A Bad Case of the Blues

Yesterday came with quite a frustrating surprise...I remembered that I hadn't heard back from one of the other girls who splits my shift with me at work, and I'm thinkin okay...I have to go into work on Monday.  It would be nice to know when I was supposed to go in, right?  So, I call up there and my boss said those tragic words..."here's the situation..." I could tell from her voice that it wasn't a "good" situation.  So, for safety reasons, I buckled up and prepared for the worst.  She then told me that they just found out from the Dean that it was looking like they couldn't keep me next semester like we'd been planning on since, when was it?  Summer time?  Yup...so around August.  Anyway, she explained to me that they have put new freezes on the hiring system that said if their part or full time employees weren't hired by December 15th, they couldn't be hired for this semester.  Because I'm still 'considered' a student until December 31st, they couldn't hire me as a BYU Faculty member, so I have recently found myself jobless.  Deano called me a bunch yesterday and said that he's going to try to fight it because they don't want to lose me, but for me to not get my hopes up because it doesn't look good.  I spent most of yesterday grouching around and severely freaking out.  Okay, maybe not severely, but still quite worried and not entertaining the best of moods.  

So, I did a little job searching yesterday and submitted my resume to two places, but from Fort Worth, there is only so much I can do until I get back.  I'm not so much worried about making rent or eating for a bit...I have been saving money since I got my first job when I was like 14 or something, and money hasn't really ever been an 'issue'...I've always been a stickler for how much I have in savings...not that it's a substantial amount, but I was kinda hoping that I wouldn't have to dip into it for a while...especially right as I've been released from financial help from the parental unit and no longer have insurance and stuff like that.  I know they'll help me out still if I need it, but I hate depending on them for that sort of thing.  I may just need to suck up my pride though even though I don't want to.  I know this happened for a reason and I'm really trying to find the silver lining...I've found a few but I'm having a hard time being convinced by them at this point.  For example...this way, I can look for a full time job that pays more and I'll be better off and can start out fresh now instead of later...there's somewhere else that I'm supposed to be and new experiences to experience and lessons to learn...I was just hoping to do this whole job searching thing a couple months later than right now.  Like, maybe, when I had a plan of where I was going to move to and not having to worry about finding a job that will give me two weeks off right at the start so I can go to Ireland.  Unless I find something really soon, y'all cant expect cool souvenirs anymore :)...you might just get one of those pencils that says, "My friend went to Ireland and all I got was this stupid pencil" hahahaha.  Suckers. lol jk.  If you can't tell, I don't handle change very well :)  Anyway, I'm done whining...but I still think it completely stinks. haha. A small part of me is excited though...who knows what this will bring?  And the Lord will take care of me...I just hope it doesn't take very long for me to find a job.  Anyway, I hope everyone has a sweet New Year.  We're all going to Babes tonight for dinner and I couldn't be more excited than I am right now!  A perfect pick me up! :)  I heart y'all bad and sorry to be sucha downer today~ xoxo

Home, Home on the Range!

Oh, how I love being home! I know I said that last time, but its still true :) Good thing huh? My mom and I finished my skirt last night. It took a long longer than we thought because, genius me, picked an extremely complicating pattern, apparently. Way to go, right? haha...its okay though...my mom is like a sewing fiend, so with the two of us workin together, we finished it in time for church today. YAHOO. It was kinda fun to get compliments on it since I actually halfway made it! :) I was quite proud with how it turned out.

Yesterday we went to Casa Manana to see the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer production they put on. For those who don't know what Casa is, its a children's theater where kids come to learn theater, dancing, singing...yada yada. Mostly just theater tho and then they cast the kids in their productions. There are quite a few adults too tho so its still fun and cute for kids to go see. It was fun to go back. I hadn't been there since I was around 10 years old when I used to go with McKenzie and her mom...McKenzie and I would be volunteer ushers to get free tickets. It was great. We had front row tickets this time so it was fun to see how excited Malla and Syd got when they were so close to the actors. I really think Malla enjoyed it more than Syd! haha. I know Puden and I enjoyed it thoroughly...mostly because we took turns scratching each others back the whole two hours! haha. Love that!

Afterwards, we went to Mercado Juarez...one of the BEST Mexican restaurants around here. We used to go once a year for drill team and that was the last time I'd been. I'd forgot how much better Mexican food is here than it is in Utah. *sighs* The tortillas....they melt my butter. My brother, sister and I have this weird tradition with tortillas at Mexican restaurants. I'm not sure how it started, but we all start with one, and we rip pieces off and hand them to one another. If the pieces are big, we rip parts off of those and trade with each other. It sounds dumb, but its a fun little weird tradition that usually confuses everyone else that is there with us. I just love it.

We also decorated Grammy's traditional Christmas sugar cookies last night (or cuger shookies,r right Em?). Its one of my favorite parts about Christmas. It's usually just me, Meredith, Syd and Grammy...and we bust out the frosting and go at it...plus we get to eat a few during the whole process which is an added bonus. We usually sneak in a good 4 or 5 "Mavs" themed cookies too. Anything from green and blue candy canes, to stockings with Dirk's name painted with frosting on the top. :) Three years ago, my parents bought Grammy this HUGE barrel (seriously...like 50 Christmas cookie cutters) and we were going thru them and there was this one that we couldn't quite figure out what it was. It looked like an eyeball. Not even joking. So, we decided to make a few and ask around. No one could tell, so I decorated it as an eye...we then realized that it was an ornament. haha. But, now its happened, and each year, Grammy makes two and I decorate them as eyeballs even though we know the truth. I love random Christmas traditions and inside jokes. :)

Today was Sunday, obviously, and it was fun to be back in a family ward. Definitely strange for sure, but still fun. It made me appreciate the 3 minute drive to campus for church. During our 30 minute trek, my sister, Syd, Malla and I jammed out to Primary Songs and laughed that Meredith and I seriously dont know the same parts to the same songs. It was pretty classic. We'd be singing and then we'd suddenly both get really quiet cuz we didn't know the words. Did you know that they added another value to the Young Women's theme? What the heck? As if adding "strengthening home and family" to the end wasn't bad enough...now there are 8 values...VIRTUE is now lucky number 8. My ring of all the value colors is now out of date. It makes me feel old. haha but not too old, so its okay. And really...its kinda cool. :) After church we decorated/made our traditional gingerbread house, complete with ghetto windows and roof. Last year was the ghetto snowman and the year before that was the ghetto lump of car we made. This year's definitely turned out special for sure. :) I think I'm gonna take Syd cardboarding one of these days. We cant go sledding here cuz there's no snow, so we always used to get cardboard boxes and slide down the dead grass. Good times...someone has to introduce her to that, you know? anyway, this is a HUGE post, so I apologize...but I hope everyone has a great Christmas week! XOXO

Hello Texas, Goodbye Static Cling!

Howdy y'all! :) It's soooo great to be home. And what's even better is that this time, I know that when I go back to Provo, I'll just be working and not doing all that homework n junk. Not that I really did it at all during this last semester that much, but at least this time I wont feel slightly guilty about not doing anything. haha. I haven't even been home for 24 hours and yet, I already have tons of stories to tell. Little bits of Texas heaven, if you will. So, the standing joke in my family is that every time I come home, the weather gets really cold and rainy in Texas. No joke...it never fails to happen. I still got here okay, despite the almost 2 hour delay in my flight. It's better late than never you know? I was sitting next to this guy on the plane and he's telling me about his friend's rock band that is playing in Dallas after Christmas and boy did he have a little mouth on him. It was kind of funny because I was completely shocked the first time a little somethin' somethin' slipped out of his mouth and when I saw girls in spaghetti strap and low cut shirts...I was like wow...Provo really IS a bubble and I had completely forgotten about that small detail. Good times for sure. Despite it being really cold here though, the static problem that always persists in Utah is GONE. I can rub my head all over the couch and not shock anything when I stand up...especially the fridget...that thing HURTS :) Not that I every really rub my head all over the couch, but its nice to know I have the option.

Once we got to my sister's house, Syd came running to the door, jumped and grabbed on around my neck and stayed there until I switched her for Malla eventually. I just love my girls. Malla has the CUTEST smile ever...you just cant help but smile when she shows off her toothless grin and dimples. Love, love, love it! We went into Syd's room to play dress up, among other things and then we had to go home. I stayed up all night doing laundry, reorganizing my room (duh...haha so sad) and watching Oklahoma whilst wrapping Christmas presents and chatting to my friends online. So, yes...I was being very productive :)

Today I went in for my dentist appointment and I was talking to the guy that was in the waiting room with me and after we'd been talking for a while, he stops and goes...where are you from? You have a Texan accent, but its weird. hahaha. So apparently, its now a mix between Utah and Texas. I'm sitting there thinking, you're one to talk...(his was VERY thick and twangy...love that by the way). And you'll all be proud to know: NO CAVITIES! *teethy grin* I'm squeaky clean. Although she did a number on my gums. It did not feel good. :) I had an eye doctor appointment today too and during one of the eye tests, the nurse threw her clicker at my head. Not on purpose, but it was still funny. She wasn't getting the picture she wanted and she was trying to reposition me and it just flew from her hand to my head. It was classic. Probably a lot more funny if you were actually there. We were seriously cracking up and she kept "threatening" me that if I didn't get it right, she would throw it harder next time. :) I love the people here...they're seriously so great!

I also decided to try my luck at sewing a skirt. I've wanted to make "holiday" skirts since October but not havin a sewing machine puts a damper on the situation. So, I went and bought a pattern today. I really have no idea what I'm doing but I'm darn excited about it. We'll just see if it actually turns out how I'm envisioning it. I want it to be a green one actually so I can wear it for Christmas and St. Patty's day...I'm all about cheating like that :) The problem is, is that I always envision what kind of patterns of fabric I'm looking for and no one ever makes them, so it's never what I specifically want...but I'm sure I'll find something good when I go pick stuff out on Friday (gotta love 50% off coupons). WOO HOO.

