WEEKEND UPDATE

Went to the mall by CJ's work to look at the stars. And J. Crew.

Trekked down to the LES for the pudding from Sugar Sweet Sunshine that I like with all my heart. (I am trying not to say "love" about things because one time in testimony meeting this guy got up and said something about what a kid must think when he hears his dad say "I love you, son" and also say "I love fishing." SO THOUGHT-PROVOKING I CAN'T EVEN.)

This is a candy store that has every candy you can imagine including all the retired candies and old-fashioned nasties like Necco, Circus Peanuts, and those foam saucers with the little balls inside. So gross. We got sour tape! Which we ate in Spain all the time.

I saw this in SoHo and nearly cried because POOR DROSE!

We went to Crate and Barrel because we had some time to kill before we met up with friends. We sat on pretty much every couch in the whole place which is why C&B is the best place to go in the city in the winter when you have time to kill. It's warm and there are couches. Don't know why I thought we would leave without buying something???? P.S. I like this picture of CJ because he is making the SASSIEST face! Haha!

We ate Korean BBQ with our friends Chelsea and Russell. I don't like Korean food that much.

And then we went to karaoke. No trip to Koreatown is complete without a round of karaoke!

Sunday was the Primary Program and I cried pretty much the entire time.  They sang all my absolute favorite songs...this was my year, you guys. Plus CJ is a primary teacher so it was even bettahhh. They hung this banner in the hallway and the kids wrote how they know they're children of God.

My cousin Kai was born and he is the most adorable thing I have ever seen.

On Sunday CJ cleaned the whole apartment while I did nothing. See? There's me being useless. On FaceTime. These are the only pictures you will ever see of our current apartment so really let them sink in. That's our bed........and it has always been like that. And we sleep on it.

I will never have a stainless steel fridge because I absolutely love magnets and hanging things on the fridge. Maybe tacky, I don't even care.

As I was sitting on the bed while my husband buzzed all over the place cleaning E V E R Y T H I N G I realized that it had been 6 months since our wedding.  And I started to cry because I have the best husband and I am not always the best wife...like when it comes to cleaning. I AM the best wife when it comes to cooking though. You win some, you lose some.

Days 1, 2, & 3 in NYC or "A Series of Unfortunate Events"

Yes, we made it to the Big Apple! If you have texted me over the past few days and asked me how everything is going I probably said GREAT, and it is great, but that's not the whole story.

It all started on Sunday when our flight was delayed an hour...and then another hour...and then another hour. Landing us at JFK around 10:30 PM. Fortunately the journey via the subway to our apartment went without any major incidents. Little did I know that hauling 3 suitcases through the subway would be the easiest part of the week!

As soon as we arrived we were basically starving since we hadn't eaten since about 12PM, so CJ headed down the street to our neighborhood McDonald's. Obviously. I took it upon myself as queen supreme wife to put our new sheets on the bed while CJ was gone. Everything was going well until I climbed over to the bottom right corner of the bed and CRACK CRASH BOOM BANG the entire bedframe came crashing down. I could have died...I felt like the worst wife of all time. CJ came home and I had to tell him that I broke the bed. It's about 1:30AM at this point. LOL!!! So what did we do? The mattress is connected to the bed frame by tubes (it's some fancy air mattress thing that is not very comfortable) so we did not have the option to move the mattress to the floor. So we fixed the bed and right as we were putting the last piece in it broke again. So we went through the whole process again and didn't put the last piece on and slept on it without incident. We finally went to bed around 3:30AM.

CJ woke up about 4 hours later for work and there was a rather curt note from the neighbor on the door giving us some "friendly New Yorker advice to not unpack and refurnish the apartment at 2 or 3 in the morning while our neighbors who have to work early in the morning are trying to sleep!!" Thanks, bro. Cool advice. Trust me, I wish we could have slipped quietly into bed when we got home!

Monday was one of the worst days ever. I slept so late because of the time change and everything and I was too scared to leave the house without CJ. I know, I am a dummy but I am pretty much over that fear by now as I basically traipsed through the hood yesterday while the old men kept saying "EY MAMA EY MAMI." And it was fine and I made it to the subway.

