Finals Week. A quick synopsis.

List of Things regarding finals week:
1) Walking to school in the snow. Kind of fun, but not really.
2) 48 hours being academic. 40 hours in the library, and 8 hours actually in tests.
3) Eating two meals on campus most days.
4) Celebrating a day's work by going to bed at 10pm. (Okay, so that only happened once, but it was GREAT! I got 11 hours of sleep that night!)
5) Finishing "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway (Yes, I still took time to relax with a novel, while at the gym anyway). And let me tell you, it was amazing. But very, very sad. I actually almost started crying on the elliptical machine at 24-hour fitness. And I NEVER cry! But seriously, I love good literature. It's so great when you finish a book and feel a ton of respect for the author because the book is like a work of art. So good job Ernest.
6) Easing tension in the library by purchasing a new song on iTunes: "Love Lockdown" by Kanye West. LOVE IT! Oh, and I also found another Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney duet from the early 80's. So, of course, I had to buy that one too.
7) Going to Wilson Diamonds and Zupas for a break on Thursday night with my girls: Ash, Meg, and Rachelle. I can't describe how happy Zupas tomato basil soup makes me. And what about Diamonds?? Indescribable.
8) Opening secret roommate presents.
9) Memorizing random facts about Ancient Rome for the last time. I loved that class. And my new favorite Roman name is Hadrian. He was an emperor of the High Empire. That means he was one of the really good, cool ones.
10) No more sitting in my Shakespeare class with awkward, creepy Shakespeare boy EVER AGAIN. YAY!!!!
11) The Roman look-a-like. ha aha ha.
12) The Neck, Nog, and Snog Party.
13) Laying with Rachelle in our newly arranged living room with the couches across from each other and lots of Christmas lights. It was just like old times. :)

And to my loyal blog readers and faithful friends: Happy Christmas! Happy New Year! Eat good food, get good presents, and please don't die in the snow. :)

Thanksgiving!

My Favorite Things about Thanksgiving this year:
1) Being home with just my family

2) My cheeseball. It's pretty much my new favorite food.

3) Our 5 baby bunnies. My favorite one has red, white, and gray fur. His name is T-Gray, cause it's kind of gray, but is also striped like a tiger.

4) My brother's new car.

5) The swing my dad built on our tree. We finally got it hung on the branch on Saturday.

6) The leaf marks that the falling leaves and rain left on my car. They are going to be a pain to wash off, but right now it looks AWESOME!

7) Helping my mom in her classroom and reading the kids' stories about turkeys.
8) Low gas prices!!! I filled up in St.G for $21.00! It was only $1.54 a gallon. AMAZING!

9) Watching music videos on VH1 every morning. I LOVE music videos. My new favorites are Pink's "So What," and Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold." They are both hilarious.
10) The St. George sun. I loved the warm weather. I loved driving down the street with the windows down and the sunroof open. And PS, if you've never driven around in St.G, you don't know what you're missing. The streets are wide, clean, and peaceful. It's just the best place ever. I love St. George.

I Keep My Promises.

Remember when I said that I would live in Washington D.C. someday? If you don't, read blog post #2 from back in September. I had no idea at the time that my dearest wish would come true so soon! But it will! I am going to live in Washington D.C. for three months this summer. I am going with BYU's Washington Seminar program, and I am currently working on getting hired for a sweet internship. The top 10 things that I am MOST excited for:
1) Living just off Pennsylvania Ave.
2) Actually getting to tour the white house.
3) Eating breakfast at the Eastern Market on many Saturdays.
4) Being able to tell people that I'm a local, even though I kind of won't be.
5) Walking around the mall whenever I want.
6) Actually getting to spend significant time in the Smithsonians.
7) Our excursion trip to Gettysburg, Philadelphia, and Valley Forge. Muy Exciting.
8) Going to the gym and library at George Washington University.
9) Riding the metro everywhere, except to Georgetown. It doesn't go that far.
10) Having a real-live reader's pass for the Library of Congress and pretending to do research for something important.

Doesn't this sound like it is going to be like the best summer of anyone's life, EVER?? I am more excited than I can stand, but I am also very nervous. I am going to have a real job, in an actual professional setting. Weird, right? But it will be the bomb.com.

