smiling just to see the smile on your face.

{our website}

2009-01-28T11:23:00.001-07:00

Our website is officially up and running! It looks like I probably won't be using this blog too much anymore, so link to www.tyleralie.info from now on. :)

{witty bank customer}

2009-01-26T09:00:00.001-07:00

I'm copying this off my friend Lauren's post. It's hilarious!

{I don't know if this is true or not, but I got it in an e-mail and think it's hilarious.}

Shown below, is an actual letter that was sent to a bank by an 86 year old woman. The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published in the New York Times.

Dear Sir:

I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month.
By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor it.
I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire pension, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only eight years. You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank. My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways.

I noticed that whereas I personally answer your telephone calls and letters, --- when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become.

From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan repayments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by check, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.
Be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof. In due course, at MY convenience, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me.
I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service.. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Let me level the playing field even further.
When you call me, press buttons as follows:
IMMEDIATELY AFTER DIALING, PRESS THE STAR (*) BUTTON FOR ENGLISH
#1. To make an appointment to see me
#2. To query a missing payment.
#3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
#4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping
#5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
#6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home
#7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer is required. Password will be communicated to you at a later date to that Authorized Contact mentioned earlier.
#8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7.
#9. To make a general complaint or inquiry. The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service.
#10. This is a second reminder to press* for English. While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.

Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement. May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous New Year?

Your Humble Client

ain't it great to be a jonesy?

2009-01-23T12:21:00.002-07:00

Tyler and I made a website!

Well, let's be honest. Tyler made a website for us, and I designed the banner at the top. Tyler rocks! He couldn't find a decent blogging software, so he created his own. {He programmed his own blog. Dang, I wish I was as smart as he is.} It's still extremely new, so I'll probably still use this blog until all the bugs are worked out. But, without further adieu, our address is www.tyleralie.info; go check it out!

{Also on our site, Tyler made a financial recorder so we can keep a budget. It lets us log in and add receipts and sort them...fancy, eh? he's so amazing. :) he really is.}

one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish...

2009-01-21T09:50:00.006-07:00

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't published in a while. Tyler and I have been so busy with the start of school! To see a few more wedding pictures, check out my photographer's blog. Isn't she wonderful? We should be getting the entire dvd in the mail within this next week, and we will try to post more.

This past weekend was a three-day weekend! Hooray for holidays! (Although, I must admit I think Presidential Inaugurations should also be a holiday.) Tyler and I, amongst running many errands, went to the aquarium in Sandy. As we pulled up, Tyler saw the look of disappointment on my face, and stated, "You thought it was going to be like Sea World, didn't you? It looks more like the size of a refurbished Petco." The inside was nice, though. We really did have a lot of fun, until the end. The last exhibit we saw was about the Great Salt Lake, and there was literally no sign of life or color aside from the microscopic shrimp and brown trout. Way to end it, right?

Here is a picture with "Untel Tyler" and Nemo:

I think he's scared of the octopus.

At least we got to touch sting rays like at Sea World...

These are called Feather Dusters. Appropriately named, don't you think? They look like they could be straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.

A Banded Coral Shrimp.

This was fascinating; these Nemo fish can swim in and out of these poisonous coral without being harmed. It's their home, and protects them from enemies.

He's imitating the spikey urchin thing.

Now he's imitating the lion fish? Maybe it's a zebra fish.

wedding previews:

2009-01-09T15:11:00.003-07:00

These first three are little previews from Mariah:

For those of you who don't have facebook and can't see the pictures my bridesmaids took:

this one is my favorite for two reasons:
1. look at how stinkin' cute tyler is with baby mei mei!
2. my face, on the other hand, looks like i'm thinking in my head, "hurry up and take the freaking picture so i don't have to hold this baby anymore!" don't get me wrong, folks, i love babies. i just don't want one yet. and holding one so cute as babie sadie just makes it all the more difficult...

love it. LOVE tyler's face.

In the words of Alicia, who took the picture, “Morgan got really excited when everyone was telling her to smile, so she starting screaming with joy! So cute.”

and that's only the beginning! mariah should be getting the pictures to us any day now and we're so excited. life is busy, but once we get a tiny glimpse of a break to catch our breath, i'll update more! :)

{six days!}

2008-12-14T17:11:00.002-07:00

This past week I turned in the biggest project of the year for me, my cat stevens cd packaging. the final product is below:

the cd is a wooden box with the title on the front, and you slide off the lid. inside there are six postcards, grunged up to look old, with various images on the front, and a postcard on the back. on the cd is printed tree rings, and the case it slides into is on recycled paper and sewn up the sides with hemp. my teacher said it was very hippie-like, which was exactly what i was going for.

this next week has already proved difficult. i really cannot focus to save my life.
we will see how finals go. hmm.

{six days!!}

beautiful san diego

2008-12-01T20:09:00.004-07:00

{extra short post}:
this past thanksgiving i went through the temple. simply seeing the smile on tyler’s face when i came into the celestial room was worth everything and more. i’ll never forget how joyful he was that night, and how happy he was for me. he really is the most amazing person i have ever met and i’m so lucky i get to marry him. :)

twenty seven lovely days left!

2008-11-23T16:18:00.008-07:00

this week, it’s seemed like tyler and i have been counting down the days til thanksgiving break. just one more school day and then we leave to warmer weather! (actually, i can’t complain...it’s been quite mild here. The snow hasn’t even hit and I still wear light jackets.)

For the update this week...

we lost the BYU-UTAH game because max hall (tyler would yell in the background right here, “epic fail!!”) turned over the ball six times. SIX times.

but on to the more important things in life...

i got a 96% on my history of graphic design test!!

the ‘naked indian’ statue on campus got all wrapped up for the winter—or for the Utah game this week. (it’s hilarious to overhear freshman talking about the plastic-wrapped statues—“aw, look how cute! they’re protecting them from the snow!”

one of the grad students that works in my office brought his little guy, lucas, in for paula and i to babysit. he absolutely loved paula! he was fine with me too, (meaning he didn’t cry), but i’m still convinced babies don’t like me. hopefully one day that will change!

aaaaaaaand...we got housing! after putting much time into considerably stressing over housing, living at the colony has really paid off. because jason (the owner) and rachel and jp (the office managers) love us and know i’ve got a good rental history, i convinced them to just bypass all the other applicants for a basement apartment and pick us. really, in the end, it worked to both of our favors. they didn’t have to make fourty-two phone calls regarding rental history, and tyler and i had to look no further for a place to live. :)
it’s small and has an awkward floor plan with practically no kitchen, but we’re happy. the rent is a good price, and the second bedroom will really come in handy for a baby room. (JUST KIDDING!) (no, really...just kidding. no babies until we graduate.)
go to this link to take a virtual tour. (and to answer mom’s question, no the crib is not included in the spare bedroom!)

{post.script}
i got really excited on this post because i applied my typography skills! when i normally type this, i just use the standard apostrophe, ' and ". but we learned in my class those are WRONG, so now throughout my daily life i notice all the typographic errors people make. it fascinates me. the right ones look like this: ‘ and “. so using several combinations of option-shift-[, i redid them all throughout the post. and no one will notice except for me, but inside, i’m content. :)

!!!

2008-11-17T11:18:00.004-07:00

sorry it took me so long to upload! here are my favorites from our engagements:

i was born to tell you love you
isn't that a song already
i get a B in originality
and it's true i cant go on without you
your smile makes me see clearer
if you could only see in the mirror what i see

i made cookies tonight.

