the shot heard around the stadium.

all that's running through my head right now is "shot through the heart, and youre to blame, you give love a bad name" oh the love I have for Bon Jovi.

Tonight was the BYU v USU game. I get slightly confused when both teams have the same colors. I will admit I found myself cheering for USU because I had forgotten we were in blue and white not white and blue. The game started out rough with USU scoring in the first the first seconds of the game, but turned around when BYU put Riley Nelson in. It turned a very boring, depressing game into one of excitement and hope. I have never been more grateful for my front row goal line seats than at that moment. BYU's 11 second winning touch down was right in front of my face.

if you look at the stands. im the short one with the Y on my short...megan is next to me with her arms folded. amazing seats.

The only moment that could possibly top that moment during the game was getting to shoot the cannon. who knew that so many good things could happen at one game. Megan and I got there 45 minutes before the game and went and talked to the ROTC guys. We told them how we had talked to someone the week before and he told us to ask. The paused for a second, and replied "okay, yeah, you can shoot it." The guy with the list wasnt there but one of them took my number and said he would call and let us know. The game started and there was no call. Our excitement and giggling soon died out as we lost hope of shooting the cannon. The end of the first quarter was near when my phone started buzzing. The marine who was calling was feet away, yet we conversed via phone. It was our time.

what you do when you get to the game 45 minutes early. please note the foam finger in the background. there were foam fingers on every seat. my very first foam finger. it was an exciting day for many reasons.

waiting to shoot the cannon. it was exciting to be on the field.

pulling the cannon. a momentous moment.

it was hard to pull. hence the laughing.

we did it! talking with our new army friends and getting a free t-shirt!

free shirt!

rushing the field..

We ran down to the field. Patiently waited, while secretly freaking out because we were on the field, and as the clock hit zero we pulled. It was a spectacular moment, one that will forever live in my memory.

oh yes, and we t-shirt to commemorate the moment.

the smell of sweat and iron.

there is a feeling one cannot explain. it is a mix between joy and pain. it comes as you are walking up the stairs, or try to get out of your chair. it is the feeling of being sore.

there is something exhilerating about being sore. its painful, yes. but a good pain. with a half marathon less than a month away- the gym and i have become best friends. oh yes, and the fact that Gold's gym is now only 10 dollars a month. Such a good deal.

there is cardio cinema. the italian job, ps I love you...my movie knowledge will be pro in no time.

there are weights. im weak, but still its fun to use the machines, and pretend to be cool.

there is the people watching. boys are the funniest to watch work out. but their muscles are the size of my head, so i dont say anything.

there are the friends. working out with friends. way better than working out by yourself. that way you can talk to them while you walk around trying to figure out which machine to use and how it works.

there is the escape. for an hour, you have left the normal world. you can work out frustrations. especailly about group projects (i hate them. okay thats a little harsh. i strongly dislike them.) you can escape from homework, from work, from the world. and its okay because you are doing something productive.

there is the results. more than just physical. you feel on top of the world. you have more energy, more motivation. ah its great.

so there it is folks. my random musings about the gym, and my currently sore legs.

random side notes.

playing ultimate frisbee. fun. playing ultimate frisbee against a team that should be in a higher division. no so fun. losing 12 to 0. not fun in the slightest. (not because we lost, but because it wasnt even a game)

cutting hair. i like it. it stresses me out. i cut jesse's hair for the third time last night. feeling more confident I went faster. it was a lot shorter than before. and i spent the rest of the night looking at it, and not feeling happy. but today at work it looks not too bad. oh the differences gel can make.

trucks are perfect for star gazing. i want one.

and BYU football game tonight..and General Conference Weekend!! woowhoo

the end of my random musings....

too much goodness

So I have been avoiding blogging because there are too many good things to blog about. I just get overwhelmed. But the longer I wait, the more fun  and exciting things happen, the less I want to blog. It's a downward spiral- I swear. So im sucking it up, and just jumping in head first. So here is the brief update of my wonderful life. In bullet-point form.

Friday.

*I LOVE Hobby Lobby. and looking at fabric. I made these flag type things to hang in our loft that were hanging on the Southbank when we were in London. It was so fun to look at all the different fabrics and try to choose ones that would match, or look good together. I swear the lady who cut the fabric hated me because I had so many different fabrics to cut, and only wanted a small amount. dear worker at Hobby Lobby, Im sorry.

* Dinner at Panda with Megan, Giselle, Jessica, and their roommate Lauren. Delicious. Made my stomach hurt the rest of the night. devil.

