christmas break fiascos

i'm really not having any huge fiascos. i just like the word. so my laptop broke. my brother diagnosed it as a problem with the hard drive. so i gotta take it in to best buy and have them fix it. and then magically come up with money to pay for it to be fixed. ha! that's a funny joke. so bear with me and i post even less than normal (if that's even possible).

SHALISE IS HOME!!! I would put up the picture we took at the airport, but remember my laptop is broke? anyway after waiting for two looooong hours at the airport she was finally there! oh she cried so hard! she does not want to be home. but it was SO good to see her and hug her! i look up to her so so much and i am happy she is back.

we had story night. what's this? we all sleep in our living room and mom reads christmas stories to us until we fall asleep. we always read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. have you read that? go read it. it's hilarious. i made some delicious food for us to snack on this year- oreo truffles, cheese ball and white chocolate popcorn.

i've read the first two Harry Potter books.

i've worked a lot. who's working Christmas morning? pick me! yes folks i am working so much. good thing too cuz homegirl has got to pay for school somehow.

went to the temple this morning with my brothers. the lady in the baptistry wanted to hook me up with her son. i don't whether i should be flattered (and given her my number) or worried.

after watching miracle on 34th street last night, it's official: santa is a mega creeper.

it's my day off today. so what am i doing? chillin obvi. and listen to crank dat soulja boy. can anyone say blast from the past?

peace homies. and if you don't hear from me for a while, then have a happy Christmas and be grateful you get to spend the day with your family.

Christmas break diet ha ha

ps. so far i am very happy with my grades :)

roadtrip!

it is a fact that in 45 minutes i get off work, and then i'm busting my butt back home to grab my duffel, throw it in the ol' Buick (the best college student car) and drive like a crazy person to Rexburg! by myself. eek. but i'm not too nervous now that the snow has basically stopped. i was kinda freaking out this morning when i woke up and saw those big flakes coming down. i mean, it is April. i was offended.

i'm gonna have an amazing 24ish hours in Rexburg and don't worry, i will actually document my weekend adventures (since i didn't last week).  i hope ya'll have a great weekend! and remember, it's Easter on Sunday!

christmas break part 2

post christmas break is always a little bit dull. i mean the presents are all unwrapped, most people aren't throwing parties, and really the only thing to look forward to is school. however i attempted to rise above it and complete my to-do list! [mind you, i was very anti social during the last week of the break.]

harry potter reading: i finished book five on Sunday night and brought book six back to Provo with me. i am addicted folks. i ate, read, and breathed harry potter! i even had dreams about him. awesomespice right? sometimes i wish i could apparate somewhere else. i'm going to finish books 6 and 7 slowly throughout the semester.
basketball games: i only made it to 1.5 games this year because i was busy all day monday when they were playing, and they didn't win the tournament. it was fun to watch my brother's play! hyrum is by far the most aggressive. i swear he was trying to play every position at once!  there were some other wardy stars including Ben and his amazing 3 pointers (we are thinking of calling him Jimmer), Bryson May's and Michael Gallagher's tall teamwork (aka The Two Towers), not to mention the enthusiasm and occasional hot headedness of Keller Atwood. I love my home ward.

see contagion: i wasn't going to see it, but then at the last minute i got invited to go see it with some friends from my old ward. can i just say i loved it? maybe it's because i am a little obsessed with science and medicine. . . it was a little disturbing, but i wasn't scared, just surprised a little. it is a movie that makes you think, so if you don't like thinking then don't watch it.

jcw's: i went with hoyt, nate and brad (and sadly i have no photos of the event). hoyt, being such a gentleman, paid for my bacon ranch burger (thanks for the suggestion Shea!) and "small" raspberry cheesecake shake (thank you Chloe for recommending this). first off, the food was delicious. the hamburger was juicy and flavorful. and shake (besides being HUGE) had real chunks of cheesecake (ten points to Gryffindor) and the perfect amount of raspberry flavoring. of course, the company was good. we mostly talked about the missions and christmas. i interjected with stories of africa every so often. and ended by giving hair advice to hoyt, also discussing how i don't find facial hair attractive. i'm surprised that jcw's has remained hidden from me for so long, but given its price range i probably won't be going back anytime soon.

