the [crazy busy] week of a BYU student

This last week has been pretty crazy and intense. Between the usual fun of being a student,

this week brought random snowstorms,

sitting through an entire game of misery of Jazz vs. Lakers,

waiting in ridiculously long lines for wristbands

to get into the sold-out BYU basketball game

(which Jimmer was so kind to have won for us),

staying up way too late making t-shirts for said basketball game,

visiting the career fair and having an interview with Oracle, and visiting a comic book store for the first time. Needless to say, it was a pretty exciting week.

I wasn't cool enough to storm the court after the game, but here is a picture of the madness. It was a pretty sweet game, and my voice is still recovering. Waiting in line for hours was worth it, but I think I've got my friends convinced we just need to buy tickets to the rest of the home games. It would make things so much easier.

Facing my Fear

For the last 4 years, I have been deathly afraid of one thing.

ICE.

Not the kind you put in your drink- The kind that happens after it snows and the snow gets packed down before it's shoveled or plowed; the kind that is hard to see unless you are really looking for it, and even then, it can sneak up on you; the kind that makes me petrified to take a step because I am so afraid of falling and landing on my precious wrist, like I have done time and time before.

If you think I'm exaggerating this fear, ask my friends. Ask my family. I can't even slide on ice for fun. I literally freeze up and am afraid to move, not sure if my next step will be stable or will miss and make me land flat on my back.

But today, I faced my fear- in an Olympic Ice Arena even!

I was invited along to play a few games of broom hockey with my friend's ward. I was kind of hesitant to begin with, but I agreed to go. I put on my old brace and my game face, and took my first steps onto the ice, knowing full well exactly what I was doing.

Of course there were some extremely slick spots, but after the first game, I was getting competitive (our team was losing, sadly) and I began to overcome my fear. I started not only walking on the ice, but running across the ice! There were a few times where my balance was in question, but after all was said and done, I didn't fall down once! I feel nearly invincible! Ok, maybe not quite that confident, but I do feel proud of myself that I was able to face my fear and have a good time, even if our team didn't come out on top.

2010 in Review

Here it is. My 2010 in Review. With Pictures. Enjoy!

January-

2 new casts, and a haircut.

February-

Valentine's Dance at Snow College

March-

Pins out!

(No more casts!!!)

April-

Finals (not much time for blogging)

The beginning of #twuddytuesday on twitter

May-

The End of Physical Therapy

June-

Toy Story 3 came out!

(the shirt I made is shown under October)

July-

Road trip to Oregon/Washington with my Sparks buddies!

August-

Ryan and Laura's Wedding

Trip to New Orleans

Trip to DC to see Justin, Sarah, and Elliott

September-

My first niece Eleanor Marie was born!

October-

Rocktober Party 2010

Carving Pumpkins

BYU football games with Tommy, Richfield Singles Ward,

Glenwood YM/YW and Sparkies

November-

MAE concert---AND Meeting the Band!

The beginning of BYU Basketball

December-

Festival of Trees

(Me and Elyse with the tree we donated)

Christmas (my 21st birthday)

Finals, Parties, Family, and New Years Eve.

2010 was one of the best years of my life. It makes me even more excited to see where 2011 is going to take me! Happy New Year!!

Lately:

I love my boys! The season just started at the beginning of this month, but we're already doing amazing. I was able to go to the Jazz vs. Clippers game with some friends from my ward, and we won in DOUBLE OT. It was amazing. Since then, we've beaten Miami in OT, and then last night we beat the Magic. So awesome. I love it. (This means we have a better record on the road than we do at home.) PLUS, I'm legit friends with #44 Kyrylo Fesenko on Facebook. ha. I feel awesome.

This version of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" is LEGIT. I've been listening to it non-stop. Amazing! (if you right click on it, and hit "show all" you'll be able to see the full screen)

Haha. I loves me some twitter. I'm actually going to be on TV for using Twitter! I was interviewed by BYU Weekly about tweeting about Conference. I'll share the link once I get it. :)

Last week I was lucky enough to be able to go to the Mae concert and I met the band! So awesome!

Other than that, it's all about school until I make it to Thanksgiving. So far, I haven't fallen down, so that means no doctors appointments or casts. :) Always a big plus. Until next time then- Keep it real!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well, I'm off! Today starts my short week long vacation to the East Coast. Today I leave Salt Lake and make my way to New Orleans. I think I've got everything I need. haha. This will definitely be a new adventure! Hopefully I'll be able to update throughout the trip. Stay posted!

Quick Update

It's been a busy summer, friends. That is for sure. Full of work, adventure, and loads of fun! Here's a quick update while I have a minute between all the awesomeness!


Most of this summer has been dedicated to work. Mornings at BYU and afternoons at AMP. Long days, but its been worth it. Today is my last day at AMP, and I'm kind of sad to be leaving. I love the people I work with there, and we always manage to have a good time. I sure will miss it there. Maybe I'll even end up there next year again. Also with work, next week is Education Week at BYU. I got my schedule today, and all I can say is, Bring It! Should be fun.

Luckily, I only have to work M-Th of EdWeek because I'm going down to New Orleans for the second wedding reception next weekend. This weekend is going to be full with family, friends, fun, and the wedding. Exciting! I just love Laura, and even though the last few weeks have been stressful, I'm excited to have her in the family. :) and I'm excited to go on another adventure to New Orleans!

After spending the weekend in New Orleans, I'll be flying up to DC to visit my oldest brother and his family. I'm so excited to see them! Even in the few months its been since the last time I saw them, Elliott has started talking more and I'm just so excited. It's going to be a blast! Other than seeing them, I'm also pretty stoked to be able to say I went from coast to coast to coast this summer.

Oh yeah, a few weeks ago I went on a little roadtrip up to Washington State with some fellow Sparkies, and we had a great time! We visited the ocean, the Goonies house, spent a day in Seattle, and got to know each other a little better. Haha. Such a good time.

By the time I get back from DC, I'll have about 3 days to recouperate before classes start. Big day! I can't believe summer is almost over, but I'm looking forward to classes. It will be nice to do something other than sit at work all day.

So, those are some of the highlights. Other than that, I've been busy tweeting and laughing. Not too bad if you ask me.

Also, I'd like to wish a very very Happy First Birthday to my adorable nephew Abe! Sadly, I'll be missing his birthday party, but we'll party it up tomorrow at Lagoon! :) Look at that cute face. How can you just not love him?

FINISHED!!

Today was my last official day of physical therapy!!! I'm so excited! Physical therapy was the last big push to get my wrist nice and strong again after the surgery, and today, my physical therapist Doug Bagley, decided to cut me loose!

He still advised me to continue doing the strengthening exercises I've been doing for the rest of the summer, even increasing the weights more if (when) I can handle it. He said the main thing he's worried about is me falling on my wrist again, but other than that, it seems pretty much stable and I can gradually start working my way back to full capacity. He stressed the "gradually" part because he said I need to remember I've been favoring it for the better part of 4 years now. I can't just jump into full activity head first, but I'm closer than I've ever been. And that, is a very excellent feeling!!

As for the rest of my recovery, I have another appointment scheduled with Dr. Richards in 2 more weeks, but if I decide I don't want to go in, he said its totally fine if I call in and cancel. We'll see how I feel when that date gets closer. . . as of now I have a few questions I want to ask him, but everything feels excellent. In fact, I put on my brace last night before I went to bed and, for the first time in a very long time, it felt weird to put it on. Like, I didn't need it, and my wrist was like, what are you doing to me? I like that feeling. :)

Life is good! Other than the usual fun with my wrist, I'm busy working this summer, keeping up with my 2 jobs, I work mornings at Independent Study on campus, and I work afternoons at AMP in South Provo. Thankfully, that means I'm free at nights, and I'm loving it. Now we just need to have the weather completely warm up, and I'll be good to go!