*Most perfect BYU football game ever. Why...let me list the reasons

1. front row seats. there is something more exciting about standing against a railing than up on the bleachers.
2. a high five from Cosmo
3. we were on the fan cam
4. I made friends with a police officer who had a mustache. We talked about if BYU would come back after the half. He was the nicest.
5. Got a high five from one of the marines who shoot the cannon. and then later talked with him and I might get to shoot the cannon at a game. fingers crossed.
6. saw Jimmer. lots. at one point he was only 5 feet away.
7. made a new friend. turns out he is in my ward. we didnt make the connection until Sunday when i saw him at ward prayer. weird.
8. oh yes and we WON!

  I am excited for this weeks game to say the least. side note: there are times where I get really quiet and awkward. the first half was one of those times. I was sitting with "friends" from freshman year. the quotation marks are because two years changes a lot. I was sitting there realizing that no one knew me. That no one really cared about my life. Instead of acting- like i should have done- i reacted and shut down. silly ellie. i was talking to phil (the new friend) on sunday and he was telling me how i should never be quiet again because the second half was more fun. mental note to self. dont be dumb.

* after gameness at Megan's. Aka I fell asleep watching the movie. shocking.

Saturday.

*woke up at 8 15. picked up Megan at 8 45. drove up the canyon. arrived at soldier hollow. RAN THE DIRTY DASH. took a freezing shower. drove home.

side story. the dirty dash ended up being a crazy ordeal. in the fact that people who were planning on doing it had things come up. then the people they found to take their spot ended up not being able to do it. friday night i was terrified that no one could do it and i would be alone. Megan, the amazing friend she is, and who is not a runner at all, agreed to do it with me. It was great. We climbed under walls, through tunnels, over pipes, through trenches, and sloshed our way through the reservoir. I loved every moment of it. I have voted that our family is doing it next year. 

*took the best shower of my life.

*put away laundry, and worked on making the flags. 

*Sister date with Keri- PERFECTION. half a cafe rio salad later we were off to the Marriott to watch the RS General Broadcast. It was a wonderful broadcast. and Uchtdorf's talk on Forget-Me-Nots was absolutely perfect. I absolutely adore Keri, so it was fun to have a night with her.

*Saturday night was full of parties. It started at Stacee's where I met up with Eric and Tanner, then on to Kesley's (we stopped by the LAX party on the way) and after Kelsey's we headed over to the avocottage for an open mic night and stayed there for the rest of the night. It was wonderful.

Sunday.

* I woke up at 7 45. note i had nothing until 10 30. silly body. instead of rolling over and going back to bed, i got up. craziness- i know. it ended up being wonderful. i was able to get so much done that morning- including finishing the flags.

*had a delicious pancake breakfast thanks to anne. and met abby. who is the sweetest girl ever.

*church. wonderful per usual.


*looked at an outside of a house with matt and keri. it had charm galore. it was built in 1900 and was recently redone. their were balconies, three stories, and looked perfect. (we went back yesterday, and walked through. not so perfect. hopes dashed.)


*birthday party for a girl in a ward, Jari. Side story. Ellie is a CREEPER. yes, thats right folks. she had worked EFY in Virginia and I knew all the Virginia people via facebook because of Morgan. I felt like I knew all their life stories and they had NO clue who I was. 




Monday.


* work was grand.


* class was grand.


*cardio cinema. love. me + the italian job + the eliptical = best workout ever.


* ward FHE. story number one. walk up. brother dewsnup sees me and says "i was watching you on Sunday when we stood up to sing. you are really short" ah devil. later they needed someone to say the closing prayer. i raised my hand. he called on me. "super short girl" yes. he doesnt know my name. but at least he knows im vertically challenged.


*played ultimate frisbee. im not the best.  i have a run around technique that makes me look like i am trying but really do nothing. i like to roar when i guard people. and i scored twice. it was grand. and made new friends. 


*i hate studying. i successfully got very little done by blog stalking people. dear blogger you are ruining my life. correction. dear child psychology you are ruining my life. dear blogger you make my life better.




Tuesday.


*no megan at work today. i cried.


*worked out with the free personal trainer. moral of the story. im out of shape. moral of the story. i am changing that.


*night classes. not a fan anymore. i was so antsy. thank you angry birds for distracting me.


*walked through the house with M&K and we were all bummed at the fact it wasnt perfect.


*was supposed to study but didnt get home until eleven. sometimes i make bad decisions. bad ellie, bad.


*went to bed. funny story of my life. recently i havent been able to fall asleep. it is the most annoying thing ever. last night i was frustrated so i switched the direction i slept in my bed. aka put my feet where my head normally goes. i feel asleep right away. weird.


THE END of my crazy, yet wonderful life.


*Pictures to come

  

Shoes.

so over the summer i would say "Im such a girl" every other sentence. it was a problem. however, after attending my psych of gender class on tuesday and learning about transgender people (side note: can you imagine your 17 year old daughter coming to you one day and saying, "Im a boy" no no.. and then going on to change her name to Jeremy and living as a boy- that would be so hard). I am very grateful to identify with my sex. 


so it shouldn't come as a shock that I love shoes. Even on days where you are running late, or feeling gross, or if the night before you ate too much chocolate- shoes are always there, and always fit (especially when you never grow. hmph.) they are the best. and then there are heels. Throw those suckers on and Im a normal height. Its amazing.


