I got a letter from Scott today and in it he told me about this video they watched during the 3rd hour of church and how much he loved it. He told me to look it up on youtube and that I "NEED" to watch it.
I searched it easily and really enjoyed it, so I want to share it with all of you :)
You may not feel that you NEED to watch it, but you will not regret it - it is so inspiring and beautiful. I hope you enjoy it :)
Advice from Elder Busche
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
A Plethora
A little bit ago I was surprised that it was already October, and now we are already half way through the month! CRAZY! Time sure flies... I've been pretty busy lately with classes, midterms, papers, and working.
Catering is going great. I don't get too many hours, but that has been kind of nice actually because it allows me to focus on all my school work and then still have a social life of sorts. My groundskeeper job for my apartment complex is going well too. Cleaning the BBQs isn't the most entertaining of jobs and isn't good when it is raining, but its working out well. As a college student, I'll take money however I can :)
Here are some random adventures/fun times that I have enjoyed in the past several weeks:
-True Blue-
Every year BYU has a "True Blue Football" event where there are games and slides of blue foam. Lots and lots of blue foam :) I didn't go last year but I saw many people covered in blue dye, so it looked way fun. This year I went with Kelsey and we met up with a bunch of her friends from back home in Oregon.
It was such a strange sensation to be walking around in blue foam that reached up to my knees! We had a great time and turned pretttty blue, so it was interesting to get back home and showered without leaving a blue trail behind us the whole way. The dye was nothing a little rinse and repeat couldn't handle, so luckily we were not permanent smurfs :)
Me, Kelsey, and Vanessa before
Our whole smurf group
as you can see, I was covered... and pretty cold
-Photo Shoot-
My roommates and I had meant to do a photo shoot for a while, and then we finally decided to just go for it one night. Abbey was kind enough to be our photographer, so we took some fun pictures around our apartment complex. Here are some of the results:
-Dragon sound?-
One morning I woke up early before class so that I could cram in a little bit more studying before a history essay exam. Here is the scene: I was sitting at my desk by my window reading notes with the blinds closed. I am tired because it is early [for me at least] and as I sit there I keep hearing this weird noise at random times. For some reason this was my thought, "where is that dragon sound coming from?" haha, clearly I was tired :)
After I heard it several more times I opened up my blinds and this is what I see-
A Hot Air Balloon right outside my bedroom window! How random!! And that is why I kept hearing the "dragon sounds" haha
That woke me right up and I watched them for a little bit before going back to my reading. They started floating away shortly after that and I snapped a picture of them rising by the Y.
I love the view right outside my window - even when there is not a large balloon floating outside it :)
Here is a view one rainy/cloudy day from my window:
-Reppin' from afar-
As I was walking home after class one day I passes a garbage dumpster that had this on the side. I thought it was cool to see one of these all the way here in Provo and it made me think of my brother, so I thought I'd share :)
[My brother Nathan works at a skate shop called Pharmacy Boardshop, and this is one of their stickers. The company started in Victoville, CA]
-My own personal Sun-
I worked an event for BYU Catering last night where they had really cool hot air balloon decorations. They were huge balloons that were filled with helium and tied to little baskets using a special netting so they floated above the ground like mini Hot Air Balloons- very cute! There were 10 of the huge balloons in total and all night me and my co-workers were looking at them and wanting to take them home. So when we were cleaning up we each claimed one and got to take it home when we got off work :)
I got a yellow one [my favorite color!] and had a lot of fun taking it home. Many different people talk to you if you are carrying a 3 foot yellow balloon. One lady even asked me if she could take a picure of it, haha. I had fun talking to them and explaining why I had it [a common question I received]. I told the lady that took the picture that it felt like my own personal sun :) it was a lot of fun and I am enjoying it floating above me at this very moment as it is tied to my desk.
