One Week Down

8/30/13
This is the end of the first week of school this year. I feel like I'm going to fall over at any moment. Not only am I exhausted from lack of decent sleep, my legs hurt from walking up a stupid hill everyday.  They have never hurt this bad, ever.  I almost fell over when I got off my couch the other day because they hurt so much. Suffice it to say, I took the bus to class that day.

I am also mentally exhausted from school and work training. You wouldn't think that having training about being appropriate around children would be so tiring, BUT IT IS! It helps that the school I'm assigned to is awesome and I have good co-workers.

 And school on top of that, oh boy. I had to drop a class that I actually might have had fun in so that I wouldn't kill myself by the constant moving and working.  The class was "Intelligent Life in the Universe: Integrated Science." or more fondly referred to as the Alien Class. The professor is awesome and I'm really sad I had to drop it, but at least now I won't pass out every Tuesday and Thursday from exhaustion.

I also hurt myself this week trying to catch a bus to get to work on time. I tripped in my flip flops(yes, just like Kylie) and I hurt my big toe. That was two days ago and it still hurts, I even think the nail is not properly attached.  But here's the kicker, I wasn't even late to work, and if I had missed the bus, I still wouldn't have been late to work.

And finally at the end of the week my hands have decided to hurt and swell for no apparent reason.  I woke up this morning with my hands numb and swollen and it hasn't stopped yet. I'm kinda worried about it actually...



So all in all, college is trying to do me in.



Now for the good things that happened this week.



My class are overall very good. Except Stats. That class is just stupid and a waste of time, but I need it for my major, so maybe it will come in to play in the game that is my life.

I have fantastic teachers.  My special education teacher is very passionate and seems really kind. My history professor is so AWESOME! He makes it okay to go to class at 7:30. Like, I actually enjoy going to that class. He is really weird and has many of the same opinions as me. Except he's a lawyer, I'm trying not to hold it against him.

My new roommate is amazing. She is a nerd, just like me. I like her a lot. She likes Les Mis, and POTO, and LOTR and Avengers and Firefly. Basically, she is super duper awesome and I am really glad that she is our roommate.

Hammy and I have finally gotten to season 5 of Merlin! I'm so excited to see some episodes that I have never seen before. Except then we will get to the end and then, since it is BBC, I will probably cry my eyes out.

I also converted Hammy into the Tom Hiddleston fandom. It was easier than I expected. All I had do was show her some of the quotes I had of him talking about romance. She still thinks he looks like someone who is gay, but now she understands why Kylie and I think of him as perfect. BECAUSE HE IS!

I was able to go to the library! So I will no longer be sitting around with nothing to do! I HAVE A BOOK!! WHOOOOOOO!


-Korrin

One Sentence Blog Post: Religion

Religion is like a fandom all about God.

~Kylie

I Am About To Fall Over I'm So Tired

GUESS WHAT. (#SpoilerAlert) I'm at college. Whaaaaaaaat!

So this year is going pretty good... you know, for only being the second day in. I have nice friends who I don't hate, so that's awesome. (Friends, if you happen to be reading this, then HI GUESS WHAT I DON'T HATE YOUUUUUUUUUU)

My classes are definitely going to be a struggle this year, but I think I'm looking forward to the challenge. Mostly, anyways.

Not the "walk up and down a million and five flights of stairs" challenge, though, because my legs hurt. Like... my whole legs. All of them. ALL OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME (How morbid!).

Basically I fell asleep and took a nap today and it was awesome.

I forgot what else I was going to say.

Oops? Sorry, not sorry.

~Kylie

Church Makes My Life Better

8/26/13
Saturday I moved back to school. It was exhausting and stressful, but it is done! I have one other roommate plus the one I moved here with. She is awesome and I think we will all get along great. She likes Lord of the Rings!

Yesterday I had my first day in my new singles ward. Singles ward is a very unique experience, and very odd compared to normal family wards. But yesterday, the lessons were just amazing. I haven't felt so peaceful in months. It was just what I needed. For the first time this summer, I feel ready for the first week of school. And I even know some people there already! Whoo!

Today is my first day of school. I have one normal class and an Institute class, so it will be nice and simple. That is also the reason I have time to actually write in my blog. I have to buy textbooks today though. UGH. I hope it't not too much money, I hate spending so much money.

