Eulogy

One of my assignments for my Writing & Reasoning Foundations class is to write my own Eulogy. I know, weird, right? We had to come up with a way to die, and then basically write about our lives.

I have to admit, it was a little weird writing about my own death, writing my "husband's" name, when and where "we" got married, "our" kids' names (even though I've had those picked out forever ;)) and when "they" were born, different places "our family" moved to, etc, knowing that absolutely none of it would ever come to pass (except the kids names :)).

Also, very difficult. I have this weird way to pick out the temple I'll get married in (whichever temple is relatively close to the very middle between my and my husband's hometown), and my "husband" was from New York City, so I had to research which city is smack in the middle of New York City and Riverton. Then I had to pick when we would get married (I even researched the general weather forecasts of the city the temple is in). Then I had to pick a few cities in which "our family" would live in (which required more research).

Basically, I went all out on it. Probably more "out" than anyone else went on theirs. But this means I most likely will get a good grade, right? :)

If anyone would like to read this eulogy that I have written, leave an "awesome opinion" saying you would, and I will contact you (via Facebook or text) for your email address so I can send it to you.

Some SERIOUS Changes Have Occurred Here...

If you couldn't already tell, this blog got a face lift (along with other nips and tucks).

Just in case you don't want to search for all the changes, I'll list them. :)

• The background is different.
• My header isn't really a header...just a collage of pictures with words across it.
• Text font and color. 
• Sidebar titles. They're pretty clever, if I do say so myself.
• My "profile". Its a lot longer and I hope you guys find it funnier. (PS there are some activities listed that I enjoy. I made them a lot more complex than what they really are. 10 Kelsi points to whoever figures out what the activities are :))
• You can now receive an email when I update! I find this extremely nifty :)
• "Comments" are now "Awesome Opinions"
• "By Kelsi" got changed to "Just A Little Something From Kelsi"
• The date at the top of each post

All in all, I enjoy the way this blog now looks. Next time it will be changed is sometime after June 21st (SUMMER :)), because I only change it according to seasons. 

Devotionals

I've only been to about...seven. Out of roughly twenty-six opportunities. Which is completely terrible. Reasons for not going to devo:

• I was tired
• Had to do homework
• Just didn't feel like it
• I'm not a fan of marriage talks...
• Etc

So, at the beginning of this semester, I've decided to make a conscious effort to attend EACH AND EVERY DEVO offered this semester. Just to try it. On the school website, they list scriptures to help us prepare for devotional. As I was looking at today's preparation scriptures, I realized that I can look at these scriptures and determine the topic of the talk. So, if I read a scripture that even hints at the topic of marriage, I'll know to stay away ;) just kidding. I know the information about marriage is important. I just don't like hearing how I need to get married right away, when I find myself absolutely not ready to get married. 

Anyway. Not sure why I wanted to tell all you bloggers that I'm going to try to go to every devo. But, now you know. :)

Some Things On My Mind

This "blog entry" will be about things currently running through my head...

I have come to the realization that my blog is lacking that "pick a topic and rant for 5+ paragraphs" element. Most of the blogs I read/follow have that element. And I enjoy reading them. But for some reason I can't bring myself to write one. I'm not really one to rant about things (except in my journal, and even then its only around 3-5 lines). Unless something is REALLY bothering me. Then I could go on for a while. But if something is REALLY bothering me, chances are it will not end up on here for everyone to read, and instead will stay with me (and I guess my future posterity who will read my journal when I have passed...or whenever they want to, I guess).

Maybe its just me, but I find it weird how some people come back in your life after they've been gone for a while. This has happened to me a few times recently (I won't name names). Don't get me wrong, its...not necessarily great, but pleasant having them back in my life. But today I was wondering what exactly brought them back into my life. There's obviously a reason as to why they're back...I just wish I knew this reason. Having one of these people back in my life has been extremely awkward, no matter how much (or how little...) I enjoy them back in my life. Although, they kind of make it awkward in the first place with the things they say. Conversations that used to bring joy into my life whenever a new text/email was received from this person no longer have that effect on me--they're just another person in my life. As for the other people that have recently re-entered my life, we don't really talk much (which is a shame), but its good to have them back in my life.

