My Inner Geek

If you've never listened to the Radiolab podcast you are missing out.  Let me tell you, I've learned so many awesome, but slightly useless, things from that podcast!  You don't even need to be a geek to enjoy it because there's something for everyone.  I can't pick a favorite episode because they're all just so stinkin' delightful.  I've learned about the origins of outhouses, how babies think logarithmically, the limits of the human body and mind (and if there are limits), how liar's brains are different from normal brains, where AIDS came from, how words affect our daily lives, what stochasticity means and a slew of other things.  It's incredible!!!  Seriously, you need to go to radiolab.org and then find their podcasts and download as many as possible.  Most episodes that are an hour long have three or four stories within them.  I used to listen to them while working out but they're great for long car rides too.  Did I mention they're totally free??

To make this easier, I'll just link you right to their site!

Radiolab Podcasts---BE EXCITED!

Libros, Libros y Mas Libros!!!

One thing we're encouraged to take to Peru are children's books for the kids.  I finally got on ebay a few days ago and ordered a bunch of them and they came today!  I can't believe how fast they got here-- especially when I didn't pay anything for shipping.  I was just praying they'd get here before I left.

Twenty-nine books in all!  Ranging from pre-readers to chapter books.  Three of them are bilingual so we can teach them some English as well.  

The sad part of this?  I tried reading the "Spot" book (bottom left) and failed.  I can't even read the easiest book I got!  It's a book you read to your two year old!!  Awesome.  Just awesome.  My goal will be to read Magic Treehouse level by April...

Shots and Pills

Ouch and Yuck.

I got three shots today (Hep A, Yellow Fever and Typhoid) and picked up a bottle of huge green malaria pills that I will have to take everyday in Peru.  

Oh, and I got a haircut but that didn't hurt.  It feels quite nice actually!

Grades

I kind of obsess about them and I know that's not a good thing.  Every semester I try to be better and focus on learning instead of grades but I just can't.  It's engrained in my brain that good grades equal success and I don't think it's leaving anytime soon.

With our online grade book I can see each grade for an assignment and how I compare to the rest of the class.  If I'm not in the top few it's kind of a big deal.  I can still get an A and be upset if everyone gets a higher A than me.  Now, it's not like I have no life outside of my grades or this has totally consumed me, but I do take them seriously.

Let me tell you how this semester stacks up.

Looks like I have all As again, right?  Wrong.  The bottom three classes (Nutrition through the Life Cycle, Epidemiology, Foundations Capstone) require a 93% to get an A which I have surpassed.  The top class- my baking class- requires a 95% for an A.  Just short.  I'm seriously hoping he rounds up the score.  My fifth class (not pictured) is a mystery.  He has given us NO grades/ feedback/ scores at any time in the semester so I'm going on faith that I did enough to get an A...I had one for midterms.

In other news, I am home, in Ohio, now and I have a million and a half things to do to prepare for Peru.  The biggest would be mastering the Spanish language....

Blog Update 12/23-- Grades were posted yesterday and my professors were merciful :)  4.0 for the semester...can't do much better than that.

I Graduated!!!

My name is in the program and everything!  I now have graduated from BYU-Idaho with my Associate of General Science, Magna Cum Laude.  Only three more semesters and I'll have a bachelor's :)

Two stars...not as good as three but still something to be proud of!

Elder Quentin L. Cook, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was the key speaker.

Plus, my roommate, Alexis, actually graduated with her bachelor's degree in Child Development...I don't have a picture with her so you'll have to take my word for it.

Cute as a Button

We had a roommate gift exchange and Lauren made me these cute hair bows!  I have decided they are going to be perfect to make with adorable Peruvian girls :) 

The Skinny on Skinnies

Fine, I'll put in my two cents on this whole skinny jeans hoopla.  For those who are not familiar with BYU-Idaho, we have an honor code that we agree to live by when we accept admission to the school.  This includes refraining from alcohol, tobacco and premarital sex, having a curfew, being clean shaven and yes, a dress code.  All students MUST agree to this code before coming here.  This code is not church-wide, it even differs from the honor code at BYU in Provo, UT (brought to fame last year with the BYU basketball team).  This is an honor code specifically for students of BYU-Idaho.

