What the...?

What? There's a blog here with my name on it? Random I can't recall making a blog... probably since its been so darn long since i used it... I have to start being better about that... as this is my only form of joural. (the song "genealogy... i am doing it!" is screeching in my head)

So I finished the semester with grades that I am honestly... still angry about. Usually I'm like, "ok i probably deserved this grade... I needed to work harder." This time, I really didn't deserve the grades I got... and grr. I'm mad. Anyway. its over, and I don't have to do it ever again. I think. I decided on my major- family & consumer science education (being a home ec teacher). Yes, it was a hard decision to make, yes i am still embarrassed sometimes because its a very "domestic" "molly mormon" "female" major, yes some people just nod their heads and smile when i tell them what i am doing... and I can't really blame them, yes i've had several doubts about it since the decision was made, but also yes, it is absolutely and undeniably the thing that Heavenly Father wants me to be doing. I have felt what i have felt, and I can't deny it, as much as I want to go back and say, "are you sure?" haha. I started dating this guy named John Hill from Alaska. He's pretty cool, as far as Alaskans are concerned. haha :) We have lots of fun and tease each other about where we are from because apparently, Texas is a crazy place, but so is Alaska in my opinion. Go figure. Maybe someday we'll compromise. I went home for Christmas break, went on a cruise to the bahamas, went to disneyworld and harry potter world in Universal Studios (SO COOL!!), and am now sitting on my couch bed which is nightly littered with popcorn and soda, because there is a tv and xbox in here, and apparently its the cool place to be for all the tweenagers. lame sauce.

Next semester is going to be a very different one... NO TWINS!! :(((((((((((( I have never gone to college without the twins, and I'm not very happy about seeing them go, but in all honestly, they're going to Jerusalem... how can me and Kris compare to that?! It's going to be incredible, and they're going to have a blast... i hope that I can get to go there sometime during my stay here at the Y. It would be quite the adventure. Also leaving the 108 is Katrina, who is getting married in february. It won't be too much of a change, because i only see her a couple times a week anyway. ha. Brenda is stickin around (yay!!), and me and kris will be up to our old shenanigans as usual. I called Kris today, and she said that one of our new roommates' names is Amber. and that she's really nice. and that she lives in the twins room. and that the point is, they slaughter dolphins (disclamer: the last statement is not related to amber in anyway.) I miss Kris! :( she is back in provo working her butt off at her lame job. Speaking of jobs, they only scheduled me for 10 hours... so how i'm going to be able to provide for myself... is a very good question. lame sauce. Schedule is quite time consuming... as one of my classes for my major (intro to sewing or something like that) is a 3 credit class, consisting of 2 lecture hours and 6 lab hours. WHAT?! also, human development (3), interior design (3), family finance (3), and mission preparation from the bottster (2). that should be fun. its a good schedule, just very packed... it'll be fun. i'll make it fun. and i better get good grades this semester or else...... yeah i dont know or else what. it would be really cool to get a scholarship? haha.

christmas! christmas is great! I got a sewing machine, a cover for my snowboard (so i can take it back up to UT), a keyboard, a mug that says "i eat losers for breakfast" and a few other little knickknacks. emily got a baby doll, who she strolls around everywhere, and a princess kitchen set. she fell down the stairs tonight... poor baby. she's way cute though. rach got a new camera, nicole got dad's (i mean santa's *cough*cough*) old guitar, and lauren & brooke got... some random stuff? idk. this is brooke's last year as a believer. kinda sad. but its been cute. we got mom salt & pepper shakers of mickey & minnie on the cruise (she collects salt and pepper shakers- off the top of my head i can name buddah, cowboy boots, teacup, watering can, eggs with duck feet poking out, pumpkins, birds.... ), and dad a book of pictures of walt disney (he loves walt disney). and i got rach a byu sweatshirt for when she COMES TO SCHOOL HERE NEXT FALL!!! so excited! my lil baby sis all grow'in up. one minute she's biting my... you-know-whats and then she's going off to collegegegegegeeee..... presh.

well that's all i have to say about that.

