Dancing Queen

This weekend there was a winter semi-formal dance for the people living in Heritage Halls and Wyview. Lets just say that I can get down. I'm a fantastic dancer... not really but I can have fun! I didn't have a date so I just went with a group of girls solo. It was still so fun! They had games, food, and pretty good music. They had cheesecake! And they played the Wobble.... so pretty much that right there made it one of the greatest dances I've been to.
I also wore this really awesome dress that my mom made for me. It's comfy and worked with the whole semi-formal thing. Pictures below.
It was a bummer that there was a time change this morning because we also had stake conference so I had to get up even earlier than normal. And after a crazy night last night... that wasn't so fun to get up early.
I don't really know what to write about now...
I was sick this week so I laid in bed most of the week. I hate it. I just got over shingles and now I have to get over a cold! What is wrong with my body? Anyways... I have a test tomorrow that I've barely studied for and barely gone to classes for because I've been sick most of the last three weeks. AWESOME. Hopefully I still do alright. I'm hoping for at least a B... I got an A- on the last one which is pretty good. We'll see. I also have an essay due that I was supposed to do already but my teacher is being lenient because she knows I've been sick... but I still should have turned it in already. Hopefully she's okay with me turning it in tomorrow night because that's probably going to happen. I also have not worked very many hours because I've been sick and tired. Hopefully I don't get fired because I haven't been returning work to the professor I work for lately. He should understand and I hope to get 15 hours or more in this week because I have a little bit more time. I just need to get down to business and get stuff done. I need to stop letting my sicknesses hold me back. I need to get through this semester and stop complaining. I want it to be over with because I just really want to go home but there is nothing I can do but to just endure. If I pray for comfort these next 6 and 1/2 weeks I know I can make it. I can do this!
Well enough with the ranting. I should study or sleep or something so I will peace out for now.

Me and Crystal at the dance

my beautiful dress made by my mother
excuse the mess in the background :)

BYU Vocal Point covers Call Me, Maybe

This is hilarious! This girl tackles Jon Rose from BYU's Vocal Point for his number! The show was amazing by the way and this was one of the more exciting parts of it.
 http://youtu.be/LL6VNaMFn6M

Take Me To Disneyland

Recently I have had the most overwhelming urge to go to Disneyland in Anaheim California. I have only gone I think twice in the past 4 or 5 years. It is so sad. I think I am going to cry. I really miss it so much! Ever since I was in like 4th or 5th grade I had a Disneyland Annual Pass until about 7th or 8th grade. So that was a good 3 or 4 years that I had a pass. It was so much fun and I have so many fond memories of going to Disneyland every month. I have totally been deprived the last few years though. I am determined to get a pass when I go home after this semester. I know it will only be good for like a month but I am hoping to at least go 5-8 times before I come back in the fall.
I just really miss it so much. I know it has changed a lot since the last couple times I have gone so I am really looking forward to going again. I just need my Disney fill so that I don't kill myself over summer.

 Disneyland is truly magical. It makes me so happy because it has so much adventure and fun everywhere. It has totally become way expensive but now that I think about it, if I get an annual pass, it will totally be worth every cent. I just need to save up enough to pay for it. It should work out though. I am not going to buy any clothes or anything if that helps. I wish I could go on my birthday this year but I think my pass will already be blocked... we'll see. At least if I go that week I will be happy. I was going to get a pass last year but then they raised the price $70 and I didn't have that kind of money. Now that I have a job, I can hopefully save up and manage my money better. This is so worth it though. I have not had the joy of Disneyland in way too long. I need to figure out how to drive on the freeway without getting scared so that I can take myself because my mom has to work and won't be able to go with me every time I will want to. Hopefully I can find some friends to go with also. Ah I am so excited. I know it will all work out. I deserve a Disney year! Especially after a hard first year of college, this is the kind of break I will need this summer. 4 months home will be too long without some Disney fun! I can't wait to go home now!

UPDATE: I was listening to Disney music while I was doing my homework and I almost cried. I seriously need to go to Disneyland like right now! I just can't contain myself. I will officially be buying my pass next week even though I won't be able to use it until May. I am going to save all the money I earn just so I can afford gas/paying for my pass. I seriously better go at least once a week in May, if I don't, I will be so sad. It just needs to happen.

