I fell off the face off the earth...

I'm busy okay?

I'll post next year when I graduate.

Yeah that's right. WHEN I GRADUATE.

6 months...

Dear real job,

please miraculously land in my lap.

K thanks.

I'll try to post again before May.

A Proper Update

Okay, so I know I've been MIA lately.

Things have honestly been so crazy around here!

Two weekends ago, I took Cody 

(the cute boy mentioned in the last post)

home with me for the weekend!

We went to the Saturday morning session of General Conference

and then the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday!

(he's just a little taller than the rest of us :) )

Okay so it wasn't actually my birthday,

but we celebrated a little early since we were with the fam!

We spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday in Heber

enjoying the Fall leaves, listening to Conference and having fun.

Then in true birth-week fashion, the celebrations continued

Monday night with dinner at Texas Roadhouse

with the Grandparents!

Friday the 7th was my real birthday and after

Cody got off work we went and got sushi, went shopping,

and then got frozen yogurt.

It was a perfect day and 23 looks like its

gonna be a great year!

I've been busy, alright?

(via)

Hello little blog! It's been awhile.

I've been real busy with school, work, and spending time with

this cute boy.

I kinda like him a lot...

After my finance test tomorrow,
I will post a better update of my life!
But for now I need to study.

What Stuck Out to Me Today

From this cool website I just found.
etiquetteforalady.tumblr.com

The End and The Beginning

(via)

My Favorite Time of Day

Because it's my second-to-last semester,

I have the luxury of only having 3 classes on Tuesday/Thursdays...

3 classes might not sound like much, but between that,

Business Ambassadors, the NVCG, friends, work, and a very cute boy...

I've been prettttttttty busy lately.

 

But for an hour and a half between my classes

I sit on the 4th floor of the library , in a comfy

chair, next to the giant windows.

I put my headphones in and for an hour and a half 

(if I'm lucky) no one bothers me.

 

It's quiet.

I let myself do whatever I want and I just enjoy the view with the sun

shining in.

And it's the best time of the day.

Timing is Everything

I can't stop listening to this song.

"When the stars line up
And you catch a good break
People think you're lucky
But you know its grace"

This Week's Motto

(via)

Happy Monday

I hadn’t been paying much attention to things like the sunrise, but that old sun had been coming up anyway. It didn’t really care how I felt, it was going to rise and set regardless of whether I noticed it, and if I was going to enjoy it, that was up to me.

-Jeannette Walls

(via)

Those who can laugh without cause have either found the

true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad.

-Norm Papernick

 (via)

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”

— Charles W. Eliot

 (via)

Feeling Hopeful

(via thenotebookdoodles.com)

5 Reasons Why...

I am HAPPY:

1. I'm back here:

(via my Instagram)

I seriously love this place.

2. I only have 3 classes this semester.
(And 4 next semester)
There is light at the end of the tunnel people!! 

3. I was lucky enough to be picked as a Business Ambassador
this year! Which means I get to work with 12 amazing students
and meet all the extremely successful, very important business people
that come visit our school.
Can you say door to a future career?

4.Good things seem to keep happening. :)

5. My family is coming to visit tonight,
which means I get to hang out with this little girl:

Possibilities

 (via)

It is the possibility of having a dream come true that

makes life interesting.

-Paulo Coelho

Some Good Words

 (via)

Okay, so I'm a huge Harry Potter nerd. My friends make fun of me.

It's cool, I'm perfectly alright with it.

I grew up loving the books (and movies) and whoever

said HP was of the devil and wanted it banned from schools is,

in my opinion,completely crazy.

Just read these little gems from Dumbledore and try to tell me this isn't good stuff!

Here are my favorites:

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.

It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.  

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.

Humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for them.   

Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground.

Off to bed! Pip pip!

Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.

I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind. 

And my personal favorite: 

Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?

Some nice things

 (via)

 (via)

 (not sure where I found this)

(via)

(via)

(via)

(via)

The New Apartment

About two weeks ago I moved into a new apartment.

Can I just tell you...I LOVE IT.

Seriously, it's great. It's good to be in a nice place and 

not some old worn out college apartment.

However, Sunday night I was sitting on the couch and I thought to myself,

this place just doesn't quite seem like home yet.

It needed some help, so I went to work.

I'm pretty proud of it, so here's some pictures.

(This is for you Micall! I expect to see your new apartment pictures SOON!)

Keep in mind that although this is not a gross college apartment,

I am still on a college budget.

 Living Room

 Kitchen

Oh, and I bought a fish!

His name is Juan Carlos.(It's kind of an inside joke. His name.)

My room!

I know this was probably photo-overload, but I just had to share!

What's On My Mind

I've been thinking a lot lately. 

What a profound statement, I know....

But really, I've had a lot on my mind. 

 I haven't blogged for awhile because there are actually a few (as in one or two) 

people who actually read this now. Before, I could post whatever I wanted and no one would ever read it because they didn't know this little corner of the universe existed.

It was a nice way to let it all out.

I haven't wanted to write anything because I guess it's a little weird

to have people know exactly how I feel. Sometimes I have a hard time
talking about things. 

But the more I've thought about it, I've come to decide that I don't care.

Why should we be scared to let people know how we feel?

It's easier for me to write about things then talk about them,
so blogging is a really good way for me to vent. You don't need to worry,

I'm not going to be spilling out deep, dark secrets or anything...

but sometimes I really just need a place to unload. So here I go...

