Insta-life.

These are from my last couple of weeks of last semester and of Christmas break. I am almost caught up...

> Had a slumber party with the roommates. It was the best.

> Reading day (before finals week) at the library in our pjs.

> Finals week care package from my parents. They are the best.

> Thanks for the little reminder bathroom mirror at school.

> Fortune.

> Heaven in a box. Ruby Snap Cookies are the bomb.

> Sewing final project halfway done.

> My friend Courtney got a little pig for a pet. Hamrietta came over for a visit. You can't really see her in this shot.

> Look at her little face.

> Had a painting stress reliever evening. I even dressed like a painter.

> One of my watercolors. Inspired by my everyday view.

> Salt Lake Temple lights trip.

> Stephen & I.

> Hannah & I.

> Pretty tree.

> It was snowing like crazy... but so beautiful.

> We were trying to stay warm.

> Waiting for the train.

> Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree.

> Kaylie is the cutest.

> Walking to school in my new boots.

> Train ride to salt lake. Just kept getting snowier.

> Visiting Hamrietta.

> Finally home in Texas. Got to snuggle this cutie.

> Humidity= Frizzy hair.

> Decorating for Christmas while listening to the Kinks greatest hits.

> My favorite.

> Cookie time.

> So yummy.

> All he does is sleep and sleep and sleep and eat and be cute.

> Chili pepper lights.

> Since I missed Thanksgiving at home, mom made it again for Christmas!

> New shoes. 

> My brother got a bike for Christmas and of course my dad had to try it out.

> Looks almost like a book cover.

> New Years!

> Holly berry headband I made.

> Homeless man in San Antonio. His sign is halfway true.

> New sweater.

> San Antonio temple trip.

> Good movie.

> Hockey.

> Goodbye Corpus.

> Learning how to do printmaking at home with my family!

> Our finished projects.

> That shirt accurately describes how I was feeling after a long day of traveling. P.S. I made it.

> Saved my life. I was so hungry.

Sorry for the overload of pictures. I've been trying to catch up! Soon I will finally get to share what I have been up to lately... Time moves by too fast sometimes.

Carli

These are the things that are happening.

The other day I almost changed my major yet again. It came after one of those moments when you sit in the testing center for 3.5 hours taking an Accounting test and think "Oh crap..." Then later you repeat that statement as you find out your score. The college life is hard. It is especially hard when what you want to do in life doesn't have a specific major. So you take a bunch of classes that you aren't interested in just so you can get a degree that will only get you on the road towards your where you want to be. I envy all those people who have always known what they are going to do, how they are going to do it, and when they are going to get it done. I also envy those people who walk right off their college campus and right into the doors of their dream job. I mean for reals... how do you do it? Because I'd really like to know. Then I got home and talked to my parents and I realized that I just need to stick it out. Its amazing how parents can calm you down when your being a little too dramatic. Now I know that I have a lot of work to do to finish out this semester with the grades I need.
Then yesterday I went to my economics class with the determination to pay attention and understand. The lecture was actually really interesting and I understood everything. Then the best thing ever happened. Please tell me you have seen the Sexy Sax Man video on youtube... if you haven't please view the following:

You know that part where sexy sax man plays for a biology class? Well that exact same thing happened in my economics class. There are a few things you should know about this occasion. First of all, my economics teacher is the most infamous professor at BYU. Everyone knows who he is. Everyone knows that his class is tough. Everyone knows that he is not always the nicest. So when thus sexy sax man walks in playing his sax I expected Professor Kearl to yell at him to leave, but instead he said "I don't know what's going on... but his is funny." Then he stood back and watched. Later he applied sexy sax man's interruption to economics. I could not stop laughing. It was the best thing ever. In fact, I have been singing that song over and over for the past couple days. So much that my roommates are probably getting a little bit annoyed.

Other than that, I feel like my life is pretty much a typical college student life. I have been socializing a little too much, studying a lot but not enough, and not getting enough sleep. Sorry it's been a little slow around here. Life has just been happening so fast that I have had little to no time to record it. I still have pictures from my vacation to share... I know... that was almost a month ago. I promise I'll get them up soon!

