Why I Love Best Buddies

Quick note because I don't want to forget this haha.

So Erin and I were just eating in the Cougar Eat and the cutest down syndrome girl comes up to us. So I started talking to her and found out her name is Nancy. I asked her if she was in Best Buddies because I've never seen her before and she hadn't signed up for this year yet. I gave her my number because she wouldn't give me her number because she said it wasn't safe to give it to strangers (her mom is teaching her well). She's going to sign up for best buddies this year. Anyway, that's besides the point. The point is she said two super funny things. Haha I loved talking to her because she was so sweet and so funny.

Funny Thing #1:

• Erin was trying to say something to her and Nancy asked her to repeat it. Then Erin said it again and Nancy looks at me and says, "Is she speaking German or something?!" hahahaha so funny. For some reason she could not understand Erin at all.

Funny thing #2:

• She works at the Cougar Eat so I asked her about her job and then she asked if I had one. I told her I worked for a pest control company. She was kind of confused until I explained that pests are bugs. I told her we kill bugs. Then she says to me, "So what do you do with the bugs, like communicate with them?" Hahahaha it was so funny because it was so unexpected. I've never had anyone ask me that and it is such a funny thought in my head.

Hahaha I love Nancy. So cute and so funny. So much fun to be around. She is a perfect example of how fun it is to be in Best Buddies. This was mostly for my personal reference so I could look back and remember when someone asked me if I communicate with bugs. haha love it.

The Best Month

October is my favorite month of the year.

(despite my lack of love for the colors of black and orange and anything scary)

There are several contributing factors, including:

My birthday

My mom's birthday

Halloween

Fall-Fall in Utah actually exists and it's beautiful

The smell-I swear that there is a smell to fall.

(not just the typical smell of manure from the winter lawns in AZ)

The mountains-they literally change colors daily in fall

The weather-it is still sunny and a little cooler so it's perfect to hang out outside.

So what's been happening in your life since the last post Anneliese? A valid question to ask since I am not the most frequent of bloggers. I'm lucky I have roommates who love taking pictures because it documents my life quite nicely. Let's get started. I went to Utah lake for the first time. Shelby invited Mindy and I to go with her and her family. So nice to meet the people that raised that one of a kind shelbster. It was a blast. That was also the first time I've been to the lake in about a year. I didn't wakeboard though because it was soooo cold (I'm used to Saguaro-spoiled) but I did tube. Here are some pictures from the day:

442

haha this one cracks me up.

(pun not intended but I'm leaving that there anyway haha)

All three of us in one quick pic!! Mindy rocking it

In other news, we went disco skating (of course) and had a movie night:

all the roomies with Andrew creeping in the background.

the crew.

Next, we went to RASCAL FLATTS!! I've been really into them this summer so that was perfect timing. I loved it soooo much! They are so good live and he has a really amazing voice!!

button up

We had the most ridiculous like 3-4 hour long drive home from Salt Lake.

Out of control construction on the freeway (weird for Utah-construction?)

So what do you do when you just drove on what you thought was going to be a short cut and then you find out that the road is closed and you have to turn around and you actually ended up wasting time?

Get ice cream from McDonald's, naturally.

Ha, it was too long but it was fun at the same time.

Also, I only drank a little bit at the concert ;) haha.

Spencer got married 2 weekends ago and that was a blasssst. I think I'll dedicate a whole post to that on another day. Considering I have a test to take that I need to study for. But, school has been insanely busy. I'm not used to school, work and this much stuff for Best Buddies (it's not that much, but it adds to the already craziness). It's taken me a while to adjust and come to terms with the fact that I know spend 4 out of 5 weeknights in the library...ugh. But, I can do it! Haha. I really am loving school and my new responsibilities-it's good for me. Also, my roommates are awesome and I love them.

Happy Fall!
Anneliese

Home Again, Home Again, Lickity Split

Hello!