Recently, there have been issues with the dress code.  It's probably the part of the honor code that gets the most crap from students.  Why?  Because clothing is how we identify ourselves.  We follow trends or we rebel from trends.  The colors we wear reflect our mood.  The brand of our clothes shows how wealthy we (or our parents) are.  Our clothing lets the world know that we woke up early and took time to get ready or we just rolled out of bed and barely made it to class in something other than what we slept in.  People get defensive about their clothes and most do not find it amusing when others tell them how to dress.

The thing is, when we came to BYU-Idaho, we agreed to dress a certain way.  We agreed to no shorts, capris or flip-flops on campus.  I'm sorry if flip-flops are the only shoes you own but you need to get some new shoes.  I'm sorry if your definition of a knee length skirt included skirts that come two inches above your knee but you need to get some new skirts.  You don't have money for that?  Then why did you agree to come to a school you have no clothes for?! 

I'm getting off-track (hooray for cracking an admissions joke in the middle of my blog).  Skinny jeans.  Where do they fit in the honor code?  Personally, I don't like skinny jeans.  They don't look good on me and I highly doubt I will ever purchase a pair for myself.  I do not find them particularly attractive but at the same time, I'm not bugged when other people wear them.  The honor code does state that clothing should not be formfitting.  Skinny jeans are one of those articles of clothing that can go either way.  There are jeans that fit your leg and then jeans that suck the life out of your leg.  Another formfitting article would be leggings.  Thick tights, if you ask me.  These are popping up all over campus and I've had enough of them.  They are about the formfitting-est things you can wear. 

Is BYU-Idaho saying that skinny jeans are of the devil?  What about shorts and flip-flops?  NO THEY ARE NOT!!  They are merely saying that skinny jeans do not comply with the honor code as it is laid out.  This means you do not have to repent for wearing skinnies to the store just like you don't have to repent for wearing flip-flops to the beach.  Skinny jeans are not of the devil and they do not induce sexual thoughts (as some of my peers have suggested), they are just not in compliance with the honor code!  Wear them out and about, just not to class.

If you ask me (and no one is, but you're reading this so technically you were looking for my opinion), I'll tell you I'm glad the university is finally doing something about this epidemic sweeping campus.  I don't think the administration really thinks skinny jeans are causing moral problems on campus.  I think they are seeing the students wearing leggings and other non-real-pant articles and then drawing the line at skinny jeans because the students obviously can't think for themselves as to what is appropriate.  The enforcement is in place for those who struggle the most.  Laws are created for the weakest of us and that's what this is.  If girls don't watch their skirt length I would venture to say that in the next few semesters they'll go from knee length to mid calf.

Some people might be taking the skinny jean thing too far and I can definitely see how some people are going to be offended by the new enforcement.  There needs to be some mutual understanding between students and administration at the beginning because it's been accepted up until this point.  I do not agree with stopping skinnies cold turkey because, truth be told, many girls only own skinny jeans.  This should be something the administration makes clear will be fully enforced NEXT semester after everyone has had time to ask for new pants for Christmas.

I have no idea if any of those ideas flowed together at all and I apologize if they didn't.  Basically, I'm glad someone is stepping up and giving some set standards.  Even though we're all raised in the same religion there are different ways to interpret things.  Maybe the girls wearing short skirts never learned where the knee was actually located, or their parents thought it would be funny to switch the word "knee" with "thigh."  Really, that's the only thing I can think of.  The enforcement is needed because if one person can wear leggings than another thinks they can and there's a whole downward spiral.  Side note- same principle with sweatpants on campus and those pants that are not quite pants but a little longer than capris (which are also skinny).

