Lots o' Food and Friends

Two weeks ago we had a soup in a pumpkin party.  Have you ever heard of cooking soup IN a pumpkin?  I hadn't, but it was delicious!

Homemade wassel (spelling???), rolls, cupcakes and soup :)

Last Sunday we had a Thanksgiving dinner with our FHE family.

 

And then, of course, we have real Thanksgiving.  I didn't take any pictures but here's one Alexis got of Eli and I right before dinner.

 

Peter Pan Syndrome

Anyone who's anyone and reads this blog knows that I'm terrible at making plans for live and deciding what I'm going to do.  Well, let me introduce you to one more option....go to China!!!

I'm starting to think I'm just running away from growing up.  The closer college graduation gets, the more I want to extend the college experience.  I mean, who wants to grow up anyway?!  There's all sorts of....responsibility.  Yeah, not ready for that yet.  

How about taking off for five months and going to Asia?  I could see the Great Wall of China (cross another wonder of the world off my bucket list), visit another continent (bringing my total to four), experience yet another amazing culture, meet some more adorable ninos (no idea how to say that-- or anything for that matter-- in Chinese) and a slew of other great things.  Why not?  It's not like it's super pressing to finish my last semester of school.  And once I graduate I'm going to feel obligated to be an adult.  This pre-graduation stuff is great.  I can explore the world!  Stay tuned.  No plans are set in stone until they are set in stone.  And even then I can change my mind.

I'm falling in love with these kids as we speak...

Tired, but Not Dead.

Wow, what a week it has been!  I swear, I say that every week and so I'm sorry for everyone that reads these posts and hears over and over how busy my life is.  And then sometimes I sit and think "you know, you  probably aren't even that busy...you sure do waste a lot of time."  But let me tell you something.  Sometimes, wasting time is the best use of your time!  After a long day, it feels really good to sit on the couch and read a newspaper, or drink a glass of water, or watch a dumb youtube video (although I can't really do that now because the internet is out at my complex...).

So, let me document this week for you.

Monday: Wake up at 4:00.  Drive to IF at 4:30.  Work in IF from 5:00-10:30.  Drive back to Rexburg and work from 11-2 at my normal job.  Class from 2-6:30 with a small break in the middle because I was stinkin' tired and skipped half a class to snag a nap.  Local high school musical (Beauty and the Beast) from 7-10.  Get to bed around 11:30.

Tuesday: Wake up at 8:30.  Blood testing for a class at 9:20.  Work 11-2.  Devotional 2-3.  Class 3:15-4:15.  Library/ sewing lab/ homework/ take-home-monster-test until midnight.

Wednesday:  Wake up at 4:15.  Drive to IF and work from 5:15-10:30.  Back to Rexburg to work 11:30-2.  Class 2-4:15, group meeting 4:15-5:00, class 5:00-6:30, library for homework, trip to the store and to get some sweet potato fries, in bed at 11:30.

Thursday: Wake up at 7:00.  Class 8-9:30.  Work 10-1.  Nice little break until class at 3:15.  Now I'm at the library.

Anticipated Friday:  Wake up at 7:30.  Work meeting 9:00.  Work 11-2.  Class 2-4:15.  Job interview 4:30.  Wait in utter anticipation until Alexis gets into town around 7:00 and party with her for as long as I can.

Now, for those still reading (which I'm surprised if anyone is since reading a schedule has got to be the most boring thing ever) I am going to take some time to expound on a few of the activities this week.

--The early morning job I had on Monday and Wednesday was working with a company down in Idaho Falls who was doing wellness testing on their employees.  They were tested for their cholesterol, blood pressure and BMI which would determine how much their insurance would cost.  My job was to talk to those who had abnormal results and educate them on how they could reduce their blood pressure, cholesterol etc.  It was actually fun and most people were very pleasant.  The funniest thing about this is that I've had two people ask me "did you need any special training to be able to do that?!" and my reply was "welllllll, it is what I study in my major" hahaha  Health Science people.  I learn about health.  So yes, I've had about three years of training to be able to tell people that their LDLs are high and they need to cut back on processed and fast foods :)  I think the best part of this job was just the experience to actually work with clients.  It's given me confidence to say "yes!  I do know something!"  So much of what I've learned seems like common sense to me because everyone has a body and everyone knows to eat their fruits and vegetables, but most people don't know WHY.  It's great to feel like I've actually learned something useful in college.

As a side note, I think everyone should look into having their cholesterol tested if you haven't recently.  I can interpret your results for you free of charge, too! (For any BYUI students... you can get it done for $15 at the wellness center and the health center)

--I had been looking forward to seeing Beauty and the Beast all weekend at the high school.  I don't think I've seen a high school production since I was in one and I was just in the mood for it!  So I dragged Nathaniel along with me and we ventured to the outskirts of Rexburg.  Apparently the whole town had heard it was a great show and showed up trying to get into the last show.  We didn't have our tickets already so we had to stand in a massive line, just hoping to get in.  It was an extremely close call but we got in when there were only 8 tickets left!  Once we got in the theater, we realized there were only single seats left haha  So we grabbed two that were right behind each other.  Someone must have prayed for us that day because the family next to me had a child get sick in the first 10 minutes and they left so we ended up being able to sit next to each other (and during intermission I picked up the program they left on the floor only to discover that their daughter really got sick and they had used the program to cover it up...gross).

