FELIZNAVIDAD!!!!

our Mayan friend we made

Liz's sexy legs

at our favorite restaurant with the best service

the best mommy ever

A Mexican Christmas!!!!!!

My mom and dad, bless their hearts, took Liz and I to Cancun the week before christmas! Best week ever. Instead of the week before Christmas turning into a marathon week, long... painful... neverending..., Mexico came first and then three days later christmas is here :) I feel so blessed. My parents are so generous, and I do not deserve it.

We held a spider monkey, it fit in my two hands, and no I don't have a picture so you will just have to trust me.

We swam in the dark in a bat cave, with stallagtites coming down to the tip of the water, an amazing and creepy experience all at the same time.

We went and saw ruins, and if any of you have seen the Road to El Dorado, the cartoon version, you will appreciate this--they had the ball fields where they hip bump the ball into the tiny hoops. THE GAME ACTUALLY EXISTS. I had no idea haha

All in all, I'd say it was a success.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZXXXZZZZZ

I have a problem where I do not get enough sleep. I am getting approximately 6 hours a night. Now for the average 20 year-old, I think this would be enough. In fact in an article I read, the author said they feel the best getting between 6-7 hours. For me to feel my best, I need 9-10. I think, or perhaps it has just been so long since I have gotten a good night's rest. I am now falling asleep at my computer in the library. This has happened consistently for the past week. Tommy looked up some articles for me because I need help. They are interesting!

http://www.thedailymind.com/how-to/17-ways-to-wake-up-feeling-fresh-in-the-morning/

http://www.thedailymind.com/how-to/how-to-stay-awake-at-work-when-you-are-really-tired/

My absolute tip is #17 on the first article, compliments of Buddha.

Another cold december is here, thank you matt costa.

Here's an extreme close-up of myself in the snow.

I like myself and I have a lot of really great qualities.

And now for a little weather report of the past week:

Monday... freezing with snow and pink noses

Tuesday... more freezing with ice and numb noses

Wednesday.... 25 degrees

Today... 28 degrees.

Good news, it's warming up!

sisterly love

I think they actually should've made a t.v. show in the 90's called sisterly love, as opposed to brotherly love. I miss my sisters so much. I can't wait to see them on Thanksgiving!!!!

Some words don't need pictures

Okay so I don't have a picture to go along with this post but when I get one I will add it. The news is just so exciting I couldn't contain it any longer.... I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!! with my social marketing professor-- and it was totally unplanned. I love it! I feel like there were promptings from the Spirit definitely. I asked her if I could do some research with her, I was thinking strictly volunteer experience mind you, but after we met together she told me it was a job. Something completely unexpected and marvelous: I am a RESEARCH ASSISTANT. ya baby. I feel so blessed. All day I have been so blessed. The day just keeps getting better and it is only 8 pm. Also, I am volunteering with the Utah Health Department trying to gather research for Hispanic teens and tobacco use. SO what I've been doing is going to the Provo Rec. Center called "the Center" and trying to get kids to take some surveys for me. I mostly get awesome skaters ballers and its so great. I love it. I love these kids! haha they are so entertaining and we have had some great conversations.

halloween fun

May I present... Mr. and Mrs. Smith :) this was our halloween costume. Tommy loved it because he could carry around a gun, and I was in a dress. Perfect costume

After we went to a get together with our friends, we proceeded to go to Dane and Rachel's to watch a scary movie. We watched What Lies Beneath. I squealed several times during the movie, and I made Tommy stay in my apartment until I was in my bed. haha

the roast i killed twice and then ate

SO.... on Sunday I decided to become a domestic goddess, not saying that's unusual for me, and I made delicious stew. However, when I began this

adventure I was unaware of the emotional toll it would take on

my peaceful day. By the time I was finished preparing the meat I was sweating, up

set and cursing the meat. It's amazing the degree to which meat can cause frustration. I am 20 years old, I have a brai

n, I am probably at least three times bigger than the meat (name it???), and can talk... yet this small brainless, voiceles

s thing got under my skin. haha but it was absolutely fun and delicious later.

