12/17/21

Back at the start of November I had a gallbladder attack that sent me to the ER. (At the time we didn't know that's what it was and it took an absurdly long time for medical professionals to figure it out.) Anyway, today I finally got to get it out! I'm actually posting this at a later date bc immediately after it all I was somehow both in a lot of pain and also super high. I'm setting it to look like it posted on this date for the sake of the timeline. Fair warning, I will also be including a picture that the surgeon sent us of what my gallbladder looked like so if you don't want to see that, I'm super sorry because the way this is set up you actually probably already have. 

Getting prepped just before surgery

Fun fact: gallbladders are not supposed to be that gray color with black dots. Apparently mine was nearly necrotic. The surgeon said he was surprised that I was up and walking and managing to smile with the amount of pain I should have been in.

10/25/21

SO. I impulsively got my bangs cut today. (MISTAKE.) I went to Fantastic Sam's (first mistake) and even though I had a bad feeling about it, I just really wanted bangs so I forged ahead (mistake mistake mistake.) I just wanted curtain bangs and how hard could those be to mess up? (so much mistake.) She just chopped straight across and so short and they looked so bad and she asked if I wanted them styled and I said it was okay because I knew if I stayed any longer I was going to cry. I was SOBBING on my drive home. My mom reminded me that hair grows out but she contacted her hairdresser Teresa and set up an appointment for me to get them shaped a little better (if possible) tomorrow. We had a ward Halloween party tonight so Lauren styled the bangs and they looked a lot better after that (but I'm still mad.) Anyway, enjoy some photos!

MISTAKES WERE MADE

Macy and I as Velma and Daphne!

Our lil group in the church bathroom mirror!
Top Row (Left to Right): Lo, Emily, Lauren, Bella
Bottom Row (Left to Right): Macy, me, Lauren's water bottle

9/13/21

I am going to put in renewed effort to keeping up this journal of sorts. Especially because now I am working at the Missionary Training Center as a teacher! It has been easily one of the best experiences of my life so far. I started in mid July. After a week and a half of training I was able to pick up my own district! I grew to love them dearly and then sent them off on their missions. I was worried that it would be harder to feel so much love for my next district but now we are on our last week together and I love them just as much and I'm going to be so sad to see them go. I've already learned so much about myself and about the Savior at this job. And since I am learning so many cool things and hearing so many cool stories I feel that it's more important than ever to get it all down.

8/6/21

 I met up with my mom and sisters at the duck park by Walmart and we had like a little picnic lunch. That in and of itself was fun but what really made the whole thing great was the fact that once we tossed one (1) piece of bread, ducks came FLOCKING. I will include a photo and a video as proof of just how many ducks there were (and how funny it was watching Alicia try to decide how she felt about them!)

8/4/21

 Lo and I took this picture today and I just think it's really funny so I wanted to grace you all with its existence.

8/1/21

 I made lupulu for break the fast after church. It took FOREVER to cook (like I had to leave it in the oven during church so that it could fully finish cooking. But it turned out and it tasted so good and I'm so proud of it!

 

7/17/21

 As a wedding present for Mary and Emily I wanted to do kind of the same thing I did for Derity's birthday present. It wasn't necessarily a surprise because I had them both send me their favorite photo from their bridals. I'm really proud of them though! I tried to do the lettering in like a cute loop and I think it worked out well! I didn't anticipate the bouquets being so difficult so they look a lot different than the original pictures but they have the same colors and types of flowers.

7/16/21

Emily and Josh officially got married today!! Lauren helped me do my hair this morning and I finally got to wear the bridesmaid dress I'd ordered! We started off with their sealing at the Draper temple and took some group pictures. Then we had a luncheon at Thanksgiving Point that was seriously tasty. Finally we went to a cute lil reception hall in Lindon and I got to help set up and it was so fun! It's wild to me that so much is happening and changing, but it's also so cool to see how far we have all come and how much we have all grown up. I am so happy for them both!

I was feeling MAD CUTE 

Look at her!! She changed into this dress for the reception
because she couldn't dance in her wedding dress.

Couldn't forget a selfie of all three of us! So happy for them both!

 

6/25/21

 Rachael's baby shower was today!!! Her Mom (Jennie) and her friend Grace reached out to me and asked if I could cater because Rach still talks about all the truffles I made for my mission call opening. So I made what felt like a literal billion cake pops (well truffles really but cake pops for the sake of the pun, since Rachael was about to 'pop'!) It was kind of wild that we were actually having a baby shower for her though. Every time we do something for Rachael's baby or for Emily/Mary's wedding it's a reminder that we are all getting so old and so much life is happening to us. It always makes me so so happy though! 

Look at all those cake pops!

5/27/21

 Clearly I have done a terrible job keeping everyone updated. Some important things to note: Lizzie Lou came home from her mission on April 20th! And then I had my golden birthday (22 on the 22nd) and then the semester started and I have been DROWNING. It's all very fast paced since it's Spring session. I've applied for several jobs and haven't gotten one yet. I applied to be an MTC teacher and did a teacher rating session with them over zoom a little over a week ago and haven't heard anything yet. Lauren Johnson (my old mission comp (!) who used to work at the MTC) said that if I haven't heard back after two weeks to go back and schedule a second rating session. So we shall see. In some more positive news though I got called to be the Relief Society second counselor and that has been so incredibly rewarding thus far. I've actually gotten to know a lot of the girls in the ward, way more than I would have without this calling. It kind of empowers me to be more outgoing. Overall it's been both stressful but very worth it. I'm definitely glad that I moved here. It feels right.

