Crazy 8's!

After a super intense day, I am finding myself wasting time and blog stalking people... and I found this jewel...

8 T.V. Shows I Watch

1. Say Yes to the Dress

2. Say Yes to the Dress, Big Bliss

3. Say Yes to the Dress, Atlanta

4. VH1 Jump Start

5. The Office

6. Glee

7. So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD)

8. Cupcake Wars

(Honestly I don't have time to watch a lot of t.v. Or at least I didn't until school got out. And yes, apparently I'm a little obsessed for Say Yes to the Dress, but who isn't.)

8 Favorite Resturaunts

1. The O.G. (Olive Garden)

2. La Jolla Groves

3. Cafe Rio

4. The Chocolate (don't know if that counts, but one item here is the same amount of calories as a full meal anywhere else)

5. Texas Roadhouse- really it's only for the rolls

6. Red Robin

7. Subway

8. Jamba Juice

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Zumba

2. Took a two hour nap... at 7:45a.m.

3. Took a test, ugh

4. Watched Dr. Oz- it was an episode on whether or not childhood obesity is a form of parental abuse. Super interresting, if you're into that sort of thing, and I totally am.

5. Watched Oprah. How could I not.

6. Wrote up lesson plans for classes today. Boring.

7. Umm...

8. Read my scriptures

8 Things I look Forward To

1. Summer

2. Vacation, all I ever wanted

3. Sleeping tonight

4. Grad school. GO UTES!

5. Getting a big girl job

6. SYTYCD to start!

7. Harry Potter 7.5

8. Getting a passport and using it

8 Things On My Wish List

1. Warm weather and a tan (does that count as two? I say no.)

2. A scholarship for grad school

3. World peace. And yes, my list is in order of importance

4. For Oprah to come back already

5. An NSYNC reunion tour

6. Lime green TOMS

7. My knees not to suck so I can run

8. A vacation. Or multiple vacations

8.5. To see Celine live!

8 People I Admire

1. Jesus

2. My mother

3. My father

4. The person who invented sticky notes

5. P-Money (If you really know me, you know exactly who I'm talking about)

6. My favorite professor, Sue

7. Anyone who dresses up in a mascot costume on a 100 degree weather day

8. Elizabeth Smart (I'm watching the news, but sure, why not.) (And P.S. John Edwards has a love child that he lied about? Is that the new political trend? That does not earn my vote.)

Now you know a few more useless facts about me. Your life just got that much better. You're welcome.

I'm Gunna Bleed RED!

That's right. My blood is running RED. I got accepted into the U. I applied to three different Grad programs at the U (truth be told I'd rather go out of state, but tuition is $$$), and I was accepted into two of them. The other was my third choice, so no tears were shed, except maybe from my mother because it was the program she wanted me to go into. Master's of Social Work, her baby. Now I have to decide between the other two, and I have to do it within the next week. Program 1: Master's of Public Health. An awesome, awesome program, and the "gold star" of health programs as one of my teachers calls it. It's very clinically based, and is super intense. Lots of Doctors and Nurses actually apply for the program so they can have the MPH letters behind their names because it makes them legit. I can get any health job with this degree, and I can do lots of research, which I love. Program 2: Master's of Health Promotion and Education. My favorite teacher, the one I'm working on a research project with (and at the end of it, I will be published! woot woot) has practically paved the way for me in this program, so that's nice. I will focus on obesity and eating disorder prevention, which is my passion. If I choose to go on and get a Ph.D. then this program is the way to go. However, if I choose to just work, then I limit myself by not having the MPH credentials... lame. Decisions, decisions. And I have no clue what to do. In other exciting news, the Justin Beber movie, Never Say Never, has changed my life... okay, maybe not. But it was probably the best movie I've seen in a long time. I'm currently waiting for it to go to the dollar movie theater so I can watch it over and over, one dollar at a time. Shay and I went to see it for our Valentine's Day date. It was fabulous. We rocked our J-Bieb tee's and jammed for all TWO HOURS that the movie lasted. It was blissfully magical.

