Winter!

So it seems that winter has finally come here in Utah. I woke up this morning to a weather forecast of 27 degrees as the high today. I loved it, but this means I will have to do some shopping :) O well.

Thanksgiving break was nice. Very relaxing and it was good to see people that I haven't seen in a few months.

The semester is coming to an end and the stress is comin on. I have a ten page research paper due on Monday, and three finals to start studying for. It will be a very interesting few weeks. Can you die from stress?? I hope not...

Well, I am an aunt now!! My half-brother's wife Kelli had the baby. It was a little girl and they named her Kayden McKenzie. She was three weeks early so she was only 5 lbs but there were no complications and bot Kelli and Kayden are doing well. I will get to see them after Christmas, so I am excited about that. And excited to spoil her!!

Well it's my night for dinner tomorrow so I need to go do a little grocery shopping!

6 DAYS!!!

K so I just wanted to get on real quick and say how excited I am to come home!!! Only 6 more days!!! It will be so nice to come home and see everyone and just relax for a little bit. I can't believe I have been away from home for 3 months! Thank you all for the support you've given me while I've been away. It has helped me be ok with not being home! See you soon!

Life is a Rollercoaster

LIFE is a rollercoaster- and a never-ending one at that. Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely loving life right now. School is going great, the weather is still nice, my ward is way fun, I have amazing friends, and life is just great. I do, however, feel like these last few weeks have been GO! GO! GO! and no time to just sit and relax. There has always been a test to study for, a party to go to, a paper to write, an FHE to plan, visiting teaching to do, dinner to make, working out to do, the usual around-the-house things, plus some bigger things on top of that...like stalker-boy in our apartment... and other various things. And maybe it's just me, but I have been TOTALLY thrown off by daylight savings time this year. It gets dark so dang early and I start getting tired when it gets dark! That's not so helpful when it gets dark at 5:30... SO anyways... Needless to say, I am exhausted and SO looking forward to coming home for 8 DAYS for Thanksgiving!!! The holiday couldn't have come at a better time for me :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!!!!

So I am going to copy an idea I got from a friend and wish Megan a HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY!!! I can't believe she is already 16.... Crazy how time flies. I have had so much fun growing up with her and have so many good memories!! She is one of the most entertaining, beautiful, fun, outgoing, and considerate people I know and I miss her SO SO SO much!! Happy Birthday Megan!! I hope you have an awesome SWEET 16!! Can't wait to see you in a few days!! I LOVE YOU TONS!!! <3

...Mid-Morning Visitor...?

So when I say mid-morning visitor, what I really mean is early morning... as in 4 AM. Last night, my roommate and some of her friends fell asleep on the couch watching TV and she woke up this morning when she heard someone walking around the apartment. He walked over, looked at everyone who was asleep on the couch, picked up a set of keys off the coffee table, crouched down behind the couch, and then walked out. So she woke everyone up to take them home, and realized that he had picked up her keys off the table... So now this random person that no one knows has a key to her car AND to our apartment... Comforting thought, right?... Not so much... She was able to use a friend's car to take everyone home. So then she came in and woke me up to tell me what happened. Needless to say, she slept in my room with me. Except neither of us could go back to sleep. So as I said, a random man has the key to our apartment and Mataya's car... obviously not the safest situation in the world. So we called the University Parking Enforcement and asked them to boot her car so that if he tried, he wouldn't be able to drive away in it. Then, because it's Saturday, we had to call the emergency number for our management company and tell them what happened. She was understanding and called a locksmith to come change the lock and deadbolt on our door and make us all new keys. Unfortuately, I was home by myself during all of this and was scared out of my mind that he was in the apartment. I think I probably checked the closets and bathrooms about 17 times (Apparently once wasn't enough). Thankfully, the locksmith came within about 2 hours and was able to replace the locks. We have now decided that the door stays locked 24/7...

Just Be Happy

Halloween was pretty fun. Mataya, Sarah and I dressed up as eskimos-the perfect costume for a Utah night. The costumes were way cute. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures because my camera is broken and in the process of being fixed. So just use your imagination! :)

So I had a revelation the other day that I wanted to share with all of you. Ready?? Here it is: Just be happy. I know, I know. Good, huh? But seriously... A few weeks ago I was having kind of a hard time and found myself in about a week-long bad mood. One night, I was laying in bed trying to figure out how to feel better and it hit me- I just needed to be happy. So I got out the book by John Bytheway called How To Be Totally Miserable (pretty much the best book in the world and absolutely hilarious). Along with making me laugh, it helped me put things back into perspective. It was a reminder that happiness doesn't deliver. You make yourself happy. "Happiness is a decision, not a destination." It takes more work to be mad than it does to be happy, just like it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. It was a simple little thing, but it has made the biggest difference. Every day I wake up and tell myself to be happy and so far it has worked. So the moral of the story: Just be Happy!