This is one of those posts where I say how awesome I am...

So over the last few weeks, I took a whole buncha tests. Everyone seems to give tests at the same time. I don't know why. But I guess I'd rather have to worry about 4 tests and 1 group project all about the same time rather than having a different test every week. Reason being... I'm good at doing homework (generally), but I hate to study. Let me explain. I like feeling like I accomplish things. If I have a certain paper due or a reading assignment due, there's an end in sight. With just studying, it's a continuous process. No end in sight. Nothing to check off my list. I don't like it.

Anyway, here's the braggy part of my post: Despite procrastination (although it was less than usual) and trying to study with a 2 1/2-year-old running around, I totally rocked my tests.

First off, Law and Economics. I felt the most prepared for this one. I had a lovely study group, which helped me get on the ball with my studying endeavors. It consisted of 6 or 7 questions that required a short answer and then an essay. I came out of it with 61/60, which is about 102% (we were given extra credit for answering one additional question on the test).

Next was Law and Politics. I felt slightly less prepared for this. We had to know a few court cases in explicit detail, and there was a lot of stuff we had to know about the structure of the government, especially the courts. There was a multiple choice section and also an essay. I wrote about the Federalist Papers. Wahoo! I came out of this with an A-, which I was extremely satisfied with. Honestly, most of my satisfaction came from hearing all the "smartest" boys in my class complaining about their scores :)

After that was Law and Public Policy. I'd sorta forgotten about this test, so I only studied for 5 hours or so the day before the test. We had to write some short answers and an essay that included drawing graphs of markets. The class is actually much more economics-based than I expected. Oh well, I came out of this test with an A! A lot of the class did very poorly with drawing the graphs and had to do a make-up to earn some points back. Good thing I'm a genius.

Next was a group project for my Journalism class. The process was a little painful, but it ended up okay. I don't really want to talk about details... but I came out of it with an A, plus my group earned 10 points extra credit for having the best blog presentation. That basically means that I earned us 10 points because no one else did hardly anything with the blog. Hooray.

Last was American Constitutional Law. I was scared to death about this test. We had to know close to 20 court cases pretty intimately, in addition to general stuff about the Supreme Court and stuff. I had a hard time studying for this because my sister and her kids were in town. I loved spending time with them, but once I actually started to study, I couldn't do so very effectively due to a certain 2 1/2-year-old running around and asking me to play trains... There were some multiple choice questions, then an essay. It turned out okay though, because I came out with an A. You may think I shouldn't be so excited, but Professor Peacock is one of the toughest graders in the Political Science Department. After we got our tests back, he went off on how he is very sparse with his A's and how basically you're a genius if you got an A... Huge self-esteem booster, to say the least.

That pretty much sums it up... Now it's time to start preparing for the next round of tests.

*Note: Sorry I posted about school. It's really all that's going on in my life right now.

British words I kind of love.

So several roommates I've had in the past made fun of me for the way I talk. Honestly, I think it's because I watch and read so much British stuff. These are only a few of my favorite words. I'm sure I have a lot more, but this is just what I thought of off the top of my head.

Jumper. Aka sweater. "What a lovely jumper!" I think we should all start calling our sweaters "jumpers."

Git. It's an insult meaning worthless or foolish.

Rubbish. Garbage, trash. It sounds way more classy than "garbage."

Mickey. I've only seen it in the context of "take the mickey"... like, teasing. I'll admit, I've only ever heard this in Harry Potter books, but that still means it's legit.

Breakfasted. It's a verb. I think it's so great.

Chips. Like Fish and chips? Chips = French fries.

Crisps. Potato chips! I feel like "crisps" is way more appropriate than "chips." It makes potato chips seem so much more dainty or something.

Snog. It's an onomatopoeia, in my opinion. For those of you who may not know, "snog" means "to make out." "Snog, snog, snog" when said aloud kinda sounds/looks like you're making out with someone. I find it quite hilarious.

The only downside to fun British words is that I can't pull off using them (often, at least).... mostly because I'm not British. Maybe someday....

So... I've got a thing for Alan Rickman...

In the same vein as my last post, I thought I'd present you with the many faces of Alan Rickman. Sure, he's not like, attractive or anything, but I think he's absolutely incredible!

Generally, I'm a big fan of the Brits. Your cool points automatically go up like 50 points if you're British. For example, Alan Rickman would NOT be as cool if he was just some crabby American. I find his cynicism endearing for some reason, and honestly it's probably exclusively due to his British origins...

British or not, he's amazingly talented. I've loved him in everything I've seen him in. His voice is just so... unique, rich, gorgeous, smooth... I could listen to him talk ALL DAY. Luckily, now I can! I was fortunate enough to receive an audiobook narrated by Alan Rickman for my birthday. 13 CDs of Ricky goodness.

Anyway, on to the pictures!

I believe this is from Sense and Sensibility (1995)

This, of course, is from Harry Potter. Oh how I love me some Snape :) I always knew he was good.

This beauty is from the 1999 classic, Galaxy Quest.

Another one from Sense and Sensibility, but it's my favorite! I love, love, LOVE this picture. Mostly because A) Ricky gets to hook up with Kate Winslet and B) He's SMILING. When does that EVER happen?!