Surgery Time!

Well the day has finally arrived. (at least it will have arrived in T-110 hours) After four years of sinus infections every few months, 7 sessions of antibiotics, a gazillion nose sprays, 5 CAT Scans, a sinus flush (which happens to be the sickest thing in the world), an MRI, and a partridge in a pear tree, they're finally fixing my stinkin sinuses! The surgery is non-invasive, but painful, they're going up through my nose to remove a mass (cyst, fungal mass or tumor) in my right maxiliary sinus. Pretty gross stuff eh? And all I have to worry about is 6 weeks of cloudy with a chance of headaches, 40% chance of severe bleeding, and .1% chance of brain damage or eye damage. comforting, i know. The bad thing is that I have to miss halloween =/ I'm kinda bummed. When people ask me what I'm gonna be, I'm like "a recovering surgery patient." ("Oh... clever!"). I'll be chillin at Uncle Bruce and Aunt Deb's house, missing some school, and hopefully getting to read some Hunger Games, which I hear is pretty darn good.

I'm about centimeters away from deciding my major... My top three are biology education, elementary education, and Family and Consumer Science Education. And frankly, I'm pretty sure I'd be happy doing all three of these things... I just have to figure out which one I'd be the MOST happy doing. And while the few who read this will be spending much consideration about the thought process I'm going through to pick one, it helps me to right it down, and just sort it through my head.

• Biology ed- I want to work with teenagers more than I want to work with kids. I like being passionate about something, and it definitely appeals to me that biology isn't going to be an elective sluff class like Family & Consumer science might be. I'm not super stoked to take chemistry and physics classes (I really hate both of them...), but I really like biology! It's the longest of the three majors. I also would love love LOVE to get a PhD after my kids are all grown up and be a college professor & be a wildlife biologist on the side. That's pretty much my dream job.
• Elementary Ed- I love kids. a lot. I love the idea of making my classroom all colorful and creative and making little name tags and everything that goes along with being an elementary ed teacher. I would like working with teenagers more than kids though. I love kids, but I can be impatient sometimes. Also, everyone and their mom does elementary education. Kinda want to be different.
  
• Family & consumer science- pretty much, this would be the funnest job ever. I would get to learn about things that are way fun, things I'm going to use in my future home, and work with teenagers. However, when I took this in middle school, all the kids who took it were like the kids who just wanted an easy grade. I want to make kids passionate about what they're learning about, and if I get all the dumb jocks and cheerleaders in the class I might puke.

And that is all I have to say about that.

JDRF

A poem, I wrote to raise money for JDRF:

The time is upon us! The time is at hand!

Send out the word- across all the land!

Tell sisters and brothers- cousins and aunts!

Your great great grandmothers with stretchy old pants!

There are children in need, all over the world.

Whose voices- to everyone- need to be heard!

They ve gotten together with friends and family

For the futures of all, they d like to guarantee.

There are people who re walking. They re marching to say:

We don t like how diabetes treats people this way!

It s monstrous! It s evil! It makes people mad!

It affects lots of families- it makes people sad!

In fact, my dear friend, did you know? Listen here:

Over 15,000 children are diagnosed each year.

That s the US alone! I can tell you firsthand,

It's time to get up! Off your seats! Make a stand!

So today, my dear friend, all I will ask of you

Open your piggy bank, see what you can do

Even if just a dollar- a dollar! my friend,

Every cent helps diabetes come to an end.

Pass this message along, help us to ensure

Diabetes is conquered! Help JDRF find a cure!

Can I just say something?