2008-11-11T22:18:00.004-07:00

{art really is a stress reliever for me.}

2008-11-07T10:57:00.007-07:00

happy birthday, logan!!
my little sister is nineteen today! wow. it makes me feel quite young, actually...almost too young.

reasons logan & i were best friends in heaven, and still are here on earth:
1. she always turned off the light at night when we shared a room. i think God knew i needed help with overcoming the "monster-under-the-bed" phase.
2. she is a wonderful cook and baker. again, i think God knew i would need extra help with that.
3. she has a beautiful smile that is absolutely contagious. she simply emanates beauty and happiness.
4. when we shared a room growing up, she walked me to the bathroom in the middle of the night when i was scared. she gave up many hours of precious sleep because she had to share a room with me.
5. even if she insisted we were too old, she would still play barbies with me. she would even keep it a secret from my friends.
6. she puts up with my horrible singing in the car.
7. she must have just known i was lonely here on earth so she came a short sixteen months later to be my best friend. we were destined to be "the little girls" of the family. i can't hold onto that role by myself...
8. she kissed my best friend kellen in the back seat of mom's van in the first grade. i wish i could have seen the look on my own face.
9. she will drop everything to come pick me up from class, or run an errand with me. she is simply selfless, and i aspire to be like her. i can't say that about many people.
10. because the wall does, in fact, wear pink panties. :)

ultimate frisbee!!

2008-11-05T18:46:00.004-07:00

Last night Tyler and two of his roommates had an intramural Ultimate Frisbee match. For the first half of the game, it snowed like crazy. Instead of falling vertical, the snow fell horizontal, as you can see in the pictures. But they were such great sports about it, and went on to win their game! :)

maximizing space at its finest

2008-11-04T10:15:00.002-07:00

ch-ch-check it out. a rotating kitchen. it's fully functional, with a stove, dishwasher, microwave, and sink! it rotates 180 degrees. fancy, but completely unnecessary.

48 days.

2008-11-02T11:13:00.002-07:00

Fall is finally here! These past two weeks in Provo have been my absolute favorite weeks of the year. Every tree has become a vivid orange, fiery red, or bright golden yellow. (My pictures below just don’t do justice.) It makes me grin every time I see a beautiful fall tree. I think to myself, this is why I’m in Provo. It’s not so bad after all. But alas, it’s raining today. And the broadcast for snowy skies is not far off in the distance. And most of the brilliant, glowing trees have already lost their leaves or are beginning to. Now I'm thinking to myself, why did I ever come to Provo? I hate the snow! At least I can be grateful the warm weather lasted until the first day of November. Yesterday I wore a summer dress, and was perfectly content.

Below, you can see my first attempt at making fudge, the real way. Logan and I busted out the old-fashioned candy thermometer and everything. The process took us about two hours. The directions say not to stir it too long, because when it begins to harder, immediately pour it into the pan. That's exactly what Logan and I did, but one stir too late because the fudge literally fell from the bowl into the pan in the large clump you see below. They're not kidding when they say it hardens within seconds. My second attempt (no picture, unfortunately) went a little better. Tyler and his roommates ate almost the whole pan, so I take that as a good sign.

Tyler and I went to see Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband a few weekends ago on campus for his major. It was a large event sponsored by Ernst&Young, and was actually pretty elaborate. They gave us cookies, candy, and a free cd, all on top of a 2-hour concert. We had a lot of fun. :)

Below we have three of the four #131 boys. Dustin was...I'm not sure. A hick. A redneck. Someone drunk. Tyler was a Newsie, and Ben was B Money, the Provo rapper.

After bowling on Halloween, we went to Tyler's Intramural Ultimate Frisbee game. They won, for the second time this season! (Coincidently, both games they won were the only two that really mattered this season. Way to go!)

Aaaaaand, last but not least, I dragged Tyler to Target to register for our wedding. I've heard awful stories of it taking people 3 trips of 4 hours each to register (12 hours...jeez!), but it only took Tyler and I 3 1/2 hours total. Tyler had a lot of fun with the scanning gun, as you can see below. This is him testing out which pillows we wanted - medium, or hard. I think we got some of both. Tyler was a really good sport. He put up with my back-and-forth decisions and just plain indecisiveness. He really is so patient with me. :)

Life has been going well for both of us. I've got a few big projects coming up, but luckily my last set of midterms went well. Next on our list: find housing!

logan is the most beautiful person in the world.

2008-10-18T16:28:00.004-06:00

today i took pictures of logan for my photo class. i truly think she is the most beautiful person in the world!

my little sister is so beautiful.

a few of my favorites.

2008-10-16T08:50:00.004-06:00

every class period, my graphic design teacher shows us videos from artists around the world. the first one is a video about procrastination. how appropriate for a college student. the second ones...these were some of my recent favorites, by keith loutit. he makes our world look miniature, does he not? (i recommend watching the last two in HD. the option is on the video on the right.)

Bathtub III from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Beached from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

oh, living at the colon(y)...

2008-10-15T16:14:00.003-06:00

I love pranks. but poor JP (our maintenance man)...he's replaced the Y on our sign about four times in the past few weeks. The sign has been like this for a while now, so I think he finally gave up. I'm just waiting for someone to pull a prank and name it "The Polygamist Colony" or "The Nudist Colony". Too bad I don't vandalize public property.

these are the moments i know heaven must exist.

2008-10-13T00:15:00.003-06:00

tyler is wonderful.

but you already knew that.

i'll be the first to admit i was a little bit of a jerk to him this past week. i regret it. even though he was really sick and had two midterms (a good excuse) i was still a little upset that the only time we actually spent together was doing homework. i just wasn't myself the entire week and he didn't deserve that. in the end even though i was the problem, he made up for it and brought me flowers into work on friday. he's such a good guy...frankly, i didn't deserve anything. but he was the bigger person and really impressed me. that boy never ceases to amaze me.

this past weekend was great. we watched a lot of the office, which i am now addicted to in my spare time, and went to the football game. i didn't enjoy the cold weather at the game...but at least it didn't rain or snow on us. i finished a lot of homework, and started preparing for my next huge history of graphic design test. (which, by the way, i got a 94% on last time! but this next test has 3x more information to learn. boo.) my graphic design classes are going well i think. i really enjoy them but still wish i was more proficient. i really want one of those drawing tablets for your computer so i can just draw directly on my screen and not have to scan everything in (which is an inconvenience because my scanner at my apartment is broken). so i'm going to look into that this week.

church was wonderful yesterday. there was a fireside put on by our stake president and his wife, and i regret not going, yet in retrospect i desperately needed the alone time. i got so much homework done and really just relaxed from the crowd of people that practically live at our apartment each night (sometimes it's too much for me to handle). my roommate alicia shared some highlights with me about the fireside and the counsel they gave. it's neat that we're both on the same spiritual level/page and can talk about things like that. i loved it when we read the book of mormon together earlier this year and would talk about the stories and ask eachother questions. it's really good to have someone you care about reading right along with you; they give so much further insight on little things you may not even notice.

overall, life is going well for tyler and i. it's those little moments of peace and satisfaction that i love the most...those little moments where everything has fallen into place, and i just sit back and smile at my life. :)

bragging rights...fo' sho.

2008-10-04T18:10:00.003-06:00

i have to take just one moment and brag about my man.

right now he is at priesthood session, and he took his deacon-aged cousins because they didn't have fathers of their own to take them.

and then he took them all out for ice cream.

tyler is so special. i don't know what i did to deserve such a great guy.
he's going to be an amazing father one day.

you've begun to feel like home...what's mine is yours to make your own.

