Thursday, February 24, 2011

Working for the Weekend

You know those weeks that are just so crazy that you have a hard time even crawling (rolling onto the floor one body part at a time in my case) out of bed? You just start living weekend to weekend, looking back on what you did and so looking forward for just one more break. It's one of those weeks. I'm so excited it's almost over!

We had such a wonderful President's Day weekend. I'm always up for a good 3-day weekend. This weekend I went home and hung out with my mom and dad. It doesn't happen as often as it used to. There's just not enough time, money, or energy. Knowing that there were a few things coming up at school following this lovely weekend, I brought some study materials.

Did I study?

No.

Not at all.

Regrets.

A little bit, but not really.

I still had a fun time with the folks.

So I drive back Monday, intending to leave around noon, but not actually leaving until close to 4. Arriving in Provo pretty close to 10.

Tuesday afternoon: speech anatomy quiz. Fortunately, our midterm the prior week covered this same material. I should have studied, but I didn't. Not until the hour or so before the class. After sitting down, I overhear conversation after conversation of people saying, "We get to drop one quiz, right? Because this is going to be it." I tried not to feel the same way. After the quiz, I felt pretty good. I'm hoping, of all the quizzes, this is the one that's dropped because I'd better not get any score lower than this. Did I forget to mention that this Tuesday was a Monday instruction day? Monday classes on a Tuesday. Talk about screwing with your week.

Wednesday afternoon: hearing science midterm. Well, I was sick all last week with this cold that would NOT go away. So I wasn't too excited about this particular midterm. Fortunately it was anatomy and physiology. That I can do. I've taught myself how to memorize images and terminology (when diagrams have to be labeled) from anatomy last semester. I went in feeling about 70% confident. I needed more than a 70% since I only got an 80-something on the first midterm. I came out of the test with a 92%! (That's barely scraping an A- in this class... the grading curve is all messed up.) Felt pretty good going to work that night.

Thursday: music final (block class) & choir concert. Again, let me mention, I did not study AT ALL this weekend. Here's the secret to this class. It's required for a music minor, but I've already taken the 200 level courses. So... this class was pretty much a long review of two classes I took two years ago, and a very condensed version. I studied as much as I could in the little time I had and ended up taking the final between my last class and my choir concert. I went through the test feeling really good about all questions except for about 10 of them. I ended up with a 95. Sweet, undeserved victory.

I love concerts with the Men's Chorus because Cory is always there. I love him so much. I usually can't tolerate being around one person as much as I'm with him -- which really isn't that much.

His grandparents came too... so we went out for ice cream after. I got to hear some great stories. I wish my grandparents were still alive so I could get good stories from them too. But, hey, I'm marrying into 3. That's more than I've ever had alive in my lifetime.

Friday: dance test. We'll see how that goes. Not feeling great. Plus more work. Work is good.

Mostly, I'm just tired. I should be in bed, sleeping. I think I've become a bit of an insomniac. I can't seem to get into bed before midnight. I partially blame Conan. Yes. Conan O'Brien. I still love him. He plagues my sleep. But he makes me laugh.

Saturday: practice GRE. Plus more work.

Thank goodness the weekend is coming.. again. I'm going to be more productive. I will!

Sorry to bore you with my life.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Let's Give Them Something to Talk About

It's that time of year again. The time where all over campus, we are reminded to visit our bishops and renew our ecclesiastical endorsements. Every year there seems to be a fashion trend that tries to push the honor code boundaries. Some debate the moustaches of the past year that seem to dawn the faces of many a gentleman. Dress and grooming standards give guidelines on moustaches, so as long as they're within the standard, I won't complain. Even though I find them less than flattering on most. However, I do have a gripe against what seems to have been a trend in women's fashion for over a year now. I'm shocked that nothing effective has been done already.

"Clothing is inappropriate when it is sleeveless, strapless, backless, or revealing; has slits above the knee; or is form fitting. Dresses, skirts, and shorts must be knee-length or longer."

Have you guessed what style I wish BYU would crack down on? That's right, my friends. Leggings and opaque tights passing as pants. I have no problem when they're worn underneath knee-length skirts or shorts. They can still be modest when worn according to the honor code standards. But that's not how they're being worn. I understand girls trying to make those short dresses and shorts and long shirts more modest. I'm sorry, but wearing skin tight faux pants doesn't cut it.


In Young Women's, I remember my teachers saying time and time again that one day we're going to be making temple covenants and that we should dress now (modestly) so that when that time comes, it won't be a shock and we won't have to change our entire wardrobes. I have noticed some women on campus still wearing these styles after making these covenants. You can see their garments! If you are truly dressing modestly, you shouldn't be able to see them. Not only that, but the dress and grooming standards explicitly state that form fitting clothes, and dresses and skirts above the knees are inappropriate. We live in Provo. The industry here knows that modest clothes sell. They provide fashionable clothes that fit into our standards. So let's buy those.

So why are girls still wearing this style on campus without any qualms? Why are men turned away that the testing center if they forgot to shave that morning, and women are still allowed to enter with leggings and dresses barely covering their rears? The mystery remains. Is there a double standard? Or has it just not been noticed because it's so popular? I remember, maybe it was almost two years ago now, at the beginning of the school year, a statement from administration was made against leggings. Apparently it didn't do much to dissuade women from breaking honor code. If that didn't work, what can be done?

Even still, girls attending EFY on BYU's campus are sent back to dorms to change if they come out in the morning wearing leggings or opaque tights without something knee-length over them. How can the women of BYU set a proper example to these girls when we are doing just the opposite of what they are taught? Let's step it up ladies. Put on a pair of big girl pants and prove to the world we follow our own standards.

Monday, February 14, 2011

My Funny Valentine


I had just about the most wonderful Valentine's Day I've ever had, ever. There was nothing too spectacular. I mean, there were no hot air balloon rides, or jewelry, or home-cooked meal. BUT! There was a beautiful candlelight dinner while watching the sunset. Just lovely. It was very cute.

Cory came over when he was finished with classes. Thinking we had some kind of dinner reservation (I'm not sure where in Provo you'd end up with one of those), he told me we were running late, so I tried to hurry a bit. We get into his car and start driving. We're driving for a while... into the mountains... and I'm thinking, "where on earth are we going?" We pull up to the "Y" entrance and park. Then I think, "uh... Cory, you're not gettin ANY action, if that's your plan." Okay, we all know Cory a little better than that. So we stop, he gets out of the car and pops his trunk.

After leaving me in the car and making a few trips, suddenly, in his car, we have a lovely candlelit (battery-operated, mind you... it would be a fire hazard otherwise) dinner with sparkling cider and flowers. It was really sweet. And I'm not a romantic. Not really in the least. I laugh at mushy, sweet things. I don't know why. Maybe some day I'll get used to it.

We finished a delicious dinner, watching the sunset (NOT the sunrise, LAUREN!), and went to see Unstoppable in the dollar theater. There isn't much worth seeing in the "normal" theaters right now, and neither of us had seen it. I recommend it!

It was very sweet. For him, I took his wedding band in a week or so ago to get it engraved. I know, not as cool as a candlelight dinner... but I do what I can.


I also thought I might share my little Valentine's Day surprise.

My roommate, Lauren, is single. I am not. I know what it's like to be single on Valentine's Day. And poor Lauren was feeling especially down this year. So I picked up a few little trinkets and brought them down to the basement of the library where she works. I left the few little trinkets with the guys that were working that shift and told them, as long as she received them in tact, they could do what they want with them. Which, I found out when I returned from my wonderful date, included hiding different items in EACH of the lockers with signs and love notes. It was awesome. Lauren suspected me, as I knew she would, so I bluffed. She freaked out that it might have been a boy that walked her to class one day. Finally, I fessed. She was relieved. We had a laugh. Better yet, she had a good night.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Friday, February 4, 2011

We're Looking for Something Fun to Do

I got a nice little collection of websites from my mom to help me find wedding favors, cake toppers, ect. Since I can't find a SINGLE thing I like. Mint tins... cute, but, eh. Bubbles... no. Picture frames are a really cute idea, but I personally never use the little ones I have. Little boxes of candy... well, that's doable, but for one of my sisters' weddings, I ended up assembling ALL of her tiny little clear plastic boxes and tying a thousand little ribbons around them. It wasn't horrible or anything, but just not my cup of tea. Of course I was happy to do it though. I was excited to have some responsibility in the whole thing. Plus, for some reason I really enjoy things that should be done in assembly line fashion. AND, here's the kicker, she wanted little M&Ms in all of these boxes to match her wedding colors. Totally doable since I lived in Vegas at the time and the M&M store is just downtown. Yeah... I took a couple trips. It was fun feeling important.

So after scouring these websites (which was done in free time, not study time... although all time probably should be study time...) I finally saw a few things I actually liked. Success! Well... it will be TRUE success if Cory likes them and approves. I will have you know that he DOES have an opinion, he shares it, and he WANTS to be involved. A blessing and burden. I'm glad he's this way, but sometimes it would just be easier if he didn't care. Most of the time it would be harder if he didn't care. I prefer him this way. Oh, did I get distracted? Of course, I did.

Here it is:

I love these cute little jars. And if you know me, I LOVE little jars. I'm thinking we could put candy in them, possibly a few with candles for those who don't eat candy.

Then here's this:

Similar, yes. But we could probably only fit candy... unless we got really clever. Oh! Maybe some flower seeds! I would end up tying a little navy ribbon around the top. Probably with the other glass jars too... just to be cute. (I know... I already mentioned the ribbon thing, but at least I'm not folding little plastic boxes on top of that!)

Those are my two ideas for favors that I like so far.
We wanted to find a topper of the Oquirrh Mountain temple, but they don't really make them. And I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars to have someone make one. And I don't really care for the people on top of the cake. We could always do flowers, but we could also do this:

Obviously not with "S & R" but you get the idea. We could have flowers on the cake... you get the idea.

In other words, we still have no idea what we're doing. But it's fun looking at things! Invitations are being ordered in a couple weeks. We'll send them out at the beginning of May. That means I should probably get crackin' on addresses and labels. Unless I print them directly on the envelope... hmm...
Again, no idea.

Thanks for listening to the rant.