Apparently one of my newest neighbors is a dog. Said dog enjoys barking at what seems to be nothing. This annoys me for one reason. Here is the reason: my roommate (her name is Kelsi :)) and I keep our window open sometimes during the day and I always like it open at night (she doesn't really :\). So I can hear this dog barking when the window is open (which is right now). Usually something so mundane wouldn't really bother me, but for some reason, today, this dog is bothering me (even though the barking has stopped--for now...) and I felt like telling you all.

Music. Oh how I love music. I read one of my friend's blogs from who-knows-how-long-ago about a 30-some-odd day music challenge (much like the 30 day photo challenge I did here). Instead of doing it in a span of 30 days, I'll do the list now. :)

• day 01 - your favorite song. ... I don't know if I have a favorite-favorite song. I guess, if we go by play count on iTunes, we could say "Secrets" by OneRepublic is my favorite song (not really), because it has been played 140 times (due to listening to it on repeat for like a day straight or something like that). Right now the songs I most enjoy are "Something More" by Secondhand Serenade, "Young Forever" by The Ready Set, and "Friday is Forever" by We The Kings.
• day 02 - your least favorite song. "Friday" by Rebecca Black. Hands down.
• day 03 - a song that makes you happy. Oh geez. I don't even know. Basically all music I listen to makes me happy. If I had to pick just one, I'd probably say "Haven't Met You Yet" by Michael Buble. I guess in a way it gives me hope that there is someone out there for me. :P not that I'm worrying about it too much. But its still a song that makes me happy. :) 
• day 04 - a song that makes you sad. "All We'd Ever Need" by Lady Antebellum. Not really sure why it makes me sad...maybe its cuz its talking about a breakup and breakups are always sad. Either way, it makes me sad. Sort of. Its the first song that came to mind when I thought "sad song".
• day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone. Erm...I don't think there's a song that reminds me of someone. I guess "Whip My Hair" by Willow Smith reminds me of Nancy due to a lyric conversation we had once.
• day 06 - a song that reminds of you of somewhere. "Get Low" by...I'm not sure who the artist is, but I'll just say 'its that one song that Sandra Bullock dances to in the woods in The Proposal'. Place that song reminds me of: DC!! Only newsies will understand.
• day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event. "Barbie Girl" by Aqua. Last summer when my family was investigating suburbans for our drive to Nauvoo for a family reunion, my brother, sister and I were in my dad's truck while he and my mom were looking at a certain suburban. We commandeered the radio, and the station I turned it to was playing "Barbie Girl" (I know, on the radio??). So, we blasted the stereo and rolled all the windows down and danced like crazy. :)
• day 08 - a song that you know all the words to. Basically every song in my iTunes library. Since there's almost 1000 songs in said library, I will not be writing all the titles. 
• day 09 - a song that you can dance to. Once again, basically every song in my iTunes library. But two are probably "We Like to Party!" by the Vengaboys and "Boot Scootin' Boogie" by Brooks & Dunn. Thank you, stake dances and EFY. :)
• day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep. I can't fall asleep unless its completely silent. But one time I fell asleep to piano church music by Paul Cardall.
• day 11 - a song from your favorite band. I don't have a favorite-favorite band. I listen to everything except screamo. So I'll just say the song I'm currently listening to, which is "Where Were You" by Every Avenue.
• day 12 - a song from a band you hate. I don't necessarily hate a certain band. (random thought: that stupid dog is barking again). But a song I hate by a certain artist would basically be anything by Miley Cyrus.
• day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure. ... um ... exactly why would I feel guilty for listening to a song? I guess if it went against everything I've ever been taught. But I don't listen to a song that goes against everything I've ever been taught. So, I guess there isn't a song for this "day".
• day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love. "The Everglow" by Mae. I heard it on one of the videos that my 11th grade Astronomy teacher made and instantly loved it. If anyone can tell me they've heard of that song, I'll give you 5 Kelsi points. :)
• day 15 - a song that describes you. Oh dear. I don't think there is a song that describes me. If anyone can say a song that describes me, I'll give you 10 Kelsi points. :)
• day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate. I used to really like the 2007 "Hairspray" soundtrack. Now, not so much.
• day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio. I don't really listen to the radio. But a song I have heard a lot is "Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)" by Enrique Iglesias.
• day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio. "Operator" by The Ready Set. Its REALLY new, so I imagine it will get there. But it is truly amazing and deserves to be on the radio NOW. :)
• day 19 - a song from your favorite album. I don't really have albums--just singles. In fact, the only complete albums I have are the scores from New Moon and Eclipse. 
• day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry. Um, thats basically whatever feels like popping up on my playlist. Usually whenever I'm angry I'm also sad, so I guess "Smile (Charlie Chaplin)" by the Glee Cast.
• day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy. Once again, that's basically whatever comes up on my playlist. Right now, it's "We R Who We R" by Ke$ha.
• day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad. See day 20.
• day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding. "1, 2, 3, 4" by The Plain White T's is a good one. Or "Rhythm of Love" by the same band. 
• day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral. Does anyone play music at funerals (besides musical numbers)? I guess a musical number I would want is Families Can Be Together Forever. Just to give my family some reassurance. :)
• day 25 - a song that makes you laugh. "Black and Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa, only because of my old roommate Sienna and her fiance Robbie. :)
• day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument. "Book of Mormon Stories" on the piano.
• day 27 - a song that you wish you could play. Um, a "Phantom of the Opera" song would be cool.
• day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty. Didn't we already discuss this? There isn't a song I feel guilty about. 
• day 29 - a song from your childhood. "You'll Be In My Heart" by Phil Collins. Whenever this song came on the radio I would sing it. My Nana called it 'our song' :)
• day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year. I guess "Airplanes" by BoB. I don't remember.

