Flying High...The Legal Way

If you’ve never flown in an airplane while listening to awesome airplane-flying-music (ie ET, Starwars, Stardust (my choice of music at the moment) etc) you are missing out…big time.  And if you’ve never flown in an airplane at all you are missing out…bigger time.  I love flying.  It’s a good thing I’m not scared of it since it’s basically the only way I can get to and from school…unless I want to drive 30 hours across cornfields and the great Midwest.  How amazing is it that I can travel the same distance in 5 ½ hours?!!?  Not including a 4 ½ layover in Chicago and waiting time...  But seriously.  Today I went 1,249 miles in 3 hours.  That’s 400 miles per hour.  When’s the last time you went that fast?  That’s what I thought.  I just gained a few points on the cool scale.  

I think I gain a greater appreciation for how monstrous our earth actually is while in a plane.  You can see so far, and yet it’s only a city or two.  And at the same time, I can go “through” Chicago in less than 10 minutes.  Talk about efficient.  I’m FLYING across the United States.  Can we really grasp how significant that is?  The pioneers walked, and walked, and walked, and walked, aaaaaand walked (were you singing the song there??  100 brownie points to you if you did!), and it took them MONTHS to get where I’m going in HOURS.  And I’m landing in SLC too.  How appropriate.   

I will admit that I am a little nervous during takeoff and landing.  For some reason I always think that the tail end of the plane is going to hit the ground before we lift off.  But I am always thankful when it doesn’t.

(Side note: I can’t stop eating these butter toffee cashews I bought earlier today…they are delightful)

Think about landing for a moment.  Again, I wish I knew exactly how long a runway is, but pilots have to be pretty skilled to get us to land precisely at the right moment.  Usually, if we were a few hundred feet lower a few hundred feet sooner we’d run into the highway, or a lake, or a neighborhood.  And of all the times I’ve flown, never once has my plane missed the runway.  For that, I am extremely grateful.

I like the people I meet when I fly.  I was just thinking how fun it would be to be a stewardess.  You’d meet so many interesting people!!  You’d get some weirdoes for sure but I’d like to meet myself if I was flying.  On my flight from Minnesota to North Carolina I sat a seat away from a guy that goes to BYU.  He’d only been back from his mission 3 days before flying out to school.  And he served in Provo haha  Of course the first thing my family asked when I told them was “What’s his name?  Did you get his phone number?!”  Sheesh.  You’d think I was 30 and unmarried with all the comments about marriage I get from them…mostly Zach.  The lady next to me was probably in her late 50s.  When she asked where I was from I said “Lima, OH.  There’s really nothing there.”  Then she exclaimed “Well GLEE takes place in Lima doesn’t it?!”  Apparently she and her whole family are huge Gleeks.  While waiting for this flight I talked to a girl who is also at BYUI (and from Columbus area), an old lady who used to be a nurse and knows the person with the highest IQ ever to graduate from WestPoint, and a girl on her way back to school in Wisconsin.      

Somehow on my flight from Chicago to SLC (which I’m sitting on now) I was lucky enough to get a row to myself.  I took my shoes (well commando boots) off and spread out.  It is now pitch black outside except for the occasional lights of the cities and towns down below.  I wish I knew where we were… So far I’ve been writing for 25 minutes.  I should rephrase that.  Since I’ve started writing it’s been 25 minutes.  I haven’t written continuously as I’ve had to take a few breaks to enjoy being thousands of feet about the earth.  If we’re going 400 m/h that means I’ve gone about 167 miles during this time.  HOLY CRAP!  (That was for Whitney…I had to work her name into this blog somehow)

An hour or so later….

I met another girl on the flight who going to BYUI.  We met outside the bathroom of all places.  And inside the bathroom all I could think of was the scene from Get Smart.  If you haven’t seen that movie you should.  My siblings and I can quote the whole thing.  You’ll never look at a bathroom on a plane the same way again.  And on a similar note…Boys: Is it really that hard to remember to put the seat down? 