Grammy comes tomorrow and I can't wait. And Meredith and the girls are comin over for a breakfast dinner in about an hour or so, so until then, I'm gonna wrap more presents and finish watching the Sound of Music. Can you tell I LOVE musicals? hahaha...who knew? Anyway, I hope everyone is having a GREAT Christmas vacation...when it starts :) Heart y'all! xoxo

Baby, its Christmas time!

Alright, so I have no idea how it slipped my mind to get rid of the fall background and put a Christmas one up...Not sure what my deal is. That's so unlike me. hahah. Anyway, they always say, "better late than never" right? You know...who is "they" and why do they have so much power to make up sayings that we use as excuses for our behavior? Lame. One day, I want to be a "they." That's my new goal in life. Well, maybe not, but still...it would be cool.

I have less than a week before I'm done with college forever! WOO HOO. I have two more days of classes (including today) and then lots of studying (and playing of course) then one day jam-packed with finals. I'm so excited to be done. I leave to go back to Texas on Tuesday morning...its gonna be great. Syd called me the other day and was like, "ummm auntie...I know what I want to get mamma for Christmas. When you come home, can you take me shopping?" TEE HEE. I'm so excited. She told me what it was she wanted to get for her and I gotta say, I'm excited to do the shopping. Mostly for the fun me n sydney bonding time, but you know me and shopping...I just love it. Maybe I'll swipe Malla away for a bit too and give Ben and Meredith some chill out time. Who knows. We'll see. Good times with the nieces. I can't wait.

So, I'm kind of freaking out-ish about next semester. My boss told me a couple of weeks ago that they are only going to work me 20 hours per week instead of 40 like we initially talked about and they've gone through so much trouble to keep me here and have expressed how badly they don't want to lose me yet, so I would feel really bad quitting to find a full time job. So, why don't I just suck it up you ask? Well, here's what I'm thinking...I'll only be in Provo until June at the latest...so 6 months. I'm not sure of any company that would want to hire someone for only 6 months. Not to mention that I'll be leaving for Ireland for 2 weeks in the middle of February, so asking for time off right when I get hired would not be something that I'm excited about doing. haha. We'll see though...I'm going to put in my application at Kelly Services to see if I can get other random jobs and Emily suggested that I apply to substitute teach in schools around Provo. Erin said her roommate works at this diamond cutting place that's always looking for more people, so maybe I'll look into that too for a part time gig...I know everything will be alright, it just goes to show that any and all plans that I make always seem to get shot down! The good thing about that though is that I'm finally learning my lesson, so I've stopped making plans that I'm really excited about. hahaha. jk, jk...but for real, I'm learning to not get disappointed when plans that I wanted to have, fell through drastically. One thing I'm sure of: The Lord will guide me wherever I'm supposed to go! Too bad i dont know where that is just yet...but someday I will! :) Anyway, I gotta go observe at Westside so I'll catch y'all later. I hope everyone has a great LAST WEEK OF CLASSES! :) XOXO

Gracias!

So, its been a while. That's my own bad! :) Thanksgiving was GREAT. I LOVED getting to spend so much time with my oh so awesome brother and the Breinholts! I just heart y'all. Since it's been a while, I cant really remember everything that went down, but I do know that we had a big group date which was fun, we stopped at the creamery (and dont worry Meredith, I got the DOUBLE SCOOP in a waffle cone and still finished before some people). Gotta represent! :) Thursday was great except for the part where Puden was sick. Poor kid. Kami and I were talking about how weird of a holiday Thanksgiving is...we spend a couple of days in preparation for all the eating, then we eat for like 40 minutes, do dishes for like an hour and are in pain from eating so much the rest of the day! Something doesn't add up...but I don't care. I still love it. :) We went to Tepanyaki's the next day for Sister Breinholt's birthday and Puden and Kami taught me how to eat with chop sticks. I've always wanted to learn but I could never do it. I feel so accomplished. I can die happy now. :) In honor of Thanksgiving (better late than never right?) here's a very short list of things I am thankful for:

* My family
* The church
* My testimony
* The fact that it hasn't snowed yet
* Going to the temple and having one so close
* Christmas music
* Graduating in T minus 15 days to be exact
* My education
* My roommates
* My friends
* Singing time with Emily and Ashley
* Irish dancing...and all kinds of dancing
* Shoe horns...haha no seriously! :)
* Oreo blizzards
* "Laughing til it hurts" moments
* Inside jokes
* Cell phones
* My opportunity to be at BYU
* Rolls
yada yada...I could go on forever, but that would probably be pretty boring for everyone else! :) I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving!

*celebrates* Okay...just to mention this little fact...by this time next week, I'll never have to attend another college class as an undergrad! WOO HOO. That's right...the last day of classes is Thursday and I take all of my finals on Monday and then its peacin' out time suckas...I'm goin home! WOO HOO! I can't wait. I always forget how great it is to be surrounded by family and my little Sydney! Nothing makes me happier than a little lovin from baby girl! I can't believe she's almost 4...WOW! That went by so fast. Anyway, I'm gonna go do something fun-ish...like play Yahtzee with Emily! Yahoo!...I hope I win. :) *waves*

8 is the greatest number!

Alright, so, Zaz tagged me on her blog, and I'm sitting around, waiting for my brother to get back from visiting one of his friends from back in the day, so I figured I should get on it. :) Here it goes!

(None of these listed are in any particular order)
My 8 Favorite TV Shows
1. Chuck
2. Friends
3. Smallville
4. The Office
5. So You Think You Can Dance
6. Heroes
7. House
8. Extreme Home Makeover

My 8 Favorite Restaurants
1. IHOP
2. Bennigans
3. Olive Garden
4. Chipotle
5. On The Border
6. Chilis
7. Texas Roadhouse
8. Macaroni Grill

8 Things that Happened Yesterday
1. I ate...a LOT :)
2. Attempting to take a nap, although, it didn't really work
3. I did a LOT of dishes
4. Watched House
5. Played with Puden's hair
6. Watched Errand of Angels
7. Read my book
8. Talked to my family on the phone

8 Things I Look Forward To
1. Putting up Christmas Decorations
2. Graduating
3. Going home for Christmas to see my family...and especially to see how much my nieces have grown! (Meredith says I'll be a big pile of Auntie mush) haha
4. Ireland in February
5. Finally knowing what it is I want to do with my life...haha good to know right?
6. Having a family
7. Finishing reading the books on my list
8. Crossing off stuff on my list of 'Things I want to do before I die"

8 Things I Love About Fall
1. The pretty colors
2. The nice weather
3. pumkin pies
4. two words: leaf piles
5. Smells of cinnamon and other "fall-y" smells
6. Big comfy sweatshirts and sweaters
7. Dipping toast in hot chocolate
8. Thanksgiving

8 Things On My Wish List
1. For my family to be happy
2. To spend time with my nieces
3. To feel good about my decisions of where I want to go and what I want to do after I graduate
4. To dance on broadway :)
5. To have a family
6. To know that I've touched at least one person's life for the better
7. Oh oh...a new pair of socks for each day
8. Harsher punishment for parole violators...AND World Peace! hahah if you can name that movie, you rock my socks :)

8 People I Tag
(Kind of fun, but only if you want)
1. Meredith
2. Beth
3. ReffineJ
4. Jen
5. Emily
6. Shusha
7. Isaac
8. Melly

Salute to Brothers!

Woah man…this was such a great weekend! It all started off with a little thing that I like to call the midnight showing of TWILIGHT! WOO HOO! I really, really enjoyed it. There were some things about it that I didn’t necessarily like, that I think, had I not read the book before, I wouldn’t have fully understood, but then again, it was midnight…how much do I ever fully understand after my bedtime? :) I would go more into it, but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who may want to see it eventually. Anyway, in all, it was great and I fully intend on seeing it again with Kami on Tuesday. Can’t wait! :)

Friday, I went to work somewhat awake and then came home and took a much needed nap. I set my alarm for my class and I pushed, what I thought was the snooze button, but really I just turned it off and woke up when my class was getting over. Haha. OOPS! :) Sleep…it does a body good! Anyway, later that night, I went with Erin and her parents to the Bell Concert in SLC. It was fun…they played a couple of my favorite Christmas songs so that was a plus.

Saturday I got a lot of much needed things done…like laundry. I don’t think I’d done it in about 3 weeks and it was starting to get a little out of control haha. AND, more importantly, my brother came! WAHOO! Once he got there, we went to Leatherby’s because he’d never been there before. I know what you’re thinking…what? An Anderson that hasn’t been to an ice cream place? Weird, I know…but don’t worry. We fixed that problem really fast. It was delish! We came back to the Breinholt’s and watched the game. We’re still convinced that Hall threw the game on purpose since that means that BYU gets a bunch more money than they would have if we won…it makes me feel better about the loss anyway. :) After the game, we had some Carl’s Jr. for dinner (we were all too depressed to cook) and then played Crud for a good chunk of time. The best part tho, was that after we got home for Leatherby’s, Jeremy decided to pull his parents car into the garage horizontally so they couldn’t park their mini in there when they got home from the Temple. So, once the time drew near that they were supposed to be there, we huddled around the living room windows, waiting for them to get home. I’m pretty sure they just sat in the mini, staring at the open garage and the ill placed car for about a good 20 seconds. Haha. It was hilarious. Their reactions were priceless.

