Dear Boys #6

This post is dedicated to the only two people who will actually read it: Tyler Hamblin and Becky Merkley.

dear robot,

get over her or marry her.

stop selling yourself short.

you deserve the world.

dear #3,

go to church.

dear gbf,

don't go back to your ex.

you don't even need to help him.

you don't owe him any favors.

dear conference 2,

let's go back and replay that weekend.

it was a good one. i wished i didn't have to leave.

dear conference 1,

that was a dumb decision on my part.

glad we're more than past that.

now stop making judgy comments.

dear CC,

for the record, i never thought you were creepy.

dear unicorn,

you definitely are rare and unique.

you have a heart of gold.

dear midnight,

i miss our late night chats.

dear sept 12, 2012,

let's fix this drought.

i'm only half kidding.

dear tyler and becky,

thanks for always being the greatest.

love, kel

Dear Boys #5 {I think}

Oh man.  I forgot how scary blogs can be.  It never used to intimidate me, but somewhere along the line it changed.  Well, here goes nothing...

Dear Henry,
Thanks for being my baby boyfriend.
I think you're pretty cute placeholder.
I can't believe you and your sister are already a month old!
<3 Aunt Kel

Dear original Boy,
We haven't talked in almost two years.
Well, until the other day, that is.
I'm glad you had the guts to talk to me because even though I've thought about it, I never had the guts to contact you...or maybe you didn't need guts and you're just brave.
Anyway, my brain has lots of unanswered questions about you.
I'm not sure what to make of this situation.
Sincerely, confused but happy

Dear Best Friend/Former Best Friend/Friend/I Don't Know What to Call You,
Normally I'd be asleep, I think, but I really appreciated the "Random 1 AM text" the other night.
It was just what I needed.
Sometimes I miss what our friendship used to be, but I think we're both happy with our current life circumstances.
I also miss our midnight McDonalds runs and seeing Petsmart makes me long for the past sometimes.
Love, Kel

Dear Ethics, HR, and Marketing boys,
You three have been my saving grace this school year.
I seriously don't know how I would have survived without you.
From working on group projects to venting about the various classes we share, you keep my head on straight and make sure I'm doing okay.
Sincerely, your favorite gal pal {or so I'd like to think}

Dear mish,
You get home in less than six months.
That's weird.  So much has changed.
Yet, so much hasn't.
Hopefully we'll still be friends when you come home.
Kel

Dear Boy Previously Mentioned Somewhere on This List,
I think you're pretty great.
I'd like to continue to get to know you.
In the words of T. Swift, "I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now."
<3 me.

Dear Self,
You are seriously the most awkward person I know sometimes.

little letters

dear mexico,
the past two mondays have been swell chatting with you.
you really make my brain hurt though.
i miss you.
love,
     confused

dear roommates,
i'm proud you've decided to start watching the walking dead.
i love "this is giving me anxiety!!!" and "no!!!!" and all your other reactions.
and it's only just the beginning.
<3
     kel

dear self,
why are you only wearing one sock?
sometimes you make no sense.
okay...a lot of times
sincerely,
     semi-sockless


dear indie,
there are several attractive things about you and you seem super cool.
i'd be completely fine dating.
<3
     that one girl


dear gramps,
okay.  calling you gramps is weird.
you're grandpa clark.
anyway.  i do think it's kind of adorable you died the same day as grandma clark...but ten years apart.
<3
     kelly

dear bear army,
i'm maybe a little bit sorry you were defeated.
mainly because you were made out of rice krispies and i want to eat more of you.
too bad i didn't take a picture of you...you were festive in your red bow ties and heart eyes.
sincerely,
     girl with an awesome mom

dear farm boy,
you are a pretty swell kid to talk to.
my brain doesn't know what to think of you.
<3
     little city girl

dear valentines day,
yep.  you're practically here again.
nope.  my status has yet to change.
however, i'm excited to spend it with the people i love the most:  my family.
sincerely,
     "simply single"

dear blog,
you're pretty much a work in progress.
but it's more fun to experiment with you than to study for tests and write essays...
sincerely,
     pro procrastinator

dear work,
i miss you.
so needless to say, i'm excited to start back up on saturday.
my kids are silly and ridiculous...but most of the time they're pretty great.
sincerely,
     year seven

dear letter list,
you're getting ridiculously long.
it's time to go.
until next time,
     kel

happiness is...

happiness is....

• pretty autumn trees and leaves dotting the earth

• holding hands with a cute boy
• pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
• Diet Coke.  especially if it's giant.

