My New Best Friend

I have been in Arizona for just over a month. Oh my, I love it. Oh, how I love being in the sun EVERY day! It's just beautiful here; I never thought I would enjoy it so, So, SO much!


One warning about Arizona, however. 


Sunblock and the reapplication of sunblock should be mandatory. And should be enforced thoroughly.






I have an official Arizonan sunburn. Now, its not as bad as I've had in the past, but I definitely wasn't outside for THAT long...just a few hours. And I am RED. Super RED.





But I have the perfect solution:






Jergens Soothing Aloe Relief Lotion:

Seriously, the best stuff....EVER! Now I just have to wait a few days for the red to turn to a nice tan and I'll be just Peachy!

*** Annonymous....

I do believe each and every one of us has small addictions that we are all working on conquering in this life. Mine happens to be flirting...
Hello.
Welcome to Flirter's Annonymous.

My name is Jenn...(Hi, Jenn!) and I have a problem with flirting.

I have been sober for 36 hours.

I am working on controlling my urges to flirt with all sorts of men out there. But it's so hard with the goodlooking men I see everywhere! I really do try. I've even tried biting my tongue.

Unfortunately, I have slip-ups, almost regularly.

I am looking for help.

Suggestions?

Thank you.....

A Simple Sunday Request

WARNING: The following entry is not meant to embarrass, harass, or in anyway offend anyone. It is just an observation and an opinion. Which is what all entries are. An observation of life and my opinion. And if the entry is not in the same structure as mentioned previously, it is merely meant as a funny look at life, meant to entertain and to be laughed at.
That is correct. I am giving you permission to laugh at me. So, take this opportunity to fully indulge yourself.

Moving on.

I was sitting in church with my family yesterday, and there was a couple sitting in front of us. I am sure each ward has a couple like this. And you know exactly who I am talking about.

THE CANOODLERS

They sat there throughout the entire meeting, cuddling, rubbing each others arms, being so cute I wanted to barf. In fact, I think I did. Just a little bit, and I had to fight to keep it in my mouth. I mean, I can sort of understand it if I had been in my BYU-I-DO singles ward....looking at an engaged couple...or even a couple that was seriously dating.
However, I was in my FAMILY WARD. With my FAMILY. Which includes my younger sisters....

VIRGIN EYES! Little, innocent, children are all around you!

We get it, you like each other. You really, REALLY like each other. We get it.

I have one simple request for you:

Please, please, PLEASE keep the canoodling to a minimum in church, and save the hard core stuff for Sunday School.

Is Life a Comedy?

I think life should be a comedy.
If you look at all great comedies (Much Ado About Nothing; You've Got Mail; Tommy Boy; Hot Rod; My Big Fat Greek Wedding...you know, the CLASSICS) there's a little bit of everything in life (adventure, tragedy, romance...) and it's just taken a different way.
Instead of pitying oneself, or focusing on the romance/adventure, the protagonist takes the entertaining part of life and expound upon it.
I know a lot of old people (well, elderly. Senior citizens would be the proper, politically correct term). I've been blessed with the opportunity to work alongside many older people. I've learned many great lessons from these people. I've decided to pass on some of my insights provided to me by the generation most often ignored by young people.

1. LAUGH!
Laughter is the best medicine.
Life was meant to be a comedy. It is not good for us to be so serious all the time, or to dwell in self-pity. I understand that sometimes, its hard. Sometimes life is HARD. But, it is how we deal with the cards we are dealt as to how our lives turn out. The oldest people I know have taken a positive outlook on life. They have been given hard lives, but they are able to find the good in life.
2. "Staying up all night was meant for being with a good lookin' man dancin', flirtin', and drinkin'."
I don't drink. Nor do I make it a habit to staying up all night. This is actually a direct quote from one of my elderly friends. I think she's right. And really, how can I argue with her? I like to spend time with good lookin' men, especially when flirting is involved. No need to tell me twice! I will make sure that the next time I'm not staying up all night to work, I am out having a good time! Basically, just have a good time. If you are grumpy all the time and focusing on the bad parts of life, you aren't going to get very far.
And you will probably have a major stroke at age 27 and die. Just sayin'.
3. Listen to good music.
Like Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Beethoven.
The good stuff is much better for you. It soothes the soul. And really, who doesn't love listening to deep, sexy man voices sing romantic gibberish?
4. Slow DOWN!!!
Don't feel a need to rush through everything in life. Take life as it comes at you. Seriously. What is the point to rush to the finish line? Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. The hare rushed to the end, and still didn't win. Slow and steady wins the race. It's not a race to see who can die of a heart attack first. Take each day as it comes and cherish it. Love the obstacles you are given. Enjoy the miracles you witness. Give gratitude to the Lord for the blessings you are given.
5. Soul mates exist.
Oh. My. HECK! Soul mates do exist. Each of us has a special someone that is meant for us out in the world somewhere. It seems SO daunting to try to find that one special someone. But, seeing cute old couples together, taking care of each other in their old age, and just loving each other gives me hope that, ONE DAY, I will be old, wrinkly, and ornery, with my husband. But like everything in life, it takes work. None of these couples are together because of arranged marriages or just stumbling into the other in the street one day (I'm sorry to break it to you, but Hollywood lies!). Each of these couples has their cute story of how they met and had to "fight" in someway to be together. Most of the time it is just convincing the other to be with them.
But the work is very much worth the prize.
6. Young men in uniform are sexy no matter YOUR age
I think this is pretty self-explanatory.
7. Nothing is better than another SUNRISE.
Some believe sunsets to be sexy and romantic. I have come to believe that sunrises are the most romantic.
Sunrises symbolize:
--> the beginning of something new
--> a fresh start
--> a NEW day
--> LIGHT
--> rebirth
--> love
Why would you want to start something at the end of the day? When its about to get dark?
I have always been an early bird, but I've come to learn that it is better to start your day at the beginning, when the earth is waking up.
The sunrise means you've made it through another night.
It means that you are prepared to start a new day.
It means LIFE.

