Soaking Wet

I am not really a fan of getting wet.  When Suzy organized an intramural 'inner tube water polo' team, I opted to 'coach' rather than play.  It was a lot of fun going to the games and watching the team improve.  I'm sure they owe all their success to my abilities as a motivational speaker and my water polo strategical prowess.  I really do have a gift.

Team picture before one of their last games.

On the night of the last game, I was also able to cross a goal off the Day Zero list: jump into a body of water fully clothed.  Although I would be lying if I said I enjoyed the experience, it's always good to do hard or unpleasant things, right?  My roommate Annie jumped in with me for moral support.

Soaking wet and glad that goal is done :)

A First Time for Everything!

Today after work Suzanne and I went running.  When I got home from running, I had no real plans aside from making dinner and doing some homework.  When we walked in the door, Annie was sitting at the table with her computer.  Her hair hung long to the middle of her back.

And I suddenly had a plan.

So I asked her if she had ever considered cutting her hair to her shoulders.  To my surprise, she said that the thought had crossed her mind yesterday, but she didn't really feel like paying for a haircut....

So I volunteered my services, free of charge.  Problem solved.  

Tonight, spur-of-the-moment, before she had a chance to think about it and change her mind, I grabbed a pair of hair scissors from a neighbor, washed her tresses in the sink, and cut off around eight inches of Annie's hair.

Best idea I had all day :)

Apartment 5 Goes on a Date

Tonight my roommates and I all went on a date.  We took our dates to Temple Square to walk around and see the lights.  It was so pretty. I really love Christmas lights.

After Temple Square, we brought our dates back to our apartment and made gingerbread houses.  I think they turned out pretty good!

I am Grateful for my Roommates

I am so grateful for the girls that I live with because

*They are tidy
*They are sweet
*They like to be silly
*They have beautiful testimonies and live the gospel standards
*They look after each other
*They all put up with me
*They are beautiful

Merry Christmas Apartment 5!

Last night was the first evening that all my roommates were home since Thanksgiving break, so it was officially time to decorate for Christmas.  We pooled all our decorations and innovations as we sung Christmas songs and decked the halls well into the night.

Several weeks ago, snowflake production began on Sunday afternoons.  Our kitchen ceiling now rivals any winter wonderland, as it it thoroughly bedecked with the paper creations.  

Frannie is looking festive.  Our little tree twinkles with holiday cheer.  The stockings are hung on our wall with care, and Annie is currently on the lookout for some mistletoe to hang.  Even the refrigerator is happy that Christmas is coming.  

Home Sweet Apartment

A few photos of my apartment.  It's not much, but for now it's home!

My Bedroom

The Living Room

Frannie the Flamingo

Out with the Old...

Fall is here and it's a new semester. This fall is a little bit different, a little bit special compared to past falls--it's my last fall semester as an undergraduate. And in case anyone was wondering if I'm feeling excited about graduating:

Yes, that is a paper chain counting down the days to my graduation hanging from my ceiling. And to my sophomore roommates who laughed at it's length, please remember that yours would be three times longer.

This semester I am taking some really  interesting classes.  Probably the best thing about being so far along in my major is being done with all the prerequisites and classes that aren't as pertinent to physiology.  I am taking mostly science classes this semester:  Genetics, Human Embryology, Advanced Cell Biology, a Physiology Seminar and my Physiology Capstone.  These are a few of my books:

I'm also taking a Humanities class (my last GE!)

Another new change in my life was pretty bittersweet: my trusty laptop companion of the last 3+ years officially kicked the bucket about a week and a half ago. I loved that little guy, and while it's always fun to get new toys I feel a little sad when I use my new computer. That's just life I guess.

My Year of Weddings

I think I probably hold some kind of BYU record. I married off five roommates in one year. From December to December, Shauntelle, Sandee, Julie, Kory and Caitlin all tied the knot. They were all beautiful brides.

GLEE!

I have a roommate named Jennifer. She is so great.

One day we were bored between dinner and family home evening...so we watched an episode of the TV show "Glee" that she had on her computer.

My life will never be the same. It's hilarious, weird, awkward, and full of great musical numbers. My entire room is now so hooked on "Glee" that we spend inordinate amounts of time contriving ways to get our hands on more episodes [Hulu doesn't work in the UK.]

I felt like no account of my life in London would be complete without making some mention of this habit that we just can't kick.

And now if you'll excuse me...I'm off to download episode seven...

Last Night Living With Sandee

On August 21, 2009 one of my very best friends got married in the Bountiful Utah Temple. She was an absolutely beautiful bride. Congratulations Matt, you are one lucky guy. The last night that Sandee and I lived together as roommates, it poured! We decided to have one last hurrah before she moved, so we ran through puddles until we were both soaked. Afterwards we went to the store to rent a movie and buy a dozen doughnuts. Hooray for college, doughnuts, and amazing roommates. Love you Sandee!

Late-night Milkshakes

Why is it that we are drawn to food that is bad for us? What is it about fat and grease that makes it so hard to resist? Like ice cream? It's just sugar mixed in frozen milk fat... Or French fries? Potatoes are hardly nutritious in the first place, but then we slice and fry them in hot oil until all that is left is a crunchy exterior coated in vegetable fat.

As I ponder the food that I enjoy eating--the food that makes me feel good when I'm sad and the food that I crave when I'm hungry--it's really just all different flavors of fat. The 'healthy' food that I do enjoy, like salad for instance, I first adulterate by adding fat to it...probably so I won't overdose on good-for-me.

Every now and then I make a goal to eat healthier, but then I remember that I like junk food. And besides, I'll only be young [with a fast metabolism] once...so why not make the most of it?

You know what's really good is when you dip your fries in your ice cream...

Pi Day

Have you ever wondered about those guys like Archimedes? You know those guys who had enough time and energy to do enough math problems that they found random patterns... like for instance, the circumference of a circle is always 3.1415926535… times the length of its diameter. Or like Newton...the guy who invented calculus...I have a hard enough time learning calculus; it is completely beyond me how one would go about inventing it. [Newton also discovered gravity...but it's a bit mystifying to me that no one noticed it until the 1600s... How can you not notice gravity?]

Today [3.14] is 'pi day' in honor of Archimedes and his accomplishments...or maybe just because pie tastes good and we all look for excuses to indulge ourselves as often as possible. Whatever the reason, I am making a peach and raspberry pie tonight, and it is going to be delicious!

So...now I have a blog...

I went to a baseball game tonight with Julie. We froze for almost four hours in the stands...but there really isn't anything quite like the All-American Pastime, so it was completely worth it.

After the game, we came home and drank hot chocolate down in our room. We were talking about how nice it would be to have a place to just write down thoughts and opinions...so we made blogs. Now we both feel pretty legit.

I never thought I would do this, because I don't really have anything that interesting, insightful, or important to say. My musings might be mundane, but they are my own and now I have a place to share them.