Thanksgiving

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ann6y7sUR1rfBRQ4oy4UMgidzA7IVdomEC_0qOxmsSAdupR0YqOckkTR-0i2wRvNCfZtqe-Q5q9ut8dqjYcttw5eoRTt7_hKFeclSEnENWTFpRO2ip2he1MtGuEqboSdF_Ss7QxDkNM/s1600-h/IMG_0212.JPG">

Carnis

I have a strange fascination with traveling carnivals & have always desired to attend them. It was just my luck when I drove into College Station last week to see the carnival all lit up in the mall parking lot. After asking around & finding that pretty much everyone hates carnivals, I convinced two of my friends to go with me and ride just one ride, that's all I asked for. Well they ended up loving the ride & we all enjoyed our little trip to the carnival that day. My favorite part was the following conversation with my friend Braden (it is not a word for word quote but really close):

Braden: I'm not scared of the rides, I'm scared of the people.
Me:Why are you scared of the people? What have they ever done to you?
Braden: What has a black man hiding in a dark alley every done to you, yet I know you're scared of him?

Gotta love the randomness & not so good logic that carnivals bring out in us.

Love & Hate

Loves

• Pumpkin muffins
• Big accessories
• Cowboy boots
• Pres. Uchtdorf's most recent CES Fireside
• The outrageous cars found only in Huntsville
• My new found Texas twang
• $4 movies
• Picking education as my minor
• Singles wards
• 3 day weekends
• The Office, Glee, SYTYCD, House
• Friends
• Kelly Clarkson

Hates

• The movie "The Box"
• Dumb boys
• Mosquito bites
• Putting 6000 miles on my car since August

My loves list is a bit longer than my hates list - I guess that means life is going pretty good.

Who Burnt Some Toast?

Looks pretty delicious right? That's what I thought. I bought one of these to eat on Tuesday before work but I was unable to eat it. So I decided to save it and try to reheat it for breakfast on Thursday. I stuck it in the microwave and set the timer for 1:00 and continued getting ready for the day since I was already running late. Well about 9 minutes later I walk out into the kitchen to find a cloud of thick gray smoke coming from the microwave, which had 1:30 left on the timer. My cinnamon melt was charred black. I hurriedly tried to take the black mess outside because it was still producing large quantities of smoke. The smoke quickly began to fill up the kitchen and the living room. It stung my throat and my eyes terribly. I turned on the fan over the stove and opened up the windows and the door. I attempted to waft out some of the smoke praying that the smoke detector wouldn't go off since my roommates were all asleep. I got some smoke out and then had to leave to work for which I was already 10 minutes late. As I get in my car and I can smell the smoke clinging to me so I roll down the windows hoping that the wind will lessen the smell. I asked the Dietitian I work with if she could smell the smoke on me and she couldn't. But shortly after another employee walked by and asked, "Who burnt some toast?" The smell was terrible and made me sick all morning. During my lunch break I had to go home and change and wash my hair to get rid of the smell. Lesson learned: don't attempt to reheat fast food.

Mormons: Not Just for Utah Anymore

My current rotation for my internship requires that I ride along with several dietitians to various clients homes all over Harris County. I have gone to several different homes since I've been at this rotation for the past week. Well last week I was riding along with one of the dietitians and we only had 2 visits that day. We are driving to the initial visit and the dietitian was talking to me about the child we were going to see. As we pulled in the driveway she says something to the effect of, "Oh by the way, there are 5 kids in this family and they are all home-schooled. So there might be a lot of kids running around." 5 kids and home-schooled?? Who does that? Well my first thought was I bet these people are Mormon. If they aren't Mormon they are just plain crazy.

