Goal #8

Objective: Pretend to be a student at The George Washington University
Status: COMPLETE
For more details on the list of Washington DC goals, click here.

This morning, I walked to the GW gym facility, and got my pass! It was already prepared for me, with my name and everything. I can officially pretend that I go to GW. :) The End.
By the way, I covered up my face on purpose. I was nasty from the gym.

Yesterday me and the other girls who haven't started their internships yet went to a couple local art galleries. Rebecca found them in the newspaper. One was in downtown Georgetown in this old building that we had to push a button and call up to get the door unlocked. We were such city folk! It was kind of like a movie. The guy who owned the gallery was French. His name was Jean Louis. There was an exhibit of photographs set up. The theme had something to do with graffiti, but I don't remember what it was called exactly. Really cool, though. Next, we went to Alexandria, VA on the metro to see another gallery. We rode a free trolley to the harbor and docks (there were lots of cool boats!), and found the gallery. This exhibit was called, "black, white, and a little bit of color." It was actually a print-making gallery, and one of the artists was there and told us all about what she does. It was super great! Except, it was really cold yesterday, and it rained a lot. I was pretty miserable a lot of the time for no particular reason. Well, I was cold, hungry, tired, and wet. Not a good combination. The exhibits were cool, though, and I really liked Alexandria. It was adorable. On the way back, the metro broke down, and they kicked us all off. I was pretty ticked. Like I said, I wasn't in the best of moods. We got home about 2 hours later than originally planned, and I was EXHAUSTED! We still partied when I got back, though, and me, my roommate Genevieve, and two girls down the hall, Kate and Ashley, raided the building library and started a book club! We were trying to have our first meeting, but the boys kept interrupting. We'll have to officially start today. :) The four of us also didn't go to institute. I got back late, like I said, and still wanted to eat, and I think the others just forgot. So, we snuck down at the end of the class to take advantage of the refreshments. We got all the perks, and we didn't have to sit through 2 hours of class! We are the smartest people ever. Yahoo!

This is the only picture that I took yesterday. I am loving all the random signs in D.C. They are so funny. I have NO IDEA what this is supposed to mean. Oh well. It's funny. The picture features Rebecca, Sisi, and Amanda. I took the picture. :) So anyway, I'm super excited to have my gym pass, and I'm mad that the weather is crappy outside. It's all rainy and cloudy still. Not good. Not happy weather. And it's supposed to rain ALL WEEKEND.

This is me and my roommmate, Genevieve. She is totally awesome. We make each other laugh.

TT!

I am officially the coolest person you know.

I am now the owner of a READER'S CARD AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS!!!! Do you understand the significance of this??? It's the fulfillment of a life-long goal! I now have access to EVERY BOOK IN THE COUNTRY!!!! I can't check anything out, of course, only members of congress have that privilege, but I can read them!! YAY ME!!!
Do you see my picture on that card?? And my name???!!! Life is complete.

So, I had all day to do whatever I wanted because everyone else started their internships today, but I don't start until May 12th. So, I went shopping in Georgetown, then went to get my card! I just walked right in to the front desk and said, "I would like a reader's card, please." The lady said, "Well, are you doing research?" So I said, "Why yes. I am an intern here for the summer, and I have to do a research project." But honestly, what I wanted to say was, HECK YES I'm doing research! I can read these books and learn everything. I'm doing research for my WHOLE LIFE!" So, the lady sent me to the other building of the library, I filled out the papers, and they took my picture and printed out my card. I left fulfilled and victorious. Best thing ever!

Then, I went down the Mall past the Capitol building and to the National Gallery of Art. I only went in the East building, and I looked at a whole bunch of really cool medieval and 19th century French Art. It was super cool. I was getting pretty tired and really hot by this time, so I just went to the Smithsonian castle and looked around. Pretty sweet. But what I really love about Washington, though, is that there are really cool statues and memorials all around! I love it. Until tomorrow. :)

The one place they told us not to go...

Rock Creek Park. It was an accident. Promise.

Backup, honeys. I forgot to post about this before.