Carli

Grateful Sunday: Education

(The lighting of the "Y" on the mountain at BYU)

School has always been just a thing that I do because "I have to". The summer has always came and went and then school began. I always woke up that morning of the first day of school, got dressed, and grabbed my new backpack full of new school supplies and headed to school. Sometimes I was excited, sometimes I felt quite the opposite. My entire life has run on this schedule, but not until recently have I come to appreciate it. I am grateful for education and the many people who spend their lives teaching and serving students. I am grateful for my family and the importance they give to educating myself. I am grateful for the support they offer in helping me through these times in my life. Aren't we so lucky to have the opportunity to learn so many different things? Aren't we lucky to have the opportunity to mold ourselves into the people we want to become?
As stressful and exhausting as school can be, I can't help but be grateful that I have this time in my life to learn, grow, and achieve. Education shouldn't be taken for granted. So many people live their lives without even the opportunity, and so many others have the opportunity but don't take it. Tomorrow is being built today by the capable hands of our generation. Without education, tomorrow would be nothing.

I know that I haven't done a Grateful Sunday post in a while... I've been a little preoccupied with everything in my life, but I have so much to be grateful for.

Carli

Double Rainbow.

Sometimes life just throws you these curveballs that seem impossible to hit. Like this week for instance... You know how the first few weeks of a new semester are so easy because the professors are only just setting up the course, and starting to teach you the material? and you love it because you don't have very much homework and you can spend all your time doing fun stuff? Then that one week that every single one of your professors decides to burry you under a billion pounds of homework and you say to yourself "What the?" You have become so used to hanging out with friends instead of studying that it is almost like a culture shock. Well that was this week for me.

To add a pinch more ridiculous to our soup of stress, I got sick on Sunday. So I started off the week under the weather, but I pushed through it and did all the things I needed to until yesterday. Then yesterday (Wednesday) rolled around... I woke up feeling like death itself. Actually I don't even know if I was even alive. All I remember about that morning is that my alarm went off at 8am and I turned it off. A little while later I sat up and thought to myself "Crap! I have to get the kids to school!" Then I thought "Wait! I don't have any kids..." Then I laid back down and stated "I am NOT going to class today." Apparently my roommate Tabby took that statement to heart and made the same decision. Tisk tisk.

The point of this story is that this week was crap. But I will say this...
Sometimes you will be sitting in your apartment feeling all miserable and stuff and someone comes and knocks on your door and says "Have you seen the double rainbow?" Then you run outside with your camera and witness this:

Let me tell you that this image does not even come close to doing it justice. Not at all. Mostly because the double rainbow was so big that I couldn't even capture the whole thing in my frame and then double part of the rainbow is hard to see. But in real life it was spectacular.

Carli

P.S. I am feeling much better today, have caught up on most of my school work, and am going to hangout with a friend because I think I deserve it.

Hikes and such.

Today was my first day of school! Unfortunately, I came to the realization that this semester is going to be pretty tough. This semester is a huge turning point for me in my career path! I am taking prerequisite courses for the application to my major. Basically, I have to do extremely well in these classes to follow my dreams. Honestly, I don't have a plan B. If I don't get into the business school... I don't even want to think about it. BYU's business program is one of the best, which means it is also very competitive. I am just so nervous! With that being said... I have a little bad news. As much as I love blogging and sharing my life with you every day, it just isn't my biggest priority. Don't worry! I am not giving up blogging entirely! But I am going to slow it down a bit. I don't want to be worrying about creating blog posts when I should be focusing on school work. For at least a little while this blog will focus more on my daily life rather than creativity. It makes me sad that I won't be able to share very many (if any at all) DIY posts. I just don't have the time (or funds) to work on them. I might not get to post as often or as consistently. I would rather focus on quality rather than quantity. I hope you understand!
In other news... I hiked a mountain today. There is a mountain behind BYU, that is beautiful. On that mountain there is a large "Y" that you can see for miles. It is a really big thing here to "Hike the Y". So today I did it. Let me tell you... it was not easy. The hike was a little over a mile I think, but it was very steep. When I say very steep, I mean to say, incredibly steep. Steep mountains combined with the thinning air made it seem impossible. It took me a long time to make it, but with a lot of encouragement from new friends, I finally made it! Let me tell you, the view was incredible. The picture above, taken on my iPhone, does not do it justice. We sat up there for a few minutes and I couldn't help but think about how this relates to life. Sometimes life seems impossible. Sometimes you stand at the bottom of a very steep mountain. Sometimes you can't see how far you are from the top. Sometimes you fall. Sometimes you think it might be better to just turn around and go back down. But, sometimes you get this little burst of energy, a little encouragement from a friend, a little push, and you make it. Then you look back down that mountain and see how far you have come. All that work you did to get where you are seems like nothing, because from the bottom there wasn't anything but a mountain in front of you, but from the top you can see everything, and it's worth it. As hard as that hike was, I now am more focused than ever. I know that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. I just hiked a mountain! I can definitely make it into business school!!!

