Free Hamburger and Ice Cream Anyone?

Here's an idea:

Hamburger Taste Test

9:30AM to 1:30PM

NFS 209

Taste hamburger and get a coupon for a free scoop of Famous Aggie Ice-cream; participants must be 18 years or older and have no food allergies.

Not such a bad deal, right?

The Excitement Is Skipping Inside Me!

P.S. As fun as it has been to be here in Burley with Bay and Garrett, and the fact that I've learned so much from them and we've had a great time together -- I cannot wait to go home tomorrow and be with Brian.

It's been nine days since I've seen him and I miss him!

I am also excited for Homecoming week at Utah State!

Go Aggies, Go Aggies, Hey, Hey, Hey!

Childhood Memories: Fall time

Yesterday, as I sat at my home in Burley, sick of writing "Thank You" cards and having watched about all the What Not To Wear episodes I could, I decided to go see what the great outdoors had to offer.

What I saw when I got out there was a yard full of leaves -- and when I say full, I mean FULL! So, what else can you do when childhood memories start flooding your head but engage and satisfy them?!

I remember growing up here, and every fall brought the same things: tons of trucks full of potatoes, beets and corn, a lot of dust and allergies, and a huge pile of leaves that called my name. The pile was always almost as tall as me. I used to spend hours jumping, playing, re-raking and jumping more into our pile of leaves, after we had raked them. It was the greatest thing in the world -- to come home from a long day at school and play, until dark, in our pile of leaves! My little sister and my neighbor and I would bury each other in them. We would try to jump from the tramp into them. We probably even incorporated some version of "house" outside with our leaf pile. That pile of leaves meant fall!

Yesterday, I realized I'm just as picky about raking now as I was back then. I really like to have all the leaves that I can possibly get in the pile. No mediocre job will do. I did have to relax a little, as the wind was making it impossible for me to get as many leaves as I wanted to into my pile. It ended up being a long process becuase the rake decided to give out about halfway through my raking. Nevertheless, I got it done and waited, with little kid anticipation and excitement, for Bay and G-man to get home from school. They were hardly impressed, to say the least.

The pile now only goes to my waist. It has shrunk through the passing years.

The Guide To One Huge Mess In Only Three Hours and 21 Minutes

For the past five days I have been living at my parent's house (no, not because I'm having marital problems), but to have the grand joy of staying with my two youngest siblings while the parents are on vaca.

My parents are currently enjoying a well deserved, and longed-for, trip back East -- to drive about and enjoy the fall foliage. My parents have had the opportunity to see beautiful forests of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, visit the Dartmouth campus, and, I suspect, will soon be arriving in the great city of Boston, Massachusetts for some history lessons and great food.

Meanwhile, back at the farm, Baylee and I decided to make some Halloween sugar cookies. These sugar cookies are a specialty of my mother's and ever since I can remember she has made them for holidays such as Halloween, Valentine's Day and Easter. So, loving to cook myself, I gave in to Bay's pleadings to make them. Little did I know that her "helping" only lasted until two cookie sheets were baked, she then lost interest and left me to finish the dirty job.

I don't know if it was worth the time for about 42 cookies that may be gone in minutes, but it's tradition I guess!

Happy Halloween to all!

P.S.

Did I mention I got married about three weeks ago?
Yeah, I did.
That story is still to come.

JSYK

Bowl Full Of Crunchy Goodness

For those of you who are fans of Kashi's GoLean Crunch! and General Mills MultiGrain Cheerios, I introduce: Cheerios Oat Cluster Crunch Cereal!

It's a grand combination of some of the best Cheerios with little, tasty oat clusters surprising your mouth with a slight hint of cinnamon!

It's also a great grab-n-go cereal that tastes as good without milk as it does with. Plus, it's supposedly good for you because it's made with seven whole grains (we'll overlook how many grams of sugar it contains).

This tasty treat has quickly made it to my top five cereals of all time.

You should get a box!

A Birthday Wish Full of Happiness!

I don't have much time to blog, which makes me sad, but I did want to wish one of my favorite uncles a very happy birthday! Hope it's great Uncle Warren!

Oh, The Life of a College Student!: Parts VIII, IX, and X

And now, for random ramblings of my head.

Today I saw my favorite Aggie Shuttle Driver holding his new little son. He is about the happiest person I know -- always greeting every single passenger with a enthusiastic welcome.
"Good Morning!"
"Come on in!"
"Hello, how are ya?"
"Good Morning!"
"Come on in!"
I don't think I have ever known a driver such as him, and I'll never forget him either. Who wouldn't want to be greeted like this every morning for your 7:30 class?!

Speaking of 7:30 in the a.m. -- I took my last final, maybe ever, at 7:30 on Tuesday morning. It was anti-climatic.
No huge burden of stress was relieved. I didn't feel lighter. I didn't even give a shout of joy as I handed in my exam and walked out of the room.
It was just over.
And now it's over -- everything.

I remember Nikkala once telling me of when she finished her final exam before graduation. She said she was walking around in the TSC -- looking for anyone who cared and ran in to some girl she knew from her ward. Nik said she just had to tell her because she had to tell someone and that girl just happened to be the first person Nik knew and could tell. I felt kind of the same way.
I had to tell someone that I was done, and since it was 8 in the morning I knew I had few options, so I called my dad.
It felt good just to tell him I was done. He was pretty excited, maybe more because he just realized he didn't have to pay for my schooling any more! What a great dad I have and how blessed I am to be so lucky to have had the opportunity to go to school. Parents make it happen, you know.

As I walked out of the business building Tuesday I felt as though everything was my last.
My last time walking out of a class.
My last time seeing Old Main lit so beautifully by the rising sun.
My last time checking my hair in the Eccles Conference Center Windows.
My last time to sell back a book....

And they did even buy it!

But you know, it's not really my last. Maybe I'll be lucky and land a job at the university -- where I can remain in college forever, but if not I still have all summer to enjoy the fine campus and exciting atmosphere of Utah State University!

Which makes me happy.

P.S. I walk in two days time -- May 3 -- and today I had to scrape snow off my car. What a bummer.

Oh, The Life of a College Student!: Parts VI and VII

Nothing beats working your butt off in a class and getting what you deserve! I know I've already blogged about my Mass Media Law class, but I just have to mention it again, as I was reminded today about the satisfaction of completing it and receiving an 'A'! I'll never forget the many late nights camped out in the computer lab, suffering with fellow journalism students as we all tried to construct a paper that Penny would find somewhat acceptable. I learned a lot in that class, even though my mind doesn't allow me to recall much of it. I learned that hard work and the willingness to persevere pays off. I also learned that I'll probably never be a lawyer, and I'm ok with that.

