A Concert

Tonight I am going to The Killer's concert!  I'm pretty excited.  I don't know a lot of their songs, so for about the last 48 hours, I've had them playing pretty much non-stop.  I'm going with my roommates and it's going to be a blast! For those of you who don't know, the lead singer for The Killers is Brandon Flowers.  Here's a little video about him:

The First of Many

I'm still experiencing a lot of "firsts" in my life, and today I finished my first lesson plan.  I was kinda excited when I got done!  I'm going to be doing a whole lot more of these too!!  It was pretty exciting for me to see my ideas on paper.  Hopefully I'll be able to use this in my classroom someday.  This lesson plan is part of my final for my art class, and I got to do it on someone dear to my heart,     Minerva Teichert.

I never knew this lady, but my junior and senior years of high school we started to read her letters to her daughter Laurie.  We would read out of this book for part of FHE.  I learned so much about her and she is an amazing woman!  I got to learn even more about her as I prepared this art curriculum unit for grades 2-4.  It's going to be fun to teach some kids about my grandma, art, and the Cokeville way of life --all at the same time!

Decorating the White House

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas inside the White House.  There is still no snow here, but we're doing the best we can to spread some Christmas cheer. My mom let me bring down a bunch of decorations she wasn't using, and we had fun putting them up the other night. Here are some of my favorite parts of the house...

The Staircase

 The front of our house, complete with the tree in the window :)

We even put up some lights in our kitchen!

I love having our house decorated.  I has so much character, and having decorations makes it feels so much more like a home! It was so much fun listening to Christmas music and decorating with my roomies!  Merry start of the Christmas season everybody!!

Top 11

Thanksgiving Break was AWESOME!  Here's some of my favorite parts :) 

 (In no particular order)

     1. Being in Cokeville :)

     2. Playing get-after-it basketball 

     3. Thanksgiving dinner with TONS of family

     4. Bridal shower for Madi

     5. Lord of the Rings Risk with Sulli and Tessa (to be continued at Christmas)

     6. Putting up Christmas lights with Mom

     7. BIG Bonfire

     8. Duck Dynasty

     9. Dipping lots of pretzels in chocolate - Yum

     10. Setting up the Christmas tree

     11. Just being with my family :)

Hope your Thanksgiving was as awesome as mine :)

People, People!!

I'm so happy because...

It's a gorgeous day, and I'm going home in like 15 minutes :)  I'm pretty excited!  It is going to be a great weekend full of family, friends,  food, and fun!!  

The Micheli's

Saturday I spent the day with these kiddos...

It was so fun!!  I had really been missing these kids.  Brady's not in the picture because Tony had already taken him out to the car...he was exhausted! They took me out to dinner at Chuck-a-rama afterwards, and it was delicious!! Thanks so much for coming down Taff!  It was such a fun day!

(Doesn't she rock this short hair cut?!)

Another Trip to the City

Today's adventure was a total success!!  I almost threw up on the way there (due to car-sickness), but I caught all the right busses and got tons of awesome information!  The Church History Library is amazing, and the people there are so helpful and happy!  And check out this gorgeous building!  

That's the view walking out of the Library.  Now for a fabulous weekend!!

An Adventure

So, a week ago, I went on an adventure.  Where you might ask?  Salt Lake City.  K, so it's not that far from good ol' Provo, but it was definitely an adventure because I am carless and I had to take the bus...all by myself.  I  needed to go to Salt Lake to the Church History Library for some research for a paper in my International Church class.  The rest of my class went together one afternoon/evening, but I was at state volleyball.  

Everything went so smoothly on the way there.  I got on the right bus at the right time and went to the right place, switched onto the trax, and went downtown.  I just had done little problem, but nothing this smarty-pants couldn't figure out :)  So, I made it to the Church History Library with about an hour to spend there.  I met with a nice guy who I had previously talked to, and he had some suggestions for me.  He also told me that most people need at least 4 hours at the Library to really get any information.  Whoa, 4 hours?!  That's a lot of time!!  So, I got to work...

By the time 5 o'clock came around I had NO information, and my bus was going to leave.  So, I quickly told the nice couple missionaries thanks, and ran to the bus stop!  So, the reason for the trip was quite discouraging, because I didn't get any info, but I did learn how to get the things I needed.  The only problem was the only place to get them is at the Library in Salt Lake.  Needless to say, I left the Library a little frazzled.  I needed to find another time in the next week to go to Salt Lake which takes about 2 hours to get there, spend 4 hours at the library, and come back to Provo?!  Wowza!

