Today was a successful day in the health and beauty of Jennifer.

For starters, Lindy and I actually got up and went to the gym at 6:45 this morning. Good job, us! We used to do so every day, but we've been slackin lately. Second, I did arms today and I feel AWESOME about it. Good job, me!

When we got home from the gym, I actually ate breakfast. And it wasn't like leftover tacos, either. It was Special K cereal. Seriously, that in and of itself constitutes as a healthy day in my eyes. Plus I ended up wearing an extremely cute outfit. Here's a picture of it, except I have demon eyes and I'm leaning on a super sketchy limo we found at Lin's.

Moving on! Okay for the rest of the day, I walked to and from school (as usual), ate fairly heathy foods, etc. However, this is the part where I stop boring you and start telling you stuff that may ro may not intrigue and/or inspire you.

Once upon a time, I was stumbling and I came across this website. To simplify your life and to cater to the needs of my mother and her poor dial-up internet, I'll give you the abridged version of what said website says. But first! A story.

As a poor, unemployed, starving college student, it's not very often that I get to set aside my homework for half an hour and just have a few minutes where I just feel pretty. I get myself ready in the mornings and that's fine, but it just doesn't have that extra special feeling where you want to ask all of your friends to touch your hair or your face just so they can be awestruck at how incredible soft they are. Fortunately, the internet has special things in store for those who like fancy things but can't afford them even a little bit.

To begin, the hair!

If you're anything like me, split ends and frizziness make you just want chop your hair off altogether. But please, learn from my mistakes and DON'T DO THAT. Instead, DO THIS.

Olive oil. Simple as that. All it takes is about 2 tablespoons (give or take a little, depending on the amount and volume of your hair. Just the 2 tbsp. did it for me.) of this golden goodness, really. Just massage it into your hair well because it feels awesome and because you need to stimulate your little roots. Wrap a warm, damp towel around your head in kind of a turban and leave it on for 30-45 minutes. Once your all done, wash your hair as many times as it takes to get the oil out (I'll be honest, having a ton of straight up oil in my hair is not my favorite feeling, so I washed my hair twice) and towel dry. I would recommend allowing your hair to air dry completely, if that's an option for you. No need to take away that last extra little boost of refreshment from your hair, right?

Moving on!

The facial mask. This one is super fun, and slightly delicious. Combine 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg. It should be pasty with little tiny chunks of spice in there. Slather your concoction all over your face, but preferrably not in your eyeballs. No bueno. Leave the mask in place for about 30 minutes. For time purposes, I did this at the same time as the hair thing. As you can see here. (Please don't make me regret putting this on the internet.)

Yummy.

While I was waiting for afore mentioned pamperments (yeah, I just made that a thing) to work their magic, I decided to step it up and go for manicure/pedicure. Unfortunately, this is where I get product-y. I already happened to have these little magic guys from Bath & Body Works, so here's my little advertisement...

Those ones don't really require much explaination, I don't think. But the good news is that they work reeeeeally well. I'm actually in the process of developing my own version of the hand scrub stuff, and maybe the foot scrub after that. We shall see. I'll keep you posted on that as it develops.

Finally, a little trick that I actually found at a different website while stumbling. Again: quick rundown.

1 tablespoon of plain gelatine.
1 1/2 tablespoons of milk.

That's it. Mix the two whole ingredients into a disposable container (trust me on this) and put in the microwave for like 10 seconds. Then you have to move FAST, because it's gonna set up real quick. With either a popsicle stick or a makeup brush that you don't care if you ever use again, apply this really weird smelling, very hot substance onto wherever you feel like you need it. I just did it on my nose and chin. (Note: this stuff has some SERIOUS grip. By all means necessary, do NOT make contact with eyebrows. I mean it.) Let it sit for about fifteen minutes or until you're afraid to flick your face because you think it might fall off. Peel the mask off, and HEY! You have a new face.

