Blackout

Scene opens on a half-crazed redhead who is intensely studying for her science exam. She's looking a little ragged; after all, she still has to clean the vanity, hallway, and her bedroom, pack her car, and take two more finals, all before tomorrow afternoon. And she hasn't gotten much sleep. It's no wonder that when the next event happened, she just wanted to take a nap right there.

(Girl, studying, and thinking to herself): Man, I have so much to do. DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. Cleaning everyone's stuff off the vanity is going to be a pain. Translation occurs on the ribosome...or on the nucleus. Better check that again. As soon as I get home I'm going to load up my car. Einstein's special theory of relativity says...
(BAM! Lights flicker, then die in the Benson building)
Girl, thinking to herself: I'm too tired. I just want to lay down here for a second.
(Some girlish screams heard throughout the building. Emergency lights come on. Girl notices that not only are all of the lights in the building out, but the entire campus is pitch black. Somebody in one of the classrooms mentions a large power outage.)
Girl gets up, decides to go into class where her study group is being held. Waits for teacher....in the dark. Waits a little longer. No teacher.

Guy from her class [hopefully a freshman, or else there is no excuse for this] decides it would be smart to use his lighter. Guy decides it would be even smarter to drink hand sanitizer. Guy decides his best idea yet is to blow hand sanitizer from his mouth over his lighter to create a large streak of fire in the classroom. Girl decides it's time to go home and get started on her growing to-do list. Girl walks home in pitch blackness and wonders how she's going to get anything done without power. Girl gets to her apartment complex and starts thinking:
Girl: I wonder why there's a flashing strobe light in the parking lot. I wonder why people are spinning doghnuts in the parking lot. I wonder why there's really loud, headache-inducing music being played the night before finals. I wonder if my apartment is warm...

Girl gets to her apartment to find...well...darkness. One roommate is there, pacing because she has to write a paper but doesn't have internet. Roommate is very mad. Roommate is trying to get ahold of her grandparents, who live in town, and maybe have internet. Grandparents stuck at a concert in town. Grandparents can't get into parking lot because of strobe-light dance party/car show. Roommate gets madder. Girl retreats to bedroom. Girl uses cell phone for light, then her cell phone dies. Girl goes next door to play Skip-Bo because they have a flashlight and nothing better to do. Power comes back on for sixty seconds, enough for everyone to scatter back to their white glove/finals. As soon as girl plugs her phone into the wall, power dies again. Girl says a prayer and decides she's going to start cleaning anyway. Girl uses iPod for light and begins to scrub. And think about ribosomes.

Girl lives without power for three hours. Girl realizes that without light, we can't do much of anything. Girl sees the Christmas message in this.

Do you?

A Warm Fuzzy for Everyone

This might've made me cry, just a little bit...

Save These for Me, Mom and Dad

'Tis my last Friday night in Rexburg for four months (considering the negative temperatures outside, I'm not going to shed any tears about it), and what am I doing? Packing! And of course, thinking about how excited I am for Christmas!! I know my parents have gone ahead and done a lot of the Christmasey stuff without me (understandable), but I just wanted to ask you guys one teensy little favor. Please please please don't watch these without me:

I Feel A Countdown Comin' On

It's Tuesday night...one week and three days from now I'll be in my toasty (no heat....in...this...apartment), oh-so-warm home in Utah. Did I mention it will be nice and hot? Heh...okay. But who woulda thunk that 30 degrees would seem like a paradise to me? Yep, I must live in Rexburg. We're getting down to the wire now, folks. I know I was just saying we had such-n-such weeks until Thanksiving, but that's gone and done now and I officially have only one week of actual classes, two days of tests, and one day of white glove scrubbing to go (hopefully just one hour). Here are the numbers:

• Number of cans of soup leftover from this semester: 2
  
• $ spent on quarters this semester: 20 bucks
• Number of hours of sleep lost this semester: 50...ish?
• Number of times gone to Utah and back: 6
• Number of times accidentally sprayed myself with hose in locker room at 1am: 1
• Number of broken Pyrex dishes: 1 (overheated glass=explosion in the oven)
• Numberof WinCo trips to buy nuts...in bulk: 6 or 7
• Number of packs of gum consumed: 30
• Number of devotionals: 12
  
• Number of sick roommates: 5 (doesn't include me)
• Number of late-night library jaunts: countless
• Number of random meetings with Broulim's employees/Hollywood employees (belt-buckle guy, Global Warming Guy, Die Hard Guy): 3, obviously
• Number of temple trips: 10
• $ spent on paper in the library (4 cents a page): $10
• Number of papers written: 4 (I know, a record for an English major!)
• Number of times fixed the broken toilet: 4
• Number of recipes collected: hundreds
• Number of missionaries written: 3
• Number of times missed class: 8
• Number of days left as underclassmen: 10
  
• Number of times fell asleep thinking about home: every night
  

baby, it's subzero outside

For those of you who have never been to Antarctica (no need to raise your hands, I can pretty much guess), I just wanted to let you know--you don't have to!

To experience the barren wilderness and freezing cold temperatures, just come here.

I live here. Only for 2 more weeks, but still. This morning I was scraping my car for about ten seconds and then decided the small window of vision was enough. That and I couldn't feel my hands. Ten seconds, people! Also, when I walk from the library to the Hinckley, I have to re-teach my face how to smile. You think I'm exaggerating, right? Well, I didn't used to believe all of the horror stories about Idaho winters. I figured that since I live in Utah, it's pretty much the same, right? That's like thinking that the weather in Oregon and Texas is the same. I know that now...and I have been humbled by the black ice and snow and the -12 degree mornings. Yowza!

Last night the Bedkes and I had our annual "freeze-out" where we walk down Main Street to look at the lights. We didn't make it very far.... mostly we got to the grocery store, which is only four or five blocks from my apartment. The weather has finally one-upped me!

Just Plain Awesome

Because we like dancing so much, if we didn't get sealed in the temple, I think this is how Mormons would make their entrance at a wedding. :)

this is the original:


and this is one performed at jim and pam's wedding:

Let's Be Thankful for Stuff

I made it home. It's kind of a miracle because 1, I was driving on two hours of sleep, and 2, I drove through one of the busiest parts of Utah on a Friday night...on Thanksgiving weekend...with construction all around. As I was leaving Pocatello I narrowly avoided a head-on collision that had just happened in the lane next to mine. I must have been driving by seconds after it happened. There were three cars total, and one of them was in the embankment. Yikes! So thank you for all of you who prayed me home. I'm safe and sound in my own bed (hooray!).

There was an article in today's paper about how Thanksgiving gets overlooked because of greed--everyone wants Christmas to happen, and now! I know that not everyone thinks this way, but I do believe that Thanksgiving sometime does get a little bypassed as "another holiday when we eat a lot." Heheh. So, in honor of this upcoming Thursday, I'm going to make a gratitude list. Feel free to add to it!

