My life would suck without you.

Well, I feel like I should blog, so I am.

Nothing too exciting is going on except for I've run so many errands the past few days. Which is fun because I love driving Cupcake/Snowflake/Cuppie/Cupperton again. And its just fun to be able to drive and know where I am and where everything is. And its fun to shop. Although, yesterday, my "errands" consisted of spending just under $100 on gas. I had to fill up all three cars and the guy at the gas station was way funny because he was like "oh, you're back again." Yeah, so fun. I've also been trying to find a job and that has been not so successful. Hopefully I'll be able to get one soon but I really have no idea if I will. Its just a waiting game.

Yesterday, we went to the temple for a youth trip. But all the college kids were invited so we had a pretty large group. Like huge. And they weren't as organized as they should've been so it was kind of a mess but it all worked out. There was just a whole lot of waiting going on. Which is actually nice because its nice to just be in the temple because its so peaceful. But it was funny because dad baptized me and he wanted to practice the names before he did it. And then he still messed a few of them up. Oops. After the temple, we went to Fenton's in Oakland (which is featured in Pixar's "UP", yeah, be jealous.) I'd been there before with the FitzGerald's and it was delicious so I was obviously so excited to go back. And it was just as good as before. So good. mmmm just thinking about it makes me want it again.

Fenton's in "UP":

Oh so Becca entered the MTC today. Like 45 minutes ago. SO CRAZY. Now there are two Sister Quists in the mission field (ish) and one Elder Quist. We planned it out perfectly so that if Matt enters the MTC like the month he turns 19, all 4 Quist brothers will have a child on a mission. Haha how perfect.

Hmm, speaking of Nicole, I feel like a horrible sister because I haven't written her in forever. And its funny because she even told me before I came home that I can't follow the influences of the people here at home because they never write her. But my whole routine is a little messed up so I just kind of forget. But I shall write her today.

Everything I do, reminds me of Josh. Like writing letters to Nicole because I was always writing her at school when they were over. And like last night at Fenton's because it was in "UP" and I watched it with him. So it makes me miss him a whole lot more. Luckily, I only have 6 more weeks until I get to see him. Its just going to be weird because we're going to have to find new places to hang out and stuff to do because it'll like only be us (unless Erin and Michelle want to be the super fun 3rd or 4th wheel(s). haha) And its going to be absolutely freezing outside which I'm not looking forward to but thats okay. It'll be fun to be back in Rexburg and back in Josh's arms.

Christmas

Today was a really weird day. It was Christmas but it didn't feel like Christmas at all. Except for the presents part but that was still kind of surreal. I guess the fact that I wasn't home when the whole house was decorated and that I left my "normal life" in Rexburg to come home to no snow and a weird house (because of the decorations), it just felt.... strange. My brain couldn't comprehend that it was Christmas time. And the fact that Nicole wasn't home made it even stranger. It was funny though because in like September, we watched some home movies from Christmas 1994 when it was just Nicole and I and we kept quoting stuff that we said in the video all day today. Like for instance, in one point in the video, three-year old me opens a present from six-year old Nicole and she gets really upset after I open it because I don't say thank you so she looks at me and says "Danielle, say 'Thank you, Nicole!'" Just the way she said it and looks at me is so funny. So we (mostly just Jack and I) kept saying it over and over today just because that Christmas video was hilarious.

Anywho, we got to talk to Nicole today! She told us in her email last week that she signed up to call at noon (her time) so we should expect a call from her today at 11 am. Well dad had the brilliant idea to get in his car so we could use his Bluetooth and all talk to her on speaker phone in there (because thats what we did when she got her call and she had to call everyone to tell them...) so we all got in the car and all ready to talk to her but at 11, she didn't call. She finally called at about 11:20 and when we answered the phone, she was sobbing. And when she cries, I cry. So my eyes got all watery and I was trying so hard not to cry. Luckily, I didn't but it was close. She finally composed herself and we had a really good talk with her. It was so fun to hear her voice. And just talking with her. She told us all about mission life and she even spoke to us a little bit in Mandarin which was cool. We only got to talk to her for 40 minutes though but its better that than nothing. I miss her.

The rest of Christmas was pretty good. Uneventful but just a lazy day, which is the best. We watched 'Elf' again which was my third time in the past two weeks. It was still funny. And we played Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games on the Wii for a long while yesterday and our arms were really hurting. haha but it was a fun Christmas of eating junk and doing nothing.

Its really weird to me that I've been home for more than a week. Crazy. Hopefully the rest of the semester goes by this quickly so I can return to my lovers in Rexburg. Since I miss them dearly. And when I say lovers, I mean Jessica. :) (I miss Josh too but he won't be there when I go back so I'm only mentioning Jess.)

Drenched in Vanilla Twilight

I really miss Josh.

A ridiculous amount.

I miss sitting close to him on the couch, and just touching him. Or walking around and holding his hand. Or having him walk up behind me and just hold me. I need to be with him. I'm like craving him. We don't need to be doing anything specific I just need to be near him. And now he is 2000+ miles away in Georgia. We're on opposite complete opposite sides of the country and sucks. Luckily, we do text each other quite frequently but that just isn't cutting it. I need to feel his embrace.

Jessica showed me this wonderful song tonight, "Vanilla Twilight" by Owl City and it is EXACTLY how I am feeling. Here are the lyrics:

The stars lean down to kiss you
And I lie awake and miss you
Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere

'Cause I'll doze off safe and soundly
But I'll miss your arms around me
I'd send a postcard to you, dear
'Cause I wish you were here

I'll watch the night turn light-blue
But it's not the same without you
Because it takes two to whisper quietly

The silence isn't so bad
'Til I look at my hands and feel sad
'Cause the spaces between my fingers
Are right where yours fit perfectly

I'll find repose in new ways
Though I haven't slept in two days
'Cause cold nostalgia
Chills me to the bone

But drenched in vanilla twilight
I'll sit on the front porch all night
Waist-deep in thought because
When I think of you I don't feel so alone

I don't feel so alone, I don't feel so alone

As many times as I blink
I'll think of you tonight
I'll think of you tonight

When violet eyes get brighter
And heavy wings grow lighter
I'll taste the sky and feel alive again

And I'll forget the world that I knew
But I swear I won't forget you
Oh, if my voice could reach
Back through the past
I'd whisper in your ear
Oh darling, I wish you were here

I always think of him tonight...and all day. I am seriously considering going out there in January and I am pretty hopeful that it'll happen. Flights aren't that expencive and I have nothing better to do. Plus, by then, I'll really need him.

Ah, I guess I just needed to vent a little bit?

Time for bed... :)

Home.

Well, I'm back in Los Altos and it feels really weird. I miss Rexburg a lot. Mostly because I miss my roommates and Josh. Its kinda nice to be home with all the food and Christmas treats. :) But its just really crazy because I'm not in my bed, or in my room (or I guess my old room) but I am still using my closet. So everything is super different. And all the Christmas decorations are up and so the whole house looks different. I miss my Rexburg way of life.

I am not really excited to be home just because I feel like I am going to be really bored. I am going to have to find a job and that just sounds like no fun. Hopefully I'll be able to find a really fun job so I'll be able to not waste my four months away but I'm worried I won't. I think the job hunt might start tomorrow. Great...

The weather here is strangely uncomfortable. I miss the cold weather of Rexburg which sounds weird but it was in the high 50's today and I was almost wishing for the mid-30's that we were enjoying this past week. I guess I was excited to come home to the warmth and hopefully it'll cool down a bit because this is like summer weather and I want coldness.

This Christmas is going to be super weird. I think that part of the reason its weird to be home is because Nicole is still gone. This is my first Christmas ever without her. Her stocking isn't up, her ornaments aren't up, its just empty. :( I miss her. And although I'm going to talk to her on the phone on Friday (which I'm VERY excited about), its definitely going to make missing her a whole lot worse. And I'm undoubtedly going to cry.

