Ask BYU-I

I love my job. I love my job so. so. so much.

Partly because I love what I do.

But mostly because I love who I do it with.

Check us out.

Aren't they the biggest goobs you have ever seen?

We had an awesome chip and dip party this week. So. Much. Fun.

We love each other and look dang good in uniform!

Our event of the semester, the Lost and Found sale!

I seriously couldn't ask for smarter, kinder, funnier coworkers.  I work for three hours every morning, but come back and spend every other ounce of my free time at work just because I want to be with these people.

I love them!

More blog posts to come about work I'm sure!

Run, Run, Run as Fast as you can!

Year two of the Temple to Temple Relay:

Check!

This great tradition was started when our fearless team captain (Shae Hildreth) put together a stellar team of women who just so happen to be some of my best friends! We had SO much fun and although we hadn't trained, nor were conditioned, we took second place in the women's division! Not bad for not even trying :)

Team Be Somebody: Taylor, Claire, LeeAnn, Shae, Noelle, Brittany, Marquee, Kim

This year, we had to switch things up a bit as half our team got married (not that that makes a difference:) but they were MIA.

So I took up the title of team captain and recruited a few newcomers.

Before: Rexburg Temple

Again, it was SUCH a blast. We had so much fun rocking out to tunes, cheering on the sidelines, pigging out on trail mix and granola bars and running our little hearts out.

 I was so impressed with our team who ran the entire 37+ miles in under 5 hours!

That's an average of a 7:45 minute mile.

CRAZY FAST!

Still looking good in IF

Out of 91 teams, we came in 5th in our division. Not bad!

Team Be Somebody: Greg, Kimithy, Ric, Me, Dallin, Jordan, Abigail and April

It was seriously, SO fun and it felt good to be out there running again. If you ever get a chance to do the Temple-to-Temple. You simply must! You won't regret it :)

Love, Noelle

TBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Everytime I login to "mybyui" student page, I am rudely interrupted and informed with a ginormous blaring sign that says something along the lines of: 

Dear Noelle, 

The very second you so much as step foot in Rexburg, you had better beeline your little patootie over to the Health Center for a TB test. This is due to the fact that you left the continent and exposed yourself to all sorts of foreign diseases.

I get light-headed even just thinking about TB tests. :(

As terribly unhappy as I am about this…. You were worth it Peru!

After a brisk morning run to Llancanora waterfalls

 So worth it.

Love, Noelle
  

First the Worst, Second the Best

I had a lot going for me last Fall semester. Because of that ... I was confident. I think that that confidence is one of the main factors that played into my dating life that semester. It was ridiculous. There was one month where I averaged 3 dates a week for the entire month. It was a really busy semester, but the dates were not in short supply.

 I was loving it and annoyed with it at the same time. I was getting ready to leave for Peru, and due to my internship which started right when I returned back to the states, I knew I wouldn't be back at school for a long, long time. So serious dating wasn't really in my game plan. With that stress off my back, I was able to have fun dating.  Now that I'm totally telling all in my blog (ok not ALLLL), I decided I can put in some of those first date stories. So we'll start with one Saturday in November.

This is a Saturday I will never forget because it started with THE WORST date of my life, and ended with one of the funnest first dates of my entire dating career (yup, two dates in one day... I told you it was getting out of control).

So I won't go into detail with that first date, I couldn't talk about it for a long time without cringing .... eeeeek. But I'll leave you with a little picture so that those of you who do remember can have a good laugh.

Anyways... later that night, I went on a date with a boy named Dan. Here's how I met said Dan.

I am a devotional usher. This means that I get to stand in the aisle ways an hour before devotional begins and reverently welcome  students and staff alike to devotional. That's literally all I do and I absolutely love it. Well one Tuesday afternoon, I was in my post, welcoming people into devotional when a group of three young men came my way. The first was a boy named Matt whom I had recently met at one of my brother's Classy  parties. I said hi to Matt and he introduced me to his two friends, Dan and Daniel.  About eight minutes after my encounter with Matt and his two Dan's, I hear a "Noelle?" and I turn to find that one of those Dan's had come back to find me.

"Hey Dan, what can I do for ya?"