Anyway, I cleaned the apartment and unpacked all of our stuff and waited for CJ to come home. Also, our internet was down so there was actually nothing to do and I couldn't google how to get places etc because I also don't have an iphone or anything like that. McKay called me in the middle of the day and I just sobbed to him about all my problems and worries and told him he was the first person I had talked to all day. My sweet brother calling was one of the best parts of my day. Then CJ got home from work and I was so happy. For FHE CJ and I got a treat and CJ dedicated our apartment. It was wonderful.

On Tuesday I finally left the house! Dropped CJ's pants off at the tailor and went to the grocery store where pretty much everything is 4.99. BUMMER. Then I realized that my key to our apartment building doesn't work! HOW COMICAL. So I am standing by the door hoping someone comes down to leave when I think to buzz the neighbor. Yes, the same ones who had written the note. We told them what happened and they felt really bad and told us that they are in our ward and can help us if we need anything, etc. so homegirl buzzed me in. Then when I came up she asked me to return the favor and watch her baby for five minutes. So I did and now all is well with apt 614.

Then I traipsed through the wrong side of the barrio to get to the subway and this abuela helped me find which way to go. Good thing I speak Spanish! I was headed downtown to put our names in the Wicked lotto and meet CJ after work. You have to pay for the tickets with cash if you win so I hauled booty through Times Square to get to an ATM and that was pure misery. I hate tourists.

Alas, we did not win the Wicked lottery but we still managed to have a great night. We walked over to Sprinkles for buy one get one free cupcakes and ate them in Central Park...what a dream! Then we headed over to the High Line for dinner and the free stargazing that happens there every Tuesday night...amateur astronomers of NYC bring their telescopes, it's cool! We got tacos from Chelsea Market  (LOVE) and ate them at the park while we watched the sunset over the Hudson River. I LOVED High Line Park and definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the city!

We came home and were looking forward to watching Arrested Development all snug in our bed when it BROKE AGAIN. R U KIDDING ME? This time it was 10:00 so I didn't feel as bad for the neighbors but we basically just took the entire thing apart instead of trying to fix it again and our bed is now ON THE FLOOR inside the bed frame.

FFW to this morning after CJ left for work as I am sitting at the computer desk and I feel something crawl up my leg. I look down...the biggest cockroach I have seen in our apartment yet! I was so panicked that I didn't even think and I swatted it away. GREAT. Now it was loose in our house right by our bed. Fortunately I found it later and sprayed it with a vengeance.

Just some of our adventures here in Manhattan. Now I am off to meet CJ at the Gershwin Theater and put our names in for the lottery for Wicked tix. Basically my life is nothing like Friends or Gossip Girl or whatever but I DON'T CARE I LOVE IT.

new york state of mind

unfortunately i am having a really hard time focusing on school. unfortunate because right now is what some people like to call "crunch time" or "running through the finish line" but i just like to call it "procrastination station" or "my personal hell."

i really do love school, but not the part where i have a billion assignments in each of my classes all at the same time. the real problem here is the fact that frankly, i have other things on my mind.

i'm graduating in like 20 days, going through the temple the day after that, and then getting married and moving to new york. (and by moving to new york i mean leaving every person i have ever loved except the one i love the most to go to a wackadoo place where i imagine spending my days being yelled at by strangers. "get outta my way!!!!" they will say.) how does anyone expect me to think about school??? and yet, here we are. i had a bad day and life ain't about to cut me any slack.

i know i made fun of a girl the other day for babbling on and on about how her class getting cancelled was a "tender mercy" but my wedding shoes coming in the mail today was actually a tender mercy and i don't care who makes fun of me for saying it.

now time to write my paper(s) and start throwing away all my useless belongings.

p.s. tried the no-caps thing and i actually hate it and it makes me cringe so, not going to do that again. ok.

Shish gets real

Last night CJ and I were talking about moving to New York, and I said something about how poor we are going to be or whatever. And he said, "Well I guess we can just move to Richland instead!" and I said "YAY YAY YAY!" and then I started SOBBING because I knew he was kidding. SOBBING. Because that was the first time that I realized that I am going to be moving really really really far away from MY MOM (and dad), my siblings, my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends...EV ER Y ONE. And I just wanted to crawl into a hole.

I thought about how I would feel if one of my grandparents dies while I am living so far away.

How I would miss playing with all my little cousins, or seeing new ones right after they are born.