Ok, just throwin this out there, but isn't it kinda perfect how we have patriarchal blessings, a savior who knows everything we've gone through, a Heavenly Father who knows us and loves us individually and unconditionally, latter-day prophets who can tell us what God wants us to know, and the Holy Ghost to guide us through our lives? Not gonna lie, I am a worry wart. I worry about everything, even when somethings up to 2 years in advance. I've been worrying about pretty much anything and everything there is to worry about in the last 2 weeks... and yet, everything is going to be ok. If we have faith that Heavenly Father will guide us through every trial that we will have in our lives, what have we to worry about? Looking through the eternal perspective is hard for me, but the few times I've been able to take a glimpse into the "big picture", I've been amazed at how trivial everything that I have concerns about on a day-to-day basis is. So this is a wake up call, Elise, stop worrying. Life is beautiful- enjoy the ride.

Tailbone misery

I broke my tailbone playing broom ball. It sucks. That is all I have to say about that.

I love getting missionary letters!

School is getting busy! I had a calculus test last week, that I didn't do so good on, even after studying for hours on end. I have an American Heritage and Doctrine and Covenants test this week. SWEET.

General Conference is in one week! I am stoked! I don't know where I'm watching it yet, but it will be joyous!

I got called to be the Relief Society Secretary. It is a little weird, because all the other members of the presidency are seniors and graduating and know what their majors are, and they have lives, and I am just a baby sophomore... and lost in life, but it will be great. I hope it will be a good opportunity to meet other people in the ward.

I didn't get to run in the JDRF run, because I had the tailbone break. Huge bummer, I was really looking forward to it.

I am turning 20 in 15 days!! that is 2 decades old!! I'm an oldy!! No more teenage hooliganisms for me. :(

I just killed a fly in my house!! joy! :)

I pretty much spent the entire weekend laying on my bed like a diseased person with polio eating fred's cabin bars, which are DELICIOUS but sooo not good for you. :) how sweet life is.

Quote from my psychology textbook: "A pinch on the cheek can be pleasant or unpleasant, depending on who administers it, under what circumstances, and to which set of cheeks." haha.

I am listening to christmas music right now! And I love it! Particularly "It's Christmas Time" by the carpenters which I used to dance around the house with my sisters and my dad when i was a child!! :)

There are CALIFORNIA QUAILS OUTSIDE OUR APARTMENT ALMOST EVERY DAY!! I LOVE them. so much.

My family just thrives! Emily is signing, Brookelyn is being trampled on by 4th graders getting onto the bus, Lauren is in the school play as a graffiti woman, Nicole makes up funny status and takes weird pictures of herself, and Rachel is coming to BYU in less than a year!! My mom just turned 28, congrats to her in her young age. and my dad is just super duper!

Last weekend I got in a food fight. It was planned, for my friend Heather Christensen's birthday. Quite delightful. Except for the fact that my shower got clogged with chow mein, and it created a muddy tub of death and chocolate.

I love chick-fil-a! and my roommates! and our really clean house! and the fact that i have a broken tailbone (PSYCH. lies.)

that is all i have to say about that. (-Forrest Gump)

How Firm a Foundation!

Today we had regional conference at the Marriot center with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, President Boyd K. Packer, Julie B. Beck, and Steven E. Snow of the Seventy. The talks were FANTASTIC. It was almost like general conference, but 10 times more intimate. Both Sister Beck and President Packer didn't use the teleprompter at all, and just were kinda wingin' it, which was great. The night before we had the adult session of stake conference, where our Stake President, President Todd, spoke as well as Elder Rudd, a 93-year old who worked for the church distribution center, and did like a gazillion other things for the church. Here are my favorite quotes from all the talks:

• Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a mighty battle. -Plato
• You only live once, but if you live it right, once is enough. -Elder Rudd
• To be perfected in Christ means to have faith to rid their self the desire to do wrong. -President Todd
• Parable of the Windshield & Rearview mirror: In life we are driving along and have our windshield and our rearview mirror. The rearview mirror is only to be looked in when we need to learn from the past. We should always look ahead in life through our windshield, having faith in the savior. Looking through the rearview mirror leads to regression in life. -President Todd
• (15 min before the meeting was supposed to start) The meeting really began when President Packer entered. Let's try to keep it a little quieter, and reverent. - Jeffrey R. Holland
• Testimonies must be continuously renewed with spiritual experience. We can't just rely on past experiences. -Steven E. Snow
• In order for faith to be powerful, we must have obedience & righteousness. -Julie B. Beck
• We fought in heaven the opportunity to have a difficult experience on Earth. - Julie B. Beck
• Faith is longer lasting and more nourished when there is a family together calling upon it. - Jeffrey R. Holland
• I didn't serve well because I was experienced, I served well because I was called. -Boyd K Packer

(these are not actually quotes that I heard in the conference, but quotes that I just really like :)

• "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." (Mother Theresa)
• "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." (Mother Theresa)
• "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."(Ghandi)
• "People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway" (Mother Theresa)
• "Don’t spend another minute being angry about yesterday. Free him and you free yourself." (Forever Strong)
• "If its just you alone, you’re not as much of a threat" (Luna Lovegood)
• "You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves." -Abraham Lincoln
• "I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." (Elie Wiesel)
• "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." (Elie Wiesel)
• "Even the largest ocean cannot sink the smallest ship- unless water gets inside"
• "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic."
• We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.
• “I always think that the best booster to self-esteem is not reciting a bunch of aphorisms about self-worth, but actually going out in the world and doing something that makes you feel valued, whether that is putting more into your work, deciding to get that master's degree, becoming involved in a volunteer organization, pursuing your love of painting, etc.” –Dear Prudie
• "Come what may, and love it" (Joseph B Wirthlin)

krista. roy. jae-elrena what?

krista
kristttaaaaa???
kristaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
i am trying to get your attention but you are diligently typingon your computerrrr :)
lkjf;lksjf;lkjdsf;lkjsf;lkjs;kljsd;lkjdsl;js;lkjdslk;jsd;lkjsd;lkjl;kjs;lkj

Youtube.

Ok. Since you don't have TV when you're in college... you usually just spend your life watching youtube. youtube rocks! Here are some of my all-time favorite you-tube's:

FUNNY:
Tracy: My push up bra will help me get my man. You might just have to shield the bottom of the screen because there is a little bit of cleavage, but, this lady is just hilarious...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtkU2ch0sRI

All the Single Ladies Gone Wrong. Not even what you were expecting. I cry with laughter. every. single. time.

Charlie Bit Me- Auto Tune. Better than the original.

Horton Hears A Who. From the movie, I showed this to Kris one time, and she's probably watched it over 50 times and still laughs...

Bedroom Intruder Song. Not worth $1.29 on itunes, but worth quoting every single day, haha.

Poor Unfortunate Souls.

Blake and Elise's Chin Musical. Biased, because I made it

Sugarland- Stuck Like Glue. Great song, hilarious music video.

You Know How to Wiggle, Who's Line is it Anyway? One of the appropriate ones, that I used to watch over and over when I was a kid.

The Sound of Music. One day, I want to do this.

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes. Hahaha

All the Single Ladies- Glee. Works every time.

CUTE

Mario Kart Love Song. Weird, but really funny.

Jessica's Daily Affirmations. Do this every day, for a happy life.

I'm Yours on the Ukelele. Impressive, and adorable. Watch is facial expressions, haha.

Chipmunks Around the World. This is from my childhood, and I love it :)

INSPIRATIONAL

Unleashing the Dormant Spirit, by F. Enzio Busche. My dad showed this to me once, and it has always stuck with me.

