Jenny Showalter

post surgery

2012-02-13T17:36:00.000-08:00

February 8th mom and I went to the surgery center and checked in at 9:45am. I was trying to not panic but it wasn't easy. I don't do well with needles! We had to sit for a bit after getting checked in to wait my turn to go into the surgery room. Mom and I talked a bit but I was getting tired and it was hard to focus. The nurse had me take out my contacts so I couldn't see anything past my hands so it was hard to focus on anything.

The anesthesiologist came in and mom thought he looked way too young! haha! I couldn't see his face so I had no idea. He told me what was going to happen and just kinda walked me through the process.

All I remember was when they wheeled me into the surgery room the room was super bright and everything was a blur. I couldn't see the nurses faces and just had to do what they told me. The nurses taped things to my legs to help with blood clots and then had the iv on my left had. They did something to my right hand but I fell asleep before I could figure out what they did. When I got home I could see redness in the creases on my palm but didn't do anything of it. When I woke up from my nap the redness was sticky so we had to wash my hand. still not sure what that was.

I remember telling the anesthesiologist that the surgery room wasn't inviting and he asked me how they could make it more inviting and I replied and said, No Needles! They all laughed. after that I was out.

I woke up right before they took me to see my mom and I was all wrapped up. I could hardly move cause my arm was wrapped so tight but mom helped me get ready to leave.

The last week has been pretty difficult. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday was spent sleeping on the couch and watching TV. I could hardly move without pain. Mom stayed with me Wednesday and dad stayed with me Thursday. I had to take the meds they gave me every several hours and starting on Saturday I was able to just take ibuprofen and I was fine. Sleeping is still a little rough cause I have to sleep with my arm elevated but it's getting easier.

I got a call from the doctor this evening and he said that the reports came back negative and I NO LONGER HAVE SKIN CANCER!! My heart stopped when he called cause it's always nerve wracking when they call cause you don't know what way it'll go but it is such a relief and I couldn't be happier! I still go back every 3 months for check ups but it looks clear.

the last pictures my dad took of my lovely bruising

they call it Melanoma...

2012-02-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing I got that mole removed on my arm! The doctors had been trying to reach me over the weekend but they were calling my work and I don't have a direct extension so I didn't get the call. I called them back on Monday during my lunch and Doc got on the phone to tell me what the biopsy said. They all assumed before they removed the mole that it would come back completely fine and that nothing was wrong. Well everyone was wrong about that! The biopsy came back as melanoma which is skin cancer. Scary! I kinda froze at work and just listened, I didn't really know what else to do. She told me the steps that I needed to take to get this all taken care of. She said the mole was a birthmark mole so I've had it my whole life and she's very surprised that it has just started to get cancer now and not way before. I'm very lucky!

I met with a skin cancer specialist yesterday and he said that he wants to take a larger area of skin to test that and make sure they got it all out. We caught it super early and think that its maybe only been growing over the last several months to maybe a year. So last year they may not have detected anything. The stage that the cancer was in was T-1a which is one step down from the very very best outcome. it's medical term is melanoma malignant In situ.

Even though this is super scary I feel okay about the whole situation.
1. Many 24 year olds don't go to a dermatologist on a regular basis. had I not been going it could have spread much more and this whole process would be much scarier.

2. They caught it super early and said that the mole was super thin so cancer may not have spread far, if at all

3. I have doctors that know exactly what they're doing and will give me the best treatment

They said that I have a 95% survival rate...so basically it would be a shock if anything bad happened. I still wish it was more like 99% but what can you do. 95 is still really good.

They don't think that it has traveled to my lymph nodes... which is super good! They said we could do surgery and check my lymph nodes but it's only a 2% chance that it did travel there. So we decided not to do that surgery with it because it's a lot more scary and my recuperation would be way worse. The specialist and my dermatologist didn't recommend it and even said if their children had what I have they wouldn't have them do the surgery either. So we're not.

I don't have a family history of skin cancer so this came by a complete shock.... okay well maybe not inevitable because it's caused from tanning beds. NO MORE TANNING!!! The doctor said that almost 100% of the 20-30yr olds coming in with skin cancer got it from tanning. Not one person said they had never used tanning beds.

So what's next.... I'm sure your dying to know.
I go back this coming Wednesday afternoon to the surgery center to get a larger portion taken out. This is more of a precaution because although they're almost positive they got it all out and I no longer have the skin cancer, they want to double check and go down deeper. They will go down to the muscle and the scar will be much larger... on a good note though... doc is also a Plastic Surgeon, so he said he's going to make my arm look as pretty as he can. haha!

In the future I will go back to the dermatologist every 3 months to get check ups to make sure that it wasn't anywhere else and hasn't spread. They are pretty optimistic about it so as long as they aren't lying out of their teeth, I'm trusting in them and believing every word they say.

I've received a priesthood blessing from some great men and I feel at peace with what has happened and know that if it doesn't go away now it will go away eventually and I will be cured of skin cancer. I won't have to deal with this forever and have received great blessing from it.

In my patriarchal blessing it says that I will face CHALLENGES in my life but I always took that as my scoliosis as being a physical challenge I would have to overcome and learn how to deal with that. Never in my mind did I guess, Oh I'll get skin cancer... but I have brought this on myself. I have been going to tanning beds off and on since I was a sophomore in high school so it's not like I knew the risks of it. You just never think that it will happen to yourself so you do it anyway. Bad choice by me! now these are the consequences but the doctor said that if anyone ever gets skin cancer they'll want mine... it's caught early and super preventable. I think he tried to make mom and I laugh with that but I just rolled my eyes.

We always talk about in the church that before we came to this life we chose our trials and Heavenly Father wouldn't have given us trials that we cannot handle. I know I can handle this but I sometimes feel like a little kid on halloween when there's a basket of candy and mom says to only take one but you take a handful. Instead of a basket of candy it's a bunch of trials and I was a greedy little girl and picked up as many as I could cause I wanted it all. WAS I STUPID! REALLY!! Who ever picks this out and says they can handle this?? I must have been nuts!!

Here's doc's lovely drawing of what the cancer looks like, what they did and what will happen next with the surgery. I'll explain the colors as best as I can. he drew this on the paper they put on the exam tables

Ok...so this essentially is an arm... minus the rest of the arm. the purple line at the top is the top of my arm and the red lines show where they cut on the first surgery. It goes into the epidermis and that's basically all the area with the squiggly line. The black shaded area that looks like the beehive and out to the sides is the cancer they found. it only goes down 0.5mm which is small so that is good! where the arrow is shows how far down they went and didn't find any cancer so that is a plus. The next surgery will be all the yellow lines and everything in-between. so it's quite large!

the drawing below is the look of the scar i have now... the straight line is the first scar. the dotted oval is how big the scar essentially will be. He said because of the contours of my arm he has to go down in a S shape so that my arm doesn't look super deformed and will try to make it as natural looking as possible.

Basically they're taking a huge area out and going way further down.

I'm not saying I'm okay with what has happened but I've come to terms with it and have accepted it. The surgery scares me to death but I have faith in the doctors and know that it will be okay. Had you talked to me on Monday or Tuesday, even Wednesday I was a complete wreck and super emotional. I cried all the time! but after blessings and all the people who have been praying for me I know that the outcome will be good and it's not something I will face my whole life. I had to wait till now to write about it because it was too hard to put into words. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN THERE FOR ME AND PRAYING FOR ME. I appreciate it SO MUCH!

man was I in for a treat

2012-01-25T20:29:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I went in for my yearly checkup to the dermatologist to get my moles checked. I went in wanting the mole on my arm removed... it has always been larger than the others but in years past the doctor has never been too concerned. She always looked at it and wondered how long it's been that size and if the colors changed but I always told her no. It's been there my whole life and I never noticed or remembered if it just showed up one night... it's always been there as long as I can remember. Since I wasn't too concerned about it they weren't going to worry about it also.

This year I decided it was time for a change and it needed to go. I was tired of people looking at it telling me I should get it looked at or that I needed to get it removed. I never particularly liked it but it didn't bug me to death either. My insurance covers one removal every year so I decided it was time to go even if it wasn't that bad. Mom agreed and just said to get it gone. So I made my appointment and wasn't worried at all.

I figured I'd go in after work and she'd look everything over and then decide to burn it off... She also agreed that it was a smart thing to get it removed. Didn't think it was cancerous yet... but might be in the early stages so it's better to get it removed now.

Doc walks out and the tech said I need to schedule with the front desk an appointment to get it surgically removed... EXCUSE ME, WHAT!?! My response was more like "you can't just burn it off like the last one?" She says no, this one has to be cut out and then sent to the lab for biopsy.

OH DEAR! WHAT HAVE I GOT MYSELF INTO! I was super scared and immediately text my mom to tell her "surgery".

So now it's two weeks and I went in yesterday to get it taken care of. I've been panicking the last several days about it cause I'm scared to death. The girls I've talked to that have had moles removed say it's not that bad, the only pain is the shot... great! I don't even like getting shots so I wasn't happy and didn't feel any better! my boss at work and another friend there offered to take me and bring me home if I wasn't feeling well to drive but I decided that was the last of my worries.

I go to the doctors office and try to not think about the whole procedure. While walking into the exam room I saw my friends mom who works there and she happens to be a good friend of my moms. I said hi to her and she asked why I was there so I told her I was getting a mole removed. She said that she would come in and check on me to see how I was doing cause she could tell I was having a mini heart attack inside.

I'm in the chair on my side while the technician is prepping me for the shot and then the doctor comes in... I'm keeping my composure for the most part. She starts to numb me and HOLY CRAP! THAT HURT! Not only did she poke me once but she poked me SEVEN times! Those shots are the devil and hurt like no other. Composure SEMI-GONE! TEARS TRICKLING DOWN MY FACE!, BODY SHAKING... she tells me she's almost done. I said, "I thought there was just one!" and she said that she had to get around the whole mole. She's done and says she's going to wait for it to kick in so she leaves the room. the technician comes back in and preps me for two more shots! not cool! Then the doctor comes back in and numbs me two more places but we discovered that the shots are kicking in and I can't feel the effected area. that makes me happier. Mom's friend come in and asks how I'm doing and COMPOSURE COMPLETELY GONE. I START BAWLING AND TOLD HER I'M NOT OKAY. She stayed with me the whole time and just talked to me to keep my mind off the whole thing. Although I did know what was going on the whole time cause they told me each step. She brought in a pillow to elevate my arm and they turned on music so I couldn't hear much.

1. deadly shots

2. cut the mole off

3. cauterize the hole (yes they burned my skin!)

4. stitch me up

5. bandage me up

6. done!

Yes I'm a 24 year old that bawled in the doctors office but it was not a pleasant experience at all! and I hate shots!!

Here are before and after pictures:

Three Bird Nest

2012-01-24T13:04:00.001-08:00

I was on Etsy the other weekend and came upon this great site called Three Bird Nest. This girl makes such cute headbands and scarves. I can't wait to get the ones I've ordered! Visit her shop or find her on Facebook... Plus if you mention you heard about her from me I get a discount! Seriously so cute!!

Etsy Shop

Three Bird Nest - Facebook

bored...

2012-01-17T17:11:00.001-08:00

So I’ve been bored lately since coming home from Christmas break. I
feel like I don’t do anything and that is boring to me. I just finished a series of books and feel like I need something to keep me occupied.

I did get a new book for Christmas that I plan on starting but other than reading I feel like I don’t do anything else.

I go to the gym and am starting Insanity tonight so we’ll see how that goes, I’m prepared for pain but I wants results so we’ll see.

I spend way too much time on Pinterest… it is giving me great ideas for the future though

I know that once I get my packing list for Africa it will keep me a little busier and preparing for that will have me walking around like my heads cut off

I really want to start sewing things… anything really! I found a really cute pillow and comforter on pinterest that I am in love with but I have nowhere to display them so I might have to hold off. Looking on that website they have so many crocheted things and if only I ever learned how to crochet or knit I would be able to do more things. I struggled in young women’s and never got it down.. granted I have never once tried after that dreadful night!

Work keeps me really really busy but after work I have all this free time I don’t know what to do with. It’s gets pretty boring actually.

I hope I can think of fun things to keep me busy with! If you can think of ideas let me know!

need I say more...

2012-01-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

I have some of the best friends ever!.... and they like to take silly pictures with me. indulge us in our crazy ways. this was at a friends wedding reception, she had a photo booth and it was so fun!

3 months from today!

2012-01-03T19:04:00.000-08:00

Till I leave for AFRICA!!!
Oh my goodness! I can't believe I leave...so soon but yet so far away! I'm so excited... we found out this morning that my aunt is coming with us and I'm so excited! Now we're getting our shots and prescriptions ready and doctors visits completed so that we're not rushing at the last minute. We'll get our plane tickets soon and then it'll be so real! oh my goodness I'm so excited!!!

List of things we plan on doing while there....
1. Working in the orphanages and villages in Lusaka, Zambia for 2 weeks
2. Go to Victoria Falls in Livingstone
3. Go on a safari
4. Ride Elephants!!
5. stop in Johannesburg, South Africa
6. Go to the LDS temple
7. Go to the street fairs/open markets
8. Lion zoo.... we can hold baby lions!

Yes that's right... I'm doing that all in 3 1/2 weeks... Oh I can't wait!

To my aunt Susan

2011-12-27T21:21:00.001-08:00

My aunt came over today and asked me about Africa. She has been debating on whether or not to come with mom and me in April. There's always going to be concerns but why not! I've thought about it a lot tonight and these were the reasons I came up with and others that came with me, as to why she should come with.
1. It's an adventure!
2. To share your love
3. To find God
4. To find yourself
5. To feel Gods love
6. Once in a lifetime opportunity
7. To be able to go with us!
8. to overcome fears
9. Service to others
10. Get to ride an elephant... :) and see the One of the 7 wonders of the world!

Going to Africa is totally different than the trip to Jerusalem. It's not a church tour and there's not a lot of learning. But in Africa we go to serve others. When your there you may feel like your not really making a difference and we'll be told that the point of going is not to go with the intent of changing all the bad but we put imprints in people's hearts and they put huge imprints on ours. We go to share our love and to let them know that people around the world care and love them and that they matter. You'll realize that the biggest change will happen within yourself and not what your doing there. Although serving the women and children and donating to families is a big help. Every little bit helps!

It's Christmas!

2011-12-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas It's Christmas!!!

Today has been a great day! we have had breakfast, opened presents and now we get to go to Church. I love that we get to go because we get to remember the true meaning of Christmas... CHRIST! I love learning about the life of Christ. He has done so much for us, especially the atonement. I am so grateful for everything He has done for us. I hope everyone has a great day and remembers the True meaning of Christmas!

Our Christmas!

I got a new laptop! I'm so happy I now have a computer that I don't have to worry about shutting down at any minute. Also I got a lot of good stuff :)

Uneventful day

2011-12-22T21:39:00.000-08:00

I think there is a reason I don't have days off....I'll explainAt my job I work Monday through Thursday But choose to go in on Fridays. I have the best schedule I could imagine! I don't have to work Fridays but since my friends and family work or go to school on this day I CHOOSE to work it also. I only work till noon...hardly any later, until recently I've had meetings that go till 2 but that's for something different so I don't mind. I've been going in every Friday for the last year and 4 months by choice. The only times I've had them off were because of Easter, Christmas last year and if I go out of town. I can count on one hand how many times I haven't worked Fridays. So as you can see I hardly have a day off during the week....Well today happened to be a day off of work. During the fall we get super busy at work so my work allows us to pick up more hours and as an incentive to pick up they give us one "credit" for every hour we pick up. During November and December they let us use those credits to our benefit. If we get 20 credits we get a paid day off! Well I got 2 days paid and so today was my day off. MAN WAS IT UNEVENTFUL/SEMI-UNPRODUCTIVE! I payed in bed til 11 then finally got ready for the day. I cleaned parts of the house my mom asked me to do and then wrapped presents and watched tv...all the while I was still in my pajamas! I finally ate breakfast around noon but still I felt so incredibly lazy! I got myself out of the house around 3:30 to run errands/ waste time till my parents got home so I didn't have to be alone. Saturdays are usually my only full day off, aside from Sunday's but even those are crazy busy with church stuff. But I don't think I'm even this lazy on Saturday's. I'm usually out running errands or at the gym by 9am! My next free day off is next Thursday so hopefully I have a more accomplished day... That's my goal anyway!

