1 More Month and I am GONE

I am down to the final month of living in Utah.  I will be going to DC from August 8-11 for training at the CRNC headquarters and then I trek off to my given location until November.  I am staying in the Western Region and I am hoping for CA, WA, or NV.  I have so much to do before I leave and it is stressing me out but I am so grateful for the support I have from friends and family in my career goals.  Life is great and I am getting more and more excited for what is to come! 

Dating Theories in Previous Post

I just realized that I did not specify what my dating theories were or who these unsuspecting men were in a previous post.  Not that most people really care but these theories TOTALLY work in Utah.  I sat down one day a few months ago and wrote down things that I knew guys liked.  The list was basically food, physical contact with females, and sports.  I know that this is not true to all guys but for 95% of the male population, this is where their heads are.  I decided to take on a few guys that had shown minor interest in me and exploit that a bit to see if I could get them to like me by catering to these needs.  I started with 2 and added on the 3rd and 4th over the course of a month and a half. 
I would start by putting myself in a situation where I could talk to this guy to show him attention and compliment him in some way.  FHE, Stake Basketball, and the gym were the 3 places this worked the best.  I would start talking to him and getting to know him and as soon as he started to feel comfortable and ask me about myself, I would share that I love sports, cooking, exercising, etc.  The cooking thing ALWAYS made them perk up and they would comment on it.  From there, I would tell them I would love to cook for them and boom, they are coming over to my house to eat some food.  (disclaimer: I am actually a really good cook so this worked well because they would rave about the food)  As they realized they liked my cooking, they felt even more comfortable and they would relate me with yummy food (which makes them happy) and a fun/chill conversation which usually has something to do with sports (which also makes them happy).  They feel at ease about me and the situation so we would become a bit closer in the relationship.  They would then start texting me or calling me to ask me out.  As this happened, I continue cooking for them and break the touch barrier.  Hugs, arm touches, and knee brushes are the best and most obvious way to let a guy know that you are interested.  Within a week of this final step, 3 out of the 4 guys were wanting to date me for real and they kissed me.  The 4th one did kiss me but he was recently out of a serious relationship and not exactly in the right mindset to want to date.  Seriously this process works.  You have to play to the guy's interests and food is the best way to start.  This is part of the stupid game that everyone in Utah claims is the only way to date BUT this actually works for those crazy girls that are wanting nothing but a boyfriend that will become a spouse in a year or less.  Just saying, it works.  Try it.  Love it.  Tweak it for your own personality and his but stick to the basics:  Food, Sports, Common Interests, and the Physical Contact.    

Moving away

I finally get to move away from Utah!  I have lived here a year and given my all but it is time to move on to bigger and better things.  I currently work on Hill AFB and although the experience has been great, the atmosphere is not the best for me.  I recently got a position with the Republican Party which I begin in August and I could not be more happy!  I get to do what I love and I get to travel and focus on politics full time as opposed to just a hobby.  I have continued my political blog and have taken on tweeting as well.  So many incredible media outlets to express myself and get positive (and definitely negative) feedback.  I feel good about my decisions and cannot wait to be directly involved in this crazy political election!  After this election season, I will be moving to Washington DC (finally) to continue my career in politics and hopefully be groomed to run for office within the next decade or so.  Wish me luck!
<3

And Now to Real Life...

I am currently taking a short break from the paper for my International Relations class which I had no idea was due tomorrow until this morning... Not sure how I missed that but here I am.  My last day of working at the Loft was yesterday and I was SO happy to walk out of there knowing that I would never have to work a retail job ever again.  SUCH a great feeling!  I start my new job at Hill Air Force Base on Monday and finally get to begin the dream of working for the government.  I passed my comprehensive exams and I have one more paper and one more final to take and then I am done with school.  It seem as though this week is going by ever so slowly and I would love it if I could just skip ahead to the part where I get my diploma.  Life is great.  I love where I live (for now) and I love the people I associate with.  I have been testing dating theories on 4 unsuspecting males but I was able to learn a lot and no one got hurt.  They just got a lot of great cooking and kissing :) Now... back to writing!  Wish me luck!

Natasha Bedingfield... A Little Too Much... SO GOOD!

Kissing doesn't make anything better.

