Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Me

• My second toe is longer than my big toe.
• My index fingers are ridiculously big. 
• I've got a birthmark on the upper left side of my stomach. 
• I'm an extremely sentimental person. And it sucks sometimes. 
• I over think EVERYTHING.
• I'm absolutely terrified of snakes.
• I love grocery shopping. 
• I'm not a huge fan of red meat. I'll eat it, but I prefer chicken.
• I love watching sappy Hallmark movies.
• I'm obsessed with lotion, headbands, perfume, swimsuits and earrings.
• I am very reserved. How I act around people I do and don't know is like night and day. I'm shy and keep to myself around people I don't know but around people I do know I'll talk their ears off.
• I like to sleep in a cold bed. That way I can snuggle up in my blankets without getting too hot. 
• I am very old fashioned. 
• I name inanimate objects.
• I'll eat ketchup on almost anything. It's a Johnson thing. 
• I love apple juice way too much. 
• I am EXTREMELY claustrophobic. 
• Touching things that used to be someones who is now dead creeps me out. 
• Whenever I'm anywhere outside of Utah I feel like everyone is out to get me. 
• Whenever I'm home alone for an extended period of time I deep clean my house.
• Also when I'm home alone, sometimes I turn up my music full blast and pretend like I'm giving a concert to thousands of crazed fans. (Yep, I'm weird).
• I'm extremely opinionated but hardly share my opinions except to my family and close friends. 
• One time I slipped when I was doing Baptisms for the Dead. It was really embarrassing because it was a complete wipe out kind of slip and everyone on the other side of the glass saw it. 
• I tend to be super paranoid. 

I'll Give You A Reason

Today has seemed never ending. I blame the snow. Stupid snow.

Go listen to this song. You wont regret it. It's great!

Last night I had a killer migraine and I honestly thought I was going to die. It was horrible.

My car, Squanto, has decided to be stupid lately. Yesterday was one of those freak snow days, that we seem to get more and more of as the years go on. And what did Squanto decide to do? To have the flipping motor that rolls the window up, die! So I was stranded, at home, and couldn't go to a much anticipated devotional. And now when I drive around I look extremely classy with my window being held up with duct-tape!

Being unemployed and not attending school at the same time makes for an extremely boring lifestyle. I would be trying super hard to find a job but I really can't get a job until the middle of April. So I'm just going to have to get creative and try and find someway to entertain myself.

The first movie I'll expose my children to, from my generation, is definitely going to be Napoleon Dynomite.

I'm am so excited for Thursday. Why? Because I'm going to the premiere of The Host. I'm not a big book worm. I don't usually get all excited over all the books everyone else seems to get excited about. That is not the case with The Host. I got WAY excited with this one.
Since I've had absolutely nothing to do for the past week I reread The Host. I knew I wanted to see the movie because I'd read the book before, however I couldn't remember diddly squat about it.
So I reread it. Became a crazed fan. And have been watching all things dealing with The Host on YouTube. What a waste of time eh? Anyways, Thursday can't get here soon enough.

In 2 weeks I get to go to Texas to visit my Brother and Sister-in-law. Oh, and my niece, Charlie! I'm beyond excited.

Go watch this. It is definitely worth it.

Well I can't think of much more to bore you with. So with out further ado.

I'm done.

Life Through Instagrams

 Isn't that such a beautiful sunset? It's things like that,
that remind me of God's love for me.

 These two girls are probably some of my most favorite 

people ever. It's always a good time when we get together. 

 They set up this ball pit in the middle of the Rotunda
and I so badly wanted to play in it. That kid there
in the picture was a cutie. While my Mom and I were
sitting and talking to some people he came skipping up
and handed us a tattoo. He was so adorable.

 The lighting in the Capitol is horrible, but the light fixtures

sure are pretty. It's a beautiful building and I love getting to

work in it everyday.

 The smog in this picture is nasty. But driving home from
work is one of my favorite parts of the day, because
I get to talk my Mom's ear off about all of the things
that made me twitter-patted throughout the day. I'm
not so sure how much she enjoys it, but I do and
that's all that matters, right?!

 I was on edge all day this day. Why? Because for one

there  was a killer at large. And two there was a huge

crowd in the Rotunda. Big crowds like this one make me

nervous. You can blame my paranoia for that. 

 Every time, during the day, when my Mom and I are
working and we end up on one of these benches I just
want to lay down, but can't because I have to act all
professional and all that lame stuff. But we had to go up
on Saturday for Susie's Valentine Dance group and there
was no one around. So I seized the opportunity to lay on
the bench. It was really comfortable.
Side note: these benches are infamous for being really
uncomfortable seeing as the back of it is like five inches
tall, however I know how to sit on it just right to make it
really comfy. So if you're ever up at the Capitol and want
to sit on the bench come find me and I'll show you how to
make your sitting experience as comfortable as possible.

It's hard to tell in the picture, but these light bulbs are really

cool looking. I'll have to get a better picture sometime.

