christmas tag

I have been Christmas tagged by Dani...

1. Wrapping paper or paper bags? Seriously? Is that even a question? The only correct answer is wrapping paper. It's so much fun to help Santa wrap presents. Yay.

2. Tree -real or artificial? Ok, seriously? There is nothing better than going the day after Turkey Day with the family and picking out the perfect fresh tree: roasting mallows and hot dogs. Please.

3. When do you put the Christmas tree up? The correct day is the day after Turkey Day. Chop it, lights, ornaments, and up the day after.

4. When do you take the Christmas tree down? It's up the mother - the day after Christmas. That is when the holiday ends, but yet the music is still playing. Love it.

5. Like egg nog? I can't yes or no, because honestly I haven't tried it. I'm pretty sure Josh a boy asked me to try it one year and even bought me a carton, but I never tried it. Oops!

6. Do you have a nativity scene? Me personally, yes! I just got my first nativity this year actually. The rents have quite the collection - maybe one day I will measure up to it.

7. Favorite gift as a child? Watching home videos this past holiday season, I got pretty dang excited about all of the baby "stuff" I got: a carrier, clothes, and who knows what. All I know is that I was obsessed with babies. That's a good thing, right? I am pretty sure I got a lot of American Girl dolls and accessories for Christmas. Honestly, every year Santa surprises me with wonderful gifts.

8. Hardest person to buy for? The only people that I buy for are a few of my friends and whose ever name I draw. Tabatha is a bit tricky, because I want it to mean something because of our friendship.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Um...The person's name I draw usually gives me a few gifts. Mom and dad are pretty easy also - easy to please.

10. Worst Christmas gift? Um...I don't remember ever receiving something I didn't like. Wait! I take that back - I was in high school, probably a sophomore or junior, and my friend (Kelianne) had given me one of those fury, fuzzy posters that you color. It was so random! I was in high school! She told me she thought I would like it because I enjoyed coloring - how about a coloring book? Who knows - she was nice to think of me.

11. Mail or e-mail a Christmas card? Definitely mail - there's just nothing better then getting a card or letter in the mail (especially when you are at college).

12. Favorite Christmas movie? That's a tough one...The classics that the family watches on Christmas Eve: Muppet Christmas Carol, A Charlie Brown Christmas, the classic Grinch. Elf is funny as well. I feel that Polar Express is going to become a classic. I have grown to appreciate White Christmas. You could say I love Christmas movies!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? A couple of months in advance, although I would have to agree with Dani - the holiday hustle and bustle is exciting.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Never.

15. Favorite food to eat on Christmas? Eve: chocolate pudding pie watching a good Christmas movie. Morning: the bran muffins mom makes - delicious.

16. Clear or colored lights? Clear (aka white) for the home and main tree in the house. Colored for businesses and not the main tree in the house.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Honestly? I really don't have one - I can say that I am for sure not a fan of I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. All of the other ones are so dang good. You can't go wrong listening to Christmas music when studying for finals.

18. Travel during Christmas or stay home? Both for me - I travel so that I can be home for the holidays, even if there will only be 3 of us - I am still looking forward to it. Love the rents.

19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Thanks to Chamber Choir in high school, I had to learn Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

20. Angel or star on tree top? Definitely a star - all of the angels are not cute. I am pretty sure I could make a cuter angel - they are all namby pamby crazy ones.

21. Open present on Christmas Eve or morning? Pajamas and ornaments on Eve and then Santa's presents in the morning - at least that's how it has been in the past. You never know that tricks Santa will pull.

22. Most annoying thing about Christmas? First of all, bad question to end on. haha Second of all, there is only one annoying thing I can think about that's annoying are the drivers. Those college students that do not come from snowy towns should have to take a driving course and even some that do come from snowy areas should. Crazy college drivers - ahh!!

Tag you're it: Sam/Nikki, Mom/Dad, and Jacque/Skye.

'tis the season to decorate

Make a scrapbook!

tag! you're it!

I have gotten a few complaints (cough Natalie and Dani cough cough) about not updating my blog, but who's naming any names. giggle. In the midst of me updating my blog, I have been tagged by Shauna (I think Dani you might have tagged me awhile ago) to share 6 interesting things. So, I have discussed with Shauna and Lauren 6 "quirks" of mine that are quite strange.

