I hate Monday's

This morning was pretty awful in more than just the usual Monday awfulness...so as a way to make myself feel better, I've decided to compile a list of all the things I have in my life that make days like these bearable.

• I was not killed by a suicide bomber.
• I live in the United States which is the best country to live in ever!
• I have a really awesome roommate who will look through the pile that is my desk to find things for me that I've forgotten
• I have two wonderful roommates with cars who will pick me up after work
• I have another wonderful roommate who will figuratively pick me up if she knows I'm feeling down
• My sisters are basically the coolest people ever. The four of us are basically fantastic. (same goes for Robert)
  
• My parents love me so much! They do SOOOO much for me
• I have a kick butt extended family! I love that we live so close to each other. I know they love and support me and I can't wait till the next large holiday (or hopefully sooner) so we can all get together again!
• Although my far-away friends are dwindling in numbers, and even though we don't talk as much as we should, I know they would totally have my back if I ever needed them
• "I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know who I am. I know God’s plan. I’ll follow him in faith. I believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ. I’ll honor his name. I’ll do what is right; I’ll follow his light. His truth I will proclaim."
• I am soo excited to live with Kabria in Roman Gardens in the spring! It's not Encinitas, or any where close to California, but we're going to have sooo much fun!
• I am even more excited to roadtrip home with her in June so I can show her all the cool places I love! And also for me to go to those places again...In n Out, Disneyland, Balboa park, the beach, mexican food....
• My best friend Christine is a blessing to me. She's helped me through so much and I hope I've done the same for her.
  
• I am from California! Most people only get to visit there...I live there!!!!
• I go to a school where running into people you knew 8 years ago is a common occurrence. Even if you weren't best friends once upon a time, seeing them will always lift your spirits
• I go to a school where most of the people have the same beliefs and standards as me.
• As much as I hate to admit it, I think Utah is growing on me...sometimes I even think its almost pretty. And all the outdoorsy things I want to do are super close, its a bit more of a drive if I wanted to go hiking in the woods or camping back home.
• The classes I take for my major are 75% male...one day I will use that to my advantage.
• I am able to go to college! That is huge!
• I can (for the most part) afford to support myself for food and housing. No debt!
• I have a nephew and he IS the cutest thing in the world.
• I could go on forever....

After such a good day, I can't not write about it!

Really, my good day started Tuesday night. I was sick all weekend and by Tuesday I basically couldn't do anything but want to sleep. So I called my home teacher to come give me a blessing. Not only has it helped me get MUCH better, but it answered a bunch of things that have been stressing me out since the beginning of the semester (like its fine that I switched majors). But then Wednesday happened and my really good day was put on hold while I went to school and work for 16 hours (not that it was a bad day, just that it wasn't a good day, it was just a day).

So back to Thursday! I meant to wake up by 8 so I could get to the temple by 9:30 to do baptisms, but that didn't happen. However, I was determined to go and not allow my laziness to overcome my desire to do something good spiritually for myself. I ended up getting to the temple by 11:30, was out by 1:30 and, of course, just barely missed the bus to campus. I got to enjoy the brisk walk to campus and once I got there I picked up my W-2 form, some Subway and then caught the 2:15 back to Wyview with Emily M. Once I got home and ate, I thought I should probably get some homework done, but the third problem in I decided that it was too hard to do alone, called this boy Randy to see if he wanted to work on it with me, and decided my time would be best spent by baking until I could properly focus. A little after 5 Randy came over and we tackled that Econ homework in two and a half hours (considering the last homework took at least 3.5, that's quite a feat!). After he left, I decided I had too many cookies and had to get rid of some. Then I remembered I had yet to do my Visiting Teaching, and since I have no time in the next couple of days to try to coordinate schedules with three other people, I decided to settle on writing both of my Visiting Teachees cute notes and a bag of cookies each. Once I had chatted with one and clipped the other's goodies to their clipboard I still wanted to give some to Warren and Brandon who had given me the blessing on Tuesday. This led to me talking to boys for two hours! That never happens, especially on a Tuesday/Thursday when I stay at home and am lucky if I talk to people other than my roommaters. So that means I talked to a total of 8 guys, because Josh came over for a little today too. Bahaha, it's sad that I think that is a large number, but even though I'm surrounded by guys in my econ classes, I'm lucky if I have a full on conversation with more than one. I'm working on it! And not sad...something not that negative.