And remember, I still need to complete the promise to take over Washington. I'll let everyone know when that happens. If it's not already obvious. :)

I love the Beach Boys too!!

I was recently reminded just how great the Beach Boys are. They represent my entrance into the music world- beginning when I was very tiny, and obsessively carried around a walkman and headphones with the Beach Boys' "Endless Summer" album playing inside. My first CD was even a Beach Boys greatest hits CD. And I have enjoyed several others since. And I promise, I can sing all of the songs, and every word to all of the songs. Ask Rachelle. I demonstrated this ability in the car the other day.

As far as their amazingness, according to Billboard, in terms of singles and album sales, The Beach Boys are the No. 1 selling American band of all time. Cool, right? And they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988- The year I was born! What fate!

My Top 15 Favorite Beach Boys songs:
1) Darlin'- My all-time fave. I promise, I will play this song at my wedding.
2) Shutdown
3) Little Deuce Coupe
4) I Can Hear Music
5) Dance, Dance, Dance
6) Do You Wanna Dance?
7) Good Vibrations
8) Barbara Ann
9) Surfin' USA
10) California Girls
11) Wouldn't It be Nice
12)Don't Worry Baby
13) Little Old Lady from Pasadena
14) Do It Again
15) Getcha Back

Yay for the Beach Boys! To all of you who haven't experienced their awesomeness, I suggest that you do!!!! I can burn you a CD if you would like. Because as far as music goes, the Beach Boys were HANDS DOWN my first love.

Oh, and PS, I got to go to a Beach Boys concert when I was in high school. It was muy excellente. Although I have to admit that there is something odd about hearing old men sing about California Girls and surfing and stuff. But still. It was cool.

I am officially in love with Hamlet. Not the character, but the play.

I had to read Hamlet for my Shakespeare class. Prior to this recent reading, I thought that the play was very boring and very dumb. But seriously, it's awesome. SO GOOD. And, I'm in love with Zeferelli's film version. It was made in 1990, and Mel Gibson plays Hamlet. He played the character very well, I thought. He seemed a little bit insane, but was also very depressed and brooding. It turned out to be an excellent combination. And Helena Bonham Carter is a BRILLIANT Ophelia. Just the right amount of creepiness when she goes crazy. Altogether, I'm a little to excited about it. I watched the movie last night and finished it this morning, and I'm still haunted by it. You know how some movies just stay with you a while, and you keep thinking about them? Well, Zeferelli's Hamlet did that to me. I would recommend it.

As you can see from reading my post about Octavian and now this one about Hamlet, I am enjoying my studies at BYU, and I have apparently picked the right field. I am altogether TOO enthusiastic about what I learn at school. But that's a good thing, right?

Octavian

Ok, so I'm currently kind of obsessed with the Roman general/dictator/consul/holy one/emperor/political genius/PR master/really really super hot, Octavian. He was the heir to Julius Caesar, as written in Caesar's will. Oddly enough, Octavian isn't even Caesar's son, he is his adopted son. Caesar's only known son just so happens to have a mother named CLEOPATRA, and his name was Caesarion. He was running around in Egypt doing who knows what, so Octavian got the inheritance. Sweet. He was way cooler anyway. By the way, he was supposedly very good looking with piercing blue eyes.

So, Octavian beat out Marc Antony for supreme power in the Roman World by the time he was NINETEEN!!! The Romans loved him so much, they just kept giving him more and more power, and soon enough, through no fault of Octavian's, there was no more Roman Republic, because he was the sole ruler! And everyone loved it! Odd how that works out. The senate even gave him the name "Augustus," meaning, Holy One. So ya, we're talking about Caesar Augustus here. He pretty much made the world peaceful and happy, and there was a lot of art and sculpture and literature and prosperity and games and pretty architecture and poetry, and all the wonderful things in the world. All because of Octavian. Or so the Romans claim. Even if it wasn't all because of him, and it kind of was, it's still really cool to think that because of this peace, it made it ten times more possible for Christ to do his work on earth and for the apostles to travel and be missionaries. So props to Octavian/Augustus.

