Christmas 2011

I am not exactly sure why I enjoyed this Christmas so much....but I really did. Santa brought me money and folded the money into different things that I could buy. I unfolded the heart but it looked just as good as the shirt, boot, and the ring (I am not sure if this is a hint or not to hurry up and get married so Santa no longer has to think of what to get me ;) )

And this year, like the other four years, I have decided to go through one of own traditions-Surgery! I say this lightly just because looking back out of the last 5 years I have had leg braces in the famous Christmas morning stair picture so why pass up this one.  But its ok, something that knee surgery does do, is it makes you grateful for alot of little things such as bending your leg or walking, but this one has been going much better than the ACL so I am grateful for that actually.

It has been a great holiday.  But anything is great if your family is around.

Home Sweet Home

There is something so wonderful about being home! I love college, but from the famous words of Dorthy, "There's no place like home."  I really have not been doing anything terrible productive I admit though, my days flow from one to the next watching movies and sleeping, but perhaps that is because I had my surgery yesterday (which went well).  The only bad thing I heard was that I do indeed have to go to physical therapy...the worst, but its better to work hard for a month so that I can do it all by myself.  Excuse the fact that this post has no pictures, I have not been quite picture worthy with mostly sleeping the past 2 days but I am home safe and happy.  I am anxious to get back to work and I wait patiently for all of my final grades go in this semester so I can start the rigorous application process again for Provo. I love BYU-Idaho and I really do wish they had my program there the thing is, is that I love my major more than the small intimate feel of the Idaho campus so if I do get in it will be a blessing and if I don't this go around then that too will be blessing.  I am in a win-win situation here.  If I get in I get to continue the thing I love and if I don't then I get to play soccer, finish my associates and be a TA for two of my old classes so either way is ok and I will try try again after the spring semester.  Well these are the thoughts from Lori I will continue to update on my life decisions and I will add pictures next time so there wont be so much to read.

Gingerbread and Finals...

Well this week is not going to be fun, I am up at 12:15am right now working on the first of three speeches I have to give tomorrow for English.  I know I should have been working on it this evening but Sam and I could not forgo seeing each other.  But anyways...this week is going to be quite the one.  I hope that it goes well, but with 5 looming finals, 2 presentations and 1 paper I am not looking forward to it at all but I will not poop out this last week-I have worked hard all semester! 
Moving on to what i did this weekend I spent most of my time....do you want to guess with who?....well if you said Sam you are right! We spent Friday and Saturday eveing making ginger bread houses.  The first one turned out great and the other one...well I wont mention it, but we named it "Tornado Town" apparently frosting tornadoes exist inthe word of gingerbread house making, but besides the point it was a lot of fun as always and I look forward to our other baking adventures. 
I cant help to really like this song I am the best around and nothing is ever going to keep me down.  Bring it on finals!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV2l0k8bbf4

"Breath of Heaven"

This week has been pretty relaxing with finals just around the corner the teachers decided to be kinder this week.  But now it is over and it is time to crack down for these two final weeks.  I am anxious to go home for so many reason.  Mostly and first is to spend time with my parents and little sisters.  I miss them a lot.  But to keep on current subjects I will recap this week.  I spent most of my free time with my new "crush" Sam Drake.  He is just great and a lot of fun=) We made a lovely-ok so it may not be that lovely but delicious for sure-pizza on Friday night and it was a lot of fun.  His side of the pizza consisted of cheese, bacon, sausage, onions and tomato while my side was tomatoes and onions and cheese. What a carnivore.... But  continuing on our weekend endeavors Saturday night we went up into the Rexburg hills near Targhee to go Christmas tree hunting.  It was quite the adventure.  We were trekking through at least 2 feet of snow downhill and in the dark.  There was perhaps 15 of us there and the pictures are scarce,but there was one I could peak into....so I am the little creep in the background of that picture. =) Also I have a 100% in my science class which I cant see happening again in college so documentation and proof=) 
But other than those two events I had a quiet weekend of constant Christmas music listening and at the moment my favorite one to listen to is "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant.  I had a little issue today, and listening to it makes me know that Heavenly Father has a great plan for us even if we think we are inadequate. He knows our potential and He knows our struggles and will be there to comfort us.  This life is not meant to be walked alone and we wont have as long as we ask Him to be with us.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPbV_HTpyx0

