I think I'm in love with Puck from Glee (Mark Salling)

I feel like a 13 year old right now.

Brrrr It's Cold!

I'M FREEZING!

Today was the first day of snow in Provo for this winter. It was awful and I'm constantly cold! The only bright side is that this is my last winter in Provo so thank goodness for that.

This past weekend I went to Disneyland with my roommate Emma, her sister, and her cousin. It was really fun. Some highlights of the trips were:

• Singing songs from Glee in the car and throughout Disneyland
• The new holiday decorations in the Haunted Mansion. It was all done up in The Nightmare before Christmas theme
  
• Getting on California Screaming twice waiting less than 10 minutes each time
• Space Mountain being decked out for Halloween and becoming Ghostly Galaxy.....so good!
• Riding Star Tours and remember Robert (an intern I worked with this summer) making all sorts of Endor jokes the last time I was there
• Eating at In-N-Out twice
• Getting frozen yogurt! I don't know why, but frozen yogurt in California is way better than the crap we have here in Provo
• Basically walking right on to every ride in Disneyland because Emma's sister has a special pass that got us to the front of like every line
• And best of all was just getting away from Provo!

Yesterday my nephew Khyri turned turned 1 year old. He's so stinkin cute and I'm gonna be going down to St. George this weekend to go to his birthday party. I'm pretty excited about it.

Oh, and the last big update is that I registered for my last semester of college EVER this week. It kinda sucks because I have to take 18 credits again but I'm hoping it won't be too bad because 2 of the classes are supposedly super easy GEs (Anthro 101 @ the Salt Lake Center and History of Creativity 202 once a week at night). It's weird to think I never have to register again and that I really am that close to graduating. I actually apply for graduation starting in the next week or so. Crazy huh?! I can't wait!

Too Much

I think taking 18 credits and working over 20 hours a week is too much for me to handle. It's only the middle of the week and I'm exhausted and there is no real break in my schedule anytime soon.... maybe there will be some time next week.

Bucket List

I've decided I want to make a bucket list of all the things I want to go before I die. So far I have 11 things on my list. It's pathetic so I'm looking for some suggestions. What are some things I should add to my list?

Farewell Steeds

I'm warning you right now that this is not your typical blog post. It's kind of a more serious side of me but something I felt others should or would maybe want to see.

For the last few years (I'm a slow reader) I've been moderately (or compulsively) obsessed with The Work & The Glory series. Well finally after probably about 4 years or so since I first started reading this 9 volume series I actually finished it tonight. I couldn't have finished at a more perfect time. The series ends with the family finally reunited in the Salt Lake Valley and they are remembering their past trials and looking forward to a bright future without the worry of constant persecutions. At the very end of the series one of the main characters was kind of wrapping things up and talking to the whole family now filled with the original Steed family plus spouses, children, grandchildren, and even a great grandchild. He was saying how even though they had finally reached the Salt Lake Valley it feels very similar to their time at Winter Quarters, but then he goes on to express one way it was very different. He looks around the family circle, focusing especially on the younger children and babies, and says,

"These children will never know a Far West, a Haun's Mill, a Carthage Jail. They may go to bed hungry this winter, but they will not go to bed afraid."

After reading this book and reading about these horrific events in Church history I feel so grateful for the sacrifice of those who did go through such things. I'm grateful for their faith and strength that help them through those early days and help bring them here to Salt Lake. After that statement the character goes on to say,

"The Valley represents much more than that, though. Like Israel of old, we have come through the wilderness and entered a land of promise. Not a promise of milk and honey - though I suspect those shall come too - but a promise of renewal, of growth, of vision - of Zion. Think of this. Our children will raise up children who have never known any life but life in this valley. Think of that and rejoice."

Ending this book the night before the 179th Semiannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints starts was perfect timing. I am so looking forward to being able to hear from the Lord's Prophet and Apostles tomorrow. As I've come to learn more about the history behind the Church I can't help but be amazed by the sacrifices and all the difficulties that people went through and the faith they had to persevere. They made a barren and destitute valley into a valley full of life and faith. I was invited to go up and see the afternoon session of General Conference in the Conference Center tomorrow and I can't wait to have another opportunity to be a part of something that was started to long ago and see what it has been able to grow into and then think about all the possibilities for the future. I feel very lucky to be a part of something and that has meant so much to people who came before and that will continue to spread around the world. And I'm wondering what my contribution to this giant puzzle will be. I guess we will see in time.

It's the final countdown!

I can't believe this is my last year of college. I'm so excited and ready to be done! I'm sure once I finally graduate it will be weird to not ever have class again or tests (besides the CPA exam of course) but as of now I can't wait to be done and move back to LA. Oh how I miss the beach, weather out there, and my friends.

This semester is crazy cuz I'm taking 18 credits and working a bunch. This may be a mistake because I'm exhausted already and there is still months of this to go. I work at American Eagle in the Provo mall which is funny and not super stressful which is good.

