Finished

I just thought I'd take a minute and give a quick update.

These past two weeks have been out of control. I was so busy everyday it seemed! Last week was papers galore, this week was tests. Plus, right on que, I came down with a cold. So I've been tired, stressed and sick. Finally, I feel the burden of almost all of that off my chest. I am just glad to put this semester behind me.

Monday Kara and I got a HUGE pizza from this pizza place up the road called Nina's Original New York Pizza. We often go in and just get a huge slice. This time we got the whole pizza, the big apple size. We took some pics and maybe I can get those from Kara and post some. We are talking probably a two foot in diameter pizza. It was delicious, and super filling.

Tonight, Jeremy and I went out to dinner at this place called Goodwood Barbecue, I think. It was fun! It was nice after two weeks of chaos to just let loose and unwind. The food was good, the atmosphere nice. For desert we got this raspberry, blackberry, huckleberry cobbler with french vanilla ice cream. We were so full, but it was so delicious. I had a really good time with Jeremy tonight, I am excited to see him after the holiday. He js just a great guy who treats me so well and tries his best to take care of me, if I let him. He is always very complimentary, too. Today he told me he liked the sweater I was wearing and that I looked good in it.

There is so much more I could write, but I must get to bed, I am headed home bright and early in the morning. Actually, it'll probably still be dark. It is snowing here, but I hope that the roads won't be too bad. I am excited to get home and finally enjoy what is left of the holiday season, to see family, friends, and to have a much needed break from school.

In case I don't post again til then, Merry Christmas! I can't believe it is only a few days away!

Uh, snow

I read yesterday that there was a heavy snow warning for SLC/Provo, from 6pm yesterday to 6pm today, with a possibility of 5-12 inches of snow. It just rained all day yesterday and this morning there was only a dusting of snow. Feeling in the holiday spirit I decided to venture out and about and do some holiday shopping. An hour later, as I was checking out of Wal-Mart I began to see people coming in with literally a half an inch of snow on their bodies. I looked outside and it was basically a white out.

I don't have snow tires and this is a bigger city and it is a Saturday only a couple weeks until Christmas, in other words there was a ton of traffic. I had to pray that I could make it home and make it home unscathed. Well I did, but I took some pictures, too. I wish you could really tell how bad it is snowing. Anyway, it is quite cozy and Christmasy feeling, I finally put up my little fake Christmas tree, so I gutess it can stay for a little while, but things best be clear in two weeks when I am coming home......

It's the most stressful time of the year!

Let me first preface this by stating that because I am writing this instead of reading George Orwell's "1984" I feel like the biggest slacker. I stayed up until 3:30am writing the last ten page portion of a term paper and have run out of stamina.

Things have been quite busy in my little life and they are only going to get worse over the next two weeks as I battle papers, readings, reviews and exams in order to make it home for the holidays. My last final is a three hour history final on the 20th from 2:30-5:30pm, I am contemplating driving home after that, putting me in the valley around 1am or leaving early the next morning, it all kind of depends on the weather.

Anyway....

Monday night I ended up going to Jeremy's FHE because they were going to SLC to see the Christmas lights on Temple Square. We watched the Joseph Smith movie as well. I was grateful for the reminder of the freedoms and blessings I enjoy, and the legacy of faith that has been bestowed upon me because of the courage of the early Saints. They were forced from place to place, persectuted, threatened, homes and possesions burned or destroyed, an extermination order placed on every Mormon, killed, and yet so many endured because they had such strong testimonies. I often wonder if I could endure such trials with the same patience and strength.

After the movie Jeremy and I walked around the Square. It was beautiful. I had two favorite parts. First was the reflection pool with the candles floating on top and the temple reflecting on the surface, and second were paper lanterns with all sorts of designs. I really enjoyed myself and thought it was good way to cultivate the spirit of Christmas.

Tuesday I was quite productive. It is my longest day of classes and labs. I attended them all, thank you. I also did laundry, cleaned, dusted and vacummed my room, as well as did homework.

Wednesday I reverted back to my slacker ways. I had plenty of hours I could have been writing my paper, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. That evening I went with Kara, her sister Kami and Kami's friend Stephanie to a musical type show called "The Forgotten Carols" in Salt Lake City. It was really good. It had moments of corniness, but the songs were beautiful, and in the end, Michael Mclean, the star and writer, brought us back to the reason for the season, the birth of our Savior. By the end I was teary eyed and contemplative. We didn't get back until 11pm, I had some things I had to get out of the way before embarking on my paper, but finally got going on it by 12am.

Tonight is the ward Talent Show/Semester Closing Social. It is being catered by Cafe Rio, a restaurant I haven't been to, but one that has a good reputation because everyone is excited to go just for the food.

I have a date Friday night with a guy from the ward, Jared something. We are going to a comedy show with a group, should be casual and fun, a nice break from the stresses of the end of the term.

