10 things that made me happy this week . . .

1. finishing off my semester! it's over. i can relax and socialize! but i still feel anxious if i'm not doing anything, like i'm forgetting an assignment or something. i think it will take a few weeks before i really get out of student mode.

2. i now know for a fact that i got an "A" in latin.

3. i've already read a book and a half since finishing this semester. oh, how i've missed it!

4. three-day weekend! i got to sleep in and lounge around all day on monday. glorious.

5. my new swimsuit arrived and fits, all in time for vacation.

6. after a year of searching and agonizing, my mom finally picked out new flooring for the kitchen. next . . . entertainment center for the tv room . . . she's only been looking for about five years.

7. had dinner out with friends for nate's birthday. good food, good conversation . . . it's so nice to socialize again.

8. i was really happy with the way my vlad iii dracula paper turned out. plus, now when i read "dracula" and "the historian" i understand so much more of the history they mention.

9. on my way to get a pedicure . . .

10. um, this is going to sound redundant, but . . . I'M LEAVING FOR HAWAII IN 3 DAYS! 7 days of relaxation and frivolity. yes please!

10 things that made me happy this week . . .

1. i am a page and a half away from completing my semester. it's looking good folks.

2. saw "star trek." very good. never been a fan of the show, but dang! that was a good flick.

3. adam lambert performing with kiss. seriously, who can do that?

4. john went through the temple for the first time.

5. eating cheese curds in fermenting cream at the north indian bar and grill with neal.

6. ordered a new swimsuit for hawaii. hopefully it will fit because i don't have time to return it.

7. got to hold a two-day old bunny. so cute. i had no idea how little they are!

8. found some really cute and airy new clothes to help keep me cool in hawaii.

9. i exercised my civic right and voted and now the politicians know exactly what we think about their tax raises.

10. did i mention i'm going to hawaii in a few days?

10 things that made me happy this week . . .

i am so worn out and frazzled that i'm not entirely sure i can come up with 10 things . . . not because they didn't happen, but because my brain has absolutely maxed out and can't remember anything that's not imperative to school or relief society. but i'll give it a whack:

1. my vacation countdown is ticking away . . . it's getting closer and closer, and it couldn't be more welcome!

2. went out to ethiopian food over the weekend with friends. i know what you're thinking . . . isn't the whole problem with ethiopia that they don't have food? well, the do have it, and it's great. plus, you get to eat it with your hands. and it's served family style on one big platter, so everyone is basically digging into community piles of bean pastes and meat with their hands, which makes you feel like you're five years old . . . and i loved it.

3. saw the movie "coraline" with the same friends. very cute and creepy all at the same time. and there are moments that sent regina and i into hysterics.

4. having a friend like regina who laughs hysterically at the same morbid and offbeat things that i do. i'm not all alone in the world . . .

5. as of wednesday night i am officially done with classes for the semester. now i just have to write three papers and take a final . . . that's all . . . no pressure . . .

6. i registered for my classes for fall semester . . . latin 1b and african civilization. i'm really looking forward to them. i'm thinking of taking a third class . . . but after these last few weeks, i'm not so sure . . . may be a little bit too much while still working 35 hours per week.

7. met with a guy from the evaluations office and he's helping me petition several of my classes. so helpful!! he's 99.9% sure they're going to accept my field biology class from rick's, which is fantastic because i can't even begin to express how much i do not want to take any life science class again ever in my life.

8. my summer reading list is shaping up to be quite eclectic and informative. feel free to offer suggestions. i'm so excited to read for pleasure again! i haven't been able to do that for about a month now . . .

9. heidi is visiting with afton. she's so cute i wanna die.

10. adam lambert. i have never watched american idol before. it's too obnoxious. but last year i saw "wicked" in los angeles and adam lambert played fiyero, and he blew my mind he was so amazing. when i saw he was going to be on american idol this year i decided to watch as long as he was on. i can't even believe how perfect his voice is. it's insane. who has that much control? seriously. flawless. but i almost hope he doesn't win so he doesn't have to record whatever lame-sauce song they come up with for the winner. who writes that crap?