Feel free to look up the songs you don't recognize. Every song listed is pretty good. :) 

Nothing else is really on my mind. Except maybe what to snack on, because I'm hungry yet again. I don't know why I complain about being hungry all the time. It's gonna happen the rest of my life. At least, until my metabolism completely stops. But that's not for a REALLY long time--I hope. 

Easter is this weekend. My Nana invited me to her house in Pocatello for Easter Weekend. Unfortunately, I don't have a car. :( however, if someone that reads this (and lives in Rexburg) is heading in the general direction of Pocatello tonight or tomorrow (heck, I'll even take Sunday morning) and will be back Sunday night and is feeling super generous and wants to give me a ride :) please let me know. :)

Okay, I'm going to stop this post because now I'm just writing about stupid things that aren't really "blog-worthy." And because it really is LONG. Whoever has successfully read this whole thing is awarded 5 Kelsi points. :)

New Semester Part 2

Part 2 of my new semester :)

Woke up at 7:30. Completely unnecessary, as I didn't get ready til around 9:00 ish. But I was awake anyway (stupid internal clock). Once I got ready I got my class materials ready for the day, and then made the long journey from my apartment to campus (it seems a lot longer than the commute I had to make from Mountain Pines...hmm). I arrived at my first class and played some more solitaire, farkle, and sudoku as there was still time before class started.

Class started. And guess what? The class I registered for is a second block class (it only takes place the second half of the semester). I felt like an idiot as I gathered my things up and left the class once the teacher had alphabetically passed my last name on the roll. While waiting for my 11:30 class, I waited in the infamous Nook and played on my computer. I would have read the new Jack Weyland book Saving Kristen, but the bookstore put up a sign saying students can't read the books before buying them (or not buying them, in my case). This means there really isn't any point in going to the Nook anymore. Sad times. But I thought it was better to go there than walk all the way home, just to walk all the way back about half an hour later.