Testimony of the Book of Mormon by Jeffrey R. Holland

:(

Mental Diarrhea

Here's just about every thought that has entered my brain in the past 48 hours:

• I am hanging out with Kris! such joy! It feels like I am on a mission cause there has literally not been a time frame of more than 10 minutes that I have not been in the same room with her haha!
• Blake, new zealand = earthquakes, but no? everything's fine and dandy
• BYU played UW! And we won! And Blake was supposed to be there :( bummer x 1000002. But i still wore yellow shorts.
• Boys, Dating, Marriage, Mission, Study Abroad? What does my life have in store for me?! I wish I could fast forward a few years so I don't have to be so anxious about it!
• Twins are in Cancun! And me and kris have been listening to "Lead me" and the Emma song (their favorites) hahahaha.
• ANTELOPE ISLAND IS IN OUR FUTURE!!
• I have new glasses! But I can't tell what they look like on me, cause i have no contact cases to put my contacts in...
• Travis leaves in 3 days... :( But he will be such a great missionary! And I love getting letters! :)
• Laptop = bawling tantrum child with anger/diseased leper/IRS Tax Collector/Resurrected being of glory!!!
• Emily is 1 and I miss my home and my family :(
• (Right now I am looking across the room and our TV is wrapped in pink streamer from Kris's birthday haha.)
• Joy = I find everything I need at Old Navy. Despair/still joy = i always find MORE than I need at Old Navy... and buy it. But i got such great stuff!!! I've always wanted Corduroys!
  
• $70 USB Noah's Ark of Death?!
• Krista is opening a secret note that I wrote her right now!!
• FREE PRINTING FOR MY WONDERFUL JOB!! I just want to print everything that ever existed out right now!
• Green lantern burritos, j dawgs, ice cream, and in-n-out. best food ever/extra pounds to my belly
• Krista and I had a sleep talking conversation last night:
  

Me: Is the dance at the Lewisville building?
Kris: Yeah that sounds right.
Me: No, I was talking to Sister Petersen in my dream

• Kris: what if I were you, and you were me, but we still had the same names?
• Kris: what if your name was Katrina?
• Kris: what if you had naturally curly hair?
• Kris: what if we never had met each other?
• Kris: remember how we live with a pair of twins?
• Kris: what if we were boys?
• Kris: what if................?
• the burned black beans that Chelsea left on the stove haha.
• CJ and Eric and Ram and vianna, and brooke!
• there are tulips and balloons all over our apartment.
• my feet are constantly black. my feet are constantly black because they touch our carpet. my feet are constantly black, because my feet touch our carpet, which is disgustingly filthy.
• i bought a hand blender! and i havent used it yet but its so great!
• time for ward prayer. catch ya later peeps.
  

BYU!

I am back at BYU! The summer was so fun spending time with my family in Texas, visiting Fossil Rim (a drive-thru zoo), getting sneezed in the mouth by a Zebra (actually that part wasn't so fun), spending 5 days in San Diego with my Grandma, and being reunited with my roommates!! The other day I made an "A-Z Me" something I used to do back when I was in Achievement Days. Here's my A-Z!:

Airplane barf bags! Yes, I collect them!
Birds!!! I love birdwatching! Barn swallows are my favorite!
COUGAR!! I go to BYU! And I love it! Alot!
Dr. Seuss is a genius! I quote him all the time!
Elise is my name! Aka Leesie, Pants, Leesiepants, and Eli
Flower Mound Texas is my hometown!
Glee, 24, and House are my favorite shows!
Harry Potter is my life!!
Invisible children is my favorite!
Japan is my birthplace! I can never be a US President! :(
Kangaroos are one of my favorites! I am going to Australia before I die!
LDS! I am mormon!
McAllister! I am proud to be a McAllister and i love my family!
Nuns! I love love LOVE nuns!
Orange is my favorite color!
Piano! I love to play the piano!
Quiet in the library! I love to read!
Roommates! I have the worlds greatest! Krista Rachel and Chelsea!!
Soccer, snowboarding, and swimming are my favorite sports!
Traveling is my favorite! I want to go EVERYWHERE and see EVERYTHING
Uganda! I will go here someday!!
Vehicle- i have a honda accord named ranger!
Work! I work in the Open access computer labs! Come say hi!
X-cellente! Wonderful! Awesome! (my friends are _______)
Yeah... i was going to put something here but i forgot :(
Zebra- one time at fossil rim, i held my sister Brooke out the window and a zebra bit her. oops! and I also got sneezed in the mouth by one. sick. sick. sick.

