Is it just me, or is April always super busy?!

If we're going to be honest, April has always been a busy month for me. Between my birthday and Easter (usually), it was also the prime time to prepare for AP tests in high school and finals while I went to BYU. April of last year (2015) was probably the least busy April I've had in a long time since I was done with school and just had birthdays, Easter, and a baby to worry about.

This year? Busy. Super busy.

Firstly, Douglas graduated from BYU with his Masters degree in Information Systems Management! This meant that we had family in town, which meant that we had plenty of things to keep us busy all week, from lots of eating together to hiking the Y (but only partially because... 2 toddlers and a pre-schooler. Enough said.) to playing at kids gyms and taking walks up in Provo Canyon.

On top of that, we got a house. Thus, April was full of packing, and driving back and forth from apartment to house, and inspections, and appliance/tool shopping, and cleaning... so tiring.

Add Easter to that, as well my first prenatal visit, hosting my brother at our apartment for several days right before our big moving day, and having 5 birthdays (including mine) to celebrate among Doug's immediate family members alone... and it was a crazy month. There were occasional tears and lots of ice cream breaks and here we finally are at the end of the month!

We survived.

I'll have plenty of things to blog about in the next month, some obvious ones being this second pregnancy and about some of the ups and downs of home ownership. I'm also excited to get back to working on my photography (my camera's been put on the back burner for the past month or two) and picking my Trim Healthy Mama recipes back up again (I still need to post about that!)

So... here's to getting through this busy month! I love April, but goodness it's always kind of crazy!

happy yellow flowers

I'm sticking with my goal to figure out how to use my phone's camera better.
Here are some of my favorite (albeit low-quality) shots as I walked along the BYU River Trail today.

Those mountains. Gorgeous.

I'm still amazed at how beautiful this campus is. And have any of you BYU peeps been by the new Life Sciences building? The grounds are not done yet, but there will be waterfalls flowing right down the hill by that building. It is going to be so pretty.

Sometimes, all I need are some happy yellow flowers, a beautiful college campus (which I really miss sometimes) and the perfect, sunny, slightly warm and windy summer day to remind me that I have a very good life. I really enjoyed my walk to campus today (even though it was crawling with high-school-aged EFY kids) and it was just good for my soul.

I truly am blessed. I need to be sure to remember that more often.

Look out, there's a grad in the house!

So... I've graduated from college.

There's really not much else to say. My parents and youngest sister came over from California to see my ceremonies, we've eaten a LOT of food in the past couple days, and it's been rainy and overcast all weekend. I'm okay with that, if it means that it won't get deathly hot for a while still.

Well, a blog post isn't a blog post without some pictures, so here's some of me and family and friends while I'm wearing my wrinkly blue robe. Ironing? Ain't nobody got time for that!

And of course, there was that moment when President Uchtdorf spoke at my graduation ceremony. No big deal, ya know.

Well, that's that.

Next on the list: packing. It will be weird not living in Wymount any more, but hey... life goes on. Plus, I'm not complaining about having a dishwasher and air conditioning at our new place. And there are normal walls instead of cinder-block. Those are definitely pluses, in my opinion.

It's the last time, I promise!

Today I finished the very last final of my college career.

I graduate tomorrow.

How strange is that??!?!

And one thing that I'm adding to my pet peeves list: people asking me what my post-college plans are. But that's a whole can of worms I won't touch on right now.

In other news, the ballroom dance concert is over with and I am officially not working on any productions or performances at the moment. That has not happened in a long time. Sure, I've already agreed on another production, but our rehearsals won't start until fall... so I'm all good, right?

Going back to the ballroom concert... I promise, this is probably the last time I'll ever post about my ballroom adventures. Kinda sad, but that's how it goes. Despite the bruised knees from our "sausage rolls" trick and the exhaustion of having multiple 6 AM rehearsals where we just danced and danced for 2 hours straight, the concert ended up being a very fun experience. Even though I hopped on the ballroom bandwagon a little too late in my life, I'm still glad I got the chance to do it this past year. It's been an experience like no other.

Not to mention these Jive dresses were super fun to wear.

I guess one good thing that comes out of graduating is that I don't feel guilty about taking time to write blog posts when I should be doing homework... so I'm tempted to promise you all that I'll update this thing more frequently now :P

Good timing too, because we've got some big things coming up, such as moving! It's nothing too special, just from one apartment complex to another, but it's new for us, and change is needed every now and then, right? When you get down to it... this should be a good summer.