I guess its been kinda fun being home. We went to Temple Hill on Friday night and saw the lights and a hand bell choir concert which was good. And then I went to Colleen's for a party (since every time we hangout, its a party) and it was way fun to see everyone since its been forever. They were all so interested about Josh though which was funny. I had to tell them like every detail. We played Pictionary and obviously the team of Colleen, Katherine and I beat the team of Molly and Brittany. It was super fun even though I was texting Josh and Jessica and I think they got a little bit mad. Oops. And then I came home at one and talked to Jessica on the phone until like 2:30.

Katherine, Colleen and I had another party last night too. We made pizza and then cupcakes then watched 27 Dresses and then played Charades. And Molly, Brittany and Courtney slowly joined in on the fun. Its been super fun hanging out with my clan but I do miss my Rexburgians.

Church was crazy because everyone was so excited I was home and everyone wanted to talk to me. I felt super famous. haha but its going to be weird when I have to go to 'old people' Sunday School and Relief Society. Not looking forward to that...

This week includes looking for a job, going to the city, celebrating Christmas, talking to Nicole, sleeping in, eating delicious food. I can't wait. :)

No Hope, No Love, No Glory

Well, I really don't want to do homework. So instead of sitting here typing up my homework, I'm going to blog since its what I do in my spare time.

I just took my Geography final. That was an experience. I didn't really feel like studying for it last night so I didn't. I also don't really care about my grade all that much in that class. Its not going to change a whole lot based on what I got on the final today. So I just took it and didn't really care about what happened. Which is lucky because I doubt I did better than a 70% or so on it. :/

It really hit me last night as I was walking back from the library that I'm leaving on Friday. I just felt like crying but I couldn't. I'm sure it'll come soon enough though. I can't even comprehend what I'm going to do with my life for 4 months while I'm back home and I am somewhat considering staying here although such last minute, I know it wouldn't be a good idea. So I'm going home. I'm leaving school and my roommates and my boyfriends to sit in California for four months and hopefully make a little bit of money. I guess the positive of this is not having to deal with the horrible Iceburg, I mean Rexburg, winter. Its also funny because my whole family knows I'm not looking forward to coming home so I feel a little bit bad. Actually, I'm excited to go home a little bit. I'll get to eat real food, talk to Nicole on the phone, drive Cupperton, and see all my friends. Its just going to suck when they all go back to school.

I have 3 more classes and one more test and then I'm done with school until April 20th. How ridiculous.

In other news, Josh and I decided last week that we were going to break up this week before we both left. And I've been getting more and more depressed when I think about it because I don't want to. I don't know if our other options are better but I just feel like they would be. So we're going to have a little chat in a few minutes and re-evaluate our relationship and I am pretty dang positive that we're going to keep dating over winter. But I guess we'll see? Things would feel so much better if we didn't just break up because we thought we had to.

I got a letter from Nicole yesterday. AND I got an email. Ah, I miss her. But I know that she is doing the Lord's work so its okay. And I know that she'll be home in 15 months or so and that seems crazy to me that she's already been our 3 months. (Her 3 month mark is tomorrow, the 16th). It feels like she's been gone for so much longer. Her letters are just so precious. I feel like she says essentially the same things in all her letters but they vary a little bit. Its funny. And she thinks my letters are really random. Well, what does she expect? I feel horrible though because I haven't written her in so long (I think its been a week.) Hopefully I'll be able to write one today and then make sure it goes out with the mail tomorrow. I can't believe that its almost Christmas and that we get to talk to her on the phone soon! I've been looking forward to it for weekssss and its next week!

I guess I should go and get some homework done... even though I really don't want to...

The Final Countdown

I can't believe that I only have a week left. In exactly 168 hours (7 days) I will be on an airplane over California and approaching San Jose. WEIRD. I am really excited to go home. Its going to be really fun for about the first 2 weeks. But then when everyone else starts going back to school (all my friends) and I'm just bored at home, I'm going to really be missing Rexy. Although, I am excited to get away from the snow and cold (although its really warm outside right now; 18 degrees but it feels so much warmer). I am really going to miss the people here especially my roommates and Josh and the boys (well, mostly Josh and Eric...) I am seriously going to be bored out of my mind for 3 months. Hopefully I'll be able to find a super fun job but I'm not too sure that'll happen. Or I'll take some classes but that just doesn't seem all that fun. I'll probably end up doing it though...because it'd be better than doing nothing...

Well, I have so so much to do.

-Taking a final in about an hour (need to study for that)

-Finishing a group project at 4:45

-Cleaning ALL night long (I really wish I was exaggerating)

-RS Christmas Party tomorrow

-Do homework/Study all Saturday/Sunday

-School/Movie for class/Ward Closing social/Study on Monday

- Geography test/FDAMF final tuesday

-PACK/finish school wednesday/thursday

-FLY HOMEEEE on friday.

WOW, I better get to work.

It also sucks because I'm not really sure exactly what Josh and I are going to do about us for winter/spring. hmmm this could be interesting....

Falling into Place

Things this week have been so much better than anticipated.

Being back in Rexburg has been wonderful. I love being back with my roommates and sleeping in my fun loft bed and just being here. School has been good too. I was kinda expecting to come back and be way stressed out about school since finals are like in a weekish but it hasn't happened yet. I'm sure it'll come. Right now though, its so nice because I don't really have to worry about it all that much. I'm not really looking forward to going home at all though which is actually really surprising but I'm really going to miss Rexburg and I feel like I'm going to be way bored at home. Hopefully I'll be able to fill my time.

Things with Josh are going absolutely splendidly. :) I was really worried last weekend to come back to Rexburg because I was pretty sure things would be awkward with Josh but it has been the complete opposite. Its so weird and different now but in a really good way. It is really too bad that our relationship has an expiration date of sorts (not only the fact that I'll be gone in 2 weeks but that he still has to serve a mission...). But currently, things are great. I just wish there was an easy solution for our current problem.

Anywho, tonight (or I guess last night...), Jessica, Erin and I went to David Archuleta's concert that was here and it was so fun. The opening act was Benton Paul and he was sooo good. I would've gone to the concert just for him. 'Chuleta was really good too. He was so funny because he was like visibly nervous and sometimes he like got off track and confused which was so cute. It was way fun. And I got a nice ol' shirt with his face on it. Erin bought his Christmas CD and Jess bought Benton's CD and they're both way good. I love them. Its really too bad that we moved to California from Murray or I could've been best friends with 'Chuleta. Its really quite a shame actually...

In other news, its freezing here. The weather is the only reason I'm excited to leave Iceburg...I mean Rexburg. Our high here is a like 15 degrees colder than the low at home. That is a big problem so I'm excited to go home to warmth. I'm just not excited to leave my roommates or my boyfriend or my way of life. Hmmm.

I love MY missionary the most.

I LOVE getting letters from Nicole. It makes my day so much better. Especially because she is just so funny and random in her letters. I love it. It makes me miss her but at the same time, I feel like she is here with me and she says the same thing (that she feels like I'm with her because of my frequent letters). Its weird to me but she comes home in 15 months exactly!! (March 2, 2011) 18 months seems so much shorter than 2 years and it has been going by so quickly. Its crazy. Anyway, she always writes me because I always write her but I've been kinda a slacker this past week so I'm just sending her a letter tomorrow and I feel really bad because its been forever but I know that I'm still her favorite person because I handwrite my letters. :) Thanksgiving was really weird without her because when Jack or I would talk sometimes, people said that it sounded like Nicole. :( And I felt like the odd one out because I didn't have my pal. And I still have one more Thanksgiving to endure without her. I also keep hearing about people going to TMSQ (thats code for Temple Square) and it makes me realllllllly wish I could go. It was really hard to be in Salt Lake last weekend and being able to see the Square (well, the Temple) and not being able to go and see her. But I know its for the best and I'll just let everyone else I know say hi to her for me. (If you happen to be in the Salt Lake area, stop by Temple Square and say hi to Sister Quist for me please!) I really miss her and although it hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be, I miss my best friend and being able to text/talk(to)/tease/hug/tickle/cuddle (with)/reminisce (with)/joke (with)/pester/cook (with)/play (with)/drive (with)/ see her.

