Ear Infections and Overall Cruddy Days

My ear has been hurting ever since the day before yesterday, so I talked to my mom, who told me to go to the doctor's office to see if I have an ear infection. She also told me that my little sister Breanna has pneumonia. :'( I went in, and I did. I got my prescriptions at Walmart today, after finding out that the price of both would be around $55 ($50 for the ear drops, $5 for the pills). The pharmacist helping me offered to call and see if he could get a lower price for the same thing, and I agreed to wait. He got it down to about $7, making my total a little over $12. I was really relieved and happy that I finally got the medication I needed.

Terrell and I had been talking about how we needed to back off, which is good. We decided that we'd pray about our feelings, and he told me to send him an email about how I feel about it. I did that yesterday, and he responded today. Basically, he might've (he didn't say it was a sure thing) found someone else and also might choose her over me. That crushed my heart into powder.

So, today's pretty much been the cruddiest day of my life; I have an ear infection, my little sister has a very harmful sickness, and I pretty much got reduced to being just a friend by my big, long-time crush. What a draining day. :P

Wild Weekend and Typical Tuesday

Wowzers! My siblings are crazier than I remember them! Just kidding, guys. ;)

The weekend was pretty great. When I checked my weight Saturday morning, I was pleased to discover that I'd lost about 10 pounds over the course of a month and a half! :D I went to YW volleyball with my "twin," at about 9 am and was unexpectedly invited to play. The games won were even with those lost. The only downer about it was the fact that I popped some blood vessels in my arms from the ball. Thankfully, they don't hurt; they just look weird. A little while after we got home, my parents were telling everyone to get ready to do wood. I hadn't done it in a while, so I went right out in my BYU-I sweats and "loungy," "lazy" boots. :) The not-so-fun part about it was that I got wood dropped on both feet. :(

Later, I called Cherie' to see if she and Terrell wanted to come over and watch "Tangled." We decided that they (if Terrell wanted to or was able) would come to my house. Cherie' came alone; Terrell was so tired from the Klondike that he wasn't even talking straight! She had brought a few other movies, which was good since I couldn't find "Tangled." Sad day! :( We watched the movie "Emma," based on Jane Austen's book. It was pretty enjoyable, except that my 3 youngest siblings wanted to tag along. They eventually lost interest, and Brinley ended up falling asleep on my lap 3/4 of the way through the movie. I put Brinley in bed, then Cherie' and I finished the movie. I thanked her for coming, then she headed home.

I had learned how to play Rummy earlier, so I played that with my parents and a few of my older siblings. I don't think I like that game as much; it's a lot like Phase 10, but there's points involved and the numbers in any of the runs have to be the same color. :P

Sunday was pretty grand as well. I went to Terrell's ward for sacrament meeting because he'd told me that their ward choir (which he is a part of) would be doing a musical number. We chatted for a bit afterward, then I went home to play games with the fam some more before heading back to Terrell's ward to pick him up and give him a ride home so we could talk longer. After I dropped him off, I went to my home ward and stayed there for all 3 hours. After church, I found my devotional journal that Sis. Nicolaysen (I babysat for her several times, she's a friend, and was one of my YW leaders) gave me for graduation and wrote the notes I'd been taking in my touch in the notebook. Then I played even more Rummy.

Yesterday was probably the best day of the weekend (besides having to go back to Rexburg). Mom got me up at about 8 so that I could shower and pack a little before we left to get groceries I needed and donate blood together. Brandon and Brooklyn tagged along for the grocery shopping, then we dropped them off before going to donate. I was pretty nervous; when I tried to donate plasma for the first time, I almost fainted when they pricked my finger. This time, however, I didn't look, and I was fine. :) I just didn't look the whole time; I only stole occasional, quick glances at the needle in my right arm. (I wanted to do my left, since that was the hand that was pricked, but they couldn't find a good vein.) I felt so proud of myself afterward! Mom and I went to TCBY's and got mint chocolate chip frozen yogurt, then went to the hobby center to get charcoal pencils for Brandon and vinyl for Brooklyn. After that, we went to Costco and finished getting my groceries and finally came home. I finished packing, Mom fixed my sweats for me, and we played Mahjong while waiting for Elora to pick me up. I was proud of myself for not getting as emotional as I did last time. :)

We drove through one heck of a storm to get to Rexburg, but it thinned out and finally went away the closer we got to Rexburg. We stopped briefly in Pocatello for a snack/bathroom break and got some stuff from McKenzie. I finally have my artwork with me now! :) I'm planning on entering them into the student art show coming up next month. I hope for the best! :)

I got home to find Karla, Monica, and Kyle hanging out. I had a lotta stuff, so Elora and I made about 4 trips bringing my stuff into the apartment. Afterward, I unpacked everything in about 15 minutes, surprisingly. I'd expected it to take at least a half hour. Then I relaxed and chatted with my friend Jeff online. We all finally got to bed at around midnight.

