Happy Happy Birthday to EVERYONE.

I am writing to you now, as a 21 year old. How exciting!

I feel like I've been celebrating birthdays for weeks now, but really, it has only been one....kind of....I'll get to that later.

Anyway, it all started on January 29th 1991 in a beautiful place near London, England. My mom gave birth to her 6th and last child. I was a girl, to my brother's disappointment. I think they've changed their minds...;) I hope.

And now, 21 years later, I am still alive and kicking! In fact, I am quite enjoying life.

Can you believe that last year I celebrating my birthday fleeing Egypt in the midst of a revolution and then hiked Mount Sinai?! This year wasn't quite as epic, but still wonderful!

Starting the night before my birthday, this is how it went:

Cafe Rio with Brooke and Faith. Best Thing Ever.

CRAZY BYU Basketball game.

Spark. The chic non-alcoholic drink place Mormons like to go to feel cool.

It may look like alcohol, but really its not.

Spontaneous trip to Faith's friend's house for a "bonfire" ( it was more like a pile of coals) where I happened to run into my old summer freshman roommate!

Then we went home.

Next day was Sunday and my birthday!

The day started out pretty well with Faith's delicious Crepes for breakfast.

Church was wonderful as always, and so was ward choir.

Dinner at Jeff and Kira's! Kira made me my favorite birthday meal: roast beef, yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, carrots, and lots of gravy. And of course the classic birthday cake, yellow cake with chocolate frosting. :)

I think the best birthday present that day was just to play with my darling baby nephew Jeffrey. He really is so adorably wonderful. He makes me happy. Enjoy

And I got to open presents, which is always fun.

My day ended with more cake, friends, ward prayer, and lots of Happy Birthday nice notes! How wonderful.

Now, the next day was my friend Julie's birthday, then Wednesday was my roommate Faith's birthday. We went to Chile's for dinner, and Jamie and I made her this cake. It is pretty much the coolest cake I've ever helped make:

Faith is going on her mission to Paraguay. She was obsessed with cake, as I was.

The next day was my roommate Ashling's birthday (!) She made us Chinese noodles and I made her a Mountainberry Pie. A nice reprieve from the abundance of cake we had been eating.

All three birthday girls.

And guess what. Next week is my other roommate Olivia's birthday! Man, I need to go work out.

The Joys of FACS

One of the really wonderful things about my major, is that there are absolutely no boys in it. (did you hear that hint of sarcasm?)  Really though. Family and Consumer Science Education, or as some like to call it, Home Ec, is not something that really appeals to the male population. I mean cooking, sewing, and interior design are fun and all, but for some reason men just don't major in them.

Here's the funny thing. It's like we're training to become the perfect wife and mother, but we don't meet any boys in our major classes to marry. Yeah that's what our wards are for, but I've never really had much luck with the boys in my wards.

So in my Food Science class, they hold a special section for the FACS majors, because we don't have organic chemistry background. They basically dumb it down for us. Well, several other students who aren't FACS majors (who happen to be male) were signed up for our section, and every time one walked in our class, our teacher would send them away to the other section. Sigh.

And in my Parenting and Child Guidance class, of the 5 boys in it, 3 of them are married and the other two are in a relationship. Same story goes for the rest of my classes. But - there is cute boy in my Food Science lab group. The lab has students from all the sections, so there are several boys in the class. Gasp!

But whatever. It's not like I'm here at BYU to married or anything. You know, there's that whole education part. That's important too. And I'll just ignore the fact that all my friends/acquaintances are married or engaged. Or going on missions. I get news of a new engagement every time I get on Facebook (that may be an exaggeration.)

But ignore my ranting. It's not all I think about I promise. I think about other things...like going back to Jerusalem, or Ireland. Or anywhere. Did you realize it's been a whole year since I left for Jerusalem? It's hard to believe that time has moved so fast. My guy friends are starting to get home from their missions. My girl friends are leaving for theirs. I never thought this day would come. Or at least...it seemed like it would take longer to get here.

