Miss Jennica

SeRUNity NOW!

2011-10-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

So, if you haven't noticed, I haven't really been blogging over here lately. School has been keeping me busy...AND I decided to start a running blog. I am still trying to decide if I am going to make the move permanently, but for now, most of my energy is going over there. That leaves this blog a little neglected. It is still in it's early stages and hopefully there will be some upgrades over there soon, but I would REALLY love it if you would follow my new bloggy blog at SeRUNity NOW!

Over the past few months running has become incredibly important to me. While I may not have become a world-class runner *yet*, I have certainly become a better person as I have worked to prove myself wrong in thinking that I would never be an athletic person and that there were somethings that I would just never be able to do. Running is proving to me that I can do just about anything I put my mind to - and no past experience, negative voices, or silly stereotypes can keep me down! I have made new friends, learned lots of new things, and have even been able to help out some other beginning runners!

Running rules! Come check out my little blog!

Thanks Steve Jobs!

2011-10-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

Really, all Iknew about Steve Jobs was that he wore black turtlenecks and made it possiblefor me to fit my entire music collection in the back pocket of my jeans.

Since the announcement of his death I have appreciated seeing all of the quotes that have been posted in memory of him. This onetouched me the most:

“Your time is limited,so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - whichis living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise ofother's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have thecourage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what youtruly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs

He also said that he wanted to make a ding in the universe. I would saythat he more than succeeded in that endeavor.

Thanks Steve Jobs. Well done.

NO PANTS!

2011-10-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

So, Mondays and Wednesdays are pretty exciting for me. I get up at ~~6:00am~~ ~~alarm~~ ~~snooze alarm~~ 6:25am to throw all of my stuff together and head over to campus for my 7:00am spin class. On these days my morning is usually a frantic rush of throwing on my spin clothes, packing my gym bag with clothes for my school day AND all of my swimming gear for my swim class, packing up my backpack, packing my breakfast and my lunch, and running out the door with my water bottle and keys in hand. Usually this is a very successful process. This morning seemed no different.

I got to spin class just in time, spun my little heart out, and then moseyed on over to the Tanner building. Ethics was canceled today, so I had all the time in the world to get ready (as opposed to my usual 12.5 minutes). Anyway, I pulled all of my school clothes out of my gym bag; shirt, hoodie, socks, pants...wait, pants?! I looked everywhere, pulled everything out of the bag, and soon there was nothing else left in the bag! NO PANTS! What was a girl to do? There is no way I could show up for my next class (or, in fact, show my face in public in my cycling shorts). I was stuck.

Luckily I remembered that I had been a Girl Scout (a Brownie and a Junior, thank you very much), and it was a good thing that I had been taught to be prepared - there was a spare pair of pants in my car! They were sweat pants, but they would certainly do in a pinch! The short of the long of it, is that I spent the day walking around the Marriott School of Business looking like a house mom who just got home from the gym, but you know what? I had pants on!

Grown Up Girl Grad School

2011-10-04T15:39:00.000-07:00

Today during one of my classes we may have gotten a little antsy on the back row. I think that is all I am going to say about this one.

General Conference!

2011-10-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

Every six months I eagerly anticipate hearing from the general leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church leaders speak to the over 13 million members of the church world-wide, and to anyone else who desires to tune in. Over 2 days there are 5 sessions of the conference. I participated in 4 of them. That is 8 hours of church in 2 days. There are very few weekends in my year that can compete with conference weekends. Church leaders are not given topics to speak on, they pray and prepare what they think the Lord would have them say. It is incredible to see how patterns develop in what they present. I find every conference that there are several talks that I am sure were written just for me. This year they were; Elder Cook's talk on "looking up" and having hope in the face of adversity, Elder Uchtdorf's talk on enjoying the blessings we have now and remembering that we are not forgotten of the Lord, and Elder Cornish who spoke about how the Lord is wants to be involved in the tiniest details of our lives and is ready and willing to bless us in those details if we will be true and are willing to ask.

Each conference I learn something that makes me want to be a better person, a better disciple of Christ. I am grateful for him and for the sacrifices he made for me. I am thankful for his atonement, knowing that through Christ, I have the ability to grow, to improve, and to leave behind everything that holds me back. I am thankful for this wonderful weekend and for my renewed resolution to do a little better. I am already anticipating April conference...

Running Dirty

2011-09-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I finally got to run in the Dirty Dash! I don't know why running through the mud is so blasted appealing, but we were pretty stoked to participate. Kate, Steve, and I were all 100% committed to getting as dirty as we could, and if I do say so myself (and I do), we got good and filthy. We ran the 10k and finished in a more than respectable time, considering we demolished the obstacles and took several little breaks to push each other into the muddiest mud we could find.

The week of the race the Dirty Dash sent an email out to all of the participants with the pre-race details. This email informed me that the mud gods thought I was too clean, and that they were out to get me. I won't lie, I got a little nervous-excited when I read that. The mud gods? This was gonna be a good race. Honestly, the best thing about the Dirty Dash is that everyone is just out there to have a good time. There is pretty much no hope for a PR when your shoes are caked in 5lbs of mud, so there is nothing to do but just dive in and have a good time. I am sure that I have said it here before, but one of my very favorite things about running is the camaraderie of the runners. Everyone is so upbeat and supportive. I guess that is what you get when you get several hundred, or even thousand, people who are high on endorphins together.

My trusted roommate Jessica came as out photographer and support team. She shared with us the most coveted bit of advice a dirty dasher can receive - the warm showers are more than worth the $4. We all opted to avoid the icy mountain run-off showers and opted for the pressure wash and hot water instead. It was a dream come true.

After the race we hit up The Hub for a late breakfast. It is a great little place in Heber that seemed to be the most delicious place I had ever eaten. I felt that way about the place that we ate at the end of our relay. I have a feeling that may just be true for any place I eat after a long run. It was delicious though, we had a great time. Good food, good friends, good mud. Who could ask for more? I am already looking forward to next year!

It's Friday, Friday, Friday...

2011-09-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hooray for Friday! Another week bites the dust! This week has been pretty blasted great. I discovered Pink Lemonade Ice at Baskin Robbins with Heather, hit up the Costco and stocked up our house with Emily, got fresh peaches from my spin teacher, took top lane in my swim class, and hit up institute! We are back in our old building and I couldn't be happier. Things are so much more cozy over there. When you have 400 people attending, it gets a little impersonal when we are all crowded into a huge auditorium, so being split into smaller classes is a welcome change.

With all this goodness, you would never think that my week could have been cooler, but it was. The highlight was going to see The Drowsy Chaperone at the Hale Center Theater with the MPA's Professors Unplugged. This year the MPA program is hosting events that highlight a particular professor and something that they love to do. This week was going to the theater with Dr. Thompson. Next week will be tennis with Dr. A. It is a cool way to enjoy something new while getting to know the professors outside of class. Who knew that they were real people too?

Anyway, the show was fun. I laughed out loud. A lot. It was a riot, but not exactly a show I would rush to see again. Overall, I would give it a B. Super fun for one night. Solid dollar theater fare. The talent was great, it was the actual show that was just so-so. Although, the musical was based on both fondly remembering and jovially poking fun at the cotton candy musicals of days gone by, so I guess I couldn't have expected any real depth. This being the case, they get an A for hitting their mark.

After the show we all caravaned over to the Thompson's home. They had made us dessert and we stood around and chatted about the show and got to know one another a little bit better. It was lovely. Sometimes it is just so nice to get a breath of fresh air and not have to focus on school for a minute. The Thompsons were absolutely delightful. It was also nice to be able to reconnect with my theater roots and not be thought of as crazy for want to talk musicals all night long. For that, I am very grateful.

Well, now that this update is done, I must be off to finish my week. A little more organizing, a lot more homework, and one very epic ward campout are still yet to come.

Have a great weekend!

So Hot Housewarming Party!

2011-09-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

Friday night we had an epic housewarming party. Let me tell you, our house is now more than sufficiently warmed! We had ice cream, impromptu kitchen dancing, and a rockin photo booth. We partied with old friends, made some new friends, and pretty much had the best night of our lives.

I LOVE my new place. It actually feels like home! That is a feeling that is nigh unto impossible to obtain as a student, so I am very grateful. In fact, I would probably say that it is the nicest place that I have lived as student. Pictures of our place will come soon, so that you can feel at home as well, but right now our home is reveling in it's post-party bliss and may or may not be exactly picture worthy. :)

Anyway, school is in full swing and I am already feeling overwhelmed. Luckily I really love my classes, so I am much happier pushing through the crazy than I was last year. I am still getting back into the swing of my schooling schedule, but I have a feeling that once I get on top of things I will have an incredible semester. Stay tuned, as I will let you know how that pans out.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Thanks.

Back in the Saddle!

2011-08-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

So, it's been awhile. In the last two weeks I finished my internship, steamed Amy Grant's dress, got hired as a recruiter for the MPA program, went on the first ever MPA orientation rafting trip as a second-year mentor, and started my last year of school (hopefully) EVER! Oh, and I moved. I have been a little busy.

Baby, baby! Just chilling backstage with Amy Grant after the show.

Rafting with Andrew, my program BFF and Liz and Gee, my Sherpees!

The lovely thing about all of this crazy is that thing are only going to keep getting better! I am super stoked about my classes. I am taking several nonprofit management classes. This is cool because that is why I am here at school in the first place - hooray for getting past core required classes! I am also taking a negotiations class that is going to help me to acquire a spine! I have been needing one of those for a while. I have a great ethics class that will teach me to be a good person - a definite necessity ;), and I am taking spin AND swimming. Mmmm, I do love me some endorphins! Take that grad school anxiety!

There is just no better way to start the day than to get up at the crack of dawn and take on climbs and speed intervals. I know this because I did it one time. Today. I had my first spin class at 7:00 this morning. I really hated life when my alarm went off at 6:00 so I could finish my ethics paper, but by the time I was sitting on that bike I was ready to go! Our teacher took it fairly easy on us today, but I still got my butt kicked. However, I did do my fair share of kicking back and I am excited to spend my mornings in a crazy sweat fest. By the way, we all sign up to do music for the class. Does anyone have recommendations for a good spin playlist?

I love change and new adventure. I don't think that anything in my life is the same as it was a year ago and I am so grateful for that. Things have either changed entirely, or they have just gotten better. It is so great to be able to see how far I have come, and to know that I just get to keep taking on this crazy adventure that is grad school. This year is going to rock!

Relay Recap

2011-08-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Highlights from the Relay

Getting in the van Friday morning with the rest of my team and feeling like I belonged there.

Seeing Camilla, Katie, and Faith dance to Justin Bieber in a wheat field.

Running an 8:17 mile in my first leg! Yup folks, that is my fastest ever!

Sporting my homemade tutu and cape for the "Brightest Running Outfit" contest during my first leg.

Seeing the "Best Light Show" contest. Everyone was decked out in flashing lights and glow-in-the-dark gear for the midnight run.

An endless supply of chocolate milk

Having a child vomit all over me at 11:30pm and totally staying cool

Walking up delirious after negative 2 hours of sleep to hop on an insane roller coaster with the rest of my team at 3:00 in the morning.

My last leg. A 6.1 mile run along the Pend Orielle River in Priest River, ID. I would say it was probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

6 orders of "The Special" for breakfast at the Village Cafe. 6 plates full of eggs, steak, homefries, and toast. It was our first real meal since dinner the night before we started, so it had been maybe 36 hours. Mmmm.

Crossing the finish line with my team and receiving my first finishers medal!

Spokane to Sandpoint

2011-08-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

It is 1:10am. I am leaving for Washington in about 4 1/2 hours! If you have recently read my blog you will know that my dear friend Camilla just moved away to North Carolina. Lucky for me, she talked me into signing up for this relay race long before she left. So, tomorrow I get to see Camilla again AND I get to run in my VERY FIRST RELAY RACE! I am just a little bit excited. Can you tell? Well, some of that excitement may be my futile efforts to erase the nervous feeling that I have in the pit of my stomach, as I am about to try something that I never thought I would ever be capable of, but most of it really is just pure excitement. We are going to camp in Spokane tomorrow night and then we will hit the road Friday morning for the 180 glorious miles that will take us into Idaho by way of 12 runners, 36 legs, and one roller coaster! That's right. Roller coaster. Once you get to the theme park, the whole team boards a roller coaster and then the next runner takes off from there. How cool is that? Anyway, I need to go finish packing. I am sure that there will be plenty of pictures and stories to come. In the meantime, put some good things out in the universe for me so I can make it back alive!

UP

2011-08-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

Last week I went out for a lovely adventure with my best henny friend who lives up in Herriman. In the midst of all this adventure, we got a little lost on our way to dinner out in Daybreak. (BTW, if you are looking for a scenic drive that will transport you to 1930s rural America, go get lost west of Herriman) Luckily for us, our detour landed us not very far from the UP house! So, we took a little sidetrip and went to see this delight that is being highlighted in the Parade of Homes. We only did a quick drive-by, but it was still pretty magical.

The house is seriously exactly like the one in the movie. I hear that the inside has even been decorated to match the house in the film. That is some pretty serious business if you ask me.

Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, we noticed that there was quite a big of commotion at the front of the house. Yup, that's right. There was an old man and a boy scout sitting on the porch!

This was the last thing I expected to do with my evening, but it was pretty darn cool. If you live around here, you should totally take the kids. People don't just rebuild animated movie sets everyday.

Camilla the Thrilla

2011-08-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

I have been dreading this post for a long time. This summer has been great, several very dear friends have moved on to new adventurous lives in faraway places, and I am afraid that today I had to say goodbye yet again. Luckily it was only a partial goodbye as we have the good fortune of meeting up Washington next week for our relay, but then there will be another goodbye and we just aren't going to think about that right now.

Camilla J Hodge (aka The Blur) is off to North Carolina to start a PhD program! (Yes, I do only keep rock stars as friends) She will be studying Parks and Recreation Management. I really can’t begrudge her leaving; she was born to do this. Camilla is quite honestly one of the most brilliant people that I have ever met. She is perseverant, dedicated, and stubborn. PhD, you don’t know what is coming to get you.

For me, Camilla was one of those people who came crashing into my life and showed me how much cooler everything could be. I kid you not, I owe a great deal of my awesomeness to Camilla. Many thanks to my darling friend for the sheepen, Yogurtland, the inspiration of the yellow raincoat of justice, your love of MJ, my love of running, so many shared boxes of crackaroni and cheese, Sara B sing-a-longs, that one day that we ran in the canyon and it made everything better, for letting me fall asleep on your bean bag chair, and for believing in me. Oh, and for being my neighbor in 2007, even though we didn’t know it.

Milla, you are making me cry. I miss you already.

Do me a favor and look up that front desk clerk at that hotel will you?

VIVAN LOS BISCUITS!

I came. I saw. I TRIed.

2011-07-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

I thought several times about doing a pre-tri post, but I really didn't know if it was going to happen. I was SCARED. I decided part way through this week that it might be a good thing to do, and spent the rest of the week trying to convince myself that I had made the right decision. I haven't been training for a triathlon! Even though this was just a sprint, I was still really scared. I had never done anything like it before and just didn't know what to expect. However, in the midst of training for the Spokane to Spandpoint relay, I have been doing a lot of cross-training, and after a couple of test brick workouts, I decided to go for it.

Last night I was really nervous. I got all my gear out so, if nothing else, I would feel prepared. It made me feel a little better. I looked legit! And I noticed that everything I have matches. It is all blue and green! Everything was going to be ok. My goal was to not finish last. I honestly thought that it might be a problem. You see, this triathlon was put on by our stake (how cool is that?). It is free to participate in, and you can participate as an individual, or as part of a team. What this translates to is that most beginners choose to participate as part of a team. That leaves crazy rock stars doing everything by themselves. Well, crazy rock stars - and me. YIKES!