No more summers lounging and drinking black pop at Indian Springs, watching my mom do her annual back flip off the diving board.

I won't be able to walk down to Gran's to borrow a book, or go to my Nana's on a Sunday morning to eat homemade biscuits before church.

I'll miss my house being filled with 25 kinds of pies and 2,500 people on Thanksgiving day.

This list could go on and on but I will just start crying at work and the people around here don't need another reason to think me mad.

Good things that make me happy

Beyonce.
Friends.
Sweets.
Fireworks.
Jem. (Jef+Emily)
Yoga.
Getting my hair done.
Missionaries.
Hikes.
Phones.
The beach.
Diet coke. (quit)

This.

I have SO MUCH stuff to do and no car.

This semester honestly feels like not only world's longest semester, but world's longest period of time. EVER. Longer than anything!

But now it's over and I feel great about that. Good riddance, I say. Not that it was bad...it wasn't. In a way this semester has been one of the best, but it has also been A LOT to handle. Like more than I've ever had to handle, not just school-wise either. And I'd just like to be done with the overwhelmingness of it all. I'm ready for summ summ summertime. AND SPAIN.

The to-do list that will never be finished

I was thinking today about things I think about doing but never actually do. Things that I want/need to do and that I (probably) could do but just don't. Why?

Things I think about doing but never do:
Quitting sugar.
Quitting diet coke.
Going visiting teaching.
Chopping off my hair.
Dying my hair.
Writing that one thank you note that I forgot to write forever ago.
Visiting my old friends at Zupas.
Reading Life of Pi.
Attending certain on-campus events.
Meeting with my academic advisor.
Catching up with my old roommates.
Calling my grandma.
Wearing jeans to work.
Getting my camera fixed.
Buying a cover for my nook.
Changing my profile picture on twitter.
Talking to that cute boy in my class/ward/twitter feed.
Changing my headlight that has been out for two weeks.
Visiting my cousins.
Taking a nap.
Planning my trip to Paris/buying tickets.
Shopping online.
Buying red lipstick.
Going to the doctor.
Showing up unexpectedly at so-and-so's door.
Looking into that half marathon in September.
Packing up some of my stuff.
SKIPPING CLASS.

It seems that most of them boil down to fear.

Today I was driving home from slip-n-sliding at Rock Canyon Park and there were 4 boys in my car and a quail walked in front of my car and I SLAMMED on the brakes and put my hands in a prayer and said "OH PLEASE, HEAVENLY FATHER!" And I didn't hit the quail. And...all the boys laughed at me.

WHAMMY.

Things Mormons Love

This is pretty much targeted only at Utah Valley. I STILL LOVE YOU, THOUGH.

Ranch

Barbecue sauce

Fry sauce

Harry Potter

Lord of the Rings

Narnia

Their teeth

Overstated clothes/bags/everything

Fake nails

Hot mom syndrome

Wearing workout clothes and a full face of makeup

GOLD'S GYM

Fads, especially involving being healthy and getting skinny

Home security

Acting like they live in California

Local novelties

Huge flowers in they hair

Frozen yogurt ("We have more froyo places than most towns have bars." -Abby. True.)

Ice cream in any form

Really anything cream-based...Alfredo, Cream of chicken soup.......

Donuts

Going out to eat in general

White cars

Their children and making sure they aren't defective by putting them in 1290 extracurriculars

Diet coke

Jimmer

Hawaii

Overuse of commas

Games, games, games

Les Miserables and Phantom

Weird fruit/not fruit combinations

Exercising

Letting their children stay up very late

Vinyl lettering on tiles...all over their homes

Blogs/blogging

Scrapbooking

Lake Powell

Mindy Gledhill and her weird butterfly wings

There are a billion more but my brain hurts.

I just came to say hello

My brain hurts.

I was just trying to read 71toes and I couldn't because every time I tried to read the words I would get this terrible feeling like my brain was going to explode and my stomach was going to barf.

There are probably a few reasons why this is happening.

1) I just wrote a summary of a Madison note for my constitutional research class. Have you ever read a Madison note? Hmmmmm? Anyway, it was hard.

2) I have to teach Relief Society on Sunday and I'm not really stressed out or nervous or anything I just...am exhausted. And I am like obsessed with finding THE BEST quotes and THE BEST scriptures to use.

