little things

1. Today I bought a BODY PILLOW.
2. I was able to hang out with both Grandma Janice and Grandma Colleen this weekend. They both just kept cracking jokes!
3. BYU basketball is my fave. Tyler Haws.
4. Still in love with that ginger. See below.
5. Amy came to church with me yesterday!
6. Awkward situations are best dealt with unawkwardly.
7. Anyone want to go to a monster truck rally with me on Saturday?
8. I tried to win tickets to OneRepublic on Friday. Apparently my text to the radio station that said, "PICK ME! RYAN TEDDER IS MY FAVORITE GUY!!!!!!!" wasn't enough.
9. Read a little book on Friday called, Lola and the Boy Next Door. I love boys next door. And I love chick lit. But this week's target is 1984, because I have never even read it. I'm reading a book a week this year, ps, alternating between real literature and sugary desserts.
10. this picture was finally posted to facebook:

read: I was in an interesting mood this evening.

11. and this one:

read: water balloon smacking me in the face, mid-cartwheel. And you can see the water splash.

12. Oh, and this one:

read: the dream team.

13. And, just for fun, let's hearken back to this gem:

just because there was a giant walrus. btw, drake's pants are about to rip.

ciao.

whoosh.

January

1. This is how I'm going to live my life in 2012.

I am going to live every week like it's shark week.

I have to appreciate every moment while it's there. No regrets. I should do as Mad-Eye Moody (aka Barty Crouch Jr.) admonishes, and have CONSTANT VIGILANCE. Because you know what I realized this year? New Years' Eve isn't about celebrating the year that is ending. It's not about endings at all. It's not about remembering all the times you slacked off during the past year. It's about new beginnings. It's about moving forward; learning from the past to make the future brighter. And that's what I'm going to do this year. That's why 2012 is going to be so great. Because even though I love history and practically live in the past as a profession, that doesn't mean that I can't see the future for it's brightness and potential. 2012 is a new beginning-- the doorway to something exciting. I just don't know what that is yet. But it's my responsibility to make it rock.

(PS I wrote this on New Years' Day. It had some planned addendums and additions that never happened... so that is what we are left with. And I think I still got my point across.)

2. THE BRILLIANT MR. RYAN TEDDER. Look up his discography. You'll see several hits, which include, but are not limited to, Beyonce's "Halo," Leona Lewis and "Bleeding Love," Adele's "Rumour Has It" AND "Turning Tables," almost the entire OneRepublic catalog (which I'm in love with btw), Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield," Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone," Hilary Duff's "Gypsy Woman" (perhaps the greatest Hilary Duff song, if the word "greatest" can be applied to ANY of her songs), various unheard of Backstreet Boys recordings, some of my fave Adam Lambert songs, and drumroll please..... "The Way I Are." Timbaland. Only one of the greatest songs of the 2000s. Oh wait, like 5 of these songs are on the VH1 list. Anyway, this man is a hero of a songwriter and producer, and I've been in love with his talent for like the past 6 months, but have failed to mention so on this blog. So. For real. Pay attention to this guy.

Also, I've had OneRepublic's Dreaming Out Loud, made in like 2007, in my car's CD player not stop for like the past month. And um, unless you're name is Michael Jackson, that is a really rare occurrence in my car. And I haven't even gotten sick of it! It's mellow (which is also rare for me), but so beautiful and still exciting and I love it. And I would love to see OneRepublic in concert. Would love to. I would love to watch the genius of Ryan Tedder in person.

And that is all. 

3. So I've been sick the past couple of days.... and that makes me grumpy. And it makes it harder to handle all the other responsibilities in life. Like, we had the For Like Ever 2012 party on Friday, and I was honestly tempted to cancel the whole thing because I felt so crappy and tired and I knew that it would be a disappointment because my one and only Lene would not be present (which was true, btw, it was a disappointment without Lene. But I don't regret having the party... it was fun despite the illness). Oh, and pictures to come.

4. Good news. I've almost completely stopped watching Netflix. And 30 Rock is back on. And when 30 Rock is on, I forget that there are any other shows on television, besides American Idol, of course. But seriously, though, I have had a hard time with American Idol this year because my evenings are just so dang busy! I always miss it. I was only able to watch 1 hour of Hollywood Week this year. Shame of all shames. I love group round. And I missed all the performances. I think I might write to Congress and then show up on the Capitol steps to lobby for a bill to be passed requiring American Idol to post their shows on Hulu the next morning. Because it is just a tragedy when people like me have to miss the show, and then they can't even make it up!!! I JUST WISH I HAD TIVO OR DVR OR SOMETHING!

5. I don't even know what else happened last month. It was cold. And I went to work, and then I came home. I went to my some intramural dodgeball games. That was fun. I went on some dates. Hung around a lot, trying to keep warm. I went to Cafe Rio a couple of times. I hung out at a friend's cabin for a weekend. And went shopping in Park City. And I went to some sweet BYU basketball games (St. Mary's and Gonzaga)--- I was hooked up with some awesome seats. And I let my room get a little too messy, a little too often. February definitely has some room for improvement. :)

6. Oh and guess what. My phone broke last week. So I'm using an awful temporary one. And I might buy an iPhone. Because I want one. But I definitely don't want to pay for a data plan.

7. And last: Meghan and Joey are engaged! WOOT WOOT! August 18th errabody!

Anywho. Peace.

Quoted from my mother: "He's kind of beautiful."

Wow it's been a long time

I think about blogging all the time. Really, I do. I walk around at work or at home or I'm on the bus and I think about what I want t blog about.... but for some reason, in the last month, the fingers to keyboard part has not happened. And it's like the longer I wait the more I have to say, and the more overwhelming it gets. So I'm going to do a sum-up of the last month or whatever, and then we're just going to move forward.

1. I moved out of my lovely home in Banbridge Square. It was more heartbreaking than expected. I really thought of that place as home. But now I live in Victoria Place II-- about a half a block away from BB. And I really do like the apartment. And I love my roommates (Meg, Lorina, and Rachel). But I sincerely miss Lene, Sarie, and Andrea. And I miss my Fivers. My ward. Anyway. Goodbye forever Banbridge. It was a great place to live--- my favorite as BYU by far. Two best best summers took place while living in Banbridge. And the other best summer (in DC), took place right before living in Banbridge. I've had a good couple of years, I think (minus student teaching, of course. But even that has it's merit. I like to think I'm a better person for having done it).