I think I woke up three times during the night, worried that I had slept through the event. I also dreamed that Oliver had completed the entire tri before I had even finished the run. (He was really speedy, this dream wasn't all that far from the truth, though I blame that on my mountain bike - well, that and the fact that Oliver is pretty much a natural born rock star). In the morning Camilla, Oliver, and I packed up the car and headed over to the Springville pool where the event would start. Camilla was AMAZING. She was our coach. She cheered, took pictures, and helped us with our transitions. I don't know what I would have done without her. Once we got signed up and had our numbers written on us, the fear started to subside and I felt ready to tackle the tri!

The run was really good. Besides being almost 3.5 miles instead of 3.1, I felt really good about my time. Biking was next. Even though I was on my mountain bike, I feel like I tore it up the best I could. We went out and back twice and the only moment of the day when I REALLY had to give it 150% was when I had to climb a cursed hill for the second time. I had to rely on my running mantra, "Nobody stops me but me." As long as I keep moving forward, I will keep moving forward. And I did, slowly, but surely. At the top of the hill I saw Oliver on his way back down. I shouted "If I can do this, I can do anything!" I believe that. 13 miles? Done. Oliver and Camilla both met me for the swim transition, they were awesome, and I was ready to go without even realizing what had just happened. The pool was warm and chaotic, but at that point, there was no stopping me. I made my way through the 600m swim and you better believe that I ran through that finish line. And then you know what? I WAS DONE! I completed my first triathlon! And to top it all off, I kid you not, Justin Beiber was singing Never Say Never as I crossed the line. Whoa. Thanks Justin.

When I was deciding whether or not to make an attempt at this day, I thought about how it would feel to cross the finish line. After that moment, there was no turning back. Finishing felt exactly like I thought it would. I had also been worried about competing with other people from the Stake, but they were great. The stake presidency and one of the members of our old bishopric were there to guide us and cheer us on. There were a lot of incredible volunteers, and best of all was the fact that (and deep inside I already knew this would be true) every one who I knew that passed me cheered me on, (and I cheered on the few that I passed!). Overall it was a great event, and I am so glad that I had the courage to try.

Happy Birthday Avi!

2011-07-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

My adorable little niece is one today!

Trail Runners and Midnight Concerts

2011-07-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Pioneer Day! I found out late Friday afternoon that I wouldn't have to go into work on Monday. Hooray for Pioneers! I hadn't planned on having the day off, so I hadn't made a lot of plans. It ended up being a pretty perfect day. As I finally had some time to go up into the mountains, I decided to take my trail runners for their inaugural run. They are the most beautiful pair of shoes I have ever seen. I am not kidding. I almost cried when I saw them online - I knew that they had to be mine. Now they are, and I am one exceedingly happy girl. Anyway, I ran up to Stewart Falls and it was absolutely lovely. Below you can see a picture of my runners in their natural habitat:

On my way up the trail, a mom pulled her 5 year old daughter to the side of the trail so I could pass and said, "See, that is tough. She is going to run all the way up there." I wanted to stop and hug her. On the way back a lady said, "Wow, that is impressive." I wanted to hug her too, but it was all downhill at that point and I would have run her over if I had tried to stop. I can't tell you how grateful I am for little moments like that. As I sat by the falls, I took some time to really think about what I was doing there. I had made the choice to spend a good chunk of my day off alone, running. Who have I become? I came to a very satisfying conclusion, and I would love to chat about it, but it is far more involved than anything I can write here. Just know that it is a totally stellar conclusion, and I am glad that I took the time to hang out with me today.

I did also get some premium friend time in. We made dinner, stopped by FHE, and ended the night with an adventure of epic proportions. At about 10:30 I went to bed, but couldn't sleep. At 11:30 I heard yelling outside my window coming from somewhere across the neighborhood and wondered what on Earth was going on? Didn't people know that I couldn't sleep and this wasn't helping? Well, about 30 seconds later I heard my front door slam. One of my very dear friends had all but run for her life and found safety in my front room. Turns out there was an altercation between her and her roommate, and said roommate lost her temper and went ~~a little too far~~ got way out of hand. My friend ended up calling the police and 4 of us spent the next few hours waiting, talking to the cops and waiting some more. In the midst of the waiting we had an impromptu concert in my front room. It is always a good idea to have a guitar around to take the edge off of high-anxiety moments like these. Anyway, all is resolved, and everyone is safe. And I have had a Pioneer Day that I will never forget.

When ye are in the service of your fellow beings....

2011-07-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

Our Bishopric was released today. I never been so emotional at a Bishopric release. I have truly come to love and respect these men who have served this ward for the past three years. They sacrificed time with their own families to provide a family for us. They took care of us, watched out for us, chastised us, and loved us as their own. They bore testimony of the reality and truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They helped me to strengthen my resolve to be a better daughter of God. Through their love, I have been able to better understand the love that my Father in Heaven has for me. I will be eternally grateful for that.

In other news, our new Bishop looks like Santa Claus, but without the beard. He seems just as kind. I know that the time had come for this change, and that it is for the best, but I will be sad to see our old Bishopric go. Luckily, none of them live too far away, and they should not be surprised if I show up for a visit every now and again.

All my thanks to Bishop Sorenson, Brother Liddiard, and Brother Miller.

Impossible is Nothing

2011-07-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

I watched the first part of Man on Wire last night. Now I want to go do something amazing. Any suggestions?

Rain

2011-07-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

When it's pouring rain and you're bowling along through the wet, there's satisfaction in knowing you're out there and the others aren't.

-Peter Snell, former New Zealand athlete and three-time Olympic gold medalist

I went for a run in the rain yesterday. It was fabulous. I honestly wish it had rained a little bit more, oh well. When I got home last night, this quote came through in my email. I thought it was very nice of runnersworld to send me a quote that was tailored to my day.

The more I think about it, I am pretty sure that this quote applies to the rest of life as well. Sometimes, when life gets crazy and you keep bowling along through the wet, there is an incredible sense of satisfaction that comes from knowing that you are moving forward, that you are doing something incredible, that you are pushing farther than you ever have before.

Running in the rain is cool.

Potter Mania

2011-07-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

Last night I got off of work PROMPTLY at 5:00pm so I could ~~speed~~ crawl though the rush hour traffic to get to the theater in time for an early showing of Harry Potter! Kate's sister Erin hooked us up with the tickets and I am forever grateful that I didn't have to stay up for a midnight showing. I am an old lady now, and I am happiest when I don't have to go to work on 4 hours of sleep. Anyway, on my way into the theater I caught glimpses of kids running through the parking lot in graduation robes and bulky black glasses. Then I walked past this car that was all but plastered with Harry Potter bumper stickers:

I knew this night was going to be good.

I was right. We walked into the theater and the first thing we saw was Dumbledore putting the sorting hat on Erin's head and telling her that she was a Hufflepuff. I didn't get my phone out fast enough to capture the moment, but I did get this sneaky shot of Dumbledore and Hagrid.

Inside the theater the magic continued. The girl next to me was pregnant and had a sign taped to her belly that said, "Dark Lord On Board." Hagrid, Dumbledore, Luna, and some other friends of Hogwarts hosted a little trivia game before the movie. I didn't know any of the answers. It was a serious Harry Potter Fan Fail on my part. I did have a wand though, Erin made us some chocolate covered pretzel sticks and we did our best to cast spells with them. Camilla's favorite spell is the "accio" one, so we tried to accio peoples popcorn and sodas. It didn't work. Wizarding fail. The movie, however, was not a fail. We had a marvelous time. I won't say anything else, because I know that a lot of you haven't seen the movie yet, but I will leave you with a picture of Dobby. He had a sock pinned to his potato sack. That is true dedication.

Happy Potter Day!

Sub 9, Sub 30, Sub 40

2011-07-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

Guess what is on its way to my house?! After a brief stop in the Bay Area, these little beauties are on their way to me! I got a sweet deal on them and I am counting down the seconds until they arrive.

Timing couldn't be more perfect because there is just one month to go until the Spokane to Sandpoint Relay! I am getting more than a little bit excited. And the best part is that I am finally making a marked improvement in my running!

Last night I ran a mile under 9 minutes! (If you would like to take a moment and do a happy dance in honor of me, I will let you.) Now, I know that for all you seasoned runners out there, this isn't a big deal, but if you can think back to how excited you were when you knew that not only did you love running, but it might be possible that you didn't totally suck at it, then you will be able to begin to feel my elation at my accomplishments. AND it gets better... that speedy one mile turned into my first sub-30 5k and my first sub-40 4 miler. There is something incredibly magical about accomplishing something that you have never done before. I came home feeling like a rock star.

Just when you thought things couldn't get any better, I am going to celebrate all of this by going to see the last Harry Potter movie tonight at 7:00pm. That is right! We got tickets to an early showing! No midnight movies for us! Wahoo!

Coke and Cookies

2011-07-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

So, if you haven't heard yet, I had a bit of an adventure on Friday. I was chatting with our admin at work at about 11:00am and all of the sudden I started to feel a little woozy. I told her that I was going to go sit down and slowly headed back to my office. Before I made it there I apparently turned around and I looked at her and said, "I think I am going to pass out." Then I went white and hit the floor.

I woke up thinking, "Wow, I am so comfortable. Aren't I supposed to be at work? Um, I think I am at work. Oh, no. That did NOT just happen." Then I heard someone saying, "You need to call 911." At that point all I can think is, "NO! I am on student insurance. I am not working all summer long to pay for one freak of nature fainting spell!" I roused myself as quickly as I could and convinced my co-workers that I was alright. I got up, sat on a chair, rethought that action and sat on the floor and was soon surrounded by anxious co-workers. They were talking about what I needed and sugar was the first thing on everyone's minds. They all went their separate ways and then rushed back in with a coke, 3 chips ahoy cookies, a fruit cup.

I was ordered to eat all of it (which I did) and then they went to get the building doctor. He came in, asked me a couple of questions and told me to rest, get some fluids (not Coke), and left me with a mostly clean bill of health. My sister came to get me and I left my poor little car in the parking garage, as I had been prohibited from operating a vehicle. I ended up at the Student Health Center at BYU and it was there that I was informed that my blood pressure was frighteningly low and my electrolytes were seriously out of whack. Oops. This doctor also recommended rest, and fluids, but maybe not quite so much water...

I may have gone up to Park City that night, down to Manti the next morning and then crashed at 5:00pm. I did not officially wake up again until 7:00am. Consider me fully rebooted. Yikes.

I am still a little freaked out that I might randomly loose consciousness, and everyone in the office seems a little leery of me, but I am fairly sure that as is well. Even though I do plan on drinking a lot of Gatorade and walking a little more carefully around the office for the next couple of days.

Not quite the way I had planned on having my Friday go...

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday evening my family had a BBQ for my brother-in-law who was deployed yesterday for a year of service in Afghanistan. His whole family came as well and we spent the entire evening in my Mom's backyard enjoying the weather and one another's company. We had delicious food, played games, and set off some fireworks. It was absolutely perfect. Having Gunnar leave on the fourth of July certainly changed the holiday for me, and for the rest of the family. We are grateful for him, and for the service he will be giving in Afghanistan for the next year. Best of luck Gunnar! Our prayers are with you!

MOAB!

2011-07-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

There is just nothing like a couple of days hiking in scorching heat, relaxing in swimming holes, eating camp food, sleeping under the stars, and bonding with your besties!

DEMOLITION DERBY

2011-06-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday night I went to my very first demolition derby. Actually, it was the first demolition derby for everyone in our little group. It was an epic event. The magic of button up denim shirts with cut off sleeves, big hair, janky hair, mullet hair, (there was a lot of hair) and missing teeth was indescribable. I kid you not, seeing the crown alone was worth the price of admission. The show was pretty good too. It was big kid bumper cars, but most of the bumpers came off pretty quickly and the rounds end with cars being smashed to bits instead of cars rolling to a stop because the electricity was shut off. It was awesome. When we first got there we were impressed, but not entirely won over. By the end of the night we were on the edge of our seats, cheering, and contemplating sporting mullets in the near future.

Really more than anything I wish I had pictures for you of the people who were there, but I wasn't in a good spot for sneaking shots. Oh, well. These photos will have to do:

After almost 3 hours of demolition, we were all still very happy campers. We did sneak out at the very end to beat the traffic. This is sad because apparently we missed a car that caught on fire. However, it is not sad because as we drove around searching for food, we happened across a Cafe Rio that was open for only 8 more minutes. Car on fire, pork salad? Car on fire, pork salad? Pork salad of course! We stayed in the restaurant maybe a little bit longer than we should have, but we were having a marvelous time. I tell you, post demolition derby high is a good high. So is Cafe Rio high. Mix the two and you have got one great Saturday night.

Thanks demolition derby. You don't suck.

Camaraderie

2011-06-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I love the most about running is seeing other people who run. Almost every time that you pass someone on the road they will wave and smile at you as you run by them. It's like everyone is saying, "Hey, you are out here pounding the pavement too!Doesn't it totally rock? Good job! Keep up the good work!"

There is something incredible about that wordless connection that happens with complete strangers who just happen to be exercising outside at the same time as you. I love it.

But today, the connection wasn't wordless. I went for a run up Provo Canyon on the Provo River Trail and had an awesome encounter with some other runners.

First, a picture of the trail. Isn't it gorgeous?

Anyway, it was midday and pretty warm when I went, and there is a lot of uphill involved in running up a canyon. So, needless to say, when I was pretty close to the end of my four and half miles, I was a janky mess. As I was pushing through the last bit of my run I was concentrating pretty hard and was focusing on the road for a minute. When I looked up I saw two shirtless wonders coming toward me and one had his arms wide open like he was going to hug me. When I first saw him I am sure the confusion registered on my face. He just smiled, put his arms down and said, "We're your support team!" In that moment I knew that I must have looked SERIOUSLY janky because they knew that I needed a support team. But you know what? I did need a support team, and I am so thankful for those goofy guys. I finished my run like a champ. I am so thankful for all of those runners out there who wave at each other to say "Good job, you're out here too." We are all rock stars out there on the road. It doesn't matter if you are fast or slow, whether you are pint sized or chubby, or whether you are running for the first time or have been running for years.

Guess what? Life is like that too. We are all rock stars out here. What matters is that we are trying our best. It doesn't matter if we are fast or slow, it just matters that we get out there. So, "Hey. Good job. You're out here too."

525,600 Minutes

2011-06-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

This morning I dropped off Heather's Strawberry Shortcake lunch box that she let me borrow for school. She is leaving for China today. Again. Lucky girl.

To be completely honest, I don't want to go back at all. But I am jealous that she gets to go, does that make any sense? I don't know if it does, but it is so crazy to think that a year ago I was starting my adventure in China.

This is especially crazy because China was not only a crazy international 7 week trip, it was also the start of one of the biggest years of my life. I quit the job I had been at for almost 5 years, started grad school, and altogether turned my life upside down.

I am sure that you will understand when I say that I can't believe it has only been a year - but I also feel like I have lived a life time since last June.

I have grown up a lot in the last year; I learned a few things in school, made a lot of friends, jumped out of a plane, took up some new hobbies, and more or less became a new person. A person that, quite frankly, I like a lot. Not like that is anything new ;) but I guess I am just really proud of who I have become over the last year. I am also totally blown away by all of the incredible things I have experienced in my lifetime. If you had told me 10 years ago that any of this would have happened, I probably would have laughed at you. But here I am. Wow.

Anyway, I suppose that as long as I was being introspective, I just wanted to pat myself on the back - and say thanks to all the amazing people in my life who helped me to make this last year one of the best I have ever had.

Y'all rock my socks. Thanks!

14th Annual Judgesrun

2011-06-13T09:43:00.001-07:00

A LOT of work goes into putting on a race. It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult. People pay money, they show up at the starting line, they run 3.1 miles. Doesn't seem difficult, but there is a lot that goes into putting on race. Ours went really well. Luckily the race has been going for 14 years and many of the volunteers have been there every year. So, even though we were new to the race, everything ran like clockwork because our volunteers were all rock stars. Race volunteers are some of the best people anywhere. After the race, breakfast is served. There were donuts, fancy scones, pancakes, oranges, bananas, I don't know how much I would want to eat all of that after I had just run, but the great thing about the food is that people stick around. We had a big party, gave out some prizes, and had a marvelous time doing it. My favorite award went to the girl who took 1st place for females 12-16. She wore a t-shirt that said "I run 4 values + Justin Bieber" Totally made my day.