You will probably hear from me in a couple days, and it will probably be me complaining about how tired I am. Tuesday and Thursday are non-stop days, and evil. But for now, here's me being hopeful that this week will not kill me.

-Korrin

One Day More

8/23/13
That's right, this is my last day at home. Tomorrow I am moving back up to school into a brand new apartment with my dear friend Hammy. I have no idea if I will have other roommates, that's part of the adventure right?
Moving is so nerve racking it's not even funny. I am so stressed about next week that I will randomly start crying, not that I don't do that anyway, and I may be making myself slightly sick. The human body is weird. And I don't like stress.
But I think that I've got everything packed and I know what stuff I need to buy at the grocery store. I just want it to be a week from now, because then the hard stuff will be over.

On a whole other unrelated subject, Kylie and I finished Emily's book , again, yesterday. It should arrive in about a week and if it doesn't get there, I will have some very strong words for the postal service. There is a book page in there that was so totally awesome I took a picture of it. Kylie handed me a quote and a picture while saying "You are going to love me forever because of this." Check it out.

If you can't read it the quote says "The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no farther than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before. " -Albert Einstein.
This was a graduation photo. They (our parents) told us to do a thinking pose. The look on Monica's mother's face when I did what is happening in that photo was priceless. As was the pride in my father's eyes. That's right people, I put my finger on my nose like I was picking it. It was totally awesome. This is the greatest page in the history of the world.

-Korrin

My Reaction To The THOR 2 Trailer

And that's pretty much it. 

~Kylie

Why Are Things So Far Away?!

8/19/13
As I was scrolling through Pinterest yesterday I came upon this picture,

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the awesomeness of this picture? I mean, look at McAvoy's hair!
I sent the picture to Kylie and she replied "HOLY. ATTRACTIVE. MEN." I kid you not. This picture is so beautiful, you have no idea. I need this movie, right now. (For those of you who don't know what this is going to be from, it's X-Men: Days of Future Past) Why do I have to wait for something so fantastically great? WHY?! It's agonizing how much I want this movie, right now.

And since we are on the topic, I also want it to be November. November this year is going to be the King month for all nerdom! Thor 2, Catching Fire, Doctor Who 50th Anniversary, Sherlock Season 3, The House of Hades, and probably other things that I am forgetting!!  Is it November yet? Because that will be the best month of 5EVER!

MY PATIENCE IS WEARING THIN!!! I NEED THESE THINGS RIGHT NOW!

 -Korrin

Growing Up Kinda Sucks

8/17/13
So it's official, I have one week left until I move back up to college. You think that I wouldn't be nervous, because I've done this before, I survived a year of it already. But no, I am irrationally terrified of going back to school. I always get nervous before a new year of school, I have since I was 6, but this feeling is almost as bad as it was last year. Transferring form High School to College is a very scary thing, it was hard to leave the comfort of home to live with people my age and be responsible for everything. And I feel the same kind of apprehension that I had last year.  It doesn't help that I have a monster of a first week.
The first week of school do I not only have all new classes to go to, I also have work training from 3:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. Monday- Thursday.  This isn't bad because most of my classes are over before 1:15 right? Except for the night Math 1050 class I signed up for so that I can somewhat get back on track for my major. It goes from 6-8 Tuesdays and Thursdays. Luckily, I have the best job ever and my bosses are probably some of the greatest people I have ever met and they work with students all the time so we were able to work something out. But that means that I will basically be gone from 7 in the morning till 9 at night all week. If I don't pass out it will be a miracle.
 I don't get how people can do this all the time! Some people "get married to their work" and they have those same kinds of hours that I will have in two weeks. I love my job and I still don't want to go all that time. I want to have time to relax and get used to my new apartment. I want to spend time with Hammy, my roommate, and if I have two other roommates, get to know them so that I can live with them for a year. I just want it to be November. Is it November yet?
Given, I don't feel as terrible as I did last Monday. As you know, Monday was a hard day because of the news that Emily's book was lost. If you read Kylie's post about it, you pretty much will see all of the emotions that I felt. Especially the whole "acting like someone died," because I really did cry just as much as i did when my Grammie died last April. Since then I had a kind of crisis week. Monday was terrible most of the day. It got infinitely better when Hammy came over to talk about supplies and we played games. I was so angry and upset that all of our hard work had not reached Emily.  But through Em's strong testimony and talking to people about it, I came to the conclusion that Heavenly Father had another plan for that book. (It was actually really interesting talking to Kylie about it. Our parents were basically receiving all of the revelation to calm us down. Kylie and I couldn't get it because, despite Emily's plea, we were super mad.)  This news coupled with my training schedule and my building seperation anxiety, I was not a happy camper this week.
 But Wednesday, my Daddy gave me a blessing. Obviously I'm not going to tell you what was said. It's kinda personal. I am so glad that I have the ability to have that kind of communication with Heavenly Father through my earthly father. I got so much comfort from that blessing. It addressed so much more than I had actually thought of in a while. I know that I will be looked after this next year and that if I work hard I can be a better person at the end of it with The Lord's guidance. I have a lot of things to work on, mostly forgiving myself for making mistakes and to believe that I can be loved, no matter how imperfect I may be. I am so grateful for the Priesthood in my life so that I can get this kind of comfort so readily. That may be a part of my anxiety...not knowing if I can easily find priesthood to give me blessings, it was kinda hard last year.
So now I feel better than I did six days ago. Still nervous and procrastinating packing as much as humanly possible, but better. I make things so much worse in my head than they actually are.

