Farmers' Markets

It's been a pretty quiet day around here. My roommate and I are in the process of moving (shout out to having family living close by that are willing to help out), so that's consumed most of our day. We like to add a little excitement to our lives, though, so we've started going to the local farmers' market!

If you live around Provo, the farmers' market on Center Street is the best. One of my favorite things in life is street markets (which is probably why I loved Argentina and Chile so much), and Provo definitely delivers. The staples are there, of course; you can't have a farmers' market without fresh produce and homemade goodies! Several local artisans and a few businesses like to set up shop there as well and it just makes my heart so happy. So far I've bought ebelskivers (Danish pancakes that are nothing like our pancakes), fresh peaches (yum!), and cinnamon & sugar pita chips. It's become a Saturday morning tradition. I highly recommend stopping by. 

I'm not saying that going to a farmers' market is what brings meaning and fulfillment to my life, but in a way I am. Farmers' markets are something I really enjoy. Part of my project includes embracing myself and doing things that I love, both of which are very fulfilling and bring joy to my life. Even though today was very practical and there were things I had to get done, I still took the time to do something for me. So, I'd say that day three was a success! 

2-0-1-6

I know you're all dying to read my cliche, overdone post about how 2016 went for me. Honestly, I get a little upset when I scroll through Facebook and see all the posts about how terrible 2016 was and how ready everyone is to move into 2017. I'm just as excited as the next person for what 2017 will bring, but I also think that 2016 was really good. 

I finally made the transition back to being blonde. It's true, blondes have much more fun ;). 

I visited two big cities that I had never been to before - San Francisco and Washington DC. 

I fulfilled one of my National Treasure nerd dreams by visiting Mount Rushmore (Washington DC also fulfilled a couple of those).

I learned more about taking care of myself, and made a few much needed changes in my life. 

I started a new adventure on the BYU Ballroom Dance Company touring team, and, let me tell you, it's been a blast so far (a very tiring blast, but a blast nonetheless).

I applied for graduate school.

I studied hard, but also made sure there was plenty of time for fun.

I also attended way more BYU sporting events than I ever have before - women's soccer, football, and men's basketball. 

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I've got a lot of big plans moving into 2017 as well.

I'll be taking my certification exam for athletic training.

I'll graduate from BYU.

I'll [hopefully] start graduate school and move to a different city.

I'll be visiting a foreign country for the first time, and traveling outside of North America. 

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It's honestly been a great year. Even the seemingly never-ending rough spots have been good. I've learned plenty about myself, and my testimony has grown so much. I have an increased appreciation and love for my family, and I'm getting better all the time at studying. 

Here's to an even better year during 2017. 

Hallmark Christmas Channel Distraction

It's way too late, and I've been far too unproductive tonight. I'm enjoying not having any assignments due tomorrow and the fact that I don't have class until 11 either. 

So what have I done with my time tonight?

Tried to study for the BOC (Board of Certification exam to become a certified athletic trainer) while watching the Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas.

My roommate and I are convinced that we could write one ourselves, since they are very easy to predict. We love them though, and it provides a nice distraction from homework.

Here's to nowhere near enough sleep, but it's almost Thanksgiving break, so who cares, right?!

Gone Crazy, Back Soon.

You guys. It's been so long since I've been on this little blog. Like, so with one million "o"s after it (for my sake and yours, I won't write so with one million "o"s. Ain't nobody got time for that!). 

Life is crazy. It always is. But this week in particular was special. We called it the week from that crazy, hot place down under, if ya know what I mean. 

Picture this.

Normal class schedule.

Nationals is next week. 

Boys basketball state. 

Spring sports starting - which means tryouts and physicals.

It's been a nightmare. But it's finally the weekend and I can relax a little! 

Except for studying for the two tests I have to take on Monday that I haven't even started studying for.

Fun things happened this week. For one, the boys basketball team at the high school I'm at went to state this week. They won their game in the first round and only lost their second game by 4 points. For another thing, spring sports started this week. Which means that I'm finally working with sports that I understand. Namely, softball, baseball, and soccer. Oh soccer, how I love you. Really though, I just love that I actually understand these sports. And that the weather is nice. And that we'll be outside soon. Yay for spring sports. 

Basically, that's what's been going on in my life. Lots of experience, lots of thinking, lots of living.

Happy weekend, ya'll.

Hopping

Nothin' major going on 'round here.

I bought a tuning fork on Amazon. 

Athletic trainers often use tuning forks to help test for fractures. Well, I thought it would be nice to have one, so I hopped on Amazon and happened to find one for pretty cheap. It was totally an impulse buy, which I don't normally do, and I've only slightly regretted it since.