Well kids, I'm finally back in Provo and it almost feels like I never left! Minus the fact that my apartment is different and basically remodeled because of "The Fire". We have new tile flooring all throughout the kitchen and family room, which I'm not ecstatic about having tile in the family room. I just love to come home and lay on the floor and talk or watch movies so we'll definitely be getting a rug or something. Then, we have new cabinets, fridge, washer, paint job and microwave. They're all actually really nice and our sink even has one of those little sprayer things! Living the dream! I only wish we got a new washer and dryer because that dang dryer has burnt so many items of my clothing! haha. The place actually looks pretty good! In Mesa the fire was pretty surreal to me and almost funny but it all became a little more real to me when I pulled out some of my clothes that were in a plastic container with drawers and they had soot on them. It's really fine and black and it gets into your nails and fingers. Luckily it came out of all of my clothes but it did make me realize how bad it would've stunk for Erin to have to clean all of this up.

My new roommates Mindy and Maddie moved in and I'm soooo excited to be living with them! I hadn't met Maddie until yesterday but I already felt like I knew her just from all of the millions of stories that Mindy has told me. She is so cute and so fun and I can tell we are going to get along so great! I feel like this is a dream team of roommates this year and I'm so very happy about it. Haha.

Our house is still completely chaotic and I really should be cleaning it but I just wanted to blog really quick about being back in Provo. I love it so much! I'm so lucky to be going to school here. It's such a great atmosphere with lots of great people around you doing great things. It's wonderful. Now I just have to worry about the going back to school part which I definitely do not feel ready for! ugh. Kind of dreading it now that it's so close. I love learning and think it's great but I'm now remembering how stressful it can get some times. Also, I have a job this year so I'm kind of nervous about that time being taken out of my day. I'll just have to be a little more focused and use my time wisely which I think will be a good thing for me.

I'm grateful today for the life that I have.

Lots of love,

liese

It's Been A While

I decided it's about time to do my monthly post..haha. Man, I really am bad at this. Let me give you a summary of what's been happening:

• Courtney is pregnant! I'm so happy for her and Andy and even though she's mortified that their baby will be a giant I think it will be adorable. They are an awesome couple. Even though the only times they call me is to tease me I still love the calls. I realized that while I haven't even spent that much time with Andy I feel like I know him very well and love him a lot! He treats Courtney so well and they're really cute together.
• Alexis is no longer going to be my roommate next Fall and Winter which I am actually very sad about. I love living with her. She's one of the best people I know and she always makes me happy. However, the only good part about her not living with me is that I will be living with Mindy Westover and Maddie Bodine. I cannot tell you how excited I am to live with them! Mindy is one of my all time most favorite people and I just already love Maddie and I don't even know her.
• Erin set our Condo on fire-it's still in the process of getting fixed. I went up there and saw it when I was in Provo and it looks really awesome minus the fact that they tiled everything, including our family room. We'll have to get a rug or something.
• Stephen moved home-it's been really fun to have him around, he keeps everything more entertaining and I like hanging out with him.
• Went to Carlsbad over the 4th of July. I invited a boy to come for a little bit...stressed about that one for like about a month and then he didn't even end up coming. Haha
• Erin got engaged while I was in Carlsbad...WHAT?! I can't believe my little girl is growing up. Haha. But seriously, I'm not going to lie, I'm not ready for this step in her life. This was not part of my plan-she was supposed to be my roommate all 4 years of college! I'm going to miss her desperately but couldn't be more ecstatic for her that she is marrying such a good guy. I love Billy and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to watch their little love story unfold. But if I do say so myself, if it wasn't for me supporting and pushing Erin a little bit, I don't think they would even be together! Only kidding. But he is so lucky to be marrying one of the best people I know. She has been one of the biggest examples and blessings in my life-I'll miss her when she's all the way over in Virginia-maybe I'll visit?!
• Went back up to Provo before going to my family reunion and got to hangout with some great friends. Being there in the Summer made me realize I MUST stay there next Spring/Summer. The only way I'm not going to be there then is if I leave for a study abroad or something great like that. Who knows. Stayed with Erin and Kat, her and I all slept on the tiny bedroom floor in the condo right below ours. I actually think it's the exact condo and room that Courtney lived in! We went to 7 Peaks with the Brintons and rode down the scary tall slides face first on a mat. SO SCARY! Stephen coaxed me into doing it and I was terrified but really happy afterwards that I did!
• The family reunion was a blast! I cannot believe how blessed I am to be in such a fun/wonderful family. I tried to spend some time with cousins that I don't see as much and ended up spending a lot of time with the Pelfrey's. They are so much fun to be around!
• On the way to the airport I drove with Courtney and Andy and we were literally 3 seconds from pulling over and Courtney barfed in the rental car. Pretty gross but mostly I felt bad for her. She's been throwing up a lot! I'm scared that's what I have to look forward to as well when I get pregnant..
• I read The Hunger Games in 2 days. Loved it. I cannot WAIT to read the next one-the movie will be so great too!
• Spencer and Ashley got engaged while he was in California before her birthday! He did it with a cute little scrap book. Right now they're looking at either October 8th or the 22nd. Tyler is even going to make it all the way from Brazil even though he just came in July and is coming back for Christmas. They were kind of in a tough spot planning it because Courtney can't come at Christmas because it's too close to her due date and Tyler didn't really want to come again in between (for obvious reasons). I would be very sad if either Courtney or Tyler weren't able to come to my wedding so I'm really happy it worked out for them!! It will be fun to have the little baby dinosaur as a sister now!
• At the beginning of the Summer I was probably the most anti-social I have ever been in my life but now I've started to try and hang out more. I've been hanging out a lot with Mckay Hatch, Emily Nance, Jamie Lunt and my brosky. It's been lots of fun. I haven't been interested in one boy down here but that's okay. You win some you lose some right?! Haha. And I have a feeling there may be a reason I haven't..
• I've been looking for a job for next year so that I'm not just draining my bank account all year and so that I can hopefully stay up in Provo all year. I'd been applying around and my brother-in-law Nate offered to have me work remotely for them in Utah. $12 an hour-much better pay than most jobs I could get in Provo. And I get to work from home-so nice! It fits right in with my schedule and doesn't set me back at all. I was thinking about graduating a semester early but now I definitely still have 2 full years left. Which is fine with me because I actually love going to BYU. I am really going to miss it when I graduate. It is such an amazing place.
• I'm getting reallllllly anxious to go back up to Provo. It's definitely going to be another wonderful year. We're down to less than a month! (hopefully, but unlikely) I will post again before I get up there. If not, I'll have to update you there.

