Delay

The semester is winding down and I am starting to panic. Finals are coming up, papers are coming due and I don't know how I am going to get it all done. Therefore I am going to take a break from blogging temporarily so I can focus on my studying and finish off this semester strong. I will be back right after finals are done on December 14th. Thanks for all those who read what I write. I love and miss you all!

New Developments

I figured I should give an update on my life here in Cache County before too much time passes by. School is going great: I am doing really well on my tests and getting ready for finals the second week in December. Time has flown by so fast! I can hardly believe I am almost done with my first semester as a college student. Mondays seem to last forever, but the rest of the week is gone in an instant, I hardly have a chance to enjoy everything going on.

Time for an update on the romantic side of my life. If you are regular reader of my blog you will recall I went on a date with KC Bell last weekend. (For those who don't know the story, see below). The entire evening was fabulous! Some details I omitted from my last entry are that he put his arm around me about halfway through the concert, and we ended up holding hands. Many of you will think this is way fast, but I wanted him to hold my hand so bad. We had spent a lot of time together prior to our date during Family Home Evening activities and other events sponsored through Housing and the Ward. For a while I did not think he was going to, so when he put my hand in his, my heart pretty much melted. I was so happy.

Sunday afternoon came along and I did not have much to do. My roommates and I were planning on having dinner together and I volunteered to make Chocolate Applesauce Cake (they loved it and all want the recipe!). Not wanting to work by myself, I asked if KC wanted to come over and help me, which he gladly did. Many guys I know are scared of the kitchen and refuse to have anything to do with preparing food. Not KC though. He jumped right in measuring out the ingredients, chopping the nuts,etc. Any guy that likes being in the kitchen as much as I do gets major brownie points. Saturday night we made Buttermilk Brownies too. :)

To make a long story short, we have spent almost every hour of the day together when we are not in class. Even when he is at work at the library, I go over there and keep him company, maybe even do some studying on the side. We always have so much to talk about that we often find ourselves deep in conversation and it is three or four in the morning, yet neither of us is tired and wants to end the discussion. When we finally do decide that it is time to go to bed, we text each other for another half hour or so. He is always going to the gym to run and lift weights so we have also been going down to the Fieldhouse two or three times a week to get some exercise in. It is awesome having a guy who is dedicated to being fit and can help motivate you get fit too.

All this time we have spent together does not seem to have been wasted at all. Sadly, I was in a deep predicament whether I should continue my open-relationship with Chad or go forward with KC. I did not want to hurt either guy, so I was really tormented all week long. Thankfully Heavenly Father is there for us in our toughest decisions. I made a decision, prayed about it and proceeded with what I thought to be right. I broke up with Chad, and now KC and I are dating. I believe the hardest thing for me during all this is that time moves by so quickly, yet at a snail's pace. It has only been ten days since that Friday night when we all hung out, yet so much has happened. I have fallen, and fallen hard. (That is a good thing. A very good thing.) Now time will only tell how things will play out, but with how things are happening, I have an inkling of an idea of where my future is headed.

If you have questions, feel free to email me, or just write a comment. I would love to get your input! KC really is a great guy. I just cannot believe he likes me in return. Yay! X is happy!

The Piano Man

After coming home weekend after weekend, I promised myself (and Meredith, Tyson, Mom...everyone pretty much) that I would stay at school for once. Honestly I was worried that I would have the most boring weekend ever! Around 5 pm on Friday my belief was almost confirmed. Making a bold move, I texted this guy in my ward named KC (more about him to follow...) asking what he was up to. He was likewise bored, but had friends from West Jordan coming up in a while. He came over and the rest of the guys ended up joining us! We played with the "Human Rubber Band," Mafia, Signs, Spoons for a while then decided to get some pizza at FireHouse pizza on the south end of town (11 pm). After stocking up our energy stores, the nine of us grabbed a soccer ball and headed down to the Quad for a exciting, yet freezing cold game of soccer (12:30 am)! We needed goal indicators for one end of the field so Abby and I "volunteered" our blue jackets since no one had anything brighter. Man! It was SO cold! I think I will do that more often as a sort of therapy to get me more used to the ensuing cold. I cannot decide if it is a good thing or not, but I am too competitive and was injured a couple times. Ran straight into a guy and got a carpet burn sort of injury on chin. Then less than ten minutes later, I went to steal the ball-from the same guy- and he accidentally stepped on my ankle so I have another nice scrape there too. Once again we were not tired (2 am) so we turned on Finding Nemo in the 2 1/2 floor lounge. After that we were all pretty beat and most hit the hay (4 am). KC, his friend Andrew, and myself saw the stars above though and decided we needed to go star gazing before it got much colder (as if it is not cold enough already). Eventually, I made it to bed around 6 am. I think I finally know what it is like to be in college. Party, party, party! No sleep, no sleep, no sleep! Party some more!