I love BYUI and I have no problem living by the standards I agreed to.  I'm sorry for those students who did not understand what they were getting into when signing the honor code.  Luckily, they're not being kicked out of school or otherwise mocked.  They're getting a nice reminder of what it means to hold up their end of a deal and be obedient. 

In four years you can leave BYU-Idaho and wear whatever the heck you want.  If you can't wait that long then leave.  There are plenty of other students who would give anything to be receiving the education you are and would happily abide all aspects of the honor code.

Surprisingly, I Have Plans

Anyone who's read my blog knows I've basically given up on planning my life since nothing ever goes as planned.  Well, I'm going back on my previous decision to go planless and now making more plans.  I know, why can't I just make up my mind and stick to it?  Decisions are not my strength so that makes this post even more out of place.  Maybe this post is to prove to the world that my plans never go as planned, so in six months I can look back and laugh at myself.

My life the next eight months:
- Plow through the last week of school and finals (easier said than done although classes really aren't too bad this semester)
- PERU PERU PERU!!!!!!!!!  We had a skype meeting with our project manager to work out some details and I'm getting more and more excited!  I'll be leaving January 10th and coming back April 10th.  Breathe in and breathe out, everything will be great.
- Back to school for Spring semester.  I will be taking hard classes, increasing my work hours to 20 per week AND learning a new job.  I'm really excited to move from being a receptionist to being an actual admissions counselor but I'm freaked out too.  I'll have much more responsibility and the first few weeks are sure to be stressful.  I'm sure you'll hear all about it once I start the job.
- Stay in Rexburg for the summer break and work 40 hours a week...hopefully I'll be a pro at my job by then or it'll be a looooong summer :P

Seems easy enough, right?  What could possibly happen?  ....Okay, here are my predictions of what could possibly deter these wonderful plans...
- I meet a boy this weekend who sweeps me off my feet and we elope on Christmas
- My plane crashes during any of my multiple flights to and from Idaho or Peru (don't worry, I'll survive)
- TAKEN.  Enough said.  I will try to forget that movie during my foreign travels
- I screw up someone's admission and get fired or a drive one of our carts into a tree and cause thousands of dollars of damage
- I flunk my classes this semester and decide to drop out of school
- I meet a Peruvian man that sweeps me off my feet and I live happily ever after in South America
- I catch some nasty disease or worm in Peru and have to medically defer a semester (good thing I work in admissions and know how to do that)

Let's just hope none of these things happen.  This post was going to be a happy one when I started.  Let's end on a happy note....

Our volleyball team is now 5-0!!!!  We even played with five people instead of six.

Time is Ticking

Have you ever thought of how time came to be?  Time in the sense of seconds, minutes, hours and days is really quite a miracle when you think about it!  Even just a few hundred years ago there was time in the Native American Americas and then separate time in Europe and another time in Africa and another time in Australia.  Heck, it was different time from Spain to Portugal or any neighboring country.  Every culture had their own way of measuring or keeping track of time.

When did the world click?  What was the point at which I, in Idaho, looked at my watch that says 5:00pm and someone in Utah looked at their watch and it said 5:00pm?  Then halfway across the world someone looked at their watch and said it's 5:00am...but on the next day?

How do millions and millions of watches everywhere tick around a little circle EXACTLY at the same time?!  How did we go from sundials to tell us what time of day it is to something that wraps around our wrist?  THIS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!  Now that's you're thinking about it, isn't it AMAZING?!?!

I've just been marveling recently about how awesome man is.  How creative he is.  How inspired he must be.  There's no way man could think of all these things on his own.  He just isn't that smart.  As smart as man is, I just don't think a man alone could coordinate all those watches!

