So CLOSE!!!

But yet so far.

I officially have one more paper due, and then a hula final, a Hawaiian Studies oral exam, a Book of Mormon final, a English final, and a Biology final left before I get to go home for the holidays. And, although it may seem like a lot, I am not worried. Last week was so much worse. All I have to do today is take a Psychology test (open notes) and then finish my research paper, and then I can take a much needed break. :) It doesn't sound too bad when I put it that way, now does it. Haha.

This week in Psychology we are talking about stress management - perfect topic for finals week if you ask me. Today we discussed the most important part of stress management. I'll give you a hint. It's something that you do everyday. :) That's right. Breathing. Well first we counted how many breaths we took in a minute - I took 20. Then we breathed (is that the right tense?) in for 5-7 counts, held it, and then breathed out for 5-7 counts, repeating that for a minute - I took 5 breaths. Awesome huh? It's even better if you can get down to 2-3 breaths a minute, but I'm not that skilled. Anyways, then we took our pulse while breathing normally - 65 bpm. Then while controlling our breathing as we had before, while exhaling we told ourselves "Heart Beat Slower." Well... This is where things get a little crazy. During this exercise I started to freak out, and then could feel myself start to almost gasp for air. While I was doing that my brain started replaying what had happened while scuba diving a couple months ago.

Here is the Background Story.
I hate when water gets near my nose, and as a child when swimming I always had to plug it. I think that this may have started when I was little, and we were at some museum thing (my mom knows the exact story). Well, I fell into some swampy like thing, and although probably shallow, and completely safe, I freaked out. I started picturing some sort of swamp monster attacking me, and I thought my life was over, then my sister pulled me out. I know I may have over reacted a little bit... but I am honestly still traumatized from this experience. Well, over the years I have gotten better and now can swim without plugging my nose, and I even enjoy scuba diving, and even though this story I am about to tell definitely traumatized me even more, I still love it. Okay. Here goes.

Background Story Number Two.
We were on a deep dive, at a shipwreck. It was the coolest thing. There were giant turtles, and so many other awesome things. I loved it. Sometimes while diving I start to hyperventilate a little bit, but then I remind myself that I am fine, and I will be okay, and then I start to gain control of my breathing and do just fine. Well, this works great... Most of the time. So we were finishing the dive and about to go up. I was the first to grab onto the line, and as I went into an upright position my mask began to be pushed of from the pressure of the bubbles now hitting it. I caught it, but it was now full of water, and I began to freak out. I tried to continue breathing through my mouth, but water had hit my nose, and I thought I was done for. I seriously, without a doubt thought that I was going to die. It was going to be the end of my life, and there was nothing that I could do about it. I couldn't breathe. It was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. After much panic I remembered what I had done when we had to practice removing our masks while learning how to scuba dive. I plugged my nose. It sounds like such a simple thing, but in the midst of choking on water I had almost forgotten. As soon as I remembered, I did just that. I plugged my nose. My eyes were still closed because my mask was flooded, but at least I could breathe. I slowly began to inch my way up the line, and I remember thinking that a shark was going to come and attack me and that I wouldn't be able to see it coming. I was still so scared. After I while I had calmed myself down, and then I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I knew it was from the dive master... I motioned to him that I was okay and kept going, still with my nose plugged and my eyes shut tight. I thought I was good to go, but then he tapped me again... There was nothing that I could do besides to clear my mask. So I did, and then I could see. I could breathe and I could see, and I remembered how easy it was to clear a mask... And I survived. I didn't drown under 100ft of water, and I didn't get attacked by a shark. I was okay.

Now back to my Psychology class today...
I started to remember the thoughts, and the feelings of what I thought was going to be my death. I tried to control it, and to continue to control my breathing, but it was hard. After the activity my Professor asked how everyone did. Everyone, but me had successfully lowered their heart rates... Mine? It increased to 78 bmp. Not fully connecting why I asked him if it is a bad thing that mine increased. His answer was that I may not have felt safe, and that the situation may have been stressful. Then it clicked... I can't control my breathing. When I do I freak out. I always have, and now I know why.

Well, now that I have shared with you my conditioned fear of controlling my breathing I am going to get back to my studies.

Hopefully next week when I am back in Alabama I will be able to post some more stories and some more pictures.

Southern Belle in Paradise

Can this week be over yet???

Wow. This week has been crazy, and we are only halfway done. Monday I spent 2 hours in the testing center, and although I did well on all three tests I felt like crying from all of the stress. Then yesterday I spent 7 hours in the Library (leaving when it closed at midnight), and then stayed up until two working on more of my paper. Then I woke up this morning, got dressed, and here I am again... In the library. I had to meet with my group for a project at 8 this morning, and guess what. NO ONE showed up. And then when one of them did he didn't have anything to contribute to our powerpoint and said he would just e-mail it to me... UGH! Now I am continuing to work on my paper (minus this small break to vent) so that I can go to my apt in the Reading and Writing Center in 2 hours and have them edit my paper. Then I have class from 12:10-2:20. Then maybe I will get some lunch. However, after that? You guessed it. Right back to the Library for me. At 5 hopefully my group will show up so that we can work on our presentation for Friday. Then after that I will continue to work on my two papers diligently as I sit in the library... FOR HOURS!!!

Can it be next week yet? I know that I have finals next week, but finals sound SO much better than this large workload right now...

Southern Belle Overwhelmed
             in Paradise

On a slightly positive note, I went to the temple yesterday.

I did it! :)

Well, almost...

