So. This week it was actually almost warm. I went out and ran errands yesterday... WITHOUT a coat! :D It's got me dreaming of summer... does anyone else want warm weather and otterpops and bonfires to just hurry up and get here already?! So excited! Speaking of, it's a good thing I started thinking about personal fitness and health in the dead of winter (remember THIS post?)... it's going to me a loooong time to achieve a summer-ready body at the rate I'm going :) But as a quick update on my January goals, I AM making my way through the Book of Mormon at a steady rate, I've finished five Personal Progress experiences, and I think I will have run at least enough this semester to have a decent finish time at my church's 5K in April! Yay! :) I realized a sad truth the other day, though, about why I dread working out:
Don't get me wrong, I love showers. But there are just some days when the idea of having to dry my hair and curl/straighten it and then do my makeup again is just a little bit intimidating. :)
What else? I'm starting to make plans for summer and fall... I just ordered my lab coat for PA school:
(Cherokee 2317, and no, this isn't a picture of me. Obviously.)
And I think I'm just about settled on a stethoscope:
(It's a Littman Cardiology III in Plum; I think it's actually a bit more maroon than in this picture, but I love the purple!)
AND my housing contract is nearly sold! Yes! Oh, and did I mention that I will be training this weekend to be a counselor for a church youth conference in June...? I can't wait!
Well, gotta run. Be sure and check out the song link below... I love the part in the chorus where it says, "Don't you worry, don't you worry child--See, Heaven's got a plan for you." Isn't that a nice reminder of the truth? It reminds me of Moses 1:6 where the Lord says,
"I have a work for thee, Moses, my son"
When life gets tricky, it's nice to know that 1) I am His child, and 2) He has a plan for my life.
What with New Year's resolutions, in January, there always seems to be a sudden influx of people eager to be fit. And while I myself was prepared to ignore this trend, the universe seems to have decided it's something I should join in on--our stake presidency hosted a fireside last night with a theme of--you guessed it--personal fitness. So here's my solution: a weekly workout schedule combined with weekly goals and tracking tools for the YW Personal Progress program and Book of Mormon reading. Because skipping out on spiritual growth would be worse than skipping leg day:
So if any of y'all want to join in, here's the schedule:
In Roman mythology, Janus is said to be the god of transition and change; he has two faces--one face looking forward into the future, the other looking back towards the past. The month of January is named in his honor, since it connects the new year with the old. How does this smattering of information on a Roman god connect with my life? Well, since I have fallen a bit behind in blogging I have things from both December and January to post today, which made it seem only fitting to mention the bridge between the old and new year. Happy January, everyone!
First things: I don't know how many of you living near Provo have experienced The Shops at Riverwoods during the Christmas season, but if you haven't, definitely put it on the list for next year! The roads were bad the night we were supposed to drive up to see the lights at Temple Square, so we stopped in at Riverwoods for the Christmas lights, hot chocolate, and of course, pictures with Santa. One of my favorite things about going to see the lights at Riverwoods is that they have lit fire pits all over the place to get warmed up. Oh, and the toy shop there--Blickenstaff's--is amazing!
The same day I received my acceptance letter from ISU, Casey-girl also made a big academic decision--to start taking classes at UVU! (She's taking a photography class and looking into their graphic design program) Well, we had to celebrate, of course, so we went hot-tubbing and then went out for Sonic slushes and more Christmas light viewing!
Right after finals, Mo-mo, Katie-cakes, and I went to visit my grandparents for the weekend (they are adorable):
Then, right as we were headed home for Christmas, Katie-cakes came down with a bad cold. We didn't want her to get anyone sick, so Mo-mo lovingly marked the cup she drank from to prevent cross-contamination:
Christmas morning with all five girls was a party! (As a side note, don't you love the tree we picked out and cut down ourselves?!) And even though it looks like we are excluding Bumblebee from our owl-hat-wearing club, we are not. She chose to wear that hat.
And of course, what Christmas would be complete without CHRISTMAS TAMALES? :D
When I got back to Provo, we had a huge snowstorm. Snow + New Year's Day = SLEDDING!!!
Oh, and check out how adorable my ward is--they planned an "old people" night for family home evening. We played BINGO and Yahtzee and ate Fig Newtons and prunes. It was pretty hilarious and a whole heap of fun!
What else? Ummm... I moved to Idaho. Yeah. Gonna' start working on my residency for next year. I am so excited for this new adventure, but also so nervous. And while I love Idaho, I may have felt just a little bit like I was turning my back on who I am when I traded my Utah license plates for Idaho ones. Strange how I can be so attached to such a little piece of metal that says where I am from. :/
Anywho, I hope you all had the chance to hear President Uchtdorf's talk during the CES fireside this week. He spoke about TRUTH--how it can be difficult to find in its entirety, and the ways that we can find it. One of my favorite quotes of the night: "Because we see through a glass, darkly, we have to trust the Lord who sees all things clearly."₁ I know that I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who sees the big picture even when I don't. And I am grateful that He is willing to lead me when I struggle to discern the truth of what the next steps in my life should be.