Well, it will be a good semester. And, I get to look forward to visiting my sisters and brother in-law over President's Day weekend! And we don't have school this Monday! woohoo!!

Here are some of my cute roommates and I at Cocoa Bean! Nicolle came to visit :)

The Year in Review

Happy New Year to one and all!

Didn't this year go by fast? I can't believe it's over already. 

I remember having a roommate talk once and someone asked, "In the past 20 years, which year has been the best?" It didn't take me too long to think about it. 2011 has probably been the best year of my life. I guess there are a lot of reasons. 2010 was good, but some crazy things happened that last semester of school before Jerusalem. My little nephew Jeffrey was born almost 3 months premature. That was stressful! The school work seemed more difficult (my sewing class took over my life)....there seemed to be a lot going on. 

But then I started the new year of 2011 off with a bang! I had a feeling it would be a good year, going to Jerusalem and all. I remember driving to the airport at 5:00 in the morning with what felt like a beehive in my stomach. "What am I about to do?!" I asked myself. "I'm going to live in the Middle East for the next 4 months!" Most of that fear subsided once I got to the airport and started socializing with my soon-to-be best friends. 

Jerusalem made my year. It changed my life in so many ways. Not only was I able to add 3 new countries to my list and see incredible things, but I gained such a strong and sweet testimony of the Savior. I had experiences that are difficult to describe to people who haven't been there. I made 80 new best friends. And I got to see the pyramids. I can never express how grateful I am for Jerusalem.

Though the summer started off rather difficult (not being in Jerusalem and all), it ended up being really wonderful. I developed some really great friendships in my single's branch, and I was able to have some great missionary experiences at the restaurant I worked at. I really did actually enjoy that summer job. 

And of course, this last semester has been one of the best. I absolutely love my roommates. Faith, Jamie, and Ashling went to Jerusalem with me, so of course we loved each other. But Brooke and Nicolle were just as wonderful! We all fit together so well, like the puzzle that we completed before the end of the semester. And I love my ward! Though I was a little apprehensive about the grades I was going to get it actually turned out pretty well! 

All in all, it was such a good year. And to top it all off, Baby Jeffrey is the cutest things in the world and he is doing so well, and we have two new babies on the way! Yayyyy! 

So, here's to 2012. Some say it's the end of the world, but I say let it be the beginning of a great new adventure and a brand new start to life. Take every opportunity you can to learn more, love more, and be the best person you can be. 

Here are some pictures to sum up my year.

Jerusalem

Egypt!

Camel ride in Egypt! 

On top of Sinai (My 20th Birthday!)

Galilee

Petra, Jordan

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

The Joseph Smith Farm, Palmyra, New York

The Brooklyn Bridge, New York

Jamie and I at the Ensign Ranch Branch Campout

Sunrise on Mt. Timpangos, Utah

Success at the Red Rock Relay!

Disney Princess roommates dressed up for Halloween

My adorable nephew Jeffrey over Thanksgiving.

All in all, I'd say I'm a pretty lucky and blessed girl.

Missions

I've been thinking a lot about Missions. It seems like all of my friends that are girls are either going on missions, or getting married about now. I guess it's that time of our lives, we're almost 21 after all. (21! we're babies!!)


4 out of the 6 of us roommates are determined to serve a mission, and 2 of them already have their calls! It really is wonderful. I am very proud of my dear friends. They want to dedicate 18 months to serving the Lord. They want to change people's lives. It's incredible.


My roommate just opened her mission call a few weeks ago to a very surprised crowd! We all expected somewhere spanish speaking, but the Lord had a different plan. The Philippines! wow. Awesome huh?

Also, we got to ride her horse, which was cool.

