I'm on a sugar high

Some days I have random thoughts and think to myself "I should blog!" ...and then I don't.  And I feel kind of bad because I don't want to write an entire post of completely weird and unrelated stories.  And then I remember it's my blog and I can do whatever I want!  Here goes....

A few weekends ago I went to Utah with Kadi, Alexis and Hillary.  We went to Provo Friday afternoon and I got to have ice cream with my best friend growing up, Heather Millett.  Friday night we drove back up to SLC and stayed the night with Alexis's brother and sister-in-law.  Saturday we went to Temple Square, saw seven brides in less than 20 minutes, got lost, and ate at Olive Garden before heading back to Rexburg that night.  It was a quick trip, but a good one.

At the BYU Mens' Volleyball game

 
 Last Saturday we had a non-Monday fhe activity at Alexis's house.  Her parents have a pool and racquetball court in their clubhouse so we went back there and had a little party.  We had pizza and cake (it was Travis's birthday that week),  sat in the hot tub, played water polo, watched the guys beat each other in racquetball, and had a blast!  It was amazing because we got ALL TWELVE of us there.  I don't think I've ever had an fhe activity before where absolutely everyone came.

Valentine's Day was spectacular for me this year!!!  No, no boyfriend BUT that just made it even better.  I got up at 5:30 to cook my roommates breakfast casserole.  Alexis got up a little later to make pancakes.  We even decorated the table cute.  So at 7:00 am we had a lovely roommate breakfast!  Later, Alexis and I baked some cookies that Lauren had made the dough for the night before.  Then Lauren and I decorated them for our Visiting Teaching sisters and they turned out excellent.  It was like a double whammy because we put them on top of cupcakes.  Lauren and I also made some V-day cards.  I quite enjoyed doing a craft since I don't do them that often anymore.  Monday night we went to our bishop's house for fhe and then I went to our brother's apartment to watch the old musical, The Band Wagon.  I much prefer Singin' in the Rain...this one was a little out there.....

How an unhappy post became happy

It's definitely good to "sleep on it" after having a rough day.  For some reason, things are so much more positive in the morning, or even a few hours after whatever disaster just happened.  This happened yesterday.  I had so many things that I wanted to rant about and vent but decided I was not in the right state of mind for blogging and might regret something that I said.  I had already said too much out loud that was probably not the smartest or nicest things.

I've never really had the impression to read from the scriptures before.  Now that sounds weird, I know.  I can't exactly put to words what I mean by that.  But I was in kind of a rotten mood and I had the impression that I should just go read my scriptures...so I did.  I started by reading in Hosea because that's part of my assigned reading for my Old Testament class but after reading a chapter I felt like it was doing me very little good and that I needed to go elsewhere.  Off I went!  I flipped in the Book of Mormon to 3 Nephi 11-12 (For any who are unaware, the Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ and it is a record of the people in the Americas and takes place about the same time as the Bible.  We do not believe that it replaces the Bible in any sense, but only adds to our understanding of it.  3 Nephi chapters 11-26 are the record of when Christ visited the American continent after his resurrection and contain many things that he taught the people.  Most of the doctrines and principles are the same as those he taught to his apostles in the Old World.).  Ever since being in the Hill Cumorah Pageant, these chapters have become some of my favorites and I understand them more and more.  Boy were they the perfect verses for me to read.  Since this is a happy post, unlike what was going to be posted last night, I don't feel the need to write about what exactly touched me in those words due to the situation I was in BUT it did provide me with new insights and new attitudes that I need to apply in my life.

I am so thankful that I live in a time where I can pick up the scriptures whenever I want and I can read and understand them for myself.  I don't have to rely on a priest, bishop, or televangelist to tell me what Christ taught his people or how I should be living my life.  I readily admit that I don't know a majority of the facts and history and stories of the Bible, but I know that the words and doctrines it teaches are true.  Christ did live.  He is God's son and works in harmony with him, although they are two separate and distinct beings.  Christ died for the sins and sorrows of the world, which includes all of my sins and sorrows.  He would have done it even if I was the only one on the earth because he knows me personally and loves me.

I know that the Book of Mormon truly is Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  The people and events in that book are real and true.  Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and he translated the Book of Mormon for our understanding and restored the gospel of Jesus Christ in it's fullness today.  Thousands of years ago, God loved the people so much that he sent them prophets to teach them and call them to repentance.  I know that God loves us just as much today!  And we have a living prophet on the earth today that will teach us those things we need to know to return to live with our Heavenly Father again for eternity.  This is the last dispensation and the fullness of times and the Lord will not allow for the fullness of the gospel to leave the earth again.  We are waging a war this very moment against all the powers of Satan and his minions and we will come off the victor.

