Twas the night before Christmas..

And all through the house, 

Not a creature was stirring, 

Not even a chocolate cherry mouse.

Traditions are what makes each family unique during the holidays.

We all celebrate the birth of our Savior,

but what traditions do you have? 

My sister and I run around the yard barefoot 

screaming MERRY CHRISTMAS!! :).

Sweet Pea

So as any college student knows..it's finals week. So I looked something like this:

But then I received some lovely Christmas presents from my lovely friends..

 Flowers from J.T. and Steve!!

 Sweet Pea candle from Mike

 Princess Bride DVD from Jen..

She also gave me a boyfriend that I can grow!! ( I actually asked Santa for one this year how'd she know??)

So then I looked something like this:

Happy finals week :). Hang in there and watch for the little things.

Breaking Dawn

I may or may not be admitting that I waited in line for hours to see the midnight premiere..

I also may or may not have dressed up as Jane.

What happens when Banner crashes

After a second night of anxiously waiting to register for classes, I was ready to just get it over with. I really needed to get into English 2010 and a couple other necessary courses. In order to do this I would need to register in the first three minutes after it opens at midnight. This is what occurred two hours into Banners server crash.

I drew a face that represented banner and proceeded to punch it, sit on it, stamp it, and crumple it.

"Death is too easy for Banner!"

You have now experienced firsthand the rampages of a college student when they are forced to stay up waiting for a server that has crashed.

Feel free to laugh, I did.

Sippin Cider

As I sit here sippin my cider in the cafe, one part from his letter plays over and over in my head.
"So I am going to ask now what may be to you a stupid question. That part you wrote about standing on the cliffs with a boys arms around you...was that a hint? That's all I'm going say."

Well dear Elder, You're catching on :).

Tender Mercies.

I have a friend, a very close friend. This person is one of the most in-tune-with-the-spirit people I have ever met, and he's not even LDS. He knew exactly what a friend of mine needed. An anonymous letter that broke her down to the deepest, most humble place she's ever been. Heavenly Father loves ALL of us. Even this person. I got to witness a minor miracle that night with her. Heavenly Father had needed someone to start the spark...and I didn't listen. It humbled me as much as it humbled her. His plan is for all of us, and sometimes what he asks us to do is not what we want to do, but it's what we need to. I'm so grateful for this gospel, for my heavenly parents, and for patriarchal blessings. It's time I get back into the work.

Shake that.

I don't care if this song is so last season, because every day I'm Shufflin.

I did it.

I really did it.

I wrote on his wall.

His brother just got home today from his mission.

Even though Brennan's not a part of my life anymore, I still care.

I had to tell him congrats.

So I wished him and his family......

.........

And Lindsay well.

And I meant it.

The errand of Angels.

So last weekend was a mix of pain, drama, and absolute fun. For one thing, I got a quite splendid letter from we know who that had one specific quite splendid line, " Just wait till I take you back here to the Adirondacks(NY mountains)." He wants to take me back! So speaking of the newest boy who took me on that long date? I ended that this weekend. As you saw from my last post I had drama with Abbie, but we've resolved it.

During all this I just so happened to receive a package..:). From an anonymous wonderful girl. She sent me a survival package as part of a pen pal assignment one of our blogger friends created. It included quotes, a book, and other great things to make a girl feel great. She seriously has touched my life in ways I never knew a person I've never met could. We still are friends keeping in contact sharing stories and just keeping our heads above the water. Sometimes, I just really can't get over how much I love my heavenly father.

Cute nail polish to make me feel cute

Quotes!

More quotes!

 

 

Ps. Notice my new smaller than normal eyebrows.

Patience.....So not happening

There are some people that just rub you wrong, and then there are some people that you flat out can't stand. My roommate "bestie friend" is that person. And don't worry, she knows it. But that's not stopping her. According to her, being a selfish person is acceptable because "that's just the way she is". About fifteen minutes ago we got home from the store. I asked her to bring me in the soap so I could wash my hands. Heaven forbid I ask her to bring me the soap. Her response, "I just don't see why you can't do it." See? If you know me at all that is the complete opposite of everything I stand for. It has gotten to the point to where I am starting to loathe her. It's making me feel terrible for having such strong feelings for someone, but she's one of the most manipulative people I've ever met. The soap thing is so minor in comparison to everything else, but it's just an example of how often this occurs. I told her when we were in Idaho that if she couldn't learn to be more caring and considerate then I couldn't be her friend. Well here I am and she refuses to change. If you are wondering why I am her roommate in the first place, well she signed my name as her roommate and it was either be her roommate or live somewhere else. She says I'm making her my slave driver cause I asked her to bring me the soap. uuugghhh. I told her I don't want to be her friend. She said she will leave me alone cause I'm obviously sensitive right now. Well I guess I've been sensitive for a while now cause I've been saying the same thing over and over.

What do I do???????

Paint dance...OH YEAH!

So there's this thing called a paint dance...

It's sort of amazing :).

People everywhere.

Suffocation and crushing of limbs is all part of the thrill.

Canons of paint soaking you you head to toe.

Riding on the shoulders of my guys.