3) The Zupas honeymoon is officially over. Saturday was my first day of work and I got the fast and friendly award and everything was great my manager was pulling pranks on me and I fell in love with my co-worker. But today none of my friends were there and Anthony, my manager, is taking the week off and this other manager named Ben is here and he's kind of lame and Saturday must have been really slow because the rush was INSANE today. Yeesh. And now when I take naps all I think about is scooping the toppings on the salads. 'Cause that's muh jorb.

So, that's three. And I think that's enough. I kind of just want to go to bed because I think an ant farm has taken the place of my brain.

And also, it stresses me out to listen to my roommates talk about their boyfriend problems. Thank heavens that boys don't have any interest in me. And also I was thinking today that if a guy I really really would love to marry were to walk up to me right now and say WILL YOU MARRY ME? I don't think I would say yes. So. Just wrap your brain around that one. I'm the next Sheri Dew, ya'll. Whatevs. I like myself and people I like like me so it's all good.

Mockba.

I really do not smell good right now. I stink.

I have a nasty nap hangover and my eyes feel weird and so does my face.

I just ate three pieces of "American Sandwich" bread in like 10 minutes...ew...mistake.

I am reading the blog of a mom in our Moscow branch who I think is cool.

I am really craving Half Baked. Eesh. Don't click the link unless you have a pint of B&J's nearby...or you may curl up into a ball and whine like I just did.

And as much as I love the Jayhawks, I am hoping for an upset, landing VCU in the Final Four. I like Butler. How cool would it be if they are national champs this year after what happened last year in the final game? Very cool. I think. I really really really love March Madness. Hopefully when I grow up and have kids I can be their crazy mom that gets really into MM and makes them fill out brackets and we have a contest and whoever wins gets to pick where we go on summer vacation. That is, if my life is glamorous enough to include a summer vacation.

Russia, I will always love you. I think people judge you and misunderstand you and turn up their noses at you but I never will. I think you are awesome and I think your people are wonderful and some of the nicest people ever, even if they don't smile back at me. I hope that I can come back here someday, but if I don't, just know that I am thinking of you and if my arms were long enough I would wrap them all the way around you. I have pretty short arms, though. So.

(This is the most important thing that has happened to me in the past two months. The love.)

All aboard the train of thoughts

First thing I'm going to do when I have a bad breakup is listen to Adele's most recent album, 21. And hopefully I will listen to it 100 more times before then, too. It's wonderful.

The only thing better than a root beer float is an orange soda float. I die.

Probably not going to Dubai anymore...did I even mention I was going to go to Dubai next week? Anyway. Surprisingly, I feel fine.

I watched this TED talk called "The Birth of a Word" and it was so fascinating. You should watch it. BE A SMART HUMAN.

I am slowly but surely remembering all the books I read last summer. I'll be like "Yeah, I readGone With the Wind last summer. I love it so much! Oh, and I read East of Eden. And have you ever read The Poisonwood Bible? What about The Picture of Dorian Gray? That's like my favorite." Hot damn, I read a lot of books. And good ones, too. That's not even all of them.

Sorry to freak you out, parents and Gran. But can everyone please stop blogging/facebooking/talking about getting/being married? Or maybe...everyone stop getting married! You are driving my brain to insanity! ALL I WANT IS ONE DAY WHERE I NEVER EVEN THINK ABOUT A WEDDING OR GETTING MARRIED. I plz can haz? Thanks, brain. Thanks, world.

I drew a little family in my journal the other day and named the children and it was a horrible trainwreck. They were perfect until I gave them names. For example, Dieter MacInnis. Great names that I will probably use, terribly tacky German/Scottish combination. Also, how do you think I should spell GREYSHA? I just can't think of a good spelling. All the spellings suck. Gracia, Grecia, Greisha, Graysha, Greysha, Greicia, Gresha, Graisha, Gray-shuh.

