School

Well an update on the school status. Through no merit of my own I got in for Spring semester at BYU-Idaho. I sent my application home with my neighbor who was here visiting her family and she gave it to my family and then my mom took it in Monday morning. Turns out, the deadline was a week after school started, so I was accepted that same day and after having the credit restriction block removed I registered for class and started Tuesday. It worked out that I was going home that weekend and I could get my books. So that was two weeks ago. Last week I went and bought a laptop. It's so pretty. :) I looked in Rexburg and Idaho Falls for the red one I wanted but couldn't find it. I finally decided to just give in and get a boring black one. I went to the Wal-Mart in Orem and bought it, but when I got home and opened the box it was the RED one!! Hurray! It seems that I'm a little rusty on the whole school thing. Online classes are a bit different so it took some time to adjust, but I think I'm getting it down. And now I can even watch the videos. If you ever decide to go back to school for a couple classes at BYU-I, make sure they take of the "Alumni Student" status or you won't be able to watch the videos online for your classes. That was frustrating, but we finally got it figured out.
And now to just keep plugging along. I think the History will be okay. It's actually very interesting. The Statistics on the other hand is gonna be a struggle, but I can do it. :) And today it's sunny and very Spring looking. Love it. What a great day to be alive.

Wedding Bells

Too bad they aren't mine. Last weekend I went to Idaho for my cousin JB's wedding. It was great. I went a day early and surprised my mom and dad. I got to help with the wedding favors, go to the movies with my sister and cousin, stay up late watching my new favorite TV show Fringe with my cousin, and meet family I've never met before. My cousin JB and his family are from Washington and the last time I saw them was when I was about 3 years old. Being three I couldn't remember them at all and their two youngest kids I had never met. JB and I wrote to each other on our missions and when we got back he came to school at BYU-I so I got to know him a bit there. His oldest sister Lillie came to a family reunion a while back so I had met her. His other sister Carli stopped at our house on her way to visit a friend in Arizona, but the two youngest and my aunt and uncle remained only names and faces on the annual Christmas card.




It was so fun to meet them! I only saw them briefly at the temple and the dinner afterward, but lucky us (unlucky them) they got a flat tire on their way back to Washington and had to stop at our house while we tried to find a place to get a new tire on Easter Sunday in Idaho. We had a great time chatting and I feel like I really missed out as a child, not having this family closer.
It was a great weekend and the ride home with my cousin Jamee was icing on the cake. We had a great discussion about Christ and the power of His atonement. It was very fitting for Easter Sunday and really opened my eyes and helped me understand many things better.
I'm s grateful for the Savior and His atonement for me. His willingness to sacrifice everything for me so that I can repent of my shortcomings, learn, and progress to return to live with my Heavenly Father. What a beautiful time of year.

Change is good

Procrastination. One of my greatest enemies. I know I am not alone in that. This past week the evilness of my procrastination really came out and laughed in my face, mocking me for my laziness.
I have been planning on going back to school for a while. I didn't know where or what but I knew I needed to go back. I finally got the what down (education) and then only needed the where.
I asked around for suggestions on online universities and got glowing reviews for Western Governors University. I decided on that. I prayed about it, looked into it a bit and then did nothing. I finally got a kick and asked myself "If you already have the answer, why aren't you doing anything?" Duh Cathy. And so I decided I wanted to start in May. They start there semesters the 1st of every month, and still I didn't apply. Why? I have no idea. It wasn't anything difficult. Finally I got an email that said, "If you want to start in May you have to have everything done by April 18th." I finally got on the ball.
I filled out the application, paid the fee, talked to an enrollment counselor, had my transcripts sent it, and then I waited. And then, the horribleness of my procrastination came running at me with teeth barred, ready to bite away all my ambition. "We're sorry. You do not meet the pre-reqs for this program."
"I don't what!?" It's true, no history in college came back to bite me. And that one trig class that I struggled through? Not enough. 4 classes short. 4! So now I have to take 3 history classes and statistics. Now as disappointing as that is at anytime, I feel that if I had not procrastinated, I would have been a little less frustrated. BYU-Idaho has all the classes I need online. Set-back, their Spring semester starts this Tuesday the 19th. And so I've been filling out an application for the continuing education program, running around getting interviews with the Bishop and the Stake. Trying to figure out how to get it there the very fastest possible and praying that because it's only online classes they won't make me wait until the Fall.
I know it is completely my fault if I have to wait until Fall. If I had applied a month ago or more when I first decided, I would have had no problem applying for Spring. To make matters worse, I went for my interview with the Bishop this morning, only to discover that my records were moved this week, since all the student wards are being completely redone. The bishop signed my paper anyway and I hope there are no problems, but if there are, it's all my fault.
As I was in the temple on Thursday evening, sitting in the Celestial room, pondering what I was suppose to be learning, and why, if I had gotten the answer that this is what I was suppose to do, it wasn't working out? This is the answer I got, "Don't procrastinate," (I think that one was me talking) and "It is what you are suppose to do, but are you going to give up just because it isn't as easy as you thought it would be? Are you going to quit because it's hard? When things are expected and asked of you, are you going to say no because it's too much work?" (I don't think that was me)
My answer was no. I'm not going to give up. Sure this is going to throw off my entire plan, but since when do my plans ever go how I want? Since never. I obviously don't know what's best for me and all I can do is put my trust in the one person who does know what's best. God. He has never let me down, never left me alone, and never led me astray. I'll be okay. Change is good. Even unexpected change.