(Don't judge me. I don't know how to rotate the picture, or delete them... Or make new paragraph unless there is a picture in between them. I'm lame, I get it.)

Baby Searle and Sister Hendricko came home! I now only know one missionary left in the WKM. Crazy. I used to own that place and know everyone there. But, my last comp is now home, and all but one of the elder's from my last district. Seems like yesterday we were having my going home party, and playing pranks on eachother, but it was nice for me, Lowry, Hendricks, and Baby Searle to be reunited. The four of us had a blast in our district. Man, I miss the mission every day still...

I'm a Senior, so I decided that I no longer had to go to class all day, every day. I played hookie for a day and went and saw "So You Think You Can Dance" auditions in SLC. It was magical. Me, Shay, Steph, Jen, Travis (he loved it more than the rest of us) and Vicky all went together. We were supposed to dress like we were going to the club... I've never been clubbing, how am I supposed to know what to wear! Anyway, I'm excited for the season to start. Mainly because I want to see if I'm going to be on T.V. and because when SYTYD is on, that means it's SUMMER!

Less than a month to graduation. I don't know if I'll make it... but I'm sure trying. It's getting harder to go to class, especially because it's starting to get sunny outside. Side note- Spencie wants to run a marathon. I said, perfect, sign me up. We ran 11 miles yesterday, which I skipped Stat's to do, and I got mega sunburned. But running in the sun was totally worth it. However, my knees are like the knees of an 80 year old 500 pound man. I don't think I'll be able to do the full marathon with my knees. Maybe I can do a half. In the mean time I told Spence I'd bike next to him while he runs. We'll see how that goes... Anyway. Life is ch-ch-ch-changin! I'm growing up so fast...

GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!

I know January is the time that people set goals, but I'd rather just forget January, and start fresh in February. Don't worry, I'm 25 and I still struggle to spell February... I have to think about it every time. It just doesn't seem like the letter "R" really fits in after the letter "B". It's rather annoying to me actually.

I digress... Goals. Setting new goals have been on my mind since November, but I have procrastinated setting new ones because I have had no idea what I want to accomplish. I'm still slightly clueless. My mission President, the amazing PMB, had me set three, one year goals, prior to me going home. I am proud to say I accomplished all three! Here's the review:

1.) Attend an activity once a month. As outgoing and friendly as I am, I hate social settings. I'd so much rather spend my weekends at home, alone, and do something I want to rather than force myself to be social. My last month in the mission I was burned out of being social. Talking to lots of people, forcing awkward dinner conversations, and being with someone 24/7. I wanted to dig a hole and never come out. So I made the goal of doing one social activity each month.

My first calling at home was as a member of the activities committee. Then I served as RS 2nd Counselor, and was in charge of planning monthly activities. God would do that to me... Above is a photo of the fabulous 80's exercise party we planned. It's kind of blurry, thanks to the fabulous lighting in the church gym, but that's me, dressed in an 80's outfit, following a Richard Simmons exercise video that was projected on to a very large screen. We had healthy smoothies, Just Dance on Wii, and the Karate Kid playing for those who wanted a little less physical activity. We had a dance off as well to Micheal Jackson "Beat It" for the boys, and Cindy Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" for the girls.

Thanks to my fabulous callings, it was easy for me to be social. And as time went on I didn't have to work at it anymore. Not that I'm some fabulous social butterfly now, but I can hold my own.

2.) Attend the temple twice a month.

It was really easy for the first two months because I was only working about 20 hours a week. But once school started up in January it got a lot harder. But, being as blessed as I always am, and I say that humbly, I was asked to be an ordinance worker in the Timpanogas Temple. My bishop told me he submitted my name and that it would be an amazing experience for me. He also told me it was only a 6 month commitment. When I arrived at the temple for my interview with a member of the temple presidency, I was informed that it was a 2 year commitment! I haven't done anything in my entire life for 2 years! I change schools every couple of semesters, my mission was only 18 months, and I haven't lived in the same place for two years since I was in High School. But, I told them I'd do it and I haven't regretted it since.

