Educate yo'self!

Well kids, Spring Semester has finally arrived. I've decided to stay in Utah this semester and continue living with Cristina and kids for the time being. Let me continue with saying that while Cris was probably the biggest reason I am going to stay in Utah, she is not the ONLY reason.

Reasons why I will not be returning to Rexburg:

1. Cristina and kids

2. I am going to New York this week, aka the first week of school (sounds smart)

3. I would have to leave for over a week to go to Guatemala.

4. The last two weeks of school are also the weeks of Retreat for Girls. Last year I didn't go and it about KILLED me. It might be sort of dumb to think I can pull of finishing up classes in time to go to RFG, but if there is a will, there is a way right?

5. I'm excited that all my Utah friends will start showing their faces around here.

6. It just feels right.

So my classes all opened on Saturday. Annnnnnnnnnd I'm starting to have anxiety. I think I wasn't quite mentally prepared. I've been looking forward to New York so much that I sort of forgot that it also was the week classes began. And I'm used to moving into my new apartment, meeting new roommates, buying books at the bookstore, and everything else that comes with a new semester. I almost forgot we were starting and I feel like I am not mentally prepared!

In total: 15 credits

Econ 150 (Because I am considering changing my major to International Studies)

English 201 (Advanced writing- Foundation class)

Religion 200 (Family Foundations- Required, not looking forward to this at all....)

Science 201 (Natural Disasters-Foundation class)

Science 203 (Environmental Stewardship- Foundation class)

College Sucess 105 (Because I needed one more credit for my scholarship)

They say that I should be devoting at LEAST 2 hours per credit each week. 15 x 2= 30 hours of school + 20 hours a week of work = Can I really make this happen?

I'm nervous that I am starting a semester so pessimistic. So I'm determined to change it,

(Please pray for my sanity)

And for a good laugh:

(sorry about the poor quality)

Cripple

Yes. I totally did. I TOTALLY fell down the stairs in a most un-graceful manner. I sort of rolled my ankle and then smacked it on the tile. It's not that bad, but it's pretty bruised and hurts to stand on.

Now I am a cripple and I seriously seriously SERIOUSLY hobble everywhere I go. It's sad. You should feel bad for me.

Guess Where I'm going now.....

Good News #2

Wow. I am just realizing that I totally left you guys hanging about my other good news!! Part of it is I had to wait a little while before I was allowed to tell everyone about it, but now that I am really allowed (and most of you have already heard from Facebook):

DownEast (My work place) has given me a full scholarship to go with them and Choice Humanitarian on a expedition to Chirixquitzac, Guatemala!!!!! They are paying for EVERYTHING! The plane ride, the travel expenses, the Expedition fee's etc.

I had to write an essay to DownEast on why I deserved to go with them, and I got a call last week letting me know that I was chosen by DownEast and Choice Humanitarian to go with them! I feel so honored and excited! If you don't know me very well, this is exactly the kind of thing that I love to do. If I had all the money in the world, I would spend it going on trips like this that benefit others. What great blessings I have received in my life after such a hard couple of months!

Good news #1

I have had a hard couple of months, but recently I have received two major blessings in my life. This is the first one; I was promoted to be manager of the Downeast warehouse sale at the fashion place mall!

This picture is what my store looks like now that we have moved in. It works out perfectly because it is a temporary store (will probably be open no later than April). Its just long enough for me to learn a lot and put "manager" on my resume, but isn't so long that its over whelming for a college girl like me. I'm so grateful for this opportunity and I seriously LOVE MY JOB!!!!!!

Birthday dinner with the cousins

Alma 26: 26-27

27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.

28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.

Cutest Valentines date I ever had.

Defiling Cristina's body

Last night Cristina took her medication, but the problem was that the doseage was too high for her little body. her "drunkenness" was rather amusing until we could get a coke (her first caffeine fix in over a year! Sorry to defile you hun!) In her.

Texas roundhouse to celebrate Alex getting his MBA! Yumma!

Betrayal at the house on the hill

My favorite game with some of my favorite people. :-)

I guess I don't really have to tell you how bad at this blogging thing I have been lately. I feel like the last couple of blog posts have all started with how busy I am, and how terrible I am at keeping everyone up to date. I know. Terrible. I have a lot to catch you up on, so lets get this ball rolling.

Lets begin in December.

December- What a terrible month that was. It started out quite harmless. Just trying to finish up school and my job and get ready for the holidays and moving back with my family in Utah. On my last week up at school (The friday before finals week began) I got a phone call that changed my life. My uncle David had been in a terrible accident. At first we didn't know how bad it was, but it became clear quickly that he was not going to make it. A lot of people don't' have close relationships with their aunts and uncles, but I definitely do. Being the oldest grandchild I never had cousins to spend time with, and instead spent all my time with my two youngest uncles.

