Pals and Blessings

So here's the deal, I am lucky when it comes to friends.  

I decided to go to Logan to surprise my best friend in the whole world, Kristy, for her 21st birthday.  I don't know how or why I was lucky enough to get to have that girl in my life but oh man, I am blessed.

To help with my surprise and my sleeping arrangements my dear dear friends Sami and Sam were there for me.  I have really missed those girls!  I also got to see my lovely Christie, who I will (hopefully) be living with next year!  No greater friends in the world!  

Along with all of this fun my weekend consisted of getting to see all my music therapy pals and witness some wonderful ladies get elected for next year's presidency, talk about England, see my future apartment and catch up with Sarah Jane, eat Cafe Rio, spend lots of time in the sun, see some of my super talented friends perform, hold a beautiful baby girl and see an absolutely glorious concert.  Best concert I've ever been to in my life!  Parachute really can put on a show!  

So like I said, I'm lucky when it comes to friends.  I know that I was blessed in my decision to come to Utah State way back in high school.  I never thought I would say this, but I really love and miss Logan and it's definitely because of all of the great people I know there!  So so blessed!  

And speaking of blessed, I have been feeling that more and more lately.  As a lot of you know, I am headed to England in about 12 days.  I am absolutely beyond excited to go!!  Financially though, going to England was going to put me in a really really bad position.  Then by some miracle I received enough financial aid to pay for basically all of my study abroad plus next semester!  And then to add on top of that, my part-time job that I am currently working will turn into a full-time better paid job starting right when I get back from England.  This means that I'll be able to make enough money to get back on my feet again and make it through next semester with ease!  Blessed.  

2012

Following the trend and posting a little bit about my 2012.

This past year was a hard one but definitely worth it!  

I spent a great deal of time with my pal Mr. Walking Boot along with some time in physical therapy.

I had a fun summer working as a nanny for this sweet little lady

I said goodbye to my first FIG group...

(this picture is actually from 2011 but one of the best group shots we have)

and hello to a new one!

 I ended work with these wonderful ladies

(Also a 2011 picture... I apologize) 

And I begun work with these ones! (not all ladies this time obviously)

Somewhere in all of this I decided to go blonde.

(I don't think I have a picture from right after that....)

One of the biggest memories of 2012 was starting my music therapy practicum.  I was placed at a mommy and me pre-school.  I was definitely put at the sight with the partner and supervisor that I really needed at the time and I feel SO blessed to have been able to work with them.

Another one of my greatest memories of 2012 was when this guy got home from his mission.  I was so happy to have him back!

One word:  Zeppes!

 Lucky for me, my 2012 was filled with a lot of adventures with a lot of really great friends.  Some of these include spontaneous trips to Brigham city for Peach Days, temple square, carriage rides (eeeeeee!!!!), awkward sleeping arrangements, missionary farewells, feeding jalapeno bread to geese, being the driver for a drugged wisdom teeth removal patient, Bridal Fairs, attendance at 3 different haunted houses throughout Utah with different friends, photo-bombing in Park City, standing next to half-naked body-painted men during a football game and making it on the big screen, spinning off I-15 during a snow storm, driving around Logan at all hours looking for somewhere open that serves ice cream, taking an intermediate ice skating class and just having a great time.  

Now I've finished the year off by making some big changes.  I've decided to take a leave of absence for a semester and move home to work and take a break from college.  What a year it has been!  I am looking forward to see what 2013 holds!

I love it when...

you read someone's blog and you can just tell that they were feeling sassy that day.  

Have a good one!

Big Changes

Well....  As the title of this blog says, there are some big changes coming up in my life.  The biggest of which is that I will be taking a leave of absence from college for a semester.  Although I am extremely excited to have the break, it is still hard for me to say that I am leaving.  I started college at 15 years old and have been doing it non-stop since.  I am not sure I remember how to live life without college.  It'll be a new adventure.
Due to this big change in my life, I will be moving home for 8 months.  I have not lived at home for more than about 3 months since I moved out about 2 1/2 years ago.  It will be a full house with all the kids home.  My lucky parents went from almost empty nesters to all their kids. 
In all actuality, I am super excited to not have to spend my winter in Logan but lets be honest, most of my best and closest friends are in Logan.  That will be my biggest struggle.  But looking at the positive, this decision will hopefully make me more financially stable, more emotionally/mentally healthy, and is not permanent.  
So to my dear dear friends in Logan who are reading this post:  I love you.  I will miss you SO much!  You are more than welcome to come to St. George anytime - we have beds and hot tubs and warm(ish) weather.  We will continue our adventures together in Logan soon.  P.S.  Thanks for helping me with packing/stuffing/moving.  You are the best!  And I love you (again....)!