I've also learned that you've got to be able to laugh things off, and most importantly, laugh at yourself. It's the only way you'll make it through the rough times. You have two choices -- to laugh or cry -- most often I opt for laughing because it brings smiles to others, it makes me feel good, I once heard you burn more calories laughing than...sometimes, I don't know what, plus you get a pretty good ab work-out. My roommate, Karilyn, is a great example of this -- I don't know how she does it, but some day I hope to be as good as her. If you only knew half of what she's had to deal with, as far as school goes, this week -- and then seen/heard how many times she's laughed -- you wouldn't believe it.
Thank you Kari for keeping things light and bearable.

I don't know how I could write blogs about attending Utah State without mentioning Aggie Basketball. It has always been a favorite -- from making signs my freshman year that said, "That's my boyfriend, #20!" (because I was Jaycee's girlfriend!), to waiting in line for at least three hours in the cold with Kari, Brian, and Dylan to get on the front row, Brian and his mullet, tying with a guy who couldn't shoot in around-the-world contest during a timeout, to being there when we beat Nevada and rushed the court -- I've never heard The Spectrum so loud! -- or being on the Kiss Cam twice my last year and getting raff from the athletics office as well as the whole town of Burley, to sitting in the press box and hardly being able to sit down because I couldn't cheer and the game was intense, and being there when Jaycee hit his 2,000th career shot and becoming the school's leading scorer and Stew, the school's most winningest coach -- Aggie Basketball has provided many good days for me in Logan and I wouldn't be a True-Blooded Aggie if I didn't mention them as part of my experience at Utah State.

Oh, The Life of a College Student!: Part IV and V

Sorry about missing yesterday -- that just means I'll leave twice the blog today (a blog of randomness).

My second summer here worked out better than I could have ever planned. About the beginning of April I realized summer was fast approaching and I had no place to live (which I find is the case most April's!). Randomly, my friend from the A-Team, Karilyn Flake, said she thought there was an open spot in her apartment and helped me get the contract and necessary documents to move in. We talk about this a lot because really, we didn't know each other very well -- at all -- then. But, luckily for me, Karilyn is what I like to call an "insta-friend" -- someone who you can instantly be best friends with and fee like you've known your whole life, when really, you've only known them for maybe a day. It's the best kind of friend and I recommend keeping people like this around. It really is great! Anyway, the rest is history....we became best friends -- and I don't mean that in "Oh, you're me best friend forever!" as most people would think, but she really, truly is my best friend. I can't explain it and I don't know if you'd understand, so I'll just leave it at that. We had the best time that summer, and have always had good times. Her sense of adventure and high energy has kept me going through some of the most difficult times and also kept things in perspective when it seems as though my life is in fast-forward with no pause button. She's the one that has kept me sane throughout these years and I don't know if she'll ever know how much that has meant to me. The majority of my stories, experiences and memories from my college life include her and throughout the next week or so you'll come to know her a lot more.

Lucky are you!

Summers in Logan are the best! Hardly anyone is on campus, which you may think is a bad thing, but really it's the best! "The dog days of summer" -- I really don't know what this means, but I imagine you could use it to describe Logan in the summer. Campus is dead except for every SOAR day when new students flock grudgingly (and sometimes nervous-excitedly too) to the TSC to complete orientation, EFY groups sprawling out on the lawns and eating catered food from The Coppermill, dance camps and competitions, as well as cheerleaders galore and football and basketball camp boys smelling up the International Lounge. You can always tell when they come in the building to eat.

My summer diet consists of chips and salsa, frozen fruit and go-gurts, apples, a random slurpie or snow-cone, and fresh tomato sandwiches. Also, those spontaneous midnight chocolate and butterscotch chip cookie sprees. This happens probably too often and always too late in the day. Slushy Gatorade is always kept on hand for those too-hot-handle days when your roommates (not Karilyn and I) are too cheap to turn on the air conditioning, even though the apartment is 100+ degrees. I've found that Sam's Club is a great place to visit in the summer and Karilyn and I even made a plan one day that we could live there. They have everything you need -- even though both of us would prefer Costco over Sam's any day -- we just couldn't figure out how we were going to shower. We're still working on that one.

Sunday Waffle Nights, "So You Think You Can Dance" watching, playing werewolfe, going to the Farmer's Market every Saturday, just sitting and listening to the bands at Summerfest, and dressing-up for the opening night of a movie are just a few of the entertainment excursions I enjoy in the summer. This past summer I realized again that I love riding my bike -- everywhere -- or running to places. I love running early in the morning, or later at night when it has cooled down. There's nothing better than running in the summer -- it's so calm outside, very little traffic, few people out and about, the sun is coming out for the day, you get to just think by yourself, about whatever you want, or nothing at all -- it's just you and peace. And I would have it no other way.

One night last year, as I was getting ready for bed I heard a knock on my door. In walked Karilyn with her pillow and a blanket. "I'm just going to sleep on your floor ok?!" So more blankets were brought in for a make-shift bed and then lights were out. Nothing was really said, maybe some laughter about the randomness and craziness of it all, but we said good night and that was that. No questions were asked why she would want to sleep on my hard floor, or why she decided at 11:45 in the p.m. she was going to sleep over, but we always get a good laugh when it's brought up!

Oh, The Life of a College Student!: Part III

Today I attended my last class at Utah State.

Sad.

Luckily for me it was one of my most favorite classes I have ever taken here, and one that I believe I have taken a total of six times now! Not because I've failed it -- because it's a P.E. class. PE 1212, Advanced Volleyball. Great times have been had in that class -- everything from having a great hit, or pass, or set, or laughing so hard at someone getting hit in the face, only to turn around and get hit yourself! It has always been one I can count on enjoying and a great way to meet and make connections with people who share the same love for the sport. It is the one class that has kept me sane throught my career.

I had a a great time today thinking of some memories that I could share with you today. It's funny to remember all the times that I felt dumb, or out of place because I never thought they would make me laugh, and then make me cry and want even more to postpone my graduation.

I remember telling people that I was going to school at Utah State. "Don't you know how cold it gets there?!" they would reply. "Yes," I would say. I'm from Idaho, I know what cold is. Little did I know how very cold it could get here and that it was possible for your face and hands to freeze just by opening the door. I really know what "..stings your nose and bites your toes..." means now. Yes, people -- it is cold here, but I like it.

My first summer here is probably one of the experiences that made my love for Utah State and Cache Valley grow the most. I had great roommates, a great job, I got to play sand volleyball every day, I met a lot of awesome people, it was just all-around good. And, surprisingly, it has only become better. What was the best summer to me - in all my life - was only just the start of the absolutely awesome years to come! I really do love Utah State and Cache Valley and could not, would not, ask or wish to do or experience it anywhere else. I was meant to come here.