I hope that this post has opened your eyes to the magnificence of Alan Rickman (who I decided to nickname "Ricky" about 5 minutes ago). Maybe one day some of you will learn to love him as I do.

Highlights of Summer 2010

Okay, so this is going to be a SUPER long post, but I'm too lazy to do individual posts for everything. Luckily though, it'll mostly be pictures.

YSA Campout!

First off, I went to a YSA campout in Zion's National Park. Unfortunately, we didn't actually camp in Zion's. We were in this desert-like plain near a reservoir kind of in the middle of nowhere. It was prettyish, but it got SO incredibly hot and since it was a desert, zero shade. So that wasn't so great... but I had a lot of fun. I shared a tent with Cheri Johnson, Shelby Low, and Kate Low (no relation to Shelby). We made pretty good friends with Nick and Sione, who drove us to and from Zion's. Instead of hiking and actually going INTO Zion's when we had the chance, we drove to St. George and saw Robin Hood. There was also a big wind storm and our tent broke. Shelby and Cheri slept under the stars, but I decided to share a hotel room with a couple of girls from a neighboring stake. Movies and hotels? My kind of camping.

Our tent. Those little dots in the background were the rest of our YSA region. We were kind of exiled...

Disneyland!

Next I went to Disneyland! Yay! I got to visit my friends and bask in the glory of Disney. I missed it ever so much. I'm getting antsy from lack of Disney already.... I think another trip is in order.

My bestie, Ali. She's so great. She kept me sane while I lived in California. She's going to live with me in Utah someday.

Tanya, me, and Karin. Tanya came all the way from Hawaii, and Karin still works at Disneyland, but luckily we got to hang out with her a whole bunch!

Crepes Bonaparte. I got a crepe at their truck stand thing almost every single Thursday. I miss them very much. (Apparently they were on some show on the Food Network. They're that good.)

Doesn't that just make you happy? :)

Ohio!

I went to Ohio to visit my sister Melinda and her family. We did so many fun things, including (but not limited to) crafting, going to COSI (and seeing the Titanic exhibit, which was SO great), building a truck with Emerson at Lowe's, and a lot of playing with trains. "Pay trains, Nannie!" was a common phrase during my visit. Thanks again for letting me visit!

Emerson being such a big boy building his truck! Isn't the little hammer so cute?

We got to visit some train tracks by Ben and Melinda's house. E loved playing on them.

E "hoo-hooping" at COSI. He thought he was so big. The hula hoop would usually fall straight to the ground, but his body was all twisted up that to him it probably seemed like it was spinning.

Me and E at COSI :)

Girls Camp!

This summer I was the camp director (with Shelby Low) for the Young Women in my ward. We had such a good time! Despite my lack of enthusiasm for camping and nature in general, it turned out really great! I think the girls had a really good time (I could tell by their high-pitched squealing). Despite all the excitement, I was very relieved when it was over.

Here's the group right before we left to our campsite up Big Cottonwood Canyon

California!

My family went on a fun trip to Northern California to see the Redwoods. We also spent some time in San Francisco. We flew into the Oakland airport, took the coastal highway (which made us all a little carsick) up to Northern California where we saw a bunch of really big trees. Like, really big. We even got to DRIVE THROUGH two of them. We got to go down into a mine where they mined gold during the Gold Rush (?) and stuff. We spent a couple days in San Francisco and went to the Winchester Mansion, the piers and stuff, and the Giants vs. Padres game! It was my first Major League game!

Me, Brad, and Steph inside a tree!

One of the trees we got to drive through

Paul Bunyan and Babe paid us a visit...

Me! On top of a hill cliff thing. I think this is where we saw some whales!

Right before going down into the mine. Aren't I cute in my little hard hat?

The whole family in the mine with our super attractive hard hats.

Brad, me, Steph, and Mom checking out the Golden Gate Bridge

Brad, me, Steph, and Dad at the Golden Gate Bridge. I decided to post this picture too since Dad wasn't in the last one.

The Giants game!

Ohio!

So the last trip of the summer took place over Labor Day. Our whole family (except for Ashley, who we missed a whole bunch) got to go to Ohio for baby Sammi's blessing. She's so adorable and I just loved holding her. We got to go to COSI to see the Titanic exhibit, ride a train (Emerson was ecstatic), and enjoy the general splendor of each other's company. The only downside was that the trip was WAY too short.

Sammi in her beautiful blessing dress

Steph, Sammi, and I after her blessing

The whole family after Sammi's blessing

My room!

So this year I moved into a house near campus and I love it so far! The only downside is that I have to hike up the hill to campus every day... Ugh. Anyway, here are some pictures of my cute room!

This is the view from my door.

See that black table in the corner? I built it. Like, it was a box full of pieces of wood and a bag of screws and I put it together. By myself. :)

Also, take note of the silvery square on the wall... that's one of my snazzy new dry-erase Wall Pops!

The view from my window-side of the room

The view of my other wall from my window-side of the room.

Yes, I have two calendars. One is a fun calendar (the M&M one) and the other is a homework calendar. Big fun!

Oh, and the double doors are my closet and the single door is the exit.

View of my window, stacky organizer thingy, DVD rack, and hamper... haha.

Hope you enjoyed my little tour! I'll be posting again soon about my exciting summer adventures!