what not to do in your wedding announcement

ok people, it's that time of year, wedding season. something that every wedding crazed girl looks forward to. and something that those of us with small pocketbooks dread. wedding invites crowd up the refrigerator and we find ourselves getting the same present for everyone on the list, because it's just easier that way. and, although i am unmarried, i believe i am a self-proclaimed wedding planner and critic. i've seen my fair share of weddings, and in particular wedding announcements.
here's what NOT to do in your wedding announcement.
*awkward poses. we've all seen the "awkward engagement photos" online, but people, these things really exist! there are certain poses that perhaps you should not be putting out there for the world to see. this includes hand placement and how your clothes look in the pose. below, is just a tame example of awkward posing. what were they thinking? "oh honey this will look so good. i mean we're gonna walk around like this all the time after we're married right? i don't want you out of my sight! and if you try to leave me, well then you will be strangled. . . "

*personality. ok ok, don't get me wrong, you should incorporate personality into your engagement photos and wedding announcements! this sets you apart from other people. however you can take this too far. don't dress up in crazy outfits- keep it simple. don't include animals, especially dogs or cats, in your photos (i think the occasional horse can be cute if you are going for the country feel)- you are not marrying your dog! location is huge. avoid posing in water- that's awkward. avoid strange locations, like porta-potties, college campuses (yes i have seen people taking engagement photos on BYU campus and i think it's weird), etc.

a good way to add personality

* keep the clothes on! i don't need to say anything else on that i hope. . .
* kissing. let me clarify, kissing is all good and fine. i mean we want to know you are in love, and not just signing a business contract. buuuuut, (and this was told to me by a good friend who is actually married),  you don't want to kiss too much. her words "just give him a peck in the photos because other wise it looks like you are just macking on each other." not classy. also keep the kisses cute- lips, cheeks and foreheads. everywhere else should be off limits! we don't want dear 80 year old auntie marge keeling over out of shock and a sweet kiddo like you would kiss like that.

this is cute

*colors. i do love me a good pop of color on the invite/save the date. but too much color, that doesn't match up, is just too much. choose a font that people can read without going cross eyed, in a color that isn't going to blind people. it's ok to do a couple different colors on the save the date, but make sure that there is an underlying theme and that it makes sense. don't do a new neon color on each line. that is just awkward to look at and hard to read. if you are going to do colored lettering, then keep the background color something neutral- creme, black, grey, or white.

well i've had my rant. i hope you laughed a little, but you also took this seriously. thank you to the people whose wedding invites inspired this post and for the friends who had beautiful and classy engagements. you have given me hope that not everyone is terribly awkward.
now go. be in love. get married. and all that jazz.

birthday week[end]

confession: birthday week was kind of crappy. i had something happen sunday that started birthday week off on a lame-o foot. i pushed through and didn't let anyone know how sad i was feeling, but the inside of me was not happy. despite that [and a little cry sesh in the bathroom during my party saturday night] i had a fun birthday weekend!

saturday the day was spent cleaning, riding front runner to and from SLC, shopping and eating at City Creek with Jenny and Abby, enjoying peaceful Temple Square, getting froyo with my dad, playing games and watching Avengers with friends. oh yeah, and here are some pictures.

surprised face!

did i mention i bought pink [coral] pants? yes i did.

monday my family had lunch and presents for me. mom made citrus halibut, rice pilaf, with veggies and fruit. she was proud she used everything fresh- even the herbs. yes, she loves me. she also made me my most favorite and delicious carrot cake. you haven't had good carrot cake until you've tasted my mom's carrot cake. deevine. i gave my parentals the camera which pretty much means the most awkward pictures ever were taken. it's fine. 

carrot cake. yuuuuum.

i'm a gem. thank you mom. 

[did you notice my pink pants??]

all in all, i had a good birthday. 23 isn't terribly exciting, but any birthday is great :) i had so many friends bring lovely and unexpected gifts. and i had a lot more people show up to my party than i ever thought! i felt loved and appreciated. it is definitely times like your birthday when you find out who the people are who truly care about you. i sadly had the discovery that some people i thought were my good friends, did not care as much as i thought they would. however, there were many more people who showed their love. and i really appreciate that! i wish every weekend were a three day weekend full of parties and fun. but sadly real life continues onward.

last year for my birthday i made the goal to be a force for good in the world. this year, as i am now 23, my goal is similar, but different. 

goal: set the world on fire with love!

here's to a great year of being 23 and showing love to those around me!

finals are over. now what?

i have this problem every year. i'm so excited for finals to be over so i don't have to stress. but then once finals are over and i've had a couple days, i start getting bored. so i have to make lists of things to do over the break or i might die of boredom. either that or i eat so much food that i gain ten pounds. (that is no scientifically proven, and is probably a hyperbole.)

so what am i going to do over Christmas break?

