Bella Complex Anyone?

Hello all!! My life has recently exploded. Have fun reading about all my interesting drama.

Last Monday for FHE our ward got together at a church and had sandwiches for dinner. We met our FHE groups, and at the time mine only had 4 boys with 12 girls, but now it's got more guys in it, and Justin is in my group!! So we are all excited about that.

Tuesday through Friday I was in Arco surveying for my job. One of my bosses called me and said they're going to be doing a similar survey in Moore. I'll have more to say about that later, but for now the big drama with my job has been this:

Dogs!!!! I have such a problem with dogs! I carry pepper spray, but holy smokes I am seriously amazed at how many "Beware of Dog" signs there are, and how many there SHOULD be. People--lock your dogs up. Sure, they "won't bite" but I mean, c'mon--seriously? I also dealt with a lot of "characters" this week. I had a few people give me their pointed opinions, and all I can think is "Don't Shoot the Messenger People!!!" I'm just trying to do my job. Whatever; I'm over it.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I did a lot of hanging out with friends. We went swimming, played cards, ALMOST went canoeing, and then on Saturday all afternoon I helped with an Ultimate Frisbee camp. I also had a coaches training meeting that day. We had tons of people show up at the Upper Fields where we did drills, learned the rules, practiced tossing and reading the disc, and after that we had hotdogs at an apartment complex's grassy area. Tryouts are next week, so I'm excited to get my team and start practicing and having games. Woooo!

Sunday I accompanied Trisha's choir in her ward in Rigby. Justin came along to be my page turner. =] We went to primary with Trisha for the next two hours, and the kiddos sang to us the songs they'll be singing in the primary program later. Trisha made the most amazing soup for us, and it was SO PERFECT for the day. It feels so much like Fall here I can't even handle it! Don't get me wrong; I love it! But it's just crazy how soon the weather changed. And folks, this is where my life gets interesting. Lately I've felt a little like this:

I've got two guys that like me (and apparently it's a competition between the two of them now) and I don't feel good about it. It's just weird because guys don't usually like me, so I'm like a drought my whole life, and now all the sudden I'm drowning!! I'm REALLY GOOD FRIENDS with them BOTH. But it's impossible not to hurt someone's feelings at this point... and as much as I don't want to be the bad guy to anyone, it seems that point will eventually be inevitable. You gotta do what you gotta do, right? AND I feel like I'm already pissing them both off because I'm just not interested in dating either one exclusively, and they both know this. Yet they still want to try...so it's just REALLY INTERESTING (p.s. be conservative with your comments...both boys read my blog).

But moving on...today I went to The Development Company where I work and found my two bosses sitting outside talking. It was almost as if they were expecting me to show up to talk to them about my work situation. I got out and Ted said, "We were just visiting about how efficient you've been on the survey thus far," which made me feel really good. We then went inside to an office and they said they want to extend my work until December (which is great because before I only had work until around mid-October....so YEAH!). Ted said he wants to pay me to do some writing for them! "You're a good writer, right?" he said to me, and I said heck yes! So I will be doing another survey in Moore plus finishing up the survey in Arco, and that has to get done in the next two weeks. The thing is, I can't head out this week due to the survey not being ready for me for Moore yet, and I have frisbee tryouts I need to be to this weekend. That means all next week I need to get the surveys DONE, so there's pressure there to finish. But yeah once the survey is done, they're going to set up an office for me here in Rexburg where I'll write and get paid!! Holy dream come true for me. =] The Lord is so good to me in my life. I have so many tremendous blessings!


Well that's my story for this week. If you want more dirty details about the boy drama feel free to send me an email. I don't find my blog the best place to say much more than I have. OK well that's it for this week. Later!

Labor WEEK

Last week was one of my busiest weeks ever. Monday for Labor Day I hung out at Trisha's from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM. We bottled peaches, made peach pie filling, and froze peaches and carrots. Trisha and I had some serious quality time together. We talked about anything and everything. There was never a dull moment for sure. I really like having Trisha close to hang out with. It reminds me of the time I spent with Mitzi in Boise when we would make applesauce and do all sorts of other crafty things. I really have two amazing sisters to look up to! They did everything right; they married right, and they are fantastic mothers. Let's hope I don't drop the ball!

 
We went out for lunch at Papa Kelsey's, and that night Travis grilled some steaks. Hailey planned some "Minute to Win it" games which were quite entertaining.

fit six pieces of penne on a spaghetti noodle

roll the ping pong ball into the cup using measuring tape

way to concentrate Trisha!

Katie and I--old FHE sister

From Tuesday to Saturday I was an I-Team leader for the Get Connected program which is a program set up to help the new students coming to BYU-Idaho. Tuesday and Wednesday all day were training days, and Thursday through Saturday we met our assigned I-Teams (roughly 35 students each pair of I-Team leaders are in charge of) and did all sorts of activities with them. 

Joseph and I

Tuesday I met my I-Team leader Partner. His name is Joseph Hancock, and he and I had about 35 students we were in charge of (our I-Team). On this day we basically went to devotionals all day and did a few group activities with out mentor group (about 19 other I-Team leaders). We listened to Vice President Miyasaki which was pretty cool! President Clark is down and out recovering from a kidney transplant surgery he had over the break, and he won't be out and about until October-ish. 

