Our Day

Well, hello everyone!
The newest Mrs. Hillam here.
We've been married for 3 weeks and 3 days. I can't believe it's already been almost a month!

The wedding day was absolutely perfect. Everything went amazingly well and I've never been happier!

I married this handsome devil on Saturday July 27, in the St. George, UT temple. 

We spent the evening before setting up a cultural hall for our luncheon. I was tired and said goodnight at around 11 pm. I'm pretty sure that's a record time to be in bed the night before a wedding. Our sealing wasn't scheduled until 12:40 pm the next day, so we had all the time in the world! However, we decided to schedule pictures at 9:00am to try and beat the heat. So after about 7 hours of peaceful sleeping I woke up and got ready to seal the deal. My two amazing friends Claire and Keri came over at 7 am to get me started on my hair (Also unheard of, I've heard of too many 4 am hair appointment horror stories). We took our time getting ready and spent about an hour and a half at the temple taking pictures.

My wonderful grandparents! My grandpa had the opportunity to seal us!

By the time pictures were done, it was about 11:00 and Eric and I were at the temple with no vehicle, no where to go and about an hour to kill before we were needed at the temple. So, we did what anybody stranded at the temple would do. We explored the visitors center! Keep in mind that we are fully dressed in our tux and gown, hair and make up, bouquet and everything... the whole nine yards.... Taking a tour of the St.George visitor's center. It was soooo wonderful! We knew that in a matter of minutes we'd be participating in one of the most sacred, special events of our entire lives, but we were calm. cool and collected! It was so nice not to be rushed, stressed or worried about anything! We learned about the history of the St.George temple and sat through a display about eternal families. It was so wonderful to slow down, forget all the hussle and bussle that comes with weddings and remember the important, eternal things with my sweetheart.
Best thing ever.

Then the time came for us to report for our sealing. Well, we didn't have our recommends with us so had to watch as many of our family members entered the temple without us while we waited for Eric's dad to come with our recommends.

And then we were sealed! It was the most wonderful, beautiful, perfect thing that I have ever experienced. It was so special to have my grandpa be our sealer and to be surrounded by so many loved ones. I just couldn't stop smiling! 

Our first picture as "Man and Wife!"

It really was a perfect day! We have such wonderful, loving, supportive and downright hardworking friends and family and we are so grateful for their help and support!

Love, Noelle

"Oh Be Wise, What Can I Say More"

The day has come, my wisdom teeth are no longer apart of me... and you know what? It's been a blast!

November 1st at 10:00am, I went in for surgery and came out feeling like a million bucks!

Right after surgery

They put me under and my doctor told me that as soon as I started coming to, I broke into a medley of "There is Sunshine in my Soul Today", "More Holiness Give Me", "Lead Kindly Light" and "Have I Done Any Good in the World Today".  I was then taken into a room where my dear roommate Kati was waiting for me. She got all sorts of good stuff videotaped in that waiting room. They're pretty funny, not going to lie.

Over all, I was well-tempered, happy, pretty gosh darn loopy, but feeling good! I also desperately wanted to go to work and have apartment prayer..?

I went home and went straight to bed where I took a nice two hour nap and woke up to Hannah and Claire by my bedside, with applesauce, pudding, creamies, cottage cheese and more. Right after that nap was the worst because I hadn't taken my meds beforehand and I was in pain! I was also still really groggy and starving. However, Hannah and Claire were seriously angels and got some food in my stomach, ice on my face, and medicine in my system. I seriously would have just laid in bed for the rest of the had had they not come.

Next came more visitors! My awesome neighbors from 214 and Eric came over to wish me well and bring me a delicious Jamba Juice!

Nap time... again. (P.S. I have awesome dreams when I'm on drugs)

I woke up again to Claire who had made me green mac and cheese (sentimental :) and then more visitors (Kylie, Kelsey, Eric, Dallin, Sierra).