So not only do I get yummy food from working at catering, but also fun left-over balloons! Score! :)
tied to my desk corner :)
I LOVE this balloon! :)
So now let's see what other adventures lay ahead, and how fast the rest of the month flies by! :)
Catering is going great. I don't get too many hours, but that has been kind of nice actually because it allows me to focus on all my school work and then still have a social life of sorts. My groundskeeper job for my apartment complex is going well too. Cleaning the BBQs isn't the most entertaining of jobs and isn't good when it is raining, but its working out well. As a college student, I'll take money however I can :)
Here are some random adventures/fun times that I have enjoyed in the past several weeks:
-True Blue-
Every year BYU has a "True Blue Football" event where there are games and slides of blue foam. Lots and lots of blue foam :) I didn't go last year but I saw many people covered in blue dye, so it looked way fun. This year I went with Kelsey and we met up with a bunch of her friends from back home in Oregon.
It was such a strange sensation to be walking around in blue foam that reached up to my knees! We had a great time and turned pretttty blue, so it was interesting to get back home and showered without leaving a blue trail behind us the whole way. The dye was nothing a little rinse and repeat couldn't handle, so luckily we were not permanent smurfs :)
Me, Kelsey, and Vanessa before
Our whole smurf group
as you can see, I was covered... and pretty coldMy roommates and I had meant to do a photo shoot for a while, and then we finally decided to just go for it one night. Abbey was kind enough to be our photographer, so we took some fun pictures around our apartment complex. Here are some of the results:
-Dragon sound?-
One morning I woke up early before class so that I could cram in a little bit more studying before a history essay exam. Here is the scene: I was sitting at my desk by my window reading notes with the blinds closed. I am tired because it is early [for me at least] and as I sit there I keep hearing this weird noise at random times. For some reason this was my thought, "where is that dragon sound coming from?" haha, clearly I was tired :)
After I heard it several more times I opened up my blinds and this is what I see-
A Hot Air Balloon right outside my bedroom window! How random!! And that is why I kept hearing the "dragon sounds" haha
That woke me right up and I watched them for a little bit before going back to my reading. They started floating away shortly after that and I snapped a picture of them rising by the Y.
I love the view right outside my window - even when there is not a large balloon floating outside it :)
Here is a view one rainy/cloudy day from my window:
-Reppin' from afar-
As I was walking home after class one day I passes a garbage dumpster that had this on the side. I thought it was cool to see one of these all the way here in Provo and it made me think of my brother, so I thought I'd share :)
[My brother Nathan works at a skate shop called Pharmacy Boardshop, and this is one of their stickers. The company started in Victoville, CA]-My own personal Sun-
I worked an event for BYU Catering last night where they had really cool hot air balloon decorations. They were huge balloons that were filled with helium and tied to little baskets using a special netting so they floated above the ground like mini Hot Air Balloons- very cute! There were 10 of the huge balloons in total and all night me and my co-workers were looking at them and wanting to take them home. So when we were cleaning up we each claimed one and got to take it home when we got off work :)
I got a yellow one [my favorite color!] and had a lot of fun taking it home. Many different people talk to you if you are carrying a 3 foot yellow balloon. One lady even asked me if she could take a picure of it, haha. I had fun talking to them and explaining why I had it [a common question I received]. I told the lady that took the picture that it felt like my own personal sun :) it was a lot of fun and I am enjoying it floating above me at this very moment as it is tied to my desk.
So not only do I get yummy food from working at catering, but also fun left-over balloons! Score! :)
tied to my desk corner :)
I LOVE this balloon! :)So now let's see what other adventures lay ahead, and how fast the rest of the month flies by! :)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday Devotional
I love attending BYU and the amazing opportunities that come with it!
