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Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. It's amazing how fast the year goes by when you keep busy doing things. With school, work, family, and friends time sure does fly. This year for Thanksgiving I spent the holiday with Jacob and Nicole at Nicole's aunt's house. So kind of my relatives but not really. There was good food and they were nice. We played some games and I learned that I am NOT smarter than a 5th grader. Sad day. Hopefully BYU doesn't find out otherwise they might kick me out :)

Thanksgiving night I stayed the night with Jacob and Nicole at their apartment so I wouldn't have to be alone at mine again. It was fun because Nicole and I spent a few hours going over black Friday ads. We got up early on Friday morning and did some Christmas shopping. I am proud to say it's almost December 1st and I am almost done with my Christmas shopping. Hooray! Now that Thanksgiving is over I decided it's time for a Christmas-themed background. :)

BYU had their final game of the season. Against Utah of course. We ended up winning 26-23 in over time. It was probably the most intense sporting event I've ever watched. Ever. It was a pretty exciting game and I'm glad I stuck around here to see it. The funny thing is normally I like the color red. I look good in the color red but there's just something about game day that makes red the most repulsive color. That just goes to show that I'm truly a cougar at heart. Go Cougars!

I'm really glad that I got to have a break from school. It was nice but I really don't want to go to class tomorrow. :/ Gotta do it though. Only a few more weeks until I can have a bigger break from school. And then on to final semester as an undergrad. Scary...

On a happier note...last Thursday marked two weeks until it's my birthday. Yay! I just need to get through the last of my assignments and then I can enjoy my birthday and then get ready for the dreaded finals.

President Thomas S. Monson said: I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now. (Ensign November 2008)

Good luck to everyone these last few weeks of classes and getting ready for Christmas. But always remember to "Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family."

Questions

Becky put this up earlier today. So I thought I'd repost it too.

1. Were you named after anyone? I have my mom's middle name but that's about it

2. When was the last time you cried? I was going to say last week but I just started to for almost no reason at all...I hate being a girl sometimes

3. Do you like your handwriting? Most of the time.

4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Turkey, hands down

5. Do you have kids? No

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Of course

7. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Haha, funny question.

8. Do you still have your tonsils? Most definitely.

9. Would you bungee jump? Heck no!

10. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Bunches of Oats

11. Do you untie your shoes? Rarely.

12. Do you think your strong? No, not really

13. What is your favorite ice cream? Cookies 'n cream.

14. First thing you notice about people? Usually their smile or eyes

15. Red or Pink? Pink

16. Least favorite thing about yourself? I'm way too emotional.

17. Who do you miss the most? I miss Kellie a lot as of recently. I miss the talk we used to have.

18. What color shoes are you wearing? None. Just socks.

19. What was the last thing you ate? A strawberry

20. What are you listening to right now? Forever and Always by Taylor Swift

21. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Purple! Duh!!

22. Favorite smells? Freshly baked bread, clean clothes, my niece.

23. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Nicole

24. Favorite sports to watch? Probably BYU football

25. Hair Color and Eye Color? Brown and Hazel.

26. Favorite Food? Enchiladas.

27. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings

28. What color of shirt are you wearing? Salmon

29. Last movie you watched? A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

30. Hugs or kisses? Hugs!! I could use one right now too

31. What book are you reading right now? Just books for school

32. What'd you watch on TV last night? Nothing. No TV in my apartment

33. Farthest you've been from home? Mexico

34. Are you bored at work? Depends. Sometimes

Happy Thanksgiving

I am so ready for Thanksgiving to come around the corner. It's only a week and a day away. Actually, I'm more excited for my Thanksgiving break from school than the actual holiday. I'm not going home again this year so I won't be with a lot of family for the holiday plus all of my roommates are going to be gone and I will miss them so much. On the bright side, after Thanksgiving there's only a few weeks or so until my birthday, I get to go home, and Christmas!!! I'm so excited for Christmas this year because my whole family will be together including Jacob, Nicole, and Samantha.

One of the reasons I'm excited for Thanksgiving is that I get to sleep past 7:00 am. I never get to do that during the week. It will be a nice treat for me. I'm still not sure what I'll be doing on the actual day of Thanksgiving but I'm sure I'll figure it out this weekend. Hopefully. I just have to make it through a few classes next Monday and Tuesday (which has been magically transformed into Friday by the power of BYU). It shouldn't be too bad though.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. Try to be thinking about the things you are grateful for in the coming days as the holiday approaches. I love you all and enjoy your holiday wherever you may be :)

Halloween

This year for Halloween I dressed up with my roommates. We were the peanuts characters: Ashley was Charlie Brown, Mary was Snoopy, Shauna
was the Little Red-Headed Girl, and I was Lucy van Pelt. It was so much fun. We had a ward party the day before Halloween and then on Halloween we went to a stake activity and watched a movie with our neighbors.