Sunday, I woke up and wrote my talk and then high tailed it off to the state prison to speak in their sacrament meeting (that’s for you Meredith!) I always love going there! It’s such a cool experience. After that, it was pretty much just a chill night with the Breinholt’s and Puden. I’m kinda bummed cuz I don’t get to see him until Tuesday (I still have class and work), but its all good…I’m just glad he’s here! Gotta love the brother time! Brothers are awesome and here's why:
1. They always know exactly when you let your guard down so they can pounce on you, just when you are at your weakest moment to ensure maximum tackle-age. I'm not sure how he knows...he just does. Its like a little buzzer inside his head that goes off, signaling him that I'm not paying attention to his every move.
2. They can be easy to control (in the nicest way)...the secret isn't that hard to figure out. If you want the power, all you have to do is play with their hair or scratch their back. It's really that simple. Then, they're putty in your hands.
3. They're big teddy bears when they aren't picking on you and throwing you into stuff. As much as they pick on you, they still have that soft spot for their sisters.

There's definitely more, but I have to get going...work calls you know? Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours! XOXO

Anticipation

This week has been crazy slow and yet surprisingly busy. Work has been a lot slower because everyone is out in Arizona for the TECBD conference. I'm sad that I didn't get to go this year, but its probably better anyway...I need to be all rested up for Thursday night...talent show AND midnight showing of Twilight. Sheesh. Talk about good times. Although, I do miss getting to spend three days in warm, Arizona weather. Not to mention that the per diem I get for the three days is like $150 for food alone. haha. Talk about a good way to save up. In all fairness, I got a small case of food poisoning last time so maybe its a good thing I didn't go this year haha. Poor Melly...thanks for putting up with my grouchy pants those few days! Strangely enough though, my awesome power suit that I got for the presentation day made me feel a lot better. Its amazing what a nice suit can do to your spirits! :) Plus, Melly went with me to see Happy Feet since it came out while we were there. Gotta love it...Melly, you're one of my favorites! Here's to fun memories in Tempe!

Ben, one of my co-workers who also got left behind, and I are the only ones here all week. Some of the other student employees are in and out for a few hours, but really...its boring and very quiet here. In the past, Isaac usually brought rock band and we'd hook it up to the projector and play for a while to let go of our "we got left behind blues," but alas, Isaac has moved on to bigger and better places and took his rock band with him. The nerve, Isaac. I mean really...what are we supposed to do now? There is only so much a trip to the gas station for some snacks will do. :)

Last night, I went to practice my dance for the talent show and the room I found had a REALLY slippery floor so I was all over the place. Can you imagine? My talent for falling + an extremely slippery floor. The results were priceless. I was practicing some of my flip things and now I have bruises on my hip bones. haha. Totally worth it though...I miss jazz/contemporary dancing so much. This may very well be the last time I get to dance my heart out, unless I teach again, so I'm determined to make it good. Bring on the bruises. Anyway, back to my story...so afterwards, I was icing down my shins (shin splits...gotta love em) and my muscles were hurting so I called up my friend Ashley and we hit up the hot tub and then decided that it would be a great idea to make pina coladas and play some original mario brothers on the nintendo. It was great. You...complete me, Ash! haha

Despite being left behind and having bruises in strange places, this week has been absolutely awesome for some reason. I'm not sure why exactly...but I'm definitely not complaining. The article that we wrote about the research that Lynnette, Michelle, Tyler and I have been conducting for the last 3 years finally got published! The book came in the mail yesterday and I've been jumping around hysterically showing select people who knew of my intense excitement for it to arrive. And in other news...we were put in bowling teams last week, and my team hasn't lost yet. Granted we've only played two rounds, but still...I can hold me own now...sometimes. :) Anyway, this is gettin kinda lengthy and I'm sure I'll have PLENTY to write about on Friday after I see Twilight. *girlish giggles of excitement* AND my bro comes on Saturday and I'm speaking in Sacrament meeting in prison on Sunday. I really don't think this week could get better...I mean, obviously, I can think of a FEW things, but still...it's been great and I have so many things to look forward to over the next few days! I hope everyone else has had a great week, too! XOXO

Oh, Archie!

Two words. One name. David Archuleta. Call me sick for secretly harboring a special love for the 18 year old little Mormon boy from Murray, UT...I wont care. He rocks my socks...which by the way, I got three new pair yesterday and I'm in HEAVEN. They are the kind that are kinda squishy at the bottom. *tickled pink* You know...pink isn't a good color for me...from now on, I'm going to change that expression to *ticked green* Everyone cool with that? Good. Anyway, If I could have a new pair of awesome socks every day, I think every day would be great, no matter what. New socks just do it for me...they can get me through anything. Kinda like ice cream, except socks don't make you cold. :) Anyway, back to Archie...his new CD came out yesterday and Emily and I have been listening to it non-stop! Its so incredibly awesome. My favorite song so far is "Waiting for Yestserday." If you get bored, youtube it or something...its great and will fill your heart with joy. haha. Maybe not, but I sure like it. Poor Emily...she's probably tired of hearing it. Thank goodness for the repeat feature. it saves me a lot of finger clicking :)

Also...Twilight countdown: 8 days! *jumps for joy* I can't wait. There was a little preview during Heroes on Monday that made me really happy! I can't believe its so close. I finally finished everyone's shirts last night. We're gonna look AWESOME next Thursday night! That's also our ward talent show/Thanksgiving dinner night...so much for taking a huge nap before. haha. Oh well, its going to be so amazing. I doubt that I'll even think about my RLS or being tired. And if I do, that's what poppin pills is for right? haha. I'm sucha druggie sometimes. In my defense....okay, I really don't have anything good to say to that really...so never mind :)

Funny 'retard switch' story from Monday: the conversation went a little something like this...don't quote me on it, but you get the idea:
*an Arby's commercial comes on*
Me: Have you ever had an Arby's Melt? *my personal favorite*
Adam: Yeah! Those are good...have you had the Swiss Ham?
Me: Nope...is there cheese on it?
Adam: *looks at me funny* Yeah...Swiss.
Me: DANG IT!
*insert laughter here*
Yeah...smooth huh? In my defense, I was more concerned because his stomach doesn't handle cheese very well anymore and I was thinking about that rather than what the name of it was. haha. Not to mention, that I probably wasn't thinking, apparently. haha. The funny thing was, on Sunday at Disney night, we were watching Tarzan and one of my FHE brothers was making fun of Jane because her 'retard switch' was definitely on whenever Tarzan was around. He said something about not usually seeing the girl with her retard switch on and I was like...oh we have them...we're just REALLY good at hiding it. And in my head, I was thinking...yeah, I don't think I've ever exposed my switch before to where it was obvious. UGH...so funny though. In my head, I was thinking...'what the heck is wrong with you, idiot?' hahaha. Definitely classic tho. Good times for sure. Moral of the story: The retard switch serves no good purpose... :) Anyway, I'm gonna head out...I gotta go observe at Westside pretty soon. I heart y'all bad! XOXO

Happy Hobo Day!

So, today in Irish class, was definitely an interesting one. I dunno what my deal is, but I was just completely off all day today. When we were doing our leaps across the floor, my upper body was doing this weird fish-like sway thing when it's supposed to be straight and stiff. My teacher started chasing me and looked at me like what the heck is going on? haha. Its usually not a problem. lol. Then, my rhythm was all off...normally I rock the hardshoe rhythms, but not today. And to top it all off, I tripped myself. lol. Luckily it was partner work, so Val caught me before I completely biffed it...but somehow my right foot got caught around my left leg. I can't even begin to explain how that happened. It was definitely funny though. Val was kinda off today too, so we decided today was Hobo Day...mostly because my pants were black cut off sweat pants that kinda have a hobo feel to them. lol. So, to everyone out there, I hope you have a happy Hobo day!

Anyway, onto more exciting things. I had another crazy dream that needs to be documented. It's been a while, so I was excited when I woke up this morning. :) To start the dream off, I was with my friend, Alicia, from back home. We decided to go out on her yacht (which, by the way, Leash...if you ever get one, I expect to be told about it haha). So, we got some old high school friends together and partied like it was 1999. Somehow, those other friends turned into the Breinholts and some girls in my ward. Weird, I know...but just roll with it okay? :) So, we're yachting around and its dark outside right? And all of a sudden, Jack Sparrow came and kidnapped me. It wasn't really that scary because, me n Jack are buddy buddy, apparently. We were laughing about it after he got me away from everyone since they were freaking out so bad. Who knew we were tight...I guess I have friends of all kinds. haha. So then, he kinda takes the prank too far and cannon balls me on top of this hotel building by the water and I cant get down. He didn't come get me and I had no way to get down and I ended up missing my flight to Ireland. I cried and was not happy with Jack. I called the hotel people with my cell phone and apparently they had the hook ups with the airlines and there was luckily another flight going out to Dublin later that night, but I would have to hurry...somehow I got off the roof and hurried down to get my stuff so I could leave. All of my friends from the yacht were going and had already left and I was very bitter. Except Kaylyn...she wasn't gone yet. I'm not sure why. haha. Anyway, I realized that I left my passport in Provo and I was apparently in West Jordan. I didn't have time to go back to Provo and make it to the airport in time so I didn't know what to do. I sat and cried and Kaylyn came and sat next to me and was like it'll be okay....I guess those are the magic words because right as she said that, I remembered that I put my passport in my bag before I left and what do ya know? I pulled it right out. hahaha. Then my stupid alarm went off...my face was wet though, so I think I had been crying for real. lol. Or maybe I just had another dream about being an x-men that got stuck in there somewhere. haha. I'll never forget waking up all wet...stupid ability to control the water through my mouth. :) Despite the gross consequences, that was seriously the best dream I've ever had.

