Tampons & Snow

I hate Rexburg.

I’m walking home from the grocery store (with Amber per usual).. with all my fruit, eggs, butter and tampons (so I’m already like in a super great mood).. wearing a skirt because I have work in a half an hour.. and it starts to snow (What the HAY it was sunny 10 minutes ago…..). And I’m just like; best day EVERRRR (all sarcasm intended)… and THEN this little red car pulls up and asks if we wanna ride. We just ran out into the street and hopped in their car! It was just some random cute engaged couple and their buddy (who happened to be from Henderson), that we’d never met before in our lives. And then I was like..

I love Rexburg.

(Even though the weather sometimes sucks.) Thanks random couple. You're super cute. 

"Reek of Honeymoon Love"

My Social Work teacher may or may not be the most adorable man on the planet…

On my way back to RX from Vegas an adorable older couple sat across from me. I couldn’t help but notice how precious they were- they were holding hands the whole time and just screamed super in love.. I even leaned over to the chick next to me to say how cute they were. I considered stopping to tell them that I want to be just like them when I grow up.. but refrained. Because they were older I wondered how long they’d been together and why they were so dang adorable, assuming they’d been together for a while. Anywho.. the next Monday I found out the man was my Social Work professor when we recognized each other from the plane on the first day of class. In his introduction of himself he explained that he had recently been married (everytime he talks about his wife he mentions his wife he tells the whole class that “Emily” sat across form them on the plane, again (which is embarrassing but so cute I don’t really care) . If that wasn’t cute enough today he brought her into class with him to introduce herself. The whole class was super excited and “aaaaahing” (prob because we’re a Social Work class- there are like 30 women and 3 men) and whatnot and asking questions about how they met and their dating. They were both widowed, after bring married for 37 and 38 years and found each other 3.5 and half a year after their losses, and talked about how hard it is to overcome that sorrow and mental block, and to learn to be alone again. She told the story about meeting him at a state fair while he was on a date with another woman and he insisted on having her come with him to his car to get a jacket for her because it was raining.  He says he didn’t know what possessed him but he wrote down his name and number on a piece of paper and stuck it in his jacket pocket before giving it to her and telling her “she was welcome to keep anything in the pockets”. She talked about how they stayed up all night talking on the phone for six hours, and she felt like it couldn’t have been more than sixty minutes and shared a story about him pulling over and jumping out of the car to run into a floral shop to buy her roses. I told them how cute they were, and how I could see it on the plane and he said they’ve had several people stop to say the same thing.. “I guess we kind of just reek of honeymoon love (old people honeymoon love is real! AND people who aren’t newlyweds can still be in love.. my grandparents are.)”

I DO want to be like them when I grow up! I can’t imagine how hard it would be to lose an EC in this life, and be left alone after being together longer than apart in this life. But God had a plan for their happiness that did not end when their beloved companions died. It just goes to show that even though Heavenly Father’s plan is not always what we have in mind.. he knows what he is doing. There is ALWAYS greater happiness ahead, even when we can’t see it around the corner. --Elder Holland's "Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead.... You keep your chin up. It will be alright in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come"--They are more in love than I think I've ever seen a couple, and are stronger, more developed people because of their experience being alone and dealing with loss.

PS: A man in my BOM class was relaying a story and was talking about his wife of 13 years and just said “and it was so cute.. she said “thank you”- I LOVE that he still thinks she is “so cute”.

Everyone is so flippin’ adorable today it hurts!

DISCLAIMER

Since no one is actually supposed to read this blog.. I have to express my awka tips I’ve gleaned from just the last four months of BYUI experience.. Soo *disclaimer*/ no judge zone.. k?

Lets talk about dating at BYUI for a second. 