Every Tuesday we have a Devotional or a Forum, and a few weeks ago we were privileged to have the Prophet come to speak! President Monson gave a great talk about the Prophets of the church that he had experienced during his lifetime and he gave little recaps of their examples and teachings. He provided personal experiences that he had with each of them and filled it with lots of comedy. It was such an incredible experience, and I am so grateful that I was able to attend, along with thousands of my fellow students!
the VERY crowded Marriott Center
Pres. Monson and many BYU Stake Presidents on the stand
I had a great seat, thanks to Abbey
the swarms of students leaving the Marriott Center
[I miss living right by the Bell Tower]
Every Tuesday we have a Devotional or a Forum, and a few weeks ago we were privileged to have the Prophet come to speak! President Monson gave a great talk about the Prophets of the church that he had experienced during his lifetime and he gave little recaps of their examples and teachings. He provided personal experiences that he had with each of them and filled it with lots of comedy. It was such an incredible experience, and I am so grateful that I was able to attend, along with thousands of my fellow students!
the VERY crowded Marriott Center
Pres. Monson and many BYU Stake Presidents on the stand
I had a great seat, thanks to Abbey
the swarms of students leaving the Marriott Center[I miss living right by the Bell Tower]
Girl's Night
After moving into our new apartment, my roommates and I decided to have a girls night in order to show people our new home and have fun by taking advantage of the living room and tv. We invited over a bunch of friends and asked them to bring desserts to share while we watched a chick flick. We had a pretty good turnout and enjoyed lots of yummy snacks. My personal favorite was a cream cheese lemon bar magnificence. I need to remember to get that recipe from her...
Here are some pictures I snapped because I knew that my sister would be expecting the full story :)
Kelsey, me, and Karina - the hostesses
part of the crowd as we picked a movie
the other half and the table of goodies
So naturally we pulled over to park and dug for the camera. Thanks to the little boy who was just walking away after giving Mario and Luigi high-fives, we got this memorable shot with the famous Italian brothers
A Friday night well spent!
Here are some pictures I snapped because I knew that my sister would be expecting the full story :)
Kelsey, me, and Karina - the hostesses
part of the crowd as we picked a movie
the other half and the table of goodiesThe night was a lot of fun and it was awesome to hang out with all these girls and enjoy one of my personal favorite Chick Flicks - Never Been Kissed :)
Before all of that fun though, we had a little unexpected adventure. On our way back from Walmart we looked to the side of the road and saw this scene:
Before all of that fun though, we had a little unexpected adventure. On our way back from Walmart we looked to the side of the road and saw this scene:
So naturally we pulled over to park and dug for the camera. Thanks to the little boy who was just walking away after giving Mario and Luigi high-fives, we got this memorable shot with the famous Italian brothers
A Friday night well spent!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
An Unexpected Week
Classes started last Monday and they all went really well. I have some cool teachers and interesting classes. I think its gonna be a great semester. Monday and Wednesday are my really busy days- I have class @ 9 [History], 10 [Intro to English Language (Linguistics)], 11 [Humanities], 12 [Genealogy], and 2 [Physical Science Lab]. Its not too hard to just go straight from one to the other because I am enjoying the classes and it is nice to not have to sit around killing time for a while. Last year I would just go back to my dorm between classes, but that isn't so easy when I live off campus.
Tuesday and Thursday I don't have class until 12 [New Testament], and then I have one more at 2 [Physical Science], so that is a nice break after my busy days.
Friday I have classes @ 9 [History], 10 [Linguistics], and 11 [Humanities] - and then it is the weekend :)
So besides going to my classes last week I also looked for a job and got hired by the BYU Catering as a Waitstaff! I am excited for this because it will work around my schedule and I have heard great things about people who have worked for them before. I will start working there sometime this upcoming week.
But the REAL interesting and unexpected adventures came later in the week... through talking to some old friends who happen to work in Off-Campus Housing this year, my roommates and I found out some interesting information about our apartment. It is a pretty long story, but the readers digest version goes something like this: there was illegal activity going on as some unapproved construction was being done (which we had been lied to about), our apartment was constantly at 80 degrees, there were holes in the walls which showed crumbling foundation or which were just covered with ply wood, it was in poor condition, and we were told that we needed to get out of there as soon as we could.
