Becky's Blog

Free Piano!!

2011-08-10T14:56:00.001-06:00

This piano has been my pride and joy for the past few years and I love it! But, Quinn and I recently signed a lease on a third story apartment in Provo and decided to come back to Fresno next summer to sell pest control again, with the possibility of moving to Idaho after that. So... we've decided that our time with the piano has come to an end.

It has a broken key that has been effectively mended with duct tape, so it plays just fine, but may need adjusting at some point in the future. The music stand is a little loose, but I think it could easily be mended as well. There are some scratches from all the moves it's been through and after it gets moved again, I'm sure it will need to be tuned, but it's a great little piano and I will miss it dearly.

Here's the deal: if you want the piano (bench included), all you have to do is let me know and come get it. It's currently at my old house in Provo, and should not be hard to move from there. I've successfully moved it a few times just by borrowing a friend's truck and enlisting some very kind friends to help me move it.

I have offered the piano to a couple of people who have helped me move it in the past so they will get first priority, but if they don't want it, it's completely up for grabs. I just want it to find a nice home where it will get played. I am hoping to get it moved by Monday, but will probably be able to work something out if you can't get it moved right away. Please let me know ASAP if you are interested.

Changing Blogs

2011-05-20T19:06:00.001-06:00

Ok, everyone, I know this is a little dramatic, but I'm creating a new blog since I also created a new email address. I think I'm going to just like wrap this one up by creating blog books or whatever whenever I figure out how to do it. Ha. The time has come to start fresh. I have about six blogs under this username and it's getting a little crowded so I thought it would be a good time now, what with my new name and my new husband and all the time I have on my hands. :)

So please follow me at quinnandbecky.blogspot.com from now on. Thanks!

Also, don't forget to keep following my 365 blog at http://365b-tuck.blogspot.com/. Yay, blogging!

Oooo Honey Honey.... moon

2011-05-14T10:09:00.000-06:00

We had the best honeymoon! It was easy so it was stress free, but it was also jam packed with fun, so we never got bored! These are probably the two qualities in a honeymoon I would recommend the most. That and flexible plans so that you don't really HAVE to do anything if you don't want to. Soooo... we stayed in a Marriott the first night and it was really nice and we loved it and then the first day of our honeymoon was actually Easter, but we forgot to look up a ward to go to and had a bad case of sleep-ins so we just ended up checking out of the hotel late and going to Old Town in San Diego, which was lovely. We had the most delicious Mexican food at El Fandango, walked around and looked at all the cool shops, bought some store-made taffy (delicious!!!), and found a store dedicated to root beer and beef jerky! Someone had the right idea. We'll definitely be back.

Day two of our fantastic little trip was also spent in San Diego. In the morning, we went kayaking in La Jolla and took pictures with a disposable waterproof camera, so we haven't developed them yet, but they are coming.... Then that night, we went to a Padres game with my new brother and sister-in-law, Jordan and Freesia. They got us awesome seats and the game was really good and fun to watch. It went into the 13th inning, but the Padres won with a sweet homer!

Day three was spent half in San Diego and half in Anaheim. The first part of the day, we went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, which was confusing, but fun. We went on this tram safari thing, which was cool and we walked around and looked at all kinds of animals and stuff too. We even went in this butterfly habitat which was pretty rockin'. The butterflies would just like land on you and hang out. One landed on my toe, which was cool at first, but then when I couldn't walk, it got pretty annoying. We weren't lucky enough to get any of them landing on our heads or anything, but it was still pretty much the awesomest.

More on the honeymoon when I get this picture thing figured out and Blogger stops freaking out.

You Have Got to Be Kidding Me

2011-05-13T14:39:00.000-06:00

Yay, Money!!

2011-05-07T12:25:00.000-06:00

I applied to about a million scholarships this year, hoping that I would at least get one of them and I found out in the last couple weeks that I got two half-tuition scholarships so far, which means that my tuition is paid for in the fall!! I could not be more happy about this! I just hope we can get some grants now to help pay for everything else. But I recommend always applying for scholarships. I didn't think I would get any, but ever since I've started applying, I've been getting them. And believe me, I'm by no means an ideal student. BUT!!! More good news! I got straight As this semester!! Well, I think I did at least. I got all As except for one class that my teacher messed up on my grade, but she's supposed to be changing it so I think I'll have an A in that class soon too. Anyway, I know I'm bragging a little and I know that's annoying, but I'm so excited that I did so well and that my hard work is paying off in monies! It was kind of a rough semester, being engaged and having it be my last of classes, but I pulled it off somehow. I have been so blessed lately, it's ridiculous. Yay!! :)

Week of the Wedding

2011-05-07T11:04:00.001-06:00

Now that my countdown is over, I thought I would document how it all went down. The wedding week was as close to perfect as it could get! It was great, and so was the honeymoon, which I'll probably blog about next. :)

Tuesday, I took my last final and moved out of my house and Quinn and I drove to California. It wasn't a bad drive and it felt great to be done with school finally!

Then on Wednesday, I went through the temple and then we went to lunch at Islands. Then that night, Kate and Erin threw me a bridal shower and it was so much fun! So many people came and it was great to see everyone!

Thursday, Quinn and I took our bridals/groomals and Mallory was there helping us the whole time because she's the best. :) She also did my hair and make up. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't think this wedding could have happened without her.

Friday, we all helped set up for the reception, which was BEAUTIFUL, by the way, and then that night, me and some of the ladies went to BJ's for my last night of not being married. Ha.

The wedding day itself was absolutely perfect and I loved every minute of it, but I only really took pictures at the luncheon, so here are some good ones from that.

I wanted to upload more pictures from the luncheon, but our internet is being kind of lame sauce so I'll just stop with these. There were lots of other awesome people at the luncheon, who I wish I could upload pictures of, like Mallory, Kelly, Devin, Sammy, Chase, and Brett, but this will have to do. Anyway, the wedding week went just as planned and it was fantastic! Thank you to everyone who came and helped! I couldn't have asked for a better wedding. :)

Some Sad Goodbyes

2011-04-19T01:34:00.000-06:00

After four years and about a million job titles, I finally had my last day at the Center for Teaching and Learning today. It was bittersweet because I'm glad to be getting married and moving on to new things, but I'm sad to leave my job and all the friends I've made there. It was a great place to work.

It was also like the saddest ever tonight when we went out to dinner with some of my roommates and their men. It has been so much fun living with them and we've had some great adventures. I am really just so sad to be leaving them. :( But I'll be back and hopefully we can reenact the evening in the fall.

Provo Canyon Adventure

2011-04-19T01:29:00.000-06:00

Saturday was kind of intense for me. I had three finals to take and got to campus at 7am. But I came home and Quinn came over and brought me this:

He baked me my favorite, apple pie! Jill helped, of course, but he said she made him do most of it. It was a delicious pie! I've never had a better one. :)

Then we went for a drive because it was a nice day and we ended up at the trailhead for timp and found it was a bit snowy, so we just played catch in the parking lot.

And, of course, took a bunch of selfies.

This one's my personal favorite. :)

Then on the drive home, we had a wildlife siting! We saw these huge birds walking across the street, and while they're probably nothing special, we were pretty stoked, so we, of course, took some sweet pics.

Countdown Update

1 day until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER

2 days until bridals/groomals and we get our marriage license
3 days until Sammy, Chase, Kelly, and Devin arrive in California
4 days until WE GET MARRIED!!

Some Updates

2011-04-18T11:11:00.000-06:00

Update #1: I'm blonde! I apologize for the less-than-awesome hair-do, but I had to be on campus at 7am this morning and I was not about to wake up half an hour early to make my hair pretty.

Update #2: Also, the weather for the wedding day is looking superb! Let's just hope the rain that is meant for Sunday doesn't get anxious and join us at the reception.

Update #3: Countdown Update!!

1 day until I take my LAST FINAL and we move to California

2 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
3 days until bridals/groomals and we get our marriage license
4 days until Sammy, Chase, Kelly, and Devin arrive in California
5 days until WE GET MARRIED!!

One Week!!!

2011-04-16T14:41:00.002-06:00

Countdown Update!

1 day until my temple recommend interview with the stake president

2 days until Mallory arrives in California and my last day of work
3 days until I take my LAST FINAL and we move to California
4 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
5 days until bridals/groomals and we get our marriage license
6 days until Sammy, Chase, Kelly, and Devin arrive in California
7 days until WE GET MARRIED!!

Please Please Please

2011-04-14T08:58:00.003-06:00

Make it so the forecast is right and doesn't change!

How to Get a New Fiance

2011-04-14T07:51:00.001-06:00

Just have your old one shave his beard and get a hair cut.

Countdown Update!

1 day until I go blonde

2 days until my first final of the semester

3 days until my temple recommend interview with the stake president

4 days until Mallory arrives in California and my last day of work
5 days until I take my LAST FINAL and we move to California
6 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
7 days until bridals/groomals and we get our marriage license
8 days until Sammy, Chase, Kelly, and Devin arrive in California
9 days until WE GET MARRIED!!

The End Is In Sight

2011-04-12T15:44:00.001-06:00

For the semester I was engaged coming to an end, I'm actually not doing too bad. I think I'm going to somehow manage to pull off mostly As (as long as I finish out strong--which might be the most challenging part just because I'm so distracted). So, anyway, here is another list for you (well, mostly for me) of the things I have left to do before I'm done with school for the semester:

Listening Exercise for Organ class (Wednesday)
My organized binder for my practicum class (Wednesday)
Classroom Management final project (Thursday)
Hymn Project 5 on the organ (Saturday)
Myth, Legends, and Folklore final (Saturday)
Organ final (Saturday)
Old Testament Final (Saturday)
Senior Seminar Conference Paper Presentation (Monday)
My practicum final (Tuesday)

Only nine more things out of the bagillions that I've done this semester. Not too shabby. The end is in sight! And luckily, my finals won't be too hard, except maybe one.

Countdown Update!!!

1 days until my LAST DAY OF CLASS

2 days until I pack up all my stuff and clear out of my house

3 days until I go blonde

4 days until my first final of the semester

5 days until my temple recommend interview with the stake president

6 days until Mallory arrives in California and my last day of work
7 days until I take my LAST FINAL and we move to California
8 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
9 days until bridals/groomals and we get our marriage license
10 days until Sammy, Chase, Kelly, and Devin arrive in California
11 days until WE GET MARRIED!!!

Vance and Melissa

2011-04-11T16:39:00.001-06:00

Next up was Vance and Melissa's wedding. We got in the car after Eric and Gini's and kept on going south until we hit California (around 6am) for Vance and Melissa's big day on Saturday. It was a perfect day and a beautiful reception!

