Conquering the Fear

Last night was a monumental time for me. For those of you who know me.. you may have heard a story about "thing" named Elvira..

Elvira is the evil ghost that lives in my upstairs. I had my first encounter with Elvira (named by my mom) in the 4th grade. The one and only time I have ever slept in my own room, on the second floor of my house, Elvira paid me a visit and made sure I would never return to that room.

Well last night my dear mother and I came home to a FREEEEEZING cold house. The heater downstairs didn't want to be working. That left the upstairs for sleeping arrangements.. first time in 10 years.

[dun dun dun]

All is well though.. I didn't get attacked by the evil Elvira. One fear has slightly been conquered.

--Well kind of. You would still have to pay me a large amount of money to go up their for no good reason--

Best and Worst Morning--All in One!

Well, you know that feeling you get when you know you have somewhere to be and you try so hard to be there on time that you end up missing it? I do.

I had a final at 7:30 this morning. The alarm goes off at 6:30 am. I wake up. I then awake again to the quacking of my phone (this means Natalie is calling) The time?? 7:22 am. OOOOOOOOOHHHH SHOOOOOOOOOTTTT!!!!

I spring out of bed, say a word.. or two.. put on my house shoes (bad choice) and then leave. No hair brush, no teeth brush, no bra. Definitely my prime.

The test went swell actually, and I sported my finest attire to school. Unfortunately there are no photographs to be displayed, but let you imagination take you where it will.

The day proceeds to get better! Kynzie leaves for here final and Melissa and I want to wish her well from the balcony. Although it is covered in snow, we decide to run outside out the sliding glass door and sing to Kynz. No shoes, no coats, and pajamas. We were disrupted by the one and only Eddy ( our Mexican maintenance man ) who already thinks we are crazy. As we pranced around in the snow, he stared in utter amazement at our stupidity.

Worst and Best day of the semester.

Just laugh it off.

This too Shall pass.. or Will it?

I'm hoping that the next 10 days pass with a speed so great that it makes Mario Andretti look like a tortoise.

I mean not that i don't love spending an average of 11.5 hours daily on the campus of Utah State, but i also do like the comfort of my own bed.... or food... or human interaction..

Thanks finals week 2010-- you've been a real treat!

Nasty Stache...

Ok... one of my BFF's, Brooke, and I have this pet peeve.. it is called "People putting really hideous smilie faces in text messages"

Let me display a few for you.

1) The Winky Face- ;)

2) The Winky Face with a nose- ;-)

::for some reason the nose just gets me.. it is sick.::

3) The Tongue face- :-P

::this one takes the cake.:: PEOPLE>>> DON'T USE THIS! IT IS VERY UNATTRACTIVE!

Now for the next smilie that I will share with you. This was introduced to me a few days ago by my dear friend Landon Pope.. who has a monster stache.. He said that he tried really hard to find a smilie that suites him and he found one. (it makes me want to puke)

4) The Stache Face- ;-{)

Congrats Landon, you win the Nasty Stache Award.

Called To Serve

This past Wednesday I had a once in a life time experience. I, along with my 2 other roommates, got to watch our best friend Jen open her mission call. Here are a few photos from the night!

The Roommies before the call was revealed!

Melissa waiting patiently..

So many family members came out to support J!

Best Friends!

Such an amazing time! She will be leaving on February 9, 2011 to serve in the New Zealand Auckland Mission! GOOD LUCK J FRO!

On NO you did not...

For those of you who have been in an up close and person realtionship with me will know excatly what I mean... Namely:

--Brooke Shoko

--Natalie Sargent

--Kynzie Thorpe

--Jennifer Frost

--Melissa Marshal

.... Peanut Krohn?? not so much.

I unfortunately fell subject to this awful mishap.. never again.

V.P.L

Ok, so it wasn't as bad as this poor woman, but still. for me.. it was fierce. Never again. I have learned my lesson..

and let's just say those things called "underwear" were quickly ditched. Where? that shall remain nameless.

Oh what a day..

Well I am almost positive that this picture sums up my whole week.

Short story behind the picture?? And it goes a little something like this...

Madison's car dies.

Boy jumps Madison's car.

Car doesn't start.

Process continues for 30 minutes.

Engine begins convulsion.... not good.

Madison thinks she might have to buy a new car.

Car gets towed by AAA.

Car is taken to Auto shop.

Fuses are blown.

Why?

Boy who jumped car crossed the cables.

Moral of the story?? --RED GOES WITH RED:: BLACK GOES WITH BLACK--

Gypsy Love

Here are a few of the glorious pictures from the ever famous HOWL. Best year of the HOWL by far... only made great by the Gypsy Clan. love them all.

the bingle bangle crew

gypsy clan leaders

fellow sister gypsy

favorite friendships!

My California Adventure

Well.. all I have to say is, SUCCESS.

We started out trip on Wednesday. Bradley, Braden, and myself drove to St. George and spent the night with our dear friend Jules. Early Thursday morning we hit the road and headed for Los Angeles.

As we rolled into LA I got immensely excited! (me?? excited? go figure.) The three amigos stayed with Brad's aunt and uncle in the most beautiful home... I was in heaven. Here is a quick rundown of LA!!!

