"Look at the sky, tell me what do you see? Just close your eyes and describe it to me... The heavens are sparkling with starlight tonight. That's what I see through your eyes. I see the heavens each time that you smile. I hear your heartbeat just go on for miles. And suddenly I know my life is worthwhile..."

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

life is a highway...i want to ride it all night long!

So updating is needed!!

Friday was Fall Formal! My roommates and I went as a group with our fhe family. It was a blast! The girls all wore poodle skirts that Talia's mom made and sent to us. The boys were dressed like they came straight out of Grease. Moral of the story: We were looking hot ;) I spent that night right before the dance getting it all set up, and making sure that everything was going as planned. The whole week had been crazy with advertisements and planning, decorating and shopping for refreshments. I got so many phone calls from people wondering where they could buy tickets at, etc. It was a little stressful, but overall a great experience that I would take on again in a heartbeat. After the dance was in motion, I went back to my apartment to rest for a little bit. The boys were already over, and we sat around taking pictures for a good hour before heading to the dance. The dance was AMAZING! I absolutely loved it! The live jazz band was incredible - the swing dancing made the dance just perfect. I am a terrible dancer too, but it was so much fun to just let myself out of my shell and dance and have fun! Benjamin was an amazing swing dancer. I was so stunned by how well he could dance. Zach was just crazy. He is funny. We would try to do these funny moves and it was a lot of fun. My favorite though was dancing with Colin. He and I kept trying new swing dance techniques, usually resulting in minor injuries. There was this one time he whacked me right in the face - completely on accident - but it was hilarious! We laughed so hard. About every minute we would have to stop dancing and have a good laugh at ourselves. I'm sure we looked totally ridiculous but I don't care. It was a perfect night.



Saturday was pretty busy. Kristilyn's brother came into town Friday just before the dance, so we spent all of the weekend with him. We went to watch my roomies and Colin run in their cross-country meet. It was so much fun! I really wish I would have done XC with them, but next year I will for sure. They all did great in the race. I'm so proud :)





We came back just in time to get all our laundry done and go to the ward talent show. Our ward has some of the funniest, most outgoing people. I LOVE IT! haha.



Sunday we went to church, came home, napped, and had a picnic! We went to the gardens with Talia's laundry basket full of food: pizza, pasta, marshmallow popcorn, koolade, cookies, broccoli... It was delicious! Talia and I did the stadium singing that night with Jason and Zach :)

Today, Mark woke me up at 6:30 to tell me happy birthday! My mom had Josh and Samantha call me before the left for school at 7:45 to tell me happy birthday. The rest of the day I continued to get phone calls, texts, emails, etc. from people telling me happy birthday. The neat thing was that a lot of them I haven't talked to since high school, but they remembered my birthday :)

Andrea would not let me in the kitchen today. She made me my breakfast and lunch. Then, she, Kristilyn, and Talia all chipped in for stuffed crust pizza tonight. YUMM! I wasn't allowed to do any cleaning whatsoever.

I went down the hall after waking up this morning and found that Kristilyn had left me all these signs wishing me a happy birthday. I picked up my package from my family, and when I came home, I saw that Talia had made a banner over my bed.

My family sent me lots of clothes, scarves, gloves, chocolate, cute cards, etc. They are amazing <3

Zach brought me a cupcake tonight. haha cute :)

For fhe, my family surprised me with a party. We were supposed to go make 72 hour kits tonight, but all along they had been planning on throwing me a party. I was so happy :) We had our cake, rolled down a BIG grassy hill (YAY!), and played the traditional Keele birthday games (candy bar game & squirt gun game). All in all, today was great!

Only 2 more days until I get to go back to Orem and see my grandma and Jessica!!!!! I am SO excited! I love you all! Have a fantastic day!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

the answer to my prayers...

For the last few weeks, I have been pleading, begging to God for help. There is an area in my life that I feel is missing. I prayed every night for the last few weeks for guidance and instruction. I'm not really sure what I was looking for, maybe a light up arrow sign that fell from the sky and implied a way I should go. Maybe even a "DO NOT ENTER" or "YIELD" would be very appreciated. Well, of course none of that happened. The Father speaks through a still, small voice. I was reminded this week that rather than praying and quickly slipping into a deep sleep, I should kneel a little longer to ponder and listen for the Holy Ghost's promptings. Well, this is just now kicking in. In addition, my roommates and I read Proverbs 3 tonight for our nightly roomie scripture study/prayer. Two verses REALLY stuck out to me:

5- Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6- In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

I know that I need to trust in the Lord. I have always felt like I do trust Him, but it hit me tonight. All of a sudden, I realized that I need to put all of my faith in Him. 100%. Not 80%. Not even 99.9999%. 100% needs to be dedicated to Christ. Why this took me so long to realize, I have no idea. But then I realized, that maybe my prayer had already been answered and I missed it, or, my Heavenly Father has something different planned for me than I have planned for myself. Maybe I need to ponder longer after I pray to be more apt to hearing the Spirit. OR MAYBE He hasn't answered yet! Why did I think that this answer would come so quickly?

