I am Dreaming of a White Christmas

     Christmas was yesterday. It was so much fun. I did not wake up super early in the morning and go look at my presents. I did not get up until about 7:30, and I only got up because my little brother came in my room and told me we needed to go wake up my mom and dad. Ever so slowly I got out of bed. We went to wake up my parents, and Christmas began.
     A few days before I finally felt like Christmas was coming. We went to play ding dong ditch to families in the ward. We left a plate of Christmas goodies. Christmas Eve was a blast. Most of my family came over, we ate, we laughed, we listened to the story my mom read, and we got to enjoy each other's company.

     On Christmas when we opened presents, I loved watching my family open their gifts more than opening my own. It was wonderful. When we were done I went to get ready putting on new clothes, and curling my hair so I looked nice for when we went to my Grandma's. Before we went I put my dogs outside. It was snowing! Now, living in Texas, I have only had one white Christmas in my life. Being home from school and being used to snow, part of it not feeling like Christmas was because of the lack of it. When it started snowing after an awful Texas thunderstorm, I was wonderstruck. I was so happy. That was the best Christmas present I could have ever gotten.
     I am used to the snow, but my little blind dog is not. He got lost in the backyard. He was standing in a corner trying to not get soaked and barking at the gate thinking it was the door to the house. I had to go rescue him. Poor guy. He was wet, so while I waited for my mom to be ready, I wrapped him in a blanket and let him warm up and sleep. He had a rugby shirt on, but since it was wet I took it off and changed him into his sweater. He is so cute and spoiled.
     After fun at Grandma's we came home to watch Christmas movies. It was a perfect Christmas  complete with snow. I loved being with my family, being able to sit with my dogs, eat good food, and remember why we celebrate the season to begin with. My dream of a white Christmas came true.

Christmas is Coming

I am back home. This means I am back to having the big brown eyes of my spotted dog staring up at me begging me to share whatever I am eating at the time (because we all know I am always eating) or to throw her rubber bone one more time. This means my family teasing me about boys all of the time. This means a quiet house by ten because everyone but me has usually gone to bed. This means my little dog being asleep on my chest. I take care of him like one would a baby. I guess it is good practice. This means shopping, picking my little brother (who is HUGE) up from swimming, going to go see "The Hobbit", and actually having time to catch up on my interior design magazines and read a book. It also means being able to spend a day with my best friend and her mom. They may as well be family since they have been in my life since Kindergarten. I am so thankful Ashley and I have stayed friends. Whether she needs me or not, I need her. I hope to be able to spend some time with a couple of my other friends from here as well. I am enjoying being home for Christmas. I will say it does not really feel like Christmas here. After living in a place with snow for so long, you come to expect the chilly breeze, a white Christmas, and everyone to be wearing chunky sweaters. Not here. Here you wear a normal T-shirt and jeans. You could even get away with wearing shorts if you wanted to. We have read Christmas books, I went to our ward Christmas party, I made some pumpkin gingersnaps, and I have done most of my Christmas shopping. Why does Christmas this year feel so wrong? The next few days before Christmas hits I am really going to focus on the true meaning of Christmas and see if I can get the Christmas spirit in my life.

Finals Week

When I look at my exam.... 

How I feel after every exam.

Because it snowed.