Lene's going away party.

2. Lene left forever. Well, I'll see her again. I have to. But she's student teaching in DC and a little part of me left with her. I tried to convince her to say, citing all of my reasons for hating student teaching, but she didn't listen to me. She's going to learn on her own that it is awful. haha.

3. My Fivers won the stake kickball tournament. We won it last year too. We are so stinking cool I can't even stand it.

Kickball champions. We're holding up fives because we're the fivers. We rock.

4. We kind of hiked Mt. Timp. When I say kind of I mean that we didn't actually get to the top this year. Well, most of the group did. There were 19 of us, and the wise and happy 6 stayed behind in the meadow and then headed down early to go to the pool. It was lovely. I have to admit that I was exhausted and a little bit miserable and didn't want to take another step, but I could have (which is evidenced by last year's hike of Mt. Timp that I lovingly compared to climbing Mt. Doom into Mordor. See THIS post). And really, without finishing the whole thing, the hike didn't knock me out for the next three days like it did last year. I actually came home, went to the pool, took a nap, and was good to go. And I still completed like a 14 mile hike! That's already an accomplishment. And it was very beautiful.

the losers who came down early.

me and my pal Sara. We're excited. Meghan gave me that cute flower.

hikers.

5. I still love my job. But I love it a lot more when I get lots of good sleep. I have a hard time going to bed on time. big surprise. At first I just loved going to bed because I was so excited about the next day of work (plus, nothing too exciting was going on anyway). But the month of August was particularly hard. I didn't get to bed until after midnight a lot of the month (which is very, very bad when you have to get up between 5:30 and 5:50). I barely survived on 5 hours of sleep a night, but slept on the bus there and back. Let me tell you a bad story: sleeping on the bus is one of the more miserable things in life. Here is a simple equation to summarize the wretchedness: tiredness so complete that keeping your eyes open is self-imposed torture and you want to cry+no place to rest your head except the window, which is greasy from the head of the last person who tried to sleep there in addition to being made of hard glass, and somehow exceptionally sensitive to the jolts and bumps of the bus that is moving at (hopefully) 65 mph in the carpool lane+excessive stopping and starting due to rush hour traffic+the large stinky man sitting next to you+the bags, jacket, lunch, etc., that you are trying to balance on your lap. It's not a good experience. SO. The conclusion that rational thought leads us to: SLEEP BETTER AT NIGHT SO YOU CAN STAY AWAKE ON THE BUS AND DO PRODUCTIVE THINGS LIKE READ YOUR SCRIPTURES OR CONFERENCE TALKS OR ANY ONE OF THE 4 NOVELS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FINISH FOR LIKE 4 MONTHS. Yeah, I'm working on that. So anyway, I love my job. I've really been thinking about hurrying up and getting my masters so I can move up in the library-- work in collection development or something and do real archive work. I miss processing. I miss doing the research and the writing. And holy heck, I miss school (see below).

5. Even though I still live in Provo and am desperately clinging to any semblance of my old BYU life as a student, I am left out of BYU world (for good reason), and that makes me very sad and very nostalgic. Sometimes I drive around Provo and just look at all the buildings-- virtually everything withing a 2 mile radius of BYU is labeled "cougar" or "byu" something or other, or else students live there-- and I remember what it was like when I was new to this world. I was still a very excellent student who did all her homework with great care and precision, who went to bed at like 10 and didn't do things with friends on week nights, and spent weekends doing homework. I was stressed, but I loved it. And do you know what I loved the most? The thing that I noticed the very most about this new world that I was immediately sucked into? That everyone was kind of like me. Everyone cared about school and grades, at least to some extent. It was such a drastic change from Dixie that I was in awe of these hordes of students who all went to class and who all did their homework with the same vim and vigor that I did. The library was FULL of students studying and reading and writing papers and I was amazed. I was so happy to be part of a world where I felt I belonged. And do you know what they did to this girl who loved BYU so much? They kicked her out. They made her graduate and supposedly move on to bigger and better things. I'm supposed to "go forth and serve" And I think I have. And I will. I'm loving life now-- working at the church--  but I still miss school. I miss it a lot. I want to get food in the Cougareat and then eat it in the terrace while watching CNN and doing the sudoku from the Daily Universe that day. I want to read the police beat and run into random people on campus that I kind of know but kind of don't. I want to walk by all those annoying dancer people in the wilk and then go to the bookstore and look through the journals (for the 4th time in a week) and the YA books (which I always knew more about than the girls that worked there), and then buy one of the delicious cookies from the candy counter that were only 33 cents and if you bought 10 then you got one for free. I want to take fliers from the hot rugby boys and then go to their games. I want to go to class and take lots of notes and use highlighters and post-it notes. And I want to spend reading days and finals weeks at the library for hours and hours and take breaks only for meals, three times a day. I want to make my own schedule all day every day and have group meetings and big projects and horribly annoying but kind of awesome papers to write. I want to do my reading and take breaks in the sampler room of the library to either take a nap or read my favorite parts of a Tennis Shoes Adventure Series book. I want to laugh at the annoying couples in the library, and I want to whiz right past all the people in line for computers and use the secret computers and printers that only the experiences BYUers know about. I want a hot bread and honey butter from the sugar and spice, and I want to walk to devotional, and I want to eat lunch on the grass and observe the quill and the sword club. I want to walk up to campus in the terrifying but magical snow. There is hardly anything more peaceful than an early morning walk to campus on untouched snow with light flurries still falling around you. Heck I loved being a student at byu.

 6. We went to Rachel's fairy tale cabin for a night. With probably too many people. But there was lots of flirting and eating of delicious food. And it was fun.

I can't see this picture without cracking up. Why are we all hiding behind Meg? And Seth and Drake-- what are you even doing back there?

7. Paul FINALLY took me sailing. It was magical. There should be another word that means the same thing as magical but better to describe sailing. I knew I would love sailing. I already knew that I love boats and water and sun and everything happy, and sailing could just easily be added to the list. Thanks for taking me Paul!! You're the best.

heaven.

whoa excited.