On Saturday night I went on my first date at USU. Not just any date though, my first date with an RM. His name is KC (Kenneth Christopher) Bell. His apartment is literally right next to mine, putting us in the same ward where he serves as 1st counselor in the Elder's Quorum Presidency. We are also in the same Family Home Evening group (Go Monkeys!) so we get to play at least once a week together. We left for the Olive Garden at 5:30, and were seated, yet had not ordered our food yet. The problem is that the Jon Schmidt and Jake White concert started at 7. Thankfully KC knew our server and was able to pull a couple strings. Our appetizer and main dishes were brought out at the same time, but it was all very enjoyable. There was so much food that we have gotten together a second time to dine since we were so pressed for time. Neither of us finished our food on the second round, so maybe a third is in store. Sweet! Three dates while only paying for one!

We rushed over to the Kent Concert hall and found our seats just a few minutes before Jake White came out on stage. He is a guitarist and has composed a couple songs for EFY CDs. After an hour of his awesome playing including "One Chord Song" and "Memory Lane," Jon Schmidt replaced him and amazed us for another two hours! KC had seen Jon a couple other times in concert and said he never played for that long. We also had the treat of hearing one of his new songs. Saturday night was the first time he had played it in front of a large audience, and even asked for suggestions for the title. For those who know the song "All of Me" he uses his elbows to play again. It was all very entertaining between the head banging in "Dumb Song" and other classic Jon Schmidt compositions.

I am so glad to be making more friends here at school and actually finding things to do to pass the time instead of studying. I mean, c'mon! Who would want to learn at school? ME!! :D

Saving Lives One Drop At A Time

A couple weeks ago I was called at the Ward Coordinator for the USU 1st Stake Blood Drives. The coolest part is that the Bishopric did not know me at the time. When they prayed though, they received the prompting I should be assigned to something medical. That shows the Lord knows me personally- where I would be able to serve and enjoy my experience the most. Anyway, that is not the point of this blog....

Today was the Stake Blood Drive here at USU. For several weeks now I had been collecting names, phone numbers, and times for when people could come in to donate. After much perseverance, I was able to completely fill up my schedule. After stressing about it this morning, making sure to fulfill my calling to the utmost all the while having class scheduled until 5:30, I was successful with the help of a couple friends and roommates. Abby and Megan were able to deliver the schedule at the start of the drive (I was in class, and had tried earlier, yet no one was there). I think the best part is my Chemistry lab lasted only one hour instead of the scheduled three hours it is supposed to take. That definitely relieved my worried mind.

I took my turn at the check-in table signing people in and giving them instructions for the first part (reading the book of information mainly). When four of my greatest friends came in to donate, I was there to be a support group. Tessa was donating for the first time and I promised to be there to hold her hand through it. My only favor I asked of them though was that they come be my support group as well. I absolutely hate needles. Just the thought creeps me out, so I figure the only time I will allow them into my body is if I need to be saved, or if I can save someone else.

Abby decided to play a mean prank on me though. The lady was about to insert the needle, I was freaking out, looking the other way and squeezing Abby's hand as hard as I could. Out of no where she screams, "OH MY GOSH!!!!" I wanted to take her blood right then. It was mine! That scared me, and the needle really hurt. After that though, my blood was just racing to get out of my body: the flow rate was a 9 the entire time, and I finished in only 5 minutes and 19 seconds. I felt pretty powerful. I laughed really hard after though- we all were, even the lady drawing my blood. I was pretty embarrassed.

Donating blood is a really awesome thing to do. I was thinking about it, and I was reminded of another service we are asked to give if we keep our bodies clean. It is a completely selfless act of service. You can provide something for someone that they cannot do for themself. I can save someone's life physically with a blood donation, but with going to the temple I can save someone spiritually. The body can accept or reject the service in each situation. Let's pray for only acceptance.