Holiday

I cannot even believe the holiday is over.  Just yesterday I was packing to go to Utah for a break and now I am back already sitting on my bed doing my Nutrition homework....why cant school go that fast?  It was such a great time thanks to the infinite hopsitatlity of Drew and Jessie.  They were great, they made sure Ayla and I had an extremely comfy futon and air mattress to sleep on, they made sure we ate and not just ate but got enough fruits and veggies and drove us whereever we had plans.  They were great and I owe them alot, so thank you!
Most of the pictures from pie night and thanksgiving are on Jessica's blog, so I will let those pictures stay there. As for my other days I spent time with Jordan and Ayla and had a wonderful time, as always.  We went to the lights in Salt Lake and it was beautiful and once again a great memory.

Coffee Cake Success

Today I made coffee cake for the first time from a recipe on recipe.com, and I might say that it was delicious.  Not only that I got to eat it with two of my favorite people out here in Idaho-Peter and Jill. I love family=)

Pleasant Surprises: Flowers, Slippers, Scarfs and Snow!

 On Monday I came home to pleasant surprise of flowers on our living room floor addressed to me.  After a couple of texts to the suspected leaver I found out that Tag Knowles left them for me, just because.  Each time I receive flowers I cant help but think of Elaine off of Seinfeld thought process, she gets flowers and the voice over is her thinking "Great, how long do I have to hold these." Not that I agree with her, but that line always pops into my mind. I love flowers.
Another pleasant surprise is when  Molly got me a pair bright yellow soccer slippers, which I wear everywhere in my apartment, she got herself matching purple ones, and they make me smile every time I wear them.
  Now that the season has ended I decided to make Molly a thank you scarf, so in my moments of needed homework breaks I would work on some of the scarf and I am quite happy with the final product.
Lastly today on Saturday I woke up to a small blizzard.  Snow is everywhere, it had melted since last week, but I believe this go around it is here to stay.
  Overall this week has been one of pleasant surprises=)

SNOW!

This week was no fun with the finishing up of midterms to my team losing in the first round of the tournament it just was not a good feeling week. But mother nature, knowing that I was down, decided to send snow.  There is something so magical about snow, perhaps it is because the world is enveloped in white so it looks serene and clean.  Snow makes everything quite and muffled and the colors on clothes, cars and buildings stand out more.  I love snow, and I cannot wait until there is enough of it to go sledding on, sledding has become one of my favorite snow activities because of my sledding experience last year. But  here is Zach and I just goofing off with the camera enjoying our snow moments.=)

"Lori size" Ice cream

The other night I was having a "PPM" (poor pitiful me which I got from mom) moment. So not wanting to feel alone I decided to share my misery by texting my friend Tag about how my life was so "terrible". After listening to me vent for a 15 minutes he told me that he had to go and do something but he would text me when he was done.  Little did I know that he would show up to my house a little bit later surprising me with a quart of fruit and these "Lori-size" ice creams( he knows about my anti-sugar stance) and it made my night.  I love the friends I have out here while I am far away from home. (You can see how small they are compared to my hand)

Titans Fall 2011

Last semester I  decided to coach a mens team, I am not exactly sure why I picked coaching over playing knowing full well that if i did coach I would not be able to play, but since I have injured my self I believe the decision was a tender mercy.  It has been going great though.  The boys respect both me and my coach molly and we love every minute of it.  Sometimes the practices are more frustrating that others, but learning and patience is essential in coaching.  Each practice we start with a routine warmup: 2 laps around the field, stretch, mini sprints, passing, trapping, headers, and volleys in three lines then we move into the drills of the day.  Molly and I are still learning how to quiet doew a group of 18 boys and our voices are not that loud, so I have been contemplating using "the whistle" but I felt it was too professional and I am only a coach at BYU-Idaho so the voice it is.  Our drills sometimes go well and others we dont plan well enough so we make them up as we go adding modifications.  Then we usually end with a run, depending if practice is monday or wednesday then a scrimmage o fun little game.  I love it and molly and I are the first girls to coach a mens team in soccer- making history =), but here are the pictures we took of the team dinner we had the other night.  =)  We are missing a few, there are 17 on the team, but some could not make it to the dinner. But top row: Jason, Leighton, Parker, Zach, Aaron, Ammon, and Harrison, the bottom row: Molly, me, Josh, Cody, Shane, Jerrick, John and Carson. =)