The last couple days of the semester were stressful, very sad, but very fun. It was really hard to drive away on that last day, because I feel like I've lived in my little, perfect, BYU, fairy tale bubble for the last two years, and once I drove away, I knew it was over. I can't ever live with all those girls again. I am very upset about that. I actually try not to think about it. Never mind, I'm not going to talk about it anymore.

But anyway, those last three days were mostly packing, cleaning, and studying days, because, after all, we still had finals to take. But, we did some fun stuff too. On Tuesday night I convinced Meghan and Rachelle to go on a little adventure with me. Rachelle ran, Meghan biked, and I rode my roller blades. It was seriously a blast from the past. I looked exactly like the 90s. We rode around for a while, and then went to visit our friend Jake, which is always a pleasure. The second thing we did was draw with chalk. Me and Meg did this just minutes before I had to leave. My car was already packed. We traced ourselves on the ground and everything. I love sidewalk chalk.

And that is the end. Literally. It's all over. I'm out of Provo, and I won't be living there for a long while. Adios.

Also, don't forget to read the post below this one. It's all about Washington!!!

STARVATION.

Have you ever gone three days almost completely without food? Yes, I've been there now. I have been super deprived. So this is the story. I left for Washington at 8:15 Vegas time in Saturday morning. Prior to the flight I had a sausage mcmuffin. I was also, somehow, without a water bottle. When I got to my new residence in Washington, D.C. at 7:30pm, the only things I had eaten in between were airplane crackers and raisins. I was STARVING. So, I immediately went to dinner. Meal #1. Then, stupidly enough, I was too excited to make a trip to the grocery store. I did, however, find some plastic cups. I used the cup for drinking, and kept it in my room for future use, since I was still without a water bottle. The next day, unfortunately, was Sunday, which meant that a grocery store trip was a no. I survived that day on granola bars and a piece of strawberry shortcake from the linger longer after church. Oh, I also had a package of pretzels from the front desk of our building. Me and my roommate, who is also without food, caiphed them and carried them in our purses to church. That's the kind of thing that massive hunger makes you do. We also collected another 2 plastic cups from the ward function. They were also brought home in our purses. And now, it is Monday, 3:43 in the afternoon, and I ate a granola bar this morning, got a bagel from our professor, and a hot dog from a cart about an hour ago. That hot dog was pickin' 4 dollars! But so delicious. And, you can congratulate me, I finally bought a water bottle. I will no longer go thirsty. Yay me!

But see, running on little to no food wouldn't be this bad normally (well, I first have to say that I WOULD NEVER NORMALLY DO THIS! I am not anorexic, I LOVE FOOD WAY TOO MUCH. It is a temporary solution, I am running to the grocery store right after I finish this post, and I will go alone if I have to! And yes, Mom, I will be safe!), but, I have been walking SO much. Several miles a day, I would say. Yesterday we rode the metro to Arlington National Cemetary, then walked back to the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War and Vietnam memorials, the White House, and THEN back to Foggy Bottom where we live. Round trip, it took several hours, and I was without water the whole time (except when we found a drinking fountain randomly). And then today, we had a class in the morning, and then split into groups to find our internships. We walked aimlessly trying to find this one guy's FOR THE LONGEST TIME, and then the overbearing girl at the front of the group decided that we shouldn't use the metro, because she didn't want to pay for it. It was slightly contentious to say the least. I hate it when people act like they know what they are talking about, when they really don't. This girl is married and pregnant, though, so I didn't blame her for being kind of snotty. But I did think it was weird that she didn't want to ride the metro. Crazy.

We finally found what we were looking for, and I convinced everyone to get on the metro and just RIDE to the Smithsonian. So, I found my internship location. It is right on the mall. I love that place. It's like my fave. The address to the Museum of American History is actually 14th street and Constitution Ave. I love it. We walked around inside for a while, and it was pretty sweet. My favorite thing in there so far was Seinfeld's puffy shirt. It's on display. I didn't take pictures this visit, though, those will come later.

The other problem with going without food and water is the HEAT. It is very humid here, and the past three days have been record breaking temperature-wise. Apparentely it's usually in the 60s this time of year, but yesterday it was 92 degrees! Insanely warm for April. I hate feeling sticky.