So great! By then I was up and feeling good and wanted nothing more than to go to my brother's softball game in the freezing cold. So I did! I went, cheered my guts out, froze my tush off and had a good time! Mind you, this was literally just hours after surgery, but I had so much energy and was feeling so good.


I did bow-out of the after party at Clark, but that was only because I had a lot of homework to do. So I came home and was greeted to more visitors and stayed up til about 2 doing homework and eating the most fabulous butternut squash soup that Kim had made for me.

Not bad for day one of surgery huh?!

Day 2
I woke up the next day, got ready and headed on campus where I spent 6 hours in the library and in classes. I got so, so much done, but it was not my smartest idea. I didn't eat anything all day and didn't take any breaks. I came home so stinking tired, hungry, in pain and close to tears. I'll admit that there were a few times I almost lost it and just wanted my mom to come take care of me. But I've held myself together pretty ok :)

Lucky for me, my friends know that visitors and social interaction are the most effective medicine for me. I just want to know I'm loved! So I had some surprise visits from Danielle and Angel from work, all three of my siblings and more, all bringing gifts of soup, hummus, pudding, applesauce and other edibles  that I was in dire need of!


And now I'm sitting here thinking, holy cow, getting my teeth out was no big deal and kind of fun! Minus the pain, emotional breakdown and loopiness.

Oh, I almost forgot about the swelling! Day one wasn't bad at all, but those cheeks sure blew up on day two!

Love, Noelle

Dear Diary,

When I was 14, I had a little pink journal that I got from Young Women's with a jar full of strips of paper that had questions on it. Everyday, I would pick out a question, tape it to a page in my pink journal and answer the question. Here are a few of the entries I read today.

Keep in mind, this is 14-year-old Noelle.... Brace yourself

Friday, January 21, 2005

Question: Who am I closest to in my family? How did our relationship grow?

Answer: It changes from time to time. Right now I think it's, believe it or not, Daniel. Even though I hated his guts last year. It's not close, close, but we seem to get a long. I think it's because we're alike in some odd crazy ways. And Travis, I know you're reading this, so close it now. You too Natalie.

Thursday 8/4/05

Question: Who are some of my favorite people and why?

Not in any specific order-
1. Heather Humes - YW President and her kids
2. My Mom
3. Bolton Family
4. Taryn Leavitt and Chelsi McConnell and Grace Turner (My best buds)
5. Oprah Winfrey   **What the??

Friday February 3, 2005

Question: What are my goals and dreams?

 1. Be valedictorian                                                **Check
2. Recieve a full ride scholarship to BYU-I             **Check
3 Get a job and a licence at age 16                         **Check 
4. Get married and live in Utah                             **Half Check
5. Never go into debt                                                **Check
6. Have $1000 in the bank by the time I graduate     **Check
7. Get straight A's 'til college                                    ** Check
8. Marry in the temple            
9. Get a green bug                                              
10. Be laurels president                                         ** Check
11. Work with animals
12. Marry an animal accepter
13. Live until I'm 90+
14. Be on the tennis team for 4 years                       **Check
15. Be the best I can be!


There you have it. A glimpse into the life of 14-year-old Noelle. Oh my.... For the record, I'm totally ok with never owning a green bug and I'll live if my husband is not an "animal accepter".

I Do Hard Things So That I Can.... Do Hard Things

Today, a girl in relief society said that.

And it stuck.

It's so true isn't it?

Remember my first week in Peru? It was HARD.

I was sick the entire time. I was exhausted. We had black mold carpeting our ceiling. I couldn't understand anyone. I shivered myself to sleep every night and woke up at least 6 or 7 times each night out of discomfort, frozen-ness or bugs biting me. We didn't know where or how to buy food. We didn't have a refrigerator or carpet. We didn't have washers or dryers. We didn't have hot water. We didn't have an oven. We didn't have family close by. Most of the days we didn't have running water or electricity. Gosh. It was hard.