And now it is done! I am back at work and after a race debrief we will be moving on to the Amy Grant concert. Life is going to be 100% different. That is one very good thing about this internship. It certainly keeps me on my toes! Wish us luck!

Take Luck Naim!

2011-06-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

One of my very best friends is currently driving somewhere through Nevada on his way to his new home in sunny California. After totally rocking his MBA, Jamen is going to out to San Jose to work for Adobe.

Having lived a couple years there myself, I would like to send him off with a wish -

I wish you long bike rides in great weather, too many days at the beach, some thrills on Top Gun and The Vortex, a ghost sighting at the Winchester Mystery House, a visit to the aquarium, and lots of Thrifty ice cream.

Missing you already hamigo.

Congratulations Class of 2011!

2011-06-07T12:06:00.001-07:00

Graduation is almost here

2011-06-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

My friend Heidi posted this on facebook today. It comes from a New York Times article about the impending graduation and subsequent future of America's college seniors. As my baby sister is going to graduate from high school on Friday, I took an extra special interest in the article. I really like the quote that Heidi pulled, and I think that it really would benefit a lot of graduates (and the rest of us as well) if they would take some time to ponder on this one.

"[We are] told to pursue happiness and joy. But, of course, when you read a biography of someone you admire, it’s rarely the things that made them happy that compel your admiration. It’s the things they did to court unhappiness — the things they did that were arduous and miserable, which sometimes cost them friends and aroused hatred. It’s excellence, not happiness, that we admire most."

Sticking to what you know is right, and persevering in the face of opposition is what will, in the end, help you to come out the happiest and most successful person you can be.

Good luck out there in the big blue world Lou! I am so proud of you!

...like it's my birthday

2011-05-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

It was my birthday, shout hooray!

Saturday night my dear friend Camilla threw me an unforgettable party. We went up the canyon and made tin foils dinners, and had cake and s'mores! Cake AND s'mores?! Yes! I told you it was unforgettable. While we were waiting for the tin foil dinners to cook we pulled out a couple of guitars and sang some tunes. I don't think that there is any way I could have been happier. The weather was perfect, the food was divine, we had live music all night long, I was surrounded by the greatest friends in the world, and we all smelled like campfire. I could not have asked for anything more.

In fact, I didn't feel like I could ask for anything more. I was perfectly content to be done with my birthday celebrating. Besides, it couldn't get any better than Saturday.

Well, it kinda actually did get better...I was chatting with a good friend on Sunday and he asked what I was doing for my birthday. "Work and FHE.", I replied. He pretty much told me that I was silly for not doing more, and that we could easily arrange to have some more celebrating on the actual day of my birth. I was ok with that idea. So, I sent out the call - and it was answered. I invited a lot of people (mostly because I love a lot of people), but also because I wanted to make sure someone showed up, as it was last minute invite and my popular friends prolly already had plans. And guess what?! People came. Lots of people. To celebrate me! I feel so very loved! We all went to Applebees and had appetizers and just told stories, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company. It was PERFECT.

It wasn't anything crazy or complicated. It was just good quality time with some of the most incredible people who have ever graced the face of the planet. Wow, I am one very lucky girl.

I don't think that I have had a birthday party to rival this one since I turned ten and we got to stay at the pool all night for midnight swim and then had a big slumby at my house.

Many thanks to everyone who made this birthday one of the very best ever!

Special thanks to Tracy and Jess for the photos, and to Camilla for awesome party!

COMMUTE!

2011-05-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

I am now an official commuter. I drive about 90 miles every day to go to my internship and it is fun. So. fun. Remember how I said that the commute would be the hardest part. I was right. But I am doing everything that I can to make it a positive experience. Like I said, on the way into work I listen to two or three conference talks, but then I just take some time to think. Don't get me wrong, I am thinking ALL the time - it is a hard thing to turn off. But I rarely take the time to just sit and think. It is a little hard to avoid when you are in the car though, in the car there is no one else around, and distractions are incredibly easy to mange. So, it's just me - me and my thoughts. I haven't spent this much time with myself for a long time. It might take some time to get used to so much of my own quiet company. I think I like it. I think I have needed it for a long time.

On the way home I have been listening to The Help. I LOVE it. It might have made me cry a little bit on my way in this morning. Almost done. Any suggestions for a good audio book? The great thing about a good book, is that at the end of the day I actually look forward to sitting in the car for an hour. I can do this. I can!

Oh, and today I may have sweetened the commute just a tiny bit with a hot chocolate from Hatch Family Chocolates. If you haven't ever had their hot chocolate you should go get one right now. I am not kidding, drop what you are doing and go get one. It is rainy and cold, and there is nothing to cure the rainy day blues like a hot chocolate dialysis.

I am really ready for the sun to come out again, by the way. I love this weather in April, but news flash Mother Nature, it isn't April anymore! Now that I am spending 2 hours a day in the car I am finding it very difficult to get up in the early morning to run. (Any ideas of how to make an invention that lets you work out and drive at the same time?) I mean, the morning and I don't get along super well anyway, but rainy early mornings?! This is really testing everything I have. So, universe, if you are listening, my life would be a lot easier if you would send me a little sunshine. Just sayin. Thanks.

Internship!

2011-05-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

So, I mentioned in my last post, but did not elaborate on the fact that I HAVE A SUMMER INTERNSHIP! I say this in all capital letters because I was honestly worried that it would never happen. That part is a very long story, but let's just say that I am incredibly grateful, and I feel incredibly blessed. I am working for the Anne Stirba Cancer Foundation in Salt Lake. The foundation raises money for the Hunstman Institute to support breast cancer research. We will be putting together a 5k, working on a gala with the Hunstman Institute, and putting on a concert starting none other than Amy Grant. Oh yes, I give you permission to be jealous.

I am actually the second official employee the foundation has ever had. They just hired an executive director in December, and besides that, the law firm that the owner of the foundation owns has been taking care of everything. It is a great time to be a part of things, because I am treated like a normal employee, rather than just a silly little intern. There will be much to do, but also much to learn. I can't wait.

The biggest difficulty will be the commute. What an adventure. However, with general conference talks on podcast (hello, morning devo!) and some rockin' audiobooks, I should be able to make it just fine. It is only 4 months. It is only 4 months. Honestly, I am just grateful. Only a few weeks ago I didn't see how any of this was going to work out, and now, here I am. Did I mention that I feel very blessed?

Oh, and ps! The best news of the day?! Our last grade finally posted - I passed my stats class! Hooray!

Buster Keaton and the Race for the Cure

2011-05-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

I have an internship! I am a real live, official, summer-interning grad student! I will be working with the Anne Stirba Cancer Foundation in Salt Lake. We will be planning fundraising events to raise money for the Hunstman Institute to support breast cancer research. I feel like it is going to be a perfect fit for me, and I feel incredibly blessed to be there.

Being up in Salt Lake proved helpful this weekend, as I was able to go pick up everyone's packets for the Race for the Cure! Kate, HRH, The Blur and I all decided to stay up in Salt Lake Friday night so we wouldn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to take Trax up to the race. So, I picked up all of our race packets after work and then headed over to The Organ Loft to meet the ladies for a silent movie. We saw Buster Keaton in "Our Hospitality". I think that the last time I went to a silent movie with a live organist was well more than a decade ago. We had a great time. The movie was surprisingly entertaining and well-paced. And of course, the organist was nothing short of a rock star. The venue was appropriately kitschy. The organ is bright purple and sparkley and is framed by a very classy neon green light up boarder. The audience was appropriately populated with a majority of geriatric patrons, but we all laughed together and had a wonderful time.

After the movie we went to Diva's. It is an ADORABLE cupcake place on 3300 s that has the most delightful deck with lots of cozy nooks for sitting, flowers and one great big magical tree with big lanterns hanging in it. When I grow up, I anticipate that my backyard will look exactly like Diva's.

Saturday morning we all got up, dressed in our matching running outfits and headed over to the race. There really is nothing quite like running with 16,000 of your closest friends. The greatest part of the race for me was the gradual incline that I remembered as a rather daunting hill from last year's race. I think I might just be a better runner than I was last year. Hooray!

I really do love this race. It is incredible to see all of the supporters who wear matching t-shirts, fairy wings, and boas, and sport messages of encouragement, love or even pictures of breast cancer survivors. The Race for the Cure is an awesome event and I am proud to have been a part of it again.

SUMMER!

2011-05-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

I did it! I survived! Not being in school is a very interesting thing. I have been fighting an immense feeling of guilt that tells me I should be working on school work nonstop.

But I shouldn't be.

So, I have been fighting back.

Here are the highlights of my summer so far:

I read a book just for fun

I went to the zoo

I went fishing

I got a sunburn

I slept past 9 o'clock

I stayed out till 4am

I "hiked" up to Bridal Veil Falls

I signed up for an improv class

I spent a lovely windy afternoon out at Utah Lake

I visited Yogurtland about 1 million times

AND I have spent several days doing almost nothing

It has been lovely.

In other news, our ward boundaries changed again. We are going to be smaller. We have added some great people and it is so good to see the ward coming together to welcome them. I feel really good about it. In short, I feel really good about life. Being free from school is fabulous. Whoever invented summer break should get a free ticket to heaven. Thanks summer break inventor!

Still alive. Almost there.

2011-04-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

This last week has been...intense.

Incredibly intense.

I have been existing in three places; my couch, a cubicle at school, and my bed. My finals are giving it their all to try and defeat me and my computer has recently decided to turn off every now and again just for fun. Yikes.

However! In the midst of all of this I have managed to squeeze in an adventure or two. I don't want to miss out on sharing them, and I would love to include all of the epic details here, but I should be working on my stats final right now, so I am just going to post a picture or two and call it good.

Adventure 1

Friday was our MPA closing social. We had a very exciting (albeit incredibly long) murder mystery dinner. I would like to say here and now that I guess every detail of the crime. Maybe I should quit public service and go into criminal investigation. Speaking of leaving public service, it is very possible that I won the most INCREDIBLE award ever at this closing social. At the end of the night they gave away a couple of superlative awards and I won:

*drum roll please*

Most likely to leave public service and become a stand-up comedian!

I was very happy. Not that I would rather be making people laugh than be working countless hours on my stats and accounting finals...but I would rather be out making people laugh.
Adventure 2

On Saturday Camilla and I decided to take on the Salt Lake Marathon after all. We both "trained" for the half-marathon and we both got injured in the process. However, we were not to be defeated. Camilla ran the half and I had to settle for the 5k. She was a rock star. I was just glad to be out and running again. I went out for a run the day before and it was the first time I had run in 5 WEEKS. But I am back in the game folks. Or I will be, once finals are over...

Anyway, tomorrow is stats day. Pray for me.

No really, pray for me. Please.

Getting Down the Mountain

2011-04-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I went snowboarding with some friends. I had only been snowboarding once before, and was nervous and excited to try it again. You see, it had been about 4 years since I had been and I was a little worried about getting back on a snowboard after all that time. So when I told my friends that I had been only once before I thought that communicated how inexperienced I was, but somehow the only thing that translated to the group that I was with was "I have been snowboarding before". So, after getting suited up, surviving the chair lift, and scooting to the top of the run, I found myself alone *gasp* at the top of the mountain....um, bunny hill...whatever.

My friends weren't very far away, but I was alone. And I didn't know what I was doing. I sat by myself in the snow, not daring to stand up because I knew I would fall. Somewhere inside I knew that I had already done this, that I was capable, that I could make it down this mountain, but I just couldn't remember how. The danger seemed too great - whether the injury was to my body or my pride, I didn't think I could take it.

Well, one of our crew eventually noticed that I was sitting paralyzed at the top of the mountain and hopped back over to me to find out what was going on. I almost started crying. I knew how ridiculous I was being, but this seemed so insurmountable on my own. He smiled and told me I was being silly, that I was more than capable, and then reminded me of the simple things I had forgotten that would get me down in one piece. I took heart, dried my frozen tears, and took off down the mountain.

After about 3.5 seconds I face planted in the snow.

My pride was mortally wounded, but I was not. So I picked myself back up, and took off again, leaving my wounded pride behind me. (This was a very good idea and I tumbled down the mountain for most of that run) But by time I got the bottom of that mountain...um...hill, I was feeling pretty good. I did it. I survived! I went back for more!

Do you see where I am going with this?

School is almost over, but this bunny hill of finals seems like an awfully big mountain right now. I am sitting here at the top of this mountain and once again I am paralyzed. I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can complete everything that is required of me. I am scared. I know I shouldn't be, I know that I am capable, but it is just tough to shake.

But you know what? I am going to try. I have already face planted a couple of times, so there is no reason to worry about pride. I just need to keep getting up when I fall and enjoy those incredible moments when everything is as it should be. I just need to enjoy the ride. I can't wait to get to the bottom and realize that I did it - that I survived.

Another 2 weeks and I will wonder what I was so worked up about. I am really looking forward to seeing the bottom of this hill.

So close, and yet so very far away...

2011-04-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." -Romans 8:24,25

School is almost done. School is almost done. School is almost done.

I have no summer job or internship.

I have no plans.

And I am ok with that. I am scared, but I am ok. I has been a crazy year, full of difficulty and incredible adventures. It has been tough, but I have felt blessed and watched over every step of the way. I am not always grateful for the unknown, but I am grateful to know that nothing is unknown to the Lord, and I am glad that I can trust in him.

The Verdict Is In

2011-03-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

"It takes faith and the courage to risk failure in order to realize one's destiny. Having had my share of failures throughout my career I know that it is well worth the risk."

- Ryan Hall, American long distance runner

So, remember about a week and a half ago when I said that I would do my best to chronicle my heroic effort to prepare for the Salt Lake Half Marathon? Well, it isn't going to happen. I went to the physical therapist again on Monday and there is just no way that it will be humanly possible for me to run in this race. Luckily I cried all my sad no-running tears for the Rex Lee run, so although I am certainly disappointed that I won't be able to make my April 16th goal, I am also incredibly grateful for all that I have learning in the time I have spent training. I have already done more than I ever thought I could, and it also doesn't hurt that I may have already signed up for another race. Hooray! Yup, that makes everything better. I will be running in the Sawtooth Relay in Idaho in June! It is a 6 man, 62 mile relay that is going to rock my little world. Many thanks go out to Camilla, Outstanding RMYL Graduate Student of the Year, for letting me tag along on this one. Actually, many thanks go out to Camilla for starting this whole thing in the first place. (Thanks for believing in me and cheering me on. You are the greatest!)

Back to the drawing board, 2 months to race time. Here's to failure, and not letting it get the best of me!

What Luck

2011-03-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

Today was a great Saturday. I got up, went for a bike ride, made breakfast with friends, had girl talk, pretended to do my homework, and went home to help my baby sister get ready for prom. I cannot believe that she is all grown up. While we were there my older sister stopped by with the kids to come see their aunty getting ready for the ball. The first thing my niece asked me when she walked in was whether or not I had received her email. I hadn't, so she took me to the computer and made me log into my email so she could read it to me. It was just about the most precious thing I have ever seen. So I thought I should share. Translation follows below...

Hi , jel you Rock. like a. Rock star you are. Pretty, and you are cute. You are The Best aunt ever
I am going to watch Tagald To nigt want are you going to do' to nigt i am 6 yer's old to you are 28 rigt now
i no how to read i am a. 1st Gradr my tenchar is namd Mistm my bruthar is 4 my mom is 31. You hooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
i eat cake.

Hi Jel,

You rock like a rock star. You are pretty, and you are cute. You are the best aunt ever. I am going to watch Tangled tonight. What are you going to do tonight? I am 6 years old, too. You are 28 right now. I know how to read. I am a first grader. My teacher is named Misty. My brother is 4. My mom is 31. You hooooooooooooooooooooooo. I eat cake.

I am the quite possibly the luckiest aunty in the world.

Oh, and for those of you who have known Em since she was a baby...Here she is in all her gorgeous, grown up Prom glory.

When You're Weary, Feeling Small...

