Catch up

Whew. Been a busy couple of weeks. I had midterms every day for a week, and then had to play catch up from all the stuff I didn't get done because I was busy with midterms. I'm finally basically caught up. Have to get up early tomorrow to finish some homework, but that's not all that unusual this semester. It's a danger of having four classes in a row on Monday starting at 8 am.

But with all the craziness, I've had a bunch of fun lately. Last weekend the parental units came down and spent a couple days with me. We went to P.F. Chang's to celebrate my upcoming birthday. That was fun. And yummy. (Yay lettuce wraps and Mongolian beef!)

Monday lunchtime I met up with a couple friends, Kimberly and Rebecca, and we went to lunch at Olive Garden. They have the best salad and breadsticks.

Friday this week I went out with Kim and Jeff and one of Jeff's friends and his fiancee to Pizza Pie Cafe. (What's with all the eating out?) It was fun. And yummy. Then I came back home and I needed to record a conversation and transcribe it for one of my classes, so my roommate and a guy who likes her joined me and I did that. In the course of the conversation, we learned he had never seen Princess and the Frog, so of course we remedied that. Ah so good.

Saturday was crazy busy. Homework, workout, cleaning, homework. Then to Pantruca's, a Chilean restaurant with my Spanish class. My friend in the class, Ashley, and I split some yummy food. I will be going back there sometime. So good! We had some fresh peach juice and that was muy rico! This took quite a bit longer than I expected, but I got home and quickly grabbed what I needed then went to my MTC companion's wedding reception with Bunkie, who was my trainer. This was their 3rd reception...not a whole lot of people at this one, at least while we were there.

Then Bunk and I went to her grandma's house where we were having a Louisiana Red Beans and Rice Night! It was really good too. I couldn't eat much since I had already had some Chilean food, but Bunk did a great job! After a while the other people started trickling in. I love getting together with mission friends. It's so fun. We were supposed to watch a movie but people just talked and then by the time it kind of settled down it was pretty late, so we didn't do that. But it's okay because it was going to be Princess and the Frog, which I'd see the night before. It was a really fun night.

It didn't end there though. This morning Elder Smith spoke in church in American Fork and we went to go hear his talk. He did a good job. And it was also a fun little reunion. He'd come to the party Saturday night, but a couple of other people were there Sunday that didn't make it Saturday, so it was fun to see them. It was so awesome to see Smithers again. He's a fave. An amazing missionary and good friend. I can hardly believe he's home. The next group that comes home is my MTC district elders! Holy cow!

Other super exciting news! Clarence Jones, one of my favorite people in Houma, LA, got his mission call this week to Atlanta Georgia! We're super excited for him. He's amazing. Seriously. He's from the ghetto. He saw an ad for a Church DVD, Joy to the World, and the missionaries taught him and he got baptized a couple years ago. When I was in Houma, he was ordained an elder, and now he's going on a mission!

Hmm...anything else to share? Not so much. But I expect this week to be quite fabulous!

Fabulous Friday

I can't miss posting on a fabulous Friday. But seeing as how I still have lots of take home testing to do (blech), I'll just leave you with this beauty. I keep watching it because it cracks me up. Have a good laugh. It's on the house.

The Great American Jackalope

You know those great Pixar short films? My favorite is Boundin'. I haven't seen it in ages. I'll have to remedy that. But I was thinking about it today. I love the message of the story. It's great.

It starts like this:

Here's a story on how strange is life with its changes,
And it happened not long ago.
On a high mountain plain, where the sagebrush arranges,
A playground south of the snow.

Lived a lamb with a coat of remarkable sheen,
It would glint in the sunlight all sparkly and clean,
Such a source of great pride,
That it caused him to preen.

And he'd break out in high steppin' dance.
He would dance for his neighbors across the way.
I must say that they found his dancin' enhancin',
For they'd also join in the play.

So then the lamb is taken away and sheared. When he comes back his neighbors laugh at his new look. He feels pretty down.

Then a-boundin' up the slope,
Came a great American jackalope.
This sage of the sage, this rare hare of hope,
Caused to pause and check out the lamb.

"Hey kid, why the mope?"

"I used to be something all covered with fluff,
And I’d dance in the sunlight and show off my stuff.
Then they hauled me away in a manner quite rough,
And sheared me and dropped me back here in the buff.

And if that's not enough,
Now my friends all laugh at me,
Cause they think I look ridiculous, funny, and pink."

"Pink? Pink? Well, what's wrong with pink?
Seems you’ve got a pink kink in your think.
Does it matter what color? Well, that gets nope.
Be it pink, purple, or heliotrope.

Now sometimes you’re up and sometimes you're down,
When you find that you’re down well just look around.
You still got a body, good legs and fine feet,
Get your head in the right place and hey, you're complete!

"Now as for the dancin', you can do more,
You can reach great heights, in fact you can soar.
You just get a leg up and ya slap it on down,
And you’ll find you’re up in what’s called a bound.
Bound, bound, and rebound.

