not so bad

This has been me for the past five days...

I've never gone through tissue boxes so fast in my entire life!

But as miserable as being sick is... it seems that sometimes the best things happen to me when my body feels the most miserable. Like when I got the flu in elementary and got to stay home from school drinking warm cherry Jell-0 (mama nurse told me it would soothe my upset stomach and I did not argue or complain). Or when I got my wisdom teeth out and I got to watch High School Musical 2 three times in a row (ok i'm just kidding about that being one of the best things). The last time I got sick was in October, and the boy I liked started coming over to watch O.C. re-runs with me because that was the only thing I felt good enough to do. And for some reason, the boy I've been hanging out with for the past month decided to wait until now, when I have tissues in all my pockets and I'm blowing my nose every ten minutes, to finally kiss me.

I'm thinking maybe I should get sick more often?

sunshine

the beach
and disneyland........

HERE I COME!!

as if nothing had changed

"No matter how long I was away, no matter how great the distance, whenever my friends and I met again, it was as if nothing had changed. We picked up our lives where we left off, and it was as if time had stood still."

-Elder Ronald Rasband

I heard this quote tonight and of course, it made me think of this..

That really is how it feels every time we get back together.

I will always love you Mands, Beccs, Chrissy, Dan, Madds, Heath, Laur, Stina, Katie, Tia, Stace, Bry, Rach, and Las :)

And I hope it will be that way with these ladies when we're no longer together..

my friends are pretty great

caring

Caring is a beautiful thing. It's what builds relationships. It's what defines our character. It's what makes us human.

However, sometimes it is not caring that releases us.

Not caring if the carpet gets dirty (because our vacuum is broken).

Not caring that we haven't showered today.. or yesterday.

Not caring if our professor gives us an A-, B+, or B on our best effort project.

Not caring if it's sunny or if it's snowy outside.

Not caring that we're not wearing the trendiest item (especially if it's a weird knit ear warmer headband with a giant flower on the front).

Not caring that a boy we really cared about stopped being a good friend.

Not caring that we're not brave enough to try the jumps and rails that everyone else is trying.

Not caring if we're not the fastest runner in the race.

Not caring if our stomach is a little bit chubby.

Not caring that we're wearing leather grandpa moccasins rather than cute high heels to school every day.

Not caring that we've been eating micro-waved leftovers for two weeks rather than cooking something new.

Don't get me wrong, I still consider myself a caring person. I still care about the most important things in life. But as far as some things are concerned,

sometimes

it just feels good

to not.

my pa

Let me tell you a little about this man...

-He used to let my sisters and me wear his oversized t-shirts as nightgowns to bed every night.

-He safety pins his socks together after he's worn them so that when they go through the wash he never loses a match like the rest of us (ingenious right?)

-He would take us to the grocery store every time Mom went out of town and let us choose every kind of sweet cereal we could ever want.

-He would stay up until after midnight with me in high school, helping me with some of my most complex calculus problems.. even the ones I didn't have to do for class, just because we both liked solving them so much.

-He scrapes out the last bit of every chapstick tube with a pocket knife and compiles them all into an empty container, so as to not waste one bit.

-He wrote a poem for me once when our parents were asked to write us letters. He went through every letter of the alphabet and complimented me accordingly. (You're Awesome..you're Beautiful..you're Clever..etc).

-He cuts off the tops of Doritos bags whenever the chips are running low, so that no one gets their hands greasy and crumby by reaching down to the bottom of the bag.

-He came home a few weeks ago with three different kinds of Dove chocolates for me.. just because he knows they're my favorite.

-He paid me to type up the lyrics to a funny song we sang in elementary school because he loved it so much.

-He's invented some of the best recipes known to man, including the pineapple lime slushie, Steve's famous bean dip, and Christmas Eve eggnog.

-He retains knowledge unlike anyone I've ever met... ask him a history question, and he'll tell you exactly when, where, and how it happened.

-His eyes light up every time he talks about his grandbabies, and they get the most excited when they see him.

-He always compliments my golf game, even though he knows I'm not very good.
-He used to go outside in the freezing winters 15 minutes before I had to leave for school everyday, start my car, and scrape the ice for me so I wouldn't have to.

-He still walks me out to my car every time I leave for Logan and helps me carry out all of my things
-He's never lost a game of hearts or monopoly.

-He sends me texts almost every day just to see how I'm doing.

-He tells the best 'punny' jokes ever.

-He's the smartest man I know.

-He's the most organized man I know.

-He's the hardest worker I know.

-He's the best dad I know.

And today is his birthday.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PA!

I love him so much. I am so lucky to have him, and I will be lucky if I find a man who is even half as brilliant and selfless as he is.

walter

Want to meet the newest member of our duplex family?

Rachel found him hopping along the middle of the road in Salt Lake Saturday night, so she pulled over and rescued him. I think this was meant to be..because I have been wanting a bunny so bad lately! We decided his name is Walter...he loves us and we love him. We read him bedtime stories last night and rocked him to sleep.. just trying to make him feel welcome here. Isn't he great??

happy v day

I may not have a special Valentine this year, but I get to spend all weekend with people I love...

doing what I love most...

eating some of my favorite foods..

..and I have absolutely no complaints. So this year my heart goes out to them and to the rest of my family, to my friends who are amazing, to my roommates who are always there for me, and maybe... to whoever the man is that will be here with me...

sometime in the distant future.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!