One more thing: I'll never forget the random jobs I've had while at Utah State and the crazy experiences. (1. Soil Testing Lab -- working with two cousins + JKA =great/crazy times and a lot of laughter, popcorn, lunches in the Carousel, and cross-word puzzle Fridays.

2. Peer Advising in University Advising -- being trained by my best friend, enjoying the drama in an office with 7+ women and hundreds of stressed, impatient students, learning and knowing so much about general education requirements to make others sick, the satisfaction of helping ten students before an advisor could get done with one.

3. PDP(Publication, Distribution, & Production) -- meeting Bob and Dale and Dale and Mike and Dave and Bob's kids and wife and Travis's sister, collating and binding I don't know how many New Student Planners and football media guides, learning how to run machinery that weighs 10x as much as me and can fold and collate 5,000 science magazines within 40 minutes -- this is, if the glossy paper quit sticking to itself, going on deliveries with Bob and being pulled by a runaway dolly with 5 boxes of folded newsletters, trying and trying to get the shrink-wrapper to look as good as Bob's, but never succeeding...)

4. I did write one story for The Statesman one time. Jay Wamsley really did want me to write more, but I had little time and didn't really like it, which is funny because now I write quite a bit.

5. Interning for the Athletics Media Relations Office -- ok, so not really a job, but I did get credit for it for only one semester and the next semester...totally free to them, no credit for me. Kind of a rip-off, but I've enjoyed it and been able to talk to several ESPN employees and others about how many points Jaycee had scored that night and how many touchdowns we didn't score...and I can and have freaked many athletes out by finishing their last name and what position or event they compete in, their hometown, high school, stats from their last meet...no, I'm not a stalker -- these things just stick in my head when I write about them for three hours every Saturday night.

6. The A-Team -- I don't even know what or how I can say how much this job means to me, how grateful I am that my cousin made me apply, or how awesome and truly amazing the people are that I have met in this job. It really has been the one thing in all my college career that has made me grow and change the most and really made me who I am today. Kind of crazy, huh? I feel sorry for all those who haven't had this experince and who will never know how great it is. I just don't know how to explain it.

Oh, The Life of a College Student!: Part II

If you would have asked me if I was ready to graduate anywhere from January to March I would have responded with a most definite "No." If you would have asked me if I was ready to graduate in March-April 15 I would have said "Yes." If you have asked me within the past week I would respond, yet again, with a strong and confident "No." If you ask me today, I will say "No."

I thought I was ready -- ready to not have to worry about classes any more, ready to not have to do homework, ready to not have so much stress and anxiety -- but the truth is, I'm not. And I don't know if I will ever be ready. It's just one of those things that springs upon you when you're least expecting it and you have to figure out how you're going to handle this change -- change in scenery, change in associations and friends, a change in comfort. I really don't know if there is a way to prepare for it. I don't know if I'd really want to know how to anyway. I don't think you're supposed to be prepared for everything life throws at you. What's the fun and spontaneity in that? How else do you grow and really learn what you like and dislike, how to have self-discipline and do things you don't necessarily want to do? You don't, and that's why you can't prepare. It's life.

I think my friend Ashley explained it a little when she said,"It's not necessarily the classes that I'm going to miss, but just the whole college experience" ....the college life, the feelings, thoughts, growth, learning -- the atmosphere. She is right.

And now for some random memory or thought that affected me in some way that I still remember it today....

I like maple bars -- a lot! I'd have to say this is one of my most favorite treats -- besides ice cream that is! My hereditary love for doughnuts came from my grandma, and yes, I'm quite sure it's heredity. We both could sit down with our own box of doughnut holes and within a matter of minutes put them all down, without even thinking. Anyway -- to the story...so my love for maple bars, and especially fresh ones, led me to meet others who shared in this same joy and passion . One day, when I was a freshman, I received the joyous news that Tommy's Doughnuts made fresh maple bars every day at 1:30 in the a.m. So, of course, my friends and I planned a doughnut run to experience these fresh-from-the-oven tasties! Now, as I mentioned in my previous post, I went to bed every night at 10:30 sharp. So my dear friend, Whitney, devised a plan that she would get me to go country dancing and then we'd go get maple bars after. It was a win-win for her because she had tried for weeks to get me to go dancing with her and she liked maple bars. The story goes that I did go dancing -- maybe more because I knew I would get a maple bar at the end of it all -- but much to our surprise, Tommy's decided to not be open this Thursday night! Not only was I sorely disappointed about not being able to eat a maple bar, but it was WAY past my bedttime and I had even gone dancing! I was disgusted! But don't you even worry -- a week or two later Whit, myself, and my roommate randomly decided to check on Tommy's again, this time at 11:30 or midnight, and we scored with fresh maple bars! We even documented our "midnight run" with a picture and it remains one of my favorites to this day!

Disclaimer: (No. 1) I did actually enjoy dancing, even though I was not willing to go. I just had never been and had no idea what I was doing. No, just because I'm from Idaho does not mean I know how, or have ever been country-swing dancing!

(No.2) I found that even though Tommy's maple bars were right off the frier, I'd prefer a maple bar from most grocery stores any day. Not kidding!

Oh, The Life of a College Student!: Part I

I decided it's time for an update -- and since my graduation from Utah State is in about 10 days I thought it to be an appropriate subject. My plan is to make a post every day until I graduate with memories I've had since I've been here. Ten days is not enough for me to share all the good times I've had and the lessons I've learned, but it will give you a glimpse of my experiences here.

I began my career at Utah State with an 8:30 STAT 1040 class. Now, I expect you are thinking that I will say next how that was just too early, but it wasn't too early -- as my cousin and I had already been up and at it for three hours! Yes, that's right. My cousin, Deidra (with whom I was only separated from by a wall), and I would go to the gym every morning at 6, well except for some random Wednesdays when Deid decided it was a bad day to go! Why get up that early, you ask? To beat the rush, to get our exercise in before heading to work at 8 or class at 8:30, or maybe just to tell people we got up that early -- I really don't know the reasoning behind it, but that's just how it was, and therefore we had an excuse to go to bed every night at 10:30! I'm not kidding about this either! I was ridiculed and mocked my whole freshman year for this habit, but believe you me, I was well rested and ready for the day when it came -- even at 5:30. I was nominated to be the drill sargeant, knocking on the wall to make sure Deid was awake and then awaiting her knock back so I knew she knew I would be over there in 15 min. jumping on her bed if she didn't get up.

WOW Week became on of my most favorite times of year when I was a freshman! I got to enjoy a free walking taco, served to me by none other than the University President, Kermit Hall. I got to watch a movie on the HPER Field on a gigantic blow-up screen. And -- the funnest part of the week that year -- my roommate, Staci Meacham, winning the grand prize at Ultimate B-I-N-GO, a 42-inch screen TV! No only did she run up to the winner's table without her Bingo card, my other roommate and cousin, had to ride back to our apartment in the trunk because there just wasn't enough room for all of us and the TV! What a great night!