There is nothing better than finding a pair of shoes that you love. They fit just right, they match with everything- they are perfect.  I had a pair of macassins like this. They were Steven Maden, and I probably spent too much money on them (while I like shoes, I like inexpensive shoes) but they were perfect. I wore them all the time. I wore them so much that I wore the soles away. I had a lovely hole in each heal. but that didnt stop me. on sunday days I would break them out- except with my luck it always ended up raining those days- so I walked around with very wet, cold feet. But I didnt care- i loved those shoes. 


In an attempt to get rid of the enormous amount of stuff i have- I got rid of them this fall. It was a very sad, momentous day. But i parted with them.


So why this random sad tale you ask. Well today at work, Megan, who relentlessly teased me about my holey shoes- had falling apart shoes on that she loved. it made my life complete. They were cheap shoes that she had had forever, and that she loved. Will she part with them? who knows? will she hold on to them for way to long like i did? These questions can only be answered with time. 

Megan's Demolished shoes. 

Jesse came over while I was trying to capture Megan's new shoe situation and decided he wanted to be in the picture. so he grabs megan's leg and holds it up. the whole time megan is dying. a typical moment.

Random side notes:

Have I mentioned how much I love the people I work with? Its the best. Today there was a huge bag of leftover popcorn so Jesse and I threw it back and forth catching it in our mouths. Yes, we are five. Also we have found the new sport of shooting each other with rubberbands. Can you tell its slow? Too bad the new application is going up soon and we will get busy again. hmph.  oh yes and today we had an arm wrestling contest. jesse was lame and didnt try the first time so I owned him- after reprimanding him for letting me beat him I got creamed. oh yes and yesterday was a signature contest- he made everyone vote who had the best signature. jackie won. i have the best mornings in the world.

wednesday is no longer hump day folks.

the line outside the velour. we saw some NBA stars here for Jimmer's All Stars while waiting in this monstrous line.

Wednesday gets a bad wrap as being hump day. The hump you have to get over before the weekend. the half way mark. I have a theory on the days of the week. Im a nerd. Its true. but in my opinion Tuesday is the worst day of the week. You dont have the excitement that comes with Monday, and you still have the whole week ahead. wednesday was always just a meh day- the day that makes half way, and because of that it made it a good day. but today blew all other wednesdays out of the water.

It started with work. Like every other day. Unfortunately no megan today, it was just Jesse and I to fend for our own entertainment. Work was followed by class, which was wonderful. Its a church history class with Susan Easton Black. That woman is one of my favorite people in the world. She just talks for the whole 50 minutes, filling us with knowledge. she teaches. i love it. *side note about the day. walking home i ran into Julia (a girl who lives in my new complex) and we talked about life and school. we spent a good five minutes venting about teachers who dont teach. dear teachers, if i wanted to learn everything from the book i would take independent study. please teach me. side not ended*

now begins the exciting part of my wednesday. after class i ran back to the ASB to change into running clothes. the beautiful Rachel Robinson met me outside the building and we started our run. an hour and a half later i rolled back into the ASB, disgusting as could be. Changed, and then went to class. I made Jason and Fuzzy sit a seat away from me, as to not make them have to experience my grossness. Fuzzy was a gem and gave me his powerade- except i felt awful drinking it (it was his, he should drink it). Moral of the story: Fuzzy is the nicest.

Class was followed by a much needed shower, and lunch, and then back up to campus for my last class of the day. College Financial Survival. I am now a pro invester. well, not really, but im working on it. After class I jetted over to the Benson Building for....drum roll please...the Cancer Awareness Group Opening Social. How did i got involved with CAG? Good question. It all started with the lovely McCall Barriks who was a vice president last year. She would always invite me to go, and I never could. But when the Rex Lee Run rolled around, I was free and able to help. I loved it. I loved being involved with something bigger than me, to be a part of something on campus. I loved sitting at the booth in the Wilk telling people about it (except i was not good at getting people to come to our booth, because I never liked the people who would force a flier on you...) I loved going to companies Saturday mornings and seeing if they would want to help sponsor the run, or donate prizes. And I loved the people. The opening social was wonderful, and the best part...there was food. One meeting later, and two pieces of 5 buck Pizza later I was walking down the hill to meet Megan in the parking lot.

Now, its already been a pretty full Wednesday if I do say so myself. But the walk down the hill provided even more entertainment. I called a friend back who had a question about financial aid. When a girl answered, I simply figured it was his girlfriend, who i knew, and started talking to her. She was very confused at what I was saying- and when i finally checked my phone, I realized I had called a different friend. Sorry Lauren. I went on to laugh and apologize and called the correct person. There are times I am grateful for my job. One of those times is when I can help friends. Friends who I am actually friends with. The worst is when you feel like you are being used, but this was not the case.

i adore this girl. it was so great to get to play with her again. she is swamped with school. i dislike it very greatly. possibly more than her. false. but still.

