It's 11:00

I'm still in bed.
It's a school day
that starts at one pm (thursdays are great)
This weekend is conference
I have a really great life

Now I just have to decided what to be for Halloween...
what are you dressing up as?

Confessions

I hardly ever shave my knees
I have a messy room but I make my bed (most days)
I want to collect tea cups but I only have one
I love it when people tell me stories
I don't squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom (sue me)
I don't like saltine crackers
I just recently started liking pb&j
I woke up this morning really really excited about winter (this is strange)
I don't like ice-cream or very many sweets for that matter
I will always choose classical music
I have a huge problem sharing recipes
I'm going to try and share some soon...
I really enjoy weeding
I like doing voices
I am dramatic in moving vehicles especially if I'm not comfortable with the driver
I enjoy reading people magazine at the hairdressers, and wherever else I can find it

What are some of your confessions?

awkward story

I went into the SWKT the other day (ps...my dad claims he named it that) excited to work on a homework assignment. I went down to the open labs where I've gone many times before. Set my stuff down, used the restroom, (tmi?...I told you it was an awkward story) and came back to my computer. Started doing my assignment. Suddenly a professor stands up, and says,
"okay class, let's get started"
ahhhh I was in a class.
They opened up an excel sheet and started going.
I had two options, walk out now and just feel strange or grin and bear it.
I grinned, and enjoyed the class.
I finished my assignment, shopped a bit online and occasionally looked up at the teacher to nod like I knew what was going on. He appreciated it. I could tell.
When he said to "pull our your books and do a problem on your own" I pretended to open my book and look very interested. I was secretly terrified he would come back and see I was looking at a book about the appropriate ways to teach children. But he did not.
I left at 2:53. I'm not sure if the class was over but I had class at 3.
What a silly experience.

I'm fallin' for fall

my favorite
crunchy leaves
orange red
warm cardigans
closed shoes
pumpkin cookies
brown yellow
grateful hearts
raking leaves
running noses
bipolar weather
warm soup
it's fall

A Day in the Life...

Today was a very happy day. It was sunny, gorgeous and a Thursday. All happy things.
I woke up around 9:30, a very welcome sleep-in after last night's opening performance of World of Dance...(here's my shameless plug for that-Come! It runs through Saturday at BYU and is an exceptional show!)
I called lost and found (an inspired thought to find some long lost articles of clothing) and they were there! They had held my favorite cardigan:

and a white skirt with thin, black vertical stripes. It had been three months! I lost them when I was a counselor for sports camps this summer. Yay!
I rode my beautiful beach cruiser to campus as soon as I found out they were there, so I could wear my lovely, newly found articles of clothing. I was a happy girl.
I went up to campus early to print off a paper in the library and stopped by the little sale going on. Bought two scrapbooking accessories for a dollar. Yesss.
Saw two handsome men at the library. Double yes.
Proceeded to follow these men across campus. Don't worry, I wasn't creeping. We were thankfully on the same path. Parted ways.
After a lovely marriage and family class I cashed a check (I appreciate money) and bought another cookbook. It's a good one.
Went to the library and read ahead in a class. Man-does that feel good! Bought a BBQ wrap after my mother told me to eat lunch (it's two o'clock pm, mind you). I ate this wrap under a tree, reading a book and loving life.
Family Processes class. I got mad. We'll save those thoughts for another day.
Home. Happiness. Dance show tonight. Best friends. Mom. Sister. Fake Eyelashes (I secretly love them).
Might I add that throughout this day I ran into many dear friends. Old roommate, friend from the summer, friend from my youth (first boy I ever slapped...), friend from pre-school, lots of friends.
I'm really happy. I'm really blessed. And I'm really really happy I found that cardigan.