And last night Faith got her mission call. We had what seems like 50 people in our little living room. If there was a capacity limit, it would have been over. But it was great to feel our friend's support (well, her friend's). And her call was to......
Paraguay!
Just what she wanted, and what everybody expected. I said either South American or Africa, and South America it was. In Faith's own words, "I just wanted to go somewhere Spanish speaking, warm, and with poor people! And Paraguay is one of the poorest countries in South America! I am so happy!"
I am glad she can find such great happiness in that. Really. She was glowing last night, it was great.

When I was little, I watched every single one of my siblings go on a mission. I always figured I would too, if I wasn't married. But then I wasn't sure. And then people started asking me about it. "I wonder where you're going to go?!" Just assuming that since I was a McDonald, I would be serving too. And I thought...who said I am going?! Just because all of my siblings have served doesn't mean I'm going to! But then I thought....it would still be good. Missions are good. Missions are GREAT! That's why everybody's going! But then it started getting closer to my turning 21, and I realized I had no idea what I wanted. 
Well, I am definitely not married, or anywhere near there. And I turn 21 in....2 months?


....So, what am I doing?

I don't know. I think serving a mission would be amazing. I think that I would love it. I love this gospel and I love sharing it. I love traveling and meeting other people. It seems like the perfect thing for me.....so why don't I feel like I need to go? 

I know this is probably completely wrong, but sometimes I feel like all those girls who want to go serve the Lord for 18 months are...better than me. Or more righteous, or more charitable, or whatever it may be. That's not right, but I still feel totally lame whenever anyone says, "Do all of your roommates want to serve?" And I pathetically answer, "I'm ...not really planning on it." Like I don't want to go serve the Lord......which isn't true, but that's what it sounds like to me.

At least my roommate Brooke isn't planning on it either. We feel lame together. 

I don't know. I've been praying about it and thinking about it, but I just haven't received an answer! So...if I haven't gotten a yes, does that mean no? Or does it mean...nothing? Am I just not being perceptive to the Spirit? Is he giving me an answer and I'm just not hearing it? 

It's kind of frustrating me. 

Also, I work at the MTC. So I see a MILLION missionaries every other day. It's kind of on my mind.

But maybe...i have a different mission in life. Or maybe I am just being lame. 

As of right now, I'm not planning on it. 

So i'll just go on living my life, going to school, watching all of my girl friends leave me to men or to the Lord. And I'll bide my time till ...something happens. 

On the bright side, Thanksgiving is in a week!

Preference Week?

So my Bishop declared this week "Preference Week" in the ward. What does that mean?? It means the girls are assigned to ask out 2 boys this week. blaaaahhhh

I don't like it.

I never like preference week.
SO, my roommates and I were complaining about it and sort of feeling guilty for not wanting to do it. Therefore, we decided to ask out an apartment of boys to dinner on Sunday.

I'm actually really excited. I love dinner parties. Especially when we cook good food.
Here is the menu so far:
Roast beef
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Homemade Rolls
Some type of vegetable (probably green beans or carrots)
Pumpkin Cheesecake for dessert.

I think that looks awesome. Now, whether we can pull it off in the few hours we have after church will be the big question. But I have faith in myself.

But here's the thing. I always...take control, when it comes to dinner. I kind of planned the meal, and i'm planning on cooking the way I want to cook it....ha. At least I always want it to be the way that I'm used to. And sometimes I don't think that other people will make it taste as good, which is not true at all. I guess I am just biased. I believe that Mom's recipes are better than everyone else's, so my mashed potatoes will be better than your mashed potatoes because my mom taught me how to make them. .....I'm crazy. I know. My roommates make wonderful food. They really do. We have some great cooks in this apartment. I'm just weird.

Changing subject: I'M SO EXCITED FOR THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS!!!
Ok, I had to get that off my chest. But really, I am done with tests and papers until finals. So I just feel free (except for the man's shirt that i'm sewing in class that I'm always behind on). It's great.
Happy soon to be holidays.