We knew that our apartment was ghetto, but we were trying to make it work. After we learned more information and talked to BYU employees who knew more about what we should have been receiving as tenants, we began to search for a new apartment. This was on Thursday. We ended up searching and calling around that day for a new place to live. Friday we spoke with our landlord and were released from our contracts quite easily. Basically our landlord didn't want to deal with us and our situation and told us that "it would be best to just have a clean start. You should probably just start looking for another place to live." Yeah - it was too easy to get out of our housing contract... another sign of the sketchiness of the apartment complex and the people running it.
Friday evening I ended up signing a contract at a new very nice apartment complex with my roommate Kelsey while Dani and Karina were looking into other housing options. Saturday morning I got my full refund of all that I had payed to Crown Apartments and after a little battle with the landlord and his manager/lawyer from New Zealand, whose only argument was to threaten to take back our checks and tell us we were rude [when they were the shady characters], we were told to be out of the apartment that day. Kelsey and I packed up everything and prepared to move to Alpine Village as our other roommates went to look at other complexes and houses which had available contracts.
In the end Karina decided to come to Alpine with Kelsey and I, while Dani chose to sign with another apartment complex near where we were living in Crown. We were sad to not all be together, but at the same time Kelsey, Karina, and I were SO excited because where we were moving is an extremely nice place. It is more like a hotel than a college apartment. We had tons of help thanks to Kelsey's brother being in town for the weekend and there were several cars and guys to help move all of our belongings to our new home in a matter of a few hours.
It was a CRAZY few days, but we are so grateful for all that has happened. So many things lined up perfectly for us to get out of that awful situation. We were extremely fortunate and feel very blessed to be able to live here now. The weekend was spent thanking those that helped us move, and in getting our new apartment all set up. It was not how we expected to be spending our first weekend of the semester, but it has all worked out pretty well :)
Here is where I lived before [Crown Apartments]
**these pictures make it look much nicer than it actually was**
my side of the bedroom
our bathroom and vanity that us 4 girls shared
our tiny kitchen
our living room which we tried to decorate
more of the living room
Here is where I live now [Alpine Village]
Our living room with the mounted flat screen tv that came with it
Kitchen viewed from the living room
hallway to bedrooms and our own washer & dryer
our vanity area and one of the bathrooms
my bedroom shelf/closet
my bedroom desk/bulletin board
my bed and picture collage
Tuesday and Thursday I don't have class until 12 [New Testament], and then I have one more at 2 [Physical Science], so that is a nice break after my busy days.
Friday I have classes @ 9 [History], 10 [Linguistics], and 11 [Humanities] - and then it is the weekend :)
So besides going to my classes last week I also looked for a job and got hired by the BYU Catering as a Waitstaff! I am excited for this because it will work around my schedule and I have heard great things about people who have worked for them before. I will start working there sometime this upcoming week.
But the REAL interesting and unexpected adventures came later in the week... through talking to some old friends who happen to work in Off-Campus Housing this year, my roommates and I found out some interesting information about our apartment. It is a pretty long story, but the readers digest version goes something like this: there was illegal activity going on as some unapproved construction was being done (which we had been lied to about), our apartment was constantly at 80 degrees, there were holes in the walls which showed crumbling foundation or which were just covered with ply wood, it was in poor condition, and we were told that we needed to get out of there as soon as we could.
We knew that our apartment was ghetto, but we were trying to make it work. After we learned more information and talked to BYU employees who knew more about what we should have been receiving as tenants, we began to search for a new apartment. This was on Thursday. We ended up searching and calling around that day for a new place to live. Friday we spoke with our landlord and were released from our contracts quite easily. Basically our landlord didn't want to deal with us and our situation and told us that "it would be best to just have a clean start. You should probably just start looking for another place to live." Yeah - it was too easy to get out of our housing contract... another sign of the sketchiness of the apartment complex and the people running it.
Friday evening I ended up signing a contract at a new very nice apartment complex with my roommate Kelsey while Dani and Karina were looking into other housing options. Saturday morning I got my full refund of all that I had payed to Crown Apartments and after a little battle with the landlord and his manager/lawyer from New Zealand, whose only argument was to threaten to take back our checks and tell us we were rude [when they were the shady characters], we were told to be out of the apartment that day. Kelsey and I packed up everything and prepared to move to Alpine Village as our other roommates went to look at other complexes and houses which had available contracts.