 

By the way, Chicago O’Hare has the coolest toilet seat covers I’ve ever seen.  It was a plastic tube that covered the seat and when you waved your hand over a sensor, the toilet would rotate the part that was showing to the back so that fresh plastic was there for you to sit on…I’m really hoping that the old stuff just gets disposed of somewhere.  I guess the only down side to them is you have no idea where your seat cover is coming from….    

     

Skull, Scapula, Patella and Phlanges (better known as Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes)

As many of you know I'm taking Anatomy and Physiology this semester.  It's been a very challenging and time consuming class as I figure I've spent at least 20 hours in the lab and library studying bones and muscles...plus studying for the lecture exams.  But it's been so rewarding!  On top of this class I'm also taking Essentials of Human Nutrition which is just a basic introduction to nutrition but I've already learned a ton in there as well.

The past two weeks in A&P we've been able to get in the cadaver labs and study the muscles on actual humans.  What a blessing it is to have those resources here!!  I can't help but feel appreciative of the people who gave us permission to learn from their bodies which is the most precious gift they have ever received.  They were each someone's mother or father, maybe they had tea parties with their granddaughters.  I'm not sure of their life stories but I'm sure they each had unique experiences during their time on this earth.  I will admit, it creeped me out the first few times I went in because they definitely used to be living, breathing people...just like you and I.  And I would look at them, then at myself, and realize all of that "stuff" was also in me!!  Holy cow!  Our bodies are amazing!

How anyone doesn't believe that God created us is beyond me.  Have they ever looked inside a real human?!  It's just a big mess of organs and muscles and fat and there's no way they could function together without a divine spirit.  There is absolutely no way that lump of gray matter in your skull could ever remember or learn anything without a divine spirit living inside.  Of course, our bodies are what houses our spirit while here on earth so they have to be amazing.  God obviously wouldn't let something so precious live in something sub-par.

And then if we think about how God created each of us to be exactly how we are, how could we ever not love our bodies?!  Sure, we should strive to be in great physical shape but if the extra 10 lbs doesn't want to come off then maybe God wanted you to have those extra 10 lbs.  In my nutrition class the other day a girl made the comment that "to think less of ourselves is to think less of God."  If we say that we aren't good enough then we are telling him that we are not pleased with his work.  Have you ever seen the seven wonders of the world?  I haven't.  But I've seen pictures.  And I've seen snow-capped mountains, the Appalachians in the fall, Niagara Falls, the oceans, sunsets galore, "spacious skies and amber waves of grain" and so many other beauties of the world that take my breath away.  God created all of those to be beautiful.  And yet, none of those are living and breathing.  Why would he spend time making our world beautiful and then not make sure that every single thing about us was perfect.  He wouldn't.  I'm sure of it.

I guess I've just been thinking a lot about this lately and felt like I should write about it.  We had an excellent discussion in my nutrition class a few weeks ago regarding eating disorders that really struck me.  That discussion led me to teach a lesson on self-confidence and womanhood in Relief Society that Sunday.  I was able to read talks on what modern-day prophets and apostles had to say about our bodies and how important they are.  Then as if that wasn't enough, last week in nutrition we got to read MORE talks on how special our bodies are and write a reflection paper on what we learned from them.  It's no wonder this has been on my mind.

I hope everyone can come to appreciate their body exactly as God created it.  Because he did create it.  He knows the hairs on your head as he knows the feathers of the sparrows.  Take some time and learn about how awesome you really are.  You don't have to study for 20 hours to learn each individual muscle and their function but you can appreciate how your body works together to make your hinges move and your food digest.