And whether life is a tragedy, comedy, romance, adventure, drama, sci-fi, or a mixture of all of the above, life is meant to be LIVED.

Living With Roommates

This is one of the most difficult parts of being a college student. For the most part, I've left it up to chance on who I've lived with. I just sign a contract with the apartment complex, and they assign me my roommates. Honestly, this is probably not the best choice. Why? Because I could have ended up with CRAZY people! For the most part, I've been lucky to live with people that are awesome, and we don't have that many problems. But, living with people, you are ALWAYS going to have some problem. Here are some of my tricks to getting along with the people you live with.

1. find something you have in common. If you can't find something in common, I'm sorry. There really has to be something. If not, try making up something or find something close to being something in common. I have found that Twilight is quite a common similarity lately. I will admit, I have read the books, and seen the movies. I even went to the 3 am showing of New Moon this past year with my roommate and a friend. Even though I don't particularly like the Twilight Saga, I find it quite enjoyable with other people, especially when we can make fun of Edward....:)

2. Make a list of "10 Commandments." I got this idea from a past roommate, but it makes sense. You come up with 10 rules, traditions, bonding items and post it up in the apartment. Everyone agrees to live by these rules, and its just fun. The current rules of my apartment:
-Thou shalt obey the Honor Code.
-Thou shalt wash thy hands with Bath & Body Works Soap!
-Thou shalt consume lots and lots of Oreos!
-Thou shalt have roommate bonding bimonthly.
-Thou shalt show affection DAILY!
-Thou shalt participate in WEEKLY cleaning activities.
-Thou shalt clean thy dishes by the time thou layest thy head down to sleep.
-Thou shalt LOVE and contribute to the MAN WALL!
-Thou shalt love they FHE family and Attend!
-Thou shalt attend thy meeting of learning.

3. If you have a roommate that you don't get along with or is bugging you, ignorance is bliss. Okay, some people will tell you to confront the person and try to solve the problem. But I'm telling you to ignore them. Most of the time, when one of my roomies is bugging me, it is because I'm tired, irritable, taking care of my visiting Aunt Flow, or a combination of all the previous reasons. I find that if I just confine myself to my studies and keep myself in my room. I just ignore the annoying person and the world and wait out the irritating-ness of life. Really, it works very well.

4. Find someone to vent to and confide in. Find someone that you don't live with, and have vent-fests. Vent out all your problems of your roommates, go out for comfort food (DQ Blizzards are lovely, especially on a college student budget), and return home as if nothing has happened. By the way, DON'T HAVE THE VENT-FEST IN DQ. Do that in private or in the car. You don't want someone else to hear the conversation and have it get back to the person you are complaining about. The venting should not be often. If it happens often, something is wrong.

5. Love your roommates. Really, you should. Do small nice things for them. They do live with you, and there is no way that you are the perfect person to live with. You have faults, just like they do. So, make sure to love them through their faults.
And, if you are the perfect roommate, contact me. I would love to live with someone so perfect. It would definitely make life easier. Especially if you like wrapping up the vacuum cord. I don't like wrapping up the vacuum cord....maybe I should invest in one of those vacuums that automatically works and has no cord......hmmmm....

How to Survive College 101

So, I have decided, after 4 years of college, I have some basic knowledge on how to survive college. Let's look at the basic stats:
4 years of college
15 roommates
44 college courses
little sleep
lots of fun
billions of experiences ready to share with the world!