three posts in a row

3 days of blog posts in a row. you all better keep checking for updates now. I'm on a roll!

My mom is off on an adventure with her siblings to Oregon! Actually they're celebrating my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. Which is so cool. Hope you all have an amazing time!

HAPPY 50th ANNIVERSARY Grandma and Grandpa!!

Mom called me from the airport. I am to call and check in at home to make sure my little brother isn't ignored... Even 1400 miles away I have instructions on what to do when mom leaves the house. Love her so much.

I'm in the mood for something sweet... but don't want to make anything. Guess I won't be having that sweet thing...

Instead I'm doing a blog post. Which was going to be about Memorial Day weekend. But it was taking too long. 

I'm totally focused right now.

I secretly want to be a southern girl. Mostly because of my fashionable, sassy, gorgeous, witty, talented, sweet Georgia friends from freshman year. And from this song. And because of the cool accent. And because I recently watched "The Blind Side" which has/is a fantastic interpretation of a southern woman.

But also so I have an excuse to say "y'all."

I have lots to do this weekend. Namely, find a ride to Target and my aunt's house to pick up some prescriptions. kind of important.

I still need to ride the bus. And I ran out of milk. Growing up is overrated.

I'm going to start taking more pictures. A picture a day keeps the doctor away. at least that's what I'll tell myself.

I've been adding labels to posts. If you look over on the sidebar, you can click on one of the labels to see all the posts related to that. Hopefully that can help me categorize my old chemo update posts.

                        If you ever look at my old posts.... which you probably don't. 

But I do. So now I made it easier for you to read my life story as well. 

You're welcome.

I got some missionary letters the past couple weeks! These guys are awesome, and I love hearing about their experiences. One of good friends just got his call to my mom's mission. So cool. "The List" of future missionaries tells that we have at least 2 guys from our ward going in every week until late August. Craziness!! They all are going to be the most incredible missionaries ever.
If you ever need a Sunday activity, let me know. I have plenty of missionaries who would probably appreciate a note.

I still can't believe I'm (close to) the same age as the Elders back in our home ward. I'm getting so old.

This. Makes my day. 

My future child will be Mr. Frederickson for Halloween, I guarantee it. Rachel's can be Russell. Megan and Nathan can debate over the Dug and Kevin costumes. It's going to be a fantastic family Halloween party. Just a taste of my little fantasies.... yikes.

Good night world.

FYI it's approximately 12:07 am here in Provo so it may or may not say that this post is for Thursday May 31. So you know it is for Thursday.

on the blogosphere

I really like reading blogs. A whole lot. And I hope you all enjoy reading mine.

I want to start something regular for all of you to look forward to and that will force me to blog at the very least once a week. Some ideas....

• happy lists (from Brooke)
• five things (from here)
• things I want my sisters to know (from this girl)
• smile moments (from my Laurel advisor)
• daily laugh (my own idea for once)
• picture a day (taken from a friend who's blog is private)
• song of the day. or lyrics. (another idea of mine)
• little letters from me (love her blog)

Also I am kind of obsessed with Brooke's blog (in case you couldn't tell). I really love this Rules of Summer post she made and I will probably soon be making one for this upcoming summer. Look forward to that.

Time for a laugh. Read this. Right now.

Just need to get this out there. I have a pet peeve concerning blogs: music players.
If I want to listen to your playlist when I go to your blog, then I will go click play myself. But I usually listen to my own playlist while I'm reading all these blogs I follow and it's kind of a pain to find the player and hit pause before I read the most recent posts.

Just a thought...

So what do you all think? What would you be interested in reading?

Reconstruction

I decided to "clean up" my blog a bit.

I have some great friends who have some fantastic-looking blogs (like this one, this one, and this one, just as a few examples) and I decided mine was a little too busy.

NOTE: I am working on finding a blog pattern background that I like so that the design isn't quite so white. For now, it looks kind of nice with a blank background. Besides, I feel like it's a lot less distracting from the actual blog content.

And so, allow me to give you a great big WELCOME to the new blog!!
Explore a little. Tell me what you like about things you discover.
Honestly though, this reconstruction was just another way for me to attempt to get back into blogging.
Guess what?

It worked.

I seriously feel like I could type and update this thing all night long.

But sleep would be good. 

So I'll just do this one post. Or maybe two. It's not that late.

Right now, my stress levels are honestly at an all-time high. I thought earning high grades in high school was rough; that was nothing compared to the stress right now. Finals start in 16 days. Craziness. My professors are playing the crunch time game which means I have about eighteen huge assignments that have to be done by or before April 11th (the last day of classes).

My family is on spring break this week. I kind of miss it, but I'm also kind of glad I finish classes almost two months before they do. Anyways, we've had some pretty entertaining Skype sessions this week.