Weekend update

Sorry that last post was ridiculously long!

I went on a semi real adventure Saturday morning! G and I decided to hike the Y. I love hiking, even if I don't do it very often. Most def one of my favorite things to do and definitely my favorite out of doors activity.

Saturday was also S's birthday. To celebrate we made Oreo Balls, saw The Dutchess, went grocery shopping, and watched The Muppet's Christmas Carol. I made her a Black Forest cake that turned out better than the first one I made which you can see in the movie titled "Cake" S uploaded 2 months ago on Facebook.

This is the pretty one:
Fast Sunday's are really good things. I enjoy them a lot.
Today was the First Presidency Christmas Message. It was beautiful! I love the First Presidency.
My cousin Lily got baptized today! I'm so proud of her! It will be hard for her to be the only active member of her family. Hopefully she'll be a good example for her younger brothers.

And...break

Thanksgiving's with my dad's side of the family are enormous! They are always really fun and there are always tons of cousins to talk to and play with. When we were growing up there were probably like 80 people at this Girl Scout House in Torrance that we've gone to since I can remember, maybe even before. (I should probably point out that these holidays generally consist of the Van Wigg clan, my grandmom, her (8?) sisters, all of their children, grandchildren, and, in my grandmom's case, great-grandson, Lucas). So you can imagine my slight disappointment when everything I heard about being planned for Thanksgiving was just our family and the Whites (my greataunt, Marilyn, and her family). You can also imagine my great surprise and joy when I discovered that, in fact, Thanksgiving was to be at the Girl Scout House with about 40 people.

Since Wednesday wasn't that eventful and I didn't see Lucas, there really isn't much to update about, just that much family time was had...and In-N-Out.

So yah, Thanksgiving was a lot of people, mostly the cousins I talk to, too! I love catching up with everyone and my cousin Chris was there! We see him, like, once a year, if that, because he's working on his PhD at MIT, and it was good to see him. Lucas was cute as ever and the red-headed cousins (Ryan and Bradley), who are around Emily's age, liked playing with him a lot. There was tons of good food and lots of hugs to go around.

Friday was the best day ever!!! I drove the 1.5-2 hours home which was fun once my mom stopped criticizing my driving. Then, because Kaitlynn decided to go to Six Flags and be a 7th wheel, and Emily invited friends over to play wii I went to Erin's house to play with Lucas and spend time with Erin and Robert. Lucas is the cutest thing ever!!! He made me read like 10 books to him, 3 of them at least 4 times...so fun! Erin and I made this good apple crisp thing because we didn't want to waste apples that were about to go bad. Then they took me out to Black Angus (I'm salivating just remembering!). After that I went to see Australia with Sharon! Any movie where Hugh Jackman takes his shirt off is automatically a fantastic movie!

Saturday Kaitlynn, Ami, Ami's boyfriend and I went to this really good mexican restaurant on the 101, kind of pricey but Kait and I split something so it was OK. My mom and I went shopping after wards and I got some cute shoes and a couple cute sweaters. As a celebratory Becca's going away again, we went to Buca Di Bepop, ordered way too much food (like try 3 meals worth for the whole family), and met Kait's BF Nick who is really tall, skinny and we very much approve of. I was afraid cause his older sister had the complete opposite views of Kaitlynn (and our whole family) but he ended up having really similar views.

Then Sunday I came back to Provo...and started counting down till Christmas Break!

