Be Prepared.

So today I decided to read my New Year post from last year:

{Confession} + 2010 EXCITEMENT!

So I purposely didn't blog yesterday with a 2009 rewind.. Why? because I won't lie 2009 has been the toughest year of my life so far and I don't really care to go through and post pictures that help to relive the struggle.

Instead I chose to post today in celebration of the anticipation that I have for 2010! For the last four years of my life I've had such a vision of how my life was going to be at this point and right now my life is everything but what I pictured-- which has recently opened my eyes to all of the opportunities that I have before me!

For the first time in a long time I feel like I can do whatever I want to do!

BYU

MISSION

STUDY ABROAD

TRAVEL

etc.

Let's just say that I could literally be ANYWHERE come 2011.

& did I mention...I'm STOKED :D

BAHAHAHAHA Lakyn and I read that and had a pretty good laugh. I think if I would've known what 2010 had in store I might've been a little more grateful for 2009 haha.

Lesson for 2010--

Be grateful for your good times and bad times because despite what you might think... it could get worse!

So needless to say this year my forecast won't be quite so peppy because it's kind of a bummer to read how excited I was for the beginning of what turned out to be another trying year... But I am TRULY grateful for the great friendships I've had the opportunity to develop and also for the experiences that have made me a stronger person.

This year I think my main goal is to be prepared. Be prepared for whatever 2011 has in store-- Good or Bad. I want to be more spiritually prepared, more mentally prepared, and more physically prepared for whatever the Lord has in store for me!

So bring it 2011!

(just don't bring it too hard please ;)

The Nighttime Whatifs

Whatif

by Shel Silverstein

Last night, while I lay thinking here,
some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
and pranced and partied all night long
and sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I'm dumb in school?
Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there's poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don't grow talle?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won't bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems well, and then
the nighttime Whatifs strike again!

I do love this poem and smiled when I reread it for the first time in years, but it's 3 am.

These Nighttime [and daytime] Whatifs have got to end--

Completion

After a grueling 2.5 hour written examine which included:

13 2-5 sentence short answer (about anything from colonial America to Reconstruction in 1877)

1 8-10 paragraph essay (topic: did the north win the civil war or did the south lose, defend your answer)

1 10-12 paragraph essay (topic: History is often written from the winners prospective, write about specific historical events from 18th & 19th century taking the prospective of African American slaves or Native Americans)

I AM FINISHED!

SIDE NOTE: my professor didn't even give us a review.. directly quoted conversation

Student: Do we get a review for the final?

Richards: No.. you just need to know everything.. [seeing the panicked looks on all our faces]..Ya'll (she's a "southern bell" aka not scared to speak her mind) need to learn how to separate the wheat from the chaff. It's part of the college experience" AKA sift through your 15 pages of notes and figure out what we think she thinks is important info... SHEEZ!

Needless to say I might have carpal tunnell, but the good news is I LIVED! I honestly... wait.. I was about to say that I honestly don't know how I survived this semester but I know EXACTLY how I survived: practically ZERO social life, library after work from 8-midnight multiple times a week, sneaking Pepsi into the library to keep me awake, getting 6 hours of sleep a night, never working out and studying between clients at the bank. That is how I made it-- well actually I dunno if I made it because grades aren't posted and they could be rough, but I'm being optimistic :)

BYU is hands down the hardest thing I've ever done (intellectually that is). Everyone there is just so frickin smart! oh man well that's my story! Now I can focus on getting Christmas presents and catching up on my sleep.

Loves!

Genealogy.. I am doing it

Did I ever mention that I picked a major? and that it's Family History and Genealogy?

Well if not-- That's my major! So I for my Family History class this semester I have to have 30 research hours.. and the research log is due Thursday... and I have 15 hours... sooooo I'm literally living in the library this week trying to get my research hours completed.

During this this time I discovered that my family has a book written about my family history! And the BYU Library had the book.. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES! haha so I've been reading it for the last hour or so and I just wanted to share this little blip written about my ancestor Archibald Waller Overton Buchanan by his grandson and published in the June 1974 Ensign:

Teenage Witness to the
Martyrdom

By: Golden R. Buchanan

Just a lad of eight or nine was I, but I have not forgotten what he
said, or how the old man trembled as he talked.

Grandpa Archie sat in Mother’s rocker, waiting for his lunch.
Suddenly he called me to him, took me on his lap, and said, “Golden, I am old. I
won’t be around much longer, but I have something to say to you that must not be
lost. I want my grandchildren and their children to know that I was in Nauvoo
when they murdered our Prophet.”

His old body trembled, and he squeezed me until I was almost
frightened as I felt the deep anger in his soul. His feeble eyes blazed, and his
soft, faltering voice became as hard as ice, and as cold:

“How I hated those who dared lay their hands upon the prophet I
loved.”

He sighed, and his old body relaxed a little. “I was there when
they brought their bodies back from Carthage. I saw their bloody, lifeless
forms; I heard the anguished cries of their wives and neighbors; I saw their
sobbing children and tried to comfort them.

“I knew the Prophet’s boys, played with them. They were often in
our home, and I in theirs. Now they were fatherless, even as I. Their father was
a martyr by bullets; my father was dead because of drivings, persecutions, and
hate—but no less a martyr for the truth.

“I was there when they buried the sandbags to deceive the mob and
laid the bodies in secret graves.”

