Stick-Shift Shenanigans

So since I have been back, I have been given the keys to the Jeep. Yes, so exciting right? My own car to drive around to work and things...haha. But I will admit...this car has given me some grief. Why? It's a stick and I learned on automatic.

So now I have some stories to tell you! When I drove the Jeep to work for the first time this year (I drove it before I left VA, but I've definitely gotten rusty because I never mastered it), I stalled out NINE times. Mostly at the end of the street which leads to the main road, which is embarrassing because a car had to go around me. But then on the way back, I only stalled out once. Yay me!

Today was kind of tragic. In the embarrassing sort of way. I drove to work stalling out once and my goal was then to drive home without stalling. So after work, I got into my car and reversed out of my spot with ease. Then I make sure it gets into first gear and start up the car. The engine roars and I've catapulted six inches and come to an abrupt stop. Repeat this process seven times, with the addition to prayer, a moment of embarrassment because a neighbor was out and a phone call to my dad that went something like this:

--Dad, I don't know what I did wrong but I am STUCK in the middle of Jenni's street and I've been this way for over 5 minutes! I reversed out of my spot perfectly and now I CAN'T MOVE!

--Is your parking brake up? 

--(look over and see the parking break was up)...Well I feel incredibly stupid.  

Then I started up the car and was perfectly fine the rest of the way...that is, until I had to stop because a bus was picking up kids. I stalled then, but I started up quickly. I'm surviving the stick-shift shenanigans. 

My--I mean, my dad's Jeep...I call him, "Baby".

Clearly Sophie is not a modeling dog.

Since My Job Doesn't Start 'Til Tomorrow...

Let's just say I have a lot of time on my hands until then. So how about I just say all the things I want to do this summer? Seems like an appropriate topic since I'm DONE WITH MY FRESHMAN YEAR (gosh, I can't stop saying that haha). Alright. Here we go...

1. Make bank. Yup, I'm trying to get a second job this summer and maybe babysit on the side. Seriously, I am I college student and I don't want to limit my experience because I'm worried about money. If I want to do something fun, well then, I'm gonna do it! Work hard, play hard, right? 
2. Exercise/get back into playing volleyball...I miss my second love..."second" made me question what my first was then haha. I just miss volleyball AND I signed up for an Intermediate Volleyball class next semester. I gotta get my skillz up!
3. Go crazy with my girl, Michaela--we're hoping she can come sometime in June. 
4. Learn now to cook/sew. I am a girl of many talents. Cooking and sewing are not one of them. 
5. Date more! Granted, this is not something I can do on my own...I kinda need a guy to fulfill this. But hey, I gotta be willing, right? During the school year I was very anti-dates...but now that I've got a year under my belt and that it's summer, I'm willing do date it up. 
6. Do something I'm terrified of. Like bungee jump (where?) or something...point is, I wanna do something that terrifies me. Cuz when I conquer it, it'll feel THAT good.
7. Visit where I used to live...that's right M-town, Ohio. I just need closure. Moving was the best thing that ever happened, but I need to walk the steps I took when I was a kid. See the "hospital" I was born into (the quotations are there because the hospital I was born in is no longer in existence), my old house, my old elementary school (again, nonexistent), etc. 
8. Go to an amusement park...I need to ride a roller coaster. Badly.

Really, I think that's it...maybe I'll add more. But these are things I want to do this summer. Rock onnn.

From the movie Easy A...source: Happily Never After (got it from a friend's blog, who got it from that blog). The above picture just made me think of my dating comments. Hey, true story!

My Blog Addiction

To be perfectly honest, I love reading people's blogs. It's like Facebook and a novel all wrapped into one. So I'm going to share some of the blogs I love to read/view...

First up: COTTON & CURLS

• This blog is fun if you're ever in a creative sewing mood...which I am. Just not the sewing part haha. But it makes me want to learn and have skills just like her!

Second: STYLE ME PRETTY

• Okay, so this really isn't a blog, but I still love it! Sounds very five-year-old-dress-up like, but it's all about weddings! And let's be honest, what girl doesn't dream about her wedding day? Whenever I'm down, I just go to this website and it just makes you feel so much better. 

Well that's really it...those two sites are my "go-to" sites. Gotta love 'em! 

I'M HOME.

After a long four months, I am finally home. Since I've been home (less than 24 hours), I have gotten my hair cut, walked with my mom and sister, gone to lunch with my girl, Nicole, and that's really it. Super glad to be back. That is all.  :]

I COMPLETED MY FRESHMAN YEARRR. HECKKK YE-AHHH!

Basically I am champ. I survived my freshman year, living in the dorms, passing all my classes, not getting married and living in a completely new place on my own. I'd call that a success. This whole year, especially this semester, was very difficult--a giant hurdle to pass and I did without landing on my face...so to speak. 


