Two Sundays ago, Stephanie and I organized an awesome Pre-Thanksgiving dinner for some of our friends. Unlike most of the other social events we have tried to organize in the past, this one was actually quite successful. Food was pretty dang good, and everyone we invited came! Anyways, the original plan was to get some Rotisserie chickens from Smith's. Well, we went there around 8 o'clock the Saturday before, and we were disappointed (actually, annoyed and ticked off) to find that all the Rotisserie chicken's were very small and scrawny, despite the sign that said something of the effect of "HUGE chickens". They were not. Anyways, in desperation to decide what we could make to feed around 20 people, we scrambled throughout the store. As we headed towards the meat section, I spotted a huge thing of Turkeys. And that's when the adventure began. We decided to buy a turkey. Because they were on sale. None of us had ever made a turkey, but how hard could it be right?

Heh. Wrong.

The next day, Steph and I woke up bright and early (aka 11:30), and prepped the Turkey. We felt it necessary to video tape this moment, because really, making your first turkey is a BIG deal (don't try and pretend it's not). Well, it was quite the interesting experience. The video turned out to be about 30 minutes long, but Stephanie cut it down and made it 19 minutes, and edited it a bit. So, here blogging world, is the saga of the Turkey of SHLOBB. Enjoy. I swear, it's worth it to watch all 19 minutes :) I couldn't figure out how to post it from my facebook as an actual link on here, so hopefully this like will work

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1145308474936&ref=mf

(Yes, you will notice I left towards the end. I'm a bad person. I decided I would rather do my hair for the day instead of help her solve the problem that came up. It just was stressing me out)

And just for history's sake, here are some pictures from the making of the Turkey, and the actual party!

Giblets. I found out that night that people actually eat those. Let's take a vote. Nasty?

Haha you totally can see us posing in the video for this :P

I was quite disgusted.

The finished product. It turned out so good!

Some of our awesome guests. We have the most awesome friends!

Thanks to everyone that helped and came! It turned out better than we thought it would :)

Realizations

Today, I arrived back in quaint little Provo, which I was surprisingly quite excited to get back to after my lovely Thanksgiving (yeah, really, who get's excited about Provo. Apparently me). After unpacking my things, laying around on my bed for awhile, I got up and decided to curl my hair. Then I went to ward prayer with Cortney and Hilary. After getting there, we sat in a dark corner away from most of the rest of the ward. Mainly because that's the only place there were chairs. Cortney and Hilary claimed to not be minglers. I tried to claim that as well, but no one seemed to believe me (apparently I have this silly reputation among some people as being somewhat a "flirt" or "socializer". Not true.) Anyways, as we sat there, I saw a friend of ours, and I waved to him. Cort quickly informed me that he was talking to some "lady friends" (what am I? chopped liver? apparently), implying that he ought not be disturbed. At that moment, I realized a terrible truth.

I am so in the friend zone with everyone (everyone, as in, boys). I shared this thought with Cortney, and she agreed that she, too, was also like that.

Boys hang out with us. They talk to us. They confide in us.

Because we're in the friend zone. They don't have to worry about appearing too "emotional" or anything. Because you don't need to impress your friends. Just girls that you want to date.

And once they are done discussing their women problems, they move on. Well. To the women that we helped solve their problems about.

Not that I don't enjoy being "just friends" with guys. In fact, I love it. Guys are awesome. And quite honestly, I don't want a boyfriend at this point in time (surprise right? It's come to my attention that I may appear desperate at times with this blog. Let's get this straight. I. Am. Not. I just enjoy blowing things out of proportion, i.e. the fifth floor of the library. I mean really, boys have cooties). I enjoy flirting with lots of boys. I enjoy dating (well, I assume I would, assuming boys asked me on dates....again with the friend zone). But, really, I'm done with this whole friend, "I'm going to confide everything to you and ask you for advice about girls thing but then beyond that not care about impressing you because hey, I don't want to date you now that you know where I'm vulnerable", dealio.

Don't get me wrong. One of my favorite things in the world is for people to tell me about their problems. It makes me super happy. I really like knowing things. In fact, I quite enjoy when guys tell me about what's going on in their head. It's fascinating, really. But, I feel that often it gets to the point where, it goes from playful, fun, friendship, to... only advice sessions. And as I've seen in tv, guys don't tell the girls they are interested in about their problems. They tell the safe friend. The one person they know they probably won't end up falling for. And once you get into a friend zone with someone, it's so hard to get out. Blahhhh. (though..in the shows, they usually do end up falling in love with that person. Hmm...)

So none of this probably made sense, but basically, safe friend zone is not my favorite place to be. Sometimes it's fun to have a guy not just ask you for advice. hehe. I think a happy medium is nice. I love giving advice. just not. all the time. You know?

(and yes, once again I am over-exaggerating. Not ALL of my guy friends are like that. I have some pretty epic cool friends that are just fun to talk to because they just act the same around everyone. Shout out to ya Bro's!)

Realization numero dos.

I suck at hugs. I've honestly never been a very huggy person. There are certain times where I just want to hug everyone (but even then, I still don't), but for the most part, I'm more of a, high five kind of peson. All around me, I always see people that hug right when they see each other. It seems so easy, and painless. But I feel like whenever I encounter a situation where a hug would be appropriate, I just kind of feel awkward. I was discussing this with my dear roommate Hilary. She put it nicely when she was like (and no, this isn't an exact quote), "I've never been the 50/50 type person when it comes to hugging. The person has to completely initiate it, and make it obvious that they want a hug." (feel free to correct that, Hil). Um, yeah. I realized I'm the same way. I HATE not knowing if someone wants a hug, or if they are just standing in an awkward position that looks like they might want a hug or that they are just an awkward person (I admit, I probably do this. A lot).