8. Last Monday was Labor Day and me and Meg had a very full day. The Schedule included: hike to Stuart Falls, 7Peaks for the last time this calendar year, Volleyball, Sailing, and then the NFL fantasy draft party. Yes, I have a fantasy team this year. I've been wanting to do it for years, and this year when I was invited into a league with all sorts of cute boys, I finally committed to doing it. And let me tell you what, that draft was one of the more stressful things I've experienced since student teaching. We just took turns picking players, but it moved so fast, and I had to reevaluate my picks all the time, and I wasn't really sure what was going on anyway, that it turned out to be very... exhausting. But I'm excited. I got me some great runningbacks, a fabulous tight end, and very strategic receivers, qbs, and team defense. It's gonna be awesome.

stuart falls.

9. My friend Christopher took me to a concert. But not just any concert. A Parachute-Michelle Branch-GOO GOO DOLLS concert. So he mostly went to see Parachute. One of his buddies from home is their roadie. But holy heck, I went for the Goos. I don't know if you remember, but I love them. Mostly I love "Iris." When they played that song I practically had a spiritual experience. It is one of the best songs of our generation, and I will stand by that statement until the day I die.

the goo goo dolls man. who has the voice of an angel.

10. Also, I just realized I am so dumb. I have not even blogged about the 4th of July, or anything that happened in July for that matter. Maybe I'll just post some pictures, and you'll have to take my word for it that July was amazing, as per usual.

we sat outside during the stadium of fire to watch david archuleta. It was awesome.

11. I loved this summer. I am still so happy to be back in Provo, and so happy to never have to student teach again. I talked to Lene for like an hour today and she had very similar complaints about student teaching that I did. This just reaffirms my suspicion that student teaching is awful all the time. HATE.

12. You guys. The Church Office Building cafeteria is Disneyland for adults. I went there for the first time last week. And now I want to go there everyday. Luckily I have a little bit of discipline and still bring my lunch... sometimes. But seriously. This place has everything you could want or imagine and it is SO CHEAP. And by cheap I mean inexpensive but delicious. Some other great things about the cafeteria: 1) you can get there by going through the tunnels under temple square. I do it everyday. 2) An old guy plays the piano for all to hear while they enjoy their yummy food. 3) yummy food includes cookies and frozen yogurt. 4) there is a bar against the wall in the dining area, and there are newspapers hanging on the wall. People who sit in their desks all day stand at the bar and catch up on the national news. You can't get more productive than that. Man I love the Church. Plus all the people are just so jolly all the time. 

I don't remember what else I was going to write about, so I guess that's all!!!!!!!!!!!

So Graduation.

I started writing this big, long, sentimental post about graduation, but then I decided that no one wants to read that crap. Plus, my blog has gone up like 10 sentimental points in the last year, and I can't allow that any longer.

Instead I am going to summarize and say, WAHOOOOOOO I'm home from Washington, D.C. and could not be happier about it, I'm moving back to Provo....any day I guess (I can't get enough of St. George for the time being), and I need a job.

Oh, and my cousin Nicole got married the day before graduation, and then, well, I graduated. Two days of ceremonies, reunions with besty friends, and a brief moment with President Cecil O. Samuelson, that homeboy of mine. Graduation was lovely- everything that I could have hoped for. I was sad to be graduating, but I've realized that if I am not forced to move on from something, I won't do it on my own. I just like to hang on to things too much. AND, I'm going to be a BYU alumnus forever, and what could be better than that? So I'm happy.

And now I've been in St. George for about two weeks, and it's fantastic. Get a load of the weather down here!!!! HOLY. I drive through town and I giggle about how great it is.

So here are some pictures:

The beautiful couple--- and my Uncle Mike doing the ceremony. Doesn't her hair look amazing?

I caught the bouquet. For the first time in my life. Please tell me that's a sign. haha.

My history teaching practicum friends. It was a blast to catch up with them-- we exchanged student teaching horror stories.

Jen and Annaka-- two of my history pals. YAY diplomas!

I have a lot of sisters now.

tiptoeing through the tulips. reference, anyone? It's worth about 10 bonus points.

Right after  Rachelle and I took our normal-posed picture, we fell into hysteric laughter over my grandma's picture-taking habits. I like this picture better than the normal one.

O, Cecil. And look at the Mrs. She's looking away.

Oh my, this sign. I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

The adorable graduate. In her flattering hat.

So this awesome newly-married cousin of mine came to my graduation! Two days after the wedding!

I think that's it. And word to soul roommates: if you have a good copy of that picture we took at the end of commencement, send it my way. Por favor.

Loves.

take that.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

I'm getting nervous for Wednesday's game--- #9 BYU against #4 SDSU. This video made me feel better.

And check out this article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1181209/1/index.htm

Rain, rain, it finally went away.

Until today, it rained in like the whole state of Utah EVERYDAY. And gosh, I hate rain. I don't know how I'm going to survive Washington, DC. Eek.

1. I feel like the weather, though, reflected my own inner turmoil as I finished my finals and packed up to leave Provo for the foreseeable future. I don't have specific plans to go back... which means that I no longer live in Provo and am done with BYU. It's a depressing thought, really.  I have loved my time there more than I can possibly say, and it just breaks my heart to imagine never going back to that life. But I have come to terms with it. I'm excited to see what happens next-- I know that I will love the next stage of my life just as much as I loved my years at Brigham Young University. (look ahead to a post about BYU and why I love it so much. It may not come until April, though, when I actually graduate). I packed and cleaned, said good bye to A LOT of people that I love, and admittedly cried about the whole ordeal kind of a lot. It was hard. I didn't want to leave.

2. Meghan Newby and Lorina Binning are back from their missions!!! I had the privilege and honor to visit Meghan in the Salt Lake airport during her layover there last Thursday. And I cried like a baby when I saw her. It was embarrassing. I tried to explain that I was just emotional because of all the crazy things of that week, but really it was just good to see her. I was happy to have been able to see her because she'll be back at BYU, but I'll be in DC and won't see her or Lorina at all. The airport was my one chance. But I'm excited to be able to talk to them and catch them up on everything.

