There's no place like home

Well I'm back in Utah after a lovely week and a half at home in Arizona with my family and friends. There truly is no place like home; warm weather, blue skies, a clean house, and all of the people I love. What more can a girl ask for?To start off, the trees in my parent's front yard are beautiful! They are NOT frozen and dead like trees in Provo.




I got to hang out with Tara quite a few times. This night we went to see Bradley and his band play in a show, which was really good!





Christmas Eve with the grandparents was wonderful as usual, and our family is very attractive. It was fun to see grandma and grandpa since I missed them over Thanksgiving.



On the way home from grandma's house, mother dear made us pull over to climb this tree... apparently climbing shouldn't be done in heels so I stayed on the lowest branch.




Sushi. Sushi sushi. I love it. Ben and I got some really good sushi when I came home :)





Bradley and I had fun hanging out in the park and enjoying the sunlight. There were tons of little kids playing in the park and it was a beautiful day.




BeccaBeccaBecca. Thats something that you can only get in Arizona. I had fun spending time with her and I miss her already! We went to dinner one night, ran errands together, hung out at each others houses, she took me out to lunch (cause i'm the poor one) and other such things.




One night Ben and I were bored so I thought it would be fun to paint pictures :) This is my picture of the ideal Arizona sunset. You just don't see these kinds of colors in Utah.



This is sir Benjamin and I the night before I left!!! He worked a lot while I was home but we still hung out a ton. We saw Seven Pounds which I LOVED, and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button which I hated. We went shopping, he brought me Einsteins in bed etc. I'll see him in a couple weeks for his mission farewell!!!!!!!!

Finally it's over

Holy cow this week has been forever long. Finals are over, and I'm so exhausted and relieved. They went fairly well... you win some you lose some haha. To forget about the stress this week, me and Amber threw a Christmas sweater/White elephant party. A ton of people came and sipped hot chocolate, and there were some pretty great white elephant gifts :) Some of the favorites: an avocado, a gold dice, an ugly blanket, a fish, and my gift: a possessed doll.
It was also Nicole's Birthday on Tuesday. Some of us went out to dinner to celebrate, and later that night I woke her up out of my bed to sing happy birthday to her and give her the cake Callie got. It was SO great. Note the tiara :)Nicole is just one of the coolest people I know. It seems like we would have absolutely NOTHING in common, but we have become such good friends. I have really enjoyed living with her this semester and I will miss her SO much next semester, even though I'll still see her a lot!! She and Emily Woods are moving into a place together.

This Sunday we went to the State Hospital for church, and for the first time all six of us roommates got ready together. We had to take a picture :)

And now I must bid you farewell, because I need to catch my flight home :)

Happy Birthday to BEN

(I was trying to wait till midnight but i'm too tired haha. His birthday is in 15 minutes, on the 15th.)

SoOoOoOo, since I wont be around for my dear friend Ben Richard's birthday, I thought I'd give him a shout out on here :)

Ben's first time eating sushi :)

Ben Becca and I in California during summer of 2008

Ben and Becca's First picture together :)

Ben is one of the most genuine people you will ever meet. He loves doing things to better people's lives. He is probably the BEST gift giver. He always manages to top everyone else. Becca Ben and I are the three amigos. He and Becca call me from Arizona often to let me know that they are having fun without me haha.

I met Ben when I was 15 :) Just a child. We remained friends throughout high school, and have become the BEST of friends since we both started college in the fall of 2007. Ben Is leaving on a mission to Canada in late January and I, as well as everyone else, am so proud of the person he has become. When Ben returns from his mission he has plans to earn a degree in Music Composition. He will do great things in his life, I'm sure of it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Feeling a little discouraged

Today is just one of those days... when it seems like nothing can or will work out. SO, I'm going to make a list of all the things that are going RIGHT in my life right now :)

I get along with my roommates and I even kinda like them :)
It didnt really snow until December this year
I have a really awesome bishopric
I have few, but amazing friends who are very genuine.
I am attending one of the most respected universities in the country, on a scholarship.
I have brothers and sisters who I love and have fun with
I get to listen to music whenever I want via ipod/computer/car stereo
I can walk 30 feet across the street and play a grand piano any time I want
I have made good friends in Utah
I almost always have food :)
It's not very hard for me to do well in school
I have a phone so I can talk to anyone I want wherever in the world they are at any time
My parents support me
I have a Father who looks down on me from heaven and wants me to succeed and find true everlasting happiness

I really do have so many things to be grateful for. Everything works out the way it is meant to.

You cant fit a round peg in a square hole

This is a perfect cliche for my life right now. I had some really good conversations with friends this week. And my conclusion is: let go of the things that bring you down, life can always start anew, and you always have a choice in life to be happy. Spoken like a pro.

