Ugly Sweater Christmas Party

A week before everyone left for Christmas Break, some girls in our ward had a Ugly Sweater Christmas Party. Apparently everyone is Provo had one the same night because I couldn't find one anywhere. Luckily, Katelyn, Sarah, and I have the artistic skin and made our own. We represented for Santa, Rudolph, and Frosty. And with every good party comes a mini dance party. One of the best nights of the semester.

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I Mustache You A Question

Sammy's is a restaurant here in Provo. Every Monday is Mustache Monday. If you have a real, legit mustache you get a grilled cheese for .75 cents. A fake one gets you one for $ 1.00. I thought it was going to be my last Monday in Provo for a while, so I decided to get some friends together and go. Luckily, I have many more Monday's in Provo, so that means more Mustache Monday's. And FYI: I look dang good with facial hair. It's just nice to know, if I had been born a boy, I would still look good. I know, I know. Humble right?!

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10 Reasons I Heart Nexus

I started working at Nexus Pain Care March 7. My official job title is: Operator/Scanner. I scan in all the billing, answer the phones, and scan in patient paperwork. I know what you're thinking, I've found my dream job. I get to stare at a computer screen for 8 hours, I sit in a chair for 8 hours, and I get to talk to unhappy people for half of the day. It's pure bliss, let me tell you. But honestly, if you really wanna know why I love my job, let me count the ways...

1. Old People. I love old people. Most of them smile, compliment my accent, my blue eyes, and then on my good days, I get asked out for Friday night. They can smell funny at times, but their sweet little personality makes up for it.

2. My co-workers. Let me give you some examples:
-"I don't eat raisins because I feel like I'm eating old people." -NR
- I teach them How to Dougie.
- Most of them have Bieber Fever. (you know they are good people if they are
beliebers)
- "What rhymes with Lexi?...Oh! Nevermind!" AB

3. I now know what an official creeper is.

4. dough.green.dinero.mulah.money.paper.

5. I lost all of my awkwardness...on the phone.

6. Nexus has made me come to appreciate my southern accent.

7. Psssew.Whipawoo.Cockcockaw.

8. SCRUBS.

9. Spinny/Rolling Chairs.

10. Throwing paperclips. (I may or may not have hit a patient once...)

Yesterday, December 14, was my last day there. I'm moving back home for a while, and seeing that North Carolina is across the country, I thought it would make it a little difficult to get to work every morning. I really am gonna miss this place.

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It's Pronouced JAW not JAH.

Utahns (?) don't know how to pronounce Ws. They pronounce it with a H sound. For example, awesome = ahsome, awful = ahful, and my personal favorite aw = ah.(Ah is the sound you make when a doctor is shoving a popsicle stick down your throught, it is NOT the sound you make when something sweet just happened...just saying)So with that being said, let me tell you a funny story...

I work at Nexus Pain Care. I answer the phones, direct calls, schedule patients, and scan paperwork/billing. One day a man called in for his wife. He wanted to set her up an appointment. I had gotten all the information I needed, all except for where his wife's pain was located. This how the conversation went:

Kaitlin: "Where is your wife's pain located?"
Man: "In her jah."
Kaitlin: "In her what?"
Man: "In her jah."
Kaitlin: "Ok, I'm sorry your phone is breaking up I can't hear you." (I could so hear him, I just had no idea what he was saying!)
Man: "IN HER JAH!"
Kaitlin: "Her jah? Is that in her back? neck?"
Man: "No, in her mouth her JAH!"
Kaitlin: "Ohhh her Jaw. Ok!"
Man: "Her what?"
Kaitlin: "Her JaW"
Man: "Now I don't understand what you're saying!"
Kaitlin: (uuuggghhh...fine!)"Her jah. Let me go ask the doctor!"

Kaitlin: "Dr.R, do we treat jaW pain?"
Dr. R: "what pain?"
Kaitlin: "JAW pain?"
Dr. R: "I don't know what that is."
Kaitlin: "JaW, a part of you mouth!"
Dr.R: "Ohh jaHHH, yeah we treat that!"

I have then since been made fun of on a daily basis. Personally, they're just jealous they can't pronounce their Ws as well as people from the south. North Carolina, come on an' raise up!

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"Err-Errbody Get Used To Greatness!"

Every Sunday we have Ward Prayer. During Ward Prayer an apartment introduces themselves, prepare a spiritual thought, and then we close the night with a prayer. On a Sunday in September Hampstead 4 was asked to introduce themselves. Ward Prayer will never be the same.

