sundayness//character.

today in church, a girl in a spicy cheetah-print top shared her thoughts about the importance of finding our own personal faults and personality-flaws and trying to improve. she talked about how she knows her faults but she actually kind of, sort of likes them–she feels like her faults are apart of her and make up her personality.

i was running on two hours of sleep, but that caught my attention. there are so many faults that i have and generally like (…making endless fun of my siblings, cursing when i drop things, dirty jokes…) that are so inextricably apart of me and my personality that it would be hard to change them. i feel like those things are what make me me…you know? amen, sister girl! who would i be without these quirks? i bet you guys wouldn’t even like me, right?! (wrong!)

she went on to say that while we should cherish our imperfections (…ugly laughs, overactive bladders, fat hands…) and accept the fact that having faults in our personalities and selves is basically, practically inevitable BUT we should refrain from making these quirks a central part of our identity because it is better to have character than to be a character.

profound! and i bet you guys would still like me fine sans dirty jokes about sailors and pirates! right? (RIGHT!)

food for thought? i’m running on two hours of sleep?

and for that, i thank you dear girl in the spicy cheetah-print top.

alone time irrationalness.

are you ever met with sweet, sweet moments and you are so excited over them that you act irrationally and spoil everything? was that too specific? like, for example, maybe your friend makes you your most favorite kind of cake and in a moment of hyper enthusiasm you decide to dump the cake on your head instead of eating it? or maybe you meet your most favorite celebrity and instead of asking for their autograph and taking a picture you decide to sprint away and scream your brains out?

i had one of those! i spoiled my sweet, sweet moment!

my lovely roommate avery’s mom is in town for the weekend and, as is customary when moms are in town for the weekend, avery has been bunking at the hotel. there is something that is magical about not sleeping in the dorms and waking up in a big, clean hotel room with a continental breakfast.

this means that i have the dorm all to myself. a rare occasion that should be savored and taken very seriously.

my first night of being alone in the room went…not as well as planned? i went to sleep on tuesday, excitedly planning my alone-in-the morning time for wednesday morning; what should i do? sing songs really loudly? read a book super quickly? try on all of avery’s clothes and lay in her bed? (juuuust kidding) oh, the options!

when the alarm sounded on wednesday morning, i popped out of bed! alone! immediately i turned on the light and stripped off all my clothes. i don’t really know why, perhaps simply because i could. after a few minutes of standing there, i realized that, as of late (…as of three years ago…), i wasn’t looking in tip-top condition; here and there was looking…portly. and i don’t even like the sight of my own body anyways! i shamefully picked up all my clothes off the ground and put them back on, grimacing at the wasted ten minutes.

next i decided to work out. i browsed youtube for the best at-home pilates videos on the internet and decided on one by a lady named jenny ho. or was it cho? no matter. i set my computer by the door on some books and turned up the volume as loud as possible…because i could! because i was alone!

five minutes into the video i realized that, for the people outside, it sounded like i was indulging in some…erotic videos. jenny was huffing and puffing and telling us to “juuuuust keeeeep going! you’ll be shivering with happiness by the end of this! come on! come on! come ON!”

…jenny, you bad girl, you.

exhausted from my flurry of excitement and disappointed that i had ruined my hour of solidarity, i got dressed, inhaled a waffle drenched in syrup and peanut butter, and made my way to class…shivering with happiness that i had finished the pilates workout.

let's talk trash: the bachelor.

 

do you watch the bachelor? please tell me you watch the bachelor?

please tell me you about cringed from awkwardness when rachel cood at ben “i like how you’ve got that little wink” and then ben replied “…i’m just squinting.”

and please tell me you died a bit over ben and his hair. i want that center part to burst into flames! right now!

and please tell me that you at least giggle snorted a little when the red-headed jennifer said that she thought the rain was “soooo sexy” …what?  stop it, ginger face!

and also that you got a little nervous when utah monica (and her large boobs) pounced on the opportunity to be emily’s protector (her lesbian-like tendencies from episode one are back, people!)(bless her, though!).

but most of all, please tell me that you thought that courtney the model was crazy sauce last night. or, tell me that you always had thought she was crazy sauce but now it is confirmed. and tell me that you think she is suffering from a fatty case of mild retardation too? (too far?)