10 things that made me happy this week . . .

1. i'm researching vlad III dracula. he's cool in a kills-everything-in-sight way. diggin' it.

2. the family has decided to take a trip to hawaii. i've always been kind of indiferent toward hawaii, but now i'm super excited to see pearl harbor. we bought tickets. it's done. we're going.

3. i saw "wolverine." awesome. hooray for x-men . . . which brings me to my next thing that made me happy . . .

4. hugh jackman. just knowing that men like that are in the world makes me happy. i watched highlights from "australia" last night. *sigh* if i move to australia, do you think i'll magically find my own "drover"? might be worth the experiment . . .

5. the end of school is in sight . . . which is both scary and exciting. the good news is that my grades are high enough that i'm not worried in the least about passing. the worst that could happen is that i wouldn't get an "A".

6. i did all my laundry this weekend. it was pretty backed up. now i have tons of choices.

7. relief society slumber party. very fun. very loud. i sang karaoke, which never happens.

8. snaps is the name of the game, the name of the game is snaps . . . i know the secret, do you?

9. john got his wisdom teeth out and his cheeks are all puffed out. ha ha.

10. david and debbie termeer. (wink, wink) thanks for the cadburry mini eggs.

cowboys, cowboys everywhere

it's was time for the clovis rodeo again. oh happy day. thursday night was pbr night. sharon and i were joined by regina, kendall, maria, mike, melanie and lori. regina and lori had never seen bull riding before, which is a travesty, but they have been cured of the affliction.

it was a pretty good night. not quite as good as the full pbr tour, but i'll take it! we didn't get to go on friday because i had a wedding out of town (more on that in another post), but sharon and i were back at the rodeo grounds on saturday for a full day of performances. we had tri-tip sandwiches, we laughed at the women wearing clothing completely inappropriate for their size, and enjoyed the athletes and animals.

bull riders

barrel racing

mutton busters

bronco riding

jessica getting married

jessica got married in the oakland temple

which was lovely because it afforded me the opportunity to go into a temple i haven't been in before. also, my parents were married in the oakland temple almost 32 years ago, so it holds special meaning to our family. it was a glorious day - sunny, in the 80's . . . unfortunately the wedding party encountered several set backs.

first, miss kristen, one of the bridesmaids, had a hazardous chemical spill at work in the wee small hours of the morning (she works graveyards), so she wasn't able to leave on time. she tried her best to make it, but the fates were against her and she missed her exit and went the wrong way. she missed the ceremony, but she made it for pictures and lunch.

the bride and groom families had two cars break down, one before they ever left town, and one on the freeway en route to the temple. fortunately there were enough empty spaces and parties driving to oakland that everyone was able to be squeezed in and make it to the ceremony.

and to top off the whole day, regina's car wouldn't start after the wedding. here we are, non-mechanics one and all, trying our best to divine what could possibly be wrong?!?!

honestly, by this point, it was hilarious. seriously, how many things can go wrong on a single wedding day? we called up a tow truck, and the tow-guy got the car started by banging on the fuel tank with a hammer . . . yeah, who knew? turns out the fuel pump was failing. we attempted to drive the car home after we got it started, but we only got about 10 miles down the freeway before it turned off again. three hours and a rental car later we were racing home to try and get the two bridesmaids in our car to the wedding reception. we left regina's poor car stranded at a gas station in oakland.

we got to the reception an hour and a half late . . . but we did make it!

i guess the most important thing is that jessica and james are married!! so the day was ultimately a success.

regina went back to oakland on saturday (with our trusty mechanic-in-shining-armor, brian) to retrieve her car in whatever way possible. apparently brian has the secret touch. he banged on the fuel tank so effectively that it drove all the way back to fresno. it is currently in the hospital, being treated for a faulty fuel-pump, and other things that must be fixed.

pfffffffssssst . . . cars! there's always something wrong with them.