Fact

This...

with this...

...might just be the best thing ever. 

Post-Thanksgiving Blues

Yup. It's the Monday after Thanksgiving and life is pretty bleak. I have piles and piles of homework staring me in the face, which is making me feel overwhelmed and afraid of even starting. Oh the sneaky spiral of procrastination :( Also, I really enjoyed spending days on end with my awesome family and I hated leaving them. My mom called me twice yesterday and my dad called me too. Missing me much? Yeah, it was sweet. On the bright side, I'll see them in just a couple weeks for Christmas! I'll be all moved into my new place and life will be blissful (I hope)!

I listened to The Beatles this morning on my way to work, which was a particularly nice start to my day, especially since I'm just wearing a hoodie and jeans and don't feel very cute. Speaking of music, I'm clocked out at work, just using my computer and I can hear my boss humming along to the Christmas music he's playing in his cubicle. He's so endearing when he's humming :) I started listening to Christmas music while I was home, and it's got me in the mood! Is it sad that Christmas is only really exciting to me because it means I won't be in school anymore? I feel like that's kind of pathetic, but when you don't get a fall break or a spring break and only 2 weeks off for Christmas, that's pretty much what it boils down to. Regardless, 'tis the season, and I'm pretty stoked.

Thankful

Today I am thankful to be alive. To be me. To have my family all around me. To have it be HOT outside! To be held in the warmth and love of my home. To have the time to see my best friends in all the world. To be so loved.

Today I am thankful for mailboxes and letters. For late night whispered conversations that are close and intimate and warm. For the soft place just under my mom's ear where I can plant a little kiss. For gentle morning light and the freedom to roll over and snuggle down into the blankets. For the abundance of good food and laughter we have this year. For inspiration. For good books to keep me company on lonely nights. For the winter stars. For the words 'I love you.'

To world enough and time....

20 Questions

About a week ago there was a "Win a Date" challenge on a blog I follow called the Anti-Austin, written by some clever Provo girls who chronicle their dating experiences here at BYU (it sounds super corny, but it's actually really well written and SO true! I love knowing I'm not the only one struggling with BYU boys.) So the challenge was to answer the following 20 questions then send them to the email of the guy, who then had to pick his date for the Murder Mystery Dinner the school was putting on. I was intrigued and really liked the questions so I filled them out as cleverly as I could then submitted them! Sadly, I did not win the date, but it was a fun exercise and I thought I'd share my answers with you!

Describe your perfect date in 15 words or less:

A night out with a real gentleman with something to say and ears to listen.

Cat person or dog person?

Neither.

Least favorite movie genre?

Horror.

Second favorite book?

Beauty by Robin McKinley

Dessert of choice?

Anything made with love J

Favorite season?

Fall.

Favorite activity to do in aforementioned season?

Either walk or ride my bike through old neighborhoods looking for cool houses.

What kind of music do you listen to?

Anything from Indi to Top 40, excluding Screamo, Techno, and vulgar rap.

Are you more of a city person or a country person?

I’m an odd mix of both. I feel really comfortable in the city, like I’m surrounded yet alone. But I love the country—I feel like my simplest self there.

If you could have lunch with any person from past or present, who would it be and what would you order?

I would have lunch with C.S. Lewis and I would order butternut squash soup.

What are three things that set you apart/make you different from the rest of the girls in Provo?

1)   I’m not blonde. 2) I don’t take myself too seriously. 
3) I’m a very good communicator.

Are you a clever person? i.e. if I take you to the murder mystery dinner, will you be a useful addition to my mystery-solving team?

Not to toot my own horn, but I’m actually quite good at solving mysteries J But I really enjoy being surprised by an ending or an unanticipated twist.

What are you most passionate about?

Dance.

What is your favorite scripture and why?

My favorite scripture is James 4:10, which reads: Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you up. It’s my favorite because it’s short enough to easily remember and I associate it with that picture of Christ holding a little boy and reaching down into a rushing river to lift up a little girl. It was on a Mormon Ad once and it said “Reach up. Let him lift you.” That’s always stuck with me; that all I need to do is reach up, he’s right there waiting.

If you were granted three wishes what would they be?

1)   To have enough money to spend about 6 months Paris and 6 months in Rome, just eating, wandering, and generally languishing in pleasure.

2)   To cure the diseases that keep women from being able to have children—that is one of the saddest things in the whole world.

3)   That my parents would be able to retire and not worry about having to support any of their 7 children.

What is the most adventurous thing you've ever done?

I took a road trip to California this summer with 3 other people (2 of which I had never met before) without telling anyone I was going. It was the best decision I ever made.

What makes you laugh?

Babies. My best friends. Bad acting. The show Modern Family. Myself.

What is the silliest-sounding word you know?