Here are a few talks I particularly enjoyed about our bodies and how special they are....
Elder David A. Bednar Ye Are the Temple of God
Sister Susan W. Tanner The Sanctity of the Body
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland To Young Women
Elder Glenn L. Pace Confidence and Self-worth
Elder Russel M. Nelson We Are Children of God (Great insight into the actual physical capabilities of the body)

Awkward-ness Runs Through my Blood

There are times in life where things just get awkward.  Sadly, I find myself in these situations quite often.  Case and point: A group of us were going to Extravadance Friday night and I hadn't picked up my ticket yet so I wanted to get there a little early.  Whitney, conveniently, had a date and he came to pick her up.  I was standing out in the cold waiting for Alexis and I honestly can't remember if he offered to give me a ride or if I asked.  I'm really hoping I wasn't dumb enough to ask for a ride.  BUT somehow I ended up in their car on the way to the dance.  How do you spell awkward again??  Let me tell you.  A.W.K.W.A.R.D.  Don't ever do what I did.  Learn from my experience.  It was only a five minute drive (less actually but we had to find a parking spot) and I felt like I should just curl in a ball in the backseat so as to not be seen or heard.  As soon as the car turned off I swung my door open, yelled a "thanks for the ride!" and bolted towards the door so they could walk in without an awkward third wheel.  It's a good thing they were already friends and it wasn't a blind date or anything.  Hey, I'm trying to look at the bright side!! 

Now on to other business.  If you didn't know, Eli and are are pretty cool siblings.  We know how to have a party.  And also how to make a "killer" music video.  The singing gene kind of escaped our family but we can act and we can edit.  Last winter, the two of us made a video for The Killer's Spaceman and if I'm allowed to brag for a bit, I think it's decently awesome.  It took us about 3 months to make, although it's not like we worked on it every day...We aspire to be on Ellen one day so if you would kindly watch it and get our views up we would very much appreciate it. 

To view the video on youtube click here!!

Or you can just watch it on my blog because I've learned how to post videos on it!

Enjoy!

Times and Seasons

The time has come.  Rexburg finally remembered it's supposed to snow.  I'm glad it forgot for a while though, and let us have a nice long "fall".  It was a good fall for Rexburg, I suppose, but I actually missed having a Wisconsin/ Ohio fall where I can wear jeans and a sweatshirt and be perfectly comfortable, where the leaves turn all sorts of colors and slowly fall to the ground, and where the slight breeze blows your hair in your face.  I should have gone to a strangers house and just raked leaves for them.  I love raking leaves!  And this time last year I also remember feeling deprived of my leaf raking.  Fall's my favorite season so when it's not absolutely perfect I feel slightly cheated.  There were a few days of "real fall" but that's the best it got.  Anyways it snowed.  And I was not prepared.  It was raining in the morning so my natural thought process was "if it's warm enough to rain, I don't need gloves!"  Halfway to my first class it turned to slush-snow and continued on until that evening.  I walked into work at noon with clear sidewalks and walked out three hours later with over an inch of slush and snow on the ground.  Heels were not the best choice that morning.

Walking between classes with a cheap, purple umbrella that kept whipping inside out and utterly embarrassing me, I wondered why the heck I was choosing to stay here in the winter when I technically don't have school.  Not like Ohio is much warmer but at least there I have a car...well half of a car...wait, Eli has his license now so a third of a car...and it's being held together by duct tape, packing tape and staples and I don't think the heat works...so basically, I have a third of a box on wheels.  Whitney begged me to come to AZ with her but I'm not quite sure I want to spend my break shelving books at an elementary school library and opening ketchup packets during lunch with flu-stricken children while she teaches all day.  But it would be warm and sunny!  

I can't believe the semester is more than half over.  Well actually I can.  It's been a long semester.  I'm ready for some of my classes (okay, ALL of my classes) to be over but I'll admit I get a little teary eyed thinking Whitney is going to be leaving.  And who knows when I'll see her next.  I guess college is all about friends coming and going and it's her time to venture into the world and make a difference.  We've had a lot of fun times though and we're going to make every day count until the very end!!  Next week we're performing in the ward talent show...basically our talent is being awesome roommates.  If it turns out good then maybe I'll let the cyber-world have a little sneak peak at why we're so fantastic...and if not, then you'll have to use your imagination to make up something even more fantastic!!!