Reports Reports Reports

Please allow me one quick venting moment...

I hate when people break policy.
I hate paperwork.
I hate documentation.
I hate feeling like a bully.
AND
I hate reports.
I hate reports.
I hate reports.

The end.

Thanks for the venting moment.  Have a nice day!!  :D

Update Time!!

So here I am, during my first availability hours of the school year and apparently all my residents are in class so I decided to update the blog a little bit.  About an hour and a half ago, I completed the first day of my 11th semester of college.  11.  Crazy huh?  I think back to my very first day at Dixie State and good ol' SUCCESS Academy and I can remember that day so clearly.  15 years old and scared out of my mind!  Those Pine View, Snow Canyon, and Hurricane kids were so weird!  I had no idea what on earth I was doing and what I had gotten myself into.  Now here I am, 5 years later and I still have no idea what I'm doing!  It's fun to think back.

As I said before.  Today was the first day of school.  We successfully finished training week on Friday.  HALLELUJAH!!  Saturday and Sunday we had check-ins and mandatory meetings and here we are.  A couple things.  #1.  Kristy got here on Thursday!  So beyond excited to have her around again!!  #2.  Check-ins.  Definitely not my favorite thing.... except when the exceptionally lovely boys check-in.  Yes, most are freshmen....  There must be something in the water though because there are potentially some of the cutest males I have ever seen.  We have an Iron-man, God, and some other super great name among us.  Living in the freshmen residence halls = constant interaction.  Now is the time to be jealous.  (Unless you work in the Towers too, then you can just appreciate with me :D)  #3.  Mandatory meetings were yesterday.  I actually really loved them.  I had to attend both the girls and the boys meetings for my floors.  I just introduced myself and the FIG and what not.  Minus the boys threatening to lock me on their floor and not let me leave (funny boys), the meetings went really well.!  I love both the floors I'll be working with this year.  There is quite a wide variety of people.  So much diversity!  I love that so much!!  #4.  So today I was sitting in my institute class and I had a couple of impressions/thoughts hit me really hard.  The first one is just how much I love my job.  We were talking about the Savior and how he stopped to help people and perform miracles even during His last week of life when He was so busy and had so much to do.  He stood still and took the time to help those around Him.  Then we talked about taking the time to stand still and listen to the Spirit or to notice that their is someone who needs help.  Thanks to my job, I have the opportunity to do that all the time.  Working with the freshmen and just being in the "dorm-style" living space gives me the opportunity to just stop and take a second to answer questions and help out those who really do need it.  I get to help these new students figure out possibly one of the biggest experiences of their lives and I get to be part of that experience and play a role there.  Cool huh?  I feel so lucky!  In institute,we also talked about how we can be the reminders in people's lives of God and how much he loves us and thinks about us just by stopping to help someone out or saying hello or giving a compliment.  For some reason this hit me really hard.  So that is my challenge to myself (I'm making it public-ish so that I actually do it).

Now on a bit lighter note.  Wanna see how great my staff is this year?

This was our video for training.  It's an introduction to the Towers and the staff.  We're great, aren't we?  Haha.  But seriously though, I love working with this staff this year.  There have been a lot of changes but so far, all have been for the better and I am really looking forward to this year!  Anyway....  I have blabbed on quite a bit this post and wasted about half and hour of my availability hours time but.... enjoy!

Training

Well, here I am killing time before my office shift (and let me tell you, having time to kill during training is amazing!) and I decided to update on my blog a little.  Training has been quite a different experience this time around.  Being a returner makes everything different.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm probably not quite as attentive as I was during this training last year, probably not a good thing.  But I'm also not nearly as nervous and in my eyes, that is great!  So far all the changes for the Peer Mentors are good ones.  I LOVE actually fully being a part of the Towers staff this year, plus this staff is AMAZING!
So now about the week....  I was going to write a whole spill about this but then I discovered that one of my new dear PM friends wrote quite a fabulous little blog about it already so I'm going to direct you there.

http://sambam121.blogspot.com/2012/08/august-15-august-17-flooded-with-irony.html

Thanks Sami!

This week has definitely been 'flooded' with some fun memories.  I can't wait to see what is to come.
P.S.  I really recommend reading Sami's post.  It even has pictures!!