If I am this happy after donating a unit of blood, how euphoric will I be when I can go through the temple and perform other saving ordinances beside Baptisms? I bet it will be a lot better because I won't be scared, and nothing will cause me pain in the temple.

I don't know if my analogy made any sense, but I thought it was really cool :D Give Blood, Save Lives!

Apple Insomnia Film Festival

Today in my Creative Arts class my professor introduced us to the Apple Insomnia Film Festival and one of the student producers from Utah State. For those of you who have not heard of this film festival- I was once like you. The main idea: make a three minute film in only 24 hours. Teams of up to 5 students, high school or college age, are given a list of 8 elements from which they choose three or more to include into their film. This requirement helps restrict the creation time to the 24 hours in order to make sure they are met, or the entry is disqualified. I am not very good at explaining it, but the website has a ton of information on it.

What I request as a support for my school and for the team representing Logan is that you go to the site, watch the film, and rate it. You will need an Apple ID, but that is easily signed up for if you do not already have it.

Website: www.apple.com/go/insomnia

Go to Insomnia Film Gallery (on the right hand side of the page)

Search for either "Imagine" (name of the film) or "Utah State University"

Another one I like is "What the Devil." It is funny. If you find any funny, good, intriguing videos, you should share them as well!

Rate and enjoy! Rating ends November 9th. I hope you like it, and I think kids will like it too so share with everyone you know! Let's get Logan, UT on the map more!

Friday Night Fun

Anyone who knows my friends realizes that it is close to impossible for us to decide what we are going to do on Friday or Saturday nights. I think already we have watched every movie ever made (all the good ones, that is) and played "Scene It" until the questions were coming out of our ears. Last night was not an exception by any means. After Chad and Josh played a short introductory game of "Settlers of Catan" (I refused to play thanks to Sam's fabulous tactics) we were left sitting with nothing to do. The boys were discussing the stock market and most recent football games while Mykin, Chanel, and myself caught up on each others' individual college lives. One of the biggest problems we face right now is the lack of funding to spend. We really are all poor college students now, which is a huge change from the financial freedom we experienced during our senior year of high school. A corn maze would be fun, yet expensive at the same time when groceries are to be bought in addition to books, housing, and tuition.

Eventually, we came up with a fabulous plan! Make cookies someone said! It was exactly what we needed. So I called up Mommy to double check the use of our kitchen, made a quick stop at the store for some flour, and ran back to the house. In addition to our endeavors of making cookies, we decided to invest in some dry ice and make something really fun. No silly! Not dry ice bombs, even though the thought did cross our teenage minds. We actually bought some flavoring to make homemade root beer! None of us had made it before, luckily a recipe was included on the box of the flavoring. Chanel and Mykin dove into the making of the root beer while Chad, Josh, and myself worked on mixing the cookie dough. "Strong Josh" and Chad cracked the eggs, then criticized me for adding too much vanilla. I personally think that is near impossible to do, but I received plenty of guff for it last night.

A tray of dough finally made it into the oven and the root beer mixture was bubbling furiously from the addition of dry ice. Who knew that teenagers would still be as entertained by the gaseous carbon dioxide as elementary school kids are. We took turns playing with the plumes flowing over the side of the pot, watching the white bubbles for on the surface of the liquid, and trying to throw it at each other. I personally believe more dough was eaten than cookies. Everyone knows the dough is the best part! Who cares about raw eggs anyway? Sadly I forgot about the last tray of cookies in the oven and they got a bit more baked than the others. Nothing blackened, just crunchier. Mom even joined us for a time while we enjoyed our fairly flat root beer and cookies. She even brought out the small amount of vanilla ice cream and we made root beer floats! Yum yum!

Not too long later, we were all stuffed. As I said earlier, none of us had made root beer before so we were not sure how much dry ice we should buy. The guy in the meat department suggested 5 pounds, so that is how much we bought. Turns out that 5 pounds was more than enough to carbonate our draft, so we were left with blocks of dry ice and nothing to do. Now, what can be expected of four teens (Chad was asleep on the couch), lots of time, and a large supply of dry ice? I brought out a few quarters and we proceeded to dig the metal into the ice, thereby freezing the quarters, and our fingers if we held on too long. Spoons filled with water were pressed again the ice to watch in awe with how quickly the water would freeze, sometimes with quarters inside as well. Said frozen quarters and spoons were then meticulously placed on the bare necks of other unaware participants in the festivities. Needless to say, I am amazed Mom did not come out and tell us to be quiet.