Lucky Are You!

Lucky for all my avid readers I was procrastinating and avoiding studying for my test tomorrow by checking my blog, as well as my Aunt Patrice's and noticed that I was "tagged!" So not only am I fulfilling my "tagged" status, I'm also blogging! What a great day!

Tagged

A. The rules are posted at the beginning .
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags fellow bloggers.

10 years ago: I was at the awkward eleven years of age attending White Pine Intermediate School as a 5th grader. I was improving my Uno skillls by playing every day, while also learning Spanish from my teacher, Mrs. Armenta -- who called my friend Whitney Beck and I "little diablos." I later learned that means "devils" in Spanish! I also sat by Whit and Brandt Hines in our close-knit group that we named "The Rootin' Tootin' Cows" - complete with song and all. What a great year!

5 things on my to do list today: 1. Start training for my next half marathon(which I'll have you know that I did run 4 miles today!) 2. Study for my Marketing test that I haven't started studying for 3. Write a thank you 4. Get to bed before 11:30 5. Buy bread, milk, yogurt, and cheese:)

Snacks I enjoy: Crisp, juicy Fuji apples, vanilla ice cream, carrots, fruit snacks, and , toast with honey

Things I would suddenly do if I were suddenly made a billionaire: I would donate about a million to light the whole Quad at Christmastime, I'd build a lodge/cabin someplace really cool, I'd travel to Boston and go to a couple Red Sox games, as well as take my dad and whoever else would like to go to the major league stadiums around the country, go to school to learn more about everything, and then put the rest into savings!

3 of my bad habits: 1. I stress about time - a lot - and sometimes the stress gets to me any makes me want to swear! 2. I feel guilty about not getting enough done in my day, not visiting enough people, not keeping in touch, etc. 3. I silently correct people's speech in my head, sometimes - most of this I learned from Deidra!

Jobs I have had: beet hoer, irrigation specialist, file manager for a doctor, lab assistant, peer advisor and mentor, A-Team facilitator and coordinator, keeping people sane while they try to accomplish too much, and resident HSM expert

Things that people don't know about me: I secretly wish for the 80's and early 90's styles to come back! I would never have to worry about my hair being too frizzy or big or naturally white-trash; I wouldn't have to worry about my clothes being too bright or too awkward; I could wear Exclamation! every day and it'd be cool! -- honestly, I wouldn't have to worry about anything!

To be fair to everyone I'm not going to tag anyone because really, I don't know who has been tagged and who hasn't!
Have a great day! And until next time. . . enjoy the warmer weather and eat some ice cream -- because it's good and good for you!

Some of My Favorite Things

So I've decided to re-enter the blogging world, if only just for this little update.

Dear Blog Readers,

Please excuse my long absence, for I have been crazy-busy working on a 4.0.

A 4.0 GPA that is.

This past semester was the craziest of my life. I would like to blame it on the semester -- as a whole, not on any one thing in particular, but if I had to pick one thing, or one class, I would choose....Mass Media Law. That class, by far, has been the most challenging class I've ever taken and maybe will ever take. But, I tried my hardest, spent many, many late nights writing papers and it all paid off because I got an 'A' in the class, along with my other classes, which means I got that 4.0 that I had been working on! I do not mean to brag, or even to bring any kind of recognition to myself; I just wanted to mention that because this is the first, and probably last, time I have ever received a 4.0 in my life and I just wanted to bask in the victorious feeling of having the perspicacity (thank you Dione!) required to pass that class.

Thank you! I am done now.

But, the real reason for this post today -- Christmas! I have always enjoyed a good holiday season, full of family, friends, and memories -- and this year is no exception.

Here is a list of some of my favorite things:

• Being home for the holidays
• The wonderful music that accompanies the season (and yes, I start listening on Nov. 1)
• Beautiful blankets of pure white snow
• The smell of a freshly cut Christmas tree
• Brightly colored stockings hanging by the fireplace
• Little kid-anticipation (whether you're 9 or 21!)
• Happy, giving, generous people
• Fuzzy, warm gloves, mittens, scarves, beanies, and hats that squish little kids' faces
• Classic holiday movies played on TV for weeks before Christmas day
• Coming home to a very festive home decorated with wreaths, Christmas ornaments, nativity scenes, snowflakes, Christmas reminders, etc.
• Remembering our dear Savior, Jesus Christ, and the reason for the season

I do hope that all is well with you at this holiday time! Thank you for keeping up on your blogs so I may share in your joys, sadness, successes, and fun and exciting lives!

Sincerely,

Whitney

P.S. So you may all feel caught up on my life this past semester (whether you want to be or not, I do not know) I'm going to start posting some pictures of my favorite times and share a little story with each. This is to keep from posting a 4-page post and save you some time.

How it all went down

The past few weeks, well, pretty much this past month or so has been pretty crazy!

From finishing SOAR, quitting two of my jobs, getting a new job, applying for an internship, playing in a volleyball tournament, going to Ohio, to finalizing everything for housing and classes this fall, going home, packing and unpacking to pack again it's been kind of hectic. I am more unprepared for this semester (I feel) than I ever have been before. And it's not going to get easier, as I have Connections this next week and have to move in the random free time that I'll have Wednesday and Thursday night. It's crazy!

But I did enjoy the time I got to spend with my family at home and my mom, Kathy, had a great birthday - from what I heard! I am looking forward to my fam. reunion in a few weeks and the great adventure that will be. I am also looking forward to WOW Week and football (even though USU isn't well-known for their amazing football team, it's still great to go to games and be an Aggie fan!).

I was privileged to spend a few days in Ohio, at THE Ohio State University, which has a gorgeous campus and where I learned what a buckeye really is! Their stadium is AMAZING and I'm determined to go to a football game there some day (even though it's terribly difficult for even students to get tickets)! I even got to meet a few of their orientation staff and talk with them-it was a good time to me! I think I'd like to go there and study architecture.

This week is the Cassia County Fair and Rodeo, aka The Best Summer Hang-Out This Side of the Mississippi! I have always loved fair time and I hope I get to go this year. I don't think I have been since I've graduated and I really have felt the absence in my life as I don't get to witness the best of the best w.t. that Cassia has to offer!

I am officially not a peer adviser any more, nor do I get the privilege of binding books at the bindery as of this afternoon. I will be starting my new job as a student coordinator for SOAR tomorrow and I am so excited!

