Oh what an interesting, offensive, immature, painful, and wonderful life...pretty funny too

Well life is just grand. School is almost done and I am precisely 10 days away from sunshine, sandy feet, and an endless supply of pina colodas. The only things keeping me away from such blissful goodness are three exams and one abnormally large research paper. Seein's how I want to get done with this crap as quickly as I can, I'm gonna keep this post short. Just to get you up to date...hehe...date, yes.

Sooooooooooooooo we had a ward date night last week. Let's just say that was a rather interesting experience. The guy was great but we just didn't quite connect. For instance, he got totally offended when I jokingly said that I didn't believe in hand sanitizer because I grew up on a farm and had a strong immune system. You'd think I just told him that I killed his favorite childhood dog because I didn't believe dogs should be pets or something. Ya, I had a hard time recovering from that one but we managed to push such a sore (and apparently touchy) subject aside. Since then, whenever someone offers me hand sanitizer I just take it with a grateful smile and keep my mouth shut. No need to be going around offending everybody. I still don't believe in that crap though.

Oh but hey! It's time for....drum roll....drum roll..."Ashley's spaz moment of the night!" haha. Are you ready for this? K, so when we were at the church, playing kickball with the other dates, I took a quick break to go to the bathroom. Having the first date jitters, I walked into the bathroom rather quickly. Upon reaching and entering the first stall, I began to close the door as I turned around..still rather quickly. After a serious miscalculation from my peripheral viewpoint, I swung the door directly into my face and just about took my whole nose off. Thankfully no one else was in or near the area, because I let out a yell as my eyes began to water and my mind flooded with sheer panic thinking that I'd just broken my nose. Don't worry, I didn't. It took a few breaths for me to realize that I was going to live and that the nose was A-O-K. Sure had a nasty headache for the rest of the night though.

On a good note, during our group segment of the date, we had a putting contest and I beat 'em all!! haha. Even in the absence of my nifty two-ball putter. I was quite proud of myself.

Some friends and I went and watched "You Again" at the dollar theater on Friday. GREAT movie. I'd never heard of it before but it was pretty good. I highly recommend it to girls who had issues with other girls in high school. Funny. Clever. and Cute.

On sunday, Tommie (aka Martha Stewart) and Ryan (aka Chef Boyardee) taught me how to make home-made oreos, real bread, and stir-fry. We ate them in that order too. haha. It was pretty sweet. I was so proud of myself though! I can kind of cook! well...with correct and proper supervision of course. Then Tommie taught me how to knit. Still workin on that. But hey, I don't think I've ever had so much domestication in one day. It was amazing.

Then yesterday, we went to IKEA! It was puuurty cool. Though I must warn you. Upon entering the kids' section, you'll notice an optional entrance to your left that's a cute little 3-foot high tunnel with fun streamers hanging down. Yes it may look like it would be fun to bend down and walk through it, while feeling like a giddy child again. Do not be deceived by its innocent appearance!..... If you so happen to be foolish enough to walk through it, you will obviously bend down and walk through the streamers with pure joy and laughter. But mark my words, the joy lasts for only a few seconds. Due to your overstimulated excitement, you will more than likely miscalculate how much further you have to walk before you can lift your head up and resume regular standing posture. In other words, you're gonna jump the gun...big time. If this results, you'll shoot up with a silly smile on your face, hit the ceiling with a thunderous head-bonk, come close to nearly caving in the back of your skull, feel your heart stop, lose your silly smile, and then fall directly to your knees. While that sounds bad, the worst part will actually be when you look up (as you're massaging the crap out of the back of your head) and see six adult bystanders looking at you like you just got hit by a car. Recovery? very unlikely. Just get up, laugh like you meant to do it, and go hide in the modeled walk-in closet (that you appear to be very interested in) until they all leave. Don't worry, you're friends will still claim you. And even better friends will offer you an Ibuprofen with a swig of their Mt. Dew.

NOT that I would know anything about such an unfortunate event. Sounds like it would be pretty humiliating. I just can't even imagine....

Oh, random silly moment of the day, my biology teacher cracked a joke that really wasn't all that humorous. Of course, he laughed, because that's what teachers do when they think they're hilarious. But when he laughed, he totally snorted. hahaha. And he wear's a mike so the whole class heard it. I've been laughing about it all day. Yeah, I know, it's really not THAT funny but I tell you what, it totally made my day.

Ummm...when did september end???

Holy crap. Where did my life go?! Seriously time is flying at warped speed right now. I don't know if I should like it or not. I'm thinking it's the latter because the term 'warped speed' originates from Star Trek and I HATE Star Trek! ...sorry Dad. haha. That show drives me nuts. But anyways...I don't like this feeling that I'm flying by the seat of my pants. Now don't get me wrong, I'm loving life. I just wish things would get kicked down a notch. Oh well, can't do nothing about it but whine.