Carli

P.S. I still can't find the cord that connects my camera to my laptop... I have so many awesome pictures to share! :( I guess it will be Instagram photos for a while.

Via My Phone.

This week has been slightly on the ridiculous side. The school semester is wrapping up… Only two more weeks!!! YES! But while the end of the semester is glorious, the weeks leading up to the end are terrible. Yes. Very terrible. 

Also, I finally decided that I was very tired of my cell phone service. I get no reception at my house whatsoever, hardly get any reception in my front yard, and not a lot of reception in the city. I am just annoyed. So last week I sent this hateful email to my service provider. Long story short… They made me take my phone in to get it “fixed”… It wasn’t broken. According to their computers my phone is working “good” I live in a “good” coverage area and I “shouldn’t” have problems… except that I do. Yesterday I was literally about to find the tallest building in Salt Lake and throw my phone off of it. Also when they were “fixing” my phone, they reset it and deleted EVERYTHING downloaded a billion dating apps. Apparently they think that I need to “meet singles” via “flirt text”. I don’t think so…

Also, Instagram finally came out for android. I had been waiting for this to happen for, well, a very long time. I spent over two hours updating my phone and connecting it to google play so that i could download it. Then it tells me that my phone is not compatible. I was so mad that I again almost threw my phone off a building. 

So after that ordeal I decided to download a camera app to at least partly fill the void… 

Alley in downtown SLC.

The 20 pounds worth of books I checked out at the library for my research paper.

The trax station that I walked to from the library carrying 20 pounds of books because the station next to the library’s trains were running late and I thought I could get here faster, except I got lost and then ended up waiting forever for the train at this one too. 

It’s Spring! I took this picture on wednesday and I hear that it is snowing outside today… I live in a basement so I don’t know.

Chocolate milk. Yum.

Package art. Customer order.

This week wasn’t totally bogus. There were a few sweet treasures along the way. Like those flowers. 

How was your week?

Carli

The Switch.

This is a shout out to all of you college students who have changed your major a billion and one times. I feel for you.

For those of you who have always known what you want to be and have stuck with it… well consider yourself lucky.

For a while I have been thinking about my choice of major. I know that I would probably like being a speech pathologist, but I don’t think I would absolutely love it. It wouldn’t be my passion. I choose that major out of economical fear. I wanted a career that was certain, something I could count on, and something that would always be needed. I wanted something safe. 

But then I thought… What is life without a struggle? A risk? An uncertainty? What is life with out a passion? What would it be like to wake up day after day and drag myself to a job… not a love.

By now you have probably figured out that I changed my major. I am going to be a Business Management major with a focus in entrepreneurship. (The day that I am able to successfully spell/pronounce that word is the day that I will know that I built a successful business.) I realized that if I was really serious about starting my own handmade/vintage business I needed to literally get down to business. 

So this summer I am going to immerse myself in creativity. I am going to take some sort of creative class like printmaking or painting, take some online classes to catch up to my major, and just make stuff… a lot of stuff. 

I am excited to experiment with different mediums, be inspired, and hopefully find an original outlet from which to create. 

I am so grateful for how my parents raised me into believing that I could do anything. They have always supported me in every (sometimes completely insane) thing that I try to do. 

One thing that I have learned is that life isn’t long enough to sit around and wait for your dreams to come true. If you want something don’t be afraid to go out and get it. Don’t let anything get in your way.

Carli

Stress

Ahhh. I may be going insane. This week is literally kicking my butt. My question is why everything big in my life happens all at once. The raise and new job responsibilities at work, Courtney’s wedding and all that comes with that, and starting school and all that comes with that. I am just hoping this week will go by very fast. Not that I am not enjoying it! I am very excited to see my family and friends and to celebrate the eternal marriage of my best buddy. I am looking forward to the many memories we are going to make in the next couple of days. I am just really looking forward to when things get back to normal and I can relax a bit. I want to be able to go to bed at night without having a million and one things race through my mind. So today I took some time out of my busy week to do some relaxing. I have put together a list of some pictures from some of my favorite blogs and websites that make me feel good. I love to find pictures that inspire, entertain, and relax me. One of my many dreams is to cover an entire wall in my house with photos of friends, comic strips, inspiring photographs, and other such things, and call it my “Inspiration Wall”. Until then I will keep my inspirations here…

Great coffee table book.