Anyway, back to real life! I went to Rexburg this weekend and it was loads of fun. It was great to be with Kami! The first night, we went to the Halloween concert they put on every year. It was with the Symphony and Men's Chorus and they did this pirate themed show. It was really fun! Then we came home and I gave her a facial and we did clay masks together. The next day was pretty chill...Kami had to rehearse her song she had to sing on Monday and then we went and saw our old friend, Melissa, from back home. For dinner, she took me to Big Jud's...those hamburgers were HUGE. Definitely bigger than my face, but totally worth it. haha. We split it into 4ths and each took a quarter and were still full by the end of it. No worries, Meredith...I definitely saved room for ice cream! haha. Later that night, we went to this African Children's Choir performance. They were SOOOO cute. I wanted to take them home with me. *sighs* Love, love, loved it! :) Anyway, that's about all for the updates...oh except I decided to try my luck at making cinnamon rolls yesterday. Some of them sucked hardcore, but others were actually quite yummy. I was proud. I've never done that before! Anyway, I need to catch up with my Chuck episodes, so I gotta jet. Catch y'all lata! XOXO

Past, Present and Future

Alright, so we’ve been talking in both of my classes this week about family traditions and keeping journals about ourselves and our families. Seeing as how I usually just copy and paste what I write on the blog into an electronic journal, I thought I would write a little bit about some fun traditions that my family and I have done and a little bit of random thoughts about me that maybe most people don’t know. So, here it goes. Some of these are ones we used to do and don’t really do anymore, some we still do and some are new. I’m warning you…this might be kinda longish…

Favorite Traditions/family rituals:
· The obvious: Eating pancakes/waffles/French toast on Sundays after church.
· Sugar cookies with Grammy on the Christmas’s when she comes to our house. Nothing is better than making/decorating cookies with my Grammy! Especially when I think the cookie is an eyeball instead of an ornament like it was supposed to be and decorating it accordingly. Haha. That was a great year.
· Making a gingerbread house with my mom and sister (and now Syd!)
· Giving blood with my dad when I go home
· Playing Cranium or other games when we’re all together for the holidays
· Dad’s yummy smoked Ham on Christmas day *drools*
· The “Schweps dance” that Meredith does with the empty bottle after we eat Thanksgiving dinner
· Butterfly kisses from dad
· Christmas Pedicures with my mom, sister and grandmamma
· Being woken up in the morning one of two ways…my mom jumping on me or hearing her open the blinds REALLY loudly. Haha
· Helping mom make Jam during the first session of conference
· My brother and I bringing our mattresses downstairs to lay on during conference. haha
· Watching Anne of Green Gables with Meredith whenever I come home to visit
· Our family New Years party consisting of games, my homemade queso, little smokeys with Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce and sparkling apple cider.
· When we’re together in the living room, and someone goes to the bathroom that shares a wall with it, we always knock on the wall to annoy the person in the bathroom.
· Watching MAVS games together with all our gear.
· Birthday dinners
· Having to take down Christmas decorations on New Years day. This is one tradition I wouldn’t be sad to see go away. Haha right, Grammy?
· Hearing dad’s joke of the day that he made up
· Flying rolls…need I say more? Haha
· Getting our new ornament to hang on the tree each year from Grammy
· Getting free samples and Clinique moisturizer from Grandmama for Christmas and birthdays. Oh and usually a package of socks. haha

Random thoughts:
· When I was young, I LOVED my binky. Like seriously, I don’t think I can emphasize the word LOVE enough. I learned how to talk with it in my mouth and you could understand me perfectly. As a result, I used to say my “S’s” like you would say a “T” but it would sound like a normal “s.” Good times right? Well, I’m pretty sure I had them until I was about 3 years old…my mom started taking them away from me when I’d fall asleep or something because that’s the only time she could get them from me. I started realizing this so I’d hide the ones that I still had. That way, when she took away the ones that she let me have, I could just go to my stash and pull out another one. This went on indefinitely. They didn’t realize that I had hidden so many…Good times. It’s good to know that I learned how to outsmart my parents at such a young age. Haha. Love y’all!
· I am absolutely addicted to propel as of a week ago
· When we were kids, and there was something we wanted (ex: a trampoline) we would make picket signs out of construction paper and rulers and march around my mom and dad’s room, chanting. It usually went a little something like this…”We want a trampoline, tonight, tonight, tonight. We want a trampoline (Meredith yells, SWITCH) *flip signs around* Besides, we love you.” Hahahaha so we sound like spoiled, rotten kids, but it worked so it was totally worth it. haha
· My sister and her friend, Marika, would put on New Kids on the Block concerts for us, frequently. I always wanted to play too, so they’d stick me under this box and make me push tickets up thru the hole in the top. For some reason, I loved it. haha
· When we received the previously mentioned trampoline, Meredith and Cody LOVED to bounce me as high as they could. My brother thought it was funny to continually bounce me, one after another, because I would just keep getting higher. Sometimes, I was too high and he couldn’t grab me and throw me back down onto the trampoline and I’d fly off. Usually, I’d just hit the fence or the ground…sometimes a tree or two or running into our wood pile in the backyard. I would have to get a new bandaid every day from bleeding and stuff and my sister said that I looked like one huge bandaid…hence, where I got my name that has forever stuck to my existence. Get it? stuck? Hahah wow…
· Another fun thing they liked to do on the trampoline was to get 4 big people to stand around me (I would be sitting in the middle) and they’d count to three and all bounce as hard as they could to get me as high as I could go. Somewhere at home, we have a picture of me and I’m higher than the Breinholt’s two story house. Talk about good times, and I loved every minute of it. Although, I don’t think my mom did…
· When I was really little, my brother and sister were babysitting me while my parents were out shopping or something. We had just finished building the 2nd floor of our house and the stairs didn’t have carpet on them yet. Meredith and Puden decided to go downstairs to get something to eat and somehow, I climbed over the couch they had blocking the stairs and I fell down the stairs. You know those soft spots on children’s heads? Yeah…my sister thought those were a result of me falling down the stairs…she was hysterical. She thought I was going to be retarded or something because of it. I can only imagine how funny it was on my brother’s end. Lol. Maybe that explains a lot about why I am the way that I am today…. :)
· One year for Christmas, we each got beanbag chairs. Our favorite thing to do with them was to set them at the top of the stairs and run and slide down them. In our house in Washington, there was a door at the bottom of the stairs. You can only imagine how many times we ran into that thing.
· Whenever I had to yawn, my brother and sister would always chase me around the house and make me laugh so I couldn’t finish my yawn. It always made me so mad…sometimes I would cry.
· I never had an imaginary friend, although I used to talk to my stuffed animals like they were people. Whenever my brother and sister would leave me out…or I would feel like they didn’t want to play with me (which didn’t usually happen, but sometimes it did), I would go into my room, line up my stuffed animals and vent to them…they understood me. Don’t judge. Hahaha.
· One of our favorite musicals was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. During the barn dance scene, all three of us would do the dances around the living room. Meredith and I still remember how to do them today!
I’m sure I could keep going, but I don’t want to bore everyone! :) So there you have it…some more insight into why I am the way that I am! Haha. Hope you enjoyed! XOXO

Here's to Regina!

Holla!!! Today’s post will be a tribute to my car. Yes, that’s right...my other half…where one is, there you shall also find the other. I remember the first time I ever got hit, I called my mom and I was crying…not because I was hurt (which I was, a little bit) but because my car was hurting. Haha. All I kept saying was “MY CAR!!!” lol…my mom was like, “seriously…ARE YOU OKAY? I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR!” haha. Good times. My friends nicknamed her in high school. I usually stopped to pick up my friend Allie after seminary so we’d ride together and at one point, they were doing construction on the main street to our high school. It was called Beach Street, however, they spelled it Bech on the signs…it was great. So, that’s what Allie calls her. Although, ever since I’ve had her, I’ve called her Regina. Sometimes “Reggie” for short if she needs some encouragement. Usually when I’m trying to drive up really steep hills or driving from Texas to Utah with four people and all of their luggage in her. She struggles sometimes. But give her a break…she’s a 99 Corolla. She’s not really built for that sort of thing. :)

So, the realization of winter finally hit this morning. It’s funny because during the afternoon, it has actually been pretty warm. I didn’t even wear a jacket yesterday. *gasps* However, in the mornings, it proves that Winter is alive and coming. Let me explain. Fact: My car is ghetto. Maybe not exactly “to the max” like it could be, but there are definitely characteristics about her that earn her the title. Its things like these that I’m about to mention, that make me love her so darn much. Haha. So, among other things, when it’s cold, she just kinda breaks down. I choose to feel that this is because we have a kindred connection together and when I’m cold, I usually break too…just not in the same way, obviously. Lol (By the way, for those of you who haven’t guessed already, I absolutely LOVE my car…we’ve been through a lot together) :) So anyway, one of my favorite things about my baby on wheels is that when it gets really cold and I try to get in and it hasn’t warmed up at all outside, the driver’s side door doesn’t work without some coaxing on my part. Luckily, I’ve learned how to convince it to work for the most part, but usually, not without a fight. For starters, the lock doesn’t work. It just stays locked no matter how hard I turn that key. I’ve learned ways to get past this…like crawling in through the passenger side door. The best is, when it’s cold outside, if you lock the door from the inside, you can’t unlock it without rolling down the window and doing it from the outside. It’s freakin awesome. Haha. My boss has pulled into the parking lot for the last two days when I’ve been unlocking my car on the outside while I’m in it. It’s great. She just kinda looks at me like…well…that’s Tara…I’m not really surprised. Hahaha. Love it. So, why do I lock it when I get in, you ask? If by chance I can get in through the driver’s side (it hasn’t been cold enough yet for me to not be able to jimmy my way in), usually, the door won’t stay closed. I pull it shut and it just bounces back open. The only way to keep it shut is to either hold it there (not the safest of options) or to lock it and then shut it. It’s amazing. I’ve taken it into the dealership multiple times to see if the Toyota people can fix it, and they do some things that fix it for, oh…20 minutes. Haha. It’s great. I love a car with personality. I can tell you what every scratch is from, every dent and where every missing piece of the weather stripping is that has melted off. Haha Oh and to add to that personality…I goofed about 3 weeks ago and drove off from the gas station without putting the gas cap back on *embarrassed* and so I had to buy a new one right? Since she’s a little bit older of a car…they only had bright red ones. Haha. So, now I have this awesomely large, red gas cap on the side of my car. It’ll just look more festive around Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Don’t be jealous. Maybe one day, you’ll get a red gas cap too.

Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say, is…I love my car! Probably a little bit more than I should, but I don’t care. She brings me much joy :) So Reggie…here’s to you, sister!

Not Halloween

We had our traditional “Not Halloween” party last night. Last year, we got together with a few apartments from our ward and celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas, just not on the actual day, thus is was named “Not Thanksgiving” and “Not Christmas.” Em and I decided that Halloween was getting the shaft, so we decided to throw it into the mix. We had some old timers and some new timers come, so it was fun. It was complete with pumpkin carving, yummy sugar cookies and ended out with a trip to get slurpees…it was a little cold for that, but it was totally worth it, minus the possible frost bite in my hand from having to hold it. Haha.

Also, time to celebrate. I booked the tickets/tour for our Ireland trip. I’m darn excited about it. We’re going in February so I’m leaving for home on the 12th so I can spend a couple of days there and then I'll be coming back to Provo on the 22nd. It’s going to be a great week and a half! Some of the things that I’m most excited about getting to do:
~In the evening drive to the Merry Ploughboy Pub for a great dinner of Irish specialties, which is followed by a show of traditional Irish songs and intricate step-dancing.
~Visit Blarney Castle to kiss the famous "Stone of Eloquence." Also visit the Blarney Woollen Mills where you can find quality Irish-made goods of all types conveniently displayed under one roof.
~Embark on Ireland's most popular scenic drive of 100 miles - the Ring of Kerry. This winding route reveals breathtaking sights of the Macgillycuddy's Reeks as well as coastal views of beaches and cliffs.
~In the evening head to Bunratty Castle for a memorable experience in a wonderful setting with good food and entertainment. Then take your place in the Great Hall for a medieval-style feast of excellent dishes and plenty of wine. During and after the meal the lords and ladies will serenade you with song and harp music, evocative of the Middle Ages.
I dunno about you, but I’m ready to party with the pub-ers! Haha.

I started my bowling class this week…its going to be a lot of fun. Before the class started, I was just talking to some people in my class, trying to make friends, you know? And my new friend, Sam, asked why I was taking the class. I replied with, “well, because I can bowl a 240 on the wii and about a 75 in real life.” He said well…you know, after the class, IF you can get someone to ask you out, he could take you bowling and you could school him. Haha. I know he didn’t mean it like that, but my other new friend, Kristi, and I were laughing about it the rest of the class period. Hahah he said IF! Lol. Good times. He kept touching me throughout the rest of the period too…it was weird and frankly, quite creepy. But, funny at the same time, if that makes any sense! Anyway, I gotta head out and get some stuff done. I hope everyone has a great day! XOXO

Friends, Family & Fun!

Howdy Hey Y’all! It’s been a pretty darn good last few days! I love the weekends but they always seem to go by WAY too fast. It’s okay though, that just means I’m one step closer to getting to see my baby girls at Christmas time! I talked to Meredith, Ben and Syd on Skype last night and Syd and I decided that we’re going to make up a Christmas dance to Jingle Bells (her favorite Christmas song, apparently). It should be lots and lots of fun. Mostly because we always dance together anyway, so this will be extra fun. I’m envisioning matching Santa hats and maybe some bells and/or green suspenders. Hahaha. Can’t go wrong there right? I’m excited and that’s all there is to it! :) Seriously though, this weekend was great. Friday, Em and I had a double date (we LOVE those) where we ate spaghetti, played clue and watched Red Eye. Way fun...then Saturday we just kinda relaxed and we got to talk to Jen on the webcam for about an hour! Those are some of my favorite weekend moments. Heartcha girl! Then the four of us from Friday night went to see Wall*E at the dollar theater. I really just love that movie. It always makes me giggle uncontrollably. After church yesterday, I was invited over to Aubrey and Gregs for some ice cream and brownies and Disney Trivia so in all, it was quite eventful and awesome :) I love chill weekends! :)

The BYU vs TCU game was a complete BUST…it was quite sad. Usually we rock them, but unfortunately, not this year. Woo, we got our pants kicked. *sighs* Its okay though, we still had our traditional BYU/TCU party as always and it was definitely fun to see everyone who has come up here from back home. I didn’t realize how many people lived here now! This one family, the Merril’s, were there, who I haven’t seen in at least 5 or so years and their daughter was in my dance classes in high school that I taught. She came running up to me and gave me a big hug and I had no clue who she was (she looks SOOO different) until she said MISS TARA!!! I’M SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU! Haha. I was like OOOHHHH…dance kids. And then I was able to put two and two together. In all fairness to me, she was 5 when she took my class, and now she’s 9, so don’t judge me for not remembering. *teethy grin* One of the first things she said to me was, “You look a lot older and shorter than I remember!” Everyone that was sneakily listening in on our conversation started to chuckle a little bit and started listening harder to see what my response would be. Lol. I didn’t come up with anything creative, but you know…sometimes when you’re under pressure, it just doesn’t work out that way. :) It was definitely fun though. I spent most of the time with Josh and the Breinholt’s and it was a definite needed break from Provo life. Gotta love little pieces of home! And speaking of home and Breinholt’s, I’m going to see Kami in Rexburg next weekend! I’m stoked. We’re going to some Halloween concert and some other stuff. I can’t wait. I need some Kami time! :) Heartcha girl!

Alright, one more shout out to Emily…last night was ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS! We always have roommate prayer each night, right? Well, last night, we didn’t even get upstairs to start getting ready for bed until about 12:15, so we’re dead tired right?...to the point where everything was funny. We have a nice little system where who ever is praying that night asks what the other person needs and I asked her and she goes, “A new knee.” (she just had reconstructive knee surgery) and being as tired and loopy as I was said, “What the heck is a noonie?” hahaha I know it sounds lame, and really not funny at all, but stuff like that kept happening and we were just ROLLING from laughing so hard. It was incredibly amazing and so much fun. We freak out when we’ve been apart for like more than 6 hours. Haha. We see each other all day, every day most days and we still never run out of things to talk about. When we wake up in the mornings, I feel like I have so much to talk to her about…dreams from that night, how we slept, etc. etc. etc. haha its quite sad but very funny. I heart you girl! XOXO Anyway, I should probably get going, but I hope everyone has a GREAT week this week!

*shivers*

It snowed on Saturday...yes, that's right. SNOWED. It didn't stick, which I am VERY grateful for, however, the fact still stands that its october and I've already had to bust out my gloves. *sighs* Here is a list of things that I've already experienced as a result of the change in temperature...this makes me really nervous for when its actually "winter" time. If I'm being this much of a weenie now, I hate to see me in December! hahaha....ugh. :)

You know it’s cold outside when:
· You have to use a space heater at work WHILE wearing gloves
· You can see your breath IN your apartment
· Your ears actually hurt because they are so cold
· You have to borrow someone’s chapstick because yours is frozen. (true story…that happened today)
· No matter how many layers of clothes you have, you’re never warm enough
· You sleep with pants and long sleeves with 3 blankets and you still find yourself shivering at night…I need to get a heated man pillow. That would be sweet. I wonder if they make those...
· It hurts when you first walk outside
· Breathing doesn’t feel good
· You refuse to shower in the morning because you’ll freeze…or if you don’t get your hair all the way dry, you’re afraid it might freeze and break off.
· Your hair gets static-y and you seem to shock everything you touch.
· Shaving in the shower becomes something you’re afraid of…the possibility of accidently shaving off chill bumps, seems very real and possible. *shivers*
· You start wearing nylons or spandex pants UNDER your regular pants
· Suddenly, the thought of wearing three shirts, doesn’t sound so bad. (haha…I’m actually doing that now! )
· All you want to do in your spare time is put on sweat pants and curl up in a blanket and watch a movie while drinking hot chocolate (while dipping the toast in it…yummm.