5/12/21

 Got to meet up with Ms Lauren Johnson for lunch today!! It was so fun to catch up and see her again and hear how her life is going. She also gave me a lot of good pointers for applying to the MTC (!!!) since she used to work there and had gone through the application process as well!

4/13/21

I've definitely missed A LOT of time but I figured I should try and get in the habit again. I am currently sitting in my new apartment in Provo. I have officially transferred back to BYU Provo and Spring semester classes start up on the 26th so I have a little bit of a break. By complete coincidence I ended up in the apartment across the hall from Izzy Reynolds (one of my fav roommates from my first semester at BYU) and that's been such a blessing! I'll try to remember to keep this updated with all my new Provo adventures! Today I have dinner with Rachael and Matt and I think that'll be super fun!

2/10/21

About a week ago Mary announced to our group chat that her boyfriend Gabe proposed and they're getting married in July! This is particularly hilarious though because literally the day before this Emily snapchatted me to inform me that she and Josh, whilst not yet engaged, are already getting things together for a July 16th wedding. 

Tonight Rachael and I planned a "Galentines" party and invited some people and we ended up having me, Rach, Mary, Emily, Emma, Ashlyn, Katie, and Grace. We had crepes and fondue and then each painted something onto a canvas while we talked about our lives. Now I was the only one aware of Emily and Josh's set date but whilst we were all together (all being Rach, Mary, Em, and me) Emily revealed to everyone that she and Josh had purchased a ring yesterday and were waiting for a call back from the Draper temple to reserve a sealing room for July 16th. We also learned that Mary and Gabe are planning for July 15th! So there will likely be two weddings in a row for us! 

Near the end everyone had left except the four of us and we are just chilling talking about the weather and all of the sudden Rachael just goes, "I'm pregnant." and holy cow we all freaked out. Mary was just like, "What?" and I looked up and Em leaned over and Rachael repeated it and then we all got up and started screaming and the best thing is Rachael got the whole thing on video. I'll get her to send it to me and then include it in the post.

So basically so much good is happening and I am so so excited for all of my absolutely wonderful friends who all deserve the very best in this world. 

1/04/21

 I woke up early in order to get to the Rexburg Police Station as soon as they opened so that I could get Ophelia registered in the city since that was the last thing I had to do. Then I drove up to IF and I picked her up and drove all the way back and then went to talk to Shania to fill out the paperwork real quick and turns out she decided not to call my doctors office to confirm my note until that morning and she was still waiting to hear back from them. I legit gave her all of my info like a week ahead of time so that we could avoid this problem but no. So she was all like, "The cat can't be on the premises until I get that call back so we will just have to wait for that but other than that everything else looks fine."

So then I sat back in my car with Ophelia literally already in it and decided to call the doctors office and see how long they thought it would take to call her back because if it was like thirty minutes or something I could just chill in the car with her. But the office lady said that it would probably take like two days at the least. So now I am harboring my cat in my bedroom because I really did not want to leave her at Derity's for who knows how long. Please cross your fingers for me that I don't get arrested and/or evicted.

1/03/21

 I spent the latter half of my day at Derity and Jerako's so that I could hang out with my cat. I was looking up different name ideas while Les Miserables was playing in the background and I found the perfect name! I have officially decided to name her Ophelia and I feel like it is entirely fitting. 

1/02/21

 I GOT A CAT TODAY!!! She is absolutely gorgeous and I love her holy cow. Unfortunately she couldn't spend the night here with me since I can't get her licensed in the city of Rexburg until Monday. Derity and Jerako are watching her right now. I am still trying to settle on a name (heavily leaning towards Luna, or maybe something from Greek mythology or something else that has to do with the moon. We shall see.) She is three years old and literally the absolute sweetest thing ever. She loves being pet, especially head scratches, and even if you're doing something she doesn't like she won't bite/scratch you. She may give you a little bite but it's very gentle and doesn't hurt at all. When you're petting her she will sometimes knead just a little and she will press her claws into you but only a small amount and it's more like a "thank you" gesture, at least that's the vibe I get. Here is a video of her in my car today while we waited for Derity and Jerako to get back from their fishing trip.

1/01/21

 I spent the first day of the new year sleeping in late, which is entirely fine by me. It was a good start to the new year, we went out to Texas Roadhouse as a family (sans Megan and Abbey who didn't want to go to Texas Roadhouse and rather stayed home to hang out with Kayla and Sydney) Later on Mom and Dad and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house and spent some time there while Dad fixed the audio on their television. We worked on a puzzle together which was frustratingly confusing, particularly because we had three duplicate pieces and were missing the three final pieces needed to complete the puzzle. Then I spent a good chunk of the night packing up because, after much debate and inner turmoil, I felt like I needed to drive back to Idaho tomorrow instead of on Monday so that's what I'm doing now.