Dear unhealthy viruses that are invading my body...PLEASE STOP!

It all started about two weeks before Christmas break. I had flu-like symptoms and was really weak at practice and such, but then it just went away. Then Christmas came...haha boy was that fun. We all were plagued with flu stuff again! It was either vomiting or diarrhea that kept us bedridden for hours on end, but I was also fortunate to get a sinus infection as well. Who knows, maybe I was the one that brought it after all! Sorry mom...

The Christmas bug also left about a day after and all I had to battle off was the sinus infection. I eventually did by the time we came back from Oregon and got settled into the new semester. I would only be good for maybe a couple of days until something would trigger a sore throat and start the whole process over again! I know what you're all thinking at this point, go see a stinkin doctor! Well let me tell you, I did just that about three weeks or so ago. She gave me amoxicillin that I have to take for ten days and it's supposed to clear everything up. It was doing it's job up until about two days ago when I got yet another sore throat and I can feel it affecting me the same way. Awesome.

What am I supposed to do?! I guess I could go back and get another medicine, but will that even work now? I feel like I'm just doomed to have this until I die...haha. Anyways, tis life right now.

Desire, Decide, and DO!

So as of late I've had a hard time making decisions about important things in my life that are coming up. The dilemma is figuring out what I want to do for spring and summer while I'm here. I already know I'm going to be out here and I already know I need to find a job. Check and check. My main problem is classes. I wasn't able to get into a few classes for my major this semester and I really wanted to get them done before I start next fall...that leaves me with spring and summer classes which I didn't want to do either. This has been on my mind for a long time and it's literally been driving me crazy just trying to think of all of my options and what is best for me. I recently talked with a friend about it and she gave me some good advice that is perfect for this situation and for others that I'm sure will come. She said something along the lines of if I've planned something out, and it looks good to me, then I just have to do it. Continuing to think and over analyze the situation will just waste time and delay my decision making. So I came up with a plan. Desire. Decide. Do!

My desire started with wanting to have these classes taken before next fall. I missed that this winter semester so that only leaves spring and summer. At first I was going to take both in the summer, but then I realized how hefty these classes are and how much outside of school I want to accomplish as well.

So then I moved onto deciding...I decided I'm going to take one class each semester. Here is where problems arose..I had made plans to come home in June, I didn't know which class I would take first, and I have no idea what job or where that job will place me. More deciding! I rehashed plans in my head and formulated one that I was leaning towards, but I still didn't want to make the decision myself. Then my friend shared that bit of info with me so I decided to DO!

I chose that plan I was leaning towards and signed up for my classes today. As of right now, I'm taking functional anatomy in the spring and exercises physiology in the summer term. Done. And I'm hoping that since I split them up like that I will still be able to make a trip home maybe missing a few classes here and there. I'll have to feel it out to see if I can miss class.

Sorry for the long boring post, but that's really all that's going down right now...

Changin it up!

This semester started out great and not too busy...mainly because I wasn't working at all yet. I realized that I kinda liked having that free time to read my school books and being able to keep up with the work and such. I haven't had to scramble around the night before and try to cram everything into my brain for the next day. Yesterday was my first day back to work since before Christmas break. Things were great and I didn't dread the time I was there...probably because in my mind I already knew it was my last day. That's right, I quit! I am no longer an employee at Sports Authority. It sucks though because I loved that job and it really was perfect for me, but I've just had so many conflicts with it in the past that I couldn't handle anymore, and it potentially was going to cause more problems with my rugby schedule once we start traveling. I didn't want to be a pain for them. The plan is to take off work for this semester and then see if they will take me back in the spring. I'm hoping I can get the job back there and then transfer down to the Orem store. It will make things so much easier having a job down here in Provo. Especially since I'm planning on taking classes this summer. I can't decide whether or not to take both classes in the summer or one in the spring and one during the summer term, and then work the whole time too. Gah! I hate all of these decisions. Plus, I have to figure out where I will live and all that stuff.