And last, before I post pictures, I just have to say that I love being here. It's so worth the foot pain (from walking so much), the starvation and thirst, the heat, the everything. I so happy to be here. It's really pretty. I love the trees, and all the buildings are really cool. I love being able to walk or ride the metro everywhere I go. It's just so convenient! I love it. And I love my roommate. Her name is Genevieve Swift, and we get along very well. She stays up with me and talks when we are in bed, and I love doing that. I will post pictures of us soon! We haven't taken too too many yet, and they are all on her camera, so be excited for when they are posted! I also really like all the other people in the program. We are all actually pretty good friends already, which is so fun.

I think that's about it. Enjoy the pictures! Until next time!

P.S. I was really limited on what I could bring with me because of weight limits and stuff, and I just want to say that the only thing that I brought that was not practical was my Link Larkin Calendar. I love it. Go Zac.

P.P.S I am SO watching American Idol tomorrow. I super excited. Vote for Matt, will ya?

Cherry blossoms! Yay! I thought I would miss all of those. This picture is really cool because you get a good view of a lot of headstones at Arlington, but also because of the lone blossomed tree. It was SO pretty. I really love Arlington.This is the view of D.C. from Robert E. Lee's home, across the Potomac.The Korean War Memorial. My fave besides Jefferson. I love the inscription and fountain. It says, "Freedom is not Free." So profound.It was getting dark at this point. These are some of my crew. My roomy had left and gone home by this point, so she totally missed our LONG walk and trip to the White House, which is featured below. Left to right the people are Cameron, Lisa, Matt, Michelle, me, and Adam. The glare from the flash is there because we are standing in the crevace of the Vietnam Memorial wall. And yeah, I know the picture is crappy and dark. I posted it anyway because it's the only I have with me in it. :(
This is my museum!!!! The Museum of American History. Isn't it lovely??!! This is only a small portion of the front of it. The hot dog cart I got my hot dog from! Yum! Don't you just love all the trees?!! So pretty.

Edit: I have now returned from the grocery store. I spent $50 on groceries! The closest grocery store is a Safeway, and guess where it is???!!! Under the Watergate Hotel. Yes, the infamous watergate. I walked there today, and I bought food. YAY.

FINALLY!

I am finally in Washington, D.C!!! So exciting. I love it here. I have taken zero pictures as of right now, and I'm kind of too busy to blog, but I just want to say, it is very different from Southern Utah. Here is a list of the obvious:

1. Green.
2. Trees.
3. Humidity.
4. very, very, very narrow roads.

Okay, that's all I have time for, folks. Until next time (maybe later tonight), good afternoon, good evening, and good night.

THE BEST BIRTHDAY WEEK EVER. Except for finals.

Monday: Okay, fine. So Monday was no fun. I had to write two papers. But we played kickball for FHE!

Tuesday: My birthday!!! YAY! Happy birthday to me! I had to get up early to finish one of my papers, and then finish the other one during my break. It was okay though; a necessary evil. I got to leave campus at 3, and it was the last day of classes, so good news. When I came home I snuggled up on the couch and watched music videos, which is one of my favorite pastimes. My new favorite music videos are Kelly Clarkson, "My Life Would Suck Without You," and Katy Perry, "Thinking of You." Kelly's video is hilarious, and Katy's has Kyle XY in it. :) By the way, I'm sorry, I don't care what anyone says. Kelly Clarkson is amazing and I love her music.

At 7:00pm, I got to watch American Idol! The whole thing! I love American Idol. And I love Matt G. We had some trauma this week. He did not perform to the best of his abilities, but, I still love him, and I still pre-ordered this week's song on iTunes. The recording is amazing, by the way. I encourage everyone to go on iTunes and listen to the clips of his recordings, cause they are the best. If you only listen to one, listen to "Human Nature." Blows me away. I love it. When Meghan and I listen to it in the car, we both kind of melt and she says, "his voice just sounds like heaven," and then I agree, and we talk about how amazing the song is for a while. It happens every time. Anyway, what better day to have a birthday than on a Tuesday that is not only the last day of classes, but is the night of American Idol performances? It was perfect.