I eventually made it to the bottom of the hill, jumped in the waiting car (no, it was not a stranger- but megan- seen above) and headed over to the Velour for the Fictionist Concert. They just signed with Atlantic and this was their celebration concert. It was a great show, but i was starting to feel the exhaustion from the day setting in, add standing for a few hours, and intense heat- and i was pooped. But it was great, I saw amy, holly, and andrea from London which was so fun! i felt like we were back across the pond all going to a show. so funny story of my life. Im a midget. well not really. but standing against the wall at the concert i would have to work my hardest to see around people. the worst would be when someone would come and stand right in front of me. i swear all of provo is 6 feet. because they were all giants. and then i got lucky with a shorter girl, except her hair was right on top of her head making her even taller. moral of the story: i need a stool. in my frustration i would fake punch them in the back (to actually hit them would be rude and uncalled for. but i got a kick out of fake punching) I would tell megan I was punching them with my ora. I have a very strong ora. it was a great, long day.I have never been so happy to see my bed in my life. Happy Wednesday folks. Just as exciting as any weekend.

betta got murried.

the hall family is up to 17! On Saturday Jefferey Johnson joined the family. it was an absolutely perfect weekend- full of time with the family, pictures, and delicious food.

random thoughts.
another reason i love my job. they were ripping out flowers outside the ASB and Jesse went and picked a floral arrangement. Our office is now adorned with fresh flowers.

i am amazed at how fast time can go. both with life- i dont know how i am 21, and how it is already the end of september. and with friends. I was talking to a kid in my new ward last night and time seemed to fly. a three hour conversation later, i was shocked that the night was gone and it was time to go to bed.

yesterday I went running with Rachel- which turned into a way short run and a long walk- mainly just so we could talk and catch up. Her stories were so intense she couldnt run and keep them all straight at the same time. it was perfect though. we walked on the river trail and it was one of the prettiest days i had ever experienced. thank you provo and rachel robinson for an enjoyable day.

my choice.

Right now i am in a college financial survival class. not because i am facing debt, but rather because the teacher is one of the counselors in our office and I needed a one credit hour class. the class is great. i feel slightly guilty for buying an iPod touch a few weeks ago instead of putting that money in a retirement fund- but ill survive.

Todd Martin, the counselor and teacher, starts each class with a spiritual though. now most teachers when the say they will start with a spiritual though spend sub 2 minutes reading a scripture and giving their brief input. not todd. His spiritul thought was a good ten minutes, and i loved every minute of it. He talked about his son who was born with shortened arms and missing two fingers. he told us story after story of how is son stayed positive with this trial. how kids would look at him in the grocery line and he wouldnt be effected by it at all. once in line, he crouched down to talk to a little boy who had been staring. the dialogue went something like this. "look at your hands, god made you with 10 fingers and me with 8." Each story was amazing- I wanted to be just like his son- not with the physical deformity, but with my attitude. Todd went on to say how we have choice. His son chose to stay positive. He acted instead of reacted.

I swear I have heard this lesson a thousand times. To act instead of react. and every time i hear it i love it. Every time i think that i can have the best attitude in the world until something happens that makes me upset. Its a lot easier said than done. I remember there was a day a while ago where a guy I was dating and I kept having these conversations that would end with us both sad. it was the worst. we were sitting in a CES Fireside, both sad, when i decided I was done being sad. I made a decision to be happy. told him i was sick of being sad- that I didnt care- this was what i wanted, so I was going to be happy... and for once in my life it worked. I remember feeling so in control. I was able to conquer my emotions instead of the other way around.

There are so many times in my life where I let other people control my emotions or how I act. Its dumb. I want to say i am going to be just like Todd's son and choose to let nothing get me down- while I cant say I will succeed, I sure will try.

Off topic. but on topic. I have complained a lot about my job lately. But it really is a wonderful job- I love it.

My reasons.

Friends. I get to work with some of my best friends. Spend three hours a day with anyone and either you will hate them or love them, and i love them all. Megan, Jesse, and I have a monopoly on the corner spots so we can all sit by each other, even if one of us is on the window. I love coming to work and hearing stories of the weekend, getting boy advice, and coming up with new ways to entertain ourselves. Jesse came up with a new game show game where you have to guess letters which has a number assigned to it, and that is how much money you win. (that is my awful explanation of it- but its great). I have also renewed my love for hand sanitizer and paper. I feel like a three-year-old, but watching the gel slowly crawl down the paper leaving a streak behind it brings me great joy.

jesse was the nicest and got me a bagel when i didnt have breakfast. and he has mad skills. look at that balancing.