Day 1 and 2

2011-12-20T21:03:00.000-08:00

So as most of you may know I take spin classes. I love them and wish I made it to class more often, I'm lucky if I get in twice a week. I'm going to start getting my butt in gear and go 3 to 4 times each week starting when I get back to Provo. I'm currently at my parents for the holidays.Anyways, my favorite spin teacher Bert has been working with nutitionists and doctors to find a heathy weight loss that keeps results. Well he's conducting a study that measures our ketosis and makes us more aware of what we're putting in our bodies. He says our bodies have become so reliant on sugars that our bodies almost depend on it on a daily basis. I thought it would be cool to do and will help me improve my eating habits. Plus the study is only 5 days, I can go up to 7 but he doesn't recommend any longer than that. I figured I could get it over before Christmas and still see results and not have to miss out on Christmas dinner.
DAY 1All I could eat were PROTEINS! There was hardly nothing to eat all day. I had a hard boiled egg for breakfast, Chinese pork tenderloin for lunch (I tried to make an egg salad without mayo or bread and just had mustard on it...AWFUL) and finally tilapia for dinner. No fruit, vegetables, milk NOTHING! Worst part of all...Going to the grocery store drove me nuts! I wanted to eat everything that was out for samples!Comparison to what I normally eat.... Cottage cheese, egg, glass of milk and peanut butter toast for breakfastEgg salad sandwich or cereal for lunch... Unless something good is on the menu along with veggies or baked potatoDinner... Anything really. Dinners are easier on a healthy menu.SO BASICALLY I CAN'T EAT ANYTHING I NORMALLY EAT!!!!
DAY 2My breakfast and lunch were the same thing as yesterday. The good thing about day 2 is after 3pm I could eat a 1/2 cup of green veggies....WAHOO! I've never been so thankful for green beans in my life! They tasted so good and although a 1/2 cup may seem super small it was just enough to satisfy my craving!So I may have not completely followed the rules...I ate a Heath bar cookie at work...and it was DELICIOUS! I figure this study is to make me more aware of what I'm eating and reduce the amount of sugar I eat in a day. I'm not in the study to necessarily loose weight so I'm sure one measly cookie won't ruin everything. I can indulge once... Right?I've never missed my foods so much and I even thought I was eating pretty healthy. Guess it's all in moderation! Tomorrow I can eat larger varieties of veggies but Thursday I add fruits and my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Bring on the Holidays!

2011-12-18T18:46:00.001-08:00

I'm home for The holidays and I'm ready for Christmas to come! I still have a few more presents to buy so I'll be doing that early this week. I'm sitting with my parents watching tv on our new 60 inch tv with a new entertainment center. The Christmas trees all lit up and I can feel the Christmas spirit! Bring on the holidays...I can't wait!

Bring on the snow....

2011-12-11T10:35:00.001-08:00

I'm ready for ya now!

Friday night my family and I went downtown to Abravanel Hall to see Mr. Kurt Bestor in concert. This has been a tradition in our family to go see him during Christmas. In years past we've had to battle rain or snow but this year there was none of these, just bitter cold. His music makes me so happy and brings in the holiday spirit for me. Mom and I were talking during intermission and we figured that we've been coming to his performances for at least 10 years. Not all consecutively though, we stopped while Matt served his mission and a few years during high school are a little fussy and we can't remember if we went or not. I have been going to see him perform since I was at least 10 years old... I have fallen in love with his music and I'll be completely honest... I may have had a crush on him for many years. Sadly he's married and not to mention well over 20 years older than me... just sayin. His first concert was the year I was born...yep. I have always been a sucker for a singer or anyone that plays an instrument... and he does both!

His music is amazing and I just can't help but to smile during the entire concert. He has a huge orchestra and they are phenomenal!

As a family we love the whole orchestra but we definitely have our favorites...

Matt favorites:

Mr. Michael Dowdle

He is an amazing guitarist!

Mr. Eric Valenitne... aka Mr. Chocolate :)

Oh my goodness! He is so amazing and can sure rock those drums. He played a solo and ended up covering his eyes with his bandanna and still played those drums like nobody's business. It is amazing the talent he has!

Mom's favorite:

Mr. Daron Bradford

One year he played over 20 different woodwind instruments during one song... it was amazing!'

My favorites:

Mr. Kurt Bestor!

Okay so I couldn't find a picture I liked more than the others so I put my favorites. My favorite song of all is Prayer of the Children. I remember the year my grandpa died, I was 11... we went to the concert the very next day after his funeral and so I pretty much bawled the entire show but when he say Prayer of the Children with the synthesizer I really bawled the entire song. Every year since then I always tear up. It is an amazing song and will continue to be my favorite song forever.

Here's the link: There is just something so tender about it that makes me want this world to be better

I'm not sure who my dad's favorites are but he loves the guitar and bass too.

This has been a family tradition in my family and it really makes us happy for Christmas. If I could just make one request Mr. Bestor... please continue to do these concerts so 20 years from now I can continue this tradition with my kids. That would make me super happy! Thank you for another wonderful concert! See you next year!

Want to know where my brain has been lately....

2011-11-29T17:36:00.001-08:00

That's right.... HAWAII! My cousins are going to Maui for Christmas and said I could go with them but man oh man if plane tickets weren't so stinkin expensive I would be going in a heart beat. My heart sunk when I saw the prices and I don't think I'll be able to make it work. sad day! One day I'll go back but it's not going to be December 19 :(

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T17:10:00.001-08:00

I have so much to be Thankful for this year! Dad makes us say something we're thankful for at the dinner table and being put on the spot makes it hard for me to think of something quick. I sat down and thought of things I am thankful for and the list could go on and on but I'll keep it brief...
1. Family
2. Gospel
3. Health - especially after just getting over laryngitis
4. good job that I've been able to keep for 6 1/2 years
5. Friends - the ones that keep me grounded and stick with me through everything
6. Warm weather
7. Sunshine
8. Warm coats
9. soup... mmmm
10. A good apartment to come home to

This year Thanksgiving was pretty quiet. Matt and I stayed at mom and dad's Wednesday night through Saturday so we had a lot of relaxing time. I didn't have to work after Wednesday so I got to stay up however late I wanted... ha! If you know me I'm ready for bed by 9pm most nights but so nights I stayed up till 11pm and didn't feel guilty at all.
We didn't have any family with us for Thanksgiving and all our friends had places to go so it was just the four of us. Our dinner table looked like it could feed an army! Dad enjoyed bugged us about how we needed to fill those two empty seats....(spouses, he would even settle for boyfriend/girlfriend next year) He's persistent but it's not getting us any closer...sorry dad! The food was so good and even though mom was worried that the juices were too pink none of us got sick so all good and it tasted SO GOOD! Mom and I made my aunt Susan's recipe of Poppy seed bread and OH MY GOODNESS IT WAS DELICIOUS! Good thing this recipe makes three loaves because I took it home for a dinner group on Sunday and it was gone before the meal was over. Guess it's time to make more because I only got two slices. The boys were hungry! haha!

At 10pm we decided to head down to Walmart and see what was for sale there... man oh man there were so many people there! We had to walk around huge lines that went on forever but luckily for us we weren't going for the Hot items so there was no crowd pushing or punches thrown. We were safe in line for video games for my brother. The lines took a bit of time but we went to the electronics checkout line and it was MUCH MUCH smaller than the lines at the front of the store. Then we made our way to the mall... it wasn't open yet so we had to stand it a long line. There were so many kids there it was ridiculous! I'm glad I was never one of those kids that liked to just roam the mall to be cool...ok maybe I did a little bit but I really was out there shopping and not just trying to search for guys. The crowds at the mall were nuts and we all bought at least one thing. it was good! Then we went to Best Buy and that ended our shopping for the evening. We finished at 2am and then went to bed... but we didn't sleep all day. We woke up again at 8am and did a lot more shopping, I couldn't even tell you where all we went, mainly because I fell asleep in the car and missed some stores. Totally something I would do, right! haha!
Mom bought mini bundt cakes from Nothin Bundt Cake and oh my were they delicious! If they didn't cost so much I'm sure I'd buy them more often, guess it's a blessing for my midsection at least that they are so costly so I wont buy them. Mom and I ate one of them by ourselves :)
I loved staying at my parents and not having to worry about driving to Provo or work. Such a good break!

nothing too exciting

2011-11-15T17:33:00.001-08:00

I've had a brain fart as to what to write lately so that is why I've had an absence on my blog...

A few things that I have done plus learned the last little while:

1. Boys make my brain hurt
2. I love Jamba juice
3. 3 baptisms in my ward in 3 weeks is simply amazing
4. Weddings still happen
5. pranks are so exciting... when your doing them and having them done to yourself
6. Footloose makes me so happy
7. Driving to work drains my wallet
8. Friends relieve stress
9. The temple is amazing, refreshing, peaceful
10. My aunt might come to Africa with my mom and I and that makes me so so happy!
11. I got to go to the Africa boutique with my parents and it just made me so super super excited to go back
12. Working out makes me feel so much better although it's becoming less and less each week

Things aren't looking too good...

2011-11-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

I decided to sit down and apply for schools and guess what....

1. BYU doesn't have their applications online...at least from what I discovered
2. University of California requires the GRE...grrrr! I didn't have to take it when I graduated with my bachelors and now I have to take it...crap!
3. University of Hawaii doesn't require the GRE if I passed my classes (wahoo I did!) but each SEMESTER will cost minimum of $13,752.00 not including books and everything else....Panicking yet... I Think So!
4. University of Washington... tuition fee's first year $25,480 plus living expenses (not married $18,573) MAN I'M STARTING TO HATE SCHOOL! but on the bright side NO GRE HERE EITHER!
5. Southern Utah University.... apparently its an extension school to the University of Utah... (no thanks) but can't apply anyway... the deadline is TODAY!
6. University of Arizona... deadline isn't till March 1st... things are looking good here despite tuition fees.

Decisions decisions....

Crazy Crazy Busy!

2011-10-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Wow this month has been Crazy Crazy Busy! Since this month is October and Halloween is upon us my wonderful Home Teacher has tried his darnedest to make me scared. Ever week he holds a Scary movie night and man he's suceeded. haha! I have jumped, screamed, hid between my fingers, behind pillows and blankets. A few weeks ago a group of us went up to Tooelle to go to Asylum 49... for anyone who hasn't been... GO! It'll scare your pants off! I was scared just waiting in line and everyone could see it in my face. One of the kind souls that went with us, who I met that night let me borrow his arm. I basically said,

"Nice to meet you, can I borrow your arm for the night? Thanks! You'll get it back at the end of the night."

I held onto him so hard it hurt my hands afterward. There was one part where we had to get into a bus... Um NO THANK YOU! He had to talk me into go in there, oh and I had to go first... ha that's a joke! Well I did and he was right behind me. But the scary tall man just standing in front of me made me freeze and I couldn't move. He darted at me and I ducked for cover, still not able to move. So this kind fellow (still don't know his name) didn't want to stay in the bus any longer so he picked me up and ran out the back of the bus. THANK YOU FOR GETTING ME OUT OF THERE! Well we had a great laugh after but ask me again next year if I'll go back... not so sure yet. I need time to recoup.
Well the very next week my ward had an activity at Hee Haw Farms in Pleasant Grove. not a scary name, so many not a scary place and just for little kids... WRONG! I found another kind gentleman that's super cute to let me borrow his arm. haha! There were parts of the haunted house/haunted forest that had chain saws and we all went running! Even the boys! There was also a section that was a corn maze, not haunted. Thought I'd be okay... but my lovely friends enjoyed jumping through the corn to scare me... YEP YOU SUCCEEDED! Afterward our 2nd Counselor in the bishopric brought us donuts and hot chocolate... yum!
The very next morning... October 15th I ran a 5k with my friend Ryley. Her cousin is on the track team over at Timpview High school and was doing a fundraiser. Didn't train for it at all, actually found out about it two days before. But why not get up early and go for a run? It was great! They even had a raffle afterward and I won tickets for Comedy Sportz... I love that place! I was wide awake and was so productive with my day. I would start most my Saturdays like that if I had the motivation to do it.

That evening my roommates parents were in town from Arizona so we went to Cornbelly's in American Fork. I again had to borrow my friends arm and didn't let go. We had some good laughs there because some of the things we could go through weren't scary at all but most was very jumpy and creepy. I think I've had my fare share of scary places for the year!

We had a going away party for my friend at my place. He joined the Army and will be leaving for basic training in less than a month. He had to take care of some things back home before he left so he left with not much notice. It kinda all shocked us how quickly he had to leave but it was necessary stuff he had to take care of and we all totally understand. It's hard to loose a friend for that long of a period of time. The next time I see him will maybe be in May. We pray your safety!
I've been to two Real Soccer games with friends and that has been bunches of fun. I had never been to a professional soccer game before, just high school and kiddy soccer. It was so fun to watch and being there really makes you get into the spirit. Although I can say that Real games definitely had a different spirit than what I'm used to at BYU football games. There's people everyone yelling and screaming profanities and beer... everywhere! Aside from that it really is fun to watch the game and makes me happy!
I have also been really good at going to the gym! Even if I have to go by myself the majority of the time. I enjoy the gym and it makes me feel happy during and afterwards. I go to Spin on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and then I go to Zumba with my roommates and some guys from the ward. oh my do those boys make me laugh the whole time. I think laughing the whole time works out my abs more than anything and I love it. They are a hoot! I love zumba with them! They are starting a spin class soon on Friday's so I can go on Fridays too. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are usually my resting days. I have family home evening on Mondays and I don't like to go all gross after working out so I don't go some Mondays.

Ah life you have been good to me!

Conference weekend

2011-10-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

I LOVE CONFERENCE WEEKEND!

Conference + Amazing friends = Spiritual upliftedness (new word)

I have some of the most amazing, spiritually strong friends and that made conference even better. Thank you for going with me! I attended the Sunday morning session and got there a few hours early so I didn't have to get stuck in traffic and miss any part of it. I also got to listen to the Music and the Spoken Word. Oh how I love the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. There is something so peaceful and powerful when they sing that it can't help but bring in the spirit. I always find so many things from conference that were said exactly for me and that pierces my soul so much. It speaks to me on how to be a better person, friend, daughter. I get lifted up from Him and that helps me in all aspects of my life. I love this gospel so stinkin much and Love our Prophet Thomas S. Monson and all the other apostles. I love that they are building another temple in Provo where the old tabernacle is and also the temples being built around the world. The gospel is spreading so much and it is something I will never be able to deny.