Well seein's how I shouldn't even be on here right now because I have three exams this week and a vocab quiz in the morning that I should be studying for, I'm gonna keep this short and sweet.

My life in the last month...

-Many funny stories...a number of them would be blog worthy but I just don't have the time nor the creativity right now. To name just a few of my favorites: "The Parking Lot Break-up outside my bedroom window". Probably the most pathetic and hilarious bf/gf interaction I've ever seen. "Having a 20 dollar bill and not being able to afford 4 water bottles at the gas station". Let's just say I had a little blonde moment. Dad got a kick out of it and so did the cashier.

-Trip to Cambria with Mom, Dad, and Grandma R. Had a fabulous time! Thanks for the grand adventure!

-Deer Hunt with the guys. Super fun, super cold, and super sparse (as far as bucks go). I loved being up on top of the mountains though. Even though I was terrified of mountain lions and such like the whole time. Especially during the night while we were 'sleeping' in the tent. I totally thought I could hear a bear outside so I was just freaking out a little bit....then I realized it was Jed snoring. Yeah, he and Dad had a nice little duet going on all night. Jake will back me up on that one.

-Attended a String Quartet concert for my music class. I was one of the first in there when the doors opened and it was general admission (sit wherever you want) so I bolted upstairs to the balcony section and got the front seat. It was awesome. I felt so cool and like I was filthy rich while looking over the commoner crowd below. Oh and the concert was great too!

-Went to the student health fair on campus. I was super excited about this...pretty big disappointment. Just a bunch of vendors trying to get your money basically. I should've known. And of course all the booths are handing out free candy as an incentive for people to stop and hear their whole schpill. Did anyone else catch a problem with this?? HEALTH Fair .... and free CANDY everywhere... ??? I didn't either. Hey I'm a college kid; I grabbed as much free crap as I could. Oh and word to the wise, just skip the Planned Parenthood table. Their handing out free stuff in wrappers but it's definitely not candy. But hey, there were actually some good things there. I got my blood sugar tested and it's normal. Yay. So that's good news I guess. Then I filled out a depression questionnaire and according to the results I'm happy as a clam. :)

-Decided to take on the p90x challenge! Brave? Ambitious? Stupid? I don't know yet. Today is day number 1 and I'm going to do the workout right after I'm done here. I'll keep you posted on how it goes...

Get in shape girl!....tomorrow...no today!

Okay so yesterday I was so pumped about a newly organized life where I'd fill every ounce of time with productivity. I'd get up early and use every ounce of daylight for good. Yep I was pretty excited about life. So excited that it was hard to fall asleep last night. I was thinking of all the good things I was going to be involved in. It kind of felt like Christmas Eve! Well friends, it was no jolly Christmas morning. The only gift I got was from Mother Nature. Yes, all that previous excitement went straight down the tube when I rolled over to turn my alarm clock off and felt the cramps eeking their way into my body. All I wanted to do was stay in bed. But I braved the day! I was actually more productive than most days in the past, but still wasn't as effective as I would've liked to be. But hey, I'm giving myself a pat on the back anyways. I feel pretty good for doing as much as I did while feeling like a bloated cow who just wanted to go home, get in her pjs, grab a gallon of ice-cream, and watch a sappy chick flick. Because of the simple fact that I didn't give into temptation and kept my focus primarily on schoolwork, I'll consider it a productive day.

In relation to this dilemma, I realized that life is ALWAYS going to throw you crazy curve balls, whether they be random or monthly occurrences. Because of this, it's easy to criticize yourself and say you "just didn't do enough today" because you maybe didn't accomplish all the things that you had previously scheduled. I once was a pro at this...a few years back I used to write out huge/highly unrealistic to-do lists of all the things I wanted to accomplish in a certain period of time. Obviously I could never finish them all. Either something would distract me from doing them or I would just get intimidated with the overwhelming demand that I had voluntarily placed on myself; I would avoid it because I knew I couldn't do it all so why even try? and that would leave me feeling like a complete failure. If any of you are guilty of this, STOP IT! It is so unrealistic, unfair to yourself, and actually less productive.

But at the same time, don't jump to the other extreme of not setting any goals or forming lists of some sort. How the heck would we ever progress if we didn't push ourselves every now and then? So that's why I suggest forming a small list of To-Do's. If your list is over ten things, shave it in half. Right now I'm focusing on six specific goals I want to work on at least 5 days a week. I'd like to do all six every day, but knowing myself and my history, I realize that some days just aren't going to allow that. So for now, if I get at least 3 of the 6 done in a day, I will consider it a good and productive day. Once I get comfortable with doing any 3 everyday and the idea has developed into a habit, I can then proceed to bumping it up to 4 a day, etc.