Being in the temple each week has given me a new perspective on the gospel. It's so simple, and plain, yet deep and complex at the same time. The temple allows all that are worthy to come and feel of God's love, and learn according to their level of current knowledge and preparation. I love seeing people's faces as they enter the temple. They always seem to be smiling and grateful to be in the house of the Lord. My life has been extremely blessed as I've been able to spend each Thursday night in the temple for the past year. I've still got at least a year to go! But I look forward to the new things I will learn and strengthened testimony that will come as a result.

3.) Run a marathon. I thought it would be appropriate to have a physical, spiritual and social goal. My physical goal was to run a marathon. Michelle and I ran a half marathon two weeks before I entered the MTC, and it was fabulous. I decided then that I wanted to run a full marathon. On the mission I ran almost every morning for exercise. I would make my companions run with me, bike next to me, or drive me to the local High School track and sit in the car and sleep while I ran. I conned a few companions into running 10 miles with me too. I was a pretty hard core sister. Companions either feared me, or loved me. Anyway, I came home and found a marathon to run. I trained for what seemed like forever, but in reality it was only 4-5 months. I would have to wake up at 5 am some days just to get a good run in, but it was worth it.

My marathon was June 11, 2010. We started running at 530 am, so all of those early morning

runs paid off. It was raining for the first half of the marathon, so I was soaked from head to toe. My shoe was so weighed down with water, it rubbed against my foot and bled from mile 10 to mile 26. It looked sick, but didn't hurt at all. I got super tired, and my muscles were in so much pain around mile 23, I told myself, "if I see my family drive by, I'm getting in the car with them and going home!" Haha, luckily I didn't see my family till I rounded the corner to the Provo Mall parking lot, where the finish line was. Travis was there first, and he called Jenny to tell them I was coming. They saw me run by, and they cheered for me, and then they ran to the finish line to watch me cross. I actually have a video of me running, but I look so ridiculous in it, I have opted not to post it. I tried to leap across the finish line in joy, but when I landed, I stumbled and almost fell! Haha, it was amazing! Despite the weather conditions and bloody sore, I finished in 4 hours and 17 minutes. Not too shabby for a first timer! And, I'm just about to start training for my next marathon...

When I finished, they awarded me with a fabulous medallion, which makes running 26.2 miles totally worth it! My family, Stephanie, Michelle and Brock all came to watch me finish. I have the best family and friends in the world!

On to my new goals. I still don't have any concrete ones, but I want them to be awesome. My current ideas are to graduate college (which is going to happen, so it's kind of a lame goal), read 5 books that I really want to, read the New Testament, get a real job, go to grad school (that's out of my hands right now), buy my first car, move out (I don't know about that one though, so don't get too excited Mom), and pick up a hobby. That's all I've thought of. I can't decide which one's I really want to do though, so it makes it hard. None of the goals above are screaming at me. What to do... Any ideas? I need to hurry and get started because time is passing quickly...

1 Year Plus!!!

I figured since I've been home from my mission for over a year, it's about time that I updated everyone on my life. Here are a few, yes, only a few, of the pics of the exciting things that I've been up to in the past year. In no particular order. I'm not that blog savvy, sorry.


Oh the Doty kids... how we've missed each other.




Baby A, my oldest nephew, is getting so big! And he needed to be potty trained, but big boy panties scared him. So me, my two sisters, and SIL put them on our heads and danced to music to show him how cool they really are. Now we know why he pees his pants when he wears them!




Yes. I got a snuggie! Actually, some members through me a going away party the Sunday before I went home, and one of my favorite families gave it to me! Best. present. ever.




The girls of 14E. My roomies before the mission. This is us at Danielle's baby shower. Too bad all three of them had to ruin my life and get married. Now my roomies are my parents, and younger siblings... not like room roomies. But housies.

I went back to WA for a visit. I got to have lunch with a few of my favorite elders, and see a ton of people that I taught. It was a fabulous week.