This morning wasn't too bad, except I made the mistake of wearing my slip-on shoes I'd brought back with me, feeling too tired and lazy to get out my big winter boots. Mis-take! My heels were soaked with cold wetness by the time I got to religion class. :P I put them on later, after art class.

Devotional was great as usual. The scripture was Matthew 7:7-8, which reads:

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Pres. Mendenhall shared a unique story about a famous tightrope walker who would perform feats across the expanse of Niagara Falls, such as stopping in the middle and reading a book. On one such occasion, he had a wheelbarrow. He stopped in the middle and called out to the spectators eagerly watching, "Do you believe I can do this?" "Yes, we know you can do it!" they responded confidently. He focused on one man in particular. "You, sir. Do you think I can do this?" The man positively said, "I know you can." "Then climb into the wheelbarrow," the tightrope walker said. Of course, the man didn't. The general theme of Pres. Mendenhall's talk was fulfilling the Lord's expectations (they aren't demands). He shared a Father's Day card his son Mike gave him: "Dad, I know I wasn't easy to take care of. But you were no cakewalk, either. Let's just call it even." (paraphrasing) Parents aren't perfect, either. Just because you're older doesn't necessarily mean you're wiser. I liked when Pres. Mendenhall said, "Plan for the future, but look for today." We focus so much on what we need to do tomorrow and this week, but not as much on today. He then shared 3 different types of "wheelbarrows": the simple wheelbarrow (easy gospel expectations are either put off or somehow don't get done), the doing and understanding wheelbarrow (useless cares creep in everywhere; "I hear and I forget. I see and remember. I do and I understand." [Chinese philosophy]), and the in the world wheelbarrow (John 17:11-15). A great quote from Pres. Packer that Pres. Mendenhall shared can be found in the June 2002 Liahona ("It Can't Happen to Me").

Later on, I'm going to go kickboxing with some friends. I'm hoping that that goes well, since I feel like a slacker for not going for the last couple of weeks.

Late-Night Fun and Freedom

Last night, I was spontaneously invited to help Monica and Karla put fun pictures and leftover heart decor on our good friend Kyle's apartment door by means of ding-dong-ditching. I readily agreed. We all made awesome pictures, got several hearts and put them in a bag, and headed out to do our deed.

The problem? We knew what building Kyle lived in; we just didn't know what room. Karla tried to call him to ask, but he didn't answer. Then Monica tried, saying, "I don't think he's going to answer--oh! Hey, Kyle!" as he picked up on the third ring. She told him our made-up, prepared story that we had made cupcakes and wanted to bring them to him tomorrow, since it was about 11:15 pm, so she wanted to verify his room number. He told her, adding that girls aren't allowed in the men's apartments. She said OK, then they hung up. During the whole conversation, Karla and I were trying so hard not to burst out laughing. After they hung up, we all cracked up.

We got to the building, and going towards the door there were at least three to five signs basically saying, "No women allowed beyond this point." It was hysterical.

We reached the right room and got to work. Monica couldn't handle it, so she went out into the separated stairway and cracked up. I felt like we were being way too loud putting the stuff on the door, not to mention that the apartment door right across from us was wide open. Thankfully, no one came to it. We finished our mischief, got into a running stance, knocked, and took off. That was probably the fastest I've ever gone down three flights of stairs. On our way out the door, a guy coming out of the lounge area looked at us with a look of total confusion. "We're sorry; we're leaving!" we shouted as we ran completely out and towards our apartment for a little bit. We started walking and laughed so hard all the way home.

