5 Fast Things

It's been a while so... :

1. I graduated with my bachelor's degree in psychology!

2. I'm going to ASU law school!

3. I live in Arizona now and right now, it is hotter than anything you can imagine until you experience it. Ugh.
Tips:
a. Go out in the early morning before 11am, or after the sun goes down.
b. Don't leave anything meltable or flammable in your car.
c. Don't move into a new place in the heat of summer.
d. Don't move here in the heat of summer unless you're in a financial position to not worry about your A/C bill.
e. Drink water. Constantly. Don't leave it in your car either, it gets hot, not warm, hot. Hot water in 110-degree heat is just nasty.

4. Decorating a new apartment is fun, especially when you have a nice budget to do so. Pics coming soon when I get everything situated.

5. I'm thinking of learning to box, and got reactions like this boxing meme:

10 moseying months

So it's been a while...I'm sorry. But not really, because instead of blogging about life, I've been out living it.

Here's a quick recap of 2012:

April-July: Spring semester at BYU-Idaho. Psychology major. love. Went to the lake for 4th of July. ideal. Got a 3.7 GPA my first semester back in real college (cause community college doesn't really count). legit. Decided to go to law school to study Indian Law.

July-Septemberish: Summer break in Spokane. Barbecues. yum. Studying for the LSAT. blech. Hanging with the family. yay? Swimming in our pool and tanning. bliss. Made soap and other homemade beauty and home products with my mom. delicious. I had my dog with me for the summer too. I miss him. (He lives with my grandma during the school year because BYU-I approved housing doesn't allow pets.)

September-December: Fall semester at BYU-Idaho. Asked to be PRESIDENT of the Native American Heritage Association. gulp. Took the LSAT in October, bombed the games section so I'm not really proud of my score, but it got me into law school so oh well. sigh. I completed my law school applications and sent them over Christmas break. Fall semester was rough, I had SO FREAKING MUCH going on. glad it's over. but wait...there's more. law school in the fall.

January-now: Back in Rexburg for my offtrack, taking 14 credits to graduate in July. I hate this blasted weather. I got sick for the first time in over a year, probably thanks to the -18 degree weather (no joke, it was -18 degrees Farenheit). Car decided it wouldn't start unless I jumped it. Luckily, I'd bought a jump starter in December. So I jump started it every time I went anywhere for the first 3 weeks of January, until things warmed up. I'm now a bada** girl who doesn't need a boy to take care of her car! Naturally though, my ignition went out soon after. Had to get that replaced. I'm still president of NAHA, and we are going to South Dakota for spring break, to volunteer at the Cheyenne River Youth Program. I've heard back from 3 of the 12 law schools I applied to. Acceptances all, at Michigan State University, Lewis & Clark, and University of Utah. Each place I applied to has different and significant perks, so unless I get into Yale (hahaha), it's going to be a very tough choice on where to spend the next three years of my life.

And now you're all caught up. Cause ya know you missed me.

Five Fast...Things I Love

1. Argan oil. My hair is blonde, (naturally brown, so very bleached) AND I live in a very, very windy area. Argan oil is SAVING it from being totally dry and destroyed! I use 100% pure argan oil from Julep, and it is excellent. I just towel-dry my hair so it's damp, then pour a SMALL amount (less than dime-sized) into my hand, rub my hands together, and finger it through my hair, especially on the ends. If you put a bit too much on your roots, just lightly dust them with translucent facial powder. BUT the argan oil absorbs nicely overnight, so wait til morning to see if you added too much. It's a very forgiving oil, and is wonderful to massage into your nails and hands when you're done!

2. doTERRA diffuser (you put water with a few drops of essential oils in it, then it diffuses the water into the room!) http://www.doterra.myvoffice.com/janetcarpenter1/

3. American Eagle jeans. After 2 months of Nutrisystem, I've dropped 2 pant sizes, so...oh darn, I have to buy more. American Eagle jeans are ALL I wear, I love them, they are so consistent in their sizing, and they last for soo long. And they're cheap!! $40 for jeans that will literally last me years if I stay the same size? Yes please! And there's always clearance sales online. If I wait for a percentage-off coupon, I can usually get jeans for $20 with free shipping.

4. My roommates! They're awesome, nice AND clean!

5. The psychology major! While cognition is more science-oriented (and thus, more difficult for ADD me to concentrate), it's still interesting. I love my History of psych class though and ethics because the discussion is so thought-provoking. I'm finally developing a proper vocabulary for psychological processes and situations that I've been thinking about for years!

First Day Lessons at BYU-Idaho

Here's what I learned in my first day attending BYU-Idaho in Rexburg.