As Christ appeared in the Old World AND in the New World, he will appear again.  I hope that at that day I am ready to greet him with open arms.  I will not be one to shrink in the corner, wastefully wishing I had done more.  I want to run to the open arms of the man that atoned for my sins.  I will call him my brother because I know him and he will call me by name because he knows me.  What a happy day it will be!        

Ow Ow Owww!

Today was a most excellent day.  It started at 5:45 (the earliest I've been up in quite a while) with a trip to the temple.  I feel so blessed to live within walking distance (though I never turn down a ride when it's cold like today!) of a temple.  This semester I've been able to go a few times and I'm looking forward to going more and more. 

At 9:00 I met Jamie (my roommate from last Spring) at the gym to play racquetball.  She may have kicked my butt...four times.  This is only the second time I've played with her and I managed to score 7 points against her one game!  And another game I got the big ONE OH...minus the one....  Oops!  But I really am getting better at the game and by the end of the semester I'll score at least 10.

We then ventured from the courts to the fitness center and lifted weights for 30 minutes.  MY ABS ARE KILLING ME.  Every time I move from a laying down position to sitting or standing I feel like I'm going to puke.  I've done ab machines before but Jamie had me do a new one that really works your abs.  I guess that's a good thing.

After walking home, showering, eating lunch, and getting ready for the day I headed out to have some fun at a film shoot!!  YES, I got a part in a campus video from that audition I went to last week. (to read about it click here)  It's nothing big, but it was a ton of fun.  It's actually going to be part of a new student employee training video.  I was the example of bad phone etiquette.  And I have excellent phone etiquette at work so it definitely was a challenge!

Tonight's going to be a lonely night at the apartment for me.  Alexis is back home babysitting, Lauren is at a retreat, Lindsey went to IF, and Brittany and Hillary are going on a double date.  Oh well.  Every once in a while I enjoy some time to myself to just relax and enjoy the absence of craziness.  I would watch a movie but I can't ever seem to finish them anymore.  I always fall asleep.  Or get up and do something else.  Whatever I do, I'll make sure it's awesome :) 

SUPER-

BOWL... The Packers are in the Superbowl again!!!  The last time they won, I was in first grade and in second grade they went but lost.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's our time again!!!  Usually I couldn't care less who was in the Superbowl and wouldn't waste my time watching it but I think this year I will make an exception.  I mean, I lived in Green Bay for eight years so it's hard not to.  I miss the craziness of that town.  Our McDonalds has a green and gold roof instead of red and yellow, players would routinely come to our elementary school during lunch and give us trading cards of themselves (even though I had no idea who they were), and Friday's were green and gold days where everyone would dress up.  I just got a letter from my grandma telling me that when the Packers were in the Superbowl in first grade she was babysitting me and I tried on a bunch of different green and gold combinations and couldn't find any that I liked so I sat down, cried, and refused to go to school.  She did finally manage to get me to wear something and go but I think it's funny that I cared so much about looking cute on green and gold day.

FHE ACTIVITY...  I played in the snow for the first time in a few years last night and it was wonderful!  Ohio is not too conducive to sledding (you can go to the reservoir or....the reservoir) so I haven't gone in a while.  BYUI is on a massive hill so if you want, I'm pretty sure you could sled from the top to the bottom of campus in one long ride.  I only went down the hill once because there were massive jumps at the bottom and I'm a scardy-cat.  BUT, I kicked some butt in the snowshoe races...kicked my own butt that is.  I raced three times and I fell three times.  More like totally biffed it three times.  Running in snowshoes is much harder than it looks.  You can't put your weight forward like normal racing, you have to stand straight up and run...it's hard.  I raced Jamie so that I could beat her at something and we were neck and neck until the very end when I started pulling away so she tried to push me down.  But I outwitted her and dove for the finish line!!  Yeah, that was funny.  Needless to say, I was sore the rest of the night and today I don't have full function in my neck back.  But it was worth it for the hour or so of fun I had.

TARDFRAG*...  Dear Tardfrag,  Do you know how big of an idiot you are?!  Do you realize how lucky you are that you picked the sweetest, more forgiving girl at BYUI to play?  Because had you done to me what you did to her, you wouldn't act so happy and you would be scared to show your face anywhere near our apartment.  Love, your secret dis-admirer.

This is the only picture that google images came up with for "tardfrag"....