Alright, boys and girls. But mostly girls. This poor, unemployed, starving college student has got to get to bed. Among other things (i.e. time, money, food, warm clothes, dates, etc.), sleep is one thing I just don't have enough of. Hope you enjoyed this very special edition of stuff that involves my hilarious wit and charm.

I la la love you! And come back soon.

And then I made incredible muffins.

One time, I decided to make some ice cream muffins with my friend JT. It went like this.

Pre-step one: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit.

Step one: Purchase the following items. (Brand and flavor of ice cream may vary. Size may not.)



Step two: Let ice cream sit long enough to soften and mix without a ton of effort. Mix entire pint of ice cream with 2 cups of self-rising flour. Mix until smooth. A lot smoother than this.

Step three: Take a cute picture of yourself in an apron with a spoon covered in the stuff you just made.

Step four (not pictured): Fill muffin cups about 3/4 of the way and put in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Do the toothpick thing. It’ll probably be delicious. Oh, and then they’ll look like this.

And hey!! You just made some muffins out of ice cream.

Good job. And good night

Halloween.

Perfect.

Oh, also.

I dyed my hair. Calm down, Mom, nothing drastic. I just went back to my natural color. (Or as close as I could get for now.) My hair got pretty sunbleached over the summer, but since I haven't been outside as much lately, my roots have been growing out and it was driving me CRAZY. So here are some before-during-after pictures.

I know this one is slightly weird, but I forgot to take a proper "before" picture, and this was the most recent one I had. I took it to send to Kimberly to show her my idea of French braiding.

During!

And after.

I realize it looks pretty much exactly the same as in most of the rest of my pictures, but it really is noticeably darker. Like I said, it's pretty much my natural hair color.

Still, it was a good experience. I dyed my own hair last night. I'm so grown up. (:

Sometimes I get crafty.

On the very, very rare occasion when I feel like I need to get a little more scrapbooking done in my life, a funny thing happens to me. You may recall this from another experience I had last year, but when I get started on a project, there is no stopping me. No matter how many annotated bibliographies, media watch journal entries, or memory strategy activity assignments I have, I have no higher priority than to complete my project.

I was recently inspired by a couple of websites to do this project. Plus, my walls have been almost completely bare since I moved in, and it's gotten to the point of mildly depressing. Anyways, so I went to the scrapbook store--



Wait, WHAT?? I sent this picture to my mom with a text saying "Mom. I am in a scrapbook store. On purpose. VOLUNTARILY." To which she responded "Who are you??" I'm pretty sure I'm turning into her.

Anyways, I bought a bunch of cute paper and some plain cardstock, then went home and proceeded to write some little words of advice on each one. Here are some of my favorites. They range from fairly deep to simple, silly things that just make me smile.

Anyways, that's my craftiness for the day. Not that big of a deal. Oh, and there's about 38 of these that run in a straight line around my room at about eye level. I really like the placement and such.

Hope you enjoyed this edition of how I spend my days.

Come back soon!

Reunited at last!!

I'm spending my fall break with my best best of best friends--Best Friend Kyle! I got here yesterday afternoon and so far it's been a pretty good trip. I FINALLY met his family, then he took me on a date to get sushi, then we came back to his house, made inside out Oreos (reduced fat... gross), then just chilled and did the best friend thing. Today I get to go shopping with Mama Kyle while Kyle Kyle is at work. After that... I don't actually know. We'll figure it out.

My point is: so far, I love this weekend. (:

Sushi!

LOVE.

My bad.

I'm awful at blogging.

But the good news is I got the app for my phone, so I'm about 12% more likely to improve!

We'll see how this goes.

Can you guess what these things have in common?

1:
--When my internet declares I no longer have internet access, even though I’ve already been online for like an hour.
--When it’s faster/easier to blog, Tweet, Facebook, and watch Netflix from my phone than my computer.
--My actual internet.

2:
--My checkbook.
--My history book.
--SoBe LifeWater.

3:
--My carton of chocolate milk.
--My checking account.
--My stomach.