My hair is in a terrible condition. I mean, just...really bad. It's not a real color. It's the color of nothingness. The second thing I am going to do once I get back to America is go get my hair done. But how? My automatic instinct is to do the blondie-blonde Sweet Valley High highlights that I always do. Mom said on skype, "Your hair is getting really dark...maybe you should stay dark." And I say BLEH I LOOK LIKE A GHOST THAT JUST AIN'T ME, MA! But Mom is a genius and maybe she is right. So. The other other option is Rihanna. Totally still an option. Ombre? How do you say that? Ohhhhhmbre? Ahhhhmbre? OHMBER? But let's be real. I hit my hair peak circa May 2009. Best highlights I have ever had, best bangs I have ever had...I had that ish down to a science.

Am I close to London? Could I take a train? Justin Bieber is there...

March madness is easily my favorite holiday season. I need to do some research before I fill out my bracket tomorrow. If I could get a perfect bracket, like 100% correct, my life would seriously be made. And people would probably give me millions of dollars while other people would accuse me of being a fraud. Such is life when you are famous.

Some people will never understand why Richland, Washington is the greatest town on the planet. And I will never understand some people.

And PS everyone I know knows everyone else I know and I basically know everyone at BYU through other people by like 5 degrees or something. I have come to this conclusion through excessive facebook stalking. It's fine.

Sometimes I wish I would have gone to BYU-Hawaii...

and then I realize that I never would have met Abby and I faint at the thought!

Curiousity killed the cat!

If you ever wanted to know many many things about me, you just have to look at this picture.

1) My bed is cloud 9. Just look at that memory foam memorizing muh boday. Dericious.

2) The sheets are coming off my bed because to be perfectly honest I haven't washed them since I got to school. Abby, I'm sorry if you've been sleeping in my bed without knowing this fact. Although I'm pretty sure you know this fact.

3) Justin Bieber poster. Justin Bieber calendar. My boyfriend...'nuff said.

4) The handmade valentine from sister hanging between said poster and calendar, and the ant drawing by Quinn on my desk. I love my brothers and sister and they show their love for me through handicrafts. And I hang them up.

5) Post-its everywhere.

6) Tangled poster that Charzie gave me for Christmas. Nobody is cutting my hair while I'm in Russia so I'm pretty sure that when I come back my hair will be roughly 70 feet long and have magical healing powers.

7) Cluttered desk, including Christmas presents that I never gave to Emily and Rebekah, which I meant to mail before I left and didn't. Best friend fail..BFF.

8) I like to keep little snackies on my desk and eat them in the middle of the night instead of wearing my retainer. On the bright side, I wear my retainer nearly every night now and my teeth look faboo. I LOVE CORN NUTS.

9) Books.

10) Abby makes me laugh and likes to take ridiculous pictures of me.

11) I like to wear that Jordan shirt to bed and also to in-n-out and also to school.

See if you can find the Buddha!

We can hear, baby! We can hear!

Well, there is probably something wrong with me.

Yesterday I was going crazy over pretty much every boy I saw, and heart-broken when I found out my Economics TA is engaged...really? That's stupid.

Today, ever since about...7 o'clock I've felt like I could burst into tears at any second. Not a joke. Even right now. I feel that way.

Basically, I thought I had decided on my major, but after I talked to my parents, I realized that it was not a good idea. It was really a rash decision based on like two seconds of looking at it. I think I just wanted to decide for the sake of deciding. I just really want a major, and for some reason I have an overwhelming feeling that I'm not getting married for quite some time. I want to choose a real major and get a real job. Not for "just in case my husband dies or leaves me."

What do I want to do? That's not the question. WHAT DON'T I WANT TO DO?

See? I'm crying. Not about my major. Because this little Indian boy can hear. I hope you can see this. Because it is really great and it may change your life.

"We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us."

-President Gordon B. Hinckley

YOU ARE STUPID

I HATE the word stud. Today, a guy in my Sunday school class called Ammon (from the Book of Mormon) a stud.

MAYBE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT STUD MEANS. LET ME EXPLAIN.

stud
–noun
1. a studhorse or stallion.
2. an establishment, as a farm, in which horses are kept for breeding.
3. a number of horses, usually for racing or hunting, bred or kept by one owner.
4. a male animal, as a bull or ram, kept for breeding.
5. a herd of animals kept for breeding.
6. Slang. a man, esp. one who is notably virile and sexually active.

For some reason, guys at BYU (and everywhere...but especially here) think it's cool to reference men as studs. ESPECIALLY men from church history and the scriptures.