Now what exactly is it that I am talking about? I'll tell you. 

I AM ALMOST DONE WITH MY FIRST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE!!!

This is definitely a cause for celebration. Here is a little peak into the thing I call my life.

Don't be afraid. 

Go on... Look closer.

Yes. I am aware of my inability to spell. Haha. Mele Kalikimaka has since been fixed.

 It won't bite. After all, it's just my life for the next two weeks.

I have 3 assignments not written. 

Biology Case Study due 12.6.11

Hula Paper due 12.8.11

Hawaiian Studies paper due 12.9.11

Whew! I think that is it. :)

Now onto the past few weeks. First off I would like to say how thankful I am for my roommate. Kayla is SO awesome, and all the little messages she leaves me make my day.

Isn't she the best? :) 

I am so lucky! :)

I love it! I am SO lucky and blessed to have her as my roommate! I also am so grateful for my friends Diana, and Nicole. :) I love hanging out with them, and just having a good time. I also love spending time at the Polynesian Culture Center with my friend Kerriann. :) We are PCC buddies, which leads me in to my next story.

For our Hula class we have to write a paper (see calendar above). For this paper we have to go to the Polynesian Culture Center to the Hawaiian Village. We have to write about the main presentation, as well as one of the activities in the village. We also have to write about the Night Show. Well, Kerriann and I had planned on going to the PCC on Tuesday, and then things got in the way so instead we decided to go Wednesday. We got out of class and then went to lunch. Then she had to finish up some homework real fast while I cleaned my room for our White Glove Check, which Kayla and I passed. :) Then we hopped on our bikes and rode over. 

As we were walking to the main entrance there were some cute little Asian tourists. They stopped us and asked us if we wanted their tickets. They were leaving and had no use for them anymore. They included the village, dinner, and the night show. Kerriann and I looked at each other and then at them and asked if they were sure that they didn't want them, and they said, "Here, have them, " and then they gave us their tickets. Well, Kerriann and I went to the villages and watched the presentations and the activities. Then it was time for dinner. The tickets said the Ambassador Dinner (where my roommate happens to work as a setter). We saw a sign that said the line starts here, so away we went. Well the workers saw our tickets and then informed us that we had "paid too much" for that dinner, and directed us to the correct place. 

Once we were there we were treated like royalty. We felt like the girls in "The Little Princess." It was amazing and we couldn't stop smiling. 

Passion Orange Guava Juice is like heaven in a cup!

We got quite adventurous and tried lots of new things, like crab legs.

 Dinner was amazing, and we felt so blessed and grateful for those sweet people who gave us their tickets. :) After dinner we headed to the night show. Where we sat in the 3rd row!!!

We couldn't take pictures during the night show, so I snapped a quick one before it started.

 And to top it all off, the package that the sweet people had purchased included the desert delite sherbet yumminess at intermission! :) WOW! What. A. Night! It was AMAZING!!!

I had such a great time! Now to get back to homework... Or maybe go to sleep. We'll see.

Southern Belle in Paradise

Next up... Thanksgiving in Kaua'i! :)

I did it! :)

I wrote two poems and a short story. :) I am SO proud of myself. I would post them on here, but they are a little personal. If you'd like to read them leave me a comment and I'll see. Please don't be offended if I politely refuse to share it with you... Remember it's not you, it's me. 

Now to preface my awesome accomplishment: :)

When I was a Freshman in High School we were required to take a Freshman writing class. I however happened to miss a lot of that class, and my teacher liked me enough to not make me turn in half of my papers. :) Yay for me! Or so I thought... It turns out that once you get into high school you have to write a lot of papers. They weren't too bad, and I managed to pass each assignment. Well, apparently in College papers are a big thing. I have had to write more papers in my first semester of college than I have ever had to write in my entire life! Crazy huh? I sure think so.

Because of my lack of paper writing skills I write research papers and essays well, but short stories and poems? DEFINITELY NOT!!! Too bad this assignment consisted of all of the above... And after 3 days of constantly writing for English 101, I DID IT!!! :) It feels pretty good to accomplish something like this. I'm sure that being 6 days away from Thanksgiving Break and 4 weeks away from the end of the semester could also have something to do with my rather good mood. :)

Plus... I may have taken out my emotions on my work... Oh well. If it gets me a good grade, then I don't mind one bit.

Did I mention that I got a 100% on my Book of Mormon midterm, a 98% on my Hawaiian Studies midterm, and an 83% on my Biology midterm? :) Well, I did. Now to write 3 essays, and 2 research papers all before I can go home for Christmas. Good thing I am on a writing kick. :)

Southern Belle in Paradise

I am still SO proud of myself!

I am Thankful for . . .

I love Thanksgiving, and the gratitude it brings. :) Sometimes I forget to be grateful for all of the many blessings in my life. So this month I think I am going to try and post at least once a week to share some of the many things I am thankful for.

I am Thankful for . . .

