Christmas Festivities

My favorite day of the year is Christmas Eve.
It's the day we actually do stuff, whereas Christmas is reserved for lounging and be lazy all the day long.
The first thing we do to celebrate on Christmas Eve is to have a grand dinner. Usually, it's like Thanksgiving, only we have honey baked ham instead of turkey. This year, however, we switched things up and had a German Christmas meal. It was way tasty and fun to try something new.
Following dinner, we gather in the family room and sing Christmas Hymns. Not to brag, but I think my family makes up a fine little choir. I decided this year that my favorite Christmas hymn is With Wondering Awe. It's a good song yes, but I love it because of the family memories I have attached to it.
Once singing concludes, we do a family testimony meeting. This is my absolute favorite part of the year. It's a time when we all take a moment to stand and bear testimony, as well as reflect on the year and how we have been blessed and how we have moved forward and grown. It's a really special time.
After the Spiritual portion, things get fun. All the nieces and nephews open presents and usually we play a dice game where we have a huge jackpot of presents to win. We postponed it this year and did it a few days later when more siblings could make it.
The final Christmas Eve tradition is to watch the George C. Scott version of "A Christmas Carol". Once the movie is over, it's bedtime!

Then Christmas morning happens. It's pretty chill now days, since we're all grown up. I realized this year that Christmas day won't be that exciting again until I have kids of my own. Alas, we opened presents and I was surprised with a new camera and riding boots. My parents are so generous.
Normally, we have the same breakfast each Christmas morning-- breakfast casserole and sticky buns. I HATE breakfast casserole. The sticky buns are delish, but ugh that casserole makes me wanna hurl. Now, seeing that I was the only child home, I voted that we pass on the casserole and make waffles instead. And it was so! I was quite pleased by this. I ended up making the waffles while my mom made some sausage and other breakfasty sides. It was yummy.
This is the third year that we have decided to see a movie on Christmas. This year, it was Tangled. I fell in LOVE with that movie. Way good... and I cannot wait to watch it again.

And that is essentially what we did for Christmas. It's spent hanging out with the fam and relaxing. I love it. It has been so nice to be home with all these people I love. Three cheers for holidays!

21

It's official.

This girl is twenty-one.
More pictures of my wonderful birthday to come...

As the semester comes to a close.

Where did the semester go?
And for that matter, where did this entire year go?
Today I had my last class of the semester.
I also went out with a bang by getting a 93% on my test today!
(Boo yeah!)
Pretty great end to a pretty great semester.

So now I'm sitting here, relaxing for the first time in quite a while.
I lucked out by finishing classes one day early because tomorrow is my birthday.
In juts a few hours I'm gonna be 21.
A legitimate adult.
Yikes.
I plan on celebrating tomorrow by bowling with my nursing buds in the morning and then heading up to SLC with Paul to get some dinner and enjoy the lights at Temple Square. We'll see what other festivities tomorrow brings. But for now, it's movie time. Ciao!

Follow this blog.

Everyone who is anyone at BYU knows who Brother Bott is...
and guess what?
He has a blog now!
At the start of his mission prep class he would do a question answer session.
I haven't gotten a chance to look too closely, but that's essentially what his blog is.
So if you're interested, check it out!
Randy Bott is the man.

Time.

Time is weird.
At times, it crawls. You never think an hour/day/month/semester will end.
Then the next thing you know, you have no idea where the time went.
What is up with that?

Klutzy much?

My body is covered in scrapes and bruises.
Not from one single event, but a plethora of klutzy instances on my part.
In this week alone, I have managed to hurt myself 4 separate times.

1. Sunday Evening. I was leaving the apartment and I was pulling the door closed with my right hand. I didn't move my hand in time and completely smashed it in the door. The bulk of the damage was sustained by my right middle finger. It was one of those "insta-bruise" moments. My finger nail is nasty now, but at least it's no longer hurting.

2. Monday Evening. I hate doing laundry... like, a lot. I put it off for as long as possible. I finally gave in and decided to do it. My laundry basket was freaking heavy. Needless to say, I was struggling to walk around with my laundry and two huge containers of detergent and softener. I slung the basket over my arm and the pressure from it all gave me a bruise on my left forearm. Kinda pathetic, I know.

3. Thursday Evening. Depth perception is not one of my strengths. I run into things a lot because I think I have more room than I really do. On Thursday, I was running out from my bedroom and into my kitchen. En route, I ran into the door and acquired a bruise on my right bicep.

