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Halfway There!

February 27, 2012
I can't believe how fast time is going by! This has been a great semester so far and it's halfway over already!

I will never regret my choice to move back to Heritage. I absolutely love it here and am so grateful to be in a freshman ward. Tonight for FHE we rented out the Varsity Theater in the WILK and we are watching Tangled with popcorn and drinks! I'm so excited!!! And afterwards we are lighting off lanterns just like they do in the movie. It is going to be perfect!

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I got my official acceptance letter for the Elementary Education program. Yay! And I declared my music minor the other day. I'm so excited to start this new journey next year and to be done with GE's! It's a great feeling to know that I'm on my way to accomplishing all my goals and making plans for the future!

Missing the Ocean

February 22, 2012
So jealous of my family right now! I'm so sad I can't be with them and share our annual trip to Seaside, Oregon. I have so many amazing memories there and wish I had the opportunity to do some relaxing! But I'm stuck here in school, with mountains surrounding me. It's still pretty, but just doesn't compare to the ocean. I think my favorite parts of this vacation are playing games every night with friends and family, writing in the sand, jumping the waves, going to Tillamook, watching movies, sleeping in, and reading good books. Sounds like heaven! Usually I call my mom every day but I've been nervous to this week because I'm afraid of interrupting them while they're vacationing haha! Not fair!





Let the Good Times Roll!

February 21, 2012
Such a FABULOUS weekend! This might be a marathon post but I just don't think I can leave anything out, it was all just so great!

Friday I came home to a jar full of M&M's and a piece of paper with lines on it...

It was an invitation to the Heritage dance next week called Winter Waltz. It should be a lot of fun! And there's going to be a horse-drawn carriage!!! How awesome is that?! It's on my bucket list and I can't wait to cross it off :) 

The day was finished with mashed potatoes, lots of M&M's, popcorn, and the King and I! 

On Saturday morning, Emily and I woke up at approximately 4:30 and headed off to Vernal, Utah with her brother Nathan and his friends. Nathan lives in the foreign language housing at BYU and they are supposed to speak Spanish ALL the time, which means they're so used to it that they don't even notice when they're speaking Spanish or English! This was the one day I wished I had some background in Spanish. But it was still such a fun trip! Everyone was so nice and outgoing and did their best to speak English so Emily and I would understand what they were saying :) They were all hilarious and I think I just spent majority of the day giggling haha! 
We went to the Vernal temple first which reminded me of the tabernacles they talk about in the Old Testament with the outer wall, the altar, the inner building, and then the celestial room. I love adding to the list of temples I've been to!

We then went to Nathan and Emily's grandparents house for a picnic. It was so nice of them to let 10 crazy college students come and crash their house! After lunch, we went to the dinosaur quarry. These fossils are 149 million years old! It was a lot of fun to learn about them! These bones are most likely all located in a river bed that shifted up and slanted from plate movements in the earth. They just built the building around the wall, dug up the earth to get a better view of the fossils, and then put a protective coating over them to preserve them. It was really interesting!

Yup they let us touch them!

HUGE femur bone!


Nathan saving Joseph from the dinosaur attack!
There was an auto tour on our way out and it was so exciting to just enjoy nature and appreciate all of God's creations. It truly is remarkable how amazing our world is and how much it has to offer. It was a gorgeous day and I love the beautiful sun in February! Everyone here in Utah is shocked about the great weather we've been having. We went on this trail out in the middle of nowhere and I really just wanted to be on a horse.


Look at those cute siblings!

Alejo got a little cranky from being so tired so we were glad
he was able to get a little nap in haha!

We returned to Grandma and Grandpa Rich's house for some yummy stew and strawberry short cake...one of my favorites! It was so much fun to meet new people, laugh a lot, try to learn some Spanish, and enjoy nature! We made it back safely and didn't get hit by the storm too much! However, I wouldn't really know, my car ride consisted of a lot of sleeping :) 

I played an arrangement of Joseph Smith's First Prayer on the piano in sacrament meeting on Sunday and it fit in perfectly not only with our Relief Society lesson but also with the talks on prayer, where the speakers even emphasized the importance of the first vision. I love sharing my talents with others and I was so grateful that so many people were able to feel the spirit. 