“winning, emily. winning.”

read a play-by-play summary here.

on things metaphorical.

yesterday after church i hurriedly made my way to the cafeteria (after gasping and inwardly cursing over  a $150 parking ticket with lily…gasp! curse!) and in a few quick moments with hungry-brain, had piled plate after plate of various foods (large salad, omelette, potatoes, steamed carrots, shredded steak, cookie, grapes…) and inhaled all of it. food-guilt and indigestion set in and i decided it was time for a sunday afternoon walk.

as i was walking, i took in the utah scenery–it really is a pretty place, you know? the snow topped mountains and tall, green trees; the rows and rows of cute little houses and culdesacs that scream family-friendly; the snow…and the snow…and the slushy make-you-fall-on-your-face-outside-the-matt-costa-concert snow.

joyous day.

i had my headphones in and was bumping. the playlist seemed to match my surroundings; calm, tranquil, soft, peaceful (…and the synonyms for ‘calm’ stop now…).

the glorious provo temple was just up the hill and as i made my way towards it, i prepared myself for a real deep and spiritual experience. i braced myself for some personal revelation about…anything? something? what my major should be? if i should trim my hair or not? is scout a suitable name for my hypothetical child? the closer i got to the temple, the more excited i was! i was going to have a real and raw moment here, guys!

then the song changed and temptation filled my ears. justin moore’s song that reminds me of my father and various high school friends (…this song; i love it, but do not condone it!)…oy! i couldn’t resist! but i couldn’t have a real, raw moment listening to tunes like THAT (with cuss words in the chorus! gasp!). thus, i had a decision to make: a. real, raw moment or b. justin moore’s scandily song.

…needless to say, i took a hard right and strolled down a random street with obscenities streaming into my brainium (do you like what i did there?). temptation at it’s finest! and i gave in! (…why am i telling this story again? is it to feel more accountable? hold me accountable, justin moore!)

and then i got hit by a bus! just flatted out! karma came in the form of a big, yellow, angry vehicle and laid me out in the middle of the road with the song still playing in the background.

holy smokes!

i called my mom and told her about the situation. we figured there was a metaphor in there, or a simile? or something symbolic? that life is like an ipod, and we get to choose what we listen to and what fills our brains and…oh, curses! we had a great metaphor in there but i don’t quite remember it…maybe it was that life is like a road and sometimes there are obstacles in life and temptations (like cuss wordy songs or caffeinated drinks or fast food places that are open on sundays?) and you have to make a decision! at the crossroads! like i did! hard right! (except it was wrong…anti-metaphor!) bus to the body!

…and now you know.

p.s. i went in for a fancy job interview on thursday and we spent 75% of the interview talking about once upon a time and how much i hated puberty. wait, what? ha.

p.p.s. also, just kidding(!!!) about the big yellow bus part. it was actually a prius. just kidding again! i didn’t get hit by anything. but when i am retelling this story and using it as a learning point in some deep, spiritual talk i am giving, i am going to say i got hit. for the sake of bringing the metaphor (or simile?) full-circle. and you aren’t going to say anything about it!

things i want my sisters to know...

 

“Life is just like an old time rail journey …delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.” –Gordon B. Hinckley

wallace.

this is wallace, lily’s new little bunny friend.
say “hiiiii wallace!” 

…and no, i have yet to hold him…i am still skeptical of all things under three feet.

recipe.

whenever i visit home or get in a ten foot radius of my mother, i balloon up like a beluga whale because she force feeds me all her delicious goodies and treats. my most favorite treat that my tastebuds miss daily is her lemon drop cookies.

in order to relieve my current craving, i had her make some and take pictures of the process…the pictures didn’t suffice in the least but i thought that i would share the recipe with you guys! 

ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter flavored shortening
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract
4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
finely chopped zest of one lemon (i don’t always add this)
1 (6-oz) package lemon drops (i usually add more!)
glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
juice of two lemons, about 4-5 tablespoons

*preheat oven to 350

1. in mixing bowl, cream sugar, shortening and, eggs; add vanilla and lemon extract and stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

2. crush lemon drops in a blender or food processor (or put them in a heavy ziploc bag and therapeutically pound them with a meat mallet while thinking of all things angry in the world).

3. add lemon zest and crushed lemon drops into mixture and roll mixture into balls.

4. flatten slightly with your hand and bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes and let cool on pan for a few minutes.

5. make lemon glaze by mixing powdered sugar with lemon juice to desired consistency. brush glaze over cookie tops after cookies have cooled slightly (if cookies are too hot, the glaze will melt).

…then eat (or gorge, rather), and fall into a deep, deep case of food guilt (…the remedy for food guilt: more lemon drop cookies!).

sugar boo.

 

have you ever had a dream that is so real that when you wake up, you can’t decide if it’s actually reality? (crowd interaction, call me herbie hancock!)(truth: i have no idea who herbie hancock is…i just google’d ‘who interacts with their crowd a lot, a lot?’) on thursday i had one of those dreams!

my dream was that i was dating someone. a boy! he had brown hair and was on the basketball team and just thought i was the greatest thing in the whole land. we were so for each other! we held hands and kissed each others faces and ate out a whole lot and talked about celebrity gossip ad naseum and even dropped the L-bomb!

and it was real, guys! we really did love each other!

and he was actually a real person? and was actually on the basketball team? and from his twitter, i know he doesn’t like croutons? and we had had two interactions in REAL LIFE! 1. i was looking at gelato flavors in the food court and he walked by and said something in my direction(…ish…?) and 2. i was at a dance party and he said he liked my dance moves…sarcastically…very, very sarcastically.

but that’s besides the point, because we loved each other in my dream and were so meant to be! he just needed to realize it.

on saturday, i had accepted the fact that it was just a dream and that it would never happen…or so i thought.

as i was sitting there alongside my friends, i found myself feeling like i was dating him…in real life. i cheered extra loud and got all fired up when they subbed him out: “but he’s going to get cold!” “what are they doing?! oh, i hope this doesn’t upset him!” every time he scored, i hooted and hollered and swatted away all the fans that were undoubtedly looking at me, his sugar boo.

fortunately my family and outback steakhouse beckoned at half time. i fear that if not, i would have waited outside the locker room for him and swooped him up in my arms and put him in my backpack or something.

…and then i woke up! but just kidding.

the end.

p.s. isn’t that picture rad? you think? oh, thanks!

things i want my sisters to know.

 

Every morning, until you dead in the ground, you gone have to make this decision. You gone have to ask yourself, “Am I gone believe what them fools say about me today?” –Constantine Jefferson (Emily Stockett, The Help)

steeeerike.

 

there are a few dates (because i date so much?) that i simply can not stand: ice skating (it hurts my ankles and why would i pay to go around in a circle?), gory movies (sans large soda and buttery popcorn), and bowling.

my hatred for bowing is three-fold. 1. being up to bowl reminds me of being up to bat which reminds me of how badly i stunk at softball (i was the worst!); 2. i never know what to do after i’m done and always make eye contact with the table of people too early, you know? and then i have to maintain it or do a little face or try to be cutesy and make that long walk back; 3. the shoes. i just don’t like ‘em.  

that said! that said i think i like bowling now? i’ve turned a new leaf or something? yesterday afternoon my family and i made our way to the bottom of the wilkinson center and bought two games and shoes a la student discount! my grandma is a renowned bowler and gave us some pointers (“aim at the second dash from the right…”; “keep your arm and thumb straight at the target…”; “stop trying to do a cute face! you’re not on stage!”).

 

my mom made strike after strike after strike and was equally as excited every time.  

(note how excited they were for her? ha. the constant strikes were getting old!)

 

a new leaf, people!

spaghetti factory.