FHE "Mom"

All last semester I did not ever go to FHE...it was not my thing and apparently I was too cool for it, so my bishop must have heard that because this semester I got called as the FHE "mom" and now it frustrates me when people do not come because they have better things to do, so lesson learned, I understand.  Sometimes you go to activities whether they are beneficial for you or not, because it will support the person who has planned the activity.  A good analogy is being on a sport team, if you have 15 people on a team to make practice beneficial they all need to show up, even if they are professional players they still all show up to practice, because drills could not be as good without everyone there if only 2 or 3 showed up so go to activities whether you like them or not and support with a good attitude=) But tonight I am in charge of activity, so this is a shout out to my momma for the great idea.  "Don't Eat Ernie"...because we would be sad to eat Pete because there is a pete in our family=) also I realize I spelled Ernie wrong =)

Visit =)

This weekend I was lucky enough to have shaquille and his friend come up from Provo and visit me.  It was so much fun! I showed him the wonders of Idaho, and after that 10 minutes we just enjoyed each other's company ;) No I am just kidding, Idaho is beautiful in its own way.  I took them to the sand dunes and unfortunately forgot my camera, but they loved it.  IT is amazing out there, so quite and beautiful then we went to the haunted mill.  My voice is hoarse today because of so much screaming, it was scary,  the owners achieved their goal. Then today they went to church with us and we took a few pictures.  I was really happy that they got to come out here.  Idaho is a special place, and I love it here, I really would not want to be anywhere else....but we will see if I am still saying that come November =).

Field Trip

Today I had a field trip for my Science 202 Class-Natural Disasters.  I must say that I like field trips back in elementary school much better than in college.  One they were during school and two I had all my friends with me and three they were in Georgia where it was not freezing cold.  But it was interesting we went to different places that natural events or disasters occurred.  And I use the word event to explain that it isn't a disaster unless people are around. Something that was also fun, was that I got see the many colors of fall...well sort of, Idaho decided this year to skip right over that season, so in one of my pictures I am walking and on the ground there is a picture of fall leaves on the left and on the right is snow.  It seemed to fit perfect how fall came and went to fast that winter was just on the other side of things.  Our last stop was at Mesa Falls, they are beautiful.  It is amazing how water is so powerful in situations. But it was beautiful and overall I had a good day.

Sweats

Well today I bought my new pair of surgery sweats, they are burgundy with a BYU-Idaho logo, which gave me an excuse to by a new pair of sweatpants, because ever since the first surgery I have always had new sweatpants to lounge in, because honestly the clothes I come home in-I stay in for at least a week...gross...But thats ok, because these ones are extremely comfy and so that is all that matters=)

Also here is Ayla and me, just being us, because we love eachother because we are great friends!

 And lastly, excuse the flash, but this picture is for momma, here is me on the first day of school.  Sophomore in college=)

To Papa:

This post is dedicated to Papa Barnes.  Well I heard that you liked everyone's blog except mine because I hadn't posted in a while, but now this one is solely for you and to catch you up on my comings and goings.  It is a little surreal to be a sophomore in college.  I remember being a sophomore in high school and thinking then that I was "something", my how time flies.  But school started.  I can honestly say this is going to be my least favorite semester, not because of where I am but more of what classes I am taking.  I am trying to finish my foundation classes, so I have two sciences, one international, one religion, and one English, all of which are foundations.  I am taking only one core class and I love it, reminding me every day I have class that I have chosen the right career for me.  I am working on my associates with a major in Generals and a cluster in Nutrition since BYU-Idaho does not have nutrition as a major here, which is sad, because I love it up here.  But I would rather pursue my career than stay in a place that I like, I can always re-adapt.  Well my social life is just like it has always been.  It consists of jumping from one soccer game to the next, I try to not take part, because of my knee, but I can't help to not play at all, so Ill juggle or pass lightly with some friends.  Coaching is going really good.  The boys may not think I know what I am doing, but they will learn that I know what I am doing and I am right.  And if they don't learn that, they can run.  Na, I'm just kidding I am not that harsh, but I do enjoy it because I can say that soccer is something that I am the most comfortable in, I learn new things every day, but know enough to have productive practices.  I was telling Ayla the other day that if they had a major in soccer I would make a 4.0 always. =)  Let me see, dating scene is fine, no one has made an impression on me enough to want to pursue, but that is OK, I am only 20...which in "world" years is young but in "Mormon years" I am almost out of my prime years, so no worries I am working on getting married ;)  Just kidding, I am in no hurry....through all my years of surgeries I have learned to not plan really, so what happens happens when it is meant to happen.  So I live life carefree with a short outline of what I want to happen next, but with lots of  extra room for change.  Well, I hope this post will suffice until my next post, and I will try to write each week, mom told me it would be a good Sunday activity, so perhaps I will do just that.  But I love you both, Papa and Grandmother, hope to see you soon.  Also I will be sure to take pictures at every opportunity I can to make sure you get to look at pictures too=)

Lesson Learned

I was not going to write a blog on this, but in a couple of years, I think it'll be helpful to me to come back and reread this.
I am sad.  I really don't want to go through surgery again, I don't want to go through recovery again, I don't want to limp around again, I don't want to have to work my way through walking, jogging, to running, and to finally cutting and playing soccer again.  I am tired of it-and it makes me sad.  This time I am trying to be positive again, but all I really want to do is play soccer at my level and to the best of my ability, I am tired of going "easy"when I play, I haven't been able to play the complete way I want to in a long time-its frustrating, and I wish so many things to be undone...

I am sad, and I am tired of it all-BUT
I am grateful for understanding parents, patient and loving parents
friends who comfort me while I am far from home
siblings who call and email me
that it isn't my ACL
that I  chose to coach instead of play, that I still get to be a part of soccer even if it isnt the active part that I wish I could
I have the gospel in my life to rely on
that I have a Heavenly Father who is there to comfort me when I am sad, and the knowledge that there is a lesson to be learned here and to not ask "why this is happening", but "what is there to learn"

I am sad, and instead of putting on a false smile and hiding behind it (like the previous three times) and relying on no one, I decided to just say it-I am sad, but I am grateful, not for the situation or the previous ones, but for the lessons that I will learn through all this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZFBl7xNXjc

Still in Limbo

I moved out of Drew's and Jessie's to a new location-Peter and Jill's, I have yet to live in my own place still. So I am still currently caught in Limbo.  This summer has been pretty unproductive...I haven't done anything really, except maybe read a couple of good books, one being "Divergent", but something that has been nice is spending a lot of time around family that I dont get to be around as much.  The first month I was with Etta, and let me say that that lady is the most social 77 year old I know, she is more social and outgoing than I am and I am a sophomore in college.   Then after numerous games of skipbo and 5 crowns I moved in with Drew, where I spent time throwing a frisbee, deciding what to eat for dinner, and calling doctors in Provo, American Fork and Saratoga Springs trying to finish all my appointments before I left for Idaho (which I did with a lot of persistence).  Now I am in Idaho with Peter, and enjoying my time with them.  Peter and I go on long walks in the morning while Jill works and then when Peter is gone Jill and I creep on facebook and watch movies. 