So yes, today was in fact productive because I accomplished three things on my pick-six list. I feel pretty satisfied and yes I'm still excited about life! Although I really could go for some ice-cream right now...

Stay tuned...for awesomeness

So I know we've all been awaiting this...Yes, my life is about to get really cool. Just to list off a few things: deer hunt, California for Fall Break, Cancun, possible spring break trip, and then an amazing trip in May. This will be the mother of all cool trips. And I'm not handing out the details just yet. Otherwise my "stay tuned" title wouldn't be very applicable. So get ready! This blog is about to actually get kinda interesting.

Oh and I had a pretty good week too. I'm finally getting into the rhythm of school. For the most part. I had three midterms this week which I believe all went fairly well. Taking the Bio exam was pretty fun due to the fact that one of the students buckled under the pressure and ran out of the room bawling her eyes out. Sad. But fairly entertaining as well. She was one of those girls who has drama written all over her face. So that makes it okay to laugh.

Oh and this guy at the library tried to get my phone number but by the time we were at that point of the conversation, he had already given himself 7 strikes so obviously I turned him down.
It was a good self-esteem boost for the day though cuz I felt like crap. So thank you random stranger for making me feel that although I wasn't on top of my game, I was still attractive to some. Even if they are acid-partiers who plan to join the peace corps because they have no idea what else to do with their life.

Last Saturday I went and shot guns for a ward activity. We blew up an old TV and a watermelon. That was cool. After that, we drove clear back from the West side of the Salt Lake and headed up to Park City for another activity. Yeah crazy I know. I, Ashley Robison, went to not only one single's ward activity, but two! On the same day! Just a brief history tip: In past wards, it was a miracle for me to make it to two activities in the same semester. But yeah it was pretty fun. We rode a ski lift which I was kinda scared about. Obviously I survived. And we did a little hike up to a 'lake' that had the similar resemblance to a slightly oversized puddle. I think it's crowd limit was three tadpoles and a couple ducks...Ah heck, I can't complain too much though. It was so nice to be up in the mountains. And I wasn't even scared about mountain lions or bears or anything!....okay I lied. I was just a LITTLE concerned for my well-being. But not the usual paranoid freak. Let's call it a bit of progress, eh?

Just keep swimmin' just keep swimmin'

Okay so school is startin to get a little overwhelming. I'm catching up in a few classes but strange as it may seem, that means I'm falling further behind in others. But it's all good. I think we're making a little progress here and there. I really do enjoy most of my classes and I'm learning some really cool stuff. Although, there is this one class that is becoming more and more irritating all the time. It's called Study Resources and is required for the Anthropology major. Basically it's just a stupid little one credit class nightmare that I consider a waste of my time, money, and energy. Let me make this clear...I HAAATE this class!!!
But don't get me wrong. It could be very useful for some....like scared and stupid little freshman. But you know, for us more 'advanced' and 'mature' students it's more of a burden then a benefit. Seriously, it's bad. Luckily it comes around only once a week. Sad to say one of those horrific occurances was today.

The class is sort of taught by the Anthropology head of faculty and I tell ya what, she is a piece of work. I don't mean to be rude, but she looks a lot like a cross between Ezma from the fabulous flick The Emperor's New Groove (omitting the purple hue) and one of the skeletal structures from the forensics classroom. She always complains about how the Anthropology Department never gets any funding from the U and I pretty much believe it because it looks like the woman hasn't been able to afford groceries for the past year and a half. I guess all she can get by with is her hippie sandles, nasty sleeveless tops, and a Clif bar every now and then. And I'm sorry but she just wasn't meant to teach a class of college students. She is rather disorganized and has handwriting no better than a ten year old boy.

What I'm really getting at is class was pretty rough today. She spent 45 horrendous minutes talking about study habits. Sure this kind of stuff would be useful but the criteria was so elementary it almost brought me to tears. I wouldn't have been surprised if she pulled out the alphabet and had us recite it all together. The class was drier than Flowell dirt after a windstorm. And I had just gotten out of my Biology class before so while she's blabbing on and on I'm thinking to myself..."I bet a deer could die, decompose, develop back into basic nutrients, grow into bacteria, photosynthesize and become a flower at a faster rate then this class is going..." The whole process of Life could probably come and go before she'd even got her first point across.

