Scenes from the weekend (no pictures)

I think I am just a hoot because I am calling this post scenes from the weekend but there are no scenes. I need to make myself take more pictures or my children are going to hate me.

On Friday night CJ and I had so much fun! When we were deciding where to go to dinner CJ said he wanted to go somewhere a little nicer. We decided on P.F. Chang's and it was a great decision. I haven't been in a while because the P.F. Chang's in Tri-Cities is TERR.I.BLE. Let me tell you. Just disgusting. I wonder if they have changed their ways but I seriously doubt it and I don't want to risk going back. We shared the Orange Chicken and Crispy Honey Shrimp. In the past I have avoided shrimp even though I love it because it makes me sick. BUT the past two times I have had it I have felt just fine! So that's great. I love food.

Then we went to Sports Authority so CJ could get some new sweats!!!!! SO MUCH EXCITEMENT. We ran into Skyler and Kara in the mall and got to chat with them for a while so that was fun. After we left we headed up the canyon to Sundance Resort to ride the ski lift! During the fall you can ride the ski lift at night when there's a full moon! Funny story...I had planned to take CJ about a month ago the last time there was a full moon. I told him we were going on a surprise date and talked it up a lot and then it rained and stormed the night we were supposed to go. I was so disappointed! But we went to Color Me Mine instead and it was great so whatever. But anyway, basically every time CJ and I plan to do something outdoors it rains. So we got really lucky on Friday night because the weather was perfect. The lift was a little bit scary at first but it was so beautiful and peaceful in the canyon at night. It was wonderful to just sit and talk and enjoy each other's company. (CHEESIN')

Saturday...oy vey/madre mía/etc. I woke up at like seven in the morning, went to Weight Watchers, got some McD's for breakfast (IRONY LOL) and then went STRAIGHT to the library with my diet coke in hand. I was there from 9-4!!!! As much as I hated it it felt so good to get my work done and know that I wouldn't have to do any homework the next day. This semester I have been trying to avoid doing homework on Sunday and it has gone really well so far. I love having Sundays to just relax, go to church, bake, and spend time with friends and family. Sundays really are one of my favorite days of the week. ANYWAY. After I got back from the library, CJ picked me up and we headed to McKay's lacrosse scrimmage. My cousin Kelci who I haven't seen in forever was there and Alyssa was there, too. I could honestly watch lacrosse all day I think it is so entertaining. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful, but I always have fun with CJ. Took a trip to the grocery store to get the ingredients for Sunday dinner. We went to In-N-Out (healthy choices happening all da time) and it was dericious. Then we watched Heavyweights (how appropriate) and just ended up falling asleep.

Sundayz r da best dayz. Went to CJ's ward because my ward is at 1:30 and CJ's is at 11...so pretty easy decision there. I wake up at like the crack of dawn on Sundays and it's just really hard to wait around for church to start. After church I made enchiladas that were pretty good and  lemon cookies that were the bomb and we took them to Brian and Shannon's. It's so much fun to hang out with them and we all get along really well...and Shannon loves to play charades so it's like a match made in heaven!

I love the weekends. And this weekend will be ESPECIALLY FUN because it's going to be MYYYYY BIRTHDAYYYYYY!!!! THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR!

Missing Paris.

I went to Paris almost two months ago.

I still remember literally everything about the trip! It was one of the best weekends of my life and I feel so lucky that I was able to go.

I started writing like this really long post detailing everything we did but I just decided that it's probably better to focus on highlights.

-The Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees. I think I gasped 100 times. Such an awesome first night.
-Our hostel was party central. Made friends with Peter from China. Obviously. Turned down billions of free drinks while we were planning our weekend in the lobby. MORMONS.
-Used our shirts as towels.
-Climbing so many stairs at the Eiffel Tower. Ate a Milka bar at the top.
-My favorite place we ate was the little bakery we went to on our first day. I had quiche and coke light and a chocolate tart and each one was the best I have ever had. The waiter said I had a very American face. Thanks!
-The catacombs! So creepy but so great.