I tried to get to sleep around 11:30, but was having difficulty because Monica and Kyle were talking on the speaker phone afterwards. (Turns out that they didn't hear the knock, so Karla and Monica told Kyle to go look at his door. He said it was so awesome and thanked us) I finally listened to soft music on my iPod, coming back to "A Whole New World" by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle, the one that always puts me to sleep.

I woke up at about 5:45 to my alarm, hit the snooze, woke up to it again about 10 minutes later, and hit it one more time before deciding to get up at about 6 am.

Karla and Monica had decided to sleep in the living room again, so I tried to be extra quiet. I'm not sure how great I did, but they're both heavy sleepers, so I wasn't too worried.

Today was pretty good in general, although it wasn't as great as yesterday. I'm planning on going to the temple with another girl in my dorm (Anne-Marie) next week. Super excited to see this beautiful temple from the inside. :)

We had our midterm test in English tonight, and I felt like I was reviewing things that I knew really well in 8th grade. I felt bad for some of the kids in my class who weren't really sure about some answers while we were discussing grammatical stuff. I did get a 90% on my first English paper. :)

I'm so thrilled to be leaving tomorrow with my cousin and her roommate to come home!!!! :D I'm not sure if I'll be able to get to sleep tonight, I'm so excited! :)

"Best! Day! Ever!" :D

Today was THE best day this week so far! I took my math test today, hoping for a 74% or 75% at least. I was rewarded with a 77%! I also found out I don't have math class on Friday, therefore I don't have any classes that day! I finally got my employee badge at work, which went by really fast. My science group meeting got moved to tomorrow instead of right after work, which normally leaves me starving and rushed. I also got 3 Brian Regan comedy talks downloaded onto my iPod ("You Too & Stuff," "Stupid in School," and "Donut Lady"). Last but definitely best, we had a movie night in our housing lounge, complete with giant pretzels, hot dogs, candy, soda, and popcorn with "Tangled"!!!!

No more explanation is necessary (unless you want the full version, in which case you would talk to me in person and expect to be listening and commenting occasionally for about half an hour at best). ;)

Enough said; today was stupendously fantabulous! :)

Valentine's Day

Where did this holiday come from in the first place? I'm not sure, but for those of us here at BYU-I who are single, it was "Single Awareness Day." :)

Devotional was really good. However, while I was trying to find my cousin Elora, who offered to save me a seat, I called her to figure out where we were. It turned out that I was standing almost right in front of her, off towards the left a little. Pretty funny...

The scripture for this week is Doctrine and Covenants 115:4-5

4 For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

5 Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations;

Br. Mark Lovell (found it interesting that his last name includes the word "love") was the speaker, and his main theme was that we should rely on spiritual promptings, not our personal judgement, and that developing our faith helps our ability to love. A quote that he shared about joy is something I found especially interesting (can't remember the reference): To have joy means to be happy in an eternal sense (paraphrased). We were also told that the scriptures that say "faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things," "God is merciful to all who believe," and about exercising a particle of faith can all be applied to dating and courtship. Another interesting concept was about falling in love being like a seed planted into your heart and blossoming, and losing love being like the seed dying and withering. I also like the concept about looking at marriage as your most difficult class; if you don't study and develop your knowledge, you won't be ready for life's tests.

Right after I got home, I did about 5 hours of straight math homework. I needed Tylenol after that. Then I printed out a ton of stuff about 2 days in advance, and I'm glad I did. Now I can relax a lot more. :)

Karla actually went to bed pretty early; about 10 or 10:30. Monica came home with Kyle and shouted, "Karla!" "Shhhhh!" I said from our bedroom. I came out and whispered, "She's asleep." "Ohh..." We all talked for a while, then Kyle left. Then Monica told me that Kyle had asked her on a date and that's where she'd been all day. Super cute: Monica being asked on a date by a big crush on Valentine's Day all day! :D When Karla heard it the next morning, she got excited, too. :)

Crazy Valentine's Fun and Other Hilarious Happenings

It's not even Valentine's Day and we're already celebrating it! Yesterday was interesting, to say the least. While Blake and I were watching "Despicable Me" with Karla and Monica on Friday, he typed something on his phone and then showed it to me: "will you go to the dance with me tomorrow?" I said, "Sure, OK!" So yesterday was spent doing my nails, going to Idaho Falls with Elora, getting my hair done at her house, and getting my makeup and dress on at home. Blake came while I was getting my makeup on, so my stress level increased exponentially because I'm usually on top of being ready. Gillian and her Chinese friend kindly took pictures of Blake and I before we left. I took pictures of my ticket, and we left.