Other than that my weekend will be full of reading and writing, luckily no arithmetic. Next week will be worse than actual finals. Within three days I have two exams, a vocab exam, a huge term paper, two books to have read, and a reading journal for history readings I haven't done since midterms, yikes! Pray for me! Send me good luck charms! Whatever! Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season, I am finding it hard to fully do so with all the stuff weighing down on me. I can't wait til it's over.....Two weeks from today, baby! Happy December!

And so December begins...

This week has been Jeremy dominated.

Monday, his FHE was canceled so I tagged along to mine. We combined with another group for an Iron Chef Desert competition. It was fun, and tastey. Afterwards, he and I were supposed to study but we ended up chatting and we had a really good conversation in which I was able to be honest and open with him. I finally kicked him out around 11:30pm.

He called me Tuesday night and I was excited to see him again.

Wednesday I asked him to tag along with me out to Old Navy because I had heard about a sale and just wanted to take a peak. He bought me dinner at Pita Pit (so good for a pita!) and then we walked around Old Navy. It was fine, but I left him around 9, and a little burnt out. I hadn't had the best day anyway, so I think part of it was my mood.

Thursday morning at 8:48am I got a text message from Jeremy telling me to look at my doorstep. I rolled myself out of bed (I was trying to sleep in, I've been sooo tired lately), in my short shorts, old purple Jazz tee, and eye mask pushed to my forehead stepped out on my stoop and found two king size symphony chocolate bars and a card telling me that they were to help me stay awake (I'm always telling him how tired I am). I set them on my desk and just went back to my bed ;-).

Friday Jeremy picked me up around 6:30 and we went to eat Chinese, then we went to this stand up comedy/variety show that these groups on campus were putting on to get canned food for the community. Afterward we ended up at this apartment just talking, he played me some songs on his guitar, too. He was supposed to be going up to Salt Lake that night because his Mom is in town from Virginia, visiting his sisters who have recently had babies. Because of poor road conditions he ended up staying here in Provo. On our Friday date he mentioned to me that he had a Christmasy surprise for me on Saturday.

So today, Saturday, he picked me up at 1:30 and we went to "Christmas Around the World," which is a performance of music and dance from different countries. It was sooo good! My favorite was the Irish stuff and the early U.S. stuff. But all of it was fun to watch and hear. I was really excited that he surprised me with that because I had wanted to go to it but had never gotten around to buying a ticket or anything. It was a good way to kick of December, and it snowed the first real snow today, too! About three or four inches! Afterward we hit up this great pizza place called Brick Oven. Apparently we aren't pizza compatible, so we ordered seperate individual pizzas. I got an chicken artichoke pizza with alfredo sauce, sooooo goooood. We got hot chocolate, too.This picture is dark and isn't that great of either of us. In fact, Jeremy just got a hair cut and he looked really good! Jeremy is a great guy who treats me so well. Sorry that he was the basis of my whole entry, but he was the basis of my whole week. I do feel a bit overwhelmed and am just trying to take thing slow and go at my own pace. Jeremy seems to be pretty understanding.

Thanksgiving Part Duece

Thursday was a pretty great day. Mom, Zoey and I (but mainly just Zoey and I) had done a lot of the baking Wednesday night. We made two pumpkin pies, an apple pie and a cheesecake. We also made our own stuffing and turkey, and then the green bean casserole and relish trays to take to my Grandma's. The Smiths and our family met over at Grandma and Grandpa's around 1 o'clock. We ate a little bit early because Morgan had to work at three.

Dinner was delicious and far too filling. We all sat around and chatted, watched movies, whatev for until about three. Morgan and I "digested" in the spare room with twin beds and caught up a bit. I think our family finally left around 4pm. Later we went out to Wal-Mart to pick up somethings. We ended up buying Santa Claus 1, 2, and 3 on DVD. I hadn't seen the third movie yet. So when we got home we popped that in, ate thanksgiving seconds and had a good evening together.

Friday was pretty uneventful. We elected to reserve our energy for Saturday. Saturday we went to the Festival of Trees that the community puts on. Different groups decorate trees that are later autioned off with the money going to charities. Then on Saturday they are put on display for the public. Our family spent far too much time there, with Riley having to do every activity imagineable. It was fun though, and a continuation of our family tradtion. After that we went and bought some Christmas decor, our Christmas tree, and got a lot of our holiday stuff out of storage. Mom, Zoey and I had to use our womanly strength to take the tree off the top of the car, saw off the bottom and put it in it's stand. We spent the next few hours putting on the lights (that was my job), and decorating the tree. We decided on a green, white and silver scheme for the tree.

