Finally!!

You’re looking at the newest Arizona State University Graduate.

I'm so happy to report that my family was on time to my graduation.
This is a big deal for me - especially since my graduation started at 8:00 A.M.

I have the best family!


I won't lie, I cried like a baby when I gave my mom the Stole of Gratitude.


Even though I'm sad that I'm ending this chapter in my life, I'm really excited to start a new chapter and a new adventure.

The End.

Graduation Announcements

I have the house to myself tonight, so I decided to set up camp in my living room and start making my graduation announcements. I was suppose to send them out yesterday, procrastinate much? After about 10 minutes, I became engrossed in my project... Which is why it's 5 in the morning and I'm still not in bed. This is what I'm surrounded by:

Considering projects that I've done in the past, this isn't too bad. The announcements started out with this:

Exhibit A

Cute, but not really my style. So, I changed it to this:

Exhibit B (maroon border)



This is more my style. On a side note, after I printed off about 30 of these I had an anxiety attack because I thought "Arizona" was spelt "Arixona". To my relief, it was just the font and I really do know how to spell (sometimes). Anyways, back to announcements, I like this one but it still looks like it's missing something. So, it evolved into this:

Exhibit C (maroon and gold border)

And, this:

Exhibit D (gold and maroon border)

Now it's the hard part. Which one do I want to send? I think I like "B" the best. It's simple and cute (not to mention less work). But, I really like "D" too. What do you think? Also, I'm making about 50 announcements. So, if you want one, email me your address and I'll send you one :)

I Got A Feeling...

...that tonight's gonna be a good night.

Actually, it should be "I got a feeling tonight's gonna be a long night" because, you guessed it, finals are here. That means I'll be staying up into the wee hours of the night studying. On the bright side, I'm graduating soon and I won't have to do this again for a very long time. Ugh... until then, I have a very long night ahead of me. Hopefully I can stay awake. Wish me luck!

Too Hot to Handle

My little brother Aaron had his state championship football game tonight.

And, guess what?

That's right

They won!!

And when I say they won, I mean they creamed them!

The other team didn't have a chance.

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate. Aaron got the hottest wings on the menu. For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to try one. No beueno! It wasn't bad at first... Then the heat kicked in. I literally had tears running down my face.

I guess I can't handle the heat.

Jar of Hearts



Seriously, I love this song. One of my new favorites.

On a side note, I'm graduating from ASU in exactly one month from now.

Utah or Bust. Part 1.

I went to Salt Lake City over the weekend to visit my best friend Jessica. I flew into SLC late Friday night. I was really tired but that didn't stop us from staying up late and talking.



Let me tell you something. Utah is really cold. This poor little Arizona girl was freezing! My feet were starting to turn blue. Jessica was kind enough to let me borrow some of her booties. They were so warm! I really want some now.



We were really busy on Saturday. We started the day off by going to the Bountiful Temple.



          

There were leaves everywhere. We couldn't help ourselves, we had to play in them.



After the temple, we went to Mueller Park for a little bit.



We got there in the early afternoon. It was the perfect time of day to go for a walk. It was beautiful outside; we didn't even need a sweater. The air was brisk and clean. There was an occasional light breeze that would nip at our toes. Simply perfect.

After Mueller Park, we went to Temple Square. But, I'm tired of blogging right now so I'll tell you about it later. Until next time....

All Hallow's Eve

October’s here (actually it’s almost gone) and it brought along some great memories with it. Today is the 31st and I’m still trying to figure out where the month went. Do you know? I must be getting old or something...

Honestly, I can’t tell you where the time has gone, but I can tell you this: I’m really looking forward to the next two months. We just celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, I’m graduating in December (YAY!!), then Christmas and New Years. Are you as excited as am I?

This was one of the best Halloweens I’ve ever had. This Halloween season consisted of a Halloween carnival, pumpkin carving with my family, a fall extravaganza (with chili, cornbread, scary stories and pumpkin carving), a haunted house out in Buckeye, and three Halloween parties. Yes, it was a busy month and yes, it was so much fun. There is only one downfall/negative thing to all of this fun. I was up late many a night catching up on homework and studying. Yup, you guessed it! I still have a bad case of senioritis. I think it was all worth it though.



Ugh, too much candy!



Alyssa, Lydia Bo & Trystanna



Fall Extravaganza at my house



Friday Night


The kids called me Barbie all night

Party Time!!

Mi Familia

So, there’s this boy… He has blonde hair, blue eyes, a smile that melts my heart, and a contagious laugh. He’s one of my best friends. Just thinking about him puts a smile on my face. Who could this mystery boy be? My little brother Silas of course! His birthday is on Saturday and he’s turning 15. Can you believe it?! Time goes by so fast. I seriously remember changing his diapers (a little cliché, I know, true nonetheless).

I get to go home and visit my family this weekend and, if you can’t tell, I’m really excited! I have a pretty awesome family, you should be jealous (I would be!). I’m so blessed to have such a great family. I have great parents, an awesome big sister and four of the coolest little brothers in the world. If you can’t tell, I really love and miss them all. Lucky for me, home is only a few hours away.

When I think about my family, I think how grateful I am that we’ve been sealed together in the temple. I’m so grateful that I’ll be able to spend eternity with them. I’m not sure my family is gratefully that they get to be stuck with me forever (I can be a brat sometimes) but I sure am!