 

there are two things you should know about my family:

1. we are creatures of habit. if we like something, we love it and we will love it until we can’t love it anymore. it’s kind of a ‘why fix what’s not broken?’ type of attitude–if something is working for you, why change it? right? for example, my dad eats wheaties for breakfast every. single. morning and every christmas we eat the exact same meal every year down to the pineapple punch.

2. we are crazy, stupid lingerers (well, the girls are). give us a target and a free refill and we will aimlessly wander for eternities. we linger in cars, we linger in malls, we linger in restaurants.

thus: the spaghetti factory was born.

every time my grandma is in town, we go to the spaghetti factory. it’s not that anyone in my family loves the spaghetti factory all that much but…it works! and why fix what’s not broken, right? everyone orders their same dish (manager’s special with half mizithra and half meat sauce and yes to the spimoni at the end, please!) and we sit down in the stupidly large table and we shout at one another because no one can hear and…it’s tradition!

last night we went and lingered…and lingered…and lingered… 

(and the cutest picture of the night in which true love is captured…) 

…and that’s my family.

the 5 second rule is real, right?

 

germs are something i embrace. go ahead, you! cough on me. sneeze on me. drop my food on the ground before you give it to me. i welcome germs like i welcome…something you’d want to welcome, like discounts or new reality television shows or something?

anyways. that said. today i grossed out an entire assembly hall of 250 or so people with my germophilic ways (do you like what i just did there? made up a new word!).

this morning i really enjoyed my morning. mostly because i had a really, really strange dream in which i was rooming with a person at soccer camp who kept poking me in the chesticles? but anyways. i was really enjoying my morning and my oatmeal and my outfit picking and lost all track of time and was in a rush to get to my science class.

i may or may not have skipped brushing my teeth? i was in a rush, okay!

because i was in a rush (i am really overusing words: rush, enjoying, really…) i grabbed some gum and power-sprinted up to the engineering building. the engineering building. brooke is in the building for ENGINEERS (i am already sounding smarter, no?).

when i got to my classroom i peeped in through the window and noticed that the class had already started. perfect. no, but really…perfect! my outfit was cute and my hair was falling nicely and all eyes would be on me! (…oh my…vocalizing this is making me want to kick myself!)

i entered the classroom and scouted a seat but made eye contact with a few of my friends instead. i was super excited to see them? or super excited to do my super cute open-mouthed excited face or something? anyways, i waved at them furiously with my open-mouthed-excited face while walking right by the professor in the front of the classroom and, in doing so, dropped my gum right out of my mouth.

great.

i don’t do well in situations like this due to my inability to keep calm and not get flustered. if conversations are going awry on the phone, i just hang up. if i have to think on my feet and swoon a guy, i get creepy. if i have to shoot the penalty kick to win the district championship, i miss (crap. i thought i might be over this by now?).

so. in my moment of flusteration (do you like what i just did there?), i did what any classy lady would do: kept a smile on my face, did a silly little giggle, and…put the gum back in my mouth?

why did i do that?

for a brief second i thought that maybe, maaaaybe the class would not have seen this but that thought was dispelled by varying sounds of “yeeeelk!” and “nasty!”  from the class (with maybe one sound of “doesn’t she look cute? isn’t her hair falling nicely? i bet she brushed her teeth this morning!” …wait just kidding).

…needless to say, my friends that i was waving at didn’t want me to sit by them?

but the five second rule is real, right?

self-exploration.

let’s just cut to the point, here: on saturday i played a little game of self-exploration and tested how my body would react to a heavy dose of too much fiber.

it died. like, sitting on the bathroom floor of rubio’s trying to heed to sydney’s advice of ‘just relax! let ‘em fly!’ type dying.

i don’t really know how it started? perhaps it was just out of pure laziness and unwillingness to make real food? or perhaps it was just out of boredom-eating and accessibility? no matter. in any case, on saturday i ate three fiber one bars and a large bowl of raisin bran (…and dip n’ dots…and 5 oz. of FREE yogurtland!) you do the math. 

