This one time in rehab....

Ok so last night I got to meet up with a few of my friends from rehab to celebrate Jennifer's birthday. She has been a great friend to me and I was so glad to be able to celebrate it with her and with sushi and karaoke to boot! Songs included selections from Spice Girls, Pussy Cat Dolls, and an amazing rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody...Thanks Jennifer!

And yet it begins again....

The 6am mornings...40hrs a wk working...8hrs a week practicum...14units of graduate credits...the endless amounts of textbook reading...the sudden tan loss (pool time drastically cut)...the homeworking all-nighters...the diminishment of social activities...chronic ponytail hair...endless yawning...it all started again today...truly I love my life! GO BULLDOGS!

Baking for Marriage...

For those of you that don't know... same-sex marriages are legal here in California (Massachusettes too). In 2000 Proposition 22 defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. That became redefined last May legalizing same-sex marriages in CA and now a new proposal to reinstate the former definition is up for votes called Proposition 8. It has been interesting to see how this legislation has impacted my school, community, and especially my church. This weekend we are having a bake sale to raise money for the Proposition 8 initiative. I have a lot of friends who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual and I love and respect them. I feel an obligation however to uphold something I feel so strongly about...marriage always has been and should be between a man and a woman. People want to make this issue strictly political and remove God and morals but let's be honest...society has no right or authority to define something instituted by God nor do I feel comfortable allowing "society" to define the morals that our country lives by. Vote yes for Proposition 8.

Dating on Demand...

I have had multiple discussions with an unamed friend of mine. We are both single and "older" well, in "Mormon Years" that is... We talk of our goals, ambitions and of course dating. We have discovered that our approaches to dating are both very different. Of course like usual I like to think that I am right but as I contemplated our most recent conversation I decided I might be doing this all wrong! You see I am what you might label a "serial dater". I have had a mere two "meaningful" relationships in my entire life but I have been on over 600 dates in the last four years. She has been on a "few" dates. I have dated a variety of men from all different ages, sizes, religions and personality types. I have had a plethera of bad dates and some nearly catastrophic. As I reflect back on the hours spent arranging, preparing and attending these dates I wonder how my time might have been better spent. Don't get me wrong I have met some great guys and have had some amazing experiences on the dates but is it all worth the "dating label"? My friend goes on dates with guys she KNOWS she could get along with well. She knows what she wants and she doesn't lose sight of that. Obviously neither approach is completely foolproof or at least one of us would be swimming in the "couples" pond... but I think I could definately learn something from her.

Six Year Anniversary...

I am terrified of heights...I mean it...I was rock climbing once near Monterrey in an indoor gym. I had one step left to reach the top. My feet were secure, I was tightly harnessed and I was just inches from completing the climb. I made a major mistake and I looked down for reassurance from the friends that stood below only to realize that I was off the ground at an uncomfortable height and no amount of persuasion or cheerleading was going to get me to take that last and final step. Years later I found myself talking to a good friend of mine about his skydiving career. He spoke of the jumps as an addict would speak of drugs or alcohol. Intense... urgent to get the next fix... unable to speak of a time without it. I stood there realizing that I had few things in my life I could speak so passionately about. So few things that would make me feel like this man did towards his chute. I envied him on so many levels. I would speak with him often. I expressed my long-time desire to jump and in the next breath, the fear that kept me from it. I would later learn that I was talking about bigger things than just skydiving. On August 17, 2002 I flipped out of a small two door plane attached to a strange man and a blue parachute. As I felt the wind against against my face so many thoughts flooded my mind. I thought of elementary school where an unexpected move left me friendless and awkward, so unsure of myself. I thought of the kids in junior high that always attacked the atypical, where differences and uniqueness were nothing more than social suicide. I thought of the rumors and betrayals that accompany most throughout high school. At 18 I had survived that but I failed to surpass it. In that moment of free-falling I learned more about myself than I ever had in the 18 yrs that had preceded it. I knew as the cord was pulled to release my chute and my body began to float, that I had been changed. I saw all the things I spoke of "wanting to do one day" and I realized that it had become merely that. Goals frozen by fears of danger, people, or failure...or in simple terms..."strictly talk". This weekend is my six year anniversary of that jump...the jump that inspired the list I often refer to. The list of things that become more than talk and allow me to live...Since then I have become a third level skydiver (this means I can go solo!) but even more I have learned to appreciate the ability to look fear in the face and to actually enjoy the fall...