At the end of that first week, I told my parents that I was booking my first flight out of there because this was just too hard.

Well, I stayed. And it was still hard, but it got easier. We learned to do with out and make do with what we had. We learned to love our living conditions and those around us. And after a HARD first week, I had three of the best months of my life.

That really hard first week and those challenging three months have prepared me for this next chapter of my life.

See if you can find the parallels.

I know nobody in Riverton, thus I was searching anxiously for a place to stay. Last minute, I found a family who was renting a room out of their basement. So without any further questions, I loaded up and drove to Riverton to move in.

I moved in and was put in a room in the basement...with carpet!! Looking good so far right? I have a place to live! Well not really. Because they weren't planning on having somebody move in so soon, so they weren't really ready for me.

I had no refrigerator to put my food. No oven or stove to cook my food. No sink to rinse my vegetables or wash my dishes. No counters to prepare my food on. No toaster, microwave, toaster oven etc. Essentially no kitchen. I also had NO money. I spent every last penny in Peru and couldn't even afford to pay the $20 bucks a month they were asking to use the laundry room. So I was without a washer and a dryer as well.

But guess what? This was nooo big deal to me! My mom  kind of wanted me to move out of there asap and find something a little bit more suited to my needs, or at least the needs of a normal person... but I had spent the last three months living in such uncomfortable circumstances that a few weeks with out any means to keep/cook/wash/prepare my grub seemed like cake. And it was!  Eventually, the so called "necessities" started popping up, a fridge here, hot plate there. I'm still without a sink or running water, but hellooo that's what the hose outside is for right?

I did those "hard" months in Peru, so that I could do these "hard" weeks in Riverton. So grateful for that prep.

Here's another one.

Remember how we shipped ourselves off to a foreign country where we did not speak the language? Yeah I do. Ohh how my head would ache as I'd desperately try and understand what these people were desperately trying to communicate to me. It expended my brain power like none other I tell you.

Well guess what. I just started a job in a building of 1300 people who speak a completely foreign language. Servers, Oracle, Beach Picture Apps, Remedy,Configuration Items... and don't even get me started on the acronyms! SM, DTE, NPS, EIM, KPI, DSA, CAB, COB, EDDI. Seriously, I almost wish that they were speaking Spanish.

Lesson Number One in ICS lingo

It's hard. But I was totally prepared for it by my time in Peru. I'm used to that "Oh my gosh, they're saying something important, and I'm trying really hard to understand it.. but I'm totally lost" feeling, and I know that I'm a fast learner and that I'll catch on to the language in time.

So everyday as a new "hard" thing comes up...(i.e. My car is a goner so now I'm living and working in this brand new city...with my two feet as my only means of transportation..) I know that I'm doing them in preparation for... more hard things. You can look at that as a downer... my whole life is and forever will be hard, or you can look on the bright side. Either way, the hard times keep on comin'.

So perhaps the fact that I have to wake up an hour and a half earlier than usual so that I can walk to work in the chilly mornings (tomorrow it's supposed to rain... not sure how that'll work out), is simply preparation for another hard time coming.  I'll be ready for it.

Love, Noelle

Why Aren't We Laughing?

Remember how on Pinterest the following saying was being posted like crazy? You may not recall, but I do. And here's why:

I remember it partly because I didn't like it, and mostly because I didn't get it. I can pretty much not relate to this quaint, little phrase one bit!

I've made plans my whole life. I remember at a young age (maybe 10 or so) hearing the word Valedictorian for the first time, and making a plan at that moment that I was going to graduate 8 years later with that title.

I made plans to get involved. To be an efy counselor. To work in the Kimball building. To memorize documents that are important to me. To learn Spanish. To get healthy.

Eight months ago, I made a huge plan that (to be honest) I didn't really think would follow through. I decided that I wanted to travel and do humanitarian work, and I decided that I wanted to intern for the church. These were two things that I have dreamed about for a long time, but they just didn't seem in my reach. 