PS, I swear, that if for some odd reason I have an 8th child, and it's a boy, his name will FOR SURE be Octavian. And he will grow up knowing that he was named after the coolest guy ever!

A Tribute To My Missionaries

Yes, I have two missionaries now. Two at a time! And they inspire me. I love my Vanessa and Kennedy, and I'm going to miss them like crazy. But I'm so proud of them! They are just such amazing girls! They are doing such a scary thing, but if they can do it, then I can too! That's the plan: Washington this summer, and then a mission in the fall. It's weird to think that I won't be going back to school this year, and I'm not sure that I'll get over it. I mean, school IS MY LIFE! It will be very odd, that's for sure.

Anyway, aren't my missionaries gorgeous? They are. Vanessa is the one in the top picture, and I must admit, it's odd for her to be wearing glasses. She never did before. Apparently her eyes are no longer superior to me and Braidy's. Kennedy is the one in the second picture. She just got Lasik, so now she doesn't have to wear glasses!

Kennedy is going to the San Pablo Philippines mission- she left yesterday.
Vanessa is going to Malaga Spain, and she left last Wednesday.
Soon we'll be able to say that I'm going somewhere cool. Oh please let it be cool! And historic! I do love history.

And PS, I went shopping with Kennedy for missionary clothes, and we went to the Sister Missionary Mall. There is only one word to describe the clothes at that store: UGLY.
The end.

I reiterate: I need a boyfriend to protect me from weird boys at BYU!

More Halloween...

The New SCLUB3

The Window Dancers. This one was taken at Jake's party.The old Lexie girls+Lauren, the fake Rachelle for the weekend.

Yes, Ann's face is very scary.

Our ward party. I was very horrible at eating donuts on a string.

Our list of Halloween Parties:
1) The party in Alpine.
2) The ward party.
3) The party in Smith Fieldhouse.
4) The party in the RB (in the new wing).
5) The party at Jake's house.
6) The Hollywood House party that was kind of scandalous.
7) The party at the Blue Door House.

So much fun! Halloween was crazy, crazy, crazy, but so much fun! We had a blast in our costumes, except that sometimes I was really grumpy because my toga was SO ANNOYING! And my hair got very very deflated when it rained... but that turned out okay because a boy told me it looked like Princess Buttercup, which is ALWAYS a compliment.

Yay for bringing loved ones together!

The one holiday that brings loved ones together

Or so they tell us on the "Witchcraft for Dumb-Dumbs" episode of Boy Meets World in which Jack falls for Millie from apartment 3B, and is nearly sacrificed, along with Shawn, to satan. Luckily, Eric comes in, and because he has baby powder on his butt, he saves everyone from the lightening bolt that satan sends through the window to destroy the Hunter Clan. Eric famously turns to Millie (the witch that brings this all about) and says, "yes, satan?" and "well, I heard you talking to satan." Boy Meets World is THE best show ever. And this episode is hilarious!

My own story of Halloween: seven different parties over the course of a week, 5 gorgeous Greek goddesses, a very annoying toga, and pretty make-up done by my Stephanie at Nordstrom.

Now for the pictures! These pictures, however, are only from the first party. The rest will be forthcoming!

Meghan, Paul, Kaitlin, and Me. The four of us at home. I'm not sure what that pose what supposed to be. Note Ann's sprig of greenery.

We actually look like our normal selves in this picture! My classic Audrey face, and you can even see my gum!

Um, creepy Arab in the background...

"Step in to the future, but hold on to..."

"HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, who says you have to let it go?"