I wish I could laugh at everything bad that happened to me.

Okay random story-- Erica and I were driving home from school (Utah to CA) and we pulled off in literally the middle of nowhere. We decided to get out and take some pictures. haha This experience defines mine and Erica's time together: absolutely fun no matter the place, highly modelesque, and soooo random. haha

Here's a conundrum for you, our whole lives we have been told not to smoke.

I just found out in my epidemiology class that there's a link between parkinson's disease and smoking. There are studies where individuals who are considered "smokers," having a lower incidence rate of having parkinson's disease. Crazy huh? The terrible habit of smoking may actually protect people from a disease of old age. Now as a public health official, I'd like to take a moment and say: STILL DO NOT SMOKE: if you jump off this cliff, it will protect you from getting cancer. False.

thank you

thank you for:

my grandpa

my family

laughing

silly movies

people

and ingrid michaelson

i really want to be a nurse. i just tried to calculate how many classes left i have to take to get my BS and i am almost positive i can do it by next summer. then if i joined an accelerated nursing program, 11 to 18 months later i would be a registered nurse! it hit me as i was visiting my grandpa in the hospital this weekend how sad it would feel to be a nurse and grow attached to patients and then have to watch them die. but then the more i contemplated this, the more i realized that if i was a nurse, i wouldn't just watch people die, i would have the opportunity to fight for their life and keep them from dying. i want to do that

on a more lighter note, i would never recommend going on a thirteen hour car ride with your baby sister, for the sake of the story we shall call her e. koch... no no, better yet, elizabeth k. she will SMOTHER you :) how many inches shorter is she than i and how many more inches does she take up in the car??? that is the question. however, i must say i absolutely enjoyed it. she is definitely individual and i love her

i can't, she says mysteriously

I'm in an infectious disease class and i will never be the same. I am not paranoid about the tiniest scratches on my body and am convinced they will become infected and turn into methicillin resistant staph infection and turn septic and i will die. Sounds threatening, ya? Currently I could tell you the signs, symptoms, agent, transmission, and other fun facts of about forty diseases. Well, I'm making these insane flash cards to help me do so, however I'm not quite sure of their effectiveness considering they are completely filled on the backside ha but oh well.

I dyed a streak of my hair blonde and i will never be the same. It looks awesome! and was liberating to my soul. It was in the moment and I do not regret it at all. You know how blondes have more fun?? well let me tell you it is not true. I have seen both sides of the argument now and therefore my opinion is extremely credible and it is just as fun to be a brunette.

I have now listened to Jay Z's version of Coldplay's Lost and will never be the same. I am trying to learn the rap. Enough said.

I am now a hypochondriacal blonde rapper who will never be the same and is now starving.

oooooh finals

well well well. its that time of year again. finals are taking over my life and i don't think i like it at all. i'm in the library with tommy right now, supposed to be studying ha but i went through half of this stack of slides so i decided to reward myself with a break.

i am not quite sure if it is the hours spent studying or what, but my blonde moments seem to be increasing in number as well as stupidity. luckily they are still entertaining ha but i am getting a little tired of feeling blonde--no offense to you ladies out there in the world who happen to be blonde.

so lately i have been eating a ton of dried fruit and almonds. and i absolutely love it. dried mangoes and cranberries are my favorite currently. oh! the word of the day today is oneiric. it means having to do with dreams or dreamy.

crazyness

i just have to say. life is so crazy and you know the phrase expect the unexpected? well i think its used so often for a reason....

we had nats bridal shower last saturday :) it was so much fun. delicious food, great girl moments, and scandalous panties. what else could we ask for? i am so happy for her and andrew. they are so in love and he treats her so well. like a queen and they are going to be so happy.

my dreams are throwing me off ha

so whenever i have a crazy dream it definitely affects me the next day. haha last night i dreamt about playing rugby and then some other things happened. if you want to know more you will just have to ask me.

