Too Much Taco Bell...

So I think I just received a sign that I should stop eating at Taco Bell. (Don't worry! It's nothing gross!)

You know how they have the hot sauces with little messages on them? I just got one that says: "Aaaah! We meet again!" Hahaha!

A More Serious Topic...

Sorry for the long-time no-blog. This is no excuse, but I have been extremely busy with homework and stuff.

Speaking of homework, I am taking a Spirituality in Art class. I walk out of that class giddy every single class period. It is so fascinating!!! I love it! One of our assignments was to write a paper about Christ's image in art and the different depictions of His physical appearance. One of the articles we read in preparation of this paper was called "That's Not My Jesus" by James C. Christensen. It really made me think of my own image of Christ. I am asking this not because I need help with my paper, which I probably do. I am truly curious to see what your image is of our Savior Jesus Christ. What does He look like in your mind? Is He the serious type, or is He kind and gentle?

My Jesus can be found on a website featuring Jean Keaton's amazing sketches. Visit her website to view the picture.

http://www.keatonprints.com/printslaugh.htm

Please comment and tell me who your Jesus is! :)

Enough Already!!! Sheesh!

Hello everyone! Can I just say that I have had absolutely zero time to do anything that isn't required of me?! Does that even make sense? I don't know! My brain has been squeezed like a sponge until every last drop has been release, and I am in a drought. But in a quick nutshell, this is what has been going with me the last couple of weeks.

1. My Second Fill - I went in for my second fill, and I totally wasn't nervous. I had even kind of forgot that they put a needle in my stomach (twice). It was just as if I had been doing it for years. I even looked at the needle. Big mistake. Everyone had told me not to because then I would freak out, and I forgot to listen to them. I'm pretty sure it was about 6 inches long, NOT including the tube thingy. But I quickly turned away and tried to forget about it. Then she told me that I had to be on clear liquids for 2 days, then full liquids for a day, then solid foods. I was not looking forward to those days. By the way, never exercise on a clear liquids day. You have absolutely no energy, and it sucks.
2. 3 Weeks Notice - Last Thursday I told my awesome amazing work that I was leaving to go back up to school. I was really worried that they would be upset, but they were really supportive of me going. They said that school comes first, and they were proud of my decision to go back. This is one job that I am really sad to leave. It's been amazing!
3. Please don't take them! I Need All the WISDOM I can get! - On Friday, I was forced to get my wisdom teeth taken out. I am so sick of surgeries! Honestly! But luckily I am done with them for a while. I won't go through the details, but I do remember waking up while they were taking them out. I guess I just don't have a good reaction to local anesthetic, since this would not be the first time that's happened.
4. Sanctuary - I am in a class where we have to create a magazine. The teachers chose me to be Editor-in-Chief of one of the magazines, so I've been going crazy. Our magazine is about sacred places throughout the world. It's very exciting. The final product is due this Tuesday, so that will be a huge relief off of my shoulders.

Anyway, I am very tired, and I am going to bed now. Don't forget to comment!!! Please!!!

My First Fill

So I went in for my first fill last Monday, and it was interesting. I went in and they had me drink a barium swallow. They found my port and marked it with a marker. Then they gave me a lidocane shot, which didn't hurt at all because I'm numb down there anyway. Then they stuck the needle in to my port and filled me up! I had to have the assistant talk to me while she did it because I was so nervous. I didn't know what to expect. I go in next week for my next fill. The lady said she likes to do a fill every two weeks for the first few months.

For everyone wanting an update on me, I'm doing great! I haven't had any lasting side effects. One thing I noticed was that it's difficult to drink from a water fountain. I can do it, but after a while, the air starts building up, and I start burping. That's another thing. I'm very burpy. And I have finally made it to ONEderland! Never again will I be in the TERRIBLE TWOS! :)

Don't forget to comment!

Well....Hmmm.....I don't know....

So it's been a week out, and the scales have definitely been kind! :)

It's been an interesting week. But let me start at the beginning.