1. My family. :) The best part of having a family? They have to love you no matter what. If you ask me it's a super bonus.
2. My friends, both near and far. I love talking to people, and sharing my life with them, and learning about their lives in return. I love making friends (even though I may seem a bit anti-social... Haha). I also love that my friends are always there for me whether I need advice, or just a shoulder to cry on, and sometimes even just a laugh.
3. My big sissy. She has been having a rough time lately, and I just want her to know how thankful I am to have her in my life. Like all families we have had our struggles, but we always seem to make it. :) I love you.
4. Hawaii. :) I love Paradise, even though it is the rainy season and is constantly raining cats and dogs.
5. An Education. :) I love learning new things, and I love college. I am also so grateful for the opportunity I have to learn at such a great campus. :) And with such great people. Have I mentioned that I love it?
6. Jeremy. :) No matter how upset I am he always tends to make me smile. Even if it is just a little bit.
7. Kid History YouTube videos. :) You should watch them. "Faaaaacccctttt" They will make your life. (Once you watch them that quote will make sense.)
8. An awesome roommate. It definitely helps the year to be awesome, and since we have such tiny rooms if I didn't like her we would have problems. :)
9. My daddy. :) No matter how much I'm sure he hates it when I have to call and ask for money, he is always willing to help me out. And he is always interested in my life. I am so grateful for that. (I am currently working on getting a job. I promise. I love you!)
10. My mommy who is always willing to send me packages. :) I have never gotten so much mail in my life and I love it! :) She always knows what will make me smile. Have I mentioned she is the best mommy? Well, she is. :)

I am thankful for so many more things, but it is past my bedtime, and tomorrow is my early day... So off to bed I go.

Southern Belle in Paradise

What are you thankful for?

On A Slightly Happier Note :)

I am now done with my critical analysis, and passed my psychology test. Not much more to do tonight before I can call it quits and hit the sheets. Hooray for bedtime. :) Hopefully classes tomorrow won't be too bad, and I will be feeling better. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Feelings of an Allergen Free, Homework Overloaded, Sickly College Girl

I must apologize for all the complaining that is about to be a result of this girl.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Here we begin with complaint number one... Or at least the main complaint... I guess really there are about a bazillion and one other complaints inside of this one, but for the sake of time, both mine and yours, let's just make this one giant complaint:

I feel awful. My stomach feels like it has crawled inside of itself and is eating it's way back out - okay, okay... Maybe not quite that bad, but you get the point - I am never full, and I feel like I have to eat constantly. I am tired of not being able to eat whatever I want... I want real food. I want bread. I want pasta. I want milk. I want chocolate. I want apples. I want cereal with milk. I want peanut butter. I want ice cream. Pretty much I just want everything my body has decided it hates. It's not fun having food allergies. Someone a couple of weeks ago asked if I was faking it... Why on earth would someone decide to make up allergies causing them to not be able to eat?!? Why on earth would someone do that to themselves? It isn't fun, and I definitely don't enjoy it. Ugh...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ready for number two? I promise the complaining will end soon... Or at least I hope it will. As Jeremy told me sometime in the past couple of weeks, I miss the old Amanda. The one who is happy all the time. I, like Jeremy, would love to find the old Amanda... but for right now, she appears to be lost in this overwhelming life of hers. Hopefully she will reappear soon... Anyways. Onto complaint number two:

Uphill 

Me at Laie Falls

The uphill killed my knee.

 My body aches due to a project for my Hawaiian Studies class. I had to go on a hike, which I was fine with. Dare I say it was even fun. But, 2 hours of climbing uphill definitely did a number on my muscles. So here I sit, feeling awful because of food, and homework.

Speaking of homework I have...

• A critical essay I have to finish by tomorrow. 
• A psychology test I must take today. 
• A biology midterm on Wednesday. 
• A paper for Hawaiian Studies about my hike into the mauka (uplands). 
• A test tomorrow in Hula on 5 of the basic steps...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Oh boy. I definitely wish I was back in high school, and could just stay home and rest... Too bad college doesn't work that way. Now back to the books...

Thanks for listening...

Southern Belle in Paradise...

Good news? My camera is fixed and is on it's way to me as we speak. :) Yay for pictures of paradise.

Bye Bye Bertha... Hello Starvation!

So, as some of you may know. Anytime after I eat my stomach swells up and I have been known to look up to 6 months pregnant... Lots of fun. For a long time it was just what happened... No big deal. Right? Definitely not... After lots of tests and procedures and such we got some results... Nothing to do with my gallbladder. Not celiacs disease. But the culprit? I am allergic to pretty much every single thing possible. Want to hear the list? Well, hear it is...

• apple
• avocado
• barley 
• green beans
• pinto beans
• broccoli 
• cauliflower
• cottage, chedder, and swiss cheese
• clam
• cocoa
• eggplant
• gluten
• malt
• cow's milk
• green olives
• peanuts
• pears
• white potatoes
• rye
• safflower
• sesame
• soybean
• wheat
• baker's and brewer's yeast

Who knew you could have so many food allergies... A total of 27! That's got to be like a world record. Good news, I can still have air. I'll just become a breatharian or something. Either that or just starve to death. No big deal. I don't need food. 

So much for paradise...

Oh Paradise... What happened?

Paradise... What a word. Too bad this is beginning to be anything but.

THE BUS system? Not my favorite. I spent both Friday and Saturday dealing with the dumb system. Friday me and my friend went to Walmart to buy us bikes. Well, we rode THE BUS, and it seemed easy enough. So we just waited at the stop and then got on THE BUS. We rode THE BUS hoping that maybe it would make it to the Walmart. After asking a couple of people, and riding the bus for forever we found our stop. After we got off we walked, and walked, and after asking 3 different people, and getting slightly different directions from each we finally made it. We bought our bikes, and then after getting some food we went back to the bus stop. Then we waited and waited and waited, and eventually THE BUS came. After a long bus ride home we finally made it.