4:
--My hamper.
--My trash can.
--My to-do list.

5:
--Jay Brannan. (super chill artist I am currently listening to)
--A deadbolt.
--This granola bar.

6:
--Going to the Pastry Pub then on a walk with Devan.
--Free Thai food.
--Being told by my English professor that the first draft of my paper is fantastic.

7:
--Criminal Minds Season 7 Premier.
--Criminal Minds Season 7 Premier.
--Criminal Minds Season 7 Premier.



Answers!

1: Things that make me think my internet is run by actual seamonkeys.
2: Things I really hate opening.
3: Things that should be full but are dangerously empty.
4: Things that should be empty but are actually rather full.
5: Things that are preventing me from throttling my through-the-wall neighbor that will NOT shut up.
6: Things that were the highlight of my day.
7: Things that completely blew my effing mind.

You can call me Rachael Ray.

But please don't really. What I mean is that I'm still on that cooking/baking spree I mentioned a while ago, only now it's mostly just cooking because that seems a lot more practical. Plus it turns out I'm kind of good at it.

A few weeks ago, I was in the middle of making dinner (lemon chicken with a side of green beans and French bread with oil and vinegar) when my bishop dropped in to get to know my roommates and I. Turns out, he was extremely impressed to see that I like to make my dinners from scratch. (When he came over, I was cutting up the raw chicken, and had the corn starch and lemon zest and everything already measured out for the sauce)

Anyways, that little encounter resulted in getting an assignment with two other people to be on a cooking committee for a ward "Break the Fast" dinner next month. Hurray. Bishop also has a bad habit of talking me up to anyone he can. However, it is a boost to the ego, which results in nights like this one.

Tonight, I was inspired to make fettuccine chicken alfredo. However, rather than buying the sauce out of a jar like I did the last time I made this dinner, I decided I wanted to try making it from scratch.

GOOD CALL, ME.

It was absolutely incredible. I actually had some friends come over so they could have it with me. Because I really don't like making these awesome dinners just for myself. I don't know if it's actual charity so much as maybe me fishing for compliments, but either way, no one can really complain about it.



In case you're wondering, I'll share the recipe I used for the sauce. It made this much. (About 4 servings.)

1/4 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 clove garlic, crushed (I bought garlic cloves, but they weren't very crushable. So I used garlic salt to taste, and it worked very well.)
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (that was my favorite part to do...)

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Stir in parsley and serve.

And I always have some chopped up cooked chicken on hand in my freezer for occassions such as this, so I just thawed that, then threw it in with the sauce and let it hang out there to warm up while the fettuccine was still cooking.

Anyways, it turned out really well. And as you can see, I'm a big fan of aprons. But that one is my adorable roommate Lindy's. I kind of want my own. If anyone feels like donating an apron or the fabric for one to me, I'd be okay with that. (:

I look good in aprons.

Well this was a fun update.

On my new hobby.

Which is cooking.

For multitudes of people.

While wearing an apron...

I'm such an old lady.

This is absurd.

Last year, I did not have a vehicle at college. While it was midly inconvenient at times, I was actually okay with it for the most part. Here is why:

• I lived on campus.


• I had a meal plan, so I never really needed to go to the store.


• Most of my friends lived in the same building as me, so the issue of "I never see my friends!" never really came up. And the ones that I didn't live with just lived down the street, so I could walk.


• A lot of colleges don't even allow freshmen to have cars.

This year, however, it is proving to be more than a little annoying. For the following reasons:

• Now that I have to cook for myself, I am forever thinking of things I need to get from the store, and I hate asking my friends for a ride to Walmart, because I feel like that mooch friend that everyone hates. I feel like they're all going to start ignoring my calls before the year is out.


• Free parking in my apartment complex. It hurts.


• The Biggest Stunt guys all live 8 miles north of here, and since none of them really have functional vehicles, I'd hate to ask them to come get me just to hang out. If I had a car, I would go see them occasionally.


