Merry Christmas

So it's Christmas! Yea!!! :D I love Christmas. It's my favorite holiday. Nummy food, friends, family, presents! It's just great. This year was a really great one. Yesterday we had our traditional Christmas eve dinner. We started doing it on Christmas Eve when I was pretty young because we always spent Christmas day traveling to my Grandma's house. After dinner we all took care of a bunch of last minute details and then we went to temple square to look at all the pretty lights. My ring was supposed to be done yesterday but Zac had me convinced that they hadn't called yet so I was kinda bummed out about that. This morning I woke up to some pretty great gifts! Santa Claus brought me my new phone! It's the Palm Pixi. I LOVE it!!! :) It just makes me so happy. Santa also brought me a new book! It's called the People Code by Dr. Taylor Hartman. I had it checked out from the library and was obsessed with it so I'm pretty happy about that. Then we all opened our gifts from one another. I got my ring from Zachary. :) It was a great Christmas Morning surprise. Tavin gave me makeup (woohoo!!! :D), my mom and dad got me a bracelet and a shirt. Zac gave my family a game called Phase 10 Twist and although we haven't played it yet I'm pretty excited. My aunt Laura drew my parents names for the family drawing this year and when she asked what my parents wanted I just told her the two things they had both been talking about. A camera for my mom and dishes for my dad. They couldn't believe it when they opened them! It was great. Tavin got pretty much all jeans. At least a pair from all of us. I'm guessing some of them will go back but at least he has some now! He's been pretty desperate. After all that Zac and I went to his family's house. It was pretty fun. A lot different though! I ended up with a dog bite, you know, I've never gotten bitten by a dog before, but it hurts!! I still have a welt. :( Other than that, it was a lot of fun. I got new shampoo! And a blanket! And nummy candy! It was great. After that we went to Zac's apartment to put away everything and play with our new toys. We started watching O Brother Where Art Thou because his roommate Scotty had given it to him, but I fell asleep about a half hour in. Oops! After I had woken up I came home to spend the rest of the day with my family. But then my mom and dad left so she could go play with her new camera. LOL. Oh well. :) We're leaving tomorrow to head up to see the rest of my family in Pocatello. It should be a lot of fun, and I'll get to see my uncle Robert and all of his family for the first time in quite awhile. (They were living in Texas and just moved to Arizona). I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

Candles

So as you know, I've been trying to teach myself how to play the guitar. Here is my latest attempt. There's a weird glitch in the middle and some mess ups, but there you have it. :) And yes, I'm aware it's out of tune. My bad.

Opinions

Here is my soapbox.
*ahem*
Why is it that everyone in this world is so worried about offending people?! Now, don't get me wrong, I think there is a line that should not ever be crossed. But I HATE that people take offense so easily. I don't think there is anything at all wrong with stating what you believe and saying that you think it would benefit other people too. Why is it so "awful" to say you believe that homosexuality is a sin? Why is it so awful to say that you support "traditional" marriage. Is that BAD? HOW does that hurt anybody? It's not saying that gays CAN'T have their rights. I completely support all alternative lifestyle choices getting legal rights. They should have all of those. That doesn't mean that I personally don't believe it's wrong. To me, it is. And I am sorry that other people don't like that. I'm sorry that they get their panties in a bunch. But since when is is wrong to have a personal belief?! I mean honestly. Freedom of speech is for all, not just the popular. That's kinda the whole point. Just saying.

Stucki Family Reunion 2010

For the annual Stucki family reunion we all headed up to Yellowstone. I haven't been since I was really little so it was way cool to see! Unluckily, most of us got sick while we were there. That part was not so bueno. But here's a few of the family pics we got, we were so excited that Tavin made it home in time to go too, and "Ding-Dong" may now be the biggest inside joke ever to grace the Stucki family. :)

Tavin's Homecoming!

