Busy Beeeee

Best part about the first week of school: everyone updates his or her Facebook status to let me know just how busy his or her schedule is. I'm going to think outside that box and blog about it instead...

This first week has been so busy/stressful that I don't even have time to blog about it. I must go read The Iliad instead. That's how busy I am. And I love it.

More later. (Maybe.)

Bradford out. 

P.S. Last night, Sara made her DELICIOUS rich moist chocolate cake, which I had for breakfast and dinner today. hashtag college. (Don't worry, Mom, I drank all my milk.)

ROAD TRIP!

Yesterday, my two besties and I set off for the distant and exotic land of Cedar City, Utah. Why, you might ask? JUST FOR FUN.

Monday, August 20, 2012
First stop: The Big Chair at the Gas Station in Beaver. (I know my legs are short, but they're not THAT much shorter than Sara's and Kelsey's. I was sitting way back in the chair because it wasn't quite big enough for three sets of woman hips right in a row.)

Next: Wal-Mart, where Sara found the bicycle helmet of her dreams...

...and we found the ultimate lunch food. Yes, we went where no other women have gone before: we actually bought Smucker's Goober--peanut butter and jelly in the same jar--and ate it.

Next stop, Sand Hollow for some fun in the sun! Sorry I don't have any actual pictures of us at the water... my camera stayed in the car. But this was the most important part: SWIMMER'S ITCH. And we all got away healthy and happy! (Only 7 in 100 actually react to the parasite, so we figured it was worth the risk.)

Next, we went and visited some of Kelsey's SUU friends, all of whom were very nice people. Then bedtime.   We were exhausted.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012
On the second (and final) day of our journey, we started off right with some huge breakfast burritos--Kelsey's midnight cravings as an SUU student. Then we were off to Kanarraville, for a beautiful slot canyon & waterfall hike.

After that, we headed back to the Northernly land we call Provo. But first... a quick stop at Cove Fort, a historic and inspiring Church History site.

This is Elder Crow, who ensures the success of the amazing vegetable garden, which is pretty much the same as the Hinckley family had it back in the 18-somethings.

Sara and I atop a covered wagon--just like real pioneers!

Kelsey, our sweet tour guide, Brother Keller, and I playing the classic stick-n-hoop pioneer child game. (I think they played with these as they sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked and walked... aaaaannd waaaaaaaalked...)

I'm clearly a natural.

Other important memories:
Kelsey's prime quote: "Something's biting my armpits!!" (...? We didn't understand either.)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (The Beatles)
Wannabe (Spice Girls)
Piano Man, and We Didn't Start the Fire (Billy Joel)
FUN song (Spongebob) --they actually LAUGH the last chorus of this. 1:28 or so. It's good.
Kelsey and Sara ordered Pad Thai at spiciness levels 7 and 8 out of 10... they were struggling. I thoroughly enjoyed my 2.
Sara picked up dead fish from the water.
It was so so so so so fun!!

And then we came home! More photos will be appearing on Facebook in the near future, I'm sure. This was just the thing we needed to recharge our batteries before the start of Fall Semester 2012!

Helen Keller, Leo Marvin, & Almer the Younga

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble." -Helen Keller

I like this quote a lot. Maybe it was the situation I was in when I first heard it, maybe it's because I like cheesy one-liners, maybe it's because it is a great way to look at life. I'm about to start my second year at BYU, and with that comes time for some serious decision-making. I need to start planning for THE REAL WORLD and THE REST OF MY LIFE. Both very daunting prospects! But I need to stop worrying about what I'm going to make of myself, how I'm going to save the world, and where I'll be in ten years. All that will work out as long as I keep doing the little things right. While I was pondering this, I came up with the fun little idea to make the following list: Here is my ten-minute brainstorm of...

The Things I ACTUALLY Do Every Single Day:
(This is different from the list of things I SHOULD be doing every single day.)

• Brush my teeth
• Check my email
• Check my Facebook
• Climb hundreds of stairs—down 32 then up 147 every morning, then down 147 and up 32 every evening. That’s 179 stairs each direction, for a total of 358 stairs in all on my way to and from campus. Yes, I counted.  
• Decide what to wear
• Eat
• Fuss with my hair
• Get in bed
• Laugh
• Look in the mirror
• Make a list (either on my phone, my computer, or on paper)
• Make an entry in my Daily Gratitude Journal
• Make mistakes
• Pray
• Read at least one verse of scripture (more, ideally)
• Send and receive texts
• Smile
• Sub-consciously hum a song
• Think about the people I love

I'm not saying I need to make lists and get in bed at night as if these tasks were great and noble. (Although sometimes that's exactly how they feel.) It's just a cool thought exercise to be aware of all the little things that make up our lives--some that we never even think about. In the end, it's the little things that define us. It's the way we live our lives every day. There are things I spend time on every day that I shouldn't; there are things I should do every day but don't. 

I definitely plan/worry/stress too much. When I'm trying to do better or make progress or get something done, I need to remember Leo Marvin, who said it well: "Baby Steps."

But the Prophet Alma said it better: "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." (Alma 37:6).

Shakin' Bacon

Well, peeps. I believe I said in my last post that nothing about this blog would be particularly exciting. But as it turns out... I wrestled a pig tonight in the Utah County Fair. And it was probably one of the most exciting things that has happened to anyone... ever. 

Before:

After:

Unfortunately we didn't actually succeed in getting the 160-pound pig into the barrel in the allotted 60 seconds, but we had the time of our lives.

Why am I doing this?

Here are the reasons I do not want a blog:
1. I don't have time. And if I start a blog of my own, I know I'll spend time on it... I might even become addicted.
2. I have nothing very interesting to say.
3. I write in my journal regularly, and I don't want a) this blog to take away from journal time or b) the things I would normally save for my journal to accidentally appear on the World Wide Web when I get in my "spill all my thoughts/emotions as quickly as possible" mode.
4. I would have to choose a URL and a title and mess with all that formatting/layout stuff. Which, I feared, would actually become fun, reverting me back to problem #1.
5. I can't decide if I'm more afraid that no one will read it or that everyone will.

But, despite all that opposition, here I am, drafting post #1. Why, then, am I doing this?
1. I've been considering the idea for many moons now. I keep brushing it off and reconsidering. But I'll have a few hours of free time every day until school starts, so it's now or next May or never.
2. Sara (my BFF and roommate, who I will probably mention in several posts), without even knowing I'd been considering it, suggested I start a blog. I usually listen to her advice.
3. If my apartment/ house burns down and with it go all my journals (from my very first Harry Potter journal of 2nd grade to today's cute pink one), this is a decent backup.
4. I like writing. Especially about myself, as conceited as that may sound...
5. I think it'll be fun.

This blog is not...
1. Going to be particularly unique or original. Just me and my life. If it's not interesting to you... sorry.
2. A diary of a missionary girlfriend. Yes, I "have" a missionary. I was dating my other BFF Zach Brown for almost a year and a half before he left for the Chile Concepcion Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on August 1. He is still a big part of my life, so of course I'll mention things having to do with him from time to time, but the purpose of this blog is not to track my life as "the girl back home." I miss him very much for many reasons, but life flows on within him and without him.
3. An advise column. "The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing." I am a wise woman.
4. My journal. I believe there are many thoughts/feelings/emotions/promptings/experiences that a person can have that should not be published to wide, largely unknown and unpredictable audiences.
5. Going to be made up entirely of lists, though there probably will be many; there are few things I find more therapeutic than a good, numbered list.

So, my friends, I hope you like it.