Church Talks and Callings

So Scott and I have had a double dose of Gospel Goodness the last few weeks. First, we were called to teach the 6 year old Primary Class- it has been interesting to say the least. Then we have been asked to speak in Church this Sunday- Christmas Sunday- on Fast Offerings. I have my talk all ready, and I am really excited to give it. I am just one of those crazy Mormons who actually enjoys approaching the pulpit and rambling on for hours! So I have been practicing and I think it will be quite good.

I just feel so blessed this year. I have a wonderful husband, money in the bank, transportation, a lovely family, good grades, one more semester to a degree, clothes on my back, a good job, etc. Scott and I sat down and discussed our Christmas, and came to the conclusion that we were in want for nothing, so we have set a $50 budget for each other, and we won't spend anything else. I think we are in a really good place, we have started a modest savings account, and are rally able to do lots of fun things, but we have our priorities straight, and we aren't spending money if we don't need too. We have chosen instead to help those in our ward through fast offerings, and we feel really good about this decision. I think this is why the bishop asked us to speak on this topic, and I hope we can impress on our ward why fast offerings are so important. I feel very passionate about this, and I hope that I can get a good festive message across.

Perhaps I will make an MP3 of the talk and post it on here for you all the hear :)

Christmas Cards

I made some CHRISTMAS cards for this Thursday's Cache Rendezvous Show.

Aren't they cute?
Here is how to make them:

Because I am a reporter...

Here are some of my favorite pieces I have done! Enjoy!

I've Really Been Slacking!

Well, my last post was forever ago, and I apologize. Life is insanely busy, and I am trying my best to just relax and enjoy my new husband. Scott and I are great. Scott is the top of all his classes, and I have major senioritis, but am still maintaining good grades. I hate my job at Texas Roadhouse, and can't wait to get a new job, because being a waitress is the pits. People in Cache Valley are super cheap, and the main focus of my boss is whether or not I am selling an average of $14.50 a person. I just want to tell him to leave me alone, I am a waitress not a salesperson, but getting fired wouldn't be ideal either. Anyway, I hate my job, end of story.

Besides work and school, Scott and I like to hang out at home. Our little apartment is quite cute, but the environment we are in is perfect for our stereotypical newlywed home.

TOP TEN REASONS OUR HOME IS THE PERFECT NEWLYWED APARTMENT

10. We are the only people who speak english in the whole complex.

9. The building is over 80 years old, and used to be a hospital.

8. Our Kitchen was the radiation room, we even have a window to look into it.

7. We have no washer and dryer, no dishwasher, no disposal, no internet, and no cable.

6. There are pipes all throughout the ceiling, we hide them with chinese lanterns :)

5. Our heating system is an old old heater the kinds that look like this:

4. Our fridge is actually in our living room, because there was no room for it in the kitchen.

3. Our toilet only refills with water if you take the lid off and hit a specific part of the system, I don't know what it is or what it is called, I only know how to make it work.

2. It has a funny smell, so I do everything I can to ensure that we make it as aromatic as possible, we have used candles, scentsy, air sprays, carpet sprays, oils, and potpourri.

1. Despite all of these things, we love it, I will post pictures when I get them, because it really is a super cute apartment, and it is all our own!

Love you all!

Dreams

There are officially only 39 days left til Scott and I get married. I can't wait. Scott always does the sweetest things. When I got home from California last Friday I came home to find my bedroom walls coated (and I mean COATED- it looked like wallpaper!) with hundreds of sticky notes, all with personalized messages. Every note had a thoughtful message, funny inside joke, or doodle, and even though I come home everynight to ten more sticky notes on my floor that have fallen off the wall, I still have hundreds more making up my love note collage. It was such a good surprise. Scott does this kind of stuff all the time, he is always trying to think up new ways to make me happy- he is great!

I was cleaning out my e-mail inbox today, clearing out 400+ messages that have no need to hog my e-mail space, and came across a few e-mails from past boyfriends. Now as many of you know, I have had quite a ride these last few years dating around, and even came close to marrying a few of these very nice other young men. As I read and deleted the e-mails and memories one by one, it came as a shock to me how dating anyone but Scott feels like a dream. Remembering that I went on dates, held hands, and even kissed boys who aren't Scott feels so weird to me now. I had so many other chances to pick someone else, and I can't tell you how glad I am I waited to find Scott. I always dated very outstanding young men, but all of them combined could not bring me the joy that Scott does.