#19. Favorite childhood story

20 Til I'm 20:  #19.  Do you have any favorite stories from your childhood?

My favorite story as a child was called "A Porcupine Named Fluffy."  It is a story about a little porcupine whose parents name him Fluffy and he tries to figure out why he is named Fluffy because there is nothing about him that is fluffy.  So then he tries to become more fluffy.  He tries being a cloud and a pillow and a bunny and a marshmallow but he still wasn't fluffy.  But then he meets a rhino named Hippo.  They become great friends and learn to accept their names.  Best story ever!  Maybe because growing up I always thought my name was weird?   Who knows!!     

#18. Non-traditional Pet

20 Til I'm 20:  #18.   If you could own a non-traditional pet which would it be?

 

If I could own a non-traditional pet, I would love to own a koala bear.  I just think that they are the cutest little things ever and they seem kinda cuddly, plus they can climb all over just like monkeys can and a monkey would be my second choice.  Once I had a koala bear stuffed animal, and a koala bear backpack -- the kind that look like a stuffed animal just with straps, one of those.  I got it from the Hogle Zoo.  I loved that thing!  But I think a real koala would be even better. 

#17. Vacation

20 Til I'm 20:  #17.  If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be and who would it be with?
If I could go anywhere in the world, I would love to go on a tour of Europe.  England, Scotland, France, Italy, Greece, Ireland, etc. etc.  So basically I'm saying I can't pick one place and that basically ALL of Europe really appeals to me.  Someday, in my dream world, it will happen!  And I will go there with my love, whoever he may be, and we will enjoy a gondola ride in Venice and we will tour castles in Ireland and it will be grand!  The end. 

#16. Greatest Accomplishments

20 Til I'm 20:  #16.  Describe your 3 greatest accomplishments.

I think that of one my greatest accomplishment thus far in my life would have to be getting my Associate Degree at 17.  I started the SUCCESS Academy program at 15 years old and spent only 1/2 of my school day at Dixie High School and I spent the other half at Dixie State College taking college courses.  It definitely was not an easy thing to make it through, as any one who was in the program would admit but it was definitely worth it in the end.  Along with getting a degree I also made some of my best friends and some great memories.  Plus, how many people can say that they graduated with a college degree before getting their high school diploma?  Pretty sweet.
Another one of my greatest accomplishments is kinda silly but I'm proud of it.  My senior year I was the SUCCESS Academy student body president and as a student council/student body we wanted to have a dance for SUCCESS but the head woman in charge was 100% against it for so many ridiculous reasons that I won't go into detail of on here because thinking about them still makes me somewhat angered.  So anyway, a couple of my friends and I plus the rest of the student council decided we were going to have a dance anyway.  $0 to spend and no support from the administration plus trying to keep it all hidden -- It was not an easy task.  But we pulled it off.  Using everyone's resources we had a dance (my favorite dance of senior year, by the way) and it was a huge success (haha success).  The administration didn't find out about it until the day before it happened (minus a couple trusty members who I knew would keep the secret).  We called it the Stress Ball after SUCCESS Academy's beloved "Stress Academy" nickname.  We ended up making money with this dance and used it at graduation to buy gifts for the admin.  Even the ones who didn't support us.  Stick it to the man!
Lastly, I think that surviving my summer in New York is up there with my greatest accomplishments.  I went into detail about that in a previous post so I won't do it again but I must say that the fact that I didn't die or quit that summer is a huge accomplishment in my eyes and I'm proud of myself for that. 
To all of you dear people still reading all these blog posts.  Thank you.  I'm impressed because I don't know if I would read them all if I weren't the one writing them.  So thanks!

#15. Favorite Celebrity

20 Til I'm 2o: #15.  Who was your favorite celebrity as a child?

My favorite celebrity as a child was Justin Timberlake from Nsync.  I absolutely adored Nsync and Justin was my favorite.  My best friend as a kid and I were both obsessed and whenever we played games, she would be with Lance Bass from Nsync and I would be with Justin.  Oh what fun!

#14. Getting In Trouble

20 Til I'm 20:  #14. What did you do growing up that got you into trouble?

Since I'm writing this blog while I'm sitting with my family in our living room, I decided to ask my parents what things I did growing up that got me into trouble.  The main thing that I can remember doing is riding things down the stairs--sleeping bags, pillows, storage containers, storage container lids (those were always the favorite.  Major speed), etc.  My parents of course remembered more.  Fighting with my brother, crying all the time, not cleaning my room, waking up Dad after he worked a graveyard shift.  I also remember getting in trouble for using the hose to turn our sandbox into a mudbox and then have mud fights!  The sad thing about all of this is that a ton of those things that got me in trouble as a kid still sound just as fun today as they did then.  Anyone up for a mud fight??

