My life has been crazy. Which is a wonderful thing because it is SO fun! No regrets :) but I should update you quickly...

-I went to LOGAN again! I was there for 5 lovely days full of fun. 

-I went clubbing and it was oh so fun! Dear Laura sat in gum (see picture below)...that wasn't quite as fun but the rest of the night was wonderful! 

-I can't wait until Christmas! Once it starts getting cold I start getting sooo excited for Christmas! I may or may not already be listening to Christmas music...and by that I mean I most definitely am. I mean come on, Scotty McCreery and Blake Shelton just released Christmas albums. If you haven't heard them yet, go listen.  Now. 

-Tomorrow is official "Take Back Your Time" day. Which means don't waste it!

-A couple weeks ago we made egg nog shakes at work. They were DELICIOUS! First-I love egg nog. Second- I love shakes. Third- I love egg nog shakes. and fourth- I absolutely love getting paid to sit there eating one. What a great Friday it was. 

-While in Logan I bought a precious Paul Frank cup (although I may have called it my curious George cup all weekend...I was mistaken. It's Paul Frank, but it's still cute! See picture below...)

-I got to see the beautiful Ashley Clauss last week! It was so great seeing someone from home, especially her! I love her!

-This has nothing to do with anything but I asked my brother if he thought I was immature and he said no and then said "maybe you just look young and who cares? YOLO." Can I just say how much I love him? He can always make me laugh when I'm feeling down. After spending almost a week with him, I'm just super happy!

-While I was in Logan I was reading a book called Don't Sweat the Little Things and it's totally changed my perspective, not that I worried about the little stuff anyways. But after reading it and being away from the Rexburg bubble, my perspective has changed fully. Now I'm just so happy and looking at life in a new wonderful way and cutting out the bad things and people that I don't need in my life. So if I stop talking to you, it's cause you are one of the bad people I don't need. hahah I'm kidding. Well, kinda. But don't sweat it :)

-aaaand finally, Taylor Swift's new album is amazing, beautiful, fun, inspiring and just plain fantastic. I'll take a break from my Christmas music to play it on repeat for the next few days. My favorite song? Stay, Stay, Stay. Sooo good!

busybusybusy

Okay so I've been a little off the radar lately...I apologize and here's a quick update.

I'm back at school and loving it. 

Except for my Math class. There are cool people in there and the teacher is funny but I HATE math and I certainly suck at it. (seriously...I do. I just failed my test today. boom. proof.)

My ward is cool though and my roommates are wonderful. 

We've already decorated our apartment for Halloween and it's beautiful. We are also planning a legit party for that weekend. 

I tried a pear for the first time a few weeks ago. It was pretty good actually.

I also tried Ginger Beer and non-alcoholic wine. Also, not too bad. 

The other night we drove around with me standing through the sunroof and I hollered at people. It was pretty wonderful. 

My new quote is... "nothing matters when you are dancing." So when something you don't want to happen happens...just start dancing. It fixes everything. 

And there is your update on my oh so exciting life

Oh and I'm totally making these. 

 http://picky-palate.com/2011/07/05/gooey-cookies-and-cream-double-chocolate-cake-bars/

And now I'll leave you with a picture of my new friend Henry. He is adorable. Enjoy.

Soren Nikolaus Neumann

My sister is a Mom! My sister is a Mom! I could shout it to the world. I am so excited for her. She is going to be the best and her husband Hailey is going to be just as wonderful. Little baby Soren is so lucky to have both of them. They will be just goofy and fun enough while still being smart and serious and raising him right. It's going to be fun to see how Soren grows up. He is a beautiful little boy. I couldn't get enough of him. I could just stare at him for hours (at which point I realized how bad it's going to be when it's my own baby) Welcome to the world Soren Nikolaus Neumann. 

More work stories

Well another week has passed of work.