-Korrin

Bad News And A Sincere Request

Most of you know about the books we made for Sister Merrill and Hermana Lloyd. Books that contained pictures, quotes, stories, and testimonies written just for them, so that on days when they felt down, they could open it up and be reminded how much support they have and how many people love them. We had been working on them since May, and finally finished them/sent them off at the end of July. Amanda received hers within a few days, and Emily's was expected to arrive a week ago.

Today, Korrin and I received some extremely disheartening and upsetting news, and we will be needing a lot of support from our readers.

Emily emailed us this morning to say that she not only has not received her book, but that she will probably never be getting her book. The envelope and the letter explaining what the book was arrived, but the book did not.

The post office lost the book.

Apparently the package ripped open during shipping, and the book just wasn't placed back in the package. None of us will ever know what happened to the book, and it will probably never been seen again.

It has been extremely difficult for me to write this post. Sister Merrill expressed her gratitude for all of our effort and her sadness at the event, but she also asked us not to be angry about the situation. I put a lot of myself into that book, and it absolutely breaks my heart to know that Emily will never get it. And I'll admit it--I'm angry. I am so furious that nobody could save it, that nobody was paying enough attention to it to know that something had gone wrong. But I don't know what happened, and I shouldn't judge. At Sister Merrill's request, I am trying extremely hard not to let my anger overwhelm me, so I've had to consistently go back and delete previous things I've said.

Emily stated in her email that maybe there was someone out there who needed to hear the testimonies and the things written inside. Her testimony and faith in the Lord's will reminds me time and time again why she is in my life and how her decision to serve a mission is the right one. Her light and hope are an inspiration in my life, but I am so hurt that this happened.

This is where I need everyone's help.

Please, readers, please pray and ask that Emily's book be delivered into the hands of the person who needs it most. I don't know if it's Emily or not, but things happen for a reason, right? Especially when it's something so big like this. I can only speak for myself, but I know that I won't--I can't--be okay with this unless God is placing that book in the life of someone whose needs far exceed those of our happy and loving Sister Merrill. I really need everyone to help me with this, and to help everyone else affected by this loss. Something good has to come of this.

I know I sound dramatic, like someone has died or that my life will never be okay again, but it hurts to know that I worked so long and so hard on something for what seems like nothing. I have to put a lot of faith and trust in God for this one. It's like... I thought I was doing a good thing. The right thing. And then this happens. I just don't know why, and it's killing me.

Please, I ask you again, please remember to ask for the book to fall into the right hands.

And again, thank you all for your continuing support in reading our blog--it means the world to us.

~Kylie

This Is Amazing And Also Freaky

Amanda is going to the Sacramento California Spanish-speaking mission while waiting for her visa to come through.

This is not unusual.

In fact, Amanda has (lovingly) stated before that Argentina "is a butt about visas", and one of the sisters that was there when she first arrived was going to serve in Idaho until her visa came through.

So all in all, this is not an unusual thing and is, ultimately, utterly unremarkable.