I was tagged a little(or long) while ago by Nik to submit seven random facts about myself and as you can see have not finished that quite yet. But don't you worry your little head! I've been thinking about it ever since and I really will post them sometime in the next couple of weeks - maybe when I get internet at my own residence.

As for now, have such a good day!

This week in sports. . .

I am currently basking in the glory of victory from all my athletic endeavors this week.

Monday was the first day of our intramural sand volleyball tournament. My team, the Team of A, took on the other half of the A-Team. The match was close and went three games, but, alas, the A-Team won. That's ok, we'll be ready to take them on on Wednesday.

Tuesday my intramural softball team smashed the opponent with a score of 14-4.

Wednesday our first match was against the Spikers. We we three games here also, but came out on top. Now we were to face the A-Team, but would have to beat them twice as it was a double-elimination tourney and they had not lost yet. I have to admit I was a little skeptical since it was 97+ degrees and we'd already gone a tiring 3 games. But we pulled it out (in three games again!) and won! Now all we had to do was beat them one more time.
"Oh, please bless we don't have to go another three!"
We ended up winning in two-it wasn't easy! We, the Team of A, won the
2007 Summer Sand Volleyball Intramural Championship!
I have waited a long 9 seasons of intramural sports for a championship and finally, as I'm a senior, I have one under my belt! I can finally graduate from college!

But wait, Wednesday The Cracker Jack Kids also had a game-to make up for their rain-out game. I didn't know how I'd fair playing 8 games of volleyball and then a softball game at 9 p.m.-I was pretty tired. But never you fear, the Kids were on their game and left with a 11-7 victory over their opponent.

It was a great week in sports for the Whit Ro!

Back in action

Tonight you can catch the kids back in action at the Smithfield Ballpark.
Expectations are high as this is the last week to bring in another win before tournament starts.
Hopefully we will see improvement at bat from the trip to the batting cages two weeks ago.

This game will be dedicated to Whit Ro's new cleats.

Question:

Today, while working at PDP, I got a little paper-cut.
This caused me to wonder: how can something SO small, and fairly shallow, hurt SO bad?
Do you have an answer for me?

I've Been Tagged

4 Jobs I have held:
1. Beet Hoer for my dear father,
and assistant pin cap set-up for WEPCO
2. Filer for Dr. Klett
3. Lab assistant in the USU Soils Lab for JKA
4. A-Team Member/Facilitator

Movies I Can Watch Over & Over:
1. Remember the Titans
2. Cinderella Man
3. Black-Footed Ballerinas:)
4. Newsies

Places I Have Lived:
1. Small Trailer House, Burley, Idaho
2. My cute gray house with white picket fence, Burley, Idaho
3. Parish's House, Burley, Idaho
4. Logan, UT (Oakridge, Riverside, Summer Condo)

T.V. Shows I Enjoy:
1. 24
2. The Cosby Show
3. So You Think You Can Dance
4. The Iron Chef

Places I have Been on Vacation:
1. Southern California
2. Manhattan, New York
3. Washington, D.C., VA
4. Orlando, Florida


Favorite Foods:
1. Vanilla Ice Cream
2. Fresh Fruit
3. Breads
4. Potatoes, Carrots, Asparagus, Tomatoes, Green Beans

Websites I visit (almost daily):
1. Family Blogs
2. Facebook
3. aggiemail
4. Zions Bank


Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:

1. Running around Logan, listening to my ipod
2. Home in good 'ol B-Town
3. In the mountains
4. Watching fireworks
5. Baking/cooking something (preferably in a cool place)

Now I get to pick 4 other blog buddies to do this!

1. Jessica Veda Hansen
2. Laura Barlow
3. Tif(Fany) Jack
4. Sarah for Reale
   

Now its their turn! Answer these questions and then tag 4 people.

What happened to The Kids?!

You may have already heard, but the Cracker Jack Kids suffered a bad loss on Wednesday night. Despite their excellent performance in the four previous games things just didn't work out for the kids Wednesday night. They did have an amazing catch by substitue BJ, but they were no match for the team that kept hitting the holes.

Better luck next time!

As for the other chillins - they're also gone and out.
Little brother, two friends, kate and bay came to stay with me this past week while the boys were at the USU basketball camp. It was great fun to have them here, I just wished I could have taken the week off to play with them. I'm afraid they saw very little of me and were probably bored out of their minds! I know that they got a lot of good playstation practice in though - i bet their skills are amazing now! I even got to play a little as we had a basketball tournament between the six of us. Oh how fun and full of energy 13-year-old boys are!

rained- or snowed-out?

I've yet to hear if the Kids have been rained-out for the night.
If not, it should make for a wild-crazy cold game at 9 p.m. under the lights in Smithfield.
I'll keep you posted.

to the birthday boy . . .

Today is my Uncle Warren's birthday!
I just wanted to say that he's one of the coolest people you'll ever meet, so you should meet him. I loved growing up so close to his family and getting to work and play with him - who else would teach how to weld pin caps and then take you on the a "grand champion" tube ride in one day?!

Hope you have such a good day!

dear passport, where are you?

i've been so consumed with summer that i almost forgot about my passport.
it has yet to be delivered.
maybe some day. . .

4-0, that's right!

So, I know you've all been wondering, and
yes, the Cracker Jack Kids did win last night making them 4-0.
After a rough start in the first two innings The Kids were able to pull it together and make magic happen.
They had a 14-7 win and are getting excited for next week's game that will be played under the lights!

A place of change

I know of a place where you can enter, but you may never leave.

It is not a place where threat tactics and force keep you from leaving, actually, it's quite the opposite. This place is one of the most energetic, fun-loving places I have ever run across! Humor saturates the air, work is piled on the floor, the company is great, and if you're lucky you may even have the chance to eat from a chilled plate and fork (paper that is).

This place, actually this office, has probably had the most influence on my college life thus far. I have yet to find better people and more satisfactory work than I have in this office. The experiences, the opportunities, and the confidence I have gained from this office have made such a huge difference in my life I don't even have words to describe. I have truly grown and become a different person than I would have been because of this office and it's people. I owe all of my successes in college to this office.

I know I don't thank them enough. I'm not very good at verbally expressing my gratitude, that's why I like to send cards. So, this is kind of a "thank you for everything and all you do" to the SOAR office.

I really appreciate it.

Cracker Jack Kids look forward to great season

The Cracker Jack Kids are on a 3-0 winning streak and hope to make it 4-0 tonight!
The Kids have had an excellent season so far and have great potential to become one of the leagues' best teams. Players absent because of sickness and probation have not stopped the team from kicking everyone's trash. They look forward to improving upon last week's glorious double play in their game tonight.
The CrackerJack Kids will be hosting the Al's Sporting Goods team in Smithfield at 7 p.m. All are invited.

It just keeps going, and going, and going. . .

