No Pain, No Gain

I recently discovered that BYU-Idaho has diving night on Mondays and Thursdays from 9-10 p.m. and I have started going so I can learn how to dive. It is so fun and exciting! I love the feel of a good dive. Even though you can't see yourself, you know it was good because it just felt right. I like to think that I look graceful in the process as well. :)
Tonight I went again with some good friends. The discouraging thing was that I think my first few dives were the best. As the night wore on, I got progressively tired and it showed in my diving. I was trying to master a pike dive tonight, but had a difficult time. There's one problem . . . I haven't quite learned how to tuck my head yet. The result: my face smacks the water a dozen-plus times within the space of an hour. And it hurts. But, for better or for worse, I keep doing it. Practice makes perfect right?
One time as I came up out of the water my eyesight was blurry, light spots were flashing before my eyes. I suddenly had a flashback to one of my favorite childhood movies - Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken. Thoughts of it motivated within me the desire to have my eyes checked, just to make sure there's no permanent damage.
After enough facial torture for one night, I retired to the bathroom and took a good look in the mirror. I cleaned off the remaining makeup to reveal the true damage: my right eyelid is tender, red, splotchy, and slightly swollen. My left is not so bad, but also a little pink. I have a lovely new bruise on my elbow too. Is diving supposed to be this damaging? My fear is that I will wake up and my eye will be completely swollen shut, or that I'll show up for my date tomorrow night with a black and blue face. I wonder if I should continue this painful pleasure over the course of the next few weeks. Do I want to risk having a beat up face for my graduation pictures? Maybe I should just learn how to tuck my head and all my problems would be solved. :)
It saddens me to think that I am discovering new and exciting things about BYU-Idaho just as I am about to leave. Time goes by so quickly. After my diving adventures, I came home and slipped into my new, cozy BYU-Idaho sweat pants (courtesy of my dear friend Bekah, and another thing checked off of my Christmas wish list!) and sat down to write this blog post. Oh how I am going to miss this place!

Officially the nastiest picture of me ever, but it illustrates my point.

A Flame Rekindled

After an eight-month absence, I returned again tonight to the world of country dancing (thanks to my good friend David who was great enough to take me)! I forgot how much I loved it! It was like something dormant inside me was revived. I feel like a star when I am out on the dance floor.
As I stood in the room and watched the couples pass by, I was taken back to the days when I was a freshmen and first started coming to the weekly country dances. I was reminded of favorite songs and favorite dance partners that I have had over the years. By now, most of them are married and gone, starting families of their own. How things change!
Anyway, David and I had so much fun and I am planning on going again. After all, I won't be a student here forever and always have the opportunity. Speaking of which . . . I just found out yesterday that my commencement and convocation services are going to be held December 19th! It is coming up so quickly and everything is happening so fast. Unfortunately I cannot slow down time and make my stay at BYU-Idaho last a little longer. But as much as I have absolutely loved my time here, I know that it is time to move on and start a new chapter in my life. More of my reminiscing about BYU-Idaho to come . . .

Christmas Wish List Part 2

Well, after completing my first list I have thought of several more items which I would like for Christmas. So if you didn't like my previous suggestions, perhaps there will be something on this list that you would like to get for me. :) Some things I have made easy for you, they can be simple stocking- stuffers. Oh, and since I am graduating a week before Christmas, I thought that maybe you could choose one item for a graduation gift and then another for Christmas!
So here we go - Christmas Wish List Part Dos . . .


I have always wanted a bonsai tree. I remember when I was little that my grandpa had one. I remember him taking care of it out on their back deck. I think that they are the cutest things ever!



I have recently realized that I need a new toothbrush. This came to my attention when, as I was brushing, some of the bristles came off and got stuck in my permanent retainer. Although brushing my teeth isn't the most pleasant experience at the present time, I can hold out until Christmas as long as I don't have to pay for one myself. Cheap, I know.
Not only is my toothbrush old and worn out, it is also pink. If you're going to get me a toothbrush for Christmas, please don't make it a pink one. I beg of you.



What kind of a health science major/aerobic teacher would I be if I didn't have an adequate supply of exercise equipment in my own home? Here is a short list of things I would like to start acquiring:

• exercise ball
• 10-lb. hand weights
• jump rope
• floor mat

I have the worst luck with water bottles. I can't tell you how many I have lost over the years. My favorite to date was the one that I bought at the BYU-Idaho Bookstore. It had the BYU-Idaho logo on it and the top flipped open. That was a special water bottle. It accompanied me all around Washington, D.C. this summer. Everywhere I went, my water bottle went too (kind of like Mary and her lamb). I left it at work once or twice, but never ran the risk of losing it while there. As soon as I got back to school . . . . gone.
And so I bought another one, but after a few weeks it started leaking. So once again I am water bottle-less. I even borrowed my mom's this past weekend for a school trip and I ended up leaving it in my friend's car. Hopefully I'll get it back later this week.
Although my first preference would be to get another water bottle from the Bookstore, I would be happy with any good quality water bottle that doesn't leak. And again, please don't make it pink.


I have recently formed this new obsession for playing popular tunes on the piano and singing along. I only do this when I am home alone, but I find it quite enjoyable. Thus far, I have been resorting to using tutorials on youtube to learn some songs, but I think it would be much more fun to have some actual sheet music. Here are some songs that I would like to have:

• "The Nearness of You" - Norah Jones
• "Thinking Over" - Dana Glover
• Any song by Missy Higgins
  
• Various songs by Coldplay
• Other Norah Jones songs

One last item I would like is a pair of sweats from the BYU-Idaho Bookstore. I see others wearing them and they look sooo comfortable. I always told myself that I would get some at graduation, if not before then.