4. Friday Afternoon. I was walking home from school around 4 and the traffic was pretty bad. I didn't want to stop and wait at a light, so i booked it across the street. I took a leap for the curb and my foot slipped off the edge. I totally got owned. I fell forward, almost like I was flying (hands stretched out by my head). Luckily, I was wearing jeans and a jacket, so only my hands got scrapped. However, I do have bruises all along my foot, hip and arm from landing mostly on my left side. This fall even had a witness. How embarrassing is that?

My goal for next week is to not get hurt.
We'll see how that goes over.

Fall Festivities.

I have no legitimate excuse for my failure to blog the past few weeks.

Forgive me?
Life has been pretty exciting, though.
I've definitely been keeping myself busy. So let's get started!

Fall is in the running for my favorite season. I can never decide between that or Springtime. I can never get enough of the changing leaves, perfect weather (Jackets & Jeans are where it's at), the excitement that accompanies the start of school, new friends, pumpkin pies/carving/candles...anything pumpkin, really. Ah, I just love it all.

When the leaves started to change, I just had to get out and enjoy them. Ergo, I went hiking with some buddies. We went up into Sundance and did a little bit of the Timp trail head. Unfortunately, Kait and I were not well prepared (we were wearing flippy floppys) so we didn't get too far before we had to turn around. It was loads of fun though,
Please note the pictures:


My roommate, Kaitlin, is keeping me busy. She is a riot. I have loved living with this crazy chica. I adore her. We have fun doing various things, such as: running around in 80's prom dresses, finding "cute" clothes at Saver's, attending General Conference, going to bed and waking up at ridiculous hours... you know, we do it all.


The nursing program has been fairly taxing this semester. Fortunately, I have lots of great friends that lighten the load. For example, my nursing buds throw rad parties so we can do our homework together. The pictures below are from a night when we watched WIT together for our communication class. I also have friends who subject themselves to me so I can learn new skills. Paul is an example of this. In clinical, there are some comatose patients that need to be shaved. The thought of shaving some dude's face scared me. Paul was a trooper and he volunteered his face so I could be more confident in lab. That's right, ladies and folks, I shaved my first face this fall. The fun with nursing doesn't stop here. We're also required to attend a research conference once a semester. This is where my friends provide entertainment to get me through the day. There's nothing quite like taking candid photos of your sleeping friends. Nurse Panda stays awake with me though.






Fall = Halloween.
I love Halloween. I love how crazy everyone gets. I'm not the best at coming up with good costumes, but dang am I good at enjoying them!



This October marked the first birthday in my apartment. Miss Jessica turned 23! We had a little drink night, danced a little and ate tasty cake. Good times.




Since their marriage, I have seen very little of Ben and Becca. Directly following their marriage, they left for Arkansas to make some moolah. Since their return to Provo, we have all been quite busy. However, this past month, we found some time to go on a double date to Fuddruckers. Man, do I love a good burger, fries and malt. And although I don't have any pictures of it, I've also been able to see Ruth and Dan. I am so lucky to have a couple of siblings out here with me.




Last but not least, I wanted to put in a little shout out to the Temple. I haven't been able to go as often as I would like, but I am so grateful that we have numerous Temples in such close proximity here in Utah. There's nothing as calming, reassuring and uplifting as going to the Temple.



If you have made it to this point of the post, I am very impressed. I'll try my best to post more often so I don't have to assault you with pictures again. Til then!

Shootin' People Up.

I took some giant leaps and bounds this week.
The biggest one:
I gave my first shot!
That's right, ladies and gents...
I stabbed Amanda with a needle.
No lie, it is freaking scary to stick a big fat needle into your friend.
Panda was a champ though.
Who knows, maybe YOU will be my next victim.

5K

I wish this were money we're talking about,

alas, the 5k I write of today is the race I ran this very morning.

The race was the purple dash, which raised money for nursing scholarships.
It was cool to run a race that benefited my college specifically,
but the most valuable part of the morning was thinking about the victims of 9/11.
There were parts during the race when I was absolutely exhausted,
then I thought about the firefighters and those who fought relentlessly to save lives.
I cannot fathom how physically and emotionally drained they must have been.
I'm certain that what I went through isn't even close to what they experienced, but if felt good to go out, give it my all, sweat, burn and throw up. It was the least I could do to relate.

Following the race Kaitlin, Mindy and I arrive at my apt,
only to realize that we were locked out.
Obviously, we had to break in.

After breaking and entering, we had a visitor who wanted to join our victory picture.
Coco is so cute.


That has been my day thus far.
I'm not sure of what is going on with the rest of the day,
but I do know that the events of 9/11 will be on my mind.
Unfortunately, we can't go back and change things.
The most important thing we can do now is to remember.
Remember those who died,
remember those who served
and remember those who lost.