 ROOMMATE...  I have been so blessed to have four awesome room-roommates since being at school.  Castellia, Audra, Whitney, and now Alexis.  This is my third semester living with Alexis and we decided we liked each other enough to share a room.  What an adventure it's been so far!  You know what's weird?  We're practically opposites in everything.  If someone asks which pair of earrings we like better we choose different ones.  We have opposite tastes in boys (ahem)...men.  We get along fabulously but just can't seem to have the same opinion about anything.  I think it affirms the law that opposites attract.  The one thing we agree on is Steve.  No worries, as I said before, we don't like the same guys and will never have that fight.  Steve is a pillow.  A long, slender, cozy, fuzzy, practically-perfect-in-every-way body pillow.  His permanent residence is on Alexis' bed but sometimes he comes to mine for sleepovers :P  Speaking of bedtime, it's going to be bad next semester when we have to get up early for classes because we spend an hour every night before bed just talking...about anything and everything.  That's what roommates are supposed to do, right?  Oh, and we spy.  A LOT.  So if you see four eyes through the blinds of 217 they're probably ours.  You wouldn't believe all the stuff we find out just by watching people late at night (or early in the morning, or in the middle of the afternoon...)!!   

    
TIRED...  Goodnight all :)

*Note: The phrase "tardfrag" is used with permission from Whitney Nebeker.   

To Be or Not To Be?

Funny.  After posting yesterday about how nothing important happens, something important happens.  And again, important is a relative term.

I'd seen posters all around campus advertising for an open casting call for campus videos and decided to check it out.  I've done theater for years and had a lot of fun so thought "why not?!"  I didn't even have to prepare a monologue or anything, just show up and give it a shot.  I figured it didn't really matter what happened.  If I got a part in something it would be really fun, and if I didn't, I wouldn't be any worse off then when I started.  

Let's just say the whole experience really made me miss the stage.  I couldn't believe it!!  I haven't done an actual show in over a year and a half and I honestly just miss getting on stage with my friends and having fun.  

Pacing in the lobby before an audition.  Anxiously waiting the posting of a cast list.  Reading the script for the first time and laughing 'till my abs hurt.  Having a million and one inside jokes with other cast and crew.  Doing a scene over and over and over and over because it's supposed to be serious and I can't stop laughing.  Crazy directors.  Crazy stage managers.  Heavy costumes under hot lights.  More makeup in one night than I wear in a week.  Butterflies in my stomach before taking those first few steps.  Getting to be someone else for a few minutes.  Frantically looking for a prop or anything that resembles it to take with me.  Frantically waiting for someone to appear, and if they don't, frantically thinking up fake lines so the audience doesn't know.  Saying a line so many times, the once funny joke is hardly funny to me anymore.  Presenting our hard work to an audience the first night and hearing them laugh at that joke until their abs hurt, and remembering why I love the stage.  Thunderous applause.  Closed curtains.  Tearing a set to smithereens and watching the only evidence of my past three months disappear.  I miss it all.  

They said they'd give me a call sometime if they needed me.  It might be in two weeks, it could be next semester.  Whatever happens is okay with me although I can't imagine how much fun it would be to be a part of something again.  Granted, film is nothing like the stage so it would be a challenge for me.  But that 1 minute audition reminded me of something I once loved to do and something that I will forever be grateful to have had in my life.  To be involved with anything remotely similar would be an amazing experience.        

A post for the sake of blogging

I will apologize a head of time for this post...there's really nothing funny about it.  Usually I wait until I have something important to say before I blog.  Actually, looking back, I rarely have something important to say.... interesting? naive? time-wasting? completely random?  That's more like it.  But since I am also trying to use this blog as a journal of events, I feel I should write for the purpose of writing and recording my happenings.

I'm back in Rexburg after a two week vacation at home (well I got back on the 5th).  School is wonderful!!!!  With two religion credits (and ONLY two religion credits) my work load has been quite a bit lighter than last semester.  I've had a lot of time to do things that I only dreamed of doing in the fall.  I've been to the gym almost every day (one day I worked out next to Jack Weyland (a well-known LDS author) who wrote Charly which has been made into a tear-jerking movie) and my muscles yell at me constantly for not using them the past few months.

I've cooked a few meals although I hope to do more as the semester goes on.  I still enjoy my calling in Relief Society and am looking forward to getting to know all of the girls better.  I baked delicious polar bear cupcakes!