• clean bedrooms
• spending time with family
• new music
• Chick-Fil-A

• awesome coworkers
• amusement parks
• finally completing an outfit how i imagined it
• peacocks at dinner

• playing with my sister's puppies
• an unexpected letter from a missionary
• hot chocolate on a chilly day

happiness is life.

dear boys #2

seriously this is only #2?  i must write so many of these in my head.  anyway...

dear best friend,

it was good hearing your voice yesterday.

it's been awhile.

<3, me

dear boy,

ha.  you like me.
weird.

sincerely, baffled

dear mish,

i know you're doing great things,

but my mailbox is hungry.

love, kel

dear frank,
thanks for letting me rock your accounting test.
it made me feel pretty great.  and i think you're pretty great.
sincerely, the student who smokes pot {aka uses a calculator}

dear asian roommate,

you made me unwillingly swear to do something by shoving a Bible to my face?

and took my laughter as agreement?

you're crazy.  but you make me laugh, so therefore i love you.

sincerely, maybe i actually have to do it now...

dear bedroom,

you're clean?!  how is this possible?

i'm glad we could get reacquainted.

you look quite nice and clean up rather well.

sincerely, now my roommate won't hate me.

dear toenail,
why do we even have you in the first place?
seriously though.
anyway, i don't think it's appropriate for you to be chillin' in a not-attached-to-my-toe manner.
not cool.
sincerely, that really hurt/never-volunteer-to-clean-the-church-with-your-parents-again

Dear Boys #1

dear cr8on,

you never fail to make me laugh
and i'm glad to see you're doing well.
good luck! i'll see you in two...and in the meantime i'll look forward to your letters :)

love, kelly


dear terrance,

i miss cuddling with you whilst watching movies.
you were soft, squishy, and would probably have razor sharp teeth if they were real

love, the pillow pet stealer


dear best friend,

can terrance and sexy rex have a play-date?

love, me


dear non-creeper,

i wish i could have said yes.  like really.
hopefully next time!

love, kelly


dear creepers,

please stay away.
i would sincerely appreciate it :)

love, me


dear one direction,

originally i refused to listen to you.
but then katie and janie changed my ways...and i actually like you.

love, me


dear elise,

you're not a boy, but you sure were fun to meet!

love, kelly

valentines day

Free hugs?  I wonder whose are better

some of the supplies :)

owl apron!

Funfetti, Chocolate, and Better Than Sex cupcakes
There are 5 different types of sprinkles plus Heath.  I love sprinkles :)

Valentine's present.  Love it!

Monday night I got a valentine present.  I wasn't expecting it...but it's pretty much the greatest thing ever.  This is Richard the Duck and an Eric Carle duck book.  Totally fits me.  Love it.

Then on Valentines Day I wake up (like any normal day, right?).  Except I have a huge smile on my face.  I have issues waking up (maybe I'll talk about that later) and so I laid in bed for like an hour feeling giddy knowing what was in store for me the rest of the day.  I woke up next to a duck.  And I knew I was making cupcakes which was the main reason for my giddyness.

I love buying cupcake liners and sprinkles.  I have a nice little collection.  It is a little embarrassing and quite ridiculous.  I ended up making over 80 cupcakes to give out as my valentines which were well received :)

Later that night, Craig, Creighton, Kevin, and I all got together and ate Cafe Rio which was super delicious.  Kev and I watched the newest episode of 30 Rock and everyone {Kevin, Creighton, Tyler, Katie, and Scott, and me} watched Crazy, Stupid, Love.  I loved it and thought it was pretty funny.  Some of the others found it awkward though.  I think know I thrive off of awkward situations :)

The day had its ups and downs -- I won't bore you with the details...but all in all it was a great day!

oh you know...

oh you know...life's not all that exciting around here.

hence the lack of posting.
{warning:  my thoughts are all over the place.  this is completely random...}

it's dead week.  which means no tests....but I have ten thousand assignments.  seriously? come on.

but then it's time to go home for Christmas.  For almost a month.  If I can last that long haha :)
I love being home though {generally}.  Like Thanksgiving?  I gave myself an extended break...ten days total...and still wasn't ready to come back to Logan.

and it's about time for a break mentally.  I like people.  But I like my alone time too.  Or at least chill and do nothing time.  It keeps me sane.

