I knew it.

I knew if I made it look like it was snowing inside...

It would snow outside!! Wahoo!

Notice the snow out our back porch door.. And my beautiful and favoritest snowflake..

Oh and just a side note:
Honey-flavored Greek Yogurt, Bananas and pomegranates is my new favorite breakfast!

 Happy Snow Day!!

It's Perfectly Acceptable

It's perfectly acceptable to:
thoroughly enjoy a light parade, catch candy, and getting excited about Christmas.

It's perfectly acceptable to:
take pictures of your dream home. If BYU paid me $1000 a hour, I would only have to work a little over a year to afford this home.

It's perfectly acceptable to:
get a kick out of cheesy marques.

It's perfectly acceptable to:
love having $100 (courtesy of BYU Soccer) to spend on dinner decorations. Yep. Best trip to Hobby Lobby EVER.

But most of all, it's perfectly acceptable to:
take a nap on the only tiny spot left on your bed after a long, crazy, fun, and busy week.

Thank goodness it's the weekend!

Just A Little Blue Book

You will never believe what came in the mail the other day.

This beautiful little blue book.

I can now officially get back in the country. 

That is, if I ever leave.

Check off #35: Get a passport.

The reason for this, you may ask?

Drum roll please.

Thanks to BYU Soccer I have the incredible opportunity to  

tour Europe with the team in April!!

I am so incredibly excited!! 3 Months ago I typed up their itinerary, feeling incredibly jealous and depressed that I wasn't going with. But a few weeks ago, Coach Rockwood told me that if I could fork out $3000, I was so welcome to go with them! Well, after much thinking, praying, and discussing with my parents, I decided it would be well worth it!

Before I talked to my parents about it, a friend asked me what I thought their reactions to it would be.

Dad: If you want to go, go. If you don't, don't. (Simple as that in his mind.)

Mom: Reaction 1: Mm... That's a lot of money and you only work 3/4 time and you just bought a car, etc.

OR 

Reaction 2: AWWWW!! I'm so jealous!! I want to come with you!!

The reactions:
Dad: See previous. Dead on.
Mom: See Reaction #2.

Thank goodness I have absolutely wonderful and supportive parents!

Even though I am paying my own way, this will be an opportunity of a lifetime!! (And nothing like previous attempted plans to tour Europe which probably had the potential to end up being made into a "Taken Again" movie. Seriously. Click here to read about "Taken" #1.)

For 12 Days we will tour Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic, play soccer, and have a grand ol time!

So, to any of you bloggers out there who have been to these countries, any suggestions, advice, or just excitement? (I like to hear that too :)

Love. Love. Love.

I Looked Out the Window and What Did I See

Well, tomorrow morning I hope to see a lot of this:

But at the moment, Utah County is looking like this:

The storm's movin in!! Wahoo!!

I'm ready to cuddle up with a little of this:

And watch this:

Because tomorrow morning I hope to do a little of this:

And tomorrow night drive around looking at this all covered in snow:

While listening to this:

Gosh I love Christmas.

Wishing, Wanting, and Wreathing

According to pinterest, I'm obsessed with wreaths. Yep. I'd have to agree.

Wreaths for the home...

Wreaths for any occasion...

But mostly,
Wreaths for Christmas....

And speaking of which, I LOVE Christmas.  
I can't wait for it to be here!
I just need it to snow so Christmas music will be much more enjoyable to listen to...

I'm wishing and wanting it to snow so badly.

And to all you no-Christams-until-after-Thanksgiving-people,  

I LOVE Thanksgiving too.
I love giving thanks for all my many blessings, being with my wonderful family, and eating delicious food.

But aren't we also supposed to 
"Celebrate the Spirit of Christmas All Year Round?"

Happy Crafting--Thanks to Pinterest

Yep. Thanks to my new addiction, pinterest, I have become very craft happy in the last few weeks. Here are a few of my lovely creations:

Melted Crayon Art

This wonderful and easy art project was quickly gratifying  and entertaining because it only took 10 minutes to make! All you need is crayons, an art canvas, glue, a hair dryer, and newspaper.

We, my roommate April and I, decided to get a little bit more creative and try a circular one. It turned out wonderfully! And after putting them all together on our wall with a quote by Scott Adams, 

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. 

Art is knowing which ones to keep." 

it significantly brightened up our kitchen and makes for a great conversation piece!

Fall Leaf Roses

These little beauties were created with the beautiful fall leaves and taken home to my wonderful Mother!

Rolled Newspaper or Book Roses

40 of these little beauties were created for a handout from our Relief Society Presidency. Yes, I made them all myself and after I got the hang of (in about 3 flowers) I was sick of making them. I might have to take on a project like that again with the help of someone else!

This is the great poem that came with the handcrafted flowers.

Feel free to use.

Fabric Rosettes

These flowers were created for a great purpose but then I didn't end up using them. Until I find a fabulous use for them (which there are really just too many to choose from!!) they will be a decoration on my shelf.

Pressed Flower Love Wedding Gift

My bestest friend is getting married in just 2 days!! And this is the wedding gift that I created for her. 

