My time is running out...and so quickly!

I realized today that I will be in Brazil in exactly a month. HOLY COW! When did this happen?!?! When I got my call I thought it would take FOR-EV-ER for this day to come...but it has just FLOWN by! What the heck?! I don't feel ready to leave yet but at the same time...I can't wait till it comes. I still have some shopping to do to get some more skirts and shirts and shoes, but I'm planning on doing most of that in Louisiana when I head down there. I'm really sad to leave Bountiful. I had no idea that I would think this way. I figured I'd miss it, but not as much as I am actually going to. I'm going to miss so many people. Its really quite depressing. Good thing I've felt comformation that I'm supposed to be on a mission because if not...I might not actually go. haha. Anyway...just wanted to do a little update. Hope everyone is doing well. Oh yeah...my farewell was yesterday. I think it went okay. The open house was really nice to see and talk to everyone before I go. I'm so glad I had the opportunity.

In the land of Bountiful...

Okay, I'm copying Erika who copied someone else...but I thought it was a good idea. I mean come on, I've lived in Bountiful since January so that rounds out to about 7- ish months. Thats a LONG time...for me. Who knew that when I moved down here I would end up staying here that long. I certainly didn't. Anyway...there are a few things that I've noticed about people in Bountiful and I will go ahead and make a list now.

1. Most people either HAVE money or like to pretend they do. There are a lot of nicer newer cars driving around the streets and at least the people I know don't like it if their car has a ding in the door or a scratch in the paint. I'm used to just not caring as long as it runs well.

2. A lot of the older women dress like teenagers....or younger than they are, at least. They'll wear big dangly earrings with bright pink shirts and sandals and a lot of make-up. I don't see too many grandmas with the mu-mu's or big ugly sweaters with little animals sewn on.

3. Tanning is cool. Its true, I even succumbed to this awful trend for a week. While I was there, though, I saw many-an-old-woman in there just waiting to get some more wrinkles.

4. Its not uncommon to see a general authority at the grocery store or the local gym. Seriously. There are quite a few of them that live around here and its not unusual to see them around town.

5. Its crazy how many people get pedicures...and how often they get them. Again, I succumbed to this trend. I didn't want to be the only person in Bountiful without a fancy flower painted on my big toe nail!! Just kidding. I really have gotten a few pedicures since I've been here, but not just for the fancy flower, though it is a perk :)....and I only had 1 pedicure in my life before I moved here...so that just goes to show...everyone LOVES pedicures.

6. There are a lot of young, recently married women who have some sort of photography business. They all went out and bought big fancy cameras and have watched all the other people take pictures so now they know what to do and where to go. I haven't noticed too many differences in anyones pictures, but they all love to take them and they do favors for their neighbors like taking pictures of their kids birthday party hoping that their neighbor will return the favor on THEIR kids birthday.

I don't really have any other observances right now...at least I can't think of any. And I know I'm stereotyping most of that...but its just what I've observed. Despite what you might think, I really do love it here and I hope my parents can find a house here in Bountiful when they retire. Its really a great town.

Tagged again...

What was I doing~
10 years ago: Ten years ago I was twelve, living in Texas and just joining young womens
5 years ago: 17 years old and just moved to North Dakota.
5 months ago: March. I was thinking about deferring for the summer semester at school and staying here to work.

5 things on my to do list for today:
1- work
2- work out
3-go to a wedding reception
4- read my scriptures
5- read "The Holy Temple"

5 snacks I enjoy:
1- crackers
2- chocolate
3- jello
4- yogurt
5- bananas

5 things I would do if I was suddenly a billionare:
1- pay off all school debt
2- give a bunch of it to my parents (I really owe them)
3- buy myself a brand new car and a big house
4- take a trip around the world with the brand new fancy camera I would buy myself :)
5- take my family to disneyland!