Anyway, moral of the story is that I need to have absolute faith in my Savior. He is the way, the truth, the life, and the light! He is my Shepard.

Goals:
-Ponder for a few minutes after praying. Listen for an answer.
-Read my patriarchal blessing every week.

Have a fantastic day everyone! I love you! Have faith in Christ <3

Friday, October 24, 2008

gonna rock around the clock tonight...

Tonight is my big Fall Formal Dance: Dancing Through the Decades!! I am seriously freaking out right now..... Tickets need to keep selling and my costume still needs to get here!! I will be so happy tonight when everyone is there - dancing at the event I planned :)

Tomorrow is going to be my relax, lay-around-the-house, stress-free day!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Gravity

I'm not really sure why, but Gravity is another song that has a connotation for me. I don't even remember the story or anything behind it. It always makes me think of late nights driving in Orem. Maybe it was after just a long exhausting day of work or just "issues" with the boys in my life. I can remember always crying to this song though. It's like every time I sing it, I sing it with every bit of strength left in my whole body. By the end of the last verse, I am worn out with red eyes, blotchy cheeks, and tears running down my face.

I had a really good day today too. Why I feel like listening to that song on repeat right now, I don't even know. A good cry just feels nice....


Song lyrics Gravity lyrics

Today I reconnected with a friend I haven’t seen or talked to in almost a year and a half. I learned some new things (not good) about a boy I dated my junior year of high school. I had one of those “relationship talks”. I also conquered my fear of talking to a boy in one of my classes who I think is so cute, but have always been way too scared to talk to. I went to the Disney College Program presentation today and have an interview set up for tomorrow. Today was a good day :]

I am currently sitting on my couch, hiccupping uncontrollably and reflecting back on the day. What made today so great? You know, I’m not sure. I just know that I feel like I found missing pieces to a puzzle today. I am slowly trying to make sense of my past and how it is affecting my future.

I have been thinking a lot today about memories. How is it that when you listen to a certain song, memories will flood back into your mind? Here are some that come to mind immediately:
1. “Science of Selling Yourself Short”
o This song ALWAYS reminds me of a boy named Zane Dees. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I am doing when I hear this song, I ALWAYS think of him. I think of all those nights we would stay up for hours talking on the phone. I would sneak into the basement and talk to him, so my parents wouldn’t know I was still awake. He was one of the sweetest boys I’ve ever known. This song makes me remember Halloween that year. He told Carissa he thought I was really cute. The whole night I kept trying to get Derek’s attention, and he kept trying to get mine….
2. “Hey Santa!”
o My mom and I LOVE singing Christmas songs. “Hey Santa!” was our favorite by far; we sang it all day long every day. Each time I hear it, I think of putting up our Christmas tree with the family – the boys were always asking us to turn it off and mom and I would just sing right over the top of them. It makes me think of doing the dishes with her in the kitchen, watching the snow fall…
3. “Bubbly”
o PAULO!! I will never forget the day that Paulo and I were driving in his car singing this song. It was before he and Jamie started dating. He was frustrated with her because he loved her sooo much, and he couldn’t make her see it. He told me that if she ever sang this song to him, he would be the happiest man in the world. Sure enough, only a few months later when they finally became a couple, this became their song. CUTE!
4. “Sugar, We’re Going Down”
o Garret was trying to impress me by singing to me. This was the first song he turned on, and we sang it again and again on our way to the movies. It was like our theme song…
5. “Big Girls Don’t Cry”
o I always sang this song after Carter and I broke up. I would often burst into tears midway. Haha. Ironic.
6. “Hold My Hand”
o Homecoming with Gunnar! He played me this song, and I’m not sure why, but its just always stuck. I hear this song, I think of him.
7. Jack’s Mannequin/Skillet/The Starting Line
o These ALL make me think immediately of Blake. He introduced me to so many of my favorite artists. I would often sing these songs on the days we didn’t talk, when I felt like I really needed to talk to him. Blake and I used to be so close – we would talk just about every day. I miss that…
8. “Time of Your Life”
o Jessica tried to teach me this song on the guitar because it is one of my favorites. She played it for me a lot over the last 2 summers. She has such a pretty voice and is so good at playing the chords, I actually think her version is way better.
9. “Milk & Cereal”
o Devyn is just kind of a crazy cool kid that I love being with. This is our song J
10. Nickelback & Hinder
o These all belong to Lance. It is impossible to listen to either group without thinking of Lance…
11. Disney Duets
o Mark and I would always sing these together at home. I miss that…
12. “Curse of Curves”
o Summer 2007 in Utah with Jamie, Jessica, Jordan, David, Trevor, Paulo, Garrett. Life in “the sac”.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Profile Essay