She & Him.

A couple weeks ago, I joined Jeff, Connecticut and Rachel at
The Twilight Concert Series.

The concert opened with the Dum Dum Girls,
whom, despite their silly name, were quite enjoyable.
They had a very unique wardrobe that helps set them apart from most girl bands.
Following their short, solid set, we waited in great anticipation for the main attraction.
There was lots of shoving, as people tried to squeeze up front.
Being 5'4", I was not a happy camper.
Especially tall people took a liking to parking themselves right in front of me.
By the time the real show started, I made friends with some tall guys who provided the perfect window for me to see the stage. Gotta love nice people.
The show itself was fantastic.
This was my first real encounter with She & Him.
I've heard LOTS about them from Jeff, but had only heard a few of their songs.
One concert was all it took to convert me.
You should probably Youtube them right now.

"I can't wait to go to bed tonight knowing I saw Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward"

Adventures in Moab

This has been a stellar week.

Whenever I'm in Utah, it's because I have school.
That's why I was so insistent to arrive a week early;
so I could do whatever I wanted.

One of the things I decided to do was go to Moab with a few of my Nursing friends.
I drove down with Amanda, where we proceeded to hike in Arches National Park.
Please refer to video:

It was hot and I was very sweaty, but it was lots of fun.

Later that evening, we hooked up with Spencer and some of his friends from work.
We went on a night hike to an arch that we were supposed to repel...
Amanda and I chickened out on the repelling part,
NOT because that part scared us, but because the hike up to the arch was the sketchiest thing in the world. I had a genuine fear for my life as I began the climb up, and I eventually worked my way back down before I died. Spence and his buds still repelled though, and it was fun to watch them.
Left: Malayna repelling upside down
Right: Spencer's silhouette above the moonlight as he repelled
Bottom: Amanda and Me, safe on the ground


That night, Amanda and I stayed at a hostel.
I would say that it's one of my more unique experiences.
Everyone else there was male and old.
It'd be safe to add sufficiently creepy to that list too.
Oh, and I can't forget to mention that we were awakened in the morning by the lovely sound of a drunk man vomiting in the bathroom next to our room.

That nasty memory was soon forgotten,
as Spencer took us on the coolest rafting trip ever!
It was so so so much fun.
I can't even explain what an amazing day it was.
It was the perfect mixture of thrill from the rapids and serenity from the nature that surrounded us. I'm set upon going back next summer.

After rafting, Spencer took us to a custom T-shirt shop.
We took our own shirts (Less than $2 a piece)
and picked any design they had ($3).
So we ended up with cool Moab shirts for under 5 bucks!
Talk about a sweet deal.

I cannot reiterate how much fun I had.
I love my friends and I love making memories with them.

The good, the bad and the absolutely disgusting.

The Good:
Today marks Stephen's one year.

Yes, ladies and gents, my Stephen is halfway through with his mish.
This makes me so so so happy.
It's almost a little unreal that an entire year has passed me by.
I look forward to what this next year has in store.


The Bad:
I have been in a car ALL day.

We left Ohio at 4 am and drove until 6 pm.
It has been a lonnnng day.
We are currently stopped in Mitchell, South Dakota.
It's a cute little town, know for its "Corn Castle"
...haha, I love it.


The Absolutely Disgusting:
There were earwigs in the hotel bed.

Isn't that about the nastiest thing you've heard?
My mom and I were exhausted and looking forward to relaxing for the rest of the evening.
We walk in and the room smells horrendous.
Immediately, my mom flips the covers back and we see this earwig crawling on the sheets. On top of that, there were bugs on the lampshade.
Ewwwwww.
Just thinking about it makes me squirm.
We looked at each other and got the heck outta there.
Now, we're staying in a nice hotel, with no bugs.
Goooooodnight.

Talk about embarrassing...

Today I did something that was quite embarrassing.
I played golf.
Now you see, if you're any good, this isn't embarrassing at all.
While standing at the first tee, I thought that I would do alright.
Then I began playing and I discovered just how wrong I was.
Essentially, if you were to take par and double it, I MIGHT have a chance.
Even that is pushing it.
How do pros make it look so easy?
I felt like I should just be able to will the ball where I want it to go.
On occasion, I had a few beautiful shots, but for the majority of the game,
my shots were all over the place.
I learned a lot and I definitely came away better than when I started,
but let me tell you, golf is not some hidden talent that I posses.
Surprisingly, I kind of want to play again.
Embarrassing as it was, I enjoyed trying something new,
and it was a great way to spend some time with my dad.

Goodbyes are cruel.