We went to a place very much like Wahooz, only smaller. We played mini golf (I totally kicked butt!) :), then we went to Sammy's for dinner. After that, we went to the dance. It was fun...when Blake wasn't trying to get romantic with me by holding my hand like we were a couple, trying to pull me uncomfortably close while we danced, and picking me up for the professional pictures. We went home early because we decided that we wanted to watch "Despicable Me" because we kept talking about it, and he almost pulled the arm move on me while we watched it. So whenever he leaned back with his arm on the couch, I leaned forward, and vice versa when he leaned forward.

Thankfully, my roommates came back home with our guy friends Kyle and Joe (Monica's brother Tommy's roommate), bringing with them roses from Joe to each of us girls, chocolates from Monica and Karla for me, and a new member of the family: a beta fish! :) We named him Spongy, since his little house is Spongebob Squarepant's pineapple.

After getting our new friend settled in, we turned off "Despicable Me" and watched "Stairway to Heaven." We're almost done with it, and I'm so sad about that. :( In this recent episode, the main girl (Jung-Suh) is going blind with an eye cancer, and she doesn't tell anyone, even her father.

The episode ended, and all the guys left and us girls stayed up really late talking about them (how much Kyle probably likes Monica, and same thing with Joe and Karla, and Blake's and my behavior during the show; we sat at least 2 feet apart). Finally, we decided we'd better get to sleep around 2:30 a.m. I had already gotten ready for bed after the guys left, so while Monica and Karla got ready, I got my pillow and blanket and set them up. We talked a little while longer, then finally went to sleep. At about 10 a.m., my phone started ringing, so I groggily got up and turned it off. Then we finally got up around 11:30 a.m. to start getting ready for church.

Church was good, even though I got confused as to where to go for Sunday school at first. We got chocolate cupcakes in RS for Valentine's Day. :) Then, I came home (Karla and Monica left after Sunday school), changed, and did FaceTime with the fam. They included me in their game of UNO. So funny! :)

Later, our friend Joe came over and we hung out and watched a couple of episodes of "Stairway to Heaven." After that, I was asked to make cookies for hall prayer. After I finished a couple of batches, I went to where we have hall prayer, but there was no one there, so I went back to our apartment. We finished the second-to-last episode with Karla and Monica sobbing while Joe and I could hardly keep a straight face. I felt like a stone, something with no emotion whatsoever. I cannot figure out for the life of me why I wasn't bawling, too.

Joe took a picture of Karla crying on his phone, so she and Monica were trying to get it away from him to delete it, and I was just busting up on the couch. They won in the end, though. We're going to finish the final episode of "Stairway to Heaven" tomorrow!!!! So excited to see how it all ends!!!! :D Joe left close to midnight, and we just hung out.

Finally Free Friday!!!! :D

Who doesn't love Fridays? :) Today wasn't too bad; I didn't have humanities, so I got to sleep in. That was greatly needed, since my roomies and I watched episode 12 of "Stairway to Heaven" till about 12:30 a.m. Finally did my laundry this morning (we went outside to behold falling snow; OOHHH! :P), so it was interesting going to class in my slacks, my casual boots, and a nicer t-shirt. :) I found out that we MIGHT (we can't quote our teacher on this yet, according to him) not have class next Friday! What a tremendous blessing THAT would be; no math on a Friday! :D I wasn't very happy about falling on the way home, though.

I had to rush home because I still had to wash and do my hair and put makeup on for a date at noon, but Gillian was showering, so I waited. Then, I washed my hair, put on concealer, foundation, and powder, and was blow-drying my hair when somebody came. "Crap!" I thought as Gillian answered the door. "It's probably Blake!" (my date) She didn't come to get me, so I wasn't sure if it was really him. After I finally finished my hair, I went and asked her and she told me it was indeed "my friend." Shoot! I went into my room to get my jacket to go see if our laundry was done yet and shouted, "Hi!" to the living room. "Hey!" Blake answered. I felt so bad. I went, got all of our laundry (Monica's, Karla's and mine) and somehow managed to carry all 3 baskets down the stairs to our apartment. Blake opened the door for me and said, "Whoa..." "It's not all mine," I explained. "Oh, OK, 'cause I was gonna say..." After I was finally ready, we left.