Funny and Not So Funny

Funny- I can be an extremely awkward person who sometimes does things without totally thinking them through.  Some stories are too funny to share on a blog though.  They will go in my personal journal where they will stay secret until I have an awkward child one day who needs to hear my awkward stories to give them hope (assuming I grow out of awkward...).  If I don't grow out of awkward I will share them so they have someone on which to blame their awkwardness.

Funny- Another story that is way too funny to write about.  And it's not about me so I don't feel like I can share it with the world.  Just know our apartment has had good stories this week.

Funny- Tall socks!  They must be lucky because our volleyball team is 4-0!!  The picture is missing three people from the team but it's the only one I have.

Not-so-funny- This strange rash that is on the back of my entire left hand and the knuckles and wrist of my right hand.  I think this happened last year too...

Not-so-funny-  Noelle, Brittany and I were on the phone with the project manager from Peru and he informed us that there is some pretty intense protesting happening in the city we're going to.  The entire city is basically shut down...no public transportation, school etc.

Funny- Those hats

Not-so-funny- Those swords and clubs

He assured us the protesting would be done by the time we arrived....

It's Like Braces All Over Again

Remember what it was like to get braces put on?  A few days later you have these annoying lines in the middle of your cheeks where they're rubbing and they are sore and uncomfortable.  Well, my friends, I do not have braces but those lines are back.  Apparently when you don't wear your retainers for a while they act like new braces.  Who would have guessed?  My cheeks are torn up and I do not like it one bit.  But I will push through for a few days (hopefully not weeks...) until they go away and my retainers fit well back in my mouth!

Ouch. 

From a Bridesmaid to a Bride

After I titled this post I realized what that sounds like.  And I am definitely not getting married anytime soon.  Maybe someday I'll use this title again.....

No, this is talking about the gift I made for Whitney.  A gift from a bridesmaid to a bride.  It's a pretty special gift because she's pretty special :)

This gift was actually in the making starting February 14, 2011.  That's right, Valentine's Day.  Also the day Whitney met Jared.  She sent me a text saying "I met him" and another "Jared Buckley.  He's it."  First day she met him and she knew she would marry him!  They did not start dating right away but I locked the texts in my phone anyways.  They've stayed there for nine months now and I finally put them to good use. 

I made her a mini album with texts and facebook messages she sent me regarding Jared, dating, engagements and marriage.  It's their love story through technology!  I hope she appreciates it as much as I love it.  I wanted to give them something that would last forever and something they could show their kids one day.  Who wouldn't want to see messages their mom sent her best friend about wanting to hold their dad's hand before they started dating?!  I know I probably embarrassed Whitney some by letting Jared see those messages but they're married now so it's all fair game ;)

For the front and back sides I covered square pieces of cardboard with fabric.  To hold it all together I attached velcro to thick lace and then covered the end with a cute flower.

The album from the outside.

The inside is made like an accordion so once you get to the end, you can turn the book over and there's more of the story on the back of the pages.  This one was about 22 total pages (I think...)

I used three pieces of thread to weave the top border.

Here are a few pages from the inside.

The title is kind of a joke between Whitney, Alexis and I

First texts about Jared on left

The text she sent when she got engaged and the ring picture sent the next morning.

I didn't take pictures of every page but you get the idea.  I left the last page blank for when they got married.  After they came out of the temple I took a picture of them on my phone then I zipped over to Walgreens, had it printed and finished their book at the reception. 

I had an excellent time making this for them and using it as an excuse to procrastinate homework!  I did warn my other roommates not to all expect a cute wedding present from me because I can't be this creative all the time. 

Black Friday and Peru

I know I shouldn't post twice in one day but I am going to.  That's the great thing about being in charge of the blog...I can do what I want.

I'll admit, I did some Black Friday shopping.  But I had a purpose and only bought the one thing I needed.  That's will-power right there.  Although the store only sold outdoor recreation equipment that I wouldn't use enough to actually purchase so it wasn't too much of a battle.