I think you get my drift. This class is kind of lame. I'm sure I'll find a way to survive though. :)

Well...I got fired

So I guess my name-tag distributing and collecting skills weren't quite up to par for my institute class. To tell ya the truth, I'm quite bummed, but it's really kinda funny actually. I played the piano for the opening song and afterward Brother Call demonstrated his concern that I'm pulling double duty with the name-tags AND piano. Yeah, I know, that's a pretty heavy load: Pushing a few ivory keys and passing out pieces of paper. I was exhausted within the first five minutes. Heck I can't even type very well cuz my fingers are recovering in slings right now. Sorry for the sarcasm. Some people don't enjoy it. So he asked if someone else would take my job as name-tag distributor/collector. I tried to throw out threatening looks to my fellow classmates, warning them that if they raised even a finger, they would lose their whole hand after class. I wanted that job dang it! My method seemed to be working and I began to relax, thinking I could keep my noble title. But then the scumbag behind me (where my threatening looks didn't quite reach) had the audacity to raise his hand and so generously take the job. Thief.

Oh well. Life goes on I guess.

Soooo I moved into my new home yesterday! I'm so excited. It's gonna be pretty sweet. Mom came and inspected (snooped) the whole place and was thinking the whole setup was a bit sketchy. She started asking if we could go look at other apartments across the street. I quickly informed her of two problems with her proposition: 1) I had my heart set on this one. And I told the girl I wanted it. 2) The ones across the street were for senior citizens. I mean, I know I'm getting old these days; and I'd LOVE to have a jazzy....but I think I'll wait a few years.

I loved having mom there though and she helped a ton. I'm sure we looked pretty cool hauling that mattress around...especially when we ran into the cement wall with it and nearly fell on our faces. haha. you kinda just had to be there. she took me shopping for food and other necessities. We went to Costco first and while we were checking out, I looked at the couple behind us and did a double take. well more like a triple take. I thought to myself..."wow, that guy looks like Elder Holland. interesting........ah! oh my gosh it IS Elder Holland. But he's in old guy clothes...? in JEANS?!? nah, that can't be him." So then i lean over to Mom inconspicuously and ask "is that guy behind us Elder Holland?" She looks over, stares for a couple minutes, and says "my heck, I think it is." Then I say "oh my gosh! how cool is that??!!?! yeah, our stunned amazement wasn't obvious at all. (as I look over to his wife who is just smiling and totally knows what we're up to) So mom asks me "go and talk to him." I say "no, I look like crap. I'm too scared. you do it." "well I don't want to." "alright let's just go. mom quit staring. you're gonna cause a scene." "well I was just looking at their purchase."

And that was our awesome encounter. haha. when we got out to the parking lot I was sooo mad that I hadn't said anything. I was hoping they'd come out the same way we did, but they never did. We probably freaked 'em out so they took the long way or something. haha. so moral of the story. don't hesitate to talk to cool people. even if you look like crap. your biggest regrets tend to come from things you didn't do rather than things you did.

It was still a pretty cool experience. And I doubt I'll ever forget it. I think it's fun to see that the brethren are pretty normal, regular people just like us. and that they wear jeans too. haha

Skeeewlll! Part 2/aka photos....Part 1 is listed below

Skeeewll!

Well, so much for summer. The season left before I even felt like it had arrived. It was sure fun though. I'm too tired and lazy to go into too much detail so here's a list of activities that happened during this far too short of a season:
-went to Seven Peaks with a bunch of girly friends for Jessica Steven's bachelorette party. afterward we had dinner at the Olive Garden, watched a chick-flick at the Dollar Theater, and pretty much bawled our eyes out. haha. good times
-home remodel. speaks for itself
-hanging out with the folks!
-farming and such. which involved a lot of broken sprinkler pipes. and no, I will not take responsibility for their failure to function properly
-attending (without any force) and actually enjoying the Fillmore Institute. haha. I really had fun with the activities we had and the lessons that were taught. Maverick Yogurt after class and swinging in the park. The boating activity was so fun. i got fried. and i don't think my body has ever hurt so bad in all my life. but it was well worth it. The camping trip was awesome too. except no guys showed up...pansies. well that activity didn't get well advertised. but those of us who showed had lots of fun and excellent food to eat. mmmhhmm banana boats.
-Mom and I climbing on the roof to get into the house. haha. I wish someone would've drove by at the time just so they could've had the opportunity to capture the picture of how awesome we were.
-consumption of many otterpops and honeynut cheerios
-lots of eating out due to the lack of a kitchen.
-a mixture of two batches of baby kitties! 12 to be exact. the mothers decided to combine forces. weirdest and coolest thing I've ever seen.
-making fun of the baby froggies in the window well
-playing the piano in the laundry room. and playing for primary on sundays. love those kids
-watching movies/TV/doing yoga on the awesome projector with surround sound!
- Lavender Days 5k thanks to Melissa for the encouragement!...oh and Jake for cheering us in at the finish line and holding my car keys. haha. we loaded up on free muffins and not-free sugar cookies, almost died out on the paddle boat, checked out the garden that put our home ones to shame, and watched a cool gunfight show.
-The 24th of July when the whole family was home. Just like old times. haha. I wish everyone could have stayed longer!
-well there's a whole boatload of other stuff that went on but that's all I really care about remembering. ignore the latter part of that statement. some might take offense to that. and i don't intend for that to be the outcome. ah heck, go ahead and be offended. i'm too tired to care. haha. sooooo to sum it all up, the summer was just fantastic. i'm still really bummed that it's gone. don't tell the boss, but i kinda miss moving sprinklers and stuff. some mornings i'd rather be out in my high-wader boots moving hoses, than reading a boring, pictureless, crusty, and overpriced textbook. I don't know, maybe I'm just weird.