BYU bowl game: epic. intense. a little scary. courageous. cheering. loved every second. wish i could have actually been in dallas.oh well. we celebrated in the g too!
new years eve: every year i want an absolutely epic way of celebrating new year's eve. this year was no exception. so i started it off by making homemade, real Italian pizza with my family. i was a little emotional (because 1. daniel had left to russia three days earlier and we hadn't had time to get together before then and 2. none of my friends had replied to my texts about our plans tonight so i was pretty sure i would end up bumming it at home in my cute outfit) so when the crust rolling didn't go well i about had a fit. deep breathing ensued and i continued to topping said pizzas, with cheese chunks (mozzarella and muenster), olive oil, tomatoes, pepperoni, and onions. my mood got better. because topping pizzas with your family and smelling them cooking can brighten anyone's mood. we pulled them out and began to eat. they were still doughy. in a complete rage (i like to think i was mostly fuming because my friend's were such flakes, rather than sad that i was so pathetic and socially challenged) i ran down to my room leaving my family to deal with recooking the pizza. (we later discovered that the "flour" my brother had brought up for me to use was actually pancake mix- hence the nasty pizza. i might be able to salvage my attempts at cooking.) after crying in my room for a little bit i ventured out to wash my face, change into a comfy T (since there was no point in wearing make up and cute clothes if i was just going to watch movies and go to bed early), and watch Tangled with the fam. you can't watch Tangled and not laugh! because it's hilarious! and one of my most favorite movies. my friends finally contacted me and we made plans. i re-did myself, making sure i looked freaking cute, and went out with Chan. first we went to the Priest's party where i got to see Spencer for the first time since he got home from the mish and Katie, whom i haven't seen since last NYE! the Priest's are a hilarious family and i'm definitely going back to visit like Sis. Priest asked. then we went over to the singles dance to meet up with steve. when we got there we found he was with brandon and nate. (oh hello ex, who-i-was-in-love-with-for-like-3-years-who-i-faithfully-wrote-on-the-mish-and-sent-amazing-packages-who-took-my-heart-and-basically-stomped-on-it-destroying-my-faith-and-trust-in-boys-for-about-8-months, i don't really want to hug you but since we have all the same friends and went to the same high school it's unavoidable that we see each other at times, i will give you a hug). nate left soon and since chan knows pretty much everyone it was me, brandon and steve hanging out. ok FUN. brandon was so crazy i swear he was trying to make up for missing out on parties the last two years! i also saw some other RM's from high school (some of whom were pretty good lookin' if i say so myself) and some girl friends from high school too. i was going to take pictures but the dancing was too great. at midnight i was in a mosh pit vying to grab a balloon to pop. they say how you spend NYE is a foreshadowing of your year. soooo the first part of my year is going to be a bit lonely, but the second half will be a party with boys? i'm down. (ps. it's really too bad i didn't get any pics cuz i was smokin... jus sayin.)

so there's the break part 2. how was your break?

christmas break part 1

remember this list that i made for the break? don't worry i'm hard at work trying to accomplish those things. here's what i've accomplished so far. . .
MOTAB christmas concert - pictures to follow the break [they are on Kendra's camera]

saw this car on the freeway. love it.

SLC Temple Square date- Josh was an awesome date. we went to costa and then to Temple square. it was so fun! we still wonder why they had a japanese nativity in which sumo wrestlers visited baby Jesus. who knew?

joshy and me at the temple

finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone [almost done with HP2]- loved it! i read it in like one day! unbeknownst to me mumsy has the entire HP series under her bed [is she ashamed of them? we don't know], so i didn't have to go to the library.

love this.