 1st. People jump the gun.. in every way 

Tip 1: the phrase "I think you have a lot of future potential" isn't one that should be uttered on a first date

Tip 2: creating a Facebook fan site advertising  for “team (insert name)” versus “team (insert another dude’s name that wants to date the same poor girl) is not Appropriate

Tip 3: ring checks are an important part of this culture.. check first

Tip 4: Know who your friends are dating

Tip 5: Have a full convo with someone before asking them on a date.. or to marry you

Tip 6: The line “I don’t have time to talk to you right now, so can I just get your number” even from a hot foreign kid.. not acceptable

Tip 7: As good of a tactic as stalking is.. don’t do it

Tip 8: When you are on a date, don’t leave them to go talk to other girls (even if the other girl looks like better EC material or something)

Tip 9: Do NOT ask a girls for her FRIENDS number OR ask her to go out with your friend (she prob thought you wanted to ask HER out.. grow some balls and just ask her)

Example A: Today at the gym this guy in my bio class from Mesa, Arizona, came over to talk to me.. and then went home to tell his roomies he'd talk to a girl named Emily from Vegas. His roomie happened to be the guy who drove me and Austin to the airport two weeks ago.. so they called Austin. Austin called me to ask if i went to the gym today (this is my new fav phone call). Apparently the kid who came over to hit on me is his buddy from home. Hitting on your best friend’s girlfriend is more awkward when you still have biology with her for the rest of the semester

Good times at the BYUI dating scene.

Hope and Less Important Things:

The first week of the semester has been accomplished ;)

Referring back to my goal list..

1. (mental cross off of list.. instantaneous feeling of satisfaction) I got a job! Whoo hoo! Newest employee at the Student Records office in the graduation department. I work night shift as a processor .. degree audits and whatnot. I was pretty confident I wouldn’t get the job when they didn’t call me till the day after they said they would.. but faith restored! They did. It didn’t help my confidence level considering that when I walked in for the interview the front desk asked me what department’s position I was interviewing for and I had no idea (Please don’t tell the dude I’m interviewing with. Please don’t tell the dude I’m interviewing with).. real classy and prepared and whatnot. I know how to make first impressions.

2. Sooo.. Statistics and human biology will be hard. BUT my Bio teacher, Bro Wray is hilarious and really does love biology, which is super cool; I love teachers who love their subject. He keeps sharing random, relatively awkward human body facts that he says are great for date conversation. AND I have a girl statistics teacher! The majority of professors are guys, but Sister Moon is pretty adorable (her scripture for her class this semester is D&C45:62 “For verily I say unto you, that great things await you”- how cute/cool is that?!) I’m going to try extra hard to like bio.. its about the human body (I have one of those), so at least it’s applicable. And in statistics I’ll try not to end myself! Go team!! Whoo!

OH! PS.. My Social Work professor and his new wife (I learned in class) were totally sitting across from me on the way back to RX from Vegas after break. They may have been the most adorable old person couple I’ve ever seen. Newlywed mushiness has no age boundaries!

3. Yoga… was not a thing this week. BUT I did go to the gym three times! Which is rather out of character for me, who believes that the gym is for cool people who know how to work out and who are really attractive and stuff.  

4. Prayers are so full I got a new calling! Blessings? I am teaching Gospel Doctrine now instead of Relief Society (which I loved last semester). I will be teaching Old Testament.. Which may or may not partially be Heavenly Father’s way of striking me down (JK.. “All his (Emily’s) perils (callings) and travails will give him experience and be for his (Emily’s) good” D&C127) because I’ve always said it’s my least fav book of scripture. AND I get to talk in sacrament meeting tomorrow!

5. I think we’ve done pretty well in the hang out with random people department

                -I ended up getting pulled into speed dating when I was trying to enjoy my solitary time eating a cookie (yes I failed #6 mostly) .. and then re-met this kid whose name is Nolan (who is a body contortionist.. among other random things), who I sat next to at the plasma center a few weeks before! Me and Amber went and played Settlers of Cataan with him and his roomies after. Apparently he didn’t recognize me until later into the night when he told me he had thought I really didn’t like him. Apparently I was reading and he was trying to talk to me ** life lesson** be super nice to everyone who talks to you! Even when your book is super awesome and you feel like you’ve already filled the social chatting obligations. Anywho.. we brought four of our girlfriends over later that week to play games again. Apples to apples is my favorite but I must disagree with whoever decided that the cards you win represent your personality.. that idea never works in my favor (one of my cards was manly). PS. We have this super nifty jungle horticulture garden in the Benson I wasn’t aware of.. that I now am, thanks to these fine young men.