Farid and I; this guy was seriously so awesome. I was so jealous that he wasn't my I-Team partner. He calls me K.B. which I LOVE!

Wednesday was the same story as Tuesday, except our mentor group decided to put blue paint on our faces. Everyone was super jealous! We took a bunch of pictures that day and we had a lot of really awesome spiritual experiences. It was fun to get together in our mentor groups and discuss different parts of the gospel, and I feel extremely blessed to have had this opportunity to serve. It was 5 very long days, but it was worth it.

our "Titanic" pose

Thursday it was finally time to meet the new students. From 8 AM to about 2PM Joseph and I walked back and forth between the two dorms as we tried to find the new students moving in. At 3 we met for the BYU-Idaho welcome in the BYU-I Center, and then we played some get to know you games at the stadium. That night everyone met at the Upper Fields for some competitive games and dancing. There are so many new students this semester! I heard someone say there were 3,000, but then I heard someone else say there were 7,000, so I don't know, but either way that is a ton of people!

Reuben and I; he was my FHE brother in the winter, and he and Kyle (other FHE brother) convinced me to join student support.

dancing to Justin Bieber

Friday morning and afternoon we took the new students to meetings about the Learning Model, information about their majors, and ways to get involved on campus (like playing competitive Ultimate Frisbee and doing Get Connected!). That afternoon I went to the Civil Defense Caves outside of Rexburg with this guy:

Preston (frickin) Jones

Meet Preston Jones. I met Preston through Ultimate Frisbee in the spring. He coordinated for the league, and he was the one who actually recruited me into playing competitively. He and I have become really good friends, and it was nice to relax from Get Connected for a spell. Thanks Preston for taking me out during the few hours of free time I had!

Friday night there was the new student talent show and let me tell you folks... I was blown away!!!! There were the usual piano players and solo singers, but the acts that stood out to me were a boy singing totally falsetto, and a crazy good jump roper (which was my favorite). I had videos of these, as well as a video of me dancing to Justin Bieber's "Baby" but I couldn't get them to load...check out my facebook if you want to see those!!

Saturday morning Joseph and I gave our I-Team a tour of campus. That afternoon I met my mentor group for some sand volleyball, and then at 2 I went to Winco with Lauren and Justin! It's true I could've done the same shopping at Rexburg, but it was fun to go as a group to Winco since Justin already had to do some stuff in Idaho Falls. At 5:30 there was a women's conference in the BYU-I Center that we went to and it was fantastic. I definitely felt inspired during the meeting. The Lord truly answers our prayers! That night was I-Night, but it wasn't as fun for me this time (probably because I'm not a new student and I'm sort of over it). However, it was still fun to catch up with my mentor group. I went out to Beaver Dick with Justin and Lauren when I was bored of that business.

Sunday at 6 there was a fireside where Sister and Elder Oaks spoke. That was such a good meeting! I was totally fired up about it the whole time because it made me think about my American Foundations class last winter that totally changed my life. It's so important to have an opinion about the issues that surround us, and it is our responsibility to stand up for what we know is right.

"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"--Edmund Burke

That night Justin and Chad came over for dinner. We made chicken in a crock pot, potatoes, onions, and carrots in the oven, and I made peach pie with the filling Trisha and I made earlier that week. Our bishop came over and had a piece while he explain to Lauren and I how to put the FHE groups together for later today. I met Lauren's old roommates Thea and Grace and they are both SO FUNNY. I love funny people, and pretty much everything they say makes me laugh! We went stadium singing where we sang a bunch of patriotic songs which was really cool for 9/11.

So now the fall semester has started and it's a bit shocking having so many people in Rexburg again. It's going to take 3 hours to get through the temple, and I won't be able to practice the piano on the Grand in the Hinckley anymore, but I'm excited for Ultimate Frisbee to start and to make some friends! It's interesting to think back a year to what you were doing and how different your life is now. I'm so grateful for the life the Lord has seen fit to bless me with. Thanks to all you wonderful people who make my life so rich! Peace and Love!!! =]

smile, for life is good!

Last Adventures of August

left to right: speedometer, temperature, fuel, oil, rpms

Imagine you are driving down the road with a full tank of gas, going somewhere around 65 mph, and this is what you see. Apparently you are going 0 mph and you're totally out of gas. Luckily for me, I'm pretty used to having cars crack out on me while they are in my stewardship. For those of you who don't know, last year while I was living in Boise my stick shift car would randomly "click" off while I was driving down the freeway to get to work, or driving anywhere for that matter. I'd have to put it back in neutral and restart it going 75 mph. This "clicking off" action almost cost me my life one time driving down Eagle road at rush hour, and by that time I called Dad in tears of frustration that he was totally chill about me driving a retarded car that almost killed me. This time around I was completely isolated as my car stuttered to a stop in the middle of the Arco desert. The battery was completely exhausted. The thing is, after leaving Terreton, I was 100% confident the battery would die before I got to Arco, but I decided to just let it happen because I needed to prove to my dad that this car needs to be donated to the high school car bash for homecoming.  Seriously it needs to die!! I waited in my car on the side of the road listening to my ipod until Mom and Dad showed up to give me a jump to get me to the auto shop in Arco.

