I'm Going There Someday

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend an amazing fireside in the tabernacle on temple square. World renowned Dan Clark spoke inspiring and entertaining words while his daughter McCall and the adorable David Osmond sweetly serenaded us all night long. It was great, and I loved it.

However, that wasn't even the best part of the night. After the fireside, we (100's of YSA's) walked around the corner and down the block to a park near temple square where we ate our ice creams and practice our "Dating Technique" that we had learned from a dating coach the night before. But, even that free ice cream and flirting in the park was not the best part of the night.

My favorite part was simply walking from the tabernacle to the park and just taking it all in. We walked out of the Tabernacle past the Visitors Center, the gorgeous temple, the conference center . . . and then BAM the Church Office Building.

Oh it's beautiful. Oh I WILL work there one day. I'm SO close. SO close I can feel it. All those amazing buildings. The Church History Library, the Relief Society building, the Welfare building! I just want to spend all day everyday there in those beautiful buildings. And someday, someday soon. I will .

The Usual

Oh I have so much to say... but no pictures with which to share with you! My poor camera was forgotten in Rexburg about a month ago and I haven't document my time as a Utahn one bit because of it!

So please allow me to take this time to explain my weekly routine.... picture-less.

I wake up at around 7 and leave the house by 7:45 in order to get my roommate (Alise) to work on time. We work at the same place, but I don't have to be to work until 8:30, so I get to take that time in the morning to study my scriptures. It works out pretty good.

I'm then at work from 8:30 to about 5:30/6:00. I come home and Alise, Bridgette and I do an Insanity workout. It's 60-day insane work out program.. and we're on day 7! Woot woot!

Then, depending on which day it is, I do the following after my workout:

Monday: FHE
Tuesday: Online Class and Softball game
Wednesday: Ward Activity/ So You Think You Can Dance (This is my only free night of the week)
Thursday: Institute
Friday and Saturday are left open for dates and fun, and so far I haven't really had one single weekend that wasn't loaded with dates/fun! It's been great!

The moment I get home from one of my weekly activities, it's homework time. I am sooo anxious for the day when my online classes are over. Ohh how I have grown to dislike discussion boards and online meetings. Four more weeks!

I feel like I don't really have much free time, but I'm ok with that. It keeps me from idling away my time with nonsense. Which is good!

Today I thought to myself, I really like living in Utah! I really love my new friends and I love being busy. I love having TWO temples within my Stake boundaries (Does that not blow your mind?!?! TWO TEMPLES IN ONE STAKE!) I love the warm, yet not scorching weather. I love the opportunities to wander. (Remember my "Not all who wander are lost" post? I thought that I had grown out of that little quirk. Apparently not... I just wasn't allowed to wander in Peru, but now that I'm in Utah, I'm a full fledged wanderer again. I enjoy it so much!)

Also.. some exciting recent happenings. This weekend was the YSA summit. Pretty much a giant youth conference for YSA's. John Bytheway, Sherri Dew and Dan Clark spoke to us and we were treated to several gorgeous musical numbers featuring David Osmond, Jessie Clark Funk, Sue Gray and more. It was a        good time for sure. Lots of new friends made, and a couple of those "Ah-hah!" moments realized.

It was also one of those weekends that desperately makes you not want to have to go back into work on Monday. But it must be done!

Ciao Chirimoya!
Love, Noelle

A Lousy First... Probably a Last

I NEVER write missionaries. Never, ever, ever. I even dated a boy before his mission and the moment he left, he never heard from me again. I simply refuse. I've had tons and tons of really great guy friends go...and come home, without me ever sending a single letter.

Well, there's this one boy...

And I've written him literally dozens of letters since he's been gone. The thing is... I just never get around to sending them. Part of it is laziness (since he's out of the country and you have to go to the post office and get special stamps), but most of it is that I just don't like the idea of writing missionaries, even just as friends. I don't know why really.

Well this boy has less than two months out in the field, and I am absolutely ECSTATIC for him to come home and be my best friend again.  Seriously you guys, just thinking about Fall semester makes me so happy. So, in all my excitement, I wrote this boy a letter.. and I sent it!! The first missionary letter I have EVER written and sent EVER!

Well today I got a reply back! And now I know why people write to missionaries. It's SO fun to get a letter in the mail. I was seriously so giddy when I saw it in the mailbox, and I didn't even know who it was from yet!

Sorry it's blurry, cell phone pic!

And so I raced to my bedroom, through off my backpack and purse and delved into this letter. It started off great! So great! Lot's of memories and inside jokes remembered, and some great news about the mission. And then I turned over the page and read the following:

"And now, in other news... I am actually not returning to Rexburg... I'm headed to USU with my little brother in Logan"

What the heck!?!? Since when??? Oh my gosh, I was so angry when I read that. What is he thinking?? Not returning to Rexburg after the mission? Seriously, who does that?I kept waiting for the "HA! Just kidding!" or "Fooled you - of course I'm coming back to Rexburg!" Punch line (I seriously read that paragraph over and over again and even checked the margins, waiting for the punch line) but it never came. He's serious!