Me as Sally :)

We ran into our good friend, Jane, at the stake activity. I love you, Jane!

This picture is a little dark. Sorry! But it's a group shot

The 3 of us at the ward party

Doughnuts on a string. Go, Ashley!

I love my roommates so much and I'm glad that we could dress up together and have such a good time this year. Last year I didn't do much for Halloween so I'm glad that we had a fun time this year. :)

Come What May and Love It

Those are some inspired words from the late Elder Jospeh B. Wirthlin. His mother told him those words: come what may and love it. He also said "every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

I took two midterms yestday and I really had no idea how they went. The screens in the testing center weren't working so I didn't know how I did. This morning I went online and checked my scores and it didn't look so good. Oh, well. I'm not going to let that get me down: come what may and love it.

On Thursday morning I woke up with a sore throat. This is not a good time for me to be getting sick. I had my two midterms and I have two more next week. Ick. Being sick is not conducive to my schedule. I really, really, really just wanted to sleep in my class this morning. After class I just wanted to go home and sleep instead of going to work: come what may and love it.

Elder Wirthlin gave some lessons and learning to love it that I'd like to share with all of you out there who take the time to read about my life. I'm sure you have all heard them before but sometimes it's good to have a reminder of what the apostles have said.

First, learn to laugh. Life can be frustrating and hard at times but sometimes you just need to laugh. Laughter will be much more joy into your life.

Second, seek for the eternal. A lot of life's little problems are very temporal. We just need to remember to keep an eternal perspective.

Third, understand the principle of compensation. Which means that Heavenly Father compensates the faithful for every loss that they will endure. The faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundred fold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.

Forth and finally, trust in our Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to be successful. If we do our part, He will step in. Heavenly Father knows what is best for us and will always look out for us.

Come what may and love it. Endure the trials and life will move on. Life is so much more enjoyable if you love life and live it up to the fullest.

Life is Good

Part of last week was really frustrating for me. I had so much to do and very little time to do it in. Plus I had a lot of other things on my mind.

Starting on Thursday my week just got so much better. I did pretty well on a test, I followed some amazing advice from a friend, I got my paper written, and I attended the Relief Society broadcast. These all happened over the course of a few days. I love this church and I'm glad that I have never had any reason to doubt my beliefs.

The last few days I can't but being happy and smiling all the time. Life is still tough and I still have a lot to do but there is so much to live for in life that I want to be happy about life.

I'm so excited for General Conference that is coming this weekend. My parents got me tickets to attend a session of conference on Saturday. I am so excited to go! I love hearing the prophets speak. It is so wonderful and I am so grateful to be living so close to Salt Lake when conference comes around.

Life is Good. Period. I'm still not getting as much sleep as I'd like but I've made it my goal to go to bed earlier this week. Wish me luck and we'll see how it goes. I heard this once: Never stop smiling because you have no idea who is falling in love with your smile. I think that is just one good reason to smile so keep on smiling.



I don't have much else to say except that I have been happy lately and I like it. Being happy is so much better then being frustrated with life so I'm gonna continue to try and be happy. Life will sometimes be hard and I realize that but I'm going to try and see the bright side of things.

Sleep

Rewind to last school year: I was getting a very adequate amount of sleep. I was very good at going to bed by 10:30 and then getting up around 6:30 or 7:00 the next morning. I went to bed early last year and my classes started a little bit later. I didn't feel tired or stressed all the time.

Fast forward to the present. On average I go to bed after midnight most of the time. I'm super stressed out about all the papers and assignments that I have to do. Plus I have an exam today that I don't know how I'll do on. I'm so tired!!! It's hard to concentrate when you're exhausted. Yesterday was a long day and today will be another long day.

I'm just a little frustrated with life today. I have a lot to do and very little time to do it in. This morning in my half awake state as I dragged myself out of bed I decided there are some questions that I have been afraid to ask but I am going to go ahead and ask them and see what happens. Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to just ask a question or have a conversation.