That night I was able to catch up with a group of friends from highschool. We sat around and chatted for the most part. We hit up the hottest spot in town, Denny's, at about 12:30am. Then they dropped me off back home around 2am. It was a ton of fun. There were seven of us sardined into my friend Teresa's car. Don't worry, I had on my seatbelt. I don't think I'll forget sitting in the car and all of us (guy's included) singing to Aretha Franklin's "Respect" or to "So Happy Together."

Sunday I went to church, came home, ate my last supper of Thanksgiving leftovers, said "Peace" to my family and then headed out to Union to pick up Kara. It was a really nice, relaxing and festive week with family and friends. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because all that is involved is food and loved ones. The upside to this year's holiday was the lack of family drama! Yay! No arguing, bickering, storming about, or any of that nonsense.

Welcome Home

Kara and I got back into Provo at about 12:45am. It was a long drive, but the weather and roads were clear, so things went smooth, aside from our tiredness.

After unloading my stuff into my apartment, my roommate Erin said she had a surprise for me. I got pretty excited. She said it wasn't from them, my roommates, so then I was more curious!

She handed me a bouquet of roses! I knew they were most likely from Jeremy, especially when I saw what kind of flowers they were. They were roses, the pink and orangish types. On our "date" on Sunday, I had mentioned that I thought red roses were a bit cliche and that I guess if I had to pick favorites then they would be the orangey ones. They are beautiful and amazing and thoughtful and I felt quite special! His card was cute, too.

You are probably wondering who this Jeremy character is. He is in my ward, and we've been talking every Sunday after ward prayer. Last week I convinced him to help me study physical science. He obliged, twice, Tuesday and Thursday. Thursday, after some study time we went to a flag football game. I had different dates on both Friday and Saturday, so Jeremy asked if he could make me dinner on Sunday. He ended up walking me to church on Sunday. Later that day he made me a dinner that consisted of a kind of spanish egg/potatoe dish from his mission to Spain, and orange chicken. He even bough Martinelli's sparkling cider! We had a desert of chilled honeydew with sugar and lemon juice, delish!

While the food was cooking we went on a "walk" where we ended up in a huge pile of leaves, church clothes and all. It was fun! We talked and of course rolled around in the leaves. Dinner was great, too. Anyway....we talked on the phone a couple of times over the break, and when I came home tonight, there were the flowers. How sweet, right?

Thanksgiving Break Part 1

Thanksgiving break was great! I got to spend a lot of time with my family, and see extended family. I also saw family friends and friends from highschool, many whom I hadn't seen in a very long time.

My friend Kara Baxter and I left Provo late Monday afternoon and rolled into the valley around midnight. Our drive was fairly uneventful, well except for the whole snow and ice thing. As soon as we hit the Baker area the snow started to come down. By the time we got to North Powder it was slick and we were going about 35mph on the freeway. We elected not to go through the little canyon like we normally do to get to Union where Kara lives, after we slid all the way down the exit with Kara's foot pressed all the way down on the brake.

Tuesday was not all fun and games. I took Zoey out to lunch for some sister bonding at the #1 China Buffet. It was nice to just talk with her, since it is like pulling teeth to get her to talk to me on the phone. After dropping her back off at school I went to mom's work where I worked on my Doctrine and Covenants class exam. Two hours! I love my religion, but goodness. Later that evening I hung out with my summer fling, one that I discovered was definitely over with the summer.

Wednesday I stopped by Kylee's house and visited with she and Matt, and later her sister Katelyn stopped by , too. It is always nice to be able to see Kylee, even if it is only for a couple of hours here or there. She had her and Matt's first baby less than a month ago, Greg, and I was able to dote on the little guy for a majority of the time I was over there.

Afterwards, my whole family, plus Aunt Steph and Morgan met up to go see a matinee showing of 'Fred Claus.' It was pretty funny, definitely consisting of more humor that older people would find funny, but it was a nice bonding outing for the fam.

New York, Baby!

Just wanted to post some of my pictures from New York. These are some of the highlights and favorite parts of the week. There are so many little stories I could tell!

We spent Thursday, the 23rd, in flight to New York. We had a stop in Atlanta, Georgia, where we got Ben and Jerry's ice cream and took on the plane. It was so humid there! Just from the plane to the airport was almost unbearable. We got to the city, after a few hours of figuring out the transit system we made it to our motel and crashed for the night.

Friday we did a lot of the main touristy things that people do when in the Big Apple. We hit up Ground Zero, Battery Park, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Federal Building, Wall Street, and had our first bite of New York pizza just around the corner from ground zero. My favorite part of Friday was Ellis Island. It is pretty moving and a must for all who can make it there.

Me at Ellis Island

At Battery Park waiting for the Ferry to the Statue.