Blake took me to Kiwi Loco, a frozen yogurt place. If you've never had frozen yogurt, it's so much like ice cream that I can't tell the difference! :) They had tons of toppings, from Reese's pieces to chocolate rocks to sour gummy worms! After that, we went back to my apartment to find Karla making a craft and Monica watching "Despicable Me." We watched that for a while, then Blake showed me his phone with the question, "Will you go to the dance with me?" I wasn't sure I was going before then, so now I am! It's a Valentine's formal dance. I'm pretty excited.

After Blake left, Kyle (one of our good guy friends and home teachers) came with his ukelele and we had a blast listening to it (and him!).

Work actually went by relatively fast today. I was so happy when I saw that it was 6:30. Then, I went to the Crossroads for a slice of pizza, since I really didn't want to make anything at home, and saw that Tuscan Valley (the pizza area of the Crossroads) had some pepperoni pizzas for $5 each. I couldn't resist the thought of having dinner, lunch, and possibly dinner again instead of just dinner, so I went ahead and bought it. I got some money out of an ATM for tomorrow, and finally got home around 6:50 or 7.

Later on, Karla convinced me to go latin dancing with her, Joe (Monica's brother Tommy's roommate), and Monica. It was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be, if I'm being honest. 2 guys (interestingly, one black and one Mexican) asked me to dance. We went home around 10:30-ish. Monica and Karla went to get frozen yogurt, and Gillian and I are staying home, doing miscellaneous things. For example, I'm doing my nails for tomorrow, checking email, and listening to Brian Regan. :)

Nosebleeds, Seminars, and Evening Entertainment

Today, I woke up, got out of bed, and my nose decided to pull a bad nosebleed. I thought, "Crap! I have to get ready! Don't do this to me!" It finally stopped, but thankfully I didn't need to do much to get ready. I made it to class in plenty of time. :) I also found out and/or realized that I don't have my early morning class on Friday and I didn't have to work today!

It was a pretty decent day; after math, a hot chocolate stand had been set up, and they were giving out free samples! Great to have on a typical Rexburg day! :)

Our clean check actually turned out pretty well. It was weird coming home from math to find that our room was actually clean rather than the mess when I left. (Don't worry; it wasn't my stuff.) ;)

Later on, after I finished most of my homework, I went to a foundations seminar for science, where they talked about the BYU-I learning model. I was so bored that I paid attention, texted my cousin and a friend from my FHE group, and made up a haiku:

Love is bittersweet,

But always worth fighting for.

I cannot give up.

Pretty good, huh? :) After that, I met my science group to do our weekly homework assignment. Then I went to my new friend Kami's house to join her and my other friend Gunnar. That was much more entertaining than I'd planned. Then Gunnar kindly walked back to the dorms with me so I didn't have to go by myself, then I changed into my comfy, warm sweats, and here I am! :)

Maple bars, PBJ, and Empanadas

Yesterday was pretty grand; devotional was wonderful. Apparently, though, one of my roommates fell asleep (love you, Karla!). ;) The featured scripture was Doctrine and Covenants 6:14. "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time."

The speaker was Br. Randall L. Hall, who began teaching seminary in 1963, received a Master's in American history, and has 11 children! He jokingly explained that his wife wanted 6 children, and he wanted 5, so they had her 6, then his 5. :) His main theme was words and their effects, positive or negative. A few things I learned were that the word "seminary" comes from the Greek word "seminarian," which means "seed of ground, or transplant," that "enthusiasm" is "inspired by God," and "edify" is "make a temple or build spiritual strength," which is why we use those words so often in our religion. In his talk, he mentioned how Elder Holland said that words should be filled with hope and kindness and are sacred. Br. Hall pointed out that sometimes we regret not saying what should've been said. The example he gave for this was "It's A Wonderful Life." He also said that faith works by not just actions, but words as well; they go hand in hand. In John, Revelation, and the Doctrine and Covenants, Christ is portrayed as "divine expression" or word. When He says He is the advocate of the Father, He's saying that He's "one who intercedes [on our behalf]".