Scott is the most thoughtful, caring, sincere, selfless, hard-working, loveable, dorky, charismatic, creative, kind, smart, and wonderful person, and he does so much for me. He tries his very hardest every single day to make me happy, and will do anything for me. He loves me so much and I am the luckiest girl in the world. We are going to be very happy together, and I just can't believe that I am almost didn't get him.

So I am grateful today, that I got to realize how much he does mean to me, and how little I remember even liking anyone else. He is my everything, and I am glad that everyone else is a fading dream, because if they weren't I wouldn't have Scott.

Summer Reading

I have been reading a great new series Scott recommended, called "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" So far there are three books released, three more coming, and they have filled the magical void left by Harry Potter. They are creative, clever, quick reads- and I highly reccomend them. The first book is called "The Alchemyst," and it really is awesome. I read all three books this last week, I couldn't put them down. The Author, Michael Scott, plans to release one book every summer, the next being released in 2010 is called "The Necromancer."

Scott really loves Fantasy books, and also had me read The Black Cauldron series. The first book is called "The Book of Three." It is written more for children, but the plot moves quickly, and I read all five books in one week.

Scott and I both love to read, it is really a great way to spend time. Scott would really love to have a library, and already has quite a collection. His one weakness is books, and he cannot control himself. I suggest visiting the local library to satisfy his craving, but he likes owning books. He goes to Borders and Hastings at least four times a week, and since I have met him, he has not gone one week without purchasing a book :)

California

Flew home to California early Saturday morning, and I am here until Friday Morning. So far we found the bridesmaid dresses and matching shoes, went to the beach, and had some BJ's pizza. Tomorrow mom and I are headed to L.A. for more wedding stuff, and then Ash and I are headed to a singles ward relief society event. Thursday I am having my first bridal shower, should be fun, and I would like to watch a few more home movies before I leave.

We went to the park Sunday night, and took some fun pictures, check these out:

My dress....

Here it is! Found it today at Belle's Bridal here in Logan. It doesn't come with the ribbon, but I am probably going to do a brown ribbon....

They have to do a few alterations, she said they would take off two inches in the hips, and maybe shorten it a tad, but I found it!

Thanks to Mandy for coming and helping me find it! Love you girl!

wedding hair attempt one

Inspired by....

More attempts to come the next few months I am sure...

New Job

So I got a new job at a sushi restaurant here in Logan, called Takara Sushi. It is a decent job. I work 4-5 shifts a week, and so far the worst shift I had I got $35.00 in tips, it was a Tuesday lunch shift, and I worked for 5 hours, so I was still making $7.00 an hour, not too bad by Utah standards. My best shift was insane, I worked a Saturday lunch by myself and made $73.00 in tips! We pool the tips with the other servers and with the Sushi chefs, so in the end I get about 30% of the days entire tips, so we get pretty decent business.

I am really getting the hang of it, although there isn't a whole lot of room for mistakes. The sushi chefs who own the business can get pretty nasty at the slightest mess ups, but that is the only downside.

Scott is looking for a second job to hold down during the summer in addition to his job he already has as maintanence mow guy and brick mover at EKS Storage :P He has some connections at the Coppermill Restaurant here in Logan, and is probably going to work there with catering.

I get to move in to my summer apartment on Sunday, and am a little bummed I have to do it on the sabbath, but I have to work at Dance Fest all day tomorrow and Saturday, so I probably won't be able to do it until Sunday, and I have to be out of my current apartment by then, but can't move into the new apartment until the 2nd, so it is all a bit of a mess, and is rather inconvenient.

Finals wrapped up three hours ago. I feel alright about this semester, although I can't seem to get over the B+ I received in Interior Design. I did the math, and I did infact get an 89%, only because I missed three in-class quizzes. It seems a little unfair to me, but oh well. I will probably end up with a B in media law as well, but I feel better about that one because it was an incredibly difficult class and I worked my butt off. So not my best semester grade wise, but luckily I have a good amount of GPA padding to keep me well above the 3.5 mark.

