If it's your first time here, mosey your way on down to the Blog Archive. Under March you'll find my first post, "Pilot: 1,000 Days." :)

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Buddy the Elf, What's Your Favorite Color?

I’ve been waiting for this all semester.
Words cannot express my joy.
It’s Thanksgiving Break!
This year I’m staying in Provo. Quite literally EVERYONE is going home or traveling somewhere this year, so I’ve got my weekend chalked up to be full of work and Netflix. OH YEAH!

Speaking of movies, I watched one of the greatest ones ever this past week. And since the holiday season is upon us, and you've already been given a hint from the gif above... YES, IT'S ELF!

Elf is pretty much my most favorite Christmas movie ever. That and It’s a Wonderful Life. If you haven't seen either, STOP READING THIS AND WATCH THEM RIGHT THIS SECOND! You won't regret it! Guaranteed or your money back!

Okay... Can I just dedicate this entire post to Buddy the Elf? He's so great that he deserves it.

I wish Buddy was my best friend. Or my spirit animal. Okay, I'd even settle him being the guy who lived down the street who didn’t know my name and had witnessed all of my embarrassing childhood mishaps. SOMETHING!

Buddy is SO fantastic. He's like a puppy, he just enjoys the little things in life (like ginormous toilets), and he is just so happy! All around he's the greatest human raised by elves ever! Plus he's friends with a Narwhal.
Who doesn’t wish they were friends with a Narwhal?!
I have an unrealistic dream to see a Narwhal... And if Buddy was my friend, that'd be no problem!

We'd actually make pretty good friends, since we have a decent amount of commonalities!

1. Buddy likes hugs. Even if it’s from a rabid raccoon. Hugs are the greatest!

2. He loves sugar. After all, candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup are the four main food groups!
You should have seen me go to town on some chocolate earlier today... hahah... We could binge eat on yummy sugary goodness together!!

3. He hates jack-in-the-boxes. And that's because they scare him. So he hates getting scared! We're like two peas in a pod!

4. He’s terrible at flirting and expressing his like for someone. We'd support each other in our awkward flirting encounters and eat more sugar to help us feel better! Hahaha
Have I ever mentioned that I’m terrible at flirting? Well, when I like a guy I just get nervous and awkward, then say dumb stuff or just stand there staring creepily at the guy. One of the benefits for me of having a boyfriend on a mission… First off, I don't have to worry about trying to flirt with anyone, and second, he doesn't have to witness it. uahahaha :)

5. Our greatest commonality of all: He loves to smile!
I could quote this line every single day!

So because we have these five things in common, basically we'd be best friends. It's destiny!!

But really, this movie is super great. It has a good message, it's hilarious, AND it's expanded my bucket list with doing the four following things:
One day I'll have accomplished these. And I'm sure I'll be able to recruit some people to do them with me! BWAHAHA >:)

Anyway, I know this post had nothing to do with Thanksgiving... Sorry, I got a little taken away with my desire to have a friendship with Buddy the Elf... Don't think I forgot about it though! Happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots of food, have a food baby, and be grateful for it! :)

642 Days Left! :)

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Pennies Could Probably KO Someone...

When I was younger, I used to LOVE exploring. My family would always go camping, and I'd always go wandering in the forest by myself playing make-believe and singing to the animals...
I promise you, I was mentally healthy! I just really wanted to be a Disney princess...
Anyway, now I'm not so much of an explorer. Like if you got Dora the Explorer and me in a room, I'd end up breaking down.
Okay, maybe not that bad. :)

Sadly, I haven't even done any good exploring of BYU Campus! I spend the least amount of time on BYU campus as possible. You know those people who spend 3+ hours daily in the library? Nope, not me. I've only been in the library a grand total of 6 times!

As a result, I don't know about secret passageways or cool spots on campus since I just go to my classes then scat. Fall semester due to a friend I discovered Skyroom, the restaurant on the top floor of the Wilk. But that's pretty much all my cool happening upons... Before today!