I'm thankful for...

1. rest stops, especially for an exhausted girl who also drinks too much water
2. a working car heater, even though I had to turn it off a few times so it wouldn't lull me to sleep
3. a home-cooked meal from my mom almost as soon as I walked in the door
4. Chinese midgets
5. fast internet
6. November weather in Utah--crisp, chilly, scarf-wearing weather, minus the wind!
7. temples all along my way home (that's kinda symbolic, isn't it?)
8. Ben Harper, Joshua Radin, and Damien Rice (perfecto November music)
9. my scriptures, even though after 11 years, the cover is finally showing signs of shredding :(
10. Christmas lights!
11. realizing that next Thanksgiving, a certain 6-foot blond will be across the hall from me once again
12. free laundry...ahhh
13. professors who understand why we have a week off and don't give us any homework
14. going to bed before 6am
15. "Sample Saturday" (anyone who loves Costco knows what I'm talking about)
16. new, healthy cousins (Abby and Maggie, hooray!)
17. Food Network on Thanksgiving week--I wanna be friends with Bobby Flay so he can make me sage and apple-glazed turkey and mulled cider (yes, he did)
18. socks straight from the dryer
19. clean sheets
20. temple clothes
21. driving past my high school...I don't know why it just makes me happy
22. giving people my parking space
23. knowing that when I go back to Rexburg there will only be 2 weeks of school left
24. my parents. they're pretty cool, huh?
25. not using capitalization at the beginning of my sentences. I feel like a rebel (but I can't bring myself to de-capitalize the "I." See? I just tried it and I had to change it.)
26. dogs. they're smelly but I still love 'em.
27. best friends
28. newspapers (yes, I still read the paper!)
29. planning Christmas presents for family members...I feel sneaky. It feels good.
30. reading books that I've been reading since I was a kid to the other chilluns
31. shampoo+water that isn't so hard it makes me look like I have dandruff
32. Christmas cards
33. the beloved instrument in our front room
34. broken headphones (I was forced to clean the fieldhouse and the raquetball courts all by myself on Friday morning for 6 hours....without any music. It was quiet but still. You know?)
35. parks and recreation/the office/30 rock/community (NBC is taking over the comedic world....uh-oh)
36. parades
37. holiday movies
38. lists in general
39. old journals
40. Asics
    
41. poetry contests, especially poetry contests that other people win ;)
42. BYU football
43. snow on the tops of the mountains
44. driving past the "Welcome to Utah" sign
45. good hygiene
46. hand turkeys
47. William Bradford and Squanto, for welcoming us in English!
    
48. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
49. songs sung in Chinese by a Chinesean (yep, Caleb thinks he's Chinesean, which is a species)
    
50. all of you who have bothered to read through this list....you sure are curious! LOVE YOU ALL! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I tag...everyone who reads this. Make your own gratitude list!

Six Boys, A Girl, and a Mop Bucket

Do you know who cleans the bathrooms you use at the mall? What about the toilets at the grocery store? Do you know who scrubs the shower floors in the locker room at your local fitness center? Who picks the hair out of the drains and sanitizes the weight machines? Who makes all of the chairs perfectly straight for stake conference every Sunday? If you know someone who fits this description, you should really give them a big fat hug and say, "Thanks for doing what you do. And wearing gloves while doing it, so I feel comfortable enough to even touch you right now."

For those of you who don't know, for the past month or so I have been doing late-night custodial work in the Hart building on the weekends. I work (and stay awake) from 11pm-5am, all with the help of Heavenly Father and a few rambunctious individuals who belong to the "night crew." Sounds like some kind of illegal, underground operation, doesn't it? Well, there are a few things about this job that make it feel like an exclusive club. If you'll bend your ears in my direction for a few, I could tell you some top-secret stuff. Stuff that may make you think twice before before using a locker room shower ever again (but I pray that all of you, as hygiene-aware people, do not even think about using locker room showers). Shall we begin?

• There are two breaks during the shift: one at 1am, another at 2:45. Almost every night, without fail, the boys will go to the Auxilary Gym during break and play "Pig," which is basically like Around the World. They get really into it, and sometimes, our break lasts longer than an hour. I'm talking...an hour and a half. All so my boss Jace can sink a half-court shot and then Dallin will attempt to get the basketball into the hoop by bouncing it off of the adjacent wall. Yeah, I get paid to watch this stuff. It's like Harlem Globetrotters, Night Custodian Style.
  
• Some of the chemicals are supposedly "deadly" that we work with. One guy, Cameron, said that one of his coworkers got some of the "foamy" (just pink soapy stuff we use to scrub the toilets and floors) on his pants and it ate a hole in them. The guy, totally serious, said, "I heard this stuff can kill a man." Rrriiight. Well, guys, I guess this will be my last blog post because last night I got a bunch of it on my pants, on my arm, and on my shoe. Snap!
• Speaking of chemicals...one night we got done with all of our duties a little bit early. Since we can't just stand around and do nothing (cough basketball cough), Jace sent us to the men's locker room showers with the foamy and toothbrushes. Yeah, toothbrushes! You know those horror stories about scrubbing floors with just a toothbrush? I can actually say that I have experienced this! I won't give you too much detail (just think mold, lots of mold), but we had to spray the foamy all along the walls. It was flowing down in a pinkish-white waterfall. Early-morning entertainment. In the men's locker room showers, no less. Such is life!
• One night, after Jeff won Pig and therefore secured a homemade pie from Rachel (it's a running bet, mostly because Jeff hardly ever wins), we had lots of treats. At the 1am break we went into one of the classrooms and had pumpkin pie, pumpkin cream pie, chocolate pie, cookies, soda.....yeah. Don't worry, I didn't pig out like the rest of them did (but they're boys, so where does it even go on them? Cruel, cruel world.), but I sat there at 1 in the morning thinking, is this really happening? Are we really just chilling in this dark building eating pie and talking about Jim Gaffigan? Yes, we really were.
• Saturdays aren't as structured because they're "set-up night." In other words, we put up the chairs for stake conference and then find random jobs to do for the next five hours. Last week Jace assigned Rachel and I (the only other female on the crew) to take out the trash. And we took it out alright....nice and slow. Honestly, taking out trash shouldn't take three hours, but we managed to drag it out. By the time the second break rolled around, Rachel thought breakfast was sounding good. We convinced Jace to let us leave for "only ten minutes" and get donuts at Maverik (the only thing open in Rexburg at 3am). I don't think the girl who rang Rachel up knew how to categorize us. We probably looked a little frenzied and I know we smelled like chemicals. But then again, we were dressed modestly and carried that Spirit of Ricks with us all the way to the donut counter. So how do you say, "Don't worry, we're not high, we're just really tired and smell like toxic bleach"?
• That same night, when we finally took all the bags of trash out to the dumpster, we got locked out and stuck in this little hallway between the back door and the rest of the building. I'm not gonna lie, it was little scary. I had to run around the side of the building and through the bushes to see if the door was unlocked. The running in the bushes, well, that was unintentional...you see, I had meant to run through the bushes but it turns out there was no real empty gap for a person to run through. So I ended up getting thrashed by the tree branches and promptly turned around, half because of being slapped in the face by an evergreen (ouch, there goes my pride), and half because I thought I heard a lurker lurking. You can never be too sure, after all, it was 4:30 a.m. We waited patiently in the claustrophobic space for Jace to come and free us. It's funny how much you can appreciate life after being attacked by a tree...
• One night it was just me and the boys, who proceeded to play pig for most of the evening after the chores were done. I sat patiently waiting in the fitness center, reading National Geographic and writing in my journal. At 4:30, Jace suggested we all go around and turn off all of the lights (all seven of us....yeah, I dunno why either) and lock the doors. I guess he wanted to justify getting paid for shooting baskets for half the night. Haha... This job rocks. Anyway, we went up through a secret doorway, through this maze of piping and tubes, and then up a ladder. Then shazam! I found myself walking on a metal grate about a foot and half wide, above the swimming pool! It was kind of eerie because all of the lights were out except for the ones in the bottom of the pool, and it was really hot at the very top because we were practically touching the ceiling, but I made it almost all the way across. So I think I passed initiation! Ya think?
• Last night after we cleaned the fitness center, Jace had Jeff and Kyle wash the stairs as an extra job. To do that, they had to use this chemical called "Swish." I'm just going to come right out and say it--the boys reallllly like the smell of Swish. They sort of get high on it. Rachel and I stood outside the doorway trying not to dry heave, while all of the guys hovered around Kyle and Jeff as they scrubbed the stairs. It was kind of like watching a herd of lions watching some hyenas prowling around their dinner. You catch my drift?
• On Thursday night the guys opened a door in the Varsity Locker Room, which led to yet another locker room, which we have now dubbed "the secret locker room." We get pretty creative when it's this early. It had tons of sports equipment in it, but no dead bodies. I think the guys were disappointed. Jace is always saying that someday we'll find a girl passed out in the showers. To that I say, as long as I don't have to pick the hair out of that drain, I'm okay.
  