BYU vs. Utah State

2011-10-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

Since I don't go to BYU I can't get a student pass to all the games that I would love to go too.. :( My favorites are the basketball and football games! Definitely the most rowdy but I would like to go to soccer and the volleyball games too, I've been to many and they are still really fun. On Friday I had decided that I was just going to watch the game at home and so I invited Sarah over to watch with me. I had my new 2011 Rise Up shirt on (theme for this year) and was ready for it to start. About 30 minutes before the game started my brother called and said that he had an extra ticket and wanted to know if I wanted to go... UM YES! How could I turn that down??? I would have been so stupid to. So I got to his old apartment as soon as I could and tried my hardest to avoid all the major roads ( they were packed with cars). The news was warning people to leave for the game before 4pm or else it would take forever to get to the game and you'd most likely miss kick off. The game didn't start till 6! That's how early people had to leave! Crazy! anyway Matt and I rode his roommates scooter to the came so we didn't have to deal with parking... yet we got to park right at the very front where all the motorcycles park. We did miss kickoff but only about the first 20 seconds of the game. We had really good seats too! Didn't have to stand in student parking which was nice on my back and we were down at the 20 yard line on the north end of the field. It was great! Sadly Matt and I left early because we didn't want to deal with traffic afterward, we were informed a little late that the scooter's headlight didn't work and when the game was over it was dark. So, with crazy amounts of cars on the rode with us on a scooter and no headlights we didn't that was the brightest idea so we left when we thought we were down. Luckily Matt was able to stream the game on his phone so we listened to it while riding. We had reached his old complex right before the game was over and we started screaming in the parking lot. It was pretty hilarious and if you could imagine people looking out their windows at us jumping up and down screaming, they probably thought we were nuts. But with 13 seconds left in the game Riley Nelson threw the ball and was tipped, but Mathews caught the ball in the end zone. It was a beautiful but scary play since it was tipped. I love it! I love BYU football and I love living in Cougar Town!

San Diego

2011-09-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

WARNING! THIS WILL BE A PHOTO OVERLOAD.... I sparred you from having to see over 300 photos... I picked the best and it pretty much summed up our trip.

September 17-24 I spent in San Diego with my mom, dad and Aunt Susan. We stayed at a hotel right on Mission beach and it was glorious... besides constantly being damp and once your clothes get wet ie..Shamu or a dolphin or the ocean... there is NO getting DRY!

(My new boyfriend I met in Old Town...sadly it wont last long since I'm not a fan of Mexican food. )

Mom and Susan seemed to like him though

on a covered wagon at the Mormon Battalion center

We saw Shamu! and only got a little wet... the first time!

Aren't they so cute!

Dad and I by the USS Midway... that ship is HUGE!

Isn't this cute!

We went over to Mission Bay and lounged on some lounge chairs (I slept and got burnt). you could pay to use this paddle boards... we were going to do it but then ran out of time. Bummer! Next time for sure!

We went to Coronado Island and had lunch and visited the famous hotel

Mom, Dad and I at Seaport Village

walking on the beach.. lovely!

In La Jolla watched the Sea Lions

last night on the beach

I GOT TO FEED/TOUCH A DOLPHIN!

dad and I resting our feet at the San Diego Zoo...second time around

cute little/giant baby panda

it was feeding time for the giraffe's so they were super close!

We got to go to the San Diego temple... mom, dad, aunt Susan got to do endowments and I did baptisms... BEAUTIFUL!

Peanut butter m&m's

2011-09-23T22:52:00.000-07:00

There's many things I've learned about myself and my family from my trip to California. One of the most random is how much my family LOVES peanut butter m&m's! We ate two of the big bags in 4 days and we've got one more for the trip home. We've gone to the grocery store twice to pick up a bag. It's ridiculous but there's something about these little guys that we just keep eating. I'll admit I'm probably the worst out of my parents and my aunt, but I always grab a handful when I walk by the bag. SO GOOD!!!

Call me crazy....

2011-09-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

But I'm really not a fan of the ocean. Don't get me wrong I love staring out at the ocean and watching the waves but I don't like getting in. Maybe it's the cold water, the salty sea, the seagulls or the enormous waves that would pummel me in a heartbeat. Ya pretty sure those are not things I enjoy. Every time I get close to the ocean I can taste the salt and that brings flash backs of when I was in Hawaii and every time I tried to catch a wave I'd get stuck in the undertow and get thrown around. I love the calm beach though! I could lay out by the beach for hours but never get in and be totally okay with it.

Love!

2011-09-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

Love my roommates Amy and Meagan

Love my friends!

Love this picture!

Reminiscing....

2011-09-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

So yesterday it hit me that today marks my 1 year from leaving to Africa. Man has time flown, granted sometimes it feels forever. One year ago right now I was flying from Washington DC on my dreadful flight to Johannesburg South Africa... all 18 miserable hours of not getting sleep, trying to watch 4 movies, and my constant up and downs out of my chair to go to the bathroom because of being gassy due to I have no idea what but the Asian girl said everyone has that problem so just try to ignore it. Well it's a little hard, the pressure just hurts!

It's so hard to believe that it has been 1 long year...although so many things have happened since then...
1. I moved to Riverside condos
2. I fell in love
3. Fell out of love/had my heart broken
4. Been on the rope swing in Mona twice
5. Hiked the Y
6. Admitted to myself that it's time to apply for grad school
7. Met new amazing friends
8. Became closer to old friends
9. Went to Mexico
10. Joined a gym....and actually attend
11. Ran a 5K...that never would have happened in my life
12. Won prizes on the radio
13. Went to the stadium of fire
14. Went to California to celebrate my old roommies wedding!
15. attended the Festival of Colors
16. finally moved to Old Mill

I feel like I've done so much more but those are the big things. It feels so weird to me that in just 7 months I'll be heading back to Africa and this time my mom is joining me. I'm so excited to go back. I've had so many dreams about planning on going there or dreaming about the kids and now that's it's actually happening it's so exciting to me. I know 7 months wont come fast enough but I've already got half my trip paid for... just a bit more so I'll need some extra time to save. I get so antsy when I think about it. I'll be there for my 25th birthday and that is the best way I can imagine spending my birthday...other than with my friends and family. I can celebrate early though!
This year has definitely had it's ups and downs but the bad are behind me and I'm so grateful for things learned and how much I've grown.

party and brownies

2011-08-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

So last night I had a party at my apartment and invited basically all my friends. We played some volleyball and swam. We had the whole pool area to ourselves which was pretty nice! Some boys from the ward came out to see if they could play too so that was pretty fun. I didn't expect a whole lot of people to actually show but in all there probably were about 30 people that came. It was super fun! I bought pizza's and mom gave me her recipe's for her brownies. She makes the best brownie's and blondie's ever and people loved them! I'm so happy I didn't mess up the ingredients...I'm kinda prone to that sometimes. People were really impressed with them! I'm so glad mom makes the best desserts!

Blondie's precooked

final product!

Brownies all frosted

New Home

2011-08-23T18:13:00.000-07:00

I moved!!!!
I'm now living at a place called Old Mill in Provo. I LOVE my roommates, which considering ones in the past it's pretty much a blessing! I have my own room, own half bath and I share a shower with my roommate Stephanie. We have a dishwasher, but no washer and dryer :( sad day but that's okay... now I'll go home more to do laundry or just suck it up and pay for it on the second floor... not too bad. I live on the 3rd floor so we have a little balcony that stands over our giant pool! and it has an indoor volleyball court. It's super warm during the day and very humid... they call it a solarium, (basically a tropical greenhouse). we have banana plants too! It's super cute! the whole apartment was decorated by our landlord, and she loves Audrey Hepburn so most of our pictures are of Ms. Hepburn. I love it though, the colors are very me. My other roommates are Meagan from Arizona and Amy is from Indiana. Enjoy the pictures!

my kitchen

the kitchen table

our living room

our two TVs :)

my room with a full sized bed!( before the TV was moved)

my room (bathroom and shower)

Better picture of my full sized bed...no more twin!

Inside my bathroom

Inside my shower (it has jets!) the other doors go into Stephanie's room

outside my balcony!

Love the pool... there are two more that are outdoor pools...mines indoor

bummer...

2011-08-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

So I think I jinxed my Internet on my last post by spending hours on my computer when I had Internet. It was glorious to be able to sit on my couch and check my email, facebook, blog and online shopping. Sadly the very next day our Internet went down and it hasn't been up since. :( sad day! Unfortunately I can't really complain considering I'm not even paying for the Internet. I'm bumming off my neighbors Internet along with my roommate... I offered to help pay for it but they said not to worry about it. Every time I get the courage to call my neighbor or hunt her down in the stairway she tells me that the cable company said they would be coming to fix it... and they do but it only lasts a day. I feel bad bugging them considering I've had free Internet for the last year almost. If it was mine and I way paying for it don't worry I would complain all the time to the cable company! So the only time I can check my email is at work or when I am at church (byu has free Internet for guests). That's it! so no new pictures can be posted since I don't take my computer everywhere.

The last couple weeks have been crazy fun... last week I went to Bear Lake and Logan with some friends... that deserves a post on its own... since I have a hole in my ear drum, possibly from that.

This last weekend I spent it mostly at the pool or moving my stuff since I'm moving next week.! So if you don't see a blog post in a week it's because I'm Internet-less :(

Finally....

2011-08-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

After 3 weeks of not having internet it's working again! It was being retarded and would load a page but the second you tried to do something it would stop working. Well the girls next door finally got the cable guy out here to fix it and it's working for a full hour now! Happy Day!

In the last month I went to my cabin with my parents and grandparents for the 24th of July weekend. That was nice to get a break from work and everything else. I slept a lot and watched a lot of Friday Night Lights... my new favorite show! Sunday after church we went to the lake and had a little picnic. I fell asleep on the picnic table and when I woke up I found dad and grandpa walking across a log... boys will be boys!

My work also had a work party over at Thanksgiving Point and for the new Harry Potter movie that just came out they made it Harry Potter themed. It was actually really fun. My friends Sarah, her daughter Makaela and Shawn came with me. We got wands, gross tasting jelly beans and were sorted into "classes". I was in Griffendor. Comedy Sportz, who is a comedy club in Provo came and did a show and that was pretty entertaining. I've been to many many of their shows and I just love it cause it's clean and very interactive. They gave away prizes that were so cool but sadly we didn't win anything.

Grandma Bergeson

2011-07-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

1918- July 6, 2010

http://www.funeralrecording.com/index.cfm?pageid=172&lid=2282

Last year I received a text message from my dad at 5:42am saying "Grandma passed away earlier in the night. Can you imagine the reunion that is going on in Heaven right now". That was a very hard and emotional few weeks for me but I know without a doubt that she is happy and healthy again. The best part is that after 12 years that she outlived my grandpa she is now with him watching over our family. There have been many hard times that I have had whether I've felt scared or just needed the strength to keep going and I've prayed for help and I immediately feel it. It's not just grandpa anymore that I'm feeling, it's grandma too. and of course Heavenly Father.

She was such an amazing women! She cared for my grandpa who suffered from Alzheimer's for many years and then the last few years of her life she was so strong and held on. She had a stroke and then just went down from there... every time they told us to prepare for the worst she would pull through and keep going. She got to the point where it was hard for her to remember who everyone was but she tried her best. She knew it wasn't her time and made it her best. She beat breast cancer and many other illnesses. I love the fact that she loved to travel... I think I got that from her. She loved to sit and talk to me, sometimes I felt like we were little schools girls and best friends when she'd talk to me about dating. It was pretty funny! Pneumonia won the fight in the end but it was her time to be reunited with grandpa and uncle Robert and of course our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

I feel like a hypocrite

2011-07-06T17:31:00.000-07:00

Right now I feel like a hypocrite and it makes me sick. Yesterday I was supposed to go to a work friends wedding and I didn't go. I told her I'd be there and then I really didn't feel like going come yesterday morning. I got up late cause I was so tired before work so I didn't shower and then right after work I went to the gym. I could have gone but I wouldn't have had any make up on and my hair would have been pulled into a pony-tail and I would have been super sweaty. I debated all day during work whether to go or not and I ended up not going. I feel so bad and guilty!

I have had so many friends past and present since I was young that would tell me they would go to something or meet me somewhere....and not show. They would text or call the day before, the morning before and even an hour before and bail. That drives me nuts because I've tried to live my life that if I tell someone I will do something, I will do it! I don't tell them for weeks that I'll go and then bail at the last minute because I know how it feels and I wouldn't want to do that to my friends...yet it happens all the time and has since middle school or earlier. The way I see it is if you don't want to do something, just say it! If you don't think you can keep it, don't say you'll go or be there! It's that easy...if you don't think you can keep the promise than don't promise to be there. Even if you don't actually say "I promise I'll be there" but you say "yes I'll go, or I'll do it, or I'll be there"... that means you'll be there!
So basically it comes down to if I promise I'll be there... I'll be there. I wont keep promises I can't keep. I don't like feeling bad or guilty about bailing on my friends or family.

July 4th weekend

2011-07-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

So I love holidays and summer so the 4th of July is always so fun!!!

Friday night wasn't so much of a celebrating day... my friend Drew and I helped Sarah paint Makaela's room for the 3rd time... coloring was wrong so we had to go back multiple times...kind of annoying! Don't buy paint from WalMart. After that we watched our new TV show we're addicted too.... Friday Night Lights

seriously who doesn't like Coach Taylor.... Loved him at a young age in Early Edition.

Saturday morning I got up early and cleaned my room and part of the bathroom in my apartment. It's pretty gross since I seem to be the only one in my apartment who cleans. One step at a time... I'm be cleaning 3 days straight to do the whole place by myself if I tried...no thanks!

In the afternoon I went with a bunch of friends down to Mona (small down past Payson Utah). they have a lake there where you can rope swing in to the water. I had to get over two fears...heights and swimming in water. I'm not the best swimmer and I had to climb a tree to get to the rope. To say the least I had one friend go before me so he could be in the water with me when I jumped and another went behind me to help me walk out on the branch to reach the rope. the rope was kinda far out so if you have short arms like me you have to walk farther and it's not pleasant. some boys were scared too...not just me! Anyway the first jump I face planted it because you have to keep your arms as straight as can be and then remember to bend your knees behind you so you don't hit the water and get pulled in... it's a little hard when you jump and forget everything your supposed to do. Anyway I ended up doing it again and about fell out of the tree but I held on and didn't fall in. I was pretty surprised myself when I was still hanging. Pictures to come...

Last night was the stadium of fire at the LaVell Edwards stadium. The singers were Brad Paisley and David Archuleta... so so fun! I'm so glad I decided to get a ticket and go!

Spinning and next challenge

2011-07-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

So I've been taking a spinning/cycling class at Gold's gym and I absolutely love it. They have classes Monday - Thursday but last week I just went Monday and Wednesday to give my legs a rest. The class is so fun and the teachers really know how to get you going.

This is how I feel when I'm just entering the class...

half way through the class this is how I'm feeling....

I still keep moving though and by the end I'm feeling like this...

After it's all done and I keep my balance I'm feeling like this...

Strong as can be!

I love spinning class...it's making my legs so much stronger and I've been less sore every day to the point that I don't feel pain the next day. My teacher said that I'm at 21% body fat and wants me to get down to 19%... time to lay off the breads and baked potatoes and more protein and fruits.

My next challenge though....

5K Mud run Salt Lake.

Jumping over haystacks, climbing up walls, sliding through tunnels, wading through a creek, running up and down hills, superman down a water slide, and a giant mud pond....now doesn't that sound like fun?

It's on either September 17th or the 24th... not sure what one we're going to do but should be lots of fun!