Like the other night.  I drove to Hastings to pick up my present Leasa (aka my Mom #2) brought up for me to give to my roommate Tyler for our roommate Christmas {my real mom lovingly crocheted the edge of the blanket...because she is sweet like that}.  I didn't realize how awful the drive would be.  Five o'clock.  On a Friday.  In "busy" Logan traffic.  In the dark.  In the snow.  With idiots on the road.  I was pretty much scarred for life.  Well...not quite but almost.  I was waiting at a light.  And the lane next to me was emptier than mine...and there was a stupid bicyclist crossing 4th North (super busy, super crazy) not at a light/crosswalk.  Idiot.  He pretty much almost got plowed over by some not car not SUV, something in between thing.  Idiot.  It freaked me out pretty badly.  Then after getting the blanket, I tried to avoid the crazy, busy streets and wind my way back home.  I should have just stuck with heavily traveled streets.  They would have been much easier to drive on.  My drive home stress/anxiety piled on to the "I just almost saw someone get hit by a car" anxiety.

Anyway.  When I got home, no one was there {they all went to play racquetball}.  I whipped up a batch of brownies, making sure to leave enough to enjoy some batter {the best part}, grabbed a blanket, threw in a movie, and curled up on the couch.  Talking to a couple friends...one was understanding and sympathetic...and the other asked me if I was okay, and when they received a negative response, still went on their merry way in the conversation...but that didn't surprise me haha.

my cute little 11x7 i rarely get to use...
why yes...I did cut the middle out of the brownies....

My roommates got home just as "You've Got Mail" was ending.  Somehow we ended up watching Step Up 1 and 2 and another movie that I can't remember.  Except I fell asleep during those three.  4 movies in one night.  Sick haha.  Oh well.

We really haven't been up to much.  Lots and LOTS of movies.  And lovely Christmas with the roommates.

This pretty present was for me!  Apparently Sarah and I "ruined" Christmas because we figured out who was giving presents to who....that's probably really whom...but we know that I don't follow proper English/grammar rules.  They're generally just guidelines.  Anyway.  I was excited.  Because this present was wrapped really pretty.  I felt like my grandma...because I opened it carefully and saved the wrapping paper.  It was peacock!  and sparkly!  Two of my favorite things.  And inside there was a lovely cupcake maker.  I need to try it out.

 But before we have Christmas we had Thanksgiving.  It was like the traditional American Thanksgiving.
It was full of family {not as full as I'd like...missed you Mari and Heather}, delicious food {thanks mom!}, football {thanks pops!}, and shopping!

Through his work we got press passes...which allowed us up in the box...where they fed us food...and down on the sidelines.

Black Friday shopping was fun.  But I didn't go "real" Black Friday shopping this year.  I woke up about 7 and hit my different stops.  I thought it was ridiculous all the stores seemed to open at midnight or before.  I was content with the 4 and 5 am openings.  Those are more fun anyway, but since I knew there probably wouldn't be things to fight over, I slept in. Ish.

Oh.  And the Monday after Thanksgiving I tried to give blood.  Tried being the keyword.

The bag stayed empty...

I hadn't given blood before.  I forgot to hydrate I guess.  They struggled finding a vein.  So they made me go drink a lot.  I ended up drinking a bottle and a half of water and two cans of juice.  Really fast.  I wanted to puke my guts out {I know you wanted to hear that, right?}  So after twenty minutes.  I went back to the expert vein finder.  He poked and he stabbed and finally got it in.  And the trickle was super slow.  He told me it would take 20 {or 30?} minutes to fill the bag.  Either way I knew that was a long time because I saw Shayna fill hers in under 5.  He said "You can call it a day or we can try the other arm."  I called it a day...because they tried looking for a vein in the other arm earlier and found nothing...and I had been there for forever.  But he decided to look anyway.  And apparently he found "a good one."  But he told me the choice was still up to me.  After over two hours....I still called it a day.  I am not a life saver.  Not that day at least.

they had to draw lines on my arm to not lose the vein.
oh and they said that not only are my veins small...they like to move around a lot too 

Oh and here is our lovely friends Christmas tree.  I believe Tyler created it for them.  I was asleep on our living room floor when this occurred.  I'm getting old.  I'm falling asleep early.

We're adorable.  We like to shove ourselves on to one couch instead of sit on the floor.  Then we attempt to watch the Goonies.

OH!  And I found a video of a flash mob.  In Logan.  With my bishop.  It made me giggle.

He's at 1:51 and 1:57 with the USU sweatshirt with the red collar sticking out.

