This Week

It has been a busy week! I feel like I have been doing stuff almost every night but it has been a lot of fun.

Monday: Went to dinner with my cousins at Cafe Rio. Yummmmmmm.

Tuesday: Waited in line to get a wristband for the big basketball game for the next day. I waited in line for 2 hours in the snowstorm, without being prepared for that snowstorm. Converse do not work well in snow I have decided from several experiences. I could literally  not feel my feet...

Wednesday: BASKETBALL GAME! BYU vs. SDSU and we dominated!!! Our entire team played well, but everyone's eyes were on Jimmer Fredette's performance. He did score 43 points that game...insane. I was at the game with 22,700ish other people and it was the loudest and craziest game I've ever been to. AWESOME and soooo high energy!

After the game, storming the court.

Final score!!!!

Thursday: Kylie, Megan, and myself went to our old bishop's house in Alpine to say hi to him and his wife, eat dinner with them, and talk to them about Jerusalem/show pictures. Bishop Pack interviewed us/signed our ecclesiastical endorsements for our application and he was so supportive and excited for us to go. Plus, he and Sis. Pack are truly awesome and we wanted to see them! So we went there for a few hours and had a great time.

Friday: Participated in the Human Blueberry Study! Hahaha that was interesting, I have 2 more Friday mornings with that. Went to work and filmed our meeting video for next week, and didn't really clean. That was fun. Plus it was payday. And I went to the men's opener Volleyball game vs. UC Irvine and we beat them the first 3 matches. Awesome again. I got #9 to sign my poster, he is from Brazil and was sooo nice to us!

Saturday: Cleaning checks in the am. Library in the afternoon (Tzarayim Tovim). Acoustic rave in the pm, where I listened to amazing talent and desperately wished that I knew how to play the guitar. Dangit. Someday I PROMISE MYSELF!!!

Sunday (today): Church was awesome. Sacrament/sunday school the speakers talked about the spirit and being born again, 3rd hour was combined and we talked about dating and the maladies of dating. It was a great lesson, and everyone has ideas and actions that they need to work on. I need to be better about putting myself out there and talking to people more. But I'm trying!

This week has involved homework and classes and a balance of fun and other good stuff. That is what I'm trying to work on...including all parts of life that are important. Not too much school, not too much laziness, not too much partying. Balance. This will never be perfected, but I feel like I'm getting better at it. 

I love my roommates too. We have had some funny times the past week!

Face mask/girls night

Genie pants :)

LIFE IS GOOD :) 

Jillian Michaels is insane!

About a year and a half ago now, during the summer of 09, I decided to get into good shape again and was really motivated and I used Jillian Michael's workout videos to get there. It was successful, and I was happy. The past year I have felt like hurting myself a lot:

*tendonitis in left foot
*sprain right ankle (minor) at Half Dome
*sprain left ankle (major) in Jerusalem
*get sick here and there

Its been pretty ridiculous. All of that spread out, combined with not feeling super motivated, I have not been in the best of shape the past year.

I'm hoping to get back into it. Last week I went on a few short runs, Saturday I did a 20 minute Jillian video, and then last night my roommate and I did one of her hour long workout videos. I did that video right after eating an entire Cafe Rio burrito...that wasn't the smartest, but we both got through the video and were exhausted afterwards.

In the video Jillian says "You should be praying for death right about now, it's so hard." Well, I was not praying for death, but Jillian Michaels really is an insane person sometimes.


She looks slightly demonic here HAHAHA

WYOMING

So Friday I left for Wyoming with some Jeru friends and we drove the ~4 hours to Star Valley. My weekend was full of amazing friends, TONS of laughs, great adventures, good food, and just lots and lots of fun. :) I'm so glad I got to go see more people and enjoy my weekend in the snow!

Driving in Wyoming=BEAUTIFUL

We slept in a snow cave/igloo with 7 girls when its supposed to only fit 5 people...needless to say the cave decided to drip on us and we were a little cold sleeping that night...haha such an adventure!!

Me in front of the IGLOO!!!

View of RaeLynn's barn. The house is not in this picture. It had been snowing for awhile when we left.

Some of us getting ready to leave :( Lots of snow meant we had to push the cars out of the driveway!

I had a great time in Star Valley. We went sledding, snowshoeing, played lots of games inside (like Nerts, Settlers of *Zarahemla!, Loaded Questions, and Ultimate Spoons), laughed a ton, ate sooooo much food, and had a great weekend together! Thanks to RaeLynn for letting us come to her house this weekend and play!

Now my weekend is almost over :( Boo. But the good thing about a long weekend is that there is a short week coming up! :)

3-DAY WEEKEND!

I have decided that even though I am no longer in Jerusalem, I am going to keep updating my blog. Sometimes probably even about Jerusalem. Sometimes not at all. Sometimes more than others, just whenever I feel like it. I like writing on it :) Mostly for my personal benefit.

We are almost done with the first 2 weeks of school...after tomorrow. MLK Day has arrived almost and I am so excited to have a 3-day weekend! And I am most excited about it because tomorrow I am leaving Provo for a couple days and going to..........

WYOMING!

I know...random, right?

I love random adventures like spending a weekend in Star Valley, Wyoming because one of our Jerusalem friends invited anyone who wants to come to stay at her house.

I am excited to:

1. Be hanging outside/explore the place...I don't remember being in Wyoming before, though I'm sure I've driven through it and I know I've been to Yellowstone.

2. Be with Jerusalem people.

3. To not bring homework with me because I know that I wouldn't do it there. (Don't worry Mom, we're coming back Sunday so I'll have Monday to do it all...hahaha)

4. Roadtrip

5. Get out of Provo...just for a bit. Haha I've only been here 2 weeks and I don't dislike Provo, but I'm still not sad about leaving it!

6. Not have work on Monday! That wasn't even my plan!!!!! The office is closed for the holiday!

It's gonna be an awesome weekend :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

PS - Something awesome about today is that Condaleezaa Rice came and addressed BYU at a forum. She was the Secretary of State under President Bush. She gave a wonderful speech. Some of her points that I remember:

*I'm grateful that I am a part of a religion that is centered on family.

*Do something that I am passionate about. It's ok to change what you want to do in life right now, whether it be my major or career plans or life plans in general. Because I might be soooo grateful for it later on in life.

*Sometimes the most humble upbringings can give way to the most successful people. The key is hard work. "It doesn't matter where you came from. It matters where you're going."

*Make the most of the opportunities I have here at BYU. Take advantage of everything I can.

*I am grateful that there are willing soldiers in the United States Service who go do the jobs that nobody else wants to do. I am grateful for them and their sacrifices and that they are standing up for democracy. 

*I love that Dr. Rice is a black woman who held an extremely significant position in the United States government. I am glad that the world, at least the US, is accepting that women are important and that all races are equal.

Just some thoughts on that. And then after I went to that awesome forum, I went and did not so well on a Molecular Biology quiz. Hahaha life moves on!!!!!!!!! :) 

Utah

Utah is a cold place. I realize that there are much much much colder places in the world. But for right now all I am concerned about is that it is cold in Utah.



One good thing about Utah is that it means having a schedule again. I need a schedule to be productive. So productivity here I come!


Another amazing thing about Utah is I have run into several Jerusalem people the past couple days on campus and it is soooooo fun to see them!

Some of our group at Galilee :)

A bad thing about Utah and having a schedule is that classes will probably soon take over. Blaaaaaaaaah.