• Night 1: Shopping at Nordstrom inArcadia= satisfying. Shopping was followed by downtown Hollywood= slightly disappointing.
  
  
• Day 2: Disneyland and California Adventure= happiness and enjoyment.
  
  
• Night 2: Free tickets for the LA Kings game...11th row= AMAZING
  
  
• Day 3: Shopping in Newport at Fashion Island= spectacularly fabulous. ( I may or may not have induldged with a couple of pairs of new heals..so it is fine.)
  
  
• Night 3: Driving to Las Vegas for dinner and friends= exciting! Then driving back to St. George and staying up until 4am chatting away= insightful and eye opening
  
  
• Day 4: Driving back to SLC and eating at In and Out for the 3rd time in 4 days= disgusting

And that concluded the first trip to California for Miss Madison Kate. General thoughts a feelings:

:: I LOVED IT! I would move to Cali in a heart beat... well minus a few things. One being clean air... but hey, beggers can't be choosers. Also, I truly despise traffic.. and they take the cake on that one. That's it. L.O.V.E. was created this weekend.::

On a limb...

Well.. the not so spontaneous, very much so cautious me made one heck of a spur of the moment decision today...

We have Fall Break this weekend ( a whole extra day)

My original plan was to go with one of my top 5, Natalie Sargent, to Provo to visit our friends Quincy and Sara. I was so stoked. I mean it is just Provo, but we were going to make it a BOMB trip.

But then last night had to go and stir everything up! I was hanging with the ever famous duo of Brad and Braden and they throw this idea out to me " COME TO CALI WITH US TOMORROW!"

So.. after much thinking, pondering, polling, and fretting... I chose to go! I am sooooo excited.

1) I have never been to Cali.

2) We are going to Disney Land.. ( I'm a Disney Worlder)

3) We are going to the LA Temple!

4) We are going to the freaking BEACH... end of story. I get to leave the arctic of Logan for the warmth of Cali!

So, I went out on a limb this time and am taking chances and making memories! It will be a great trip!

--Nothing Comes Close To The Golden Coast-- (so Katy Perry says..)

CAUTION

Excitement +

Friends at the campfire +

Light up frisbee =

Evidence

Note to self: Look before you run... in the dark... at a flying object. You might just get this stripe on your face and have people as questions like...

1) "Did you draw on your face with eyeliner?"

2) "Do you have chocolate on your face?"

My Answer:

Nope... don't even worry about it... just got hit in the face with a frisbee.

the end.

All in Balance

I don't know about yall, but I feel the need for change.

WHY?

I have no idea. What change needs to be made? It is my attitude? My outlook on life? My location? Who knows..

I went and watched this movie when I thought all was taking a quick turn for the worse.

Never in my life had I connected so much with a motion picture. I identified so many familiar and new emotions and I was on the verge of emotional overload.

I began searching for something different. I needed balance in my life. This semester I took on entirely too much (which is entirely my fault) --I have this problem with telling people 'no' --

Suddenly I had a strong desire to travel the world, to be a better person, and to find happiness in all that I do.

I made an appointment with the Study Abroad office, I explored new schools. All to find that I need to make the most out of the situations that I am currently in and learn to be happy with what I have.

There is balance to all things. And there is happiness in balance.

Words... Use Them Wisely

What are words? What do they mean? Who decided what each word describes or refers to?

This semester I am taking a course called Language, Thought, and Action. Class has only been held 2 times and yet, I find myself completely enthralled in its content. It gives me an entirely new outlook on situations and new approaches for everyday occurrences.

We discuss how the words we choose to use, whether they be symbols or signs, will without a doubt have an effect on someone or something.

The more I think about this concept, the more I realize that I must choose my words more carefully.

We read scholarly articles. We discuss them. We dissect them. We divulge into ourselves. We change our Language, Thought, and Action.

Here is an expert from an article I read today. It truly puts things into perspective for me.

I must be more aware of the things I say, how my actions effect others, and how my words create the person I am or will become.

"That words are powerful may seem obvious, but the fact is that most of us, most of the time, use them lightly. We choose our clothes more carefully then we choose our words, though what we say about and to others can define them indelibly."

-Words That Hurt, Words That Heal: Joseph Telushkin

Typical Situation

Today was the first day of the new fall semester here at Utah State University.

::Thoughts of the day::

Too cold here.

Too many freshman.

I love my friends, old and new.

Class is class.

Rain sucks.

So to look around on the first day of school goes a little something like this.

-The typical freshman girl-

+ White shorts, bright colored V-neck t-shirt, big hair, ballet flats.

-The typical freshman boy-

+ Cargo shorts, pink Hollister polo: collar popped: white Kswiss tennis shoes.

Basically I hate to even think that I was ever a freshman. Now that I am a //JUNIOR// in college and look down on the freshman in some aspects of life, I don't like the thought of me being one back in the day. Well.... we live, we learn, and then we get love.

Happy First Day of School.

Today is the Day!

Today is the day I get to see my best friend..

Her name is Natalie Adel...

Well actually just Natalie..

But I dubbed her a middle name...