I love my new ward so much! Being with freshman makes a huge difference and I'm grateful for all the people I've been meeting. I've had a lot of fun and enjoy being around people who care about each other so much and are willing to reach out to others. 

Sunday night consisted of going to tunnel singing and then a 12:01 party! The best tradition of 3 day weekends! In N Out was hoppin' at this hour but it was so much fun to hang out with the girls. We laughed a ton and enjoyed some really great food!
Gangstas

Carine: Mary, why are you laughing so hard? Did you not know you could make that face?
Me: Well kinda, I'm just not really sure what I was doing haha!




Apparently Emily was avoiding the camera at In N Out but
nothing is better than 3 different black and white patterns haha!
She was definitely putting on a little fashion show for me :)

On the way home, we saw some deer. Eight of them to be exact! It was completely unheard of! We decided that we would follow them for a while and it was so cool to watch all of them. We kind of took a flashback to Christmas and thought they were probably Santa's 8 reindeer :)

This morning it felt wonderful to sleep in! Greta, Emily, and I made mini cinnamon rolls, cinnamon streusel muffins, and watched one of our favorite shows, Once Upon a Time. It was such a relaxing morning and there truly is nothing better than spending time with your best friends. I love these girls so much!

I went to Costco today with Matt and Mikelle. Interesting situation though...Matt had to make some phone calls outside and Mikelle took Beckham and went to the mall so I went into Costco with the girls. There were so many people there and I was trying to look after two little girls who were running after the samples with my shopping cart. Can anyone say "Mommy"? Yeah, that's what people thought I was. Several people were giving me the strangest looks and one of the workers even said "Go give the rest to your mommy" HAHA! Yeah right! Not even close. I guess I got a glimpse of what it's like to go to the store with little kids. We went back to their house and had pizza and played games with Brad, Lindsey, Tim, and Luke. It was so much fun! I love family and it was the perfect end to the weekend. 

I would say I took full advantage of the last break of the semester. Here we go... 9 more weeks or in other words, 57 days till I get to go home! Not like I'm counting or anything :)







Thrown Off

February 15, 2012
Everyone has those things that they just do every day. You brush your teeth in the morning, you walk the same way to class, you come home and eat a snack. Whatever it may be, if it doesn't happen your day is kind of thrown off. Here at BYU there is a huge bell tower.

Very picturesque wouldn't you say? Anyways, it can be heard all the way across campus, playing Come Come Ye Saints at the top of every hour and a nice little chime at the half hour mark. It's very loud and because I live so close to it, there's not a day that goes by that isn't affected in some way by the bells. Whether it's waking me up, interrupting a good song I'm listening to, or even letting me know the time as I walk up the path to my house. It's sometimes very annoying but completely out of my control so the other day when I was coming home and didn't hear the bell I was very confused. Throughout the day I proceeded to listen for it but it never played. I realized how much I rely on it to give me a frame of reference and how much I appreciated it despite of how loud it is. 

Today I finished an amazing book! The second Hunger Games book, Catching Fire. I didn't even want to read this series but now I love them! I'm so excited to read the last one and see what surprises await me. I seriously could not put this one down and was shocked at the turn of events. Out of all the books I've read, this series is definitely up there with Harry Potter. I'm so glad the movie comes out soon!

Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue

Today was a fabulous, very busy day! Love was in the air. Not so much the mushy, romantic kind, but the love of service and girls being cute and making the best of this very commercialized day. It started with my favorite class, New Testament. I learned that the story of the Good Samaritan is a parallel to the Plan of Salvation. Go read the story and see if you can figure it out! Then to devotional and the temple as usual :)
It was a monumental day. I went to Taco Bell for the first time! I'm not a huge fan of mexican food but I just got three soft tacos and of course asked for no cheese. It was so good and fresh! Definitely a success.