2008-09-29T21:31:00.006-06:00

I feel like I owe you all an apology because I've barely talked to any of you. I'm sorry. Life has been so busy I can barely keep up with it.

I wish I had pictures to show you, because that's why people seem to post in blogs. People show pictures. Perhaps I'll add some later.

School started for Tyler and I and it's been really hectic. It's been hard to fit in time to see each other every day; for example, right now he's sitting here reading for homework while I'm typing this blog post on his computer. That's how life is for us. It seems like every spare second we have to spend with each other, we're consumed by homework. Lame sauce.

My graphic design classes have been intense, but have been going fairly well. I generally get good feedback from my teachers on my sketchbook work, but I can tell that my computer work (using adobe illustrator and photoshop) is below average right now. I feel like my classmates are kicking my butt in illustrator. But I'm slowly getting better, and in my spare time at work (which has been a lot lately) I look online at tutorials. It'll come to me eventually.

Today I just had my first out of four tests for history of graphic design. I studied for about 8-12 hours this past weekend, and hopefully it paid off. I think I possibly got an A. If I did, I decided I deserve ice cream. :) I think this semester, even though I'm only taking 14 credits, is the hardest semester yet for me. I'm brand new in my major and am being introduced to so many things all at once. I've decided this: there are so many things that are simply innate in artists. We have a sense of composition, color, and artistic reasoning that is just ingrained in us that no one else seems to have. Creativity comes easily to us. Naturally, I've got the creativity aspect covered. But then you have to throw in the technicalities of your specific major, and for me that includes computer programs like photoshop and illustrator. They're still fairly foreign to me and even though I have the artistic background, I can't seem to put the ideas in my head into a concept on the computer yet. I'm really struggling right now, I'm not going to lie. I know I'm in the right major, and I know it's where I'm supposed to be, but I get so frustrated at the inability to fully convey my ideas.

I think that's enough ranting for tonight. I really just wanted to post and say hello to my family...and tell you all I'm sorry for ignoring you and putting you off these past weeks. You don't deserve it. I love you guys. :)

tyler & alie. again. :)

2008-09-12T00:15:00.002-06:00

i am so in love with this boy. :)

this week has been alright...it seemed to go by so fast! it's nice that the weekend is finally here, because tyler and i can actually hang out. these past few days have been hard because we're both so busy with classes and work, some days we only get to see each other for forty minutes. that's rough, but we make it work. it'll all be worth it in the end.
my classes are going very well. i love my graphic design classes! i love designing, and am so happy with my major. everything has just been falling into place in my life lately, and for that i'm grateful.

december twentieth can't come fast enough...

I'M ENGAGED!!

2008-09-05T07:19:00.008-06:00

hooray for being engaged!! up until now i got a "ring check" from my roommates every night, but it finally looks like i passed this time. :) & sorry guys, the pictures just don't do it justice. i'll work on that. [i can't write much now but i'll try to write later.]

i really thought he was going to trick me. i thought (up until the last minute, of course) that last night was all a fake-out. but it wasn't. here's the story: he called me up at like 7:30 and told me to get ready because the night was going to be awesome. he told me to look pretty and grab some blankets because we were going to go to our favorite park up in orem. but then i ended up waiting around for a few hours, until about 10pm. when he finally came and picked me up, i was kind of ticked and bored, but that was extremely short lived...he was really excited and it rubbed off on me right away. we went to coldstone for ice cream, and then grabbed our blankets and headed to our park. we talked for a while, and then he wanted to show me something he'd made. who knew a guy could be so creative and thoughtful? he gave me the best book ever; he made it himself. for a little preview, the book's name is "how to find a guy or dude so ridiculously awesome that you'll probably want to marry him". spectacular, right? at the very end, it says "what is the one thing not present in any of these photos?" i took a few moments, looked at him, and really shyly responded, "...a ring?" i think this was when he kind of stared blankly at me for a few seconds, until he laughed and told me i had the right answer. then he got down on one knee and proposed. i don't remember what he said, exactly. i just know in that moment i was in another world with just the two of us. everything was perfect. tyler is perfect for me. i'm the luckiest girl in the world. :)

byu recipes!

2008-09-04T10:31:00.001-06:00

one of my new favorite recipe websites, Mix.

shake shake, shake shake, shake it!

2008-08-23T17:20:00.006-06:00

The past few weeks have been amusing to say the least. So much has happened:

Tyler got me liles, my favorite flower. twice. :)

we tried on ridiculous sunglasses at the mall.

and tyler flaunted his.

our bedroom window got broken into.

charla (our fabulous roomie) moved in.

tyler played tennis. (look at those sexy legs!)

alicia and i cooked french onion soup.

and made trifles for dessert.

and, last but not least, the boyfriend pillow smothered charla while she took a nap.

As for the bedroom window incident, i'd better explain before you all go asking me. The girls above us had a prank war with some guys down the street one night. Alicia and I both had work early that next morning, so about an hour after we both left, the guys were boosting eachother up trying to tape something to the girl's window, and they ended up kicking ours in the process. Alicia's bed was right under the window, and if she had been there, she would have had huge shards of glass in her. Talk about divine intervention. So they replaced it a couple hours later and cleaned it all up, but it was still pretty crazy. It turns out one of the guys involved was Tyler's roommate, haha. :)
the end.

tyler&alie.

2008-08-18T12:08:00.006-06:00

tyler tyler tyler.

2008-08-11T17:41:00.004-06:00

This past week has been so crazy! We went on a double date (tyler&alie + brian&alicia) which turned out to be quite fun. We drove up the canyon and roasted marshmallows, and then star gazed for a bit. Alicia locked her keys in her car, but Brian left his door unlocked accidentally, so that turned out fine. Since I know you all want to see more of Tyler before you finally meet him, here are the pictures:

finally, what you all have been waiting for...

2008-08-04T00:43:00.003-06:00

here he is, the wonderful man in my life:

tyler is amazing. he is funny, he is kind. he is sensitive and sometimes outgoing. he isn't afraid to be himself. he is very service-oriented and loves to help others. he is a gentleman. he has a strong testimony, and is very smart. he is wise. he is grateful for what he has been given in life. he is extremely considerate of others. he is the sweetest guy i have ever met. he is patient. he is a good example to others. he is ridiculously good at smiling and being optimistic. he is romantic. he is committed. he is genuine, and smells amazing. he is spontaneous. he is everything. :)

4-Wheeling in Manti

2008-07-26T15:42:00.010-06:00

Yesterday I was invited to go 4-wheeling with 3 guys from the O.S.S. and had a blast! Jason's grandparents had 4 ATVs in Manti, and so we rode them the entire day. It was awesome and so exhilarating! We rode up to the top of a big mountain, and we all got really muddy. We took a trail that had a lot of off-roading hills, and I was on the back of Jason's ATV. We got so much air, and my butt really hurts! (Actually, my whole body is sore. Alicia and I are in so much pain today!) I did some really stupid things (or things that I consider stupid) such as riding on the back of a jeep (sitting on the tire that is attached to the back) and accidentally going on two wheels on the ATV! Oops. :) It was beautiful up there. Here are some of my favorite pictures and videos:

All of my photos are at this link.

videos?