1. I have this strange eating habit: I eat around the edges of sandwiches or hamburgers or french toast or anything with edges. I never knew where I got this strange eating habit until I went home for Turkey Day break and I inherited it from my mother. I have no idea why I do this - save the inside for last. Who knows? Not me!

2. I have a neurosis with odd numbers. I seriously am obsessed with them. To give you a hint of this neurosis: I always have to set my alarm on an odd number (5:55; 5:57; etc...). I always count how many sips I take (5; 7; 9; etc...) - always an odd number! I can not give you an idea about where this obsession with odd numbers came from, but to say the least I don't really like even numbers. giggle.

3. Whenever I'm eating or even drinking I hold up my right pinky finger, not my left though. Am I from England? No. I remember! When I went to England this past summer, I drank tea and you have to hold up your pinky. NOT! haha

4. I heard this story this semester of this man who had a tumor on his pituitary gland and drank so much water it was ridiculous. We all know that I had a tumor removed from my pituitary gland a few years back, so I'm wondering if that's where my obsession with water came. Example: the other day I drank around 115 ounces of water. They call me a camel around here...

5. My dad asked me if I wanted a new pair of pants and I really should replace this one pair of jeans. They have holes in a kind of awkward place (I won't name where) and they aren't the smallest of holes either - they are my favorite pair of jeans and I can not give them up. Mom, you know how I feel - back me up!

6. Last but certainly not least...Every night I wear ear plugs, sometimes with an eye mask. I seriously have a hard time falling asleep with any noise. This could potentially be a huge problem in the future.

You probably all think I am the weirdest person - it's true! As I was writing these, I have some weird quirks about me. giggle. As far as an update of my life goes - School is winding down. 9 finals coming up - woo hoo! I get to choreograph a dance for my tap class with a few other girls - Christmas music for sure. yay. Other then that, homework is my life. My mom pointed out something to me though - all of the homework I do is all part of my patterns of preparation for life. What are your patterns of preparation?

it's official!

I just wanted to let you all know that I have been provisionally accepted into the Social Work program! It's official! :) It has been quite the process with my application with getting in all of my letters in, but the Lord has greatly blessed me. All I have to do now is pass all of the prerequisite classes that I am enrolled in this semester. So far, so good...

Make your own slide shows and scrapbooks

happy new years!...not quite

i'm not sure if any of you are aware of this or not, but...I'M GOING TO AZ FOR NEW YEAR'S!!! woo hoo! mostly because of cody, but also because of family. hehe i can't stop smiling. thank you so much to wonderful parents, i get to go to az. i'm so excited you have no idea. i'm sure you can just see me writing over and over about how excited i am with the biggest smile. i want it to be christmas! thanksgiving would also be wonderful if it would just HURRY! haha i just wanted to let you all know my plans for bringing in the new year. ;) hehe

tapping and cooking - ???

here are some pictures of happenings from the past couple of days. for lauren and mine's tap class, we had to dress all gangsta like - we totally pulled it off. haha yeah right! i'm a white girl and proud of it! we were practicing our dance and kind of got in trouble with the girls below us - they told us to go somewhere else (ps there is nowhere else). i decided to get up on the counter and tap. haha i didn't stay up there very long - it was pretty slippery. jordan and i were tackling the kitchen making dinner and dessert. we conquered! :) i bought a new apron from the bookstore and i wanted to show it off. so cute!

nothing to do with me...sort of

per request by mother, here are a few pictures of cody. he and i have been e-mailing pictuers back and forth. he now has a picture of the family and then some. 1: he was on his mission and i can't remember the names of the three little kids, but doesn't his smile just kill you? love it! 2: him and his grandparents. very attractive. 3: him and his nephew. love how he is smiling down at his nephew. things are going well between he and i. we have talked everyday since we met last saturday (almost a week!). his direct words to me today: "so when are you going to come do az and vist me...i mean visit your fam? ;)" direct quote. hehe new years? :) i will continue to keep you posted on further happenings...

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

camping summer 07

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

conference

can i just tell you how excited i am for this upcoming weekend? DANG EXCITED! i am so excited to hear from inspired, god fearing men. in my teachings of the living prophets, i have gained a greater love and appreciation for the prophets and apostles and also a greater testimony of them. they are amazing and i can't wait to hear what they have to say to us. who do you think they will put in as a counselor? i could see elder eyring being called - or anyone for that matter. not only am i excited for conference, but i'm also excited to see francie pants! :) francie pants, 2 of his buddies and i are going to the saturday afternoon and sunday morning sessions. just to set the record straight, he invited me and i just happened to have the hook ups with tickets - thank you so much dad! there are 2 left for each day - any takers? re-try weekend with francie pants. put your flirt on alli! done.

i feel sick - so sick - what i need is a dose...

i have been sick since about sunday with a cold. going to class and working through it - woo hoo! i am involved with a choir for the cultural celebration. it's going to be this amazing celebration the night before the rexburg temple gets dedicated: singing, dancing, narration, fiddle players, and what not. i'm really excited and an amazing opportunity. it looks like president hinckley is planning on attending. :) that's not why i'm doing it though. classes are going well - i'm actually taking 19 credits now. i added a beginning tap class, because they don't offer anything higher. it's fun to be tapping again and a nice refresher. nothing too exciting going on in the life of this college student...

study study study!

it's official! i'm back in the burg at the start of my third year at byu-idaho. love it! i'm taking 18 credits - intro to psychology, statistics, intro to social work, anatomy, intro to sociology, and teachings of the living prophets. i am loving all of my classes so far. lots of reading to be done, but all worth it. i will be applying for the social work program here in another month or a little bit less. i'm nervous, but whatever happens happens. my plan b is to pursue sociology. i love my bishop in my new ward. his name is mike meyers. haha love it! his wife is actually sisters with amy wilkenlow (keno branch). weird, huh? crazy mormon connections! haha that's about it from my end. i love this school and i love life. :) know about it...

in a nutshell...

i am home from europe and sam is married now. europe was fabulous. i loved every minute of it and will never forget my experiences there. there's too much to say about it that will take too much time/space to describe to those few people who read this. most people that read these posts are in my family and already know about europe. sam's wedding was beautiful, although i wasn't able to be a part of the ordinance. their reception is next weekend, and then it will all be over. the last stewart to get married is home for the summer. i am loving being able to live in the new house and being with my parents. that's what's going in my life in a nutshell...

8 days!!!

classes for the europe tour are underway and are going great so far. so much research to do in so little time. i am taking religious symbolism in art, travel study in the arts, and christian history. i am loving them all so far.

as a group, we also have a journal writing class. there are specific chapters to our travel journal that i think will be so beneficial. we are given different writing exercises that will help us more capture our impressions on what we see and so forth. the first thing we do is write down our impressions. taking one specific idea from that section, we brainstorm about that idea. after brainstorming, you compose and really get into the details. after some time has gone by, then you reread what you've written and reflect on it. i think with these different steps, this journal will be more meaningful down the road. the chapters include: wish list, impressions, self-discovery, cultural sensitivity, spiritual sensitivity, personalized chapter, afterthoughts, and course specific tasks.

after learning of the different museums we get to visit and researching different paintings and sculptures, i just want to be there right now! 8 days!!! the different museums we are visiting as a group are: the british museum, british national gallery, vatican museum, ancient rome, uffizi, kunsthistoriches, rijks museum, and the lourve. so fun! in the british library, there are manuscripts of handel's messiah. can you believe it? i couldn't either! there's also da vinci's sketchbook among a miriad of other things.

just thought i would give you an update of the happenings of europe class thus far. i will probably be making 1 or 2 more posts before i leave, and then i'll be off for%

happenings of alli

a certain someone, whose name will not be mentioned (cough cough), has been wanting me to post something new. i honestly don't have anything new to report, but i'm not going to lie when i say that i'm not ready to be done with school and to be out of here...because i am! i love this school and i love this town, i'm just ready to be home. i honestly don't think i could be here year round. i would go insane! too many hormones running around.
good news is is that time is running out for me to leave for europe. i leave april 26. i still can not believe that i'm going. i have always dreamt of going and now i get to live that dream. it's not a dream anymore, but a reality. i'm feeling a little bit of pressure concerning classes and packing and what not. i can't complain too much because...I AM GOING TO EUROPE!!! ahh!
last day of classes is on monday and then finals begin wednesday. yay!...not. i can't believe that i will be a junior in a week. i'm halfway through college. i always knew time would go by fast, but still! i said that after my freshman year and i'm saying it again. you don't know much time flies by until you're living it. it applies to all areas of life. good news with school is that i'm moving towards majoring in child development. i am sick of getting rude looks from people when i say i don't know what i'm majoring in and i'm in my second year. it's a hard decision and it's been one of the toughest decisions i have had to make.
well that's all from the happenings of alli...are you happy?

don't worry; be happy!

for the past couple of days i have been so happy. i don't know why, but i am just so happy. i'm happy that this semester ends in one month; i'm going to europe in a month and a half; i love school and life; and i really like this guy. i go about my day wanting to smile wherever i go (that might look a little weird on campus though). the weather is so beautiful it makes me even happier. i don't know why - it baffles me. i'm so happy to be here and so happy with everything that's going on in my life right now. i hope you enjoy this picture as much as this guy does. haha i thought it was really funny and i couldn't help but post it. i found this other picture of a smiling goat that i was going to put up, but i like this one better. last week at stake conference, elder hammond said that we shouldn't worry - everything turns out in the end. look at joseph smith - everything turns out in the end. don't worry - be happy! i hope your lives are filled with happiness each and every day. why wouldn't you be happy? there are so many wonderful things that we each have in our lives. :)

pursue helping...

i took this aptitude test and the results were what i should pursue, experience, and avoid. it also gave me a list of careers i should look into. overall the results were that i should pursue helping.

• develop public speaking


• explore counseling


• pursue child development


• develop medical practices


• experience athletics/physical fitness


• pursue child care worker, guidance counselor, religious leader


• develop teacher K-12


• pursue social worker


• develop nurse

so according to these results, what do you think? which do you think accentuates my strengths and abilities? i need your thoughts...

MOUNDS of fun...

let's be honest, last night was so much fun. my friend, doree and i planned a double date. we made our dates dinner, saw the "new" joseph smith movie in idaho falls, and ate dessert at scotty's diner. my date was aaron. what a great guy and so much fun. :) he's 22 from san antonio, texas. he served a spanish speaking mission to phoenix, arizona. we have new testament and business class together. he's a great dresser and a great latin dancer. i learned last night that he lived in portugal for 5 or 6 years when he was younger. doree asked will. they seemed to have had fun with each other. we all had fun together, i'm not going to lie. we'll see what comes about because of all of this...who knows...

eternity

(chinese symbol for eternity) diamond rio sings a song called i believe. i found it online tonight and fell in love with it. the piano player of diamond rio is actually lds. believe it or not, because he is. there is a statement in this song: our love can even reach across eternity. i wonder if this statement in this song is referring to eternal marriage. just because he is lds, i wonder if they threw it in. there are quite a few songs that refer to living after death and having love go beyond death. why put it in a song if they don't believe that it exists? why don't people join the church when they hear that marriage and family goes beyond death? why wouldn't people want to join the church knowing of this wonderful blessing? i was just wondering about this. for me personally, this makes all of the waiting worth it...

me, myself & i

my life is going well right now. this past weekend i went down to utah and spent time with summer and josh. i had such a great time with them. it was a much needed break, that's for sure. i realized this weekend that i have changed while being at college. at first, i was on shaky grounds about myself. then i was a country freak; all i did was listen to country music, go dancing, and wanted to marry a cowboy. now i don't listen to that genre of music anymore and i don't go dancing anymore. i do go latin dancing sometimes. country dancing doesn't do it for me anymore. i do still enjoy the music, but the dancing doesn't do it for me anymore. i have turned more to rock and alternative. i have also realized that i'm a mixture of my 2 sisters. i like the music they both listen to and the way they both dress. it's kind of weird. i find new things about myself everyday here at school.

i love this school. it really is my perfect fit. i have thought about transferring down to provo, but have decided that this really is the place for me. this school is an inspired and the guidelines are all inspired by the Lord. i have no significant story of why i ended up here. i just decided to come here because my cousin was going here. deciding to attend byu-idaho is one of the best decisions i have ever made. i have grown so much closer to the Lord while being here and i have learned more about myself.

valentine's day...

this day is known to many single students as "single awareness day." instead of staying home watching sappy love movies and chick flicks, i decided to do something about this valentine's day. although this day has never been my favorite, one of my friends opened my eyes. i personally think it's ridiculous that we set aside ONE day out of the whole year to celebrate our love for "that special someone." my friend, sarah, loves this day. i am starting to warm up to it now. i actually enjoyed myself yesterday. i thought about all of the people who loved me: the Lord, friends, and family. it really hit me to think about the true love my parents have for me. they sent me a valentine on tuesday so it's going to be late. honestly, i don't need anything in the mail, although it is nice ;) i already know how much my parents love me and it overwhelms me. so thank you to my parents for the love they have for me. i love you both so much. i don't know where i would be without the love of my parents.

but, i did do something last night instead of wishing i had a boyfriend. me and my friend, mikan decided to hang out with some boys. :) she and i cooked dinner for 2 of her friends. the dinner turned out better than planned. i thought it only had to cook for 1 hour...nope! it was supposed to cook for 2 1/2 hours! haha we bumped the temp. up and cooked that chicken. it tasted delicious! hehe we ate dinner, played games, had dessert, and went bowling. it was so much fun! it got my mind off of sappy love stories, although that would have been nice. i might as well celebrate being single while i still am!

i hope you all had a wonderful valentine's day! thank you for your love that keeps me smiling everyday. i love you all!

can of green beans...

as many of you know, the night after i got home from christmas break i sliced my finger. i just got the pix of my camera and i wanted to share with you the ugliness of it. i had a fight with a can of green beans and i definitely lost. the pictures will give you an idea. haha although the pictures do not give it justice. it was gnarly and pretty darn deep. not a pretty pix. it's all healed and there's a lovely pink scar and still a little swollen. when my thumb is exposed to the cold, it gets pretty swollen and i can only imagine what it will look like when the warm weather arrives. well enjoy the pix! (sorry about the pix being a little bit blury)

manifestations...

today, something was manifested unto me by a simple act of kindness in the lord's heart...i knew this week was going to be hard since the moment it started on monday. i have a critique paper due on friday, resumes to be created, a workshop to go to, english midterm on monday and a myriad of other things to do. ahh!!
prayer has played a huge role in these past couple of weeks. the lord knows exactly what we need at the moment we need it. prayer is where we can pour out our hearts to him about our desires, what we need and what we are sad about or anything. if we just put our faith in him, he will answer our prayers in due time. my prayers were answered today...i went to english class today and my teacher bumped the paper up to monday and the midterm up to wednesday. my business teacher bumped up the resumes until the 26th of this month.
i know this is but a simple act, but it never ceases to amaze me that the lord always listens to what's in our hearts and will always answer in due time.

good?

sometimes i feel that good just isn't good enough. what i do in my life just isn't good enough. so if what i'm doing isn't good enough for family or friends, will my actions ever be good enough for my future spouse? that opens up a whole other can of worms, so i won't even get into that...will i ever be good enough for someone to marry me? if i am trying to do what i know is best, wouldn't that be compensated for in other areas of my life? if what i'm doing now isn't pleasing anyone, how will i ever know what to do next? i don't know if there's any specific answer to any of these questions, but i just want to throw out that idea: maybe good just is not good enough for anyone. is it possible to please anyone? is it ever possible to be good enough for yourself?...

best friend

i am finally going to update my blog space. i am back at school and of course am loving it. i really do love byu-idaho although some people (ahem cough cough) want me to transfer to byu provo. i will think about it, but for now i am going to class and loving it.

school isn't what i want to focus on though....when you have a best friend, you want what's best for them. you grow up doing everything with this person. you two are conjoined at the hip and some people even think you're twins. you share what's going on in your life and who you like with this person. you would do anything for your best friend to be happy.

the minute my best friends left on his mission, i couldn't wait for him to come home again. i couldn't wait for him to come home so everything would go back to being normal. it was hard because i wasn't able to share certain things with him. he wasn't able to watch me go off to my senior prom or go to my high school graduation or even see me off to my first year of college. he was there in spirit but not there to talk with face to face. i know this sounds selfish but there is a point to be made, i promise.

when he came home, i knew things were never going to be the same. he and i are still best friends and are just as close as ever. when i found out that he was going to get married, mixed emotions came over me. i was so excited for him to finally reach what he had been preparing for his whole life; on the other hand i felt distraught (for lack of a better word). i have to share my best friends with another girl.

my mom put it best: out of everyone in the family, you are the one that will have the hardest time "giving him up." best friend, you know who you are...mom is right. i will be the one that has the hardest time giving you up, because we are the closest. things won't be the same. i can't express how excited i am for you. it's what you've always wanted and i can't wait to be a part of it. although i can't be in the temple to watch you be sealed to your eternal companion, but know that i will be there in spirit. i love you and i could not be happier for you.