Bound and you’re up right next to the sky,
And I think you can do it if you give it a try,

First get a leg up, slap it on down."

The lamb learns to "bound."

So every year, along about May,
They’d load him up and they’d haul him away,
And they’d shave him and dump him all naked and bare.
He learned to live with it, he didn’t care,
He'd just bound, bound, bound, and rebound.

Now in this world of ups and downs,
So nice to know there are jackalopes around.

I love this. I used to quote it all the time. Let's look at the bold parts in particular. Life is full of ups and downs. Today had quite a few downs. There were some frustrations. But there were good parts too. I was contacted again about a job I applied for a while back, but the hours I was available wouldn't work, so I didn't get it again, but at least they contacted me again. This job had a lot of applicants. I was one of twelve interviewed and looks like I almost made it. Too bad, but it's still good that I was among the top picks.

I had a Spanish test today. I think I understood the listening questions better than any of the tests so far this semester. Normally I'm writing down what I understand as fast as I can so I can at least try to assemble what they said. This time for the most part I understood as they spoke and I could figure out the answer quickly.

The point of that was just that we can do as the jackalope directs in the story: when you're down, look around, see what you do have.

I also love the confidence the jackalope places in the lamb. You can do it. You can reach great heights, in fact you can soar. And it IS so nice to know there are jackalopes around who do the same for us! Our jackalopes can include family, friends, teachers, roommates, and most importantly, the Savior. He definitely wants us to soar. He wants us to be grateful and focus on the positive. And He will carry us to reach those great heights.

There are other great things I can pull out of Boundin' but I'd better get back to studying. I still have five more tests this week. But don't worry, I have plenty of jackalopes.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

So, it's Valentine's Day. Apparently some single people don't like Valentine's Day. But I do. I've never had a valentine personally, but I still love the day. Why is that?

Well, first of all, I love holidays. I love any chance to celebrate. I mean, I guess I could celebrate every day, but those recognized holidays are a little more fun to put some effort into. I love to dress up in festive colors. Today I'm wearing a pink sweater and pink socks with hearts on them. I had pink bracelets on earlier. They may go on again. And my favorite accessory: 3 conversation heart pins (see picture). Yeah, I like holidays.

Not only that, but I love making cards. And writing cards. And giving cards. And gifts. But mostly cards because I'm poor. So I made a whole bunch of valentines this year. Too many actually...I have a whole bunch leftover. Fortunately, none of them say specifically Valentine's Day on them, they just have hearts and stuff so I can use them for other occasions I think. Some say "love." Maybe I should try to use those...

And basically I love love. I love loving other people. And yeah, we should tell people we love them all the time, but having a special day really can't hurt. So go tell somebody you love them. Better yet, show them you love them. Do something for somebody else today. Show the love. (Chocolate is a good way to show love. Haha...jk...sort of.) Love y'all and have a very happy Valentine's Day!

Jimmer that

A little Jimmer love for the day:

Geaux Cougs!!!

Fabulous facts

It's been such a fabulous week! And I'm sure it'll continue. After all, it's almost the weekend. :D

The last couple days have been pretty fun. I've had many reunions and other fun stuff. Let me share:

1. So my bff from the time we were ten, Kim, and I went to lunch (Pita Pit! yum...) with the wife of the second counselor in our bishopric when we lived in Stonebridge, Anna. Got that? We became friends then and we thought it'd be way fun to get together again. Kim's got a baby, Anna's got a toddler...times like these remind you how long two years really is. She was a bitty baby last I saw her. Crazy.

2. Then I went and met my friend from SHA, Gracie. We talked for a good while. It was so fun to catch up!

3. On my way to meet Gracie, I saw a friend from high school, Andrew. We talked about other people who were around. I ended up seeing another one of them today.

4. Last night my companion Schulzie called. I got to go with her and a couple other mission buds to Sammy's. I had a delicious mint oreo pie shake (half-sized, it was totally past my bedtime). Yum. :D

5. I met a friend for lunch today too. We laughed a lot.

6. I'm learning subjunctive in Spanish. Yo quiero que ustedes lean mi blog. Or something like that.

7. Jimmer Jimmer Jimmer Jimmer Jimmer Jimmer!!!

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/22753/jimmer-mania-gives-us-epic-facebook-thread

8. I'm making gumbo on Saturday. Again. By myself this time. Hope it turns out.

9. I got a valentine today from my mommy. :D

10. I need to make some valentines. And study some. So I better end this fabulous post of mine.

1 New Friend Request

You log on to Facebook. You have 3 new notifications, and what? A friend request? The suspense! Who could it be? You click to see who wants to be your friend, excitedly.

It's one of your favorite goofy zone leaders! What could be better?

Well, wait a couple hours...you get another one.

It's somebody you taught and loved so much on the mission.

Yes.

Best. Friend-requesting day. Ever.

No, seriously. It's true.

I'm famous!