But it's all good I guess. Now I get to be educated! hooray... just to clarify, that had only a 'slight' amount of enthusiasm added to it. Actually, not even slight; more like miniscule...maybe even a little less.
haha. No, school's alright. The first week is always super tough for me. I tend to get homesick before I've even left Flowell. And to top it off, the bookstore is always a total madhouse sauna. Strange enough, the worst part is found upon entering the chaotic realm. Backpacks are absolutely forbidden in the Bookstore so you have to put them in postage-sized lockers that generally have a supply clearly outmatched by heavy demand on the first day of school. We're talkin' big shortage here. So you open the door and immediately walk in to what seems to be a mosh pit at a heavy-metal rock concert. Seriously, all that's missing are a few high-amped speakers with intense bass. You then wade your way through people from all sorts of origins, cussing at several of them for standing in the way and thinking in your head...stupid idiotic freshmen. You make your way to the lockers and find that all of them are taken. So then you take a few steps back and stand there looking like a stupid idiotic freshman while wondering that maybe those people you cussed out earlier weren't freshman at all. They're just unlucky souls like yourself who procrastinated buying their books a week earlier. So I guess that still makes them stupid and idiotic.

Well anyways, after an eternity you eye someone who has made a purchase at the desk and are making their way over to get their backpack out of their locker. Of course 30 other pairs of eyes are doing the same thing. And you can feel it. So you get aggressive. You follow that person and stand right behind them/or to the side (whatever your preference may be.) and then you wait. and wait. and wait. the fact that you're breathing down their neck is probably making them nervous so they can't remember the code to the locker. you realize this and quickly take a half-step back. not too much, in fear of a locker-vulture swooping in and intercepting your claim. But just enough to give them some space. they then remember the code, open the locker, take out their bag, then you go right in for the kill. If their still standing in front of the locker space, you have right to push them off to the side. nothing violent, just a noticeable nudge. Then you place your backpack in the hole as quickly as possible. It's now yours... although, this can often be quite difficult and tedious at times because the average backpack is about twice the size of the given locker space. This is where continuous shoving comes into play. If you're on the bottom level, kicking with your strongest foot may also aide in clearing enough space to close the locker door.

Well once you finally get it in, you lock it with a 4-digit code of your choice and then go on your merry little way while laughing at the unfortunates who have to stand and wait ever so patiently. And the rest is pretty much cake...unless you forgot to get your wallet out of your backpack.
Oh and did I mention that it's like 200 degrees in there! It's disgusting, I tell ya. So your face is all sweaty and gross and you haven't even been to your first class of the day yet. So much for looking cute.

But I survived and all will be well. Now that I think about it, I've survived my whole first week.
Cuz I don't have class on friday's! Hooray!!!...ok that had A LOT of enthusiasm. And I must say that I really think I'm going to enjoy my institute class. It's on the Prophecies of Isaiah and it is sooo cool! I'm super pumped. And I volunteered for a class position. It's pretty sweet. Are you ready for this??? I, Ashley Robison, am the class's "name-tag collector/distributor". hahaha. I feel pretty special. It kinda makes me feel like I'm in kindergarten. But hey, I have no issues with that. I have rather fond memories of Mrs. Speakman's class.

Oh and big news. I may actually have a home! Well I don't think there's any question but I haven't signed the papers yet or received a key so it's not totally official yet. but i expect it will be rather shortly. It's at Turnberry and I'm so excited. That's like the perfect spot for me right now.

Crazy Summer!

okay, yeah it's been a while. I know. But gosh you wouldn't think it, but these old folks are hard to keep up with! I'm startin to wonder if they have a secret stash of kryptonite or something cuz they just keep goin' and I'm being worn to a frazzle. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being home and spending time with them. So far this has been my best summer yet.