Jill and Kyle getting Becca ready to be the cutest girl of the day.

Me and my cleaned-up-a-little mountain man. :)

Cousins!

These two geniuses were having Rubik's cube wars to get
them pumped for the big day.

I got to hang out with Becca and Amanda while Vance and Melissa got
sealed. We weren't invited. :(

Here are a bunch of the folks from Melissa's side of the family who had to wait outside as well chillin' by the fountain.

Becca was being so stinkin' adorable!

We got to meet up with everyone again after the sealing.

Pres. Redd is in this picture. He's trying to hide behind my head, but you
can still see the top of his head.

Paige and her mad photographer skills as Vance and Melissa were coming out of the temple.

Waiting for all the pictures to be taken at the temple.

The reception! It was so pretty! :)

First dance! :)

Check out that blingin' chandeleir.

I love this kid on the floor next to them. Not sure how
he got there.

Daddy-Daughter/Mommy-Son Dance. They danced to "You Raise Me Up." Very classy.

It was such a fun day and we're so glad we got to go down for it! And, of course, it made us excited for our own big day in less than two weeks! Yay! :)

Congratulations, Vance and Melissa! :)

Eric and Gini

2011-04-11T16:17:00.000-06:00

To begin the wedding month extravaganza, our first stop was Salt Lake for Eric and Gini's reception on Thursday night.

It was absolutely beautiful and there were about a billion people who came to share the love.

One of the highlights was getting to see Mallory again.
She's one of the lights of my life.

The happy couple getting tired of hugging everyone. :)

Mallory gettin' in the shot with the bride and groom.

Me and my mountain man.

First dance! Awww! :)

Look real close. This is really supposed to be a picture of Mallory.

So cute. Gini's eyes got a little misty. :)

Daddy-Daughter/Mommy-Son Dance. They danced to "My Girl." Solid choice.

It was such a fun reception and I loved (as always) being reunited with all the members of the Phillips family. :) Congratulations to the happy couple! :)

Countdown Update!!!

1 day until my temple recommend interview with the bishop

2 days until my LAST DAY OF CLASS
3 days until I pack up all my stuff and clear out of my house

4 days until I go blonde

5 days until my first final of the semester

6 days until my temple recommend interview with the stake president

7 days until Mallory arrives in California and my last day of work
8 days until I take my LAST FINAL and we move to California
9 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
10 days until bridals/groomals
11 days until Sammy, Chase, Kelly, and Devin arrive in California
12 days until WE GET MARRIED!!!

The First Time

2011-04-07T11:25:00.000-06:00

. . . we held hands. :)

So awkward.

The countdown is getting shorter every day!

Countdown Update!!!

1 days until my wedding dress fitting
2 days until Vance and Melissa's BIG DAY

3 days until we drive back to Utah

5 days until my temple recommend interview with the bishop

6 days until my LAST DAY OF CLASS in my undergraduate career
7 days until I pack up all my stuff and clear out of my house

8 days until I go blonde

9 days until my first final of the semester

10 days until my temple recommend interview with the stake president

11 days until Mallory arrives in California and my last day of work
12 days until I take my LAST FINAL and we move to California
13 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
14 days until bridals/groomals
15 days until Sammy, Chase, Kelly, and Devin arrive in California
16 days until WE GET MARRIED!!!

I'm a Bachelorette!! . . . for now. :)

2011-04-06T12:52:00.035-06:00

Kelly threw me the absolute BEST bachelorette party that ever was! It was so awesome! We played a necklace game, a word scramble game, a panty game, a quiz Becky and make her eat way too much gum game, ate sushi, and opened presents. It was so much fun!! And so many people came! I felt so loved and it was so good to see everyone! I wish I could hang out with all of my friends every day. They are just the best. Anyway, here are some highlights from the evening:

I had to guess which panties everyone brought me. Definitely one of my favorite games of the evening.

Leave it to Quinn to not tell me that I'm the only one in my bachelorette party picture whose head is cut in half.

The Los girls (well.. some of them anyway)

My bridesmaids minus one. :)

This is Quinn's bum as he crawled under the table looking for his camera case.

This is a good one.

Elise, Claire, and Mallory

Shani and Dani. It was so good to see them!

Megan and Sammy. They look kinda twinny. Two of my favorite roommates.

Lisa, Kate, and Leah. Three more of my favorite roommates. :)

We got a kick out of watching our poor server move around the pink onesie.

The night was a success! I loved it so much! Thanks to everyone who came and for all the presents and to Kelly and Mallory for planning the best night of my life... so far. :)

Countdown Update!!!

1 day until Eric and Gini's BIG DAY and Quinn and I drive to CA
2 days until my wedding dress fitting
3 days until Vance and Melissa's BIG DAY

4 days until we drive back to Utah

6 days until my temple recommend interview with the bishop

7 days until my LAST DAY OF CLASS in my undergraduate career
8 days until I pack up all my stuff and clear out of my house

9 days until I go blonde

10 days until my first final of the semester

11 days until my temple recommend interview with the stake president

12 days until Mallory arrives in California and my last day of work
13 days until I take my LAST FINAL and we move to California
14 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
15 days until bridals/groomals
16 days until Sammy, Chase, Kelly, and Devin arrive in California
17 days until WE GET MARRIED!!!

It Has Begun

2011-04-04T09:50:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I find a reason to blog just so I can update my countdown. No excuses today. I'm just excited!

Mal's here and I love this boy. :)

Bachelorette party tonight! Woohoo! :)

Countdown Update!!!

1 days until my two huge term projects are due
3 days until Eric and Gini's BIG DAY and Quinn and I drive to CA
4 days until my wedding dress fitting
5 days until Vance and Melissa's BIG DAY

6 days until we drive back to Utah

8 days until my temple recommend interview with the bishop

9 days until my LAST DAY OF CLASS in my undergraduate career
10 days until I pack up all my stuff and clear out of my house

11 days until I go blonde

12 days until my first final of the semester

13 days until my temple recommend interview with the stake president

14 days until Mallory arrives in California and my last day of work
15 days until I take my LAST FINAL and move to California
16 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
17 days until bridals/groomals
18 days until Sammy, Chase, Kelly, and Devin arrive in California
19 days until the BIG DAY

A Little Anxious

2011-04-01T13:06:00.002-06:00

Lately I've been getting nauseated for no apparent reason. It's really never been a problem for me until this year. I typically have a pretty strong constitution. But this sick-to-my-stomach feeling has been bothering me a lot lately. I know what you're thinking, and I'm not pregnant. Sometimes it happens when I'm really stressed out (which would explain why this problem chose now to grace me with its presence), but sometimes I'm really stressed out and it doesn't happen. I don't really know how to fix it except to try to relax and drink water, but even then it just kind of comes and goes when it pleases. It's kind of awful to feel like that when you're already busy and worried about things. Why does the body turn on you when you need it to function properly most? Well it doesn't always do that, but sometimes it seems that way. Like when you're trying to hold someone's hand for the first time and you get all sweaty or when you're trying to make a good impression and you get all shaky and fall over and spill limeade all over them. You'd think we'd be able to just will ourselves to be awesome when we need it, but that is unfortunately not the case at all. Very rarely have I been nervous about something and performed perfectly. It's just one of life's cruelties. But I guess the best we can do is try not to stress about things and when we do and fall on our faces, just learn to laugh about it.

Countdown Update!!!

1 day until General Conference
2 days until Mallory arrives in Utah
3 days until my BACHELORETTE PARTY!!
4 days until my two huge term projects are due
6 days until Eric and Gini's BIG DAY and Quinn and I drive to CA
7 days until my wedding dress fitting
8 days until Vance and Melissa's BIG DAY

9 days until we drive back to Utah

11 days until my temple recommend interview with the bishop

12 days until my LAST DAY OF CLASS in my undergraduate career
13 days until I pack up all my stuff and clear out of my house
14 days until I go blonde
15 days until my first final of the semester
16 days until my temple recommend interview with the stake president

17 days until Mallory arrives in California and my last day of work
18 days until I take my LAST FINAL (ever) and move to California
19 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
20 days until bridals/groomals
21 days until Sammy, Chase, Kelly, and Devin arrive in California
22 days until the BIG DAY

I Love Math

2011-03-31T12:06:00.000-06:00

I absolutely love math. I think it's so fun! I know I'm crazy beans, but I would have loved to double major in English and math teaching. Too bad I've already taken so much time to finish one degree. But if I ever went back to school to get another bachelor's (not likely), it would definitely be in math education. I used to be so good at math!

What inspired this post? Well, I observed a high school math class today and wished that I had math homework to do like those kids. Basically, for the first time in my life, I realized that the education that's free for us from age 5 to 18 is awesome! We get to learn so much! You'd think I would have learned that by now since I'll be providing that education to lots of people, and maybe I did already know it, but I was reminded of it today.

It's basically my life's dream to go back to Troy and teach English. I received such a good education there and I would love to be the one to pass that on to other students. Anyway, there are days when I question my career path, but today was one of those days that remind me of how much education really means and what a great profession I've chosen. Go teachers! Yay school! I might have a different attitude this weekend while I'm writing my two twenty-pagers, but for today, I love learning! I think I really will miss the constant progress that you experience when you're in school when I graduate, but hopefully I'll still get some of that from teaching.

Countdown Update!!!
1 days until March is over
2 days until General Conference
3 days until Mallory arrives in Utah
4 days until my BACHELORETTE PARTY!!
5 days until my two huge term projects are due
7 days until Eric and Gini's BIG DAY and Quinn and I drive to CA
8 days until my wedding dress fitting
9 days until Vance and Melissa's BIG DAY
10 days until we drive back to Utah
12 days until my temple recommend interview with the bishop

13 days until my LAST DAY OF CLASS in my undergraduate career
14 days until I pack up all my stuff and clear out of my house
15 days until I go blonde
16 days until my first final of the semester
17 days until my temple recommend interview with the stake president

18 days until Mallory arrives in California and my last day of work
19 days until I take my LAST FINAL (ever) and move to California
20 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
21 days until bridals/groomals
22 days until Sammy, Chase, and Kelly (and Devin?) arrive in California
23 days until the BIG DAY

Live in the Now!

2011-03-30T12:32:00.002-06:00

Oh, March. I have never been a big fan of March. It feels like the longest and least eventful month of the year. I suppose that if my birthday were in March or I loved college basketball or I had some kind of strange love of St. Patrick's Day, I would feel differently, but it seems that March just always drags on for me. This year, it was the worst. I've been counting the minutes until March is over because it's been a hard school month for me, but more importantly, we're getting married in April, so March just meant that there was at least a month left. But luckily, we're finally on the right side of a month away from the big day! It's pretty awesome. Sometimes it feels like we're not actually getting married in three and a half weeks and other times, it feels like we're already married. It's weird being engaged. I've been over it for a while, and I know I'm not alone in feeling this way. Almost everyone I've talked to has told me that being engaged wasn't really their favorite thing. It was fun getting engaged, but actually being engaged is just kind of a weird, less desirable time. But thanks to March being on its way out, our wait is also on its way out.