I bought myself a pair of Chacos for Peru!  They were 50% off so they ended up about $50.  An investment since I normally don't spend more than $15 on shoes (unless they're running shoes) but a deal none-the-less.  I was surprised at how many people were there at 5:00 this morning.  It's just the outdoor store on campus and they didn't really advertise the sale.  I didn't get the exact pair I wanted but that's okay.

I was extremely productive after returning from the shoe excursion and cleaned and organized for two hours, until 7:30.  Later this morning I finished my countdown to Peru chain.  Look how short it is.  That's a month and a half!  I wrote a bunch of words on each link that I need to learn (and remember) each day.  Time is flying and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that yet.

An Arizona Adventure

 (This is going to be a lengthy post...just warning you.  I have separated the narration of the trip with a few funny stories so you can just read the funny moments if you wish :)

Narration
If you remember any posts from about a year ago you will remember my roommate, Whitney.  I think I mentioned her in every single post....   Whitney graduated last December and moved to Arizona to do her student teaching.  She ended up staying there, falling in love and getting married!  Alexis and I were lucky enough to drive down to AZ last Friday to spend some time with her before the big day and actually meet her Prince Charming.

I don't know when beef jerky became my travel food but before every trip I buy a bag of it.  Jack Links Peppered is my preference but I'll eat other stuff too.  Along with the jerky I also get some sort of nut mix.  I guess they just go together in my mind.  Oh, and chocolate.  Every road trip needs a good bag of chocolate.

We did the first nine hours of the trip on Friday, ending in Moapa, NV where we spent the night at Blake's house...he lives in the middle of nowhere.  Quite literally.

Saturday we did the last six hours of the trip and arrived in Mesa around four.  Whitney wasn't at her house when we got there so we drove to her school and met her there.  I may or may not have cried when giving her a hug for the first time in almost a year.  I miss her so so much!  I wish we could have gone to school with her but seeing her classroom was fun too.

Saturday night, Alexis and I went to dinner with another friend, Kevin Bird, who graduated Spring 2010 and is teaching first grade in Mesa.

Sunday we went to the singles ward with Whitney for her last time ever!  She and her fiance tried getting us to go to the dating class but it was full haha  We had dinner at the Buckley's home (her fiance's family) and it was DELICIOUS.  His mom made tamales and this taco soup that's the best I've ever had (I got the recipe before leaving).

Funny Story
Our old roommate, Kadi, is serving a mission in Mesa and we couldn't possible go to Mesa and not see her.  We got her address from her mother before leaving and decided to go Sunday night to see if we could find her.  We figured she had to be in around 9 or 9:30 so we got there a little before 9:00.  The address we had took us to a very nice neighborhood, nothing like the apartments we were expecting her to live in.  We had no idea what to do!  There were a bunch of cars out front and it looked like some sort of party going on so we didn't want to go knock on the door and ask if Sister missionaries lived there.

We waited in the car for 30 minutes when some people walked out of the house.  As one was going to his car I got out of ours and went to ask him if the Sisters lived there.  He said yes but he wasn't sure if they were home or not because they usually keep to themselves so we would have to go knock on the door and ask the family.  We did, and the dad invited us right in and took us to the back.  Apparently they live in a little house out back.  The mom ended up taking us back there although she was very hesitant to do so (quite understandably).

Alexis poked her head in first.  Honestly, I was expecting Kadi to scream at the sight of us but there was absolute SILENCE.  So I poked my head in and she was just staring at us in utter disbelief.  He face was priceless.  When she recovered from the shock she ran over to us, gave us each a massive hug and asked a million questions about what we were doing in AZ and how we found her.  We obviously couldn't stay long but it was good to surprise her and talk to her for a few minutes.

Alexis, Sister Baggett and I

Narration
Monday was a lot of errands and preparations for the wedding and reception the next day.  All the girls went to get their nails done, we packed up Whitney's room and took her stuff to their new apartment and Whitney had pictures taken.  That night we all went out to eat at Rustlers Rooste, where Whitney and Jared had their first date.  I tried rattlesnake!

