Some pictures of lately....enjoy!! they are of when i went to utah and also of julianne's birthday!



mmm tacos! so betty's (sanchez) boyfriend has this taco stand so of course we went to eats some tacos!!

and of course i'm going to see my daughter while im in utah!! love her!

hailey enjoying mommy's birthday candles!


shawn surprised julianne with a cake!


she is growing sooo fast! love that adorable face!!

Do you feel like time is flying by? I do! I felt like that again when I got to utah and felt like i had just been there! I love it but its so crazy at the same time!
highlights from utah ('cause to write about all of it would be sooo much and probably not as interesting to you as it is to me haha).

Went dancing with friends friday- met some new ones and got to see some old ones! my friend amanda totally saved me that night. I also ate something that my stomach did not like so i didn't get much sleep that night. But i didnt really get a lot of sleep the whole weekend but thats what vacations are like sometimes!

Saturday i got my hair fixed!! The thing is...well sometimes i dye my hair and i was trying to go lighter but it ended up making it worse (i am tired of the dark) but luckily i did that right before i went to utah so amanda, who works in b space salon, said she could fix it for me. She took out some of the dark (I dont know all the terms), and she ended up weaving in 3 colors, including highlights and so i am on my way back to being my natural color! she did an amazing job and she works at a cool salon.

I also got invited to try peruvian food and omgosh you will have to go to this place, it is really good, it is called k-rico peru and is in SLC off 2100 S and about 280 W. This guy I met on friday invited me to come and eat there because it is his restaurant! It is peruvian food with japaneese fusion. I recommend it!

SO...lets see. I went to stake conference on sunday in the area that my last companion is serving in, which is also an area I served in my first transfer! I love her, she is amazing and it was great to catch up with her, which is kind of rare because they are missionaries and have their schedules and all that but it worked out really well. It made me miss the mission even more!

Sunday I hung out with some more friends and went to visit some members and recent converts and also had a cupcake making party! I helped with the cupcakes but also made cookies! srsly after making all that stuff I didn't even want to eat it...there was soo much sugar in that kitchen! it was fun though and I got to just hang out and talk to some of my friends and it was really laid back Sunday.

Monday...well i got some wifi, a DI trip was made (also one on saturday! love thrift stores!) and then when i got back my friends were up and super excited to head out to IKEA so we went and that was fun looking around at all the home decor and it made me want to have my own place to decorate!! haha.

This trip there were a lot of late nights! its funny thinking about that because I wasn't that tired even with getting less sleep (but i know that only lasts so long! and it was good to come home and sleep). There were some adventures involved too. Ate a lot of good food. Overall it was great to just get away and have a nice little break. The weather was great too btw. i am seriously wanting spring to come now!! SLC is getting it before us. California too...from what i see from FB from all of those who are raving about the warm and sunshiney weather. Send some to me please?

So that was Utah. Highlights at least. I was happy to make some new friends as well and I realized again how blessed I am.

Well I've been sick the last couple days but I'm feeling better tonight. I slept a lot later in the day on saturday and on sunday which kind of blew off my weekend but at least I didn't have classes (I did meet up with a study group and do some work at the library before taking off to visit a couple sisters from my mission for a little bit).

So I discovered this site today: www.livestrong.com which tracks your eating and exercise for those days when I want to see how many calories I'm actually eating (I'm trying to eat healthier and exercise more!) and my exercise, but I didn't really care for how the school does it because even though you write down everything you eat and they give you a "calorie plan" I was more about seeing how exercise is helping me, although I know eating healthy is part of it too. Its a really cool site, you should check it out even if you don't want to use it.

Hopefully I'll be heading to Utah for this upcoming 3-day weekend! Sometimes I just need to get away...and utah is a good change and not too far, plus I get to see so many great friends and remember my mission :D

I'm just trying to balance everything out this week in the different responsibilities I have and things I need/want to do. And this week is mid-terms! I can't believe they are here already! I feel like its still the first weeks of the semester in some ways.

I am excited to feel better and have all my energy back- its at those times when I don't have it to its fullest that I realize what a blessing it is!

You know what else energizes me? Getting an email from a certain someone! I love that feeling!

I was also studying about the immune system tonight to prepare for tomorrow and now I know what my body needs to be doing (or probably is doing) to help me get better! Yay for the lymphatic system!

Today I had a presentation in my family interactions class about homeschooling. Five of us presented and it went well...we did a powerpoint and then incorporated all the info into a jeopardy game, adding "are you smarter than a 5th grader-type questions" and it was fun to see how everyone got into it, including our teacher. At one point when one group got the answer wrong and any of the other groups could answer and they were all putting their hands up, our teacher shot his hand up and then when we called on him he turned to his group and said, "I just raised my hand because I thought you had the answer!"