After devotional, I was so happy; I went to the Crossroads pastry self-serve to see if they'd put any maple bars out there at all (they're either never put out there or all gone by the time I usually get over there), and I saw one! I snagged it, paid for it, sat and ate it. I thought I would burst with happiness because I finally got my maple bar I'd been craving for over 2 weeks. :)

Later on, I went to kickboxing class, got my butt kicked pretty good and my heart rate up, and went home to finish my homework.

That done, I heard that Karla and Monica had invited a couple of our guy friends over. I thought, "Shoot!" because I was in my pjs and my hair was a disaster. I changed, fixed my hair, and went out because I'd been hiding in my room for at least 2 hours and felt lonely. We had so much fun making empanadas (bread dough crescents with meat and veggies or just cheese in them deep-fried): super good! Then we talked and cracked up about almost everything. The guys finally left around 11:55 pm.

All in all, yesterday was pretty good. :)

How Can Something as Smart as Technology Be So Dumb?

FHE was so much fun! I introduced the game "Killer Bunny" to our group, and it was so much fun! At one point, one of the girls (Emilin) was the Killer Bunny, and one of the guys (Aaron) was the detective, and Emilin's face was just a wink, so everyone started dying about 2 seconds apart! Poor Aaron finally guessed it right after there were only 3 people left alive.

Later, a guy in our group named Blake was talking about "...can I get your number..so...um...your apartment...could maybe, uh...come over and...watch...a movie...?" and looking at his phone at the same time. Then, he stopped, looked at me, and said, "Huh?" I said, "Oh! Were you talking to me?" For some weird reason, I didn't realize he was talking to me. Karla and Taft (one of our home teachers), who were behind me and heard everything, started cracking up as silently as was possible.

After FHE tonight, I had a really hard time. My roommates apparently needed to get home, so they left without me. However, before you start judging them, that was OK; I knew the way home and needed to get stuff done anyways. Since I felt so cold, I kept on walking through the buildings instead of going outside.

I needed to add money to my student card (i-card) at the library, but was told that I needed cash or check. I didn't have either, so I went to the building next door, found an ATM, and got way more cash than I wanted. The ATM took however much else I needed from my savings (no-touch) and put it into my checking account, only to take everything out.

Then, I went back and got the money put into my i-card, which went smoothly. I went to print, and after I logged in, I was supposed to see a document to select to print, but I didn't.

So I went back home and just cried with frustration when I checked the document on my laptop and saw there was an error and it wouldn't show me what. I prayed to Heavenly Father that my roommate's printer would actually connect to my laptop this time, since I'd already tried 3 times earlier. It did work this time! :) So I finally got the document I need for tomorrow!

Other than that, today was decent for a Monday. My roommates and I have been watching a soap opera called "Stairway to Heaven," and it gets so intense and good! It's nice and clean; the actors and actresses never kiss. But at the end of every episode, there's some snapshots of the next one, and they actually kiss in the next one! We're so excited to watch it tomorrow! :D

Sunday School and Relief Society (YSA 29th Ward, 1st Stake)

Today, the lesson in Sunday School was called, "Hearken to the Truth, and Give Heed Unto It." It entailed coming up with descriptions for Nephi, Laman, and Lemuel, discussing the liahona's abilities and conditions, and pondering about why Nephi's steel bow broke. One answer that I liked was because sometimes we're placed in situations where we're forced to turn to the Lord. Another one was because Nephi had enough faith to go to the Lord to help him through this trial. If it'd been Laman or Lemuel's bows that had broken, they wouldn't have had the faith to pray to God.

In Relief Society, we discussed friendship. We were to close our eyes and think of our best friend: what attracted us to that person? Why were we best friends with them? A scripture that I really liked was 1 Corinthians 13:4. Instead of the word "charity," we used the word "friendship."

4 "[Friendship] suffereth long, and is kind; [friendship] envieth not; [friendship] vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up..."

We also read the first part of verse 8 (replacing "charity" with "friendship"):

8 "[Friendship] never faileth..."

Then we listened to a song called "You Raise Me Up." Its meaning is toward the Savior, but it can also be applied to friends. I don't know who it's by, but I want to find out so I can have it; such a wonderful message (and voice!). :)

I need to remember that I'm not alone here in Rexburg, even though I'm further away from home than I wish. This is good for me because I can make new friends and touch lives.