Red lips are the best lips.

Love the mix of patterns & colors.

Uh. I need these.

Can I have them all?

Dream Vacation.

Oh, Jason.

I have been thinking a lot about record players lately. I don’t think I can live without much longer.

Will this get me through this week?! I hope so…

Carli

The End.

I cannot express the joy that I am feeling at this moment. The semester is over. I have 2 months of no 8 page essays, tests, or biology homework! YESSS! I have been sooo stressed out for the past week. It feels like a hippo was chilling on my shoulders and now he finally found something better to do and stepped down. 

In exactly a week I will be leaving to Texas in a car with my bestie Kaitlyn! I am more then excited. I am ecstatic! 

It will be nice to feel the sand between my toes and the salty breeze run through my hair (which by the way is much longer then when I left. I have done a good job of growing it out!) Don’t judge me, but I cannot wait to see my kitty Izzy. It has been way too long since he has dug his claws into my skin…. Yeah so I am not looking forward to that… but hey, it comes with the territory….

Counting down the seconds…

Carli

Test This.

This is another one of those time where I wish that I could control time with the clench of my fist. As much as I am begging for this week to end, I am also kinda freaking out about the lack of time I have to get stuff done. Completely my fault though. I procrastinated…

Oh and by the way… WHAT AM I DOING RIGHT NOW?! I should be writing my essay, but instead I am procrastinating and writing a blog post…. I am an idiot. My reasoning is that I need a break, but I have only written a page of my 6 page essay…. 

Today after I studied my butt off for my D&C test I discover that I did not get the grade I was hoping for. I was pretty depressed. I could go on all night about how much I knew all the information that was on the study guide but wasn’t actually relevant to the test, but I won’t because I do not want to dwell on my failure ( I didn’t fail… I got an ok grade… but I feel like a failure.) So I finally get home from school and I am standing in front of my microwave waiting for my soup to be done and thinking (more like worrying) about my essay and my World Civ. test, and I literally pouted and said out loud “I quit. I am dropping out.” Man I am such a baby! Then I got my soup out and walked upstairs (because the cable in my basement doesn’t work and that frustrates me) and I then say ” Carli you are ridiculous! stop being a baby! You can do it!” Thats my attempt at self motivation… I then end up watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and cry when they loose the pants. I am lame. 

I’ve decided that school is not good for me. It turns me into this crazy depressed baby that complains about everything. 

I can not wait until I graduate. Only if I could control time…

Wishing I was a super genius and could ace tests without studying…

Carli

Check List.

Checklist:

Eat something. I am famished…

Learn to make a bomb avocado soup.

See Michaelangelo’s The David in person.

Swim in the Salt Lake.

Finish Research Paper. CHECK!

I finished my research paper on the Amarna Period of the New Kingdom in Ancient Egypt! Woot!

I have been stressing about it all day. Actually for several days….

The above picture is of my little study cubicle in the BYU SLC Library. This is a cleaned up version of my workspace. Before I finished my paper it was in complete chaos. It was insane. Speaking of insane. I was pretty insane looking about 5 min ago. I was freaking out about not finishing in time, flipping through my books like a mad woman, whispering to myself, and pretty much pulling my hair out. I have now tamed the mane.  

Why do college papers give us crazy eyes and bad hair? Because it sucks. For real.

No longer with crazy eyes and bad hair,

Carli

Researching.

“Spent [five hours] in a dusty library. Waiting for some words to jump at me.” Camera Obscura.

I obviously haven’t spent a week here in the SLC BYU Library. So I inserted five hours. That is mostly true. The lyrics from the song French Navy by the scottish indie pop group Camera Obscura narrate my life at the moment. Ok just the first phrase… And the library is not dusty. They keep it very clean. There is a janitor vacuuming the floor with one of those silent vacuum’s. I wish I knew how those worked…. Silent vacuums are the 2nd wonder to the cleaning world. They come after that Oxyclean stuff. I’ve never used it but the commercials make it seem like it’s divine.