What's the special occasion today, you might ask.
There really isn't one, it's just been a freakin' long day and I fell like I should blog - but about what I'm not quite sure.
I am going to Pirates III tonight, or more like 1 in the a.m. tomorrow. That'll help this l. . . . o. . . . n . . . g . . . .d. . . .a. . . .y pass by quick, don't ya think?!
But I am excited to go - expecially because they people I'm going with have a love, just like me, for dressing up to go to movies!
That's right, we'll all be decked-out in the best pirate costumes we can come up with.
Oh! I got a new job yesterday and started today - that's news for you!
I am now a temporary bindery worker for PDP (Publication Design & Production) for the university. Today I got to hole punch and bind Source books for the new students. It's really quite interesting - all the machines and little gadgets they have in there. The biggest collating machine I've ever seen - probably the only one, but ya know.
Anyway, that is all for now.

Birthday shout-out. . .

I know, as well as all of you know, that I don't blog very often, so when I do it must be for a special occasion - and today it is!

Today is my dear cousin, Deidra's, birthday!

Deidra and I have been very good friends, for a very long time - so long that we knew we could get mad at each other and not talk to one another and still be ok.

I've shared some of my favorite memories with Deid:

-fishing with grandpa

-family reunions

-playing barbies and princesses at my house - and yes, making crowns out of the willow branches!

-sleeping, and practically living, in a tent in her backyard for days, maybe even sometimes weeks

-hoeing beets

-welding in uncle warren's shop - and tumbling

-going to state with uncle troy, playing trivial pursuit the whole way up, and throwing my socks out of his sun roof on the freeway

-volleyball state, drinking outrageous amounts of free choco. milk, laughing because tash's uncle is the funny kid that uncle troy went to school with who ate ham out of his pocket, coach strain dancing michael jackson in the aisles of the bus, etc.

-volleyball in general-locker room moments, seely going bright red and slamming his clipboard, sheri crying, walker yelling at us because we have "no heart," apple trees and their sisters, tiger-grizz camp, etc., etc., etc.

-my first year at school: stealing linda's tv out of her room only to watch the olympics on an 11" screen, cooking grilled pizza on deid's grill that we started by lighting newspaper on fire from the stove-all while my roommate linda is convinced we're going to burn down the apartment, going to bed around 10:30 every night-because that's just what we do, knocking on the wall to make sure deid's awake to go to the sports academy where there are numerous people that we've made-up stories about(snaggle girl being one of them), going to hockey games and seeing how many people we can cram into amber's car, staci winning a tv at b-i-n-g-o night during wow week and deid and whit riding in amber's trunk, our stats class with kimberleigh hadfield-where i studied my butt off and deid read the newspaper and i still got a lower grade, and who could forget working with jka, smelling like manure and feeds-being turned green because of the feeds and deid drawing a beautiful card that depicted jan very well for boss's day, etc.

After this we didn't have as many crazy adventures because she left for D.C. where she met her husband, Chris. This was probably the best thing for me at that time in my life - I finally learned how to do things on my own, to make my own friends and I learned how you don't realize what you have until it's gone. I missed Deid and was happy to have her come home, and I even liked the guy she was marrying-which was a plus for me.

I really enjoyed my past 21 years with my cousin and I hope today is a great day for her!

Love you, Deid!

i may be a scrapper with a dead sister --

Monday I had the day off so I could work on projects and study.
Very little studying was done, but I got all of my projects finished -- not without making a trip to Michael's where I discovered the Martha Stewart section that Deid has been talking about. Wow -- I tell you what, I may become a scrapbooker after all!
I found some small scrapbooks that are square and I thought maybe that's how I could scrapbook, it wouldn't take as long to make a smaller page as it would a big one.
Anyway, that's about it for that.

Yesterday my sister died!
It's kind of sad to think about, so I'm not going to, but Burley High did this program showing high school students that the statistic is that one person dies every fifteen minutes in high school because of drunk driving and what not(i think that's what the stat is). Katelin was a victim in a car accident where three people died and two were in critical condition and taken by helicopter to a hospital. They had a court hearing and everything, and those that "died" yesterday had to stay at the school last night. I think it sounds like a good program, but man, thinking about my sister dying-I don't even like that at all. I'm sure it was really realistic to a lot of people at Burley High yesterday. I hope everyone realizes how sudden death can be and that it can happen to anyone.
I hope my family knows I love them!

The smell of leather

The warm weather and sunny days have sparked a deep yearning for what springtime means to me - baseball/softall season!

I have been longing to play for quite a while and just this week I've been able to get a pretty good dose of "America's Favorite Pasttime!" Sunday I got to play a little pick-up game/practice with some friends (it was so fun and reminded me of being home on Sunday afternoons!), on Monday softball inturmurals started (my team isn't amazing, but it still felt good to get out and play) and then last night I was able to go to Kate's game at Century.

One of my favorite things to do is to smell my glove - the leather smells so good to me! This, along with the sound of the bat hitting the ball and the ball hitting the glove, the cheers and adrenaline, is what springtime means to me.

This week was a good preview and satisfied my need for baseball in my life, but I have a feeling it will return within a short time. I'm glad I have now found people to play with!

Life-long goal accomplished!

I am proud to announce that today I accomplished a life-long goal!

It was exciting, to say the least, and took up minimal time, contrary to what I believed. What was this goal, you might ask-it was a goal that I set my first year of college with my cousin, Deidra. And that was to get our passports so we can travel the world!

They are having a passport fair today down by the post office. All you have to do is pay the fees and they'll take your picture and send it in and all the dirty work. It was great and I think it only took me about 12 min.
Not too shabby!

I Heart Food!

It's that time of year again, you know, when all the vendors and dietetics and nutrition students get together to bring one of the best expos on campus.
You guessed it-today is the Nutrition and Food Expo!
This is seriously one of my favorite things on campus because it includes all the good foods-cheese(from Aggie Ice Cream and Gossner's), fresh fruit from Lee's(a different, darker kind of orange-delicious!, Cal-State strawberries, and this year-my favorite-fresh pineapple!), bread(from Crumb Brothers and Great Harvest), and flavored milk from Gossner's.
And we can't forget the delicious snacks made at the center food demo.s.
Wow, it has been a great day!

Coming soon. . .

In conjuction with everyone posting lists about themselves, I've decided to make my own.

It's complete, just not typed in here. Who would've thought you can't type something in word and past it in here-annoying! Anyway, my list is going to be the latest attraction on my blog soon, so get ready!

And have a happy National Blonde Brownie Day tomorrow! You should eat one, whether you make it, or go and enjoy one of these delights at Applebee's!