--A job interview?!  Am I thinking of leaving the admissions office and all of the wonderful people there??!  HECK NO!  I love that place.  BUT I'm trying to get a second job for winter semester working at the wellness center.  I volunteer there an hour a week this semester and they're hiring for quite a few positions for the winter.  If I get this job I will end up dropping about half my classes for winter so I would become a full-time worker (2 part-time jobs) and a part-time student (taking between 4 and 7 credits...I haven't decided yet).  Anyway, I'll keep ya'll posted on what happens there.

Welp.  That was a long and boring post.  I think I can safely say that maybe 1% of everyone that reads my blog actually took time to read it all.  I hope you aren't too dissatisfied with the waste of time it was.  Although blog reading is quite a favorite waste of time for me....

My Ugly Un-Uggs

It's that time of year again!  The time of slush and snow and puddles and more slush and snow!  Since it's getting colder, I will be transitioning from wearing skirts and dresses to work to dress pants.  Sadly, my dress pants are a little long so I practically have to wear heels everyday and they still get soaked.  Just in case you are unaware, heels are not practical to wear in the puddles, slush and snow.  So....I have a solution!  I wear the lovely boots (picture below taken earlier today) and just tuck my pants into them so they don't get all wet on the bottom.  Then, when I get to work/ class, I take out my real shoes and wear those.  I probably look like a certified freak, but at least I am 1) warm and 2) comfortable.  You can't convince me to change my ways.  I've been doing this far too many semesters...

Long Lost Pictures

Okay here's some pictures of things I've done this semester so 1) You know I'm not completely lame and 2) This post doesn't seem like a complete lie...I really did all those things!


The Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed and Emilee and I were reunited with Papa Hicken!

Temple to Temple Relay Race.  Our team got 8th of 91 :)

 Our amazing team.

The Peruvian Sunday dinner.

 XD faces!!

General Conference

 Cheesecake Factory with my best friends from GB in SLC...totally random and unplanned.

 Those world class travelers are back home with me!

Two years ago.....hahaha They're so great!

I voted for Mitt!  And even though he didn't win, it will go down in history that I voted for him and sure am proud of it.

There you go.  I really am living my life. 

Bragging and Complaining

Literally all I can think to blog about right now would be school or work.  They are seriously the only things I do with my life these days!  So I'll take a minute to brag and a minute to complain and then be done for a bit.  My apologies for never having anything fun to read anymore.  I've had the fun sucked right out of me this semester.

Brag: I'm kicking butt in my Kinesiology class.  I've got a 97% when the average is a 77%.  I have the 3rd highest score out of 63 students.  BOOYA!

Complain: There is a buttload of memorization for the class that I don't particularly enjoy.  You don't want to see the stack of flashcards I have.  Flashcards with not just a word on the back, but with multiple sentences.  It's disgusting.  But then it's kind of cool when you can answer questions like "what muscle do you use when doing a pull-up that you don't use when doing a wide grip chin-up?" and "how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"  You know...the important things.  Also, the last test took me 2.5 hours.  "Quizes" take a good hour.

Brag: My job is so much better than your job.  We had a soup graze last week.  Heaven.  I looooove winter for the sole reason that it's soup season.  I also have some of the best coworkers ever.  They're hilarious.  My boss is hilarious.  I'm hilarious.

Complain: Yesterday I had a women yell at me on the phone for like ten minutes.  She kept telling me how ridiculous BYUI was and then we were screwing everyone over and no ones likes us.  I was in the middle of telling her she may want to consider a different school if she didn't like how we did things and she hung up on me.  Great first phone call of the day.

Brag: I stepped foot in Peru exactly 10 months ago today.

Complain: I stepped foot back in America exactly 7 months ago today and miss Peru and the people so much.

Brag: I have a bomb-diggity blog.

Complain: Basically I forget I have it and never write anymore and my life is going to shambles because of it.

Half the Sky

Read it.  It will change your life.

I had to read this book for my Women's Health class this semester and I LOVED it.  Well, it was a love-hate relationship.  The first half made me feel physically ill (I'm not even joking) but despite that, I just couldn't stop reading!!  Constantly I would think to myself "how on earth did I get so lucky to have it so good?"  The stories of these women will tear your heart to pieces but they will also inspire you to do something amazing with your life.  I look at some of them and think "if they can overcome such a tragic life, then certainly I can survive school."  It makes me want to be a better person and someone who is more aware of others needs.  It's something that is really hard for me to do with how much time school takes in my life right now. 

Also, if you don't want to read the book (if you're lame and against reading or something like that) there was a PBS documentary done on the book that came out at the beginning of October.  Here's a few clips from it that I found on youtube...

One of the trailers for the documentary.

Fistulas and the Edna Adan Hospital

Sex Trafficking

Sooooo...you're going to go read it, right?

Side note:  I checked the book out from the library at the beginning of the semester and then when I went to renew it I couldn't because someone else had it on hold.  The problem is that our presentation on the book isn't until Monday so I'm paying 20 cents a day to keep the book...I think I'll have a $3.40 fine by the time I return it.  Totally worth it though.  And I am making a public apology to the person who's had the book on hold for a month and is just waiting for me to return it.....