"Dude, Nephi was such a STUD!"
"Alright, Ammon was a TOTAL STUD."
"Joseph Smith...what a STUD!"

First of all, you're using the word COMPLETELY out of context. You really think that AMMON WAS NOTABLY VIRILE AND SEXUALLY ACTIVE? That doesn't make ANY SENSE. HE WASN'T.

Second of all, HOW RUDE! I hate to be sensitive and weird about stuff, but prophets? Really? You're down with calling any of God's prophets a stud? Don't forget that the slang comes from the actual word which refers to FARM ANIMALS USED FOR BREEDING. NOTABLY VIRILE. I'm horrified and disturbed.

Some of you may be feeling uncomfortable because you think I have a potty mouth or whatever. This has nothing to do with SWEARING, and everything to do with IGNORANCE. I would be fine with guys using the word stud in reference to...oh, I don't know...

TIGER WOODS?
JESSE JAMES?
BILL CLINTON?

Even still, it's rude. BUT AT LEAST IT'S FITTING AND APPROPRIATE!

I wanted to stand up in the middle of this kid's comment and just scream at him, or slap him in the face. I did neither.

You can't save a damsel if she loves her distress!

When I get married, I will not make a group on facebook about it and I will especially not call is "Caitlin and so-and-so are gettin' hitched!" Really? That is so ridiculous and particularly classless. That is my rant. Luau tomorrow. Breakfast with friends at 11? Only in college :)

Black Boogers

This guy across from me in the JSB was picking his nose and eating it. Not discreetly either. It was like he was eating ribs or something...chewing, licking his fingers in delight...DISGUSTING! His nose was bright red because of the violent picking and digging. I wanted to cry and or scream at him and say, "YOU KNOW, EVERYONE CAN YOU SEE PICKING YOUR NOSE AND MUNCHING ON THE BOOGERS, OKAY? SO JUST STOP. IT'S HORRIFYING."

...I didn't.

DITZ FACTORY

So, I got a parking ticket yesterday. It all started when I set my alarm for 7:00 AM...bad move. I ended up turning it off and sleeping until 7:45, which by the time I groggily got ready for class turned into me leaving at 8:10 or so, so I decided to drive to school and park right by the building where my class is. Great idea, right? Wrong. The lack of judgement herein can be blamed mostly on my lack of sleep, and just general crankiness, but I have also been pretty ditzy the past couple of days. Anyway, I ended up parked in STAFF parking and as I was driving home around 1 PM, boppin' along to my favorite Christmas tunes, I noticed a bright green envelope on my windshield. I wasn't even mad...I just laughed at myself, remembering all the times I had laughed at the expense of others with parking tickets. Originally $20, but since I paid online, it costed only $10. Lucky me :)

Today I got my test back from the Tahiti section of my Polynesian dance class...96. NOT A BIG DEAL. I was so worried because my other tests have been in the high 80's, which I don't understand, but whatever. I was not expecting a good grade on Tahiti but I guess my hips were like "YEAH!"

Another thing, today we tested Samoa so I got out of class early, plopped down on a chair in the Wilk and read. I put my Team Jacob water bottle down right next to me. When it was time to go to my next class, I gathered up my things and walked all the way to the JSB. I opened my backpack after I sat down in one of the front rows (to avoid McNasty Nailbiterson) and realized I HAD LEFT MY WATER BOTTLE THERE! There are two things that made me go back. 1) Taylor Lautner's beautiful face graces the bottle. 2) I paid good money for that water bottle! So, I left my stuff in class and ran out. I literally ran halfway to the Wilk...in my cute little pointy flats that have a small heel...and I felt so BA because they were clicking while i was like bolting along. Little did everyone around me know that I was running to get my Team Jacob water bottle...pathetic. Anyway, it was there. I grabbed it. Hugged it. Shed a tear of joy.

Glee was so good. That is all I have to say about it.

Visited Dean Cameron finally today. He said I looked like mom...some people tell me that, and I never believe it. Except for in this picture. I look exactly. Like. My. Mom.

Anywhoo, I'm off to the library...to do my homework like a good little girl :) Almost time for finals! Then MEXICO, and I am sooooo excited!!!!

Abby is good at playing the violin.

The most recent episode of Grey's Anatomy is SO GOOD!