For my English class, we had to write profile essays this last week. Here is the finished product:

Country music has never been a favorite of mine. In fact, I usually can’t handle it at all. There are a few artists whose songs are upbeat and make me happy, but the majority of them are like a slippery slope leading straight into an ice cold water of depression. This music style just seems so discouraging; they all seem to involve the cat being run over, the house catching fire, a significant other cheating, or a loved one dying. Honestly, is there nothing better to talk about than all of the slumps in life? What good can be found in so much complaining? The music I enjoy is happy, upbeat, and inspiring. Recently, I met someone whose life is very much like that of a country song. She has experienced so much heartbreak, it is ridiculous. However, despite all of these misfortunes she has undergone, her life reflects the kind of music anyone will see on my iPod: happy, upbeat, and inspiring. I would like to share with you the story of an 18 year old girl who has considerably changed my perspective on life by explaining the trials she has endured, how she dealt with them, and how her perspective has modified the way I perceive existence.

Katie and I met at Café Rio. I had been working at the to-go counter answering phones and running the cash register; Katie had been living in Arizona for the beginning of the summer, but returned to Utah and picked up at Café Rio where she left off in May. She was the to-go trainer: she was an expert at making the call-in orders run smoothly. On top of that, she was excellent at customer service. When I first started at Rio, I had countless customers ask me why Katie hadn’t been working lately. Upon her homecoming, customers flocked to her! Whistles rang through the restaurant as all our happy Hispanic coworkers cheered when she arrived. I am surprised Katie didn’t suffocate, there were so many people running to give her hugs, and squeezing her tight as if they’d never let go. Obviously, my first impression of Katie was she was extremely friendly, loveable, and hard-working.

As Katie and I worked together 40 hours a week, we became great friends. I was surprised by how quickly she opened up to me. She shared with me so many of the traumas her life had encountered. How could someone who had experienced so much hurt come out on top as being one of the happiest people I’ve ever met? While she told me stories from her haunting past, she exampled her view on life and the lessons she took from each of these experiences.

If I were to write a country song of Katie’s life, the first verse would talk about her childhood. At a very young age, Katie was abandoned by her mother. I can’t even imagine! For all these years, Katie has grown up without the love or support of a mom. This makes me reflect back on my life. I remember all of the days I came home from school, only to be wrapped in the arms of my loving mom. A life without a mother, especially a mother who abandoned you, would be extremely challenging.

The second verse of the song would explain how Katie not only lost her mom, but how her dad was taken also. Katie woke up one morning last year to find her dad collapsed and unconscious on the kitchen floor. She immediately called for an ambulance, but her heart sank because she knew it was already too late. Her cherished father had passed through this life and into the next without even a goodbye. Katie and her brother parted their ways: Katie went to live with her grandma, and her brother left to live with an uncle.

Verse 3: When Katie’s dad died, she was left with paying all the bills. Her grandma had already retired, so Katie was not only responsible for covering the costs of herself and her younger brother, but also her grandma. She took on a full time job at Café Rio. Even during the school year, Katie worked 40 or more hours each week. As Katie progressed in her job at Rio, she became very close to all of her coworkers. So close, in fact, that they formed a “family”. Café Rio became Katie’s safe haven, the place Katie called home.

In the fourth verse, I would sing of Katie’s latest struggles. In February, Katie was diagnosed with cancer. She had been working at Café Rio for a year by this point. She called the assistant manager, Ismael, Papa. She adopted him as her dad. She called another assistant manager, Mom. She basically lived with another worker, whom she knew as her sister. The Café Rio “family” grew close at this time in Katie’s battle. When she was informed of her cancer, she ran as fast as she could to her home, Rio. Papa and her “mom” cradled her and held her tightly in the office, as she quietly sobbed in their arms. Her life felt broken. The only place she felt she belonged was her “family” in the little Mexican restaurant. Customers coming in that day had no idea that a sweet 18 year old girl was weeping behind the office door.