-The huge mall where I looked at 200-500 euro baby clothes for hours. (not literally)
-Best McDonald's in the world.
-Macarons from Laduree for the first time. The world stopped.
-Watching the Eiffel Tower twinkle at night. LALALA SO PRETTY!
-St. Michel's, highest stained glass to wall ratio of any cathedral in the world. Gorgeous.
-Notre Dame.
-More delicious food.
-Sitting in the park in Paris writing down my wishes and dreams in my journal. Bliss.

-Notre Dame...beautiful. I was Catholic in another life.

-Love lock bridge. I liked watching these beautiful people smooch. I wanted to cry!

-Moulin Rouge, we did the Can-Can, as you can see.
-Musee d'Orsay. One of my absolute favorite parts of this trip and my whole study abroad. I saw so much beautiful art there IN REAL LIFE including Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, and Gauguin. I remember walking through this museum and thinking, "This is the most my feet have ever hurt."
-We went on a riverboat cruise that we thought would be covered but we had to sit on the uncovered top and it was pouring rain.
-Then we were looking for somewhere to eat and we found this tiny pizza place that was really warm and full of hot waiters, so we went there. I paid like 15 euro for a pizza, but let's just forget about that. It was really delicious and a lovely dining experience overall.
-Waited in line at the Louvre for an hour and a half on free museum day.
-The Mona Lisa was not underwhelming. I thought it was beautiful.
-Searched for Hammurabi's Code in the Louvre for over an hour and we never found it.We asked like 100 different workers for directions and every way we went we got to a dead end. So...still haven't seen that.
-Literally RAN up the Champs Elysees to get to Laduree for macarons before we left.

-Ran even faster to our bus back to the airport to catch our flight. We barely made it.
-A pinky promise to come back someday.

Texas Forever

So after a lovely Christmas at home, a road trip with the fam to my cousin's wedding, and one of the best weekends of my life in Dallas, I am back in beautiful Utah not quite ready to start a new semester.

Any goal I set prior to ringing in 2012 has been pretty much a bust. Which is my fault for not writing them down or being serious about them or whatever. I think resolutions are kind of bogus anyways...sorry. I like to set goals on my own time line.

The thing I like most about New Year's is looking back on the year and thinking about all the things I did/didn't do and realizing that life pretty much never turns out the way you planned, for better or worse. (Usually it's better, you just might not realize it right away.) And even though I don't like resolutions I do like the excitement a new year brings. You're all like, "OMG WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN THIS YEAR?!?!?" and stuff.

But mostly I just want to write about Texas.

Highlights from the wedding of Kara Neaves and Skyler Thiot.

-Waking up at 3AM to curl my hair before my 6AM flight.
-Nicholas Sparks, The Lucky One.
-Texas.
-Texas weather at the end of December=perfectly sunny and in the 70's.
-Seeing Kara before she left the house to go get married!
-Bridesmaiding/Bridal Party.
-Seeing Kara and Skyler right after they were wed. So much love.
-Lots of Diet Coke, Diet Dr. Pepper, and Dr.Pepper.
-Running on 4 hours of sleep for a really busy day. I was out of control by the end of the night...just acting like a loon.
-Just the food in general. The entire time.
-If I'm being completely honest, being photographed was definitely one of my favorite parts.
-Meeting the families and friends of K&S. Such wonderful people.
-Reception. Everything about it. Location, decorations, dancing, food, CAKE, favors, flowers. Pure goodness.
-Using my bouquet as a microphone.
-How awesome Kara and Skyler are. They could very well have kept to themselves but they hung out with us during the weekend! They are so sweet.
-Dallas World Aquarium. Coolest aquarium ever.
-Being in such a diverse city FOR ONCE. (Provo, Richland, not so super much.)
-Dancing while sitting. In a car, while eating, any time really. AKA seat dancing.
-Hanging out with K&S at their hotel for a bit on New Year's Eve.
-Dallas quadruple quintuple double triple huge YSA dance. Didn't really know anyone there, didn't mind making a fool of myself and shamelessly giving boys the eyes.
-Then I was cursed by God for being so saucy and I ended up sick in the bathroom at the stroke of midnight. Missed the whole countdown confetti kit and caboodle. Hence, no New Year's kiss for me. For the billionth time. WOE IS ME.
-Blue Bell Ice Cream.

Making new friends, trying new things, a new year, and a beautiful pair of newlyweds.