p.s. I have no clue why I picked this picture. It's kind of like saying, "I know you don't really need to know what the inside of a vacuum cleaner looks like. But you also probably don't need to know about Swish, or the fact that the boys call the girls' special trash receptacles "the magic boxes," or that sometimes during break we listen to Jim Gaffigan or watch Mythbusters. But hey, it's all a part of the college experience... "

Been Tagged

5 Things I Don’t Leave The House Without

1. green humility bracelet (going on 5 months without taking it off!)
2. CTR ring
3. underwear, depending on how early it is (heheh gotcha there for a second, didn't I?)
4. a pack of gum
5. water bottle

5 Cartoons I Watched When I Was Younger

1. Rugrats
2. Recess (every Saturday morning, without fail)

3. Hey Arnold! (best cartoon ever, hands down)
4. Doug

5. Angry Beavers (can you believe there was actually a show in existence that was called this?)

5 Things That Terrify Me
1. Car accidents
2. Natural disasters
3. Dark shadows at night
4. Being home alone and hearing noises
5. Creepstaches/kidnappers

5 Things I Hate/Dislike That Everyone Else Seems To Like

1. I'm gonna copycat Amy and say the Twilight movies as well. Yesterday I saw the trailer for the next movie on TV and I started cracking up. I bet they didn't know they were making a comedy when they made that movie. Some of my roommates half-glared, half-stared in my direction. Haha it really is funny! Sorry...
2. Artichokes--baked, broiled, slathered in mayo, the hearts...ick. Ick ick ick!
3. Swimming in public pools....yeah. I dunno either.
4. Satanic/demonic scary movies. Come on now...if it involves evil spirits of some kind, that's kind of a warning sign that you won't feel very peaceful after watching it.
5. Math! I bet half of the world agrees with me, so maybe not "everyone" hates it


5 Things I Want To Do Before I Die

1. See the Northern Lights/go to Alaska (I figure they'll both happen at the same time)
2. Go to Europe, especially the Scandinavian countries
3. Speak Spanish fluently with a native Spanish speaker
4. Go to a temple in a foreign country (preferably not on this continent)
5. See the gospel go to a place like Somalia or the Middle East

5 Friends/Family I Tag

1. Chelsea
2. Niki
3. Mom
4. Savanna
5. Jen

One Week Just Isn't Enough

There's only 16 days until the students at BYU-Idaho are going to be let loose for Thanksgiving Break. My English teacher explained to us how we got to be so blessed with a full week off, unlike most other universities. He said that the school has to have a certain number of school days in a semester, which is why we usually don't get such long breaks. So to get our seven days in, the administration calls the first two days of the break "Exam Days." He also added that most teachers won't give exams on this day, unless they're online. Another big woo-hoo for the Lord's University here in Rexburg!

Alright, so that's the good news. The bad news is--of course, what else could it be--swine flu. Is anybody else getting tired of hearing those two words? Every time I hear them I think of dirty pigs spreading disease. Ick. I know it has nothing to do with pigs, but geesh, they could've picked a better mascot. You're probably thinking, "C'mon, it's a virus, it's supposed to be yucky," but they could at least make it sound more appealing. I don't want to think about the symptoms of a literal swine flu--we'd all be turning into pigs like in Willow! Why couldn't they have called it the Lilac Flu? Or the Honey Bee Flu? Clean Underwear Flu? Something not-so-dirty, and more springy and clean. I'm just sayin', if they're going to name it after something with which it has no connection, they might as well name it something pleasant. Whoa tangent! Back to the real bad news--BYU-Idaho's infected population. I guess when the school hits the 25% infection mark, they have to close down school for a week. Right now it's at 18%. I can attest to this because all of my roommates have been sick (minus yours truly). I've been drinking orange juice and taking vitamins and washin' my hands every day in the name of my immune system, but I can't help but feel like I'm in the middle of a bunch of panicky individuals who are just waiting to be coughed on so that they can stay home for a day. When it was discovered yesterday that my roommate Courtney had a lot of the symptoms, my other roommate (who is a nursing major) took out her thermometer as if on queue. She flinched a little bit when Court reached out her hand to Kim to offer her some candy. Yikes! Luckily Courtney wasn't running a fever, but I made her stay home anyway. Our apartment is relatively clean, but now I'm wiping down and spraying every surface I can with disinfectant. Is this usually how frantic flu season gets? Geesh! I'm happy to be alive, happy to be at this school, happy to see the temple at the top of the hill every morning when I walk to class. I'm not worried, so let's just all wash our hands and not hock lugies on each other. Deal?