Conference

I love General Conference! I always feel so great and ready to take on the world after it's over. Also the mission reunions now associated for me with Conference are always a highlight. It's fun to get together with other people who served in the same mission. It's getting to the point now where I don't know over half of the people since they served after I left, but it's always great to see President and Sister Mellor. I love to hear the messages they have for us.

This is the quilt that our mission president's wife made out of everyone's ties.

Sunday we woke up to a lovely surprise.


I was obviously unprepared for such a surprise.

The messages shared in conference were so amazing. The spirit that can be felt is a testimony to me of the truthfulness of the gospel and of the messages shared. There are always ways everyone can improve themselves in life, but it's always nice to have a little hint and push in the right direction.
I have a testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know it is God's true church restored to the earth today. I know that God calls modern day prophets to be His mouth piece here on earth. What a blessing to have the opportunity to listen to a prophet of God.

Hello? Spring?

Here it is the end of March and it's still freezing cold. The joys of living in Utah. These last couple of weeks of March have been fun. Two weekends ago I went home and we celebrated my brother David's birthday. BYU-Idaho had their Guitars Unplugged show for the semester and I went to the end of that after a fabulous dinner with my friends Denae and David. The Guitars show wasn't anything to talk about, I actually only made it for the last two songs. I have decided that it is more depressing than fun to go and visit there anymore. I don't get to participate and I only know 3 people. It's just sad sometimes and easy to want to live in the past.
This past weekend was a blast though! My brother Kevin, my sister Julie, and my cousin Jamee came down for the Festival of Colors. For those thinking, "what the heck is that?" It's a religious celebration for Hindu's. In Salem, Utah there is a Krishna temple and they have this huge Spring celebration. You go and throw colored chalk at each other and welcome in spring. There is singing and dancing and lots and lots of chalk. I obviously was going for the entertainment of throwing chalk seeing as how I don't believe the same things, but we weren't sacrificing animals or hurting anyone. No one was preaching to me, trying to convert me. We had a blast. Utah did try to ruin it with it's freak snow storm, but aside from being a little windy it was fine. Our feet did get a bit cold from standing in the snow and the hill side was quite muddy after the first throwing.



Sunday was an amazing day. Our Relief Society lesson was so great. The lesson was on Elder Anderson's talk "Never Leave Him". The comments that were made were so insightful and it was just so uplifting to be there. There are so many struggles we go through and many times we don't even realize that the person sitting next to us really needs someone to reach out to her and take her hand and just listen, or just sit for that matter. After church we had Break the Fast. That was fun as I sat down and talked with a girl from my ward who is in school to be a teacher. Since that's what I'm going back for it was good to listen to her insights on schooling and her different worries and struggles. After Break the Fast I went to visit my friend Camille who just had a baby. It's always so great to see Camille. If anyone can make you feel like a million bucks, she can. Her new baby girl is so precious and her little boy is so funny. Walking around, exploring everything and just loving everyone.