2008-07-16T12:44:00.004-06:00

sexy stache.
a divine comedy parody on sexy back. fantastico.

a virtual date with taylor
(this guy at BYU takes you on an e-date. it's actually pretty funny if you have time to watch it.)

the week of adventure continues!

2008-07-15T17:27:00.002-06:00

Last week I learned how to longboard. This week I ventured out even further and floated the Provo river. Now you might be thinking at this point that floating the river isn't a big deal. However, I had a bad experience last year. I was violently thrown off my tube by my home teacher, only to have to chase after in through the rocky rapids. I got very cut up and have a scar from it. Not to mention all the extra bushes and rocks I hit along the whole way that made my legs and feet bleed even more...it wasn't something I'll cherish and remember in a positive light. I was embarrassed and vowed to never float it again.
Alas, I broke my promise today. (That's what boys do to you...) Alicia and I were walking down the Colony street and a group of guys invited us to raft the river with them. Of course we said yes! We were capsized only once (many other times we came close), and our friend Johnny got pretty badly injured by the rocky rapids (he was chasing after the paddle we lost....go johnny go!) But I somehow came out unscathed. My life vest (and Johnny) saved my life. Rafting is much more fun. You have a lot more control over not running into bushes and dying. I like not dying, and being far from near-death experiences.
I wish I had pictures to show you, but my camera isn't as waterproof as I am.

Yesterday Alicia, I, and our friend Leesa hiked Stewart Falls. It was beautiful. Tomorrow I start work. :)

i can longboard!

2008-07-11T18:53:00.002-06:00

today my friend david taught me how to longboard at the colony. i'm so proud of myself! i was skating up and down the street and met a lot of people. it's actually a fast way to get around. but the point is that i not only stood up on the board, but i can ride it up and down the street and push myself! i've only been over the speed bump twice but i'll work more on that tomorrow. this is big, guys, really big. i'm slowly conquering my fears! :)

2008-07-08T10:17:00.007-06:00

Camping at Carlsbad State Beach this summer with the Montierths and the Geroge's was entertaining! The toddlers kept us busy--from their squirrel hunt in Uncle Dale's wagon to surfing! Below are the pictures. The girls enjoyed: surfing, riding the "boat" (aka boogie board), getting a bath in the same tub that Logan and I took baths in when we were little (Logan said Afton's never had so many bath toys!), pushing their strollers around with the gun next to the baby, blowing bubbles, and making necklaces (only to find the bowls that the beads were in were far more interesting and made great hats).

...the dolls at the end of this post are Mom's Christmas ornaments this year, obviously unfinished. She had me paint on each face, and by the end, I thought they were rather creepy on the kitchen table. They look like voodoo dolls, do they not?

p.s. STEVE-we checked back on my pig cake post, and clearly states multiple times (AND in the post heading) that the cake was for my birthday! how could you miss that? :)

my trip...in a nutshell.

2008-06-24T00:41:00.013-06:00

Interlaken, Switzerland

yes, i went to the Moulin Rouge...on a sunday...in my dress...

the french open!

The Mediterranean Ocean! The French Riviera!

Interlaken, Switzerland

Interlaken, Switzerland (and the Swiss Alps)

Interlaken, Switzerland

Tessa getting FREE WATER!

Paul getting FREE WATER!

gondolas in Venice

Venice

Gelato!

St. Peter's Basilica (Rome)

Dinner with the gang (Rome)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Pisa Complex)

The Roman Forum

A water spigot inside the Roman Forum

a pretty flower. :)

The Colosseum

Amsterdam

Amsterdam (yum!)

The last hotel room left in Munich. The Mickey-moused theme hotel room.

The Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany)

Tower Bridge in London

A London Boardwalk

The Eiffel Tower

A park in Berlin, Germany

Amsterdam

hyper-mileing?

2008-06-23T17:43:00.002-06:00

Mom and I have a quick comment on Rich and Courtney's "hyper-mileing". The competition will get even better when Rich hands the kia over to Brian this summer! Who, in the end, will get better gas mileage? *dundundun* the competition is on!

a birthday cake named Floydd

2008-06-22T20:02:00.004-06:00

Here are pictures I promised from Mom and I's semi-successful attempt at making a pig cake. This year I really wanted a themed birthday cake, instead of the normal 9x13 pan cake. Don't get me wrong. Those are wonderful. But it's all in the process of making it look cool that really gets me. And to be honest, my older sisters have been kicking my butt these past years making ÜBER awesome cakes for their daughters. So I wanted in on the fun.

Mom and I ran into a few difficulties, but also had a few successes. I love cake, but I also can be a health nut. If I didn't do something drastic, I'd eat the whole cake by myself before we even had time to shape it. So I decided to make a "healthy" cake by substituting applesauce for the oils and butter. It turned out pretty good, but Mom didn't like it. We stuck the cake in the freezer for easier cutting, which ended up being a very nice trick. Next, Mom swore by homemade frosting, but I've never been a big fan. But she told me it would taste much better. We made it, but I wasn't sold. Even after we put almond in it. I love chocolate frosting, what can I say? Mom's known that since my first birthday. But the problem arose of how, exactly, to make the pig pink if the frosting was chocolate. Mom suggested coconut, and dying it pink. We went to Walmart and bought new food coloring and got hot pink for the pig. We dyed the coconut (very easy) and while Mom frantically frosted the cake, I quickly covered Floydd (by this time he had a name) with pink coconut. (The chocolate frosting was drying out very quickly!) I thought the cake turned out pretty good, regardless of the troubles we had. Apple-chocolate-almond-coconut cake doesn't taste bad.

picturessss

2008-06-19T00:59:00.003-06:00

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2187436&l=1756d&id=17824975
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2187435&l=12909&id=17824975
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2187434&l=caa02&id=17824975
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2187430&l=fab9f&id=17824975
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2187259&l=aa0a6&id=17824975
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2187255&l=ca8bf&id=17824975
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2180952&l=24574&id=17824975
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2180948&l=cf899&id=17824975

i hope those all work...that isn't even all of them, but it's most of them. for some reason it won't let me upload the rest, so maybe i'l try again later.

Trip to Oregon

2008-06-14T11:49:00.003-06:00

Brandon and Mindy

Mindy and Brandon

Grandpa, Elaena, Grandma

Elaena LOVED splashing in the puddles!! :)

my europe pictures are almost all uploaded to the internet...i swear within this next week i'll post them! sorry!

jose, can you see?

2008-06-12T14:18:00.003-06:00

GOD BLESS(ed) AMERICA. Literally.
I'm finally home from my whirlwind vacation. I flew in last Wednesday night, only to be whisked away the next morning on a camping trip up in Oregon with Brandon, Mindy, and Elaena. The drive up there was 2 days, we camped for 2 days, and then we drove back for 2 days. The trip turned out to be a lot of fun, and I enjoyed spending time with the Ginos family. We saw waterfalls, deer, and lots of mud. I'm so grateful to be back in America.
Traveling Europe made me grateful for the amentities we have here. Water is free, grocery bags are free, everything is free. Beaches, a place to sit, you name it. The freedom we enjoy here is now so clear to me. I used to take so many things for granted, but this trip has made me grateful for the blessings I have. And the church! The church is the same wherever you go. It is so neat to have members all over the world, no matter how few. Many people really helped us out and made sure we felt welcome. :) To sum it all up, life is amazing. I have traveled the world and even though I'm poor now, I wouldn't trade that experience for the world. I came home with pictures, memories, and a whole new perspective on life.

