To the birthday boy

Dear Randy,

Happy birthday! I can’t believe you are 20 years old today! Seems like yesterday we were celebrating your 18th birthday together, going bowling and eating sushi. And then number 19 happened while you were in the MTC. Remember how Benton Paul sent you a birthday message after me bugging him for months? That was a good time:)
I’m happy you get to be in Japan doing  your favorite thing; missionary work. I’m sure the best birthday gift will be people who are open to hearing the Gospel. I hope that’s what you get today:)
Thanks for always being there for me, for supporting me, and being such a great example to me. I learn so much from you every single day! Thank you for being my best friend.
I’m sorry I can’t be with you on your birthday, but I wouldn’t want you to be anywhere else today. 
Happy birthday Elder! I’ll see you soon:)
Happy Tuesday everyone:)

J’taime

Why is Valentine’s Day the best day ever? Seriously though my dears, it was a wonderful day. I hope you all had fantastic days as well!

My day started EARLY in the morning, mostly because I couldn’t wait to open a package I had from my favorite missionary:) He’s so thoughtful and sweet, and sent me this BEAUTIFUL blazer which was the perfect size! He knows me so well…..it’s kinda crazy! He also sent a puzzle with a word on the back of each piece, that I had to piece together to read the note! What a funny, sweet guy. He’s doing awesome on his mission and I couldn’t be more proud of him!

It’s a Micky and Minnie Mouse puzzle:)

Yes this is a tacky bathroom selfie! And yes I am wearing a Benton Paul t-shirt under it. It’s 12:30 AM. Judge me. 

Then I got up, again, to head over to Drew’s for breakfast. We made some awesome heart-shaped chocolate chip pancakes and strawberries:) You can find the from scratch recipe here.

Drew got me a CHOCOLATE SCENTED teddy bear (adorable right?) Some real chocolate (so I can eat AND smell it:)) and a beautiful poem that he wrote, in a mirrored frame. Basically, he’s the best friend EVER:)

My mama got me an adorable picture book that I guess I wanted when I was younger. I don’t remember it much, but it is so sweet of her. The book is all about coming home, and it made me tear up! I love knowing that I can go home, whenever, and always be welcome. I’m super lucky.

SO then I went to work and ran around all day, and finally after going crazy, the fun night began! Drew and I went on a progressive dinner: this is where you go to a restaurant to get an appetizer, a different restaurant for the main dish, and a different restaurant for dessert! It is a really fun date idea, and I would recommend it!

So we headed to a Chinese place for appetizers, and got dumplings and shrimp (really good! If you’re in Provo I would recommend the Lotus Garden, at least for the appetizers!) Then for our main course we went to The Banana Leaf. Basically the best food I’ve ever had. It’s Sri Lankan food and it is DELICIOUS. There is curry, lots of meat and rice dishes, and even some noodle curries! Drew’s favorite part was the avocado shake, which was actually good!

We headed to The Chocolate Mousse, which is a PIE BAR. Basically, they put the ingredients for pie in different sized glasses. I had an oreo crust with dark chocolate peppermint filling. SO GOOD. I would TOTALLY recommend this place!

Basically Valentine’s Day was a fantastic day filled with people I love. I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day too!

Happy Saturday everyone:)

Crazy little thing called love…

So tomorrow I’ll post all the fun and crazy adventures my Valentine’s Day held.

For now, I just want to mention love.

I throw around the word love a lot. I think it’s because I do feel love, at varying levels, for everything. So, for your enjoyment, here are the things that I love this Valentine’s Day.

1. My religion and every little thing associated with it.
2. My family. They are my rock and I wouldn’t be the person I am without them.
3. That boy in Japan. Elder Low is my best friend and I am so happy to say that I don’t have another Valentine’s Day without him!!
4. Rachel/Sarah/Heidi/Rebecca/ Vanessa/Talia/NicoleOlivia/Lindsey/Al/Lau. What would I do without my favorite Provo girls? They make me laugh, comfort me when I cry. You name it, they’ve done it for me.
5. Every single other person I’ve ever met. Yes you, I love you. You impacted my life in some way or another, and I will always be so thankful and happy that we met.
6. Chocolate. Need I say more?
7. BYU. BYU is one of my Valentines this year for a million reasons. But mostly because it’s home.
8. Kaysville. This is REAL home. You don’t realize how much you love it until you leave it. Blowing you a kiss K-Town.
9. Music. Listening to it, making it (or attempting to really…) It’s in my soul.
10. Writing. This year has shown me how much I love writing. For the radio, for classes, for me. All of it.
11. Romantic movies/books. I am a hopeless romantic and these movies and books just keep me going.
12. Edna. My car. She’s seen me ugly cry, dance like a maniac, laugh about nothing, and have conversations with a person who lives over 6,000 miles away. And she doesn’t judge. Love her for that.
13. Myself. I haven’t always been good at loving myself. But I’m happy to say that this Valentine’s Day, I’m better at loving myself than ever. Love yourself today friends. It’s the best feeling in the world.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. Spend some time telling the people you love exactly how you feel. And spend some time telling yourself how special you are too.

I wanna be your Friday night.

Friends friends friends! What a crazy week/weekend it was. I have been busy as I’ll get out, but having too much fun to complain!

So Thursday night our ward rented out Soldier Hollow for tubing! Basically, it’s too fun to even talk about. It was cold, but I know how to bundle up, so I was happy! I can’t even explain how it feels to be pulled up a giant hill, while gentle snow is falling, and the stars are bright. It’s unreal actually. And then going down the hill with powder flying in your face and flying over hills so you catch air, that’s an unreal experience too!