I fell on my way to class today. It snowed yesterday. Today the sidewalks were covered in ice. I did not pay attention when I was getting dressed so I put on my Sperrys that I absolutely love. They have no traction whatsoever. I was sliding along when all of the sudden I was on the ground. It happens a lot. Don't fret. My right arm is just extremely sore, and I once again have bruises all over my legs. Also, I was stupid today. I took two exams before nine thirty this morning and did well on both of them.  I went and did an interview, and then I went home to study for my New Testament exam. I went to go take it... In line, the people behind me talked about their D&C class the whole time. I am taking that class as well so I started thinking about my class. By the time I got to where they asked what test I wanted, I accidentally said D&C. I had not studied for it at all. You know that awkward moment when you look at the test in front of you, and you realize that it is not the one you wanted? I hope not. It is awful. I made the face T-Swizzle is making above... So, I did not do well on that one. This was one of the worst college girl problems one could ask for. I seriously think I was about to cry when I realized I had the wrong test. It was rough, but I had to compose myself because I had another interview afterwards. I am fine. I will survive. The only things getting me through this week are the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, chocolate, and knowing when it is all over I get to go home for three and a half weeks. I only have one more final to take. Then, I get to go home on Thursday morning. I cannot wait! Also, I want to point out that I mask how I feel really well most of the time, but saying goodbye is one of the hardest things for me. It's okay. I can make it. 

Last Day of Classes

Today was as close to perfect as you can get on your last day of class for the semester. It was apple polishing day. So, all of the deans, coordinators, and some teachers were passing out the most delicious apples. I was running all over the place so they kept giving me apples. When I was holding four at once they finally did not ask if I wanted or told me I deserved another. So, I had four apples for breakfast today. I do not eat apples when I have them in the fridge, but these looked so perfect and were handed out with love so I enjoyed them. I went to my last class of the semester. Five minutes in, my professor told us he knew no one wanted to be there so we would have an attendance quiz, and we could go. Then, I went back to the office. Once a year, the dean of students does this party with a million kinds of breads and jams. I went in and it was like heaven. The dean of students hugs you, you go and get all kinds of bread and jam along with sparkling grape juice as well as chocolate, and all the while, Christmas music is playing. I had holly berry bread, chocolate covered almonds, 9 grain bread with mountain berry jelly, cheese sourdough bread, and pumpkin bread. <3 Bread and Jam Day. Why would anyone go anywhere other than BYU? It is seriously the best university. Trying to focus on some of my work, I then realized we had another party. My area won the cleanest area award so we got a pizza party. Eating two pieces of pizza after everything else was a lot, but I did it. Yesterday Eric gave me a list of things I needed to do and told me he did not expect me to get them all done today unless I had a team of ten people he did not know about. Well, I do not have a team of ten people, but being very driven, I got everything and more done today even with all of the food and other distractions. Bam. After everyone left the office it was just Eric and me. He said we should steward. I replied rather sassy by saying, "Steward? What is that?!" We did not steward at all last month so it is kind of a foreign concept. On our way out we stewarded. I have so much I need to do before and during break. Next semester is going to be so exciting. He then drove me home so I would not have to walk home in the cold. When I got back I went to the Creamery with my old roommates. It brought back so many memories, and we were all just happy even though I know we are all already tired from studying so much. You cannot take us anywhere. Mak usually gets something on her shirt (which she didn't today: I was so impressed), Emilee and Kaitlyn had fries flying everywhere, and I had ranch all over me. Dani... well Dani had some trouble with her ice cream. Like I said, you cannot take us anywhere, and that is why we go places together. 

Never a Dull Moment

I never have a dull moment in my life. I would like to say that I went on my date. I do not know if I will ever ask a boy out again, but I did it. I was brave enough to do it, we went, we had fun, and now it is in the past. I will still never understand why he asked me why Eric and I are not dating. That was awkward, but like I said, it is in the past. I looked cute in my mom's dress with curled hair and pretty makeup. That is all that matters. 

I also found a minivan that has a license plate that says swagger mom. Dear swagger mom, I hope one day I can be as cool as you. Love a future swagger mom.