2011-03-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

These quotes come from Elder Holland's talk from last General Conference, Because of Your Faith. They make me feel better on a sunny day when I am stuck inside in my accounting class...

In whatever country you live, however young or inadequate you feel, or however aged or limited you see yourself as being, I testify you are individually loved of God, you are central to the meaning of His work, and you are cherished and prayed for by the presiding officers of His Church. The personal value, the sacred splendor of every one of you, is the very reason there is a plan for salvation and exaltation. Contrary to the parlance of the day, this is about you. No, don’t turn and look at your neighbor. I am talking to you!

...I have struggled to find an adequate way to tell you how loved of God you are and how grateful we on this stand are for you. I am trying to be voice for the very angels of heaven in thanking you for every good thing you have ever done, for every kind word you have ever said, for every sacrifice you have ever made in extending to someone—to anyone—the beauty and blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

...No one of you is insignificant, in part because you make the gospel of Jesus Christ what it is—a living reminder of His grace and mercy, a private but powerful manifestation in small villages and large cities of the good He did and the life He gave bringing peace and salvation to other people.

Physical Therapy!

2011-03-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

I went to see the PT today. Hooray! Heat, ultrasound heat, massage, stretches, electricity, and ice. I could get used to this. I am a little upset that I didn't start this a month ago, but I didn't know it was available. So, we won't waste time bothering with all that. I am on the up and up, and that is what matters.

Also, I got to go for a walk with some of my very dear friends this evening. The weather is getting better and walk season begins again! I am grateful that I can walk at all. Being injured makes you so much more grateful for the times when you are healthy. I can't wait to be able to appreciate being healthy again ;) Here's to hoping it is soon!

These Streets Will Make You Feel Brand New

2011-03-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

Who's that Chick that's Rockin' Kicks?!

2011-03-19T09:37:00.001-07:00

so, usually I see my Dad, maybe once every 2 years or so. It is hard to be away from him for so long, but we always make the very best of it when we do get to hang out. Often this comes in the form of an out of control vacay to the Happiest Place on Earth. But when we are really lucky, we meet up at his home in New Jersey and spend a day or two in fabulous New York. We splurge on fancy dinners and fancy shows, and have an all around marvelous time. This time we are splurging a little bit let so that we can splurge on THIS instead:

OH MY GOSH! It is like Christmas! I am already wearing my new running shoes and am going to break them in on Broadway! (Yes, I am wearing my kicks to the theater. Don't judge.) Anyway, I already feel like I am walking a lot better, and that makes me feel like maybe this whole half-marathon thing may be possible after all! There are good things in the world today...hopefully that will lend itself to me meeting Daniel Radcliff tonight. Keep your fingers crossed!

Who Says Walking Isn't Good Exercise?

2011-03-18T23:31:00.000-07:00

I walked all over New York tonight. I was limping about half way through the day. I now have 1 muscle relaxant and 2 Alieve in me, and am warming up the heating pad as I type. My leg hurts, but it certainly isn't the worst pain I have had, so I think it will be ok.

I was on my feet ALL day today. Was is worth it? WITHOUT A DOUBT. The Guggenheim. Central Park. The MOMA. Cheesecake at the Carnegie Deli. Meeting Liev Schreiber in Times Sqaure. And to top the night off? Driving Miss Daisy with James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave. Today did not suck.

I would give you more details on the whole night, but it is really late. And I am going to start making a lot of typing errors soon...so I leave you with the promise of more stories and this lovely picture of my new best friend.

13 Miles in 30 Days

2011-03-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

So, we are down to 30 days until the Salt Lake Half-Marathon. I have been out of commission for the last two weeks due to a very stupid leg injury that just won't quit. This does not bode well for me to be running 13 a mile race that is just 30 days away. But I am just not ready to give up, even if I have missed a huge chunk of ESSENTIAL training time. I was supposed to run the Rex Lee 10k last Saturday and I am not kidding you when I tell you that I cried when I drove past all of the runners on my way to drop off my homework. I was supposed to be one of them. I knew this running business had come to mean a lot to me, I just didn't realize how much it meant to me.

So, I am going to see what I can do. Seriously. If I never knew before what I was capable of, I am about to find out. I'm going to do my best to blog for all 30 of these days. There will be lots of cross training, core training, foam rolling and physical therapy. Oh, and homework, cause finals are coming up around the bend. It should be quite an adventure. Don't judge me if I end up not being able to do it...but pray like mad for me that I can!

Here's to 13 in 30.

Tuesday Playlist

2011-03-15T07:32:00.000-07:00

Subway Train - New York Dolls

New York Boys - Pet Shop Boys

Talkin New York - Bob Dylan

New York - Cat Power

Fairytale of New York - Stars

Leaving New York - R.E.M.

Piazza, New York Catcher - Belle and Sebastian

Yeah! New York - Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs

I'll Take New York - Tom Waits

and of course

Empire State of Mind - JayZ and Alicia Keys

Can you tell what is on my mind?

2 days to New York

Mr. Blue Sky

2011-03-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

I don't usually post song lyrics, but this song has been running through my head all morning long.

Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why,

You had to hide away for so long

where did we go wrong.

Hey there Mr. Blue

We're so pleased to be with you

Look around see what you do,

Everybody smiles at you.

Yesterday was an incredibly beautiful day! The sun was shining!We had our windows open all day long! I didn't have morning meetings yesterday (for prolly the first time in 2 months), and so I basked in the glorious morning. I took my breakfast outside and read my scriptures in the beautiful sunshine. It was the best Sunday I have had in a long time. After church we had some friends over for dinner and all of us were feeling strangely happy. We blamed it on the sun. Thank you sun! I never realize how much I miss you until you return in the Spring and remind me of the warm summer nights, and long, lovely days spent outside that have just become distant memories. Hello to evening walks, picnics, hikes, BBQs, camping, bike riding, and reading in the park. I have missed you all! Even though it is a bit cloudy today, it is March, and the sun won't be gone for long. There is hope! There is the promise of a new day! There is a promise or spring! Of Summer! OF SUN!

2011-03-09T22:06:00.000-08:00

It is wonderful that life continues to challenge and define us, great that there is always more to strive for and assuring that we will always grow from these experiences so the future will be better still.

Deena Kastor

So Maybe I Jumped Out of a Plane...

2011-03-07T12:35:00.000-08:00

‎...And once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, For there you have been and there you long to return...

Leonardo da Vinci

MBAs are incredibly lucky people. Each semester they get an entire week off of school to pursue jobs and internships. (Us poor little MPAs only get one day the whole school year.) But I digress. The point is that if you are an MBA and you already have a stellar job lined up, what are you to do with your week free of classes? Sit around and do homework all week? No! Jump out of a plane? Yes! So, my good friends Liz and Jamen (being the good MBA students with secure futures that they are) planned a little excursion to the south of the state to hurl themselves out of a moving plane at 14,000 feet above sea level. Having an entire day off that week and considering that several of my classes were canceled, I jumped (literally?) at the chance to tag along.

We headed out Thursday morning and made the 4 hour drive to Hurricane. None of us were very nervous when we left, but the closer we got to the airport, the more we started wondering if this was really such a great idea. The first thing that we did when we got to the airport was to sign our lives away.

The form looked something like this:

Please initial the following to signify that you will not sue us if something bad happens.

___ I understand that my parachute may not deploy, or the plane may crash, or that any number of unexpected things may inflict bodily harm to me.

___ I understand that I may be paralyzed.

___ I understand that I may die.

Hmm. That was comforting.

Next came a training video hosted by a lawyer who looked like ZZ Top. He also told us that we may die, but then they showed a video of some very happy people skydiving (and not dying) and I felt much better.

Our friendly instructor Rick then took us outside and put us through a quick training session. The next thing we knew, it was go-time.

The facility was tiny, so we had to go up one at a time, but that ended up being pretty cool because we got to watch one another jump. The best part about going down to Hurricane is that you get a 20 minute scenic flight over Zion Canyon before you jump. It was breathtaking. The weather was perfect. Then the plane door opened.

I honestly expected to freeze, freak out, vomit, or otherwise embarrass myself up there, but I didn't. When the time came, I just flipped my legs out of the plane, stood on the little step and waited for Rick to say "GO!".

And that was it.

It was amazing. There really isn't anything that you can compare it to. The freefall lasted almost a minute and then, once the parachute was deployed, there was the most incredible silence. As thrilling as the rest of it was, I think that the silence was my favorite part. The entire crazy world had fallen away. I wish that I could do that moment justice with words, but I can't. I guess you are just going to have to find out for yourself.

Here is a little mini photo journal of our adventures in Hurricane:

Here is Liz, all ready to jump!

Jamen being awfully brave and taking the first jump.

Maybe I was a little bit excited.

Ok, I was a lot excited.

Liz floating (falling) gracefully from a height of, oh, 11,000 ft.

It didn't suck at all.

We lived!

Who wants to go again?

Nothing changes until it changes...

2011-02-23T09:23:00.000-08:00

I found this a little while ago on someone's blog and I LOVED it. Hence, I share it with you..

Munch and Mingle

2011-02-20T22:06:00.001-08:00

So, I am the fellowshipping co-chair in my ward. (Yes, it is a real calling) Our job is too be nice to people and feed them once a month at our ward's munch and mingle. We knew that this month would be a small one (as it fell on the holiday weekend) so we decided to push for some more mingling with our munching. In honor of Valentines and maybe as a throw-back to elementary school, we decorated sugar cookies, lots and lots of sugar cookies. Between Amber and myself, I am pretty sure that there were over 200 cookies baked for this event. And Amber couldn't even come. This post is dedicated to her. It was an epic success. There was munching, mingling, and lots of fancy cookies....

In which Geoff made a happy couple. By the way, this is my second favorite face that Geoff has ever made.

Matching cookies. Green frosting and chocolate chips was a big hit today.

Two of the loveliest girls I know with some of the loveliest cookies I have ever seen.

Happy Birthday Amanda!

It is very possible that I held a cookie decorating contest in honor of me. We had unbiased judges that were randomly pulled from the crowd. They gave prizes to everyone.

Gotta love the singles ward.

Byt the way, in case you didn't notice in the picture above, Nathan and Oliver wore matching outfits today. I am pretty sure they said that it was so they could get the attention of all of the ladies.

Overall, I think it went pretty well. And I still have lots of cookies, so let me know if you think you can help me out with that...

New clothes! I am a runner for real...ish!

2011-02-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

I got new running clothes! I feel so official. People who see me run will think I am so official! I will have the world fooled! On a tip from my good friend, The Blur, I got some CW-X running tights. I may or may not have crappy knees and these tights are pretty much scientifically designed to make sure you run like a rock star. I got them online and as long as I was ordering things I got a new shirt too (the perils of shopping online). Outdoor running has been a little chilly lately, I needed it, really, I did. Well, everything came today and I suited up the second I opened the package. I was so excited to try everything out that I ended up running 4.5 miles just for kicks. I seriously just meant to go for a mile. What have I become?

Cupcake Cubies

2011-02-15T14:59:00.000-08:00

This is my cozy space where I study everyday. Today that cozy space included a surprise cupcake from a very dear friend. Between my cupcake and my new "Sunny Day in the Cubies" playlist, nothing can go wrong.

Happy Tuesday!

Highlights from Sunny Day in the Cubies

Adele - Someone Like You
(um, ps this song comes HIGHLY recommended. Adele did a tiny desk concert this week and it was AWESOME)
Amos Lee - Give It Up
Sara Bareilles - Bluebird
Ivan and Alyosha - I Was Born to Love Her
The Format- On Your Porch
Black Dub - Silverado
Gregory Alan Isakov - Unwritable Girl
Stars - Fixed

Yup, altogether this is not a bad day. Not at all.

Tender Mercies

2011-02-14T08:05:00.000-08:00

So, believe it or not yesterday was another...um...rough day. "Another?!" You may ask. "Well, yes." I will reply. That is just how things go right now.

*Not all the time, mind you, I did just get back from a rockin' trip to Seattle (post will follow shortly)and I went bowling Saturday night. Bowling!*

But somehow I am coming up against these days much more frequently than I used to. I think that it may have something to do with having quit a job that I was very good at and making an about face that put me toe to toe with all of my weaknesses in this new arena that is grad school. Whatever.

Anyway, this is an INCREDIBLE growing experience that is totally throwing me for a loop. Yesterday, was another loop. The funny thing is, that, as much as this isn't necessarily the easiest time of my life, my testimony is growing exponentially.

Last night's ward prayer topic? Growing through trials. This week's study topic? Trust. The first thing I read this morning? A talk by Elder Nelson that told me, again, exactly what I needed to hear:

"...That experience...taught us another important lesson. It pertains to our ultimate priorities and highest destinies as mortal beings. We learned that a doctor’s ultimate destination is not in the hospital. For a lawyer, it is not in the courtroom. For a jet pilot, it is not in the cockpit of a Boeing 747. Each person’s chosen occupation is only a means to an end; it is not an end in itself.

The end for which each of you should strive is to be the person that you can become—the person who God wants you to be....Much more important than what you do for a living is what kind of person you become. When you leave this frail existence, what you have become will matter most. Attributes such as “faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, [and] diligence” (D&C 4:6)will all be weighed in the Lord’s balance."

This may sound excessively colloquial, but it is good to know that the Lord has my back. I am grateful that he is aware of me and that I can trust that even if I have no idea at all what I am doing, He knows what this is all about. Did I say that I am grateful? Cause I am :)

6.5

2011-02-07T15:33:00.000-08:00

I went home last Friday night. My mom lives about 20 minutes away and somehow I just don't see my family as much as I wish I did. I had a slumby with my mum and spent the morning chatting with my sister and her bff. We talked and laughed and I told LOTS of stories because I may have been wishing that the sun would come out. I had a 6 mile run scheduled and the weather was not looking friendly. However, things brightened up a bit and I headed out to pound the pavement. I will tell you here that I have never run 6 miles before. This was to be a big day. It was good that I was at home, because the idea of new scenery definitely made the miles seem a bit more possible. I decided to turn my run into a nostalgia tour and so I headed up toward Highland.

First stop: Mount Timpanogos Temple

Yup this is actually better weather than the 2 hours before when I had been planning to run

When the temple was being built we lived up the street, maybe a mile and a half. It seemed like a million miles away when we would walk down to the site. Being a grown up is funny because things get a lot smaller and time goes by a lot faster. I love this temple. I helped lay the sod, took a tour of the building when the Celestial Room was just a big cement room, and volunteered during the open house. I attended the dedication and got to sit in a sealing room for it. I went to early morning temple trips with my young womens group and I went through the temple for the first time here. I love this temple.

Second Stop: Lone Peak High School

Lone Peak: A World Class High School

This high school was built for me. I was part of the first class to go all the way through high school in this building. By the time I got to the school I had gone about 3 miles and was ready for a drink. I walked inside and noticed that my old theater teacher's door was open. Janky and all I couldn't resist going into see him. I may have looked ridiculous, but it was " I am doing incredible things will my life ridiculous", and I was ok with that. Grad school? Why yes! Athlete in training? Of course! I missed my ten year because I was in China, so I guess this was my one chance to go back to high school and let someone know that I was out in the world doing great things. Pathetic? Maybe. Satisfying? Oh, yeah.

Last stop: My Old Neighborhood

Yup, my old home is now a rest home

We first moved to Utah in 1993. We moved into a big squarish house that had seafoam green trim. It wasn't very pretty, but it was home. We had a huge yard and spend most of our time outside. We played in the irrigation water, climbed the trees, and had picnics on the roof. This neighborhood isn't far from where my mom lives now, but I cant remember the last time that I walked through there. We moved away from Highland just before I turned 16. 3 miles and 12 years away. I can still name almost every family that lived in each house in the area, where my friends lived, and who I babysat for.

By the time I was on my way back the sun had come out and the weather was divine. I felt like I could have gone on forever, but I had a very important mac and cheese appointment to keep with my baby sister who isn't really a baby anymore. Altogether it was a great day and an awesome run.

Not Amos Lee...ME!