fear

When I first began this post my intention was to make a list of my fears. My physical, emotionally, and spiritual fears. Then I read this quote:
"Keep your fears to yourself but share your courage with others." ~Robert Louis Stevenson
We're all human. We all fear things. Whether it be our fear that we will fail a test, the fear that we may get hurt when snowboarding, fear that someone won't like you back, the fear we have of bugs *ahem worms*, or the fear that we may be embarrassed in front of a crowd. But aren't those fears kind of silly? Those fears are mostly linked to our human pride. We can get over those things. We can take classes and listen to lectures and learn about our fears, find the root of them and rip them out.
"If a man harbors any sort of fear, it percolates through all thinking, damages his personality and makes him a landlord to a ghost." ~Lloyd Douglas
And what about other deeper fears? The fear of the unknown. The fear of your future, the fear that you may not be good enough. The fear that you may make the wrong decision when choosing your future spouse, the fear that your children may choose to not obey, fear of the economy, the fear that you'll let a loved one down, fear of death. Fear that you won't make ends meet, and maybe you even fear yourself, because you know, you could turn out really wonderful.
Let's talk about another word beginning with F.
Faith.
"There is much in the world to make us afraid. There is much more in our faith to make us unafraid." ~Frederick W. Cropp
How do we rid ourselves of fear? Through faith. Through our trust in a higher being.
"He who has faith has... an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well - even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly." ~B.C. Forbes
We don't know everything that will happen tomorrow. We don't even know where we'll be at the end of this week. But I can promise you that if you dwell on your fears, and let them take over your thoughts, they will destroy you. I can also promise you that faith will make your fears small. Faith combined with action will make your fears dissipate. You will believe in yourself. You'll live up to your potential. You will look at the future and smile, trusting that God will take care of you, and that the fear you feel is not from Him.
"Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. And lo, no one was there." ~Author Unknown

Chopped

I feel like I should tell you about a lovely little "game" my family and I played on Labor Day. If you didn't know this... I love food network. It's the only thing I watch on TV. AND there is this great show called Chopped on late late at night. (My siblings and I would watch it during the summer when we had no responsibilities. sigh.) In any event, it's a show with four people each challenged to make three different dishes. The first round is the appetizer. They have three secret ingredients they have to use. They're judged and one person is "chopped". Then they do the entree. Someone is "chopped". It's super dramatic and quite entertaining. Then the last two make a dessert. Then you have a winner.
So we played this game. My parents shopped at Macey's while we ran around the store listening to bottles (more on that later) then judged our dishes when they were finished. We had teams:

Anne and G-man

Natalie and Cousin Daniel

Cami and Me (you may think I was at a disadvantage...but I was, I mean, wasn't.)

The two rounds included an Entree using: pork, red potatoes, water chestnuts and smoked canned oysters. Talk about sick. I shall curse those oysters for a long time. Anna and Garrett were chopped ever so dramatically (my dad is good at the whole "pretend you're on a TV show and act like a menacing host, pausing at all the right moments")
The next round we had to make a dessert with peaches (hard as rock, I might add), croissants, and red hot candy. Garrett was placed on my team since Cami decided she wanted to make her own concoction. Daniel and Natalie put up a good fight but in the end, Garrett and I pulled through.

We had a lot of fun, made a mess, washed lots of dishes, laughed and learned a lot! We're definitely going to be doing this more often. :)

Practical Happenings

I just keep thinking how great Fall is. I love the feeling of a brisk walk (up) onto campus, the cool air and crunchy leaves. Maybe I love fall so much because I've always enjoyed school, either way it's my most favorite season. October reigns supreme.
So school. School is really fun. I picked the most amazing major for me-FACS ED. That's short for Family and Consumer Science Education. That's long for a Home Economics Teacher. AKA. I'm going to teach foods in high school. Practically perfect if you ask me. In any event I'm loving my classes and loving the useful and practical things I'm learning...get it? PRACTICALLY perfect. LOVE this quote from Spencer W. Kimball, "The treasures of both secular and spiritual knowledge are hidden ones-but hidden from those who do not properly search and strive to find them...Spiritual knowledge is not available merely for the asking; even prayers are not enough. It takes persistence and dedication of one's life...of all treasure of knowledge, the most vital is the knowledge of God."
Also, I deleted my facebook. I'm serious when I say it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I suddenly have so much more time (imagine that!...don't worry, I still spent 14 hours on campus yesterday) and I am trying hard to work on my person to person relationships.
Write a letter to someone you love today. Remind them that someone cares for them.

Printed Pages

BYU bookstore has this great thing...a 75% off bargain section. Because goodness knows we (ahem...I) can't afford a regular priced book. I mostly buy cookbooks. However, the other day I came across one entitled, Where Books Fall Open a reader's anthology of wit and passion. I bought it. I'm really happy with it. It says it's for lovers of reading. I love reading.

"All good books have one thing in common-they are truer than if they had really happened, and after you have read one of them you will feel that all that happened, happened to you and then it belongs to you forever."
Ernest Hemingway

Fatigued? Maybe.

You know that feeling where you're completely exhausted, and your mind doesn't string complete sentences, let alone logical thoughts together? And your body is so sore you forgot you had certain muscles?

Well, that's how I feel. And, I love it.


(http://audreyhepburncomplex.tumblr.com)

I think this means I have an awesome life.