Sometimes I feel like life is an affectionate older sibling. You know the kind... they like to pull your hair and threaten to wipe their spit on you, but at the end of the day, they're always there to give you a hug. Or push you down. Whatever. It's kind of the same thing, right? ;)
The past two weeks, life has definitely treated me like a younger sibling. Kindness: an interview with Idaho State that I felt good about. Bullying: having to pay for a ticket in a school zone that you didn't see. Kindness: Getting to go see the midnight showing of The Hobbit with friends. Bullying: Having to take my Biochemistry final the same night. Kindness: Getting a 5% boost on the multiple-question portion of my exam! Bullying: Getting an 89.6% in the class overall when I needed 90% to get an A-. Yeah, that's how it's been.
And I mean, that's always how life is going to be, right? I guess I just get frustrated sometimes because I feel like right now I'm so in-between. I don't know if I'll get into PA school this year or next year. I don't even know if I'll be living in the same state by the end of this year. Going to PA school (at some point), getting married, being an awesome wife & mother... these are things I want but things that I don't necessarily have complete control over. *sigh*
BUT... life is so good. And despite the feeling that I am not going anywhere in life right now, I know that I am. I guess the funny thing about life is that as you gain experience, your challenges grow to meet you--which means life will always seem hard. But some things are worth the effort, the time, the wait. And I know that I have a Savior who will help make up for my shortcomings, even if that help doesn't always come when and how I want it. The fact that His help is certain, though--now that's something to be grateful for.
Wow, it's been a while since I posted. And yes, I realize that I have a tendency to wait until midnight to blog. Not sure what that says about my priorities...
Anyways... here's a quick update on life the past month & a half. Halloween:
Yes, I was a hobbit for Halloween! The universe pretty much begged me to dress up as a hobbit for Halloween--first of all, the movie is coming out in later this month; then I stumble upon hobbit pants at DI (they couldn't have been for anything else, who else would wear corduroy gauchos??); and to top it all off, I found a blue glow-stick sword at the dollar store. Like I said, fate.
I got to help out with a friend's homemade haunted house. Let's just say it was pretty legit. I was the least terrifying person there, and I still got some good jumps out of people. Yessssss! :)
Oh, no picture to show, but I voted! I missed out on voting back in 2008, so this was my first presidential election! So excited and happy to play a part in the election process! (And so proud to support Mitt Romney! ^_^)
Oh yeah, did I mention I have a job now? I'm working as a receptionist for a health supplement company, so I get to dress professional every day. This is probably a boost to my social life, seeing as I am overwhelmingly tempted every single winter to wear nothing but hoodies, jeans, and boots. There's a great sense of teamwork within the company and it's been really flexible with my school schedule, so pretty much everything I need in a job right now except for boosting my healthcare hours! After several months of being teased by my sisters for not having a job, and after multiple Institute lessons on self-reliance, it's so nice to be working again!
I was able to go home this year for Thanksgiving. And what is there to do the day after Thanksgiving but go up onto the mountain and get yourself a nice Christmas tree? We are so hardcore like that! :)
Gearing up for the holiday season with Christmas lights! So far I've been able to catch them at Temple Square (with my friend Stephen) and at Thanksgiving Point (as seen above with my friend Jason!) Lots of fun, now I just need to start decorating my apartment!
In other news, I interviewed this weekend with a PA program... I felt like it went really well and it was with my first-choice school, so now I'm just waiting until the seat offers are posted in March. Yikes, will I be able to wait until then??? :)
So I just finished applying to graduate school this month. Graduate schools, I should say, since I have applied to four already and may add another three by the end of the month. Anyways, last week I received something from my school that I haven't had in four years... a fall break! And so I decided to use the aforementioned time off school to drive up to Idaho and visit my first-choice graduate school--Idaho State University.
Yep, I am cheesy enough to take pics on the side of the road.
What do I like about Idaho and more specifically ISU? Well for starters, I like that the school has a plan for navigationally challenged drivers like myself:
Paw prints on the road so I don't get lost...
But I also like that they have a top-notch program (see here). I like that they have an entire class devoted to medical Spanish. I love how their program is focused on rural medicine. And after meeting with several of their faculty and sitting in on a class, I really like the feel of their program--they've fostered a very personal and relaxed environment where the focus is on developing the skills to be a great healthcare provider. I really enjoyed visiting with the department and I really hope I get an interview offer soon and get accepted!
Other fun tidbits about ISU and Pocatello: the campus has a wicked-sweet indoor rock-climbing wall, there is a huge Institute of Religion, and the mountains there are beautiful! Also, it is located near these fun people:
I got to hang out with these cute ones.
Oh, and some cool cousins sent me home with home-grown carrots and potatoes:
This is a real-life carrot. Grown in Idaho. Yum!
Keep your fingers crossed that I get accepted, okay?
Love,
me.