He then proceeded to ask me on a date for that following Saturday.  (See I told you devotional ushering pays off!)

Anyways so off on a date we went and it was so fun!

  

First off, beforehand, Dan told me that I needed to wear an ugly sweater and long socks (it was winter time, so this was not an unusual request… ok it's kind of unusual). Since I didn't really know this boy, and I didn't know what to expect  in a date with him, this request was comforting. It showed me that he wasn't "too cool" to be silly and that he was fun and outgoing, so I played right along.

So he picks me up and we mash into a car with two other couples. (I loooove group dates!) and we meet up with another couple at the Benson building on campus.  For the date, they had PVC pipes that were maybe 3 feet long. They also had nerf gun bullets (some of which had velcro on the ends). They told us that we were going to use them like blow dart guns and shoot at each other.

We split up into teams, and loaded up with bullets and ran throughout the halls looking for a place to hide. This was war! Dan and I hid in a little foyer that had a section of large plants. We waited for our unsuspecting prey to come into sight. As soon as they did, we were ready with our PVC pipe and bullets. Crouched in the bushes, we'd load up our pvc pipes with the nerf bullets and use them like blow darts as our prey would approach. It was like we were in the jungle.

Once our location was compromised, we'd up and run through the hallways, risking our lives and our liberty as open fire broke out all around us. 

Oh my goodness, it was so much fun. I didn't know any of the people that I was there with, but we had SO much fun. We got caught by a security guard (of course) but he was super chill and didn't kick us out! He just laughed at us and let us keep playing.

We then went to the MC and played around some more. Seriously it was so much fun. Because of that first date, Dan was one of the few men that semester that I actually agreed to go on a second date with.

Guess what guys, it was a totally free date too! No dinner was needed, we didn't need to go get ice cream after wards. It was just straight up, reusable, clever fun. 

Now that I think about it, I'm going to have to make my own pvc blow dart guns... those paired up with all those sets of rollerblades I have... oh yes.

Love, Noelle

Peru-nions

Have I mentioned lately how much I adore this girl?

Oh annnd don't even get me started on this gorgeous girl.

Blog, meet two of the ladies who have changed my life. Brittany Nicole Meyer and Abigail Anna Tucker.

I finally got to see them again after one whole month without them. We talked, laughed, reminisced, and got close to tears in Relief Society as Brit bore her testimony of the power of prayer and how we relied on it just about every second of every day in Peru. Or as I hugged Abi goodbye  with no promise of seeing her anytime soon.

But we did enjoy ourselves, we did. I made plans to rollerblade to the park with Abi, so as I was walking over to Clark apartments to meet her there to pick up our blades , I passed by a group of students who had just gotten back from backpacking… and then I spotted it. The green beanie and greyish jacket that had wandered the streets of Peru many of times. There was Brittany, right in the Stadium parking lot. She didn't see me so I snuck up on her and oh was she surprised to see me! Gosh I loved it. She had some studying to do and some showering to attend to, so I carried on with my venture to Clark to reunite with Abigail. And there she was, waiting for me with open arms. So I got to see them both  that day and catch up just a bit.

After one month back in the states

Sunday, things got good. We made plans to all attend Brittany's ward together. (Which just so happened to be my old ward, imagine my delight!  I had no idea and loooved being able to see so many people that I knew and loved!) After attending our meetings together for 3 straight months in Peru, it was magical to attend our meetings together for the first time in English! So great.

Side note that I don't want to forget but I'm not sure if it's appropriate to put on a blog: The sacrament was passed to me and I reached for a cup, but switched to a different one because I noticed floaties in the first cup. I then passed the tray to Brittany who unknowingly went straight for the floatie cup. By the time she had it in her hand and out of the tray… she noticed the floaties, but there was no turning back. So she looked at it good and hard… and then  drank it, floaties and all.  I turned to her and whispered "Boy Scout" (Only 3 of you reading this will get that.) But we just about died. So funny. But don't worry, we laughed about it afterwards, we tried very hard to be reverent at the time of the hilarity  :)

We then enjoyed a lovely Sunday School lesson together and then made our way to Relief Society where I was reunited with some love button friends that I just adore.  Next came our true blue Peru-nion. We went up to a grassy spot at the temple (surrounded by 100's of swarming bee's… esta bien!" and ate ourselves a little picnic with a few of our Peruvian favorites. We had wraps, cancha (peruvian… kind of popcorn stuff), apple slices and Peruvian "Mint Casino" cookies. Twas a feast fit for Las Tres Gringas.

