I'm a fan

Now I know I'm a often a sucker when it comes to cartoon movies, but along with a few movies I have caught up on during this break, I saw the Muppets today at the theater and loved it. There were many things that I laughed at that nobody thought were funny, but I didn't care because it was a happy, feel-good movie. There are moments in it where the characters break out in song and dance, which would normally be weird, but hey they pulled it off in this movie. Anyone reading this should go watch it when they have the chance :)

Tis the Season

Here are some re-caps from this winter break

After moving into Wyview, I was finally able to go home for a while. Kara was about to get married, and so we had about 14 people staying at our house. Haha it was crazy but fun! Our younger cousins were over along with aunts and uncles, grandparents, Alicia, Josh, mom, and I, and of course Oscar. 

Our grandma gave Oscar the left overs after a dinner. She said she "only gave him a little bit" haha oh well :)

my aunt is also having her first baby soon, so the younger cousins decided to be silly by taking balloons to make themselves look pregnant too

Then the wedding day finally came. It was very cold and there was a slight breeze that blew around, but Kara and Kasey still looked stunning. We all could not stop gawking at them as they had a glow about them. Their happiness radiated and I am so happy for them :)

My cousin and I were desperate to keep warm

But look at these pictures because you will see what I mean :) 

After the wedding, there were was a 24 hour flu that spread through my family. It was not fun at all but luckily it did not last long. Afterwards, Christmas came quickly. When I woke up and came into the living room, there was a beautiful Christmas tree standing with our family's pictures (baby pictures, current pictures, and family pictures from Christmas's and different seasons) perched on top of its branches. On top of the tree was a picture of the Savior.  I was very touched as Josh said that it was his Christmas present to our family. He bought the tree himself and printed off the pictures to surprise us on Christmas morning.

 I'll admit, it was very hard Christmas as our grandpa's dimentia reached its peak later that morning. There was a lot of screaming, yelling, and much more, so my siblings and I headed over to our dad's place. Our mom decided to join us later on, so it was a little awkward with everyone over there, but we enjoyed watching classic Christmas movies and had a lovely dinner. I'm so glad they let us all go over there for the whole day

Afterwards, we came home late at night as we were glad that things had settled down. We were glad that we could spend time together as a family, and on the way home, Josh told a little more about his present. He felt inspired to do this for our family, and said that he placed Christ at the top of the tree because he is the head of our home and is always watching out for us. I know that what he said is true, and we have seen his tender mercies branched out to us throughout our lives. We were reminded on this Christmas day that families may sometimes go through tough situations, but they don't last forever and our Savior is always there for us. He brings us happiness and joy to us as we feel his love and accept the great eternal blessings that he offers. It's important to remember that Christmas is a time to remember his birth, but we need to continue remembering the miracles, grace, and light he brings throughout the year.

A new start :)

Having:
pure water so I no longer have to buy gallons of distilled water for my treatments
enough electricity to do treatments in a single room
great roommates
my coolers will be shipped to my door
and much more

Yes, those are a few things that will make a Cyster go bonkers over once she has them. New Heritage was wonderful and I already terribly miss my roomies and wardies, but Wyview has already been a great experience. I never would have thought I would move here. New Heritage was gorgeous, but I realized I really didn't care about things such as granite countertops and lights turning on when you walk in. Since it was new, there were maintenance problems that made treatments even more complicated. Unfortunately my roommate and I did not get along at all. I eventually found out it would yes best to have my own room, which would help with having more privacy for treatments and such. You can keep reading if you'd like but the story behind it is long (but awesome):


