Tasty Treats

November 9, 2011

Just as I'd expected, this week is bringing a lot, and I mean A LOT, of stress. I'm finding myself going over and over and over my schedule making changes here and there, then changing them back, then just shaking my head before putting it to the wall. Hard. They say there are three things involved in college: Good grades, social life, and sleep. You only get to pick two. Well, to me, it's almost like you only get to pick one. Ya-freaking-hoo.

So the stomach issues are resolving little by little. As I had stated in my previous post, I was fine Saturday and Sunday. Monday wasn't too bad. Felt some more pressure again on Tuesday, but thankfully it went away after about two hours. For right now, I'm justing waiting for it to kick in again. But, when one thing is alright, another thing will go wrong. For instance, I spent all of Tuesday with a charlie horsed knee. It felt like I was constantly fighting an old woman moment a.k.a. falling flat on my behind because my knee was threatening to give out. I don't mean to whine, but it's the truth.

I'm pretty surprised right now that my stomach isn't doing poorly again because I've been living off the vending machines and Cougar Express for breakfast. Bagel on Monday, bagel with cream cheese on Tuesday, and a nice, healthy, super delicious hot fudge sundae poptart today. Mmm~ I feel so healthy. I don't dare weigh myself. I'm pretty sure I've fallen victim to the Freshman 15. I'm walking around a ton more now since I don't have a car but I highly doubt it's any compensation to the crap I've been eating. Sure, I cook now, but it's really only dinner that gets attention. All breakfasts and lunches are thrown to the wind. Whatever. At least I'm not building a wall of poptart boxes. And at least I offer up any sweets I make to my roommates. Let me just say, that is one really fast way of getting rid of calorie filled foods. Helps me know I can make edible stuff too.

Thanksgiving isn't coming soon enough. I really just want to gorge myself on my mother's homemade food and then sleep and then get up at an ungodly hour to go shopping for Black Friday. The older you get, the more you love Thanksgiving. Christmas will always be tops. October through April is filled with holidays. Makes me wish the summer months were more festive besides Independence Day, which my family seems to no longer want to celebrate. (I love fireworks. Sure, it's burning money, but this is America. It's what we do.)

Alas, now it's back to studying for a Biology quiz and looking at the information my group has posted about Global Warming so that I can get started on putting the presentation together.

Turning of the Seasons

November 6, 2011

It has now snowed twice during my Freshman year here at the Y.

Auuuuggggghhhhhhhhhh

I'm really not a very big fan of winter, which is encroaching ever nearer to this part of the world. My toes are already turning into little ice cubes and there's never enough blankets on my bed. Seriously. Bed sheet, fleece blanket, electric blanket, comforter, BYU fleece blanket, and jean quilt. If it weren't for that electric blanket, man, I have no idea what I'd do. It's especially cold at night for me since I'm a night shower person. Wet hair plus 40 degree temperatures in the dorms equal a very chilled, very unhappy person. This makes me miss the days of sleeping in late in my bed back home. I really miss my full sized bed. The tiny twin sized mattresses of the dorms are ridiculously uncomfortable. No wonder my back hurts so bad. But I digress...

It's a great thing that Thanksgiving break is coming up soon. I can't wait to finally go back home and see how everyone is doing. I'm especially stoked to see my dog again. Who would of thought you could miss a furry, fat, lazy creature so much? I definitely want to swing by the public library again to see what sort of shenanigans they're up to now that the recarpeting is done. Definitely need to go back and visit my old sections again. I miss the fiction, but I'm glad I don't have to worry about VHS and paperbacks anymore. Oh, the agony. I'm thinking though, that when I go home I should probably get myself checked out. First off, I've been having pretty intense stomach pains for about two weeks. I've been fine today and yesterday, but it was still pretty worrisome. Also, my vision seems to be blurring a bit. I don't think I'll need glasses, but I still just want to check to make sure. The stomach pains could be from a poor diet. I went without dairy for a good week since my milk went bad and I was too lazy to get off my butt and go to the creamery and buy more. Then once I had milk again, the stomach pains got a lot worse. I didn't let it stop me from eating though.

Speaking of food. Mom, if you're looking at this, I want that recipe for your potato and carrot soup/stew/chowder. You have no idea how good it sounds right now. Also, I need the cabbage salad recipe from Kodi. And speaking of Kodi, I really need a haircut. I miss my bangs. My forehead is cold!

Holy midterms, Batman! This next week is going to be intense. Two midterms for Religion and Biology. Let's hope I don't bomb as badly as last time. Plus, I've got to get the presentation for Global Warming for Bio done before the 14th. Oh, and a paper for Religion is due on Tuesday. Hmm... plus all the usual weekly assignments in my other classes. I'm definitely not taking more than 14 credits this next semester. 15.5 was pretty intense for a first semester. If my brothers are reading this I'm sure they're just laughing. Yes. I know. I'm a wimp. But at least I'm persistent!