Now, this probably makes me sound like anti-touch. Truly, I'm not. I actually do enjoy embracing another person in a friendly hug. I just don't initiate it. I feel weird doing so. It's complicated. And I just suck at hugs. So, if any of you reading this actually associate with on a regular basis, if you want to give me a hug. Just give me one. Surprise attack. Don't give me one of those awkward "I'm gonna go 50%, you gotta do the rest" deals. Go 75%. I'm willing to do that last 25%.

And I'm sorry for anyone that I have awkwardly hugged. I swear, I can give good hugs when I'm not stressing out about it. Summary? Surprise hugs = awesome. Awkward, mysterious hugs = not awesome.

Hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving. I sure did. And I sure am ready to end this semester. Right now.

Thankful

"The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil." --President Joseph F. Smith

I don't express my gratitude for all the wonderful things in my life enough. So, here's my list of 100 things (in no particular order) I'm thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! :)

1) My family
(Almost all of us...Just missing Charbel, Lyla, and Baby girl Ford :)
2) The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the huge part that it plays in my life.
3) Roommates


4) My job
5) Being able to attend such an amazing University (which I take for granted far too much)
6) A relatively cheap, good place to live
7) A car that runs. Even though it's a piece of junk, I'm so happy to have something I can drive.
8) Music. All kinds of it....I don't know if I'd like life so much without music. Especially songs like this.
9) The Marriage and Family classes I have taken here at BYU.
10) The Ensign
11) Patriarchal Blessings
12) The power of Prayer.
13) Feeling God's hand directing my life
14) Having a temple only 5 minutes away from where I live and being able to do baptisms on a weekly basis there.
15) The job I had this summer that made it possible for me to make it through another year with no student loans.
16) Journals
17) My amazing nieces and nephews, who constantly amaze me with the things they say and do.
"Yea, even babes did open their mouths and utter marvelous things; and the things which they did utter were forbidden that there should not any man write them."(3 Nephi 26:16)



18) Blackjack Tacos (I am addicted, yesssss)
19) Zupas!
20) My sisters.

21) My brothers.

22) The Mountains and that I can live so close to them.
23) Skype
24) Target.
25) The Wii: For bringing families together!

26) Mario Kart on the Wii, and the Barker-Barker combination ;-)

27) Pictures and Photography.
28) Eternal Families.
29) The amazing brother in laws and sister in law that I have. My siblings sure know how to pick them :)
30) Being raised by parents that have strong testimonies and have given me such a wonderful life.
31) Homemade meals.
32) Sleep.
33) Being able to go Skydiving this last summer, and Brandon for encouraging me to do it.

34) Deep conversations.
35) Missionaries.
36) Hymns at church.
37) Pianos. Even though I can't play it, I love hearing others.
38) People who are so musically talented and are willing to share that talent so those of us (me) who aren't so musically inclined can enjoy it.
39) Having a gym close by.
40) Visiting Teaching.
41) Musicals :)
42) Quotes from the Prophets and Elders of the Church
43) Opportunities to volunteer at the MTC
44) Curling Irons
45) LDS Gems
46) The BYU Bookstore
47) My texbooks only costing about 60$ next semester.
48) Experiences from my teenage years that were hard at the time, but have taught me lessons that I probably couldn't have learned otherwise.
49) Emails from my niece that brighten my day :)
50) Letters in the mail (hint hint!)
51) Hoodies and sweatpants!
52) My fleece blanket that Diana made me almost 10 years ago.
53) Creamery Ice Cream
54) The fact that my mom knows how to text message :)
55) Friends! New and old ones :)
56) One word: Nyquil
57) Despite that fact that I've driven my car on empty for several days at a time, my car has never run out of gas.
58) That I had early morning seminary to prepare me for those days that I wake up late and only have 5 minutes to get ready, and still attempt to look semi decent to the world.
59) That BYU extended the class withdrawal date til November 9th this year. Let's just say that was an immediate answer to one of my prayers :)
60) Living somewhere that I am able to hear the Prophet and Apostles speak regularly (live!)
61)Cute purses
62) That I outgrew this phase
63) That someone has a little bit of humor and publishes cards like these to be sold in the BYU Bookstore

(It says: I Would Like a Date With You: If You keep this card, you owe me a date. If you hand it back, you owe me a kiss. If you throw it away, you have to marry me. If you destory it, you have to do all three. When do I collect? (NON-Transferrable). hehe. And no, I don't give this to guys)

65) Babysitting :)
66) Long talks
67) My young women leaders that were all such amazing influences
68) Smiling!
69) Snuggies! And that I SO had one before anyone else did ;-)
70) Cookies (I get a lot of crap for this one....haha)
71) Clorox wet wipes that seem to make a room so much cleaner!
72) Boys that put on cologne so people (i.e. me) can enjoy it. Really, guys, wear cologne.
73) Bath and Body Works and that they have such amazing deals (I mean lotion, body spray, 3 hand sanitizers, and a mini lotion for 15$. Can you say deal?)
74) Midnight pomegranate body spray
75) The guy at T-mobile who felt bad for me when I started crying in the store and he showed mercy to me.
76) That my big brother Daniel and his wife Charbel will be back in Provo this next semester. Just in time for American Idol and 24...I've missed our cooking nights!

77) Dairy Queen drive thru....just for those times when I really am craving ice cream on the way home from work and don't want to get out of my car (not that I"m lazy. I just don't like getting ice cream by myself!)

78) That Jeremy and I broke up (ha...didn't think I'd find myself saying this a few months ago :P)

79) MLIA.com. Just proof that other people get as much joy in seemingly pointless things as I do

80) My laptop...no matter how much trouble it gives me, I'm grateful to have one for school :)

77) Both sets of my Grandparents
78) Cooking and being able to do so well :) (next foodnetwork stars, anyone?)
79) Brother Stanley Johnson--the teacher that I have had for Book of Mormon and New Testament. I don't think he could ever understand how much his teachings have strengthened my testimony and helped me through some hard times.
80) Brother Livingstone. He is my LDS Marriage and Family teacher, and absolutely amazing. I wish he taught more classes at BYU. He is extremely blunt and tells it how it is, and I'm so grateful for that.
81) Mormon Messages
82) That Kristalyn and David live in Provo so close to me, and Cindy and AJ are in Salt Lake :)
83) Brick Oven.
84) My dad for being so giving and kind, and being the best dad ever.