So, I get to the bus stop and look at my itinerary.  It said the bus was bus 801 Provo/Orem Express and it was supposed to leave at 5:15.  So, it's 5:13, and a bus that says 803 Orem Express pulls up, and I panic!  What if this was my bus?!  I knew it wasn't the right number, but the name seemed right.  The main thing I was worried about was making it back to Provo.  I did NOT want to be stuck in Salt Lake.  So, I hopped on!  A couple stops later a guy sat by me that needed half of my seat too!  I've always wondered what it would be like to be that person on the airplane...haha.  Well I found out on this adventure!!  Let's just hope I've done my time :)

Anyways, it started getting close to the time my itinerary said I should be back to Provo, and I was not! We stopped at UVU, and my bus driver said this was the last stop.  So, he told me a bus would be there in about 2 minutes that could take me to University Avenue.  So, I got off and waited, and waited, and talked to a nice kid until his bus came, and waited some more...  Finally I asked two people if they were by chance going to Provo.  They said no, this was the northbound stop, and I needed to be at the southbound stop under the tunnel, and a little ways away.  So, I headed to the other stop.  The first bus that stopped was a winner!  The driver said he was going to University Ave!  Bless him!  So, he took me to my closest bus stop and explained some important facts about the bus system to me.  I thanked him as I got off the bus, walked right by my house, up the hill to the testing center and rocked my New Testament test!  The hours of studying on the bus paid off even if they did make me car-sick...

So, tomorrow I am going on an adventure again.  It's kinda the same because I'm going back to the Church History Library (yes for 4 hours!), but each adventure is different.  That's what's so great about them!  Maybe I should start looking at everyday as an adventure.  Let's just hope tomorrow's adventure doesn't hold as many surprises as the last one :)

Sweet Seats!

So tonight for the Men's basketball game, this was my ticket :)

It was sweet!  I was right behind the team in these nice, comfy, blue seats.  But the best part, I could see the whole game!  I didn't have to stand and try and look around the tall person in front of me!  (the student section for short people is kinda hard...)  So, how did I score this ticket?  Let me tell ya...

So I went to tithing settlement on Sunday (I know, it's kinda early, but I wanted to make sure I got it done) and I have an awesome Bishop.  He asked me how things were going, ya know, the usual...then he asked me what I did last weekend.  Well, I went to two basketball games, a volleyball game, and the football game.  He then asked if I liked sports, and I was like, yea.  Then he told me he has season tickets that he gives to the ward members for some games.  Then he told me they were on the 3rd row! Then he asked me if I would like some!!  I was like, yea, that'd be sweet!  Then, he added the catch: you have to ask a guy to go with you.  What the heck?!  I told him that that was going to be hard.  I'm just not that bold of a girl.  Then he told me that's the only way I could get the tickets, so I told him I'd try.  So, I left thinking that sometime this season I might get to sit in some nice seats. 

Monday night I got a phone call saying Bishop had 4 tickets for me and Janae, and that we had to get dates.  I panicked a little... I know I've been here a while, but I just don't feel like a know a guy well enough to ask him on a date without creeping him out.  So I texted Janae and told her.  When I got home she had it all figured out:  I asked her brother, and she asked her brother's roommate.  So, maybe we cheated a little bit, but hey, we still got guys to go with us!  It was a dang fun time!  It was fun getting to know Tyler and Bryce better, and the seats were great!  So thanks Bishop!  (Disclaimer: I really liked my bishop before the tickets.  He is a really great guy!)  I enjoyed every moment and tried to soak it all in because it will probably never happen again...

The weekend.

This weekend was so great!  Thursday night Tessa, Mom, and Dad showed up down here in Provo.  Tessa stayed the night with me and then went to school with me Friday morning.

I only had two classes, History 201 and Spanish 105, so she didn't get too bored.  Then we got a maple bar with bacon on it at the CougarEat.  Sounds gross, but it's actually like a pancake with maple syrup and bacon all in one bite.  It wasn't too bad, and it was something NEW!

Then we met back up with Mom and Dad, and Dad and I went on a campus tour with Tess while Mom went Christmas shopping (that was her main reason for coming).  After that we went to the BYU Women's basketball game.  Then Mom met back up with us for dinner at the Creamery.  We then went back to the Marriott Center for the Men's game.  Both the men and women won :)  Go Cougs!!  Our cousin Drew came up from Heber and went to the games and dinner with us.  It was so fun to have him along with us!

I had an intramural basketball game after the game...yea it was at 9:15.  To make a long story short, we ended up having to forfeit our game.  The other team wanted to play us anyways, so that was good, and we won :)  It is tournament time in intramurals, and having to forfeit stinks, but it's double elimination--thank heavens!!  So, we're still in.

Saturday morning we went to Kneader's for breakfast.  They have this all-you-can-eat french toast that is to-die-for!!  I've been raving about it to my family, and it's only $5, so we decided to go.  It definitely did not disappoint.

Then it was off to shopping.  Tess and I walked around the mall with Mom and gave her about a million ideas :)  We left her pretty frazzled, but she always does an amazing job with Christmas!  She gets us the best stuff!  I know she'll do great!  I also really, really, really love surprises, so I don't want to know what I'm getting.  So, I figure if I give her lots of ideas I won't know what I'm getting :)  Then Tess, Dad, and I left Mom at the mall and headed to the BYU Women's volleyball game.

They are super awesome this year!  Then they left.  When we were saying good-bye they said, "See ya in a week and a half!"  Can it be?!  It's flying, but don't worry folks, I've been soaking it all up!!  It's been a fabulous month.  Everyday has been great!  I really can't complain.  So it was so great to see my family and have a fun time with them.