• I can't go home unless I happen to find someone else that is headed that way.


• I am in desperate need of a job, and there are only so many places within walking distance that I can apply to. (Yes, Mom, I've even checked on-campus jobs.)


• My inspiration for this post stems from the fact that I am stranded at my stupid house while literally everyone I know is at a bonfire. Or doing homework. Result: I want to be at the bonfire because it is barely 9:00, I have all my homework done, I look absolutely adorable, and I want to be spending time with other people. However, all of my friends with vehicles are either already at the fire or too busy with homework to go. (Which is when I say "That's why you do your homework in the afternoon, champ.")

I'm just so, so frustrated all the time. I hate the feeling of being stranded and depending on other people. Poor Lindy has gotten to a point where she actually pities me and lets me borrow her car from time to time. And when that happens, I am just super paranoid that something is going to happen to her car while I'm driving it.

My point is: not having a car freshman year really isn't that big of a deal. Even at the time I was okay with it. But that this point, I just get so frustrated every day that it's causing a great deal of stress in addition to what I already have going on.

And I don't know what to do.

In the past 48 hours,

I have had a surprisingly high amount of rather humbling experiences. (And by "high", I mean like 3.) I'm really not the kind of person that's all into "signs" and stuff, but I kind of feel like I've been punched in the guts by a pretty heavy realization. I don't know if it's because I just finished reading a book about what happens to a person that allows sin and offense to fester within their soul and it just scared the living daylights out of me or if it's just time to understand what an infant I've been lately, but something has to change

As most of you may know, I really kind of hate people. A lot. Yesterday, I saw this random girl for the first time in my life. I looked at her outfit, how the was playing with her hair, and the way she was inexplicably puckering her lips while observing the people around her, and I verbally declared that I absolutely hated her. I wish I could say this was an exaggeration, but it's really not. Literally just the way this poor girl looked was enough for me to announce that I wanted to punch her in the face a hundred times.

To explain my "humbling experiences", they were pretty much all the same. Between yesterday afternoon and today between classes, I held genuine, civil conversations with three of the top five people that I bear more hostility toward than any other individual on the planet. Really. The other two people don't even live here, but I happened to run into the three that do. I don't know what came over me to sit down with these individuals and just have a normal conversation, but by the time I walked away, I actually noted that I was not filled with rage or any kind of negativity at all... and it was nice.

I feel very Grinch/Ebenezer Scrooge-y saying all this, by the way. And I'm really not sure if anyone will actually read this, but I feel like I need to somehow publicly declare these feelings or I might later pretend they never happened and go back to my hateful ways. I'm not saying I'm "turning over a new leaf" or anything. I'm not reinventing myself as a person, because there will always be those people that just rub me the wrong way, and I will not actively enjoy being in their company. However, I've just realized that every day, I waste so much time, energy, and emotion being so angry at so many people, many of which that haven't even done anything to offend me. Just their personalities conflict with mine, so I declare a hatred that isn't deserved.

So while I have absolutely no intention of going out of my way to befriend all of these people that bug me, I'm just so tired of putting forth the effort to be angry every time I even think about them. One guy was such a sensitive subject with me that even hearing his name pissed me off. But after talking to him today, I thought how stupid it is that the reason I started "hating" him was because of something he said in bad taste in January. January. That was seven months ago, and I have been festering in rage all this time. It's absurd and ridiculous and childish and stupid and I'm just tired of this routine.

It's time to let go.

It's time to change.

And I have done so.

I have no enemies.

And I am content.

Things I've Learned From Watching Criminal Minds

1. If you leave a door/window open/closed and it is the opposite when you come back, run away.



2. Tim Curry can literally play any character.



3. I want to work for the BAU.



4. DON'T TRUST THE GARBAGE MAN.



5. Always be nice to the weird kids. They can usually wield a semi-automatic weapon pretty fiercely.



6. Shemar Moore was carved by the gods.



7. When you're on a road trip and all you can find is a semi-sketchy motel, keep driving or sleep in your car. (Learned that from Psycho, too.)