After American Idol, we went to Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Most of the gang was able to come. We missed Lauren, Lorina and Dani, though. :( I love Old Spaghetti Factory. What other restaurant gives you salad with an amazing house dressing, sourdough bread with delicious butter, your scrumptious meal, AND spumoni ice cream for dessert??? It's the best. AND, it just so happens that on Tuesdays this month they have 40% off part of the menu!! Again, lucky my birthday was on a Tuesday!Following dinner was dancing! I know it's loserish to go to on-campus dances because only freshman go to those, but we just wanted a party and dancing. So, me, Meg, Rachelle, and Ann went. It was actually quite fun, except that they played a lot of dumb music. I requested a song, and the DJ said he didn't have time for it. So I told him it was my birthday. He still didn't play my song. What nerve, right? He even played a slow country song. How rude! :)

So, when the dance ended, we gathered up our stuff, and I realized that somehow, somewhere, I had lost my keys. We wandered around the Wilk for a while asking everyone if they had any keys, and nobody had. After about five minutes of looking, I was starting to freak out a little bit. I needed my car keys! First of all, I just need them to get places! Second, it was my birthday! Third, I was parked in an "A" lot, which means that I would get a ticket if I was still parked there the next morning. Bad news. Fourth, I didn't have a spare key. My mom would have to ship me one from St.G. And fifth, it was POURING rain outside. We were not in very good circumstances. But we decided to go outside and retrace my steps to the car. I was very glad that my mom had just given me a new umbrella and raincoat for my birthday. It was perfect for the dreary occassion. Well, we got out to the car and I noticed that I left my purse in there. Locked in. Meghan saw that her purse was also in there, locked in. So, not only did I have missing keys, but I did not have access to my wallet, my camera, my phone, my iPod, my anything! What is a girl to do in this sort of situation? Well, she calls Dani, who comes to pick everyone up, and tells me to call Campus Police. (801-422-2222). Oh the brains that girl has! The policeman said someone would be by to unlock the door momentarily. Momentarily turned in to like half an hour, but once he got there, the door was unlocked in a jiffy, and miracle of miracles, MY KEYS WERE IN MY PURSE!!! Problem solved, major crisis averted.

So then, we realized that it was like 11:50, and almost not my birthday anymore! I had 10 minutes to gather the gang and blow out my candles on my cake before the birthday magic was gone. So, right when we got home, I called Meg, who had ended up at Lorina and Lauren's, and she called Kyle, and I called Paul, and somehow Kaitlin and Spencer just sensed they needed to be there, so they showed up, and it was a regular party, planned and coordinated within 10 minutes! Rachelle had been in charge of my cake- she got this amazing lemon deliciousness at Costco. I loved it.

All in all, it was a great birthday. Quite eventful.

Wednesday: Reading day of relaxation and no studying, and Pebbles. :) Oh, and that night, we went to Wal-Mart to get stuff for Ashley's shower. And guess what? IT WAS SNOWING. Like, really bad. Major blizzard. On the way back, we couldn't see the freeway AT ALL. It was very hilarious.

Thursday: Me and Meghan actually decided to study. We had to. So, we went to the library at about 10 (the plan had been to get there at 9. Yeah, right.) We stayed until 3, when Kaitlin picked us up to go shopping for Ashley's bridal shower present. We were in and out of Victoria's Secret at Provo Towne Center within like 10 minutes. It was incredible. We had to hurry because I was supposed to go in to work at 4. And I made it! I worked a two hour shift, because then I had to come home for Ashley's shower! Rachelle and Kaitlin planned it, and it was fabulous.

After the shower, me and Meg went back to the library. We studied for approximately 3 more hours. and THEN, the best event of the week! 17 Again!!! the first, premiere, midnight showing. Yeah, so I had a final the next morning at 7am, but you're only young once, right? (haha) Me, Meg, Rachelle, Kaitlin, Dani, Lorina, and Stephanie all went. And I just want to say this: ZAC EFRON IS SO HOT IT'S RIDICULOUS. Ok, I'm done. But seriously, that movie was really really funny. We all loved it, and are all kind of obsessed now. We got home around 2, and I went straight to bed.