I went to HSM3 on Monday night with faithful friends, Kennedy and Rachelle. I absolutely LOVED IT! Reasons why HSM 3 was amazing:
1) Zac Efron is ridiculously good looking.
2) One word: SCREAM.
3) The Boys are Back.
4) The best choreography ever.
5) An excellent sountrack.
6) There is actually a song called "High School Musical" (as quoted in the title and first line of the is post). Can I say perfect?
7) I'm in love with Troy Bolton. We're getting married.
8) I love musicals.
9) Sharpay and Ryan are hilarious. "I want it all!"
10) The movie included everything: the basketball championship, a new school musical, prom, and graduation. Plus, there were plenty of precious Gabriella and Troy scenes.
11) It was the kind of movie that is just SO fun to watch! You just sit there and smile the whole time, and when it's over, you want it to start again.
12) There isn't much of a plot, but it doesn't matter! The movie is just pure entertainment (and slight awkwardness for the extra cheesy parts).
13) There were like 5 previews before the movie. And I love previews.
14) There were bloopers during the credits. I love bloopers.
15) They danced on cars! And in the rain! And on the roof!
16) I love that in reality, there is NO WAY that Gabriella would go to Stanford (and in a special freshman academy for only 20 kids), Taylor would go to Yale, Ryan and Kelsey would get scholarships to Julliard, and Troy would go to Cal State on a basketball scholarship. I'm sorry, but that doesn't happen. But this all makes the movie a fairy tale. And I love fairy tales with happy endings.

I guess we do have to let it go. The glorious High School Musical days as we know them are just about over. And it's ok. All good things must come to an end (like Harry Potter). But seriously, don't forget to hold on the High School Musical, like the song says. You gotta love it.

PS, In my book of songs, "Scream" is currently contending with "Bet on It" for best song to listen to when you're feeling lazy and need a burst of energy. I think it may take the top spot- there's no denying the slow beginning and electric bridge to the main part of the song. It's an angry song- and I love it. "Bet on It" is very hard to beat, though.

Corn Flakes ESPECIALLY!

I've found a new love: Corn Flakes. Would you like to know why? MICHAEL PHELPS!!

This is the story: At the grocery store yesterday, I walked down the cereal aisle trying to find my sole food source for the next week, and BAM!! Michael Phelps was staring me in the face. I immediately picked up the box of cereal, and placed it into the cart. End of story, I now love Corn Flakes.

Look out Wheaties, I've found a new breakfast of champions!

The "Michael" Rule

This is a theory I've been working on for quite some time. The whole idea is that it seems strangely coincidental that there are so many "best ever" people that happen to be named Michael. Ok, so there are really only 4 that are I would put in the category of "best ever Michaels," but still, that's a lot! And they are very high profile "best ever" people.

Audrey's list of really talented Michaels:

1. Michael JORDAN
2. Michael PHELPS
3. Michael JOHNSON
4. Michael JACKSON

Who can deny that Michael Jordan is traditionally the best basketball player of his time? There is no discounting the fact that Michael Phelps won more gold medals than anyone in one olympic games. He is THE best swimmer ever. And Michael Johnson was the track star of the 1996 games in Atlanta. Usain Bolt, however, beat his records. I guess that if the name "Bolt" is part of yours, that overrides the "Michael" rule. And then we come to Michael Jackson. Who else has the title of King of Pop? Michael Jackson's Thriller is the most-sold record of all time. And seriously, forget singing, what about dancing? He's an amazing dancer. Each of these Michaels have been the best in their fields, thus cementing the "Michael" rule.

And I can't forget about my other favorite Michael: Michael BUBLE. I wasn't sure that he could fit into a "best ever" category, so he is mentioned separately. But still, Michael Buble is one of a kind. AMAZING VOICE. My all-time favorite singer.

In conclusion, if you want your son to be successful, name him Michael. And if you want a successful husband, marry one named Michael. It automatically increases the probability of success and wealth due to the "Michael" rule.

P.S. Did you notice that 3 of the 4 are MJ's? And that they were all born black? (ha ha notice the born black part... "black" no longer applies to Michael Jackson!)

Oh Max, you let me down.

Yes, we were defeated in the TCU game, and I claim full responsibility. I jinxed the whole quest for perfection with all my talk of falling out of the top 10. Because, you know what? That is exactly what happened. I checked the polls today, like I do every Monday, and this is what I found: AP Top 25: 18. BYU; USA Today Coaches Poll: 17. Brigham Young; and last, BSC Standings: 21. BYU. Oh, the pain! According to the BCS, not only are we no longer top 10 material, but we aren't even TOP TWENTY!!! Somebody save me from that heart attack I promised!