8. Meth is bad.



9. Seemingly useless trivial knowledge can potentially save lives in the event of being abducted by a serial killer.



10. When dealing with a violent individual that has multiple personalities, become bff with the nicest one.

200!

Really? I've had this blog for how many years and I am JUST NOW hitting 200 posts?

Man.

I suck.

In other news, I've finished my first week of classes and so far, so good. I like all of them, though they all require significant amounts of reading. Which is fine, I mean I love to read, but it is also very time consuming. My PVA teacher (bless his heart) actually cut down the amount we have to read for his class. We were going to have to read 3 novels (Agains the Grain, Bruges-la-Morte, and The Picture of Dorian Gray) by mid-October, but he very graciously brought it down to one book. I think I'm going to read Gray because that story has always intrigued me.

The rest of my classes are going well. Even PE 1093! I went to the gym 3 times this week (in 3 days) and my body feels like it is on self-destruct mode. Cardio on Thursday, weights on Friday, cardio again this morning. Mostly the weights is what destroyed me. But hey, that just means it's working. (:

Well that's the update for the week. Stay tuned. (:

P.S. I'm quickly realizing that I'm not good at grocery shopping. Either I'll buy the wrong thing or have something in mind that I want to make but forgot a vital ingredient, etc. So if anyone feels inclined to perhaps send me food, cooking pans/utensils, gift cards, etc., feel free to attain my mailing address from my cute mom. (:

She lives!

I apologize for sucking at blogging this entire summer. I really have no excuse, unless you blame the hamster that runs the internet at my house by running on a wheel. Otherwise, it's totally my fault. Anyways, I thought I'd bring you up to speed.

My job was awesome.

Warped Tour weekend was super fun.

Elk Ridge was splendid.

That's pretty much my whole summer.

In other news, I'm now moved back to school and I LOOOOVE it! Here are some pictures of me moving all of my stuff over. (I borrowed my friend's truck. Side note, I loaded the whole thing by myself, AND moved it all into my third floor apartment by myself. I'm an animal.)

My apartment is absolutely adorable, and I really love it. I have the same roommate as last year, Lindy, with the addition of two new ones, Kelsie and Nicole. So far we all seem to get along pretty well, and it has already been an astronomical improvement over the atrocity that was last year's experience with roommates.

Because I get this question a lot, I will now share with you what classes I am taking.

Arts Retrospective

American History

Models, Methods, and Professional Issues in Psychology

English--Writing on Dystopias

Institute

Circuit Weight Training

I was also in Math 1050, but then I learned that I only need 1030 for my major. Plus I was taking 17 credits, which is an absurd amount of work, especially when all of my classes are the kind that involve a loooot of reading every night. Plus my professor was one of those senile old men that find it necessary to speak very loudly and very slowly. I often got the impression that he was chastizing the class for not already knowing the material, and frequently spoke very condescendingly. Needless to say, I didn't feel like I was going to rock Math 1050's world by stickin around, so I dropped it today. I actually feel much better about this semester. (:

In other news, the social life here has taken quite a start. I went to a slip-n-slide last night that I was only expecting like 40 people to come to... it ended up being well over 250. It was awesome. Really, I feel like if this is any kind of foreshadow on the rest of the year, I am in for the time of my life! I am already having wayyy more fun this year than last year. (With the exception of my very best friend Kyle and the beautiful miss Ashley both missing out of my life this time... sad face.)

However, I really am looking forward to this year. I feel like it's going to be a good time. Let's just hope I'm right. (:

Sad panda.

I miss Best Friend Kyle more than anything. If I could have anything, it would be $300 for gas or a plane ticket to Washington. I would literally have no problem driving 17 hours straight if it meant I got to see my best friend. I miss him to a point that it actually hurts me a little more every day. Dramatic as that sounds, I need him back in my life. I'm just not the same. 