                -AND yesterday me and Amber (yes we are kinda attached at the hip- I promise I know how to function independently) met this cool kid named Sam. Sam does kung fu, and is from Cali .. and he came over for dinner (we made BOMB chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies) and we went to his house to make rice pudding and watch Charlie St. Cloud (highly depressing/ a little creepy, but otherwise pretty solid).

6 (stop eating cookies). Reference #5 (I don’t want to talk about it)

7-9. to be continued when I have something exciting to say about them.

More Important Things:
This Sunday I have the pleasure of talking about HOPE in sacrament meeting, this is a topic that I don’t necessarily feel super qualified to talk about because I’ve never really studied the meaning of hope. That is probably exactly why I was asked to speak on it.. and I have found that it’s a much less simple concept than I had previously thought:

I have had some really awesome conversations with some even cooler people about hope this week (including my cute dad), been reading up on it from talks by our prophets, and been looking up scriptures and dictionary definitions. Elder Uchtdorf’s talk “The Infinite Power of Hope” is beautiful!

After studying what hope is, one question in my mind is how to define the difference between Faith and Hope.. there is a difference but they can be and are used so interchangeably

-I love what Uchtdorf said about Hope & Faith: “Hope comes of faith,  for without faith, there is no hope.  In like manner faith comes of hope, for faith is “the substance of things hoped for.” 

                       If we don’t have faith or believe in anything.. we can’t have hope for joy ahead AND the things we have FAITH (faith leads to action.. to our obedience, to our charity..ect) in allow us to have HOPE for the joy ahead (including eternal life) of us

·      
 -     -LOVE this: “Hope is critical to both faith and charity. When disobedience, disappointment, and procrastination erode faith, hope is there to uphold our faith. When frustration and impatience challenge charity, hope braces our resolve and urges us to care for our fellowmen even without expectation of reward. The brighter our hope, the greater our faith. The stronger our hope, the purer our charity.”

·       -AND this: “No matter how bleak the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 2

The things we hope in sustain us during our daily walk. They uphold us through trials, temptations, and sorrow. Everyone has experienced discouragement and difficulty. Indeed, there are times when the darkness may seem unbearable. It is in these times that the divine principles of the restored gospel we hope in can uphold us and carry us until, once again, we walk in the light.

            I remember having a discussion with one of my favorite people, ZP, about the gospel and him questioning whether the reason our church has the principals it has is because they are pleasing to people, it gives hope and people like that.. OR because we know that the plan of salvation is a real plan. What sticks out to me now is the truth that my faith is not founded on my hope of joy one day. My hope is founded on my faith (belief- personal knowledge in what isn’t tangible) that God is real, personal revelation is a true tool we have to see into the windows of heaven, and Jesus Christ did die for me in order for me to one day be at the side of our Heavenly Father, again. I have this hope and this joy because I have faith in these principals. And my hope backs up my faith when it is being tested by this world.. it is not the foundation of faith, it is the effect.

-This is what happens what you type HOPE into the search bar on LDS.org (awesome, huh?): “Hope is the confident expectation of and longing for the promised blessings of righteousness. The scriptures often speak of hope as anticipation of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

-The word hope is sometimes misunderstood. In our everyday language, the word often has a hint of uncertainty. For example, we may say that we hope for a change in the weather or a visit from a friend. In the language of the gospel, however, the word hope is sure, unwavering, and active. Prophets speak of having a “firm hope” (Alma 34:41) and a “lively hope” (1 Peter 1:3). The prophet Moroni taught, “Whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God” (Ether 12:4).When we have hope, we trust God's promises. We have a quiet assurance that if we do “the works of righteousness,” we “shall receive [our] reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (D&C 59:23)”

                I love the phrase “anchor to the souls of men” .. Hope is that anchor.. it is what lifts us to feeling joy in our circumstance not because of them- just like Uchtdorf talked about in this last past conference. Hope is what gives me the surety that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my good. Because I have faith in a Heavenly Father who fulfils his promises, a savior who is my advocate, and a holy spirit who is working for my good, which leads me to obedience- I have HOPE (a surety and an expression of my longing) that my soul is guided not only in this mortal life, in the decisions I make here, but into the next- that my righteousness will bring me to live with my Father in Heaven, again.

