Happy Beginning of December!

I love this time of year! On Friday night, I went with some friends to the lights at Temple square. It was hacking crowded, but the temple was beautiful! I took a few pictures to share.

Natalie, Emily and I had a little fun after church today. We did a Christmas Dance Performane, and I thought I would share it all with you. Enjoy! :)

'Tis the season for....

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! My family and I were able to join my grandparents and some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins for the delicious turkey dinner. I had an enjoyable time.

Thanksgiving starts the season of many things. In my opinion, 'tis the season for four specific things. Tis the season to be jolly of course. This is a fun time of year, allowing many opportunities to be with family. Tis also the season to be thankful. This time of year is a great time to reflect on the many blessings we each enjoy every day. We all have so much to be thankful for, and it is so important to express that thanks. Tis also the season of giving. I think the world gets so caught up in receiving sometimes, and forgets to think about other. Try and give of yourself everyday to someone, in some way. The fourth "tis the season," is not a happy one, but it is one I want you all to be aware of. 'Tis the season of burgluries. Sad, but true, this time of year is when robberies and car break-ins spike like no other. To add to that, the crashing economy is seeming to motivate stealing even more. Be aware, and be careful! Be aware of your surroundings. Don't leave ANYTHING in your car when you park in a parking lot. Just take precautions. I hate having to live in fear like this, but better worry and try to be safe, than sorry.

To end on more of a happy note, I have a lovely little cartoon for all you BYU and Utah fans! Enjoy!

http://216.252.110.31/us.f559.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?mid=1%5f2129073%5fAEFu%2fNgAAAnuSTBUOArVYwLQcNE&pid=2&fid=Inbox&inline=1&cred=uErxTU5k3VGSxpDQC.0xb.EfzW4FA5lWrmu8u_4DPqQ3r61rioyjiQOa1wNwi0LVuGkcY66sj3Doh0K8vv.SJegH87TqkCSin9ejew_6BZaU7uY-&ts=1227909714&partner=ymail&sig=0WhYMtDUZhAPrGp_Axj.7g--

Health Promotion + Henry B. Eyring???

Yesterday in my foundations of health promotion class, my professor used a quote in our notes from Henry B. Eyring! Now remember, this is a class at the University of Utah, using a quote from a member of the first presidency of our church! I thought it was pretty cool. It just goes to show how knowledgeable our church leaders our and how their teachings not only help us in religion, but can be applied to school, work, and many other places. The quote my professor used was one about education. She is working to get us all pumped to never stop our education, which in the health field is very crucial, as health and medicing are changing and becoming better and more current all the time. I'm very greatful for this professor and class. Never in my schooling have I had a more inspirational teacher. And now, I shall share the quote my professor used in class:

No service that matters can be given over a lifetime by those who stop learning. A great teacher is always studying. A nurse never stops facing the challenge of dealing with something new, be it equipment or procedure. And the workplace in every industry is changing so rapidly that what we know today will not be enough for tomorrow. Our education must never stop. If it ends at the door of the classroom on graduation day, we will fail…Insatiable curiosity will be our hallmark.
-H.B. Eyring

By the way, I think this is a really funny thing. For our health promotion happy thanksgiving at the U, we all got tangerines. Doesn't that just totally make sense for nerdy health majors like myself? I love it!!!

A Better Understanding Of My Life

This morning in my foundations of health promotion class, my professor ended her lecture in an extremely passionate way, which I can't get out of my head. She was going through some lecture notes on the ethics health professionals must have, in order to be legitimate and successful in their careers. Suddenly she stopped the lecture and started to tell us that there are a very few occasions when she gets on a soapbox in this class, and that today was going to be one of them. She told us that in order of be successful in whatever we do in our lives, we MUST achieve a high set of morals that we live by, and that we need to keep our integrity. She told us this with such more passion and more concern than I have ever seen in any of my professors. Today, more then ever, I finally understand why I'm going into a health profession: I want to do good for other people, and for myself. I'm not going through all this hard education to learn interesting things for myself, I'm going through this to someday be able to share it with larger numbers of people who NEED it! I finally understand that I have the ability to make a change for the better, in someone elses life. I feel more excited than ever about what I'm doing right now with my own life!