I am a robot.

I know, I know.

I suck at blogging in the summer. Which is ironic, since that's when most of the good stuff goes down. I wish I could give you the details as to how my summer has been going, but I don't really have time at the moment... plus I'm kind of lazy.

--I got an iPhone 4 and I love it.

--I got to see my adorable friend Ashley!!

--I quit my crappy job at the restaurant because $5/hr. just wasn't cutting it.

--I got on with the BLM through an internship with Workforce Services and it is AWESOME to the Nth degree.

--I may have destroyed a tire on a government vehicle whilst doing a regular patrol.

--I changed the tire BY MYSELF, no thanks to the [swear word] guy who showed up to "help" and all he did was tell me that what I was doing was wrong (even though when he tried to correct me, he did it in an even more complicated way) and condescend me by saying things like "You're not going to like this, but you're going to have to get dirty." That was a very, very brief synopsis of the rage I feel about that whole situation.

So yeah, there is my life in a nutshell at the moment. Wake up, go to work, come home and crash. But hey, it's a job, and a very fun and well-paying one at that. So no complaints here. (:

A list of things I miss about the place I lived six months ago.

In no particular order.

--Perpetual cell service/fast internet
--The Biggest Stunt shows.
--Various 24/7 service establishments. i.e. Walmart, Denny's, Roberto's, Subway, RedBox, etc.
--Always having a place to go longboarding.
--Usually having someone to go longboarding with.
--Being able to meet new people.
--BriannaCarleyDevanCoryRomeoChaseCaydinBillyDanielTonya... all still in Cedar.
--Single's ward.
--Little Caesar's.
--A decent gym.
--Dorm life.
--Hot tubbing [legally].
--The variety of films showing in the movie theaters.
--Having my very own mailbox.
--Being able to have Girls Nights without having to plan a week in advance or saving up for gas money.
--Walking home from... well... anywhere.
--Shaved ice stands.

I can't wait to go back. I love being home, but still... there's something about being on your own that makes everything so much more exciting.

I apologize.

I really should update my blog more, but in reality, my internet at home is run by a hamster on a wheel. And the only time I come into town is to go to work, and I obviously can't just be bloggin up a storm while I'm trying to wait tables. Speaking of which:

I have less than two weeks to go before I'm done with this awesome crap-paying job. I got on with the local BLM and I start on the 27th. So woo hoo for getting at least minimum wage from now on!!

Alright that's really all I've got to say for now. Good night nurse.

So far...

This summer is not going as I originally planned. I only have two friends in town, which I rarely get to see because of the crazy hours of my spontaneous and loosely-defined job. Meanwhile, I am (once again) single, and it freakin blows.

I need to find a morning/day job to keep me occupied. Because I frequently find myself trapped at my house alone while my family is working and has all of the cars. And what do I do while I'm there? Sit around and wallow in my self-pity of one job and my overwhelming singleness.

Pity me.

I'm going to work now.

I AM YOB.

I found a job for the summer. Unfortunately, it's only at night and it doesn't pay as well as I'd like. I am a college student, you know. I'm still trying to find a job for the morning/day shift, considering I am just wasting my time every day before 4:00, and since I don't even work every day.

Oh well.

If you have any ideas of places I could work in my area, give me a jingle. I'd quite appreciate it.

Love you and stuff.

And also

I miss my best Ashley friend pretty fiercely. I so so so hope she can come back to school next year and live with me. I think I'll cry every day if she doesn't...

(Hint hint, Ash.)

This is Boyfriend.

We're ridiculous. I moved home today and had to leave this fella behind. Sad day. /: Oh well. He doesn't live that far away. We'll see how this goes.

In retrospect.

My freshman year of college has officially come to a close. I’m going to do my favorite thing and take a moment (just kidding, this will probably take like 3 hours to do) to tell you about things you probably don’t care about.