My little Michelle got married to the other missionary she was waiting for. It's a good thing I like Brock, or we could have some serious issues... Her wedding was beautiful, and it was my first time wearing heels. Ever. As long as I just stood there, everything was okay.

My BFF Hilary and I trained an ran a marathon together. This is probably my all time favorite photo of us. And trust me, we have a lot of good ones.

I ran, and finished! my first marathon. I had a friend from school, Lindsey, who ran it as well. They gave us fabulous medals when we finished. I tried to scam a "Boston Qualifier" shirt from the table, but the man wouldn't let me have it. Something about shaving off 37 minutes from my time...

This was the first time my entire family had been together in about 2 years.

Me and my little Bro-ha, Spencer. We partied for a day at a REAL game. I looove soccer.

Me and my dark hair (it's now super blonde). I loved it. I grew out my hair my entire mission. I would tell people I couldn't cut it because in Utah you have to have long hair to get married. Then you cut it the week after you tie the knot. It's always been a dream of mine to fool a boy into marrying a girl with long luscious locks, only to chop them after they can't get out!

A classic tradition of Utah County residents is to attend Festival of Colors. I don't really understand the purpose of it, but it was fun to get super dirty and nasty for a day... or a week because the color stained my hair.





I dated a cute little boy. Don't judge my hair in this photo... We went to the Festival of Trees and my favorite tree was the one over Josh's shoulder. He said, "Your favorite tree's are the ones where you can't even see the tree!" So true.




My Mom's side of the family had a little reunion on the Oregon coast. I love the Oregon coast. So do my cousins, as you can see by this photo.

I celebrated my favorite holiday, the 4th of July, in style. A bunch of us camped out for the big parade in Provo. We basically rock.





I've done so many other fun and amazing things too. I'm in my last semester of school, and I just finished my Grad school applications. Crazy. I'm working in an awesome, somewhat boring, but awesome job on campus as an intern the the VP of Academic Affairs- I'm kind of a big deal. I went on a super fun trip to Lake Powell, and even learned how to wake board. My current hobby is snowboarding, but once the snow melts I'll be back to running. I've made new friends, learned a ton, and been unbelievably blessed. I'm excited to see what my future holds!

Destination: beautiful

If you had asked me on New Years Eve if I was looking forward to 2011, I would have said, "Yes!"
If you were to ask me today, I would say, "Yes. I'm looking forward to 2011 being over!"

I have big plans for this year. Graduation, getting my first "real" job, maybe moving out of my parents house- maybe, hopefully starting Grad school, and learning lots of new things. I should have made the connection that 2011 would bring a lot of change, and I am not the fondest of change...

So far January 2011 has brought change, heartbreak, challenges, trials, and several blessings. However, I cannot wait to bid adiu to January... in less than a week...

Music really speaks to me, and lately I've been having a desire to listen to music I used to love a few years ago. Mae says it perfectly in their song "Sun"

Here are the lyrics...


I'm a mess, I guess.
It's what I've asked for, it's what I've needed.
Well, you know me better than,
or at least you did then something happened.
But once again, well, something's happened.
The confidence you held in us is
the rope we almost hung ourselves with.
At times I wonder if we really took the steps
to break right through it.
I know that there were better days,
but to see the light and to feel the rays.
Life was always back and forth
and we were idling or making useless progress.

Waiting for the rain to stop.
Destination: beautiful.
Seems that I'm still waiting for the sun. (Whoa yeah)
Someday will come back to us, if you're willing, let it go.
Why won't you just let this be your sun? (oh oh)
It seems like yesterday we had the world our way.
But some (whoa) say we're headed for destruction.

i'll ask you "What in the world should we do?"
This light is green our break is through.
Are we not trying or we're trying too hard?
Well, you know I never want to miss,
I hold on tight and reminisce.
But it's bittersweet to me.
When time stands still as it's trapped inside
the letterbox you gave back to me.
But I'm the one who keeps on reading.
But I'm the one who wants to let it go.
I'm the first to speak.
You're the last to know.
Another scene that we're creating,
I need to know if we're still making useless progress.