Viva Las Vegas

 

I love being home! I had a week of using my mother as my built in shrink and got enough vitamin D to keep my happy till Iceburg finishes thawing out. This week was full of perfect days with the perfect amount of incidents.. Josh will have some cool stories to tell when he goes back to school Monday.

 





• We had a picnic at the park



 

•  Josh flew a kite



• We slacklined



 

 

•  Mom taught me how to make pupisa's 

 

• Me, Lu & Jo made a chalk mural while Mom went to work 

• I tanned.. a lot 

 

• I helped Jack ask Quinntana to prom with Q-tips 

 





• Josh cut his finger with a power saw (2nd ER trip of the week.. first being his fractured skull)





• Me and Quinny went shopping

• Lulu threw up.. a lot

• Me & Kaitie went swimming and she turned 19!! Yay :)

• Jack got his mission call

• We went to see captain 'Merica at the Galaxy (favorite place..)







 

 

 

 

 

 



• We climbed into an abandoned mine with our cute cousins





• We hiked into the anniversary narrows (This is my dad who I get to run and jump on as soon as I get home)



 

 



• Took lots of pictures (I just love these people so flippin much)

 

• And dyed some eastern eggs (the army of little egg people are mine & Lu's;)

 

 

 

 
 
 

He's Grown a Foot or Two!

 

 

 

Today Jack got his call! He's been called to labor in the Nampa, Idaho mission. Who has seen the movie "singles ward"!?.. the part where the kid opens his call to Boise, Idaho and the kid does his little, happy, "I've grown a foot or two & been called on a mission", dance... "I'm going to Nampa, Idaho! Woo hoo!!"
We really need him to reenact that for us.
We were all laughing so hard as Jack read his call. He is so excited and will be the best missionary ever. His mission covers part of Oregon as well as the Nampa part of Idaho. AND our Aunt Andy's house is across the street from his missions border. He's spent a large portion of every summer in Nampa, Idaho, every year since he was 12.. so that was a little bit of a shock.  

Just a few minutes after everyone leaving our house after the call, my adorable, dyslexic brother bounded into the other room with a panicked look on his face "Em, I think I read my call wrong".. "How the heck do you read Nampa, Idaho, wrong?".. He had read that he was to leave July 11th.. it's June 11th. oops ;).

I am so proud of him! There is no missionary that could do the work Jack is being sent to do, in the place he is being sent to do it, exactly the way it is meant to be done better than Jack. I loved Jack's AHA moment a few years ago after hanging around and working with some awesome Elder's in our ward for several weeks.. He just told us one day after being out on splits with them that if he could be a missionary like them (Elder Smith & Elder Sullivan), he doesn't care where he serves (states or foreign). And talked about the realization of how much harder it would be to make connections that matter, and serve people fully, in a completely different culture from his own. He will make the difference in the lives of the people he teaches and serves with because of his attitude & willingness to lift where he is standing wherever that happens to be and because his savior and he are standing with their arms around each other’s shoulders, as Jack acts as Christ’s hands on earth.

PS: My family has been joking that the reason Jack's call took so long to be assigned was because Heavenly Father was waiting for me to come home so I could be there for it.. whether he was or not I am so glad I was there to see his face! Hardcore tender mercies ;)

Home Again

Las Vegas is a beautiful place with some ridiculously cute people. Today I flew home for Spring Break! Two things I super love to do..1) Fly. Today’s flight was just a little bumpy.. just the way I like it. I feel like being thousands of feet of the ground traveling super-fast should be at least slightly jarring.. Free roller coaster! Whoo! AND 2) I can’t even express how much I love being home.