Hmm, I guess I really wanted to blog about something other than my life.

Jump Then Fall

Well, school started again today. Its really nice to be back but at the same time, it would be nice to be here and not have to deal with school. Just hang out all the time. Luckily, thats what the weekends are for. Its so weird because teachers are talking about finals now. I can't believe that the semester is almost over. As much as I want school to be over, I really am not excited to leave Rexburg. Its just going to be so weird when I move back home. I'm not going to think about it...

I really should be doing homework right now but I just have so many things that are just rolling around in my brain and I don't know exactly what to do about it. So many mixed feelings and I don't know which ones to act on. The week away has really changed my relationships with people (for the better) so now it is going to be that much harder to leave in three weeks. I'm sure it'll work out but I don't know what to do to make it work out. I really want to just get what I'm feeling out and write it but I don't think that it is a wise decision for the entire world to know quite yet.

I feel like Taylor Swift is the answer to all problems haha which sounds so silly but its true. My current theme song is "Jump Then Fall" (hence the title of the blog). She just knows how I'm feeling (for the most part) currently.

Anyway, enough about that. On Saturday, I was reunited with my Rexburg clan. :) Oh how I've missed them. The shuttle that I took from SLC was soooo incredibly slow so I got to Rexburg a lot later than I should've. Well, technically, I was early but I got on a earlier shuttle so I was supposed to get here earlier. Oh well. It was so good to see Jessica and Michelle again and obviously Josh. It was pretty cold though which I expected but was not looking forward to. I did buy a nice new jacket on the way to the Portland Airport at the Columbia outlet so I got to put that to good use. Josh and I went for a walk, or "for a walk". hahaha which was really good. I was afraid that after a week of being away, things would be awkward but I feel like they were better than when I left which was a relief. After the boys went home, we had to facebook and such and we were just excited to all be back together so we didn't go to bed very early. I stayed up texting Josh until like 3:30 and then I woke up at 8:30 so we could to go church.

Church yesterday was really interesting. Josh and I went by ourselves (because we're saints) and we combined with the 5th ward since everyone was still out of town. But we had all three blocks in the same room so we didn't leave at all which was really weird. But it was still good even though I was only running on like 5 hours of sleep.

We watched UP last night and it was so precious. I love it. Carl and Ellie were the cutest couple ever. Thats the kind of marriage I want. We also watched "The Holiday" except no one was really paying attention. The boys got in trouble too because they stayed after curfew. Oops. It was Josh's/my fault so next time we'll plan things better.

I got my shoes today!! I've been waiting for months and they finally got here. Well, technically, they got her last week but I just opened them today. They are so so cute. They have orcas (which is my favorite animal) on them and they seriously are the coolest shoes in the world. I wore them today and they are great. They're way comfortable too (well, they are Vans so it makes sense) but I love them. New favorite pair of shoes. I also ate a bowl of Cap'n Crunch while I was wearing them. I buy the Cap'n Crunch because you can win a trip to SeaWorld and there are orcas on the box. :) Here is a picture:

I'm Thankful For...

Well, Happy Thanksgiving. Today has been a really weird Thanksgiving because it just didn't feel the same. I think part of that might've been because we were missing Nicole and so it just seemed empty. It was sad. And we're going to have to do it all over again next year. It was also a weird Thanksgiving because both Jack and Jill were sick and then Nicolas got sick too. And they were throwing up all day long. It was also raining outside and sorta dreary and depressing. We didn't eat until late so I wasn't really that hungry well, I was but not like normal thanksgiving hungry so I felt like I didn't eat anything. But It was still okay. Plus, it was fun to just hang around all day.

This past week has been pretty fun. I left Rexburg on Friday afternoon and took the shuttle to Salt Lake and then I flew into Portland. We stopped at Wendy's on the way home and by home I mean the Anderson's which is basically my home away from home away from home. We went right to bed because it was extremely late.

Then on Saturday I slept in and then I went to Eugene for Chipotle and for Katherine's game vs. UCLA. I got to the game a little bit late but I still got to see most of it. It was super intense because UCLA won the first 2 games but then Oregon came back and barely won the next two so it went to the fifth game and it was pretty intense and it went to 18 but Oregon won which was so exciting. Especially since it was their last home game. Then I hung around while she signed a million and a half autographs and then she had to go and get her knees wrapped/iced and then we finally got to leave. And it was rainy. So we went to Qdoba and got ourselves some burritos and then we went back to her dorm. We stayed up kinda late talking and hanging out because we hadn't seen each other in ages. I got to sleep in her roommate's bed because she was out of town so that was really nice. We woke up kinda early because she had to go to a volleyball banquet so we woke up and went to Original House of Pancakes and we totally beat the rush so we finished really quickly so we went back to her place and just hung out for a while. Then she had to leave at 10:15 so I left too. I drove back to Albany and when I pulled up to the Anderson's at a little after 11, they were just leaving the house for church so I quickly ran inside and threw on my church clothes and went to church with them. We were really late though (which wasn't my fault). It was weird though because Katie wasn't there. It was fine though except for I didn't really want to go to Relief Society by myself so I went to YW with Sister Anderson. It was really interesting to be in a room with all the laurels because they all just seemed so...immature which is weird because they're only a year younger than me (well, some two) but still, it was just crazy. That evening, I went to the youth fireside as well. It was a nice Sunday but it was so busy.

On Monday, I didn't really do much. I did drive Uncle Hyrum to the church because he was drugged from his surgery so he couldn't drive. Katie came home from Seattle which was exciting. We mostly did...nothing. I should've done homework but I didn't. Oops.

Tuesday, we went to Corvallis because Uncle Hyrum needed to go into HP for 15 minutes so we ran a few errands and then we all went to the store to buy some things for thanksgiving dinner. The fam got here at like 6:30ish or so which was fun. It made the house so much crazier but it was fun to see them all. Its been mayhem with so many excited children running around.

Nothing really exciting happened on Wednesday. Jack, Kate and I went shopping at Target/Maurice's/Bath and Body Works/Claire's and I bought kinda a lot of stuff. Well, it wasn't a whole lot but I bought a jacket, earrings, and a purse and a bunch of lotion and stuff. They are Christmas presents though and there is no sales tax here so its cheaper than if we bought it at home so its fine. :)

I go back to Rexburg on Saturday and I'm actually really, really excited to go back. Except for the fact that its freezing there. But I really miss everyone and the lifestyle. And I'm kinda looking forward to going back to school and to my routine. This week has been way hard because I have really missed Josh (and it didn't help that he left his phone charger in Rexburg so we haven't been able to text all day long today...happy?) and I've also missed my roommates a lot. But Jessica and I have skyped/texted basically everyday so its been alright. And I'm seeing Erin tomorrow because we're going to the Portland temple together which I'm excited about. :)

It is really weird to me that once I get back to Rexburg, there are only like three weeks left until I come back home until April. It seems so weird that I'm almost done with a whole semester of college already.

I am thankful for:

-Family

-Friends who seem like family

-The Gospel

-Friends

-This country

-Ease of Travel

-Technology

-Temples

-Boyfriends who happen upon blogs...

-Sleep

-School

-Learning

-Music

-Cell phones

-Houses

-Driving a car

-Health care and Modern Medicine

-Missionary work

-this list could go on and on.... but I'll leave it at this. :)

It's Two AM....

I can't believe that tomorrow, I leave for Oregon. It is just way ridiculous. This week has FLOWN by. I can't wait though. Its going to be sooo fun.