Unfortunately, after just one month our chaco lines are fading fast! But maybe that's a good thing :)

Quotes to remember:
"Did you see that guy milking his baby?"

" I know… I just want to find a guy who's not attracted to girls like me.." Oh goodness.

Words cannot express how grateful I am to have these two amazing women in my life.

 When Abigail and I reunited, Hank said, "Aren't you guys sick of each other?  You just spent 3 whole months completely together" Our answer was a resounding NO!  Thank goodness because I plan on having these two as best friends for many, many years to come.

BYU-Idaho: Chamber of Secrets

Seeing as I won't be returning to Rexburg for quite sometime (can you hear my heart-breaking?? Cause it is) I decided to make a list of things that I've discovered in the past 7 semesters that have made my time in Rexburg oh so incredibly enjoyable. If you or someone you know is going to school here, feel free to check out some of the lesser known, yet wonderful things that BYU-I has to offer. I've loved every single one of these, but... in the words of Lavar Burton..

You Don't Have To Take My Word For It!

Circuit Train in the Hart Gym
I discovered the circuit training area this semester (Thank you Hannah, Jenna and Michaela!) You can go do an intense full-body work out in less than a half hour. Prime.

Devotional Usher:
 I loved being an usher. I can't even really explain why. You get to devo early and get to listen to the musical number performers warm up. You get to see a million people that you know and love but wouldn't see otherwise. You get to meet new people and get asked out on dates by people you've never talked to before ;) You get first pick of any seat in the BYU-I center. You get to have a banquet at the end of the semester. You get to feel good about yourself for volunteering for a great cause. I love this and will do any and all other semesters I'm in Rexburg.
Homestead at least twice a month: 

 I feel like I'm beating a dead horse when it comes to this topic, but I can't say it enough. If you want to be happy and make someone else happy, GO TO THE HOMESTEAD. Just go. The hardest part is committing to going. I know we all have good intentions, but seriously...just do it. Make a plan and stick to it. It will be an hour out of your week that I guarantee you won't regret.


Weekly Temple Trip:The temple is so close. The blessings, peace and comfort that come from attending it are mind blowing. 

Magnify Your Calling: 
I learned this one this semester when I went from Relief Society President to Greeter. It doesn't matter what you are, just be a great one.

Customer Service Job


Get a job on campus where you help people. You meet people. For the AwkwardAwesome: Work Edition... go here.

Make Eye Contact and Smile at everyone you possibly can
What've you got to lose? For more on this.. go here.

If family is close by, take advantage of it

You're going to have them for forever, start getting to know and serving them now. Strengthen those relationships. Family Dinner November 2011

Get to know a man named Vince
He works in AV Productions. Just get to know him ok?

Be on Food Services SBOD

Of all my extracurricular/volunteer activities, this has been one of my favorites. Free Food? Ok!


Be involved in a sport. 
Any sport. Any league. Any aspect of the sport.

Make time to be in the I-center at least once a day.
 I'm going to miss this building so much. It holds the memories of some of my weakest moments and greatest successes.

Find out which Zumba teacher you like, and go every week.
Zumba is so fun. Take your roommates and go. You'll feel a lot less guilty about those 12 tubs of ice cream in your freezer :)

Serve your roommates.
It's great to serve random people, but serve, serve, serve your roommates.

Make at least one close friend in every single class you're in.
This always gave me that extra bit of motivation to actually go to class each day. It helped me look forward to class and if you do have to miss, you have a friend who'll let you know what you missed.

Get to know your Professors. 
This is crucial. These people are smart. They know people in high places. Let them get to know you.

Go to Nashville Nights and the Best Of show
Ok, why did I not go to Nashville Nights? A bunch of adorable cowboy wearing cowboy hats and boots while serenading us to "Crazy Girl", "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?" and more.. sign me up! The Best Of show is legit. I loved it.

Go Sledding at least once a week.
:) 
Hope this helps! Take care of my dear BYU-Idaho while I'm away!
 
Love, Noelle

Fall 2011: Meet The Roommates

Seven Semesters of living with five other women at Royal Crest apartment complex.

SEVEN SEMESTERS!
Can you believe it? Neither can I. I have had seven different sets of amazing roommates.

This semester was no exception. Allow me to introduce you to the five lovely ladies I've had the privelage of living with, learning from and loving this semester.

Pictured from left to right: Michaela, Jenna, Taylor, Hannah, Claire and Myself

Oh my goodness I love these ladies. Top notch in every way possible!  And aren't they cute??
At 20 years old, I was again the oldest in the apartment this semester, although sometimes that was not very obvious (surprise, surprise).

We've had roommate dinners, prayers, nights out on the town, slumber parties, birthday parties, trips to the Homestead, Christmas story readings, gift exchanges, long late night talks, serious "we need to work on this" talks, nights at the gym, and so much more.

They are so, so GOOD! I've learned muchas and muchas from their examples and have grown to love them dearly.

Thanks for giving me a perfect semester as far as roommates are concerned!

Want to meet my roommates for next semester???
Ok :) Meet Margie. We share a passion for brightly colored MuMu's.

Ha just kidding... although Margie is a doll, she won't be accompanying me to Peru next semester. But these lovely ladies will! This picture was taken during a Skype meeting with our adviser.

Meet the Roommates Winter 2012: Brittany Meyer and Abigail Tucker
I'm sure you'll be seeing lots more of these two! Be excited.. I sure am!

Grasshopper Mice

Remember this wallyball team from last winter?

      

Winter 2011 Grasshopper Mice: Claire, Matt, Travis and Blake. Not Pictured: Hannah Salmon

This is a grasshopper mouse.

Fall 2011: Claire, Noelle, Blake, Travis and Heidi

*












Love, Noelle

Last Friday Night

Ok so last night technically wasn't my "Last Friday Night" in Rexburg seeing as I'll be here next Friday as well, but next Friday night will be filled to the brim with work, packing and cleaning.

Can I please just say that I love the people of Rexburg so much, and I love BYU-Idaho more than I ever thought possible.

Here's what went down.

Wake up, circuit train at the gym, go to class, ace my Law and Ethics final.

Here's where it gets good:

I worked from 2-5 with Lyndi and Timber. In case you haven't heard, I love my job. I love everyone I get to work with. I never want to leave.

Ask BYU-I: Fall 2011

At six we had a Student Support work party catered by Texas Roadhouse. MMmmmm MMMMmmm Good! All my co-workers were there and let me tell you, we had a blast. We probably should have behaved a bit more maturely...but when we get together, it's a party. I kid you not. I walked out thinking, "Gosh I love these people, why am I leaving them??"

They loaded our plates up!

Then I went to the Best Of Show on campus with some of my favorite people. It made me fall in love with country music all over again and made me wish with every fiber of my being that I had an ounce of dancer's blood in me.

Speaking of which... I went to the Hart dance with even MORE of my favorite people. Every single time I turned around, I saw someone that I knew and loved. Again, I kid you not. That place was hoppin' (literally) with the Greats.

Despite the need I feel to be THEE most awkward dancer on the dance floor, I had so much fun and was able to see sooo many people that I'd been missing. And they didn't even judge me for my total lack of rhythm and grace.

I then stopped at a friends house where I randomly met a boy we'll call... Tim. He explained lots of things to me about a different boy that I had been oh so curious about. It was fantastic.

Just as I had walked into my own apartment to get ready for the bed, my ears were filled with the melodious tunes of bass and tenor voices serenading me outside my window with none other than, The First Noelle. A group of boys chancing the cold to come carol to me on their way home...? Yeah I'll take that!

Right after that, I headed down to 212 and watched Never Say Never, aka the Justine Bieber movie projected big screen onto the wall with some classy ladies. I'm by no means obsessed with the Biebs, but I dare you to not watch that movie and fall in love with him for the time that your watching the movie.

Oh what a glorious night. Thanks Rexburg. You've been grand.

Love, Noelle

Awkward and Awesome: Asking the Dad

I was walking through the i-center on Tuesday about an hour after devo when I saw/heard the following. 

Picture this: 

There was a gruff looking older man sitting next to a timid looking young man. I caught onto the conversation at this point:

Awkward
Young Man: "No, I'm not trying to steal your daughter away from your family." (frantic expression, short, anxious breaths) "What I really want is to become a part of your family."

At this point, I was captivated. I had to find out what the older gentleman was going to say!

Super Awkward
The old man took a deep breath and then paused for what felt like an eternity... no expression on his face.

Awesome
He then leaned over, patted the boys leg and said, "We want you to be apart of our family too."

I had no idea who this boy was, but it took every ounce of my will-power to refrain from cheering and jumping for joy. I was just so happy that he said yes!

After recounting this story to my roommates and various others who joined in my excitement for the young man, we had some meaningful conversation about the idea of asking permission from the dad.

Perhaps if my father had been consulted beforehand, this proposal would have never taken place :)

Some said it was old fashioned and that the dad didn't really have a say in who their daughter married, others found it romantic and adorable. Some said that they felt bad for whoever they married cause their dad would be tough to please. What are your thoughts?

Old fashioned? Adorable?
Awkward? Awesome?

Stories are more than welcome :)

Love, Noelle

Voice Of BYU-Idaho

My voice used to be a touchy subject for me. Some would tell me it was adorable while others would tease me because of how high it is. I used to say that if there was one thing about me that I could change, it’d be my voice.

Keep that in mind as I recount the following story:

A couple weeks ago, my boss approached me at work and said, “Noelle, how would you like to be the voice of BYU-Idaho?”

Me: “I’d love to! …. Wait, what does that even mean?”

Boss: “You’ll be the first voice that is heard whenever anyone, anywhere in the world tries to call BYU-Idaho.”

Me: (thinking of the high-pitched qualities of my voice, and not really thinking before speaking) Brother Degraw, have you heard my voice? It’s obnoxious!

Boss: Haha well we’ve all noticed how well you handle the phone lines and we all agree that you have a great phone voice, so we chose you.

Me: (baffled) Wow thank you! I’d love to!

Can I just say self-esteem boost times 1000?

Thank-you very much, I think I'll keep this voice of mine. It's going to be famous!

Love, Noelle

There's Gotta be Something in the Water

Or perhaps the boys just really took Sister Dalton's counsel to heart.

"Let’s just focus on getting dates. Dates for the purpose, of course, of finding an eternal companion, but let’s do first things first! Because you certainly can’t marry, and become parents of a beautiful family, unless you actually go on a date (probably a lot of dates). So let’s start there. I am going to suggest a structure change."

This is where that fabulous woman peeled a potato. A REAL IDAHO potato. Right there at the podium. I adore that woman. Apparently it had an affect on the gentleman of BYU-Idaho.

Good work boys, good work. I am thoroughly impressed. And thank you Sister Dalton!

Life is so good,

Love, Noelle

Grateful to Be a Girl

Girls are supposed to be good at multi-tasking right? It's one of those phenomenons that we have aquired while gentleman often struggle with it, yes?

Well in that case, it's a darn good thing that I'm a girl because if I was a boy I'd probably be falling apart right now :)

Currently (inclusive of the past 2 hours) I am:

Learning everything I can about CIT and Project Management for my internship
Practicing my Spanish and working on learning more
Brainstorming ideas of activities and projects to be done in Peru
Looking for housing for my internship
Trying to figure out how to pay for all of the aforementioned items
Considering taking on another job for the rest of the semester (it is a small one, but a job none the less)
Blogging
Working on a law and ethics test
Studying for a Middle East test
Putting together a proposal for a client
Writing a Human Interest piece for a newsletter
Putting together a Sunday school lesson plan
Trying to find a way to fly to my Thanksgiving destination rather than my 15hours in a car alternative
Trying to figure out how to be a better sister
Figuring out the ins and outs of my new laptop (I got a new laptop...eeeeek :)
Trying to figure out how I feel about certain boys, and how I don't feel about other boys
Hoping we win our Wallyball game tomorrow

I just might explode :)
Just kidding, life is so good.

And so is falling asleep after a day like today.
Goodnight all.
Love, Noelle

Help!

I've had the ingredients to make a pistachio pudding pie for the past six months (don't worry, none of which have expired :) The only thing keeping me from making this glorious dessert is the following fact:

I know I'll want to curl up, with the heater on, a good mystery novel, my favorite blanky and sit and eat the entire thing all by myself... in one sitting.

Now, I'm no expert on nutrition, but I'm willing to bet that that would do nothing for my figure. I'd probably feel sicknasty for the next two days straight,  so we can't let this happen, capeesh?

I believe this was National Potato Chip Day as well as National Pie Day AND National Pistachio Day. Not bad eh?

Last time we made it, I'm pretty sure Michael and I ate the entire thing all by ourselves in one day... whoops. We probably offered it to all in shouting distance, but not everyone likes pistachio pudding pie...right? So if you happen to delight in such culinary creations... come. Help me eat and enjoy this beast. Otherwise 'twill never be made. Which would be the shame of the century.

Iiiiiittttttt'sssssss time for pie :)

Love, Noelle

P.S. I'm sitting at work, looking out the MC windows, wondering, "what the heck is going on out there?"  Is that snow? Sleet? Hail? What ever it is, it looks dreadful... and makes me want to eat pistachio pie... and go sledding.

P.S.S Here's how I'm justifying eating pie today: today is 11.12.11 ...which is kind of like a palindrome (well, almost). And palindrome has the word pie in it... kind of. PalIndromE. Justified? I think yes.

We're Official :)

Let it be known that it all officially went down on 11-10-2011

a. I officially bought my non-refundable plane ticket to Peru.
b. I officially accepted a Project Manager internship position at LDS IT and Communication
c. My mind is officially blown.

This is really happening. My goals and dreams are now a reality. OH MY GOODNESS. Ok here's the whole story. Feel free to keep reading, but I don't blame you if you don't.... this is going to get kind of lengthy :)

a. See all my other posts about Peru for more info here. the non-refundable tickets were purchased today, so this is a done deal!

b. At the beginning of the semester we had a career fair on campus. I'm a junior and have been getting anxious about getting an internship before I graduate (a requirement for my major). So I attended in hopes to get the ball moving on some sort of internship. Secretly I wanted something super chill in Rexburg so I could stay here for my off-track and kill two birds with one stone. That would have been so easy and so comfortable.

Well, that night I took a shot in the dark and signed up for an interview with LDS Information Technology and Communication. In my mind I had worked up this plan in my mind here's what it consisted of:


I would spend my winter semester in Peru doing Humanitarian work, and then I would come home and spend my spring semester interning for the church. It just seemed so right!

Well, a couple hours before my interview I had a total melt down! I had told a few people about my plan to interview for this department of the church and they all asked, "Uhhh do you know anything about Information Technology?" My answer was of course no, and I began to feel so inadequate and so under-qualified. I even got on the computer and logged onto the website where I signed up for the interview and came THIS CLOSE to cancelling it. I was so discouraged!

Well after a chat with my dear mom, I decided to go for it anyways and give it all I got. So I did. The interview went well, I applied for a Human Resource internship, something I'm very interested in. Towards the end of the interview I was told that they'd like to interview me further for this position, but I had to understand that this was a one-year internship. I'd have to leave school for one whole year. ONE YEAR! That didn't feel right to me, so I asked if there was another position I could apply for. He told me to think about my decision for a few days and to let him know if I'd like to continue on with the interview process for human resource. He then directed me to the man in charge of interviewing for project, product and process management (at the time I had no idea what any of that meant :) So I did another interview right then for those internship positions.

I left the interviews feeling ok, but not very hopeful. It was a good experience, but I realized how under qualified I was. Two weeks later I received a phone call from the church's hiring department. They told me that they had two hiring managers who each wanted a follow-up telephone interview with me. So I set them both up and interviewed for them later that week. Holla

The first interview was for project management. Let's just say that it was 50 of the most vigorous, intense minutes of my life. When I hung up the phone, I seriously collapsed on my bed out of sheer exhaustion. It was not child's play that's for sure. At the end of the interview I was told that he was very confident in my communication skills and how well I handled the stressful situations he put me in (we did a simulation) without letting emotion get in the way. He just worried about how little I knew about computer information technology. So he said he'd give me the next two weeks to learn as much as I could about CIT and then he'd call me back and interview me on it. My homework began that night and I have studied my guts out since then!

Five days later I had another interview with the same company, but a different hiring manager. This one was not as intense, and rather enjoyable. He went through my resume (he was impressed :) and we talked about some leadership experiences that I've been in. It was great!

Ten days later, yesterday, I received the phone call saying that I got the internship. I was seriously speechless when she was explaining things on the phone. I couldn't believe it! I was so overwhelmed and seriously just wanted to cry. I called my pops and told him post haste. My mom squealed :) I had four classes to attend right after that, and I couldn't tell you a single thing that was said in any of them. I was so side tracked. My mind was racing all day long.

So this is it! My dream is coming true! I'm deferring from school for the spring semester (this breaks my heart, but it must be done). I start the week right after I get home from Peru. I will be interning in Riverton, UT as a project manager. I'll be working 40 hours a week and making 2.5 times as much as I do now :)

My heart is so full of gratitude for these amazing experiences. I was so dreading turning 21 next month, but something tells me that this year will be one of the best I could ever imagine.

And since this post is so lengthy, I'll leave you a picture that's worth 1000 words:

This is me and my goober-FHE brothers. How I love them!

Thanks for listening :)

Love, Noelle

Hi, I'm _________, And I'm a Mormon.

Have you guys heard about seen visited searched delved into the Meet Mormons section of mormon.org?

No? You indeed have not? Not to worry, not to worry, I've gotcha covered. Here's a link. Go there, whether you're a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or if you're not... yet :)  Meet the Mormons, find out who we are, how diverse we really are, and why we are who we are.

To create your own profile and share your story and testimony with countless others, go here.

My dear roommate Claire's parents were the inspiration for this post. They both (along with much of their posterity) have set up awesome profiles that have been read and loved by who knows how many people!

Go. Spend a few minutes on there. See what you think. Make one of your own... you might never know who'll need to see it!

Love, Noelle

P.S. I couldn't end this post without a picture, so here are a few snapshots of the happenings that have been happening so far this semseter.


Hi, we just ran a cumulative of like 40 miles, and we're Mormons




Hi, we rock at wallyball and group date assignments, and we're Mormons




Hi, we rock at life in general and look dang good doing so, and we're Mormons.

 Love, Noelle...again :)

Hellooo Mr. Groban

You know that song by Josh Groban, You Are Loved? Yeah, well he sang it to me at work today!
Well... kinda.... ok not really... but listen to at least one verse and one chorus before you continue reading.


This morning I woke up way too late for class, rushed to get ready and left without breakfast (p.s. I love my breakfasts, and missing them makes me... hungry) Then I had two classes in a row and I go straight to work from there where I work from 11:15am- 6:30pm. No lunch break in there anywhere! In my rush to get out the door this morning I did however fill up a small ziplock bag with edamame, hoping that that would hold me over while I was at work all day (who was I kidding!?)


So after my aerobics class, where we worked out like nobody's business, I went straight to work, starving and thinking about how I wouldn't get a chance to eat until 7 that night. Well here's where my Josh Groban moment comes in. Listen carefully.


Claire, my dear, dear roommate, stopped by my work to pick up her water bottle that she had lost. I went to the back to retrieve it and returned only to find a brown paper sack lunch WITH MY NAME written on it sitting on the counter. That's when everything froze and Josh Groban stepped out of the dark right beside me and started in with a gorgeous ballad of "YOU ARE LOOOOVEEEED".

"Hope I got the measurements down for the oatmeal to applesauce. I didn't even know where to start with the cottage cheese" Oh my gosh, this cracked me up!

P.S. I haven't had a PB and J in quite sometime, but I LOVED this one!

Ok, so maybe I just squealed and ran and gave her a hug, but seriously, I felt so loved that Mr. Groban might as well have been there proclaiming it for all of the Manwaring Center to hear! How lucky am I huh? She was soo thoughtful and couldn't have possibly known how hungry I was. She even left me a note on the napkin (which clearly is the best part of the whole thing)!

Thanks CLAIRE, you made my day, and made it 100 times easier to enjoy work today.  Ahh, what a gem!
Love,
Noelle