Watch these movies: Elf, White Christmas, Miracle on 34 Street, It's A Wonderful Life, Charlie Brown's Christmas

Go to Temple Square (on a date?) 

Go sledding

Decorate gingerbread houses

Go Christmas caroling

Get a photo with Santa

Make oreo mint pops/truffles

Do a blog Christmas countdown

Read Harry Potter series

i'm also going to work a lot and make mounds of money. i'll spend time with family. and i plan on working out every day and running every day that it's possible. there's 10 days until Christmas! 

what fun things do you have planned for the holiday season?

over the river*

sometimes when you are away from home you forget some things.

like how long it takes to get in the shower when there are 8 other people who have to shower.

or like how your mom is going to remind you to make your bed, even though you have been living on your own for 4.5 years and have made your own bed almost every day for those years.

or how delicious cold cereal is.

or like how your siblings and parents are still busy, and since you don't want to do that pile of studying, you end up sitting around (on pinterest) too much.

or how cute your cousins are and how fun it is to make seven pies for thanksgiving dinner.

or how nice it is to not set your alarm (even though you still wake up in a panic at 7:11 thinking you need to get up. dang body clock.)

or how you don't have to have your cell phone with you 24/7 because the people that really matter are there with you.

yeah, being home actually is pretty great. we are all ready to have a wonderful thanksgiving dinner tomorrow at my grandparents in Cottonwood Heights. and i'm not even nervous for my race tomorrow (it will come though).

*technically, no rivers were crossed in my drive to my parents house.

happy halloween!

if you didn't already know, i love halloween! i literally start planning my costume in the summertime. why do i like halloween? i love dressing up. i love dance parties (they usually happen around this holiday). i like parties with my friends. i like scary movies and haunted houses. i like pumpkins (and pumpkin food). i like candy.
so there you have the reasons i like halloween.
since halloween is on wednesday this year its hard to party it up, but i still did! on monday i went to my ward halloween party. my roommate, Tara, and i dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from dr. suess. the party consisted of dancing and of course the pie eating contest! i didn't win the pie eating contest. i was the only girl (represent!) and the other guys were like. . . HUGE. i did, however, beat last year's champion, Andrew. in your face! literally. (no really, i threw pie in his face.) it was a fun party despite some small troubles.

brother and sister

love my roommates

tuesday night my old roommate, Natalie, and her husband, Matthew, threw a Harry Potter Halloween party. we just won't even discuss how much i love harry potter. if you don't know then, you will soon know. i LOVE HARRY POTTER! it was such a blast! i went as Ginny. we got sorted into houses (i was in Gryffindor of course), drank chilled butterbeer, ate chocolate frogs and other delicious treats, took our O.W.L.S., played Harry Potter Scene-It, and just had a blast! sadly, Gryffindor did not win the House Cup, but we did our best!

Michelle, Natalie, Heather, and Me

what am i dressing up as today for Halloween? a stressed out college student. #thisisreallife 
what am i doing tonight to celebrate? studying pathophysiology. (diseases are pretty scary.) and then probs watching an episode of gilmore girls. and eat cookies & cream ice cream. obvi.
don't feel bad though. my mom sent me this delicious and festive treat. i'll enjoy that, and then get back to studying.

cute right? it was pretty good too. for a rice krispie treat.
hope your Halloween is full of tricks, scares and treats!
or lots of studying.
whatever.

because i've been a bit of a slacker

i thought i would post this music video which has been stuck in my head since tuesday.

my pathophysiology study buddy showed it to me. watch it once. and then watch it again. because it gets funnier every time.



in other news....
i saw a picture of an 8 week old fetus today. it looked like a snake. i feel really great knowing that once upon a time my 8 week old fetus looked like the snake from Jungle Book.

i'm feeling guilty about the lack of posting. but i honestly have zero time. fact: i should be studying for my nutrition and chronic disease prevention test that i'm taking tomorrow.
fact: i had ice cream for dinner tonight. it was free and i'm a poor college student. i'll take what i can get.
fact: i'm going to bed now.

