Once upon a time...

Once upon a time there was a sophomore at BYU named Elise McAllister. She lived at 760 E 820 N #108 at Regency Apartments in Provo, Utah. (84604, if you were wondering). She got a keyboard for Christmas, and liked it a lot. She got a broken TV the first week of school. But she still liked it a lot. She had 5 roommates. Amber was a BYUSA freshman representative from Arizona who enjoyed boys named Derek, and political science. Kim was a recently returned missionary from Los Angles who was from Colorado Springs, was a mechanical engineer major and loved to run. Brenda was the boisterous and wild one from Renton, Washington majoring in business, and loved to curl her hair. Kelcey was also from Arizona, and loved to make animal noises and call her grandmother a weiner. Krista... well was positively sleepy and bashful and grumpy and happy and doctorate and dopey and sneezed a lot? anyway the point is, she loved to run, even though she had an injured knee. she was a communications major and always had the dream to go to Jerusalem with her precious "sole" mate Elise! And then she had a boyfriend named John. John was a wildlife and wildlands conservation major (whatever that is), who loved to feed roadkill to Elise, tease her about the gigantic age gap between them, clean otter poop, and take her on many wonderful adventures into exciting lands and to see exotic animals. (such as a turkey). but most of all, he LOVED... to eat peanut butter. she also had two strange friends named tristram and dan. Tristram was a registered child molester. as you can clearly see by this picture. He liked to run. and swim. and bike. and dance like a jellyfish. But he was a pretty good bowler. his cousin Dan was quite similar. he had an unfortunate accident as a child... and ever since has been afraid to use a razor, leaving him a hideous growth under his nose on his upper lip. It was a tragedy for all that knew him. Dan liked to dance with walls. it must have been another strange childhood accident, because he danced with walls like they were actually people. weird. anyway, all these people interacted with each other daily, and had lots of fun adventures together. Once, they went to a basketball game for BYU vs. SDSU (which we won). They commandeered a couch from the memorial hall to watch it on. it was quite the event. Also, actually no that's pretty much it. Kris just got mad at me for not posting on my blog recently, so i made up this lame and COMPLETELY untrue story about fictional people. Disclaimer: this is NOT my life. i don't know if there is a person out there that looks somewhat similar to me in any way shape or form who does have this life, but it is certainly not mine. the end.

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)