Last night was so much fun! We didn't have to spend much money for something that would entertain us for several hours if it hadn't been so late. By the time everyone was going home, I still had four large blocks of ice left. Not wanting them to go to waste, I played for a little longer sticking my CTR ring in and admiring the imprint left in the ice, then seeing how long I could stand having the frozen metal on my finger. Before retiring to bed myself, I cleaned up the cookie mess (yes, I actually do clean up after myself now!) and dumped the remainder of the dry ice into the pot of root beer in hopes of adding a bit more carbonation to the brew. Sadly enough, none of us had a camera to take pictures, only our phones. I really need to invest in a camera to share visuals of my adventures, but I tried to get a couple pictures with my computer. I do hope though that I went into enough gory detail that you could get a good enough image without the use of pictures. If you have any other ideas of things we could do to keep us occupied on these cold fall and winter weekends, it would be greatly appreciated!

This is the effect of having my CTR ring touching a piece of dry ice for several minutes. The details are hard to see, but little crystals had formed all around it making it almost look like a snowflake. Cool stuff!

Fiddling

I do not know exactly what has come over me, but I am in love with my blog page now! I have convinced two of my best friends to either start their own blog on here or start writing more often. Something about this page has hooked me! I spent forever today trying out different colors for the words, backgrounds, links, everything pretty much. I decided to go with a fall color scheme and try and change it as the seasons come and go. And also, I included some of my favorite tunes so you should listen to them instead of just pausing them right away. I like the music and I think you might as well. Also I discoverd that I can record some video with my nifty little iSight camera so maybe I will be able to get more pictures/video of me instead of images I find online. I know you are all dying to see me even though you are all so far away! =D Give me some feedback on this new look. Is it me? Does it not work well? I want to make my blog the coolest page out there! Thanks for the comments! I love you all!

6 Facts

I have been tagged by Carrie!

1. Peanut M&Ms are my absolute favorite candy! And I normally do not just pop them in my mouth and chew. I have to bite the chocolate off the nut. Then I split the peanut down the middle, bite off the little root bump, then try and split the nut into as many halves as possible. If I do just eat a peanut M&M, realize that is a rare occurence.

2. In my junior year of high school and before I hated writing with pens. Pencils were the way to go because I would mess up and I hated having words scratched out on my papers. Erasers were my best friends. College rolls around and I now hate writing with pencils. They smudge. I only write with pencils if I absolutely have to. Even more odd. I used to only write with black pens in high school. The juicy ones too. College. No black, only blue, and no more juicy! Ball point all the way! I actually have a favorite pen that I take with me everywhere. What I will do when it runs out? Or I lose it like I think I have? Cry probably.

3. Falling is my greatest fear. I am terrified of falling and landing and feeling the pain that comes with landing. I can handle heights just fine, airplanes cause me no discomfort (other than motion sickness). If there is a railing or anything for me to hold on to. But once the thoughts creep in of me tripping and plummeting over the edge, getting paralyzed, or dying, I don't like it anymore. Give me a mountain to climb and I will. Give me a chance to skydive or parachute and you will have push me. Then I will dislike you very much for forever. =D

4. Serving a mission is my life goal right now. I get letters from my missionaries and I love reading their stories about investigators, the area they are in, and the Spirit which is always with them. Almost no one thinks I can stay off marriage for another three years to achieve mission age, but I really want to. Nothing would make me happier than to be out in the world sharing my testimony with others!

5. It is a rare occurence for me to drink soda pop any more. Water, milk, and lemonade are the drinks to have. Hot Chocolate if it is cold (I think it is going to become an even bigger staple in my diet this winter). Grandpa Deano gave me a Sprite before I came back up to school and I drank it with my lunch today. I almost couldn't handle it! The fizz just hurts my stomach now. One little sip of Coke or Dr. Pepper makes me go crazy. It is a good thing water is free. If I was constantly buying soda I would be completely broke!