Rain, rain

Let me tell you a little something about the rain...I used to hate it. Up until like...today? Ish?

I don't know what it is, but today when I walked out of class at 5:50 (earlier than usual, my class doesn't get out until 6:30 most days) it was POURING rain. I even heard one crack of thunder. I don't remember exactly the last time I had seen rain like that before but it took me back to my childhood in Illinois.

In case you didn't know, the Midwest has the best thunderstorms out of anywhere ever. And in my neighborhood when it would pour, me and all my friends would go outside and race boats we had made down the gutters. Barefoot. We would run through the backyards on our street, splashing in puddles and squishing our toes in the mud, shouting to each other, our voices competing with the thunder. Quick bursts of lightning brightened the sky for moments at a time. I lived for those days.

I love Richland, but there are no thunderstorms. They don't exist. It rains sometimes, yes. But not very much and not very hard and there is basically never thunder involved. Lightning, yes. It's the desert, after all. I think that's probably the time I turned bitter toward the rain...once it became JUST rain. Useless. Annoying. I hate when the bottoms of my pants get wet and I hate it when my socks get wet. But today when I walked home from class, I loved the rain. And I love it right now, too.

I really love it here. Probably more than most people would.

I did my share of trekking my little fanny all over kingdom come on Monday. First, a looonnng walk (1 hour looping the neighborhood because the snow is melting and the weather is beautiful and Ryder had computer club) with Mase and Halle in the stroller. Mason took a nap, thankfully, and Halle was perfectly content, drinking her bottle and people watching. Oh, and we listened to Sara Bareilles the whole way.

Then, I got to go here again. So so beautiful. If you're confused about the size, just look at the person walking out the door. That should give you an idea of how huge it is. When I went inside they were having church and it was beautiful and the chanting/singing was amazing but my head wasn't covered and I didn't have a scarf or a hood etc etc etc so we weren't in there for very long. But I was looking around at everyone holding candles, crossing themselves reverently, kneeling on the floor, and bowing their heads to touch the ground and I knew that Heavenly Father heard their prayers. Every single one of them.

Red Square is beautiful and desolate at night. And honestly, it really is impossible to pose in front of St. Basil's. So awkward. She'll outshine you every time. I was the queen of the metro on this trip. I should win an award. After this I ate my first Big Mac (meh), and took the long way home from the metro station (walking) (ugh) (not my fault we had to walk) and I was so beyond being upset about it that I just put my head down and power-walked the entire way. I was with LaRee's twin boy cousins who are in the Army so I wasn't too scared. The vanilla soft serve at Mickey D's here is beyond the taste of anything I have ever tasted on this earth. Oh. I wish you could taste it. And I don't even like vanilla ice cream. It's THAT good.

If you want some delicious produce and nice Russians, you have to go here. It's a secret market underneath this shopping mall that is about a 20 minute walk from our house. Just be aware that you might see an entire cow or pig on a table being chopped to bits. Not a pretty sound, folks.

If you're looking for proof that I have been in Russia just look at this face. I'm three shades paler, and my eyebrows and hair are overgrown and out of control because I refuse to let anyone in this country touch them. They would make my brows too skinny and I am 100% certain they would give me an orange mullet.

P.S. Tomorrow I turn 19 and a half, and my not-so-little brother who actually does have a mullet turns 17. Ohhh, I can't believe it! Just think...in just about 2 years we will both be leaving on our missions. WEIRD!

P.P.S. I had fake Cafe Rio at our Relief Society luncheon today, and I'm pretty sure it tasted better than real Cafe Rio. Or maybe I have been away too long. The first thing I am going to do when I get back to America is make a key lime pie. Unrelated...but whatever.

Happy Sunday.

I have so much to do this week, but for now I will bask in the gloriousness that is Sunday...do nothing for school, make the world a better place, and laugh at Charlotte skyping her family. And not go outside because the weather is TERRIBLE. And look at the Christmas lights. Meeeooowwwww.

I want...

a cupcake.

my dream that I had about Justin Bieber/an NBA star?/a black man? to come true.

my laundry to be magically done.

my cold sore to go away.

my nails to grow back since I bit them all.

more of those cookies I made.

better weather.

a pink pen.

new boots.

a haircut.

a Bulls jersey.

my eyes to open to their normal size!

the two hours I spent waiting in line for a review session last night back.