This is the quilt I made for her new baby.
After visiting Camille it was a race to Ward Prayer. I've never been a big fan of ward prayer. I still think it's kind of silly, but since it's my calling, I go. And since I was being "spotlighted" I definitely had to go. After ward prayer my hometeachers taught me. It was a very excellent lesson on Elder Uchtdorf's talk "Looking for the Good". Sometimes in life it's so easy to see the bad, but if we will take the time and put forth the effort to look for the good, whether it's in our job, school, in people, whatever, we will find it.
In a nut shell, Sunday was fantastic and I learned a lot.
Monday. My friend Katie had tickets to the Jazz game and her husband had to work so we got a babysitter for her kids and went. I think the highlight of the evening was going to the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake to eat dinner and running into the filming of a Disney Channel Movie. Walking down the sidewalk and seeing these big cameras and all the equipment. Seeing the place decorated for Christmas. It was so fun. We went and ate at Costa Vida and when we were done we went and watched the filming for a while. Katie, who is a veteran Disney Channel watcher, since she has kids, identified two of the actresses as being from Good Luck Charlie. Poor people, it was so cold outside, and although it was a Christmas movie, the movie is set in Vegas so there weren't any coats.


After watching for 5 or 10 minutes we headed to the game. Neither of us are really that into basketball and we don't know anything about either team. We watched and had fun and then left early to avoid traffic. The Jazz lost, but we had loads of fun.

March

Here it is halfway through March and I haven't posted anything. There's a good reason for that. Nothing has happened. I got a cold last week. I suppose that's something new but not very exciting. I did go to the Midway Ice Castles with my friend Sarah. They were kinda melty but still really cool.


I sang in the CES fireside. It was fun getting texts from people saying "Hey! I saw you!" My favorite was my friend Laura calling me. It's always good to get to talk to her. Really I'm straining my brain here trying to think of something I've done. I started the process of being a temple worker last night. Now i just wait to hear back from the Stake President and then the temple so that will be fun. Also, I'm going back to school! Better get going on the applying part or I won't be going as soon as I would like.

Como te quiero

I really want a nap and it's pretty cold my fingers are almost numb but I just don't want to wait any longer to write about my CRUISE! It was a blast and I would recommend it to anyone.
Friday we headed down to St. George where we stayed the night with Aubrey's friend Janae. She has two adorable kids and it was nice to not have such a long drive. I was out cold in about 2 minutes. We left Saturday morning and headed to Vegas. The other girls were hungry so we set out in search of a buffet. They ate and then we went and got tickets to The Lion King. Can you say amazing? It was SO good.

We were sitting at the very back and were afraid they wouldn't be good seats, but they were excellent. We could see everything just fine and it was so fantastic.
That night we stayed with Aubrey's friend from the mission, Margie. I didn't sleep very well that night but what are ya gonna do?
Sunday morning we were up early and on the road to San Diego. We made it there with no trouble and with plenty of time to spare. It was a bit surreal that we were actually there. And then we were off! Now I've always been one to get motion sick. As a baby my mom made sure she had an extra change of clothes handy because it could be planned that I would get sick and puke all over the place. To this day I can't read or do anything but sit really, in a car, train, plane, and it turns out a boat. The first night I was feeling pretty miserable. At dinner I sat with my water glass to my face and only ate soup, but it was good. Gazpacho Andalouse! Andalucia was my mission and I had gazpacho a few times on the mission so that was fun. We went to our room after dinner and were in bed by 9:30. Half a dramamine was a must everyday sometimes twice a day for the rest of the trip.
Monday was exploring the ship. We got up early and went running (good thing we were at sea level or I probably would have failed miserably), breakfast on the Lido deck and then off to get to know people on the trip. Lunch at the buffet, a nap (dramamine makes you tired), dinner, and a show.
Tuesday we were in Cabo. We got off the ship and walked around Cabo to our shore excursion. We went snorkeling. They took us out on a Catamaran, about a 45 minute trip, and then we were into the water. On the way we saw a couple of whales, but of course missed taking pictures. The Snorkeling was FREEZING. I was the first to jump in the water and it was so cold. Once you went numb it wasn't bad. :) We saw lots of fish and had a great time.


That night was the formal dinner so we got all dressed up. After the dinner we got to go and meet the captain of the ship.

Wednesday was another day in Cabo. We decided to be adventurous and went parasailing! It was amazing! While up in the air we saw a sea turtle and a hammerhead shark. It was fantastic. After the parasailing we went to Lover's Beach and played in the sand and surf. It was beautiful and I had a blast.




That night we watched the sunset and then went to a big dance. The next morning we got up so early to see the sun rise. It was beautiful.

Dinners were always fantastic. Naps and wandering around. Our "Bachelor" video, giggling fits, new people, phase 10, Aubrey flirting with every Filipino and Mexican we saw and just having such a blast. It was a great trip!