Utah Valley 5K

2011-06-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

Back in January my work sent an email saying that there was a Utah Valley Marathon coming up in June and if we wanted to do it they would sponsor us. Since it was free I decided to start out with just the 5K since I've never really ran in my life. I've ran for sports some but never straight running, running was something my brother loved and had the endurance for... me on the other hand was horrible at running. Some people even make fun of the way I run because it kinda looks like I'm waddling. I figured it was something that I wanted to accomplish and since I had 6 months to train it wouldn't end up being that hard.... Well being the lazy person that I am I kept putting off running for a long time! I think it was in April that I finally buckled down and would run every so often on the treadmill.... buckle down..ha! that's a joke. I really stunk at keeping up with the training and all my friends and family knew it. When I would run I'd run 1 mile and quit. Never did I run more than that thinking that I would just build up to it eventually.... well eventually never came. Yesterday snuck up on me and all of a sudden I had to run 3.2 miles. Thursday I made the bad choice of meeting with a personal trainer at Gold's gym and got a free session... to put it straight forward, he kicked my trash! I was so sore and knew that I wouldn't be healed by Saturday. So Friday night I was stretching and taking calcium pills and eating semi healthy to try to loosen my muscles so I would feel better. Needless to say Saturday morning I was stretching like crazy and took more calcium pills and ib profen to help with the pain in my shoulder. I went to where the starting point was of the race and met up with a few friends at work that were running also. The first mile was the longest mile of my life! I even looked at one of my friends and asked her if we were almost done and she said we were just coming up to the 1 mile marker... I couldn't believe it! I felt like I had been running forever! mile 2 and 3 came a lot quicker than 1 so that was good. I was so happy to see the ending although the last 100 yards or so felt like eternity and I couldn't wait to cross the finish line. I ran a lot faster than it felt... I finished in 37 minutes which averages about 12 minutes per mile, 13 for on of the other miles. That's pretty good considering on the treadmill I usually average 11 to 12 minute miles and I've been told running outside is harder than on the treadmill. I'm happy I accomplished a goal... even if it was with very limited running and lack of practice but I didn't give it up when so many people didn't think I'd do very well. I'm also very happy that it's over and can't wait for the additional soreness to be gone.

Here's some pictures of me after the race... nobody was able to make it to the race to take pictures of me running but that's alright. I was still able to prove it afterward.

California

2011-06-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

I've been really bad at blogging lately...so let me catch up

May 21st I left for California with my friend Ryley for a little vacation. Our reasoning for going to California was to go to my old roommate/best friends wedding in San Diego. Ryley and I decided that we wanted to sight see so we went for a whole week and stayed in Los Angeles with a friend of Ryley's mom. We did and saw so much! Here's the beginning of a picture over load...

Here's us hiking to the Hollywood sign the first night we got there.

On Sunday we went to Santa Monica and walked down the pier. We ate at Bubba Gumps and road a Ferris wheel and saw Mickey and Minnie mouse

On Monday we went and saw the Los Angeles temple. (Me being the forgetful one forgot that the temples are closed on Mondays so we just got to see it.) We also went to Rodeo Dr, the Kodak Theater and a park under the Hollywood sign.

Tuesday we went to Knott's Berry farm and then we shopped at Downtown Disney. We got henna tatoo's there but they didn't stay more than a couple days... :( and not worth the money

this ride broke on us so we had time for a quick picture.... the workers let us jump to the front of any line for any ride we wanted afterward since we had to sit and wait to get off... not a problem with me!

On Wednesday we left LA and headed to San Diego. We had several hours to waist so we took the Pacific Coast Hwy the whole way and stopped at Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Oceanside beach and ended at Carlsbad beach. we drove past Newport beach but didn't stop.

Thursday we layed on the beach and went to a free concert held at the Carlsbad library. Afterward we got Coldstone ice cream...mmmm! Also, my phone decided to die this day so I had to go buy a new one :(

On Friday it was finally Naomi's wedding!! We went to the San Diego temple and spent the day with her on her beautiful day... everyone got a little burnt outside the temple. oops! next time sunscreen!

Her reception was in the evening and she surprised us when she threw her bouquet because instead of just one bouquet it turned into 5. Ryley, Jaci and I all caught part of it!

Saturday was our last day in California :(

We went to Oceanside and walked down the pier and then had a bonfire on the beach in Carlsbad with Alisha's family. Afterward we went to the Inn and went hot tubbing.

California I will miss you till I see you in 2 months! :)

My brother the college graduate!

2011-05-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little late but I'm behind on my blogging...
April 22nd my brother graduated from BYU in Exercise Science. Grandma and Grandpa came down for the ceremony and we went out to Carrabba's for dinner. Matt will start school back up in July and will be going to the Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Pharmacy, formally known as University of Phoenix, I believe.. So proud that he is done and on his way to his Masters!

Hiking the Y

2011-05-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

So I've lived in Provo for 4 years now and never hiked the Y. I attempted it several years back but it was already dark by the time we got not even half way up so we went back home to Sandy. Kinda a bust but oh well... I've been wanting to go for forever since but never got people that really wanted to but last night we finally got people to go. Yesterday was kind of touch and go because we had a downpour of rain hit us and then it would try to sprinkle for 2 seconds every now and then. Friends would ask if we were still going and I said Yes, unless we get another down pour I'm okay with not going but if it's just going to sprinkle, I don't mind. So we went and was so fun! Yes there was the burn in the legs for awhile but then I stopped hurting and I was okay. Note to everyone else... go to the bathroom before you start your hike cause there's nowhere to go at the bottom of the trail or anywhere between that. I did pretty good but Ryley and I took the hard route and went to the top of the Y instead of the easy way at the bottom.. we wanted to die at the last leg though but kept going and felt great afterward... here are some pictures...

Texas Party

2011-05-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago some friends of mine had a Texas party. Most of the boys that threw the party are from Texas so it was fitting. They had hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner and chips and salsa. They said that the person with the best dressed would get a prize... Sarah and I couldn't pass that up so we went out looking for a great outfit. I don't own any cowgirl clothes so I had to borrow some things and bought a new shirt. It was really fun!
Here are a couple pictures that we took... Makaela looked so dang cute!

traveling family....

2011-05-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

I definitely have a family that likes to travel! Not frequently but every know and then we travel.

Dad used to travel to the Philippines for work and got to visit the city. He also went on a river rafting trip to a waterfall and got up-close and personal to the tigers.

I of course went to Africa and played with kids in the orphanage and outside communities. I also rode an elephant and went on a safari

Now mom and aunt Susan left this morning to Tel Aviv, Israel! They will spend the next 12 days visiting the Holy Land and walking where Christ walked. How cool is that! It has never been something on my bucket list to do before I kick the bucket but if I had the chance to go with them, would I have gone... HECK YES! I'm so incredibly jealous that they get to go travel and the travel bug in me is craving to go somewhere cool. The more they talked about it the more I wanted to travel. I'm so excited for them and hope they have a great time! Happy Mothers Day to you both! I love you!!

here we are dropping them off at the airport...

My brother hasn't gone on any cool trips out of the country yet but one day he will. He wants my dad to take him to South Korea to go visit dad's mission and I want to go too! One day it will happen....

I've feeling lucky!

2011-04-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I got a telephone call from a radio station 97.1 ZHT and the lady said that I won an IPad 2!!! I have never won anything like that before except for little contests at work but nothing as amazing as this. I have been entering to win one for the last couple months but never did I think that I would actually win it!

That same night my brother called me and said that his roommate was willing to sell me his 42' inch TV to me. He had a friend that was going to buy it but when it came down to it the friend didn't have the money so it was my decision if I wanted it or not. It's less than a year old and still in super great condition. Shortly after buying this TV he won an even bigger one from his work so he didn't need this one anymore. I got it for about half the price I would have in the store and it still has everything with it. I'm super super happy that this all happen in the last couple days. I have been super lucky and grateful for everything in my life right now. Life could not be any better right now!

Reunion...

2011-04-22T16:10:00.000-07:00

I know I talk about these girls a lot on my blog but that's because they are some of the most amazing, wonderful friends I could have asked for. I've known them all for about 7 years now and I don't know what life would be like without them.

Karri was the first of us to get married, few months out of high school. She has a great husband that I really look towards for guidance and advice. They have a beautiful daughter named Kajia who is almost 3yrs old and baby TayVen who is 4 months old. Any time I just need to get away from the crazy life of Provo they lend me their spare bedroom in Pocatello and let me crash for the weekend so that I can return to my crazy life more sane and filled with advice. I love that Ty is so protective of me when it comes to the guys I'm dating. I feel like he see's them better than I do and I love receiving their opinions, even when I don't see their way right away.

Sarah was number two to get married. She is the strongest person I know! After just a couple weeks of being married her husband went to Iraq for a year to serve our country. She is now going through a divorce while supporting they're beautiful daughter MaKaela who is 2yrs old. She is always there for me when I need her, whether it's a lunch date to Zupas, a movie date or just someone to cry to when I'm having a rough/frustrating day.

Jeannette was the last of us to get married (excluding me of course). She got married to a wonderful man who always asks how I'm doing and really cares for me and other people. These men truly have shown me what kind of guy I want my husband to be and how they show their love to my best friends is amazing. They have two adorable twin babies that are now 4 months old, Zac and Zoe. The way they show their love to these kids is amazing!

I truly can say I have some of the best friends in the whole world and now I have their husbands to look up to.

The reason I'm writing about these girls is because it is so hard for all of us to get together in one night. Jeannette and Clay got married 4 years ago and we have only all been in the same room together once since then. No picture was taken to prove it so I totally forgot all 4 of us were there. The majority of the time we can get at least 3 of us but Karri lives in Pocatello now so we have a hard time coordinating all of our schedules along with the 5 children that need to be with us. Lets just say it was really difficult but I made sure that when Karri came down last week that we would all plan our schedules around us getting together. Since the children are so little we can't just get up and go somewhere without them because one is still breast feeding and others have are on feeding schedules. We just sat around and talked about EVERYTHING, nothing special but it was so fun to have us all together. I love these girls and their families so much and I'm so grateful for them and the support they give me.

My 24th Birthday

2011-04-07T22:14:00.000-07:00

I've never really enjoyed birthday's and never make a big ta-doo about them so this year wasn't going to be any different.

I talked to my mom Tuesday night, the night before my actual birthday and my mom wished me an early happy birthday. All of a sudden I started to cry... and not just tear up, the tears were streaming down my face. Obviously I knew it was coming because Hello, it is my birthday but I wasn't prepared for turning 24 as I thought I would be.

After high school I definitely thought my life would be different than it is now. I knew I would be done with school, at least I had hoped so I did accomplish that but never did I think that I would still be in the dating stage of life. There's times where I want to just travel the world and experience everything since there's nothing tying me down here but cost wise that's just not realistic. I talked to my grandma today and she said that when she turned 24 she had/or was pregnant with my dad... yep that definitely doesn't help my situation feel any better but that's ok. It just shows how different my life is from many others past or present.

Anyway... I worked yesterday since I had no plans during the day and I kinda didn't want anyone at work to know it was my birthday but my wonderful friend/manager decided to decorate my desk with confetti, streams and balloons. She wanted everyone to know that it was my special day.

After work I got to go see my friend Jeannette and her two amazing/adorable/perfect twins who are three months old. I loved spending those two hours staring into their eyes and feeding them and just getting to cuddle with them. (this was when they were first born)

(more recent)

After that I went to see Hairspray with my family at Hale Center Theater. I wanted to do something different than what we normally do, like going out to dinner which involved being embarrassed by the singing done by the waiters at a restaurant. So I bought tickets a few weeks back and it was so much fun watching the play and not having any attention on me. Afterward it was a little late so most restaurants were closed in the lobbies so we just went back to my apartment and opened my presents. Matt bought me a new Nixon watch and my parents bought me my new pants that I had liked from Buckle. Funny thing about this is that my friend Sarah had her birthday 6 days before mine and I gave her a gift card from buckle also and she went out and bought new jeans with it. Turns out they are the exact same jeans my parents bought me, same exact size also. funny!!! I also got yummy chocolates and cash... :) no birthday cake or singing... that is ideal! I hate being embarrassed so I wasn't upset about that at all.

Tonight Sarah and I decided to go celebrate both our birthday's at Macaroni Grill.... yummy! We both ordered Fetticini Alfredo with shrimp. Sarah wasn't going to let them not embarras me so she told the waiter (super cute I might add) that it was my birthday, but I had to butt in and let him know that we were also celebrating her birthday too. That way when the singer sang Happy Birthday in Italian it wasn't just towards me but her also. I'm sorry but I feel like it's so awkward and I never know whether to stare at them while their singing or look away. It's so weird!!!!!! We got super huge cakes and enjoyed drawing on the table, although all it said was happy birthday and then had arrows pointing at each of us. The table next to us wished us happy birthday also after the singer was done... strange, I think but they were just being nice.

(our yummy cake)

(our drawings so people could embarrass us)

I got a few texts and messages on facebook from friends wishing me happy birthday and that made me feel good. I didn't have my birth date on facebook because I didn't want people to feel like they had to wish me a happy birthday just because facebook told them too... I wanted them to because they remembered and not to feel obligated. Well that just meant less than normal but that's okay.

All in all it was a really good two days that were for the most part low key and was spent just the way I preferred...With ones I care about and ones that care about me.

Did I mention....

2011-04-03T22:12:00.001-07:00

My friends love to torture me! Remember how I wrote in my last blog about the Festival of Colors that I hate my hands dirty.... well I don't like my face being clobbered either....

As you can see my right hand is clean...the other got attacked in the fire. Did the boys defend me...nope! they stood by and watched as I got covered in chalk! I tried real hard to keep the chalk out of my mouth and eyes and this picture, although not the greatest, shows how hard I tried to keep clean. I failed in the end. :( This is me after they threw it all over me.... and they act like they love me...ha! :) anyway, I love these girls even when they gang up on me and would do absolutely anything for them and their children!

Sarah's 24th Birthday

2011-04-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Sarah's 24th birthday! We went out with a few of her friends to Tucanos for dinner. The food is so good!! Happy birthday girl! I love you!

Sarah, MaKaela and I

I love this little girl!

Festival of Colors

2011-04-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the Hari Krishna festival of colors in Spanish Fork. I've gone the last two years but attempted to go the year before but we missed it. If you don't know what it is basically people from all over go to the Hari Krishna temple and you buy colored chalk. Then you throw it on everyone!

Things I've learned to do:
1. Wear something you don't mind ruining... it ends up pink
2. Close your mouth when people throw chalk at you... it doesn't taste too good and it sticks to your teeth
3. When everyone throws chalk at the same time... take a deep breath and clothes your eyes
4. If you have a clean under shirt use that to cover your mouth and nose when the chalk is thrown... but if the under shirt is full of chalk, your doomed!
5. My issue with keeping my hands clean all the time gets ruined by my friends
6. I use my inner thighs to wipe my hands off but friends ruined that IMMEDIATELY!

Here are pictures from last week!

(Karri, Sarah, me, Shawn, and Ryan)

I'll Stand By You

2011-03-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

I Love this video!

Also here are the lyrics... I wish I had knew people that stood by these words...

Oh why you look so sad
The tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Don’t be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
Cause I’ve seen the dark side too

When the night falls on you
You don't know what to do
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less

I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you

So if you're mad get mad
Don’t hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
Hey, what you got to hide
I get angry too
Well I’m a lot like you

When you're standing at the crossroads
And don't know which path to choose
Let me come along
Cause even if you're wrong

I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
Take me in into you darkest hour
And I’ll never desert you
I’ll stand by you

And when, when the night falls on you, baby
You feeling all alone
You won't be on your own

I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
Take me in into you darkest hour
And I’ll never desert you
I’ll stand by you

Oh I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you

I just don't get it!

2011-03-24T20:49:00.001-07:00

Why is it that boys love sports so stinkin much? It doesn't matter if they play the game or just watch it... tit controls their lives. One thing that really bugs me is that when our team loses... it totally ruins the rest of the day! They mope and get super close to crying and nothing cheers them up. Come on! Get over it for cryin out loud! yes it sucks they lost but move on and live your life! Don't make it ruin the next couple days... I just don't understand it. The eat, drink, and live those sports and will move everything around it to watch them.
For some reason most girls just don't do that. And I'll never understand why it runs boys' lives. Don't get me wrong I love watching basketball, especially BYU but I don't pout the rest of the night if they loose. I just move on with my night.