Saturday we went by the United Nations, but all the stupid country flags were down, it was mildly frustrating, but still neat to know where a lot of the world's political relations go down. Then we proceeded to go to The Met, aka the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was huge and amazing! Kara and I weren't so smart though, as we were in there for over two hours and didn't make it to the Roman and Greek exhibits, which were the ones we really wanted to see. We walked across central park and made it over to the Manhattan Temple. We were supposed to join up with a singles ward group, but none of them showed. Kara and I had our own personal baptism session. An old man even got in the font! The temple was my favorite part of that day. We were wondering how we could prepare ourselves for the Temple in the hustle and bustle of the city, but you walk in and BAM! you are prepared because the Spirit is just so strong. That temple is gorgeous on the inside by the way. Granite, marble, mahagony, gold fixtures.... Beautiful. The temple was right across from Juliard and Time Warner, etc.

Left: Me at the Met, pretending to touch an ancient egyptian temple.

Right: The Manhattan New York Temple, a tall building but not in comparison to the rest of the city.

Kara's two shoes, outside the temple.

Sunday we headed to one of the young single adult wards in downtown. It was actually in the same building as the temple. When you walk in the door, a guy at the desk either directs you left to the temple, or right to the elevators to get to church. They even had a gym in that building! The church is the same even in the big apple! Afterwards we went to a street fair/market on Madison avenue. They shut down about a dozen street blocks and vendors set up shops. It was a fun, low key activity. I got my way cute purse (Dolci and Gabana) there.

After that we went to St. Patrick's Cathedral. The artistry and architecture that went into that building is amazing. I've never been in anything quite like it. Then we wandered and found ourselves at Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and NBC Studios. We also, for fun, took a bicycle taxi ride around Times Square. We were actually at Times Square almost every night, mainly because it is right above the Port Authority where we would get on the bus to head back to our motel in New Jersey. Our "taxi peddler" was from Brazil and he told us to eat at Ray's Pizza in Times Square, where apparently the likes of John Travolta have eaten.

Left Above: Just a taste of the cathedral

Left below: Times Square by bike, the Brazilian driver in the right corner.

Right:

Me standing in awe outside NBC News studios.

Monday was our final full day in NY. We went shopping! It was pretty thrilling to be shopping in the Fashion District of New York City. We definitely underestimated how much time we would need there. We did go to Macy's as well as other stores, like one of our personal faves, Forever 21. We also partook of some excellent roasted nuts from a street vendor. If you do nothing else when in New York, get some roasted nuts. They are splendid. I also ate at a little Korean cafe, got some California rolls. Then we went back to Jersey to get dolled up for Broadway. We ended our little hurah with The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. It was AMAZING and an awesome way to cap off a surreal week.

Tuesday, Kara was supposed to go for a run through Central Park, while I read and watched the luggage. Unfortunately an undercover subway cop "pulled us over." We had our big, scratch that, HUGE suitcases, plus duffle bags and purses. They are quite a pain to go through the rotating arm entries. We had our "metro cards" out to swipe as we went through, but a lady came through the regular sized emergency entrance and exit, so we gratefully slipped through there. We didn't think twice about it because we had seen plenty of people do it and we had our huge suitcases and had prepaid for the weeks pass on the subways. After a 30 minute "investigation" in which I felt like the lady cop thought we were harboring terrorists in our luggage she wrote us $60 dollar tickets each. It was obsurd. I thought, "Haven't we spent enough money in your city lady???" So instead of a parting goodbye to Central Park we caught a subway and a bus to the airport and left the big city. We had a layover in Chicago, and a stop in SLC. By the time we reached Boise, we were exhausted. The trip was amazing, once in a lifetime and one of the best experiences of my life.

My Journey

Well, I haven't blogged in a ridiculously long time, and I am sure no one will read this, unless I tell them to, but I had to write about a journey I have been on.

August '05
On Wednesday, September 27th, 2006 I began a record of my journey to weight loss, health and fitness. The heaviest I remember weighing in at was 205 pounds around the beginning of January 2005. Over the next few months I tried a program ran by Liz Meyer called Weight, Mind and Body Management, with my cousin Morgan and aunt Stephanie. While they had significant progress in losing weight, I struggled. Within five months I had only lost about 10 pounds. I blame it on the many distractions I had. It was the last semester of my senior year of highschool, nuff said.


February '06

I stayed at that weight throughout the summer and my freshman year of college. The summer after my freshman year I got a job working Litter Patrol for the Oregon Department of Transportation. From the start of work to Kylee's wedding in August I lost about seven pounds and was down to 188 pounds. I didn't really do so much different, just walking out in the hot sun and not snacking so often. I ate whatever I wanted at night and wasn't really trying to lose weight.

As I entered my sophomore year of college I dropped four pounds in about three weeks. This "sudden" drop in weight excited me. I realized I was in control of what I ate because I made my food purchases and would eat what I bought. I remembered the Weight Mind and Body Management Program. It was a sensible calorie limiting/counting program. You ate what you wanted, but you had to pay attention to calories and grams of fat. When I started the program at 205 pounds my daily calorie limit was 1500 calories, and we were supposed to eat foods with under 15 grams of fat. Vegetables were free foods. Typically breakfast was 200 calories, lunch 300 calories and dinner was 400 calories with the remainder of the calories divided up into 100 calorie snacks.

