Help!

I need your help! Since my life took a fantastic turn a couple weeks ago, I've had to learn ALL SORTS of things I never needed to know before. For example:

1. Striking a balance between girly and boring. When I was single, my room was girl EVERYTHING and that was completely acceptable. But Ryan wasn't thrilled about sleeping under a flower-print comforter, and I wasn't crazy about making him. It took a while, but we finally decided on with this bedding from Target which I think we both like.

2. Cooking for two. I can cook for one, and I can cook for six, but two is just hard. I'm sure Ryan's getting tired of my "Are you still hungry? Are you getting too full? Is this too much? Did I not make enough?" but he's patient. And he's only gotten up and cook himself another quesadilla once.

3. Cooking IN GENERAL. This is where you come in. I can find my way around free font Web sites and online magazines, but when it comes to finding good cooking blogs/Web sites, I'm hopeless.

What are your suggestions? What are your favorite food blogs? I need to know!

My Best Friend's Wedding

December 20 was the day I've dreaded for the last three months.

Actually, the last two years.



OK, so I'll cut out the "Father of the Bride" drama. But I must admit that going to LeaDawn's wedding, as exciting as it was, was a little bittersweet. We've had a lot of sleepovers, and we had our last one the night before her wedding. It was strange to realize exactly what was happening. It seemed so easy, so natural, so perfect that she'd be eternally part of Daniel after the ceremony. But I also realized that she wouldn't be my roommate anymore, and that was hard to swallow.

(LeaDawn and I on our last night at Heritage Manor back in April of '07)

Anyone who's "lost" a roommate this way knows what I'm talking about. The next day's ceremony meant no more calling her to get the plans for FHE. No more late-night chats evaluating dates. No more questions like, "Wait, are you Bre or LeaDawn? I always get you two mixed up."


(Looking a little better at Shoshone Falls this Spring)

But I also knew that, if she weren't to get married, she'd be missing out on all the best parts of life. It would mean no home building. No burnt dinners, no living on love. No "I'll stay up with the baby, you go get some sleep." None of the things that really matter.

So even if it was a little lonely driving home from Rupert and even lonelier moving into my new apartment without my favorite roommate, there are three things I know for sure:

1. LeaDawn has never been happier
2. Things will never be the same
3. I wouldn't have it any other way.

What a difference five years can make

Today while I sat at Sonic Drive-in waiting for my $3 order of cheddar bites, I found myself thumbing through my wallet. It's fun to do sometimes — I'm a bit of a pack rat.

I found my Dependent I-Card from when I was 16. I found my MHS Activity Card from senior year. I found an old iTunes gift card and a new one I haven't redeemed yet. But somewhere between my Delta SkyMiles Card and a Paul Mitchell business card, I found a small slip of paper that said this in faded ink:

Beehive Federal Credit Union
Date: 12/14/03
Time: 12:11
Location: 65 South Center
Rexburg, ID
Withdrawl: $60.00
From Savings
Current Balance: $120.58

I laughed a little when I saw "$120.58." I am a poor, starving college student. But — I strained to remember — was there really a time that I was that poor?

That got me thinking. Dec. 14, 2003, was only five years ago. I was just starting high school. I was sophomore class president and worried about putting together an awesome dance. I couldn't wait to be old enough to date, and it felt like 16 was decades away. I didn't worry about money or time or what I was going to cook for dinner.

Another five years before that, I was 10. My parents were building a house and I didn't want to move to Rexburg. I was afraid the other kids would be mean to me or that I'd get a bad teacher. I was trying to learn how to do my own hair — and failing.

Now that I'm older, I move at least twice a year. I've done my own hair thousands of times and I can hardly remember what it was like to not be able to date. But I worry about having enough money or good enough grades. I worry about where I'll live next semester. I worry about choosing a good man.

How much, then, will I change in the next five years? Ten? Twenty? Where do I see myself? Sonic was particularly busy today, so I had a lot of time to think about it. I have a plan, but if there's one thing I've learned in the last five years it's that life rarely follows even the best laid-out plan. I do know a couple things, though. I see a few specific things coming:


Internships ...


... graduation ...

... the Temple ...

... a family.

I think the best is yet to come.