Except for the fact that I have known she was going to California since before she got her call.

That's right--I knew she was going to California.

I remember sitting in my Education class the day Amanda got her call. In fact, it was exactly when Amanda knew she got her call, because I was trying to listen to class as she and Korrin chatted about it like so:

The blog makes a lot more sense now that you see a typical conversation, doesn't it?

And me? I was freaking out. It was really hard for me to accept that my two of my three best friends were going on missions, and Amanda getting her call stressed me out to no end.

So there I am in class, internally panicking about where is she going and what am I going to do, and suddenly I got this really weird feeling. It was a sudden calm feeling, and the extreme suddenness of it took me super off guard and left me with a simultaneous feeling of slight apprehension at the afore-mentioned suddenness.

And at the same time I got this feeling, my brain said "California. Calm down Kylie, she's just going to California."

I was shocked. Was I really getting insider information on where Amanda was going? Really?
I told my mom and (surprisingly) Emily about this feeling, but I never told anyone else about it.

So I was secretly expecting Amanda to say she was going to California but LOLOL nope. "Argentina" caught me so off guard I almost fell out of my chair. I thought I had been wrong. I had just imagined something that would make me feel better about her leaving, and that was okay.

But today, Amanda got temporarily reassigned to California.

I don't know why God let me have a sneak peak into the future--maybe He needed to let me know that He's watching over my friend. Maybe He needed to give me the same answer my prayers usually get (i.e. "STOP WORRYING YOU WORRYING WORRIER!"). And maybe He just wanted me to know ahead of time what was in store. I don't know. But He did tell me, and I'm amazed, humbled, and just a little freaked out that He did.

I can tell you one thing without a doubt, though. Hermana Lloyd is supposed to be in California. There are people there that need her light and her guidance, and the Lord is leading her right to them.

You guys better believe it.

I know I do.

~Kylie

UPDATE: I emailed Amanda and told her about how I knew she would be going to California. This was her response:

"Gift of prophecy, my friend. You truly have the Sight. (Psst. Don't tell Trelawney)"

Also, she's super excited to go to Sacramento, so that's excellent :)

Sewing is HARD

My Mom and I are making a dress.  Well, technically my Mom is making it because I have never made a piece of clothing by myself and I am completely lost. But since it is a dress for me, I try to help as much as possible. For instance,

I helped pin the pattern onto the fabric, and stuff. Here is my Mom doing the actual cutting...

And today I did some sewing on the machine.

Needless to say , I think I messed up my dress. Mom had me sew on curvy parts! It's like super hard!! I definitely messed that up, it looks terrible. I hope that it doesn't mess up the entire dress. Probably just the sleeves, because after that I kinda got the hang of it and was able to decipher the measurements on the sewing machine.

I suck at crafts, so why do I keep doing them? I mean really?First the books, I want to make onsies for my nephew,and a new dress, they just keep coming.  I have the imagination for these kinds of things, but I can never actually put my mind into action. If that doesn't say something about me, I don't know what does.

-Korrin

Sundays Turn Me Into a Blubbering Boob

8/4/13

Basically I cry a lot at church. Today was the last fast Sunday that I will be attending my home ward, for sure, before I go back to school. It's actually kinda freaking me out. Wait, I need to go back for this to make sense. 

Last week I didn't go to church. My parents were out of town and I was home alone because I had things to do, namely finish out scrapbooks. I didn't go because after a year of going to church by yourself, you kinda get tired of it. And family wards are different than singles wards, it just seems wrong to go alone. Instead I stayed home and watched the Joseph Smith movie. Amanda has been taking about it in her blog and stuff so I decided to look it up on YouTube because I didn't know where my DVD was. (Btw it is very edited on YouTube, the DVD is better) I bawled my eyes out. It got me thinking about missionary work and my own callings and everything. I also got the revelation that I should bear my testimony at sacrament the next fast Sunday. Hence we come to today. 

I sat on the pew with my dad and debates with myself whether or not the Spirit was telling me to bear my testimony or not. I had just written it to Em and Amanda, did I need to bear it in front of all my ward members and the visitors that's were there for the baby blessing? Eventually I got told that I did. I was crying before I even got up to speak. I always, ALWAYS, cry when bearing my testimony, but today was particularly bad. I got even more squeaky than I usually do and I expect that I scared a few people. I would be a bad missionary because I would just cry all the time. 