If you aren't happy with your life, decide what needs to be changed and do it. What makes one person happy may not be right for another person. You can't fit a round peg in a square hole; you shouldn't force yourself into roles for which you are not suited.

The End. Time for Finals week.

Beautiful December

Each morning I peak out my blinds, afraid to find snow, and almost every day this semester I have been able to thank God for keeping me warm, and out of the snow.

Does anyone remember how miserable last year was? Becca?? I know you do.

Lets all enjoy this lovely Christmas season, and to my pleasure, a lack of fluffy white stuff.

Done and Done

Many of you have already heard the end to this story but I'll give my account. My senior year of high school, I became interested in Dental Hygiene school. The summer after high school and the following summer, I worked as a dental assistant to get some experience and make sure that is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I came up to BYU in the fall of 2007 and have been working on my prerequisites since then. I applied to the Utah College of Dental Hygiene in July of 2008. I was called back for an interview, which took place last Friday. I went into the interview with low expectations; this field is very competitive and many girls apply several times to be accepted. I also knew that once the interview was over, it would be a month to three months before I knew if I had been accepted or not. The interview went well, I met with the two deans of the school and they asked me a ton of questions. I felt like the interview was going really well. After two hours of interviewing, it was time to go home. As I gathered my stuff together, the head of admissions stopped me, told me they were impressed and didn't want to make me wait any longer, and then she handed me an acceptance letter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy, SO relieved, grateful, nervous, and about a billion other things. I've been waiting for that letter for 2 years, and I finally got it. THE END

How is it December already?????

I cannot believe it is December 2nd, and the semester is almost over!!! November was just so busy it flew right by. A couple weeks ago Ben and I went to the Carrie Underwood concert and it was SOOO good!! I LOVE her :)

All of the roommates and I took dates and we got dressed up and went to Happy Sumo, which in my opinion is the best sushi around here. Maybe the best sushi i've ever had.

Amber and ben did some great bonding as they sang some indian tribal songs and played the guitar together :)

That friday ben and I drove home to Arizona (and by that I mean Ben drove while I slept) where I spent the BEST week and a half for Thanksgiving break. When I arived in Arizona around 10, all of the lights in my house were off and my family (including Becca) were pretending to throw me a surprise party haha. I knew I was home when i walked in and saw that Becca was wearing a tall T and baggy socks :)

The whole week was filled with family and friends. I tried to see everyone, but I still missed a few people.

Thanksgiving was wonderful, I made stuffed mushrooms which were a hit :) Everyone in our immediate family was able to come to dinner, and a few friends as an extra plus!

The day after Thanksgiving the family and a few friends went to Tombstone Arizona and Cartchner Caverns, a long but enjoyable day.

On Sunday, Teddy's boyfriend Matt, who is from Provo, and a couple of my girlfriends from high school drove back up into the bitter cold of Utah.

I really miss my friends and family in Arizona, but I definitely needed to come home because finals are approaching and I have ten thousand things to do! And hey, only 17 days till Christmas break right?

Halloween Bash

Hello everyone, it is now november and i just cannot believe it. School is CRAZY. I have 4 really important mid-terms this week and finals are coming all too fast if you ask me. But that also means my trips home are coming soon! Becca is in New Jersey, and i'm thinking she's had her fun but now she needs to go home so we are on the same time zone and we can talk more!!! Teddy came up to visit me this weekend (well, she is visiting matt but i get to see her too) and we have had so much fun.

a lovely afternoon picnic, this is on november first and its still not snowing!!

The indian and the hippie

So on Halloween i went to a married people party with teddy megan and andrew. we carved pumpkins, and i ate a lot of popcorn :)

I also went to my ward party with my ninja friend :)

and we also bobbed for apples and i won!!

Fill the Time

I was tagged by tara.... so here we go!!

4 random things I love about my husband:
... i dont have one

4 jobs I've had
1. Teaching piano lessons
2. Dental assisting
3. Dental assisting again...
4. I've only had 3 jobs haha

4 movies I have watched more than once
1. Hairspray
2. Lars and the Real Girl
3. A beautiful mind
4. Across the Universe

4 TV shows I watch
1. What not to wear
2. ANTM
3. SYTYCD
4. any show on HGTV

4 places I have been and loved
1. NEW YORK! I want to go back NOW
2. Rocky Point, Mexico. The trip this summer was SO much fun
3. New Port California, I love taking trips with friends here.
4. My cabin, such a good place to relax.

4 of my favorite foods
1. wow, I make the BEST red potatoes.
2. Salad from Costa Vida in arizona or Cafe Rio in Utah
3. Fish tacos from gecko grill
4. SUSHI and crab wantons

4 places I would like to visit
1. Italy
2. New york again
3. Australia
4. England

4 things I am looking forward to in the coming year
1. becoming an aunt!!!!!!
2. moving home for summer and being with my BECCA, and other arizona friends and family
3. maybe getting into dental hygiene school... cross my fingers.
4. ben's mission!