Click on the Link to see the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chwy2oU3Two

Here are the Lyrics...

All:
We're Hampstead 4 and we aint a bore. So diddybop in we got an open door. The motto of our apartment goes something like this... err-errbody get used to greatness.

Amber:
I'll start I'm Amber, I'm dating my Mike Asay
And in a few weeks he'll be my fiance.
I'm from California, I worked for disney
I was also a member of Noteworthy.
I study graphic design at BYU
I decorated our apartment and they say,"Thank You!"

Marybeth:
Marymarymarymarymarymarybeth.
It's all one word, it's all one breath.
All my homies are from Orem and I'm here to represent
I save lives at the hospital just call me Clark Kent.
As you can see from my stance I do Ballet.
But I turn in my Tu-Tu on Triathalon day.
***-***-***2
if you didn't get my digits shame on you.

Kaitlin:
What up yall it's ya girl Kaitlin J.
I got a smile that can brighten up anyone's day.
When I read books I like to wear my snuggie
But don't be alarmed when I teach you how to Dougie.
My home is in North Carolina,
And you best believe there aint no place fin-a
I hear the South is a pretty friendly place,
And you should be able to tell when you look up at this face!

Heather:
Ello my name is Heather Hansen
I go in and out of a British Accent.
I go to BYU and I study family life,
And the answer is Yes...I'ma be a great WIFE.
Washington State is where I claim home,
Yeah the great Northwest will get me in the zone.
I like Country Music but I dance HIP HOP
I could show y'all now, but this is where we stop...

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Surprise.

If you've known me my whole life, then you know how bad I am at lying. I just can't do it. I smile real big and I'm unable to make complete sentences. So you can imagine how hard it was to keep a secret for a MONTH and a HALF, especially from Sandygirrl {what? you don't make up nicknames for your mom? and no. mom is not a nickname for mother.}

It was late June when Kenan and Kyla called me to tell me about the family beach trip the weekend of MY birthday. My first thought was, "Ok. Stop rubbing it in ya skank nasties." But then they got down to the nitty gritty. THEY WANTED TO FLY ME HOME FOR MY BIRTHDAY! I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't take no for an answer. So, I graciously let them. There was one condition though, I couldn't tell anyone. Not Mom, Trixie, anybody. I'm not gonna lie, it was probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my whole life, but I made it.

So on August 17th, I flew home {Well to North Carolina, then we diddybopped down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina}.We surprised Sandygirl and the family. All three of us felt real, real accomplished. It was super fun to just be with the fam for the weekend. And, to get my tan on. It was probably the best birthday weekend ever. Then Sunday came, with tears, fake smiles to hold back the tears, and hugs. Great BIG hugs. It was a bittersweet day. I mean, how would you feel if the best thing that's ever happend to you got on plane back to Utah never to be seen again for the next 4 months? Trust me, you would cry to. I know, Humble is my middle name.

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If You Aint Dirty, You Aint Here To Party

So I have a "Bucket List" for my life,and this is how it looks:

1. Learn to dance like Usher.
2. Learn how to sing like Whitney Houston in her better years.
3. Marry in a LDS Temple.
4. Make a difference in someone's life.
5. Run a 5K

I accomplished #5. I ran the "Dirty Dash" on June 4, 2011. It was a total blast. I got super dirty and totally biffed it like 20 times, but I'm pretty sure I had a smile on my face the whole time.




P.S. After sharing my Bucket List, a friend told me I was going to die unhappy. Apparently, she doesn't think I will ever be able to dance like Usher. But! I will :)

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North Carolina C'mon And Raise Up

About a month ago I was able to go back to North Carolina, or as I like to call it, HEAVEN ON EARTH! You really don't know how much you miss a place until it's gone...or your gone. I absolutely loved being surrounded by all the Southern-ness: the accents, the hospitality, the people, and did I mention the accents? I was so excited that I started packing on Sunday night {I wasn't leaving until Thursday afternoon}. I could hardly sleep on Wednesday night, and on Thursday 1:00pm took it's precious time to arrive, but I eventually made it to the airport. It was suppose to be smooth sailing from then on, but it wasn't, getting home was an adventure all on its on.