Playing games can be fun for a time but after a while it gets old. I'm sick and tired of playing games. So I pose a question: why do people play games if no body likes them? I've always wondered why and I really want an answer. Why play games if no body likes them? Maybe I'll never know the answer but we'll see.

I know this sounds very pessimistic and I apologize. I'm not looking for anyone's pity or anything like that. I just needed to put my thoughts out there. From now on I'm going to try and have a more positive outlook on life. Yesterday I read a talk given by Elder Richard G. Scott given in 1996. There were a couple of things that stuck out to me that gave me some comfort. I'll share a quote from him that I really liked.

"I often interview strong priesthood leaders. When these men speak of their wives, it is with deep tenderness and obvious appreciation. Often, tears flow. Their comments include “She is more spiritual, purer, and more committed than I,” “She motivates me to be a better person,” “She is the strength of my life,” and “I couldn’t do it without her.” As a woman, please don’t judge how worthwhile, needed, and loved you are by our inept ability to express our true feelings. Your divinely conferred trait of giving of self without counting the cost leads you to underestimate your own worth."

"Generally you have no idea of how truly wonderful and capable you are, how very much appreciated and loved, or how desperately needed, for most men don’t tell you as completely and as often as needed." (Elder Richard G. Scott, Ensign November 1996, The Joy of Living the Great Plan of Happiness)

I'm sad to say that there are many times when I think I'm not good enough or wonderful enough or awesome enough for the people around me. I have roommates that tell me that's not true and I know I'm wrong when I think that way. Elder Scott gave me a very firm reminder that I am good enough. Just because people don't tell me that I'm worth it doesn't mean I'm not. I'm know I'm worth it and I know somebody else will realize it too when the time is right. I think right now I just need a few extra prayers for everything that I have on my plate. If nothing else, each of you can pray for me to get through everything I need to do.

I love you all and I just want to let each and everyone one of you that you are appreciated, loved, and very much needed.

Crazy Days

I want to start with an apology to anyone who has been around me lately. I have been acting extremely crazy. I'm sorry!! But I think everyone needs to act crazy sometimes. But I think it's ok to be crazy if there are others that are crazy with you.

The last week or so has been pretty good. I'm finally getting back into the swing of school, I think. I'm still trying to find time for everything but I'll get there one day :) On Sunday I made some taco soup and it was yummy. I've been having soup all week and it's been good. I really like soup :)

I'm also glad it's the weekend. I like going to school but it is also nice to have a break from going to class and work.

I think part of the reason I'm being so crazy is that I'm not getting enough sleep every night. It's kinda funny. I know I should go to sleep earlier but by the time I;m done with my homework I want to be social and then sleep is what gives. Oh, well. That's just college life. Maybe one day I'll learn.

All in all, I'm a happy girl. And I've been having a few good days recently. Life is good. Always try to be grateful for what you have. I know I am. If I'm acting too crazy just let me know and maybe I can tone it down a little. I'm not making any promises but maybe...:)

And so it begins...

I think it was last weekend that some people were bugging me that I never keep my blog updated so here it is. It's been a crazy busy couple of weeks and I'm pretty sure it will only get busier and busier as the weeks progress.

I successfully made it through the first week of my last fall semester as an undergrad at BYU. Yay!! It will be hard though so we'll see what happens in the coming weeks. A lot of people have told me I'm crazy for what I have going on but such is life. Right now I'm taking 16 credit hours of classes, working part time, and soon I will be starting to help with a research project one of my professors is conducting so I'll be staying pretty busy.

Oh classes. Right now I'm taking Cross Cultural Human & Family Development, Infant Development in the Family, Marriage Prep, LDS Temples, Intro to Social Work, and Intro to Sociology. It's all a little bit crazy and sometimes I don't know what is going on.

Hopefully I can just buckle down and get to work and still have time for fun because that is important as well. I'm just not feeling in the mood to be in school. I don't know if it's senioritis or what but I'm just not ready to be back at it.

I also got my calling changed in my ward a little bit. Instead of being in charge of FHE AND activities now I just get to do FHE. Problem: I don't have a co-chair to help me out yet though. Maybe on Sunday...we'll see.

I hope everyone is enjoying life and being back at school or whatever they are doing.

Ponderings

My last post was kind of a vent post. I'm doing fine and I have had several conversations with several people that have made me realize my life isn't as bad as I sometimes think it is. I have so many blessings and so many things to be grateful for.

