CALLED TO SERVE!!

Hello everyone!

Well my call was waiting for me in Rexburg which was the best end to a great vacation I could have ever asked for!

I have been called to serve in the NEW JERSEY MORRISTOWN Mission!

My mission does cover more than just the city of Morristown. Based on the map the church sent me, it goes a little bit into New York (on the main land...not the islands) and goes as far south in New Jersey to a little bit below the "kink" of the state on the left. I'm pretty stoked!! I'm so glad to finally know where I am going! I love saying and hearing my mission...I don't think those 3 words, "Morristown, New Jersey" will ever get old :)

I report the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on Wednesday, July 27, 2011. I graduate from school the prior weekend so it will be a REALLY quick turnover but I'm glad that there will be less waiting :)

Also, I will be sharing the gospel in the Spanish language. I'm really nervous! I'm eager to learn yet so nervous. However, I know that God and Jesus Christ are on my side and the Spirit will help bring things to my remembrance.

So in just over 3 months, I'll be heading out for an 18-month long service for the Lord...can't wait! :)

Too Cool to Pass Up :)

Hello all!

Guess what? I'm 36,000 feet in the air! Currently flying to SLC as we speak and the plane is one that offers WiFi...probably wasn't worth the $5 and debated it, but wanted to say I was online during a flight :)

Well it was an amazing trip! I'm so glad I was able to spend so much time there and be with my mom. We had too much fun...you know my mom = party animal ;)

I'm hoping I make it to Rexburg OK...my flight was late leaving so we're anticipated to arrive 20 mins late at 11:35am and I'm trying to catch the noon shuttle to Rexburg but need to get my bags first. I could always run out there and tell the driver that I'm here and to wait for me; I've known others to do that... Ah well you know me, always worrying about something...

I can't wait until 1:30 because my roommate will text me if my call is there or not (thats when she arrives) Man I hope so!!!

Well, I''ll try to post soon about my trip...the next few days are going to be hectic. Today alone has been madness: We had a 6am flight and woke up at 3am (keep in mind thats 1am in Idaho), I'm hoping to arrive in Rexburg by 4:30pm, check-in, hurry and get stuff out of storage, probably go to FHE, start unpacking, get ready for school tomorrow (some readings are already due :/ ), and oh yea...OPEN MY MISSION CALL?!?! All this before my busy school day tomorrow and my first class is at 8am...looks like no sleep tonight for me ;)

Exciting Times Ahead :)

So, I fail at blogging. And what I have to update on may be surprising for those who I don't keep in the best contact with... So sorry. But here you go anyway...

The semester is ALMOST over!! Last day of classes are Wednesday and I'm aiming to leave by Friday morning. This has been by far one of the my most challenging semesters and I am really excited for it to end. I have 6 classes, and have already completed everything for 2 of them...4 more to go :)

I have only ONE semester left until I'm done with undergraduate work! My anticipated graduation date is Friday, July 22, 2011 and yes I have had a countdown for too long...111 days to go :) I decided about 2 weeks ago that I am going to move to another apartment complex my last semester. I wasn't anticipating this but seems like a good decision. It's not far and hopefully the people who offered to help me move can still deliver...I will miss my ward and current roommates but we've all agreed though that we'll see each other so much, it's like I'm the 7th roommate ;) But my favorite part is about moving...I'll have a private room! Finally :)

BIG NEWS: My mom and I are so close to embarking on the greatest vacation ever! (Well maybe, going to England in 2005 for Christmas will be very hard to top!) But next Saturday, just a WEEK away, we are going to New York! We are going for 9 days and get to see so much...We're first going upstate to Palmyra and see some of the Church sites, then we're going to Niagara Falls, and the remainder of the time will be spent in NYC! We plan to see (but not limited to) the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Empire State Building, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station, 9/11 monument, Manhattan Temple, and 3 BROADWAY plays: Sister Act, Mamma Mia!, and WICKED!!!! It's going to be AWESOME!

I'll get back to Rexburg Monday, April 18, at about 4:30pm leaving me with just enough time to check-in. It's going to be crazy because the next day school starts with an 8am class...gross. Plus, all my stuff I can only move to the storage facility there so I'll have to find time to get all my stuff and unpack (remind me why I'm moving again? Sometimes I can't remember...) but the BEST PART is...perhaps my MISSION CALL will be waiting for me in the mail box!

Yes, I have taken the leap towards going on a mission! I am super excited and yet freaked out of my mind! I never imagined myself going on a mission nor does it seem real now...perhaps it won't even when I have my call and know where I am going...maybe it will finally feel real when I'm in the field...that sure is a lot of taking steps not knowing, but I have faith I'll be where I'm supposed to be.