85) My mom for always being there for me, even though sometimes I don't like her advice. She's the best mom in the whole entire world and I miss her so so much.

86) Obvious mistakes that provide me humor
87) My awesome bishopric (Bishop du Preez is amazing!)
88) Pictures of Lyla that Cindy sends through text :)

89) That I get to be with almost all my family this Thanksgiving

90) Even if I can't play a single instrument, I can carry a tune quite nicely.

91) Cell phones

92) Black Friday...I hate it, but love it at the same time. And, it brings about a good story every now and then.

93) Academic advisors who actually care and want to help you figure out your life

94) That I was able to go to Mexico for my big brother's wedding this past summer.

95) Adoption. This might seem kind of silly for me to say, as I've never had someone I know adopt or place their child, but I think it's absolutely amazing. I'm addicted to reading the stories of those adopting/placing, and I can't help but feel grateful it.

96) President Monson

97) YouTube.

98) Laughter

99) The miracle of forgiveness and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I can't even explain how grateful I am for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and that I have (and will be) been forgiven for mistakes I have made. This video explains the Atonement beautifully.

100) That I live in America. While I may not completely agree with the government on everything, I do feel extremely blessed to live here and have the freedoms I do. This most definitely is the chosen land.

Enjoy this video from Mormon Messages. I think anyone from any faith will enjoy it :)

January=Awesome

Usually, I'm not a fan of TV. I have a really short attention span, and I don't like just sitting there, watching a show. I feel the same way about movies. Before watching a movie, I will look up how long the movie will last, and I will check my phone every 10 minutes, seeing how much longer the movie has. (or if I'm at a theater and forgot to before hand, I'll text ChaCha. Even though ChaCha has been failing me lately). This might also have to do with the fact that I'd rather talk than sit in silence, and while I love interjecting remarks during movies and television....most people don't appreciate it. I'm a do-er, not a watcher (that probably doesn't make sense, but just roll with it). I just find no joy in staring blankly at a screen for prolonged periods of time. I dread the weekends that involve watching movies and not actually doing something that involves interaction with other people. Seriously, it makes me want to cry. Next time you are watching a movie/television with me, just watch me. You'll notice me getting antsy, and constantly looking at my phone. And you'll surely hear me making remarks, until someone shushes me. My bad. I'm sorry that you don't appreciate my sarcastic . . . no, intelligent, remarks (it's just like Relief Society and Sunday School . . .)

I know that I often talk about "catching up" on my shows in the HBLL, but that's kind of a lie (what else is new though? Apparently I always lie. I call it obvious sarcasm that some people just aren't smart enough to catch. And no, I'm not bitter about this.) I've watched probably four shows on my laptop in there this semester. Oh, and a documentary on cosmic explosions. That was not my choice. Who watches documentaries for fun? Weirdos. That's who.

Anyways, come this January, my dislike for television will change. I might have to start fighting my roommate Hilary for the television. Because, that is the month where almost all the shows I'm hopelessly addicted to begin. Shows that I will find a way to watch online when I miss them. Shows that I will tell group members in classes I have a "conflict" and need to have our group meeting another time for. Shows that I will plan things around, and go over to my brother's place to watch and have delicious food.

What are these shows? I wish I could say they were extremely intellectually englightening, and are all on the History and BYU channels. But they aren't.

No, they are shows that probably aren't uplifting (well....three of them).

24. The show that I watched all 7 seasons in the matter of a few months. Obsessed? Yes. Have I completely become untrusting of the government, and feel like everyone is secretly a terrorist because of this show? You'd better believe it. Is this the type of show I typically like? Not at all. I usually hate shows with guns and violence and blood and government conspiracies (because there is nothing chick flicky about them). However, I just love it. I mean, even my Grandma likes this show. I cry when characters die. Literally. I feel like the characters are real people. But I can't hardly wait for the season premier. January 17th, 9PM. The last season left everyone on a huge cliff hanger. 53 days baby. 53 days (and no, I don't have a countdown. That website I linked did and I happened to see it. The only countdown on my computer right now is until Christmas Break. Yay!)

Secret Life of the American Teenager. This probably the most dramatic, unrealistic, trashy, stupid (and many other negative adjectives) show I have ever seen, but I haven't missed one episode during the first two seasons. It's just so . . . enthralling. And don't act like you don't watch it too. Because I'm guessing 1/2 of you do. It's a guilty pleasure. And they just moved the premiere up a week, so January 4th...I'm waiting for you.


American Idol. Anyone who has read my blog has to know how much I absolutely adore this show. From the tryouts to the season finale, I can't stop watching it. This year, Denver tryouts were held, which makes me even more excited for the show. Not that I know anyone who is gonna be in it, but just the fact that my territory will be featured makes me happy. Last year Daniel and I (and some of his roommates) would have "American Idol nights" where Daniel and I would trade off making something delicious (usually a recipe from Big Oven, or towards the end, a yummy Mexican recipe that Charbel would send Daniel), and enjoy the show. The tryouts start January 12 and 13. I just hope I don't have to work these days!

Biggest Loser. Okay, I don't actually know if the new season starts in January, but I'm just assuming, based on past information. I have been extremely sad this semester because I haven't been able to watch this show, because I work every Tuesday. But I'm hoping my schedule will be merciful to me next semester. Words cannot explain how much I love this show. It always makes me feel better about myself (is that bad?), and I can't help but feel inspired. There's always someone on the show that no one can stand, but secretly, I always love that person (who doesn't like the person who brings all the drama?). Can't wait.

and finally.