6. Walking through crunchy falls leaves is my favorite thing to do in the fall. Normally I am depressed as the days start to get colder. Here at school though I love walking to class on mornings when it hasn't rained and kicking up the leaves on the sidewalk. Yesterday all the leaves were blown off the sidewalk and onto the grass. I had to go walk on the grass so I could kick up my leaves. There is just something about wearing a jacket yet still being a little chilled then walking through piles of leaves that is so comforting to me. I think it started when Mom and I visited Lincoln and Carrie in Indiana and we went to a park. I got to walk around in the leaves and I was addicted.

I tag Maren, Marisa, Jessica, Rachelle, Stephanie M, and Abby. Enjoy!

Family Day

My student ward held a special two hour sacrament meeting today and invited the families of all the students to come and visit, then have lunch afterward. At first I was somewhat excited to have Mom come up and visit. Everyone I asked said their families were not coming so I felt out of place. Gradually though I realized this would be really fun and I was WAY excited for her to come up. Then tragedy struck. Mom got sick. Really sick. I feel totally bad for her sick. Suddenly when Mom is unable to come, all of my friends said their families were coming. Great! How does that work? So today instead of sitting with Mom during sacrament meeting, I sat between my two friends and their moms'. I felt alone and sad. I know it is not Mom's choice to not be here. She would be here for sure if she wasn't so sick. And that is totally fine. I honestly don't want to get sick. But it would have been nice to sit there with Mom like always back at home. Yet something about being in Logan makes it different and more meaningful.

I guess what I am trying to get at is that I really do love my family. I say it all the time, but it is so true! I was so excited to have Mom meet my bishopric (who are awesome, by the way), see my apartment (and how clean I keep it), and maybe even get to know my roommates better since I know them now. I am homesick. I do not show it because I was so excited to be off on my own. Actually I do not think this is normal homesickness. I am more familysick it feels like. I need my brothers and sisters- my best friends. I need my adorable nieces and nephews to make me laugh, joy, and play like a little kid should. I need Mom to hold my hand, keep me paying attention to the speakers, and make sure I get enough to eat (and that it is real food). No, I am not a little kid still, but there is that part of me (which is in everyone I am sure) that just needs to snuggle when life is hard and the monsters in the closet never seem to go away.

Life is pretty good though.

I LOVE YOU! <3

Flowers

I am a Canna What Flower Are You?

"You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that."

I like flowers. They make me happy. They remind me of Spring. So far away....

Entomophagy

Gross.
Crunchy.
Disgusting.
Tasteless.
Nasty.
Coarse.
Foul.
Dry.
Sickening.
Awful.
Uncouth.

All these adjectives sum up my experience today pretty well. To say the least, my Food and Culture class has been studying taboos. Needless to say, bugs were a part of that. Normally I like the food provided in that class and will eat it without gagging. Too bad that couldn't be the case today. I ate a bug...

Crickets are yucky.

Crickets are worse than yucky.

And any attempts to flavor crickets fail miserably.

Crickets are HORRIBLE!

Don't eat them!

Tests

With college life upon me I have to deal with everything my classes have to throw at me. My schedule consists of Biology (with a 3 hour lab once a week), Chemistry (3 hour lab once a week and 1 hour recitation once a week), Food and Culture, and Creative Arts. I love all my classes even though there are some very frustrating times which bombard me (particularly Chem Lab-Thankfully today was manageable for once!). But being the fifth week of school I have started to encounter tests in my classes. First was Biology on Friday morning. To say the least, I have never taken a biology class prior to this so I was scared out of my mind! Thursday night before the test I studied for four hours in addition to the hour (at least) I put into studing each day previous. Luckily all that studying paid off and I only missed three questions. To say the least I was very stoked about it. Chemistry gave me a test on Monday morning, but this one I wasn't too worried about. I had taken Chemistry twice before this so I am very confident about my basic chemistry skills. Sadly, I didn't study as much, but it didn't make a difference. I only missed two questions. One I missed was a stupid mistake I made in my conversion factor (2.54 inches are NOT in 1 centimeter!) and the other I simply wasn't sure about. Overall, I am happy with my test scores so far and hope that the success continues. Woot for starting the year out good!

Apples

With college started, computers come into play in my life so much more. For a while I thought I could manage by using the computers at the library. Turns out they fill out REALLY fast, and it is only the fourth week of classes. Think about how busy they will be when finals week rolls around. So after finding a great deal, some money was invested and I am now enjoying my new computer. And iPod. Yes, that is right. Katherine X has an iPod nano (lime green, it is totally cool!) and a white Macbook. Everything about it is just so....white. Even though Mom has had Macs for years, finally getting my own is like I have never seen one. I love playing with all the various toys and applications already on here. Including the built in camera, iTunes, everything pretty much. Finally I will be able listen to music wherever and not have to swipe Steph's iPod (named Lily). Now I have Jade to take around with me. (Don't ask about the whole naming things, we are just weird college kids). Life is great. It really is.