10 Things I'm Thankful for (in the order of whatever I think of first, not whatever I'm most grateful for):
1. Having parents who see me coming home for a few days around Thanksgiving as the only option.
2. Not having family in Utah. While this is sort of a thankful and not thankful for thing, it makes me going home for Thanksgiving more of a sure thing.
3. Lucas! Good job Erin and Robert
4. Knowing where I am (and everybody else is) going after this life. eg the Plan of Happiness/Atonement
5. My Christmases/Thanksgivings being warm and sunny, not white and cold.
6. My sisters. I know everyone says "Your poor dad" but I've never seen it that way. I don't know what we would do with a brother. I went with my mom to an ultrasound while she was pregnant with Emily and the Technician asked me what I wanted, and instead of wanting the obvious brother, I'm fairly certain I said I wanted a sister, even though I already had 2. I could have it mixed up, I was only 4 at the time, but I wouldn't trade any of my sisters for a brother. I do however, like brother-in-laws, well the one that I have.
7. Forever Families!!! :) <3 sort of goes with #4
8. Being at BYU. I know I got my acceptance letter almost 2 years ago, but sometimes I'm still baffled at how I managed to get in. It's just a testament to how I'm supposed to be here, meeting the people I've met/will meet, taking these uber hard classes and furthering my education of temporal and celestial things.
9. My really good friends, far and near, that I know I can count on no matter what. While I don't have as many as Emily, I could be (and have been) a lot worse off friends wise than I am now. Having friends who not only know what my standards are , but keep most (if not all) of them, too, is nice. Even my few friends that don't keep my standards, as long as they respect mine we're good.
10. Baking. While I might spend more time, calories and money on it than I should, it's a great release for me and I love developing my talent in it. I wouldn't want to do it for a living, but its a great, tasty hobby!

There are more...but it's late and thats good for now I think.

Sleep and I aren't friends

What is in the back seat of your car right now?
Probably trash, but since I haven't seen it in 3 months, who knows?

Name 3 people who you talked to today.
Nadin, Kabria, Michelle (in that order)

What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
Sleeping too little may raise risk of heart disease

What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Watching "That 70's Show"

What is your favorite board game?
LIFE

Have you ever been to a strip club?
Does Vegas count? cause the whole thing is kind of a strip club

What is the last thing you yelled aloud?
"YES CAN WE PLEASE!!!" When Genevieve asked if we could hold hands during apartment prayer. She was joking. I wasn't.

What are you wearing right now?
My tree sweater, jeans, and a yellow shirt

What was the last thing you ate?
Club Crackers while catching up on my shows (90210, Privileged)

Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
Nope, the last clothes I bought were for my Halloween costume at the DI

What's the last sporting event you watched?
All the way through? probably a Lacrosse game my Junior year of High School when I liked a guy on the team.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
France, or New Zealand

Who is the last person you sent a message on facebook?
Mel about getting the girls from last year together

Ever go camping?
All the time when we lived an hour away from Yosemite!

Have you ever lost anything down a toilet?
No, but we would unceremoniously flush fish down the toilette when they died

Do you use smiley faces on the computer a lot?
I wouldn't say a lot. But when it's appropriate, yes

Are you someone's best friend?
As far as I know

What are you doing tomorrow?
taking care of Genevieve while she recuperates from losing her wisdom

Where is your mom right now?
On a two week cruise to Hawaii with my dad.

Look to your right, what do you see?
My closet, my purse, some shoes, my hamper overflowing with love

What color is your watch?
I used to have this sweet zebra stripped one, but I lost it going through security at the SLC airport. So right now my watch is see through.

What do you think of when you think of Australia?
The Opera House

Do you have a dog?
No.

Last person you talked to on the phone?
My dad! Last night, before he left!

Have you met anyone famous?
Yes! Paige Davis from Trading Spaces, and Erin Chambers (she was in Don't Look Under The Bed and The Singles 2nd Ward.)

Any plans today?
Sleep.