The only thing left to say is to follow the advice of the Beach Boys: "Be True to Your School." Despite this loss, we will not waver in loyalty. We are not fair weather fans. So Max, even though you let me down, I still support you. And even though you dropped out of the top 5 in individual standings, you're still top 5 to me.

I am a ROCKSTAR!

Me and Kaitlin were Rockstars tonight, and I thought I would share the pictures we took with the world. We were rocking out to the BEST new song on the planet- Miley Cyrus' "Fly on the Wall." Look it up if you don't know it already, because I promise you, you will be glad you did. Enjoy! P.S.- My old favorite Miley song is called "Rockstar." How appropriate!

In this last one we are being MAKARA gangsters. We look tough and tuff. (Everyone should read "The Outsiders" By S.E. Hinton if they haven't already).

I LOVE FOOTBALL!!!

10 Reasons why football is the best sport:
1. It is fun to watch when it's hot outside.
2. It is fun to watch when it's cold outside.
3. Playing football is a B-L-A-S-T!
4. Especially in the snow.
5. Crashing into other people is fun.
6. Runningbacks are really hot.
7. At BYU games, there are lots of people who get REALLY excited. And it's like you are friends with everyone, because you're all excited about the same thing.
8. The Manning Brothers, anyone? Eli and Peyton, you're my heroes.
9. You can play football anytime you want.
10. High school football, college football, and NFL football. They're all amazing.

When I was in 6th grade, I started going to the high school football games every week with my Dad. He would buy me hot chocolate because it was always really cold, and while all the other kids my age were running around with their friends, I sat with my Dad and analyzed the game- the players, the strategy, all of it. I had a blast, and thus my love for football was born. Those Bettendorf High School games were the bomb.com. And so, my football policy thence forth has been to never miss a game. Watch it, play it, read about it.

BYU football is my new love. I now refer to Max Hall as a personal friend ("So, when I was talking to Max the other day..."). Me and the roomies scream ourselves horse at the games, try to never miss a "that's another cougar FIRST DOWN," (that's a hard one for me. I get distracted by the replay on the big screen) and do extra hand movements to the fight song. In fact, during the game against New Mexico on Saturday, Kaitlin accidentally screamed BLOODY MURDER, and the entire section looked at her very worried. It was absolutely hilarious. A little while later, a boy turned around to her and said, "how's your stress level?" He then proceeded to become our best friend, giving us the traditional high fives that you give people you don't know. And every day, even though we know it will be the same, Kaitlin and I examine the team stats in The Daily Universe. It's great. We were number 7 once, but after two hard wins that should have been a lot easier because we're a top 10 team, we're at number 9. I think we'll both probably have a heart attack if we slip out of the top 10. Max, if you're reading this: Don't let it happen!

I need a boyfriend, if only for protection against the weird boys at BYU.

Everything is better if you're wearing Harry Potter glasses

'

Reasons why wearing Harry Potter glasses make life better:
1) They are very funny.
2) Everyone looks at you funny.
3) They help you focus on your homework because Harry does homework too.
4) I happen to have a pair on display right next to my desk.
5) Harry Potter makes me happy.
6) They look kind of like Franklin the Turtle.
7) They look really awesome in pictures.
8) They make it hard to take serious things seriously. But seriously, who likes serious things anyway?
9) They are very very round.
10) They give me the opportunity to take dumb pictures and write a really dumb blog post.
11) They tell the world that I love Harry Potter.

Another thing that makes everything funnier: adding "...if you will" at the end of every sentence. For example: If you are talking about Harry Potter and someone is confused. You say, "Harry James Potter, if you will." Gets me every time.