Funny Story
I ran a stoplight in Mesa.  Twice.



The first time was not my fault!  I was following Whitney back to her apartment and had no idea where I was going.  She sped through the yellow and I had no choice but to speed through the red....

The second time was completely, totally, embarrassingly my fault.  Alexis and I were leaving the Buckley's and the exit from their neighborhood is onto a vary large five lane street.  I was in the lane to turn left and looked both ways.  One car was approaching from the left and a whole line from the right.  I was thinking this would be my chance to get out because if I missed this window I would have to wait for all the cars on the right to pass by.  I gunned it out of the neighborhood and halfway through the turn Alexis yells "YOU HAVE A RED LIGHT!!!!" but I was obviously in the middle of the street and could only keep going so I started yelling too.

I was mortified!  I don't know how I missed that I was at a light and not a stop sign.  It's not even like I ran a little stoplight in a one stoplight town.  I ran a stoplight across four lanes of traffic!!  I don't think I've ever run a light before and in a few days I ran two.

Narration
Tuesday was the big day!!  I woke up early with Whitney though she was off at 7:45 to get her hair done.  She came back after that for a few minutes and I snagged a picture with her.  Her last picture being a Nebeker....

We did a serious one too, don't worry.

The sealing was at 11:15 and we walked around the grounds some before they came out.

One of my goals for the trip was to take my picture with a palm tree.  They make me happy :)

I can't believe she's a married woman now!!!  I'm so unbelievably excited for her.  She's one of my best friends and deserves to be loved by someone for the rest of her life.

After the sealing we went back to Buckley Manor (Jared's grandparent's house which was AMAZING) to finish setting up for the reception at 6:00.  The reception was beautiful, as were the bride and groom.  Some of Whitney's students came and I enjoyed hearing stories from them about her as a teacher (she teaches 6th grade).

Here are a few pictures from the reception...

Alexis hiding the electrical equipment.

awwwwwwww

The bride and bridesmaids

All lit up at night.

It was sad to see her run out to the car and drive off.  I made sure to go through the line multiple times to give her a hug before that though!  We probably won't see each other again until either Alexis or I gets married...I miss her so I better get on that! ;)

Story
I guess it's not really a story, but my other goal for the trip was to get a picture with a cactus.  I'd never seen one in real life before so I was pretty excited.  This one was just in a random person's yard across from the reception.

Narration
We left Mesa at 6:30 Wednesday morning and didn't get back to Rexburg until 12:00 that night.  What a long car trip!!

Two Funny Stories
This was the only billboard we saw for miles in the middle of the desert...it about sums the surroundings up!

As we were driving I happened to look out the window and see signs for the Hoover Dam and got really excited.  The sad part is that we drove the exact same way down there AND I drove through that part and had NO IDEA I drove right over the Hoover Dam.  How in the world did I miss that?!?!?!  I remember telling Alexis it was funny they had signs saying "No Parking" along the bridge since who stops on the middle of a bridge.  Sure, I thought the view was neat but I didn't figure it would warrant stopping on a bridge.  Little did I know, I was driving over an American landmark.  I don't know why Alexis didn't say anything but she probably thought I was an idiot.

I convinced her to let us stop and walk around since I doubted I would ever go back again.

 Okay, just look at that bridge.  How in the world did they build that?!  This trip has caused me to really reflect on the genius of our ancestors who did not have computers and the technology we had, and yet they built great things.  Also, telephone lines.  Have you ever looked at them?  They go on forever in the middle of absolutely nowhere.  That must have been the most tedious job.  Thank you to the men who constructed them.  I greatly appreciate it.

Squatting at the Nevada- Arizona state line...I was in two time zones at once. Excuse my appearance.  It's what happens when you're in a car all day.