To finish of the day Brooke and I bundled up and went to the 8:15 pm football game.  It was dang cold!  My feet were the only thing that got really cold. That's what happens when you don't have your snow boots... I loved going to the game with Brooke and spending some time with her!  She's such a great girl!  I just love her!  I'm definitely going to miss her next year!

Something Like Olivia

K, so when I first met my dear friend Kennedy she immediately asked me if I'd heard the song Something Like Olivia.  My name's in a song?!  What the hey?!  So, I checked it out:

Not my favorite song in the world, but it is pretty dang cool to hear John Mayer say my name :)  Is your name in a song?  If so, let me know, I want to hear it!  

Today is a BIG Day

Today is election day.  It's kinda a big deal.  This is the first election I have been able to vote in, and it's an awesome privilege.  Now I'm only 19, and I obviously don't know everything, so how did I decide on who I voted for?  I could have just decided I'd vote for whoever my parents liked or who my friends were voting for, but I didn't want to do that.  I wanted my vote to have meaning to me.  I definitely don't know everything, but I have tried to become educated about both candidates.  I tried to find out this information from unbiased articles too so that this decision would be made correctly.  Ultimately, my decision corresponds with my moral values.  I know that the issues of health care and foreign policies and things of the like are very important and sway many people's decisions, but honestly, I don't know a ton about those issues and I don't know what is the best way to handle them either.  What I do know is that one of the candidates has moral values that agree with mine.  

Satan is targeting the family.  The prophet and apostles remind us of this all the time.  I feel that it's so important to keep the family intact the way Heavenly Father planned it to be.  Two of the issues pertaining to the family are gay marriage and abortion.  Now I don't hate gays, nor do I hate people who chose to have abortions, but I definitely do NOT agree with either choice.  Everyone has their own agency, but I just can't vote for a president who does not fight for the sanctity of marriage which is the only way to have an eternal family.  I feel that if gay marriage and abortion are legal, Satan is winning.  

I truly believe that both of these candidates are great men!  They both have great families, and good values.  I just feel that Mitt Romney will be able to lead our country better.  Call me uneducated, naive, young, ignorant--it's true!  I'm 19!  But, I truly feel that I made a correct decision for me based on what matters to me most--not healthcare, foreign relations, taxes--but the protection of the family.  

Here's just a little thought about America from 2 Nephi...

7 Wherefore, this ^aland is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of ^blibertyunto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound ^ccursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.

I know that our country is "one nation under God."  He will protect our country.  No matter who wins the election tonight, I have faith that we are in God's hands.  It is His plan.  Hard times are going to come no matter who wins the election.  But for the sake of the family and America, Go Mitt!!

One of the Best Things Ever!

This is my receipt from tonight:

That's right, the total is $1.68!!  I about did a dance at the register!  I was so stoked.  And what did I get for that $1.68?...

2 jalepeños

some cilantro

2 tomatoes

and 5 bananas

yea...best thing ever!!

dinner.

I just put one of my favorite dinners ever in the oven. Sausage and rice casserole.  It's super delicious.  Now before you go thinking I'm some awesome cook and I make amazing dinners every night  or something, let me clarify.  My mom and I made a bunch of freezer meals before I came to college.  All the spices, seasonings, all the good stuff put in a ziploc, frozen, and just waiting for me to put it in the oven here at school.  It's so genius and so easy!  I love it!  So, thanks mom for helping me make dinner tonight!  It's truly amazing, isn't it?--I get dinner made with my mom, and she's not even here.  Happy cooking everybody :)

El Dia de los Muertos

Today in my clase de español we celebrated the Day of the Dead.  I really, really, really love my Spanish class.  My teacher is the BEST!  Seriously though, two other spanish professors have confirmed it.  I have a bunch of really awesome people in my class too.  I'm only in Spanish 105, so I don't know a lot, but I'm learning so much, and it's so fun!  ¡Me encanta español!  Here's one of my favorite spanish videos.  (Don't worry...there are english sub-titles)  And I'm not going to lie, every time I see a guy with a mustache, it makes me smile.  They're just so great!  haha

(If the subtitles don't come up, click on the "cc" in the bottom right and you can turn them on)

Can it be?!

Can it already be November?!  It seems like yesterday I was saying, "Can it already be October?!"  Time is flying by.  I actually have a love-hate relationship with time.

I can't wait for the next exams to be over.  I can't wait for the next homework assignment to be done.  I can't wait for Thanksgiving.  I can't wait for Taffy and her family to come to Provo.  I can't wait til my mom comes down again.  I can't wait for a lot of things...

But at the same time, I don't want the month to fly by.  I don't want some of my classes to end.  I don't want experiences to go by too fast.  I don't want all the pretty leaves to fall off the trees.  I don't want the fun moments to pass too quickly.  I don't want to get older.  There's lots of things that make me not want the time to fly by...

So, this month I'm really going to "Live For Today"

My mom bought me this poster when she was down here last week, and I posted it right above my bed.  I LOVE it!  It's like my goal of life!  It's perfect, and this month I'm going to make a special effort to make it a habit!  Hopefully the time won't pass too quickly or too slowly, and that I'll be able to make the most of everyday.