MUCH PAIN.

the next thing i know i'm thinking deeeep thoughts and feel COMPLETELY numb. i swear, i think about the weirdest things when i'm "high". at the beginning, i think i was on a high dose of the laughing gas because my thought process led me to the conclusion: I WAS DEAD. i was thinking i was about to meet Jesus (NOT trying to be sac-religious here). i had a freak out because i wasn't ready to meet Jesus, "woke up" and they hadn't even started yet. i was confused. i saw the dentist bib-thing and i was like "i didn't wear that today..i must be dead". the kind assistant put the gas nose thing back on and told me, in a voice that made me think i was a young child, to "breathe deep" and "relax" and i "was doing sooo good". i saw my sweater and i got the relief i needed...."oh, i wore that today. okay, i'm not dead."

1.5 hours later i was on my way home chauffeured by taylor. she filled my prescription and made me smoothie. i laid on her couch and watched 500 days of summer. it was the next best thing to having my mom there to baby me.
my endodontist called at 8:30 to check up on me <--how awesome is that?! and Nathan and i feasted on Arby's around 10 pm. i had to cut my roast beef sandwich into tiny bits and shove them in the back of my mouth.

anybody need a recommendation for dentist/endodontist?! i got one.

creatures of habit

2012-01-24T11:09:00.005-07:00

yesterday, as i was making my grocery list, i thought about how my eating habits have changed through my "college years".

thanks to dining plus which includes the luxury of getting ice cream everyday, buying whatever food i want, and eating out every meal, i gained 15 pounds my freshman year. not a good look.

sophomore year was a little bit depressing after realizing feeding myself is difficult & buying groceries is not fun and all i want to eat is chicken nuggets and cap'n crunch. but i was living with a dietetics major so she encouraged eating salad often. i experimented with cooking meals a few times during the year but had no concept of planning/budgeting for it.

junior year i shaped up a little bit and made grocery lists and ate healthier. but the i went home and groceries/meals were provided for me.

and look at me now! i cook usually 5 nights a week. i make grocery lists. i plan meals. i eat leftovers (amazing considering i hate leftovers). i bring my lunch to work everyday & breakfast some days.

hello, adult self.

p.s. some people asked what i made last week...
-homemade tomato basil soup & grilled cheese on sourdough
-tacos
-swedish pancakes
-honey lime chicken enchiladas
-disneyland's loaded potato soup
-we went out for "linner" one day
-tortilla soup (planned but moved to this week because we had tons of leftovers)

growing pains

2012-01-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

every once in a while i get this feeling that i'm a little bit older.

last week was really hard. i'm not going to go into it because i don't want to mix work with my personal life but safe to say i was s t r e t c h e d. i learned a lot but growing pains hurt. last week was the first time Nathan experienced me crying for "no reason". lucky him. he offered me dr. pepper. lucky me. (oh, but i said no because i'm off soda. suuuuucks.)

on a happier note: i planned 7 days of meals and did all the grocery shopping and spent under $50.
happy monday!

the countdown begins

2012-01-06T09:11:00.001-07:00

in 2011 i wanted to:

"save monies.

stop biting my nails. be more of a lady.

turn 21 (that should be easy). & get my NEW license!

when i'm back in school, get better grades.

work out more, eat better, blah blah blah

read, read, read, read.

write, write, write"

as seen here

safe to say i did all of that--and more! i did stop biting my nails & got a new license. i got good grades, read over 10 books, wrote lots of blog posts & journal entries. i traveled to LA, San Fran, and Omaha. i improved myself, increased my testimony, and moved in with random people. i even started dating my BEST friend. pretty good year.

well, 2012 is here and it seriously blows my mind. it seems like just yesterday i was staying up all night in Helaman Halls or sitting in my pre-nursing classes (hah! i did that?!) or starting my journalism classes. and now i see the end & graduation is august 9th.

this is the beginning of the end, my friends.my last real semester as a BYU undergrad. this semester, my days start early and end early (let's not talk about how its the exact opposite of Nathan's schedule...). i sit at a computer for the majority of my day. i read the news, facebook, and twitter for my job.

let's get this show on the road, 2012 is going to be the best ever.

omaha recap

2011-12-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

had a fabulous week in the glorious state of nebraska.

a while back, Nathan invited me to Omaha for part of the break to spend time with his family. i was looking forward to the trip immensely but i was so worked up about meeting [the rest of] the fam i was dry-heaving in the shower the morning of my flight (tmi? oops). anxiety is awesome.

omaha was surprisingly beautiful. from my window seat on the plane, the trees were full and green (thank you, 40-degree-weather midwest winter). we drove through the city and it actually reminded me a little of LA but, of course, on a much smaller scale. it was really fun to visit a new place.

N's sister (& BIL) was so gracious to host so many people in her brand new house being 9 months preggo. it was so fun to just hang out and enjoy each other's company. here are some of the other happenings:

+so.many.babies. 5 kids under 5. once one got sick of you there was another to play with. crying and screaming were balanced with dance parties, Tangled, and cuddling.
+looooots of chatting late into the night (or early in the morning depending how you look at it). followed by:
+screaming children starting at 6 am
+gingerbread house exhibit @ the Winter Quarter's Temple visitor's center.
+walking & talking with N around the temple grounds
+playing games
+Costco date
+trips to 3 different malls

well, i'm pretty much a zombie walking around airports today. hope i can regain some strength to ring in the new year at midnight--a little sad it won't be with N but VERY EXCITED for 2012.

christmas 2011

2011-12-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

the gifts are opened and leftovers eaten. now i have cleaning, laundry & packing to do before i go visit this boy!

ten days apart was enough for me.

see you tomorrow, N.

&merry christmas!

i just eat a lot

2011-12-13T10:05:00.004-07:00

these past couple weeks have been so fun and B U S Y.
i've been busy with work things & writing papers & doing assignments for school (i procrastinate). nathan has been busy with several HUGELY IMPORTANT presentations to clients & writing papers & wrapping up his college career. our short hours in the evening together mostly have been spent doing homework but we've done a few fun things.

here's some highlights of what i/we've been doing (& things i don't want to forget)
+christmas light drive with my best friends. only to find out Provo barely even puts up any lights
+ day one of finals: sleeping in until noon
+a lunch and dinner with family all in one week
+many successful cooking adventures
+new desk at work. new job for next semester.
+work christmas party (may or may not have shed some tears)
+only 3 tests during finals week
+legit christmas dinner with some friends
+lunch with N @ Magleby's fresh
+laptop stopped charging. now it needs to be plugged in at all times. classy. good thing i graduate in 8 months.
+late-night chats about the future
+dreaming of christmas break when we will both be with our families without work or school to worry about (& then together with his family!!)
+costco lunch date with my favorite girls
+ WINNING my very FIRST giveaway! go here to see what I won. couldn't be more excited.

weird how most of those involve food...

bring on the finals and get me H O M E.

to be or not to be: a "twihard"

2011-12-09T15:35:00.001-07:00

What makes a twihard?

I’ve been thinking about this long and hard—ever since Nathan informed me I was a twihard. I immediately shot back with “NO I’M NOT!” this post isn't very timely, but i just got around to posting about it. so, deal.

here’s what I think about the situation:

Reason #1 I’m not a twihard: Of COURSE I went to the midnight premiere of breaking dawn with my girlfriends. we did NOT stand in line for hours in anticipation. we took the smart route and drove 30 minutes to jordan commons where we waltzed in and sat in our reserved seats 15 minutes prior to showtime. I sat smack dab in the middle of the back row, one of the best seats in the house. Our full group actually bought out the entire back row…

Reason #2: i did not dress up (& neither did our friends). i was shocked when I heard people were dressing up…and REALLY shocked when I saw preggo bellas walking around. No one is as hot as k-stew, so don’t even try. (see reason 5)

reason #3: Don't twihards read the books over and over again? I’ve only read the books once. To be honest, I barely remember half of the details in the book.but I remember how I feel about the characters. That’s what keeps me going to the midnight showings that and…

Reason #4: I’m in love with Edward Cullen. But not in a twihard way. In a you’re-really-dreamy-because-you’re-really-smart-and-your-unfailing-love-for-bella-is-admirable-because-she’s- really-annoying kind of way. If I saw him walking down the street sure, I’d want to take a pic with him but I wouldn’t be screaming that’s fo’ sho. And yes I acknowledge taylor lautner is attractive but I don’t scream when he takes his shirt off or start heavy breathing when he hugs bella and imagining that he’s hugging me.

Reason #5: I’m team kristen stewart. I can’t take full credit for this idea. It came from taylor. We aren’t team Edward or team Jacob or team Bella. We’re team k-stew. She’s probably the most hardcore and normal girl ever. She doesn’t soak up the limelight or try to be someone she’s not. She’s just k-stew and wears sneakers on the red carpet. And she stutters. And she gets nervous. She’s awesome. And that’s why I bought the special bella collectors cup at the movie theater. Now how many twihards do you know are team k-stew? None.

According to the kid who sold me the cup at the movies, I was the only one all night who wanted a k-stew cup. boo-ya.

pinterest, for the win

2011-12-01T17:51:00.003-07:00

to be honest, i don't know how i've avoided not making this blog an ode to pinterest before now. the time has come.
like many girls my age, my life became DRAMATICALLY happier & classier the day i joined pinterest. it helps me envision my- inevitable-classy future. I DO NOT KNOW HOW I LIVED BEFORE PINTEREST. pinterest enriches lives.

although i enjoy perusing pinterest (ideas for the future gigantic house i'll have one day, outfits i WILL put my kids in, or ideas for future bridesmaid shoes) it has most certainly made one part of my life substantially better: COOKING AND EATING.

pinterest lighted the fire in me that i did not know existed before--determined to be the best chef ever. i never had a desire to cook as much as when i joined pinterest. since joining, i have made many, many, many dinners, treats, and snacks and only one has let me down (do not make the pumpkin/cake mix muffin/cupcakes. no good.).

to share the love, i wanted to make sure you have links to my favorite recipes. if i was hayley, i would take pictures of everything i cooked and it all would look delicious. i am not that classy. nor does the stuff i make have 10% of the presentation appeal i try to imitate. therefore, i give you the links:

Smore's bars. pretty sure i made these twice a week for 3 weeks straight when i first got the recipe. to die for.
Crock pot potato soup. This recipe is so easy and really affordable. It is so rich and warm and i serve it with warm rolls.
Tomato basil soup & the best grilled cheese. i am a pretty picky eater. if possible, i would eat like a 4 year old every day (pizza, mac n cheese, popsicles). i love me some tomato soup with a grilled cheese and this recipe made me feel domestic (soup from scratch!) anddd satisfied my immature taste buds.
Oreo chessecake bites. very rich and very, very good.

and now: my favorite recipe of all time. i would eat it everyday, if i could.
HONEY LIME CHICKEN ENCHILADAS. you gotta make 'em. heck, i'll come over and make them for you just so i can have a bite. i suggest letting the meat marinade as long as possible (plan ahead)--but even if you can only do 30 minutes...it'll be worth it.

what recipes are you guys loving--from pinterest or not? give me some links so i can continue to be the best chef/girlfriend/roommate/friend ever.

gobble gobble

2011-11-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

one year ago today i had just crashed my friends car but continued to drive 20 more hours to be with my family on thanksgiving.