Its Been a Great Day

So, I went on a double date yesterday with some friends. It was really fun! We saw this musical called "The Civil War" it was actually really good. I'd never even heard of it before but the music was pretty modern and the performers did a pretty great job.
Last night I went and saw BYU's Vocal Point with my roommate Lauren. Oh my goodness, they were so amazing! I just can't get over it. I saw them last August with my mom and cousins. I just must have forgot. haha. I loved it. Agh and a few of them are really cute! I wish I actually knew them so that I could maybe get to know them better if you know what I mean. Me and Lauren stayed for like an hour after and  sat across from where they were signing autographs, staring. We are kinda pathetic, but it was so worth it. Their voices literally make me swoon. To top it all off, they look really good in a button up shirt and tie. I just can't get over it!

Well, we finally worked up the courage to ask the cutest one, Trevor Johnson, for a picture! We are so height compatible. I mean look! We already look pretty darn good together... minus Lauren... even though I love her to death... I'm the one who is single!
Church tomorrow... TTYL

Missing In Action

Wow so, I feel really bad about not writing anything on here in a while. Don't worry, I haven't even written in my personal journal. I am still wondering what this is going to be about. I don't want it to be one of those cliche college student blogs. I really want to post more things. So I think, sort of like my pinterest, I will post things that are interesting and then talk about them maybe. And then post some life updates and what not. We'll see how this goes. I doubt anyone will read this anyway. It will mostly be something for me to look back on until I decide I want to make a new blog and be more dedicated to that one.
Anyways, this new semester has been alright. I love my class schedule because I have school M/W/F and nothing Tuesdays and Thursdays. Its pretty nice. My classes don't seem too bad either. I really enjoy my Book of Mormon class. I have Dr. Marsh again like last semester. He is pretty awesome. I also really like my Environmental Science class. My teacher is awesome. Samuel St. Clair. Coolest teacher ever. I feel like what I learn in that class makes me really aware of my environment and care more about what happens to it. I also like my Humanities class. The stuff I learn makes me feel more well-rounded. I guess that's the point of that class anyways. I never go to my Statistics class. And when I say never... I have gone to it 5 times. Its really bad because if I went all the time I could get 2% extra credit. Its kinda late for that. I don't really want to worry about my grades too much. I don't want to overdo it. I should try harder to get to that class but I just really can't make myself do it. I even have a test next week. I should start studying for it. I also really like my Writing 150 class. I can't believe I even said that. How could I like writing? NO, I still don't particularly like writing but I DO like my teacher, Christa Baxter. She is probably the most down to earth coolest teacher I have had. I like it too because our class only has 20 students. It makes it a lot easier to learn and get my ideas out there. It's not as intimidating.
I just started a job. Its really awesome because I can work from my own laptop wherever I am. I just type up recorded interviews for a professor here. I hope he needs me to work for him for a while because it pays really good. I haven't asked specifically but I'm pretty sure I should be starting at $9 an hour. Which is way better than most jobs on campus. I am really lucky. This is perfect for me. I hope it is long term though.
This weekend I found out I got shingles. I am only saying this on here because I doubt anyone reads this anyways. If you know me and you read this... please don't blab about this to anyone or I'll kill you. Just kidding. But really, I don't really want people to know because then they will make a big deal about it and or avoid me because they think I am contagious. Don't worry though, the rash I have contracted is all covered up. I don't touch it. And if I do, I immediately wash my hands. It just sucks because it really hurts and I read that the pain can continue for weeks. I also read that I can get it again now that I have had it. I have a small chance of getting it again, but you never know. If I had known what was wrong with me earlier, I would have been able to get the medication earlier and it probably wouldn't have lasted so long. But no, it is predicted to take weeks for the pain and the healing to all be done with.
What it is, is a form of the chickenpox virus. I didn't know that I could get it again because I already had a bad case of the chickenpox when I was a baby. Apparently, the virus lies dormant in my body until severe stress and a weakened immune system wakes it up. So usually this happens to old people because they naturally have weaker immune systems and what not. Usually when I have a weak immune system, I just get the Cold or something. I would take that any day just so that I didn't have to deal with this. I am supposed to have scaring from the rash. At least it is on my left hip area so that its pretty much always covered. But since it is in that spot, it also hurts to wear my normal clothing because it will rub and stuff.
The rash consists of a ton of blisters all over this area. It goes from my stomach to my spine on my left side. It is the biggest on my hip area. I would post pictures, but that is disgusting. I took pictures of it as it was developing. It looks pretty nasty. It hurts as bad as it looks/sounds too.
So, I went to the doctors on Tuesday morning and they gave me antibiotics to stop the spread and to hopefully quicken the healing of the newest blisters. We'll see. The pain has been feeling less and less everyday and I hope it continues that way. Right now, the rash is getting darker which hopefully means they will start scabbing soon. (I apologize for the graphic images)
Pretty much my life sucks right now. It just is weird to me because I always get really stressed out every once in a while because some weeks I have more to do than others. I'm not really sure how to control it but at least I know the symptoms of this so I can catch it and stop it before I blister. If only I had known.
It started out as a painful tingling in my left hip area, which I thought might be cramps or something, and that lasted for a few days before a few spots of rash appeared. I just thought something irritated my skin and didn't think too much of it. The next day, I woke up with the worst headache ever. And then I was getting chills and the pain increased in my left side. The next day, the headache was still there and the rash got bigger. This is when I got concerned. I texted a picture to my mom and she couldn't tell what it was and just told me to try a few things. Over the next couple days, my headaches went away but my rash got bigger. I finally was able to get to the doctors and she immediately knew what it was. She told me I should have come in sooner. How was I supposed to know? How was I supposed to know what the symptoms of something that mostly only happens to older people? I am only 18! This is ridiculous.
I was so upset when I found this out. Another thing that was frustrating was that my insurance doesn't work directly in Utah because it is only a California based insurance. The pharmacy told me I had to pay for my medicine up front and ask for a refund from my insurance company myself. This is so annoying but at least I got my meds.
I just need to manage my stress better and heal for now. I have missed all my classes so far this week and we'll see about next. I think I will be well enough by then to make it to most all of them. As long as the severe pain doesn't come back, I am fine. It just is really uncomfortable to sit. (I am laying in bed right now). Hopefully I don't have to stress too much about my test next week. I just want to lay in bed until this is all better. I don't even want to eat, but I know I have to, so I do anyways.
At least I got a Priesthood blessing from my hometeachers and the Relief Society is helping me out with dinners for the rest of the week. I am so thankful for people who are able to serve me when I can't do much. It's hard right now without my mom because I know she would do everything to take care of me. I wish this happened to me when I was home in California so that I wouldn't have to worry about school and feeding myself.
Well, enough complaining. I should probably get some work done and see what homework I can do. Wish me luck with finding housing, getting my homework done, passing tests, and healing. Until next time.