I've really been enjoying life lately. I'm glad with where I'm at and where I'm heading. I've been really blessed with all of the experiences I've been able to have. I thank my Heavenly Father every night for this Internship. It's blessed me in so many ways. I've been able to meet so many new people and make great new friends. I've been able to mature and grow up A LOT. I've been able to realize what I want in life and it's made me realize that I have to work for it. It's taught me patience. I don't have much patience but in the past 3 weeks I've realized that it's essential to a happy life. So now I just have to be patient as my life plays out. I know what I want now, and I'm excited for it to come, but until it does I'll be patient and continue to work for it.  I'm going to be sad when it ends, but it's given me so much to look forward to. 

That About Sums It Up

This last week was a CRAZY one. I am pleased to announce I have survived week 1 of the Legislative Session. But in all honestly I have loved every second of it; the good, bad and the ugly. I'm just afraid that I'm going to come out of this internship with some greys in my luscious locks because of how stressful it can be. But really I love it. Now onto some highlights of Legislative Session Week 1.

• I've got to say the best part about this internship is all the boys! The Capital is crawling with attractive, determined, MATURE, guys. That is just my cup of tea. There is nothing I like more than maturity. 
• I've had to alternate wearing flats and heels (oh yeah, and I can wear heels because guys are actually taller than me up there) everyday for the past week. This job entails A LOT of walking around. A LOT is an understatement. We are walking and standing non stop. And when I wear flat shoes the heels of my feet hurt and when I wear heels the balls of my feet hurt. So I just alternate between the two so that the heels and balls of my feet can get a break every once in a while. 
• I've learned that homeless people can hang out at the capitol all day if they want. There's this one that has been there a lot this last week and, I am sorry, but he really could use a shower. He smells horrible. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure if he had access to a shower everyday he would use it, but boy it's awful. My mom and I almost got stuck in an elevator with him. I don't know if I would have survived. 
• I got to meet the Governor. I thought it would be a big deal to meet him, but it really wasn't. I was more excited to meet Trooper Aaron Beesley's family. I also had to stay and listen to the State of the State Address. ZZzz. Boring! 
• I sat through my first ever budget meeting and wanted to rip my brains out. That was even more boring than the State of the State. And you want to know what's worse? There's more budget meetings to come! That is the one part about the job that I could live without.
• I've developed a hate for the media. Met some slime bags associated with them and felt like I needed to take a shower after I met them. The media has a domination that I never really realized until this week and it angers me. So I will say nothing more on the matter or else I'd end up ranting for the rest of this post. 
• This last week I've been gossiped about. It's really funny, if you knew the whole story.
• I age my mom. People come up to us and assume I am in my late twenties (And I really wish I was). I must look real old and mature for my age because people can't believe that my mom is old enough to be my mother. I should be offended that people think I'm older than I am but I'm hoping it works for my advantage. 

Anyways this week has been a fun one and I'm excited for the weeks ahead. This internship is great for me. It's really helped me in thinking about what career field I want to go into. Watch out political world, I'm coming for you. 

Another Year Has Come and Gone

What a year, what a year. 2012 has been a great one. A lot has happened for me. I graduated from High School. Got my first real job. It was my first full year as a legal adult. I started college. I've began to discover who I really am. I've had to deal with dumb things that you never have to when you're younger. Overall I've learned a lot about life.

But I am very anxious for 2013.  A new year, a new start. I've got lots of resolutions. We'll see how many I can actually accomplish let alone remember. But I have a feeling 2013 is going to be a good year for me, and I'm excited to see where I'll be in a year. I'm excited for the things that I already have planned and for any other fun adventures that may show up along the way.

I'm hoping to better myself. In all aspects of my life. When 2014 roles around I'm excited to look back on the year and see how far I've come.

Goodbye 2012. Hello 2013.

It's Time

I love this song.

Time goes by a lot faster the older you get. At least for me. It seems like this semester just started two weeks ago and now there's only a week and a half left before finals! What the heck!? I wish it would have gone slower. I like this point I'm at in life. I feel like it's ending for some reason. It really isn't. I probably just feel this way because instead of taking actual classes next semester I'm doing an internship. So instead of hanging around cool, hip college students I get to hang around old, boring, old people. But it will be good and I'm excited for it non the less.

Today I finished my Final paper for English. It is such a relief to get such a big thing on your to-do list done. Now I just need to play catch up in my online class. (two things I learned this semester: never take an online class because I'm such a bad procrastinator and don't take classes at seven in the morning. It's so not worth it.)

 We set up all of our Christmas decorations. I love it when it gets dark and we turn on all the Christmas lights. It just makes me so happy! I love this time of year because of many reasons. 1. It's the time we celebrate Christ's birth. 2. Christmas decorations. 3. Christmas music. 4. Snow. 5. Baking goodies.

 Do you see that? That is all my finger. I went to bed with a band aide on my finger because a ferocious feline scratched me. And when I took it off in the morning by finger looked like I held it in water all night long. I was afraid it would never get better, but it did. But it looks nasty huh?

