The Coolest Saturday Ever!

Today was a good day. Here are the fabulous things I did:

1. Cousin Breakfast- my cousin Jen was in town from Texas, so the Johnson cousins who are here who weren't busy went out to breakfast. It was so good to see everyone and share love and excitement with them all!
2. Football Game- BYU played SDSU, and they were actually playing. It was good to see my Cougars play actual football again. We won. We played pretty good ball. Wish we hadn't let them score so much on us (12 points) but it was still good to see.
3. Stadium Cleanup- Not actually something that sounds like fun, but it was really good. I was so wet when I was done. SO WET! Yikes. But it felt great to work hard, and get some things done.
   
4. Shower- Warm water and then dry clothes- need I say more?
   
5. Bonfire- Hot dog roasting and marshmallow toasting! YUM! Steph, Katie and I went with our friend Kyle to his sister's house where they have a fire pit. Two of his nephews were out there with us, and they were SO CUTE! It was so good to play with those little kid.
   
6. Wii Sports- Tennis and Bowling (I won!) and Golf. I had never played Wii golf before. It was an adventure.
7. Jeeping- Kyle has a Jeep with some crazy thing to lock his axles or something. I don't know what. Anyway, we were just driving a few blocks, and then it ended up being a jeeping trip. Katie and Stephie and I were squealing and giggling the whole time.
   
8. Drinking Water- Fire=Dehydration. That's bad. Love water!
   
9. Chilling on the Couch Blogging
10. Brian Regan

Next I'm going to shower and go to bed! Yay bed!

Roommate Love!

Tonight is roommate date night! It's fabulous. I have basically the most wonderful roommates in the world, even if they do laugh at my horrific spelling as they read over my shoulder as I blog about them...

So, we're just all sitting here, cozy on the couch. And it's super fun. I don't really know what else to say about roommate love, but it's one of the best feelings in the world.

We're going out to yummy dinner at Olive Garden tonight. Katie's never been, and so we are going to celebrate love, and Stephie is fully planning on going all out- yay splurging on yummy food!

Next semester Katie is going off on adventure in Scotland... it will be so exciting for her, but sad for us. We're hoping the love doesn't leave with her. But we got really lucky with this "mystery roommate #4" and so are hopeful that the next one will be decent.

Well, Allison just got home from Volleyball, so it is almost time for the next part of date night. I'm so excited for good food, it's ridiculous!

I think I'm going to go Wikipedia what Italian people eat for breakfast, but I'm so very grateful for my fabulous home. It's full of love, love, love... like this: <3!

Reasons for Tension, Stress, Worry in My Life Today

TENSION: Currently caused by football. TCU was leading the whole game and then they let Utah score in the last minute of game time, and lost 13:10. Dumb horned frogs.

STRESS: The future. What else could stress a girl out quite like that concept? I am especially stressed after my "Careers in Landscape Management" class every week, where we learn that I don't have anywhere near enough practical knowledge to succeed as anything in the green industry. Talk about comforting insights coming from that class... or not! And then there's the fact that I'm growing up... don't even get me started on how freaked out that thought makes me!

WORRY: There are too many people that I know who are struggling with hard stuff right now. I'm a natural worrier. I just tend to be concerned for everyone else. Especially when I'm stressed (see above) I worry even more. Old friends and family members and people from home... so many of them are dealing with big, hard things, and I can't fix any of it. But I worry anyways. Also, it's 9:30 and my roommate isn't home yet. She should have been home by 9:15 at the latest... I sound like her mother...



JOY: I didn't remember to mention this one in the title, but there is so much joy! In the world of football, VT upset Maryland (number 23) tonight, 23:13. As a Virginia girl, that was good to see. Go HOKIES! My future isn't so bleak; I love the things I'm studying and have so many more opportunities ahead of me in the year and a half until I graduate. Also, I've been promised that things will work out if I have faith. I need to have faith for everyone else, too. Things will work out. Isn't hope beautiful!?! So even though I can't fix everything, I need to remember to keep going. "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). Love that scripture. I need to rededicate myself to living that way.