A few things to mention that have happened during this glorious season: I have a nephew! thanks to Jed and Shan :) and I don't think they come much cuter than him. Jess, Andrew, and Little C moved to Utah! It's clear the heck up in Kaysville, but hey at least they're a little bit closer. And Caroline gets cuter every single day. I absolutely love that girl. When they were down here for a visit, I introduced her to otter pops (you gotta raise 'em right!) and I think she thoroughly enjoyed it. Nothing like straight sugar that's colored and frozen.

Melissa ran in a really really big relay race. I don't remember what it was called but it sounded pretty intense. She's so cool! One of these days I hope to be as awesome and ambitious as she is...but until then, I'll just sit on the couch and eat otter pops with Caroline. Which leads me to my next point;

I've discovered that it's somewhat difficult to sit on a couch and be lazy when...well when there's no couches to sit on. Thanks to this fabulous house remodeling we got goin on right now. We're almost there though! Just paint and floors and then it's cake from there. And this house is gonna be sooo cool! You all seriously have no idea.

Oh and I finally saw the Manti Pageant. Yes, I went last year but I don't count it cuz i spent most of the time under a wet blanket in an attempt to stay out the rain that lasted for pretty much the whole show. So all I saw was Angel Moroni on top of the temple. This year's experience was MUCH better. Perfect weather, perfect night, and perfect friends to be with.

Well first crop is in the bale and out of the fields. I got to be the hay hauler this week so I loaded trucks and brought the rest into the stack yard. I can't lie, I felt kinda cool doing it. :)

Well that's a very VERY brief summary of the last few months. They've sure been fun and I think it's just gonna get funner. (funner? more fun? ah, who cares. you get my drift.) We're having a big get together on Tuesday. A bunch of my old high school girly friends are gonna go to seven peaks and then maybe we'll catch dinner and a movie afterward. It's gonna be soo much fun!!! :)

Big Day for the Big Brother

Jake graduated with his Masters last week and we're all so proud. It was loads of fun to go to the ceremony, stand for like an hour while all 5,000 (may be a tad exaggerated. sure felt like it though) graduates did their promenade (wait. promenade...i think that's a Junior Prom thing. well anyways, it's their little walk. you know what i mean) endured the wailing child directly behind me, and waited for all 5,000 to get their diplomas. It's a good thing I had my teddy grahams snack pack and tetris on my phone. Otherwise, I probably would've died.

Well we took pics afterward and then went to Jake & Melissa's for dinner. All the food was so good. Not too surprising with that girl. And then we watched the Jazz game while Chef Boyar-Lee made us Grape Julius's. He's totally my hero now. That stuff is soooo good.

Oh and Melissa had me write Jake a little poem. I think I had a little too much fun with it. It's rather cheesy but hey, it comes from the heart. haha....

Title: JACOB

Oh Jacob, Jacob you’re so cool

You’re so cool cuz you’re done with school!

No more books, no more papers, no more mean and strange professors.

No more time consuming projects to rob you of life’s pleasures.

No more high tuition payments to make your poor heart ache

Yes, the big money you earn now can stay right inside the bank.

Sadly, no more Tomassito's or strawberry sugared milk

No more breakfast, lunch, or dinner at the loud and crowded Wilk

No more journeys to the bookstore where they’re so glad to take your money

With their tough and merciless policies that make the honor code seem funny.

No more standing in the testing center with a mile-long and dreary line.

Only to reach the check-in desk and learn you’ve got a late day fine.

No more countless hours of study time on the famous fun fifth floor

Where you cram your brain with info til it has no space to store

No more dry and boring lectures or endless study cases

You’ve got a real job now and it’s bound to take you places.

Oh Jacob, Jacob you’re so rad

You’re so rad just like your dad

You’ve listened to his counsel and taken his advice

All your success and joy has left him so sufficed.

Oh Jacob, Jacob you’re the bomb

You’re the bomb just like 'your mom'!

She’s always been there to help you and give you all her love

Even when you think she’s done enough, she’ll go over and above.

Oh Jacob, Jacob don’t forget your sibs

With all our jokes and humor that could likely break some ribs.

Oh your stories and your laughter will always make us smile

Not to mention your boots and flannels with your country farm boy style.

Oh Jacob, Jacob you’ve got quite the life

You’ve got quite the life because you have a wife

She’s the perfect match for you so always treat her right

You couldn’t have found a better one who’s so beautiful, sweet, and bright.

Well school may now be over, but life has just begun

You may as well just buckle up and get ready for some fun.