I've also been making a lot of goals for myself... especially since I'm back in college. I've heard it helps to write them down and share them so you and others can keep track of how you're doing.

• NEVER have leftovers. If I make something one day, and have leftovers, I have to keep eating it the next day and the next day until its gone before I can make anything else.
• Read 1-2 chapters from the Book of Mormon every day.
• Exercise for 30 minutes every day, and do 50 crunches a day.
• "Eat out" only once a week. (unless its for free :) )
• One dessert a week, serving of fruit and vegetables every day
  
• No more than $80 spent on groceries a month
• Homework has to be done the day before its due.
• Pay a full tithe on gross income, pay a fast offering every month.
• No name calling, even in play
• NO TWIRLING HAIR!! or picking at nails
• Write in journal once a week
  

Summer Summer Summer!

So I finished up spring semester at the Y, taking 2 civilization classes, classic civ, and greek mythology (both GEs). And I loved them both!

We sold the house, and then they backed out, and then we sold the house again, and then they backed out again, and now we are just waiting and praying for everything to work out!

We flew down to Dallas on July 10th, and we have just been partying it up ever since! Partying it up meaning, swimming, watching TV, and sleeping. There isn't much to do around here when you're in temporary housing haha! But the moving trucks came yesterday, so we will probably move into our house in the next couple days, as soon as we get most of the house unpacked.

Not quite sure when i'm heading back to BYU. I had a job interview yesterday with the Open - Access computer labs, and I'm hoping and praying that I get it. Whether or not I got that job is the deciding factor in when I go back, because if I don't get the job, I have shifts at the cougareat on Monday the 16th. Otherwise, i will fly back later. The next week i get to go visit my grandma Layne down in Carlsbad!! CALIFORNIA HERE I COME!!

New Birds!

1) Barn swallow saw this little guy over by Pizza Pie Cafe. He's beautiful!
2) House Finch- I've actually been seeing these a lot lately, they're not as cool, but still fun.
3)RING-NECKED PHEASANT!!! I've seen the same one twice- once in my backyard, and once as it wandered across the street into the church parking lot. I had no idea how big they were!! Apparently, they do get hunted, which is sad.
4) Scrub Jay. Wicked cool. When i started first learning about birds, there really is no "blue jay" bird. There are different kinds of jay's like Stellar's jays, and this one- the Scrub jay. Saw him at the JFSB on campus. Beeeeautiful bird.

What do you say to taking chances?