The fifth verse would describe Katie’s relationships with boys. The most important one to understand was a boyfriend who treated her as though she was no more than dirt. Scars on Katie’s back aren’t enough to even begin to describe the ache her boyfriend caused her. I will never forget the day she came to work with a black eye. She described to me how he was angry with her for something she didn’t even do, and he pounded her. He had been drinking, so the beating was even more brutal than customary. He would mentally abuse her by day, calling her demeaning names. Then, he abused her by night with blows to her head. She thought there was no way out, until finally she hid from him. She stopped answering phone calls and even had her phone company block her number from him. The doors to her house were always kept locked tight. She spent the majority of her time at Rio, so she was always surrounded by huge crowds and coworkers who loved her.

Between each verse, a chorus would ring out. Katie is one of my heroes. I have never met anyone my age that has experienced so much pain, fear, and hurt. She has had to live through and continue pressing forward with little to no strength left at times. Despite all her hardships, Katie remains one of the happiest, positive, outgoing people I know. She is dedicated, and hardworking, and she loves people with all her heart. I often get text messages from her, saying something like, “Hey Love, what’s up?” She never fails to express love to those she cares about. She usually answers the phone with a similar phrase, “Hi Love! How are you?” I love being around her and learning from her experiences. They have taught her that life is short; don’t waste it. Express love constantly to those you truly do love; you never know when they will be taken from you. She has been taught discipline through the fifty hours or so she spends working each week after her college courses in the morning. A part time student, full time worker, and an overtime lover: we can all learn from her story. It is to be cherished and held dear to our hearts.

Before meeting Katie, I knew that family relationships were important. I love my family more than anything. I realized though, that I was not expressing that love nearly as often as I should. Now I call my family every day, never failing to say “I love you” at the end of a conversation. Katie showed me that working hard is an excellent stress reliever. Often times people show their anger and frustration at the world by violent, cruel acts. Not Katie. If she had not told me about her life, I would have never even known. She is so good at keeping her past a mystery. She doesn’t use makeup either: Katie uses a smile to brighten and clear up her face.

Katie’s country song would be one of many emotions. The listener would feel the pain and agony that came with every crisis. However, they would also feel happiness and excitement for the future, just as Katie showed. No one would have blamed Katie if she chose to be sad and gloomy because of the problems she has faced, but they didn’t need to. She never let her problems show. She always smiled, laughed, played. She was one of the happiest people I have ever met. Her song would express this delight in life. I think I would listen to Katie’s country song incessantly.

fhe pumpkin carving pictures :)









Tuesday, October 21, 2008

a missed alarm, heated discussion, and a creepy pumpkin...

Today was pretty entertaining. I woke up to Talia's frantic cry, "JENNY!!! We woke up late! Oh my gosh...class is in 10 minutes!!" Of course, I jumped right up out of bed, surprised I didn't bump my head on the ceiling or fall of the bunk bed on my way out. The mornings when we sleep through the alarm are always the funniest. We start running through the apartment, not knowing what is most important. Somehow, the basics seem to get lost as our brains are trying to wake up. In order, this is what I did as I got ready at "lightning speed": Turned on the straightener, put a pop tart in the toaster, got dressed, brushed my teeth, straightened my bangs (why just my bangs, i don't even know. I was half asleep haha), and ran out the door with the poptarts in hand. Here is what I should have done: Throw my hair into a pony tail, damped my bangs and quickly blew them dry, ate 1 poptart, brush my teeth, get dressed, run out the door. My flaws:

1. I brushed my teeth before I even ate. I should have ate first instead of brushing my teeth, because I went off to school with unbrushed teeth. SICK!

2. I brushed my teeth after I had already gotten dressed. BIG NO NO! In my attempt to spit the toothpaste and water mixture in the sink, a small amount managed to slide down my shirt. NUTS!

3. I straightened my bangs...WHAT?! I don't have time for that on these mornings! Why didn't I just stick it into a quick pony tail is beside me...

4. I did not take a water bottle with me. While I did remember to get breakfast, I forgot to get the water that makes my body so happy. All through the hour and a half of psychology, my throat was craving a little water. OOPS!