Because Gene Kelly is that awesome

You guys. I'm done with the month of March. You don't even know how happy I am about that.

I've had a nice, long, hard month full of ballroom competitions and performances, plenty of homework, and a one-month rehearsal process for the production Jimmy Stewart Goes to Hollywood. We just had our performances this weekend, so the amount of things I have to do in April is half of what I was doing in March. Are there still projects and papers? Yes. Is there still a big, fancy ballroom concert to prepare for that I'm having three 6:30 AM rehearsals for this week? Yes. But there are only two weeks of classes left in my college career - then finals - then graduation!

Meanwhile, let me show off these bright, happy yellow dresses that we used for one of our most recent performances. We did a quickstep to the song "Good Morning" and so I had Gene Kelly constantly echoing in my head, while simultaneously doing a play where the all the characters are from the golden age of Hollywood. Lots of classics in my life. Because people like Jimmy Stewart, Gene Kelly, and Ginger Rogers are all so great.

Happy yellow dresses. I think they're my favorite costume we've had (although I have not seen what costumes we'll be wearing for the concert yet).

Needless to say, every time I'm around my team members in the morning this song is bound to come up. Who can't spend a month working on a quickstep to "Good Morning" and not start singing it every morning?!

Happy end of March, everyone. The green buds that are appearing on the trees are telling me it's going to be a good month.

Spring already??? Naaaw...

The only possible explanation is that Provo and Mother Nature are working together to play a trick on me. That's why it's been raining the past couple days instead of snowing. I mean, I'm not complaining, but I can only assume that winter is going to bite back with a vengeance. And it will probably be on Valentine's Day when my ballroom team has to travel to do a show somewhere (yes, we have a show on the 14th. *sigh...)

For now though, I'll just take what dear Mother Nature is offering me.

And, on top of that, I've survived the semester so far without any "senioritis" kicking in! So far. I can't promise that will last. 74 days from now, I'll be a college graduate! Not that I'm counting, of course.

Meanwhile, I've agreed to be the stage manager for yet another production (will I ever give myself a break?), all of our performances for Little Women are completely sold out and we're less than two weeks away from performances, and Doug & I had a fun, fancy time at the annual married student Y-Ball this weekend. It wasn't as fancy as last year, but we still enjoyed ourselves. Anything for the chance to dress up, right?

100 Days

Kindergarten.
Part way into the school year, my teacher announced that we had made it through 100 days of school. We had a party. They gave us 100 treats (10 pretzels, 10 M&Ms, 10 marshmallows, etc. and then you add them all up to 100). There were balloons. There was CapriSun. It was quite the accomplishment for a little kindergartner.

That was so long ago.

Yesterday marked 100 days until I am done with college. That includes weekends, so it's a little different than the 100 days of school that I celebrated as a kindergartner... but still. The point is that it's so strange to think of that day years ago when I celebrated having 100 days of school under my belt and compare it to where I am today, with only 99 days left until I'm a graduated woman. And tomorrow will be 98. AH!

Strange. It reminds me that I'm grown up. And I keep growing up.

Scary.

I think I'll go scarf down post-Christmas chocolate now.

When in doubt. . . .

...paint your nails.

This was my first time trying something with rhinestones. I think I like using them... expect something more creative as time goes by! I'm slowly getting better at this "nail art" stuff... and I don't even have any fancy-shmancy nail polish pens or anything! Gah, so much nail polish! I think I have a problem.

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After a week consisting of a 24 hour flu bug, last minute ballroom audition decisions, lots of book selling/buying, and plenty of chocolate, I have reached the middle of the first week of my last semester of college. The week started off as great as I could have asked, but the past 24+ hours have felt like a fiasco and a half. It did not help that I walked out the door for school this morning - already pushing for time - to find that it was snowing. I literally stopped in my tracks and stared at it, not believing that it could possibly be snowing on today of all days. Basically, I was wearing boots with no traction, nearly slipped several times, and was late to school - you'd think by now that I would learn to check the weather when getting ready in the mornings so I can dress accordingly... but no... Thank goodness for a dear, sweet, kind, loving husband who walks all the way back to school in the snow when I'm done with class to bring me my snow boots so I wouldn't have a miserable journey home.

