You Know Who I Miss?

My little girls. And by miss I mean I that just thinking about them makes my heart ache, yet smile at the same time because I love them so much.
Yesterday I was able to Skype them and it was amazing! I loved being able to see those crazy kids bouncing off of the wall and listen to them laughing like maniacs. Crazy kids...I love them with all my heart. It's amazing how happy I was just to see their blurry images and hear their broken audio.
When it was time to go Isalyn, the three year old, started crying. I told her that I'd see her again soon but that didn't seem to make her feel much better and the tears continued to flow. So, in an attempt to cheer her up, I gave her a secret mission. (We always went on adventures and treasure hunts and such when I was nannying them.) I told her that, in order to complete her mission, she would have to draw me a beautiful picture of a flower with pink and purple petals. She immediately jumped off the couch and began on her picture for me. After assuring them that I would see them again and telling them I loved them, I ended the call. And then I cried.

I Feel Like You Should Know...

about this boy that I've been dating.
He's funny. He's freakin' smart. He's a compulsive movie-quoter. He's a great dancer. He longboards. He knows how to dress. He doesn't take himself too seriously. He drives a 40 minute round trip just to bring me soup and orange juice when I'm sick. He wants to be with me even when I'm doing homework and refuse to talk to him so that I can finish. He opens my door every. single. time. He knows the mistakes that I've made, the big ones, and respects me just the same. He takes me places where I can see the stars, places where I can read books that I read growing up, places that look like Nebraska; he takes me places that remind me of home. This boy is helping me check items off of my bucket list. He's the first to say, "Let's read scriptures whenever we're together." In two months, he already knows me better than almost anyone. Because he listens. And he pays attention. To every detail. He knows all of my different laughs and smiles and exactly what they mean. He notices things about me that I never even noticed about myself. He makes me feel intelligent. He makes me feel more confident than I ever have. He lets me be biased in thinking that I am from the best place in the world, that I have the best family, that I actually can be the best at something. Because everything isn't a competition. He is happy to just support me. He is so good to me, better than I ever thought I deserved. Probably better than I do deserve. He is patient with me. And even though I have told him that I don't love him, (because I don't believe that you can really love someone in that short period of time),this crazy boy still thinks that he wants to marry me. And when I tell him that I want to continue to date other people because, well, I just don't know what I want, he understands. He knows all about Seth, and he respects me for wanting to see him again before I make any decisions. And despite it all, he is willing to take that chance on me.
The truth is, I don't know what's going to happen. The truth is, I'm afraid of letting myself get too attached. The truth is, I'm leaving in a few months so if we're playing it safe, we've already become too close. The truth is, even though nothing may come of this relationship (or whatever you'd like to call it), I'm glad I have dated this boy. I know now how I want to be treated.

I Am Alive.

Sorry I've dropped off the face of the earth...I suppose that I've been too busy living life to stop and write about it. And by living life I mean going to bed way too late and waking up way too early. Oh the joys of being young. Too busy living. That's a pretty good problem to have if you ask me.
I'll give you a small update on how life has been: crazy.
I have deadlines almost every night and so I stress and stress to meet those...and by that point it's somewhere between 10:59pm and midnight. But then I usually end up hanging out with friends anyway for a couple more hours. And then I wake up at 7 and watch the girls and do it all over again day after day. That has been my life as of late. Some days I feel a little exhausted, but I'm keeping up pretty well. And it's worth it. I didn't just come to work and take online classes, I came here for the experience. So I'm going to get it.
Some of those deadlines, though, I don't mind. At all. I mentioned earlier that I had an internship writing for a bridal magazine, yes? Well after turning in my first piece, the editor said that she loved it so much she wanted me to write another article for her spring issue as well as the summer issue. So I hustled my butt off and wrote a second article. And now two of my pieces are going to be published within the next month. Am I ecstatic? Why yes. Yes I am. My foot is in the door. Thank you, Heavenly Father. Thank you.
Something else. I have this amazing friend here. He became my best friend right away and he already knows me better than most people I've known my entire life. Because he pays attention. I mention once that I'd like to do something, and he makes it happen; next month we're going skydiving. Just because I've always wanted to. Amazing? Um. Yeah.
So that's my life right now. It's pretty crazy, but it's pretty great. I am so glad I came. Because, even though I'm running on little sleep, rushing to meet deadlines and keep my grades up as well as keeping up with a baby and a two-year-old, I am happy. And I am very much alive.