Later, I taught Gillian (our Chinese roommate) how to make chocolate chip cookies. It was so fun to watch her reaction as she tried white and brown sugar and cookie dough for the first time! She said it was really good, so she wanted more. :) However, our cookies took a lot longer to cook than usual, so we (Monica [our roommate from Arizona], Gillian, and I) got impatient fast. When they were finally done, we ate some. Ohhh! Now I have to get the recipe for snickerdoodles from my mom. :)

Sardines and Pizza

Yesterday, my friend Gunnar and I were texting because we were both bored out of our minds doing homework. To make it seem more interesting, I challenged Gunnar to a race to see who could get their homework done first, and I won. :) To my pleasure, I found that I had geniusly done my math homework Friday before taking my math test, so I didn't need to worry about that. Then I had finished my religion paper while Gunnar and I were texting, so all I had left was to read certain chapters in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley for humanities. (Note: If you haven't read the book, READ IT! Highly recommended!) I finished that in about an hour, so I victoriously texted Gunnar, saying, "I'm done! I win! :)" He complimented me by saying, "Wow, you're fast."

After my homework was done, I could think of nothing else I needed to do. I asked Gunnar if he was busy, and if not, maybe we could do something. He said there was a big group with some of his friends that were going to play sardines at 7 and he invited me along. I accepted, happy to have something to look forward to. He showed up at 6:30, much to my dismay; my hair had just been washed, so it was all wrapped in my towel, and I was putting on my makeup. He said he got a message saying that instead of 7, the group was going to play at 7:30.

After I finished getting ready, he left, saying he'd be back in about 20 minutes. I played Mahjong until he got back, then we left to go to his friend's apartment to get a ride. The ride turned out to be a tiny white truck. Gunnar's friend, Kami (she's about 1-1.5 feet shorter than me), was in the middle, and another friend (can't remember his name) was the driver. Gunnar courteously let me sit in the cab while he rode in the bed of the truck. We picked up another friend, Nolan, and left to meet the rest of the group at the Romney (science) building. While we were walking in the snow, I had a little bit of trouble keeping up, so Gunnar came back and hoisted me over his shoulder! I punched his back, telling him to put me down.

When we got there, we paired up into groups of two. Kami "called" me, which I was fine with. The couple chosen to hide took off, then texted someone else in the group saying they were ready. We all split up in a frantic search. Kami and I finally figured out that they were in the observatory.

Later, we moved to the Snow (theatre) building, not realizing that there was a choir concert going on. While Kami and I were looking for the hiders, we went into a giant room that had tables, curtains, two pianos, and boxes upon boxes of pizza! Two guys also followed us in, and a choir member came in shortly and invited us to help ourselves, but to not take any home. We happily ate, deciding that the search was temporarily over. After we were full, we continued searching. Turns out that the hiders were in the "pizza room" all along!

After that round, we decided we were done playing. So we went to Nolan's apartment and played Uno. What was unique about his cards was that they had pictures of his family on them! We played a few rounds, then Gunnar decided to argue against Kami and I about Scar from The Lion King actually being a good guy, and then we finally decided we needed to get home around 11:50.

Scared of Needles

I was going to donate plasma today for the first time. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I thought I might be able to do it without too much trouble.

Our roommate, Monica, told Karla and I what we needed to do: drink a lot of water and/or juice, eat high protein at least a half hour before the appointment, bring proof of ID, address, and social security, and be there within 10 minutes of the appointment. I did all that and more by going with Karla to see where this place was and by asking my math teacher for permission to leave 5 minutes early. He is so awesome by saying yes without me having to explain. :) I got there right on time, signed in, and followed the instructions. There was a large sitting area and some tiny rooms off to the left. I was called to go in, and they prepared my finger to be pricked. I had previously known they were going to have my blood tested, but I didn't know how. After they gave me a cotton ball to put on the puncture wound, I began to feel a little woozy. A high-pitched buzzing started ringing in my ears, making it more difficult for me to hear the workers. I managed to tell them I was starting to feel light-headed. Then they called in a couple of other doctors to help me to a room where I was instructed to lay down, and a toolbox was placed under my feet, keeping them elevated.