right?

in any case, while i was sitting on the ground of rubio’s, i had a good and heavy think. good and heavy thinks are beneficial to the body, especially when paired with large dosages of fiber. but anyways, as i was sitting there i got all metaphorical and thought about how this situation was like a metaphor. or a simile, rather.

like, maybe fiber was like all things good and happy in the world, like little kitty cats and long sunday naps, and if you had to much of those all the time, it would eventually kill me? or maybe fiber was like christmas? like, one of them is fine but if christmas was every day, you would all end up on the floor rolling around with stomach aches from too much shopping and too much christmas candy and too much christmas music?

or maybe it’s a metaphor about life. that if you just cram everything that’s important into one part of your life then you are going to be paying later? or something?

or maybe you just should never eat that much fiber. ever.

the end.

things i want my sisters to know.

 “I get worried for young girls sometimes; I want them to feel that they can be sassy and full and weird and geeky and smart and independent, and not so withered and shriveled.” —Amy Poehler (my most favorite imaginary bff)

image via.

sundayness: it's a new year!

i really liked this. i like the idea that the best is yet to come and the future is crazy bright. like the lime green dress i wore today type bright. we just have to look forward! hello, forward! you look bright!

i like that god has this plan all worked out for me (PLEASE let it include some scruffy-man-deliciousness!) and you and that “…what god has for me is bigger and better than what i have going on right now.” it’s comforting, no?

p.s. how good does the food they’re eating look? grilled cheese craving: ready, go!

lately.

 

besides tripping over someone’s backpack that they were rolling behind them (WHY ARE YOU STILL DOING THAT?!) today, things have been groovy over here in provotown.

like, for instance, last night i went on a date (or was it?) and i got to talk the whole time! i just told stories and told some more stories and then made up some stories and told them. i also got a FREE large cookie which i split with my date (…or was he?)(we had a really awkward moment when i looked at the cookie and realized i had eaten nearly all of it; i’m kind of bad at sharing?). and we played catch phrase! i love catch phrase!

also  i don’t have class till eleven. ELEVEN! that number rings sweetly in a former 8:20 class attendee.

and the weather has been glorious. yesterday i wore a skirt and tights and a three-quarter sleeve shirt and i was warm! warm, i tell you!

and i like my science class? or at least i am almost sure?

AND! AND! i have a new show to watch (‘once upon a time’–thank you alyssa!), and new clothes to wear (thank you old navy sale!), and a new language to learn, and new boys to date? but probably not?

rah, rah! winter semester! you’re the best, like a crazy jester! or cheap polyester! or an empty nester?

airplaneness.

 

why am i incapable of having a normal airplane experience? you know, one where security is a breeze, where the airplane leaves on the schedules time, and where i have a normal conversation with the person next to me. or no conversation. either or.

maybe the person would be middle-aged? slightly  overweight? maybe they’d show me pictures of their little kids or their grandbabies or their…cats? maybe we’d talk about the weather or their favorite kardashian or how they like their steak?

one can only hope.

yesterday my mother and i drove up to spokane in the morning so that i could fly back to provo. she helped me get my bags (3 of them! what is wrong with me?!) out of the car, walked me to the terminal, and hugged me goodbye…only to pick me up a few hours later for a lunch at olive garden due to a broken down speedometer (my friend alyssa: “what are they going to do?! give us a ticket in the AIR?!”) and a six-hour delay. SIX HOURS (did i mention you were only allowed twenty minutes of free wifi? TWENTY MINUTES?!).

after lunch, i returned to the terminal and spotted a cute boy. or was he cute? or was i just hoping he was? no matter (let’s disregard the fact that he was carrying on a conversation with his two friends SO LOUDLY whilst having two headphones in…what are you listening to?). i noted his cuteness (or something?) and hoped that my seat would be in his general vicinity on the plane.

four hours later, we boarded. i sat next to the window with two vacant seats beside me and a “HI! I’M AVAILABLE” look on. perfect.