Quinn and I decided to adopt the moto of living in the now (originally from Wayne's World) a few weeks ago because we just found ourselves (mostly me) constantly counting down and wishing time would go faster. The moto really worked! I started having a much better attitude about everything and we had good days almost every day because if you're living in the now, you can't really have a bad day. We've been pretty good about continuing to live by our moto, but with the wedding so close, it's become increasingly tempting to slip back into the countdown mode (especially since every time I blog, I update my countdown--ha). But, starting today, I'm going to live in the now again! Oh, Garth. He's like the smartest man alive.

Countdown Update!!!
1 days until my last visit to the classroom this semester
2 days until March is over
3 days until General Conference
4 days until Mallory arrives in Utah
5 days until my BACHELORETTE PARTY!!
6 days until my two huge term projects are due
8 days until Eric and Gini's BIG DAY and Quinn and I drive to CA
9 days until my wedding dress fitting
10 days until Vance and Melissa's BIG DAY
11 days until we drive back to Utah
13 days until my temple recommend interview with the bishop

14 days until my LAST DAY OF CLASS in my undergraduate career
15 days until I pack up all my stuff and clear out of my house
16 days until I go blonde
17 days until my first final of the semester
18 days until my temple recommend interview with the stake president

19 days until Mallory arrives in California and my last day of work
20 days until I take my LAST FINAL (ever) and move to California
21 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
22 days until bridals/groomals
23 days until Sammy, Chase, and Kelly (and Devin?) arrive in California
24 days until the BIG DAY

Road Trips

2011-03-28T12:02:00.001-06:00

In the next month, we will travel from:
Provo to Fullerton (10 hours)
Fullerton to Provo (10 hours)
Provo to Fullerton (10 hours)
Fullerton to San Diego (2 hours)
San Diego to Fullerton (2 hours)
Fullerton to Fresno (4 hours)

Over the summer, I will travel from:
Fresno to Provo (11.5 hours)
Provo to Fresno (11.5 hours)
Fresno to Provo (11.5 hours)

My poor little car!

I have quite a few road trips ahead of me, so if you know me well, you know that I'm a very happy girl. I love road trips! I'm not really sure why exactly, except that they mean I'm not in school or working and they usually mean fun and they usually make me feel like I'm exploring or like I'm alive or something. But whatever it is, it is. I just love them! Even though they can be boring and are hard on the car and cost money, there's something magical about a road trip. I never got sick of them, even last semester, when I was taking one at least every other weekend. I continue to look forward to road trips like most people look forward to Christmas. But anyway, the point of this post is not to tell you all how much I love road trips... which I do! It is actually to get some recommendations for making road trip CDs. It's my job, as usual, to come up with at least one new mix for the trips that we'll be taking, so hook me up with your favorite jams so I can make the most amazing road trip mix(es) known to man. Thanks!

Countdown Update!!!
3 days until my last visit to the classroom this semester
4 days until March is over
5 days until General Conference
6 days until Mallory arrives in Utah
7 days until my BACHELORETTE PARTY!!
8 days until my two huge term projects are due
10 days until Eric and Gini's BIG DAY and Quinn and I drive to CA
11 days until my wedding dress fitting
12 days until Vance and Melissa's BIG DAY
13 days until we drive back to Utah
15 days until my temple recommend interview with the bishop16 days until my LAST DAY OF CLASS in my undergraduate career
17 days until I pack up all my stuff and clear out of my house
18 days until I go blonde19 days until my first final of the semester
20 days until my temple recommend interview with the stake president21 days until Mallory arrives in California and my last day of work
22 days until I take my LAST FINAL (ever) and move to California
23 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
24 days until bridals/groomals
25 days until Sammy, Chase, and Kelly (and Devin?) arrive in California
26 days until the BIG DAY

Bowling

2011-03-25T13:38:00.004-06:00

My blog used to be a lot more witty and I truly apologize for the lack of wit lately. It's just that I've been preoccupied with wedding stuff and school and haven't had a lot of time to think of witty things to say. I know it seems like it wouldn't be hard, but according to the fictional Cheech from one of the latest episodes of The Simpons, "Comedy is hard work, man!" And since I'm not actually that funny, it's even harder for me. Unfortunately, I still have few to zero witty comments to share with you today, but I felt inspired to blog. Just kidding. I just felt like it because it's better than the alternative (which is what?--you'll never know). But anyway, I guess I can tell you the story of the bowling alley hottie that we met last night. She was cute and stuff and I'm sure she's lovely, but I think she found her destiny working at the bowling alley. She was sporting some pretty cool (I'm actually not being sarcastic) glow-in-the-dark lightning bolt earrings and greeted us with a "What's up?" instead of a "How can I help you tonight?" How do you answer that? "Uhhh.. I want to bowl?" She was cute though. She even spelled Quinn and Devin's names cute: "Mr, Green" and "Deven." I just wanted to put her in my pocket. But when I really knew it was her calling in life was when she started bowling in the lane next to us and she got so into it, she had to start shedding layers. I must say, I would probably bowl a few on my break too, but she was just bowling alley hardcore. I love the people we see and run into at the bowling alley. On another note, I have a new form for bowling. It's pretty intense. Let's just say I end up on the ground... and so do the pins.

Countdown Update!!!
1 day until the Festival of Colors!
6 days until my last visit to the classroom this semester
7 days until March is over
8 days until General Conference
9 days until Mallory arrives in Utah
10 days until my BACHELORETTE PARTY!!
11 days until my two huge term projects are due
13 days until Eric and Gini's BIG DAY and Quinn and I drive to CA
14 days until my wedding dress fitting
15 days until Vance and Melissa's BIG DAY
19 days until my LAST DAY OF CLASS in my undergraduate career
20 days until I pack up all my stuff and clear out of my house
22 days until my first final
24 days until Mallory arrives in California and my last day of work
25 days until I take my LAST FINAL (ever) and move to California
26 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
27 days until bridals/groomals
28 days until Sammy, Chase, and Kelly (and Devin?) arrive in California
29 days until the BIG DAY

Wedding Announcements, etc.

2011-03-23T08:20:00.001-06:00

With one month left to go, wedding plans are coming right along. I had a long list of things to get on Saturday and I somehow managed to do all of them! It felt amazing, but I didn't get any homework done, so hopefully this weekend I can balance the two a little better. Anyway, I found a guest book that I'm going to pimp out with picture of me and Quinn so that it looks less boring. It's green, which doesn't really go with my colors, but it goes with my new name, so I think it works. :) I also found shoes for the big day and I really like them. I still need to grab some more comfy shoes for when my feet start to bleed, but these will do for pictures, etc. Then I found that rose that I'm either going to attach to a clip or just bobby pin in my hair and I found the garter at Hallmark and I'm going to glue gun a small metal skull on it because it's really the only thing that I can have a skull on for a wedding. I'm pretty excited about the garter... and the shoes... and the guestbook... and the flower... and getting married....

and the announcements! We finally got them finished and sent out on Monday! I think they turned out really well and I was able to meet my goal of making them about the same price as postage--stupid stamps are so expensive these days. But hopefully you'll be getting yours soon. If not, you'll have to give me your address so I can send you one. :)

Countdown Update

2011-03-22T16:04:00.000-06:00

4 days until the Festival of Colors!
10 days until my last visit to the classroom for my practicum
11 days until General Conference
12 days until Mallory arrives in Utah
13 days until my BACHELORETTE PARTY!!
14 days until my two huge term projects are due
16 days until Eric and Gini's BIG DAY and Quinn and I drive to CA
17 days until my wedding dress fitting
18 days until Vance and Melissa's BIG DAY
22 days until my LAST DAY OF CLASS in my undergraduate career
23 days until I pack up all my stuff and clear out of my house
25 days until my first final
27 days until Mallory arrives in California
28 days until I take my LAST FINAL (ever) and move to California
29 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
30 days until bridals/groomals
31 days until Sammy, Chase, and Kelly (and Devin?) arrive in California
32 days until the BIG DAY

Restless

2011-03-19T06:39:00.000-06:00

I woke up this morning to my alarm going off at 6am and then actually got up. It was weird. I don't get up when my alarm goes off on weekdays when I'm supposed to be getting up. Why today? I think it's probably because I have so much to do that my body won't let me over sleep. It knows somehow. Probably because it's part of me. Either way, it was crazy nuts. So I woke up and should be getting things done and here I sit blogging. Typical. Oh well. Time to start doing things that need to be done. :) Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!

The Final Countdown

2011-03-16T13:48:00.001-06:00

This week is driving me crazy. It's been insane. For an example, you can read my picture of the day post from yesterday. I took two midterms this morning--one that I was ready for and one that I wasn't, but I think I did alright on both of them. But because of said midterms, I missed a different class and have quite a bit of reading to make up because of it. I also have tons of homework to do tonight and am teaching bright and early tomorrow morning and then am going to be on campus until 6pm. Then I have to do all the make up reading from today. Friday won't be so bad and I have the weekend to work on wedding stuff (which I'm way behind on) but I have a feeling that the rest of the school year is going to be a lot like this week. I have at least three major papers due plus all the regular school work I've been doing and then I have finals (which are actually the least of my worries right now). In between all of that, I have a pretty hefty list of things I need to do before the wedding and I'm going to need to pack up and move all my stuff... to Fresno. I like being busy, but this might be a little much even for me.

To be honest, I kind of did this to myself so that I wouldn't go crazy waiting to get married. It's better for me to be busy than to be sitting around waiting for things so this is good. And it makes life exciting, so there's that. I just hope I can at least maintain my GPA this semester so I can hopefully get some scholarships and not pay tuition next year. That would help a lot. Anyway, my plan to distract myself is working perfectly. The weeks are flying by and I'm being as productive as ever, which is always a good feeling. March is already half over and once April hits, I'm pretty sure my life is going to feel like a whirlwind and I'll barely have time to breath, but that's the way I like it. :) Just as long as I don't get sick or break a bone or something, I think I have a good month and a half ahead of me.