why i am REALLY jealous of married people

it's a well known fact that married people go to bed early. and by "early" i mean like 10 or 10:30. correct me if i'm wrong but my experience with married people has led me to believe that they go to bed pretty early (unless they have to work late or something like that).
when you're single you can't go to bed early. well you can. but only if you want to be a social pariah. if you want to go on dates, meet new people, and have a semblance of a social life, then you have to stay up late! even on school nights when you should be getting up by seven the next morning.
some people may be jealous that married people have the companionship, romance, etc. of marriage and a committed relationship. me? i'm really just jealous that after their studying is done, they can just watch an episode of their favorite tv show and fall blissfully asleep by like 11.  i'm out here struggling to flirt it up and make a good impression so that maybe i'll get asked out, and then maybe he will ask me out again, and then maybe he will like me too, and then maybe we will start dating, and then maybe we will keep dating, and then maybe we will fall in love, and then get married.
it's exhausting.
really, all i wanna do is sleep.
so i'm praying i find my husband. before i keel over from lack of sleep. or just stop socializing and seal my destiny. or get desperate and buy this:

guys i really want one. not because i am desperate, but because i think it is the funniest thing i've seen in weeks. when i first saw this i almost stopped breathing because i was laughing so hard. i mean, i'm trying hard not to laugh now- because i'm on the first floor of the HBLL and people would wonder. . . but this is definitely what i'm asking santa for this Christmas! ha ha!

what's in your purse?

so melissa tagged me in this post like.... six days ago but since i'm such a horrible blogger i didn't realize that i had been tagged until late last night. it was an awkward moment to say the least. i never want to be the person who got tagged who never fulfills her tagging duty. it's just bad blogger etiquette. (also etiquette is a hard word to spell.)
so the only rule is that you can't clean out your purse before doing this. (i threw away some gum wrappers so i hope that isn't breaking the rule. because who wants to see nasty gum wrappers?) 
if you know me you probably know that i really hate carrying a lot of stuff. so don't be bored. i will try to make it exciting.

the purse

i've had this purse (satchel?) since freshman year. so, like, forever. my roommate freshman year named this bag Pacha (like the guy from Emporer's New Groove) and i still call it that. i got it from the mall, not from some cool foreign country. however it is imported from peru so i guess that is pretty legit right?

the contents

wallet: it holds money, cards, and random samples of perfume/cologne i really like. terribly exciting right? 

keys: two sets- keys for my house and then keys for my car. please notice my cool keychains- from mexico and paris (daniel got me these) and harry potter world.

sunglasses: i really have nothing witty to say about them. they make it so i don't squint when i'm driving/walking in the sun, therefore i don't get headaches.

cover girl powder and mary kay lip gloss: a girl's gotta look good. and it's helpful that the powder has a mirror attached. 

mints: from cafe rio. you are probably only supposed to take one, but i mean who really does that?

gum: you never know when you might be needing it, if you catch my drift. . . 

how was that for exciting and interesting? please tell me you are intrigued at how i stay so attractive and get asked out so much when i don't carry that much in my purse. well guys, that is my secret. someday i may share it with you, but for now go have some fun because it's one of the last summer nights!

camping

guys i'm just busting through this bucket list of mine! booyah. one perk about never working is that i have time to do fun things. i'm trying to keep seeing the good things about not working instead of focusing on the bad things (my dwindling bank account...ahem).
this weekend i missed the opening ceremonies of the olympics (gasp) in order to go camping with my ward. i lurv the olympics, but i also lurv camping and it was on the old bucket list. i actually wasn't that excited about going and thought it was going to be super lame. surprise- it wasn't! we roasted hot dogs and i ate two. then we played games "olympic style." if these had been individual events then i would have boom roasted everyone. i'm humble. it's cool. and obviously not a team player. sorry. but our skit was stinking hilarious! later on we made s'mores and just chilled by the campfire. Kiersti and i retired to our beds under the stars and talked about the most important things in life- dating, obviously.

me and my awesome roommate

Kiersti and I

in the morning i rolled out of my sleeping bag, totally sore from the bajillion rocks stabbing me, but content. that's what camping does. i drank some hot chocolate (ie. swallowed tasteless water after burning all the taste buds off my tongue) and then we peaced out.