2. Anyway, it rained on Saturday. Rachelle's wedding day. And despite the poor weather, the day was beautiful. The temple was lovely (even though everyone's hair was all messed up in pictures), the luncheon was perfect, and the reception was charming. The wedding, like the packing and moving in the days before it, was an emotional, draining experience (as was reflected in the rain). I have had many best friends get married. This was actually my 5th time as a bridesmaid. But I do have to say that it was one of my most meaningful experiences as a bridesmaid. Rachelle and I have been through a lot together. We've been friends for a long time. It was painful to lose her. I have to admit that I panicked a couple of times in the process of her courtship and engagement to Brad and some tears were shed. But I am so happy for her, and I can't wait to see where life takes her. I just hope against all hope that we can maintain some of the closeness that I love about our friendship. I just love that girl.

3. On Sunday morning my family drove up to Ogden for some family stuff. It rained the whole way. The whole way for real. That night we had our family Christmas party, and I was struck by the fact that my family is extremely understanding and accepting of everyone. My extended family (on my dad's side) is a hodge podge of people, many half-related or not even officially married-into our family. It can get very confusing. But everyone is loved and welcome. I'm so grateful for that. We all love each other. And our once-a-year get-together is very well attended. Everyone comes. And it still surprises me when a cousin who is never heard from except on the day of that party every year, shows up with new children and/or a new significant other. And everyone is welcome. I love it.

4. On Tuesday night my family went to the basketball game between BYU and Weber @ Weber. We are a Weber family. My parents went there. My grandpa has worked there for like 60 years. He is actually in the Weber State Athletic Hall of Fame because he announced all the athletic events for like 30 years. He was "The Voice of the Wildcats." And while we were at the game and I had dozens of aunts, uncles, cousins (and even siblings and parents) rooting for Weber, I held true to my own school. (The Beach Boys song, "Be True to Your School" comes to mind). I yelled for my Cougars. It was the last time I'll see our BYU boys play (live) this season, because of my silly decision to move out of state. I really am upset about this. And if I hadn't been so excited about the game and our win, I maybe would have shed a tear out of pure nostalgia for the game of basketball and the joy that our boy Jimmer has brought me. :)

this'll be me again soon.

And today, the rain is gone. The sun came out, and the mourning I have felt for my past life is over. I am cleansed and ready to move on, seriously. I am extremely anxious for Washington. Cause, you know, it doesn't even feel like it's an exciting thing that is about to happen. Or like I'm doing anything unusual. It just feels normal. So meant to be. Like, of course I would do my student teaching in Washington. Living in DC feels normal. And good. And I'm anxious to fly out there and begin it all. To re-live the fairy tale, but in a different way.

#18

The polls for week 5 have been released and WHA-BAM!!!

BYU is #18 on the AP Poll and #21on the Coaches Poll.

Check it out here.

Woes of the 490 paper that I should have worked harder on.

So it's finally due today. Today is the day. THE day.

I've been waiting for this day since my first semester at BYU when I was being murdered by my History 200 paper and learned that I would have to repeat the experience x10 when I took History 490-- the last history class I would be required to take before graduation. I filled with dread and actually changed my major for a semester to avoid this one class.... the dreaded 490.

Well, I've written a lot of papers since HIST 200 and am no longer scared of writing more than 20 pages in a paper. I've done it multiple times and really, I don't care that much about if my teacher thinks my paper is awesome and worthy of publishing or not. Just don't care. I've stopped associating my success in school with my value as a person and the strength of my character (my habits are much healthier these days).

So I've done minimal work. At this point my paper stands 20 pages with 4 additional pages of bibliography, a total of 63 citations (ridic, I know), one map, and a killer (fine, it's boring) title page. But I think I've produced a pretty good paper. I mean, really, I am excellent at organization, topic sentences, tying in quotes, and analyzing primary sources. My weaknesses lie in being too wordy or making up words. I also like to have really, really long paragraphs. I'm quite long winded if you already couldn't tell just by reading my blog. Also, my conclusion is super cheesy and my introduction is NOT attention grabbing. But it does the job. My historiography is a solid 5 pages but is really just what I gleaned from scanning through my sources, it's hardly an in depth analysis. I know that my first argument is weak. I lack the primary sources. I know that section 2 of my third argument is weak. It actually doesn't tie very well to my thesis. But that's a secret. None of my editors noticed- not even my professor- so I'm hoping it'll slide in the final draft.

My paper is lacking. But I'm turning it in anyway (because it's due in less than 2 hours). I think it's good enough.

But I want to talk about the drama of today a little bit. First, I was up until 3 working on all sorts of homework for my marriage and family class (despite the interesting discussions I ultimately regret taking that class. It's going to shoot down my GPA for the semester simply because I didn't care.) I got up at 8 and came to campus and have been working on my paper ever since (besides an hour at work in Special Collections). Unfortunately for me, I forgot my computer power cord. I had heard somewhere that it was possible to check them out at the library. So, close to noon, when my computer was about to die, I ran up from the first floor (where the serious studiers are) to the third to ask the information desk where I could find a power cord. They directed me to the LRC, on the 4th floor. I ran up those stairs, got the power cord, and then went to the 2nd floor to Dani's locker to get all my books about the Mormon Battalion for my research. I couldn't remember the locker combination. So then I went back to the first floor where I had left my stuff, looked up the combo, plugged in my computer, then went back up to the 2nd floor, went to the bathroom, got into the locker, pulled out my stack of 11 books, and then proceeded back down to the 1st floor where I am now writing this blog post while I should be cleaning up my paper some more so that I can turn it in in less than 2 hours.

I am just ridiculous. And I know I'm being dramatic about this.

But the point is, I'm turning in my paper today. And I could not be happier about completing this enormous hurdle in the process of my education.

edit: It's 1:36pm and I'm about to print of the dumb thing and turn it in. I thought I should save some photos, you know, just to keep the memories of this semester-long saga.

A screen shot of the final product in print preview:

I had to pull out all the post-it notes that I used to mark important things in all my 11 books about the Mormon Batallion. I'm not kidding, probably 200 post-it notes. And those things were my lifeline. They labeled everything. It was surprisingly painful to take the post-it notes out. I had mini heart attacks with each one- small pangs of panic-- it felt like I needed to leave them in there, cause what if I needed to know where something was again??!! To comfort me in this process I listened to Freddie sing, "We Are The Champions" and I felt like a champion.