The Bachelor. I had never watched this or the Bachelorette until the last season of the Bachelorette. But nowI don't know how I never watched it before. My mother hates this show and would be appalled to hear how much I love it, but I can't help it. I'm even more excited about this season because Jake from last year is the Bachelor. I loved him. and wanted to marry him. While I'm not really into watching lots of women fight over a guy, it will be exciting. This starts on January 4th as well, though it'll be in the middle of FHE. Do you think I can convince the mom and dad to just have The Bachelor be our activity for a few months? Yeah...Didn't think so.


So there you go. Now everyone knows my guilty pleasures in life, and that for a few months, I will actually be interested in TV. Granted, we have a television. The one we currently have in my apartment will be going to Daniel and Charbel as soon as they get out here....Sad. KSL maybe?

(btw, I love ksl classifies. stuff sells fast on there. and it's way more legitimate that craigslist).

Battle of the Burgers

(So I wrote this whole blog post like an hour ago, and then blogger wigged out. This one isn't nearly as interesting as the first one because I was annoyed...haha)

In and Out

For weeks, I've heard people counting down the days until In and Out Burgers opened. My whole life, people have raved about it to me, and I've always wanted to try it.A few summers ago when my family and I were in LA, I was disappointed when we never found one to try (though we did find a high amount of El Pollo Loco. Which, fortunately, we didn't try either). So when I heard that there was an In and Out being built in Orem, I was excited to try it. I had heard rumors that the lines would be hours long for the first few months it was opened, so I figured I would avoid going until the thrill had died down and all the Californians had gotten their fix.

Well on Friday night, Cortney texted me and said that Eric (FHE brother/awesome friend who smells really good) wanted to go to In and Out. Well, despite my hesitations of waiting in line for 2 hours for food (and fast food at that. Bleh), being the ever-so impressionable person I am, agreed. After getting off work, we drove to Orem and the parking lot was crazy. There were people directing traffic, and the drive thru was ridiculous. We decided it might be best to just wait in line. So we stood around in line for only 45 minutes (remind me, what part of this is fast), which was a pleasnt surprise, considering the rumors that had been flying around. There was like a million employees there, all of which seemed to be from California (I'm pretty sure they only hire Californians. Rude? Yes. Not that I would ever work there anyways). Since Utah is rather cold at night this time of year, they had these sweet heaters outside for us to huddle under as we waited. Finally, we got inside, and we ordered. Eric is a California native, so he told us some of the "secret" menu. I got a single burger "animal style" and a neopolitan shake and french fries. And this place was surprisingly cheap. I was happy with that.

After we got our food, we decided it'd be best to go home and eat it rather than stay at the restaurant, which was overflowing with high school cheerleaders and football players (we had fun poking fun at them). We drove back to our apartment, excited to eat our food. I feel that Eric was the most excited, as this is his favorite fast food place. He even mentioned how he was excited his car was gonna smell like in and out. Why anyone would want their car to smell like that is beyond me.

We got home, and it was finally the moment of truth. I tried the burgers, my shake, and fries. And the final verdict? I sure hope that this was just a fluke in their food, because I was NOT a fan of the burgers. I felt like I was eating a veggie burger with a slight hint of meat right in the middle, with a watery sauce strewn throughout it. Oh wait, I was. It was overflowing with tons of pickles, lettuce, and tomatoes. There was a small patty in the middle. And the "famous" sauce that I'd heard so much about? Tasted like water. It probably was. The french fries weren't too bad. Not too much flavor though. Eric informed me that I would be "pleased to hear that my french fries were potatoes two hours earlier", which was a comforting though. I have to admit that the milk shake was absolutely delicious, so that wasn't a fail. I've been assured that this was just a bad trip to In and Out, and that it normally isn't so lame. I mentioned a couple times that I didn't enjoy the food all that much, and I'm pretty sure Eric acted as if I had mortally wounded him, his family, and his future posterity. haha. I'm hoping next time will be much better.

Driving to In and Out

Waiting in line...Almost inside!

Haha...Eric.

Cortney

Not sure who that random guy was...

Moment of truth

Not so impressed (I look kind of scared, yes?)

5 Guys Burgers and Fries

Okay, so on Saturday, Cort, Eric, and I went to the BYU v AFA game. It was FREEZING. At about half time, Cort and I decided to call it quits. And Eric, being the awesome guy he is, agreed to leave with us. While we were at the game, we had been contemplating what we wanted to eat afterwards, and we were pretty firm in our decision to get some soup from Zupas, but right as we were leaving, Cortney and I both spotted a delicious looking hamburger and couldn't stop thinking about it. So, in attempts to make up for the food the night before, we decided to try out Five Guys, which we both had heard good things about.

Was I impressed? Oh, you'd better believe it.

This place is SO good. The hamburgers are full of flavor, and all the toppings are free! At first I just ordered a regular bacon hamburger, and the guy taking my order was like "Um..Are you sure you don't just the mini one?" And I'm thinking the mini one was like the same size as the mini hamburgers they have at applebees, and I was not about to fork out four bucks for that. I asked him big it was, and when he told me it was 1/4 pounder, I quickly changed my mind. I don't even want to see how big the regular size was! So after ordering our food, we drove back to our apartment to try it out.

SO GOOD. I got my hamburger with green peppers, grilled onions, bacon, and barbque sauce. The french fries are probably the best I've ever had. They gave us sooooooo many though. Our house smelled kind of nasty for a few hours afterwards, because the smell was so strong, but it was so worth it. Probably one of the best burgers I've had in a long time!

These pictures aren't from 5 guys....because I didn't take any. But they are from the football game that preceded the burgers, So I thought it was allowed. I look really weird in this picture...But I still like it.

So which place do a prefer?