Ok, so I'm terrible, so we're going to get a few posts all crammed in today. The first is going to be about Tavin coming home from Scotland. I took a few videos and they're cute, so I'll post them! He came home on July 7th, 2010. :)

 

 

The Secret Life of Prince Charming

-->

I was reading a book called The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti, and although it's not what I expected it to be, it was really good! And even better, it had some great quotes that I just really want to share. :)

"I'd choose one to be interested in the first few days of class. Usually just the cutest. I want to say I grew out of that, but I didn't, not for a long time. If there wasn't a guy to like, a guy on the scene, I felt bored and restless. it made things way more fun and interesting. And when I had someone to like, things felt like I could settle back a little. Safe, maybe. Boyfriend, yeah, I had one, even if that meant I might be always on the lookout for someone better to come along. I'm not gonna lie, I was. I always had someone, always. I think now that maybe boys, men, were some sort of putty in my own cracked cement, so to speak. They filled in gaps. My own gaps, gaps of time and... in-between-ness? Gaps of aloneness. Gaps of same-old, same-old. I had "friends" around guys, to fill in for the times I wasn't "in love." I didn't even like them all that much sometimes. It was just a person who was there to be the focus of the moment. Having a "relationship" made me feel better. It wasn't so much about the actual person, but about feeling more alive and okay."

"This is what I know. Don't settle for 40, 50, even 80 percent. A relationship- it shouldn't be too small or too tight or even a little scratchy. It shouldn't be embarrassing or uncomfortable or downright ugly. It shouldn't take up space in your closet out of a guilty conscience or convenience or a moment of desire. Do you hear me? It should be perfect for you. It should be lasting."

"Love is light and not darkness, that love that is not good is not worthy of you, that love can only truly be given by those who are able, those with hearts of quality and with careful hands."

"Sometimes you think you've found love, when it's really just one of those objects that are shiny in a certain light a trophy, say, or a ring, or a diamond, even. Glass shards, maybe. You've got to be careful, you do. The shine can blind you. The edges can cut you in ways you never imagined. It is up to you to allow that or not. You are the protector of yourself. The most basic and somehow forgettable thing is this: Love is not pain. Love is goodness. And real love - it's less shiny than solid and simple. It's the stuff of sunflower spirals and seashells, where there is beauty and mystery, but where there is logic too. You do not need protection from it. It is not about lies that someone else tells you or that you tell yourself, but about the truth. Real love is clear. It's as uncomplicated as that shell. It's as timeless. When you find it, if you find it, pick it up. For all the reasons, pick it up and hold it close."

Guitar Update

I apologize in advance to anyone who actually likes this song!!! :( Sorry. Greenday's Good Riddance Time of Your Life.

Top 5 Favorite Movies

1. The Blind Side

2. A Walk to Remember

3. John Tucker Must Die

4. P.S. I Love You

5. Mean Girls

Yours?

Teaching Myself to Play Guitar

Meet the Challenge

The HURD here at Utah State decided to do a mini version of Extreme Makeover Home Edition and call it Meet the Challenge. A family was nominated and volunteers from several different sports teams and the HURD all showed up to provide free manual labor to re-carpet, paint, and generally beautify this family's house. This family is really great, they have a son that was left completely paralyzed by hydrocephalus, so we also built wheelchair ramps for them. In all of the bedrooms we had our amazing ASUSU president Tyler Tolson do some awesome murals.

This is the parent's room.

This is the paralyzed little boy's room.

This is the little girl's room, it's hard to see but it is pink and orange and has flowers painted on.

That's Captain America. He's not done yet, but it should be AWESOME!

 I'm not sure why this is sideways, but that is the AWESOME car.

This is the mother's craft room. This was a last minute project but it was the room that needed some of the most work! Where you now see green paint, there was wood paneling. So we tore all of that out, took all of the carpet out, painted, put a chair rail in, and although you can't see it, there will be laminate wood flooring. This was mine and Hannah's pet project, we also helped with pretty much all of the blue paint, and painted a closet white.
In addition to this we also painted their fence, fixed up a play/tree house, built ramps to the front and back doors, and fixed up their family room with a really cool U-State logo. Hannah and I arrived bright and early at 6am and stayed until about 10:30. I had to work at 2:30 but they let me leave early at about 5:30 so Hannah and I headed back over to the house around 6:45 to see the "finished" product, but when we arrived there was still a ton of work to be done. So we picked up our paint brushes again and helped out until the family came to see it at 9:30. As you can see, it wasn't quite done but me and Hannah decided to leave the rest to the people already in the groove and working on the projects that needed finishing. So we hit Cafe Rio right before they closed and had a mini happy birthday to Hannah on Monday celebration. :) Great day, and a really cool project. Looking forward to Meet the Challenge 2011!