Now, finals are coming. There is so much to do. There are almost a dozen reviews I should go to, and I can already feel the pressure mounting. I have a week until I go home. It is going to be tough, but the devotional today was on prayer. I found that very fitting. Elder Bruce D. Porter of the First Quorum of the Seventy was the speaker. I loved the first story he told. He said there was once a little boy who was asked to give prayer in Primary. He started off by saying, "Heavenly Father, I am thankful for the letter A. I am thankful for the letter B..." He continued on until he had finished every letter in the alphabet.  He then started saying, "I am thankful for the number one..." His primary teacher at this point began to worry. She had no idea how far this boy could count, and she realized this could be a very long prayer. She thought about stopping him, but she chose not to. This little boy continued on to twenty, and finished his prayer by saying how thankful he was for his Primary teacher because she was the only grown-up who had ever let him finish his prayer. I loved this story. It reminded me that I not only need to be thankful for the big things but for the mediocre things as well. It also reminded me that I need to pray always for every little thing. Finals are coming. Don't be afraid to ask for some help. Like I said, there is never a dull moment for me. I am having a sleepover with my old roommates Saturday, I have a talk on Sunday, I have five finals in three days, and then I am going home! 

End of Semester Volunteer Appreciation Event

Like I said, this week has been a busy one. From Meet and Mingle where I beat Eric in a snowflake making competition, to a million meetings, to events, to interviews for the BYUSA yearbook, I have been one busy girl. The end of semester event was amazing. It was kind of stressful, but we had it under control and ended up having a ton of fun. I found out I am allergic to avocado, I am still a master at hula hooping, twister is not my forte, photo booths bring out the crazy in me, I do not like wassail, and being with friends just makes me smile. Twister, live bands, karaoke, photo booths, good food, games, and good company is all you need to make a night a great one. 

Temple Square Adventure

First I want to say there are 12 days until I go home! 

My temple lights trip was so much fun! On the way up there Dani kept hinting that she wanted cheesecake. Eventually I caught on and made the executive decision that we were going to go to the cheesecake factory. We were all beaming, and I loved it. We listened to Christmas music on the way up, and that made it even better. When we got there, we went through the new mall. The lights there were already pretty which made us more excited for Temple Square. I have been so busy this week only being home for five minutes at a time or sleeping. The fact that I made time to spend with my friends made me one of the happiest people on the planet, and I loved every minute being with them even if it meant having to stay up late the next night to do homework. When we got to Temple Square, we were captivated. It is beautiful. After watching a performance in an old church they have in the square, we went back to the lights. They were beautiful and reflected the lights in our eyes. We went to the Cheesecake Factory early to beat the basketball game rush. We had a five minute wait, and the entire five minutes we watched drooling as pictures of cheesecake flash by. After we were seated, I got a text... My roommate is engaged!!! Two out of three of them are down. Once I got over that bit of news, we ordered fried macaroni and cheese. Yum! Thank you Dani for suggesting it. Then, we all ordered the ultimate red velvet cheesecake. A little later our waitress, who was the best ever if I do say so, told us she had bad news. Our cheesecake would not be ready for another 45 minutes. Since that was the whole reason we came we told her we would take it home frozen so we could eat it later. With cheesecake in hand, we all went back to Temple Square to finish looking at the lights. Some singing, skipping, lots of picture taking later, and tons of laughs we went back to the car. On our way there we may have stopped at Tiffany and Co. and marveled at their window displays. So wonderful. When we got home we indulged ourselves with our ultimate red velvet cheesecake. Basically it was the best night ever. 

The nativity scene. They had a light in the perfect place so it looks like the star over the manger. 