#13. Fictional Character

13. If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?

This is totally going to bring out my nerdy side but I would probably choose to be Hermione from Harry Potter.  I always loved the fact that she was so smart and she always showed up the boys in class.  She could do magic (who wouldn't love that?) and she was great at it!  Plus, she gets to do all the cool adventure stuff and lives through it all.  I was always jealous of her, especially when I was little and read the books with my family. 

#12. Lottery

  20 Til I'm 20:  #12. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

If I won the lottery, the first thing I would do (minus tithing) would be to pay off school.  I would pay off past debts and make sure that I put ample amount and then some into a bank account to last me for the rest of my schooling.  I'm not the biggest fan of worrying about paying for school....  Not that anyone is, but still.  I think quite a bit of my money after that would go to my family to help them fix up the house the way they want it.  Then, lets be honest, there would definitely be a shopping spree in there.  Probably quite a few musical instruments bought.  Baby grand piano.  After that, I don't really know what I would do with the money...  Put it in the bank.  Buy a stock.  Become the next Bill Gates.  Who knows!

#11. Childhood Memories

20 Til I'm 20: #11.  Describe 3 significant childhood memories.  

Once upon a time when I was just a wee little one, I was at my friend's house and we decided we were going to go hike the mountain behind her house.  She had just moved into good ol' Diamond Valley and so she didn't really know where we were going, and I had never been on that mountain before to my knowledge.  My brother and her dog decided to join us on our hike.  Of course my bro knew exactly where he was going and so we just followed him.  Then he decided that he was bored and done with the hike and he left us.  We hiked on for a little longer and needless to say, we got lost (or so we thought).  We had no clue how to get back to her house.  I was terrified.  I remember saying a little prayer to myself and then the dog just started walking.  We decided to follow the dog and he led us right back home.  Faith of a little child = strengthened.   


Another significant memory (well... maybe not all that significant but it always sticks out to me.  Probably because my friends always remind me of it to this day).  I was at the same friend's house as before.  It was years down the road and we were sledding.  Said friend lived up on a rather large hill.  Huge driveway (which I had broken my arm on while riding a scooter down it) and lots of good sledding spots.  So we were there sledding, along with some other friends.  It was my turn and I go to sled down the hill and my sled turns and I head off the ledge and onto the driveway.  Yes, the driveway that I had already broken a bone on.  I remember a lot of bumps as I went off the edge, and I remember my friends screaming.  Thankfully the sled stopped before I hit the steep part of the driveway.  That experience, along with the broken arm, kept me avoiding her driveway for a long, long time.  


My last childhood memory is one that happened every year and they all kinda mess together but I remember it as being one of my favorite times.  Every 4th of July my family, along with all my cousins and any other family members who were in town would drive to my Grandma's house for the holiday.  We would go swimming, and we even got the adults to join us in the pool.  My grandma's pool is circular so we would all run around it in circles until we turned it into a whirlpool and then the adults would case us around the whirlpool and dunk us whenever they caught up.  I loved this game!  After swimming for a while we would have dinner which usually consisted of lots of fruit, salads, and those huge Subway sandwiches for big parties.  Then the kids would try to sneak back into the pool before our "food settled in our stomachs" but Grandma always caught us.  We would swim again until right before the fireworks show then we would come to the house and eat root beer floats and watch the fireworks from the porch.  My favorite part was how the sound always came so much after the lights from the fireworks because we were far away.  Then when the firework show ended we would go outside and watch the neighbors set off their fireworks.  By the time they finished the traffic in town from the fireworks show was normally all cleared out and we would head home.  This was one of the highlights of my summers when I was a little kid. 

#10. Dinner with a person from history

20 Til I'm 20:  #10.  If you could eat dinner with any person from history who would it be and what would you eat?

If I could eat dinner with any person from history it would be Martin Luther King Jr. and we would eat my Mom's home-made chicken enchiladas.  I just love Martin Luther King Jr. and I love my mom's chicken enchiladas.  Win, win.  

#9. Embarrassing Moment

20 Til I'm 20:  # 9. Describe your most embarrassing moment.

Hmm....  I don't know if this is my most embarrassing moment but it is definitely up there.  It happened right after I graduated high school.  I went back to have lunch with my school adviser/friend and secretary (male secretary).  While we were there eating, my dear adviser friend took it upon herself to try and hook up the secretary and I since I had just graduated and was no longer a student of the school.  She wanted us to kiss each other and "teach each other some things."  Really awkward.  He and I were both rather uncomfortable with the whole situation.  Probably doesn't sound all that embarrassing, but in the moment it definitely was.  

#8. Pet Peeves

20 Til I'm 20:  #8.  Describe 10 pet peeves you have.

Dear Christie,
Here is the post you wanted to see.  I hope you enjoy it.  :D
Love, Dacy

Side note:  A lot of these pet peeves have to do with driving.... brace yourself.

1.  I absolutely cannot handle when people don't use turning lanes when they're driving.  Either they slow down way before the turning lane and slow down all the traffic behind them or they get into the lane so late that they still block half the road. 
2.  Constant/tuneless/mindless, whistling.  My brother used to do this ALL the time when I was growing up and it drove me crazy.  Now my little sister does it.
3.  When someone doesn't flush the toilet.  *Getting on my soap box* Dear people of America, are we really turning into that lazy of a country that we can't even push a lever down to flush a toilet?  We should not automatically assume every toilet flushes all by itself.  Plus, I promise that no one else wants to see or deal with the remains you've left behind.  So please flush the toilet when you're done so no one else has to deal with your crap.  Thank you.  *Getting off soap box now*
4.  Being late.  I hate being late and I hate when other people are late and I have to wait for them.
5.  When people leave their blinkers on for excessive amounts of time OR when they don't use their blinker at all.  There is an art to the usage of blinkers.
6.  Tailgating.  This is another huge one!  I tend to brake check people/drive extremely slow when people tailgate me.
7.  Having jeans that are wet on the bottom.  It's just uncomfortable.
8.  When you're eating with/talking to a person and the TV is on and they look past you to watch it instead of listening/talking to you.  I think it's very rude.
9.  When people ask to borrow a pencil.  Growing up, my pencils were never returned so I hate lending them now even though most people do give them back.
10.  Hair in the shower/bathtub.  I really don't like when people don't clean out their hair after showering. This one didn't used to bother me all that much because I didn't have to deal with it until I moved away to school and had to share a shower in an apartment of girls and then had to share a public bathroom. 

#7. Influential People

20 Til I'm 20:  #7.  List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.

For this lovely little post I decided to keep it to famous/historical influences.  I could list each and every member of my family as well as every friend I've ever had but then the list would be a lot longer than 10.  This post might get a little religious and personal, so hang in there. 

1.  Martin Luther King Jr.  -  Ever since I was a little girl, I have been fascinated with Martin Luther King junior.  In my school classes when I learned about slavery and all the segregation, etc. it hit me really hard.  I couldn't believe that people were really treated that way.  When I learned about Martin Luther King Jr., I was so impressed with him and how he stood up for what was right.  I wished that I could join in his marches and protests.  I even read a large quantity of his speeches, including the famous "I have a dream" as a young child.
2.  Albert Einstein  -  I have always thought that Albert Einstein was a genius (which he was, of course).  That in and of itself is very influential but I think what most influenced me about him was all of his quotes and the things he said about education and genius and life.  Very, very smart man.
3.  Rosa Parks -  This woman's influence is very similar to Martin Luther King.  But I added her to the list because, not only did was she a leader in the segregation stuff, did so as a woman.  And that to me is very very influential.  A little feminism coming out.
4.  Phil Collins -  My music idol!  This man is so talented musically and I look up to him SO much.  Someday I hope that my musical abilities are somewhere near where his are.  He is amazing. 
5.  Joseph Smith - For obvious church-related reasons this man is such an influence in my life.  He founded the church that means the world to me.  He was such a great leader both in general and in church.
6.  Emma Smith - Emma is one of the strongest women in all history in my opinion.  She made it through so many incredibly hard things in her life and I look up to her so much for all of that.  She is such a strong woman.
7.  Walt Disney - What child growing up watching Disney movies wasn't influenced by this man?  He is incredible.  He has touched the lives of so many people.  Incredible.
8.  Julie Andrews - I love Julie Andrews because not only is she an incredibly talented woman who brought us the wonders of The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, she also made it through a really tough time.  She had voice health problems but she still kept going and brought us more great movies and talent such as the Princess Diaries movies.  She is a great example of perseverance through hard times.  
9.  Gordon B. Hinkley - For me, this one represents all church leaders, especially prophets.  I put his name because he was the prophet that I grew up with.  I remember being little and watching general conference and not hearing a word that was said except those by President Hinkley.  He always related so much to the youth and he was such a great influence. 
10.  Jesus Christ - To me this is probably the biggest influence in my life.  The Savior Jesus Christ.  I can't even put into words how much of an influence He is in my life.