5 of my bad habits:
1- sleeping in
2- staying up late
3- procrastinating
4- being blunt
5- eating too much

5 places I have lived:
1- Oak Harbor, WA
2- Minot, ND
3- Bossier City, LA
4- Rexburg, ID
5- Bountiful, UT

5 jobs I have had:
1- Customer Service Rep at Choice Hotels International
2- Sales Associate at Walmart
3- A sandwich expert at Quiznos
4- An Events Manager for Recsports at BYU-I
5- A tax clerk at the church office building

5 things you don't know about me:
1- I'm a lot nicer than I used to be (shocking huh?).
2- I hit the snooze button probably 6 times before I actually get up.
3- I want to go skydiving.
4- I am ridiculously nervous to go to Brazil.
5- I think I'm dyslexic with numbers sometimes.

TAGGED

I've been tagged by my friend Devan...so here goes....

1.WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Well I was supposed to be named Jennifer but my mom said I didn't look like a Jennifer so when I came out she named me Melissa...my middle name is after my aunt though, I guess.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Sunday...Its pretty much a weekly occurrence these days.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sometimes I do. I only like it when I actually take time for it to look good...otherwise its just sloppy.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Chicken...for sure.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? someday.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think I'm pretty funny sometimes...but other times I think I would hate me. I'm a big jerk sometimes.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Uh...seriously? Yes, yes I do.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Sure do.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Sure would.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Life or Honey bunches of Oats. Good stuff

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Um...no.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I actually think I'm quite weak.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Mint Chocolate chip...or Ben and Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Crunch...oh man that stuffs good.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Smile

15. RED OR PINK? Pink

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My stomach....or my chest region (lets be honest here). haha

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My parents.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? not really.

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I'm wearing gold shoes actually...thats right. Solid gold...with diamonds in the soles.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? A piece of toast and a banana.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? My aunt is listening to a byui devotional in her office and I can vaguely hear it...and another lady in my office is speaking in russian on the phone.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? PURPLE

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Rain, dryer, freshly cut grass...

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? I had to give a man a federal ID number for his stake.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Of course I LOVE Devin! Its been a long time since I've seen her.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Basketball, Golf, Football....

27. HAIR COLOR? Blond

28. EYE COLOR? Green

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? sure do.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Broccoli, Avocados, Cheese, Strawberries....I could go on.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I like both.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? I watched part of the Count of Monte Cristo at a friends house.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? white with blue designs on it.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? SUMMER...I love to be outside and theres a lot more stuff to do outside in the summer

35. HUGS OR KISSES? They are both good. Depends on my mood.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? I really like cheesecake...and brownies.

37. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The Book of Mormon...and The Holy Temple. I'm such a pre-missionary. Sheesh!

38. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? its just plain blue.

39. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Italy

40. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Special talent? I don't even have any regular ones. :)

41. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Utah.

42. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE WHERE WOULD IT BE? Egypt or South Africa.

I tag...dad, jen, and emily

A lot of Useless Information About Me

My 100

I haven't been tagged, but I just thought this would be kinda fun and maybe someone will learn something about me that they didn't already know.