Things I love about coming home:

•  Awesome running jump attack Dad hugs

• Warm 90 degree Vegas wind

• WINCO is only 10 minutes away

• Hot tubbing

• Talking to my mom.. for hours

• That my Joshy is suddenly a man

• I get to drive my truck

• My home ward

• Listening to my Lulu (currently she has the hots for the mucho adorable Trevor Mohler)

• Quinny’s face

• Smelling Chlorine everywhere

• My parents feed me like I’m a starving child from a third world country

• Pot Roast

• Jack is there to constantly poke me

• My dad’s wheat bread (grandma made it today)

• I sleep in a Queen sized bed

• I don’t have to climb a latter into my bed

• Warmth

• It looks like spring

Holy Goodness look how cute they are.. Just wanna hug the crap outta them:

 

Anywho… I usually consider myself a pretty cool sister but today I lost some serious cool points. Me and Josh were having a dandy time riding our bikes to the park when they casually collided and we ate some pretty delicious concrete.  I scraped a good amount of flesh off my elbows and hip and whatnot and ruined my favorite t-shirt, but Josh went unconscious for a bit after scraping the skin off his head and fracturing his precious head. It was a frightening moment in my life.. but after last week’s ER trips, I felt fairly qualified to run, screaming my guts out, home for help. I am now a practiced emergency alert-er. After a CT scan the Doc told us there was no way he’d come home tonight, but after a priesthood blessing another Doc came and told us he was OK to come home. Priesthood power rocks my socks ;). Basically.. within the first 6 hours of me being home my  Josh had a concussion and we had made a lovely Sabbath trip to the ER. You’re welcome mom & dad.

Our poopy (& my tiny boo boo):

  

P.S: Last night we did a super nifty, crafty thing.. me and Austin made Dream Catchers :D. We went to Porter’s (craft store- fav. place basically EVER) and spent two hours wandering around figuring out what kind of Dream Catchers our Dream’s required.. and then made Dream Catchers till 2 am. FYI they are a lot more difficult to make than I may have assumed at one point in my life. I only sewed.. or tied or whatever I did- 9 triangles versus Austin’s 30 some odd.. and was sufficiently fed up with the whole process by the end of it. Happy ending.. we finished our respective catchers & they’re adorable & we are adorable.

Spring is in The Air

Tomorrow is the last day of my first semester! Yesterday it hit me and I just got super excited about next semester and the change it’ll bring. It will be spring & so it will be warm! Which I am so ridiculously happy about. This means everyday can be just a little more like yesterday (Sunshine, tanning, fro-yo with my neighbors & shopping at Lulu belles (got some super cute sweat pants). Every semester, or school year, or new year I decide I want the following semester, school year, year, to be one of personal growth.. which is a little redundant.. but hey! I want this next semester to be one of personal growth ;).

I have some goals & because I love to make lists, (and love to cross things off lists even more) I made one:

1.       Get a job

2.       Enjoy my classes (Even statistics & human biology)- like .. really

3.       Take up yoga

4.       Pray like I mean it

5.       Hang out with random people

6.       Not make cookies (everyyyday).. and maybe eat some fruit once in awhile

7.       Keep up my Book of Mormon journal

8.       Wake up for class everyday (even the 7:30 Lab Wednesdays)

9.       Use the Ride Board (magical site I didn't realize existed till now) when I wanna visit Vegas instead of flying down

BANG!

In Conference Elder Uchtdorf talked about being grateful in our circumstances not necessarily FOR them. He also talked about how the reason the “endings” in this life are hard is because we are eternal beings and are “made of the stuff of eternity”.. he continues “endings are not our destiny”.. eternity is (*super excited- I want that to be NOW, face*) ! The endings in this life are not permanent.. he was probably referring largely to those who experience the passing of those they love, but this spoke to me and “pricked (Jarom:12)” my little short-sighted self into remembering that the changes that are happening in my life are absolutely what is meant to be & for my good. Endings are the beginnings of brighter things in store for us each personally. Our lives are divinely inspired by an eternal creator who is in the details of them.                                    

Life Application: Yes, my boyfriend is going home to work with a neurologist so he stops having seizures and then probably hitchhiking it to Spain this semester.. while I stay here. This means no more sneaking onto the top of buildings, wandering around campus, chilling in the rafters of the gym, getting kicked out of trees, or other various places we don’t belong in, watching movies way too late, & making random foods, with Austin. BUT.. here, is where I’m supposed to be. There is a reason for everything. AND next semester is still gonna be super fun (just a different kind of fun) and I’m gonna like it! 

The Power of Dad

I just wanna put out a disclaimer on this whole post because I was very very tired last night. I slept like 4 hours the night before so was NOT mentally or emotionally stable..