As a sidenote, some people are really serious about getting that extra week of school off. A guy came over to our apartment the other day having just found out about the "25% rule." He said (and I quote), "Cough on everyone you know!" We're all in this together....I guess. Cough.

image from: http://www.ktis.fm/blogs/lisa/wp-content/swine-flu.bmp

Whatever Happened to October?

I really dig this picture, mostly because it looks like October. Now, I know you're thinking, "How can you know what a month looks like?" Welp, to me, every month has a different face. October's looks like this:

• Hot stuff (hahahaha--okay stop now, that's enough knee-slapping). And by hot stuff I mean hot cocoa, hot cider, hot soup, hot chili, hot cookies, hot fireplaces, hot clothes straight from the dryer
• Orange--for some reason it just looks really good in this month. Orange leaves, orange pumpkins/gourds/squash, orange sunsets (they look different in the fall, you know), orange sweaters
  
• Melancholy-ness--you know why? Because October is the jumping-off point, when we leave behind summer once and for all and we go headfirst right into the holidays. Why must the radio stations start playing Christmas music the day after Halloween?

I wrote this post because I feel like I missed October. I think it snuck into my room one night, breathed fog onto the windows, lent me a scarf, and then left. I didn't even know it was here, and now, BAM! It's gone. Almost. But the day after Halloween, it's November all of a sudden, and I can't keep up. Don't you guys feel this way too? In honor of the last week of October 2009, I am going to do something autumn-y every day. Whether it be to step on a crunchy leaf, guzzle some cider, thrust my hands into a goopy pumpkin-y mess (actually, I already did that one...), or just sit by the stove and warm my hands, I've got seven days left. How are you going to say goodbye to October?

I Miss This:

Standing with my arms folded and still feeling cool about myself. Oh, and my brother.


Have I mentioned that I miss my parents? This isn't homesickness, my friends. It's chronic being- four-hours away-and counting-down-the-days-'til-the-semester ends-ness. ouch.



Road trips with the family! Especially this one...it is one of my all-time favorite memories

Baby Caleb. Don't get me wrong, I love 7-year-old Caleb. But he doesn't have the same chubby-cheek appeal that he used to.


YES, YOU HEARD ME SAY IT! It only took a year and half to say it...but...I miss high school. Sue me.



These crazy children jumping on me every morning and asking me to get them breakfast. Cause you know what? I really don't mind getting them breakfast. I like it. I really do. Who gets to wake up to this cute of stuff each morning? Raise yo hands!



This dog, before he was a dog. I would've preferred it if he would've stayed a puppy, cause then he wouldn't be so old.


Being this little, without a care in the world (that includes what I wore)

brand spankin' new

This past conference weekend, all of my roommates left Rexburg, or at least the apartment, for bigger and better things. Me, well, I didn't have the gas moolah or the motivation to brave Utah traffic when I could just watch it in my quiet apartment. So I stayed. The thing about being all alone in your apartment for conference weekend is, you end up having these "one-on-ones" with the prophets. It's pretty cool! I felt like each talk was a personal interview, and as each message was shared I had the desire to do better. After conference ended, I was on a "to-do list" kick. I was scribbling down goals like you wouldn't believe, and now I don't really know what to do with this huge list except get started! One of the talks that really stood out to me was President Monson's on service. I had the impression that I really needed to focus outside of myself this semester and really be aware of others. I made a goal right then and there to do something nice for someone every day, and boy has it made a difference. Another of the goals I made was to start saying morning prayers without fail every day. I've been doing okay on this but never very vigilant. I have been doing it each morning since I made this goal and on mornings that I miss accidentally there really is a difference! On days I say my morning prayers, things happen: I notice good things about people instead of their flaws; I always get a parking spot, no matter how many cars are in the parking lot (ok, this probably isn't related, but on the day I forgot to say my prayers I could not find a spot for the life of me); I am more positive about things that would normally irritate me; I am more patient with my roommates; I take more time on my scriptures and really soak up the words; I am more sensitive to the Spirit. Conferenc weekend has changed me from the inside out--Orson Pratt had a way of describing this "born again" process that I just love. He said:

"Water baptism is only a preparatory cleansing of the believing penitent...whereas, the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost cleanses more thoroughly, by renewing the inner man, and by purifying the affections, desires, and thoughts which have long been habituated in the impure ways of sin . . . Hence, it is infinitely important that the affections and desires should be, in a measure, changed and renewed, so as to cause him to hate that which he before loved, and to love that which he before hated."

I just love that idea of loving something you once hated, or vice versa. I believe that we should experience this every day. That's what progression is, right? Coming closer to God and further from the natural man. I hope you all had a lovely conference weekend and that you learned a lot. I sure did! I feel all brand new inside.

No 500 Calorie Diet, No Cry

I MADE IT!!! 43 days later, people. Forty-stinkin-three-days! Here's what I've learned:

• Gum is good, but it doesn't replace a meal. So Willy Wonka coulda had something there if he had 1, really existed, and 2, really invented a gum that tasted like roast, potatoes and gravy.
• People are nice to you, even if you are on a diet. But some people give you weird looks when you say that d-word. It's like saying "I have lice" when you say, "I can't have pizza." Hmm.
• Breakfast should not be skipped. Not just cause it's good for you, but cause it tastes so darn good! Those trainers on TV are for real! Oh eggs and orange juice, how I love thee.
• Drinking 2 gallons of water a day is great for the skin, bad for your comfort. What I mean to say is I now have empathy for people with that weak-bladder-disease.
  
• Looking at foodie blogs while being on a 500-calorie diet (especially ones like Bakerella and Pioneer Woman) has shown me how much strength I really have. Sheesh!
  
• Imma be a gooooood cook when this is done. I've discovered lots of good flavor combinations (minus the butter and oil, booyah!) that satisfy my empty tummy quite nicely.
• One more thing: send some chocolate my way please!! YAY! I mean...send me some chocolate in a month when I'm really allowed to have it. Also, I'm proud of other members of our family who are doing this diet! Don't give up! It gets easier and you will be so happy with the results when you're done!
• P.S. this post was written yesterday but the internet was dead so I didn't get it up 'til today. So I have officially been eating nuts since yesterday. Oh glory!
  

here's a link to the everything-hcg website, for those of you who have no idea what the heck I've been talkin' about this whole time: http://hcgdietinfo.com/

Gimme Some o' Dat!

Every night I have certain food cravings, and they're always different (except for the constant craving for chocolate that I have even when I'm not on a diet). Here's some of what I've been dreaming of:

• BLAT sandwiches (Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Tomato)
• Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
• Lemony Baked Pasta
• Guacamole...? I know random. And Pico de Gallo.
  
• Black beans, preferably mixed with guacamole or pico de gallo.
  