Anyway, my psychology class was good. I am so glad I didn't sleep through it. We got into a heated discussion about marriage. Even though I am not married and probably won't be for a very long time, I just knew that the things my classmates were saying were completely ludacris. They were so scared of marriage because they said the risks outweighed the benefits. WAIT A MINUTE!! Isn't marriage ordained of God? Hasn't He commanded us that we need to be sealed to someone for time and all eternity? To create a forever family? Whatever happened to mulitiply and replenish the earth? Whatever happened to trusting in our Father in Heaven? He knows EVERYTHING! He will not lead us astray. Sure, yes, some marriages will not last. Statistics tell us that about half of marriages will fall apart. However, I FIRMLY believe that Heavenly Father has a plan for us. A WONDERFUL plan, called the Plan of Happiness. Marriage is supposed to be exciting!!!! It is a beautiful, wonderful, amazing companionship between a man and a wife to be cherished always. My classmates were being so negative. A lot of them come from heartbreaking backgrounds of families who have been torn apart. But, I come from a family of love! My grandma and grandpa Keele have been married for almost 50 years now! That is incredible! Although my grandpa is no longer living in their home (he is in a nursing home), my grandma visits him just about every single day for hours. They are still totally and completely in love. My parents are celebrating their 20th anniversary this December! That is so beautiful! I understand that not every marriage is a fairytale, but I WILL NOT listen to talk of marriage as being an evil, bad, tragic thing. Marriage excites me! I dream of the day I will marry the boy who will be my best friend, the boy I will share all of my dreams, fears, joys, and heartbreaks with. Marriage is a beautiful eternal companionship that should be looked forward to and treasured...

Sorry for that little rant. I have been holding it in my system all day. *whew*

So then I went on to my Book of Mormon class, devotional (which was amazing. Key part of the talk: You never know whose angel you are), and my History & Philosophy of Education class. I came home and slept on the couch next to Talia for a good 2 hours. Woke up, did some homework, and waited impatiently for my roommates to come home from their meetings so we could talk. To my great dismay, when they came home they each headed off to the bedrooms to do homework. My heart sank a little. I sat in the kitchen eating Captain Crunch and watching a movie. Finally, that got old. I went to interrupt Talia's studying. (I know, I am a really nice roommate...) While we were talking, I heard my phone ringing. When I answered, a deep male voice said, "Check your doorstep." It was a REALLY creepy voice - I'm not going to lie. But I did as the voice said. I opened the door, and lo and behold, on the doormat sat a pumpkin and a box of cookies. Here is the pumpkin:



Creepy, huh? There is this knife sticking out the side, blood dripping down, evil face, and a message that says "Jennifer Keele, I know what you did last summer!" SCARY! haha. So I started looking up the phone numbers of all the boys in our fhe group, thinking it was probably one of them. After a good hour, the person called again and the voice told me to look at facebook. So, I got on facebook and discovered that the creepy person was Casey Williams. Yes, yes. Casey. How? Apparently my Dad (traitor-haha just kidding) gave him my address and Casey came all the way from Orem, Utah to leave me a creepy little pumpkin on my doorstep (and a box of cookies to justify the evil act.) hahaha

Benjamin and Trevor came over to "test" the cookies. They had to make sure they weren't poisonous hehe. What kind home teachers :)

So now, here I am. Sitting at my computer. Avoiding the stupid essay that I so naively decided would be fun to redo, along with chapter 10 notes for child development. Note taking in that class is getting a little old...

I hope everyone has a great day! I love you all. I love getting mail :)

I was soooo happy to get letters from both David and Jamie today. YAY!! I love missionary letters. They are the best!

But, I also love any mail you send. So long as it doesn't scare me, like the creepy pumpkin Casey delivered. Notes, letters, flowers, chocolate, surprise visits, those are all amazing :)

<3 Me

Monday, October 20, 2008

soundtrack to my life

My weekend was a blast! It seriously couldn't have gotten any better...

Friday:
Bonfire!! Erica came to visit! I spent Friday night with her and Nichole :) We went to a bonfire with Nichole's ward and it was so fun! The bonfire was at the sand dunes. It was a funny mix between the super cool sand and the blazing fire - finding a good temperature was a challenge, but between eating the mouth watering s'mores, laughing by the fire, and "squatting" adventures, the bonfire was a blast.
Mama Mia! This was like a breakthrough! I feel like I live in this little bubble, and it was really nice to go to a movie theater and watch a movie again! I almost think that the last movie I saw in theaters was Batman...CRAZY! That was such a long time ago! Anyway, Mama Mia was seriously an amazing movie. I LOVED IT!
Sleepover!! I spent the night at Nichole's apartment which was fun. I liked meeting her roomies, but most of all just giggling with Erica and Nichole over the night's escapades.