Alone Time

John Mayer needs to stop distracting me from my studies! I am listening to his newest album, Battle Studies, and it is so so good.

I've had a great day today. Today was one of those days that I just felt absolutely amazing about going to BYU and being in Provo. That's probably why I haven't been able to do hardly any of my homework today.

Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago for the Catholic church, came to BYU today for University Forum. Not only did I love listening to his Chicago accent, but his talk ("Catholics and Latter-Day Saints: Partners in the Defense of Religious Freedom.") was really thought-provoking. There are 67 MILLION Catholics in the world. That is SO MANY people. There are 6 million members of the LDS church in the United States, and 7 million members elsewhere worldwide, so like 13 million. These statistics really put into perspective how much missionary work there is to do! I am so proud of all my friends and family members who have given/will give two years of their lives to help and teach others,and make the world a better place just by their lifestyle and service.

After I got home from class I walked over to the Creamery on Ninth to get ingredients for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes. It was such a beautiful day outside, and I took only my wallet and key with me. No ipod, no cell phone, no purse, etc. After I shopped I crossed the street to Subway and just ate lunch by myself. The alone time was GLORIOUS. It was just what I needed after having a rough day yesterday. There were a bunch of things that made my day today.

My Economics professor told a very funny story about how he participated in the black market on his mission to the Phillipines.

My mom sent me a facebook message with this quote from Chloe: "My hero is my sister Caitlin, because she is nice to everyone and is never afraid to try new things."

A girl in my Religion class got engaged last weekend, and she wasn't weird and annoying about it. Also, we learned about the life of President Thomas S. Monson. I love the story President Uchtdorf tells about the prophet in this talk. Such an amazing man! I love him.

I got an 82% on my Book of Mormon test. I didn't do as well as I expected, but I realized how much I have learned from taking this class, and how much daily scripture study and prayer have affected my life.

When I left the house, I heard Halo blasting. I looked around to try and figure out where it was coming from. The grounds crew (5-6 GUYS) was blasting it from their truck and singing along. It was HILARIOUS, and it made my day.

When I was at Subway, I left my bag of groceries at a table, and I knew nobody would mess with it. I left my wallet at the table when I filled up my drink because the place was just full of good people.

The man in front of me was bringing his two kids to lunch, and they got to pick everything on their own sandwiches. He was a really good dad, and so nice to the one lady working even though there was a huge line and she was taking FOREVER. Nobody got upset with her.

When I was walking home from Subway I was waiting for the light to change so I could cross the street. I put my bag down next to me and another student was about to run by, and I moved my bag so it wasn't in his way. He smiled, and said "thank you" as he passed.

Abby got a ten-page letter from her boyfriend Paul, who is on his mission. It's the first letter she's gotten from him since he left for Argentina ten weeks ago, and she was so happy. That made me happy.

I made cupcakes and they are delicious.

I am going to watch figure skating.

Pumpkin Seeds and Poly Sci

I've never dreaded the weekend this much in my life. Halloween costuming is stinky unless you:
a) don't mind going as a skank.
b) have a fortune.
c) are 8 and you have the best idea for a costume ever and your mom can sew.
Seeing as I do not fit any of the above criteria, I am feeling the pain.

Glee's not on tonight. Bummer. We had an indexing party which constisted of everyone stuffing their faces with pizza and ice cream...not a lot of indexing going on. The system was down though, and everyone promised to do a batch this week, so I guess that's okay. Abby and I got called to the New Family Search commitee. Which is a new committee that they just made I guess. It was really random...like I didn't even know what was happening. Oh well, it should be fun. The more family history the better!

Today I opened the window in my room and it got really chilly in there and I loved it but Abby got mad. I guess it was kindof cold. I tried to take a nap, and failed. Which is weird because I was REALLY tired. I swear I kept my eyes closed for like honestly 30 minutes and I don't even know if I fell asleep or not. I just remember being really content with the temperature...