Hot Air Balloons&Such

So a couple of weekend ago I went to Glendale Glitters with the family I'm living with. Basically there were a ton of hot air balloons lit up and just floating around. It was actually really cool and I loved just being able to walk around and look at them and take pictures. It was magical. Also, I thought it was kinda neat how you weren't able to see the moon at all that night since it was so cloudy but, with a super slow shutter speed and no flash, I was able to pick up its light in some of the pictures.

(Am I the only one that thinks this balloon totally should have been on Tangled?)

Warning: This is a bit of a vent post

The other day Sequoia called me and said "Sierra, when are you coming home? I miss you." "Not until May, honey. I'll be back for Sapphire's graduation." "What?? May?? But.....Why?" And then she started bawling. "I miss you so much already!  Can't you come home now?" Apparently she didn't realize that I was actually moving here. I thought she had...I almost cried too because I felt so bad. But I didn't, that's the point. 

Tonight I did though. And I didn't even have a good reason I just have so stinkin much on my plate I feel like I'm gonna buckle. I absolutely love these little girls. I'm still glad I took the job. But...gosh. Nannying 12 hours a day and then being a full time student in the evening and trying to keep some sort of social life is a lot to juggle. I spent 8 hours on my biotechnology assignment alone the other day. And today I took the girls to the children's museum...and Isalyn was having so much fun she didn't come tell me that she had to go potty, and she peed in one of the tunnels. I felt so bad I apologized to the workers over and over but they were really understanding and nice about it. (Thank goodness for kind people. I love them.) And then when I tried to take her potty a couple of hours later, after we were home, she bawled for like an hour for absolutely no reason. And dad was admitted into the hospital last night. And yesterday I took Isalyn to preschool and forgot to grab her a jacket until we got all the way there and then I felt like the worst nanny ever. And I had a quiz due last night and a discussion due today, neither of which I could do because my dang textbooks still haven't got here. And it's just...gosh. It's just been one of those days. And none of that stuff is even that big of a deal I guess I just feel like so much is depending on me right now. 

But, despite all of the frustration and stress, I'm grateful to be here. I love the girls. And they love me too. Isalyn always wants to be with me and yesterday Misty told me, "She adores you. You know that right?" She calls me mom a lot, and I have to correct her because I don't think Misty would appreciate that little habit if she found out.

Yesterday Isalyn cried when I had to take her to preschool so it was a bit of a struggle to get her ready since she put up a fight. So, we were running a few minutes late. We're usually early and I always check to make sure I have enough gas. Well yesterday morning I was in such a rush getting the girls out the door and trying to get Isalyn there in time, there's only a 15 minute window where you can drop them off. And it's kinda a long drive to the preschool so I couldn't just bring her home no big deal if I missed the window. Anyway, we get all the way to the freeway and I look down and notice I have no gas. And there's nowhere I can stop to get it on the way and we still have like 20 minutes to go and then we hit crazy traffic. Like the stop and go kind that is terrible on gas mileage. So then I started to panic a little because you don't want to run out of gas in that sorta traffic on the freeway in Phoenix. So, I prayed. Really hard that we'd be able to make it. And somehow, the needle didn't move one bit the whole way. We made it all the way there and in plenty of time at that, which was a miracle in itself. And then Amaya and I made it over to a gas station and everything was fine. It's the little miracles that remind me that He's always there. 

Well, that's all. I feel better about life now. 

The Flight annd...The. Best. Christmas. Ever.