i have many things to be thankful for this year
+ a wonderful, supportive family. they forgive me, love me, and cheer me on. can't wait to see them at christmas
+ my friends. so giving, so supportive, so loving. can't get enough.
+ an amazing job. it's flexible, humbling, and i learn something everyday.
+ the newsroom: the NEW & OLD friends, the laughs, video-watching, drama, blog-stalking & of course editing. [i guess this all could've gone with the job one]
+ my education. only 1.5 semesters left.
+ the gospel. amazing ward. my calling.
+ sweet, sweet roommates. i've had so many crazies over the years. it's so nice to have some normalcy--even if they are babies. AND one of my gfs from Chicago, Lauren, is moving in for next semester!
+ answered prayers. the Lord's timing. increasing faith in Jesus Christ.
+ Nathan Baier. [insert all mushy, gag-worthy & nauseating phrases here].

alright, i'm hungry.

playing house

2011-11-20T17:04:00.001-07:00

i love low-key weekends. in past years, i used to squish as much as possible into the weekend to make the most of it. this year, i feel like the weekend is just the same as the weekday except no class. i don't feel pressure to do everything on a saturday or stay up super late. i really like the change.

friday night, as i waited (& waited & waited) for nathan to come home from work, i made crepes. i was just about to take a picture of the spread but i got a phone call so i missed the photo opp. we did snap this: nathan's crepe with bananas, fresh whipped cream & homemade buttermilk syrup

on saturday we took one of nathan's nephews to the bean museum. pretty sure he was expecting to see live animals not dead stuffed ones. i think the huge donut we got him made up for it.

we did stay for the "show" where they brought out a bearded lizard, snake, and this giant turtle

saturday night at the movies and ran into hayley and chin ping! we were all seeing the same movie so we sat together. so fun!

i'm excited for a small vacation this week from work & school. can't wait to spend time with both families and eat.

KSC takes over Burger Supreme

2011-11-17T21:19:00.002-07:00

remember my wonderful friend Melissa's blog post about Kindred Spirit Cupcakes?

today is thursday, KSC day.
i woke up to a text from mel: "skweez text."
for those who are not starving students reading this blog, the skweez is a daily food deal (pronounced: dill) and it is texted to your phone every morning around 9:47 a.m. the deals range from free drinks, buy one get ones, 50% deals, etc etc. sometimes they are awesome, like the one today. sometimes, not so awesome (sushi, bleh).

this week, my girls & i (minus Kristin), took over the glorious restaurant in north provo, burger supreme. not that we HAVE to find extranneous reasons to eat at BS because we all love greasy and perfectly, crispy, golden fries, but today's daily skweez was "buy one burger or sandwich and get a small fry and drink FOR FREE". it had KSC written all over it.

we feasted.

and we chatted about wearing flip flops at church, accidental winking, and walking into screen doors. we cackled loudly and didn't care about the people glaring at us.
every week, my love for these girls grows and grows. it amazes me how we found each other and bonded so quickly. some weeks, KSC is what keeps me going.

good thing the cocoa bean next door in the strip mall--cupcakes made an appearance too.

our favorite part of KSC tonight?
a table of boys comes up to us:
boy spokesman: excuse me, ladies, are you all going to twilight, too?
robin: ummm, no. but you guys have fun with that.

a few thoughts & an opinion

2011-11-11T14:24:00.001-07:00

happy veteran's day! i'm grateful for the wonderful people who choose to serve our country and put their lives on the line everyday for my freedom--so i can sit here at blog in a quiet newsroom. i'm also grateful for strong families to let their loved ones go.

my job is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. i have the greatest co-workers. they are talented, funny, and smart & teach me something new everyday. my co-editor Katie is also fabulous and when i'm having an off-day she picks up the slack. she's so kind and always wants to talk about ME and never focuses on herself.

part of my job includes expressing my opinion...today the newspaper featured two opposing viewpoints. my co-worker Court & I each took a side on a fun issue: when should Christmas music be played?
here's the LINK to my piece & here's a LINK to Court's piece. i'm not doing a lot of writing this semester so it was fun to do this with him.

what are your thoughts about playing Christmas music early?

crossed lots of stuff off my to-do list this week & i'm looking forward to relaxing with my girls and a cute boy this weekend!

all smiles

2011-11-04T15:33:00.001-06:00

it's november which means everything i've procrastinated this semester is catching up to me. my to do list is a mile long and i am frantically writing emails to professors about assignments. i've got two tests next week, a mock grad-school interview, a paper for the following week, and 2 concerts to attend by the end of the semester (just to name a few things).

but i'm not stressed...i just keep pinning more wedding stuff, baby stuff and good recipes. also been eating {many} island way sorbets from Costco. if you haven't had them, you GOT to buy them NOW. bliss.

the past week in pictures:

i was away from my desk on Thursday for a conference in salt lake and my friends left me so much love!

went to the haunted forest to celebrate the halloween season. basically, all my worst fears were involved: bridges, snakes, clowns, zombies, the dark, chainsaws, etc. i basically collapsed at one point in fear.

aaanddd i've been spending time with him:

halloween in the newsroom--we all dressed up like my boss, Rich! he's the one in the back actually eating the apple. his favorite things are: polos, khakis/jeans, apples & caffeinated beverages. all day, every day.

stay warm this weekend! if it snows, i'm putting on sweats and crossing things off my list.

dear world

2011-10-31T00:54:00.001-06:00

i've become the girl i hated:

the hand-holding
can't-get-enough
squealing
smiling all the time
obnoxious
giggling
whispering during church

watch out, there's a new boy around. well, not new as in i-just-found-him-on-the-street-one-day-while-i-was-frolicking-in-the-fall-weather new. he's been around for a while. [2 years, to be exact.] but, he's new because he turned me into the girl described above. & i can be labeled with the 'g-word'.
i'm not complaining.

how my life has dramatically improved from a year ago

2011-10-12T14:38:00.001-06:00

the semester is well under way (halfway thru this week!) and this morning, as i was getting ready, all i could think about is how different this fall is--in comparison to any other fall semester ('08, '09, '10).

1.1 baby roomies. i affectionately refer to my two other roommates as "the babies". this is because they moved straight from the dorms and are 19. yes, i was 19 once. but i like to think i did not ask the questions they ask me to my old roommates. for example, one of the babies asked me the other night what else you put in a salad besides lettuce. uhhhh...
     1.2 sometimes it gets really confusing calling them babies. while watching house hunters last night nathan asked me where the babies were. for a split second, i thought he was actually referring to literal babies, like our babies (which we don't have). now that i've typed all that out, it really isn't that confusing because it's only happened once. moving on.
          1.3. i love the babies. they are fun and nice. and most of the time, way more mature than i am when it comes to social situations. oh, and they go on waaay more dates than i ever did when i was 19.
2. i actually have a real calling. took 3 years of college to get me one of these. yes, there are purposes for relief society greeters, and program coordinators, but being an actual teacher makes me feel important. and really, really scared. i have to speak for 40 minutes?!
3. i don't have a jerky/loser/idiot boyfriend. Go me.
4. i sleep until 9:15 every morning. it's glorious. say i'm lazy. whatever. i'm a senior.
5. speaking of being a senior, i graduate next august. as in, i apply for graduation in February or something.
6.1 i'm like, a grown up. i have a dinner group and we eat like a family 4 nights a week. actually, dinner group is usually more of a nuisance than a perk of my life.
   6.2 more on being grown up: i spend more time at work than i do in class.
7. also took me 3 years of college to learn how to study for a test.
8. i have 3 canadian professors this semester. weird, eh?

Kindred Spirits

2011-10-07T00:48:00.002-06:00

i can't say it any better myself.

go HERE to read about kindred spirit cupcakes.

it's midterms but

2011-09-28T00:16:00.002-06:00

still have reasons to be happy.

things that make me the most happy recently:
1. cooking dinner for 8 people once a week {and it tasting GOOD}
2. cleaning out my email inbox
3. throwing birthday parties for best friends
4. getting compliments on my new shoes &/or long hair
5. having a mid-afternoon ice cream snack and not feeling guilty
6. going up the canyon and losing cell phone service for a few hours {pure relaxation}
7. saying what I really feel
8. the BYU football team winning a game {finally}
9. laying in bed an extra hour in the morning to catch up with my mom
10. getting winked at

wal*mart

2011-09-22T13:54:00.004-06:00

I'm a little embarassed to admit the following statement: I shop at walmart regularly.
and by regularly, I mean....iIve been there 6? 7? 8? times in the past two weeks.

My frequent trips have [mostly] been for stuff needed around the apartment which can't wait.
NOT because I want to hang out there. For example, a shower curtain after a roommate moved out and took ours. a router. bed risers. the list goes on.

The Orem walmart is OVER WORKED. it serves 112k Provo residents & 88k Orem residents. That is 200,000 people for ONE walmart to serve. Yes, there is a Springville, Lindon, and American Fork walmart but the Orem one is closest to my house.

So anyways, I've been there recently and I have some complaints.
1. WHY do they rope off HALF the store at midnight?! sometimes, i have to do last-minute birthday toy shopping with nathan at midnight and it was annoying to get kicked out of the toy section for the workers to do who knows what.
2. WHY is there barely any fruit when I go grocery shopping? The selection is poor. The other day when I went I had to choose between green grapes (ew) and bananas. How do you serve bananas to a dinner group?
3. WHY is there 50 check out counters and only 4 open at one time?
4. WHY are there no self-checkout counters available ever? Ishould not have to wait for the girl in front of me to price match everything.
Which brings me to
5. the girl in this picture is having the checker PRICE.MATCH. E V E R Y T H I N G.
girl: juice $2.48 pasta $.98 blah blah coupon coupon.
checker: ok. ok.

FOR THE LOVE.

walmart,

PLEASE. can we just have one line that is super efficient and fast no matter the time of day? Can we have a specific line for those who want to use 469 coupons and want price matches on every item? it sure wasted my precious time waiting for pink hoodie girl to get all of her things price matched.

senior status

2011-08-31T14:46:00.003-06:00

i'm back in provo and settling into a new routine
this new routine includes sitting in front of a computer everyday for four hours and getting paid to read news.
also includes new roommates, new ward and night classes every day of the week

nothing too exciting going on; spent last night having dinner that took me back to 2007 and then indulged in the daily skweez with the new roomie, carlos & nathan. then concluded the evening with a sing-a-long around the piano & reading the lego magazine that came to my house

lately, i spend my days wishing i had an iphone and waking at 9:15am.

pretty plush.

home sweet home

2011-08-17T01:11:00.000-06:00

there's something really comforting about coming home to mom & dad's house.
i walked into "my" bedroom tonight and was shocked to see my shoe rack [almost] full of shoes. i forgot i had them!
and then i opened my closet to find it [half] full of my clothes. i forgot i had them!
and then i opened my dresser drawers and you can probably guess what i found/forgot.

i took a shower and was SHOCKED by how big the towel is!! in LA we had these teensy tiny towels. probably motivation to lose a few inches around the waist. and it was surreal putting all my bathroom stuff away in my OWN bathroom. (sharing a bathroom with 3 other girls was HARD. no, i'm not being a baby about it)

i'm just happy to be home. it was weird to go from living at home going on 6 months to the next week moving to LA for the rest of summer. and now weird coming home after being on my own. and will be weird when i leave next week and be back on my own.

all these life changes. so much happened in the past month. i saw so many things. drove so many miles.met so many different types of people. met new friends. did great shopping. learned about myself. learned about working/living/sleeping/worshipping with others. learned about God. all these things leave me content with life.