1. Guys who wear v-neck t-shirts ought to be treated with caution. Especially if their shirt is a size too small.

2. They weren't kidding about the wind. Wind makes ears hurt.

3. There's an orchard, like, with trees, on the south end of campus.

4. People are really smiley here.

5. It's a much more pleasant walk to campus than BYU-Provo. No massive hill to scale by south-of-campus residents.

6. The Ricks building pathways are hidden. HIDDEN. You can see the building, but you can't get there quite so easily. There's a shortcut across the grass next to a greenhouse. But I don't think it's a real shortcut cause everyone who took it glanced around furtively. There's a hidden path from the back of a parking lot next to it though.

7. You can park anywhere that normally requires a permit after 4pm, which is nice for evening classes. I took advantage.

8. An excellent way to spend the time with new roommates is swapping old roommate horror stories.

9. The Dollar Tree (next to Kmart) has wall decals. Perfect for a white, unblemished apartment room.

10. I'm now one of those people who change their outfit 3 times a day. It's fun, no complaints.

Julep Spring Mystery Box!

Okay, so I love doing my nails, and my new vice is Julep, basically a monthly nail color club. They are super nice, and while the website is confusing sometimes, customer service is fantastic. It's a subscription service like ShoeDazzle or JewelMint, and is $19.99 for 2 nail polishes+a personal care product, or there's one box that offers 3 nail polishes and no product. I've only done one monthly thing, but they have an excellent deal called "mystery boxes" quite often, and they are SO WORTH IT. The mystery boxes cost $19.99 if you have the email code (they show up as $60 in the cart), with free shipping if you're already a "maven," or monthly subscriber, and are guaranteed to be worth at least $60. Why WOULDN'T you do these? I love being surprised, and I rarely NEED a specific nail color, so this is a great way to build up my collection. I did the St. Patrick's Day one last month, and I forgot to take a picture but I got 5 nail polishes, a base coat, hand & nail scrub, an anti-aging cream, and I think a few more things. It was awesome, and I thought I'd really scored.

Then......

I got the Spring Mystery Box.

It arrived today, fast. Julep is based in Seattle, and I live in Spokane, so it only too 2 days to arrive. The first thing I pulled out was...a $120 gift certificate. O.MG. I heard the Price Is Right crowd cheering in my head as I stared at it. It was pretty freakin awesome. After that, I was pretty okay with WHATEVER ELSE was in the box, but kept getting better. I got the top coat, which was sweet, since I love having matching top and base coats (did I mention I like doing my nails?). I also got the argan oil elixir, and the nail growth revitalizing serum, both of which I was hoping I would get! The nail polish colors I got are Melissa, Blake (so pretty), January (I needed a new red!) and Alicia (which I think I might already have, but I'm not complaining!)

Overall, this was an INCREDIBLE mystery box, let alone that it was only $19.99! I'm definitely doing these regularly. Plus, it's so fun wondering what I'll get! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to spend my $120!!!

Five (more) Fast Findings

Okay so maybe I have a lot on my mind today.

1. I've been sifting through a friend's facebook pics who has natural brown hair dyed platinum blonde, kind of like me, and she likes dying her hair in ombre shades of blue or purple quite often. She's still in high school. My first instinct? Man, I hope my kids are cool enough to want to do this someday. I'm serious though, I want my kids to feel totally comfortable expressing themselves. If that means goth, dressing like Peggy from Mad Men, drawing on my kitchen walls with 80's Glam Sharpies, whatever! I hope they go for it. Of course, with my luck, my kids will probably be happiest shopping at Eddie Bauer and Cabela's or something.

2. I have this major thing for art deco design. One of my favorite things about Smallville was its art deco focus, especially in the Daily Planet offices and at The Talon. The apartment above The Talon was kinda drool-worthy too. But anyway. If I could go back to the Roaring 20s, Prohibition, decadent velvet couches days, I would totally do it. Well, if modern utilities were included, of course:

3. Pinterest is an amazing place. I think my favorite part about it is going through other people's boards. You can really get to know a person's interests just by the pictures they've posted. After all a picture really is worth a thousand words. Follow my board:

4. I don't really get...immersed in the hip hop culture, but every once in a while there are a few artists who stand out to me. Flo Rida is one of them. He has a knack for sampling hits from years past and turning them into his own catchy song. I'm sure some people knock him for it, but what can I say, I like his versions! He first did it with Right Round (which sampled "You Spin Me Round" by one-hit-wonder band Dead or Alive), and now my current new favorite, Good Feeling, which samples, of all people, Etta James' "Something's Got a Hold of Me." The beginning of Good Feeling (and the resulting chorus) is all Etta. Lets take another listen, knowing that:

5. I've been having trouble lately trying to plot the next phase of my life. I think, though, that I have it sorted out. First off, I've been deciding if I want to do BYU-Idaho's Fast Grad program, which allows you to take classes year-round, and finish early. If I do that, I'd likely be done, with a BA, in July of 2013. If I just do my normal classes of Spring-Fall semesters, I'd be done in December of 2013. What's the problem, you ask? Winters in Rexburg, Idaho, suck. They are windy and cold and snowy. I don't do windy, cold or snowy. Good grief, my first choice for college was BYU-Hawaii! But a friend pointed out, wouldn't it be better to suck up a few months of misery for another year of your life? Or well, 6 months. So I think I'm leaning toward just sucking it up and getting things out of the way faster. Originally, I was planning on taking that winter semester to volunteer in China at the Starfish Foster Home, but a nifty alternative would be to get my BA in July, THEN go to China, AND since I would have the appropriate degree, I could probably find a job teaching English too. So I could still volunteer, but I would also be making some money, so I could potentially travel around China and see the sights for a year or so before law school. Eh? Eh? Anyway. That's kinda what's brewing in my head. It's kind of based on a lot of Ifs though, as in IF I survive winter in Rexburg, IF I don't fail any classes, IF I don't screw things up by (gasp!) getting married or something. If I do this Fast Grad program though, I'll probably take this year's summer session off so I can have 6 weeks to chill and do nothing til I hit the daily grind again. Thoughts, as usual, are appreciated, but I'm pretty much surfing it day to day at the moment.

Five Fast Findings

1. My phone cracks me up. It's an amazing little machine, the MyTouch 4G Slide from T-Mobile. But like any smartphone, it does sorta run out the battery. (Well, it doesn't help that I was using Google and Shazam all day because I had a long drive for work, but anyway.) I was trying to squeeze in one final text, but my phone ever so gently stopped me mid-sentence, flashed a pretty white screen with the HTC logo and the slogan "quietly brilliant," then softly faded the screen out to black, as if it was saying, shhh it's okay, I'll be back when you find the cord. It made me laugh. My last phone would just abruptly go black, leaving me frustrated with a now-useless paperweight and a face like the Scream villain. I love my MyTouch. (note that it is my personal opinion that the 4g SLIDE is better than the regular MyTouch 4G. Not that I use the slide-out keyboard much with Swype, but the 4G slide just seems to be higher quality, in case you're planning on purchasing one).

2. So I'm trying to cram in last-minute crafts that I've been planning on doing forever but never got around to doing, since school is starting in less than 3 weeks now. My current project is wrapping bangle bracelets and earrings with embroidery floss/thread (which were only 39 cents per skein at Joann!). It's kinda time-consuming and once you start wrapping, you can't set it down or it will unravel, but it's really easy. Just wrap, then knot at the end, and slather the knot in Tacky Glue (or super glue, really whatever strong glue will bind to fabric), then let dry for a few hours. I used this blog as a guide: Delighted Momma: DIY Colorblock Earrings. (little tip, she has a ton of crafts with much more helpful instruction than what I'll ever offer you, sift through her blog!)

And here's a pic of my first bracelets. They clash all together like this, so don't worry, I won't be wearing them like this in public:

3. As of tomorrow, I'll be halfway through my second month of Nutrisystem, and while it's been a bit tougher because my hours as a fast-food-restaurant secret shopper got increased for these last few weeks before I go to college, I've still managed to lose weight. I need to use the scale at the gym tomorrow (for consistency), but I believe I've lost a total of 10-12 pounds. And I'm definitely in the size 12-14 range, as my AE size 14 jeans are starting to feel a little less-snug. yay!

4. I went to Hobby Lobby for the first time tonight. It's amazing. Just. amazing. Soo much stuff. And lots of it was on sale too. I found a gorgeous lamp that I'm going to use as my nightstand lamp, it's $39.99, plus I have a coupon for 40% off one regular-priced item, so it will be quite reasonable. One nice thing I learned is that if I go to mobile.hobbylobby.com on my phone, I can just show them the 40% off coupon, instead of having to track down a printer. They only have one in the Spokane Valley right now, but rumor has it, they're building one on the North Side!

5. There's a difference between Equal and Splenda. Now that I'm being pretty much sugar-free outside of Nutrisystem foods, my new vice is no-calorie sweeteners. However, I'm learning that there's a reason why people request specific brands instead of just "sweetener" at restaurants. My preference is Splenda. I've found that Equal feels a little chalky and dusty to me, even mixed in herbal tea, but Splenda has more of a sugar-like consistency. The Walmart brand of sweetener (my parents have a massive bag of it) is also not bad. I know I'm just being super picky and I couldn't even blame the lady at the drive-thru window who gave me a blank stare today, but hey, I'm limiting my caloric intake hardcore, this is my last frontier of control!