I'm Grateful

2011-03-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

I'm grateful for wonderful people in my life who call me when I'm having a bad day. I'm grateful to the wonderful friends I have who let me crash at their place to get away from reality for days, who take me to movies, eat ice cream with me and play with their wonderful children. I'm grateful for family who looks out for me and wants the best for me. I'm grateful for the simple texts I receive to see if I'm doing alright and hanging in there. I'm grateful for the constant reminder that I deserve the best and I'll find it one day. I'm grateful for the reminder that I'm strong and I'm worth it.

I have some of the greatest friends I could ever ask for and even when they are having a bad day they worry about me anyway. I'm grateful for friends that let me cry on the phone and don't say anything but let me cry. You know who you are and if you've asked how I'm doing in the last couple days, THANK YOU! You mean the world to me and truly shows me who my friends are. Others don't ask because they don't know what to say, but true friends care, true friends worry about their friends, true friends hang out even if they have more important things to do.

I'm doing better.... as in better that I haven't cried in almost two days. Progress! But I know that I deserve better and that I shouldn't be talked to that way. I don't miss the past, some days it's just hard because I miss the constant company, but it's better this way and I will be better for it in the end.

The end...

2011-03-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

Have you ever gone back and forth over and over about something and decided that things just don't work. Well... Logan and I got together again for the 3rd time in February because we just meshed well together. The first time we dated it lasted 3 months and then I broke up with him. After two months we decided to try it again and it lasted 2 weeks. This last time we waited 3 months but talked almost everyday if not hung out every day and this one lasted 1 month. We had so much in common that we thought we could make it work. We loved the same things, enjoyed being together and talked all the time. But we kept hitting a brick wall and things just never work, so after everything since July its over. He wanted to get married way sooner than I was prepared for and that started the bump in the road. I wanted to date awhile and not rush but deep down that was always on the back of his mind. He said it didn't bug him but I knew it did.

So today he decided that he wasn't able to act like himself and that for himself he just needed to break up. I told him that if we did we WOULD NOT get back together ever again but it was just too much and I couldn't keep doing that to myself. He knew that if he made the wrong decision that would be a decision he had to deal with.

I truly did love him and he knew that but it really was a constant roller coaster and I just couldn't handle it anymore. I can't put myself in that situation anymore so we are going to cut off all conversations for now, I honestly can't see myself talking and hanging out with him anymore because I know us and we'll want to get back together one day. But that's not an option anymore. For now it'll be weird seeing him because we do have so many friends together but that will be a hurdle we have to deal with.

He see's girls and thinks that he wants to take them on dates and hang out with girls so that is what he is going to do and I'll have to do it too. I will move on with life and just wont be getting married as soon as it could have been. I guess that is my fault considering I'm the one that put a hold on it in the first place. one day... one day!

So I will just have to move on and start the stupid dating scene all over again.

Color Me Mine

2011-02-27T16:18:00.001-08:00

So I've wanted to go to Color Me Mine for a long time now and it just never worked out to go. If you don't know what that place is, you basically pick a piece of pottery. They have bowls, mugs, plates, and then figurines for little kids like animals and princess figurines. Anyway after you have picked out what you want you get to paint and decorate it any way you like. Well being the non creative person that I am and also a very non artistic person I had no clue how to decorate it. So I copied one of the mugs that they had because I thought it was a cute idea. Logan knew that I had wanted to go for a long time so for valentines day... (ended up being 5 days after valentines day because I was out of town Monday) he took me there. I was so excited!!! This is how they turned out! Logan did a mug of BYU:)

the inside of mine... promise I didn't leave it all white

Lake Havasu

2011-02-27T15:54:00.001-08:00

February 12-18th I went down to visit my grandparents in Arizona. Matt and my parents went with and boy did we have a good time. While there we went to California, Las Vegas, and Mexico. So we were in 4 states and 2 countries in 1 week. While there we went to a few flee markets and got to shop and eat good food. It felt like the summer again! Oh did I mention the weather was in the high 70's to 80's all week... yep that's right! While Utah was in the 50's which was a high but also snowed we had beautiful weather. One of the days it was a little windy so we stayed inside that day but other than that it was fabulous! I wore shorts and flip flops everyday.

Things we did...

1.boys did a lot of golfing while the women shopped.

2.We went to Mexico and shopped some more

3. Went to the Grand Canyon and went on the sky walk... took lots of pictures there

4. Stayed in Vegas and did a lot more shopping

So ya we shopped a lot! Down there they had their summer clothes out so it was fun getting new clothes that you can't get here yet.

In Vegas we ate at Buffalo Wild Wings and ate at a buffet. Matt showed mom and dad and I around the strip, they had never been inside the Belagio Hotel. There is a really great outlet mall on the north side of town and that's where we all bought new summer clothes.

It was a wonderful vacation over Valentines day and totally worth it. It wasn't fun coming home and having snow the following day though :( That was a bummer!

Matt, Mom and I in front of the Belagio fountains

Paris Hotel

Mom and my sad attempt to gamble :(

Matt and I at the Grand Canyon

Mom, dad and I

again at the grand canyon

In front of a Joshua tree

Burros at the park... they were nice this year

My first shrimp taco's in Mexico... they were actually good!

My first Date Shake... those were good too!

The sunset at night...

The good and the bad

2011-02-12T00:40:00.000-08:00

So every year I visit the orthopedic surgeon to do x-rays on my spine to see if my scoliosis is getting any worse. I was hoping for some positive answers because in the last year I have visited physical therapists and I am currently going to a chiropractor once a month for the pain. I thought that with all this added help that it must/should at least be doing me some good. So as I waited for my results from radiology my doctor came back and said that it was good news.... my spine stayed at the same curvature 32 degrees if not got better to about at 31 degree curve. He said depending on the way I was standing each time it could make barely a difference. So that was happy news! but... I told him that the only pain I really experience is in my hips... which is why I go to the chiropractor to get readjusted because one hip is several degrees higher than the other. And also I have bad pain in my shoulder. He asked if that was addressed last time but I don't remember what went on last year... he should have made record of what we talked about. I thought we did because my shoulder was worked on in physical therapy. I told him that I'm not able to raise my right arm very high and have very little mobility when it goes about shoulder height. The intern that was there started to run these tests to see how much mobility I really have and they said that I had tendinitis in my rotator cuff... I never really worried too much about it because I was told by another doctor that it was arthritis and bursitis in my shoulder blade due to my scoliosis. These doctors that I went to today said that the pain I'm experiencing has nothing to do with my scoliosis and I should not have chronic pain in my arm. So in again I went for more x-rays to see if they could see anything but it didn't show tendinitis, which they didn't think it would anyway. So to help the pain I got an injection of Kenalog which should help the pain. Anyway I guess I can't wish for two positive things but hopefully now I will have more mobility in my arm. I have to continue with the physical therapy to get it stronger.

here is my most recent picture of my spine...

Maybe it's a little early....

2011-02-01T16:36:00.000-08:00

to work out that is. For the last week I have been sick, I had a fever for a couple days and then I lost my voice. I had to force words to come out and I squeaked like I had just hit puberty all the time. I sounded like I had been smoking for the last 60 years and didn't know how to control the addiction. Finally, I got my voice back, not completely but I sounded like a girl again and that made me happy. Today I woke up totally fine and didn't feel sick at all and sounded like my normal self again so I decided it was time to get back to working out. So I popped my Jillian Michaels workout video in and lasted 10 minutes! Ugh! I was dying and couldn't stop coughing. I guess it was a little early to jump back into working out. I will wait a little longer and maybe try again next week if I'm feeling better.

One by One

2011-01-24T16:42:00.000-08:00

On Friday I went to the Provo temple and did baptisms for the dead with my friend Angela. That temple is ALWAYS crowded and sometimes I feel like their just herding sheep around and we are the sheep. There's always a constant line and it never seems to end.

Well, while we were sitting there on the very last row waiting to do baptisms the new temple President walked in and bore his testimony about the importance of coming to the temple often the great work we were doing. He talked about how the font is usually full with people from 5:45am till 11pm when he leaves.

He talked about how when Christ walked among the Nephites he let the little children feel the scars on his hands and wrists from on the cross. One by One the Nephites touched him, they were patient and kind. 2500 hundred men, women, and children waiting patiently for their turn to be among Christ. One by One we went into the font to do the work of so many others that have gone on before us that never got the chance to be baptized in the life. We need to not be rushed when we go to the temple because 2 hours may seem long to us or a waste of time but I like to think of the people I'm doing the work for and think how many more years they've waited for this opportunity and had I not been there that night, they may have had to wait even longer.

Doing temple work is such a selfless act that we are able to perform and we need to have a better attitude about it more often.

I try not to feel like I'm being herded by a sheep herder anymore and that it doesn't matter how long I wait, it's worth the wait because someone has been waiting much longer than me.

I'm grateful that the Temple President was able to make time for us and to give us a better perspective on what exactly we were doing there that day. It made everyone quieter and more reverent, and I'm grateful for the Spirit that was able to be upon us.

2011

2011-01-09T11:18:00.000-08:00

So this is my first blog post since 2010 that it's been awhile.

Things that have happened:

1. New Years was spent at Tucano's with friends and then games and fireworks at the Provo Town Center Mall

2. New Years day I saw Tangled... so good! and then shopping with friends

3. Work....lots and lots of work

4. working out... at least I attempt to have the drive to work out

5. hang out with friends

Yep that pretty much sums up the new year. Kinda boring but I've got goals for this next semester. I'm going to 1. Scrapbook my trip to Africa and 2. make a quilt. I've got my work cut out for me because I can see the scrapbook taking a long time if I'm trying to be a perfectionist and I also stink at sewing. Those are my goals and I'm going to achieve them!

Wonderful Christmas

2010-12-29T19:53:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was by far one of my favorites. My aunt and uncle and cousins flew down from Alaska to spend Christmas with us and it was way better than I could have imagined. We spent the week shopping, playing games, laughing and so much more. The kids loved playing games each night so we made a point to do it for a couple hours each night. It was so fun rather than watching tv all the time. We played U-no, Catch Phrase, Things and grandpa and grandma taught us Pollock Poker.

Giving present ideas to my family was a little difficult for me because I felt like I didn't really need anything. I knew some things that I was getting and others were complete surprises. I am very grateful for all my gifts that I received. The biggest surprise was the one my parents gave to me. When I looked at all the presents around the tree I saw one with my name on it in a giant blue shopping bag. Dad said that I had to open that one last, I kept looking at it thinking what on earth it could be. I didn't ask for anything that big and so I tried to figure it out but came up with nothing. Finally when it came time for me to open it my dad brought it over to me. When I touched it I knew it was a picture frame but I still had no idea what it was of. I opened it and it was the best gift ever! Liz Lemon Swindle did a picture call Worth of a Soul, it is of Christ holding a little African boy. Well that little boy's name is Kennedy and lives at the Mothers Without Borders orphanage. I met him while I was there in September and fell in love with him. While I was opening it I started to cry. My family hadn't heard any stories about this boy so I tried to tell them that I knew Kennedy but I was crying and that made everyone else cry. The next couple days were emotional for me, I couldn't believed I now owned this picture, and every time I thought about it I'd tear up. I wanted that picture badly but I never voiced my want for it, at least I don't remember ever telling my family. Back in October mom, dad and I went to a boutique for Mothers Without Borders and the day before one of the girls that works with my mom went and bought the picture for me so it would be a surprise. I never could have asked for a better present.

After we had opened all the presents we were sitting in the living room and the sun was shining through the window. The sun shined only on Kennedy's and Christs faces. It was an amazing picture, we tried to take a picture of it but it didn't show up on camera, the faces were washed out. its a great memory though! Dad leaned over to me when he saw it and he said it reminded him of the burnt picture in the Provo Tabernacle of Christ and how his body wasn't burned at all. that made me cry too. Here is a picture of my wonderful picture and I can't wait to have it in my apartment! It is already framed with a beautiful frame. I was very spoiled this Christmas!

On Sunday we took my cousins down to the conference center and we watched the music and the spoken word by the Mormon Tabernacle choir. My cousins loved it! I really enjoyed it too. Afterward we walked around up top the conference center and then around temple square. They had never been there before so we got to explain things that go on at the temple and in the visitors center they show what it looks like in the temple. It was a great way to spend our day.

Family has gone now and home is very quiet. I am grateful to my wonderful family for everything they do for me. I love them all very much and I am grateful for the opportunity we had to have them in our home. They felt like they were intruding by sleeping in mine and Matt's rooms but I would prefer that than anything else. I don't care where I sleep as long as they have a place to stay in our house because it is big enough for us all. I wish they didn't live so far away so we could visit more often than every couple years. Next time I see them Norman, who is 13 will definitely be taller than me. Sometimes that's not fair because I'm 10 years older than him! I should be bigger and taller like I have his whole life... now he'll tower over me and I'll look like the younger person. The girls in my family got jipped on the whole height gene. We're all shrimpy but one day that will come to my advantage... I just know it!

I hope everyone else had equally wonderful Christmas's!

Frustrating shopping

2010-12-15T20:26:00.000-08:00

Have you ever gone to the mall wanting to buy new clothes and find absolutely NOTHING!? That usually never happens to be but since I've been back from Africa I've realized that I don't NEED more clothes. I have plenty, but to blow off steam or if I'm bored I'll go to the mall to make me feel better. The last several times I've gone to the mall I look at clothes and think their cute but I don't really need them so I end up going home empty handed. :( Anyway, my friend Ciara and I were shopping last week and the same thing happened again. We didn't find 1 item we wanted to buy so to make things fun while we were at Forever 21 we found the ugliest items we could find and made the other person try it on. It was pretty entertaining/uncomfortable because we would go into each other's dressing rooms but there was a man right outside my door waiting for his girlfriend and trust me he looked at me so awkward. Ciara didn't want me to post the dresses but how could I not. I decided to just put it on my blog instead of facebook so not everyone would see it.

Ciara is wearing an off the shoulder shirt that has a flowing sleeve on one side. I'm wearing a green jungle print jumper. Keep in mind it was a large so in no way did it fit me!

haha!! Ciara is wearing a bright stretchy tube top dress that has an extra flap around her waist. I'm wearing a denim blue and green flowery tube top mini dress... it has pockets on my stomach!

so UGLY and can I say SHORT!!

Talk about embarrassing walking out of my dressing room wearing this dress. I put my coat around me but didn't help for my left... boy shopper gave me strange looks

lazy Saturday

2010-12-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

Do you love relaxing Saturday's where there is absolutely nothing you are required to do?... I sure do! This morning I chose to wake up at 6:30am this morning to go and get a massage. I loved every minute of my massage...sometimes an hour just goes by too fast! My massage therapist was a guy named Curtis. I honestly wasn't too excited when I first saw him because he was small and I didn't think he would be as strong as I would have liked but boy was I wrong. He was amazingly strong enough and worked on all my tense spots. My back has many knots as he worked a long time on them. It felt wonderful and wished I could take him home so he could work on me even longer!

When I got home I made monkey bread and had breakfast and then took a wonderful 2 hour nap. Now I'm sitting on my couch watching the BYU/UA basketball game in my pajamas... nothing scheduled till this evening so yes I will stay in my pajamas for a little longer!

Love lazy Saturdays!!!