First of all, I am so grateful for having family close by that can help me out if they are able. Second, I am so glad that I have been doing well enough in school to get a scholarship. A few months back I was worried about being able to pay for school this year and then I found out that I was awarded a scholarship so I don't have to worry about that one.

I can't even begin to list the numerous things that have gone my way lately. There have been hard things too but I realized that is how the Lord tries us: by giving us hard things and seeing how we respond to them. Timing is the key to everything. A lot of the time we want everything to work out in our time, according to our plans. But that is not how our Heavenly Father works. He will send us different things in our lives when he knows it is best for us. We have to trust in his time and know that everything will work out for the best. Life would be so much easier if we were just given a schedule or calendar of when every thing was going to happen in our lives wouldn't it? But I guess that's why there's that trial of faith that is talked about in Ether 12:6.

Anyways, I just wanted to say that life is pretty good right now. This summer went by so fast for me. I've just finished up my internship and about 3 weeks ago I started training for my job that I'm going to have in the fall. So I've been pretty busy. I'm excited for my little vacation that I'm taking to California to visit my family. I am way excited but will miss all my friends in Provo. You guys rock!!

Friendships & Frustrations

It's been a long while since I've posted a blog. I apologize to my dear, dear, dear reads. Life has been super busy and other things have taken priority. Tonight I was just feeling a little down and I needed a way to vent my frustrations so here it is. I'm sorry if this sounds like a pity party but this is just how I am feeling so if you don't want to read about it please don't continue.

Sometimes it's easier for me to just type my frustrations here where I don't have to listen to others input at the time I am feeling it. I'm sorry if you feel I'm unloading on you but I guess everybody needs to do that sometimes. Oh well.

For a while now I feel like I'm kind of stuck in a rut. I go to work and I come home. Yeah I do lots of different things on the weekends and I stay busy but I just don't feel like I'm developing relationships that will last me through the rest of my life. I guess what it gets down to is boys. Stupid boys. -sigh- I just feel like whenever I start getting to know somebody knew they always play the "we're friends only" card. And I'm okay with that most of the time. But there just comes a point when it's too hard to handle anymore.

When I was a little bit younger, I thought I'd be married by the time I was 21. But I'm not and there aren't any prospects of it happening anytime soon. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with being single but I'd like to at least be thought of like girl and not just "my friend" by the guys that I know.

Lately, I've been trying to be a better person because I tend to be a little mean and sarcastic where boys are concerned. I even had a friend ask my roommate if I even liked him as a person at all. When I found that out I was a little crushed. I think I'm little bit too much like my dad. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut sometimes or most times as the case maybe. I also tend to be a little sensitive when people say things to me sometimes and I'm trying so hard to work on that. But it's a work in progress.

I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me I just needed to vent for a minute. Sometimes a girl just feels like crying and that's how I'm feeling right now. But I don't want to. I don't like crying in front of people because they ask what's wrong and I don't want to explain that nothing is really wrong. Just that I'm feeling down.

Thanks for reading. I'm sorry if this was a downer on your day. I really do apologize. I just needed to get these thoughts out of my head. Much love to all my faithful readers and friends. Love ya!

Happiness in a Classy Black Number

Ladies and gents I am not talking about some nice black article of clothing but about my new (well new to me) car! She is so pretty and very classy looking. I recently purchased (by purchased I mean my parents purchased) a 2004 black Hyundai Sonata. The inside is so pretty! It's tan leather interior . It has a sun roof and a CD player. Everything is automatic: transmission, windows, mirrors, doors, seats, everything! It is so awesome and I am so excited for the freedom that my own car will provide. It's a little scary because the car is actually mine. It's in my name and everything. Every time I drive it I'm afraid something bad is going to happen and I will total my car and then I will have flushed lots of money down the drain. Hopefully I will get over this fear soon. Utah drivers just make me extremely nervous...

On a lighter note I just want to mention my new favorite song by Taylor Swift. It's called White Horse. I've included it here for your convenience so you should check it out. It's kind of a sad song but I love it a lot. One reason I love it so much is that I danced last night to this song with one amazing guy who we will call Beautiful so as not to mention any names. He's probably the coolest guy I've ever met. It made me so happy to dance with him. Ok now I'm done with my girly moment but just thought I'd let you know what's up.



P.S. Pictures of my car will be coming shortly. I just haven't had time to take any/post them. Much love!

Excitement!!