Ever since I can remember, I have found great joy in countdowns for some reason. When I was young, I would count down to EVERYTHING: my birthday, all my family member's birthdays, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and most especially Christmas! Every time something good is going to happen in my life, I make myself a good countdown. The most recent example of this is the paper chain I made for Mallory's arrival to Utah around Christmas. You can probably guess that I have a countdown to my wedding--I always know how many days and weeks until we tie the knot. So, because I know all of you care about my schedule just as much as I do, here is my countdown to the wedding day (and lots of other stuff):

1 day until St. Patrick's Day!!
2 days until I pick up Quinn's ring :)
4 days until Spring begins FINALLY
5 days until we send out wedding announcements
10 days until the Festival of Colors!
16 days until my last visit to the classroom for my practicum
17 days until General Conference
18 days until Mallory arrives in Utah
19 days until my BACHELORETTE PARTY!!
20 days until my two huge term projects are due
22 days until Eric and Gini's BIG DAY and Quinn and I drive to CA
23 days until my wedding dress fitting
24 days until Vance and Melissa's BIG DAY
28 days until my LAST DAY OF CLASS in my undergraduate career
29 days until I pack up all my stuff and clear out of my house
31 days until my first final
33 days until Mallory arrive in California
34 days until I take my LAST FINAL (ever) and move to California
35 days until I go through the TEMPLE and my BRIDAL SHOWER
36 days until bridals/groomals
37 days until Sammy, Chase, and Kelly (and Devin?) arrive in California
38 days until the BIG DAY

Song of the Day: Superstar

2011-03-08T17:46:00.001-07:00

I wish I could embed this, but click and enjoy.

Lupe Fiasco - Superstar: "The Cool [Clean]"

Thank You!!

2011-03-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all your suggestions on making announcements! I really appreciate it. :) I came up with a design that I really like and we're going to be making them this weekend so I'll post pictures soon. They're simple but they will still probably be a little bit of a pain to make. But I love them so I'm excited still. No pain, no gain. :)

Next step: making my garter :)

I Need Help

2011-03-01T10:05:00.002-07:00

I've started realizing lately just how quickly our wedding is coming up and just how much we still have to do--mainly announcements right now. We got our engagements taken by my cousin Rachel, who did SUCH a good job! So we have the pictures and we have a couple that I think we've chosen to use for the announcements, but we don't know what to do about making the actual announcements. I thought it would be easy, but I honestly don't know where to start. Does anyone have any ideas about a relatively inexpensive way to get our announcements made or to make them ourselves? We're going to do just one picture separate from the announcement, so not postcard style, but we could really use some help here with suggestions. I figured my blog was a good place to ask for help since most of the people who read it are married, or at least girls who might know stuff about this. Thank you!!!!

New Shoes!

2011-02-25T10:38:00.001-07:00

Following my pattern of not buying clothes and/or shoes until I can't possibly live without them anymore (see previous post, New Jeans), I have been without a good pair of normal shoes for the past 5 years. I have a pair of socky shoes and a pair of snow boots that I have worn to the bone, but nothing in between. Sooooo.... Quinn bought me a pair of Vans!!! He's the best! I love them and I even wore them to school today with the snowy snow everywhere and I didn't even slip! Not once! So much better than trudging around in my snow boots and ten times better than slipping and sliding everywhere in my socky shoes. I love my practical gift-giving fiance!

It's been pretty warm here in Provo, but the sky fell down today in the form of snow.
It's pretty, and now that I have my new Vans, totally conquerable. :)

Settling

2011-02-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

I stole this from Ashley, but I thought it was cute... and true!

Settling is the worst. If I had settled, I wouldn't be marrying Quinn.

And I'm so glad to know that Quinn didn't settle for me, because I think that might be a worse feeling than being the one settling.

Anyway, I spent a lot of my single life being told I was too picky, but I don't think I was.

There's a difference between finding little flaws in people and letting that ruin your chances at happiness and recognizing that you wouldn't be happy with someone and so not pursuing it.

Our Story

2011-02-22T17:13:00.001-07:00

This post is really for something else, but I thought I'd post it here too just in case anyone was wondering how Quinn and I know each other...

Little Quinn

Little Becky

I was born into the LDS Church and spent my youth as a member of the Fullerton, CA stake in Orange County. So did my fiance, Quinn. We met at a stake dance, back in about 2003--yes, you can find the love of your life at a stake dance when you're 15. Never underestimate the power of stake youth activities. Little Quinn was a year younger than me and rocking a pretty sexy mullet (for a 14 year-old) and I remember thinking to myself, "Oh baby, if I were younger, I'd be all over that." That was pretty much the last time I thought something like for the next four years. During those years, we were friends and hung out every once in a while (we still debate whether or not our hang outs were dates or not--doesn't really matter anymore). Word on the streets (or rather, in the stake) was that Quinn had developed a crush on me and it never really went away. All I knew was that he was adorable and younger than me and in high school, that meant he was off limits. We dated different people and remained friends.

One of our trips to the beach in 2007--I nailed him
with the straw wrapper. :)

A year or two before Quinn went on his mission to Puebla, Mexico, we had our first kiss. We had gone to the beach one night and were about to get in the car (I may or may not have locked the keys in the car) and Quinn just grabbed my hand and pulled me in and laid one on me. I was NOT expecting it, but it was a pleasant surprise so I went with it. :)

Skip ahead a few more years... Quinn's back from his mission and Facebook chats his old friend Becky. I was pretty excited to hear from him since I had missed him while he was on his mission--but just in like a friend missing a friend sort of way. My friend Mallory and I took a trip to California to see the sights and spend time with my family and I called up Quinn to hang out with us the first night we were there. It was fun seeing him again and we had a fun night at the beach and then I invited him to go to Disneyland with us the next day, kind of on a whim. He got work off and came with us and then we hung out with him and his friend Brett every day for the rest of the trip. By the time we left, I was pretty smitten. Little Quinn was not so little anymore and I had developed a little crush of my own. We also had our second first kiss that week--but this time it was me who made the move. Someone was still a little weird from the mish. :) But he was still so cute. I couldn't resist.

Quinn and I at Crab Cooker my first night back in California

Mallory thought it would be funny to pose us like we were dating
when we went to Disneyland. We didn't mind.

From this point on, I pretty much knew we were MFEO (meant for each other--Sleepless in Seatle), but Quinn was in California and I was in Utah. We continued to do the long distance thing when Quinn moved to Idaho to go to BYUI in the fall, where I visited him every weekend he couldn't come visit me. We were already considering itemhood (Benny and Joon) but we decided to make it official in early fall. Quinn moved to Utah in January and we've been together almost every day since.

Us on one of my trips to California in July

Us on one of my trips to Idaho in September

Us on our trip to Vegas in October

Us on one of Quinn's trips to Utah in November

Quinn proposed on January 21st and gave me the most beautiful ring in the world. Ever since then, I hate to be parted with it or him. We've been counting down the days until our sealing on April 23rd in the Newport Beach temple and have been having a lot of fun planning for the big day. I'm so excited to marry Quinn, I can't even stand it!!

My ring!

Team Quinn

2011-02-17T13:10:00.003-07:00

Hard to believe, but I finally found a better team than either Team Jacob or Team Sawyer.

Erin Made My Day

2011-02-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

My roommate Erin thinks Quinn is like the cutest boyfriend in the whole world--and she is absolutely right. Last night, she was talking to her friend when I walked into the room and he told me she was telling him how she respects our relationship and wants to be like us when she gets engaged. That made my day! I've always wanted someone to say that about me when I'm engaged/married/have a boyfriend because I think people can tell if you and penguin really have something special. There have been like a handful of couples that I've known that I could have said this about and they were awesome! So it just makes me so happy that someone is finally saying it about me! I mean I know that Quinn is like the best person in the whole world and I lucked out big time, but it was just nice of Erin to say that she thinks we have a good relationship. :)

If think something nice about someone, absolutely always tell them. It will mean more than you know 96% of the time. (See how easy it is to make up statistics? Don't believe everything you read... But this is probably accurate.)

There's No Place Like Home

2011-02-17T12:50:00.005-07:00

“Home is not where you live, but where they understand you” - Christian Morganstern

People seem to think there are a lot of definitions of “home.” I looked up quotes on the word “home” and came up with all kinds of stuff from:

“Home, the spot of earth supremely blest, A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest” (Robert Montgomery)

“Home is where you can scratch where it itches.”

My definition of “home” is still under construction, but I know that I’ve had many homes in my life, some that are gone and some that still exist. But something about homes that I’ve realized is that they change, despite what some might say. They change because of the people who are in them and they change because the people in them change too. And so, there is a kind of tragedy in homes to me because you can’t hold on to them like you can a teddy bear or a photograph. They slip away almost as unnoticeably as they are formed. One day, you are talking to someone or thinking about a memory and realize that that home is gone and another one has been created in its place. The worst feeling is being “homeless” and I’m not talking about walking around with your belongings in a shopping cart. This is feeling like you have nowhere to turn that’s safe, nowhere to rest your head with peace in your heart and someone who loves you near by, ready and willing to help you with anything should you need it. I haven’t felt like this very often in my life (if ever, really), but it’s not a good feeling to have.

Anyway, since I’m getting married soon, I was thinking about how that will change my “home.” Up until now, everything about my home has changed numerous times, except for the fact that I was in it. But now, everything about my home can change except for the fact that I will be in it and Quinn will be in it. I’m excited to have another permanent addition to my home--and one that I love so much. But it got me thinking about all the homes I’ve had in my life and I wanted to write them down because I’m grateful for all of them.

First and longest lasting is my parent’s house. I spent the first 18 years of my life in this home with my sister, my mom and my dad. This is still one of my homes as far as I’m concerned, and always will be thankfully. I love my family and owe a lot of who I am to them.

Erin's Graduation 2006

When I moved to Utah, I gained more homes than I could possibly ask for. My first home in Utah was probably my dorm room with my roommate Amy. Amy was so sweet and I loved living with her! I could be myself and relax and I met some wonderful people that year, including Abby, Mykle, Megan, and Briahnna that made me feel like I was at home too. Even though I wouldn’t do freshman year over again, if I did, I would definitely do it with the same people.

Deseret Towers 2006

Then we moved to the Riv and that was a good little home for me too. It was fun living with Mykle, Megan, and Briahnna. They were all so sweet and I felt like we could be ourselves at home and we were all friends so it was great.

Then Sammy and Susan moved in and we made our own little home for the next two years. Oh, the days of Bathroom Holla. I think about all the good times living with Sammy and Susan on a daily basis. I wish we could somehow all live together still even though Sam’s married and I will be soon too and Sue goes to the U now...