I guess I should give a shout out to some other people as well....Shout out to Alexis who has let me sleep with Steve the last two nights!!  To Cali for having the brains to know that she doesn't know how to drive in snow...yet.  To McKenna for putting up with some really crazy roommates her first semester.  To Lexi for being able to sleep through anything and for her adorable arm squeezes.  To Jamie, Kadi, and Audra because I love and miss them.  To the Demings and little Jaden for being the cutest family ever!  To Hillary for having a talent show to humor Whitney and I.  To my Relief Society for being the best girls EVER.  And to (insert your name here) for reading my blog and being awesome!

Life is definitely good :)

Friends and Friday Night Lights

Last night was Friday night.  I went to bed at 8:00 with our dragonfly lights hung over the window, plugged in and giving our cozy little bedroom a nice, dim glow.  I was exhausted from the day so how could I not fall asleep?!  I almost felt a little bad for going to bed early but hey, I like sleep and if I don't have anything going on I am going to take advantage of not having homework due the next day!  It was a lovely evening.  I woke up around 11 and did a few things (like put on pjs, brush my teeth, the usual) but then I was back in bed by 12.  I did stay awake to see the rest of my roommates get home at one and talk to them about their days since a few I had seen for only 10 minutes that morning.  The great thing about getting to sleep early is that you can wake up early!  I was up at 7:30 this morning so I could go up to the temple.  It's quite busy on Saturday mornings and it took me EXACTLY three hours to get through...to the minute.  Three hours.  That is skill right there.

I'm currently sitting in the MC doing homework.  Well, most currently I am writing on here but before I did that and as soon as I am done, I am going to resume homework.  I didn't shower this morning so my hair is a disaster and I have on no makeup and I'm in jeans and a white t-shirt.  I love not having to dress up for work or church today.

Exciting news!!!  Remember that big bone exam I was studying for?  I took it last week and got a (drum roll please........) 104%!  Which means I got 50/50 PLUS the two bonus questions.  All those hours studying in the lab really paid off.  The only bad thing is that that was the easy part.  Now we're doing muscles and have to memorize not only the name of the muscle, but it's function and which two bones it attaches to.  Just when I thought I had accomplished something cool they lump on even more.  Back to the lab again!


Can I just rant for a few minutes about how awesome my friends are?  I will warn you, if you don't like your friends you may not want to keep reading.  I don't want to create any feelings of jealousy here...so I'll start by saying that I have awesome friends!!  Seriously AWESOME friends.  I went through a time in my life where I was relatively friendless and it was awful.  So I am even more appreciative now of the good ones I have.  My friends in high school couldn't have been better.  You guys were hard workers but always knew how to have a good time.  I was blessed with multiple groups of friends.  There were my band friends (us band geeks stuck together) and my non-band friends (who were awesome in a non-band geeky kind of way).  There were even the drama (theater) friends although they usually fit into one of the other groups as well.  No matter which group I was with, I had good examples to follow and fun times were always abundant.  I can honestly say that I miss bonfires at Kriegel's house, games at Luke's, pool parties at Olivia's, cast parties at whoever's, bus rides home from band contests with trophy's hanging out the windows, chilling at Panera, Blizzard runs, the "orange" orgy chair (am I allowed to call it that? haha), lunch with Brooke'nAlek, and every other spontaneous, happening that happened.  I think often about those times and how we were all able to have good, clean, sober fun :)  That's the best kind of fun and that's not even my opinion.  It's a true fact!

Now that I'm across the country and thousands of miles away from all of those friends, I've been able to create new friendships.  I don't do the best job at keeping in touch with hs friends but I think that's how life is supposed to go.  You'll always be making new friends and trying to keep in touch with old ones.  Just because I don't talk to my best friends from a year ago doesn't mean I don't love them.  I smile just thinking about all the fun times we had.  And I am who I am because of them.  They are what made my high school experiences so wonderful and I have hundreds of pictures (race car at Disney...nuff said :P) and memories to prove it.  No matter what happens, they will always be my friends.