Day 1: Got to the hospital and did all the rigamoral (how do you spell THAT?). Just while I was in pre-op, which wasn't very long, I think I peed about 5 times. Then my absolutely amazing looking doctor came in and took me away! But our getaway wasn't how I usually imagined it! Hahaha! Just kidding! It was very interesting to be wheeled in to the room. IT WAS FREEZING! But they got some heated blankets on me really quickly, and that felt so good! Then I recognized the assistant surgeon. This is how our conversation played out:

Me: Hey I remember you!
Her: No response
Me: ........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The next thing I remembered was waking up. My back hurt so bad! But they gave me some ice chips, which felt really good in my incredibly dry mouth. I was in and out of sleep for a while, but I do remember talking to the nurse guy. I think I said something like, "You probably hear the craziest things from people, huh?" and "This is a random question, but do you like working here?" I think my comments were added to the Crazy Things People Say list for that guy. But he was nice about it and totally responded to my questions! Poor thing!

Then they wheeled me to my room, and I slept longer. I was lucky enough to have Mom and Dad, Emily and Graydon, Maggie, Maurie, Stephanie, and Krista come visit me in the hospital. Their visits were greatly appreciated!

Well, I'm falling asleep. I'm going to have to write more later. Bye! Please comment!

A New Beginning

Hey guys! I just felt like I needed a change...a different look for my upcoming journey.

I'm sure most of you know, but on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009, I will be going under the knife. I am having the LapBand surgery. This will change my life, and it will bring me closer to my ultimate goal: to be a wife and mother in Zion.

So, I invite you to go along on this journey with me. Come along!

Gratefulness... :)

So I just wanted to take the time and say the top ten things I am grateful for. This is including, but not limited to...

10. The Fall Season - My favorite time of the year is fall. There's just something about the colors and crispness in the air that makes me very happy! And, yes, I go out of my way to step on any particularly crunchy-looking leaf!

9. Thunderstorms (sans tornadoes) - This kind of goes along with Reason #10, but I LOVE a good thunderstorm. Now, some of you who are reading this might say, "Pshaaawww! You hate thunderstorms!" It is true that in the past, thunderstorms and I haven't had the greatest track record. But I have truly grown to love them. However, if there is any threat for tornadoes, you better watch out, because you might see me glued to the radar screen, lips pale white!

8. Bubble Baths - I was recently going through my grandma's collection of cross-stitching when I found one that suited me. I don't remember the exact wording, but it said something to the effect of, "Drown Your Troubles in Bubbles". It had a picture of a duck in a bathtub. I thought, "THAT IS SO ME!!!" Hahaha! I love spending a very long time in the bathtub, but I can only enjoy it with a good book. I think my record for the longest bath I have taken was a little over 2 hours. Yikes! I'm a prune!

7. Good Books - As many of you know, I am an avid book reader. My favorite type of books is Young Adult Literature. I think my sister thinks I need to grow up, but I can't help but love these books! They're funny! I think every single one of you should challenge yourself to go to the library and pick out a book from the Young Adult section. If you don't like it, try another one. It might have been the book you picked out. But keep an open mind! If you need suggestions for good YA books, just ask me!

6. My Education - I am extremely grateful for the education that I am getting. It's taken me a while, but I'm almost done. 13 more classes! That does seem like a lot, huh?

5. My Talents and Growing Confidence - So I really don't want to make this section sound braggy. Tell me when to stop! Ever since I was little, I have been singing. I would walk up to a random stranger and say in a VERY high-pitched voice, "Do you want to hear a song?" But when I gained my weight over the past 12 years, I began to lose confidence. However, I took a singing class up at BYUI, and I became a lot more confident. I also love to play the piano, ride horses, and write books. My ultimate goal is to have at least one novel on the New York Bestseller list. We'll see!

4. My Friends - I am very grateful for all of the people I have become friends with. I am so glad that I was able to meet such fabulous people along my 22 years. They are very good to me. They are very patient with me. You guys are awesome!

3. My Job - I am very very grateful that I have the opportunity to work where I work. I love it so much! It couldn't be more perfect! Thank you!

2 and 1. These last two go hand in hand. It's like love and marriage. You can't have one without the other! I am extremely grateful for this gospel and for the many blessings that our family has been blessed with because of it. I know that all of them came from Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the knowledge that it brings me. I am also grateful for my family. I know you hear that a lot, but IT'S TRUE!!!! I know I was placed with a family that will love me unconditionally. I am so grateful for the knowledge that we can and will be together for all eternity. These are the ties that bind. I know the gospel is true. And I am grateful for the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us, for that is how we are able to return to live with him again. I am also grateful for the scriptures. I know every single word is true. I am grateful that the prophets wrote down their history from generation to generation so that we could learn from their mistakes and most importantly from their faith.