 This here is the aforesaid ferocious feline. I am not a cat person, with the exception to this here kitty cat. His name is General Giggles (He is my bro and sis-in-laws cat. They named him) I like to call him GG for short. This is his most favorite position to sit in. Ha. Just joking. He was just doing what cats do and then paused for a moment like that so I took a picture. I just wish I were that flexible. We watched him while Jeff and Ariel were out of town for Thanksgiving. And right now I don't have any nieces or nephews to hold and cuddle so to make up for that I wrapped GG up in a blanket and pretended he was a baby. It's great. He'll make due until Russell and Leighann's baby comes.

My birthday was last week. And do you want to know what I did during the day? I hung out with my mother and father at their place of employment. It was so fun. At first I sat in my Mom's cubicle and watched her work on her computer. Then I upgraded and went to my dad's office and watched him talk to the media. Then my dad and I went around doing parkour around the office. It was a jolly good time. It was great to because, you see my Mom and Dad are both government employees so where they work, everyone there gets paid by through taxes and since it was my birthday I felt that it was only fair that they all give me some money since some of it comes from my taxes (although now that I think about it I haven't actually paid taxes yet, but I will this year so it still counts) anyway I just went around telling them what I just explained and they had no problem giving me their money. 

Yeah. I wish. But I did sing a song about it in the parking lot. My mother was mortified. I was just having a jolly good time. 

So as some of you all know I am probably the most paranoid person who ever walked the earth. You see when I call my mom or dad and they don't answer, after multiple attempts, I assume that they have crashed and are dead or have been abducted or something along those lines. But now we all got his app called Life 360 that tracks where you are through your cell phone GPS. So now I know exactly where they are and I don't have to worry. It's the greatest thing ever. 

Well I think I've rambled enough. Hope you all are having a wonderful day and life. 

Random Ramblings

I've been sitting at home doing absolutely nothing productive and it's giving me one of those lazy day headaches (do you ever get those? I usually get these weird headaches when I have a day that I waste by doing nothing productive or eating too much sugar). Anyways to prevent one of these from coming on I'm blogging. Good remedy.

Today I took a test for my PoliSci class, and for the past to tests I haven't done so hot, but as I was taking this one I knew almost everything. And I actually got a decent score that I can be proud of! Yay! Took me long enough into the semester, but late is better than never right?

So I bought this screen protector for my phone but for some reason I'm terrified to put it on. Weird, I know.

I'm getting pretty stressed seeing as there are roughly two and a half weeks left in the semester! Agh! I'm freaking out because being the great procrastinator that I am, I put off my online class. So over the break next week I'll be reading my Health textbook with all my heart. But I'm glad the semesters almost over. I need a break from getting up at 5 in the a.m. every day.

Wanna hear a good song? Well listen to this. It is great and fills me with thanks for our Savior. I hope all of you out there realize how great of a blessing the Atonement really is and I hope you realize how much Christ has really done for us. If you want to really understand all aspects of the Atonement go here and sign up to take Repentance and Forgiveness with Brother Durfey. You will not regret it, I PROMISE!!

Next week I'll be turning 19. I don't want to ever be older than 19. So for the next year I'll be working on how to freeze my ageing. Then I'll be 19 forever and I won't get old.

I feel such happiness inside me right now and I don't know why. I just feel so thankful for my life. Every aspect of it, good and bad. This past little while I've realized how much I have and how much the Lord's hand is in my life. Heavenly Father knows me better than I know myself and so everyday I am so thankful for his hand and guidance in my life. With it I know my life will work out in a more perfect way than I could have ever imagined.

My youngest sister, Emma has been playing out in the snow a lot with her friends lately. And she doesn't have her own pair of snow boots. So what does she use instead? Jeff's old pair of snow boots that are too big for even my feet. I tried to take a picture today, because she looks like a clown, but she realized I was just trying to take a picture to tease her so she ran and hid. What a smart girl.

Last night I had the nuttiest dream. It was so far from reality.

I'm interning for my Mom come January, and I'm so pumped. I told her that I'm going to do such a great job that they'll fire her and hire me. She argued that she has more experience. I then argued back that she's closer to death than I am. Then Susie countered that I could die any minute. I told her she'd better knock on wood. She didn't. So if I die unexpectedly you know why.

On that note, I'm done for now. I doubt anyone made it all the way through this post, cause it's so long. But if you did props to you. You're the BEST!

Political Rants

I'm getting very frustrated with some of the things that I'm reading on Facebook about the election, because of my bias. And I need to say something about them, but I don't want to add the the ruckus on Facebook. So I'll just blog about it.

First off. Canada may be more socialist than America is right now. But people aren't wanting to flee there because of those kinds of issues, I think it's more because of what the economy is now and what it's going to become. I'm not going to lie. I kinda want to disappear for the next four years, but I know that that's impractical.
I love what JFK said in his inaugural speech. He said "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country". We need to do our best to secure our futures. America is beginning to depend on the government too much. It's part of the reason we're in a financial mess.
We just need to learn to actually do stuff for ourselves. I know it's hard in today's society where we have so many conveniences that will do stuff for us, all we have to do is push a button. Instead we need to go out and do. Make something of ourselves. We can't depend on the government. We have to be the ones to make a difference.