Narration
On the way back we also made stops at Blake's house (to pick him back up), the St. George temple, and a Chick-fil-A. 

All-in-all I would say it was a successful trip!  The countless hours of driving were definitely worth it.  It is a little ironic that I traveled 16 hours back to Rexburg the day that most students traveled away for Thanksgiving.  I spent the holiday with two roommates and an old fhe brother at Alexis's house so I wasn't totally without family.

Life is good :)

A Day of Thanks

(In no particular order...)

1.  Cars, planes and means of traveling long distances in short amounts of time
2. Telephones (and the people who built all those telephone lines in the middle of nowhere)
3. The temple and what it represents
4. Whitney, Alexis, Lauren, Brittany, Hillary, Bailee, Jamie, Audra, Kadi and all other previous roommates
5. BYU-Idaho
6. The admissions office (first, for letting me come to BYUI and, more recently, for my job and the great people that work there.)
7. My family and their support in whatever I decide to do
8. Green Bay.  The people there.  Cheese.  Cheeseheads.  Seroogy's chocolate.
9. Fireplaces and fake fireplaces
10. Laptops, email, facebook, blogs and other ways to quickly communicate with people all over the world.
11. My professors
12. Food...mostly delicious food
13. PERU!  New experiences.
14. Warm socks, sweatpants and sweatshirts
15. My ancestors
16. Late night movies.  Movies to procrastinate homework.  Musicals.  Classics.  Classic musicals.
17. The Classy Clarke men.  You know who you are.
18. Classy parties
19. Beginners Rec. Volleyball.  3-0!
20. Spatulas
21. Crafts
22. Books that warm my heart
23. My faith
24. Modern-day prophets and apostles.  Modern-day revelation.
25. Shawnee High School
26. Board games...Rummikub, Cribbage, Quelf, Catch Phrase, Mastermind
27. Cameras, pictures, scrapbooks
28. Missionaries- Elder Chris Tucker, Sister Kimberly Tucker, Sister Kadi Baggett, Elder Nate Smith, Elder Taylor Haycock, Elder Myles Johnson, Elder Aaron Curth, Sister Lexi Bramwell and more
29.  Stoplights
30. Vision and hearing
31. Cinnamon and the smell of cinnamon
32. Fingernail clippers
33. Conditioner
34. Days off of school
35. Good health and a sound mind
36. Birthdays and the chance to grow older and wiser
37. Movies in heaven (hopefully these are actually real)
38. Laughing.  Laughing at nothing.  Laughing babies.  
39. Bridges
40. Umbrellas.  Singing in the rain.
41. Clouds
42. A day to think about things I'm thankful for

Roasting Marshmallows

Last spring, the library grilled hot dogs and gave everyone walking by a free one for National Hot Dog Month.  

I got free hot chocolate (with mini marshmallows) earlier this semester for listening to a 30 second spiel (yes, that is a real word) about the new chemistry tutoring which I will never use. 

Today, I roasted two marshmallows on my way to class for no reason at all.  The students working the roasting pit even spoke with British accents.

I love BYUI.

Spring in November

I decorated a cake in my baking class today and in honor of Peru it's a spring cake!! (it's Spring down there on the other side of the world....)

Oh, and did I forget to mention that

I bought my non-refundable ticket to Peru today?!?!

Happy 100!!!

Well, actually it's 101.  This is my 101st blog post!!  
(after careful review I discovered this is not the 101st blog I posted but is the 89th...I have written some that I never published on here and those were being counted as well.  I did not discover this until after this post was written.  Please forgive me for lying and continue reading.)

Now I feel like I need to say something profound....

"There is no growth in your comfort zone and no comfort in your growth zone"

I'm not sure who originally said this but it was said in devotional a few months ago and I had forgotten about it until just recently.  This is one of those quotes that I love, but I hate.  I love it because it's TRUE and I hate it because it's TRUE.