Easter 2010

Every once in awhile, my parent's anniversary falls on Easter Sunday. And every once in awhile Easter Sunday falls on conference Sunday. This year, it was all three! So instead of hanging out at my parent's house by myself, Sadie and I decided to hit the road for a spring break trip to St. George! It was super fun, but in case you ever need to know; St. George has a city ordinance making it so you have to be 21 to check in to a hotel, also, if you think you might need brakes, get them changed before you leave! Ha. It was an adventure for sure! Luckily Sadie has family and friends down there that were able to help us out. Thank you John and Jeff! I've never seen the St. George temple before but it is GORGEOUS! Most of these pics are from there, random pretty scenery, and the St. George Art Festival that was going on while we were there. Overall, an awesome trip!

Ahh... The Joys of March Madness!

Well. I think it's safe to say that this year's tournament has been really CRAZY! I did a bracket for the first time this year, let's just say, I'm not doing so hot. But I had a very awesome weekend doing pretty much nothing but watching college basketball. Great weekend, right?! I think so anyway. If you care at all (I won't be offended if you don't) you can check out my bracket here. Other than watching way too much basketball, I also finally went and saw two really good movies. I saw Sherlock Holmes and The Blind Side. Both were awesome! The Blind Side especially. I want to be just like her when I grow up. And SJ is the bomb. Sherlock Holmes was a bit darker than I usually like but it was good so thanks to Jared for taking me to them! Speaking of Jared, I also spent some time with him in Provo doing some crazy things. His roommate, also named Jared, Jared and I all decided to make an AWESOME and EPIC movie that is totally going to go viral. Ha ha ha. *cough* Ok, probably not, but it's awesomely random and who doesn't love youtube videos made with happy meal toys that are completely random? Don't worry, I'll be posting a link as soon as it's up! So cheers to an awesome Spring Break!!!

I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!

Not a whole lot up here in Logan has changed. Utah State basketball still rocks! : D Today my boys kicked some serious Boise State booty to advance to the semi-finals tomorrow in the WAC tournament. Bill is as crazy as ever, still stealing some media attention from ESPN. Here's a link to his blog: http://wildbillsproat.wordpress.com/ Since I haven't posted any pics yet, I'll attach all of my best USU sports pics. GO AGGIES!!!

That's Naki on the first row with the white bandanna. The spectrum rocks!

Hannah and I at USU Hockey v. Utah. We were both wearing Utah State shirts, I promise!!!

Also at a hockey game, this time Emma and I.

Front row at the Utes game. I guess that guy didn't like us being there? LOL! Thanks Carrie for those AMAZING seats! We really appreciated it!

Represent! #76 is Naki. :)

Well. That was officially a failed attempt at blogging. I really am horrible at this. Hopefully I will get better. I am in my first year at Utah State this year and loving every second of it! The beginning of the year was a ton of fun and a lot less stressful having Naki around. My roommates are all great. Emma is my actual room sharing buddy and we get along really well, she actually came to a party at Naki's with me. Then there's Kenzie, Meaghan, and Amanda. Amanda actually moved out at semester break and was replaced by Claudine. They are all great and I miss my dearest Amanda! :D My classes were mostly good first semester. Except Calc. I hated my professor. As most of you know, I met a boy too. His name is Jake and he is awesome. (Even now) We started dating on October 1st and broke up about a month ago. We both decided we needed some time to work on everything in our own personal lives before we fully settle down and commit to anyone. I've also gotten to hang out a lot with some of the people I went to high school with, especially Hannah and Kathryn. This semester not too much exciting has happened. Just school and work. Oh yes, I'm working at the Kohl's in Logan. I love it! Everything has been so great as learning experiences. I really love my ward here. Student wards are not my favorite but the bishopric is really awesome. I've even been going to FHE, pretty amazing since we never did that at home. So there's an update! :)