I have been dating again and it was fun until I started getting all this advice from people and it became super confusing.  I have always though dating was simple; you either like someone or you don't and vice versa.  Not hard right?  Wrong.  People are ridiculously lame when it comes to being real and open about the opposite sex and apparently you HAVE to play "the game" in order to get anywhere.  What is this game and why do you have to play it??  I am so clueless when it comes to this because I am honest and real about things concerning the heart so its a joke trying to figure out if someone is interested or just being nice.
I have gone on quite a few dates lately and everyone keeps telling me to go on lots of dates and kiss guys to see what I like and who I am actually interested in.  Usually I just go for one guy at a time and see what happens but I tried this little game that everyone talks about and it sucks.  I kissed some guys and everything got all screwy!  The one guy I liked got way weird and withdrew after we kissed and the other two were friends and then they decided to confess their undying love for me and I had to let them down and now I don't have them as friends.  I lost 3 friends because of kissing and that is just not cool.  BAD ADVICE!
So yeah.  Now I don't even want to date because it is kind of stupid that I have to resort back to junior high level dating to go out with people.  I used to wonder why all these great guys were 30 and not married... now I know.  It is because they are stupid and cannot make a move on one girl at a time and be normal about it.  They act like spazzes and blame it on girls who in turn act crazy and over-analyze and blame it on guys.  This is not a win win situation people.
SOOOOO over this.  

Tests, Jobs, Business... Oh My!

I am trying to avoid studying for my ever approaching comprehensive exams coming up in... 3 days.  I just got a job offer from Hill AFB starting in May and it is really difficult to concentrate on anything else so I feel like I should just gush about it and other exciting things in life so I can focus on studying with a clear mind.
I will be an administrative clerk which sounds dull but I could not be more thrilled to have been selected for a civil service position.  The job starts on May 7 and I am happy to announce that I will be quitting retail for the rest of forever!  Finally!
The second exciting tidbit that I want to share is the possibility of a business that I will be starting with a close friend of mine.  He and I want to create a dating service that is a combination of Hitch and Millionaire Matchmaker through which we help couples and singles make wise decisions in dating so they do not ruin their personal lives with common, silly mistakes that many people make.  SO excited because although I myself suck at dating, I am great at giving advice and creating opportunities for others to find joy in a relationship.  More deets on this in the future.
Well, that is all for now but stay tuned!

Update

K K so it has been a LONG time!  Way too much has happened for me to detail it out here but I will give you guys the gist.  I moved to Utah at the end of July and began my internship with Senator Orrin Hatch (psych not the governor like I thought) and I also started working as the Assistant Manager at Buckle.  I was dating a boy pretty seriously and we had made plans to get married and be happy but life last fall made for an unexpected life change.  I began to struggle with my testimony and I was losing sight of my eternal goals and my love for the scriptures and attending church.  It took being dumped by the one man that I had fallen in love with to bring me to the depths of humility to turn my life around and become a better person.  I had support from my AMAZING sister and mother as well as other family members through this tough time of moving on and healing.  I also was blessed to have great friends in the SLC area that really helped me pull through and the support from the BEST WARD EVER definitely helped.
I love going to the temple almost every week and I love that there is so much opportunity to share the gospel here.  Did not think that there would be but I am constantly surrounded by people that have fallen away or are not members and for some reason I have no problem talking about church all the time.  It has been a blessing in my life :)
I am dating again though not exactly successfully.  I seem to always be attracted to head cases or projects.  The most recent one was kind of both but there is still possibly some potential there but once I am gone, I dont come back typically.  Anyways, that is my life in a nutshell the past year.  1 month and I graduate with my Masters degree!  YAY!

Getting in Shape!

So I have begun to wonder why I have been a little soft around the edges the past year.  It has REALLY bothered me and I had no idea why it began because nothing really changed in my eating or exercise habits but my mother (brilliant woman that she is) figured it out!  I have had a car for the last year and instead of using my feet as my main mode of transportation, I was sitting WAY more.  I decided that daily walks were necessary to get back into shape and stay that way so some friends from work that I absolutely adore began talking walks with me in the morning and I have noticed a change the past month.  I have also been attempting to run (which is a joke because I suck at it) and lift weights on a regular basis as well as eating less candy and carbs and more fruits and veggies.  This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship with health and I am SO excited to continue!  More updates with possible pics later!

Moving back...

Well, I am four classes away from my Masters degree in Political Science and to further my ambition in running for office and widening my horizon I am moving to Utah.... Wait what???  Yes I said it.  I am moving to Utah.  I have an internship with the governor (HOPEFULLY!) and I will also be able to be around my family more.  I am anxious to go now that I have made the decision and I will be trekking across the country yet again in 19 days.  I have grown to LOVE Kansas and the people but I need a break from the repetitive nature of my life here.  I will miss it but I have opportunities in many areas of life in Utah that are not available here.  I trust my Heavenly Father that this decision will lead to my life being better or someone else's life being made better.  Until next time lovelies! 