In a nutshell, WE HAVE SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR!!!!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

Radioactive-ness...

So, since it's been a VERY long time since I've posted anything, and with a little nudging from Kendra, I have decided to talk about the experience I had today. I have been having a lot of pain in my bunion area. And it's not the normal pain that I had before my surgery. We're talking fire, aching, 1000 needles, stuff like that. Well, after a long road of trying to figure out what it was, my doctor told me to have a bone scan done.

Bone scans are when they inject radioactive tracer into your bloodstream. The tracer quickly flows into the soft tissue in your body. They take pictures with this special machine that's almost like an MRI machine. Then they tell you to come back three or four hours later, because by then, the tracer will have settled in to your bones. If there are any fractures or breaks, even ones that have healed, or some area of trouble, they will show up on the screen as "hot spots". You are then able to see where the pain is coming from.

Well, I had mine done today, so for the next 12 hours, I will be radioactive. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to leap quickly across the room or have objects move. However, I did have an incident in the bathtub. I was just sitting there reading, minding my own business, when a huge jar filled with glass shards (I promise, it's a decoration!) fell into the tub. I didn't touch anything, and it was pretty far from the edge. (Twilight Zone Theme Song Plays)

It was really interesting to see all these little dots moving around in my foot. We'll see what the doctor says!

Please, people, don't forget to comment! I love comments! Plus, I want to see who is actually looking at my blog. Thanks!

More Pictures

K...this picture is really bad but i just added it because it makes me laugh. This is Chance. He's the star of my famous picture that I did earlier. Chance looks like a sea horse (hahaha) in this picture. He also looks like he's saying, "Hi! I'm Chance. I'm really shy, but you can take my picture, anyway!"

Trying to recreate the picture...I don't know. What do you think?!

Pictures...

My teacher likes bones and dead things...

More Pictures...

Hey guys! I know it's been a while. Oops!! So this is my shout out to Benjamin Legrow and the Nikon D40!

Last week I was in a pickle. All of the pictures I took while I was home did not turn out. Some of it was my fault because I didn't load the film on the reel correctly. But the other roll was exposed a little bit because the cap came off. There were little triangles of light on each picture. This was on Tuesday...my portrait assignments were due Thursday. Needless to say I was kind of freaking out since it is a long process to develop and print film.

That's when I remembered my friend Ben Legrow. Somehow he won a Nikon D40, my favorite camera in the world! (Umm, yeah, I'm jealous!) I called him and begged to borrow his camera. Luckily, my begging skills worked.

Okay...I know I just said that I would post pictures, but it's not working, so I'll do it later.

Pictures

Here are some pictures I took on Tuesday.My teacher said that this one was his favorite out of the whole class. He said it made his Top 200 list, which is saying something since he has been teaching for about 20 years and the average number of students in the class is around 65. Anyway... It's my favorite, too!
I really like this one, too. If I do say so myself! Comments are appreciated!

Another Sad Day for Derby Lovers...and Horse Lovers

Eight Belles was euthanized after finishing second in the 134 Kentucky Derby 2008. Even though I wasn't keeping up with horse racing, it's still sad for me! She was the first filly to run in the Derby for 9 years. She was really pretty!

My Pictures Part 2

My Pictures...For Real This Time

Here are the pictures. I would like your comments...

I'm a S'more!

You Are Smores

Unusual and unconventional, you make your strange ways work for you. You've got personality - no one's denying that!

What Dessert Are You Most Like?

My Pictures

Here's some pictures I took yesterday! Yay for a new rented camera! Go to My Shutterfly to see the pictures. Don't forget to comment! I would love your feedback!

School and Stuff

So school started today! So far everything is great! I have Speck as a horse for my horse class. That's all I'm going to say for now...

I'm Waiting for People...

Okay, that's a weird title, but I'm waiting for people to put up the videos and pictures so I can post them... sorry for the delay, Kendra! At this point, I'll probably see you before I get them posted. Hahaha!!! Love you guys!

Stuff...

I really like this background...I want to be there right now.

Tonight is the big night for me! Tonight I will finally sing my first solo! Yayayayayay! And I'm singing No Good Deed from Wicked. I really wish all of you could be there! Pictures will be arriving soon!