On Saturday, after we watched General Conference, me and my same friend decided to go rock climbing at the Volcanic Rock Gym. We got to THE BUS stop and waited for forever in the hot hot heat. We caught THE BUS and road and road until we passed Mililani, the same town with the Walmart, and then kept going because we knew the gym was just a couple of towns over. So we kept going, and then after we were on the freeway we saw an exit for the exact rode we wanted to take and then we passed it... So D went and talked to THE BUS driver, and we learned we were suppose to transfer onto another bus. So we got off at the next stop and waited for the transfer. We were told we could catch the 40, 42, or the 62, and so after waiting and talking to another guy at the bus stop, we say a 42, so we put our bikes on the rack, and asked the driver if he was going to where we were trying to get, and he told us no.  So we got off, and took off our bikes, and then sat back down... And waited and waited and waited. Then a 62 came, and we got on, and were good to go. So we rode all the way to the road we needed to be at and then got off. Then we got to a gas station to make sure we knew exactly where we were going, and then off we went. We had a great time rock climbing and boldering. After a couple of hours we decided to catch THE BUS. So we rode our bikes back toTHE BUS stop and waited and waited. Then THE BUS came and off we went. We got off in Mililani to catch our transfer, and had to get change from a McDonald's. We got change thinking we still had about 20 minutes, and it only took us about 5 minutes. So then we got back to the stop... And we missed it. So we decided to get some dinner since we still had about and hour and a half until the buses stopped running... So we ate and then went to THE BUS stop and waited and waited and waited and a bus came about an hour later... And there wasn't room for our bikes, so we were told to wait for the next bus. So we waited and then decided that may have been the last bus. So we called the bus information number, and they said that was in fact the last bus... We were stranded.

We started to think about what we could do, and we road our bikes down the road hoping to find the Walmart or the shopping center. No luck. We started to make some phone calls to see if anyone could come and get us... No luck. Then we called my roommate, and she started to pull some strings. After we rode back up the hill I saw a shopping center just behind a gas station and luckily there we found a bike rack, and a 24 hour fitness place. There was also a foodland that was open for the next couple of hours. We pottied, and then we waited. After a while, our roommate had scored a ride. Then  we learned that there were two other girls from BYU-H who were stranded in the same town. We were told to stay put while they found us. Eventually they did, and we waited for our ride. After about 6 hours of craziness we finally made it home, at 2 in the morning.

This morning we woke up to watch General Conference. In between the morning and afternoon session I got an e-mail from my mom...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Paradise :)

Well, I finally made it to paradise, and let me tell you. It is WONDERFULLY PERFECT! I absolutely love it and I can't wait to explore. I love the palm trees. I love the ocean. I love the rain. I love the sun. I love the sand. I love the people. I love the accents. I love the weather. I love the school. I love the 5 minute walk to the temple. I love the walk anywhere. I love the temple. Oh my goodness. I just love everything about living in Hawaii. It is truly paradise, and I love it. :)

Now, for some apologies. I apologize for not saying goodbye to everyone before I left. I really wish that I could have, because I miss everyone. Making new friends is not always easy. Especially when you already have so many great ones. Next, I'd like to apologize for the poor quality of the pictures. My camera broke a couple of weeks ago, and so until it is fixed I am stuck with my parents camera, and I'm not going to lie... my phone takes better pictures. But it's okay. One day I will be reunited with my baby. But until then the replacement will have to do, and I am so grateful for it. :)

School starts on Wednesday, and believe it or not I am actually pretty excited for it. :) I'm ready for a routine. I know that classes may be hard, and a little bit more of a challenge then I am used to, but I am ready. Ready to learn about the way the brain works, and about cells, and literature, and the Book of Mormon, and about Hawaii. But I'm not going to lie. :) I think the class I am most excited for is Beginning Hula. :) It will be SO much fun.

I miss everyone back home. I miss my mommy, and my daddy. I miss R and C. I miss S, and H, and M, and L. I miss J. I miss M. I miss L. I miss P. I miss K, and S. I miss D. I miss everyone. There are just too many people to list all of them. I am so grateful for the friendships, and relationships I have had with all of you. You are all truly a blessing in my life, and I thank you for that.

Well, I need to go eat lunch, and do laundry, and get my room key programed onto my student id, and who knows what else. Thank you for everything. I promise to post some more pictures when I have the chance. :)

Southern Belle finally in paradise.

Life

So, I know I have become an awful blogger over the past month, but lots has happened since then.

Since July  8 I have:

-Felt like dying and then found out I had a kidney stone, and all within the same day had it surgically removed (too bad I don't have a battle scar to go with it).

Think 10.

Right before surgery.

-Found out who I am going to live with in paradise and I am SO excited.

Be jealous. :)

-Worked on becoming a certified scuba diver (2 dives left tomorrow and I will officially be an open water scuba diver)

First time Scuba Diving :) (This was just in the pool)

-Been kicked out of my own room and relocated to my sister's (although I do love being roomies with her)

-Worked, worked, and worked some more, and then two days ago became done working

Haha. :)

-Not started school like everyone else. :) That one might just be the best thing that has happened. Haha.

-Not had lots of homework. :)

-Been released from my calling in Young Women's (youth program at church) and officially kicked out. I am now a YSA (young single adult) and in RS instead of YW... Weird (I'm kindof worried about not being with kids my age anymore, now I'll be with moms... But only for a few weeks.)

-and LOTS more (that I just can't think of right now, but I promise it was important)


I am now that much closer to moving to paradise (19 DAYS!!!!!) though and I am SO excited. I am even beginning to work on my tan now so I don't fry when I get there. Haha. We will see how well that goes. Hopefully really well since my sisters have had such great luck tanning this summer. :)

Other than that life has been going well I suppose. I will try to keep you all more updated from now on. We will see though. :)

Southern Belle in Paradise

Spidered to death!