I got my first test of the semester back today and did really well especially for me and for an accounting test. The worst part is though that I totally could have gotten 100% on it but I made the dumbest mistake. The one accounting test I could have aced and I blew it. So annoying! But oh well, still happy about my score.

Nothing really interesting has been happening lately so sorry this is such a boring post. The highlight of my week so far is feeding the ducks at the duck pond south of campus last night and only having 4 chapters left of the Work and the Glory volume 9 - the final one. I can't believe I'm almost totally done with that series. It kinda makes me sad, but on the bright side maybe I'll read my textbooks more.

Well, that is all. I am lame. But I'm coming to terms with it.

The End of my LA Summer

It has been so long since I updated this. At this point I'm back in Provo and finishing up my last year of school. But so much happened my last month in LA and so I want to do a quick recap on my summer.

In addition to all the awesome things I already mentioned in older posts the rest of my summer in LA was spent doing the following:

• More beach time. I don't think I will ever get sick of the beach. So much fun.
• I had a great little summer fling, pretty fun while it lasted although there was some associated drama. But who doesn't want to move to a cool city and have a fun summmer romance?
  
• I GOT A JOB OFFER! At the end of my internship PwC gave me an offer for full-time employment that will start next fall after I graduate. I'm super excited to go back there! PwC is so fun and I love the people I worked with, so fun.
• A bunch of the interns went to Dinseyland after our last day of work. We had some much fun! We ate at Club 33 in Disneyland that is this super exclusive club that PwC is a member of. Hands down the fanciest (and most expensive) meal I have ever had. Also it look us 3 hours for dinner and I don't think I've ever had a meal last that long. But it's a sweet deal cuz you pay for you meal and then get a free hopper pass for the theme parks. Granted the price of the meal is like the same price as the park tickets but for the same price you also get a super fancy dinner out of it. I seriously love the interns. We had so much fun and I love that we've been staying in contact since we've all dispersed back to our schools.
  
• My friend Cameron and I went to the Long Beach Aquarium my last week in LA which was also fun. I pet a bunch of fish and a sting ray was kind of obsessed with me. Cameron put some sweet pictures and videos up of it on my facebook so feel free to check those out. The videos kill me. We had so much fun!
• I seriously had the best roommates ever this summer. I was really lucky and loved all my roommates but the last month it was just me, Janae, and Heather living in our apartment. We had so much fun and it was probably my favorite living situation ever! We had roommate chats every night and then Janae would help solve my problems by reading the cards for me. Also they were responsible for my summer fling so thanks guys! Yentas are the best! I am very much looking forward to living with at least Janae again, and if Heather is still around (which for multiple reasons I'm supposing she won't be) I hope her too. Oh how I miss them!
• I got some sweet PwC swag including a backpack, juggling balls, a cute internship scrapebook with so many fun pictures from the summer and the last day of work, a t-shirt, oh yeah and the fact that I don't have to worry about what I'm going to do after graduation. Thank you PwC!
• Every year there is a Mormon Dodger night. It was so cool. Elder Boyd K. Packer threw out the opening pitch. It was adorable. They also welcomed the different stakes in the LA area that were there that night - Go LA 1st ward/stake! Elizabeth Tucker and Rodrigo Vicuna (other interns I worked with) came with me too. They are honorary Mormons and Elizabeth spent most of the night trying to pick out a husband for me. She's so thoughtful. =) Also, Michael Orton, Emma Douglas, and James Barker (Orange County interns) came up for the game too. Such a blast!
• One weekend Emma and I went to a movie theather on Sunset in Hollywood and it was the weirdest theater ever. It was in a dome room that looked like a giant beehive - we almost felt like we were back in Utah. Then on the inside it looked like a play type theater cuz there was a stage and then a big curtain and there were ushers with little flashlights and everything. It was the weirdest but coolest thing ever. We saw the movie "500 Days of Summer". The movie was great and the park bench the main guy sits on a lot during the moving is actually right by my office building. I walked past that spot all the time and you can also see my office building a ton during the movie. I loved it.
• I saw the play Fiddler on the Roof at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. I loved the movie and thought the play was so good too! The Pantages is really pretty and that night I also ate a Rosco's chicken and waffles which was also quite the experience in and of itself. I really wanted to run into Snoop Dog there, but alas he was not there.
  
• In addition to seeing Dr. Robert Ray at church again (but this time with his family) I also saw.....Will Farrell! One day when I was on my lunch break with Elizabeth and Fuchi we went down to the different food places below our building and found a table and there was Will sitting a few tables away from us wearing sunglasses and reading a newspaper. It was pretty cool. Gotta love LA!
  

Well I'm sure there are so many more things that happened but I can't remember anything else at the moment. I've had some pretty great summers but I think this one may have topped all the others. I miss my intern friends, roommates, and so many other things about LA (Yogurtland!). I'm trying to stay positive about spending another year in Provo, but I wish just about everyday I was back in LA.