With that said.  My Idaho friends are top-notch.  It surprises me how well I get along with some people and how much they can get me to open up and talk.  I'm a pretty tight-lipped person but for some reason, I tell a few people everything!  I love how my roommates can tell if I'm having a hard day and ask me if I need anything or bring me a Dove chocolate without even asking.  Whitney is the best back-rubber ever and I am certainly glad I am not a guy because it's usually frowned upon for guys to give each other back rubs.  Kadi went to the bone lab and studied with me for HOURS before my test and is a huge reason I did as well as I did.  And there are soooooo many others who literally just make me happy when I see or talk to them.  They all continue to be genuine examples to me of what I should be trying to be like.  They make me want to serve others and speak kindly.  I know they care even if we have our bad days.  I know they'll love me even if I refuse to join the ward choir or sing on Sunday afternoons because stuff like that doesn't matter.  I support them and they support me and it's a strong support system!

Now to my friends who I don't get to see or talk to for a while because they are off in foreign countries or elsewhere in the states preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  My missionary friends!!!  I know they won't be able to read this but I'm going to express my appreciation for them anyways.  Their examples to me are more than they can imagine.  I've gone through the awkward middle school years, the "finding yourself" high school years and a semester or two of fun college with most of them.  I read their letters home and my mouth hangs open at how much they are learning and experiencing.  How many of you have friends that would give up talking to their families, watching tv, getting on facebook (or the internet for that matter), and all other "worldly" things for two years so that they could go teach people about Christ in countries they've only heard of and in languages they had to learn in a mere few months.  They are the cream of the crop as far as friends go, that's for sure!  And being at school here, I've gotten to make so many friends who have honorably served and returned and they are just as special and I hold them in the highest esteem.  You guys (and girls *cough* Kadi *cough*) ROCK!!!  

I wish I was better with words because after reading this it's not coming out how I wish it would.  But I'm thinking I need to get back to real homework so it's going to have to do.  That's life for now.  Tomorrow is going to be another busy Sunday.

Plan B

It's funny how plans change.  Especially when your name is Abigail.  Especially when your name is Abigail and you're in college.  Especially when your name is Abigail, you're in college, and you're trying to figure out this thing called LIFE.  I'm not complaining, life is all about change and I'm all for life so I must be all for change. 

So what, you may ask, has recently changed in my life that I would be so inclined to blog about it?  For starters, my plans for the coming winter months.  I've had planned out what I was going to do for the winter semester since last spring.  Sadly, those plans came to a crashing halt last week and I was left to Plan B...sadly I had no Plan B. 

It's a good thing I have an active brain and am in college where they teach me how to solve problems.  This small rubiks cube hasn't been completely put right but I'm almost there.  Basically, I think I'm going to stay in the Burg for the winter.  To work or not to work?  How many credits should I take?  Are there even enough classes that I need offered at night or online that would get 12 credits to qualify me to work?  From my initial research, all evidence points to no.  So, for the moment, Plan B has turned into taking a few classes at night, not working, focusing on being an awesome Relief Society President, going to the temple  multiple times a week, indexing, and fiilling my days with good things that don't consist of homework.  And my lovely roommate, Alexis, has decided to do something similar so we will have a blast partying it up while everyone else suffers through midterms and finals yet again. 

This is definitely not set in stone yet but I feel really good about how things are turning out.  Everything happens for a reason and I think I'm supposed to stay in Idaho (in the cold) instead of venturing to the sunny beaches of Florida.  I guess a winter tan is just not in God's plan for me this year.

Hmmmmmmm....so other random life news....
-- I went on my first blind date last night which was a lot of fun.  It's crazy how connected we are within the church.  Turns out he was in my grandparent's ward in NC and he went to their house (I still can't get over that he's been there) so my grandpa could give him his patriarchal blessing AND he roomed with my cousin at EFY one year.  I told you, crazy.
-- I have a major anatomy test this Thursday.  I should count up the number of terms we have to memorize for it...I think it's up near 400.  There's 100 on the skull alone.  Don't worry, all those years of scripture mastery and theater are paying off.  If I can memorize 300 lines for a play I can certainly memorize 400 terms.  Even if they are strange, medical words.
-- My roommates are crazy....words can't properly describe it.
-- I made cake balls this week and they were delectable!  My birthday cake for Whitney encountered a problem so I crumbled it up, mixed it with cream cheese, rolled them into balls and froze them, then covered them in melted chocolate (white AND dark!). 