Saturday:
Backdrop Painting!! Spray painting is definetely my new favorite hobby. AND I am SOOOO excited for Fall Formal on Friday :D
Jamba Juice!! Benjamin took me to Walmart, and then so kindly bought me Jamba Juice. What an amazing fhe brother/home teacher/friend I have :D
Chicken Enchiladas :) Trevor, Benjamin, and 2 of Benjamin's friends came and made us "linner" (lunch/dinner). It was DELICIOUS!! Words can't even begin to desribe how scrumptious they were....
Date with Jason (The EQP of the EOP haha) The plan was to go to the ice caves. He would pick me up at 5 and we'd be back at 10. (Benjamin, Trevor, and Talia all made a point of reminding him of my "curfew" haha) So he picked me up at 5 as planned, and we headed out. No one in our group had been to the ice caves before and they all had been given different directions on how to get there. For 5 HOURS we were off-roading, desperately searching every dirt road for the way to the ice caves. So, for 5 HOURS we talked in the car, which is amazing! 5 hours is long enough for me to drive from Boise to Orem, that's how long that drive was!! We talked about anything and everything that came to mind - needless to say, it was a very random conversation. We never did find the ice caves...but it was a fun date nonetheless.
More food! As soon as Jason and I got back, we sat around and talked to my roomies for a while, and all of a sudden Benjamin threw open the door (dramatic, huh?) and burst out, "Who's hungry?!" aha. Trevor and Benjamin took us out for Wendy's. BEST HAMBURGER in a long time...
Miss Congeniality Slumber Party! We came back and had a sleepover party with the girls from fhe...actually, only Emily was able to stay for the sleepover, but they all came and said hi. It was fun :)

Sunday:
Dinner && Games!! We invited Michael, Colin, Zach, and Nephi over for dinner. We made them Andrea's famous chicken quesadillas and ate chips and salsa (mom's homemade kind!) yummm.... There wasn't enough room at the table, so just for fun we ate on the floor and had an indoor picnic :) Then we played Scum, Mafia, I Have Never, and BS. It was so fun!!

All in all, I woke up today happy and rejuvenated, ready for another amazing week here at BYU-I. Life just keeps getting better and better with every passing day. I continue to love my roommates more and more, and my testimony in the Savior is always increasing. I love being here; I love this campus.

Anyway, I am off to fhe. We are carving pumpkins today!!!!!!!! I am so excited :)

Have a great night everyone! I love you!

<3 Me

Friday, October 17, 2008

another perfect day

Yesterday was a GREAT day. I rolled out of bed at 5 yesterday morning and got all dressed and ready for the temple. FINALLY!! Even though it was really early, and I forgot my temple recommend so I had to run all the way back home to get it, I am sooo glad that I was able to go. It really set the mood for the rest of my day. The temple is so beautiful and peaceful - it is perfect!! My goal is to make this a weekly routine. Every Thursday morning at 6 am, the Rexburg temple workers should expect to see me. I am adding this to my list of goals :D

I know it isn't the best to skip classes, but I really was so tired. I came home from the temple with every intention of going to psychology an hour later, but when the alarm went off I had zero motivation to wake up and go to school. My psychology class is wonderful; I love it. However, when we haven't done anything that will extremely benefit my life and especially when the teacher doesn't take attendance, I did not feel like missing one class would break me. I will be there on Tuesday ready to learn.

After my morning slumber, I went to my Book of Mormon class and I was SO PROUD today - I DIDN'T FALL ASLEEP!!! :) I was so happy. It is a really great class, but the teacher's voice is one that is so soothing it knocks me right out. I was glad that I was able to be involved with the lesson today. We discussed Satan's snares and the way he works. There were a lot of powerful insights from my classmates that I enjoyed listening to.

I then went to History and Philosophy of Education. On the way there, I ran into a girl from my class. She told me about how she volunteered at a children's hospital over the summer and worked with child life specialists. I had never heard of this profession before, so she explained it to me and it really caught my attention. They are these people who prep the children before going into surgery on what will happen. They play with the kids and become friends with them. They are like the child's support system - They stick with the child all the way through their time in the hospital. I looked up more information on it after I got home, and I think I am going to talk to my advisor and see if that might be a better field for me to pursue. It sounds amazing to me!

While my roomies were all out at X-Country, I did some homework. Nothing too exciting...but then someone knocked on the door. I went to open it, expecting it to be Trevor and Ben (an hour early for Pancake Night) but to my surprise, it was someone else. This boy named Jason stood shyly outside my front door. He then asked me if I would mind escorting him to the ice caves on Saturday :)

We had our weekly Thursday Pancake Night!! AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS chocolate chip pancakes with mint ice cream on top is the perfect way to finish off a stupendous day. They were soo good, as always.