I decided to try this program again, it being the easiest program I could follow and still allowing me to eat what I wanted, just limited. Being that I was about 20 pounds lighter than my first shot at this lifestyle change I took my daily calorie count down a bit. I also decided to integrate exercise a couple times a week to help speed up my metabolism.

On that September day I made a few lists. First, I made a list of reasons why I wanted to lose weight.

Second, I printed a picture of somebody I didn't want to be and taped it in my "journal." It was a fat lady, sitting in her chair, a cat at her side and an oxygen tank. Under it I wrote, "Don't want to be her: Fat, Cat Lady; Lonely; Stuck in my chair." Poor cat lady....

Third, I then wrote a list of possible consequences for if I didn't change. There were six of those, but I am not ready to share those quite yet. Then I printed out a scale showing my BMI (Body Mass Index). I got it from 'The Biggest Loser Club' on NBC.com. My BMI was 29.7, overweight. My ideal BMI for my height was 24, and ideal weight was 114.6-154.3. It also suggested a healthy daily calorie goal to lose weight, at 1,288.

Finally, I took measurements of my body, which I have shared with no one, but I am going to now, on the internet, for the whole frickin' world to see if they want:

Hips: 43 1/2 inches Waist: 41 1/2 inches Bustline: 37 inches Bust: 41 inches

Arms: 12 inches Shoulders: 44 inches Pantsize: 16-18 Weight: 184 lbs.

I set ultimate goals which were:

Pant Size: 10

Weight: 145

I then took pictures of myself in just my bra and underwear, printed them out and taped them in my "journal." To serve as a reminder and motivated.

Then I set weekly, and bi-weekly goals as well as a first weight loss benchmark. I found that setting smaller goals made things seem much less overwhelming. Then, also I was able to feel good about myself sooner because I had reached these goals and that motivated me to set new goals and work towards them. It helped for the first while to write down what I was eating, just as a way to keep track.

By January 4th of 2007 I was at 170 pounds. That semester I was signed up for a morning weight training class with all girls. I lost weight, gained muscle and toned up. By the end of that semester I was 160 lbs. It was exciting to reach that weight because that had been my goal weight when I started the WM&B program my senior year.

The first month I was back in La Grande for the summer was hard. Food, bad food, was so accessible! I wasn't in control of the groceries, though Mom was pretty good about getting me healthier options. I finally had to get back to the basics and write down what I was eating for a couple weeks to keep track of calories. My new job at the particleboard plant allowed me to get plenty of exercise and definitely helped me tone my upperbody, especially my arms. I continued to set goals for myself.

Towards the middle of August I reached my first ultimate goal weight of 145 pounds! It was really exciting! But, now that I had reached that goal, I saw more progress to be made and set new goals for myself. I now jog 2-4 times per week, hit up the gym to do the bike and some weights 1-2 times per week. I try to work on flattening my abs, because as much weight as I have lost, I still feel like my trunk is thick and my boobs small ;-). I walk a lot. Drink lots of water and take my daily vitamin.

Here are my stats as of today:

Hips/Thighs: 38 inches Bustline: 32 inches Bust: 37 1/4 Arms: 10 1/2

Shoulders: 39 inches Waist: 35 1/2 inches Pant Size: 10/11 Weight: 143 lbs.

That puts my total weight loss from January 05 to now at 62lbs, or from when I started a record of all this at 41 lbs. Total inches lost since last September is

27 1/4.

It's a continuing journey, it's my lifestyle now. I think a key in my many little victories over the year is that even when I have had a crappy day or week, there is always tomorrow to start again, not allowing myself to just give up or give in because of one, two or twenty mistakes. Let me tell you it is worth it! Maybe in another couple of months I will have the confidence to post the pics from last September and new ones..... Maybe.....

August '06 vs. August '07

Back in the Valley

Do you ever find yourself letting the wind tickle itself through your fingers? It is something I find myself doing more and more. I find it invigorating. Your palm has some of the most sensitive sensors... I just feel so alive and I can't help but smile. It is true that I found myself first doing it in Rexburg, because there seemed to be a constant breeze, and then instead of loathing the wind I found myself loving it.

You know those days where you just find yourself thanking God for the innumerable blessings He has given you? Where you realize just how patheticly you take things for granted. I watched the convocation for the Virginia Tech Massacre, yesterday. I didn't realize it had affected me, until I found myself wiping away tears. It was just a normal day, that ended crushingly on those left behind. I took a shower afterwards and just let myself cry, only for a minute, for all the pain, the sorrow, the evil, the victims in the world. Those who go hungry, those who are raped, abused, sleeping in boxes, hiding in fear, alone.....Then I choose to spend the day being grateful that for some reason or another I've been blessed with the life I lead.