My Christmas Wish List

Dear Santa,
I have thought a lot about what I want for Christmas this year. I thought about sweaters, a new phone, shoes, a few movies, a crock pot, or even just money. Here's the thing.... Today it hit me that I do not really need any of this. It would be nice, but I really just don't need it. Today I spent time with my best friends. I put my homework, stress, and worries aside, and I drove to Salt Lake with them to see the lights on Temple Square. At times we all laughed so hard we cried. Excitement filled the car when the Christmas music was turned on. All we could do the whole time we were together was smile. This got me thinking. You know, Santa, I would like to make this easy for you and be able to wish for something as easy as a Barbie dream house or a sweater, but I want something more this year. First, I want to always remember that I am never alone. I have so many friends that are always willing to be there for me. Every time I am with them, I have the best time. I love having friends like these. I cannot wait to see what the future will be like for us. I also have the best family who will never shrug their shoulder I often cry on. I love them all so much, and I often take them for granted. Second, I want to be able to excel in not only school but in BYUSA as well. Third, I want my dad to feel better. I want to see him smile like he used to. He does not have to be perfect, but it would be nice if he would feel a little better after this surgery. I love him. He means the world to me even though I may not always express it. Fourth, I want my little brother to know he does not have to live in my shadow. I know I set some high standards for him to live up to, but I want him to understand he can do so much better and put my standards to shame. Fifth, I want my mom to know how wonderful she is. She works so hard and often forgets to take time for herself. Santa, these three people mean more to me than anyone else in the world, and for my last wish, I want them to see themselves as I see them. Santa, I know this is a lot, but I would appreciate it. While the elves work on the toys for all of the other kids, will you please work on this? Thank you so much. Next year I will hopefully be able to make it easier on you.
Megan

He said...

I am sorry that this is the second blog post in one day, but this is worthy of another post. Now, I believe in the South. I love watching "Gone with the Wind" and seeing the southern way of life. So, for the longest time, I have believed that a girl should never ask a boy out. It is not ladylike. Well,  we have a ward Christmas ball  this weekend, and I did not have a date. I asked a boy..... and he said YES. I will now be escorted to my ward Christmas ball. One happy girl.

Look in the Eyes of Those You Lead

In the middle of this crazy week, I am taking the time to calm down. This week's devotional was not as inspiring to me as was last week's. For some reason I really liked last week's. It was on leadership which is something I hear about all of the time so when she said that was her topic I cringed a little bit. I did listen though, and the more I did, the more I learned. First she told us a quote by  John Quincy Adams. He said, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader." She gave us four things to work toward as leaders. We must always remember empathy, courage, integrity, and drive. For empathy we must remember everything bad happens at the end of the week or the weekend. We should not get frustrated with people. For courage, we just have to hope. Integrity is the courage and confidence to let people you work with see what you are doing so it will be whole and complete. Drive is self explanatory. In her closing remarks she said if you want to know if you are a leader, you should not look in the mirror but in the eyes of those you lead. I just loved her talk. It was not as well presented as some others, but the message she tried to get across was heartfelt, and I loved every minute of it. I am working to be a better leader every day, learning knew ways to solve problems and learning patience in what I do. 

And Then There Were Leftovers...

You know you Thanksgiving break is going to be great when the week begins with a beautiful rainbow outside. On Monday, I got to Skype one of my best friends. Tuesday, I went and got peppermint hot chocolate at Starbucks with Becca. I love it. It is so good! 

Wednesday, most of the population of Provo was gone. It is so quiet, and I was bored all day so when Jenn came home with Brent, we played soccer with the pumpkin I picked on my retreat. Now, I had kind of grown attached to my pumpkin so it made me sad when I did a soccer trick and he (I named him Felipe) cracked. Then to say goodbye we went pumpkin chunkin'. Later on we also went to get smoothies. So long Felipe.
I am starting to fit in with all of my roommates. One of their boyfriends said I was like the little sister he never had. The roommate I shared a room with is getting married, and she invited me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding and asked for my help in picking out outfits for her engagement portraits. Melissa is moving out at the end of the semester, Jenn is moving out after winter semester, and Alanna is leaving after that. I am finally fitting in, and they are all moving.

Back to Thanksgiving week... Last night my cousin spent the night with me. After watching "Signs" and talking until three in the morning, waking up was not pleasant. Today it is finally Thanksgiving. I have had a rough go from hot chocolate coming out of my nose to banging my head on the table. Becca and I made a HUGE dinner. We made the pie first, and we may have had a meringue war. It was a lot of fun, but let me tell you it is not as much fun to have to get it out of your hair and eyebrows. 

For dinner we had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls, stuffing, deviled eggs, and lemon pie. 