Friday: The next morning, I woke up at like 6:15 so I could go over my notes before my test. Yes, I love getting 4 hours of sleep. It really was VERY stupid of me to have done it, BUT SO WORTH IT! I took my test- it was British Lit, and I actually think I did okay on it. It worked out very well. Yay! The rest of the day was serene. I came home and went back to sleep. For a long time. And then I studied for Mission Prep for a couple of hours. That night, I had to work my last shift at Pebbles. Sad day! I was so super tired, though, that I just wanted to go home and had a hard time savoring those last moments behind the register. Oh well. I have a feeling I'm going to be really sad about this in a couple of days when I realize that I really won't be going to work there again anytime soon (or ever again). I have loved working at Pebbles. It has meant so much to me. And I have such good friends there. I love you guys!

Saturday: A very busy day. Me and Meg were supposed to have turned in our Mission Prep final that morning at 8, but at about 1am the night before, we realized that we could turn it in next week instead, so we slept in. That afternoon I had Audrey P.'s baby shower to go to. I got Darbi a ducky hoody towel. I love duckies. And I got a 4th of July dress for a 0-3 month old. Hopefully she'll be the size of a newborn by July!

After the shower I went to Pebbles for our party. I pretended it was my going-away party. Danielle, both Amy's, Stephanie, Stacie, and Keli were there- Audrey P. showed up towards the end. Anyway, it was a very productive night! I got Kaitlin's sign-in book done, and I did like 6 pages for my roommate scrapbook! All in like 5 hours! I know, I'm incredible. I have never done that much in such a short amount of time.

And last, after the Pebbles party, we had our MASSIVE SLEEPOVER! We all finally gathered at around 1Am at Hannah's house. We had our mad dance party and played apples to apples, and had a CRS. It was so much fun, and I just have to say that we are the biggest bunch of nerds ever. I love it! Hannah has a king size mattress on her floor that six of us slept on, and then we blew up a queen air matress for another three girls. Before we went to bed though, we jumped on the beds and sang Celine Dion songs at the top of our lungs. If you didn't already know that we were 2o and 21-year-olds, you probably would have guessed that we were 12. It was a blast, though. I'm really going to miss those girls.

And that is the end of the week. It was a good one. :)

I want to see 17 Again, again.

Almost equivalent to "She's the Man." And that's saying something.

Baaaa Happy Easter BAAAA!!!!

Last week (4/6-4/12) was great, just great. I'm going to sum up using pictures this time...

Monday: Homework.
Tuesday: American Idol!!!
(I will respond to this weeks events on the show later).
Wednesday: WE HIKED THE Y. IN THE SNOW.
Thursday: Home again, home again, jiddedy jig!
Friday: Doctor, Dentist, Shopping. 3 Words: I HATE SHOTS.
Saturday: My best pals.
I love you guys!!!


Sunday: Easter and bunnies!Bunnies are one of my favorite things. This litter had five bunnies, and their names were: LaFawnda, PokerFace, Ocho Cinco, Drake Anthony or "The Count," and Penny. Ocho Cinco was my fave.

And to finish this off really fast- I loved going home. St. George, I swear, was made for the soul purpose of recuperation. I love it so much.

OMG, I want one.

If any of you decided recently that you wanted to get me a late birthday present, this is what I want:
A BARACK OBAMA CHIA PET!!!! There was an ad for this crazy thing on Facebook. How hilarious is THAT??!! I love it. The ad actually says:

"In honoring our 44th US President, the Chia Pet company presents this Special Edition Chia Obama.

On the side of the Chia Obama planter are his famous words:

'"YES WE CAN."

Can you grow one?

YES YOU CAN.

It's easy to grow, fun to do, history in the planting! Available in two poses!"

Click the link if you want to buy me one: http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=213041&catid=91413&aid=338039&aparam=obama

Oh my, this is the best. IDK where people come up with things like this.