Somedays it feels redundant, some days mundane. Some days I feel so dissapointed with everything, me, my friends, my family, my accomplishments, my government, everything..... Those days, or even those little moments, are so disheartening. I have to almost physically pull myself back out, dab water on my face and wash away those ego-centric thoughts. I mean, I have family who loves me unconditionally and have taught me more about life and love than any book or lecture. I've had friends who've come into my life and have helped me to grow and to change, to love, to smile, to laugh, sometimes their stay with me is only a few weeks, sometimes a few months, others have been around for years, and some I hope will stay for a lifetime. I live in a country with so many freedoms and possibilities.... Where I feel more safe then at risk. I have my faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, of his infinite atonement for my sins, pains, and sorrows. And in a loving Father in Heaven who is concerened even with someone as small and insignificant as me. I have a roof over head, a shirt on my back, food in my stomach, and my health.

I am truly blessed.

Moving on, I am back in La Grande. Finals week was a whirlwind. Then the cleaning and packing. I was on campus that Thursday morning, for my final final and the thought occurred to me that that was probably the last time I would be on that campus as a student. I thought about stopping into the Chapel for some closure, but didn't. I don't think it ever hit me that I was leaving Rexburg for good. I suppose I look at it as not really leaving things behind. I am taking the things I've learned, the personal growth, the experiences, the relationships, I am taking them with me and moving on. I am making changes in my life. The courage to make those changes came slowly, but I am proud and excited for what the next phases in life will bring.

I registered for classes at BYU on Monday night. Mom was asleep in her chair at 10:45pm. So I took her key and went down to her work. It was pouring rain, the streets were deserted (can you say "La Grande?"). Then her computer was having issues....But finally I got on, got all my classes and even signed up for a Kayaking class! I am pretty excited. I think I found a place to live down there, too. The rage is to call the housing "condos" so I will be in a "condo" which is more like a duplex, about a block and a half from campus. Hopefully it works out like I hope I will. I could've lived with friends, but felt like I needed to be able to stand on my own two feet.

Being home has been interesting. I sleep less than I did at school. Last week I was the personal cab driver for the Leavitt kids. School, practices..... I used so much gas and felt like that was what all my time was going to. I look forward to the return of friends from college.... Starting in the beginnig of May with Kara and Teresa, and going through til June with all my Oregon and Oregon State buddies. I hope to spend more time with the friends I have here now. It is hard because they all have school or work or both.... I am hoping to make a trip with my sister Zoey, who just turned 13 (stop the madness please) and Kylee and Katelyn to the tri-cities this Saturday, so that has great possibilities for fun.

I am working on getting back into my eating and work out habits. I was working out fine, but I was eating way too much and gained back two pounds! Luckily I am taking back control and feel much better.... Anyway, I should go. I am supposed to be writing a cover letter to put with my resume to send to a potential employer (ah the joys of finding a job)....

Stress Therapy

I'm alive! Good news, yes? Wow, this week has flown by! I was uber productive the first three days of the week. I wrote three different papers, etc. The downside was that I ate like crap. My diet was that of tortilla chips, medium salsa, peanut M&M's, and diet pepsi. I even ate some of my roomie's pizza. To tie it all together I only went to the gym Monday morning. Finally I hit the gym Thursday evening and this morning and plan to hit it tomorrow evening after work and everyone is out having fun (the best time to go by the way). But the downside is that I haven't done homework since Wednesday night....bad girl Lexy.

Tomorrow is my last day of work, it's madness! Nothing is setting in. Not that I have to sell back my books Monday, or that that is the last day I will attend classes at BYU-Idaho, or that I have to clean and pack up my whole friggin' room, or that I won't be working at Old Navy #6166 anymore, or that I still have mounds of homework left to do....someone slap me with reality please!

I went on a shopping spree of sorts. First of all I really needed some new workout shoes. So I went to LadyFootlocker. I bought some hot pumas. And some nike shorts on sale, and got free sole inserts. I will include a picture of my cute little shoes, but the picture isn't quite acurate as the striping on mine are teal, with the gray filled in.... I also bought stuff at Gap (jeans, shirt, jacket), AE(skirt), and my store(skirt, I was in the mood ;-).... Lots of money just went down the drain, but I don't feel bad about any of it!!! Can you say, "Stress therapy?!"

Anyway, I better get to bed. I am excited for work tomorrow. I am excited for the week to begin, even with all its stressors. Peace out home dogs. Peace out.

Surprisingly....!

