Plate-Licker

You guys, I am the most unclassy person I know! Oh my goodness this is so bad....

So I'm at the most adorable wedding reception. It looked like it came straight out of Pinterest. Seriously so cute.  I was also reunited with Claire Ruth Salmons during this classy reception so it was a double bonus!!

So anyways, I'm sitting there eating the most delicious peach cobbler when a dapper young man of oh... 15 years or so, tells me that he's scouted out all the single groomsmen for me and that he'd be more than happy to put in a good word for me! So he points them out to me and tells me that he's going to make it happen.

Not thinking too much of it, I laugh, he leaves and I continue eating this truly delightful cobbler.

Ten minutes or so later, I'm sitting down with Abigail just having a nice chat. It was almost as if I had completely forgotten that I was at a classy wedding and I felt as if I was chillin' in Peru with Abigail again. I was also wishing so badly that I had more cobbler left on my plate, but trying to be strong and not go get another helping of it. So I had made sure that I had eaten every single crum and without even thinking about it, I brought my plate up to my face and gave it one good lick!

Oh my gosh Noelle. Are we back in preschool?!!?!

The next few seconds happened so fast.

All of a sudden I became extremely aware that I had just subconsciously licked my plate and I hurried to set it down, but not before looking up and seeing that right infront of me was standing every single eligible bachelor present at that wedding. That 15-year-old, true to his word, had convinced them to come talk to me... and this is how they found me...

Needless to say the made a quick left turn right out of there without so much as a hello to the clearly uncontrollable, single, starving student in the blue.

And they were never heard from again.

Oh boy, anyone willing to give me a few lessons in etiquette? Or maybe just, How Not to Repulse Boys 101?

Love, Noelle

Life Lately

Oh where to begin. I don't even know.
Here are a few pictures I've snapped on my phone (gotta love the quality) these past two weeks..

So I'm sitting in a meeting at around 11:30 when the fire alarm goes out. Reminded me of the good ol days... in elementary school where we'd all line up by the backstops. Except for this was 1300+ men who know more about computers than I ever thought possible.

My dear brother Brandon has been so great! This car has been the death of me, and Brandon has trotted up here to Riverton every week so far to take a look at it and try and help me out. So grateful for "Brothers who know" and who are willing to help out their little sis.

I can't believe I made it through day one! On top of that I started off day two with this little gem on my desk, how nice!

How cool is my life?

Except for the days when you feel like your whole entire world is falling apart and everything you touch breaks, and absolutely nothing is working in your favor, and the fact that  you have a picture of batman and a woman drawn on your wall isn't helping.. (haha) and you just try and smile through the tears and sing Andy Grammar songs to keep from giving up on everything and moving home to die as an old maid in the depths of Overton, Nevada...

Just kidding. Sort of. Life is good. I'm learning way more than I even bargained for and I'm right on the career path that I want to be on. Not to mention that I'm learning life lessons right and left and I'm pretty sure that if you told me that my identity was going to be stolen along with all my money, I was going to lose all my hair in a freak accident annnnd I was probably going to marry a nerdy man.... I'd say, bring it on. Bring it alll on.

Love, Noelle

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

Talking To Myself

I must send out a formal apology to anyone and everyone who has had  an informal conversation with me on the phone at any point in my life. Allow me to explain why.

Meet Beebs: 

Quite Possibly the Coolest Cat I know!

Beebs is the baby of the family. She’s 13 and not spoiled in anyother way besides love. We all just can’t get enough of this girl. Except however, when she answers the phone. 

Whenever I call home, or even my mom’s cell phone, I have an 85% chance of having Beebs answer the phone. Which is fine and what not, I love hearing whats going on in Beebs’ life… but… .here’s the thing. Beebs is the same kind of story teller as myself. It takes us F…O…..R….E…V…..E….R.. to try and recount a story over the phone.

“Oh wait I forgot..”, “Anyway,” “Wait, where was I going with this..” or “Hold on let me try and remember..”. We stink at story telling and it’s just amplified over the phone. 

I’ve known this fun little fact about myself for quite some. I tell stories all jumbled up in the wrong order and insert meaningless details, while forgetting important ones. However, i had never talked to myself on the phone before, so I had no idea how frustrating or annoying it could be to talk to me. Until one day… when I called Home and Beebs answered the phone. It had been an eventful day in the Rust home and I wasn’t able to be apart of it so I was dying to hear all about what happened in my absence. 

Beebs of course answers the phone. I urgently begged her to go through a play by play of the evening for me. After about 15 minutes of  “Oh wait I forgot..”, “Anyway,” “Wait, where was I going with this..” and “Hold on let me try and remember..”, I had to end the madness. i told her to have mom  call me back when she had a chance.

As soon as I answered the phone call from my mom, I blurted out, “Oh my goodness Mom, I am so sorry that you have to listen to me talk on the phone all the time. I now know exactly how it feels to talk to someone just like me. It's awful!”

So, again, I'd like to extend my deepest apology along with the promise that I shall try to improve!
Love, Noelle

You Gave Me A Casserole

'Tis the season of Secret Santas, ding-dong-ditched goodies and donating money to those who need it most. There are random acts of charity going on all around us this time of the year. I love it. I've come to love doing this kind of thing, it's just amplified around Christmas time. 

Whenever I feel like a friend or stranger is having a hard time, I have my pile of go-to's. Usually a plate of cookies, a bag of hugs, or a bowl of soup. Easy, but it let's them know I'm thinking of them right?

 Yeah I guess so. But now that I've got that mastered, it's time to upgrade.

Check out how Bro. Riggins, my New Testament teacher explained this to me.

He read to us Matt 25:35-36. You know the verses well.
"For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked and ye clothed me: I was sick and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."


Doing any kind of service is wonderful. It's what God want's us to do. So when we bring a plate of cookies or a casserole over to a struggling friend or neighbor, we are indeed serving and doing good. However, we can do better.

Brother Riggins then re-read the same verse like this:

"For I was an hungred... and ye gave me a casserole."
"I was thirsty..... ye gave me a casserole"
"I was a stranger.... ye gave me a casserole."
" Naked.... and ye gave me a casserole."
"Sick.....and ye gave me a casserole."
"I was in prison.... and ye gave me a casserole."

I realized that giving "casseroles" is just fine, there is nothing wrong with it. I'm sure the receivers are very grateful. But why do I see a need and immediately try and make it better with food? 

Because it's so easy! It's so in my comfort zone, it's not awkward, it's normal, it doesn't take much thought.

But do they really need my casserole? Or do they need my time, my listening ear, someone to walk to the store with, someone to watch their kids for a few hours, help with their homework, a shoulder to cry on, an invitation to do something... the list goes on and on.

I realized this when I first started visiting the elderly at the rest homes in Rexburg. I wanted to serve them, but I couldn't bring them a plate of cookies they weren't allowed to eat. I had to dig a bit deeper and stretch myself out of my comfort zone.

I've learned the need to be "quick to observe" the individual needs of those I come in contact with. I need to discover my own talents and use them to lift and edify others.

I'll leave you with one of my very favorite quotes by President Monson (it's the first quote pictured below):

That's just something that's been on my mind quite a bit and I thought I'd share.Now, if you do feel the desire to bring me a casserole, by all means, go right on ahead :)

Can't We Just Rollerblade to Arizona?

Tuesday: 2pm-2am
Wednesday: 10am-5pm
Saturday: 6pm-2am
Sunday: 1pm-1am

I spent roughly 36 hours in a car this past week.

Have I ever told you how much traveling in a car deeply frightens me? I'm almost certain that I'm destined to be invoved in a gruesome car accident at one point in my life. It's times like these when I wished I lived during the days of horse and buggy. I'm a fan of biking, walking, and rollerblading. Unfortunately, none of those were very realistic means of transportaion from Rexburg to Mesa, AZ.

Either way, I spent way too much time in a car this week.

However, being the Thanksgiving season, this did lead me to two realizations:

1. I am so grateful I don't get carsick.
2. I am grateful for seatbelts.

My "Jellybean", I bought this car before I even got my license and drove it all through high school. How I loved it!

August 2010: I'm surprised I found a picture of me in the drivers seat!

This is Taryn. One fantastic driver that I completely and totally trust my life with! She's the only reason I went anywhere in high school :)

Allow me to expound on realization number 2.

I get frantic when I'm not wearing a seat belt. I assume that in that ten seconds that I'm not buckled up, we will surely get in a wreck and I will surely be ejected from the car and I will surely not be a happy camper after that.

Apparently my love for seat belts is a recent development. This was Thanksgiving break two years ago...

I think that growing up in a small town made me naive to the dangers of the road. Now that I know what can happen, I'm completely paranoid.
 
But for today, I'm grateful to be back in Rexburg after 36 ours of very limited car trouble, no dramatic car ejections, and after having listened to the Sunday morning session of General Conference played on repeat over and over again. (Brandon, for Christmas, I'm putting the other sessions on your i-pod for you :) I'm pretty sure that we have "Love Her Mother" memorized by now)

Stay tuned for a blog post explaining why I spent 36 hours in a car, and what I did this fabulous Thanksgiving break!

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

Operating Heavy Machinery

Does this count as heavy machinery?

This is the beauty I learned to skillfully maneuver today.

Growing up with four big brothers got this girl out of ever learning the necessary art of lawn mowing... until today.

After a brief, "flip this switch, pull this stringy thing, unflip the switch and push" lesson, I was well on my way. I wouldn't exactly say that I find lawn mowing terribly enjoyable, but hey, it wasn't too bad at all. And best of all, I can add "lawn mowing" to my ever-growing (oh so slowly, but surely) list of useful skills.

I quickly grew weary of having straight lines and decided to add some pizazz to mine. Tangent: I just love our cute, little, red chicken coop seen on the right. It is currently chicken-less due to our recent move, but it'll be filled back up before you know it!

I'm actually kind excited for the grass to grow out so that I can practice a bit more and mow some cool design in the yard. That's about as artistic as I get... lines in grass. Oh, and I may have even gotten a little bit tan and been able to bask in the glorious smell of fresh cut grass while accomplishing this task. New favorite chore? Possibly.

On another semi-related-but-not-entirely note, I drove into St. George the other day, woooo!

Truth be told, I greatly disliked driving into St.George.

Sure I like to drive.
I like to drive down Moapa Valley Boulevard, going 55 mph and counting the cows and horses as I pass them.
I like to drive down the back roads in Logandale, discovering new streets and houses back there that I never even knew about.
I like calm Sunday drives and short drives to the store or the high school.

I am not a fan of the freeway.

It could be the fact that I haven't driven on it in over 4 years...whoops. It could be that I'm terrified of being in another car accident, or worse, causing a car accident. It could be that I'm not an aggressive driver and would be more than happy driving in the slow lane the entire duration of the trip. It could be that semis make me want to cry. Whatever it is, I've got to get over it!

If I'm going to get anywhere in life, I've got to know how to drive in the real world. Growing up in a small town and moving to go to school in an even smaller town (with out a car) didn't really help me out too much in that aspect, but I'm pretty determined to get my car driving capabilities up to that of my impeccable lawn mowing skills :) Wish me luck!

Love, Noelle

P.S. Only two more days til Derrick, Brittney and Molly get here! Yeaaaaaaah!

Allow Me to Explain

I read this quote the other day and fell in love.  I'm sure Mr. Tolkien meant something very deep and profound when he said this, but I took it very literally.

I am such a wanderer.  I didn't even realize it until my roommates kept bringing it up and teasing me about it.

First of all, I like to walk everywhere. I was out with a boy the other day and we were talking about having cars up at school and I realized that I would pretty much NEVER use my car even if I had it up here. I love walking or riding my bike way too much.

Here's where the wandering and complaining roommates come in :) When I walk somewhere and I don't have to be there at a certain time, I love to take my time on my journey. I will most definitely take the longest route possible, just to make the trip last longer. This is especially effective in the springtime when I just love being outside. But even in the winter, I used to drag Claire with me through every single building on campus and then some just so we could wander around for longer. If someone needs something delivered or turned in somewhere, I jump on the opportunity (No promises that it will arrive in a timely manner though)

So if you ever see me wandering around, there's a good chance I'm not lost and I'm not on my way to or from anywhere in particular, I'm just out and about because that's what I like to do. Weird? Uh yeah. But we're each entitled to a couple weird qualities right?

I feel like Winnie the Pooh kind of validates my argument with his quotes:

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

 “Don't underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.”

Silly 'Ol Bear kinda has a point huh? I think so.

Love, Noelle