good feeling 1

welcome, november!! 

last year i made it a point to post the things i was thankful for on a pretty regular basis during this great month. this year will probably be no different. 

to me, november just ushers in a sense of "good feeling".... and that is the only way i can describe it. 

for the next thirty days, expect to see a lot of posts centering on the things i am most thankful for and that, for me, evoke that good feeling i am talking about- you know, the little things that make life great. i encourage you to do the same. 

day one- outside.
if i've said it once, i've said it one thousand times. i am a lover of nature, especially in the fall. having a break from studies has opened my eyes to the everyday changes and beauty of the world and has given me a chance to experience what is in my own backyard. it might sound cliche, but for seasons and changes i am truly grateful.

is that the wasatch?

if you ask me, the mountains that shelter provo to the east are the best part about the place. 

i thought i'd seen fall before i'd moved here... but mostly i was just accustomed to the gradual browning of the boise foothills. last week when i drove around the point of the mountain and into utah county my jaw about dropped. i had to remember to look at the road once in awhile and peel my eyes off the red and yellow mountains. before i went home i thought fall was basically over- heck it had snowed almost to the base of the mountains and when mt timp is covered, you kind of know to kiss fall goodbye. but i was wrong! fall pulled through. good job.

i'm locked out. it's cool

having wifi rules. 

so does having your car held hostage in boise.
followed by having the privilege of driving your mom's minivan back home. (to utah? where is home? who am i?)
but only as much as having zero music the entire time and resorting to super classy josh groban for the last four hours. yep. that desperate. josh, your spanish accent could use a little work.

i guess i should preface that all by saying i made a special trip to boise this weekend. my car needed a little tlc, my teeth needed the plaque scraped off, and my sisters had a homecoming dance i needed to take pictures of. high school is great place.

i drove down on thursday.
brought greek food to my mom, spied on her class, and watched kourtni and lindsay in homecoming court on friday.

me and the models. but really

i just found this on the camera and laughed a lot. 

went on a long run with my parents, ate gourmet fries and burgers, and played paparazzi for homecoming on saturday

purple fries. totally normal.

idaho fry co.... i was a little skeptical, but it was gooood

just passing the time, taking pictures of my home/farm.

the parents

the couple

cutest baby. i just couldn't pick only one

:) or should i say >:(3)

this picture is proof you should never ask a sixteen year old boy to take a picture

clearly, enough was enough.

and then drove home in the ss honda odyssey today.
what a weekend! upon arriving home, i was greeted by letters from two of my missionary pals. two! i never get letters. what are the odds? elder pittson sent me this beauty

"i included a picture i found of you being all vegetarian and whatnot." classic. i miss my buddies.
have a wonderful week... and bear with me as i try to change the layout of this blog over the next few days... it needs an update.

september first

summer's over. i wore a cardigan. if cardigans don't say autumn and typical byu girl student, i don't know what does.
you see that pucker between my buttons? it's been causing problems. it keeps popping open and surprising all the people i come into contact with. what can i say? i'm just so darn busty. (joke)

but really, i am sad to see summer go.
i'm happy for fall, though! bring on the pumpkin, boots, and trendy cardigans.
oh, and i just have to share this.

it's probably violating laws for me to post such a picture, so don't tell.
this lady, a former co-worker called th other day to make this burn appointment. anyway, evidentially while playing relief society president/mortician she picked up the curling iron by the wrong end and burned all her fingers.
i laughed and laughed and laughed. i hope you do, too.

now i am going to try to find a safety pin for this shirt/teach myself chemistry. it's a tie between which task will be most difficult.

I've had this nagging feeling I should be writing something

but now that I've finished my midterms and had five seconds to sit down and actually think, well, I can't remember all the things I was going to write on here. Boo.
I could write about getting my tires rotated today and how I learned that the guys at Les Schwab really do come running right when you park... and sometimes they shave in the dark and have the remnants of half a mustache to prove it.
I could also write about how I made a bajillion cupcakes with Kelsey the other day for our Ward Halloween party, how we made the best Halloween rainbow cupcakes ever, and we rocked the cakewalk. Oh, and I drove all over God's green earth in search of black balloons to complete my blackberry costume. It was legit. I couldn't move my arms down. I felt like I gained 500 extra lbs. I was never happier to shed such an uncomfortable situation.
Oh, I should probably write that my intramural team is kicking the trash of every other intramural team in the league. Maybe it's Brittany's shin guards she lets me use every game. Maybe it's my skiing socks that I use as soccer socks. Perhaps it's the fact that we score a lot of goals and knock a lot of girls down. I have missed soccer, and that is a fact.
Another thing I could mention- the fact that I love my roommates and I have never been happier in Provo Utah. There is definitely something to be said for living with your friends. Especially when they are great and clean and lovely.
I should also talk a bit about my love of fall. And the fact that I love cooking everything pumpkin. Oh, and that this season Mansion 34 has become candy corn addicts. Slowly all the leaves are changing, the temperature is lessening, and that means I get to wear my boots. And long sleeved shirts. My only regret is that I can't actually enjoy the crispness of October and whatnot due to an overload in the scholastic department. Boooo. I want to go on a fall drive, take a lot of pics, and make a whole day devoted to pumpkin cooking, but nope. That will not be happening... although we are having a really sweet Halloween party next weekend. Stay tuned.
Have a fabulous weekend. Stay classy

what I did on labor day.

