Light at the End of the Tunnel

I only have 2 days left of classes! I do have a presentation after that,

but then it is only finals that stand between me and freedom! This

semester has been one of the hardest ever, but has been so rewarding.

I am thoroughly enjoying the 8-0 basketball team and am looking

forward to the rest of the season! I am so excited for CHRISTMAS!!

Not only is it the end of school, but the spirit that is everywhere and

spending time with loved ones is wonderful! So happy holidays!

It's Gonna Be Good

Last night was this . . .

Tonight is this . . .

Tomorrow - pie at work, dreaded presentation over.

Saturday more of Cougar football and basketball.

Next week . . . THANKSGIVING!

I am definitely ready for a break. Accounting

is good, but there is a constant grind and push to

grasp something beyond my reach. It is a great

environment just exhausting. Good thing

I have some distractions.

It's Time!

COUGAR FANS . . .

IT's TIME!!!

Blessed

So life is nuts! Where to start - oh maybe with the thing
that has overtaken my life. My major - accounting. It
is insane! Granted I work 20 hours a week and that probably
doesn't help with my stress level, but from 12pm to roughly 9-10
pm I am all accounting. Add a tax policy competition this month
and here I go.

Amongst the insanity though, I have had a huge growing
experience. This year has been one of so much personal
growth. The jr. core, which is my set of accounting classes,
has pushed me beyond my limits already. I have had to
completely rely on my loving Heavenly Father to make
up when I can't do it by myself. I have had to learn and
am still learning to work with people who think differently
than I do and who I don't naturally get along with. I have
also been blessed with some of the best faculty on BYU
campus. They are so supportive of their students overall
and I feel it inparticularly. They encourage me when I
feel like I am incapable of meeting the expectations. They
are great.

Due this accounting overtake, I feel like my life has
been out of balance. I forget how much effort it really
takes to actually keep life in balance. My new goal
is to get life back in balance and make sure the other
parts of my life don't get too neglected.

Bottom line is I am blessed to be where I am at and
to have the gospel in my life. I have a great support
system from my parents to friends to faculty.
Even though life is hard it would be impossible without
these things.

-Other news: BYU football finally won again and
BYU basketball starts in a couple weeks!

Mission Call

So today my brother Ethan received his call as

a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints. He will be serving in . . .

Yup! That's right - Zimbabwe! He

reports to the MTC in South Africa on

Dec 23 and will be speaking English.

It will be such a great experience and

he will be a great missionary! I am so

thrilled!

New Challenge

This year has been one of the most challenging and rewarding
so far. The accounting jr. core is the equivalent of baptism by
fire. They throw you in and put you in a group with four other
people and set you to work. It is a different learning environment,
but it works and is effective. I have some of the most supportive,
inspiring faculty which is absolutely amazing. I have never had
this much of a challenge in my classes, but I am stretching and
growing so I guess it will be worth it.

That takes up most of my time, but other than that life is
pretty good. My roommates are sweethearts. Many times
I come home to dinner they have saved me which is so
nice after 8 hours of accounting. I have no actual roommate
which is delightful! I can keep my own schedule and do
what I like. We'll see how long it lasts though.

BYU Football is a confusing, frustrating thing. Opened
ok, embarassed at Air Force, Florida State won't be good
and then we'll just have to see. If we can break .500 I will
be thrilled. Life is good though and the church is true which
is such a blessing.

Here We Go

School is starting Monday. Although I will miss the days of summer
I am thrilled for a couple of things.

1. BYU Football and then BASKETBALL! (Yes, I am that excited
for basketball.)
2. Accounting - had a kick-off barbeque and met some people I
will spend most of my time with for the next year. It is going
to be great. I may forget the meaning of spare time, but I'm
ready for the ride.
3. Working out in the morning with my best friend.
4. Meeting new people. This is unavoidable for me. All new
roommates. They are sweethearts, just very different from
the great girls I roomed with the last two years. New classes
and tons of new people at work. Missing old friends
still stinks, but hoping to make some good friends.

Excited for a good year.

New Love

Loved Hunger Games. Definitely recommend it!
Found out I love this man's music.

Lived in Brigham all my life and finally hiked the "B".

Great view of the city.

Where did my summer go?

I'd like to believe that August is not really here. What happened to my summer?
Mostly worked it away - the joys of being a student and paying for school.
I have done a ton of reading and keep checking things of my summer bucket
list. This week I finished this book . . .

It was an interesting read and definitely gives a new perspective

on the Prophet Joseph. Now on to this book which I am excited for.

I have heard it is great so we'll see.

I wish I had some exciting more things I had done, but alas I just work, work,

and work some more. Park City to look forward to in two weeks!

New Hobby

I wanted to learn some new things this summer, so I had my friend Sheena show me how to take better pictures and how to use my camera. I'm excited to take more pictures, but here are some of my favorites for now.

5k

So yesterday I ran my first 5k! I ran in the Freedom Run in Provo. Coryn, a friend from Provo, and I ran it. I did better than I had when I was training and
was very pleased. I just might do another! Definitely worthwhile!
Check one more off my summer to-do list!

Home Again

I got home last week from my family vacation.
The last week we were there we first got lost
on our way out of DC, but found our way up
to Gettysburg. This was AMAZING! We purchased













a guide that drives you around the battlefield
for a two-hour narrated tour. One of the highlights
of my trip.


We then went to Williamsburg, VA.
There were some great outlet malls that I took
full advantage of. We also got passes that let us
get into Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown,
Busch Gardens and Watercountry USA. My favorite
by far was Watercountry. I am not much of a roller
coaster fan so Busch Gardens atmosphere was cool,
but I was not much for the rides. We finally made
it back to dry, hot Utah. It was nice to be gone,
but home is great too.

The next week I went to Provo because Stacie
and Mike were visiting. It was a great Recorstration
reunion. I can't wait for Provo. In addition to this
I found out last Wednesday that I am accepted
into the Accounting Program! I wasn't expecting to
find out until late July, but was pleasantly surprised.
It is nice to finally have a major and achieved
one of my goals. Now back to working and enjoying
summer!

Washington DC

So this last week I have been in Washington DC with my family for our big summer vacation. I have been to DC a couple of other times and LOVE it! This time was a little different since I ended up planning most of it and getting us all over the city. Before when I had gone it had always been on tour busses so I didn't get to see the city, but this time we did some walking and took the metro everywhere. I love this city! The buildings are not crazy tall like other

big cities, but it still has the big city feel. It is so pretty and there is tons to do and there are so many other cities so close. I can't wait to come back! Hopefully for an internship next summer or the one after. I had done/seen most of what we visited, but a couple were new. Here are some pics. One day we visited the monuments and Arlington National Cemetery.

Took a tour of the White House.I hadn't ever done this before so it was pretty cool.



One of my favorite things is visiting the Capitol Building. It is a gorgeous building with so much rich history. We also went to the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress.

We went to the Smithsonians. We also went on tours of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing - where they make the money and visited the Holocaust museum. So much to see!

This one is with Julia Child's kitchen in the American History Museum.

We went to a few art museums and there were some pictures and especially modern art pieces that I recognized from my music/art class at BYU this last semester. It was cool in a nerdy way to know and recognzie some of these pieces.

Our last day we went to Ford's Theater where Lincoln was shot and also visited the National Archives and the documents there. It has been a great trip so far and I am sad to leave, can't wait to get back. Now we are going to Williamsburg, VA for a week. We are going up to Gettysburg and then to Mt. Vernon on our wayto Viriginia. Then we'll visit Busch Gardens, Watercountry USA, Norfolk, Jamestown, Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg. On to new adventures!

Check one off

I finished Wuthering Heights today.

It was one of the better classics I

have read. The storyline is on the

depressing side, but it was a great

book. On to John Adams.

On My Way

Working on it everyday.

Almost to two full miles.

Summertime

So I moved home a couple weeks ago and I always feel like I am

in limbo for a little bit. I miss friends, jobs, and the fun of Provo

and just being a college student. Then I come home to living with

siblings and working essentially all the time. I need to find another

job though so I can actually save some money this summer. I have

seen a couple of summer goal lists and I made one for this summer:

1. Run a 5K - registered for the Freedom Run in Provo on the 5th of July.
Part of this will make me workout nearly everyday - another goal.

2. Read good books - currently reading Wuthering Heights. I plan on

reading Rough Stone Rolling (about Joseph Smith), John Adams, and Hunger

Games. I'm open for any other suggestions.

3. Hike the B - I've lived in Brigham my whole life and never done it.

4. Find some cool hobbies. Everytime peopel ask what do you like to do my

answer includes something about BYU Sports, music, and books. I would like

to learn some cool skills. This brings me to number 5.

5. I currently only have one job and that leaves me home all day. This was good

to unpack and nice to relax after school, but I want to learn some new skills.

Maybe cooking, sewing, crafting, photography I don't know for sure, but this is

also open for suggestions!

6. Enjoy the summer! Maybe go on a little road trip or just go enjoy the
weather with a picnic and a good book.

Some of the events of the summer I am looking forward are a two week trip to
Washington DC and Williamsburg and a week in Park City to just chill.

Other GREAT news: Jimmer is back! Next year will rock!

Hopefully I'll reach some of my goals and keep updating on my progress.

Maybe that will give me some sense of accountability.

Back to the real world in little old Brigham.

