A Valentine's gift from my mom

So, let's just put it simply-- I have a really great mom.

I know that I hardly ever show that I feel this way. I'm also aware of how little time I spend with her and how many days can pass by before I even speak with her in the smallest of ways. But, really, I do love her.

Yesterday afternoon I randomly found out that there was a really cheap roundtrip ticket from here to home for the break between semesters. I originally wasn't even wanting to go home for that week, but because this semester has turned out to be so blahhhh, I really hoped to somehow be able to go home for a little bit. Actually, it's been on my mind to try and set it up so that I could surprise my mom by flying in and walking through the front door, but I'm terrible at keeping things a surprise. It's almost like I'll combust if I don't share my brilliant plan with everyone, haha. Anyways, I told my mom about the flight I had stumbled upon. She was super excited to hear about it and I told her that I would buy the ticket if they still had that price when I got paid on the 23rd.

Well, here's where my mom displays her extreme amazingness... she sent me a text this afternoon that read: "Happy Valentine's Day! I'm getting you a plane ticket home. Find that ticket and I'll send you the card info."

I was completely speechless and incredibly excited! I dashed right on over to the computer and pulled up the website and sure enough that ticket was still there! The best part--it had even gone down in price by a dollar. (Ha, that seems lame, but it was kind of exciting and felt all meant to be.) There were only 2 tickets left at that price and I am now the proud owner of one of them :)

So. Here's a message to all you in Florida: I'll be home April 13th-April 19th. Technically the 20th, but I fly out of JAX at 7:00 am.

Mom's reasoning: "I was going to give you money for vday, but this was better," and "I was too excited for you to come home to wait."

My mom is awesome. I'm sure your's is too, but mine holds a special place in my heart.

Mission Papers Update

For those of you that I've talked to already, you know that the hold up for starting my mission papers was getting a health issue signed off. Well, the Bishop finally was able to get the information he needed and it turns out the doctor will not sign off on the issue just yet.

Therefore, mission papers are postponed until further notice.

Yes, I did spend the rest of the evening curled up in my bed, crying about it. But I have to look at it this way: it's not in the Lord's plan for me to serve right now. I will be able to return to the mission prep. process in a few months, but for right now I guess my focus needs to be on serving my tutoring students to the best of my ability and attending other personal needs.

I'm 22

Well, here's to being "happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time"!

Impatience!

I would just like to make it known that I can't wait to start my mission papers!

Looking back at 2012

What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?

-      Jumped off a cliff (20 feet above the water) into a river.

-      Complete a family member’s temple work.

-      Went to Arizona.

-      Attended the annual National Council on Family Relations Conference.

-      Got bumped off of a flight.

-      Lived in an apartment with 5 other girls.

-      Worked 2 part time jobs at the same time.

-      Opened a credit card account.

-      Driven by myself.

-       Assisted the development of a college course.

-      Took action on the prompting to serve an LDS mission.

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

-      I don’t recall this year’s resolution. If I am remembering correctly, I believe I had decided New Year’s resolutions were stupid because you either forget about them or give up before the year is over. I just generally wanted to be a better person, but not just for the year, but also for the rest of my life.

Did someone close to you give birth?

-      Actually, yes. Jill had a baby, Lori had a baby, four of my friends from my Marriage class had babies, and my cousin also had a baby.

Did someone close to you pass away?

-      Yes, my cousin Shawn had a terrible car accident this summer.

What countries did you visit?

-      Just the one I live in… the USA.

What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?

-      Dedication and a better work ethic.

What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

-      June 8 : Shawn’s death

-      October 31 : Flying to the NCFR Conference and talking with Brother Rarick

-      November 22 : Thanksgiving with the Galbraiths

-      December 15 : The last day of the fall semester and the day I spent 9 hours sitting in the Idaho Falls airport

-      February 20, 2013 : The day Emily reports to the MTC

What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?

-      Holding onto two jobs for an entire semester.

-      Passing Math 119 even though I didn’t try my best.

-      Reaching the point of where I am today AKA I haven’t had to meet with Brother Barnes (outside of mission-related things) since mid-Spring.

What was your biggest failure(s)?

-      Giving into temptations.

-      Making C’s on exams during Fall?

What was the best thing you bought?

-      My MacBook Pro!

-      Clothes that actually fit.

Where did most of your money go?

-      Clothes. It’s a horrible, horrible addiction!

What did you get really, really, really excited about?

-      NCFR Conference

-      Spending Thanksgiving at the Galbraith home

-      Being a teaching assistant AND a math tutor

-      Completing Dad’s temple work

What song will always remind you of 2012?

-      Eyes Open by Taylor Swift

-      Love Me by JJ Heller

-      Shake It Out by Florence + the Machine

-      Home by Phillip Phillips

-      Skyscraper by Demi Lovato

…and I’m quite sure there’s several more.

Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?

-      Absolutely much happier.

What do you wish you'd done more of?

-      Talked with Brother Galbraith when I was prompted.

-      Prayed.

-      Read my scriptures.

-      Attended ALL my church meetings.

-      My homework assignments.

-      Preparation.

-      Journaling.

-      Pay attention.

What do you wish you'd done less of?

-      Repeated myself.

-      Whining and complaining.

-      Procrastinating.

-      Slept.

-      Stressing.

Did you fall in love in 2012?

-      Nope.

What was your favorite TV program?

-      Bones

-      Psych

-      Pretty Little Liars

-      Big Bang Theory

-      Criminal Minds


What was the best book you read?

-      The Miracle of Forgiveness… granted I only read a chapter, but it was still really good!

What was your greatest musical discovery?

-      Imagine Dragons

-      Phillip Phillip

-      The Piano Guys

What did you want and get?

-      My teaching assistant job. I’ve wanted to TA for Brother Galbraith since my first spring semester with him.

-      To move (at home) to a new house.

-      Weight loss. It’s been some—not as much as I’d like, but enough to matter.

What did you want and not get?

-      A boyfriend… specifically a certain person.

-      My TA position for Winter 2013.

-      An A in Math 119.

Favorite film of this year?

-      The Avengers, hands down.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

-      I went to church, then I hung out at the Bitter’s house. I turned 21.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?

-      Much better than 2011, but not as fashionable as I could have been. I make a LOT of horrible fashion decisions, haha.

What kept you sane?

-      Journalling

-      Brother Galbraith

-      The gospel

-      My cat, Kira

-      My friends

Who do you miss?

-      Shawn

-      Andre, occasionally

-      Machelle

-      Bethany

Who was the best new person you met?

-      My Fall FHE family‼

-      Jennifer (Beiser) McClellan

-      Ashley Rowell

-      Hannah Ogles

-      Jordan Nielson

-      The students I tutored

…and soooo many other people!

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012:

-      Don’t wait to the last minute to do something very important.

-      I need to work on making appropriate attachments.

-      Brother Galbraith really is there for me and gives amazing advice.

-      Everything from my Family Theories class and my Family Stress and Coping class.

A quote that sums up your year:

-      “I’m a Mormon. I know it, I live it, I love it.”

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

-      “It’s been a really, really messed up week. Seven days of torture, seven days of bitter. My girlfriend went and cheated on me…” : Tonight Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae

-      “Don’t pay no mind to the demons, they fill you with fear. The trouble, it might drag you down. If you get lost, you can always be found.” : Home by Phillip Phillips

-      “Be still, my soul. Thy God doth undertake to guide the future as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let noting shake; all now mysterious shall be bright at last.” : Be Still My Soul

-      “There are true things inside of me I have been afraid to see I believe. Help my unbelief. Would you say again what you said to me, ‘I am loved and I am free’?” : True Things by JJ Heller

Everything is different!

For the first time since the ward split back in April, I will be attending my home ward in about 7 hours.

So much about being home this Christmas is different. Not only will I be attending a "different" ward when I'm here, I live in a different house in a different neighborhood, and my room is completely new.

On top of that is the knowledge that I'm preparing to begin mission papers (to serve after this coming spring semester) and that I fly back to Idaho on January 6th. It's strange to be working hard at settling in--organizing all the now unpacked boxes in my room, remembering driving to a different house when I come home from the store or such, etc.--when I'm leaving it all behind in a little over two weeks. I'm assuming that I'll come back home in July and head out to the MTC from here shortly after, so it's even stranger to think that this place will not feel like a part of my life for the next two-ish years.

But on the brighter side of things, Brother Galbraith has completed my father's temple work as of today! Also, Christmas is in less than 48 hours and, for the first time ever, my family is doing our Christmas gathering at our house!

Once I finally get everything in my room organized I will be posting a few pictures of my room (and of course my precious Kira kitty!) for those in Idaho that have been curious to see what my new house looks like. Right now, it's a mess... half decorated for Christmas, half unpacked, and boxes of stuff that we are getting rid of.

Figuring things out

This morning I finally found out why my tutoring appointments weren't showing up as weekly even though my students were checking the "weekly" box when they signed up. Turns out I had been forgetting to set the date to reoccur until the end of the semester. It's been all figured out now, which is awesome.

I also found out that I could possibly be getting $125 worth of funding to attend the NCFR conference at the end of this month, thanks to Galbraith for checking out the Student Societies Handbook. Mikaela and I are pretty blessed.

I had a great tutoring session with Rylan this morning; and oh, how it made me ache to take an algebra class! I miss when math was simple... but I know I didn't think it was so simple when I was first introduced to it.