Infandubulaform (it means funnel-shaped)

If a movie was made of your life, the soundtrack would consist mainly of songs by: The Beatles

Height?

5’8”

Blues Dancing Take 2

I've been going blues dancing every Thursday for about 2 months now and I can officially say, I'm addicted. It doesn't matter how tired I am, how early I have to get up the next morning, if I'm sick, or if I don't have anyone to go with; when 9:30 pm rolls around I'm there. Something in my body just won't let me say no! But hey, I'm not complaining, it's the best addiction I can think of. I learn something new every week even if I only dance with guys I know. Speaking of guys I know, it's so great to have guys starting to remember my name and asking me to dance because they know I'm good. I just love that feeling.

There was a new guy there last night who I thought was particularly attractive and who danced/talked with me for 4, yes 4, songs in a row. That was a first :)

Looking forward to the weekend: I get to go Latin dancing tonight, which I haven't done in forever since blues has taken over my Thursday nights, which used to be my time for Latin. I also get to go the BYU danceEnsemble show on Saturday night, which should be amazing. I'll maybe get some extra sleep somewhere in there and then I'll be a very happy camper :) Happy Friday and cheers to whatever adventures you're having this weekend!

Be a Model? Okay :)

Thanks to my busy schedule for next semester I have to quit my job with Student Alumni, which I am super sad about. I have loved that job and will have been there 12 months in December. It was my very first job ever so it's a little scary to move on to new things and put myself back out there. One idea I've had for a new job is to be a model for the art department here at BYU. I have a couple friends that do it and they love it, so why not? I get paid to sit in front of artists for 3 hours a day who will draw cool pictures of me, like this (except I'll have more feminine features. The hair's about right though haha) :

At BYU they don't let you pose nude, so from what I understand it's more of a bathing suit sort of deal, which is cool with me. So, I'm not sure if it's really gonna work out, but it's a percolating thought.  

Future Room

I know I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was thinking about moving, but it is now official! I'm moving to a cute little HOUSE just up the street from where I am now. I get my own room (something I haven't had at college yet) there's a washer and drier, a lovely backyard, and I'm even paying about $30 less for rent!! I've been thinking about doing something like this since I have my own room:

I love white lights and sheer fabrics as decorations, and I've always wanted to try it in my room, so now's my chance! I know I'm jumping the gun thinking about it now, but I'm just so excited, I can't help myself. 

In other news, I spent a really nice weekend with my sister and her daughter up in Salt Lake eating cheesy potatoes, chocolate, and other wonderful yummies. Also, I'm going home in a week!!! I'm so excited to see my parents and all my high school friends I haven't seen since the spring! I can't wait to see everyone's reaction to my short hair :) hehe

Wouldn't It Be Nice

Wouldn't it be handy to have this little sign to point you down the right path to be happy? Sometimes I feel like it's harder than it should be to be happy. I've noticed as the cold weather has set in that I've been inexplicably depressed, which is making it hard to focus and be on top of things. So I'm looking for my happy road, hoping to find it soon and get back on track. 

Late Night Best Friends

Remember my awesome friend Kalyn? If not, scroll down a little and you will see her featured in my Halloween photos. Kalyn just came over to save me from a lonely night, even though it was almost 11pm and we were both tired. I needed someone to snuggle with, and there was no one, so she sweetly volunteered! We made raspberry cheesecake hot chocolate, laughed a lot (which I needed more than I realized), and she took me to Smith's since my roommates didn't think to ask me if I needed to go when they went earlier tonight and it was already too dark/cold to ride my bike. Egg nog and chocolate oranges are now on sale, so we pampered ourselves by gleefully buying the latter and sharing it on the way home :)

Sometimes a girl just needs a best friend on a lonely Monday night. And sometimes that friend witnesses the purposeful thievery of a Smith's little black shopping basket ;) (said shopping basket will be returned asap, and was only stolen because there were no bags at the self check-out)

So tell your late night best girl friend you love her if you haven't in a while. You never know, you might just make her day!

First Frost

Walking to school this morning, I noticed the whole ground looks like this:

All the fallen leaves are dusted in a silver frost, gluing them to the grass around them, little silver needles. Yesterday was the coldest day yet (and yes, my roommates still have the AIR CONDITIONING on. Heaven help me) and today looks like it'll be another cold one. Thank goodness for my new robe and raspberry cheesecake hot chocolate to keep me warm in the mornings. 

A Little Halloween Frivolity

Last night I got all dressed up with my best friend Kalyn and her boyfriend Danny and the 3 of us went to Sammy's for milk shakes, just so we could say we dressed up and went somewhere on Halloween haha. I did Kalyn's makeup and my own :) I'm so cool! A few pics from the night:

(wow I have a dirty mirror, AH!)

Super fun Halloween even if it was quiet!