My last post

Okay, so it's not really my last post, but it's the last one I will write when I am still 20 years old. I turn 21 tomorrow, April 14th. I was totally okay about this until just about NOW. I am starting to have second thoughts. The previous okay feeling was very unusual for me. I guess I should have put this on my "Odd things about Aud" list, because I know it's weird. I don't really like having a birthday. (Sidenote: I hate New Years' Eve too). I have never wanted to get older--- I still live by that giraffe from Toys 'R Us that says, "I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys 'R Us kid." I don't like adding another number to my age. When I was at the gym today, and I had to enter my age on the elliptical machine, I thought, "this is the last time I get to enter '20'," and I was sad. I've done the same thing, and have the same thoughts about multiple things the last couple of days. It's very depressing. And you know what 21 means? A lot of scary things. I like actually have to be a grown up now. I'm old enough to go on a mission, and I'm old enough to be completely legal. Super weird.

So, to sum up, I hate getting older, and I hate change. I like things to stay the same all the time. I like them to be good and then stay the same. And I don't want to grow up.

The end. Good bye age 20. You've been good to me. I'll miss ya.

Weekly Review (3/29-4/5)

Monday: MAKING MEMORIES WAREHOUSE SALE. Warehouse sales are one of my favorite things. You get good scrapbooking stuff for super cheap! Audrey P, Danielle, Natasha, Stacie, and I went together. I love my Pebbles girls. The super buy of the day was...... some REALLY REALLY sparkly blue and pink paper!!!! It was only a quarter a sheet. And the best news is, I only spent $13!! Okay, so my limit was $10, but still.

Tuesday: Snowy. American Idol--top download week. I'm still in love with Matt G's voice. So hot.
Wednesday: April Fool's!! Elise's birthday. School, work.

Thursday: MEGHAN GOT HER MISSION CALL!!! I drove home from work to see her open it. She is going to Boise, ID. So exciting. If you want to see a video of it all, click on the link to Lorina's blog. Also, on this very same day, Anisa Bennet got her mission call--- to Washington, D.C. South!!! She is going to be in the field while I am still there doing my internship!! Yay yay yay!

Friday: How do I not remember what we did on Friday??? I remember that I supposed to scrapbook with Audrey P, but it didn't happen. Why??? Oh wait, I remember. There was a bridal shower for Ashley that night. A very good, well organized bridal shower, by the way. And one thing to add- I TOTALLY should have won that game. There were cheaters in our midst.

Saturday: General Conference, work at Pebbles, and then the best game ever. I got, in my kids' meal at Arby's, THE BEST GAME EVER! The improv version is my sisters' favorite game, but I got an official one. It's called... "Would you rather..." In my family, the questions go something like this: "Would you rather go roller blading with Nick Jonas, or Jump rope with Joe Jonas??" The answer is always immediately, "JOE!!!!" Why do we even ask??? Or recently I asked Stephanie, "Would you rather play a regular role on 'Boy Meets World,' or co-star in a movie with Christian Bale?" She practically screamed at the idea. The answer was emphatically a movie with Christian. Anyway, the game that I got at Arby's had questions like. " Would you rather have a giant eyebrow that goes in a big circle all around your face and is un-pluckable, or ear and nose hair that is very long and cannot be trimmed??" Oh gosh, both such horrible options! They were really funny to talk about. I said, that if you were a boy, neither of these options would be as bad because your giant eyebrow could look kind of like a beard, and your long nose hair could possibly mistaken for a mustache- if you comb it right. And the ear hair could be sideburns. Too bad we aren't male.

Sunday: General conference. I watched the first session at home, and then the second at Grandma Colleen's house. Steph and I drove up to Ogden between sessions, and she made us THE BEST DINNER. The problem with eating at Grandma's is that she makes a ton of food, and then she expects you to eat it all, and tried to give you more. We has salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, a roast, broccoli, army rice, pineapple and cottage cheese, lemonade, strawberry shortcake, and ice cream cones. I ate enought to nourish me for a week. But it was yummy.

By the way, I had a dream that Meghan was going to Bora Bora in her mission. That did not come true. I'm losing my psychic powers.

Also, make sure you check out the post below this one. It's got some great stuff in it. :)

More pictures of the other events are yet to come.

And last, I am DYING to see "17 Again." It comes out on Friday. YAY!!!! Here is a picture from the movie, just to motivate you all to go see it.