That's pretty much all the randomness on my mind.  I doubt it made sense...but you know.

my week in pictures

So the last week has been pretty great. :)

Last Sunday Katie and I went to game night at the Trophy House.  We got there a little late...so we only played Lap Tag.  Katie bruised my arms with her "dagger hands."  I also ended up with rug burn, a broken toenail, and sprained(?) toe.  I don't think it was broken...but maybe it was?  Anyway, it was a poor little pinky toe - blue and gross and didn't like to be walked on.  I think it's almost better, although I can definitely tell it's not all the way there.  BUT it was worth it.  So super fun.

Monday and Tuesday nights were full of homework...and I have a feeling Disney movies too.  Oh and Tuesday Katie and I went over to the Trophy House to play Just Dance 3.  Those people are a bunch of fun :)  I felt pretty awesome when I beat some of the best "dancers."  That game is great.  And so are those boys.

Wednesday...hmm...I can't remember.  We probably watched. a movie?  I honestly don't know.  Our movie collection is quite embarrassing.  Except not really.  We just like having options :)  I think that's the night we watched The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  And I wrote some computer assignment while watching it...It was one of my favorites when I was little.  I still remember my family teasing me about it when I was little.  I would say it one way and they would say it another....and I would correct them the best little Kelly could.  "It's Dame!"  Yeah...only we would get that I guess.

We also went to free pie night at Village Inn with random neighbors that Shayna had met earlier.  Heather was making brownies when they came over...so we turned the oven off and locked our door on our way out.  When we got home, we stopped by to talk to Brian and Craig.  Sarah and Katie went home while the rest of us stayed a few minutes longer.  When we got home, we noticed a brownie sitting on a plate on top of the stove.  We pulled them out of the oven (who knows why it didn't click right then) and that piece was cut right out of the middle.  We just figured Katie or Sarah really like middle pieces and went about normal life.  So we're sitting around...and someone asks who cut the middle piece.  We assumed it was Katie since she was sitting there on the chair eating it.  No one would admit it.  If I had come up with the idea, I think it would have been pretty funny and I would have kept going with it too...so naturally I figured someone was lying - after all the windows were shut and the door was locked.  So we go back to I1 and start talking to them...and they broke so fast.  Apparently, they originally wanted to take our front door, but decided against it...which was extremely smart of them.  So they went to take our oven door...and discovered the pan of brownies inside and decided that was a better idea.  Anyway.  If they had to do anything I'm glad they did what they did...because I have a feeling if the door was gone there would have been police involved before we even found out who took it.  And now we deadbolt our door.

On Thursday Tyler brought her bunny Merv over.  He's a cute fluffy white bunny.  He's potty trained and can be on a leash.  But he doesn't walk (hop?) on the leash very well.  He likes to do his own thing.  People got into a big debate over taking him for a walk vs taking him for a hop.  Any ideas to what it is?  Anyway, our neighbors picked up a puppy for their family.  So Old Farm really was a farm that day.  That puppy was adorable.  I can't wait to have a dog again.  So help me if my husband is allergic.

Oh and I made my family's favorite chocolate mint snow-top cookies.  Let's just say my siblings weren't very happy with me...They got demolished pretty quickly...

And then later that night I went over to Blake's and watched How to Train Your Dragon on bluray.  It was pretty adorable.  For some reason Astrid reminded me of my roommate Tyler.  Plus.  Bluray is quite awesome.  Especially when you watch a VHS the next night...you can see a huge difference.

Friday.  Friday I went to my one class.  And found out that for fall break next week...since our Friday classes are moved to Thursday...she cancelled class!  Exciting! :)  That means I get an extra day!  I also got some homework accomplished - I had to go to the major fair for one of my classes.

The pretty sky on my way to school :)

As I was sitting home on my bed, my phone starts ringing!  Okay.  So the ringing part isn't that cool.  But it turns out it was one of my awesome friends coming to visit me!  Sometimes he's a cool kid.

Later that night we went to the hockey game.  I thought I didn't have a heart.  But apparently I do.  By our fifth point I just felt bad.  I felt bad to cheer.  I didn't even want to clap.  The cheers were mean.  It didn't feel like the basketball and football game cheers.  Those ones seem more general and not as mean-spirited.  These were all pretty directly aimed at the goalie.  And maybe because it was close enough that they could actually hear everything.  I don't know.   I wasn't a huge fan.  We left early...and on our way home we saw the Easter Bunny crossing the street.  And then we watched Aladdin.

He's by that car...

Driving a Zamboni might be cool. Literally. Haha.  Dad joke. 