It should be a crazy fun summer. I get to live with Amanda again, she one of my dearest friends, so that will make things exciting, and I also purchased a bike last week to help me get around town. I am looking into getting a basket, because then I could just go get my grocerys that way too.

Things are still good, working hard as usual, but still having a pretty nice time.

PICTURES

I'm Engaged!!!

So it is finally official. We finally caught up with all the wedding details and temple dates, and now I have a gorgeous ring on my finger and I am getting married in August.

Last night our families met, we all went to dinner at The Joy Luck in Bountiful. It is a chinese restaurant, and where we are thinking of having our dinner/reception. I am pretty sure I have made up my mind, because the food was awesome! Scott really liked the Mango Chicken, and I thought both the Garlic and Honey Walnut Shrimps were awesome. It's getting exciting :)

So the proposal was nice, I knew it was coming, but it really was perfect. I don't do cheesey well, and this wasn't cheesey, just very sweet. We drove down to Bountiful early because Scott was "craving something" and I guessed right away it was Nelson's Frozen Custard. Then I figured he was going to go to Muir, I thought to myself, "If I was the one proposing, I would go to Muir." So after eating our custard, he made me get blindfolded, and then he drove the back route to our elementary school. He walked me out to the top of the hill that overlooks our school, and then we laid down a blanket (he let me take off the blindfold at this point), and then he asked me to marry him with my gorgeous ring and a lovely bouquet of roses. It was very nice.

We took lots of photos, I will post them when he gets around to loading them :)

Best Birthday Ever!

Today was a great day, I really had a wonderful birthday! Thank you to everyone who helped make this a great day for me. I recieved several phone calls, texts, cards, facebook messages, and personal birthday wishes that meant a lot to me. My awesome friends Mandy and Amanda got me a sweet guitar strap, that is leather with a pretty red floral accent, thanks guys! Shari got me some lavendar bubble bath I can't wait to use, and Scott really went above and beyond... brace yourselves, my friend Mandy started to tear up...

I needed a new swimming suit and so we went last week and picked me out some board shorts to go with a top I had ordered offline. I didn't want him spending a ton on me, and I wanted to keep things simple, so we found a cute pair of board shorts at JC Penney that worked perfectly! So I was pretty busy today, but we got to go to a Mystery Dinner my organization was putting on, which was really quite fun, and then we headed over to my girlfriends apartment to play games and relax. We finally got done with that and walked home, and Scott got my gift out of his car. It was in a shoebox looking package, so I was relieved that he hadn't outdone himself. Well, he hands me the box and it is HEAVY. When I open it there is a big bag of gummie bears- my favorite!, my swimsuit, and the book "A brave new world" which I have wanted to read for a long time. He is so thoughtful and he really pays attention to the things I like. Then he tells me there is more. He pulls out a tiny box and says, "This is really just an April Fools Joke." Okay so I think you know where my mind flew first, but I opened up the tiny white box and inside is a pair of big pearl earrings, about the size of a penny, just the pair I had been wanting! I loved them, ha ha but he bought them as a joke because he thought they were huge- just one of those fashion differences between boys and girls, haha- anyway, I am putting them on and he leans in and says, "They are a joke because I got you real ones." REAL ONES?! I was freaking out. He pulls out another box and inside are a pair of pearl earrings with a matching necklace. IT was so sweet and thoughtful, I was so giddy. I couldn't believe it, he really outdid himself.

Basically, I have found a real keeper, this kid is unbelievable and he makes me so happy. He gave me the sweetest card, and to top off my perfect day, when I told him, "You treat me like a princess," his response was, "No, I just treat you how you deserve."

Another year older....and wiser?

Well I can officially take my first trip to Logan's very own White Owl restaurant. It is the only bar in Logan, but don't worry, I don't plan on going hog wild on alcoholic beverages, the White Owl is apparently supposed to serve an awesome hamburger.

The gist is, I made it to 21 without too much trouble or injury. I feel proud of where I have come in life, the accomplishments I have under my belt, the hard work and effort I have exerted to get here, and I am extremely excited for this next year. 21 is going to rock the pants off 20.

Bye Bye Mission

Thought it was time for the update that the mission is put on hold, indefinitely. More updates to come in the next few weeks :D

Movie Break Anyone?