This picture was taken in April when my Uncle dave and his wife and kids came to visit me while I was working at Disney. I am so grateful we got that week to spend together in the Happiest Place on Earth. The week following Davids week was one of the most stressful, terrible, miserable, and overwhelming weeks of my life. It was also one of the most spiritual weeks of my life and I gained so much perspective on life, family, and what really matters.

After a terrible week, my family decided to go forward with the trip we were planning to Chile for Christmas. We were all a little hesitant to leave the rest of our family in the states and try to have a good time, but we knew that we all needed a vacation, and we had already spent the money for the plane tickets. I am really glad I went. It meant so much to my dad and his kids to see his extended family and the place that he grew up in. We all came home understanding so much more about my dads culture and we bonded so much as siblings. We were constantly laughing and making jokes and getting to know eachother. We hardly fought at all, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to get to know my siblings better.

January-

Since being home from Chile, I have moved in with my Aunt Cristina (My uncle Davids wife), Have started a "new" job at the Downeast here in Utah, went to a brad paisly/ scotty mccree/ the band perry concert and got a new fancy smart phone! I got a blogger app on my phone, so I am going to start blogging smaller, but more frequent posts on my phone about my everyday life and stop leaving out the little things in life that make me happy.

Happy Blogging everyone!

Life lately

Dear faithful blog readers,

Welcome back! It's been a while, I know I know, but I promise that I am REALLY going to try harder to update you all on my life. What can I say? All I have are the usual excuses:

"I'm really busy!"

"I'm a college student"

"I work two jobs!"

Wait.... Did you read that correctly? Did I just say I work two jobs? Well the good news is that you don't need to go to the eye doctor's any time soon because it's true! I do work two jobs! What a blessing and a curse, huh? Remember when I couldn't even get one job? ya....

So to answer your questions I am working at both Downeast Basics AND Claires accessories. Needless to say my life is filled with WAY too much estrogen. I live with women, I work with women and the only customers I have are women. The only man I see on a regular basis is my gay manager. Haha. It's great. Really. I know I am so lucky to have both of these jobs considering how many times a day we get asked at both stores if we are hiring. (Story of my life about 4 months ago...) I have fantastic co-workers who make my life so much better.

I work on average about 9-13 hours a day. With all that working you would think I was RICH.... hahah..... not so much. The fact I drive about an hour a day to work is not so easy on the checking account, but it's worth it. However, if I could get paid a dime for how many times a day I say "What can I help you find?" or "What occasion are you shopping for today?" then i KNOW I would be rich.

Because of my busy schedule, my blog, and my journals are SERIOUSLY lacking. But I am going to work on it. My camera is going to become my new best friend. I am determined to document my college life. I have done well in the before and I am going to relight the fire! Woo! Here are the most memorable pictures since I have been home from florida (Which if you think about it, is QUITE depressing!)

Me and my two best friends Erin (Second from the left,) and Kayle (In the middle huggin Chewy- Who some of you may recognize!) went to a nerd dance. It was quite silly. And also one of the only things I took of pictures of this last spring semester.

One week for Family home evening we had a cake decorating competition... This was ours. It was hideous. The other cake was a beauiful cake and frosting version of Da Vinci's Starry night. Don't believe me?.....

....Told you. You can see a real poster in the backround.

My co-workers at Downeast went to Red-Robin so say good-bye to "Emboy" before she goes away to college! We will miss her so much!

A couple of weeks ago my Roommate from Disney, Amberlie, married Erin's (our other roomate from Disney)'s brother Tyler! Quite fun!

Us waiting outside the temple waiting for them to come out! Look at me! Don't I look HOT? What can I say? I'm not very self-conscious. I consider this fact a blessing.


This is Erin's boy toy. He is about to go on a mission and personally I am worried about him going somewhere stateside because I am pretty sure girls will mob him thinking he is Taylor Laughtner from the Twilight movies. I think its super funny when he gets mad when people tell him he looks like T.L. When he got a drink out of a cup with Taylors face on it, I HAD to take a picture. I was too funny!

And.... Thats the end of my pictures for the last 4 months. I know- Pathetic. I will work on it! Leave comments, I like to see who is actually reading this silly thing!

Bountiful Baskets

Have you ever heard of bountiful baskets? If not this is your lucky day! Bountiful baskets are amazing! With bountiful baskets you get a ton of fresh produce. You get 50% fruit and 50% vegetable for 15 dollars! How amazing is that! The best part is you seriously get a bunch of food! Here are a few pics of what comes in a basket. You never get to pick whats in you basket but its all useful and delicious! Also, it sounds corny but it is sort of suspenseful and exciting wondering what your going to get!

You register online Monday and Tuesday, and you pick up two wonderful baskets full of fruits and veggies on Saturday morning at a very specific time at a specified location. It is that simple. The web site you go to log in is HERE.

You can order bountiful baskets in 13 states all in the mid-west or the west. When you go to pick up your basket this is what it looks like! There are tons of baskets! There will be volunteers to assist you in checking in, collecting you haul, and checking out. The process is simple and pain free!

