Durpudur

For correct pronunciation of "durpudur", you'll have to call me. *wink*

Today was somewhat interesting. I went to my professors office before class so I could get help on the assignment due today. After getting his help, it was easy to sound smart during class when other kids asked the same questions I did. Pretty awesome. Plus, I'm almost done with my very last assignment for Multivariable Calculus!!! One more problem, and it shouldn't be too difficult; I just ran out of time when I was doing my homework earlier because I had to go to work.
Anyways, after class I walked outside to go to the bus stop. It smelled like fire, which caused my thoughts to run wild about nature and God and how wonderful this world is. You may not think these pictures are spectacular, but at the time I took them, I was thinking of how good God is to us. He gives us so much that we take for granted. We even take it for granted that people try to incorporate nature into a very city-like setting. How boring would life be without trees and flowers? Seriously. I was laying on the grass as I took these pictures.




Work was crazy for most of my shift today because Macey's is having their caselot sale. The weird thing was that the lines were huge until just about 9:45 and then there was nobody for the rest of the time. I got off at 11:00. We have fun even when there are no customers, though. Some of my buddies and I were talking about how crazy it is that people get married so young. We also talked about girls dating someone and having a different guy be their best friend. I'm curious for opinions. If you were a guy dating a girl who had a different guy best friend, how would you feel about the other guy? I'm not saying this is happening to me now, because I'm not dating anyone. But if I were, I'd be sure I still had time for my best friend, whether or not the guy I were dating liked him. Let me know how you feel about that.

Well, there's not much else to say for today, so have a good one! I'll let you know if anything else interesting happens.

Graduated!

I just want everyone to know that yesterday was my first day wearing a red apron at Macey's. Be proud! I graduated from the plain, boring blue apron to the exciting red apron that says "Only the Best"! See?


I'm proud. Pretty soon I'll be on the cash register.

Today's musical number in Sacrament meeting went quite well. We were able to practice yesterday morning on Shelby's boyfriend's sister's baby grand piano, which was pretty fun, so we were well prepared. As for the rest of the music, though, the first two went fine, but I butchered the last one. Oh well. I'm sure Heavenly Father understands that I tried.

I spent the afternoon at Jeff's making fun of him with his mom (which is quickly becoming a favorite past time of mine). We had a great dinner, then watched "Finding Nemo" during which I fell asleep because we had a late night last night. Jeff, Troy and I went swimming in Hyrum Dam, then cruised Logan's Main Street, ending up at Beto's then WalMart. Good times, good times.

Busy-ish Week

Well, this week hasn't been over eventful. In fact, it was kind of under eventful. On Wednesday, Lexy (a friend in my ward) came to the dance class I'm helping teach. However, she didn't come to dance. She writes for the Herald Journal (Logan's biggest newspaper.. haha) and decided to write a story on our class! It was pretty exciting, because I'll be quoted in the Herald Journal on Monday.
I recently asked one of my managers for a few more hours a week, starting AFTER August 4th when my class ends. The scheduler apparently misunderstood me and for this coming week I have Wednesday off. That would be okay, except that I got scheduled for August 4th during the time of my final. It was kind of exciting to fret over, and fortunately I found someone to trade me shifts so I can still work on friday, but after class instead of during.
That's pretty much all that's happened this week.
Coming up:
On Sunday, our ward will recieve another "Jess and Shelby" show. This past Sunday, she and I spoke in Sacrament meeting, as I mentioned before. Shelby also lead the congregation and I sang with the choir. Well, this Sunday she and I have prepared a musical number, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives". Shelby will be playing the piano, I'll be on the violin, and my friend, Amanda, from work will be singing. Our ward is in for a treat. Oh yeah, I'll be playing the piano for the Sacrament meeting hymns. Lucky me.
Sorry I have no pictures today! Have a good one anyways.

Pioneer Day

Well, today I did nothing to celebrate my love for the pioneers. I guess I did that yesterday when I spoke about them in Sacrament Meeting. However, today has been fun.
After work, I went over to Jeff's and we went four-wheeling. He took me up to the top of "T-Mobile Mountain", which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, kind of by where he lives (also in the middle of nowhere). The view up there was amazing, and we had some fun getting up the near vertical hill. A few times I didn't think we would make it. But, we did. And it was fun. Here are some of the pics I took at the top and some from other moments.
Willard Bay:

Mantua:


Avon:

Paradise:

Hyrum/Logan/Idaho:

Sardine Canyon:


Heifers:


Amazing Waterfall:

Mmmm.... Cheesecake. The taste lingers in my mouth, making my mouth salivate as I think back.



I thought Dad would like this picture of Jeff's cat, Pepper (whom I call Bat Cat), but only because it looks like it's being strangled.


This picture is dedicated to LeAnn and her love for sunflowers. It is the largest sunflower in all of Cache Valley. Maybe sometime she can come with me to see it.


That's all for now. Ta ta.

Cheesecake

I'm usually not a big fan of cheesecake, but I have been converted!! I went over to Jeff's house tonight to meet his mom and have some cheesecake made by his grandma. Both women are very sweet and are a joy to be around. I have a feeling they may become my family away from my family. Even if I didn't enjoy their company (oh yeah, and Jeff's too) the cheesecake would have been enough motivation to go back. Too bad I forgot my camera, but I will have Jeff send me some pictures of that most delicious treat.
Today I was priviledged to speak in my ward about my pioneer ancestry. The talk seemed okay, and I think I got out all of my thoughts before I was finished. Mom, Dad and Aaron were able to come up, which I was very grateful for. My ward is much less intimidating when I can look up and see people I love who love me. Our choir also sang today, and I'm hoping not too many ears were bleeding when we were done. Dad, what did you think?
A good friend of mine was married yesterday, and I wish her the best of luck. Not that she'll need luck, but she might. So if she wants it, then I wish it to her. Good luck. Love you honey. Just because you're married, it doesn't mean you can't talk to the rest of us anymore.
I will try to get up some pictures of the cheesecake soon! Better yet, I'll learn how to make this amazing cheesecake, and come home to share it with you.