I came home to a plate of cookies, a rose that lights up, and an invitation to a date! My first Valentine's date which was exciting. I spent some time in my apartment, got ready, and then headed over to Alan's apartment. He made a great dinner of pasta and asparagus...so good! We went to the Wilk and bowled and then came back to play games with his roommates. It was a lot of fun!
Also, Sunday night the boys in our ward decorated our lobby with white balloons and heart confetti, placed heart tissue paper with Hersey's kisses, a red rose, and valentines for all of us girls. SO cute!
There were a lot more kisses a couple days ago haha!

And the remainder of tonight was spent blogging. It definitely feels like the weekend again. But sadly, it's only Tuesday, which also means I have class early tomorrow, so off to bed.
Sending all my love to friends and family <3

Just A Lil' Bit Confused

February 12, 2012
Yesterday was absolutely GORGEOUS! Sunny and warm, you didn't even need a jacket. This morning I looked out the window and what did I see? No, not popcorn popping on the apricot tree but SNOW and lots of it! It hasn't stopped all day. Just when I thought we were getting closer to spring, we got hit with a curve ball. I love looking at the snow and watching it fall. Even catching one or two snowflakes, but it's not that fun to walk in. It just results in being wet and cold...not a good mix.

I'm grateful for lots of things today...
1. People who know how to have fun and laugh and be silly together
2. People who know your name and make you feel welcome
3. Being in a freshman ward
4. The gospel of Jesus Christ
5. A Heavenly Father who loves each one of us and knows us individually, often better than we know ourselves and who has a plan for us
6. Missionary work and the blessings it brings to so many lives and the amazing young men and women who sacrifice their time to serving the Lord
7. Music. It brings such a strong spirit and can influence us for good. It's such an important part of my Sunday.

Choices

February 11, 2012
I have A LOT to do this weekend but this random commercial came to my mind as I was reading a textbook last night...

You could get with this

Or you could get with that



You could get with this, cuz this is where it's at!

No Wonder I Want to be a Teacher

February 10, 2012
I got a fabulous package from my mom today! Lots of great things :) She really knows how to take care of me! One of the many things I was excited about...
CRAYONS!



Here's my lovely toy story picture. I love coloring so much! 

Today I realized how important it is to laugh your way through life and not take things too seriously. Crazy things are gonna happen and sometimes we're not gonna understand why but life really does goes on and there's so many wonderful things about it! Attitude really is everything and I would prefer to be happy and laugh all the time :)

Happy Weekend!
February 9, 2012
Awkward moments of the day:
1. I waved to this guy who I met last week and he looked at me like I was crazy. Obviously he didn't remember me...
2. I tried to push open a door but I was supposed to pull it...

Today I tried this awesome recipe...SO good!

Frozen Hot Chocolate
2 cups whole milk
Five 1.25 ounce packets of Hot Chocolate mix
4 cups ice
Whipped Cream
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips or grated chocolate
1. Place milk into blender. Add hot chocolate packets and blend until combined. Add ice and blend until ice is blended into tiny chunks. Pour evenly into 4 glasses on top of plates to catch any dripping frozen hot chocolate.
2.  Top each glass with whipped cream and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.
Makes 4 servings
Apparently it comes from Serendipity restaurant in NYC. Definitely going there the next time I visit. I love that word!