P.S. I can't wait for this semester to be over so I can be lazy and spoiled at home once again. ADIOS

College Life: Long overdue update

College life has its ups and downs...

Ups:

Meeting new people.  I love everyone I have met here at BYU. They are literally the nicest coolest people in the entire planet... well at least the ones I hang out with. I had one group of friends at the beginning of the year... but since they live kinda too far to walk to everyday, I've stopped hanging out with them.  It's sad. I miss them, but now that school has really kicked into high gear it's been hard making an effort to see them. But I have finally made pretty great friends in my ward. We even have a little study group for my American Heritage class. They are like the sweetest people ever. We have the best time together. 

Living within walking distance. I love that I can just go home whenever I feel like it.  I can take a nap, get a snack, study, or just be lazy.  I usually am just lazy.  I should stay in the library and study, but usually I just get distracted. Most of the time, I purposely leave something at home so that I have an excuse to come back and get it... You may think I'm weird, like why would I waste my time walking home. My answer: I just like the exercise.  It makes me feel less fat, knowing that I walked a ton that day... yes I'm a freak. Who cares.

Having short classes. I love that in college, my classes (usually) aren't a waste of my time.  They are short. You just get the lecture and then you learn the material on your own. OK well that part sucks but, I just love that I don't have to listen to something boring for forever.

Taking Book of Mormon. I love my Book of Mormon class. That is one of my favorite things about BYU.  You are required to take religion classes in order to graduate.  I love it.  My professor, Jeff Marsh, is the best teacher I have ever had EVER. He is so smart, and he makes that Book of Mormon sooo much more interesting. He has the best stories, and he hates Lady Gaga and Katy Perry... its hilarious.  I really just love that class, I don't even know anyone, but I look forward to that class every Monday and Wednesday. 