In all fairness, I always want to do that last one...there's something about sweats that just make me happy and cuddley inside. Gotta love it. There was one more but i cant think of it off the top of my head. Just know that I'm cold. hahaha. :) I heartcha'll bad! XOXO

Bring on the Rain

So, to update everyone on my recent prison experience...it was probably one of the coolest things I've ever done in my life. Hands down. I guess I'm just full of stereotypes and expectations for what I thought I would find there, but the sisters that were there were so wonderful. They recognized that they had made mistakes and were trying to change. They were such sweet women, some of which, I could tell were really trying their hardest to get back on the right track. After the lesson was over, we visited with some of them and they were on their way. We stayed and talked with the Bishopric and RS presidency who were over the sisters and they actually asked us to come back the Sunday before Thanksgiving to speak on gratitude in their Sacrament meeting. I'm really, really excited. We thought we would take different angles on the topic so that we didn't stand up and talk about the same thing, and I had decided to talk on gratitude for our trials. We're also singing and arrangement of 'Because I have Been Given Much." I'm not the best singer in the world, so I'm a little nervous about how it will turn out, but I'll do my best :)

I think it's funny that something like that should happen though...that two nights before I knew how I would feel and the 'trials' that I would be facing, I opted to speak on gratitude in our trials. Now I KNOW the Lord has a great sense of humor. haha Maybe this is His way of making sure that I have something worthwhile to say. lol. Honestly though, I am trying my hardest to find the silver lining on this one, and I'm really not sure what it is. All I can say is that its times like these when I become closer with my Heavenly Father and even some of my friends who are there to lift me when I'm down. That's definitely a silver lining! Last night was one of those 'cry yourself to sleep nights' which was actually kind of nice...its very cleansing...silver lining number 2 perhaps? And even though I woke up puffy eye'd and dead tired this morning, it doesn't ache so bad. One of my favorite songs is Jo Dee Messina's Bring on the Rain...it has the best lines: "Cuz tomorrow's another day, and I am not afraid, so bring on the rain." That's totally how it is. Bring it on suckas. There aint nothin I can't handle! :)

In more awesome/exciting news: I got my passport this week. You know what that means?!? I'm one step closer to cavorting my way through the hills and valleys of Ireland. *does victory dance* P.S. Cavort is one of my favorite words. Mostly because of its definition though: "To romp or prance exuberantly." HA! It doesn't get much better than that. Also, my brother just called. He's coming to see me for Thanksgiving. I'm determined to believe that its just because he misses me bad and can't wait until Christmas to see me, but I'm sure he has some other motives too...you know, like his best friend or something. haha. But still...I get a whole week of my Puden Head. That means, there's a whole week of nintendo playing, movie watching, wrestling, eating and all around good times. In all honesty, we'll probably throw watching Chuck and Star Wars in there, of course. Anyway, I just got an email of a graph my coworker needs me to make for her article she's writing, so I'd better be off. I hope everyone has a splendid weekend! XOXO

Baby, its cold outside!

Even though I've been here for almost 5 years now, I don't think I'll ever get used to the fact that it starts getting cold here in October. I've used my space heater (for which, I'm VERY thankful for) at work every morning and I make sure to have layers upon layers on for when I have to walk to campus. In all fairness, when it comes to cold weather I just might be the biggest weenie out there. I wear that banner proudly, rest assured. I would much rather be hot than cold. Although, the snow is fun...just not when you're walking to school in it. My friends have told me about their nose hairs freezing before, from it being so cold at times. I hope that that is an experience I never have. :) I guess, my silver lining this time will be that with the cold weather, I can justify wearing my sweats more and I can cuddle up in blankets and drink hot chocolate with my dipping toast, while in Pierre...well, what's left of him anyway. Did I tell y'all that my FHE brother broke him? Yeah...the bottom kinda *pauses for emphasis* bottomed out. haha get it? Bottomed out! I crack myself up sometimes. I blame my dad. That's definitely his humor. :) At any rate, having just the top makes me feel like I'm in some kind of pod and it's quite the adventure. If you make sudden movements you kinda roll around in a very uncivilized manner. *awkward* Good times, good times. OH silver lining number two: because I'm such a weenie with the cold, it gives me excuses to cuddle with whoever I please, whenever I please. hahaha Most of the time, its people like Emily who are used to it anyway, but still...I'm a cuddle bug. I really enjoy it. I'm not going to lie. :)

Speaking of Emily...she got her surgery last week and even though I've talked to her on the phone everyday, I miss her lots and lots. Its weird that she's not there. She said she's not coming back until MONDAY. *sighs* I hope I can hold out. Its sad that I'm missing her this bad and I went and saw her on Friday for about an hour or more, and I saw her on Sunday for like 15 minutes. Man...I'm pathetic. hahaha. Love you girl! XOXO

Today should be fun...I'm teaching a Relief Society lesson at the Prison in Draper and I'm actually really excited about it. They asked me to teach on Budgeting (?!??!) which I thought was kind of an interesting topic to be teaching at a prison, but I decided to throw a little 'be prepared' twist at the end of it. I'll be sure to let y'all know how it goes! :) I do enjoy getting to say I'm going to prison today when people ask me what I'm up to! haha its quite funny. Last night, Joyce was like...hey, lets do something tomorrow evening! I quickly responded with...well, I'll be in prison tomorrow and I don't know when I'll be back. hahaha...this girl in our ward was outside on the phone and kinda looked at me like WHA?! lol good times.

Wow...I just realized it's been a while since I've written, yet again. I apologize. At least it wasn't a FULL week this time :) In all fairness though, I think the only person that really cares if I update regularly is my sister and I talk to her on the phone everyday anyway, so I'm guessing she wont hate me too much. *smiles* This weekend was fun though...Conference weekend! One of my favorite weekends of the year! For starters, Friday night I went over to my neighbor's apartment and played games and 'catch up'...she was one of my best friends from Freshman year and we really haven't seen each other a whole lot since she moved next door. It was a lot fun. Not to mention that she's kinda dating this guy that I dated briefly last year so that's been fun to swap stories about! :) Good times. Saturday, I went up to Taylorsville to spend most of the day with Adam and his family. It was really nice of them to invite me up, and definitely a blessing for me to be able to go. There are two times when I get really homesick...conference weekends and special holidays. So, it was great to be with SOMEONE'S family at least. It made the ache a lot lesser than normal so that was definitely great. Plus, they made sourdough waffles for breakfast and they were YUUUUUUMMY! :) But, coming from the girl that eats pancakes/waffles/french toast every Sunday, that shouldn't be a surprise. haha. In between sessions we went to this little crafty village thing. It was dang cute. And they had a couple of shops that had a bunch of crafty things in them that I just wanted to live in. haha. If i were rich, I would've bought most of the things in those stores, I'm sure. haha. It was definitely hard to resist...especially knowing my weakness for fun holiday decorations. Adam's family was great though...so nice and wonderful! It was kinda weird...I don't think I felt awkward there at all, which is a big deal for someone like me. *laughs* Feeling awkward usually comes pretty natural for me. lol. Its a good thing that it was raining really badly, otherwise I might not have left! haha. Sunday was good too...Irene made cinnamon rolls (you know how I cant pass those up) and I did a little Sunday cooking in between sessions. Can't beat that. I think my favorite talk was Pres. Monson's on change. Definitely something I struggle with, so it really hit home with me. Gotta love it!!!! :) Anyway, I'm gonna get back to work now, but I hope everyone has a rock on, awesome day! Heartcha! XOXO

SLC or bust!

Heya! So, I guess it’s about time for an update eh? I feel like I’ve been slacking on my blogging duties (haha that was for you, Meredith…DUTIES). Lol. Gotta love how immature we are. It spices life up just a little, right?

So, in a nutshell, the RS conference session was awesome. Each of the talks were so great and there was so much to take from all of them. My roommates and I got to go to the Conference Center, which is always an amazing experience. Especially with the crazy music lady. If you watched it, you know what I’m talking about. J I always love it when we get to sing as a congregation. It makes me feel like sayin, stay back Satan…you can’t touch this, sucka!! Haha Well, something like that anyway. J Or you can say things like Meredith said: “BANDAID…we’re singing the same song together at the same time! It’s almost like we’re together!” haha cute….Can I just say how much I love President Uchtdorf? He was SOLID. Well, they all were, but you know what I mean. Wow. Not to mention that President Monson was sporting a pretty sweet gray suit and that made me happy. They were so cute with their wives afterwards too. Talk about good times. We ended up just driving up to the Trax station in Sandy so we didn’t have to fight traffic and parking n stuff and it was pretty chuck full of women in dresses…and Utes in red. I guess there was a game that night or something. Let’s just say it was insanely packed in there. I got to know many new people in ways they probably wish that I didn’t. haha. Anyway, on the way home, we were trying to frown. I dunno why, or how it started, but it’s hard to do. Just know that. So anyway, my roommate Brittany told us that she was going to try to take a picture of Em and I frowning…little did we know that she was videoing us the whole time. Some of y’all have seen this on facebook, but for my family who doesn’t, this should be shared…

Anyway, afterwards, we were going to go to Olive Garden for dinner, but it was completely packed and like a 45 minute wait…not good when you’re already starving right? So, we’re driving around, trying to find something else that looks good and not so busy, and what do I see out of the corner of my eye? That’s right…Texas Roadhouse! Only the BEST place ever. Next to IHOP of course. It was SOO beyond wonderful to eat there. You walk in and it’s totally got the Southern, Texas feel to it. Just like back home. Although, I’m not friends with everyone that works in the Utah ones…hahah probably cuz I haven’t been there enough yet. We can change that. J So great though for sure. Emily and I were so giddy and happy. We were definitely in our element. And those ROLLS *drools* You can’t beat them. We went through 5 baskets of them. In all fairness, we each took two rolls home with us in our doggie bags, but still. All them rolls, 5 glasses of water and chicken with baked beans later, we high tailed it outta there and then watched a movie to work off the food. Good times. In all, it was a great trip! J

Other than that, this week has been kinda uneventful. I got the flu on Tuesday…good times. And Emily left me yesterday to go get her surgery, so she wont come back until Friday of next week…I dunno what I’m gonna do. Probably go back to socializing like I used to…hahaha. Anyway, I have a test to study for and tonight is Smallville and the Office so I gotta get goin. I’ll catch y’all lata!!!!