I got to my Writing & Reasoning class ("it feels like a prison cell in here" <-- totally did, the room was so small) and loved it (even though its the first day and we didn't learn anything). Brother Stout (my teacher) is hilarious and seems like a really good teacher. During my introduction, somehow Twilight got brought up and I said I love anything that makes fun of it. At the end of class he said we would make fun of it. YES!! I'm excited for that haha

Then I went to my Book of Mormon class. The teacher is really funny and seems really nice, and I can tell I will get a lot from his lessons (which is awesome). During the usual "get to know you" game I've played in every single one of my classes, I totally met someone from Riverton (a first--I've seen people I know from Riverton, but never actually met someone from there). It was neat :) the only info I got from him, however, was his name and where he lives. But it was still cool nonetheless :)

And then I walked home (it's actually nice today!) and wrote this :) my plans for the evening? Homework, and hopefully the grocery store so I can buy food and live. :)

New Semester Part 1

Here we are, at the beginning of a new semester (for all us weirdos at BYU-I). My thoughts on the day:

I woke up at 7:00, thinking I'd need two hours to get ready. I didn't. I actually ended up sitting in bed (on my computer, listening to music, etc) for about an hour and a half before I finally decided to get ready. Then I got ready--which only took 10, 15 minutes at most. Left my apartment at 9:00 (I wasn't supposed to leave til 9:15) just cuz I wanted to walk to campus cuz there was nothing left to do in my apartment.

I got to my class at 9:15, even though my class didn't start til 9:45. Yeah, I like to be early. So, what? I played some awesome solitaire, farkle, and sudoku before I was able to go into my classroom. Once in said classroom, I played some more sudoku before class finally started.

Class was...interesting. I read some "rate my professor" reviews on this teacher as I signed up, and there were mainly good ones, but some said she treats you like a kid. <-- very true. I didn't really feel like a college student in that class, more like an 8th grader (come to think of it, my 8th grade algebra teacher treated me older than this teacher did. Interesting...), but she's a good teacher nonetheless. I met about 20 new people (thank you "meet people" game...otherwise I would have met like one person), and even though I probably won't remember any of them by Thursday (and vice versa), it was nice to meet people.

After that class I hastily made my way to my American Foundations class that was 15 minutes after my math class...and also approximately 15 minutes in walking distance away. Luckily, I'm a fast walker (thank you Ashley Hildreth for making me a fast walker whenever we walked home in 9th grade ha), so I made it there in 10. :) we went through introductions in that class, and I met a few new people (thank you Brother Webb for forcing us to meet said people). Brother Webb is a hilarious teacher, and really nice. After a scenario that would take too long to explain, he said we could call him at any hour of the day (like at 1:30 AM when we need a ride home from a date) and he would come get us because he loves us. How tender :) he also said the four to five new people we met were our new BFF's and that we most likely could marry one of them (only at BYU-I), and even said there have been three to four couples who have gotten married and met on the first day during that introduction process.

And then I came home and wrote this. :) Part 2 will be coming tomorrow with an evaluation on my three other classes. Here's to hoping they're as good as today's classes :)

nGt 04.16.11

I probably won't be on my computer tomorrow, and I know I won't be on my computer at all on Saturday, so I'm taking the time right now to congratulate my friend Nancy Weber (I should probably start calling her Nancy Gardner...).

I have had the marvelous opportunity to be friends with her the past seven-and-a-half months. During those months we have had adventures, sleepovers, and even lived together. She was the first friend I made at BYU-Idaho (heck, we were friends before we even got there--thank you, Facebook :)). I love her to death.

I never thought this weekend would creep upon us this fast (although I'm sure it's been agonizingly slow for her and her fiance). But, it did. I can't believe the big day is on Saturday! It seems like last week I was at Fred Meyer Jewelers with her fiance helping him pick out her ring, and just yesterday that she was calling me a punk for knowing all along that she was getting engaged :)

Okay. Now for the congratulations. I'm so happy for her and that she has found the macaroni to her cheese, the peanut butter to her jelly, and all the other cliche terms for "my better half." Both Nancy and Trevor are gaining something special by taking this step in their lives, and I know their lives have been better because of each other. I wish them well in this new chapter in their lives.

I love you, Nancy :) please don't be a stranger if/when you move back to Rexburg. :)

Overdue...

This is way overdue, but I just wanted to let all you bloggers know that I have successfully completed month 3 out of 12 for my "once a day" journal writing. And am (sort of) halfway done with month 4 :)

Hope everyone's day is awesome. :)

New Word...Being Submitted to Webster's Dictionary

Whornicator. My sister was trying to say fornicator...but came out with whornicator.