Aalskjfd;a. So disappointing I assure you. Now, I know what this sounds like, but I assure you I have no intentions of dating this boy, so wipe that little whimsy off your mind at this time because that's not why I'm disappointed. I'm just bummed that I won't get to have my best friend back in two months because of some stinkin' Utah school. Lame.

Alas, my lesson was learned. Don't write missionaries. Once was enough for me!

Love, Noelle

Attack of the Misses

 Oh my gosh you guys.

Don't ever go through all your old pictures when you have just moved to a new place, with a new job, all new friends and absolutely nothing familiar. (Well I guess I've been here for over a month, and I do like it here, and I don't feel like "the new girl" anymore, but my roots aren't in very deep yet)

You know how awful it is to miss something don't you? Of course you do, we all do.
It all started with Peru. It always does.

I miss everything about Peru. I miss my ninos. I miss the crowded combis and dirty micros. I miss the kind, amazing examples of Liz and Miguel, I miss having a little brother Aleksi. I miss going to Mamitas for lunch and going on bike rides and hikes in the mornings. I miss coming down the hill into work late, and having dozens of beautiful Peruvian children rushing up the hill to greet me with a warm hug and kiss on the cheek. I miss having those same kids throw rocks at my window and yell out my name as they pounded on our door, begging us to come down and play with them.
I miss the food, tummy-aches and all. I miss the struggle of learning the language and the laughs that came when trying to communicate. I miss the sweet spirit that was felt in our little branch. I miss the cheap fruit and fresh bread. I miss Breet and Abi. I miss my friends, my peruvian family.

I miss it so much that it hurts. I don't think I've ever been as happy as I was while in Peru. Bliss. Joy. Love. It was so backwardsly perfect. And now I've got myself frustrated. Why did I go? Why did I let myself fall in love with the culture, the people, everything about Peru?  Why did I let myself get so attached to those sweet, beautiful children? Why aren't I there right now, reading to them? Playing Simon says with them?  You get the point. I'm dying over here, missing the life I left behind. SO, SO badly.

So I think to myself, ok Noelle. Don't dwell on this. Happy thoughts. So I start to go through older pictures. And I begin to see pictures like this ...

And as if missing Peru wasn't enough... the waterworks are surely in full force after 20 minutes of perusing through pictures like these. Pictures STUFFED to the brim with misses that I dearly and truly miss!

Oh how I love these ladies!

Love, Noelle

Sometimes...

Sometimes it's sunny and gorgeous outside on Sunday mornings and I get to bask in its glory before church.

Sometimes I buy $3 dollar shirts at Walmart, because I'm cheap and trying to save up my money for a great adventure...but I'm still a girl who needs that shopping fix every once in a while

Sometimes my coworkers bring me this goodness in a can because they know I love Peru! And then ALL the time I get sad because of how much I miss that place. SO SO SO much.

Sometimes I go to the store and come back with 4 jars of Salsa... I couldn't decide on a flavor. Sometimes I think Garlic and Lime is gross and I'm sticking with my pineapple mango.

Sometimes I go running at Daybreak lake in the mornings and find my favorite flower... dandelions. Lots of times I try and figure out how it would be possible to have a wedding bouquet of dandelions. Suggestions appreciated ;)

Sometimes I decide that it's about time I learn to french braid hair... this is my first attempt.

Sometimes I go to Kohls during my lunch break and try on floppy hats... because I think every girl should have a floppy hat.

Sometimes I go to Foot Locker and find shoes like these on sale of $30 bucks and think, "What the!?!?! That's like 90 soles!"

Sometimes I have to give a talk in church and can't decide what to wear...

Sometimes my phone takes nice pictures like these at Daybreak. I love those giant dandelions!!!

And sometimes, while I'm at a show, I get a picture message from my best friend Taryn that looks like this. And then I squeal and try so hard to contain my excitement!!!

And sometimes I really, really miss having a camera, because all of these were taken on my cheap cellular and don't look very nice.  Blogging without a camera is tough stuff!

Love, Noelle

Bitten By the Brittany Bug

Flash back to Peru 5 months ago. One minor, humorous detail of our expedition was that every night, Abigail and I would lay in bed for hours before we fell asleep. Sometimes we'd talk, sometimes we'd just lay there, shivering, and occasionally I'd lay in bed and watch Abigail as she'd hear a strange noise and then hop out of bed and dart to the window, keeping watch in sheer terror.

 Either way, Brittany was the same every night. We'd have our family prayer, tuck ourselves into our beds and we'd lie there for a minute or two before Abigail or myself would pose a question or a thought that we were thinking about. "Isn't Luz Elena's hair gorgeous?" "Do you think Herman reads our blogs?" "Did you hear that so and so is engaged!" "What are we doing here?" "I've worn this shirt everyday for the past 4 days." You know… things like that.

 If Abigail posed the question, I would answer....and If I posed the question, Abigail would answer. Brittany never asked nor answered because that girl can fall asleep in 30 seconds flat. It was seriously unbelievable. We could not comprehend how it took at least 45 minutes of lying in bed before Abigail and I even started drifting off, while Brittany was out literally the moment her head hit the pillow. She missed out on some great late night talks and some even greater late night scares, but oh how jealous I was of her when our early morning runs came around. Her alarm would go off and I'd dig deeper into my covers as she energetically popped out of bed and dragged us out with her.

Well something happened during my last week in Peru. This was our travel/site seeing week . Starting that week, I caught the Brittany bug… and I still have it!

This was one of the places that we stopped and visited.. I'm sure it was awesome... but all I remember is getting woken up from my nap on the bus, then getting back on the bus and falling right asleep. Whatever we did in between my naps...kinda fuzzy.

 I had it bad that last week, every single time my head hit a pillow, or even if I was sitting upright in a bus/train/plane seat, I was out in a matter of minutes….even if I wasn't even tired! I slept . And slept. And slept, no matter how uncomfortable I was. I'd sleep for hours during the day as we'd travel from site to site, and then arrive at my hotel room that night and slept the entire night there too. I have never slept more in my entire life than I did on that week….my week of vacation. What shocked me most is how quickly I'd fall asleep. I've always been the, "in bed by midnight, asleep by 1:30am" kind of girl. So the fact that I no longer had that 45+ minutes to just think and contemplate lifes mysteries, was so odd.

On a short train ride traveling through the beautiful Andes mountains on our way to the town of Machu Picchu. Breet and Avi took hundreds of  gorgeous pictures of the amazing scenery we passed through... I slept the entire way.

 Well I thought it might be just an end of the trip, "finally catch up on the hours and hours of sleep you've been deprived of while in Peru" kind of thing… but I still have it!

I turn out the lights, hop into bed and then BOOM! I'm out like a like. I remember up at school (specifically while rooming with Shae in Fall 2010) I'd listen to the clock as it would tick with every second. I'd count those ticks until I lost count and then I'd start over and count again. This is the only way I could get my mind to stop anticipating/wondering/ worrying/ stressing/ thinking/contemplating/ imagining etc. and actually fall asleep.

The other night I hopped into bed and remembered that practice, and began counting. I probably got no further than 20 before I was out for the night.

I'm finally getting a glimpse into what I couldn't comprehend with Brittany. I have no idea why all of a sudden I'm a pro-sleeper. Maybe I grew out of my other sleeping habits, or maybe I did just get bitten by the Brittany bug. Either way, I'm not complaining!

Love, Noelle

What Are You Eating?! | ABC Food

I get that question quite a bit believe it or not. My poor roommates have had to endure all sorts of sights and smells that come from the kitchen when I'm preparing my daily substance.

It's mainly because I have a theory:

"If I like Food A and I like Food B, and I like Food C, I will most definitely like Food ABC."

I have tried and tested that theory countless times, and have yet to prove it wrong.

I also only prepare food for myself that is relatively-
                                                                             1. Cheap 
                                                                             2. Healthy 
                                                                             3. Quick and Easy.

Those are my main stipulations and I've been able to stick to them pretty well. I'm a $10 a week on groceries kind of girl. That being the case...I've come up with some pretty crazy concoctions (ask my roommates, they will testify). I like to keep my meals simple, cheap and not loaded with fat or sugar.

Tonight's dinner was a perfect example of this and my theory. Observe:

Food A | Peach Pineapple Chipotle Salsa

FREE: Left over from my work off-site cabin trip

 Food B | Guacamole

FREE: Raided from my parent's fridge

 Food C | Tuna 

59cents 

So I combined 3 foods that I simply adore and made....

Food ABC

And I ate it with chips (which I also got for free)

And I ate every bite and loved every bite and was sad when I ate the last bite. But I was out of tuna and couldn't make more... So I swapped out Food C (Tuna) for a new Food C: Swiss Cheese!

And I made Nachos!

So there you have it. My cheap, quick/easy and relatively healthy ABC food meal.

And I really, really liked it... so I had to document it so that I can remember it and for sure make it again. Mmmm!

Love, Noelle

When Dandelion Wishes, Magic 8 Balls and Shooting Stars Just Aren't Doing the Trick...

Background:

I read the following status from my friend Brendan Clary on FB on Thursday:

"Alma 32 in light of dating, true love, and celestial marriage. Wow."

 I was very familiar with Alma 32 but had never read it in said light. So I was intrigued and decided that on Saturday afternoon, I was going to go sit in a park somewhere and read Alma 32 in light of dating....whatever that meant.

Well Saturday came and Saturday went, and I still had yet to read it.

So Sunday morning comes and I am getting ready for church when I decide to check and see if Sister Bolton has updated her blog recently, because I was "yearnin' for some learnin'" (name that movie). And lo and behold, she had indeed updated it that very morning. To my great astonishment, and true delight, she had written a beautiful post on none other than... you guessed it, Alma 32 specifically in regards to courtship and dating. I couldn't believe it! Just three days earlier Brendan had mentioned the same thing. Clearly I needed to read this chapter As soon as I finished that post, I grabbed my scriptures a journal and a blanket and headed out to find a calm and quiet place to delve into this sucker.

And delve I did. Wow. That chapter will never be the "faith" chapter or the "seed/testimony" chapter ever again. Wow, Wow, Wow, WOW! Go read it. NOW!

Now, to be honest, I was kind of skeptical at first. I have classified myself into a "unique" dating situation for the time being, one that I haven't really been in before, so I figured that whatever was in that chapter probably would apply to your average, true-love seeking YSA, but it probably wouldn't apply one bit to my situation. 

Guess again girlfren. 

I'm pretty sure that this chapter, with all of it's ins and outs and parallels can and will apply to you no matter what stage of dating you are in.

So if you're a YSA and you're trying to figure out how to no longer be a YSA, this chapter is your golden ticket. Dandelion wishes are one of my favorite things in the whole-wide-world, but you can't wish your way to the temple. This chapter is golden, the perfect dating handbook. 

So um... what are you still doing here? Go! Read Alma 32 and get to work. And if you're still not convinced, check out Sister Bolton's post here. Then go read and let me know what you find!

Happy Sabbath,

Love, Noelle

An Apple A Day

Ok, lets be frank here. Apples are a boring fruit. Nobody gets excited when mom brings home a bag of apples from the store. Raspberries? Yes. Mangoes? Yes. Kiwi? For sure. Apples? Not even close.

And to be honest, the only time I'm really happy to see an apple is when it looks like this:

Claire and I interrupting Keri's Halloween date. Sorry love, it had to be done.

Fall 2010 

Oh yeah. Smothered in ooey-gooey, "I'm so going to rip your teeth out" caramel. Without that goodness, apples just don't make the cut, on my list anyway. Until about a month ago....

So I'm on this date, driving around town and somehow fruit gets brought up. Amongst this conversation my date made mention of how he eats at least one apple everyday. Now, we all know the age old adage, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" but nobody in their right mind would seriously eat an apple a day! Well he really did.... and now I really do!

I was immediately intrigued. I wonder if I would be less likely to get sick if I simply ate one apple a day. I've only being faithful for one whole week now (the beginning was kinda rocky...). That my friends is 7 apples down in one week. I'm pretty sure that in the entire year of 2011, I only ate 6 apples. So this is quite the feat. And it's only been a week, but so far, I'm feelin' good! I just picked up 7 more Pink Ladies from the store last night, so I'm all set for week two. 

But I need your help. What apples are your favorite? I could not believe how many different kinds there are.
First I got Fuji cause they were cheap. . . they're ok, but not like WOAH BABY! I'm pretty pleased with my Pink Ladies, but I'm definitely open for suggestion. Just no Red Delicious. Bleck. I think that's why I am so turned off to apples. Bad childhood memories perhaps.

And just in case you were curious, here are a few apple gems that I have found that give me inspiration:

Apples are... 

"Low in calories. A regular size apple has between 70-100 calories. Eating an apple when craving for candy or chocolate can make the desire disappear since apple in itself contains sugar, but gives you only ¼ of the calories."

"Apples contain phenols, which have a double effect on cholesterol. It reduces bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol. They prevent LDL cholesterol from turning into oxidized LDL, a very dangerous form of bad cholesterol which can be deadly."

"Prevent tooth decay. Tooth decay is an infection that seriously damages the structure of your teeth, which is caused primarily because of bacteria. The juice of the apples has properties that can kill up to 80% of bacteria. So there you have it, an apple a day also keeps the dentist away!"

"Prevent Cancers. Notice the plural. We all know that cancer comes in several forms and in different places. Apples target multiple cancers such as colon cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer in women." 

These and many more fun apple health facts can be found here.

Also, quick sidenote.. I ran my very first official 5K race this morning! I got a free t-shirt, granola bars and everything. Wahoo!

Here's to a fruitful week!

Love, Noelle