Hands down, In and Out.

Just kidding. Sorry my Californian friends...In and Out just doesn't compare to 5 guys.

In other news...Yesterday Stephanie and I made an awesome Turkey. We have a 30 minute video documenting it. It's awesome. The Turkey was Soo good. We had a real fun dinner with a bunch of our friends...but this is deserving of it's own post, so I'll leave this story at a cliff hanger.

I finally got my schedule completely figured out for next year. There was one class I didn't expect to get into, but two nights ago at one in the morning, I just randomly decided to check the website, and someone had dropped it. Yay! Cross your fingers that I actually enjoy my classes this next semester

Oh, on Friday, Cortney, Eric, and I crashed a bonfire. And by crashing, I mean, standing around awkwardly because we didn't know anyone, while Eric played music on his phone and people wondered who we were and why we were there. It was awesome. The best part was getting lost on the way there...And Eric getting super defensive when a guy was like "Do you guys want to get in our truck to go down that road? I don't know if your pretty little car could take it." (Eric's car is awesome, by the way). I learned that you don't insult a guys pride and joy....

Then we got a pomegranate.

Not Much to say

So I wrote this really massively long post that was up for about an hour about my day and how crappy it was. But then I decided to take it down. So if you had the pleasure of reading that, consider yourself lucky. Because it's been wiped off the history of blogger world. haha. But, since my day was consumed by unfortunate circumstances, I had no room for anything awesome to happen. So, here's the update of the library today:

Library Update
Okay, obviously I didn't have much time to do anything today, but I did make it to the library for about an hour. There was only one table where two people weren't sitting at it already, so I sat there. Fate wasn't on my side, as the guy across from me was married. Kind of sucked. Anyways, he eventually got up, and left. At this point, there were a lot of empty tables, but I didn't feel like getting up. So I sit there, and this blond guy comes to my table. He was actually really cute, had a baby face, and a cute smile. He was interesting though. He also just sat there, and had this silly little grin on his face. Honestly, I was convinced that he must secretly read my blog, and knew what I was doing, and just sat there mocking me in his mind. Of course, that probably wasn't true, and something really funny must have just happened in his life that caused him to smile for about 30 minutes. But yeah. Fail. I'm not thinking I'll ever have anything exciting to report here. haha.

Remember how I was so in love with Kris Allen from American Idol last season? Well he just released a song/video, and I have to say, I love it. Thanks, Kris, for making my day slightly less crappy!

DU, my draft has begun

LIBRARY UPDATE:

Another fail. I've started drafting my letter to the Daily Universe about my crushed spirit. Today was lame though, girls kept sitting at the same table as me. Like, the second one stood up, another sat down. I'm convinced they know about my plan, and they want me to fail. Why else would you sit at the same table as a girl?

(and to answer a comment left on one of my previous blogs. I am not actually just coming to the library to get dates. I'm actually studying for once. Don't worry, I'm not desperate. I mean....why would someone as awesome of me even have to be desperate. I go on dates all the time.... Pshaw. I'm just giving guys the opportunity to date me. It's really all for them. Really.)

On the bright side, I have finalized my schedule for next semester. I have decided I'm not going to tell anyone what I officially (for the fifth time) changed my major too, or my minor. It has come to my attention that anytime I talk about officially changing my major on my blog, it never seems to work out that way. So this time, I'm not telling anyone. Until I graduate with a degree. But let me tell you, I'm way excited. And you all should be too. All you awesome BYU students may be hearing more from me come this next September.

And...Um, I've given up the subtly hinting that someone needs to scrape my windows. Three days in a row, and my hands are still frozen. Fail. Where's the love?

Well kids, nothing else to say. With that, enjoy this clip from Hot Rod. I've referenced it a few times in my recent posts, and I feel it's time to share it with the world. And if you haven't seen Hot Rod, I recommend you go get it. Right now. It changed my life.

And PS, I just changed my playlist. This one has less songs than my last one, but I felt it time to switch it up. Especially because this one has the gangsta songs I dance to in my car. Even if you hate the new songs, this playlist won't be here for long. My AWESOME Christmas playlist will be up December 1st. I hope you're as excited as I am. And I know you are!

Talk about a let down

Last Sunday morning, I was woken up by the lovely noise my phone makes when I get a new text message. I was so tired, so I wasn't completely awake when I opened it. I was surprised when I saw it was a text from my sister Diana stating "Did you check your email? Church was cancelled because of snow!" After reading this text, I was extremely confused, but way excited. Here was my thought process

"That is so weird that it snowed so much in both Colorado and Utah that the Church sent out a mass email cancelling church. I'm so excited!"

I actually got up at that point and went outside, fully expecting at least a foot of snow. Imagine my surprise as I opened my door and saw only a slight dusting of snow. I really just stood there for a second and tried to comprehend what was going on. At this point I was still under the impression Church had been cancelled for all of Utah and Colorado.

So, after standing outside for a few minutes (anyone that saw me probably thought I was incredibly weird to be standing outside in my pajamas at 8 in the morning, just staring off) and quite possibly getting sick, I go back to my room and lay down, thinking about how I'm so excited that Church was cancelled (I promise, I'm not apostate. I love Church. It's just nice to be able to sleep in once in awhile. Even though I do have Church at 1:30...). And then I get another text right as I was about to fall back asleep. Once again, it's Diana. However, this time it says "Lol, I meant to send that to Katie Beyerline!"

I was so sad. But life made a whole lot more sense after that.

(I realize I just posted another blog like 10 minutes ago. but I just remembered this and really wanted to post it)

Random Methoughts

(If you don't feel like reading what's on my mind right now, go ahead and skip to the bottom where I give my recount on the library today. Since I know you're dying to hear about it)

--Today I officially became a college student. I ate top ramen for the first time since I've been at college (all 3 semesters of it). Corn tortillas just weren't cutting it for me anymore (and yes, I've been eating plain corn tortillas for dinner the past few weeks). Of course, I didn't eat it plain, cuz that just is gross. So I cooked it with an egg, some chicken, and some random cheeses I had in my fridge. It was quite possibly one of the best things I've eaten. Sometimes I wonder why I don't cook good food for myself...It's not like I don't know how (I mean, I have a recipe blog and everything). Pretty positive I just like cooking for other people. In fact, I'm making this awesomeness on Sunday. Be jealous, because you probably weren't invited.

The awesome Top Ramen meal I made today. It tasted better than it looks, I swear.

--Today as I was washing my hair with some shampoo I was swindled into buying a few months ago by a conniving hairstylist who wanted to ruin my life (true story), I realized I really need to not be so persuadable. This shampoo and conditioner doesn't even smell that great. At least it's big enough that I haven't had to buy shampoo since the end of September. It's back to Herbal essence for me once I run out though. That stuff smells so good.
--Along the same lines, I was talked into buying some Timewise moisturizer the other day from Mary Kay. Um...my skin did not react well to it. Epic Fail. Oh, and at the same time? I was talked into becoming a Mary Kay consultant. Let's see how that goes...I couldn't even sell girl scout cookies successfully...
--I had an ephinanous thought today. When I'm around guys I think are cute/funny/awesome (sometimes not so awesome), I'm either really really shy. To the point that people probably wonder if I can talk. Or I'm really loud, never stop talking, become extremely sarcastic, to the point people wonder if I know how to be serious. True story. Anyways, so I realized, that once I find a guy (who: isn't a creeper, is cute, smart, funny, and a ton of other positive adjectives.), that I completely am normal [[and awesome]] around, he's gonna be the guy I marry, and we will elope to the temple that night. He has no choice.

--Cortney should get a blog. Oh wait, she's going too. Everyone be excited. Cortney's legitimate [[have I mentioned how much I hate the word legit. Unless it's in reference to my favorite part of Hot Rod?]]

--I love cookies. Last week, I had cookies every single day. It's kind of a problem. This week has been different. I haven't had them at all. Frownsmile.

--The only exercise that gets my heart rate up at all anymore is running. I hate it, but love it at the same time.

--I just saw a commercial for the Wii Fit. I miss mine so much. I'm having ski jump withdrawals.

--And NO ONE (except for like. Megan and my Mom) liked Jacob in Twilight until they saw who plays him in the movie. And even though. Not that attractive.

--I finally fixed my iPhone so I can get picture messages again. Take that, Apple!

--24 season 8 starts very soon. I am VERY excited. I'm thinking I should watch all 7 sevens before January. Who needs school, sleep, or work anyways??

--I suck at writing letters to missionaries. Okay, I suck at sending letters to missionaries. I have like, 10 letters I've written that I never sent. Poor missionaries who don't get their weekly dose of Katie.

--I went to a dinosaur museum today. Am I a nerd because I actually was somewhat interested by it?

--My marriage and family teacher was like, "Some girls have told me, I'm pretty sure my husband was killed in the war in the pre-existence." Hm. They might be onto something.

--The other day, Kenz and I were at the gym. We were discussing a topic that was brought up in both our marriage and family classes, about past sins that you've repented of, and whether or not it's necessary to bring it up when you get married. So we are just standing there, doing some weights (we are tough. yeah baby), and this HUGE guy in a tiny little wife beater just jumps into our conversation and iwas like "You're going to create worlds with your future spouse someday. They should know every little thing about you. Think about that." or something like that. And then went back to lifting his 500 lb weights. He was weird.

--Last year I didn't hang out with a lot of guys my own age. I feel like, I'm having to make up for that this year. Some of my very favorite guys to hang out with are at least a year younger than me. But they are freaking awesome. I often forget that they aren't my age though. haha. Hopefully this means that next year, I'll hang out with guys older than me. Who want to marry me.

And since no one is probably reading anymore because my life really isn't that exciting (sad? Yes) Here's the library report.

I actually did some homework today. I made a 60 slide powerpoint to study from for my Rock Final tomorrow. Probably will still fail it though. I officially hate rocks though. Anyways, I was only there for about 30 minutes. Still not an exciting place. I did realize the ratio of guys to girls is about 10:1. It's great. But it sucked today. The second I put my laptop in my backpack and stood up to leave, this really attractive guy, who smelled really good and dressed really well, came and sat by me. Not even across from me. Right next to me. I wanted so bad to sit back down, but I realized that would be really awkward and obvious. But yeah. Still nothing too exciting. I have a good feeling about tomorrow.

And with that. It's bedtime. Good night blogging friends.

(Oh and Rude. No one took my open invitation to scrape my windows. Let's hope someone steps it up tomorrow).

Library Update #1

I just wanted everyone know that the Daily Universe lied. Floor 5 of the library is NOT fun. I went up there and no one talked. Everyone was studying. I've been deceived. I did have two boys sit across from me though. One was cute, but he was obviously intimidated by my good looks. It's understandable. Other boy? Ummm...legitimate creeper. I'm not saying this to be mean either. He kept giving me the creepiest little grins. I felt weird. Anyways, the Library was a fail today. But don't worry. I'm too legit to quit. The fun has just begun.

Oh, and by the way...this morning I pretty much froze my hands over scrapping off the layers of ice that caked my vehicle. It was not fun, nor was it pleasant. So if there are any nice, cute boys that would like to come out from behind the curtains, confess their love for me, and selflessly come and scrape the windows on my car every morning at 7 AM, I would be way appreciative. Heck, you don't even have to declare your love. That can remain a secret. Just scrape my windows. Riv Parking lot. Look for the Red Corolla that is about 10 years older than any other car in the parking lot.

On the bright side, a cute boy in my Marriage and Family class laughed at some sarcastic remark I made today. I was pleased. Most people usually just give me dirty looks. Especially in Relief Society.

My life is pretty void of exciting stories today. I'm about to go to the gym, so hopefully I'll come back engaged. Or at least a good story. I know how much Lindsay loves my gym stories.

Just because I haven't used a picture lately:

The other day I was walking to work from my car. The three-inch heel of my shoe got stuck in this crevace and I full on fell out of my shoe, and almost face planted it into the asphalt. It was almost as embarrassing as when I walked into a treadmill the other day the gym. That was special.

(Is it weird that I would totally swoon if a guy played me "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" By Death Cab for a Cutie? Because I love that song, despite it appearing to be about death. Just wondering. Because that song just came up on playlist. YAY!)

PS. If you read my blog, leave a comment. I'm becoming exceedingly curious who some of these hits are. Especially who the person from Farmington who came 4-5 times over the course of two days. haha

HBLL=Dating Central?

The Harold B. Lee Library.

Everyone who attends BYU will likely visit this building at some point or another. Most come to indulge in their books and study for tests. Some come to sleep. There are others, who just come to sit there and watch the shows they missed during the week and YouTube videos that they can't watch online because their internet is slower than anything, while eating their lunch (even though people look at them like they committed a sin. Hello, there is NO sign on the 2nd floor periodicals that states you can't eat). I will let you guess which one of those people are me.


Well, yesterday there was an article ** in the Daily Universe about the library. More specifically, how people get dates and numbers there ALL the time. Um. I spend several hours a week there in between my classes. Have I ever been asked out on a date? No. Have I followed the advice that the 100-Hour Board has given on getting dates in the library (found here). You'd better believe it. Have I sat in the 2nd floor periodicals after numerous people have told me that's where all the date-asking is at? Heck yes I do. But after two months, the only contact I've had with someone is a boy asking me to watch his books while he did something, saying hello to a couple of people I knew, and a boy telling me that the outlets on the table didn't work. But no dates. This may have to do with the fact that 9 times out of 10, I fail to do the ring check. I tend to sit at a table where a married man is. Just my luck, right? Well. Thank goodness for this article. It showed me what I was doing wrong.

Apparently, the FIFTH floor is where it's at. I know, I can't believe I've wasted TWO months sitting down on the second floor. Seriously, those people that told me the 2nd floor is where I should be--hate them. They totally knew that I would take all their dates from the fifth floor, so they tried to sabotage me. But guess what? Now I know the secret. I just have to convince like 10 of my friends to come by while I'm up there, say hello to me, so I can wave back and show that I am way outgoing and friendly. I think it'll work. The article also says that you shouldn't keep your head down and look like you're studying. PERFECT. Do I ever study anyways? I often times just sit at a table, with a text book or my laptop open, and do absolutely nothing. Now I just gotta smile huge at every single boy I see, and I'm pretty sure those dates will start rolling in. How grateful I am that the DU has corrected my ways of going to the 2nd floor. I should have known though. I was up there a few weeks ago, and there was crazy flirting going on all over the place. Why didn't I take that as a sign?

So, I'll be doing a study. For the next two weeks, I will spend an hour each day in the library (on the fifth floor, of course). After following all of this advice I've found to an exact art (making it very obvious there is no ring on my finger, shoo-ing away any girl or married man that sits near me, and making myself so-super attractive--not that I'm not already. I mean, who can resist someone who's favorite article of clothing is sweat pants and t-shirts?), if I don't get a date, or even a WINK (really, is that too much to ask), I will be writing the Daily Universe, letting them know that my hopes and dreams have been dashed because they got them up so high. I'll be reporting back, so keep checking.


Here's to finding my EC in the 5th floor of the library. Wish me luck. I'm hoping for a moment like in the music video I posted in my most previous post. Cept we'll dance on the bookshelves instead. It'll be cute.

**Really--Does ANY other college in the world have articles like this? Yeah. I'm thinking just BYU.

Love This

Last night as I was looking through my facebook feed, I came across a video that a sweet woman from my ward in Colorado posted. Seeing as it was by Michael Buble, I decided to wait for the 30 minutes it took to buffer (darn slow internet!) and watch it. SUCH a cute song/video, and pretty sure most people can relate to it, at some point or another. I just love Michael Buble. Cortney introduced me to another song of his, "I'm Your Man"...Which is also quite amazing. Anyways, I just loved this song/video so much, so I thought I'd share it with you all! :)

BIG NEWS!

So, big news. Like, HUGE. I can't even express the caliber of this excitement.

Are you all ready for this?

Well....

Today I went to Gold's Gym. I had an awesome workout. And as I was walking out, someone directed big, hearty "HEY!" towards me.

And guess who it was.

Cameron #2 from the other day.

No, not the short, but attractive one. But the one who was tall, buff, attractive, and really nice. And if I didn't mention....the one that's going to Dental school. The one that I am destined to marry.

All the other people I met that first fateful day haven't directed any attention towards me since.

Oh, but this boy did. I must have made some kind of impression in his mind, since I haven't been there when he's been there for a few weeks.

...Right?

Anyways, after I returned the hello, he came over, from the place he was standing (which was like, 10 feet from me. Huge, I know.) and started talking to me.

I mean, if that's not the start of something beautiful I don't know what is.

And I will neither confirm nor deny that I just facebook stalked him to find out if he was LDS and single.

(But he is. And he plays guitar. And has really nice muscles. I mean...I'm sure he does, and I'm sure I would have found this out if I had facebook stalked him. Which I totally didn't do)

Good bye Teenager years...Hello, Twenties!