100 Things About Me

1. I dislike most seafood. I might be able to eat it if forced, but I generally choose not to.
2. When I was little, I wanted to be a ballerina and a mom when I grew up.
3. I’ve been inside President Monson's home, and stood in his kitchen talking for half an hour.
4. I have 2 step-siblings. 1 brother, 1 sister.
5. I've talked to President Monson on the phone
6. I have lived in 8 states.
7. I have seen more bands live than I care to count.
8. I'm going on a Mission to Recife, Brazil in October of this year.
9. My favorite movie of all time is Wayne's World. Its kind of an inside joke with some friends from high school, and my cousin rachel.
10. I love all the TV shows I watched as a kid...The cosby show, fresh prince of bell air, saved by the bell.
11. I love music – I try to always be listening. I like everything except most country.
12. I like living in Utah....despite what I originally thought.
13. I'm a very impatient person, but I'm slowly learning.
14. I love my family a whole heck of a lot even though sometimes I don't show it. I don't know what I'd do without them.
15. I heart Elton John. Every time I hear one of his songs....I just melt. (yes, I know he's WAY older than me and gay, but I still love him).
16. I have a million black shirts. I should really branch out a bit.
17. I love movies. Comedy, Scary, Action....I love em all.
18. I have never broken a bone. (knock on wood)
19. I have never had a cavity. (knock on wood)
20. I do not, and have not ever bought anything from Hollister or Abercrombie.
21. I love sports...especially ultimate frisbee and golf.
22. I love "guy" things. I love dirt biking, rock climbing, camping...ect.
23. I love being outside.
24. I LOVE to travel.
25. I once got hit by a car while I was riding my bike.
26. I would like to live alone.
27. I love animals. I will own a dog when I have my own place.
28. I work at the church office building and I LOVE it.
29. I love food. Especially Italian, Thai, Indian, and Mexican.
30. I love Harry Potter.
31. I'm 5'6 and I'm okay with that.
32. I have a strange obsession with school supplies.
33. I love to type. I don't know why.
34. I LOVE to take pictures. I carry my camera with me everywhere.
35. I have a greater desire to read and study the scriptures now than I ever have before.
36. I jumped out of a camper trailer once and sprained my foot. I had to use crutches for a day. I think I was just being a baby.
37. My favorite color is purple.
38. I love roller coasters and theme parks.
39. I'm a big fan of swimming.
40. I often have an internal debate about whether I'd rather be tan, or have less wrinkles later.
41. I love giving service, when its on my own watch. When someone asks me to do something, I always go in with the wrong attitude.
42. I'm a fast walker. Always have been, always will be.
43. I hate losing friends. I always have a really hard time letting go or saying goodbye.
44. I'm addicted to Facebook. There should really be a facebook anonymous club or something.
45. I'm blunt. There's no way around that one. I am what I am.
46. I'm sarcastic. I don't really see any issues with that as long as I'm not hurting feelings. (which I sometimes do, but I try not to).
47. I saw "The Dark Knight" the other day, and I thought it was AMAZING.
48. I don't like fake people. Seriously, lets just be who we are. If people don't like it, then you need to either accept that, or become better. Don't pretend to be anything you're not.
49. I, like Christen, think that my nephew Dylan is the cutest kid on the whole planet.
50. My favorite temple is still the Salt Lake Temple. I thought working on temple square would cause this place to become less "magical" but I was wrong. It still brings a smile to my face every day. There is just so much history here.
51. I love the ocean. I would love to live near the ocean again someday. I will be living near the ocean for a year and a half in Brazil and that makes me very happy.
52. I'm kind of a cry baby. I cry in church ALL THE TIME....but I rarely cry about other things.
53. I have always wanted to visit Egypt. I don't know why, but the ancient Egyptians have always fascinated me.
54. I just learned that I can dry swallow a pill.
55. Sometimes I care too much what other people think...other times, I don't care enough.
56. Going to Italy was fulfilling a lifetime dream.
57. I HATED moving around when I was growing up, but now I'm really grateful for the experience.
58. My favorite calling of all time was being a sunbeam teacher.
59. I love deep conversations.
60. I love that for some reason, people come to me with their problems.
61. The first time I ever had an IV or I was put out, was to get my wisdom teeth out.
62. I love and miss my grandpa a lot. I think about him almost every day. He was such a great example to me.
63. I have tried to learn the guitar twice in my life and I just don't get very far. I'm really bad at practicing.
64. I wish I still played the piano.
65. I love rodeos and cowboy clothes but I hate country music. Does that make any sense?
66. I LOVE playing rockband. Its gotta be my favorite game.
67. Incubus was the best concert I ever went to.
68. I would love to own a truck...especially a toyota tacoma.
69. I can't seem to come to terms with the fact that in almost 2 years, I'm going to come back being fluent in portuguese.
70. I'm very naive...and I'm starting to realize that more and more.
71. My favorite place to live was Washington. I lived on an island. How much better can it get?
72. My favorite vegetable is broccoli. I also love avocados and tomatoes.
73. I am addicted to Naked Juice. Its a juice drink that has a pound of fruit in it with nothing else added. It is delicious.
74. My favorite fruit is strawberries followed closely by cantelope.
75. My favorite disney movie is Aladdin. I also love Mulan.
76. I always wear my seatbelt.
77. I wear contacts.
78. One of my greatest fears is to have something jammed in my eye. Weird, I know.
79. I really hate snakes.
80. When I was little, I used to be deathly afraid of what I called "inside bodies." I would wake up in the middle of the night with night terrors about it. Seriously. Now I love watching surgeries. Its weird.
81. I have a strange phobia of hospitals. I'm starting to get over it.
82. I get anxiety occasionally, but have to tell myself that if its something that I can't change then there is no use worrying about it.
83. I love high heels. I like wearing them whenever I have the chance.
84. I want to have a big family.
85. Sometimes I think I'll never get married.
86. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. There are too many options.
87. I love to ski but haven't gone for two years, probably.
88. I never floss. (I know, its bad)
89. I love working out....especially lifting weights.
90. Being racist doesn't make sense to me.
91. I could never get sick of "Friends" or "Seinfeld"
92. I love jewelery.
93. I love to shop....if I have money to buy things.
94. I think if we all really understood what it means to be God's children, the world would be a very different place.
95. I get along better with guys than girls.
96. I love looking at houses.
97. I often look at people's shoes. I think you can tell a lot about a person depending on what kind of shoes they're wearing.
98. I love freckles.
99. I love that I still keep in touch with people I went to elementary school with.
100. I LOVE the gospel of Jesus Christ. I would be nothing without it.