My cousin Steven is going to Leeds England! (Chinese speaking- WEIRD!) The monday before his farewell, we went to Tucano's for dinner (all 40+ extended relatives of us). It was SO GOOD. but SO MUCH FOOD. Ugh I probably gained 20 pounds in one night... Anyway, I tried some new foods! I am a picky eater but I just decided to try some things just so I could say I had tried them. I included some of the other rarities that I have tried over the years.
Food #1- Chicken Heart. Taste like chicken? No... It was just kinda tough and chewy and slightly tasteless? Didn't like it, but it wasn't excruciating.
Food #2- Quail Egg. This was in the salad bar, and I guess it makes sense to use quail eggs since they're itty bitty, and usually people don't want to take a whole chicken egg at the salad bar, but if you cut them open, they get all gross.... etc. etc. etc. Anyway, it looked like an eyeball, so I was kinda hesitant, but it just tasted like a bland chicken egg. No big.
Food #3- Pig's ear. This was when I was 14 at Youth Conference in Flower Mound. We had like beach side team-building activities, and they roasted an ENTIRE pig, like every body part was still there. I tried part of the ear, and it tasted like greasy 10x overcooked bacon.
Food #4- Horse Jerky. There was a biology presentation last month about horses, and they passed out jerky to us before the presentation started, and we all ate it. After we ate it, they started their presentation about horses and were like, "Oh by the way... that jerky you just ate was horse." PSYCH.
Food #5- Bacon Ice Cream. Introduction to Food Science- DO NOT TAKE IT. Actually its a super easy one-credit course and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a 100% in the class, so take it, just don't eat the ice cream... He gave us samples, had us fill out what we thought it was, and if we would buy it, then told us what it was and asked us whether or not we would buy it then. SICK.
Food #6- Paper & Grass. When I was a kid... I didn't play 'house' or 'tea party.' I played "Goats." I used to eat grass in our Chicago backyard pretending I was a goat, and sometimes when I was in the family room when no one was looking, I'd open a book, rip out a corner of one of the pages and just eat it. I was a funny child. :)
Food #7- Peanut butter & Cheese Sandwiches. When I was at McKamy Middle School, I made a most important discovery. I had a peanut butter sandwich for lunch everyday in a brown paper sack, and sometimes, I would have those little handy-snack crackers & cheese packs. There was much too much cheese in the packs, and I always had some left over. WHAT TO DO?! I would spread the remainder on the top of my peanut butter sandwich, and it actually tasted really good- good enough that I repeated it for the rest of my 3 years at McKamy.
Food #8- Bird Seed. I was in 5th grade, and I loved making those little bird seeder thingies where you cover a stick in peanut butter and roll it around in bird seed. One of these times I just took a big lick off the stick, and ate the bird seed. I was thinking "Hey- healthy food right? I'll try it" WRONG. sick and nasty.
Food #9- Lemon. Actually, this was a new food for Emily. My four aunts stole her away, and all of a sudden we hear them cracking up at the other table, Emily sucking on a lemon slice. She looked disgusted, but kept on shoving it in her mouth and sucking on it, then looking disgusted, shove it back in, etc. It was pretty cute, but then she rubbed her eyes that had lemon juice on them and she kind of threw a fit. Poor baby.

So where is that fossil anyway?

Once upon a time in Chicago, there was a regional conference for our stake. I was about eight, and my mom was getting all us kids excited, because Dallin H. Oaks was going to be there, and emphasized the point that there was a modern-day apostle that we were going to see. Being a family of small children, we arrived late and sat up in the nosebleed sections. It was after arriving that Nicole (age 4) exclaimed,
"So where is that fossil anyway?"
My mom eventually wrote him a letter telling him of this experience and he wrote her back, and mom put it in Nicole's scrapbook.

Today, Dallin H. Oaks was coming to speak at my home ward's stake conference, and was going to come 45 minutes early to meet people. I decided to go and take my roommates with me and go meet him! It was wonderful! The stake conference was in the Provo Tabernacle (a BEAUTIFUL building), and soon enough, Dallin H Oaks walked in. I wasn't paying attention, because I was holding Emily, and as soon as I saw him, I'm like, "GUYS! DALLIN H. OAKS!" and my roommates were obviously paying attention and had already seen him. So we all jumped off our benches and ran up to shake his hand. He is a wonderful kind old man! But mostly, I felt that he was just another member of the church- the Lord doesn't necessarily call the most grand or extravagant people. He was a simple follower of Christ and just a happy person! As my mom shook Dallin H. Oak's hand, she motioned toward Nicole and told him that she was the one who had called him a fossil. And after all these years he remembered!