Well, Sunday night I was absolutely dreading my week. I almost started crying when I was talking to my mom on Sunday night. I just knew that so much was happening within the next week, two weeks, three weeks and I wasn't wanting to buck up and face it.... But then the week began and it has been a pretty swell one. Here are some reasons why:

1.) I did the best I have done on a psych test, then my teacher added on a seven point curve, excellent!
2.) My Poli Sci teacher moved our Map quiz from Monday to Wednesday.
3.) My psych teacher moved our paper that was due this week, to next week. That means two papers in that class will be due, but still!
4.) I had a pop quiz in psych and got 9/10, my best yet!
5.) I got 150 out of 150 on my first big psych paper! I might just pull a B out of there this semester, can you say "miracle?"
6.) I got an e-mail from my Grandpa Lee in California. I haven't seen that guy in so long, it was good to hear from him.
7.) I heard from miss Kylee Roo! She had relieving news....
8.) I ate Asparagus with garlic pasta last night, it was delicious!
9.) I ate a banana with my cereal this morning, almost as good as last night's dinner.
10.) I don't have to give a mega huge presentation in my Geography class until Monday, still stressed, but at least I have the weekend!
11.) I took the map quiz in poli sci and think I pretty much aced it!
12.) Our temple trip on Thursday was canceled, a big bummer, but at least I can watch Grey's!! (George and Lizzie? But I love Callie O'Malley!)
13.) I've already been to the gym three times this week!
14.) There are only 8 days of classes left, whoa!
15.) I only work twice this week, which is bad cuz I need the money, but better because I need the spare time.
16.) I bought some jeans shorts tonight at work!
17.) I only have one more week of work after this week....
18.) I will be on the road home in less than 16 days, dang, so much to do before then...

Beautiful, right?

Midnight Margaritas!!!

This is going to be a random post I believe...I am just trying to tick away my time until I have to head to work. I worked last night, tonight, and then tomorrow 11-4. Luckily I only have two weeks left after this! My weekend won't be a real weekend at all. Last weekend was pretty good! Let me tell you about one incident.....

Saturday around 11:30 pm I was sitting on my bed on my computer, as usual. I heard some really soft taps against my window. I am on the second floor and no trees are in the immediate vicinity. I thought, "Gosh, the wind must be really blowing!" So I looked outside and there were Morgan and her room mate Anastasia. They were throwing pebbles at my window. I opened my window and Anastasia serenaded me quite loudly. I've never been serenaded before, too bad it wasn't an actual love interest at my window!

After her beautiful singing they bombarded my apartment. I had to pretend to be asleep so that Morgan could pet my nose to wake me up.... If you haven't seen Practical Magic with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock then you should see it because this is where this is coming from... After I "woke up" we started blending Margaritas. They had brought all this stuff up to my kitchen and we made a grand mess. They were delicious when done though! We played the song that plays in the movie during their margaria drinking. We danced around all crazy with margaritas in hand. It was so much fun! Then we stayed up talking until 3am, well actually it was 2am but daylight savings happened. That was a big highlight of my week and my semester. Good memories..... I just got some of the pictures, so I will post some.

I have two weeks left of classes and then one week of finals. Yeehaw! I have a lot to get done, but my mom has kindly reminded me to just take each day one at a time.

I sent in my taxes today!!! I had first gone into a place here in town, Liberty Tax, they said there was a student discount. I walked in, it smell like old mold. Then the lady "tax preparer" came in wearing a mexican restaurant polo shirt. She had awful teeth and gums (can you say Dentist?). I am sure she was nice, but I did not feel competent with her doing it. Luckily the consultation was free. To actually file my taxes (in two states and with the fed) it would have cost me 100 bucks! Then my greatest guy friend ever told me he would happily do my taxes. So I sent them to Jordan the next day, he did everything for me, including post its for where to sign and date, as well as three seperate envelopes already adressed with the papers in them. Pretty much Jordan is my hero! I should get a nice little chunk of money back. It will come at a perfect time because, April I will start out jobless and still have bills to pay.

At work we have so much stuff in for spring! Weather has been pleasent for Rexburg, but still not in the sixties like back in LG. I need to buy some shorts for my impending arrival home.... among other things I really want to buy before I get outta this dump, just kidding.... but not really.

So I've reached a goal weight I've had for a couple years now! It is so exciting, yet I don't think it has really set in. I have another goal weight, but I'm trying to celebrate this victory without getting down about the weight I still want to lose. But since July, I've lost 30 pounds! Yay! It is funny though how 3o pounds seems like a lot, but then I look in the mirror and find it hard to see any changes, though I am sure they are there, somewhere... Anyway it has been hard, and I am worried about my return home, but hope that I can maintain this and continue to improve. I really just feel so much healthier. I haven't gotten sick in 2007 yet. I mean I've had random nausea, but it hasn't put me out of my daily routines. I attribute it to the diet, strength training, cardio and increased water intake (along with vitamin water).