also, i did it!
maybe this isn't something i should be proud of but one year ago i was headed in one direction. a very distinct, not so good direction.
and now i'm here! in the right direction! the direction i know is made for me! the direction that is taking me all these exciting places! it's possible. you can catch yourself before it's too late and turn it around. you can become who you're supposed to be.

lessons from LA

2011-08-07T14:36:00.000-06:00

i've learned alot of things while in LA:

a dodge caliber has a HUGE blind spot and horrible turning radius (i've ran over every curb in LA county) and it goes from 0 to 65 in 60 seconds

neighborhoods change from bad to good in two seconds; when you're in the ghetto just go up .5 miles and it'll be better

--speaking of neighborhoods getting better: always find a target, it will change your day

locals take sheets to the beach to lay on. a towel works for a pillow quite nicely.
the beach gets tourist-y around 3 pm
apply sunscreen evenly at the beach otherwise you will have a patchy sunburn
always bring a sweater with you

you can probably tell from these lessons that i've had it "hard" in LA. [not]
our neighbors are overly concerned with our well-being and allow us to have obnoxious karaoke parties at 10pm
our landlord comes while we are gone to water our organic tomato plants and straighten the patio set. we once left the backyard in disarray after a party and the next day when we got home from work it was back to perfect condition.
we can justify any purchase in gas as long as we work in an area
the sun shines for 8 hours a day
people let you merge into stop and go traffic without honking
roommates and i have laughed & cried (okay, only I have cried) about work, boys, and life
we've had birthday parties & dinner parties
we make our own work hours

this little adventure is came to a close all too quickly. i love LA and want to return SOON. but another little adventure is calling my name: it's called my senior year in provo, utah.

a dream is a wish your heart makes

2011-08-02T20:25:00.000-06:00

on saturday my intern besties took a break from reality to visit disneyland

we all hadn't been there in a REALLY long time..and it's safe to say it was the most magical day of my life

it was so fun, i really felt like i was a kid again.

i was really giddy when we met Belle

in the morning waiting for finding nemo

if you ask me, it was a super boring ride and all i wanted to do was take a nap in that dark submarine

i only had 4 hours of sleep the night before

at the end of the day waiting for indiana jones...you can see the progression of "disney magic" on our faces

YIKES.

have to take a instagram of something!

more pictures coming soon

groundhog day

2011-07-29T10:24:00.001-06:00

not going to lie, after 3 weeks of doing the exact same thing...i'm beginning to think my life is the movie. here's some things that i try and distract myself with:

an african american family brought WHAT to the beach?? a gallon of kool-aid...

if you can't tell already from my annoying facebook statuses, i love the beach.

popcorn combo from target

went here last night and fell in love

pretend these are trendy instagrams

2011-07-24T00:50:00.002-06:00

yes, my ticket says "mormon church" on it

funny story: whit totally thought the dodger's were in brooklyn. the brooklyn dodgers. her dreams came true when she found out they moved to LA [in 1958]. clearly, a number one fan.

they heard we were coming and they put on a firework show for us

okay

2011-07-19T00:56:00.001-06:00

saw two accidents today on my way to work

did not see a single white person except my coworker until halfway through my workday

i had to go to the bathroom on a graffiti-ed toilet seat

some things don't happen according to my plans

some times people disappoint me

some times my whole body is sunburned from falling asleep at the beach

but i ended my monday night seeing this:

and i realized i'm okay

soCal residency

2011-07-13T22:16:00.002-06:00

i've always kind of gagged whenever someone used the word "soCal".
such a negative connotation.
probably because i've always thought of orange county/botox region of the state when someone said "i love soCal".
how ignorant!
i never knew L.A. counted as "soCal". i am so uncultured.

since i'm a temporary soCal resident, i guess i can't hate it so much anymore.
especially because I LOVE soCal.
i like driving fast on the freeways
i like the traffic (wait, whaaat?!)
i like the gloomy mornings and warm sunshine in the afternoon
i like the fast past
i like walking into an office downtown and picking up "supplies" which also includes a trip to the fully stocked fridge of all beverages ever made.
i like coming home exhausted but still having to put in a couple hours of work
i like how our apt. complex/landlord are SO concerned about our comfort level and how loud the neighbors are.
neighbor: "hey my brother is blind and lives with me so if you hear any bumping around. ..if we are ever too loud upstairs just let us know. we know you have to work."
ummmmmmmmmmm what is the landlord telling them? pretty sure they think we are rich, connected snobs and need absolute peace and quiet to get stuff done. clearly they've never lived in provo housing before.

i'm in LA trick

2011-07-10T15:51:00.001-06:00

i still cannot believe this is MY LIFE.

flight went smoothly, met up with other intern whitney @ airport, got a cab, took it back to our place. met patrick from the firm, let us into our place.....
people,
we have coffee table books.
we have granite counter tops.
we have patio furniture.
we have hardwood floors.
we have art on the walls.

bedroom #1. it has 3 beds. a bunk & the queen.

other half of bedroom #1

the bathroom

the master....or bedroom #2...or the "special occasions" bedroom

a book reading chair.

more of the master...

view from the front door when you walk in. cable hooked up, a blu-ray player, and games.

kitchen table

the kitchen

side area of patio

main view of patio

other side of patio area...also those gates open up so we can back our car(s) in if we have alot of groceries.

CANNOT
BELIEVE
i am living in LA

me & my big girl dreams

2011-07-02T02:25:00.000-06:00

so my parents raised me to dream big. they didn't really SAY it out loud but their expectations of what i was/am to accomplish led me to having big, successful dreams. they expected me to achieve and succeed. they expected me to graduate high school. and they expected me to go to college. & complete college (still working on that one). they were always trying to prepare me for the next step--making sure i was saving money, being responsible, thinking about the bigger picture, etc.

i've spent a lot of time talking to my parents about my dreams. about how i want success & a career. it didn't take long for me to fall in love with my major (print journalistm) @ the Y and realize this is it. this is what i want to do.

because i took a break from school this year, my dreams kind of took a break too. i took the time to put myself back together and i thought the dreams would resume in the fall when i went back to class.

well as of thursday at 4:29 pm CST, my dream(s) started to come true a little sooner than expected.

first of all: byu comms connections rock. i love the kids that i meet through byu comms classes. they are so talented, funny and smart. one of my friends, melissa (she seriously writes a killer blog READ IT), told me about a little opportunity. a paid PR internship in LA for four weeks this summer. she suggested i apply. so i did. because, well, i had nothing to lose.

long story short-- it is now 9 days since the interview and 9 days before I AM MOVING TO L.A.

yes, true story. i am just up and leaving everything here at home to spend four weeks working my tush off. i am going to miss being home. i am going to miss my jobs here. i feel so blessed to have TWO jobs that let me have sundays off for church and thursdays off for institute. and i was a little sad to tell them but...

remember how i said i CANNOT stand still?

well, i can't. and i can see how certain events in the past few weeks have led me here. i am at a place where i can just pick up and leave and everything be okay. did i think that was possible a month ago? no. but it's possible now.

this is it.

me and my big girl dreams.

part one

limbo

2011-06-28T19:33:00.001-06:00

i am a planner.
i make plans & i do them.
i need to remember something? it goes in my planner. and then i cross it off. or check it. or highlight it. or write over it.

i don't like question marks. i don't like question marks in my planner. and i don't like question marks in my life.
why doesn't that bother other people?
why can some people not make up their mind? or not realize when they have something good? or just be content with just how things are; standing still?
I CANNOT. i cannot stand still.

life is too short, people. LIVE. and stop being scared. and don't make other people live in limbo because of you.

avoiding the summer hiatus

2011-06-16T13:47:00.000-06:00

anyone following this blog for more than a year knows typically during the summer for one reason or another i have to take a hiatus. two summers ago it was because my laptop was sick & getting worked on. last summer it was lack of inspiration due to not-so-happy-times.

this summer i have an excuse--laptop is sick again. sent it in to be fixed.
but i'm not taking a hiatus. because things are great. and i've never been happier. and i do have pictures to upload but that's just going to have to wait until mr. laptop comes back to me from fort worth, texas.

it's pretty apparent that i love being home in chicago. friends are great, family is great, work is good. i questioned, in january, if i'd ever be ready to go back to provo.

the day has come. it hit me about two weeks ago. i was driving home one night and missing my girls back in p-town. missing folding everyone's laundry. missing living on nothing but fruit & cereal. missing late night trips to the sevvv. missing running into people in the library. missing the nickelcade.

i'm not ready right this second. i mean, i don't even have a place to live for the fall yet. but i am ready. i'm ready to finish up school (only 10 classes left). ready to start making college memories again. ready to make new friends and cherish moments with old ones. i'm ready to take advantage of opportunities i neglected the past few years. ready to see boys that i haven't seen since freshman year. [so.stinking.excited.]

summer, i love you and i'm soaking in every minute of these carefree months. but there's only 8 weeks left and then it's back to on-my-own, eating cereal all the time, running to campus, writing papers and late nights in provoland.

more pictures of me

2011-06-05T23:18:00.000-06:00

i realized there were quite a few photos i forgot to include in my nauvoo post.

this is the most important one::::

because of the trip, i was able to cross something off my bucket list: using an orange-floor-cart-thing at costco. yep, i dreamed of pushing one of these around someday and that day FINALLY came. i mentioned in the previous post, tonz and i were in charge of food/beverages for the whole trip...this picture only involved 1/8th of the food we brought down on the bus...

this past weekend--> legit amazing.

it involved:

thai bowl. new shoes (oh my goodness they are just so amazing they might get their own post). a pay check.

this:

driving with the windows down & passion pit blaring. a barbeque. the city. popsicles.

& lotssss of laughter.

so, so, so in love with summer already.

i can't get enough

2011-05-31T18:16:00.000-06:00

just a fun little update about stuff i am loving lately

flossing. remember how one of my goals for 2011 was flossing everyday? yep, i've done it every.single.day. i actually look forward to it now that it's in my daily routine...hopefully the dentist notices when i see him this month.

the NBA. i've always been a college sports girl. the talent, the practice, and the athleticism...not too big of a fan once money gets involved. hence, lack of interest in the nfl/nba but lately...i've been watching ALOT of the NBA. may be because of a certain someone i've been hanging out with...and may be because the MAVS are killin' it. but i'm really loving it all & going to be sad when the finals are over.

amazon.com. i have an obsession with finding stuff on amazon. the deals are just so great. i've bought multiple dvds this past month for sooo cheap & i've decided that if i can't find something in the store, amazon will have it. [i'm putting together a special birthday package for someone and i've been able to find many things on amazon.com to fulfill my vision of perfect birthday package EVER.] and i really don't mind only paying $3 for shipping.

shoes. i work at DSW, alright?! i get to try shoes on for a living (actually i'm not supposed to try on shoes on the clock but...). & tell people my opinion on their shoes. do you know how much i love sharing my opinion?! well, if you don't know, i do...A LOT.

painting my nails. another one of my goals this year was to start being more of a lady, AKA stop biting my nails. mission accomplished. i have learned to file, shape, and take care of my nails. it has also turned into a mild obsession...when i'm not trying to find split ends in my hair i'm probably looking at my nails and thinking of solutions to make them look and feel more healthy.

my products. once i find a product i like, i like it A LOT and will immediately buy more when i'm running low. the products i'm totally loving right now: john frieda's brilliant brunette sham/con, caress evenly gorgeous body wash, paul mitchell's "hot off the press" heat protectant, & my venus embrace razor (smoothest. legs. ever. it really makes me want to shave everyday.)

goodnight/good morning text messages. never been a fan of these in the past but i'm totally loving them lately...i just like routine. and i like when another someone comes along and finds their way into my routine and it fits, works, and feels comfortable.

what can you guys not get enough of??

it's safe to say i love photos of myself

2011-05-26T20:35:00.001-06:00

last weekend i took off work to go to Nauvoo with my ward

i went for selfish reasons like:
i got to take off work
i would miss my brothers 3+ hour graduation ceremony [potentially so boring]
& i got to hang out with some people i like

the trip was a liiiiiiiiiittle bit stressful the first day...Tonya & I got put in charge of basically everything & everyone on friday (food, hotel assignments, transportation) because the two people ACTUALLY in charge weren't going to be there until late friday night. luckily, everything fell into place (mostly) and i was able to relax once we were on the bus. friday was a bit rainy but could've been worse & although i fell into the mississippi with my white jeans on and my hair was a curly hot mess, the trip was amazing. & saturday we got sooooo lucky. it was GORGEOUS weather-- around 75 degrees and sunny with a breeze. A DREAM.

now i will display the millions of pictures of myself from this weekend so you can be jealous of all the fun i had.

FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY

sometimes i make really cute faces

i pet an oxe!!!!

we went to a $20 buffet and i got chicken nuggets.

still all smiles even after i fell into the mississippi!

i provided some afternoon entertainment

SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY

[next hundred photos: me&my boys being fatties for life...look at how AWESOME our faces are]

just taking some photos with our bricks

@ nauvoo cemetary. our faces might tell one story...but the place, in all seriousness, is one of the most serene and sacred places in nauvoo. and the drive up there is so beautiful with the windows rolled down and lady antebellum playing through the stereo

carthage

the weekend was amazing. i was able to experience and feel things that i haven't felt in over a year. if anything, it proved to me that people can move on. you can heal. i can heal.

sometimes there really isn't anything better than laughing your head off after you slip off a log into the mississippi river. or watching someone at dottie's throw together a shake and then slop it down on the table for you.

on this trip i fell in love with summer.

i'm so glad i still have 3 months left....summer 2011 it's going to be a great one.

it's the cool thing to do

2011-05-17T21:27:00.001-06:00

apparently, habitat for humanity is pretty hot right now. 4 out of 5 of my good high school friends have done habitat trips this past year. In march i had the opportunity with a few members of my ward to have my own experience with habitat. it was only for a day but i really wish it was a whole week!

let me just say how COLD it was!!!! it started snowing as we were outside. the morning was pretty miserable until we actually started seeing progress on our project. the big group of us were divided up into different teams and each team worked on a different project. some of the options were: painting, working on the siding, or building a deck.

me + four of my fav girls from the ward jumped when we heard building a deck. hand any of us done anything like that before in our life? no way. but it sounded fun...at the moment. Until we realized that we would be outside all day. in the 30 degree weather and didn't know anything about building a deck. luckily, we had a trusty supervisor to teach us five girls his name was vince and met his wife doing habitat!

we first had to measure and build the frame and fit it to the house.

We had to cut each of the individual pieces out of long 2x4s. You can see Vince a little concerned with me using the saw and making sure i didn't chop off my finger. Vince was so fun to work with! and oh, SO PATIENT with all of our whiny, shivering, and standing around. this is my using a saw for the first time in my life: ( i used that thing like i had used one every day of my life.)

the deck slowly came together after 5 hours of hard work and then they all wanted to wrap it up! we said NO WAY we are FINISHING THIS. so they let us!

i have to say...it was a really great feeling when we finished. i built this with four of my best girlfriends and my own two hands!!!

the girls & i who worked on the deck...power tools? check. And yes, i'm holding a saw as if i were a charlie's angel holding a gun.

this is the whole group from our ward that went out that early, early saturday morning: (we all fell in love & want to volunteer again!)

Girls + Vince: one of my favorite pictures since coming home

one more time, a side view of the completed deck:

if you ever have the chance to give up a few hours of your time for habitat...DO IT.

story time

2011-05-11T23:45:00.000-06:00

so once upon a time in summer 2006, courtney and i went to EFY in Michigan. we met some really, really great people.

one person, in particular, became a great friend.

meet sydney.

usually, you meet awesomeeee people at EFY but you never really know if you'll talk to the people again after that week.
but, Syd was different. We ran into eachother my first year at the Y. and for the past 3 years i've seen her various places on campus which is fun because we get to catch up.

we run into each other often at the SLC airport. she is also from the midwest and flies into Chicago all the time. therefore, we've even ended up on the same flight once (by accident). most recently, i saw her & stood behind her in line while checking in for our Southwest flights in december.

okay--i'm getting to a point here. Sydney is awesome. and she has a blog.

and a couple days ago she posted about a big decision she made.

the post was extremely inspirational & so i wanted to share it with you.

go here to read the gem.

proud of you Syd & love you.

so happy i met you & all of these people:

during a hot & humid week the summer of 2006

over the moon

2011-05-10T00:51:00.001-06:00

so, best friend #2 came home last Friday from his mission. (still haven't talked to him but he is really loved at home so i've had to wait my turn. i'm sure i'll get to talk to him soon!)

& best friend #3 comes home in a matter of weeks. (5 if you really want to be specific). i am so proud of all my boys for going out there and doing the Lord's work. but really i'm just grateful for every man in my life that has served. it is such a neat thing & the things they learn out there astound me and i just can't get enough of their stories.

my post tonight doesn't have any rhyme or reason to it. i just felt like jotting some things down. someone asked me tonight what my passion was. i took me a minute...but i guess it's this. not my blog, but the ability to write: to express my feelings or communicate something to someone. i feel so blessed to know where i'm going and who i am. also grateful to be in the best. major. EVER.

also grateful for this break from school...at first it was a very difficult thing to come home. i really had my hands up in the air about the whole thing but day by day it was confirmed that it was the right thing for me.i have tried to make some big changes in my life this year (i've flossed my teeth every single day! but in all seriousness, i've been really working hard). i know that i've grown and learned over these past few months but it wasn't by accident. i've worked for it. & i'm not the only person who has noticed. best friend #3 wrote in his email today: "I can tell that this semester off did MIRACLES to help you. Definitely an inspired choice." what an amazing thing to hear! from a person halfway across the world no less!

all i know is, if you want to make your life ten times better, i've got the secret. so ask me!

& i'm over the moon about it.

the best book. ever.

2011-05-03T00:58:00.001-06:00

to be completely honest, i never thought i'd really go this far on this subject on my blog. yes, i mention how much i love my church on a regular basis. it brings inspiration to my life. it brings amazing people into my life. and it provides peace & comfort that overcomes all the worlds' commotion & confusion. but, i'm going there. it's just that important.

i've mentioned a couple times this year how much i love to read.
however, i have not kept you up to date on how many books i've read this year.
if i had to guess, it would be around 15. majority of them--fiction. a few non-fiction bios & memoirs. i've actually liked all the books i've read this year so far. but the other night i finished the best book. the one i wish everyone would read.

this book reminds me:

1. I don't have to be perfect

2. I am here on this earth for a reason

3. I am loved by God & his son Jesus Christ

4. God speaks to his children on this Earth today and wants the best for them

5. through daily prayer & scripture study I can become the person God wants me to be

last year was hard & i made some stupid choices. & i fell flat on my face. this book helped me pick myself up and start living my life again. it has become the place i turn to when i am insecure, worried, or have questions. it is seriously the best book i've ever read.

good news!--it's a book that you can read over & over again (like Pride&prejudice) & learn something new everytime.

this is how we do it

2011-04-26T23:21:00.001-06:00

in chicago

my visiting teachers

teach me at Portillo's.

the Gospel is more awesome

[if even possible]

when eating a chocolate cake shake.

provoland

2011-04-23T13:39:00.001-06:00

after courtney's wedding, i took a leisurely six hour drive down to provo to see my friends. but really the most important thing that happened while i was there was moving out of the RG. best.day. ever. goodbye cold showers, good bye messy roommates, goodbye beautiful pool, goodbye giant vanity, goodbye airsoft gun fights.

i am not cool enough to have an iphone and do one of those posts "my trip in iphone photos" but i am cool enough to have a samsung gravity touch phone so this will be "my trip in samsung gravity-T photos"

i made it a point to only eat food i could not get in chicago. first night: iceberg

cute cousin jacob showing me his "muscles"

we dyed easter eggs because carlos was deprived as a child. naturally, i made mine dinosaurs

again, had to eat somewhere i couldn't in chicago. second night: betos. and yes, this was the line for the drive-thru...

and carlos took some awesome pictures of him eating easter candy (that's a spongebob crabby patty kabob in case you were wondering)

yes, i still love my provo friends. yes, i kind of did wish i was staying a little bit longer. but i was happy to come home to my friends and family here. see you in july, Provoland.

it happened

2011-04-19T09:31:00.000-06:00

more pictures later...

[run over to my facebook if you want to see the whole album now]

my best friend's wedding

2011-04-13T20:35:00.000-06:00

well, it's here. in a few short days courtney will be a married woman. MARRIED. when did we grow up?!

i few things you should know about courtney:
she HATES jello
she just graduated college!
she had really long hair for a long time
she's had a lot of speeding tickets....
she loves to eat, but it definately doesn't show
she's really, really gorgeous.
she's my best friend. we've had alot of late nights, long phone calls (on home phones and cell phones), shopping trips, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, & laughs. i'm going to miss her. yes, MISS her. she becomes someone else's for eternity in 3 days.

nothing like looking sweaty at youth conference

hanging out at steak n' shake being the cool kids we are

short-er hair and freshman 15 not a good look for me. good thing those days are over.

whirlyball

2011-04-08T00:00:00.000-06:00

so i really like my ward.
really really really really really really like it.
yes, it's a singles ward.
i am so grateful i am home this semester. so grateful for my ward. so grateful for my friends that i have here. so grateful to have people i can count on & care about.
the months are flying by and i cannot even think about going back to provo.

so we had a fun ward activity a few weeks ago (yes, i am just getting to blogging about it now).
it was called whirlyball. heard of it? no?
well, it's bumper cars (fun!), mixed with lacrosse (maybe fun?), mixed with basketball (kind of fun). the combination of the three is SO AWESOME. you basically go around in bumper cars with little paddle/catchers mitt/cup type things and shoot at this small, small hole in a wall. tell me that description wasn't precise.

not sure what i liked so much about it. maybe because i got to take a fun little drive to an old part of lombard. maybe it was the great weather & got to have my windows rolled down for the drive. maybe it was feeling like a kid again and having an excuse to ride a bumper car for more than 2 minutes. or maybe it was just being with the greatest people i know. & meeting more great people?

good job activities committee!

in other unrelated news

2011-03-26T21:46:00.001-06:00

you could say i've been doing blog posts with themes and/or events lately. but tonight, i really don't have an overall theme. just a thought here and there.

you know my best friend i posted about below? well, i saw him last night. for the first time in over two years. i hadn't seen him since early march of 2009. i was a freshman, living in the dorms, and the night before he reported to the MTC he came to dinner with my friends and i. it's a sweet memory. now, two years later, we made another sweet memory. not only did i get to SEE him last night i also got to give him two huge hugs. and try to catch him up on the past two years of my life in all of five minutes. i think i was the happiest girl alive. i may have cried a little. i am just so happy. for him, for me, and all of our friends who are growing up moving on and doing real things.

i got hired at DSW recently. I've known for a few weeks now but I decided to keep it on the down low until i actually went through orientation and got all my paperwork done. but now it's official. i had my first day this week and pretty much died of happiness. i get to SELL SHOES. and look at shoes. and hold shoes. and see peoples faces light up when i find a missing shoe from the box. probably the best job ever.
so now i have two jobs. yes, i am lucky. some people can't even find one job. i feel very blessed lately for everything in my life.

i know that when you put the Lord first everything will fall into place in your life. promise.

i haven't been the most responsible when it comes to sleeping lately. maybe it's because i don't want to miss out on fun activities. maybe it's because i like to stay up into the wee hours of the morning to talk to people. i've decided i'd rather sacrifice sleep to have fun and be super busy than to sleep all the time and miss out on meeting new people, learning new things, and seeing new places.