And that's all.

The End.

Jimmer

Definition: verb meaning to "do something extraordinary with no apparent effort, and to look good while doing said amazing thing. " Example: "I totally jimmered the heck out of that test."

"Jimmer" can also be used as an adjective: (something happened that was totally cool) "That was so JIMMER!"

and a noun: (in reference to a boy who just walked boy smelling very nice) "he is such a jimmer."

We love Jimmer Fredette. Why? Perhaps because of his outstanding basketball skills? The fact that he was named to like 5 all-American teams this year? Maybe his nice nice shoulders and arms? Or maybe because it's just so fun to turn a classmate who you might actually see walking around campus into a celebrity?

Yesterday was the season opener. Rachel so graciously went to wait in line outside the Marriott Center around 3pm. Dani took her place at about 4:30, and I arrived at 5:00, just after they let everyone in to the building. We sat at our seats excitedly for two hours before the game started, and Jimmer made two appearances. The first time he walked in, everyone cheered, and he just raised his fist in the air.

So Dani made a shirt for the game. It said, "I LOVE JIMMER more than his girlfriend does." Before the game started, two cheerleaders made their way up the stands to us and one of them asked Dani if she could have a picture with her and the shirt. Dani was like, "wait, are you...?" And she said, "yeah, I'm his girlfriend." EEK. Embarrassing. A little. But also VERY hilarious. Haha, I about died while Dani's face turned red and she posed for the picture. As the two girls walked away, I realized: "Dani!! Jimmer is going to SEE THAT PICTURE!" Said girlfriend will be like, "hey Jimmer honey, look at this girl who is in love with you!" It might even end up on Facebook. ahahahahahaha.

The game started with a bang, they turned off the lights and dropped the sheets for the introduction. It was amazing. The first couple minutes of play were. a. mess. A little bit of a disaster. We were all over the place and there was a foul like every 10 seconds. Not an exaggeration. But then we hit a rhythm, and at one point, we were up like 39 points. The game ended 83-56.

For a more detailed report on the game, check out this article in the Washington Post. Check out the headline. Even people in Washington love Jimmer.

I love basketball season. As much, perhaps more than football season. Basketball games are just such a blast, and there are TONS of them!! It just spreads the joy over several more days of the year.

This week we have two games scheduled: Wednesday vs. Utah State, which is going to be a huge game. We lost to them last year, and the anticipation is killing me! Dani and I are even going to camp out on Tuesday night to make sure we get awesome seats (there are already like 8 tents in line. crazy byu kids). Then, on Saturday there is another game against some team I've never heard of. But don't you worry. I'll be there.

But I'm excited.

Anyway. We love Jimmer and the basketball joy he brings to BYU through his inherent awesomeness.

Me, a BYU grad?

Just moments ago, I applied for graduation from Brigham Young University.

I will walk on April 22, 2011. Convocation will be on April 21.

Literally 6 months from today, I will no longer be a student at the BYU.

It's tragic because I love this place so much, but it's kind of exciting.

And I'm freaking out a little bit.

Recently.

1. I bought the Adam Lambert CD. A little sketch, but SO WORTH the $7.99 on iTunes.
2. I've been eating a lot of brownies for lunch.
3. BYU beat #1 ranked Pepperdine in men's volleyball yesterday. woot woot.
4. I want to go shopping. A lot. But I don't have any money.
5. I have to read "Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones" for my Adolescent Lit class. It's about a 16 year old girl who gets pregnant and then she marries the father- Bo Jo- who's 17. Kind of horrible and kind of fascinating. It was published in 1967, so don't worry, no dirty stuff. Plus, it's required reading.
6. I slept in until 11:30 today. Nice.
7. I dream of not waking up for church tomorrow- accidentally- and then driving to Temple Square and absorbing the North Visitor's Center instead.
8. I want sunshine.  boo snow.
9. I have eaten at In 'N Out twice in the last 3 days. YUM.
10. Me and Audrey finally went to see "Percy Jackson." I actually liked it. For a book turned movie deal. The two of us actually didn't remember the book that well, so it would've been hard to be disappointed.
11. When I took a nap the other day, I noticed the roof on my apartment building (I could see it out the window). There are big wooden slats that are SO long, three of them overlap somehow before one of them ends.
12. We added a new quote to the quote wall in our apartment. It's from me: "I live inside a build-a-bear world." You know, because everything is happy and you leave with something to snuggle with.
13. Michael Jackson still makes me very happy. I listened and sang to Dirty Diana the other day- best 3 minutes of the last 3 days of my life.
14. I like going to the gym. But it makes me tired.
15. Evan Lysacek is my hero. Such an attractive ice-skater man.
16. American Idol. Why don't I like you that much this year?! Something is wrong with me. But I'm working on it. And Ellen is not even funny on it. Rude.
17. WHY DOESN'T BYU HAVE  SPRING BREAK?


Anyway, sorry about the "I didn't blog for a whole month" thing. But have a lovely day.

Sweet Victory

Yesterday I drove back up to Provo- two days early- to go to the BYU-Utah football game-- arguably and most important game on the BYU schedule. Other games may matter more when it comes to stats and rankings, but the Utah game means the most to BYU fans. It is a BIG DEAL.

So... I had a front row ticket. My wonderful all-sports pass randomly placed me in the front row, south side, right in the middle of the endzone behind the goal posts. I could literally touch the net when it came up for an extra point kick or field goal. I have a picture of the football flying at my face when it was kicked. I actually made eye contact with one of the Utah players. I made kind of a mean face. I say "kind of" because my face can't really get that mean, even when I try.

I went to the game with my friend Brittanie. Love that girl. She was all excited about it with me, and we got BYU tattoos to put on our faces. And we bought Cougar Dogs, which are the best hot dogs ever, and she screamed and screamed with me.

The minute the team ran onto the field, I knew we were going to win. And you wanna know why? They were wearing the beautiful royal blue (aka Dixie blue) uniforms worn by successful cougars in the past-- a memorial to the 1984 National Championship team. And I LOVED the Dixie blue uniforms. They looked so good! Or maybe I just love that color of blue. I would be very happy if BYU went back to the traditional royal blue color ALL THE TIME. They would have my affirmative vote if there was ever a poll.