I can't wait till we have WARM weather! My sandals and warm-weather type shoes are taunting me from my closet!

I can't believe january is gone and we are already in the month of February! Time is flying by!!

I've been really busy these last couple weeks. Stace noticed because of a lack of blogging...so, here are a few things that have been going on. Kind of but as I think about it, it would take way too long and a lot of it are things that to anyone else would seem insignificant (thats why I sometimes wonder why I blog!)

There are a ton of projects and work for school and that takes up a LOT of my time. I feel like I am memorizing more this semester than for any other so far!

This week I am focusing on looking at ideas for internships for sometime between August and December.

On Saturday i saw the movie "When in Rome" and it is a cute one! And pretty funny too! Def one to see with friends (like I did) or w/ a bf or husband (as Julianne mentioned).

I don't feel like working out is doing anything for me so far, just using some of the precious time during my day!

And, once again...I have the cutest niece in the world! We had some hailey & aunt laura (or aunt lala) bonding time today! Babies change so quickly! Love her and I wish my whole family could see her more often!

Ok so this is a quick post...this week is going to be another busy one!
I have 2 tests on thursday and another that opens Wednesday.
Tonight Brittany and I made snow angels! The snow was soooo deep outside our apartment! it has been snowing on and off over the weekend and today as well and it was soft and powdery and SO COLD!!! ok, of course snow is cold but try being almost completely covered by it! BRRR!!! we were walking home from FHE and decided to do it 'cause Brittany is from Florida and she has to experience all the snow-type activities! The best one is breaking icicles!! and we are going to go sledding. build a snowman. make an igloo. snowboarding maybe. other suggestions? I am definitely a fan of WARM weather but since the snow is here we can have some fun with it! my favorite is being outside either while it is snowing and watching it cover everything or just after it has snowed and it is silent and totally white and it feels like you are in a different world! ok, now its starting to sound like i really like snow (like how it sparkles at night when the light hits it!) so...moving on...soon there will be SUNSHINE that feels warm (instead of just looking warm and being freezing outside!) and I won't have to wear a million layers of clothing!

otras noticias...

I got 100% on my test today!
I came home to a letter after classes and studying and studying at the library. LML
I am starting to relearn to play the guitar (building on the little I learned before my mission!) and I am excited 'cause i have some new ideas for songs i'm going to learn on the piano. i LOVE music!!
Life is such a blessing, each day I am trying to take advantage of all the opportunities I have because some I will only have once. The time I have with friends and family passes so quickly (we are almost in february!!) and even if its just through a phone call or a txt or a visit, I love it because they are amazing! come visit me!!

Here are a few pics from the weekend! It doesn't capture everything I did, but a few of the highlights! Next time I will take more pics! Besides what is below, it was great to drive there and back with my friend Saini, see some members and recent converts in the Salt Lake area, and also have dinner with my friend Nicole.

Elder Flores...ok JOSHUA...(I'm still getting used to calling him that! He was my DL/ZL for like 7 or 8 transfers!) and he made us dinner~chilies rellenos texas style and we also hung out and went to the Creamery. He is the best! It was so great to see him and also to stay with Sanchez and Fulk at their place while I was there.







One is me and Hna Johns (one of my MTC companions!)...her first name is Lauren...it was great to see her and talk about the mission (of course!) and catch up on whats been going on in our lives.



These two are Hna Hernandez (my mission daughter) and then of her and my new granddaughter, Hna Taylor! They are serving in Rose Park 14 which was my first area in the mission! It was so great seeing them! I miss the mission!

Defining moments. I think a lot of them come when you least expect them.
I have had a few recently and they have made me change a few things.
You know how to know when you are getting good advice?
its when you KNOW that what you are hearing is right even if it is hard to accept, even when you don't completely agree, and then when you can't forget about the advice you were given. and then you start taking some baby steps and experimenting with the advice and testing it out to see what the results could be.
And then you realize that that person was right in part. WHAT. You were for sure that what you were doing before was the best but its true what they say, "you can't see the forest for the trees."
And the advice you got in the beginning you didn't even ask for! but it rarely comes that way...

I say this because I did get some advice, or more of an opinion a few months back and it wasn't what I wanted to hear. After we were done talking, what this person said kept coming back to me again and again and I pondered about pros and cons. It bugged me because I felt that things were good where I was but this person saw more than I could, saw more into the future than I could. Because I can see a little better now a few months later which has helped me accept changing. its kind of liberating in a way. Kind of hard. But it will be fun!

L.M.L.

Well I also went to utah for the 3-day weekend!
It was just what I needed!!
then i got back to this week which has been super busy and kind of stressful.
but as for the weekend...more of a post and pics to come...