I don't think it has set in that I won't be returning to Rexburg to go to school. Even though I'm leaving, I've really appreciated my time here. I have grown and changed emotionally, spiritually, and physically. I feel truly blessed to have had this oppurtunity. I know my Heavenly Father has watched over and guided each of my steps, and trust that He will continue to do so as I move on into new stages of my life.

31 Is the Magic Number

Let me give a recap of my mother's visit to the Brrrg. She arrived Wednesday evening. We got some chow at Wingers. We ate in the same area that Matt, Kylee, Zac, Karli, Blaine and I had ate in. I even saw the round table we sat in and I thought how crazy it was that so much had changed in a year and a half. Then I missed Kylee, so I directed my attention back to my dear mother. Then we hit up "Music and Lyrics" with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Loved it! Mom and I laughed so hard sometimes.

Thursday after I went to my classes and mom ran some errands we went into Idaho Falls. I had to drive because there are two roundabouts that mom had no idea how to tackle and frankly, I was afraid for my welfare. I introduced her to some of my coworkers that were there, showed her the "shops" as we call them, and the back room with my locker and our break area. In the end my good mother helped me shop for and purchase a little black dress. Then we went to Olive Garden, and left completely stuffed! Then we went over to the Idaho Falls Temple, which I hadn't really seen up close. It was really pretty next to the river, and the snow on the ground, it was one time I appreciated the snow that week. We watched a new film put out by the church on Joseph Smith. It was really well done. Mom and I both cried. I mean regardless of what anybody thinks of our religion, or the man Joseph, he was a good person, they were good people and they didn't deserve to be driven from place to place, extermination orders and angry mobs on their heels. It was a powerful film and it makes me appreciate the religious freedom I now enjoy... That night my aunt Steph rolled into town and we went and got some ice cream at Cold Stone with her and my cousin Morgan. It was an excellent day.

Friday we went to my Political Sciene/International Relations class. I think my mom enjoyed it. Then we went to a bridal/floral show, wasn't too impressive but still fun. Then we met up with Steph and Morgan and got a very filling steak and potatoe dinner at the Hard Hat Steak House. We watched some What Not to Wear, then I tucked Ma into bed and went to the gym.

Mom left Saturday, and I was sad to see her go. I know I will see her shortly, but she was that familiarity of home and people who I love and love me back. It was really good to get that just her and I time. I appreciated her sacrafice in coming up here and sleeping on our hard spare bed.....

Saturday I gave my notice at Old Navy. AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! It was kind of scary but before I could even think about it I sat down, told Finch (Jen, one of the managers) the developments of recent months, wrote down my intentions, signed my name and went back to work. Everyone has been pretty supportive. They know I am going to BYU in the fall, and some have an idea of the situation at home, so they can understand my decision to leave. I might be able to get on in the fall at the Old Navy in Provo, but we are still working on that.

Today was a beautiful day! The billions of inches of snow seeped into runoff streams down to the valley floor. It was beautiful to watch. I tried to drive my car through puddles just so I could laugh an evil little laugh, as though to show that dang Idaho snow who was boss. Everyone had their driver's side window down, taking in the fresh air. I could feel the tickle of spring in the air and couldn't help but grin. Even my Religion teacher, Brother Satterfield commented that we all needed to pray for bad, horrible weather. Of course we were all disgusted with his comment. He insisted that good weather had a direct correlation with bad grades, and bad grades are just a waste of our money, thus we should pray for bad weather. One kid asked, "Haven't you ever heard of SAD?"....."You know, seasonal affective disorder?!" Before I could even help myself, I said, "Yeah, I have that!" People around me laughed, little do they know the serious affects this disorder has had on my day to day living conditions..... ;-)

Now, I won't be surprised when the swell weather doesn't last. I mean, the day after Easter last year we woke up to seven inches of snow and every summer loving person in Rexburg swore when they looked out their window. Of course, the snow melted within the next two days, and temps were in the sixties by the end of the week. None the less, I am going to enjoy this weather while I can. I am surpisingly happy for how incredibly tired I am!

I should boot scoot. But I will let you know I am working on some political/world affairs stuff to post soon. Just gathering my thoughts in a coherant way. Stay tuned. 31 Days til school is out! "Hurrah for Israel!" ;-)

First

Not much to say right now, other then I should really be in bed. It is just after 2am. My mom got here in Rexburg on Wednesday. She's leaving tomorrow and I am suddenly sad. She was my little piece of home. I know I will be there in a month, but I'm still sad. Anyway, that is the reason I should be in bed, because I am sure she will wake me up before I am ready.

I work tomorrow for the first time in a week. I think I will be putting in my notice. I want my last day at Old Navy to be March 31st. That way I can get finals wrapped up as well as packing and tying up other loose ends.

Anyway, I will write more, if anybody cares to know, eventually. I can't believe I'm doing a blog, how silly....