Free Food. Every friday is treat day. best day ever. minus the days people (cough cough..Tom) bring in popsicles at 8 in the morning. but the occassional muffin or other scrumptous morning treat makes the week look so much better. On thursday we were given free pizza to celebrate getting through financial aid so well. and it was good pizza- there was tuscan five chesse, and bbq chicken. no 5 dollar hot and readys present. and then today they gave us free bread from great harvest. one thing you should know about the hall family is we LOVE bread. growing up my mom would have to let us know how many rolls we were allowed at dinner because they would be demolished so fast. i was in heaven.

im a creeper, but yay for free food.

Jeans Day: When BYU has a home game we get to wear jeans on the friday before. It's bad when wearing jeans is your "cute" day. The options of what to wear increase exponentially and i feel like i have to get ready for the day.

The occasional President Samuelson siting. Nothing makes my day better than getting a friendly "hello" from the president of BYU.

And the kicker! Meeting the Prime Minister of SOMOA. yes that is right. the prime minister of Somoa came to the ASB today. The lobby was filled with secret service all morning preparing, and then at 10 30 his highness arrived. We were able to go up and meet him, which was an amazing experience. He was so humble and kind. I loved it.

 the view from my desk. yes i got paid to sit there and watch everything happen. i was glad i was on info desk that day 

i swear i was like a seven year old at disneyworld. i was so excited.

jesse and others meeting their highnesses

accident prone much

I was talking to my mom awhile back and she was recounting funny stories of my childhood to me. More specifically telling me how I would conveniently get hurt whenever it was time to clean up. But I wasnt one of those kids who would just "say" they got hurt...I would actually get hurt. I mean if your going to try to get out of chores you have to go all the way...right? 

Right now im in a handful of psychology classes and we have been talking a lot about the conscious and the unconscious. It is important to realize while I was a very smart five-year-old, I was unconsciously hurting myself to get out of helping.

Last night my roommate told me I am the injured one of the apartment. I am back to being five, getting hurt without realizing it. It's not that I plan to get hurt, or enjoy being hurt- im just really good at it.

Injuries in the last month.

-glacier burn on my thigh. think cheese grater, put it over your leg, and thats what my leg looked like. gross, right?

-bruised knee. I ran into a boulder sticking out onto the trail while hiking down. I was tired and wasn't paying attention.

-burned finger. I bent down to get something, put my hand on the counter to steady myself standing up, and my hand grabbed the straightener not the counter.

- cut hand. helping a friend move my hand ran into the wall and it tore up the back of my hand.

- another random cut on my hand that i have no clue where it came from, but it left a scar

- and the most recent injury that spurred this whole rant on me getting hurt was playing mud volleyball. i was the one who was lame and wouldnt dive because i didnt want to get hurt. thats the silly thing- im cautious. im no longer my young self who didnt know what fear was. but i somehow in the midst of playing i stepped on a twig and or something. because i had a huge splinter in my foot. you know its bad when your roommate performing surgery goes "ooooooohhh..." and throws the tweezers when she sees how deep it is. 10 minutes, and a few, ahh, ooo, and bahh's later- alison was a champ and got the majority of it out. 

new topic. all together.

life has been busy. but great. meet my weekend.

friday. woke up at susan's. work. school. finish slideshow. efy reunion. up the canyon with rachel and tambrea. sleepover at rachels.

saturday. woke up at rachel's. watched them eat at kneaders. went with diana to buy her dress. realized her wedding was the same weekend i was going home for becca's wedding. called cathy to cancel flight. went to crepes with london people. went for a run to kiwanis. played cabbage dodgeball (side note: cabbages are painful- just for the record), went for a longer run (anne is super fast and killed me, but the rain was wonderful). showered. watched the game with freshman friends. went to sarah johnson's surprise party, went to the sperry house luau, went to carolyn's goodbye to summer party, and end the night playing ticket to ride with tanner and eric.

sunday. slept in. had a meeting. sent invitations out for diana's bridal shower. read. went to church. ces fireside. ticket to ride part two with tanner and eric. ward prayer. bed.

it was a jammed packed weekend but fun. also i still dislike parents who call into student services and are overly nosey into their students life. grr..arg...ventation over.

pictures to come

forced to slow down.

living with roommates in college is the greatest. it is an instant friend base, a sudo family. People who live on their own- i dont understand. I would be so lonely. But there is a phenomenon that comes with having multiple people live in one place that all have keys- getting locked out.

today a friend from efy, Mary, and I went running. It was a great run, uphill, downhill, around campus...and just time to talk and catch up on life. perfection. on the way out we passed her roommate and Mary yelled for her to leave the door unlocked. Im sure you can guess what happened when we got back. Both doors locked. dead bolted. We went to a neighbors tried to call. no answer. so we sat and waited. and waited. and waited.

