There is something sparkly on my finger...

When I wake up, I rub the sleep off my eyes, take a few minutes to reacquaint myself with the things that need to get done for the day, and then, as my mind wanders it often settles on the something sparkly that fits around my ring finger. It used to be a loud pelt of the following words: "I am getting married!" that occurred every morning, followed by a running around my apartment spell to make sure I wasn't asleep. But, finally, I have realized that my roommates sleep in later than I do on most days and a quiet whisper to myself accomplishes a similar awareness-of-whats-materializing-affect. Yes, I am still in the I can't believe that this is happening phase. Am I excited? Heck yah!!!

The Finally I can list and the New Shift

Finally, I can...

walk to campus without a jacket at 8:00 am and expect the weather to stay beautiful until I get off campus at 8:00pm

wear sandals and shorts and capris and get my legs tan again

go on a tandem bike ride

make more than just $65.75 a week

have the time to read

find ripe watermelon

paint my nails extra bright orange or pink and not feel out-of-season

sleep in until 10 three days a week

see greenery and color sprouting from the trees and shrubbery around campus

consider camping and not have to worry too much about being so cold at night

have a better selection of produce at the market

feel justified in purchasing Alba's Botanical Sunblock that I have been wanting for weeks ever since I tried a sample, from what unfortunately was not a test bottle....oops

go bathing suit shopping!

get serious about getting to my beach-body worthy goal...which should have started weeks ago...but has been rejuvenated by the perfect jog-the-pounds off weather

...I could go on FOREVER...

There are many very good things happening right now but the one thing I figured I'd share was the added benefits of working the night shift at the BYU bookstore. I start at 5pm and get off at 8pm. Between those hours I can be counted lucky if I get more than a dozen customers through my line. So what do I do with all the free time on my hands?... I indulge. Indulge in the array of cookbooks that line the shelves behind my register and in the rows of non-fiction books that lie about five feet away from me. It is a cook-lovers, non-fiction-fanaticist dream come true. Thank goodness that combination of literary genre is exactly me :)

My absolute favorite read is Cook's Illustrated. It is the best! Many of my culinary quandaries have been answered already!

Where in the world..of Provo..am I going to live?

Yep. I've got a week to figure out where I am going to live for the spring. So i picked up a housing guide. The deadline is Saturday.

So don't be fooled by the big smile on my face as I am looking through the housing guide. I'm secretly freaking out ;)

Dim Sum

Today, a customer came into my line that told me he was New York City bound for the summer. I was super excited for him and we made a deal that every time he came through my line until he left he would ask me to recommend one place for him to visit.

I told him about an awesome Dim Sum place on China town. This place is amazing!! Its called Jing Fong on Elizabeth Street. If you want the real chinese-canton style experience this is it!! The restaurant is the size of a football field and Dim Sum is very affordable. The room is filled with chinese women, who don't speak a word of english, pushing carts of bamboo steamers. The best way to communicate is just to point at what you want, but trust me everything is good so you really can't go wrong.

What do i recommend?

the shrimp dumplings. the rice noodle rolls. the deep fried prawns. the stuffed sticky rice in lotus leaves. the egg tarts. the char siu spare ribs. the shao mai. the ta-hu. and of course, the chicken feet.

its the best. guaranteed.

Another day, another obsession...

So, I today I got to do one of my favorite things in the world...watch people play volleyball. I watched the women's team practice for a bit in the Smith Fieldhouse and then, while walking through the RB I found myself watching, studying, analyzing --every volleyball class I was passing by. Its really hard for me not to get hooked into a volleyball game, and when the game is a good one I pretty much just lose all interest in the rest of the world.

Oh...and to continue my gratitude posts...

Today, I am thankful for Fortune Cookies.

Our ward had our closing social and Panda Express Catered. My Fortune read: be willing to take that chance you've been wanting to consider...

Lists. I happen to be the kind of person that makes lists of everything. I like them because they help me make plans.

I make lists of:

things to do

places to go

things to eat

books to read

people to call

dreams to achieve

goals to fulfill

friends to email

birthdays to recall

songs to purchase

restaurants to try

attributes to improve

chores to get done

movies to watch or re-watch

These days, most of my lists have been:

majors to consider

jobs to apply for

utility bills to pay

housing options to check out

habits to mend

classes to register

easter preparations to make

general conference talks to read

bridal showers to attend

and it goes on and on...

At the beginning of every new year the phrase, "a goal not written is merely a wish" is repeated over and over again in my home. My mom will make her rounds at night and come into my brothers room and then my room and ask us if we've written our goals down yet. When its New Years Eve and we get to the part where we share our goals, its always funny to hear my mom ask each our family members questions like, have you made a time frame for that? how will you measure your achievements? do you think thats specific enough? Most of the time we snicker at how seriously my mom takes goal making. But, her goal-making, plan-building, dream-forming obsessions have carried over! And while all these lists I make are just a small part of my planning addictions I like knowing that I have dreams and desires. Some are smaller than others, and some are pretty big and they stretch on into forever. But, i think this may be the best thing that has ever rubbed off on me from my mom.

Day Two I am Grateful for Zumba

So Becca and I have been trying to loose 10 or fifteen pounds come June 1st. One of our favorite things to do for exercise is Zumba. Last night, we went to our local RC Wiley where they had Zumba classes in their basement. The funniest part may have been that it was a Latin exercise club and we were the only non-latino college aged students there.