People Watching

You know what the best pastime  ever is? People watching. In the Library. The girl on my left has been totally eyeing the guy across from her for the past hour. Every time he looks her direction, she quickly looks away and does that little flirty smile thing that apparently woos men. The guy and girl in the row in front of me don’t really know each other very well and she is not interested at all. Do you know how I know this? She is awkwardly sitting with her arms and legs crossed, and he is leaning forward looking at her computer screen while she kind of cringes away. The man in a pink shirt front of me keeps making awkward eye contact with me. The guy behind me is super attractive. I almost want to ask him if I can get a picture with him. The girl diagonal to me keeps giggling every five seconds and it is driving me crazy.

But do you know what is even better than people watching? Composing letters. More specifically to Quinci’s date. Here it is:

Dear Mike,

                If you touch her I will kill you.

Love,

Quinci’s Husband (Rachel)

And it Came to Pass That We Ate People

And it came to pass that we ate people.

That is why I do not 100% believe that every story in 17 Miracles is a true fact. We have no scriptural proof that these events actually did occur. Our prophet has not claimed that these stories are true. The movie wasn’t even made by the church. The movie makers could have told a story about how the pioneers got so hungry that they ate each other like wolves and we would believe them… oh wait. They did.

So… I am a Child Development major and am now working on getting my Professional Preschool Education Associates degree. As a result of being around young humans most of my life, one of the questions that I get asked most frequently is why. Why? Why? WHY? So now it is my turn to explore the world through whys:

·         Why does it always snow a blizzard on Devotional days when I have to wear a skirt?

·         Why is it green jello? Why can’t it be chocolate pudding?

·         Why can’t I live closer to Disneyland?

·         Why do some people stare at me for a long period of time like I have something on my face?

·         Why can’t I meet Joseph Smith?

·         Why is it that the Titanic soundtrack makes me so sad every time I listen to it?

·         Why are the chairs in the Crossroad RED?

·         Why did they build a second BYU in Rexburg? Why not Sacramento California?

·         Why does my dad feel the need to run 50 miles on his 50^th birthday?

·         Why is Nauvoo already full for Spring semester?

·         Why isn’t the internet working?

·         Why do I expect people to do or say things that I would never do or say?

·         Why don’t I have the will power to go on a facebook fast?

·         Why can’t I use chopsticks?

·         Why does my hair take so long to dry?

·         Why do all the new freshman look so young? I didn’t look like that did I?

·         Why don’t I digest my iron supplement very well?

·         Why do I wish it was Christmastime?

·         Why do I care so much about what other people think?

·         Why do I love ice cream so much?

·         Why are Ashley and Kiah already married? We are still babies.

·         Why is two years such a long time to wait?

·         Why have I never broken a bone?

·         Why is curfew at 12:00 pm? Why can’t it be at 8:00 pm so that everyone will go to bed earlier?

·         Why don’t we have a Costco here in Rexburg?

·         Why do my home teachers decide to come at 11:30 at night?

·         Why do I drink so much water up here?

·         Why isn’t google working?

·         Why has my light bulb already burned out?

·         Why don’t I have the guts to chop all of my hair off?

·         Why are the walls of my room so white? And why can’t I paint them?

·         Why won’t Quinci go to the doctor?

·         Why is it so hard to find a ride up to Portland?

·         Why am I addicted to pintrest?

·         Why did Anne just roll her eyes when we told her that our stove top doesn’t work?

·         Why do I listen to the soundtrack from Disneyland? It just makes me want to go back.

·         Why do I love BYU-I so much?

·         Why is it getting dark so early?

·         Why am I in LOVE with Mormon Messages?

·         Why did my nine-year-old brother get front row seats to a Blazer game and I didn’t?

·         Why isn’t it April yet?

·         Why do I own so many movies that I never even watch?

·         Why do I feel like I am about to give birth to a camel?

·         Why don’t we have a deadbolt lock?

·         Why did I get so lucky to have the family that I do?

·         Why do I wake up not feeling rested at all?

·         Why don’t we have an ironing board?

·         Why do people get so mad when I don’t text back?

·         Why aren’t my boots waterproof?

·         Why do I crave chocolate all the time?

·         Why am I so bad at remembering to blog?

·         Why is it that my FHE brother didn’t know my name until last night? Oh yeah. Because he is engaged and doesn’t care.

·         Why am I SO baby hungry? This can’t be normal.

·         Why am I in an Educational Psychology class if I’m not even studying Education?

·         Why does my brother want to join the Marines? Why can’t he want to join an art club or something?

·         Why do I still have a high credit restriction on my account?

·         Why are our carpets green? It is the WORST color.

·         Why do I still have trouble coloring in the lines? It is a good thing I’m not studying Elementary Education anymore.

·         Why does my house still smell like deep-fried something?

·         Why can’t I actually impress the people I want to impress when I can woo the pants off of those people I have no interest in?

·         Why did Heidi and Matt decide to come to FHE 20 minutes after he had proposed?

·         Why do I say yes to do things when I know full well I don’t have the time?

·         Why don’t I know how to change the oil in my car or do anything related to that contraption we call a car for that matter?