There are a ton of fun things that come from bountiful baskets! The main one for me is learning how to cook new things and develop new recipes! It is a blast! Today for instance I made the “Nacho Libre Corn”. Its seen in the movie. I got corn in my basket and decided to try something new! It was amazing! It is super messy but it was so worth trying. I also got a root called jicama. It is kind of like a sweet potato. It is pretty yummy but I had to learn how to cook with that as well! If you are in an area where bountiful baskets are I urge you to try it out! You wont be disappointed… you will be addicted!

The “Nacho Libre Corn”

Grill the corn until all sides get a little brown.

Brush the corn generously with a half mayo half sour cream mixture.Roll in cotija cheese - kind of a mexican feta, you can sub for feta if you want.Season with chili powder.
Enjoy!

NewjobNewjobNewjobNewjob!

Well since I have been back at Disney and looking for a new job. It has been a horrible horrible experience because every single student at BYU-Idaho is looking for a job, or is taking up all of the potentiail jobs.

You could litterally go around town and in the windows of buisness's you will see a sign like this:

Needless to say, it hasn't been pretty. And considering how poor I am, I was pretty worried about how this semester was going to work out. But I FINALLY (and only because my Heavenly Father loves me) found a job at none other then......

Yes! Yes! I know I know! How did I get so lucky? Ya, I am asking myself the same thing.

I am so excited. So far I have just worked a couple hours for training and I am starting officially on MONDAY. Gah. I love it. My manager is really super cool and nice, and so far everyone I will be working with is really nice too.

So speaking of my new job, I get some sweet coupons for loved ones. So, if you are interested, click on the link and you can get 20% off at Any Down East Store (Basics, or home store) or online! But just so you know, the last day you can use the coupon is Sunday.

http://www.downeastbasicsblog.com/email/friends&family_email.htm

Photo Montage of my last little bit at Disney because I apparently suck at Blogging and am too lazy to type anything out.

New Years Resolution Follow up- PART I

Hey guys, Remember that time that I decided I was going to go an entire year with out sugar???? Well I thought I should let you know how that is going.

Overall, I must say, that I am EXTREMELY proud of myself. I will have to admit, I have fallin off the band wagon twice. Once- COMPLETELY on accident, and the second time- a little bit on purpose.

The first time was when me and my roommates and friends went to a fancier restraunt at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It was the 50's Prime time restraunt that I have mentioned in the blog post below. Now, before I go on, you need to know a little something about me. I loooove Vanilla Root Beer with all my heart. So naturally, when I saw that they offered Vanilla Rootbeer at this resteraunt, I ordered it- without even thinking about my "No sugar" year. I promise you, it was completely innocent. But, as innocent as it was, I still suffered the consequences. I downed two glasses and then started to shake and feel super sick. I was really bummed because I was having such a good time until I realized that the STUPID Root beer was PACKED full of sugar that I hadn't had in quite a while. I was glad I had that experience because it took a lot of my desire to even taste sugary things.

The second time- was a total lack of will. I'll admit it. I would rather tell the truth then lie to make myself feel better. In Epcot, there is this place called "Club Cool" where you can try all these tiny little cups of different soda's from around the world..... And I caved. I totally did. But the good news is that I only tried two small little shot glasses of these crazy soda's and then I was done. I didn't need any more. Literally the small cups are smaller then my thumb, But ya.... FAIL.

I have been pretty good about my sugar treats I have to say. I have learned to say no, which is a really good thing for me. I make sure that every sweet thing I try says the words "Sugar Free", "No sugar added", or some other form of these words. And yes, I realize that "No sugar added" means that there is still some sugar in there. But I figure, my "No sugar added chocolate muffin" from the mainstreet bakery is a lot better option for me then the "Rasberry swirl cheesecake" that I would have gobbled up in three seconds. Baby steps people! I am still learning and I figure I am doing a pretty good job.

So I guess it's about time

Dear loved ones,

I would like to apologize for my absence from this blog. Life has been CRAZY busy down here in Florida. I work about 6-8 hours a day which isn't too bad at all, but there are always fun parties to attend and grocery shopping to be done.

Here are some pictures from my life recently:

My "cute little" chef's costume that I wear to work EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Going on AEROSMITHS Rockin Rollercoaster in Universal Studios.

Roommates with matching ears. (We earned our ears)

Amberlie, Me, Erin

The castle at night. (with a giant crane)

Public transpiration BABY!

Amberlie, Jacob, Kayle, Erin, Isaac

My co-worker Kelsey with Pinnochio. We had a fun day at the parks.

BEST. STORM. TROOPER. EVER!

Epcot

LEGO WOODY

Me, Erin, Ariel, Isaac, Amberlie

We went to 50's Prime time Cafe at Hollywood Studios

Amberlie got in trouble for putting her elbows on the table

and had to put her nose on the wall while the whole room laughed.

SUCH A FUN RESTERAUNT