Apartment Christmas 2008

One of my other favorite homes was Mallory--yes, she gets her own category. We only lived together for two weeks technically, but whenever we are together, I feel completely at home. Let’s add on to this the entire Phillips family. They are the best and make me feel like part of the family every time I see them. They are my family away from my family. :)

California, Summer 2010

This might seem strange, but I count Los Hermanos as one of my homes. A dysfunctional home? Yes. One that I am okay with being done with? Absolutely. But, I made some of the best friends I’ve ever had there and I spent a lot of time working there for 2 ½ years. I will always look back on working there fondly even though it was also not so fun sometimes. I just had to give it a shout out.

Tessa's Farewell, Summer 2009

Now, I live in the cutest little house with Kate, Lisa, and Leah (and Hilary, Erin, Savy, Nick, Big Wave, Andrew, and Quinn). I love our little home. :)

Sometime in January 2011

And I’m so excited for my new home with Quinton! :) He’s the best and I couldn’t ask for a better permanent roommate. But I will miss all the other homes that I’ve had over the years too.

Christmas Break 2010

We're Engaged!!!!!!!!! :)

2011-01-22T10:30:00.001-07:00

Quinn proposed last night!!! And I, of course, said, "YES!!!" I'm so excited to be married to him! He's the greatest person in the whole world! I couldn't ask for more in a future husband. :)

I thought I ought to write the story somewhere before we both forgot everything. :) Not that we will.. but you know, just in case. And I thought some of you might be curious.

Quinn has been following the advice and example of the Phillips family and pretending to propose to me almost every day since we picked out the ring (at Sierra West... Dave Bowen sold it to us.. he's a stud, and Lisa's boyfriend... ring shopping was a lot more fun than I thought it would be thanks to good old Big Wave), which mildly annoys me, but it's also funny and he hadn't completely fooled me yet... until yesterday.

We were at my house and I turned around to do something and when I turned back around, there was Quinn, down on one knee.... again. But this time, he had a box! So I started thinking, "Oh my gosh! Is this for real?!" The goofy grin on his face was the only thing that made me think maybe it wasn't. So, he opened the box and it's EMPTY. Ooooo that was IT. I was so mad! I started hitting him and screaming, "Don't you EVER do that again!" Mostly, my pride was hurt because he actually fooled me that time. I wasn't really mad... I just couldn't believe he did that. I figured Big Wave had just given him the box to be funny, but that he didn't actually have the ring yet. But then in the midst of my screaming and throwing a fit, he pulled another box out of his pocket and opened it. And there it was.... the most gorgeous ring in the whole world!! It was ten times prettier than I remember it and I was a little bit in shock... so I didn't know what to say. I just backed off him so he could get up and he got down on one knee... for the last time... and asked me to marry him. :) I said yes and that I was sorry for being so mad and then we smooched and now we're engaged!!

He definitely surprised me. That's for sure. Plus, I didn't think he had a chance to pay for the ring, let alone pick it up, because I had the car last night and then again today. But Big Wave had picked him up at my house while I was out and they did the whole thing all secret-like so I was totally not expecting it.

I know I look CRAZY, but I'm just SO excited!! :)

The Perfect Sunday

2011-01-17T00:37:00.002-07:00

I had a great day today. :) I think every weekend should be a three day weekend... either that or I should just get my homework done before Sunday night. Either would be fine I guess, but today was great because I have all day tomorrow to work on my homework. I'm not even stressed about it. It's great! Thank you, Martin Luther! Anyway, it's been an awesome weekend. I can't really tell you about all the awesome stuff, but I can tell you that Friday night, Quinn and I worked out, which always makes me happy, and then Saturday we did some shopping and then had a yummy Thanksgiving style dinner at Jill and Kyle's with Vance and Melissa because they came down to pick up her ring, which is gorgeous by the way. But the best part of the weekend was today. It had all the elements of a fantastic Sunday:

I woke up and got ready early and I wasn't even tired.
I went for a nice walk this morning.
Quinn came over and brought me delicious pumpkin pie and made us equally delicious hot chocolate.
Quinn and I played the piano and sang for a little while. (I apologize for my roommates and anyone else who might have heard us.)
I got to teach Relief Society (I love teaching, or this might have ruined my happy Sunday).
We took a nap after church.
We made a delicious dinner of chicken, rice, corn, and Dr. Pepper.
We ate that dinner while watching The Wizard of Oz (one of the best Sunday movies of all time) in the January room (see photo blog).
We played Yatzee with Andrew and Leah and then again with just me and Quinn (and I got a personal record score of 504).

It was just a great day. :) Tomorrow will be full of homework, but there are worse things that I could do with my time. :) This weekend definitely gave me motivation to get my homework done early in the future. It was such a nice, relaxing day.

Snow Shoeing up Provo Canyon

2011-01-09T09:20:00.003-07:00

Quinn and I went snow shoeing up Provo canyon last night and it was so beautiful up there with all the snow. I definitely recommend it while there's still a ton of snow. :)

Quinn took this picture on the side of the road as we drove up.

This is me trying to be artsy.

This is a sweet action shot of me being a pansy climbing up a hill.

And this is Quinn laughing at me. (Just kidding. He was very supportive. :))

Awww he loves me. Even with my headlamp on. :)

I fell down.

Quinn told me I needed to be more upset about it.

This is a weird little video of me sliding down a hill. Enjoy.

And this is Quinn being a much better climber than me.

New Year's Goals

2011-01-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

My resolutions this year are more like goals... so that's what I'm calling them. Plus, resolutions have kind of a bad reputation of never happening, so here are my new year's goals:

1. Run a half marathon: I've done this before, but last year my goal was to run a marathon and I thought it was a bit lofty to expect that of myself this year. It's going to be a busy year, so I figured I would just stick with something more doable and if I'm so inspired to run a full marathon, then I will exceed my expectations for myself, which is never a bad thing.

2. Pay off all my debt other than student loans: This might be the most difficult of all my goals, but I want it the most, so hopefully I can make it happen somehow.

3. Read 20 books: I think I can do this seeing as how I read 30 just last semester, but I thought I would set a goal just in case I think about slacking for some reason.

4. Read scriptures every day: As always, a good goal to have. I need to be a little better so maybe this goal will help.

5. Exercise 2xs/week: Hopefully this is less than will actually happen, but I thought I would set a goal that I could meet even on the busiest of weeks so that I wouldn't get discouraged.

6. Go to the temple 2xs/month: Again, my ideal would be once a week, but this promises to be a busy semester so twice a month will have to do.

7. Get no grade lower than a B+: Hopefully this will be doable. I think it will be, but I'll just have to work hard, like every other semester.

8. Keep up my 365 blog: I tried and failed last year, so I'm starting fresh and I think this is my year. :) You can find this lovely blog here: http://365b-tuck.blogspot.com/

Wish me luck! I think it's going to be a very good year for me and I'm excited. :)

New Year's Eve

2011-01-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

On New Year's Eve morning, I went to breakfast with Kimmi and Christine and it was a lot of fun to see them and catch up. I still wish I could live in two places at once. :(

That night, I brought in the new year with the Greens, which was lovely. There were some epic cheese balls and we decorate the light with our celebrating. It was awesome. :)

This is Quinn's brother, Vance, and his new fiance, Melissa, looking extremely fierce.

And here's us, looking less fierce.

I know this picture is everywhere, but it's so cute! This is me and Quinn 5 years ago and again this New Year's. :)

Balboa Pier

2011-01-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

The most necessary part of our whole California trip was going to the beach. Somehow, in a week and a half, we only managed to go once, but it was still awesome. :) We went to Ruby's on the pier, played catch on the beach, and took a bunch of pictures.

Isn't it so beautiful?! I want to go back soooon.

Lady Date

2011-01-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

When I was down in California, my mom wanted to take me on a lady date and I of course had no objections because lady dates are the best! She managed to squeeze me in for a much-needed hair appointment with her hair dresser whose name I don't know how to spell and he did a great job!! Then we went to lunch at CPK and did some shopping. Unfortunately, we never got a shot of the both of us, but it was a great day. :) Thanks, mom!

This is my before picture.

This is my sad before picture.

I couldn't hear anything in this dryer so I just read my book... that I still haven't finished. :(

The after picture. See how much happier and better looking I am?

The Getty

2011-01-08T09:34:00.001-07:00

Over Christmas break, Quinn and I decided to be cultured and go to The Getty Museum in LA. I think I still have yet to see all of it. Guess I'll have to make a third trip one day. But it was a lot of fun and we saw lots of cool exhibits. I still like all the furniture and huge old school paintings the best. I know how uneducated that last sentence makes me sound, but I don't feel like looking up what they really were.

Here we are in front of the cool swirly bushes.

The look outs at the Getty are pretty awesome. Ignore the faces. We were trying to be serious and just look mad.

This is me hanging out with the Cardinal.

And this is Quinn with his favorite sculpture.

A Visit From Mal Pal

2011-01-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

Christmas break was a long, wonderful, and much needed vacation for me. I haven't spent that much time not working in a few years and I haven't spent that much time at home in even longer it felt like, but I hate long blog posts, so I've decided to break it up into smaller, more bite-sized posts for your following enjoyment. First thing's first. The beautiful and missed like crazy Mallory came home for a few days, but they were perfect!! I've missed her so much!! The weekend included time with the Phillips family, a lady date with pedicures and lunch, an early Christmas morning, a double date, and lots of sushi. It truly was magical.

Mal and Garrett

Two of My Besties Stalking on FB

Me and Mal having a moment at the bowling alley on our double date.

This is Quinton getting a strike and impressing us with his pose and sexy face.

Me, Mal, Aaron, and Quinn on our double date at Yamato. What a wonderful night!

I can't wait to see Mal again in April. The new paper chain is getting made soon. Or I could just use one of the ones that was already made....

365 Photo Blog

2011-01-03T23:29:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to do a 365 photo blog again this year. Follow me if you want to. :)

http://365b-tuck.blogspot.com/

Quinn's Playlist

2010-12-17T15:19:00.001-07:00

Snow!!

2010-12-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

I love snow! Unless I'm driving in it or someone I love is driving in it. But that's not the point. Snow is so beautiful!! Just look at it!

This is Quinn with a ferret named Lady.

Happy Christmas!!

On Call

2010-12-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

Back before they were winning Grammys, their hair was much more luscious.

It's Only Tuesday?!!

2010-12-14T17:11:00.004-07:00

If the person who made this cute little picture could
figure out that you need a comma before "gorgeous,"
which is actually spelled with the "o" before the
"u," and if they knew that you should capitalize the days
of the week, then I would like it a lot more. But for now, I
hate it just as much as I hate the fact that it's Tuesday.