This week has definitely had its ups and downs too though. Right now though, things are going wonderfully. Last night, Josh and I had a little....misunderstanding so Jessica and I went over there so that we could talk it out and I'm so glad that she made us. We were texting and basically we were both getting annoyed with each other so we had to talk face to face about it. Luckily, things all worked out and things are so much better between us. Its crazy how much it helped. If only we had done it sooner. But I'm still glad we did it. I was looking forward to a short little break from him to see what happens (Thanksgiving...) but now, I'm like really sad to leave. I know that it'll be fine but still, its going to be weird to come back after so long. I am so so excited to go to Oregon for a little vacation though (which I've already blogged about...)

Tonight, we went to Subway and then we went 'stargazing' for like an hour or so. And then Josh didn't leave until like 1:30 because he was too scared to go out in the cold again. But it was a way fun night. Things are getting less 'josh weird' which is so nice. Everyone is enjoying it a lot more.

We've hung out everyday for more than two weeks so its going to be super weird to go more than a week without seeing them...or him. hahahaha

um basically, I can't wait for Saturday. I'm going to Eugene for Katherine's game and then I'm spending the night with her which is going to be a party. :) So fun. The rest of the week should be pretty fun too. I'm excited. Especially for some real home cooking. I can't even wait for it.

I guess I should go to bed now since its 2:30 and everyone else is sleeping and I just got really tired....

[the post's title is from taylor swift's breathe even though it pertains to the current situation...]

la la la

So I only have 4 more days of classes until I leave for Oregon! yay. I can't wait. On Saturday, I'm going to Eugene to watch Katherine's game and I am so so excited. I've been looking forward

to it for months and I can't believe that it is actually here! :) I'm also way excited because we're probably going to the temple so thats another temple I'll get to add to my list. And its in Lake Oswego so I'll probably get to see Erin. That is, if she wants to see me. haha

So in recent news, um, this past weekend has been good. I had a swim meet on Friday and I did okay. I wasn't really expecting to do that well so it was good. It was Champs so it was all 4 teams competing. I swam 100 fly and 100 breast which is totally not my stroke at all but apparently, I was really good (or so my roommates say...).

On Saturday, we went to Idaho Falls with the boys. The roads were kind of icy in IF but we made it safe and sound. We didn't really need to buy anything, so we just walked around but it was still really fun. We went to Red Robin for dinner which was way yummy, as always. Then we came back to Rexburg and watched Mulan. After the movie, we started making brownies but the boys had to leave before they were done so Jessica and I brought them some at like 1:15 in the morning. haha it was funny because it was totally breaking curfew and it was freezing outside. But we hung out with Logan and Josh for a while (because Eric was 'sleeping') but we met their annoying friend Aaron and boy is he weird. I feel bad for them. After we got home, I texted Josh for a way long time so I didn't go to bed until like 3.

On Sunday, I slept through my alarm and I'm basically everyone else's alarm so we didn't wake up until 8:30 so we decided to just go to sacrament meeting later except Erin is the most righteous of all of us and went to church anyway. After church, we just kind of hung around and did homework and such. Jared came over for like 2.5 hours and Jessica had to help him with homework. That like messed up our whole evening but whatever. The boys came over and it was pretty awkward because Josh was kind of being a baby about kissing me. It finally reached a point where I just couldn't take it anymore and so I made him go on a walk with me so that we could talk about it. It was freezing outside but it wasn't really that bad. Well, he didn't want to just like kiss me in front of the dorm door so he's been waiting for the 'perfect' time which I knew but who cares? HAHA well, our walk ended up being good in the sense that he found his 'perfect' time and then after that, it wasn't awkward between us which is really good. And he was way more hand hold-y after that which was cute. Michelle made cupcakes which were Sesame Street characters and they were way cute so we delivered some of them to our neighbors (Staci, Alli, Chelsea, and Kelly) and then we gave some to the Perkins girls and to Adam (Jessica's cousin) because we borrowed a bunch of eggs from him so we repayed him with some delicious cupcakes. Then we dropped the boys off at home because Erin and Michelle had to register for classes and we were basically already there. I then ended up texting Josh until 3 again so I'm dead tired now. We're going to have to stop that because its really not good. Although, all next week, I'm going to get to sleep in so its not that huge of a deal even though I'm exhausted.

Here are a picture of the cupcakes. SO SO CUTE. :) I think that the cookie monster ones turned out the best, especially with the piece of cookie in his mouth.

Oh what a week can bring...

So, its official (as of last night). Josh and I are officially going out. Which seems really weird to me but in a good way. Its been pretty awkward between us and hopefully this will make things better. We've had our little DTR. haha So it hasn't been exactly a week but 5 1/2 days since we've known we've liked each other. Its just weird to me because in 6 weeks, I move back home and then when I come back, he'll be gone. So basically, this is only going to last 6 weeks at the most (because a long distance relationship right before he goes on his mission...really?) So yeah, I feel like I'm being too cautious because I know that fact and I don't want to get hurt but we'll see.

So in other news, I've been sick. Sore throat, congestion, achy (is that a word?), etc. It is not pleasant. I've missed class too which makes me feel like such a slacker. The good thing about it though is that the teachers here are way sympathetic about missing class when you are sick (because they have to be because of swine flu and stuff) so basically, its not a huge deal but it is when you take advantage of it... I'm not at that point though.

I also got a very pleasant surprise on Monday from my parentals. Well, I guess I better start from the very beginning of the story. My dad works at NVIDIA and they made the graphics chip that is in the Zune HD so he's been talking about getting them since September (they were released on the 16th, the same day Nicole went into the MTC). So he's kinda been teasing us/taunting us about them for a while (which is usual) so we didn't really expect that much from him. But a few weeks ago, he called me and asked me what color I would want. I wasn't home so I couldn't go online and look so I told him I'd tell him later. I told him I like platinum but that I didn't really care if I got one ( I have a perfectly good MP3 player currently). Well, I then found out that when we buy them through NVIDIA with the company discount, you can only get it with the NVIDIA logo etched on the back and not something of your own choosing until after Christmas. So I decided I didn't really want one.

Well, coming back to the present, my mom told me she sent me a package of cookies (because they made them for Nicole but she said she didn't want that much sugar anymore) so they said to expect a package. Well, I was expecting to get them on Saturday but it never came. On Sunday, my dad was texting me and asked if I got the package to which I responded no and he told me I needed to hurry and get it. I thought he was just worried ab

out the cookies. When I ended up getting the package on Monday, there was a small box of cookies and then next to it was another small box wrapped in wrapping paper with "Merry (early) Christmas" on it and then wrapped in a grocery bag. I knew what it was from the second I saw the wrapping. So I opened it and started getting it ready to work. It is way fun and I love it. I just wish that I could get all my music off my old player now... :)

Time to Vent

So there is the biggest elephant in the room right now. The guy who I like (and who likes me) is here as well as my roommate's boyfriend. and boy oh boy is it awkward. We've only known we've liked each other for a few hours and its really not working out too well. He has hardly said a word to me but we've been kinda talking on facebook as we sit like two feet away from each other.

Seriously, boys are just so annoying. I don't know how to make it not awkward and he surely isn't helping. I feel like if it was just the two of us, we'd be able to talk but the fact that there are other people in the room, makes it a million times worse. I can't focus on anything and I've been thinking about him allllllllllllllll day. This is just so annoying. Hopefully this'll pass really quickly because I seriously can't take it. goodness gracious.

Well, they left for now but they're coming back at 9 to watch a movie so we'll see how this whole thing continues.

UGH.

Boys

There is nothing I currently hate more than three 18 year old boys. I am getting sick and so I decided to go to bed at like 10:30 but right after I was in bed, I heard Logan and Josh here. And they were SO loud. I decided that I'd be better for me to at least try to sleep so I just stayed in there and they decided to build a nice little fort right outside my door. And they kept yelling at me to come out there and to wake up which was way annoying. So I finally decided to text Jessica and ask her what was going on and she came in and told me to go out there. So I did. And now, I'm sitting here while they are throwing pillows at Jessica and Michelle is making them cookies (which I don't really understand...)