2011-02-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

Last night was to be Amos Lee! Amos Lee! In anticipation of the great event we left Salt Lake at about 4:15. Perfect. We would miss rush hour traffic, have time to eat, and then jump in line to stand front and center and take in all of the goodness that is Amos Lee. Everything went as planned until the part where we jumped in line. We left at 4:15, ate at good ol' Costa Vida and killed some time in the Union Pacific building as it was much too freezing to wait outside.

Waiting for the ticket counter to open. Trying to buy a ticket to Albuquerque. Where is isn't so blasted cold.

When we went over to The Depot around 6:30, walked right past the big "sold out" signs in the window with our tickets in hand and found out that they were letting people form a line inside - where it was warm! There were only about 6 people there. The front would be ours! We handed our tickets to the lady at the door and that is where the night and our perfect plans took separate roads.

"Amos is sick. He waited until the last minute to cancel, he even came for soundcheck, but he just couldn't make it through the songs. But the opener will still play, and the band will play. Free concert tonight, folks."

We sat for a bit, maybe wanting to avoid going out in the cold more than anything else, or perhaps just wallowing in denial about having come 2 hours early for a Not Amos Lee concert.

These were our sad faces

Anyway, we decided to stick around long enough to check out the venue, and so we sat and watched the ever more eclectic crowd that was growing. (Apparently Amos Lee is big with middle aged cowboy/granola types) About 5 minutes before the doors opened, the manager of The Depot came and told us that Amos had a great idea about what to do with the evening. Amos Lee karaoke. They would let audience members sign up for a chance to sing with the band - with Amos Lee's band. Then they would pick 5 people from the list to come up and sing.

The night just got a whole lot more interesting. Should I sign up? Did I really know Amos' songs well enough to sing one of them with his band? Would they really follow through with this? Would I even get picked? Should I really try to sing? Can I really sing?

While all of these questions were running through my head Jamen said something to the effect of, "You are going to sing, and you are going to be great."

The questions stopped.

Ok.

Why not?

So I signed up.

The opening act sang. The band started to sing. It felt like the night was stretching on to forever. I was getting more and more nervous, and more and more excited. Shauna calls it the "pee pee hide-n-go-seek feeling". Scared, and excited, and nervous altogether. Was this really happening?

They didn't announce who would be singing until it was time for them to get on stage. The first person called was a girl named Rachel. But she wasn't there. So, technically, the first person called was me...

"Jennica Dorsey from Provo, Utah! We are going to do "Colors"." It was like I never thought it was going to happen and knew that, of course, it was going to happen all in the same moment. I wanted to take a second, collect myself, prepare, something - but there was no time. "Where is Jennica?" I raised my hand. I walked forward to the front of the venue and up the stairs that led to backstage. When I got back stage there were several people there to guide me right onto stage. Crowd to stage time? Maybe 30 seconds. So much for preparation.

Really? You are really ok with me doing this?

I may or may not have told the audience that they had to cheer really loud for me whether I did a good job or not. I am still not really sure if it was a good job or not. I couldn't hear myself at all, but there I was. I had background singers and a band, and the audience was singing along. They did cheer really loud, by the way, and they made me feel like a rock star.

(About halfway through the night Jamen went to go see how long the list was getting. Apparently he put in several good words for me while he was there. Who knows if it helped, but thank you!)

After I sang, I shook hands with the band. They were super cool. Most of them just wanted to hug me. I was ok with that. I also asked the drummer for a drumstick. Jamen has a rather extensive collection of drumsticks from famous people that he makes friends with - this seemed like the ideal time to add to that collection. The drummer looked at me like I was a little crazy, but was more than happy to hook me up with a drumstick.
Overall it was completely surreal - and completely awesome. To be honest, I am still feeling a little shocked and speechless about the whole thing. I mean, in all reality, it was just glorified karaoke. But it was glorified karaoke with Amos Lee's band. In front of a rather large audience. At a major music venue.

These things aren't supposed to happen.

But it did.

Wow.

The Noble MPA

2011-02-01T10:04:00.000-08:00

What is an MPA, you may ask yourself. Most people have no idea. When I tell people that I am going to school for an MPA, the say, "MBA?" "No," I reply "P, PA". Masters of Public Administration - nonprofit, local government. We are out to save the world! To serve our communities! To make a difference! We are noble, we are honest, we are true! No offense to the MBAs out there, but they call us "The MBA with a heart." Isn't that precious? I think it is because we pay the same tuition as the MBAs, but will probably end up making only half of their salary. And because we are such nice, sacrificing, community-minded folks.

With this background, I hope that what I am about to say will strike you as amusing. I think it is just more funny if you know. After HR today one of the girls on my team said, "Well, I guess we are going to have to go find some other place to study, they blocked off two aisles of the cubicles this morning." What? How did anyone expect me to live (be productive) without the quiet haven of the cubies?

I decided to scope it out anyway. I had to walk from Africa this morning because there was no parking, maybe the cubie gods would have mercy on me. As I turned the corner, I saw the caution tape, and then I saw people. People behind the caution tape. 9 of the 12 cubicles that had been blocked off were filled with fellow MPA students that had hopped over the caution tape and into study heaven. I didn't take more than a split second for me to decide to join my friends. I hopped over the tape and felt at home, and maybe just a little bit rebellious.

We are noble, we are honest, we are true! Out of the way BYU! No caution tape is ever going to keep us back. We have a world to save!

The Salt Lake Half Marathon. WHA?!

2011-01-24T14:48:00.000-08:00

OH. MY. GOSH. I. DID. IT.

I signed up for a half marathon.

Who am I?

For the two of you out there who don't know that I am going to run the Salt Lake Half, I will tell you that I have already been training for 3 weeks. I made up my mind that I was going to do it around the new year, but there was this teeny, tiny, little (MASSIVE) part of me that wasn't ready to commit. I have never done anything like this before. I am not an athlete, I am not even athletic for heaven's sake. I mean, I can ride a bike and swim a couple of laps, but run 13 miles!? What if I got injured while I was training? What if I died trying? What if I was never made to do this in the first place!? I will admit to being a little scared. Ok, fine, A LOT SCARED. But I have spent the last three weeks running, swimming, and talking up my endeavors to anyone who will listen. Every day I have felt a little bit stronger, a little bit more capable, and as long as I kept talking and people believed that I could do it, I figured that eventually I would believe me too.

Well, today I decided that I believe me. I can do this. So, I signed up. I am in. April 19th. Do or die. Probably die. But that's ok. I can't wait. I'm gonna rock this race.

I will be updating my adventures in training frequently, so stay tuned to find out how the geeky little theater girl becomes a distance runner...

Wish me luck!

I Really Love My....

2011-01-24T10:18:00.000-08:00

Remember My Buddy?

He had an awesome jingle that still gets stuck in my head 20 years later:

"My Buddy, My Buddy, Wherever I go, he goes. My Buddy, My Buddy, I’ll teach him everything that I know.

My Buddy and me, Like to climb up a tree. My buddy and me, We're the best friends that could be.

My Buddy, My Buddy, My Buddy and Me!"

I never had a My Buddy, or a Kid Sister for that matter, but I certainly wanted one. But the universe is kind and I have one now My buddy isn't really a doll that will climb trees with me, but it is certainly my constant companion is almost everything I do.

I really love my lappy.

Almost 3 years ago I bought myself a fancy schmancy laptop. I felt like a grown up for sure, but to be honest, my lappy went neglected for a long time. I already had a desktop and a laptop from work. If you also counted my work desktop, this was the 4th computer that I added to my collection.

Fast forward 2 1/2 years. I was all signed up and ready to go for grad school. I pulled out my little laptop and hoped for the best. I was a little worried that my old lappy would be out of date and hold me back in my academic pursuits. I was worried that I would be out of date and serious uncool. How wrong I was. This laptop is still chic, sexy, and ready to handle anything I throw at it. My laptop goes everywhere with me these days. Wherever I go, he goes.

I do my homework, take notes, watch TV, and even do my scripture study on my laptop. I communicate with my friends and family, organize my day, and write fancy little blogs on my laptop. I pay my bills, listen to my music, and even do some shopping on my laptop.

Lappy, I don't know what I would ever do without you!

I really love my laptop.

The Only Thing Constant is Change

2011-01-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

So, when I posted about my chucks I mentioned that last week was a little difficult – and it was. Times are a-changin’ and not in a very small way. Being the introspective, overly-analytic, intensely self-aware person that I am, I have taken a lot of time to think about all of this. I would like to share a few of those thoughts:

First, a disclaimer:

Over the last few months and especially the last few weeks, I have never felt more loved and supported by those around me. (Here is a special shout out for kidnapping me and taking me for a drive in the canyon, chicken and crystal light, and two really big valentine cupcakes.)

That being said, I have felt an incredible weight settle on me in the last week. It is not a weight of sadness, a weight of self-pity or of fear.

It is simply the weight of change.

I have the strongest feeling that things in my life are shifting and evolving in a way that will completely change my world as I know it. It is a little bit frightening, but I think that the Lord is making room for something new in my life - out with the old and in with the new.

Something is going to change.

I think I know what that something is.

I think that something is me.

I think that there is room being made in my life for me. Room is being made for who I am meant to be. (Believe it or not, I am not quite there yet.) There is still so much room to grow and the time for growth is now.

That is an exciting prospect, but it is also a painful one. It will mean pushing myself further than I ever have before, stepping out of comfort zones and into the unknown. It will be hard. It will be lonely. There are somethings that you just have to do on your own. They say that it is difficult to try to be someone you are not. I would submit that it is perhaps more difficult to be who you are – but, of course, it is infinitely more rewarding.

In his talk “Pathways to Perfection” President Thomas S. Monson said, “Some foolish persons turn their backs on the wisdom of God and follow the allurement of fickle fashion, the attraction of false popularity, and the thrill of the moment. Courage is required to think right, choose right, and do right, for such a course will rarely, if ever, be the easiest to follow.

The battle for self-discipline may leave you a bit bruised and battered but always a better person. Self-discipline is a rigorous process at best; too many of us want it to be effortless and painless. Should temporary setbacks afflict us, a very significant part of our struggle for self-discipline is the determination and the courage to try again.”

I have no doubt that one of the main purposes of life is to improve ourselves, to wear away the rough edges and discover who we are inherently as children of God. Wearing away rough edges is often just as uncomfortable as it seems, but that is as it should be. It is all a part of the process. If we can truly embrace change in all of it’s painful, awkward, destructive and then creative glory, we will find that we can be more than we ever dreamed possible.

So, here we go. The prize is worth the price. I may be far from perfect (and far is the understatement of the century, I am sure) but I am nothing if not a fighter. Let’s bring it on. I am a little nervous to be sure, but I am looking forward to the change. I am looking forward to this new adventure.

I Really Love My....

2011-01-13T08:11:00.001-08:00

...high top chucks.

Yesterday was not a good day. In fact, it was a bad day. It was an all-out-nuclear-fallout kind of bad day. When you wake up on days like that, you just know that something in the universe is out of whack. So, when I got dressed, I made sure to put on my chucks.

I don't know what it is, but there is something about wearing high top converse that makes me feel like I can do anything. I think it is because I feel like I am bucking the trends when I wear them. Yes, I am 28 and in grad school and wearing these shoes. Wanna make something of it? (Yes, these shoes really do make me more sassy) No cardigan and flats for me today, friends. No suit jackets or flowery headbands. It is my day today - and I am wearing chucks.

I really love my chucks.

Sandwich Monday: Twilight Zone Edition

2011-01-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

Today is Monday, and I have already posted once on this blog today. Obviously January 10th is an epic day for blog posting and not such an epic day for schooling. Oh, well. January 10th also happens to be the day before my unopened tub of yogurt that is sitting in my fridge expires. Tub. Tub of anything. Yuck. Maybe that is why I haven't opened it yet.

Anyway, the reason that I am bringing to you two posts in one day is this:

Remember Sandwich Tuesday? I professed my love for Ian Chillag and made a ham and macaroni and cheese sandwich. It was not very delicious, but the name was very witty. How could you forget? Well, today I log on to the NPR site to read the Sandwich Monday blog and WHAT DO I BEHOLD?

The Philly Mac and Cheesesteak!

I won't post a picture, because I know that a few of you have weak stomachs, but I just had to brag to the world that I really could quit my current life and work for NPR - or just come up with gross sandwiches that they could eat on Mondays and then publish funny blogs.

Yay me!

I Really Love My....

2011-01-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

On people.com there is a section of the website that is dedicated to things that celebrities really love. I believe they define the things they love by whether or not a celebrity will be seen wearing the same thing twice. If they do, you know they really love it.

Now, I do not claim to be any kind of a celebrity, but I do claim to really love a couple few things. Today I would like to dedicate this post to my new water bottle.

I can be seen carrying this water bottle every day. I LOVE it. I saw it on the interwebs months ago, but it was being sold on a super hip indie site that charged about 1 million dollars.
Happily, Boarders started selling it for a sweet $15. BAM. That water bottle purchase didn't even require a second thought. That toothy little whale warms my heart and hydrates my soul.

I really love my water bottle.

Chivalry is not dead...yet.

2011-01-07T10:25:00.000-08:00

"I'm not dead yet!"
Last night I went to visit a dear friend whom I rarely visit. I see him a lot, but I can count on one hand the number of times I have been to his house. Last night I was on my way home and I decided to stop by and pay my friend a long overdue visit. We chatted for a long time about school and life and talked with his roommates for awhile. I left around midnight and when I got up to leave, he also got up and grabbed his coat. "Hmm, I thought, he must be walking out with me because he has somewhere to go, too." We walked out and I just took off about 10 feet ahead of him. We chatted back and forth across the distance and then I realized...he was walking me home. I had come to visit him, imposed on him, I hadn't asked for an escort, and without a word, he braved the dark cold world and walked me home. He didn't have anywhere else to go at midnight - he was just walking me home. Just because.

I think that what shocked me about this more than anything was that it took me so long to pick up on what was going on. Courtesy has been so completely erased from my world that I don't even notice it has gone missing. I mean, sometimes boys still open the door for me,(and I am grateful when they do) but even that isn't constant and I can't help but think that they do it because girls yell at them when they don't. Has chivalry has become a burden? Are men worried that they will offend? Or that if they are kind we will fall hopelessly in love with them? Or are women thankless and not very courteous themselves? It's a mystery, and a rather tragic one at that. Honestly, my guess is just that the point has become moot. We are becoming more and more isolated in this world and courtesy and kindness are merely casualties of a changing world. Now (in the history of the world) more than ever, we need one other, but it is kind of uncool to really care. Don't get too involved, don't care too much, don't try too hard. Cause what do you get out of it? What are you going to get back? I don't know if people really think this way, but I think it is sad that we don't feel (for whatever reason) that we can truly take care of one another, especially because we really do need each other so desperately.

If nothing else, I am inspired to try harder to be kinder and more grateful. And to not forget to be mindful of those who care so much about me.

And PS Thank you friend! Chivalry is not dead...yet!

Surprise Yourself

2011-01-04T07:40:00.000-08:00

I am not the biggest fan of New Year's resolutions. Like most of America, I usually make lists and then promptly overwhelm myself with too many unrealistic goals, abandoning all annual aspirations by February. Resolutions are no good for me.

However, I am no Scrooge when it comes to the New Year. I will never get over the hopeful promise of a new year. I often feel like I am scrambling for a clean slate in life and I really appreciate that there is one time a year when the vast majority of the world hits the reset button on life. We all stop, take stock of where we are, and think about how we can do more, be more - become something better. One of my favorite phrases in the scriptures refers to "becoming a new creature in Christ." I love to think about the possibility of becoming a new creature.

It is a slow process, to become entirely new. It suggests effort and care. As Adlai E. Stevenson once said, It takes..."the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." This is why the whole New Year's resolutions thing just doesn't work for me.I can't just make goals once a year and watch my life magically transform before my eyes. I'm just gonna have to make do as I go along, tweak the problem spots and iron out the wrinkles as I find them. Throw in an adventure or two, and you have a pretty good year ahead of you.