he sat right behind me…headphones still in. two twelve-year-old siblings plopped themselves right next to me and i decided to strike up conversation. they probably already regarded me as a role model, right? i asked them about school and christmas and what their favorite soda was (when did i get so bad at talking to twelve-year olds?) but the little girl was antsy to end the small talk and when there was a lull in the conversation she jumped in and told me she had a boyfriend. who was sixteen? and had better abs than her brother?

right.

i thought this was an opportune moment to intervene. i told her that she needed to play hard-to-get with him, and that she should be careful that he’s so much older. i encouraged her brother to be protective of her and make sure she makes good decisions with him.

somehow this conversation segued into how hot the guy sitting behind us was? she told me that she was going to ask for his name and that she found him SO HOT…hotter than her boyfriend, even! she asked me how old i thought he was and i said that he was definitely double her age. probably as old as her oldest brother? or weird uncle? or REALLY OFF LIMITS?

she took this as an invitation to take off her sweatshirt and reveal her spaghetti strap tank top. oh, hi. i thought about talking to her about the art of dressing mysteriously and of layering so much that you conceal your actual body shape because that’s sexy, right? fortunately for the both of us, the flight attendant came to pass out peanuts and pretzel and take our drink orders.

the (HOT!) boy behind us told his brothers (LOUDLY! why do you still have your headphones in? but HI!) how he preferred peanuts over pretzels to which my twelve-year-old flight companion whipped around and gave him her peanuts. is that suggestive?

five minutes later, the attendant came with the drinks and handed her a coke zero that “tasted SO weird! like it had JACK DANIELS IN IT!” (she was yelling).

the flight ended shortly after. i really think i made a good impression on them?

p.s. the boy told me (headphoneless) while we were at baggage claim that he was disappointed that his twelve-year-old girlfriend didn’t give him her number–maybe he’d have to find her on facebook, or something? maybe even myspace? …right when he finished talking i whipped off my sweatshirt and conveniently had on my spaghetti strap black tank top. yum.

but now i’m home. and it’s the first day of school! and could the bachelor be any more dramatic this season?! and why is the season preview so telling?

2012.

• let reality television show times, diet coke, and inevitable ‘fat days’ dictate less of my life and mood.
• be nice to myself. well, nicer. like, repeat ‘i’m beautiful!’ mantra in the mirror each morning type nice.
• improve my manners, please and thank you!
• improve my relationship with my heavenly father. i want us to become bff’s this year. i want to be the type of friends that are in 24/7 contact in which one conversation begins where the other one ended and there is seemingly no disconnect.
• read more.
• learn to master my camera (i am so excited for photography class!).
• get back to the place where exercising is fun and not just…painful.
• allow myself to be enveloped with happiness and gratitude. i feel like i have a lot to look forward to this year (italy!!!) and i want to be able to enjoy it 100%.
• enjoy everything about being 19. i will never be 19 again, after all. i want to truly soak in…19-ness.
• figure out what i truly love. i am in like with so many different things and really don’t have opinions on much. i am so…neutral. i want to begin to figure out what the heck makes my heart pitter patter and what i would be happy doing for the rest of my life…besides waking up next to james franco.
• blog lots.

bring it on, 2012!

new years eve.

being an idaho-bred girl, i feel some sort of obligation to know how to do outdoorsy things like fish, hunt, and accessorize camo properly. that being said, on the last day of 2011, i thought it was time to give shooting guns a start. ka-pow! 

this is my ‘holy crap! i just shot something!’ face…it is a look composed of maniacal joy and fear of the power i held in my hands.
 

(toothpaste, bacon, and ice…the necessities?) 

i felt like annie oakley of sorts. ka-pow!

hats of to you, 2011.

2011: ready, go!

in january, i witnessed the most insane flood that moscow has ever experienced (at least i’m ALMOST sure), discovered my love for high buns and bright lipstick, made lots of resolutions that i’m nearly positive i broke within a week, and got a new phone that unleashed the narcissist hidden inside of me.