WHAT A WEEKEND!!

Well, my weekend was so jam packed with stuff that it just FLEW by! Friday night I went with some friends up to the golf course to have a putting competition on the green and then we just went back to my friend Kellan's house to watch a movie. My friend Garret took this awesome shot of the sunset and me putting.

I woke up early saturday morning and headed over to my friend Rondi's house so her parents could take us boating! It was SOOO much fun. I had a blast!

This is Katie and I on one of the tubes. It was intense and kinda hard to hold on to. I thought I was going to go flying off..but luckily, I didn't.


This is Katie, Erin, and I on a different tube. I liked this one a lot more. It was easier to stay in.


This is Natayla, Katie and I on our way up there. PS Katie is the great niece of the couple (The Bastians) that introduced my nana and papa in the church. Kinda cool.


This is the whole gang at the lake...left to right...Luke, TJ, Elisha, Natayla, Eric, Erin, Katie, Rondi, Heather, Me, and Garret's in the back, sitting on the boat. We had a blast!


It was Dylan's 2nd Birthday. I think he liked the present I got him. He acted like it, at least.


Jen had a luau for him. Here we are with our coconut bras and grass skirts! :)


After that Luau...I went to another Luau. We had a big 8-stake Luau for all the young single adults. It was kinda lame, but at least my friends are cool :) This is Rachel and I....she's my RS President.

The weekend was great! I just love weekends like this. NON-STOP FUN!!! :)

Well...ITS OFFICIAL

On July 3, 2008 at approximately 1:05 pm, I got a call from my nana telling me that IT CAME! I got my mission call, and after waiting for about an hour and half...we had everyone gathered and my parents on the phone and we opened it.

I am called to the Brazil Recife Mission and I report to the Sao Paulo MTC on October 22, 2008. HOLY COW! I couldn't even believe it when I read it on the paper. I honestly thought I'd be going stateside. It was such a shock. I'm so excited, but also terrified. Can I seriously learn Portuguese? I guess only time will tell.