We barely made a dent in all the food we made, but we felt SO fat afterwards. I think I need stretchy pants. 

We listened to Christmas music and watched Christmas movies so it was only fair to decorate my little Christmas tree and put it up as well. We are finishing tonight off with "When a Stranger Calls", a happy movie after that, and probably more food. I am fat and happy. 

Made it Through

This week has been an interesting one. It has been full of changes, disappointments, sadness, good laughs, and some stress. Sunday was just the beginning. I missed  church. I slept through not only my alarm but my roommate's as well. Even her getting ready did not wake me up. The retreat really knocked me out. I finally woke up at noon and had to get going. I had an area dinner to get to. Angela Lopez came over to help me cook cinnamon cream cheese stuffed French toast. It was so good! I loved having dinner with my friends. We sat and just laughed. Monday was a rough one. I found out not only is Angela Lopez not coming back to BYUSA after this semester, but Angela Blomquist may take another job. I cannot lose both Angelas. I was so distraught afterwards I cried for an hour and a half. I will say, in our area meeting before I got this awful news, I was rather enjoying myself. My area was talking about how quietly opinionated I was, and how verbally opinionated Eric was. Someone was like, "That is why they are so compatible." I did not enjoy this because I like him, but that really is one of the reasons we work so well together all of the time. Once I got the news about losing my favorite people in the office it was one of those days that all I wanted was a friend. I am finding more and more that you cannot depend on people. When you need them they are nowhere to be found. It is just making me more independent than ever. Tuesday was a little better. We had the best forum speaker I have heard since I have been at BYU. Wednesday was blah. Thursday I was fidgety all day because my dad was having surgery and I was nervous. He is fine! I was kind of a wreck all day. I did not even put on make-up. It made some people really worry about me. It is nice to know who my real friends are. Seriously, this week has been one in which my eyes glaze over and I just go through the motions. Today I am back to normal. Happy go lucky, smiley, and sassy as ever. I got so much done today! Love it. More laughs, a nerf gun war in the office, a wonderful dinner (consisting of popcorn, cheese dip, a pomegranate, and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies), and "Breaking Dawn." I will admit, I laughed the first fifteen minutes of the movie, a laughed multiple times during it, and I even cried at one point. They threw in a twist I was not expecting at all. Ending my night with more cookies and "Get Smart" is making my week seem a lot better than it actually was. Next week is Thanksgiving! Two days of classes, and then a much needed break. Three and a half weeks and I get to go home!!!

Shine Bright Like a Diamond

I first want to acknowledge the hand of God in my life this weekend. I did not have to drive up in the canyon. I went, but I drove up with my coordinator. I prayed all yesterday that I would be safe driving up there, and driving in a car that wasn't mine was just making me feel uncomfortable. Good thing I have a wonderful coordinator watching out for me. I was safe. I also realized she is one of the coolest people I will ever meet. We talked about almost everything on our drive up, and it put my racing mind at ease. I seriously love her. I also want to point out that the song Diamonds came on three times on the drive up there. Needless to say, it was stuck in everyone's heads by the time we arrived. We all sang it all night. When we got to Springhaven, I was amazed. First off, it is HUGE. I got lost more than once in that "house." There is a jungle gym and a treehouse inside. Second off, it is so nice. It has heated floors. I was happy. With the blizzard going on outside, there is nothing better than a place with heated floors. Trainings and games and food... Oh my! It was a lot. I went in to this retreat like one often does conference. I went in with a prayer in my heart. It was answered, and everything was perfect. Everything went well. I did get thrown in the snow a couple of times, we had a snowball fight that was rather intense (I am a pro at dodging and aiming so I think I won), and we just had fun. I shone bright like a diamond the whole time, and I got closer to people I already love. Also, it is a huge feat that my crush did not resurface. Proof that I am so done. The theme was dedication. Spiritual, BYUSA, school, and self dedication. I learned a lot and had fun. There isn't much better!