Summer is wrapping up, which means saying goodbyes.
Ugh, I hate them so much.
Four months ago, I was on Ashley's bed, in a fetal position, crying my eyes out.
Why?
Because I was gonna miss everyone in Utah.
Now, I'm saying goodbye to my family in Ohio, and let me tell you, it sucks.
I feel like I stay in one place just long enough for goodbyes to be really tough, then I get moved somewhere else so I can repeat the process.

I suppose it's possible to look at this in a positive light and say,
"I'm so blessed to be surrounded by people whom I love dearly. It stinks that I have to leave, but I'd rather be sad about leaving than happy to get out of some terrible circumstance."
That mentality will set in at some point,
but for now... I'm sad to be leaving my family.
They're kind of awesome.

My summer job(s).

I realized that I've written about all the random parts of my summer,
but have completely failed to mention what I do with the bulk of my time.
Work.
I work at OnSight Health Care.
Essentially, this business goes to nursing homes
and does on-site visits for elderly people.
It's really a great idea, taking the doctors to the people.
On occasion, I'll attend the Dr. on his visit and wheel the residents from their rooms to the doc for their check-ups.
When I'm not transporting patients, I'm in an office transporting pictures of eyeballs from a folder into an online billing program.
Pretty exciting, right?
I can't complain though, this has been a fantastic summer job.
There are multiple high schoolers/college kids working on this project,
which has allowed me to get to know people that, otherwise, I never would have gotten to know well. It's been pretty neat.
In addition to my data entry gig, I also baby-sit for a fantastic little family,
The DiSalle's.
They have 3 kids, 2 girls and 1 boy.
Ages 5, 3 and 5 months (almost.)
I have LOVED the time I've had to play with these little rascals.
Honestly, I'm sad for the end of the summer because it means saying goodbye.
But alas, time goes on and you just gotta roll with the punches.

So now you know.
This is what Miss Libby Griffioen does with most of her time.

Delicious.

One of my favorite things about summer is the food.
Summer food is light, happy and fun.
I especially love salads with a dash of fruit on them.

Over Christmas break, I went to Max & Erma's with my friends.
I tried a fantastic Apple-Pecan Salad.
I hadn't had it since then, until my sister had the epic idea...
to make it ourselves!

How did I not think of this before?
We found a killer recipe that matches the salad to a T.
Here it goes!

Max & Erma's Apple Pecan Salad

4oz Fresh Salad Greens (we use 2oz)
1.5oz Maple Vinaigrette Dressing (recipe follows)
1/4 cup Bleu Cheese Crumbles (I use feta)
1/4 cup Craisins
1/4 cup Glazed Pecans
7 Slices Granny Smith Apple, roughly 1/4 an apple
1/2oz Balsamic Dressing
1 Grilled Chicken Breast, Optional


Maple Vinaigrette

2 Tbs Cider Vinegar
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Minced Garlic
2 Tbs Pure Maple Syrup
6 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

In small bowl, whisk the vinegar, salt, lemon juice and garlic until salt is dissolved. Add the maple syrup and whisk to blend thoroughly. Add the olive oil and whisk until the ingredients are emulsified. Whisk in pepper and adjust seasonings.

If you don't want to take the time to make the dressing, I also enjoy using store bought Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing. You can also replace the apple slices with strawberry slices, although I do enjoy the tartness of those Granny Smith's. Either way, this salad is a tasty summer treat... especially those glazed pecans, yum!

The Help.

Looking for a good book to read? I hope so, because I have yet another recommendation for you. Previously, I recommended some young adult books that were fun, easy and exciting. This book is a little different. It's about black maids in the 1960's. Soooo interesting. It gives you a completely new perspective on both the lives of the maids and their bosses. This book is still an easy read, but it makes you stop and think. I dare you to give it a chance.

North Carolina update... finally.

A month ago I was sitting on the beach, reading books and spending time with my family. It was such a relaxing vacation. It was hot, which made sitting by the ocean enjoyable. A majority of my family was there, which was sweet cause I hang with a pretty cool crowd. AND I even got to see my friend, Connecticut, who just so happened to be in the Outer Banks at the same time as me. Pretty awesome coincidence if you ask me.

The only bad news, is that I didn't take very many pictures. Which, might I add, is not very characteristic of me. I did snap a few good ones here and there. So here are just a few for you to enjoy.

Have I mentioned yet that I absolutely adore my family? Vacation would be nothing without them.

I'm gonna insert here that I think Andy would probably be voted as the "favorite uncle". Seriously, the kids LOVE this guy. He keeps them hooked with bizarre stories and camel rides. I guess that's enough to make just about anyone love ya, huh?