Utah State, HEY! Aggies all the way!

So I have officially completely my third week of college life. To state it simply....I LOVE IT! College is so much fun, I can hardly get enough of it. Meredith's stories surpass mine as of now, but I am sure my experiences will expand very rapidly. My classes are exactly what I was looking for: tough, but providing me an opportunity to love. I guess I really am supposed to be heading towards a major in chemistry or biology because both subjects completely fascinate me. In fact, in Biology lab on Thursday I saw an Amoeba! Under microscope! It was crazy! Friends are awesome and we are always finding opportunities to play and have a great time. Do not worry, I am studying dutifully, but I need to incorporate a level of play. I would love mail because I don't think I have ever seen a more barren mailbox ever. Address: 204 Merrill Hall/Logan, UT 84321. Write please? I miss everyone and I love everyone! If you want to hear more of my adventures, just ask or keep checking occasionally. I promise I will blog some of my experiences.

Twilight in the First Person

Getting the opportunity to visit Lincoln, Carrie and their three boys this past week waas absolutely wonderful! I loved played with Matthew, Scott, and holding little Luke. Don't forget the challenges issued by Lincoln to keep my brain functioning during the dull months of summer. On Friday we packed up the cars and headed up to the Olympic Peninsula by way of ferry. For those who know my love of Stephenie Meyer and her books Twilight, New Moon, and as of yesterday, Eclipse, I had to stop at the main locations Edward and Bella spent time in. So here are my pictures from Forks and La Push. Oddly enough I ran into Bella's truck Monday night back here in Salt Lake. Thanks for being such a great enthusiast with me Carrie!

Attack of August 8th

So this morning I was awoken by the flashing of mom's camera to find my room in ruins (more than it normally is anyway :D) The destructor was none other than the infamous Randi Howell. What a great way to welcome in my 18th birthday! Thanks!

Happy 4th!

FYI: Sunburns REALLY hurt.

Boating is way worth it though.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

My missionaries!

I figured since I have so many guys leaving soon and hardly any one knows who is who, I would give background on it...

I lack a more missionary like picture....Jeremy aka Beje Slovenia/Croatia Mission, reported in January

Jason Christensen, Milan, Italy Mission, reported March 7

Dan Flowers, Lisbon, Portugal Mission, reported May 9

Spencer Williams, Macon, Georgia Mission, reported May 23

Sean Lund, Sao Paulo Interlagos, Brazil Mission, reported May 31

Andrew Pettit, Russia Novosibirsk Mission, reports June 20

Jonathan Race, Anaheim, California Mission (Spanish speaking), reports July 11

Cody Cutler, Madrid, Spain Mission, reports July 11

Andrew Evans, San Juan Puerto Rico Mission, reports July 18

Curtis Lundstrom, Cinncinati, Ohio Mission, reports August 8

Jess Bowers, Campinas, Brazil Mission, reports August 22

MIke Christensen, Toulouse, France Mission, reports August 22

I think that is all...for now anyway....

Class of 007

Wow, it has come and gone. My high school days are over...finally! All the hard work through AP classes and finding the right group of friends for me, I finally made it. Here are some of the pictures from the graduation ceremony, May 31, 2007.

ME!

Stephanie!

Mykin!

Abby and parents!

Andrew and Stephanie!

Highland High Graduation
Stephanie, X, Chanel, Curtis, Mykin

Olympus High Graduation
X, Dylan, Eric, Andrew, Abby

Oh the many memories created! Now on to college to create a million more!

Senior Prom

Well I said this would be next, I just never said when. But here are the pictures from my Senior Prom, May 12, 2007.

My dress which I rented from Candlelight Formalwear in Sandy. Only $90 compared to buying it for +$300, which I thought was a great deal! I felt like a mermaid!

Here is mom pinning the boutineer on my date since I didn't want to stab him. His name is Jeff Bowers, a great guy. Plays the saxaphone in Wind Ensemble with me (or did anyway) and went to Valentine's Dance with me as well.