Oh Jacob, Jacob you’re quite a special guy

Don’t ever take life for granted, cuz it may just pass you by.

So remember this day Jacob, cherish it in your heart

Don’t forget that you’re so cool and obviously smart.

Because in the center Marriot, amongst the roaring crowd,

Family and friends were cheering for you and are all so very proud! :)

Life's a peach...or a truck....?

Wow, I can't even begin to say how blessed I am. I'm a completely different person than I was a year ago. For as long as I can remember I feel like I've been spinning my tires not knowing what to do or which direction to go. I've been so lost and the anxiety of it all has worn me to a frazzle. A little over a year ago I inevitably hit rock bottom and had no hope for anything. Life was a chore and I couldn't find any enjoyment. I lost light and joy which left me cold, helpless, and alone. I never thought I'd get out of the rut and I really questioned life in general. Yeah, it was a pretty dark and scary time. But no need to worry because something changed! I found that light again. I realized that I needed to take my foot off the gas pedal and step back for a second to observe the situation and determine the problem. There was nothing wrong with the truck; the engine ran well and it was a perfectly fine automobile. The problem was the gears had somehow slipped into neutral so I was burnin fuel but not progressing at all. So what did I do? Popped her into first gear of course. I may have not been going as fast as others, but at least I was moving forward, right? Well I've taken things slowly and I feel like I've finally worked up through all the gears and built enough momentum to put it all on cruise control. And wow does it feel good. I can take my foot off the pedal, sit back, and just enjoy the ride.

Haha. Wow that probably didn't make a lick of sense. I have no idea where the truck analogy came from. Quite the tangent I went off on. I'm going on little sleep right now so I'm saying a lot of stuff that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But anyways, long story short: I'm happy. I had a problem, recognized it, got help, found the strength to overcome it, and have never felt better. The End. :)

Oh and I took that picture out on the tractor last week. I wish I would've had my good camera with me. It looked sooo cool. The camera phone doesn't even do it justice.

Oh don't look at me like that. You all know golf is cool

Well I have to say I was rather miffed by the latest uproar of the most well-known golfer (and apparently a lot more known than we all thought) and his "glorious", "courageous" return to the gentleman's sport after such a "challenging", and "trying" time. Yeah, I'm sure he was hurtin' real bad the last few years. I've been disgusted by his continued arrogance and immaturity, especially when he had the audacity to so confidently state he would win the Masters this weekend. Oh and for the record, I have NEVER liked him. But no need to bash anyone, even someone so low and pitiful as him. Because this sport is not all about Tiger after all. And yes, even with all the chaotic debacle surrounding the Nike-sponsored player(player is right..oh sorry, no more bashing) the true champion was recognized: The California Lefty, Phil Mickelson. Now, if anyone's had a challenging and trying year, it's been him. His wife and mother have both been battling breast cancer, and from his heartfelt interviews, you can tell it's been a tough time in their lives. Amy hasn't been able to attend hardly any of the tournaments he's played in this year, and Phil wasn't even sure she'd make it this weekend. He was wanting to win it for her, and was hoping she'd be there to cheer him on. While she didn't have the strength to be there the first few days, she did make it out on Sunday to watch him take the victory on hole 18. After his birdie putt and celebratory fist pump, he walked over to his emotional dear wife and embraced her for what seemed to be an eternity. As they stood and held each other surrounded by the cheering crowd, a few visible tears ran down his cheek. I daresay, it was the most tender moment I've ever witnessed in professional sports. I dang near cried. Seriously, my eyes were tearin' up and the waterworks just about went full blown. haha. But I held myself together.

Anyways...this was just so cool. It's rather nice and refreshing to see good people get awarded with such great recognition. He took it like a man, humble and without a speck of arrogance, and gave all the glory to his wife and family. I've looked up to him for a long time, but yesterday he truly became a hero in my eyes. Way to go Phil!!

Success tastes pretty good

Easter is seriously my most favorite holiday. It beats Christmas by a long shot. Reasons? spring weather, new plant life, better candy, funner activities...c'mon! you get to color eggs! haha. On a more serious level. What greater event is there to reflect upon than the Resurrection of our Savior? He overcame death and lived again so that we too may follow His footsteps and return to live with our Father in Heaven. I'm so grateful for that and I'm even more grateful that I have been blessed with such wonderful knowledge.