FINALLY!!!! I GET TO BRAG ABOUT THIS!!!

It is entirely official. I am going to be an intern in the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. this summer. I will be working in the Archives Center on the first floor, specifically working on a special collection of photographs from a photography studio in D.C. that dates back about 100 years. So, I'll see some pretty cool things!

Can I just say that the Smithsonian Institution is one of the most famous museums in the world??? You can not get much more prestigious- unless your are talking about the Louvre or something. Anyway, I'm excited.

So, I leave for D.C. on April 25th, and my blog will be filled with news and pictures about everything- so keep checking! It's about to get very exciting.

The picture is of me by a the Museum of Native American History- so not the one I will be working with, but still a Smithsonian. :) I'm so cool!

Last, I just want to say that this whole battle to get an internship has been very stressful. I just hope that in a couple of months I will say that it was all worth it. During this process, I checked my email probably 600 times, and I'm not exaggerating. At least 12 times a day for at least a month, and on days when I actually thought I was going to get an email, the checking increased to probably 40 times a day. It was ridiculous. But the good news is, I finally scored!! And in a major way. :) Yay me!

Sunday is the busiest day of the week.

I have taken WAY to0 long to finally write this post. I don't even remember all of the details of what I was going to write about. I will try.

Here is the schedule of the Sunday in question (the one before General Conference)
9:00am-12:00pm---Church
1:00-2:00---Visiting Teaching
3:00-4:00---Break the Fast. Yum.
4:00-5:00---Temple Prep class
5:15-5:30---My visiting teachers came
6:00---Stephanie came to make dinner with me
7:00-8:00--- I swear, there was some sort of fireside.
9:00-9:30--- Ward prayer and linger longer
9:30-1:00am--- movie and sleep. :)

Isn't the Sabbath supposed to be a day of rest???? By the way, I did take advantage of the hours in between some things. I took naps.

An Indian Palace, Colors, Purple Snot, and Traffic

The Color festival at the Indian Temple in Salem, Utah. Amazing. Pretty much, there were just thousands of people, and lots and lots of colored chalk being thrown around all over the place. The holiday is to celebrate the coming of spring and the return of colors (because winter is made of GRAY).

We had planned to leave at 4. The official color throw was supposed to occur at 5:40. Plenty of time, right? No. We did not anticipate the THOUSANDS of people that would be trying to get to the tiny town of Salem at the exact time that we were. Traffic was bad. And it took forever to get there. By the time we did, they were out of chalk to sell. So, we didn't get our own colors to throw at people. But, we did make it in time for the countdown and mass chaos. Once everyone started to throw their chalk powder all around, the sky was COMPLETELY FILLED with chalk dust, and there was no way to see or breathe. The air was suddenly entirely opaque, and a breath immediately filled one's lungs with chalk powder. That was not a pleasant feeling or taste. The after affects of inhaling all the chalk included colored snot for like a week. Mine was purple. It was oddly disconcerting to blow my nose and see a whole bunch of purple stuff in the tissue. So weird.

So we got covered in chalk, and once the sky cleared, we began our search for Paul, who had the camera. I forgot to mention that I drove up with Dani, Lorina, Meghan, and Jon. They are great. Anyway, after like twenty minutes of trying to get to the Northwest corner, which was not the same northwest corner that Paul was talking about, we found Rachelle, who led us to other friends and outside of the crowd that was very loud. Communication with Paul finally occurred and we met up, snapped some pictures, and promptly made our way to the mosh pits by the stage. It was totally crowd surfing time. On the way down the hill, we noticed that several people had climbed onto the roofs of some awnings. There were official looking people trying to make them get down. And then Meghan said, "Oh my gosh! That's Rachelle!!" "What???" came my reply, "No, it's not... holy cow! It is!!!!" She was on the roof, running around like a mad woman! It was hilarious!

Down in the crowd both Meghan and Lorina crowd surfed, and I was very proud. Nobody could ever convince me to participate, however. That is just simply a bad idea. :) Below is a picture of Meghan, above the crowds...
All in all, it was a blast. A super huge party with lots of colors, and I love colors. Is that a good enough explanation, Moe?