So now I'm just waiting for it to be 11:45 so that they can go home. Because its seriously not that fun(ny) anymore. They are just irritating.

AND I'm getting sick and want to sleep.

BOYS ARE SUPER ANNOYING.

Insomnia

So, recently, I haven't really been that tired at night. I went to bed last night at 3 but since we changed our clocks, my body really thought that it was 4. I don't understand why this is happening. And then when I woke up this morning at 7:40, I wasn't even that tired which is weird. It still hasn't hit me yet. I've been up until at least 2 for the past 3 nights I believe and its really weird because its totally not normal for me. Now, for a update on this weeks events:

School was normal as always. Nothing too exciting happened. Except for midterm grades were due and well, I was pretty happy with my grades thus far. Except for like two and they are just dumb classes which a weird grading method so oh well.

On Thursday, our boys needed to go to Walmart so they bummed a ride off Erin and then they invited us to go and see a movie with them later. So we went to go and see Fame with them. I was expecting it to be pretty good and it was just kind of...pointless. There wasn't really a plot at all. I felt like I was watching a more ghetto High School Musical. haha after that, we decided to go to Maverik to get some of our last $1 hot chocolate since October is over now. And it started snowing so we were cold. It was fun to hang out with our brothers. We're really starting to get pretty close which is fun.

That night, there was some drama which prevented us from sleeping at a reasonable hour. haha it was pretty funny just to not really be a part of it but I felt kind of bad for the injured party. haha especially the whole panic attack incident was pretty scary.

So then on Friday, I hung out, and did homework and such since I don't have class and then I had a swim meet at 5:30 (but I had to be at the Hart and warming up at 4:30) so I swam which was actually kind of fun. I always dread the meets until they are like over and then I like them. EVERYTIME. but oh well. I didn't have to swim anything horrible (I swam fly in the Medley Relay, 50 Free, and then the anchor leg in the 200 Free Relay.) After that, we went to Walmart to get some last minutes additions to our halloween costumes. And then we came home and got ready for the Halloween Havoc. Josh came over and we went over with him. It was fun. Except the party was kind of lame but we had fun anyway. Then we all came home (after waiting in the freezing cold for the shuttle for like 40 minutes) and we then went to Taco Bell because we were starving. We brought the food back and started to watch The Illusionist but then the boys got kicked out because it was after curfew.

The Girls:

With Josh, Minus Erin:

Saturday was Halloween and we all slept in and Erin went to work. Jessica and I went to the temple at around 2 and then were back at 4. Our boys came over at like 5:15 and both Jessica and I were so gross (because I hadn't been able to shower after swimming so I had swim hair plus hairspray hair plus temple hair. gross) so she quickly showered and then they all went to watch the movie while I quickly showered and then they left to go eat dinner and Jess and Michelle had to do some homework so when they came over, we just hung out for a while and then we decided to go to Sonic since they had $.50 corndogs. Well, Jonny was over "hanging out" with Erin so there were four boys and four girls and only Erin's two door car. We didn't let that stop us though. We crammed us all in and got to Sonic. By the time we got there though, they were all out which was way sad. So then we went to Walmart and just played in the toy section and messed around. Everytime we rode in the car, we changed the seating arrangement. The first time it was all the boys and then Jess and I in the back and Erin and Michelle in the front. (Josh was sitting on the floor at my feet and Jonny was on Logan/Eric's lap.) Then Jessica moved to the front and sat with Michelle and the boys and I were in the back. With Josh having his arm around me because he had to like prop himself up to sit. And then finally, on the way home, the people were in the same areas of the car only Josh was sitting on my lap. It was definitely very entertaining. We then played a fun little game for a while until the boys had to go home. It was way fun. Then we stayed up until 2ish talking to Josh on facebook. Fun night and probably one of the best Halloweens to date.

Well, thats all the news. I don't understand why my blog posts are always so long but oh well. Until next time!

Busy Busy Busy

I really shouldn't be writing this right now because I have so so much to be doing for tomorrow. And I'll probably end up finishing this another day. Just a quick little update to take a short break from homework.

So, this past week has been pretty crazy.

Wednesday, we went to another one of Dave's soccer games. Except for right when we got there, he totally rolled his ankle so he sat out for a little while and then he played keeper to not run that much so he didn't really play. At the end though, he did go into and play for reals. He has been hanging out with this really gross girl. Her name is Katie and she is basically extremely irritating. When he hurt his foot, she was going way over the top to try and help him and was rubbing his foot and stuff and we could all tell he was annoyed. I felt bad for him. Hopefully he realized that she is no bueno. haha

Thursday, we went to Arby's (after Dave and Katie dropped by for a quick little visit) for dinner and we were basically there for a few hours. The high school football team/cheerleaders from Salmon (Idaho) were there and they were all trying to get out attention which was kind of funny. Jessica's cousins are from Salmon so we were tempted to ask all the people there if they knew them but we didn't. We then had a car party for quite a while which is always fun.

Friday we just kind of hung around and we were going to do to Adam's ultimate frisbee game (he is Jessica's cousin) but then Erin got called into work because it was super busy and a girl didn't show up. But on her way there, they called and they didn't need her. So she came home and we went to the game. It was on top of the hill and it was pouring rain and it was absolutely freezing. We had to leave after an hour and a half because we just couldn't stand it any longer. So we went to Maverik to get some hot chocolate (because its $1 any size all of October!) We then went to Taco Bell because Jessica knows a guy who works there and so we went to visit him. We were there for more than an hour as well. Haha something about fast food restaurants just attracts us.

Saturday, we all slept in. I had a swim meet but I accidently slept in and so I missed it and I felt really bad about it. Ooops. But Erin had to work and Jessica and Michelle had to go to a Vision Conference for Business so I just got to hang out by myself in the afternoon. We went to get some groceries and while we were there, our brothers called us to see if we wanted to go to the Straw Maze with them. Well, we did but we didn't really know how we would get there so Jessica decided to call her grandma and we got to use her car so we had two cars for 8 people so we split it up two girls/two boys in each car which was fun. The straw maze was pretty scary. In like a really fake way. But it was still really fun even though we were all way freaked out. Well, we ended sooner than we thought so we came back to Rexburg and we were all way hungry so we went to Dominos because it was the only place still open. Then we took our 4 pizzas and went back to the guy's dorms and ate out pizza/watch Van Helsing. We also broke curfew. woopsies. We got home at like 1... :/ haha but it was so worth it. and we just came in through the trash room.

I guess the rest of the week has been pretty normal. Except for I was so busy yesterday (well, I guess I started this yesterday and I talked about it). But I was up until 2 doing homework which is always fun. And my presentations went pretty good which is a relief. Glad its over.

Tonight I think we might have a movie or soccer game in store so we'll she what happens. Tomorrow we are going to a Halloween party in our costumes which will hopefully be really fun. :)

Lists

Things I miss at home:

-My family

-My friends

-Woodland Park Ward

-California sunshine

-Home-cooked Meals

-Not worrying about buying food

-Cupperton :(

-Rainy day Starbucks runs

-an unlimited supply of delicious things in our "Mormon pantry"

-a bed that isn't 6 ft in the sky

-Tivo

-the humidity in the air

-going on facebook whenever I want

-having my laundry magically get done for me

-rain instead of snow

-familiar faces

-driving to church and school and everywhere

-RECYCLING (idaho is trying to kill the world...)