Hey Burrito

Today, was a good day (last friday actually). Apparently, like Jamba Juice, Taco Bell has 'secret burrito' flavors. They are named after superheroes like Superman and the Hulk. Conner, Brigham, and Aaron decided made up a new burrito flavor: GREENLANTERN. (I actually had never heard of the greenlantern, but whatever). One day Conner went up to the workers in Taco Bell and said, "I'd like a greenlantern burrito please"
"Uhh... I've never heard of that."
"Oh... to my knowledge EVERYONE knew what the greenlantern burrito is... but that's ok, this is basically what it is- its just a 5-layer burrito with potatoes instead of beans, and guacamole instead of sour cream."
So he gets him a greenlantern burrito and makes a note at the cash register of what a greenlantern is. Then a few hours later my roommate Krista goes up and asks for one, and the cashier said "OH. I know what THAT is! People have been ordering that ALL DAY! (only conner)."
So Friday I decided to try it out for myself. The cashier didnt know what it was, and he charged me extra for the potatoes, but it was actually really good. I felt sneaky :)

I'm sick today

I am sick today! And you know what I was thinking about? Shel Silverstein's Poem: "Sick." I used to have it memorized when I was like 10. Here is the wonderful piece of literature that i love:

'I cannot go to school today, '
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
'I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash

and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more-that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut-my eyes are blue-
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke-
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is-what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is...Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!

New BIRD(s)!!

Dad and I went bird watching Saturday. Unfortunately, it was really cold, so all the birds were hiding, so as we started driving back home he stops the car real quick, and there was this BEAUTIFUL bird sittin in a tree. It had blue wings, an orange back, and brown belly with zebra-stripped-like eyes. it was SWEET. We looked through my field guide for like a half an hour, and eventually resorted to the internet. My dad found a really helpful site for identifying birds: http://identify.whatbird.com/mwg/_/0/attrs.aspx. It ended up being an American Kestral! BEAUTIFUL bird. And then we saw a seagull flying, but that wasnt exciting.

Birds

So I'm in a biology class that requires me to identify 50 bird species and counts for 1/7 of my grade. In the top right hand corner i have a slideshow of all the birds that i've identified so far, for fun. So far I have 12. Enjoy! :P

This is... it

So, this is my blog. I really am bad at journaling, so I thought that maybe this would be a more fun/easier way to write down what my life is like. So this is what my life is like:

• I am the oldest of six girls. I'm 19 years old, and youngest is now 5 months, 2 weeks, and 5 days. I adore them all. Rachel is 17, she is the artistic one. Nicole is 14 (but she pretends that she's like... 21), and she is the sarcastic, humorous, and trendy one. Lauren is 11 and is the kind, caring, and cute one. Brookelyn is 8 and she is the sneaky, cuddly, and sensitive one. Emily is... just emily. She likes to eat her own feet, giggle, and smile. My parents are the coolest, they are both musical (mom- piano, dad-vocal), and are just happy people. I could talk to my mom for hours, and my dad will take me out to do anything anytime.
• I am one of four roommates. I go to BYU, and live at Wyview park. I live with identical twins, Rachel and Chelsea, and the happiest soul I have ever met- Krista. They are three of my favorite people in the WORLD. They make me laugh and smile and almost pee my pants every day. Our vocabulary is meshed together now, with phrases like 'rheet,' 'ebullience' and 'oh my WOW.' We are all going to live together next fall with two others- Brenda and Alyse (how ironic is that!?). I have 2 best friends, and I couldn't live without them- Blake & Travis. I can't help but smile whenever I think about either of them.
  
• I am a person of many different interests, habits, and likes. I collect coins, bird watch, play intertube water polo, eat one or more bowls of oatmeal every day, sleep with socks on, love converse, want to go to Uganda on a humanitarian mission, love love LOVE math, like to cartoon, jump (leap) into bed so that the monsters underneath won't get me, sleep with a stuffed animal dog, don't like chocolate milk/ice cream, caramel, spaghetti sauce, whipped cream, cherries, pickles, or salsa, sleep without sheets, don't eat my cereal with milk, could watch disney movies for hours, love to read, am afraid of airplanes & 'this little piggie went to market', would wear sweats/basketball shorts everyday if i could, quote "The Emperor's New Groove," "Dan in Real Life," and "Madegascar 2" constantly, don't know how to cartwheel, and love my life.