Love that guy.

And I'm already impatient for spring.

In other news... this semester will consist of my last round of Gold Standard and Latin Ballroom classes, as well as my last semester doing Ballroom Team. Last semester doing ballroom ever, really, because I know I won't continue with competing or anything after college. It's a little sad to think about, but all good things come to an end. I wish wish wish that I had started Ballroom technique classes during my freshman year instead of halfway through my junior year; I could have gotten so much further with my dancing. Also, I love my teacher Brent, bless his little heart. So many people either dislike him or think he's too harsh, but he's just the sort of teacher I've needed during my ballroom experience. He's only hard because he expects so much of us; he has pushed me to be better, shown a level of subtle, indirect confidence in my potential as a dancer even when I sat there thinking I could never be good, and I know he has a heart of gold under all the work-you-till-you-drop exterior. To all those who give him anything less than "good quality" on Rate My Professors: you are brainless wusses. That is all.

Fudge in my Mailbox

All has been quiet on the blogging front because goodness knows that finals week is beastly. I am excited for vacation!

The last two weeks of the semester wrapped up nicely, though.
We had our last ballroom team performance of the semester. Viennese waltz... I love you. So fun. I also think I wore my ultra fuzzy and awesome Ballroom Dance Company jacket for a week straight.

I painted an 8 foot tall board for my scenic art class and it looked great in the end.
My final paper for my Dramatic Literature class is A-worthy, in my opinion.
I can now say that I got an A on Brent Keck's Gold 1 Latin Dance final. I never dreamed... gah. Speechless.
Christmas candles are the love of my life.
I fail at scheduling visiting teaching appointments.
There's nothing quite like a clean apartment.
Aspen Grove is beautiful when it's covered in snow. That's the second time I've had a Christmas party up there...
I made the discovery that The Santa Clause makes my hubby laugh. A lot. Which makes me laugh. A lot. It's a never ending cycle.

And... my finals week was topped off by opening a Christmas package from home and discovering that mom had put homemade fudge in the box. I almost died of happiness, I really did. How did she know I was craving it?!

This year will be the very first year in my life that I'm not home in California with my family for Christmas. I'm sure I will be sad about it on Christmas Day... but right now I'm super excited because I'm heading towards the opposite side of the country, and you'll never guess where I'm going!!!!

Maybe my freshly painted nails can give you a hint? Don't judge them too harshly, I took the picture right after I was done painting them, and I still haven't cleaned the edges with acetone... I was in a hurry and am currently in a plane flying far away from my nail care supplies.

Piano, Parades, and Such

First of all, Seussical is done with! It was a successful show, and it received a lot of praise. I had tons of fun rocking out on the piano in my little corner of the backstage area. It was a LOT of piano time for me. I even developed a blister on my thumb from all the times I had to glissando.

My next project is being the music director for a production of the musical Little Women. Auditions are coming up at the end of this month, and the show is in February. It very well might be my very last theatre project while I'm at BYU!

Why? Because I'm graduating in April! And I just applied for graduation yesterday. AH! How strange to think about!

Saturday marked the day of the Homecoming Parade in preparation for BYU's Homecoming Game that night. Performing in the parade as part of the BYU Ballroom Dance Company was awesome, even though by the end of it all my energy was gone. It was so fun to have all the little kids on the parade route reaching out their hands to get high fives and to see the adult ballroom fans call out things like "you guys look great" or "you're all so good" or "I love you guys!" Surprisingly, I had plenty of energy the rest of the day and my legs didn't really hurt much. Instead, I was sore in my shoulder area. I think it's because of all the big arm movements I had to do. My legs were prepared but my arms were not, which was not what I was expecting with Triple Swing.

Here's a random picture shot on the parade route. Polka dot dresses, curly ponytails, keds, bobby socks, and all. I'm on the left side of the picture at the very front of that pack of 4 girls. We had to run to catch up to the group before us because when we stopped to do our dance, we would never travel far enough to keep up. So when we weren't dancing, we were running. It was a workout.

On a separate note, I found an opportunity between classes last Wednesday to wander along the BYU South Campus River Trail, and it was lovely. That pathway is always gorgeous, especially in the fall. Many of the trees haven't truly started changing color yet though... shame on them.