(p.s. it really isn't national blonde brownie day tomorrow. the really day is the 22 of jan., but i like to celebrate it in feb. because national popcorn day is so close to that and i can't be having that many parties in one week. i'm too anti-social for that!)

Happy Valentine's Day

As most people are enjoying a romantic, candle-lit dinner with their significant other, I'll be cheering on my aggies(3 in WAC) as they take on Hawaii, who is 6th.

I must admit that I was a little worried for our team when the season started, but I feel we are progressivley improving, especially after wins over Utah and NMSU last week. What a game that was, Jaycee Carroll hitting all of his free throws and finishing with 44 points. Too bad we still aren't dating.

That would make for a great Valentine's story!

Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day to you all.
Enjoy your chocolate!

Hopefully Jack Bauer doesn't take Sudafed!

Sinus infection season is upon me and I hate it!

I decided to take some medicine this morning because the pain was almost unbearable(note: i rarely take medicine. i usually just wait it out). I purchased some cold relief medicine about this time last year because I was having the same problems. I know that I can't take sudafed, even though it is amazing, because it knocks me out for a few hours(10 to be exact!). So this medicine I have is daytime/non-drowsy. I took it last year and it worked pretty well, so I decided I'd take some today. Little did I know that it would affect me in a totally different manner. I went to an institue class with Karilyn and started feeling like I was outside my body. I felt almost like I was going to pass-out, but not at the same time. I couldn't walk very straight. I felt like I was wearing the "drunken" goggles while walking to my next class. I didn't even say hi to one of my really good friends because I was afraid of dropping to the ground. What a day!

I am now feeling better, but I decided I really hope I don't get chased or shot at today because I have the slowest reaction time!

By the way: I got to see all of my friends this weekend(it was Cade Jones's homecoming) and I realized how good they all are. They were always such good examples and great people to be around.
Lucky am I!

Best Surprise Ever!

While I was making the last batch of popcorn last night there was a knock on my door.
Figuring it was someone that was just really early to the popcorn party, I yelled for them to come in. Who came in?! None other than my Aunt Patrice, Uncle Warren, Deidra and Chris!
Who would've thought?!
It was really the best surprise ever (and considering I hate surprises-this is good!)!!
They had read my blog and thought they'd stop on in. What a funny bunch! But I am so happy they came; there's really nothing better that seeing/being with family!
Thanks so much guys! You're awesome!

Happy National Popcorn Day!

I just wanted to inform all that today is National Popcorn Day!
So feel free to indulge in this tasty treat as you can enjoy it in several different flavors such as: carmel, fiddle faddle, marshmallow, peanut butter, cheese, jello, and not to forget the regulars of theater buttery, just buttery, light butter, salted, and plain.
If any of you happen to be in town this evening you are more than welcome to stop by my apartment about 9:30-ish and taste some of the flavors we've got going on.

This is one of my roommates and my favorite random holidays to celebrate. Another fun one is national blonde brownie day (Feb. 22) and, my all time favorite, The Swedish Summer Solctice Strawberry Shindig!

A birthday shout-out!

This shout-out goes to my dear Aunt Patrice, aka Aunt Batrice!
I just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday and wish you a wonderful day!
I miss laughing with you about the things that the special ed. students would do! Oh, the joys of being a peer mentor!
Good luck today and eat ice cream - because it's good and good for you!

The ridiculously long lasting gum. . .

I really like, and can relate with today's Far Side.
There is a picture of a classroom and the teacher is looking back at a student who has his hand raised. The quotation reads, "Mr. Osborne, may I be excused? My brain is full."
Sometimes I believe I was somehow given an abnormally small brain, which is terribly difficult to retain information in.
I noticed in my first semester at college that I was having a hard time retaining any information that I would read. I did manage to find a way, somehow, to memorize the info. I needed for the next test, but as soon as the test was over - out went the knowledge and recollection of everything I had spent hours reviewing.
In high school I had an excellent memory and had no problem remembering anything and everything I took the time to memorize.
It makes me wonder how anyone makes it through 4+years of college and retain enough to actually become something, such as a doctor, and remember exatly what tiny muscle is to the left of your membrane on the outside of your cerebellum.
It blows my mind. And not that I'm trying to compare my studying anywhere near that of a brain surgeons, but I'm flabbergasted at how the human brain works and can remember so much, after so many years.
I'm just hoping I make it through college and remember the difference between straight news stories and feature stories!

No train ride for me:)

Just so you know - I'm listening to Hootie & The Blowfish right now!
Right on.
And, no, nothing did/will happen with Bame-it's just an entertaining story!
Ok, that is all.

The word in Burley

So, the story goes. . .

While I was at the Burley High Boy's Basketball game on Saturday I was visiting with some friends that I haven't seen in quite a while when a mom came to talk to me. We'll just call her "duck-train" mom, for secrecy purposes.

Duck-train mom: "Hi guys!(just a general hello to all present) I actually came to talk to you."(looking directly at me)

Whit: "Me?!"

Duck-train mom: "Yes. My son(duck-train) thinks you're pretty cute and would like to see you some time this break. How long are you going to be here?"

Whit: "I'm actually going back Monday."

Duck-train mom: "Oh good! He'll be here til then too."

Whit: (thinking) "Does she not realize that today is Saturday, tomorrow is Sunday and I won't be here Monday night? -Whatever."

After she left my dear friend, Kara, asked what that was all about.

Kara: "That's weird for you. You're cousin dated him!"

Whit: "I know!"

So, I ask duck-train's roommate, "Isn't he dating someone?"

Roommate: "Yes. Why? Did she just say what I think she said?"

So, the rest of story goes that I went bowling with the singles in the area for a New Year's Party. I had a lot of fun, talked with some people that I've never really talked to a lot-it was fun.

And then duck-train came.

Small-talked it up with him for maybe a minute. I wasn't about to let the situation actually happen when he asked, "Did my mom talk to you tonight?"

AWKWARD.

But, don't you even worry. I'm about the best at avoiding situations and I didn't even let it happen. I b-lined(?) it outta there and made my was safely home.

Happy New Year to me!

P.S. I now have 15 posts-not 5 or 6 as some people thought!

A New Year's Resolution

In hopes that I won't be put back on Chris's "Junk" list I am writing a blog tonight. I'm really surprised that I haven't written more this week seeing as I have been home-really doing nothing.

But I have already made one New Year's Resolution-to keep my blog updated. I'm going to try and write at least once a week. I think that's a good way to start, when I have gone months at a time without writing. I really do enjoy reading each of your blogs and keeping in "the know" with what's going on in your lives, so I decided maybe I should try to keep mine updated a little more.