In the end Karina decided to come to Alpine with Kelsey and I, while Dani chose to sign with another apartment complex near where we were living in Crown. We were sad to not all be together, but at the same time Kelsey, Karina, and I were SO excited because where we were moving is an extremely nice place. It is more like a hotel than a college apartment. We had tons of help thanks to Kelsey's brother being in town for the weekend and there were several cars and guys to help move all of our belongings to our new home in a matter of a few hours.
It was a CRAZY few days, but we are so grateful for all that has happened. So many things lined up perfectly for us to get out of that awful situation. We were extremely fortunate and feel very blessed to be able to live here now. The weekend was spent thanking those that helped us move, and in getting our new apartment all set up. It was not how we expected to be spending our first weekend of the semester, but it has all worked out pretty well :)
Here is where I lived before [Crown Apartments]
**these pictures make it look much nicer than it actually was**
my side of the bedroom
our bathroom and vanity that us 4 girls shared
our tiny kitchen
our living room which we tried to decorate
more of the living roomHere is where I live now [Alpine Village]
Our living room with the mounted flat screen tv that came with it
Kitchen viewed from the living room
hallway to bedrooms and our own washer & dryer
our vanity area and one of the bathrooms
my bedroom shelf/closet
my bedroom desk/bulletin board
my bed and picture collageI LOVE my new apartment!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Back in the Bubble
Last Wednesday I made the 10 hour drive in my little car [aka the white stallion] from Palmdale to my new apartment in Provo. Classes start tomorrow at BYU, so I came up a few days early to have fun with my roommates and to get our apartment all set up for the year :)
I made pretty good time on my drive and got through it alone by playing my music on my iPod and singing along really loudly. I highly recommend it - nobody is there to make you feel self-conscious and it can be very entertaining :) My last stop before arriving in Provo was in Washington City, UT where there is an In-N-Out. Sadly this is the closest In-N-Out to me while up at school... but not for long! Yesterday on my way back from Walmart I saw this sign which made my day:
Yesssss!!
Anywho... I arrived at my new apartment just before 5 pm and with the help of my roommate Dani and her boyfriend, all of my stuff was unpacked from my car. It took a bit longer for all of my belongings to be unpacked from the bags and boxes, but it is all done now and that is what matters :)
I have had a lot of fun with my roommates Dani [who I share a room with], Karina, and Kelsey! I think that this is going to be a great year! We have been working hard to make our apartment our home and to get it looking cute - the ghetto-ness is less apparent now ;) We still have a bit of work to do and once it is all done I will post some pictures.
I miss my family back in California and I love them very much, but I know that I have plenty of people near me here who I can turn to. In addition to my roommates I have friends from back home, my cousin Katy who is here for her freshman year, Scott's younger sister who is here for her freshman year as well, and Scott's grandparents who live a few miles away. I got to visit with them a few days ago when I stopped by to pick up some belongings they stored for me over the summer and that was so fun! It was nice to see them again and to catch up on our summers. They are so sweet and I am grateful to know that they are there for me :)
I am very excited for the upcoming semester... but we'll see how that changes once I purchase my books and classes start. I'm optimistic about it though. This semester I'm also going to try to find a job, so that will be a new adventure which I am looking forward to. I guess I'll just have to let it flow and see how it goes! :) [and I'll try to keep up my blogging for it all!]
I made pretty good time on my drive and got through it alone by playing my music on my iPod and singing along really loudly. I highly recommend it - nobody is there to make you feel self-conscious and it can be very entertaining :) My last stop before arriving in Provo was in Washington City, UT where there is an In-N-Out. Sadly this is the closest In-N-Out to me while up at school... but not for long! Yesterday on my way back from Walmart I saw this sign which made my day:
Yesssss!!Anywho... I arrived at my new apartment just before 5 pm and with the help of my roommate Dani and her boyfriend, all of my stuff was unpacked from my car. It took a bit longer for all of my belongings to be unpacked from the bags and boxes, but it is all done now and that is what matters :)
I have had a lot of fun with my roommates Dani [who I share a room with], Karina, and Kelsey! I think that this is going to be a great year! We have been working hard to make our apartment our home and to get it looking cute - the ghetto-ness is less apparent now ;) We still have a bit of work to do and once it is all done I will post some pictures.
I miss my family back in California and I love them very much, but I know that I have plenty of people near me here who I can turn to. In addition to my roommates I have friends from back home, my cousin Katy who is here for her freshman year, Scott's younger sister who is here for her freshman year as well, and Scott's grandparents who live a few miles away. I got to visit with them a few days ago when I stopped by to pick up some belongings they stored for me over the summer and that was so fun! It was nice to see them again and to catch up on our summers. They are so sweet and I am grateful to know that they are there for me :)
I am very excited for the upcoming semester... but we'll see how that changes once I purchase my books and classes start. I'm optimistic about it though. This semester I'm also going to try to find a job, so that will be a new adventure which I am looking forward to. I guess I'll just have to let it flow and see how it goes! :) [and I'll try to keep up my blogging for it all!]
Monday, August 24, 2009
Tricky Time
Isn't it strange how time seems to drag on... and on... and then all of a sudden it is over before you know it? Thats pretty much how my summer has gone - I have been so anxious to get back up to BYU and now it is already here! crazy...! [I wish all things would go like that ;)]
I have had a great summer at home with my family and working at Frazier Masonry. Today was my last day at work and now I'm kind of sad that I won't be going back there for a while. My boss bought me lunch today [yummmmy Chipotle :D ] and my coworkers surprised me with a cake to celebrate my going back to college- it was very sweet! I have had the privilege to work with some really great people this summer! Plus my job kept me sane by giving me something to do when I would have just sat at home alone and gone crazy, along with giving me a paycheck which is helping to pay for my tuition - so I have been very grateful for this job! I will definitely miss being the receptionist at the office. But it is time to move on to bigger and better things! [I hope]
What it is really time for is packing. If you know me well, you know that I am a procrastinator... so you aren't surprised that I haven't really started packing yet, when I am leaving in 36 hours exactly. Silly me. And if you do not know me well, now you will learn one thing about me - I generally wait til the last minute to do everything... I don't know why, I just do. Always have, probably always will... I make it work. I think the pressure helps me. But anywho - it is time for the prep, packing, and goodbyes. Then a bit of a drive and I will be back in the bubble of Provo with my awesome roommates! Yay :)
I am definitely going to miss my family and friends in California, but I will do my best to keep up with my blog and I can Skype as well so that will be my way of making up for the distance :)
Here I goooooo!
I have had a great summer at home with my family and working at Frazier Masonry. Today was my last day at work and now I'm kind of sad that I won't be going back there for a while. My boss bought me lunch today [yummmmy Chipotle :D ] and my coworkers surprised me with a cake to celebrate my going back to college- it was very sweet! I have had the privilege to work with some really great people this summer! Plus my job kept me sane by giving me something to do when I would have just sat at home alone and gone crazy, along with giving me a paycheck which is helping to pay for my tuition - so I have been very grateful for this job! I will definitely miss being the receptionist at the office. But it is time to move on to bigger and better things! [I hope]
What it is really time for is packing. If you know me well, you know that I am a procrastinator... so you aren't surprised that I haven't really started packing yet, when I am leaving in 36 hours exactly. Silly me. And if you do not know me well, now you will learn one thing about me - I generally wait til the last minute to do everything... I don't know why, I just do. Always have, probably always will... I make it work. I think the pressure helps me. But anywho - it is time for the prep, packing, and goodbyes. Then a bit of a drive and I will be back in the bubble of Provo with my awesome roommates! Yay :)
I am definitely going to miss my family and friends in California, but I will do my best to keep up with my blog and I can Skype as well so that will be my way of making up for the distance :)
Here I goooooo!
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