Home Makeover: Jess' Room in Logan Edition

Yesterday, my project was to give my bedroom a makeover. There wasn't a whole lot I could do, because of the fact that I live in an apartment. However, these are the pictures of what got done:

Closet Before:


Closet After:


Bed Before:


Bed After:


Thing Before:


Thing After:


Goodbye old laundry hamper. You have served me well. You will be missed! I love you!



The other night I took some pictures of me and my new haircut, because I don't know how many of you have seen it. Plus, Mom doesn't have any pictures of it, so here goes!




I guess that's it for today. Have a good one!

Tribute to Grandpa

This is an excerpt from a blog I posted on myspace the day that Grandpa Gayle passed away (with a few minor changes to adjust it to today's date).

Grandpa passed away just over a week ago. Grandpa has been struggling with his health for as long as I can remember. He's never really been healthy enough to play with us like grandpa's usually do, but that's okay. I love my grandpa because he has been the best grandpa he could be under his health circumstances. I love my grandpa because he always told the truth about how things are and how he felt about it. I love my grandpa because he never got mad at us as kids when we wanted to run around his house and do things little kids like to do. I love my grandpa because he gave life to my dad, whom I love very much.



I thank my Heavenly Father for the strength He has given me constantly throughout my life. Even though none of my family is in Logan, I know that I can turn to Him. I am grateful for His little ways of helping me. Yesterday, I had a lesson on writing in my journal, so I wrote a lot last night. I came to grips with the reality of grandpa's situation and now I can say that he is happy. This is a good thing, and I will see him again, so there's no need to worry about it. I know that God is good, and that He will help me get through this.

A message to grandpa: Hey big guy. I'm happy for you. It must be nice to not have all of that physical pain anymore. I just want you to know that I love you, always and forever. You are an amazing man, Grandpa, and I love you. Stay with me.

What's the word?

Today has been.. what's the word? ...interesting?

I went in for calculus help early this morning and spent the morning in my professors office asking questions about the homework assignments I had to turn in today.





Doesn't it look fun?
After a little over an hour of tutoring, I went to class. The class is usually two hours long, but today he decided we were done after only a half hour. It was... what's the word? ...amazing?
I spent most of the afternoon finishing the two assignments that I had to turn in by 5:00.

Speaking of 5:00, that's when I help teach a ballroom dance class. The 5:00 hour was designated to the Viennese Waltz. We had a bigger class than usual today, which was very exciting for us. Payments for the class are being used by the USU ballroom team to pay the debt that somehow happened when certain people took over. (That was frustrating.) Here are a few of the people that came to class today.



One of the girls that I was teaching didn't comprehend how to do the steps, so I spent most of my time working with her while Jeff took over the rest of the class. It was... what's the word? ...difficult?

After the first class (out of 3) was over, Jeff and I left to get Shelby and go to my ward's FHE. We had ice cream. ;) It wasn't exactly... what's the word? ...fun? However, it was the first FHE I've gone to this summer, and it was good enough to keep me coming back. Plus, I'm on the activites committee now, so I almost have to go. But it's still by choice, I guess.

And finally, one of my hometeachers invited me to float the canal later this week. It should be pretty fun. He also invited me over to his parent's house tonight for some homade (haha, dad) ice cream. It was... what's the word? ...akward? Seriously, though. I just met the guy a week ago, and I've already met his parents. Shelby, Jeff and I were joking about it before I left. I tried to find a fake engagement ring that would fit my finger, but I couldn't find one fast enough. We thought it would be funny if I showed up and just acted like we were engaged, without saying anything to Clay about it. If only I had found a ring... His mom is really nice, though, and his dad is an accountant. Interesting evening, I would say.

So... what's the word? ...goodnight!

This is Kinda Fun

A special thanks to Aunt Carrie for getting me hooked on this. Hopefully I can keep it up!

This week has been an emotional roller coaster. Grandpa Gayle passed away on Monday morning. At first I took it kind of rough, but then again I had just woken up and I was a little disoriented and a lot tired. The funeral service on Friday morning was beautiful. My aunts and uncles and dad did a wonderful job. I am happy that Grandpa is out of his pain, but we will all miss him until we meet again.

Part of the week I spent at Flaming Gorge with my dad's family. It was a blast! I love hanging out with my cousins... and boating. Here are some fun pictures:





It was also a great escape from my calculus class, although I am suffering the consequences by having to make up the two assignments I missed. Yuck.

These pictures are also from the Gorge. They were too beautiful to not post!





Being in Salt Lake gave me the great opportunity to see some of my old friends whom I miss very much. They are crazy. Here are a couple pictures of some of the crazy ones there. Mom let me ride the motorcycle, and I gave them rides. Now I am assured the "cool" label in that group of friends because they got to ride on my motorcycle.





My friend Doty and I like to joke that we have a love-hate relationship. (He loves me, I hate him). He found this poster and had to buy it for me. It was a little inappropriate, but he bought it for the last part. Don't worry, I fixed it and it's hanging in my bedroom window, facing outside.



Saturday morning I went out boating with my siblings and a few other people. This is what I saw when we got to the lake. I thought it was funny, but some people didn't.



Bambi!

Have a good day!