Get it? Like scared to death? By a spider? :) Haha.

Well, last week I was driving to work and all of a sudden I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Once I realized what it was I FREAKED out.


Imagine this, but with green spots.

 It was a spider, and not just a normal spider. A spider with green spots on its butt. It was hanging from a web that it was trying to make across my door. Now, freaking out while driving a car is generally a bad thing, so I tried to remain calm with my eyes on both the spider and the road, and with one hand on the stearing wheel while the other hand was frantically digging though my glove box in search of something to smash it with. After tearing apart my glove box, and trying to keep track of the spider, and of course the road, I found an old reciept and went to smash it.


I pomise it was scary.

 Well, it had started to move and when I went to kill it, it fell. On me. Almost running me off the road.


Okay... It wasn't this bad. I didn't even leave the lane.

 I quickly got back to drivng, and just tried to reamin calm for the remainer of my trek to work (not even 5 minutes left). It was hard, but I did it. I'm still afraid that the spider is going to randomly appear and scare me again.

Stay tuned for next weeks epidisode

When the flies attack!

Southern Belle in Paradise

*I hope paradise doesn't involve spiders in my face.*

Oh the joys of working late...

Last week my hours at work got changed from 7:30-4 to 8:30-5. I was originally fine with these hours of work. It meant I got to sleep in later, and since my life currently revolves around my jobs, I wasn't really missing out on anything by accepting to work later.

Well, that opinion quickly changed as I really just what working an hour later really meant...

Being the last person to leave the office everyday.



Okay... Maybe it's not this bad.



Now, don't get me wrong. It isn't always that bad. Some days I am only alone in the office for half an hour, and on occasion my boss is even here when I leave. But sometimes, I am alone for an hour and a half. Yeah, that doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but it really is when you realize just minutes after everyone leaves for the day that you can't leave the office until you are ready to leave for the day. Because once you leave you can't come back (my badge will not unlock the doors to my office). I realized this sad, unfortunate dilemma on day one of being left alone in the office... Because, unbeknownest to me my bladder was about to have a sudden need to explode... After trying and trying and trying to hold it (I had lasted an hour),



This is how I felt...



I just couldn't do it anymore... I could no longer keep my bladder from spontaneously combusting. I know that you all may be thinking to yourselves, "OH NO!!! Did poor little Amanda pee herself?!?" Or maybe even, "Did poor little Amanda pop a squat right there and pee into a bottle?" (Believe it or not, I have been asked the latter.) Well, the question came. You know, the one by Shakespeare? 

 To pee or not to pee?

That truly was the question. Was it worth leaving work half an hour early in order to refrain from the tragic event of peeing myself? Was hurriedly packing everything up, and turning off all lights, and locking the safe, and shutting all the doors really worth it? Could I really not hold it for just a couple more minutes?





I probably looked a bit like the roadrunner from loony toons.



Well, I did it. I packed everything up as fast as I could, and shut the doors behind me, racing to the nearest bathroom to avoid an eruption like Old Faithful.



Photo courtesy of Kim Greenfield from A Greenfield Photography.



I learned my lesson that day... Never let anyone leave without peeing first.

*To bad I forgot to pee before they left today... Only one hour left. I can do it. Right?*



Southern Belle in Paradise :)

The Result of Denial

Remember what I said about being in denial in my last post? Well... it turns out I am in a little bit more denial than I thought... And this, this tornado, is the result... 

Welcome to Exhibit I...

Now let me explain... I do work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and after 2 of those 8 hour days I babysit, for anywhere from 5 to 7 more hours. So, in my defense, I don't have a whole lot of down time, but with paying for college, and gas, I don't particularly mind working so much for the amount of money I make. I know that is just an excuse for me to allow my room to become such a disaster... but that is my excuse, and I am sticking to it...

Welcome to Exhibit II.

And here is Exhibit III.

Exhibit IV

And last but not least... Exhibit V.

Today I realized why I let my room ever get like this. I am in DENIAL. By leaving my room the exact way that it is, it keeps me from cleaning it. And by refraining from cleaning I am refraining from sorting. And by not sorting I am not packing. If you are still following my logic, then you may have realized that after this process of not cleaning, I am refusing to completely accept the fact that in 85 days I am moving... Across the Country... to a small island where I will live on my own without my mommy and my daddy... I know... I should really just accept that I am really moving, but I'm not ready yet, so here my room sits, a complete and total disaster, worse than I think it may have ever been in my life, reminding me of my denial.

Southern Belle in Denial

Has finally come to the realization...

That I leave for BYU-H in THREE months!!!! Oh my goodness. I'm not going to lie... I have been in complete and utter denial... It's not that I am not excited - really I am - but I'm not sure I am ready to go live on my own... on an island... across the country... Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's Hawaii. It will be great! I know... but I am about to have to be the farthest away from home I have ever been in my LIFE! I mean, I have been on vacation without my parents before, only once by myself, but then I always come home... and it's only ever been for a couple weeks MAX... Oh my goodness... It's kind of a scary thought. I won't get to come home whenever I want. I won't get to hang out with my sisters and brother. I won't get to talk to my parents whenever I want, or just get a hug from my daddy when I need it. I won't get to spend the day with my mom because I don't want to go to school. I won't get to skip school ever... I won't get to spend time with my friends... Sure I will have my phone, and facebook, and skype... but it just won't be the same. I have seen lots of people go off to college and they did fine... but what if I can't. What if I end up so home sick that I have to come home early. What if I get island fever? Lots of things to think about with this big move coming up, and I'm sure I will do fine. I'm sure I will love it. Heck! I'm even sure that at times I will be so glad to be on my own - not that I don't love my family... ;) I guess this is what I get for being in denial, and refusing to accept the facts, but I know I'm not the only one. Well, thanks for listening to me ramble. I am really going to miss you all.

