Life Keeps Coming

So I've failed at blogging (again).  It's been over a month (so if you look at the last post, it says January 4th but it's a lie... it was written forever ago and I never posted it until just now but I made it say January 4th because it seemed like a date I should have blogged but didn't).  I feel as if I only blog if I have things I should be doing (such as finals or work) rather than things I wanna do (like hanging out with my friends).  So, as you can guess, I'm currently sitting in a class (work & school at the same time) procrastinating listening (I know-people totally wonder why I don't fail out... just luck I guess)! :P

But since I'm not dead yet, I decided to update people (okay, myself) on life!  Wellll... firstly, I (and my roomies) survived finals!  It was a slight miracle considering the amount of procrastination and grumpiness I had during finals.  And--I didn't do too shabby on my grades (like, I didn't flunk out).  Actually, I've adopted this new philosophy:

I think it will work out well and I'll be less/semi-unstressed!

Wellll... after the semester ended, I went home for Christmas!  Not that home isn't wonderful but... it was slightly a lot a time to be at home with nothing to do!  So... needless to say, I found things to do!  I painted Mattie's room (interruption time... so I was at Home Depot and picking up paint for another room and I saw this shelf of "Opps Paint" with a gallon of paint/primer that we like... and it was this slightly, possibly ugly blue color but it was $5 so I bought it in hopes that it would cover Matt's walls AND not look ugly!  Guess what... it did both!)... that was pretty fun but I remember why I'm not a big fan of painting especially rooms with chair molding!  So this is the finish product... not too shabby if I do say so myself!

After that project was finished, I cleaned and organized like I do.  I packed Lisa's box o' crap--and trust me, the picture doesn't do it justice.  In reality, she owned a lot more stuff than this but I took this after I worked consolidating it for a few, you know... hours!  My grandpa picked up all her stuff from Florida and brought it back to us.  My family is going to bring it to Matt in a few weeks but there was no way it could all fit into his truck or our van in this state.  So... I repacked and threw out a lot of stuff!  The good thing about going through her stuff is that I got to keep stuff (hahaha... just kidding... mostly... although I did take a couple pairs of jeans and shirts).

So this is the before picture... where I couldn't fit all the stuff into the picture.  It looks a lot better now. This took a dayish but hopefully Matt can get all their stuff back to California now!  Oh and a quick update on them!  Lisa still in CA and Matt just finished Core Men School (don't know what its really called) in Texas!  He graduated high in his class and got to pick to go back to CA-which is good for both of them!  He'll be headed back (with all this crap) in just a few weeks and should be stationed there for the next 5(?) years!

I also got my wisdom teeth out but I have no pictures (you're welcome)!  It really wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be but the dentist took FOREVER making me anticipate it like horribly!  I didn't even cry.  Speaking of health, I forgot to mention how I got my finger pricked at the doctor AND didn't pass out... can you say improvement!

AND... Christmas happened!  It was super fun and decently small (compared to normal Christmases)!  Not nearly as much family came in town and my madre was off!  We talked to Lisa and I found out I'm going to have a niece in May (if you didn't figure it out... it's a GIRL)!  Sooo... pictures of stuff below!

David with his maracas 

Andrew, Matt, & Chris

Me & a snow globe I got (yeah, no one else
in our family takes pictures) 

Mattie with a Jujitsu hoodie

Oh another funny story!  So my dad dressed up as Santa this year for David (my five year old cousin).  So I distracted David with a gingerbread house (yes, that's our house... don't judge) while Santa came to the door.  He knocked, David answered, and freaked out (this is actually the first year David wasn't completely scared of Santa).  David and Santa talked about what David wanted, if Chris/Andrew/Matt were naughty/what they wanted, and so on.  Finally, David asked if Uncle Brent (my uncle he's afraid of) was naughty.  Santa assured David that Uncle B was on the naughty list and would be getting coal (which he explained as a big rock).  So finally, Santa left (he dropped his hat in the front yard though so David had to give it back next year).  When my dad finally got out of the "bathroom," David was telling him all about Santa's visit.  When talking about Uncle B, David said, "Oh... he's naughty... but don't worry-Santa's gonna drop a rock on him."  We all basically died laughing!  And apparently, I just realized how long winded I really am... but if you made it this far... either you're really bored or really procrastinating! So here are pictures of David & Santa!