It was one of those perfect moments. We were forced to slow down, we couldn't say "oh, i want to stay but i have to go finish _______" we just sat there (pretending to stretch or do sit-ups) for two hours talking about anything and everything. in the shade of the surrounding apartments life was perfect. People would walk by and offer to let us come in. We would say thank you, and then graciously turn them down- being outside was heavenly.  I adore Mary, we have experienced similar things in life, and feel the same way about things. She will put into words exactly how I feel- it is amazing. Moral of the story. be her friend.

she is the cutest.

after we had talked ourselves dry, and there was still no sign of any roommates- we decided to recruit boys to help us break in through the open window 20 feet off the ground. plans were made and about to go into action when her roommate pulled up. I find its always when i give up and take action that the thing i want to 

happen happens- if that makes any sense. Example. at work the door to get to the counseling office has been locked in the mornings. I will knock and hope someone will come, and no one comes. knock again. no one. finally when i start to walk away, to walk around the building and in through the other, hopefully unlocked, door someone comes. oh life.

talking was perfect but it meant i neglected both homework and making the slide show for friday's efy reunion. whoops. i went home and quickly started working. pictures, videos, music...i was blasting through that slideshow when all of a sudden the tiredness hit me like a wall. I swear my eyelids were five hundred pounds. I shut my computer, pulled out my phone to set an alarm, and layed down on the couch i had been previously using. I discovered we have the best nap taking couch in the world in our apartment. The arm rests are short making it a perfect pillow, and the couch is the perfect length for curling up and falling asleep. All i need now is a fireplace, hot chocolate, and a good book. oh yes, and for a nice blanket of white snow outside (not that i want it to be winter, the cold is rough, but it makes the hot chocolate that much better)

the nap was just what I needed, however I was reluctant to get up...ten more minutes, five more minutes, until finally i forced myself to wake up. I worked a little longer on the slide show and then got ready for our first intramural frisbee game of the season.

I love intramurals, and wish I had done them more over the last 3 years I have been here. It is so fun to just go and play. We got to the game and Anne and I were the only  ones there. We had two, the other team had 14. I sat there looking at the other team thinking we were going to lose, or have to forfeit. At the last minute we had enough to play. we had 8 enough for one sub, they had a million, enough for as many subs as they wanted. I didnt have faith. I thought we were going to lose. Boy was I wrong. we owned. and it was fast. we won 12 to 4, and even with a late start finished before the top of the hour. It was amazing. I felt inadequate on the team, but a few good plays and I felt like I was pulling my weight. In the words of one of the boys on the team, "This is a shirt team." Intramural champion shirt- here I come.

The night finished off with a good old sleepover. I have been missing Susan (my old roommate) a ton recently. It could be the fact I could always count on her to make bad decisions (aka cookie dough) with me, or that we could play down low, too slow for forty minutes just laughing, or that she would laugh at me when my arms felt funny...or it could be all of those things. Long story short, Melissa was out of town and she told me to come over. so i did. one half batch of cookie dough and a movie later we were asleep on the couches. lets be honest a few bites of cookie dough and 15 minutes of the movie later we were asleep on the couch. 

It was a great day. a great great day. yes, there were things that didnt get done. but i slowed down. sat on the grass. breathed the fresh air. and life was perfect.

sorry i have been slacking on taking pictures of my life. hello lots of text. goodbye pictures.

saved by the boy in the purple stripes.

two posts in one day. a little excessive. yes. is this necessary yes. today i learned a few lessons. hold on to your seats they are good ones.


first. follow promptings. last night at approximately 2 30 i woke up randomly (or so i thought) checked my phone and saw i had one new text. it was from tori asking me to do something when i woke up. figure i would most likely forget in the morning, and i was wide awake then, i pulled back my covers, got out of bed, and proceeded to forward her the information she needed. while doing so i noticed my computer wasnt plugged in. i thought nothing of it and got back under my warm covers to try to fall back into a restful slumber. while laying there, thinking sleep would never come back, I remembered I would need my computer for a class and that it would be out of battery in the morning. I contemplated the pro's and con's of getting out of bed right then to plug in my computer, and the warm covers, soft pillows, and now heavy eyelids won out. yes, i realize plugging it in would have taken less than 30 seconds. but i knew i was waking up at 6 30 and letting it charge for an hour would be sufficient. i woke up in the morning not to the sound of my alarm but rather of my roommate gathering her stuff to go out the door. confused because we had set out alarm for the same time, i checked the clock. instead of seeing the number six followed by a three and a zero, the time 7 05 was staring back at me. i leaped from my bed and ran to the shower. taking the fastest shower known to woman (man might have been faster..badumchu) i realized i hadnt plugged in my computer. i hurried to plug it in after my shower, but 20 minutes was not going to give me enough power to get through class. running late i grabbed my computer and headed for the door. no charger in hand. (i was late and the charger was hidden behind a cabinet and cinderblocks. bad placement outlets, bad placement.)