"Fear not, neither be dismayed"

It has been over a month since I wrote an update here. That's a long time! So, I decided to fix that by writing something tonight. It promises not to be brilliant, but that's alright. Can't be brilliant every time.

I have some serious issues with growing up. Some days I just don't want to do it; being an adult is too hard, so I am going to pretend to be 7 years old for the rest of my life. Some days I am ready to be done growing up, to be 82 years old with 27 grandchildren and a few great grandchildren on the way. Rarely I am content to be 20 years old and figuring life out. Being 20 is simply too confusing.

I'm afraid of growing up. I'm scared of making decisions that will impact the rest of my life and forever. I don't like trusting new people, but know that blocking everyone out doesn't work. I'm not certain that I trust myself. There are too many things I have to decide that I might mess up for me to trust myself.

I want life to speed up too often. I need to slow down and be content with the place I'm at now. There are so many good things going on in my life. I have to stop complaining long enough to appreciate them instead of going through life scowling with worry and being grumpy all the time.

I need to serve other people more. Service is the best way to get my mind off of my silly self. So that's what I need to do.

Today there was a BYU Devotional given on hope. It was a wonderful devotional. I love the concept of hope. Hope is what fills the world with purpose, that convinces us to keep going. Hope makes it possible for us to use the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Hope is what allows us to look forward to a joyous, wonderful forever. Hope is what brings the beautiful things around us to our attention and helps us sing blissful praises of gratitude to our Heavenly Father for these blessings. It was a good message for me to hear today.

There's snow on the mountains today, and wet fall leaves litter the sidewalks. It's beautiful.

Deuteronomy 31:6, 8
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee... And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

Cougar Football

I never was a big football girl growing up. Didn't get it, didn't care to, you know? Well. That has changed, people. Since coming to BYU, I have learned a thing or two. My wonderful friend Stephanie explained football to me as no one had been able to before, and really, once you get what's going on, it's much more fun to watch. In the two seasons since then, BYU football has become monumentally more important. As important to my happiness as breathing and sunshine. Not quite as important as water, but only just behind it in the catalog of "things that bring Caresse joy."

There's a lot of football in this country, but I don't usually follow any of it unless the Cougars are playing. This season, however, I've started to pay attention to the broader world of college football. BYU is ranked, and so I've started to explore the delicate balance of upsets and conferences and all of that. Over the course of this week, I have spent literally hours researching football. HOURS!!! Yikes! Don't know where I found the time, but I have managed to squeeze in homework, classes, work, roommate time, food, sleeping, dating AND football! It's been so fun!

Landscape Management and Other Silly (Wonderful) Stuff

I have basically the coolest major ever. And here's why: (1) I get credits for making and playing with mud every week, (2) My first big school project is pressing flowers, and (3) I get to see the same friends in all of my classes. These are all good things. I am absolutely loving this semester.

In addition to thinking school is the best thing ever, there are exciting new things happening in the world of dating, namely I really like this one boy, and he really likes me back, and we see each other almost every single day, and the more time I spend with him, the better I like him. Also good things.

And if that weren't enough to make my life basically the best ever, I also have a washer and dryer in my apartment. Woah. Talk about good things.

Life Update

So, it's been about forever and a day since I wrote on here (still no internet at home, and I don't love using public computers more than absolutely neccesary) and I'm feeling like I need to get the world caught up on what I've been doing!

I am moved in to my apartment and done with the first week of the semester (15 to go!) and am busy but loving it! Life's basically amazing right now. So much so, in fact, that I don't really want to write about it- I want to live it! And not that much is new. Just my classes and my house and my ward and the boys I flirt with, and the boy that I am liking now who I'm pretty positive likes me back, and roommate #4, and almost everything else. But it's not that big a deal. I mean, honestly, I was getting bored of where I was at a little bit, and I haven't had time to be homesick in days! It's great.

So, anyway... that's basically my life. Love it. Off to find something to study now. Bye!