At her bridal shower we gave her 3 red roses and told her to pull the petals off and put them in a bowl. For every petal that she pulled off she had to name a reason why she loves her fiance. 

I secretly wrote down everything she said, kept the petals and pressed them, then typed up the reasons why, glued the petals around it and framed the whole thing. We then had her fiance do the same thing. 

Neither of them know that the other did it too! 

It will be a wonderful surprise and hopefully a wonderful reminder throughout their marriage!

(This was not a pinterest project. This was inspired from a previous bridal shower many years ago!)

And thanks to pinterest, this will probably the beginning of many similar posts.

The sky is God's gift to you.

The sky is God's gift to you...what you do with it is your gift to him. 

Bill Purdin

And gratefully my gift to him on Saturday was not my life.

  

sky·div·ing [skahy-dahy-ving] noun

The sport of jumping from an airplane at a moderate or high altitude and free-falling and using one's body to control direction or movements before opening one's parachute. 

Me and my Wonderful Roommate April! (Don't mind the tired eyes... We play a lot.)

Waiting, waiting, waiting... Sleeping, sleeping, sleeping...

The least scary part about sky diving is watching a zillion people in line in front of you, harness up, get on the plane, and 20 minutes later be walking on earth again. Kind of anti-climatic.

Harnessed up.

Loading up. Then going up.

Coming down. At 13,000 feet, nothing else matters...

A graceful landing. No grass stains involved.

The aftermath thrill.

 Skydiving- highly recommended and completely safe. Well almost.

#84: Go Skydiving. Check.

New Job, New Town, New Adventures

After 10 months of worry, stress, prayers, pleading, patience and faith,  

the answers came. 

In the course of  7 days. 

And then my life turned upside down.

Back in June I was talking to a former Bishop. He asked how things were going and what my plans were. At the time I had no idea. He then told me that he had a feeling that when things started working out for me I was going to have to hang on for the ride of my life. 

They were going to work out, and work out one thing right after the other.

How right he was.

A few weeks ago I received a lovely phone call from BYU Athletics offering me the position of Sports Secretary for Women's Soccer, Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis, and Gymnastics. 

Since that phone call, I frantically finished work in Cedar City, bid farewell to many many wonderful people in Southern Utah, packed my whole life up, started a new job in Provo, lived homeless for a week, and finally just moved into a new apartment.

I am an official employee of Brigham Young University.  

Really official.

(Link to employee profile...)

ID Card, Name Plate, and Campus Portraits

Life is not so much in the "limbo stage" anymore. It's getting into a routine, work is going wonderfully, and there are still  

many adventures to explore. 

And although it changed upside down in less than a week, I know that someone is watching out for me. 

He has a plan for me, and no matter what life brings, I always have him to turn to.

No matter what.

Back to School Woes

It is a weird feeling to walk through Wal-Mart and pass all of the Back to School supplies. Shelves and shelves of notebooks, pens, pencils, crayons, erasers, textbook protectors, glue, pencil boxes, lunch boxes, Germ-X, scissors, rulers, markers, binders, and folders.

I love fall time. It is my favorite time of year because of the "back to school" and "back in a routine" feelings.

For the first time in 17 years, I am not going "back to school" this fall. Weird.

It brings back a lot of reminiscing moments--walking to school in the crisp morning air, crunching through scattered leaves on the sidewalk, kicking a ball around the soccer field for practice after school, the excitement that fills the air when Homecoming week hits, the craziness/terrified-ness of moving to college, the feeling of a fresh start, buying notebooks, pens, and school clothes, the joy of meeting many new friends and best of all--having a new adventure.

One of these days I am going to figure out what the next chapter and the next adventure of my life will be. But for now, if you see me crying in the notebook isle of Wal-Mart, don't be worried.

It's just the Back to School Woes.

4 Girls + 4 Days + 4 States = Best Vacation Ever!

Thursday June 30, 2011
1:00PM: We need a break! Ok! Lets go to California. Ok!
6:00PM: Hotel Booked
7:30PM: Trip to Walmart for Vacation Food

Friday July 1, 2011
6:00AM: Leave for California
12:00PM: Arrive in California
Afternoon: Play, swim, play, play, play

The Beach!! (Newport Beach, CA)

Jenna & Jena

Saturday July 2, 2011
All Day: shop, swim, play, play, play

Sending a Message in a bottle. (See side panel 100 things to do before I die #48)

The couch and TV at the beach. Sweet sand castle! (not built by us, but we can still enjoy it!)

Sunday July 3, 2011
All Day: sleep in, visit temple, go to church, drive, drive, drive, play, read, play

Newport Beach, CA Temple

Monday July 4, 2011
6:00AM: Wake up early and leave for LA
7:30AM: Pass Disneyland... (Next trip!)
8:30AM: Arrive in Hollywood
9:00AM: Stroll the Hollywood Walk of Fame
12:00PM: Leave for Home, drive, drive, drive
7:00PM: Back to Reality

30,000 Pairs of Shoes!!

Hollywood Blvd. & the Hard Rock Cafe

Hollywood Sign

Go here for more pictures.

Best Vacation Ever.