Southern Belle in Paradise... well almost

These are a few of my favorite things...

1. Letters

2. Thursdays

3. Friends

4. Movies

5. Coloring Books

First is letters. I absolutely love letters. Any letters. :) Mostly I just love getting mail. :) I love that anxious feeling when you see the mailman's vehicle sitting outside your house, or if I've missed that, the feeling of opening up that mailbox hoping for something exciting to be inside. :) As soon as I get out that mail I look for my name on all of the letters, catalogs, postcards, you name it; if my name is there, I guarantee there will be a smile on my face no matter who the particular item of mail comes from. :) One of my favorite kind of letters though, is the kind from a missionary. :) I love to read about the spiritual experiences, and personal growth both in general as well as in the gospel. I also just love hearing from Elder L. :) I love reading stories about his week. I love seeing the effect the gospel and being a missionary has on his life. I love the random spanish thrown in that I am left to translate. I love every single bit of it. :) Another reason why I love letters so much, is because they always come when I am most in need of a little pick me up, and they always do just that. :) After just seeing the envelope from Elder L. I light up like a glow stick. :) Seeing that a letter has come in the mail just makes me so excited, and so happy. :) When I am at college I think I will send letters to my friends and family so that they can too experience the joy of receiving a letter. :)

Second comes Thursdays. With Thursdays come a weekly email from Elder L. :) E-mails make me just as happy as letters do. :) Thursday is his p-day, or preparation day, so he gets to write letters and emails to friends and family, do laundry, go to the temple, basically prepare for the coming week. :) I love emails for all of the same reasons I love letters. :) One reason that differs from letters though, is that emails are expected on Thursdays (for now while he is at the MTC - Missionary Training Center) around midmorningish :) so I can always count on something exciting come Thursday. :)

Third is friends. :) I love my friends. I love having slumber parties, and talking into the wee hours of the night. I love laughing until I can't breathe, sometimes until I cry. :) I love the amount of happiness that friends can bring into my life. :) I know I've already said it, but I love my friends. They are wonderful, andI can always count on them to bring a smile to my face. :) They have become a huge support system to me over the past year and I am SO grateful for them. :) Without them, I don't think I would be the same person I am today. I absolutely love my friends. :)

Fourth is movies. :) I love most all movies, but I do have some favorites that help me to be happy, and make me feel better. They are The Curious George Movie, Hercules, Tangled, and Spirit. If you have not seen all of these, you need too. They are like necessities. :) I used to watch some of these practically every day, and the best part is that I never get tired of them. :) These movies bring a smile to my face. In Curious George and Spirit I love the music and the animation, and I guess the overall feel of the movie. In Hercules and Tangled I also love the music, but instead I love to sing along to them - loudly and obnoxiously on occasion. :) What can I say... I'm a dork. :) -- I would put more pictures, however they are making me want to throw my computer at the wall...

And last but not least is coloring books. I love to color pictures. :) I can spend hours coloring every single inch of a coloring page and not get bored, in fact I color when I'm bored. :) Coloring is also like a stress reliever for me. Some people like to run, some like to eat, and some like to hit things, I however like to color. :) I know, I'm strange, but it just makes me so happy. :)

So those are just a few of my favorite things. :) I have lots more but it's late and I have to work in the morning, so I should probably get to bed soon, so nighty night. :)

Southern Belle in Paradise

I Promise...

To one day add pictures to my blog. :)

Ah... The Sweet Taste of FREEDOM!!! :)

On Tuesday, May 17, 2011 I graduated High School. :) I am done! Forever! SO exciting. It didn't really hit me until I was walking across the stage, and then I was done. :)

At graduation practice it just felt like we were playing pretend, and then once we were all dressed up in our caps and gowns it just felt like we were playing pretend, and dress up. It didn't seem realistic at all, in fact, it felt very surreal. We walked out and pomp and circumstance was playing. Then after speeches by my principal, the valedictorian, and the salutatorian, we began to walk across the stage, beginning with all students with a 4.0 or above. Then the A's were called, then B's, and C's and then after much waiting the M's and N's, and then the O's and P's, and then it was our turn.

We stood up, and began walking towards the stage. At that moment I knew I was about to graduate, and I mean really graduate, something you dream about all through grade school. I was about to be done. First Hollie Roberts, and then Lindsey Roberts, and then Me... Amanda Katherine Robertson was called and I began to walk across the stage. I didn't hear what anyone said to me besides Mr. Parker telling me congratulations and that I looked pretty. All I could think about was that I was done, truly done with High School, that and how to walk and not trip... One foot in front of the other, it sounds easy enough, but that was all I could do... remind myself how to walk, to keep moving forward as my life was about to begin. My life after high school.