Today I have my english class and child development, and later tonight I get to hang out with Erica (she's in town!!) and sleepover at Nichole's place with Nichole and Erica. Tomorrow morning I get to paint another backdrop for Fall Formal, do a bunch of homework, go on the ice caves date, and finish off with a Pirate Sleepover Party with the roomies and other girls from fhe :D

Life is so good right now. Have a super day everyone! I love you.

<3 Me

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?

Upon meeting my roomies, I discovered that Kristilyn was a huge fan of Christmas. Actually, huge doesn’t even begin to describe the intense passion she has for Christmas. We always joke that she starts celebrating in July every year. It doesn’t make any sense to her why Christmas is only one day in the year. Why can’t we celebrate every day?

I have thought the same thing a lot. Christmas should be celebrated every day of our lives! Christmas is the day that we rejoice in our Savior’s birth!! Why is it then that we only celebrate during December?

We have already started regularly singing Christmas songs in our apartment. Our house is so cheery. I believe that this is one of the reasons why the Spirit has been so noticeably present here: We are always honoring our Savior by rejoicing in His birth and having Christmas Spirit reside permanently here.

On Friday we had the first snow of the season. It only lasted a few minutes, but it was so exciting and we decided to have a Christmas sleepover party that night. So last night we did just that. Talia painted all our nails with the holiday red, green, and white and even painted little snowmen, snowballs, Christmas trees, and holly on our nails. As she painted, Kristilyn and I quietly sang every Christmas song we could think of. That hour was the happiest I have felt in a long time.

Everything felt so perfect. We then watched “Elf” and all fell asleep, so tonight we watched it again just to make up for what we missed out on.

Buddy the Elf from the movie reminds me SO much of Kristilyn! He is so merry and happy and sincere, just like my roommate. I can’t help but feel so happy watching that movie :)



I really can’t wait until Christmas! Halloween still hasn’t even come yet, but I am dieing for Christmas! It feels like it should be tomorrow….
Have a wonderful day tomorrow everyone. Keep that Christmas Spirit permanently in your hearts because it only makes you happy. I love it!

<3 Me

Friday, October 10, 2008

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

Yesterday afternoon, Talia and I went outside to water-proof my cute winter boots. While we were spraying them, it started snowing!! We had "the first snow" of the season. It was pretty exciting. Everyone could be heard across campus screaming and laughing because it was snowing in the second week of October! haha crazy. It is supposed to snow about 5 inches tonight, so maybe we will wake up to snow in the morning :)

Last night Ben, Trevor, and Kiel (Ben's friend) came over for pancake night. It was really fun :) Ice cream and chocolate chip pancakes are two of the best inventions of all time! haha. Trevor and I got into a marker war after we ate. I had blue, pink, and green whiteboard marker marks all over my arms. When I went to scrub it off last night, it was funny because I thought it was just whiteboard dry erase markers we had been using. What I didn't know was he had used one actual crayola marker when I wasn't paying attention. I got most of it off, but it was funny because everything except that one line came off so easily. lol.

My english class was cancelled today so I am just looking forward to the rest of the day. At 2:00 I have a Humanitarian Service Committee meeting. At 3:15, I go to my Child Development class. Then tonight, at 4:45 I am volunteering with Benjamin, Andrea, and Michael at an elementary school carnival (I am so excited!!) and after that I am ushering at one of the Mother's Weekend events.

CHRISTMAS SLEEPOVER TONIGHT WITH MY ROOMIES! haha we are watching "Elf" :D

Tomorrow the plan is to do a lot of homework in between all my activities. At 8:30 I have to go and work on one of the backdrops for the photos for Fall Formal. I should have a good 5 hours of homework in between that and all the ushering I am doing again from 5:30-9:00 for more Mother's Weekend events.

Sunday = Church & Home Teachers <3

Monday the week will start all over again with fhe (Tal & I have the lesson.....haha)

Anyway, if I don't get a chance to get back on and report then have a super weekend everyone! Have fun with the snow if you get any (I know we will! lol)

Love you!

<3 Me

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

"this isn't contention; this is arguing!" - trevor

One of the things I was most excited for when coming to college was the fhe groups. I already feel so lucky to have the roommates I was placed with, but upon meeting our fhe family a couple of weeks ago, I feel REALLY lucky. My fhe brothers (and dad haha) are all so much fun to be with.