And to quote all the Grey's Anatomy episodes I've been watching lately,

sometimes I don't feel all "bright and shiny". Sometimes I'm sad. 

Sometimes I have anxiety problems. And sometimes I'm not very optimistic.

That's life. 

But most of the time, I'm actually really happy. And I'm excited for this year. 

It's going to be a lot different from the rest, but I can't wait to see what it brings. 

So here's to a new school year, making new friends, and most of all, being perfectly honest.

Yep

"So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be."
— Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

Break

Haven't felt much like blogging lately. I think I'm just burned out from blogging so much about my trip. Also, I've been so busy that there just hasn't been much time. So anyway, if I don't have much to say in the next few weeks, forgive me. It's just that I'm spending my free time watching Grey's Anatomy re-runs. :)

My Best Friend's Wedding

This girl got married yesterday.

We've been best friends since we were 6 years old.

Through hauling our stuffed animals around, tumbling,

and rollerblading in her basement in elementary school;

to Children's Chorus and an awesome performance of Annie in middle school;

through all those crazy years of high school soccer/football games/date dances;

and 4 years of laughing until 3 am, living in an awesome yellow house,

and going through some rough times at Utah State.

This girl has probably seen me cry more than anyone on the 

planet, we've spent countless hours laying out by the pool,

had dozens of spontaneous dance parties in the car (puffy coats),

we've threatened to kill each other's exes if they ever step foot near us again,

she's supported me through all my gallivanting across the globe,

and now she gets to live Happy Ever After with a really amazing guy.

I might joke around about her abandoning me for a boy, but I 

really couldn't be happier for her.

Love you Sarah Josaphina. :)

Perfectly said!

So I've been planning on writing a little list 

of all the reasons why traveling is an awesome thing, for awhile.

But Jenni, from

  (a blog I like to read)

guest posted today and  pretty much took the words right outta my mouth!

So you should go and read 

this!

Well said, my friend...well said.

Some other thoughts/pictures from Peru

 This is one of my favorite pictures I've taken during my trip.

Funny thing is, I snapped it with my iPhone out the bus window.

I think it's a perfect representation of life in Cusco. 

All the old ladies dress like this; I loved it! :)

You can't really tell from the picture,

but this was the most pathetic looking animal I've ever seen!

It's wool was so stringy and he was filthy.

He's kinda cute in his own way though, don't you think?

 

In case you haven't noticed,

there are A LOT of llamas in Peru.

Also, I've found it's extremely hard to start a business

in a country where information is NOT available on the 

wonderful world wide web.

"Just Google it!" doesn't really apply here.

In case you're wondering what I'm talking about,

we're helping people here in Trujillo start small businesses

  through the SEED program at Utah State University.

3 more days till I'm home!

Whatchuuu lookin at?

People stare at us a lot here.

I guess it's understandable considering the fact that there are 29 students,

4 faculty members, 3 guys volunteering and their 2 sons,

in a town with little to no tourists.

That's a lot of loud Americans.

And in case you didn't know, that's what Americans are:

LOUD.

We've had multiple people tell us that.

But, sometimes when we're walking around

(even in very small groups)

I can feel people's eyes on me.

Sometimes guys pass and whistle, or even whisper

"Que ojos bonitos" ("What pretty eyes") to me.

Blue eyes aren't common around here.

Even so, sometimes I get sick of it and when people stare I wanna yell,

 WHAT?!?! Have you never seen a white person before?!

But...so far I've refrained. 

I don't want to be considered white, loud, AND crazy...

A little luck

I'm on the last leg of my trip!

We're here in Trujillo, Peru until July 1st, when we head for home!

We're here doing a microfinance project 

and also working in an eyeglass clinic for field workers.

I'm really excited.

I apologize if there aren't many updates between

now and when I get home.

We only have a week to get all of our projects done

and I still have 4 papers to write. Oops...

BUT by some alignment of the planets

or whatever else brings luck to people,

when we checked in to this hotel I got my own room.

With a KING size bed.

Overlooking the pool.

For a week and a half.

Yay!

Machu Picchu

I feel like I'm starting to sound like a broken record:

"This is so AMAZING!"

"The pictures don't do it justice!"

"You guys need to see this!"

So I'm not going to say anything about this one except that

I loved every minute of it.

I had about 3 more  pictures I wanted to post here.
But thanks to internet the speed of dial-up in the 1990's here in Peru,
just these two photos took over 30 minutes to load!
So my friends, I'm afraid the pictures will be
few and far between until I get home to some decent high speed internet.

Oh the luxuries of the United States.

Speaking of home...I'm seriously craving a PB&J.
Like as in I need one NOW.
But of course, peanut butter is nowhere to be found.

It's funny, the things you miss when you're gone.

Welcome to Cuscotopia!

This place is the has the most culture 

of pretty much anywhere I've ever been!

We're here during one of their biggest festivals of the year

so everything is decorated, there are parades everyday,

fireworks, huge paper mache animals, and people dressed up in amazing costumes.

 Cathedral in the main square, La Plaza de Armas

Me holding a baby llama! It was super cute besides

the fact that it kept trying to eat my hair.

One of the hillsides surrounding Cusco.

Giant, disgusting spider.

Town hall

Tomorrow I get to wake up at 4:30 am to go to Machu Picchu!