I left work at precisely 1:00pm. I went to pick Lacey up so she could drive me to the airport. We blared JBiebs ALL the way there {We may or may not have see NEVER SAY NEVER the night before. And it may or may not have been a great movie. And! I may or may not love the Bieber a little bit more than I already did...but, that's a lot of ifs} I get checked in. I board the plane. We take flight. I'm jamming out to Bieber the whole flight. Life is great. That is until we land in Milwaukee at 8:45. You see the problem is, I was suppose to land in Chicago at 8:00 and my connecting flight was scheduled to leave at 9:00. You can imagine I'm a little bit concerned. I called Sandygirl {Mom} to tell her about the situation. Unfortunately they're {My mom, dad, brother, sister, gma, and the dog. From what I hear, it was quite the party} already in Raleigh. We stay in Milwaukee for like 2 hours, then they graciously fly us back to Chicago. I then board a plan to Baltimore. I had the opportunity to spend the night in the Baltimore Airport. I tried to sleep because I was beyond exhausted, but I had an Aretha Franklin wannabe serenading me. Trust me, the windows were about to shatter. Needless to say, I didn't sleep at all. I finally boarded a plane to NC around 6, landed around 8, and finally got my bags around 11. Eventful day/night? I think so.

The rest of my vacation was baller. I was able to celebrate my Nanny Ethel's 82 Birthday with a lot of my family. It was great to be able to see most of my family. I also got to celebrate my brother and dad's birthday. And we can't forget Mother's Day! It was great to be every one's present. Ha! I intentionally flew back to go to Wilmington with Mom and Trix for our Annual Girls Weekend, but it just so happened that all these amazing events were at the same time. It worked out great. I was also able to catch up with my amazing friends. I stayed a total of 10 days, but when it came time to leave, I felt like it wasn't a long enough trip. I seriously debated coming back to Utah. But, I know it's where I need to be for now.

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And They Call It Roomie Love

I have the best roommates ever. Meet Brooke and Natalie.

It's a sad time right now in Hampstead #7. We're loosing the blonde, crazy faced chick in the middle. Natalie's leaving us on Wednesday. Then! she really leaves us June 1 to serve an 18-month mission in Tokyo, Japan. {We think, because currently, there are no missionaries in Tokyo} I really don't think I could have roomed with greater girls. These are my homegirls and my angels fo sho. None of us leave without saying either, "Bye AngelGirl!" or "SeeYa HomeGirl!" They've really embraced their inner Southernality. Everybody's got it, you've just gotta find the right person to bring it out in you. Lucky for them, they had me! But, in all seriousness, lucky for me, I had them.

Natalie's got the artistic skin. She made me a K pancake. You can go ahead and sip on your haterade now, I know your jealous. It's times like this one that I will miss the most when we all go our seperate ways. However, I did promise NatAttack to be her roomie when she got back, IF I wasn't married. Ha!

And in these pictures, we're missing Louisa. So you can't really get the full effect of how great Hampstead Apartment 7 is, but at least your getting a glimpse.

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StarStruckkk

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet this woman.

Meet Stephanie Nielson. If you're in the market for a new role model, here you go! A couple of years ago she and her husband were in a plane crash. She was horribly burned on most of her body. I think my life has been rough at times, but nothing in comparison to her. I wish I had the poise she did. I would love to take such a tradgedy and embrace it like she has. If I can become half of the woman she is, I'll be set. And, if I can ever inspire someone the way she has me, my life will be complete.

If you have a minute or two you should check these out:

http://www.youtube.com/ -search Stephanie Nielson "I Am Not My Body"

AND

http://www.nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/

I promise you will not regret viewing either of these.

You may be wondering how I met NieNie. I promise I didn't stalk her...directly. Only kidding. My friend Katelyn's friend Mark did a documentary on a 12-year-old boy named Marius. He was only 8-years-old when his alcoholic father drenched Marius and his mother in alcohol and set them on fire. Yes, you read that right. Heartbreaking, huh? The fire then spread to the house's furnace which caused the house to blow up. They lived 2.5 hours from the nearest hospital, and the ambulance could only take one-Marius. He survived, but both of his parents died. I would go into more description of his story, but honestly, I can't convey the emotions that go along with his amazing story. So, if your interested in hollering at another inspirational role model check out Marius' website - http://www.teammarius.org/

I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to meet both of them. I can honestly say my life has been altered since hearing both of those stories. I can't say I've completely changed, but I know I do want to do better since meeting them. They've inspired me in so many ways. I mean, honestly, would you still put others needs infront of you own, when you know your needs are far more greater than theirs? They do, everyday. We could all learn from NieNie and Marius.

