Illinois, Arkansas and Oklahoma's connection

This weekend I was able to go to Tahlequah, OK, which is only 45 minutes from the Arkansas border. The trip was a stake-wide young single adult activity and I went without knowing anyone. Brave eh? I met Will, Nick and Michael in the car, and then made friends with Megan and Laura once I got there. We camped alongside the river and it was so freaking humid I thought I was going to die. I mean, who should ever need to sleep under a mosquito net in as little clothing as they can get away with, on top of all their sleeping bag, because it is so hot? I was up by 5:30 and was sweating by 6:30. Seriously, how ridiculous is that!?!? We had breakfast at 7 and boarded the busses at 9. We went to War Eagle landing, boarded the boats, and had a 4 hour trip down the Illinois River. The biggest rapid was... maybe 2 inches, so it wasn't exactly a Ride the River trip. We pretty much just floated along, pulling the boats onto sand bars and playing in the river, swinging off ropes and rocks and just played around. We also played Pirates, meaning that we jumped on each other's boats, stole oars, pulled and pushed each other in the water, and just had an all-around good time. When we got off the river we went to a little restaurant called Sam and Ella's, which everyone pronounces "salmonella"... I was a little freaked out to go until I saw the name written down and realized the restaurant wasn't a guaranteed place to get some nasty germs.

The sign that greeted us at our camp. I'll admit, we got some definite crap from a few other campers.



Our campground


The view I woke up to at 5:30am


Sunrise


Our rafts!!!



All in all, a fabulous trip.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!

Where the wind comes sweeping down the plains...

I've been in Oklahoma for a week and a half now, and it's already been quite the experience. A 19 hour drive actually took us 27 hours because my poor car overheated. A nice police officer named Chris took me in his patrol car like 15 miles to the closest town, Buford, Wyoming, to buy antifreeze. I spent almost $70 on antifreeze and water... no wonder the owner of the gas station drives a sweet Jaguar.

We drove through Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas (which I don't really even remember because I was so dang tired by that point that everything just started to blur together), and ended here in Norman, Oklahoma. It's kinda sucky because the streets aren't really in a block system and they all have names instead of numbers, so it's harder to get around. There are some fabulous restaurants though, and we have a gym and pool just across the street that we frequent nearly every day, which is nice.

I don't have any photos, but last night was insane! A microburst tornado hit the north part of our city and there was also a severe lightning storm, which caused power outages, marble-sized hail, flooded streets, downed power lines that closed the freeway, and downed trees throughout the city. It was quite the adventure, but it made me really think about what will happen if there really is an emergency here. Like, what is the emergency radio station or broadcast network, and where are we supposed to go if/when the tornado warning sirens go off? Crazy eh.

Here's a few photos of some of the fun things on OU's campus, and the drive out here.











Now, I'm sure some of you are wondering how I'm doing about the broken engagement. I'm definitely doing better, but life is not a walk in the park yet. I haven't cried in probably a week, and I've forgotten how he smells, but I felt SO guilty when I checked out a bartender at a restaurant the other day. I'm still confused about what to do with my life and where to go and what to do and how long to stay and if I should go to Grad school and blah blah blah... but such is life. Well, such is my life. I just get a little bitter sometimes about why this is happening to me... like, it seems as if I've already had my share of crappy situations and broken heartedness and unhappiness and pain and hospital stays. I mean, it's nice when I can tell someone "no, really, I know exactly what you mean, and maybe blah blah blah can help". But at the same time I just notice that when things happen to me they get worse and worse, so I just hope that this isn't God preparing me for something like the death of a child or a future husband or something, ya know? Ugh that sounds horrid, I know, but it's true.

I still don't have a job, so if you or anyone you know knows anything about anything in the Oklahoma City area... let me know :)

Prepping for the big Oklahoma move

Alrighty, much to tell, much to tell.

In the last 10 days we have:

1) Graduated with bachelors degrees from Utah State University
2) Finished our stint as House Directors at the Kappa Delta Sorority
3) Helped Mom & Dad with repairs to the Brigham City rental house
4) Blood results received (Alisha) and my liver, thyroid, cholesterol, etc, etc, etc, levels are practically perfect in every way. However, my insulin is 5.8 and my doctor would like to see down to 5.4... so I got another 4 month Rx of Metformin to see if that will help lower it at all. I posted last year about having Peripheral Insulin Resistance.
5) We both gave our two weeks notice at our perspective places of employment
6) Moved out of our apartment
7) Signed a lease to an apartment in Norman, OK
8) Transfered banks to a small credit union in Norman.
9) Trained the new practicum student at Alpine Hospice.
10) Work up every day before 8am (those of you who know me [Alisha] know what a feat this is!!)

Moving to Norman in 14 days.

Before then we want to have another Crepe or Sushi day where we ALL get together and make, then eat scrumptious food!! Erica is leading this adventure so get in contact with her with dates and plans and preferences and what not.
While Norman is ONLY 19 hours away, we would like to see everyone all together (Memorial Cabin Cleaning Weekend not included) for some fun!!

Adventure's Limbo

I graduated on Saturday. I didn't really tell anybody... so it's ok if you didn't know about it. I just didn't think it was such a big deal that people should get work off and come sit through speech after speech just to see me walk across the stage, ya know? But I thought of you all as I walked and how much you have supported me. :) I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in both English Literary Studies and Liberal Arts with a minor in Speech Organization. I also graduated Cum Laude, which was a bit surprising.

I felt super loved as I had breakfast with some of my family and Weston's, when multiple people called my name as I walked to the stage, cheered raucously as my name was read, and snapped photographs. I was able to see friends that I haven't seen in ages, and say goodbye to some that I won't see for a long time to come.

A friend and I were talking in the office last night about how we won't remember what we learned in our classes, or who the professors were or what grades we got, but that we'd remember the people we met and friendships we made. I may have never made comments in class, but I was the one in the corner of the room that joked with friends through class and had professors rolling their eyes at some of the things we would do, or laughing at our antics. My professors recognized me and gave me hugs, encouraging words, and high 5's as I walked amidst them down the tunnel toward the commencement ceremonies. I guess I always thought I was invisible... but learned that being quiet, and trying to stay out of the limelight has its own power. It's true that someone is always watching what you do, even when you don't know it.

Thank you, USU and all the friends I have met here, I will never forget you or the good times we had together.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM

USU Graduation - 2011