I shouldn't have washed it...its cleanliness is probably giving you a false image of its functionality.

Panorama of the Buttes

Dad to the rescue...thanks Dad!

The funny thing is, my car's battery had died just the day before. I went to the temple in the morning, and I noticed it was acting strange, but when is it not? When I tried to get in my car later that day to pick up my free loaf of bread from Great Harvest Bread for volunteering at the triathlon, there was zero life. My good friend Justin was with me and he was able to give me a jump to Auto Zone so they could charge it up. We hung out all day that day by fixing my car, making French toast for dinner, playing board games and going to the gym. He and I toss the Frisbee constantly. Thanks Justin; you're the best! =]

So why was I driving to Arco, you may ask? I landed a job with The Development Company here in Rexburg, and they are conducting a survey in Arco to prove that it is a low-to-moderate income community. If the survey proves that, it will go into the application process for the city to receive a grant to improve the water sanitation. I was driving over to start surveying, and after all the car mess was taken care of, I did just that.

Note the pepper spray on my hip...I mean business!

My first time surveying I was totally awkward, but as my sister in-law Christy would say, "Fake it til you Make it!" They put an ad in the paper that this would be happening so most people were receptive, but then I'd run into a couple characters. At one of the houses, a dude asked me, "Do you want to know what I think?" I told him I absolutely did, and he continued to tell me his bold opinion about what I was doing and all sorts of other "blah blah." One guy had to get a smoke before I could survey him...apparently he thought it would be a rather stressful questionnaire.

The most exciting thing about my first day was the big golden lab that chased me. I got out of my car and took about 10 confident steps toward a house where I could see two men watching me like "what the heck does she want?" The next thing I heard was a dog that let out a very grown up bark. I then saw the said dog (that comes up to my waist) running toward me. I started to back off, and then I realized as the owners tried to call him off that there was no way that dog was listening. I turned around and booked it back to my car (this was the scariest part...would I make it before he took a bite out of my back? or would he go for my heels? And don't forget the terrifying moment where you have to stop to open your door and the agonizing time it takes to get inside and close your door to safety!). I am happy to report I made it just in time! They called the dog off and answered my survey, so that was awesome. I tried to play it cool and just drive away, but once I was out of sight I pulled over and my whole body was shaking. My foot on the clutch was rattling. . There are so many other houses with "Beware of Dog" and "No Trespassing" signs...maybe I'll buy them one.

This weekend I was able to play in an Ultimate Frisbee tournament with Justin's team in Boise. He plays on a club team here in Rexburg, and they had a girl who couldn't play at the last minute. Friday in the late afternoon I got a text asking if I wanted to play. The clocks in my head started turning as I tried to figure it out, and pretty soon I was OFFICIALLY going. ;)

Saturday morning at 4:30 AM I got up and by 5 I was on the road for Boise. I was running on a few hours of sleep, but I was pumping with adrenaline as I made my way across the state! It was cool to drive as it got lighter, and sunrises are WAY COOLER than sunsets. But enough of that...I got to the field in time to warm up, and we basically played Ultimate from 9AM to 6PM. That's not 100% true because we had a bye and there are breaks in between games, but if we weren't playing in an actual game, we were tossing with each other, so it was one of the best days of my life! My sister Trisha thinks it's funny that of all fun things I've done at college so far, playing Ultimate has been at the top.

Primitive Disc Monkeys

Me with Justin

my attempt to lay out for a disc

A highlight of the tournament was the other teams' personality! One team from Montana had some weird "highlighter color" theme and they were all wearing the most ridiculous things. Another team's "get pumped up" cheer involved very colorful language, and by the end of the day there were players who would toss the frisbee in one hand and hold a beer in the other. As they got progressively more drunk, part of the game was to keep from spilling their beers all over themselves as they tossed. So yeah...it was a pretty hippie day. Some of the time I felt like we should've all gathered round in a big circle, maybe sung a few verses of "Cumbaya" and smoked a bong or two.

I went to see my sister who just had her new baby (making me 19 years old with 19 nieces and nephews) but she was still in the hospital so I didn't get to her. Serious cudos to Mitzi: she went all natural!! Welcome Piper Cannon to the Beal clan! 

Sunday I saw a lot of this action. I drove from Boise to Rexburg all in one day which was a first. The only thing that kept me awake was singing along to the love of my life Mr. Justin Bieber! Tomorrow I'm doing peaches with my sister Trisha. She asked me to accompany a choir in Rigby that will be singing in a couple weeks, so I've been practicing like crazy. I'll miss being able to play the Grand in the Hinckley building whenever I want since school starts soon. I'm involved in Get Connected is this week which is where a bunch of students volunteer a few days to help welcome the new students to the university. I'll be headed to Arco this weekend to survey again, and I'm pretty sure I have a date somewhere in between all that.