Life is good :)

The Relief Society Good News Minute

  Since this is my blog I decided I can take up the whole good news minute with my good news.  And if I want, I can take more than a minute and make it the Good News Two Minutes :)  I guess the length will depend on how fast or slow you read......

*deep breath*  Here goes.

-- I got a 98% on my first Anatomy and Physiology lecture exam and then he dropped two questions which bumped it to a 101%
-- I got a 103% on the A&P lab exam.  SCORE!
-- I love my job.  I give prospective students tours of campus and answer a lot of telephones but every day is different as there seems to be an endless amount of things people can do to screw up the admissions application for the school.
-- I was called to be the Relief Society President in my student ward on campus.  We have THREE RS this semester instead of the usual two.  I'm still figuring out what the heck I'm supposed to do but hopefully it comes quickly.
-- My roommates continue to be amazing.
-- Whitney is still my friend even after me spending a week with her at her home AND living in the same room for almost a month now.  It amazing me how long we can laugh at absolutely nothing.
-- Tonight I went on a run for the first time in over a month and it felt AHHHHmazing
-- I am going on a blind date next weekend.
-- I am not baking as much this semester which in turn means I am not eating as many baked goods.  Kind of sad though....
-- I watched all four sessions of General Conference last weekend and loved them all.  I only got tired at the end of the Saturday afternoon session but still took excellent notes and will be receiving my 1 lb bag of M&Ms.
-- We had an activity at FHE tonight where a paper was passed around for each person and we wrote nice things about each other.  Nice notes always make me feel good inside...especially when one says "dateable."  Althought that was followed by "haha" so I'm not quite sure how to take it.......haha
-- I'm going back to Washington for Thanksgiving for a few days and then flying wayyyyyy across the country to see off my cousin, Kimberly, who will leave on a mission soon
-- I attended an ABBA-mania concert with Whitney...that experience could be a blog in itself
-- A "good news minute" from my roommates....I have not tried to bake black bean brownies...yet
-- I treated myself to some frozen custard this weekend
-- Rexburg weather has been fairly agreeable for being October...it was 70 on Sunday and perfect for our picnic!
-- For picnic (see comment above) I made pulled pork sandwiches.  They were super easy!  I got up at 5:00 am and stuck 3 lbs of pork loin in the crockpot, poured a 20 oz bottle of root beer over them, turned it on low and went back to bed.  After 6 hours of cooking I pulled the pork and dumped in a bottle of BBQ sauce, let it heat a few minutes and it was ready to serve....best part was that we had leftovers and I can have it for lunch for the rest of the week :)
-- I had my eyebrows waxed for the very first time (thank you Jamie)
-- I'M GETTING MARRIED!
-- I have lots of inside jokes with my roommates...see above comment for one prime example.
-- Whitney has not pulled any more shower escapades
-- I have many friends that are serving missions for the church all over the world and I am blessed to know such great guys with the desire to serve and work hard
-- I get to share clothes with my roommates...although I think they wear more of mine than I do of theirs....
-- I get more backrubs here than at home (don't worry, not from boys)
-- I am illness free
-- All of my bones are whole and in the right locations
-- I went to the farmers market across the street and a very attractive BYU-Idaho student sold me some yellow pear tomatoes.
-- I have a lovely bed that is calling to me at the very moment so I think I will retire there for the night and start a crazy Tuesday tomorrow.  If I were going to make a "bad news minute" one of the first things would definitely be that my classes start at 7:45 or 8:00 EVERY morning and my professors are not the cancelling class kind of professors.

Before I start ranting about other things I think it would be wise for me to end this note.  Life is good :)