General Conference is this weekend. Madi, Hayley, and I will have the apartment to ourselves. We're planning on pulling our mattresses into the living room for a weekend-long sleepover :) I'm making dinner for them, Janae, and Kendal on Saturday evening... I'm considering inviting Jordan if he's staying in town for GC.

In between sessions I'll probably finish up grading the Family Foundations stuff and study for my Calculus exam that's on Monday. And I'm sure doing crazy things with Madi and Hayley will happen too.

Things are going a LOT better this semester compared to last semester. Although, I think a lot of it has to do with my attitude about this semester being awesome. I've had a lot of help and heaps of blessings so far and we're not even to mid-terms yet.

And so I don't forget, here are a few things I want to remember to blog about:

• FAML 360
• 2 boys
• Influence of being a TA

Dearest September...

Lesson of the past month?

I can't be superwoman no matter how hard I try.

16 credits, two jobs, AND awesome roommates does not a good combination make if I want to get adequate sleep and not get sick.

So 14 credit it is.

Things on my mind as of late...

This is probably going to be a tangle of random bits--written as they come to mind--so if that's not what you're looking for, I'd suggest skipping this so called update of mine :)

This morning I started working on helping Bro. Galbraith develop his FAML 400 course. He sent me the ideas we talked about, some of his brainstorming, and Bro. Gardner's old syllabus for the course. Tomorrow I need to swing by the Clarke and pick up the textbook he left for me. I'm excited to thumb through it! I'm really looking forward to this class now. And in all honesty, I'm so excited for this fall that my anxiety hits me in waves where I can't stop thinking about what needs to be done and what I may be doing in the coming months. I may have said this before other semesters, but I don't remember being as excited for classes to start as I am right now. I feel it in my bones that this could be a really great fall--as long as I keep my head in the game and don't resort to my bad habits.

It's starting to really hit me that I will be leaving this apartment for good in less than 2 weeks. It's kind of bittersweet. I'm excited to move to Royal Crest with Grace, but I'm sad to be leaving the only home I've known up here so far. And I'm crazy torn about leaving the 28th Ward... and the 6th Stake. I'll suck it up and move on with life, but for right now I'm just a little bit melancholy.

Jill and Rylan arrive on Wednesday and I'm excited about that, but apprehensive too. I don't want them being up here to affect who I have become. I let so many things change who I am instead of being just me. I'm praying hard that I will still feel all the freedom that I've felt here and that I'll stop being so selfish with my little world. Although since this semester could be potentially insanely busy, it will be really nice to know that Jill isn't just a phone call a way, but a short walk as well. I might need that.

The list of things that need to be purchased once I get my financial aid in has gown enormously long! I'm worried about that. I've been neglecting so many things due to short funds that I feel like I'll never get the chance to catch up. I need to remember to add contacts and prescription refills to my ever-growing list. And I think I need to be banned from online shopping... period. It's become quite the problem since I moved to Idaho. Every semester. I may or may not need to delete my eBay account...

Since my last doctor's appointment during the semester I have lost ~15 lbs. It's still awful seeing the numbers I see on the scale, but I'm way excited to be out of the torturous numbers that I swore I'd die if I ever saw again. My Old Navy jeans are needing a belt worn with them and my (now lone) pair of AE jeans almost fit comfortably. As for my shirts and bras, I think I'll pretend to ignore the fact that I'm not seeing any changes there. My hair on the other hand has become something I really like about myself again. It's nice and long--just a few inches shy of being as long as it was during my very first college semester. It's also almost all back to my natural dark brown color. The last 4 or 5 inches of it still has the red tint that hair dye leaves me with, but once it grows long enough I want to chop that off and be aw naturale again :)

A week or two ago my aunt asked me to draw the silhouette of my cousin, Shawn, for a t-shirt design she is thinking about having done. As much as I love my cousin and miss him, there is something really weird about drawing a loved one who's passed away while staring at their picture for a reference. It's bittersweet, really. Christmas this year is going to be beyond strange. I will be the only child there now and I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that all the Christmas money and presents will go towards me instead of me and Shawn. It's not as exciting as you'd think because the reason is just... so sad. He was such a great kid. He was definitely going places. And now, now I just have to remind myself that Heavenly Father's plan for him was different than what I expected. He's got a much different, better plan for Shawn than being here and looking like he could be Taylor Lautner's stunt double.

Oh, this summer... it's been so long and so short all at once.

Summer is officially here!

I haven't had a single thing I had to do since Saturday morning. You'd think it would be super relaxing, and while it was, I'm bored of having nothing to do already. Yes, I know it's only been 3 days.