Hey, girls, hey!!! I'm back! Sorry it's taken so long but I'm finally settled in here in Arizona. Saying goodbye to my family was hard and we all cried as if one of us had just died...luckily that's not the case. I just won't see them until May. Anyway, once I flew into Mesa I was greeted by Misty, James, and the girls. They were excited that I was there and that made everything so much better! It makes such a tremendous difference when people can't wait to see you. And I've skyped people every night so that has made things easier too! (My awesome old roommate Stephanie...cried saying goodbye to her too, my sister Sapphire and the rest of my family, and Candice!) So, long story short, the move went well and now I'm just chillin down here enjoying the 80 degree weather.
Now, I'm ready to tell you all about the Best. Christmas. Ever.
Are you ready?
Here goes...
So, as you know, Christmas was on a Sunday this year. We decided that we weren't going to open any presents before church that day and so off we went on our merry way. Our church Christmas program was awesome and the spirit was super strong! There were some really beautiful musical numbers that just about made me cry. Then we came home and opened gifts and I received a beautiful Canon T3 for my birthday/Christmas present! (Thanks, Mom!!..er....Santa) After everyone was done opening their gifts I told them to hang on, I had something to give them all. So I went and grabbed what I have been working on for awhile...poems I had written for each one of my family members. I handed them all out and, as they read them, my family began to cry. Omygoodness. Can I just say how much I love my family? It was one of those things that you will never forget and, though it sounds cheesy, now it's definitely the most special Christmas memory that I have. After a few more hours of just spending time with my family I received an amazing surprise, a phone call!!!  That was the cherry on top of my awesome Christmas.
It was just a really incredible day filled with all things good.
I can't even express what a great Christmas I had.
I love my family.
And I'm going to be sharing the poems I wrote for each one of them so that you can get to know them a little better and love them too. Keep your eyes open for them and enjoy!

Stay Tuned!

Sorry I've been such a bum when it comes to posting! Between being home with my family and starting to pack for AZ I haven't had too much time to blog but let me just say, this was The. Best. Christmas. Ever. I'll tell you all about it as soon as I have a free moment. And then I'm going to be sharing a year in pictures and some writings which are pretty special to me. So stay tuned! The next few posts are going to rock your socks off! Because, believe me, this week has definitely rocked off mine! Be back ASAP!

Sorry I Suck

I've been sorta terrible at blogging the last few days. Sorry. Finals sorta suck my life away. 2 down, 3 to go! And the absolute worst one is tomorrow...Macroeconomics...Oh man...I should be studying right now. I think I'll do that after I take a nap. I need to make up for the lack  of sleep I've been imposing upon my body. Would you like to hear more about my awesome night? A macroecon assignment consisting of about 135 problems. A political science assignment. And a 6 page analytical Spanish paper. It was so much fun. I need to shower. And sleep. I'm gross. 

But before I do that...

Here's a shout out to my little sister over at happy as the sun. She's really awesome. And she's my best friend. And she's been having a pretty rough month. A lot of things changing in her life right now. Sapphire, if you're reading this, and I know you will be sometime within the next few days, hang in there. I love you. I'd take a bullet for you any time, any day and if I could make everything all better for you...you know I would. But time soothes everything...even the hardest goodbyes. Believe me, I know.

I'm going to miss you like crazy when I leave but I can't wait to come home for a couple of weeks before I fly out. =) I'll see you soon! Until then, I love you tons! Go read this blog or this blog if you want to laugh!

Other people I'm going to miss?

The rest of my family, of course.

My roommate when I leave....yeah.. A lot. We have so much in common! And the things that we don't have in common? I admire. I know I probably sound like I have a girl crush on her but, even though she's beautiful and has the prettiest eyes, I don't. I'm not a total creep. She's just my closest friend besides my family.

My singles ward.

All of my other friends here in Nebraska. (old and new)

Other friends who are also moving away this month. (there seems to be a lot of us)

But hey, I'll be back in Nebraska in June and back in Lincoln in August so until then I'll just be livin' the dream under the warm AZ sun! 19 days until I fly out...oh man oh man.

Now I am going to pass out for a few minutes until the studying must begin again. Otherwise I may fall right out of my chair.

Like that guy.