So I am taking a short break from my research. I’ve been scouring the small library for books on Art History and not really finding anything but books on religion… I guess thats what I get for going to a religious school. But I did find this massive book (when I say massive I mean that it was twice the size of my massive World Civ book, weighs 20 pounds, and consumes most of the space on my good sized study cubicle… It’s big) on Art History that gave me some very nice insights on my topic. I even pulled a few quotes. Nice…

I cannot believe that this is my last week of my first semester as a transfer student at BYU! It went by so fast! The library is packed with people trying to get there last minute work finished. I am currently sitting behind a girl in a florescent pink shirt checking her Facebook. Yeah so I guess not everyone is getting stuff done. But then again she could have been taking a 2 hour Facebook break. There is a guy across the room that has a book that I very much want to look at because I feel it pertains to my topic. He just won’t leave! So I will wait. 

So my little study corral is next to a nice big window that over looks SLC. A nice little park bellow and then the Gateway across the street. I can’t help but steal glances out the window at the wonderful weather that awaits outside. The mountains tower behind the buildings reminding us that no man made creation can out do divine creations. Have I ever mentioned I am in love with the mountains? 

Anyways… I really need to get back to work.

I am only hoping that I will be able to focus now that there is a guy with a red and white stripped shirt sitting across the room. He totally looks like Where’s Waldo. Oh Waldo, now that i’ve found you I can not take my eyes off of you. You know I was Wheres Waldo or I guess I should say Wheres Wendy (because I am female) for Halloween. Hey Waldo! We are a perfect match. 

Wait. Is Where’s Wendy the sister of Where’s Waldo? Dang.

Carli

This is a Test.

This is a test.

I look like a mess.

Hair in a craze, eyes in a daze.

“To much information…” I say.

Memorizing dates, definitions, and names, all to get that beloved grade A.

Finally I sit in an unfamiliar room. I better not have forgotten my #2.

I look at the test with fear in my eyes.

The format is hard to read.

I am pleading with God to help me to remember everything. 

I cannot recall what happens between the start and finish, but im left feeling weak and famished. 

I walk down the short hall to see my score upon the wall.

I am disappointed. 

That is all.

Mid City Schooling.

I finally began school at the BYU Salt Lake Center. A great alternative to the large jam packed Provo campus. Small classes of 9 to 15. Quiet. Clean. High tech. Not very stressful. It’s nice.

Pros to BYU Salt Lake Center:

The elevators talk to you. Plus there is no ridiculous elevator music.

I get to park in a multilevel parking garage.

There are big windows that overlook the city. 

And nice comfy chairs that allow you to sit and look at the city.

There is a fuze-ball table. Not that I’d play it. It’s just really cool. It lightens the mood of the room.

My biology teacher plays Chariots Of Fire before class to get us pumped. I am not lying.

The bathroom faucets have what appear to be solar panels on them. But theres no sunlight in the bathroom! Maybe that is what makes the water the perfect temperature.

We pray at the beginning of my religion class. And if our cellular devices go off in class you have to bring treats to the next class time. Today someones cell went off. :) I look forward to Tuesday.

My World Civilization teacher had no upper teeth on the first day of class. He says his bark is worse then his bite. He has gotten implants and now has teeth. 

He also takes long dramatic pauses. Not only it is it awkward, it is slightly humorous. I do feel his words resinating in my mind. Apparently he knows something we don’t.

He also taught us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. I feel as if i’ve learned a new trade. 

I could go on…

Cons to BYU Salt Lake.

You have to pay 7 cents per page you print.

Thats all.

Carli

Things Are Falling Into Place.

Two weeks. That’s it. Only two weeks in Utah and I already feel like this is where I am supposed to be.

I have made some amazing friends. Done some amazing things and have fallen in love with mountains.

So I got a great job! Its boring but very simple. The best part is that I get paid to sit there and read, text, internet search, doodle, and other things. Best part is that when I start school I can do my home work at work.

Speaking of school. My application process for BYU has been long and stressfull. After almost 10 months of waiting I have finally received a decision. So I was sitting at work bored so I decide to check. I was admitted! I just about jumped out of my chair and screamed like a crazy person but that would have been unprofessional. So I settled with a fist pump and a silent “oh yeah!”.

I just can’t believe how lucky I am. I feel like I’m on cloud nine. Maybe I am. Carli