On Saturday I felt super productive.  I decided to stay home while my roommates went hiking.  I figured I should do some of my Monday homework considering I have like 5 assignments due Monday (today...).  So I got a few of those knocked out of the way.  Then when they got home, Tyler and I went to Violet Hill Boutique.  I bought cute flower earrings and a really comfy brown shirt that has buttons on the sleeves.  It's pretty rad.  I like it.  There were some dresses there that I really liked...but were just too short, especially going into winter.  Oh well.

Later that afternoon, Heather, Tyler, and I went to deliver my visiting teaching assignments...I'm a slacker.  I had them almost a week.  One of the girls reactions was so funny.  It looked like she was heading out on a date or something...and she was like "Is that our visiting teaching assignments?!"  So she takes the pile (it had hers and all her roommates) and starts digging through it excitedly.  Needless to say, I know she'll get it done. I need an attitude more like hers!  I at least have an awesome partner named Heather!  We will be much better than I was last year where I only went a handful of times...because Shayna was the one who cared and got us to do it.

Oh and Tyler found a leaf bug on her truck.  She named him Ginko.  He lived on my nose for a minute.  And we had show-and-tell at I3 (Brett, Matt, and Cody) with him.  And invited them to a movie night.

Anyway, after we did that...we went to the store and I bought all the stuff to make my fabulous pumpkin roll, the treat for our visiting teaching training, and our (me and Heather) crayon art.

I really like Pinterest.  It's where all "my" great ideas come from.  It's the greatest time waster.  But maybe someday I'll make a dent in actually doing what I pin...not just look at it all pretty and forget about it.  You can see my boards *here*.  Oh and if you want to join the addiction, I'd be more than happy to send you an invite.

So anyway...to sum up Saturday night, Heather and I did our crayon artwork while Tyler and Matt and Sarah watched us.  For the gist of how to do it, click *here*  Then we stopped by some dance party the Pie Night boys were holding...for all of about two seconds.  And then played Just Dance 3 over at Brian's because his living room set up is more spacious than ours.

Sunday morning I woke up and started making the pumpkin roll.  I had never made one before.  Or seen my mom make one.  In fact, I had never had one until a supervisor meeting at work when Nikki made it.  Anyway, it was amazing so I figured it was worth a shot.  If I failed, I had at least tried.  I guess I didn't fail though.  Because before the night was over it had somehow disappeared...for the recipe click *here*

And I made homemade oreos (except they weren't really homemade...I bought a boxed mix) for the visiting teaching training we had last night.  I was little miss baker extraordinaire yesterday.  I wanted to make Halloween funfetti cupcakes...but haven't seen the mix lately.  What the heck?  It's not even  Halloween.  You can't be out Walmart.

We went to church...where I really had no attention span.  Except for Sunday school.  Normally it's the opposite.  I get distracted during Sunday school.  But we had a really good lesson taught by Shayna.  It went really well and there was lots of participation too which was nice.

I was all baked out when I got home...so I made soup and toast for dinner.  And learned how to use a toaster oven.  My roommates probably thought I was dumb.  But I've never used one.  I owned one for a minute when Heather (sister) moved to Maryland and gave me a ton of her stuff...but we just gave it to a guy at my dad's work haha.  Then we went to our visiting teacher thing.  And I taught my little rotation.  I always felt like I was rambling and saying the same thing over and over.  And would end early.  But I guess that's what happens when everyone else has two teachers and you are the only one for yours.  But it was cool.  I knew Kim had to work.  It was funny we had been paired together considering she was the only person I really knew beforehand.  I figure it went "good enough" for what I had to work with haha.

And now it's the start of another week....hopefully it can top the last, but the bar is set pretty high...so we'll see :)

scientific fact

A few days ago....

boy:  "There is nothing in this world more beautiful than a Mormon girl who carries herself well.  That's a scientific fact."
me:  "Really? Well...I guess I better work on that."
boy:  "You do well don't worth about it :)"

I guess I'm doing better than I thought?  Either way it renewed my will to do good and be good and to "carry myself well."  By no means am I anywhere near perfect.  Nowhere close.  But I don't have to be.  I just have to be my best.

And I'm pretty sure it's not too scientific...but I'm willing to go with it :)

cold fall days / bliss

Today is one of those cold fall days that takes me back to my childhood.

Coming home from school today I wanted nothing more than to go home,

Turn the heat up high, grab my favorite blanket, put on some comfy pjs, 

And lay down in the living room right over the heat vent 

Using the blanket to create a warm little cocoon.

