A phenomenon I don't understand

So Provo in the summer is quite different from Provo in the winter; people are actually outside. There are many things that puzzle me about Utah culture but one that I find the most puzzling is the trend for people to tan on their lawns. Now you may think that that is normal however most of the people in Provo are students and thus they have no lawns. This being the case they resort to whatever patch of grass they can find. This baffles me. I will be driving down the street and there are people in their bathing suits on the corner just laying on their blankets. The other reason that I find it odd is because there is no shortage of pools here in Provo. There are several apartment complexes with pools and they are not hard to get into. Most don't even keep the gate locked. I propose that if one feels the need to tan there should be some kind of body of water located near by. A street corner is not appropriate. In fact it's just down right weird.

Home Sweet Home

So I went home this weekend with my sister. It was glorious. I always forget how much I love home. I drove to Vegas and then my sister and I drove from Vegas to home. Provo has been somewhat stifling this summer so it was so nice to go home. My niece is the cutest and it was so fun to spend so much time with her. She has started walking in the past month and she just wants to get out and move. She doesn't like to be held, or be in the stroller, she won't even let you hold her hand. She was so much fun to watch. It's fun to be around someone who is experiencing things for the first time. Her face lights up so often. All you have to do to make her smile is sing the ABCs. Her cheesy little grin is contagious and she is starting to giggle more often. Baby giggles are probably one of the most tender things in this world. My Mom was talking to our dog because Maddie was getting closer to Scooter. My Mom was telling the dog to sit and so all of a sudden Maddie just sat down on our tile floor. We all started laughing and of course she just looked around and grinned. Jessica and I baked a pie, well Jessica baked a pie and I watched and it was one of the most beautiful pies I have seen yet. I cannot wait till pie o'clock becomes a frequent past time again. It was so nice to see Jessica too. She is one of my favorites. All in all it was a weekend of fun, favorites, good food, and glorious weather. I want to go back soon.

Legal Prostitution

So I am totally living the college life... I have been unsuccessful thus far at finding a job I can stand. So due to my unemployment I am even more financially destitute than I normally am. Due to my destitution I decided to prostitute my blood. I donated plasma.
I was completely terrified. I have never given blood, never gotten a blood test, nothing. Like I said before I was completely terrified. Anne and Brit came too so we were all there for moral support. It took about 4 hours. They ask you a bunch of awkward questions which the answers at least in my case are always no. I was tempted to say yes just to get a rise out of them but they tell you before hand that lying is a felony. I decided to stick to the truth, although thinking about it now jail might have been a fun experience, but then I couldn't have donated plasma...that's one of the awkward question they ask. Anyways after they asked me a bunch of questions and checked my toes and knees to make sure I wasn't an illicit drug user, I would definitely go for the toes, they finally sent me back to "The Donor Floor." I sat in a chair while they pumped out my blood took out the plasma and then put the red blood cells back in...it was not as bad as I thought it would be. After I was done the lobotomist put the little bandage/wrap thing on my arm and somehow thought it should be a tourniquet. I had to leave it on for 2 hours despite its impact on my circulation. Why did I do all this might you ask...no no it was not a selfless act to save someone else in a medical emergency...it was for $30.00 Now I can go grocery shopping.

Grand Adventures

So the other day I just got overwhelmed with life so I called it quits...Brit, Anne (my roommate), and I decided on a whim to go to Vegas to visit Beth. It was divine. We got to St. George at about 10:30 when my Mom called and I told her she should come to Vegas too. She convinced my Dad and soon they were furiously packing. I had a moment of genius and called Jessica (one of my besties) and told her to come and so she began to furiously pack. We all got to Vegas and had a glorious reunion...it was much needed. After tears, hugs, and laughter we settled into bed. We were rebellious sinners on Sunday because instead of going to church we went to Mandalay Bay...hardly comparable. We ate In-N-Out, swam with the cutest baby ever, and watched more Law and Order. We stayed till Wednesday. Anne and I were coming back to volunteer for Provo colonial days...we couldn't make it back so we decided to go to Zion National Park instead. Heavenly Father's creations are amazing. It was glorious to drive with the windows down and music blasting. From Zion we decided to go to the Grand Canyon or the "big ditch" as my geology professor calls it. It was beautiful and liberating. It was so nice to just go somewhere on a whim. We ate at the lodge which was not as classy as it could have been but you know... From there we drove to Beaver Canyon which you get to by going to a town called Junction or "Junk" as we so lovingly named it. I think I would like to live in Junk. We drove past some cows and Brit thought they were scary so we stayed in the car. It was so green and peaceful. We drove with the windows down and classical music playing. The smells and sounds were just what I needed. We got back late Saturday night but it was so glorious. It was my idea of a perfect day. We had no where we had to be and we didn't have to be there at any specific time. Perfection at its greatest.

I have succumbed to blogging

I thought a blog would be an excellent idea since I will be leaving for Vienna in approximately 2 months and while there I will need some way to keep everyone updated. So here is the blog and soon there will be cooler pictures and stories!