It was about time to fix my non-exploration of BYU Campus. It's my third semester here, so I should find some cool stuff around here, right?
So today instead of going to the forum, my friend and I decided to do a little exploring!

Have you ever been in the Widtsoe? I've never had any classes in there, but I'd heard there was an aquarium in the basement.
THERE IS.

They had a turtle!!!! I don't know if that's legal or not, but it's AWESOME!
We also went to the SWKT. I've only been in there twice. It never sat well with me because it's just soooo... High.

So of course the first thing we do is get in the elevator and try to go to the highest floor. Floor 12. Buuut we knew it probably wouldn't work since it's the Psychology Behavioral lab or something, and it turns out you need a card to access it. So we settled for Floor 11.

We then took the stairs from Floor 11 up two flights to see if we could get onto the roof, but that was locked too. I'm actually glad, because I swear I could feel the building moving. Just KNOWING I was that high up made me anxious! I was kind of internally panicking...
As we walked up, my friend had come across a few pennies on a few of the steps. He picked them up, and once we were up at the level of the roof, he hovered over the railing of the stairs

Then he dropped one down the stairwell.

He dropped the penny.
From the highest point on BYU campus.
All the way to ground-level.

I stared at him wide-eyed.
 "Did you just drop that penny down the stairwell?"

He took another penny and held it over the railing, about to drop it.

I would've vocalized my thoughts about it possibly being a bad idea, but I know what he would've said...
He asked me if I wanted to try. I wanted to appear mature, but... I just ended up like this:
C'mon, who could resist trying something like that?!?

So I dropped the penny, and down the stairwell it went!

We began walking down the stairwell to make our way to ground-level when we noticed there was an abnormal amount of pennies scattered throughout the next flight of stairs down. We gathered them up and down down down they dropped from the 11th Floor.

OHMYGOSH IT WAS RIDICULOUSLY FUN.

We continued this process all the way to the 5th Floor, admiring the distances they fell.
Afterward, we decided to collect all the shiny pennies for keepsies to save for another day.
We ended up with 43 fun-filled pennies!

A strange activity, I'll admit... but super fun! We're lucky there wasn't anyone in that stairwell though, otherwise it's quite possible that they may have been knocked out by one of those pennies...

Looking back, it probably wasn't a great idea, but...

That was probably the most fun I've had this semester!! Hahahaha. Good memories in the making :)

Okay just a quickie update on Elder Gibby for those of you who've been wondering!
Everything's going well! This last week was super successful for him! He and his companion met/surpassed all their goals for the week, which is pretty much unheard of! He's also going to be playing a harmonica duet in the Christmas program! How fun is that?!
I'm so happy things are going good! :)

Okay, 'til next week! :)

649 Days Left! :)

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The Package of All Packages!

Guys, I am so gosh darn excited.

Normally I'm the worst person when it comes to keeping surprises. Whenever I get someone a present, I just wanna tell them because I'm so excited about giving it to them! Or if you wanna plan a surprise party, you better make sure I don't see the surprise-ee or I'll probably ruin it. Hah. It just KILLS me because I want the person to be as excited as I am!

BUT THIS TIME I'M KEEPING A SURPRISE AND NOT SAYING A PEEP TO THE SURPRISE-EE.
I'm sending Elder Gibby a package without telling him. I don't think you can even fathom how badly I want to tell him! But this time I am going to CONTROL MYSELF!
So I made up a Christmas/New Year's/Birthday/One-Year mashup package and sent it off today! And I'm pretty happy about what I got in there for just under 4 pounds! Yep, 3 pounds and 15 oz. Awesome!

Shall we take a looksie?

PS - I apologize ahead of time for the pictures… I had to use flash cuz it gets dark so early now!

Okay! First off, Christmas!
Just look at that stocking! Is that not adorable?! It looks like a little missionary! And I'm so proud since I made it myself! Teehee.