But one of the perks of college is making hilarious memories. There really isn't anything quite like dragging all the mattresses out of our dorm rooms into the kitchen and then watching Hairspray before passing out from oxygen deprivation caused by mass amounts of laughing. Sleepovers in the kitchen are the best. Especially when you have Stake Conference the next dayand can get home at a reasonable time... just to go right back to sleep in the kitchen for three hours as soon as you get home.

I'll have to brag to my old high school friends about how many movies I'm watching. I always fall asleep watching movies but I'm seeing at least one movie a week this semester. I think my tally just from Intro to Film puts me at about 10 now, plus Super 8, Nausicaa, Hairspray (previously seen), Gone With the Wind (the first half), and Hot Rod. I feel like a movie junkie now. And I've also got a huge urge to get a Netflix account. Must resist temptation to do so!

I think this is about as much as there is to discuss for now. On a side note, have I mentioned how much I miss squirrels? They're pretty much nonexistent here. I really haven't seen a single one within the past 2 and a half months I've been here. Sure, half the time they were just roadkill back home, but I almost miss nearly running them over. They made winter entertaining.

On another side note, as of tomorrow it will be six months until I turn 19. I feel old, but happy half birthday to me!

Haha~ Well, it was a good idea at the time

November 2, 2011

So as I'm sure you all can see, I'm not even very good at blogging. So here's what September through October was like in a nutshell:

PANDEMONIUM

College life is crazy.

Bat crap crazy.

Flat freaking crazy.

There's roommates and cleaning, staying awake in class and homework, friendships and flirting (what's the difference?), not to mention a real church calling and trying to seem perfect among a sea of saints.

But I've learned a lot really. The best classes are always the ones you think you'll find boring. Intro to Film? I'm in love with it. Movies are so great to talk about. And I'm not falling asleep through them anymore! Figure Drawing is wonderful, albeit stressful as all heck. My artwork has improved so much within just these two months and I'm falling in love with sketching again.

I've also learned that's it's okay not be on top anymore. I have had a lesson in humility. Holding a 3.96 GPA in high school was great. Getting a 74% on my first religion test was a bitter pill to swallow. The grade got switched around a bit later on due to curving, but still. I don't need to be the best. I really just need to try my hardest and pray. If I don't get an A, well that's just fine. I fought tooth and nail and I know my own work and commitment. I still don't plan on letting my grades slip below a B average, but that's a big step down from high school where I wanted to shoot myself in the foot if I didn't score at least a 90 on everything.

I've also learned that I'm not as weird as I thought I was. It's completely possible for there to be people out there like me. It's okay for a BYU student to watch anime, read manga, play video games, read internet memes, and listen to super crazy Japanese music. I feel accepted here. Way more than back home. Sure, I'm still a bit lonely, but I'm finally making some friends.

I'm a much better homemaker than I thought. I really, truly, wholeheartedly hate to admit it, but I guess I might make a decent little wifey someday. Cooking is awesomely fun. For reals. Cookies are so great to make. Fried rice is delicious. I'm pretty sure that my new mode of procrastination is cooking. So much better than homework.

On a different note, people aren't kidding about the dating scene at BYU. Sure, I've only been asked out on one date, and the fine young gentleman was from the U (*cringe*), but it was honestly the best date I've been on. But what I mean about the dating scene is that you will always, always have roommates or friends with a significant other. It's incredulously entertaining. Like watching all those teenage dramas on ABC Family, but it's real life. But you get used to it quickly. You learn to laugh at the couple making out across the parking lot from your dorm window. You learn to ignore the girl giving a back massage to her boyfriend in the middle of a devotional and just wonder, 'Why would she ever date (or marry) someone that bald?' This is BYU. It's normal. If anything, the most ridiculous thing I see on a daily basis would be the bodies laying strewn about in random positions along the landscaping of the campus. Is it a serial killer? Avian flu? Zombie apocalypse? Global Warming? Nah. They're all just sleeping. In public. But every time I see someone asleep on the ground I just think they have narcolepsy, then remember I'm at college. Yup. Normal, normal, normal.

All in all, I'll survive. It's still going to be stressful here, but I've got this feeling that all these experiences are for the best. I might not make it into the program I want. Oh well. It'll suck, but I'll find something new, however hard it may be. I might not find a soulmate here. I really don't care about that. Okay, I do, but you know what I mean. I might not do as smashingly well as I'd hoped I would in my classes. Life moves on. No one is really going to care how I did in my college Biology class in ten years.

This is just one step in life and there's still many more left on this staircase of existence.

For now, I'll just do my best.