 

in february, i received my acceptance letter to byu and was too tired to muster up any excitement, watched jesse jackson give a speech but really listened to the juicy gossip being told in front of me, went to sky-high for the first time ever, and sat on the student side for the last time ever watching high school basketball.

in march, i road-tripped to utah with my family and jason and paraded all around provotown, welcomed my cousin dan home from his mission, won a bingo game with mckenzie, visited my kylie-friend in san diego (and was happily stuck there for five more days due to backed up planes) and went into a food-coma every single day, and played in my last club soccer game…ever! 

in april, i made the adult-decision to attend summer term at byu, listened to general conference and learned about the simple expressions of love, wore heels to school for the first time ever, went to the renaissance fair with my family, and watched a lot of high school baseball.

in may, i went to my last high school prom with my friend logan and left the night with a crown, sash, and realization that that high school was basically over, skipped school A LOT and opted for bike rides and picnics instead, put the finishing touches on the senior skip day, seriously soaked in the beautiful weather and really loved on moscow, fell off my bike and busted open my head, and did not get raptured.

 

in june, i graduated from high school and nervously gave the graduation speech, had the most fun graduation party at my house and attended an all-night one put on by the high school (…where i was hypnotized!), said goodbyes to my family and friends and moved to utah…only to see them two weeks later in portland at my grandpa’s funeral, and spent a weekend at a cabin in utah. 

in july, i spent fourth of july on the lawn of a fancy country club in salt lake, rode a horse, went on a seriously awkward hiking date where i was pressured to where a cowboy hat?, had the most fun five days ever in the hometown of katie and avery in southern california, and nearly got kicked out of the hospital’s cafe for stealing refills of vanilla and cherry diet coke. 

in august, i saw edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros at a twilight concert series, explored san fransisco with my family, watched my brother get married and my grandma dance crazily at the reception, surprised jason at his family reunion in red fish, idaho, took my first college final, and visited home for a few weeks where i squeezed in some beloved lake time, went to a foam dance party, and prepared to go back to byu where i was rooming with avery(!!!!) and living right across the hall from rachael and lily(!!!!).

 

in septemeber, i began a friend-crush on landon, josh, and ally while spelunking in a provo cave, camped in a yurt, ran (well…stumbled) a half marathon in the mud, went to a 90′s dance party where rach, lily, aves, and i were the first to get there and last to leave, landed a job, had an ultrasound in which i flashed the pee-cup-getter, learned that i CAN NOT sit through a full football game and, fortunately, avery can’t either, sat in a fancy suite at the salt lake real game and drank so much of the free diet pepsi, and got really nostalgic over summer term. 

in october, i watched bruce get baptized, went to vegas with rachael, celebrated my cousin sean’s birthday with my aunt, grandma, and mother in town, spent halloween day as a fifth-wheel (WILLINGLY!), drove for fifteen hours straight squeezed in a car with landon, phil, josh, and brighton to portland, rode around on a moped called hidalgo, and watched the entire kardashian wedding with my sister, mother, and grandma in canby, oregon.  

in november, i watched the vandal vs. byu game alongside my fellow idahoans, celebrated a faux-thanksgiving with my family in a hotel room in utah because beau and rosemary couldn’t make it back, made the executive decision to hop on a bus early and come home for an extended thanksgiving break in which i ate ice cream every day, and got hit by a car on my bike? boo that.

in december, i fell in an even deeper love with my friends and college experience, had the BEST birthday ever and was completely and totally surprised at a dessert shop, bought a camera (mostly)all by myself!, went to the first presidency christmas message, won an intramural championship (ha!), ate far too much at tucano’s and had the best friend-date ever with lindsay, josh, and landon, made a silly youtube video, said sad goodbyes to josh and landon, didn’t take finals seriously enough (oopsies…), came home for break and did real idaho-y things like shoot guns and eat potatoes, and celebrated the new years by taking kenziggy pop out for a movie and sneaking in popcorn and sodas and getting surprised that my kylie-friend is in town! 

the end; bring it on 2012.