Are you happy?
For the most part

What are you doing right now!?
Thinking about sleeping

Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
My rain boots! Or I would if it rained all the time

Are you jealous of anyone?
Anyone living/in a warmer climate than me

What time is it?
1:32 AM

Do any of your friends have children?
My older sister has a 2 and 1/2 year old!

What do you usually do during the day?
Avoid school like the plague, while trying to figure out why I'm not doing better

Do you hate anyone right now?
Nope

Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
Absolutely

How many kids do you want to have?
Five at least! The average Utah family is 6. Good thing I won't live in Utah! We'll be above average!

How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
Two Decades

How did you get one of your scars?
You know how at some playgrounds they have giant tubes that hold up the set? They usually have caps on them, but one day my chin and the top of one with out a cap became buddies! I only started crying after I realized I was bleeding.

*AHEM*

FOOTBALL IS OVER

...OK, OK, I know the season isn't over, but all the home games are. Which means no more Saturdays taken over by a sporting event that I don't care about!!! Also, basketball season is starting, and while I might care about basketball less than football (kind of impossible I know!), at least when I work in the Marriot Center, it's warm...and way less stressful.

In Other News:
We went to see Wall-E on Saturday (it was playing on campus). Seeing it again reminds me of how much I LOVE that movie!!!

Also, this weekend, something happened that reaffirmed my belief that EVERYONE should wear a Claddagh (Irish Wedding ring). Especially at BYU. Because, sure you can tell (most of the time) when someone is married, but for the most part, unless it comes up in everyday conversation, or you facebook stalk them, there's really no way to tell if a boy is in a relationship or not!

For those of you who don't know what a claddagh looks like heres a picture (or you can just look at my right hand).

So you can fully understand the importance of this ring, here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

The way that a Claddagh ring is worn on the hand is usually intended to convey the wearer's romantic availability, or lack thereof. Traditionally, if the ring is on the right hand with the design facing outward and away from the body, this indicates that the person wearing the ring is not in any serious relationship, and may in fact be single and looking for a relationship. When worn on the right hand but with the design facing inward toward the body, this indicates the person wearing the ring is in a relationship, or that "someone has captured their heart". A Claddagh worn on the left hand ring finger, facing outward away from the body, generally indicates that the wearer is engaged. When the ring is on the left hand ring finger and facing inward toward the body, it generally means that the person wearing the ring is married.

"Hug Me! I'm A Tree"

That's what my sign says.



Right there ---->

Cause that's what I was for Halloween. A Tree. Once I find a REALLY good picture of me in my costume, I'll find a reason to post it on here. If I could claim this brilliant idea as my own, I would. But being a tree was originally my youngest sister, Emily's, idea. The sign was Genevieve's.

Actual Halloween was ho-hum, except for the seeing Sweeney Todd part (even that could have been better thanks to the rain). But the night before was really good, thanks to Kabria! Her ward had a dance with their neighbor ward. I got a bunch of hugs, met a couple cute boys, and Kabria actually DANCED! Which is really big news, cause she doesn't at these kinds of dances, meaning really any kind.

To the real reason I'm posting:
Today was a pretty darn good day!
- I made blueberry muffins for my breakfast (for this morning and the next week); and they turned out better than my cookies from last night (hallelujah).
- I got help on my econ homework from my TA who then told me I was perfect (too bad he's married) - oh and by perfect he was referring to my econ abilities.
- We watched part two of Colonel Chabert in my French class (which is becoming one of my favorite movies!).
- After reviewing the econ homework AGAIN with one of the guys from my study group (the single one nonetheless!) for 15 minutes, then waiting for the bus for half an hour, I checked the mail and found a package waiting for me in our mailbox!!!! I had no idea I was even getting a package! It was beautiful and full of candy, cute cards, and an adorable picture of my nephew! Also a box of crackers with pictures of Michael Phelps on it.
So I'm really happy and have A LOT to do

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!You wonder where I get it from...