So I can't turn it but here is David answering
our door for Santa (he thought Santa couldn't find
him this year cause he's at our house...)

Here's Santa & David

Here's David & I working on our gingerbread house

And here... is our master creation.  We decided
to make the wise man and the foolish man rendition...
mostly, I just squirted icing everywhere, David licked his
fingers, ate some, and stuck a little candy on it.  It was pretty
legit!  So yes, be jealous! :P

A shot of it with semi-better lighting (but not much)

Now, I am back in Provo (happy) at school (sad)!  My classes seem like they'll be interesting and my life seems like it'll stay busy!  As for work, still love it!  My co-workers are freaking awesome as is my job!  I can't wait to see what this semester has in store for me!

Oh one more thing... I feel as if I should keep myself updated on my bucket list so here are things I did since I last posted about it:

• Smashing Pumpkins (accomplished with my lovely roomies-Kirsten & Amy-see picture above because I couldn't figure out how to move it down and gave up trying)
• Had a mental breakdown in the testing center (during my stats test... people stared...)
• Break the law (I watched some random lady's bag in the airport... she didn't speak English... probably not the best decision I made in my life considering she disappeared for like 20 minutes but hey, not dead!)
• Find Jeffery's long lost brother (his name is Steve...he is a ninja & trained assassin!  Gnomes are so violent but hey... at least Jeffery has a friend!  Thanks Amy Lynn!

• See the lights @ temple square (look at this post)
• Not fail stats (yah!  I won!  But I haven't burned my book yet... it's coming though)
• Picture with Cosmo

Things I added to my list... 

• Keep Steve in my house for-like-ever
• Get the thrown away Krispy Kreams with Rachel (if we can both put our germiness aside)
• Become a hobo (for at least a day or so... if my backup plan doesn't get inacted of course)
• Go to Santa School... yeah, it exists
• And other stuff I can't think of at the moment/didn't write down so this is all I'll share! 

Family

I freaking LOVE my family!  You know, sometimes most of the time, they are embarrassing, tacky, and talk nonsense but you know what-I realized tonight how well I fit in with them!  Like currently (when I actually wrote this), I'm suppose to be listening to my dad read the night before Christmas cajun style (yes, he uses an accent and the book is different... it looks like this)!  And our tree--well, it's pre-lit but all the lights went out.  Our family, being too cheap to buy a new tree, decided to just string random lights in... doesn't look too bad until you get up close (then you realize that there are random lights not working)!  And we were def that tacky house on the street this year which had a random string of lights out on our roof in the middle... it was great so nobody changed it cause it just made us laugh!  So here are some pictures of my family!  They are freaking wonderful!

Lisa & Matt with our future niece Riley Paige

My whole family

Becca, Me, & Aunt Beth

Below are pictures from our family past!  I didn't put very many because it took FOREVER to upload!  But basically, moral of the story... my family is freaking awesome!

Mattie, Andrew, David, Aunt G-dog, Chris, & Uncle Jason

David with Raggady Ann and Andy

Granddad, David, & Mimi (Christmas 2010)

Aunt Colleen & Me

Chris & his prize fish

Chris & Andrew (who has no prize fish)

Matt Man & Me

Lisa

My Family (we have like no pics of our whole family as kids)

Kay Kay & her mud

Mega & her mud

Mega again but I felt this was a great face

Mattie & Lisa playing sick pull

Mattie in Flordia

Lisa, Me, Mattie, & Dad in Navuoo (again, lack
family pictures.... btw, my mommy is taking it)

Chris now... where he truly belongs

My real & fake family combined

Christmas & SLC

So I think I'll blog cause I have a test to study for!  So... I'll blog about Christmas (with my roomies) & going to SLC to see the lights!  Christmas was fun-we had it instead of a reading day... which was a good decision on our part! Below is some pictures of our Christmas Eve!  It was super fun--we just had a few close friends over (Tailor, Kaylie, & Weston)!  We sung hymns around the piano (my family tradition) and read the Luke account of the Christmas story!  It was a great night!