Condo up for rent

2010-12-03T16:39:00.001-08:00

So I just put my apartment on KSL for sale. I'm wanting to move out in April so I don't have to pay $285 per month in the summer. It's a little much for me to pay so if you know anyone that would be willing to pay that much, let me know! it's hard to say goodbye just because I LOVE having my own room. It's hard to fathom having to share a room again with another girl but it'll help me save so much more money. oh well we all get used to it eventually.

I'm going to stick it out here through Winter semester because I'm finally getting friends in my ward...my bad for taking so long to meet people but that's what happens when your dating someone and in another country for the first month of moving in.

Please spread the word and if you know of anyone interested let me know!! Love you all!

Grateful....

2010-11-20T21:25:00.000-08:00

These two girls are amazing women who I love! Jeannette (in white) is having twins in January and Karri (in black) is due in December. They have helped me with so many things in this crazy life and have been there to hear about all my problems. I am so grateful to have these girls in my life and I am so excited to meet their new babies. We are missing my friend Sarah and her daughter MaKaela too.. they couldn't make it to the baby shower but one day we'll all be together in one place, even if it ends up being my wedding day... way down the road! But we'll make it happen! They are the best examples and I'm very grateful for them and all they do for me!

Congrats girls! I love you and your babies!!

Forgiveness

2010-11-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel like when your angry about things and you try to hide them something always happens that makes you feel like your being rebuked? Well that's how I have felt lately. I was upset about some things that have happened the last couple weeks and when I went to institute on Wednesday, our lesson was on forgiveness. The first thing I thought was "Oh great!". Anyway I am better about the way I felt and I did forgive so it was a good learning lesson for me but that doesn't mean I was happy about it in the beginning.

Sometimes I just feel like I want to be mad about things but in the end it's never good to let things fester. It just makes things worse and when you talk about it to people it just makes you sound like your being lame and petty.

Anyway, good learning lesson for me.

Yesterday was so not my day :(

2010-11-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

So I already vented a little bit on facebook about how awful yesterday was but I decided to write about it on here also...

Thursday I started to feel sick, I woke up with a sore throat and working at a job where your constantly on the phones you throat tends to get worse as the day goes on. I was constantly drinking water to try and help it but it didn't work very well. I started to get warm so I felt like a fever was coming on, I checked it when I got home and it was higher than normal but not too incredibly high... like 99.7. Well anyway I picked up extra hours at work for Friday so that I could try to get close to 40 hours this week. bad mistake!

Friday morning comes and I wake up at 6am... I still had a slight fever but since I already picked up I had to work. I get to work at 8 and am miserable. I was only scheduled till 1pm so I figured I could stick it out. By noon all I wanted to do was go home and sleep. The managers sent an email for people to leave early if they were off at 1pm but by the time they allowed me to leave it was 12:45...pointless!! well anyway I left and went to my car and it was DEAD! It would not turn over and I know for a fact that nothing was left on like a light or something. I called my manager to see if she could get someone to jump start my car but she was at lunch with all the other managers. So I waited for them to come back and by 1:15 they got back. We were about to jump start it when my car decided to turn on. lame I know! I would have not chosen to sit in the parking lot for 30 minutes if it wasn't truly dead.. the managers made fun of me that I didn't turn the key all the way.

Anyway, I got on my way and my manager said that if I had any other problems to call her and she would come get me. So I make my way onto the freeway to head back to Provo, my brother calls me and asks if everything is working and I say yes. He says that if there are any other problems to let him know and I say ok... the second I hang up the phone my car starts freaking out! The brights were flashing on and off and the car tries to change gears without me wanting it to and starts lugging forward. So I call him immediately back, he can't hear the noise it's making but I stay on the phone with him. I pull off the first exit I can and make it into a parking lot without it dying on me. The second I pulled into a parking spot it dies again! by this point I'm crying like crazy because I'm emotional and all I wanted was to sleep. Is that too much to ask!!! I think not... anyway I pop the hood to see if the wiring is loose and it looks fine... remember I'm a girl and have no idea what it would look like if it was loose anyway.

The engine wont turn over so Matt says to just let it cool down and try again in a bit. He looked online to see if other people have the same problem I am and they do, but no one wrote about what the problem was and how to fix it. Matt figures that the coolant was low because it was leaking on the battery and there was green gunk on the battery. Well shortly after the car decides to turn on and across the street is a gas station so I go in there and buy more coolant. I finally made it home...it just took me an hour and a half! ugh!

So I get home at 2:15 and I jump in bed... I wanted to sleep as long as possible. I woke up at 5pm and got ready for the evening. I went with a bunch of friends to the Byu/Utah Hockey game at 7 Peaks. That was a lot of fun but I still wasn't feeling all that great. I was freezing first off but my head was way warm. Anytime I tried to eat food it just didn't settle well so I had to be careful with jumping up and down. After the game we watched Toy Story 3. I only closed my eyes for a few minutes but I got hit so I woke up. That was the first time I saw the movie so they insisted that I stay awake. I don't think I missed anything though :)

Anyway that was my lovely eventful day... today WILL be better!

crazy week!

2010-10-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

This week has been pretty crazy. I made it through my first full week since my brother quit working. I have to say that the first day was not so good. I felt weird not having him work with me and even though I don't actually see him because we work different hours and he works from Provo and I work in Draper but just knowing that he doesn't work there anymore was a weird concept for me at first. He has been there for 3 1/2 years while I've been there for 5 so the whole time he was there I was too. Throughout the week it got slightly better and I accepted that he didn't work with me anymore. But I made it through much better than I thought I would at the beginning.

Monday for family home evening my ward was combined with 2 other wards and we had a Halloween party. The first thing that went through my head was, "Are you kidding me! I don't know more than 2 people in my ward and now I wont know anyone from the other wards either! This was gonna be a great beginning for me...NOT!" Well while I was sitting down waiting for the misery to be over, a guy in my ward started talking to me. He's way nice and we talked the whole evening and hung out. It definitely made things less miserable and made me stay longer than 15 minutes.

Wednesday I went to a benefit concert at Tahitian Noni with the friend I met on Monday. The history of the benefit concert is that all proceeds went to a guy named Dane. He is in the music major at BYU and this summer he was swimming in the ocean with him family and a boat ran him over. For awhile they didn't think he was going to live and when he did, they said he would loose his leg. Through many miracles he didn't loose his leg and is learning to walk all over again. Him and his wife are footing all the medical bills so this benefit concert was to help pay for the bills. There were many singers from BYU like Noteworthy, who competed on the Television show The Sing Off last year and a former Noteworthy teammate sang, along with other groups too. I was in awe of every ones talent and enjoyed it so much! I'm really glad I ditched Institute to go because if not that really would have been just stupid of me!

Thursday I went to a murder mystery dinner. Logan put on the whole production and it actually turned out way fun. I've never been to one so I was kinda clueless to what I had to do. There was a lot of reading to get the background of the story and at first I just felt like I was trying to solve a math story problem... trust me I'm not good at those one bit! So it took me twice as long to read it than everyone else and by the end of reading it I still didn't know what to do. There were some of Logan's friends that I met while we were dating that were there so it was fun to see them again. I'm glad I went because I really enjoyed myself. Even though I'm a terrible actor and didn't have a clue as to what I was supposed to say or do it was still fun. No one was grading me on acting and that's a good thing because I probably would have went home. haha!

Friday I went to the Villa's (yes I don't live there anymore but people from my ward do and old friends do) Oktoberfest party they have every year. I got free hot dogs and dessert. I got to catch up with my friend Erica that I seem to see like once a month or less and that really needs to change. After going there I went to our Stake activity at the bowling alley at BYU. We went a little late so we didn't get to bowl long but that's alright. I think that the Villa and the stake thing needed to plan better because they had the activities not only on the same nights but exact same time so not many people went to either because they were at the other event. oh well!

After that we went to the haunted house over on 150E. in Provo, which is a college student apartment that decks their house out to make it into a haunted house. I attempted to go last year but the line was too long so we didn't go. It was pretty scary, my heart rate went up a lot and I was out of breath and lost my voice at the end. They charge you a dollar is all so it was definitely worth it. A group of us went to Briana's apartment after and played the game Sing Off or something like that but I will admit I fell asleep. I had been awake since 6am so I was exhausted, I did sing one song after I woke up but didn't participate too much.

Africa boutique and family day

2010-10-24T16:49:00.001-07:00

On Saturday my mom and dad and I went downtown for a fundraising boutique with Mother's Without Borders. All proceeds went to the kids at the school and man they had a lot of stuff. There are the cutest blocks with one of the kids faces on each side, I bought two because some of my favorite kids where on those blocks. I also bought a necklace. Mom and dad bought lots more so I was really glad they went and saw everything. They also met Kathy, I really like her and everything she does so I was glad they got to meet her. Mom wants to go next time I go... I can't wait but it'll be awhile till I go again because of how expensive it is.

We stopped and ate sandwiches at a place called Tony Caputo's. They make really good sandwiches.

Later in the afternoon all of us including Matt went and saw the movie RED. It was pretty good but weird at the same time.

I loved just having a full day spent with the family!

Happy Birthday!!

2010-10-21T17:02:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my dad's birthday and today is my grandpa's birthday! Happy birthday!!!

Yay for food!

2010-10-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at my work they had a Anniversary luncheon for everyone that has been there for 5 years. They have this luncheon every 3 months and yesterday they took us to Market Street Grill in Cottonwood. I got the steak...yes I know the restaurant is famous for seafood but for some reason I choose steak. I also got their clam chowder and chocolate cake. The best part was that it was all FREE!

We got an award for being there 5 years and our manager had to do this schpeel on us and then we took pictures with the all the managers above us and with the President of the company. It was kinda cool but the best part was that I got paid to eat and be gone for 3 hours. Made yesterday enjoyable for sure! Although I did eat way too much food.

After work I went to mom and dad's and ran on the treadmill to work off some of the calories I ate because for dinner my family and I went to Texas Road House for my dad's birthday. I ate salmon instead of steak. haha! oh well, I was super full at the end of the day and didn't want to eat anything!

Things I'm grateful for

2010-10-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

So I still don't have Internet at my apartment so that is why I have not been able to post lately. I am grateful for friends that let me bum off their Internet for the evening.

Since being back from Africa there are several things that I have taken for granted my whole life and since being back I have a new appreciation for them...

1. A hot shower.... you have no idea what it's like to have a cold shower every day
2. no cockroaches.... they're the worst in the shower and you can't have someone kill them because your in the shower
3. no giant spiders... they're much bigger in Africa
4. Deodorant... body odor is completely different when your in a different country
5. Clear air - trust me our pollution is nothing compared to Zambian air
6. not blowing my nose and having dirt come out
7. Grass , it's so pretty!
8. good health
9. familiar faces
10. Milk
11. hamburgers from a cow
12. ketchup
13. my bed not covered in mosquito nets
14. any food other than peanut butter and jelly
15. hanging out with friends
16. paychecks

Until all these things are taken from you you'll never know how much you missed it!

Finally pictures!

2010-09-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

Pictures are in order as to what we did for the most part

House of Moses

Ruth and Shakira

Blessing and Justina

Justina and Abbey playing games

Shakira and Kennedy playing games

Abbey...he's adorable!

he was adorable! he wouldn't tell us his name

CRC kids at their birthday party

Kennedy and me

Sweet shades! Abbey loves sun glasses

Ethel and me

Alice, love this girl!

Kids performing for us

She has my heart! She was acting out her life... so touching! had us all in tears

Can't wait to see her again!

putting my hand print on the wall of volunteers

handing an employee a chicken... first thing I thought was Kajia saying "um, dead chicken, chicken dinner"

Lds church

Kathy and Josephine at Carol Zulu's grave. 14yr old girl that died last year of Aids.

In Africa 500 people die a day from HIV/Aids

gorgeous Jacaranda tree surrounded by ugliness

Shopping at Kabwata with Val and Terry

Beautiful girl at Bwafano. She wouldn't let me go all day

little boy outside his house in Bwafano

little girl in the village

17yr old girl and her daughter Ann who lives at Julius Village

Julius village boy playing with his toy

Entering Victoria falls

first view of the falls... beautiful!

View of the Zimbabwe side of the falls

ready to go down the zip line

Entering Zimbabwe

Elephant on our safari in Botswana

inside the jeep

Beautiful picture

Bop, the elephant I rode

Baby elephant

Riding Bop

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Loved the trip!

AFRICA!!!

2010-09-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

On September 1st I left for Africa... that was the scariest/best day ever! I left for the airport at 4am, my flight was at 6am. I was scared to fly and almost wanted to bail but I knew that would never happen, I just had to get over the jitters. I flew with another girl in my group so I was grateful that she went along with me. I've decided that I do not enjoy flying...especially to Africa... my trip took 2 days to get to Africa and was 35 hours spent in airports and airplanes. yep that's right 35 hours!!

Many things happened while I was there. I was with a group of 13 other people so I definitely was not alone. I felt very safe...the majority of the time. There were only two situations where I didn't feel that safe but we turned them into good outcomes.

My first experience was when I was taking a shower. yep! I met a spider and a cockroach...yuck! I screamed and jumped out of the shower but no one could help me... I was in the shower! So I got the courage and killed the spider with my shampoo bottle and I found a heel file to squish the cockroach. the cockroach landed in a loofah... yep I kept it there! I did warn everyone else that a dead cockroach was in the loofah. The first thing that came to my mind was..."WELCOME TO AFRICA". We found lots spiders in our house the first little while and there were many screams from me.

The main kids we spent the majority of time with were the kids at the Children's Resource Center. There are 22 orphans that live on the property. They have taught me so much about life and have gone through so much in this life. Many of their parents died of HIV/Aids and while their parents were sick they had to care for them. They had to grow up so fast! They really have taught me so much and all of them have touched my life so much. We did many projects on the land... we sanded a water tower to get all the rust off it so we could repaint it, we laid gravel on the road to raise it so when the monsoon season hits the road isn't flooded. We also dug out the compost pits and helped clean the school house. It was a lot of hard work but so beneficial, I loved helping out the employees because that made their work easier. Trust me, the second I started sanding I said out loud... " man, if I knew we were sanding I would have brought an electric sander" but you don't get that benefit in Africa. I definitely learned the meaning of hard work.

I am not going to go into huge detail as to what we because that will take hours. But we went into many different compounds/neighborhoods to meet the people and play with the kids. Julius village is village that has hundreds of children. We played many games with the kids and learned a lot. We went to their watering hole and watered their garden for them and also taught some of the women how to sew. We sang songs with the women and taught them new games. Many of the kids in Julius village didn't speak English so it was very hard to communicate. Smiles and hugs are universal though. We learned a lot!

We went to Chisomo where there is a shelter for street kids. The kids there have the choice to stay there, one requirement of staying there is that they have to attend school. Many kids that don't want to go to school have to return to the streets. They sleep in ditches and hundreds of people are out there every night. The kids that want what's best for themselves stay at Chisomo, they have a bed each night and a cooked meal every day. Most of these kids are older so we played games with them and they also sang and danced for us. It was so fun to learn about these kids.

We did a little shopping in a village called Kabwata Cultural village. I spent quite a bit of money there. The people sell their items outside of their houses, you wouldn't think that they could create such beautiful stuff in such a tiny space but they do. It was very hard to say no to the women there, they kept telling us that our sale was the first one of the day and would help buy dinner for that evening. One thing we learned over all the people we met is that many only receive one meal a day and it's not a great meal at that. I would starve and these people do most of the time. It's so hard to say no when you know their situation.