venitian blondes

2008-05-27T15:08:00.002-06:00

WOW guys I am in Venice!! Actually, that was yesterday. I lied. (i tend to be disoriented these days) Today I am in Nice, France. (pronounced niece). The beach here is a bright, teal blue and beautiful. We took a train to a nearby city called Cannes to use their beach because it was less rocky. What a suprise that was! We saw many sunbathing women with their bikini tops completely off, some of them posing and taking pictures. Many of them were swimming freely in the water, and many were simply basking in the sun. I'm sure the guys in our group enjoyed it. :P
We visited the lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous tonight...Monaco. Wow. Everyone was staring at us because we didn't fit in. I probably saw about 3 other people there in jeans besides us...everyone was dressed very fancy and rich. There were tons of yachts and the hotels were extravagant. The whole place was beautiful, but I wouldn't necessarily want to live or visit there for too long. Too ritzy.
Venice was amazing and I would love love love to go back there. It was everything I imagined and more!! There were fancy gondolas with italian men in striped black and white shirts playing the accordian and singing in them, there was laundry hanging across the canals from window to window, and there was gelato galore! The whole city was so original and breathtaking. Definitely my favorite individual city we have visited.
I really can't talk for too long and update, but I am excited to go back to the beach tomorrow! I really am having the time of my life. When all is said and done, I am glad I came. I'd love to come back and visit certain cities one day. Each city has its own flavor and I'd go there for different occassions. It has been interesting to classify and label each city in my head. I must say, I have never been hit on by so many men of different races, shapes, sizes, and ages until I came to Europe. Apparently anyone is free game to them. (I must confess one day I got into a public bathroom for free because I smiled at the guy. Sometimes it's worth it to be blonde and American...saves me 60 cents!!)
I love you all!

austria

2008-05-24T02:28:00.002-06:00

quick post; not much time: unfortunately, even with the high demand for postcards, i cant send you all postcards...its really more expensive than you think! its 90 euro cents plus the cost of the postcard, which can be pricey sometimes. and i havent been able to find many places with post office boxes. :( so i wish i could and i will still keep trying but i didnt even bring your addresses.
i know its fun to get mail but i havent been able to really send any....

im i austria and its warm and beautiful. i loved the train ride here...gorgeous. we are trying to find a place to stay and its ridiculous. we had to change our plans last minute so we dont have anywhere as of yet...we will see how it goes! i havent showered in 2 days and its really getting to me. ewwww. :)

a week and a half left! GELATO IS SO GOOD! italy is so much fun! i wish we could have spent 5 days there.

much love.

Roma Roma Roma...

2008-05-21T11:27:00.002-06:00

See the post below. This is just a P.S..

Italians really DO talk like in the movies! I heard atleast 3 people today say Mama Mia! ahahaha it was great.

Things I take for granted in the U.S.:
-FREE public restrooms. here you have to pay. (if you can find one, that is...)
-FREE water. No drinking fountains ANYWHERE here.
-CARS. I am beginning to hate the Metro. I suppose you don't have to find a place to park, but it is dirty and sometimes takes too long.

my list can go on. it will later.

When in Rome...

2008-05-21T10:49:00.002-06:00

I feel like I'm having this grand adventure for all of you. It's kind of exciting, really, but I hope you all choose one place in Europe that you'd really like to see and go back there someday. Promise me that.
We arrived in Rome this morning at 9am, after the night train from hell. It was awful...none of us got any decent sleep. We didn't want to fork over 20 euros (which is 30 dollars) for a couchette (a bed on the train) so we decided to get seats. Bad idea. Last time we got seats the train was empty so we each could lay down on the seats and sprawl out, but not here, oh no. The whole train was full and thus we ended up sleeping sitting up for 12 hours. Never again. Tessa and I decided next time we will reserve a seat and a couchette and split the price. Then we would sleep together in the couchette, which is much better than a seat. We'll see. The guy who sat across from me on the night train was gross...he was short and a rollie-pollie, and his pants were so tight on him his fly wouldn't zip. I just didn't look over at him at all for fear of seeing something I didn't want to see.
We're in Rome, but it's pouring down rain! Everywhere we've been for the past three days has been rainy and glum. Bring on the sunshine; I'm ready for it!! We visited the Forum today, which is all of the remains of ancient Rome! It was beautiful and amazing and I can't wait to show you guys pictures of it all. It started raining really hard so Tessa and I are going to go to the Colosseum tomorrow. Judging by the outside, the inside has got to be cool. I'm excited for it. It looks like I am going to need to buy an umbrella. I keep putting it off because I think to myself that it will be sunny tomorrow, but I'm not so sure anymore!
Our hostel today is pretty dirty, but I am dealing with it. It's just the bathrooms that reek, and the showers are disgusting. I wear flip flops in the shower just to be safe.

I love you all and can't wait to see you! I didn't know what to get everyone, so I am bringing you all chocolate from Switzerland. I almost brought you German chocolate, but the Germans I asked said to get Swiss chocolate...it tastes better. :) I'll be in Switzerland either Saturday or Sunday, so if there is a specific kind of candy bar you want for your family (i.e. dark chocolate, toffee, milk, semi-sweet...), let me know! I'll do my best to please everyone. I love you and miss you!

2008-05-20T10:59:00.002-06:00

Hello Everybody!!
I am in the beautiful Germany right now, specifically Munich (aka München). It is so much fun here! Tessa and I spent the day shopping and I splurged a little and bought a 18€ scarf. But I love it. Tonight we are catching a night train to ROME, the city I am most excited for. :) I hope it is all I ever dreamed of. We went to Dachau, the concentration camp, on Sunday and it was very depressing. It made me realize how lucky I am to be alive and having the wonderful experiences in life that I am. While there, I met three really cute Canadian guys. It was fun talking to them on the bus rides. Yesterday we toured the Neuschwanstein castle...WOW. The tour itself really sucked, but the castle grounds and the outside were beautiful. I have never seen any landscape more beautiful in my life. On Sunday we also went to church and the missionaries translated for us. People give interesting talks in a German sacrament meeting, haha! The first day we arrived in Munich, we stayed at a cheap hotel which ended up being very nice. They only had one room left...the Family Room. It was decorated head to toe in mickey mouse!! I cant wait to show you pictures! The hostels we have stayed in havent been too bad. The bathrooms are questionable, but no one has died yet! I love you all and hope you are having a fantastic time! I hope it has been sunny for you...it has rained all three days here. Much love!