<3 My Family (Part of them) 



Senioritis

I have a serious case of senioritis. Careful, I think it might be contagious! Symptoms include: a general feeling of apathy, procrastination, and lack of motivation. It can strike anytime during one’s senior year. However, it usually appears in the final months before graduation. The only known cure for this is graduating.

This is a very strange feeling for me. I’m one of those crazy people who loves going to school and learning new things. Lately though, I feel lethargic. Thankfully, I’m still keeping up on my studies (I don’t want my GPA to drop because I’m going through some weird phase). If you have any suggestions, or home remedies that I can use to get over this, feel free to share them. Thanks!!

We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet

I’m taking an institute class at ASU and my teacher pulled me aside earlier this week and asked me if I would talk to the class on Thursday about why I believe in the prophet. A few things came to my mind as I thought about this topic and what I wanted to say to the class. I started by asking myself some hard questions. Do I believe that a man can be called by God to be his mouthpiece on this Earth? Do I believe in a modern day prophet? Why do we need a prophet? Why should I listen to the prophet?

I didn’t have to think very long or hard about these questions. I know that a prophet is called by God. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet today and that God makes his will known to us through him. I know the Lord loves his children because he has called a prophet to instruct us, encourage us, and to guide us to live righteously. I know I can trust the prophet and that he will never lead me astray. I know that the burning feeling I have in my heart is a confirmation that all of this is true. I am so blessed to have this knowledge in my life. Even though I have never met the prophet, I have a great love and appreciation for him. I’m grateful for general conference and the opportunity I have to listen to the prophet and other leaders of the church twice a year. And, that's what I told my class.

Conference is this week and I'm so excited! I remember when I was younger and my mom would make my siblings and I sit quietly and watch conference. I used to think that it was so boring! Looking back on it, I feel bad for whoever sat next to me because I would either tickle them or do something really obnoxious, and that usually resulted with both of us getting in trouble. Now that I'm a little older, I look forward to watching conference and I actually listen to what's being said. But, I guess I haven't matured much because I still tickle whoever sits next to me...

If you are interested in learning more about conference, or want to watch, check out this website: http://lds.org/broadcast/gc/about/1,6223,9201-1,00.html.

Souper Douper

It’s really been a long day. It’s a little after ten and I’m ready to crawl into bed and go sleep. I guess that’s what happens when your day starts at 5 am. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go to bed anytime soon because I still need to study (ugh).

So, I’ve been feeling a little under the weather lately. Since my mom's not here to make me feel better, I had to be a big girl and take care of myself. I made a soupy concoction for dinner tonight. It was really simple to make AND it’s vegan (yup, I’m back on the vegan diet!). The ingredients are basic: rice, diced tomatoes, black beans, spinach, chili powder, salt & pepper. You cook the rice until its tender. Add the seasonings, tomatoes and black beans. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add a handful of spinach. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes and you've got a meal. I ate it with some homemade pita bread - delicious!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

If tonight could be described in one word, it would be “awesome.” Someone from work gave me tickets to a baseball game and since I love baseball, it was pretty awesome (there's that word again). 
One of my favorite memories is when I was twelve and my dad took me to a Dbacks game. I think that's where my love for baseball originated. I have 5 siblings so it was a big deal to me that I got some one-on-one time with my dad (especially since we drove all the way to Phoenix to watch the game). I remember thinking I was the luckiest kid in the world.
My friend Starlee went to the game with me tonight. I usually sit in the nosebleed section, but not this time! Our seats were really close to the field. Even though I was a little nervous a foul ball would hit me, I still enjoyed myself. Just in case you were wondering, the Dbacks won!!!

Say Cheese!

I seriously have one of the world’s worst blenders. I bought a cheap one at Wal-mart last year and you really get what you pay for. The reason I mention my terrible blender is because one of my friends told me that you can make cheese by blending cashew's together (we call it ca-cheese). I’ve never heard of such a thing and it intrigued me. So, I found a recipe that looked easy and decided to try it out.

You soak the cashews overnight, add a few ingredients, then blend it all together. Simple, right? Wrong! It took me three days to make it because my blender was giving me some serious attitude. When I say attitude, I mean that my blender would only blend in 5 minute intervals (it’s almost like it has a mind of its own). It was rather frustrating and I almost gave up on the idea of ca-cheese. But, I didn't and I'm glad I stuck with it, because it turned out great.

It still had chunks of cashew in it but that just added some character. The consistency is similar to cream cheese. And just like cream cheese, it taste great on a bagel! Even though it was a hassle making it, I’m going to make it again soon. I might even invest in a better blender.

7 Day’s Without Hiking Makes One Weak

I took a week off from hiking because I hurt my leg. This just about killed me. I think I might be addicted to hiking because I felt like I was going through withdrawals. I went seven days without hiking and I woke up this morning and had to get my fix. It felt so good to be back on the mountain!

One good thing about taking a break from hiking is that I picked up yoga again. I thought the stretching would help my leg (and it did). I’ve learned over the last few days that it does so much more than stretch my muscles. It stretches my mind to the fullest. It allows me to focus on the present moment. I can clear my mind and leave all my cares and worries behind. I don’t know why I stopped doing yoga in the first place but I’m glad I’ve incorporated it back into my life. Some people like to drink coffee in the morning to “wake up.” Yoga is my coffee. It’s the perfect way to start my day.