     My mom and I decided to look for the best option so I could escape the drama I was trapped into where I was living. We said a prayer, asking for the best option to open up because the Lord knew what was best. I knew the Lord knew what was best. I had been praying for ages and wasn't getting an answer, but I knew my prayers would eventually be answered. After my doctor suggested having my own room after I told her about my roommate situation, she wrote a letter saying I needed my own room. We went to the head of my dorm, the accessibility center, and the head of housing. I'll just say it was a very long day of trying to come up with a solution.
     As the accessibility center and the head of housing were talking about Wyview, I started to have a great feeling about it. It was cheaper, there were apartments that had single rooms, my packages would be sent to my door, and much more.  My mom and I knocked on doors to ask what people thought of Wyview, and possibly find a room to move into.
     I felt terrible about the first door we knocked on, but then we decided to go to another building the head of housing said had many spots open. We knocked on a door, and my (now) roommate-who I had never met before-and I got along very well and had a lot in common. I then found out she had a single room that would be open for winter. I mentioned my CF with uneasiness, but she said she knew what it was because she played the main role in a play- a girl who had CF! We continued talking and then my mom and I headed over a building and up a flight of stairs. Turned out the girls there were her FHE sisters, one of them is in my major, and much more. So many more "coincidences" were taking place one after another, and when I signed up for switching rooms, I was able to get into the right spot.
     Ok, the moral of the story? One of my favorite quotes is: "God always gives his best to those who leave the choice to him." by Jim Elliot. I know my Heavenly Father answered my long-anticipated prayers. This is just another beginning and I feel good about it :)

Finals Survival Kit

Finals preparation: days of non-stop reviews, study groups, individual study sessions, and more. Here are a few pick-me-ups to relieve a little stress in between


Watching Youtube videos, like these few:

When I was in Arizona, Caryn, Carly, and I got a kick out of this Scare Tactics Video.There's one part in here where we couldn't stop laughing. I know it's pretty ridiculous but hey you have to admit they played a good prank on this guy.

Another was this baby who, I'll just say, loves yogurt

I know there are a lot of animal videos out there, but this was adorable (watch how large his eyes get).

And I won't forget this video that Kara and her roommate showed me a while ago. Haha this boy has the moves, there is Moses, and some spiffy outfits :)

Well so other than Youtube videos, other pleasures:
Christmas music, Christmas lights, just everything Christmas
Calling home
Visits with friends
Good Sleep
Good treatments
Cookies and ice cream
A mug of hot chocolate with vanilla ice cream in it
A trip to the gym
And much more

I have my final completed for my voice class, half a final completed, and 4 written tests to worry about next week. Then there is moving time (which I will talk more about later). Hopefully it all goes well

Thanksgiving in the AZ

I have been spending most of my time studying and going to reviews lately so I haven't been able to post anything.
So last week I was able to go to Arizona for Thanksgiving.

We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with extended family, including our Great Grandma who is still as funny and sweet as ever at age 95

It was also fun playing with our younger cousins, like Carissa's hubby with the girls here

Then Caryn and I had a few nights with random events such as Spongebobing and surfing on our laptops

And then after we took pics on the mac...Black Friday time! We headed over to Macy's first and the line was not too long, but as soon as we were let in, people were everywhere! We headed over to the boots that we were determined to get for $20, and white boxes were flying in all directions. We realized they were the boots and then picked out our sizes and bought the pairs we liked. We waited in the check out line, but unfortunately the cash register was not reading the sale prices so it took 10 minutes per customer. When you get bored in a line, you can play games like ISpy and the question game to at least keep a little bit entertained.

trying on hats at American Eagle

After then we headed to American Eagle and Target and then got home around 3. After 4 hours of sleep, we headed out to the outdoor mall. We enjoyed awesome weather and our tradition of Wetzels while looking around. Carly had lost her shopping bag but luckily it was returned by an honest person to the lost and found. I also ran into my friend Paige from Brighton (now in college) which just proved that the world is small after all. We literally shopped until we dropped

We had many other adventures in Arizona as well. After some mini golf we had our tradition of going to Main Street and taking pictures with the random objects and statues

Like this yellow door :)

Or this statue of a guy giving an orange to a girl (but he had a knife)...