4 people I tag:
Megs
Teddy
Lindsey
Estee

Bike crashes, Kitchen mold, and a look at my Apartment

The other day, Jacie and I went to open lab for Anatomy. I rode my bike up to campus and met her there. When we were through studying, we weren't sure what to do to get home because i had my bike and she had walked to school. We decided to ride together. First I stood up and rode while she sat on the seat holding onto my waist. Then we crashed when the chain fell off, and the two of us fell awkwardly to the ground with a lot of people around. We laid there laughing forever and people stared at us. After that Jacie took a try at peddling and we made it all the way home!!!! What an adventure.

In my mocrobiology lab, we talk a lot about mold, microbes, viruses etc. We do a lot of fun experiments, and this week we were able to take a agar plate home and a sterile swab stick to test a surface in our homes. I decided to test our kitchen counter. Basically I swabbed my counter top, smeared it on the agar (it started out CLEAR.) Here is my agar plate, after 4 days of growth. EEEEEEEEWWW

I realized haven't put any pictures up of my apartment... so here they are!

This is my lovely living room, bishop's office chairs and all.

And here is my kitchen

And my bathroom

Last but definitely not least, my front patio that looks like it belongs in Apache Junction... (trash, piles of wood, portable bbq, dead house plant, deflated innertubes, and bikes.)

My First "Phone Miracle"

Everyone who knows me well knows that I have a bad history with phones. Last semester I went through three phones... and finally ended up with a great phone that I love. On Thursday, I was riding my bike up to campus. Not wanting to do the whole crosswalk thing, I decided to ride in a street lane. I was just coming out of an intersection when all of the sudden I felt my phone slide out of my pocket and tumble into the street behind me. I quickly pulled my bike to the side of the street and turned around only to witness my phone be run over by a car... that's right. A CAR RAN MY PHONE OVER! For some reason my first instinct was to dash into the street /intersection and grab my phone. I was too surprised when i picked my phone up. It just so happens that my new phone is the most durable thing in the world and only suffered a few minor scratches and yes, it lives!! How in the world does a phone get run over by a car and survive, no damage??? All I know is i am SO happy.

Getting Things Started in Utah

To start my year off in Utah, my mom came back up with me and helped (more like i helped her) get everything of mine out of storage and back into the old apartment. I couldn't have done it without her, specially because everytime we came to a heavy box I either let her get it, or attempted to carry it myself when she would see the look of distress and pain on my face and take it from me. She is strong; I am not. We had a lot of fun while she was here, and i felt like we were on one of those home make-over shows on HGTV, cause she transformed what was once a smelly, damp, dark, and depressingly plain apartment into a place I am happy to call my home. The picture above is me and mom at Thanksgiving Point, a few hours before she left Provo.

Last week I had quite the adventure. My morning started off with the BYU Football game. BYU has such a good team that I find the games rather boring... two weeks in a row the final score was 48 ish to 0, BYU. After the game, my friend Tyler Pack and I went to India fest at a Hindu temple in Spanish Fork. It was SOOO awesome!! We sat on the floor in their temple and chanted with them "Hare Krishna..." We had so much fun. the picture above is on the second floor of the temple.

Standing too close for comfort to the Llamas... The one just to the right of me is about to spit.

This is the temple, and a crowd of people watching some dancing.

This weekend Ben came to visit me. We had so much fun. The picture above is the two of us at the farmers market at Pioneer Park in Provo. We went and bought fruit at the stands and all that fun stuff.

This is the DELICIOUS veggie tin foil dinner that I made! Ben and I went with a group of people, Ashley Hansen invited me, up to the Alpine loop where we had a campfire and made dinners and smores.

One of the nights Ben was here we got some acrylic paint and canvas at Walmart. We started off with the baby stuff, just some water color paintings, but the next day we both worked on our first master pieces. These are our attempts and being painters, Ben hasn't quite finished his but they turned out pretty good!

Ben and I in my living room, I put this up cause you can kind of see my living room. Its cute! One of these days I'll get around to posting pictures of the apartment on here.

Andrew and Megan are two of Teddy's really good friends, who I am also friends with. The four of us went to Happy Sumo and ate the BEST SUSHI EVER. Andrew and Megs are so hilarious i love hanging out with them. They were so nice to let us stay there on Saturday since the boys Ben was staying with the other nights were out of town. While at there house, we all took political compass tests and watched funny videos about Sarah Palin on youtube :)

This is my roommate Laci and I about to go up to the temple.

And this is Jacie, Laci and I at the temple.