i have always wanted to write a book. in fact i started one last summer, i just never got very far ha but i thought of a new title that really gets me excited it is.

nuts in a candy dish: seemingly misplaced items --if any of you steal this, i will be severely disappointed in you and (nat will really appreciate this) whisper parseltongue every time i see you

it is going to be about how life throws you things that you do not expect all the time. i'm thinking that i may want to have it just be a collection of short stories about different individuals but then the last story ties them all together. unoriginal?? could be. i think when i finally start it i will just go with whatever i am feeling haha oh this just reminded me. todays word of the day is megrim and it means a migraine or a fancy or a whim. so... on a megrim, i decided to start this blog. or write about my life because i just know everyone is dying to read about it. it's just such an exciting life.

oh so this year may be my year of insane adventures. i am going to india in july and now i am seriously considering going to china all next fall to teach english. i am so electrified with this idea. i am going to an information meeting tonight about it. i just have to say the word electrified is very powerful and makes me think of the movie kicking and screaming: "electric in the air" hhah

macaroni in the library

dear spontaneity, exercise, and the tree streets

thank you so much for the wonderful day i had on friday.

i love you so much.

i feel sunshine and gain a lot of new muscles.

love amanda

dear general conference

thank you so much for lifting my spirits.

i feel enlightened.

i love you so much.

love amanda

classrooms

the last few days i haven't had a lot of homework and it has been amazing. so... i've been helping other people out. and yes you feel better because you're serving others, but i just have to say not only is that great, but i also have felt such an efficient and productive busyness. instead of everything i am working hard on be for myself, it has been for other people around me and i love it. it made me so excited to help others even more. last night some friends and i went to nat's volunteer dinner/recipe book party and it was so much fun. the food was amazing and i got to make homemade reeses :) it is perfect because they are my most favorite candy ever. then liese came over and we enjoyed the evening together. i cannot wait to live with her next year. i have to say i just love spiritual and uplifting conversations. oh haha this morning on my way to school, i totally fell on my hands and face. my hand was crushed and now i have a black eye. haha maybe not a black eye, but hand is truly crushed. thinking about walking around with a hook calling myself hook. something that's been on my mind lately is that faith without works is dead. i know i hear that all the time but the power that is derived from that phrase is amazing. if i am willing to put a lot of effort in trying to feel the spirit, feel uplifted, read my scriptures and patriarchal blessing, then Heavenly Father WILL bless me with the spirit. If i just think that and move forward, then it will happen. over the weekend at home, my dad told me the best thing i can do for myself and my future family is to always move forward, no matter what. when i am always working forward, that fact detached alone from whether or not i'm struggling, means i am improving and doing what Heavenly Father wants. it is the effort. this makes me so happy. you know how there are some classes where the teacher basically just wants you to fail? well i feel like the plan of salvation is completely the opposite. Heavenly Father is the teacher and has set everything up for us to succeed.

who knew almonds could be so satisfying

so you know the song strawberry swing... well the line "its such a perfect day" ran through my head about a million times today. or should have at least. today was wonderful. i went to school, had a job interview that went very well and then came home because i had no homework that absolutely NEEDED to be worked on haha should have is another story. so then i picked up jenna and we went to bajios for lunch after buying myself seven dollar adorable shoes which later on in the day would give me massive blisters haha but well worth it. after we ate, went back up to campus for a few meetings--yes i am a professional at life. so many meetings to attend. i had three today haha--then was supposed to go to the temple but then it closes at ten am on mondays... who knew. and then becca and i went to the park and ate TONS of candy haha from the dollar store and its so interesting because candy that comes from the dollar store is just a little bit off from the regular priced taste. example: my sour gummy worms were