The game was super intense. I let out involuntary screams several times. My throat hurt. It made me cough. But it was so great. The lead we had until Utah caught up in the 4th quarter was insane. And both teams gave an amazing showing on defense. It really was a battle of defenses.

And boy was I nervous. I had a very sick, hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach as that last field goal flew up (right towards my face) and went in, tying the game, forcing overtime. Unluckily for Brittanie and I, they chose to play the overtime on the opposite end of the field from where we were sitting, so it was very hard, and sometime impossible, to see what was going on. That last pass to Andrew George that won the game for us was totally invisible to me. We just heard the cheering, and joined the jubilation and merry-making. I saw many replays later, though. Don't worry.

When they started the overtime, though, policemen came down and lined the field. They put the net up to keep fans from spilling out onto the field and tearing down the goal posts. Brittanie and I had been really nervous about the end of the game (if we won), because we thought there was a high probability that we would get trampled, us being slow, frightened girls stuck in the front row and all. But it turned out all right. We ended up jumping down from the stands and running under the net and around the policemen to join the celebration on the other end of the field. It was pretty awesome. I mean, I've rushed the field and/or court for high school games, but rushing for a college game was a whole new experience, especially considering the much, much larger scale. We cheered and wandered around the masses of excited fans, running into football players every once in a while. They are like celebrities.

They had a little presentation ceremony for the seniors, and then everyone dispersed. As Brittanie and I were walked away, an events staff person stopped us to clear the way for the people behind him. Those people just happened to include PRESIDENT CECIL O. SAMUELSON. As one of Cecil's biggest fans, I was seriously starstruck when I saw that man. No joke, he was a foot away from me, and I didn't know what to do. I accidentally oggled at him. He looked at me, nodded, and said, "hi." Yes, President Samuelson said hi to me. Icing on the cake.

After he walked away, Brittanie and I just looked at each other with open, silently screaming mouths. No words.

We walked up to the Victory Bell at the Marriott Center, where people were gathering for the traditional ringing of the bell. Two players came up to ring it, and then they let other people ring the bell. Together, Brittanie and I rang in the victory! Last time I rang the bell was after the BYU-Utah basketball game (remember the tent post from last winter?). Pretty great.

We like beating the University of Utah around here. It makes us cougars super duper happy.

And as for what Max Hall said about the game, whatever. I don't care if he thinks that or feels that, because honestly, I'm sure that he gets crap from Utah fans everywhere he goes. He is probably very much abused everytime he sets foot in Salt Lake City, and man, that would be tough. So, I think that his feelings are probably justified. He probably has good reason to hate Utah, their program, their fans, everything.

(Quoted: Max Hall: "I don't like Utah. In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program, I hate their fans, I hate everything. I think the whole university, their fans and their organization is classless. They threw beer on my family and stuff last year, and they did a whole bunch of nasty things, and I don't respect them, and they deserved to lose.")

BUT.

He did not have to say all of that on national television. So not cool, and it makes him look like a sore winner.

BUT.

He probably knew exactly what he was doing, and made that choice. I wouldn't be surprised if he had that speech planned. He obviously had a lot to say, and it was probably all stuff that he had been wanting to say for a long time.

So, I don't blame him. But it still makes me a little disappointed.

BUT.

I'm still a fan of the guy. Go Max.

In conclusion, I think that was the most fun I have ever had at a football game. It totally rocked my socks off, and did not disappoint in the slightest. I loved every minute of it, and it will be hard for next years' football games to top this one.

A return to normalcy (hopefully)

I am not a full-time weirdo, I promise. The weirdness is reserved for things like Harry Potter and Michael Jackson.

Now that I've got that off my chest, I want to talk about Homecoming.

SO.... I was very busy with school all week (and I mean VERY busy), so I didn't have time to enjoy homecoming festivities throughout the week. My enjoyment of this year's homecoming came on Saturday, the day of that horribly horrible horror of a game.

BUT, Rachelle and I went to the parade that morning, and it was a B.L.A.S.T. At BYU's homecoming parade they like to give everyone lots of candy, flyers, and best of all, blue chocolate chip pancakes. We, here at BYU, are very school spirity and Bluey. It's lovely.

Rachelle got very excited about the parade. When Cecil O. Samuelson (aka president, or headmaster, of BYU) rode by in a cool old car, Rachelle accidentally yelled "CECIL!!!" And he looked and waved. And she said, "I LOVE YOU!!!!" First of all, one is not supposed to call their superiors (aka headmasters) by their first name. It's like if Harry accidentally called Dumbledore, "Albus," or if I met the president and said, "Well, hey Barack!" It just doesn't work. Second, she told him she loved him, which is entirely inappropriate and probably frightened both he and his wife into hiding to avoid stalker girl who attended the parade in her gym clothes.
I love Rachelle and the fact that she attended the parade with me despite her need to sleep and do homework.

Also, there was an amazing Captain Jack Sparrow look-a-like on the Pirate Island Pizza float. I really this it was Johnny Depp. The look-a-like man is featured below:

AND, the George Q. Cannon opened the parade. Love that thing:

After the parade, I took a nap, went shopping with Audrey P. and her adorable little baby and bought SOME NEW JEANS!! Yay ME!!!

Then, we went to the game, and had a lovely time after we bought some Cougar Dogs and decided to stop caring about winning or losing or the reputation of our school. Fun was to be had all around, and it was a joyful experience. I think.

The End. Homecoming this year was good, could of been better (if we had won and I could have participated in some super awesome during-the-week activities), but it was good. :)

I am True Blue

TRUE BLUE BYU.

My first year at BYU I did not have genuine school spirit. I SO do now, and I would argue that I am a bigger fan than you (that excludes you, Dani). I like to like things more than other people like them. It's kind of my theme in life (aka Harry Potter obsession. Please do not tell me that you like Harry Potter more than I do. It gives me great stress. Unfortunately.).

So, here is the story of my BYU school spirit so far this year....