·         Why does my ipod speaker not work?

·         Why is there more than one button on a blender?

·         Why are my nails so brittle?

·         Why does it have to snow and be windy at the same time?

·         Why is my favorite color yellow?

·         Why can’t I force myself to not eat desserts?

·         Why can’t I stop talking when I am nervous?

·         Why am I so quick to judge?

·         Why is that I have almost my entire wedding planned but am still missing the guy?

·         Why do I ask men if they get hot in bed?

·         Why don’t I just become a wedding planner?

·         Why did I pick the song I did for my wedding video? Everyone thinks I’m crazy?

·         Why do bad things happen to good people?

·         Why does Pandora always play the same songs over and over at work?

·         Why does the stapler not staple? Isn’t that its job?

·         Why do I cry every time I see someone else crying?

·         Why do Americans consume so much mayonnaise?

·         Why does God allow such attractive men to walk the face of this planet?

·         Why didn’t I take that Disneyworld internship?

·         Why do my hands turn purple every time I go outside?

·         Why can’t I sew on a button well enough for it to stay on?

Why am I asking so many question you may ask? Well... that is what life is about.

Caramelized Bacon

Once upon a time I was really bad at writing in my blog.  I’m not sure what happened to the writing every day thing. I did say that I was going to try. So. Today.

Today was a good day. I woke up. Did homework. Took a nap. Did homework. Made pancakes. Then my sweet FHE brothers made all of us a Valentines dinner that consisted of ravioli and garlic bread and a delicious salad with caramelized bacon. Did you know there was such a thing? I didn’t. But it was good.  Then we went to Comic Frenzy. The talent here at BYU-Idaho never ceases to amaze me. There is no way I could be that witty on the spot. But some people can. Then we went back to their apartment and make oreo balls. Delicious? I think yes. And now we are watching The Princess and the Frog. This movie reminds me of Elder Dowdle. Probably because we would always watch it together.

But now my body is telling me I need to sleep. So now I am going to listen. Because when your body feels like it is over 80 years old, you need to listen to it. Or gets angry.

Goodnight.

Hello? Are you there?

This could perhaps be the first time I have written in this blog since September. September 4^th to be precise. Hmmmmm…. Could this be a problem? No, not really. Probably because there has been nothing very exciting to share about my life. Although I was thinking about blogs the other day and how great they are. And here is why:

When I am an old lady with 44 wrinkles on my face, I am going to be so excited to read about my day-to-day college experiences. AND when I have a daughter who is going through a rough time, I can say “hey, I think I wrote a blog about that” and I will whip it out and read it to her. And I will basically be the coolest mom ever. SO. Here is the decision. I am going to try to write in my blog every day. Every single day. Did you read the part that said try? Good. Because I think that is kind of a key word.

So since last September, here is what has happened in the Fall 2011 Semester:

1.       I moved to Autumn Winds.

2.       I had great roommates named Allysa, Emily and Kendal.

3.       Ashley Middleton got engaged to Matthew Davis.

4.       Ashley and I went on a talent retreat and sang “Good Morning BYU” for the talent show… totally won… just sayin.

5.       Quinci, Stephanie and I all went with Kiah to shop for bridesmaids dresses all day…

6.       I became the coordinator for talent and ran about three shows.

7.       I went on some with nice men.

8.       I played miniature golf in the Snow Building and almost knocked out my date multiple times with the golf ball.

9.       I was going to go whitewater rafting but I didn’t. Probably because I had a meeting.

10.   I met and became good friends with Hillary.

11.   I went wedding dress shopping with Ashley.

12.   I spent a few days with Quinci’s family in American Fork Utah.

13.   I tried Café Rio for the first time.

14.   I went to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights for the first time.

15.   I attended Kiah Griffith’s wedding on December 20^th 2011 to Ramon Tangiora.

Over Christmas Break:

1.       I spent time with my family.

2.       I went down to Eugene for Christmas day to spend time with my extended family.

3.       I read the entire book “The Help.”

4.       I watched “The Help” for the first time.

5.       I got a new Cannon camera for Christmas. And a massage.

And now THIS semester:

1.       I started my new job at the Language and Letters Academic Discovery Center as a secretary.

2.       I decided that I am staying up here for the Spring semester.

3.       I got the calling to be a Relief Society teacher.

4.       That’s it.

Okay. That is my life in about a page for the past five months. Oh! And here is some exciting news: Elder Jonathan Kiser and Elder Kyle Dowdle have both been serving their missions in Brazil for SIX MONTHS now!! This means that they are already ¼ of the way through their missions. Hip hip hooray!!!!!

Now for today:

It was a B-E-A-utiful  day. The it looked like Spring… almost. Well… it was trying. Church was great. Except I kind of have a hunch that a good portion of our ward didn’t come because it is Super Bowl Sunday. Indeed it is. After a church we attended a Break the Fast with my ward and had deli sandwiches, veggie trays, chips and cookies. And water. Delicious. Especially when you have been fasting all day.

After church I called my family and talked to my little brother Jordan who announced that our pinewood derby car didn’t win for the first time in almost ten years. Someone else must have cheated. Obviously. The Dentons are champions when it comes to the pinewood derby. Everyone knows this.