I built a deck today. with my bare hands. (a blog post about this will come later) but here is a picture from my phone with the finished project. i built it with 3 other girls! [and a patient supervisor]. as tired as i was (trying to function with no more than 5 hours a sleep for the past 3 nights) and as cold as i was (it was barely 30 degrees all morning) finishing that deck was the only thing i wanted to do by 2 pm. i would've stayed until 7 if i needed to. it was an awesome feeling to go from nothing to something.

i cannot stop listening to this. i listen to it multiple times before i go to bed. it is just so beautiful.

best friend number one

2011-03-22T23:06:00.000-06:00

taylor comes H.O.M.E. TODAY!
we've been best friends since i was 13 and he was 14.
he's been in Argentina on an LDS mission for the past two years!
I am so proud of him for making the decision to go.
it is a huge commitment and not everyone can do it.
through emails i've watched him change, grow and learn even though it was painful (for him and me) at times. i've missed him so much and i'm so excited for him to come home. he's going to go to BYUi in just a few weeks but i'm super excited for him to get out there and meet some girls ;).
just thought i'd post some vintage pictures of us/him thru the years..

and now for the amazing pictures:

bowling circa 2005

wearing girl pants circa 2005

ryan's farewell 2005

cool band shirts winter 2006

my fashionable accessories 2006

motion city soundtrack concert april 2006

he loves motion city....

after new years eve dance 2007-shake faces at IHOP

valentines 2008 lazer tag what up

september 2009

january 2010

march 2010

august 2010

and one of my all time favorite pictures (on his birthday this year)

[DOESN'T HE LOOK SOOO HAPPY?!]

taylor, so proud of youuuuu.

sue

2011-03-13T17:56:00.001-06:00

on a really cold day last month

i visited Sue

but i didn't go alone

and i didn't drive up there alone

we had our own tour guide & archeologist

went down never-ending scary stairs

to a humid exhibit about africa or egypt or something

also took some cute pictures with Dante

and not so cute pictures by myself

Tonya took a picture by an invisible statue (the plaque talks about a statue but there wasn't one there)

all in all it was just another fun trip to the Field Museum!

everyone's doing it

2011-03-01T18:43:00.001-07:00

my day has been consumed with blog-stalking. everyone decided to update today so i wanted to be in the cool club. my coolness level would go up if i had some pictures to go along with this post but i do not...waiting for people to upload pics online so i can steal from them. i have been doing plenty of fun and cool things though, that helps my coolness level, right?

march made a beautiful entrance and i'm so grateful. i dread the months of february and march every year. they are awful, dreary, cold months that leave me feeling fat and depressed (all the soup eating during winter catches up to me). but, today, for perhaps the first time in my life, i breathed a sigh of relief at work when i found myself writing "3/1".

Jimmer was on the front page of USA Today (both the main front page and front page of the sports section). Moms came home with boxes of Star Wars fruit snacks. Thank you, Jewel Osco for being soooooo cool. I turned on the air conditioning when i was driving home from work. BYU is number 3 in the polls and there is big talk about a number one seed. All of these things lead me to believe March will be a very exciting and fulfilling month. grateful.

most importantly, for me, i've realized over this last week that life goes on. {grateful.} you fall down seven times and get up eight. you make a mess and get to clean it up. but people are there to help and then you can forget about the hurt. and when you're trying your hardest to keep it together sometimes you actually do feel put together.

march, don't let me down.

only happens once a year

2011-02-25T12:53:00.001-07:00

Jimmer's birthday.

happy birthday jimmerrrrrrr
can't wait to see you on saturday
on TV. on CBS. against SDSU.

and maybe next month
in chicago
during the sweet sixteen

who wants to buy me tickets?!

legit countdown

2011-02-16T23:03:00.005-07:00

it's been a while since i've had a legitimate reason to countdown to something. i guess every semester i usually countdown the weeks until the end but i feel like this year, 2011, is all about the big&the real countdowns.

for one,
my fist best friend is getting handcuffed---i mean married. in 8 weeks. my ticket is bought. half my outfit is bought. so at least i'll be there half naked to give my best friend away.

throwback: Nauvoo trip 2005/2006?**

throwback: efy 2006: nice&sweaty.

secondly,
all of my best friends get home this year (i have alot of best friends). they will be coming from all parts of the world. one got home today! from mexico. haven't talked to him in a long, long time so i can't wait to see him again. next month, another best fran comes home. oh i cannot waiiiiiiiiiiiiiit to squeeze him! argentina is too far away and 2 years is too long.

thirdly,
i will reach my biggest adult milestone yet this year; T W E N T Y-O N E! and yes, i have a countdown for this too. and probably the most exciting part of this countdown is the fact that my best friend,my other half, John (fresh off the mish!) will be sitting right next to me as a blow out my candles on either July 6th or July 8th. i am already excited for the reunion of all my freshman friends & mixing my sophomore/junior friends with my freshman year friends. i gotta get started on my handmade invites.

the second the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31, 2010, I knew my life was changing. I was changing. I am changing. I can already feel this year slipping through my fingers. It's already Feb. 16. Almost done with the worst month of the year. I love this year. I love the people in my life. I love the opportunities this year has brought me already and I will continue to come across. I feel blessed beyond words.

**commentary: not quite sure why we decided to have a photoshoot at a rest stop in between chicago & Nauvoo. i have several pics from that rest stop. also not sure why we are all wearing each others clothes. for example, i am wearing Kye's hoodie. Taylor is wearing my vest. Dallin is wearing my bomber jacket. also slightly entertaining information: i still have and wear those Vans i have on in the picture. and I did not get rid of those jeans until last year....

wolves

2011-02-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

last weekend a friend in the ward hooked a bunch of us up with Wolves tickets. They are the minor hockey team here in Chicago. i watched hockey on tv before but never been to a game so i thought it'd be fun. it was definitely worth the money! we had a great time and the atmosphere was very family friendly (yes, even at my young age i appreciate when there aren't belligerent drunks). We won which was probably the best part. wait, no. the best part was the fights. Yep. that's when I was yelling the loudest. how can you not love a sport when its [almost] legal to punch the other guy out?

both of our boots had different colored zippers, fun!

Kelsey and I taking the cutest picture ever!! and then Joe & Dante decided to ruin it.

fights=worth.the.money.

someone even proposed...over a screen...(if it was my boyfriend, i would've shoved the ring in his face and said strike one. try again later)

i did make one mistake though. i didn't look at the roster before we left so i didn't know which hot guy to cheer for the most. other than that it was a great night!

jimmered

2011-02-08T19:23:00.001-07:00

one thing is for sure: my newsfeed is being BLOWN UP by all the jimmer references.

can't complain, i've loved him for years.

did you hear about the BYU girl who got jimmered? you NEED to read this
AND THEN you need to read this
AND THEN YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS

stay warm this week---in below zero temps i will be wearing flip flops at work!
yep, retail is awesome.

party like it's 1999

2011-02-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

i'm really behind on my posts. and yeah, i have a ton of time on my hands in theory but blogging hasn't been high on my priority list. well, i mean, blogging about my own life. i checked blogger &twitter several times a day until those rockstar diaries people finally named their baby. [i just can't get enough of that baby's dark hair. oh my lanta, i love it.] but, still no blogging for me. i'm a little behind but hey, here's a post.

since i've been home my weekends have been filled with social events (wow, that doesn't sound conceited at all...) but really, there just have been things to do every weekend with the kids in the singles ward and so i've been doing them, going places, seeing things, and baking lots and lots of cookies to bring with. i love the YSAs, so much and we've been doing lots of fun things.

Dez's birthday was the other week and to celebrate, she had a 90s themed party. i debated for a couple weeks on what to go as (90s celeb) or dress like. i opted for a celeb. a couple girls in the ward wanted to do the spice girls which i was all for except i would only do it if there were all 5 of us and there weren't, so i went to my [semi-secret] original plan. i went as britney spears a la baby-one-more-time-1998-video-school-girl. i mormon-ized it...quite a bit....but i studied the video and (i think) pulled off the outfit almost perfectly. and by pulled off i mean it was almost the same as her in the video. i really hit the jackpot at goodwill.

the birthday girl and amorim

Dez & I

Faith made me learn some of the moves from the video so I performed....

love these girls: marnie, ciara, dez

the party was a BLAST and we had so much fun laughing about 90s hairstyles, fads, trends, clothing, music, etc. who can't talk about gigapet, dark lip liner, overalls, and furbies all night?!AND there was really, really good food there.

sneeze cough sneeze

2011-01-31T16:10:00.000-07:00

ever since i had shingles (you can read about that lovely experience here and here) i have been EXTREMELY paranoid of getting them again. they say each time you get them the pain& rash increase and last longer than the time before. over the past year the rash has appeared twice but then went away after i tried to relax and took vitamin c. as february approached this year, i became nervous/anxious that the singles might become an every february type thing. but then i thought maybe i won't even get sick at all this winter because i'm at home relatively stress-free, etc. i got ahead of myself--these long weekends of late nights have caught up to me. and i have a terrible, no-good, very bad cold.

my head is 100 pounds. i sneeze every 3 minutes (and the sneezes are not...dry, let's say) and i have a coughing bout every 10 minutes. this. is. not. fun. i was extremely tired after i got home from church activities yesterday and so i retired to bed at 6 p.m. i debated whether or not to go to sleep then because i was worried i would not be able to sleep through the night and be rested for work this morning. I couldn't resist the urge to go to sleep so that's what i did. my body fought to breathe. I spent half the night breathing through my mouth the other half attempting to breathe through my nose so my mouth wasn't so dry. occasionally, i woke up to a puddle of drool *the sign i'm sick* , and even a few times i woke up to sneeze and ***graphic warrning** ended up with snot allllll over me. You'd think at 20 years old my body could take care of itself. it cannot. i woke up at 11pm starving. i ate some cheerios then i went back to bed and tried to go back to sleep. this was an ongoing battle between my sick body and constantly-working mind until 1:30 am when my mind gave up and let me go back to sleep. then i woke up at 6:40 to drive michael to school and i went back to sleep (or tried) until 8:30 when i had to get ready for work. that sleep mission failed because i woke up, again, to snot all over me.

i did end up at work. on time. and had to endure 4 painful hours of sniffling, sneezing, and coughing while trying to be friendly and customer-service-y.