My future is secure. Hopefully

I am hoping to graduate sooner than I anticipated and I could not be happier!  I will die of exhaustion because I will be forced to work and take 9 graduate level courses for the rest of the time I attend school but... I will be done next fall and I can begin my career with my Master's Degree in Political Science by the age of 24.  I really hope that this plan works out because I am kind of in a hurry.
Other than that, life is good.  I am loving my friends and family and have found a somewhat balanced schedule so I can get everything done and still keep in contact with people I care about.  Life is happy and that is all that matters <3

Current Obsessions

These are a few of the things that recently I have either grown to love or re-realized that I have been missing and did not even know.  Here they are:
1. Disney movies.  Oh my goodness, you want to have a happier day with a smile on your face?  Watch a Disney movie and you will be whistling a different tune.  These movies bring joy whether you are a child, young adult, or 95 year old grandparent... This I swear to you.
2. Febreze, Clorox Wipes, and Tilex Shower Spray... These are basically all you need to keep your home clean which inspires happiness which awakens innovation.  They also contribute to less embarrassing moments if someone unexpectedly stops by and you have not deep cleaned in say, months?
3. Craisins.  There are apparently several flavors of Craisins now but they are basically like instant energy.  I bring them to class and these lil guys can turn an incredibly boring graduate school lecture into an interesting seminar that includes several epiphanies.
4. Cardio workouts.  I am going to quote Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde to more fully iterate why these are so phenomenal.  "Working out releases endorphins, endorphins make you happy and happy people just don't kill their husbands.  They just don't".  It is true.  Endorphins create a euphoria that truly cannot come in any other form and cardio workouts are a wonderful way to watch the newest friends episode uploaded to your iPod or listen to your favorite tunes.  Multi-tasking at its best!
5. Victoria's Secret Sweats... Holy heaven in the form of adorable colors with a plethora of fits to work with your body type.  I prefer the Vintage Slim fit but these sweats make working out, sleeping, lounging, and going to class a breeze because you automatically look and feel cute.  Enough said.
I hope that you can find your little joys in life and perhaps share in some of mine.  Good luck and don't forget to smile today.

One Month Later

Well it has been a month since I have moved to Kansas and I must say, I never expected everything to fall into place so perfectly.  I love school and I am learning an incredible amount of important information.  I got a wonderful job with the best schedule (and I got a raise and promotion after working less than a month).  I have been blessed with roommates that are very nice and chill... we all get along better 4 random girls could be expected to.  I have the BEST ward with a loving branch presidency and I love my calling.  A recent addition is the crush I have developed on a guy in the ward (figures he would be from Idaho, I CANT ESCAPE THAT PLACE!) and he is amazing thus far.
Time will tell.
Although things are troublesome with my mother, I love her and know that her Father in Heaven does as well.  She is a blessing to us all and I am grateful for my family and friends that show unconditional love and support.  God bless them and God bless this beautiful country!

First Week Done and Adulthood Reached!

I finished my first full week of Graduate School and I can already tell that there will be no comparison to the amount of homework that I will be doing over the next 2-3 years ever in my life.  LOTS to read and plenty to write as well but at least I can read and write what actually interests me... That is one plus that Undergraduate does not offer.
The ward here is great, work friends are awesome, and the roommates are amazing so I really could not ask for a better life in a strange new world.
I was able to speak to my mother several times this week and after a long discussion after one of my Institute classes (which are spectacular) she shared with me that I finally sound like an adult.  I was apparently very mature and ready to tackle life after graduating high school (who would have guessed?) and then as soon as I began at Brigham Young University- Idaho thinks went backwards and I was hindered in my progress in more ways than one.  Shortly after graduating and moving here, I have finally felt for the first time in a long time that I am where the Lord wants me to be.  Things have fallen into place more perfectly than I could have hoped for and I feel my testimony growing.  Church is true people.
I am secretly hoping that winter weather comes soon because most of my clothes are much better suited for cold weather plus... this humidity is detrimental to my hair.
Life is good.  And prays work.  It is true, I promise.
I am off to try and take in some more reading but we'll see how long that lasts!

Missionary Experience!!!!

I have never really been one to just talk about the gospel with people especially going to BYU Idaho which kind of squashed the desire to even talk about the gospel.  Last night I had the chance to share what I know about Jesus Christ, Baptism, and the Bible and it felt amazing!  I really felt the spirit and I felt grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  What a blessing!