And we planked the large pink chair

Over the trip we had so much food including Thanksgiving food, Blue Bell ice cream, pie, pizza, and more. By the end of the trip Caryn and I were craving veggies so we rushed to Walmart. That night a few of us older cousins devoured the fresh veggies. Hopefully we are not getting too old :)

Anyways it was a really fun trip and I already miss my cousins and relatives and hopefully Caryn will be able to come to BYU for this summer. Since the break I have been trying hard to study for finals, and let me tell you I am trying so hard to focus. I will often be in the library and realize I dozed off once I wake up with people giving me weird looks. Hopefully I can at least pass some of these tests and do well on others.

Positive energy

     Ok, so this article has been on my mind for the past while. When I was 14, I had an incredible Sunday school teacher who taught me important lessons about life, especially since it was during one of the hardest times of my life. One thing she strongly believed in was the effects of what positive energy can do for us, and she told me about this experiment.
     In summary, Masaru Emoto was a researcher took water samples from around the world, slowly froze them, and then put them under a strong microscope.
     After that water sample experiment, he tried exposing each water sample to different types of music.
     And then finally, he experimented by (yes, this may sound absurd) by typing positive words such as 'love and appreciation' and 'thank you' and putting the words on each glass bottle that held the forming water crystal. While he had the positive words, he also typed negative words for the other water crystals, such as 'hate' or 'you make me sick' or 'i want to kill you.'

     As for the results, the water crystals that had positive words formed perfectly and were beautiful. As for the water crystals that were given negative words, they were morphed into a disgusting looking glob.
Now, isn't it interesting that our bodies are made of 70 % water?


     I strongly believe that positive words and thoughts affect everyone. Masaru also had an experiment later on where he took 2 jars of rice, and labeled one with a positive word and the other with a negative word. As time went on, he would set a certain time in the day where he told one jar things such as "I bless you" "Good job" and "I love you." Where as for the second jar with the negative label, he said things such as "I hate you" and "You stupid fool."
     What was the rice's result? Yes, both looked a little gross because it is still food sitting over time, but the positive jar's rice was much whiter and whole. The negative jar was disgusting, moldy, and lumpy. My family actually tried this experiment last year as we would tell one jar good words and negative words to the other. And guess what? It actually worked.


Unfortunately, the pictures are copywrited so I can't post the on here, but here are the links to the articles:

http://www.unitedearth.com.au/watercrystals.html

http://www.positive-thinking-principles.com/positive-thinking-power.html


(On a second thought, the last post was about negative words homework, but we all hate homework. haha jk) :)

Homework Oh Homework

I remembered this poem. I have found that many here at Byu feel the same way because of all the homework before thanksgiving break....


Homework! Oh, Homework!
I hate you! You stink!
I wish I could wash you away in the sink,
if only a bomb
would explode you to bits.
Homework! Oh, homework!
You're giving me fits.
I'd rather take baths
with a man-eating shark,
or wrestle a lion
alone in the dark,
eat spinach and liver,
pet ten porcupines,
than tackle the homework,
my teacher assigns.
Homework! Oh, homework!
you're last on my list,
I simple can't see
why you even exist,
if you just disappeared
it would tickle me pink.
Homework! Oh, homework!
I hate you! You stink!
Jack Prelutsky

Of course it is a dramatic poem and I wouldn't do some of the things mentioned, but on the happier note, after working on homework for hours this week...I am finally almost done!! And what's even better? My last dose of Tobi was today!! Well, until around January or February, but still! My voice sounds absolutely horrible right now, and I really miss socializing how I did before this month when I could talk. But now my voice will come back where I can talk and sing again :) And what's better than getting more sleep from not washing the Pari pieces so frequently??

Anyways, I am ready for Thanksgiving. And may I give a warning?? Pinterest is addicting :) I got an account last week and cannot stop gawking at pictures, ideas, and recipes. Luckily I have been able to try a couple of recipes, like these two that were posted. They were awesome

terriyaki chicken (it was soooo easy and yummy)
http://whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com/2011/03/20-minute-teriyaki-chicken-rice.html#axzz1RfrNvijN

pumpkin pie croissants
http://shakentogether.blogspot.com/2011/10/taste-this-tuesday-fall-baking-series_10.html

(of course I would try the pumpkin croissants. I guess my craves for pumpkin haven't gone away yet)