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General Conference

General Conference weekend was amazing to say the least. My wonderful Stake Presidency from home graciously gave me 2 tickets for the Saturday morning session. {Let's just say, those tree men owed me BIG time!}It was my first time attending Conference in the Conference Center, and my gracious what an experience. Words cannot describe the way I felt when I walked through those doors. And then to be in the presence of a Prophet of God, now that, was something powerful. This will be something I cherish for the rest of my life.

Missed it? Read it or Watch it here: www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2011/04?lang=eng

My favorites were Sister Stevens {Sat. Morn}, Elder Cook {Sat. Morn}, Elder Scott {Sun. Afternoon}, and President Uchtdorf {Sun. Morn}.

I had Sarah, a friend from North Carolina, come stay with me for the weekend. She's at BYU-Idaho, and was suppose to have tickets for the Saturday morning session of Conference, but it's a loooong story. Two of her roommates came with her. I can honestly say there was never a dull moment. Don't you love times like those?

Between the Sunday Morning Session and Sunday Afternoon Session we had a mini North Carolina reunion. My roommates said they had never heard so many southern accents. {FYI People LOVE southern accents out here.} We reminicsed about the good ole days and laughed. A lot.

That weekend was probably one of my favorites since living out here. It was filled with laughter, love, and the Gospel. I'm really starting to love life, MY life. I feel like, for once, there is nothing holding me back. (:

Photo: Me, Edison, Jordan, Nathan, Daniel, and Katelyn.

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Reunited And It Felt So Good

March 4-6 Katelyn, Joey, and I had the opportunity to go visit Emily, a friend from North Carolina. She moved to Hawaii a couple of year ago, but went to St. George to visit her Grandma. It had been 5 plus years since we'd all been together. It was great to travel down Memory Lane for the whole weekend. There were tears shed, laughter, and lots of pictures taken. Here is a little recap of the weekend:

Friday March 4...
Katelyn, Joey, and I left around 4 p.m. We met Emily for dinner at Olive Garden around 7. Homegirl paid. I was pumped, and very, very excited to be with all my friends. And we all know that when I get excited, I can be quite loud and some may even say entertaining. However, the people behind me, found me a little annoying. They obviously had their panties in a wad. Everyone else was enjoying my jokes and stories. Olive Garden even offered me a job as Dinner Entertainment. I turned them down though. It's not really my scene. After dinner we went back to Crusty's house. And took lots of "Mom Butt Pant" pictures. Sadly, I don't have any pictures from Friday, but if you have Facebook, please go enjoy. Well I have this one of the road trip, we know, you're jealous of these awesome shades.



Saturday March 5...
We slept until 7:30 a.m. Not the best time to wake up, given we didn't go to bed until after 1 a.m. It's all good. We ate breakfast and then all took naps. We eventually got ready and busted St. George wide open. We ate at Cafe Rio for dinner. Now, that place ladies and gentlemen, is some good food. After dinner, we went to watch the movie Tangled at a dollar theater. I was lucky enough to get hit on by a six-year-old. It really was my lucky night. His mom sat in between us, but during the movie he ended up on her lap. Every so often, I would look over to see that sweet boy smiling giving me his best googily eyes. Only if I was 15 years younger, I would have it made. I left the movie a little depressed, homeboy didn't ask for my digits, but I filled the void in my heart with some frozen yogurt. It was delish. With bellies full, we headed over to the bowling lanes where I shook what my mama gave me. They were playing some great dancing music, and my dancing seemed to help my bowling as well. It was a win-win night for me guys. I even had some "cooler-than-the-flip-side-of-the-pillow" teenagers compliment my dancing. And people say, us white folk can't dance, PUH-LEASE! They obviously haven't met me.





Sunday March 6...
This is where the tears were shed. Goodbyes are so hard. Sooo hard. Before we said "goodbye" we had the opportunity to attend the St. George Temple grounds. It is such a beautiful temple. It reminds me a lot of the Navuoo Temple, which is one of my favorites, so I fell in love with this one as well. We then went to church with Crusty. And let me just say that I love this Gospel. It never ceases to amaze me. After a great Sacrament meeting, we had to leave. It was bittersweet. Nope, it was just bitter. Goodbyes stink. It took us 30 mins to say goodbye, and some of us couldn't even talk. But we all promised to not let another 5 years go by. So, we'll see each other soon. We promised. The drive home was nothing short of amazing. Katelyn, Joey, and I engaged in a wonderful conversation about the Gospel and Heavenly Father. It was very inspiring. I am terrified to think about where I would be without it. It's definitely the rock to where I have built the foundation for my life. We made it home just in time for the CES Fireside given by Elder Perry. It was amazing to be in the room with an Apostle. You can easily tell they are men of God. And I cannot wait to be in a room full of them in 2 weeks. General Conference is gonna rock my socks people.