I have pretty long days all this week. I have a final every day and am trying to work as much as possible this week as well because I'm short on the holiday funds this year. I thought this would make the week fly by, and it kind of is, but it's also making me tired at the end of the day. Don't get me wrong, this is one of my favorite feelings: spending the day in productive pursuits and then feeling exhausted when you finally go to sleep. But, it's somehow making time seem to go by SOO slowly. I am sure that come Friday, I'll be saying, "Wow! That week just FLEW by," because it's probably one of those long days, short weeks weeks. But during the long days part, the days are so long! I guess this is just what it's like when you work full-time, but I'm hoping I'll get some down time after work when I have a real job. Then again, seeing as how I'll be a teacher and your first year teaching is supposed to be awful, that might not happen for a couple years. I guess we'll see. In the meantime, I feel like I'm counting down the minutes until this week is over, which is painful. But it will be worth it when I can pay my bills and hopefully get good grades in a couple weeks. And at least I'm being productive and not sitting around wasting my life. But I was amazed to realize that it was ONLY TUESDAY!! Wednesdays always make me feel better though because you're more than half way there when the day is over. So I have that to look forward to tomorrow.

Also, some food for thought: Don't you think it's interesting that the more you use your mind, the more likely you are to lose it? You'd think it would be readily accessible if you're using it all the time. But I guess people lose their cell phones all the time too... and wallets. Or maybe they don't lose them that often, they just think they do because those things are so important. But I know I've lost my cell phone more times than I've lost my boots for instance and I use my cell phone a lot more than my boots. So I guess it does make sense that the more you use something, the more likely you are to lose it. For example, if I use my mind all the time, then I could leave it at the gym or in a crevice of my couch or even in the Dr. Pepper isle at Smith's, since I have it with me always. But then there's the matter of the skull and skin that's supposedly keeping it in. Figure that out. I dare you.

Surprise!!!

2010-12-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

It's been two weeks since Quinn was down here for Thanksgiving and I've been missing him a ton but I've been busy with final projects for classes and everything so time has gone by pretty fast. I was a little bummed because I didn't have much to do this weekend and it's still a week before Quinn moves down here and I get to see Mal and finals are over and all that good stuff but I decided to make the best of it. So I went to the temple and then I was going to go to the gym... my usual when I don't have anything I have to do. So there I was, waiting to go into the font, and I look up and I see Quinn sitting down on one of the benches!! He totally surprised me! I had no idea he was coming down! It was the best thing in the whole world. :) We had such a fun weekend and it was SOOO good to see him!!! :) I love surprises and I love Quinn so it was just the best. :)

So now... I just have to get through five finals and then Quinn will actually move down here and Mal will come for a few days!!! I wish Mal were staying too, but you can't win 'em all, I guess. A few days will have to do.

Anyway... WOOHOO!! I'm so happy! :)

Justin, Our New "Friend"

2010-12-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Lisa, Kate, and I inadvertently wore patriotic coats. So we made some poor passersby take our picture.

Then, after church, we came home to this in our living room. We didn't know where it came from at first, but we figured out that our roommate Hillary had moved it there from her room. We spent the next two days being terrified every time we walked into the living room and saw Justin staring at us with his laser beam eyes. I don't remember the last time I was that scared.. over.. and over again. He has since been removed and put in the spare bedroom to welcome our new roommate come winter.

And here is some progress my paper chain has been making. The one on the left is from December 6th I'm pretty sure and the one on the right is from this morning. It's pretty clear that I used my phone today and my real camera the other time.. but it's a chain. I don't think it needs to be photographed in just the right light for you to get the point. But it's getting so much smaller!!! Woohoo!!

Christmas Time is Here

2010-12-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

Quinn was down last week for Thanksgiving and we went to Tucano's and there were all these pretty lights everywhere...

Then later, we went to Temple Square and saw the lights there.

Before Thanksgiving, we made a thankful turkey. It's lovely.

Then I made a paper chain for when Mal comes to Utah. I'm so excited!!! And it's starting to get shorter! :)

Kate decorated our living room and it looks so Christmasy!! I love it! :)

Yay Christmas!! :)

My New Old Favorite

2010-12-01T15:08:00.001-07:00

This is my new favorite song, but it's pretty old. Ha. I like the Kenny Loggins version best, of course, but this one's not too shabby either. Also, who could resist such awesome high tech features?

A Poem for Quinn

2010-12-01T13:37:00.010-07:00

It’s the first of December

and all that I can do
Is sit and remember
the good times with you.

My living room is beautiful
thanks to Kate my roomie,
But my homework is so dull
that I still sometimes feel gloomy.

The day you drove away
and I had a chat with Mal,
I fashioned myself a way
to countdown ‘til we see our pal.

So every morning I rip
a paper link off the chain
‘Til you’re here and a trip
Mal takes on a plane.

Until that super fun time,
my days are all alike:
The hill to school I climb
hoping not to step on a spike.

At night, home I come
to make myself some food.
And as I cook, I hum
my favorite Christmas songs, dude.

I just love this season
but I could do with a little less snow.
Because it’s just one more reason
why I can’t see you, you know?

But, let’s look on the bright side:
I have time to focus on school.
And just for the sake of my pride,
I have to keep acting like it’s cool.

Really, I’m not that upset
because three weeks is close to none
And I know I would regret
Not getting my homework done.

So I’m happy that it’s Chrismas time
and I get to see you soon
Even though I have not a dime
or time to watch “Benny and Joon.”

Marjorie Hinckley

2010-11-17T19:36:00.002-07:00

"For everywhere she went, Marjorie Hinckley left everyone she met better and happier and more confident than she found them" (54).

When her daughter lived in Hawaii and missed the fruit her family grew at home, Marjorie wrote her and said, "'Don't grieve over the cherries. Enjoy the pineapples and mangoes.' . . . There was never a need to focus on what she didn't have" (57).

Sheri Dew writes, "I am deeply grateful for the privilege of knowing a woman whose life has touched so many of us and from whom we have all learned much: That living the gospel is the only way to be happy, and that being happy is a choice. That it is possible for a woman to be intensely supportive to her husband while continuing to grow herself. That when a righteous man and woman commit to each other completely, the bond is impenetrable and eternal. That an unpretentious woman filled withe the pure love of Christ and devoted to Him can move about the entire earth and leave everyone she meets better than she found him or her. That a testimony of Jesus Christ is what undergirds it all. And that it really is possible, in the latter part of the latter days, to do what we came here to do, and to do it with joy" (60-61).

President Hinckley once said, "all of us are largely the product of the lives [that] touch [ours]."

I was reading all this tonight and hoping I could be more like Sister Hinckley. And this made me think of what I learned last night in my reading: that hope is firm. It is not uncertain, but a knowledge that things will be better. It's hard to believe when I look at myself now, but I know that when I hope I can be more like her, it really is possible and that if I keep trying, one day I'll get there.

No One Can Take Your Place by Sheri Dew

Nailed It

2010-11-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, November 10th

Today is the day I mastered the Rubik's cube.

No I didn't just unwrap it and take a picture. This is the work of my own two hands and my genius... and Quinn teaching me.

Clam Chowder

2010-11-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, November 9

Today was pretty eventful but not in the picture taking kind of way. So this is what you get. Clam chowder with gold fish. Jealous? You should be.

Last Visit to Los As We Know It

2010-11-09T20:13:00.002-07:00

Monday, November 8

Los Hermanos is moving down the street to where Ottavio's used to be and last night was our last visit to the old location. So many memories. How dare they move. Oh well. It was still fun to see everyone.

I'm thankful for Los Hermanos. No really, I am.

Sunday Walkabout

2010-11-07T19:21:00.002-07:00

Sunday, November 7

Quinn and I went for a walk up Provo Canyon today. It's all dead and getting ready for winter but it was SUCH a nice day outside so it was still good. :)

Look how hot my boyfriend is scowling next to this river.

Quinn found these cars half buried in the water. I think they're quite curious just chillin there. Does anyone know how they got there?

I know you guys are all totally grossed out by kissing pictures, and rightfully so. But I liked these two so if you hate them, don't look. But I thought they were kinda cool lookin'.

Again, in honor of Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for Quinn. And I'm grateful for the mountains.

4 Month Anniversary!!

2010-11-07T19:09:00.002-07:00

Saturday, November 6

Quinn and I went to Yamato to get some sushi.

And then we went to Fat Cats to get our bowling on and we ran into Quinn's uncle and cousin so we shared a lane with them.

Then later that night, we went to Chili's with Kelly and Devin and then played games with Chase and Sammy and a couple of their friends. It was such a fun night. :)

And, in honor of Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for sushi. :)

Bloomy

2010-11-05T14:38:00.003-06:00

Friday, November 5

I noticed this flower as I was getting ready this morning. It's one of the flowers that Lisa got Kate for her birthday and it was particularly bloomy today so I took a picture. :)

I'm grateful for flowers. :)

A Classic

2010-11-05T14:34:00.004-06:00

Thursday, November 4

I have to read a couple books a week for my young adult literature class and today I read Alice in Wonderland for the first time since my childhood. What a great book.

I am grateful for children's books and an imagination.

PIE!!

2010-11-05T14:21:00.000-06:00

sunday, october 31

Oh how I love apple pie...

and Quinn. :)

Mormon Halloween

2010-11-05T12:28:00.003-06:00

The best part of Halloween in Utah is that when Halloween falls on a Sunday, NBD, we all agree to celebrate on Saturday. Back in California, Sunday Halloweens were always such a bummer for us Mormon kids. We had to go to church while the rest of the world celebrated the ghosts and monsters and dressed up all cool. But not here. Kids here have it made. Well, at Halloween at least. :)

So, we took advantage of the Mormon Halloween here in Utah and had a great Saturday before Halloween. Me and Quinn went to the Hogle Zoo and saw all these cute little children dressed up so they could trick or treat at the zoo and we also saw a bunch of animals, which was cool. :)

Then that night, Kelly put together a FANTASTIC Halloween Los party at my house. It was so fun to see everyone!! And everyone dressed up. It was so fun! Kelly and Devin were my favorite. They were dead prom dates. It was adorable and creepy at the same time. A job well done.

And even though these pictures are from October, I'm posting them in November, so I'm thankful for Halloween. I love getting dressed up and having excuses to see friends. :)

Goals for November

2010-11-04T10:49:00.001-06:00

I feel the urge to set some goals. And I figure November is as good a month as any to try and achieve them. So, to keep me accountable, I'm blogging them. Starting today for the remainder of the month of November, I will do the following:

1) Read my scriptures or other church publication for 1/2 hour a day
2) Take a picture and post it every day

They may seem like small goals, but that's all that I can handle at a time, especially since I'm so busy. So I'll keep you updated--not that you care, this is mostly for me--on how I'm doing.