all i'm saying is as much as i love having an excuse to sleep 14 hours a day, i got things to do, people to see, and drama to watch soooo i need to get better.

bwe

2011-01-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

best weekend ever. and by ever i mean, lately. but i mean, it was really really really really good.

for a few reasons:
rachelllllllllllllllll in town for girls weekend. we talked for 11 hours straight just catching up. ELEVEN HOURS. that was from 5:30pm to 4ish am. Yep, i went to bed at 5 am the other night. i haven't done than since the summer of 2008.
special firesides. i love how the church loves YSAs so much and they plan awesome firesides when multiple members of the 70 are in town. and how a member of the presidency of the 70 just gives the greatest/inspirational message while interacting & encouraging participation from hundreds of young adults.
also love that everything spoken about in the fireside is exactly what i needed to hear.
loved how suzanne, the gps, decided she wasn't going to really tell us where the fireside was. we drove back and forth on the same street 4 times. but! we drove past the temple : ) which definitely isn't something you get to do around here very much.
fruity drinks.
sugar hangover.

memorable quotes that won't make any sense to anyone besides those involved:
"TONYA, YOU SUCK."
"you NEED to slow down."
"so, did you like legit move here FROM india?!"
me: "yeah we were up until 5 last night so....if you want me to look presentable at church tomorrow, i need to get home and S.L.E.E.P (spoken at 8:45pm)."--elders quorum president: "you know that church is at 1pm, right?!"
"DANTE! DANTE! WE JUST PLANNED YOUR LIFE GET OVER HERE!"
"wait, you have a job?! that's it, we're getting married."
"it's rachel, come over here and hug me!!!!!!!"
"well....if they make their debut at church as a couple sometime soon, i give them until July"
"i'm pretty sure he's going to tell the whole elders quorum about how he got stuck driving home with the craziest girls in the ward tonight and he'd rather walk home next time"

comeback

2011-01-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

they are back!

and i'm excited

mail time

2011-01-14T21:20:00.001-07:00

it took nearly a month for this letter to go from the dominican republic to illinois. talk about suspense. i was so happy to rip it open today. : )

no big deal or anything. just 169 days. for my best friend to be HOME!

oh, and i'm cutting my bangs a la Rachel Berry in seven days.

mockingjay

2011-01-12T18:29:00.002-07:00

it took two attempts to read mockingjay. in attempt one i failed miserably because: i had just read the hunger games and catching fire within four days. i was all katniss-whining-peeta-gale-love triangle-ed-out. so, i embarked yesterday on attempt 2 of reading that awful book. attempt successful. finished it in 9 hours. (i have a little bit of time on my hands, okay?!) anyways, i hated it and i'm glad it's over.

i go back to work tomorrow : )

spoken

2011-01-08T23:17:00.000-07:00

i've finished reading my first book of 2011. i HIGHLY recommend it. regardless of your gender, race, religion, or political affiliation.

i found it very entertaining from page 1 to 431. it was EXTREMELY interesting and i even got goosebumps at some parts it was so moving. it was inspirational and made me laugh, cry, and cringe. i'm telling you, it's GOOD.

now onto the next....
any suggestions?

resolutions

2011-01-01T21:19:00.002-07:00

i believe in resolutions. i believe in making goals and achieving them. here's just a few of mine for this upcoming year:

save monies.
stop biting my nails. be more of a lady.
turn 21 (that should be easy). & get my NEW license!
when i'm back in school, get better grades.
work out more, eat better, blah blah blah
read, read, read, read.
write, write, write.
be more like these two classy ladies:

kate middleton

lea michele

and, just for the record, not that i'm planning on this anytime soon but mark my words: my engagements will be just as flawless, beautiful, classy and timeless as these:

dear 2010,

2010-12-28T22:34:00.002-07:00

SORRY. but i kind of, sorta, will not miss you. at all.

the crying, the denying, the stress, the old-woman SHINGLES, the phone calls, the emails, the lack of journal writing, the losing friends, the protecting myself, the watching my back, the sick feeling in my stomach, the letting myself down, the crashing my friends car, the scary night driving that comes after crashing your friends car...the list goes on.

don't get me wrong, you did bring me some great successes. my best semesters of grades thus far at BYU (thankful, because my GPA REALLY needed a boost). the satisfaction of meeting deadline after deadline after deadline. the relaxing nature of the newsroom--the gossip, the story time, the giving/getting advice time, and just writing time. great emails/letter writing to my best friends on missions. seeing friends date,get engaged and get hitched. the best girlfriends that held me when i cried, forgave me, laughed with me until my sides hurt, and were always up for a girls night& a beverage run. making new friends that will be mine forever. the job opportunities. the great coworkers. the ever-loving and supportive parents of mine...the list goes on.

2011, i feel like you hold a lot of cards for me. my best friends come home from their missions: first TAYLOR HARDY, then MIKE SLY, and finally JOHN BOWEN ALLEN (july 5th, thanks for asking). one of my best friends is getting married, i will hopefully find out what i want to write about for the rest of my life. i will be better. i promise to cherish you. and not take you for granted. and not make as many stupid choices. and to value the people in my life. and to keep up on my journal writing. and not give up on my dreams.

twentyten, see you never, ever again.

click clack

2010-12-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

that is the sound i've heard for the past 4 days. i have been working on final projects and such; papers, blah blah and i've been on my computer soooo much the past few days. not. exhilerating. also my laptop heats up and after an hour of use and makes my leg feel like it's on fire.

this blog has been neglected for about a month now. sad, but kind of needed. i've been doing the usual stuff here in provo. writing articles, meeting deadlines, doing papers, reading books, reading news, watching tv. when i'm done with this book of a project i'm working on i will update this blog legit with the fun things that happen on weekends.

in the meantime, i continue to write.

my night last night: wrote for 4 straight hours. did two papers. organized my clips for my portfolio. cleaned my room. my day today? woke up, showered. sat on my bed for 3 straight hours writing this book. then i made spaghetti for lunch and took a 30 minute break. then i started writing again for an hour. then i went to campus, did an interview went straight to the newsroom and wrote and edited the article. then i went to class. now i'm back writing this book. i'm only halfway done.

i'm really not complaining, i promise. i mean, that's what i do; i write. next semester will be even better. i'm taking 3 comms classes--all of which will require tons of writing and reading. and i'm taking one of my last GEs an upperclassmen writing class.

i guess i better find a way to make my computer not overheat every second of every day.

the return

2010-12-06T20:57:00.001-07:00

be back soon : )

a letter

2010-11-15T21:21:00.001-07:00

dear most inconsiderate roommate of all time, (did i just jinx myself? could i have a WORSE roommate?

i thought that i had been around the block or two when it came to college roommates. i thought i had one of every type...until i met you. and realized that you were literally the epitome of all bad roommates. you have encompassed at least one trait from all of my crazies. how did you do it? who raised you? your parents seem nice...but then again your father saw me in a towel and didn't profusely apologize, so...?

you tried to warn me, i think. at the beginning you said that you were a democrat. if only your love for obama were my only problem with you. but, it's not. instead you do things that absolutely bug me. not only bug me, but make every single person i tell about you go, really?! she's 24?!

your room is filthy, you never do your dishes, EVEN when i *politely* remind you. you leave lights on. you leave your crap everywhere. right now, your coat is on our kitchen floor, your boots are also on the floor and your messenger bag is on our kitchen table. you have tried to "contribute" to the apartment by adding mugs, weird, HEAVY plates, and wine glasses to the kitchen cabinet. you eat so much mango salsa. you also put this ugly floral pillow on the couch. not gonna happen. you've made the bathroom a second bedroom. you have several towels in there, your bathing suit is always wet, i don't know from what, i don't know how you bathe in our DISGUSTING tub, and why is your shaving cream right next to our handsoap by the sink? sometimes you make me think really hard.

and sometimes you are just flat out inconsiderate. like today when you were blasting some music and then glee...then i asked you to turn it down or put ear phones in..you replied "sorry, didn't know you were sleeping". then, just a short hour later i wake up to you talking VERY, VERY loudly to your friend on the phone. about what? DATING. your annoyance with boys and dating. and how you're "so done" with BYU and "dating" and "boys" and why are "boys sooooo annoying". have you ever brought a boy to our house? because i feel like, if you did, they would take one look at your stuff all over, and see the bathroom, and run the opposite direction. i'm not really sure if you know that i can hear every word of your phone conversation right now. you are now talking about your brother and world of warcraft. and maybe i wouldn't be soooo ticked about you waking me up from my nap. maybe if i 1. wasn't on campus 8am-6:30pm today and came home with a killer migraine 2. maybe if i already hadn't told you i was sleeping 3. maybe if you did a little more around here to be MORE CONSIDERATE, i wouldn't be so ticked.

love,
your about-to-blow-up-in-your-green-exfloliating-masked-face roommate

in more important news

2010-11-12T15:24:00.001-07:00

not that being thankful is dull or boring or anything
but it kind of is. i'm annoyed with myself with all these posts.

Today, marks my 200th post. Happy birthday blog.

Halloween happened a while ago. I guess it's time I share what we did.

made an appearance at the alpine party with Khloe Kardashian aka Mrs. Lamar Odom

used alot, alot, alotttt of bronzer to make myself Snooki orange. that should be a new crayola color!

ran into justin bieber at another party

and saw an avatar, greek goddesses, and adam lambert.

old roomie Chalet even drove down to get her groove on with us. As did nathan's brother Ben.

halloween was funnnnnnnnnn. but being snooki was exhausting. I spent far too much time in front of the mirror both friday and saturday night. but my sneaker slippers are really comfy.

thankful.

eleven

2010-11-11T14:19:00.001-07:00

thankful for freedom

thankful day ten

2010-11-10T14:15:00.001-07:00

thankful tomorrow is thursday.

yayayayayayayay

thankful day nine

2010-11-09T14:05:00.001-07:00

it's cold today. and nobody told me. so i came to campus in just a zip-up--which is really only acceptable in 70 degree weather.

and now its snowing.

i'm thankful for....
big windows in the newsroom.
yep, that's all i can come up with.

thankful day 8

2010-11-08T20:45:00.001-07:00

thankful for cute coworkers that make me laugh

thankful day 7

2010-11-07T20:57:00.001-07:00

thankful for a meaningful fast sunday
and the feast that accompanies fast sunday

THANKFUL day 6

2010-11-06T11:16:00.001-06:00

HALLELUJAHHHHHHH

do you hear the angels singing?
do you see the clouds parting??

THANKFUL FOR!
overhearing my crazy roommate number 85 (the one who practices monologues, skypes early in the morning, leaves her crap alllll over the bathroom) tell her parents (who are in town and her father saw me in a towel, she's so considerate!) that shes MOVING OUT NEXT SEMESTER.

literal
answer
to
prayer.

thankful day 5

2010-11-06T11:13:00.001-06:00

thankful for a job.
that pays me every two weeks.

happy pay day.

thankful day 4

2010-11-04T15:14:00.000-06:00

thankful for being able to focus:

look what i did today:
did 308 homework
got ready
studied
took a test
finished an article
did some online work training
went to class

and what i'm going to do before the day is over:
catch up on D&C stuff (maybe.)
take a nap
vaccuum
do more 308 homework

thankful day 3

2010-11-03T19:42:00.001-06:00

thankful for calming and beautiful walks home from school while kicking fall leaves.

thankful day 2

2010-11-02T16:39:00.002-06:00

thankful for brian kershisnik
and his world view
and for making our anthro class out of control

MAJOR EDIT:

THANKFULLLL FOR MY BEST FRIEND WHO IS SERVING THE LORD AND SENT ME PICTURES IN THE MAIL!