YAY!! Cannot wait to go back up to school.

P.S. sorry for my usual overload because of not writing for so long-I think that was a pretty good, pretty short update for the last 2 months of my life.

Love,
Liese

You go to BYU?!

Do you know what I'm sort of getting sick of? Every single boy that I meet/know that lives in Mesa giving me a hard time about the fact that I go to BYU. Soooo annoying. And it never fails. Every.Single.Boy. I don't understand why they feel the need to tell me how lame it is that I go to a respected university for school. It's not like I'm just up in Provo hanging out. I'm actually working towards a degree and then on to a Master's degree. Most of these people haven't been to Provo let alone even gone to the school. So I've decided to start defending myself and asking them if they've ever been there. They tell me everyone's a stereotype there and I ask if I am and then they have to awkwardly back-track and try and back up their theory about people they don't even know. I don't tell them that MCC is the same as High School or give them a hard time about that...why do they feel like they even have anything on a university? Plus, what's more unattractive than telling a girl how lame her university is? Basically nothing! haha just kidding, but it really is getting to be quite a bother!

Well that is my venting for the day. I'm sure I'll laugh at this in a little bit.

On a funnier note...yesterday while I was driving along University on the way home from the gym I had to slam on my breaks because a chicken was crossing the road. Then I found myself wondering why the chicken crossed the road and then I realized what I was wondering and laughed really hard. It made my day.

On a cooler note...a few friends and I made a Chinese Lantern last night and it totally worked! It was so cool to watch. It got really high though and started floating away from us (we were surrounded by a grove of trees) so we ran after it and my friend lifted his little brother up on the roof that it landed on to grab it before it possibly set the roof on fire. Pretty entertaining! Ha. My friend has a video of it so maybe I'll post that later!