i love camping. there is something about being in the mountains away from cell phones and computers. something about sitting around a campfire with great people. something about fresh night air, unpolluted by cars or smog. something about staring up at a ceiling of stars and realizing that despite the huge universe, God loves you. something about waking up to crisp morning air. something about falling asleep to the sound of the breeze through the aspen trees and the creek running by. yes, there is just something about camping that speaks to the soul.

ps. this girl is really cool and one day soon i'm going to actually meet her. but you should go follow her blog because it is one of my favorites!

i'm not dead

i promise. i know i've been kind of mia these last few weeks. my laptop broke and then i was so behind on posting that i got overwhelmed and didn't post. i even had cool stuff to say. now i don't have anything to say, really. i'm still trying to decide how much i want to talk about certain things (ie. dating) on this blog. my brother says it might be a turn off for boys when they read my blog. what do you think?
that's all i really have to say. but here are pictures of some of the adventures i've been up to the last little while.

lunch with these cute girls

boating with Abby and my ward

first trip ever to Ikea

country dancing

grandma Arnesen's 90th birthday party

comedy sportz with the funnest people

also. . . 

the batman premiere- best movie of the summer!

trying to get used to my CNA job (another post on that)

counting down to Spencer's home coming (30 DAYS!!!!)

cleaning my home in PG to earn money 

dessert nights with Julia

it's been a crazy couple weeks! but i hope to be back with more regular posting tomorrow! but, since it's a holiday- go out and have a wonderful Pioneer Day!

xo, beka

lately

you see, i had a CNA class last week. hence the odd absence. i was in class from 9-5 every day (literally in the same classroom for 8 hours) and then went straight to work until 9 pm. usually after work i have a little homework or studying to do. it's. . . great. it has been hard going from no school to full on insanity. but i have somehow survived and even enjoyed the class (a little). i will do a full report on the class when i am done with it- in one week! be excited! here is what i've been up to in the last week. sorry if it's not terribly exciting, it's not like i went out and partied every night after being in class and work for 12 hours.

i saw this beautiful sunset on wednesday (?) when i walked out of work. after a long hard day it was amazing to be reminded of the small and yet important things in life. sorry about the bad picture quality- i took it on my unsmart camera phone. no instagram for me people.

driving home from class on thursday i saw this double decker bus. i literally screamed. then i took this picture. then i said, "take me back to london!" it was quite emotional. come to find out that some guy running for state representative bought the bus to campaign! kind sir can i buy from you when you are done?? kthanksbye.

also on thursday i went to Aubrey Olsen's wedding reception. yes she got married! i was so grateful i got work off to be able to be there. i mean, she is practically like a sister to me. the reception was beautiful and it was so fun to see some Africa peeps. i got to drive up with Andy, Paul, and Sarah. Andy and Paul are starting med school in the fall! what smart guys.  and you may remember that Sarah and Paul got married on a blizzardy day in January. we counted that 7 people from our Africa group have gotten married! i am kinda starting to feel like i am slacking off. so i tried to catch the bouquet (i never ever do that). obviously i need to work on my bouquet catching skills...

have you ever heard of the Gravitron? i hadn't until saturday. i went to Orem's Summerfest with Alex and we both rode the Gravitron for the first time. basically you stand in this UFO-looking thing and it spins around really fast so you are pinned against the wall. it reaches G forces so there is no gravity (or very small amounts) and you can go upside down or anything! really cool slash weird. after riding the Gravitron we grabbed blankets for the fireworks show. if you live in utah valley you know that Saturday was like the windiest day ever, so i was freezing. but the show was so cool! we even got showered in debris from the fireworks. and we saw the double decker bus. after the fireworks we were all way cold, so we went to IHOP for their infinite hot chocolate and some late night sustenance. have you heard that chicken and waffles is amazing? apparently they eat them in the south. anyways, i got some! sadly by the time they came i wasn't hungry anymore, but i did have some delicious waffles and chicken for breakfast and dinner today. i don't think the combo is weird at all. the night was so fun! i am glad i got to go out!
so yes that is my life. tomorrow i start all over again with CNA classes and work. i have clinicals Wednedsay and Thursday and i am praying i don't die, or worse get expelled (i mean, throw up). ah! so nervous! but i'm off for now- gotta go take more vital signs! i'll try to check in before next sunday though! have a great week!