I visited the Provo City Center temple twice this week - once for the public tour with my mom, and a second time for a special Bridal Room tour with my roommates.

Lil sis turned 15 last month, and she's got her learner's permit now. I rode in the car with her for the first time today. I still can't believe my brother is about to graduate from high school and my sister is learning how to drive.

There's been plenty of snow around here lately, and I think it is absolutely beautiful.

Now here's a quick story for ya.  

A long time ago, when I was in elementary school, I met Loren and Teressa. I thought they were super cool and wanted to be friends with them, so I started following them around and did become friends with them (I can't believe that actually worked! And I had totally forgotten that I just started following them around until they reminded me). Emily joined our little threesome a couple of years later, and we've had a rockin' foursome ever since 6th grade. Emily and Loren went on missions while Teressa and I stayed here and had adventures on our own. They're back now, and Loren gets married this week. I'm so excited for her, and extremely grateful for the friendship that we've shared over the years. 

Happy Sunday, ya'll.

Being Alive

It's fairly late and I have a lot of things I have to do tomorrow. That's why I told myself that I couldn't write for very long in my journal tonight. 

And then I opened the computer. And I got online. And I looked at Facebook.

What I saw made me think (and I am a firm believer in things that make me think). I had seen a friend's post a little earlier, but it jumped out at me tonight.

He asked the question, "What about being alive and being able to experience things do you enjoy the most?"

I enjoyed reading the replies that had been made, and even left one of my own. But now I'm thinking.

It's been a hard week. Nothing super uncommon or special, just one of those weeks. We all have them. It's easy to get lost in the negative and build an uncomfortable little nest and stay there for awhile. That doesn't really do me any good. So, I decided to make my own little list of things that I enjoy the most about being alive and being able to experience.

the feel of my hair on my back

reading for fun

learning new things

watching and playing sports

the feeling I get when I am dancing for fun

being able to help other people

feeling confident in what I am doing

spending time with good friends

taking time for myself

eating chocolate

eating after being really hungry

warm bread

burying myself in a soft blanket

holding a puppy

being productive

making lists

achieving goals

smiling a lot

I could probably go on and on and on. And maybe I'll let myself do that this weekend. Heaven knows I need it. You should try it to. It feels really good.

A big thank you to the friend that decided to post on Facebook and ask this question. I needed it tonight, and I'm sure other people need it too.

Happy weekend, friends. Take a little time for yourself. You deserve it. 

A Brief Update

I'm alive, I promise.

I mean, it's only been almost two weeks since I last posted.

A very large part of me loves this little blog. I love posting on it, thinking about what to post, sharing my thoughts. As I told a friend recently, I feel that I am much better at articulating my thoughts through writing rather than speaking. It's definitely the introvert in me. 

Another, smaller, part of me dislikes posting. It just takes time! And time is something that I have little of this semester. 

We went to California last weekend for a competition. It was a blast and also very tiring. I experienced some new things and some old things with some great people. 

Maybe I'll post about it sometime in the future. 

For now, just know that a) I'm alive, b) I'm busy, and c) life is good.

Until I post more, enjoy a couple of pictures from my trip. 

Peace, love, and warm thoughts to you all.

A Treasure Beyond All Imagining

2 things you should know about me:

A) I am one step short of being a National Treasure fanatic. I love the movies, I can quote a lot of both movies, and my goal is to travel to as many of the historical sights (the real ones, that is) that they were filmed at. The relevance of this statement to this post? Nothing really. That's just where I got the title from.

from movies.disney.com

B) I'm not normally excited for the young adult CES devotionals that the Church hosts and broadcasts every now and then. 

For those of you that don't know, there was one of these devotionals last night.

And I was actually excited for it. 

I'm not sure why I was so excited, but I decided to put it on my calendar. I was sick yesterday and stayed in bed the majority of the day, so I almost forgot that the devotional was on at 6. 

I was reminded by a couple of my roommates, and after a brief hesitation about whether or not I should watch it, I chose to.

Guys. It was amazing. I loved Russell M. Nelson's talk, but I loved the things that his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, shared even more. And that's what I want to share with you today.

from lds.net

She issued a 30 day challenge.

 Each day, take the time to kneel and thank Heavenly Father for the scriptures. Ask Him the question that you most need to have answered that day, and pray for the Holy Ghost to be with you as you read the scriptures. Then, open to any place in the scriptures and read until you find an answer to your question.