Since I got up I have been crying off and on. This is the dialogue that's been going in my head between me and my brain. It has a mind of its own. 

"Singing a hymn? Have some tears. Another person talking? Cry some more. Talking about church history? Remember your grammie and cry like it was April all over again." Says my brain

"Curse you, you stupid mass of meat that controls my emotions and listens to the Spirit talking to me and showing it in me sweating out of my eyes." I reply as I wipe my eyes and avoid any eye contact. 

This has happened a lot on Sundays lately. I do anything that remotely let's me feel the Spirit and I cry. I should invest in tissues because I use them so much. 

Me having a tender heart is better for other people. That way I can feel sympathy for others and can help those in pain. But when it's just me and my thoughts it's a curse. A curse that manifests in the form of my face becoming a little river. 

So if anyone in my ward is reading this, I'm sorry I cry so much, it's not my fault. My brain tries to kill me. 

-Korrin 

Of How They are Missing Geek Movies: and other stories.'

Star date 8/2/13

I have decided to start dating my posts so that the blog doesn't mess up the order, because it's been doing that and it's weird.

Yesterday was my dear mother's birthday. She turned 56. I know, she is older than most mothers with 19 year olds', but she got married at 27 and my sister is 6 1/2 years older than me, it's not my mom's fault they had a hard time getting pregnant. Anyway, we celebrated by going and seeing The Wolverine. This is the first movie that I know of that came out while our missionaries were away that Amanda really wanted to see. Needless to say, it was pretty awesome. There was a lot of Japanese stuff and that appeals to me because I am an Otaku. (For those of you that don't know Japanese aka everyone else that I know except three-ish people Otaku means fan-girl, specifically of Anime) There was also a lot of action and the after credit scene was super significant and made me grin like a mad person because I was so happy. The Wolverine was definitely not my favorite X-Men movie, hardly anything can beat McFassy, but it was amazing nonetheless. But afterwards I was really tired. Like I almost fell over due to exhaustion. Maybe it was from my heart racing with all the action and stuff, but that always happens, I always get tired after a movie. I wonder if it's a medical condition...It didn't help that later my mom dragged us around Hobby Lobby. A very cool store, but not when you circumvent the entire store. The only good thing that came from it was that we found onsies that I could turn into geeky things for my nephew. I'm super excited and I have a lot of ideas. Goodness, I just finished a project didn't I? Stupid world being expensive.

Today, I got a letter from Amanda for Kylie and me.  Basically it made us bawl. It was the letter that was a response to our scrapbook. She told us how much she loved us and that we were the best friends ever. We sat there crying going, "This was supposed to make you cry, not us! You Jerk! Justice was supposed to be served! And now we are crying more than ever, that's just great." I can't wait for Emily's response to them, but she won't even get it until next week so I will have to be patient. 

Speaking of dear Emily, in Amanda's letter she called her "Sister Emily-face" Emily's face is a joke between us because Em can pull some really hilarious faces.  And half the time she doesn't even realize it! When you point it out she gets embarrassed and its really funny most of the time. So if you know Emily and write to her, please address her as Sister Emily-face, because that would make my year if everyone did it and not just Kylie and me.  

K THNX BYE

-Korrin

I Just Got A Letter!

I just got a letter!

I just got a letter!

Wonder who it's from?!

(If you didn't sing that whole thing, go back and do so now.)

(If you don't know the song, then I am ashamed of you and your knowledge of 90's children's television.)

But I just received a letter from our marvelous missionary Sister Merrill!

She loves it in South Canada Minnesota, and she loves the people. She's thrilled to hear about the blog, and she didn't say anything about my Sharknado picture, which was actually quite disappointing because SHARKNADO.

Also she both loved and hated the postcard letter I sent her. She claims it was "TORTURE" and that it took her 5-7 to put it together. I don't know what 5-7 means, but I'm not about to question a servant of the Lord. She made sure to clarify that she loved the picture on it, though, which is good. I specifically sent her the postcard with the Lower Falls, so I'm super glad she liked it.

I was going to say more things and then I forgot. I blame Korrin because she just came over. #YOLO

~Kylie