This weekend I was talking to my dad and we were just joking around because that's how my dad is and then he said "I'm going to be serious now so you need to listen to what I'm going to say." I thought he was joking but he had something serious to tell me. My dad informed me that he and my mom are going to buy me a car!! I am so excited but a little worried at the same time. I'm excited because this is gonna be awesome! I've never had a car at school before. I'm scared because I have to find it and do everything to get it but I don't know the first thing about buying a car. I need to find someone who can help me decide and go with me to look at cars and check out the engine and everything. It's so hard and frustrating and difficult I just don't know where to begin searching. If anyone has an advice, I will willingly listen to what ever you have to say. This probably doesn't convey how excited I am but I am totally stoked!

I'm Lovin' It!

This is probably going to a repeat to some people that I have talked to but I absolutely positively love my job! I haven't been able to say that in a long time. But it's the best job ever. I get to learn new skills that will help me in my academic career and I get to work as an actual researcher. It is so awesome and I love meeting all the interesting individuals that I am interviewing.

Yesterday before my staff meeting I ran into Alex Jensen who just graduated from my major in April and he used to be the president of the SFLSA and he asked me how interviewing was going and I told him it was awesome and I love my job. He thinks I should be a spokesperson for Flourishing Families Project to get people to do interviewing because I love it so much and I am always excited for it. I totally would too. This is one of the best learning experiences I have ever had and I am so grateful that I was accepted into the position. I am learning so many things that I can use just as well outside of my job. I love it!

First Interview

So today I gave my first interview for my internship as a researcher for the Flourishing Families Project at BYU. Last night I was really worried about it because it came up last minute and I didn't have a lot of time to prepare for it But when I woke up this morning I wasn't nervous or anxious about it at all. It was so good and the family was so nice and I had such a good time and I don't think I forgot anything too major. I think I'm going to have a great time doing this this summer. Yay me!

Settling in

The last 5 or so days have been quite hectic. This last weekend I moved from apartment 25 to apartment 26 so my new room looked like a bomb went off but now everything is in it's proper place. I'm excited to be in my new place. It's not that far from the old one but it will be lots of fun this summer. For some reason it's a lot easier for me to ask my new roomies to take me places then the old ones. Weird...

Today was the official start of my internship. I just helped semi-organize the office and we had a little orientation. I think tomorrow I will start trying to contact families and make appointments for interviews. It will be exciting but scary when I acutally do an interview. I'll let you know how it goes when it comes around.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) I'm going to start training for my second job doing data entry for one of my professors. Hopefully I'll be able to keep that job into the fall...we'll have to see what Dr. Walker says. Keep your fingers crossed for me though :)

I really like my life right now. Sure work is a little hard and stressful. But I like it and I really heart my roommates and I'm excited for this summer and all the things I'm going to learn. I think I'm going to experiment with some new recipes and bake some new things. I already tried something new on Sunday and it was really yummy. It was called Edith's Viva Chicken. It came out of the recipe book my mom got me from my home ward. It was so yummy! And the leftovers were/are great as well. If anyone wants to try it just let me know

Done and Done

That's how my life looks: done and done. I finished all my finals on Friday so right now I'm at a loss of what to do with my time. Starting to pack today to move into my new apartment would be kind of useless because I'm not really packing anything just piling things up to carry next door. I'll probably start making my piles in the living room on Wednesday and Thursday but until then I don't know what to do. My roommates all had their cleaning/move out checks today. 2 of them are staying in the same apartment and one is going home either tonight or tomorrow morning. It's sad to see people leave and move on but life is full of changes and that will never change.

So I'll probably fill my time with watching movies or something. I know. Not very productive or social but everyone around is busy taking finals. But by the end of the week things should be looking up. I get to move in with my new roommates on Friday and Saturday. They are some awesome girls and heart them so much. The only sad thing about that situation is that Jackie is leaving to never return to the land of Provo. Which is very sad. I'll miss her. Maybe one of these days I will have to take a road trip to visit her.

I've been missing my niece and Nicole since they went to California last week. I think this is the longest that I've gonna with out seeing them since Christmas. The two of us can hardly stand being apart for a week: what's gonna happen when we have to be real adults and don't live so close to each other? Maybe I'll just follow them around the country until I get married. That's kind of a creeper thought....

Well, anyways. I'm having a lazy time this week until my internship starts on the 28th. I'm excited for it. I can't wait. And I got my shirts that I'll wear for it. They are green and awesome. I also got a jacket. It's black with green lettering. If you want to see them you'll just have to ask because I don't feel like taking a picture of my clothes and uploading it here.