While sitting and waiting for my turn to finally walk across that stage, I began to feel bad for the people who no one shouted or applauded for, especially after the graduate before them got the loudest and longest applause. How does that make them feel? That has got to suck to know that no one cares that you just made it through 13 years of hard work, and that you were graduating. I felt so bad for these poor kids... and then I began to walk across that stage. As I said before, I didn't hear anything, I was in this bubble that no sound could penetrate, and it was so strange. I was told afterwards that my family was so loud, and I even went back and watched graduation to see, but in that moment I didn't hear anything. I hope that those other graduates felt the same, and that someone is proud of them, even if they didn't publicly demonstrate it.

After graduation, which lasted 2 1/2 hours, we headed to Olive Garden for a celebratory dinner. It was so nice to have my family, and my best friend there, supporting me, and showing me how loved I am. I am so blessed to have family and friends as awesome as them. :) We all had a great time at dinner with much laughs. I am so grateful for them, and for everything that I have been blessed with.

As many of you know I am going to be attending BYU-Hawaii in the fall. I am beginning to have some mixed feelings. I am so excited to go. I love the beach, and I think the school will be wonderful. I am beginning to realize just how much I will miss my family and friends though. I will be so far away from home, and I won't be back until Christmas. I will be in a whole new place where I will have to make new friends and find out where I belong. It is going to be challenging, but I can do it. It will be great, and I am so excited. I guess the best way to describe how I'm feeling is anxious. I am feeling very anxious.

Well, until later.

Southern Belle in Paradise

Missing My Eugene

After the Tornado

As I mentioned last week, there were lots of tornados in AL. My family is safe though, and the power came back on after 5 days. Because of the power outages, my family decided to pack up and leave for Atlanta... After all, we had just gotten season passes the week before for Stone Mountain, so why not? :) After a chaotic day getting ready to leave - it took an hour or two just to find somewhere to get gas - we were ready to go. We drove and drove and drove and stopped at I-HOP for dinner. :) Then after dinner we checked into our hotel, and hit the sheets. :) The next morning we went to Stone Mountain. It was lots of fun. Since the week before we didn't see much of the park, we decided to do whatever Liam wanted. :) Plus, he was the birthday boy. So our day consisted of a playground type thing, mini golf, a train ride around the mountain, a 4-D movie, fudge, glass blowing (we just watched), and a petting zoo. :) (Pictures to follow... I promise.) After we got back to the hotel, we had birthday cake and presents, then we watched movies.

On Saturday we went to the park again, and played cricket, and learned about the Frontier Days (It was Frontier Days that weekend at the park). It was a pretty fun day. :) I also learned how to make sounds like an indian. :) Instead of making sound and hitting your mouth like you did when you were a kid - hard to believe you were doing it wrong all these years... Haha. :) - you do one of two things depending on whether you are a girl or a boy. The female indians would quickly say, "Lululululululululu," at the top of their lungs, and the males would make a war cry which would just be a sound to make something or someone scared. Pretty simple really. :) After we were done with the Frontier Days, we went back to the hotel and swam and hung out for a couple of hours, then we headed back to the park for the laser show, which was AWESOME!!! :)

On Sunday we packed up and decided to drive home and drop off dad and then pack back up to drive to North Carolina to visit with friends until the power came back on. As we got closer and closer to home though, neighborhoods down the road from ours were slowly getting power back, so we just decided to stay home. After we got home we hung out outside with neighbors. Once it started to get closer to dinner time we packed up our food, and got ready to head out down the road to a friends house for a barbecue. Right as we were about to leave our garage door broke, so we started to fix it. As we were fixing it (with the help of all our neighbors) it began to get dark. Because of the power outages, there was a curfew making it so that we had to be wherever we were going by 30 minutes after sunset or we could get in trouble. We had yet to eat dinner yet, so after a couple hours of struggling to fix the garage door, we packed up our wagon and headed off to dinner. :) It was fun walking in the dark, with flashlights, but still in the dark with all the pretty stars out. :) Dinner was awesome, and then after we finished eating we heard the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed, so our friends hooked up their TV to the generator so that we could hear Obama's speech. After his speech was over my family went home, and S and I spent the night. :)

The next day we cleaned, and then the power came back on. That night we partied and watched Charlie St. Cloud, Easy A, and Labor Pains, all really good movies. :) It was a fun night. :) On Tuesday we cleaned some more, and then it began to rain, so a pool party was canceled. The next day we went back to school. On Thursday I took my APLit test and my Chem II final (It was just a lab, and I got a 100 :). ) Then on Friday I took my APLit final (a vocab test we had missed the week before because of the bad weather, so my teacher decided to just make it count as our final) and my Gov final (which I hope went well... We will see within the next few days.). It feels so good to be done with tests. :) And with this being my very last week of my senior year, I am SUPER excited. :)

On Saturday my mom, dad, sister and I went and helped clean up from the tornado. It was really nice seeing all the people willing to serve others in their time of need, and it felt really good doing service. After hours of cleaning up yards, and cutting down fallen trees, my dad drove us around to see some of the areas where some of the tornadoes hit. It was really sad seeing areas where one house was perfectly fine, and then next door the house was completely gone, crumpled into pieces, sometimes without as little as a foundation left. We drove next to where a Piggly Wiggly once was, next to a bank, and you couldn't even tell what it was, because it was so destroyed. After seeing all of the destruction, it helped me to feel so blessed and grateful for the safety that my family was provided. My mom was telling me how just after the tornados hit she was driving through some of those areas. She had been in the car coming home from Montgomery when the destruction happened. Seeing it, and being there to physically help clean up can really make you appreciate what you have.

It has been a bit of a crazy week, and one I will never forget. I am so grateful for my family, and my home, and power, and many other things. I am also so thankful to be alive and safe.