Today I got a letter from Boo in the mail and it made my day! It's so weird because last week I sent her a letter to surprise her, and she sent me one too! As a surprise! Without knowing I was sending her one! Anyway, it was a good letter.

I have had a perpetual headache for at least a week and it is really annoying. I took three ibuprofen earlier and it still didn't really help...

I've given up facebook for four days for missionary week. That is my contribution, plus scripture study.

Tonight, I've eaten almost a whole bag of white cheddar popcorn. NASTY. I can't wait for In-n-Out to open...not that I'll be able to go very often, but I will cherish the times I do. I decided today that hardly anything I eat anymore is worth eating...it's just like, I eat because I'm hungry and I have to. Or because I'm just a pig...and none of it is really that good. BESIDES the pears that my mom canned! I opened them up this week and they are SO DELICIOUS. Thanks mommy :)

I've been craving Red Mango for days now. I tried to go on Halloween night, but apparently they closed at 8 for the "holiday." What the? HOLIDAY? I think that is such bogus. I do not consider Halloween to be a holy day. At all. In fact, I think it is rather pagan and devilish. I actually don't really appreciate it at all. Sure, I think it's fun to dress up and I love costumes and everything, but there IS NO REASON WHY RED MANGO SHOULD CLOSE EARLY. In my home, we will not celebrate Halloween. Before you FREAK OUT, Yes, my kids will still dress up and go trick-or-treating, etc. But I am not going to treat it like some grand zippidy-doo-dah day. Because it's not.

I get to register for classes tomorrow. As of right now, I am planning my GEs around an Elementary Education major. No, it's not something I've "always wanted to do." The only thing I've always wanted to do is sing and be a mom. Pretty sure. But I have been strongly considering it over the past few years and I know I would love being a teacher. So if everything goes as planned, tomorrow at midnight I will register for: Biology 100, Human Development, Honors American Government (instead of American Heritage), Second half of Book of Mormon, and Spanish 205! 15 credit hours. I have some back-ups in case I don't get into the classes I want at first, but I am pretty confident that over the next couple of weeks people will change their schedules, leaving spaces in the classes I want.

Today, I got my quizzes back from Poly Sci last week, and I was really worried about them. My partner, Eric, wasn't there pretty much all week so I had to do the group quizzes by myself, and I didn't read very thoroughly so I just did the best that I could...and thought I was going to bomb them. But I got 100% on every single one! YAY, ME!

My voice lesson went pretty well today. I got a new song! Finally. I was getting so sick of my songs. I am singing a wicked arrangement of "If You Could Hie to Kolob" that goes up to a B (B flat maybe, I don't remember) above the staff...KILL ME. Sometimes I dread it, but my voice teacher Laura is very encouraging and helpful.

I can't believe the semester has gone by so quickly! How weird. It seems like I just got here. I really need to start appreciating the day-to-day more, instead of just looking to the future. I have realized that sometimes my eternal perspective gets in my way. For example, when I am doing a paper or something (I turned in one at 4:57 today...it was due at 5. Noice.) and it's not going so well I'm just like, well...in all of eternity this paper really won't matter...in fact, my grades won't really matter either...and it just keeps spiraling downward after that! It's so silly of me. I am dreading getting old! I have no idea what it will be like because I'm so used to being young, and I definitely DO NOT appreciate my youth enough. And I know that once I get old I'm going to sit around and be like "WHEN I WAS YOUNG..." and blab about the good ol' days. Another thing I know I'm going to regret all the time I spend on facebook...which is why I'm not going on for four days and why I am going to (try) to cut down. I have a lot of goals and things I need to be better at...and so far I am succeeding at...one or two! So I would say that is pretty good.

As far as cleaning my room goes, I have pretty much let myself go. It is really really really really messy...like unlivable. And everytime I see it I'm like okay, I need to clean this...and then I say IMPOSSIBLE! And I step on/over half my wardrobe which is in one mass pile on my floor. Sorry mom, if you're reading this. I really had kept it clean for the first...two months! That is an accomplishment.

Okay, this is getting way to long and I still have to make an entire post about President Uchtdorf's fireside last night. It was that good.

Emily Culp just checked the temperature of the shower water and declared that it is...'kind of warm...' THIS IS THE LIFE I LIVE! I don't remember the last time I took a hot shower. Gotta love it.