I love you all and I think you are awesome. Have an awesome summer if I don't see ya!

No Words

Someone once told me "Life sucks and then you die." Lately that is how I have been feeling. There have been a lot of things just piling up lately that are stressing me out and make me want to cry. I'm almost to the point where I just want to give up. To name a few: I have to completely rework my fall schedule because the time of one ity bity class got changed, the stress of last minute projects and looming finals are eating away at me, I don't get enough sleep, it's cold, and some other things I won't go into. It's just crazy. I don't want to sound like I'm whining but I just needed to get that out.

I was doing a reading assignment today for my Forming Marital Relationships class and I ran across something that I found interesting. "As a bride, woman is more beautiful than as a maiden; as a mother she is more beautiful than as a bride; as a wife and mother she is a good word in season, and with the years she becomes more beautiful." I think it's interesting that the world is always telling people that aging is bad and have all the surgeries and use the creams to keep yourself looking younger. That quote from Soren Kierkegaard shows that women are more beautiful with age and I really like that. Funny story: today I was sitting in the JSB before my class started and I heard this girl talking on the phone and she said "I need to hurry up and get married before I'm a junior otherwise people will think I'm wierd." I seriously wanted to smack some sense into her. There is NOTHING wrong, I repeat for emphasis, NOTHING wrong with graduating college being single. I will probably do that. Some girls are just rediculous. I'm taking Kierkegaard's view: as I age I can only become more beautiful. That goes for all the rest of you out there. You girls are amazing and you will only become more amazing and beautiful as you get older.

One last thought from my reading: "Poor man, who must go out in the world to seek a daisy such as that and yet does not find it; poor man, who at most has a notion that his neighbor grows it; happy the married man who really knows how to rejoice in his thousandfold joy. If he finds this flower somewhere else than in his own yard, this flower that--just as that century plant is remarkable for blossoming only once every 100 years--has even more seldom rarity that it blossoms every day, and does not close at night--then he has the joy of telling at home what he hasw seen out in the world..."

Take it or leave it. Those are my musing of the day. Each of you is just as rare and beautiful as that flower. You blossom every day and don't close at night and that is why we are amazing.

Beginnings of April

This week has been super crazy busy for me so let me start at the beginning of the week. On April 1st (Wednesday) I presented some research that I have been working on all semester in a research conference at BYU. It was called the Student Mentored Research Conference that was funded by the Mary Lou Fulton Chair in the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences. It was way exciting! I worked on my research with another girl in my class, Allison, and our faculty mentor was Dr. Randal Day, PhD. Who works in the SFL department at BYU. Our project was on Sibling relationships, family connectedness, and prosocial behaviors. We hypothesized that family connectedness and prosocial would positively influence sibling relationships. We found that to be correct. But we also found that family connectedness influenced sibling relationships more then prosocial behaviors. That's a synopsis of our project. The conference lasted from 9-3 but we had a break from 12-1:30 for lunch. It was way nice and catered.

This weekend was General Conference as you probably know. A friend of mine found out last weekend that I'd never been to the Conference Center for conference so I went up to Salt Lake today (Sunday). I got to sit on the ground floor for this mornings session and it was so awesome!! It was so amazing to sit in the same room with Heavenly Father's prophets. Some people say they have a hard time paying attention even in the conference center but I was riveted the whole time. It was pretty much one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I totally want to go to Salt Lake in October but we'll see.

Colors Make the World a Better Place

Yesterday I had the best time of my life. I went to the Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork, Utah. It was amazing. I hung out with many different groups of my friends that were there. We threw chalk, danced, and chanted. And of course we took tons of pictures and it was awesome. The world would be a much better place if everybody just walked around colorful all the time. I can't wait for next year because I am so gonna go again. This year I barley got there in time for the chalk throwing so next year I'll have to make sure and get there extra early. It was an amazing cultural experience that I think all should take the chance to experience. My hair felt so gross afterward but that's what showers are made for, right? I think it was one of those things that I will not soon forget. I'm so glad that I can live someplace that I can experience these amazing things

So Cold.....