So my interview with the Stake President was this past Tuesday night and he said he would be submitting my papers the following (Wednesday) morning! So, as far as I know, they are submitted to Salt Lake City and waiting for one of the Brethren to look at them (hopefully) this coming Tuesday. If they are reviewed on Tuesday then there is a chance that I will receive THE big, white envelope before I leave on Friday which would be cool because then I don't have to wait so long, but if not (which will probably be the case) then I'll have until I come back a week and a half later to know...Hopefully it doesn't come later than that! Waiting is the worst (as in painful) test of patience ;)

So, that is me as of now... I'm excited for my last semester of college. I only need 9 more credits to meet graduation requirements but am taking 14 for my scholarship. My classes will include:
- Public Economics
- Marriage Skills
- Family Foundations
- Foundations Capstone
- Intermediate Microeconomics
- Beginning Bowling
- Doctrines of the Gospel
There's obviously some "fluff" courses in there but I'm excited :)

Since I promised last post (way back when for those of you who are old enough to remember...) that I would post pictures I still will, but kinda. I will post just a few so you can see how I am...more to come, especially of those from adventures in New York :)

I'm surrounded by great people...4 of my current 5 roommates...

Left to right: Sasha, Arisa, Laurie, Nikki, and Me

I have great friends (and roommates)
Above: Nikki, me, and Hannah dressing up just because we CAN! :)

Above: Halloween 2010 -- Apartment contest: Wizard of Oz
We know we're awesome ;)

Lastly...what I think of most often currently...

I really hope this comes soon!

World's longest post with no pictures :)

Well I guess it's about time for a new post... ;) Sorry there are no pictures again. I'm on campus right now and left my camera at my apt and Facebook is blocked until 5pm so the next post will have pictures I promise :)

Well let's see...School is almost over! I have 4 finals left to take but one is writing a talk for my religion class so it won't be too bad that I hope to complete on Sunday. I'm taking my Econ 357 final Tuesday morning in class, my parenting final Wednesday afternoon, and my macro final in the testing center on Wednesday. Basically this weekend, and especially Monday, will be intense, but in less than 1 week I can breathe :)

Some sad news...My Uncle Ray passed this past Saturday night. He had been battling with Pancreatic Cancer for over a year so it wasn't a surprise of his passing but doesn't mean it makes it any easier. My condolences to his family and friends. His funeral is tomorrow morning. It is only about 40 mins away from school and I really wanted to try to make it down there but didn't know if I could swing it with school and everything but luckily my roommate is letting me borrow her car so I don't have to rely on others to take me back to school. It'll be nice to see family -- if only it weren't under the circumstances.

My mom will be in town tonight until the following Tuesday (so about a week and a half). It is a bad time though with finals but it will be good to be able to see her for a little biti while she is up here. Friday morning a new building, the BYU-Idaho Center (so original I know...I like to call it the BUICK), is being dedicated (it's comparable to BYU's Marriot Center), and Pres. Eyring and Elder Nelson (I think....) will be here so that will be really cool!!! Afterwards, or Saturday, my roommate and I are leaving for Missouri.

She's from the Kansas City area and won't be at school in the winter so I'm driving out with her so she won't be alone then we'll hit some of the sites. She lives by a couple of the church history sites which will be fun and then for a day or too we're going to St. Louis!!! I'm get to see 2 of my friends from Disney, Katie and Jon. I'm pretty stoked. Not to mention to eat some Stake 'N Shake! YUM!

Afterwards I'll be flying to Utah for Christmas where I'll hang out and maybe get my wisdom teeth removed...(I'm in the process of working on my mission papers [side note: I'm not 100% certain of a mission but I am preparing :) ] and dental work still needs to be addressed :) ) In Utah, I have some fun, simple things planned: catch up on sleep, watch movies (especially It Takes Two!), eat junk food, make smoothies, and have fun! School starts up again on Jan. 5 (it's a Wednesday) but I'll head back on Monday so I have Tuesday to get books, find classes etc.

Speaking of next semester, I need to finalize my schedule. It looks like it's going to be a rough semester with heavy course loads but maybe I can pull it off....right?

Here was my original class list (19 credits!):
English 316 - Technical Writing
Math 324 - Probability and Statistics
Econ 358 - International Economics
Econ 300 - Managerial Economics
Econ 444 - Regional Economics
FDSCI101 - Science Foundations (GE)
FDREL212 - 2nd half of the New Testament

Well then good news came along that I'm no longer required to take Eng 316...whoopeee!!!! So I'm down to 16 credits :) But I also don't need as many upper-division classes on campus either (it's a long story but I petitioned the school being a transfer student and they approved the waiver...another whopeee!!!) So, now I'm down to 13 credits but I need 15 for my scholarship so I need to decide which additional class to drop and what to add in it's place. I thought of dropping International Econ and adding the first part of Old Testament for a total of 15 credits. But then I was talking with my econ teachers and they suggest taking all the classes (only Managerial is most math-intensive) and should be fine but if I absolutely feel like dropping one, drop Managerial. Which sounded good....