I can barely believe it's Christmas Eve tomorrow, but oh-so-happy! For those who know me, which is most likely all of you, you probably know that this is my absolute favorite time of year! I love snow, and luckily we will have a white Christmas this year! Which I am looking forward to because those are few and far between here in Burley. I love the spirit of Christmas-the music, snow, family, traditions, the kindness and service. It all works for the betterment of the world! I am so grateful for it!

I'm so excited to see all of your smiling faces this Christmas! See you soon!

Is this Billy Gilman? . . .Don't hear much from him these days. . .

So today is the first of December.

Kind of hard to imagine.

I just realized that within two weeks I will have completed my fifth semester of college and only have three left to tackle.

Amazing!

I never thought I'd live to see the day when I was a college student, let alone one that was this close to being done. People who went to college were adults-- grown-ups who knew what they were doing with their life, who were really smart and who knew-everything! I do not fulfill any of these assumptions and am far from it! I feel inadequate to be in college, going to school with so many people who really are adults. It almost seems like something I just say, not something I am. "I'm a junior in college."

Who would've ever thought?!

Billy Gilman. . .don't hear much from him these days.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas!

So, much to my surprise, and the dismay of others, I woke up to a gorgeous white landscape this morning! I don't know what it is about the snow and winter time that I like so much, it's definitely not the cold, but I just love it! And there is no better place than Logan, UT to spend the winter-besides the inversions-it's gorgeous! Logan has all four seasons and all have their own beauty and exciting things to experience. I'm so lucky to be here and be able to enjoy the good times!
Anyway, Christmas music is in full-swing and with Thanksgiving so close the spirit of the holidays is engulfing me! I simply cannot wait for everything to start, the music, the hot chocolate, the feasts of delicious food, the snow, the excitement, and the kindness of people during this season-there's really nothing better.
So, as this holiday season approachs, I wish you all the happiness and joy because it will soon be all around us!

Let's try this again. . .

So I know it has been quite some time since I last posted any kind of blog, but now I feel almost too inadequate to do it. First of all, everyone has updated their blogs into some splendid, beautiful page that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also very entertaining to read. Next, I feel so disconnected to everyone, but I am so grateful you all keep yours updated so I can catch up and see what you have all been up to. In a way this makes me feel as though I haven't missed out, even though in reality I know I have. So, I ask you to forgive me and be patient as I try to re-enter this blogging life.
To start this new phase of my life, how exaclty do you make those super cute title/logos for your blog? I'd like to take a whack at it!
That is all for now, but I hope you are all doing well and know that I look up to you all so much! There's no doubt that families are the greatest thing on this earth!

P.S. My dream came true of working on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition a couple of weeks ago! I actually got to go in the house and help clean before they started putting up the dry wall. It was one of the best 3:00 in the a.m.'s that I've ever had! On Sun. Nov. 26 you can all tune in to see this incredible house and the amazing family that lives there. Move that bus!

So there are many stories to accompany this collage of pictures, but it turns out that I'm out of time for the night, so you'll have to forgive me and be patient for some sort of story.
That is all.

 

Bodily Sounds. . .

Warning: This is not a normal blog subject. You may think this is a little gross and if you do then don't read it.

So, today I'd like to address an issue that I have.

It's something that I realized a long time ago, but today it reoccured to me how odd it is. I was reminded of this weirdism at I was sitting on the throne in the blue-ish teal women's bathroom located on the second floor of the Ag Science building (Nik and Deid know this place well).

An here it is: why do our bodies make such weird noises and why is it always embarrassing when they come out?! I've always had a fear of public restrooms. Not only because of their appearance or aroma(event though this is enough to give you a fear of them), but because of other people. There's just something that makes it uncomfortable letting nature run it's course while there's another sister only a few feet away from you. I mean, you are somewhat hidden by a sheet of MDF about 1/4" thick, but that's not the whole problem. The biggest dilemma is the sounds that will occupy the room while you are present. Whether it's coming from you or the other person-it's embarrassing! For both of you! It's natural and really not that big of a deal, but really it is. Sometimes I'm embarrassed for myself and a lot of the time I'm embarrassed for the other person.

I really don't have a solution to this predicament, I just thought I'd share one of the world's quirks that may affect you also. I had to laugh* to myself about how funny little things are and why sometimes things like this perk my attention and how sometimes they don't.

Life is funny!

(*this phrase was borrowed from a famous crochet-ist, non other than my dear grandmother JoAnn)

Hey, check it out. I finally got a picture to upload down on my "not exciting" blog. You should take a look. Now I am ready to get the picnic uploaded, that is, unless it doesn't work again. .

Millions of peaches, peaches for me. . .

It's here.

One of my most favorite times of the year. You know, the one where you make an afternoon trip down to Brigham City just for the satisfaction of purchasing one of the most delicious fruits known to mankind-Peaches! That's right-they're ripe and ready for eatin'!

My roommate, Karilyn, and I had the opportunity to make a trip to Brigham on Monday and don't you even worry, 3 fruit stands, 2 taste tests, and 1/2 bushel later we were on our way back to Logan. The peach season is one of my favorites-full of peaches and ice cream, peaches in your cereal, fresh raspberry and peach milkshakes, peaches with milk and sugar, just peaches by themselves, and let's not forget the famous Beck Peach Dessert! This ranks right up in my top three of best desserts ever. If you have not tried it I suggest you do before this blessed season has passed from us.

Anyway, the whole moral of this post is to let you know that peaches are good and you should eat one!

(P.S. I don't mean to make Chod and Nikkala jealous!)

Yeah, I'm not exciting. . .

So, I really wanted to have a cool post here. One with a great story and fabulous pictures, but it's just not going to happen. I have nothing way too exciting for you. This past weekend was great at home and I laughed and relaxed a lot. If only I had access to a freakin' hilarious video Bay and I made-that might make your day, but then again, when I think about it, I really don't want that video posted on my blog, or any blog for that matter. I feel it's better to save myself the humiliation and keep you all thinking that I'm somewhat normal.
Kate and I did take some cool jumping pictures. Maybe you would enjoy those. Hmmmm. . .I'll think about it and maybe you'll even get to see these amazing works of art. And maybe I'll give you another treat and finish "The Great Picnic," but don't get your hopes too high.

And, another thought, I just have to say that Patty P.'s post about school shopping brings back great memories from Lisa teaching us some random song about Chinese women to Meek and I making up songs about weird-creeper people at the McDonald's we could see out of our window at the Crystal Inn while chomping on our own delicious "mints"(or rather our bucket of ice)-and we can't forget the many synchronized swimming routines we made up in hotel swimming pools, giga pets(searching F O R E V E R for a freakin' dog for Deid), and the great finds at Jobbers(pretty much the best store ever with the coolest jewelery!)-oh, and one more, getting people to honk at our "Honk if you love chocolate!" sign in the back windows of DesertStar. Good times, good times!

Until next time.