-the rest of my wardrobe

-swimming in an outdoor pool

-playing water polo at homestead

-the easiness of high school

-radio stations that I'm familiar with

-not walking up a hill...ever

-my shoes who were left behind

-big open windows in the family room

-my favorite dog, Kuma

-playing baseball in the street

-not having clean checks

-being able to be loud past 10 and not be breaking a city ordinance

-being able to walk across campus in 2 minutes

Things I like here at school:

-my fantastic roommates

-my super relaxed schedule

-my secret candy stashes

-meeting new people

-my FHE family

-being able to do whatever I feel like with my time

-going to the straw maze and IF

-calling my profs "brother____"

-so many things to do

-sleeping in until 11...on a weekday

-class being cancelled

-deciding when I want to take a test

-having my little desk with everything I need

-being 10 minutes away from a beautiful temple

-our quote wall

-a larger selection of (mormon) boys

-going to soccer games at 10:00 pm

-eating brownies and ice cream for dinner

-playing tackle frisbee with my "brothers" and getting some stellar bruises

-getting exercise by walking all around campus

Addicted

I feel like the weekends always have so much going on that it must be posted about but then it seems like I am blogging way too much.

On Thursday when we went to Walmart, there was a big bag of LiveSavers (Wint-O-Green) that I wanted because for some reason I was really craving some minty candy. So I bought a pack that is seriously huge. There are 73 servings of 4 in it. That equals 292 LifeSavers. I have been eating them basically notstop since I opened them on Friday morning. It is ridiculous. I haven't even ever liked them all that much. (I like them, I just have never craved them constantly.) My room is starting to smell like them because there is just such a huge volume. They are pretty delicious though. And I guess its better than some other candy because these are minty. Here is my new best friend:

So Friday, I helped Jessica with an art project (which was for her Child Development class) after I slept in and didn't really do that much all day. I did a little homework but not as much as I should have. I also ate a ridiculous amount of lifesavers. At 8 or so, our FHE bros came over and invited us to go and see Transformers 2 in the "dollar" theater (it's really $3). The movie started at 8:50 so we went with them. I had reeeeeeeeeeally low expectations so it was pretty decent since I thought it was going to be way worse. It was a little long and tedious but fairly decent. We came back home and we were starving so we ordered some Domino's and had a little feast with our 2 large pizzas at midnight. It was super funny because we were all super tired and we were saying crazy things.

Saturday, I had a swim meet at 9:00. Warm-up started at 8:00 AND our team had to set-up (put in the lane lines and put up the flags) so we were supposed to be there at 7:45. I was exhausted because we didn't go to bed until about 1:30 and I was going to wake up at 7:15 but I decided against it and got out of bed as late as I could. Which was 7:40. I got dressed which was really just putting on my suit and throwing on a sweatshirt and sweatpants and then I walked to the Hart. The swim meet was pretty....standard. There was screaming, swimming, and some madness. I swam 50 Free, 100 Free and in the 200 relays (Medley and Free). I don't really know exactly what my times were but I felt slow. And I left early so I didn't hear if we won either. Oh well.

I came home and showered and ate breakfast all while Jessica and Michelle were sleeping. I then spent a while doing homework which really means being on facebook which eating lifesavers. Jessica and I then went to the temple at 1 which was fun. We walked up there and while we were walking, we were attacked by some yellow jackets. They were everywhere. And one landed on me and just sat there for a while. I had to blow him off because I didn't want him on me. At the temple there is a baptismal entrance on the west(?) side and then the regular entrance on the east. Well, we didn't know that so we went into the main entrance and the guy working at the desk seems a little annoying. But whatever, we went to the real entrance and the people there were nice. We got all suited up and then just waited in a little chapel until our turn. The have scriptures and Ensigns and New Eras for you to read. It was super nice. The inside was a lot like the Seattle temple especially since I am pretty sure we were in the 'basement.' It was really nice to go to the temple. It took us a little over 2 hours but it was nice. I want to go back a lot more often now, especially since we know what we are doing.

After, we kind of did homework or played around and did whatever. I had ZERO motivation to do homework yesterday. Which is too bad because I still don't really have the motivation but luckily, the rest of what I have to do shouldn't be that bad. So at about 6:30, Erin came home. And she was on such an adrenaline high because she went down to Ogden with her friend and her friend's friend and they all went skydiving. The whole time she was gone, I was super jealous ( I was even looking up skydiving places at home online) and then when she got home, and I heard her stories, I was basically even more jealous. It was so funny to watch her though because she was just crazy. We went to Broulims because she needed to get some shampoo/conditioner and she needed to get out of the house. When we were back in the parking lot, she was going to park in a spot but she had already passed it a little so she started backing up but there was a car RIGHT behind her so she hit him. The guy was SUPER close because when she looked behind her, she didn't see him at all which is obviously a sign that she couldn't see him since his lights couldn't be seen. He flipped out (he was like an old guy) and made her give him her information even though there was NOTHING wrong with his car. It was a little stressful I think for Erin because she seriously didn't do anything wrong. And her car does have a dent in it. We were then trying to decide what we should do on our Saturday evening when Dave called Erin and told her to go to Guitars Unplugged. So we all went and it was a pretty good show. There were some people who were a little weird and others who were super funny but some of it was annoyingly loud. It was a good show and I'm glad I went. After the show, there was a dance and we weren't planning on staying but Erin went to go and say bye/thanks to Dave and he convinced her to stay for the dance and they in turn convinced us to. Except for Jessica was super tired so only Michelle and I stayed with Erin. It was super fun. The DJ was actually good. The music was good and it was fun to hang out with Dave and his friends. It was pretty crazy. But really fun. Some of the girls were, a little scandalous which was annoying. It seemed to annoy the guys a little bit too because they were like throwing themselves are them but oh well. The thing about dances is that you are always so gross and then when its time for a slow song you just don't want to dance with guys. There will only 3 slow dances during the whole dance (which is hardly any but it was perfect) so we didn't really have to worry about it because we didn't slow dance with guys. We left at 11(during the last song) but we were hungry so we decided to go galavanting around Rexburg to find some food. The unfortunate thing is that everything closes at ridiculously early times. So we went back to Broulim's and bought ourselves some TV dinners. I bought a Marie Callender's Chicken Pot Pie which was delicious. yum. So we didn't go to bed until late because we got home past curfew (oops) and then we all had to cook our dinners and we had to wind-down from the crazy dance.

This morning, we had church and we were late again. oops. Sacrament meeting ended like 10 minutes early which was pretty nice so we came home. We then all took naps since we were so tired and I've been up for 2.5 hours and have done practically nothing so I should probably get to work.

Update

I don't really have anything to write about but I feel like I should write something.

This week has been a little crazy. But next week is going to be even crazier. Its midterm week next week and although I don't really have any midterms, I do have a bunch of tests because the end of our units are all ending this week so that should be fun. I'll probably be spending all next friday in the testing center. Oh joy.

So, this past week, school was pretty normal. Except on Thursday (yesterday), 2 of my 3 classes were cancelled which is probably the greatest thing ever. I got to sleep in until 10, then finish homework until 1, then I worked on a group project until 1:30 and then I started writing a letter to Nicole. I had to do a huge project for my American Foundations class and then after the class, we had to take a test. The tests aren't really that huge of a deal because they are 10 points but sometimes they are a little tricky. I just didn't know what to study for it yesterday so I was a little nervous to take it. While I was studying, our FHE brothers/Home Teachers came over and invited us to go lazer tagging with them later. They were kind of here for a while but when they left and after Michelle and I took our test, we were starving so we went to Bajio's for dinner and when we got there, they called us to say they were at Craze already buying their tickets so they just went without us which was fine with us since we did just go last week with them and we were starving. So we ate dinner (which was pretty delicious) and we just hung out at Bajio's for a little while just talking. We then went to Walmart across the street to buy some ingredients for Muddy Buddies (yummmm) and while we were there, Logan, our bro, called us to say that he left his backpack at our house and to call him when we got home so he could come and get it. We decided to get a cheap bag of candy and fill his backpack with it. We got home and filled it up and it was pretty full with candy. He came to get it and picked it up and said "Wow, I don't remember it being this heavy." and we all burst into laughter but Erin saved us and said "You must just be more studious than you thought." So he left after a little chitchat and he called us probably 5-10 minutes later and was so excited. He said that he thought he heard rustling noises in his backpack when he was walking back and he really didn't know what was going on but when he opened it, he was thrilled. They now want to do something back for us but it was just fun to do something crazy and cute like that for them.