second. friends are wonderful, but really.
i got to work and started randomly checking with everyone. hey do you have a mac charger. but to no avail. i asked if they had friends who were on campus who i could borrow it from, mostly joking but secretly hoping. well mainly i just asked this of megan and jesse. i didnt want to overstep my "work" friendship with others. jesse pulled through. 45 minutes later he handed me a charger, one hug (which illustrated our vast high difference) and many thank yous later my computer was plugged in and i was a lot more calm.


third. always double check.
work eventually came to a close. i shut my window. counted the payments. stapled the receipts, and gathered my things. i went over grabbed my computer and quickly opened it to double check what 2 hours of charging had accomplished. 27 percent. that was the power left. i had started the day with 38, how was this possible? the outlet, it must not have been working. panic set in as my class started in 12 minutes. a quick note to jesse, asking if i could still borrow the charger and get it back to him after class, and i was on my way to the MARB


fourth. mac chargers are different.
i got to class and started looking for an outlet. so much for sitting in the middle section. i found one in the back corner. so much for sitting near the front. and found my seat. took out said charger and said computer and got all set to go. but no green light came on after i plugged it in. two outlets couldnt not be working. i examined the charger and notice while it looked like it fit, it was in fact a tiny tiny bit smaller. my mac is old. this charger was new. devil. 25 percent left. now most classes i just take notes in my notebook, but not this one. church history with susan easton black. i swear she never breathes. a constant slew of knowledge flows from her mouth and it is all i can do to type it all, hence the back up of a voice recording as well.


fifth. dont be afraid to ask.
four rows in front of me i saw a computer that looked just like mackey. it was not a macbook pro, or a new macbook. it was just a macbook. just like mine. he was far away, the boy in the purple striped shirt, and what were the odds he had a charger. i had to hope. i tapped the girl in front of me, hey can you get the boy in the purple. she looked at me. i repeated, she looked at him and then back at me. the girl next to her took action, tapping the boy in front of her, and spreading the message the boy in the purple eventually turned around. my plea. do you happen to have your charger? my computer is about to die and i left mine at home. success. his charge left his hands, entered two other random hands and then into mine. i plugged the charger in holding my breath. the green light went on. the lightning bolt signifying it was charging came on and i was the happiest girl on campus. class ended and i passed the charger back. everyone around me smiling- they had all been a part of a random act of service and i had been the participant. there are so many times where i am too afraid to ask for something i need, but it is amazing the help and success that can come from expressing yourself. so boy in the purple striped shirt. thank you for the two hundreth time. you saved me today.

well hello mr grumpy gills.

sometimes i feel like if you read my blog you would think i was the happiest person alive and always found the silver lining and was never a grump. oh how i wish this was the case. while in my musings i realize how silly it is to be anything but happy, but unfortunately i am human. and recently i feel like the grumpiest person in the world. now i realize that is a slight exaggeration, im sure Oscar the grouch is grumpier than me, but i feel like i am constantly annoyed- which is no bueno. here is my list of complaints. sorry i am going to be negative and list my pet peeves. i figure this is educational... right?

- parents. not mine. i love them. but parents that call in and do everything for the student, and then get upset that there is a federal law that prevents them from being nosey. have your student call and learn. they are going to be the one repaying the loan so they should learn how it works. yes? yes. parents dont prevent your children from growing up. they are in college after all.

- people who dont believe me. just because i am a student it does mean i dont know what im talking about. or the line "can i talk to an adult" as Megan put it...hello im 21, i can vote. im an adult. to go along with that, when people treat me younger than i am. i have been on my own for 3 years now. im no longer 12. even if i like parks, and to color, and at times get as excited as a seven year old at christmas, i have still experienced a lot and can handle a lot. just saying.

- people who are late. or say ill keep you posted, and never let you know. i hate waiting and having to wait for people makes me all upset inside. it makes me feel like they dont respect me, like their time is more important than mine. not saying that mine is better than theirs. i think it is the fact that time is the only thing that is purely mine. the one commodity you have complete control over. you have 24 hours in a day. you get to choose how to spend them. you never have more, never have less (unless you cross time zones, but still). i just hate feeling like the one thing i have control over is taken from me by having to wait for people who are late.


thats the main thing that topped the list. i started this post while i was in said grumpy mood and came back to it when i was feeling less like a grump- meaning i cant remember what else was on my mind. but some positive things to outweigh the negative.


- yesterday i finally got back into running, its only been three weeks since i got back to utah and this was my first run. no worries. but it was great. 6 am rolled around and rachel and i were off. it brought back memories of running last fall, i loved it! however, it made for a very tired ellie (which might have added to the grumpiness). i got home from a long day on campus and it was a beautiful night. perfect for a run. i was talking to my roommate about how i wanted to go for another run. conversation ended. phone rang. it was an old friend seeing if i wanted to go for a run. my answer. yes. did my body hate me by the end of the day. yes. did i care. no. 