And in the spirit of the month, it's only fitting that every time I blog, I try to mention something I'm thankful for. Today, I'm thankful for my family. I love my parents and they have done so much for me. I also have a wonderful sister and I love her so much. I miss my family so much and I can't wait to see them on Thanksgiving!

Shrunken Heads

2010-11-04T07:51:00.002-06:00

monday, october 25

For FHE, Lisa had us all carve shrunken heads out of apples. They shrunk up quite nicely and made for some nasty little heads by Halloween.

Vegas Trip Two

2010-11-04T07:49:00.000-06:00

saturday, october 23

Since Ragnar didn't work out, me, Quinn, Kelly, and Devin went to Vegas on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. We went to the dead people museum and saw the tigers and lions and did a little shopping and had dinner. It was a lovely day.

Ice Cats

2010-11-03T23:39:00.000-06:00

friday, october 22

Me and Quinn went to the Ice Cats game on Friday night and Sammy and Chase joined us later. It was awesome because it was an Ice Cats game, but they lost by like a million.

Old Man Music

2010-10-28T08:25:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, someone came into my office and asked my what I was listening to. I replied "Solsbury Hill" by Peter Gabriel and he gave me a look and inquired, "Isn't that old man music?" I guess it is, but it's my favorite kind. So here's to all the old man music out there that's better than anything else I've ever heard. Good old Phil is one of my favorite old man artists and this is one of my favorite of his old man songs. Enjoy. :)

Bad Week

2010-10-20T20:53:00.003-06:00

So I've had a rough last couple of hours feeling extremely sorry for myself, so naturally, I'm exhausted and I am having a hard time concentrating on my at home midterm that I need to take tonight. So I figured I'd blog it out and if it got too mushy or personal, I would just make it private or delete it.. so you might not even be reading this. Mind blown yet?

Anyway, so back to my complaining. This week, I had to break up with my boyfriend, Ragnar. I've been dating him since June and we've had our ups and downs, but I thought things were really working out for us and I was getting pretty excited about what our future held. Then everything starting crumbling in my fingertips and there was nothing I could do. All my hard work and dedication to the relationship led to a sudden end, and I fought it and I fought it because I wanted it to work so bad, but I knew it wasn't going to, just like every shameless woman does in a relationship. Finally, I had to call it quits. I threw in the towel (and the $90... and all the hours spent worrying, training, and working on planning it). Don't feel too bad for me though. I hesitated to put this on here at all because it's one of those huge disappointments that you feel awful about but if one more person tells you how sorry they are, you might scream. All in all, I gave it my best shot and it didn't work out. At least I can't say I didn't try. And there will be other races that I will hopefully be better prepared for and there will be other opportunities to shine. These things happen and that's all there is to it.

Back to my pity party. I had massive amounts of homework to do this past week because it's midterm time and I've been pretty solidly stressed about it, with good moments and bad moments. But overall, it's been a worse week for school than most. Luckily, I've managed to get everything done so far, so despite my being busy busy busy, I didn't fail to deliver, which I'm grateful for.

Then today in class, a girl spilled my Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper all over me and my notebook. It was gross and left some pretty awesome stains on my pants and my wife beat and of course my papers, etc. This is no big deal, but I thought I would add it for dramatic effect. The more awful things that happened to me, the worse you'll feel for me right? Right.

Moving on, I got in a minor car accident today in the grocery store parking lot. Luckily, me and the owner of the other car were both indifferent about our cars' paint jobs and shook hands and were on our way.

I knew I was right to blog it out. Now I can see that none of these situations were that bad at all. Alright... glass is half full time...

I have an amazing boyfriend. He listened to me complain all week, especially today, and he was so nice and patient and I just think he's the best thing that's ever happened to me. AND... he's coming down to see me tomorrow!! And I'm about to poop my pants in excitement!! (Not really. Not only is that gross, but it would totally kill the mood when he got here.)

Also, I have a wonderful family and I love them and I miss them and I get to see them on Thanksgiving!!

AND I have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. Nothing beats that.

AND I'm going to Vegas this weekend!!

AND I have a beautiful room to study in...

AND I go to BYU and I'm getting a fantastic education...

AND I have a piano that I got for FREE...

AND I have a wonderful job with a fantastic boss, great hours, and I just got a raise today!!

This blog could get ten times longer really fast. It's amazing how many more things I have to be thankful for than I have to complain about. Moral of the story: if you're having a bad week, blog it out. My blog could cure cancer, I swear.

Isn't this picture cool? Quinn took it. He's an artistic genius.

Winter

2010-10-11T21:40:00.000-06:00

The wind was often this cold in the middle of February, but today it was bitter. It was bitter and he was bitter. She had left him “without even giving him a reason.” At least that is what he would tell people for years and years to come. A ring on her finger and the promise of forever fresh on her lips, she had had the nerve to tell him it was over. How would this leave him? Desperate? Alone? Angry? Now that the unthinkable had happened to him, he had the ever present, but much more apparent in this particular situation, decision to make of what his reactive emotion was going to be. What would he carry with him for the foreseeable future?

March quickly approaching, Adam sat with his head in his hands, still searching for the words to describe how he felt. Maybe, he thought, if he could put it into words, it would hurt less. Maybe, if he could diagnose it, a cure would become apparent and he could pick it up at the local pharmacy. Or maybe it would just go on like this forever. They say that time heals all things, but then why do we hear stories about love that spans across lifetimes even after a lover is lost? Do we ever really heal? Or do we wear a piece of that person we lost on our skin forever, like the scar from a dagger stab: thin, yet deep, always there to remind us of the eyes of our enemy in the moment of their victory?

As summer reared its sunny face, a mockery to Adam’s mourning, a decision had finally been made. He would keep that February morning with him in his heart forever. It would comfort him—a stony comfort for a broken man. The gods had smiled on him and then laughed in his face. And time. Time had done nothing for him. He had been patient enough.

Ketchup

2010-10-07T10:17:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures that I have been meaning to post.. I'm doing some catch up... get it? It sounds like ketchup. Ok, anyway, I don't entirely recall a lot of the dates, so I'm just going to estimate. To start off the picture fun, we have a picture from about two weeks ago when I got a new calendar to put above my computer at work. Unexciting for you maybe, but I love calendars and things that spice up my work area so I love it!

sometime between september 20th and september 22nd

This next one is my personal favorite. Quinn is sporting the stash and we are getting so good at video chatting!

sometime between september 20th and 23rd

Next we have pictures from Lisa's golden birthday celebration in Vegas!!!

friday, september 24

Happy Birthday, Lisa!!

On Friday night, we rode all the rides on the top of the Stratosphere. They were scary but awesome!! Totally worth it. Plus the guys ahead of us in line who were celebrating a bachelor party were hilarious--mostly because they were ridiculous. But one of them I'm pretty sure crapped his pants on the ride. He didn't look down once. Poor guy.

These were just my favorite slot machines. A little Wizard of Oz and LOTR shout out.

saturday, september 25

Day Two of Vegas

We spent the day at the pool, shopping, and watching the free shows on the strip. It was SO fun but we were so tired when we finally left and went to Cedar City for the night.. where I tragically left my phone.

Moving right along.. we have an entire week of me not taking pictures and then only two from last weekend. I'm really going to start trying harder. I'm the worst. So last weekend, Quinn and everyone else in Rexburg came down to Provo for General Conference. It was, of course, SO good to see Quinn and Vance and Melissa and Brett and I also got to hang out with Jillian, Kyle, and Becca, which is always a pleasure. Unfortunately, I only took two pictures... :( And I didn't even take them.. Quinn did.

sunday, october 3

I look kinda weird in this next one, but I love Becca's fierceness.

So there's the update. :)

Gentle Fawn

2010-10-06T23:36:00.001-06:00

So this blog post is extremely overdue, but I've also been extremely busy... so that's why. Anyway, I had quite the home improvement adventure back in September when I moved into the house I live in now with my lovely roommates. The place was pretty cute from the outside and the living room looks pretty good as well. However, upon venturing downstairs, me and Kate were shocked by how nasty the walls in our rooms were and how desperately the place needed a make over. Here are some before pictures, complete with a hole in the wall with a pipe sticking out and walls that look like death ran a marathon on them and then threw up after to add a little color:

Notice the yummy curtains on the left as well.

Pretty delicious, eh?

So... there was only one thing to do. Me and Kate had a painting party... and Lisa had one another day... and we redid these bad boys. Kate painted her room a lovely cement grey and I chose a lovely shade of brown appropriately named Gentle Fawn. Here's some pre-painting tapage:

Half n half...

Here's what I made of that awful pipe:

The new color, complete with some DP:

So now that the walls were looking sexy, I had to move all my crap in. I swear I get ten tons of new crap every year...

Moving is the worst.

But it felt so good to get everything in there finally. Then it was time to make some curtains for my windows so the whole world didn't have to watch me change every morning and night and at times throughout the day...

So, here's the glamorous finished product:

Welcome to Gentle Fawn. :)

And, to top it all off, some wonderfully generous boys helped me move this bad boy in and I was officially all settled in my new place and I LOVE it!! :)

Nook Appreciation

2010-10-01T18:28:00.002-06:00

During a writing exercise, me and some friends found a lovely nook under some trees on campus and did another freewrite. This is mine:

Let me tell you about all the nooks in my life and how much I love them. When I was growing up, my family would go on a vacation once a year. It was sometimes to a cabin in Silver City where boredom would often take over. So, me and my sister found a stream with a lovely place to sit right next to it and we would go there every day for hours and just read or talk. I will never forget that haven of a nook. It is the first nook I remember and so it will always have a special place in my heart, although I'm sure I enjoyed many nooks before that one. Later in life, I found a nook at the nearby arboretum where no one else went. That became my home away from home during high school where I could go to be alone and at least feel like there wasn't a crowded city surrounding me. That nook brought me a lot of peace during my troubled adolescent years. Now, I have a reading nook in my room. It is a place where I can go to read and be alone with my thoughts and it's very "me", with curtains that I made in the room that I painted, a picture of Italy, and my absolute favorite piece of furniture--a recliner. I can concentrate better in my nook than most places in the whole world. And here I sit now, in a new found nook under some trees on BYU campus. Sadly, there are not a lot of places on campus that I really want to be, but this nook is lovely. It's shady and private but I can still watch the passersby. Best of all, there's room for my friends in this nook. What a fantastic nook! I love nooks so much because they are places that you can make your own and places where you can escape from the world and be alone with your thoughts--or you can bring a friend or a lover and just enjoy some nature or some other type of pleasant atmosphere. If you thus far have had no nooks in your life, I strongly suggest you get one or two and enjoy your time spent there. Nooks are highly under rated.