The best was when Oscar would climb in too.

He was my favorite.  Today I kind of miss him.

Sometimes he would get too hot and leave.

Sometimes I would too.  But I learned how to fight that.

You learn to wear socks to cover up your feet {I hate socks...this was the exception}

And make sure your pjs came all the way down to save your legs from extreme heat.

It's amazing what a thin piece of fabric can do.

Those were the days when you'd watch TV super close.  Or take a nap.

Those days were bliss.

It's days like today that I want to go back in time.

To be at home with my lovely little heat vent

Instead of ~40 degree Logan with snow on the mountains

And promise of a cold winter.

I knew what I was signing up for coming to school here.

I've experienced it.  And I love it.

However much I'd like to go back in time I know I can't.

It's not physically possible.

Even if I drove home now it still wouldn't be quite the same.

The blanket is beginning to look worn with age.

Time has gotten the best of Oscar.

The siblings aren't there.  And the parents aren't half the time either.

You never seem to realize it in the moment

How truly wonderful the simple things in life are.

Heat vent blanket bliss.

Family all being together.

Bliss.

Lately I've been super happy.

I finally got a calling.  It's not anything big, but it shows that I'm needed.

I've made a few new friends.  I think they're pretty great.  And they make me smile.

And I have super roommates.  Sometimes we're loud.  Sometimes we're crazy.

We like to poke fun at one another.  And have really long talks.  And watch movies.

And be best friends.  And watch out for one another.

And my bff Angie was able to visit Logan last weekend.

And I was able to watch all of General Conference for like the first time in years.

And things are falling together quite perfectly.

Bliss.

sometimes it's awkward when...

sometimes it's awkward when...

...when you camp out on the quad and some creeper kid tries to become best friends with you and your roommates. itd be cool if you weren't a creeper...but awkward if you are {see creeper next to katie}

....you help break a world record {it hasn't been updated yet, but according to here we demolished it...}

...one of your old roommates participates in the chain {a few people down} and tells all your old roommates about it...and they start freaking out because you didnt call them and you receive endless questions the next time you see them

...you go to school monday and see sir jedi-braid wiener-face while walking on campus...but either he didnt see you or had the same {pretend you don't exist/youre just another face} reaction you did

...you see mr. i-dont-go-to-school-here can-i-help-you-set-up-and-put-your-stuff-in-your-tent are-you-gay-i-guess-not-since-youre-talking-about-wanting-to-name-your-first-son-augustus on tuesday by the library.  you have the same reaction as you had with sir jedi-braid wiener-face

...you are doing homework and realize none of it's making sense.  and you have a test on friday.  and it's not multiple choice.  okay.  that one's not awkward.  it's awful.

...youre told that youre probably the person someone misses most. im pretty sure you talked to me once in like the two weeks before you left sir. part of me just doesnt buy it

...you write an entire blog post with no capitalization and little punctuation

...but it's even more awkward wHn U tYpE lYk DiS!!!1!11

...you have known a kid for a few weeks and in your head you still call him nate when it's really matt.  sorry...you just seem like a nate.  whatd be even more awkward is if you actually called him nate...which you havent done yet thankfully

...instead of studying for aforementioned test you sit blogging and blog stalking instead

...using the word aforementioned...especially without using a thesaurus. sometimes your brain finds little pockets of smartness/big words leftover from high school

...ending abruptly...

...me

logan! :)

Oh Logan.  I've missed you.  And then I got here and I missed home.  You always seem to want what you can't have, eh?  But, now classes have started and I'm falling back in love with Logan.

I've been dying of boredom.  All I've had for entertainment was my laptop and roommates.  Okay.  Not true. But it felt like it.  But.  Now we're meeting people.  Tons of people.  More people than I met last year.  But that's not hard to surpass haha.  Normally, I don't have too many issues remembering names and faces, but with all the millions of introductions that seem to consist of all the same questions - "Hi what's your name?"  "What are you majoring in?" "Where are you living/where are you from?" - everyone starts blurring together.  But there are some really nice people up here.  I love it.

I've heard that church is THE place to meet people at Old Farm.  It seemed to be pretty true.  And then some of the guys threw an ice-cream party at their apartment after ward prayer.  I guess that's what happens when your sister gets married and you have lots of leftovers.  Score.

Super cheesy :)

Friday we went to some "Margarita Mixer" at Continental with Sarah, Janie, and Kylee.  The girls we met were a lot of fun and super talkative.  It was funny to hear what a small world it was with connections of how some of the girls knew all the boys we lived across the hall from last year.