 
Last Wednesday I was dragged to country dancing by my old roommate, Lexie, and have decided to go back every week.  I'm pretty awful at it at the moment but I'm really hoping that if I keep going I'll someday figure out what I'm doing.  Hillary and Alexis came to the instruction with me last night and we learned a few things.  The problem is that more girls show up than guys so I didn't have a partner for most of the instruction which complicated things only slightly.  I was the stereotypical bad dancer who stepped on too many toes and could not follow half of the twists and turns I was supposed to do.  But I will get better and by the end of the semester I will rock the country dance floor...or at least not break as many toes.  

Alexis, me, and Hillary all ready to rock the dance floor!

We had our first FHE (Family Home Evening) on Monday which was a blast and a half.  Usually the first one is super awkward because you don't know many people and no one knows what to say but this time we all hit it off right away!  It felt like an fhe from the last month of the semester.  This is good news and hopefully we'll all enjoy going and getting to know each other.  

I'm an usher for devotionals again this semester.  We're in the new BYUI Center which makes it a much more difficult job because there are new rules and most students aren't aware of them and when they are made aware they don't want to comply.  I still love doing it and I feel like I'm able to give back to the university by volunteering some of my time to make it a better place.

BYU-Idaho made an amazing lip-dub/ flash mob movie at the end of last semester that I was able to be a part of.  I got on a committee to organize another one for this semester and am really excited to get to do something like this!  I miss theater productions from high school and making movies with Eli so by helping with this I am able to get part of that back and enjoy the creative process again.

Last weekend I got a surprise visit from my Tucker grandparents and cousins from North Carolina.  My cousin, Kimberly, left on her mission to California for two years on Tuesday and they stopped in Rexburg so she could say bye to a bunch of friends.  I loved seeing them all and even got to give them a tour of the new parts of campus.

Today I've been so lazy it's embarrassing.  Alexis just took a picture of me writing this so I thought I'd post it...for memory's sake....

Thank you, Alexis, for reminding me how pitiful I look today.  I promise that this is the only day I've been in my pjs at 11:30 am!!!!  I'm usually up before 8:30 and headed to the gym.  Today was just not my day I suppose.

I'm getting my butt in gear now.  There's real things I need to accomplish today that require exerting energy.

Tikki-Tikki-Tembo

My family has this obsession with baby names, I think.  I found this baby name book a few years ago at a garage sale and it's the best purchase I've ever made.  Maybe not the best but it was a pretty good purchase.  Anyways, I had Meredith bring the book to North Carolina for Thanksgiving so I could take it back to school with me because I missed it so much.  My uncle laughed at me for obsessing over a baby name book and then I told him to read it and he was sucked in for a good half hour.  I told you it was good!  It's not a normal baby name book, that's for sure.  Meredith was depressed that I took the book, so for Christmas she got another copy of it.  A newer edition but I'm not jealous.  Mine is the original!

The other night, Eli, Meredith and I sat in my room for an hour looking at names.  Please don't judge us.  It's quality time together.

Now I'm going to take some time to reflect upon my own name.  Abigail.  I haven't always gone by Abigail.  Through my senior year of high school I went by Abby.  For some odd reason in eighth grade I changed the spelling to "Abbi" but that only lasted a year.  Although one friend still calls me "A-B-B-I" and spells it out for me.  I decided that college was a new chapter in life and since no one knew me I could go by whatever the heck I wanted.  I could have gone by Fransisca and no one would really know the difference.  It took some time to get used to introducing myself as Abigail because the name was new to me too.  But I like it and I stuck with it.  When people asked if I preferred Abby or Abigail I would say Abigail, although for some reason I always felt a little guilty...like I was making them work more because it's an extra two syllables.  I'm over that now.

I really like my name and now it feels weird coming home and calling myself Abby.  It doesn't feel weird having people call me that because that's how everyone knows me.  But if I introduce myself to people it takes a second to make sure Abby comes out.  If I say Abigail, I get strange looks from my friends.  And I don't need more strange looks than I already get!

According to my trusted baby name book, Abigail is an old-fashioned and intelligent name.  I can live with that.

I think I'm going to call my kids their real names from the get-go so they don't have to do this whole "what should my name be?" crisis.  And I like long names.  Not Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo long but they're going to be solid.  Not like Chang.  That's just wimpy.  No offense. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about you should wikipedia "Tikki tikki tembo" or just become better acquainted with Children's literature...it's one of my favorites).

Last Christmas Zach got me a book about preparing for marriage.  This year he got me "What to Expect When you're Expecting" (Next year I think I'll get him a book on retirement...).  I'm not going return it since someday it'll be useful, but I definitely won't be bringing it to school with me.  I don't think it would look good to have that sitting next to a baby name book in my room....

Moral of the blog post: If you're ever bored, try reading 1) 100,000 Baby Names and 2) Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo.