is this real life?

Sometimes life punches you in the face and sits on top of you for a while.

Other times, life surprises you by being pretty darn awesome!

A few weeks ago, Janessa told me about an open house being given by Salus University (the PA school in Philadelphia that she was recently accepted to) and how she heard that they're going to start an occupational therapy program soon. I've been planning on going to grad school at the U for years though, so I was a little close-minded about other schools.

So I went to this open house, and stayed after to talk with some of the directors. Mostly I talked with Dr. Di Stefano, the vice president of student affairs. He gave me his card and told me to email him for more information, but after we had talked for a while he handed me another card and had me write down my name and email address so that he could make sure I got the information I needed. I emailed him a few days later and he said that he remembered me and told me that he'd been very impressed with me! He asked me to email him my resume, which he said he'd share with the director of the OT program, Dr. Gillard. 

Well

I hadn't heard anything from them in two weeks, so I was planning on emailing Dr. Gillard myself to let them know I was serious about their program. Thursday afternoon I got an email from her saying she'd seen my resume and was very impressed and that she would stay in touch with me and personally inform me when more information about their program was available! I emailed her this morning, letting her know I'd received her email, thanked her for looking at my resume, and told her I was excited to talk with her more. 

AND SHE EMAILED ME BACK TONIGHT! 

AND...

She  gave me her phone number!!

AND

She told me to call her ANY TIME!

AND

the  prerequisites to get into Salus are MUCH less intense than the U (read: no more math classes! No physics!) so I will be graduating this December instead of next April! 

Sometimes life is good :) 

weekend

This last weekend, I had the most fun I've had in a REALLY long time! I think every weekend of college should be like the last one. 

Seriously. 

It was the long weekend, so my and Janessa's old roommate* Ali came up from Provo to visit us. That was fun enough.
Friday night, pretty much the second after Al got here, we went to dinner at the best eating establishment  Rexburg has to offer--the taco bus (the one by the roundabout, obviously. The other one is a sad, weak imitation of this one.)
Anyway.
(can you tell I got these pictures from the facebook? haha)

After consuming five times the daily recommended value of...well, calories in general, we headed home to digest.
Which didn't last long, because we were soon on our way to one of the most glorious places on this earth, G's Dairy Delights! Love me some G's!

To round off a night of adventure, the three of us and some other friends went hot tubbing somewhere and just talked about a lot of things (some funny, some serious) and had a blast. I think I probably have a six-pack now, I was laughing so hard the whole night! We went to bed at like five that night. That was...fun.
(According to Al, this is called a "selfie." She's high-falutin now that she moved to provo, where there are more than 5 options for restaurants and half of those aren't inside old school buses. Whatev.)

On Saturday Janessa and I did homework most of the day. At night we went to a concert at Sammy's with our friends McCade and Erick. (Janessa and I got a lemon cupcake shake which was insanely disappointing).
(The guys were REALLY excited to be in this picture, obviously)

Followed by dinner at Applebee's.

 This night there was this huge snowstorm, pretty much the first of the winter, so later that night we went tubing behind a friend's truck.

We came through a little worse for the wear, but it was fun. 

So that happened. 

Sunday night Mom and Phil came to hear my fireside, it was neat to have them there. 

Monday we went out to breakfast and just chilled and had an easy day. 

Now it's back to school, my second week of teaching, and lots and lots of stress. 

It was a good weekend. 

Every weekend should be like this.

*Mine and Janessa's roommate? *Janessa's and my roommate? I worried over this for like five minutes and I still have no clue what the right one is. 

If you know what it is, don't tell me...I already feel bad enough about myself. 

 Oh well.

a story

Once upon a time, probably somewhere around last thursday, five-ish of the kids from my preschool class were the only ones outside during outdoor play (we usually share the playground with two other classes). 

During this time, I pretended to be a pirate and let them chase me.

In hindsight, this was a mistake.

Today, I went outside again and was immediately assaulted by the same kids from my class. 

But, being preschoolers, about a go-jillion (it's a word, my dad and I use it all the time) kids from the other classes followed suit, started screaming like a herd of feral banshees, and chased me around for approximately seventeen hours while I ran away screaming about how I don't want to go to jail because they don't have...

 popsicles. 

Whatever, don't judge me.

I would occasionally let them catch me and put me in jail, only to escape a few seconds later.

Followed by banshees screaming,

 "Teacher! Teacher! I'm going to get you!" 

"No pirates here!"
"I'm a pirate too! Get me!"
"Teacher wait, I'm on your side!"
"Get her! Get the pirate!"

"There are lots of popsicles in jail!"

Oh, also, at one point, there were about a hundred thousand of these "police officers" dragging escorting me back to jail, when all of a sudden I feel one little hand up the back of my shirt and I have to find an appropriate way to say,

"Um...let's keep our hands out of teacher's shirt..."

Happy valentine's day :)

Psalm 23

Twice in my life I've had the privilege of singing a different arrangement of the 23rd Psalm, and both times it has had a different meaning, depending on my situation in life and the trials I was (am) going through at the time. 

The first time was in my senior year of high school--I was in the Idaho All-State Women's Choir in Pocatello and the song was entitled, appropriately, Psalm 23. Singing it in rehearsals was emotional for me when I reflected on the words, but when we were finally performing it in the concert, I burst out in tears right on the stage as the song came to its climax and we sang,

"Surely goodness and mercy will follow me. 

And in the house of the Lord, 

I will dwell forever, I'll dwell forever!

Lauda! Lauda!"

I remember feeling so loved by my Savior that I just couldn't contain all that love and joy. Hence the tears. 

Now I'm in a choir called From the Heart. We sing pretty awesome spiritual songs. We're singing one right now called, "Brother James' Air." It's pretty much my favorite song of our program. 

(Backstory: the choir went on retreat in Island Park this weekend (fear not, separate cabins for ladies and gents) and sang and sang and sang until we had our songs learned.)

One thing I love most about FTH is when people offer personal insight about the songs we're singing.
One thing someone shared about this song on retreat was its message about the atonement, and how, if we trust in the Savior and align our will with His, we need not fear. 

We don't have to be afraid of anything. 

"Yea, though I pass through shadow's death

yet will I fear no ill. 

For Thou art with me, and Thy rod

and staff me comfort still. 

Rod and staff.

Comfort still. 

Comfort still."  

Sometimes when I'm praying for guidance through a trial, I'll receive an answer, and I'll know what it is the Lord wants me to do;

but many times I lack the faith to believe that if I do what I'm prompted, things will turn out alright. 

In my head, I know that the Lord won't let us walk in the dark long before he lights the way ahead, but I have a hard time applying it to myself, especially in the past few weeks.

This weekend I was strongly reminded of this and my testimony of my Saviors love for me and mindfulness of all of His children as individuals was strengthened in a way that I've been searching for in weeks past, but haven't been able to find. 
I'm more grateful than I can say for the examples of my fellow choir members, and their willingness to share the things they feel when touched upon by the spirit. 
"Goodness and mercy all my days will surely follow me,
and in my Father's heart alway, my dwelling place shall be"