Today I learned I am really fabulous. I am fabulously cool enough to be pictured on the BYU website. Now that's cool. Take a look: https://deanofstudents.byu.edu/content/notary-public-service

Until you bite their heads off

I love Goldfish. As I ate some today, I started singing the old jingle: "Did you know they're made of real cheese/ even though they look like fishies,/ the snack the smiles back, Goldfish." And I had to listen to it. Then I thought you might want to too. So...here you are!

Do the Hokey Pokey

Last night was so fun. It was Riddle's bachelorette party. We went to Chili's for dinner. I had the quesadilla explosion salad. It was pretty good. I make yummier quesadillas, but the salad part was way good. There she opened some gifts that I don't think I'll discuss here. Anyway, we got a free yummy chocolatey dessert. Don't know what it was called but it was GOOD. I'd totally get it again.

Then we went to a bar. A piano bar. Keys on Main in SLC. I thought it was kind of ironic that I was going to a bar with mission friends. But it was a pretty cool place. They have two pianos and three performers who switch off and it's a request-driven show. You put a little cash with your request and they'll play it faster than without it and you put a lot of cash and it moves it right up. And if you don't like the song they're playing and singing, you can pay a dollar more than the person who requested it paid and request a different song. Well whoever came up with that idea was brilliant. What's better than drunk people wanting a particular song? They'll pay hundreds of dollars for a stupid song. Seriously. Some guy paid like $20 to start a song, people pooled some money on the other side and I can't remember how many times it went back and forth, but I do remember the pool of $87 on one side...then the guy coming up with $120 to go back to his song...ridiculous. I'm pretty sure he spent at least $250/300 on music alone. And then enough alcohol to get plastered by 9:30. Ridiculous. Seriously. It costs $5 to get in there and if you don't drink or spend ridiculous amounts on a song it's a great deal.

It was pretty fun at the beginning because they were joking around with us a lot, since it was pretty obvious we were Mormons. And practicing Mormons. They did stuff like start playing primary songs, they called us the resident Relief Society, etc. It was just funny. They toned down the swearing. "Oh my word, oh my heck." Riddle's sister requested they do something for Riddle but she let them choose the song. So one of them played the Hokey Pokey and made her come up and dance. Then he sang "Going to the temple and she's going to get married..." It was funny.

Not all their jokes were appropriate and the language got worse as the night went on, as well as the music, so we left. But it was really interesting to see things progress. More people showed up, more people got drunk, it was ridiculous how stupid they look. Seriously the Word of Wisdom is so awesome. We had a lot of fun last night AND we remember it. And it was a whole lot cheaper. So moral of the story: don't drink, it's really dumb.

Another Fabulous Friday

Whew...made it through the week. It was a little bumpy. Some late (for me) nights, normal early mornings, lots of studying, a few tests, a lot of reading, several homework assignments. Isn't life fun?

Some happy things though:

1. This week was transfers in the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission. This means that some of my besties came home. :D Elder Smith and Sister Schulz being two of them. I am SO excited to be able to see them again. Not sure when it'll be, but it'll be awesome!

This also meant that Sister Holmes got transferred to Gonzales, which is where she's been being wanting to go so I'm way excited for her. AND Sister Earl finally did not experience a change at transfers. She's staying in the same place with the same person! I'm so glad. Her transfer record is more impressive than mine. And that's saying something.

2. In Spanish today we had a fiesta (since the midterm was yesterday). This meant eating some yummy food and watching Robots in Spanish. I have never seen Robots. But I liked the 30 minutes we watched of it. I might have to see the whole thing. It was pretty awesome. Also, the food was very good. Someone brought some legit tacos. Dang good. Haven't had Mexican food like that since serving in the Spanish ward in New Orleans.

3. Writing those two things reminded me of a story involving Hispanic food and Sister Schulz. Christmas Eve 2009, Houma, Louisiana. We ate with a Hispanic family that night with the Spanish elders. Oh man...this was not a good thing for me for these reasons: (a) I had been sick and had no appetite and had already eaten a lot that day (had pizza during our planning session with our zone leaders...one of whom was Elder Smith...), (b) they gave us a HUGE bowl of food which turned out to be pigs' feet, and (c) they gave us horchata to drink. I know a lot of people love that stuff. It made me feel so sick. As if I wasn't sick enough. When we left I really wanted to throw up. Instead, we caroled. Anyway, the funny part of that night was when Sister Schulz was trying to say that she likes horchata, but she couldn't think of the words in Spanish. So she said, "Mucho gusto, horchata!" (nice to meet you) when she really meant "me gusta" (I like it/it pleases me). We laughed pretty hard about that.

4. Tonight is my MTC companion (and Sister Schulz's trainer) Sister Riddle's bachelorette party. I'm going with Sister Bunker, my trainer. Should be fun.

5. I won on a blog giveaway a while ago and my prize came this week. It's a super cute headband. I LOVE IT! Oh okay, I'll let you see a picture of it.

I told you it was cute. I love accessories. :D

So there you go, five Friday fabulously fun facts. (I also love alliteration.)