So we go into the appointment and I'm looking around for any signs of them being Mormon. My first sign was the picture of her and her husband on their wedding day - the key is that she was wearing a long sleeved wedding dress. Even though this is unusual it still wasn't a tell-tell sign. The next sign was the picture of Jesus that was hanging right by the kitchen table. Sure many people have pictures of Jesus Christ in their homes but usually only Mormons tend to have Greg Olsen prints. But again not a sure sign because I did meet a woman on my mission who wasn't a member but had a painting that usually only Mormons have. The next sign was because I was paying very close attention I saw what could be garments on the mother. She wasn't being immodest but I was looking very closely. But again I wasn't positive because I only saw a very slight bit of white. Next I was looking around the den and I saw what looked like the Proclamation to the World with pictures of their family around it but it didn't have the title on it and I didn't get to look close enough to see what it actually said. By this point I'm pretty sure they are Mormon but not positive. I was so tempted to just ask the mom but I figured that that would be considered unprofessional etiquette. The final sign was as we were leaving I looked on the wall and there was a framed copy of The Living Christ. Then I knew my suspicions were right. As this was happening I was thinking how weird it was to have randomly go to a Mormon families' home for an appointment.

Well then we continued on to our next appointment - I'm still amazed that the last one was Mormon but what are you gonna do. Well we get to the next appointment and the mom lets us in. As we walk in I see a sign on the wall that says "Families Are Forever". This again is a very Mormon saying to have up in your home. So once again I start looking for signs. The first one I saw was the mom's garments - her shirt had come up a little bit in the back and I could see them. The next was again a Greg Olsen looking picture of Jesus Christ hanging over the fireplace. Then as I looked closer to the books that were on the fireplace I saw that the titles were talking about being disciples of Christ and then one of them was Gordon B. Hinckley's biography. The next sign was their wedding day picture - she was wearing long sleeves. Then next to the picture was a little glass temple with a gold angel Moroni on top. By this time I knew she was a member. Again I couldn't say anything but I did happen to drop the fact that I went to college in Utah. So she may have suspected that I was a member but again not professionally accepted.

What are the chances that 2 of the families that I would happen to observe would be Mormon - even stranger that the 2 of them were on the same day. I felt like I was back in Utah where you assume everyone is Mormon. Those have been the only 2 Mormon families that I have visited (or at least I think) and I've visited quite a few now. It has made me look around each home I go to just to see if I can see any signs that they are Mormon. What else it made me realize is how unique we are as a people. The families didn't have to say anything but I could tell by the atmospheres in their homes and a few key decorations that they were members of the Church. It made me resolved to surround my future home with those things that really matter, such as pictures of Christ, temples, The Proclamation to the World, The Living Christ, and so many other uplifting pictures and decor. Hopefully then when others come into my home they will be able to know that I am a Mormon just like I noticed with these families.

My Dietetic Life

As you are all aware I am currently working on getting my Master's and completing a Dietetic Internship. I decided that it was about time for me to show some of the work that I've done as dietetic intern. This bulletin board was for Head Start, which is a government funded preschool for underprivileged 3 and 4 year olds. I was quite proud of myself for thinking it up and then making it happen. The kids can mix and match the different foods to show what they ate for breakfast that day using the velcro on the back of the foods and on the plate. I loved having the opportunity to do something creative. I got all excited and felt like I was being productive. So here's a taste of what my internship consists of. (Sorry I don't have more pictures)

A True Texan

I always knew that I was a true Texan (I mean I am a 6th generation Texan) but something happened yesterday to confirm this fact to me.

I have a class that is in the Woodlands (roughly a 40 minute commute) and I've started recently commuting with two friends of mine. Well last night our conversation ended up taking a turn into how one of the girls feels that big hair on a woman is a symbol of power. I told her that if that's true I'm out of luck because my hair just can't be big, even though I love big hair. She then turned to me and said, "Girl, you need a Bumpit!"

A visual of the Bumpit in action.

Then the two girls proceeded to tell me the pros and cons of the Bumpit. For example, it works well when your hair is down but once you try to put it up in a ponytail it gets more difficult. My favorite thing is they talked about the Bumpit as if every girl should have one. Now comes my confession - I've always wanted to try the Bumpit. There I said it. I LOVE big hair & would kill to be able to get some volume in mine. Every time I've seen the infomercial for the Bumpit my friends would crack jokes but I was secretly wanting one. Hearing my friends talk about the Bumpit and how to get big hair confirmed to me that Texas is where I belong. My love of big hair runs deep in my blood. No, I have not invested in the Bumpit yet (yes I said yet), but I will be sure to wear my Bumpit with pride when I get that privilege.

Because I know you all want easy access to it here's the website where you can purchase your very own Bumpit for only $9.99 plus shipping & handling: https://www.bumpits.com/Index.dtm