I'm not very thrilled that Obama is President, but I'll support him non the less. I'll continue to pray for him and hope that things don't go horribly wrong for this wonderful country. I'm a little scared for what the next four years holds for me and everyone else. I'm scared for the kind of life I'm going to have because of the economy. But I have faith that everything will work out in the end. It may be a long journey to the end, but we'll get there!

Don't Think

I've been very overwhelmed with life this past week. Things seem to be happening so fast for me, when in reality they really aren't. As a result I've felt overwhelmed and just wanted to sit in my room and think, but I don't want to just think because thinking is what got me into this overwhelmed state I've been in. I over think everything and then assume the worst as a result. Today though I was able to feel some peace about certain things on my mind. Now I'm trying to just not think. My Institute teacher said we need to have firm minds and soft hearts. So when I say I'm going to try to not think I mean I'm not going to let irrational thoughts enter my mind and let them ruin everything. I think I'm really going to enjoy not thinking. We'll see how it goes :)

Life Epiphany

Today was an answer to a prayer that I never knew I had... kinda. It was more of an answer to many prayers in an obscure kind of a way. In institute today we were talking about faith, but before we got into that we got started on fear. The girl in the class who started this conversation was most definitely inspired.
It helped me to realize that I have had certain prayers answered I was just afraid to act on my answers or even to accept the answer. It also made me realize that my second guessing myself is just the fear that Satan uses to try to deter us from what is good and right for each of us.
The whole time I had the "burning in by bosom" kind of feeling and then we read the scripture that says something to the effect of "I will let you know if things are good or right with a burning in your bosom". And it was so awesome because I sat there thinking about things that I'd had fear in lately and felt this "burning in my bosom" and I knew that these things were good and right and that I just need to practice faith and have patience and don't fear. Even right now I feel again that these things are good and right. I love how much God's hand is in my life and I can feel his love for me!

Timing

I sure do love these people!

I wish I was eloquent with words. I have so many thoughts in my mind that I never know how to put to words. And I always want to write them down so I'll remember them but I can never find just the right words. Plus if I was eloquent with words writing papers for school would be a lot easier. Right now I've got to write a paper about of all the classes I'm taking which do I feel is unnecessary. And it's kinda hard to write this paper because I feel like all the classes I'm taking are necessary. 

I really, really, really, really want to see this movie. It looks like a good story line, and plus I've only heard good things about it. 

Squanto (my car) has been filthy lately. He's needed a car wash quite desperately for a while. So the other day I took him through a car was and it did nothing. At all. All the dust and everything was still on there. It was weird and annoying. And then yesterday it poured rain so now he's in even more of a need for a car wash. But I don't care any more. As long as the windows are clean then I'm content. 

So now that I can actually vote I'm realizing that my vote doesn't really count for anything at all. So there's really no reason to vote. Don't get me wrong I'm going to vote just so I can get the sticker that says "I voted" but my vote won't count for anything. My Dad says that everyone needs to vote just to back of what the Electoral College for your state voted but that doesn't even really matter because they can vote however they want whether it goes with or against the common consent of the state. But I don't know that's just my opinion. 

Lately I've been hearing a lot to just trust in the Lord's timing. And I really didn't want to trust in the Lord's timing because I don't really know His timeline for me or if it's what I want. But recently I just decided that I was actually going to trust in His timing and live my life with faith that things will work out in His way and in His time and in the long run I'll be happy no matter what. Once I consciously decided to trust in the Lord's timing it seems like things are finally starting to happen for me. And its wonderful. I just took a leap of faith and right away I'm seeing the wonderful repercussions. And the Lord really does know what's best for me, I may think that I do but in reality I have no idea. So I'm thankful for all the different people and things that lead me to take a leap of faith and trust in the Lord's timing. 

Opportunities

Yesterday my idea of my future began to be questioned. My plan for life was to live it, and if I got married before I was 21, then great. But if not I would go on a mission. My heart wasn't necessarily set on serving a mission nor was it against serving a mission. Then when President Monson announced that young women can serve a mission at age 19 I was overwhelmed with a wave of emotions. First I felt gratitude for the blessing this would be in many peoples lives. My mind went to a girl in my institute class who just this last week asked our teacher how soon girls could turn in their papers. She's only 19 so I felt bad that she would have to wait a couple more years, then I heard the announcement and I was happy for her. I also felt shock. I'm going to be 19 in one and a half months. If I want to go on a mission I can start my papers today! And I also felt some confusion. Should I go on a mission right now, or wait a few more years to see how different things work out. 

My parents were gone at my siblings cross country meet when the announcement was made so when they got back home my Mom came in and said "Rachel! You can go on a mission this year!" But did I want to go on a mission this year? After the first session I went on Facebook and saw a whole bunch of my friends who were already making their decision so easily. I was still confused, and I felt like I had to make a decision that day. So throughout the day I contemplated both of my options and both seemed like they would be right for me. So I prayed about it before I went to bed hoping that by the end of today I would have my answer. 

