2011...looking back :)

let's see...in 2011, I....

*started back up at BYU (after a 21 month hiatus) to finish my master's degree

*moved in with total strangers that became great friends :)

 Stephanie, Mandy, and Chelsea

*ran a 10k, 3 half marathons, and a 5k!

*flew to San Antonio to see the Bosters twice! the 2nd time around I got to meet my niece Ella Bay :)

*took a trip to Baltimore, MA with the lab to present my research

*witnessed my little brother receive his endowment in the Salt Lake Temple...first time the whole family got to go together!

*said goodbye to Josh for 2 years! lucky mexico :)

*went to Abby's graduation!

*played with the fam a lot :)

*shipped my parents off to the MTC and then to SIBERIA

*bought a laptop

*fell in love....with skype ;-)

*decided to switch to the PhD program and got accepted

*took pretty pictures of cells (at BYU and UC Irvine)

*had way too much fun in my lab

*went to a lot of free stuff with steph...

*pierced my ears!

*let go of some things :)

*passed my prospectus defense!

*moved into a cute townhouse and made some new friends!

*was reunited with mission friends (including reunions, a roadtrip back to SEATTLE, a trip to california to see Diane, skype sessions with asia, and other fun times)...

*and other dear friends!

*made a lot of mistakes, felt lonely at times, got frustrated with myself, had financial worries and learned how expensive adulthood is (but of course spent way too much money on country music on itunes), and was once again reminded life doesn't always go as planned! yet still genuinely happy. how?

*missed the parents A LOT, but grew closer as a family!

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES 2011!

story time!

Once upon a time...

there was a girl...

she was short...

and she was in southern california during finals week!

She got to play with her friend diane...

it was heaven...

 reminiscing, garage saling (how DO you spell that?), amazing race watching, salvation army shopping, giant wicker giraffe purchasing, christmas party going, pride and prejudice watching, steve guttenberg getting his star on the hollywood walk of fame watching, convertible riding, napolean dynamite meeting, pretzel buying and eating, more chatting, good food eating, bush family partying (sequence whooping), towel animal making, chatting, temple going, and friendship cherishing :)

Next she was off to UC Irvine for some experiments for her dissertation...

(she was a nerd).

She got a hotel room all to herself with a sitting area...

a kitchen area...

and three sinks!

She took BEAUTIFUL pictures of her little cells...

as they died...

tragic deaths.

Then all too fast it was thursday night...

and she had a take-home final due on friday!

She had big plans...

to start working on it right after she got back to the hotel that night...

but of course she had delicious take-out from a mexican restaurant that she had to eat first.

And of course she'd worked hard all day...

and deserved to watch a movie...

JUST while she ate...

right?

So she put on a chick flick...

one she'd never seen before...

and it sucked her in...

long after her dinner was gone.

But it was going to be worth it...

right?

Then all of a sudden...

the male lead...

realized he really DID love the girl...

and was going to chase her...

and win her back.

But first he took a boat ride...

and a storm came up...

and he saw a family shipwrecked...

so of course, he being the male lead in a chick flick...

jumped out of his boat to save them.

AND HE DIED.

YES....HE DIED.

And then this short girl in california....

she cried...

yes...embarrassing as it is...

she cried.

And then the movie ENDED.

And our little friend realized...

she still had a final due tomorrow...

and the chick flick was NOT worth it...

and then she blogged about it...

instead of getting right to work.

See, our little friend is kind of dumb sometimes.

THE END.

guess what?

I JUST PASSED MY PROSPECTUS DEFENSE!! now bring on california :) (after i finish a paper, a take-home test, and an assignment...but hey a lot closer than i was!)

content :)

i am currently finishing my prospectus presentation for my defense tomorrow...kind of stressful... BUT something about studying with a christmas tree makes it all better :) i love twinkle lights!

victory!!

my written prospectus is now D-O-N-E.  :) relief.  now i just have to prepare my presentation for the defense...

randoms

after eating waffles, cleaning my whole house, and rocking out to awesome music while doing so... i am sitting down to finish my prospectus!!! i will not get up until it's done.  i knew if i committed on the internet i had to do it right?? right. i'm sure there will be a celebratory post coming shortly (well maybe not shortly...but eventually ha!)