On a more positive note...We recently had a practice where my coach said if we didn't know exactly what position we were supposed to be focusing on, to come talk to him. Well lately he's been throwing me in all sorts of positions so I just wanted to hear from him what he wants me to focus on. He basically told me I'm the top pick for scrum-half and to focus everything I have into that. Talk about a holy crap!! I was pretty excited to hear that, but at the same time was doubting my ability. Confidence is something I've lacked in for a long time and I'm going to need to find some somewhere and fast if I'm going to pull this off! Haha. It'll take a lot of practice that's for sure, but I just need to keep my head on straight and I'll be able to do it. It's going to be one fun season :)

Life as I know it...now

New Year, new semester...Just for the record, I hated last semester with a passion! I didn't have many classes that I enjoyed being in, and if I did enjoy the class it was mostly because of the people I sat by, not the material I was supposed to be learning. None of them interested me that much and I had a really hard time trying to get through it. I went through that period of life when I questioned everything I was doing...was I in the right major? Would I even be able to pass the national exam when all was said and done? Was I digging myself into a hole with everything that was on my plate? Was I still that same person I used to be, the one that everyone likes? Yeah...I had a lot of soul searching and it wasn't that fun, but I am really glad that I stuck it out with my major because I couldn't see myself doing anything else. I love it too much. But after all of that I honestly wasn't ready for this next semester to start...

...But surprisingly I love this semester so far!!

I'm taking it easy with classes for my major and I'm taking a few more general education courses. So it's a lot less stress but it's still going to be a lot of work. I think I can manage it though :) I have orthopedic rehab, upper extremities, and clinical..wow, those are the only ones I'm taking for my major! That's less than I thought haha. I'm also taking Living Prophets to finish off my religion credits and then Astronomy!! That class is fantastic. I love it so far and we get to mess around with the planetarium every cla

ss period. It's sick!

Rugby has been going well too. We have just been doing a lot of conditioning and occasionally we get our hands on a ball. It's hard for me to get stuck in right now though. I ended the season pretty sick and I'm starting it back up being sick. It makes it so hard for me to perform at my best. It's like a hit or miss if I have energy that da

y or not and it makes me so frustrated that I can't just be myself 100%. Hopefully this one won't plague me for that long. I may have to give in and see a doctor haha.

I would say work has been going well...but wait, I haven't even been there since December 11th? Yeah it's been a while. I'm supposed to go in next S

aturday, but I'm just thinking through a lot of things now. A lot of people keep telling me to look into the Orem store or just look for a different job that's closer to home...I'm scared I'm getting too used to not working right now and that when I do start again it will throw off the balance I've created. We'll see though. I think I can manage it

though. No worries!!

OH!! My roommate Jessica went into the MTC this past Wednesday. She's serving in the Dallas, Texas spanish speaking mission. We are going to miss her a lot, but we know she is going to do so much good for those people in Texas :) Good luck Jess!

Sorry for the long post!

New Year...

Christmas break is always a weird one to come back from to me. It takes forever to get to and then it's here and great and you have such a wonderful time, but it goes by so fast. Then New Years comes and we welcome in a new year and then BAM! School the next day. What the crap is that? And the concept of bringing in a new year is so weird to me. It's not like anything really changes in a day. You're basically doing the same stuff, you just tack a different number onto the end of the date and call it good. Oh well, it is what it is.

So Christmas was kinda blah with the sickies and all, but it

was also really fun to be with family again and to see the magic of Christmas still alive in my sister's kids. Things could have been better yeah, but it was perfect still :)

We all left the day after Christmas for home, and for me...Oregon! I got to spend the week leading up to and including New Years with my friend Janelle and her family. The adventure began on the first flight that lasted four hours. Apparently the guy next to me ended up in Texas when he was supposed to Denver so they were trying to get him to Oakland quickly. Question, how in the world does that happen? Aren't their words on your ticket that tell you where you're going? haha. Anyways, he was pretty upset I guess you could say and planned to just drink the next four hours away. I think he downed 7 bourbon bottles and had a Red Bull with vodka to top it off, and only peed once! Pretty successful I'd say. I fe

lt bad for the ten year old kid that was sitting next to him on the other side, and his parents. After that, I stopped in Oakland for an hour or so and then got on a plane to Portland.