Basically I just bought a stocking, a baby tie, and wrote out a name tag and glued it all together. It was super easy! And I'm pretty much the most arts and crafts-impaired person you'll meet, so I mean it! Haha :) I highly recommend making this for a missionary if you have one you want to send something Christmas-y to them! For a sister missionary you could even put a bow or a flower instead of a tie! So adorable :)

Inside the stocking I put everything else that was his Christmas present. Some goodies like gummy bears, a giant candy cane, and a pillow tie!

OH MY GOSH have you ever heard of pillow ties?? The idea is hilarious! It's basically a tie that you can blow up with air and use as a pillow. I thought it was so great, I just had to get it!
As for the Christmas tree... Unfortunately I couldn't send it cuz it weighed too much :'( But that's okay! I guess I'll just have to keep it here for decoration in my apartment!

Also pictured above is what I'm sending him for New Year's. It's a little box full of Hershey's kisses. I figure it'll make up for not being able to have a New Year's kiss, right? :)

OKAY NOW FOR HIS BIRTHDAY!
Oh my heck this is the part I'm most excited for!
So every year my dad makes each of us kids a candy bar card for our birthdays, so I thought it'd be fun to do one for Adam! He talks about missing American candy so I thought this was perfect! A candy bar card is basically a regular letter/card, but you replace words with candy bars! It's so fun!
Unfortunately the card I made wouldn't fit in the box if I taped the candy bars straight on it, so I had to put them in separately, but that's okay :)
Here's the card:
I also put two inflatable light sabers in there for him, a box of cheesecake mix, and the cutest blue and yellow tie you'll ever see! … Over half of the ties I've given him have been blue. I think we all know what my favorite color is… Hahahaha. He's pretty much set for life with blue ties...

Alright, now what I did for our one-year of dating!
I got a deck of cards and wrote 52 things I love about him on them. He's not supposed to open it 'til January 30th, so there will be one thing for each week until he gets back from his mission! That was honestly just luck :)
So the cards in the following picture are the ones were some of my favorites that I did. Lots of the stuff was goofy ;)
Yup, still struggling in the artistic area, which is plain to see hahaha.
It was super fun to make though! And a really cute idea, right?
Pinterest, my friends. That is the answer.

Anyway, I hope everything gets to him alright! I put pictures of Guadalupe on the package as a hope for extra protection… I felt so self-conscious walking around campus today with a package with pictures of Guadalupe on it. People kept giving me weird looks... Why can't I just walk in peace with the Virgin Mary on my package!? Hahaha. Let's just hope that it was worth it and that the people handling the package keep out! :)

Oh and I gotta tell you one last thing!
Remember back in June when I told you about my fear/dread of needles/shots? (You know, the Scary Scale? If not, you can be reminded here). 

Well guess what?! On Thursday I was a big girl and got my flu shot without anyone to pinch me or anything! Well, there was a guy in front of me in line who stayed nearby for moral support, but I did it all on my own! And I only winced a little bit and got this awesome Snoopy bandaid!
Look how proud I am of myself! Hahaha
Told you guys I wouldn't be a baby when I got my next shot! Huzzah! :)

656 Days Left! :)

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

He's Coming for You... SANTA CLAUS!

I’m going to tell you right away…

Sorry to disappoint, but no, I don’t have any horror stories regarding Halloween, thank goodness!!!
There really isn't anything much to tell about my Halloween night...

I spent six hours of my night writing an essay, and after I finished it at about 11, I did attempt to watch the first episode of The Walking Dead out of Halloween spirit... 
Buuuut I got one minute into it and I just couldn't handle it, even though nothing had even happened yet... 

I was just sitting there on my bed, telling the screen:
It's the anticipation! IT WAS KILLING ME. I just knew something was gonna jump out and eat the guy alive!

I'm a baby, I know… But I didn’t get any nightmares that night, so HA! :)

In all seriousness, Halloween is one of my least favorite days of the year. I can't stand scary, gruesome, evil things. Like spiders. GOSH, on Halloween there’s spiders galore! Who in the heck thought of that terrible idea!! Whenever I see them on tables or whatnot, I always think they’re real and get disgusted from the potential ickiness!

However much I dislike the day though, there is one redeeming quality about it…

Halloween is the greatest day on BYU Campus.
Period.