-Anneliese-

Christmas Vacation

So today on my way to work I passed a semi on the way to work and I REALLY wanted to do this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUGtrud7KZo

Don't mind the birdie at the beginning and skip forward to about 1:15.

I really think I could've fit and I almost tried it but I didn't want to ruin Mom's Malibeamer! haha

I'll write more later and give an update on my life but in short I am back in Mesa working at Blue Sky in inside sales and it's going really well! I'm missing Provo and some of my friends but I'm having a lot of fun spending time with Mom and Dad and the rest of my family-I've missed them!

Well, got to go back to work (it's just my lunch break)

Adios Amigos!

Be A Good One

Today in Relief Society we had a really good lesson on choosing not to be offended and not being ashamed of the gospel. I thought of some things that I hadn't before and it was really interesting. Our teacher talked about how being offended really is a choice and that most of the time people don't mean to offend you. One of the girls commented that if someone says something mean she says to herself, "well, that was a thought" and then moves on. We cannot dwell on the things people say to us because it will only make us sad and I know I've said things that I wish I could take back. It was a good reminder that we never have to let what others say bring us down and that we choose how we react to things.

When she talked about being ashamed of the gospel she said that being ashamed of yourself is just as bad. We talked about how this is a really big problem for women in the church. I remember last year when I got up to BYU feeling like I didn't compare to any of the girls. When we would introduce ourselves to each other all the girls would ask what you had done in high school. It seemed like every girl rattled off a list of 10 or 15 really cool accomplishments and then the question would come to me and I couldn't think of anything else to say besides that I had played volleyball. I felt like everywhere I went I was being compared to the other girls, even in the library where you can actually see the guys scoping girls out haha. Anyway, this kind of put a little dent in my self-esteem for a little bit but eventually I got over it. I've learned that you just can't compare yourself to others. It makes no sense because we are all so individual with completely different strengths and that Heavenly Father loves us equally. She talked about how it's kind of ironic that we have conversations with people and worry about every little thing we said or what we were wearing because that person doesn't even notice because they're worrying abou tthe same thing but for themselves. Something I thought of while she was talking about that is that I'm going to try and stop worrying about the way I look or what I'm thinking and start worrying about how the person I'm talking to is thinking and feeling. That way, both of us will be happier.

One of my new favorite little quotes is "Whatever you are, be a good one". That's something I really have come to feel strongly about. It doesn't matter what you're good at, just be good at it and give it your all. I feel like that one of the ways Satan brings us down the most is through making us believe that we are not good enough. Once we feel that we have no value we give up and don't try to be better and achieve new things. I see it happening so much in the world. People use it as a crutch and say "well, I'm just not very smart" or "I'm just not very good at that". If you tell yourself that of course you're not going to be good at it. Doing this just cultivates laziness and mediocrity. I even find myself doing this. If there's something I'm trying to work on I catch myself saying, "Well, that's just not my personality". We cannot let the world's standards define us because they are always changing. That's why we are so lucky to have the gospel and the commandments that never change and always bring true, lasting happiness. I am really going to work on realizing that I have so much potential and that I can do difficult and exceptional things. I don't want to be a dumb, insecure girl who gets ashamed and embarrassed. Whatever I am, I'm going to be a good one! Ha.

Love,

Anneliese

Adorable

Tonight I saw one of the sweetest things I've seen in my entire life and I just wanted to document it really quickly. So I am involved in a thing here at BYU called Best Buddies. It's where you get matched up with mentally challenged people and hangout with them, call them, and attend activities with them once a month. It seriously is one of the best things I've ever done. They really are just the sweetest spirits and being with them makes me genuinely happy. Tonight was the Best Buddies Ball for the entire state of Utah. My friend Mindy is also in Best Buddies so we drove together to the ball with our buddies. Her buddy's name is Rachel and she is severely handicapped and has a wheel chair. When we got to the Ball there was lots of dancing and music. Whenever Rachel's favorite songs would come on she would get really excited and we would hold her hands and dance around with her. Then Rachel saw a boy who is also mentally challenged and her friend from work. He ran up and gave her a hug and then a slow song came on. He grabbed her hands and put his feet next to her foot holders and gently pushed them from side to side so that they could dance together. Then he looked over at me and said, "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!" It was seriously the sweetest thing I've ever seen. He figured out on his own how to be able to dance with her and make her feel special. I don't cry very often but my eyes immediately started watering. There was just so much Christlike love in that room. I'm so grateful to get to be around this wonderful, sweet spirits!