I Love BYU

I love BYU. I love going to school here. Here are a list of my favorite things about BYU:

(This list is actually limited to my favorite things about BYU in the fall- before the snow comes)

1) My roommates. I mean, my SOUL roommates. (We decided that we were more than just regular roommates. Because, you know, some roommates don't actually like each other. And we do. We like each other a whole lot. In fact, we tend to only hang out with each other, because we have so much fun together. MAKARA!!!)
2) Fridays on campus. What is greater than going to campus, knowing that you don't have to go the next day? You get to enjoy the experience. You know the weekend it approaching, so unless you have a test, the atmosphere is a lot less tense. You can take a nap in the Samplar room, or out on the grass between classes after you've decided not to care about homework. You can go to lunch with friends (and get a warm mini-loaf of bread with honey butter at the Sugar and Spice. Yum!!!), and sit out on the grass, with the sun shining on your face, burning a little, but feeling perfect. You can do sudoku in class because suddenly, you don't care about taking notes anymore. You can sit in the library, and actually enjoy the boy sitting across the table from you while studying. Yes, Fridays are great on campus. I love them.
3) Football games. Ok, so I like football games everywhere I go, but when you go to BYU, everywhere you go, everyONE is a fan. The games are very crowded, and every student celebrates like he/she personally recovered fumble, scored the touchdown, made the tackle, received the pass, or intercepted the ball. Seriously, next time you go, watch everyone's faces. It's histerical. I just love football anyway, though. It's a great game.
4) Eye Candy.
5) Those one kids in class that say every answer and drive the teacher crazy. I love them.
6) The book store- everything you could possibly dream of! Lots of books, and lots of school supplies. Can it get any better? Oh, and lots of treats- like candy and fudge.
7) The bowling alley in the Wilk. Good times.
8) The Rugby boys who give you fliers for their games on Friday, and show up to school on Monday with broken arms and such. Those guys are awesome.
9) Professors who are really smart. You can just tell- there is a difference between the smart ones, and the really smart ones. I prefer really smart.
10) History classes.
11) The Terrace in the Wilk. Many good things: strangers sitting across the table from you, newspaper stands nearby, CNN playing NONSTOP, the weirdos who sometimes gives speeches or something (they are actually really annoying).
12) Awkward people who you kind of know, but not really. I love those moments.
13) Walking across the street while fifty million cars are waiting for you. Oh wait, I hate that part.
14) The Quill and the Sword club. Ha! Also, I love those couple you see, and you are grateful that they found each other.
15) Free Food (hotdogs, pizza, hot cocoa in the winter, cookies from those engineering people, ice cream from the women's office, etc.)
16) Trying to improve my time walking to campus. I average 10 minutes. My roommates say that I should enter speed-walking competitions. Apparentely I'm really fast. So, that's a secret talent- I'm a good walker. But seriously, I walked home from the campus to our apartment at Liberty Square in 6 minutes once. That's like 4 blocks, (from the library) in 6 minutes. Can you say incredible??? It was after a test that made me really mad, so I stuck some JT on my ipod and walked so quickly that my calves and shins hurt (plus, that hill was brutal to go down fast without running).
17) Going to church on campus. It's a strange idea, really, to go to school and church at the same place. But you get used to it, and it's great. Campus really kind of becomes your world when you go to BYU.
18) Taking naps after church on the lawn. BEST TIME OF MY LIFE. We have done it two weeks in a row now, and seriously, we layed out there for like 3 hours both times. I can't say that we don't have our share of awkward moments, but....
18) THE HONOR CODE!! Life is so much easier with the honor code.
19) I love that I haven't been to testing center yet this year. And I love that I compare it to Azkaban.
20) This is the last one, so I have to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the library. I may hate the periodical section (bad memories from last year), but everywhere else is my favorite thing. I particularly enjoy studying on the 3rd floor, right by the bathroom, no shhh zone, drinking fountain, the Sampler, and the outside world. So many people like the study on the first floor, or the 5th, and I swear, those places are just too far away from civilization. I can't handle the deep, dark recesses of that place. If you get in too deep and your there for too long, it's too hard to get out! But altogether, that library is amazing.

Ok, so I have a habit of not posting anything, and then leaving an enormously long post that no one wants to read. Oh well, I enjoyed writing all of this stuff, and now I'll remember it. I have an affinity with making lists, though, so maybe that's my problem.

All Together Again (minus 2)

10 of the 12! We are such precious roomies, best friends, old pals, and neighbors! If only Meagan and Hannah had been present, happiness would have been complete.

This picture, by the way, is classic. We are not serious folk, so why take a serious picture?