• Mom's homemade rolls
• Pad Thai
• Cauliflower Soup
• Pita chips
• Bolthouse juice
• Homemade tortillas (which I've never had before but dang do they sound good!)
• Bananas, peaches, watermelon, and pears
• Cold cereal (this is my number one weakness)

Alright, so....enough about food. I know I've been talking about food wayyyy too much on this blog. That's not what it's for, dangit!! You guys can deliver a virtual slap to the face for that one. Here's some updates from this week....er...all two days of it so far. I left my house at about 6-ish on Sunday night thinking I would get to Rexburg at 10. Good timing, right? Enough to unpack all the goods (ahh, clean, coin-free laundry) and go to bed. Too bad I got slammed with a major traffic jam...uhh...TWICE! Ay ay ay. I decided I'd be better off driving in the morning instead of in the middle of the night, with my music all the way up and my zombie-eyes drooping. I got to Grandma Bonnie's at around 10 and boy was I exhausted. And I'd only gone two hours! Yowza. Grandma, being Grandma, offered me some (and by some I mean lots of) food which I couldn't take (except for the beans, mwahaha!!) and stacked it up on the desk. I left the next morning with more than I came with, but I'm not complaining. I think the first thing I'm going to eat on Saturday after scrambled eggs is a side of black beans.

Classes have been excelente so far--especially New Testament and Spanish Literature. First of all, I always love religion classes, but this one is really forcing me to dig deep into the scriptures like never before. We're studying all four Gospels at once, the Bible Dictionary, and the N.T. manual, which are all awesome resources. I feel like my testimony of the Savior and His Mission is growing every day! It feels really good. Spanish Literature is easier than I thought it would be, but then again, my last Spanish class felt like a session of study abroad in Spain if you only knew phrases like "Hola!" and "Hasta luego." Ouch! But in this class, all we do is read poetry and short stories (in Spanish of course) and then talk about how they apply to our lives. Cool, huh?

I feel like I've been blogging for myself lately and not for the readers. I know that part of the blog thang is so that the writer of it can have an outlet/journal/muse/etc., but I also want you guys to keep reading, and you won't do that if I bore you with all of this stuff. To make me (and you) feel better, here's a recipe I found on my recent food-blogging exploits that I will try as soon as the diet is up. Go make it and see how it makes ya feel! Oh, and I realize that I said I would stop talking about food. But really now....can you blame if I divert? Oh dear.... I promise I'll only blog about this 500 calorie thing one more time....just one more. Expect another exciting post this weekend! Mucho amor from Rexburg!

p.s. I plowed through not one, but two packs of gum today. I think a pancreas transplant may be in order. If those even exist.

This recipe (and the photo) is from another of my favorito blogs, Annie's Eats. Ch-ch-ch-check it out!


Oven Baked Chicken and Shrimp Spring Rolls
Ingredients:
1 small boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and roughly chopped
1 cup cooked shrimp, peeled
Napa cabbage, enough for 2 cups shredded
1 medium carrot, peeled
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
1 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 cup bean sprouts
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 package egg or spring roll wrappers
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Directions:
Combine the chicken breast and shrimp in the bowl of a food processor. Mince with brief pulses until chicken and shrimp are finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl; set aside. Replace the blade of the food processor with the shredding attachment. Shred the cabbage to yield 2 cups. Shred the carrot. Transfer the cabbage and carrot to a bowl; set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Cook garlic and ginger just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the shredded cabbage and carrot and sauté just until the carrot is slightly tender, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and shrimp to the pan. Mix in the oyster sauce, fish sauce and bean sprouts. Stir until well combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped cilantro and hard-boiled egg.

Preheat the oven to 400° F. On a work surface, orient an egg roll wrapper with a point toward you. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling near the edge of the wrapper. Flip the point up over the filling, rolling away from you to cover the filling. Fold both sides in and continue to roll. Use a dab of egg white on the loose point of the wrapper to help seal the roll completely. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Spray the rolls lightly with cooking spray. Bake until golden brown and slightly bubbly, about 15-20 minutes.

Late nights in AF and the ultimate gum-testing machine

So herrrreee's the thing: I decided this morning that I was coming home for the weekend. I know.

And we only just finished the first full week of schoolio. I feel lame-sauce to the max, but then again I counted up the times I came home last Fall and it was once a month. I figure I can count this time for September, come again in October, come for Thanksgiving, and then I'm home-free for December. Right? This thought process makes me feel not-so-lame. Please validate in comment section. Okay. That's off my chest now. Sorta. But now I'm faced with a predicament, as I sit on the comfy leather couches on the middle floor of my parent's house. I mean MY house. It's still my house! I don't like it when we have to start calling the houses we live in for free "our parent's houses." It makes them sound like some kind of hotel or something. No bueno. Back to the predicament: I do not miss Rexburg. AHH! I thought I was ready for this! I knew it was going to happen as I drove the four hours here and pulled it to my lovely town of American Fork. I knew it would happen as I saw my mom and little sis waiting for me in the driveway, and as I opened the pantry/freezer/fridge to lots of food. And as I saw how clean the kitchen was! Be still my heart. Be still. Wow, okay, so I'm venting majorly on you poor fellow bloggers. Forgive me. But I know that this experience is good for me.

This morning as I got ready for school, I put on my favorite shirt (worn only once before) and RRRIP! It shredded. This is what made me decide right then to come home for the weekend. I could return the shirt to the store (they don't have one in Rexburg, duh!), retrieve things from my (long) list of forgotten items, see my wonderful amazing family that I love, watch the BYU football game IN Utah, and sleep in my air-conditioned room. Once it was decided, nothing was stopping me. Except for the few zillion traffic jams clogging up Utah on a Friday night. There sure are a lot of those! One more thing: in the past few weeks, being on this diet, I have been chewing a lot of gum. We're talking pancreas-killing-5-sticks-a-day gum chewing. My jaws are pretty much the strongest in the world. I don't know how you'd measure that, but I'm almost positive they could pull a train or an iron fence or something. And because I chew so much gum, I have learned which flavors are DA BEST. Or the ones that go hard in about 10 minutes or lose all of their juicy-ness. I think it's only fair that I share my findings with you, because then you won't have to agonize over which brand/flavor of gum you want when you're buying your groceries. Instead of buying all 5 brands (I did, but I have my reasons. All 500 of them.), you can just get the verrry best ones.

So here's what I've discovered...and I know this is ultra-random, but as always, for your entertainment only! Wooo! Best Minty Gum: Stride Peppermint (new and improved! So good. Any flavor of gum by Stride is good, though.) Chewiness: perfect Flavor: lasted so long I got sick of it Texture: didn't get dissolv-ish. You know what I mean? Best Fruity Gum: Orbit Piña Colada
Chewiness: This gum is pretty hard at first, but if you have the jaws, you can work it, baby.
Texture: Great
Flavor: oh yummm!
Runners-Up: Extra Fruit Sensations Melon (I would only recommend this flavor of Extra because frankly, Stride is the neverending flavor champ. Sorry Wrigley peoples!), Orbit Sweet Mint, Ice Breakers Mint Cubie-thingies. They're just so dang delicious and minty!
Worst gums: 5 brand (ick), Extra (cept for the melon one), Eclipse...course, this is all my opinon. But remember...I am the gum-chewing expert of the world. That's a fact.