just a tad bit too sour. my sweet peach rings were way too sweet. but the chocolate was just right. then i came home and did some very crafty service type things in my favorite new boxer shorts. went to FHE and dyed easter eggs! so fun. and then kelse and i were supposed to go to the gym at eight... didnt leave till eight forty ahaha we got stuck in the quad taking model shots with some girls haha so fun. (as you can see above) i love it and then we went to the gym for a few minutes haha ran a bit and then i did some more crafty things. life is wonderful when you are really positive. something inside of me just clicked over the weekend while at home and its almost like i just never want to be sad again. and i never want that desire to go away and almost that is enough to make sadness go away forever. and its only possible with the atonement of Christ. tonight i gave a lesson in FHE about that and ended up bearing my testimony about Christ and how he is with us constantly. i feel like i have always known that but recently it's been on my mind more. i just have to say my favorite book in the Book of Mormon is definitely 3rd Nephi.

homely

it is time for bridal shower!!!!! kati, nat, mother and i have all been working so hard on things for the wedding ie. giggling while creating ingenious and innovative center pieces. perhaps i will post a few photos in a few days. liz and i went to the beach today and it was just perfect. i have sincerely missed the beach wow. so we drove there and ran serpentine down the hill to the sand and burst onto the sparkling sand. we then sang our way to the perfect clearing in the sand and then took a million pictures while basking in the sunshine. after a little while we felt like splashing and frolicking in the water and so we did--naturally. it was freezing! which made it even more liberating :) so then we came home and had deep thought-provoking conversations in the spa haha i love lizzie so much. i have missed her truly and am so happy i could have visited her. oh! funny story. nat and i were going to be late to the airport because of the insane weather so we decided to park at the airport. well we did not realize how far away parking is haha we just barely made it after trekking forever. i suppose we could have taken a shuttle but it said it wasn't going to be there for at least eight more minutes and time was running short. so as we were running, this car didn't see us and ended up laughing because we were running through puddles with all of our bags (nat mainly had the most) and this massive wedding gown in a cover. it was freezing and i felt like it could have been in a full house episode. ahaha even though it was stressful and slightly embarrassing, it added character to the day. i think that this day has been my favorite in a long time, i just love home and i am currently making a pro and con list about spring in provo vs. home. home may be winning a little right now, it definitely has the home advantage hahaha i love making up puns. wow its late

health

im going to be a high school health teacher! thats the plan so far. so im in my health promotion class and we are watching bud weiser commercials that make money off of laughing at the effects of alcohol. its scary the way that media seeps into families and homes. there are always underlying messages that we are receptive of whether we realize it or not. i listened to rocky raccoon on the way to school today and it made me think of lake powell and my uncle scott--i cannot wait to go to lake powell this year. it will be amazing. when my uncle scott sings this song it is the sweetest thing. oh two songs that make me want to cry are somewhere over the rainbow and clare de lun. im so excited for this weekend! im going home for nat's bridal shower. she is getting married may 1st. MAY DAY. its amazing that she is at that point in her life haha so old. im going to make sure i go to the beach and sleepovers with liz and being with my mom. i feel like this weekend away is coming at the perfect time: to get away... i have no homework and no other reason to stay in provo. and i cant decide if im going to stay for spring or not. there are pros and cons to both sides thus the ineffectivity of my pro and con list. and yes i did just make that word up.

and i have to say, i am just so grateful for good girlfriends right now, you know who you are and you have helped me so much :) you girls are the best and i love you all

first time ever

okay so i have an eight page paper due and i should be working on it. however, im in a spontaneous mood and this is the most rebellious and liberating thing i could think of that doesnt require me to leave the apartment. i was listening to the song white winter hymnal by fleet foxes and i decided i am in love with the line turn the white snow into red strawberries in summertime. i fell in love--that is exactly how i feel right this second. chin up :) oh and now im listening to this amazing french song. i wish i spoke french because then i actually could be a mysterious brunette who speaks a foreign language, haha id be unstoppable. and plus now im published :) oh ps. that picture above was taken in Siena Italy, i wish i was there this moment. i suppose though i will have to wait a while to travel to world--i really want to go backpacking or something insane like that.