AND Happy Veteran's day! Let us not forget the wonderful veterans of our country that have served us so well. Thanks to my Father, who served in the Navy for many years. I am very grateful to be living in such an amazing country. Living in the Middle East for 4 months teaches you to be grateful for what we are blessed with as Americans. Don't take it for granted.
God Bless America.

Also, you should watch this to get in the patriotic mood. I was bawling my eyes out. If you're anything like me, you will too.

Spooktacular update

Well, I have been a bad blogger. I apologize. October is a busy month, it is also probably my favorite months (besides December of course).

Come October 1st, the Halloween decorations were up. I tried to warn my roommates, but I think they were still a little in shock. The apartment was transformed into a spooky autumnal wonderland. It made me happy. The first weekend, General Conference weekend, we made Pumpkin pancakes with out FHE brothers.  A great way to start off the month.

Then stress ensued. Unfortunately October is the month of midterms. But I've made it through those.

This month was just so fun! I finally convinced a few of my roommates that Halloween is an awesome holiday, thanks to my endless enthusiasm. We went to Cornbelly's Corn Maze at Thanksgiving Point. That was a blast.

Nicolle, Me, Jamie, and Brooke on the Hay Ride! Aren't we cute?

Corn Mazin It

We are so naughty.

I've always wanted to milk a cow! I almost did. 

And we got to jump on a pillow thing.

We watched Hocus Pocus. We carved pumpkins while watching A Disney Halloween Treat. We ate our annual Halloween meal with toasted cheese sandwiches on hamburger buns that look like jack-o-lanterns. Basically my roommates bent under my every whim and fancy. They're great.
Did I mention how much I love my roommates? Cause I LOVE my roommates. They are the best.

So for Halloween the 6 of us dressed up as Disney Princesses. It was a hit! People loved us! Our costumes were legit. And basically I want to wear mine every day of my life...but that could be overkill.
Faith: Sleeping Beauty
Jamie: Belle
Brooke: Rapunzel
Nicolle: Cinderella
Ashling: Mulan
Me?.......OHH GISELLE!

Yes that's right. From Enchanted. And my wonderful and oh so talented mother sewed it from 2 states away! She's awesome.

Mulan not pictured.

My hair. Yes there is a bird on my head and on my shoulder. Best part of the costume in my opinion.

So It was a very fun month. The actual day of Halloween was a little anticlimactic, considering how much we did all month, but it was great anyway. I wore my princess dress all night, unwilling to let Halloween go. But then I had to go to bed.

And now it is November! How time flies. It should be a great month since, guess what? I don't have any tests till finals!! I don't know how that miracle happened, but I'm happy. I am sewing a man's tailored shirt for my sewing class. That is pretty much as much work as 3 tests. But its ok. Its pretty fun and satisfying. And Matt will get to wear the finished product!

Here are the things I'm looking forward to:
This weekend my roommate Nicolle is getting her mission call, and we are having a party because it is also her 21st birthday.
My roommate Faith should be getting her mission call in about 2 weeks!
Thanksgiving is in 3 weeks! And then it's almost Christmas!
We have good times ahead people.

Remember to be grateful this month!! :)

My Hard Core Life

I feel like I've done more awesome things in the last 3 weeks than i did all summer. And it's time to blog about it, even though I have a million other things that I need to do.

Lets go over the events of my life since school started.

1. School started

2. I found a job! MTC Cafeteria baby

3. I went on a camping trip with a few awesome Jerusalem friends

4. More school

5. I had an awesome Jerusalem Reunion at the Muhesltein's (my New Testament teacher)

6. I went on an awesome hike up Mount Timpanogos to see the sunrise

7. More school

8. I ran the Red Rock Relay!!!!!

9. And now I am very behind in school.

Let me elaborate on said activities.

3. Camping Trip

The weekend before school started, a few of my Jerusalem friends and I decided to go out into the mountains. So Faith, Nathanael, and I joined Austen and some of his friends on a nice little weekend trip into the Uinta's. Austen and his friends mostly just fished, but Faith Nathanael and I had a wonderful time hiking around all the beautiful lakes in the area. 