Then our apartment friend came over. We discussed marriage, rings, married housing, rings, his mission, rings, his mission, his mission, his mission. Yes. I think I may have indeed have finally met someone who is just as excited to get married as I was my first semester. I’m not sure how I feel about this. He got home from his mission in Peru last October. He just broke up with his girlfriend on Thursday. And now he is asking my roommate out on a date. He is back in the game ladies and gentleman.

Hey Dude

Today was my last Sunday before I head back to school. Kind of bitter-sweet. But mostly sweet. I really am looking forward to being in a STUDENT ward again. Not a SINGLES ward. Both are very, very different. I don’t feel like I am being hunted in a student ward by all the creepy older men. Which will be a relief.

My room is whirlwind of mess. For some reason I am leaving with so much more than I brought home. Oh yeah. Maybe it was because I went shopping yesterday. Lots of cool new toys? Check.

Today my family wrote to our two missionaries. My youngest brother Jordan wrote a little something that went like this:

Hey dude. I hope you are having a good mission. I hope you are hyper. I wish you were going to serve here in Oregon so I could beat you up. Tell your mission president to switch your mission to Oregon. Okay? Is the food good there? If they serve you cake, soda and ice cream, please bring me back some. I am eating ice cream right now.

                Love, Jordan

Ohhhh… you gotta love eight year old brothers. I sure love mine.

Welcome to BYU-I

I can’t believe it… a week and a half before I start school. 13 days. 432 hours. 25,920 minutes. 1,555,200 seconds. Am I excited? Yes. April to September. Six months is too long to be at home. I don’t care who you are. Going back to Brigham Young University – Idaho will bring many adventures. New roommates, new apartment, new classes, new friends, and… new dating experiences. Yes. It is true. Dating is part of college life. A good/bad part. For example: when you go on a date and he proposes the first date = bad. Do I know from experience? What? As a wise friend recently pointed out, dating is like a game at BYU-I. No wait. It is a game. At first it is incredibly exciting, but as time wears on, you begin to grow tired of the game. The rules are always the same. Ten steps to eternal happiness:

1. You see the guy for the first time. Whether he is in your class, or you seem him across the row at devotional, or maybe you just pass him every day on the way to your religion class. You think he is gorgeous/attractive/good-looking. Well, he is enough to catch your eye.

2. You play the eye tag game. He catches you staring at him and you feel flustered but you want to play it cool. So you smile a little as you look away. He is hooked. This can go on for days/weeks/months depending on where it takes place and the kind of guy he is.

3. He will finally work up the courage to talk to you. Or maybe vice versa. Either way, you will talk about classes, the weather, the devotional that you just had… trivial things.

4. He will ask for your number. You give it to him.

5. He asks you to devotional. You go with him. The devotional is about marriage. You feel kind of awkward.

6. He asks you on a real date. You go to Twizzle Berry. You find that you have a lot of things in common. You go on a walk around campus. He takes you home five minutes before curfew. You tell each other you had a great time. He will hug you. You do not let him kiss you.

7. He asks you to hang out. You oblige. You enjoy yourself. At the end, he asks you if you will go home with him to meet his roommates. You do so. They are nice. You take him to meet your roommates. As soon as he leaves, you all gather around and they tell you how they feel about him. Whether or not they think he is cute, if they think he likes you, if you should date him… etc,etc.

8. He asks you to hang out yet again. This time he suggests that you go home with him to meet his parents and family. You do. You like them. They like you. You invite him to meet your family. He likes them. They like him.

9. He asks you to marry him. You say yes. You get married in the temple for time and all eternity four months later.

10. You have five kids.

The end. The same. Welcome to BYU-I.

Do You Hear the People Sing?

Much has indeed happened since I have last written:

1. It is now August. The summer is almost over. My paper chain that I made back in May is getting very short. I leave in one month to go back to school. September 9^th. The same day Harry Potter left to go to Hogwarts. Just putting it out there.

2. I saw Les Miserables last Saturday night. It is perhaps the greatest musical ever conceived. No. It IS the greatest musical ever conceived. I cried and cried throughout the entire play. At the end I was a wreck. There was not a single dry eye to be seen in the theater. The hero of the story, Jean Valjean, is perhaps the greatest man ever known. No. He IS the greatest man ever known.

                Dear Victor Hugo,

Thanks for writing such a great story. I don’t know if you know this, but it has been turned into a musical. A good play. A little raunchy in some parts (okay… a lot) but a good play nonetheless. You are a wonderful, brilliant man. You should win a prize or something. Maybe a gold star. I just wanted to let you know that I am now reading your book. Yes, the unabridged 1222 page, three inches thick book. I’m not planning on finishing it for a while. Probably a few years.

                Much Love,

                Rachel

3. One of my good friends is getting married. Soon. Before the year is over. Am I in shock? Why yes I am.

4. I have decided that next summer I am taking the Disneyworld internship (if I get it of course…). End of discussion.

5. I have decided that the next summer I am going to do study abroad. I will be going to Europe and traveling all around the different European countries.

Do you know what this all means? That I don’t think that I can get married any time soon.