Do Things For YOU

February 8, 2012
I'm feelin' pretty good right now...
My apartment is clean, I gave myself a pedicure last night and it felt WONDERFUL and my toes are pretty :) and I washed my sheets today. There's nothing better than climbing into a bed of clean sheets. Plus it just looks so nice! I've decided that if you want things to change, you have to feel good about yourself. Even though these may seem like little things, they make me feel great and I am motivated! Reminds me of a scripture...
"By small and simple things are great things brought to pass"
There are great things ahead!
February 7, 2012
I'm absolutely lovin' this weather that we've been having! Definitely not the Utah winter I was expecting and I'm ok with that! It' so nice to see the sun and blue skies. You can get by with just a light sweater and it feels wonderful! I hope spring is on its way (hopefully I didn't just jinx it!)
February 6, 2012
"Only when a young man is worthy to hold the power of God in his hands is he worthy to hold a daughter of God in his arms"
I LOVED Relief Society yesterday. Who knew that a 19 year old young man was capable of being so mature and teaching such an inspirational lesson. I was very impressed. It made me excited to have a man like this someday. The priesthood is such a great blessing in our lives and to have it in my future home is going to be wonderful but I also feel like I'm wishing my life away. I've always known just what I wanted to I find myself waiting (not very patiently), looking forward to what's ahead of me instead of truly living in the moment and enjoying what I have now. Yes, there are great things to come but there's also so many great things happening now!
But don't get me wrong, this isn't just about finding the perfect man. It can also be applied to my future home, job, even just next week. My mom used to always say "when you get something out, put it away" Now I know life would be much more simple if I followed this simple rule but I'm always on the run or think to myself "I'll just do it later" If I can't keep up with just one person, how in the world am I going to be able to take care of a whole family? Ever since I was little I wanted to be a teacher. People often tell me "Oh you'll probably change your mind" Um...no I won't. That's pretty set in stone and I couldn't be more excited about it! But my future classroom won't even exist for 3 more years! I'm always planning, dreaming, scheming, but that's not going to get me there. I have to do well in school NOW and learn everything I can NOW so that I can be more effective later.
I just saw this quote that said "If you just focus on the results, you won't change. But if you change, then you'll get the results" I've been focusing on the results WAY too much and not working on changing and being my best self.
So here's to change and the results that will follow. Life truly is all about the climb and it's important to enjoy every step of the way

Noteworthy Items

February 3, 2012
I've been kind of busy and haven't really gotten a chance to write about what's been going on lately, so I thought I would share some of my latest adventures. We'll start with last friday...

In the afternoon, my visiting teachers invited me over to make pretzels and it was so much fun! They are super easy to make too so I definitely want to try it sometime! We all kinda struggled with forming the actual pretzel shape so on our second one we just made whatever we wanted. Here's my lovely initial with cinnamon sugar on top. Yum!

I then rushed off to a physical science test review with my awesome TA, Dylan. I just love her so much and she has the best sense of humor in the world! She makes physical science somewhat bearable which is a good thing! She's leaving on a mission after this semester to New York and she's really excited about it.

I was then headed to the Canon Center for dinner with some of my best friends...Chloe, Greta and Ben. We ended up staying there for 2 and a half hours just talking! It was a lot of fun to catch up, laugh, and just enjoy being around each other. We're gonna try and get together more often. 

Last stop of the night...a date to the skating rink. I LOVE ice skating and was a little hesitant after my little accident last fall. But everything worked out fine and I didn't even fall once! I was really proud of myself and excited to be there because I haven't been ice skating for a while. 
You could say I'm pretty pro on my tippy toes ;)

This rink is right in Provo but it's where they held the hockey and ice skating for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake which is way cool! The Olympics are something I look forward to every other year and it made me super excited for this summer! 



When we got back, Emily and I talked for a while. I love late night talks with that girl!

Saturday was a fun day as well!
Around 2 I headed up to the MTC to volunteer at the Teaching Resource Center. We came up here once for FHE this summer and I really enjoyed it so I wanted to try it again. All you have to do is act as an investigator and the missionaries teach you a lesson. It's just to give them practice with real people before they officially are in the mission field. It's a lot of fun and a really good experience and I look forward to going back more often!

I immediately came home, changed, and rushed over the Marriott for the basketball game. Yes, an hour and a half early! It was one of the biggest games of the season and it was packed! But I had a great seat saved for me and it's just a fun atmosphere to be in. The beginning of games is so intense and I love every minute of it! Half time was awesome too. It was a group of jump roping kids and they are amazing! I wish I could jump rope like that! I was definitely impressed. The downfall of the game...the referees. Now I've been to my fair share of basketball games throughout my life but these were by far some of the worst refs I've seen. And of course the crowd just had to get all bent out of shape and it was kind of embarrassing. And we lost. But like they say, it's just a game so I wasn't too worried about it. 