Christmas Caroling- last night we braved the bitter cold [ok we drove. mumsy said she would die if we had to walk] and shared Christmas cheer with a couple of our neighbors. we may have been a little (or a lot) out of tune, but it was still fun!
Go to the Temple- my brothers go to the temple every Thursday morning, so this morning at 4:45 i rolled out of bed [literally] to go with them. I do love the temple, but [in my opinion] there were too many noisy high schoolers there and the reverent spirit was gone. but its ok. the temple workers were adorb as usual. i'm gonna be one when i grow up :)
Write missionary friends- I wrote Bre [because I can e-mail her which makes it easy]. I now have two more to write to [in addition to the normal list], but they are just in the MTC so it will be dearelder for them!
Work!- i have been working a lot. at least 4 hours every day this week. it's actually been very nice to have something to do and to be earning money over the break. the only downside is driving to provo every day. i probably should have just stayed at my apartment this week since i work so much.  i love being back at the Bean. there are awesome people who work here and we have an awesome Christmas display right now! come and visit if you'd like.

Other highlights of the break thus far include
Mzungu Christmas Bash- a party with my Africa peeps. pretty much the funnest ever. you don't really need to plan anything when these people get together because we are the definition of fun! we had food, white elephant gifts [i gave a "Uganda Survival Kit" and received a stamp], and reminisced about uganda. it was so great to see everyone who i haven't seen in a while!

jenner, me and abby. don't worry about how white jenner and me are

best. white. elephant. ever.

the crew! notice how whit looks like a model?

Ward Christmas Party- the good ol' GC 1 threw their annual awesome Christmas breakfast last saturday. i make a point every year to be home for this event because 1. Santa comes riding on a big fire truck [i'm pretty sure most the kids in my ward grew up thinking santa drove a fire truck not a sleigh]; 2. they serve Shirley's orange rolls which are to die for; and 3. i get to see my amazing ward family!  this year was especially great because i got to see two friends who got home from their missions recently and we chatted it up.

snowman pancake. yum.

Costa Vida- i know people say cafe rio is better, but i have a deep loyalty for costa. deal with it. i went to lunch with Daniel at Costa today because he owed me it for my birthday [secretly i'm pretty sure he has already gotten me my birthday costa, but i never say no to an offer for free costa].  i got a sweet pork salad and daniel got a chicken burrito. he is hilarious. he also gave me a key chain from mexico [i guess he went there this summer] as a sort of christmas gift. i am in love with it!

already put my keys on it. love.

Merry Madagascar/Home Alone 3- Tuesday night i went down to Provo to daniel's apartment where they were watching Home Alone 3. it' surprising, i know, but i've never seen it! it was pretty funny not gonna lie. i love it when the bad guys are really just stupid. it makes me feel good about the world. like i could out smart a bad guy. after Home Alone 3 daniel and i watched Merry Madagascar. now, if you know me at all, you know that i lurv Madagascar. so a christmas movie starring King Julian only made my christmas even better. favorite quote from the movie was King Julian:" He can't take me off the naughty list! I am the naughty list!" daniel was pretty good company too, i guess ;)
Plato's Closet- have you been to this store? if you haven't then i suggest you get your behind over there stat. i got a pair of grey skinny cargo pants, a plaid Hollister button down, a floral print tank, and some silvery shoes for less than $30! muchos gracias. [i also got some knee high socks at F21. apparently i'm short or something because they are more like thigh high on me. whatevs.]
Cleaning out our fridge- the only time my family's refrigerator gets cleaned out is when i'm at home, so it wouldn't be a break without mumsy asking me to do it. here is what i observed from the latest cleaning: 1. pretty sure the reason i'm the one asked to clean it is because mumsy knows that no one else in our family can stomach the sights or smells coming from some of those containers. even i was struggling at some points. 2. my family eats a lot of chili, puts the leftovers in containers, and then never eats in again. the result?loads of moldy chili. 3. my family also has a habit of putting leftovers in containers that are much too large for the volume of leftovers being stored. therefore taking up more space than needed. 4. when a bottle of ranch, ketchup, etc. is almost empty someone opens a new bottle, but then the old bottle fails to be finished off and lies forgotten in our fridge. i can't cure any of these problems of the Arnesen fridge, but hey, i can clean it out when i'm at home!
Babysitting- i babysat my cousin Shawn's little girl last saturday for a couple hours. her name is Kalia and she is adorbs! it was pretty much the easiest babysitting job ever since Kalia slept for about 2 hours and i read Harry Potter. i told Shawn not to pay me [i mean i like babies and so its good for me to satisfy my baby hunger by babysitting] but he did anyways.