- having family close is the best thing ever. the best. matt and keri have helped me a ton since getting back to school. a couch to sleep on when i was homeless, food, friendship, sleeping bags, storage, cake plates, sunday excitement....the list goes on and on. last night i went over to borrow yet another thing when keri gave me a container of chicken noodle soup and cornbread to take home. it was something so little but made my day. comfort food is the best. homemade comfort food is even better.


- diana and i were home at the same time. it was a miracle. it was so great to finally get to talk to her and catch up on all the excitement of planning a wedding.


- last week i bought an ipod touch. i succumbed. i had been wanting one for a while so i finally splurged and got it. right after i went to a college financial survival class with todd martin (a counselor in financial aid office who i know) and was feeling very guilty about my recent purchase. but it came in the mail yesterday. so very exciting.


- its starting to feel like fall. need i say more.

nothing better.

life is pretty great, im not gonna lie. There is a joy that can come just from being alive. I love it. It is so easy to get down in the dumps, to feel lonely or overwhelmed- but honestly nothing beats the opportunity to live. It is amazing what the small moments can do to make life so much better.

There is nothing better than...

- walking in and having your 18 month nephew run up to you can stick his arms up. Picking him up and having him give you the cutest hug ever. pat on back included.

-sleeping with the windows open and having to use your covers. fall is in the air folks, and i love it. i love sleeping cold. morgan will attest to this- Nauvoo EFY our room was an ice box and i was in heaven. but having to pay for your own electctricity makes sleeping cold a far off dream- except when mother nature loves you. thank you mother nature

- making new friends, and becoming better friends with the ones you already have

- game nights.

-the smell of the pavement when it starts to rain on a hot night

- seeing old friends. there is something that makes you feel so special when someone sees you and their face lights up. and its not because you are holding a big ice cream cone, they are happy just because you are in the presence. it is amazing.

- late night talk with friends. even if it means you get to bed later than planned. i love the conversations that are more than "whats your major" or "how was your summer". while these are great, and i am pro at them. The moments where you really open up with someone else, and they open up to you are priceless. I could sit there all day while someone tells me stories of their life, their fears, their worries. 

- sister-in-laws.

- movies in the park. while the season has come to an end, those showings in the park make me feel like im living in a movie. i love being part of something bigger than just me. in many senses of the word. but these movies remind me of the fourth of july. the whole city comes out to be together and play. i love it.

- having friends at work. work is great and money is even better. but having friends you work with makes it even better. it is three hours you are paid to build better relationships, that is, when the phones not ringing.

- roommates. mine are pretty great. especially when they listen to me vent and then make me a smoothie in the morning to make me feel better. really? amazing!

- someones face when you give them a compliment. or the feeling you get when someone compliments you. honestly, compliments make the world a happier place folks.

i could go on forever. life is great. if i had to go back i would relive the pain, the hurt, the disappointment that comes with life. because if not my life wouldnt be what it is today. i think the only reasons we ever have regrets is because we are not happy where we are. while there are still things i want to improve in my life- for this moment i am happy, and hope that joy will only increase.

life goal. be a good storyteller.

every year there is a storytelling festival. every year i want to go to said festival. well folks, this was the year. friday night i joined a few other friends and made our way up the canyon to watch the best storytellers do their best as they told scary stories at night.

it started with a bite to eat at spicy thai. which quickly became a bite to eat at magelbey's right next door. two words. stuffed breadstick. holy moly was i stuffed after that thing. it could feed three people. did i eat the whole thing? yes. did i feel terribly sick afterwards? yes. has my stomach been the dumbest thing known to man recently? yes. but it was delicious. we then made our way to the parking lot near riverwoods to park and catch the shuttle. we were there just in time for a shuttle, but alas there were too many of us. the girl driving promised she would send someone back for us. boy did she deliver. she sent a whole school bus back. i dont know the last time i rode in a school bus. i loved it.

the stories were wonderful. the first guy mimed his story and it was phenomenal. the other stories were great, not the scariest but wonderful. i learned though that fall is here, and that means cold nights, especially in the canyon. a cardigan and capri's with no blanket or coat wasnt the smartest move. but fuzzy and susan and i did our best to stay warm.

the best old roommate ever

storyteller after storyteller wowed us with their stories. However, my favorite was the woman who was the most relaxed. She wasn't trying to be super scary. She was just talking to you- with inflection of course. She told a love story where they were both killed. funny how that is a theme in life. romeo and juliet style. but it was a great story- and i loved her storytelling style.

the good ole steven meyer made a come back into our lives after being in germany for a study abroad

moral of the story. next September keep your calendar free and head up to the storytelling festival. it is grand.