The Tree of Life

2010-10-01T18:09:00.002-06:00

For my writing class, we sat next to this sculpture, entitled "The Tree of Life":

We were supposed to write for ten minutes, and this is what ended up on my paper:

So here I sit, under the "Tree of Life." Interesting that this huge concrete thing goes by that name while there are dozens of real trees surrounding it. I have always loved trees. They really add something to the world. Imagine your world completely void of trees. What a tragic world that would be! What would you sit under on a warm summer day to read a book or talk with friends? What would you decorate at Christmas time and mourn after New Year's Day? There would be no log cabins or wooden swings. The world would be cold, hard, and concrete--like this so-called "Tree of Life" under which I sit. Beyond its obvious symbolic meaning, this sculpture also brings better into focus the beauty of the world that surrounds it. The man-made is far surpassed by the divinely created in every instance I can think of. No matter what we build or invent, there is still greater already in existence on the earth. A rotating sky scrapper, renting rooms at billions of dollars a year still holds no comparison to a trickling stream down a mountain side, let alone the magnificent and terrible ocean that surrounds us on all sides. So what then can man be proud of? What is his portion of divinity? I think the answer is the raising and nurturing of a family. What can we create that is better than this?

Kentucky

2010-10-01T14:28:00.002-06:00

In Kentucky, it's illegal to go more than one year without a shower. (Yes, this is true.)

Here's my five minute explanation as to why:

This law was put in place because one day there was a man at the DMV waiting to get his driver's license renewed and he smelled worse than anything in the entire world. No one would stand near him and a certain faint-hearted DMV worker actually passed out from the gases and died later that day. This man was clearly a public menace as he contaminated any area that he occupied. Once he left the building that day, the stench remained for a calculated 137 hours, despite valiant cleaning and sanitation efforts. The man was spotted later that week at a 7-eleven and was arrested for disturbing the peace... ? Or maybe it was air pollution. They didn't have a specific claim, but this person definitely needed to be in custody, so the men did their duty. Upon questioning, the police found that the man had made it a point not to shower for the past twenty months on account of it "saving ridiculous amounts of time and water." His awful stench was still lingering three forced baths later, at which point experts rendered him incurable and decided that it was probably around fourteen months when he went beyond repair. And so a law was written and passed that stated a shower must be taken at least once a year by all Kentucky citizens, just in case.

Candy

2010-10-01T14:13:00.000-06:00

I'm taking a class about teaching composition in secondary schools right now and there are things I like about it and things I don't, but what I like the most is the abundance of freewrites we've been able to do. It has been a while since I've just sat down and written something--besides on my blog and I'm not really sure that counts. But I thought I would share some of my freewrites because I like them and maybe you will too. And maybe, if you like to write, they will inspire you to take ten minutes out of your day and write about whatever you want. It can be quite therapeutic and it's amazing what people come up with.

For this freewrite, we were given the topic of candy and given about five minutes to write about it. This is what I came up with:

Candy

I see my taste in candy as a metaphor for my maturation thusfar in life. As a child, I would only eat Skittles. Like the fruity and delicious candy, I was happy and colorful, but I saw my world one way--the right way--and nobody could convince me that any other way (or candy) was worth exploring. Chocolate was the most hated substance in my world, worse even than broccoli and pea soup. As I grew up a little, I started enjoying all kinds of different candy--even chocolate, so long as it was milk and mixed with caramel or in a hard candy shell. This was a time for me to break out of my own shell a little bit and explore some new things. My reluctance to enjoy or even try some candies remained (like pure chocolate candy bars and dark chocolate) and my love of some candies (like Skittles and Bubble Tape) were unwaivering. Eventually, I grew to love only candy of a more sophisticated variety. Milk chocolate with hazelnut and cream--as expensive as I could find--was all I would put in my mouth. I was past that kiddy stage with the Skittles and Starbursts. Boy was that a mistake! I found later in life that Skittles are still delicious, dark chocolate is still nasty, and that everything in between should be tried and has the potential to be loved. I have discovered some of my likes and passions as I've explored this vast world of candy and can't wait to find out what the rest of them are.

I realize this doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it was the best I could come up with in five minutes and no preparation so don't judge me.

Remember?

2010-09-24T10:50:00.001-06:00

How I used to do the 365 picture challenge and then failed and then started kind of doing it and then failed again? Well, I realized that it's really fun to go back and look at those pictures, so I'm going to attempt it again but not beat myself up if I miss a day. So here's some catch up...

friday, september 10

Quinn was in town, so we went mini golfing with Sammy and Chase. It was a lot of fun.. they won. They always do. But that's ok. I love them anyway. It was good to see them and they were so cute all matchy matchy. :)

saturday, september 11

The next day, we went fishing with Quinn's sister, Jill, and brother-in-law, Kyle, and their adorable little baby, Becca (great name). It was my first time fishing and I loved it! I caught that little guy in the picture and then Kyle taught us how to cut those suckers up and cook them and we enjoyed some delicious bass (or rainbow trout). Later that day, we went up some canyon and had a fire and tin foil dinners. It was lovely. :)

friday, september 17

I love little Garrett and Abby. They are the best babies. :) I drove up to Idaho and stopped in Logan to have lunch with them and Nat and Mal and it was so fun to see them all! I'm going to miss these little guys when Mal goes to Virginia on Friday because I'm betting our face time will dramatically decrease. But I was so happy they were willing to meet me and we could have some soup together. :)

sunday, september 19

I spent the weekend in Idaho with Quinn and it was awesome, as always. :) He's teaching me how to do the Rubick's cube and I've almost completely nailed it! He's such a good teacher. :)

More to come...

Mothers

2010-09-15T16:56:00.001-06:00

"Motherhood defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits, talents, and tendencies our Father gave us...

"No woman who understands the gospel would ever think that any other work is more important or would ever say, 'I am just a mother,' for mothers heal the souls of men...

"Our challenge is to stand steadfast and immovable and unflinching as mothers in Israel and women of God. Our Father and His Only Begotten Son have given us a sacred stewardship and a holy crown in Their kingdom. May we rejoice in it. And may we be worthy of Their trust."

Sheri Dew
No One Can Take Your Place (pages 30, 37, and 38)

Thanks, Mom! :)

If You Could Be Anything...

2010-08-20T15:50:00.002-06:00

... in the whole wide world... what would it be? Well... my answer to this question is probably weird to most of you. And there are probably three people in the entire world that could have guessed what it was. But, if I could be anything in the whole entire world, I would be a carpenter. I love carpentry. Who knew? Well, I knew. If I could have a big workshop on my property somewhere in the woods and work there all day long and bring home the big bucks, I would. Weirdest dream ever, I know. But there it is. My love of carpentry sent me on an interesting path today on YouTube. These are my two favorite carpentry clips of the day:

This clever gentleman created a table that walks! You know how you're always trying to move your table and then it scrapes against your hardwood floor? Who hasn't seen that scenario played out a thousand times? Problem solved. Ingenious!

Words don't even need to be spoken to describe this video. What a beautifully crafted table! And so functional! I'm in awe of this table.

Truth Is Truth

2010-08-20T10:03:00.014-06:00

As is custom for me, I needed to find a picture to accompany my blog post. Since this blog is about truth, I Googled truth and nothing was catching my eye. So, I settled on a picture of this band. They are called Truth Movement and they are pretty awful, but me and Kelly saw them perform in LA last summer and it was definitely a show I will never forget, especially the part when Cory Feldman (that's right--that's who that is) came on stage in a cloak and started laser beaming the crowd while the bass player was texting his girlfriend.

On and entirely different note, I did some reading last night in Sheri Dew's book, No One Can Take Your Place. I ordered it a long time ago and it's been sitting on my bookshelf along with dozens of other books I have yet to find the time to read... especially since the Harry Potter series is consuming my life right now. (For those of you who don't know, I made a goal to read all the Harry Potter books this summer so that I would be ready for the movie when it comes out in November, but I guess I kept thinking summer was much longer than it actually was... and here I am with less than two weeks left in summer and I'm only half way through the fourth book--which is one of the best, but that's beside the point. I might not finish before I see the movie but I want to. We'll see what happens. Only time will tell.) I'm not really sure what made me pick it up, but it's a good book so far and I like it. Sheri Dew is an interesting lady. I've been hesitant to read her stuff because of all the hype that surrounds her, but my mom gave me a book for Easter or something called Saying It Like It Is (the title of which is typically reason enough for me not to read the book) and I read it and, as it turns out, Miss Dew has a lot of good things to say like they are. So anyway, one line that particularly struck me as I was reading last night was this: "Truth is truth, and there is power in truth"(24).

There are really scary things about being a member of the church. People make fun of you a lot and tell you you're wrong constantly. But in recent years, especially with Prop 8, people have become vicious. I had an older gentleman literally yell at me once about the issue. He told me I was of Satan and that we "people are evil!" Maybe it's just me, but I don't think anyone likes being told that they are evil, and I don't think it's fair to call anyone evil. It's my belief, as much evidence as there may seem to be against it, that people are inherently good. So that was just a low blow. But strangers aren't the hardest part. The hardest part is when people you love lose respect for you and feel that you are cold hearted and mean because you're standing up for what you believe in. It's especially hard because I can see exactly where they're coming from. I see the logic in their argument. I even see the heart and the love in it. But I still don't agree with it. I often get scared to stand up for things... I do it anyway, but it scares me. But the fact that there is power in the truth is a great comfort to me. I know that if I seek out the truth and share it with others, my words will be carried the way they need to be to the people they need to get to and that's all that matters.

A Much Needed Reunion

2010-08-20T09:36:00.002-06:00

thursday, august 19

I went to the temple yesterday for the first time in a long time and it was just great. This view has been my pic of the day before but I still just love it and I'll take any excuse to take a picture of it. The Provo temple may not being the most beautiful temple in the world, but in a lot of ways, to me, it's home. So I will always love it.

Dream Home

2010-08-19T12:16:00.001-06:00

wednesday, august 18

It's not very often that I find a good picture to blur the edges of, but today was my lucky day. Here is our (mine, Kate's, Lisa's, and Leah's) future home. Beautiful, isn't it? We just can't wait to move in. It has already begun, in fact. Kate's started moving in and so will the rest of us since she already has a key. It's a lovely house, but wait until you go downstairs. It's pretty ghetto down there, I'm going to be honest. The walls desperately need to be painted (mine particularly) and there are some unwelcome pipes coming out of the ceilings. It's a bit of a fixer upper but I think with some hard work and TLC, it will be beautiful in no time. I really am excited to make this little house our home. I can't even imagine the wonders that await us in the year to come. :)