This week:
-I've officially been off of facebook for about two weeks and I just got off of pinterest. And guess what...I get so much more done in my day! Since I obviously couldn't control myself, I took control of the situation and made sure the wasting time on these fabulous sites wasn't an option. So now the only thing left to keep me sane is blogging and I'm okay with that :)
-After discussing some religion with my friend Suz, I had some questions that needed answered. So I went to talk to Brother Smith. He helped a lot and then said, "Tell your friend to keep asking questions. This is good for you! It helps you to learn and stretch and grow spiritually" Thanks Brother Smith.
-Wednesday was probably the most productive day I've had all semester. I was really proud of myself. After all the hard work on cleaning, hw, and a basketball game, I was enjoying reading Work and the Glory when I got a phone call. Alan and some of his friends were going to see a movie and happened to be standing outside my door wondering if I wanted to go with. To reward myself for all my hard work, I decided to go. We saw In Time at the dollar theater and it was so good! It's an interesting concept to think of our lives in time, instead of money. It made you appreciate what you have. 
-Yes the groundhog did see its shadow. 6 more weeks of winter. But hey, if it's going to be winter like what we're having right now, I'm totally okay with that! I'm really grateful that we haven't had a miserable winter and that the weather has been a lot like home. Today it is gorgeous! Sunny and not even that cold!
-Last night was another basketball game. Against Gonzaga  from WA! Once again, I love the atmosphere. Greta and I didn't really feel like standing up the whole game in the student section so we just found some random seats and enjoyed every minute of the game! During this half time they set up two inclined trampolines and had some guys do some AWESOME dunks! It looked so fun and they were doing flips and everything! Greta and I talked the entire game. That's what I love about a best friend. We never get sick of each other and there's always something to talk about. Like seriously, we could talk for hours. And even if there wasn't something to talk about, it wouldn't be awkward. And to top it all off, we won!!! It was a great game and the crowd was in good spirits this time. It was so loud in that arena and we ended up being on our feet for some of the game because it was just so exciting! Some say Matt Carlino is the next Jimmer. Only time will tell...
basketball lovers!
We were also very starving girls after the game which ended at 11 at night! So we called Wendy's which is right across the street from Helaman Halls and asked what time they closed. The girl said 2 so we started walking over there. What she failed to mention was that only the drive-thru stays open till 2...So off in the distance we see McDonald's. Let's just say we were desperate for some food. So we walked the couple blocks down there and enjoyed every bite. It made for a late night with early morning classes today but I think it was worth it.
-6:45 AM. I never see those numbers on a clock. That is just WAY too early for a college student. My body is not used to getting up at that time anymore. It's so dark outside and cold, but it was very peaceful and there's no one around.Those seminary days feel like they were years ago haha! And I definitely do not miss them. I miss seminary, just not the time. Anyways I thought I would be a good student today and go to my New Testament review. I'm glad I did, but it was tough! 
-GONE! Today as I walked to school I looked over at the green covered fence that encloses all the construction. For several days now F. Smith hall has been the only building left standing. However today, that changed. The final building was being torn down. This afternoon in a big heap of rubble I saw the building that over half of my freshman year was spent in. So many fun memories in that building. If you can't tell, I'm a little bit depressed about it. Since it was a boy's building, majority of the boys are gone too so it kind of feels like all that time never existed. I guess that's the whole point of memories, to remember things that don't exist anymore, but it's still kind of sad.
Despite the sadness, check out the beautiful blue sky and sunshine with snow in the mountains!







Creativity

February 1, 2012
I absolutely love blogging and the opportunity it gives me to express my feelings and talk about my every day life! For my History of Creativity class we have to do a project. There is NO criteria for this project besides the fact that it needs to be creative. I'm definitely not someone who likes open-ended assignments, I like it all laid out for me. So thinking of something to do was quite a challenge. But then it came to me. I love blogging and the thing that brings me the most joy is music. So why not put the two together?? For the next two months I will be doing a music blog. I haven't completely decided where I want to go with it yet but I'm really excited about the finished product. I would love to have you join me on this journey!
Here's the link...
allmusiccomesfromtheheart.blogspot.com