Lately, I've also been thinking about what I will do when I graduate from college. If things go as planned, I will graduate in a year, spring 2010, with my bachelor's of science in Health Promotion and Educaiton, with a minor in Human Development/Family Studies. I'm very excited about this, and love to talk about it! Lately though, everyone has been asking what I'm going to do with my degree when I graduate. Here's the problem: My degree is a pretty broad one, and I have way too many interests, so I always have to say I have no idea what to do when I graduate! But if someone were to ask me, today, what I'm going to do, I now have pretty definate answer. I will graduate and find a good job, maybe with Red Cross, Health Department of Utah, or at an eating disorder facility, and work for a good year or so. After about a year or more, I want to apply for graduate school and get my Master's of Public Health, with an emphasis in epidemiology. It is a 2 year program, and after that I want to be an Epidemiologist f the the Utah Department of Health! I'm soooooooo excited about this right now, and feel very good about it. I am really into my major right now, and even though it is difficult, I am loving every minute of it! And by the way, Go Utes tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

Missionary Farewell = Major Party!

My cousin Chloe will be leaving this Wednesday to serve an LDS misison in Italy! In honor of Chloe, we had an "older cousin" party. We had so much fun playing games like catch phrase, twister, and signs. We also enjoyed a delicious ice cream bar. I'm so excited for Chloe, and it is clear she is excited as well. She will do an amazing job. Good Luck Chloe! We all love you!

Here are some pictures from our cousin party.

Meranda, or "Rawanda" as we refer to her.

This is mine and Natalie's sexy pose.

Meranda (eating a spoon), and Natalie

Dancing Peter, and half of Meranda.

Me and Emily having panic attacks while eating ice cream.

Our MAD twister game! We had 2 twister games hooked together.

Cold ice cream Emily!

Isi and Tara laughing at our sweet twister moves!

Chloe and Eddie posing for an ice cream add.

Me and Rawanda playing twister!

Peter serving up the ice cream with Chloe in the background.

Signs game!

Hans and Chloe, and um somebody's foot?

Me, Annie, Ross.

Fun Night!

Last night I hung out with the coolest friends! My friend Maddy is leaving for a trip to Peru this week. She has family there and will be visiting them for 3 weeks! We decided to go out to dinner to hang out with her before she leaves. I can't believe how crowded restaurants are on Saturday nights! We planned on going to Cheesecake Factory, but the line went all the way out the hacking building and we were hacking starving. We decided that we would drive to Jordan landing and go to La Luna. The waiting area was too packed! So we decided to try this new Mexican grill at Jordan called Rubios, which is right next to Famous Dave's. It was a cute little restaurant, and it was actully really yummy. If anyone ever wants to party with me, we can go there. After that we went to my friend Ashley's house to watch a movie. We decided to watch The Ring, which is one of my favorite movies. It was pretty much a fun night. But this week Maddy is leaving for Peru and Ashley is going to Ohio for a Health and Wellness Convention from Thursday to Sunday. That means Natalie and I are stuck here with ourselves! Anyone up for a party? Here are some pictures from our fun last night. This is Me and My friend Ashley at her house.

Maddy and Natalie at Rubio's .

Oh yeah, we are pretty big deals, so don't mess!

This weekend was an exciting one. Emily went with the high school swim to down to St. George for a big swim meet. She dropped 13 seconds off her 500 free and went a 5:43, which is freaking fast for those who are unfamiliar with swimming! She is so going to beat my time in that race, and I'm scared! :)

The Countdown is on for Elder Larsen!

I have a huge announcement to make! My good missionary friend Friend, Jeff, will be returning after two years of serving the Lord in San Diego, on February 2nd, 2009! That is less than 3 months away! I am so excited!