Last night for fhe, we went to Walmart, anticipating a sweeeet scavenger hunt. We had already been divided into our pairs and were so excited to start embarrassing ourselves in the store. We each walked in with our printed lists of crazy things to do, but as soon as we stepped inside the store manager came over and informed us that we couldn't have a scavenger hunt in their store. I guess we did look pretty obvious.....haha

So instead of playing, we split up and did our grocery shopping which was kind of fun. We drove back to campus after and played a game in the gardens. When that was over, we were all freezing so we went back to our apartment and made all the boys hot chocolate :) Somehow, a starburst fight broke loose and everyone was shooting the little candies at each other. It was a lot of fun. Looking around my living room right now, I can still see bunches of starburst hidden under the couch and in corners of the room.

The boys all left around 11. Talia and Adam (Andrea's friend) were talking in the living room and I started to fall asleep. Just as I was dozing off, someone came and knocked on the door. Andrea came out of her room to get it. The door opened, but no one was there. Then, starbursts started flying at her so we all ran back outside to continue the war :D

Moral of the story, it was a lot of fun. We love our fhe boys <3

<3 me

Sunday, October 5, 2008

"freakin' fun!"

This weekend was probably the best one I've had in awhile. Over these last few weeks, I devised a plan to surprise Jessica by coming to Utah for conference weekend! So on Friday morning, I drove out to Orem with a bunch of strangers from BYU-I...Which was interesting haha. Anyway, my family was all there this weekend too which was amazing. It was so nice to see them again! I surprised Jess that night. Tim took her to the park to play frisbee golf, and Kip and Talia and I came to the park after them to surprise her. It was a little funny how it happened, but she was happy I was there. We spent that night rolling down a grassy hill, eating ice cream, and watching a movie.

Saturday was conference. Jessica went to the morning session in Salt Lake, and Talia and I watched it with Kip and we ate YUMMY chocolate chip pancakes. Watched more conference, MY DADDY CAME :), we went to dinner with the boys after the priesthood session, and OFF-ROADING!!! That was the best! I am so excited to go again :D

I love my family! They are the best! I can't wait to see my Jessica again at Halloween, and see my family at Thanksgiving!! I love them so much!

Have a great day everyone! Love you!

<3 Me

Thursday, October 2, 2008

GOALS!! :D

I just finished reading Blake's blog, and I am happy to say that he reminded me to make some new goals this semester. I feel so inspired! haha. So here goes, these all need to be done this coming month in October:

1. Keep up on homework and reading assignments-
This hasn't been an issue, aside from the 2 late nights doing homework. I have completed all my assignments though, on time! :)

2. Morning & Nightly Prayer & Daily Personal Scripture Study-
My roommates and I are excellent at reading the scriptures together everyday and having a prayer before bed. I am also doing pretty well with scripture study because it is my Book of Mormon homework everyday, but I have a lot of work to do with personal prayers...

3. Get back into a good sleeping schedule-
My sleeping habits are so thrown off, it's disgusting. My goal is to be in my bed every night by 1 am. That hasn't happened in I don't even know how long. I can't remember that far back. Hopefully by being in bed at 1, it will also be easier to wake up around 9 every day instead of the occassional 12:00 days when I don't have classes until 12:45 :S

4. EAT HEALTHY-ER!
On the college budget I REALLY have to maintain, I cannot afford to keep spending lots of money on food, so this one will be a little harder considering all that is affordable is bad for you. My diet consists of pasta, koolaide, and more pasta. Maybe just cutting back and eating a little more fruit will help this.

5. Go running every Monday, Wednesday, Friday morning-
Since my classes are later that day, I have no excuse not to work out those days. This will also help prevent that Freshman 15 I am so terrified of!!

6. Make more friends & remember their names-
I am finding that I make friends pretty easily, aside from last weekend's tragic ending. I really have a problem remembering names though. My roommates and I have little nicknames for people we meet because we just cannot remember their names. This has got to change!!

7. Make the Fall Formal the hit dance of the semester!!
I am the manager over the Fall Formal at BYU-Idaho, and from the direction we are heading it is going to be an absolute success! I am so excited to see everything I have planned fall right into place this month. The dance is October 24, so guys & gals, find yourselves a date, get your tickets, and dance through the decades!!! <3

8. Keep up with writing missionary letters-
I have done pretty well in this area, but I think I should still keep sending letters, even if I don't receive one back right away. Missionaries are really busy and I'm sure they would like to keep getting letters, even if they cannot respond immediately.

I will be reporting next month on how these goals are going...
Have a fantastic day everyone! I love you! I hope you are all happy!! Keep smiling :)

<3 Me