Now I'm at my Uncle Chris' house, just hanging out with the cousins before I leave for HOME! I'm so excited. To be honest, I will probably cry tears of pure happiness. I am that excited...and to show my excitement, here's a song that helped me get through the week...cuz I'm "coming home". 

Coming Home by Diddy - Dirty Money...the chorus is my theme song.

"I'm coming home, I'm coming home, tell the world I'm coming home. Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday, I know my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes. I'm coming home, I'm coming home, tell the world I'm coming home" --Coming Home, Diddy - Dirty Money

Three More Days...Hollaaa.

I'd just like to point out that I have three days left of Provoness/Freshmanness/Dorm-livingness/Studyingness/Packingness/Cleaningness/Saying-goodbyeness until I can come home! Hollaaaa. And to update you all on my final exams progress, I have presented my WRTG presentation (don't know my grade, but I'm fairly confident) and have passed my Communication Disorders final! Heck yeahhhh. So all I need to do is study Human Anatomy and practice my signing for the ASL final. Pray I do well! :]

Things I will miss about Provo...

1. The wonderful friends I have made. Some I will see next year (thank goodness) and others I may not see for another two years. Crazy!
2. Car rides with Michaela...at some point, Ke$ha will always be played
3. Sleepovers in my room with my two beds shoved together
4. A few of my professors...but not a whole bunch haha 
5. The mountains

Things I'm super excited for about home/summer...

1. My family reunion in Tennessee 
2. Working at my old job
3. Having Michaela fly out to see me
4. Being in Virginia in general
5. ...yeah, being in Virginia in general haha

To be honest, I feel like I'm an east-coast (or "mission field" as my aunt Cindy calls it) girl all the way. So as great as Utah is, I'm thrilled to be heading home...for at least a couple of months. 

Three days, three days, three days!

Two more finals, two more finals!

One room to pack and clean!

That's all I have to get through...  :]

(Sorry if this was kinda spacey...finals can do that to you).

YouTube Goodness.

Michaela's sister found this on YouTube. So Michaela showed me and now I'm so in love with this video, I'm going to share it with you. Enjoy!

(I have no idea what this is really called because the title is in Japanese or something).

Shout Out.

This post is dedicated to my very few shout outs about my life. Here we go...

1. MICHAELAAAA. Seriously, I love her. I've come to realize that God has put these special people in our lives, whether it be for a small moment or for the rest of our lifetime. She helped me through a dark time in my life, where I really could see no light in my new situation. But God put Michaela right across the hall from me. I remember going to her room after crying for quite a long period and asking, "can we talk about (blank)?" when we'd really not had a heart-to-heart conversation before. In my opinion, that's when our friendly acquaintanceship really became an unbeatable friendship. Our friendship is going to last. Way beyond the freshman dorms. She's one of the best, most giving, funny, smart and witty people I know. I thank God for bringing her into my life all the time.
2. Passing my Book of Mormon final...pretty sure I passed. I mean, I got a 90% on the multiple choice, but there's an essay to be graded. But let's just say, I did well on the essay, so I'm pretty sure there's no way I could go from an A to a failing grade. So yay for passing!
3. Today was the last Sunday with my freshman ward. Hallelujah. I will miss a few people though...like the Bishopric. They were absolutely great.
4. As my friend, Nicole, posted on my Facebook wall...I'm glad someone else just as excited as I am about coming home...besides my family. 5 FREAKING DAYS! So close! :]

 

Well that's really it. I'm loving life, despite my finals. All is well out in Provo. Pray I do well on my finals...please haha. Love you all! :]

So Close to the Finish, I Can Almost Taste It

Holy moly. Today was my last day of classes. Real classes. Honestly, the day I've been waiting for since January has finally come haha. I am now on my final finish of my freshman year...FINALS. I'm pretty confident about my finals except for Human Anatomy...that is not my strongest subject, that's for sure. But other than that, I feel like I've got a pretty good grip of things.

In a matter of 10 minutes, I will have 8 more days in Provo, in the dorms, in BYU of my freshman year.  :]

Norwegian Recycling--Mash It Up

Oh and not only do I love N.R. now, I am OBSESSED with Arabic music. Thank you, Miles, for introducing me to this amazing genre/culture. Makes you wanna dance like crazy.  :]

"I Close My Eyes and Pray"

Justin Bieber "Pray" ASL

This video was created/signed by my talented friends, Alison and Jonni (and props to David for putting the music video together!). The song they signed was "Pray" by Justin Bieber. They did it for Alison's class project and it just makes me smile. If you guys like it, go to Youtube and actually view it there...they want to go VIRAL. 

