20. So This Is It

I never thought that I actually might enjoy writing a blog. When I originally learned we were going to do one for this class I was not excited. However, I think it has been a pretty good and fun experience overall. I expected a lot of my blog posts to be about my family because that was the focus of this class, but in reality I mostly posted about adventures that I had here at school. Sure I got a little homesick this semester, but I look back on all of the things I was able to accomplish and I am pretty proud! I'm not just proud of what I've learned actually attending classes (believe me that was a lot), but also just having the chance to be a college student. This semester has been truly great and looking back on my posts I can really see how I've changed as I've been here. I am not sure if I will continue this blog . . . make another one . . . or delete it, but it has been an adventure while I've had it! It is a great way for me to remember how much I've enjoyed my time here thus far!

19. Most Wonderful time of the Year

I can't believe that finals start in 11 days! This semester has really flown by! You can almost feel the buzz around campus as everyone is coming to the realization that we are almost done with the semester. I can hardly contain how excited I am to go home! However, I'm also kinda conflicted because I still have to focus on the finals that I am going to need to take. So how do I feel about what are going to be my first college finals? I actually feel surprisingly relaxed. It almost makes me feel like I might have a false sense of security that will eventually make me panic when finals are finally here. For now I will take the calm feeling though. I'm just going to put in the time to study and do my best. What else is there to do at this point anyway?

With finals so close I'm also making sure to focus on staying healthy! I can only imagine what it would be like to be sick AND have to take finals! That just sounds miserable! I'm paying special attention to getting on a better eating schedule and eating good foods high in vitamins. I'm also trying to make sure to get enough sleep which will be really important in the end! Overall, I'm feeling pretty prepared for these finals, but I also can't wait for them to be done so hopefully they go well!

18. #ShareTheGift

I recently received an email from a missionary with this video attached. I highly recommend it! Take the 2 minutes and 45 seconds to watch it! I promise it will not be a waste of your time plus it will get you in the Christmas Spirit!!!!

This video got me thinking about what my favorite Christmas gift (object) that I have received? I had a friend a couple of years ago give me a really thoughtful gift. It was a beautiful painting, a book with a hidden cut out compartment filled with goodies, and a lovely long note. Even when I think about it now it wasn't so much what I received, but how I received it and in turn how the gifts made me feel. As I pick out presents for my own family and friends it truly is the "thought that counts."

As I get absorbed into the holiday season I just hope that I can remember what it is really about. Family. Friends, And most importantly the birth of Christ.

Enclosed is the link to the video:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uzjFEMmM0Xs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

17. It's Almost Christmas!

So coming back from Thanksgiving break was actually more difficult then I originally imagined that it would be. It was so nice to just be surrounded by family who loved and cared about me. Even when I was driving back I had the urge to just turn the car around and go back. I know that getting an education is really important which is why I am at school. So as hard as the next couple weeks of school will be (11 days to be exact, but who is counting) I know that I can endure and finish strong!

I am super blessed to have some pretty great roommates. I came home and my roommate Malia about tackled me she was so excited to see me! We both started unpacking our Christmas decorations and before we knew it we were both feeling better about being back! Our apartment looks a little bit Christmas Crazy, but I think it is good for us especially with finals so soon! I just hope that we can laugh our way through finals and find joy in our journey!

16. Pinterest Pie

Thanksgiving is all about pie! This year I made my very first pie. I wanted it to be something different though. I did not want to make the average apple pie . . .  so of course I went and looked on Pinterest:) I found an apple pie that looked delicious and there was a tree carved into it on the top. Yes it was kind of adventurous for a first time pie maker, but I was pretty excited to try it out!

My dad this past fall made bottles of homemade apple pie filling and it is delicious so I figured I would try it out with my lovely idea for a pie.

So this is what the pie looked like with the leaves all made and my tree trunk cut out before it was cooked. Not too bad right :)

So then I had to figure out how to color each of the leaves. I took a toothpick and some food coloring and then textured each of them to look like leaves. 

This is what the pie looked like after it was cooked. I'm not really sure why the crust split, but it still tasted pretty great! I wish I would have spread the food coloring a little bit more so that more of the leaves were colored, but overall I think it ended up looking okay for my first time! I was pretty proud of it and my family admired it before they sliced into it :)

15. Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving is always a time of family, fun, and food. However, it has also been one of my favorite family traditions as well. For as long as I can remember every year after Thanksgiving my sister and my two aunts would stay the night at my grandmas house. We would stay up late, eat leftovers, and just enjoy each others company. The next morning we would wake up to the smell of my grandma's homemade waffles. After devouring several each, we would begin the giant project of decorating my grandma's house for Christmas. We first would start by crawling into her crawl space in the basement and grab totes upon totes of Christmas decorations. By the time we unloaded all of them and placed each layer upon layer around the house it looked like Christmas threw up everywhere!

This year unfortunately I missed that. One of my aunts is on a mission to Michigan so it just was not the same to do it without her.

14. Cooks like to COOK!

One of the things that I was most excited to come home and do this week was to cook in my kitchen! I have a kitchen at BYU, but it just isn't the same as cooking in MY kitchen! I looked up tons of creative recipes on Pinterest (yes they have some good ones) and I finally decided on a few that I wanted to try. I showed them to my mom who just rolled her eyes and told me that I could cook whatever I wanted! My mom makes really good food don't get me wrong, but I really gained my love of cooking from my dad and both of my grandmothers. Over the years I have learned lots of neat tricks from them...and I cook all the time! The one rule in my house is that if you're cooking you have to clean up after yourself...needless to say after cleaning up after myself at college for the past few months it was going to be a piece of cake! I was so excited!

I decided to make a pound cake with a pumpkin bread shape within it.(pictured below courtesy of Pinterest)

As you can see I didn't have a pumpkin shape which was sad, but I managed to make a heart and it turned out pretty great so I was satisfied! Overall it was a very successful Pinterest pin and it was even more fun to make 1) because I was making it at home in MY kitchen 2) because I let both of my brothers help me make it! I love family . . . and food of course!