Also, Faith and I made awesome Foil Dinners, and I made homemade rolls, and we brought up freshly made strawberry freezer jam. Needless to say, the boys loved us. 

Also, Nathanael brought up a monster tent. The biggest tent I have ever seen, slept in by me and Faith on one side and Nathanael on the other (don't worry, there was a separation barrier). 

The view from our campsite

Monster tent. Dwarfing all others.

Butterfly Lake

Austen Fishing

Me and Faith!

5 and 6. Jerusalem Reunion and Timp Hike

The next weekend, we all had a wonderful reunion at the Muhelstein's house in Pleasant Grove. They had been home from Israel, for about 2 weeks. It was a dream come true. So many people were able to make it! There was so much love going around. So many hugs. So many people with significant others. So much food. It was good. 

To finish off the night, Faith, Nathanael, and some other friends and I met up with my brother Matt and a million of his friends to embark on the annual beginning-of -the-school-year sunrise Timpanogos hike! It was great. I was hoping that I'd be in good enough shape so the beastly 14 mile hike wouldn't get the best of me. And I was! Well, mostly. 

We began at 1:11 a.m. and my friends and I ended up separating from Matt's large group. I led the way up, hoping that I wouldn't lead my friends astray, since those switchbacks can get confusing in the dark. But we successfully made it all the way up, traversing through a field of snow/ice, and making the final climb to the shack, just in time for a beautiful sunrise! Only 7 of the 18 of us made it to the top. Booyah!

Matt and I on the top!

View of the saddle. Gorgeous!

8. RED ROCK RELAY!!

Oh man, guys. This is honestly one of my favorite things to do. This was my second year doing the relay and I just absolutely love it. Here's how it goes: 

187 miles

Brian Head Ski Resort to Zion National Park

12 people on each team

2 vans, 6 runners in each

3 legs per runner

Team Tortoise!!!

My brothers and I were in the the second van, the Sun Van and we ROCKED it! Well, I was proud of how I did at least. I ran the last leg of the second van, which was a 5.4 miler down out of the mountains to Cedar City. I did pretty good. I ran it in 47 min, which is under a 10 minute mile, so I was happy. 

Then our van drove over to Enterprise, UT (it's ok if you've never heard of it) and stayed at our teammate's in-laws house. They were so nice! They made us dinner and let us sleep there for a few hours, and then it was our turn to run again. But this time, it was night. Very late, or early, depending on how you look at it. I was the last runner for our van again, a whopping 7 miles between 4 and 5 a.m. and to my pleasant surprise, i did quite well. I ran it in an hour, and it felt great! There's something about running at night, when you can see anything but what the headlight shows in front of you and the faint outline of trees or mountains in the distance. And we were in the middle of nowhere. There's something very liberating about running in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night.....try it sometime.

Well we took off to Washington, UT (it's ok if you've never heard of it) and fell asleep in some gym facility that they provided for us, while the other van finished their last run. That meant that we were up, to finish the relay in the hot sun of southern Utah. yay. 

The last leg is always the worst. The courses are all long and difficult, and hot, and they basically push your body to its very limit. About three miles into my five mile run, i hit a wall. My exhausted body was telling me that it didn't want to run anymore. My aching legs were telling me that they didn't want to move anymore. My heaving lungs were telling me they didn't want to heave anymore. And my side ache was telling me to walk.

So I did. 

And it was the sweetest relief I could ask for. But then I still had to run. I still had another 2 miles to go. And let me tell you, they were the longest 2 miles of my life. 

But hey, I am alive and well, and i finished that awful 5 mile run to hand the stick to my brother who had to do some 6. something run up a longer hill than I had.....so....I'll stop complaining.

But our team was awesome. And i ran a total of 17.4 miles. Yay me! 

The Monster 15 seater.

It rained.

Ready to Run!

Matt going for the hand-off.

Now I have to do a lot of homework.