Chaos

a) Arizona was grand! Love the little girls. Love the family in general. Love the flying down there. Love the heat. Love the fact that there are way more LDS members. What don't I love about it? Leaving my family and friends here. That shall definitely make me sad. I didn't realize how much I was going to miss my sister until I got back and saw her at the airport. *sob*

2) We finally have beautiful snow. It's going to be a white Christmas. =) And Stephanie and I set up our little tree and decorated our apartment with seasonal garb. It's adorable.

d) If you were a 90's kid, you need to read this, something else I found over at half&half. Love that blog. Anyway, read it. It's all so true. So perfect. And for the record, I still love N*SYNC and Fern Gully. And skydancers. Does anyone else remember those? I want some. I'm pretty sure I used to have like 30 from McDonalds. Also, I have a lot of old Lisa Frank notebooks still sitting around. If you don't, you were obviously not a true 90's child.

7) I smell popcorn. And I want to eat it. But I don't know where it's coming from.

p) I also feel like thrifting. I love thrifting.

i) After flying in last night I completed 2 macroeconomics assignments and a political science assignment before midnight. Then I started on my 13 pages of handwritten Spanish and worked on that until 1:30 am. Woke up at 6:30, continued writing for espanol until 11 am then took a quick shower and studied for an hour before running across campus to take a Spanish exam and turn in the 13 pages. I feel fairly accomplished for today.

R2D2) we have FHE tonight. I love FHE. Probably one of my favorite things.

3) Yes. I know these are in no particular order. I didn't feel like being organized.

First Flight? Success!

So today I flew for the very first time, and I loved it! Quite a success if I do say so myself. I even signed in and did all of that myself before my dad met me at the airport. Felt like such a big girl! I came in and spent some time with my cousins and their little girls who I will start nannying in a month. I love them already! Sooo adorable. The rest of this weekend will be spent with them and I must admit, I'm pretty excited! We're going to go see a bunch of Christmas light shows and the temple all lit up and some art show. Holla! I feel really good about this decision. In honor of this lovely time my posts will probably stay pretty short and to the point so that I can spend more time with the awesome family I'll be living with!
Also, my guest post went up today so don't forget to go check it out!
Goodnight, lovelies!

Guest Posing&Creepy Village Inn

Hello, lovelies! Just wanted to remind you to check out my guest post tomorrow at 1pm over here at the lovely Jess's blog. Hopefully I'll be able to get on and post again before that point, but no guarantees. I'm having some trouble getting internet right now since windstream has decided to be dumb. Once again. Lately I've been having to go to a super ghetto, creepy Village Inn a few blocks away to submit homework assignments. I'm too cheap to go inside and actually buy something, so I sit out in the parking lot and mooch off of their wifi. The other night, though, a message popped up and informed me that someone was trying to hack into my laptop so I scurried off of that dang internet connection real speedy like. Another time some weird creepo looked into my car and watched me the whole time he slowly walked by. So, in case I don't post again before I fly down to Arizona, just know it's because, as much as I value your entertainment, dear readers, I value my life more and I didn't feel like risking it at good ol' VI.

Back to Reality

Thanksgiving break was UH-mazing! My roommate and her boyfriend joined my family for Thanksgiving since neither of their families were here in Nebraska and we stuffed our faces with lots of delicious food. Afterward we played paintball and the next day I took my younger brother and sister to the Huskers last home football game against Iowa. (Which we won. holla!!) Then we went back home for the rest of the break and last night we put up our beautiful Christmas tree and danced around playing Christmas music. It was glorious. 

Then this morning came. 

Now I have to get back to reality. This Thursday my dad and I are flying down to Arizona to check things out and find out which ward (for church) I'll be in and exactly where I'll be living and all that jazz. It's just now hitting me how much I have to get done this week before we fly out. Yikes. With finals just around the corner, things are starting to get even crazier. As if they weren't busy before. 

On a happier note though, I'm also guest posting for Girls With Curls this Thursday!! I cannot even tell you how excited I am! My very first guest post. Jess is super nice and I'm psyched that she's putting something of mine on her awesomespice blog. She said it would be posted at 1pm Dec. 1st so...while I'm in a plane flying to Arizona hopefully ya'll will be reading my post that she puts up! It'll be a day full of new things because, not only will it be my first guest post, it will also be my first time flying! Exciting? I think so.