Wildcats

Soooo I am finally in Manhattan, Kansas and I must say, I am LOVING it!  It is a such a beautiful area with lots of trees and buildings of limestone with brick and cobblestone roads, etc.  I have great roommates and I am excited that they are older like me so we have plenty in common.  My little single's branch is small but comes with SUCH a strong spirit.  I am grateful that I am here and I really do not think I have been this happy in a long time because I finally know that what I am doing is right.
I was shocked to see how inexpensive food is here (this was a good shock) and also at how expensive school things are.  $80 for a parking permit on campus for ONE SEMESTER!  Outrageous but worth it especially with the crazy weather.  I will get used to the humidity and I am excited for my schedule to get more set.
I just got a job working at the Buckle (again) and I am super excited about that because I am incredibly comfortable in retail.
Time will tell but I am pretty sure I will love this place even more!

Moving to Kansas

The time has come... I am moving to Manhattan Kansas this week and I could not be more excited and nervous.  I have never been to Kansas and I will be living with total strangers and going to school in a much more difficult setting.
Buuuuut...
I get to leave Idaho forever and I don't have to be around my sister and her family anymore.  This summer has been one of the most challenging because of her and I will be able to breathe easy and actually smile for real knowing I do not have to be around them anymore.
It feels great to be graduated from college and move on with my life and oh what a life it will be!  I am excited to see my dad and step mom before I take off this week and I was super grateful to see my mom and step dad earlier this summer when they gave me a car as a graduation gift.
I <3 my parents!
I am also sad to leave my best friend behind although I know she will do amazing things with her life!
Life goes on!

Almost done

Welllllll I am almost done with my applications to graduate school! It is super exciting but very scary all at the same time. I will be moving away from everything and everyone I know... I am old enough to be on my own but it will be my first time not being near family.
I leave for Rexburg on Friday for my last semester and I really hope it is a good one. The last one was terrible in so many ways. I am hoping to just enjoy it and continue getting good grades (with math that will be interesting) and leave on a good note.
I am excited to get away from the mormon culture also. I HATE when large groups of mormons get in the same area (Idaho and Utah). I think people get complacent and I think they think they are better than all other mormons because they are living in a state... such a stupid mindset but I have thankfully met enough people from Idaho and Utah that I know not all are like that... just many.
Well, I am babysitting the neph so I am going to go make sure he is not bored!

Only one left....

I officially have just one semester left of my undergraduate degree at BYU-Idaho. I am SO done with this school. I had a recent experience with roommates that really made me dislike girls in general. It made me sad to see people so blatantly break obvious rules and lie continuously. Some people will have a rude awakening some time in life and if not here they will when they die and realized they acted to stupid to get into the Celestial Kingdom. Sad.

Anyways, I am at my sister's house for the Christmas break and it is hard. She does so much more for me and I could not ask for a better sister or friend. I just miss my mom. I got some amazing gifts from family and friends and I love them all.

I had my first bout of sickness in a long time and I of course acted like a baby because I have a low tolerance for pain. Oh well... I am slowly getting better but I just want to rest.

I go back to Rexburg in less than a week to begin in a new ward and building and finish out my tenure at a church school. My children will NEVER go to a church school. I love the idea of it but I had some bad experiences being surrounded by mormons and I had some power hungry bishoprics and psychotic roommates that I dont want my kids to be exposed to. It is easier to be good at a worldly school because you have to be on your guard. At church schools, you just assume that everyone is doing the right thing and that is when you get brought down. I am grateful that I got to go but I dont want that experience for my children.

And I will NEVER date or marry someone from Idaho or Utah because I will NEVER live there.

And I am tired.

I will be better at blogging... I promise.

Old and new

So this summer was truly the most inspiring because I learned more about myself and my religion than I ever have and I have several factors that help me reach this.

EFY was a phenomenal experience that I needed more than I knew and it changed me and I met people that will forever be in my heart. I learned what a true friend is and realized that I have very few in my life. I am grateful for that.

I know that life is what you make of it and with the help of Heavenly Father, we can do anything we choose. What a blessed thing to know!

I get to go back to place I thought I hated tomorrow and start a new school year next week. This will be interesting but I will make the most of it and be optimistic because that is all I can do.

I am excited for the future and the things it will bring into my life.

I just had foot surgery to remove my bunions and although it was painful, it was worth it. There are so many things that I have in my life to be grateful for and I truly am excited to see what this next year will bring.