So I think I pretty much jinxed the spring weather we were having in Provo by blogging about it and changing my layout to something springy. Woe is me. The last couple of days have been miserably cold. It wouldn't be so bad if I could spend all my time in doors but I am not so lucky. Just walking to campus so I can go to class or work on some projects is almost unbearable. It is so cold!! I don't think it would be so bad if the wind would stop blowing but oh man. No cigar on that one for sure. Another thing that makes this winter weather unbearable is the fact that for the last 2 days (today and Wednesday) I got to sit outside in the freezing coldness for 2 hours. Brrrr!!! That isn't fun in case you were wondering. If you're wondering why I would torture myself that way, I was working a Choose 2 Give booth and if you want to know what that is leave me a comment and I'll get back to you. Needless to say it was not fun. Today, it seriously took me almost an hour to defrost after I did my shift at the both and let me tell you that is so not cool on any level.

So the semester is coming to a close so fast. That is both good and bad. Good because I'm ready to be done with homework, tests, and crazyness in general. Bad because I don't want to take my exams. Good because I am excited to move into my new apartment with the coolest girls ever! Bad because I don't feel any where near ready for my internship. Good because maybe with summer it will get warm, maybe. Bad because I'm losing a cool roommate who is going home for the summer.

I recently made a really major decision that I would like to inform you all about. I decided that I am going to apply to grad school so I'm going to keep going to school after I graduate with my bachelors degree next April. If I can get into the program that I want. I'm apply to get a masters in Social Work. I might by applying at 2 different universities. I was just going to apply at BYU but a good friend of mine told me how compeptive the program is: they only admit 40 students a year out of the 150-200 that apply :( Scary. So I'm thinking about applying at a CSU (California State University). Since I'm from California I wouldn't have to pay out of state tuition. That makes me sad a little. If did go back to California, I would be leaving all my awesome friends behind and I would miss my family that is here. I would miss my little niece so much!! I would miss my brother and you too, Nicole. But I don't know if that is going to happen. It's just something that is up in the air right now.

If you have any advice go ahead and leave me a comment. Life is crazy yet awesome at the same time. Until next time, have an awesome day and I hope I can make you smile.

Spring is Here

The last couple of days in Provo have been absolutely gorgeous! I love it! It has started getting warm and people are laying out on the grass. I even wore shorts to school one day this week. I've worn flip flops a lot this week to and it's amazing. I hope the nice spring weather is here to stay and it stays this nice out. I'm tired of being cold so I like the sun. In my apartment we even turn our heater off for the last 4 days. It is wonderful! I can't wait for summer. I just have to make it through last projects. papers, and the dreaded F-word...dun dun dun!! Finals. Yep they are coming up and hopefully I will be able to survive them.

Bucket List

My friend Aimee inspired me to think about all of the things I want to do in this world before I die. She's compiling a list of 100 things she wants to do before she dies and so am I. It's not complete but it's a start. They are in no particular order. They are just things that I would like to do in my life time if given the chance.

1.) Get married in the temple
2) Get my endowment
3.) Visit Europe
4.) Graduate from college
5.) Have a real job that actually pays good
6.) Own a car
7.) Visit Yellowstone (Nicole you should make this happen :))
8.) Have a baby
9.) Have a first kiss
10.) Kiss in the rain or snow or both :)
11.) Go to graduate school
12.) Have a valentine on Valentine's Day
13.) Do a regular exercise program
14.) Hike the Y
15.) Dance with someone I actually like
16.) Learn to drive a stick
17.) Spoil my niece
18.) Have a better relationship with my little sister
19.) Own my own home
20.) Have laser surgery so that I don't need contacts or glasses
21.) Catch a t-shirt at a BYU sporting event
22.) Watch the long version of Pride and Prejudice
23.) Fall in love
24.) Go on a road trip across the country
25.) Grow a garden
26.) Make my parents proud
27.) Do something memorable with my life
28.) Make a difference in someone else's life
29.) Make people smile
30.) Be more out spoken
31.) Be more out going
32.) Be accepted into a Master's program
33.) Graduate with my master's degree

This list isn't complete yet but I will keep working on it and update it when i think of new things. You should all keep checking back to see what I add to my list. I have a bucket list. Do you??

I am so Excited!!!!

Today I went to an internship fair that was on campus with a friend in my major. I didn't really need to talk to anyone about getting an internship because I already have one that I am doing this summer. But I figured might as well look around and see what else is out there.