She's 13.

My Last Day With Benson

Tuesday was my last day of babysitting Benson. It was bittersweet. I took my camera with me to take pics of him and record his quirks, and I thought I'd share a few.

 He's such a cutie :)

 I usually only make him oatmeal for breakfast, but since it was my last day with him, I decided to spoil him (and myself...) with some french toast :)

 This Tonka truck of sorts is one of his favorite toys.

 I love his smile :)

 When I was first hired to babysit him, I was told that he would be entertained for a while if I would hold a ball in my hand (much like the one in his hand) and simply drop it to the floor. He was doing that on Tuesday :)

 Not sure why I took this picture, but I liked the shot so I decided to include it.

 Once again, I love his smile. Its exactly like his mom's, too :)

Us at lunch time :)

Blogger is being stupid and won't let me upload a video of him (I think it's too long). Benson has a yellow blanket that is probably his most recent favorite form of entertainment. He likes to put the blanket over his head and then take it off. Sometimes he leaves it on for a few minutes and squeals in delight. He seriously will do it for 20 minutes straight before he finds something else to do. His squeals of happiness are hilarious :) you can watch the video here.

I definitely will miss this little boy, and hope to babysit him again for a date night or something soon :)

Conference (and weekend) Thoughts

I have to say I feel the speakers of this conference were somehow inspired to choose their topics for ME (as in, I feel they were speaking directly to me). Earlier in the week I prayed for some guidance for some things, and then I watched conference and I feel like my prayer was definitely answered.

Anyway.


Saturday Morning: 
*I love it when President Monson announces new temples! Definitely one of my favorite parts of conference.
*L. Tom Perry's talk was really good--be an example of the believers, which was the Youth theme a couple of years ago. "The greatest joy we receive in this life is the guidance of the savior." <-- so true.
*Walter F. Gonzalez talked about...a lot of things. Haha the thing that stuck out to me most was "In grief, we are not alone; Christ will assist us."
*Kent F. Richards told us, in a nutshell, that Christ knows form experience how to heal and help us, which I think is amazing, since a lot of people feel alone whenever they are going through something (I know I have felt that way in my life).
*Quentin L. Cook said that women in the church are awesome. :)
*President Henry B. Eyring's talk is one of the talks that I feel was designed specifically for me. I didn't write down exactly what he said, but I did write down that "he talked to me" about something to do with employment.

Saturday Afternoon:
*Our church now has over 14 million members and over 52 thousand full time missionaries. That. Is. Awesome!
*President Boyd K. Packer basically set it straight for non-members concerning what to call us. Our church is called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, not "the Mormon church." And the term preferred for our members is Latter-day Saints, although "Mormons" is just fine. "If you have been offended, forget it, forgive it, and leave it alone."
*Russell M. Nelson talked about faith and how we need to keep it strong. Our faith now will be the faith of our posterity later, which is so true. "God's angels are always on call to help us; God will heed our sincere and heartfelt prayers." "The future is as bright as your faith." --President Thomas S. Monson.
*Richard J. Maynes talked to us about the family and how it is being attacked, which is really cool because I gave a visiting teaching lesson last week on the exact same thing! Inspiration? Yes. :) "When we stray from the church, our children will stray as well." 
*Cecil O. Samuelson told of the general topic of testimonies. I think. He told us that anyone can have a testimony, as long as they are willing to pay the price (keep the commandments). "Gaining a testimony occurs gradually rather than instantaneously." <-- couldn't agree more.
*Dallin H. Oaks talked about desires of our hearts. He said that desires dictate our priorities, and priorities shape something (I didn't write it down fast enough--its basically the same thing as "our thoughts become our actions"). "What we desire will eventually be what we will become." And then he told the LDS singles to get married. I have to say, I didn't like that part. :\
*M. Russell Ballard talked about service, and said that we need to teach our family members to love one another, and that each of us can do something to help someone. "Kindness is the essence of greatness." --Joseph B. Wirthlin.