But I know there's sunshine beyond that rain, I know there's good times beyond that pain (hey), can you tell me how I can make a change?

--Pray, Justin Bieber

Looking Forward to the Future...

I have 11 more days until I come home. 11 days, 4 finals, 2 projects, 1 essay, 1 No-Voice Lab, countless hours of studying, 1 day and/or night of cleaning and packing and then I am done with my Freshman year and on my way home. I cannot wait to be with my family. I cannot wait to start working. I cannot wait for the summer to arrive. I cannot wait for Easter...

Out of all the holidays in my life, Easter has always been special, but for some reason has seemed even more important this year. It may be because it will be the first holiday I have celebrated with my family in four months. Or it may be something bigger than that--that I had to depend on Him more than any other moment in my life being out here on my own. I am so excited for Easter. It's not about the candy or the egg hunts or the Bunny himself. It's about Christ, His life, His Atonement and His Resurrection. He died for us; He rose for us. And now He lives for us, so that we can live too.

His Sacred Name - An Easter Declaration

Christ's True Mercy

I know the first video is a few days early, but why wait until Easter Sunday? I hope this will remind us of the true meaning of Easter and of our Savior. The second video I just liked...it's a combination of three of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talks. I hope this all touched you the way it touched me. I love you all.

God's Tender Mercies

God is so mindful of us. He's just waiting for us to ask for His help. When we're struggling, He'll always be there for us...this week has been so extremely hard and demanding, yet I am still functioning and going through life just fine because of Him. I am so grateful.

Tender mercies:

• I did not have ASL once this week and tomorrow's class is cancelled as well. Granted, it was because my teacher was sick...but still, I had to write a paper one night (so I was up extremely late), I had to pick my classes (so I had to stay up late), my wrist was hurting me like no other (I think my ganglion cyst is coming back) and I just needed sleep!
• God blessed a friend and I with a spirit of understanding.
• I was able to finish my paper at a decent late hour.
• Despite the fact that I will be taking my Human Anatomy Lab Final in a matter of a couple of hours, I feel completely calm. This can either mean that I will do just fine on it or I will fail it, but it's better than those scenarios happening with me feeling completely worried. 
• I was able to get all of my classes I needed...granted, there will need to be a few tweaks, but if I can't get them fixed, it will not be the end of the world.

So basically, this week could have been completely horrible, with little sleep, panic attacks, and stress. But it's not and I know it is the way it is because of God's help...I really should just surrender up all my problems to Him more often. Life goes so much smoother, don't you think?  :]

16 more days. <3

Issues Paper Reflection...HALLELUJAH I'M DONE!

This paper was by far the most painful thing I have ever written. Like, holy moly, who knew 8 pages about one single topic could be such a burdening, exhausting process (granted, 8 pages might not seem like that big of a deal, but it sure was to me!). Some things that did help with the whole writing process were the deadlines. I probably would have procrastinated until the night before. I didn't think the MLA was too bad. Overall, I'm just glad it's over with and I feel quite accomplished for completing the assignment. 

Dust by Cara Salimando

This song helped me focus--and refocus--on this paper. Super calm, and relaxing, and just plain good. Enjoy. Maybe it'll help you with your next paper.  :]

Provo-Free Weekend

Let's just say, campus life got to the best of us, so I spent the whole weekend out of Provo.

Friday was glorious...it felt like summer! So after a Book of Mormon test, a visit with the Writing Center and a trip to the student advisors, I headed out to SLC with Michaela and David. Apparently David hasn't seen much of SLC, so what better way to drive around and see the sites? We didn't see the typical sites though...instead of church sites and well...I don't know what other sites haha, we saw a 32000 sq. ft. house called the Villa Bellissima. It was absolutely gorgeous! Then we also drove up this canyon and saw some ski resorts and just enjoyed the beautiful mountains!

 The Villa Bellisima & Canyon

David being SUPER EXCITED & My Favorites

Then we had to drop David off, so after that we chilled at my relatives house...turns out there was a party there, so I got to see pretty much everyone. Super nice.

Saturday consisted of General Conference and Michaela's U of U friends (don't worry, I survived haha just kidding) and FUN. I hung out with Mich and her besties Tom and Nick. They were so nice! We spent most of the evening playing pool (with Nick), making milkshakes/watching Taken (without Nick). On the way home, we "launched" Tom's car...which was fun. Super fun. All in all, I like Michaela's friends. :]

 Nick, Tom, Me, Michaela & Ingredients for a super delicious milkshake

 Tom and Michaela & Crushed Reese's

Master of Milkshakes & the Final Result

Sunday consisted of a relaxing day with General Conference. All in all, it was a splendid, Provo-free weekend...  :]