 

So Christmas morning was the next morning!  We got up semi-early (according to some's standards) and had delicious pancakes for breakfast.

Ohhhh... funny story!  So Amy wasn't awake yet so I went to get her up!  And T-street has tons (I mean tons--like 15 just at our house) of nutcrackers around our apartment!  Sooo... I took a nutcracker upstairs, put it a couple inches away from Amy's face, and was like, "Hello Amy... wake up!"  Her reaction was slightly wonderful... actually it was really wonderful!

 Anyways, back to Christmas morning!  So we finished up breakfast and started with out stockings!  We all just got the normal stuffs plus a few weirder/random things courtesy of T-street!  So above is Katelyn, Kirsten, and I with our stockings!

And then on to the real gifts.  I got Amy these awesome Ninjabread Men... they were so legit!  Kirsten got her favorite cereal and a book she wanted from Amber.  I got a cute little clock and disneyland snowglobe from Katelyn (and T-street's mom... thanks T-street's mom :)

Amber got this cute PEACE sign from Amy, and I got Amy a sumo suit from DI (it was so awesome... we both tried it on that night)!

AND... Amy got me a garden gnome!  His name is Steve!  It was slightly the most wonderful gift like ever (except all the other gifts I got... they were wonderful too)! But anyways, now my desk is protected and Jeffery has a friend!

This is our wrapping
paper mess!  Isn't it wonder-ful?  I <3 Christ-mas!

 Okay, so this last gift was so epic that even though my blog is being ghetto and won't let me rearrange pictures, I'm going to include it and have an awkward space!  So T-street made this for me-its an ABC book on how to kill bugs!  It is super adorable... I think I'm going to laminate it over Christmas so it doesn't like die an early death!  Anyways, its super cute!  Maybe one day I'll post the pages that are in it... she worked super hard on it!  So thanks T-street for my bug book (I even consulted it the other night)!  :)

So after Christmas morning, we all studied (hahahahaha... jk... we all procrastinated)!  That night, we went to a dance together for our ward Christmas party!  It was pretty dang fun! So below is a picture of all of us roommates before the dance (T-street went home to help her mom with a play she was putting on)!

 TEMPLE TIME! :)  So... last night we got to go look temple square (my first time-my real first time didn't count b/c we had to stay in the car b/c my friend had a broken leg)!  It was so superbly beautiful! This is a picture from the Joseph Smith Building (I think that's what it's called)!

 This is also in the JSB (not on campus :P)!!! The other is just outside the temple!   This is all of us who went--Amber, Katelyn, Me & Tailor!  It was super fun and nice because Tailor knew her way around (A, K, and I would have probably just wandered and been lost/mesmerized/cold if we were alone)!

So that was my week before Christmas break (+ finals which were yucky... but I have no pictures... not that I really want to remember that)!  It was pretty dang fun!  I hope every before finals week is this fun (if it wasn't though, life might possibly be better-not so much panicking about failing probably but hey... at least I had fun!)  :)  

Exam Blessings

This week we have finals!  And so we've had off since last Friday to study for exams.  However, I procrasinated and hung out with my friends and basically did anything I could to NOT study!  So needless to say, I was scared out my socks to take my statistics exam!  All semester I have been like failing at stats... and I've hated it... it was completely awful and I had like the worse attitude about it ever!  So this weekend, I needed to study for stats-but I did not!  So this morning, I woke up at like 6:30 panicking!  I came downstairs, procrastinated, and then started re-panicking at about 9:00.  So I begun to cram!  I just felt like there was so much information and I didn't even know where to start!  But then, I remembered this super awesome person in my stats review (Meagan) saying she just goes through the practice test and does fine.  So I began to go through the practice test!  It took a while, I missed 15, sort of went over them, and decided I was sick of studying.  So I headed up to campus!