Wow. I can't believe I just did that! I just admitted that I came home after the first week of school, I chew almost a pack of gum a day (ack!), and I miss my parents a whole lot. Oh wait...did I say that? Guess it was a "between the lines" kind of a thing. Wink-wink.

The Harshness of College Life, Part One

Ok, so maybe I should've called this post "A Day in the Life of ______ (insert catchy title for your alter ego here)." But that's too cliche for me and anyway, who wants to hear about cliches at this time of night (if you happen to read this right after I write it...close to midnight)? I thought I'd better update erebody on the stupendous craziness of Rexburg and my first full week here, even though I've only been to classes twice (school started Thursday...ultra-random!!).

the rundown

• number of packs of gum I have consumed in the space of seven days: 3 (In case you're wondering, I only have 14 days left on this gum-chewing, 500 calorie diet. Go ahead and mark September 26th on your calendar as "McKenzie Can Now Eat Cheese")
• number of pages that need to be read/have been read already before Tuesday: I'm going to say ballpark of 70
• number of trips to grocery store for broccoli in one week: 4....wait, did I just admit to that? FOUR TIMES?! I can't even believe it's true. Now that it's in tangible form I still want to deny it. And guess what else? I bought more than one head of broccoli in each of those trips. Sigh.
• number of realizations that I really really really really (now just googolplex that and divide it by a jillion) REALLY miss not paying for laundry: TWENTY ZILLION! Dear basement laundry room that was adjacent to my own, I miss your endless stash of Cheerios and toothbrushes (I know, weird how you can miss toothbrushes for no good reason) and especially your coinless washing capabilities. The End. And Amen.
• number of times I have wanted to call my parents just 'cuz but decided not to and then changed my mind again: 12-ish
• number of times I have wondered where all of the hot water is going when I'm the first one in the shower every morning: 7 (one for every day of the week)
• number of times I have refused a cookie, ice cream, mashed potatoes, a granola bar, cheese, or Bajios from well-meaning roommates (combined): 30
• number of times I have said a gratitude prayer for the opportunity to be at this school: countless
• number of times I have thought "this semester is going to go by so fast" and then realized that it's already the middle of September: 40
• number of times I wondered when I would get a calling: 0, because the Bishop came over on Friday and two days later I was sustained as Relief Society Secretary....betcha didn't see that one coming! Well I didn't. :)
  

And Blessed Are the Peacemakers, for They Shall Shout Pure Hilariousness

Scenario: Last FHE before I go back to college (Wednesday...Wednesday...).

Lesson I'm giving is on the Beatitudes, mainly, being a peacemaker.

Mom tells the story of when I got my baby blessing and how dad blessed me that I would be a peacemaker. Then she asks the chilluns to guess which member of the family it is.

Caleb: "Ooh ooh I know! It's ME isn't it?"
Mom: "Nooo.."
Ellie: "ME!"
(everyone laughs, understandably)
Cal: "Dad!"
Mom: "No."
Cal: "Isaac!"
Mom: "No."
Cal: "You?"
Mom: "Noo!"
Cal: "McKenzie!!"
Mom: "YES!"
Cal, getting a little excited/exasperated/worked up/climbing up onto the arm of the couch (check thesaurus for more adjectives):
"That's because she's so uh...she's so...uh-uh-uh....Book of Mormon-like-ish! She's so Jesus-like-ish!!!"

I will take this with me for the next three months, Caleb. And if I'm ever having a bad day, I'll remember that...

Comida=Mi Amiga

So this week I started this diet/medicinal stuff which helps reset my metabolism, among other things. The other things, er...should I say side-effects of this new medicine, are mainly:

• Me, watching the Food Network constantly.
  
• Me, collecting recipes from the Food Network's website. I'll be channeling Bobby Flay and Rachael Ray by the time this 3 weeks is up (oh yeah, and I didn't know that was going to rhyme).
• Me, finding all kinds of amazing "foodie" blogs, as they are called, and copying those recipes into a huge recipe book which I believe will weigh more than our entire family combined when I'm done. Food is endless!
• Me, staring longingly at the string cheese in the fridge and the bowl of half-eaten cereal that Ellie leaves in the morning. I used to look at that bowl in disgust. I mean, come on, soggy/crunchy Life is good, but not completely sogg-ified. Now I would slurp that up right through a straw if I could.
• Me, having a much greater appreciation for what I'm eating now and realizing that I just want to eat the really good stuff. None of that processed high-fructose syrupy sloppy corn-soybean-wheat-based balfjldksajfa;sjflsa;jfsla;. Ya feel me? Love your food! Your food will love you back.
  
• Me, having to learn to sleep on my stomach because it "gribbles" at night and I can't sleep. Yes, that's for REAL! Metabolism resetting is a big deal. Just look at how big the words are! "Metabolism" and "resetting."
  
• Me, feeling like I'm being "reset" like an alarm clock but my stomach rebelling against me. "No, McKenz. You aren't an alarm clock! You loathe alarm clocks! You throw alarm clocks against the nearest hard surface!" And yet, I am tick-tocking through this all the way up until the end of September.
• Me, feeling obligated (and lovingly so) to share these amazing websites I have found. I'll throw in a recipe just to tempt you. And I know you'll want to instantly make it because you're feeling hungry right now after reading this blog. And you know that you, in fact, can eat whatever the heck you want. Sidenote: when I start rolling in the dough (ouch, it hurt to type that word), I'm going to donate a bunch of my cash to starving people. I have empathy for them now! P.S. this post was not meant to be a vent/complaining wah-wah-wah mush of words. Just to entertain, as always. Or inspire. Or both! So check out this recipe and get coookin'! (Another P.S.: I saw this made on Food Network, and it looked so stinking amazing my stomach actually rumbled out a tune! I think it might've been the Rocky theme song, but I can't be sure...)

Cheddar Dill Scones (from the Barefoot Contessa)

4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra-large eggs, beaten lightly
1 cup cold heavy cream
1/2 pound extra-sharp yellow Cheddar, small-diced
1 cup minced fresh dill
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water or milk, for egg wash
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine 4 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Mix the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Combine until just blended. Toss together the Cheddar, dill, and 1 tablespoon of flour and add them to the dough. Mix until they are almost incorporated.
Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it for 1 minute, until the Cheddar and dill are well distributed. Roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. Cut into 4-inch squares and then in half diagonally to make triangles. Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 20 to 25 minutes, until the outside is crusty and the inside is fully baked.