My sisters ask if I have any stories. I basically have spent this entire week studying, going to class, add in some church stuff and seeing a few friends at dinner, and sleep. So no really fun stories. I was attempting to accomplish everything possible so I wouldn't have to stress over Conference weekend. It was a nice idea. Unfortunately I still have a ton to finish up tomorrow and Monday. 

oh my goodness IT'S GENERAL CONFERENCE WEEKEND!!!

Conference is seriously one of my favorite times of the year. Ranks right up there with Christmas and my birthday. And this year is going to be awesome because I actually get to go to one of the sessions!! I'm beyond excited right now. Even if I don't get everything done I hoped to accomplish this week, I still will probably ignore it (or only work on it a little bit) over this weekend. I want to focus on conference, family, and friends while I have time before finals crunch time.

So you have that crazy weekend post to look forward to soon.

Exciting Countdowns:

10 days until my mommy's birthday

(that would also be Easter Sunday)

9 days of classes left 

(which translates into 13 days until the end of the semester)

16 days until finals begin

18 days until Mom and Dad come

20ish days until I leave the freshman dorms behind

20 days until we start the road trip back to Chicago

which means 22ish days until I'll be home in LZ

25 days until I come back to Utah

that also just happens to be the day I get to move in to my first apartment!!

26 days until spring term begins

Life is just going by so incredibly fast. I honestly cannot believe my freshman year is practically over. In just a few short weeks I'll be living in my first apartment with Angela and another girl, figuring out how to live on my own without the lovely Cannon Center providing every meal for me. 

Did I mention I'm finding a job? I've never had a job before. So far, I still don't have one. But that's the plan: to work this spring and summer while I take a few classes to attempt to figure out life.

This summer is definitely going to be interesting to say the least.

Keep smiling, and remember: life is GOOD!

Return to Blogging

I have not been great at blogging this past month or so. Actually, I haven't been very good at it just in general. I have not been consistent, and I find that I don't ever get through my posts.

Seriously. I have seven unpublished posts that are most of the way done. I could probably post them now and you wouldn't mind. But I would mind, so they sit, incomplete and unavailable to the blog world.

I think my problem is that my posts tend to be too long. There's just so much I want to share! So anyways, one of my New Years resolutions (which have yet to be posted...) is to become a more consistent blogger, as well as a bit more brief in my comments. My roommate, Angela, started a blog to use more as a journal and to post everyday about the happenings in life. Considering the fact that I am not great at journaling either, I figure this would be a great resolution to adopt.

So, here's to doing a blog post every day. 

A short(ish) one. One that tells about what I learned and the exciting events of the day. I shan't bore you with the mundane details of my life. In keeping with this resolution, I redesigned the blog to (hopefully) inspire me a bit more to post more often.

Please note: the older posts that are currently sitting in my blogger account will be posted at a later date. I have some things to add to them, and they will be posted bit by bit when I have some free time. And since I don't really have time to talk about the first week of school right now, that will also be a later blog post. Look forward to those.

Let's get started.

Today was actually rather uneventful. I slept in and worked on homework most of the day. Wasn't feeling great, so I didn't end up making it to my one class today that didn't even start until one.

But I was productive at home.
Government and politics reading: done.
Geography chapter: done.
Spanish paper: done.
Book of Mormon reading: done.

And it's not even midnight.

Some things I learned over the course of the day:

I have discovered that making my bed every day actually does help in making me want to be productive instead of take a nap.

I also discovered that during visiting hours, there is an imaginary boundary that lies right before the bathroom. I have yet to see any guys cross that line. A few do, but it is a rather rare occurrence. Usually for home teaching. But it was still a fun night, and I love to see those who do brave crossing the line.

I am excited that I will be in bed before midnight (because that is what I will be doing right after I finish this) as I have to be awake by six tomorrow morning for my wonderful 8:00 am government class.

I love the fact that I can see my nerdy friends (namely, Hattie) every day. They help me feel not quite so nerdy... sort of.

I am also coming to the realization that it is never a good idea to procrastinate when you have two weeks to read the entire second half of the Book of Mormon. Fourteen days seemed like a long time to read 250 pages. The deadline is now 6 days away and I still have two hundred pages to read.

I also very much dislike the fact that I do not have Book of Mormon for two whole weeks. It is honestly my favorite class - I always wish it would last a little while longer and I could attend every day. It's incredible: the things you learn, the insights you gain from others, the time you spend studying with friends, the Spirit that you feel throughout the entire semester. I am so excited for January 23rd when I can go back to my favorite class again.

I love the fact that when I wake up, I will see the sunrise over the snow-capped mountains.

And life will be wonderful.