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My New Living Quarters

This is my new apartment...





Cute isn't it? It really does make for a great home away from home. My roommates are absolutely awesome. 2 of them are my age, and 1 is 18. We all really gel quite nicely. I was afraid of moving into an apartment at first, but now I couldn't imagine myself living anywhere else in Provo. These girls make my life so entertaining. We all have kind of busy schedules, so we don't see each other a lot, but the times that we're all together are so much fun. I really do love these girls.

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Will You Be My Valentine?

Meet my Valentine...



Ain't she the cutest thing ever? I told Lacey that I expected her and Talmadge to go on a date for Valentine's Day. I mean, they're married, they had a free babysitter, and it was Valentine's Day. Come on, who wouldn't jump on that! So, that left me and Baby A for a little date night of our own. It started off with some PB&J sandwiches. Most of mine ended up in my stomach, Alexis' however, ended up mostly on her face. After we cleaned the kitchen, we settled down to watch one of our favorite chick flicks, "Dora the Explorer." Seeing that Dora was going to be a big sister, and Alexis will be soon, I thought it was appropriate we start to love the new baby early on. We now know the term, "Big Sister." {And we all should, seeing that they say it 56 times in 15 mins. Yes, I counted} When the movie went off she turned and looked and said, "Ni, Ni." So precious. So, at 8:30 p.m. my date ended. Apparently, some of us had a curfew.

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I May Or May Not Be A Rule Breaker

My first day in Utah, I hit the ground running. Now, let's not forget me and Trixie had less that 5 hours of sleep the night before. So, most of it is a blur. BUT! I do remember going to the BYU vs. U game. {For all you East Coasterners, it's like UNC vs. Duke.} Jared got us some of his friends All Sports Passes. However, when we got to the door they turned us away. Apparently the that section was full. Luckily, Jared doesn't take no for an answer. He walked straight in. Then Lacey busted on in with a BABY and a HUGE purse, leaving me and Trixie outside the Mariott Center just chilling. Jared, being the loving brother he is, popped a side door open for me. I walked in, acting real, real cool and all. {Psh. Yeah Right. I knew I was going to jail.} But, me being the loving sister I am, then popped the door open for the Trixanator. Finally, we were all in. We sat on the 13th Row, which was AMAZING. See for yourself...


It was so much fun. It reminded me of the times my dad would take me to the Carolina basketball games. I didn't realize how much I had missed that rush. It still can't really compare. There is just something about walking into the Dean Dome and becoming part of that Carolina Blue. Honestly, there is nothing like it. But, I did fall in love with BYU basketball. And, THE Jimmer. Where has this kid been my whole life?

And for all of those who love the "Kaitlin Moments" I have one for you. There was a kid holding a sign that said, "Noah brought them 2 by 2. Jimmer brings them 3 by 3." I turned to Jared and said, "Who's Noah?" He looked at me like I was the dumbest person on the planet. His response, "I don't know Kaitlin, maybe the Prophet Noah." Yes. I did ask that question. Yes. I felt dumb for the rest of the day. But! Let me explain myself. We were at a basketball game, and a regular shot is 2 points right? RIGHT! So, I thought Noah was a previous basketball player who made of his 2 point shots. There. You. Go. Y'all can stop laughing...NOW!

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"You Must Do The Thing Which You Think You Cannot Do."

As most of you know, I moved to Utah about a month ago. And, for those of you who found out after the fact, let's just say I lack confidence when it comes to "Goodbyes". I do apologize for that. I hope no hearts were broken. What am I talking about? Of course hearts were broken, I mean, we are talking about me here. Only kidding, dear friends, only kidding.

I've always had these "big girl pants", and for the most part, they've always seemed to fit, But 2 years ago, they were like 5 sizes too big. You see, what had happened was, I tried to grow up a little too fast. It was quite a sad time, but it gave me 2 years to grow-mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. So, when the opportunity arose for me to try leaving home again, I jumped on it. It's been the best decision I've ever made.

I was scared. I've been homesick. And, yes, it's been hard. But, I know if I have faith, that my Heavenly Father will take care of all my worries. I love my life right now. I could not be happier.

So, this experience brings me to the wonderful world of blogging. It won't always be exciting, but it will give you all the important details of my life. I hope you all enjoy it. Peace and Blessings. Peace and Blessings. <3>

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