Ladies Night
My cousins Erin and Hailey joined my mom, sisters, aunt and I in some ladies night splendor. We went to Olive Garden, which was an adventure in and of itself, including waiting for almost an hour for a table, miscommunication between waiters and cooks, my mom's check getting screwed up, and delicious black tie cheesecake (it truly was delicious). After we dropped the little girls off at home and Erin and Hailey left (they had to go home), my mom, aunt and I went to see Source Code. I really liked it--it was intense, and there was something in the plot that I didn't see coming.

Here are some pics from the night :)

My sister Caitlyn and I whilst waiting for our table.

My mom (left) and aunt Tamara (right) eating appetizers (which were free due to our insanely long wait for a table).

Aunt Tamara and sister Megan.

My sister Laura :)

My sister Caitlyn being a dork. :P

Laura licking the whipped cream from her milkshake.

Laura was cold (it was slightly chilly in the restaurant) so she decided she would wrap her napkin around herself (like a blanket) to try to keep warm. She's so cute :)

Laura and I :)

Sunday Morning:

*President Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke to me (I'm thinking it that way) when he said that God will carry us over our obstacles when necessary. He then told us how God may watch over us, but it is usually through other people that he meets our needs. In order for other people to help us, we need to serve others. By becoming the answer to someone's prayer, we often find the answer to our own. "There are probably thousands of people who are sending text messages saying 'He's been speaking for 10 minutes and has yet to give an aviation analogy.'" I thought he would have given one then, but he didn't. Sad times.

*Paul V. Johnson was also talking to me when he talked about the trials we go through. He said that after much tribulation comes the blessings (which means I should be receiving a blessing pretty soon ;) just kidding). "Not one of the trials and tribulations we go through is beyond our limits."

*David A. Bednar told us how to have the spirit of revelation in our lives. "Just because we don't receive miraculous experiences and revelations, doesn't mean our testimony is weak." So so so so so SO true!

*President Thomas S. Monson talked about the importance of temples. The duration of his talk was talking about temples he has recently dedicated and one that was announced. Then he said "and I would like to talk to you about a temple in a city, where 2500 years ago..." ...my mom and I thought he was going to announce the Jerusalem temple. But he talked about Rome (which is an awesome looking temple BTW).

Sunday Afternoon:

*Richard G. Scott told the LDS singles to get married. Not a fan. He said if a man wants to have a wonderful wife, he needs to let the girl seem him as a wonderful person. He also told a story of how he gave love notes to his wife. He told us singles to make dating a priority (sadly, it's not). And then he said all things are possible through the Lord. <-- love that.

*D. Todd Christofferson told us that we need to willingly accept and even seek direction. Then he quoted the Lord--"my people must be trialled in all things in order to be prepared." 

*Carl B. Pratt told of the importance of tithing. He told the parents to teach their children to pay tithing. I know I am grateful that my parents taught me the importance of tithing. "Money and bank accounts are not the Lord's greatest blessings." <-- Amen.

*Lynn G. Robbins said we need to be, not to do. "To do can be completed; to be cannot earn a checkmark." Or something along those lines.

*Jeffrey R. Holland's talk was amazing, as usual. He said that no one chosen to speak in General Conference is assigned a topic--they are instructed to fast and pray about what they should talk about. I love that. Even if they were assigned a topic, I believe it would have the same effect--people would still feel like the General Authorities wrote that talk specifically for them. "The church is not a fast food outlet--we can't always have it our way." He also said if the apostles teach by the spirit and we (watchers, listeners, etc of conference) listen by the spirit, some one of the apostles will touch on our circumstance. SO TRUE!! I was really paying attention to conference this time, and I found that a lot of the talks seemed to be written for me. 

All in all, it was a great conference. And I got to spend it with my family and friend, Ron (who got me a ticket to the Saturday afternoon session). 

Now I'm back in Rexburg, I'm gonna move my things to my new apartment sometime this week (yay!) and then I go back to Utah at the wee hours of the morn' on Thursday :) Tuesday is my last day of babysitting Benson :( definitely taking pics that day.

Ok I'll stop writing now before you all get bored to tears. Have a good day!