So, farewell to lists and hello to life! My New Year's plan? Keep doing what works. To be quite honest I have been fighting and striving to improve everyday of the last 4 months - (It's amazing what jumping feet first into grad school can do to kick up your motivation to improve)and I have seen some fairly amazing results over the last few weeks. So, I will just keep pressing forward, unwilling to mess with the delicate balance of the universe that has me in such an amazing place right now. I am grateful for good friends, high adventure, higher education, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I'm just going to roll with that for now.

2011 is going to be a good year.

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself."
-Neil Gaiman

The First Gift of Christmas

2010-12-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

I really don't think I can ask for anything more.
I have the craziest, most incredible friends that a girl could ask for.

A Small Dose of Perspective

2010-12-15T17:57:00.000-08:00

"You were recommended to help run the last leg of the relay that began with Adam and Eve because your premortal spiritual valor indicated you would have the courage and the determination to face the world at its worst, to do combat with the evil one during his heyday, and, in spite of it all, to be fearless in building the kingdom of God.

You simply must understand this, because you were born to lead by virtue of who you are, the covenants you have made, and the fact that you are here now in the 11th hour.

Now the glorious but sobering truth is that, in spite of your eons of premortal preparation, the day ahead will at times "wrench your very heart string," as the Prophet Joseph told the Twelve. If you've hoped to passively, comfortably live out your lives, let me burst that little bubble once and for all. Now, please, do not misunderstand me: This is a magnificent time to live! It is a time, said President Spencer W. Kimball, when our influence "can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times." The tranquil runner wants to run the last leg of the relay.

But the last days are not for the faint of heart or the spiritually out of shape. There will be days when you feel defeated, exhausted, and plain old beat-up by life's whiplash. People you love will disappoint you--and you will disappoint them. You'll probably struggle with some kind of mortal appetite. Some days it will feel as though the veil between heaven and earth is made of reinforced concrete. And you may even face a crisis of faith. In fact, you can count on trials that test your testimony and your faith.

But He recommended you and me. This is the last leg of the relay. This is when He needs His strongest runners. That is who you are, and it is who you have always been."

(Sheri Dew, BYU devotional Dec 9, 2003)

Musings on Public Restrooms

2010-12-11T12:02:00.000-08:00

It is Saturday and I am on campus. It is about 1:00pm and, on a scale of 1 to 10, my motivation to study for finals is at a -5.

So, instead of being productive any longer, I will tell you some things I have been thinking about lately...about public restrooms.

You may think that I am a little crazy for thinking about public restrooms, but I kinda spend a lot of time in them lately. I am honestly never home - that is what finals do to you.

So, for your reading pleasure, here are some personal observations (pet peeves?) on a very public place that really should be personal.

Sanitizer is NOT Soap
When I was in China we introduced one of our Chinese classmates to hand sanitizer. We put a drop of it in her hand and she rubbed them together tentatively, slowly. The look on her face said that we might as well have spit in her hand and told her that it would make them clean. She didn't buy it. "How do you know they are clean?"

A very fine question. While I believe in the anti-bacterial power of a substance that is 70% alcohol, I always left feeling a little unclean. Hand sanitizer should be used when there is no soap and water - and when you get to a place where you can properly cleanse your hands - you should do it. That being said, the sanitizer dispenser at the door does NOT COUNT as washing your hands. And even if it did, what if you get into the habit of not washing your hands and one day you walk out the door and there is no handy dispenser? Stay with what your mamma taught you and keep washing your hands.

Caution: Automatic Faucets
Speaking of habits. The Tanner bathrooms really mess with my head. There is an old wing and a new wing in the building on campus that I like to call home. In the new wing, everything is automatic. In the old wing, everything is, well, not. That means that when I wash my hands in the old wing, I put my hands under the faucet and wait for the water to turn on. When I am in the new wing, if I lean forward to look in the mirror, the faucet starts pouring out water and it freaks me out. every. time.

A Bathroom Stall is NOT A Telephone Booth
Is a call ever important enough that you have to take it in a public restroom? And if it really is that important, aren't you a little worried that the person on the other line will hear toilets flushing in the background? Or aren't you at all bothered by the fact that we are all in a tiny space and at least one another person in the room is overhearing every single word you say? Oh, your not? Well then, by all means, keep talking in the bathroom.

Hide and Seek
I am not really sure where this comes from, but I hate seeing people in the bathroom. (maybe because people don't walk into my bathroom when I am at home?) Don't get me wrong, like any normal female, I have no problem going into a public restroom with a pack of friends, but if I walk in there by myself and I hear the door opening behind me, it is like the gun just went off at a race and I will find my way into the nearest stall and hide like I was running from the cops. I must not be seen. In the same vein, if I am washing my hands and I hear a toilet flush. I will dash out the door, paper towel in hand, and avoid at all costs seeing whomever was just finishing their personal business. I like to think it is a respect thing, but I really have no idea.

Emergency Feed
To wrap things up with something a little more positive, HRH posted this a little while ago and I thank her for it. Even if public restrooms are strange, often uncomfortable places, at least they are well prepared in case of an emergency:

Almost There!

2010-12-08T00:22:00.000-08:00

My teammate Morgan and I have been singing "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog for the last several days now. It is 1:23am. One bowl of brownies and ice cream and 4 chapters of The Help on audiobook later, I am almost done with the 26 slides I have been working on pretty much all day for our big presentation tomorrow! This presentation counts as the final for 3 1/2 of our classes. Yikes! It is just a tiny bit important. BUT WE ARE ALMOST THERE! In a mere 11 hours we will be in our last minutes of Q&A. I can't believe that I have almost survived my first semester of grad school!

HOORAY!

Christmas at the Tanner

2010-12-03T09:41:00.000-08:00

I walked into school this morning and this is what I saw:

There was an adorable little elementary school choir putting on a concert in the Tanner atrium. Apparently they come every year and put on a concert for the Tanner staff before their big official concert. Good thing I am friends with the staff here...
Between this and our MPA Ugly Sweater Christmas party yesterday I don't know how I am supposed to concentrate on my last 2 weeks of school! As the children sang today:

I picture my self on a snowboard
Not sitting here bored...

Count down to Christmas vacation?

13 days

The Sick and Afflicted

2010-12-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

So, you might recall just one or two posts ago how I managed to sprain both my ankles to some degree almost 2 weeks ago. Well, to add insult(or infection) to injury, I got incredibly sick Saturday evening. This led to my barely surviving through sacrament meeting at church on Sunday and what was most likely a very incoherent closing prayer from yours truly. The rest of the evening, and most of the week, continued as follows:

Sunday Evening
Sleep
Theraflu
More Sleep
Monday
No School
The Dark Knight (with Jess who was also sick)
Theraflu
Sleep
Tuesday
School
Sleep
More Theraflu
More sleep
Wednesday
School
Sleep
Institute
More Theraflu
Sleep

I am pretty sure that I am now fairly familiar with what hibernation feels like. I am also fairly sure that I have consumed more theraflu than is legal in the state of Utah - and that is by no means a bad thing.

However, I will also tell you that visits from friends mean more when you are sick than they do when you are healthy, Camilla's grilled cheese tastes like heaven (when you are sick or healthy).

And getting better is the greatest part of all! Finally being able to swallow without wanting to die and be able to walk somewhat like a normal person again? Priceless

Exceedingly Grateful

2010-11-24T22:01:00.000-08:00

It is after 11:00pm and tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I can't believe it is already here! I am sitting on the counter and waiting for my potatoes to cook. Maybe part of my not believing Thanksgiving is almost here is the reason that I didn't start cooking till now... I don't know, but either way, this seems like the perfect time to post a gratitude blog.

I am grateful for a couple few things - maybe more than usual this year. A lot has happened in the last year. This week last year I was in D.C. with Hali and Lindsay. I had just decided to apply for the full-time MPA program at BYU and I am pretty sure that I thought I was insane. Now I am an unemployed, overworked, full-time grad student. I have quit my job, been to China and almost completed my first semester of grad school - AND I have lived to tell the tale.

That makes me grateful.

Here are some highlights of the things I am grateful for this year:

Running, cause I think I am staring to get the hang of this thing
New music, for giving me new ways to express myself
The BBC, for giving me Austen, Simon Schama, Sherlock, Matt Smith, David Tennant, many happy memories from my childhood, AND A SONIC SCREWDRIVER!
Macaroni and cheese, because after all these years, it still makes me so happy
Aspirations, because I will never achieve half the things I dream - and that's ok
Art, for keeping me in touch with who I really am
School, because it reminds me that I can be more
Team Jacob, for taking on our ridiculous name and taking on everything school throws at us
My laptop, because I never thought we would be so close
Top spots at the Tanner, cause they keep me motivated to get to school on time
Simply Orange and Izze sodas, because they make me feel fancy
The Cocoa Bean, for making absolutely anything into a reason to celebrate
Lou, for being me on a ten year delay
My heater blanket, because it makes going to bed in the winter so delightful
High-top Chuck Taylors, even if I should be more lady-like.
New friends, as I am constantly amazed by the people who come into my life
Old Friends, cause I think they love me so much that I couldn't stop them if I tried. Heaven only knows what that is about, but I am grateful for it.
The gospel of Jesus Christ, because I do know where I would be without it - and I am grateful that I am not there

There are, of course, many more things that I am grateful for, and I don't think I could ever adequately express the gratitude I feel for all of the blessings in my life, but I really am grateful. I am overwhelmed almost everyday by all that I have been given. And all of you have contributed to that. Thank you. I am grateful for you. I hope that you know that.

Thanks.

Eureka!

2010-11-22T16:48:00.000-08:00

Last night I pulled out my journal from my trip to Europe. It has been more than 2 years since Erin and I took off to see the world. It's kinda unbelievable. As I flipped through the entries I remembered writing every day about the things that we were doing and wondering if it would ever be interesting.

Here are some excerpts of our boring, everyday happenings:

"Ate fish and chips at a pub in London. The water tastes like it came straight out of the toilet."

"Got lost and stumbled on Bernini's The Ecstasy of St. Theresa."

"Eiffel Tour Sparkle. I'm glad I found out about this before hand. It would have been so easy to miss."

Anything but boring.

Anyway, the point of this is that my journal was a little moleskin notebook, and they all come equipped with handy little pockets in the back. Last night I reached into the pocket and pulled out all of the little papers that I had tucked in there during my trip. This is what I found:

Eureka!

Weak Ankles

2010-11-20T10:08:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night my facebook status read as follows:

New playlist. Check. Running shoes. Check. Rockin the beanie? You bet. Rolled ankle in the first song...Really Mitchell? Really?!

It was unfortunate, especially as HRH and I are signed up to run a 5k on Thanksgiving. I put my foot up, iced my ankle and hoped for the best. After about 2 days I was feeling pretty good. One more day of rest and I should be right as rain.

Apparently, the universe found my confidence amusing. Friday afternoon I was walking downstairs at my house and then, suddenly, I wasn't walking anymore. I took the last 7 steps in one fell swoop. As I was falling, I somehow found myself with a lot of time for thinking.

"Wow, this can't be good. Nope, this can't end well. I am going to have to come down again at some point and it can't be good. I wonder if I will break something? I have never broken anything before. I hope my insurance is good. Well, no matter what, I can't land of my left ankle. That would be tragic for sure."

So I landed on my right ankle. Really Mitchell, really?! This is unreal...and more than a little uncomfortable. On the upside, I haven't got a lot to do this weekend and my couch is rather comfortable. So here I sit, with an ankle the size of Africa, watching movies and painting my nails. Maybe this is exactly what I needed after all.

You, Me, and Sara B.

2010-11-18T10:41:00.001-08:00

Last night Camilla and I took a little trip up to the Salt Lake to see the one and only Sara Barielles! We bought our tickets about a month ago and have been eagerly awaiting this day. Little did I know that I would have a test that would be moved to the 17th and a project that would also be moved to be due on that very same day. Yikes. The result was a lovely morning of skipping class to sit on my bed and take my 3 hour Econ test. (You think I just when I say lovely? I do not.) The less lovely was trying to cram my project into the remaining daylight hours. (Which are few, thanks to daylight savings). Well, I ended up taking my laptop along for the ride and working on my project whilst Camilla drove us in the Subaru(room)-of-requirement.

Have you ever worked on a laptop in a car before? I have watched movies on my lappy in the car, but this was a new expeirence. The sense of multi-tasking was exhilarating. I can, indeed, create excel spreadsheets while moving at 75 mph! Wow.

Well, we got to the concert in time to catch the last several songs of the opening act - Cary Brothers. Now, lest you think that this is a band of brothers, I will tell you that it is not. It is merely an unfortunate man with an even more unfortunate name. I will just say that, although marginally talented, as a whole he was rather disappointing.

Maybe I think back on it with such distaste was because when he finished up his set - nothing happened. Nothing. For more than 30 minutes.

The audience started chanting, "Sara, Sara, Sara" two different times. And she did not heed the call. Really?

Here is a picture of how we felt after waiting all. night. long. for Sara to come sing us some songs:

Here are all the people. Just standing around. Forced to listen to lame music. (I have never understood why music venues can't play something decent between sets)

After MUCH waiting...the show finally started!

Sara B. is phenomenal live. That girl can SING. I have nothing but inestimable respect for artists who sound better live than on their records. The show was high energy and the audience was great. We had some crazies around us that made the night that much better.

The end of the show came all too soon, but it certainly ended with a bang. During her last song, Sara got up ON THE PIANO and sang her heart out. Someday Sara B., someday. Camilla and I both now have a life goal to find a situation where we can get up on a piano and sing our hearts too, without getting in trouble. It will happen. No doubt.

Overall, the show was a wild success. And the icing on the cake was that they were selling the song book for Sara's new album. We have been looking for it for a bit now and it is nowhere to be found. Nowhere but here.

One the way home we cranked up the Sara B. and I worked away on my laptop. When I got home I was so full up of good music and tired that I promptly fell asleep (almost on my computer) and slept right through my alarm. So much for getting my project in on time - but totally worth it.

Black Dub: Tiny Desk Concert

2010-11-15T20:20:00.000-08:00

I do love me some NPR Tiny Desk Concerts. I would REALLY (Hear that? REALLY) love to work somewhere that crazy-mad talented people just dropped by and played a set AT MY DESK. Anyway, what I am getting at is that I feel like I struck gold recently with one of their concerts.

Do yourself a favor and take a listen - and prepare to be blown away. This girl has soul like you wouldn't believe. I think that if I ever meet a genie, one of my wishes is going to be to have a voice like Trixie Whitley. I would quit everything I am doing and just sing. all. day. long. Man, I just love this.

Black Dub: Tiny Desk Concert

It Doesn't Get Better Than This

2010-11-06T11:14:00.000-07:00

I am the luckiest Auntie in all the world. The other day I came home and found 4 voicemails waiting for me on my phone. This is what they said:

Message #1
Aliea:
Hi Jennica
Uh, you're the cutest auntie I ever met
You are gorgeous and beautiful and how lovely I love you
Please call Aliea
I love you bye
Jaxon:
I want to talk to her
Aliea:
She's already gone

So they called back...

Message #2
Jaxon:
Hello Jennica
Im just wondering
I love you in the best one and you're the little
you're the little
And you're the little tootsie roll in the entire world
she's a tootsie roll

Then they called again...

Message #3
Aliea:
Hi Jennica
You're the rock and roll star
Please call me again

One last time...

Message #4
Jaxon:
Hello sweet potato
You're a sweet potato and I love you sweet potato
and you're the best sweet potato
I love you sweet...and.. yeah!

Why I Do What I Do...

2010-11-02T10:36:00.001-07:00

I have been saying this for a long time - just not so eloquently:

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. - Barack Obama

Halloween 2010 Photo Journal

2010-11-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

Qualify

2010-10-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work. Doctrine and Covenants 4:5

This morning we had a Stake Meeting and Elder L. Tom Perry presided. Our stake president spoke, the Provo mission president spoke, the Provo temple president spoke, and Elder Perry concluded the meeting with his talk. The meeting was actually fairly simple, but I learned a lot.

What I learned today was also supplemented with a quote that really stuck out to me today as I was listening to a talk from general conference. Elder Erying gave a talk entitled, "Trust in God, Then Go and Do" and in it he said, "God does not rule in nations, but He is mindful of them. He can and does place people in positions of influence who want what is best for the people and who trust in the Lord."