Here are both of us before we headed off to rendezvous with the other couples. Can I just say that guys are absolutely astounding in tuxes....dang!

We went to dinner at the Five Alls, which if I may say, was amazing in every way! Except for being quite expensive, the atmostphere was so great that it inspired us to speak in British accents the entire night, or at least attempt to. The dance was held in one of the conference rooms at Rice Eccles Stadium. I am not normally scared of heights (only falling) but standing next to the floor-to-ceiling window staring out across the valley made me quite dizzy. Overall, this was such a grand night and I am so glad I was able to go with some of my best friends!

Sunday: Day of Rest

Yet why was I so incredibly busy today!? I feel like I have been running at a million miles per hour since 7 this morning! First meeting I attended this morning was for my best friend Sean Lund. It was his farewell as he prepares to serve a mission in Sao Paulo, Brasil- Interlagos Mission. (Boys, I need your help learning Portuguese so I can conspire against the girls with the other guys speaking Portuguese!) He reports to the Missionary Training Center in Brasil on May 30th, making it so he flies out on Tuesday. Not only is Sean leaving, but Spencer as well. He departs on this Wednesday (23rd) and is going to the Georgia, Macon mission. I am so excited for these two as well as all of my other boys that will be leaving by the end of the summer. Don't forget about the ones who are already out serving as well, they get my love too! But immediately following Sean's farewell (combined with the farewells of two other missionaries as well!) and a quick open house at his home, I rushed home to make it to my meetings at 1 o'clock. Sadly, I had to miss my Youth Conference planning meeting this morning as well as BYC....whoops...I have failed to mention that I have been set apart as the Laurel class president, my bad! The graduating Laurels were invited to attend Relief Society for the "Newly Grad Game" so the older members could get to know us. Later, in sacrament meeting, I was presented with my Young Women's Recognition medallion so that was pretty exciting. After and hour dinner, I rushed back down to the stake center to attend seminary graduation. Now I actually have a chance to relax, in which Randi and I decided a much needed dessert has been missing from our life for the past several months. A call was made to our favorite father in New York, received a couple tips, and are about to make a batch of TAPIOCA! (neener, neener, neener! :D) But yes, that is my day, restful and relaxing, yet extremely busy at the same time. Only two more weeks of school left, yippee!!

P.S. Prom was last week, and a report will follow...it was fun to say the least!

Welcome back

I am ashamed that it has been so long since my last post, but to plead my case I was focusing on my three AP classes and the tests in May. How wonderful it feels to have those four-hour tests off my chest, mind, shoulders, and every other part of me. Finally I am able to breathe and enjoy the wonderful weather that has graced Salt Lake. At times it is very hot (especially as I leave school and get into my car) but I am not one known to often complain about the heat. What makes the days even more wonderful (after I get off work at 5:30 working at Poulton Associates, Inc.) is that all of my friends who graduated last year are home from school or aren't working anymore. Despite mom believing that the weeknights are still school nights (trust me, they aren't any longer) I have somehow managed to find some time each night to go spend with my friends. One of the perfect opportunities are the Jazz games that have become regular activities for so many Utahns, and we have taken full advantage of the game time. Another activity that I am so excited to have started once again is playing at the park. So what if 'playing' right now consists of laying on the grass with an occasional grass fight here and there, it is time with my friends and I love it! But the coming of summer brings a pain along with the freedom from school: my mishies are starting to leave one by one. So far four of my boys have already departed, half now serving out in the field. Two more are set to leave by the end of May. Spencer and Sean, the two guys I care about the most right now are the next in line and it is slowly eating me alive. There is nothing else in this world that I would have for them here and now than to devote two years and serve the Lord. But at the same time, I don't know what I am going to do without them here to talk to, joke around with and make temple runs at 5:30 in the morning to do baptisms for the dead. This afternoon was especially hard for me as every moment of the day I struggled to keep myself from crying. Luckily, by the time that Institute rolled around I had managed a nap during lunch and was ready to find some answers or at least comfort in the scriptures. Yay for me, I found it (somewhat by accident, but I think it was inspiration) in John 16: 20 & 22...

20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

I read these scriptures to a few of my friends and I felt kinda dumb, but they really helped me in my time of need. My mishies are going and I love them to death! Many of the posts from here on out will most likely be based around them, so please bear with me.