We killed in tubing. Shout out to BETHANY RICHARDS for giving me this adorable hat as a Christmas present. XOXO

The rest of the weekend was filled with OLYMPICS and homework. Oh and the occasional classy party and country dance night. All of the above were fantastic.


Best friends are a good reason to smile.

And that favorite missionary of mine has been gone for 13 months today. WHAT. When did that happen?? I know, it’s crazy. Can’t wait to see that smiling face of his SOON. He loves Japan and being a missionary so much though, it may be hard to convince him to come back!

Happy Monday everyone, happy Valentine’s Day week (are you prepared???) and HAPPY OLYMPICS. USA!

Forever

I’ve been a little sick lately, and also a little busy.

But here’s a quote that I love. I heard it when the Relief Society President from my ward in Kaysville gave a lesson on marriage. She then told a story about a woman who polished her silver and kept it safe and was so careful with it her whole life. When asked why she spent so much time and care on her silver, she said this…

Just remember friends. If you want ANYTHING to last forever, you treat it differently. Whether it’s silver, a friendship, a marriage, a personality trait, a testimony, anything. Treat the things that you want to last forever better. 
Happy Saturday everyone.
AND HAPPY OLYMPICS!!! AHHHHHH:)

Currently

Currently I am horrible at blogging. February will be a better month for that.

Quick catch up, and then on to the currently part of this post.

Rachel and I got to go home to my house for the Super Bowl. (Yes I am a Bronco’s fan, no I don’t want to talk about it.)

My cousin Lindsay is too cute!

An hour of talking and a T-Swift jam sesh sandwiched around lots of food, my awesome family, and free laundry. What could be better?

Allllll righty that’s about it.

Currently:

Currently wanting:

Scrabble and Boggle and other word games are favorites in my house. These pillows would just make it perfect.
Currently listening to:

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/kALSETZ9ngk&source=uds

I’m still obsessed with them.
Currently missing: 
Missionaries. All of them. But especially HIM. You know what I mean. 
Currently loving:
Currently working on:
I have upcoming interviews with Jonathan Last (the writer/author), Gina Berreca (the author/humorist), Colby Larsen (gallery owner in Park City/Banksy enthusiast). I have a story due on Thursday for my intro to reporting class, and a paper due on Wednesday for Art History. 
Friends, life is good.
Happy Monday everyone!

Not too much to say

This weekend has been crazy busy! And also not busy at the same time now that I think about it!

I got homework done, did laundry, spent some quality time with my amazing friends, and and got to spend some time at the temple and a Relief Society conference, plus having my awesome roomies teach a great lesson today!

Why is she so beautiful?

So maybe I had Maddy/Randy night, eating Japanese ramen and watching “Departures”

Comedy Sports with these cuties:)
Happy Sunday everyone:)

The vague wanderings to cleanse the palate

I’m sorry if my melodramatic stories irritate you, if they do please stop reading now!

There have been too many thoughts bouncing around in my head and I need to get rid of them. So here we go.

I hear the door click behind me and I briskly walk down the stairs. The bottom stair that’s only really half of a stair doesn’t bother me anymore. It doesn’t  bother me like it did the first time I walked into my new home.

The car is parked exactly where it was that first night, when we sat and talked for hours. You told stories and I laughed. That was before everything got confusing, before it was too hard and complicated.

It’s strange to think that three months ago, the set of stairs leading up to you wasn’t well-worn. I didn’t take the stairs two at a time to see you then. And now I do, every day.

The strangest part of it all is you. It’s been too long, but for some reason it’s still ok. Still the most of everything.

When I walk to work, I walk past the past. I can see her watching out the window for him to appear. She’ll see him, and then run back to her room or to the couch, trying to act nonchalant about his coming, but in reality she can’t breathe. She still can’t. Can’t believe you are still perfect.

There are late night talks. But they are serious now. The future is present. And that is terrifying.

Sorry for the vague vulnerability.
Happy Wednesday everyone!

He’s feelin 22

Ok well I am horrible at blogging! But lots of good things have been going on lately. I have been going to school like CRAZY and working hard, but also playing hard when I have time

So here’s a small update!

Ages 8 and under. He fits that description.

Today is this amazing guy’s birthday! He’s 22. Yeah, I know he acts like a 6 year old, but he’s 22! Happy birthday to one of the funniest, sweetest, and nicest people I know. I’m lucky to have a best friend like Drew!

This weekend we’ve gone to Classic Skating and Denny’s with friends, spent the day shopping, eating all you can eat sushi, getting our favorite desserts at our favorite Mexican spot, and then watching Animal Odd Couples on Netflix. I also got to spend some time with my family at the MOA and going to dinner!

So basically it was an amazing weekend! And we still get tomorrow to play! How exciting:)

Speed skating WIZARD.

So if you haven’t gone to see Sacred Gifts at the BYU Museum of Art, shame on you! GO go go go. It’s amazing and it has art that will never be allowed out of Denmark and Germany again! It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity that you shouldn’t pass up!
I hope school is going well! I hope I get better at blogging haha. 
Also, today in church my bishop said something interesting that I loved. He said, “You are the elect of God. Start acting like it!” We are doing an 8 day challenge of being better, more positive and obedient people. He promised us that if we do this for 8 days, the things that we want and need will come to us. It was an amazing Sunday, to say the least! So I hope you’ll do the 8 day challenge too! 
Happy Sunday everyone!