Oh, there was a little confrontation in my dorm last night about "cleanliness." Apparently, I'm not a clean person...who knew? Really though, I about broke down. I DO NOT like when people boss me around. And so we had this big long talk about how everything does not have to be perfect ALL THE TIME. And it will be OKAY. Well, that's the conclusion we came to...after like 30 minutes. It was pretty much 5 against 1...well, Jess wasn't there, so 4 against 1. But she was NOT backing down. Like it's a freaking dictatorship or something. McKay didn't sound so shocked about the whole me not liking one of my roommates thing. He said something like, "Really? You thought you would like everybody and nothing like this would ever happen? You live with five girls." Touche, McClickey. Touche. These are not all my thoughts on this subject. Not the time or place.

Can I just talk about pumpkin seeds for like, two seconds? How come half the people I talk to have NEVER had pumpkin seeds in their life? That's the point of carving pumpkins! So your mom can bake the seeds and you can eat them for days. Also, why are they so good? Like what even are they? Plant matter? Whatever their makeup, they are delicious.

Today, my Political Science teacher talked about Star Wars and it was awesome. He said something like, "They decided to make him Chancellor Palpetine...Little did they know, a sith lord was about to take over the place." It was really funny at the time, because he looks like Conan O'Brien...and it was just funny. I think he was dissing parliamentarism.

I wrote a really long letter to Alex Bennett today. He is on his mission in Portugal!

I love this weather, even though everyone else is complaining about it being cold. I think it's refreshing and lovely. Some people walk around campus with like no coat on or anything and they look all sad and shivery. I'm just like WHY DON'T YOU JUST PUT ON A COAT?? Like I don't understand...you look like an idiot, you're freezing and whiny, and nobody feels bad for you.

There's a flaming moustache artwork by the HFAC. And I don't really get it, but it's so cool.

P.S. I hate Charmin...TOO SOFT!!!!! TOO THICK!!

With the first cup, you're a stranger. With the second cup, you're a friend. With the third cup, you are family.

Well, I've been trying to make this thing look cute for a while but I've mostly failed. Today in my family history class, my teacher talked about blogs as a means for family history and personal records. I think it's really funny to hear older people talk about technology because they're way fascinated by it. I think I don't appreciate it.

This morning, it snowed. And it was beautiful. For a while it was really overcast and cloudy so you couldn't even see the top half of the mountains, but it cleared up later. Timp is covered with snow and it looks so cool! Especially since down here the trees still have their fall colors.

I can't believe that I have to start signing up for my new classes for winter semester NEXT WEEK! Time goes by relatively fast for me now. I don't really know what I want to take or should take. I haven't really decided on a major, which does not help at all. I'm leaning towards elementary education right now because that is definitely something I would love doing. But there are so many other things to think about! I think Anthropology would be SO cool, and I would be able to travel and do field studies which is something I've always really wanted to do. WE SHALL SEE!

I still don't know what to be for Halloween...at this point, I don't really care that much. Maybe I will throw my Hannah Montana costume together at the last minute.

I just rediscovered a movie I loved when I was little and they have the whole thing on youtube! I watched Thumbelina last night, so when I got on youtube today under my recommended videos were a bunch of kids movies. I noticed a clip I kindof recognized and then realized it was QUEST FOR CAMELOT which is sooo good and I had totally forgotten what it was called. So weird that I still remember the words to the songs...

Lean Pockets are nasty. And the fact that I have to put Ranch dressing on them to make them taste better makes them not lean anymore...So. Next time I will buy Hot Pockets if I'm in the mood for Pockets again.

Today, Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea spoke at the Marriott Center. Of course I watched it from the comfort of my four-foot couch, but some things he said were really interesting to me. He shared an African Proverb that says "If you educate a boy, you educate an individual. If you educate a girl, you educate a community." When he was being introduced, the Vice President alluded to when Brigham Young said that if he had to choose to educate his sons or his daughters he would educate his daughters. He said he couldn't find the exact quote and he didn't really know if he actually said it, but I know he said that. Anyway, Moretenson closed by talking about how people who serve other people for years eventually burn out becuase they are not mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally stable enough. He told us as college students to figure all that stuff out NOW. "You solve your problems here, then go out into the world to make it a better place." I couldn't agree more! His speech was really great. Abby thinks he is a secret Mormon.

The rug is bunchy. It is bugging me. It also needs to be vacuumed. The garbage can in the bathroom needs to be taken out. I always assume someone else will do it. Hmm...