2008-05-14T14:24:00.002-06:00

Hey guys! Amsterdam is surprisingly a beautiful city. I can't wait to show you all pictures of the canals. (Who knew there would be canals here?!) Last night was wonderful; the German couple made us a large breakfast with all kinds of breads and meats and cheeses. I AM IN LOVE WITH NUTELLA. it's good stuff, guys...mix it with a little cream cheese and voila! bon appetit. (see? i'm already fluent in other languages.) We took a train ALL DAY to Amsterdam, and arrived a few hours ago. The guys went to the Red Light District to "look around" (yeah right...), but us girls didn't feel comfortable so we just stayed here at the Roach Motel. Literally we walked in to our room and none of the sheets had been changed and there was a bong? smoking thing on one of the beds. Interesting. After this trip I should be able to sleep anywhere. So that's that...all the tulips are dead already...we just missed the season. Sad day indeed. Tomorrow we are going to see Anne Frank's house and will bike around! Good luck to me! Tessa and I are going to rent a tandem bike I think (I'll pay for the difference because I'm the retarded one who never learned) and it should be fun. I love you all and will talk to you in a few days! Tomorrow is Amsterdam, tomorrow night is a night train to Prague, which is most people's favorite place to go. I'm excited but so incredibly homesick. I'm trying hard not to think of home and just enjoy living in the moment.
Love you so much!!

germany

2008-05-13T15:16:00.002-06:00

edit: PICTURES! the family we are staying with has let us use their laptop so i had a chance to upload pictures, but i probably wont have another chance until i get home.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2180948&l=cf899&id=17824975
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2180952&l=24574&id=17824975

I just typed you all a really long email but I forgot that the computers are different and the whole thing got deleted. I feel retarded.
Others need the computer so I cant be too long, but today we spent in Kiel, and beautiful town in northern Germany. Rob has a friend who has graciously allowed us to stay with them for the night. They made us an authentic German meal with a milky soup, meatballs, and potatoes, and then we played a game for desserts. We also went to the ocean and I dipped my feet in the Baltic Sea, and they bbqed for us about 6 different types of meat. We did our laundry, and have just relaxed all day. It has been so nice to just chill. Things have been a little interesting because the four of us travel so differently. We just follow Rob and he takes us everywhere he wants to go see. Tessa and I would rather just see two things and stay there for a few hours rather than see sixteen things and stay for ten minutes. So we might split up during some of the days (dont worry, ill be safe) and do the things we want to see. Tessa and I will always be together. Tomorrow we will go to Amsterdam and see Anne Franks house. Im excited.
I wish I could tell you about my adventures on a night train with a Danish man that had no teeth and a drunkard named William. Ill save that story for when we get home.

I love you and will talk to you later! it might be a couple days without internet.
love, allie

2008-05-11T06:02:00.002-06:00

p.s. happy mother's day! (fun fact: it's not until the 25th in France)

2008-05-11T05:31:00.002-06:00

Hello all! I'm in France!! And not one of you emailed me back! :( I can't even begin to tell you how depressing that is. I'm missing home more than ever. I actually cried in the shower this morning because I miss home so much. We ran into the missionaries a couple of days ago and they gave us the address to sacrament meeting. I had the opportunity to either to go Versailles today (sunday) on a day trip or to church, and I chose church. (The boys went off to Versailles.) I don't think it was a coincidence that we ran into the missionaries, do you? God works in wonderful ways.

One of the biggest things I've noticed is that everything is free back home in America, and I took it all for granted up until now. For example, here you have to pay to use the toilette. It's ridiculous. And don't even think about getting water for free anywhere. Tessa and I have resorted to drinking out of almost any tap we can find and carrying around tons of water throughout the day. Last night we ran out and water isn't free at restaurants, so right as we sat down in a restaurant, Tessa resorted to stealing the half empty pitcher off of someone else's table that had already left! Good thing no one saw that. The boys are hesitant and are buying bottled water, but I refuse to spend the money unless I'm desperate. We asked a few people at church and they all said for most of western europe, the water is fabulous. I figure they live here and would know best.

I wish I could upload pictures to you all! Because I'm using a public computer though, there isn't anywhere for me to hook my camera up.

Last night Tessa and I had our first real run in with a pickpocket. We were standing at the Eiffel Tower (which words can barely describe...I'll get to that in a minute) and this big black guy dressed in all black came up really close behind us and touched her waist. She turned around abruptly and was like, "excuse me..." and gave him a look. He left. Good thing we don't carry things in our pockets!! We watched him for a few more minutes and he pretended to take pictures of the Eiffel but really looked around and then looked down and pickpocketed. It was ridiculous.

Everyone in their lifetime should have the opportunity to see the Eiffel. (I'm on a first-name basis with it now...after all, I climbed over 700 steps to get to just the middle!) Climbing it and seeing the views from the top is one of the most breathtaking things in life. Seeing it at night when they turn on the lights and the whole Eiffel sparkles like diamonds (I got a video of it) is absolutely...words cannot describe how beautiful it is. Paris is the dirtiest and smelliest city I have ever visited, but seeing the Eiffel like that makes the whole trip worth it.

I don't know how people aren't 400lbs here. There are bakery cafes on every corner selling all sorts of sweet and delicious pastries and breads. Baguettes are amazing and so cheap. I ate my first pastry today (thought I should atleast try one before I leave here) and DANG it was good! They have lots of sandwiches too and at supermarkets you can find fruit. I've been eating a lot of fruit...about 2 apples a day atleast.

Last night we went to the Artist Village (Monmarte?). There were dozens of artists painting and portrait drawing. It was a really neat little village...if I ever come back to Paris I'd love to go again. There are a lot of talented artists there; it was amazing. :) We ate at a little restaurant for 10 euros! (cheap!) We got a drink, chicken and frittes (fries), and a crepe for dessert. Way cool.

It's been difficult to communicate with people here, but mostly we can get around by pointing and using our hands. Rob, Paul, and Tessa are all going on a bike tour for a couple hours when we go to Berlin tomorrow, but since I never learned to ride a bike and am too shy to tell them I don't know how, I'm just going to chill in the city by myself. Rob asked me how I felt about biking, and I told him I'd rather walk. I think if they do take a day and explore on bikes in Amsterdam too I can either walk around or use the subway. I'm getting much better at directions, though I'm not perfect yet. It may take me a while, but I can eventually get there. I'm nervous to be alone in a brand new city, but I don't have a choice. I think I'll be fine wandering around.

I don't know what else to tell you all. I miss you like heck and my eyes are getting all teary as I write this. It's hard living out of a backpack in a foreign country with people you aren't super close to and in a strange land. This is much harder than I ever expected it to be. I'm glad I'm doing it though. I'll be buff when I come home....yesterday especially was like being on the stairmaster all day! I can't even tell you how many stairs we climbed throughout the city! (you've got to be in shape to tour europe...it's a LOT of walking.) I love you and miss you all. Please write. :(

2008-05-09T06:34:00.000-06:00

i ran out of time and i'm on a french keyboard that's retarded. check yo email.

my first final:

2008-04-19T20:06:00.003-06:00

I just went to my art teacher's parent's house for a final and IT WAS AMAZING. wow. it's just like i envisioned my house to be like. here are some pictures:

her parents are artists and the whole house is customized:

these are nickels in the cement on the front porch:

the front door

the kitchen is my favorite part!!!

AWESOME.

p.s.

2008-04-13T16:26:00.003-06:00

mom is worried about my safety in europe, and we're looking at finding a safe shoulder bag to carry around. it can't be too big or too small and has to have a lot of pockets. another requirement is that it has to be "grown up". i'm almost twenty and need to start dressing as such, she says. :)
but where do you buy clothes that say that you're not 16, but you're also not 25 with two kids? they don't make clothes for almost twenty-year olds.
anyways, here is the link to the bag mom and i picked out together; let me know what you think and if it's grown up enough. i really like it:
http://www.rei.com/product/763410?cm_sp=prod*desc_rel_item*element

our list of things to do over the summer:

2008-04-13T15:35:00.003-06:00

♥ the swing park in orem
♥ Thanksgiving Point (an essential if you live in Utah)
♥ a bonfire up the canyon
♥ a BBQ at the Colony Backyard
♥ get tan (..ahahaha...ha...ha..)
♥ find some summer lovin'
♥ make homemade ice cream
♥ celebrate Jefferson the Goldfish's 1st birthday
♥ The Office dvds
♥ Amelie
♥ the Emma Smith movie (hopefully it'll be in the dollar theater)
♥ Velour concerts
♥ Provo art gallery walk (1st Friday of every month)
♥ hogel zoo
♥ Breaking Dawn (the new vampire book...august 2nd)
♥ roadtrip to Oceanside (camping on the beach for a week)
♥ sit on all 8 couches at Alex's house (this is Alicia's request)
♥ hike the Y with someone who hasn't yet
♥ hike to the timpanogas caves
♥ go to the aquarium
♥ be NSO Y Group leaders
♥ celebrate Alex's 20th birthday on the 20th of june with 20 summer freshman (we'll be Y Group leaders that day)
♥ make t-shirts
♥ locate and visit the Hot Springs
♥ fly a kite
♥ visit the Gateway mall and don't buy anything
♥ take a walking tour of Salt Lake
♥ go to Sub Zero ice cream (liquid nitrogen!)
♥ go on a dam tour and send dam postcards (anyone know of a dam nearby?)
♥ visit the Boring family for a baby blessing :)

any comments or suggestions to add to the list?