The first place we visited was an orphanage called House of Moses, they have children from newborn to 18 months old. The first little girl I held was named Eunice, she kept coughing and what I found out was that she had Polio. The only time she wasn't suffering was when she was asleep in my arms. It was so heart breaking because there was nothing I could do to help her feel better. We then went over to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) and visiting the nursery. While we were there we saw 1 baby girl that was born earlier that morning die right in front our eyes. We also saw a table with a sheet over it, it had two more newborns that had died earlier that day on it. That was really hard to take, I about passed out... plus it was super hot in there so it was just too much to take. I had to sit down and rest for a bit. We then went down to the mens ward and saw what it was like there. Most of the men were dying of TB or Aids, they looked so helpless and their families were so sad. Our hospitals are usually positive and the families try to be upbeat...not here! One man died while we were there and we saw the family member cleaning out his room.

The last place we went to was a compound called Bwafano. We split up in a few groups and went with a social worker to meet several families. The first man we met was sick with TB and was on ARV drugs to help cure his disease. Because of the drugs the man was left blind in both eyes. He was the bread winner for his family and now he cannot work. We gave his a care package of wash clothes and toothpaste, he was so happy and grateful for the wash clothes. It was so amazing to see that they are grateful for the little things and we take so much for granted. The second lady I met also has TB and had a stroke recently, the stroke left the left side of her body paralyzed so she could no longer leave her house. Her children have to care for her now. The 3rd guy we met also has aids... he was in much better condition. He was walking and laughing. We just sat and chatted with his family.

After we left Lusaka we got on a bus to head to Livingstone. We rode a bus for 6 1/2 hours down with a bunch of Africans, it was fun but really long. While in Livingstone we went to Victoria Falls and I did a zip line across the Zambezi river. It was 200 meters long and 111 meters high. It was so fun to do that! We also went on a safari in Botswana and saw lots of animals. The last day I was there I went on a Elephant Back Safari. It was so fun to ride the elephant... it hurt way more than riding a horse but totally worth it.

The flight back to the States was no bueno! I did not enjoy that at all! I had to do it all by myself and will never do that again! I almost missed several of my flights because I didn't have enough time to get to my gates. I had to go through customs in Johannesburg and Washington DC. My last connecting flights were only 45 minutes apart so I had to book it across the airport. Luckily I made it every time but I was sick to my stomach much of the time.

Sorry so long! I will post pictures in another post so it's not so long

finally an update!

2010-09-27T19:45:00.001-07:00

So I've realized that I haven't posted in almost a month and the reason for that is that my apartment doesn't have internet right now. I have to get that fixed real soon but as for now I have no internet. I get to check my email while I'm at work or at a friends house but I don't keep my computer on me all the time so I haven't been able to post much.

So much has happened in the last month but the main thing is that I went to Africa...finally! that will be a post in itself so sorry it'll be long but lots happened.

Homeless....

2010-08-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

So Provo likes to kick people out of their old apartments 2 weeks before they can move into their new apartments. I feel really bad for the people that don't have family in Utah where they can stay for a few days so I am really lucky that I can stay at my parents for the next 2 weeks. I did have a lot of friends that were staying in their apartments that said I could stay on their couch but since I work in Draper now it didn't really make sense for me to stay down there. I am going to go down on weekends though and play but during the work week I will be at my parents. I sure love home cooked meals :)

Oregon coast

2010-08-03T21:48:00.000-07:00

Last week my grandpa's side of the family had a family reunion in Twin Falls so we went up last Friday to visit with family. Friday night we went to the Twin Falls temple, everyone did endowments except for me, I did baptisms for the dead. It is a real small temple but absolutely beautiful! Sunday morning we left for Oregon and boy was that a long drive! We stayed in a hotel in Seaside right on the coast. It was really pretty but really cold. Everyone wore sweatshirts the whole time so that stunk cause it's summer but felt like Fall. Oh well! We spent time in Cannon beach and went to Astoria, Oregon. We shopped a lot and window shopped. Mom and dad went out every morning and looked for sand-dollars... oh jeez! we had so many that eventually they got picky and threw ones that weren't perfect back to the ocean. Dad layed them down in a trail and totally looked planted but he said every one of them were picked up by the time we left the ocean. I went out with them one morning and it was fun but I was really tired. I'm glad I did it though. I also got to feed seals, hold a starfish and a guy from Arizona taught me how to catch crabs off of a bridge. Here are pictures from the trip!

Me at Cannon Beach

At Seaside

I love seals!

Feeding the seals

Astoria, Oregon

Light house

Twin Falls temple

The Hogle Zoo

2010-08-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

On July 17th a group of friends and I went to the Hogle Zoo to see all the animals. My favorite was the baby elephant Zuri, she was so cute! There's a lot of pictures because it was way fun! Here are the pictures!

Logan and I and the baby elephant! so cute!!

I'm as long as an adult female chimpanzee

haha I think we look so funny!

Karla, Katherine, me and Zoraya! Us and our Chinese hats

Logan and I with the giraffe

Melissa and I walking like the penguins

We be gorillas!

Ryley, Zoraya, Melissa and I

Everyone that came to the zoo! Love it!!

Us in the globe...so cool!

finally an update!

2010-07-18T16:52:00.001-07:00

Sorry I haven't written a post in awhile, I've been super busy. I actually started working back in the call center so I don't have all day to post an update like I used to. When I get home from work I just don't want to get on the computer so I go out and play. That's the main reason as to why I haven't updated in awhile.

On July 6th my grandma died from Pneumonia. That was really sad but it was definitely her time and now she is up in heaven with my grandpa and many other people that have passed on in our family. Last Saturday was the funeral up in Ogden. We were able to see family members that we hadn't seen in a long time so that was a fun reunion of our own. There was lots of tears and laughter when we talked about her wonderful life. We all realize that it was her time and that she is in a much better place.

We had gotten a call that my grandma had come down with Pneumonia on July 2nd so instead of going up to our cabin for the 4th of July we went and spent that Saturday with her. It was a really hard day but we all knew that she would be passing soon. After we left her place on July 3rd a group of friends and I went to Liberty days here in Provo and walked around to see all the venues. That really helped me get my mind off things and that was a really good thing for me. there was no way I was going to be able to think anything other than my grandma if I was cooped up in our cabin by myself. My friends definitely helped me threw that. On July 5th a bunch of friends and I went up to Deer Creek reservoir up Provo Canyon and played at the lake. We swam across to a little island and then back again, the lake was super cold but it was a really hot day so it felt nice. In the evening the Stadium of Fire had Carrie Underwood as their main singer, a bunch of friends and I got together and walked to the stadium and just found some grass outside of a BYU museum. we had a really close spot, we couldn't see Carrie but we could definitely hear her. We played games and just enjoyed each others company.

Our ward has a talent show about once a semester and this was the first time I actually participated. I was way excited about it cause we were doing some fun things. My FHE family did a skit...ok well a rap to a video we found off of YouTube, it's called Tithe Rap. The second skit was another fhe groups but they needed another girl that was light so I decided to help out. It was really fun and only took us 2 days to practice. Melissa and I are the main girls and the other people are our spotters. We dressed up in glow sticks and tapped them all around our bodies then we do a fight scene in the dark. watch it...it's cool! They are on my facebook under videos...I can't figure out how to upload them right now.

Tithing rap group

right after doing my dance

Glow stick group after we changed

That's about it for now, this weekend has been so fun! I went on a date.. :) and then it was my roommates birthday so I threw a party for her and we went to the zoo. I don't have the pictures but they're on my friends camera so I will post a blog about that but it needs to be on it's own.

Summer is finally here!!!!

2010-06-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

So I finally feel like summer is here. I have more time to do things and it's light out when I get off work. I don't like working till 4, 5, and 6 o'clock at night but the more I do the less I have to work on my days off to catch up. Some of the many activities we have done in the last couple weeks include...

1. giant slip n slides

2. playing at the pool all day

3. sunburns :(

4. BBQ's

5. pedicures

6. late night movies

7. Frisbee

8. four square

9. foot twister

10. roommate singing in the kitchen

11. the temple

12. baking cookies

13. Bike riding

14. P90X ab ripper

I love summer! I'm sure there will be many more things this summer... this is just the start! Here's a few pictures

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend I drove up to Idaho to visit friends. I stopped in Rexburg to see a friend and drop off his stuff. While I was there I was able to go to the Rexburg temple and do baptisms, that was cool to see that temple. It's small but beautiful! I ate at this restaurant called Craigo's, it's a pizza buffet, now if you know me you know I don't particularly like pizza so I ate one piece of cheese pizza and then had the dessert pizza. So good! I tried the oreo pizza and the cookie dough pizza, that one was by far my favorite but I was too full to eat it all :( Rexburg doesn't have much but it's nice. I don't think I could live there... it rained the whole time I was there and I'm pretty sure it's always colder than Provo. Byu-Idaho has some pretty ridiculous rules but they're rules you have to obey. I just kinda thought they were silly but that's my opinion, the students there didn't think so so oh well.

After I left Rexburg I went to Pocatello to visit with Karri and her cute family. When I got there Kajia was sleeping and Ty was out with the missionaries so it was nice to sit down with Karri and chat. I love her little family! She's prego with another baby, it makes me so happy! I love babies! When Kajia woke up she welcomed me with a huge "Hello!" in her high pitched voice, it was adorbable. She will say anything you tell her to say so we got a lot of laughs. My favorite was when we were eating dinner with the missionaries, she loves to say the prayer so Ty helped her say it. When she was asked to say, "bless the missionaries", out came, "bless the mish-i-mommies". Karri and I started to laugh but we tried not to cause we were praying. It was so darn cute! Ty's friend Robert came down from Rexburg also that night and when he did we built a bonfire and roasted hot dogs and s'mores. So good! I fell asleep about midnight out on the picnic table while everyone was talking...typical of me I know! When we were done we went into the living room and the boys played Nintendo's Mario. I fell asleep on Karri's lap again but at least I was on the couch. Karri got up about 3am and went into bed, I stayed asleep on the couch. I did wake up at 3:45am and the boys were still playing. Ty told me that if I was going to to go to bed I should go then, so I went to my room and zonked out. I got woken up by Karri at 10am. On Monday we were going to go to Ross Park and swim but the clouds came and it got windy so the boys worked in the yard to get their drive way finished. I left about 4pm to go stop at my grandparents for dinner. Man that food was good! I got left overs so I didn't have to cook last night, that was nice!

That was my weekend! Lots of driving but so worth it to see all my friends and my grandparents. I am so grateful for the people in my life and the influence they have had for me. They always want the best for me even when I don't see it in front of me. I love them and can't wait to see them again!

Flat tire :(

2010-05-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

So this Saturday I got a flat tire... :( not cool but I have admit that I'm pretty darn lucky. I went up to my parents house to spend the evening with them for my mom's birthday. I got up to Sandy at about 4pm with no problems... after dinner and presents I was ready to head home. Matt was headed to a wedding reception of one of his friends. So I got in my car and got onto the main road, all of a sudden I heard a super load noise like my door was opened. I looked back, but no it was closed. It didn't sound like all the typical flat tires I'd seen so I knew something was wrong. I flipped the car around and went right back home. I parked my car in the drive way and sure enough my back tire was completely flat on one end! I went inside and told my parents so my dad and I put on the little spare tire, there was no way I was going to make it to Provo on that tire so I had to leave my car at my parents and ride back with Matt after the reception.

Today my mom and dad took my car into the auto store to get fixed. He said ruined that tire trying to get back to my parents so I had to buy a new one. Also, my front tire on the drivers side had a chunk missing from the side wall so they're replacing that one too. It's not going to cost a fortune so that I am grateful for. I am also grateful because this coming weekend I'm making a trip up to Idaho to see some friends and I didn't get the flat on my way up where I'd be stuck in the middle of nowhere. I now know that when I drive up I will be completely fine and nothing should go wrong because I have two brand new tires. So having this pain in the butt thing happen actually turned out to be a blessing. I'm grateful that it happened this weekend and not next.

Spanish Fork Canyon

2010-05-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

On Friday a bunch of friends and I went up Spanish Fork canyon to go camping. It was a very last minute trip but it was a lot of fun. We got up quickly and set up camp...then the rain came haha! Luckily for us it didn't rain too hard so we weren't soaked at all. Just a little bit of rain and then it stopped. We started making our fire so we could eat dinner... everyone broke off branches to use as their sticks. We ate turkey hot dogs without ketchup and we ate s'mores without chocolate.... so we forgot to bring some necessities. Oh well, the company was worth all of it! After the many games we played around the campfire we finally made it to bed. We were all freezing without the fire so we all ran into the tents to get out of our wet clothes and into pajamas. that was a funny experience in of itself. 3 girls in a tiny tent trying to change, we got some good laughs out of it though. The next morning we woke up, not easily I might add... Angela and I didn't want to get out of our sleeping bags haha! When we finally did get out the boys were ready to take down all the tents. We decided to do a little hike to the Hot Springs up the canyon. It wasn't a terrible hike and we took a lot of pictures so the hike took way longer than it should have. It was a very pretty hike and I loved it!

Here are a lot of pictures from the trip...enjoy!

Love the view!!

the start of our camping trip

Roasting hot dogs and crescent rolls

I don't think this fire pit will keep us warm :(

love this log!

Walking across to the hot springs

heading home :)

Memories :)

2010-05-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

The weekend was great for me! I love the summer and all the good times summer comes with it. On Friday I went to the temple with Melissa, oh how I love the temple! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to be able to attend the temple each week. I had made it my goal a few months back to go to the temple often. Since March I have been able to attend the temple on a weekly basis. I have missed a couple weeks here and there but I've been pretty grateful for the opportunity to be able to attend the temple often. Ciara was my constant companion going to the temple and I'm so grateful for such a wonderful friend. When she needed to get away she would text me or call me to go to the temple with her and when the week was almost over she'd remind me that we needed to go to the temple. I'm so grateful for her diligence and example she has been to me over the short period of time I have known her.

Since she has been gone Melissa has started going to the temple with me and I'm so grateful for her to be able to go with me also. She will also ask me on a weekly basis to go to the temple. I'm so blessed to have such great friends that love to attend the temple as much as I do!

After the temple on Friday Melissa and I went to the mall to eat dinner. Last summer we used to go often to eat at Iceberg, anyone that hasn't been there should go because they have the most amazing fries and of course fry sauce! Oh my goodness...so good! Last summer we would eat those fries like we were in heaven and then we would go shopping! Last summer when the Giles family was here we ate at Iceberg many times and had great experiences with them. Melissa and I talked forever about what we did that week they were here. It was so fun to reminisce about last summer, oh the memories! I loved last summer and I hope this summer is just as great! I have the best friends here in Provo and have so many fun memories with them.

bonfire

2010-05-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

After graduation a bunch of friends and I went up to South Fork and had a bonfire. We roasted hot dogs and smores...so good! Here's a couple pictures :)

(Amy and Briana)

(Briana and I)

(bunch of people from my ward)

(Brittany and I)

haha JD and I

Graduation

2010-05-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

So this last weekend was graduation for me.. Yes I technically finished school in December but my school only does the ceremonies in April. So my grandparents came down from Idaho and my parents and brother came down for the ceremony. It was surreal to walk and be done for good...other than graduate school of course. We were there from 9:30am till 5pm...long day of walking and sitting so when I came home I jumped right in bed and slept for about an hour. My friends Angela and Josie bought me a plaque that's so cute... it's says

To do is to be (Descartes)

To be is to do. (Voltaire)

Do be do be do. (Sinatra)

*It's so cute! I read the note on the back they left me first so it was a little confusing at first. I blame being really tired. I've thought about the quote a lot and it really helps me a lot. What I got from it means that what we do shows who we are. To be takes action, we can't get anywhere without doing anything. And do be do be do!!!

here are pictures from graduation!!

Time to vent!!!!