Tiring but eventful

I can't believe its already Thursday! This week has been absolutely crazy. And on top of that, I've been extra clumsy this week too. I think its because I have to use so much coordination during Irish twice a week and it just fills my coordination quota so when I'm not dancing, I just fall or trip over everything. Oh and dropping stuff too! I'm getting really good at that. :) Its quite funny. Monday was a pretty normal day with the added bike ride that we went on again. This time, I borrowed Steve's bike which made it a little easier. However, Steve is like 6'4" or something so it was a little too big for me, but I'd take too big of a bike over too small of a bike any day. I don't know that I'll ever be as good of a bike rider as I was back in the day, but someday, when we get back from our 10 mile ride, I wont be heaving for breath or walking funny. Its now number 75 (i think) on my list of things to do before I die. The list is growing...I need to start doing cool stuff. :) Other than that, we had FHE on Monday as usual. Our FHE group is so fun, so that's nice. We're constantly laughing our heads off...very therapeutic! :)

Tuesday was GREAT. Erin and I went to the So you think you can dance concert and it was amazing. Its always kinda hard for me to watch dance performances. I miss it so much that it always makes me yearn haha, but I'm so glad that I went. It was great to see Twitch and all of my other favorite dancers on stage. Erin and I were secretly hoping that Neil (from last season) would pop out from behind the stage, but that never happened. Too bad huh? Twitch and Joshua did their Russian dance to that Nutcracker song which was definitely one of my favorites. It makes me excited for Christmas to come along. I try to go see the Nutcracker ballet every year and its one of my favorite parts of Christmas! Anyone wanna come with me this year? haha Speaking of Christmas time...I cant wait! :) They always have the Christmas Around the World program that is put on by the International Folk Dance team and they always do some Irish numbers, so I try to go to that every year too. AND this year, a bunch of us are going to the John Schmidt concert. It's gonna be good. I figure, its my last Christmas in Provo, so I'd better make it good right? Yayuh!

Yesterday was insane for sure. After I got home from class and work, Irene and I had to go shopping for our Relief Society Opening social that was later that night. Once we got everything we needed (and a very large cup of frozen yogurt from Sams) *melts* I came home and made a couple things of Tres Leches and some queso for the social and then, it was PARTY TIME. It was actually a lot of fun. We had some good Mexican food and we played fun games and it was all around pretty chill. It seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves so that's nice :) I hope that isn't me just hoping that it wasn't a complete flop! haha Once I got home, I had to write this paper for one of my classes...it was kinda weird actually. I haven't had to really do a whole lot of homework except for reading in any of my classes yet, so it was actually kinda fun to sit down and write the paper. Wow...I never thought I would've ever heard myself say that....what is happening to me? :)

Today is like the day from Heaven. After I get off work in about 50 minutes, I'm going home to take a quick nap, then Em and I are going to the temple, and then Smallville and the office are both on tonight and then we hit up our yoga class. Talk about yay! I love yoga with Andrea. Its so relaxing. I haven't been sleeping well for the last month or so except for on Thursday nights because I'm so relaxed already. Its just soooo awesome.

We have cleaning checks this weekend and the Relief Society General broadcast on Saturday! I'm so excited that we got tickets to go. I cant wait! I LOVE conference weekend. We usually have an apartment over for our traditional 'conference breakfast' which is always accompanied by the conference pancake. hahah that started last year during fall semester. I think I was flipping pancakes and somehow, one of them ended up on the floor. Instead of picking it up and throwing it away, we named it THE conference pancake and it stayed there until conference was over the next day. Kinda gross, I know, but we decided to throw one down last time too. Once it starts, it cant be stopped. Gotta love retarded traditions right? Anyway, I'm gonna maybe try some sudoku to pass the time. I haven't had to do that for a while...this should be fun! Have a GREAT one! XOXO

A bike ride from the early 90s

Holler! hahaha...wow, I was definitely not meant to be ghetto. But, its fun trying right? This weekend was...different. :) Friday night we went and played night games at the park which was way fun as usual. I know I mentioned us playing, but it needs more attention than what it got: I only "won" once and I use that term loosely. It just goes to show that you don't have to win to have a good time, right? Although, Ian and I had quite the little 'get to know you' experience behind a tree...I wont tell the story so as to shield him from embarrassment but it was definitely funny. haha. The best thing was, was that after that happened, I found that any time I decided to hide behind a tree that round, there was a different guy that decided to hide behind it with me...kinda pathetic guys, kinda pathetic! lol. Although, in all fairness to them, I don't think anyone really actually understood what happened except for me and Ian, so ya know. Good memories, I guess. *shakes it off* Anyway, afterwards we came back to the apartment and some people watched Officeodes with us and then we called it a night. Can't go wrong there!

We had our "roommate" date on Saturday afternoon, which was way fun. Its tradition to always go to the World of Dance concert as roommates. I'm not really sure how that came about, but I'm glad it did! It's definitely a fun tradition. Kinda sad that it was my last one...*sighs* I always love going to all the dance things though. It does kinda bum me out afterward a little. Performing is something that I completely love doing, especially in a team setting and it's been so long! Afterward, we went on a bike ride which was a funny experience. My friend's bike that I borrowed was one of those really old ones that you rode when you were riding your bike to middle school. Not kidding, it was definitely small and about 80 pounds heavier than what Emily and Brittany had. haha definitely funny. Rachel did warn me though...when she told me I could borrow it, she declared that it was 'ghetto-tastic.' Naturally, I was kinda excited about that, but then I realized that she really wasn't kidding. The handle bars were covered in duct tape and only two of the six gears worked on one side and one of the three on the other. At least the brakes worked. :) I was lucky there. I felt kinda bad cuz I kept falling behind...those sorts of bikes aren't quite ideal for a 10 mile ride. :) What's the silver lining do you ask? Well...not only did my back and legs get a huge work out, I looked pretty sweet riding around on a black and purple creation from the early 90s. I almost thought that maybe a banana seat bike would've been better, but I'm sure my butt would be in more pain if that's what I rode. I think it's about time for another list of favorites today, so here it goes:

Website: pandora.com It gets me through work. For those who may not know, you can type in an artist that you like and it plays songs from people who are similar to that artist. It's great. I have three stations depending on my mood: Carrie Underwood for when I'm feelin a little bit country, Cartel for my less than hardcore days, and Michael Buble for my chill moods. Today is a Buble day. haha I love how that sounds! I'm lovin it though. However, the songs they play are just so cute and awesome/old fashioned that it makes me want to learn to ballroom dance. lol I don't think I'll ever have the proper coordination for that sort of thing! :) Not to mention that it makes me feel all romantic n junk...it's totally worth it.

Moment: The premiere of smallville came out on Thursday. It actually kinda weirded me out...I don't know if I'll like this season as much as the others. It's kind of been going down hill since around season 5 or so, but I've been an avid fan for the last 7 years...I can't just stop watching now. Plus, Clark has to get his tights soon and more importantly, he's got to learn how to fly. That will be a great day in the Smallville world.

Looking forward to: The premieres of the Office (this Thursday) and Chuck (next Monday). I can't wait.

Song Crush: My Everything by Michael Buble

Latest squeeze: Milk. I'm not even kidding. Emily keeps staring at me in amazement...in the last week and a half, I've gone through about 1 1/2 gallons of milk just on my own. She thinks I'm crazy...I kinda do too, but I just can't get enough of it lately. Not sure why, but I'm not complaining!

Anyway, I'm gonna call it a day. I hope y'all have a great Monday! XOXO

Another one bites the dust

Yup that's right...Jack died. He actually kicked the bucket like 3 days ago, but I haven't gotten around to blogging about it yet, so I apologize for the lateness of this tragic news. I've decided that I'm not allowed to have fish anymore. Adam thinks I should get a turtle. I've thought about it...but we'll see. My track record hasn't been so good this month. I would hate to add a turtle to the casualty list. Seeing as how we only had Jack for a couple of days, I don't have as many memories with him as I did with Cumby, but here's just a small tribute to Jack and the small life he lived:

- I already wrote about this, but the "Emily...why so serious?" kick was great. The look on her face was priceless and she was really creeped out. haha. Great times

- He helped me get through the pain of losing Cumby. I don't know if moving on would've been as easy without Jack...it gave me someone else to take care of. Now, I guess, all I have is Emily to take care of. haha Not that that's a bad thing, but she's a big girl...she doesn't really NEED me to take care of her, even though I enjoy doing it. :)

Yeah okay, that's about it for the fish memories. Two for two days though...thats pretty good. In other news, these next two weeks are gonna be packed with some good times. Emily is getting knee surgery in a little less than two weeks so I decided that we need to do everything that she wants to do that she wont be able to do after she inherits crutches for 3 months. Last night we played night games which was way fun...minus the whole shin splint thing. It was totally worth it though. We're gonna try to go on a bike ride today if I can find a bike to borrow, and I'm sure Ultimate frisbee and country swing dancing will get fit into the next two weeks somewhere. I'm not sure why I'm retarded like this, but whenever people get surgery or something, I have always made something to match their "casts" and wear it whenever I'm with them. Ex: In high school, Carolyn scratched her eye, so she had to wear her glasses. I never wear glasses, but that week, I wore them with her. Also, when my dad had eye surgery, he had this patch thing that he had to wear, so I made one too. I'm lame, but it makes me happy for some reason. haha. Weird, I know. At least I'm entertained easily...so yeah, my next project will be a leg brace. This one will be a little harder, but I'm up for the challenge.

Emily and I went to Kneaders today (a restaurant that's all about the BREAD)...yeah...definitely something that I'm addicted to now. Go figure. It was great. They had the BEST french toast ever. *melts* I'm a sucker for bread + breakfast food. What can I say? A couple of weekends ago, Emily and I had to go grocery shopping, so we went to Sam's right? While we were there, we thought we'd take advantage of the $1.50 lunch combos and we were completely full right? We had to go to Macey's to get a few things that we couldn't get at Sams and I met up with Em to put my stuff in the cart (I was gone for seriously like 3 minutes) and I had a roll and was eating it. She just looked at me and was like, 'where in the world did you get that?" haha I couldn't help it. They were giving them out as 'free samples' and I couldn't say no. She just laughed and was like...wow...nothing can come between you and bread. Especially rolls though. Sister Breinholt knows. If I ever come over and she has made rolls, she can fully expect them to be at least half way gone. Maybe more if I'm going to be there over night. haha. I just can't resist them. Its a weakness I have. Just like when people play with my hair. I turn into jell-o. Good times. Anyway, I think Em and I are going to head outside to do some homework cuz it's nice out there. Plus, it might rain soon, so we want to be there for the action! :) I hope y'all have a GREAT weekend! Heartcha! XOXO

Out with the old and on with the new

We had funeral services for Cumby on Saturday. It was a beautiful ceremony. We tried to have a viking funeral, but the darn thing wouldn't catch on fire even though we drenched it in hair spray, so we ended up flushing him. Adam thought that maybe he was just faking it, like Nemo, to get back to the sea. In which case, its a good thing we flushed him. :) Here are some pictures from the most unfortunate of occasions:

We tried taking pictures of us being sad, but Emily kept making me laugh, so they didn't really come out real good. We wrote his eulogy that I read as he was *coughs* burning. It went a little something like this...