23 days til europe!!

2008-04-11T00:49:00.003-06:00

alicia got me addicted to computer solitare tonight. i won three times! hopefully i'll be able to curb my addiction because finals are coming this next week.
our internet at the colony has been out for over three days now...such an inconvenience! alicia and i sat here in our room wondering what people did before the internet. what a modern convenience it has become; we don't know what to do without it. it hasn't been warm enough yet to go outside and read on the front lawn, and so we've been bored out of our minds. but alas, it's back. and hopefully for good this time.
i made a cake last night that was super yummy-an apple cake. it consisted of one yellow cake mix, three eggs, and about 20oz of apple sauce. easy peasy and uber yummy! a bit healthier than the regular cake, too. it has a slight apple flavor and is very moist; i highly recommend it.

anyways, i wish i had anything exciting to tell you or had some pictures to show you. but i don't. the end.

(this dream is never ending.)

2008-04-05T23:20:00.003-06:00

conference was good today. logan and i drove up to salt lake to see grandma and grandpa miller, a handful of heathcotes (john, jennifer, sarah, sam, and emma), uncle brad and cody, and various other scouts from uncle brad's ward. it was really good to spend time with the heathcotes and grandma and grandpa. we watched conference from their hotel room, and then drove the 3 miles into downtown salt lake to meet everyone for a picnic lunch. we then watched the second session and us girls went shopping. it was fabulous.

gateway mall is expensive. i felt like i didn't belong. stores like anthropologie are so artistically beautiful inside it makes me want to buy everything and then decorate a whole house. but it's stores like that that i don't understand. i refuse to spend $58 on a shirt. i don't know how anyone justifies an $89 dress. i'm cheap. sometimes i think target is expensive. (oh boy that's lame.) but we had fun anyway. some of sarah's guy friends met up with us and we went out to dinner. it was fun and frustrating and awkward and amazing and sometimes made me want to scream in a fit of giddy happiness. overall the day was long but fabulous. sarah bought an uber cute scarf. (see picture)

here are all of us girls, minus sarah (she took the picture):

i'm excited to backpack europe!! 29 days....WOO! :)

[i wish it was] rainin' men...hallelujiah....

2008-04-02T00:30:00.003-06:00

last night was the most successful europe meeting we've had yet. we planned out our whole trip from day 1 to 30. :)
the cities are as follows (i hope i remember them all):
flying into london...then paris to amsterdam to berlin to prague to munich to vienna to rome to florence/pisa to switzerlandish area to nice to barcelona back to paris back to london back to california. I'M SO EXCITED!!

my friend turell shares the same fondness for youtube videos as alicia and i do. we found some good ones to share with everyone tonight:
Japanese Pac-Man
Japanese Treadmill
Japanese Tilted Floor Cleaning
i wish we got the japanese game show channel...but then again, if we did i think i'd watch it 24/7 and drop out of school. good thing such a thing doesn't exist.

i got an email from aaron in japan. i think he's doing well...i don't really know because it was very short. he's only supposed to email his immediate family, and so he wrote me a short email saying that (i had wrote him an email right before and told him that i was going to use snail mail because of that anyways). he told me to get his address from his mom.....i called her and talked to her for a few minutes, but she didn't have his address either. oh well! if he wants a letter, he's got my address and he'll have to write me first.

i went on a blind date this weekend with a guy named joseph. it was fun, but as always, awkward. i think he was a little too shy for me, but he was nice. we went out as a big group of 6 to thai ruby (AMAZING food) and then to a stand-up comedy show on campus. (*side note* chris johnson, a guy from the summer and last fall who is in the stand up comedy group, is moving back into the colony right across the street from us! i'm really excited because he was fun to hang out with. he came over for a little while the other day and hopefully we'll get to see him over the summer!)

i suppose that's all, really. 34 days until europe. and i get to go to stagecoach instead of staying home alone that weekend, woo! hopefully i'll remember to bring my cute cowgirl hat. and hopefully dad will win. i'm excited for his bbq...mmmm...

(mackenzie...those pictures of morgan and afton are so cute! is morgan saying, "afton!" in the video? they're both so grown up! i can't wait to see them!!)

2008-03-30T14:50:00.002-06:00

Okay. I've got to clarify my last post a little bit; I don't think I explained it very well. (I understood it in my head, but apparently no one else did.) I got into the graphic design pre major, (i still have to apply again) but it is still a big deal. They only let so many people into the pre-major because the class sizes are so tiny (15) and there's not a lot of room. So now I have the opportunity to take graphic design classes, whereas before I didn't. That's that.

This weekend, Alicia and her parents invited me to spend the night at their condo in Sandy. Her parents took us a restaurant called the Mayan Adventure. It was the coolest restaurant I have ever seen. (Courtney and Mackenzie--you have been there before, and I remember you telling me about it. I didn't realize it was the same place until we got inside and watched the show.) The food wasn't fabulous (it was a bit bland, to tell you the truth) but wasn't too expensive either. Though, my rotisserie chicken salad had more chicken than any other salad I have ever had. I thought for sure it would be at least $15 a person with the show and all, but it was in the $10 range! Almost college affordable! The whole environment was Indiana Jones when you walked in, and then once inside at your table, it was a 4-story jungle. You sat around this waterfall with a pool of water. Every thirty minutes, young, ultra-buff, gorgeous guys dressed in authentic Mayan attire (loin cloth + body paint) would put on a show and high dive into the pool. It was quite an adventure, I must admit. It would be a really fun double date...that is, if you want to drive 45 minutes to get to the restaurant.

We ended up sleeping in late and making homemade pancakes. Guys, they were wonderful. We substituted whole wheat flour for regular flour, but ended up having to add a bit more water. Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
3 T. sugar
1 t. salt
(sift together, then add:)
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1 t. vanilla

Mom-also in Sandy, there is a place called Tai Pan Trading. Alicia's parents told us about it, and we thought it was some cheap oriental store or something. It's actually a very neat warehouse store that sells things you and Karen decorate with. Some things were pretty cheap, but others were pricey. It's definitely something to check out next time you come here, and even tell Karen about (if she doesn't already know). (It's right off the freeway...go left off of Exit 285. It'll be on your left about a 1/4 mile down.)

A freak snow-storm hit Provo last night, and there was 5 inches of snow on my car this morning. And throughout church, it kept snowing and snowing and snowing....it was ridiculous. It's beautiful, but difficult to live in.

I guess that's the Alex update. I'll reupdate this soon and perhaps post pictures of the restaurant. I love you all!