2010-04-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have to tell everyone about my experience I had yesterday... So I'm on my lunch break at work and decide to go out and say Hi to my friend Briana who was down at the pool. While I was down there I saw a girl and her mom walking up the stairs. I told Briana that I think that was my new roommate, so we sat and watched them walk all the way to my door and start knocking. First thing that comes to my mind is... "why don't they know the code?" they should have gotten it when they checked in and also, "I don't want to let them in" came through my head also. The mother just kept banging on the door like someone was going to randomly appear. The other two new girls weren't home so it wasn't going to open just because they're knocking so hard.

So "roommate" (I'm not going to give out her name) starts walking away, probably toward the car to get her phone to call her friends that live with me, so I decided to walk back and let her mother in. I get to the top floor and ask if she's "roommates" mom and she says, "yes, who are you?" I replied and said I'm Jenny, I'm her new roommate. I showed her mother the apartment and said she's welcome to bring her stuff in and motioned with my arms that she's welcome to move it in throughout the whole apartment. Then I proceeded to tell her that I work from home so I will be at my desk. The mom freaks out at me and says, "Well you're going to have to move out then." !!!! what!!! I replied and said, "excuse me?" she chewed me out for 20 minutes about how I'm monopolizing the apartment by working from and how I shouldn't be allowed to do that. I told that I had been working from home for 2 years and it's never been a problem. She proceeded to tell me that if I'm working from home I should be working out of my car on my cell phone. I replied and told her that she didn't understand how my system worked and that's not possible. She went on about how she is paying for her daughter to live in the other side of the room and I cannot control what she does in there and that if she wants to study and have friends over and play music she should be allowed too. I NEVER told her she wasn't allowed to do that...in fact by this time I hadn't even spoken to her daughter about any of it. I told her mother that yes if she wanted to have friends in the room she was welcome to and that I never said that just because I'm working she wasn't allowed in the room. I told her that if she was sleeping in the room I wouldn't bring my friends in the room and play loud music, I would be considerate to her and I would just want the same consideration I was giving her. Her mother goes on to say that her daughter is a nice girl and wouldn't be rude... it's her mother that has the issues!

Anyway.... after all that drama I got back to work in time and worked while they moved all her junk in the room. Holy crap she has a lot of stuff!! The mom has the nerve to drop the stuff anywhere she wants and then pushes all my clothes into the corner to make room for her daughters. When she brought up how she is paying for the one side of the room I told her that yes your paying for one side of the room and I'm paying for the other half. I'm staying on my side of the room and working on my side of the room. So I'm paying for what I'm using!

Ugh! anyway, later in the day I found out that my friend Zoraya got into BYU for Summer semester. I have been wanting her to live with me so since "new roommate" is here I can't get Zoraya in my room. Naturally I'll move so I can live with her. I'm okay with that because I never want to see that mother again and have nothing again her daughter but I also have nothing to say to her. I got off work at 4 and went straight to the office to tell them all what had happened. The lady in the office was blown away by what her mother said and said that it was my choice to move and that I shouldn't be forced out. I don't want to live her anymore anyway because I will be moving in June to live with Zoraya so what better time than now so I never have to deal with them again. I've moved down two apartments and talked to the girl that's going to be my roommate for Spring, she has no problem with me working from home and all is well now!

Now I get to move all my stuff over tomorrow... I'm going to get lots of help so I can do it in one maybe two moves. The funnest part is they have a dvd player but wont have a tv...yep! it's mine and I'm taking it with me. And they wont have a shower curtain anymore... sorry! ok not really!

Hope you enjoyed this! I am blown away at how mad she got because over the last 2 years and several roommates, no one has gotten mad over it except for a lady that wont even be here.

I love them!!

2010-04-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

Look at these girls!!!! They are beautiful and I miss them dearly!

the weekend...

2010-04-26T10:53:00.001-07:00

This weekend was pretty boring actually... my roommates all left me on Friday to move home or to other apartments. I've been alone in my apartment since Friday night, weird to be alone for so long!

So Saturday I had a few errands to get done then I layed out by the pool. It was a beautiful day and was so happy to lay out. Saturday night a couple friends and I went bowling... I haven't gone bowling in a long time so I was a little rusty. I prefer wii bowling for sure because I'm good at it. Once you get past a certain age the workers at the bowling alley wont let you get bumpers...doesn't matter how bad you are. haha! I tried but he just looked at me weird. I was pretty proud at the fact that I beat my all time high score of 52...haha I got 64 :)! It was way fun to go do that, afterward we ate ice cream and watched a movie. Good relaxing Saturday!

I have new roommates for the summer...two girls are moving in today...my room roommate is moving in tomorrow so that will be nice to have my room to myself for 1 more night.

here's the pictures from the weekend!

Sunday afternoon bike ride

2010-04-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

Don't mind the hideous face i'm making...I got taken off guard
Troy loves to mess pictures up!

Love the view!!!

Yesterday I went on a bike ride with some friends. The weather was absolutely wonderful and I'm so glad that I got up and did something with my day. It was just what I needed to fill my Sunday, other than the soreness I'm feeling in my back side but that's alright. Totally worth the pain. We rode on a bike trail out to Utah Lake. The lake was dirty like usual but the sunshine on it made the lake beautiful. I'm grateful for relaxing days like Sunday's where I can do fun things like that and not have to worry about a thing. I'm grateful for friends that let me borrow their bike because I don't own one. I'm grateful for the friends that went with me.

my birthday

2010-04-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

So I have to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of birthday's. Not that I don't appreciate my birthday but I am not a huge fan of parties when it's all about me. I'd much rather sit at home with family and friends. This year I was determined to do something better on my birthday and appreciate it more. It didn't start out so good, on Friday April 2nd I took my friend Brittany to the airport because she was going home for her birthday. She's born the same day as me! After I dropped her off I went to my house to see my dad. We got to talking and talked for a little bit. I was supposed to be in Orem for my friend Michelle's birthday party but turns out I was going to be late. When I left my dad's I called Matt to tell him I'd be late, I got to the restaurant at about 7:40 due to traffic. When I walked in the room everyone screamed happy birthday. Matt and my friend Ciara planned a surprise birthday for me and I didn't expect it one bit. I think I was in shock that they really planned it out and that it was for me. They kept it a secret the whole week! I'm mostly surprised no one blew it and told me. Anyway we also celebrated Michelle's birthday there so it wasn't just for me.

On my actual birthday I had to work and that didn't bug me so much. I wouldn't have had anything else to do so I might as well earn money. My visiting teacher Michelle-Alejandra told me when she visit taught me that the best way to spend a birthday is to visit the house of the Lord. I thought that was the best idea, so I got off a couple hours early from work and went to the temple. Dad had given me a family name so I decided to do that. I don't know what better thing to do then baptize others on your special day. It felt so good to be there!

After the temple I went back to Sandy with Matt and we met my parents and grandparents at Texas Roadhouse...so good! After that we went to my parents house to open presents.

I also got the best call in the world.... a lady from Mothers Without Borders called me and I get to go with them to Africa!!!!!! Not till September but it's going to come soon! I have to start saving my money like crazy so I can pay for it... so excited right now! This birthday turned out to be awesome!!!

He Lives!

2010-03-31T08:10:00.000-07:00

I love this video!

Mocktail Party and Festival of Colors

2010-03-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been full and super fun. To start off the weekend I got to sleep in because I have Friday's off. I did end up working 2 hours but it wasn't bad at all. Afterward I signed my contract for where I'm going to live next Fall. I'll be living in a condo with two other girls that I don't know but the good news is I'll have my own room so I wont have to wake up roommates in order to work. After I did that I just hung out at my apartment till I went to my friend Lexi's party, she had a glitter toes party and so I got my toes done for only $15. that is so fun because I've never been able to do that and I was able to catch up on her life. I love this girl to death!

Friday night my roommate Allie had a Mocktail party...what's that you ask? It's like a cocktail party where everyone dresses up and has cocktails...but being LDS we had a fake cocktail party and kept all the drinks virgin. It was way fun! We had tons of people dress up and come over. We played Catch Phrase and just chatted.

(on the bus)

(before the madness)

(waiting patiently to throw the chalk)

The last two pictures are when we were about to leave

Saturday was the festival of colors at the Hari Krishna temple in Spanish Fork. If you've never heard of this it's where people from all over...mostly college kids and some looked like they were in high school still met at the grounds of the temple. There was Hindi music being played and you get to buy chalk for a few dollars. At a certain time everyone at once throws their chalk in the air so you get a giant cloud of chalk. We got covered! Lots of people couldn't wait to through the chalk so we got a little painted beforehand. To keep our cars clean Shawn, Ryan and I road a UTA bus down and boy it was crowded! Lots of people were standing super close to the person next to them. Luckily for me I was next to Shawn so it wasn't super awkward. But we talked to lots of people on the bus and had lots of fun. This year they did the festival in two events so that more people would be able to attend. They recorded them and it will be posted on Youtube to see which one was the best. I couldn't see anything but chalk for a few minutes, it's kinda funny cause they make you do breathing techniques so no one passes out. haha! Watch the video... it'll give you an idea of what went on when the chalk flew

Elder Hales

2010-03-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I got to attend a single adult fireside/Question and answer session with the guest speaker as Elder Hales. It was an amazing experience to sit in a chapel and hear from an apostle of the Lord what things as single adults we should be working towards. During his talk he spoke on the Decade of Decision and about how we as single adults need to prepare our lives for the next decade. He said that since we graduated high school we make the decision of where to attend school, what degree we are going to pursue, who we are going to date, who we will marry and where we are going to live for when we leave this "decade" we will have an idea of what we are going to do with the rest of our lives and where we will live when we begin to start our families. When it came to the question and answer session part of the meeting my friends asked strong questions. Elder Hales talked about how we have to be strong in the church so that we can raise our children strong into the church. He talked about how we are faced with trials and peer pressures from other people that can lead us to bad choices and he said that if we feel like it's hard, then we have something else coming because the hard times haven't even come. Our children and grand children will be faced with more trials and struggles that we couldn't even imagine right now. That was scary for me because I want the best for my family and wouldn't want them to struggle but I know what I have to do to raise them to become strong individuals that love the church and love the Lord.

Afterward we were able to shake his hand and take pictures with them. I finally got a copy of the picture so I hope you enjoy. In the picture from left to right is Matt, me, Shawn, Elder Hales, Jon, and Karly. The two boys in front we didn't know. haha!

Things I'm Grateful For...

2010-03-11T10:59:00.001-08:00

So I've been thinking about the things that I've been grateful for lately and here they are...

The temple

2. Family vacations

3. Massages :)

4. Pedicures

5. Laughing

6. Best friends

I love this picture...

7. Summer :)

8. Karaoke! haha

9. Amusement parks!

The Climb

2010-03-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

So I don't normally like Miley Cyrus but I have to say that her new song The Climb is pretty darn good. It relates to me in so many ways that I love listening to it and I think everyone else should too.

The part that hits me the most is the verse...

"The struggles I'm facing

The chances I'm taking

Sometimes might knock me down

But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it

But these are the moments that

I'm gonna remember most, yeah

Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong

Just keep pushing on"

Jump for Joy!!

2010-03-08T10:56:00.001-08:00

Sometimes you just need to jump for joy!

This picture makes me so happy because it reminds me of when I did this same picture in Washington 2 years ago. I love days when I wake up with a positive attitude and know that everything is ok. I don't have any reason to be stressed and so I'm not going to let the little things get to me ANYMORE! I love my life and have some of the greatest friends I could ask for. They are some of the greatest examples for me and are always there for me when I need it. I love the Lord and I know he has a great plan in store for my life, I just have to be patient to find out what that is. I love my family, they do everything for me and I love them for their example. I couldn't ask for a better life!

trip to Idaho

2010-03-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

So last weekend I drove to Pocatello Idaho with my friend Jeannette to go see our good friend Karri and her family. I love those girls so much and couldn't wait to go see them. We were missing Sarah and her family, they couldn't make it up there. It was a ton of fun though. We did facials like the good old days and then talked about life. It was a great weekend to spend with my girls! I don't have any pictures of all three of us but I have a picture of her beautiful daughter Kajia!

Valentines Weekend

2010-02-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

So last weekend I took a road trip with my parents to go see my grandparents in Arizona. Since I'm out of school now I'm able to do trips like this and oh boy was it worth it! I've been dealing with life down here in Provo and sometimes I get confused as to what I want to do with my life. As all of you know I'm done with school and now I need to decide what's next, that's sometimes the hardest part. With the typical stressors of living in Provo like marriage and dating and where to live, that got the best of me and was driving me crazy. I was counting down the days till I left for Arizona and actually had my bags packed 4 days before I left. People started getting on my nerves and it just wasn't healthy for me so you can see how I just needed a vacation from life.

Well now to the vacation.... Saturday morning my parents picked me up from my apartment at 7:30am... really early after staying up till 2:30 with friends! I didn't even really sleep in the car. Maybe just a little. We got into Las Vegas about 1:30pm Vegas time and went grocery shopping. We met grandpa and grandma at their hotel, we stayed at the Sunset Station and they stayed at a hotel right next door. We did the typical shopping in the malls then eating dinner at the hotel. Mom, dad and I ate fish and chips and that was fun, good too! After that we went and walked the strip. I realized something while I was there...my friends and I talk about Vegas all the time and how much we want to go back, like last years trip. Well while I was there I kept thinking...What's so great about this?? The dirty Mexicans are throwing cards at us with naked women on them at me and my dad...what's great about that? We went into the Venetian hotel and I feel in love with Vegas all over again. that is such a pretty hotel and the scenery makes you feel like your outside but it's bright and sunny and clean!

The next day (Sunday) we found an outdoor outlet mall that had designer stores and regular ones too. That was fun! We walked into the Coach store just for fun...oh man you wouldn't believe how many purses women actually were buying that were over $300. It was nuts! Anyway, after the outlets we headed home and made our way to the Hoover Dam. After we got to the river we just relaxed in the sun. It was SO warm! Tuesday we went to Algadonas, Mexico and shopped. then the rest of the week we stayed at the river. I got a little bit of a tan but not much. Friday morning it snowed....glad to be back! NOT! oh well it's good to be back to real life, just not liking the weather.

I got to think about a lot of stuff and decided that I'm not going to be able to go to Africa this summer...the slots were full but they may be doing a trip this fall so I'll aim for that. I'm going to try and go with Mothers Against Borders. As for what I'm doing this summer, I'm staying at my current apartment complex and just working full time. I'll be moving to a new complex hopefully in the fall with my friend Ciara... we're not positive on where yet, but hopefully soon!

Here are pictures from my trip! Sorry they're out of order, this wont let me reorganize them

saving money

2010-02-09T12:47:00.001-08:00

So my new goal is to not spend so much money at the grocery store. ha! We'll see if that really happens! Every week I find myself at the grocery store feeling like I don't have any food to eat. I buy tons of food then come home and realize I have way more food then I needed. So since I'm thinking I'm going to move home this summer since I'm planning on going to Africa, there's no need to pay for an apartment, I'm going to eat all my food before I buy more food. Mostly, I'll just buy milk, eggs, and bread cause I seem to go through that weekly. That's it! We'll see how it goes!

Dear John

2010-02-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

Last night my roommates and I went to go see the new movie Dear John. I wanted to get a good cry out of it but unfortunately I didn't cry, I choked up a couple times but tears never came. I have to say I really liked the movie but it didn't end the way I wanted it to. Oh well we don't always get what we want. It was done by the same director that did The Notebook and I really like that movie too so I knew it would be a good sappy movie. I also thought that the whole theater was going to be filled with girls but to my surprise there were many men. That made me laugh cause they were either on a date or their wives made them. I think that everyone should go to see this movie, many people I know that have seen it cried through the whole thing so it made me sad that I didn't cry. oh well I still loved it!