So with spring break coming up, I thought I would make a list of all the movies I want to rent and watch while I am home. What better way to spend my lazy day break right? If you have any suggestions or movie recommendations please add to my list.

The Glass Bottom Boat
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Ghost Town
The Duchess
The Women
American Teen
Swing Vote
Mamma Mia
Indiana Jones
Phoebe in Wonderland
Confetti
Brideshead Revisted

In Theaters

Bride Wars
Coraline

Life is Funny

It is funny sometimes how life works out. Meet Scott Kirby, he and I went to Elementary school together in Bountiful. I wish I had a picture of us when we were younger, but we didn't ever play in elementary so I don't. He is swell. I still have full intentions of going on my mission, but he and I are dating. He is awesome, he is way excited for me to serve my mission and is totally supportive. Every time I call home my mom makes sure that I am still planning on leaving, ha ha. Life is just funny like that, it seems whenever you make a plan or are intent on doing something it decides to send you in a very different direction.

Here is a better picture of a Scott, and as a bonus it showcases the "stauch."

The very good, not so bad, wonderful, very fun Weekend.

I have already had an awesome weekend. On Friday I headed down to Salt Lake with my friends Amanda, Mandy, and Sarah to spend the evening at Sarah's house. Mandy and Sarah were going on a Valentines date, so Amanda and I planned a splendid evening at "home."

Amanda and I invited Joey and Jeff over for pizza and Harry Potter 5. Joey and Jeff both got home from their missions 3 weeks ago. Joey is one of Sarah's best friends, and we all grew close to him by writing him letters his entire mission. Jeff is one of my best friends from High School, we worked together on Student Body, and we also both worked at the Megaplex 8 Movie Theatre. Sarah's parents were kind enough to buy us three Papa Murphey's Pizza's and they also watched the movie with us. It was a lot of fun. It was good to see old friends and have a nice evening enjoying good company.

We spent the evening at Sarah's, and then for lunch on Saturday we went to Sushi, a great way to start off a great Valentines Day. After lunch, which consisted of a Hollywood Roll and a bowl of Miso Soup, Mandy and I drove back to Logan.

My evening was very fun. Over the last few weeks I have gotten in touch with two kids I went to elementary school with, Scott and Brett Kirby. They are twins. I always find it so interesting to see how the little kids I associated with 10 years ago turned out.

Anywho, Scott and I went on a date and I had a blast, and for the first time in several years, I enjoyed myself on Valentines Day. We just had a fun time. We went to Taco Time for dinner and watched part of the Aggie Basketball Game (which we lost.....goodbye to our awesome winning streak....) and then we played in the snow, played Dance Dance Revolution (Which I haven't played for four years, and yes, I still look ridiculous), and watched the movie Hot Rod. Hot Rod is pretty much like Napoleon Dynamite, but with a little bit more of a plot line, and I did laugh about 3x as much in it than I did Napoleon. Overall it was really fun.

Tonight Mandy and I are making a very girly Sunday dinner. Since I got sick I have craved cheese and carbs, so I said we couldn't make anything with those staples. So tonight, we are making a salad with tomatoes and pieces of rotisserie chicken, strawberries with fruit dip, homemade bran muffins, and a side of whole grain rice. We invited "the scotts" to come join us for the evening. Scott Anderson is easily one of my very best friends, we do a lot together. He is a broadcast student as well, so I see him all the time. In fact, this is an example of how I spend too much time with Scott. As broadcast students we are in the video editing lab at really odd hours, like one in the morning. We get crazy ideas, and well, this is what occured last Wednesday-

So Scott Anderson is coming over, and then I also invited Scott Kirby to come over. It should be fun. We are going to play games, and as always, Mandy or I will dominate, because my friends and I are the gaming queens.

Monday, Mandy and I are going to go to lunch at a local mexican restaurant, and then we are going to go see Confessions of a Shopaholic, which looks adorable! I can't wait!

MY weekend has been way chill. I got all my homework done on purpose so that I could enjoy it.