Being in Oregon was a lot of fun. I got to meet a lot of her family and see a lot of cool things. We ate at a little tea house, played games on the wii, played a lot of card/board games, went shopping, and stayed at an awesome beach house for new years!! It had the beach right outside the door, a hot tub, pool table, juke box, and a pinball machine. Not to mention the big screen tvs, the crows nest, and awesome bunk bed rooms!! Oh

, and the company was great too :P haha. We went on the beach a few times despite the fact it was fa-reezing!! We found a group of rocks to jump around on, and I guess there was even a big starfish that got stuck on them but we never found it. All in all it was a great trip!

Oh Christmas Day...yuck

Yes for Christmas morning, getting up super early with Julia's kids, feeling the santa magic in the air, and opening up all of our presents!! We did all of this and had a great time just being with the family and seeing all of the kids get really excited about their toys. They got some pretty cool stuff! But my dad and I unfortunately got a gift we weren't expecting, or wanted at all for that matter...

So our whole family got sick this weekend starting with my mom, then Aiden, Landon, and Julia, Tim got sick yesterday, and then my dad and I got the worst of it today. I had gotten a sinus infection from my mom early on while everyone else got the 24 hour flu. It wasn't until today that we got that sicky too. I felt fine opening gifts and stuff, but after that I was upstairs in my bed for a good portion of the day. I came down every once in a while, donning my plague victim mask, and hung out with the fam, but I just couldn't stay for long. I'm feeling pretty good now, just my stomach is upset a little still. I think I'll be ok though as I fly out tomorrow to go to Oregon.

But yeah, Merry Christmas to us!!! Despite the sicknesses, I'm glad we got to come and spend time with Julia, Tim, and their kids. Hopefully the next time we see them a sickness will not be involved in our visit! I hope you all had an awesome Christmas Day :)

In the famous words of Strongbad...IT'S OVER!!!

Christmas break is here! I never thought this semester would end...it just kept dragging on and on....BUT it's over :) This finals week was different than past ones. Maybe it was because I didn't really care about my classes much so the grades weren't that important to me, or maybe I finally learned how to manage panic! It's probably the first one. I don't think I did that bad on them though...I guess the final grades will tell all.

One thing I am truly grateful about the end of this semester is the change of clinical assignments in my athletic training program. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED working with the women's basketball team here at BYU, but I did not love working with my clinical instructor that was in charge of them. Let's just say she hasn't developed very strong communication skills and it's caused a lot of trouble for us. Not even when my partner, Tyler, and I approached her did she acknowledge the issues. She would just come in the next day and act like nothing was wrong. She also liked to lie to our faces because I don't think she can handle confrontation. Man up and say it to our faces!!! I would rather hear it from her than hear about it from someone else or read how she rated me online later that night. Anyways, Tyler and I are both done with her and moving on to bigger and better things. We both got transferred to high schools, me at Lone Peak, this next semester and I'm pretty excited about it. I'll have a ton more freedom there than I did on campus and the clinical instructor is really chill and willing to work with my crazy schedule. Bonus! I'll let you know how the new site turns out.

In other news, my really good friend Emily got married right before I left for break. I was honored that she asked me to be a bridesmaid and that I got to take part in her wedding. It was fun hanging out with the other bridesmaids and trying to figure out what we really should be doing during the reception, or trying not to freeze our ta tas off when we took pictures outside right after her wedding!! haha, good times. Thanks Emily for asking me to be a bridesmaid!


Also, my "little sister" Kalani surprised me a couple of mornings ago with the news that she is pregnant!!! How crazy awesome is that?! What a week it's been...And now I'm in the beautiful 80 degree Texas weather hanging out with my sister Julia and her fam bam. We are all coming here this year for Christmas and it should be a lot of fun :) My friend Keilani is down here too at the same time and it would be really cool if I could see her too while we're here. After Texas, I'm off to Oregon to spend the week with my friend Janelle and her fam bam for New Years. Lots of traveling and lots of fun!