This year, I:
-Moved out on my own.
-Learned that I really, really love drinking water.
-Went the whole year without ever declaring myself a psychology major, even though I’ve known what I was going to major in since 10th grade.
-Found out what a neatfreak I am.
-Went periods of time where I ate only pizza and Easy Mac.
-Learned to love working out every day.
-Stopped working out every day because they closed the school gym.
-Went completely broke. Twice.
-“Sent off” a missionary.
-Didn’t read a single book that was unrelated to a class.
-Became so addicted to fast internet.
-Became a “professional” [unpaid] photographer.
-Lost a best friend.
-Went on my first blind date.
-Was on the radio.
-Became a True T-Bird.
-Wound up with the best roommate I could hope for.
-Made inside out Oreos.
-Met an amazing girl that I hope will be my roommate next year, because I love her so.
-Decided that I love Tosh.0.
-Got a creepy birthday present and sold it on eBay.
-Made rainbow cupcakes.
-Went on a six mile walk.
-Ate more hamburgers than anyone should ever eat in their lives.
-Became well-known to the Denny’s nightshift crew.
-Met and started dating my first boyfriend. He’s pretty cute.
-Made cotton candy with Boyfriend’s mom.
-Dyed my hair for the first time. It didn’t really last.
-Saw The Maine in concert twice.
-Became extremely close with a girl I’ve known since 9th grade, but never really spent time with, and now I can’t imagine being without.
-Stayed close with my best friends from high school.
-Went to at least five missionary farewells.
-Met some people I hope I never see again.
-Learned to appreciate “hardcore” music.
-Saw “HP 7P1” at the midnight showing with one of my best friends.
-Almost fought a girl over a sneeze.
-Went rappelling off the side of a mountain.
-Spent copious amounts of time at Walmart.
-Have grown my hair out longer than it’s been since 9th grade.
-Found out throwing up can actually be really funny. (“It’s not funny. I can’t effing breathe.”)
-Ate sushi for the first time… and really liked it.
-Got like 4 different viruses on my laptop.
-Stayed up for 45 hours straight.
-Rode my longboard most of the way across town.
-Rode on three (or four?) different motorcycles.
-Fell in love with an angel.
-Got strep throat for the first time in my life.
-Only cried three or four times.
-Met my best friend in the entire world.
-Had my life changed forever by my best friend in the entire world.
-Said goodbye to my best friend in the entire world.
-Changed.
-Matured.
-Learned.
-Laughed.
-Lived.

This is not a wink face. This is the face I make in my mind when I have to wait and see what happens next.

Still finals week 2

Three down...



And that's it. The "half" final I've been mentioning is an optional psychology exam. But since I already have an A in that class, and it would only replace my lowest test score (my lowest one being a 91%), I don't see much point in taking it.

I chose not to show my face in this picture for 2 reasons. 1: In every picture I took, it looked like my left eye had no eyelashes, and that freaked me out. And 2: I am THRILLED to be done with school, but I’m not sure how I feel about how my test went. And I wasn’t sure what facial expression could show that.

Sooo in other news...

I'M DONE.

Still finals week

Two down...

One and a half to go.

I'm going to punch myself in the face. Twice.

Finals week

One down...


Two and a half to go.

The New Guy

Meet Caydin, the new frontman for our favorite band The Biggest Stunt. For a long time, Cory was doing the clean vocals and Chase did the screaming, but they both came to a point where they were kind of over multi-tasking. So after holding a few "auditions", their friend Caydin stepped forward and said he'd like to try it. He ended up blowing everyone away. He has his own style that meshes with the band, and he also has great stage presence, which is really important.

So naturally, after Caydin was officially in the band, we had to do new band pictures. Here are a few of my favorite individual and group shots.

Cory

Devan

Chase

Romeo

Jump

Standing

Grass (my favorite)

TBS

Color in black and white

And in case you were wondering, Caydin fits right in with the boys. I love these kids with my whole heart, and it makes me so sad that I have to go a whole summer without seeing them pretty much whenever I want. On the upside though, there's always next year. (:

My Best Friend

Finally decided to pay a visit to our humble dorms for the first time since he moved out.