I was crying because I thought I'd be strong enough to handle it. I guess not yet. Therefore, they wouldn't let me donate plasma today and kindly sent me home. I wanted to sob, but then I realized that since I now know more of what to expect when doing that, maybe I'll do better next time. I think I'll try donating blood at home first, with my mother. That way, when I go back, I'll be stronger.

The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways

In January, my cousin Elora and I were planning on going back to Nampa for a 3-day weekend. I was so excited to be going back already! Then Elora called me and said we couldn't leave on Friday like we wanted to because she had soccer tryouts for about 4-5 hours. We decided to leave on Saturday morning at around 5 a.m. After Elora's tryouts, she accidentally popped a tire on her car. This meant a new tire had to be mail-ordered because of the specific brand. We were in tears. I suggested that we pray that we could somehow find a new tire so we could go home. We hung up, and I dropped to my knees. I pleaded with my Father in Heaven that we would be able to go home. Literally 5 minutes later, Elora called me back, saying that her friend happened to have the exact tire she needed and was willing to let us borrow it! Right after hanging up, I fell to my knees, sobbing with gratitude.

We left Rexburg at around 5:10 a.m. and were trying to figure out just where we needed to go. We took a wrong turn somewhere, heading toward the mountains instead of away. I prayed to be able to find an open gas station at 6 a.m. We got off the freeway in a tiny town, not even 800 people. We searched and finally found a small gas station. We went in, but no one was at the counter. Then a lady appeared from the back. We asked for directions, and found that we'd only gone about 5-10 miles off-course. She gave us a free map and sent us on our way. As we left, I looked down at the door with the store hours on it and noticed that the gas station wasn't supposed to be open for another 2 hours, at least. When we got back to the car, I told Elora what I'd seen and offered a prayer of thanks to God.

He watches over us. He sees us when we're struggling. These experiences reminded me of that. I'm so grateful that he's always there for me and you.

Wow...

That's all I can say. Wow. Wow to college. Wow to my awesome family. Wow to all these new experiences. I should probably catch up for the last couple of years.

I graduated from Thomas Jefferson Charter School in May 2011. I am now attending BYU-Idaho as a freshman. I was completely bored waiting for my first semester to roll around and couldn't wait...until I got there. Then it hit me: I'm going to be gone from home for months at a time without seeing my family and friends. I'm going to have to walk everywhere. I'm going to have to depend on myself for homework, meals, and classes. I'm going to be ON MY OWN. That was such a scary idea to me. I tried my best not to think about it as my parents and I made the 5-hour trip to Rexburg.

We got a flat tire on the way, which was funny because the same thing happened to my dad and uncle when Grandma took them to college for their first semester. Other than that, we made it safely. The next day was move-in day. Talk about hard work! I met one of my roommates, Monica McLaughlin, from Arizona. She wasn't in the same room as me, though. I met my roommate who would share the bedroom with me, Karla Barreno, from New York. Monica's roommate, Gao Xudong from Beijing, arrived 2 weeks after classes started.

I also attended "Get Connected," a lot like EFY, but for freshmen to get to know the campus and the system.

2 days later, classes started. The day before, I was so nervous about getting lost or not being on time that I timed how long it would take for me to get to and from each class from my dorm. I was so relieved I did that; now I never use a map! My teachers are all so wonderful and really funny. What's strange for me is that I'm used to having mostly female teachers; Here, it's reversed. I only have one female teacher (English 101).

The people I have met are very friendly and great! My roommates and I have such a blast together. One Saturday night, we stayed up till about 3 a.m. learning Chinese from Gillian (Gao Xudong's American name). We've also been watching a Korean soap opera with English subtitles that is brilliantly performed every night before going to sleep.

As far as jobs go, I am really lucky. I walked into the testing center to see if they were hiring, and they conducted an interview for me right then and there! I had to do a couple of folder tests, and I passed the first one on my first try and the second on my third try. A few days later, I got an email from the lady in charge, Sis. McPherson, saying that she was interested in hiring me! I was ecstatic; I couldn't believe how lucky I was! A couple of days later, I noticed a new sign that said, "We are no longer accepting applications at this time." I had gone in just in time! Behind the scenes, the testing center is more laid-back than it can seem; the co-workers are hilarious and all get along, the actual job is entertaining, and the hours are great.

All in all, college life is freezing cold, but great! (In fact, I hardly notice the cold.) I'm no longer as worried as I was while getting ready to come here.