When I woke up I just decided that I needed to make a decision and then ask the Lord if it was the right one. So I decided I was going to serve a mission, and inquired of the Lord and waited for my answer. 

During Elder Holland's talk this morning I got my answer. Let me preface the answer I got with some background information. When I received my Patriarchal Blessing I was sure that I would someday go on  a mission. I hoped desperately that it meant a couples mission, because to be honest I hope by the time I am 21 to be married. So I didn't really want to have to serve a mission when I was 21. I wasn't anti-mission I was just more pro-marriage (I know I'm so old fashioned.) And now I have the opportunity to serve while I'm 19! 

So do I take the chance and serve now, or wait while and see where I am in life. Then in Elder Holland's talk he talked about judgement day and how he believes Christ will ask "Did you love me?" Well I know that I do love him, but would my life prove that? And then I realized that if I really do love Christ I can sacrifice one and a half years of my life to go and feed his sheep. It's the least I can do, after all He has done for me. So I'm going to seize this opportunity and get my paper's started as soon as possible. I'm eager to get out and share the gospel that has been such a blessing in my life, and to be a part of history. I'm also very excited for the opportunity that this provides to go to the Temple! Never in a million years did I think I'd be going through the Temple at age 19.

I know that the change in age for mission service is inspired. Like President Holland said in the Press Conference yesterday, they made this change because the work is hastening. I'm excited for the great privilege I have to help in the hastening of the Gospel. And I'm ready to get out and serve!

Today!

Ah! Today has been such a good day! For starters I woke up and had to wear slippers to keep my feet warm. I love cold weather! Especially cold, Fall weather. It's the best. I especially love the beautiful colors. The mountains right now are flippen gorgeous! I've been told that I need to go for a drive up the canyon, because apparently up there it's breath taking.

So my English professor finally graded our first of 4 papers. I wish he would have graded them sooner so I could see how I was doing and make the needed adjustments to get where I need to be. Well, like I said, he finally graded the first one and I got 100%! I'm pretty much the smartest person in that class (no lie)! I should have taken an honors English class, but when I was registering I didn't feel that ambitious so I didn't and as a result I am pretty much the most advanced student in the class. This is a very new experience for me.

We had another FABULOUS lesson in Repentance and Forgiveness today. This class never ceases to amaze me. Every day I learn something new about some aspect of the Atonement that I didn't know before. Here's a chart that we're discussing in class. We are just getting into it and yet have spent two days on it.  

It's kind of hard to read, but it's pretty straight forward, when we are finished with all of it I will update so all of you can gain the same, amazing knowledge that I am.

I've got work off today! Yay! I love my job, but some days I just come home and want to get my homework done and then just relax but I can't because of work, so today that's exactly what i'm doing. Just relaxing. It's been too long!

Last night I was super excited for the debate and loved watching every second of it. What am I turning into?

Study Break

My mind needs a study break. In these past three weeks of college I think I've studied more than I did in all my years combined in High School. Hopefully now that I actually study I'll get good grades.

Today in my English class we were peer reviewing our papers we'd just written. And one of the guys who read mine found it totally offensive. I felt bad on the outside, but on the inside I was laughing. I'm mean but the things he took offense over were dumb things. When I wrote my paper I didn't even think it would be possible for anyone to take offense over it. Ha ha. Ah well. Now I know next time I shouldn't try to be humorous in my papers. 

People always seem to take my humor the wrong way. As a result of that I've stopped trying to be funny. That's why people don't think I'm funny anymore. At home I'm funny though. Everyday I manage to scare the  heck out of my Dad when he comes home. And everyday I scare him the same exact way. I just stand behind the garage door and when he comes in and closes the door I scream and he freaks out and says "I'd stop, because next time you're going to get hit" (Not on purpose, He'd hit me because when I scare him its a full body reaction). Well he's said that numerous times and I've yet to be hit. 

Tomorrow is the first official day of fall. I'm stoked. I love fall for many reasons. For one the cool, crisp air. And I absolutely LOVE crunching leaves. People probably think I'm mental because when I walk to class and I'm outside I make sure to step on every single leaf. People can poke fun all they want, but I'm going to continue crunching all the leaves. 

That reminds me. When I was walking, outside, to class today some guy was riding his long board and he totally biffed it. And I felt bad for him, but not because he'd biffed, but because you could tell his ego was deeply wounded. It sounded painful too. Poor guy. But I'm sure he survived. 

Today I was walking down the hall and did one of those the ground was higher than you expected half trips and laughed at myself then two seconds later did it again and I laughed at myself again. One time I was walking down a hallway and this guy did one of those trips and I snickered to myself then did the exact same thing in the exact same spot. It was funny. I learned not to laugh at people when they get hurt after that experience.