He has been gone way, way too long.

I love Best Friend Kyle. (:

I know I say this all the time

But I really, really miss Sly. I got a letter from him today, complete with a picture of him in a 3-piece suit--classy, right??

His letters always make me giggle. In the last letter I wrote to him, I wrote it while I was super cracked out of my mind on 5-Hour Energy Extra Strength, so most of my stories were ridiculous. I told him my situation of having to be awake for the next 43 hours, and I instantly imagined him laughing at me and saying "silly girl" like he always does when I'm just being ridiculous. In the letter I got today, I was literally shocked at how it began:

Jennifer--or--super flighty girl on energy shots,

I don't really know what to say. I guess I'm not at a loss for words... it just seems that I don't really have to say anything for you to know I'm rolling my eyes, then saying "silly girl" followed up with a sideways smile. You make me laugh. :)

It made me smile that I totally called his reaction. Also, I shared with him my favorite quote from the song "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise" by the Avett Brothers. You've probably seen it quoted on some blog of mine or whatever. Anyways, it goes likes this:

"If you're loved by someone, you're never rejected. Decide what to be, and go be it."

I love that quote so much. I wish I'd heard it when it was time for me to choose a senior quote, as stupid as that sounds. I just like to share it with anyone I can. Anyways, to that, Sly had a response that almost made me cry:

I really liked your favorite quote! I agree with it. I believe one or the most important things in life is to become! Become who you were in the premortal existence. The moment we decide that's who we are going to be is when we will find our true path.

I know it probably sounds hokey to everyone else, but I loved it. Things can get tricky and scary and unsure and all kinds of other negative adjectives sometimes, but it's good to know that there are always people kind of on the lookout for you.

I just miss that guy, is all. But he's doing a good thing in Georgia, and I'm so, so proud of him for that.

But still.

I love us.

Me and Ashley... we love Denny's.

The Egyptian Tortoise

Where have these things been all my life?

And why don't I have one?

I was going to say "This is an outrage!"

But really, this thing is too cute to allow me to be mad about anything.

Like, ever.

My Brianna Friend.

Today I was reminded of why Brianna is my best friend. When someone tried to say something negative about me to her, she had my back and stood up for me, even though the person was also her friend. Sometimes that's a hard thing to do, but she did it.

Because we are best friends.

And I love her. (:

Just kidding.

I told you I'd keep you updated on my story as it progressed.

Well it progressed. I actually hung out with the "10".

Turns out he's not that cool. It's fine though. At least I know, right?

The end.

(:

NEVER AGAIN.

BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD idea.

Last night, I decided that I really, really needed to get my speech and PowerPoint perfected for Communications today for when I had to present it. I also had some other homework that I needed to work on, but I didn't even get started until like 9 pm, because I'd gone to visit some friends that had gotten in a motorcycle accident. (By the way, for those that were listening to my play-by-play reports, they're both home and are pretty much fine. Just lots of road rash and sore muscles. Billy has a concussion and Jayden sprained his wrist, but they both made it to all of their classes today.)

Anyways. Long story short... I haven't slept since about 7:45 yesterday morning. Yes, I was sick and stayed in bed most of the morning, but I couldn't ever fall asleep because either Molly would be getting in and out of the covers, or I would be getting important texts relating to the accident. Soo... yes. As of now, I have been awake for approximately 32 hours straight. I got all of my homework done, a missionary letter sent, my workout done, I went to all of my classes, gave a speech (and did absolutely horrible, in case you were wondering), and here I am. Taking a break from my other mountain of homework I need to do before I can take a nap or even go to bed tonight.

Please. Don't ever give me one of these again. They taste awful, first of all. And I have heartburn that can only be related to a volcano.

This is so unnatural.

For Kyle

Kyle: I call being the hound. Me: That's fine. I'm kind of a fox anyways. Love you, Best Friend. (: