I have this problem...

called i never blog when i'm at home.

I'll try to get better seeing as i'll be home until i leave for my mission.

But i'm not really going to start today.

I'll just update on a few things...

Sold my apartment contract!

and got a job!

and i'm flying back to provo next week to perform with Noteworthy again. :)

That is all.

Live is beautiful.

This is all i have for now...

I love this. My mission prep teacher read it on the last day of class...I need to remember this

Between You and God
by Mother Theresa

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies;

Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you;

Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating others could destroy overnight;

Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will be often forgotten;

Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

Noteworthy.

Well, I'm almost done with my time as a Noteworthy Lady. It's a weird feeling. I've been a part of Noteworthy for 2 and a half years...and it feels like it's my identity. I think i'm going to have a bit of an identity crisis once it's all over. Hopefully i can still help out with Noteworthy for years to come, but my time actually performing in the group is almost over. I've had the best and worst past few years of my entire life, but one thing has remained constant and has helped me grow so much, and that is Noteworthy. I can't even imagine life without it. I know that I am moving on to more important things, but it's still a little sad to be leaving.

But on a happier note, The CD is out! and you can buy it on Itunes! It's called Defined, and it's amazing so you should purchase it. Seriously...do it now :)

This song has gotten me through a lot of rough times in Noteworthy and it's on the new cd:

Come, come, ye saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy, wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day.
'Tis better far for us to strive
Our useless cares from us to drive;
Do this, and joy your hearts will swell
All is well! All is well!

Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?
'Tis not so, all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward,
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take;
Our God will never us forsake,
And soon we'll have this tale to tell,
All is well! All is well!

We'll find the place which God for us prepared,
Far away in the West,
Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;
There the saints will be blessed.
We'll make the air with music ring,
Shout praises to our God and King;
Above the rest these words we'll tell,
All is well! All is well!

And should we die before our journey's through,
Happy day! All is well!
We then are free from toil and sorrow, too;
With the just we shall dwell!
But if our lives are spared again
To see the saints their rest obtain,
O how we'll make this chorus swell,
All is well! All is well!

Life is Beautiful...all is well

For the past few days...

Since Courtney has been on the Sing Off again I can't get onto my email without having at least 10 new notifications about people commenting and subscribing to my Youtube page. This would usually be a great thing except EVERY comment I have received has been absolutely disgusting and I just end up deleting it. I'm just sick and tired of people posting inappropriate things on my videos and i'm almost ready to just delete them all because it's just gross.

Anyway i just needed to complain for a minute about how annoyed I am with it. That is all.

Life is Beautiful...but people sometimes ruin its beauty.

Moroni 7:33

"And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever this is expedient in me"

Oh Sara B.

"City"

There's a harvest each Saturday night

At the bars filled with perfume and hitching a ride

A place you can stand for one night and get gone

It's clear this conversation ain't' doing a thing

Cause these boys only listen to me when i sing

And i don't feel like singing tonight

All the same songs

Here in these deep city lights

Girl could get lost tonight

I'm finding every reason to be gone

Nothing here to hold on to

Could i hold you?

The situation's always the same

You got your wolves in their clothes whispering Hollywood's name

Stealing gold from the silver they see

But it's not me

Here in these deep city lights

Girl could get lost tonight

I'm finding every reason to be gone

There's nothing here to hold on to

Could i hold you?

Calling out somebody save me i feel like i'm fading away

Am i gone?

Calling out somebody save me i feel like i'm fading

In these deep city lights

Girl could get lost tonight

I'm finding every reason to be gone

There's nothing here to hold on to

Could i hold on to you?

Life is beautiful...even when you have to dig deep to find that beauty.

Seeing as BYU is an LDS school...

You would think they would have more sympathy for students who need to go home a semester before their mission to make money to actually be able to go on the mission...but no, they discontinue you if you leave before you actually have your mission call, and then when you come back you have to reapply, a pretty risky move i'd say. And even worse they won't let you continue at home doing independent study while you work.

Don't get me wrong, BYU is great, but some people just can't afford to pay a million dollars for books AND be able to help pay for their mission, which i would really like to be able to do.

I need to find a class that's .5 credits that i could do from home NOT through independent study...hmmmmm any ideas?

Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the Same

Have you ever noticed that there always seems to be a lot of factors that get in the way of doing something that you know is right? Whether it be money, or people, or your own emotions, there's just always something getting in the way.

No matter how hard we try, or how good our intentions are there are always trials that we find a long the way. Sometimes i just wish that doing the right thing could be a little easier; but then again, i guess it wouldn't be as rewarding if it was easy.

But this is all i know, if we know something is right then we need to work for it. No matter how much we have to sacrifice, or how hard it is, when you know something is right you have to go for it. Because our Heavenly Father didn't put us on the Earth to fail. There is always a way to accomplish what we know is right. No giving up allowed.

"Sometimes the hardest thing, and the right thing are the same"

Life is Beautiful

Sundays are great!

Man i love today.

Sunday's are just great.

Even though it's snowing...it really is beautiful outside.

Me and my roommates are having a wonderful day.

And tonight i have a Noteworthy fireside.

And then tomorrow...I leave for home YAY!

I'm so excited to go home

and now i'm going home for a whole week...because my ride ended up having to be back for work so i had to get a flight back to Provo, and they were all really expensive except for next tuesday. So i'll leave tomorrow and then come back the following Tuesday. I'm just really excited :)

Yay thanksgiving.

And christmas is coming! :)

Do you remember your dreams?

I usually never remember my dreams when I wake up in the morning, but lately I've remembered every single one. And i've realized that a lot of the time i dream about things that happen to me while i'm sleeping.

For example:

I sleep with a lot of little blankets and the other night one somehow got wrapped around my neck and when that happen i dreamed that one of my friends was hugging me and would not let go! It was pretty funny.

Another example:

This was probably the funniest dream ever.

You know when you're sick so you're forced to breathe through your mouth? I always hate that because number one people say you eat spiders! number two, your throat gets REALLY dry and hurts when you wake up in the morning

Anyway the other night this happened. And when i went to bed apparently my throat was hurting so bad that it caused this dream.

There i was just hanging out with my mom and some friends when all of the sudden these people were trying to get into my safe (i'm not sure what was in the safe but it was VERY important i'm sure). Anyway so i'm trying to hide the key to my safe but i can't find a place good enough to hide the key. After many failed attempts at finding a spot to hide my key I decide to swallow it. I put it in my mouth and start to swallow but it won't go down. I try about 5 times before i wake up and realize that my throat is so dry it hurts...

haha i just think that dreaming is a funny thing. the things our minds come up with. It's great.

anyway other than that i don't have much to say

except HARRY POTTER 7 is AMAZING!!!!! seriously. best movie i've ever seen. I laughed, i cried, i screamed...So great :)

Too much Estrogen in my life...

I love Noteworthy, I love my major, and i LOVE my roommates but you see none of these things are a way for me to make guy friends. It turns out that since coming to BYU i have not actually made ANY guy friends. It's alright i suppose i mean i love what i'm doing, but there are times like today where i really just need some boys. Not dates, not a boyfriend...just some guys. Is that too much to ask for?

Life is beautiful..just too girly.

It's beginning to look a lot like Thanksgiving...

Oh man, I have been looking forward to this next week all semester. Even though I didn't even know if i was going to be able to go home for Thanksgiving. But let me tell you I have never been so excited to go home in my life! I need some good ol' California time. I've been so excited that it's kind of distracted me from school (it doesn't take much to distract me from that) haha. But it's actually been good in a way because i was so excited that i just wrote 2 papers today...that aren't even due till thursday! that NEVER happens!

These past few weeks have just flown by...seriously i don't even remember anything that has happened this semester it seems like i just got here! I've been so busy with Noteworthy, doing things with my roommates, STARTING MY MISSION PAPERS...that things have gone by quickly. Which is good. I'm glad time is flying right now because i'm excited for this school year to be over hah.

And yes if you didn't catch that, I started my mission papers yesterday! I am SO excited about that. It took me a while to decide whether or not I wanted to go, but I have had so many confirmations that i know i need to do this. Of course i got the whole "it's better to get married" speech from my bishop when i talked to him, but he was really excited for me and just made me all the more excited! I can't turn my papers in until January so i've still got a while, but I started them :)

So that's exciting news. Other than that I'm just...cold. It's freezing here...and I am NOT ready for the snow to start sticking. It's snowed/rained a few times the past week and i can handle that just fine, but once it starts to stick i'm dead. Especially since the stairs are closed so i'll have to climb up the steep hill to get to class...that's an accident just waiting to happen. Haha.

But it's okay because after thanksgiving it's only a few more weeks until Christmas break and i'm even more excited for that than i am for Thanksgiving. I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

Life is Beautiful.

Exciting things are in the very near future...

and i just thought you should know.

Today is wonderful despite the rain and freezing cold temperatures.

I am starting something wonderful tomorrow...

something that will change my life

and hopefully change many other lives once May rolls around

And I am SO Excited.

That is all. :)

Life is Beautiful

P.S. The Noteworthy CD is also going to be submitted tomorrow to get printed.

Not a cloud in my personal Sky...

Well at the moment i'm waiting for my kitchen floor to dry, i just mopped it. I'm listening to Sarah B., Noteworthy, and Sara Haze. And i'm thinking about how wonderful life is and how lucky i am to have such an amazing life. Seriously, I know i complain a lot but in the past few weeks i ahve really learned how to be happy. And not the fake "yeah i'm fine" happy, but really truly happy.

After rehearsal me and Cassie went to Walmart to go grocery shopping. I've really been trying to get healthier foods at the grocery store lately. And i must say i did a really good job today. Eating healthy is a little more expensive, but it just makes you feel better when you actually eat your fruits and vegetables everyday. Plus we've been talking about health a lot in my family meal planning class, and if i ever expect my kids to eat healthy foods i better start!

Now i'm cleaning. I came home and I finally discovered what has been making our apartment smell kind of funny...our trashcan was moldy on the bottom. Gross. Apparently someone had put something in there without a bag and yeah...it was gross. So i cleaned that. Then did the dishes cleaned the kitchen, swept, mopped, cleaned the living room. Man i just love to clean sometimes. Is that weird?

Anyway the kitchen floor is almost dry, and i've got to finish cleaning the apartment before i have to leave for my gig tonight.

But i just wanted to say that life is so much better when you learn to love yourself and when you learn to just be content with where things are, even if you don't quite know where they are going. And that Heavenly Father answers prayers, even though sometimes we feel like he isn't, we just need to remember that he knows when we need them answered and we just need to learn a little patience. When we are trying to do the right things we can be happy, no matter what is going wrong and answers will come in the Lord's time.

Life is beautiful.

Here, have a song :)

Beautiful Day - Sara Haze

Saturday is the smile on Mona Lisa’s face

A little spare change given

to the stranger on the corner

A pile of leaves deep enough

for my soul to jump into

And all my doubts fall away

and lead me here to say

It’s a beautiful day,

summer songs outside my window pane

And I don’t need my umbrella ‘

cause I’ve already been through the rain

I can feel the sunshine on my face,

not a cloud in my personal sky

It’s a beautiful day, It’s a beautiful day

Change the world,

you know I would if I could

But all I have

are my blue jeans and my black t-shirt

And that’s just fine,

‘cause everyday you know I try

To make art not war,

let love reign and lead the world to say

It’s a beautiful day,

summer songs outside my window pane

And I don’t need my umbrella

‘cause I’ve already been through the rain

I can feel the sunshine on my face,

not a cloud in my personal sky

It’s a beautiful day, It’s a beautiful day

The light will shine in my perfect sky,

The morning sun will be yours and mine

And I’ll hold my breath and pray

It’s a beautiful day,

summer songs outside my window pane

And I don’t need my umbrella

‘cause I’ve already been through the rain

I can feel the sunshine on my face,

not a cloud in my personal sky

It’s a beautiful day, It’s a beautiful day,

It’s a beautiful day, It’s a beautiful day

Halloween

Alright so i never posted about last weekend, and now it just seems like too much to post about haha. So you get a post about this weekend.

Halloween.

I usually i'm not a huge fan of Halloween. I think it's great for families with kids, but once you get to college i just find it kind of dumb. But, Cassie (one of the noteworthy girls) took me to a theater that rents out costumes and I ended up renting one...AH. haha. I am not one for wearing costumes. I feel like they bring too much attention to me, even though it's Halloween. But this one definitely brought too much attention. It's a little fairy costume, but the wings are GINORMOUS! oh well, it was fun i suppose. but i was excited when

the time came to wear normal clothes again. We just went to a party where Amy Whitcomb played some songs.

Then i went to one of my roommates houses and we ate food at chatted and then watched hocus pocus.

Last night Savannah came to visit, but since neither of us had a car we were stuck home all night. We ordered a Pizza online and watched parts of a few scary movies on TV. It was nice

Today was Stake Conference, it was great. I'm not gonna lie i don't remember anything the first 4 speakers said because i was having a REALLY hard time focusing, but then the Presiding Bishop spoke and he got my attention. Some of the things he said really hit me definitely, and something i was looking to be answered definitely was. I'm really excited for things that are coming up in the future. I think it's been a pretty good Halloween...I'm becoming less of a Halloween bah humbug...

Best weekend ever!

Seriously this weekend has been amazing. I'll write a blog about it later but just thought it should tell you.

Life is beautiful

I'm debating making my blog Private

After just looking around the site and seeing that people from other countries that I don't even know are reading it...that seems a little strange to me. But then again, making my blog private seems like too much work. So i'll just let them read it. :)

Appreciating Illness

All i have to say is that even though i hate the feeling these drugs give me and being in pain is really not fun at all, I've actually really appreciated being sick. I haven't been worried about anything the past 3 days and my stress level has gone down a lot.

Life is great and i really don't have anything to be worried about. I'm sure i'll still worry a little once i'm off these pain meds, but still, It's good to feel at peace with life and to feel like i'm ready to just go with wherever it leads me.

It's good to know that Heavenly Father always knows what I need...even if he has to give me illnesses to make me realize that life is good. haha seems a little backwards i know.

Anyway I'm feeling better for the most part...still hurting but better. I've got two noteworthy performances this weekend in Boise..we'll see how that goes ah! wish me luck. :)

Life is beautiful.

I'm sitting here in my bed

wondering how anyone could ever think that being on drugs is fun? Seriously, I feel so useless and if i had to actually do anything right now i would be able to focus for about 5 seconds. And it's not even like i feel good...sure the pain on my side is a little less, but i just feel weird. And i just want to pass out. Yuck. Anyway just wanted to put that out there.

On a happy note i've been watching a lot of these today while sitting in my bed. And i really liked this one so here it is. Oh and also me and my roommates redboxed how to train your dragon last night LOVED IT! I would highly recommend it :)

My Day...

Trip to the ER for what i thought was appendicitis. Turned out to be ovarian cysts. Sounds fun right? yeah not really. But at least i didn't have to get any surgery....

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

Me and my roommates were taking the other night about motherhood. This was right after we had ward prayer and some guy asked me what my major is...the dreaded question i hate. I said "home and family living" and he goes "that's a major?" as if it wasn't worth anything. Of course his major was Microbiology which will help him do SO much more good than my major will do right? Wrong. I get so annoyed when people act like my major means nothing. Does anyone realize how important being a mother is? I want to cry when people tell me I won't be able to do anything with my major. HELLO i'm going to be raising children is there anything more important than that? no there is not. People act like being just a mother is degrading to women...like women sit at home doing nothing all day when they are a mother.

But there is nothing more important than being a mother...and if you ever listened to our church leaders you would realize how true this is. This made me feel good about my major today. :)

This is something i Needed today.

Things I've Learned today....

1. Whenever you think life is great a trial is on it's way. Don't we all know that's how it goes? And yet we are always still so shocked when the trial comes! It seems as though just as soon as everything is fine and dandy BAM! Something hits and you feel like you have to start all over again.

2. This week i have heard this story a few times. It has become my favorite story in all of the scriptures, from Matthew 14. At the end of this chapter Peter and the other disciples are in a boat. They see a figure coming across the water and they become afraid. Christ tells them "be off good cheer; it is I;be not afraid". After hearing this Peter says that if it is in fact the savior to let him walk on the water to Christ. Peter gets out of the boat and walks on the water. However, he starts to get distracted by the storm that is raging and takes his eyes of the Savior. It is at this point where he begins to sink into the water and has to as for the Saviors help. The Savior, of course, comes and helps him but asks him why he ever doubted. I always think how could he doubt the Lord when he is walking on water?!! But as i think about it more i realize that we all do the same thing. We have all seen amazing miracles, we've all felt that God is there and yet we still let our fear of storms keep our eyes from looking towards God. How stupid are we to let the storms around us get in the way of our faith?

3. and that brings me to my next discovery of the week. Fear always competes with Faith. My New Testament teacher today was talking and made me realize that we are the same person. She said that she worries a lot and is afraid of a lot of things and that she always feels awful because people say that you cannot be afraid and have faith at the same time. Even in the scriptures it says perfect love hath no fear. How is it that i can show people the love of Christ if i am so scared? This is EXACTLY how i have been feeling lately. But then she said something that made me feel so much better. She said that it is not that we are not allowed to be scared at all, but that "we have to let our faith be STRONGER than our fear". Well duh, we all knew that right? but still it made me feel so much better to hear that today.

4. Service will make you feel better, even if it's just for a little while. So i wasn't having the best day today if you didn't get that. For FHE we were going to go to this school for mentally handicapped people to just play some games and chat with them. I wasn't going to go because i have a late class, but last minute i decided i needed to go so i asked my roommate to come get me. It was actually really fun and I really enjoyed myself. Plus there was ice cream after and that always helps a rough day right? i concluded that the best way to make your day a little better is this: Service, Ice Cream, and a roommate group hug. I felt a little better after that. :)

5. Dr. Suess knows a lot of things.

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You’re on your own.

And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

I just really liked this poem today...because even when we feel like we're on our own and when there isn't really anyone physically there who understands...we have a brain, we have feet, we have knowledge, so we need to act and do something!

6. Once again my mission prep teacher knows everything. And let me tell you he has made going on a mission SO appealing. Two things he said today really hit me.

"Just before or after every

significant spiritual experience

you will always have an equal

and opposite temptation by the devil."

And

"The greater the threat you are

to Satan the greater the opposition

you will face from Satan."

Hello...these quotes are a little depressing i must say, but at the same time make me realize that i really have some great things to do in life if Satan is working so hard to make me not do them. But here's the thing...we all suffer in this life and we all knew we would suffer, yet we still decided to come here. So obviously it'll all be worth it? Yeah i hope so too...

7. Faith is probably one of the most important things to have. At least for me...Let's face it. I worry a lot and i have a fear of the unknown. If i don't know where things are going...i go into panic mode. I believe that my lack of trust in people has somehow brought me to sometimes have a lack of faith. So goal number 1 of life at the moment...don't WORRY so much! Let life happen and control what you can control, but don't worry about the things you can't control (way easier said than done) but i'm trying...

8. and most importantly. God is always there. He knows you. He loves you. And he always has a plan.

This blog was completely for my own benefit. Me trying to make myself feel better. But hey, maybe it'll work!

Life is Beautiful, even when it's not. And there's always some silver lining somewhere. :)

Today.

Today

Today is here. I will start with a smile, and resolve to be agreeable. I will not criticize. I refuse to waste my valuable time.

Today has one thing in which I know I am equal with others—Time. All of us draw the same salary in seconds, minutes, hours—24 Golden Hours each day.

Today I will not waste my time, because the minutes I wasted yesterday are as lost as a vanished thought.

Today I refuse to spend time worrying about what might happen. I am going to spend my time making things happen.

Today I am determined to study to improve myself, for tomorrow I may be wanted, and I must not be found lacking.

Today I am determined to do things I should do. I firmly resolve to stop doing the things I should not do.

Today I begin by doing and not wasting my time. In one week I will be miles beyond the person I am today.

Today I will not imagine what I would do if things were different. They are not different. I will make a success with what material I have.

Today I will stop saying, "If I had time," for I never will "find time" for anything—if I want time I must take it.

Today I will act toward other people as though this might be my last day on earth. I will not wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes.

Elder John Longden (Assistant to the 12 Apostles) Conference Report, Apr. 1966, 39; or Improvement Era, June 1966, 512

Best 24 Hours Ever.

So yesterday me and Cassie decided it was time for another "best 24 hours ever" day. We started at about 2 yesterday.

1st- We went to costco! (you have no idea how much i needed to go shopping!) We basically ate 500 samples. It was great. I bought some delicious things and i'm excited to have at least a little food for now. I'll have to go to a grocery store to buy other things next week some time.

2nd- Cassie's brothers were playing at a place called Sammy's that night so we went to go sing back ups for them. We practiced for a bit :)

3rd- Went to cassies and had chips/salsa/guacamole and chicken burgers for lunch. SO good! Ate while watching an Oprah episode about people with multiple personalities! this lady had 20 different personalities...very interesting.

4th- Went to Sammy's and sang. It was pretty fun/funny because we had only practiced with them for like 15 minutes.

5th- Went to a soft serve ice cream place. It was probably the best soft serve ice cream i've ever had. It actually tasted like ice cream...not yogurt. mmmmmm (I got vanilla with graham crackers, nilla wafers, strawberries, and dark chocolate pieces.)

6th- Went and saw a movie called "Life as we know it". I would highly recommend it. It was SO CUTE!! your typical chick flick, but i enjoyed it.

That was our day yesterday, and today to finish it off we are driving up to Rexburg because her brothers are playing at the Sammy's there tonight. Which is exciting because I get to see Savannah!! YAY! i haven't seen her since summer. She came up for conference but we missed eachother....sad. Anyway we are staying there tonight so that should be fun. :)

Life is beautiful.

Cheese...from scratch

MMM Cheese. I love it. And today i learned how to make it from scratch in my family meal planning class. Cooking is nice therapy, and if you are looking for a good meal this is definitely it! :) and then you can say you've made cheese from scratch! it's pretty fun actually. I'd do it again. My mom wanted the recipe so I'm just going to put it up here.

This is to make the cheese, then make it into a filling for noodles you also make from scratch!

then there's a spaghetti sauce you can make from scratch as well as some bread sticks :)

Ricotta Cheese:

4C whole milk

1 C heavy cream

3/4 C buttermilk

½ t. sea salt

Cheesecloth

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a 2 qt saucepan. Slowly bring to a boil over medium to medium high heat, until curds begin to form (190-200 degree F)

2. Remove from heat and pour into a cheesecloth-lined mesh sieve set over a large bowl. Let drain for 15 minutes gather cloth around the ricotta and gently squeeze out a little more liquid. Don't squeeze it dry or you will end up with dry ricotta. Leave some moisture in there.

3. Place fresh ricotta in an airtight container and refrigerate= for up to 2 days. (don't have to refrigerate)

4. Yield: about 1/1/2-­‐2C or 300 grams.

Manicotti:

2 eggs

¾ C flour

½ C water

½ T butter or margarine

Directions:

Beat eggs and water with an electric beater. Add flour slowly. (Batter will be thin). In a small skillet, place butter, add 2

T of batter making a thin round pancake. Turn cake once. Pancakes should be small.

Filling:

1 lb ricotta cheese (just use as much as you just made :) )

1 egg

Salt and pepper to taste

½ C Parmesan or Romano Cheese

¼ t parsley flakes.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. More cheese can be added according to taste. The mixture will be

the Filling for the manicotti noodles.

Sauce for Manicotti

□ 1 sm. onion, chopped

□ 2 cloves garlic, minced

□ 1 1/2 c. water

□ 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

□ 1 tsp. sugar

□ 1/2 tsp. basil

□ 1/4 tsp. salt

□ 1/8 tsp. oregano

□ Pinch of pepper

1 C Grated Mozzarella Cheese for topping

Combine onion and garlic in a medium sauce-pan-saute 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in all remaining

ingredients. Cover pan; simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.

Serves 4, makes 2 cups.

Combining:

Add 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce to the bottom of an oblong baking dish. take one pancake and put 1-2 T of filling in it, and roll it up tightly, and fit it in the bottom of the baking dish. Spoon sauce on top of the rolls, and sprinkle with grated mozzarella cheese. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Garlic Bread Sticks:

1 Cup warm water

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup oil

3 cups bread flour

2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients to make dough using your favorite method-bread machine, mixer, hands

2. Roll out into a 10/12 inch rectangle.

3. Cut into strips about 3/4 inch wide.

4 Give each strip a twist and place on a greased cookie sheet.

5. Let rise for at least 20 minutes or more if you have time.

6. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes.

7.Brush with butter and sprinkle with garlic salt and Parmesan cheese.

I worry too much.

Do you ever find yourself alone for a little too long? And you start thinking about life and where it is or isn't going? I find myself in that situation a little too often.

I'm in this place right now where life seems to be hitting me in the face.

I'm potentially really close to being done with school in a major that really will only help me to become a mother (and that probably won't occur for quite some time) meaning i'll need a job when i finish school most likely, and my major won't help with that.

I'm wanting to go on a mission...but I can't seem to find a sure answer of whether or not I really should go. I am never good at decision making. Well that's not true. I know i really want to go, and really should go, but i still keep feeling doubts. My mission prep professor said today that "God does not answer questions with feelings of doubt or fear". Meaning these doubts and fears i am feeling are coming from one person: Satan. I know that a mission would be so great and that I could help so many people, but still i can't get these doubts out of my head!

I just hate these in betweens. I have so many decisions to make that will ultimately affect my entire life. It's scary when you think about it, and really exciting at the same time. I'm so excited for the future, i'm just ready for some of those decisions to be made...and Satan stop trying to stop me from making good ones by giving me all these doubts! Thanks.

Haha. That is all about that subject.

Anyway, last weekend was great.

Friends were here.

Conference was great.

I got to go to one session.

Tucanos on saturday.

New book about sister missionaries.

Cassie's birthday party.

Hulu.

More Conference.

More friends.

Life is beautiful.

Don't let your worries consume you...Everything will be okay. Patience!!

General Conference weekend.

Well general conference starts in about 20 minutes and i am SO excited. This weekend has been great so far and i'm so excited to watch. This blog is going to be a little short/lame but i just thought you should know how excited i am. :)

Happier post :)

Haha okay so now like I knew i would i just feel dumb for writing a post that wasn't so happy. Life is great. It always is...no matter what. People are great. And this week will be great, even though i have TONS to do. Wish me luck with that.

But great news friends are coming to visit this weekend for conference. I feel like it's going to be one big party here in Provo. Samantha Busath is staying with me so that should be fun and Savannah will be here too!! ah so excited!

Life is Beautiful. Just thought you should know :)

Moose Meat...

Well, today was a pretty good day. I only have one class thursdays but it's a cooking class so it lasts from 11 till about 3 or 4 usually. There's a lecture and then we cook something. Instead of cooking today though we went on a field trip. First to Macey's (grocery store) then to Macy's (Department store). At Macey's they basically just showed us the layout of grocery stores - i pretty much already knew it all because i worked at Raley's for a summer- but it was pretty cool. I was starving at the time because all i'd eaten was a granola bar, so everything looked especially delicious. Then after the tour we went to Macy's department store to look at their kitchenware and appliances. Oh man...i can tell you already that once i get married i'm going to have to steer clear of any store with kitchen appliances. I easily could've spent thousands of dollars buying fun gadgets for my kitchen not to mention all new dinnerware. AH! There are so many fun things to buy these days and i want it all haha :) (but mostly just a kitchenaid)Anyway i came home at about 3 oclock and realized i would have 5 hours before rehearsal, so what do i do? Reorganize my closet of course!! haha don't ask. I'm a little OCD when it comes to my closet. I reorganized it about 5 times before finishing. But it looks nice and neat now so that's good. I'm definitely going to need to do laundry in the next few days...the basket is full. I also took some time to organize the rest of my room too. It feels so nice when things are neat. :)

So i'm sure you'll all wondering about the title of my blog (i say all - as if that many people actually read my blog). Well you see, one of my roommates, Tisa, is from Alaska (cool i know). She made us dinner tonight and guess what was in it?! MOOSE

MEAT! so yes...i can now say that i have eaten moose meat. It was pretty good. Just tasted like a cow for the most part. But it was yummy. :)

And that was my day...

P.S. My mom is coming into town tomorrow. YAY!!!!! :)

Mission Prep.

Monday's are slowly becoming my favorite day of the week. Weird i know, seeing as most people hate Monday's. It's also weird because I have 5 of my 6 classes on this day and i'm on campus from noon to 7 at night. But despite all of this, I absolutely LOVED today, and i LOVE everything about Monday this semester.

The biggest reason that I love Mondays is because of my Mission Prep Class. This class is usually given twice a week, but i am in a class that is one day a week for 2 hours instead. Brother Bott is the professor and he is absolutely amazing. I have never learned so much in one class period. He teaches so much doctrine, and also is SO good at getting everyone, or at least me, excited for missions.

Today we talked about talking...which (if you know me) you know i hate. I am not one to ever make small talk with people or go out of my way to talk to strangers. I don't enjoy talking with people i don't know and it always makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. This is the biggest reason why going on a mission scares me. In class though he talked about this exact thing and instead of just telling us we have to get over it, he gave us ways to make sure we are always prepared. It made me a little less scared about talking to people, and a little more excited about preparing for a mission.

Brother Bott has so much experience, so much knowledge, and so many stories. I could sit and listen to his lectures all day.

anyway just thought I would just let you all know how much i love that class...because i really do :)

It took long enough...

So, I've been biting my nails for as long as i can remember. It's just a nervous habit that i have picked up and I could never seem to stop. I've tried multiple times to stop biting them but for some reason I was just never able to. Anyway, i didn't really have a good reason to stop this time but one day i was just like...eh i'm going to stop biting my nails, and now I have some nice girlie nails :)

Just thought you might like to know. I'm pretty excited about it.

Sara Haze...

I discovered her music today. You should listen to it :)

That is all.

THE BORDER

(Sara Haze / Eric Fraley)

Gotta get away from THE BORDER
There’s too many memories here
And all the things that I used to love
Became everything I fear

And I wanna recognize
But I just don’t think it’s you
Cuz every time I look into your eyes
I swear I can see right through

So I run and I run
Just to find I’m standing still
Cuz I’m trying to move
Without breaking any shells
And I’m frozen in this state
Trying not to cross the line
But I guess it’s just a matter of time
Till I cross THE BORDER line

The water tastes like poison
The air’s so hard to breathe
And the skin I’m in is starting to drive me crazy
I gotta get away from me

So I run and I run
Just to find I’m standing still
Cuz I’m trying to move
Without breaking any shells
And I’m frozen in this state
Trying not to cross the line
But I guess it’s just a matter of time

Time till I can finally breathe
Go whereever my heart leads
Get to know myself again
Learn to be my own best friend
Left this weight up off my shoulders
And finally be free

But I run and I run
Just to find I’m standing still
Cuz I’m trying to move
Without breaking any shells
And I’m frozen in this state
Trying not to cross the line

I run and I run
Just to find I’m standing still
Cuz I’m trying to move
Without breaking any shells
And I’m frozen in this state
Trying not to cross the line
But I guess it’s just a matter of time
It’s a matter of time
Until I cross THE BORDER line
It’s a matter of time

Today is...

Today is better than yesterday, and tomorrow will be better than today.

D&C 78: 18-19

"And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for i will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.

And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious..."

First day of Junior year

So it was the first day of classes today. Usually i dread this day and am not very excited about it but this semester I was pretty excited to start. My schedule was completely changed in the past few days but I felt really good about all of the changes. And let me tell you my classes did no disappoint!! :)First off, my classes don't start till noon which is always good news. (i've discovered in past years that i won't go to any class before 10 so i've tried to just make my days later this year. one of my goals is to go to class everyday that i possibly can this year)

So last night, i basically didn't sleep at all. I wan't THAT excited for classes that i couldn't sleep but my body just didn't want to sleep. Plus my roommates all have classes early in the morning so i woke up every time they did anything (our walls are like paper). But anyway, i got to campus and did last minute purchases for my classes and then at noon went off to Family

Finance....

FAMILY FINANCE:

First thoughts.... this room is REALLY HOT!!! I really thought i might die when i got to that class. It was probably about 100 degrees

inside and the best part is this is also where my stats

lab is!! GREAT!!! haha. But other than the heat i feel like i won't hate this class. The professor is really funny and he has a way of incorporating the gospel into everything which i ALWAYS enjoy about professors. That is why i am so lucky to be here at BYU it is okay for us to pray and sing hymns before class. I always feel like i'm so high spiritually here because there is no time when i

am not thinking about the gospel. I'll enjoy this class.

My next class (all the way across campus by the way so i have to pretty much run...)

NEW TESTAMENT:

First thoughts...Wow i'm going to have to climb over people

EVERY DAY to get a seat in here...everyone sits on the ends and leaves spaces in the middle...i love that! no way i'm going to get a left-handed desk here. OH well. Aw the professor looks super cute i'm going to love this lady :) And sure enough she starts talking and i can tell that i am going to love her as a professor. She tells us that her main focus is for us to find a love for the 4 gospels. I'm already excited to start reading because i can tell

how much love she has for what she is teaching. YES!

Next class (also all the way back across campus to the classroom i was in for finance)

STATS:

First thoughts...Oh my, they haven't fixed the air conditioning in the past hour shoot. Okay stats, i'm going to beat you this time! Whoa this professor looks

young he's pretty cute...but definitely married. Oh hey there's my roommate! sweet i know someone in this class. Okay already i can tell this class is going to be better than the last time i had stats. The professor isn't stuck on the power points which is something i hated about my last professor. He starts off class by throwing the book across the room and telling us we don't need it. I also love that; Me and text books don't get along very well. it'll be good...for a stats class anyway

Next class (...back on the other side of campus :) )

BIOLOGY:

First thoughts...i honestly don't really have any haha. no idea what to expect in biology...crawl

across another 50 people to get a seat...and THEN i see laina (from noteworthy) on the other side of the classroom but i can't get out to sit with her. oh well. This professor looks a little kooky...and sure enough he starts off class by saying..."Class before we start there is something you should know about me...i am NUTS!" haha love him already. The first class is a slideshow of his summer adventures which took place on 3 different continents. and he talked about baby flies a lot (aka Maggots) okay that part was gross but i'm excited for this class. Wait what? katie excited

about science?! no....

Last class (same room as biology...)

MISSION PREP:

First thoughts...Professor bott looks nothing like i imagined him. He's really old. Wow so many girls in this class...who knew. and a lot of married

people...alright. Okay professor Bott = the coolest person ever. Seriously if you or anyone you know has the chance to take a class from him. DO IT! i've already learned SO much today about the gospel. He's amazing. I love this class. :)

So basically this semester will be probably the best i've had at byu so far. I still haven't gone to my family meal planning class but i'm excited for that one too. YAY! :)

Back to Provo: New Semester, Same apartment, New Noteworthy year, No more money left in the bank

Well, I'm back in Provo again. So far things have been pretty great... I'm not going to lie i loved summer so much i was not in the least bit excited to be back. I actually had a day of depression when I got here because i missed california so much haha. But things are getting better as i start to settle in. I just tend to have a hard time with change so it's taken me a few days to remember that i really don't hate it here as much as i thought i did.

I got back on Tuesday and unpacked for most of the day...I'm sort of annoyed because whoever was here during the summer left all of their food and all of their pots and pans, so we are still not all unpacked because no one knows whose stuff this is and none of our stuff fits anywhere. We finally got the living room figured out so that's pretty much done except for a few odds and ends.

My classes have all changed since i got here. I was originally taking Mission prep, New Testament, Sewing, Intro to Interior Design, and Stats. After remembering how much time

noteworthy takes up i realized that six hours of sewing lab every week wasn't going to work so i got rid of that. Then i also realized that Interior Design was going to also take up a lot of time that i don't have with noteworthy so i got rid of that. Replaced those with Family Finance and Family Meal Planning...These are both still in my major so no big deal. Then i was looking and saw that Professor Bott had one spot open for his evening mission prep class...For those of you who don't know, he is probably the best professor ever and he's got the highest ratings on ratemyprofessor.com. He has over a thousand students this year and all of his classes are always full so i was really lucky to find this one opening!! :) Then i had to change my new testament professor as well. And i realized that i still have two sciences left i have to take in order to graduate so i also added a Biology class. Stat's is the only class that's stayed the same. So i went from 13 credits to 16 credits, but ultimately this schedule is better than the one i had. And super exciting news...I only have about 10 or 11 classes left to take in order to finish all my generals and my major!! So i will most definitely be done in the next few semesters of school. I don't know at this point if i'll try to graduate before my mission. It seems like maybe i could do that if i went to school in the summer...but we'll see. It's just exciting to see an end in sight!! Crazy, i feel like i just started college and i'm already almost done.

So after changing all of my classes around i had to go back to the bookstore and take back the books i had already bought. and buy new ones which ended up being much more expensive. There goes about $300. Then i realized how unreliable my laptop is so i went onto amazon and bought an acer net book. There goes another $300.Then i had to go shopping for cleaning supplies, groceries, and other fun things. There goes $200. And i'm also going to pay rent for the semester ahead of time. There goes $1000. Oh and noteworthy dues: $150 (yeah i have to pay to be in noteworthy). man, suddenly all the money i made during the summer is almost gone. Good thing it's all going towards things that are helpful to my future right?!

Other than that i've got noteworthy starting up again soon.

We have auditions next friday and saturday and i'm pretty excited. The returning girls all had a meeting last night and figured out the plans for auditions and also talked about this next year. We've got some pretty fun things planned. Hopefully it won't be as crazy as last year.

As much as i enjoyed being on tv...i obviously need to be focusing on school right now! ah. I'm so excited though. I really had a hard time deciding if i wanted to do noteworthy again this year because of the time commitment, but then i realized that this really is probably my last opportunity to do something like this so i just need to go for it. I'm not working this semester so i should be able to focus more on school anyway. :) Exciting things to come this year! yay.