This is what I am attempting to do. I want to qualify for the work. Should the time every come when the Lord would place me in a position of influence, I want to be ready.

Actually, I suppose that, ready or not, I am already there. I firmly believe that everyday we are in positions of influence. Whether it be among our family, our friends, our classmates, or co-workers - there is always someone watching. As much as it can be hard to accept that there are people in the world who would prefer not to be around us, we often find it difficult to believe that there are others who watch us, learn from us, and love us for who we truly are. I would hate to let those people down. I would hate to think that, when given the chance, I influenced someone negatively, rather than for good.

So, I make an effort to qualify myself for the work. The best that any of us can do is just try to be in the right place at the right time and make the best of what we've got. The Lord will take us the rest of the way. There is no reason to wait.

"...And if you then go and do what He would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you."

-Elder Henry B. Erying

Sandwich Tuesday Episode II

2010-10-26T23:56:00.000-07:00

Today my sandwich was two sugar cookies that I decorated with frosting and lots of sprinkles. That is a very good sandwich.

I ate this particular sandwich because last night I went to bed after 1:00 and woke up before 5:00. No time for makin' sandwiches when you are designing power point presentations and handouts at the last minute.

The funny thing about all of this is that, since I started grad school, I have found that I perform best on days when I get very little sleep, get to school early, and set out to conquer the day. I love it! Of course, this leads to extreme exhaustion every 10 days or so, but it is fairly exhilarating and I kind of dig it.

Maybe this grad school thing will work out after all....

Sandwich Tuesday

2010-10-20T08:43:00.001-07:00

I have a huge crush on Ian Chillag. If you don't know who he is, that is ok, you can rest assured that you are not a major geek. Ian Chillag writes for NPR's Wait, Wait Blog. He is funny. Very funny. My favorite thing to read on the WWBlog is the "Sandwich Monday" article. The premise is this: the producers of the show find a CRAZY sandwich and they sample it for lunch. Next, they give a review and say hilarious things about the culinary mess they have just ingested. It may not sound like much, but it is often the highlight of my week.

Some of my favorites include:

The TurDoggin at Franks 'N' Dawgs in Chicago

Ian: A hot dog should only be eight dollars if it comes with a side of six dollars.

Ally Sheedy's Sandwich from The Breakfast Club

Eva: Every time I chew I die a little.

Hot Pockets Sideshots

Mike: Last time I saw this, Han Solo was stuffing Luke into it to keep him warm.

See? They are funny. Well, they are to me. Maybe you should click on the links and go read it.

Anyway, the point of all of this is that yesterday, my love for Ian Chillag, my love for macaroni and cheese, my lack of sleep, and my grad-student-no-budget lead to Jennica's Sandwich Tuesday.

The sandwich of the day?

Ham and Macaroni and Cheese
A new twist on an old classic

Yup. This is not a joke. And it wasn't disgusting. I don't know if I would ever attempt it again, but it did the trick for dinner.

Now I think that it would be a good time for you to try to be as cool as the "Sandwich Monday" guys and leave a funny comment.

Happy sandwich!

When did this happen?

2010-10-18T07:23:00.001-07:00

A patient willingness to defer dividends is a hallmark of individual maturity. It is, parenthetically, a hallmark of free nations that their citizens can discipline themselves today for a better tomorrow.
- Elder Neal A. Maxwell

I think that I have grown more in the last two months that I have in the last two years. I am coming up against all of my weaknesses and it is not. always. pretty. However, I also know that it is exactly what I need.

This is the time to be strong. This is the time to finally put all that I have been learning to the test. Can I really do this all on my own? When the odds are stacked against me, and I have no excuses left to hide behind, will I rise to the occasion? This is the time to prove my character. The last 4 years have been incredible, but life never asked much of me. I went to work, I traveled, I did anything that I pleased. Now I have more constraints on my time, energy and finances than I ever thought possible. (and I thought A LOT was possible)

With some regret I will say that, when tested, I am certainly found wanting. But I am also improving. I am learning quickly and doing my best not to repeat my mistakes. I am learning to speak up and to keep my mouth shut. I am learning to wake up earlier than I ever have, even though I am also staying up later than I ever have. I am learning to serve others when I am overwhelmed and I am becoming intimately acquainted with the peace that the Lord can provide when life's storms are raging all around us. I am finding an inner strength that I never believed I was capable of.

I am growing up.

And I love it.

I never thought I would get to the point where I loved the idea of being grown up. To quote Peter Pan, I just wanted to be "a little boy, and to have fun." (minus the little boy part)

But now, here I am - growing up - and even though these growing pains are intense, I am loving every minute and I can't wait to see how it all works out. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who sees fit to let us struggle and learn. I am struggling, and I am learning, and I am so happy.

Grad School

2010-10-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

“It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.”
- The Red Queen, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

MTC Provo, UT 84602

2010-09-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, so don't throw up, but I got some bug bites two weeks ago that have turned into quite the nasty rash. I fear that I may have a flesh eating bacteria that is slowly consuming my right leg. Not. Fun. I wouldn't even tell you this, but I have to tell you what this experience led me to find:

This morning I got online to schedule an appointment at the BYU Health Clinic - and when I logged in the system automatically filled in my address:

MTC Box 188
Provo, UT 84602

Wha? The last time I was registered with BYU Health Care was when I was a missionary! Who knew? That is just adorable. It has been 7 years since I was in the MTC, in fact, 7 years ago last week I flew out to Philly as a brand new little missionary. I felt so grown up then. It was an incredible year and a half and I am grateful for the Health Center's little reminder. Memories of my first week in the mission include:

Getting kissed by an 80 year old man while tracting
Translating the discussions that I had learned in broken Spanish back into English(they came out just as broken as my Spanish)
Seeing my first Delaware sunset (They may not sound like much, but I promise that it is)
Longwood Gardens for Sister's Conference
Seeing My Mom sing with the choir for General Conference and feeling truly home for a moment

Miss you Philly!

Tuesday, September 21

2010-09-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

On Tuesdays I have class at 8:00am. Today I slept through my alarm and arrived to class at 8:06am. That was unfortunate.

Class finished at 9:15am. My next class will begin at 2:00pm. This leaves lots of good time for reading and doing homework. However, I don't know anyone who can do homework for 4 hours and 45 minutes straight. I certainly can't.

This is how "homework time" has recently gone for me:

- Open gmail to get the most recent communication from the MPA program and my classmates (Responsible, no?)

- Open google docs (God's gift to grad students)

- Work on homework

- Login in to yahoo account just in case someone sent something important to my other inbox

- Log out of yahoo and see that Drew Carey is back for another season of The Price is Right and that he has lost a bunch of weight

- Watch video on Drew Carey's weight loss

- Discuss Drew Carey's weight loss with my roommate. Was it natural? (It was) Should this show even be on now that Bob Barker is gone? Why does that contestant look like Snooki?

- The video continues with a segment on Rachel Ray visiting the Kardashians. What has TV come to?

- Close out of video

- Back to homework

- Open www.m-w.com to learn how to spell a big word

- Open www.people.com as long as I am on the web. Gold! The Breakfast Club stars reunite!

~~- Finish homework!~~

- Work on homework

School is fun!

Best Friends

2010-09-19T22:17:00.000-07:00

We had a fellowshipping fireside today. Being as I am a fellowshipping co-chair, I was there. And I spoke. Yikes.

While I was up on the stand, my very dear friends made lots of faces at me. I can't tell you how grateful I am to have friends who will make faces at me. They are the bestest friends in all the world.

Here is a list of a few of my friends and why I am particularly grateful for them right now:

Amber - For saying that I am like Santa Claus and meaning it in a good way.
Jessica - For baking billions of cookies and being so blasted funny.
Megan - For her sass. And for leaving the money - Cause the kids, they like the money.
Oliver - For his fake hugs - and for telling me that I looked hot today.
Rob - For his top-notch complimenting skills.
Angela - For always being genuine.
Camilla - For not actually getting angry if I only have sliced onions on hand at a dinner party.
Kathryn - For making things happen and for rescuing me in style when necessary.
Andrew - For always saving me a seeta in class.
Heather - For orange juice, ice cream, and natural remedies.
Hali Lyn - For being a grad school sage and reminding me that this is possible.
Natalie - For coming over early!

I know that I missed a lot of people, and I promise that I am grateful for you too - these folks just happened to rise to the top of my gratitude list today. I am so incredibly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life who so genuine care about me.

Thanks Loves!

Follow up to my last post and BYU's cruel joke....

2010-09-19T22:14:00.001-07:00

I attend church in the JFSB on BYU campus. I would just like to shout out a big thank you to BYU for leaving at LEAST 5 of the stalls in the women's restroom on the bottom floor of the building WITHOUT toilet paper.

Thank you!

I am really starting to cherish these experiences.

Really BYU, really?

2010-09-14T18:21:00.000-07:00

One of the new and exciting things about attending school at BYU is Tuesday devotional. Elder Hales came and spoke today, and it was absolutely phenomenal. Even though most of campus shuts down for the devotional and it is broadcast on almost every TV in every building, we decided to go to the Marriott Center to see Elder Hales speak. We made our way through a sea of freshman and made a little pit stop at the ladies facilities once we got inside the building.

Inside the resting room there were a few stalls that were not being used. Weary of such stalls, I kept my distance, but heard a few people saying that there was no toilet paper. No big deal. I just waited my turn.

I entered an open stall once it was vacated and a moment later I heard a voice next to me asking for toilet paper. I looked to my TP dispenser to give this poor stranded soul some relief and found that mine was empty too! A chorus of voices went up saying that they had no toilet paper. There were at least 4 stalls in a row that were clean out of toilet paper.

*spoiler alert* Everything ended up good and right.

But what happened to the people right before us?

And those after us?

I felt like I was in China again. Only this time, no one warned me.

Note to self: Never stop carrying those little packs of tissues.

Note to BYU: Next time you have an event where THOUSANDS of people are congregating, be sure to stock your restrooms.

Day of Caring

2010-09-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

So, we down at the BYU MPA are out to change the world. It truly is an incredible (and often intimidating) experience to be around so many do-gooders all the time. One of the pluses of such an environment is that, after no more than a week of school, we canceled classes to go serve at the United Way Day of Caring. There were 6 or 7 groups of us that spread out all over Utah County to spread a little love. My group went to paint the mobile home of a couple who had lost their house after experiencing health issues that had brought incapacitating medical bills. We had a great time and it was nice to be able to get to know some people a little bit better. Our program is full of rock stars. Every person I meet makes me want to do a little more, do a little better.

This is why I decided on an MPA. I love that you can major in making a difference.

No turning back now...

2010-09-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

I am almost to the end of my first week of grad school. You would think that this would make me feel all grown up and responsible, but instead I feel more like a 7th grader than anything else. I have a backpack, a locker and I pack my lunch daily. I have secret handshakes with two of my classmates and I am intimidated by the second-years(second-years...that makes me feel like I am at Hogwarts).
The first week of school hasn't been too bad - they have only started hinting at the tidal wave of homework that will be hitting us soon. One nice thing is that almost all of our work is done in groups. The same group. My team is made up of 5 other students and we are called...drum roll please...TEAM JACOB! I think it is hilarious. Not everyone in the program agrees. They'll get over it. I want to buy a Taylor Lautner cardboard cut-out and bring him to our team presentations. That would be awesome. I'll have to see just how much I can get away with in this place.
Bring at BYU is an interesting experience. Talking about church in class and sometimes starting class with prayer is nice, but takes some getting used to. It does add some flair to our team name though. Our team scripture is Jacob 6:12, O be wise; what can I say more? We will put it at the end of all of our presentations.
I think we are so funny.

Math Camp and Morning Kindergarten

2010-08-14T21:54:00.000-07:00

I signed up for Math Camp. That means school unofficially starts next week. Grad school math camp is like summer school for the kids who are maybe a little behind in math. (or in my case, a lot behind) I never really did the whole summer school thing when I was a kid. I was a smarty-pants in elementary school. My only summer school experience was when I was in 4th grade and I went to summer school for smart kids. We read books by Gary Soto, made cookies, played with a parachute, and learned the words to "I Just Called to Say I Love You". It was a lot of fun and it made me feel smart - and special. Math camp doesn't make me feel smart or special and I don't think that it will be a lot of fun. Hmm, when I type it "Math Camp" it looks like it could have the potential to be a Disney Channel movie, like "Camp Rock". Maybe the Jonas brothers will be there. Megan would like that.

I wonder what Math Camp would be like next week if we made it into a musical? Maybe I will be the girl who comes in with a bad attitude and leaves with a boyfriend and a new found love of all things mathematical. I will totally win the big math competition on the last day of school, make a lot of new friends and learn something about myself in the process. Then we will all sing about how we are "all in this together" and we will dance our way out of math camp and into our next big adventure.

Maybe math camp won't be so bad...

BTW I got into morning kindergarten! In the MPA program there is a morning section and an afternoon section. Yesterday we got emails with our team assignments and I am assigned to a group in the morning section! That is just what I always wanted! Hooray!

Home again, home again

2010-08-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

I am back! I am officially over jet-lag! It is wonderful feeling. I have spent the last several days slowly getting settled into my new apartment in Provo. It has been strange to be back home. I am very grateful for tap water and regular toilets. I am thankful to be eating food that isn't going to make me sick. I am also grateful for freedom of speech and my closet full of clothes. I miss chopsticks and using an umbrella for shade. I miss $2.00 meals and Chinglish signs. I also kind of miss having people want to get their picture taken with me. Fame is so fleeting...

So, overall, China was incredible. It was a wild adventure and I am so glad that I went. Now I am gearing up for a new adventure. Grad school officially starts in 2 1/2 weeks. I feel a bit like I did before the mission. I knew that even after all I could do to prepare, I wouldn't really be ready, because you just don't know what it will be like until you get there. It is a mystery, and I am excited to see how it goes. I just hope I survive!

2010-08-01T02:33:00.000-07:00

In China it is 5:30pm. That just happens to make it 3:30am here. For some reason, jet-lag is always more difficult for me on the way back. It may have something to do with the fact that international travel is a little bit exhausting and therefore weakens my ability to fight the lag. Perhaps this time it is also a little worse due to the fact that I am wading through the waste land that is my final paper, and stressed about moving next week, and worried about officially starting grad school, and my baby sister just had a baby and I am not going to make it out to Nevada to welcome her to the world, and I am readjusting to soft beds, and normal food, and dry air. Maybe that has something to do with it...

A 3 Hour Tour

2010-07-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Megan updated her facebook status with this statement, "I have seen heaven and it is called Guilin." I couldn't agree more. We got off the plane Thursday morning and were greeted by our English speaking tour guide, who made sure that we each had a bottle of water as soon as we boarded the bus. (It didn't take long for us to feel like we were in heaven. Compared to Nanjing last week, this was unbelievable.)

Our guide's name was Katherine and she was great. She was about our age and we made friends quickly. She was adorable. She always called her boyfriend her "lover" and she kept telling us about the bars in Yangshou with the sexy steel poles. "Very sexy." Somehow, we missed seeing those. Our group was smaller this time and without Dr. Walters there we may have felt a bit more free to relax. We played games and sang songs on the bus. Our first destination was the Reed Flute Cave. It is massive and is displayed as only the Chinese can do. Much of the cave is lit by neon green, pink or blue lights. In the largest cavern there is a laser light show, complete with music and bubbles. Can you imagine seeing that at Timp Cave? The workers there are all in parkas, even though we thought the temperature was perfect. I guess anything under 85 is just too cold.

After the cave we climbed Fubo Hill and had an incredible view of the city. The formations in Guilin were formed when the whole area was underwater. It is easy to feel like you are still underwater when you look out over the green, otherworldly peaks of the landscape.