More for Katy....

Here are the rest of the pictures....keep in mind that Adam just left and we fixed dinner and had mixed drinks tonight so the kitchen is still a little messy (Amanda needed to try out her new cheese grater...erh ugh...blender.)...I promise we will clean it up before you get back! As you can see it is spacious... at moments you can hear echoes...the dishwasher is amazing! Obviously we chose not to use it tonight.... Below is your room....I can't wait to see it with furniture! However finding a spot for all of this random stuff of ours is another story...can we say two-car garage?

Here is Amanda's room...she is not really sleeping since we are stuck in the middle of season three of the OC...(this causes a loss of sleep on some occasion)
Here is my walk-in closet...the best part about this whole dang apt....I LOVE IT!
Here is our front door...
Just so u know Amanda is currently naked and eating watermelon on our living room floor...(I chose not to take a picture of that...you can thank me later!)...tonight when we were talking to Adam, Amanda and I had a disagreement and Adam being the objective counselor that he is looked at both of us and said that he spent all day moving both of us in and he was not going to help us move out anytime soon so "we had better learn to get along". We miss you and I hope this letter and pictures still get you excited about coming here and living with us since we are counting down the days till you come back! Sam came over and told us our apt was "cute" and I am afraid he is going to move into your room if you don't get back here soon! We love you!

Maeg and Amanda

To my long lost future roomie....(Katy)

Dearest Katy,
Here are the pictures you requested of our new apartment...I realize that Amanda and I had talked about painting, nesting, etc however after moving all the many boxes, unpacking, etc we decided we were over it and we just wanted to get settled!!! (Also I nearly broke my foot on moving day and I was rendered useless when keith "grounded me" to the car because he was afraid I would make it worse...) Thanks Fresno 3rd ward for saving us....I hope you don't mind...the pictures do not do justice to our beautiful apartment that we now call "home" our Walmart is an upgrade from the old one, we have a back covered patio, and a nice neighbor named Sue. You will love it!

Here is the round bed that we all love...I think it looks even more fabulous in this room!
Here is the family room....Amanda claims it looks like my old apt...not sure how to take that but if you want to add anything please feel free! Also please note the ikea bookshelf that by some small miracle we were able to force in my car!....
Here is our workout room...Notice Amanda working out hard...she's trying to get in shape so she can look even hotter for your return!
Here is my chaotic office....ok...let's be honest....this is the right hand side of my room...I was shocked it all fit and just to give you an idea on space...your room is slightly large than mine so they are bigger than the sierra madre apts....
Here is our bathroom....the clean side is yours....still trying to figure out the dang shower curtain...I'll get back to you on that! (more pics on next post....)

Last night in Utah....

My last night in Utah was spent with two of my favorite Utahns...Two former roomies from my undergrad....We had a great dinner a Los Hermanos and plenty of time to catch up on old times....Gina got us interested in global issues (she will be a future journalist) and Amy caught us up on the wedding plans...(Key West 2009) We ended up at Amy's after for some serious girl talk which was interrupted by two of her neighbors...Nice enough guys but come on....I was so glad to spend my last night there catching up especially since Gina couldn't make BL this year! Thanks ladies!

River Rafting....

Ok so when I went to Utah one of the things I was determined to do before I came back to CA was to ride down a river...I got two of my fellow adventurers to join me and we ended up having a blast...When we first got in the water it was FREEZING and Amy almost backed out....Amanda jumped right in and ended up way ahead of us since I knew if I left Amy she would run back to the car. After only minutes in the water our tubes were rushing to the edge of the river and we were concerned about getting stuck in the brush and getting capsized...behind us there was a raft full of 8 beautiful men and a woman. One of the guys (aka The Russian) jumped off his raft and swam to us and pulled us over to their raft. He explained he was from the United States search and rescue and that it was his duty to save beautiful women from unfortunate water accidents. We told them that we needed to save Amanda who at this time was halfway down the river so they plunged ahead and again out jumps "The Russian"...we got her back and had a great time flying over rapids and getting to know them better. (ok so maybe flying my be an overstatement considering this is the Provo river we are talking about here...) Anyways...I got my final Utah wish and also made some great new friends....