I decided to take her challenge to heart and to read for an answer for 30 days. Today is day 2 of my experiment, and I absolutely love it. (That's why I decided to share!) To ensure, as much as I can, that I am opening to a random spot in the scriptures, I close my eyes and turn the book over and over and over, then open to whatever page. That's just how I do it, one of my many idiosyncrasies. I decided to write down impressions and passages that particularly strike me according to the question that I have. 

I've been taught for a long time that the scriptures are a main channel of communication from Heavenly Father to me. After all, the Book of Mormon was written to us, right? I'm experiencing this channel of communication like never before, and it is incredible. So, I am passing on Sister Nelson's challenge to you. I promise that you will see results and that you will find answers. I have. 

If you missed the devotional, I encourage you to watch it. You can find it right now by just going to lds.org, or search "worldwide devotional with President Nelson." If needed, one of the key words will be "millennials." 

Happy Monday!

It's the bandwagon life for me!

But not really. I don't just jump on the bandwagon unless I think it's particularly cool or something that I actually want to do. Like this #2015bestnine Instagram thing. So, I present to you, with minor amounts of pride, my top 9 Instagram pictures of 2015:

I'll probably talk about some of these highlights if you keep reading. If I don't, you'll just have to wonder.

This year was a big one for dance. Competition-wise, it was great. I placed well at Nationals in March with Andrew and Robbie, then won Pre-Championship Smooth with Robbie in November. People-wise, it was even better. I felt like I was around some of the best people during practice and at competitions.

One of my best friends, Taylor, got married.

I started my way through BYU's Athletic Training program.

I visited Chicago, Nauvoo, and St. Louis for the first time, which included my first MLB game.

I celebrated Halloween like never before.

And I spent a lot of time with some of the best people, all of whom I am extremely grateful for. Each of them have blessed my life in many ways. In my opinion, it isn't about the things you've done, but about the quality of the time spent and the people you did them with. Although the things you've done are pretty great too ;D.

It has been a wonderful year. I wish I had enough pictures to do it justice, but I'm pretty sure you would go into Racquel's-Life-in-Pictures overload.

Here's to 2016!

Rambles

I somehow almost always wind my way over to my blog when I'm studying (or should be). 

2 finals left out of 6. And then I'm done! 

No work, no school for the next two weeks. I do believe that I am quite excited. 

I started reading Pride and Prejudice again last night. I've read several different books that are all variations, but I decided it was time to return to the real thing. It's classic.

 In my head, the characters all have voices belonging to the actors of BBC's version. What a delight.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens premieres tomorrow. Highlight of my week right there. I can't wait. In fact, one of my text conversations yesterday may have included sending Star Wars "Got Milk?" advertisements back and forth. Yup. We're those kind of people.

I still have Christmas presents to make, and a few to shop for. I'm too lazy to leave my apartment though and get the things I need. Currently I'm even too lazy to get off of my bed to make breakfast. Not going grocery shopping during finals week because I'll be going home soon is a struggle, let me tell you. Don't worry, I won't starve. I hope.

I made a list on Sunday of Christmas:

food

family & friends

giving

lights

music

stars

snow

 joy

happiness

love & hugs

magic

I love this season. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. Even more so once finals are over. 

If you need good Christmas music, try Josh Groban or the Forgotten Carols. 

I realize this post has been kind of rambling. I guess that's what happens to my brain during finals week. At least this semester I haven't thrown any food at any of my roommates. Yet. 

Although I did hear the toilet yawn yesterday. 

[Don't ask.]

Happy day!

Making a Return

'Sup guys! I've totally been MIA these last few weeks. Half of it is me being lazy and the other half is the semester winding down (while winding up in the amount of work needing to be done). 

But hey. The semester is over! Finals are this week, and then I get a break for two weeks, which I am really excited about. Just chilling with friends and family, celebrating the best holiday of the year. 

I've really enjoyed this semester. I got to work in the dance athletic training room, where I learned a ton and met some pretty incredible people. Brenda, Lindsay, Amber, Brooke, and Rachel - I love you all. Thanks for everything.

Not only was starting the athletic training program a blast, but it was also a pretty good semester for dance as well. We had a fantastic back-up touring team with some pretty spectacular performances. Competitions were great, particularly our first place win in Pre-Championship Smooth at BYU's competition in November. I couldn't do it without Michael and Robbie.

This was supposed to be a roommate picture at the BDC Closing Social, but our "photographers" decided to have a little fun. Don't worry, we ended up with a good one in the end.

As you can see, this semester was full of stellar people. I can't wait for next semester! After my two week break of course. Hopefully you'll hear from me sometime before then!

 

Happy holidays!