But even though I am more than ready to start my semester and move into my "own" place, I am having fun and enjoying my time doing "nothing".=)

Aug 30, 2011

Well today I turned 20! No longer a teenager, its kind of weird, I've been a moody teenager so long, I forgot how to act, hah. My mom told me that I've actually just now become human, all through your teen years you are in the negative numbers until you hit 20 then you finally become 0 and work your way up from there because no one likes teenagers, except other teenagers, and even then that is rare.  But this has been my first one from home. It was sad, I thought about all day what my "Birthday dinner" would be, but then realized I would not get one...but for a future reference it was going to be strawberry crepes =).  Well I woke up around 9 to a bunch of text messages, one from my dorky little sister Lisa leaving me a voicemail telling me happy birthday, that I look like a monkey and that I smell like dodo, and then at the end she loves me.  Haha i did not expect anything less (or more) of Lisa =).
I then went Dr. Callahan in Saratoga Springs with Etta, he told me that I had torn my meniscus and that it would require surgery in December...but thats ok, it wasnt my ACL, so tender mercy there.   Then Etta and I went out to lunch at Mimi's Cafe, it was delicious where they sang me Happy Birthday and gave me chocolate mousse cake (which I  did not eat, but nice gesture) then I went to Shaquille's and hung out with him for a little bit till he went to practice then I threw a frisbee and football with Jordan and his roomie Kenny, well now Im back at the apartment with Drew while he reads aloud his spanish homework chuckling to himself every now and then because he reads it out loud in a humorous voice.  It has been a good birthday, so goodbye teen years, and hello my next decade=)

Good time

Hogle Zoo

28Aug

Today I went to the zoo with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jan and all their kids. It was Bailey’s birthday present which was earlier this week (and I kind of counted it as mine too =) ) But it was alot of fun, I love spending time with family, its always so fun especially when your immediate family is far away from where you are. So it was yet another great day in Utah this summer.
Aunt Jan insisted we take our picture on this “Photo Op Spot”, so we waited our turn after all the three year olds before us took their picture=)



This stupid monkey was staring right at me the whole time and the second I got the camera out and posed, he turned his little head…he did it on purpose I think. But you can see his little arms and tail hanging down.

The elephant closest to the picture is the oldest elephant in the USA in captivity, Dani was her name and she was born in 1960. The one with her ears stickin out and facing the camera is Christie and she is the mother of the baby next to her which was born two years go, Zula.

(Edit)

Good time

20Aug

Shaquille came over on Thursday night and it was soo fun to hang out with him! We didnt do much except for the occasional card game with Etta, and the ping pong games between them, I wish that I would have filmed bits of pieces of them going against eachother. Etta gave Shaquille a run for his money every time, but my mom pointed out to me that they are destined to be “bosom friends” and in a lot of ways she is right. They have similar personalities and just like to have fun and go and do anything. Well today, we went with his friend, James, to temple square which is always nice. We toured the conference center, and saw the temple and walked around the grounds and went and saw the Jesus Christ statue which is so beautiful. Shaquille loved it, it really makes you appreciate how beautiful and wonderful something is that you are use to when you have someone around you who has never seen it before. Shaquille loved it all, and it was just a really good day and the past couple of days have been a great time.

Washington

14Aug

Well for the last week and a half, I went up to Washington State, which is the furthest from home that I have ever been. I went with my friend Jordan Betteridge to spend some time with him and his family. I had a wonderful time! Jordan and I made out a list of things to do while I was there and we did them all but one. Even if we did not have a set plan we would go kick a soccer ball around. It was just alot of fun. Washington is different, but beautiful. The Washington state license plates says the “Evergreen State”, I would have to say that they nailed it. It was soo green and lush there. The woods would be so dense that even at noon you could not see into them because of how dense and dark it was. But it was beautiful. One of the biggest surprises would have to be the west side “beaches”….Im use to sand, hot sun, wind, waves, and warm water. NO NO NO, the Washington “beaches” were not like that at all. Jordan took me to see the beach the first day I was there, and there was no sand, rocks were everywhere and the water went all the way up to the tree line. It wasn’t windy and the water was frigid, but the water was very clear, you could probably go 6 feet out and still see the bottom, and I did like that, but it was so alien to me that those were considered their beaches!
BUT anyways enough about the beaches, and how beautiful it is there.
One day we went down to Tacoma, which is the city that he lives closest too, and we just walked around and took some pictures of interesting things we saw as we walked. One of which was a walkway too the musem of glass.