Oh yeah...for those of you who have never watched Food Network because you're afraid it'll make you wanna cook...I'd say just switch on the telly and let your mind do the molding. You'll start to get tricky with your food. And by the way, I enjoy watching the shows like "Paula's Home Cooking" and "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," but that doesn't necessarily mean you should make those foods all the time. Just a tip. A drippy onion burger or deep-fried doughnuts sound good, don't they? But your body is screaming NOOOOO! I don't mean to sound like a health nut (guilty as charged), but I'm just sayin'...there is such a thing as healthy+tasty. And to prove it to you, I have included these awesome websites! Oh yeah..the recipe above...it's not exactly healthy. But moderation is key. I feel like a walking contradiction here.

WESBITES...that you should really check out. I mean REALLY.
http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2004/02/master-recipe-list.html (personally, I'm ADDICTED to this one! And she also breaks down how much each food item is per serving, and guess what? They're usually mega cheap! Woo hoo!)
http://blog.healthyeats.com/
http://everybodylikessandwiches.blogspot.com/
http://www.nutritiondata.com/ (this website is sooo cool because it tells you not only the nutrition facts of just about ANY food you can think of, but the glycemic index, the vitamins, minerals, if it will help you lose/gain weight, and how healthy the food actually is)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/ (if you can't find time to watch TV, just check out the website. It does the job equally well. It's just cool to watch the food be made, and then of course see the chefs "ooh" and "ahh" over it, as they always do. Not very biased, are they?)

Now go, my fellow bloggers. And don't think that I'm going to start a "foodie" blog and forget all about this one! At least, not yet. :)

WHAT?!

I just don't know.

Back in Bidnez

Hullo, my name is McKenzie.

I am nineteen going on twenty (you wouldn't know it if you stood next to me in your high shoes).

Right now I'm speaking Spanish in my head.

My 4-year-old sister just asked me "Are you sure and are you steady?" I'm feeling older all of a sudden.

Books I'm diggin right now: Mastering Your Metabolism, The Infinite Atonement, the Miracle of Forgiveness, and Junie B. Jones

Song you should download (for free on iTunes, ya!): Wonderful by Gary Go

Video I'm eyeballin:

Website I'm surfin: the most awkward/hilarious thing you may ever see (p.s. I would suggest looking at ALL of the archives for the complete lose-your-composure experience)

Photo I'm in awe of (courtesy National Geographic):















St. Mary's Lake, Minnesota

I just thought I'd introduce myself. You see, I haven't been here for awhile.

Summer of Temples

As I was walking through the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House on Saturday, I had a thought, which I am starting to think wasn't my own. So here's the plan: next summer when I get done with another semester at BYU-Idaho, I am going to go on a little road trip. So far, it's just me going, but I think I'll get some more friends to come along. We'll start in St. George and end in Logan, visiting each temple as we go. There are 13 temples in Utah and 11 that are sort of lined up next to each other. The only two I won't be visiting are Vernal and Monticello. I can tell this is going to be a good summer vacation...11 temples in 14 days! And since they are so dang beauteous, here's some collages of where I will be spending my summer, all in order of when I will be visiting them (click on the pics to make them bigger):

Let's play a game...

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. No repeating song titles.

Pick Your Artist: Imogen Heap

Are you male or female: Angry Angel

Describe yourself: Candlelight

How do you feel about yourself: Just For Now

Describe your current boy/girl relation situation: Have You Got it In You?

Describe where you currently live: Not Now, But Soon

If you could go anywhere you wanted to go: Sleep

Your favorite form of transportation: The Walk

Favorite time of day: Goodnight and Go

If your life were a TV show, what would it be called: Shine

What is life to you: Sweet Religion

What is the best advice you have to give: Breathe In

How I would like to die: Loose Ends

I TAG: Mom, Dad, Chelsea

The Reason Everyone Cried in Class Today...

"Well, my dear sisters [and brothers], the gospel is the good news that can free us from guilt. We know that Jesus experienced the totality of mortal existence in Gethsemane. It's our faith that he experienced everything- absolutely everything. Sometimes we don't think through the implications of that belief. We talk in great generalities about the sins of all humankind, about the suffering of the entire human family. But we don't experience pain in generalities. We experience it individually. That means he knows what it felt like when your mother died of cancer- how it was for your mother, how it still is for you. He knows what it felt like to lose the student body election. He knows that moment when the brakes locked and the car started to skid. He experienced the slave ship sailing from Ghana toward Virginia. He experienced the gas chambers at Dachau. He experienced Napalm in Vietnam. He knows about drug addiction and alcoholism.
Let me go further. There is nothing you have experienced as a woman that he does not also know and recognize. On a profound level, he understands the hunger to hold your baby that sustains you through pregnancy. He understands both the physical pain of giving birth and the immense joy. He knows about PMS and cramps and menopause. He understands about rape and infertility and abortion. His last recorded words to his disciples were, "And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20) He understands your mother-pain when your five-year-old leaves for kindergarten, when a bully picks on your fifth-grader, when your daughter calls to say that the new baby has Down syndrome. He knows your mother-rage when a trusted babysitter sexually abuses your two-year-old, when someone gives your thirteen-year-old drugs, when someone seduces your seventeen-year-old. He knows the pain you live with when you come home to a quiet apartment where the only children are visitors, when you hear that your former husband and his new wife were sealed in the temple last week, when your fiftieth wedding anniversary rolls around and your husband has been dead for two years. He knows all that. He's been there. He's been lower than all that. He's not waiting for us to be perfect. Perfect people don't need a Savior. He came to save his people in their imperfections. He is the Lord of the living, and the living make mistakes. He's not embarrassed by us, angry at us, or shocked. He wants us in our brokenness, in our unhappiness, in our guilt and our grief.
You know that people who live above a certain latitude and experience very long winter nights can become depressed and even suicidal, because something in our bodies requires whole spectrum light for a certain number of hours a day. Our spiritual requirement for light is just as desperate and as deep as our physical need for light. Jesus is the light of the world. We know that this world is a dark place sometimes, but we need not walk in darkness. The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and the people who walk in darkness can have a bright companion. We need him, and He is ready to come to us, if we'll open the door and let him."

(Chieko N. Okazaki, Lighten Up, Preface, p. 174)

Need change? Don't ask you-know-who (rhymes with O-llama)

I changed my blog! Te gusta?! Please tell me so I can either leave it, change it back, or change it all over again. That's all I got for today...
P.S. It is stinking hot here in Apartment 506! At least I know what it's like to live in subtropical countries with zip air conditioning now, right?

Babies I Wanna Hold!

Click on the pic to see it big!
(left to right: Ammon Livingston, Grace Browning, Rylee Livingston, Gavin Holyoak)

Family Project! If you are related to me, please read!