"Set in order your houses"

For anyone who truly knows me, I suffer from chronic "messy room" syndrome. It is very easy to diagnose, but a million times harder to cure. There are times of recession when the disease seems to be cured, but add enough stress and the symptoms return very rapidly, many times worse than before. Recently, I struggled through a particularly virulent strain that lasted no matter what treatment I received. I always seemed to ignore the pressure from Mom to take my medicine, and still felt fine no matter where I went. But of all people, I did not expect my young women leader to be the one to administer the medicine needed to cure me, even just temporarily. Our lesson a few weeks back was on "Establishing a House of Order." To put it gently, my house is not generally a house of order, let alone my bed and bath rooms. Her lesson pricked my heart and I began wondering what my friends thought when ever they stopped by, if they were embarrassed as I was. Last weekend I decided to finally fill my prescription and start following what the doctor ordered. I believe it was in conjunction with my greater desire to get along with my mom, mainly doing what she asked, that I finally worked to clean my room. I gathered all the dirty clothes, washed, dried, and actually folded or hung them up. Personally, I was really impressed with that accomplishment simply because my clothes are normally scattered amongst my bed, floor, and anything else in my room. I found a home for the majority of my odds and ends, dusted, and even vacuumed. Do not forget washing my sheets and making my bed each morning for the past couple of days. As I get older and prepare to move out on my own, I am beginning to realize that I am not always going to have my own room to trash. Soon I will be living in dorms and eventually with my husband. I do not want to portray a messy image to anyone I am with, so I figured I better start now to develop my habits. So far I am doing great. Let's just hope it lasts!

For those of you who do not believe me (shame on you!), here is proof!

Bottles

I never realized the intensity of the things I keep to myself. My life is generally great and I do not have any huge problems that I need to deal with on a regular basis; probably my biggest dilemma is what shirt I am going to wear. There really is no reason for my to complain about my life: I have the best friends anyone could ask for, I get good grades, a car is always available for my use, I have a good paying job, and a wonderful family who loves me. Suddenly everything hit me last night, the problem being that I do not know what "everything" entitles. Last night was the first time I have really cried in months and it caught me completely off guard. Through my mom's questions and concern I tried my hardest to act like nothing was wrong for I truly felt like that. Suddenly I could not hold it--whatever "it" was--in any longer and the tears started falling from my eyes. What drives me insane about those tears is that each one was falling over something that I could not and still cannot do anything to change. My life is how it is supposed to be, but my mind never stops thinking about the many millions of "ifs" that surround me constantly. I am always wondering what my life would have been life, where I would be now IF I had been a little more this, IF I had done a little bit more of that, IF I will ever get my chance to do whatever it is that has filled my mind. My mom really helped me out last night as she told me something which I really need to apply to my life:

The past is over and done with and there is no chance of changing it so give it up.
The future is a mystery and it will come as it will, there is no need worrying about it.
Right now is a present and I need to be grateful for such a wonderful gift I have.

I am a bottle of Sprite, Root Beer, Dr. Pepper, Coke, etc. which has been shaken a few too many times and the pressure was released last night in a grand fountain!

Basketball

The past couple days have brought back many of my fond memories. Sports are a big part of my life, playing or watching. Volleyball through Olympus Junior and at the high school until this past year has been such a wonderful learning experience as I worked with my team mates to become better at the game I love. Basketball was another story though. As I attended Sean's ward ball game (with my ward none-the-less) a feeling started coming back to me that had been missing. Then later that night I played in my own ward ball game and the competitiveness of my sophomore year playing basketball engulfed me. Guarding the point, jumping for a steal, making a fast break (but missing the shot!), and all the other memorable aspects of the game made me miss it so much. That winter I was not very dedicated. I told myself the game was everything, making that shot and helping the team out was so important. But if it was as I called it, then why did I quit? I love playing, I love the competition and the aggravation of pushing myself to the limit, sprinting the next quad through my burning lungs so I could be that much faster during the game. As I watched the girls I played with two years ago in their game Friday night (they sadly lost) I was ready to bound onto the court, lace up my shoes and starting shooting all over again.

I guess the whole point of this entry is to help everyone to stick to what they want. I would have loved to keep playing, feel the thrill of a game once more, but I gave up on that dream. I told myself I couldn't do it, that I wouldn't have the time or the energy to make it through another year. Looking back I see that I could have made it, and I wish I had.