This is a wall of just different glass designs.
This is a roof of glass, and if you look closely enough into the blue thing you can see Jordan and I’s reflection.=)
Pretty Water Glass Design.
Us just walking around Tacoma.
Then we found this fun bubbly water fountain thing, so we couldn’t pass up the chance to take a picture, but I was goofing off-hence the goofy smile=)
Then one day we went to the zoo, and we did not get any pics of us in them, but the monkeys were craking us up, so I had to put this picture in. The zoo was alot of fun!

Summer time

01Aug

I love summer time, I do wish I was at home so I could work and hangout with my family for the next month and a little, but being in Utah is not that bad. It is really nice to do nothing at all. A quote from my dad that makes me think of my lazy summer days, “Some times I sit to think and sometimes I just sits.” I just “sits”, and I am loving it. This past semester gave me a run for my money. But as much as I was ready to leave Rexburg, I am even more anxious to go back. I love college. It is so fun!
But my brother, Peter, his wedding was beautiful, it was just so fun. The day before his wedding, so Friday the 29th, was one that will stay in my memory a long time, and probably forever now that I am writing it down. All my family, all six kids and parents went to Vivan Park up in the Timpanogus Canyon, and it was beautiful. We were so happy. Ate the food and played in the freezing water, and it was just so much fun, and then Drew, Jessica, Peter, me, Lisa, Jordan and Katie all went exploring and it was so much fun.
I just love being around my family and it was nice to have them all around in a fun place enjoying eachother;s company. I was sad to leave, tired, but I was sad when we left.
It’s what sumer is about. Doing what you like, around people you love, with no schedule and with a sense of adventure.

The End of Spring 2011 Semester

12Jul

This semester has flown by, I remember when I got here and I was just waiting around in my apartment for soccer tryouts to begin and they were only a week away and now the end of the season banquet is on Thursday.
Let’s see if I can put this semester into a nutshell without this blog going on forever. I got here and I was pretty unhappy at first. It was cold and I had to dig my sweatshirts and sweaters out of an old bucket, when just the day before I was in shorts and a tshirt watching Lisa play soccer at the highschool. I saw Devyn, she was really plesant, but she had herself a little boyfriend and peopel in relationships are not all that fun as it turns out (they are even less fun to be around when they get engaged and that happends ALL the time here at “BYU-I do”) I set all my stuff up and went to sleep alone and sad, I cried only that first night. Ayla showed up the next day and we clicked automatically. We are great friends and I can see this being a friendship that in 20 years down the road we are sending Christmas cards to eachother to share our lives with eachother still. I love that girl, she is a great friend. Well school started and I was happy for a short time to be back and learning, but after about a month I wish I was back in Plum’s asking someone what they wanted to drink for breakfast, no thinking involved relatively easy work, but I would not like to have my career there so I think knowing that that is the only other option keeps me in school working hard, but I do love to learn. Soccer started and I was put on the Spartans, it was frustrating, my team did not do that well, and i have to admit I do like to win, so I would get agitated easily at them, but oh well. We ended up overall in 4th place out of 6th, so not last, and I made new friends. I love soccer. Along the way, I went on dates. At the beginning of the semseter this kid Sterling Taylor saw me in the bookstore on my second day out here, he introduced himself and said that he was in my night class last fall. Then he asked me out. But turns out that he liked me alot more than I liked him so we remain good frieds. This also happened with a kid in my nutrition class, Max, Peter’s dopey roommate Cameron, a pick up soccer game friend Zach and a kid named Kyle Bluth, but in this case he didnt like me, we were just friends and hung out a couple times, we mostly just enjoy eachother’s company and talking. Those are all my “romantic” scenes this semester, and yet I am still single =) I got flowers twice this semester. Which never happened in the fall, so that was nice.
Now I am in finals, and I am dragging, today I wrote one of three essays due for one class, my Comm 111 class, and thats not even half the final, i still have the multiple choice portion, yuck….but I cannot wait to go and see my family. I wish I could go home for the break, but instead Ill spend my time with family, in Washington and playing the piano,(there are two songs I really want to learn 1. Cristofori’s Dream and 2. Clair de Lune) and I cant wait to catch up on sleep. My grades are better this semester, I think Im gettin the whole college scene. I decided that being a RD is what I want to do, so I am starting to plan that future too.
It has been a good semester and Ive enjoyed it thoroughly.