And then Saturday we hung out with some of Shayna's friends.  We watched Valkyrie...well most of it.  And then played games.  They are some pretty entertaining people.

And then Sunday was church.  And then ice cream.  And I went to Alex's bonfire for a little while.

Oh sometime last week I went and bought my books.  Goodbye last paycheck...it was nice knowing you.

But anyway...Old Farm is pretty great.  I have some super cool roommates.  The storage is minimal...but we're making it work.  And we have a Harry Potter closet.  Well...cupboard under the stairs :)  So that's pretty neat.  And soon our living room will be a little more complete.  I go home tomorrow for a work banquet/accept a scholarship thing...and am getting my dishes and TV and movies and stuff.  We need some entertainment!  Oh.  And I think it would be pretty rad if someone bought me a rug from IKEA.  It's only $20 so I know you can afford it..unless you have no money. And....someone's birthday is in a week ;)

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10177885

That would make our living room better.  And prevent our feet from getting as black.  Gross.  I'll take pictures and put them up later (of our house...not our gross feet...unless someone really wants that...but then I think you might have issues).   But I think our little place is kinda fun.  And pretty cute :)

Oh and classes.  Today was my short day.  I had computer science (or was it "Preparing for Eternal Marriage?  JOKE!).  But really, it was full of guys with a few girls sprinkled here and there...but hey, I'm not complaining.  Then I had Zumba, but we only called roll/did introductions and listened to her ramble about the syllabus...and then got out early.  So I read the newspaper...and found Janie and talked to her for a minute...then I decided to go to Institute.  Last year I struggled with my attendance there...so I made sure to pick something I would understand.  And maybe going to my own class instead of signing up with friends might have a different effect?  Anyway.  With our introductions...I met a girl who is related to Johnny Cash.  I thought that was pretty cool.

Anyway...that's enough rambling for today.

birthdays, ice blocking, fall

So yesterday was Katie and Kylee's birthday!  I have to admit they had a pretty awesome birthday.  Sarah made them a cake - in the shape of bacon!  {it's their favorite food}

Aren't they adorable?

So Katie has a pretty awesome uncle.  He does something (owns/manages/I'm not sure...?) with a pizza place.  So we got $70 worth of pizza {for free} and had a party.  Tony stole my camera and took some pictures...he's not a great picture taker.  Here are the two pictures that I approve of that he took.

Our festivities were pretty laid-back.  I think we only had the six of us + Aaron, Tyler, Seth, Carson, Tony, Kevin, and Garen come over.  And if I forgot some one I'm sorry.  We ate pizza and ice cream and bacon cake.  We kinda just sat around and talked and entertained ourselves.

So the guys across the hall play this game.  It's basically a staring contest.  They'll make direct eye contact with someone and whoever breaks it first gets a point.  Except no one keeps track.  Really it's just the satisfaction of winning.  Seth and I made direct eye contact and we knew the game was on.  I'm pretty sure he never loses whatever game he plays, so with this being said, I was determined to win.  I think this round lasted probably around 10 minutes is my best guess...it felt like forever.  I put forth a valiant effort, but alas, I failed.  I'm pretty sure he knows all my deepest, darkest secrets from staring into my soul.  But he hasn't said anything...so he must be a good secret keeper.

So after the party died down at our place, Tony got the brilliant idea to go ice blocking.  So we grabbed towels and ice blocks and headed to Old Main.

via

We were smart.  We avoided the trees.  It was a lot of fun.  Most people ended up falling off though.  I did pretty well and stayed on the majority of the time.  My last time down I biffed it pretty hard.  My neck is still a little sore...but it was worth it :)

But we couldn't ice block all night long...I had to get back by midnight.  No, I wasn't going to turn into a pumpkin...I had to register for classes for the fall.  17 credits.  A bit changed from here...but actually pretty close to the same.  I don't have to wake up for a 7:30 class :)  I registered for it...but then I decided having English at 3 would be better for my schedule...and for my sleep.

Tuesdays and Thursdays might kill me with the whole being on campus until 4:15...5 classes Tuesday and 4 Thursday...and they're long classes {75 minutes instead of 50}  But Monday and Wednesday I'll have 2 and Friday I'll have 1.  Glorious.

Hello "exploration" semester.  I can't wait to become acquainted with you.  You'll bring some much needed change {and maybe some unneeded change too...but it'll be okay} :)

Lagoon and Birthdays

***** summary:  weekend.  play at lagoon for cheap.  sleepover at kylee's.  celebrate several birthdays.  see below if you want to be bored with the details. *****

birthday week!  Happy 19 everyone!