what a doll

that's my break so far! tonight is the annual "Story Night" starring the reading voice of my one and only mumsy. we will probably all be asleep by 9. but it'll be great. i just love sleeping on the floor. ha. not. can't wait to see what the next few days have in store! 3 days people! i'll update again after Christmas props. unless i do a very special Christmas post. . .  which is likely.

very important side note: daniel is going to Russia next week (the 28th) for an internship which will last until April. before he went to california this summer i got him a road trip survival kit featuring some of his favorite candies. i want to make him a Russia survival kit before he leaves. any suggestions???

weekend in logan

remember how my charger broke? well now i have a new one so i can finally post about all the lovely things i have been doing lately!! get ready.....

two weekends ago, Chan, Rachel, Tall-Nate and I took a quickie trip up to Logan to visit Josh and Steve, since it was their fall break. it was a fabulous relief for me after a horrible week. (let's not go into that.) we had dinner at the delicious texas roadhouse. (my first time there and i discovered that everything IS bigger in texas- even the portion sizes!) but it was delicious.

after dinner we discovered we were locked out of chan's car! so Nate, Rach and I ran over to the "mall" to see if we could find a cop to help. the mall cop was no help, and the one atm in the mall was broken. gottas love cache valley. finally a locksmith came, but not until after we (steve mostly) had tried unsuccessfully to break into the car. i really just thought the whole situation was hilarious (but don't tell chan because she didn't think it was so funny)!
we were late to the hockey game but we didn't miss much. the Utah State team is amazing and they killed the other team. it was weird to be in the Aggie atmosphere- much different from BYU. but Nate was lovin' it. He was right at home!

Chan, Me and Joshy

the gang!!!

after the gang we changed into PJs and went to steve's for margaritas (virgin) and watched Red Eye. that movie is freaking intense but i love it! we were pretty much all falling asleep- it was 2! chan, rach and i went to the house we were staying at and promptly fell asleep.
in the morning we woke up early and went to steves (stopping at walmart for eggs and OJ) for breakfast. pancakes! you know me and my fabulous pancake making skills. i made mickey mouse pancakes. ya'll can be jealous now.

happy pancake

even though the trip was less than 24 hours, it was SO fun! I remembered why I love these guys! I can't wait to play with these people this weekend again!

dizzy whirl

disneyland is calling me. . .  again.

 is it bad that i just want to peace out of school and spend a couple days at the happiest place on earth?

let's go please. who's with me? it's been waaay too long since i was here last.

day 5. a picture of somewhere you've been

only my most favorite place on earth (wish i was there right now).
plus, these two girls are the best ever.

"we should stay up here and just watch movies the entire time"

that is a quote from my mom. weird i know. she is totally anti-movie. this is evidence that this weekend at my aunt and uncle's cabin was a riot.

here are my top 3 favorite photos:

while eating dinner outside spencer decided to take a picture. we were so excited that we hit heads. thats why we look so cool- because we were laughing.
we spent a huge amount of time on the four-wheelers. i love it. i will race you and i will win.
they have a cute little lake/pond complete with a yurt and canoes. we had a grand old time and i got quite burned on my back.

we also:
watched The Princess and the Frog, and We Are Marshall
had a delicious Dutch oven dinner
made homemade ice cream with mint oreos in it- epic.
played horse shoes- fail
slept in
played pool (well i watched the boys play pool)
ate as many meals outside as possible

. . . and just had fun being together!