I watched Insidious 2 last night, which is very out of character for me.. I detest any kind of horror movies. I have nightmares after watching murder mysteries (its a little ridiculous). But one of my favorite people, and roommate, Amber, held me to the couch for the first five minutes, and I’m no quitter so it HAD to be finished. Anywho.. that night after walking my seizure- prone Austin home, I went to bed and slept for a good two hours before waking up. Becky, my room- roommate.. happens to mumble in her sleep. So while lying in my bunk bed imagining murderous evil spirits across the room and whanot she was creepily mumbling that “no, she was not talking to herself”. After lying in bed for an hour, trying to muster the courage to get out of my bed and pee .. I did what any other rational ADULT would do. I called my daddy (at 3 am.. 2am Vegas time).. and made him talk to me for an hour. “Dad.. she flipping talks in her sleep (As I climb/fall out of my bunk bed)” .. basically crying about everything I expressed to him (again.. I was mentally exhausted.. or something). Luckily, my dad is the most patient man on the face of the earth and after laughing at me for awhile was a very attentive listener. After this hour long, very therapeutic, semi- super embarrassing sob sesh, I felt immensely better and then continued to watch the priesthood session till six am (listening to prophets, seers and revelators is an awesome evil spirit deterrent). I got a solid 4 hours of sleep before Austin came over to finish conference.

Morale of the story.. do not watch horror movies when you know you’re a baby and won’t sleep for the next 24 hours OR make sure you’re born to a very patient father

The ER & Blessings

Thursday night after leaving my house to go study, Austin fell asleep and had a really random, probably stressed induced seizure. Luckily it was still early so his roommate was awake watching movies in their room and noticed. His roommates carried him out to the truck and to the ER! Anyways.. the next night we watched Arthur (which btw is super funny) and then we dozed off and when I woke up he was seizing again, on me! I shook him for a second, freaking out a bit, before dragging or pushing or whatever I did, to get him on his side on the floor. I ran in and got his roommates, and one of them pulled the truck up outside to take him to the ER. Once he was done seizing he was just unconscious and disoriented. Brian called his mom, and I got to talk to her for the first time.. best first convo with you boyfriends mom.. EVER. Not. I just stood there holding his head up in his wheel chair until the nurse came and got him a room… you know that scene from Princess Bride where Fezzik is holding up Westly’s head after he’s been tortured and was “mostly dead”, and it just kinda lolls around when he lets go.. well it definitely wasn’t funny.. but I did have to laugh just a little at this point (now that I wasn’t hyperventilating, and everything was relatively OK). Eventually I got to sit with him (he was pretty precious) until they finished giving him anti-seizure meds and we got to take him home.

I was home by 430am feeling super blessed that I was there for the whole thing, and that he was in his lounge with someone to notice, instead of on his way home from driving me home, or some other more unfortunate circumstance (HAPPY). AND good news.. I was still up in time to start watching General Conference this morning which was awesome and edifying and whatnot (and I got to eat cookies and am still in my PJ’s which is pretty happy too). Elder Rasband (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch?lang=eng) talked about the promise our Elder Brother and Savior made to the righteous in D&C84 that “I will go before your face.. and mine angels round about you, to bear you up”. I felt pretty beared up last night, and know that if Heavenly Father wasn’t the details of our lives I wouldn’t have had people there to help me when I needed it. 
                                                                                                     (Pretty presh)

Why I love BYUI or BYUI-do or Iceburg or whatever else you wanna call it:

 

1.    Why I love BYU Idaho personified by Professor Brother Dietz: Every morning this guy comes into class and says “Goodmorning, Noble & Great Ones!” Today after our class was started with a prayer (as in EVERY class on campus) he began his lesson by declaring that “The war is real, and we as the youth of the Church of Jesus Christ are the Generals.” He told us with all the spiritual fervor this statement deserves that there are people waiting for each of us, specifically, to help them to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We each have people who NEED, specifically, our friendship in order to stay close to their Heavenly Father, or receive the gospel at all, or take a step on their path to their personal spiritual conversion. He concluded his expression “in the name of Jesus Christ”, before he continued on to explain the final expectations he has for our essay due Monday.