Safe and Sound :)

We are safe and sound. Our house was not damaged by the tornadoes on Wednesday. The only problem is the power outage, and the possibility of water running out. We left Thursday for Georgia, and will be here, as of right now, until Sunday or Monday. We will see. I will post more later of our lovely adventures in Georgia. :)

Please pray for Alabama.

Temple Open House and Stone Mountain - April 22 and April 23

This weekend my family packed up the car and drove on down to Atlanta, GA for the temple's open house, as well as to Stone Mountain. The ride up started out long and boring. I read a lame book for school, L watched movies, H M and S napped, Dad drove, and Mom talked to Dad. After a while of driving though, I decided to pull and my camera and take some pictures, since I need to get better at that. :) We took SO many pictures, and had SO much fun. We had dance parties in the car, and then once we got to the hotel we danced and danced some more. :) For dinner we stopped at IHOP which was in super stealth mode. :) Or at least it was according to my dad. I had seen it, and wanted to stop there, but I didn't know we were stopping, and I didn't want to bug my dad, so we kept driving. All of the sudden we were driving in circles, and I asked what we were looking for. When my dad said IHOP, I laughed, and told him it was the first thing we passed, right before Chillis. :) We turned around and found it. By this point it had become even darker outside, and so it was hiding even more because the big sign was not lit up at all. :) We ate until we couldn't eat anymore and kept driving. :) When we finally arrived at the hotel, after much driving in more circles :), we checked in and went up to our rooms. We first dropped off stuff in Mom Dad and L's room, and then went to my H S and M's room. :) We put our stuff down, and I went to help get stuff from the other room. Mom and I realized that it looked a little odd - the covers folded down, a glass of water on the desk, pillows on the floor, a room key on the desk, towels wadded up on the floor in the bathroom. After much inspection, mom and I decided to bring everything into the "girls" room and wait until dad came up to figure it out. Dad went and talked to the people at the desk, and for our trouble gave us free ice cream. :) So we had a dance party with ice cream! :) It was AWESOME!!!

The next morning we woke up, at breakfast, and drove to the temple. :) The temple was so beautiful, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to see it all. I love to see the temple. :) With all the weddings happening this year - my sister, my best friend, a friend from church - wedding's have been on my mind a lot. Being in the temple, and more specifically the sealing and celestial rooms, made me want to be married in the temple someday. I've always wanted to be married in the temple, to a worthy man with all those qualities you write down starting at the age of twelve :) but being in the temple made it that much more real for me. :) The spirit was strong even though the temple was not yet dedicated, and anyone could go through. I just felt so happy. Sometimes when I feel the spirit, I get those warm fuzzy feelings, but other times, I just feel so happy. That's how the temple makes me feel, SO happy. :) I know that the temple is the Lord's house, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to take a family trip so that we could be a part of the wonderful open house. :)

After the temple we went to Stone Mountain. :) It was SO much fun! We got to do a giant ropes course thing, and ride a duck. :) But not a real duck, just a boat that started as a car, and then turned into a boat. It was awesome. :) And I got a cool duck quacker. We also rode a tram up to the top of the mountain. It was really pretty with a super awesome view. :) After our fun day at the park we drove home to enjoy the rest of our weekend :) (about 1 hour of it). Haha.

:) Overall it was an awesome family trip filled with lots of fun and memories.

To blog or not to blog?

I've decided to write a few reasons why I made a blog. (Even though we really know the real reason is because you really want to know all about my life.) :) Haha.


1. I have always wanted to be a blogger. - Okay okay... I know that may sound a little strange, but I love the thought of consistently writing in a journal... however I never quite succeed. I've always thought that maybe, if I make a blog than I will feel more obligated to write, knowing that others are counting on me and are interested in my life, which brings me to my second reason.


2. I am going to be moving to Hawaii in September for college, and I will be FAR FAR FAR away from home. I am going to miss it so much, and I know that my family will want to see and hear all about my adventures in "Paradise."


3. Having a blog will hopefully help to encourage me to take pictures. I am not a good picture taker, I never have been. I mean the pictures I do take most always end up good, I just never am good at the actually taking of the pictures. I never feel the need to pull out my camera just to take a picture of something. I love pictures, so I'm not sure why taking them is such a hassle for me, but it is, so once again hopefully this blog will encourage me to take pictures. After all, I have a wonderful camera that I got for my birthday, and it needs to be put to good use. :)


I'm sure there are more reasons as to why I made this blog. But now I guess I should explain how I came to choose such a name as "Southern Belle in Paradise." At mutual one week, we created skits about first aid. The skits were rather funny, and if I can figure it out, I will attempt to post the videos so that you can see. The main reason these videos shocked me though was the sound of my voice. Now keep in mind that I was aware of my accent. I knew that words like "ice" and "eye" sounded really southern, but I thought that was it. I didn't realize just how bad it was... Then I watched the videos... I have a really STRONG southern accent! How did I not know this??? Anyways... with this new found knowledge, I have embraced the fact that I was born and raised (with a few detours along the way - California, New Mexico, Japan) in Alabama. I am a southern girl, hence the beginning of the title "Southern Belle." The last part "in Paradise" merely comes from the fact that I will be living in paradise in just a few months. :) I'm sure I will stand out with my southern accent, and I am okay with that. :) I am so looking forward to college and the adventure that it will take me on. I am ready to be done with high school and to move on with my life. :)


Well, now that I have taken the time to explain myself, it has become rather late, and with school in the morning, I should probably start getting ready to hit the sheets. :) Good night.