Knowing that you are leaving somewhere in a short amount of time always does an interesting thing to you. It puts everything in perspective. I realized, that all of my best friends will be graduated by the time I get home. Sarah will probably get married while I am gone, Amanda will be off to grad school, and Mandy wants to get out of Utah as fast as she can. It is odd knowing that I only have two more months to enjoy my friends. It is also odd knowing when I get back to Utah State in 2011 I will be one of the oldest girls here, ha ha, and I will have to make all new friends, although I am comforted by the thought that some of my guy friends could very well still be here.

Another thing that has changed is that I no longer feel the need to buy anything, except stuff for my mission. The only things I want to spend my money on now are food and entertainment. I really am just enjoying every last minute I have. I am excited for my mission, but I am going to miss a lot of things too. It will be hard having life go on without me and not being able to actively participate in my loved ones lives. I am also going to miss Harry Potter. I know it is sad, but I seriously will miss not being able to see Harry Potter 6 in theaters. I almost considered pushing my availability date back just so I could see it.

BUT- regardless of a mission, I feel so at peace with my decision. I am very excited to see what this new adventure has in store. It will be different, but I have always liked change.

Mission

So I have exciting news. I have started the process to submit my mission papers. I will submit them the end of March, because I am not putting my availability date until the end of June. I wanted to spend part of the Summer with my family, so that felt best to me.

I am very very excited, and this feels so perfect for my life right now. I can't wait to serve the Lord!

Newscast, Rally, and Life in General

Last week was easily insane. No doubt about it. I spent several hours of each day planning the rally, organizing the events, and the logistics of the events, but it all paid off in the end.

We got to go to the capitol on Friday, and over 400 students filled the steps. It was an awesome sight. We heard from three legislators, and then got invited in to be recognized in the House and the Senate. The best part of this whole story is we won!!! The 19% budget cut plan was repealed, and now USU will only be experiencing about a 7% cut. Hurray!

As far as my major, and Newscast class goes, I got to anchor again last week for Cache Rendezvous, or features piece. It aired on January 29, 2009, so if you want to go watch that one as well, you can do it at www.usu.edu/atvnews and in the archive section you will see it.

I wrote the script for tomorrows show, and I am very excited about it. The two hosts for the show are my friends Scott and Jason and they are both characters, so hopefully the comical script I wrote for them goes over well.

So far this school year is going great. I am really loving school and where I am at with life. Everything is just real nice, there is nothing really exciting going on for me, but I am very content and happy with what I have, so I really can't complain.

I teach Gospel Doctrine in Sunday School and get to teach this week's lesson as well as speak in Sacrament on Faith, so I have a full plate for Sunday. Along other spiritual lines I am currently doing a 21 day walk with Christ that is so amazing, and I am also taking an awesome institute class on the principles of the gospel. It is the best class ever, our teacher is so well versed and entertaining and I learn so much from him.

I am also doing my radio show on Fridays, from 10-12, and that is going really well. My show is called the Friday Focus, and I play alternative and indie music. Each week I also spotlight an artist, and give some facts and a brief bio on their life, music, upcoming tours, etc. This week I am spotlighting a local artist from Orem, RuRu. I heard him in concert last saturday at a small venue in Provo, and he is coming to play in Logan in two weeks, so I thought the timing was prime.

I have completely healed from my terrible illness, and am finally getting back into my workout routine. It is really nice, I am being real dedicated. My classes dont start until noon each day, but I am getting up at 9:00 to do scripture study, then go get a bite to eat, hit the gym, come back and shower and get ready, and then I head off to class. It is suiting me very well.

This weekend I have a full schedule of fun. Friday I am having a girls night with my friend Shari. We are going to this awesome Italian restaurant, Le Nonne to eat, and then we are going to see He's Just Not That Into You at the theatre. Le Nonne is my FAVORITE place to eat in Logan. The chef is an Italian immigrant and everything is homemade, even the pasta! If you are ever in Logan it is a MUST.

Saturday my friend Scott and I will be shooting Aggie Kitchen, the cooking segment for Cache Rendezvous, and I am going to be cooking Chili Relleno Casserole- so good! Then I am sure the rest of my Saturday will be finishing preparation for Sunday.

Tomorrow is Aggie Basketball, so I will be going to the game. We are 21-1 for the season, and have the best record in the nation! We are nationally ranked too, it rocks. I just don't see any way that we won't make it to the playoffs this year, so that is pretty much awesome.

USU Rocks, all is well, and I love you all!