Case Study 1:
I witnessed a zombie attack on the Wilk.
There I was, walking out of one of the buildings, when I see a huge group of costumed people imitating zombies, limping toward the building. They proceeded to grab someone and wrestle him to the ground, the man screaming for a good ten seconds, until he turned into a zombie himself. They all then continued their limping, making it to the front doors, moaning and groaning as they hit the doors, trying to get inside and eat everyone else’s brains.

Case Study 2:
Whilst sitting in the JSB waiting for my class to start, three lads came clip-clopping down the main hall, dressed up in armor as characters from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Alongside them was a squire, strumming a guitar.

Case Study 3:
In the middle of lecture during my Marketing class, suddenly we were interrupted by a guy banana suit entering the auditorium, booking it to the front exit of the auditorium. Not even three seconds later a man in a gorilla suit entered, right on the heels of the banana-man.

Did any of this happen on your campus? I highly doubt it.
And that was only a snippet of all that happened on campus that day! That’s just what I witnessed!

And thus we see that yes, indeed, Halloween is the greatest day on BYU Campus.

And do you know what it means now that Halloween is over?
It's November.
Yes, yes it is.
Which means IT'LL SNOWSTORM HERE IN PROVO SOON!!!!

It started snowing here on Sunday. Not a full-on snow, but little flakes. And it’s been “flaking” every day since. 
I sat in Church on Sunday, looking at the falling blessings from heaven above, as I evilly cackled to myself.

Do you know what these flecks of everlasting happiness are a sign of??!
CHRISTMAAAAS!!!!

I know, I know, Christmas shouldn't take over Thanksgiving, and I know what some of you are thinking... But.. But... Christmas is just so fantastic!

I don't care what you say about not being able to start Christmas music until after Thanksgiving! IT’S CHRISTMAS FOR GOODNESS SAKES! Less than 30 days of Christmas music is NOT ENOUGH! Although I do feel bad for Thanksgiving. It kind of gets lost in the midst of all the Christmas joy...

I found something pretty funny on Pinterest, and I thought I'd share :)

And I think we all know which one I am... :)

Don't get me wrong, I respect you if you like to give Thanksgiving amble space to be celebrated! 
I LOVE me some food. I think I've made that pretty clear in the past! Well, actually, it's more of that I lust food. It's kind of a problem, really. 
Anyway, give me a day where I can eat delicious food until I'm filled up to my throat and my stomach is bursting with a food baby? 
SIGN ME UP!

Oh, and let's not forget the being thankful part. I really love that part :) :)

... But Thanksgiving is no Christmas. Christmas is where it's at! You can't beat the hot chocolate, candy canes, Christmas music, snowmen, carols, celebration of Christ's birth... 
IT'S JUST THE GREATEST, OKAY?!

Okayyyy, big change of subject!


GUESS WHAT.
I SAW SAVANNAH (er, Hermana McBride) ON FRIDAY NIGHT DURING WORK!!!! 
It was so great!! She introduced me to her companion, and she's going to Puebla Norte too!  I'm so excited to finally be able to join them in a few months! YAYAYAY! :D

They've moved all Spanish-speaking missionaries to West Campus, so it's a done deal that I'll be living there when I'm at the MTC, which I'm really happy about! That way I can see my co-workers at the Creamery and be able to live at Wyview again :) I AM SO READY TO BE A MISIONERA ALREADY!

Speaking of missionaries at Wyview... Elder Gibby's new companion just came from there this last week! And you'll never guess... HE MET ME.

YESSSSSS.
Another success made by Chanel!
Have I told you that I love my job?!?

I can't believe the last two companions that Elder Gibby's had have met me. It makes me feel so accomplished... But I feel like it's harassing Elder Gibby a little bit. Oopsie... Hehehe :)
Elder Gibby's doing well! In his new area they got a fantastic number of lessons this week and had a less-active member come to Church on Sunday and bear his testimony! That's the power of the Spirit and missionaries. SO COOL :)

651 Days Left! :)