Happy Father’s Day!

19Jun

Dadda’s day. It is like an extra birthday for my dad. He gets to pick the dinner, which usually consist of hotdogs, potato chips, cole slaw, potato salad, and some type of m&m’s or a mr. good bar. What I wouldnt give to be there to share just this moment. I love my dad. When I went to bed last night I was thinking of Dad’s and Doughnuts back in Kindergarten then my mind continued to when one time he was taking the boys hunting, but I wanted to go, so I woke up extra early when I heard he was up and he took me to breakfast. I remember the joyus moments where he would take a break from work, even though I know he was so busy now, but to push me on the homemade swing in our back yard. He would push me so high that I would try to grab the leaves off the tree that was in front of the swing. I remember watching football and golf on sunday afternoons with “one eye open”. I remember the many fishing trips, and him giving the rod to me when a fish would hook on, even though that is the best part. I remember our daddy-daughter dates. He would take me to the nicest resturant and tell me, “Dont go out with anyone who treats you less.” Even though as nice as a resturant he would take me to, was almost impossible for any boy in highshcool….(but that was his plan =) ) Ive always appreciated him for coming to my games, he would be watching and after the game he and my mom wouldnt just be like-yup you did good-no they actually critiqued me because they wanted me to be the best i could be. My dad is the most honest, genuine, best man I know. And I will not settle for anything less because of the example he has set for me. I love you dad, enjoy your day and I miss you so far away from home, enjoy waching golf with one eye open=) And guess what? (no not blue =) ) I Love you and Happy Father’s Day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O328z4F7WlM

Story behind the Quote

16Jun

So I think untill I actually come up with a stable name Ill use my momma’s idea of putting up different quotes, Ill do it monthly. “Even Monkeys Fall from Trees” is going to be June’s. I havent documented yet why this quote means so much to me, so now I will.
In the Fall of 2009, when I was senior I played on my highschool football team. I was the kicker. My main kicks were PAT’s, which I like well enough. But it was one particular game when were playing against the Blue Tide, they were not that great and I believe that we,the Wildcats, scored 7 times. Out of those 7 times I think I only hit, or made 2 points after. At the end of that game, we had won, but I was upset with my self. I was frustrated and angry that I finally got the chance to kick so many times and I had messed up. I knew I could make it, I could make 40 yard field goal, so 17 yards should have been no problem. My dad was at the game and he came up to me when the game had ended and he could tell that I was upset, just like every good parent can tell. He asked me why I was down and I responded something along these lines, “I missed so many tonight, and it is the only thing I do, the coaches arent going to trust me anymore, and I knew I could do it, it is the ONLY thing I do, the ONLY thing I work on is making those PAT’s, that is it, I dont have to run, catch, throw, know routes, all I do is have to kick 17 yards away after we score and I messed up.” Well my dad paused and then probably one of the wisest words Ive heard came from him. It was simple but has made such an impression on my life. He asked me, “Lori what are monkeys the best at?” Now I was wondering why he was asking me this and I admit I wasnt in the mood for some joke(which I love all my dads jokes) But I answered him with a snitty teenage attitude, “They climb trees.” And then one of the best thing I heard was, “Even monkeys fall from trees.” That made such an impression on me. It was amazing, it made me feel so much better, because monkeys spend all day in trees, its all they do practically. And you know what, my dadda was right, sometimes they do fall from trees.
This just doesnt apply to football for me, though. When I know how to do something well and I mess up, I know that even sometimes if we know exactly what we are doing, we are going to mess up, what counts is really how quickly we pick ourselves up and “try the climb again.” I cant just lay on the jungle floor feeling pathetic, but work harder and enjoy the learning experience on the way down and just realize what I need to improve on, even if I do the activity all the time, its ok. So thanks dad=)

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Leave a commentPosted by peacheslori on June 16, 2011 in Uncategorized