Hullo family! And of course, anyone else who happens to read this blog. I am starting a project for my Marriage and Family Relations class that's due in 3 weeks, and what I need from you is oodles and oodles of photographs! Any and all family photos you have, from when you were little to right now...I don't really care just start sendin' 'em in. I need some photos from now all the way to four generations back, so whatever you have you can send my way. I'm going to put them all in a slideshow and then of course I'll post it on here for you all to see! email me at: pelirrojorunner@gmail.com
Be excited!!

Awesomeness Squared

This week was pretty great for the following two reasons:

AND

Having déjà vu? That's because I went to the temple twice in seven days! I can't remember the last time I've done that...in fact, I probably never have. Liz and I almost went for the third time on Friday but they turned us away, which I was okay with because I'd already gone twice!

The first time was early early on Tuesday morning with my ward. If you ever want to get closer to someone or a group of people, go to the temple with them. It's awesome how this gospel, in its purest form (service!!), can unify us. Anywho, most of the baptisms I did were from the 1800's Mexico, which didn't surprise me much. Maybe I'll be able to speak to them in Spanish when I finally meet them...haha. Of course that's only if we don't speak a Celestial Language in heaven. The second time was with Lizzy after Math class on Wednesday. I think it's pretty cool that I can just walk up to the temple after Math class is over. How many other college students can say that? We barely got in because walk-ins were just ending, and it turned out that Liz and I were the last two to perform baptisms for the day. Going to the temple with people you love just makes you love them even more, right? Right! This is how I feel after leaving the temple, every stinkin' time:

peaceful

no worries

have eternal perspective

optimistic

excited for the future

closer to my family

thirst for more gospel truths

full of love

You should definitely try it sometime; it's the ultimate cure-all.

Before June is Gone

I noticed today that I've only posted twice this whole month, and it's almost gone. Holy smokes time flies! Right now I am up in Driggs, Idaho at a place called Badger Creek with my roommate Chelsea and her sister Sarah, who used to be my roommate. Right now we are sitting in the Logistics Center listening to the rain pour on the roof. Darn. We were going to go canoeing. Guess we'll have to wait until the real summer comes. Last night we decided to forego the loft in the cabin and sleep on the patio. The cement patio. Now that's what I call roughin' it. The best part about sleeping out there was not that we got to mummify ourselves in sleeping bags, but that we could see the stars stretching for jillions of miles into space. Whenever I see the sky like that I think of the scripture in Alma 30, when Alma tells Korihor that "all things denote there is a God..." How can anyone doubt when they smell the rain before it falls down, or hear the thunder doing somersaults in the sky? Or when they hear the trees move at night and see the sky laid out with Orion and The Big Dipper and the Milky Way? I just don't know. After we looked at the stars for awhile we started getting a bit hyper and took some pictures of ourselves...which I'm sure could be used as blackmail later in my life. Shudder. We tried making a movie of Sarah doing her 100 pushups/situps for the "100 Club" (do 100 pushups and 100 sit ups every day or you owe a treat to everyone; my roomies and I are doing it too) on the patio; Chelsea and I provided the Rocky background music. Mind you this all took place at about midnight. Oh yeah! This morning when we went into town I saw the Grand Tetons for the first time and the clouds weren't covering them. A-mazing! I want to climb one someday. Also, there's this drugstore in Driggs that makes the most amazing Lime Freeze I have ever tasted. Pretty much, I love Badger Creek!

La semana pasada

For those of you who aren't Spanish aficionados, this post is all about the past week and the adventures within...

It has been raining for two weeks straight now, and the forecast still looks as wet as ever. Being from the Pacific Northwest, it doesn't bother me much at all. I like how everything stays green and keeps that musty, dirt-ish (not dirty) smell. In the past couple of days we have had some major thunder and lightning storms; I'm talking shake-the-house thunder. Awesome.

Last week for Enrichment we tie-dyed shirts. I waited an extra day to wash mine out because I wanted the colors to really be dark 'n' deep. It turned out really cool! I'd put a picture on here but I don't have a camera. Just imagine a T-shirt dyed the colors of the sky right before the stars come out:


Tuesday was the big day--President Eyring came to speak at our devotional! I had all of my classes before 2pm that day (when devotional starts), and so I had all of that time to think about what he would say to us and wonder if I really was prepared like President Clark asked us to be. My roommates and I got into the Hart at about 1:15 and by that time it was almost full! We were lucky to get some front-row seats by the choir, but I saw some people's backpacks being moved because security was being really strict on saving seats. Bummer! President Eyring's son is a stake president up here, so when he came to seat on the stand I could feel everyone catch their breath for a second. They look almost exactly alike. Everyone got really quiet about 2 minutes before he even came into the room; I think we all knew by the Spirit that was there. When he walked in--now this is the embarassing part--I started up the water works. I don't even know why I was crying! I was happy to see the guy! Ah, well. I am my mother's daughter. :) The talk was soooo good. Here is the link because I know you all want to read it:

http://www.byui.edu/Presentations/Transcripts/Devotionals/2009_06_09_Eyring.htm

Later that night I went door-to-door asking people to join i-Team/i-Rep (the new student orientation thing) for the Fall. Now I have a little taste of what missionaries do! It's hard to have people say no over and over and just shut the door without any interest. And we weren't even asking them about the gospel! I think those things are always harder to do when you actually care about the thing you're asking them to try. I just want everyone to "taste of the exceeding joy of which I [do] taste..." (Alma 36:24)

On Thursday Christina and I went with Chelsea to an extra-credit seminary (for her Women's Health Class) on post-traumatic stress. The woman speaking had been abused for her whole childhood by both of her parents and her brothers. I was amazed by her because number one, she was able to talk about everything without crying, two, she had used the Atonement in her life and her testimony of the Savior was very strong, and three, she lives a pretty normal life now with a husband and four children. Wow! Talk about an eye-opening experience for me. I need to be careful not to take things like my family for granted.

On Friday night my friend Rachel (yeah, the engaged one) came to stay with us because her and her fiancee were going to look for apartments this weekend. It's weird when your friends who are your same age start getting married. She seems different now; more grown-up, I guess, but she's still the same ol' Rachey.

Saturday was mighty eventful! Well, most Saturdays are... 3 of my roomies got up at the crack of dawn to volunteer for the Teton Dam marathon. At around 10am I got a phone call saying that they were starving and could I please bring them food? I raided the pantry and walked the 20 minutes to the last corner, where they were cheering runners on. Seeing those people come in, either with grimaces on their face or a tired smile, made me REALLLLLY want to run. Run a race, run a relay, run a half-marathon, whatever. I just really want to start running in races again. Mom, this is a memo to you to be my running buddy when I come back for the 7-week break. That's all I have to say about that.

Well, this post has been pretty long and kinda boring...so if you don't comment because you didn't even read the whole thing, that's okay. I know you like photos but I don't have any...

Until next time!