1. The Oklahoma game. Final score: 14-13. Dani and I watched the first half at Kaitlin's house and the second half at Legend's Grill among dozens of other screaming fans. It was a blast and a half, and after the enormous victory, we partied in the streets. I swear, joyful riots broke out all over student neighborhoods, and all down University Avenue. Dani and I parked at the stadium and joined the crowd there. BUT, we didn't stay for long, because THEN, we went to a bonfire in the canyon. YIP. And THEN, at 1:30 in the morning, we drove to the Provo airport to GREET THE TEAM!! There were hundreds of students there, all lined up, waiting for the team to fly. There was much happiness and rejoicing. BTW, winning this game brought us to #9 in the rankings.

2. The Tulane game. Final score: One million to hardly anything. It was a BLOWOUT. Which is SO FUN. I went to the Smith Fieldhouse to watch it on a giant screen with Paul. The student activities people gave out free food. That night, once again, we went to MEET THE TEAM at the airport and join in the celebration of sweet victory. Dani was very excited because she actually touched Max Hall's hand. She tried to pull him in, but he pulled his hand away. I have to remind her, almost daily, that he's married. Bronco gave a little speech thanking us all for being there to meet the team. There were a lot less people than the week before and he said, "You guys are the true fans," because we showed up even when it wasn't the biggest victory of the last 10 years. After this game, we were #7 in the rankings (that's even better than our best ranking at the peak of last year!!!)

3. The pep rally. It was the Thursday before the first home game. Dani and I got sweet seats at the front. The cheerleaders did their thing (which, we really enjoyed because the boy cheerleaders are totally awesome when they dance/sing to the fight song. Seriously, watch them next time you have the chance. It's pretty great.), and then the football team came out and introduced each other. They were funny. And we saw Cosmo. And Dani said, "I love that CAT!"

Please excuse my non-BYU apparel. I had had a very, very busy day. Namely: school, work, Presidency meeting, group project on campus, then straight to the rally.

4. The Florida State game. We don't like to talk about it much because we lost. But Dani and I had a jolly good time anyway because our row was randomly selected, out of every row in that ginormous LaVell Edwards Stadium, to win free pizzas from Papa Johns! Cosmo came and hung out with us for like half an hour, and we were put on the big screen with the pizzas that we won! That night we celebrated our free pizza winning and cheered ourselves up over the loss with Cafe Rio. A perfect celebration/mourning mix. Unfortunately, after this game, BYU went down to #19 in the rankings. :(

5. TRUE BLUE FOOTBALL. What can I possibly say?!?!?! LOVE IT. I have an uncommon love for wrestling around in foreign substances, namely, jello, pudding, mashed potatoes, and now, BLUE FOAM. It's a habit I learned in high school. We did that sort of stuff all the time. BUT SO, I went to True Blue football with Dani, two of our BFFs from our new ward, Kevin and Ted, and then Brad and Andrew met us there. There were masses of people there and masses of blue foam. Someday I'll figure out how to produce such a large amount of foam and host foam parties in my backyard for the neighborhood kids. And we'll have a giant slip 'n slide and everything. Best moment at true blue football: when I smashed a bunch of foam in Dani's face and she started choking and coughing, and THEN, Hannah didn't notice that Dani was already convulsing because of what I did, and SHE DID IT AGAIN with ANOTHER load of blue, soapy foam. Dani, I think, kind of almost died. It was very sad that she was choking, and we all stood there awkwardly while she coughed on the ground, but seriously, IT WAS HILARIOUS. It was also pretty great when we stuffed the foam under our shirts and in our pants and looked like giant, blubber foam smurf people. I crashed into people, splattering foam all over them. It was fantastic.

In case you can't see people through the blueness, from left it goes: Stephen, Dani, Hannah, Andrew, me, and Brad.

6. The Colorado State Game. A lazy win, a predictable game. But it was super great anyway. I sat with Dani at first (but then she went home because she wasn't feeling good), then with Kaitlin, Spencer, and Kyle. Kaitlin was my football buddy for the last couple years, so it was just peachy to be with her. I miss my old girls. (Meg, come back to me!!!!) I don't care if a game is exciting (I mean, an exciting game is preferable, but not required), because I just love to sit in the sun, be in a football stadium, and be matching with everyone I see. (I LOVE it when things/people match. Some people don't like to match. I LOVE IT. That's why I love weddings so much. Because everything matches.)

In conclusion, I am true blue and proud. School spirit is one of my favorite inventions.

To sum up last Saturday, there are two other events I must mention.

1) The rope swing. I went with our ward BFFs, Kevin, Ted, and Josh, and our FHE mom, Jessica, to a rope swing in Mona. The weather was perfectly warm, but the water was FREEZING cold. But it was really pretty, and the rope swing was awesome. There were platforms built up in trees like treehouses to jump from. It was quite elaborate. I want to go back.

2) I went to "Up" with Cameron and his gang on Saturday night. LOVE THAT MOVIE. It's just precious. Dug, Kevin, Russell, and Mr. Frederickson: you rock.

I didn't go on a mission. Yet.

As many of you have probably noticed, I didn't go on a mission. Yes, it was part of my plan MY WHOLE LIFE. But, when it came time to turn in my papers, it simply did not feel right. I am very happy to be back at BYU (if you didn't already gather from my other posts: I LOVE BYU), in Provo, close to my family, with my roommates, etc.