So this weekend the roommates + Aaron + Tyler + Tony headed down to Farmington to play for the weekend.  As we were leaving Logan it was raining a lot and we were thinking our plans might get rained out...but we decided to go anyway.  What are our plans you may ask?  To play at Lagoon with $10 passes!

So I drive home and say hi to my mom since I hadn't seen her for a few weeks and pick up money for a parking pass....and well let's say I came home to an awesome surprise.  I'll wait to say what it is until I have a picture...but let's say I was shocked and think it's nothing short of a miracle.  Oh.  And I had a late graduation present on my bed from relatives.  That was a pretty awesome discovery too :)

But anyway, back to the weekend.  So we go play at Lagoon.  Seriously $10 is an awesome deal.

The weather was fabulous.  It wasn't raining.  It wasn't gray.  In fact, it was sunny and warm!  So glad I left my hoodie in the car.  There were no lines either!  Well, not bad anyway.  We got to ride pretty much every ride we wanted, some even multiple times.  I really believe whether or not you have fun at Lagoon depends on who you go with.  This group was a blast.

I also rode Skycoaster for the first time.  So glad Tony and Shayna went with me.  And that I didn't have to pull the cord that would send me to my death.  It was so high!  I was laughing the whole way up {my reaction when I'm scared}.  And then I screamed and laughed my whole way down.  But it was super fun and I would totally do it again.

So after our 4 hours at Lagoon were done we headed over to Kylee's house.  Scott, her dad, made us some delicious hamburgers {and I'm not even a hamburger person!}  And then we went outside to play basketball.  Let's just say I was awful and reached monkey first...but in my defense I started out with a letter since I joined a few shots in.  Plus it was all in fun!  Tyler made some insane shots.  At least 3 or 4 of them...if not more.  I have no idea how, but it was super fun to watch.

When it got too dark to play anymore we headed over to Yogurt Stop.

I pull into the parking lot...and I see a truck I recognize.  I was pretty excited.  As I'm walking up to the door I'm looking inside...and I'm not seeing the owners of said vehicle.  Then, I get inside and I see them getting their toppings, backs toward me.  I was going to yell at Dan...but changed my mind and yelled "Eryka!" instead.  So I stop and say hi to them and tell them I left some cookies back at my parents house for them.  And then I let them get back to their double date and I get my froyo.  The seven of us shove onto the two little couches and have a grand ol' time.

On our way back I swing by Sarah's so she can come join in on the fun.  We head back to Kylee's and we listen to her dad tell stories and eventually watch Taken.  Except I fell asleep...I was exhausted from little sleep the night before.

This brings us to Sunday!  Also, the kickoff of birthday week!

Sunday was Aaron's birthday.  It was filled with breakfast at Kylee's house, church in Logan, and spending time with his favorite girls across the hall {aka my room}.  Oh.  And a mid-life crisis.  Long story short.  He brought his brownie pan over {all edges} and he leaves for 45 minutes.  Seth gives us the idea to hide it so we do.  He comes back, asking if he had brought it over.  He goes back and digs through his apartment.  He comes back frustrated.  Katie puts it back in his room and he was pretty happy to find it...but not so happy with us.  It's more of a you-had-to-be-there.  He was pretty distressed about it.  I decided to be nice and make brownies for him.  It was his birthday after all.

He decides he wants to watch Hot Rod for his birthday.  We can't find it anywhere.  No one owns it.  Or it's loaned out.  We settle on playing games instead.  We always play card games haha.  This time around it was Mormon Bridge.  What Seth didn't let Aaron know was that he DID find Hot Rod.  So we keep playing our game....and finally Seth pulls out the case.  Aaron dove across the table.  He was so excited.  We convince him to go to ward prayer {raining once again.  lots of worms. see?} and then come back and watch it.  He was pretty much like a little kid on Christmas.  I forgot how funny this movie is.  It's pretty super.

And today is another birthday.  Actually, it's two birthdays.  Katie and Kylee!  Our apartment is decorated all cute.  Green and purple streamers everywhere.  And they both love bacon...so Sarah made them a birthday cake...in the shape of bacon!  I would put a picture up...but they haven't seen it yet, so that'll have to wait until later.  And then it's Tyler's birthday Friday...and Carson's will be here the next week.

I better go find some motivation to do homework or something productive since I missed chemistry today.  The end of school is near which means finals are coming....