Although I still do. I literally can't help it. If someone gets hurt I laugh. Not because I'm mean but because the way they got hurt was hilarious and I guess I like to express laughter more than sympathy so I laugh. So if you get hurt and I laugh at you don't take offense. Just understand that I can't help it. 

This week I had my math teacher tell me I was struggling and needed to get help in the class. I just smiled and said I know. I know. I know. Although really I'm not struggling with understanding everything, I'm just behind because I make my math homework the least of my priorities. So I just need to get caught up. I'm pretty sure the world would be a better place if I didn't have to learn math. Because honestly I'm never going to use anything besides addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in my life. And if I do end up having to used more advanced math than that, then I need to change some things in my life so that I don't have too. 

Well I'm done rambling, I should probably get back to filling my mind with knowledge so I can ace my test tomorrow. Have a great day everyone!

Grateful.

Today I had Repentance and Forgiveness. It's an amazing class, especially today. I felt the spirit so strongly and my testimony grew a ton.

We talked about the fall and sin today. And some of the things that were taught/said made me thing/realize things I'd never thought of/realized before.
-This girl in my class shared a story that one of the Apostles shared recently about how his son was in the hospital because he'd gotten injured or something and the father was trying to get back into the room where her son was but the doctors kept pushing him back and he kept trying again until they finally just locked the doors so he had no chance to get in and comfort his son. Then the Apostle related that when we sin, or are hurting for whatever reason, Heavenly Father can and WANTS to help us. But he can't come to us, like the father couldn't come to his son, we have to go to him. Heavenly Father wants to help us when we're hurting and He will, we just have to get on our knees and pray.
-Another thing that I knew but never really understood was that. Everybody sins. Everyday. Every single person in the World sins. Some big some little. No one is better than the next person because EVERYONE sins. I also understood today that when you don't act on a prompting, you're sinning. I think he called this sins of omission. And it made me think, how often do I do that. It also made me realize that if we're living our lives so that the spirit isn't with us, we are missing out on our opportunities to be prompted and therefore, sinning.
-Today I also realized how much the Savior REALLY does love us all. In class we discussed the story of the woman who committed adultery. And Brother Durfey said something that really struck me. He said something to the effect of, the Savior had a person before him who committed a big sin. A sin that he knew he would have to atone and suffer for. But he didn't chastise her, He forgave her and told her to sin no more. He knew that that sin was going to cause him a lot of pain, but he showed love for her non the less and forgave her. And why would it be any different for me? Christ didn't atone for us for nothing. The Atonement is there for us to use. If we use it, we will be forgiven. No questions asked.
How thankful I am for that. I by no means am perfect. I strive to live righteously everyday but I know I'm not perfect and I do sin. But because of Christ and His Atonement I don't have to live with the burden of my sins. Christ already has, so I don't have to. I just need to get on me knees and pray and repent.

Seriously, if you have a chance, take this class with Brother Durfey. It will change your life.

Bliss

Well, I've officially entered the big, scary, ominous world they call College. And ya know what! I'm actually loving it.

Before I decided to go to UVU I was planning to go to USU. I'd been accepted, I'd registered for classes, I was ready to go. But as time went by I'd lay in bed at night feeling like I shouldn't be going there. But I really wanted to. I didn't want to go to dumb UVU! After all it was my only other option because I refuse to go anywhere down south (why? no particular reason.) and I had no chance of getting into BYU. (And let me tell you. After one day of being on BYU campus during school I am SOOOOO glad I'm not. I'll explain later). So I finally decided that I would just defer from USU for two years and go to UVU.

I was not thrilled. I felt like UVU was the lowest of the lows. But it didn't matter because I was still going to go. Then one week before school started I went to orientation. Still not excited. But then Monday happened. And I realized I am supposed to be at UVU.

In two days I've grown to love the school. It's great! I love that all the buildings are connected (granted it does cause me to get lost everyday. Unless I'm in my classroom or the library I have no idea where I am.) I love that it doesn't feel over populated. Which leads my to why I'm SOOOOO glad I'm not going to BYU.

I get overwhelmed very easily. Extremely easily. The other day I had to meet my brother Jeff at the Wilkinson Center at BYU to return a book I'd bought from the book store there, because I didn't need it any more. So I drove up there and tried to find a parking spot..... For 45 minutes!!!! Are you kidding me? And to top it off all the students think they can cross the street whenever they please! So annoying. Then I finally parked at the Marriott Center, and met up with Jeff. We then proceed to walk into the Wilkinson Center. And goodness gracious there were people EVERYWHERE!

Then we walked into the bookstore and it was like they multiplied. To say the least by the time I left, I was stressed beyond belief. And that is why I am SOOOOO glad I'm not going to BYU. Too crowded. Other than that (and the dumb pedestrians) I love the school.

That's another great thing about UVU. I'm pretty sure they surpassed BYU in enrollment but it never seems over crowded to me. Heck all of my classes are the same size if not smaller than high school classes. It's wonderful and just what I need.