But then, I found out that one class I need for grad school (Yes, I am eventually planning on pursuing Economics), Econ 388 - Econometrics, is being offered! Well, technically I knew this already but I thought I didn't meet all the prerequisites which it turns out I do, so I go to add it and sure enough its full. Stink! The next time the class is offered is next Fall, but I graduate in Spring, so basically next semester is my option unless I take classes after I graduate before going to grad school. So, I go to talk to the teacher (who happens to be my Macro teacher now) and explain the situation and he says the class is full but he anticipates people dropping because some students are Comm and Poli Sci Majors who don't belong in the class. He said come the first day and I should be fine and if not, he'll work with me as most as he can. Well cross your fingers!!! I would love to take this class now if I can. The main problem is this class if very work- and math-intensive so I would definitely drop Managerial in its place. With Econ 388 and Math 324 plus 2 other econ classes I think I'm set...

So my schedule will probably be this next semester (16 credits)...
Math 324 - Probability and Statistics
Econ 358 - International Economics
Econ 300 or 388 - Managerial Economics or Econometrics
Econ 444 - Regional Economics
FDSCI101 - Science Foundations (GE)
FDREL212 - 2nd half of the New Testament

I'm contemplating adding FDREL301 (1st part of the Old Testament) for a total of 18 credits. Which I know sounds INSANE but one, I really want to take all books of scripture which I can take teh 2nd part of Old Testament Spring semester and complete this goal or not worry about it. Plus, yea it's 18 credits, but 4 are religion, and 1 is a redundant GE that I'm told is so easy you don't have to go to class... I don't know what do you think? Am I totally crazy?

So I know this is a way long post and Good job if you were able to read it all...I promise to compensate next time with pictures!! Cross your fingers and pray that I get into Econ 388 (sorry so much of this was talking about classes...man am I a nerd or what? lol). Thanks for the faithful followers (if I have any haha) who put up with me :)

It's ABOUT Time...

So, what's it been 4 months? Yea... Sorry :)

I guess it's about time I said SOMETHING... I'm still at school (recall that I transferred to BYUI) this past summer. The first semester was a little rocky but it's MUCH better this semester and I'm actually starting to love it! I have great roommates and, for the most part, am enjoying my classes. One, Econ 357 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (such a mouthful!) is really giving me a run for my money but other than that, all is well with school :)

I finally picked a "major" and am sticking with it no matter what!!! Drumroll.... University Studies! Which is not an actual major...2 minors with a cluster (which is half a minor) becomes the major. My minors: Math and Econ and my cluster: family life. Everyone asks what I plan to do with this and here's the honest answer: I DON'T KNOW!!! I love numbers, applying them, and learning about people so I figured I'll mesh them all together. I'll probably end up working in a bank/analyst type job or go into Public Administration. We'll see how it turns out. I only have 2 more semesters to go...pretty stoked! Yet freaked for the real world...

Other piece of good news...I'm headed to Dallas in a few weeks!! I'm going with my school on an internship expedition where we go and meet some companies down there and try to network/make contacts. I'm nervous but excited. It will be a good experience and learning model for me. I'm applying for some internships through Southwest actually. I'm not saying I plan to live in Texas for the rest of my life (though I can tell you I don't plan to return to Arizona...) but I'm just exploring my options. Where they want me and ultimately where HE wants me is where I'll end up :)

Anyways, hopefully next post isn't in February :)

I'm Lame

I'm super lame. Nothing to talk about. Or too lazy to do so lol I wish I could say I don't have time but that would be a lie now wouldn't it? haha I'll try to post soon because I have so much I want to share but I have to be careful in case it doesn't pan out. So we'll see how it goes.

I'm still alive. Tomorrow I plan to have my first day in a long time where it doesn't matter what time I wake up. It's great to be caught up with homework yet can be boring...

Tonight: I'm going to cuddle up in bed, watch Dan in Real Life (thanks to the month free of Netflix courtesy of Lanae and Andrew!), and write some missionaries. Most of them have passed one year marks...crazy!

Have a great weekend and may your Friday night be more eventful than mine :D Although I went to "Magic Moments" today which is a Disney talent show and it was awesome! So I do get out every once and awhile ;)

Stop?!

So...I'm not the best at blogging right now mainly because I feel like no one really reads this...maybe I haven't promoted it enough...so I'm thinking of stopping and waiting awhile until I start again...

What do you think?