Change

This semester has flown by! Normally winter semester creeps by with no spring break, but I will be done with finals in two days and back in Brigham by the end of the week. It is a bitter sweet time. This semester turned out far better than I could have hoped for. I originally thought it could be the worst yet, but quite the opposite. Here are some reasons why:

1. I had some amazing classes! Especially my living prophets class with Brother Richardson. He is the best religion teacher I have had at BYU and I fully recommend him. I always heard exactly what I needed to in that class.

2. Our apartment in general decided to be socially active in our ward. There are some great people that I had been missing out on all last semester. I made some great friends that I am sad to leave this week.

3. Work became more enjoyable. I got to know some of the new people and get to know other co-workers better. Shout out to Caitlyn on that one:)

Those are just a few of the things that made this semester delightful! It never ceases to amaze me the amazing people I meet and the impact they can have on me in the short amount of time I know them. I have met some amazing people this semester and will miss them over the summer. Some will be back in fall and others are moving on, but regardless you have all had an impact on me and I say thank you.

Hare Krishna

So today I went to the Hare Krishna Color Festival for the first
time! It was crazy! There was so much dust and color that
breathing impossible. It was still fun though. I went with some
friends from my ward and when we got back we decided it
would be a good idea to jump in the pool. It was good until the
pool was FREEZING!!! It was like ice cubes and then having
six girls shower also made the showers like ice cubes. Still
a good day though.

The semester is almost over which is crazy. I am so ready
to be done with I SYS. I am looking forward to actually
getting to apply to my program. I also have to register for
classes that I hopefully won't end up taking. If anyone has
good ideas for fun classes let me know!

March Madness is AWESOME!! My bracket is currently
in first place in my office, but with the KY loss today it probably
won't stay that way. The goal is to beat the boss though so I
might still be okay.

I am loving my ward which makes me slightly sad that
school is ending since I am going home for the summer.
Sometimes I think about what would have happened if
I hadn't lived where I did and all the people I would have
missed out on meeting. I am glad I have gotten to meet all
the people I have.

Interview

So today I had an interview for a summer leadership program
with Grant Thornton (an accounting firm in Salt Lake). I had
no idea what to expect because it wasn't for a job so I thought
filling the half hour would be a stretch. Craziest thing - ended
up talking about BYU sports for a while, Recorstration, BYU
and a no-smoking ordinance in Brigham. Went well I thought,
but definitely not what I expected. I wouldn't complain if all
interviews were like this. Add it to the list of firsts.

Also on the side - BYU got the 7th seed for the tournament.
Definitely think we should be able to get past the first round.

Light!

I don't really enjoy daylight savings time and what it
does to my sleep schedule for a little bit, but I LOVE
that is light longer! It starts to feel like summer. . .

BYU-Utah

Jimmer: 19 minutes.

Starters: 27 points.

BYU: win from the bench! 71-51

What a way to beat Utah! Go cougars!

Michael Lloyd Jr. has rocked it the last two games with Jimmer not playing as well.

Davies also came out and had a career night! Maybe he could give Chris Miles a few pointers.

Great night for the cougars! We've got a lot to look forward to!

Springtime!

March is here!! The weather is finally

warming up and I can't wait for it to stay!

I made it through

midterms and there

is a light, small as

it may be, at the end

of the tunnel. I also

found housing for next

year and will be living

at Regency. Close, cheap, pretty nice.

Delightful. With the Olympics over

and BYU basketball winding its way

to a close I will have to pick up some

new hobbies. Life is pretty great though!

Obviously I am still working at improving
my bloggings skills. Life has gone on
anyway.

1) Biggest Loser started its new season
and NCIS did as well. Tuesday nights
are great.

2)The Olympics start tomorrow and
I am stoked!

3) Work is good and is finally slowing
down a little bit.

4) School is good. M Com 320 is one
of the best classes I have ever taken.
Strongly recommend it. I also love my
cooking class. I am also volunteering
in the VITA lab on campus which is
awesome. Yes - I know I spend my
free time doing taxes and am well
aware of its nerdiness, but I enjoy
it.

5) BYU basketball has drooped a little
but will return. A run for the conference
title is still very likely. Go cougars!

6) Housing - I hate finding housing. If
anyone has any good suggestions of where
to live - all are welcomed.

Hopefully there will be something more
exciting to celebrate in the coming weeks.
Life is good though and that in and of itself
is great!

Happy New Year

Welcome 2010!

So it has been a while, but maybe with 2010 I will be better.
December was crazy with finals which went ok, but the best
part was that Christmas was after. I had a great break
just spending time with family and not having to worry about
homework. Came back and jumped in to school and work again.
This semester shouldn't be too bad. I have to finish up the
pre-requisites for Accounting and then the rest is just fluff.
I got a new roommate because Lauren got married - it was a
great day and she was beautiful. Heidi is awesome though!
Work has more new people as always. It is always changing,
but such is life. BYU basketball is doing amazing and it
should be a great season! Life is crazy, but that is what
makes it great. I heard a quote in devotional and thought it
was great.

Let your life speak.