USU Budget Cuts video

Here is the news piece I did on the USU budget cuts. Enjoy.

Utah higher education is under attack.

It is notnews to anyone that our nation is experiencing a time of extreme financial crisis. Every state is making cut backs, and budget cuts are neccesary. However, far too often the first cuts are made from education, and this time is no exception, but this time, as my friend Justin put it, "They aren't just making cuts, they are severing limbs."

The Utah State Legislature has proposed to make a 19% budget cut on higher education, which will take place immediatly. If this happens, USU will lose $30 million and over 660 jobs. Basically, 1 out of every 5 jobs will be lost at USU. The affects of this bill will be severe:

-Loss of academic programs, some have already been lost. The USU Theatre program was the most recent cut.
-Higher tuition costs, which have already risen $600 since I started school, without a budget crisis. It has been said that students wouldn't be asked to carry the burden of more than 1/3 of the new costs, but that is still a huge sum.
-Loss of untenured faculty, and any faculty who does not teach classes required for graduation.
-Fewer student services will be offered, campus police and maintanence have already been targeted, student leadership and activities will be targeted next.
-Loss of over 600 on-campus jobs, including several student jobs, and quite possibly my own.

USU's President, Stan Albrecht declared this the greatest financial crisis the university has ever faced, and the repercussions of it would set the university back by over a decade.

However, there is a slightly better option. The governor has proposed an 11% cut. With his proposal USU would still lose $17 million, and 373 job cuts over two-and-a-half years, but it is much better than what congress is proposing.

This is my opinion on this entire matter. My generation did not cause the economic crisis our country is facing, but we will be the ones to bear the burden. We will be the ones working to get our nation back on its feet. The only thing that we have going for us is our education, it is the one thing we have to prepare us to deal with an awful economy, and it is being taken away from us. I feel like my generation just can't win. I wish that the legislators and oher lawmakers could understand the toll these cuts are going to take on USU, it is going to completely change the university I know and love.

The saddest part, is that there are currently talks going on in congress of more waves of cuts to come. It would not just be nearly 20%, but it could be even more.

Please take the time to write your legislator about this issue. Also, tell anyone you can about this issue. It is so important.

Next Friday, January 30, 2009, Students from all over Utah are gathering at the capitol to protest the legislatures proposal and to show support for the governors plan. It is our hope that we can show the legislature just how much damage will be done.

This is my future, I care deeply about it.

It is going to take US and U to save USU.

I just wanted to let everyone know this is a huge issue, and will impact so many things. Thanks for listening to this issue, and anything you can do, especially writing your legislators would be great.

Anchoring

So I got to anchor for the first show of the semester for ATV News. It was definitely a first show, lots of errors, but it is funny, so I encourage you all to go watch it.

www.usu.edu/atvnews.

If you watch it after January 26, you will have to click on Archives on the right and go to the January 19, 2009 show.

A new year.

It has taken me awhile to write this post. First and foremost I got a nasty nasty virus that had me out for nearly three weeks. I have almost completely recovered, however, I still have a cough, which is very very annoying, and I am still trying to get my eating habits back to normal. It is very hard to eat when you couldn't for so long, but I am getting better every day.

School is going very well, and I have a much lighter load this semester, only 13 credits, and I quit writing for The Statesman, so that leaves me a lot more time as well. I am enjoying my classes so far, and should have an enjoyable semester. Only one more year left after this semester.

Our family is doing very well. We love our new puppy Roxy, and I miss her very much already. She is a total stinker and chews on everything, but she is so cute that it is hard to be mad at her for long. Ash has been sick with Bronchitis the last few weeks, so we all had our fair share of illness, but she is getting better. Chelsea just celebrated her 17th birthday on Sunday, and is sprouting like a bean pole. Us three Anderson girls are pretty much made of the same mold, ith slight variations, but back to back we are basically the same height. It is nice for me, because when I go home I get to pack quite lightly, knowing I can wear my sisters clothes quite comfortably.

Things are well, there is a lot for me to consider in the next year and a half, deciding still what I want to do with my life, but I am trying to take it one day at a time and just enjoy the ride.

I love love LOVE Elder Wirthlins last talk, and have adopted it as my credo since I heard it, "Come what may, and love it." And I try.