Waiting for the rain to stop.
Destination: beautiful.
Seems that I'm still waiting for the sun. (Whoa ohh)
Someday will come back to us, if you're willing let it go.
Why won't you just let this be your sun? (whoa ohh)
It seems like yesterday we had the world our way.
But some (whoa) say we're headed for destruction.

Waiting for the rain to stop.
Destination: beautiful.
Seems that I'm still waiting for the sun.
Someday will come back to us, if you're willing let it go.
Why won't you just let this be your sun?
It seems like yesterday we had the world our way.
But some (whoa) say we're headed for destruction. (whoaaa...)


I guess to put it plainly, I'm just waiting for the rain to stop.

Waiting for "Destination: beautiful"

Here and There

Oh man. Lots can happen in 6 weeks. Who knew right. Lets get started.

So I did get my call. Yay! KENNEWICK WASHINGTON! I was worried before opening my call that I wouldn't hate where I was going and not want to go. But, I'm way stoked so good. I got my call in the mail on Wed, and opened it on Friday night. Lots of peeps were there, all people that are really important to me for one reason or another. Anyway, I opened the call and I was reading it out loud right. Well, I wanted to see where I was going before I read it to everyone else so I was hurrying and scanning the paper while reading and I saw the word Kennewick- and I screamed! Ha ha, I thought it was foreign! You know, Kennwick England or something. Oh well, Washington can seem foreign right? No but really, I'm so excited. The countdown as of right now is officially 3 weeks and 3 days. Whoa, that's fast.

I've never been a big shopper. Scratch that. I love to shop, but I HATE to spend lots of money. Sadly I dress like a scrub so I've had to buy all new clothes for the mish. My mom has helped, but I've done my fair share of spending. Who thought buying an entire new wardrobe would suck so bad. I didn't. So, I've officially bought 6 skirts, one dress, two bulky pairs of shoes, one watch, and 3 pairs of G's. Don't worry I don't plan on wearing the same 3 pairs of underwear the next year and a half, but I just want to try a few out before I decide what I like. I never knew they had so many different fabrics and styles. I thought it was a one style one fabric kind of thing. Who knew?

So who doesn't need a break every now and then. I know that I'm not in school so I don't technically get a Spring Break, but everyone else does so why shouldn't I take one? So I did. I took a week off from work and went on a cruise. I had a theme song for it too. "Baby let's cruise, away from here..." It was so much fun. Seriously. I went with Michelle, my roomie, and a whole bunch of people from Utah State and our ward were there too. So, we could go off and do whatever we wanted but then meet up with a bunch of friends and random people. So fun. I got to go Snorkaling, and Horseback riding in Mexico. Who does that? Me, thats who! It was a blast, and I really want to go on another trip right now. Guess I'll have to take Washington, but that's fine with me. Bring it on...

IT'S HERE!

I had some of the worst anxiety in my life today. I couldn't sleep last night for more than ten minutes straight. I just kept thinking, "What if it doesn't come tomorrow? How long will I have to wait? Will I be suprised if it does come?" Who knew.

So I'm at work and it starts snowing like crazy. I'm praying we don't get snowed in again. Then, we have staff a meeting and I was going to sneak out early, but my boss kept me out of the meeting and working on the floor. One thing right after another. Lastly, two of my co-workers ask for a ride home, and I willingly oblige. The snow is crazy and the roads are pure ice, but I finally make it home. I run into my apartment, well it was more like a waddle because I didn't want to fall, I grab my mail key, camera, and roommate to witness the magic. Here's what went down.

Me in the mail room...

Me next to my mail box...

Me opening my mailbox. 14E! ...

I had to check to make sure it was really mine. And yes, I did scream...

There it is! I don't know what it says inside yet, but its gotta be great. Great would not be a place with abnormaly large spiders or extreme cold temperatures.

No really, I'm totally stoked. When I finally do open it, I'll blog that too. But for now thats all you get. Pictures of me checking the mail. But it was worth every second I'm sure.