2008-03-26T17:49:00.002-06:00

a couple of weeks ago, i petitioned to switch my major to graphic design. i hadn't heard back in a while, but today i found out i got accepted to the graphic design program!! :)

pictures of you...pictures of me...

2008-03-25T10:30:00.009-06:00

by request from Afton:

alicia and i.

alicia, callie, me, and melissa on halloween. (and yes, we went trick.or.treating.)

just for fun, this is the can my roommate pried open with a knife or fork. (you can laugh now). she couldn't find the can opener and because alicia and i were in our room, she couldn't come in and steal mine. apparently it's too much to ask to borrow your roommate's can opener.

alicia and i.

my first whole chicken! alicia and i named him Esteban.

Hope you enjoyed. :)

(it's beginning to get to me)

2008-03-24T22:29:00.003-06:00

i've never had PMS before.

no, seriously. today i found out exactly what it's like. i don't know what brought on the sudden flood of emotions...one moment i find myself charismatically laughing and the next i just want to cry in a puddle of tears. life is finally catching up to me today, and i don't know how to deal with it. i don't know whether to laugh or cry or be excited that i actually am a girl. it's confirmed. i don't appreciate this PMS thing -- all i want to do is eat and eat and cry and pathetically laugh at myself for doing so. (today was an awful day to shop the grocery store.) i'm getting cravings for the most random foods like bread & butter & ricotta cheese & pretzels & pizza. i don't typically crave pizza or ricotta cheese, to tell you the truth. and my living situation isn't helping. i'm trying to be kind but every.little.thing is bothering me today: the dishes left in the dishwasher. the spilled water left on the coffee table. the dirty spoon being set on the clean stovetop. the fact that two of my roommates haven't spoken a word to me for over two weeks and i have absolutely no idea why.
i'm baffled by all of this.

i think i'm going to go call my mom.

holy cow i'm whiter than sour cream

2008-03-23T16:08:00.003-06:00

Today is easter and i'm not with my family. That's tough. But my cousins invited Alicia and I over to their house for dinner. My grandma gives them money each month to host a family dinner party, and I'm so grateful for it. I love Jason & Amy and their kindness...not to mention their excellent cooking skills.

my brother told me a funny joke the other day: what happens if barack obama wins the election? he'll be the first black guy to beat a white girl without breaking the law. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Changing subjects...there's a lot of awkward guys in this world. Unfortunately, because they are awkward, they tend to lack the social skills needed for carrying on an appropriate conversation. There's one in particular that we'll call Albert. Albert is perverted and I don't know how to deal with it. I try to be nice to him, but that only leads him on to pursue my roommate and I. We don't know how to avoid him and we're too nice to say anything. It's becoming a problem.

There's another guy that I must mention atleast one more post because the situation hasn't gone away. You know him already, it's the same one from the last post....oh yeah, and from the post before. He doesn't deserve this much attention from me, or any girl right now for that matter. He's a player, and he knows it. He jumps from girl to girl, but isn't looking for a love interest. Or so he says. He'll make your heart melt with just one smile, but watch out girls. It's all a game to him. Atleast there's others out there that feel the same confused way I do about him. Yet when he comes around, we all smile and giggle and hope he accidently touches our hand. It's ridiculous and needs to stop. But it's an eternal round that won't stop anytime soon. He'll move out, and another just like him will move in. The process will start all over again.
Dang it.

she thinks my tractor's sexy

2008-03-18T22:16:00.004-06:00

i am utterly exhausted. all day i've been on a second wind (a.k.a. being quite chipper despite my lack of sleep) and now it's finally hit me that i'm dead tired. i need sleep now.

continuing my rant from last post. i don't understand the male sex or what drives them to do the things they do. but i'm okay with that; i've come to terms with the fact that they make my life complicated. yet, i must admit i am the naive one to keep chasing after boys. there's a part of me that needs atleast one of them in my life for balance. there's one in particular right now that makes me want to scream. (sidenote: does anyone ever actually scream after they state that they want to scream? didn't think so.) life is complicated and i can't wait to go to europe. the end.

okay, it's not the end after all. and my throat still hurts. ouch, charlie, ouch.
i think my greatest weakness is bread and butter, plain & simple. or a guy's smile.

okay the end for reals.

i'm always wondering where you are...

2008-03-16T22:52:00.002-06:00

here's a song for you, lovely.

A quote i love love love:

"As with Paul, however, we may be perplexed, but we are not in despair. For if we are prepared spiritually, we need not fear. Even so, the Lord has made no secret of the fact that He intends to try the faith and the patience of His Saints. We mortals are so quick to forget the Lord: “And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions … they will not remember him.” However, the Lord knows our bearing capacity, both as to coping and to comprehending, and He will not give us more to bear than we can manage at the moment, though to us it may seem otherwise. Just as no temptations will come to us from which we cannot escape or which we cannot bear, we will not be given more trials than we can sustain. Therefore, given the aforementioned grand and overarching reasons to rejoice, can we not “be of good cheer” in spite of stress and circumstance? President Brigham Young said of a geographical destination, “This is the place.” Of God’s plan of salvation, with its developmental destination, it can be said, “This is the process”! President Young, who knew something about trial and tribulation but also of man’s high destiny, said that the Lord lets us pass through these experiences that we might become true friends of God. By developing our individual capacities, wisely exercising our agency, and trusting God—including when we feel forsaken and alone—then we can, said President Young, learn to be “righteous in the dark.” The gospel glow we see radiating from some—amid dark difficulties—comes from illuminated individuals who are “of good cheer”! To be cheerful when others are in despair, to keep the faith when others falter, to be true even when we feel forsaken—all of these are deeply desired outcomes during the deliberate, divine tutorials which God gives to us—because He loves us. These learning experiences must not be misread as divine indifference. Instead, such tutorials are a part of the divine unfolding.

-Neal A. Maxwell

wow. how amazing is that?! i wish i had something uber exciting to put here. (and i wish i knew how to put those little dots on top of the "u" in "uber".) tonight ward prayer was in one of the houses (opposed to one of the apartments)--they had a sweet comfy couch, a tarantula, a gold stove, and one of those cafeteria carts you see in, well, cafeterias. a campbells soup cart. i liked their apartment decorations. good job, guys.

side note: i hate the guy who flirts with every girl. in front of every girl. you know him, you've seen him. he catches your eye and smiles, and your heart melts. then there's no turning back. he ditches the girl he's talking with, and comes over to you instead. you're eager for conversation, but hate him at the same time. he sits by you on the couch, and you welcome him because he can make any girl fall in love with him in a matter of seconds. guilty. is it his smile? his eyes? perhaps both; it's when his smile is so big it consumes his face and makes his eyes go squinty. i hate to love him. every girl is after him, and he's after every girl. you know you'll eventually get your chance, but only to be ditched in the same weekend by favor of his ex-(or not-so-ex) girlfriend. not that i speak from experience.

rant to be continued. soon.

give me a moment, please

2008-03-15T00:16:00.003-06:00

europe backpacking trip checklist:

backpack
comfortable shoes (thanks, mom!)
plane ticket
sleepsack
toiletry bag (thanks, dad!)
~~microfiber towel~~ (thanks, mom!)
travel toiletries
light jacket
new socks
journal
tape
combination lock
1 denim skirt
flip flops
4 shirts
1 pair of jeans
1 pair shorts
new camera (yay for early birthday presents!)
new blog
spending money
experience.