This morning, I was awoken by a super annoying pianist. at like 9 in the morning. It was annoying because it wasn't late enough to go back to bed but I was still tired and wanted more sleep soo I went back to sleep. haha Michelle even went over there and asked her to be quieter because two of her roommates (Jessica and I) were sleeping. Usually people will just leave when we ask them to be quieter but this girl didn't.

I wrote Nicole a full two page letter (so four sides) and its pretty good if I say so myself. I am pretty sure I am the best letter writer ever. I've sent more letters to her than everyone I'm assuming. While I was writing it though, my pen was making the most annoying clicking noise ever. I don't know why it was doing it either but it was driving me crazy.

I still don't really like the whole facebook situation here on campus. It is blocked from 8am-5pm so that we can't use it in class which makes sense but since here in the dorms we are using campus internet, we can't even go on facebook during the day. I wake up in the morning with a bunch of emails in my inbox of all the facebook activity that went on while I was sleeping and I have to wait HOURS to respond to some people. So when I finally get on at 5, I am usually on for quite a while since I just have so much information accumulated. I feel like I've gotten the hang of waiting for it but after it stops being blocked, I am on it forever. I just have to get my fill. and usually there isn't even anything noteworthy on it.

I guess I should go and do homework. yay.

I also have a swim meet tomorrow at 9am and we have to set up so we have to be there at 7:45. That means that I have to wake up earlier for the swim meet on a Saturday than I have to wake up for school. We are also going to the temple tomorrow afternoon which I'm pretty excited about. :)

Until next time...

Scary!

So last night (or I guess this morning), at about 1:00, I was on Yahoo! and I noticed in the recent news stories that there was a high school bus crash in Idaho so I clicked on it figuring it was some random high school in Idaho...But I was wrong! It was American Fork High School Marching Band from American Fork, UT which is where Brianna goes to school, and she is in the Marching Band!! I got a little worried so I wrote on her facebook wall (I'm not really sure why, she wouldn't have answered at 1:00 am) but then I was really worried/curious so I texted her and it turns out that she was in the bus that flipped AND she was sitting next to the teacher who was killed AND she was in the hospital last night for 4 hours! HOW SCARY. She didn't get home until like way early this morning (like 2?) and I'm pretty sure that she broke her arm as well as being horribly traumatized. I feel so bad for her. And for her parents because she was in the hospital like 3 hours away from home. The bus flipped majorly so I can only assume that everyone is soo sore who was on the bus, not to mention a little distressed. Well, I'm so grateful that Brianna is okay! I was a little scared last night. Even though it was a one in four chance she was even on the bus. Here is one of the news articles about it. The picture on the side with the kids leaving the hospital, Brianna is the one in the front of the line.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13535956

Oh a happier note, this weekend has been...interesting. I didn't go to my swim meet yesterday because I felt kind of sick and I thought I'd be better if I just got more sleep so I slept in. Then I spent the rest of the day doing homework and just hanging around. Then at like 6:30, Erin came home from work/Dave's and she brought Emma with her. So we just kind of hung around and Erin's mom came over for a while. It was fun. Erin was super sad when Emma left this morning which I completely understand and can relate to. Thats basically how I feel everytime I get a letter from Nicole.

Well, since Chrome crashed on me after I first tried to write this and its now 9:30, I guess I'll try to go to bed now.

Brrrr.

This week has really been cold. On Monday morning, we woke up to snow. It snowed from midnight Monday morning until about 1 on Monday afternoon. By 2 it was all melted away which was a little sad. Especially since it was still freezing, there was just no evidence of it. I don't really like the cold all that much. Because the wind just kills you. On Wednesday, I went to my 9:00 class and it was 25 degrees outside. That is just too cold! This hasn't been to hard of a week school-wise but the weather is making it harder.

Last night, Dave had a soccer game and so I went with Erin but we were really dumb and didn't really wear that warm of clothes. The soccer fields are like on top of the hill so its SO windy. We sat against a cement wall type thing to block the wind a little but it was still freezing. There were blankets on the ground that some of the players brought and weren't using and I really wanted to borrow one but we didn't. We watched the game with Dave's roommate Jake which was pretty fun. After the game, we were talking to Dave and he had two blankets that were just sitting there in case someone wanted to use them. They were like quilts and we didn't know about them until the end of the game which was kind of funny but super annoying. My toes were like numb from sitting there for an hour. After the game, we went to Maverik's to get some hot chocolate because any size hot chocolate is only $1 the whole month of October. So we got the hot chocolate and hung out there for a few minutes and then we went to Dave's. We just hung out and talked and it was really fun. I really like hanging out with them. We only stayed for 2o or so minutes because we didn't want to be late for curfew. But we were anyway. haha We were going to climb the wall but we decided to try the key to the lounge and it worked so we didn't have to jump the wall which I was a little upset about. The hot chocolate was piping hot and my tongue is still burnt. It was a fun night even though we were freezing.

Erin's sister Emma is coming today and I'm pretty excited. Mostly because I know how excited they are to see each other. It reminds me of when I went to visit Nicole at BYU 3 years ago. So fun. Hopefully we'll do something crazy fun to show how fun Rexburg really is. :)

Time to do homework!

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

Since today is Michelle's birthday, we looked online for some fun things to do here in Rexburg or in Idaho Falls and we found out that there was a zoo in IF. So we decided to that we would leave at like 10 this morning and take Serena (Dave's car) and go to the zoo and then just hang around in Idaho Falls for a little while. We went to the zoo and it was pretty fun. We're college students but it was fun to see the animals and we talked to them and they sometimes would "respond" to us. It was cute. The zoo closes tomorrow until April so its good that we went before it gets too cold. Some of the animals weren't there due to the "inclement weather" so that was a little annoying but most of them were there. The animals were super cute but most of them were really tired and so they were just sitting in the sun. There was this monkey who was crazy. He was just swinging and swinging and swinging. He also started looking through these potato sacks that were filled with toys and newspaper on the floor of his little enclosure and he was getting so fed up with them; he was throwing them and just looking angry which was super funny. Jessica also got really close to a monkey's face and he got really made and slapped the glass. It was a little frightening. We did get to pet and feed some goats and they were crazy when they heard the food. We also fed some ducks which was fun too. It was pretty fun and really cheap. Here is the monkey:

After that, we went to lunch at Olive Garden which was so delicious but we were all SO full after. We like couldn't even move. Our server was kind of weird to us but towards the end, she was really nice. We then went back to the mall just to look around. We went to Claire's because Jessica needed a pearl necklace for choir and we found some friendship bracelets so we all bought matching friendship bracelets which is pretty cute. We just kind of looked around and they bought some shoes and lotion and other stuff so thats good.

Hay isn't for Horses

Tonight, Erin's brother invited us to go to the Straw Maze and since he has tons of connections, we got a slight discount which was fun. Erin, Jessica and I went (Michelle was doing homework) and there was actually a lot of people but it was pretty awkward because we didn't really know anyone except for Dave (her brother), and Thomas (Dave's friend) who we've hung out with before. It was still pretty fun and Jessica and I found the end (after getting some hints from a guy who was walking on top of the hay bales) but Erin decided to leave us so we went back in to try to confuse and scare people. It was pretty funny.

After we all finished, we decided to come home but once we were back in Rexburg, Dave called Erin and asked if we wanted to go to DQ so we went and got some blizzards (in the 38 degree frigidness). Since my initials are DQ, I've wanted to get free ice cream from them but I tried it in Washington once with Dad and they didn't let us get the ice cream but I'm hoping they'll let me here in Iceburg because they're so much nicer. I was going to try tonight but I realized I didn't have any ID with me so I thought they wouldn't let me. But we're going to go back another time and test it out.