8 months until Elder Allen gets home!!!!!

thankful day 1

2010-11-02T16:38:00.000-06:00

guess i better do this thankful thing so i fit in the blog world.

i'm thankful for nickel city.

it's where dreams come true.

its a love hate type thing

2010-10-28T13:51:00.000-06:00

why i hate school this semester:
i have EXTREMELY long days on mondays and wednesdays.
there are barely any tests.
i have huge projects due at the end of the semester that i mayyyyy be procrastinating...

why i absolutely LOVE school this semester:
i barely have any tests.
my schedule is very, very flexible some days.
the comms department is the COOLEST.
i love my new friends.
i love laughing and getting relationship advice in the newsroom
i love celebrating anything and everything in the newsroom like mexican independence day, first day of snow, and national chocolate day.
i keep track of my days based on whats on tv that night

can't wait for halloween weekend!
great costumes, great parties, and chalet!

at long last

2010-10-22T23:12:00.001-06:00

might be time to go private.

ugh.

chop chop

2010-10-19T16:14:00.001-06:00

i like staying on top of my hair cutting schedule. i usually get a trim every 3 months.i love the feeling of freshly cut hair--when i wash it, blow dry it, and style it. it just feels so good (andd it helps my hair grow fast)!

so last week, i got my hair cut (normal). i go to the paul mitchell school right by my house. i've been going there since freshman year (in addition to seeing my reg hair girl back home). my bangs needed a majorrr cut. i usually have side-swept bangs...it's been pretty regular with me for about a year. i ALWAYS bring the same picture with me to show the girl what i want...

so this time. i ask the girl how long she's been cutting hair [mistake!] it had only been a couple months...i tried to keep my cool but i was super, super nervous for her. i was there for 2 hours. kindaaaa the norm when going to a school. before they cut, they have to get a approval and have to get everything checked by a supervisor, etc.

my hair was completely fine when i left. my bangs, not so much. she cut them WAY, WAYYY short...i kinda freaked out to taylor and alley about it after buuuut just tried to make the best of it. i just pinned them back when we went out saturday and tried to wear them normal sunday. i know they'll be fine in a week...but for now...

i tried this new thing last night/ today with my bangs, which will be around for a week, until they are the right length to do them how they are supposed to be done.

taylor and i had some fun sitting in the grass on campus on a GORGEOUS day

so what do you think of the bangs?

cheeseburger clarkson, saddles, and GREED

2010-10-03T22:34:00.002-06:00

i've been informed that my last few posts haven't been as entertaining as in the past soo, here's my attempt at getting back at it. this is probably the longest post i've had in a while. brace yourself.

i would say that i've had a pretty eventful month (september). after all, i've started my major, am loving what i'm doing, get to watch college football, and i've seen kelly clarkson, up close and personal....for free. here's the story:

it all started on a saturday when nathan and i ventured to ogden for his {cute} nephew's 4th birthday party. ra, ra, o-o-la-la, it included all the normal things...screaming children ranging from ages 0-4 running around in swim suits, pizza, cake, action figures, and the like. then we were driving back to provo when carlos (pronouced ka-los), informed me that cheeseburger clarkson was in town.who's cheeseburger clarkson? well, you might know her as the winner of season one of american idol or the one of the few good things that came from that dreadful show. carlos calls her cheeseburger because...well...kelly has had some rough years struggling with her weight.

Nathan has loved Kelly through her ups and downs,i should add. we picked carlos up in orem, sat in a parking lot for a good 20 minutes until we decided that we NEEDED to attempt to stalk/meet clarkson, at least for nathan. cheeseburger was playing at a private convention, i might add that had something to do with families. we turned around, went back up to salt lake and started the hunt. we were able to find out where the convention was taking place thanks to a thing we call facebook statuses and carlos went in to find out what the deal was. before i knew it i was standing 5 people away from kelly. she was singing her lungs out. and boy, does she have some pipes. she played a WHOLE set! plus a 3 song encore. did i mention that we just WALKED IN to this whole thing? for free? and it wasn't even against the rules or anything?

yeah, pretty awesome.

in other news: nathan turned 24. by now you're probably like uhhhh why is this post all about nathan. but, hang in there, it's not.

nathan had the best birthday of his life, i'm pretty sure. after all, i made him ride the saddle at his birthday dinner at texas roadhouse, we got over 1000 tickets at the nicklecade, and we ate warheads at the dollar movie theater.

Nathan, saddled up.

warheads:

oh, and we sang to cheeseburger all around town at the top of our lungs.

Courtney was in town this weekend for conference and we able to see eachother!! it was sooo much fun while the guys were at priesthood session to go shopping with her and her cute roommate peggy! court and i had alot of catching up to do and what better place to do it than at the best mall in utah? we didn't take any pics but court was as happy as she could be and has very exciting things going on in her life right now. and i'm so happy for her. love you, court.

this sunday, taylor's aunt and uncle who live in ogden invited us up for a family dinner/feast. cynthia is a great cook and i cannot tell you how many times she's fed me in the past 2 years i've been at BYU! there are always fun things going on at their house. Tonight, we played a game called GREED with aunt cynthia and boy, did we get into it...i'm pretty sure larry had to leave the room because we were acting sooo crazy. if you haven't played, its a dice and numbers game and it is SO much fun! in fact...you can see how much fun it is by my face in this picture:

my last two articles:
tech invasion link
teach for america link

inspired

2010-09-28T20:27:00.000-06:00

i definitely feel crafty lately. it got even worse when i ate a home-grown golden delicious apple from my d&c teacher today.

i was just staring at the apple, for a while, wishing i could wrap up in a blanket and go downstairs into the scrapbooking room. but, i'm not home.

i want to make glitter pumpkins. and a sledding cake. but instead i have articles to write, midterms to study for aaaaand mockingjay to read.

i'm currently accepting donations for my 'craft bug'. you can drop off your pennies, quarters, ones, and hundreds at my apartment. i'm happy to give directions!

daydawn

2010-09-23T15:25:00.003-06:00

it's amazing how similar my moods have been to the weather.
for example: yesterday started as half overcast. I woke up to the sound of thunder at 9am. It didn't bother me at first...as the day wore on and stress began to build (i was under deadline and my phone didn't seem to stop ringing, vibrating, you name it) it seemed like my day was darker just like the sky was turning and soon the pouring rain led to my dive in attitude. i layed on the couch last night reading catching fire [which is NOT helping my mood] and being a baby about things. [i should mention that things got better about 9pm when i actually FED myself some dinner and had a fun chat with friends]

today: i woke up early to go to work. i've learned to appreciate and love my walks to and from work early Tues/thurs mornings. I get to listen to my ipod and just focus on my footsteps. it is truely relaxing. the weather was beautiful. the sun has been shining all day and it's warm enough to wear shorts without being extremely hot. it was a relaxing day and kirsten and i are getting sonic happy hour drinks after my class to celebrate the beginning of the weekend (which starts tomorrow at 1:30 pm)

point is: there really isn't a point. i just wanted to share this.

i blew up the paper today. Meaning, i had 3 articles in it. Front page, second page, 3rd page (continuance from front page) and on the last paper.

click here for front page story

...more links coming soon

flying

2010-09-17T09:03:00.002-06:00

this week flew by due to a few things:
1. a cold. thanks to this, i've been able to prioritize and get what needs to be done first.
2. sleep. i've slept more this week than i have...let's just say in a long time.
3. THE HUNGER GAMES. I borrowed it from Taylor's sister-in-law Maura but didn't actually read it until... Tuesday night? or Wednesday I picked it up and then I couldn't put it down. I finished it last night. so good, yet...i don't know. I have further thoughts that i'll post at a later time [after i finish all 3, of course!].
4. both my stories had to be done by Wednesday (ahh, such a relaxing week).

for those of you who don't get my emails with my stories (ask me if you want me to email you weekly)...here's what I've been writing about...some more interesting than others.

Prop 8 attorney lecture

http://universe.byu.edu/node/10561 or click here

FSU v BYU watching party

http://universe.byu.edu/node/10679 or click here

Quark Club

http://universe.byu.edu/node/10678 or click here

on a rant

2010-09-13T00:16:00.002-06:00

by now i should have my own tv show.
the tv show would be called: elizabeth struggles through weird/quirky/random college roommates

i'm just going to proceed with this post by asking some questions to my audience

how hard is it to not get crumbs all over our already-disgusting carpet right after i vacuum?
how hard is it to put the DVD that you watched back in the case and onto our shelf?
how hard is it to wipe the counter off and/or use a plate to make your toast/sandwich/hamburger/or whatever the heck you eat that leaves billions of crumbs and stickiness on the counter?
how hard is it to PUT YOUR DISHES IN THE EMPTY DISHWASHER?
how hard is it to START THE DISHWASHER WHEN IT'S FULL OF DIRTY DISHES?
how hard is it to throw away your kleenex IN THE GARBAGE instead of all over the bathroom floor?
how hard is it not to play your guitar at 9am on a saturday morning?
how hard is it to put a new toilet paper roll onto the toilet paper dispenser?

maybe all of these things are too much to expect. maybe i'm just OCD. OR MAYBE I'M JUST NORMAL.

happy sunday : ) : )
a story from regional conference:
President Packer: "I'm the presiding authority at this meeting, right Jeff (Elder Holland)?"
Elder Holland: "yes"
President Packer: "well, I guess I can do whatever I want then"

i'm sick of canker sores

2010-09-05T23:19:00.002-06:00

this week of school was the most hectic/crazy/stressful/crazyyyy week of my life. [not really, but that was the theme of the testimonies in sacrament meeting today]

this week definitely brought of new things to my life which include:
1. honey graham oh's: my new favorite cereal
2. a reporters notebook
3. two newspaper articles (out of 28295825 more to go)
4. a press badge
5. new work schedule
6. the welcome back of BYU football (oh, i love me some cougs)
7. start of a new diet: starving grape diet. its similar to the 'cube of cheese' diet featured in the devil wears prada. "every time i feel faint i just eat a cube of cheese'
8. waking up to a phone call from someone who i tried to get ahold of several times this week--"ready to comment"
9. newsroom, newsroom, newsroom
10. not returning home from my day on campus until 7pm
11. talking in my sleep and keeping my roomie awake

as big of an adjustment that this semester is for me (i would consider my last 5 semesters a piece of cake compared to this one) i'm absolutely loving it and can't wait for the rest of my semester.

when i grow up part 1

2010-08-29T01:04:00.002-06:00

when i grow up i am never having plastic cups/plates/bowls in my cupboards. i'm not talking about the plastic that you buy to throw away. i'm talking about the plastic "dormware" that walmart now sells. it's gross and i hate that i have some in my cupboard right now (no, they are not MINE and i will NOT use them)

it's just not acceptable to eat off plastic. you can afford ceramic/glass/whatever your grandma hands down to you.

tearing love apart

2010-08-25T21:14:00.004-06:00

there's this boy, John, and he's on a mission in the Dominican republic and he's one of my best friends. ever.

we have really good memories from our freshman year at BYU. like getting jamba juice, studying together, laughing together, playing tennis, etc.