Grandfather paused. He needed strength. And then he went on:
“Listen again, my son. I tell you this because I want you to know. After the
Prophet’s body fell from the window at Carthage, the mob rushed upon him to
desecrate his body. But God would not permit this act of violence. He sent a
sheet of lightning between the Prophet and those sons of the infernal pit, and
they dared not touch him. Golden, my son, remember this—they could not touch
him. They ran and are running still and will run till judgment
day.”

He was tired now and his voice trailed off, “I hope I am present at
that day.”

He dozed. Slowly the color crept back into his face, and when he
opened his eyes, they shone with a light I had not seen before. Holding me at
arm’s length, he commanded with a voice that no longer shook:

“My boy, look at me and listen. I want you to hear it from one who
was there. I want you to hear it from one who loved him. I want you to hear it
from one who knows.

“Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Through him God restored his
church, and it will never be destroyed or taken from the earth. Now, my boy,
remember what I say. I, your grandfather, was 14 then, and I was there.”

WOW! What a crazy story right! ANYWAY I am pretty much going insane from having been at the library for so long, so I needed a break and thought that this is a great enough story to share with EVERYONE!!!

Genealogy... are you doing it?

HARRY POTTER RULES!

Part one in t-minus 9 hours.

Have you ever met my family?

Well if not-- you might be missing out ;)

November 11th already?

It's been 2 weeks since Halloween? what? I was going to post these pics like the day after Halloween (which I swear was yesterday) and before I even blink an eye we're halfway through November!

I LOVE Halloween on Sunday! Why? Because I celebrated Halloween Friday night Saturday and Sunday! It was a blast!

Remember my costume dilemma? Well I decided to be a pirate so Friday night this was the costume

I hated it. I didn't try on the hat before I bought it and it looks lame! So Saturday night I revamped the look and it turned out MUCH better!

Indians and Pirates :D

Then Sunday Lakyn, who is all about Holiday treats and entertaining, wanted to make some drinks, cupcakes, dip, etc and then have some people over! So we started making cupcakes and Lakyn was like We should find out who had Hocus Pocus for that activity last week and borrow it! So I looked up the relief society presidency girl that we thought had it and the convo went as followed:

-Hey Amanda this is Kaylen from the ward- I was wondering if you had/knew where we could get a copy of hocus pocus

-Try walmart, target, or ebay.

-Who had the copy for the relief society activity? Do you know?

-me

-Oh- Are you watching it tonight? If not would you mind if we borrowed it?

-Not home right now.

-Oh ok! No worries- thanks though. Happy Halloween!

hahahaha No lie that is the EXACT conversation that went down between us.. She totally denied me! What ever happened to "Charity Never Faileth"?? Oh man Lakyn laughed at me.. a lot... ha I won't lie I saw her at church on Sunday and now I'm terrified of her! I like tiptoed around her and tried not to make eye contact. Sad day. So instead we watched Harry Potter 4 :D

But here are some pics of our little treats and some of our friends too!

Grape limeades that we half froze so they were nice and slushy

Candy Corn cupcakes

SIDE STORY:

So I'm SLAVING away in the kitchen making these cupcakes and Lakyn is in her bathroom straightening her hair and she's like "...Kaylen.. Come look at this", so I go back into her bathroom and behind her door there is a little water bubble forming under the paint and when I put my hand on it, it was really warm and I could feel the water pressure building up... So I called the RA's and was like hey we have a water issue that we need to get some help on asap because this bubble is starting to grow.. fast. So they tell me they'll have maintenance over soon. Lakyn and I continue making cupcakes and then Lakyn was like I think we should call Chris and have him come look at it. She calls Chris (one of our friends from the ward) and he get to our house in like 2 minutes. The scenario goes something like this:

(Chris walks in the door) Hey girls- which bathroom has the problem?

(Lakyn and Kaylen frosting cupcakes) The bathroom on the left, behind the door..

(Chris walks back the the bathroom and we hear..) IT'S GONNA BLOW!

Right then we hear the pshhhhhh sound of water hitting the mirror on the opposite wall.

Chris comes running out yelling for a bucket, so Lakyn runs in with our dirty batter bowl and tries to stop the water from shooting everywhere as Chris pulls the garbage bag out of the trash and takes it to the bathroom.. About this time Jared shows up to help as well.. but STILL no news from Maintenance so I call and let them know that the bubble has since exploded and they need to HURRY! hahaha

So Lakyn held the bucket that caught the water and deflected it into the trash can that Jared was holding.

It took us like 10 mins to find the water shut off valve, but Chris finally did find it

the hole was like the size of a nail head and the water jetted straight out of it lol

30 mins later the maintenance dude shows up and cuts a nice chunk out of our wall.

Thanks Maintenance Man for taking 40 mins and cutting a huge hole in the wall and not coming back to fix it. boo.

BUT THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

So of course we finished the cupcakes and had a par-tay!

Chris kinda looks like he's putting the moves on Lakyn.. haha but he wasn't

Today is Veteran's Day so I had the day off! Holler! I got a TON done including laundry, homework, grocery shopping, etc.

Agenda for this weekend:

• Read Uncle Tom's Cabin (700 pages in a week is rough)
• Family pictures :S (6 girls attempting to coordinate outfits.. not fun ha)
• 1st BYU BBall game of the year! (we already bought our $5 bball t-shirts so we're ready!)
• Speak in Sacrament Meeting (topic: Agency-- pretty optimistic about it actually)

The End