When we got home, my jacket was COVERED in hay and so I shook it out on our balcony and so it started "snowing" hay which was fun. And I looked like a complete idiot but I didn't want all the hay in our apartment so I decided to make a fool of myself.

I love how my Thursday nights are really "Friday" nights because I don't have class on Friday so its the weekend. All of my roommates hate me for it but I LOVE it! I don't feel bad going and partying it up because I don't have school the next day or homework to do (well, I do have homework, just not due on Fridays).

On Saturday, we're going to the Idaho Falls Zoo! :) We're going for Michelle's birthday and it closes on Sunday until March (or May; I can't remember) so its basically our last chance. I'm pretty excited. AND its only $6 to get in! WOO idaho and their cheap activities.

Oh, College...

Talk about a sigh of relief. This week has just been absolutely crazy. I now feel like I know how stressful college can be. Yesterday was absolutely ridiculous and today was day two of the insanity. I had my first class yesterday at 9 and then when I got home at 10, I finished the homework that was due later in the day and then I wrote a paper for a group project that was due today. Then I went to my 12:45 class followed directly by my 2:00 class. I got home at 3, took a food (dinner?) break and then went to the library at 4:45 to study with Megan for our Geography test and then we went to take our test in the testing center. We didn't really know what to expect on the test so I'm pretty happy with my 82% on it. Hopefully I'll be able to improve that score for next time though. Then I went back to the library to work on a group project for American Foundations. I left that at 8 to come back home and work on all my Comm 140 homework that was all due today. A project plus discussing the reading on an online discussion board. I also had to make an individual powerpoint presentation for the American Foundations project. I was working on homework religiously from 8-midnight. Exhausting day.

Today, I had to go to my Geography class, immediately followed by my Communications class and then I came home for 30 minutes to each lunch at 1:00 before I went to go and work on a Science group project. we worked on that for about an hour and then I had to go to American Foundations. Luckily, our group didn't have to present AND we got out of class early AND he basically told us what was going to be on the test. I came home and studied it for a little while and then I went to take the test because I heard that there was a 2 hour line at the Testing Center. We only waited in line for about 20 minutes so it wasn't THAT bad and the test was pretty easy. Hopefully I'll do as good as I think I did.

Now, I'm catching up on TV while drinking Stephen's Candy Cane Hot Chocolate with whipped cream. What a wonderful start to what is looking up to be a wonderful weekend. I don't really have all that much homework which is fantastic.

Oh, it was also freezing yesterday and raining and today wasn't much warmer. Oh Iceburg, why must your eternal winter start in October?

Only in Rexburg...

So today, Jessica and I walked to Broulim's to get some groceries because there was a bunch of delicious fruit for really cheap. It isn't that long of a walk and we took our backpacks so that we'd be able to carry our stuff home without having our arms break off. We each got a little shopping cart which was fun. We saw Dave (Erin's brother), Thomas and a bunch of their other roommates which was funny because Erin is never with us when we see Dave. We talked with them for a little while but not really because we were both shopping. Jessica and I bought probably a little too much and after we checked out, we were loading our backpacks with our purchases and a guy who was paying behind us looked at us and asked "Do you guys want a ride?" We didn't know if he just felt obliged to offer or if he sincerely wanted to give us a ride home so we both just kind of stood there and looked at each other. We finally excepted and he warned us that he didn't have that much room.

We got to his truck and we put all our groceries in the bed and then we got in the truck. It is a three person truck but it is mighty tight with that many people but we were just glad for a ride. I sat in the middle next to him and he warned me that he had to shift gears and he wasn't just trying to touch my leg. Which was pretty funny. He drove us back and it was super nice. His name is Nate and he offered to help us carry our stuff back into our dorm but we could definitely do it so we just let him leave. I feel a little bad because he probably went way out of his way but he was SUPER nice about it, and way fun to talk to. Oh and he was also pretty dang attractive which didn't hurt at all. This is the second time that this has happened to Jessica so I guess I'll just always have to go places with her when I buy a lot of stuff.

Well, in other news, classes have definitely started getting a lot more demanding and time consuming. I have a huge group project for American Foundation due on Thursday (we're meeting tomorrow), a Geography test tomorrow (which I'm studying for with my friend tomorrow), a Science Foundations group thing due Friday, a project due for Mass Media, plus various reading and other activities for all these classes and more!

I also went to play water polo last night and it was crazy. There started out with 4 girls (two came later) and a bunch of boys and they were rambunctious. It was pretty intense. But it was so so fun to just play again. Although, the pool wasn't deep enough so at one side, we could touch the bottom. Jeff was there and he was really nice and excited to see me which was funny.

I still haven't gotten a calling but neither have a lot of people in the ward haven't so its not a big deal.

I think that is all the important news. I can't really think of anything else that is noteworthy so I guess I'll go and do homework now.

Bittersweet Tears

I just got off the phone with Nicole, who is in Orem currently and is entering the MTC in less than an hour. That is the last time I will talk to her on the phone for a while. Luckily, I'll be able to talk to her at Christmas and and then again next Christmas but that just doesn't sound very close. We talk basically everyday even when we are two states apart. She is one of my best friends and I don't know what I'm going to do without her for these 18 long months. The fact that she is so close almost makes things worse as well. She'll be a 3.5 hour drive from school and a 1.5 hours flight from home. It seems like that would make it easier to deal with because she will be physically closer but she is just as far apart from us as if she was in Australia or Russia. But it does mean that when we go to Temple Square next, there is a chance that she'll be there, waiting to give us a tour. But we don't go to Temple Square that often but I think I might be heading out to Utah in January for another missionary 'farewell' so maybe I'll just have to stop by to see Sister Quist.

A Day for Bandaids

So yesterday, we had church at 9:00. And we had set up a showering schedule so that we'll all be able to shower in the morning before church. Well, that plan didn't really work out all too well and I was supposed to shower at 8:00 but I didn't get in the shower until 8:15 or so. As I was rushing to shower, I cut my right leg twice while shaving but I didn't notice until I was out of the shower. I used two new bandaid dots to cover those up, which was annoying. They weren't that bad of cuts its just so frustrating when you cut yourself shaving especially since I NEVER cut myself....EVER.

Okay, then after church, we had a grilled cheese party at Jessica's friend Michelle's house. We met a ton of cool people and it was pretty fun. Except that we were the only freshman yet again. (We had gone to a bonfire on Saturday night that Erin's brother always does and we were the only freshman in a sea of seniors...) It was cool to just met more people in a more relaxed setting especially since I wouldn't have really met them in any other circumstances.

For dinner, we decided to make crepes. Well, Michelle and Erin made them and I kind of helped and Jessica provided all the ingredients. We decided to invite our neighbors who we always talk to as we walk down the stairs and they always have these crazy parties. There weren't as many people as there usually are but they came up and we had a good time with them. It was delicious. After dinner, since I didn't really help make it, I decided to do the dishes (since our dishwasher is broken so we have to do them all by hand). I had basically washed everything except for a few things and as I was washing a knife, it kind of slipped into my hand and it cut my index finger really deeply. So I was bleeding pretty profusely and so I tried to just keep doing the dishes while covering my finger with a paper towel. I took a little break to try to help it stop bleeding but it didn't really stop. It kept bleeding even after I put a bandaid on it for a while. But I put neosporin on it when I went to bed last night and it is still tender to the touch but it doesn't look as bad anymore. Hopefully I don't have a scar forever.
here are some pictures for your enjoyment!


Day One (Sunday 9/13)






Day Two (Monday 9/14)







On a side note, I also got a nasty bruise on my inner knee last week. I'm not exactly sure what it is from but it was quite painful. and it is still pretty gross. This picture of it is from friday or saturday I don't remember which.