It's kind of like a smack in the face going from 60 to 0 in a matter of a day. I get to sleep in however long I want, go to sleep whenever I please, and eat when I feel like it. I can watch tv or spend all day on Pinterest if I want. Which is awesome, but after a few hours straight of doing so I start craving for something productive. So I signed up for Foundations Capstone on Tuesdays & Wednesdays from 10 am to 12 pm. The first day of it is tomorrow (err, today by the looks of my clock). I really don't feel like taking it, but I think I'll die of boredom if I don't. Plus it will be terrific to not have to worry about it with other classes--I can just get it done and over with.

The Summer Olympics begin this week and you can bet I will be watching the gymnastics and diving! If anyone in my apartment changes the channel, they best be aware of my wrath! I'm not going to miss the gymnastics for anything! It's my favorite part of the Olympics. Period.

And then outside of all that, I plan to read some books, do some crafts, and exercise. I've finally made up a list of things to do when I decide I'm tired of staring at my laptop screen and napping on the couch. So hopefully I'll start feeling a little more productive.

Well this is a new feeling.

I'm so not normally like this, but I really want my mom to be here. Right now.

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

There are several big decisions I need to make this semester--right now I can think of at least 3, but there are more. I am constantly saying that I wish I had more "free" time to sit and think about them... but every time I get the extra time, I find myself doing other things because I don't necessarily want to face having to make a decision that will affect me so greatly.

All three decisions that I am currently thinking of have the potential to change my life in ways that I can't map out instantly. And I'm not quite sure how I feel about that.

Thankfully I have some super great support systems up here at school, otherwise I'd be even more a mess than I was last week. (Let's just sum up last week by saying it ended in several tear-filled phone calls and quite a few hours sitting in the dark to calm down.)

I've known this for a couple of months, but this semester is going to be my toughest one yet. And let me tell you, it's already proven its feisty-ness in the first week!

Here's something I need to learn:

I can't always get my way.

Well hello there, fortune cookie!

This basically sums up everything I've been doing this week--especially a series of emails.

Here's to being 21!

Today I:
• Finally got my license!
(Thanks to my best friend for letting me use her car.)
• Received my first credit card in the mail.
• Found out that my voter's registration from 2 yrs ago actually did go through.

Lost Things

I have a terrible habit of losing things. For example, I lose my cell phone a minimum of 3 times a day. If I'm wearing contacts, I can guarantee that I have no idea where my glasses are located. Also, the remote to the TV and the cable are never together when I need them. And I always lose one right before I find the other... for anything I am looking for.

Right now though, I am totally kicking myself because I have lost $80 in cash.

with a deposit slip for my bank.

W A Y  T O  G O !!

I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in my room or in the car, but what if it isn't?!

Britt's getting married!!!

Tomorrow (err, today technically) is one of my good friends's bridal shower. I am sooo excited for her! It's really strange to think about the fact that she gets married in exactly three weeks. Her engagement seems to have flown by. She's really happy and I can definitely see that every time I talk to her or see her around... and honestly, her happiness is what matters... even if I can't get my head around the fact that she'll be a married woman soon and that her last name will now be Anderson. Haha, I just realized that this Saturday, the Saturday after next, and the following Saturday I will be attending events all about her--bridal shower, bachelorette party, and wedding reception :) I really can't wait to see her on her wedding day... she will be the most beautiful bride!

I'm not sure what I am getting her yet. I have to go shopping in the morning. I want to get one item from the registry and another small item that's not on the registry, but shows how well I know them. I have her card made already, but I think I am going to save that for her reception. I love how it turned out and can't wait to give it to them!

And one of the friends I made on the CFAS committee just got engaged tonight. Her ring is super pretty! It makes me wonder when I'll be getting engaged and married... I'm hoping I'll be married by the time I graduate BYU-I or just shortly after.

Running

I'm going to get a good pair of running shoes and I'm going to run every day. Even if it hurts. Which, I know it will because I'm not a runner. But soon I will be and I'm going to love it.

Old Best Friend

This week an old best friend of mine has been going through archives of our memories. We uncovered our old Live Journals and talked about how much we've changed. We discovered pictures from 9th grade and videos of us talking about boys.

9th grade Drama Awards Show (2006)

It's been really great to talk with her again! She moved away a few days before 10th grade started and I cried the whole night after the first day because I missed her so much. We kept in contact quite a bit for a few months and then she kind of disappeared for awhile until we started college. I've been anxiously waiting for the day that we'd reconnect... and that day became last Thursday.

She's married and has a baby girl now.

A Job? Finally!

I finally have a job!

At this beautiful place...

The Casa Monica Hotel 

Today I had an interview to be a room attendant. He gave me an overview of the job, told me the benefits, explained pay, etc. I filled out the background check paperwork, agreed to a drug test, and am now waiting on a lady named Vicki to call me in for a second interview... then if I pass the check, test, and interview, I have the job!