While walking up, the real panic ensued (okay, so I've been stressed about a lot for the past couple of weeks so this was not really new panic but it was the most panic I had felt).  And then... all the sudden, I just felt like this overwhelming sense of peace.  I know it was Heavenly Father telling me that everything would be all right!  For the rest of my walk, I couldn't help but smile!

When I got to the testing center, I thought I should review.  As I sat on a bench and pulled out my notebook, I just felt like I should go in and take it!  So I did!  And it turned out wonderfully!  I got a way better grade on it then I had on any of the tests before and it was comprehensive!  I feel so stinking blessed by my Heavenly Father in being able to come to the school and receive the education & help I get!  I know I am absolutely loved by Him! :)

And the basic message I got was... stop trying to plan your life.  Just roll with it!  So we'll see how this works out!

Awesome Story

So I was reading this story and just felt like people might enjoy reading it! :)  So do it... it's probably the best fifteen minutes you'll spend today!  Makes you look at life a little bit differently!
http://bravegirlsclub.com/archives/2151

Happiness Is...

Stepping on hot tar
Smelling honeysuckle on my way to school
Cuddling by a warm fire with a good book
Spending time with my favorite people
Seing Christmas lights
Decorating a Christmas tree
The smell of snow
Sitting in the dark with only the Christmas lights on
Listening to Christmas music on the radio
Bare feet in the grass
Freshly baked cookies and bread
Watching a movie while listening to rain pound down
Frolicking through snow (actually frolicking in general)
The smell of a freshly picked tulip
Drinking homemade grape juice
Getting on a plane knowing you'll be home soon
Bubble wrap
Couch forts
Playing in the sandbox & on the playground
Having marshmallow gun wars
Getting lost with your best friend
Grave hunting
Completing a project
Knowing you get to work with kids for the rest of your life
Tubing down a river
Waking up and realizing you can still go back to sleep
Eating a candy cane on Christmas morning
Building & watching a campfire
Laughing so hard you're crying/spazing out to the point that people think something's wrong with you
Hugging people so intensely that you both fall down
Having a secret handshake with your bestest friend
Learning something new (that's not stats)
Going through the temple
Eating a homegrown  cucumber
Going to football games with your best friends
Stargazing
Living with your best friends
Knowing that stats is almost over

Catch Up On Life

So... I haven't updated in forever!  Well... let me catch my journal thing up (btw, this is why I failed at journal writing in the past)!  Soooo.... yeah, you can give up reading this post if you want!  I mostly posted all this for my journal but if have the attention span to listen to my ramblings/are procrastinating, then enjoy! :)

So I realized I never really wrote about my past family stuffies so just a quick recap.  I am from Louisiana (no, we don't drive a boat to school and yes, my family gator hunts).  I have a brother and sister.  They're names are Matt (17) and Lisa (22).  And of course, my mommy and daddy! :)  Okay, now that that is out of the way, I'll catch up on my life!

Thanksgiving: For Thanksgiving, I went home to see Lisa and meet my new brother-in-law.  His name is Matt like my brother Matt... yeah, its weird... we had to call my real brother Mattie Man and brother-in-law Matt (and just to answer everyones question, NO I WILL NOT MARRY A MATT!!!!!!!).  Anyways, Matt was pretty nice; kinda quiet and not really who I expected Lisa to marry but its all good! It was good to get to hang out with all my family!  We did Lisa & Matt's reception (it was very pink) and family pictures (I wonder if I can submit any of them to awkwardfamilyphotos.com.  I probably can-some of those poses were just awkward!).  I also made Lisa's baby quilt/my art project!  It took A LOT of work and it's super not beautiful but... hey... its mine (or Lisa's after my art teacher grades it).  I also got to go black friday shopping but had to quit early-I stopped at 2am this year because I was sick! :(   That was okay though-I didn't really get any good deals; I just went for the funness of it! :)

Finals: They stink!  So I should be studying right now-hence why my blog is finally getting caught up!  But I only have a few days left of the semester which is SUPER exciting! :)  I am SO done with this semester-especially stats!  I promised myself I'll never let myself take another stats class!  In fact, I just turned in my last stats hw (which I completely guessed on and still made like a 85% on-not too shabby)!  BUT... reading days are coming up soon! So that'll be a good break (sort of)!