Nostalgia

15Jun

Today has been a day that has taken me back to “yesterdays”. Dicitonary.com defined the word “nostalgia” as :

a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time:

I experienced just that, I had a wistful desire to return to a fomer place in time that brought me happiness, not that I am not happy now, but just the events that preceded today made me nostalgic. The first event was early in the morning, 7:30ish, when I was walking to the Taylor building for my 1 hour BOM 122 class(the second half). It was lovely today, which is a rare occasion in Idaho, so I was walking unusally slow. As i got to almost the middle of the Taylor Quad a smell drifted into my nose. I stopped, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It smelt like summers in Utah. Cool, sunny, clean. I remember this distinct smell because Lisa and I, every trip to Utah would recognize it and actually talk about it. Georgia does not have this smell, and the Utah summer smell is very distinct. In my stopped position( I am sure people around me thought I had gone crazy) but in my stopped position I remembered the early morning swimming lessons, the carefree afternoons, and the walks to the park just up the street from my grandpartens house at the Elementary School. Where Peter, Drew, Lisa, and I , and sometimes Katie would play on the swings and jungle gym or kick a soccer ball around. I actually felt like I had nothing to worry about and that it was Summer, but of course as soon as I opened my eyes I realized I was in Idaho and that I was almost late to class, but it was a sweet happy moment.

The second nostalgic moment was in the late afternoon around 6ish. I had just finished taking my SciFd class (grade wont be recorded) and I just arrived at my apartment and fell on my bed ( it was a difficult test). My eyes again were closed and the window was open. In came the sound of a band drumming somewhere for some reason. This reminded me of football practices and the games. At the highschool the band would practice in a neighboring parking lot to the field so we could always here the drums. It reminded me of all my teammates and the many afternoons I spent on that field kicking from different distances, and places trying to improve. It reminded me of the pregame. After I had warmed up a little pregame and we were sitting in the lockerroom we could also here the drums from the band. It made me nervous, but football is such a good memory, Im glad I got to have this moment too.

Foundation Classes

13Jun

I have come to realize that these classes are the biggest waste of time. Now I’m not being a typical grumbly student, I say that they are a waste of time for not only me, but for the professor. What professor wants to teach the basics, when they have their PHD and are most likely trying to write some impressive math book that contains more letters than numbers (attribution for example goes to dad). They teachers don’t teach they just pull example out of example until you are so lost that you dont even know what question to ask. Then they test you on it. I just took my Humanities Foundation exam number 2. Supposedly this class is there to culture me….dont they know I am from the South, the most cultured place on earth . No im just kidding, i love the south. I got an 84 on the test, not awful, not bad. It actually brought my overall grade up, that gives a hint on how wonderful I am doing in that class….But there was a question on that test that I KNOW we did not go over, and if the teacher did say something on it, it must have been under his breath or while he was coughing. Foundation classes are no fun. I love my core classes, I am learning so much in there, but I do not like my Foundation classes, so a word to the wise to my two little siblings who are not yet in college-Take AP classes. 1. you dont pay for them 2. You test out of the foundation classes that you would have to take in college 3. You get to dive right into the fun core classes.

Medicine

12Jun

Ive been taking medicince in the last 3 years so much that I am SICK OF IT. And if it is not hurting too much I wont take it. I dont like medicine. I recently have been having lower right back problems (as soon as my knee gets better-something else starts to hurt). The doctor said that i strained a muscle, which i am sure i did, but I believe that since I have been so right sided for the past two years (due to my weak left side) that I have shifted something down there to a place that it really shouldnt be shifting in to. Im no doctor, and nor will I ever be, but that is my guess on the situation. But currently im taking muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory pills. I do not like them. As soon as i take them i get extremely drowsy and dizzy and I have been on them for the past week( classes have been even more of a struggle than they usually are, but entertaining, because for some reason I am more bold on the muscle relaxers than if I wasn’t.) But alas, they are helping I just do not like the way I feel when I take them, plus associated with medicine is the feeling that i am in a curved glass bowl all the time. I only have one more week of taking the muscle relaxers 3x a day and the anti-inflammatory pills 2x a day, I cannot wait till next weekend!