^^^^^ I'm always in my Latin skirt and flip flops/sandals on M/W/F because I have to go from class to class, and half of them are ballroom. Yes, even when it's cold, I wear my skirt. I'm sure I will choose warmth over convenience once the snow comes.

I'm so lucky to attend such a beautiful campus.
I'm so thankful I have a body that allows me to move and dance.
I'm so glad I have an appreciation and talent for music and theatre.
I'm just an artsy gal.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.

When we have theatre parties

Loud talking, hot dogs, strange t-shirts (a surprise every year!), and a chilly nip to the air.

Those things are what I associate with the annual Opening Social for the Theatre/Media Arts college.

And I must say, I liked this year's social better than last year's. Perhaps it was the sunflower centerpieces. Perhaps it was because I knew so many people and was sitting with the noisiest, loudest, craziest group of thespians, all of whom I have worked closely with on theatre productions since March of this year. Perhaps it was the Swedish Fish that someone brought to the party (gotta love red dye #40).

Not pictured: Lindsay.

Because she was busy taking the photo.

I'm a theatre geek. And proud of it.
Oh, how I love these people.

Props to dear Douglas for coming with me and sitting in the midst of a group of people he barely even knows. I'm sure we all seem pretty crazy to him. It's a good thing he did some theatre in high school and has been exposed to my world. Of course, I'm sure he didn't bargain on a wife who goes around singing all of Neil Patrick Harris's past 3 Tony Awards opening numbers for hours on end. Because that's what I was doing yesterday. And I made him watch all the videos with me on Youtube.

And I've been singing Seussical songs for ages. Before that it was Hello, Dolly. And my next broadway soundtrack obsession will probably be Jekyll and Hyde, followed by Little Women. Yes, I plan these things out.

Anyways...

I was cold by the end of the night. Sweater weather!!!!! Come to me!
And I want pumpkin cookies.
Thank goodness for Friday and weekends and the Holy War Rivalry Football Game this weekend. And then there's EviDance, which I have to go see on Saturday night at the same time as the football game. I'm sure the concert will be worth it, but all the exciting stuff in the game better happen during the second half when I'm back from the concert and can watch.

On that note, I'll say good night.

Weekly Wishes 9.9

I lived through one of the most ridiculous storms I've ever seen over the weekend. You wouldn't believe how quickly those clouds blew in and how heavy the rain was! We had flash floods and tree branches falling and so much wind. I'm glad I wasn't out driving in that crazy weather because I would have been hydroplaning everywhere. The best part? BYU was about to start pre-game warm-ups for a football game against Texas. The stadium emptied pretty quickly and the game was postponed for nearly 2 hours.

But today the sky is blue... it's a new week... and it's time for another weekly wishes post!

Source.

I couldn't resist borrowing this photo from Washington Post. When I say the stadium emptied, I mean it!

Last Week
- Organize my jewelry shelves. Okay, I completely forgot about this one. I had a good excuse though, and that leads me to my next goal:
- Rock my ballroom auditions. You guys. Not only did I get into the Gold Latin class, but I also made it into the BYU Ballroom Dance Company! YOU GUYS! I am so excited, you have no idea! We are going to start learning our first routine today: a samba. Ooooooooh, I love ballroom dance so much! And now you'll be seeing more on this blog about the inner workings of a ballroom dance team. Whoo!

This Week
- Let's try the jewelry organization goal again. Yeah. I like that idea.
- Do some "fall cleaning". Who said spring cleaning was only for spring? I need to get ready for fall, and that includes a nice, clean apartment. AND I'll only allow myself to put up fall decorations once the cleaning is done, so that is great motivation because I love fall with all my heart.

Have a wonderful Monday, everyone!

Brace Yourselves

Autumn is coming

The first leaves have fallen.
Capri pants will soon be a thing of the past.
My flip-flops are going to retire soon and be replaced by boots and other warmer shoes.
And I am so thoroughly excited about it.

The small changes in the weather and the environment are almost making me giddy. My fall decorations are going up soon! You guys, I'm dying here! It's the best time of the year, in my opinion! So very very excited :)

And I had my very last First Day of School today. In case anyone was wondering. Aww, how precious. And it was a little anti-climactic because I only had one class, and it didn't meet until the afternoon. Oh, the perks of being a college senior. I'll be up bright and early tomorrow for my ballroom class auditions though! Fingers crossed!