First funny thing to happen is my "semi friend." One day I was waving the sign and a guy in a semi passed by. He was holding up papers and moving them back and forth mimicking me. I gave him a thumbs up and waved and he laughed and honked the horn. It was awesome! Definitely made my day. And he passed by a couple days ago doing the same thing! He is now my "semi friend" and he's great!
This week something kind of wonderful happened.
I was taking my break when a precious old man came up to me. And when I say precious, I mean precious. He was a little hunched over, had a huge grin, soft old crackly voice and he was holding a small American flag. He then asked if I was the sign girl and gave me 4 dollars and told me to get some food. He explained that he had done that job before and he wanted to treat me to some lunch. After I got my food I asked if he wanted his change but he just waved his hand at me and then actually handed me another dollar and told me to also get a drink. After another wave and huge smile he left.
When I went back outside (after eating fries and a delicious bacon burger) I saw him sitting on the corner across the street. He was holding out a sign and asking for money from passing cars. I was in awe that someone who begs for money would be willing to give up 5 dollars to a total stranger.
In that moment I realized our world is not completely hopeless. With all the terrible things that happen and the awful things that people do, there are still good people out there. There are still people who have pure and giving hearts. And that gave me hope. So thank you precious man for giving me hope in the world again.

The story of J

Well, I'm back at my sign waving job which means I have stories to tell.
Yesterday the weirdest thing happened... A guy (probably around 19 or 20) came up to me and asked if I knew where to cash a check on a Saturday. Then he left. About half an hour later I went to take my break (sit in Burger King for 10 minutes and watch the news) and he saw me and ran up to me. This is how our conversation went. *We'll call him J*

"Hey! You know you are very lucky for 2 reasons."-J
"Oh really?"-A
"One-cause I'm flirting with you and two because I think you are beautiful."-J
"Well thanks..."-A
(He then follows me through the BK door and sits down at a table with me)
"Seriously, you should just quit your job and become a model."-J
"I'm a little short."-A
"All the tall ones are just stuck up. You seem more down to earth."-J
"Well...thanks."-A
"I mean it. You are like way out of their league. You are so pretty."-J
(I'm feeling awkward at this point so I just chuckle and look at the tv)
"You play any instruments?"-J
"Piano"-A
"No way! I play guitar. We should start a band, tour the world, and since you are that gorgeous, we can even have kids."-J (no joke. that is what he said.)
"Well darn, too bad I leave in a month."-A
"That gives us time."-J
(cue awkward chuckle again...)
"Listen, I'm having a get together tonight and since you are so pretty, you are invited."-J
"What are you doing?"-A
"It's a surprise until you get there."-J
"Well, I already have plans."-A
"Cancel them and come anyways."-J
"Yeah...well we'll see."-A
He then shakes my hand and says nice to meet me. Then grabs my hand again, kisses it...yes, he kissed my hand and said "you're beautiful! have a good day."

Ohh the people I meet on the street. Never a dull moment.

Replay

Here's a quick replay of this last and best semester!

Sorry for being a little off the radar but I'm back! The end of the semester is always the busiest and the most fun so I've been a little distracted. Here's just a quick update on what has been happening the last month.

I went to Salt Lake for my cousin's wedding. It was beautiful and happy and fun to see everyone. Then while wandering around with Kevin and Jarom and we found some random pianos placed around downtown. So I was a street performer for a few minutes!

The 4th of July was a lot of fun. Sariah and I went to the parade, saw Spiderman and then went to see the fireworks. What better way to celebrate America than watch people in Rexburg drive tractors? Watch beautiful people make up the perfect fantasy world that could never happen? and then blow things up? 

On July 5th we went to the rodeo. It was so much fun!

 And full of men that looked like this...

So yeah...it was great.

Funny story though, Sariah and I somehow got talked into helping the clown (which was creepy) do a skit. So when the time came the five of us were all blindfolded and told to dance in the middle of the arena. Then he said a few weren't dancing well so we needed to try harder. He did this a couple times until he said that I wasn't dancing much. But...if you know me, you know I don't do things halfway, especially dancing like a fool. So I got weirded out, knowing that I was dancing. So I asked "am I the only one left out here?" and he replies of course not. But when he turned the music on, I didn't dance and then he told me to take off my blindfold. Turns out I was dancing by myself in the middle of the arena for everyone to laugh at. 

It was embarrassing and funny.

I'll always remember my first rodeo now.

On July 13th it was cow appreciation day, so of course Sariah and I had to participate!

We dressed up like cows, drove 25 minutes and got our free meal. 

It was soo worth it!