Living on my own... plus with Lauren. I love only being responsible for just myself for once.  I know it won't last long, but I'm enjoying the freedom while it lasts. I've realized I'm a fairly clean person when I'm on my own.... I had no idea before. I'm so glad I only have one roommate here, because the bathroom situation would just suck.  I don't know how I could handle 6 girls to one bathroom... it would just be bad.

Downs:

Laundry: Laundry is not my most favorite thing to do.  I was so used to having my dad do it all the time.  I had no idea.  I hate having to pay for it.  Like it just really makes me not want to do it. 

Cooking and groceries:  Food is expensive here! Not that I bought groceries at home, but I'm pretty sure a box of cereal isn't supposed to be $4! But the only grocery store within walking distance is the Creamery. Sometimes they have good deals, but like, It's really hard to eat or make something healthy when all the produce is super expensive!  I love cooking, but it gets pretty tedious doing it all the time,  thank goodness for my meal plan, I can splurge every once in a while (everyday).  But it is adding up. I'm having to be more strict with my budget. I don't want to run out of money...

The air conditioner/heater:  It is literally bipolar in my apartment... the vents blow out cold air when it is cold and hot air when it is hot! I really hope its not like this when it gets freezing! Its the beginning of October and I am finally realizing what real Fall weather is like.  I think I'm liking it... but we'll see when it starts snowing. Being from California, I never really experienced a real winter... so this should be interesting. 

Not having a car: OK so I just got my license in July, and now I'm up in Utah with no car. I have barely driven. Its so sad. I just wish I had one so I could visit people, or go to Walmart, or a real grocery store, or the Mall. OK maybe not having a car is a blessing, since then I'm not spending as much... but I've done some online shopping.... it was necessary... I needed boots. Oh well.

Homesickness: This is the worst of all.  I miss my family... sometimes. But really, it was kinda nice not being so responsible all the time. And I miss how during the summer, I just chilled at home with my mom and sisters... it was the best.  Yes we fought, but it was still nice being around them... I'm sure I'll think otherwise once I go home to visit during the holidays, but still, I miss it.

OK that was a long list... but I haven't written anything for awhile. This was a long overdue update.

So, besides my list of ups and downs... here is what has been going on since I've been up here:

I've had 5 tests, two choir concerts, and a bunch of essays and quizzes. 

The tests suck... but I did fairly well on all of them, so I'm proud. The only downside is that its times for more tests! It's like I never get a break... unless, like now, I'm being lazy on my computer and don't feel like studying. But it is nice that I can take my test on my own schedule, otherwise I'd have like 3 midterms in one day... not fun.

The essays are hard... I've never been much of a writer, so I'm kinda struggling. Hopefully I get better, but writing is not my strong side. I'd take a homework assignment over writing any day.

The quizzes are pretty nice. They are all open book, and I can do them on my computer whenever I want... as long as I submit them on time.  

I'm in Women's Chorus. Its a love/hate relationship.  I love singing, but some days (most days) I am exhausted by the time choir comes around.  I even take a nap right before choir, but I am still tired.  Its just at the worst time for me.  Or maybe I just don't like standing up for long periods of time... I don't know. I just am always tired when I go to choir.

I am switching my major... I think. I'm thinking I want to be a Special Education teacher instead being a Nurse. It just seems right... I just need to figure out how switching my major works... I need to talk to an adviser or something.

Oh ya and last month, I saw Paul Ryan give a speech thing at the Utah Valley Convention Center.  It was sweet. I hope he is the future VP... cause then I can say I was ten feet away from the Vice President.

Cool beans

Anyways... if anyone actually reads this I apologize for the length.

I love you all... college is the best :)

Packing for college!

I'm packing for college! It's so crazy to think that in less than a week I'll be up in Utah and I won't come back until break.
I've realized 2 things while packing for college...
1. There is way too many things that I need to pack.
2. I hope I'm not the only one who is bringing this much.
This summer has gone by way too quickly... I have hardly hung out with my friends.
I've pretty much been doing nothing this whole summer. I just watch TV or go on the internet!
So boring! I swear if I ever do this during summer again I'm a loser. I love relaxing but I'm not going to see like half my friends for a very long time and I should have taken advantage of that time.
Well I hope I learn to be more social...