and sometimes i write him long, winding, whiny, emails complaining about the smallest of problems, my annoyances, or funny stories. meanwhile he is spending his time in the most selfless way in the DR. and he always responds with the sweetest, sincere, heartfelt, wise, and spiritual advice. he doesn't tell me what to do, he doesn't even give advice, he just gives his wisdom.

so i wrote him this long (and i'm sure annoying/whiny/winding) email last week. explaining my struggles and venting about the whole week. and he said this (well, he said more than just this but whatever)

"One thing I can say to you though is just keep things in perspective and take things one at a time. Something we tend to do is try to deal with all of our problems all at once, but it never works like that. When we try to tackle every aspect of our life we just end up spreading ourselves too thin and then we just get worn out and tired while we still have all the same problems."

yes, it's something i could have some up with on my own. yes, it's something my parents could've said to me. yes, it's something that i already knew. but in some mysterious way, when John said it, it made everything a little bit better.

i will never, mark my words, never eat a brownie again

2010-08-20T23:25:00.002-06:00

education week 2010 pushed me beyond my limits. i lost my sanity and probably even parts of my soul.

my right hand (my pointer figure) is totally twice the size of my left hand. due to overload ice-cream scooping. my lips are chapped. my voice is hoarse. i barely had any energy to comb my hair. i had to force myself to shave my legs because "i deserve it". i have blisters on my fingers.

some eventful things to be noted:

broke down several times on the clock. and by broke down i mean crying.
saw my supervisor break down
my co-worker got sworn-at by an ice-cream hungry elderly man
learned sooooo many things at a new job
had my first experience dealing with disciplining a coworker
got a new roommate
i'm tired
i'm tired
i'm tired

i really wanted to make this post brilliant and entertaining with stories for all my readers out there but i. just.can't. do. it. imagine being in a situation with people that drive you nuts, do things that annoy you beyond belief, and doing it 5 days in a row early in the morning then late that night; that was education week 2010 for me.

education week people get crazier every year
education week working hours get crazier each year
and i work more hours and lose more sanity every day.

get excited

2010-08-19T00:10:00.002-06:00

education week 2010 in review
COMING SOON to a blog near YOU
from the view of a poor college student-wannabe
journalist-ice cream scooper-fix your every problem-girl

fav couple on tv

2010-08-11T19:24:00.003-06:00

i'd like to dedicate this post to teen mom on MTV. it's a classy show and features classy people on it. they all have good communication skillz. and they all do responsible things with their monies like get their nails done, and go tanning, and eat out all the time.

relieved after finding out amber is not preggo with child #2

sweet family

so much mascara!!

amber and gary, you might create so much drama you could have your own t.v. show. unfortunately, all the show would consist of is amber screaming her guts out at gary and leah walking around naked. maybe it would feature a few scenes of gary with his shirt off--that would attract alot of viewers.

a commercial break

2010-06-27T10:26:00.002-06:00

i'm afraid that, by writing this post, the blogging world will be released too much information about my tv viewing habits. but, oh well!

during the school year i really, really don't watch tv except for sportscenter and an occasional tv show. now that it's summer and i have sooo much free time on my hands i've developed a tv routine. and this routine has to involve ANNOYING ANNOYING commercials.

most assuredly, if one of these commercials air while i'm watching a show i will turn the channel or turn the tv off all together.

the most annoying commercials of summer 2010:

utah college of massage therapy. sorry, deven and melissa or whatever your names are i don't care that you can work were people vacation.
THE KIN. don't know what it is? crazy, but HERE
kourtney and khloe take miami. i'm annoyed by how many stinkin' times E! plays the clips for the next episode...
Amber alerts. This is probably illegal and/or cold-hearted of me to mention but last week there was an amber alert out and NO JOKE the warning sounds came on every 5 minutes. don't you think it' be more effective to just broadcast it to the radio? i'm not going to see a 6' guy with an 8-year-old in a blue dress while i'm at home in my apartment.

maybe i should focus more on my studies...

full refund

2010-06-25T21:32:00.004-06:00

so i'm taking two classes this summer: media law & stats 221. stats is one of my last generals i have to do and I anticipate it will be a difficult one to pass (for me).

i went to the bookstore the other day to buy my books and left with $244 less than i started with. i knew something was up with that...something just wasn't right. the bookstore is known to rape your bank account but for two classes that was alot of money.

in class on monday i learned that, for stats, i did not need to buy the book (which had a stats portal* included) AND a separate statsportal. I bought both. my plan was to return the book and just use my stats portal thus saving me $100! so...i go home, and open my SEPARATE statsportal that i bought and got online to register and do my homework...only to find out I BOUGHT THE WRONG STATS PORTAL. i bought one for a different class. and the bookstore does not buy back anything that was wrapped, or you had to "open".

then i cried. that was a $70 mistake.

then i emailed my professor explaining my dilemma and then learned that 3 other people in my class did that because the bookstore put the wrong portal by our books. then she emailed a book-buyer for our bookstore (but does not work at BYU) and then the book buyer emailed me. then i called the book-buyer and she personally emailed all 3 of the people at the BYU bookstore that would refund my money and alert them i was coming. then i went back to the bookstore, found the people, and i was able to get a full refund.

moral of the story: you just need to talk to the right people.

*statsPortal is the internet access needed to read the on-line book, submit homework (which is all online), and do other things needed for the class. you buy registration, its like buying a text book and you enter a code and then you have an account.

ummm...

2010-06-18T17:42:00.002-06:00

So...I start class on Monday and our syallbi (sp?) are posted. The very top of my Comms 300 course it reads:

Electronic devices may not be used in this class for personal reasons (web-surfing, instant-messaging, e-mailing, texting, twittering, cell phone use, checking on current events and games scores, etc.). The only exception is that computers may be used for the purpose of taking notes, or for augmenting the learning experience of all students in the class such as by searching for information that is germane to class discussions (but only at the request of, or with prior permission from, the instructor). No audio, video, or photo recording is allowed in this class. Violations with regard to the use of electronic devices may result in the student being asked to leave the class, reduction of course grade, permanent dismissal from the course, and/or dismissal from the major.

I'm thinking Debbie Fisher 2.0? Also, we're Comms majors...we COMMUNICATE.

growing pains

2010-06-15T22:15:00.003-06:00

i learned in the past few months that sometimes you just have to live. i'm a control freak, i've always been. a perfectionist, if you will. In recent years, i've learned to let go...a little bit. Or maybe more than i think, but it happened bit-by-bit. but most recently, i've realized that sometimes you just have to live. Yes, carry on with plans, life goals, continue being who you are but also let go, let yourself learn, become friends with people who you normally wouldn't be friends with and do things you wouldn't normally do.

in april, i went home to work and i had two jobs lined up. within two days both those jobs fell through. so, i decided to come back to utah.

since coming back i've: gone to wyoming, caught a fish, got a sunburn, became tan, slept on a couch for 2 weeks, got a new apartment, bonded with my new roommate, continued dating my boyfriend, went swimming while it was raining, job hunted every day, sent out innumerable resumes, interviewed for jobs, packed, unpacked, laughed, cried, been loved, been visited, been fed, found comfort, watched say yes to the dress everyday, held a new baby, stalked wedding blogs. and yes, i know that is an incomplete sentence.

peeves

2010-06-10T18:13:00.002-06:00

not quite sure where i got the energy from to actually blog about this

and this isn't supposed to offend anyone if any of you fall under this catagory but...

BLOG pet peeves:
1. music player that automatically starts when the blog is loaded [commentary: perhaps this is my biggest peeve. if i want to listen to music while i try to read your blog, i'll have itunes up & play what i want to listen to.]

2. turning your blog into a blog about your dog [the most recent experience: this blog i loved (i originally typed the name of it here but i decided it'd be better if i didn't). i love this blog. or should i say, i lovED this blog. until they bought that dog, and made it his blog too. have a baby.]

3. editing your pictures so you have "cute" writing describing what the picture is on the picture. [i won't say who's done this lately that i can't stand but just put a caption, i want to look at your picture, you ruin it when you use "cute"-fonted captions on the picture]

4. writing extremely long paragraphs. [people skim/scan MOST material on the internet. it makes it easier on everyone if theres breaks in paragraphs. i don't even try to read long paragraphs on blogs.]

5. extremely emo blogs. [i.e. stories that start "and when those words hit, it crushed me like a hammer." hmm....ok, THATS what makes me keep reading...not!]

this blog sounds mean-spirited but that's not my intention just reliving some stress!

jokes.

2010-05-20T22:42:00.003-06:00

you know what's funny?

that someone who used to be an expert decision maker,

someone who considered herself to be a quick decision maker-able to sort
through the options and choose one with confidence

someone who thought she had her whole life already decided on

has to make a decision that isn't simple. isn't easy. isn't decided overnight.
and that one decision will affect e t e r n i t y.

ok, so it's not as funny as i thought.

round two

2010-05-09T09:10:00.001-06:00

on hiatus

this seems to happen every summer.

a little cracked

2010-04-29T17:07:00.002-06:00

in an effort to regain some sanity and happiness, i'm going to venture to institute tonight.

a year ago i was kissing the ground i was so grateful to be home. i came back from school feeling beaten down, exhausted and a little older. i was ready to hand over my life to my mother and say "fix". i was so done with the dorms it was unbelievable. being home was a relief.

now, i came home feeling even older and more experienced. i'm in my major and i just completed my best academic semester of college yet. although i struggled with roommate problems, my friendships with my best friends far overshadowed those. i thrived in my church calling and had a bishop that knew me by name. and i found someone i want to spend everyday until forever with. i do not want to hand anything over to my mother to "fix". i want to work all day and play all night with friends. i just want to not be home.

it was at institute, a little less than a year ago, that i made some of my closest friends for the summer. i remember the first night that i went, i literally knew noone, and i sat down at a table with my dinner and introduced myself. as the weeks went on, i no longer had to introduce myself i just sat down next to people that i knew from church, fhe, institute, and activities. institute provided me with spiritual strength but also was a venue to get to know people that helped me survive.

now, i still need that in my life. i don't live at home anymore; or maybe it's just that i don't want to live at home anymore. either way, i'm at home. living. reluctantly. i'm dying for my independence but several things hold me back. i'm trying to make the most important decision of my life;

and so i go to institute.

jump, jump, jump around

2010-04-14T17:02:00.005-06:00

a couple weeks ago we went to the tumbling gym--we rented it out so it was just us and our friends from the ward and from the semester. ahhhhhhhhhh, so much fun. trampolines, bouncefloors, foam pit, rope swing, sumo suits, etc.

Taylor and I's shirts were provided by Michael Loyd Jr...BYU team gear=so comfortable

we got SO hot and sweaty after running around like hooligans

even Jon, Carlos, and Nathan came!

Tills and i got angry

I was just really happy

basically a giant post

2010-03-23T14:21:00.008-06:00

giant post alert.
i'm going to try to consolidate everything and keep details to a minimum in effort to catch up.

we've been watching alot of basketball.

Nathan and Carlos insisted on going to SLC a few weeks ago for a "surprise". I was so CLUELESS. to the point where I was practically in tears when I walked into "the miranda show" and i didn't know where i was. It took a good 30 minutes before someone explained to me who miranda was. Miranda's a character on youTUBE. serious hilariousness. I was laughing so hard i peed a little bit. she did a meet and greet, she's pretty cool. clearly, really stylish.