on stupidity

a conversation overheard on the campus of Brigham Young University near the SWKT:

guy 1: so where are you from?
guy 2: i'm from Colorado.
guy 1: oh. (laughs) I have no idea where that is.
guy 2: it's the rectangle right to the east of utah.
guy 1: oh! i'm from arizona.

true story.

this is hilarious

oh what do you do in the summer time...

I've been pondering how I want to spend my summer. Technically this could be my last summer in Provo- probably not, but maybe. And I don't want to risk missing out on things. So here's my summer to-do list:

Saturday mornings at the Provo Farmers Market
A trip to the Hale Center Theater to see To Kill a Mockingbird
Afternoons at 7 Peaks (weather permitting- cross your fingers!)
Saturday trips up to the Gateway, Bruges Waffles and Frites, and Gourmandise Bakery in Salt Lake
Playing tennis at BYU's outdoor tennis courts
Go see Paul McCartney in concert! (see post below)
Possible trip to California/Disneyland
Dinner group on Tuesday/Thursday
See Carrie Underwood at Stadium of Fire
Thursday evenings in July/August will be spent at the Twilight Concert Series (free!)

It should be a fairly good summer- I have to live it up while I have the chance!

a decision

It's no secret that I'm itching to leave Provo. I would take almost any opportunity to go explore some other unknown place or land. Because of this I decided that I wanted to do my semester of student teaching in Washington DC. I fell in love with it when I went a few years ago with my Pops. It's a magical place to me, and I felt right at home as I wandered the streets alone. I've had some good friends do internships in DC thru BYU's Washington Seminar program and they just loved it and raved about living in Washington D.C. My friend Kristen even got to attend President Obama's inauguration. And I have been anxiously awaiting my turn to go live in our nation's capitol and enlighten the minds of youth in the ways of great literature and writing. However, I have decided that I'm not going to go. It slightly breaks my heart. But after lots of agonizing, some pro/con lists, discussions with friends and my professor and some great insight from Elder Scott, I have chosen to do my student teaching in Utah. While the deadline isn't until September to apply, I had to let the English Department know about my decision ASAP so they could decide about placements. So there it is- I will be staying in Provo. No Washington D.C adventures for me. At least, not yet.

just your average weekend...

This is Natalie. She's getting married. And we threw her a bridal shower this weekend.

We really like to eat- 3 quiches, amish oatmeal, sweet rolls, and lots of fruit.

Candy Lou made the beautiful decorations- she's so crafty. I love it!

This pretty much sums up the afternoon- lots of food and lots of laughter.

Later that afternoon Jamie and I went to our ward activity and then hit up the park and went swinging!

Overall- a great weekend. Now on to finals . . .

what i was doing when i should have been writing my paper

SDSU @ BYU: 82-68

Best friends! Plus our lovely friend Theo

ffej, bowser, jenny and licious

this is what the bench does after we make our first basket- it's a cute routine and this picture doesn't do it justice.

to do list

I've been thinking a lot about things I want to do/accomplish before graduating from BYU. I only have a year left. A year. That really isn't much time. Especially if I do my student teaching in Washington D.C. next winter semester- then I'll have even less time. So during work the other day I decided to google things that you should do before graduating from college. But all the lists I found were totally lame.
Here is what I've come up with so far:
1. Go inside every building on campus.
2. Write a heartfelt thank you to my favorite professor
3. Get into the Daily Universe (in any capacity!)
4. Donate blood at an on campus blood drive
5. Go to the hunger banquet
6. Participate in the passover seder
7. Take a road trip to an away sports game
8. Commit to memory at least one poem
9. Participate in the Rex Lee Run
10. Storm the field/court at a sporting event

If anyone has any further ideas I am very open to suggestions. I want things specific to BYU but also just in general.

random thoughts on a wednesday afternoon

image spotted at cocoa+kelly

• I have found two new books to add to my reading list. I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron (read an interesting review here) and The Possessed by Elif Batuman (read the NYT review here). Both look fantastic and I'm excited to get my hands on them.
• Speaking of good books- I had to read The Things They Carried (warning: there is a lot of language) and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn for two different classes. Both were very good reads- in two very different ways. Some people's talent amazes me.
• I am dying for spring/summer. I am longing to wear dresses and skirts and flipflops and open toed shoes and light jackets- or no jackets. I wore capri pants today in hopes of eliciting some aspect of spring into this February day- but to no avail.
• My married BFF Candace and I have decided to do the Rex Lee Run this year. It's one of those things you have to do before graduating from BYU. I'm trying to come up with a list of others things I need to do before graduating and leaving Provo. A year seems like so much time, but it's really not.
• I really need to find a place to live next year. Angela and I are going to live together- we just have yet to determine where that will be.
• I finally achieved one of my college goals and got a Provo Library card. And let me tell you, I'm lovin' it. I love libraries and I love being inside the Provo Library. I think it's gorgeous. If I get married and have a reception- I would love to have it here.
• I'm getting my tax returns back soonish and I'm trying to decide what to buy. Most of the money is going to pay my spring/summer/fall tuition, but I do want to get something fun/for myself (besides an education of course). I'm leaning towards a Northface jacket. Thoughts?

the haps

I realized I haven't put up pictures of GC. My friends and I went up for the Sunday afternoon session- so good! (all pictures courtesy of jamie) On a completely different note- look at how stinkin' long my hair is! I don't ever recall having it this long. And now it's driving me crazy. I'm in need of a good stylin' and new dos. Anyone have any advice of where I should go?