So yesterday was one my 20th birthday. Every year, people ask me "So do you feel older?" and I always say no. Because I don't. But this year was different. I don't know if it was just the underlying notion of "no longer being a teenager" or what, but honestly, all day on Monday I felt different. It was hard to explain. I was talking to my roommate, Stephanie, who turned 20 earlier this year, and she said she felt the same way. I find that interesting. It's hard to believe I'm 20. I realize 20 is not very old at all, but it is just odd. However, I am very excited to no longer be in the "teenage years." Those of you who know me well know that my teenage/high school years were less than stellar. Crappy might be a better word. Even though it's just a number, I am so happy to finally be done with them. I hope that the next ten (twenty..thirty...eighty...) years prove Brad Paisley to be correct when his song "Letter to Me" says "These are no where near the best years of your life."

And with that, in honor of myself, I'm going to do a sweet blog. All about me. I know I'm basically everyone's favorite, so really, I'm just doing you all a favor. :) Just kidding.

I had a sweet idea of posting a picture from every birthday of mine since I was born . . . But this epic idea came to me last night . . . And unfortunately, I don't usually carry around these pictures with me. So I went searching through facebook, and found pictures from my last two birthdays. I found some good pictures for comparison. Let's see if I look any different!

2007

2008

2009

I think I look basically the same. Though, as my roommates and I always say, you are no longer attractive once you hit the age of 20, so I guess I have gotten increasingly less attractive. Sad day.

2007 Birthday Dinner--Johnny Carinos with Mom, Dad, and Michael

2008 Birthday Dinner-Tepanyaki with Cindy, AJ, and Daniel

Birthday Dinner 2009-Applebee's with Cindy, AJ, Lyla, Kristalyn, David, Mason, and Carter

All awesome, and yummy dinners with different members of my family. Aren't they all the best?

Cake 2007

Cake 2008

Cake 2009

0All of these cakes look relatively different (well, especially the last one :), but all of them (But the last one) have one thing in common. They are German Chocolate! Yummy! My favorite kind of cake. This year I was spoiled and got not one, not two, but THREE cakes. Way to make me feel special :) They were all different...as you can tell. I don't have a picture of the third one, but it was a really yummy one (haha...Jeremy's mom made it for me. Extremely Nice? Yes. Random. Yes. As soon as I got to their house, his dad was like "Don't worry, we didn't invite Jeremy.")

Anyways, now onto the details about my birthday. Which, I'm sure, all of my loyal readers have been dying to hear. On Saturday, my roommates, Cortney, Rachael, and Stephanie, told me they were going to get blood drawn in Springville. I thought this was weird, but then they left. They were gone for like two hours, and I was all by myself in our apartment (actually Hilary was there. But I think she was on her computer, correct Hilary?). I was kind of getting depressed and annoyed they were gone so long. Anyways, Cort texts me and is like "hey do you wanna go to dinner tonight? don't eat." And even though I really didn't have any money, I was like, alright sounds good. They come home around 6:30 or something, and they are like "Sorry about that. We stopped at the store too." So I'm like, random, but whatever. Then someone knocks on the door, turns out to be one of our friends. Then this happens twice more. Apparently more people were going to dinner. I was not in the greatest mood and didn't feel like hanging out with a lot of people, but I just went with it. We ended up driving to Olive Garden. I hadn't been there in forever, so I was excited about that. We get seated in this awesome little private area, and it was a lot of fun. There are so many choices there....Kind of overwhelming. But anyways, we ate dinner, joked around...It was great. Towards the end, the waiters come over and say something Rachael. I wasn't relaly paying attention, but everyone is like "no! not her." and then point to me. The waiters come and sing to me something in Italian, and then leave. At this point I'm so confused as to what is happening. After that Rachael is like "Well Katie this is actually for your birthday, and we're buying you dinner. It didn't really work out like it was supposed too.." I felt extremely dumb because I didn't realize that the waiters were singing to me. But after I realized that all my friends were here for my birthday, it all made sense. It was so nice and sweet of them. Afterwards we went back to my apartment, and apparently when my roommates had been in Springville "getting blood drawn" they had actually been making me a birthday cake! So they had a little party for me, and it was just a really awesome night. Like I had said, my day hadn't been the best for various reasons, and this just made it so much better. As corny as this sounds, I feel like them doing this on the day they did wasn't a coincidence, and Heavenly Father knew I needed to feel like I had friends and people that loved me. It was great. I truly have some of the best friends :)

On my actual birthday, I had to work. Yay. The day was pretty average, nothing too exciting happened. Daniel and Charbel called me from Mexico, which was a nice surprise! But for dinner, Cindy and AJ and Lyla came down from Salt Lake, and we all went out to dinner with Kristalyn and David and their little boys. It was so much fun. We went to Applebee's, which is one of my favorites. It was really crowded with lots of kids, because apparently Monday night the kids meals are only 1.99. Even thought it was loud, it was so fun to see some of my siblings and their kids and celebrate my birthday with them. I love my family! It was really fun :)

When I got home, I opened the door and my friend Alex was sitting there and was like "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" It kind of scared me because I wasn't expecting it. Alex is pretty much my favorite person ever. Seriously, I have never met a more sincere, sweet, and talented guy. I pretty much forced my friendship upon him at the beginning of the semester when my roommates and I were knocking on random doors, and I made him come to a dance with us. Pretty sure we scared him to death. But we've been good friends since. It was really nice of him to come by and say happy birthday. Oh, and my awesome friend Eric brought me a present earlier in the day too. Eric is another really genuine, great guys. I've been blessed to meet some great people this year!

Anyways, my birthday was really fun. Thanks to everyone who made it special, whether by leaving me a comment on facebook, sending me a text, or hanging out with me. This past year was full of many experiences I never thought I'd go through (for better, and for worse), and I'm hoping this next year is even better!! Here are some random pictures from the past few days :)

My cute nephews, Mason and Carter, and me at Applebees.

Alex and Me

Hilary, Me, and Cortney

Me and Audrey

The dessert applebee's gave me. yay!

Stephanie, Marty, Me, Eric

Mason helped me blow out my candles!

Kristian, Me, and Matt (Matt usually doesn't look so silly)