Having a painted beard...

Yeah, I loved it.

Squashmore??!!

College.
Yep I'm back at the old Utah State University.
So far I'm liking this year a whole lot.
I like my apartment and have had some great social experiences amongst my first weeks.
I even got my first date of the season!! Yep. Kind of a cool story I think I'll share the overview with you :).

I met him in line at the Institute dance (all dressed up in my 80's outfit).
He got my number.
We sang karaoke.
We danced.
We watched people lose it on the dance floor (seriously I'm pretty sure this one couple would have consummated a baby had they not had clothes protecting them).
He texted me.
He called.
We planned our first date.
He texted me every day all day in between.
We went on our 12 1/2 hour date.
We played the piano and sang for hours.
I met is family.
I went  on my first motorcycle ride with his dad (also a business professor here).
We walked and talked.
We doubled up to watch Harry Potter and eat.
We fought over a pillow.
We finished my astronomy assignment picking out constellations.
He came to the football game with me and my friends.
Now he still texts me everyday.
We plan on going on a second date.
I'll eat lunch with him tomorrow.
He's shy and very slow with relationships.
So we are friends.
But friends are good :).

Yadda yadda yadda.

So much has been on my mind lately.
A lot of it is admittedly stressful.
I've been blessed to have gone through a long period where I didn't feel much at all.
Right now there's an overload.
Viewer discretion is advised: I'm going to list many of the things that have been on my mind good/bad.

MONEY. 
MONEY,
MONEY!!
Friends.
Goodbyes.
Will they even miss me?
I'll miss them.
People are selfish.
But I love them.
I can't wait to see my friends at Logan!
My mom.....
MONEY.
Will he be ok?
Did my cyst go away?
Are we going to make it?
JOB.
My anxiety.
New friends?
Good friends?
Dates?
He promised me one :).
Starvation..
Packing.
Insomniac.
7:30 am classes.
Can't fail again.
What a friendly bank teller.
Such a good letter!!
He wants to impress my family.
Slow and steady.
Big sis.
Can I do this?
Girl talk :).
Goodbyes...or see ya laters?
Back on the meds (ADD)
Side effects.
Sleep?
........
I CAN do this.



   

Ore-ington

So in case you missed my absence, I've been in a place I love more than any other: 

The Oregon/Washington coast.

It's absolutely gorgeous. 

I find it a source of Therapy. 

We started out our journey in New Port Beach, Oregon

  

It was a little windy but breathtaking as you can see. 

After that we continued up the coast and hit up multiple Oregon beaches.

  As you can see Oregon's beaches are characterized by their beautiful rock formations. 

This last one is my favorite:

Haystack rock at Cannon beach.

You can walk up close and see tide-pools.

We stopped in Seaside Oregon where there was a store with the name....

.....

SERENDIPITY!!

        Seaside has a very cool beach with swingsets

and eve a life guard on duty!

After a thrilling adventure we made our way
to my birthstate Washington.

Char and I with uncle Steve at the Port Angeles pier

Can't go to Sequim without a Frugal Burger, or in my case, a halibut burger.

Hurricane Ridge: this picture does it no justice.

Picked up some Canadian hhitchhikers on the way back, pretty cool eh?

Had dinner with our very tall cousins.

Day 2 in Washington, Uncle Steve decided to take us to
Sol Duc Hot Springs (which smells like eggs)!!
After that we visited with an old friend of my Dad's
and then off to Charlie and Bozena's for dinner.
Their 4 year old lily was absolutely adorable.
She was shy at first,
but after about 3 minutes,
she was absolutely attatched to me.
She wouldn't let go of me (so cute)
and her mom had to coax her off of my lap
for dinner.
When it was time to leave
Lily was very sad. 
Her mother had the idea
to give me a present to remember her.
I had mentioned that my favorite book
as a kid was
Goodnight Moon.
She remembered and gave it to me :).

The only time you will see a stop light in the mountains.

You caught me, I'm a tree hugger.

Her face is my favorite.

Hot springs!!

 Lily in the middle :).

 She wouldn't let go of my legs begging me to stay.

What a fun family.

Who doesn't stop to get a picture next to a septic tank?

Yep you see right. There's a whole store dedicated to Twilight memorabilia in Port Angeles. 

Love my Grandpa.

My favorite swing. If you look close you'll see the remnants of a jump rope I left there when I was five. My grandpa kept it :).

 The beach property on the Straits.

Grandpa trying to catch some smelt.

 Gotta love my Granpa's sweater and welly's.

The next day we were off on our journey home; starting with a day trip to Seattle!

 Char and I on the ferry.

I saw this ship and zoomed in to see sailor men in the full on uniform! I wanted to meet them sooo bad.

Pike place market!

If you were thinking that these men look like Russian sailors you would be correct :).
They gave me a magnet as a gift and invited us to their ship the next day; if only I could have convinced my mom.

Yep I met the sailors that I had previously seen from afar longingly by chance.

We had to get one more picture of the ship those fine young men sailed on.
Well that about sums up my experience.
Quite an adventure.
It was so nice to see family.
I just wish we had had more time,
but that leaves more things to do next year :).