Two long years

have come and gone

Without you,

how can we possibly move on?

You fought through the hard times,

both freezing and freezing-er.

You were there for the good times

always bringing us together.

You side stepped the flip-flops, the flood and the fire

and through it all

you didn't even perspire.

We will miss your heart,

your face and your soul.

Enjoy fish heaven,

I hope it's in a bowl.

Yeah, awesome right? After the funeral, Emily and Brittney got all sneaky on me and they brought out a new beta fish for me. They are so nice and thoughtful. As I was thinking of what to name him, they suggested either Bruce Wayne or Jack Napier. Napier is the Joker's real name in Tim Burton's version of batman. Needless to say, I went with Jack. I don't know if its because of my seriously unexplainable fixation with the Joker or the fact that Heath Ledger plays him in the new movie and well...he's hott. haha. Not with all the make-up, mind you. Jack has a streak of red down his fins so it makes me think of the Joker anyway. We're going to have a fun relationship. Just the other day, Emily was being silly about a certain matter we were talking about, and I was feeding Jack and so I said, "Jack...ask Emily, 'why so serious?'" *said in the Joker's voice* She freaked out and it was great. Love you girl! Here's to you! haha. She's seriously been so great...especially these last few days. Things keep coming up and some days I'm an emotional wreck. I feel bad...I'm not as fun as I was at the end of last semester. I hope she's not rethinking her decision to live with me this year! hahah...I'm shaking out of it though, so I hope my lack of fun wont last much longer. Anyway, she's downstairs watching Smallville so I'm gonna go watch it with her. Who wouldn't you know? I'm a sucker for Superman...especially in the form of Tom Welling. With that said, peace out! :)

P.S. I'm starting to read Midnight Sun which is the first Twilight book but from Edwards point of view. I'm falling in love with him all over again. Its great. Read it. You'll love it. (although, be warned, its not finished, so it stops right before the meadow scene....) :)

R.I.P. Cumby the Fish

That's right, my dear fish has finally passed on to greater places. He was the first pet that I've had longer than a week. :) The last two years have definitely been great. I remember the day I first brought Cumby home with me. We had just moved into our new apartment in Sparks and thought a fish would liven things up a little. Cumby and I had some great times together. And so, my friend...here's a tribute to you, wherever fish heaven may be:

Memories of Cummerbund aka "Cumby" the Beta Fish:

-Whenever I was feeling playful, I would stick my finger in the bowl and mess with him. It was great times. He'd attack my finger or just swim away from it. But it was definitely fun. We bonded so many times.

-After many trial and error sessions of changing the water in his bowl, he learned to accept his fate and just let me scoop him up. It was almost like I had taught him to swim right into the measuring cup which served as his transportation from bowl to temporary pool, so many times. such an intelligent fish.

-When I first got Cumby, I bought these plastic, pink leafy things to put in his bowl. He started being less playful about a month later and I realized that it must have been because his bowl decorations were far too girly for the likes of a stud like him. So, I bought a cool rock thing. Much more manly and hardcore. After I made the switch, he was happy.

-He almost died two Christmas's ago. We had a hole in the wall of our kitchen during an extremely cold winter. His water was far too cold, but he was a tough fish and stuck through the hard times.

-Cumby put up with me transporting him everywhere. When I'd leave to go home for Christmas and he was babysat by others such as Zarah and Ashton or Drew, he was such a great sport. Water would splash and everything would be a total disarray, but he knew that I had his best interest at heart. What a great fish.

-He also put up with our rantings and ravings. When we'd watch Smallville or other intense TV shows, sometimes people would throw things like flip flops at the TV. Occasionally, they would miss and hit Cumby's bowl. He never complained once. A true gem, I'd say.

-He had a great attitude whenever we had a flood in our apartment...although, that makes sense.

-He even put up with our joking that he couldn't die even if we wanted him to (which we never WANTED him to, but you know)...we'd always joke that we'd have to save Pierre (my papasan chair) in the event of a fire, but if we left Cumby and Denzel (Emily and Jen's goldfish), they would be just fine because they were invisible. I guess we were wrong...

So there you have it...my fondest memories of Cumby. I admit, I teared up a little bit. We're holding funeral services tomorrow morning so as to avoid the stink. We're thinking either viking or traditional toilet flush. We're not sure yet. Please feel free to leave your condolences as comments. Cumby, I raise my glass to you...you were the best fish a girl could ever have and I'm glad I got to spend some of your last moments here, with you. You will be greatly missed.

Falling for It *shakes her head*

I feel like I should give everyone updates on the prank war...more happened after I wrote the blog. So, Sunday, you know how I said that Adam and Marcus brought over some mac n cheese and PB&J sandwiches for us as a temporary meal to get their chairs back until they had time to make us a real dinner? HA...well, what I failed to mention was that they dumped like 12000 pounds of salt, ranch and onion powder in the mac n cheese and loads of pepper in the sandwiches. As Emily and I were in the kitchen warming up our mac n cheese to eat during the devotional, she tasted a bite to see how hot it was and she looked at me with wide eyes and mouth open and we start laughing right...we weren't sure if they did it on purpose or if they were just really bad cooks. They're guys...you never know. And we sure didn't want to hurt their feelings and tell them that it tasted nasty! Especially after stealing their chairs. haha. Lesson learned: never underestimate anyone or give them the benefit of the doubt when in a prank war. I'm too nice...I would far rather suffer than make anyone else feel bad/awkward on my account. I've been told that this should change slightly, however, I'm not really sure how to be any other way, so I'm not sure exactly how that's gonna go. haha. I know from now on though...never trust anything that sparks 4 gives us! haha. Well, unless they taste it first. The funny part was, was that we ate it to be nice right? and both of them are sitting there watching us eat it. Adam covered his face with his pillow at times so as to not show his complete joy and Marcus kept the straightest face I've ever seen. Emily pretended to finish and just dumped the rest into the sink (she was caught, but they didn't say anything until after we confronted them about it). But guess who ate the ENTIRE bowl! Yeah, yours truly. Talk about real friendship. Jeez. I just figure that's preparation for whenever I have kids someday and they try to do something nice and make me breakfast in bed or something and its horrible...I know I can choke most anything down after that. haha. marcus was laughing because I was taking huge drinks after each bite. Ugh...I can't believe I fell for it. Anyway, we decided that we would take the sandwiches in our lunches the next day and I forgot mine in the fridge (luckily) and Emily calls me while I'm at work and was like...have you eaten your sandwich yet? I told her that I hadn't and she warned me to go home and throw it away. I think she still probably has the pepper taste in her mouth, two days later. haha. Good times for sure...sorta. hahaha. There really isn't a whole lot more going on, so I'll do one of those "of the week lists" again. It's been a while...

Song crush: What About Now by Daughtry

Work moment: Lynnette came back from her trip and told me that they will do whatever they can to keep me around Winter semester (unless I go home)...that felt good. Paul started freaking out at the thought of me not being here. I like to feel needed :)

Funny memory: aside from the above mentioned experience, I would say my favorite funny memory would be the other night when I was still up and Emily was going to bed...we were 'playful bantering' as to if the light should be turned off or not. I wanted it off so she could sleep and she wanted it on so I could still see n stuff for when I went to bed. I got up and turned the light off and sat back down at my computer and she told me she was reading (she really wasn't) so I should keep the light on...she then proceeded to quote one of the Harry Potter books. I don't know if it was really QUOTING it, but it sounded very legit and it wouldn't surprise me in the least since she's read them so many times. it was the funniest thing. She just kept going and getting louder and louder...probably trying to annoy me, so I'd cave. I dont think she realizes that when it comes to others and their well being, I don't cave. :) So, she kept going and going and naturally...I jumped on her. hahah good times, good times. Although, when I came up last night, she had left the light on...bring it girl, bring it!

Latest squeeze: pumpkin pie. I made two last night and I cant wait to eat it. I've been thinking about it all day. I have a feeling a wonderful obsession is coming...at least until I eat them anyway. :)

Brave moment: "revealing myself" hahah right Beth? Holy crap, I was terrified (and probably blazing red). I'm surprised I didn't wet my pants or scream or something. I sure wanted to.

Secret: I told Beth this, this morning and I figure it's about time I stop being ashamed...When my roommates aren't home (which doesn't happen a whole lot, but when it does...I pounce on the opportunity) I stick in my TMNT DVD of season 1 of the cartoon and I watch at least 1 episode. Its my guilty pleasure. But now that it's in the open, maybe I'll watch them freely. haha I used to watch them all the time when I lived with Jen, Zarah and Laura cuz let's face it...Jen had Gummi bears and duck tales too! :) My new search is for Animaniacs. i used to love that show...probably too much. :)

Memory: I was playing phase 10 with Emily and Brittany (which, I totally was winning, by the way) and Brittany randomly brought up the old TV show, 'Princess Guenevere and the Jewel Riders.' I used to LOVE that show. Kami and I would watch it before church each Sunday and we'd talk about it on our way to Primary. hahaha. Good times. I had completely forgotten all about that show. Wow...childhood was great. :)

The end. :)