I also love the Institute at UVU. It's the best. My favorite part of the day. I get excited just walking over to the building. I'm taking a Doctrine and Covenant class (which I'm excited for. I love studying the Doctrine and Covenants) and I'm taking Repentance and Forgiveness. That class is amazing. I'm so glad I'm taking it. My brother Jeff suggested that I take it because he loved it when he took it. Today was the first day and I can tell I'm in for a treat. Brother Durfey is the teacher and he's awesome. He's so adamant and sincere about the subject and has such a strong testimony of it. If you ever get the chance to take it, do it. You wont regret it!

Today I was walking down the hall and the Institute had a table set up. And at the table they had Missionaries there! Real Missionaries! How cool is that. You're just walking down the halls and school and all of a sudden you see Missionaries. There are lots of people at UVU who aren't LDS so I just thought that was so awesome that they were there inside the school!

That's another thing that I love about UVU. The fact that there are quite a lot of people there who aren't LDS. Provides for some great missionary opportunities. I had one yesterday, but kind of blew it. There's this kid in my English class from Canada whose on the golf team and UVU and he was talking about how a kid on the team just got back from and LDS Mission and you could tell he was saying that because he wanted to learn more about it. He even asked us all if we were Mormon and we all were except for this one other kid in our group and I wanted to tell him more but I chickened out. But that's A-ok because I've got all semester.

Anywho. I was just excited and wanted to write about how awesome college really is. Especially UVU. (BTW I was a little disappointed to find out that a Wolverine isn't like a wolf or anything, its a relative to the badger and pretty much looks like a badger. It was quite the let down to find that out)

Chopped

This last year my hair had gotten pretty long. And I LOVED it. It was so easy to do anything with it (especially on lazy days). It was easy to make look good, up or down, straightened or just let the natural curls do their thing.
This last year has also been very, VERY hot. The heat with my long, thick hair wasn't a very good combo. Whenever I left my hair down I always felt WAY hot. So I decided that even though I loved my long hair it was about time to cut it. I also had very bad split ends. When I say very bad, I mean very bad. You see I only trust one person to cut my hair. That one person is Schizler, Karen Schizler. She knows what she's doing and always makes my hair look exactly how I picture it, so no one touches my hair but her. And she hadn't cut my hair in over a year.
So this last week we went, she worked her magic, and now my head feels ten pounds lighter, i'm not so hot all the time, and I can run my fingers through my hair with out finding ratty ends. It's wonderful. Now I just need to actually get trims and I can grow my hair back out.
Here's the before:

 That pic is kinda embarrassing but you can see the length. For me that length was quite the accomplishment.

After:

 Kinda fuzzy, but right after I got it cut. 

Susie got a trim. Also, as you can see from the above picture, She is now taller than me. 

My face looks like a different persons face in each picture. Funny.

Today has been oh so stressful. Buying textbooks will be the death of me! And my bank account. I think now that college is actually starting I am never going to have spending money again. Looks like I can't be like those "freshman that walk around in packs of 15 with Aviator glasses and brand new clothes". Haha that's what my brother Jeff said as he explained why he hates freshman. Someday I'll feel the same way, but I can't right now seeing as I am a Freshman. 

Freshman orientation happened and now I can kinda make my way around campus now. Luckily for me all my classes are in two different buildings that are right next to each other, so the chance of me getting lost is slim. 

I'm excited for this next step in life. If you would have asked me a couple of years ago I would of told you that I would have wished that the world would have ended before I would have to go to college, just so I wouldn't have to go. But now I'm way excited. I'm just not so thrilled about all the money involved. (which honestly is so ridiculous to me. I just don't understand why it is so expensive to sit in a class and learn.)

So Monday, this new adventure begins. And I'm ready. I even bought myself some pepper spray! Haha. Lets just hope these next four years go by as quickly, if not quicker, than high school.

WANEGBT

Have you heard this little gem yet? I quite like it. Very catchy. Of course. Taylor Swift wrote it. But I am a little confused. I always thought T-Swizzle was a country singer, but with every new album that comes out her songs sound less and less country! I don't mind. Not one bit. I've grown sick of country over the years so I'm quite enjoying this here new tune of hers. And I'll be willing to bet the WANEGBT is going to become that song that we all get sick of hearing on the radio because it is so over played. But until then I'll keep on enjoying it.

Although there is one problem. I want to buy WANEGBT and a number of other songs on iTunes, but.... I can't. Why? Because growing up sucks. Why does growing up suck? Because you have to go to college and college sucks. But Rachel, why does college suck? You wanna know why college sucks? Because it is so STINKING EXPENSIVE!!!!! I paid all my tuition last night and now I have zero dollars in my checking account. I even had to have my parents loan me a couple hundred so my next pay check will be going to them. So it's going to be a while until I can buy anything. At all. I don't know what I'm going to do about the whole car needing gas situation. Maybe once school starts, for the first little while, I'll be brave and ride my bike to school.

If college weren't so stinking expensive I'd be a whole lot more excited for it. It really puts a damper on things. But I am really excited for my major. I'm going to love learning more and more about it.
What is it that you're majoring, Rachel? Well I'm gonna be majoring in Behavorial Science with an emphasis on Psychology. I'm way pumped. I'm totally intrigued by that kind of stuff. But don't ask me what I plan on making a career in, because I have no idea yet.