I haven't seen her in 9 months....

(That's a pregnancy for those of you who didn't know..)

Must Haves

Well for the last 2 weeks I have been almost completely absent from not only the blogging world, but from the world of modern conveniences. And I must admit.... I don't like not having those amenities....

Let me catch yall up on a few things....

Must haves for utter and complete happiness.

Family

Badlands National Park

Scenery

Middle of nowhere South Dakota....

It was beautiful

Friends

Dearest Kynz

Ugly Cars

We got in nasty wreck...

and got an even nastier car...

Animals

Horseback riding in the mountains

I love nothing more.

Rainbows

Yellowstone National Park

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Music

Jack Johnson Concert

Thanks to

"Mike-We-Like"

Genius At Work

This story is just TOO priceless to not post....

Today, we arrive in Rapid City, SD. It is quite the upgrade from last night in Murdo, SD.... Never heard of it? Ya, not surprised. Google it. You might get a search result..

We (my mom, Jackson and Miles--the nephews-- and I) walk into the hotel room, a rather nice one, and Boy 1 has to make a deposit in the bathroom.

Boy 2 waits patiently on the bed. As boy 1 finished his business he comes out to watch tv. Fine, right? Not so much. --Little side note, he forgot to wash his hands--

Boy 2 is repulsed and wants to wash off the clicker. Fine, right? Not so much.

We then hear the water running in the bathroom. He decided that it would be a really good idea to put the clicker IN THE SINK to wash it off. Oops.... Broken clicker. haha

Most genius child award goes to....... Boy 2!!

Here's To You...

Dear Fort Smith,

This is why I'll miss you.

* My mom

* Daisy

(these 2 are a given)

1) my front lawn, looking as perfect and as picturesque as the 18th green at the country club.

2) my children (not biological of course)

3) my martha

4) the drive from my house to Cliff Dr.

5) Pizza Parlour

6) Panera

7) Chick-fil-a

8) skipping church

9) the blistering heat (i will never abandon you for the cold long term)

10) shopping

Until Christmas...

Passing By

As I sat in the allergy clinic this morning with Emily and Lauren, I do believe I heard the funniest thing ever.

Emily gives a heavy sigh. I asked her what was the matter and this was her response.

"I just feel like my life is passing by so quickly."

Although I can't disagree with this statement, we must all remember that this came from the mouth of a 6 year old. I couldn't contain my laughter. That then resulted in Emily crying for 1o minutes because "I made her look like the biggest jerk ever." --Her exact words--

Gotta love a typical monday.

Get Some Life...

I just need to vent momentarily..

I cannot begin to express how STUPID I think it is when people make a facebook status update, post it, and the push the like button..... on their own post.

OBVIOUSLY YOU LIKED IT.... or most likely you wouldn't have posted it in the first place....

Perfect Shopping...

I have to admit, it was probably the best thing ever to walk into Nordstrom, take a gander around, and then see a familiar face. Personal shopper at Nord???? YES PLEASE.

Dear ol' Beth Clem recognized me, remembered everything I bought last summer and then proceeded to put together outfits and helped me try on clothes. It was perfect.

Successful day.

Family Bonding Time

This past week I got to spend some time with my cousin Rachel and her kiddos M (Mackenzie) and Jett Puff (Meredith). We had so much fun! Rachel is my only girl cousin, so needless to say, we always have plenty to talk about and plenty of things to do! I Love Her! Such a good little visit!

M and Jett Puff with the puppy at Old Navy!

At Swimming lessons, Jett Puff decided she needed to clean everything! She started with the chair and then moved on to the...

fence... obviously. Then it was the...

ground. So cute!

Have your cake, and eat it too!

Well I got this new cooking magazine one day and I decided that I would try a new dessert each week! (we will see how that pans out) But this is dessert number one! LOVED IT!!

It isn't the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen. I had never made a layered cake before. But I think it was a success for the most part! But it tasted freaking good so... ya.

Here is too the 3-layered orange cream cake!

Let's Take a Moment...

I would like to say a few words regarding my true and deep love for the one and only Harry Potter. May I please just say how much I thoroughly enjoy being captivated and swept away into a magical world that feels more real that my own life at some times... Whew. Glad I could get that off my chest.

I mean I'm not like one of those freaks that dress up like Harry or anything...... but I do love him and his world.

Three Cheers for J. K. Rowling.

Hip Hip Hooray!

Hip Hip Hooray!!

Hip Hip Hooray!!!

I can't wait for November!!!!!

Take It Away.... PLEASE

I just may projectile vomit onto the tv screen if I see a particular Sonic commercial again. Lucky for yall, I can't find it on the internet, but it is featuring this....

If that isn't truly repulsive... then I don't know what is. Not only is the commercial Barf Worthy.. listen to the nutrition facts to this death wish of a meal! Yep, I think I just puked... a lot.

Weight (g)299

Chol (mg)110

Vit A17%

Calories810

Sodium (mg)1798

Vit C2%

Fat Cals477

Carbs (g)56

Calcium26%

Total Fat (g)52.9

Fiber (g)3

Iron19%

Sat. Fat (g)22

S