Note: After reading this through, I think that I sound very demanding. Please realize that I do not expect anything and this list is all just for fun.

Nelson Halloween Party

Every year the Nelson family has a reunion during the summer time, but this year my cousin Julie had the novel idea to have a Halloween party instead. It was so fun to see everyone all dressed up! When approximately 50 Nelsons get together, it's pretty much a given that there is going to be LOTS of food, and it's always good. :) Games are also a must at any of our get-togethers. This year, we introduced our aunts, cousins, and friends to the game "Signs." It was a riot! I think we seriously played for hours!

This year for Halloween, I decided that I would dress up as a biker chick. It was pretty easy, I simply donned some of my sisters clothes and put some extra makeup on. :) I wish that the picture was better so you could see the wicked-awesome boots I was wearing. They go all the way up to my knees!

Some of my cousins: Janie, Hailey, Ruthie, and Katie.

The best of friends: My cousin, Mandy, and I as "Cave Woman" and "Biker Chick."

Here is my cousin Emma dressed as a Greek goddess.


Amber and Me

Brothers Jack and Luke. Luke's chicken costume was my absolute favorite!

Christmas Wish List

Every year my family asks me what I want for Christmas, and I never have an answer. I can't ever think of a single thing that I would like. I can think of plenty of boring things that I need like a new hair straightener, but never things that I want just for fun. But . . . this year is different. This year I have quite a list of things that I want, and it's not even Halloween yet! I am not necessarily expecting to receive any of these gifts, but I am just putting them out there for fun.
So without further ado, here is my Christmas wish list:

Let's start with the fun stuff, the stuff that I want and don't necessarily need . . .


I tried this coat on just for fun when I was shopping with my friends Hannah, Marisa, and Holly while I was down in Provo during conference weekend. Not gonna lie, I look pretty good in this coat. :) I think that Old Navy had me in mind when they made it. The coat comes in this nice color called Plummy Mummy, but is also available in a lovely green which I wouldn't mind having either. Yes, I already have a peacoat so this is definitely something I do not need. But it would still be fun!


Dan Brown in perhaps my favorite author. His novels are action-packed and full of historical facts. I can't put them down! Last month his latest book came out, The Lost Symbol. Not only am I looking forward to finding out what new stories he's worked up, but this one takes place in Washington, D.C.! If I wasn't poor and busy with school, I would be reading it right now. Correction - I would have finished it by now. I am patiently waiting until Thanksgiving break when I will have some spare time to actually read for pleasure! Then it's just a matter of getting my hands on a copy. I am like 67th on the waiting list at the library! I am already counting on liking it so much that it is on my Christmas list.


Besides these two items, there are several movies that I would like to eventually own. Here are the top ones on my list:

• Sleeping Beauty

• Becoming Jane

• Little Women

• You've Got Mail

• Sabrina

• It's A Wonderful Life
  

Then there are the things that I really need . . .

• a new laptop (despite honest efforts to cure it, it is still very slow and missing keys)

• a new car (missing headlights, numerous bangs and scratches, worn paint, cracked windshield, broken locks, and over 226,500 miles - yep, it's probably time)

• a hair straightener (yeah, I still haven't been able to bring myself to buy a new one)

• a job (this is perhaps what I need the very most, come Christmas time I will be a recent college graduate in search of a means to earn a living while I figure out what to do with my life)

Now, I hope you have all been taking notes. :) See you at Christmas!

I'm not done yet!

It has now been exactly two months since I left Washington, D.C. How time flies. I miss it oh so much and think about my experiences there every day. I long to go back and visit. Sometimes I wish that I could go back to my life there which was in some ways much simpler. . . Well, at least I'm not done blogging about it yet! I think these posts are more for me than anyone else, but I am trying to squeeze every last drop out of my experiences there by re-living them in my blog.

These are all pictures that Bekah and I took when she came with her mom and sisters for a visit:

The two D.C. interns! A piece of our hearts will always there.

Bekah was able to arrange a West Wing Tour of the White House for us. It was so awesome! Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures inside, but we got to see the Oval Office. That was definitely the highlight! I was overwhelmed by the idea that I was standing in the exact same place where so many of our presidents and other leaders have stood. Wow. I can't exactly explain the feeling, but it was some sort of mix between reverence, excitement, and awe.

Here we are in the press room. President Obama has spoken from that podium!

Bekah was also able to visit my workplace during her visit. I was so excited to show her around the building and introduce her to the people I worked with.

I took her around the amazing Intelsat building and showed her the phone booth, the main lobby, and the moon gardens up on the top floor.

My second-to-last day there we drove to the beach in Rehobath, Delaware. It only takes like 30 minutes to drive across the whole state!

Yay for being at the beach!

My "Baywatch" pictures. ha ha

After the whole summer I am still glaringly white. :(

After the beach, we headed back to Maryland and stopped in Annapolis so that I could see the Naval Academy.

D.C. (re)UNITED

Since I was down in Utah this weekend for General Conference, I was able to get together with my friends from Washington, D.C. who go to school down at BYU. We all met up at David's apartment and watched the second session of Conference on Sunday. It was so good to see them again!

Here we are! Just me and the boys. Michael, David, Ben, me and Travis. Unfortunately our other D.C. friends couldn't join us.

Classic Ben Sellers. As predicted, he snatched my camera from me and started taking random pictures.

Spending time with my D.C. friends on a Sunday afternoon just wouldn't be the same if we didn't have a potluck dinner. As is tradition, I made a fruit salad. :) And I also decided to introduce them to my delicious banana bread. Fruit seemed to be the theme of the evening because in addition to these two delectible dishes, we also ate cantelope and blueberry muffins.

David playing the guitar, and trying my banana bread for the first time ever!

Here I am telling everyone a funny story. :)