I do quite enjoy my comfort zone.  I've lived in the same apartment for a year and a half with the same girls for almost a year of that.  I have my ward (although I just got a new bishop a week ago...).  I have my classes, my job, my friends, my family.  Life hasn't changed a whole lot in the past year.  I can see where I've grown because I was pushed out of my comfort zone (last fall with starting my job AND being RS President), and I see where I've gotten too comfortable and become lazy.

Fact:  I don't like that I've become lazy.

Fact: I should be doing homework instead of blogging right now.

Fact: I'm counting this as my journal writing today so I don't feel as bad.

Fact: My lowest grade is a 95.5% right now so I haven't been too lazy.

So goals for the coming months include getting out of my comfort zone and not having regrets.  

Life is going so well and I couldn't be much happier.  I have my moments but they are few and far between.  Besides the regular college stressors (that's a word, right?) I'm fairly stress free!  I have been so blessed to have an adorable apartment, excellent and caring roommates, a family that supports me in whatever I decide to do, and a pomegranate for dinner.

Charlie Brown "Happiness" 

  
PS- I have no idea why my font size is huge and I can't get it to go back to normal...

A Time For...

what?  WHAT?!?!  What is it time for??!!!?!?!

I have no idea and it's driving me crazy.  Why do I have such a hard time with big decisions?  Why do I have to over-analyze everything?  Why can't I just make a decision and stick to it?  Why can't someone just explain how the rest of my life is going to go to me?  Why can't someone just make the decision for me?  Why do I lose sleep over this kind of stuff?

Well, I guess I'm glad no one is making my decisions because I would be quite upset with them.  I'm glad I don't know the end from the beginning because that would take the fun and excitement out of life.  If I went to bed earlier I probably wouldn't lose sleep.

Sometimes I don't know the answer to something that seems important and I really do get frustrated.  I want to feel good about every decision I make.  I don't want to have any more regrets than I already have.  Regret is maybe the worst feeling in the world.  You knew you were supposed to do one thing and then you did another.  Why would you do something you knew you weren't supposed to do?  Beats me.  But I've done it before.  Mostly out of pride, I think.

I want to be the absolute best person I can be and that takes a lot of work.  Sometimes it takes more work than I'm willing to put in and that has been the cause of numerous regrets.  I'm setting a new goal.  I want to live my life with no regrets.  I want to work through problems and decisions and feel happy in the end, even if things don't turn out how I want them to.  This is not something that will change overnight and it's not something that I'll ever accomplish but it's something I can work at everyday, in every little thing I do.  No matter what time it is, I want to be ready for whatever is next. 

This is so much easier said than done.  But I know I can do it!!

Newspaper Nails

I learned a super fun new nail art trick today!  You can put newspaper designs on your nails...who knew?!  First you paint a light solid color and let it totally dry.  Next, dip your nail into rubbing alcohol and press the piece of newspaper you like onto it.  Hold for a few seconds and peel off.  After a few minutes, put another layer of clear polish on top.  Ta-Da!!!

Clockwise from top: Stars and stripes, B"loo"mingdales, crossword answer, random words, "LOVE"

Salvation Army logo, random words, QR code, random words, Ohio

Peru Pow-wow

I finally met the third member of the Peru party!  We had our first official meeting tonight and things are finally coming together.  Oh crap.  I can't believe I'm going to Peru.  I don't speak Spanish.  How the heck am I supposed to do this?!?!?  We decided to put an ad on the school bulletin board for a Peruvian friend.

Uno, Dos, Tres...QUESO!!!!!

Papas Locas

Prepare to be disgusted...but I figured since I'm going to a foreign country I need to learn how to try foods that completely gross me out.

This concoction is from Mexico.

 First, take a bag of chips and crush them up.  I used Baked Lays but I hear Doritos and Fritos are the best kind.

 Add worcestershire sauce.

 Add soy sauce.

 Add lime juice.

 Mush together.

Eat like a push pop.

Enjoy??