Here's a picture of me and my buddy, Endyn. She didn't feel like dressing up tonight so she is just supporting our Cougs with a jean jacket. Haha, I love her she is a BLAST to be with!

Such a great night!

I hope I can be a little more like her friend and make sure that everyone feels special and included.

Love,

Liese

Do it anyway

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are honest, people may cheat you.

Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.

It never was between you and them anyway."

~Mother Teresa~

This is a good little reminder for me. I went to Vegas this weekend and it was so much fun! But it did make me realize one big thing..I am so glad I know what I know about who I want to be and what I will and will not do. This quote just reminds me that you can't control how other people react or don't react to what you do and you can't control what other people around you are doing. But despite all of this, you still need to be the best you that you can be. We all know who we should be and what we should do, the trick is sticking to it when a lot of times it would be easier not to. Do the good you know you should regardless of the consequence. I'm grateful I know who I want to be and i'm going to work harder to be that person.

love,

Liese

Cupcakes

So when I made this blog I made it mostly for myself so that I could look back on it (like a journal with pictures in it). But somehow, my family knows about it now so I guess I should give a little update! ha.

Well, I'm back at school now and am having a lot of fun. It's Erin, Alexis and I because our old roommate Lauren Filichia got a mission call to Birmingham, England so she is not here this semester. I'm super excited for her but we are definitely missing her at our house! We got a new roommate though! Her name is Adrianna and she is from El Salvador! I really haven't gotten to know her that well yet but she seems super nice and I'm excited to have her here! Erin came back from St. George after break with a ton of new decorations for our house! It looks so good! She made so many cute little things to hang on the wall, curtains and couch covers. Definitely an improvement from our heinous green couches! Our house looks so much better now, I love it!

This past Thursday I declared myself as a Communication Disorders major and I'm really excited about it! I'm on track to graduate a semester early but then I have to get a masters so that will be another two years. But at least I'll be a semester ahead of normal! Unless I decide to do a study abroad.. (which I really want to do!). Anyway, in celebration of this great day we decided to have a "Dress-up-like-your-major and decorate cupcakes party!" haha. We sent out some texts and invited all of our funnest friends. It was totally a blast. A few people dressed up and that was pretty entertaining. Our tiny little house had about 30 people in it at one time and it was hard to squeeze everyone in. It was so much fun though! I love all the great people I'm friends with. We also played some Golden Eye which the boys all loved. Ha. After most people left Alexis' Young Ambassador friends came over and they were super fun! Here are some pictures from the night!

*I changed half way through...these next ones are my "Speech Pathologist" outfit. haha*

My classes this semester are:

ASL 101 (sign language)-i'm really excited about it!

PD Bio 220 (Anatomy)-This class will be tough but I think that it's going to be really interesting and worth it!

Pioneers and Persecution-This is a Susan Easton Black class so I'm sure it will be really interesting

Commd 332-It's all about grammar so that definitely won't be one of my favorites! : /

Current Events-I'm in this class with Alexis and we have a subscription to The Economist and read basically the whole thing every week. I actually enjoy it though because I'm so out of what's going on in the world!

Volleyball-This is my third semester taking it-oops. Haha but I love it so much and how often will I be able to do it? Only two more years, and I'm going to take advantage of it! haha

So those are my classes-I think it's going to be a really interesting semester!

Also, Alexis and I are on our ward wallyball team and let me tell you, it's HILARIOUS! So funny/fun because no one really takes it seriously and the people on it are super funny.

Anywho, life is good as usual.

“To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty—the fulfillment of which brings true joy.”

-President Thomas S. Monson-

I think this is something that you learn as you grow older. There will always be something "wrong" with you or something you can be working on or some way you could be prettier or do better. The only way to get true fulfillment is to serve others and forget about yourself. That's when you learn to love others the most, and ironically yourself the most as well.

Have a good day!

Anneliese