We checked into our hotel that afternoon and had 3 hours of free time. That seemed a little excessive, so we decided to add our own extra tourist spot. We would walk to the Solitary Peak/Prince's Palace and have a look around. It would cost 15 RMB. It was a good plan. Then we started walking, and walking. It took about 45 minutes to find our destination and cost 70 RMB to get into the park. However, even though things didn't go as planned, we still had a great adventure. We climbed to the top of the peak on stairs that were at least 8 inches tall. I had a hard time scaling them and can't imagine how the Chinese can walk up them with their petite legs! In the park there was a Peace Cave that we really wanted to see, but the doors were locked. We could hear people in there and became determined to find our way in.

It turned out that only tour guides had the key to the cave, so we waited for a group and then sneaked in with them. It was a little awkward because several members of their group were sneaking pictures of us while they were waiting for their guide to explain the cave. They weren't actually very sneaky. Sometimes I wish they would just ask us for a picture so they didn't end up with pictures taken from strange angles as they creep around behind us to try to get a shot. We are all pretty used to it now. I will post a facebook album when I get home of all of our paparazzi pictures. They are pretty great. The cave ended up being less than impressive, but we were still proud of our mad sneaking skills.

When we were ready to go back to the hotel we were running short on time so had to hail a cab. In China. Without a Chinese speaker. This hadn't happened to us yet. We ended up showing our driver our hotel key card and that worked just fine. On the way back we witnessed a drug deal outside the car window when we were stopped at a red light. More adventure for us!

The next day we took a river cruise down the Li River to Yangshou. It was a 3 hour tour and it was phenomenal. The river cuts right through the famous peaks of Guilin and there were people on bamboo rafts on the river, others doing their laundry, and there were lots of water buffalo along the banks of the river. It reminded me a lot of cruising down the Tracy Fjord last year, but this time it was anything but freezing outside. When we got to Yangshou our tour guide took us to ride another boat. None of us were exactly sure of what the activity was, but she said we might get wet.

Heather and I did NOT want to get wet. We only went on the condition that everyone in the group would promise that they would not get us wet. When we got to the river there were hundreds of bamboo rafts, built for two floating on the river. We each got on a raft and our guides pushed us along the river with their bamboo poles. As we were pushing off a little old lady came out on one of the rafts to try and sell us a water gun or plastic bags. We didn't want the water gun for sure, but it was only as we were pushing off that I realized what the plastic bags were for; they were to cover our shoes and suddenly I knew that we needed them desperately. We practically threw money at her, and she reached out to hand us the bags. They ended up being lifesavers.

We sat back and relaxed and took in the view for much of the ride. Every once in a while someone from a neighboring raft would spray us with water guns and we would put up our umbrellas to protect ourselves. There were rafts in the middle of the river selling beer and dried fish. The whole thing was very quaint and incredibly beautiful. Halfway through the ride our guide gave us a water gun so we could defend ourselves. I don't know if he was being merciful or malicious. Once we started defending ourselves, we had much more to defend. We worked out a system where one person would shield us with both umbrellas and the other would squirt our attackers with the water gun. Of course, this just made them more persistent, and we ended up getting soaked by lots of Asians who were getting a kick out of seeing these two American girls hide behind umbrellas. We had a marvelous time. Everyone on the river was good-natured, and we all came off of the river wishing that the ride had been longer.

After the river we went to a park where there was a 1,000 year old banyan tree. We all walked around it for luck and longevity. Soon it started to rain, and even though we were already soaked, we ran to the bus and back to the hotel. We spent the evening bargaining on West Street and went to sleep incredibly happy. For most of us it was our favorite day thus far in China.

Saturday morning we drove back to Guilin and visited the Elephant Truck Hill. (It looks like an elephant, if you hadn't guessed.) We had some more great paparazzi moments and spent too long posing with elephant statues in the river. Because of time we ended up eating lunch at KFC. I will tell you now that NONE of us complained. We are enjoying the Chinese food, but sometimes we just need something familiar.

After lunch we rushed to the airport and flew back to Xiamen. We got in at 3:30 pm this week, as opposed to last week's 3:30 am. We were exceedingly grateful for that, even though I think all of us would have been happy with more time in Yangshou. This weekend was unbelievable.

How I Spent My Nanjing Vacation

2010-07-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

We were up bright and early on Tuesday to catch our 7:30 flight to Shanghi. Once we landed we drove to Zhouzhuang. It is often referred to as the "Venice of China". It is an old canal city that is very beautiful, but it is also very small and packed with tourists. They did have boats running up and down the canals with little old Chinese men and women piloting them and singing traditional Chinese songs. That was one of my favorite things that I have seen thus far.

The Nanjing area is known as one of the 3 furnaces in China and let me tell you, it lived up to its name. It was so incredibly hot. When we first got here we saw all of the girls carrying umbrellas and fans on hot sunny days and we thought it was adorable. Now we know that it is both adorable, and a necessity. We don't think twice anymore about busting out an umbrella for some portable shade.

We also visited a Buddhist temple and had some very fancy meals. I ate duck brain again. I had to. The boys were daring each other to eat from the duck head and when they gave in, they just picked out little bits of meat that weren't much different than the meat on the plate. When Jasen said, "Jennica, show them how it's done," I had to. I couldn't look as I cracked the head open, but I sure ate that brain and showed everyone up. It was a triumphant moment, if not a little disgusting.

On the second day we visited some very beautiful and very Chinese (surprise!) gardens and made the 3 hour drive to Nanjing. (My favorite garden was the "Humble Administrator's Garden". We all made jokes about becoming humble administrators. I am already succumbing to MPA humor. Yikes. At this point I was on day 2 of heat exhaustion and I didn't know if I would make it through the day alive. I was feeling less than congenial and it showed. When Seth and Sarah asked me how I was doing, I said that I wanted to kick a kitten. Now Seth asks me how my KKM (kitten kicking meter) is doing. It is usually very low, just so you know.

However, in that moment it was at 100%. Our tour guide didn't speak any English, so we just had to follow him around and listen to 10 minutes of a Chinese explanation of a rock or a bush or an old room that looked like all of the previous 50 rooms that we had seen and then one of our Chinese speakers would translate the 2 sentences that they could remember and we would shuffle along to the next place. It was excruciating. It was 94 out with 70% humidity. I honestly didn't think I would make it through the day.

We had arrived in Nanjing at the Presidential Office of Sun Yat-Sen. We had just driven 3 hours in a poorly air-conditioned bus and the site closed in an hour. Our guide talked at the entrance, in the heat, for at least 30 minutes. I wanted to die. Luckily I lived through the day, if only just barely.

That night the beds at our hotel were soft. SOFT! I haven't slept in a soft bed for almost a month! All of the beds here (including hotel beds) are just raised sections of floor. They are rock hard. I am used to sleeping on them now, but it was a treat to sleep on a soft bed! We also had "western" breakfasts at our hotels. It was Chinese style french toast, breads and cereal, but it counted and was a relief from some of the crazy food we have been eating. Usually I am very adventurous with food, but after a month I am just craving sandwiches and cereal.

Our last day in Nanjing was incredible. We were met in the morning by an MPA grad who is working in China. He toured with us and acted as our interpreter! It was so refreshing! We saw the tomb of Sun Yat-Sen. We had to walk 392 steps to get there. Each step represented 1 million people who lived in China at the time of his death. It reminded me of the Spanish Steps in Rome. We also went to see the Ming Tombs where the emperor of the dynasty is buried. (Along with his 40 concubines that they buried alive so they could all be together in the afterlife). Yikes.

My favorite part of the tombs were the stone animals and soldiers that guarded the way to the tombs. There were huge stone elephants, camels, lions, and chimera. We took a lot of pictures with them and our Chinese tour guide thought we were nuts. In the afternoon we went back to the Presidential Office and then had about an hour to run through a Night Market. Our group is becoming rather adept at haggling.

At dinner we found out that our flight was going to be delayed more than 3 hours, but less than 4. (At 4 hours the airline has to put you up in a hotel.) That put us flying out at 1:30. It was a long night. However, the airline did hand out Sprite and ramen while we waited. I can't imagine an airline in America ever doing that. We finally got home at about 3:30 and discovered that the University would be having an all day power outage starting at 7:30 in the morning. What a warm (literally) welcome home. We showered before we went to sleep and got up just as the AC clicked off for the day.

We were all especially grateful for church today. It was fast and testimony meeting. When it came time for testimonies, they asked for 2 volunteers from the Xiamen group, so Jasen and I volunteered. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to bear my testimony across all of China. I imagine that I probably won't have many more opportunities to bear my testimony via Skype. It was a little weird to have my back to the group and just talk to the computer, but it was also pretty awesome.

After church we had a 4th of July BBQ! Skip and Callie had brought buns and BBQ pork, and potato salad, AND homemade rootbeer! Alicia provided the salad, brownies, and jello and we brought drinks and chips. I am not kidding when I say that several of us were very close to getting emotional over the welcome sight of such familiar food. We all ate our fill and were incredibly happy.

Traveling abroad always makes me very grateful for all of the blessings that we enjoy at home. I am very grateful to be an American.

We went home and struggled through the rest of the day without electricity. We tried to nap, as we had only gotten 3 hours of sleep the night before and, as Talia said, "We slept like sweaty babies". It didn't last last long. We went out to find some kind of relief and discovered the only hotel on campus that still had AC and sat on a couch there for 4 hours until the power came back on.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder and there are no words to express how fond I am of air-conditioning.

Today I miss regular toilets (not squat pots), and reliable electricity. I also miss fireworks on a warm summer night. God bless America.

Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite

2010-06-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

Monday was moving day! Our housing turned out to be less than desirable. We found out that the management handed out room keys like candy. We all had to bleach our rooms because they were pretty much filthy, there were cockroaches, rats in the entry way, and finally - bed bugs. Bed bugs were the final straw. As soon as Dr. Walters found out about them, he set out to find us some new digs.

We somehow finagled our way into the international student housing (where we would have been from the get go, if not for some unfortunate logistical issues). We checked in there and checked out at our old place. Once we got the word, we were all packed within the hour. We were quite the sight on our journey to our new place. We had a 20 minute walk with all of our luggage and all of the cleaning supplies, food, and water that we had purchased since we got here. And we thought people looked at us funny just because we were American. Try eleven Americans hauling all they could carry across a busy campus.

It was a little crazy, but in the end we all feel a million times better. A million. We have a security guard at the university gates and also in our building. We have a beautiful view of campus and there are no bed bugs here! What luck! Maybe they put us in the other place first so that we would appreciate what we have now. The only downside to our new little slice of heaven is that we do not have internet in our rooms. We are working on it, but it is going to take a few days. We leave for Nanjing tomorrow, so I anticipate internet maybe Monday or Tuesday.

As of today we have one month left here in China, and I have officially been gone for 3 weeks. Class is going well and we are finally all feeling at home in Xiamen. The food here keeps making me sick, but we have pitchers to boil water in our rooms now, so I think that I will just be eating a lot of ramen over the next month, and try to avoid the cafeterias with all my might.

We had a movie party last night with some of our Chinese classmates. We watched a Kung Fu movie and now we all want to learn some Kung Fu. I don't know if we will get that chance, but my project partner (Vivienne) brought a friend who is a Tai Chi expert, and he agreed to teach us Tai Chi! We had a lesson today and he wore us out. It lasted just over 2 hours and we were practicing in the afternoon heat. We are not very good at Tai Chi, but maybe we will be experts when we come home. We will see. Tai Chi is usually only practiced by the elderly, so everyone got a great show, seeing seven young Americans trying to play Tai Chi. Good times all around.

Well, the group leaves at 5:45 tomorrow morning, so I had best be off to pack!

By the way, I miss pizza, macaroni and cheese, tap water, safe fruits and vegetables, and dry air.

When I leave China I will miss lush greenery, my classmates, choco-pies, magnum bars, and meals for $1.50.

Under my umbrella, ella, ella....

2010-06-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

As many of you have probably heard, there has been a great deal of flooding here in southern China. Last I heard 4 million people have been displaced and approximately 400 people have been killed. Fortunately, we are on an island that is just off the mainland, so we have avoided most of the danger.

We have seen a lot of rain though; just the other day we were eating lunch at the cafeteria when a major downpour started. After eating we ran to Heather and Dr Walter's hotel (which is on campus and therefore very close) to wait out the rain. It didn't stop. We decided that we would just have to brave the weather, as we had pressing responsibilities back at our apartment. (Talia is finishing up TA duties and had to turn in grades ASAP). We walked outside and the rain gutters were pouring rivers of water into the streets. We hadn't ever seen anything like it! So, we did what any good American girls would do. We put up our umbrellas and took pictures under the torrents of water coming from the roof of the building. It was a classic Gene Kelly moment and the Chinese people who were around got a good laugh.

Not long after we set out for home, the rain stopped. It was perfect timing. We did, however, still get our feet wet. It had rained so much that there was no way to exit the campus without walking through 6-8 inches of water. I don't think it had rained more than an hour. I am exceedingly grateful for my umbrella. Everyone loves umbrellas here. They are sold on most every street and in Hong Kong they even had umbrella vending machines. Umbrellas are used rain or shine. When it is sunny it is so hot and humid outside that the shade doesn't really make a huge difference, but anything helps, and it is nice for blocking the sun if nothing else. Sunburns are no fun.

The flooding did throw a wrench in the plans of half the group recently. They were supposed to go see the Hakka toulous, (and I was supposed to have a leisurely day here), but the roads were flooded and they couldn't go. There is only one more chance for them to go at the end of July, the rest of our days are booked. Things are going to start getting very exciting. We can't wait. Most of this week has been dedicated to exploring Xiamen, and we are feeling a little "explored out." We have seen most of the area and are ready for new and exciting things! Details to come shortly....

Miss Jennica

SeRUNity NOW!

Thanks Steve Jobs!

Really, all Iknew about Steve Jobs was that he wore black turtlenecks and made it possiblefor me to fit my entire music collection in the back pocket of my jeans.

He also said that he wanted to make a ding in the universe. I would saythat he more than succeeded in that endeavor. Thanks Steve Jobs. Well done.

NO PANTS!

Grown Up Girl Grad School

General Conference!

Running Dirty

It's Friday, Friday, Friday...

So Hot Housewarming Party!

Back in the Saddle!

Relay Recap

Spokane to Sandpoint

UP

Camilla the Thrilla

I came. I saw. I TRIed.

Happy Birthday Avi!

Trail Runners and Midnight Concerts

When ye are in the service of your fellow beings....

Impossible is Nothing

Rain

Potter Mania

Sub 9, Sub 30, Sub 40

Coke and Cookies

Happy Fourth of July!

MOAB!

DEMOLITION DERBY

Camaraderie

525,600 Minutes

14th Annual Judgesrun

Take Luck Naim!

Congratulations Class of 2011!

Graduation is almost here

...like it's my birthday

COMMUTE!

Internship!

Buster Keaton and the Race for the Cure

SUMMER!

Still alive. Almost there.

Getting Down the Mountain

So close, and yet so very far away...

The Verdict Is In

What Luck

When You're Weary, Feeling Small...

Physical Therapy!

These Streets Will Make You Feel Brand New

Who's that Chick that's Rockin' Kicks?!

Who Says Walking Isn't Good Exercise?

13 Miles in 30 Days

Tuesday Playlist

Mr. Blue Sky

So Maybe I Jumped Out of a Plane...

Nothing changes until it changes...

Munch and Mingle

New clothes! I am a runner for real...ish!

Cupcake Cubies

Tender Mercies

6.5

Not Amos Lee...ME!

The Noble MPA

The Salt Lake Half Marathon. WHA?!

I Really Love My....

The Only Thing Constant is Change

I Really Love My....

Sandwich Monday: Twilight Zone Edition

I Really Love My....

Chivalry is not dead...yet.

Surprise Yourself

The First Gift of Christmas

A Small Dose of Perspective

Musings on Public Restrooms

Almost There!

Christmas at the Tanner

The Sick and Afflicted

Exceedingly Grateful

Eureka!

Weak Ankles

New playlist. Check. Running shoes. Check. Rockin the beanie? You bet. Rolled ankle in the first song...Really Mitchell? Really?!

You, Me, and Sara B.

He also said that he wanted to make a ding in the universe. I would saythat he more than succeeded in that endeavor.

Thanks Steve Jobs. Well done.