no labor. that is for sure.
the homework was kept to a minimum. and I did this stuff instead
1. Kneaders. Unlimited french toast for 5 bucks was delicious, and everyone at BYU thought the same, so we ended up eating ours on the pavement of the drive thru. Don't worry, it was still fantastic. And because I am a fatty I out ate everyone. Skinny friends suck! (but I still like them)
2. Soccer. We had a little pick up game, and I slipped and slided all over in my turf shoes, which are not made for grass. Intramurals start next week and our girls' team is going to dominate.
3. Bicycle. After way too many months without the clanking of my old chain, I retrieved my rusty 10 speed from Grandma's garage, paid way too much to get it fixed up a little, and was happy to have a hobby again. Silver Bullet, I missed you.
4. BBQ. Sam's family graciously invited us over for some hamburgers and the like, only too bad I don't eat hamburgers. Don't worry- I had cheese on a hamburger bun.
5. Charlotte Russe. We did a little retail therapy and I got a new sweater. Too bad it's still a good 85 degrees outside.
6. Homework. Okay, the day is ending with a little bit of those things I shouldn't have kept til the end of the week, but I did anyways.
Oh well :) Anyways, looks like it's time to go put all my white pants away, and here's to only 3 days of class this week and Boise this weekend to see Miss Morales become Mrs. Cole.
Til next time, and Happy Birthday, Mom.
Oh, and here are some great vids for your viewing pleasure. Basically we've been obsessed with them all week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZKXAFqdlC4&feature=related
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrWu13Uh2Yw&feature=related

dragging. and Wisdom Wednesday

I am really tired right now.
I am attributing this to the fact that I've been kinda too busy for much sleep the last few days... but it's been worth it. The highlight of my Tuesday/Wednesday? Volunteering at the MTC speaking Spanish.
So in my ward I'm on the Missionary Council, and since we've got 100% conversion in our ward, there's not much for our council to do except coordinate temple trips and get people to volunteer at the MTC. When the sign up sheet came around on Sunday to work in the TRC having missionaries teach you, the "investigator", the discussions, I glanced over it, and none of the sections worked for me in English. Thinking I should probably do something for my calling, I thought, what the heck! Spanish might be fun! So, I signed up and decided to worry about it later. ...and worry I definitely did. All day Wednesday that was all I could think of- all the things that could go wrong with me and the TRC. It's ok, though! Because my wisdom for the day is
WW34- Volunteer at the MTC
I didn't die at the MTC! Things actually went really well. For the first hour my role was a storekeeper selling the missionaries clothesf, and then we talked about the church, I made up questions, and they taught me. I had been worried that they wouldn't understand me or I'd say the wrong thing, but as we talked, I realized that they didn't even know when I was messing up, seeing as they've only been learning Spanish for 7 weeks! And for 7 weeks, I was pretty amazed at their skills! It was so refreshing to be in the MTC- to think thousands of guys my age go there and not learn how to teach the gospel, but in a language they'd never even uttered until arriving at the MTC. it's so amazing! For the 2nd hour, I talked to missionaries who had only been in the MTC for 5 days. Oh, they thought I was so good at Spanish! Each missionary bore their testimony in Spanish, we prayed, and then they taught me a lesson in English... which they were very excited about doing! I would write something deep about missionary work, but I am way too tired for that. So you'll just have to settle for this- missionaries are great and I am going to volunteer at the TRC every Tuesday now. Who knows? Maybe I'll teach guys I know sometime!

All I want to do lately is cook. In class I search recipes, I live for grocery shopping, and the thing that got me to run my 5 miles today at Gold's was the company of Barefoot Contessa and her mushroom lasagna demo on Food Network. All I want to do is go to Borders, sit in the cookbook section, find vegetarian recipes, and drink hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream!

And now I am finishing this very choppy entry cuz I told Cory to make me go home and go to bed at 11:30, and he just informed me I have 9 minutes. He is such a good mom!

Maybe One O'Clock Church Isn't Such A Bad Thing...

It gives me time to explore.

Maybe I am just a true Provo Newbie, but I experienced Rock Canyon for the first time this morning.

Why hasn't anyone ever let me in on the absolute splendor of this place?

This morning I was feeling a little bit restless and like I'd eaten one too many cookies the day before, so I pulled out my hoodie, turned on my iPod, and set off in the direction of the temple. My feet did their own thing, and the next thing I knew I was two inches tall compared to the towering cliffs of Rock Canyon. It seems I am experiencing the most in Provo by myself, and I probably looked pretty ridiculous standing in the Canyon grinning like an idiot. I've come to the conclusion that there are few times in a day when both your face and heart smile genuinely. Seeing the leaves fall, feeling the brisk morning air grazing my face, and hearing the crunch of the gravel under my feet are the things that made me feel so good- I am just kicking myself for not taking my camera with me... And I am hoping that the leaves will stick around another week so we can do a photoshoot next Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed!

October

On Tuesday night I made Steven and Corey study outside with me, because I knew it would be last night we could comfortably sit outside without freezing.

On Wednesday morning I woke up to cold and rain. (and proceeded to go out in no jacket and forget my apartment key. It was a wet walk to the ESC, but Broccoli and Cheddar soup at the MOA with Emily at the end of classes made it all better)

I have a sound intuition.

I forgot what it feels like to have your legs be cold through you jeans, but I'm remembering how nice it feels to run in the autumn air.

Me and Corey discussed it- October is basically the best month. Plus winter clothes rock.

You all should see how pretty the mountains here in Utah look, and the other night when Shane, Parker, Logan, Corey, and I drove to Park City, I could barely contain my excitement for the changing leaves and pretty colors of the Canyon.

I'm thinking Conference Weekend = pumpkin break making

and TGIF. seriously