I walked by this booth for New Haven: A Therapeutic Haven and School for Girls. The human resource director was there talking to students about the school and what it does. I just heard a few things in passing but it sounded like something that I would want to do for a job. For real...as in after I graduate from college. I was so excited so I talked to her for a few minutes about job opportunities after I graduate. She had some really nice things to tell me and I think I might contact them next year when it gets closer to graduation time. Maybe next fall. I think I would really enjoy working with these at risk youth. Oh!! I'm so excited to have some direction in my life. It's a great feeling and hopefully everything will work out for the best.

Reflections

I am totally finished with my first round of midterms as of today. They were hard and one of them I wasn't totally prepared for but hopefully everything will turn out ok in the end. I am so happy to have them finished before the weekend. I hate leaving exams over weekends if I can avoid it. Who wants to stress over a test on Sunday when you should be enjoying your day of rest?

This weekend should be interesting. It's a long weekend so no school on Monday. Yay!!! But this time around that means Tuesday is magically transformed into Monday. That is the magic that can only happen at BYU. So I get two long days of school right in a row. (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are my long days). I will be in the apartment all bymyself for a couple of days, how sad is that? Megan is going home to Vernal for the weekend. Brittany is flying to Oregon to see her family for the weekend. They ar both leaving on Friday sometimes. Anna is going up to Logan and she is leaving sometime on Saturday. Oh dear, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep in this apartment all by my lonselome. Whatever shall I do??

Well, I really should be doing my homework instead of blogging but that is what college is all about right? Putting off what you can do later to do what you would rather do now? I think I will go do some reading now. I hope you all have enjoyed reading about my life. Love ya all!

P.S. I have decided that Utah has the nicest people on the planet. Well at least Provo does. I was totally walking to work and it takes me 30 minutes to get there so I always leave around 5:30 to get there on time. It's snowing like crazy and miserable to walk in. Anyways, I'm walking along 880 N and this girl rolls down her window and is like "do you want a ride?" So she gave me a ride all the way to work right on the doorstep of the Taylor Building. How nice of her. I hope she is so blessed for her service to me. So I'm way early for work so I decided to add this little tid bit to my blog. Enjoy and stay warm!

Pondering

Today I was kind of feeling down and out of place a little. Sometimes that happens in life when you know you're supposed to be where you are but you just somehow feel like you are in the wrong place. Anyway, now that I'm done rambling that's how I was feeling today. And then I did some things that helped me out so much. #1: I talked to my bishop and he said something that really helped me out. #2: I was reading my scriptures and I read in Alma 38:5 and it said to trust in the Lord and he will deliver you from your trails. #3: I went singing at a nursing home with my roommates and some guys from ward. It was nice to do some service and it felt good. They really seemed to like it.

Also I've changed my background on my blog to something springing in hopes of spring coming early this year. I'm tired of it being cold and I want to wear my capris and flip flops and not wear a coat up to campus. This is my wishful thinking so help me wish and maybe spring will come early to Provo this year. I love you all and have a good week!

Back Pain

So today while I was walking home from work in the freezing cold that is Provo I decided that I am going to die young and have back pain. I am going to die young because of all the junk I eat because I cannot afford to buy all the healthy things that I should be eating and on Monday at a Ward fireside I had a bunch of strawberries piled high with whipped cream. I think that pretty much cancels out any nutritional value the fruit once had.

As for the back pain, my backpack is too heavy. But I have no way of lightening my load. I only take the books I'm planning on reading with me to campus but somehow they are very heavy. And I take my laptop everyday up that stupid hill. I can't just leave my computer at home because it makes it easy to find things and I take notes on it in all my classes.

So I've come to the sole conclusion that I am going to die a young woman with back pain. The end.

Back in School

Well, I've been back in school for about a week and a half and still don't want to go to school. I just have to get used to it again. I was only off for about 2 and a half weeks and yet I don't want to go to school. I'm doing my homework like a good girl but I'm just not in the mood for it.

I started the semester registered for 18 credits. By the middle of my first week I realized that was basically impossible on top of that I'm working 9 hours a week. I dropped one of my easier classes so that I can focus on my harder ones this semester and then I'll pick up that easier one next year (hopefully my last year year!).

This semester I'm taking Family Adaptation and Resiliency, Sociology of the LDS people, Forming Marital Relationships, a class for my internship, and Socialization Across Childhood. There is going to be alot of writing in my classes this year but I guess that's what I get for being in the social sciences. Hopefully everything will go alright and I'll make it through these hard classes and then next year maybe my classes will be a little bit easier.

I love seeing my neice and now she is smiling lots. She is so cute and I love her!