one more class final then i'm free for 3 WEEKS!!!! wahoooo!!!

This quarter has been CRAAAA-ZY! I knew it would be, but it was going to be worth it so my last 2 quarters would be easier. I had 5 classes that were all pretty time consuming, but I'm finished except for 1 more final exam I have to take online which shouldn't be too bad. Actually, I've realized that projects are my forte and tests are my weakness! That's okay though, luckily fashion school has more projects than tests. Anywho, I'm so excited I don't even know what to do!!!

I'm heading out to Utah in a week or so to visit family and friends! Shawn and Kim are blessing their adorable baby-Wesley David Patten.

Then, I'm going to Sexy Rexy to visit my old college stomping grounds and to visit my bestest college friend Crystal!!! I'm so excited. She is the best. We shared soooooooooooooo x's infinity fun time together! These are just a few pics I stumbled across yesterday that made me laugh. She is married and has 2 adorable kids that I haven't even met yet! I'm so excited to meet them! I know she's the best mom because she was already so motherly to me in college! haha

vegas trips!

freshman year dorms!

we will definitely be starting up our LET'S GET DIGITAL CLUB again!!!!

gangsters -'c squared'

i don't even know

The rest of the week I'll spend in Utah and going to General Conference! So super duper excited to visit TEMPLE SQUARE!!! and all the sisters and the mission reunion.

 Anyway, I better get going so I can finish my test!!! I'll hopefully have more time to blog laterrrr!!!

i'm obsessed with thai food these days...

this weekend I'm teaching myself to make green curry! yum yum yum! wish me luck.

projects!

So this weekend all I wanted to do was be a homebody. =) I say that almost every weekend because I never end up doing it! I always ended up staying busy and going out with friends. I was determined this weekend though.

I was persuaded to go out to a movie on Friday with a friend from school to see The Other Guys--hilarious, but other than that I was pretty successful in comparison to other weekends. That same friend persuaded me to go to Joann's Fabric Store friday after school to get some fabric for a project. I also needed fabric for some pillows I'm making for my room and plus it's always fun to think of other projects while you're there. ;-) I ended up spending way more than anticipated and also have a lot of work cut out for me! I'm excited though.

Saturday was a typical day of working and teaching swim lessons. I was going to go rent a wetsuit for my triathalon next weekend (last one this season!) but Jimmy convinced me to come home to our neighborhood block party. I accidently ate some shrimp and pork not knowing what I was eating! haha

I had a billion things to do--homework, errands involving Target and Michaels, and preparing my young women's lesson. So I went to Target first and as I was walking by the little girls section I saw this:

So it was on sale for super cheap and I thought to myself, surely I can do something with this fabric! So I got a size large and went home and went to work (after taking myself on a date to Panera Bread first ;-))

This is the outcome! I wore it to church today.

I got another one in a different color and pattern, slightly larger so I have different plans for that one. So, more to come!

In other news, I'm doing one more tri next weekend in Folsom! I'm excited but a little nervous because I definitely took a little break from training after my last tri in July. It should be okay though! I'm doing in with my friend Dane. I also signed up for my first marathon in Sacramento in December!!! It's a qualifier for the Boston Marathon so I think I'm going to try! Crazy! I'm excited though!

mormon messages are awesome =)

attention, attention!

dear darlings,

I really need to develop a better attention span! I'm finding it really hard to do school in the summertime! At least when I did school at BYU-I in the summer the teachers were waaaaay relaxed and somehow I managed to get all A's with not much work and more play. This is not the case here though! FIDM goes year round with no pleasant slacking period. ugh...i've been sitting at my computer for the past 2 hours and have hardly been productive...let's cross our fingers for tomorrow! I'm gonna go dance around in my room to get some energy!

i want this car

I'm so grateful!

I love the gospel. No matter what happens in life I know that I can feel peace, comfort, and love through the gospel of Jesus Christ. A few months ago a friend introduced me to this blog: The Nie Nie Dialogues. I was really touched as I read about this beautiful woman who along with her husband were in a plane accident which changed their lives. Even though this tragic thing happened to them, they seemed to have an amazing perspective on things--an eternal perspective. She may not look the same or feel the same as before the accident, but she knows this is only temporary and that there's things to be learned. I am always appreciative of people like this and only hope that if I were in the same situation I would be the same. This video recently came out on Mormon Messages about this inspiring story.

 
A few weeks ago my mom's side of the family came to California and we were able to do temple work together and unite the whole family together. It was a very spiritual experience. I was just overwhelmed with joy knowing that families really are eternal. I absolutely love my family and am so happy to know that we are an eternal family. I am grateful that I have the knowledge of the gospel to help carry me through hard times. I've been thinking a lot about my mission lately. My goal was to not lose sight of what I learned while there. To not lose sight of what's important. I can just imagine meeting all my family who have passed on someday. My grandparents, my nephew David, my past ancestors. Knowing that I will have this opportunity makes me want to live my life in a way where I can be worthy to see them again.
 
Like my mission president always said, "This is a gospel of joy--so smile!" One thing that the gospel also helps me do is to see everybody as children of God. It's really hard sometimes to see people as God sees them. Especially when people are rude, mean to you, or maybe a little weird...or a lot weird. However, it never fails me to just have a prayer in my heart that I can feel just a tiny bit of what Heavenly Father sees in them. I always feel God's eternal love for them, which in turn helps me to see them differently. My mom and dad are great examples of this. They have always taught through word and example this principle. They're the best! =)
 
p.s. this is why i love my mom so much! haha =)