Reasons why I am glad that I stayed home:
1. My brother is getting married. I could not/would not have ever missed this anyway, but I am very glad to be around and involved with the whole thing. Many of you know how much I adore my brother. It's like A LOT.
2. Dani and Rachelle are awesome to live with. Why would I risk living with companions that I didn't get along with when I have these awesome girls to grow with and learn from? They are amazing girls. PLUS, Lauren and Ann are right across the street!
3. BYU football is currently my favorite thing on the planet (except, of course, the important things like church and family and Harry Potter and the Michael Jackson movie...) In all honesty, one of the first things I thought of once I had decided to stay home was that I was going to be able to watch BYU football games. Football season makes me really happy. And having school spirit makes me really happy. Dani and I have made a goal to learn all the players names, recognize them by sight, and memorize all the referee signals. I'm pretty football literate already, but these are some necessary improvements. Look for a post detailing the BYU football experience later. I know I posted one last year, but I love it too much to let the first couple games go unrecorded.
4. I got a job at the Special Collections in the BYU Library. I am VERY excited about this idea. I actually start the job tomorrow. So... BYU jobs are very competitive because everyone on campus is looking for a job at the same time. I was one of the lucky ones who got the only job that I applied for. And that doesn't mean that I'm super cool or anything, it just means that my network was powerful enough. The people that I worked with in Washington, particularly Alison, knew a man at the Special Collections, talked to him about me at the SAA conference in Houston a couple of weeks ago, and then he emailed ME asking if I was interested in a job he had available. I said yes, interviewed, got the job, and am now officially an employee of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections at the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University. Yay!
5. I think I'm really going to like my ward. The bishopric is very organized, the people are fun, it doesn't feel like a meat market, and I have a real calling! The ward has three relief societies (Yeah, I had never heard of that either), and I'm in the presidency of my relief society. I am really grateful for the opportunity and excited to get involved. It's really a blessing.
6. I get to live in Northern Utah with Stephanie AND Elise.
7. I can talk to my Mom and Dad whenever I want to, and not just on Mother's Day and Christmas.
8. I get to be around when Jenny has her baby. I think about that baby quite frequently, actually. I'm excited to have a best friend baby. Maybe I'll get to be a godmother or something! Hint, hint Jenny.
9. I didn't have to say goodbye to my Washington friends and be forgotten forever more. I still see Kate, Cameron, Erik, and sometimes Taryn on a regular basis. And we are planning parties and reunions. I'm so glad that I got to know all these people. They are amazing. (But I miss Genevieve, who is still living the dream life in Arlington, VA.) I actually think about the District a lot. I really do miss it. Somehow, someway, I am going to find a way back there. I'm toying with the idea of going to grad school at Maryland or something. Then I can live in College Park and do a fellowship with the Library of Congress or something (I met the people in charge of that program this summer, and my friend Matt from the Museum That Must Not Be Named wants to apply too!)
10. If I went on a mission I would miss my Sugardoll, Moriah, too much. She's too precious to be away from for too long.

In closing, I have not completely thrown out the idea of going on a mission, obviously. That is what the "Yet" part was for in the title of this post. But, for now, I feel very good about being home. I will think about a mission again later. AND, if it so happens that I don't go on a mission while I'm young, I have several years of being an old person to serve a mission in. It's something that I want to do eventually, it is the WHEN that I have to concern myself with.


Goal for next semester: Be a history TA.

Sunshine

The weekly review: (I really like this game, by the way)
Sunday: I spontaneously drove to Huntsville, Utah for my cousin Dallas's ordination to the Aaronic Priesthood. It was great to see my aunts and uncles- and me and Dax are still best friends :) After all the festivities at Dave and Sherry's house, I drove to my Grandma Colleen's house. That was very dangerous because she very nearly convinced me to stay the night. I would have missed my Monday classes, which is not good. I refrained, luckily. And yes, I know that I look pale and gross in that picture with Daxton.
Monday: School, Cafe Rio, and 80's BOWLING!!! YAY YAY YAY! I LOVE Cafe Rio. My St. George Pebbles friend Becky was in town, so she took me, Lauren, and Kelsey all to Cafe Rio for dinner! It was like a mini St. George Pebbles reunion! I love those guys. Thanks Becky! For 80's bowling we dressed up in our favorite 80's attire, and no, it does not get old! Pictures are below! I have to say, though, that I am a very, very, very horrible bowler. I think I've had one strike in my entire life of bowling. But that's okay, because bowling is super fun anyway, and it's even more super fun when it's cheap and you're dressed all crazy! I also have to comment that my side ponytails are AMAZING.
Tuesday: School, AMERICAN IDOL!!!!! Not only do I love American Idol, but I also love Michael Jackson. And guess who was featured on last weeks' episode???!! The one and only! I thoroughly enjoyed the episode. I obviously watched with a very critical eye and frowned at the majority of the contestants' imitations (how DARE he try to perform Beat It??), but I LOVED Matt Giraud's version of Human Nature. I actually bought it on iTunes, and I have now listened to it more times than the actual version. I have even admitted to several people (and now the world) that I like Matt's version better than Michael's (collective GASP! here). Also, I think I need to update on the MJ/London concerts/This is it thing. So, there were originally going to be 10 shows, like I mentioned in the last post. However, the demand was SO HIGH, that he actually extended the ten shows in July to 50 shows running all the way into February of 2010. To add to all of that, all 50 shows SOLD OUT in the first 5 HOURS of pre-sale. RIDICULOUS, but SO COOL! So, even if I could afford a plane ticket to London, I couldn't go to the concert anyway. It is simply no longer even possible. :)
Wednesday: School, Work.
Thursday: School, work, employee crop night! This is starting to be a regular every Thursday thing, and I love it. I love scrapbooking.
Friday: School, work, Baskin Robbins with Meghan and Lorina, and Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. It took me like a half an hour to even remember what we did because it was so uneventful and SO not exciting.

Saturday: BEST DAY EVER! I slept in until eleven, went to the gym, went to Zupas for lunch with Meghan (I LOVE tomato basil soup), and then went to the BASEBALL GAME! I love baseball games! It was really warm and sunny and beautiful and perfect. We just basked in the sun for a couple hours while we watched BYU kill Utah at baseball. What could possibly be better? And when you look at the pictures, notice the sun in our faces (I love the sun!) and the beautiful baseball field with the mountains in the background. I love BYU. Then, me and Meg went to Pebbles to make invitation for Kaitlin's bridal shower and to Wal-Mart to get groceries (and a key lime pie). THEN, against all rules of Audrey Life, me, Meg, Kaitlin, Paul, Kyle, and Spencer went to Pizza Factory for dinner. I am not supposed to eat out 2 times in one day! I don't have any money! I am on a money spending fast now, and I promise, I can totally do it. I didn't any money except on gas for like the whole month of July because I was saving for D.C. The last event of the day was the PIE PARTY! Because it was March 14th, or 3.14, it was Pi Day, and we ate pie to celebrate. It was very delicious and festive.Kaitlin and Spencer had a fight with their pie. :/ Engaged people. Pah.

So that was my week- the end. And if you read this one, you get bonus points, because I know that my posts are getting more and more boring because my blog has turned into a journal and an account of my life, and not anything that is actually exciting. And, I am starting to write a plethora of run-on sentences, because let's face it, that is how I talk. THE END!

P.S. We finally got our dishwasher handle fixed! It had been like 6 months since it broke!