2.    I also want to mention that in almost every room you walk into in my school there’s a picture of Jesus Christ on the wall. Jesus is always watching me.. AND it is awesome & happy.

3.    Here’s one thing that’s not my favorite about BYUI.. I’m not supposed to wear shorts. Scratch that.. I’m not even supposed to wear capris’. Ankles are a wee bit risqué here. And toes. Flip flops are also on the list of “Thou shall not wear..”. But on the bright side I go to a school that actually cares about the way their students present themselves.. sweat pants on campus are a no go. And leggings are NOT pants, as a very tactful professor told me last week when I ventured out of my apartment in them. Every time I hate these rules I just remember Jesus is in every class room.. so ankles’ really aren’t that great anyways.

4.    I do personally detest that our school has earned the name BYU-I DO, but have to say that another awesome thing about BYUI is that there are cute married people everywhere. Seriously. Couples EVERYWHERE. Several couples you’re acquainted with get engaged every weekend without fail. It’s really weird to go to a college where in order to talk to a guy it’s essential to first do a ring check.  But it is something I can now say I’m quite proficient at doing, subtly (at least I pretend I’m subtle about it). One of my favorite people ever made me aware of the uniqueness of our university by asking if I “realize that I go to a school where there’s nothing better to do than get married?!” I do realize that and if we’re being real about it I love that here at BYU-Ido, we have our priorities straight..  finding an EC (Eternal Companion;) is a pretty important thing to do even if some of us “noble & great one’s” are a little over the top about it.

5.   Another thing I don’t like but am still putting on this list because it’s awesome.. Rexburg or Iceburg.. is freezing. Which could attest to the excessive amount of couples and the outlawing of ankles. Maybe everybody just gets married so they have a constant cuddle buddy.. body heat is important. And our administration is just a little worried about frost-bitten exposed ankle parts. I am from the “god blessed state of” NV (I stole the “god-blessed” part from my Boyfriend who happens to have a lotta state pride directed at the “god-blessed state of Arizona”) specifically, the paradise section of Las Vegas right on the border of Henderson. Anywho.. I live where cold means 60 degrees and hot means 120. I didn’t know -7 degrees was a thing, but now am much less of a wassananney (Mom’s word) in regards to weather.
  

The Drops of Awesome that started my Bucket of Happy:

"Drops of Awesome"- Has anyone read this blog? ( http://www.daringyoungmom.com/2012/12/19/drops-of-awesome/ ) because it has basically blown my mind and changed the way I look at my life. Kathryn, the author of this blog has this epiphany,

"Drops of Awesome! I thought. Every time you do something good, something kind, something productive, it’s a drop in your Bucket of Awesome. You don’t lose drops for every misstep. You can only build. You can only fill." I love this concept! From here I decided that I need to give the daily things I do in my life some more credit.

I am terrible at keeping a journal.. I’m a note taker. Which sounds super lame. I always have this little black book in my bag that I geekily pull out and take write down whatever I hear that hits me. If it was said within my hearing and it affects me- it's in my little book. Which is great.. BUT what has hit me recently is that I need to get better and writing down my own epiphanies and insights about my life. In sacrament meeting, a speaker was talking and expressed his thought that it’s important for us as individuals to not write down just what other people say, but the thoughts and impressions we have as they are said. This was really inspiring! And so of course, me, being me, wrote this statement down word for word before I realized the irony of the situation and crossed out my very carefully written quotation. Over it I scribbled my personal break- through that I need to do better at writing MY own story.

My problem is I can never bring myself to write down the things that happen in my life to me, personally, that impact me. I never write down when I do something awesome with my roommate, or go on the best date ever, or have the best spiritual epiphany, or teach the best lesson, or have the coolest conversation with my mom. Those are things I really want to remember, and I don’t want to start writing them down too late.

In my head these daily things don’t seem epic enough to be written down, but this whole idea of “Drops of Awesome”, to me, means that anything good, kind, productive, anything that makes me happy needs to be remembered. These daily adventures in Rexburg Idaho, that usually don’t include life altering decisions, or ground- breaking breakthroughs, are all drops in my bucket of happy.