But, I planned on them anyway. Lo and behold, those dreams became plans, and those plans became a reality. Here I am, living in Utah, interning for the Church after having just spent three of the best months of my life serving in Peru.

I have my graduation plans all lined up. I have a plan for another internship. I have plans for exactly where I want to work when I graduate. I have plans to marry in the temple and raise the cutest little family that you ever did see. I have plans to run a marathon. I have plans to make a difference. I have plans to see more of the world. Oh do I have plans....and I tell God my plans.

 And you know what.... I'm not hearing much divine laughter.

Love, Noelle

Things To Do Before 22

Oh hey everyone. It's Noelle. THE TWENTY-ONE year old!
( I went to the Homestead on my birthday and Ila guessed that I was 15, Margie guessed that I was 19, and Oliver just said that I was "Old enough for me, oooo la la" ha... oh Oliver. Gross.

Gosh I'm going to like this age. I can already tell.

I've got to set goals or I'll get nothing done as a twenty-one year old.
We shall review these on the eve of my 22nd birthday and see what I've accomplished in the next 364 days. 

In no particular order... 

1. Ride a horse
2. Bear my testimony to someone in Espanol
3. Obtain a car and learn to love driving it
4. Come up with a talent that I could perform at any talent show if needed
5. Run a half marathon
6. Catch a fish
7. Secretly pay for the person in line behind me (at the grocery store, ticket office, toll booth, fast food..etc)
8. Become an aunt again and gain another sister in law (I know I don't have much say in either of these, but they're on my list, so they must happen!!)
9. Give someone my watch when they ask for the time
10. Be able to play at least 10 hymns beautifully on the piano without mistake
11. Meet the man I'm going to marry (We don't even have to start dating this year, I'd just like to meet him :)
12. Fix my chipped tooth
13. Print my blog into a book
14. Buy a real camera
15. Make a Peruvian Facebook friend
16. Visit South America
17. Be able to do 20 consecutive man push-ups at any given time throughout the year
18. Successfully complete an internship for the church
19. Have plans for a second internship (I'm thinking a second one for the church, or perhaps one in Wisconsin:)
20. Donate more money than I feel comfortable with to a really good cause
21. Give up my lunch, right as I'm about to eat it, to someone who needs it
22. Throw a fistful of glitter into the air
23. Memorize The Living Christ in Spanish
24. Do and record at least one act of service every single day.
25.  Double dutch jump-rope
26. Play in the snow
27. Compile all of my favorite recipes for my future family
28. Go through and clean out (aka toss) my "College Boxes"
29.  Re-Design my blog
30. Buy a whole outfit from a thrift store

I have a feeling that this year is going to be fantastic.  I know for sure that it will be a year to remember. I think that being 21 will suit me quite nicely.

"Here We Have Idaho"

I have a confession.
I'm in love with Idaho.
More specifically.... Boise
Even more specifically... Middleton.

I'm constantly surrounded by Kuna-ites. I spent tonight with the greatest Middleton people ever! I have at least one class a semester with the loveliest girl from Eagle. The greatest love stories start at Meridian post offices. Payette is a cool name, and I have quite a few friends from Caldwell whom I adore. I've been told that Melba is the armpit of Boise, but I think I'd like it anyways. Pretty much a whole bunch of great people come from the Boise area and they all seem to love where they come from. I'm intrigued.

These aren't ALL Idahoans.. but a great deal of them are :)

Idaho in general... so great.


But the Boise area in particular, I am irreversibly and inexplainably drawn to it. I've never been, but I'm dying to go. I think I'd love to spend a semester there.

Soooo road trip to Boise anyone? If so, we're hitting up ALL of the aforementioned quaint little towns.

Until then, "Esto perpetua!"

Love, Noelle

P.S. I've started a bucket list of things to do while on this Boise expedition.
1. Eat at the Mexican Buffet in Kuna
2. Visit the Meridian Post Office
3. Meet Roxy YoungBerg

Ok... that's all I have for now, help me add to it!

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

Bucket List: To Do in Peru

I decided to compile a bucket list of things that I want to do or accomplish during my time in Peru. I'll cross them off and probably blog about them as we go. Feel free to add suggestions :)  I'll post this as one of the tabs on my homepage so you can view it whenever you desire and see my new updates on it!

• Milk a goat or llama or something of that sort
• Make homemade ice cream, Peruvian style (do they eat ice cream there??!?!)
• Plant something and watch it grow for three months
• Get to the point where I can read and understand my Spanish BOM without any help from my English one
• Try Guinea Pig
• Make Guinea Pig Bacon
• Learn a new crafty Peruvian skill
• Play soccer
• Get decent at soccer
• Ride a large animal for transportation (donkey, llama, elephant...giant guinea pig?)
• Give away a Spanish BOM
• Bear my testimony in Sacrament meeting
• Try as many different fruits and vegi's as possible
• Take 3,000 pictures :)
• Obtain a Spanish nickname!
• Sing in Spanish
• Go running in Peru
• Soak up as much sun as possible
• Go fishing
• Get sock tan lines
• Make a new friend
• Have a Peruvian follower on my blog
• Visit a temple/temple site
•  Learn a new quinoa recipe, I hear they're genius with that stuff in Peru (it is an Andean grain after all :)

Fun huh?
I have three dear friends on missions in Peru right now (Ryan Whiteside, Wes Wagner and Heather Lindsey) and I wish I could just call them all up and have them help me add to my list. I'm sure they'd be very insightful.

Love, Noelle

P.S. Here's a fun update! Ms. Brittany Meyer will now be joining Abigail and I on this quest!  Wahooooo!

Brittany and I at 6 am right before our Temple to Temple Relay Race!

  Brittany came over tonight and we discussed some of the logistics of this mighty venture. Let's just say that I am SO excited to go!

Because I Have Been Given Much

I too must give.

So I didn't go into much detail about my upcoming Peru adventure. Here's a few more details to tide you over until I get a chance to really delve into it. p.s. have you noticed that I say "delve" a lot? I'm not even sure I'm using it correctly... hmmm

The organization I'm going through is a humanitarian organization called Eagle Condor Humanitarian. They have projects set up throughout South America. Each project is either a Step 1, Step 2, or Step 3 project. My particular one is a Step 2 project. 

"Step 2 projects focus on working directly with children and/or training heads of family to become more self-sustaining so children can stay in school enabling them to gain access to better jobs and futures. Step 2 projects are able to focus on education and community development."

So as a Step 2 volunteer, I will be involved with the following:

• Discover social identity and self-worth
• Educational Opportunities
• One-to-one mentorship programs through interns
• School Enhancement – Literacy Centers, Computer Labs, etc…
• Community Development – Greenhouses, Bathrooms, , etc….

You guys, I can't even tell you how excited I am. I'm seriously geeking out. To be honest I've all but dropped out of school at this point.  I don't have any desire to do homework or study or ANYTHING. I just want to run away to Peru. Right. this. instant. Can you blame me?

I can't wait til I'm posting pictures of me with Peruvian kids!!!

 Any advice? Words of Wisdom? Concerns? Shared Excitement??

Love, Noelle

Dare to Do Great Things

A few days ago, Sister Dalton came to campus and told us to get out of our comfort zones and dare to do great things. Dream big she said.

Here's what's in my comfort zone: Hot water. My favorite foods. English. My family. Rexburg. BYU-Idaho. Claire Salmon. America.

Here's what I dream big about:

Children

Humanitarian Work

Peru

Making a Difference

It's blog official. I am stepping out of my comfort zone.  Come January, I'm leaving America, my family, Claire, Rexburg, school, my food, my hot water...everything for three short months.

I'm going to Peru. How could I not?
Love,
Noelle

Investments

I've been thinking a lot about investments lately. What is an investment? What does it mean to invest in something? How does it correlate with potential, devotion, time?

RFAM: One of my very favorite movies is Confessions of a Shopaholic. I think that I could watch this movie everyday for the rest of my life and it'd never get old.

This is the character in question, Luke Brandon. What an amazing name. His real name is Hugh Dancy. Also a fabulous name.  Gosh isn't he adorable?

So in this movie, Luke Brandon (see above) asks Rebecca Bloomwood what he thinks of him as a person, as an investment. She told him quite frankly that as an investment, he stinks. A marriage investment that is.


Well, the other day I had a dream in which I was chatting with a friend.. a very honest friend, who in not so many words told me that as an investment, I pretty much stink.  I was taken back, but let him/her explain themselves. They told me that I was a great girl: fun, outgoing, nice yada, yada... but with my up-and-coming adventures to Peru and my internship in Utah (mainly the fact that I won't be in Rexburg til next Fall)  put a complete hold on any chance I have on getting married. Who would want to try and get to know someone who's leaving the continent and not coming back to Rexburg for quite some time? Why would someone invest the time in me right now? In my mind I was thinking, ok that's fine, I don't mind not getting married the second I turn 21, I can wait. 

Don't worry, this gets better...(sarcasm)

 I was then told that as soon as I get back to Rexburg I would be career-driven and completely intimidating to any and every man I come in contact with. Pretty much my adventures and age would scare them off and that I'd be destined to live my life as a workaholic with a cat, a blog and lots of money. I should probably walk around with a name tag that says: 
Noelle Rust- Not a Good Investment.

Depressing huh?
Good thing it was just a dream, because I've got other plans in mind.



That's all I have to say about that.

Love, Noelle

Katniss Potter

Hunger Games+Harry Potter 7+War Chapters in Alma+ The Diary of Anne Frank= 

 My dream last night

I played the Main Character. So feel free to refer to me as Katniss Potter or TeAnneFrankCum. Either one.

So if I've ever had a full conversation with you, you were probably in this dream... and you probably didn't make it out alive. I was in charge of keeping everybody alive yet everyone was dying off like crazy. The bad guys were really only interested in capturing me but apparently they had to take out everyone I know to get there. I remember constantly thinking, " Ahhh, all these people are dying because of me!"

Can you tell that I had just finished reading the Hunger Games Series? Which were a little too gruesome and violent for my taste. Needless to say, there was no blood or graphic killings going on in my dream, ha I would have never been able to handle that. Just a realization of the fact that when the bad guys came and grabbed somebody, they were goners.

And just like any good story, there was indeed a tragic love story intermingled throughout the dream, but I woke up before I found out how that ended.. Darn. Perhaps I'll find out tonight.

I wouldn't count it as a nightmare, just a super intense dream. It was kind of fun to tell you the truth!

Love, Noelle

I Dream of .... Finals?

President Kim B.Clark (President of BYU-ID): 
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
"Students, you've spent this semester studying and preparing for this upcoming finals week. And you've spent your whole lives preparing and studying for the second coming. Well, lucky for you, we're combining the two events and your "Finals week" will actually literally be your FINAL week on earth. Surprise, the second coming is here! Hope you're ready for this."

Ok, so this was said over the pulpit during devotional...in my dream last week :) Let me reiterate that for just one second, just so there's no confusion. This was a dream. President Clark said no such thing.

 And that's when the bombing/earth-quaking/fires began. It was all pretty exciting to tell you the truth. Trucks were lighting up and floating in the sky (Kind of like a dark mark/Harry Potter type of thing), there was loud noises, bombs exploding everywhere and lots and lots of shaking (I later found out that my roommates were in my room shaking my mattress that night, which only added to the madness I was experiencing in my dream. Bad roommates. Bad, bad roommates.)

These are the two little stinkers that were provoking me during my slumber.

It made me think about which "Finals Week" I'm spending more time and energy preparing for. We are all sooo swamped with tests, projects, presentations, trying to fill blog post quotas :) etc.  We're putting in long hours and hard work to make sure that we are confident and prepared for finals next week. It's exactly what we're supposed to be doing.

What kind of effort are we putting in to make sure that we are confident and prepared for our actual Final Week?

Just something to think about, Good luck with finals!

Love, Noelle

P.S. I'd also like to note that I just had a really great day today. Super great. I'm a happy camper :)

Betcha Didn't Know That

10 Things You May (or May Not) Already Know About Myself

1. I almost never paint my fingernails. Always the toes, but the fingers only on special occasion.

2. I didn't attend school my 6th grade year,  I did an online schooling program called Odyssey. This could possibly be the reason why the idea of taking an online class makes me queasy.

3. I have/remember my dreams almost every night. A dream journal has been started, and my roommate Keri has graciously agreed to interpret them for me :)

4. I absolutely loved Powderpuff football in high school

5. It has been my dream for quite some time to intern in Washington D.C. or New York City

6. I love garlic. In high school I would come home after school and roast an entire head of garlic in the oven and then eat it plain.

7. I ate my very first hot dog ever about two months ago. I regret to inform you that I've eaten some since then as well.

8. My teeth chatter like crazy if I'm even the slightest bit cold.

9. I read this talk by Elder Holland a little over a month ago, and I do believe that it changed my life!

10. I don't like Crest toothpaste one bit. Colgate all the way! This particular kind is my toothpaste of choice

Well, how'd you do? Learn anything new? Find anything in common? Discrepancies? Surprises?  Hope so :) Have a great day!

Love, Noelle

Another old post

Here's another post from my old and no longer running blog, enjoy!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Prelude: Something that serves as an introduction to an even more important work of art

So I figured I'd take a second and explain the title of my blog (A Prelude to My Own Fairytale)(because quite frankly I think it's clever and adorable and I love it very much). It is the very first line of a song called "Hot Air Balloon" by the band Owl City. I think it perfectly describes the stage of life I am in right now.
All around me, at this notorious "BYU-I DO" people are getting engaged and married right and left. It's spring time too. Let the twitterpation begin. Love<3 is in the air and it shows by the flocks of beaming, hand-holding couples that stroll up and down the pathways, whispering sweet nothings into each others ears and gazing into each others eyes. Kind of sickening right? No. It's adorable and I love it. These people are all living their fairytales.
I look at my lovely dear roommate and best friend Emily, who truly is a princess who has already found her knight in shining armor and is just counting down the days until she can be sealed for eternity to him in a glorious, white castle.

Now, as everyone around me has gotten engaged and married during this beautiful spring season, what stage of my fairytale am I in you ask? Ummm... my boyfriend and I just broke up actually...awkward. Most would look at it as a step back, but it really is a step forward in finding my true love. So no, I don't have any love interests or solid prospects at this point. I am not living a fairytale, not right now at least. In this blog, I am sharing with you (well with myself I suppose, seeing as I still have nary a "friend" on here) the prelude to my fairytale.
The adventures, experiences, and awkward happenings that occur to me that will mold me and shape me to become a princess fit for a happily-ever-after fairytale. This time right now, this "prelude" if you will, is my time to become excellent. It is my time to master the things that I want to work on and chisel away at my flaws. It is my time to make myself a princess worthy of the most righteous, noble, loving and of course gorgeous Prince Charming in all the land.
However, do not be mistaken, I don't want this to be a time where I sckower (I have no idea how to spell that) every nook and cranny of this little Rexburg wonderland for a man who's last name I would like to share.
This is a time where I will grow so close to my Savior and Father in Heaven as I strive to become more and more like them, that I will be able to rely on them to guide me to the man I am to marry. I just must be living worthily so that I might have that guidance in my life.
So thus my story begins. Not my fairytale. Not quite yet at least. But here is the prelude, let it be lovely.