Bucket List: Completed only one thing on my bucket list.  I lit a match... sad that this was on there huh?  But, I have never lit one!  It's always just scared me/I thought I would set my apartment on fire (which would be bad for everyone) so I just never tried.  But one night for FHE we were doing a bond fire so Amy Lynn taught me how to light a match! :)   It was exciting... the first one did kinda scare me a little bit but it was worth it!

Public Apology: Dearest Amy Lynn,  I am sorry that I was officially the worse roomie ever yesterday.  Firstly, I distracted her for like 2 hours causing her to leave late for class and run to campus (I am impressed that she made it in like 10 minutes to a building on campus).  THEN... I volunteered her for a talk (I partly blame Weston for this... but mostly my fault)!  This is only guilty good for one month though-after that, I don't take responsibility for talk asking.  And there was something else but I can't remember what it was!  BUT... overall message... sorry I was the worse friend/roomie yesterday!  Glad you are like practically perfect and don't anger :)  You're the bestest (unless my other roomies are reading this... then you're all the best)!

Today: Today was super fun!  I kinda skipped all my classes and went to give assessments at a pre-school for Kathie!  So we got there and we took the kids one at a time.  We read a book with them and used toys to show the actions; then they mapped it (thus the test)!  Anyways... it was super fun!!!!  It's times like these that I remember why I am in the major I am in/not dropping out of school!  I absolutely LOVE teaching and working with the kids!  They are just so wonderful and absolutely adorable!  Then Kathie treated Jess, Danny (Jess's fiance), Haley, and me to lunch at Guro's which was super delicious!    Another random note from today, I also  got super blessed!  I had a final I had to take earlier in the evening and I hadn't studied at all!  I was just stressed and hadn't gotten any sleep (in the past 48 hours, I've slept 9 hours) so I just decided to go for it.  But then... I got this wonderful email from my professor.  She was like, "OPEN BOOK!" and I basically jumped for joy looking like a spaz but its all good cause I didn't fail (much)!

Mucho Blessings: So I have been stressed because of my stats class (I'm terrible at stats... no matter how much I study, I just don't get it)!  So... I was slightly stressed about losing my scholarship-I had basically accepted that stats would kill my scholarship.  BUT THEN... something wonderful happened!!!!  I looked at the GPA requirements for this year and they went down by .02 points from last year!   Yah!  That means that I most likely get to keep my scholarship/can make like a C on my final and still do okay!  Thank you Heaven Father for looking after me/listening to me! :)

Random: I saw my first hockey game yesterday (well last night).  Amber and I went on a walk at like 8:30 last night and ended up wandering pretty far away from out apartment.  SO at about 9:30, we got really cold so we went in Seven Peaks Ice Rink to warm up!  And ended up staying to watch the hockey game/cheer for the underdogs!  It was pretty fun but it also contributed to my lack of sleep.  I also successfully wrote like a million journal entries for English and it was boring!  I also got to caroling with the relief society--that was super fun!  I LOVE caroling! :)

And... I feel like I'm going to stop writing because I am tired of writing so yeps!  AND I'm sure you're tired of reading this (if you made it this far).  When I started this blog, I was all optimistic and was like I'll write once a week... hahahahahahaha!  Well I'm gonna go to bed (even though its 8) because I need to catch up on sleep... well actually I'm gonna go do hw which is more sad :(  but then I'm going to bed so I can like actually function tomorrow!