When I was still in High School (so long ago, I know) I couldn't wait for college because that would mean that I get to move out. But now, in my wiser older years, I'm more excited to live at home and actually have money. I'm really lucky that my family lives so close to two great Universities. This way I don't have to move far away and be forced to move out and waste even more money. Don't get me wrong, I want to move out someday, but not until I can handle it financially. I want to have a good savings foundation before I start having to pay monthly bills and dumb grown-up stuff like that.

This summer has gone by far to fast. I'm both sad and happy about that. Sad because that means that I have so sit and learn all day again. Happy because fall and winter weather are getting closer and closer. I can't wait until the leaves start to fall and they crunch when you walk on them. I can't wait til I can wear jeans and cardigans and boots. And I can't wait to have soup for dinner all the time (I LOVE soup) and I can't wait to look out the window and night and just watch the snow fall ever so peacefully.

Okidokie, that's enough rambling. Time to get my closet and under my bed organized. Then at eight my shows on. If ya'll haven't seen Trust Us With Your Life I highly recommend it. It's hilarious. It's on Tuesdays at 8 on ABC.

Dream a Little Dream

Tuition is due in 11 days. Boo! I don't want to spend 2,000+ dollars just to learn. I mean come one. Whose idea was that anyways? I really don't understand why college is so stinkin expensive. Maybe one day I'll understand, but I'm not going to bank on it.

With tuition being due so soon that means one thing. School is starting soon. Double Boo! This summer has gone by WAY too fast. I wish I could rewind time. There are a couple days I wish I could relive. Wouldn't that be so great if you could rewind, fast forward or pause time. Oh boy. That would AWESOME!!

My neighbors who have lived across the street, the whole time we have lived here are starting to move today. It's sad. Everyone in this neighborhood seems to be moving lately. Maybe we should jump on the band-wagon. Just kidding. I hope my parents never move out of this house.

The other night I had a dream that I got shot. It was a pretty traumatic dream but the crazy part was that it felt SO real. I woke up and I still felt like I had been shot. I was positive that I had actually, indeed been shot so I just laid there expecting myself to die any minute. Luckily I was not actually shot and I am still alive. But it was a very weird dream/experience and I hope it never occurs again. But after that I did fall back asleep and had one of those dreams you never want to wake up from. Sadly I did wake up and reality hit.

When I was younger I had incredibly crooked teeth. My top two front teeth were all wacko because my grown up teeth grew in before my baby teeth fell out. So because those were messed up all my other teeth were messed up. And people made fun of me all the time for it so I couldn't wait until I could finally get braces.
Then one night I had a dream that I actually had braces. I thought the dream was real, and I was so happy. So that morning I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror to check out my sweet, new braces only to find out I'd only dreamed that I had braces. I was pretty bummed.I get excited to go to sleep at night because I can't wait to see what I will dream about.

I grew up listening to the music my Dad grew up listening to. Because of this I love listening to all the oldie radio stations and all my favorite bands/musical groups are ones that are no longer together or dead or something. One of my favorite oldies are The Mama's and the Papas. I especially love their songs California Dreaming and This song. It's just marvelous.

I've been going to Lowe's Xtreme Air Sports a lot lately. And I am proud to say that I can now do more than a crappy front flip. I can now do a cart wheel with no hands off of the trampoline. I believe, but I could be wrong, that the technical term is an Aerial. I am pretty darn proud of myself. I even made it to the actual tippy-top of the rock wall. This girl is a future Gymnast. I mean I've totally got the right body type and everything for it. I'll be the next Gabby. You just wait and see.

Dun Nuh Dun Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Nuh Nuh

Olympics. Need I say any more? I don't think so. That's about all my life has consisted of lately. But one thing is ruining all the excitement for me. That one thing is Twitter. I love Twitter. I don't like that every time I log on I figure out who won the blasted event that would be on later on that night. I should just un-follow those who are in the Olympics. That might solve my problem. But then again I like going on after I've seen the event and seeing what the Athlete had to say about it. Or maybe if I didn't spend so much time on the Internet I wouldn't have this problem at all.

Lets talk opening ceremonies. Can you say T-A-C-K-Y? I was dying the whole time, of embarrassment for Great Britain. My Dad says I just didn't appreciate the artistic interpretation of it. That may be the case. But really, I don't think so. 

Lets now talk Squanto. Squanto is my loyal vehicle. He's grand most of the time. Some times though he decides that he doesn't want his blinker to work. And it's always at very critical moments. In those moments I hate him. He also really likes to stink. The previous owner really must have loved to smoke because I can't seem to get the blasted smell out of there. So today I tried a new tactic. I scrubbed the seats and floor with carpet cleaner then I got some air freshener. Sprayed my little heart out, then shut all doors. Now hopefully the next time Squanto and I go on a little adventure he wont smell so bad.