Well, the weekend was fabulous. I love being home with the folks. They always just make my day. I convinced my mom that we had to put out some Easter decorations. The weekend just wouldn't be the same without a few delightful pastels. So we pulled the boxes out and had some fun with the stuff we found. I was over all the grass. I may have gotten a little crazy with it but hey, I had a ball. Oh and my mom totally made the bunny baskets. Yeah, she's pretty cool, I know. She made them for each of us kids when we were born...well except me. Mine came quite a bit later...like two years ago. Before that, I was always the loner with a store-bought basket. haha. Apparently the mother didn't have time to sew and be all crafty with four little bratty kids bouncing around. Now I can be more understanding. But when I was younger, I'd always be super jealous of my siblings. Except one year when my basket was absolutely ginormous. A whole lot more candy could fit in that, compared to those stupid little bunnies. hehehe. Not gonna lie, I still kinda wanted one though. So two years ago, I finally got my wish. Easter morning came and to my surprise, four candy-packed bunnies were waiting in the living room. My mom didn't remember how to make them so she had a lady in our ward try and replicate the others. The green and yellow one on the right is mine and I love it! So glad I can now be recognized as part of the family. :)

It's such a cute idea though. My mom and I are going to have the lady in our ward teach us how to make them during the summer. We want to make little mini's for all the grandkids. How cute would that be!?


More of our fun decorations.




Well as part of my new aspiration of being awesome, I have decided to master the kitchen. Yeah, it's probably going to take me a while, I can assure you of that. I mean, I just got done eating a bowl of canned soup for lunch. Not to mention the fact that I microwaved it. Heaven forbid having to pour it in a pot and wait eons for the element to heat up. Seriously if microwaves didn't exist, I'd probably wither away and die. haha.

But anyways...My plan is to start off with simple recipes and work my way up to cooler and more extravagant food (like really pretty cakes and stuff). So when I was home for Easter weekend, I decided it was an excellent time to give the oven a try. I found a recipe online for these "tropical snowballs". I picked them mostly cuz I liked the name. lol. They're basically shortbread cookies rolled in a bunch of powdered sugar with a hint of lemon. I have to say, for the work of a beginner, they were pretty darn good. I'm actually quite proud of myself. haha

Overall, I loved the holiday and spending time with the other kids. Though, it was not near as fun without Jess, Andrew, and little C there! :( just a few more months and they'll be here! :)
General Conference was incredible. It always is and always will be. The church is true! It too, Always is and always will be. :)

cold...? what does 'cold' mean again?

Spring break was last week...yet another perk that came with switching to this awesome school...and I decided to spend it in lovely Arizona with my amazing sister, her incredible husband, and their little sweet Caroline. They were so hospitable and kind to entertain, feed, and put up with me for a whole week. They took me hiking which was awesome. To the average person, the hike we did was no major feat, but I've never been one for hiking. I just get too scared of ya know, the usual fear of tripping on a twig that causes your knees to collapse and lose balance; where you then roll off a steep, never-ending cliff and free fall til you meet the inevitable pit of death. Either that or a mountain lion leaps from a high rock and tackles you, and well, that's pretty much it. I think you get the point: I don't hike. But, after this particular little outing I found that hiking is actually really fun. I didn't slide off the mountain and the animals that had the slightest lick of ferocity were a pack of raging chipmunks. So thanks Jess and Andrew, you helped me overcome a few fears. lol.

I spent many days out by the pool trying to soak up as much sun as I could. I never went swimming because I've developed a little paranoia with public pools. But I did try out the hot tub. Holy crap, was that not the most amazing moment of my life. Here I am, midday in Arizona, surrounded by 80 degree weather...sitting in a hot tub. It was awesome. I highly recommend it and think everyone should try it out sometime. Seriously, it will probably change your life. lol.Jess let me take her road bike out for a spin on the paved trails along a canal that's behind their complex. I loved it. I tell you what, that sure beats the heck out the usual 70 dollar wal-mart purchase, so-called "mountain bike". I definitely have got to acquire one of these babies. It's a smooth easy ride that any couch potato would thoroughly enjoy.

We went to Tempe for an Arts Festival. It was so fun just to walk around and see all the cool things that people come up with. Maybe someday I'll be crafty... We did a ton of other cool stuff too. We watched the four hour version of Pride and Prejudice, all thanks to Shan. The movie is great. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's pretty entertaining. Oh and Jess cooked amazing food all week long. I'm tellin' ya, she is a master behind the stove. She's likely to be the next Martha Stewart...well, minus the whole white-collar crime and all. I was also introduced to Greek food and a self-serve yogurt shop for the first time. Both were excellent choices. In between all the awesome events, we just had fun laughing, catching up, watching sesame street clips (haha..cookie monster..still makes me laugh) and enjoying quality time together. I just had a total ball the whole time and truly had a blast. Thanks Jess and Andrew! You guys are the best! I still can't believe it came and went as quickly as it did. Just so ya know, I'm already planning my next trip down there. :)